Luke Winn told us about this back in December.
He does an early warnings list every season right around the New Year. You see, no team has reached the Final Four in the last six years with a defensive efficiency outside the top 25. And only one team has reached the Elite 8 with a defensive efficiency outside the top 51 (West Virginia in 2005 was rated 83rd).
At the time he wrote the piece Villanova was 95th in the country in defensive efficiency. While the return of Reggie Redding and Mouph Yarou has helped them shore up their defense a little bit, the Wildcats are still just 63rd in the country in defensive efficiency today.
Now take a look at the Wildcats schedule.
Who have they beaten? Who are their best wins?
Dayton is in a tie for fifth in the A-10. Ole Miss is now third in a very mediocre SEC West. Maryland is one of the few tournament contenders with fewer quality wins than Villanova. Marquette is good, but Nova shouldn't be need to go down to the final possessions to beat them. Villanova's only good win came at home against Georgetown, but that was, in a way, nullified yesterday afternoon at the Verizon Center.
Georgetown looked like a Final Four team on Saturday. Villanova didn't.
(photo credit: Examiner)
Just like they did against Duke last Saturday, Georgetown's offense picked apart Villanova's defense. They started by pounding the ball into Monroe. After a couple of early buckets and a couple of early fouls on Antonio Pena, Villanova had to start collapsing inside. That allowed Georgetown's shooters daylight, and boy did they make the Wildcats pay, hitting 10-19 from deep.
After digging themselves a 50-31 hole at the half, Villanova threw on a press in the second half, and while they got the lead down to 10 on a couple of occasions, Nova was never able to string together enough stops to really ever make a threat.
"I'm not that concerned," Nova coach Jay Wright said. "Once you're down 19 to a team like this, it's a different game. You don't want to come in here and press or trap this team, but then you don't have a choice. They get into that rhythm and then you're in trouble."
Georgetown was able to score or draw a foul on seemingly every possession in the second half. They whipped the ball around the perimeter, picking up assists on 21 of their 27 made field goals. They got to the line 50 times. Basically, they were able to do anything they wanted to offensively.
"We have good players, we have unselfish players," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said after the game. "And they've done a terrific job of helping each other and making sure the right person gets the shot out of our offense."
It says a lot about Villanova defensively and how much they miss Dwayne Anderson and Shane Clark.
But what does it say about the Hoyas?
Is this Georgetown team really one that can make a run at a Final Four?
Georgetown runs a system that allows them to control the game. They are disciplined enough offensively to know what is a good shot and unselfish enough to keep moving the ball until that shot comes available. They can play a man-to-man or zone defense equally well, and are rebounding much better overall this season.
Basically, when Georgetown is playing their game and playing it well, it takes you out of what you want to do as an opponent.
"We're as good as we want to be," Monroe said. "Coach always stresses that in games it's always about us. Other teams are going to do things, different things are going to happen, but it's about what we do."
He's right.
With Julian Vaughn playing the way he has the last month, they have a front line that can match-up with most in the Big East. When Jason Clark is playing well, they have four guys that can go for 20 on a given night. And, perhaps most surprisingly, their bench has actually become an asset. Jerelle Benimon is big, strong, and active, and provides a lot of hustle and toughness. Hollis Thompson plays some defense and knocks down open looks.
What makes the Georgetown offense so effective is Greg Monroe. Like Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green before him, Monroe understands this offense well enough and is a talented enough passer than the Hoyas can run their sets through him. It takes a lot of pressure off of guys like Chris Wright and Jason Clark, who are not natural point guards as much as they are natural scorers (Wright) and slahsers/defenders (Clark).
The bottom line is that the Hoyas have the talent, the size, and the coaching to make a Final Four. They proved that against Duke and Villanova.
But keep in mind with this team that consistency as become an issue. They looked great the last two Saturdays, they also lost to South Florida at home on Wednesday and got outscored by 31 in the final 37 minutes at Syracuse two Big Mondays ago.
So what about Villanova?
While they clearly have the potential to be a Final Four team -- hell, they made it last season and returned a number of key pieces -- we will find out a lot about the Wildcats this month. They still have to play West Virginia twice, travel to Cincinnati, Pitt, and Syracuse, and play UConn at home.
Win a few of those road trips, and then we'll talk about a Final Four.
Continue reading...
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Wait, is Villanova really a Final Four team? Could Georgetown be? |
Free throws stopped the comeback, but its not why Texas lost yesterday |
Texas lost at Oklahoma yesterday, and if you watched any of the talking heads break down the game, the one thing you heard consistently was that free throws cost Texas the game.
Its not necessarily wrong. The Longhorns did shoot 10-27 from the foul line for the game, and just 4-11 in the second half while they were trying to make a comeback from a 19 point deficit.
But that's not why they lost.
They lost because they managed to get themselves down 19 points to an Oklahoma team that was basically playing without Willie Warren.
Tommy Mason-Griffin went for 24 points and 4 assists last night.(photo credit: The Globe and Mail)
Texas looked horrendous for the first 22 minutes of the game. They couldn't get any stops against Oklahoma. Tommy Mason-Griffin absolutely torched the Horns in the first half. Dogus Balbay and Justin Mason, two very good defenders, both had their ankles broken a few times as TMG went for 16 first half points. He was able to use the dribble to get himself open on the perimeter, and didn't miss many jump shots. When he couldn't get loose, TMG was able to get by his man and into the paint, finding Cade Davis, who went for 20 and 10 while knocking down four threes.
