Boston College

Buzzer Beater: The Weekend Review

Jason Brubaker — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:35:23 -0800

- The NIT would like to officially welcome Syracuse to the mix, after a bizarre late-game collapse against Pitt on Saturday. The Orange may have been done in by a no-call when Paul Harris was stripped of the ball underneath the basket, but bad calls don't explain blowing an 11-point lead in the final three minutes. Barring a surprise run through the Big East Tournament, the Orange, now7-9 in the conference, are likely on the wrong side of the bubble for the second straight year.

- Maryland also didn’t do themselves any favors after inexplicably blowing a 20-point second half lead and falling at home to Clemson. The Terps may need a win or two in the ACC Tourney to feel good about their chances after this latest setback.

- Hats off to Boston College's Tyrese Rice. In case you spent the weekend in a cave, the junior point guard poured in a career-high 34 points against #2 North Carolina...in the first half. Rice's amazing display included eight three-pointers, and he actually led the entire Tar Heels team until five minutes remained in the first half. Slowed considerably in the second half, Rice would still finish the game with 46 points. UNC's depth enabled them to escape with a win, but Rice's shooting display won't soon be forgotten.

- Congratulations to Cornell, who earned their first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 1988 with a 86-53 win over Harvard. Like many Ivy League teams, the Big Red won't razzle-dazzle you, but they will play sound, fundamental basketball and won't beat themselves. And for those who think this just means they'll be served up on a platter to the likes of UCLA or Memphis, keep in mind that Cornell gave Duke all they wanted in a January match-up at Cameron, eventually falling short 81-67.

- Question for Kansas State players and coaches: I know basketball is a team game, and one man can't beat five....but is there a reason Michael Beasley doesn't touch the ball on every possession? The super-frosh is shooting 55% from the field, averaging 26+ points per game...yet there were stretches of five or six possessions against Kansas where he didn't even see the ball. Granted, that may not have affected the outcome against a fired-up KU squad, but if I'm a guard for K-State, my first, second and third options are to get the ball to #30 - period.

- Brook Lopez of Stanford is quietly becoming one of the best big men in college basketball. The seven-foot sophomore poured in 25 points in a big win over Washington State Saturday, as the Cardinal improved to 24-4 on the season. Stanford, now winners of six of their last seven, is looking like a team no one will want to play in the tournament.

- Big ups to Texas Tech's Alan Voskuil and Georgetown's Jonathan Wallace, who both nailed crucial free throws in victories on Saturday. Wallace calmly nailed three with less than three seconds left to tie the game at Marquette, a game the Hoyas would win in overtime. Meanwhile, Voskuil went 10-10 from the line, including six in the final minutes, as the Red Raiders stunned Texas 83-80.

- Can anyone figure out Texas A&M? The Aggies were pounded by Oklahoma on Saturday, 64-37, just four days after laying a 44-point beatdown (in which they scored 98 points) on Texas Tech. The Aggies, up and down all year, will still be dancing this year, but who knows how long they'll stick around?

- Louisville continues to impress, winning their ninth game in a row with a victory over Villanova. Included in that stretch are wins over Georgetown, Pitt, Marquette and Notre Dame. The Cards are peaking at just the right time, and appear to have the ingredients for a deep tourney run.

- Joey Dorsey...please just play basketball. The talented but fiery Memphis big man had to be restrained before the game at Southern Miss after jawing with some players during warm-ups..yet another incident in a career full of them. Dorsey is a fantastic rebounder and defender, but his lack of self-control might be the biggest factor in determining how far the Tigers go this year.

- And finally, congratulation to Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who earned his 800th career victory over N.C. State on Saturday. The Devils overcame a 13-point second half deficit with timely shooting to get Coach K to the vaunted mark. There are plenty of Duke haters out there, but there's no denying that Coach K is one of the best ever to walk the sidelines.

Three Stars of the Day: Rice, McClinton, Lamberth

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:22:17 -0800

We handpick the best performances of the day, whether it be stat lines that make you drool, or clutch performances. Either way, its our way of showing the love:

Tyrese Rice - Boston College

We usually favor winners here.. but Rice's 46 point effort against UNC was too good not to be #1

Jack McClinton - Miami

Set a career-high with 34 as the Hurricanes managed to hold off Sean Singletary (41 pts) and UVA

Dale Lamberth - Missouri State

The Bears senior is saving his best for last, as he had the game of his life with 37 points and 11 boards against Indiana State

Other Top Performers

Greg Paulus - Duke - Hit three threes in the final 7 minutes to lead Duke to a comeback win over NC State

Alan Voskuil - Texas Tech - Scored 8 of the Red Raiders last 10 points in a big uspet win over #5 Texas

