Just a quick look at the field of 65 as it stands now. We know it will change - it would seem the Big East will have trouble getting a record nine bids while the A-10 would be thrilled to get three let alone four.
Big East: Georgetown, Pitt, West Virginia, Syracuse, Providence, Villanova, Marquette, Connecticut, Notre Dame
ACC: North Carolina, Miami, Duke, Clemson, Virginia, Florida State, Boston College
Big Ten: Indiana, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State
BIG XII: Texas, Kansas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Oklahoma
PAC 10: UCLA, USC, Arizona, Washington State, Stanford
A10: Rhode Island, Xavier, Dayton, Massachusetts
SEC: Mississippi, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Arkansas
WCC: Saint Mary's, Gonzaga
MVC: Creighton, Drake
CAA: George Mason
Summit: Oral Roberts
MWC: UNLV
CUSA: Memphis
Horizon: Butler
WAC: Nevada
MAC: Ohio
America East: UMBC
MEAC: Hampton
NEC: Long Island
SWAC: Alabama State
OVC: Southeast Missouri State
A-SUN: East Tennessee State
MAAC: Siena
Sun Belt: South Alabama
Patriot: Holy Cross
Big West: UC-Santa Barbara
Southern: Davidson
Big Sky: Northern Arizona
Southland: Sam Houston State
Big South: winthrop
Ivy: Brown
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Terps lose yet again...to American?
Things just keep getting worse for the Maryland Terrapins. Nine days after a home loss to Ohio that seemed like rock bottom at the time, the Terrapins were once again defeated in convincing fashion. This time the opposition wasn't even a decent mid major; it was American University of the Patriot League, the school where Gary Williams began his career as a collegiate head coach almost 30 years ago.
The game followed a pattern not unlike that of other recent disappointing losses. The Terps took an early lead, 11-7, before failing to score for a long stretch. This time it was ten minutes - fully one quarter of the game - without a single point. American did little better in putting the ball in the basket, but eventually they did score enough to put themselves up 25-20 at the half.
In the second half, American took control of the game, never relinquishing the lead. In fact, after a Bambale Osby free throw to open the second half cut the Eagles' lead to four, the Terps would get no closer. American led by as many as 12 en route to winning the game 67-59.
American used a zone defense for most of the game, but this loss cannot be blamed on the Terps' lack of outside shooting. Eric Hayes shot 4-8 from deep while Greivis Vasquez was 6-9 from beyond the arc on his way to a career high 28 points, most of them as he furiously tried to lead a second half comeback. But aside from the two starting guards, the rest of the team combined to make four field goals - one each by James Gist, Braxton Dupree, Landon Milbourne, and Dave Neal. The frontcourt was once again beaten badly on the boards on both ends by a smaller and less athletic opposing frontline. Bambale Osby grabbed just 1 rebound in 15 minutes, Dino Gregory snared none in 6 minutes, and James Gist got just 4 in 22 minutes while being mostly invisible on offense (3 points) before once again fouling out with five minutes to go in the game.
After losing five of its first eleven games, there was no doubt that this team needed both more talent and more experience before being ready to compete in the ACC (or even outside of it, apparently). But yesterday's game was not about that. American would kill to have a player as talented as James Gist or Greivis Vasquez. And it wasn't even that American played smarter like the veteran team that they are. This wasn't another example of the Terps being hounded by the costly turnovers that had been so prevalent earlier in the season - the Terps committed just 13 in a game that was in the mid 60s in possessions.
No, the Terps were simply outworked by American. They played with lethargy instead of energy. Even late in the second half there seemed to be no sense of urgency, except perhaps on the part of the always demonstrative Greivis Vasquez. The Terrapins were beaten soundly once again on their home floor by a team that even the NIT Terrapins had crushed, a team against which there could be no mistake which team had the talent advantage on paper.
It would seem that this season won't be salvaged. Certainly the NCAA Tournament appears out of the question even if the team does somehow improve enough to compete at that level. The NIT, or perhaps the new College Basketball Invitational, would likely be the new targets, along with the .500+ record that would accompany appearances in that tournament. But even a .500 finish would likely require the team to win at least 6 ACC games, and while the ACC is not nearly as strong as last year's version, that would seem to be something of a long shot for a team currently ranked #171 in the RPI.
The game followed a pattern not unlike that of other recent disappointing losses. The Terps took an early lead, 11-7, before failing to score for a long stretch. This time it was ten minutes - fully one quarter of the game - without a single point. American did little better in putting the ball in the basket, but eventually they did score enough to put themselves up 25-20 at the half.
In the second half, American took control of the game, never relinquishing the lead. In fact, after a Bambale Osby free throw to open the second half cut the Eagles' lead to four, the Terps would get no closer. American led by as many as 12 en route to winning the game 67-59.
American used a zone defense for most of the game, but this loss cannot be blamed on the Terps' lack of outside shooting. Eric Hayes shot 4-8 from deep while Greivis Vasquez was 6-9 from beyond the arc on his way to a career high 28 points, most of them as he furiously tried to lead a second half comeback. But aside from the two starting guards, the rest of the team combined to make four field goals - one each by James Gist, Braxton Dupree, Landon Milbourne, and Dave Neal. The frontcourt was once again beaten badly on the boards on both ends by a smaller and less athletic opposing frontline. Bambale Osby grabbed just 1 rebound in 15 minutes, Dino Gregory snared none in 6 minutes, and James Gist got just 4 in 22 minutes while being mostly invisible on offense (3 points) before once again fouling out with five minutes to go in the game.
After losing five of its first eleven games, there was no doubt that this team needed both more talent and more experience before being ready to compete in the ACC (or even outside of it, apparently). But yesterday's game was not about that. American would kill to have a player as talented as James Gist or Greivis Vasquez. And it wasn't even that American played smarter like the veteran team that they are. This wasn't another example of the Terps being hounded by the costly turnovers that had been so prevalent earlier in the season - the Terps committed just 13 in a game that was in the mid 60s in possessions.
No, the Terps were simply outworked by American. They played with lethargy instead of energy. Even late in the second half there seemed to be no sense of urgency, except perhaps on the part of the always demonstrative Greivis Vasquez. The Terrapins were beaten soundly once again on their home floor by a team that even the NIT Terrapins had crushed, a team against which there could be no mistake which team had the talent advantage on paper.
It would seem that this season won't be salvaged. Certainly the NCAA Tournament appears out of the question even if the team does somehow improve enough to compete at that level. The NIT, or perhaps the new College Basketball Invitational, would likely be the new targets, along with the .500+ record that would accompany appearances in that tournament. But even a .500 finish would likely require the team to win at least 6 ACC games, and while the ACC is not nearly as strong as last year's version, that would seem to be something of a long shot for a team currently ranked #171 in the RPI.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
ACC Week 5
Miami (10-0): beat Mississippi State and Stetson. Miami was wildly underrated heading into the season (picked dead last in the ACC). Now just a month later they find themselves in both top 25 polls. That probably puts them in the overrated category, but a team that is likely to start 15-0 deserves a little respect even if they do depend very heavily on their star Jack McClinton.
North Carolina (9-0): beat Penn and Rutgers. North Carolina finished out their four game road swing last week by going into the Palestra and the RAC, two tough spots to play, and grabbing big wins. Danny Green is currently the second most frequent shooter on the team, behind only Wayne Ellington and ahead of Tyler Hansbrough. That's not a bad replacement for Reyshawn Terry.
Duke (10-0): beat Albany. Duke keeps rolling, scoring at least 77 points in every one of its games so far this season. Kyle Singler is one of the top freshman in the nation. Everyone knows that. What some might not realize is that Singler has been terrific on the boards and in blocking shots. That is huge for a Duke team without much in the way of a true post presence.
Florida State: (10-3): lost to Butler. The Florida State defense had looked good before getting torched by Butler. Not that there's anything wrong with letting Butler put points on the board, but it does serve as a caution that the Noles' early season defensive improvement might have been something of a small sample size mirage. After bad early losses to Cleveland State and South Florida, it seems that this veteran laden team might be back on the right path.
Clemson (8-0): idle. Another ACC undefeated. Yawn. Next up for Clemson is three games in Puerto Rico in the San Juan Shootout. The key matchups are the second and third games against Depaul and Ole Miss.
Boston College (7-2): lost to Massachusetts. The Eagles were beaten badly on the defensive end by UMass. The numbers defensively look good for now, but besides a stifling win over Saint Louis, the defense has not been good in recent games, giving up well over a point per possesion in three of the past four.
Georgia Tech (4-5): lost to Kansas. The Jackets struggles on the road have been well documented, but it really is striking. Before their exam break the team began December on the road by getting thrashed at Vandy and squeaking by Georgia State. After exams they came home and pushed Kansas to the wire. With ten more road games on the schedule, just making the NIT might be an uphill battle, especially after it was announced the SR Resean Dickey will redshirt this season.
North Carolina State (5-3): beat South Carolina State. It's not an impressive win by any stretch, but after early season losses to New Orleans and East Carolina, you take what you can get. An interesting stretch (Davidson, Cincy, @Seton Hall) is up next. The Wolfpack would do a lot for itself to sweep although going on the road (0-2 with a blowout loss to Michigan State and a loss to ECU) has not been easy thus far.
Virginia (7-2): idle. A long exam break for Virginia is followed by three cupcakes that will likely allow the Cavs to roll into the New Year at 10-2.
Virginia Tech: (5-4): lost to Old Dominion. The Hokies had their chances to pull out the road win against in-state foe Old Dominion, but they just could not get it done. The culprit once again was a complete inability to force turnovers while also allowing the Monarch to make too many shots.
Wake Forest (6-3): beat Bucknell. The Wake Forest offense still ranks outside the top 200 in the nation with only three of their ten regulars having an ORtg above 100. The two players most involved with the Wake offense in their minutes on the floor are a pair of freshmen, James Johnson and Jeff Teague. Johnson will need to improve his outside shooting (7-36 on 3pt FG) but his activity and very good rebounding on both ends bodes well for his future.
North Carolina (9-0): beat Penn and Rutgers. North Carolina finished out their four game road swing last week by going into the Palestra and the RAC, two tough spots to play, and grabbing big wins. Danny Green is currently the second most frequent shooter on the team, behind only Wayne Ellington and ahead of Tyler Hansbrough. That's not a bad replacement for Reyshawn Terry.
Duke (10-0): beat Albany. Duke keeps rolling, scoring at least 77 points in every one of its games so far this season. Kyle Singler is one of the top freshman in the nation. Everyone knows that. What some might not realize is that Singler has been terrific on the boards and in blocking shots. That is huge for a Duke team without much in the way of a true post presence.
Florida State: (10-3): lost to Butler. The Florida State defense had looked good before getting torched by Butler. Not that there's anything wrong with letting Butler put points on the board, but it does serve as a caution that the Noles' early season defensive improvement might have been something of a small sample size mirage. After bad early losses to Cleveland State and South Florida, it seems that this veteran laden team might be back on the right path.
Clemson (8-0): idle. Another ACC undefeated. Yawn. Next up for Clemson is three games in Puerto Rico in the San Juan Shootout. The key matchups are the second and third games against Depaul and Ole Miss.
Boston College (7-2): lost to Massachusetts. The Eagles were beaten badly on the defensive end by UMass. The numbers defensively look good for now, but besides a stifling win over Saint Louis, the defense has not been good in recent games, giving up well over a point per possesion in three of the past four.
Georgia Tech (4-5): lost to Kansas. The Jackets struggles on the road have been well documented, but it really is striking. Before their exam break the team began December on the road by getting thrashed at Vandy and squeaking by Georgia State. After exams they came home and pushed Kansas to the wire. With ten more road games on the schedule, just making the NIT might be an uphill battle, especially after it was announced the SR Resean Dickey will redshirt this season.
North Carolina State (5-3): beat South Carolina State. It's not an impressive win by any stretch, but after early season losses to New Orleans and East Carolina, you take what you can get. An interesting stretch (Davidson, Cincy, @Seton Hall) is up next. The Wolfpack would do a lot for itself to sweep although going on the road (0-2 with a blowout loss to Michigan State and a loss to ECU) has not been easy thus far.
Virginia (7-2): idle. A long exam break for Virginia is followed by three cupcakes that will likely allow the Cavs to roll into the New Year at 10-2.
Virginia Tech: (5-4): lost to Old Dominion. The Hokies had their chances to pull out the road win against in-state foe Old Dominion, but they just could not get it done. The culprit once again was a complete inability to force turnovers while also allowing the Monarch to make too many shots.
Wake Forest (6-3): beat Bucknell. The Wake Forest offense still ranks outside the top 200 in the nation with only three of their ten regulars having an ORtg above 100. The two players most involved with the Wake offense in their minutes on the floor are a pair of freshmen, James Johnson and Jeff Teague. Johnson will need to improve his outside shooting (7-36 on 3pt FG) but his activity and very good rebounding on both ends bodes well for his future.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Bobcats roll Terps
Not the Charlotte NBA team. The college team from Ohio.
What a sad night for the Maryland Terrapins. For the first time since 1989 - Gary Williams' first at the helm as Maryland Head Coach - Maryland paid an opponent to come to their home floor to beat them. Back then it was local MEAC foe Coppin State. This year it was the Ohio Bobcats of the MAC.
There isn't much to say about this beating. Ohio is a solid team, one that can compete in their conference, but before last night they had lost their only two tests to Temple and Holy Cross. Leon Williams, a quality big man out of Cardinal Gibbons in Baltimore, absolutely dominated the Terps to the tune of 17 points and 15 rebounds on the game. The number of boards is particularly indicative of the continued poor rebounding on the part of the Terps.
Greivis Vasquez was the most egregiously bad of the regulars as he missed 11 shots from the field while taking wild shots during the Terps' furious comeback intent. On several trips down the floor on offense it seemed that Vasquez had no intention of passing the ball. Although he had perhaps the worst game, it would be unfair to single out Vasquez. The entire team played poorly, trailing by as many as 16 and never leading in the game.
The next game will be against American after the break for finals. Hopefully the team can begin to put the season back together. It will not be easy. Nothing has been this season.
What a sad night for the Maryland Terrapins. For the first time since 1989 - Gary Williams' first at the helm as Maryland Head Coach - Maryland paid an opponent to come to their home floor to beat them. Back then it was local MEAC foe Coppin State. This year it was the Ohio Bobcats of the MAC.
There isn't much to say about this beating. Ohio is a solid team, one that can compete in their conference, but before last night they had lost their only two tests to Temple and Holy Cross. Leon Williams, a quality big man out of Cardinal Gibbons in Baltimore, absolutely dominated the Terps to the tune of 17 points and 15 rebounds on the game. The number of boards is particularly indicative of the continued poor rebounding on the part of the Terps.
Greivis Vasquez was the most egregiously bad of the regulars as he missed 11 shots from the field while taking wild shots during the Terps' furious comeback intent. On several trips down the floor on offense it seemed that Vasquez had no intention of passing the ball. Although he had perhaps the worst game, it would be unfair to single out Vasquez. The entire team played poorly, trailing by as many as 16 and never leading in the game.
The next game will be against American after the break for finals. Hopefully the team can begin to put the season back together. It will not be easy. Nothing has been this season.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
ACC Week 4
Miami (8-0): beat Florida International. The Canes kept rolling, but the offense that has put up a point per possession just three times in eight games needs to get better for their winning ways to continue. An interesting game at Mississippi State looms.
Duke (9-0): beat Michigan. Duke showed no rust after taking a week off, destroying the Wolverines. Jon Scheyer has helped key the Blue Devils offense so far with a and eFG% of 60.0. Duke might want him to take more than one in six shots during his time on the floor.
North Carolina (8-0): beat Pennsylvania. North Carolina rolled Penn to win for the third time in three consecutive road games. Up next is another road test against Rutgers. Tyler Hansbrough has improved his rebounding early in the season as he leads the ACC in OR% and finds himself in the top 25 in the nation in that category.
Clemson (8-0): beat East Carolina. Clemson's offense needs to get going. Only a top ten rank in OR% keeps them as high as 86th in the adjusted Defensive Efficiency rankings. The Tigers have shot just 46.4% on two point shots. James Mays, the team's top inside scorer, has missed the past three games. When he returns he will go a long way in helping the Tigers score inside the three point line. Trevor Booker, despite shooting poorly, pulled down 17 boards against East Carolina and has been great on the offensive glass this season.