Offensively, the Horns were just as bad. It seems like Texas, as a team, doesn't know what they want to do offensively. They have trouble getting the ball inside to Damion James and Dexter Pittman, they have guards that penetrate and take wild shots way too often, and they really lack a go-to scorer. The latter is probably the biggest issue for Rick Barnes, seeing as the last few years his offense as basically been clear out and give the ball to Kevin Durant/DJ Augustin/AJ Abrams.
And then there is Jordan Hamilton.
Hamilton went nuts against Oklahoma State, scoring 27 points and carrying the Horns in the second half. It was a disaster in disguise.
You see, Hamilton is a chucker. When he gets the ball in his hands, in all likelihood a shot is going up. Not necessarily a good shot, either. Too many possessions get wasted when Hamilton forces up a tough runner or a contested jumper. It wouldn't be a problem, however, if Hamilton played every close at least close to how well he played in Stillwater.
But he doesn't.
In fact, over the last six games (not including the 27 point outburst), Hamilton scored just 29 points on 11-43 shooting. He's not the guy you want taking 10-15 shots a game thinking he can score 25 a night.
The bottom line for Texas, and the main reason they are struggling right now, is that their best offensive players cannot defend, and their best defensive players are inept on the offensive end. Justin Mason and Dogus Balbay, despite leaving their ankles on the court trying to guard TMG, are bot very, very good defenders. Offensively, there really isn't much there for either of them. Hell, defenses even play 10 feet off of Balbay on the perimeter begging him to shoot.
J'Covan Brown and Hamilton are quite the opposite. Both are capable of creating their own shot and scoring points, but Brown couldn't guard a fence post if he tried, and Hamilton simply doesn't try.
This creates quite a dilemma for Rick Barnes. Do you leave your defensive unit out there and hope Avery Bradley and James can get you enough points, or do you put your offensive players on the court, and hope that you simply outscore your opponent?
Yesterday, it got to the point that Barnes was forced to go offense-defense, rotating through Hamilton/Brown and Mason/Balbay, for a good chuck of the second half.
And Texas responded.
They made a run to cut a 19 point lead down to five. Maybe if they had hit their free throws, they would have completed the comeback.
But if they hadn't dug themselves a 19 point with poor shot selection and questionable defensive effort, they wouldn't have needed the comeback.
Continue reading...
Friday, February 5, 2010
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.
Continue reading...
POSTERIZED: Marqus Blakely strikes again |
We all know who Marqus Blakely is by now. He's the do-it-all forward for the Vermont Catamounts that gave us this dunk and this dunk, and was even featured by Kenpom himself.
Well, he struck again. Check out the one minute mark.
Yow. Zers.
(h/t CHJ)
Continue reading...
Friday's Shootaround: Is the ACC shaking itself out? |
There were only three games in the ACC last night, but they all held a lot of significance in terms of the structure of the conference race and who still has a shot at an at-large bid:
- Duke 86, Georgia Tech 67: We thought that Georgia Tech was a team that struggled on the road coming into the game, and we think no different afterwards. Kyle Singler hit eight threes and scored 30 points despite having a banged up wrist, and Jon Scheyer added 21 points as the Blue Devils bounced back nicely from the whupping they took at the hands of Georgetown. To show how much the Yellow Jackets struggled, Zach Peacock scored the first 11 points for Tech, but didn't score again the rest of the game, and still was their leading scorer. In their defense, Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors battled foul trouble all night, but that doesn't change the fact that Georgia Tech took some terrible shots, made some terrible basketball decision, and played some terrible defense last night.
- Maryland 71, Florida State 67: If you haven't bought into it yet, maybe it is time: Maryland may be the best team in the ACC. The Terps completed a sweep of the Seminoles last night on the strength of 23 points, 7 boards, and 7 assists from Greivis Vasquez to remain tied with Duke in the loss column atop the ACC (they are a game back in the win column). Maryland had the lead most of the second half, but Florida State made a late comeback to tie the game. Greivis answered by hitting a jumper to take the lead back, and after Michael Snaer picked up a charge, he hit two free throws to ice it. Florida State isn't out of the race just yet, but at 4-4 in the league without a truly notable win, FSU is in danger of ending up on the wrong side of the bubble. Derwin Kitchen had 29 last night in the loss.
- Virginia Tech 74, UNC 70: Malcolm Delaney scored 21 points as Va Tech hung on to beat UNC. The Tar Heels, barring a miraculous turnaround, seem to be all but out of the race for the ACC and the NCAA Tournament. Its not an issue of talent - this team is good enough to earn a bid. The issue seems to be motivation and effort - they are just getting out hustled and outworked these days. Va Tech still needs to add some quality wins to their resume, but this is a good start.
Tennessee 59, LSU 54: The Vols showed off their defensive prowess in the first half, holding LSU to just 16 points. And they were just good enough offensively to build a 51-37 lead with eight minutes left in the game. But LSU would go on a 17-4 run to cut the lead to 55-54 with just 17 seconds left. After Bobby Maze hit two free throws, Scotty Hopson knocked down two of his own and Tennessee held on for the win.
