Just a quick update here.
Jeremy Hazell, the best scorer for a Seton Hall team that was hoping to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament, finally had surgery on the broken bone in his wrist. He was undercut by a defender going up for a rebound against Alabama in the Paradise Jam and was hoping that he didn't need to go under the knife to return this season.
"Now that the surgery has been performed, we're looking forward to Jeremy having a full recovery," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said in a statement. "Our first and foremost priority is his long-term outlook, but obviously we'll be happy to have him back on the court as soon as possible."
Brendan Prunty is reporting that there is no timetable set for Hazell's return, while Adam Zagoria pegs his return at mid-January.
Continue reading...
Friday, December 3, 2010
Jeremy Hazell undergoes surgery |
Friday's Shootaround: Kansas steals one from UCLA |
Kansas 77, UCLA 76: Kansas stole a win from UCLA last night. I'm not going to get into the call here (I wrote about it for Beyond the Arc, go read it here) beyond saying that I think the refs blew it. While the loss hurts for UCLA and UCLA fans, the good news is that this team finally looked like they were starting to live up to their talent. Joshua Smith was unstoppable on the block. The 6'10", 305 lb freshman was just too strong for anyone that UCLA threw at him. He stayed out of foul trouble and dominated the 28 minutes he was on the floor, finishing with 17 points and 13 boards, 8 offensive.
While Smith's production was a positive sign, it was the performance of Tyler Honeycutt that will be talked about. Honeycutt finally showed the doubters why people consider him a potential first round pick. He had 33 points -- including burying a 25 footer with 5 seconds left that would have forced overtime. He added 9 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 11-15 from the floor. He scored on drives to the rim, on catch-and-shoot threes coming off of a screen, and on post ups in the mid-range. He has a chance to be the go-to scorer and the star that UCLA needs.
Throw Reeves Nelson and Malcolm Lee, who both had poor games last night, into the mix, and this is a talented UCLA team on paper.
The issue for UCLA is still at the point. Lazeric Jones has a real tendency to pound the air out of the ball. He can knock down jumpers and he can get to the rim, but he doesn't always seem like he makes the best decisions on the floor. Jerime Anderson has proven time and again that he is not the answer.
For Kansas, their biggest problem right now is the lack of a creator in the half court, but that will be solved once Josh Selby makes his return from suspension, so I'll hold off on commenting on it until he is back.
But a second issue arose last night. For the second straight game, the Jayhawks were lit up by a post player. If you remember on Saturday, Derrick Williams had 27 points and 9 boards for Arizona. Neither of the Morris twins are that strong in the post. Will this continue to be a problem for Kansas?
Missouri 83, Oregon 80: The Tigers went into halftime up 44-24. Apparently, they forgot that they had to play the second half, as Oregon scored 56 points in the final twenty minutes, coming within a 40 footer at the buzzer of forcing overtime. Am I the only one that sees Missouri's defense as a liability right now? They gave up 111 points to Georgetown in 45 minutes. They gave up 56 to Oregon in 20. Both of those teams were hitting threes from every where on the floor. Mizzou needs to start locking up defensively.
No. 10 Baylor 68, Arizona State 54: LaceDarius Dunn caught fire, going off for 24 points in the Bear's win. He's so important to this team. He brings an element -- three point shooting and perimeter scoring -- that the Bears and their long and lanky front line was sorely lacking. Baylor looked like a very good team last night.
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Friday Morning Dump |
- Luke Winn's Power Rankings! Nothing better to start off of a Friday morning.
- A must-read for anybody interested in college basketball media relations. Matt Norlander tries to ponder why a highly-respectable publication would be denied credentials to an early-season non-con game, and explains why what Virginia Tech did makes absolutely no sense.
- The swan song of the Pac-12/Big-10 Pac-10/Big-12 Hardwood Series began last night (well actually it began earlier in the week) and Andy Katz explains one of the few reasons why the loss of this "conference showdown" might actually hurt a few schools
- Rush The Court discusses and debates the practicality of "conference showdowns"
- ESPN's Mark Adams wrote a great piece on Morehead State's Kenny Faried. He elaborates on a comparison Florida's Billy Donovan made about Faried and Dennis Rodman
- Mike Miller from Beyond the Arc provides a list of winners and losers from the Big-10/ACC Challenge. Sippin' On Purple lets us know what they learned from the ACC/Big Ten Challenge
- Mike DeCourcy ponders a very intrguing question: Why isn't Enes Kanter getting the same treatment as Auburn quarterback Cam Newton?
- Florida? Selfish? No way
- Matt Norlander at The Dagger is tracking the progress of all the unbeaten teams in the country. (Hey, wait a minute! That was my idea. I knew I should have gotten a patent on it.)
- John Gasaway reveals an unlikely candidate for Player of the Year
- Finally, a credible news source backs me up on something: SDSU is the best in the west
- The UCLA Bruins are making strides to improve. After all, they cannot possibly be as bad as they were last season. But the process of rebuilding is not easy, and requires patience. Lots and lots of patience
- Speaking of UCLA, Bruins fans are kinda pissed at the referees with how last night's game ended
- Bubble, this is Virginia Tech. VaTech, say hello to the bubble. Oh, you already know each other? Nevermind then.
- Kentucky center Josh Harrellson walked away from the Boston U. game on Tuesday with a solid 12-point, 11-rebound performance. He also walked away with a new nickname - "Mother Hen"
- In case you missed it, Marcus Jordan and the golden knights of Central Florida upset the #16-ranked Florida Gators and are now 6-0. Jordan is certainly making a name for himself, and for once it's because of his on-court play. Jeff Goodman has more on the significance of this victory
- A stellar video analysis of Kyrie Irving's abillity to get to the basket
- It must be difficult to be the son of a legendary basketball coach. It must be really difficult to play basketball at the same university. I must be beyond all realms of difficulty when it's you mom that is the head coach. I can't fathom what it's like to be the son of Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt. Speaking of Summitt, Deadspin had an interesting-read about how the Vols head coach refuses to grow with the times and play UConn
- College Chalk Talk put together a terrific breakdown of the best post-players in the Big Ten
- Draft Express evaluates the rising stars of the young hoops season
- North Carolina State could get star forward Tracy Smith back in 10-12 days. Smith has been out since the second game of the season, when he injured his knee early in a game against East Carolina.
- Seton Hall guard Jeremy Hazell had sucessful surgery on his broken wrist
- I'm a huge fan of UNLV's grey uniforms, but their new black ones, yeah, those are bad-ass.
- Testudo Times tries to determine if the ACC is going to have another "down year"
- Michael Jordan is being inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame
- Pittsburgh beat Duquesne on pretty convincingly on Wednesday night, 80-66. But Ray Mernagh of the NBE explains why Pitt was so dominant. Hint: It wasn't because of talent
- Once upon a time, Rick Pitino had his own "LeBron returns to Cleveland" game
- Kentucky's Terrence Jones is on pace to break most of the freshman records set by John Wall
- I'm kinda getting sick of all these Kentucky-related links, but this one is worth your next five minutes, I swear. A Sea of Blue explains why the progress made by Brandon Knight is more important than the performances put up by Terrence Jones
- Is it possible that the Great West, the laughingstock of D-I conferences everywhere, could be getting better?
