Getting ready to kick off the 2nd half here. Indiana in a close one late at Northwestern and Baylor leading K-State with their tourney hopes on the line are the halftime headlines outside the state of Tennessee. Couldn't find a pic of Peyton in his awesome orange flannel so you get this one via Yahoo! Back with the 2nd half in just a minute.
2nd Half
- Pearl with the "Passion, Poise and Purpose" speech at the half.
- Dorsey get fouled to open the half, but no call and we play on.
- Tyler with the deuce as the Vols take the lead.
- CDR misses the three and Ramar is fouled in the lane on the break the other way.
- Dozier with the floater put Memphis back on top. Looks like we're in for a good 2nd half... and Chism banks in the three.
- Rose to the bench early in the half.
- Timeout Vols as they can't get the ball inbounds.
39-37 Tennessee 17:22 left.
- I'm a bit shocked here as I can't recall a Carolina/Duke mention from Vitale since the pregame.
- Nice block by Dozier out of the break. He gets another one on Lofton as the pace is picking up.
- Indiana has survived Northwetern if you care.
- Chism is down and in pain as the Vols are getting to all the loose balls.
- Nasty layup over two guys by Rose to tie it up.
39-39 with 15:45 to go as we hit another break.
- Looks like Chism will be okay as he walked off under his own power. The Vols certainly need him with their already thin front court.
- And Baylor knocked off K-State to keep their at-large hopes alive and kicking.
- Vitale suggests former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery for Indiana.
- Howell misses badly out of the break.
- Prince with the dunk to put the Vols up 2.
- Prince again with an above the rim follow.
- Prince helps force the turnover and then finishes with the break away dunk at the other end.
- JP doing it all for Tennessee all of a sudden.
- CDR muscles in for the deuce to cut it back to 4.
- Lofton still without a field goal.
- Prince coughs it up and then fouls CDR to prevent the fast break.
- CDR cuts it two as Memphis ramps up the full-court defense.
- Lofton with the tough layup for his first field goal.
- CDR travels. Memphis 1-11 from three since starts 7-11...
- Lofton missed an ugly skyhook-like shot off the side of the glass.
- Timeout Memphis
47-43 Vols with 12:22 to go.
- Prince swats Dorsey.
- Chism back from his inury drops a three to push the lead to 7.
- Looks like Prince picks up his 4th foul as Rose will hit the line after the break.
50-43 Vols 11:31 to go.
- Rose makes both free throws out of the break as EA tels us Coach Cal inspires Dozer ti break his hand in the huddle.
- Dozier follows the Anderson miss and hits the ground hard, but he's quickly up.
- Vols are killing Memphis on the offensive glass 17-7 right now. Looks like the story as Dozier picks up a foul.
- Vols miss both free throws.
- CDR checks back in as Dorsey picks up a foul.
- Dorsey picks up another one... that's his fourth.
- Smith hits one of two.
- Prince with a nice reverse after CDR bricks another three. Vols up 6.
- Rose to the line. Missed them both.
- Tyler picks up a foul as Dozier tries to get to the basket.
- Rose with a nifty move and finish inside.
53-49 Vols with 7:58 to go.
- Grant Hill flat-top shot. Man that's rough.
- Prince knocks down one of two at the line out of the break. Vols up 5.
- Rose with another inside score as he's trying to put the Tigers on his back.
- Lofton manages to hold onto the ball and make a nice top of the class layup.
- Anderson gets clotheslined but makes the layup. No Call.
- Turnover, Turnover, Turnover Dozier layup.
- Prince with another bucket.
- Rose with another bucket. A jumper this time and the Vols turn it over right away.
- Tennessee's lead down to one.
- Willie Hemp with the AIRBALL!!! He was wide open too. Ouch.
- Somehow, Allen, a guard, shoots only 50% from the line. Maybe SI was right.....
- Tyler Smith steps out of bounds and we head to another break.
58-57 Vols with 3:52 to go.
- Rose again, this time over two guys from the baseline to put Memphis back on top.
- Timeout Vols.
- Turnover Vols and CDR converts, but seems to have hurt himself as he falls to the floor.
- Tyler Smith to the bucket as Memphis seems to have thought he passed the ball.
- Rose with crazy body control to make the pass, but Mack misses anyway.
- Two strait offensive boards for Memphis as we're under a minute.
- Dorsey forces Dozier to travel as he comes over his back for the board. Ouch. Memphis up 1 with 37 to go.
- Tyler puts the Vols on top with a tough fade away inside.
- Wow, Anderson misses horribly and the Vols have it with 8.8 seconds to go.
- JP Prince heading to the free throw line.
- Vitale rooting for overtime. Works for me as it's been a great game (though sloppy) so far.
- Dorsey tries to punk Prince, but JP hits the first one.
- Vols up 3 now with 8.8 to go.
- Vols make the smart move and foul Rose to prevent the three.
- Rose hits the first.
- He misses on purpose, but the Vols have it and it's Lofton. This one should be over as he'll head to the line with a 2 point lead and 2.9 seconds to go.
- Lofton makes the first....and the second to end it.
The Vols will be the new #1 after knocking off the Tigers. Who'da thought they could pull it off with Lofton AWOL for the most of the night. This will be good for Memphis in the long run, however. So I'd say we all win here tonight with an eye toward March.
Final Score: 66-62 Vols
See you all Monday morning with the Bubble Watch.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
STF Live-Blog: Memphis Vs Tennessee 2nd Half
STF Live-Blog: Memphis Vs Tennessee 1st Half
Tennessee Teams Memphis
69.1 PA 61.2
46% FG% 46.6%
36.2% 3PT% 33.8%
64.4% FT% 58.8%
Quick Preview: Well they bot play a relatively similar style, though Tennessee is far more reliant on the three and Memphis plays a stinger brand of defense. I'd like to say I think Tennessee wins with a boatload of treys, but I've more or less decided Memphis is going undefeated (in the regular season). That said though, if Tennessee elects to zone the hell out of the Tigers they're highly likely to pull it off at the Forum tonight.
Anyhow, can't think of a better way to end what's been a great day of college hoops. With Drake supplanting themselves firmly into the tournament (for those who still doubted) and George Mason making it official that they'll need the auto-bid, it's been a fun day. Hopefully this one brings as much excitement as well.
I'll be back just before 9, and we'll kick this off right. Feel free to drop your pick in the comments as well as anything ridiculous Vitale says that I miss.
Pregame
- Is it just me or are these Memphis "Perfection" video's just a bit premature?
- Elivis' ex is in the house! But can she hold a candle to Ashley Judd? Me thinks not.
- Nice to see Marco checking in from the Apple Store.
- Bruce Pearl rocking the orange suspenders extra stong tonight. But will he show up in that magical blazer of his? And subsequently sweat through it?
- I agree with Rece's on the shameless sponsor "Game changer," Dorsey should be dominant tonight against an inferior Tennessee front line.
- Peyton Manning and Penny Hardaway, what awe striking star-power....
1st Half
- Why don't they just call CDR the forward he is?
- Tennessee wins the tip..
- Tyler Smith picks up the quick foul only 10 seconds in.
- Split them 1-0 Tennessee.
- Three for JaJuan to make 4-0 as Memphis calls a timeout already...
Quick Note: I'll be referring to all of the Vols Smith's by their first name's. Much easier to follow that way.
- Three for Derrick Rose 4-3 Vols.
- JaJuan again from WAYY out.
- Rose hits another three and Ramar comes right back with a deuce to make it 9-6 Vols.
- Another Memphis three, its Anderson this time. Tied at 9.
- Ramar with a smooth finger roll to put the Vols back up 2.
- Some sloppy play by both squads before Dozier gets fouled.
- OMG! Dozier(sp?) made a free throw! Make that two free throws.
- Vols turn it over immediately and Dorsey gets fouled after an offensive board.
11-11 16:02 to go.
- CDR drops a three of his own.
- Another Vols turnover and Anderson pockets another three for Memphis. So much for my zone suggestion...
- JaJuan drops another trey for the Vols. 17-14 Memphis.
- Taggart of all people hits a three of his own after a few turnovers.
- And the foul for Crews as we hit a break.
20-16 Memphis 12: 51 to go
- Crews hit the free throw out of the commercial.
- Ramar with the foul on Dorsey.
- EA letting us know about Pearl's huddle intensity. Sounds like she can't get enough.
- Allen swats Lofton inside.
- Robinson misses a layup for the Tigers. That one hurts.
- And another commercial.
- Bad turnover for the Vols and Memphis turns it into a deuce.
- Lofton still scoreless as he clangs one off the iron.
- Ramar briks the layup but Chism puts it in. 23-19 Memphis.
- Tyler Smith with the teardrop, but CDR answer with a trey.
- Ramar with the bucket and the call. He finishes it with the freebie.
- Judgment week? Really?
- Another Memphis three as Robinson hits it.
- Lofton and Prince both two fouls all of a sudden as Prince is called for the charge.
- Rose with a sick crossover, but he missed the finish.
29-24 Memphis with 6:36 left in the half.
- The floor was stormed in Stillwater today, just in case you didn't know.
- Lofton still scoreless reenters the game.
- Tigers getting a bit three-happy here, but Rose puts back the offensive board.
- Tyler answer with a deuce of his own.
