College Hoops Week in Review: Tray Woodall and Miami make noise

Player of the Week: Tray Woodall, Pitt

Pitt lost eight straight games this season. They started off Big East play with seven consecutive losses. They lost to Wagner. They lost to DePaul. They lost to Rutgers by 23 points at home. And despite all of that, the Panthers are all of a sudden a team that not only looks destined to be headed to the NCAA Tournament, they look like they actually deserve an at-large bid.

Why? Its simple: Tray Woodall. The talented Panther point guard missed an extended period of time in the middle of the season due to groin and abdominal injuries, but he returned to the lineup on January 21st. Pitt lost that game as Woodall was, quite evidently, working to get his bearings back. But since then, the Panthers have won four straight, including going into West Virginia and taking home the title in this year's Backyard Brawl. Woodall had 24 points and three assists. Then on Saturday, Woodall went for 29 points, six assists and five boards in a nine point win over Villanova.
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Hoops Housekeeping: DeQuan Jones, Ian Miller, David Foster out for extended periods

There was only one basketball player that was named in Yahoo's explosive report about Nevan Shapiro and the improper benefits that he provided University of Miami athletes.

DeQuan Jones.


If you've forgotten, Shapiro alleged that a member of Jones' family had asked an assistant coach for $10,000 to ensure that the player, a top 25 recruit in the Class of 2008, would follow through on his commitment. On Thursday, Miami announced that Jones, a 6'7" senior that has never lived up to the hype he had coming out of high school, will not play this season as the university continues their joint investigation into Yahoo's allegations.

This is another blow for a Hurricane team that was expected to contend for third place in the ACC this season. Over the summer, potential all-ACC center Reggie Johnson tore his meniscus and will be out until at least December recovering from surgery. Julian Gamble, the 'Canes next best big man, tore his ACL in September and will be out for the season. With Jones now out as well, Jim Larranaga is going to have to rely even more on his starting back court of Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant.


Ian Miller to miss the semester: According to Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports, Florida State sophomore point guard Ian Miller -- who sat out both of the Seminole's exhibition games -- will sit out the first semester of this season. He'll be eligible to return to the team in December. Losing Miller is a big blow to Florida State, a team that is completely devoid of offensive creativity and explosiveness this year. Miller came into the program with the reputation of being a capable creator, but he struggled to find a rhythm playing behind Derwin Kitchen last season. It will be interesting to see if he is able to work his way back into the lineup when he returns; he's an important piece for Leonard Hamilton's team.


Reeves Nelson has a bum ankle: Something to keep an eye on out west -- Reeves Nelson injured his ankle on Tuesday, but its not a sprain. According to Ben Howland, he changed his shoes and is having an issue with a part of his foot that he feels is giving out on him. He also said the injury "could be serious", which is not a good sign for Nelson. The good news? UCLA has enough front court depth that Howland can afford to sit Nelson against Loyola Marymount in the opener.


Roger Franklin cleared: North Texas already was considered one of the mid-major powers, but they just got even better. Roger Franklin, a transfer from Oklahoma State, was cleared to become immediately eligible to play for the Mean Green. He'll be teaming with Tony Mitchell, who was expected to be an impact freshman at Missouri and played on the USA's U-19 team this summer, and Justin Patton, an all-conference performer at Grambling, as UNT's impact newcomers.


Trey Burke to start: The biggest question mark for Michigan heading into this season is at the point guard spot. With Darius Morris entering the NBA Draft a year earlier than expected, the Wolverines were left with a freshman point guard and a senior off-guard to battle over the starting spot in the back court. It looks as if the freshman won out, as John Beilein announced that Trey Burke will be the starter and Stu Douglass will come off the bench. Burke played basketball with Jared Sullinger in high school.


Utah is in big, big trouble this season: The Utes lost eight players from the program after Larry Krystowiak was named the new head coach in the spring, which means that Utah will not only be heading into a new conference with a new head coach, but they'll be doing it with what nearly amounts to a new roster. Thing got worse last week. Not only did Utah lose to Adams State in an exhibition, they lost guard Chris Hines for 2-4 weeks with a rib injury and center David Foster -- a 7'3", shot-blocking machine that won the 2010 MWC defensive player of the year award -- to a foot injury that will require surgery. Its going to be a long year for the Utes.


JJ Moore suspended: Pitt's sophomore wing JJ Moore was suspended for the first game of the season against Albany. Moore participated in an unauthorized summer league (because, you know, we want to limit how much basketball a basketball player can play in the summer) which led to the suspension. It shouldn't affect his status with the team too much; Moore will still be battling Lamar Patterson for the right to replace Gilbert Brown as a Pitt's starter at the three.


Steven Pledger to miss a game: Pledger suffered the same fate as Moore, getting suspended for the first game of the season against Idaho State for playing in an unauthorized summer league. Pledger is the second-leading returning scorer for the Sooners. How did Pledger get caught? A compliance official saw a tweet from Pledger about playing in the game and self-reported the violation.


Chrishawn Hopkins is back: Hopkins has quite a bit of hype heading into the season, but he missed both of Butler's exhibitions has he battled a concussion. The good news? He's back on the court and should be ready to go in Butler's opener.


Quick hitters:

- Siena's Rakeem Brookins' will miss the season due to persistent back problems.

- Ken Holdman, a senior point guard and a defensive stopper for Oral Roberts, will miss the season after tearing his acl.
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Miami dealt another blow

Frank Martin never officially lobbied publicly for the head coaching job at Miami, but it was obvious to just about everyone involved that he wanted the gig. Martin earned his stripes coaching high school and AAU basketball in Southern Florida and is of Cuban-descent.

It made sense.

And that's why everyone thought Martin would have been a perfect fit and were so confused when he wasn't even considered to replace Frank Haith.

Now, nearly five months after the fact, Martin probably could not be happier that he stayed at Kansas State. For starters, there's the scandal that Charles Robinson and Yahoo! broke wide open last week. And while that story focused on the football, there was a little nugget in there about the Miami program more-or-less buying then-recruit, now-rising senior DeQuan Jones for $10,000. You can probably rest assured that will draw the NCAA's attention. At the very least, every other coach in the country recruiting against Miami will make sure that the kids they are targeting believe as much.

That wasn't the only piece of bad news the Canes got this summer. Back in July, potential All-ACC Reggie Johnson injured his knee and will be out of the lineup until the New Year. And now Julian Gamble, a forward that started 13 games last season, has undergone surgery to repair a torn acl and will be out for the season.

"We feel awful for Julian Gamble," said UM head coach Jim Larranaga said in a statement. "Tearing your ACL is a devastating injury at any time in your career, but particularly in your fifth year of eligibility. Julian is a bright, hard working and competitive athlete. We will do everything we can to support him in his efforts to rehabilitate this injury. We know he will also be there supporting his teammates, because that is just the kind of person he is."

Miami's front court will be in big trouble this year.

They are left, more or less, with two bigs. Kenny Kadji is a former top 50 recruit, averaging 4.4 ppg and 2.7 rpg as a freshman at Florida in 2008-2009. But its been two years since he played a full season (he had back surgery in 2009-2010). The other big is sophomore Raphael Akpejiori, who saw action in just 20 games a year ago.

I don't think Larranaga's tenure at Miami could have gotten off to a worse start, but I'm positive Martin isn't concerned about not getting that job anymore.
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How Yahoo's story will affect hoops

Charles Robinson and Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports dropped a nuclear bomb on the University of Miami football program on Tuesday afternoon.

Its thoroughly and exhaustively reported, all stemming from the confessions of Nevan Shapiro, a former Miami booster currently incarcerated for his part in a Ponzi Scheme. (Those seem to be popping up everywhere these days, don't they?) With the exception of the Baylor basketball scandal involving Dave Bliss from 2003 and the SMU scandals that resulted in the football program receiving the death penalty in the late 1980's, this could very well be the biggest scandal in NCAA history.

The majority of Yahoo!'s report has to do with Miami's football program, but the basketball side is involved and could affect more than just the Hurricanes.

(The best part about Yahoo!'s story is that they broke down the violations committed by each person on their own separate page. Here are the four you want to pay attention to for hoops -- DeQuan Jones, Frank Haith, Jake Morton, and Jorge Fernandez.)

It starts with DeQuan Jones, who was a top 25 recruit nationally in 2008. Shapiro alleges that in the early summer of 2008, Jake Morton -- then a Miami assistant and now a member of the Western Kentucky coaching staff -- came to him saying that a member of Jones' family was demanding a $10,000 payment in order to ensure Jones would remained committed to the Hurricanes. Morton got the money from Shapiro and delivered it to the family without the knowledge of the player, according to Shapiro.