- The Dayton Flyers are struggling, and their fans are struggling to find answers. They go way back on the timeline to try and search for clues
- Now this my friends, is what you call "a facial"
Enes Kanter and Doron Lamb comit a serious Man-Code violation: Paint is only permissable on a man's body if it's full-body paint with numbers or a giant letter.
Man Law.
This is awesome from Mason Plumlee. I may have turned to the dark side, but this Duke team is very likeable:
Continue reading...
Thursday, December 2, 2010
POSTERIZED: Kent Bazemore doesn't like when you take charges |
On a night when battles between Duke and Michigan State and Purdue and Virginia Tech headlined the ACC/Big Ten Challenge's finale, only a few people were paying attention to one of the better non-conference matchups of the young season.
Richmond, fresh off of a win over Purdue in Chicago, came into this one as arguably the best team in the Atlantic 10. Old Dominion, the flag-bearer of a good CAA, hadn't played in over a week, but they were coming off of a championship in the Paradise Jam, which included wins over Xavier and Clemson. The Monarchs only loss? To Georgetown at home by three.
The game certainly lived up to expectations. Richmond built an eight point lead late in the second half, but ODU came back on the strength of their defense and their rebounding.
As good as the game was, this dunk from ODU's Kent Bazemore is what I'll remember (the good stuff happens at the -1:10 mark):
That was serious. We had this to say about it when it happened.
We called Bazemore the CAA's breakout star in the preseason, and he sure looked that way against the Spiders. He had 22 points, 6 boards, 5 steals, and 3 assists. On the season, Bazemore is averaging 12.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.5 spg, and 1.2 bpg.
This Monarch team is one you are going to want to keep an eye on all season long.
(h/t The Dagger)
Was this as good as the rest of the dunks for 2010-2011?
POSTERIZED - CJ Fair, Syracuse
POSTERIZED - LeBryan Nash
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Marcus Jordan, Central Florida
POSTERIZED - Lorenzo Brown, NC State
POSTERIZED - Tai Wesley, Utah State
POSTERIZED - Trent Lockett, Arizona State, and Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Brandon Paul, Illinois
POSTERIZED - Jordan Hamilton, Texas
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Baylor is recuiting an 11 year old? |
Down in Conway, Arkansas, there is a young man named Adrian Moore.
Well, young man probably isn't the correct term. Kid isn't either. So let me rephrase that sentence.
Down in Conway, Arkansas, there is a child named Adrian Moore. This child is 11 years old, but since he is 6'3" and was able to dunk as a 6th grader, he's become a bit of a sensation. Middle School Elite has already profiled him, he's been ranked as high as No. 2 in the Class of 2016 (also known as 7th grade), and he's being compared to Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks. Hell, he even made it on The Big Lead.
Baylor has taken the bait. They've already sent Moore a recruiting questionnaire.
This shouldn't shock you in the least, not with George Dohrmann's book on Demetrius Walker still fresh in everyone's mind.
I've railed on the recruitment and the ranking of prepubescent boys many times, and as recently as September. I don't have the desire to do it again. Thinking about it makes me feel like I belong on an episode of Law and Order SVU.
Some hoped that Dohrmann's book would spark change, but few -- if anyone -- expected it. There is simply too much money on the line. Joe Keller, Walker's AAU coach, made a small fortune by attaching himself to the ten year old. He took a ride Walker's coattails and ended up establishing himself as the face of elite middle school basketball. In the process, Keller completely neglected what Walker needed to do to better himself as a basketball player. Once Keller realized that Walker was done growing at 6'3" and that he wasn't a sure fire first round draft pick, Keller discarded him.
Walker's issues were no different than what happens to a huge number of kids coming up on the AAU circuit. Their prodigies at a young age because of their physical ability or their god-given talents. For Walker, he happened to hit 6'3" and reach his peak athleticism before he got to high school. He was able to dominate because he was taller, stronger, and could jump higher than anyone he played against. But his reliance on his physical gifts cost him when he didn't grow.
At 6'3", Walker is a guard at the collegiate level. He's good enough at the sport that he is getting his education paid for first by Arizona State and now by New Mexico, where he is currently sitting out the season due to NCAA transfer rules.
Walker is, by no means, a failure. I wonder, however, how many people view his as such because he didn't live up to the unrealistic expectations that were placed on him at such a young age. I hope he doesn't view himself that way.
And I hope that the same thing doesn't happen to Adrian Moore.
Continue reading...
Thursday's Pregame Beat |
Ed. Note: Got held up today. The Pregame Beat will be short and sweet, so its a good thing that the docket is limited tonight. Enjoy LeBron's homecoming.
7:00 pm: Arizona State @ No. 10 Baylor: (ESPN 2) The Sun Devils don't have much of an interior presence, which will be a problem against a team with the size that Baylor has. That said, ASU is loaded with good shooters and Baylor plays a zone. It will be an interesting game to watch, and for most of us our first chance at seeing the Bears with LaceDarius Dunn in the lineup.
9:00 pm: UCLA @ No. 4 Kansas: (ESPN 2) The Jayhawks are still without Josh Selby, but they looked pretty good against an underrated Arizona team. Tyshawn Taylor seems to have taken to playing the role of the point guard. The best one-on-one matchup of the evening will be between Reeves Nelson and whichever Morris twin ends up guarding him.
11:00 pm: No. 8 Missouri @ Oregon: The Ducks had their share of struggles in the offseason, but the most embarrassing was probably their coaching search. One of the guys they went after? Mike Anderson, Missouri's head coach.
Continue reading...
Thursday's Shootaround: The Big Ten wins their second straight challenge |
The ACC/Big Ten Challenge Scoreboard:
- ACC: 5
- Big Ten: 6
No. 18 Purdue 58, Virginia Tech 55 OT: See here.
Boston College 88, Indiana 76: Reggie Jackson scored 27 point as the Eagles were able to jump out to a big first half lead and maintain it the rest of the game. Steve Donahue looks like he finally has these guys on his page.
Wisconsin 87, NC State 48: The Badgers absolutely beatdown the Wolfpack. Jon Leuer led the way with 22 points and 11 boards.
Maryland 62, Penn State 39: What an ugly game. PSU was 14-68 from the floor, which is just a touch better than 20%. They were 3/27 from three, and according to a shot chart, shot 0-10 from two outside the paint. Yuck.
UCF 57, No. 16 Florida 54: The Golden Knights got 18 points from Marcus Jordan as they landed arguably the biggest win in program history. Could it be possible that we see UCF turn into a second potential at-large bid from C-USA? It looks like it could be. For Florida, this loss is quite disheartening. This was supposed to be a team that was going to compete for the SEC title. Doesn't look that way now.
No. 19 San Diego State 69, St. Mary's 55: The Aztecs avenged their worst loss from last season by jumping to a 14-2 lead and never looking back. Mickey McConnell was held to just two points while SDSU got a balanced attack, led by guard Chase Tapley. I think its clear that the Aztecs are, right now, the best team on the west coast.
No. 15 Memphis 78, Arkansas State 71 OT: After jumping out to a 23-5 lead early on in this one, the Tigers had to rally in overtime to remain undefeated. It isn't a question of talent with this team, its a question of effort and maturity. Josh Pastner, who has already kicked one player off of the team, benched a couple of his starters last night. Reading through quotes from his press conference, it is safe to say he was pretty upset with his team's performance.
