2011-2012 Top 50 Countdown: Nos. 30-26

Over the coming weeks, we will be counting down our Top 50 teams in the country. Teams 26-50 will be posted in groups of five, while we will count backwards from No. 25 to the No. 1 team in the country. You can find a complete schedule of our 2011-2012 Season Preview coverage here. To browse through the rest of the Top 50, click here.


30. Creighton Bluejays:

Last Season: 23-16, 10-8 (Missouri Valley)

Head Coach: Greg McDermott

Key Losses: Kenny Lawson Jr, Kaleb Korver, Darryl Ashford, Wayne Runnels,

New Additions: Grant Gibbs, Geoffery Groselle, Avery Dingman, Nevin Johnson, Austin Chatman, Mogboluwaga Oginni, Alex Olson

Projected Lineup:

- G: Antoine Young, Sr.
- G: Jahenns Maginat, So.
- F: Grant Gibbs, Jr.
- F: Doug McDermott, So.
- C: Gregory Echinique, Jr.
- Bench: Ethan Wragge, So.; Josh Jones, Jr.; Will Artino, Fr.


Outlook: The Bluejays are, without question, the most talented team in the Missouri Valley. There's an argument to be made that they have the best player in the conference at three positions. Antoine Young is a playmaking point guard that also happens to be a lock down defender; Greg Echinique, a transfer from Rutgers, is a massive presence in the middle; and Doug McDermott is a potential all-american and will likely be the pick for MVC Player of the Year by many, if not all, publications. That core alone makes this team one to keep an eye on, but what makes them scarier is that they are deep. Junior Josh Jones and sophomore Jahenns Manigat both showed flashes of being quality scorers in the MVC as well. Throw in redshirt freshman center Will Artino, Gonzaga transfer Grant Gibbs in the back court and a quartet of incoming freshmen, and McDermott has as deep of a roster as anyone in the conference. He'll be looking to increase Creighton's aggressiveness on both ends of the floor, so don't be surprised to see the Bluejays in and around the top 25 all year.


29. UCLA Bruins:

Last Season: 23-11, 11-5 (Pac-10)

Head Coach: Ben Howland

Key Losses: Tyler Honeycutt, Malcolm Lee

New Additions: David Wear, Travis Wear, Larry Drew II, Norman Powell, De'End Parker, Khalid McCaskill, David Brown, Nick Kazemi

Projected Lineup:

- G: Laz Jones, Sr.
- G: Larry Drew II, Sr.
- G: Tyler Lamb, So.
- F: Reeves Nelson, Jr.
- C: Josh Smith, So.
- Bench: Travis Wear, So.; David Wear, So.; Jerime Anderson, Sr.; De'End Parker, Jr.; Brendan Lane, Jr.; Anthony Stover, So.; Norman Powell, Fr.


Outlook: Ben Howland has an interesting team this season. Their strength is going to be in the front court, where they will be as deep as anyone in the country. Reeves Nelson is an aggressive and athletic four that sets a tone for this club. He's aggressive around the rim and a monster on the glass. If he can add a consistent perimeter jumper, he's got a chance to be a first-team all-league player. And he's not even their best big man. Josh Smith is. But Smith's issue is that he can't stay in shape. He ended the year weighing over 300 lbs and reportedly put on weight this summer, which isn't a good thing. Even with the weight, he's a best on the block. The question is whether or not he'll be able to stay on the court for an extended period of time. Throw in the Wear twins -- sophomore transfers from UNC -- and returners Brendan Lane and Anthony Stover, and minutes in UCLA's front court will be quite valuable and hard to come by. The perimeter is the question mark for this team. There are three point guards on the roster, and none of them blow you away. Laz Jones will most likely be the primary option, but he can be inconsistent at times. Larry Drew and Jerime Anderson were hyped recruits that fizzled in their three years in college. Will Tyler Lamb develop as a sophomore? Can De'End Parker and Norman Powell -- who got a concussion late in September and is reportedly unhappy already -- fill the void left by the departures of Malcolm Lee and Tyler Honeycutt? Finding consistency on the perimeter will be the difference between UCLA being a tournament team and a legitimate threat in the Pac-10.


28. New Mexico Lobos:

Last Season: 22-13, 8-8 (MWC)

Head Coach: Steve Alford

Key Losses: Dairese Gary

New Additions: Demetrius Walker, Dominique Dunning, Hugh Greenwood, Kory Alford

Projected Lineup:

- G: Jamal Fenton, Jr.
- G: Kendall Williams, So.
- F: Philip McDonald, Sr.
- F: AJ Hardeman, Sr.
- C: Drew Gordon, Sr.
- Bench: Cameron Bairstow, So.; Demetrius Walker, So.; Tony Snell, So.; Hugh Greenwood, Fr.; Dominique Dunning, Fr.; Alex Kirk, So.



Outlook: New Mexico has a chance to be very good this season. They return all but one player from last year, although that one player is a big one -- Dairese Gary, their star point guard. That will hurt, but there are pieces in place to help weather the blow. Sophomore Kendall Williams has a chance to be a big time player for Steve Alford's club. He averaged 11.5 ppg and 4.0 apg and won the MWC Freshman of the Year award while playing as the third and fourth option offensively. Gary missed the final two games after hurting his knee, and Williams stepped up and scored 18 points in both games. Throw in junior Jamal Fenton, who had 12 assists and just four turnovers in those two games, and the Lobos should be fine in terms of playmaking. They should also have one of the best big men in the conference in Drew Gordon, a double-double machine that should become a monster playing a full season. New Mexico will also be quite deep this year. Seniors AJ Hardeman (at the four) and Philip McDonald (at the three) should fill out the starting lineup. Cameron Bairstow and Alex Kirk -- if he comes back from back surgery in August -- are talented sophomores in the front court, while classmates Demetrius Walker -- a transfer from Arizona State -- and Tony Snell will provide depth on the perimeter. Don't be surprised in a couple of freshmen see minutes as well. The Lobos will compete for the MWC title and should be in and out of the top 25 all year.


27. Temple Owls:

Last Season: 26-8, 14-2 (A-10)

Head Coach: Fran Dunphy

Key Losses: Lavoy Allen, Craig Williams

New Additions: Will Cummings

Projected Lineup:

- G: Juan Fernandez, Sr.
- G: Scootie Randall, Sr.
- F: Ramone Moore, Sr.
- F: Rahlir Jefferson, Jr.
- C: Michael Eric, Sr.
- Bench: TJ DiLeo, Jr.; Khalif Wyatt, Jr.; Aaron Brown, So.; Will Cummings, Fr.


Outlook: Once again, Fran Dunphy has his Temple team in a position to make a lot of noise in the Atlantic 10. On the perimeter, the 2011-2012 version of the Owls is loaded. Point guard Juan Fernandez, who feels like he has been in college for a decade, returns for his senior season. His numbers dipped a bit as a junior, but don't be surprised when he has a big senior year as this team's leader. Ramone Moore turned into the Owl's go-to scorer as a junior, and should once again fill that role as a senior. Throw in a healthy Scootie Randall, talented junior Khalif Wyatt and a couple of hungry and capable youngsters in sophomore Aaron Brown (who performed well when moved into the starting lineup to replace the injured Randall late in the season) and freshman Will Cummings, and Dunphy will have plenty of options at his disposal. I would go as far as to say Temple has one of the best perimeter rotations in the country. Up front is a bigger issue, as Temple will have to replace Lavoy Allen, who was so important to this team's defensive attack. Michael Eric should be healthy and will be counted on for a big season defending the rim and cleaning the glass. Rahlir Jefferson should also see a bump in production as a junior and will be a factor rebounding the ball. Depth is the biggest issue on the front line. Behind Jefferson and Eric, Dunphy only has two big men in Anthony Lee and Jimmy McDonnell, both redshirt freshmen that still need to add weight and strength. Even with the front court question marks, Temple should give Xavier a run for their money at the conference title.


26. Michigan Wolverines:

Last Season: 21-14, 9-9 (Big Ten)

Head Coach: John Beilein

Key Losses: Darius Morris

New Additions: Carlton Brundidge, Trey Burke, Max Bielfeldt

Projected Lineup:

- G: Zak Novak, Sr.
- G: Stu Douglass, Sr.
- F: Tim Hardaway, So.
- F: Evan Smotrycz, So.
- C: Jordan Morgan, So.
- Bench: Matt Vogrich, Jr.; Jon Horford, So.; Carlton Brundidge, Fr.; Trey Burke, Fr.