Boston College (7-1): beat Saint Louis and Maryland. The Eagles won the first ACC game of the season by beating Maryland on the road. 6-5 FR Corey Raji has been a monster in relatively limited action by hitting both the offensive glass (4th in the ACC) and his field goals (30-44, 6-10 3PT FG).
Florida State (9-2): beat Samford and Maine. The schedule gets tougher starting with a game against Butler on Saturday. The Seminoles play an extremely small lineup, but it has paid dividends as the team can shoot. Their four most used players have all hit at least 10 three pointers while the team as a whole shoots over 79% from the charity stripe. Despite this, turnovers have caused the offense to lag behind the defense against a soft early schedule.
Georgia Tech (4-4): beat Georgia State. Fans in Hotlanta are in for a long season. Thy got back to .500 with a 5 point win over 2-6 Georgia State. It's one thing not to play defense, but when Georgia State has its third best game of the season offensively against your team, it may be time for some radical changes. One of the problems is that the team has played just one of its eight games at home so far. That's not easy for a team that has gone 4-22 away from home in the past two seasons. Things don't get much easier at home as Kansas is the first opponent of the homestand.
North Carolina State (4-3): lost to East Carolina. It isn't easy to win when you have one facet of your team's game that is worse than almost every other team in Division I. For the Wolfpack, the bane of the team so far has been the inability to force turnovers. They force TO less frequently than 338 of the 340 other DI teams. The Wolfpack were similarly situated last year, ranking 329th, so there would seem to be little hope for marked improvement other than regression towards the mean. Sidney Lowe's team does, for the second straight season, go to the line a ton while never sending their opponents there. Such is the fate for a team with a post oriented offense and a defense that isn't aggressive at all in taking the ball from the opposition.
Virginia (7-2): beat Longwood, lost to Syracuse. Free throws were the difference against the Orange as Sean Singletary uncharacteristically hit just two of eight. The Virginia offense was dormant against what has been a terrible Syracus defense. Jeff Jones, the freshman shooting guard, looked to have a breakout game with five threes against Arizona, but since then he has shot just 7-28 from the field while failing to make a shot from deep.
Virginia Tech (5-3): beat North Carolina-Greensboro and George Washington. Even against terrible opposition, back-to-back games giving up less than 40 points is impressive. Jeff Allen, only a frosh, might be the best player on the team as he racks up blocks, steals and rebounds on both ends of the court, ranking in the top 300 nationally in each of those areas.
Wake Forest (5-3): lost to Vanderbilt, Georgia. If Wake Forest could put the ball in the basket at all, they would have a shot to get to at least .500 in the ACC given the way their defense has played. But they don't - witness the games against Iowa, Charlotte and Georgia, all of which hav seen Wake get less than 0.8 points per possession.
Duke (9-0): beat Michigan. Duke showed no rust after taking a week off, destroying the Wolverines. Jon Scheyer has helped key the Blue Devils offense so far with a and eFG% of 60.0. Duke might want him to take more than one in six shots during his time on the floor.
North Carolina (8-0): beat Pennsylvania. North Carolina rolled Penn to win for the third time in three consecutive road games. Up next is another road test against Rutgers. Tyler Hansbrough has improved his rebounding early in the season as he leads the ACC in OR% and finds himself in the top 25 in the nation in that category.
Clemson (8-0): beat East Carolina. Clemson's offense needs to get going. Only a top ten rank in OR% keeps them as high as 86th in the adjusted Defensive Efficiency rankings. The Tigers have shot just 46.4% on two point shots. James Mays, the team's top inside scorer, has missed the past three games. When he returns he will go a long way in helping the Tigers score inside the three point line. Trevor Booker, despite shooting poorly, pulled down 17 boards against East Carolina and has been great on the offensive glass this season.
Boston College (7-1): beat Saint Louis and Maryland. The Eagles won the first ACC game of the season by beating Maryland on the road. 6-5 FR Corey Raji has been a monster in relatively limited action by hitting both the offensive glass (4th in the ACC) and his field goals (30-44, 6-10 3PT FG).
Florida State (9-2): beat Samford and Maine. The schedule gets tougher starting with a game against Butler on Saturday. The Seminoles play an extremely small lineup, but it has paid dividends as the team can shoot. Their four most used players have all hit at least 10 three pointers while the team as a whole shoots over 79% from the charity stripe. Despite this, turnovers have caused the offense to lag behind the defense against a soft early schedule.
Georgia Tech (4-4): beat Georgia State. Fans in Hotlanta are in for a long season. Thy got back to .500 with a 5 point win over 2-6 Georgia State. It's one thing not to play defense, but when Georgia State has its third best game of the season offensively against your team, it may be time for some radical changes. One of the problems is that the team has played just one of its eight games at home so far. That's not easy for a team that has gone 4-22 away from home in the past two seasons. Things don't get much easier at home as Kansas is the first opponent of the homestand.
North Carolina State (4-3): lost to East Carolina. It isn't easy to win when you have one facet of your team's game that is worse than almost every other team in Division I. For the Wolfpack, the bane of the team so far has been the inability to force turnovers. They force TO less frequently than 338 of the 340 other DI teams. The Wolfpack were similarly situated last year, ranking 329th, so there would seem to be little hope for marked improvement other than regression towards the mean. Sidney Lowe's team does, for the second straight season, go to the line a ton while never sending their opponents there. Such is the fate for a team with a post oriented offense and a defense that isn't aggressive at all in taking the ball from the opposition.
Virginia (7-2): beat Longwood, lost to Syracuse. Free throws were the difference against the Orange as Sean Singletary uncharacteristically hit just two of eight. The Virginia offense was dormant against what has been a terrible Syracus defense. Jeff Jones, the freshman shooting guard, looked to have a breakout game with five threes against Arizona, but since then he has shot just 7-28 from the field while failing to make a shot from deep.
Virginia Tech (5-3): beat North Carolina-Greensboro and George Washington. Even against terrible opposition, back-to-back games giving up less than 40 points is impressive. Jeff Allen, only a frosh, might be the best player on the team as he racks up blocks, steals and rebounds on both ends of the court, ranking in the top 300 nationally in each of those areas.
Wake Forest (5-3): lost to Vanderbilt, Georgia. If Wake Forest could put the ball in the basket at all, they would have a shot to get to at least .500 in the ACC given the way their defense has played. But they don't - witness the games against Iowa, Charlotte and Georgia, all of which hav seen Wake get less than 0.8 points per possession.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Play some D!
Ah, defense, the much overlooked factor in college basketball. Even though defense is essentially half of the game, the analysis of it is typically superficial. Uptempo teams that give up a lot of points tend to be the ones labeled as bad defenders even if their defense is very efficient on a per-possession basis. Meanwhile any team that plays at a snail's pace is lauded for their defensive effort.
Defense on the team level at least has some numbers to flesh out the truth from the fiction. On the individual level, blocks and steals suffice. Unless a player has a reputation as a great lockdown defender, his other contributions rarely go noticed. And defensive rebounding is never brought up as part of the defensive equation outside the domain of tempo-free stats.
So what's the point of this soliloquy? To take the opportunity to look at some teams expected to be contenders whose defense has not been up to snuff so far. Of course it's still early, but with 1/3 of the schedule done (or close to it), it's not too early to take a peak at the numbers.
Syracuse - adj. DEff ranking: 149
issues: turnover percentage, 3pt FG%, 3PA/FGA
Jim Boeheim cried crocodile tears for months after his team was relegated to the NIT last season, but with the incoming 2007 recruiting class, led by Donte Greene and Johnny Flynn, most expected that to be a short departure from playing in the meaningful tournament. Perhaps that was premature. The team forces no turnovers, although that should not be a surprise in the (in)famous Syracuse 2-3 Zone Defense. The way to beat a zone is to hit shots from the outside. The Orange's opponents always launch from deep, but it's not that often that they shoot 39% from the perimeter. That number will likely go down, but having already been torched by Massachusetts (1.32 points per possession) and Rhode Island (1.15) of the A-10, things could get ugly in Big East play.
Vanderbilt - adj. DEff ranking: 123
issues: 3pt FG%, turnover percentage, defensive rebounding.
Freshman Andrew Ogilvy has been outstanding in leading the Commodores to a 9-0 start, but the defense will have to improve for that to continue into SEC play. Vandy actually has a big team - or at least one of above average size - but they've continued their poor defensive rebounding present for most of the Kevin Stallings Era. Teams continue to bomb threes over the Vandy defense. That stings, but it would sting even more if they didn't hit 43.9% of their own shots from long range.
Oregon - adj. DEff ranking: 93
issues: turnover percentage, 2pt FG%
Another team that can't force a turnover. 5-6 Tajuan Porter plays the second most minutes of any Duck but rarely records a steal. A short player is supposed to be quick and pesky; if Porter doesn't force any turnovers, you have to wonder how much he contributes on defense. Despite giving major minutes to just one player over 6-6, Marty Leunen, the Ducks actually block some shots, mainly thanks to Malik Hairston and Bryce Taylor. The other two pointers are the problem. Oregon can't seem to stop the ones it doesn't get a hand on before it hits the rim.
Texas - adj. DEff ranking: 84
issues: defensive rebounding, 3pt FG%, 3PA/FGA
Texas has the most efficient offense in the country, both in the adjusted and unadjusted rankings, an impressive feat after losing Kevin Durant. But once again they play minimal defense, an unnoticed quality which prevented them from becoming more than a good team in Durant's only season in Austin. Damion James was a good defensive rebounder last season, and this year he has stepped up to fully replace the mamoth presence that Kevin Durant had on the defensive glass last season. Unfortunately no one has replaced his contributions. That tends to happen when you start players that check in at 5-10, 5-11, and 6-2. All three of those players (AJ Abrams, DJ Augustin and Justin Mason) can garner a steal, but they've been helpless in preventing the opposition from raining threes down on the Longhorns.
Take note of these teams. They'll all likely be sold as potential contenders for something of worth, maybe their conferences, maybe the Final Four. But unless they improve their defense, they'll have a tough time fulfilling the prognosticators predictions.
Defense on the team level at least has some numbers to flesh out the truth from the fiction. On the individual level, blocks and steals suffice. Unless a player has a reputation as a great lockdown defender, his other contributions rarely go noticed. And defensive rebounding is never brought up as part of the defensive equation outside the domain of tempo-free stats.
So what's the point of this soliloquy? To take the opportunity to look at some teams expected to be contenders whose defense has not been up to snuff so far. Of course it's still early, but with 1/3 of the schedule done (or close to it), it's not too early to take a peak at the numbers.
Syracuse - adj. DEff ranking: 149
issues: turnover percentage, 3pt FG%, 3PA/FGA
Jim Boeheim cried crocodile tears for months after his team was relegated to the NIT last season, but with the incoming 2007 recruiting class, led by Donte Greene and Johnny Flynn, most expected that to be a short departure from playing in the meaningful tournament. Perhaps that was premature. The team forces no turnovers, although that should not be a surprise in the (in)famous Syracuse 2-3 Zone Defense. The way to beat a zone is to hit shots from the outside. The Orange's opponents always launch from deep, but it's not that often that they shoot 39% from the perimeter. That number will likely go down, but having already been torched by Massachusetts (1.32 points per possession) and Rhode Island (1.15) of the A-10, things could get ugly in Big East play.
Vanderbilt - adj. DEff ranking: 123
issues: 3pt FG%, turnover percentage, defensive rebounding.
Freshman Andrew Ogilvy has been outstanding in leading the Commodores to a 9-0 start, but the defense will have to improve for that to continue into SEC play. Vandy actually has a big team - or at least one of above average size - but they've continued their poor defensive rebounding present for most of the Kevin Stallings Era. Teams continue to bomb threes over the Vandy defense. That stings, but it would sting even more if they didn't hit 43.9% of their own shots from long range.
Oregon - adj. DEff ranking: 93
issues: turnover percentage, 2pt FG%
Another team that can't force a turnover. 5-6 Tajuan Porter plays the second most minutes of any Duck but rarely records a steal. A short player is supposed to be quick and pesky; if Porter doesn't force any turnovers, you have to wonder how much he contributes on defense. Despite giving major minutes to just one player over 6-6, Marty Leunen, the Ducks actually block some shots, mainly thanks to Malik Hairston and Bryce Taylor. The other two pointers are the problem. Oregon can't seem to stop the ones it doesn't get a hand on before it hits the rim.
Texas - adj. DEff ranking: 84
issues: defensive rebounding, 3pt FG%, 3PA/FGA
Texas has the most efficient offense in the country, both in the adjusted and unadjusted rankings, an impressive feat after losing Kevin Durant. But once again they play minimal defense, an unnoticed quality which prevented them from becoming more than a good team in Durant's only season in Austin. Damion James was a good defensive rebounder last season, and this year he has stepped up to fully replace the mamoth presence that Kevin Durant had on the defensive glass last season. Unfortunately no one has replaced his contributions. That tends to happen when you start players that check in at 5-10, 5-11, and 6-2. All three of those players (AJ Abrams, DJ Augustin and Justin Mason) can garner a steal, but they've been helpless in preventing the opposition from raining threes down on the Longhorns.
Take note of these teams. They'll all likely be sold as potential contenders for something of worth, maybe their conferences, maybe the Final Four. But unless they improve their defense, they'll have a tough time fulfilling the prognosticators predictions.
Terps fall again in ACC Opener
It's far too early to declare any game a must win, but the Terps already had three losses and just one quality win (against a decent Illinois team) in their first nine games. Boston College was not expected to be among the top ACC teams this season so winning at home against the Eagles seemed imperative. But after Greivis Vasquez was called for three straight fouls on one possession - including a technical - to foul out of the game midway through the second, a four point Terrapin lead evaporated as the team lost by three after a furious comeback.
Even without finding his stroke (1-6 from three), Vasquez was playing perhaps his best all around game with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists - and perhaps most importantly - just one turnover. Paired with Eric Hayes (13 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, no turnovers) in the backcourt in their second game after switching roles, they sparked the team to a lead that got as big as 6 with 13 minutes left.
Maryland turned the ball over just 10 times on the night, easily their best performance of the season. That led to the team's most efficient offensive performance to date in its five games against quality opposition. But on the defensive side the Terps simply let Boston College get to the line to often where they converted spectacularly. The three point shot also helped put Boston College ahead even though they were judicious in their attempts (13 on the night).
This was a game that left a sour taste in the mouths of fans. While the team struggled somewhat defensively, namely the defensive boards, they also improved in other areas. The game felt like it should have been a win, especially if Vasquez had not fouled out on a questionable technical foul call in the second half. Live and learn for the Terrapins yet again. They'll have a home date with Ohio before the schedule breaks for exams.
Even without finding his stroke (1-6 from three), Vasquez was playing perhaps his best all around game with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists - and perhaps most importantly - just one turnover. Paired with Eric Hayes (13 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, no turnovers) in the backcourt in their second game after switching roles, they sparked the team to a lead that got as big as 6 with 13 minutes left.
Maryland turned the ball over just 10 times on the night, easily their best performance of the season. That led to the team's most efficient offensive performance to date in its five games against quality opposition. But on the defensive side the Terps simply let Boston College get to the line to often where they converted spectacularly. The three point shot also helped put Boston College ahead even though they were judicious in their attempts (13 on the night).
This was a game that left a sour taste in the mouths of fans. While the team struggled somewhat defensively, namely the defensive boards, they also improved in other areas. The game felt like it should have been a win, especially if Vasquez had not fouled out on a questionable technical foul call in the second half. Live and learn for the Terrapins yet again. They'll have a home date with Ohio before the schedule breaks for exams.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Terps-BC Preview
Boston College will roll into the Comcast Center tonight with a record of 6-1 including wins over Rhode Island, Michigan and Saint Louis. The lone loss came in an OT loss at home against Providence, a game the Eagles were down big in the second half before making a big charge late. Like the Terps, this will be the first ACC game for the young Eagles.