Frank Haith, then the head coach of the Hurricanes and now the first-year head coach at Missouri, was aware of the payment and later thanked Shapiro for putting up the money. That wasn't their only interaction, either. Shapiro took out Haith, Morton, and Jorge Fernandez -- then an assistant with Miami and now on the staff at Marshall -- on many occassions, sometimes to the same place as members of the Miami football team.

Fernandez was also involved in another potential violation. One of the nights that Fernandez was out with Shapiro he brought along Moe Hicks, the head coach of famed Rice High School in NYC and the program director for the NYC Gauchos, arguably the best AAU program out of NYC. Durand Scott, who is a rising junior on the Hurricanes, played for Hicks at Rice and was a member of the Gauchos program.

Hicks is now the Director of Basketball Operations at St. John's.

The Miami football program is in quite a bit of trouble, but the tentacles of the NCAA's investigation will also affect hoops in a major way. And not just at Miami. One player -- Jones -- is alleged to have been bought with the coaching staff's knowledge. Another player -- Scott -- played for an AAU and high school coach that was photographed being taken out, with Miami's coaching staff, and put on the tab of a Miami booster.

Miami and Missouri fans should be worried. There's a very good chance that Haith loses his job over this, and Jim Larranaga could not have been dealt a worse hand to try and rebuild Miami. Western Kentucky, Marshall and St. John's fans should track this investigation.

Who knows what else is going to turn up.
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Tommy Amaker to stay at Harvard

Tommy Amaker made the decision this afternoon that he would remain the head coach of the Harvard Crimson instead of taking an offer from Miami to fill the void left by Frank Haith.

"I am appreciative of and flattered by the interest shown in me by other fine universities, but I am proud and honored to represent Harvard," Amaker said in a statement released by Harvard on Tuesday. "I look forward to continuing my efforts to teach, lead and serve at this great institution."

On the surface, this looks like a surprising decision.

Amaker is the coach of an Ivy League program that hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 1946. A few weeks ago, Sydney Johnson left Princeton, an Ivy powerhouse, to take the head coaching gig at Fairfield that was vacated by Ed Cooley. And Amaker turned down an offer from the ACC?


What may be even more surprising is that Amaker probably made the correct decision. Miami may be in the ACC, but it is not necessarily a great job. The athletic department is currently turning over, as the Canes just hired Shawn Eichorst as their new AD today. There is also the issue of the amount of funding that the basketball team would get. The Hurricanes don't have a large basketball budget when compared to other high-major programs, which essentially means that, unless the basketball program can immediately start filling the stands at their homes games or the University decides to dedicate more money to the team, whoever ends up taking the Miami gig will be running a program against a stacked deck.

And Harvard? Well, they aren't quite as bad as you think.

In four years, Amaker has taken this team from 8-22 to 23-7. He's legitimately been on the NCAA Tournament bubble the past two years, and even sent a player -- Jeremy Lin -- to the NBA this season.

Next year will actually be the best team that Amaker has had at Harvard. The Crimson return their entire roster from a year ago. That includes a front line of Kyle Casey and Keith Wright, both of whom are good enough to compete for a starting spot at most any school in the country. Their back court is quite talented as well, including Oliver McNally, Christian Webster, Brandyn Curry, and Laurent Rivard. All six of those players I mentioned averaged between 9.3 ppg and 14.3 ppg last season.

I'd be willing to bet that Harvard will actually be a better team than Miami next season.

I'd also be willing to bet that Amaker takes that Harvard team to the NCAA tournament.

And if he does, he'd likely be able to make a choice on where his next step would be. Then, if Amaker does decide to leave Harvard, it will likely be a better situation than Miami.

This isn't the first time this year that we've seen a head coach waive off a job at a bigger school. Shaka Smart parlayed his trip to the Final Four into a raise and a contract extension with VCU. Chris Mooney did the same with Richmond after making the Sweet 16. Last year, Brad Stevens re-upped with Butler after making the national title game.

So. Frank Martin?
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Why isn't Miami interested in Frank Martin's services?

The Miami coaching search is a curious one to follow.

Frank Martin seems to be the obvious fit. He's a native South Floridian and the son of a Cuban immigrant. He cut his teeth coaching at the high school level in Miami. And, if you read between the line of this AP report, he appears to want the job.

"I'm never going to say I'm not listening to anybody. Someone might call and it might be an opportunity, a new challenge, something that intrigues me," Martin said. "It might be an (athletic director) that I've known my whole life and he says, 'Frank, I need you.' I'm never going to come out and say I'm not going to listen."

The question, however, is whether or not Miami wants him.


Greg Cote at The Miami Herald wrote earlier today that "supposedly, UM is enamored with Harvard’s Tommy Amaker", and Michelle Kaufmann of the same paper reiterated that sentiment, saying Amaker "appears to be UM's top target".

What Amaker has done at Harvard is impressive. He turned a school that was 8-22 when he arrived four years ago into one that finished 23-7 this season and was legitimately involved in the discussion for an at-large bid the past two seasons. One of his players, Jeremy Lin, graduated and played in the NBA this season. But this is the same Tommy Amaker that didn't reach the NCAA Tournament in six seasons at Michigan, something that John Beilein has been able to do two of the past three years.

Amaker isn't the only coach that the Hurricanes are apparently interested in. Mike Davis (UAB), Rob Jeter (Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Donnie Jones (UCF), Tony Barbee (Auburn) and Billy Kennedy (Murray State) have also been mentioned in the search.

But no Frank Martin.

Could it be as simple as Miami being scared away by Martin's reputation?

If you don't know the back story, Martin was the head coach of the powerhouse Miami High program in the mid-to-late 90's. But he was forced to resign and had a state title taken away after it was discovered he broke high school regulations by recruiting players, including Steve Blake and Udonis Haslem, and lying about whether they were living in order to get them eligible to play at Miami High.

And then there is this from Curtis Kitchen, who was on the Kansas State beat last season:

Last November, K-State played Florida in the 2010 Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Miami. The game turned out to be the worst of the season for the Wildcats, who scored their lowest point total of the season in a 57-44 loss.

During the game, sources say, several important people associated with Miami took in the contest a few rows behind the K-State bench, sitting within earshot of Martin, who has demonstrated, at times, the vocal ability to make an entire naval battalion blush.

Martin did his normal thing that night, and it left a lasting impression with those in attendance - enough that when coupled with Martin's gray high school coaching past in Miami, they feel now he isn't worth pursuing despite the larger fanbase's desire for them to do so.

Forget all the talk about coaching salary and basketball budget issues. Forget the fact that Miami currently doesn't even have an athletic director. Is it possible that Miami simply doesn't want Frank Martin, his baggage or his coaching style?

If it is, that would be a tremendous shame.

The Hurricanes have a better-than-you-think roster returning, headlined by the dynamic back court of Durand Johnson and Malcolm Grant. Even if big man Reggie Johnson decides to keep his name in the draft, the next head coach isn't walking into an empty cupboard. Martin has, by far, a better track record than any of the coaches Miami is currently looking at. If he went to Miami and got that team in the mix for an NCAA Tournament bid next season, wouldn't it stand to reason that, with his recruiting connections, he would be able to own South Florida? And if he brought assistant coach Dalonte Hill, who has strong recruiting ties in the Washington DC area, Martin might be able to build Miami into a powerhouse program.

That's at least what the fans and the media are thinking.

Miami, apparently, is more worried with their bottom line and their reputation.
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POSTERIZED: If Reggie Johnson is moving, You'd best get out of his way

If you are looking for high-intensity basketball filled with physical play, excitement, and dramatic finishes, then the NCAA Tournament is what you want to watch during March.

But if you are looking for quality post-season posterizations, your best bet is to follow the N.I.T. March Madness' ugly-step-sister, the "Not Invited Tournament" has provided four brilliant poster-dunks, including a possible dunk-of-the-year candidate.

True, the N.I.T doesn't have the best post-season basketball, but it doesn't mean it's not exciting. And last night, The Miami Hurricanes provided some exciting stuff.

Reggie Johnson, the Hurricane's starting center, checks in at six-foot-ten and 300-pounds of raw mass. He's the type of guy who you most certainly don't want to be standing in front of if he is driving to the basket.



The big fella may not have a 40-inch vertical, but then again, guys with 40-inch verticals probably can't bench-press a elephant calf, as I'm certain Johnson can.

This wasn't the best dunk we've seen all season, but in terms of big men, or land warriors, as we like to call them, this may be best of the beasts.

I mean, who doesn't love it when a 300-pounder takes off like that?

But was it as good as one of these?:
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VIDEO: UNC comes back from 19 down to beat Miami FL on a buzzer beater

North Carolina never led.

Miami jumped out to a 15-8 lead, forcing UNC into 14 first half turnovers and aggravating Roy Williams to the point that the Tar Heel head coach put in five walk-ons for a few possessions midway through the first half.