BYU 77, Creighton 65: The Cougars used a 10-0 run midway through the second half to open a double digit lead on the Cardinals and put this game away. Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery were kept under wraps, but it was 24 points from Brandon Davies -- including 16 in the last 10 minutes -- that cost Creighton this game. BYU's bigs continue to impress.
USF 60, VCU 59 OT: The Bulls did everything they could to give this game to the Rams, wo came back from 18 down in the first half to force overtime. But late turnovers cost VCU, who has a Bradford Burgess runner rim out as time expired.
UMass 66, Quinnipiac 64: A late goal-tending call allowed the Minutemen to remain undefeated.
Other Notable Games
- No. 3 Pitt 80, Duquesne 66
- No. 20 Texas 76, Lamar 55
- No. 23 UNLV 82, Illinois State 51
- Louisville 92, Florida International 55
- Miami OH 75, Xavier 64
- West Virginia 71, American 50
- Old Dominion 77, Richmond 70
- Temple 65, Central Michigan 53
- East Tennessee State 73, Dayton 68
- Cincinnati 77, Wright State 69
- St. John's 69, Wagner 61
- Arizona 84, Rice 57
- Butler 65, Loyola IL 63
- Northern Iowa 60, Iowa State 54
- New Mexico 74, Southern Illinois 59
- Vanderbilt 82, Western Kentucky 62
- Utah State 61, Denver 53
- Cal 74, UC Davis 62
Continue reading...
Michigan State proved their mettle against Duke |
Last night, I wrote about the possibility of Duke going undefeated this for Beyond the Arc.
The post took me more time to format than it did to actually write out the 742 words.
Why?
Because the possibility of Duke going undefeated has been in the back of my -- and everyone else's -- mind since Kyrie Irving picked Duke and Kyle Singler skipped the league. In other words, Duke's success, their 84-79 win over Michigan State, is no surprise.
Be honest with me for a second. Were you really all that shocked when Irving got his Jay Williams on, putting 31 points on the team most believe will have the best shot at knocking off the Blue Devils come March? I wasn't. We've been hearing for months how good this Irving kid is, how he is the best player on this Duke team. His performance impressed me. He was fantastic and legitimately looked like the best, non-Kemba Walker guard in America. But there is a difference between being impressed and surprised. Irving did not surprise me. That's who he was supposed to be this year.
Perhaps the biggest surprise right now is that Duke has been rolling through their competition despite the fact that neither Nolan Smith nor Kyle Singler are playing their best basketball right now.
What I took away from this game in regards to the Blue Devils is that they are who we thought they were, because anyone in their right mind thought they were good enough to beat Michigan State by five at home.
If we learned anything in this game, its that the doubters that came out of the woodwork after the Spartan's struggles in Maui came out prematurely. Michigan State looked very, very good last night. Korie Lucious had 20 point, 8 assists, and carried the Spartans in the first half. Kalin Lucas struggled a bit at the start of the game, but he still finished with 14 points and showed flashes of why he was the 2009 Big Ten player of the year.
Delvon Roe was in foul trouble and Draymond Green wasn't himself (10 of his 16 points came in the final minutes when the game was all but decided), but Garrick Sherman and Adreian Payne both played well in their time on the floor. They were active on the glass and on the defensive end, which is a good sign for a Michigan State team that is not rebounding as well as we expect them too.
Michigan State took every punch that Duke had and kept standing.
Their problem is that they kept punching themselves.
The stat of the game wasn't Irving's 31 points or Duke's 43% shooting from three. It was the 20 turnovers that Michigan State had that led to 28 Duke points. A number of them were simply mind-boggling to see coming from a Tom Izzo-coached team. The ball as repeatedly thrown out of bounds. Players let a pass go right through their fingers. Draymond Green and Korie Lucious had one of the ugliest back court violations I've seen in a while.
It happened in the loss to UConn as well. Late in the game, Michigan State missed free throws and turned the ball over. They lost that game just as much as UConn won it.
Michigan State will be fine once they iron out those issues.
They will be right back in the mix for the Final Four come March.
And if there is any justice in this world, we will get a rematch of this game in Houston.
Continue reading...
Thursday Morning Dump |
- Kyrie Irving, Kyrie Irving, Kyrie Irving: Gary Parrish, Jason King, Seth Davis, Mike DeCourcey, Jeff Goodman, Dana O'Neil. Plus video
- Apparently us bloggers didn't see the game -- here is Matt Norlander and Jeff Borzello on Harrison Barnes. Hey, fellas, UNC played on Tuesday night. That's like two years ago in internet time.
- A couple of injuries to note -- Bradley's Sam Manisculo is out for the season as is Virginia's Will Sherril, who fractured his fibia against Minnesota.
- Jay Bilas and Doug Gottlieb catch you up on what they have learned so far this year.
- Spot on, RTC. Spot on.
- John Gasaway takes a look at the new and improved Illinois squad. A team he believes is the best the Illini have fielded since 2006
- Who would you choose for your All-Jewish fantasy basketball squad?
- I've never been a big fan of tattoos, but, holy crap, UC-Irvine's Darren Moore has some awesome ink.
- Kiski Prep loses their big-3 of 7-foot-4 Sim Bhullar, 7-foot-2 Tanveer Bhullar, and 6-foot-10 Stefan Jankovic
- Jeff Goodman provides his nightly awards
- The Dagger explains why Xavier's Tu Holloway is doing more for his team than anybody in the country
- Undefeated Loyola (IL) takes on Butler tonight in a mid-major must-see. Here's a preview of the action
- A good read on Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson and the job he regrets not taking back in 2002
- The Big-12 power rankings for Week-3
- Casual Hoya hands out their awards for the epic performance put on by Georgetown against Missouri
- The ten Carrier Dome commandments
- LostLetterman.com is putting together a list of the top-10 candidates for Player of the Year. At #10 is Michigan State guard Kalin Lucas
Continue reading...
Who is the worst high-major? |
Duke is the best team in the country.
That was the consensus heading into the season. And if you weren't yet convinced, tonight's win over Michigan State -- the Blue Devil's second over a top six team -- probably pushed you over the edge.
A topic that never gets brought up, however, is who the worst team in the country is.
Well, maybe we won't go there. Things can get kind of dicey in the nether regions of Division I.
We have, however, gotten quite a bit of early season returns for the worst major conference team in the country. The way I see it, there are currently four candidates: Oregon State (3-3), DePaul (1-4), and Auburn (2-4).
Oregon State thrust themselves into this conversation tonight as they lost to Utah Valley. The Wolverines are an independent that came into the matchup with OSU without a D-I win this season. It wasn't the Beaver's first ugly loss, either. They've also dropped decisions to Seattle and Texas Southern.
But to be fair, the Beavers are not -- as of now -- below .500 and they are still waiting on Roberto Nelson to be cleared. Besides, they won at Howard. We all know what kind of powerhouses reside in the MEAC.