- Howell bricks the WIDE open three as we're briefed of ABC's NBA slate tomorrow.
- Dorsey hits the pine with his 2nd foul. This is Tennessee's chance to make a run.
31-26 with 3:37 to go in the half.
- Do you figure people will actually go see "College Road Trip"?
- More Memphis missed free throws out of the break.
- If it were possible you'd almost argue fouling Memphis every possestion is the key to beating them. Oh wait, CDR just made one.
- Lofton finally scores as he nets one out of one at the charity stripe.
- Allen travels to give it right back to the Vols.
- Chism drops a three to pull the Vols within three.
- Tyler Smith hits a pair of free throws to pull the Vols within one.
- Rose drops another one from outside.
- Chism answers with a tough layup inside to keep the lead at one.
- That'll end the half after a couple of missed three's for each team.
Memphis leads 35-34 at the break and Chris Lofton has only ONE point. See you in a new thread in a few.
Sampson Drama is Over, STF Moves On
By now you've probably heard this news, but we wanted to weigh in really quickly: Kelvin Sampson has accepted a $750K buyout from Indiana University, relinquishing his right to sue the school as a condition of signing the deal. Indiana homeboy Dan Dakich takes over, which suggests that Sampson's staff is going to be hitting the road at the end of the season, as well.
For a fair-minded, and also amusing, recap of the press-conference runaround, check out Cobra Brigade, where they sent this guy:
to infiltrate the media frenzy. If you're not reading Cobra Brigade, you're just not having enough fun. Our Big Ten correspondent Tooch is attending the IU/Northwestern game today, and should have a report about the general mood surrounding the program on Monday.
Also, stay tuned to STF tonight, as our bubble watch expert BD live-blogs the Tennessee-Memphis clash, beginning a bit before 9pm. And have a glass of fine whiskey from the Volunteer State as you swap comments and watch the game.
Friday, February 22, 2008
STF Conference Report: The ACC
Obviously a disheartening week for yours truly. However, I will do my best to be objective in my weekly ACC analysis and not crap all over all the atrocities that troubled my Devils this past week. With that being said... here comes a big plate of crow, just waiting for me to eat it up.
Team of the Week: Miami
Its too bad that Wake did not play/win another game this week, because they would have been a lock. However, they get a hearty runner-up vote in my book. Miami decided it was time to make a run for the NCAA tournament this week and managed to pull off two victories in very dramatic fashion. Both single point wins! Although most people did not see the Duke/Miami game on Wednesday (stupid local coverage), they missed seeing a team that, when properly motivated, can hang with anyone in the league. A total team effort, plenty of scoring and solid defense from everyone, big free throws from Jack McClinton and even bigger dunks by some guy named Dwayne Collins. Who knew? However, Miami, after looking like a tournament team early in the season has really started to turn things around. They have found their lost aggression and their athleticism can confound most of the teams left on their schedule. They are an extreme dark-horse, but if they can win out and put up a good showing in the ACC tournament, they could squeeze in. Definitely worth a follow the rest of the season.
Worst of the Week: Duke
Two tough away games. Two nights where this team walked out like they believed everything that was written about them just a week ago (not by me, but by major media). They look like they have lost that fighting spirit that they relied on earlier in the season -- when they had doubters and no one thought they were in UNC's class (and they still probably aren't). You can't blame those sorry performances on injuries (even though Gerald Henderson has been a complete non-factor since his wrist injury). They have had poor attitudes, poor teamwork, poor ballhandling and atrocious defense. Time to make some more adjustments, K. When you stop the passing lines, people drive on you (and that is an Achilles heel with this Duke team). So, now its time to stop the drives. What are you gonna do? Plus, I have remarked to my friends how hard it will be for a team to stop Duke's terrific 3-point attack, namely because they have so many people who are good (or great) shooters. Well, I was wrong. Thanks for making me look like a jackass, Blue Devils. Maybe the best thing that can happen to you is if you get crapped on a little by the media. You played better when that was happening.
Player of the Week: Jeff Teague, Wake Forest
Despite being the 9th best recruit entering the ACC this year (according to Rivals.com), Teague has become an absolute beast for Wake on both ends of the floor. He is nearly the leader for steals in the league, a dead eye shooter (when he is on a roll) and a crafty, speedy ball handler who can finish amidst tons of distractions. He has a killer attitude and plays with a huge chip on his shoulder. That is something Wake hasn't seen since the days of Josh Howard. His 26 point performance against Duke was incredible (as was teammate James Johnson's 24 point, 15 rebound performance) and he has gotten so much better as the season has gone along. On a team filled with burly big and lots of tweeners, he has provided new coach Dino Gaudio with an icy persona and a legit scorer. If he plays this strong the rest of the way, I could certainly envision an unheard of split ROY prize for Teague and Johnson. And just want til Amino & Co. make there way to Winston-Salem next year. YIKES!!
What To Watch For (Besides Duke falling apart):
2/26 Wake @ UNC (Can the Deacs pull a back-to-back beatdown?)
2/27 Miami @ Clemson (Clemson is probably already in the tournament, but Miami really needs this one)
2/27 Georgia Tech @ Duke (If Duke wants the East #1, they gotta start whipping people)
2/28 Maryland @ Wake (Substitute Maryland for Clemson and Wake for Miami, from 2 entries before)
Brandan Wright All-Stars: Pac-10
Every team has at least one of these players at some point in their history. He's very talented, very athletic, can shoot lights out from the fields, and does almost everything that's asked of him.
The emphasis here is "almost." He has one major flaw: he can't shoot free throws to save his soul. As a fan, you watch him shoot from the stripe, and it invokes the kind of reaction akin to seeing a freshly run-over squirrel:
So this is dedicated to the players who are good at everything but the freebies. The supremely talented men who happen to be the Stripe Sultans of Suck. These...are the Brandan Wright All-Stars of the Pac-10.
A refresher on the BWAS rules... First and foremost, it must be a five-man lineup that one could envision trotting onto the court. That's why we can't just have five big guys make the team. The primary criteria for qualification is for a player's field goal percentage to EXCEED their free throw percentage. A bit of leeway is given to guards, for which finding enough to meet this criteria can be difficult. In those cases, a sub .500 shooting efficiency is enough. In most circumstances, players must also have played at least 10 minutes per game, been healthy for all or most of the year, and have shot enough free throws (10+) for statistical relevance.
On to the Pac-10 squad:
Center: Eric Boateng, Arizona State. Finally! We finally get a Dukie on this roster, albeit a transfer. His field goal efficiency (61.2%) is nearly double his percentage from the line (32.4%).
Forward: Jon Brockman, Washington. A potential All-Conference player, no one can doubt Brockman's abilities. Still, his foul shooting leaves a bit to be desired (53.7%).
Forward: Taj Gibson, USC. Despite his seeming lack of size, Taj is a beast in the paint for the Trojans, grabbing key rebounds, shooting 59.3% from the floor, and getting to the line on a consistent basis. Too bad he doesn't do very well once he gets there; he's a partly 56% from the line.
Guard: LeKendric Longmire, Oregon. Of all the Brandan Wright All-Stars so far this year, LeKendric Longmire has by far the most awesome name. His free throw shooting...not so much (33.3% from the line compared to 46.6% from the field).
Guard: Angelo Johnson, USC. The Trojans have four members of their regular roster with a FT percentage under 60. Among them is Angelo Johnson (50%). Tim Floyd may have to improve his entire team's free throw shooting if he wants the Trojans to make noise during OJ Mayo's likely short time on campus.
Dishonorable mention: Artem Wallace (Washington), Josh Owens (Stanford).
Full -Fledged Mutiny at IU?
Everyone is waiting for the hammer to fall on Kelvin Sampson today, but this is an interesting twist from Luke Winn…..
“The source said that in meeting with Hoosiers players on Thursday night, IU athletic director Rick Greenspan informed them of the likelihood that Sampson would no longer be their head coach -- either as a result of a termination or suspension Friday. The players' response, according to the source? "If Sampson isn't our coach, we'll quit." The source said this was the unified sentiment of the whole team, but was first expressed by the Hoosiers' senior leadership in a smaller meeting earlier Thursday. Greenspan and the players reached a stalemate in the second meeting, with the athletic director reportedly asking them if "the whole season should just be canceled."
Well now, I'm no pirate, but I'm guessing that a mutiny is never good for a basketball team. It’s going t be a tense afternoon in
Auto-Bid Watch: Bracket Buster Weekend
Here are the conferences, rated by RPI. Stay tuned until the end for a look at the Bracket Busters television schedule, and what it means to Auto Bid Watch.
1. ACC
2. Big 12
3. Pac 10
4. Big East
5. SEC
6. Big Ten
7. A-10
8. MVC
9. Mountain West
10. C-USA
11. Horizon - Butler's still cruising at 14-2, heading into this weekend's marquee Buster matchup with the MVC's Drake (23-3 overall). If there is any justice in the world, this should be one of the best games of the year.
12. WCC - I guess Gonzaga (10-1) doesn't do Bracket Busters any more. How gauche. Saint Mary's (also 10-1) is in one of the premiere games, taking on the excellent and consistent Kent State (see below). In the meantime, we're all just holding our breath until the March 1 rematch in Spokane.
