Saturday, December 31, 2011

Hoyas display toughness in 49-40 win over Providence

This could have been a "let-down game". It probably should have been. This had "let-down game" written all over it.

Georgetown had just gone to Louisville and beat the No.4 Cardinals 71-68. Before that, they blasted Memphis, who was ranked No.8 when the Hoyas beat them for a first time at the Maui Invitational. Before that, they beat No.12 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, thus ending the Crimson Tide's 24-game home winning streak.

But we've seen this from Georgetown before. We saw it last season, when the Hoyas started 11-1 but lost six of their final seven games, including a first-round exit to VCU in the NCAA Tournament. We saw it in 2009-2010, when they started 9-1, but suffered head-scratching losses to South Florida and Rutgers, not to mention the ugly first-round loss to Ohio in the NCAA tournament. We saw it the year before that and the year before that.

Late-season meltdowns, early tournament exits, blown leads, early deficits, all of that.

But something seems to be different about this team.

The Hoyas (12-1, 2-0) shot a dismal 30% from the field, blew a 12-point lead and went scoreless for an eight-minute stretch of the second half. But this Hoya team, a different Hoya team than in season's past, prevailed 49-40 over the Providence Friars (11-4, 0-2) on New Years Eve.

Georgetown prevailed because they didn't quit. They didn't fold under the pressure. There was no squabbling, no poor body-language, no signs of panic, no nothing. Sure, they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, but they never gave up. So even when they hadn't scored in eight minutes, they kept fighting. Otto Porter kept getting big rebounds, Jason Clark kept clawing for loose balls and Henry Sims kept going up strong.


Whether it was the "International Incident" that strengthened this team's resolve or the change in leadership, the 2011-2012 Hoyas are different.

This was your typical Big East regular season game. It was ugly. It was physical. It was hectic. It was exactly the type of game that Georgetown teams of the past would let slip away. But John Thompson III knows that this squad is more equipped to handle "grind-em out" games like this.

"This group, all we're concerned with is accumulating wins. The things that make you win aren't just putting the ball in the basket, and that's why we won today".

Early on, it became clear that this game would not be a shootout. It took Providence 16 minutes to reach double-digits, and when they finally did, the score was just 20-10. The Friars defense was bruising. Baskets weren't made, they were earned. On four consecutive possessions in the second half, Henry Sims went up strong against Brice Kofane, and on those four consecutive possessions, the two men ended up on the deck. Physical play like this defined this game.

Despite both teams shooting under 35% from the field, neither team gave up. "We played a 40-minute game, and we lost. We grew up a lot today. It's unfortunate that we lost, but this is good for our program", said Friars coach Ed Cooley at the post game press conference.

"Pride. I wanted them to be physical down low. Pride. It was about pride. This is what the Big East is all about."

Exactly.

This is what the Big East is all about, and if Georgetown wants to avoid another regular season meltdown, they are going to have to fight tooth-and-nail for 40 minutes every game.

Which is exactly what they did on Saturday afternoon.


What We Learned

Georgetown

The Hoyas are a much different team when Markel Starks is on the bench. Providence started their rally when Starks went to the bench early on in the second with foul trouble. For an extended period of time, the Hoyas had no true point guard on the court, and the offense looked out of sync. He hit a 3-pointer upon his return and the Hoyas closed out the game. As mentioned, Henry Sims went 2-13 from the field. In the last three games, he is a combined 7-33. I'm aware that he's having a break-out year, and his confidence is at an all-time high, but Sims doesn't need to shoot every time he touches the ball.

Providence

Freshman forward LaDontae Henton is going to be good. Like, really good. He took just seven shots, but logged his fourth double-double of the season. Vincent Council will continue to take a majority of the shots for this team, but Henton is an athletic wing that poses a lot of match-up problems for opponents. The Friars need depth. Ed Cooley used just seven players against Georgetown. The Big East is too much of a grind to rely on just seven players.


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Kentucky grinds out a win over Louisville

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's performance against Louisville on Saturday afternoon was undeniable.

He had 24 points on the night, 18 of them coming in the first half as Kentucky built a 15 point lead. He also added 19 rebounds, with 10 of those coming in the second half as Kentucky forced Louisville into miss after miss, pulling away from the Cardinals to win 69-62. If it wasn't for two Russ Smith threes in the final 10 seconds, that final score would have looked quite a bit less respectable.

At this point, there really is no argument that MKG is the best player on Kentucky. He may not have the most upside, but there is nothing that he can't do on a basketball court. He defends, he attacks the glass, he can penetrate to score or to pass and he can hit a three. There is only one player (Jared Sullinger) I would consider taking over him if I was starting a college basketball team right now, and MKG couldn't have possibly made that more obvious than he did today.
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Kenny Ortiz of Wagner hits a crazy buzzer-beater

Craziest buzzer beater of the year?

Craziest buzzer beater of the year.

With the game tied in the final seconds, Wagner's Kenny Ortiz has a missed shot ricochet into his hands. He throws up a prayer over the corner of the back board and, while, just watch:



The best part is the reaction of the announcers, who are clearly Santa Clara fans. Continue reading...

Friday, December 30, 2011

Friday's Pregame Beat: Slow weekend highlighted by UK-UL

Game of the weekend: 12:00 pm: No. 4 Louisville @ No. 3 Kentucky

Hopefully Chane Behanan is more accurate in his prediction that this game will "go down as one of the best games in history" than he was about Louisville's undefeated season. The Battle of the Commonwealth is always going to be a passionate affair, but with both teams currently sitting in the top five of the country, on paper its easy to see why folks like Behanan are expecting this game to be an instant classic. The problem is that the games aren't played on paper, they are played on a basketball court. And on a basketball court, Louisville simply is not in the same league as Kentucky right now.

