College Basketball Week In Review: Four Weeks, Four #1's

What We Learned This Week: How many bids is the SEC going to get this year? Right now, are they looking at more than two? The way I see it, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, LSU, South Carolina and maybe Mississippi State all have some sort of chance if they are able to win enough games (I don't want to get into it too much, I am working on a post for later in the week about it). Kentucky looked to be a lock before getting swept this week. Florida was looking good until they were blown out by Tennessee, who is far from a guarantee themselves.

The biggest issue for these teams is going to be the perception of the SEC as very weak. Outside of Arkansas's (seemingly) fluke wins over Texas and Oklahoma, there aren't many impressive non-conference wins to speak of. Tennessee beat Marquette, but the Golden Eagles still have a lot of doubters out there. They also beat Georgetown, which is looking less and less impressive by the day. Florida and LSU have wins over Washington and Washington State (respectively), but the Pac-10 is down this year. LSU lost by 30 at Utah. Kentucky's win over West Virginia will be canceled out by their loss to VMI. And what about Mercer's dominance over the Alabama schools?

When it comes down to it, the SEC is going to get hurt by the lack of big games in conference play. Let's say Providence and Kentucky are on a par right now (not really a stretch). Who's shoes would you rather be in? The team that gets a shot at a number of Big East big dogs, where all you will need is an upset or two to solidify your resume. Or the team who is going to have to come damn near winning out against the on-the-bubble-powerhouses of the SEC in order to ensure themselves an at-large bid. Personally, I'd want to be in the Friar's spot.

Georgetown (12-8, 3-6) and Notre Dame (12-8, 3-6), both on five game losing streaks, are far from out of NCAA contention. There is still a ton of basketball yet to be played, and both teams are going to get a number of chances against tournament and top 25 teams the rest of the way. Think back to last year and Arizona. The Wildcats played the second hardest schedule in the country last season en route to a 18-13 record, 8-10 in the Pac-10 (good enough for 7th). But the Pac-10 was considered the best conference in the country, and as a result, the Wildcats earned a 10 seed as an at-large before losing to West Virginia in the first round.

The Hoyas have played the toughest schedule in the country this year, and with their schedule "lightening" up a bit down the stretch (only four of their final nine games are against RPI top 50 as opposed to six of their last ten), if the Hoyas can get to 9-9 or 8-10 in the Big East, they should be fine. Notre Dame, on the other hand, is in much more dire straits. Their SOS is currently 50th in the country, but if they hope to snag an at-large bid, they are probably going to want to go 7-3 at worst the rest of the way. They do get a road game at UCLA, which would be a huge win, as well as four other games against RPI top 50. But the Irish really have their work cut out for them.

GAME OF THE WEEK:
Wake Forest 70, Duke 68
Not really that tough of a decision here. Wake Forest controlled this thing basically the entire game, eventually pushing their lead to 13 at 61-48. But that is when Duke started to chip away. Between Wake Forest missing free throws and taking questionable shots and Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler taking over the game, Duke was able to eventually tie the game at 68 after a Henderson 15 footer with 10 seconds left. Wake would push the ball up the court, but missed two shots before Henderson was called for a travel on the rebound, giving the Deacs the ball underneath with 2.6 seconds left. Dino Gaudio drew up a play in the huddle, and James Johnson slipped a screen and found himself wide open for a lay-up to win the game. Johnson finished with 13 and 11 while Al-Farouq Aminu added 15 and 10. Henderson and Singler went 20/8 and 22/12, respectively. A full write-up from the game can be found here.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Jerel McNeal, Marquette
Blake Griffin. Stephen Curry. Luke Harangody. These are the names that have been tossed around as far as player of the year is concerned. Believe it or not, Jerel McNeal needs to be included in that conversation. I've written about him (here) before, but McNeal has just kept playing better and better. This past week, he led Marquette to two more wins as the Golden Eagles remained undefeated in the Big East. Against Notre Dame, McNeal led the Eagles with 27 points as they sent Notre Dame to their second straight loss at home. But that was far from McNeal's best game of the week. On Saturday, as the Eagles hosted Georgetown, McNeal posted one of the best all-around lines of the season: 26 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 steals, and 3 blocks. The emergence of McNeal as an all-american has been the difference in Marquette being a good team in the Big East to the Eagles becoming a top ten team nationally.