13. MAC - Like G-Money, I'm starting to think of the MAC as a possible two-bidder. The CAA and MVC just don't seem to be holding it down like they did last year. For that scenario to happen, someone has to upset the 22-5 (11-2) Kent State Golden Flashes in the MAC tourney, and I'd also venture to say that Kent State should endeavor to beat St. Mary's in Bracket Busters this weekend in order to shore up a potential at-large berth. Potential upsetters are Akron (9-4) and Western Michigan (Central Michigan? caught in the middle.), who beat the other half of the state to go to 9-3.
14. CAA - Slight stumble by Virginia Commonwealth (13-3) opened the door, but only a crack. George Mason and UNC-W are the closest at 11-5 each. William & Mary and ODU are at 10-6, and surprisingly still in the hunt for first-round byes in the CAA tournament.
15. Sun Belt - One of the few big-time mid games was played last night, as the rest of the field is busy preparing for Bracket Busters. South Alabama (14-2) and Western Kentucky (13-2) have been battling it out for a couple of weeks now, and last night Team USA completed the season sweep of the Hilltoppers to go back on top with tiebreaker in hand.
16. Patriot - American University (9-3) keeps working on nailing down the #1 conference seed, even as the role of "top challenger" keeps jumping from one team to the next. As of today, it's the United States Naval Academy hanging around at 7-4.
17. WAC - Boise State holds a slight lead, with their 10-3 going up against New Mexico State's 9-3. The Broncos have a televised Bracket Buster matchup coming this weekend, as they host Siena, who are mired in a four-way tie for the lead in the MAAC.
18. Big West - It's a Cal State world out west. Northridge is in the lead, with a solid 10-2 conference record, but Fullerton refuses to go away, with a 10-3 mark. Oddly enough, the TV spotlight this weekend goes to the third place UCSB Gauchos.
19. SoCon - Since Davidson hasn't lost in the Southern (18-0), we might as well mention that they will be hoping to shore up their emergency at-large profile in a great game at Winthrop, who are leading the Big South despite sending their coach to Wichita State at the end of last season.
20. MAAC - This one's insane. Four teams are tied at 11-5 atop the Metro. Niagara, Rider, Siena, and Loyola of Maryland each have a shot going into the final games. Rider is on a three-game loss streak, Siena has dropped two, and Loyola has been splitting often following a six-game win streak to get in this position in the first place. That leaves Niagara as the team on a hot streak.
21. Southland - This one's still two-sided. In the East division, it's a totally anonymous Lamar team holding steady at 10-1. In the West, Stephen F. Austin is upholding the honor of famous dead white guys everywhere. As if having the state capitol named after you wasn't enough, Steve.
22. Summit - Oral Roberts has withstood a challenge from IUPUI, which was knocked back a peg when the Jaguars lost a heartbreaker to Oakland (of Michigan) last night. ORU is now two full games up with a once-blemished 15-1 conference tally. They'll finally get a chance to match up with a worthy non-conference foe as they host Valley stalwarts Creighton on Saturday.
23. NEC - The NEC is coming along nicely, with Robert Morris and Wagner sharing the 13-2 summit. Sacred Heart is right behind at 12-3.
24. Ivy - Cornell (8-0) should clinch the first tournament bid of the season before the end of February, with some of our favorite eggheads predicting the Dartmouth contest on the 29th as D-day.
25. Big Sky - Portland State still rules the roost at 11-2.
26. Big South - Winthrop (9-3) is back on top after UNC-Asheville decided to rest Big Kenny for the tournament. The recent four-game flop without the big man might cost the Bulldogs too much, however.
27. AEC - I'm no mathemetician, but it looks like the UMBC Retrievers have this one sewed up, staying strong at 11-2 while Hartford labors to stay close at 9-5.
28. Ohio Valley - Still Austin Peay. They're 14-4 with Murray State a full two games back.
29. Atlantic Sun - Familiar double-digit NCAA seeds Belmont eked back into the lead at 11-2, while long-time league leader Jacksonville fell a game back. They won't meet again until a possible league tourney tilt, but Belmont holds the tiebreaker after a February 7th win.
30. MEAC - This one will likely go down to the wire. Morgan State and Norfolk State are still tied at 10-2 apiece, with no chance to get at one another directly in the remaining games.
31. Indies - Say a little prayer for NJIT, as they go into game #29 with a lame-duck coach and little chance of winning. Maybe one day they'll look back on this and laugh. Nah, probably not.
32. SWAC - Alabama State must really want to be team #65 on your bracket. They are lording over the SWAC with a 10-2 mark and their nearest foe 2 1/2 games back.
Bracket Busters
I've been talking about these teams for weeks now, so if you've conjured up any sort of curiousity about them, here's your chance to get a glimpse before Championship Week gets underway. The televised BB games are as follows:
Date Time (ET) Teams Network (conference leaders bolded)
Fri., 2/22 7 p.m. Davidson at Winthrop ESPN2
Fri., 2/22 9 p.m. UC Santa Barbara at Utah State ESPNU
Sat., 2/23 11 a.m. Virginia Commonwealth at Akron ESPN2
Sat., 2/23 1 p.m. George Mason at Ohio ESPN2
Sat., 2/23 3 p.m. Creighton at Oral Roberts ESPN2
Sat., 2/23 4:30 p.m Nevada at Southern Illinois ESPNU
Sat., 2/23 5 p.m. Drake at #10 Butler ESPN2
Sat., 2/23 6 p.m. Miami (Ohio) at Valparaiso ESPN Classic
Sat., 2/23 6:30 p.m. Marist at Cleveland State ESPNU
Sat., 2/23 9 p.m. Rider at Cal State Northridge ESPNU
Sat., 2/23 9 p.m. UW Milwaukee at Bradley ESPN360.com
Sat., 2/23 10 p.m. Siena at Boise State ESPN360.com
Sat., 2/23 11:59 p.m. Kent State at #21 Saint Mary’s ESPN2
Sun., 2/24 6:30 p.m. Wright State at Illinois State ESPNU
STF Bubble Watch 2/22/08
Every week until the selection committee hands down the brackets we here at STF will be taking a look at the ever fluctuating bubble every Monday and Friday. We won't look at all bubble "worthy" teams every week, but we will change it up as the bubble shrinks and expands with each passing buzzer beater and blowout. If their are any teams you'd specifically like us to look into, feel free to drop a comment or e-mail me here. We'll be grouping the teams into three categories: "Approaching Lock," "Somewhere In The Middle," and "It Doesn't Look Good." Anyhow, now that you know what to expect, onto the bubble and who we're looking at today.
Approaching Lock
These are the teams that sit one quality win or strong conference tourney run away from officially locking up their place in the bracket.
Notre Dame [20-5 (10-3), RPI: 24, SOS: 75, Vs RPI Top 50: 4-4]
After last night's win over Pitt in South Bend it looks like the Irish may have sewn up their bid to the dance. Just about, anyway. They lack any terrible losses (their worst is to G. Tech at a neutral site by 1) and have protected their house as they still sit unbeaten at home thus far. Given their overall numbers I'd imagine even if they suddenly faded down the stretch (though unlikely as Louisville is their only tough road game left) the Irish could withstand it and still enter the Big Dance somewhere in the 4-8 range. My guess? They lose only to the Cardinal and finish with 15-3 conference mark and a legitimate claim for a 3 seed.
Michigan State [21-5 (9-4), RPI: 13, SOS: 51, Vs RPI Top 50:4-3]
Not long ago considered a "no doubt about it lock," and likely 3 or 2 seed the men from Lansing have been struggling a bit of late. Those struggles include ugly road losses to Iowa, Indiana and Penn State and a not so ugly one to Purdue as well. While still damn near a lock (hence the "Approaching Lock" listing) the Spartans could still play their way out of the dance if Wednesday's thumping of Penn State (at home) isn't a sign of things to come. They get their shot at a little revenge against Iowa tomorrow and even they produce another blowout it might just make their upcoming two (at Wisconsin and the return match with Indiana) irrelevant and firmly place the Spartans into the dance.
Somewhere In The Middle
These teams aren't in quite the murky waters of those below them, but even a short losing streak could leave them on the outside looking in.
UMass [17-9 (6-6), RPI: 41, SOS: 30, Vs RPI Top 50: 5-2]
About a week or so ago I was asked if I had to pick only two A-10 teams because of some unforeseen finish which two would I take. Xavier was the obvious call and then I went with Rhode Island, as I felt like they had the best opportunity to finish strong. You can call that opportunity blown now, or you can wait and see if they salvage it Sunday. Anyhow, it now looks like UMass has the inside track for the 2nd bid in the A-10 after knocking off URI (on the road) last night. While they have their head scratcher to go along with St. Joe's loss to LaSalle (Fordham) they've put themselves firmly into the at-large picture with the win at URI. Still plenty of work to be done on top of it, but in a league that absolutely has to get two bids they look to have taken hold of the 2nd spot, for now. And this is despite their league standing and a season sweep at the hands of the Hawks.