That's not meant as a shot at Louisville, either. I think the Cardinals are a quality basketball team. But they are borderline top ten quality, not Final Four favorite quality. The issue with the 'Ville this year is on the offensive end of the floor -- they ain't scoring. For all the ability that Peyton Siva has when it comes to using his dribble to beat his defender, he's yet to become the unstoppable playmaker that some hypothesized that he would turn into this year. As a result, Louisville's half court offense tends to stagnate, something that won't be helped by Kentucky's top-five defense and shot-blocking ability around the rim.
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Friday's Shootaround: Florida upset while Vandy, St. Mary's, Washington roll

Rutgers 85, No. 10 Florida 83 2OT: See here

Vanderbilt 74, No. 13 Marquette 57: This is what Vanderbilt needed. This is the kind of performance that we had been calling for. The talent on their roster in undeniable. How that talent manifests itself on the court is a different story, and the only evidence that we had this season was that Vanderbilt a) couldn't win close games and b) Vanderbilt struggled against teams that were more physical.

Against Marquette on Thursday night, Vanderbilt used a 35-8 run to open the game while simultaneously putting the game out of reach. It was complete and utter domination from the tip. Vanderbilt's defense was stifling -- Marquette made just two of their first 21 shots -- and their offensive attack was balanced and potent. They hit threes, they scored in transition, they had second chance points, they got post touches. Like I said, it was total domination.
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Friday Morning Dump

- Make sure you all vote for the B.I.A.H "2011 Best-Of Awards, Part-I"

- This is the read-of-the-day, read-of-the-month, and possibly the read-of-the-year. Twitter is going to take over the world, and you should embrace it. It would benefit you to embrace it

- Seth Davis gives us his ten college hoops predictions for 2011

- Jeff Eisenberg provides a solid-read on the history of the Louisville/UK rivalry game

- Apparently, former-Pitt freshman Khem Birch is considering literally EVERY school in the country: Gonzaga, Xavier, New Mexico State, and maybe even Missouri

- Mike DeCourcy fills us in on some of the stories to watch for in 2012

- Could this Pac-12/Big-Ten deal signal the end of the superconference idea. Seriously, they might even print their own money

- Does Harvard even actually have to play Ivy League competition this year? Since they don't have a tournament, and no league team will be able to run with them, can we just go a head and award the Crimson the automatic-bid?


- UConn got a $4.3-million practice facility for Christmas

- It certainly looks like an issue is abrewing at Washington State over Faisal Aiden's ball-hoggery

- Jason Lisk "Goes HAM" on the conference-play previews

- Miami is going to give back $83-thousand of Nevin Shapiro's dirty money

- Injured-Temple wing Scottie Randall is heavily considering taking a redshirt

- Jeff Borzello updates his Freshman of the Year rankings

- Matt Norlander continues on his quest to become a GrandMaster Statistician; Explains why scoring is down this year

- Wait, what? Iona lost to Hofstra last night? I'll have to read it to believe it

- Student-athlete? How about "Athlete-Athlete"? That's what South Carolina's Bruce Ellington is

- Rush the Court's "It's a Love/Hate Relationship" is a weekly must-read

- Mark Jackson Jr., the son of.. you guessed it, Mark Jackson, has decided to transfer out of Louisville

- Auburn might not be great this year. Hell, they might not even be that good. But one thing is for sure: They are much better then they were last year

- UConn Associate Head Coach Geogre Blaney gets the "Frank Martin yearbook photo" treatment


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Rutgers' future is bright, but what about Florida's right now?

"Those were all freshmen guards. The future is bright."

That's how Rutgers head coach Mike Rice wrapped up his interview with Bill Raftery on ESPN after his Scarlet Knight team knocked off No. 10 Florida 85-83 in double-overtime at the RAC on Thursday night. That also happens to be precisely what every single person in the country that happened to stumble upon ESPN2's broadcast of the game thought.

Why?

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Thursday's Pregame Beat

It was a busy day, so the Pregame Beat will be light.

9:00 pm: Vanderbilt @ No. 13 Marquette: The Golden Eagles are a team with roster full of junkyard dogs. They are as tough as anyone in the country, both physically and mentally; few teams have more of a penchant for winning close games than does Buzz Williams crew. Vanderbilt is the exact opposite, and its cost them already this season. Will tonight be the night they finally overcome their problems, or will Marquette just be the next in line to bully them around.
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Conference Catch-ups: The Pac-12

Over the course of this week, we will spend a few minutes catching you up on how some of the best conferences in the country currently look. With conference play starting up, its time to get into the basketball spirit.

You can find the rest of the Conference Catch-ups here.


Favorite: Oregon State

Yeah, I said it. I'm going with the Beavers, and it all starts with Jared Cunningham, who, for my money, is the best player in the Pac-12 this year. He's a sensational defender and impossible to keep out of the paint offensively. The rest of his offensive game is still developing, but there may not be a more difficult player in the conference to slow-down when they decide to put the ball on the floor and go to the rim. Ahmad Starks and Roberto Nelson are both underrated and effective playmakers in the back court so long as they keep their decision-making under control. What Oregon State's front line lacks in size they make up for in versatility -- Devon Collier and Eric Morehouse are long, athletic bigs; Joe Burton is a nimble post-scorer that really understands how to pass the ball; Angus Brandt is a lights-out shooter. Most importantly? I believe there is a reason for the dud they threw up against Idaho: it came 36 hours after Fred Thompson, an OSU football player and a friend to a number of players on the hoops team, passed away.
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Thursday's Shootaround: Two undefeateds lose, Creighton upset

No. 12 Georgetown 71, No. 4 Louisville 68: See here

No. 17 Michigan State 80, No. 15 Indiana 65: See here

Missouri State 77, No. 19 Creighton 65: See here

No. 7 Baylor 54, No. 14 Mississippi State 52: I'm torn about how I should interpret this game. The talent level on both teams was evident. Baylor is certainly good enough to make it all the way to New Orleans, especially if Scott Drew can ever figure out how to bring out the mean side of Perry Jones III. The amount of size and athleticism Drew has at his disposal is simply staggering. But Mississippi State has quite a bit of talent themselves, enough that I think they can end up being the second best team in the SEC.
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Georgetown's win over Louisville showcases Big East's balance up top

Prior to Wednesday night's game against Georgetown at the KFC Yum! Center, there were plenty of people that believed Louisville was ranked too high at fourth in the country.

