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Hoop Weekend attempts to collect the televised NCAA hoops games for your scheduling perusal. I finally figured out that I was missing late-night games because they were after midnight for me, and thus were showing up on the next day's schedule. Genius, I am.
Don't Miss
USC at #4 UCLA - 3:30pm Saturday, CBS The relative rankings don't matter here, this is bound to be a fiercely-played game. Conventional wisdom says Love & Co. run away with this one, but conventional wisdom has been a pretty shaky source of information lately. If Mayo and his compatriots can win this one on the road, they rehabilitate their national profile in a big hurry.
Watch in Hopes that Paulus Gets Dunked On
#23 Clemson at #5 Duke - 6pm Saturday, ESPN Duke's Greg Paulus seems to be running away with our "Most Hated Man in College Ball" survey, so there's one reason to watch. The other is the schadenfreude involved in watching for the annual Clemson Collapse. After a couple of losses, the Tigers rebounded with home wins over Florida State and NC State. Since this doesn't say "State" or "home game", trouble is imminent.
Tivo it and Watch for signs of the "Freshman Fifteen"
#9 Texas A&M at Kansas State - 4pm Saturday, ESPN A&M's DeAndre Jordan isn't in the same class as K State's Michael Beasley, but this is still a chance at a statement for both teams. The Aggies dropped a game to R.M. Knight the other day that is likely sticking in their craws. The Wildcats seem to be playing desultory basketball and waiting for the NBA to come calling. Pride is on the line.
Also On
Friday
Niagara at Canisius - 7pm, ESPNU Bucknell at Holy Cross - 9pm, ESPNU
Saturday
#21 Villanova at Syracuse - noon, ESPN Rutgers at DePaul - 2pm, ESPNU Illinois at Purdue - 2pm, ESPN Maryland at #1 North Carolina - 3:30pm, ABC Ohio State at #7 Tennessee - 3:30pm, CBS Eastern Illinois at Tennessee State - 5:30pm, ESPNU Oregon State at Washington - 6pm, FSN Kent State at Ohio - 6pm, ESPN Classic #3 Kansas at Missouri - 8pm, ESPNU Kentucky at Florida - 9pm, ESPN Wyoming at San Diego State - 11pm, CSTV
In the words of Maury Ballstein, "THAT'S what I'm talking about!" What a great start of the week for ACC games. It's like a walkoff, but with more fiercity, intenseness and, uh, balls. Seriously, whether it was the Paulus punch, the Heels almost going down (no joke needed) in Atlanta or the absolute bitch-slap Wake took at BC, we certainly had some highlights ( or lowlights, depending on whom you follow). And it is just starting, including some awesome games on tap for this week. Let's recap...
Team of the Week: Boston College A team no one was really talking about 2 months ago, BC has firmly established itself as the #3 team in the league right now (shut up, Clemson fans -- you let it slip away). Al Skinner has a scoring dynamo in Tyrese Rice and a gaggle of excellent legos he is building into an NCAA Tournament nightmare. Not to mention Tyrell Blair averaging over 4 blocks a game and the fact that they have a player named Biko Paris (I swear). Who knows if it will hold, but BC looks to be right back in the upper echelon of the league.
Worst of the Week: NC State Everyone in Charlottesville should be saying thank you to El Sid and his confused, and confusing, Wolfpack. I know losing your point guard is tough, but the get pile-drived in Chapel Hill and then barely put up a fight in Clemson is downright inexcusable. The true surprises of last year, Costner and McCauley, have been putrid and not even the potential ACC Freshman of the Year, JJ Hickson, can save them. No passing, poor shot selection and a lousy attitude. A great way to deal with lofty expectations.
Player of the Week: Greg Paulus, Duke Why you might ask? Well, when you can get away with this, become your teams most clutch shooter, finally average better than a 2-to-1 assist/turnover ratio and be genuinely despised by every other player on every other team in the country (not to mention their fans), then you deserve it. You might hate the kid, but he has developed a mean streak and a "screw you" attitude down the stretch of games that could really be a difference maker for Duke as the ACC schedule continues.
What To Watch For: Any and Everything on Saturday, the 19th. What a schedule!! FSU vs. Wake 1/20 #1 UNC vs. Miami 1/23 Georgia Tech vs. NC State 1/23 #5 Duke vs. Virginia Tech 1/24
Welcome to Tournament Friday. Seriously people, we are now under two months until Selection Sunday. With that said, Every Friday until March, we'll feature a different aspect of the NCAA Tournament. It's kind of like Two-For Tuesday on classic rock stations, only with significantly less Metallica. As we get closer to March, look for more and more features, until it becomes Tournament everyday.
AUTO-BID WATCH
Now that we're in to the conference season, auto-bid watch will become a regular feature on Friday of each week. I'll be looking at the bottom two-thirds of the conference RPI ratings via BBState, pointing out which teams are leading and what lies ahead in their schedule - all as a way of preparing you for March.
I won't be reporting directly on the top-10 RPI conferences, which is an artificial cut-off, but we can reasonably assume that conferences in the top ten stand a decent chance of getting more than one bid. Here's where we stand right now:
Conference RPI
1. ACC 2. Pac 10 3. Big East 4. Big 12 5. SEC 6. Big 10 7. Atlantic 10 8. Missouri Valley 9. Horizon 10. Mountain West 11. C-USA - Memphis leads the league at 3-0, with UAB, UTEP, and Central Florida crowding around at 2-0 apiece. None of the three teams faces the Tigers until February. Memphis is the only team with an at-large profile, in case of a CUSA-tourney slip.
12. West Coast Conference - Gonzaga is 2-0. They face 1-0 San Diego and then Eddie "Lame Don" Sutton before a road date in Memphis on the 26th.
13. Mid-American (MAC) - On the East side of the MAC, Kent State and Akron are pacing one another at 3-0 apiece. They meet on the 23rd on the Golden Flashes' turf.
14. Colonial Athletic Association - Virginia Commonwealth used stifling defense to hold Delaware to 27% shooting on Wednesday night, bringing both teams to 5-1 in league play. The Rams travel to Norfolk to face top rival Old Dominion on Saturday, and the Hens face an up-and-down Northeastern squad at home.
15. Sun Belt - The Sun Belt is a tad unbalanced, with East representative South Alabama at 6-0, and Western Kentucky at 5-1. Since the Hilltoppers' loss came at the hands of Team USA earlier this month, the rematch should be big - it doesn't happen until Feb. 21 at WKU.
16. Southern (SoCon) - The North end of this conference belongs to 7-1 Chattannooga, and the South is 7-0 Davidson's. They meet tomorrow at Davidson - should be a great game.
17. Big West - The Cal State Northridge Matadors are running away with this one, sitting atop the conference with a 5-0 mark. They travel to abysmal Chicago State this weekend, then don't leave the state of California for the remainder of the regular season.
18. Metro Atlantic - Siena and Niagara are pacing the MAAC, with the Saints at 6-1 and the Purple Eagles at 5-1. Siena owns the head-to-head edge courtesy of a ten point road win in Buffalo. Charron Fisher's crew get a chance at payback on Feb 29th.
19. Western Athletic (WAC) - Utah State is 3-0, in part because their January 5th game at Nevada was postponed. However, they gave New Mexico State their only conference loss, keeping them one game back, so for now, they look good behind superstud Jaycee Carroll.
20. Southland - Northwestern State is the only unbeaten league team, sitting at 3-0, but their 7-10 overall mark doesn't look very promising. Their nearest East division rival is Southeastern Louisiana - a team they won't face until early February. Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin rule the West division with identical 14-2 (2-1) records. They meet Jan. 24th in Bearkat territory.
21. Patriot - Lafayette and Bucknell at 2-0 apiece. They'll meet twice before the conference tournament.
22. Ivy - With no conference tournament to make room for, the Ivy league is taking their sweet time getting started. All we have to offer right now are Dartmouth and Harvard at 1-1, wasting no time getting their season series with one another over with.
23. Summit - 6-0 Oral Roberts is cruising toward the tournament again.
24. Big Sky - Northern Arizona is 4-1, with Idaho State and Weber State close behind.
25. Northeast (NEC) - Wagner and Quinnipiac are 5-1.
26. Big South - UNC-Asheville (Big Kenny's blocks) and VMI (Reggie Williams' points) meet tomorrow to see who falls off of the 2-0 perch.