Simply put, it was ugly. Miami was up 31-22 at the half and pushed that lead to 53-34 with 9:56 left on the clock. That's when it all started to come unglued.

North Carolina caught fire from beyond the arc and Miami, well, collapsed. Over the last nine minutes, the Hurricanes were 1-13 from the floor. They turned the ball over four times. After UNC had tied the game at 59 for the first time since it was 7-7, Miami proceeded to throw the ball out of bounds, setting up an exciting final possession for the Heels:





The Heels survive and advance to face the winner of Clemson and Boston College, leaving open the possibility that they can capture a one seed on Sunday.

For Miami, this trip to the NCAA Tournament epitomizes this team and, perhaps, the program under Frank Haith. Yesterday, the Canes came back from 10 down in the final forty seconds to knock of Virginia after scoring just 43 points in the first 39:20 of the game.

Today, they blew a 19 point lead in the final ten minutes of the game against UNC with a dizzying display of offensive ineptitude.

The talent is there, but the execution, the chemistry, and the confidence is missing.
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VIDEO: Miami with the comeback of the year

In one of the day's most meaningless games, tipping at the same time as UConn and Pitt with the right to play UNC on the line, Miami pulled off one of the most incredible comebacks these eyes have ever seen.

Down 53-43 with just 40 seconds left on the clock, the Hurricanes hit a couple threes, forced a couple turnovers, and still had a shot at winning the game at the buzzer:



UVA had just put a 20-2 run on the Hurricanes, turning a 37-28 deficit into a 50-39 lead with 2:12 left in the game, setting the stage for the exciting finish. The most incredible part about the comeback is just how back the Hurricanes were in the second half before the run. They had made just two of their 19 field goal attempts and scored 12 points in 19:20.

They nearly doubled it in the final 40 seconds of the game.

In the overtime, Garrius Adams hit a key three and Reggie Johnson scored a couple of buckets down low as the Canes took control.

It just goes to show you -- regardless of who is on the court, the game isn't over until the buzzer sounds.
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Conference Play Primer: The ACC

Favorite: Duke Blue Devils

I'm not expecting too much of an argument on that one. Not only is Duke the No. 1 team in the country right now -- even without Kyrie Irving -- but the rest of the ACC has been just pitiful. People are legitimately discussing whether or not Duke has a chance to go undefeated this season, and I guarantee that there are more people that think Duke won't lose a game than think the Blue Devils won't win the ACC.


Player of the Year: Reggie Jackson, Boston College

There are a number of legitimate Player of the Year options in the ACC at this point in the season, but I'm going with Jackson. He's second in the conference in both scoring (19.2) and assists (5.0) while grabbing 4.4 rpg and shooting an obscene 50.9% from three. He's also been the catalyst in BC's resurgence under Steve Donahue, carrying the team to a 10-2 mark here early in the season, which includes a win on the road against Maryland in their ACC opener. As crazy as it may sound, BC might just be the second best team in the ACC. And Reggie Jackson is the reason why.

All-Conference Team:

• G: Nolan Smith, Duke: 17.1 ppg, 5.4 apg, 4.6 rpg
  
• F: Kyle Singler, Duke: 17.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg
  
• F: Chris Singleton, FSU: 14.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.1 spg, 2.4 bpg
  
• F: Mike Scott, UVa: 15.9 ppg, 10.2 rpg (takes Kyrie Irving's spot)
  
• C: Jordan Williams, Maryland: 18.2 ppg, 11.9 rpg
  

Biggest Surprise: Virginia Tech Hokies

Boston College has probably been the only team in the conference that has been a surprise in a positive way. Since I don't want to talk about the Eagles, I'll go the other direction. This was supposed to be Virginia Tech's year to breakthrough. With senior Malcolm Delaney leading this way, the Hokie's were going to have the supporting cast around the ACC Player of the Year as they gave Duke a run for their money atop the conference. That was the plan, anyway. Then Allan Chaney had a heart condition discovered, JT Thompson tore his acl, and Virginia Tech struggled through the non-conference portion of their schedule before finding out that Dorenzo Hudson, last year's leading scorer, would miss the rest of the season due to injury. Without a quality win, and with very few quality wins available in the ACC this year, it looks as if the Hokies will once again miss the NCAA Tournament.

Biggest Disappointment: Harrison Barnes

Since I'm not going to simply answer "the conference as a whole" (because that would be too correct accurate easy), I'll go with Barnes. Barnes has been far from bad this season. He is the Tar Heel's second leading scorer at 12.3 ppg, which, as an incoming freshman, is commendable. The problem is that with the hype bestowed upon this young man this season, "commendable" is not good enough. Barnes was named CBSSports.com preseason national Player of the Year and became the first freshman to ever be named an AP Preseason All-American. Its not his fault that he had this much hype coming in, but he certainly hasn't lived up to those expectations. Its not an issue of talent, it seems more to be an issue of confidence. Barnes is not playing as aggressive as many expected him to, and he certainly isn't shooting the ball all that well. There is still time for him to turn things around. Personally, I'm hoping he will; Barnes seems like a genuinely good kid.


Teams to keep an eye on:

• NC State: Don't write off the Wolfpack just yet. If you remember, last year's leading scorer and rebounder, big man Tracy Smith, is still out of the lineup with a knee injury he suffered early on in the season. With as much young talent as Sidney Lowe has on that roster, missing your best and most experienced player was expected to yield some growing pains.
• Florida State: Chris Singleton is probably the best individual defensive player in the country. With the Seminole's size, they are one of the best half court defensive teams in the country as well. Offense is their problem, as they don't seem to run anything at that end of the floor, but Singleton looked improved on that end at the Diamond Head Classic.
• Maryland: The Terps have talent on their roster, especially in the front court where Jordan Williams anchors an athletic front line. Their issue is in the back court. Two freshmen and Adrian Bowie have been sharing point guard duties, and it hasn't gone all that well. Maryland has four losses, but all four were winnable games that the Terps cost themselves with poor decision making down the stretch.
• North Carolina: There is just too much talent on this team to ignore. Will they put it all together? I don't know. But December is too early to write off a team with seven Burger Boys on the roster.
• Miami FL: Two great guards, a hoss in the middle, and a couple of athletes on the wing? What more does a team need in this conference?
  

Teams to forget about:

• Virginia Tech: Injuries and illnesses have just decimated this team's depth and talent level. Malcolm Delaney is a player, but there just isn't enough on this roster.
• Georgia Tech: The loss to Kennesaw State was bad, as that team as not won a game since then. But then three days before Christmas the Yellow Jackets went to Siena and lost to a Saints team that was without Clarence Jackson and that had a banged up Ryan Rossiter in the second half. Paul Hewitt is lucky he got the contract he did after that Final Four season.
  

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Monday's Shootaround: BC beats Miami late while Clemson and Oklahoma bounce back

Boston College 61, Miami 60: BC opened up a 16 point second half lead before Miami came back on the strength of their defense. They would hold BC to just one free throw over the next seven minutes, cutting the lead to 55-49 with five minutes left. After a Biko Paris bucket, Miami would reel off eight straight points to tie the game with two minutes left. With the score tied at 57, Reggie Jackson grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a putback with 1:47 left. Miami would go scoreless on their next two possessions, before Jackson knocked down two free throws to seal the win. Malcolm Grant hit a three at the buzzer for the final score.

BC's Reggie Jackson had 18 and 9 boards, but was called for a charge on this dunk.
(photo credit: Washington Post)

Jackson led the Eagles with 18 points and 9 boards while Corey Raji added 17 points and 9 boards. Malcolm Grant was the only Hurricane in double figures as he went for 18 points off the bench.

Villanova 95, Maryland 86: Villanova caught fire in the first half, hitting 11 of 21 threes to open up a 49-38 first half lead. After getting down by as much as 16 early in the second half, Maryland would use an 8-0 run during the second half to cut the Wildcat lead to 61-58. Maryland had three possessions down three, but on all three settled for tough three pointers. A Corey Fisher three would spark an 11-1 run that all but put the Terps away.

Villanova's three point shooting is the easy way account for the Wildcat's big first half lead, but there was much, much more to it. Villanova is not a team whose strength centers on their ability to shoot the three. Their success is going to be determined by how well they pressure the ball defensively and how well they create points off of turnovers. The threes come because guys are open in transition, and just about everyone on their roster can hit it from deep. On a night like tonight, when a couple guys are hitting, the threes keep coming. Overall, Villanova was 16-39 from deep, a school record for attempts and one of the school record for makes. But they also forced 19 turnovers, scoring 30 points off of those turnovers.

Scottie Reynolds had 25 and 8 assists to win the BB&T Classic MVP.
(photo credit: Bleacher Report)

Another reason Villanova won the way they did tonight was how well they played on the glass, outrebounding Maryland 45-32 and grabbing 23 offensive rebounds. Villanova is small on the interior, but they have a number of athletic, scrappy wings that fly in from the perimeter while Antonio Pena has looked like one of the toughest guys to keep off the glass in the country early in the season.