Those folks are unlikely to change their opinion on the matter after the Hoyas left the Commonwealth with a 71-68 win, handing the Cardinals their first loss of the season.

And frankly, they wouldn't be wrong. Louisville isn't one of the top four teams in the country. They may not even belong in the top ten. Their was ranking was more the result of high preseason expectations, a myriad of close wins against solid teams and the fact that the a handful of teams that should be ranked above them have lost already this season. Is Louisville a better team than North Carolina? Probably not, but since the Tar Heels fell against Kentucky and UNLV already this season, pollsters slid the Cardinals all the way up to fourth.
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Michigan State survives Indiana

Think about this for a second: No. 15 Indiana lost to No. 17 Michigan State 80-65 at the Breslin Center on Wednesday night.

Beyond the fact that the game got away from the Hoosiers down the stretch and that it was their first loss of the season, there isn't much about the final that is really noteworthy.

But what if I were to tell you that during a 10 minute stretch that spanned both halves, Indiana outscored Michigan State 25-2? Because that happened. Michigan State opened the game on a 34-16 surge, taking what appeared to be a commanding lead on a Keith Appling three at the 5:11 mark of the first half. Indiana caught fire, however, hitting three consecutive threes to spark the 25-2 run that was capped by a gorgeous, spinning layup from Victor Oladipo in transition with 15:02 left in the game.
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Missouri State upsets No. 19 Creighton in the Valley opener

You want an idea of why the Missouri Valley is always going to be one of the most entertaining conferences to follow?

Just take a look at what happened last night.

Missouri State, a team that lost literally everyone from the program outside of Kyle Weems last season -- six of their seven rotational player were seniors, head coach Cuonzo Martin took over at Tennessee -- and had fairly low expectations coming into the year, went into Omaha, NE, and knocked off league favorite Creighton 77-65. Throw in the fact that Drake beat Indiana State, who was expected to finish in the top four of that conference race, by 15 points and the Valley doors have swung wide open.
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Thursday Morning Dump

- Go vote. Right now. Go. Do it.

- Eamonn Brennan opens up the weekly hoops bag

- Mark Emmert would like to see the reach of coaches' communications get shortened

- Cal's most popular member? Franklin. He's a bulldog.

- Good stuff from Myron Medcalfe on Jared Cunningham.
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Conference Catch-ups: The WCC

Over the course of this week, we will spend a few minutes catching you up on how some of the best conferences in the country currently look. With conference play starting up, its time to get into the basketball spirit.

You can find the rest of the Conference Catch-ups here.


Favorite: BYU

The Cougars are still a bit of an unknown entity, and that is in very large part due to the way that Matt Carlino has kicked off the season. He's only been on the roster for four games after transferring in from BYU, but Carlino has been fantastic in those four games, averaging 17.3 ppg and 4.8 apg and, most importantly, giving the Cougars a playmaker and a scorer on the perimeter. He's not Jimmer, but he can take the pressure off of BYU's big men, as we saw in BYU's near-upset of Baylor. And those big men -- namely Brandon Davies and Noah Hartsock -- have been terrific in the early going. BYU is the highest ranked team in Kenpom's efficiency ratings this season and are a much-improved defensive team. That defensive prowess, combined with the 1-2-3 punch of Carlino, Davies and Hartsock, is why BYU gets the nod over Gonzaga and St. Mary's.
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Wednesday's Pregame Beat: Great night for hoops, headined by three top 25 matchups

Game of the night: No. 12 Georgetown @ No. 4 Louisville

The Big East is probably not going to end up being the best conference in college basketball again this season in large part due to its size; there are some teams at the bottom of the league that are less than inspiring. That said, there is still no conference in the country that can match the firepower that the Big East has at the top, and that is what makes the league so entertaining: seemingly every night of the week, there is going to be some matchup between that 15 teams. And tonight, we get Georgetown and Louisville.
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2011 B.I.A.H End-of-the-Year Awards, Part-I

It's now time to say goodbye to 2011. The New Year is just around the corner, and 2012 will provide another year's-worth of college basketball excitment. But before we do that, we must take a look back at what made 2011 so special.

After all, 2011 was a tremendous year. We saw Jimmer Fredette conquer North America. We saw Kemba Walker win 14 straight tournament games and earn three tournament MVPs (Maui Invitational, Big East Tournament, NCAA Tournament). We saw Virginia Commonwealth become a giant-killer and saw Butler reach a second-consecutive National Championship game. 2011 even ushered the return of Hoosier Hysteria, thanks to a 3-point buzzer-beater to defeat Kentucky. 2011 had amazing games, epic finishes, exciting dunks, and a heavy dose of classic Gus Johnson calls.

But 2011 wasn't just about the on-court performances. The basketball media had a good year too. We read insightful articles, tear-jerking stories, and thought-provoking commentary. Topics were constantly debated and discussed, and the media kept us up-to-date on all the breaking news and notes from the world of college hoops.
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Conference Catch-ups: The Missouri Valley

Over the course of this week, we will spend a few minutes catching you up on how some of the best conferences in the country currently look. With conference play starting up, its time to get into the basketball spirit.

You can find the rest of the Conference Catch-ups here.


Favorite: Creighton

How can anyone vote against the Bluejays right now? Creighton is 10-1 heading into the start of league play, with the '1' coming on the road against a better-than-you-think St. Joe's team. The Bluejays have size up front and shooting on the perimeter, but more than anything they have the guy that is one of the current front runners for Player of the Year -- National, not Missouri Valley -- Doug McDermott. Creighton is going to be able to score this season, the question mark with this group lies on the defensive end of the floor: are they going to be able to get enough stops to win the bare-knuckle brawls that make up MVC conference games?
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Wednesday Morning Dump

Now I remember why having Christmas on a Sunday absolutely blows. What are we like, three days removed from the Holiday and yet everybody is already back at work. Since I'm still in full-blown vacation-mode, I'm only giving you the bare minimum with today's dump. But don't worry, I'll make up for it in other ways.