DePaul hasn't fared much better this season. Their season opening, 114-81 win against Chicago State has quickly been forgotten as the Blue Demons have lost four straight, including games to Western Carolina and to Cal State Northridge by 22. But this is also a team adjusting to a new coaching style with Oliver Purnell. They were tied with Oklahoma State in the final minute before losing 60-56 and took Stanford to overtime. Neither of those teams have looked impressive, but a close loss to a high major cellar dweller is better than a close loss to a D-I cellar dweller.
Which brings us to Auburn.
The Tigers have been downright atrocious this season. They've lost to UNC-Asheville, Campbell, Jacksonville, and Samford. One of their wins came against Georgia Southwestern, which is not a D-I school. The other was a two point win over Middle Tennessee State in which Auburn had to come back from down 17 points.
Lest we forget that this Auburn team also lost an exhibition game to D-II Columbus State.
I think we have a winner here folks.
Say hello to your Auburn Tigers, the worst high-major team in the country.
New head coach Tony Barbee should have tons of fun rebuilding that program.
Others under consideration: Wake Forest, Iowa, Penn State, Alabama, Oklahoma, USC
Continue reading...
Its tough to find positives in Purdue's win over Virginia Tech |
Neither Purdue or Virginia Tech was a winner in their ugly, 58-55 overtime debacle.
Sure, the Boilermakers came out victorious. (Ironically, it was also the game that decided the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, which the Big Ten won 6-5.)
But Purdue looked more like a team that will struggle to stay afloat in the loaded Big Ten than one that will compete for the Big Ten title.
Simply put, the Boilermakers cannot score. Of the 58 points that Purdue had tonight, 29 came from center JaJuan Johnson. It took 24 shots for Johnson to get those 29 points, which is far too inefficient for a center that is the focal point of an offense, especially when it happens against a front line as depleted as Virginia Tech's. 
Johnson can score on the block, there's no question about that. He has a nice finesse game in the post, and his jump hook has become a serious weapon.
But when he is on the floor with only one other legitimate scoring threat -- E'Twaun Moore -- it allows opposing defenses to swarm him. What happens when he's going up against Jared Sullinger or the trio of Ralph Sampson, Trevor Mbakwe, and Colton Iverson, not Victor Davila?
And let's face it -- Virginia Tech is not a very good team right now. They are not deep, Jeff Allen cannot stay out of foul trouble, and their two best scorers -- Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson -- are playing far from their best basketball.
I'm not sure it is humanly possible to struggle more than Malcolm Delaney did tonight. He finished the with just nine points on 2-18 shooting. He also added four turnovers. Generally speaking, having your primary ball handler commit four turnovers is not a good thing, but it actually was an improvement for Delaney; he came in averaging nearly six per game.
Much of Delaney's struggles tonight can be attributed to Purdue's defense, and I get that Purdue's game plan was to take Delaney out of the game, forcing the other four Hokies on the floor to try and win the game. But when you do this good of a job slowing down a guy like Delaney -- who is one of the top five or ten most important players to his team in the country -- you should not be going to overtime with that team, even if the game is on the road.
For the Hokies, this may have been a loss that they couldn't afford.
Seth Greenberg ramped up Tech's schedule this season after ending up on the wrong side of the bubble too many times. The move may have backfired, however, as his team has lost all three of their marquee matchups -- at Kansas State, to UNLV in Anaheim, and to Purdue at home.
There really isn't that much else on the Hokie's schedule to bolster their profile. They will get a chance to play Mississippi State after Renardo Sidney returns, but the Bulldogs just lost at home to Florida Atlantic. Is Sidney -- a kid that hasn't played in a game since the spring of 2009 -- really going to turn them into a tournament team and a potential marquee win for Tech?
There isn't much on their ACC docket, either. After Duke, the ACC does not appear to be that strong this season. How much weight will a win at Florida State hold come Selection Sunday? Or a sweep of NC State? Or wins over North Carolina and Maryland?
Credit must be given to Greenberg for putting together a more rigorous non-conference schedule this season. But losing all of the marquee games may actually be worse than not playing them. Last season there was a legitimate argument for Virginia Tech being a top 25 team.
Right now?
There isn't.
Could we once again be looking at a season where the Hokies are on the outside of the NCAA Tournament looking in?
If Matt Painter can't figure out how to get his team to score more, Purdue may be joining them.
Continue reading...
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Wednesday's Pregame Beat: And we wrap up the ACC/Big Ten Challenge |
9:30 pm: No. 6 Michigan State @ No. 1 Duke (ESPN): Clearly, this is the biggest game of the night. Why? Because Michigan State is the last ranked team on Duke's schedule. Sure, Duke can very easily get tripped up in ACC play. They play on the road against every ACC team with a shot at dancing with the exception of Clemson, and they still have Butler and Temple left on their non-conference slate. Remember how the 2009 UNC team started ACC play 1-2? Who knows what can happen in conference play. But if Duke wins tonight, expect the talk of an undefeated season for the Dukies to commence. You know we'll have a post ready to go.
The Rest of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge
7:30 pm: No. 18 Purdue @ Virginia Tech (ESPN): Purdue has struggled a bit this season has they have searched for scoring outside of E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson. It came to a head on Saturday when the Boilermakers scored 14 first half points as the lost to Richmond. Now, Richmond may actually be a better team than Virginia Tech this season, but it terms of their roster makeup, the two are pretty similar -- they both rely heavily on the play of their star guard. In Tech's case, that is Malcolm Delaney. Anderson had 28 against Purdue. If Tech can find a way to match up with Johnson inside (like, for example, if Jeff Allen stays out of foul trouble) and Delaney has the kind of game we expect out of a player like Delaney, Purdue could be in trouble again.
7:15 pm: NC State @ Wisconsin (ESPN 2): Simply put, this game was a lot more intriguing before the Wolfpack lost Tracy Smith to injury. As good as CJ Leslie, Ryan Harrow, and Lorenzo Brown are, they are still just freshmen. And freshmen going up against a team like Wisconsin is less than ideal.
7:15 pm: Indiana @ Boston College (ESPNU): The issue plaguing the Eagles right now is the same one that any new head coach faces -- teaching a group of players he didn't recruit a new system while trying to win games. To their credit, it looks like the loss to Yale didn't put an end to BC's hopes this season. They've beaten Texas A&M and Cal since then. There is also some impressive talent in this game worth watching -- Reggie Jackson of BC and Indiana's trio of Verdell Jones, Christian Watford, and Mo Creek.
9:15 pm: Maryland @ Penn State (ESPN 2): The Terps seem to be flying a bit under the radar after losing two games in the Coaches vs. Cancer in New York, led by big man Jordan Williams. That said, the Nittany Lions have a star in Talor Battle. This game will come down to who can slow down the other team's star
Other Notable Games
10:30 pm: St. Mary's @ No. 19 San Diego State (The Mtn): The winner of this game might not just be the best team in California, but possibly on the West Coast. If you don't get the Mountain, you better hope a stream is available. (Ahem, that'd be me...)
No. 25 BYU @ Creighton: It is always tough to play at Creighton, which packs their house like its a high major program. This game will also be a good gauge for the Bluejays. Are they going to be able to compete for the MVC title?
7:00 pm: Richmond @ Old Dominion: One of the best mid-major games of the season, although I'm not sure the Spiders would appreciate being called mid-majors. Its an interesting contrast of styles, as the Spiders play a spread system, while ODU likes to bang inside and wins on their defense.