Arkansas [18-7 (7-4), RPI: 34, SOS: 53, Vs RPI Top 50: 4-3]
Like most of the SEC the Hogs' case is an interesting one. They've got one especially bad loss (App. State in a virtual home game) one pretty bad loss (South Carolina at home) coupled with some pretty good non-conf wins Missouri, Baylor and VCU. In conference their best win to date was a home tilt against Mississippi. Other than that it's mostly games they should win that do much less than pad the resume a bit. They missed a great chance at Mississippi state last Saturday and will instead probably be forced to beat Vandy at home in in two weeks to feel any type of real comfort outside of winning the auto-bid. If they don't get that game, assuming their road struggles continue, they may be on the outside looking in come Selection Sunday given their 4 L's against the RPI 101-200.
It Doesn't Look Good
These are the teams that are currently holding on for dear life to the bubble. One more bad bounce and their bubble just might burst.
Illinois State [18-8 (11-5), RPI: 52, SOS: 100, Vs RPI Top 50: 0-4]
ISU's emergence (as well as Drake's) this season is just another example of what makes the Valley one of the nation's best conferences. I say that, because, it seems as if every year any two teams can rise to the top of the Valley no matter what we thought before the season. The Redbirds, however, are about as far from the at-large picture as they can get without total dismissal right now. Making the Valley look a whole lot like a one-bid league if Drake wins the tournament. This is in large part due to one horrid non-conf loss to Eastern Michigan and a handful of recent losses in the Valley (including two exceptionally bad ones to UNI and Indiana State). Had they not missed their big chance last month against Drake they might still be clinging to a little more, but without it their going to need a lot to sneak onto the legitimate side of the bubble. Sweeping their final three games would be a start (Wright State, Creighton, @ SIU), but they might need to auto-bid even then to get in. An auto-bid that I'd be willing to bet falls to either Bradley or the Salukis if Drake falls short.
STF Conference Report - Big Ten
And then there were three. Wisconsin, Purdue and Indiana are all seriously contending for the Big Ten title right now and we've got just a handful of games left in the season. I never said it would be pretty folks, but damn this is getting interesting. Michigan State, a team that almost everyone had as their preseason favorite, is slowly fading away with inconsistent play from Raymar Morgan and Drew Neitzel. But the big three are all hitting their stride at the perfect time, especially the Hoosiers, and should give the fans their money's worth from here on out.
Team with the Best Week - Indiana. Sanctions? What sanctions? Back-to-back wins against Michigan State and Purdue have solidified the Hoosiers, yet again, as serious contenders for a Big Ten title. Coach Kelvin Sampson may have very well coached his last game on Tuesday night against the Boilers, but it's a game that Hoosier fans will hold dear to their hearts for quite some time. It's incredible how a fan base can go from booing to cheering its coach in a matter of just a few days.
Player of the Week - DJ White, Indiana. He's a man among boys, playing in a different league, on a different planet. DJ White is the Big Ten Player of the Year, and there's not a single person in the world that can disagree with that. White was THE reason why the Hoosiers recently won back-to-back games against Michigan State and Purdue. Not only did his performance make Hoosier Nation forget about Sampson's transgressions, but it also made them temporarily forget about Eric Gordon. The senior White is showing the freshman Gordon that there is more to the game of basketball than driving wildly to the basket and getting fouled. He's also showing Gordon what four years at a major program can do for you.
Team with the Worst Week - Penn State. The Nittany Lions' 37-point loss to Michigan State on Wednesday night provides all the evidence one needs to declare this team hopeless. Now Penn State is no Northwestern (which remains winless in conference play), but the Nittany Lions' have lost 9 of their last 11 games, which surprisingly includes a win against Michigan State back on Feb. 2. Geary Claxton is the lone bright spot for this squad, but that's been the case for the past couple of years.
Bruce Weber Moment of the Week - Bruce got a reprieve from this honor last week, so unfortunately for him and his fellow Illini fans, I had to go back at it this week. Now this isn't so much a Bruce Moment of the Week as it is a simple Illinois basketball moment of the week - besides losing to Wisconsin on Wednesday night, the Illini lost sophomore big man Brian Carlwell as well. You may recall that Carlwell was involved in the car accident a few months back with Illini guard Jamar Smith, who fled the scene of the accident and left Carlwell behind, seriously injured. Well, now Carlwell has left the program (go figure) which just creates a bigger black eye for the Illini in this situation.
Games to Watch - 2/24 Wisconsin @ Ohio State
2/26 Ohio State @ Indiana
2/27 Minnesota @ Purdue
2/28 Michigan State @ Wisconsin
Breakfast of Champions: 2/22
Notre Dame 82 Pittsburgh 70
Gody is the star again, scoring 23 points in the victory over the Panthers . It's now a dead heat between Gody and CDR for my favorite player of the 2008 season. Irish remain unbeatable at home.
Big man: Gody 23 points, 12 rebounds
Washington State 69 Arizona State 57
Wazzou is back on a roll and quieting aiming for the #3 seed.
Big man: Low, 15 points, cool hair
South Alabama 69 Western Kentucky 64
Huge road win for the Jaguars (!), snapping the Hilltoppers 11-game win streak. Get leg up in at-large consideration in Sun Belt.
Umass 98 Rhode Island 91
The A-10 just continues to beat itself up. Rhody's once solid bid is looking very, very shaky at this point.
LaSalle 81 Dayton 78 (OT)
Again?!? The Explorers do it again! They can now assume the title of 2008 Official Bubble Buster, as they may ruined the seasons of both Saint Joes' and Dayton in the same week.
USC 81 Oregon 75
Win may have finally sealed up the Trojans' bid
Washington 75 Arizona 66
The Wildcats bid? Not so much...
Programming Notes: Lots going on in preparation for the battle of national (Memphis-Tennessee) and mid-major (Butler-Drake) supremacy.
Friend of STF David Scott is already in Memphis and will be reporting on the scene up until his courtside Posting up live-bog for CSTV begins at tip-off (they are also live-blogging Drake-Butler)
Another friend of STF, Kyle Whelliston, will be taking part in a Simmons-like mid-major marathon chat on ESPN.com tomorrow at noon.
Finally, our Bubble man/Pac-10 man BD will be live-bloggin' the Memphis-Tennessee game here on STF at 9pm. I think your social life can wait until March is over.......
Thursday, February 21, 2008
STF Conference Reports: Pac-10 2/21/08
Team Of The Week - Washington State. For the first time in week the Cougs managed a perfect a week. This time in sweeping through Oregon. Finally their three's were falling for more than one night and their defense was stingy once again. It was the Cougs team we'd come to know early in the season and it was nice to see them at their best once again. To be fair, they didn't exactly knock off a couple of the Pac-10's elite, but a pair of road wins are a pair of road wins in this league. No matter who it is your beating. With the victories the Cougs have almost reached lock status. Something their certain to reach with an pair of victories this week as the Arizona schools come to Pullman.
Player Of The Week - James Harden. If for nothing else than his late game heroics against Stanford on Thursday night. In a game they had no business winning Harden put the team on his back and made one play after another down the stretch to force overtime. Harden managed ASU's last four points of regulation and the first 8 point of overtime as ASU stole the victory. Proving that he's far from a one trick pony Harden also nabbed 5 boards, 5 steals and 5 assists. As someone not considered a threat to head for the draft ASU looks to be in good shape for next year if they fail to play into late March this season.
Team With The Worst Week - Arizona. One could certainly make a case for USC here as they played only one game and lost it so UCLA while their "leader" OJ Mayo turned the ball over 10 times, but I'm rolling with the 'Cats for a few reasons. After knocking off Cal on Thursday Arizona could have officially punched its ticket to the Dance, but once again they lost a close one late. This time it was to Stanford, in the past it's been Kansas and others. No one is doubting the 'Cats have played the nations toughest schedule, but it seems like they've lost (albeit close) to every one of the top tier squads they've faced. They don't necessarily need to beat UCLA when they play them March 2nd, but it'd certainly help justify all the positive press they've gotten to this point.
Game To Watch -
2/21 - Arizona State @ (17) Washington State - Must win for ASU's at-large hopes.
2/21 Oregon @ USC - The Trojans can put the final nail in the Ducks coffin with a win at home.
2/23 Oregon @ UCLA - Would be huge for Oregon, as unlikely as it is.
2/23 Arizona @ (17) Washington State - One of two chances for Arizona left to get a marquee conference win.
2/24 Cal @ (9) Stanford - If Cal's going to make a push for the postseason it MUST start here.
Wanna Get Away?
We aren’t usually the type to pick on someone when he is down, but it’s worth noting the Baylor guard Aaron Bruce’s life been playing out like a Southwest commercial in the last week.
It all began last Saturday in
Flash forward to Tuesday, another furious rally has the Bears ahead 91-88 in overtime at
We feel bad for Bruce and have been on the Baylor bandwagon all season long, so are going to suggest that Coach Drew may want to investigate sending Bruce to the locker room with about three minutes remaining if the Bears still want to dance this season.
STF Conference Reports: SEC 2/21
Can you believe it's almost March? Conference tournaments, filled-out brackets, and upsets galore. Oh my! What grade would you give your conference? For the SEC, a solid B seems fitting.
While some of the traditional powers may be down, Tennessee is ranked number 2 in the country with a chance to beat number 1 on Saturday. We also have the return of teams like Arkansas and Ole Miss. If this is the result of UK being down, perhaps they should take more seasons off... Nah, maybe not. ;) So what did we learn last week:
Team of the Week - Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee hasn't lost a game since they left Rupp Arena back in late January, winning seven in a row. This past week, their 2-0 record (23-2, 10-1) included wins over Georgia in Athens and last night's beatdown of the Auburn Tigers. Next up for the Vols? The Memphis Tigers, otherwise known as the number 1 team in the land.