- Luke Winn takes a look back at the best hoops stories of 2011

- Jeff Eisenberg gives us a breakdown of the best hoops moments of 2011

- Billy Edelin wants to know what the 2011 play of the year was? (Me personally? "COLD-BLOODED". But "Cardiac Kemba" is also a solid choice)

- An awesome-read on the transfer effect in the Big-XII

Art Chandler, who for 40 years served as the voice of Cameron Indoor Stadium, passed away on Christmas day at the age of 78

- If you are into hipster music, the hipster lifestyle, advanced statistics, and well, general nerd-like activities, this is probably right up your alley

- Despite a couple of recent transfers, Virginia head coach Tony Bennett doesn't seem fazed. But maybe he should be just a bit concerned

- Jamal Wilson, the leading scorer for Rhode Island, has been dismissed from the program

- Illinois guard Crandall Head (brother of former Illini Luther) is going to transfer out of Champagne

- Kansas' Ben McLemore has had his court date postponed

- I'm pretty sure none of us expected Pitt to be this bad this early in the season. But after back-to-back losses to Wagner and Notre Dame, well, here they are

- There is no way you can defend Nate Lubick's play as of late. He sucks. (Sorry, gotta get some blatant Georgetown Homerism in here somewhere)

- I will never turn down the opportunity to link to an article with a Carl Winslow reference

- I'd certainly be interested in acquiring one of these. After all, "Free Enes" was SO last year

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Wednesday's Shootaround: Pitt's upset again while Wisconsin's still Wisconsin

No. 11 Wisconsin 64, Nebraska 40: It simply does not get more 'Wisconsin' than what the Badgers did to poor Nebraska in their Big Ten opener on Tuesday night. On the strength of a career-high 22 points from Ryan Evans, Wisky scored just 64 points as they dominated and demoralized a Nebraska team that never really was in the game after the first 10 minutes. What's more impressive is that Wisconsin allowed 40 points on 51 possessions, or 0.784 PPP, on the defensive end, but that actually was a below-averaged defensive performance for the Badgers. Coming into this game, they were giving up 0.730 PPP on the season.

The beauty of this Wisconsin system has nothing to do with the skills of the individual players, however. Sure, Jordan Taylor is an all-american that finally showed some glimpses of that ability. And yes, Ryan Evans played a fantastic basketball game. Jared Berggren, Ben Brust, Mike Breusewitz -- all good players. But what makes Wisconsin such a good team is that they just take you out of any kind of rhythm with the pace that they play. They don't attack the offensive glass hard so as to prevent run outs. They don't gamble for steals because they want to make you use clock to score. They use every second of the shot clock and hit absolutely deflating jumpers as the shot clock expires.
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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Tuesday's Pregame Beat: Sneaky upset potential?

9:00 pm: No. 11 Wisconsin @ Nebraska: The Cornhuskers are not a terrible basketball team. They have some size, they defend and they play well at home. Wisconsin hasn't exactly been struggling this season, but they certainly haven't been playing as well as they can. If Bo Spencer gets hot, Jordan Taylor continues to struggle and Ben Brust has an off night, Nebraska can absolutely win this game.

7:00 pm: No. 22 Pitt @ Notre Dame: Pitt is not the same team that they have been over the last decade or so. This group is far from what you would consider even a good defensive team. Notre Dame has had their fair share of struggles early in the season, but there are some pieces on this Irish team. Eric Atkins is an underrated point guard, Jerian Grant has gotten himself noticed with his play early in the year and Jack Cooley is starting to come into his own in the paint. The Irish are going to have their work cut out for them on the defensive glass, but they have a shot of winning this thing.

8:00 pm: Minnesota @ Illinois: I have a lot of questions about both of these teams. Will any of them get answered tonight?

7:00 pm: Providence @ St. John's: Providence has four players -- Vincent Council, Gerard Coleman, Bryce Cotton, LaDontae Henton -- that play 73% of their minutes. I don't know if you realize how wild that is.

UMES @ No. 24 Virginia: The Cavs better not lose this game. There's not much else to say about this game.
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Conference Catch-ups: The Big Ten

Over the course of this week, we will spend a few minutes catching you up on how some of the best conferences in the country currently look. With conference play starting up, its time to get into the basketball spirit.

You can find the rest of the Conference Catch-ups here.


Favorite: Ohio State

This pick will be as much of a consensus as any league in country with one, absolutely crucial technicality: Jared Sullinger stays healthy. I love Aaron Craft and his ability to control a game without being a scorer. William Buford may be the best wing in the country. DeShaun Thomas can score with the best of them. Hell, even Lenzelle Smith and Evan Ravenel have been impressive at times this season. But without a healthy Jared Sullinger, Ohio State is a different team. His is the single most dominant force in the paint in the country, and his presence makes it so much easier for his teammates to operate.

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The Emery Board: Featuring Chane Benhanan

This weekly column is in honor of BYU's Jackson Emery, who, for two straight seasons, claimed his squad would go undefeated and win the National Championship. Unfortunate for Jackson, his statements never really panned out. In 2009-2010, BYU went 30-6 and lost to Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2010-2011, they finished 32-5, and lost to Florida in the Sweet-16. So, in those two years, BYU lost 11 games compared to Emery's projected total of zero, won zero National Championships, and in fact, didn't even win the the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

We were going to put the Emery Board to sleep this season. But thanks to Louisville freshman Chane Behanhan, this post has been giving new life.

If you remember correctly, about a week ago, the freshman forward stated that the Cardinals would not lose a single game this season, and that his team is the best in the country.

College basketball has not seen a team go undefeated since Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers went 32-0 in 1975-1976. The closest we have seen since then was a Jameer Nelson-led St. Joseph's team that went 27-0 in the 2003-2004 season before losing to Xavier in the Atlantic-10 tournament. Every season a team flirts with the notion of an undefeated season, but every season that notion slowly fades as January turns to February and February turns to March.

The Emery Board: 5th Edition
Marquette dropped off the Emery Board thanks to a shaky performance at LSU. Louisville barely made it through the week undefeated, as they were given stern tests from Charleston and Western Kentucky. As conference play heats up, the Emery Board will get smaller and smaller. This week is loaded with a couple of very important games featuring undefeated teams. Will any of them suffer from the post-Holiday hangover?