After losing Jared Dudley (and Sean Williams earlier), the Eagles were expected to take a step or two back. Over the past few years, the team's offense had been anywhere from very good to stellar, but the defense had been at the opposite end of the spectrum, to the point where the Eagles ranked 239th in unadjusted defensive efficiency. With only Tyreese Rice to carry a large offensive role it seemed that the poor defense would finally catch up to the Eagles.
But the resourceful Al Skinner has overseen a transformation so far this season, as his Eagles now play good defense and win in spite of an offense that has been nothing special so far. That's largely because the Eagles now hit the defensive glass while also forcing just a few more turnovers. Boston College still isn't good in either of those two areas, but improving from sub-300 in the nation to a spot closer to respectability goes a long way.
Boston College continues to block shots - SR Tyrelle Blair leads all major conference players by blocking 15.1% of opponents two point shots so far - but unlike last year the Eagles have actually forced opponents to miss two pointers that weren't blocked. Combine that with fewer second chances, and that's a recipe for an improved defense.
Tyrese Rice has dominated the offense to no one's surprise, but the Eagles will need more. Corey Raji has been strong in his debut season, leading the team in ORtg in limited minutes while FR Rakim Sanders and SO Shamari Spears have also contributed some points to the mix while shooting well from the field.
After losing Jared Dudley (and Sean Williams earlier), the Eagles were expected to take a step or two back. Over the past few years, the team's offense had been anywhere from very good to stellar, but the defense had been at the opposite end of the spectrum, to the point where the Eagles ranked 239th in unadjusted defensive efficiency. With only Tyreese Rice to carry a large offensive role it seemed that the poor defense would finally catch up to the Eagles.
But the resourceful Al Skinner has overseen a transformation so far this season, as his Eagles now play good defense and win in spite of an offense that has been nothing special so far. That's largely because the Eagles now hit the defensive glass while also forcing just a few more turnovers. Boston College still isn't good in either of those two areas, but improving from sub-300 in the nation to a spot closer to respectability goes a long way.
Boston College continues to block shots - SR Tyrelle Blair leads all major conference players by blocking 15.1% of opponents two point shots so far - but unlike last year the Eagles have actually forced opponents to miss two pointers that weren't blocked. Combine that with fewer second chances, and that's a recipe for an improved defense.
Tyrese Rice has dominated the offense to no one's surprise, but the Eagles will need more. Corey Raji has been strong in his debut season, leading the team in ORtg in limited minutes while FR Rakim Sanders and SO Shamari Spears have also contributed some points to the mix while shooting well from the field.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Terps score season high in beating Bears
After close wins against supposed cupcakes Hampton and Northeastern earlier in the season, Maryland should have learned that no win was a guaranteed blowout. Last night's opponent, Morgan State, was perhaps better than either of those two teams, having lost close games to UConn and Miami by just four points apiece.
The Terrapins turned in their most efficient offensive output of the season, scoring a season-high 89 points while hitting 9 of 15 three pointers and cutting the turnovers down to a more managable 23% of possessions. The scoring load was balanced and led by Eric Hayes. Hayes returned to the point guard position after playing shooting guard for the team's first eight games and responded with a 19 point performance including 5 three point shots. Boom Osby contributed 16 points and 9 boards off the bench, including nine consecutive points during one stretch in the second half that stretched the lead from 11 to 18. James Gist scored 18 points and went over 1,000 for his career while Greivis Vasquez had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists plus 7 more turnovers.
The biggest negative from this game was the continued inability of the Terps to come close to holding their own on the defensive boards, allowing Morgan State to get back about 36% of their missed shots in the form of offensive rebounds. No doubt that part of that is downside of an interior defense that relies more on blocking shots (10 last night) than playing position defense. Even so, the frustration of seeing a Terp get a hand on the ball only to have it squirt away from the opposition could drive a fan insane. The team has actually improved from last year, even with the loss of Ekene Ibekwe, so that incremental improvement might have to suffice for this year.
The Terrapins turned in their most efficient offensive output of the season, scoring a season-high 89 points while hitting 9 of 15 three pointers and cutting the turnovers down to a more managable 23% of possessions. The scoring load was balanced and led by Eric Hayes. Hayes returned to the point guard position after playing shooting guard for the team's first eight games and responded with a 19 point performance including 5 three point shots. Boom Osby contributed 16 points and 9 boards off the bench, including nine consecutive points during one stretch in the second half that stretched the lead from 11 to 18. James Gist scored 18 points and went over 1,000 for his career while Greivis Vasquez had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 11 assists plus 7 more turnovers.
The biggest negative from this game was the continued inability of the Terps to come close to holding their own on the defensive boards, allowing Morgan State to get back about 36% of their missed shots in the form of offensive rebounds. No doubt that part of that is downside of an interior defense that relies more on blocking shots (10 last night) than playing position defense. Even so, the frustration of seeing a Terp get a hand on the ball only to have it squirt away from the opposition could drive a fan insane. The team has actually improved from last year, even with the loss of Ekene Ibekwe, so that incremental improvement might have to suffice for this year.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
ACC Week 3
Miami (7-0): beat Alabama State and Saint John's. The Hurricanes continued their surprising undefeated streaks by nipping Alabama State and crushing Saint John's with Jack McClinton returning to the lineup after missing two games. There are no givens, but Miami has a good chance to enter the New Year at 12-1. Talk about unexpected. McClinton is the star, but keep an eye on redshirt senior Anthony King in the frontcourt. King has been very effective on the offensive end while continuing to be a dominating rebounding presence on both ends.
Duke (8-0): beat Wisconsin and Davidson. The Dukies kept on rolling, first thrashing the Badgers at Cameron before beating the fighting Stephen Curry's by six. Duke's adjusted efficiency numbers rank in the top ten on both ends of the floor. Their four component offensive and defensive numbers all rank in the top 100 in the country. After a down year it sure looks like Duke will be back to running some good teams out of the gym this season.
North Carolina (7-0): beat Ohio State and Kentucky. Two road wins over top-tier programs in the same week is always great, even if those two programs are experiencing what might be a down year. The offense keeps humming but the loss of Branden Wright and Reyshawn Terry has put the Tar Heel defense at its worst levels of the Roy Williams Era.
Clemson (7-0): beat Purdue and South Carolina. Even without James Mays the Tigers showed they could beat some major conference opposition this week. Trevor Booker has stepped up on the inside. He currently ranks 14th in the nation in DR% and 35th in BLK%.
Virginia (6-1): beat Northwestern. Who would believe that Virginia, a team dominated by backcourt scorers, actually ranks in the top six in the country in rebounding on both ends of the floor. Of the Cavaliers five most used players, none stands taller than 6-7 so it might be too much to expect these lofty numbers to continue. Even with the great defensive rebounding the Cavs' defense is borderline horrible.
North Carolina State (4-2): lost to Michigan State. The 'Pack was blown out in the ACC-Big Ten challenge against the Spartans. JJ Hickson continued his torrid freshman season, scoring 21 points, but starters Ben McCauley and Courtney Fells failed to score in a combined 44 minutes. McCauley has been particularly bad offensively as his eFG% has fallen from 58.7 to 37.0 while seeing his involvement in the offense vanish.
Florida State (8-2): beat Minnesota, Stetson, Samford. Was Al Thornton a defensive liability? We all know how great he was on the offensive end, but Florida State's defense improved from a mediocre unit (55th) to a very strong one this season (13th) with the same unit less Thornton. Of course that's far too simplistic as Thornton racked up blocks, steals and defensive rebounds. Even on a team where the four players with the most minutes are 6-3 or shorter, Florida State has clamped down on its opponents' shooting. Watch for that in conference play.
Boston College (5-1): beat Michigan, lost to Providence. Boston College would have a nice defense if it were 1980 and three pointers didn't exist. But they do, and the Eagles have been torched from long range to the tune of 36.8% on the season including 12-23 in their first loss of the season to Providence. Boston College has some guards that can fill it, but they need more defense.
Georgia Tech (3-4): lost to Indiana and Vanderbilt. The Jackets blew a late lead on the road against Indiana before being throttled by Vandy. The defense has been atrocious, giving up 1.09 points per possession and ranking outside the top 200 in nearly every meaningful category.
Virginia Tech (3-3): beat North Carolina-Ashville, lost to Penn State. It's a growing year with four freshmen in the top six. Jeff Allen has been a force and Hank Thorns and Malcolm Delaney have both shown some signs in the backcourt. It seems to be a recurring theme, but once again, the defense is not good on this team right now. The offense is not much better for a team that never takes a trip to the line.
Wake Forest (5-1): beat Iowa, South Carolina-Upstate, lost to Charlotte. The Deacs' offense was disastrous in the win over Iowa and the loss to Charlotte, piling up just 119 points in 145 possessions over the two games. If they couldn't rebound on the offensive glass as well as they do, it would be an even longer season.
Duke (8-0): beat Wisconsin and Davidson. The Dukies kept on rolling, first thrashing the Badgers at Cameron before beating the fighting Stephen Curry's by six. Duke's adjusted efficiency numbers rank in the top ten on both ends of the floor. Their four component offensive and defensive numbers all rank in the top 100 in the country. After a down year it sure looks like Duke will be back to running some good teams out of the gym this season.
North Carolina (7-0): beat Ohio State and Kentucky. Two road wins over top-tier programs in the same week is always great, even if those two programs are experiencing what might be a down year. The offense keeps humming but the loss of Branden Wright and Reyshawn Terry has put the Tar Heel defense at its worst levels of the Roy Williams Era.
Clemson (7-0): beat Purdue and South Carolina. Even without James Mays the Tigers showed they could beat some major conference opposition this week. Trevor Booker has stepped up on the inside. He currently ranks 14th in the nation in DR% and 35th in BLK%.
Virginia (6-1): beat Northwestern. Who would believe that Virginia, a team dominated by backcourt scorers, actually ranks in the top six in the country in rebounding on both ends of the floor. Of the Cavaliers five most used players, none stands taller than 6-7 so it might be too much to expect these lofty numbers to continue. Even with the great defensive rebounding the Cavs' defense is borderline horrible.
North Carolina State (4-2): lost to Michigan State. The 'Pack was blown out in the ACC-Big Ten challenge against the Spartans. JJ Hickson continued his torrid freshman season, scoring 21 points, but starters Ben McCauley and Courtney Fells failed to score in a combined 44 minutes. McCauley has been particularly bad offensively as his eFG% has fallen from 58.7 to 37.0 while seeing his involvement in the offense vanish.
Florida State (8-2): beat Minnesota, Stetson, Samford. Was Al Thornton a defensive liability? We all know how great he was on the offensive end, but Florida State's defense improved from a mediocre unit (55th) to a very strong one this season (13th) with the same unit less Thornton. Of course that's far too simplistic as Thornton racked up blocks, steals and defensive rebounds. Even on a team where the four players with the most minutes are 6-3 or shorter, Florida State has clamped down on its opponents' shooting. Watch for that in conference play.
Boston College (5-1): beat Michigan, lost to Providence. Boston College would have a nice defense if it were 1980 and three pointers didn't exist. But they do, and the Eagles have been torched from long range to the tune of 36.8% on the season including 12-23 in their first loss of the season to Providence. Boston College has some guards that can fill it, but they need more defense.
Georgia Tech (3-4): lost to Indiana and Vanderbilt. The Jackets blew a late lead on the road against Indiana before being throttled by Vandy. The defense has been atrocious, giving up 1.09 points per possession and ranking outside the top 200 in nearly every meaningful category.
Virginia Tech (3-3): beat North Carolina-Ashville, lost to Penn State. It's a growing year with four freshmen in the top six. Jeff Allen has been a force and Hank Thorns and Malcolm Delaney have both shown some signs in the backcourt. It seems to be a recurring theme, but once again, the defense is not good on this team right now. The offense is not much better for a team that never takes a trip to the line.
Wake Forest (5-1): beat Iowa, South Carolina-Upstate, lost to Charlotte. The Deacs' offense was disastrous in the win over Iowa and the loss to Charlotte, piling up just 119 points in 145 possessions over the two games. If they couldn't rebound on the offensive glass as well as they do, it would be an even longer season.
Maryland goes down in BB&T again
It's an annual rite of passage for Maryland basketball these days. Every season in early December the team travels to D.C. to play in the BB&T Classic, and every season they come away with a disappointing result. After losses to George Washington and Notre Dame in the past two seasons, the Verizon Center was once again unkind. This time the result was a loss to Virginia Commonwealth to fall to 2-7 in the event over the past five years.
Maryland played what was - by far - its worse defensive game of the season, allowing better than 1.11 points per possession. The Terrapin backcourt was torched in both halves by their VCU counterparts, first by Jamal Shuler and then by '07 NCAA Tournament hero Eric Maynor. Maryland went to its little used zone defense which the Rams effectively busted with threes, shooting 6 of 10 in the first half. After switching back to the man-to-man, Maynor - who didn't have a field goal in the first half - put 23 points on the board to help VCU pull away from a tie game at halftime.
Greivis Vasquez and James Gist once again had a subpar game, combining to shoot 7-24 from the field with 8 turnovers. Boom Osby was the star of the game for the losing team, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Cliff Tucker continued to put together a case for more playing time, scoring 14 points to go with 7 rebounds and 2 assists in just 14 minutes.
The team's next opponent will be a local one, as Morgan State comes to the Comcast Center for the first time ever. The two teams last played in 1994 with the Joe Smith-led Terrapins rolling to a 138-80 win in Cole Field House.
Maryland played what was - by far - its worse defensive game of the season, allowing better than 1.11 points per possession. The Terrapin backcourt was torched in both halves by their VCU counterparts, first by Jamal Shuler and then by '07 NCAA Tournament hero Eric Maynor. Maryland went to its little used zone defense which the Rams effectively busted with threes, shooting 6 of 10 in the first half. After switching back to the man-to-man, Maynor - who didn't have a field goal in the first half - put 23 points on the board to help VCU pull away from a tie game at halftime.
Greivis Vasquez and James Gist once again had a subpar game, combining to shoot 7-24 from the field with 8 turnovers. Boom Osby was the star of the game for the losing team, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Cliff Tucker continued to put together a case for more playing time, scoring 14 points to go with 7 rebounds and 2 assists in just 14 minutes.
The team's next opponent will be a local one, as Morgan State comes to the Comcast Center for the first time ever. The two teams last played in 1994 with the Joe Smith-led Terrapins rolling to a 138-80 win in Cole Field House.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wrapping up the tournaments
Thanksgiving week is long over and so are most of the early season exempt tournaments. These events are often resume builders for March (see Butler in the 2006 NIT Season Tipoff) so let's look at the winners of each event a little bit more.
NIT Season Tipoff - Texas A&M. I expected the Aggies to take a bit of a step back after losing star Acie Law, but they impressed with big wins in New York over Washington and Ohio State. While super freshman DeAndre Jordan has been super on the boards (14.4 per 40 mins) and from the field (83.3 FG%) upperclassmen Josh Carter, Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk are the leading scorers. This team is still playing stifling defense so expect to see them in March.
Maui Invitational - Duke. I was one who thought that the Blue Devils might have been a bit overrated with people putting them in their preseason top 10. It's still early, but any top 10 wouldn't be credible without having Duke present at this point. Coach K has his team running more than it did last year, back to Duke basketball. Kyle Singler lived up to his hype in winning the tournament MVP, and if Coach K finally decides to take advantage of his depth this team will be dangerous.
College Basketball Experience Classic - UCLA. When you're a preseason #2, you're expected to win big games early in the season. When you're without two of your top guards, that will hardly be taken into consideration by media and fans. Darren Collison and Michael Roll were missed, but the Bruins still handled Maryland and beat a good Michigan State team in the finals. Another star freshman - this time Kevin Love - has paced the team by averaging a double-double through 7 games. By the way, this team still plays some great defense. Imagine that coming from a Ben Howland coached team.
Great Alaska Shootout - Butler. I don't have to like Butler. And after beating Maryland last March, I'm not going to do it. What you must do, however, is give them their due as a legitimate top 25 team. The Bulldogs win games with a simple formula - slow the tempo, protect the rock like the Hope Diamond, and take lots of threes. Butler doesn't have much size which shows up in their defense and rebounding, but that deadly efficient offense is enough to beat a team when it's running smoothly. Wins over Virginia Tech and Texas Tech in the final two rounds aren't landmark wins, especially compared to what the team did last season, but they are strong wins for Butler early in the year.