Jonathan Wallace - Georgetown - Tied Roy Hibbert for the team lead with 20 points, and made clutch shots that keyed the overtime win over Marquette

Previous Stars of the Day

February 28th - Rob McKiver, Houston

February 26th - Shan Foster, Vanderbilt

February 25th - DJ Augustin, Texas

February 20th - OJ Mayo, USC

February 19th - Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

February 18th - John Bryant, Santa Clara

February 17th - Johnson/Teague, Wake Forest

February 15th - Tyrese Rice, Boston College

February 12th - J'Nathan Bullock, Cleveland State

February 10th - Tyler Hansbrough, UNC

February 9th - Hasheem Thabeet, UCONN

February 7th - Ronald Ramon, Pittsburgh

February 6th - Michael Beasley, Kansas State

February 4th - Todd Golden, Saint Mary's

February 3rd - Tyler Hansbrough, UNC

January 30th - Chase Budinger, Arizona

January 29th - Beasley/Walker, Kansas State

January 28th - Chris Godzinski, Wofford

January 27th - DeMarcus Nelson, Duke

January 26th - Hackett/Lewis/Mayo, USC

January 24th - Jerryd Bayless, Arizona

January 22nd - Patrick Patterson, Kentucky

January 21st - DJ Augustin, Texas

January 20th - Dezmon Harris, Weber State

January 19th - James Gist, Maryland

January 18th - Abbott/Harden, Arizona State

January 17th - Dionte Christmas, Temple

January 14th - Roy Hibbert, Georgetown

January 11th - Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin

January 9th - DJ White, Indiana

January 8th - Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin

January 7th - Wayne Ellington, UNC

January 6th - Shan Foster, Vanderbilt

January 5th - Damon Huffman, Brown

January 4th - Luke Harangody, Notre Dame

January 3rd - Damon Huffman, Brown

January 2nd - Martin Zeno, Texas Tech

November/December Star of the Day Archive

Three Stars of the Day: Rice, Harden, Bayless

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 07:07:23 -0800

Three Stars of The Day

We handpick the best performances of the day, whether it be stat lines that make you drool, or clutch performances. Either way, its our way of showing the love:

Tyrese Rice - Boston College

The Eagles snapped a six-game skid behind Rice's dominant 32 point, 6 assist effort

James Harden - Arizona State

The freshman was huge down the stretch and in OT as ASU rallied to an important win over #8 Stanford

Jerryd Bayless - Arizona

Its hard to imagine where the Wildcats would be without Bayless, who scored 33 in a home win over Cal

Other Top Performers

Jordan Brooks - Idaho - Led all scorers with 25, including 9 big points in OT, and added 16 boards as the Vandals picked up a rare WAC win

George Hill - IUPUI - Hill could make this list almost every night, as his 23 point, 10 rebounds, 6 assist line was barely above average

Bo McCalebb - New Orleans - Scored the game-winning layup against Arkansas St with 20 seconds left and paced his team with 31

Previous Stars of the Day

February 12th - J'Nathan Bullock Cleveland State

February 10th - Tyler Hansbrough, UNC

February 9th - Hasheem Thabeet, UCONN

February 7th - Ronald Ramon, Pittsburgh

February 6th - Michael Beasley, Kansas State

February 4th - Todd Golden, Saint Mary's

February 3rd - Tyler Hansbrough, UNC

January 30th - Chase Budinger, Arizona

January 29th - Beasley/Walker, Kansas State

January 28th - Chris Godzinski, Wofford

January 27th - DeMarcus Nelson, Duke

January 26th - Hackett/Lewis/Mayo, USC

January 24th - Jerryd Bayless, Arizona

January 22nd - Patrick Patterson, Kentucky

January 21st - DJ Augustin, Texas

January 20th - Dezmon Harris, Weber State

January 19th - James Gist, Maryland

January 18th - Abbott/Harden, Arizona State

January 17th - Dionte Christmas, Temple

January 14th - Roy Hibbert, Georgetown

January 11th - Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin

January 9th - DJ White, Indiana

January 8th - Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin

January 7th - Wayne Ellington, UNC

January 6th - Shan Foster, Vanderbilt

January 5th - Damon Huffman, Brown

January 4th - Luke Harangody, Notre Dame

January 3rd - Damon Huffman, Brown

January 2nd - Martin Zeno, Texas Tech

November/December Star of the Day Archive

ACC: All-January

Jeff Fox — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:33:06 -0800

It’s strange times in the ACC, as only two teams are nationally ranked. Not surprisingly, those two teams happen to be Duke and North Carolina, who are both heads and shoulders above the rest of the field in the conference. Also not surprisingly, three out of the five spots on the ACC All-January team are taken by Blue Devils and Tar Heels.