Villanova got a combined 61 points and 13 assists from Scottie Reynolds and My Two Corey's. In fact, looking at the numbers I just mentioned and considering that Greivis Vasquez 12 points and 7 turnovers before fouling out, it is a testament to how well guys like Jordan Williams, Sean Mosley, and Eric Hayes (in the second half) played that the Terps were even in this game. As Gary Williams put it after the game, Jordan Williams was "a man" out there, going for 19 points and 11 boards. He hit the glass hard, he scored on a couple post moves, and he looked like the real deal. Once this kid develops his body, he is going to be a star. Sean Mosley is one of my favorites players in the country. He plays hard for 40 minutes, he defends, he rebounds, and he is an opportunistic scorer and passer. He finished with a career-high 26 points. Eric Hayes had 20, including four big second half threes. Once Greivis puts it together, Maryland is going to make noise in the ACC.

Clemson 72, South Carolina 61: The Tigers really needed this win after blowing a 23 points lead against Illinois. South Carolina came in short-handed as both Dominique Archie and Mike Holmes are you with injuries. After a back and forth first half, South Carolina went on a little 9-4 spurt to open up a 38-36 lad early in the second half, but the Tigers responded. A Noel Johnson three sparked a 14-4 run that put Clemson up 10. The Gamecocks would get it to two at one points, but a late 18-6 run put the game away. Tanner Smith and Demontez Stitt both had 14 points to lead the Tigers, who held Devan Downey to 8 points on 3-15 shooting.

Tulsa 81, Ohio 80: Justin Hurtt scored 21 points, including two free throws with 11 seconds left to put Tulsa up four an seal the game. The Bobcats were down 68-61 with minutes left, but caught fire down the stretch. Tulsa was able to keep the lead as they hit their free throws down the stretch. Ben Uzoh had 20 points, 10 boards, and 5 assists for Tulsa while Jerome Jordan added 8 points, 9 boards, and 6 blocks in 23 foul plagued minutes. Steven Idlet had 18 points and 16 boards for Tulsa.

Kansas 73, UCLA 61: Markieff Morris scored a career-high 19 points as Kansas led the entire game. Xavier Henry added 16 and Sherron Collins 14 and the Jayhawks pulled away late for the win.

UConn 79, Harvard 73: Jerome Dyson finished with 24 points, 14 boards, and 9 assists while Kemba Walker added 20 and Sticks had 18 points and 12 boards. UConn was up 58-42 late in the second half, but Jeremy Lin, who finished with 30, got caught and Harvard made it respectable down the stretch. UConn still hasn't answered any of their problems. They still have no bench - Gavin Edwards scored 12 of their 14 bench points, and he played 34 minutes while Okwandu played just 3 minutes - and they only outrebounded Harvard by 10.

Washington 88, Cal St. Northridge 76: CSN was up 48-47 with 15 minutes left in the game, but a 17-2 run by the Huskies put them ahead for good. Isaiah Thomas had 21 points and Quincy Pondexter added 20 and 7 boards in an ugly with for U-Dub.

Notre Dame 90, UCF 72: Tim Abromaitis had 31 points and Luke Harangody added 29 points as the Irish took control in the second half. The Golden Knights were down just 43-41 at the half, but a 9-0 spurt midway through the second half put ND up 20.

Oklahoma 79, Arizona 62: Willie Warren had 25 points as the Sooners hit five threes in a 27-11 run to open the game. The young Wildcats, playing their first true road game, never were able to recover.

Other notable scores:

• Oregon State 74, Cal St. Bakersfield 39
• GW 81, Navy 69
• Virginia Tech 74, Georgia 62
  

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The BIAH Advent Calendar: Day 2

Yup, it is December. And as the temperatures outside drop, the heat is rising on college campuses across the country as basketball season kicks into full swing. But December is also a time to reflect on the past year. This December is special, because as we draw closer to the new year, we get closer to the end of the aughts. In the spirit of the holidays, we are going to celebrate the decade past by counting down the top 25 games, players, and teams of the last 10 years with the BIAH advent calender. Each day, we will be unveiling the next on each of our lists, culminating with our gift to you on Christmas Day: the best game, the best player, and the best team of the 2000's.

Here is No. 24:


2003: UConn @ Miami FL: This was back when the Hurricanes were in the Big East and not all that good. UConn jumped out to 14 point first half lead, but Darius Rice was on fire, keeping the Canes within striking distance. UConn found themselves up 69-64 with just a minute left in the game. But the Canes kept scoring. UConn was hitting their free throws, but couldn't stop Miami. After Ben Gordon knocked down two free throws with 8.9 seconds, the Huskies took a 76-72 lead, seemingly icing the game.

Or so we thought:



Darius Rice finished with 43 points, which was the third highest total in Big East history at the time. The next season, Miami moved to the ACC.


Luke Harangody, Notre Dame: This may not be a popular pick, but you cannot deny the numbers that Gody has put up in his career at Notre Dame. Lacking god-given physical gifts, Gody has survived due to excellent footwork, a tremendous understanding of his physical limitations, and an understanding of what he needs to do to be successful. After a mediocre freshman season, Harangody exploded as a sophomore, averaging 20.4 ppg and 10.3 rpg, numbers that he improved to 23.3 ppg and 11.3 rpg in conference play, en route to being named the Big East player of the year. As a junior, he was even better, finishing the year averaging 23.3 ppg and 11.8 rpg.

Luke Harangody looks more like a cabbage patch kid than a top 25 player of the decade.
(photo credit: Sports Hernia)

If you don't think Harangody deserves to be on this list, consider these career milestones: Harangody needs just 738 in his senior season to break Austin Carr's Notre Dame career scoring record of 2,531 points. He needs 369 points to break the Big East career scoring mark of 1,403 points. If his Notre Dame teams had more success and he had won a Big East title or reached a Final Four, he would be much higher on this list.


2003 Kansas Jayhawks: This Jayhawk team was absolutely loaded. Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, Keith Langford, Aaron Miles. You want an idea of how talented they were. Sophomore Wayne Simien, who averaged 14.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg, missed the second half of the season with a shoulder injury, and they still reached the finals of the NCAA Tournament. They went 24-6 en route to a regular season Big XII title, losing to UNC, Florida (7th), Oregon (6th), Arizona (1st), and Oklahoma (5th).

Kansas was this close to winning a title in '03.
(photo credit: Hoostvonline)

In the NCAA Tournament, the Jayhawks might have been even more impressive. They beat a Duke team with JJ Redick, Shelden Williams, Dahntay Jones, and Chris Duhon in the Sweet 16 before knocking off an Arizona squad everyone thought was far and away one of the top two teams in the country. (If you remember, this was the last year that the #1 seeds were not ranked because Arizona and Kentucky, who were thought to be the clear cut favorites to win the title, would have met in the national semifinals; neither of those teams reached the Final Four.) In the Final Four, they blew out a Marquette team coming off of D-Wade's triple-double before facing Syracuse in the title game. If it weren't for Hakim Warrick freakish wingspan, Kansas may have ended up winning a first national title for Roy Williams.

It would be the last game that Roy Williams coached at Kansas before leaving for North Carolina. Who could forget this infamous interview with Bonnie Bernstein after the game.


No. 25: Drave v. Western Kentucky, Wayne Simien, and Louisville's 2009 team.
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Monday's Shootaround: Miami and Villanova win Tourney's, Purdue and Tennessee advance to Finals

Villanova 79, Ole Miss 67: Villanova knocked off Ole Miss to win the Puerto Rico Tip-off Classic. A dogfight throughout, the Wildcats started to pull away midway through the second half. It was an issue of effort from the Rebels, it was an issue of execution. The best teams in the country run their sets, get good shots, and score against even the toughest defenses. Ole Miss struggled with that at times.

The biggest surprise of this young season may be Villanova's Antonio Pena. Pena notched his third triple double double (h/t Kosi) of the season last night, coming up with 17 points and 16 rebounds (6 offensive) while going 8-13 from the field. With Mouphtaou Yarou and Isaiah Armwood looking largely unreliable right now, Pena (who is averaging 12.2 ppg and 11.0 rpg) turning into a force on the block would be a huge development for the Wildcats. The difference in this game was Pena (and Taylor King, who had 11 boards) controlling the glass.

Villanova won the Puerto Rico Tip-off Classic.
(photo credit: AP)

The Rebels are going to be good, however. Their back court of Chris Warren and Terrico White is as good as anyone in the south this side of Kentucky. As their bigs develop and this team continues to gel (remember, White and Murphy Holloway are sophomores, and Warren and Eniel Polynice missed last season with injuries), we may be talking about the best team in the SEC West.