Notre Dame 83, Cincinnati 65: Luke Harangody scored 37 points and added 14 rebounds as the Irish flat out beat Cinci. The Bearcats are a team that is supposed to be physical, tough defensively, and aggressive on the glass, but they lost by 18 to a Notre Dame team that is 255th in the country in defensive efficiency, got outrebounded by a team that has trouble on the glass, and allowed the Irish to score 83 points. Yeah, Cincinnati is not going to the NCAA tournament.
Florida 66, Alabama 65: In the game of the night, Florida got a short jumper from Erving Walker with 11 seconds remaining to give the Gators another nail biting win. It was a game Florida had to have to keep their SEC East title hopes alive.
Gonzaga 76, Portland 49: With eight minutes to go in the first half, Gonzaga broke open a tie game with a 20-2 run. They would go on to cruise to the win, bouncing back from an embarrassing loss on the road to San Francisco. We find out just what kind of team the Zags are, as they head to Memphis for a showdown on Saturday before hosting St. Mary's on Thursday.
St. Mary's 74, Santa Clara 62: Omar Samhan had 22 points, 12 boards, and 8 blocks as the Gaels kept pace with the Zags atop the WCC.
Butler 63, Detroit 58: The Bulldogs got 18 points and 10 boards from Gordon Hayward as they held on to beat a scrappy Detroit team that wouldn't go away. Butler has now won 11 straight games.
Thursday's Best
- Omar Samhan nearly had a triple double, going for 22 points, 12 boards, and 8 blocks in St. Mary's win over Santa Clara.
- Derwin Kitchen scored 29 points in a losing effort to Maryland.
- Luke Harangody went for 37 points and 14 boards against a big, talented Bearcat front line.
- Derrick Nelson had 28 points and 10 boards as Oakland knocked off Centenary.
- Morehead State's Maze Stallworth finished with 26 points and 11 boards in a win over Tennessee State.
- Some big numbers posted in the Pac-10 - Quincy Pondexter had 30 and 12 in a Washington win over Arizona, Jerome Randle went for 29 in Cal's loss to USC, and Landry Fields had 35 points and 10 boards in Stanford's loss to UCLA.
Continue reading...
The obligatory Friday morning "Pac-10 is no good" post |
Pac-10 games are played on Thursdays and Saturday, and it has become routine to see articles every Friday and Sunday about how weak the Pac-10 is or how no one wants to win the Pac-10.
Its true.
And it amazes me.
Heading into last night, Cal was probably the favorite to win the league. The were tied for first with Arizona, finally getting healthy in their back court, and were arguably the most talented team in the conference.
But then the Bears went out and blew a 13 point lead and lost 66-63 to a USC team that has really struggled since finding out that they would not be allowed to participate in any postseason tournament. USC went on a 25-3 run over a ten minutes stretch spanning both halves. For the record, that's a USC team that has struggled to break 50 points in a game scoring at that rate.
This loss for the Bears came on the heels of blowing a late four point lead to Arizona on Saturday night.
That win for Arizona put them in a tie for first place despite all of their early season struggles and off-season departures. So did the Wildcats capitalize?
Nope.
They lost 81-75 at Washington.
UCLA and Arizona State did win, however, meaning that there is now a four-way tie atop the Pac-10, with Washington and USC a game back.
Apparently, Pac-10 teams are just good enough to make a run to the top, but aren't good enough to stay there.
Saturday will be a big day for the league. Cal will play at UCLA in a battle of first place teams, Arizona State heads to Washington where the Huskies have lost just one game, and Arizona gets Washington State on the road.
The conference is clearly not what it was even two years ago, but its tough to maintain a level of consistency with you have 21 players drafted in two years time from a league with only ten teams.
But no matter how poor the quality of play is, one this that is for certain is that this will be an entertaining race to follow.
Continue reading...
Jeremy Hazell wasn't taken out for being a selfish player; he was taken out for being a selfish person |
Earlier this week, we touched on the fact that Seton Hall's Jeremy Hazell was benched by head coach Bobby Gonzalez in a game that Seton Hall was down only 11 with 4:06 remaining. Its also worth noting that Hazell has 32 of Seton Hall's 62 points at that juncture.
Speculation flew that the reason that Gonzo pulled Hazell was due to three consecutive terrible shots forced by the junior.
He cleared that up yesterday:
There is a lot of misinterpretation, a lot of misinformation. I'm the head coach of this program and I make those decisions—not the athletic director, not the administration, not a prep school coach, not a high school coach. I make the decisions. There's been a lot of confusion out there and I just want to make sure there is no confusion.Seton Hall has the talent to be an NCAA Tournament team, but Gonzo has yet to find a way to get that talent to mesh well enough to win some games. Maybe now we get a little insight as to why.
I didn’t take Jeremy out just because of shot selection. People think he missed some shots and I yanked him. What needs to be cleared up is Jeremy didn't run back on defense, which is basically a cardinal sin.
The other thing is you can't stand outside of the huddle and not join your teammates in the huddle. I don't want to call a guy out but I want to make it clear that the stuff he did was unacceptable. Those were the reasons why he didn't go back in the game. It has nothing to do with waving the white flag or giving up.
Going forward, I've had a meeting with Jeremy, I've talked to him about how he has to understand that given the same situation he has to handle things differently.
Continue reading...
Arizona to face sanctions |
According to one of Jeff Goodman's sources, Arizona is expected to self-impose sanctions resulting from violations during the end of Lute Olson's tenure.
If you remember, back when Sean Miller still was coaching at Xavier and before Russ Pennell took the reins of the Wildcats for a year, Lute Olson hosted an AAU tournament called the Cactus Classic in the McKale Center for three straight years.