Outlook: Had Darius Morris decided to return to school instead of enter the NBA Draft, the Wolverines would have been a borderline top 10 team instead of a borderline top 25 team. Morris was that perfect point guard for the system that John Beilein runs. But the great thing about a John Beilein offense is that the sum is greater than the parts, and while having a playmaking point guard like Morris -- a kid that can pass and score -- makes the offense that much more dangerous, its not essential. Zack Novak and Stu Douglass will be the elder statesmen, the seniors tasked with leading a team made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores. Both are quality players that do a lot of things well, but they are going to have to up their production next season to help make up for the loss of Morris. Junior Matt Vogrich will provide some shooting off the bench, while Carlton Brundidge and Trey Burke -- who may end up taking over the point guard spot -- should have an impact playing a role. The x-factor of this team will be Tim Hardaway Jr, a 6'6" sophomore wing that became a dangerous scorer at the end of his freshman season. He reminds me a bit of Mike Gansey, who played for Beilein at West Virginia. The front court could end up being an issue. Jordan Morgan had a couple big games as a freshman, but he got overwhelmed at times against bigger front lines. Fellow sophomore Evan Smotrycz should see more minutes as a stretch four-man, but he will be counted on for more contributions on the glass. Keep an eye on Jon Horford. He's put on some strength this off-season as he's now listed at 250 lb. And breakout sophomore years run in his blood -- his brother, Al, went from a seldom used freshman to a potential lottery pick as a sophomore.
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VIDEO: Juan Fernandez beats Penn State at the buzzer

Streak broken.

17 years to the day since Fran Dunphy's last NCAA Tournament win, when 11th seeded Penn Quakers knocked off No. 6 Nebraska in the first round in 1994, the Temple Owls advanced past Penn State with a 66-64 win.

After trading baskets for what seemed like the last 10 minutes of the game, Temple opened up a 64-61 lead on Penn State in the final minute, but the Owls lost Talor Battle on a screen and the Nittany Lions' star buried a 26 foot three to tie the game.

Coming out of the timeout, Dunphy isolated Fernandez, who was forced to pick up his dribble. The rest is, as they say, history:



Juan Fernandez and Ramone Moore both finished with 23 points while Lavoy Allen added 12 boards and four blocks as the Owls snapped a streak of three straight years of first round tournament losses.

Dunphy is one of the most respected coaches in the profession. His Penn teams were a regional power, and the Temple program has had a permanent spot at the top of the Atlantic 10 under Dunphy's watch. But for all of Dunphy's regular season success, he's never done much in the NCAA Tournament, with a career record of 1-12. Granted, nine of those tournaments came while Dunphy was at Penn, and the Ivy League doesn't have a great tradition of postseason success.

Regardless, its good to see Dunphy snap that streak. He's a great coach, and he deserves this win.

The Owls will advance to face the winner of San Diego State and Northern Colorado.
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Richmond's struggles continue

Richmond may have just blown their chance at earning an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Their odds were long heading into last night's game at Temple, but beating top 25 teams on the road have a way of turning around a team's at-large chances. It looked like Richmond was primed to do just that, as the Spiders scored on their first five possessions of the game, taking a 10-6 lead with just 3:38 gone.

But over the next 11 minutes, Temple seized control of the game. The Owl's zone defense completely derailed any rhythm that Richmond had and Temple capitalized, going on a 22-6 run during that stretch. The Spiders eventually work their way back to within five, but once again the Owls put a big run on the Spiders. Temple scored on seven straight possession while holding Richmond scoreless, turning a 38-33 games into a 54-33 blowout. Richmond never made it interesting the rest of the way.


As usual, the Owls were impressive on the defensive end of the floor, allowing just 0.91 PPP -- a number that drops to 0.81 PPP when you factor out the first five possessions of the game. Ramone Moore had 24 points on 10-15 shooting while Juan Fernandez snapped out of his shooting slump with 20 points on 9-10 from the field.

For the Spiders, this is just another disappointing loss in a season full of them. Three weeks ago, the Spiders were run off of the court by Xavier, losing by 23 at home. They've lost to Iona, Bucknell, Old Dominion, Georgia Tech, and URI as well.

In fact, when you really look at their conference record, there is nothing impressive on it. They were blown out by the top two teams in the league, and they only play each of them once. They only play the fifth place team, Rhode Island, once and lost that game. Their only matchup with Duquesne doesn't come until the final day of the regular season.

The did win at Seton Hall and Arizona State, but unfortunately this has been a down year for both of those programs.

Last night's loss cost Richmond a chance to win the Atlantic 10's regular season title, and it put to bed any shot they had of earning an at-large bid.

Good luck in Atlantic City, fellas.

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Friday's Shootaround: Villanova wins a Big 5 battle, Arizona State suffers a hideous loss

This post can also be found at Beyond the Arc.

No. 8 Villanova 78, Temple 74: Nova still has a long way to go before they are the team everyone expected them to be. Mouph Yarou is still learning how to play in the post. Corey Fisher is still struggling with his shot. Maalik Wayns has a tendency to dribble the air out of the ball. Offensively, this team isn't perfect, but they were good enough last night to earn a rugged win against a good Temple team.

Wayns buoyed the team in the first half and played the role of the closer down the stretch, finishing with 21 points, 8 assists, and 4 steals. Corey Stokes added 24 points, including a number of big shots in the second half.

I've said it before, but I think Villanova's strength this season is defense. They ran a 1-2-2 press tonight that completely took Temple out of what they wanted to do offensively. Dominic Cheek and Stokes are both tough, versatile defenders in the mold of Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark, but with better offensive arsenals. Combine that with improved muscle up front, and the Wildcats are going to be just fine.

No. 10 Missouri 81, Old Dominion 58: Once again, Marcus Denmon's hot shooting carried the Tigers. He had 22 points, including 14 in the first half, and hit five threes. More importantly, Mizzou battled to essentially a draw on the glass with a bigger, more physical ODU team.

No. 16 BYU 90, Buffalo 82: Jimmer Fredette had a season-high 34 points, including 28 in the second half, as the Cougars won in their second trip to Upstate New York in as many weeks.

No. 21 UCF 68, Princeton 62: Marcus Jordan had 26 points and led the Knights back from a 37-29 halftime deficit against the Tigers.

No. 22 Memphis 88, Lipscomb 70: Memphis got 28 points and 14 rebounds from Wesley Witherspoon, who needed a good game coming off of a couple of bad outings and a knee surgery.

Oklahoma 76, Central Arkansas 73: Things that aren't good -- being unable to put away Central Arkansas at home.

Oregon State 80, Arizona State 58: Other things that aren't good -- losing at Gill Coliseum. Utah Valley State, Texas Southern, and George Washington won there. The Sun Devils lost by 22. That is not a good sign for their Pac-10 hopes. To be fair, Trent Lockett -- ASU's leading scorer and second leading rebounder -- did not play due to a sprained big toe. Regardless, this is a really, really bad loss.

Other Notable Scores:

• Virginia Tech 64, USC-Upstate 53
• Cornell 86, Wofford 80
• Miami FL 94, Pepperdine 59
• Cleveland State 73, Loyola IL 55
• VCU 78, New Hampshire 65
• Ole Miss 100, Alcorn State 62
• Tulsa 69, TCU 66
• Iowa State 60, Virginia 47
• Southern Miss 64, Savannah State 54
• Oakland 85, Oral Roberts 77
• Murray State 71, SIU-Edwardsville 46
• North Texas 81, Arkansas Little-Rock 69
• UNLV 73, Central Michigan 47
• Arizona 76, Oregon 57
  

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2010-2011 Season Preview Top 50 Countdown: Nos. 35-31

Over the coming weeks, we will be counting down our Top 50 teams in the country. Teams 26-50 will be posted in groups of five, while we will count backwards from No. 25 to the No. 1 team in the country.

For a complete listing of our season previews, click here.

To browse through the rest of our Top 50 Countdown, click here.


35. Florida State

• Last Season: 22-10, 10-6
  


• Head Coach: Leonard Hamilton
  


• Key Losses: Solomon Alabi, Ryan Reid, Jordan DeMercy
  


• New Additions: Jon Kreft, Bernard James, Okaro White, Ian Miller
  


• Projected Lineup:


• G: Derwin Kitchen, Sr.
  
• G: Michael Snaer, So.
  
• F: Chris Singleton, Jr.
  
• F: Bernard James, Jr.
  
• C: Xavier Gibson, Jr.
  
• Bench: Deividas Dulkys, Jr.; Luke Loucks, Jr.; Ian Miller, Fr.; Okaro White, Fr.; Jon Kreft, Jr.
  