Old Spice Classic - North Carolina State. The Pack didn't make it easy with late wins over South Carolina and Villanova in their last two games, but freshman JJ Hickson led them to victory in the second edition of the Orlando based event. NC State has no experience at point guard so expect some growing pains - turnovers have been a problem so far. The talent is there to finish high in the ACC.
US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam - Baylor. The Bears have not been good in a long time. The program is coming off of one of the worst scandals of all-time and has won as many as 6 Big XII games just once this decade. Scott Drew is seeking to change that, and he has laid the groundwork with solid recruiting classes including freshman Lacedarius Dunn and sophomore Demond Carter, both out of Louisiana. Wins over Wichita State, Notre Dame and Winthrop, all recent NCAA Tournament teams is cause for celebration for a team that has beat just one tournament team in the last four seasons. In all liklihood Baylor is still a season or two away from truly competing in the Big XII, but an NIT berth may be in the cards.
Anaheim Classic - USC. Lose to Mercer by double digits on your home court to open the season and you have to prove you deserved that top 25 preseason ranking. The Trojans didn't quite do that in Anaheim, but their championship game thrashing of Southern Illinois showed their potential. The top seven in minutes for USC are all either freshman or sophomore. Star freshman OJ Mayo (59.2 eFG%, 21.8 ppg) has been an offensive force early on despite taking terrible care of the ball, turning it over 4.7 times per game.
South Padre Island Invitational - Vanderbilt. Andrew Ogilvy is the best freshman that no one is hyping. He's an international player that hails from Australia so right now Fran Fraschilla might be the only analyst at the Worldwide Leader that knows who he is, but if he continues to make two-thirds of his shots that will change quickly. Losing Derrick Byars hurts this team, but they can still get back to level they were at last season with Shan Foster and Ogilvy leading the charge.
Puerto Rico Tipoff Classic - Miami. The Hurricanes are still number one in Ken Pomeroy's version of the RPI. Early wins over Marist, VCU and Providence are all solid for this team though they did struggle with Morgan State and Alabama State after returning from the island (albeit without Jack McClinton). McClinton is the star and a returning All-ACC player, but he will need to be even better this season for Miami to contend in the ACC.
Chicago Invitational Challenge - Xavier. This one was most notable for the Musketeers' rout of then-top 10 Indiana. Xavier went to the tournament last season and came excruciatingly close to upending Ohio State. Now with four seniors in their top six, Xavier is the clear favorite in the Atlantic Ten and should make a return trip to the Big Dance.
Las Vegas Invitational - North Carolina. Louisville losing in the semifinals of the championship round took away the made-for-TV top 10 matchup with North Carolina. The Tar Heels didn't roll in the finals, though, fighting off a feisty BYU team deep into the second half. The story early for the Heels is that they look like a top 5 team. No surprise there. UNC has played well offensively and defensively and shows little weakness in its component numbers with only their opponents eFG% (107th) ranking outside the nation's top 100. Watch out for their game against Kentucky at Rupp Arena where they will likely be without Tywon Lawson.
Legends Classic - Texas. In yet another new event, the Longhorns ran Tennessee out of the building in the finals. They're still an offensive force, even without Kevin Durant, but the defense would still seem to need some tweaks, at least in the early going.
NIT Season Tipoff - Texas A&M. I expected the Aggies to take a bit of a step back after losing star Acie Law, but they impressed with big wins in New York over Washington and Ohio State. While super freshman DeAndre Jordan has been super on the boards (14.4 per 40 mins) and from the field (83.3 FG%) upperclassmen Josh Carter, Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk are the leading scorers. This team is still playing stifling defense so expect to see them in March.
Maui Invitational - Duke. I was one who thought that the Blue Devils might have been a bit overrated with people putting them in their preseason top 10. It's still early, but any top 10 wouldn't be credible without having Duke present at this point. Coach K has his team running more than it did last year, back to Duke basketball. Kyle Singler lived up to his hype in winning the tournament MVP, and if Coach K finally decides to take advantage of his depth this team will be dangerous.
College Basketball Experience Classic - UCLA. When you're a preseason #2, you're expected to win big games early in the season. When you're without two of your top guards, that will hardly be taken into consideration by media and fans. Darren Collison and Michael Roll were missed, but the Bruins still handled Maryland and beat a good Michigan State team in the finals. Another star freshman - this time Kevin Love - has paced the team by averaging a double-double through 7 games. By the way, this team still plays some great defense. Imagine that coming from a Ben Howland coached team.
Great Alaska Shootout - Butler. I don't have to like Butler. And after beating Maryland last March, I'm not going to do it. What you must do, however, is give them their due as a legitimate top 25 team. The Bulldogs win games with a simple formula - slow the tempo, protect the rock like the Hope Diamond, and take lots of threes. Butler doesn't have much size which shows up in their defense and rebounding, but that deadly efficient offense is enough to beat a team when it's running smoothly. Wins over Virginia Tech and Texas Tech in the final two rounds aren't landmark wins, especially compared to what the team did last season, but they are strong wins for Butler early in the year.
Old Spice Classic - North Carolina State. The Pack didn't make it easy with late wins over South Carolina and Villanova in their last two games, but freshman JJ Hickson led them to victory in the second edition of the Orlando based event. NC State has no experience at point guard so expect some growing pains - turnovers have been a problem so far. The talent is there to finish high in the ACC.
US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam - Baylor. The Bears have not been good in a long time. The program is coming off of one of the worst scandals of all-time and has won as many as 6 Big XII games just once this decade. Scott Drew is seeking to change that, and he has laid the groundwork with solid recruiting classes including freshman Lacedarius Dunn and sophomore Demond Carter, both out of Louisiana. Wins over Wichita State, Notre Dame and Winthrop, all recent NCAA Tournament teams is cause for celebration for a team that has beat just one tournament team in the last four seasons. In all liklihood Baylor is still a season or two away from truly competing in the Big XII, but an NIT berth may be in the cards.
Anaheim Classic - USC. Lose to Mercer by double digits on your home court to open the season and you have to prove you deserved that top 25 preseason ranking. The Trojans didn't quite do that in Anaheim, but their championship game thrashing of Southern Illinois showed their potential. The top seven in minutes for USC are all either freshman or sophomore. Star freshman OJ Mayo (59.2 eFG%, 21.8 ppg) has been an offensive force early on despite taking terrible care of the ball, turning it over 4.7 times per game.
South Padre Island Invitational - Vanderbilt. Andrew Ogilvy is the best freshman that no one is hyping. He's an international player that hails from Australia so right now Fran Fraschilla might be the only analyst at the Worldwide Leader that knows who he is, but if he continues to make two-thirds of his shots that will change quickly. Losing Derrick Byars hurts this team, but they can still get back to level they were at last season with Shan Foster and Ogilvy leading the charge.
Puerto Rico Tipoff Classic - Miami. The Hurricanes are still number one in Ken Pomeroy's version of the RPI. Early wins over Marist, VCU and Providence are all solid for this team though they did struggle with Morgan State and Alabama State after returning from the island (albeit without Jack McClinton). McClinton is the star and a returning All-ACC player, but he will need to be even better this season for Miami to contend in the ACC.
Chicago Invitational Challenge - Xavier. This one was most notable for the Musketeers' rout of then-top 10 Indiana. Xavier went to the tournament last season and came excruciatingly close to upending Ohio State. Now with four seniors in their top six, Xavier is the clear favorite in the Atlantic Ten and should make a return trip to the Big Dance.
Las Vegas Invitational - North Carolina. Louisville losing in the semifinals of the championship round took away the made-for-TV top 10 matchup with North Carolina. The Tar Heels didn't roll in the finals, though, fighting off a feisty BYU team deep into the second half. The story early for the Heels is that they look like a top 5 team. No surprise there. UNC has played well offensively and defensively and shows little weakness in its component numbers with only their opponents eFG% (107th) ranking outside the nation's top 100. Watch out for their game against Kentucky at Rupp Arena where they will likely be without Tywon Lawson.
Legends Classic - Texas. In yet another new event, the Longhorns ran Tennessee out of the building in the finals. They're still an offensive force, even without Kevin Durant, but the defense would still seem to need some tweaks, at least in the early going.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Terps win, ACC rolls
The Terps put together their best game of the season on Wednesday night to beat Illinois, 69-61, at the Comcast Center. Maryland put together a 40 minute game on their way to the team's first big win of the young season.
The defense was again stifling, limiting Illinois to just 24 of 72 shooting from the field while keeping them off the free throw line in a game that saw a very low number of fouls called. On offense the team played well enough, scoring just under a point per possession against what should be a very strong defensive team. Maryland limited turnovers for the second straight game, giving up the ball just 12 times in an estimated 70 possessions.
Individually, Eric Hayes may have been the player of the game, scoring 16 points and hitting 4 three point shots, displaying a renewed shooting touch that carried over from the Lehigh game. Freshman center Braxton Dupree got his second consecutive start and made the most of it once again, scoring 10 points and grabbing 5 rebounds in just 18 minutes of action.
Cliff Tucker was the other freshman to have a breakout game, scoring 9 points and snaring 5 rebounds in just 12 minutes in relief of Landon Milbourne. Tucker showed more assertiveness in the offense and also displayed previously unseen shooting skill on a few occasions. Milbourne again failed to get comfortable and make an impact on the game in his time, and it would seem that Tucker should soon push for more time.
Greivis Vasquez had another mixed bag of a game. The good was dishing 10 assists against just 2 turnovers, running the offense smoothly, and having 7 rebounds. The bad was an atrocious 2 for 14 shooting night that included another o-fer on seven shots from behind the arc. That puts him at an obscene 7-39 from deep through 7 games.
On the defensive end the Terps gave up a few open shots from the perimeter while letting Illinois get very little in the way of good looks close to the basket. No doubt the Illini are not the best of offensive teams, to put it kindly, but another stifling defensive effort (with a nice performance from an emerging Jerome Burney) leads one to believe that the defense may once again be very good.
In the shocker of the day, the ACC once again won the "challenge" with the Big Televen winning 8 of the 11 games over the past three days. At this point shouldn't the ACC be looking to more competitive series against the SEC or the Pac-Ten?
The defense was again stifling, limiting Illinois to just 24 of 72 shooting from the field while keeping them off the free throw line in a game that saw a very low number of fouls called. On offense the team played well enough, scoring just under a point per possession against what should be a very strong defensive team. Maryland limited turnovers for the second straight game, giving up the ball just 12 times in an estimated 70 possessions.
Individually, Eric Hayes may have been the player of the game, scoring 16 points and hitting 4 three point shots, displaying a renewed shooting touch that carried over from the Lehigh game. Freshman center Braxton Dupree got his second consecutive start and made the most of it once again, scoring 10 points and grabbing 5 rebounds in just 18 minutes of action.
Cliff Tucker was the other freshman to have a breakout game, scoring 9 points and snaring 5 rebounds in just 12 minutes in relief of Landon Milbourne. Tucker showed more assertiveness in the offense and also displayed previously unseen shooting skill on a few occasions. Milbourne again failed to get comfortable and make an impact on the game in his time, and it would seem that Tucker should soon push for more time.
Greivis Vasquez had another mixed bag of a game. The good was dishing 10 assists against just 2 turnovers, running the offense smoothly, and having 7 rebounds. The bad was an atrocious 2 for 14 shooting night that included another o-fer on seven shots from behind the arc. That puts him at an obscene 7-39 from deep through 7 games.
On the defensive end the Terps gave up a few open shots from the perimeter while letting Illinois get very little in the way of good looks close to the basket. No doubt the Illini are not the best of offensive teams, to put it kindly, but another stifling defensive effort (with a nice performance from an emerging Jerome Burney) leads one to believe that the defense may once again be very good.
In the shocker of the day, the ACC once again won the "challenge" with the Big Televen winning 8 of the 11 games over the past three days. At this point shouldn't the ACC be looking to more competitive series against the SEC or the Pac-Ten?
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Terps to take on Illini
For the second straight season Maryland will face Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, this time at Comcast Center. The Illini are currently 4-1, opening the season with consecutive close wins over Northeastern and Hawaii before taking third place in the Maui Invitational with wins over Arizona State and Oklahoma State. Their only loss so far was in the semifinals out in Maui to Duke.
So far Illinois has relied on a balanced scoring attack with Brian Randle, Shaun Pruitt, Chester Frazier, Trent Meachem, Calvin Brock and Rodney Alexander all averaging at least 8 ppg. It's not much of a secret that Illinois likes to play a slow, grind it out game typical of the Big Ten. They rank outside the top 250 in the nation in raw possessions per game for the fifth straight season.
In 2007 the Illini were a terrific defensive team, ranking in the top 5 in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency. They were undone by an offense that ranked ninth in the Big Ten, outside the top 100 in the country. The team has undergone some personnel changes, losing Jamar Smith, Warren Carter and Rich McBride from last season's team. Yet there is no one area where the offensive improvement has taken place. Illinois has improved slightly across the board, improving in all four major categories while posting an excellent OR% and respectable numbers elsewhere. Some of this might be genuine improvement, but at this stage it is too early to tell.
Another subplot to watch, albeit a minor one as it relates to the outcome, is the presence of Jeffrey Jordan on the Illinois bench. The son of the best player of all-time can't do better than walk on at Illinois? Genes aren't everything in this case. Jordan has played sparingly in four games so far, scoring one point and failing to hit a shot from the field. Illinois didn't get Eric Gordon but they did snag Jordan. Fair trade?
So far Illinois has relied on a balanced scoring attack with Brian Randle, Shaun Pruitt, Chester Frazier, Trent Meachem, Calvin Brock and Rodney Alexander all averaging at least 8 ppg. It's not much of a secret that Illinois likes to play a slow, grind it out game typical of the Big Ten. They rank outside the top 250 in the nation in raw possessions per game for the fifth straight season.
In 2007 the Illini were a terrific defensive team, ranking in the top 5 in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency. They were undone by an offense that ranked ninth in the Big Ten, outside the top 100 in the country. The team has undergone some personnel changes, losing Jamar Smith, Warren Carter and Rich McBride from last season's team. Yet there is no one area where the offensive improvement has taken place. Illinois has improved slightly across the board, improving in all four major categories while posting an excellent OR% and respectable numbers elsewhere. Some of this might be genuine improvement, but at this stage it is too early to tell.
Another subplot to watch, albeit a minor one as it relates to the outcome, is the presence of Jeffrey Jordan on the Illinois bench. The son of the best player of all-time can't do better than walk on at Illinois? Genes aren't everything in this case. Jordan has played sparingly in four games so far, scoring one point and failing to hit a shot from the field. Illinois didn't get Eric Gordon but they did snag Jordan. Fair trade?
Monday, November 26, 2007
Top 25 #2
- UCLA
- North Carolina
- Memphis
- Kansas
- Georgetown
- Duke
- Washington State
- Texas A&M
- Texas
- Butler
- Marquette
- Clemson
- Xavier
- Michigan State
- Brigham Young
- North Carolina State
- George Mason
- Louisville
- Indiana
- Tennessee
- Southern California
- Vanderbilt
- Ohio State
- Creighton
- Baylor
Sunday, November 25, 2007
ACC Week 2
Duke (6-0): beat Princeton, Illinois, Marquette, Eastern Kentucky. Duke rolled into Maui and won their fourth Maui Invitational title. In a season loaded with elite freshman, Kyle Singler continued to do his part, scoring 18 points per game in Hawaii to win the tournament's MVP award. Worth noting: Duke is back to its running ways after a year away from that formula, running to the tune of greater than 73 possessions per game. That's the most for the Blue Devils since at least 2003.
Clemson (5-0): beat Old Dominion, Presbyterian, Gardner Webb. The Tigers got another possible NCAA Tournament resume-builder with the win over Old Dominion. Clemson faces very few elite teams, but the rest of the nonconference schedule has plenty of tests with Purdue, South Carolina and Charlotte coming to Littlejohn, a road date with Alabama, and three games in the San Juan Shootout in late Decemeber.