Olson left Sean Miller to deal with these violations.Nothing wrong with that.
But the problem arose when an email surfaced, with Olson's digital signature, that asked the Rebounder's Club board of director's for financial assistance in running the event. Arizona was recruiting some of the players involved in the tournament, and since the NCAA prohibits boosters from providing money to help recruiting, this email was potentially an NCAA violation. Goodman also writes that there was another potential violation involving assistant coaches watching some of the games.
Sean Miller, who is now the head coach at Arizona, knew about the investigation when he took the Arizona job.
Apparently, there will be no postseason ban for the Wildcats, but according to Goodman they could receive punishments including "a loss of a future scholarship as well as a reduction of recruiting days in July and on-campus official visits because of recruiting violations."
Continue reading...
West Virginia students to be videotaped |
If you haven't heard yet, West Virginia's fans have been a bit rowdy during their last three home games. While earlier issues involved chants using profanity, it came to a head on Wednesday night as WVU fans twice threw objects on the court during the game. Pitt assistant coach Tom Herrion was hit in the face with a coin with about five minutes left in the game.
According to the Daily Athenaeum, West Virginia will be videotaping the student section during Monday's game against West Virginia. There will also be an increased security presence as the Mountaineers attempt to combat the problems with their student section.
Some pretty notable names are speaking out against the actions as well.
Da'Sean Butler:It's annoying. It shows people outside our state that we don't have class. That’s not what we’re about as a team or a state. It gives us a bad name.
Bob Huggins:I love them to death, but whoever threw things on the floor, that's wrong. You can't do that. You put people's safety at risk.
West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin:I was so ashamed and so embarrassed for our state, and I felt so bad for the team and people from Pittsburgh to be subjected to that. That's not who we are. That's not who we are as a state.
Is anyone else now even more excited to see Villanova and West Virginia play?
Continue reading...
Friday Morning Dump |
- Big Lumber's take on Valentine's Day and dancing. Life. Triples. Burritos. Seriously, this dude is awesome
- Big East coaches want bigger tournament
- Sparty and Friends reminds us about a similar ankle injury to a MSU point guard
- "In related news, the Vatican has commissioned a team of abstract modern artists to re-think the Sistine Chapel." (Via)
- More fallout from the WVU student section fiasco
- Former Hoosier faces 17 felony charges
- Good reads on Quincy Pondexter and Ekpe Udoh
- I guess it is Arizona's turn to lead the Pac-10
- The Golden Gophers as the cast from LOST
- St. Patrick's banned from the Jersey state tournament?
- USC coach Kevin O'Neill reinstates student manager
- Jay Bilas thinks Cornell can make George Mason-like tournament run. He also thinks there is a lack of great teams
- So Dwain Williams isn't reliable, eh?
- Joe Lunardi's thoughts on tournament expansion. Seriously, am I the only one who thinks Lunardi should be the only one in charge of making this decision? He is the only true bracketologist in the country
- Fight at Oregon practice draws blood
- DeMarcus Cousins or John Wall?
- Derrick Caracter's weight issues: because of Chinese food?
- South Florida is the hottest team in the country, and they are STILL missing their best player
- The Zags have a tough stretch of games a head of them
- Some Ivy League recruiting updates
- Fired, rehired, refired, re-rehired.
- Craig Robinson's politcal platform
- More Evan Turner for PoY analysis
- Worst recruiting class ever?
- Wait, UCLA still has a shot at this thing? cue famous Dumb & Dumber line: "So you're saying there's a chance?"
- 'Cuse/'Nova is going to be crazy
- Don't ask OK State for investment advice
- When you shouldn't chant overrated: as your team is losing
Continue reading...
What has happened to Pitt? |
Pitt started the Big East season on fire. They won five straight out of the gates, including a three game road trip in which they took down Syracuse, UConn and Cincinnati.
But after a loss to West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl, the Panthers have dropped four of their last five games to fall to 6-4 in league play, just a half-game in front of Louisville and a game in front of South Florida, Marquette, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame.
So what happened?
How did Pitt go from the darling of the national media to a team in free fall?
Its simple. They can't score.
Through five Big East games, the Panthers were averaging 74.0 ppg. In their last five, that number has dropped to 60.3 ppg. When the Panthers were 5-0, Ashton Gibbs was averaging 20.0 ppg, shooting 52.0% from the field, and hit 16-22 three's. In his last five games, he's averaging just 13.4 ppg while shooting 26.4% from the field and 6-29 from deep.
Don't put it all on Gibbs, however. He isn't the only one struggling. Brad Wanamaker is averaging just 9.6 ppg over the last five games, including being shut out against the Mountaineers. Jermaine Dixon sprained his ankle in the St. John's game and missed the Panther's loss to South Florida. Dante Taylor hasn't scored in four games, and Travon Woodall has just eight points in that span. Gary McGhee, Pitt's 6'10", 260 lb center, couldn't hit a layup if his life depended on it. There is not reason someone should go 3-11 from the field when they don't take a shot outside of two feet from the rim. Nasir Robinson has scored 23 points in five games in his 26 point outburst against Louisville.
Gilbert Brown is really the only guy playing well offensively right now, and even he has been painfully in consistent. He scored 20 and was 8-9 from the floor in the loss to Georgetown, but scored just 16 points on 3-13 shooting over his next two games. After dropping 25 in the loss to South Florida, Brown was shut out against West Virginia.