• Outlook: Florida State's biggest issue last season was their ability on the offensive end; simply put, they couldn't score. With the exception of incoming freshman Ian Miller, a four star point guard out of Charlotte, this is going to be the same group. The two best players on the Seminoles roster are Chris Singleton and Michael Snaer. Both are tremendous athletes -- Snaer is more of a guard, while Singleton is a combo-forward -- with a ton of upside, but offensively they were limited skillwise last season. One of those two is going to need to develop into a legitimate threat with the ball. Derwin Kitchen might be the best creator for Leonard Hamilton's club, but he turns 25 during the season. Rounding out the perimeter will be juniors Luke Loucks and Deividas Dulkys. While the Seminoles struggled offensively, they were a tough, physical defensive team with guys like Snaer and Singleton setting the tone on the perimeter. Florida State lost both of their starting front court players -- Solomon Alabi and Ryan Reid -- but should still have enough size this season. 6'11" junior Xavier Gibson is the only rotational big man back from last season, but Hamilton brings in plenty on big men. Okaro White is a 6'8", top 100 forward. Jon Kreft, who initially signed with Florida State in 2006 but has had his share of troubles getting into the school, is a seven-footer and former five-star recruit that will finally get eligible this year. Bernard James is a 6'10" JuCo all-american that spent six years abroad in the Air Force. Those three should be able to offset the loss of Reid and Alabi inside, and if Snaer or Singleton can become the star they seemed destined to be, the 'Noles will be dancing once again.
  

34. West Virginia

• Last Season: 31-7, 13-5 (Big East)
  


• Head Coach: Bobby Huggins
  


• Key Losses: Devin Ebanks, Da'Sean Butler, Wellington Smith
  


• New Additions: Noah Cottrill, Kevin Noreen
  


• Projected Lineup:


• G: Joe Mazzulla, Sr.
  
• G: Truck Bryant, Jr.
  
• F: John Flowers, Sr.
  
• F: Kevin Jones, Jr.
  
• C: Deniz Kilicli, So.
  
• Bench: Noah Cottrill, Fr.; Casey Mitchell, Sr.; Kevin Noreen, Fr.; Dalton Pepper, So.; Danny Jennings, So.; Cam Thoroughman, Sr.
  

• Outlook: Expect the Mountaineers to have a bit of a different makeup next season. Three of the five players from their all small forward line-up are gone -- Da'Sean Butler, Wellington Smith, and Devin Ebanks. Whereas the 'Eers were seemingly short of point guards last season, they will be flush this year. Joe Mazzulla may never be a real shooting threat again, but he is a bulldog and a true leader, and his ailing shoulder should be as healthy as it ever will be. Truck Bryant, who dealt with some injuries and inconsistencies after a good freshman year, is also back. Noah Cottrill, one of the better point guard recruits in the class of 2010, is built in the same mold but should immediately be the best shooter of the three. The interesting question for Bob Huggins is going to be what happens on the perimeter. Casey Mitchell (who is currently suspended from the team) and Dalton Pepper were both touted as shooters and scorers coming into Morgantown, but neither really lived up to the hype last season. The front court will be fine for WVU. Kevin Jones is a star-in-the-waiting at the power forward spot, while Deniz Kilicli should fare much better this season without having to serve a 20 game suspension. With guys like John Flowers, Cam Thoroughman, Danny Jennings, and freshman Kevin Noreen -- who may end up being the best scorer of the bunch -- Huggy Bear has plenty of options up front. WVU lost a lot of talent. Its going to be tough to replace that scoring, defensive versatility, and offensive rebounding ability. WVU will look a bit different, but they should still be good enough to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
  

33. St. Mary's

• Last Season: 28-6, 11-3
  


• Head Coach: Randy Bennett
  


• Key Losses: Omar Samhan, Ben Allen, Wayne Hunter
  


• New Additions: Stephen Holt, Brad Waldow, Kenton Walker, Rob Jones
  


• Projected Lineup:


• G: Mickey McConnell, Sr.
  
• G: Matthew Dellavedova, So.
  
• F: Clint Steindl, Jr.
  
• F: Rob Jones, Jr.
  
• C: Kenton Walker, Jr.
  
• Bench: Jorden Page, So.; Tim Harris, Fr.; Stephen Holt, Fr.; Mitchell Young, So.
  

• Outlook: The Gaels will be a much different team this season than the one that had the school's most successful season in history -- which included a run to the Sweet 16 -- mostly due to the fact that they lose their starting front court, particularly Omar Samham. The strength on this year's team will be on the perimeter. Scrappy sophomore Matthew Dellevadova, who came into Moraga with a lot of hype and didn't disappoint, has a chance to develop into a star this season. Sharpshooting point guard Mickey McConnell is back as well, and will once again be relied upon quite heavily to orchestrate Randy Bennett's offense. Redshirt freshman Tim Harris, whose season was cut to one game with a hamstring tear, will see heavy minutes, as will Stephen Holt, a freshman point guard that is one of Bennett's most heralded recruits. 6' sophomore Jorden Page and 6'7" junior Clint Steindl will also play heavily into Bennett's perimeter rotation, and Beau Levesque could see minutes as well. The front court is a different story. Rob Jones, a tough, rugged 6'6" forward and transfer from San Diego, will likely see time at both forward spots. He should be a key contributor for this team after averaging 9 points and 6 boards in two seasons at San Diego. 6'9" Creighton transfer Kenton Walker may end up starting for the Gaels at center this season. Three bigs return -- Mitchell Young, Phil Benson, and Tim Williams. Young was the only one that got consistent minutes last season for the Gaels, but with the void left by Samhan and Ben Allen, all three of these players will be counted on to produce inside. The Gaels are not as good as last year's team, but this is still a squad that will compete for a spot in the NCAA Tournament and, if things break right, could give Gonzaga a run for the league title.
  

32. Temple

• Last Season: 29-6, 14-2 (A-10)
  


• Head Coach: Fran Dunphy
  


• Key Losses: Ryan Brooks, Luis Guzman
  


• New Additions: Anthony Lee, Aaron Brown, Jimmy McDonnell
  


• Projected Lineup:


• G: Juan Fernandez, Sr.
  
• G: Ramone Moore, Jr.
  
• G: Rahlir Jefferson, So.
  
• F: Lavoy Allen, Sr.
  
• F: Michael Eric, Jr.
  
• Bench: Craig Williams, Sr.; Scootie Randall, Jr.; TJ DiLeo, So.
  

• Outlook: The Owls had a fantastic regular season, using a stifling defense to win both the A-10 regular season and tournament title, only to once again flame out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. While Temple loses leading scorer Ryan Brooks, they should still have more than enough weapons to compete for the league title. Junior sharpshooter Juan Fernandez is back and should be expected to have a bump in production as he becomes the centerpiece of Fran Dunphy's perimeter attack. Big man Lavoy Allen, who flirted with the NBA Draft, also returns after averaging a double-double last season. Combine those two with talented junior Ramone Moore, who won the A-10 sixth man of the year award, and the Owls once again have a solid core. Michael Eric, a 6'11" Nigerian junior, has shown some promise and could develop into a nice sidekick for Allen, while sophomore Rahlir Jefferson is a talented swingman that seems to be a nice fit for Dunphy's defensive style. Temple was not all that deep last season, especially towards the end of the year as Craig Williams, Scootie Randall, and TJ DiLeo, who should slide into the starting point guard role, really saw their minutes shrink. With two starters -- Brooks and Luis Guzman -- that combined for 68 minutes a game gone, Dunphy is going to have to find minutes somewhere, and it seems as if those three, plus incoming freshmen Aaron Brown and Anthony Lee, will be the ones competing for that time. Temple is always going to be competitive with their defensive ability, but there were times when this team struggled to score last season. With Brooks gone, that could become more of an issue. I think Temple will be a tournament team and a contender for the A-10 title, but they need depth, another scoring option, and a point guard to develop for that to happen.
  

31. NC State

• Last Season: 20-16, 5-11 (ACC)
  


• Head Coach: Sidney Lowe
  


• Key Losses: Dennis Horner, Farnold Degand, Julius Mays
  


• New Additions: CJ Leslie, Ryan Harrow, Lorenzo Brown
  


• Projected Lineup:


• G: Javier Gonzalez, Sr.
  
• G: CJ Williams, Jr.
  
• G: Scott Wood, So.
  
• F: CJ Leslie, Fr.
  
• F: Tracy Smith, Sr.
  
• Bench: Lorenzo Brown, Fr.; Ryan Harrow, Fr.; Richard Howell, So.; Jordan Vandenburg, So.
  