No.1 Syracuse (13-0)
Next game: 12/28 vs. Seton Hall (11-1)
First realistic loss: 12/28 vs. Seton Hall (11-1)

Syracuse continues to play steady ball, easily handling Bucknell and Tulane this past week. Their game against Seton Hall should be a dandy. The Pirates have played much better than anybody expected, and have been flying way below the radar. The match-up between Herb Pope and whoever the Orange throw at him will be very interesting. I can see Fab Melo, James Southerland and Rakeem Christmas all taking shots at Pope, but I'm not sure which of the group will be able to shut him down. That being said, the Pirates don't have nearly as many weapons as the Orange, so conventional wisdom suggests that the 'Cuse should win. But this is a Big East game, so you never know what may happen.



No.4 Louisville (10-0)
Next game: 12/28 vs. No.12 Georgetown (10-1)
First realistic loss: 12/28 vs. No.12 Georgetown (10-1)

If anybody on Louisville going to make a bonehead statement, it makes sense that it was the freshman Benhanan. After all, he has yet to play a single Big East conference game. And wouldn't you know, the Cardinals get a top-15 opponent in their first conference game of the year. See Chane, this is what the Big East is like, and if your team struggled with Charleston and Western Kentucky, Georgetown might be the team to make you eat your words. But lets say Louisville does beat Georgetown, which they more then capable of doing, they get No.3 Kentucky on New Year's Ever in the only rivalry game in the country as tumultuous as the Crosstown Shootout. With what we saw from Louisville last week, I just can't put a lot of faith in them to enter the New Year with a "goose egg" in the loss column.



No.6 Baylor (12-0)
Next game: 12/28 vs. No.14 Mississippi State (12-1)
First realistic loss: 12/28 vs. No.14 Mississippi State (12-1)

The Bears are in the toughest portion of their non-conference schedule. They haven't looked uber-dominant, but they were able to beat a game BYU team in Provo, and beat Saint Mary's and West Virginia on a neutral court. Now comes their toughest test of the season: No.14 Mississippi State. The Bulldogs feature a front-court with enough size to give the bears some struggles, and back-court play could be the difference-maker in this game. If Pierre Jackson can come up large, as he did against BYU (game-clinching block) and WVU (game-winning shot), the Bears should squeak by with a victory.



No.8 Missouri (12-0)
Next game: 12/30 at Old Dominion (6-6)
First realistic loss: 12/30 at Old Dominion (6-6)

Realistically, Missouri should run through Old Dominion on New Year's Eve. But Blaine Taylor's squad is seasoned and tested. The Monarchs aren't nearly as good as they were two years ago, but this setting has all the makings of a trap game. The Tigers just defeated their "Border War" rivals Illinois last week, they had the holiday weekend off, and they start Big-XII play next week. If there was ever a time to catch Mizzou sleeping, it would be now. But let's say Missouri wins, which I expect them to do. It's possible that the Tigers are the last undefeated team standing. They start Big-XII play against Oklahoma, Kansas State, Iowa State and Texas. While that's not exactly an easy start, it's not a murder's row either. This team has showed very few weaknesses thus far, and I could totally see the Tigers being undefeated heading in to their 12/21 showdown with Baylor in Waco.



No.13 Indiana (12-0)
Next game: 12/28 at No.17 Michigan State (11-2)
First realistic loss: 12/28 at No.17 Michigan State (11-2)

The Hoosier's had cupcakes for Christmas, as they faced Howard (4-9) and UMBC (1-10). Indiana waxed the east coast teams by a combined score of 196-97. But the non-conference schedule is over, and the Hoosiers begin Big-Ten play with a murder's row: at No.17 Michigan State, No.2 Ohio State on New Year's Eve, and No.16 Michigan. The Hoosiers have been a pleasant surprise thus far, but I'm 100% confident that they will lose one of their next three games.



No.22 Murray State (13-0)
Next game: 12/30 at Eastern Illinois (6-5)
First realistic loss: 12/30 at Eastern Illinois (6-5)

So here we are. Murray State has finished their non-conference schedule and still has not been defeated, they are clearly the best team in the Ohio Valley Conference and will be the favorites in every game they play. But, like I said last week, they will be getting the best shot from every team they play. They will get more TV coverage, more publicity, more everything. I think Murray State will lose a game this year. In fact, I'm nearly sure of it. But I have exactly no idea which game it will be.



Bottom of the Barrel


Run The Floor did a good job breaking down the teams that have yet to notch a victory this year. I suggest you give their site a good-read, but not before you read our stuff first.


Binghamton (0-10)
Next game: 12/28 at Canisius (2-9)
First real chance to win: 12/28 at Canisius (2-9)

Chicago State (0-13)
Next game: 12/31 at Ball State (6-4)
First real chance to win: 1/15 vs. St. Francis (Ill) (Non-DI)

Grambling State (0-9)
Next game: 12/29 at LSU (9-3)
First real chance to win: 1/3 vs. Alabama State (2-9)

Hartford (0-11)
Next game: 12/31 at LaSalle (8-4)
First real chance to win: 1/15 at Binghamton (0-10)

Northern Illinois (0-11)
Next game: 1/2 vs. Roosevelt (Non-DI)
First real chance to win: 1/2 vs. Roosevelt (Non-DI)

Towson (0-12)
Next game: 12/30 vs. No.24 Virginia (10-1)
First real chance to win: 1/2 vs. Northeastern (3-7)

Continue reading...

Conference Catch-ups: The Big East

Over the course of this week, we will spend a few minutes catching you up on how some of the best conferences in the country currently look. With conference play starting up, its time to get into the basketball spirit.

You can find the rest of the Conference Catch-ups here.


Favorite: Syracuse

There is a reason that the Orange are currently sitting at the top of both national polls right now. Heading into Big East play, this group is still undefeated and has as deep of a roster as we have seen in Upstate NY in a long time. Their back court is absolutely lethal with Dion Waiters coming off the bench behind Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche. Their front court is loaded with size and versatility. If this team can stay focused with everything surrounding the allegations against Bernie Fine, Jim Boeheim has a group capable of winning a national title.