Its really that simple. The biggest reason that Pitt was thought to be down this season was their lack of firepower offensively. There isn't anyone on this roster that is considered a go-to scorer. Even Ashton Gibbs, who has been one of the most improved players this season in the Big East, is more of a secondary scoring option. He's not great at creating his own shot, especially against a set defense, and it is starting to be exposed.
But Pitt has never exactly been known as a team with tremendous offensive prowess. They aren't going to be scoring 85 points a game and beating teams in a shootout.
Pitt's success hinges on their ability to defend, which is something they haven't exactly been doing great of late either. Their four losses have been some of their worst defensive performances of the season.
What is a good way to go on a losing streak?
Struggle to score the ball while playing shoddy defense.
Continue reading...
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Not all student sections are bad |
It seems like all the talk today from college hoop-heads was about the behavior of the West Virginia fans the last two weeks.
As I said earlier, I have no problem with the chanting (save a curse or two). In fact, when a student section can get a chant right, it is awesome in every sense of the word.
Check this one out, courtesy of Utah State (h/t CHJ):
And this:
This is from the Aggie's win over BYU earlier in the season, but according to Matt over at CHJ, they were doing it last night during the Aggies win over Idaho.
Here are some other videos I found during a quick trip through youtube (if you know of any other good ones, please send them along):
USU isn't the only school to use the winning team/losing team chant:
Everyone knows this one:
Maryland has one of my favorite traditions. During pregame intros, while the other team is being announced, they hold newspapers up in front of their faces:
Good ole Big Red:
No idea the story behind this, but its pretty funny:
Maybe the best student section chant of all-time:
Lil sister chant from the Izzone:
And, of course, the Cameron Crazies:
Continue reading...
Thursday's Pregame Beat |
7:00 pm: Georgia Tech @ Duke: Rarely do you see a time when Duke really needs to pick up a win, but this may be that time. The Blue Devils have already lost to Georgia Tech this season and are coming off of a whooping at the hands of the Georgetown Hoyas. Duke's stock is as low as it has been all season, and beating a talented Georgia Tech team could definitely help to change that. The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, are one of those teams stuck in the middle of the ACC. With a front line consisting of Derrick Favors, Gani Lawal, and Zach Peacock, they have as talented a front line as you will find to go along side talents in the back court like Iman Shumpert and Mfon Udofia. The problem from Tech is their inconsistency. They haven't won many games on the road, and have struggled to put together back-to-back dominating performances. Winning tonight would go a long way towards proving some doubters wrong.
7:00 pm: Purdue @ Indiana: Want to hear a crazy stat? Purdue hasn't won at Assembly Hall since 1999. There is a good chance that changes tonight, but the Boilermakers had better come ready to play. Indiana has already beaten Minnesota and Michigan at home, and gave Kentucky a run for their money as well.
9:00 pm: Maryland @ Florida State: Eventually, someone is going to assert themselves as the team to beat in the ACC, and could it be one of these two teams? The Terps have played like it at times early in the ACC season, but cannot win games on the road. Florida State has already lost to Maryland this season, and if they have any thoughts of making a run at the league title (they are only a game behind Duke and UVa), they cannot lose games like this on the road.
11:00 pm: Portland @ Gonzaga; 11:30 pm: Santa Clara @ St. Mary's: Gonzaga and St. Mary's are competing for the top spot in the WCC. Gonzaga has been struggling recently, culminating in their loss to San Francisco last week. Portland is a good team, but the Zags have already beaten the Pilots this season. The Gaels, on the other hand, are playing some great basketball right now, especially center Omar Samhan. SMC beaten SCU on the road earlier this year.
Bubble Watch
Other notable games
10:30 pm: Cal @ USC: Cal is probably the only team in the Pac-10 with a shot at an at-large bid. USC has not been playing great basketball since they found out about their postseason ban, but the Trojans can still ratchet up the D when need be. The Bears can't afford a loss on the road.
- 10:30 pm: Arizona State @ Washington State
- 10:30 pm: Arizona @ Washington
- 10:30 pm: Stanford @ UCLA
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West Virginia fans up the ante |
West Virginia fans make Philly fans look tame.
Two Saturdays ago, when the Mountaineers were playing Ohio State at home, the WVU student section started chanting "F--- you Turner" loudly enough that it could be heard on TV.
Last Saturday, when Louisville came to town, the Mountaineer faithful on ten different occasions broke into chants of "Karen Sypher", the woman that was at the center of the Rick Pitino controversy this summer.
Last night, as WVU's biggest rival came to town, you had to have known that the WVU fans would somehow make themselves heard.
It started in the first half with a rousing chant of "Suck my Dixon", aimed, presumably, at head coach Jamie Dixon and/or starting guard Jermaine Dixon.
And it only went downhill from there.
Early in the second half, after a close call on a charge, WVU fans threw bottles, t-shirts, and other debris on the court. This prompted Bobby Huggins to take the microphone and tell the fans to point out anyone that throws something on the court so they could be ejected.
It wasn't over.
Later in the half, after a loose ball tie-up started a scuffle, fans again threw objects onto the court, with Pitt assistant coach Tom Herrion getting hit in the face with a coin.
Take a look:
To be honest, I have no problem with the chanting (although, maybe next time we could do without the curses). That is the kind of atmosphere a home crowd is supposed to create. It is why road games are so difficult to win at this level.