9:00 pm: Western Kentucky @ Vanderbilt: Vandy will get their first real test since an impressive performance out in Puerto Tico. The Hilltoppers aren't quite as impressive as they seemed in the first week or two of the season, but this is still a basketball team with high major talent.
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December Viewing Guide |
There are so many great games going on in December, it kinda makes chosing the best 15 games difficult. It's even tougher to try and rank them. But that's why they pay us the big bucks here at B.I.A.H (actually, we don't get paid that much, if at all). But seriously, there are literally oodles and oodles of good games this month. Hopefully I have mentioned them all.
Top-15 (And-1) Games of December:
#16 - Friday 12/31 - 12:00PM - #10 Kentucky at Louisville
The last day of 2010 features one of the best rivalries in college basketball. Louisville may be better than we thought, and Kentucky's freshman have their ups and their downs. This will be an entertaining match-up, as it is every year.
#15 - Wednesday 12/1 - 10:30PM - St. Mary's at #17 San Diego State
How good have both of these teams been thus far? San Diego State may be better than advertised, and this will be their first true home game of the season. The Aztecs are currently sixth in the country in field-goal percentage, making nearly 54% of their shots. What if I told you that even without Omar Samhan, the Gaels would be the best team in the WCC? Would you believe me?
#14 - Saturday 12/4 - 5:15PM - #20 Illinois at Gonzaga
Despite the loss to Texas, Illinois has looked impressive early on. The play of guard Brandon Paul has been both unexpected and impressive. Four of the Illini starters are averaging double digits. Gonzaga is certainly not the Gonzaga team of a year ago. Stephen Gray and Elias Harris are the stars, but they lack a supporting cast depth that has been a trademark of past Bulldog squads.
#13 - Thursday 12/9 - 9:00PM - #16 Georgetown at Temple
Do you remember what happened when these two teams faced off last season? Georgetown won 47-46 in a game that was brutal to watch. Both teams play lock-down defense and like to slow things down on offense. After watching Georgetown tough-out a great road victory against Missouri, and after watching Temple struggle to play up to the expectations, I think Georgetown takes this big. But I have no problem being wrong.
#12 - Saturday 12/18 - 4:30PM - Gonzaga at #11 Baylor
This will be Baylor's first real test of the season, and by this time, Gonzaga will have played three ranked teams and two top-50 teams. Baylor has all the makings of a Big-12 championship team, but the jury is still out until they soundly beat a game opponent.
#11 - Thursday 12/23 - 8:00PM - #16 Georgetown at #14 Memphis
Memphis has scored 90 or more points in three of their five games so far, but the opponents were Centenary, Northwestern State and Tennessee-Martin. In the Tigers other two games, they have failed to score 75 points. Those two games came against LSU and Miami. Georgetown plays much tighter defense than those two teams. Memphis can make this game easier for themselves if they can force Georgetown to take bad shots. Forcing the Hoyas to make turnovers and commit silly fouls wouldn't be a bad idea either. Memphis has the talent to beat Georgetown, but talent is observatory.
#10 - Thursday 12/30 - 7:00PM - Temple at #12 Villanova
Temple and 'Nova square-off in the de facto Big-5 championship game. Both teams have already suffered defeat. Villanova's loss came on an off-night from Corey Fisher. Temple will have their best shot if they can force Fisher to have another off-night.
#9 - Saturday 12/4 - 12:30PM - #10 Kentucky at North Carolina
Terrence Jones against Harrison Barnes. Calipari versus Good Ole Roy. Arguably the two biggest fan-bases in all of college basketball. Need I say more? If I need, forget the fact that Kentucky is young, and UNC is still looking for a reliable point guard and isn't big up front. Because this game will be a dandy.
#8 - Wednesday 12/22 - 9:00PM - #20 Illinois at #9 Missouri
This maybe the best non-con rivalry in the entire country, and now that Illinois is back to being good this year, we should have ourselves a dandy. There are two great match-ups to watch for in this game: Kim English vs. Demetri McCamey and Ricardo Ratliffe vs. Mike and Mike (Tisdale and Davis).
#7 - Saturday 12/18 - 5:30PM - #5 Kansas State at #18 Florida
This will be K-State's fourth game against a ranked opponent, and while they are 2-1 in those games, they looked far from good against Duke. Jacob Pullen has been struggling of late and doesn't have the back-court help he had last season. The game will be won and lost up-front. Florida's big-men got flattened by Ohio State's Jared Sullinger and Dallas Lauderdale. If Curtis Kelly can have a big game, KSU may pick up their third win against a ranked team.
#6 - Saturday 12/11 - 3:15PM - #13 Tennessee at #3 Pittsburgh
The champions of the NYC preseason tournaments (N.I.T. Season Tip-Off/Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic) face-off in a really intriguing early-season match-up. Bruce Pearl's team is playing inspiring basketball thus far, and Pittsburgh continues to be the team we all thought they would be. On a day chalk-full of good hoops action, this will be the premiere showdown.
#5 - Tuesday 12/7 - 7:00PM - #14 Memphis at #4 Kansas
This is a rematch of the 2008 National Championship, except not a single member of Memphis' squad remains, and only a handful Jayhawks are still on the roster. It should be interesting to see how Memphis can handle the frontcourt of the Jayhawks.
#4 - Wednesday 12/22 - 7:00PM - #19 Texas at #6 Michigan State
Tristin Thompson has been one of my favorite players to watch so far. The Longhorn freshman is a stud, and even though Michigan State will have Derrick Nix back, I think Thompson will have a big game. But the back court of Michigan State may be too much for the on-again-off-again guards of Texas.
#3 - Monday 12/27 - 8:30PM - #7 UConn at #3 Pittsburgh
You want to know why the Big East is consistently the toughest conference in the country? Because in game 1 of 18 for both teams, they have to face off against a top-10 foe. Pittsburgh is a better team, but they don't have Kemba Walker, and he can change games. Seriously, Walker is playing better right now than Evan Turner did at this point last season, when he dropped two triple-doubles and was making his case for the PoY award, which he eventually won. This is a must-watch for any and all hoops fans.
#2 - Tuesday 12/7 - 9:00PM - #6 Michigan State at #8 Syracuse
Michigan State has played one-hell-of-a non-conference schedule. Ten days after facing Duke in the must-see game of the month, the Spartans head to Sibericuse to face off against one of the best teams in the Big East, if not the country. This is a really even match-up, and if I
#1 - Wednesday 12/1 - 9:30PM - #6 Michigan State at #1 Duke
Is there really any other choice? Is it possible that they look even better than what expected? Seriously, They look nearly-unstoppable right now. Izzo-coached teams are known to start out slow, only to gain momentum down the stretch. I think Duke just has too much size for MSU. Both teams have a bunch of weapons, but I'm just not ready to bet against Duke after what I've seen from them thus far. I have no problem being wrong.