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College Hoops Week in Review: Doug McDermott and Kansas State

Player of the Week: Doug McDermott, Creighton

Doug McDermott shouldn't have been a secret coming into the season, but if you didn't know about him back in October you certainly should by now. If the season ended today, he'd be a first-team all-american. Arguing that he should be the National Player of the Year would actually have some merit. In fact, he's been so good as a sophomore that its fair to say that Harrison Barnes played on McDermott's high school team. Not the other way around.

Considering how well McDermott has played this season, its a difficult task taking him into consideration for Player of the Week simply because it takes so much for him to do something that is more than just par for the course. But that is exactly what he did this week. In an overpowering win at Tulsa, McDermott showcased his back-to-the-basket game, scoring 35 points while shooting 16-23 from the floor. The majority of those shots came on post-ups, and McDermott only went to the line once. That should tell you something about how fundamentally sound he is inside.
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Tuesday Morning Dump

Hope everybody had a solid holiday weekend. We are still trying to get out of a food/drink-induced haze, so forgive us if we seem slow today.

_ There was very little movement at the top of the rankings this week, but that could/should all change by this weekend

- Jeff Brozello provides a solid conference reset for the Big East (But sweet god, that head-shot is hideous. Did you photoshop that yourself?)

- Jeff Goodman (whose head-shot looks significantly less photoshop'd) resets us on the Big-Ten Conference and provides an interesting statement about NCAA Tournament potential of the conference as a whole

- It seems like everybody has been going gaga over Iona during the non-conference months. But as John Templon points out, they haven't won the MAAC yet, and their at-large fate isn't exactly crystal clear

- Speaking of the MAAC, don't count out Loyola's chances of threatening Iona's place at atop the conference.

- Pittsburgh's issue this year is that they haven't been playing the stifling, air-tight brand of defense that has become accustomed to Jamie Dixon-coached teams. John Gasaway provides further explanation (Insiders Only)

- Digital Hoops Blast is the only site of it's kind, and should be read as much as possible. There isn't a place on the web that analyzes internet media and college basketball as well as Digital Hoops Blast does

- Mac Irvin, the "Godfather of Chicago Hoops" and founder of the famous "Mac Irvin Fire" AAU program passed away over the weekend

- Hoopniks provides a top-ten list of the best books about college basketball. (Solid list. I'm certainly not a bibliophile, but even I own 3 of the 10 books on here)

- Mike Miller drops some great knowledge on why Long Beach State is more equipped this year to win the Big West tournament than in previous years, when the fell short to UC-Santa Barbara in the finals

- Gary Parrish tells the fans to dial back some of the Josh Pastner-hate. Oh yeah, since it's Tuesday, you also get his Poll Attacks (Always a Tuesday must-read)

- Andy Katz lists the ten teams that impressed him the most this past week

- Curtis Kitchen gives us the five major reasons why Kansas State won the Diamondhead Classic (Note that "Not having to play Xavier" was omitted from this list)

- You probably aren't too familiar with Charlotte freshman Pierria Henry, but luckily for us, Ken Cross does a great job dropping some knowledge about the first-year guards stellar non-conference play

- I certainly did not foresee Cincinnati and Xavier heading in the directions they are in following the Crosstown Brawl

- Florida guard Mike Rosario is doubtful to play in the Gators' match-up with Rutgers, his former school

- A mid-season look at the Big Sky predictions

- I know you all probably don't give a you-know-what about Arkansas-Little Rock or the Sun Belt Conference, but if you were inclined to do so, I'd highly recommend checking out Burn The Horse. Not many low-major schools have fans dedicated enough to create a team-specific-blog. But the good people at B.T.H certainly represent their school well and run a good operation over there

- Your weekly reminder that the Pac-12 is like, really really really really bad this year

- I guess maybe Billy Clyde Gillispie isn't as much of a punk as we all make him out to be

- Don't mess with Dickie-V on Twitter. The Ambassador of College Hoops doesn't take kindly to low-brow trolling


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Monday, December 26, 2011

POSTERIZED: The Torye Pelham 1-2-3

Pelham 123 was a crappy remake of a 40's action movie. Even Denzell Washington and John Travolta couldn't make this train-wreck of a movie watchable.

Luckily, Southern Mississippi's Torye Pelham is no train-wreck. But if you try to get in his way, he'll turn you into one.

Peep the video.



Not one, not two, but three #POSTERIZED dunks from the senior forward.

The Golden Eagles are currently 10-2 and their only losses are to a hot Denver team and the currently undefeated Racers of Murray State. I wouldn't be surprised if we start hearing more about this team as C-USA play picks up. And I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing more highlight-reel dunks from Pelham if guys keep trying to get in his way.

(H/T @Sam1NEWski)


But was it as good as these?

Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26



Continue reading...

Sunday, December 25, 2011

POSTERIZED: Keith Gabriel wishes you a merry Dunk-mas

In the interest of political correctness, we will not wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanuka, Happy Kwanzaa, Riotous Ramadan, or Tomeful Tet.

Happy Holidays is all you get.

Well, it's not ALL you get. You also get video of a pretty vicious dunk delivered by VMI's Keith Gabriel.

We've seen Keith Gabriel do this before. It's been awhile since we've seen him go up-up-and-away, but the guy is more than capable to throwing it down with relative ease.



Old Dominion may have won the game, but this nasty poster-dunk is a nice consolation prize.

This entry is a further indicator that B.I.A.H #POSTERIZED is spreading like wild-fire. If you witness a #POSTERIZED-worthy dunk, hit us up and let us know. We'll take care of the rest. (H/T @D3Bill)


But was it as good as these?

Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26
Continue reading...

Friday, December 23, 2011

Christmas Wish List: What Duke wants and needs

For the next five days, Beyond the Arc will detail what some teams need. Hey, we’re in a giving mood.

Mike Krzyzewski already gotten his 903rd win. He's got another Maui Invitational trophy sitting on his mantle. And while his Blue Devils got waxed by Ohio State, they are sitting pretty at 10-1 with a stable of quality wins this season.