Guard – Ty Lawson – North Carolina – SO
14.1ppg, 6.0apg, 1.9spg
Best game – Jan 23rd – Miami (FL) – 23 points, 10 assists, 5 boards

As important as Tyler Hansbrough is to Carolina’s success, it can be argued that the play of Ty Lawson is just as crucial (see the Duke loss last night). The speedy (perhaps an understatement – what is quicker than speedy?) point guard had another stellar January – 16 points, seven assists and four boards a game. Most importantly, he only turned the ball over 16 times in eight games.

Guard – Tyrese Rice – Boston College – JR
19.8ppg, 4.9apg, 3.6rpg
Best game – Jan 12th – Wake Forest – 32 points, 8 assists, 6 boards

The second of three Ty’s in this month’s list, Tyrese Rice continues to lead a young Eagles’ team that only has three upperclassmen on the roster. His January averages of 21 points, four boards & four assists includes his monster game versus Wake mentioned above, where he went 11-11 from the charity stripe.

Guard – DeMarcus Nelson – Duke – SR
15.3ppg, 5.9rpg, 3.1apg
Best game – Jan 27th – Maryland – 27 points, 7 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals

TyMarcus, oops – DeMarcus, Nelson has gotten steadily stronger for the Dukies as the season has progressed. The senior leader has been showing off his all-around game, filling up the points, rebounds, assists & steals columns (January averages – 18 points, six boards, three assists, two steals). He’ll have to keep it up if undersized Duke has a shot at a National Championship.

Forward - James Gist – Maryland – SR
15.4ppg, 7.9rpg, 2.4bpg
Best game – Jan 8th – Holy Cross – 22 points, 9 boards, 5 blocks

January was a big month for the Terrapins (6-2) and for James Gist (19 points, eight boards, and two blocks per game). It didn’t get any bigger than on January 19th when they went into Chapel Hill and handed Carolina their first loss of the year. Gist had 22 points and 13 boards that game.

Forward – Tyler Hansbrough – North Carolina – JR
21.8ppg, 10.4rpg, 1.4spg
Best game – Jan 16th – Georgia Tech – 27 points, 11 boards, 3 steals

The third man in our triple threat of Ty’s, Tyler Hansbrough is far and away the best player in the ACC. January was no different, as he averaged 21 points and 10 boards and notched four double-doubles. The ACC might as well give him its player of the year award now.

Up next – Big 10

Cousy Award Finalists

Press Release — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 05:30:34 -0800

2008 BOB COUSY AWARD PRESENTED BY THE HARTFORD FINALISTS

DIVISION I
DJ Augustin Texas
Darren Collison UCLA
Devan Downey South Carolina
Jamont Gordon Mississippi State
Mike Green Butler
Dominic James Marquette
Ty Lawson North Carolina
Eric Maynor VCU
Tyrese Rice Boston College
Brian Roberts Dayton
Derrick Rose Memphis
Sean Singletary Virginia

DIVISION II
Luke Cooper Alaska - Anchorage
Johnny Reibel Rollins

DIVISION III
David Arsenault Grinnell College
Andrew Olson Amherst College

Daily Poll: Who is the 3rd Best team in the ACC?

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:05:49 -0800

Q&A: Boston College Star Tyrese Rice

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:31:26 -0800

Five Minutes With Tyrese Rice.. Boston College's Star Guard

In his junior season, Boston College guard Tyrese Rice is setting career highs in PPG, RPG, and SPG. Despite the losses of Jared Dudley, Sean Williams, and Sean Marshall, his Eagles are 12-4 overall, including 2-0 in ACC play. With Rice leading the way, another NCAA Tournament bid for BC is not out of the question.

CollegeHoops.net) Win or lose, what's the best game BC has played so far?

Tyrese Rice) The best game we have played this year is Wake Forest by far. I think that is the best game a team that I have been on has ever played in my life. The team concept and trust was there for the whole 40 minutes and our defensive effort was greater then other time all year.

CHN) Do you think the team has played as well as its capable of?

TR) I do not think we have played as well as we can on a consistent basis. We have played well in spurts, so I think we've shown signs of how good we can be.

CHN) Is there any opposition player that you've been particularly impressed with?

TR) I have been very impressed with the play of Kansas. I think they are the most polished team playing in college basketball right now. They have a
great inside/outside game. In my opinion, Kansas is the best in the country and they play harder then anybody I have ever played against on the offensive and defensive end.

CHN) Grading your own play from A to F, what would you give yourself and why?

TR) I give myself a B- right now because there have been times when I was not showing good leadership and it let the team down. Overall, I have been doing pretty well as far as leadership and showing our young guys how hard we need to play to be successful in this league. Nothing that I do can be done without the good play of my teammates.

CHN) What are you most looking forward to in the 2nd half of the season?