But throwing things on the court is never acceptable. That fan is lucky he didn't injure someone throwing a penny. What if Herrion had gotten hit in the eye?
I'm curious to see how the West Virginia administration is going to react. They have already asked, on two separate occasions, for the students to tone down their behavior. And that was before they started throwing things on the court.
Is it possible that WVU could ban students from a home game?
They may have too.
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Thursday's Shootaround: South Florida wins their fourth straight, Dominique Jones is awesome |
South Florida 72, Georgetown 64: There hasn't been a better player in the country that Dominique Jones of the last four games. I mean, this is basically the same South Florida team that struggled through a 1-5 start to Big East play, but during USF's four-game winning streak, Jones is averaging 35.0 ppg. Last night, he scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half as the Bulls overcame a double digit deficit to earn what is easily their biggest win in program history.
Has there been a more surprising turn of events this season than USF's transformation into a team with serious tournament aspirations? Before this winning streak started, the Bulls were 12-62 in the Big East. They had never won two games in a row in league play. They were a pitiful 3-35 on the road in conference. But now, they have won four straight games, including a win over Pitt and a win at Georgetown, who had just beat the pants off of Duke in the very same building on Saturday, and sit firmly on the bubble. They play their next two games on the road, but finish with four of six at home. Of their last eight games, only two teams have winning league records. There is a very real chance that South Florida could make the tournament this season.
And USF isn't even at full strength yet. Noopy Crater's finally back in the line-up after getting eligible and serving his six game suspension. Gus Gilchrist could be back as early as their next game as he has been suffering from a high ankle sprain.
West Virginia 70, Pitt 51: The Backyard Brawl turned into the Backyard Beatdown, as Pitt just didn't have the horses to run with the Mountaineers. WVU jumped out to an early double-digit, but they were able to fight their way back into the game by the half. In the second half, however, WVU just took over. Pitt couldn't make a shot from the floor (they were just 6-30 from the field in the second half), and they couldn't get a stop against WVU once the Mountaineers got rolling.
After a 5-0 start to Big East play that saw the Panthers beat Syracuse, UConn, and Cincinnati on the road, the Panthers have dropped four of five games. The Panthers have a fairly easy schedule down the stretch, and have done enough already to all but assure themselves of a trip to the dance.
Of note for the Mountaineers, Deniz Kilicli made his debut, and was quite the spark. He immediately scored six straight points when he got into the game, and finished with nine points in seven minutes.
Northern Iowa 59, Wichita State 56: Kwadzo Ahelegbe scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half, and Jordan Egleseder scored 15 points as the Panthers avenged a loss in January to the Shockers. With the win, UNI moves into a commanding three-game lead in the Valley, which may be too big to overcome with just seven games left. UNI has only lost to the Shockers in league play this season.
The loss was much more detrimental to the Shockers, however. Wichita State is firmly on the bubble, and right now they are probably on the wrong side of it. The don't have all that impressive of a resume, which means that beating UNI would have been a huge boost. The Shockers, despite having just five losses, probably need to win out, including a bracketbusters game against Utah State, if they want a shot at an at-large.
Kansas 72, Colorado 66: Colorado is becoming a tough place to play this season. The Buffaloes have already knocked off Baylor at home, and probably should have won last night. That fact is all the more impressive when you consider that Colorado was without stud freshman Alec Burks, star Cory Higgins had an off-night, and the Buffs shot a resounding 38% from the floor.
So how did they do it? Well, Kansas missed 20 of their 38 free throws attempts, and Colorado, who is probably the worst rebounding power conference team, hung with the Jayhawks on the backboards. If Cory Higgins had been more aware of the shot clock on the Buffaloe's final possession, Colorado could have won in regulation.
Cole Aldrich had 16 points, 14 boards, and 5 blocks, while Marcus Relphorde led Colorado with 18 points and 11 boards.
Bubble Watch
Other notable scores
Wednesday's Best
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POSTERIZED: Put Mustapha Farrakhan on the short list for Dunk of the Year nominees |
Javy Gonzalez gets a face full of Wahoo.
The best part is Farrakhan's reaction after the dunk.
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Thursday Morning Dump |
- Is anyone else sick of hearing about Renardo Sidney? Personally, I don't care which way the NCAA rules, but make a decision quickly. Its not fair to Sidney that he is being jerked around like this.
- Kalin Lucas only sprained his ankle, and is officially listed as day-to-day
- Jeff Goodman's top-10 for Player of the Year
- Who is the most likely to run the table in conference play?
- Dana O'Neil is at it again. Great read about Niagra's Tyrone Lewis, who, threatened by gang violence, found success in the great northeast.
- Hey look, somebody is actually in favor of tournament expansion
- March Madness and the N.I.T aren't the only post-season tournaments. Don't forget about the CIT
- Rush the Court shows you who would be in this season's 96-team tournament
- The Villanova v. Syracuse tilt at the Carrier Dome will set attendance records
- If it weren't for John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins would be Wildcat numero uno
- Rumor has it that Manny Harris is staying around next year
- Who is the midseason MVP for the Georgetown Hoyas
- Rush The Court scribbles about ten different teams
- Who will be this year's Davidson? Will there even be a "this year's Davidson"?
- This guy's an idiot
- I wonder if they will make a movie out of this too.
- Ohio State ticket prices might increase
- Shouldn't have left early mom
- Mark Aguirre to DePaul?