• Outlook: It seems that Wolfpack fans that have been patient with Sidney Lowe's tenure will finally be rewarded this year, as NC State looks to have a team that can make a run at a tournament bid. Its starts up front, where the Pack got some great news when Tracy Smith, who led the team in scoring and rebounding as a junior, withdrew from the NBA Draft and decided to return for his senior season. The news got better when Lowe scored a recruiting upset, landing 6'9" Raliegh native CJ Leslie, a top 20 recruit with a ton of length and athleticism with a still-developing post game. With Richard Howell and 7'0" sophomore Jordan Vandenburg also returning, the Wolfpack have a very good front line. Lowe will also have a nice combination of experience and young talent in his back court. Javier Gonzalez, who started at the point last season, will be back for his senior season. 6'7" shooter Scott Wood also returns, as does CJ Williams, a 6'6" swingman who started 16 games as a sophomore. Freshmen guards Lorenzo Brown and Ryan Harrow were both heralded recruits. Harrow is more of a point guard, while Brown is more of a combo guard, but both should be impact players in the ACC. This is the most talented, and probably the deepest, team Lowe has had at NC State. It will be a disappointment if he cannot lead this group to the NCAA Tournament.

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The team to watch in the A-10 isn't necessarily on the bubble

There has been a lot of talk over the last few weeks about the Atlantic 10 conference and the possibility of six teams from the league making the NCAA Tournament.

Xavier, Richmond, Charlotte, Dayton, Rhode Island, and Temple all could be dancing come Selection Sunday. That said, they each have some work left to do (some more than others) to lock up a bid. While it is much more likely that four or five teams end up making the dance, its not out of the realm of possibility that things break right and all six get a bid. (By things breaking right, I mean teams like Louisville getting smoked by teams like St. John's.)

That list does not include one of the most important teams in the A-10 race.

There are seven teams within one game of first place in the loss column in the A-10. The six listed above, and St. Louis.

St. Louis is 16-8 overall and 6-3 in the A-10. But their most important record is their 12-1 mark at home, which includes wins over Richmond and Nebraska.

You see, the Billikens could end up being the team that decides the league championship, and maybe even determines some tournament destinies, almost by default. They play seven more games this season. Five of them come against the six teams sitting above them in the standings, with four of those games coming at home - Dayton, Rhode Island, Xavier, and Temple while traveling to play Dayton to close the season.

Could a win over URI or Dayton keep the Rams or the Flyers out of the tournament?


Another note on the A-10 - I know that Charlotte was blown out by Dayton last night. I also know that Richmond won at Rhode Island last night. But it is still way, way too early to claim that Richmond is a lock, or that Charlotte may have cost themselves a bid.

Richmond closes the season at Xavier, at home for Dayton, and at Charlotte over the span of seven days. Charlotte still has to play Xavier, at Rhode Island, and at home for Charlotte.

That's a lot of basketball to be played against some good competition.

You don't think Richmond could lose all three of those games, fall into sixth in the A-10, and lose in the first round of the conference tournament?

You don't think Charlotte could win five or six games down the stretch and win the A-10 regular season outright?

If the tournament were to start today, Richmond would be in, and Charlotte would be one of the last few teams to be decided upon.

Beyond that, there's not much you can say.

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Games outside the Big Six will have a lot of influence on Saturday

There are 148 games to be played on Saturday.

21 of them involve top 25 teams.

Seven of them involved top ten teams. One of those games features two top ten teams.

And while you will want to keep an eye on all of them, the most important and intriguing games of the day don't take place in the major conferences. They will be played in the MWC, in the A-10, and in C-USA.

Like its been for the last few years, the bubble is weak this season. The difference this year is that with the Pac-10 being down, the SEC West approaching Pac-10 territory, and the middle of the Big East looking weaker by the loss, the number of bids available for mid-major schools is higher than usual, and certainly will be more than the four at-larges they received last season.

Its to the point that there is a real possibility more than one of the aforementioned leagues could get four (or more) teams in. The results from Saturday may go along way towards deciding who celebrates on Selection Sunday and who is banished to the dead man walking tournament NIT.


Conference USA: There are only four teams that really have a chance of still getting an at-large bid this year - Memphis, UTEP, Tulsa, and UAB.

3:00 pm: UAB @ Rice: UAB probably has the best non-conference resume in the league, as they picked up wins over Cincinnati, Butler, and Georgia as well as winning at Kent State and surprising Arkansas. But the Blazers have lost their last two games, with both coming to teams they are currently competing with for the C-USA title and the at-large bids. The Blazers cannot afford to lose three games in a row, especially when the third is against cellar dweller Rice, even in it is on the road.

4:00 pm: Gonzaga @ Memphis: Gonzaga could use this win, but Memphis needs this win. They are 16-6 on the season, but their RPI is sitting at an unimpressive 68th and they have two losses to teams with RPI's around the 200's (UMass and SMU). Their best win came against UAB at home, and after that ... Oakland? Marshall? There is not much on this resume, and Gonzaga is a team in the RPI top 30. A loss here would come very close to ensuring the Tigers need to win the C-USA tournament.

10:00 pm: Tulsa @ UTEP: The Golden Hurricane and the Miners are currently sitting in a tie for first place in the league, which gives this game even more meaning. Tulsa is in pretty bad shape in terms on an at-large bid. They do have a 21 point win over Oklahoma State, but they've only played four other games against teams with top 100 RPI's, with their lone win coming against Marshall on Wednesday. UTEP is in a similar situation, and while their RPI is a bit lower than Tulsa's (72nd vs. 55th), they have some nice wins. They won at Memphis, at UAB, and at New Mexico State as well as picking up a neutral court win over Oklahoma.


Atlantic-10

12:00 pm: Xavier @ Dayton: The Muskies are all but in at this point. They have no bad losses (the worst loss is a neutral court loss to Marquette, who is not as bad as their 61st RPI indicates) and own a win over Cincinnati, Charlotte, Dayton, and Rhode Island. Xavier is 23rd in the RPI right now, and barring a collapse, a team with that RPI is not going to miss the tournament. Dayton, on the other hand, has some work to do. Wins over Old Dominion and Georgia Tech are nice, but with an RPI in the low 30's, they can't afford a swoon. A loss to Xavier, who has already beaten Dayton this year, would drop the Flyers to 4-4 in the league. Can the A-10 really send a team that ends up in fifth or sixth? Its too early to call it a must win, but its a we-really-need-this win.

2:00 pm: Temple @ Richmond: The Owls are basically in. A win over Villanova and no glaring losses will do that for you. But Richmond has some work to do. They've put together some nice wins (Mississippi State, Missouri, Old Dominion, Florida), but they've lost a couple games they could have won (South Carolina, William & Mary, VCU). Richmond doesn't have a great win, and still plays each of the other top six A-10 teams. They will have their chances to improve their resume, but they need to win those games in order to actually improve it.


Mountain West: The great thing about the MWC this weekend is that the four teams with a shot at an at-large bid play each other. If you get the Mountain station, tune in. Or at least TiVo it.

4:00 pm: BYU @ UNLV: BYU is in, and may actually be the best team out west. UNLV, however, still needs to pad their resume a bit. They did beat Louisville and Arizona out of conference, but those wins are not as impressive today as they would have been five years ago. They have also picked up a couple quality wins in conference play (at New Mexico, SDSU), but they probably need to do more. UNLV will make or break their bid in the next three games, as they play BYU, UNM, and SDSU in the next eight days.

6:00 pm: SDSU @ New Mexico: New Mexico ensured their bid by taking care of business out of conference (wins over Cal, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Dayton) and beating BYU last week. SDSU is in a much more dire situation. They do own a win over New Mexico already, but their only other win of significance is against Arizona. The Aztecs will get some chances to secure a bid, and this is by no means a make-or-break game, especially considering this game is played at the Pit and SDSU has already beaten UNM. But it is safe to say that SDSU really needs this game.
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Atlantic 10 bubble breakdown

The three best conferences outside the big six are as unpredictable as ever. Unpredictability in sports means excitement, and when you are dealing with conferences where 40% of the league has a real shot at winning the regular season title and/or earning a trip to the dance, you will rarely come across a more unpredictable situation.

Haven't had a chance to watch much A-10 hoops this season? Don't get the Mountain West's channel? Stopped caring about C-USA when Coach Cal left?

Don't worry. We're here to help you parse through it all. Be sure to check back in the next few days as we help you sort out the best leagues outside of the Big Six.