One other note - Scottie Reynolds still looks a bit out of sync. He isn't making great decisions, he is over dribbling, and his jumper just isn't right quite yet. He did score 21 points last night, which should tell you how highly regarded this kid is.


Miami 85, South Carolina 70: South Carolina came out playing well, jumping to a 13-4 lead early on as Miami kept turning the ball over against the Gamecock pressure. But once guys like Malcolm Grant and Durand Scott starting attacking that pressure, it opened up quite a bit for the Gamecocks on the offensive end. Dwayne Collins was a monster in the paint, finishing with 17 points and 15 boards, while James Dews torched USC with open jumpers and easy lay-ups to the tune of 22 points on 8-11 shooting.

Miami looked like a team that could make some noise in the ACC if they can solve their turnover woes. Part of the issue is inexperience, but a bigger issue is the lack of a true point guard. Durand Scott and James Dews are both better off the ball, and Malcolm Grant is a score first point guard. That said, with those three in the back court, and a front line of Collins, DeQuan Jones, and Cyrus McGowan, the Canes have a nice group this year.

Hopefully, Dominique Archie's season isn't over.
(photo credit: The State)

For South Carolina, Devon Downey looked great, scoring 20 points, while Brandis Baley-Ross and Ramon Galloway combined for 26 points on 7-16 shooting from deep. But the news coming out of Charleston was that Dominique Archie landed awkwardly on a breakaway dunk, having to be helped off the court. He was later seen on the bench with crutches and a knee brace. I'm not exactly a knee expert, but I know when a knee injury looks bad, and this one looks bad. No word yet on the injury.


Kansas State 83, Dayton 75: Kansas State got 26 points from Jacob Pullen and 21 from Denis Clemente as the Wildcats knocked off the Flyers. The play of the two guards was so important for the Wildcats, as they did not get much in the way of offense from the rest of their line-up.

The biggest issue for Dayton was their inability to slow down Pullen and Clemente. Dayton is not a great offensive team, and when they are playing someone who can compete on the glass with them, the key to their team becomes defense - can they hold the team to a low enough score to win. As Kansas State constantly got into the paint, drawing fouls and hitting free throws, they were able to take down Dayton.

A perfect example. After being down 15 points midway through the second half, Dayton cut the lead to 58-54 on a big Chris Wright tip-dunk. At the other end, however, a defensive breakdown in the Dayton zone left Pullen wide open for a three from the corner to answer. Chris Johnson responded with a three at the other end to keep it at four, but Kansas State scored on their next four possessions, going on a 8-2 run. While Dayton made a few more surges, they wasted away their most promising threat.


Purdue 85, St. Joe's 60: It took a while for the Boilermakers to wake up, but once they did, St. Joe's didn't know what hit them. Up 18-9 midway through the first half, Purdue would outscore St. Joe's 45-14 over the next 18 minutes of game time. That includes a 23-3 run in the opening eight minutes of the second half. The offense came from all over, but it was JaJuan Johnson who was the star tonight, as he posted 18 points and 10 boards in the win. Ryne Smith and MArk Wohlford combined for 26 points and 5-8 shooting from deep off the bench.


Tennessee 57, DePaul 53: I think the key to beating Tennessee is obvious - don't turn the ball over and give the Vols easy baskets, instead take your time offensively, get a good shot, and make sure you get back and set your defense. Tennessee has basically the same roster as last season, and while they are no doubt more mature and better players with an increased level of experience, they are still going to have the same problems as they did last year in the half court.

Tennessee was ahead for much of this game, opening up a 10 point lead early in the second half, but DePaul hung around as Tennessee was never able to put a run on them. Tyler Smith, who led the Vols with 14 points and 9 boards, hit two free throws with 13 seconds left for the win.


Other notable scores:

• Michigan State 90, Valpo 60: Chris Allen had 22 points, and Delvon Roe added 10 points and 17 boards as the Spartans helped Tom Izzo tie Jud Heathcoate's MSU win record.
• Georgia Tech 85, Boston U. 67: Georgia Tech got 22 points on 10-12 shooting from Zach Peacock as the Yellow Jackets blew this game open with a 16-1 run midway through the second half. Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors both had double-doubles, combining for 31 points and 24 boards.
• Louisville 90, Morgan State 81: The Cardinals got 23 points and 12 boards from Samardo Samuels as they pounded the ball inside against the smaller Bears. Louisville took just 12 threes (compared to 68 during their first two games) while holding Morgan State's Reggie Holmes to 9 points on 4-12 shooting in 16 minutes (averaging 25.3 ppg coming it).
• Penn State 59, Davidson 57: After Penn State lost to two mid-major programs, they finally put together a win against Davidson. Jeff Brooks had 12 to lead the Nittany Lions. Brendan McKillop missed a jumper in the final seconds that would have tied it.
  
• George Mason 69, Indiana 66: Cam Long scored 18 points, including the game-winning three with six seconds left. It may just be Indiana, but the win is still important for the CAA's conference RPI.
• La Salle 61, Tulane 59: Rodney Green hit four free throws down the stretch as the Explorers held off Tulane.
• Iowa State 96, Mississippi Valley State 55: Craig Brackins had 28 and 12 boards while Marqus Gilstrap added 21 in the win for the Cyclones.
• Missouri 100, Texas Pan-American 44: Kim English led the Tigers with 25 points in the rout.
• Creighton 80, Arkansas-Little Rock 65: P'Allen Stinnet led five Bluejays in double figures as Creighton used a 15-2 run to open the second half to win it.
• South Florida 74, UNC-Wilmington 66: Dominique Jones had 28 points to lead the Bulls, who used an 11-1 run to open up a 37-32 halftime lead. They never trailed after the break.
• Vermont 77, Rutgers 71: Vermont picks up a win over a Big East team in the Legends Classic as Evan Fields scores 19 points and Marqus Blakely added 17 points, 9 boards, five blocks, and four steals. Too bad Rutgers automatically makes the semi-finals of the Legends Classic.
• Austin Peay 69, Niagara 67: The Purple Eagles went cold after opening the game with seven threes in six minutes and building a 21-4 lead. Marcel Williams hit the game-winning jumper with 3.5 seconds left.
  
• Notre Dame 91, Liberty 72: Luke Harangody has 32 and 12 boards in the win.
• NC State 60, Auburn 58: Tracy Smith scored with 1.3 seconds left to give NC State and the ACC a nice win over an SEC school.
  

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Tim James: NBA player to soldier in Iraq

Do you remember Tim James?

I do. He played for Miami back with the 'Canes were a member of the Big East, and he was pretty damn good. As a senior, he averaged 18.4 ppg and 8.2 rpg en route to third team AP all-american honors. He ended up being a first round pick of the Miami Heat and played three years in the NBA before heading overseas to places like Turkey, Israel, and Japan.

James earned over $2 million in his NBA career, made a healthy living while playing overseas, and graduated from Miami. He isn't broke, and he isn't uneducated. He has options.

So what is he doing these days?

He is a soldier serving in Iraq. And he went there by choice.

Tim James went from being an NBA player to serving in Iraq.
(photo credit: Sun Sentinel)

From the Miami Herald:

As he traveled all over the globe playing his beloved game, seeing a world he never thought he'd see growing up poor in Miami, he didn't learn to merely value or appreciate America's freedoms. He decided he wanted to fight to protect them, too. ...

James isn't running through the sand avoiding unrelenting machine-gun fire. This isn't Pat Tillman, though it is about the closest thing sports has seen since the late Tillman left the football Arizona Cardinals. James isn't someone who craves a fire fight. He just wants to help. He is on an air base in an area his captain describes as "dusty, barren and isolated."

His remaining 11 months in Iraq should go by without him ever having to go beyond the airfield's wires. James hasn't heard enemy fire in his month there.

He works 12-hour shifts every day, with one day off every two weeks. He has trained to throw grenades and lay down mines, but what he's doing these days is helping fuel planes and helicopters. It is, in the words of his captain, "one of the least appreciated jobs and one of the most important. One of the hardest-working units we have -- easily."

Great story, and definitely worth the read.

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John Wall Update

Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog is reporting that Wall has narrowed his list of schools to Miami and Kentucky. From ZagsBlog:

John Wall is down to two schools — Kentucky and Miami — according to multiple sources close to the situation.

“It’s down to the two of them, no question about it,” one source said. “It is Kentucky and Miami. The kid is leaning toward Kentucky. There is a little bit of a concern with the people closest to him that if he goes to Kentucky that they’re going to lose control.”

Said a second source at one of the schools: “That’s what we’re hearing.”