27. MEAC - Hampton and Norfolk State (sited mere miles away from one another) share the lead at 3-0.
28. America East - Our beloved UMBC Retrievers rule the roost at 4-1.
29. Atlantic Sun - Jacksonville is 4-0.
30. Ohio Valley - Austin Peay has a commanding 8-1 lead, with their nearest competition at 6-3.
31. Independents - They aren't a real conference, and they get no bid, but their RPI is better than the SWAC, so let's look at them. Texas Pan-American is the only Indie with a winning record, at 11-10. Read Ray Floriani's piece above if you want to know about NJIT.
32. SWAC -Texas Southern is 4-12 (3-0). Ugh. That Play-In game is going to be awesome.
NEWARK, NJ - The brand new Prudential Center hosted a Tuesday night meeting between NJIT and Cornell. NJIT, in their second year at Division I, entered the game 0-18 and is starting to get national attention. The first few minutes of the game gave hope as the Highlanders scored the initial basket and battled Cornell on relatively even terms. Gradually as the half wore on hope evaporated. The same maladies, missing a succession of shots and turnovers, allowed Cornell to build a commanding lead.
The stat crew distributes updates after each media time out. With 3:27 remaining Cornell enjoys a 21-7 lead as NJIT is shooting 3 of 20 from the floor ( 1 of 9 from three) and has committed 9 turnovers. Without further statistical analysis one can see that is not a recipe to win. At the break Cornell has a 25-7 lead. The Big Red then proceeds to open the second half knocking down a three then converting a steal on the other end into a transition layup, 30-7 Cornell.
Nesho Milosevic, NJIT’s inside threat, is limited by foul trouble and contributes six points. Kraig Peters, a double digit scorer, leads the Higlanders with 10 but does so on 2 of 10 shooting. Cornell is enjoying a balanced attack with seven foot center Jeff Foote leading the way with 10 points. There is a sigh of relief as NJIT breaks 20 points late in the contest. With just under two minutes left an NJIT fan bellows ,’what do we have to do to get a call ?’ The score is 62-27, a call won’t help. The final is 64-33. NJIT shot 8 of 40 from the field while committing 26 turnovers.
NJIT coach Jim Casciano was cooperative and gracious in a post game interview with yours truly. Casciano took a leave of absence after an opening loss to Manhattan and returned December 30. In his absence assistant Wendell Alexis ran the team. To their credit neither Casciano nor Alexis ever criticized their players or paucity of DI talent. Rather, they would discuss ways to improve.
“We had good things happen early ,” Casciano said. “We came out with energy and defended. Then we couldn’t buy a basket and frustration set in.”Casciano credits his team’s resiliency and willingness to work each day. The record is 0-19 , yet as coaches and players file out of the ‘Rock” you get the feeling they’re already thinking ahead to a date at Chicago State (6-14) on Saturday.
The Big 12 season finally got off to the roaring start I had hoped for. Baylor stayed strong at 2-0 in the conference, as did Kansas. Everyone else... will be taking a mulligan. Texas A&M handled Colorado, then handed Bobby Knight his 900th win a few days later. Missouri beat ranked Texas and then flopped against mediocre Iowa State. A whole bunch of other teams just kept treading water to see how this thing shakes out.
And then there were these guys.
Best Week: Baylor. For Kansas to start the Big 12 at 2-0 is expected. For Baylor to do so, especially after the way the program started the millennium, is a out-and-out miracle. Scott Drew is showing Waco the kind of rock-solid character and upbeat coaching that his father has brought to Valparaiso, and that's exactly what was needed after the gut-churning Dave Bliss administration. The Big 12 South just got a whole lot more interesting.
Worst Week: As tempting as it is to say Nebraska, Oklahoma takes the anti-prize by going 0-2 vs. both neighbors from the wheat state, and losing leading scorer Blake Griffin for the next few weeks of conference play. That's going to be a tough hole for second-year coach Jeff Capel to dig out of.
Best Player: This may come as a shock, but the best individual effort came in a loss. Texas' Damion James put up 27 points and 16 rebounds in just 29 minutes as the Longhorns dropped their conference opener to Mizzou. My other candidate was Baylor Guard Henry Dugat, who notched 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals in a win over Oklahoma State. Michael Beasley was dominant as usual, but his 8 turnovers vs. Oklahoma took him out of the running this week.
Games to Watch #3 Kansas at Missouri - Jan. 19 (ESPNU) Football season stoked this rivalry #9 Texas A&M at Kansas State - Jan. 19 (ESPN) Over- vs. Under-achievers #19 Texas at Oklahoma State - Jan. 23 (ESPN) Can Texas rebound? Can we stand all of the orange?
Brandan Wright was one of the most talented players to wear a Tar Heel uniform in the post-Dean Smith era. A phenom out of Nashville, he hit 67% of his shots in Chapel Hill, and he even developed a mid-range jumper and hook shot prior to declaring himself eligible for the NBA draft following his freshman year.
But do you know who shoots better free throws than Wright? This guy:
Yes, despite all the tools in his arsenal, his one true weakness was when he got to the line. This is dedicated to the great players of college basketball who seem to be lacking when 15 feet of air is the sole object separating them from the basket. These...are the Brandan Wright All-Stars of the Big East.
Center: Casiem Drummond, Villanova. Roy Hibbert would have been a near-obvious choice, but there are a few centers in the Big East with higher field goal percentages, and many with worse free throw percentages. Drummond is an integral bench player for the Wildcats, tallying nearly 8 points and 9 rebounds per game and shooting 58% from the field before an injury sidelined him in December. (He qualifies for this team because he has since returned.) However, at 27.8% from the line, he is the team's worst free throw shooter.
Forward: Vernon Macklin, Georgetown. If Hibbert is bad from the free throw line, then Macklin is simply God-awful. Currently, his field goal percentage (60.0) is more than twice his free throw percentage, an astoundingly bad 27.1%. Forward: Arinze Onauku, Syracuse. Thanks to Jameson of CuseAdelphia for suggesting this one to me. Onuaku is probably the best Brandan Wright archetype we have seen so far. A talented 6-9 Junior coming back from knee surgery, Onauku is averaging nearly 14 points per game and shooting more than 68% from the field for the Orange. However, he is the team's worst free throw shooter, making only 44.9% of his attempts from the stripe. Guard: Jabari Currie, DePaul. It's difficult to find good guards for the Brandan Wright All-Star team. Most guards have a free throw shooting percentages far above their field goal percentages (either because they're sharpshooters or because they chuck up more bad threes than most people can bear to watch). Jabari Currie, however, more than fits the necessary requirements.He ranks 12th in the Big East in 3 point percentage (44.5% beyond the arc, equivalent in points to shooting 67% from two point range) among players who average at least 2 attempts per game. However, he has shot 37.5% from the stripe thus far this season. Guard: Jamaul Warren, Cincinatti. Jeremiah Rivers was almost put in this spot; the Hoyas get a reprieve from having multiple players on this roster thanks to some slightly deeper research. Despite not shooting the ball very well, at the stripe Warren is almost comically bad for a guard, making only 30.5% of his undefended shots.
(Dis)honorable mention: Hibbert and Rivers (Georgetown), Dwight Burke (Marquette), Rick Jackson (Syracuse).
It looks likes all those low efficiency ratings have finally caught up to the Commodores. This one was blowout form tip-off. The Vols used their superior speed and pressure D to completely control tempo of this one and force 21 Vandy turnovers. With the Vols seemingly improving by the week, their February 23rd showdown at Memphis is looking like the game of the year.
Also Intriguing
Louisville 71 Marquette 51
Even Marquette's awesome blue unis couldn't stop the quickly rising Cardinals. Just an example of what injuries can do to a team. Finally healthy, the Cards got 20 from Terrence Williams and 17 from David Padgett in the rout . Looking for our Big East sleeper? Look at the Cards.
(More bad news for Marquette, Dominic James appeared to re-injury his wrist)
Indiana 65 Minnesota 60
Just anther example of why I think the Hoosiers might be this year's tournament sleeper. Even with Eric Gordon playing his worst game of the season (12 points, foul trouble), players like Jordan Crawford (18 points), DJ White (17 points) and Lance Stemler (clutch 3) stepped up late to win a tough, tough road game.
