Thursday's Pregame Beat: SEC/Big East and ... yuck

As was the case with the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, we've already been through the previews for the SEC/Big East Challenge. Since there is no need to double post -- we at BIAH are not about wasting your precious time, no sir -- we'll be diving right into the rest of the night's action:

SEC/Big East Challenge:

- 7:00 pm: Providence @ South Carolina
- 7:30 pm: St. John's @ No. 1 Kentucky
- 9:00 pm: Ole Miss @ DePaul
- 9:30 pm: Georgetown @ No. 12 Alabama


Game of the night: 7:00 pm: Harvard @ Vermont

After Belmont and Long Beach State both came back down to earth, Harvard is the latest small school to capture the hearts of the nation. The Crimson went to the Battle 4 Atlantis and came back with wins over Florida State and Central Florida and the tournament title. Harvard is talented, experienced, balanced and, most importantly, legit. Vermont, however, will be a tough out. They have a couple of capable big men and a pair of talented back court players in Matt Glass and Four McGlynn. The guy to watch is going to be 6'6" Brian Voelkel. He may have the ugliest jumper in college basketball, but he averages 10.8 rpg and 6.3 apg.

Who's getting upset?: Kansas State

The Wildcats are playing George Washington at 8:00 pm tonight, and while I don't necessarily think that GW will win, they are the only decent team playing a decent high-major opponent. The Wildcats have some talent on their roster, but they are still trying to find their identity. GW has a chance to be better than you think. Tony Taylor is playing well, but he -- and Lasan Kromah and Aaron Taylor -- need to cut down on their turnovers.

Mid-major matchup of the night: 7:00 pm: South Dakota State @ IUPUI

If nothing else, this is worth the watch to see Alex Young and Nate Wolters play. They are two of the most talented mid-major players in the country.


Other notable games (yeah, its an ugly night for hoops):

- 7:00 pm: VMI @ Coastal Carolina
- 7:00 pm: Wagner @ Long Island
- 8:00 pm: Murray State @ Western Kentucky
- 8:05 pm: CS Fullerton @ Wichita State
- 8:15 pm: Kennesaw State @ Belmont
- 9:00 pm: San Francisco @ Montana
- 10:00 pm: Stanford @ Seattle
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A Watcher's Guide to the SEC/Big East Invitational

Finally, the SEC and the Big East made the decision to expand to a all out, full-fledged conference battle.

We all have loved what the ACC/Big Ten Challenge has turned into. And this year, there are plenty of quality games between the top of both of the leagues.

But the leagues did mess up. For starters, both Kentucky and UConn are playing teams from the bottom of the opposing conference. I know that both St. John's and Arkansas looked like they were heading in the right direction a year ago, but let me give you schedule-makers a tip -- when you are manufacturing a competition, its probably best to pit two of the best teams taking part against each other.

Who doesn't want to see the Huskies play the Wildcats? If your hand us currently up, please never read this site again. Thank ya kindly.


You can miss this game for a wedding, but only if you're the one getting married:

No. 1 Fri 6:30 pm: No. 9 Florida @ No. 3 Syracuse: In a week that gave us three games pitting top ten teams, Syracuse and Florida may actually have the most intrigue. For starters, there is the obvious -- the Bernie Fine scandal. With the speed at which this story has transformed, who knows what will happen between now and Friday night. And, making the story all the more interesting, who knows what questions are going to have to be asked of Boeheim in the press conference after the game. Given his history with the media, the post-game may have more fireworks than the game itself.

For Florida, this will be the first time that they take the court against a real opponent without Erik Murphy. Murphy, if you remember, was the x-factor for this team coming into the season. And through four games, he looked like he was primed to be a serious weapon for the Gators. There aren't many 6'9" forwards that can shoot the ball and spread the floor like he can. He would have been especially valuable against a team like Syracuse that plays strictly zone.

In terms of who will actually be on the court, we get one of the most exciting back court matchups that we've seen this young season. Florida boasts three upperclassmen in Kenny Boynton, Erving Walker and Mike Rosario, but the best of the bunch may be freshman Brad Beal. It feels like we are saying this every year about the Gators, but keep an eye on the way that Boynton and Walker play. The knock on them throughout their career has been shot selection for mediocre. Walker's making better decision, and Boynton has hit 22-45 from three or 48.9%. Watching them attack the 2-3 zone should be fun.


For Syracuse, their back court starts with Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche and continues with the dynamic Dion Waiters coming off of the bench. But the key for the Orange in this one will have little to do with their guard play. Jim Boeheim's team is loaded up front with size and athleticism, something that the Gators lack behind Patric Young. Players like CJ Fair and James Southerland will be a tough matchup for Florida. Also keep an eye on Kris Joseph. Florida is going to have difficulty dealing with his length on the wing.