Mountain West bubble breakdown


ATLANTIC 10

Standings (strictly teams that are within reach of the bubble)

• 1. Xavier 15-6, 7-1
• 2. Temple 18-4, 6-1
• 3. Charlotte 16-5, 6-1
• 4. Rhode Island 17-3, 5-2
• 5. Richmond 16-6, 5-2
• 6. Dayton 15-6, 4-3
  

Favorite: Temple

Despite the Owls loss to Charlotte last Wednesday, the Owls still seem to be the favorite to win this league, and its not necessarily because of their talent level. That's not to say that Temple isn't a talented team. Ryan Brooks and Juan Fernandez form an excellent 1-2 scoring punch on the perimeter. Fernandez is a better shooter and Brooks is more adept at driving to the basket and mixing it up in the paint, but in the end both are simply good, smart basketball players. Lavoy Allen is a quality big man that can rebound the ball. Luis Guzman is an experienced leader at the point.

Ryan Brooks has been Temple's leading scorer this season.
(photo credit: ESPN)

But, like I said, Temple doesn't win because of their talent level. They win because they play defense. On the year, Fran Dunphy's crew has allowed just 56.9 ppg to their opponents, and only four teams have hung 70 points on their disciplined man-to-man defense - Western Michigan, Xavier, Charlotte, and Kansas. And if it wasn't for the "concussion-like symptoms" Juan Fernandez was experiencing and Lavoy Allen's foul trouble, the Owls may not have blown a ten point lead to Charlotte.

The biggest reason Temple is the favorite in the A-10? Their schedule. While the Owls will play five of their remaining nine games on the road, only one of those five roadies (Richmond) comes against a team in the top six of the A-10. Overall, they only play three more games against the top six of the league, and avoid Xavier and Charlotte. With that schedule and their ability to defend, Temple has the best shot of bringing home the league title, especially since they own the tie-breaker with Xavier


And if they lose: Xavier

The Musketeers probably are the next best team in the league. This was supposed to be a down year for the Muskies, as the likes of Derrick Brown, BJ Raymond, and CJ Anderson all moved on from X. Early in the season, Xavier looked like they were going to fulfill those expectations as they lost to Marquette, Baylor, Kansas State, Butler, and Wake Forest in the span of 11 games. But as the season has progressed, those losses began to not look so bad. All five teams are in the top 34 according to Kenpom, and with the exception of Marquette (51st), all are also in the top 25 of the RPI. Now consider that all five games were on the road or at the Old Spice Classic, and maybe the writing was on the wall for Xavier's start in league play.

Jordan Crawford could end up being A-10 player of the year.
(photo credit: ESPN)

Clearly, the brightest star for Xavier has been Jordan Crawford, the A-10's leading scorer. Crawford has a penchant for gunning, but he has also shown the backbone to take, and make, some tough shots down the stretch. And while Crawford's back court mates -- Terrell Holloway, Mark Lyons, Brad Redord, Dante Jackson -- all play their role capably, perhaps the biggest reason for Xavier's potential success in the league are their biggest players. Jason Love has become an excellent center, providing a scoring threat in the post, grabbing rebounds, and blocking some shots. Alongside Love is the athletic Jamel McLean and 7 foot Kenny Frease, both of whom have developed quite nicely this season.

Xavier's biggest issue is their non-conference resume, as an overtime win over Cincinnati is their only notable accomplishment. But the Muskies are not done with their non-conference schedule, as they still have to travel to Florida.


Who's Dancing?: As has been the case in year's past, the biggest problem surrounding the A-10 getting four or five bids to the dance is that the top of their conference ends up beating up on one another. There are only so many games that can help boost a profile for these teams, and they can't all win them all ... because they are against each other. So while there are going to be five, maybe six, teams when it is all said and done that merit consideration, my bet is that three, maybe four, of those teams actually get in.

• Temple: 18-4, 6-1; RPI: 16; Kenpom: 32; SOS: 32; vs. RPI top-50: 4-3; vs. RPI top-100: 6-4; Best wins: Villanova, Siena, @ URI; Bad losses: none
  
  Temple is all but a lock to get in. Their computer numbers are great, they have some good wins, they have no bad losses, and their schedule has been tough. The question is where they will get seeded. Temple plays three games against the other top six teams in the league. If they can go 8-1 or 7-2 down the stretch, winning the A-10, I think they have a shot at a top four seed. The A-10 is that strong. They might be able to move up another line if they can win the A-10 tournament as well.
  


• Xavier: 15-6, 7-1; RPI: 21; Kenpom: 19; SOS: 10; vs. RPI top-50: 4-5; vs. RPI top-100: 5-6; Best wins: Cincinnati, Rhode Island; Bad losses: Marquette
  
  Xavier is in the same boat as Temple. They should be all but a lock barring a collapse. This difference is that they don't have the non-conference resume that Temple as. Xavier didn't get a win against a Villanova. Xavier has a tough schedule the rest of the way, playing six of their final nine games on the road, including trips to Dayton, to Charlotte, and a non-conference game at Florida. X probably should win at least one of those three roads contests and clean up against the rest of their schedule if they want to feel safe. If Xavier can win the A-10 regular season, they are probably looking at around a five or six seed, which may get bumped up to a four seed if they can win the A-10 tournament as well.


• Charlotte: 16-5, 6-1; RPI: 42; Kenpom: 79; SOS: 99; vs. RPI top-50: 3-5; vs. RPI top-100: 3-5; Best wins: Temple, @ Louisville, @ Richmond; Bad losses: By 42 to Duke, by 33 to Old Dominion, by 17 to Tennessee
  
  Charlotte is in by far the worst shape of the three one-loss A-10 teams. They played eight games against teams with an RPI of 200 or worse (three against 300 or worse), and while they did play, and win, some games against good competition - beating Louisville on the road by 22 is impressive regardless of who was injured for the Cardinals - they also have to account for embarrassing losses to Duke and Old Dominion. Charlotte is probably in if the tournament started today, but they will want to win at least one, preferably two, of their four games against teams in the top six of the league (@ Dayton, Xavier, @ URI, Richmond). Of course, if they win the A-10, than they are going to be going to the dance.


• Rhode Island: 17-3, 5-2; RPI: 12; Kenpom: 66; SOS: 45; vs. RPI top-50: 2-2; vs. RPI top-100: 6-3; Best wins: Oklahoma State, @ Dayton; Bad losses: @ VCU
  
  Rhode Island definitely as the look of a team that belongs in the NCAA Tournament, and they have the computer profile as well. They have no losses outside of the top 100, and some of their wins have fallen out of the top 50 as teams like Northeastern, Boston College, and even VCU have lost a few games of late. Simply put, Rhody has done everything that they can with the schedule they had to earn themselves a bid to the dance, but they don't have much room for error. They have a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way, getting Richmond and Charlotte at home and heading to Temple. If they can take care of business against the Spiders and the 49ers, and avoid tripping up against a team like La Salle, the Rams should be ok.
  


• Richmond: 16-6, 5-2; RPI: 38; Kenpom: 68; SOS: 67; vs. RPI top-50: 2-2; vs. RPI top-100: 4-5; Best wins: Missouri, Old Dominion, Florida; Bad losses: @ St. Louis
  
  Richmond is in an interesting spot. They scheduled tough, and picked up some good wins, in the non-conference, but they could end up being hurt as some of their losses (William & Mary, South Carolina, VCU) begin to look worse as those teams struggle. The Spiders have a couple good non-conference wins, but have lost to Charlotte at home already and dropped an ugly one to St. Louis. The good news for Richmond is that they play each of the other five teams in the top six of the league one more time before the season is done. Richmond is going to earn or lose their bid in their last three games - at Xavier, Dayton, at Charlotte.
  


• Dayton: 15-6, 4-3; RPI: 40; Kenpom: 50; SOS: 40; vs. RPI top-50: 2-5; vs. RPI top-100: 2-5; Best wins: Georgia Tech, Old Dominion; Bad losses: @ St. Joe's
  
  Hard to believe that the preseason favorite is currently sitting in sixth place. As of today, Dayton is probably out of the tournament. They don't have enough quality wins, they have that ugly loss to St. Joe's, and they simply haven't played enough top tier competition. The Flyers are really going to have to do some work over their final nine games. They get Xavier and Charlotte at home, but they must travel to Richmond and Temple. I have a feeling that, at the end of the season, Dayton is going to need a good performance in the A-10 tournament in order to earn themselves a trip to the dance.
  
  

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Early Season Surprises

USC Trojans: After starting the season 2-4, the Trojans have reeled off six straight wins, four of them with transfer Mike Gerrity running the show. Three of the four wins Gerrity has been a part of: 77-55 over Tennessee, 60-49 over St. Mary's, and a 67-56 win over UNLV on Christmas Day. USC has done it with defense, allowing just 50 ppg and 34% shooting from the field over the six win. No team out west in playing as well as the Trojans right now. Could this team win the Pac-10?