Hoop Night is your daily preview of televised NCAA hoops action. Word to the wise: you're not Arizona Reid - keep your shirt on when you storm the floor.
Don't Miss
#14 Vanderbilt at #7 Tennessee - 7pm, ESPN2 It's not often you can find a game this big inside the borders of the state of Tennessee. Vandy was a surprise entrant into the top 25 (I saw it, but then, I'm a visionary), and Tennessee has long been tabbed as a Final Four participant this season. Let's quit asking what's wrong with Chris Lofton and figure out what's right about Chris Lofton!!! (This game will also be live-blogged on CSTV's Posting Up Blog)
Watch if you Miss the Constant References to Stanford on "Chuck"
Arizona at Stanford - 11pm, FSN This game looks so plain in the listings without top-25 rankings next to the name of each school, but it should be of that caliber regardless. Arizona has the potent one-two punch of Bayless and Budinger, with Jordan Hill kicking in the extra that usually gets the Wildcats over the hump. Stanford has six players averaging more than 20 minutes per game, which makes it difficult to pick out who the third scorer will be behind Brook Lopez and Anthony Goods.
Tivo it and Watch the Other Games
#13 Marquette at Louisville - 7pm, ESPN We're still hoping to see someone gain separation from the pack in the Big East, and Marquette seems like a pretty safe bet to pull it off. Which means that Louisville will probably win.
Also On
George Mason at Hofstra - 7pm, ESPNU #10 Indiana at Minnesota - 9pm, ESPN Ohio at Akron - 9pm, ESPNU
Team Of The Week - UCLA. On Saturday UCLA cemented themselves as the team to beat out west. Doing so with an absolute throttling of the Cougs at Pauley. UCLA managed a 7 points victory despite Wazzu's nailing seven consecutive three pointers down the stretch to make the score respectable. It was the Bruin's D and a lot of Love that won this game. The defensive pressure was relentless for the entire first half and most of the second. The Cougs simply couldn't get anything done offensively in the early going and once the pressure subsided they were just too far behind. It's this kind of defensive pressure that makes UCLA a title contender once again. And with Russel Westbrook and Kevin Love in the fold this may just be the team to do it.
Player Of The Week - Kevin Love. Another week another Freshman taking home POTW honers out West. Kevin Love was absolutely dominant in the Bruins win over Wazzu on Saturday. Love scored 27 points and ripped down 14 rebounds to go with 4 assist and only one turnover. Love actually out rebounded Wazzu himself in the first half of Saturday's match up 8 to 7. He dominated Aaron Baynes inside and even showed his range knocking down a pair of three-pointers. It was without a doubt Love's best game thus far and as he continues to improve it's hard to imagine many team's slowing him down as the season progresses into March.
Team With The Worst Week - Oregon State. Without a doubt the conference's worst team the Beavers racked up two more losses this past week. But they're only getting worst honers because of where both losses took place -- at home. The Beavers lost both games by a combined 30 points and gave limited resistance to their two opponents (Cal and Stanford). All signs points to the Beavers giving ASU's losing streak of last season a run for it's money (14 consecutive conference losses). Here's hoping it doesn't get that bad for this squad in the Pacific Northwest.
Games To Watch Tonight - Arizona @ Stanford (11 EST) and (25)Arizona State @ Cal (10:30 EST) Jan 19 - USC @ (4)UCLA (3:30 EST), (25)Arizona State @ Stanford (10 EST) and, Arizona @ Cal (8 EST) Jan 20 - Oregon @ (8)Washington State (8 EST)
If I had to guess I'd say this is the week ASU falls back to earth with a pair of road games. Things should get real ugly for USC Saturday at Pauley. Cal and Stanford both have a chance to make big statements as they each host both Arizona squads.
Happy Thursday, all you stormers out there. It's been yet another interesting week in the world of Big Ten basketball (Note: I say this every week) with plenty more action on the way. Michigan is continuing to struggle, Ohio State is making us forget all about Greg Oden, and Northwestern and Penn State are making us wonder if there's still room for more teams in Division II-A. There's not much action coming up in the next few days, but as Iowa showed us last weekend, absolutely anything can happen this year in the Big Ten.
Team with the Best Week - Indiana. Bias aside, this past week had to be pretty freakin' sweet for the Hoosiers. Despite a valiant effort from "Baby" Bruce Weber and his Floppin' Illini, the Hoosiers prevailed on their home court for the 26th consecutive time. Eric Gordon did not have a great game by any means, but luckily for the Hoosiers, DJ White was there to pick up the slack. Bruce and IU coach Kelvin Sampson kept the drama flowin' with their lack of a handshake after the game - it just has all the makings of a new reality TV show. The Hoosiers should be able to cruise to a 17-1, 6-1 record heading into their battle with UConn on Jan. 26.
Player of the Week - Tony Freeman, Iowa. Sadly this is the second time this season I have given this award to one of the Hawkeyes (Justin Johnson was the first). Technically, this award should have gone to DJ White, who turned in yet another double-double against Illinois. But Freeman has quickly established himself as a top tier guard in the Big Ten and is bright spot for an otherwise dismal Iowa basketball team. He's a stud on offense and plays fair enough defense, especially for a guy his size. Honorable mention goes to Northwestern's Kevin Coble, who dropped 34 points against Michigan and then tallied 19 points and 14 boards against Chicago State.
Team with the Worst Week - Michigan State. OK, so they beat Ohio State. But come on, Iowa? The Spartans were playing nearly flawless basketball up until last Saturday's debacle against the Hawkeyes and had solidified themselves as one of the two teams to beat at the top of the Big Ten. While they're still a formidable opponent for anybody in the league this year, the loss to the Hawkeyes gave them their second loss of the season. And more importantly, showed the rest of the conference (and the world!) that they're a very beatable team.
I’m a little late with this (“I’m a child of divorce. Sue me.” - American Psycho) but the action in the Big East has been getting a little more interesting and intense of late, courtesy of a series of choke jobs by my beloved alma mater. Let’s delve into this content, shall we?
Team With the Best Week: Pittsburgh No other real contender here. Pitt’s 15-2 overall, and 3-1 in conference, but because they shattered the collective dreams of Hoya Hoops on Monday night, they’re currently leading the Big East. I knew Georgetown was going to lose that game - we looked terrible against UConn on Saturday, even though the final Hibbert shot was pretty amazing (as a side note, I know so many people who texted me “AMAZING!” when, in fact, we played awful; let’s just note that Sapp and Wallace were a combined 4 for 16) and we were on the road. Still, Keith Benjamin comes out of the irrelevancy closet to the tune of 18 points, DeJuan Blair continues his underrated frosh campaign with 15 points and 9 boards, and Jamie Dixon is looking more polished each season. Pittsburgh played GU well last year, but unless Hoya Paranoia starts getting some clear looks at the basket off the back door cut, a potential rematch at MSG in March could go the same way this one did: to the Steel City.
Player of the Week: Keith Benjamin, Pittsburgh I probably shouldn’t have referenced Benjamin above, because it makes it less relevant that I’m throwing him down here, but his performance Monday was the kind of things Pitt fans (those battery-heaving bastards) have been waiting for since, well, forever. He almost put a “two” in the tens place of his score sheet Monday night, and you half-expected another seminal “Send it in Jerome!” moment to emerge from the broadcast crew on some of his finer moments. Alas, it didn’t. I’d give Jeff Adrien the runner-up award here. I had never actually seen (i.e. looked at, not “watched play”) Adrien before Saturday. He’s an intense-looking dude. He might be able to take Patrick Willis in a fight.
Team with the Worst Week: Georgetown This is just depressing, not only because every paragraph of this entry has been about one game (I feel like Lou Dobbs with some free licks at a Mexican), but because I make slightly above minimum wage and live with my mom, I don’t think Georgetown has really been very successful at “basketball” OR “molding its graduates into something” as of late. Seriously, though - when you got a 7-2 guy needing to hit A THREE BALL to win a game, is that good basketball? No. Highlight reel basketball? Of course, but the difference between highlight-reel basketball and good basketball is why Shawn Kemp isn’t in Springfield.