- Telestrators are so childish
- Your one weekly basketball-related gossip: High School volunteer coach gets busted
Dancin' Dawgs!
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Imagine if UAB landed DeMarcus Cousins |
Unlike the past four or five seasons, Conference USA does not have a national title contender amongst its ranks.
But that doesn't mean that the conference isn't competitive. In fact, there are four teams in the league that still have a real shot at playing their way into the dance. There are potential lottery picks, potential all-americans, and even the nation's leading scorer among the C-USA ranks.
Anytime a non-BCS league can make those claims, they are having a good season.
Fans of the C-USA will be smiling, until they think about how good the league could have been.
Everyone knows about Coach Cal and what the Memphis program lost when he left. What a lot of people won't remember is that DeMarcus Cousins was ready to sign an LOI with UAB first. But he wanted a clause in the LOI saying that if Mike Davis left the school for whatever reason than Cousins' LOI would be vacated.
Obviously, Davis hasn't gone anywhere.
Which means that UAB was just one clause away from landing a guy that may have overtaken John Wall as the best freshman in the country.
Don't believe me?
Watch this interview.
Cousins compares himself to Shaq, and reporters don't even bat an eye.
Comparing Cousins to the Big Aristotle at this point in his career is a bit extreme. But that doesn't mean that he isn't one of the best players in the country. His combination of length, strength, and size make him an unstoppable force around the rim at this level. He can establish deep position anytime he pleases, and his big hands and feathery touch make him nearly automatic around the rim. If you force him out 10-12 feet, he has the quick feet and the footwork to make a move to the rim (his spin move may be the single best 1-on-1 move of any player in the country). Get him to 18 feet out, and he'll knock down a jumper over you.
Like I said, UAB definitely has talent on their roster this season. Elijah Millsap might be the best player in C-USA right now, and he may not even the Blazers most talented wing with Jamarr Sanders on the roster. Aaron Johnson is a heady leader at the point, and the Blazer bench has some quality role players on it.
You don't think Cousins would fit into the middle of that line-up perfectly?
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Wednesday's Pregame Beat |
7:00 pm: Pitt @ West Virginia: The Backyard Brawl is one of the least publicized rivalries in the country, but there is no doubt it is as fierce as any. What makes the rivalry even more exciting this year is that both teams are good enough to hang around the top of the Big East.
Expect a game reminiscent of the Big Ten tonight. Both the Panthers and the Mountaineers are tough, physical teams that rely on things other than offensive prowess to win them basketball games. Pitt is all about execution, taking smart shots and forcing you to take poor shots. WVU, on the other hand, thrives on taking ill-advised shots, as they send a swarm of 6'8" athletes at the offensive backboards. Pitt has been struggling of late, and going into Morgantown is never an easy thing to do. Keep an eye on WVU freshman Deniz Kilicli, who will be suiting up for the first time tonight.
7:00 pm: South Florida @ Georgetown: Should the Hoyas be on upset alert? USF has won three straight Big East games for the first time in school history (they had never won back-to-back Big East games before), and have done so as a result of Dominique Jones going crazy. Jones is averaging 37 ppg over his last three. Slow him down, and beat South Florida.
8:00 pm: Mississippi State @ Vanderbilt: This game should probably be stuck in the bubble watch category. The Bulldogs have a nice record, but their tournament profile is nothing too impressive. Vanderbilt has been as good as anyone in the SEC this season. A win allows them to keep pace with Kentucky atop the SEC standings.
8:05 pm: Wichita State @ Northern Iowa: This may actually be the game of the night for anyone lucky enough to be able to watch it. A month ago, UNI suffered their only loss of the MVC season, as they went into Wichita and got pretty solidly beat by the Shockers. Win or lose tonight, UNI is going to be dancing. That much we are sure of. But the Shockers are on the bubble, and may be on the wrong side right now. I don't want to say desperately, but they really, really, really need this win tonight.
Bubble Watch
Other notable games
8:00 pm: Marshall @ Tulsa: Expect plenty of NBA scouts in attendance to see Jerome Jordan and Hassan Whiteside square off.
8:00 pm: UAB @ Memphis: A changing of the guard taking place? Memphis has dominated the league for years, but UAB seems to be the favorite this season. Good news for the Blazers is that they are expected to have Aaron Johnson available tonight.
10:00 pm: Houston @ UTEP: Houston is probably all but out of tournament consideration, but UTEP, who is tied atop the league standings, is still very much in contention.
Check back tomorrow for a full C-USA bubble breakdown.
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It's All About the Flow: Volume 2 |
Since my inital entry on the subject of college basketball hairdos, I realized it was necessary for me to follow up on this intriguing subject as hairdos come and go like viral videos. After all, there are over 300 basketball teams in Division I hoops, and with at least 10 players on each team, that makes for a lot of different hairdos. And a ton of more research for yours truly.
Let me be honest. I don't consider myself knowledgeable when it comes to fashion or style. I don't know what colors match what, the best hairstyle for each season, or the difference between a "bob" and a "tease". I thinks capes and cloaks should become socially acceptable again. I am the last person you should ask if you want to know whether you look good.
But maybe it is because of my deep wealth of knowledge for the inane and the completely unnecessary that makes me the perfect person to research and report on the most marvelous of hairstyles in the college basketball. No other person would go to such lengths to research and find the best pregame videos, or most unheralded big men in the country. Not very many people would go through every official online roster of every college D-1 basketball team in the country in order to create the most complete "All-Name Team" the sport of college hoops had ever seen.