Miami (5-0): beat Providence, Morgan State. Miami nipped Providence to take the inaugural Puerto Rico TipOff Classic before beating a poor Morgan State team by 4 without the services of Jack McClinton. The 'Canes temporarily find themselves atop the RPI standings. We know that one won't last.
North Carolina (5-0): beat Iona, South Carolina State, Old Dominion, Brigham Young. The Heels also won a tournament title, beating a feisty BYU squad to take the Las Vegas Invitational without a showdown with fellow top 10 Louisville. UNC, like Maryland recently, struggled with the deep shot against BYU, hitting just two, although they are averaging over six threes per game in their first five.
Boston College (4-0): beat Mercer, Rhode Island. BC has escaped the big upset so far, but with so many freshman in the rotation playing key roles that might not last. Freshman shooting guard Rakim Sanders, considered just a good recruit, has averaged 16.3 ppg on good shooting numbers (58.6 eFG%) giving the Eagles a potent backcourt with Sanders and star Tyrese Rice.
Wake Forest (3-0): beat North Carolina Central, Winston-Salem State. Wake is another young team with eight of their top nine scorers so far being freshman or sophomores. WF beat two of the newest members of Division I, but not by all that many, winning the two games by 17 and 20 respectively. It will be a growing process for a team that will go on the road for four of its next five games.
Virginia (5-1): beat Drexel, Penn, lost to Seton Hall. The Cavs were upset in the finals of the Philly Hoop Group Classic in a convincing loss to Seton Hall. Virginia has a plethora of backcourt scoring options that should help create a dynamic offense, but the defense will likely be a big question mark. After giving up more than a point per possession (108.9 eff) in a win at Arizona, the Cavs did the same against Seton Hall (eff = 110.5) and lowly 2-4 Penn (eff = 102).
North Carolina State (4-1): beat Rider, South Carolina, Villanova, lost to New Orleans. The Wolfpack dropped out of the rankings with a disastrous loss to New Orleans before bouncing back nicely by taking the Old Spice Classic title including a win over a ranked Villanova team. Freshman sensation JJ Hickson leads the team in scoring at 18.0 ppg through his first five games. But Hickson comes off of the bench and ranks just fourth on the team in minutes which could lead to some tough decisions later in the season.
Florida State (5-2): beat Georgia State, Florida, lost to South Florida. After wrapping up the Glenn Wilkes Classic with a terrible loss to Big East bottom feeder South Florida, FSU came back and took out the defending national champs for the second straight season. It was a good win to be sure, especially in Gainesville, but the early season losses suggest that Florida State could be headed back to the ACC cellar.
Georgia Tech (3-2): beat Notre Dame, lost to Winthrop. The Yellow Jackets took two of three in the Virgin Islands before taking a week off. GT will go on the road for their next three, starting with an ACC-Big Ten Challenge match at highly ranked Indiana. After seeing his scoring drop by over six points per game last season, Anthony Morrow is putting up big numbers, averaging 19.0 ppg while hitting three three-pointers per contest.
Virginia Tech (2-2): beat Eastern Washington, lost to Butler, Gonzaga. Alaska was not kind to the Hokies as they lost to two mid-majors in Butler and Gonzaga. There are lots of young players in the mix, but those young guys will need to learn to play defense in a hurry. Both Gonzaga and Butler averaged about 1.25 points per possession against Virginia Tech. Butler put up 84 points in an overtime game that went just 59 possessions. After ranking in the top 25 in steal percentage each of the past four seasons due to their backcourt of Jamon Gordon and Zabian Dowdell, the Hokies check in at a gruesome 280th in the nation.
Clemson (5-0): beat Old Dominion, Presbyterian, Gardner Webb. The Tigers got another possible NCAA Tournament resume-builder with the win over Old Dominion. Clemson faces very few elite teams, but the rest of the nonconference schedule has plenty of tests with Purdue, South Carolina and Charlotte coming to Littlejohn, a road date with Alabama, and three games in the San Juan Shootout in late Decemeber.
Miami (5-0): beat Providence, Morgan State. Miami nipped Providence to take the inaugural Puerto Rico TipOff Classic before beating a poor Morgan State team by 4 without the services of Jack McClinton. The 'Canes temporarily find themselves atop the RPI standings. We know that one won't last.
North Carolina (5-0): beat Iona, South Carolina State, Old Dominion, Brigham Young. The Heels also won a tournament title, beating a feisty BYU squad to take the Las Vegas Invitational without a showdown with fellow top 10 Louisville. UNC, like Maryland recently, struggled with the deep shot against BYU, hitting just two, although they are averaging over six threes per game in their first five.
Boston College (4-0): beat Mercer, Rhode Island. BC has escaped the big upset so far, but with so many freshman in the rotation playing key roles that might not last. Freshman shooting guard Rakim Sanders, considered just a good recruit, has averaged 16.3 ppg on good shooting numbers (58.6 eFG%) giving the Eagles a potent backcourt with Sanders and star Tyrese Rice.
Wake Forest (3-0): beat North Carolina Central, Winston-Salem State. Wake is another young team with eight of their top nine scorers so far being freshman or sophomores. WF beat two of the newest members of Division I, but not by all that many, winning the two games by 17 and 20 respectively. It will be a growing process for a team that will go on the road for four of its next five games.
Virginia (5-1): beat Drexel, Penn, lost to Seton Hall. The Cavs were upset in the finals of the Philly Hoop Group Classic in a convincing loss to Seton Hall. Virginia has a plethora of backcourt scoring options that should help create a dynamic offense, but the defense will likely be a big question mark. After giving up more than a point per possession (108.9 eff) in a win at Arizona, the Cavs did the same against Seton Hall (eff = 110.5) and lowly 2-4 Penn (eff = 102).
North Carolina State (4-1): beat Rider, South Carolina, Villanova, lost to New Orleans. The Wolfpack dropped out of the rankings with a disastrous loss to New Orleans before bouncing back nicely by taking the Old Spice Classic title including a win over a ranked Villanova team. Freshman sensation JJ Hickson leads the team in scoring at 18.0 ppg through his first five games. But Hickson comes off of the bench and ranks just fourth on the team in minutes which could lead to some tough decisions later in the season.
Florida State (5-2): beat Georgia State, Florida, lost to South Florida. After wrapping up the Glenn Wilkes Classic with a terrible loss to Big East bottom feeder South Florida, FSU came back and took out the defending national champs for the second straight season. It was a good win to be sure, especially in Gainesville, but the early season losses suggest that Florida State could be headed back to the ACC cellar.
Georgia Tech (3-2): beat Notre Dame, lost to Winthrop. The Yellow Jackets took two of three in the Virgin Islands before taking a week off. GT will go on the road for their next three, starting with an ACC-Big Ten Challenge match at highly ranked Indiana. After seeing his scoring drop by over six points per game last season, Anthony Morrow is putting up big numbers, averaging 19.0 ppg while hitting three three-pointers per contest.
Virginia Tech (2-2): beat Eastern Washington, lost to Butler, Gonzaga. Alaska was not kind to the Hokies as they lost to two mid-majors in Butler and Gonzaga. There are lots of young players in the mix, but those young guys will need to learn to play defense in a hurry. Both Gonzaga and Butler averaged about 1.25 points per possession against Virginia Tech. Butler put up 84 points in an overtime game that went just 59 possessions. After ranking in the top 25 in steal percentage each of the past four seasons due to their backcourt of Jamon Gordon and Zabian Dowdell, the Hokies check in at a gruesome 280th in the nation.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Kansas State vs George Mason
There might not be anything in sports better than Feast Week on ESPN.
That might be an exaggeration, but the annual plethora of college games on the ESPN family of networks during Thanksgiving week has only gotten better with the NCAA loosening restrictions on exempt tournaments which had added new tournaments to the old staples.
One of the more interesting games of the week so far was the showdown between nationally ranked Kansas State and upstart mid-major George Mason in the quarterfinal round of the Old Spice Classic in Orlando.
Kansas State, a once dead program, has been resuscitated with the addition of perhaps the top freshman in the country, Michael Beasley, as well as one of the top recruits of 2006, Bill Walker. The rebuilding job was jumpstarted by since departed Bob Huggins during his only season in Manhattan. Now Frank Martin takes over the job (aided by ace recruiter Dalonte Hill, the man who delivered Beasley to the Wildcats).
George Mason, on the other hand, doesn't have that kind of star power. But what they do have is a deep, well-rounded, veteran team. Senior guard Folarin Campbell and star senior big man Will Thomas (my favorite non-Terp in the country) are the two remaining starters from the Patriots' improbable run to the 2006 Final Four. Campbell is joined in the backcourt by John Vaughn and Jordan Carter among others, giving the Patriots the talent and experience to compete with most teams in the country.
In the end George Mason came out with a convincing win, building a comfortable working margin over the last eight minutes of the first half with Michael Beasley out of the game due to foul trouble, before keeping the Wildcats at bay in the second half for the double digit victory.
Beasley was everything that had been promised, scoring 30 points despite playing limited minutes due to foul trouble. And although he didn't get his third 20 rebound game in four games, he still showed a knack for position and the raw strength that makes him a tremendous rebounder. But even with a dominating performance from Beasley, Kansas State still couldn't even make the game interesting in the final minutes. The Wildcats will contend for at least a tournament berth just because of Beasley, but at this point the Wildcats did not look to be a top 25 squad.
George Mason, on the other hand, might be a top 25 caliber team. Announcer Fran Fraschilla couldn't say enough good things about Will Thomas' skill and basketball IQ. Thomas displayed a knack for getting himself into position to get the ball, scoring in a variety of ways in the post while also getting to the line. He went right at Beasley to draw Beasley's 4th foul and also showed a great ability to pass out of the double team and find the open man. Meanwhile the Patriot's backcourt had a number of scorers who were willing to drive and able to hit the open three.
GMU lost a competitive game to a quality Villanova team in the semifinals tonight and will face South Carolina in the third place game of the tournament this weekend, but this is still a team that will play in March, perhaps even if they don't win the CAA.
That might be an exaggeration, but the annual plethora of college games on the ESPN family of networks during Thanksgiving week has only gotten better with the NCAA loosening restrictions on exempt tournaments which had added new tournaments to the old staples.
One of the more interesting games of the week so far was the showdown between nationally ranked Kansas State and upstart mid-major George Mason in the quarterfinal round of the Old Spice Classic in Orlando.
Kansas State, a once dead program, has been resuscitated with the addition of perhaps the top freshman in the country, Michael Beasley, as well as one of the top recruits of 2006, Bill Walker. The rebuilding job was jumpstarted by since departed Bob Huggins during his only season in Manhattan. Now Frank Martin takes over the job (aided by ace recruiter Dalonte Hill, the man who delivered Beasley to the Wildcats).
George Mason, on the other hand, doesn't have that kind of star power. But what they do have is a deep, well-rounded, veteran team. Senior guard Folarin Campbell and star senior big man Will Thomas (my favorite non-Terp in the country) are the two remaining starters from the Patriots' improbable run to the 2006 Final Four. Campbell is joined in the backcourt by John Vaughn and Jordan Carter among others, giving the Patriots the talent and experience to compete with most teams in the country.
In the end George Mason came out with a convincing win, building a comfortable working margin over the last eight minutes of the first half with Michael Beasley out of the game due to foul trouble, before keeping the Wildcats at bay in the second half for the double digit victory.
Beasley was everything that had been promised, scoring 30 points despite playing limited minutes due to foul trouble. And although he didn't get his third 20 rebound game in four games, he still showed a knack for position and the raw strength that makes him a tremendous rebounder. But even with a dominating performance from Beasley, Kansas State still couldn't even make the game interesting in the final minutes. The Wildcats will contend for at least a tournament berth just because of Beasley, but at this point the Wildcats did not look to be a top 25 squad.
George Mason, on the other hand, might be a top 25 caliber team. Announcer Fran Fraschilla couldn't say enough good things about Will Thomas' skill and basketball IQ. Thomas displayed a knack for getting himself into position to get the ball, scoring in a variety of ways in the post while also getting to the line. He went right at Beasley to draw Beasley's 4th foul and also showed a great ability to pass out of the double team and find the open man. Meanwhile the Patriot's backcourt had a number of scorers who were willing to drive and able to hit the open three.
GMU lost a competitive game to a quality Villanova team in the semifinals tonight and will face South Carolina in the third place game of the tournament this weekend, but this is still a team that will play in March, perhaps even if they don't win the CAA.
Terps 72, Lehigh 51
Coming off of a terrible stretch of two games in Kansas City to start the week, the Terps returned home to the Comcast Center to play a game the day after Thanksgiving as has become something of a tradition for the team. The opponent was Lehigh, a team that was neither big name power conference team like UCLA or a feisty mid-major like Northeastern.
The game had an odd feel to it thanks in no small part to the sparse holiday crowd. Absent from the lineup was Boom Osby who sat out with an illness. In his place, freshman center Braxton Dupree got his first collegiate start. Dupree responded with a breakout performance, scoring 14 points (including a team high 10 in the first half) to go with 5 boards. Dupree established position on the inside and looked much more comfortable with the ball in his hands, following up missed shots and going strong to the goal in order to draw fouls. The young center made a strong case for increased minutes in the future. In the upcoming nonconference games against the likes of Morgan State, Savannah State and Delaware, among others, Dupree should be receiving extensive minutes to gain experience that will benefit him in ACC play.
Maryland was up by only seven at halftime against the Mountain Hawks due largely to poor perimeter defense, but in the second half the Terps put the game away with stifling defense. Greivis Vasquez poured in 17 of his team-high 22 in the second half, the fifth time in six games he has led the Terps in scoring. Vasquez also showed improved decision making in turning the ball over just two times while passing up poor shots. In fact the entire team showed a committment to avoiding turnovers with just 12 in the entire game, a marked departure from the first five games of the season.
Jerome Burney was the first big man off the bench in his return from an eye injury that cost him the previous two games this week. Burney played his most extensive minutes of the season alongside fellow freshman Dino Gregory in what was a thin frontcourt without Osby and the still-injured Dave Neal and Shane Walker not seeing action until garbage time.
Cliff Tucker and Adrian Bowie also played extensive minutes in leiu of Landon Milbourne, combining for 8 points. Bowie in particular played a large role in shutting down Lehigh on defense in the opening portion of the second half that proved to be the difference in the game.
The team's next game will be at the Comcast Center this Wednesday against Illinois in the ACC-Big Ten challenge. That game, along with next Sunday's game against Virginia Commonwealth in the BB&T classic, may represent the Terps' last chance for a marquee out of conference win . For that reason the contest will take on added importance. Expect a breakdown of that game in the coming days. The team played perhaps their best overall game of the season, even allowing for the weaker competition, and showed some signs of busting out of the malaise of the past two weeks.
The game had an odd feel to it thanks in no small part to the sparse holiday crowd. Absent from the lineup was Boom Osby who sat out with an illness. In his place, freshman center Braxton Dupree got his first collegiate start. Dupree responded with a breakout performance, scoring 14 points (including a team high 10 in the first half) to go with 5 boards. Dupree established position on the inside and looked much more comfortable with the ball in his hands, following up missed shots and going strong to the goal in order to draw fouls. The young center made a strong case for increased minutes in the future. In the upcoming nonconference games against the likes of Morgan State, Savannah State and Delaware, among others, Dupree should be receiving extensive minutes to gain experience that will benefit him in ACC play.
Maryland was up by only seven at halftime against the Mountain Hawks due largely to poor perimeter defense, but in the second half the Terps put the game away with stifling defense. Greivis Vasquez poured in 17 of his team-high 22 in the second half, the fifth time in six games he has led the Terps in scoring. Vasquez also showed improved decision making in turning the ball over just two times while passing up poor shots. In fact the entire team showed a committment to avoiding turnovers with just 12 in the entire game, a marked departure from the first five games of the season.
Jerome Burney was the first big man off the bench in his return from an eye injury that cost him the previous two games this week. Burney played his most extensive minutes of the season alongside fellow freshman Dino Gregory in what was a thin frontcourt without Osby and the still-injured Dave Neal and Shane Walker not seeing action until garbage time.
Cliff Tucker and Adrian Bowie also played extensive minutes in leiu of Landon Milbourne, combining for 8 points. Bowie in particular played a large role in shutting down Lehigh on defense in the opening portion of the second half that proved to be the difference in the game.