Games to Watch: Notre Dame vs. Georgetown (Saturday, 1/19) - Catholic Girls. Giggidy Giggidy!
Louisville vs. Seton Hall (1/19) - The winner of this one might be the sneaky team for the back half of the Big East season. Or, they might just suck.
Marquette vs. UConn (1/20) - Think anyone will be watching this over the Conference Championships? A team from New England and a team from Wisconsin? Ha.
Georgetown vs. ‘Cuse (1/21) - I’m a huge homer.
Generally Irrelevant Family Guy Quote of the Week
Lois: “Why don’t you go play in the other room, Stewie?” Stewie: “Why don’t you burn in hell?”
Rivalries are starting to heat up on the eastern seaboard as well. Georgetown vs. ND is pretty strong - back in 2002, those guys played an epic 4 OT game paced by Chris Thomas (I don’t know where he is now, but wherever he is, I bet he shares a room with Rumeal Robinson) and Michael Sweetney.
Georgetown vs. ‘Cuse is even more intense - I once was stumbling home drunk in college, passed a kid on Georgetown’s campus in a ‘Cuse sweatshirt, and proceeded to begin an exchange that got my ass kicked. While no one will be watching Marquette and the Huskies on Sunday, that’s a burgeoning rivalry as well. Lois and Stewie, personified. I was trying to work the “Joe, I forgot how big you are / Me too” exchange in here, but had nothing to roll with. I blame the falafel I just inhaled.
Luck will go along way in determining who will cut down the nets in San Antonio. In that case, North Carolina sure has a leg up on everyone else in the luck category. For the second time this season, the Heels won an ACC road game that they absolutely deserved to lose. Tyler's Hansbrough's 27 points bailed out the cold shooting Heels in this one close one against the Yellow Jackets.
Also Intriguing
Texas Tech 68 Texas A&M 53
That was not exactly what we were expecting to see in the Aggies first road test of the season. Nice to see that Bob Knight night took a moment to yell at this fans for not showing up when he was given the mic to celebrate his 900th win. Always classy Bob.
A10 Upsets of the Night
UMass 82 Dayton 71
Temple 78 Xavier 59
Don't think that anyone is going to walk through the A10 this year. The league is just as deep any conference in America. We got a prime example of that last night as the league top two squads went down hard. UMass picked up a signature win that it was sorely lacking in an upset of Dayton. You figured Temple was due for a least one upset with the combination of Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale, but they got this blowout win over the X-men by holding them to 37% shooting from the field.
Other Scores
Ole Miss 89 Florida 87
VCU 60 Delaware 39
Duke 70 Florida State 57
Iowa State 72 Missouri 67
Drake 69 Bradley 68
Links
The not-so great aspects of college basketball (Maxim)
IUPUI's coach is going shoeless for a good cause (Deadspin)
New Mexico State is finally playing with all of it's players (AOL Fanhouse)
Hoopnight is a daily preview of what to watch in the world of college basketball, as if the title didn't give that away by this point.
Don’t Miss (If you have ESPN Full court) 8pm ESPN Full Court
Florida at Ole Miss
The battle to be the SEC Sleeper. It’s hard to argue the value of this game for both squads. The Rebels need to win this one at home in their quest for respect. Florida needs to win it to prove that the 15-2 isn’t just a result of the easy schedule.
Watch If You Like Bubbles
Duke at Florida State ESPN 7pm
I’ve got a great theme for Florida State’s media guide next season. “Florida State Basketball - On The Bubble”. Why not just make it official for a team always seems to be just short of the NCAA Tournament.
Tivo It And Get Prepared For Lost
Texas A&M at Texas Tech 9:30 ESPN2
I’m curious about this game just because I’ve yet to see Texas A&M play this season. By far the biggest unknown in the Top 25. Freshmen DeAndre Carter continues to amaze with his 75% fg percentage and 36% ft percentage, but Josh Carter is also worth the price of admission.
Also on
UNC at Georgia Tech 9pm ESPN DePaul at Villanova 9pm - ESPNU
I don't have a catchy or thought-provoking introduction for you this week. "The 5-0 Delaware Blue Hens are at 4-1 VCU tonight" should be enough of a shock to your sensibilities to carry us through the week that was in The Association.
Team of the Week: Well, this is no surprise considering everybody is writing everything about Your Delaware Blue Hens. But it is well deserved. The MonteMen trailed George Mason by 19 in the second half before winning in overtime. Then they followed that doozie up with a comeback win in two overtimes against Old Dominion.
Maalox Week: The Drexel Dragons, who won't have to worry about being snubbed for the NCAA tourney this year. Bruiser Flint's bunch pulled a no-show at Northeastern and were drubbed 79-45 in a game that wasn't even that close. The Dragons next faced 1-3 Towson, who beat Drexel into submission.
Special Recognition: VCUs team defense (led by the Electric Blanket, Jamal Shuler), which held Hofstra without a three point field goal. It broke a 334-game streak in which the Pride had made at least one three pointer. VCU leads the nation in three point field goal defense.
Player of the Week: The conference office chose Herb Courtney of Delaware. They are right, as Courtney averaged 23 and 8 in the two wins. But we're tired of Delaware winning everything this week, so we're giving the award to Towson's Jonathan Pease. The 24th-year senior set a career high with 25 points (and 11 boards) in Towson's win over Drexel. CAA fans are wondering when the oft-injured Pease uses up his eligibility. Some swear he guarded George Evans.
Calgon, Take Me Away!: Georgia State, who has played four consecutive games decided on the final possession. Rod Barnes' Panthers have lost the past three after defeating George Mason.
Games to Watch
Tonight (WED) Delaware (5-0) at VCU (4-1): It's Whelliston's G!O!T!N!. Nuf ced. James Madison (3-2) at ODU (3-2): Chance for Dukes to pick up a defining road win.
Saturday VCU at ODU: This is the conference's hottest, most intense rivalry, and the games are always well-played. George Mason at James Madison: This ranks second on the list, and now JMU is good.
The former most hated man in college basketball, the always subdued Joakim Noah, was back into the news this week for all the wrong reasons. Apparently, the Chicago Bulls organization share the same feelings as the ill-will towards Noah as most college hoops fans do, as both the coaches and players agreed to suspended Noah a few games following an altercation with a Bulls coach. Glad to see Noah has matured since entering the professional world.
The return of Noah to the news got me thinking, do we even have a most hated man in college basketball this season? Noah was easily the man last year, and JJReddick and Adam Morrison claimed the two seasons before that. This season? I’m completely at a loss. Call me a softie, but I kind of like everyone in college hoops this year. Most of the superstars have little to no ego and even the outstanding freshmen class is extremely likable. The easy cop-out here would be just name anyone on Duke the most hated player, the players most everyone seems to despise (Paulus and Scheyer come to mind) can hardly be considered stars.
So let’s hear it college hoops fans, who do you hate this season?
The NEC report comes from reader Raff (we actually have more than one Raff, which is totally cool), who runs the fine site known as The Fan Blog. Enjoy his thoughts on the little conference that could.
Don't think for a second that you've got the NEC figured out. Because as soon as it seems someone might be headed in one direction or another, they U-turn and head the opposite way. Still it does seem that the NEC is building some depth, and even though some of it may be muddled in mediocrity, the NEC has some wins this year that the league can be proud of. And now all of the wins have come from the top teams in the league. Monmouth is 1-4 in conference play, yet managed to win twice in the Carribean earlier this season. The Hawks beat Charlotte and Wichita State during the early season tournament. In addition, Mt. St. Mary's beat Winthrop just before Christmas, Sacred Heart got a win over Holy Cross, Wagner beat Loyola Marymount, but the prize came this past week when Robert Morris downed Boston College.
Team of the Week: We know we could have selected a few other teams here. Even St. Francis (NY) would have fit after they won a pair this week, but when an NEC team wins in an ACC building (even if it is just Boston College) they pretty much secure the honor no matter what else happens. The Colonials did suffer a disappointing home loss to Sacred Heart at the end of the week, but finished the week 2-1 and are now 12-5 overall. In the conference, Mike Rice's team is just 3-2 and currently sits in a three-way tie for third place. AJ Jackson scored 21 points in the win over BC, before Tony Lee led the Colonials with 19 in a hard-fought 64-59 win over Fairleigh-Dickinson on Thursday.