Wichita State Shockers and Missouri State Bears: In the preseason, just about everyone pegged Northern Iowa as the favorite in the MVC. In fact, neither the Shockers or the Bears were voted into the top four of the MVC preseason poll, but both could very well give the Panthers a run in a competitive Valley this season. Wichita State is 11-1 on the year, with their lone loss coming to Pitt, while Missouri State is 10-1 coming off of a loss at Arkansas. While neither team has much of a resume at this point, Missouri State has beaten Tulsa while Wichita State notched a win over Texas Tech a week and a half ago.


Syracuse: The rise of the Orange has been well documented this season. They began the year with blow out wins over UNC and Cal in NYC during the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, notched wins over Cornell and Florida, and now head into Big East play at 12-0 on the season. All this after the Orange lost to Le Moyne, a DII team, in their last preseason game and coming off of an off-season where Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, and Paul Harris all jumped ship and went pro. I doubt that even the most die-hard, disillusioned Syracuse fan could have hoped for this good of a start to the season.


William & Mary: The Tribe lost their first two games of the season, but they have bounced back nicely, winning eight in a row. They haven't just beaten cupcakes either; that eight game winning streak includes victories over Richmond and VCU, at Wake Forest, and best of all, they beat my alma mater Vassar College. The two losses to start the season aren't too shabby either - they lost road dates with UConn (by nine) and Harvard (in triple overtime on a half court prayer). The CAA looks to be pretty good this season, and William & Mary may very well be the best team in the league.


New Mexico: The Lobos are now 12-1 are losing on the road to a tough Oral Roberts team, but that shouldn't diminish how good New Mexico's start to the season has been. The Lobos won their first 12 games, which included wins over Texas A&M, Cal, and Creighton, while climbing to 12th in the polls. The combination of Darington Hobson and Roman Martinez up front is one of the best out west.


UAB: The Blazers have bounced back nicely from an early season loss to Kent State. They've won 10 straight games, which includes impressive victories over Cincinnati and Butler. UAB's best player early in the season has been Elijan Millsaps, a 6'6" guard nearly averaging a double double (15.4 ppg, 9.8 rpg). C-USA is wide open this season, with UTEP, Tulsa, and Houston all being mentioned as possible successors to Memphis. But thus far in the season, the Blazers may be the favorite to win the league.


Temple: The Owls returned to the top 25 for the first time since 2001 after beating both Villanova and Seton Hall, who were at the time undefeated. Temple has two losses on the season- a one point setback in DC to Georgetown and a seven point loss to St. John's. The Owls have done it with defense, holding their opponents to 37.3% shooting from the field and 23.9% shooting from deep.


St. John's: St. John's basketball has fallen far from their glory days, but Norm Roberts has led the Johnnies to a bit of a resurgence this season. The Red Storm is sitting at 10-2 on the season, with their only losses coming to Duke and Cornell while having beaten Temple, Siena, and Georgia already this season. DJ Kennedy (16.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.3 apg) is playing as well as anyone in the conference, and Dwight Hardy has caught fire in the last couple of week, averaging 17.3 ppg in the last three games. The most impressive part: St. John's is still waiting for Justin Burrell and Anthony Mason, Jr., to get healthy.


Kevin Jones, West Virginia: West Virginia has started the season out 10-0, and the biggest reason may be Jones. The athletic, 6'8" forward has averaged 15.5 ppg and 8.1 rpg while shooting 10-29 from three. West Virginia bases their team around stingy defense and aggression on the offensive glass, and Jones is perfect for that system.


Jacob Pullen, Kansas State: The Wildcats have shot up the rankings the last few weeks, and the biggest reason for that has been Pullen. In KSU's 11-1 start, Pullen is averaging 20.0 ppg and 3.5 apg while shooting 43.6% from deep. KSU has had some impressive wins this year, beating Dayton, Washington State, Xavier, UNLV, and Alabama. In those five games, Pullen averaged 24.2 ppg. He looks to be the early season favorite for Big XII player of the year.


Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame: Many people wrote Notre Dame off this season after Scott Martin tore his acl, but Abromaitis has more than filled that void. Abromaitis is averaging 15.8 ppg while shooting a ridiculous 50.7% from beyond the arc. His emergence alongside Luke Harangody as a second scoring option has been a big reason the Fighting Irish have a shot at reaching the dance this season.


Quincy Pondexter, Washington: Pondexter was a top 50 player coming out of high school, but was overshadowed by the likes of Jon Brockman and Isaiah Thomas during his first three seasons. But this year, it has been Pondexter's team. Pondexter has averaged 21.9 ppg and 8.7 rpg, and is one of the bright spots for a Washington team still not playing up to its potential.


Ekpe Udoh, Baylor: Udoh had two mediocre seasons playing in Ann Arbor before deciding to transfer to Baylor. After sitting out a season, Udoh has had a phenomenal start to the '09-'10 season, especially on the offensive end. His scoring (14.6 from 6.0), rebounding (9.8 from 5.0), and assist (2.8 from 0.9) numbers have all made marked improvements, while he is also averaging 3.9 bpg and shooting 60.2% from the floor.


Antonio Pena, Villanova: The biggest question mark for Villanova coming into the season was how they would fill the void Dante Cunningham left inside, which became a much bigger issue when Mouph Yarou was diagnosed with Hepatitis. But Pena has done his best to answer those questions, averaging 13.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg thus far in the season.

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12/14 - College Hoops Week in Review: The A-10 can play

What we learned this week: The A-10 is always considered one of the best conferences in the country outside of the Big Six. That will happen when you count the likes of Xavier and Dayton in your ranks.

But with Xavier expected to be down this season (and playing like it early on) and Dayton not looking as good as they were predicited to be, the A-10 looked for a while like a league that may get just one bid this season.

After this past week, that sentiment is bound to change.

It started last Saturday, as Charlotte, a team that had lost to Duke by 42 earlier in the season, went into Louisville and knocked off the Cardinals. The 49ers are now 8-1 on the year, and with Shamari Spears, Chris Braswell, and DiJuan Harris playing as well as they are, Bobby Lutz looks like he may finally have a team ready to compete for a conference title.

But what really put the A-10 on the map was their performance on Sunday.

First was Rhode Island, who went into BC and came out with an 80-69 win. The Rams are now 8-1 on the season, with their only loss coming to a good VCU team by two points on the road. Next was Xavier, who, as we will chronicle in the game of the week, beat Cincinnati at home in a double overtime thriller. But the explamation point was Temple, who knocked off then-undefeated and then-No. 3 Villanova in a Big 5 rivarly game.

Throw in teams like Richmond, Duquesne, La Salle, and even the surprising George Washington team, and we are looking at a league that is very deep and very balanced.

While these big early season wins are nice, having a balanced conference is not necessarily a good thing for the league as a whole. Yes, competitive games are always great, but that does not necessarily correlate to more teams getting into the tournament. The issue is league play. The eight teams I mentioned, and likely the six other I did not, are going to beat each other up during league play. There really is no favorite in the league this season. Let's say that there end up being four or five teams that are in the 12-4 to 10-6 range in conference play.

Will there be enough quality wins by the teams with a desirable number of acceptable losses to make this a multiple bid league?

GAME OF THE WEEK: Xavier 83, Cincinnati 79 2OT

The Crosstown Shootout is as vicious as any rivalry in the country, and we got an example of that on Sunday night. In the first half, two near brawls broke out, one of which resulted in the benches clearing and a riot very nearly breaking out. The second half was just as physical as the first, although both teams seemed to regain their composure.

There was nearly an all-out brawl during the Xavier-Cincinnati game.
(photo credit: SLAM)

Lost in the chest thumping and posturing was what turned into the best game of the young season. With Cinci up 55-51 with five minutes to play, Xavier used a 6-0 spurt to take a two point lead. The teams would trade baskets until Lance Stephenson tied the game with a jumper with 15 seconds left. Terrell Holloway would miss a jumper at the other end, and Dante Jackson followed that with a five footer in the lane, but after reviewing the shot it was clear it came after time had expired. In the OT, the Bearcats would take a five point lead with 55 seconds left, but Terrell Holloway scored seven straight points, including an and-one layup with 19 seconds left to tie it. Stephenson missed a pretty tough step back three at the end of the overtime that would have one the game.

In the second OT, Jason Love would score back-to-back layups, the second off of an assist from Holloway that gave Xavier an 81-79 lead, before grabbing his 19th rebound of the game and hitting a free throw to seal the win. This was a huge win for Xavier, not only because it came against arguably their biggest rival, but because it was the first win over a power conference team for a Xavier team that always as NCAA aspirations. Holloway had 26 points and innumerable big plays down the stretch, including locking up Lance Stephenson, who needed 19 shots to score 22 points, and Love added seven points and five blocks to his 19 boards.