Other Interesting Match-Ups:
- Wednesday 12/1 - 7:15PM - North Carolina State at Wisconsin
- Wednesday 12/1 - 7:30PM - #22 Purdue at Virginia Tech
- Thursday 12/2 - 7:00PM - Arizona State at #11 Baylor
- Thursday 12/2 - 9:00PM - UCLA at #4 Kansas
- Saturday 12/4 - 12:00PM - Utah State at 16 Georgetown
- Saturday 12/4 - 3:15PM - Butler at #1 Duke
- Sunday 12/5 - 1:00PM - Clemson at South Carolina
- Sunday 12/5 - 2:00PM - Richmond at Arizona State
- Sunday 12/5 - 8:00PM - Temple at Maryland
- Wednesday 12/8 - 9:00PM - Vanderbilt at #9 Missouri
- Wednesday 12/8 - 10:00PM - Colorado State at Colorado
- Wednesday 12/8 - 11:00PM - Gonzaga at Washington State
- Saturday 12/11 - 12:00PM - UNLV at Louisville
- Saturday 12/11 - 4:00PM - #5 Kansas State at Loyola (IL)
- Saturday 12/11 - 4:30PM - #23 Washington at Texas A&M
- Saturday 12/11 - 5:15PM - Indiana at #10 Kentucky
- Saturday 12/11 - 6:00PM - Arizona at #21 BYU
- Saturday 12/11 - 6:30PM - Colorado State at #4 Kansas
- Saturday 12/11 - 8:30PM - Gonzaga at #25 Notre Dame
- Sunday 12/12 - 12:00PM - Appalachian State at #16 Georgetown
- Saturday 12/18 - 4:00PM - #19 Texas at North Carolina
- Saturday 12/18 - TBA - Mississippi State at Virginia Tech
- Sunday 12/19 - 4:45PM - Arizona at North Carolina State
- Wednesday 12/22 - 3:00PM - Washington State at Mississippi State
- Tuesday 12/28 - 7:00PM - #15 Minnesota at Wisconsin
- Wednesday 12/29 - 11:00AM - Marquette at Vanderbilt
- Wednesday 12/29 - 11:00PM - Washington State at UCLA
- Wednesday 12/29 - 1:00AM - St. Mary's at Mississippi State
- Thursday 12/30 - 8:00PM - Old Dominion at #9 Missouri
- Friday 12/31 - 4:00PM - #23 Washington at UCLA
Potential Upsets:
- Wednesday 12/1 - 7:00PM - Wright State at Cincinnati
- Friday 12/3 - 11:00PM - #5 Kansas State at Washington State
- Saturday 12/4 - 12:00PM - Utah State at #16 Georgetown
- Saturday 12/4 - 4:00PM - Rhode Island at Providence
- Saturday 12/4 - 8:00PM - Southern Miss at Ole Miss
- Wednesday 12/8 - 9:30PM - #25 Notre Dame at #10 Kentucky
- Saturday 12/11 - 2:30PM - Wisconsin at Marquette
- Saturday 12/11 - 8:00PM - Missouri State at Oklahoma State
- Monday 12/20 - 9:00PM - Northern Colorado at Colorado State
- Tuesday 12/21 - 9:00PM - #24 UNLV at #5 Kansas State
- Wednesday 12/22 - 7:00PM - Clemson at Charleston
- Wednesday 12/22 - 7:00PM - South Florida at Cleveland State
- Wednesday 12/22 - 7:00PM - Georgia Tech at Siena
- Sunday 12/26 - 12:00PM - Richmond at Seton Hall
- Wednesday 12/29 - 7:00PM - #16 Georgetown at #25 Notre Dame
Mid-Major Must-See Games:
- Wednesday 12/1 - 7:00PM - Richmond at Old Dominion
- Saturday 12/4 - 8:00PM - Murray State at Morehead State
- Saturday 12/4 - 10:15PM - Wichita State at #17 San Diego State
- Sunday 12/5 - 2:00PM - Kent State at UAB
- Friday 12/10 - 7:00PM - Fairfield at Siena
- Friday 12/10 - 8:05PM - Nichols State at Wichita State
- Saturday 12/11 - 7:00PM - Dayton at Old Dominion
- Saturday 12/11 - 7:00PM - Virginia Commonwealth at Richmond
- Saturday 12/11 - 8:05PM - Morehead State at Northern Iowa
- Tuesday 12/21 - 8:05PM - Wichita State at Tulsa
- Thursday 12/23 - 9:00PM - UTEP at #21 BYU
- Tuesday 12/28 - 7:00PM - Kent State at Morehead State
- Wednesday 12/29 - 5:00PM - Northeastern at Princeton
- Wednesday 12/29 - 7:00PM - Quinnipiac at Boston
- Wednesday 12/29 - 7:00PM - George Mason at Dayton
- Wednesday 12/29 - 8:05PM - Missouri State at Northern Iowa
- Friday 12/31 - 9:00PM - San Jose State at Utah State
Other Notable Mid-Major Match-Ups:
- Wednesday 12/1 - 8:05PM - #21 BYU at Creighton
- Thursday 12/2 - 7:00PM - Davidson at Charleston
- Saturday 12/4 - 1:00PM - Yale at Vermont
- Saturday 12/18 - 12:30PM - East Carolina at Coastal Carolina
- Saturday 12/18 - 8:00PM - Long Beach State at St. Mary's
- Saturday 12/18 - 8:30PM - Western Kentucky at Murray State
- Monday 12/20 - 7:30PM - Vermont at Fairfield
- Wednesday 12/22 - 10:00PM - Northeastern at St. Louis
- Wednesday 12/22 - 7:30PM - Wright State at Charlotte
- Wednesday 12/29 - 7:00PM - Wofford at Virginia Commonwealth
One For The Road:
- Thursday 12/2 - 7:00PM - UMKC (Kangaroos) at IPFW (Mastadons)
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Wednesday's Shootaround: Georgetown-Missouri overshadows the ACC/Big Ten Challenge |
ACC/Big Ten Challenge Scoreboard:
- ACC: 2
- Big Ten: 4
No. 21 Illinois 79, UNC 67: See here.
UConn 62, New Hampshire 55: See here.
No. 2 Ohio State 58, Florida State 44: The Seminoles may just be the best defensive team in the country, and Chris Singleton my be the best individual defender. Last night, they really took Ohio State out of what they wanted to do offensively. They forced point guard Aaron Craft to initiate the offense 40 feet from the basket. They over played the wings, making the first pass get caught 35 feet from the rim. That prevented Jared Sullinger from being able to get touches on the low block, which combined with their swarming defense in the post kept Sullinger offensively at bay. The problem? The Buckeyes have a pretty good defense of their own, and Florida State cannot score. They turned the ball over 22 times, had just six assists, and shot 3-17 from three. That is not going to cut it.
Northwestern 91, Georgia Tech 71: The Wildcats had one of the most impressive displays of offensive execution I've ever seen in the first half. They decimated the Georgia Tech defense, getting any shot they wanted on every possession. And they didn't miss, shooting 64.6% from the floor and 12-19 from three for the game. There were some red flags in the second half -- Georgia Tech switched into a physical, pressuring man-to-man that had some success -- but the Yellow Jackets could not string together a run. John Shurna, Michael Thompson, and Drew Crawford combined for 54 points, while guys like JerSonn Cobb, Luke Mirkovic, and Alex Marcotullio all reached double figures.