Down on their Luck: The Long Island Blackbirds won 9 times against 3 losses in non-conference play. So they were viewed as one of the contenders entering the season. But LIU has dropped 3 of 4 in conference play to start the season, and now must battle to get back into contention. The Blackbirds fell this week to Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut State. Senior center Kellen Allen leads LIU in scoring with 13.7 per night.
Player of the Week: Tristan Blackwood of Central Connecticut scored 26 in the Devils win over St. Francis (PA) and followed it up with 20 and 8 assists in Monday's win over Long Island as the Devils evened their record at 3-3 in the conference. Blackwood knocked down four three-pointers in the win over the Flash and had 3 in the win against the Blackbirds. The senior has now scored in double figures in five straight games and has the most 20+ point efforts of any active player in the NEC.
Games to Watch: St. Francis (PA) at Mt. St. Mary's, Wednesday 9pm (MASN) Quinnipiac at St Francis (NY), Thursday 7pm Sacred Heart at Mt. St. Mary's, Saturday 7pm
At a time like this, it's hard to know exactly what to say. They were due? The sun even shines on a dog's ass? I don't know. My tongue is tied in the face of the sudden surgence of the Delaware Blue Hens. (Yeah, I said surgence. You can't resurge if you never surged).
This it not even a case of "This year, they're suddenly good", it's like "This past five minutes, they've been really good". The Blue Hens started the season with four straight losses to less-than-stellar competition and entered conference play at 4-7. They looked poised to be the same old toothless birds that have built a nest in the CAA basement.
Then they won two straight on the road to begin their Colonial season. At William & Mary and at Drexel isn't likely to impress anyone this year, but it was still a nice start. Then it was a couple of home dates, in which the Hens used a lotta overtime to beat both George Mason and Old Dominion, picked to lead the league in preseason polls. The ODU win pushed them over .500 for the first time this season.
In searching for a catalyst for this recent improvement, the first thing that jumps out to a reader unfamiliar with the Blue Hens (and isn't that all of us?) is the fact that 6'6" Junior Guard Marc Egerson missed the first seven games of the season since transferring from Georgetown. Since he came back to his home state, the Hens are 6-2 overall. Egerson is playing 35 minutes per game and quickly became the second leading scorer for Delaware, with 14 per contest. In rebounding, he's tops, with a rugged 7 per game average.
Herb Courtney is throwing in almost identical numbers, with more than a block per game for good measure, and Sophomore Guard Brian Johnson is the rock, averaging over 37 minutes of floor time, distributing the ball with alacrity and scoring when necessary. Freshman G Alphonso Dawson has taken to the third scorer's spot with ease (just don't ask him to hit a three - ugh).
The Hens will be tested in their roadie vs. VCU tonight, but with the balanced attack they have going right now, they might be up to the task. I'm just not sure I'm ready to live in a world where we have to talk about the bubble prospects of cerulean barnyard fowl. I guess I'll just have to deal.
Jarvis Varnado put up a triple-double, with 10pts, 12 boards, and 10 blocks. I asked the MSU media department if I could interview Jarvis, but my request was rejected!. Swatted into the fifth row, in fact. The strong defensive effort lead the Bulldogs to 3-0 in conference play, with a roadie at 'Bama looming this weekend, and then the big in-state matchup with #15 Ole Miss on the 26th.
Also Intriguing
Boston College 76 Miami (FL) 66
Much-maligned for losing to Robert Morris, the Eagles have quietly built a 3-0 ACC record. Miami has had the gaudy national rankings this year, but BC just extended their run of historical misery by beating the 'Canes for the 13th straight time. Tyrelle (Blair) blocked seven shots, and Tyrese (Rice) dished out six assists, but Rakim Sanders showed the scoring touch BC needed, with 20 points.
Mid-Major Spotlight
Creighton 68 Northern Iowa 59
In the battle of historically successful MVC programs trying to keep up with upstart Drake, Creighton showed they still have what it takes. Former Kansas bench jockey Nick Bahe is getting a chance to shine as a starter for the Bluejays, as the 6'2" Senior has dropped 15 points in each of his last two games. Other Scores
Wisconsin 80 Penn State 55 Clemson 70 NC State 54 Notre Dame 91 Cincy 74 Baylor 79 Oklahoma State 71 Colorado 55 Nebraska 51 Maryland 71 Wake Forest 64
Links
As we try to figure out who deserves to be #1, Ken Pomeroy is parsing out who should be #4 in the land (Basketball Prospectus)
If you love basketball strategy, this site breaks down the night's games in a hurry, with video evidence. Here's how Mich St. beats the OSU zone. (The Xs and Os of Basketball)
Iowa's Todd Lickliter might be on to something. (Hoopraker)
High Point's Arizona Reid apparently got a little bit nekkid during a Big South floor-storming moment. (Mid-Majority)
Cut out all of that swearing in the WAC, gosh darn it! (Bleed Crimson)
Hoop Night is your daily preview of televised college basketball action. Sometimes I can't think of a snappy one-liner and wonder why I ever started the practice.
Don't Miss
Kentucky at Mississippi State - 9pm, ESPN Are these teams living up to their hype? No. But are they in the running for an SEC championship? At this moment, yes. The Wildcats are 1-0 after taking down an excellent Vanderbilt team, awakening some life in the land of blue. The Bulldogs (who we loved in the preseason), are 2-0 behind a fairly balanced offense, and the ferocious defense of Jarvis Varnado, who swatted away an absolutely sick 10 would-be shots in Saturday's win over Georgia.
Watch if you Voted in Today's Poll
Cincinnati at Notre Dame - 7pm, ESPN2 Another game that might help make some sense out of the shifting sands of the Big East standings. Cincy is 3-1 in conference, which brings them up to a stunning 8-8 overall. Notre Dame played their first road game of the season on Saturday, ending a nine-game win streak with a painful loss to Marquette. Given the way this season has gone in the BE, I wouldn't want to lay money on who might get the W.
Tivo it and Watch The Flintstones
Ohio State at #11 Michigan State - 7pm, ESPN I like my Koufos in a pita. How about you?
Well folks, the first week of the SEC did not disappoint. But what did we learn? Well, we learned that young Gators can be good Gators; we learned Ole Miss could very well be for real after a tough road loss in Knoxville last Tuesday; we learned that UK still has some pride and finally, we learned Auburn and LSU appear to bringing up the rear of the SEC West... at least for now.
However, did these things signify coming trends or did a team like Kentucky just happen to catch Vanderbilt on a bad day (you have no idea how weird it feels even suggesting that) when they ended the Commodores' winning streak?
Also, how good are the Gators really? Can Billy Donovan's young team keep their hot start up (15-2) or will SEC road woes catch up with them? Well, if their game against Alabama in Tuscaloosa earlier last week was any indication, the Gators are going to be a tough team for all opponents. On with the report:
Team of the Week - Tennessee Volunteers Bruce Pearl's team started the week with a tough match-up against Andy Kennedy and his Ole Miss Rebels, a team that began the season by going 13-0. Many people undoubtedly started the game wondering if the Rebels were for real, but after their 85-83 loss, these questions have quited.
Now with the Volunteers, their hot start seems to validate Tennessee's preseason rankings. Pearl has his team playing good basketball and with the talent they have, the Vols should be in a position to make a deep run when tournament time arrives. Besides beating Ole Miss, Tennessee traveled to South Carolina and beat them by the score of 80-56. Tennessee is currently 2-0 in SEC play. Can it continue?
Worst Team of the Week - Auburn, LSU, and South Carolina Why three? Because all of the above teams saw the beginning of their SEC play tip-off with a roaring 0-2 start. LSU lost at Ole Miss Saturday by the score of 74-71, but their most damning result was last Tuesday when they lost to the Mississippi State Bulldogs, at home, by the score of 61-39. South Carolina had losses on the road at Vanderbilt and at home to Tennessee. Rounding out this designation is Auburn, who lost at home to Arkansas and on the road to Florida. Injuries have absolutely killed the Tigers.