The John Wall saga continues.
(photo credit: examiner.com)

But if you are a Hurricane or Wildcat fan, don't start celebrating too soon. According to Evan Daniels of Scout.com, Zagoria is incorrect in saying that Wall has cut his list down to two school. From Jeff Goodman's blog:

"I spoke with John on Sunday and said he hasn’t narrowed his list,” Daniels said. "On Tuesday afternoon, I spoke with Brian Clifton (Wall’s AAU coach and advisor) and he reiterated that John is still considering more than two schools at this time.”

Wall's camp has yet to officially reduce the number of schools on his list (currently seven - Kentucky, Miami, Duke, NC State, Baylor, Florida, and Memphis), but Brian Clifton, Wall's "handler, told SI.com's Luke Winn that it would be "accurate" to assume that Wall was basically down to three schools - Miami, Kentucky, and Duke.

If seeing Miami on this list strikes you as weird, don't worry. It is. But according to High School Hoop, Wall went to visit Miami, and loved it.

Of these three schools, Miami would probably benefit the most from Wall's commitment. They are losing four key cogs in their rotation - Brian Asbury, Jimmy Graham, and their starting back court of Lance Hurdle and Jack McClinton. But with Dwayne Collins (who declared for the draft but will more than likely withdraw), James Dews, and DeQuan Jones returning, Malcolm Grant (a Villanova transfer) becoming eligible, and incoming freshman Durand Scott (a top 50 recruit that led his Rice HS team to a NYC city title over Lance Stephenson's Lincoln squad), the 'Canes already have a solid core of players. Add Wall to the mix, and the U will be right up there with Duke and UNC as pre-season favorites in the ACC.

Wall would also be a huge signing for the Blue Devils, who would immediately become national title contenders by mixing him with Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Elliot Williams. According to some outlets, this is where Clifton wants Wall to go, simply because he wants to be Wall's agent once he goes pro, and Durham would be where the talented youngster is the most insulated from agents and runners.

Ironically, the coach school where everyone had all but penciled Wall in (Coach Cal at Memphis/Kentucky) is probably the team that needs Wall's services the least. They just recently signed Eric Bledsoe, a highly recruited point guard in his own right.


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Thursday Morning Shootaround: Does Anyone Want To Play In the NCAA Tournament?

Monday, it was Notre Dame. Tuesday, it was Georgetown, Cincinnati, Maryland, and Kansas State. On Wednesday, we added quite a bit to the list of teams with their bubbles bursting.

North Carolina 86, Virginia Tech 78: Tyler Hansbrough looked like Tyler Hansbrough tonight, going for 22 points and 15 rebounds as UNC pulled away from Virginia Tech late. The Heels had a bit of a cushion for most of the game, but Va Tech went on a little surge in the second half, tying the game twice and cutting the lead to 63-62 with 5:16 left. But the Heels responded by going on a 10-0 run to put the game away. Ty Lawson had 22 points and 5 assists, while AD Vassallo scored 25 for the Hokies. Tech still has a shot at getting an invite to the dance, mainly because there are not many other teams that are making a push. But the Hokies really are struggling. They have lost five of six and seven of ten, and have fallen to 7-8 in the league. Their biggest issue is an inability to win close games. Tonight was their ninth loss by eight points or less. The good news is that the Hokies get Florida State on the road to close out the regular season, which means that they have a really good opportunity to add to their resume. At this point, however, it still may not be enough.

Georgia 90, Kentucky 85: This was a game that the Wildcats had to have. Playing the worst team in the SEC at home with your tournament chances on the line is as must-win as you can get, and the Cats still somehow managed to blow it (I wonder who Billy Gillispie blames for this one?). Terrence Woodbury had 30 to lead four scorers in double figures, and the Bulldogs managed to hit 11-16 from long range in the win. This loss was more than likely the fatal blow to Kentucky. Their RPI is 67 (which is going to drop big time after losing the Georgia, who isn't in the top 200 - at least VMI isn't their worst loss anymore) and they have just one significant non-conference win.

Mississippi State 80, Florida 71: The Bulldogs ended the first half on a 7-0 run to go into the break up 42-33, and they never looked back, getting up by as much as 16 in the second half. Florida is in a bit better shape than Kentucky is. Their RPI is higher and they have a better record, but their only win of any significance is Washington (early in the season, before U-Dub figured it out) and they have just two wins on the road. Bottom line - Florida plays Kentucky on Saturday, which means that the loser, barring a fantastic run through the SEC tournament, will be headed to the NIT.

NC State 74, Boston College 69: On senior night, Ben McCauley scored 20 points as the Wolfpack were able to hold off the Eagles down the stretch. Up 66-58 with just under three minutes left, Rakim Sanders hit three consecutive three's to cut the lead to two. With five seconds left and BC down three, Sanders stepped to the line but missed a front end. McCauley grabbed the board and sealed the victory with foul shots. BC may already be in the tournament on the strength of their impressive collection of wins (UNC, Duke, Florida State), but they also have a pretty impressive set of losses (St. Louis, Harvard, Miami twice, NC State). If they can beat Georgia Tech on Saturday, they should be ok.

Georgia Tech 78, Miami FL 68: The U was a longshot at best to get a bid, but with the way that other bubble teams had been losing, if they had gotten to .500 in the ACC, they would at least have had an argument. That possibility is gone, as the Canes let Lewis Clinch go for a career high 30 (on 9-16 from deep) and fell behind by as much as 19 at 52-33.

The rest of the nights hoops action:

• Pitt 90, Marquette 75: The Golden Eagles fought valiantly for a while, using a 21-6 run at the start of the second half to take a nine point lead. But the Panthers took over in the last 15:43 of the game. They outscored Marquette 42-18 while dominating the glass and shooting 16-20 from the field, which included a 21-2 run immediately after Marquette took the nine point lead. DeJuan Blair had 21 points, 9 boards, and 4 blocks for the Panthers, who also got 17 and 10 dimes from Levance Fields. Jerel McNeal had 23 points, but was just 8-24 from the floor. Lazar Hayward added 22 and 10 boards. Insert obligatory Dom James is hurt reference here. Of note, Levance Fields took a hard fall and bruised his, umm, keister during the second half.
• Missouri 73, Oklahoma 64: The Tigers moved into a tie in second place with Oklahoma in the Big XII standings as they thoroughly dominated the Sooners. OU's guards simply could not handle the Mizzou press. To me, this game wasn't as much about the Tigers as it was about Oklahoma. The Sooners are a team in turmoil. They have lost three of four. Juan Patillo was suspended for the Texas Tech game for violating team rules. Willie Warren lost his starting job because of an attitude problem before the Texas Tech game. Does this sound like a team that is coming together in March? DeMarre Carroll led Mizzou with 15 and 10, while Griffin had 16 points and 21 boards.
• Minnesota 51, Wisconsin 46: In what many were calling the most important game of the night, Lawrence Westbrook scored all fifteen of his points in the second half, which included the Gopher's last 10, as he almost single-handedly carried the Gophers to a huge win in their pursuit of an NCAA tournament bid. When it comes down to it, however, both of these teams are going to get in the dance. Both have RPI's in the 30's, Wisconsin has the less impressive record and resume, but they also have the fifth toughest schedule in the country. Minnesota has a win over Louisville in non-conference play. The bigger issue here is that with one game left, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio State are all tied at 9-8 for the fifth spot in the Big Ten standings (top five get a bye in the tourney) just a half game behind Penn State and a game up on Michigan and Northwestern.
  
• Northwestern 64, Purdue 61: While the Wildcats may not be deserving of an NCAA bid yet (beat Ohio State Saturday and it is a different story), they must be put into the conversation now. Their list of quality wins is pretty impressive - Florida State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and now Purdue. What is killing them right now is that they have been borderline abysmal on the road - yes, they beat MSU in East Lansing, but a loss at Iowa and 30 point losses at Wisconsin and Minnesota look really bad. That said, pick up a win at Ohio State, and things may change.
• Louisville 95, Seton Hall 78: Typical Louisville performance - Earl Clark with 27 and 14, while T-will adds 14, 12 boards, 8 dimes, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. Louisville now needs a win and a Pitt win/UConn loss in their matchup Saturday afternoon and they win the Big East.
• West Virginia 82, DePaul 63: Alex Ruoff led five Mountaineers in double figures and Devin Ebanks added 14 and 14 as WVU rolled.
• Vanderbilt 75, LSU 67: Just when everyone was hopping on the LSU bandwagon, the Tigers go and lose to Vanderbilt. At home. On the senior night. What the ..? AJ Ogilvy had 33 and 10 boards for Vandy.
  
• Memphis 69, Houston 60: Memphis needs to move out of C-USA. Tyreke Evans scored 23 points as the Tigers moved within a game of their third straight undefeated conference season. They have beaten 57 straight conference foes.
  