So what do you get the coach that's already gotten his gifts?:
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Jarnell Stokes headlines this year's mid-season additions

Every year, we have a group of players that, for whatever reason, are forced to join their team at the midway point of the season.

The cause varies. Some are academically ineligible for the first semester. Others transferred midway through the previous season and cannot suit up until they sit out for a full year. Some players are coming off of injury. Some are international players serving suspensions for games that they have played with professional players.

The most unique mid-season addition this year is Jarnell Stokes.
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B.I.A.H. Presents: Road Trippin' is a Habit

B.I.A.H has grown a lot in the three years it's been in operation. Viewership has gone up, media attention has gone up, and the growing fan support has been tremendous.

Heading in to this season, we wanted to do something big, something that said "we've arrived", something that would test our journalism skills, professionalism and mental toughness.

See, we're from the East Coast, so a good basketball game is never too far away. But America is a big place. It's filled with great college towns and famous arenas that we may never have the opportunity to visit.
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Friday Morning Dump

- Luke Winn's Power Rankings aka the must-read of all must-reads

- Ken Pomeroy provides arguably the most interesting-read of the day, and doesn't even use advanced statistics or anything! He details us on Scobey, Montana. Where's Scobey? Oh, just further away from a D-I arena than any town in the country

- Jeff Eisenberg compiled a list of famous/infamous college hoops holiday videos

- Seton Hall is finally starting to gain some respect. Jeff Goodman explains why the family-style attitude has helped the Pirates get out to a hot start. Is Seton Hall for real? Jeff Eisenberg ponders this thought

- West Virginia's Aaric Murray, who transferred from LaSalle after last season, was arrested for marijuana possession

- Of course Bruce Pearl used a smoking-hot blond to help land a recruit. Man, I wish I was a high-level college recruit. They certainly don't do that for low-major non-revenue sport recruits....

- Mike DeCourcy thinks the basketball-only Big East schools would be foolish to start their own league

- Is it really that hard for Jim Calhoun to talk about scholarship issues to the press? Calhoun got testy with reporters after his team's 79-71 win over Fairfield, and clearly, the press has some issues with Calhoun's staunch defense

- Torian Graham continues to toy with NC-State's emotions. This time, the highly-touted recruit has recommitted to the Wolfpack

- Austin Rivers enjoyed the lockout because it gave him time to spend with his dad, Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers

- Jarnell Stokes made his college decision today, and chose Tennessee over schools like Memphis, Florida and Arkansas

- Jeff Brozello provides his updated Freshman of the Year standings

- Jeremy Lundblad provides the stats your need to see

- Rock Chalk Talk takes a look at the most painful NCAA Tournament exits in Kansas history

- Rock Chalk Talk also does a good job of explaining how the quality of Kansas' opponents affects their pace of play

- Erin Andrews is single again? So you're saying there's a chance?


Patric Young blocked this shot with some serious "old-man strength"




(H/T The Mock Session)
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Friday's Shootaround: A busy night in college hoops

No. 15 Georgetown 70, Memphis 59: See here.

No. 8 Missouri 78, No. 24 Illinois 74: Missouri blew a 13 point lead with just 13 minutes left in the game, allowing the Illini to come all the way back and take the lead, but the Tigers had just enough left in the tank to pull out the victory late. Illinois led 70-68 after DJ Richardson hit two free throws at the two minute mark, but the Tigers responded with seven straight points to take control of the game.

Phil Pressey, who wasn't named a Cousy Award finalist, had 18 points and five assists for Mizzou. Joseph Bertrand came off the bench to score 19 points for the Illini -- on 9-9 shooting no less -- and Meyers Leonard added 14 points, 13 boards and five assists. Illinois deserves a ton of credit for the comeback that they made on the road, and while the loss will no doubt sting, they have no reason to hang their head after this one.
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Thursday, December 22, 2011

What's plaguing Memphis, and why they needed a two hours team meeting after losing to Georgetown

The final buzzer sounded at just past 9 pm ET as No. 15 Georgetown put the finishing touches on a 70-59 victory over Memphis at the Verizon center, wrapping up what was a crisp, two-hour basketball game.

It wasn't until 10:45 pm, however, that Memphis head coach Josh Pastner finally emerged from his team's locker room in the bowels of the Verizon Center. For the second time in the span of 10 days, the Tigers had a team meeting in an effort to cure what ails them, this one lasting just 15 minutes less than the game itself.

"We just had a team meeting and needed to air a few things out," Memphis head coach Josh Pastner said after the game. "It was the right thing before we got to Christmas break. It was a good open discussion. I love those guys, no one in there is happy to be 6-5. Have we played a tough schedule? Darn right. But we're too good to be sitting at 6-5."
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POSTERIZED: Chris Evans is not to be stopped

I think it's about time we add Kent State's Chris Evans to the list of "Best Dunkers in the Country".

Why?

Well, if you've followed this series at all (which you all should be doing), then you may remember that way back in early-November,  a certain forward for the Golden Flashes getting all kinds of nasty over West Virginia's Gary Browne,.

After that SportCenter "Top Play", some of you probably thought that would be the last time we heard from C-Evans.

You were wrong.

Way wrong.



It's funny. In both of Evans' posterizations this season, the defenders made the decision of trying to go up and thwart Evan's dunk attempt. In both cases, C-Evans made them look like fools.

So, for all you MAC basketball players out there, take note: Do not attempt to stand in the flight path of Chris Evans. It will not be pretty.

And to think, this dunk almost went unnoticed. If you look at the clip again, you'll notice that a) the game is being played at Utah State and b) there are literally no fans there. Let this be your warning. If Chris Evans is playing in a basketball game, let's make sure we provide him a big crowd to dunk in front of.

Oh, and according to Evans' bio on the Kent State athletics page, his favorite food is Chipotle. I think we've found ourselves a winner, folks.

I love me some Chiptole.

(H/T @tvatter1_SID)


But was it as good as these?

P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26





Continue reading...

Thursday's Pregame Beat: Braggin' Rights game highlights a packed schedule

Its a truly great night of hoops, as we get 96 games, including 18 games involving teams ranked in the top 25.