Other Notable Scores
Wake Forest 76, Iowa 73: JT Terrell scored 32 points and shot 7-11 from three. One of those three was the game winner from 28 feet, which capped an 18 point comeback for the Demon Deacons. Is it a bad sign that right now, Wake and UVa are the flag bearers for the ACC in his challenge?
Miami FL 86, Ole Miss 73: Ole Miss was blown out by a Miami team that does not appear capable of finishing in the top half of the ACC. Don't pay attention to the 13 point spread at the end. Miami was up 57-27 at the half. Durand Scott had 27 points in the win while Reggie Johnson added 17 and 10.
Florida Atlantic 61, Mississippi State 59: The Bulldogs may be without Renardo Sidney and Dee Bost, but they should not be losing to FAU at home. Another black eye for the SEC West.
Michigan 69, Clemson 61: Maybe I overvalued Clemson or maybe I underrated Michigan, but whatever the case, the Wolverines went on the road and knocked off the Tigers. This is another game that wasn't as close as the final indicates. Clemson was down 36-16 at one point. Evan Smotrycz had a career-high 18 points to pace the Wolverines.
No. 24 Gonzaga 86, Eastern Washington 57: The only reason this score is relevant is because Elias Harris didn't suit up.
South Dakota State 82, Nevada 65: Another ugly loss for the Wolfpack. In could be a long year in Reno.
Washington State 84, Sacramento State 36: The Cougars, at one point, were up 27-0.
- No. 7 Syracuse 78, Cornell 58
- No. 11 Kentucky 91, Boston U. 57
- No. 17 Tennessee 86, Middle Tennessee 56
- No. 22 Washington 102, Long Beach State 75
- Notre Dame 81, Indiana State 72
- Texas Tech 86, Oral Roberts 82
- UTEP 74, New Mexico State 72
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Guy-Marc Michel ruled ineligible |
This post can also be found at Beyond the Arc.
Indiana's Guy-Marc Michel has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA.
But its a bit of a different situation than you think.
Yes, Michel played with a professional team when he was in France. More specifically, he played with SLUC Nancy, a French League club team, as an amateur, but at the end of the 2007-2008 season, Michel was called up for five games with the pros.
The NCAA determined that Michel would be suspended for a year, and then get 10 games -- two for every one he played with the pros in France -- the next season. The suspension itself seems pretty unfair. Michel, by all accounts, only received necessary expenses during that time. He also seemed to make the effort to stay eligible for NCAA basketball. To get essentially the same punishment that Renardo Sidney did seems a bit excessive. But don't ask me, ask the guys over at Inside the Hall. They rip the NCAA plenty for this ruling.
The biggest issue, however, was that Michel enrolled in classes at a French university in 2006. His high school and the college he took classes at had the same name which complicated matters a bit, as does equivalency when it comes to schooling in the states and abroad. But the NCAA has a rule called the four-in-five rule, which essentially says that from the minute an athlete steps on campus, he has five years to exhaust his or her eligibility in every sport. Its why Greg Paulus was only allowed one year to play football at Syracuse.
Throw in the two seasons that Michel spent at the Northern Idaho College, and the NCAA ruled that Michel had at most one season of college eligibility remaining. The one year suspension wipes that out.
Here is Crean's statement through the athletic department:We are disappointed by this decision because everyone involved in this process agrees that Guy did not intentionally do anything that would have jeopardized his ability to play here or at any of the number of institutions that also recruited him. We will regroup, assess all our options and do whatever we can for Guy, who has demonstrated to us that he deserves to be part of the IU program.
The only further demonstrates the NCAA's unwillingness to mold their rules to allow for foreigners to get educated through their athletic talents.
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Kemba saves UConn, but the Huskies show their vulnerability |
Kemba Walker once again scored 30 points, but UConn struggled mightily against the Wildcats, holding on for a 62-55 win.
These weren't the Kentucky Wildcats, mind you. No, UConn was trailing by six in the second half to the New Hampshire Wildcats in large part because UConn's supporting cast looked more like the supporting cast we expected in the preseason. The one that showed up in Maui apparently missed their flight home.
Like I said last week, UConn will be a tough team to beat when their role players, the majority of who are freshmen and sophomores, play well. Tuesday night, they didn't.
Alex Oriakhi finished with just seven points and 10 rebounds, missing much of the first half with foul trouble. Those ten rebounds were nullified by the fact that UConn was outrebounded -- which included giving up 18 offensive rebounds -- by a team from the America East. Roscoe Smith, Tyler Olander, and Charles Okwandu? They combined for just eight rebounds combined.
Outside of Walker, UConn scored just 32 points. Shabazz Napier was the second leading scorer with 11, but he needed 10 shots to do so while also turning the ball over four times without a single assist. Not exactly the numbers you look for from your point guard. Smith and Niels Giffey, who both looked so promising in Maui, were no-shows offensively.
UConn survived because they were bigger, more athletic, and more talented than New Hampshire.
If they play the way they did on Tuesday night against Pitt in their December 27th Big East opener, they will lose by 30.
And after seeing that performance, I won't be surprised to see UConn, at some point this season, drop back out of the top 25.
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Wednesday Morning Dump |
- When Andy Glockner writes it, we read it. Yesterday, he broke down Missouri's 40 minutes of hell style in preparation for the Georgetown game. Still worth the read.
- The Wall Street Journal had a fantastic-must-read about the decline of New York City basketball. An interesting point is made that technology, i.e. video game systems, has something to do with this decline
- Indiana's 7-foot freshman Guy-Marc Michel has been ruled ineligble by the NCAA. For a more in-depth analysis, head to Inside the Hall
- Gary Parrish on how BC's new head coach Steve Donahue is trying to teach his players to play his way while also trying to win games. After beating Cal and Texas A&M, might he have turned this thing around?
- It was only a matter of time: Draft Express goes in on Kemba Walker
- Dan Hanner from Yet Another Basketball Blog hit the nail on the head: Minnesota pulls the "double surprise". He also touches on emotional investment
- Air Force has been decimated at the forward position due to injuries, and now they've lost another big man
- Great find by Matt Norlander over at The Dagger.
- Mark Few's first quote says it all.
- Look at Len Elmore getting all opinionated. I love Lenny, especially when he gets fired up.
- Speaking of fired up, my blogger in arms Mike Miller actually did a spit take!
- Syracuse beat Cornell by 20 last night, but Jim Boeheim was not happy with the performance. Is Boeheim ever happy? I hope he is when he looks at his wife /smokeshow'd
- Villanova got a commitment from 6-foot-6 wing Savon Goodman
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UNC's struggles continue, is it time to start the freshmen? |
The question was asked about 35 times last night on my twitter feed, but it deserves to be repeated: has any team ever struggled this much with seven McDonald's all-americans on the roster?
Because that is what Roy Williams is working with this season.
Seriously, count them up:
- Harrison Barnes, 2010
- Kendall Marshall, 2010
- Reggie Bullock, 2010
- John Henson, 2009
- Dexter Strickland, 2009
- Tyler Zeller, 2008
- Larry Drew, 2008
*(One issue that many people have is with the voting for the McDonald's all-american teams. Simply put, it is a flawed system that does not seem to have the right people voting. It places undo expectations and pressure on kids that may not be good enough to handle it.)