• Texas Tech 84, Kansas 65: Alan Voskuil went for 35 points on 9-14 shooting on the Red Raiders senior night as they jumped all over the Jayhawks early. Kansas was down by as much as 17 in the first half, but got the lead all the way down to two in the second half before Tech pulled away. Oh note, Tyshawn Taylor limped off the floor with less than a minute to go in the half after tripping over a defenders foot. No word yet on what the injury is.
  
• Texas A&M 72, Colorado 66: The Aggies kept their NCAA tourney hopes alive by coming back from eight down at the half to beat the Buffaloes. Josh Carter had 18 for A&M.
• BYU 78, Wyoming 68: The Cougars managed to rally in the second half to knock off the Cowboys and move into a tie for first in the MWC. Lee Cummard, Jimmer Fredette, and Jonathon Tavernari combined for 58 points.
  

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Thursday Morning Shootaround

Crazy night for college basketball as three ranked teams were upset, including two top ten squads. Perhaps the most ridiculous score of the night was in the Miami FL-Wake Forest game, where the Hurricanes won 79-52. Yes, the #6 team in the country, who was #1 not two weeks ago, lost by 27 to Miami. It seems like teams are starting to figure out what you need to do to beat Wake - pack in your defense, let everyone except Jeff Teague shoot from the perimeter, then make sure you crash the boards. Miami did just that, settling back into a zone that Wake never could figure out. The Hurricanes held them to just 32% shooting and 3-20 from deep. Miami took control at the start of the second half, going on a 25-8 run to blow open a three point game. Jeff Teague had 19 for Wake, but was 0-5 from three and had just one assist. James Johnson was the only other guy to crack double figures, hitting for 11. Jack McClinton busted out of what seems like a season long slump with 32 points, hitting 6-10 from deep.

The rest of the night's games:

• Clemson 74, Duke 47: The story of this game was Clemson's defense. The Tigers held the Duke to 31% shooting (3-13 from deep), and forced as many turnovers (16) as field goals they allowed. With the score tied 13-13, Clemson used a 20-8 surge to end the first half with a 12 points lead. The continued that surge at the start of the second period, eventually building a 29 point lead. Trevor Booker went for 21 points and 8 boards while Terrence Oglesby added 17, hitting five three's.
  
  If you want to get a sense of how poorly Duke played, watch these two clips. In the first one, watch the Duke defense breakdown. Booker roles off a screen where both defenders went at the man with ball, then gets a free run at the rim because no Blue Devils come over on helpside. Result? Singler and Zoubek get put on a poster.
  
  
  
  This one is even worse. Watch Nolan Smith and the rest of the Dukies half-ass it back on defense, where Greg Paulus tries to take a charge, but instead gets yammed on by Jerai Grant. If any of the Devils are hustling back on D, the trailer (Grant) probably isn't open for the drop-off.
  
  
  
  
• Missouri 69, Texas 65: The Longhorns built a ten point lead early in the first half on the strength (literally) of Dexter Pittman inside. The big fella had 14 of his 25 points in the first 20 minutes. But Missouri rallied at the end of the half, and was just too much down the stretch. Eight times in the last five minutes of the game, there was a tie or a lead change. After a Pittman bucket gave Texas a 62-60 lead, Leo Lyons scored on two straight possessions (both when he blew by Pittman on the perimeter) to give Missouri the lead. Texas tied it at 65, but Zaire Taylor made an and-one lay-up with 5.5 seconds left, and DeMarre Carroll iced the game 2 seconds later with a free throw after a Texas turnover. Taylor led Mizzou with 17.
• Syracuse 74, West Virginia 61: The Mountaineers couldn't stay in front of Eric Devendorf and Jonny Flynn. Both guards finished with 22 points (on a number of drives to the rim), and the Orange overcame Arinze Onuaku being slowed by knee tendonitis. Syracuse went on an 11-2 run near the end of the first half to break the game open, then put WVU away with a 10-0 run that gave the Orange a 20 point lead.
• Villanova 94, Providence 91: Providence can put up points with the best of them, but they can't stop anyone - this was the fourth straight game they've given up 90+. Villanova built a 15 point halftime lead that they pushed to 20, but the Friars caught fire in the second half, hitting 11 three's (17 on the game). Weyinmi Efejuku hit a three to cut the lead to 92-91 with two seconds left, but two Wildcat free throws and a deflected in bounds pass sealed up the win. Scottie Reynolds had 31 for Villanova.
• Oklahom 77, Texas A&M 71: Oklahoma blew a 15 point first half lead and found themselves down 68-59 with just over six minutes to play. But Juan Patillo had two blocks to spark a 8-0 run, and Taylor Griffin hit the go-ahead lay-up with 46 seconds left as Oklahoma held on to win. Blake Griffin led the Sooners with 16 points and 14 boards.
• Michigan State 76, Minnesota 47: The Spartans jumped all over the Gophers from teh tip, opening up a 13-1 lead en route to a 42-16 halftime score. Minnesota could not hit anything, as they shot just 17% in the first half.
• UCLA 76, USC 60: The Bruins opened up a 20 point first half lead, forcing USC into turnovers and turning those into easy baskets. It was the third straight blow out win for UCLA, who seem to finally be hitting their stride. Josh Shipp had 19 to lead the Bruins.
  
• Memphis 79, SMU 66
• Indiana 68, Iowa 60: First Big Ten win for Tom Crean.
• Boston College 80, Virginia 70
• Dayton 63, La Salle 61
• St. Joe's 66, George Washington 58
• UNC-Wilmington 81, VCU 72
• William & Mary 68, Northeastern 63
• LSU 80, Georgia 62
• Cincinnati 93, Notre Dame 83: How far have the Irish fallen? Right now it is going to take a miracle for them to make it to the NCAA's.
• Utah 62, TCU 54
• Mississippi 78, Auburn 59
• Tennessee 74, Arkansas 72: Bobby Maze hit a floater with 5.4 seconds left to give the Vols a much needed win.
• Oklahoma State 81, Texas Tech 80: Byron Eaton capped a career-high 29 point performance by hitting the game-winner with 29 seconds left as the Cowboys oversame a 12 point halftime deficit.
  

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Monday Morning shootaround

Only two games to note last night. I had a chance to see Pitt knock off Florida State 56-48. It ended up being a tough one to watch as both teams played some fantastic defense. Pitt shot 33% from the field and FSU shot just under 30%. Pitt is trying to play much quicker offensively this year as they had an obvious emphasis on trying to score in transition. It is a good decision by Jamie Dixon, because his team is going to struggle to score if they have to rely solely on their half court offense. Sam Young can create his own shot, as can Levance Fields. DeJuan Blair has a decent back to the basket game, but with Pitt struggling to shoot the ball from the outside, Florida State was packing in their defense (both in zone and in man) which made it tough for Blair to get any touches. Outside of that, they don't have many guys that are going to be effective in the half court.

I was really impressed with Leonard Hamilton's Seminole squad. They are going to make some noise in the ACC. They have a ton of long, athletic guys on their front line. That length really bothered Pitt inside. The Panthers have a strong front line, but they are not all that tall (Tyrell Biggs is their tallest starter at 6'8"). DeJuan Blair was 5-11 from the floor, but missed a bunch of bunnies at the rim and had a couple shots blocked.

Chris Singleton is probably the most talented of the bunch, but he struggled a bit last night. Jordan DeMercy really impressed me with his hustle. He only scored four points, but he was everyone on the glass, came up with three steals, and it was his hustle plays that brought FSU back. The Seminoles also have two excellent guards. Toney Douglas in a very good scorer that can carry a team when he is playing well (he scored 20 of FSU's 48). Derwin Kitchen also played well. Kitchen is a guy who has bounced around the basketball world for a while, dealing with eligibility issues for two and a half years, but he finally made his debut last night. He is a crafty scorer that can get in the lane and create scoring opportunities for others.

This game was really weird as both teams went on extended runs holding the other scoreless. Pitt was up 26-23 with 1:30 left in the first half, but didn't score again until a Levance Fields three cut the FSU lead to 34-29 with 15:00 left. Pitt responded by outscoring FSU 17-0 over a 7:30 stretch to take a 43-34 lead. The 'Noles eventually tied it at 48, but a Sam Young tip in with two minutes left gave the Panthers the lead for good.

Clemson 91, Miami FL 72: The Hurricanes jumped out to a 21-9 lead, but Clemson used a 16-0 run over the next two plus minutes to take the lead for good. The Tigers would push that lead to double digits before Miami was able to cut it to 52-47, but Clemson hit three's on three straight possessions to put the game away. KC Rivers finished with 28 points, Terrence Oglesby added 17, and Trevor Booker had 16 boards for the Tigers, who forced 22 Miami turnovers with their pressure. Lance Hurdle had an off night for the U, going 0-6 from the floor with three turnovers in just 19 minutes of play. His back-up, Eddie Rios, wasn't much better as he had eight points but a team-high five turnovers. Combined, they accounted for just two assists in 36 minutes. Jack McClinton finished with 20 and 4 assists.