Player of the Week - Nick Calathes This week, the POW award is a little bit of a toss-up. The SEC officially selected JaJaun Smith of Tennessee and there is absolutely no argument here. Smith averaged 18 points for the Vols during last week's two-game winning streak. However, Bruce Pearl has a lot of talent at his disposal and furthermore, anytime a team relies on a freshman to help them win, especially on the road, said freshman gets the nod from me.
In two game last weeks (both wins for UF), Calathes posted averages of 18.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists. In the Gators' win against Alabama last Tuesday (kicking off SEC Conference play), Calathes had 21 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds.
Games to Watch: 01/15 - Kentucky at Mississippi State (ESPN) - 9:00pm 01/16 - Florida at Ole Miss 01/17 - Vanderbilt at Tennessee (ESPN) - 7:00pm 01/19 - Mississippi State at Alabama 01/19 - Ohio State at Tennessee (CBS) - 3:30pm 01/19 - Kentucky at Florida (ESPN) - 9:00pm
This week's fan rant comes from STF reader The Duke from Dukes' Court, who runs the excellent team-specific site called, naturally, Dukes Court. A look at his site will tell you right away that he knows the past and present of the Duquesne Dukes inside and out, and now he is preparing for a bright future.
by The Duke from Dukes' Court
After years of disgraceful performances the Duquesne Dukes are back and a threat to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in decades.
To really understand how significant the Dukes 11-4 start is we need to look back into the past.
* Two years ago the Dukes won a total of 3 games in Danny Nee's last season with the program. Dukes fans saw this befuddled look on Danny Nee’s face too often during his 4 years with the program. A 29% winning percentage will do that.
* Last season the Duquesne program was rocked when 4 of Duquesne's players were shot on campus after a school dance. * Ron Everhart's star recruit an All American JC transfer Stuard Baldanodo was shot in the back, he subsequently sued Duquesne, and then was suspended by the school for several off campus scrapes with the law. Baldanodo has left Duquesne and is now playing pro basketball for the Miami Tropics.
* Duquesne won 10 games last season and Robert Mitchell was named A10 rookie of the year. Mitchell then had a falling out with Coach Everhart and transferred to Seton Hall. * Duquesne has not appeared in a post season tournament (NIT or NCAA) since 1994 when they went to the NIT.
That was the jumping off point for the 07-08 season for Duquesne.
* Duquesne opened the season 6-0, marking the first time since 1979-80 that a DU team began the season with six-straight wins. DU’s six-game win streak was its longest since the 1980-81 season. * Duquesne’s 11-3 start was the best since the 1979-80 NIT team opened with a 12-3 record. * Duquesne is now 11-4 on the season, their four loses have come against teams either in the AP Top 25 (#20 Pitt and #22 Rhode Island) or teams receiving votes for the AP Top 25 (WVU and Drake). * Duquesne lost to Drake, Pitt and Rhode Island by a combined total of 11 points. * Junior center Shawn James broke the Duquesne record for most shots blocked in a season in just 15 games. He has 64 blocks on the season.
Just 1 of Shawn James’ 64 blocked shots
In short, the Dukes have been a perennial doormat and now they are just an upset victory away from Top 25 consideration. Duquesne lost a heart breaker to Rhode Island on Sunday by two, but they now have four very winnable games in a row before they play UMass at home in what could be the biggest game of the season. Duquesne is already being listed in ESPN's Bubble Watch and is a legit threat to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1976-77 season.
Keep an eye on the Duquesne Dukes.
Thanks, Duke! Keep up the good work, and we'll be sure to watch the Dukes' rise.
It usually doesn't take me all that long to fill out my weekly Top 25 for the college hoops blogpoll. I usually have a general idea where I want to go with it and I'm done in a few minutes. But this latest ballot? I was stuck for close to an hour. Mainly, I had a hard time convincing myself that Kansas should be ranked #3 after completely dismantling a tournament-bound Oklahoma squad. Yet #3 is where you'll find the Jayhawks on most ballots, right behind fellow unbeatens North Carolina and Memphis.
But despite how impressive the Jayhawk's have been with their extraordinary depth, scoring balance and offensive firepower, it's just as hard to convince yourself that they belong above Memphis and North Carolina. The Tigers are just as deep as the Jayhawks, boast a better defense and have more quality wins. North Carolina might actually may have the most explosive offense of three, and are lead by All-American candidates Tyler Hansbrough and Wayne Ellington. Seriously, just try and separate these teams. We are currently in the season of three #1s.
So with such little separation between these three elite teams, I'm not going to rank one above the other until something happens. It's 1a, 1b, and 1c from now on. And just thinking about a Final Four that may include Kansas, Memphis, UNC and either UCLA, Tennessee, Duke or Indiana has me so excited I can hardly type.
And with all of these elite teams in what has been a fantastic year to date, thank the sweet lord that this is college basketball and not college football.
Welcome to another episode of "Dark Secrets of College Basketball".
I've always felt a bit bad for Herb Sendek. He led NC State to their highest level of success since the departure of Jim Valvano, and the Wolfpack were well on their way back to respectability. But he was never truly accepted by State fans, who were forced to look up to both the towering programs in their backyard, UNC and Duke, and to the ghosts of Wolfpack past, Valvano, Norm Sloan, and Everett Case. The pressure ultimately led him to leave before he was run out of town.
Despite almost no expectations after finishing last in the Pac-10, the Arizona State Sun Devils (Sendek's current team) are finding success this season. Their current record is 13-2 and 3-0 in the Pac-10, with an obliteration of a top 20 Xavier team and a signature overtime victory against the Arizona Wildcats. This week, the Sun Devils became ranked in the top 25 for the first time in 13 seasons.
Conversely, the Wolfpack were expected to take their place next to Carolina and Duke near the top of the ACC, but their nonconference schedule has not gone as planned, with unexplained losses to New Orleans and East Carolina, struggles throughout December, and culminating in a complete dismantling at the hands of their biggest rival.
No one can quite pinpoint why the Wolfpack are struggling. Perhaps Sidney Lowe isn't the master coach everyone though he was after last season's ACC tournament run. Perhaps losing Engin Atsur to graduation had a larger impact on this team than anyone expected. Or perhaps the reason for their surprise struggles is far more sinister...
----------------------------------------
(Scene: Greenville, NC, December 7th, 2007. The East Carolina basketball team has just finished practice the day before their biggest home game of the year, against the NC State Wolfpack.)
Mack McCarthy, ECU Head Coach: Listen up! Now, before we head onto the court tomorrow, I have a special surprise. Football season is over, so the AD department and our head football coach, Skip Holtz, have been able to pull a few strings. Giving you all a motivational speech, everyone, let me introduce you to Skip's father and legendary former Notre Dame head coach, Lou Holtz.
Lou Holtz: Ith a prithvlidge tameethoou all.
Mack: Skip and I are going to sit back over here, share a bottle of Jack Daniels and play the Pep Talk Drinking Game while he talks to you.
Sam Hinnant: But coach, we need you sober for the game! Besides, you don't drink--
Mack: That you knew of until know. I've actually been sloshed for the past 5 years. I've managed to stay alert by chasing the booze with a delicate mixture of Red Bull and Booger sugar. Lou, go on with your speech.
Mack: (jumps into golf cart, runs over assistant coaches)
Skip: (drunk) HEY! DAD! HOW COME YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU LOVED ME WHEN I WAS A CHILD?!?...
...WHO PUT THIS CRATE OF TARANTULAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS BUILDING?!?...
IF I STAAAAAYYYYYY HERE WIIITH YOUUUUUUU GIRRRRRRRRLLLLL ...FREEBIRD!...
...THEY MAY TAKE OUR THIRD GRADE TERRIFIC KID BUMPER STICKERS, BUT THEY CAN NEVER TAKE--OUR FREEDOMMMMMM!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
(Attacks steel beam. Steel beam wins.)
The Athletic Director, hearing the commotion in the practice gym, storms out of his office and onto the court to find out what's going on. He is promptly forced to dive out the way of a still drunk McCarthy and his golf cart from hell. AD: What the hell is going on here? Lou, did you have a hand in any of this?
Lou: Uhhhhh... Goth ta go! TO THE ETHCAPE FFEEEEEHICLE!