They were also good:

• Purdue 73, Alabama 65: Robbie Hummel had 23 points and 9 boards and E'Twuan Moore added 15 as the Boilermakers used a late 10-0 run to complete a comeback from a 16 point second half deficit. Chris Kramer, who had 14 points for Purdue, had two steals that led to open layups in the decisive run.
• Kentucky 64, UConn 61: This game has already had too much written about it, so just read our write-up from the day after.
• Oral Roberts 60, Missouri 59: Michael Craion scored on a layup with 0.9 seconds left as ORU overcame a 57-47 deficit in the final four minutes for the win.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Greg Monroe, Georgetown

Monroe led the Hoyas to a 2-0 week as they knocked off their first two ranked teams of the season, going to NYC to beat Butler in Madison Square Garden and to Anaheim to beat Washington. What was most impressive about Monroe was how he led Georgetown. Against Butler, the Hoyas pounded the ball inside, and while he was far from as efficient as would be ideal, his 24 points (on 20 shots and 10 free throws) and 15 boards was the difference.

Greg Monroe showed why he is an all-american candidate in two wins this week.
(photo credit: AP)

It was a different story against Washington. Monroe still managed 15 points and 8 rebounds, but it was his 6 assists and ability to orchestrate the Georgetown offense that was the key in the Hoyas win. Monroe proved a lot to his doubters last week, and while he still has a way to go before he is a finished product, he put his versatility was on display.

They were also good:

• Jamel Jackson, Seton Hall: Jackson was the best player on the floor in the Pirates 134-107 win over VMI. He had 40 points and hit 12 3's off the bench while adding 6 assists and 4 steals, which was more than enough to over come the fact he had just one points against UMass on Monday.
• Xavier Henry, Kansas: John Wall isn't the only great freshman this season. Henry averaged 20 ppg on the week, including a 31 point outburst against La Salle. Henry is the leading scorer for the #1 Jayhawks.
• Jeremy Lin, Harvard: Lin averaged 27.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 3.5 apg as the Crimson had a 1-1 week, losing by six at UConn and upsetting Boston College.
• Roman Martinez, New Mexico: Martinez has been the biggest reason that the upstart Lobos are 10-0. It continued this week, as Martinez had 26 points on 8-9 shooting (all from three) in a win at San Diego and then went for 22 points and 7 boards in New Mexico's win over Texas A&M.
• Juan Fernandez, Temple: Fernandez averaged 21.5 ppg and 4.0 apg in a 2-0 week for the Owls. But it was his 33 points and 7-9 shooting from three against then-undefeated Villanova that puts him on this list.
• Jacob Pullen, Kansas State: Pullen averaged 22 ppg as K-State beat Xavier and UNLV.
  

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Temple Owls

Temple went 2-0 on the week, including notching a win over Big 5 opponent Villanova. It wasn't just a big win for the Owls, but for the Atlantic 10 as a whole. The league has a number of good teams this season, and a win over Villanova gives lends the league more credibility in the eyes of the selection committee. Temple is now 8-2 on the year, with their only two losses coming to Georgetown and St. John's. When you consider their wins over Virginia Tech, Siena, and Penn State, the Owls look like they have a good shot at earning themselves an at-large spot in the tournament should they fail to win the A-10's automatic bid.

They were also good:

• Kansas State: Kansas State won two games this week against Xavier and at UNLV. The Wildcats look like a legitimate contender in the Big XII this season, especially when you consider that Denis Clemente seems to just now be hitting his stride.
• New Mexico: With road wins against San Diego and Texas A&M, it looks like New Mexico may be for real. Throw in the win over Cal, and Lobos look like they could be a contender not just for a MWC title, but for an at-large bid to the dance.
  

MATCH-UPS OF THE WEEK:

Not a lot here, as this week is finals week.

• 12/16 - 8:00 pm: UTEP @ Ole Miss
• 12/19 - 12:00 pm: Michigan @ Kansas
• 12/19 - 2:00 pm: UNC @ Texas
• 12/19 - 2:00 pm: Xavier @ Butler
• 12/19 - 2:00 pm: UCLA @ Notre Dame
  
• 12/19 - 4:00 pm: Gonzaga vs. Duke
• 12/19 - 4:00 pm: Western Kentucky @ Louisville
  
• 12/19 - 6:30 pm: Richmond vs. Florida
• 12/19 - TBA: Kansas State @ Alabama
  

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College Basketball Week in Review: Is it a Good or Bad Sign that Teams Lose Focus During Finals Week?

What We Learned This Week: It was a slow week for college basketball as schools across the country held finals. The worst thing about the college basketball season is the timing. Just when the season starts getting cranked up, fans start getting excited, and the players start getting into a rhythm, all of a sudden we have this 2-3 week lapse for finals.

There is nothing you can do about it. This is college and these are student-athletes. They need to take their finals. All I am saying is that it is tough to practice sporadically, focus on taking your tests, and then travel across the country to play a good team. Case in point: Tennessee. If you watched that game, you would know they just came out flat and were not ready to play and Temple jumped all over them.

This is also why you see a lot more players ruled academically ineligible in basketball than in football or baseball. In football, if you struggle during the season in the fall semester, you can make up for that by having an excellent spring semester. In baseball, if you struggle during the season in the spring, you have the summer and fall to make up for it. For basketball players, their season starts in October and ends in March (or April if you are lucky). Think about that. School usually starts in September (disregarding summer classes) and ends in May, which means that these kids are officially in season for 5-6 months out of the school year.

Back to the point, we learned this week that regardless of the name on your jersey, you need to be ready to play when you step onto the court. Just look at some of the games from this week: Temple beat Tennessee; UMass beat Kansas; Arizona beat Gonzaga; Notre Dame, Villanova, Arizona State, Miami FL, and Texas all barely hung on in games that should have been blow outs. And all this in a week where there were fewer than 30 games involving ranked teams.

As we head into another slow week leading up to conference play, you would hope that the lesson is learned.

GAME OF THE WEEK:
Stephen F. Austin 112, North Dakota State 111 3OT
This game was a roller coaster affair. Clearly, I did not watch it (here's to hoping ESPN Classic smartens up and airs it), but from reading the game recaps, it is obvious this was a fun one to see. SFA jumped out to a 20-2 lead early in the first half, and was in serious control of this game most of the way. NDSU cut the lead down to four twice in the first half, but a three at the first half buzzer made the halftime score 35-28. SFA jumped out to another big lead in the second half, going up by as much as 19 (63-44) and taking a 75-65 lead with 3:05 left. But Ben Woodside took over. He finished the game with 60 points, and also added 8 boards and 8 dimes. What's more impressive is that with 8:51 to go in the second half, Woodside had 11. In 23:51, he rattled off 49 points.

Before I get back to the game, let's talk about that for a second. 60 points. 30-35 from the line. 49 points in 23:51. In the Bison's 7th game, Woodside moved his average from 20 ppg to 26.2 ppg. He also added 8 assists, which means he was responsible for at least 76 of NDSU's 111 points. Amazing performance by that young man.

Back to the game, Woodside hit a three and four straight free throws to help send the game to overtime tied at 78. In the first OT, NDSU's Brett Winkelman hit a three with 24 seconds left to tie it at 89 and send it to a second OT. SFA's Josh Alexander's three-point play with 15 seconds left sent the game to a third OT. It looked like the Bison were finally going to win the game after Woodside's three-point play with 18 seconds left gave them a 111-110 lead. But Walt Harris hit a jumper with seven seconds left to give the Lumberjacks the win.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Jordan Hill, Arizona
Hill averaged 23.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg, and 4.5 bpg in a huge 2-0 week for the Wildcats. Arizona is playing with a depleted roster as a result of the Lute Olson debacle, but they look like they might be ready for a tournament run this year after beating San Diego State 69-56 on Wednesday and then upsetting Gonzaga on a neutral court on Sunday night. Hill had his best game of the season against SDSU, going for 25, 14, 6 blocks, and 4 assists. Against Gonzaga, it was his play down the stretch that won the game. He hit two free throws with 1:17 on the clock to break a 62-62 tie, then 40 seconds later hit a jumper in the lane over Josh Heytvelt to all but ice the game. Hill was also influential in holding Gonzaga's leading scorer, Heyvelt, to just 6 points and 7 rebounds on 1-6 shooting. I have been saying it all season, but with Hill, Chase Budinger, and Nic Wise on their team, Arizona is good enough to reach the NCAA tournament. They proved that on Sunday, as the three combined for 57 of the team's 69 points.