It's the ESPN Saturday night game, so don't miss it.
Worst Team of the Week - LSU Tigers
After building a large cache' of goodwill for interim coach Butch Pierre by stomping the Florida Gators in Gainesville, the Tigers squandered it by losing to UK in Baton Rogue (with UK coming off of that 40-point demolition at Vandy) and then last night, they got stomped in Fayetteville, Arkansas (87-61). While there is talent in Baton Rogue, they are certainly missing pieces as well... obviously.
Player of the Week - Tyler Smith
Apparently, the Tennessee players have decided to make this little award their own. The last two weeks, it was Chris Lofton and while he may be worthy this week, I thought it better to recognize the workman-like effort of Smith. In the two most recent Volunteers wins, Smith posted consecutive double-doubles, combining for 23 rebounds and 25 points.
While it's Lofton's sweet shooting that gets a lot of the focus, the Vols wouldn't be nowhere near as successful without Smith's efforts.
Games to Watch
2/23 - Arkansas at Kentucky [CBS] 2:00
2/23 - Georgia at Vanderbilt
2/23 - Mississippi State at South Carolina
2/23 - Ole Miss at LSU
2/23 - Tennessee at Memphis [ESPN] 9:00
2/24 - Alabama at Auburn [CBS] 2:00
2/26 - Tennessee at Vanderbilt [ESPN] 9:00
2/27 - Florida at Georgia
2/27 - LSU at South Carolina
2/27 - Arkansas at Alabama
2/27 - Auburn at Mississippi State
2/27 - Ole Miss at Kentucky
STF Conference Reports: The MAC 2/21/2008
GMoney from The Money Shot here again to break down some mid-major conference hoops action for you all. Its time for Bracket Buster weekend in the Mid-American Conference and conference play is beginning to wind down. After blasting the Western side of the conference during my last report, they fought hard during their tilts against the East and even snuck a few wins in as well. But don’t look now, the MAC could once again be a two bid league this coming March. But why delve into that during the intro? Let’s get going.
Team of the Past Few Weeks: Kent State
The Golden Flashes have clearly distinguished themselves as the class of the conference in 2008. At 22-5 overall and 11-2 in the conference, the Flashes look to be the 1 seed come tournament time. And while we are here, we need to give a little to love to Kent State. For the TENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR, they have won 20 games. That truly is amazing. But there is still work left to do in 2008. The Flashes boast a 43 in the RPI but their SOS is a paltry 153. That is why this weekend is so important. With a BB win at ranked St. Mary’s on Saturday, the Flashes will almost be a lock for an at-large bid come Selection Sunday…as long as they don’t lose in the first round of the conference tournament.
Worst Team of the Past Few Weeks: Ohio University
I just don’t get this team. With the exception of Kent State, they have the most athletic and talented team in the conference. Yet there they sit at a meek 8-5 in the conference and with crappy losses to Eastern Michigan and Toledo…inexcusable. When you boast a post threat like Leon Williams (a 16/10 nightly behemoth), you shouldn’t be losing to bad teams even if it is in their gym. Can the Bobcats turn it on at The Q and win the tournament? Absolutely, but they are going to have to be a bit more consistent than they have been in February. Dishonorable Mention: Miami University (how a team with a triple threat like they have can be this frustrating is beyond me) and Akron (have struggled a bit without the services of mauler in the paint, Jeremiah Wood, but he’ll be back very soon)
Players of the Past Few Weeks: Kent State Guard Al Fisher, Miami Guard Kenny Hayes
Fisher averaged 22.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in leading Kent State to victories over Central Michigan and Ohio this past week. Fisher recorded a career high 28 points against Central Michigan to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists. In the Golden Flashes' victory over Ohio, Fisher paced the Kent State with 17 points and six rebounds. Fisher is averaging 16.6 points per game in MAC play this season and has been the catalyst for the KSU offense.
Kenny Hayes (pictured) was a bit of an enigma during the first half of the season but now the JUCO transfer from Cincinnati State has found his game. Over the past month, the combo guard has averaged 18.6/game and often has the ball in his hands at the end of games.
What to Watch For:
Bracket Buster Saturday
11:00 AM (ESPN2) - VCU @ Akron
1:00 PM (ESPN2) - George Mason @ Ohio
11:59 PM (ESPN2) - Kent State @ St. Mary’s (YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS GAME!!!)
In conference, coming up, before the tournament
3/4 Akron @ Ohio - for seed positioning
3/4 Miami @ Kent St. - a Tuesday night game on ESPN2!!!
3/9 Kent State @ Akron -pure hatred in this rivalry and Kent can’t afford to lose many more
Before I go, a quick shout out to the fine people in DeKalb, Illinois. We all know that our MAC brothers have been suffering through some tough times over the past week. I just hope and pray that everything can get back to normal eventually. I like to think that we all wouldn’t mind seeing Ricardo Patton’s Huskies make some noise in the MAC tournament.
The STF Big East Report: What of A.J. Price?
I could think of a witty intro, I 'spose, but right now my back hurts and a girl at my job who unfortunately has a "y" in her name where any self-respecting person might place an "i" is bothering me, so I'm just gonna jump right in, like Gene Simmons at an orgy:
TEAM WITH THE BEST WEEK: LOUISVILLE
The logic here says UConn, but I picked UConn last week, and I'm trying to maintain some semblance of originality in these postings. Louisville actually hasn't lost since a loss to those Huskies; while their Georgetown victory was covered in my last post (much to my personal chagrin), they've run the table since then, including an impressive victory over 'Cuse on Big Monday (per se, that victory wasn't "impressive" - 'Cuse isn't necessarily a lock for the postseason; but with the talent they have, they are capable of surprising bigger and better teams, so I was as glad as a Hoya fan can be to see the red and white come out with this one).
TEAM WITH THE WORST WEEK: RUTGERS
This is a joke. Why even mention them anymore? They're 2-12 in conference. You know what's even sadder? I accidentally spent a portion of my 21st birthday weekend at Rutgers, before Schiano made them relevant again (my birthday's in the fall, so you got a bunch of shopping days left). It was brutal, because I was at a conference basically designed for nerds, trying to pretend not to be one while clearly, every mounting piece of evidence around me said I was (and still does). Anyway, I wanted to pick the Knights here so that for the remainder of the BE's regular season, I can pick a team who is hurting their Tournament stock.
PLAYER WITH THE BEST WEEK: A.J. PRICE
We need to discuss Price's legitimacy for Big East Player of the Year here. Everyone wants to get on Harangody's jock, which is all well and good (I'm sure Harangody's jock is an enjoyable place to be, certainly moreso than former Irish baller Troy Murphy's). But here's the thing - the major win separating ND from the top of the Big East is the Georgetown game (holla!), and Hibbert ate him up in that one. This is the same Hibbert who basically disappeared in the Memphis loss, among other games. So, right there, for me at least, Harangody is out. Hibbert, as noted, has been inconsistent; a "POY" has to be consistent, so he's gone. Price: 15 points and 6 dimes a game, maturing before his time, and right this second I'm expecting UConn vs. GU / UConn vs. UL as the Saturday night 9pm tip in a few weeks at The Garden (depending on the brackets). My vote, as if anyone gives a half-ass what I think, goes to Price.
THE SKED
Pittsburgh vs. ND - Thursday, 2/21: Could be a good chance for Pitt to crawl their way back to relevance.
'Cuse vs. ND - Sunday, 2/24: I think 'Cuse is taking this one, giving more ballast to my anti-Harangody argument.
Marquette vs. 'Nova - Monday, 2/25: At least we don't have to debate who's more attractive between Jay Wright and Tom Crean, eh?
GENERALLY IRRELEVANT FAMILY GUY QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Those are some bad roaches" - Brian
"I blame the schools." - Hotel Worker
Indeed. The more I've really thought about this, the quality of the Big East this year is somewhat unacceptable. Georgetown lost Green, and Pitt's had injuries (as did UL at the beginning), and granted - Connecticut is peaking. But has anyone looked at a map recently? The Big East is situated in one of the most fertile recruiting grounds in America. You ever been to a pickup game in New York? (I used to buy fake IDs by the West 4th courts, FYI) These klds can ball. Shouldn't more end up at SJU, or SHU, etc? Why do I feel like all the ballers are residing in the West? Why does that Biggie lyric remain locked in my head - "That don't mean a (expletive) can't rest in the West, see some nice breast in the west?" Did I just equate Kevin Love to Ricky Roe from Blue Chips? I think I did. Still, it seems to me the quality of ball in the Big East should be even higher than it is, or at the very least, the gap between top and bottom should be more of a thin line. Hmm. I'm likely making absolutely no sense. If that's the case, forgive me - I've been up since 6am. If you too think Bobby Gonzo should be grabbing better perimeter guys than he's got, well, holla.