Lou proceeds to throw Skip (now out colder than an Antarctic wet T-shirt contest) into a wheelbarrow, runs into the cockpit of a blimp with "HINDENHOLTZ" spraypainted in Notre Dame gold on the side, and flies off into the night.
AD: Dammit, what the hell am I gonna do now? We've got the game of the year tomorrow and there's no one to coach our team!
...Unless...I got it! QUICK, Where's Linda? LINDA! Get me the phone to Arizona State! I think I know someone with a encyclopedic knowledge of the Princeton offense and a score to settle.
Tempe, AZ: Five minutes later.
Secretary: Coach?
Herb Sendek: Yes, Jill?
Secretary: You have a call from the AD at East Carolina. He says it's urgent.
Herb: Tell him I'm very busy. Besides, I'm not interested in his body farm.
Secretary: No, not Western Carolina, EAST Carolina!
Herb: Alright, put him on. Hello?
AD: Coach! So glad to talk to ya! How's the family?
Herb: Look, I only have about five minutes. What's so important?
AD: Well, our coach just got sloshed and ran over our entire basketball staff after Lou Holtz gave a speech to our players. With a game tomorrow night, we need some other coach to fill in the role.
Herb: So why are you asking me? By now you must know that my team has to play a game tomorrow, too. I can't just up and leave without people noticing. Even if it is Coppin State! Why are you expecting me to agree to this?
AD: Our opponent tomorrow night is NC State.
Herb: I don't care if-- the Wolfpack, you say? The team who ran me out of town? Who disowned me after I brought them back to respectability?
AD: Yeah, those fellers from Raleigh.
Herb: Wait a minute...let me think about it.
...
...
...
...
...
Splendid, Splendid! Sir, you shall have me as your coach for the next 48 hours. (hangs up) Ohh, finally I will have my revenge against those wretched forest dogs!
But wait...how will I be able to pull this off? Let me think.
Secretary: (on the phone in the other room) Well, Mr. Bertini, remember that for whatever pasta you cater, you need enough to feed a small army.
Herb:
Jill! Get me Panellinios, Adelaide 36ers, and Benetton Treviso on the phone. I need a favor from a few old friends.
But, Sir--
Look, they're in Euroleague, they've got nothing to do. .
The next day, at the game.
Sidney Lowe: Dammit! How are these guys beatin' us? They look like a team completely different from the game film.
The Pirates win, 75-69, in their season-defining upset of the Wolfpack. After the game, "Mack McCarthy", "Sam Hinnant", and "Darrell Jenkins" peel off their maskes to reveal Sendek, Anthony Grundy, and Engin Atsur.
Herb: HA!
Sidney: (in shock, can do nothing for 30 seconds except give the "WTF" face) Wasn't this supposed to be fair? HEY REF! Aren't you going to do something about this? These players are impostors!
Ref: (unmasks himself to reveal Julius Hodge)
What Sidney says next we are, in all likelihood, not allowed to repeat here. However, we can tell you this: it involved a farm, moonshine, a gas-powered generator, human waste where it doesn't belong, and a questionable character known as "Jibbles." Coach Lowe then proceeds to storm out of the building.
Herb: Ah, that was so worth it. I think I can get used to taking a few days out of my busy schedule to make those disgusting hyenas look so horrible. Pack you bags, guys...ROAD TRIP!
Julius Hodge: To where?
Herb: Clinton, South Carolina. We need to train the team at Presbyterian College!
You know those gay little pop songs that you hear on the radio, tell everyone that you hate, but secretly enjoy them and sing at the top of your lungs when you're alone in the car? Well, I'm not denying my love for this Pitt Panthers squad any longer. I've been a Pitt hater for close to five years now, thanks to boring play and perennially Sweet 16 flops, but the grit of this squad has converted me. The Panthers are playing as hard as anyone in college hoops when you have forgiven them for moping a bit after losing starters Levance Fields and Mike Cook. As for last night, the Oakland Zoo was rocking and Ronald Ramon was on fire in the upset of the Hoyas. As for Gtown, they had this upset a long-time coming after walking on eggshells for weeks.
Also Intriguing
Kansas 85 Oklahoma 55
I think that this is already the 4th time this season that I'm going to claim that I've seen the Jayhawks at their best. They gave a very talented Oklahoma squad a woodshed beatdown last night at the Fieldhouse. The extremely balanced Jayhawks were led by 17 from Darnell Jackson and 16 from Brandon Rush. Somehow, this squad is still flying below the causal fans' radar.
Mid-Major Spotlight
Gonzaga 92 Pepperdine 57
Thanks to some early season losses, people seem to sleeping on the Zags. A #9 BBstate ranking suggests that the Zags should once again be a force in March.
Links
Dickie V will be looking to make his return on February 6th for UNC-Duke. Great news for college basketball (ESPN)
The Snorg Girl (see the banner on the left) is paid in tshirts?? Damn, and I thought paying Extra P in Ritz Crackers was bad. She's always got an open offer to work at STF. (Deadspin)
Traveling the Missouri Valley (Mid-Majority)
The long road back for the Baylor Bears (Dana O'Neil, ESPN)
Maybe the rest of Syracuse basketball team should just start praying for ACL injuries (Troy Nunes)
Hoop Night is your daily preview of televised NCAA basketball action. The words "Big Monday" sound soooo sweet.
Don't Miss
#8 Georgetown at #18 Pitt - 7pm, ESPN Pitt has been preparing for the inside presence of Roy Hibbert all weekend, and now, suddenly, they have to guard him on the perimeter. That's just not fair. Sam Young has been coming up big all season long for Pitt, and this will be a major test of his consistency.
Watch if you Remember 1988
Oklahoma at #3 Kansas - 9pm, ESPN It's been 20 years since Kansas won the NCAA title by beating a run-n-gun OU team that had stymied them in the regular season. Danny Manning is now on the Kansas bench, and Dave Sieger has just hit another three to put the Sooners ahead again. Tonight's game features an OU roster full of non-household names like Blake Griffin (14ppg/9rpg), Tony Crocker (11ppg/3apg), and 6'11" Center Longar Longar.
Tivo it and Compare it to Memphis
Gonzaga at Pepperdine - Midnight, ESPN Most of us have gotten a peek at Gonzaga by now, and despite their recent up-and-down play, they should handily beat Pepperdine. What's interesting is that the Waves are coached by Vance Walberg, who taught John Calipari the AASAA offensive system that is paying such dividends in Memphis this season. The Waves are 6-11 on the season, so it's not working quite so well out west. Hopefully, Gonzaga won't be caught looking ahead to the big showdown with Eddie Sutton and San Francisco. What? What's so funny about that?
Also On
Mississippi Valley State at Alabama A&M - 7pm, ESPNU Morgan State at Norfolk State - 9pm, ESPNU Portland at Loyola Marymount - 11pm, ESPNU
Here at STF, we like to take the opportunity to speak with those who know college hoops far better than we do. Usually, that means a writer with a national profile or one who covers a specific team. In this case, however, we were lucky enough to get a few minutes with Head Coach Jimmy Collins, who is currently in the midst of a tough season in the loaded Horizon. The Flames were 8-4 before Sophomore point guard Spencer Stewart went down with an injury. They lost the next three games on the road, as dynamic shooter Josh Mayo has suddenly had to learn to distribute instead of bombing away. The weekend brought a return to the win column with a victory over Loyola (IL).
STF: You gave your team a challenging non-conference schedule, with mixed results. Is it worth taking a few losses to test your team against tough mid-majors like Bradley, Winthrop, and Wichita State?
JC: Definitely. I think we've shown that we can hold our own with anybody when we're healthy. We were 8-4 before Spencer got hurt. That made it so Josh Mayo had to move to the point, and we picked up three losses in a row as we adjust to that change. Spencer is the toughest guy on the team, as well as the guy who understands the team and the sets the best. But with or without him, I think we played a perfect non-conference schedule.
STF: Josh Mayo is having an incredible season shooting the ball. How does he maintain that high degree of consistency with opponents free to key on him?
JC: It's not really ideal having Josh at the point. He needs to be open to get his shot off, and Spencer could always hit him when he was open - he has such great vision. Now we have to run sets for Josh, get him into the patterns where he can sometimes shake free and get his own shot. But he's struggling with the change from being the receiver to being the sender.