The team's next game will be at the Comcast Center this Wednesday against Illinois in the ACC-Big Ten challenge. That game, along with next Sunday's game against Virginia Commonwealth in the BB&T classic, may represent the Terps' last chance for a marquee out of conference win . For that reason the contest will take on added importance. Expect a breakdown of that game in the coming days. The team played perhaps their best overall game of the season, even allowing for the weaker competition, and showed some signs of busting out of the malaise of the past two weeks.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Terps lose 2
The Terps got a scare from Hampton at home last Monday in the quarterfinals of the CBE Classic and almost didn't make it to Kansas City for the championship rounds. When they got there, the team put together a display of sub-par (at best) basketball in two losses to #1 UCLA (71-59) in the semifinals and to Missouri (84-70) in the 3rd place game.
The shooting from beyond the arc was terrible in both games and could prove to be the biggest flaw in this year's team. Only a late triple from Eric Hayes against UCLA saved the Terps from their first 0-fer from behind the arc in nine years. Landon Milbourne's three in garbage time against Missouri did the same in the second game. Maryland shot a combined 2 of 26 from deep in Kansas City including numerous open misses. The good news is that simple regression to the mean will help the team improve as the near misses go down more often. But even then, it's clear that this team will struggle from deep after the loss of Mike Jones and even DJ Strawberry.
In part that is a result of the Gary Williams philosophy. His offense stresses getting the big men plenty of touches, getting mid-range shots for guards and creating points in transition and off of turnovers. His recruiting over the past two seasons has seen an influx of guards who excel at slashing and distributing but have weaknesses shooting.
The team continued to be careless with the ball resulting in dozens of turnovers over the two games. It was a combination of several things, not just one area of weakness. Passes were ill-advised or lazy. The frontcourt players tried to do to much and gave the ball away to the opponent rather than back to their own guards. And the Terps had at least seven offensive fouls against Missouri. Perhaps this isn't surprising given the opponents. UCLA might be the best defensive team in the nation and Missouri's 40 minutes of Hell offshoot will cause turnovers if nothing else. However the Terps were extremely careless in the first three games as well.
The loss on Monday night was expected. Even without Collison and Roll, UCLA is a top 15 quality team. The loss to Missouri stings a bit more though. It isn't entirely unexpected, although Missouri leading from the opening tip is a bit surprising, but with only Illinois and possibly VCU or Holy Cross left on the nonconference schedule as potential quality wins, losing two games in Kansas City could hurt if they find themselves on the bubble in March.
In game one the offense (OEff = 78.5) was wretched while the defense (DEff = 94.5) had a respectable effort. The consolation game saw some improvement on offense (OEff = 87) which was counterbalanced by the teams worst defensive effort (OEff - 104.5) of the season.
The trip was not without positives, though they were admittedly few and far between. Offensively, Maryland got to the line a good deal in both games and began to convert more often once there, hitting on 35 of 41 shots (85.3%). Rebounding also improved markedly against Missouri as the Terps owned the defensive glass while also rebounding a fair number of the own missed shots.
The shooting from beyond the arc was terrible in both games and could prove to be the biggest flaw in this year's team. Only a late triple from Eric Hayes against UCLA saved the Terps from their first 0-fer from behind the arc in nine years. Landon Milbourne's three in garbage time against Missouri did the same in the second game. Maryland shot a combined 2 of 26 from deep in Kansas City including numerous open misses. The good news is that simple regression to the mean will help the team improve as the near misses go down more often. But even then, it's clear that this team will struggle from deep after the loss of Mike Jones and even DJ Strawberry.
In part that is a result of the Gary Williams philosophy. His offense stresses getting the big men plenty of touches, getting mid-range shots for guards and creating points in transition and off of turnovers. His recruiting over the past two seasons has seen an influx of guards who excel at slashing and distributing but have weaknesses shooting.
The team continued to be careless with the ball resulting in dozens of turnovers over the two games. It was a combination of several things, not just one area of weakness. Passes were ill-advised or lazy. The frontcourt players tried to do to much and gave the ball away to the opponent rather than back to their own guards. And the Terps had at least seven offensive fouls against Missouri. Perhaps this isn't surprising given the opponents. UCLA might be the best defensive team in the nation and Missouri's 40 minutes of Hell offshoot will cause turnovers if nothing else. However the Terps were extremely careless in the first three games as well.
The loss on Monday night was expected. Even without Collison and Roll, UCLA is a top 15 quality team. The loss to Missouri stings a bit more though. It isn't entirely unexpected, although Missouri leading from the opening tip is a bit surprising, but with only Illinois and possibly VCU or Holy Cross left on the nonconference schedule as potential quality wins, losing two games in Kansas City could hurt if they find themselves on the bubble in March.
In game one the offense (OEff = 78.5) was wretched while the defense (DEff = 94.5) had a respectable effort. The consolation game saw some improvement on offense (OEff = 87) which was counterbalanced by the teams worst defensive effort (OEff - 104.5) of the season.
The trip was not without positives, though they were admittedly few and far between. Offensively, Maryland got to the line a good deal in both games and began to convert more often once there, hitting on 35 of 41 shots (85.3%). Rebounding also improved markedly against Missouri as the Terps owned the defensive glass while also rebounding a fair number of the own missed shots.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Atlantic Sun Domination?
The Atlantic Sun is usually just your run of the mill low-major Division I conference. They're almost always outside of the top 20 in the RPI's conference rankings and don't sniff ever an at-large bid. But so far this southeastern conference with constantly changing membership has pulled off four upsets of BCS conference teams.
The first was Gardner-Webb stunning a ranked Kentucky team at Rupp Arena in the opening rounds of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. This was a team that was bad enough to post a 9-21 record last season en route to finishing 7th in the conference. Then Mercer - another sub .500 conference team - went to USC and beat the Trojans to spoil OJ Mayo's debut. Both of these wins were by double digits. Not exactly lucky wins.
The latest two wins were pulled off by defending conference champ Belmont, winning at Cincy and at Alabama over the last week. Neither of those teams are expected to be as good as Kentucky or USC, but wins at high-major programs for a team like Belmont are always something special.
Of course the Atlantic Sun is still just 13-29 against Division I teams this season so there's only so much to be excited about. But either way, four wins over name programs in two weeks is amazing for this conference.
The first was Gardner-Webb stunning a ranked Kentucky team at Rupp Arena in the opening rounds of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. This was a team that was bad enough to post a 9-21 record last season en route to finishing 7th in the conference. Then Mercer - another sub .500 conference team - went to USC and beat the Trojans to spoil OJ Mayo's debut. Both of these wins were by double digits. Not exactly lucky wins.
The latest two wins were pulled off by defending conference champ Belmont, winning at Cincy and at Alabama over the last week. Neither of those teams are expected to be as good as Kentucky or USC, but wins at high-major programs for a team like Belmont are always something special.
Of course the Atlantic Sun is still just 13-29 against Division I teams this season so there's only so much to be excited about. But either way, four wins over name programs in two weeks is amazing for this conference.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
In-Season Tournaments
COACHES VS CANCER CLASSIC
Richmond 44, Maine 42
Memphis 102, Tennessee-Martin 71
Gardner-Webb 69, Alabama A&M 55
Kentucky 67, Central Arkansas 40
Buffalo 89, Ohio Valley 82
Connecticut 69, Morgan State 65
Denver 76, East Central 75
Oklahoma 71, San Francisco 55
Tennessee-Martin 66, Maine 62
Central Arkansas 69, Alabama A&M 59
Morgan State 77, Ohio Valley 66
San Francisco 87, East Central 70
Memphis 80, Richmond 63
Gardner-Webb 84, Kentucky 68
Connecticut 82, Buffalo 57
Oklahoma 80, Denver 50
Memphis 63, Oklahoma 53
Connecticut 78, Gardner Webb 66
Oklahoma 69, Gardner-Webb 55
Memphis 81, Connecticut 70
NIT SEASON TIPOFF
Columbia 47, Delaware State 41
Ohio State 91, Wisconsin-Green Bay 68
Saint Joseph's 86, Fairleigh Dickinson 66
Syracuse 97, Siena 89
UTEP 77, Texas A&M-CC 62
Texas A&M 67, Oral Roberts 53
Utah 77, High Point 64
Washington 88, New Jersey Tech 47
Siena 88, Fairleigh Dickinson 66
Wisconsin-Green Bay 70, Delaware State 50
Texas A&M-CC 86, Oral Roberts 81
High Point 75, New Jersey Tech 53
Syracuse 72, Saint Joseph's 69
Ohio State 68, Columbia 54
Texas A&M 81, UTEP 76
Washington 83, Utah 77
Texas A&M 77, Washington 63
Ohio State 79, Syracuse 65
Syracuse 91, Washington 85
Texas A&M 70, Ohio State 47
COLLEGE BASKETBALL EXPERIENCE CLASSIC
Hampton 72, Tulsa 55
Maryland 79, North Florida 50
Fordham 76, Central Missouri 66
Missouri 87, Central Michigan 76
Cal State San Bernadino 71, Weber State 59
UCLA 83, Youngstown State 52
Louisiana-Monroe 60, Northern Michigan 53
Michigan State 86, Chicago State 53
Tulsa 83, North Florida 66
Central Missouri 75, Central Michigan 70
Chicago State 80, Northern Michigan 50
Youngstown State 69, Weber State 65
Maryland 70, Hampton 64
Missouri 79, Fordham 55
Michigan State 83, Louisiana-Monroe 65
UCLA 76, Cal State San Bernadino 41
UCLA 71, Maryland 59
Michigan State 86, Missouri 83
Missouri 84, Maryland 70
UCLA 68, Michigan State 63
OLD SPICE CLASSIC
South Carolina 74, Penn State 67
North Carolina State 72, Rider 63
Villanova 76, Central Florida 68
George Mason 87, Kansas State 77
Rider 82, Penn State 73
Kansas State 73, Central Florida 71
North Carolina State 63, South Carolina 61
Villanova 84, George Mason 76
Central Florida 70, Penn State 59
Kansas State 82, Rider 69
George Mason 69, South Carolina 68
ANAHEIM CLASSIC
Mississippi State 68, UC-Irvine 53
Southern Illinois 63, Chattanooga 41
Miami (OH) 64, South Alabama 59
USC 60, San Diego 50
South Alabama 77, San Diego 55
Chattanooga 85, UC-Irvine 80
Southern Illinois 63, Mississippi State 49
USC 57, Miami (OH) 53
San Diego 60, UC-Irvine 57
TOP OF THE WORLD CLASSIC
Tennessee State 78, Alaska-Fairbanks 64
Colorado State 69, Oregon State 56
Akron 64, South Carolina-Upstate 60
Portland State 75, IUPUI 73
Alaska-Fairbanks 62, Oregon State 60
IUPUI 80, South Carolina-Upstate 54
Portland State 66, Akron 63
Colorado State 87, Tennessee State 68
Oregon State 65, South Carolina-Upstate 46
IUPUI 82, Alaska-Fairbanks 47
Akron 74, Tennessee State 72
Colorado State 64, Portland State 63
US VIRGIN ISLANDS PARADISE JAM
Georgia Tech 82, Charlotte 77
Winthrop 72, Illinois-Chicago 58
Baylor 64, Wichita State 55
Notre Dame 76, Monmouth 33
Charlotte 64, Illinois-Chicago 63
Monmouth 59, Wichita State 50
Winthrop 79, Georgia Tech 73
Baylor 68, Notre Dame 64
Wichita State 67, Illinois-Chicago 60
Monmouth 58, Charlotte 56
Georgia Tech 70, Notre Dame 69
Baylor 62, Winthrop 54
PUERTO RICO TIP-OFF CLASSIC
Virginia Commonwealth 73, Houston 72
Miami 85, Marist 61
Providence 66, Temple 64
Arkansas 75, College of Charleston 59
Houston 64, Marist 58
College of Charleston 79, Temple 76
Miami 69, Virginia Commonwealth 63
Providence 67, Arkansas 51
Temple 73, Marist 69
Houston 84, College of Charleston 69
Arkansas 70, Virginia Commonwealth 60
Miami 64, Providence 58
MAUI INVITATIONAL
Marquette 74, Chaminade 63
Oklahoma State 83, Louisiana State 77
Duke 83, Princeton 61
Illinois 77, Arizona State 54
Arizona State 61, Princeton 42
Louisiana State 78, Chaminade 72
Duke 79, Illinois 76
Marquette 91, Oklahoma State 61
Chaminade 74, Princeton 70
Arizona State 87, Louisiana State 84
Illinois 65, Oklahoma State 49
Duke 77, Marquette 73
GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT
Butler 79, Michigan 65
Virginia Tech 69, Eastern Washington 52
Texas Tech 74, Alaska-Anchorage 47
Gonzaga 74, Western Kentucky 71
Western Kentucky 71, Alaska-Anchorage 67
Michigan 61, Eastern Washington 53
Butler 84, Virginia Tech 78
Texas Tech 73, Gonzaga 63
Eastern Washington 64, Alaska-Anchorage 62
Western Kentucky 73, Michigan 69
Gonzaga 81, Virginia Tech 64
Butler 81, Texas Tech 71
CYCLONE CHALLENGE
Centenary 72, Lipscomb 69
Iowa State 58, Winston-Salem State 44
Winston-Salem State 68, Lipscomb 58
Iowa State 67, Centenary 57
100 CLUB CLASSIC
Colgate 83, Texas State 77
Kennesaw State 80, Jacksonville State 74
Texas State 86, Jacksonville State 83
Colgate 81, Kennesaw State 53
AIR FORCE CLASSIC
Northern Colorado 104, Virginia Military 97
Air Force 67, Dartmouth 38
Dartmouth 98, Virginia Military 87
Air Force 71, Northern Colorado 62
PRICE CUTTER CLASSIC
UNC Greensboro 70, Texas-Pan American 56
Missouri State 86, Harding 67
Texas-Pan American 83, Harding 64
Missouri State 79, UNC-Greensboro 52
PEGGY CRONIN CLASSIC
Belmont 86, Cincinnatti 75
Western Carolina 63, Bowling Green 60
Bowling Green 78, Belmont 67
Cincinnatti 66, Western Carolina 64
Bowling Green 69, Cincinnatti 67
Belmont 79, Western Carolina 70
HISPANIC COLLEGE FUND CHALLENGE
Pittsburgh 103, Houston Baptist 69
Saint Louis 54, North Carolina A&T 43
Saint Louis 91, Houston Baptist 56
Pittsburgh 88, North Carolina A&T 61
North Carolina A&T 96, Houston Baptist 71
Pittsburgh 69, Saint Louis 58
BASKETBALL TRAVELERS TIP-OFF TOURNEY
Massachusetts 90, Cal Poly 64
Northern Iowa 75, Northern Illinois 45
Massachusetts 102, Northern Illinois 87
Northern Iowa 62, Cal Poly 55
Cal Poly 88, Northern Illinois 78
Northern Iowa 75, Massachusetts 68
BASKETBALL TRAVELERS CLASSIC
UC Santa Barbara 92, Northwestern State 71
Stanford 111, Harvard 56
UC Santa Barbara 79, Harvard 61
Stanford 97, Northwestern State 58
Harvard 90, Northwestern State 60
Stanford 67, UC Santa Barbara 48
BASKETBALL TRAVELERS INVITATIONAL
Saint Bonaventure 61, Loyola Marymount 50