COMING IN MARCH: THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT 'LIVE BLOG'
COMING IN LATE MARCH: TALES OF VEGAS FROM SWEET SIXTEEN WEEKEND
Breakfast of Champions: 2/21
Miami 96 Duke 95
I usually try to keep any kind of homerism to a minimum, but coming from a family of Hurricane alumni, I’m pretty damn happy about this win last night. After years of coming this close to pulling off big upsets and statement wins, the Canes hang on after leading by 20 in the second half. Still curious as to why students were not allowed to storm the floor, but I’m still pretty happy about this . And yeah, where did Duke’s defense go?
Wildcats continue to drop winnable games on the road, now fall to third in the Big 12
Heels can now move back on to the top line with the Duke loss. Hansbrough takes POY lead with 32 points.
Virginia Tech 69
Terps may lose their tourney spot to the Canes
Vols avoid looking ahead to
Hokies Leave it All on the Floor... Literally.
Just a quick hit this morning in response to a tip sent in by intrepid D.C.-area bogger Dan Steinberg. He attended the Maryland/Virginia Tech game last night, in his words "just hoping something interesting would happen." Well, did it ever. Hokie freshman Dorenzo Hudson went whoopsie-daisy on the court during a first-half free-throw, requiring a lengthy clean-up effort prior to the resumption of play.
Read more about it in Dan's original post.
Sometimes, blogging just seems like the best job on earth.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Hoop Night 2/20/2008
Tonight’s Big Game
The Top 25 isn’t really giving us any meat tonight, as ranked teams are playing also-rans across the board. So I’m going deep for games that actually mean something.
Houston (19-5) at UAB (17-8). Houston has made a habit of running up early leads on Memphis before folding in the second half, and UAB nearly derailed the perfect season just a few days ago. The battle for second place in C-USA is worth a mention, eh? Eh?
Unfortunately, that game won't be on TV, so here's what will be:
North Carolina at NC State - 7pm, ESPN
Marquette at St. John's - 7pm, ESPN2
South Florida at Cincinnati - 7pm, ESPNU
Kansas State at Nebraska - 9pm, ESPN2
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan - 9pm, ESPNU
Bracket Racket: 2/20
With only nine days left until March and 25 (!) days until Selection Sunday, it is time to abandon the Top 25 and focus solely on the bracket. Starting off weekly, then bi-weekly, then basically daily, we'll try to keep you up to date on the bracket with STF's Bracket Racket.
Some of our latest projections/educated guesses......
#1 Seeds
S (Houston) -
M (
W (
E -
S -
M - Stanford
W - UCLA
S - UConn
M - Xavier
W -
E - Wisconsin
S - Purdue
M -
W -
To 1-4 Seed: Indiana, Louisville
To 4-8 Seed: Vanderbilt
To 8-12 Seed: BYU
Into the Bracket: Wake Forest, Arizona State
Falling
Off 1-4 Line: Michigan State
Off 4-8 Line: Rhode Island
Off 8-10 Line: Baylor
Off the Bracket: Florida, Saint Joseph's
Checking Out the Portland State Vikings
Portland State has had some decent years in the Big Sky Conference, but has never won the auto-bid, and as such has no tournament record. Also "as such, per se", I must admit that I also know nothing about them at all. So we'll undergo this journey together.
But why? Why the sudden interest? Because the Portland State Vikings are on the cusp of their first big dance appearance. They are pillaging the nation's wide-open spaces, running up a 10-2 record in the Big Sky. Northern Arizona is their nearest threat, at a rather distant 8-5. Should the Vikes stay steady in the conference tournament, they'll probably be a low seed, maybe even a play-in game participant, but I think they'll happily take it.
There are a few cool things about Portland State right off the bat. First, their coach goes by the awesome name of Ken Bone, and this is his third season running the rain-soaked school. Their statistics are dominated by the high-low combo of 5'6" Sophomore Guard Jeremiah Dominguez, and 6'11" Senior Center Scott Morrison (seen above). The only other player who ekes into the superlatives is Freshman Guard Justynn Hammond, a three-point specialist who's shooting 44% from behind the arc in just 14 games played, mostly in-conference.
The Vikings have taken on some quality opponents, losing to most, but coming away with a couple of profile-freshening wins. In November, they beat high-performing mids Akron and IUPUI, and played gutsy ball in early losses to Pac-10 stalwarts Washington, Washington State, and UCLA.
The Big Sky is the type of league that rewards the regular-season champ with home dates in the league tournament, so keeping the wins coming is very important to the Vikings. It galls us mightily when dominant teams come up on the losing end of a championship game and have to sit home in March, so we'll keep an eye on the Sky around the 11th of that month, with the implicit assumption that the road to the NCAA tourney will go through The Rose Garden.
STF T-Shirts Now Available
Breakfast of Champions: 2/20
Indiana 77 Purdue 68
Amazing, really, how two top 15 wins in one week can suddenly make you forget about some NCAA sanctions . The Hoosiers are now back in the Big Ten race and back in the race for a top four seed with the win over the previously streaking Boilers. I guarantee that there is now a large portion of IU fans that want to keep Sampson despite the sanctions.
Big man: Injured DJ White, 19 points, 15 boards
Oklahoma 92 Baylor 91 (OT)
In a round up of the Top 10 games 07-08, OU and Baylor must be involved in at least eight of them. Down three with nine seconds left in OT, OU converts a four-point play to take the lead (Fouled by Aaron Bruce, the same Bruce that called the Webber timeout against Texas) . Then, Baylor's leading scoring Curtis Jerrells (75% FT) missed two free throws with :01 seconds left that could have won it. Also, several players were ejected in regulation. Insanity.
Big man: Blake Griffin, 29 points
Bradley 72 Drake 71
Hangover loss for the Bulldogs
Big man: BU's Jeremy Crouch, 23 points
UConn 65 DePaul 60
Huskies hang on for second straight close call
Big man: Thabeet 16 points, 13 boards
Davidson 75 UNC-Greensboro 66
Wildcats go to 18-0 in the SoCon
Big man: Curry, 30 points
Links
Check out buddy Will Brinson's courtside live-blog of Davidson-UNC-Greensboro for AOL Fanhouse. Curry is just as amazing in blog form. (AOL Fanhouse)
Seth Davis's mid-season stock report. We agree 100% on K-State (Seth Davis, SI.com)
Yeah, that was pretty awesome picture from the end of the Memphis-UAB game (Rumors and Rants)
Roy Williams and Coach K in a bit of a feud (ACC Now)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Hoop Night 2/19/2008
Tonight’s Big Game
Purdue (21-5) at Indiana (21-4) - 7pm, ESPN. Aargh. All of the plots and subplots will drive a guy mad. I’m ready for this one to hit on the hardwood. Still, it’s worth noting: Indiana coach = under indictment. Indiana star forward = kinda sorta injured. Purdue = eleven wins in a row, and counting. This is the only time the two Indiana-based Big Tenners will meet this regular season, so let’s get it awn.
Also On:
DePaul @ UConn - 7pm, ESPNU
UNC-Greensboro @ Davidson - 7pm, ESPN2
Georgia @ Kentucky - 9pm, ESPN
Missouri State @ Creighton - 9pm, ESPNU
STF Q&A;: Luke Winn of Sports Illustraded
Every now and then, we love to do Q & A's with some people who know much, much, more about college basketball than we do. Today, we have Luke Winn of SI.com and author of the best NCAA Tournament blog out there. Yeah seriously, a major media site with a funny and insight blog. Enjoy!
Q&A with Luke Winn of SI.com
STF: You're one of only a handful of Q&A participants that we can't find any kind of bio on, kinda making you college basketball's man of mystery. How did you get into college hoops and how did you get to SI?
LW: That shroud of mystery is unintentional, but there may be benefits to it. I could claim to have arrived at SI far more interesting fashion than I actually did. (Say, by going AWOL from USS Winston S. Churchill during Manhattan Fleet Week in 2002, showing up at the Time-Life Building on 50th and 6th, and begging for any kind of job. SI's response was to agree to let me check some facts and go on Arby's runs for Stewart Mandel -- and that was the end of my career as a Naval ensign, and the beginning of my life as a journalist.)
In truth, I took a pretty standard route: While I was a sophomore at Northwestern, I landed an internship with the Web site (then CNNSI.com), and got an offer to come back for a real job a few months after I graduated from Medill in '02. Stew Mandel was actually the one who interviewed me for the internship; he was only three years out of NU at the time, and had scored some kind of free trip back to his old stomping grounds to screen applicants.
I owe a lot of what I'm doing now to Stew: I took his old job as SI.com's college football (and part-time college hoops) editor when he first became a columnist, and worked with him for four seasons, learning a lot of stuff from how he covered the sport. Eventually I got the chance to jump into this college hoops writing role that's very similar to what he does on the football side. I'm not sure if The Wire term "rabbi" -- which isn't used in a religious context on the show, but rather a mentor-type thing -- applies to the situation, but it's something along those lines. And then when I started writing things for the magazine in 2004-05, their hoops duo of Seth Davis and Grant Wahl was immensely helpful in bringing me along, helping with sources, advice, etc. You hear horror stories about younger writers at papers getting held back or brushed off, but nothing like that happened to me.