TEAM OF THE WEEK:
Penn State
The Nittany Lions game their NCAA tournament hopes a huge boost on Sunday when they went into East Lansing and knocked off the Michigan State Spartans. Granted, MSU was playing without Raymar Morgan, but it is still a huge win on the road. Talor Battle had 29 to lead PSU in the win. With the win, Penn State moves into a three way tie in third place in the Big Ten (with Illinois and Minnesota) just a game behind Michigan State and 1/2 a game behind Purdue. Penn State has a win over both Michigan State and Purdue, but they will really get tested over their next six games - @ Michigan, Wisconsin, @ Purdue, Minnesota, @ Illinois, and @ Ohio State.

MATCH-UPS OF THE WEEK:
2/2 - UConn @ Louisville: Fantastic game between the two best teams in the Big East.

2/4 - Duke @ Clemson: There may not be two teams in the country that pressure the ball defensively as well as these two.

2/4 - Minnesota @ Michigan State: Can the Gophers handle the athleticism of the Spartans?

2/4 - Missouri @ Texas: The Longhorns get questionable PG play. How will they be able to hand the Mizzou pressure?

2/4 - West Virginia @ Syracuse: Syracuse has been slumping lately and is beat up physically. Not a good combo when you are facing a tough Mountaineer squad.

2/4 - USC @ UCLA: All of a sudden the Trojans are a game out in the Pac-10.

2/7 - Syracuse @ Villanova: Jonny Flynn goes toe-to-toe with Scottie Reynolds.

2/7 - Notre Dame @ UCLA: Notre Dame desperately needs this win.

2/7 - Memphis @ Gonzaga: Barring a collapse in conference play, both of these teams should be in the tourney. But a win like this could be the difference between an eight seed and a five seed.

2/8 - Purdue @ Illinois: Expect your typical Big Ten slugfest. Continue reading...

Stop Sleeping on Jerel McNeal

Quick, name the top five players in college basketball.

Done yet?

I'm willing to bet those lists contained a lot of Griffin's and Harden's; a number Curry's and Hansbrough's; probably quite a few Lawson's and Thabeet's thrown in there as well.

Well, what if I asked you who the best guard in the country was? Besides those already mentioned, I'm sure that a lot of you brought a Flynn, a Collison, or a Teague into the conversation.

How many people considered Jerel McNeal for either category?

Well, maybe it is time you all started to.

McNeal, a senior is having his best season at Marquette, which is all the more impressive considering he is a two-time second team all Big East performer. After going for 16 points, 4 boards, and 3 dimes against Rutgers on Wednesday, McNeal is averaging a career high 18.0 ppg to go with 4.6 rpg and 3.5 apg.

So why should McNeal be considered among the nation's best this season when he couldn't even crack the first team in his own conference last year (remember, the Big East puts 11 guys on their first team)?

Sure, his scoring is up a bit this year, but isn't that to be expected from a senior? His rebounding and assists numbers have been pretty consistent from day one. He has always been a fantastic defender. He won the 2007 Big East Defensive Player of the Year and probably would have been a repeat winner had there not been that tall guy on UConn.

In fact, you could argue he is worse defensively as his steal and block numbers are down this year.

So I ask again: What is so great about McNeal this season?

Before this year, as good as McNeal was, he was not a complete player. He could get to the rim and score, he could find open teammates, he could lock down an opposing teams best perimeter player, but he was not a consistent shooter.

Saying that has changed would be an understatement. McNeal is now one of the best shooters in the conference.

Don't believe me? Look at the numbers. He is shooting 46% from deep while making more than two three's per game. He has already made a career high 37 three's this season, which included Sunday's 7-7 performance against Cincinnati. Six times in Marquette's 16 games this season, McNeal has made three or more three-pointers. He had accomplished that six times in three years prior to this season. He's also shooting 49.5% from the floor and 78.9% from the line, both well above his previous career highs.

The writing was on the wall for this kind of improvement. Over the last six games of last season (which includes the Big East and NCAA tournaments), McNeal went on a tear. He averaged 23 ppg and 6.2 rpg. A 30% three point shooter on the season, McNeal was 14-33 from beyond the arc in his last six games, a 42% clip.

Choosing the best player at any position in any sport is always going to end up in a debate or an argument. How do you define "best"? Scoring? Defense? Team player?

I would define the "best", at least for me, as the guy that I would want the most if I were going to be coaching a college team. Not NBA Draft potential, not all-american accolades, not how media friendly the player is. Plain and simple - who would I want the most?

Now the question becomes what do I look for in a shooting guard. I would want a guy that can shoot, but that can also get the ball to the rim. A guy that is a lock down defender (big enough to guard a two or three, quick enough to guard a point), but can also slide over and handle the point if necessary. I would want a guy with great athleticism, toughness, and the moxie to knock down a big shot in a big moment.

Name someone that better fits that profile than Jerel McNeal. Continue reading...