New Mexico 88, Presbyterian 57
Loyola Marymount 83, Presbyterian 76
New Mexico 81, Saint Bonaventure 54
Saint Bonaventure 79, Presbyterian 72
New Mexico 86, Loyola Marymount 58
WORLD VISION CLASSIC
San Diego State 62, Liberty 50
Fresno State 75, Portland 68
San Diego State 78, Portland 64
Fresno State 71, Liberty 62
Portland 73, Liberty 62
San Diego State 89, Fresno State 72
WORLD VISION INVITATIONAL
Pacific 90, Western Michigan 76
Oregon 100, Pepperdine 70
Western Michigan 70, Pepperdine 65
Oregon 80, Pacific 64
Pacific 84, Pepperdine 76
Oregon 87, Western Michigan 88
FIRST SHOT TOURNAMENT
Appalachian State 81, Lipscomb 58
San Jose State 78, Middle Tennessee 77
Middle Tennessee 68, Lipscomb 52
San Jose State 64, Appalachian State 62
Lipscomb 79, San Jose State 72
Appalachian State 84, Middle Tennesse 79
AMERICA'S YOUTH CLASSIC
Colorado 83, Florida A&M 59
Wisconsin 79, Savannah State 32
Wisconsin 88, Florida A%M 40
Colorado 58, Savannah State 43
Savannah State 70, Florida A&M 62
Wisconsin 78, Colorado 52
SAINT MARY'S TIPOFF CLASSIC
Drake 81, UC San Diego 63
Saint Mary's, Sonoma State
Saint Mary's 72, Drake 66
HORNET ROUNDBALL CLASSIC
Coppin State 69, Saint Paul's 65
Delaware State 77, Allen 44
Coppin State 72, Allen 61
Delaware State 70, Saint Paul's 69
SMU TIP-OFF CLASSIC
Southern 75, Southern Methodist 61
Alabama State 90, Paul Quinn 72
Alabama State 64, Southern Methodist 54
Paul Quinn 84, Southern 81
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND TOURNAMENT
Valparaiso 90, Grace 59
Vanderbilt 81, Austin Peay 67
Iowa 62, Florida-Gulf Coast 49
Bradley 98, UMES 71
Utah State 77, Montana-Western 58
Bradley 82, Florida-Gulf Coast 74
Iowa 65, UMES 48
Vanderbilt 87, Valparaiso 78
Utah State 71, Austin Peay 68
PHILLY HOOP GROUP CLASSIC
Drexel 86, Navy 70
Loyola 89, Penn 68
Virginia 92, Howard 53
Seton Hall 111, Robert Morris 107
Robert Morris 93, Navy 77
Penn 80, Howard 65
Seton Hall 94, Loyola 80
Virginia 72, Drexel 58
Drexel 56, Robert Morris 40
Loyola 73, Howard 58
Robert Morris 72, Howard 53
Drexel 54, Loyola 52
Virginia 100, Penn 85
Seton Hall 79, Navy 75
Penn 71, Navy 67
Seton Hall 74, Virginia 60
CHICAGO INVITATIONAL CHALLENGE
Indiana 100, Longwood 49
Illinois State 89, North Carolina-Wilmington 73
Xavier 90, Southeast Missouri State 59
Kent State 74, Coppin State 51
Illinois State 90, Southeast Missouri State 71
Indiana 95, North Carolina-Wilmington 71
Xavier 98, Coppin State 49
Kent State 80, Longwood 62
Coppin State 102, Southeast Missouri State 99
North Carolina-Wilmington 80, Longwood 65
Southeast Missouri State 82, Longwood 78
North Carolina-Wilmington 78, Coppin State 57
Indiana 70, Illinois State 57
Xavier 78, Kent State 65
Kent State 65, Illinois State 59
Xavier 80, Indiana 65
GLENN WILKES CLASSIC
Cleveland State 73, South Florida 70
Rhode Island 90, Florida Atlantic 63
UAB 86, Stetson 49
Florida State 92, Georgia Southern 67
Georgia Southern 72, Cleveland State 70
Stetson 68, Florida Atlantic 62
Florida State 78, UAB 72
Rhode Island 74, South Florida 67
South Florida 100, Florida Atlantic 69
Georgia Southern 59, UAB 57
Cleveland State 69, Florida State 66
Rhode Island 80, Stetson 65
Cleveland State 76, Florida Atlantic 66
Rhode Island 74, UAB 69
Georgia Southern 68, Stetson 55
South Florida 68, Florida State 67
LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL
Old Dominion 64, South Carolina State 54
North Carolina 107, Iona 72
Louisville 104, Hartford 69
Brigham Young 100, Jackson State 61
Louisville 84, Jackson State 53
North Carolina 110, South Carolina State 64
Brigham Young 97, Hartford 73
Old Dominion 74, Iowa 63
Hartford 73, Jackson State 57
South Carolina State 81, Iona 76
Jackson State 74, Iona 70
Hartford 80, South Carolina State 72
Brigham Young 78, Louisville 76
North Carolina 99, Old Dominion 82
Louisville 64, Old Dominion 53
North Carolina 73, Brigham Young 63
BLUE RIBBON CHALLENGE
Rutgers 70 Tennessee Tech 64
Rutgers 79, North Dakota State 67
Rutgers 73, North Carolina Central 48
Florida 75, North Dakota State 65
Florida 93, Tennessee Tech 65
Florida 105, North Carolina Central 51
North Dakota State 105, North Carolina Central 51
North Dakota State (2-2) 90, Tennessee Tech 72
North Carolina Central (1-3) 73, Tennessee Tech (0-4) 70
Florida (4-0) 88, Rutgers (3-1) 63
LEGENDS CLASSIC
New Mexico State 75, UC-Davis 65
New Mexico State 100, Lemoyne-Owen 64
Texas 73, UC-Davis 42
Texas 100, Arkansas-Monticello 52
West Virginia 81, Arkansas-Monticello 53
West Virginia 106, Prairie View A&M 43
Tennessee 101, Arkansas-Monticello 44
Tennessee 89, Prairie View A&M 75
UC-Davis 97, La Verne 55
UC-Davis 71, UC-Santa Cruz 49
Texas 101, New Mexico State 86
Tennessee 74, West Virginia 72
West Virginia 75, New Mexico State 61
Texas 87, Tennessee 78
Richmond 44, Maine 42
Memphis 102, Tennessee-Martin 71
Gardner-Webb 69, Alabama A&M 55
Kentucky 67, Central Arkansas 40
Buffalo 89, Ohio Valley 82
Connecticut 69, Morgan State 65
Denver 76, East Central 75
Oklahoma 71, San Francisco 55
Tennessee-Martin 66, Maine 62
Central Arkansas 69, Alabama A&M 59
Morgan State 77, Ohio Valley 66
San Francisco 87, East Central 70
Memphis 80, Richmond 63
Gardner-Webb 84, Kentucky 68
Connecticut 82, Buffalo 57
Oklahoma 80, Denver 50
Memphis 63, Oklahoma 53
Connecticut 78, Gardner Webb 66
Oklahoma 69, Gardner-Webb 55
Memphis 81, Connecticut 70
NIT SEASON TIPOFF
Columbia 47, Delaware State 41
Ohio State 91, Wisconsin-Green Bay 68
Saint Joseph's 86, Fairleigh Dickinson 66
Syracuse 97, Siena 89
UTEP 77, Texas A&M-CC 62
Texas A&M 67, Oral Roberts 53
Utah 77, High Point 64
Washington 88, New Jersey Tech 47
Siena 88, Fairleigh Dickinson 66
Wisconsin-Green Bay 70, Delaware State 50
Texas A&M-CC 86, Oral Roberts 81
High Point 75, New Jersey Tech 53
Syracuse 72, Saint Joseph's 69
Ohio State 68, Columbia 54
Texas A&M 81, UTEP 76
Washington 83, Utah 77
Texas A&M 77, Washington 63
Ohio State 79, Syracuse 65
Syracuse 91, Washington 85
Texas A&M 70, Ohio State 47
COLLEGE BASKETBALL EXPERIENCE CLASSIC
Hampton 72, Tulsa 55
Maryland 79, North Florida 50
Fordham 76, Central Missouri 66
Missouri 87, Central Michigan 76
Cal State San Bernadino 71, Weber State 59
UCLA 83, Youngstown State 52
Louisiana-Monroe 60, Northern Michigan 53
Michigan State 86, Chicago State 53
Tulsa 83, North Florida 66
Central Missouri 75, Central Michigan 70
Chicago State 80, Northern Michigan 50
Youngstown State 69, Weber State 65
Maryland 70, Hampton 64
Missouri 79, Fordham 55
Michigan State 83, Louisiana-Monroe 65
UCLA 76, Cal State San Bernadino 41
UCLA 71, Maryland 59
Michigan State 86, Missouri 83
Missouri 84, Maryland 70
UCLA 68, Michigan State 63
OLD SPICE CLASSIC
South Carolina 74, Penn State 67
North Carolina State 72, Rider 63
Villanova 76, Central Florida 68
George Mason 87, Kansas State 77
Rider 82, Penn State 73
Kansas State 73, Central Florida 71
North Carolina State 63, South Carolina 61
Villanova 84, George Mason 76
Central Florida 70, Penn State 59
Kansas State 82, Rider 69
George Mason 69, South Carolina 68
ANAHEIM CLASSIC
Mississippi State 68, UC-Irvine 53
Southern Illinois 63, Chattanooga 41
Miami (OH) 64, South Alabama 59
USC 60, San Diego 50
South Alabama 77, San Diego 55
Chattanooga 85, UC-Irvine 80
Southern Illinois 63, Mississippi State 49
USC 57, Miami (OH) 53
San Diego 60, UC-Irvine 57
TOP OF THE WORLD CLASSIC
Tennessee State 78, Alaska-Fairbanks 64
Colorado State 69, Oregon State 56
Akron 64, South Carolina-Upstate 60
Portland State 75, IUPUI 73
Alaska-Fairbanks 62, Oregon State 60
IUPUI 80, South Carolina-Upstate 54
Portland State 66, Akron 63
Colorado State 87, Tennessee State 68
Oregon State 65, South Carolina-Upstate 46
IUPUI 82, Alaska-Fairbanks 47
Akron 74, Tennessee State 72
Colorado State 64, Portland State 63
US VIRGIN ISLANDS PARADISE JAM
Georgia Tech 82, Charlotte 77
Winthrop 72, Illinois-Chicago 58
Baylor 64, Wichita State 55
Notre Dame 76, Monmouth 33
Charlotte 64, Illinois-Chicago 63
Monmouth 59, Wichita State 50
Winthrop 79, Georgia Tech 73
Baylor 68, Notre Dame 64
Wichita State 67, Illinois-Chicago 60
Monmouth 58, Charlotte 56
Georgia Tech 70, Notre Dame 69
Baylor 62, Winthrop 54
PUERTO RICO TIP-OFF CLASSIC
Virginia Commonwealth 73, Houston 72
Miami 85, Marist 61
Providence 66, Temple 64
Arkansas 75, College of Charleston 59
Houston 64, Marist 58
College of Charleston 79, Temple 76
Miami 69, Virginia Commonwealth 63
Providence 67, Arkansas 51
Temple 73, Marist 69
Houston 84, College of Charleston 69
Arkansas 70, Virginia Commonwealth 60
Miami 64, Providence 58
MAUI INVITATIONAL
Marquette 74, Chaminade 63
Oklahoma State 83, Louisiana State 77
Duke 83, Princeton 61
Illinois 77, Arizona State 54
Arizona State 61, Princeton 42
Louisiana State 78, Chaminade 72
Duke 79, Illinois 76
Marquette 91, Oklahoma State 61
Chaminade 74, Princeton 70
Arizona State 87, Louisiana State 84
Illinois 65, Oklahoma State 49
Duke 77, Marquette 73
GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT
Butler 79, Michigan 65
Virginia Tech 69, Eastern Washington 52
Texas Tech 74, Alaska-Anchorage 47
Gonzaga 74, Western Kentucky 71
Western Kentucky 71, Alaska-Anchorage 67
Michigan 61, Eastern Washington 53
Butler 84, Virginia Tech 78
Texas Tech 73, Gonzaga 63
Eastern Washington 64, Alaska-Anchorage 62
Western Kentucky 73, Michigan 69
Gonzaga 81, Virginia Tech 64
Butler 81, Texas Tech 71
CYCLONE CHALLENGE
Centenary 72, Lipscomb 69
Iowa State 58, Winston-Salem State 44
Winston-Salem State 68, Lipscomb 58
Iowa State 67, Centenary 57
100 CLUB CLASSIC
Colgate 83, Texas State 77
Kennesaw State 80, Jacksonville State 74
Texas State 86, Jacksonville State 83
Colgate 81, Kennesaw State 53
AIR FORCE CLASSIC
Northern Colorado 104, Virginia Military 97
Air Force 67, Dartmouth 38
Dartmouth 98, Virginia Military 87
Air Force 71, Northern Colorado 62
PRICE CUTTER CLASSIC
UNC Greensboro 70, Texas-Pan American 56
Missouri State 86, Harding 67
Texas-Pan American 83, Harding 64
Missouri State 79, UNC-Greensboro 52
PEGGY CRONIN CLASSIC
Belmont 86, Cincinnatti 75
Western Carolina 63, Bowling Green 60
Bowling Green 78, Belmont 67
Cincinnatti 66, Western Carolina 64
Bowling Green 69, Cincinnatti 67
Belmont 79, Western Carolina 70
HISPANIC COLLEGE FUND CHALLENGE
Pittsburgh 103, Houston Baptist 69
Saint Louis 54, North Carolina A&T 43
Saint Louis 91, Houston Baptist 56
Pittsburgh 88, North Carolina A&T 61
North Carolina A&T 96, Houston Baptist 71
Pittsburgh 69, Saint Louis 58
BASKETBALL TRAVELERS TIP-OFF TOURNEY
Massachusetts 90, Cal Poly 64
Northern Iowa 75, Northern Illinois 45
Massachusetts 102, Northern Illinois 87
Northern Iowa 62, Cal Poly 55
Cal Poly 88, Northern Illinois 78
Northern Iowa 75, Massachusetts 68
BASKETBALL TRAVELERS CLASSIC
UC Santa Barbara 92, Northwestern State 71
Stanford 111, Harvard 56
UC Santa Barbara 79, Harvard 61
Stanford 97, Northwestern State 58
Harvard 90, Northwestern State 60
Stanford 67, UC Santa Barbara 48
BASKETBALL TRAVELERS INVITATIONAL
Saint Bonaventure 61, Loyola Marymount 50
New Mexico 88, Presbyterian 57
Loyola Marymount 83, Presbyterian 76
New Mexico 81, Saint Bonaventure 54
Saint Bonaventure 79, Presbyterian 72
New Mexico 86, Loyola Marymount 58
WORLD VISION CLASSIC
San Diego State 62, Liberty 50
Fresno State 75, Portland 68
San Diego State 78, Portland 64
Fresno State 71, Liberty 62
Portland 73, Liberty 62
San Diego State 89, Fresno State 72
WORLD VISION INVITATIONAL
Pacific 90, Western Michigan 76
Oregon 100, Pepperdine 70
Western Michigan 70, Pepperdine 65
Oregon 80, Pacific 64
Pacific 84, Pepperdine 76
Oregon 87, Western Michigan 88
FIRST SHOT TOURNAMENT
Appalachian State 81, Lipscomb 58
San Jose State 78, Middle Tennessee 77
Middle Tennessee 68, Lipscomb 52
San Jose State 64, Appalachian State 62
Lipscomb 79, San Jose State 72
Appalachian State 84, Middle Tennesse 79
AMERICA'S YOUTH CLASSIC
Colorado 83, Florida A&M 59
Wisconsin 79, Savannah State 32
Wisconsin 88, Florida A%M 40
Colorado 58, Savannah State 43
Savannah State 70, Florida A&M 62
Wisconsin 78, Colorado 52
SAINT MARY'S TIPOFF CLASSIC
Drake 81, UC San Diego 63
Saint Mary's, Sonoma State
Saint Mary's 72, Drake 66
HORNET ROUNDBALL CLASSIC
Coppin State 69, Saint Paul's 65
Delaware State 77, Allen 44
Coppin State 72, Allen 61
Delaware State 70, Saint Paul's 69
SMU TIP-OFF CLASSIC
Southern 75, Southern Methodist 61
Alabama State 90, Paul Quinn 72
Alabama State 64, Southern Methodist 54
Paul Quinn 84, Southern 81
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND TOURNAMENT
Valparaiso 90, Grace 59
Vanderbilt 81, Austin Peay 67
Iowa 62, Florida-Gulf Coast 49
Bradley 98, UMES 71
Utah State 77, Montana-Western 58
Bradley 82, Florida-Gulf Coast 74
Iowa 65, UMES 48
Vanderbilt 87, Valparaiso 78
Utah State 71, Austin Peay 68
PHILLY HOOP GROUP CLASSIC
Drexel 86, Navy 70
Loyola 89, Penn 68
Virginia 92, Howard 53
Seton Hall 111, Robert Morris 107
Robert Morris 93, Navy 77
Penn 80, Howard 65
Seton Hall 94, Loyola 80
Virginia 72, Drexel 58
Drexel 56, Robert Morris 40
Loyola 73, Howard 58
Robert Morris 72, Howard 53
Drexel 54, Loyola 52
Virginia 100, Penn 85
Seton Hall 79, Navy 75
Penn 71, Navy 67
Seton Hall 74, Virginia 60
CHICAGO INVITATIONAL CHALLENGE
Indiana 100, Longwood 49
Illinois State 89, North Carolina-Wilmington 73
Xavier 90, Southeast Missouri State 59
Kent State 74, Coppin State 51
Illinois State 90, Southeast Missouri State 71
Indiana 95, North Carolina-Wilmington 71
Xavier 98, Coppin State 49
Kent State 80, Longwood 62
Coppin State 102, Southeast Missouri State 99
North Carolina-Wilmington 80, Longwood 65
Southeast Missouri State 82, Longwood 78
North Carolina-Wilmington 78, Coppin State 57
Indiana 70, Illinois State 57
Xavier 78, Kent State 65
Kent State 65, Illinois State 59
Xavier 80, Indiana 65
GLENN WILKES CLASSIC
Cleveland State 73, South Florida 70
Rhode Island 90, Florida Atlantic 63
UAB 86, Stetson 49
Florida State 92, Georgia Southern 67
Georgia Southern 72, Cleveland State 70
Stetson 68, Florida Atlantic 62
Florida State 78, UAB 72
Rhode Island 74, South Florida 67
South Florida 100, Florida Atlantic 69
Georgia Southern 59, UAB 57
Cleveland State 69, Florida State 66
Rhode Island 80, Stetson 65
Cleveland State 76, Florida Atlantic 66
Rhode Island 74, UAB 69
Georgia Southern 68, Stetson 55
South Florida 68, Florida State 67
LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL
Old Dominion 64, South Carolina State 54
North Carolina 107, Iona 72
Louisville 104, Hartford 69
Brigham Young 100, Jackson State 61
Louisville 84, Jackson State 53
North Carolina 110, South Carolina State 64
Brigham Young 97, Hartford 73
Old Dominion 74, Iowa 63
Hartford 73, Jackson State 57
South Carolina State 81, Iona 76
Jackson State 74, Iona 70
Hartford 80, South Carolina State 72
Brigham Young 78, Louisville 76
North Carolina 99, Old Dominion 82
Louisville 64, Old Dominion 53
North Carolina 73, Brigham Young 63
BLUE RIBBON CHALLENGE
Rutgers 70 Tennessee Tech 64
Rutgers 79, North Dakota State 67
Rutgers 73, North Carolina Central 48
Florida 75, North Dakota State 65
Florida 93, Tennessee Tech 65
Florida 105, North Carolina Central 51