But it appears they are after Illinois handed UNC a 79-67 defeat in Champaign on Tuesday night. That final is closer than the game actually was; the Illini held a lead well into the double digits for the majority of the second half.
Less than two weeks ago, I wrote about the issues with this Carolina team, and none of them have changed -- although I would recommend being a bit more concerned if I was a Tar Heel fan. I guess the next step is to ask how we can right this ship.
For starters, I think its time to hand the reins over to Kendall Marshall at the point. Its clear that right now, Larry Drew is not the answer. He may be a better fit ideally in the UNC system than Marshall, but he is simply not playing the way a starting point guard has too. In seven games this season, Drew has just 24 assists compared to 17 turnovers, and those numbers got a big boost from the 7 assists, 3 turnover game he had against Illinois. He's taken just 27 shots this season, scored just 25 points, and -- get this -- made just six field goals.
Six field goals! In seven games! From your starting point guard!
That's unacceptable.
Having Marshall run this team is not ideal. He's not the best fit and he is just a freshman. But right now he is the better option. Drew is a talented kid, but he is just not playing with any confidence. And while benching him may destroy what's left of that confidence, it is better than digging a hole that the Heels cannot work their way out of. Getting Marshall some experience being the No. 1 point guard against top quality competition before the ACC season kicks off may be the answer.
Its also time to take Dexter Strickland out of the starting lineup. He looks just as lost as Drew does. Reggie Bullock, another freshman, may not be ready to handle being a starter yet either, but he at least is coming out firing.
This is what is sticking out in my mind from last night's game for the Heels. On more than one possession, Strickland caught the ball wide open at the three point line and did nothing. He didn't shoot and he didn't attack the basket. He just stood there with the ball. That, to me, shows either a lack of ability or a lack of confidence in his ability, neither of which are a good thing. Bullock has been shooting well and is scoring more than Strickland. When he got a chance in the second half tonight, he missed his first three shots. A few possessions later, Bullock found himself open from three. He immediately pulled the trigger and knocked the shot down.
Maybe its me, but I would rather have the ill-prepared freshman out there playing confidently than the sophomore who is in line to start that is playing tentatively.
As for Harrison Barnes, Roy Williams is simply going to have to wait that one out. He's too talented, and his struggles seem, by all accounts, to be more of a result of the burden of expectations than anything.
There is no way that Roy Williams will get fired from North Carolina. Not when he has won two of the last six national titles.
But if he continues to swing and miss on these talented recruits and continues to lose with a roster full of high school all-americans, eventually his ability as a coach is going to begin to be called into question.
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Georgetown downs Missouri in the season's best game yet |
It happened on the last day in November, which means there are still a ton of games left to be played.
But come season's end, there is no doubt in my mind that Georgetown's 111-102 overtime win over Missouri will be one of the 2010-2011 season's best games.
The Hoyas come out of the gates on fire, as Austin Freeman and Chris Wright couldn't seem to miss while the vaunted Missouri pressure couldn't force a turnover. At one point, the Hoyas were up 35-17, just 11 minutes into the game.
But the Tigers didn't fold. With their full court press rendered relatively ineffective by the terrific back court of the Hoyas, Mizzou adjusted, dropping back into a matchup zone that flustered Georgetown. Aided by the emergence of 2010 JuCo player of the year Ricardo Ratliffe as a reliable post threat and the white-hot shooting of Marcus Denmon on the perimeter, the Tigers were able to trim the halftime deficit to just seven points at 54-47.
Believe it or not, the second half is when things really began to heat up.
Missouri, playing in front of what was essentially a home crowd at the "neutral site" of the Sprint Center in Kansas City, kept making runs at Georgetown, but Freeman, Wright, and Jason Clark continued to keep the Tigers at bay. Finally, with 8:25 left on the clock, Denmon hit a three in transition that gave Missouri a 77-75 lead, their first of the game.
The Tigers would eventually pull ahead 91-87, but three missed free throws late in the game allowed Georgetown to remain in striking distance. And Wright made the Tigers pay, drilling a three with 0.3 seconds left on the clock to force overtime.
In the extra period, it was Clark, the least heralded of the Hoya's vaunted back court, that made the difference. He hit three straight threes to build a 107-100 lead, and Missouri was all out of answers.
It was entertaining, to say the absolute least.
We also learned a thing or two about both teams.
For Georgetown, we already knew about their back court. Freeman, Wright, and Clark combined to score 78 points, hitting countless clutch buckets and combining to go 12-26 from deep. But tonight also reinforced the notion that the Hoyas front court is better than some of us have given them credit for. Julian Vaughn spent much of the game in foul trouble -- he only played nine minutes -- and while Nate Lubick and Henry Sims only combined for four offensive rebounds, it was their effort on the glass to keep balls alive that allowed the Hoyas to hold onto their lead for as long as they did.
The Hoyas also impressed with their resiliency. They didn't fold when they got down five points on the road to a top ten opponent after blowing an 18 point lead. Freeman looked every bit the Big East preseason player of the year, as his two driving buckets -- one of them an and-one -- tied the game with under four minutes to play. Hoya fans have been burned by great early season performances leading to disappointing March finishes, but -- and I say this hesitantly -- this team feels different.
For Missouri, we found out just how balanced this team truly is. Missouri's best player, Kim English, struggled tonight.* He finished with 11 points on 5-12 shooting, but he had four turnovers and made some poor decisions down the stretch, including ill-advised jump shots. He was also the guy that saved a ball under his own basket on the final possession that afforded Wright the opportunity to step into a wide open three.
*(For what its worth, I think English is hurt. Early in the game, he drove to the basket and was fouled hard. When he came down, you could see him grimacing and holding his right hand. His thumb had a couple of pieces of tape on it.)
Marcus Denmon stepped up, scoring 27 points and keeping the Tigers close in the first half. Ricardo Ratliffe finished with 22 points and gives Mizzou a legitimate interior presence. Mike Dixon may have been the most impressive, as the majority of his 17 points came in the second half, and seemingly every big play down the stretch involved the sophomore point guard.
But Mizzou also showed some flaws. In addition to English's mistakes, they missed three of their last four free throws that could have iced the game.
No doubt, this is a brutal loss for Missouri, but it is one they can rebound from. Its early in the season, and Georgetown appears to be a team that was severely underrated in the preseason.
Don't be surprised when both of these teams are around late in March.
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POSTERIZED: C.J. Fair doesn't care about Your Ivy League Education |
Syracuse had arguably their best game of the season against fellow-wannabe-Canadian province, Cornell, beating them 78-58.
Syracuse freshman C.J. Fair only had one basket, but damn was it spectacular.
Let's also give some dap to Rick Jackson for the phenomenal 50-foot bounce pass. There aren't too many things prettier than a nice long-distance bounce pass, and "Slick" Rick Jackson nailed it perfectly.
But again, holy crap, that was an amazing dunk.
As of now, it has my vote for dunk of the year.
But,
Was this as good as the rest of the dunks for 2010-2011?
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Marcus Jordan, Central Florida
POSTERIZED - Lorenzo Brown, NC State
POSTERIZED - Tai Wesley, Utah State
POSTERIZED - Trent Lockett, Arizona State, and Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Brandon Paul, Illinois
POSTERIZED - Jordan Hamilton, Texas
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