As for getting into college hoops, this is the sport that I've ALWAYS wanted to write about. My dad played D-III hoops and was a basketball junkie who took me to a lot of Wisconsin games at the old Fieldhouse when I was a kid. That got me hooked on Big Ten hoops. In 1994, when the Badgers made the big dance for the first time since what I think was the peach-basket era, he took me out of J.F. Luther Middle School so we could go to Ogden, Utah, and see the first- and second-round games at Weber State. That may have been the most worthwhile academic absence ever: I fell in love with the NCAA tournament, and even filed a ridiculous, rambling account of the experience for our small-town paper, which was kind enough to print it in some form. I also stole one of those giant white scorer's-table signs (sorry, NCAA!) out of the arena and put it up in the basement of our house. After that I was always the kid running the small-time tourney pools (sorry again, NCAA!) at school.
Someone outside the business asked me last week if I aimed to "move up" to covering the NBA at some point, and I got all exasperated trying to explain how I would consider that a major demotion.
STF: You've got an excellent Q&A feature on your SI blog, interviewing some of the biggest stars in college hoops. Now that you're on the other end of this Q&A thing, what's it like talking to some big names mid-season? Favorite interview?
LW: I got the inspiration for the Q&As by reading all of the old Paris Review discussions with writers, and realizing that a well-edited, thoughtful interview could stand on its own as good piece of journalism. I know that a Q&A with even the most loquacious college player isn't going to come close to what the PR gets out of Saul Bellow, but it's fun at least trying to get these kids to open up. For the most part, they're willing to play along with questions that aren't necessarily all about basketball. Sam Young from Pitt for one, was a great interview who was into the concept. There have also been a couple of times where I chose not to run one of the Q&As if it wasn't good enough. I tried to do one this week, actually, with a certain star freshman who had zero interest in engaging in conversation ... and that one will never see the light of day.
STF: One job that I would never want in life is to be the writer of a major media power poll. Whatever you put down, you are pissing off 95% of fans. What does the inbox look like the day after the Power Rankings are released and what fans are the harshest?
LW: The mail isn't pretty, because the angriest people are always the ones most motivated to write. Ideally you'd like it to be a bunch of fans/students suggesting nuggets or links for future Power Rankings blurbs, or sending in a thoughtful comment. Those are my favorite folks, the kindred spirits. The reality, though, is that they represent only about three percent of the overall letters.
The rest of the people are just plain pissed. Some don't grasp that the content is intentionally esoteric as a result of my boredom with what's in normal game stories. There will be dudes who, for example, find it unconscionable that an entire section would be devoted to discussion of Barack Obama t-shirts rather than analysis of a recent big victory. Most of the others are just upset about their team being excluded. I tend to spend so much time searching for nuggets that I inevitably slight some school in the "cusp" section ... and I always get bombarded for it. I guess the tradeoff is acceptable: In order to have this job that you truly enjoy, you have to weather daily blows to your self-esteem that come from the mailbag.
STF: Favorite fashion statement in the Style Archive (An idea I'm completly jealous of) this season?
LW: I am partial to three entries. The mustache UC-Santa Barbara's Nedim Pajevic was sporting earlier this season was truly amazing, but I've received reports that he shaved it (it's hard to catch a UCSB game on TV these days).
I applaud the audacity of UCLA's Russell Westbrook to rock the flaming mohawk while playing under a Ben Howland regime. And Bob Huggins one-upped every coach in the country with that golden, pimp-style suit he wore against Cincinnati. When I sit around and envision my dream wedding -- and really, what unmarried 27-year-old male doesn't spend a lot of time dwelling on that topic? -- I am always wearing a suit just like that one.
STF: You've been to just about every major college basketball arena in the country. Can you just give us some of your favorite destinations in college basketball?
LW: The famed Fieldhouses -- Allen, at Kansas, and Hinkle, at Butler -- are the two buildings that really feel like basketball cathedrals when you step inside. Hinkle is probably my favorite gym in the country, and not just because of the Hoosiers connection. It's so untainted by modernism that there's nothing else like it, nothing quite as beautiful anywhere else in the country. I've only been there once, for the Butler-Southern Illinois game last year, and I spent about 30 minutes just pacing around the upper track earlier in the day, soaking it all in. I'm not compelled to do that at most places.
I've only been doing this for three years now, but in terms of atmosphere, the crowd at Illinois' Assembly Hall during the Illini's '04-05 run was amazing in terms of both spirit and decibel level. I'm not sure if I've seen anything to equal that over the past few years. But I've yet to cover a Duke-UNC game at Cameron ... and someone told me those can get rather loud.
STF: We loved the Tourney Blog last season. But even as much as we would love to cover as much college basketball as possible, I imagine there must be some drawbacks to the non-stop blogging over the month of March. What are the pros and cons of blogging for basically a month straight while traveling the country? Also, will we see Tourney blog again this season?
LW: The Tourney Blog, thankfully, got green-lighted for a third season. I obviously didn't invent the concept of sports blogging -- I'm not going to act like Al Gore with the Internet here -- but I'm pretty sure that, when it began, it was the first instance of a mainstream media outlet exclusively committing a traveling reporter to blogging the NCAA tournament. The editors at SI.com -- Paul Fichtenbaum and Adam Levine at the start, and now B.J. Schecter and Bobby Clay as well -- have been cool enough to let it happen, and I think it's been worthwhile. I love writing it, and last year we had something like 2.4 million readers on the blog alone, which was a big jump from '05-06. And the Blog Pool, in which I have consistently embarrassed myself, keeps growing as well.
Writing it for a month straight is taxing -- on your health, on your nerves, on your relationship. I don't know what you can do about the sleep-deprivation part. The best you can hope for on the relationship front is that your significant other will be understanding, and my girlfriend has been particularly good about that. While I'm on the road, she bides her time by heckling me about how she's out-picking my bracket, and then when the thing is finally over in April, we take a good vacation.
I guess I look at the prolonged bout of work as a necessary thing. I mean, if you're going to cover hoops, you have to bring it in March, right?
Check out Luke and the Tourney Blog at SI.com.
STF Bubble Watch 2/19/2008
Though today is Tuesday, from now until the selection committee hands down the brackets we here at STF will be taking a look at the ever fluctuating bubble every Monday and Friday. We won't look at all bubble "worthy" teams every week, but we will change it up as the bubble shrinks and expands with each passing buzzer beater and blowout. If their are any teams you'd specifically like us to look into, feel free to drop a comment or e-mail me here. We'll be grouping the teams into three categories: "Approaching Lock," "Somewhere In The Middle," and "It Doesn't Look Good." Anyhow, now that you know what to expect, onto the bubble and what it looks like today.
Approaching Lock
These are the teams that sit one quality win or strong conference tourney run away from officially locking up their place in the bracket.
Saint Mary's (22-3(10-1))(RPI: 26, SOS: 160)(Vs RPI Top 50: 2-1)
Despite a horrendous strength of schedule the Gaels' resume looks good right now. Along with their 10-1 conference start they've notched quality non-conference wins over Drake, Seton Hall, Oregon and San Diego State. Each of their three losses were respectable road L's for almost anyone (Texas, San Diego, and SIU). Assuming the Gaels manage to finish the season among the top two of the WCC we feel like they could withstand even a pre-finals WCC Tourney loss and still be celebrating come selection Sunday.
Arizona (16-9(6-6))(RPI: 17, SOS: 160)(Vs RPI Top 50: 5-5)
The 'Cats provide one of the more interesting cases in the nation. They boast the nation's toughest schedule, that includes "good losses" to both Kansas and Memphis. The former a game they arguably should have won. Alongside those losses, however, is an amazingly bad one at home to ACC whipping boy Virginia as well as a sweep at the hands of fellow bubble boys Arizona State. It's obviously not all losses though if they're a near lock for the dance, and sure bet to get in if the season ended today. The 'Cats have also managed quality wins against Texas A&M, Houston, UNLV, and San Diego State. The real question left to answer is if a sub .500 Pac-10 finish would be enough without a deep conference tourney run. I'd lean toward yes, but I'm betting on a .500 finish to leave no doubt.
Somewhere In The Middle
These teams aren't in quite the murky waters of those below them, but even a short losing streak could leave them on the outside looking in.
Pittsburgh (18-6(7-5))(RPI: 19, SOS: 41)(Vs RPI Top 50: 3-3)
The Panthers are a tough team to get a read on given the rash of injuries they've had to deal with, including the loss of Senior Mike Cook for the season. Their other injured star - Levance Fields - made his return Friday night in an absolute thrashing at the hands of Marquette. Before injuries attacked this was a 10-0 team that had just toppled Duke. Their only atrocious loss came without Fields, but was at home to Rutgers (RPI: 208), who currently sits at 2-12 in the Big East and won't even sniff the conference tourney. Let alone the Big Dance. Looking at their numbers a +.500 finish should get the Panthers into the dance given the overall strength of the Big East. But I'm sure their fans wouldn't mind a marquee win, say, when Louisville comes to town on Sunday to strengthen the sweat glands a little when the bracket's are being handed out.
Rhode Island (20-6(6-5))(RPI: 29, SOS: 101)(Vs RPI top 50: 2-3)
The Rams are in an interesting spot, they've got a solid RPI, no abhorrent losses, nor any eye-popping wins, either. Yet, here they are sitting somewhere in the middle of the pack. Probably in today, but not by much, and could be out tomorrow if they don't finish their current home stand stronger than they started it last night (loss to Xavier). The rest of the home stand? Massachusetts and St. Joe's, two of the 4 other team's vying for at-large bids alongside them (in the A-10). Two wins and they're likely into the "Almost Lock" category and a certain lock should they avoid hiccups down the stretch against some of the A-10's cellar dweller's.