Pick: Syracuse

No. 2 Fri 8:30 pm: No. 19 Vanderbilt @ No. 6 Louisville: Injuries have diluted what could have been one of the best matchups of the season. Vandy is without their hoss in the paint, as Festus Ezeli is still battling his eye back from a sprained knee. Louisville? We may be better off listing the players that are healthy with the number of injuries that Rick Pitino's team has had to deal with already this year. Peyton Siva is banged up. Rakeem Buckles and Stephen Van Treese are out. Elisha Justice has a broken nose. Mike Marra and Wayne Blackshear are out for the season. Roll call -- did I miss anyone?

Louisville has thrived this season on the defensive end of the floor as Pitino has tried to control their practices, avoiding compounding their injury problem. Against Long Beach State, Pitino finally let the reins out a bit, and the Cardinals ran LBSU off the court, at least until their legs caught up to them. The biggest issue for Vanderbilt is going to be how they defend Louisville's back court. Siva, Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith are an impressive trio, and Russ Smith has been a pleasant surprise for Louisville fans. (Card Chronicle has the best line I've read on Russ Smith this year, referring to the Smith's questionable shot selection as "Russ things".)

I'm concerned about Vanderbilt's ability to defend Louisville's perimeter attack, but I am also worried about how Vandy is going to be able to break the Louisville press. Brad Tinsley and John Jenkins can both shoot the heck out of the ball, but they have a tendency to struggle against pressure defense. Kevin Stallings is going to want to take advantage of the mismatch that Jeff Taylor creates. He is too big and too athletic for any of Louisville's perimeter players.

Pick: Louisville


These games are worth TiVoing the season finale of Sons of Anarchy:

No. 3 Thu 9:30 pm: Georgetown @ No. 12 Alabama: This one should be fun. Alabama is one of the toughest defensive teams in the country with a physical and athletic front line in JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell. Georgetown, on the other hand, has been one of the surprises of the young season. Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson have both been terrific, while Henry Sims will get a real test going up against the bigs of the Crimson Tide. I like Alabama's young perimeter attack, but the key to this game is where its being played -- Alabama doesn't lose in Tuscaloosa.

Pick: Alabama

No. 4 Sat 9:00 pm: West Virginia @ Mississippi State: The front court matchup here will be quite entertaining. Renardo Sidney and Arnett Moultrie, for all of the effort and conditioning issues that are present, are as big and as talented as anyone in the country. But West Virginia has their own pair of quality big men in Kevin Jones and Deniz Kilicli. The rebounding battle is going to be important, but it will be interesting to see how West Virginia's freshman point guard Jabarie Hinds will handle Mississippi State's Dee Bost.

Pick: Mississippi State

No. 5 Sat 5:15 pm: No. 17 Pitt @ Tennessee: Last year, Tennessee went into Pittsburgh and knocked off the Panthers in impressive fashion. This year, however, both teams are way down. Pitt is struggling mightily on the defensive end of the floor, while Tennessee is plain old struggling. After losing to both Duke and Memphis in Maui, Tennessee dropped a roadie to Oakland this week. But the Vols have a talented pair in Trae Golden and Jeronne Maymon, the latter of which will get a chance to showcase his skills against one of the biggest front lines in the country.

Pick: Pitt


Watch the finale of Sons of Anarchy, but TiVo the Law and Order AVU reruns:

No. 6 Thu 7:30 pm: St. John's @ No. 1 Kentucky: Kentucky is probably the most talented team in the country. Their issue is that their point guard, Marquis Teague, has turnover issues. St. John's loves to press, and it could cause some issues for the Wildcats. That said, St. John's is very, very young. And heading into Rupp. This could easily turn into a massacre.

Pick: Kentucky

No. 7 Sat 3:15 pm: Arkansas @ No. 10 UConn: The Huskies have some major question marks. When will Alex Oriakhi show up? Is Andre Drummond ever going to become consistent? Will Shabazz Napier or Jeremy Lamb ever take the reins of this team? How good is Ryan Boatright? UConn has much more talent than Arkansas, but they also had much more talent than Central Florida.

Pick: UConn


Find a beat writer and follow them on twitter for the game:

No. 8 Fri 7:00 pm: Cincinnati @ Georgia: The Bearcats were supposed to be a contender to finish in the top five of the Big East. But they've already lost to Presbyterian and Marshall. When will Yancy Gates become the star he was supposed to be this year? Georgia does have some talent, in particular guard Gerald Robinson.

Pick: Cincinnati

No. 9 Thu 9:00 pm: Ole Miss @ DePaul: This game may look ugly on paper, but there is some intrigue here. Ole Miss has some talent on their roster -- they just knocked off Miami in overtime -- and DePaul has been impressive in this young season. Can Brandon Young, Cleveland Melvin and company pull of the win?