The first game in ACC play shows a couple teams heading in opposite directions. Miami came into this season with very high expectations, but has really struggled thus far. They are now 7-3, 0-1 in the ACC. Clemson, on the other hand, was expected to be down this year. But the Tigers have continued to be the best first semester team in the country as they started better than 10-0 for the fourth straight season. Continue reading...

Monday Morning Shootaround

A lot of games to take note of this weekend. Let's start with Saturday's games, where three top 25 teams got knocked off.

• Michigan 81, Duke 73: These two teams played for the second time in two weeks, but with a much different result. You can say what you want about the way Duke handled the Michigan zone or the way they defended the Wolverine's back doors, but the reason Duke lost this game was because they shot 3-29 from three in the first 37 minutes of the game (they hit four in a row down the stretch, when the game was all but decided). It is that simple. Most of them were good, open looks by the Devils good shooters (Kyle Singler, Greg Paulus, and Jon Scheyer combined to go 2-18). They just missed them. The Devils were able to get into the middle of the zone, either by pass or penetration, draw defenders and kick the ball out, the shooters just didn't make shots. And since they weren't making their three's, Michigan was able to force the Devils into making dumb passes (did anyone see the lob that Nolan Smith tried to throw to Kyle Singler over the entire UM zone from 40 feet away?) by packing in their zone. To be fair, Michigan really played well. DeShawn Sims looked like an all-american as he went for 28 and 12. The real spark for the Wolverines came off the bench in the form of Kevin Grady and Zak Novak. Grady finished with 9 points and 4 assists, the majority of which came during Michigan's surge at the end of the game. Two of the assists were to Novak, who hit three's on back-to-back possessions to give Michigan a 56-53 lead. Duke fans should not be worried, however, as I doubt we will see the Devils shoot this poorly very often.
• Miami FL 73, Kentucky 67: Yes, the Hurricanes won, but it was more like they survived. If Kentucky had decided to play defense in the first half, Miami might not have been so lucky. The U could get nothing going against the Wildcats in the second half, scoring just 27 points, 14 of which came in the last four minutes as the Wildcats were forced to foul. If Kentucky didn't dig themselves a 21 point hole, they would have come out of this game with a win. The Wildcats seem lost offensively. Nobody knows what their role is, they have real problem getting the ball to Patrick Patterson where he can do something with it, and they turn the ball over way too often. The biggest problem is that they do not have a point guard. DeAndre Liggins is talented, but he really needs to learn what he can do and what is a good shot (someone needs to tell him that he is not a shooter, and taking a three off the dribble with a hand in his face early in the shot clock is a terrible shot). Miami FL looked great in the first half, but terrible in the second half, much like they did against Ohio State. If they can learn to put together a 40 minutes game, they will be able to beat pretty much anyone in the country.
• Ohio State 67, Notre Dame 62: Didn't get to watch this game (comcast, if you read this, please add ESPN U). Luke Harangody had 25 points and 16 boards in his return from a bout of pneumonia (apparently he lost 12 pounds because of it), but the Irish couldn't get anything going offensively, especially McAlarney, who was 3-11 and 0-6 from deep and finished with just six points. Evan Turner was too much, as he finished with 28 points, 10 boards, and 5 assists. 
• Marquette 61, Wisconsin 58: Marquette proved their doubters wrong as they were able to beat Wisconsin playing the Badger's style. Jerel McNeal scored 19 or his 26 in the second half as the Eagles used a 26-10 surge over a 16 minutes stretch in the second half to turn a 7 point deficit into a 9 point lead. The most telling statistic is that the Eagles outrebounded the Badgers 21-14 in the second half. They may be undersized, but the Marquette guards are tough and experienced, and it showed down the stretch. 
• Pitt 80, Vermont 51: The Panthers got 28 and 9 from Sam Young and 13 and 16 from DeJuan Blair as they held the Catamounts to 27% shooting. Marqus Blakely was fantastic as usual for UVM, as he posted 19, 14, 5 dimes, 4 steals, and 5 blocks.
• Gonzaga 70, Indiana 54: The 'Zags overcame a sluggish start against the undermanned Hoosiers. Josh Heytvelt had 17 and Jeremy Pargo had 13 and 8 assists.
• Purdue 90, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 42
• Louisville 83, Indiana State 43
• Wake Forest 81, Bucknell 52
• Georgetown 73, American 49
• Davidson 72, North Carolina State 67: Steph Curry tied his career high with 44 points to lead the Wildcats back from an early 16 point deficit. Curry scored Davidson's last 10 points, including an off-balance three from 30 feet the give Davidson a 70-66 lead with 1:21 left.
• Kansas 86, Jackson State 62
• Illinois 76, Georgia 42
• Cincinnati 87, UAB 80: Robert Vaden had 23, but the Blazers lost for the third time in their last four games. The only non-conference game of significance that UAB has left is against Louisville, meaning that the Blazers are going to most likely need to earn the C-USA automatic bid if they hope to make the NCAA's. 
• West Virginia 53, Cleveland State 43
• Georgia Tech 63, Vanderbilt 51
• Minnesota 71, Cornell 54: Are the Gopher's really 8-0?
• Providence 66, Rhode Island 65: Geoff McDermott hit two free throws with 15 seconds left as the Friars picked up a win they desperately needed.
• Northwestern 63, DePaul 36: DePaul isn't all that great, but Northwestern put a whooping on them. The Wildcats are now 6-1 with back-to-back wins over DePaul and Florida State. Is the Big Ten better than they are getting credit for?
• Temple 65, Penn State 59
• Dayton 54, Akron 50
• Creighton 69, St. Joseph's 58
• San Diego State 57, San Diego 46
• Baylor 58, Washington State 52
• UNLV 64, Nevada 57

Sunday's games:

• Florida State 57, Florida 55: The Seminoles bounced back from a 14 point loss to Northwestern on Tuesday to knock off the Gators at home. Big win for the 'Noles, who now boast an 8-1 record with wins over Cal and Cincinnati. The most impressive part of this win is that they basically did it without Toney Douglas, who was 1-9 from the floor with three turnovers and just about gave the game away at the end. With under a minute left, Florida was down one after a basket. They put on a soft press which Florida State broke, but right over half court, Douglas tried to dribble between two defenders and Nick Calathes knocked the ball away. Douglas was able to land on it and call time out. If he didn't, the Gators would have had a 2-on-0 to take the lead. The difference in this game ended up being FSU's size. The 'Noles are a very big team this year and between Chris Singleton (6'9"), Ryan Reid (6'9"), Ryan DeMercy (6'7"), and Solomon Alabi (7'1"), the 'Noles basically start three forwards and a center; not too mention their second leading scorer Uche Echefu (6'9") comes off the bench. That size advantage over a relatively small Gator team helped the 'Noles overcome 31% shooting because they grabbed 14 offensive rebounds.
  
  It was a real back-and-forth game. FSU had built a 39-30 lead early in the second half, but Florida used a 19-4 run to take a 49-43 lead. The 'Noles responded with a 9-2 spurt capped by two Ryan Reid free throws to put them ahead for good.
• Oklahoma 69, Tulsa 44: Blake Griffin had his second consecutive normal game, posting 19 and 9 with 3 steals and 3 blocks.
• UCLA 85, UC-Northridge 67
• Louisville 91, Ohio 56: Earl Clark was 2 assists shy of a triple double, adding 17 points and 14 boards.
• Michigan State 75, Bradley 59
• Arizona State 64, Nebraska 44: James Harden had 20, 9 boards, and 6 assists as the Sun Devils handed the Huskers their first loss of the season. 
• Alabama 61, Louisiana-Lafeyette 44
• Missouri 93, Cal 66: While Cal is nothing special this year, Mizzou smacked them at home, forcing 20 turnovers with their press. Watch out for the Tigers in the Big XII. With their size, athleticism, and relentless defensive pressure, they are the Clemson of the Midwest. I would love to see those two teams match-up this year.
• Clemson 80, Liberty 75: KC Rivers had 9 of his 32 points in the last 2:32 to rally the Tigers back from a four point deficit late in the game. He also had 11 boards. Seth Curry had 24 for the Flames.
• Kentucky 88, Mississippi Valley State 65: Look at the Delta Devils schedule. They are now 0-10 on the year, playing every game on the road, and they have to go to Arkansas State and Houston before finally getting a home game on December 20th.
• Virginia Tech 79, Navy 70
• Maryland 76, George Washington 53: If someone out there has figured out Maryland, please feel free to share with me. They went to OT with Vermont, solidly beat Michigan State, got blown out by Gonzaga and Georgetown, but then beat Michigan and GW. 
• Oregon 75, Kansas State 70

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