Game of the night: No. 24 Illinois @ No. 8 Missouri

The Braggin' Rights game. Believe it or not, this is as big of a rivalry as either of these two programs have, and tonight we should be a dandy.

The media loves Missouri. They spread the floor, they're putting up huge offensive numbers, they have a bevy of talented shooters and they have the single most media-savvy player in the country in Kim English. That said, they also have a schedule with the strength of a wet paper towel (CVS brand, not even Bounty, the quicker picker-upper). Can Phil Pressey get in the lane at will against a high-major back court? Will Marcus Denmon and Kim English be able to hit threes at such a high-rate with 6'6" wings flying at them instead of 6'1" wings? Can Ricardo Ratliffe and Steve Moore handle holding down the paint against a real front line?
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Christmas Wish List: What does Florida want and need?

For the next five days, Beyond the Arc will detail what some teams need. Hey, we’re in a giving mood.

Billy Donovan has already gotten an early Christmas gift, as Erik Murphy's knee injury wasn't all that serious. He also has plenty of presents (read: rings) from Christmas' past that he can play with if he has too.

But its a new year and a new holiday season, which is why Santa will have no problem taking a peak at what Billy the Kid wants:
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The maturation of Henry Sims

One of college basketball's most well-known cliches goes like this: "The best thing about freshmen? They become sophomores."

The trend of the one-and-done era aside, that cliche generally rings true. The biggest jump that a college player makes is usually during his sophomore season. The reasons why it happens vary -- he spent the entire summer in the weight room, he finally got a feel for the system, he spent the offseason working on his weaknesses -- but the results rarely lie. In situations where playing time and a clogged depth chart come into play, you'll sometimes see that breakout postponed until a player's junior season.

What's rare, however, is to see a kid become a star after spending three seasons as a role player.
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Thursday's Shootaround: UNC rolls

No. 6 UNC 82, Texas 63: Texas barely had a chance to get their legs under them before the Tar Heels put this thing away. UNC used a 13-1 run midway through the first half to break the game open and never looked back. Myck Kabongo was a no show on Wednesday night, finishing with one point and one assists to go along with four turnovers in 15 minutes. Jonathon Holmes and Sheldon McClellan both played well, but it wasn't enough for the 'Horns, who shot an abysmal 34.9% from the floor.

This game was less about Texas, however, than it was about UNC. The Tar Heels looked determined. This is a team that has fallen out of the national consciousness following losses to UNLV and Kentucky, seeing their name dropped behind the likes of Ohio State and Syracuse when discussing national title contenders. Roy Williams' club played like they wanted to make a statement.
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Thursday Morning Dump

- The Missouri Valley Conference is going to get more NCAA tournament bids than the Pac-12. I know that's not saying much, but still, this league is really good

- Now this is an expansionocalypse idea I might be able to get behind

- You'd be wise to read this interview with BYU's Matt Carlino. The dude is a stud

- The UConn administration is taking a proactive approach to revising policy on abuse claims

- A good-read on the job Frank Haith is doing in re-stocking his current graduating classes

- Screengrab breakdowns have become all the rage amongst bloggers and other internet hoop-heads. Personally, I think they're stupid. My microscopic attention-span cannot handle them. If you want to diagram something for me, use a god-damn chalkboard. Matt Norlander tried his best to poke fun at this trend, and well, he was about as successful as the trend itself. Maybe it's my fault for not finding it funny. I was at a car repair shop when I read it, and posts like these don't read well on the Iphone. It took me five minutes to get half-way through it, and by that point, I was more frustrated than I was amused. But then Searching for Billy Edelin attempted to break down the breakdowns, and well, nothing was really accomplished. See, jokes about real things can be funny, but jokes about jokes about real things are never funny. I like the spunk, enthusiasm and panache, but let's not make this a trend or anything, OK? Great.

- The Pac-12 tournament needs to move to Las Vegas. I mean, can anyone give a me a reason as to why it shouldn't be played there? Yeah, didn't think so

- Speaking of the Pac-12, if you were thinking that statistics might help you rationalize that the Pac-12 isn't that bad, well, you thought wrong. Stats don't lie. The Pac-12 sucks

- Indiana sophomore Will Sheehey suffered a lower leg injury during practice yesterday and will miss the Hoosiers game against UMBC. Elston Turner has a broken nose and he too will miss the UMBC game

- When the Oakland Grizzlies are hitting their shots, they are a tough out. The Summit League race is going to be very interesting this season, as Oakland, Oral Roberts and South Dakota State have provided some strong showings during non-conference play

- If Towson loses their next game, they will have gone all of 2011 without a win

- I know you probably don't pay attention to MAC basketball, but if you were to do so, you should keep a close eye on Ohio. The Bobcats are legit

- The NYC Power Poll is the only poll in America that features Seton Hall with a No.1 next to the name

- I've been waiting for a Xavier person to ask this question since the Crosstown donnybrook cleared up, and well, since the X-men got drubbed by Oral Roberts at home.



Continue reading...

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

POSTERIZED: P.J. Hairston is a bad, bad man (w/ bonus dunk)

If you are reading this, it's very likely that you aren't watching the North Carolina vs. Texas game on ESPN. And since you're probably not watching the game, you probably didn't get to see P.J. Hairston's spectacu-large poster-dunk on Julian Lewis.

But thanks to B.I.A.H. POSTERIZED, you'll be able to see this monster jam well before the 11PM SportsCenter puts it in "Top Plays".



The post-dunk freeze frame that Hairston does it equally impressive. That right there is one of the best moments in college hoops. When others would strut, scream, and get loud, Hairston just takes it all in, like a cold-blooded assassin.

And as if things weren't good enough for Julian Lewis, he's currently 0-5 from the field and has two fouls.


As usual, @Bubbaprog is the first on the scene with an epic .gif of the encounter.



Yowsers!

(H/T MockSession)

But wait, there's more!!!

Dexter Strickland had a filthy dunk even before Hairston took flight.



Yeah, it was pretty nasty too.

But was it as good as these?

Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

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