It Doesn't Look Good
These are the teams that are currently holding on for dear life to the bubble. One more bad bounce and their bubble just might burst.
Florida (19-7) (6-5) (RPI: 57, SOS: 118)(Vs RPI Top 50: 1-5)
The Gators lack any semblance of a marquee win, that is, unless you consider their thrashing of Vandy (at home) a marquee win (I don't). They've got a pile of losses, large and small, against fellow bubbler's Ohio State, Arkansas, and Mississippi, coupled with an especially bad loss to LSU at home. A look at their vomit-inducing numbers and there's really nothing that looks good. So it looks like, barring a winning streak that reaches the SEC tourney title game, auto-bid or bust for the 2-time defending champs.
Syracuse (17-10(7-7)) (RPI: 47, SOS: 13) (Vs RPI Top 50: 1-7)
Every time it looks like the Orange have put themselves on the steady side of the bubble they suffer a major setback. This time it was the loss to South Florida by double-digits, a loss that may have ended their season. Sure, they followed it up with a convincing win at home against Georgetown, but the damage was done and outside of that only their win over St. Joe's is notable. Add to that a questionable home loss to Villanova and road losses to other bubble squads Ohio State and West Virginia and it's not looking good at all. Frankly, it looks a lot like, despite a very strong schedule the Orange's bubble will be bursting again on Selection Sunday barring a 3-1 finish (@ND, Pitt, @SH, MARQ) and a solid tourney run.
Rules for Storming the Floor
This is something I wrote on my old blog The Extrapolater, on February 23rd of last year. We've been seeing some big wins, and some floor storming, so we figured it was time to publish the rules for storming, and see if you have something to add.
First, however, take a look at these fantastic photos of floor storming at Syracuse sent in by reader Rob K., who was at the Syracuse win over Georgetown. That's also his handiwork above. We think this particular storming might have violated a few bylaws, but we love the photos.
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It’s that time of the year again. As the NCAA tournament grows ever nearer, and teams hop on and off the bubble on a daily basis, tensions in the stands can boil over into the dastardly scourge of Floor Storming.
As we all know, storming the field of play can only result in injury, lawlessness, and the heartbreak of chlamydia. Fortunately, the SEC is doing something about it. They have levied stiff punishments against any member school that is unable to control fan behavior, as evidenced by the $25,000 fine incurred by Vanderbilt after pushing and shoving got out of hand in a win over Florida.
Now, I know kids will be kids, and sometimes the pain is worth it. What’s college without chlamydia, I always say. But there should be a few rules in place to help impressionable youngsters assess the proper time and place for court storming.
When:
* If your unranked school beats a top-10 opponent.
* If your lower-division school beats a D1 opponent. (See: Virginia @ Chaminade)
* You beat your most hated rival in overtime, or on a last-second miracle shot.
* Your team breaks a long losing streak vs. a particularly difficult opponent. (See: Kansas State vs. Kansas at home.)
* Your team wins the league tournament in a one-bid conference.
* In the NCAA tournament, only a 16 vs. 1 upset really matters any more. If your school wins in the Regional Final or Final Four, you can storm.
* If your school wins the NCAA Championship. This special win also confers limited looting & pillaging rights.
Not OK:
* Winning the NIT.
* If your school is ranked. Possible exceptions for beating #1.
* Students at Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina, and Duke should be used to winning. Unless a national championship is in sniffing distance, you will look like assholes storming the court.
* Never, ever storm before the final buzzer sounds.
* If you storm an opponent’s court, odds are you will get hurt.
* A personal milestone for a player or coach is his moment, not yours.
* The Ivy League? I don’t think so.
How:
* Make sure you know which gate will be open. If you try to storm through the wrong one, you risk entering enemy territory and being the target for an entire section of irate opposing fans (yes, I speak from personal experience).
* Don’t try to bust in on your players and coaches. They appreciate your enthusiasm, but you are not welcome in the huddle.
* Do not approach Bobby Knight or Bob Huggins, even if they coach for your school.
* Don’t rub it in the faces of opposing players. They lost, and you didn’t score, dish, or rebound once in the game. If the players can treat each other with respect, the fans owe nothing less. Even to an annoying furriner like Joakim Noah.
* For the love of god, don’t damage your own building. That’s just stupid.
* Don’t overstay your welcome. When things start to wind down, take it to the nearest bar. If the team’s gone, you should be too.
* Enjoy the moment. Storming the court should be rare enough to taste sweet.
Hopefully, these guidelines will keep you from being the next “fat kid in the yellow shirt” or “dude in leather coat who got jacked”. Ideally, you should be “fan who celebrated a big win, hooked up with someone cool later at the bar, and came up clean for chlamydia a week later.”
Good luck, and enjoy the tournaments!
Breakfast of Champions: 2/19
Texas 77 Texas A&M 50
If it wasn't for UConn, Texas would be the hottest team in America . With wins over UCLA, Kansas and Tennessee, the Longhorns still have an outside shot at a #1 seed. And DJ Augustin is making a serious push for first team All-American
Big man: Augustin, 27 points
Xavier 81 Rhode Island 77
The Muskateers all but wrap up the A-10 with this road win. Rhody doens't have an impressive win since December.
Big man: Josh Duncan, 23 points
LaSalle 90 Saint Joseph's 89
I'm chalking this one up as one of the most shocking results of the season. The Explorers have some young talent, but I never thought they would knock off Saint Joe's at the Palestra in late February. Devastating loss for SJU's tournament resume.
Big man: Darnell Harris 21 points
Louisville 60 Syracuse 51
Cards have gone form giant disappointment to Big East co-leader. Cuse can go back to the bubble now.
Big man: Terrence Williams, 12 points
Georgetown 68 Providence 58
Much needed road win for the Hoyas
Big man: Hibbert 18 points, 8 rebounds
Longwood 96 NJIT 78
Oh Lord...... at 0-28, NJIT has just one more game to avoid the winless season.
Didn't get to link this yesterday, but here are some fantastic pics from the Cuse-Gtwon floor storming by reader Rob K. But as much as we love a good floor stormin' here at STF, and as much as I support Syracuse (sister is a senior there), I got call a foul on the Syrcuse fans for a) storming the floor against Gtown on a non-buzzer-beater and b) rushing with 2.0 seconds left on the clock. You're better than that Cuse fans...
Monday, February 18, 2008
STF Conference Reports: Atlantic 10
(by B. Kahn)
Nearing the A-10 tournament in Atlantic City, we are starting to see some separation between Xavier and the rest of the pack. Are there other contenders? Sure. However, if Dayton and UMass continue to falter, Joe Lunardi, as well as the rest of the tournament committee, might be lowering a few fingers when counting how many teams from this conference will be dancing come March.
TEAM WITH THE BEST WEEK
Generation X is taking over. The Xavier Musketeers continue to prove that they possess the pink slip for this high octane conference. Xavier beat St. Joes. and Charlotte this week to extend their winning streak to six games. They are now 21-4 overall, leading the conference with a 9-1 record. Through a truly balanced scoring attack, with six players averaging between 10 and 11 points-per-game, and a very impressive defense, The Musketeers can pretty much guarantee a bye going into A.C.
TEAM WITH THE WORST WEEK
Losing to Fordham at home gives Umass the distinction of having the worst week. Yes, they beat Saint Louis at home, but losing a critical game handily against a team in the cellar of the A-10 is horrid and probably makes the rest of the people in Amherst cringe. Shooting 41% in a game like that just doesn’t cut it. Well, I guess you can mark this up as a rare win the New York vs. Massachusetts sports rivalry. God knows they won’t be getting many more any time soon.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The only thing that might save UMass from its demise might be Gary Forbes. Forbes was sensational this week averaging 17.5 ppg, as well as 12 rpg. He scoring average of 20.2 is tied for the lead in the A-10 with Temple’s Dionte Christmas, while his 7.5 rpg is ranked 5th. Forbes needs to continue these impressive trends as UMASS will travel to URI this Wednesday.
GAMES TO WATCH
2/18 Xavier @ URI 7p.m. on CSN
2/20 Charlotte @ Richmond 7p.m.
2/21 UMASS @ URI 7p.m. ESPN2
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Memphis Defeats Truman
I'll be the first to admit that we make several mistakes on this site......daily. It happens. Still, you can’t help but laugh when something like this gets posted on ESPN. According to an anonymous source, ESPN had this posted on the .com when it appeared as if
Yeah, CDR was having none of that. Expect to see that very same image on the Memphis bulletin board from now until San Antonio.
Editors Note: No Monday Madness on President's Day. Honest to god, I'm actually going to buy a mattress on President's Day. My life is now complete. So sorry for the slow day on STF. But trust me, we'll be ready for tournament time.
But what I can tell you about the weekend....
Wake is in tournament discussion after beating Duke
UConn seems to find a different way to win every game
Arizona keeps finding ways to lose
Purdue at Indiana might be more emotional game than IU-Illinois was
American, the class of the Patriot, may finally make the NCAAs
No one is going to want to play UNC-Wilmington in the CAA Tournament