In short, life would still go on and the Earth would still spin if I had not done this peice. Kentucky still would have lost to South Carolina and North Carolina would still make the CBI. But, instead of researching the X's and O's and studying why Bo Ryan's swing offense is so effective, I decided to waste my time wondering how much time Stanley Robinson and Courtney Fortson spend doing their hair.
If you haven't checked out part one, here's your chance: It's All About The Flow, Vol. 1
Luciano De Souza - Idaho
I know I said Alex Richman had the best hair in coolege hoops, but that was before I had finished my research. Consider it done, as this is, hands-down, the best hairdo in hoops. Seeing De Souza makes me feel like I accomplished something, and I did, I found the most rediculous head of hair out there.
What is there to say about this fabulous head of hair. It seriously blows every other hairdo out of the water. Just take a second and marvel at De Souza's lucious hairdo. This really is the only true afro in the college hoops game. Yes, it's less dense than afros ussually are, but look at the volume, look at the height, it's just beautiful.
I have so many questions I want to ask him. How long did it take to grow that out? What type of conditioner do you use? Did it come from your mom or dad's side? Does it ever get dificult to control it on the court? Do personal items ever get lost in it?
Being from South America, you have to imagine that the great footballer Carlos Valderrama was part of the inspiration for this brilliant hairdo. In conclusion, I know I can sleep well at night because I found what I was looking for: the most ridiculous hair in college basketball.
Dwight Buycks - Marquette
I could not find a perfect picture of Mr. Buycks (pronounced Bikes) awesome cornrows. Regardless, I am dubbing Dwight's current hairstyle "The Buyck Tread". You have to look closely, but Buycks cornrows look like the treadmarks made from bike wheels. It's both funky and awesome. Buycks has also been known to wear an arm sleeve or rock high socks and a headband. Style like this needs to be recognized by the press and public more often.
Thanks to Buycks fantastic hairdo, he is quickly becomming my favorite player on the Marquette Warriors Golden Eagles. I know we're all eagerly waiting to see a Dwight Buycks giant cut-out head at the Bradley Center.
Courtney Fortson - Arkansas
What an unexpected look to have for a basketball player. I totally forgot about Fortson during the research portion of the first edition, and I wanted to apoligize for this. Except then I remembered he was suspended for the first 14 games of the season, so then I didn't feel so bad. Whatever, lets move on.
My first reaction to this photo was: I had no idea Fortson played the part of Rick James on the Chappelle Show.
Not only is Fortson one of the best point guards in the SEC, he also owns some of the largest flow in the entire country. Look at how much flow Fortson can rock. You don't see many ballers rocking that much hair.
I'M COURTNEY FORTSON BI**H!
Jonathon Anderson - Rider
I'm not sure what's more surprising about Anderson: the amount of "party" going on in the back of his hairdo, or the fact that he hails from Great Britain.
This junior from London has a pretty baller-ish hairdo. He's rocking well-managed cornrows from front-to-back, plus he's got enough hair curl it up in the back. Someone with less hair, like this, would be forced to let the tiny cornrow-ends dangle. But since Anderson is from Europe he decided to go all "Mozart" in the back, he both protects his hair from others and stays sophisticated. I like it, I really, really like it.
Luke Babbitt - Nevada
He's got some of the greasiest and nastiest hair in the country, but he's also legitimate NBA draft pick, so we won't knock him too heard.
Somebody needs to sit down with Babbitt and tell him that he need's to get rid of the mop top. Seriously, he is making Duke's Kyle Singler look good, and I never ever thought that would be possible. Or at least buy him some conditioner. Or something.
Justin Rutty - Quinnipiac
This is just crazy. Rutty has no remorse for opposing players whatsoever. Try to go up for a rebound against the 6'7, 240lb junior and come down with a facefull of dreadlocks - wild, uncontrollable dreadlocks.
Seriously man, wrap it up. You could take somebody's eye out.
Ryan Evans - Wisconsin
Can you say "John Starks"? Oh man what an awesome hairdo. I just found this one watching the Michigan State v. Wisconsin game this week. Nonetheless, a style like this catapaults you all the way up the rankings to the top-5.
I love this hairdo, absolutely love it. You don't need a ton of bravado to pull this style off. This low, clean-cut flat-top says "hand me that Bel Biv Devoe cassette tape" but not "hand me my bedazzled denim jacket and parachute pants". Ryan Evan's hairdo is classy, stylish and economical. Not overdone, but not undercooked. Keep doing what your doing playa.
Mike Wilder - UC Irvine
Our final selection comes not from research but from the Twitterati. If it was not for BigWestMD, I would have never found this sensational hairdo. I had been looking for a perfect afro all season, and hadn't even come close. Mr. De Souza (see first entry) was close, but Wilder's is spot-on. It's thick, it's robust, and it's utterly brilliant. 
This is a real man's afro. Nobody should ever question Mr. Wilder's manhood from now on, because, well, would you mess with somebody rockin' that hairdo? I sure wouldn't. I also wouldn't want sit behind him in class or at the movies.
An afro like this doesn't go unnoticed. Mike and his afro, both freshman at UC-Irvine, were named class president last year, his senior year at Wilson HS in California. He also received the CIF Champion of Character Award.
The afro does have a lot of character.
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