Pick: Ole Miss


Checking the box score in the morning may be too much:

No. 10 Fri 9:00 pm: Auburn @ Seton Hall: Herb Pope and Jordan Theodore are finally playing up to their potential. Auburn is improved, but they had no where to go but up.

Pick: Seton Hall

No. 11 Sat 7:00 pm: LSU @ Rutgers: LSU has

Pick: Rutgers

No. 12 Thu 7:00 pm: Providence @ South Carolina: South Carolina is terrible. Providence looks to be better this season, and guys like Vincent Council and Gerald Coleman has been putting up some impressive performances.

Pick: Providence


And the winner is?: The Big East, 8-4.
Continue reading...

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...

Jimmy V Week: Let's Get It Right

The ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Pac 10-Big XII Series. And now we have the SEC-Big East Invitational. I love them. I think these competitions are great for basketball. Think about it. If these didn't exist, would we see as many great games during December, college basketball's down time, as we currently do? This year we get Duke-Purdue, UNC-Michigan State, Texas-UCLA, USC-Oklahoma, even games with so-so teams like Wisconsin-Virginia Tech or Penn State-Georgia Tech end up turning into classics on national TV during primetime.

Maybe I am a just too much of a junkie, but anytime you can get games on ESPN, it is a good thing for the sport. Fans get excited that for the games. Players get amped up for them. The families and friends of players at a school like Penn State or Virginia, who rarely make it on ESPN these days, get a chance to see their loved ones on national television in a game called by one of the people they hear talking about the sport every night. The same goes for the pre-season tournaments like the Maui and the Old Spice. It is a great thing for the sport.

So my question is, how come ESPN hasn't capitalized on this yet? I doubt that it is more than a few years away already, but how come the Pac 10-Big XII and SEC-Big East competitions haven't grown to the size of the ACC-Big 10 Challenge? Again, it may just be because I am a college hoops fanatic, but think about how great this could be.

What sports are on during the week right now? NBA games, but no one cares about the NBA until the last month of the season and the playoffs. NHL games, but no one cares about the NHL ever. You have the mid-major college football games, but most of those are done by the week after Thanksgiving. NFL plays games on Monday and Thursday nights, but the Thursday night games are on the NFL Network and the Monday night games have been mediocre at best this year.

ESPN is promoting this as Jimmy V week, and it runs from Dec. 3rd-9th, culminating in the Jimmy V Classic on the 9th. Why half-ass it? Here is my proposition (and all you ESPN folks, remember where you heard it first). Starting the Monday after Feast Week (i.e. the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend), start Jimmy V Week. Instead of just having a few games for the Pac 10-Big XII and the SEC-Big East, turn those into league wide competitions a la the ACC-Big 10 Challenge. Stagger them so that there are two marquee games on every night of the week, Monday-Friday, on ESPN and two more games a night on both ESPN2 and ESPN U. Six games a night over five nights is 30 games. As there will still be a few left over (by my calculations, with the size of each league there are 33 total games - 11 in the ACC-Big 10, 12 in the SEC-Big East, 10 in the Pac 10-Big XII), play them on Saturday afternoon (ESPN has basketball games on this Saturday as it is - Duke-Michigan and Miami FL-Kentucky).

Think about how exciting that would be. Think about the number of great games. Think about how much ESPN could promote that. Take this year as an example. Friday night, ESPN is airing Portland against Boston and ESPN 2 has the MAC football championship (Ball State against Buffalo). Again, it could be just me, but wouldn't you rather watch a game like UConn-Tennesee or Arizona State-Baylor?

Then, on the following Monday and/or Tuesday, hold the Jimmy V Classic. I know that ESPN would make money over hand and foot if this were to be implemented, but also think about how much money the V Foundation would make.

You could even take it a step further. The leagues with the two best records in their respective challenges will go head-to-head the next year. Third will play fourth, and fifth will play sixth. The way that two conferences are compared these days are you set up hypothetical match-ups between the best, the second best, etc. teams in each of the conferences, and see who ends up with a better record. So by having the two best conferences from the previous year square off, isn't that an easy way to settle the "who is the best conference debate"?

Yea, there are some logistical issues with that. For one, if the two best conferences play, then they are both likely to end up with a mediocre record that year, lowering their rank for the next season's competition. Also, if league's on opposite coasts (i.e. the Big East and the Pac 10) were to end up playing each other, travel could be come a big problem. Do you really want to fly a team from New York to California for one game during the week? Not only would it wreak havoc on the kids internal clocks, but it would be a big hinderance in class and study schedules with finals coming.

So it is not perfect yet, but tell me that this wouldn't be exciting for everyone associated with the sport. Continue reading...