TEAM OF THE WEEK:
Temple
The Owls have really struggled this year. They made the NCAA tournament last season after a great run through the A-10 Tourney, but this season they have already lost to Clemson, Buffalo, and Miami OH while struggling to beat teams like Penn State and College of Charleston. But on Saturday, everything clicked. I know Dionte Christmas had 35 points, and his 30 in the second half helped the Owls pull away, but if you watched that game (I did) then you know that Christmas was non-existent in a first half where Temple really asserted their dominance. Sergio Olmos was the best player on the floor in the first half. He scored in the post and on perimeter jump shots, he blocked and changed shots in the lane, and he played incredibly smart (for example, twice in the first half when Temple guards drove to the rim, Olmos sealed his man on his back allowing the guard to take an uncontested lay-up). Ryan Brooks also played well. Known as a jump shooter, he was aggressive off the bounce and finished with a double-double (16 and 10 boards) while only hitting one triple.

There were two telling stats in this game for Temple. The first is that they won the rebounding battle. Granted, Tennessee is not the best rebounding team in the world, but the fact that a Temple team held a much more athletic and aggressive Tennessee team to 10 offensive rebounds when they missed 40-63 shots on the game is impressive. The second stat is the turnovers. Temple only had 11 on the game, and many of those (I believe it was 7) came in the first half. Semaj Inge and Luis Guzman rendered the Tennessee press completely ineffective, especially in the second half.

And of course, you must mention the Dionte Christmas show during the second half. He just took over. Temple built their biggest lead of the game when Christmas hit a three on three straight possessions, and five in a row over the course of eight possessions.

MATCH-UPS OF THE WEEK
12/16 - Marquette vs. Tennessee: You like fast-paced basketball? You like teams shooting a lot of three's? Then be sure to tune into this one.

12/17 - Siena @ Pitt: Siena was supposed to be one of the better mid-majors in the country, but has not been all that impressive this year. Pitt has, and may be the best team in the country not named North Carolina.

Saturday is one of the best days of basketball of the entire season. Take a look at these games:

• Connecticut vs. Gonzaga in Seattle
• VCU vs. Oklahoma
• Michigan State @ Texas
• Xavier vs. Duke
• Belmont @ Tennessee
• Louisville vs. Minnesota
• Mercer @ UCLA
• Syracuse @ Memphis
• Davidson @ Purdue
• BYU @ Arizona State
• Temple @ Kansas
• Arizona @ UNLV

Continue reading...

Tennessee @ Temple

Tennessee went into Philly to play Temple, and got run off the floor. There were a lot of things going wrong for the Vols, but it all comes down to their offense. They looked completely out of sync in the first half on the offensive end. The Vols were settling for deep three's which they weren't hitting. Tyler Smith was forcing ill-advised drives to the rim. Bobby Maze wasn't able to get into the lane. A lot of it had to do with Temple's tough defense, but Tennessee did not come out ready to play (Scottie Hopson was benched at the start of the game for missing the team breakfast and JP Prince did not play after spraining his ankle).

Tennessee's inability to score had a bigger effect than a low number on the scoreboard. The Vols rely on their press to create turnovers and turn those turnovers into easy baskets. But since they struggled so much to score, they were unable to get into their press (which was actually very effective in the first half). To give you an idea of how poorly Tennessee played, Dionte Christmas, Temple's best player and leading scorer, was saddled with two fouls in the first half and played limited minutes, scoring just five points. And Temple was still up 34-25 at the break.

The two best players for the Owls in the first half were center Sergio Olmos and guard Ryan Brooks. Olmos is an underrated center. A slender 7-footer from Spain, Olmos has a nice touch on his jumpshot out to about 19 feet, but he also can score with his back to the basket. Olmos is a smart player as well. Twice in the first half, when a Temple guard made a drive to the basket, Olmos sealed off his defender, allowing the guard a wide open lay-up. Brooks looked good as well. Known as more of a spot-up shooter than anything, Brooks was able to put the ball on the floor and score on pull-ups and drives all the way to the rim. Olmos finished with 19, 7, and 5 blocks, while Brooks added 16 points and 10 boards.

The second half was the Dionte Christmas show. Christmas had 35 on the game, with 30 of those coming after the half. At one point, he hit five straight three's in the span of eight possessions. I was really impressed with Christmas. He is clearly a fantastic shooter, but he can also get to the rim. He uses the threat of his jump shot to set up his penetration, as he is not all that quick but has a wide array of pump fakes and jab steps. He is also able to shoot when he is off-balance, making his release all that much quicker. He doesn't need his feet squared to the rim as long as his shoulders are.

Tennessee's press was largely ineffective in the second half. The Vols have two different presses - a hard one where they trap the first pass and look to steal the pass back to the inbounder. The second one is essentially just a full court man-to-man. Despite success forcing turnovers in the first half with the hard press, the Vols stayed with the soft press in the second half, even as Temple was pulling away. They only switched at the very end of the game, and Temple broke the press easily.

The biggest moment of the game came when Bruce Pearl got a technical foul. Tennessee had gotten a 47-34 deficit down to 52-48, and after a Christmas three-pointer, Wayne Chism was called for a travel. Pearl picked up the technical (which it looked like he wanted, trying to motivate his team), and Temple proceeded to go on a huge run. By the time Tennessee recovered, the score was 69-49.

One last thing of note - Tennessee knew every single one of Temple's in-bounds plays. In-bounds plays are like special teams in football. If you can get 6-8 points a game on your in-bounds plays under the basket, that can win you a lot of games. Preventing easy buckets on in-bounds play is all preparation and scouting. It is a good sign for Bruce Pearl and his coaching staff, because Tennessee knew every single one of Temple's plays. Granted, Temple ran some very simple plays (screen-the-screener, run the inbounder off of a screen), but Tennessee did not let them get anything easy, and even forced four or five turnovers off of them. Continue reading...

Temple: 2008-2009 Team Preview

2007-2008 Team Record: 21-13, 11-5 A-10 (2nd)

Key Losses: Mark Tyndale (15.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 4.2 apg), Chris Clark (7.5ppg)

Key Returnees: Dionte Christmas (19.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Lavoy Allen (8.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg), Ryan Brooks (8.6 ppg)

Newcomers: TJ DiLeo, Andrew "Scootie" Randall, Juan Fernandez, Michael Eric (RS), Ramone Moore (RS)

Early on last season, the A-10 looked like it was going to get as many as five teams into the NCAA tournament, but Temple was not one of them. Then conference play started, injuries and losses started to pile up for teams like Dayton and UMass, and thanks to a late push by the Owls, including an upset of Xavier on the way to the A-10 tournament championship, they ended their six-year tournament drought. That Temple team was led by Mark Tyndale and Dionte Christmas, who combined to score 36 ppg last year. Tyndale has graduated, but Christmas is will be back on campus for his senior season.

Christmas is probably the preseason A-10 player of the year, thanks to his fantastic scoring ability. He has excellent range on his jump shot, and he is tall enough (6'5" shooting guard) that he can get it off against most perimeter defenders. He can also get to the rim (he is good at trying to get to the basket when his shots aren't falling), but is not overly quick, meaning he relies a lot of pump fakes and hesitation moves. Christmas will be joined in the backcourt by Ryan Brooks, a junior two-guard (from Kobe Bryant's high school), who hasn't been a starter (tough when you play behind Christmas and Tyndale) but was the Owls third leading scorer last year. He should slide into a starting spot on the wing. Senior Luis Guzman and sophomore Martavis Kee, who was a fairly big-time recruit but struggled to see the court (six games played), should battle it out for the starting point guard spot. Also, keep an eye on red-shirt freshman Ramone Moore, who was a big-time scorer coming out of Philly.

One of the keys to this years team will be how well Lavoy Allen develops. The 6'9", 225 lb Allen was one of only two top 100 recruits to head to the A-10 last year, and he had a pretty good year, averaging 8.1 ppg and 5.7 rpg and playing very good post defense. He is joined up front by Sergio Olmos, a 7-foot senior who finally seemed to fulfill some of his potential mid-way through he junior season. Michael Eric, another red-shirt freshman, will be counted on to play a lot of minutes off the bench.

Outlook: Any Temple fan should know what they are going to get out of Christmas. Regardless of who is defending him, he is going to find a way to put up 18-20 points, and has the ability to go for 30 against anyone (Florida last year, for one). But how good Temple is this year will depend on how well last year's role players progress, and whether or not they can fill some of the production and leadership lost with Tyndale's graduation. If Brooks, who has a tendency to be inconsistent, and Allen can both develop into all-conference caliber players, Temple seems poised to give Xavier a run for their money atop the A-10. Continue reading...