Spencer won't be back until probably the end of conference play, so we're going to definitely have to learn how to play with the lineup the way it is now.
STF: Players from Chicago are starting for some of the top teams in division one. How difficult is it to get some of the great home-grown talent to stay put?
JC: It's always been difficult, even when I was an assistant at Illinois under Lou Henson. And if Illinois couldn't do it, and still can't do it consistently, then you know we can't. We'll always get some, but a lot are going to leave.
People feel they should leave, and everyone around them is telling them they need to go away and do something new somewhere else. And from a basketball standpoint, that is often true. But from the standpoint of being far away from home - you don't know anybody there, and you don't know where to go and where not to go. If you stay in Chicago, you have family to help you out.
STF: You've also started to bring in some overseas players to complement the core of in-state players. How have you adjusted to the need to look at international recruits?
JC: Well, people get excited about coming to Chicago. They're not as afraid to come here, even from Europe, because they've heard of the city and they know some of what's going on here.
It's interesting, because you never know what will give you a link to Chicago. We have a large Serbian population in the city, and that's actually made it a lot easier for me to recruit some players from there.
STF: Your team has scored anywhere from 97 points (vs. Howard) to 47 (vs. Illinois State). Do you prefer the fast pace, or is it better to slow it down?
JC: I personally prefer the faster pace. It's where the overall game of basketball is going. When you have a lot of shooters like we do, it's good to keep them moving, because moving shooters are hard for the defense to find. But you can't get that movement going if you don't rebound, and that's been our issue. If you're waiting around to get your next posession after the other team scores... that doesn't work.
STF: The addition of Valpo to the Horizon has made your job a little tougher. How do you feel about that?
JC: It's great. It gives us a competitive team that really raises the profile of our league. Look at it this way - you'd rather have a good team from nearby come into your league. You don't want to have to travel to Utah or something just to play a bad team. I really have a lot of respect for Homer Drew, and it will be great for us to play his team.
STF: You're heavily involved with the Chicago Special Olympics. How has that impacted your approach to sports and life in general?
JC: Well, it really lets you know what sports are really about. The kids are giving their all, and they're just happy for the opportunity to play and be a part of something fun and rewarding. It shows you the blessings you have, when you think about a 7' kid who earns a scholarship and gets the chance to represent his city and his university and he thinks he deserves to be treated special. Then you see kids who are just purely enjoying the games. It really opens your eyes.
Big thanks to Coach Collins for taking the time to speak with us. We wish the Flames nothing but good luck in the upcoming battle for the Horizon League.
Monday Madness is a weekly recap of the week that was in college hoops. Look for it every Monday around noon.
Super Awesome Team of the Week
Florida Gators
Everyone has been taking a wait-and see approach to the extremely young Gators up to this point. But this past week may have proven that this team is truly tournament worthy and a member of the SEC upper tier. The Gators did two things that many young teams struggled to do; win games they are suppose to win on the road (Auburn) as well as win games they probably didn’t deserve to win on the road (Alabama). Give credit to Billy Donovan for getting this group through the early season with minimal damage and in a position to do damage in the SEC.
Close: Louisville (back in NCAA talk with Ws vs WVU, Rutgers), Kentucky (may have saved the season), Arizona State (defeat rival Arizona), UCLA (Beat WSU for Pac-10 supremacy), Missouri (back in bubble talk with win over Texas), Cincinnati (who saw wins over Cuse and Nova coming?), Kansas State (finally pick up quality W vs Oklahoma), Chattanooga (Davidson has company in the SoCon)
Bad, Bad Week
Syracuse Orange
Flying under-the-radar since a loss to URI and loss of Eric Devendolf, the youth and inexperience of the Cuse finally caught up to them this week. The Orange lost a must-win road game at Cincy and were hardly competitive in a blow-out loss to West Virginia. The RPI numbers are still great, but you have to wonder if this is the beginning of a bad trend for a team that is totally dependent on freshmen. For Cuse fans, this is beginning to look way too much like last season.
Close:Texas (free-falling since UCLA win), Michigan State (bad L vs Iowa), Saint Louis (credit them for showing up vs Dayton), Sam Houston State (bad conference loss to SE Louisiana), Miami (OH) (0-2 star to conference play).
Upset of the Week
Iowa 43 Michigan State 36
Was I not informed that the new 2008 was announced as the year of the embarrassingly low point totals? No doubt influenced by SLU and Savannah State’s 20-point performances earlier in the week, previously 14-1 MSU shot a blistering 25% on their to a 36-point performance against a terrible Iowa squad. Place your bets people, who is cracking the teens. You know it’s going to happen.
Close: Robert Morris 57 Boston College 51
Mid-Major Spotlight
Drake Bulldogs
Interesting week from the top team in Valley. They continue roll in conference play, defeating Indiana State and Missouri State for school record 13th straight win. They also lost leading scoring Josh Young indefinitely to an ankle sprain. Drake’s rise from the bottom of the Valley has been one of the better stories in college hoops this season and you would hate to see it derailed by injury. But given their outstanding RPI ranking of 15 (not to mention BBState ranking of 7), it might take a total collapse for the Bulldogs not to make the Dance at this point.
Coach Who May Be Burned at The Stake By His Fanbase
Rick Majerus, Saint Louis
You can’t ignore the 20-point performance earlier in the week, but I’ll give the man major props for rallying the troops and taking Dayton to overtime. This is the last time you’ll see Majerus in this category.
Close:Kevin O'Neil, Arizona (Loss to rival ASU), Bruce Weber (Nightmares about Gordon, nightmares), Al Skinner, BC (Loss to RMU isn’t going to help the resume).
Each week, I’ll pick a player that I think it would be fun to party with. As part of the gimmick, I’ll also ask them to be friends on Facebook. And maybe someday, I will actually get to party with them.
Butler coach Brad Stevens
I heard that Butler coach Brad Stevens was young looking, but man, I was floored when I saw him for the first time on television. He looks more like a graduate assistant than a head coach. No knock on the excellent coaching job he is doing at Butler, but he’s a damn young looking guy. I’d be down for a beer with Coach Stevens, even if he’s a dead-ringer for the “Boom Goes the Dynamite” guy.
Student Section of the Week
UCLA
Maybe it’s because I’m on the east coast and see Pac-10 games once in a blue moon, but I never knew that UCLA had that good of a student sections. They were loud and on their feet the entire game against Wazzu, helping to totally throw the Cougars out of their game in the first half. And major props for the Cameroon flag to represent Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.
Campus Legend of the Week
Roy Hibbert, Georgetown
This one isn’t even close. Hibbert’s amazingly unexpected three to beat UConn is already in my Top 5 highlights of this college hoops season.
Freshmen of the Week
Eric Gordon, Indiana
God, the nightmares that Illini fans must have. I would literally punch the television everytime I saw a Gordon highlight, which is quite often. Gordon burned the Illini last night, scoring 11 of his 17 in the second half to lead the Hoosiers to the comeback victory.
Whenever possible, we like to get out on the road and see games in person. Then we like to share the experience with you via photos.
This weekend, I made the one-hour drive to Richmond to see Hofstra and Virginia Commonwealth go at one another in the CAA. I was finally able to meet up with our CAA correspondent Michael Litos, who was doing his radio color analyst gig. At one point, his broadcast was knocked off the air when a Hofstra player crashed into press row while going after a loose ball. Talk about up close and personal. I was sitting several chairs down from him, directly to the left of the Hofstra play-by-play man, so that's the vantage point these photos come from.
This is just a short sample, however, the rest of the set can be seen here: [flickr]
The game itself was a fairly exciting, up-and-down affair, though the final score of 59-49 in VCU's favor might belie that fact. There was some good interior defense from both teams, as they combined for 15 blocks (Hofstra's Dane Johnson had 4), and lousy outside shooting (Hofstra as a team was ofer-eleven). It was a worthy experience, in a nice, shiny building. I highly recommend it.
STF will begin its postseason coverage on Monday, April 14th with a season wrap-up and a coaching/player movement update. You can thank American Airlines for the delay.
Bet on college basketball during March Madness with BetUS Sports Betting - America's best college basketball betting web site with NCAA college basketball odds and lines.