North Dakota State 105, North Carolina Central 51
North Dakota State (2-2) 90, Tennessee Tech 72
North Carolina Central (1-3) 73, Tennessee Tech (0-4) 70
Florida (4-0) 88, Rutgers (3-1) 63
LEGENDS CLASSIC
New Mexico State 75, UC-Davis 65
New Mexico State 100, Lemoyne-Owen 64
Texas 73, UC-Davis 42
Texas 100, Arkansas-Monticello 52
West Virginia 81, Arkansas-Monticello 53
West Virginia 106, Prairie View A&M 43
Tennessee 101, Arkansas-Monticello 44
Tennessee 89, Prairie View A&M 75
UC-Davis 97, La Verne 55
UC-Davis 71, UC-Santa Cruz 49
Texas 101, New Mexico State 86
Tennessee 74, West Virginia 72
West Virginia 75, New Mexico State 61
Texas 87, Tennessee 78
Top 25 #1
- North Carolina (1-0)
- UCLA (3-0)
- Memphis (4-0)
- Kansas (3-0)
- Georgetown (2-0)
- Washington State (3-0)
- Duke (2-0)
- Tennessee (3-0)
- Gonzaga (3-0)
- Louisville (1-0)
- Marquette (2-0)
- Indiana (2-0)
- Texas (2-0)
- Virginia (3-0)
- Oregon (4-0)
- North Carolina State (1-0)
- Wisconsin (4-0)
- Michigan State (2-0)
- Florida (4-0)
- Texas A&M (4-0)
- Clemson (2-0)
- Pittsburgh (4-0)
- Kansas State (3-0)
- Southern Illinois (1-0)
- Syracuse (3-0)
ACC Week 1
Miami (3-0): beat Florida Southern, Marist and Virginia Commonwealth. The Hurricanes played well in their first three games, advancing to the finals of the inaugural Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Jack McClinton has dominated the scoring for the Canes so far while Miami finds itself in the early national top 10 for both FT Rate and FT%. 27-31 from the line was the difference in a 6 point win over a quality VCU team.
Virginia (3-0): beat Vermont, Howard, and Arizona. Virginia got the conference's biggest win in the opening weeks by defeating an Arizona team on the road that had been ranked in the top 20. So far former Maryland commit Jeff Jones has shown signs of taking up some of the departed JR Reynolds scoring duties while the team has put up good showings on the glass on both ends of the court.
Boston College (2-0): beat New Hampshire and Florida Atlantic. After losing Jared Dudley and other key contributors from a team that went 10-6 in the ACC, Boston College was expected to go through a rebuilding year this season. Winning their first two bu 10 and 6 over poor competition supports that view though Tyrese Rice and Shamari Spears did miss the season opener due to a one game suspension.
Clemson (2-0): beat Furman and Mississippi State. That win over the Bulldogs could look very good on Selection Sunday. A respectable 28-38 performance on FT may have been the difference in the game. If the Tigers can sort out their woes at the charity stripe, that could be enough to finally get them over the hump.
Duke (2-0): beat North Carolina Central and New Mexico State. The Blue Devils ran up and down the court on their way to averaging over 100 points a game in their two tune ups before heading to the Maui Invitational. The Blue Devils went ten deep and could be back to their days of running and gunning after a year of half court basketball.
North Carolina (1-0): beat Davidson. The neutral site win over Davidson was a nailbiter, but even for a top team it isn't an embarrassing way to open the season. But if Stephen Curry had done just a bit better in justifying his hype, the Tar Heels could have been looking at an 0-1 start.
North Carolina State (1-0): beat William & Mary. The Wolfpack look to be one of the toughest teams to predict this season. If super recruit JJ Hickson comes anywhere close to matching his debut performance (31 points, 12-12 FG), the Wolfpack could have the inside track for second place in the conference.
Virginia Tech (1-0): beat Elon. A win is a win, but beating Elon by just 5 at home is cause for concern. Newcomer Jeff Allen will lock down what could be a good frontcourt but so far freshman Hank Thorns and Malcolm Delaney are the only two true guards to see playing time. If frehsman Dorenzo Hudson qualifies later in the year it could help the Hokies make it back to the postseason.
Wake Forest (1-0): beat Fairfield. James Johnson had a double double in his collegiate debut for the young Demon Deacons. Wake Forest is still young and is overcoming a lot of adversity after the sudden death of former coach Skip Prosser, but the team is talented enough to make some noise in the ACC. However this team is still probably another year away from seriously competing within the conference.
Florida State (3-1): beat Nicholls State, Georgia Southern, UAB; lost to Cleveland State. The loss to the Vikings in the Glenn Wilkes Classic doesn't look good for the 'Noles just days after a contract extension for coach Leonard Hamilton. A backcourt of Swann, Rich, and Douglass could be among the better guard combinations in the ACC, but the frontcourt takes an almost immeasurable downgrade with the loss of do-it-all PF Al Thornton.
Georgia Tech (2-1): beat Tennessee State, Charlotte; lost to UNC-Greensboro. The early loss to a Southern Conference team isn't good. The Yellow Jackets should be talented enough to make a run at NCAA Tournament consideration, but what Paul Hewitt can do with this group remains to be seen. Two more wins to take the Paradise Jam would be a nice way to bounce back from a bad early loss.
Virginia (3-0): beat Vermont, Howard, and Arizona. Virginia got the conference's biggest win in the opening weeks by defeating an Arizona team on the road that had been ranked in the top 20. So far former Maryland commit Jeff Jones has shown signs of taking up some of the departed JR Reynolds scoring duties while the team has put up good showings on the glass on both ends of the court.
Boston College (2-0): beat New Hampshire and Florida Atlantic. After losing Jared Dudley and other key contributors from a team that went 10-6 in the ACC, Boston College was expected to go through a rebuilding year this season. Winning their first two bu 10 and 6 over poor competition supports that view though Tyrese Rice and Shamari Spears did miss the season opener due to a one game suspension.
Clemson (2-0): beat Furman and Mississippi State. That win over the Bulldogs could look very good on Selection Sunday. A respectable 28-38 performance on FT may have been the difference in the game. If the Tigers can sort out their woes at the charity stripe, that could be enough to finally get them over the hump.
Duke (2-0): beat North Carolina Central and New Mexico State. The Blue Devils ran up and down the court on their way to averaging over 100 points a game in their two tune ups before heading to the Maui Invitational. The Blue Devils went ten deep and could be back to their days of running and gunning after a year of half court basketball.
North Carolina (1-0): beat Davidson. The neutral site win over Davidson was a nailbiter, but even for a top team it isn't an embarrassing way to open the season. But if Stephen Curry had done just a bit better in justifying his hype, the Tar Heels could have been looking at an 0-1 start.
North Carolina State (1-0): beat William & Mary. The Wolfpack look to be one of the toughest teams to predict this season. If super recruit JJ Hickson comes anywhere close to matching his debut performance (31 points, 12-12 FG), the Wolfpack could have the inside track for second place in the conference.
Virginia Tech (1-0): beat Elon. A win is a win, but beating Elon by just 5 at home is cause for concern. Newcomer Jeff Allen will lock down what could be a good frontcourt but so far freshman Hank Thorns and Malcolm Delaney are the only two true guards to see playing time. If frehsman Dorenzo Hudson qualifies later in the year it could help the Hokies make it back to the postseason.
Wake Forest (1-0): beat Fairfield. James Johnson had a double double in his collegiate debut for the young Demon Deacons. Wake Forest is still young and is overcoming a lot of adversity after the sudden death of former coach Skip Prosser, but the team is talented enough to make some noise in the ACC. However this team is still probably another year away from seriously competing within the conference.
Florida State (3-1): beat Nicholls State, Georgia Southern, UAB; lost to Cleveland State. The loss to the Vikings in the Glenn Wilkes Classic doesn't look good for the 'Noles just days after a contract extension for coach Leonard Hamilton. A backcourt of Swann, Rich, and Douglass could be among the better guard combinations in the ACC, but the frontcourt takes an almost immeasurable downgrade with the loss of do-it-all PF Al Thornton.
Georgia Tech (2-1): beat Tennessee State, Charlotte; lost to UNC-Greensboro. The early loss to a Southern Conference team isn't good. The Yellow Jackets should be talented enough to make a run at NCAA Tournament consideration, but what Paul Hewitt can do with this group remains to be seen. Two more wins to take the Paradise Jam would be a nice way to bounce back from a bad early loss.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Maryland vs UCLA
On Monday night, Maryland will face off against #2 UCLA in the semifinals of the College Basketball Experience Classic. The Terps will rightfully enter the game as the underdog, especially after their questionable performances last week in wins over Hampton and Northeastern. Add that to the fact that UCLA (along with North Carolina and Memphis) is on the early short list for best team in the nation and things look bleak.
But there is some hope. This UCLA team will have some questions in the backcourt. Losing Aaron Afflalo off of last year's team hurts, but what hurts more will be the absence of PG Darren Collison, perhaps the team's best player (with apologies to Kevin Love), as well as swingman Michael Roll. Both players will be out for at least another ten days which will lead to some depth problems in the backcourt in the championship rounds of the CBE Classic.
To compensate for the losses of Roll and Collison, the Bruins have gone big in their first three games. The backcourt will be composed of Russell Westbrook and Josh Shipp while three players 6-8 or better man the frontcourt - Alfred Aboya, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and the headliner, Kevin Love. That won't be the end of the Bruins size advantage. The top three players coming off the bench so far have been Chace Stanback, Lorenzo Mata-Real and Nikola Dragovic. All of those players are also 6-8 or taller.
What should win this game for the Bruins is the defense. The Bruins were ranked second in the nation in defense last season by adjusted defensive efficiency (behind only Kansas) and so far have played the same stifling defense, albeit against less than stellar opponents. The Bruins height advantage should lead to plenty of rebounds tomorrow night. They have been particularly adept at grabbing defensive rebounds on the year so far, snaring 81% of their opponents misses.
The uncertainty in the backcourt is what the Terps must hope to exploit. Without Collison's excellent shooting and passing, it's hard to imagine that this version of the Bruins is deserving of their lofty ranking. If the Terps can get some easy baskets in transition, this game will be interesting. Maryland's defense is probably good enough to hold UCLA in check offensively. On the flip side, UCLA's defense is most certainly good enough to stifle Maryland's offense and that should prove to be the difference in the game.
Prediction: UCLA 74, Terps 61
But there is some hope. This UCLA team will have some questions in the backcourt. Losing Aaron Afflalo off of last year's team hurts, but what hurts more will be the absence of PG Darren Collison, perhaps the team's best player (with apologies to Kevin Love), as well as swingman Michael Roll. Both players will be out for at least another ten days which will lead to some depth problems in the backcourt in the championship rounds of the CBE Classic.
To compensate for the losses of Roll and Collison, the Bruins have gone big in their first three games. The backcourt will be composed of Russell Westbrook and Josh Shipp while three players 6-8 or better man the frontcourt - Alfred Aboya, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and the headliner, Kevin Love. That won't be the end of the Bruins size advantage. The top three players coming off the bench so far have been Chace Stanback, Lorenzo Mata-Real and Nikola Dragovic. All of those players are also 6-8 or taller.
What should win this game for the Bruins is the defense. The Bruins were ranked second in the nation in defense last season by adjusted defensive efficiency (behind only Kansas) and so far have played the same stifling defense, albeit against less than stellar opponents. The Bruins height advantage should lead to plenty of rebounds tomorrow night. They have been particularly adept at grabbing defensive rebounds on the year so far, snaring 81% of their opponents misses.
The uncertainty in the backcourt is what the Terps must hope to exploit. Without Collison's excellent shooting and passing, it's hard to imagine that this version of the Bruins is deserving of their lofty ranking. If the Terps can get some easy baskets in transition, this game will be interesting. Maryland's defense is probably good enough to hold UCLA in check offensively. On the flip side, UCLA's defense is most certainly good enough to stifle Maryland's offense and that should prove to be the difference in the game.
Prediction: UCLA 74, Terps 61
Terps to Maui in 2009
Thanks to the new rules on preseason tournaments and exempt games, college basketball teams can now participate in tournaments ever year. For the 2009-2010 season, the Terps will be headed back to Hawaii to play in the 26th annual Maui Invitational once again. Maryland joins a field that includes Arizona, Louisville, Gonzaga, Colorado, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt along with the host Chaminade.
It will be the Terps fourth appearance in what is perhaps the most prestigious season opening tournament in college basketball. The team also played in the event in 1994, 2000, and 2005. Maryland's best finish in the tournament came in 1994 when they finished second, losing 97-90 in the championship game to Arizona State. They finished 3rd in 2000 and 5th in 2005.
Next season Maryland plays in the 3rd annual Old Spice Classic in Orlando. The eight team tournament includes Gonzaga, Memphis, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Siena, Tennessee, and Wichita State.
It will be the Terps fourth appearance in what is perhaps the most prestigious season opening tournament in college basketball. The team also played in the event in 1994, 2000, and 2005. Maryland's best finish in the tournament came in 1994 when they finished second, losing 97-90 in the championship game to Arizona State. They finished 3rd in 2000 and 5th in 2005.
Next season Maryland plays in the 3rd annual Old Spice Classic in Orlando. The eight team tournament includes Gonzaga, Memphis, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Siena, Tennessee, and Wichita State.
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