TR) I'm looking forward to the ACC season. I think we have a chance to prove a lot of people wrong and be more successful then people think we can be. We have a group of talented young guys that play with a chip on their shoulder, and that is very necessary when you play in this league.

- We'll be rolling out a series of daily Q&A's with top college basketball stars over the next few weeks. Check back tomorrow to see whose next!

Games of the Night: Robert Morris at Boston College

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:33:14 -0800

Games of the Night

A companion to our daily Three Stars of the Day, we present the top three Games of the Night.

26 games on tap tonight, but none are very intriguing. Here is the best of the bunch.

Robert Morris (10-5) at Boston College (10-3)

7:00 PM

The only game on Monday featuring two 10-win teams. BC is obviously a clear favorite, but RMC can be dangerous and they did take Seton Hall down to the wire on the road. Still on a normal night with a full schedule, this game wouldn't even sniff top game honors.

Prediction: Boston College

Butler (13-1) at Loyola (Ill) (5-9)

8:00 PM

The above game features two 10-win teams, but this game features the only ranked team. #11 Butler should cruise against this Horizon League foe that's only beaten 3 D1 teams so far.

Prediction: Butler

Tulsa (7-4) at Colorado (8-5)

9:00 PM

Tulsa comes into the game having won 5 straight, while Colorado has won 3 straight, so something's got to give. My guess is that Tulsa's streak will end because all their wins have been at home, and they haven't proven they can win on the road.

Prediction: Colorado

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions)

January 6th - North Carolina at Clemson (2-1)

January 5th - Western Kentucky at South Alabama (3-0)

January 4th - American at Brown (0-3)

January 3rd - UCLA at Stanford (3-0)

January 2nd - Houston at UMASS (2-1)

UMASS Beats BC For First Time Since 99

Press Release — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:42:30 -0800

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Riding a gutsy second-half effort by Gary Forbes and a stifling full-court press, the UMass men's basketball team picked up an 83-80 victory over cross-state rival Boston College on Wednesday evening. The win was UMass' first vs. the Eagles since December 4, 1999, and first in the last eight games. UMass was led by sophomore Ricky Harris who tied a career-high with 25 points. Forbes added 22, including 17 in the second half. The Minutemen (7-2) are back in action on Saturday when they host Toledo in a 7:30 p.m. start at the Mullins Center.

Boston College guard Tyrese Rice had an open three-point attempt with four seconds remaining in the second half that would have tied the score, but it was off the mark.

The win also marked the first win vs. an ACC opponent since the Minutemen defeated Florida State, 78-68 on Feb. 15, 2005.

Along with Forbes and Harris, Chris Lowe tallied 17 points and Etienne Brower tied a career-high with 10 rebounds. Tony Gaffney also played well on both ends of the court, picking up four points, five rebounds, and two blocks. The Minutemen finished with 15 offensive rebounds.

ACC preseason first-team all-conference selection Rice led Boston College with 26 points.

After trailing by three at the half, UMass came out strong in the second. The Minutemen started with a 17-7 run to take a seven-point lead after a Harris layup attempt was called for goaltending.

With the score 51-48 UMass, the Minutemen went on a 12-0 run, using their pressure to disrupt the Eagles' rhythm. In that span, Forbes sprung Harris with a beautiful pass for an easy layup, giving UMass the 58-48 lead.

Forbes put an exclamation point on the run with a three-point play. After hitting the free throw, UMass owned their largest lead of the game, 63-48, with 10:05 remaining in regulation.

The Eagles started to mount a comeback, cutting the lead to seven, 63-56. The
game continued to go back and forth with each team mounting small runs.

Forbes continued his tremendous second half, by making a drive from behind the three-point line, all the way to the basket to up UMass' lead to 71-63 with 4:52 to go.

With less than one minute remaining in the game, Lowe hit a clutch floater to make it 79-73. With 15 seconds on the clock, Rice made a three-point play to cut the Minutemen lead to one-possession, 83-80. After Harris missed a layup that would have iced the game, Rice had an open three-pointer with four seconds remaining, but it was off the mark, giving UMass the thrilling victory.

Both teams had tough starts to the first half, struggling from the field, and
turning the ball over. After a full minute with no scoring, Harris picked up
the first basket of the game, a three-pointer with 18:58 remaining.

Boston College scored their first points of the game with 17:56 remaining via
a Tyrelle Blair layup.

With 16:50 remaining until the half, Lowe made a steal and went all the way
for the uncontested layup to make it 5-2.

The Minutemen continued to play tremendous defense, holding the Eagles to four points the first 5:24. Rice broke the streak with a layup with 14:36 remaining to cut UMass' lead to one, 7-6.

Papa Lo saw significant minutes in the middle of the first half, contributing right away off the bench. Shamari Spears of the Eagles went strong to the basket from the right side with 11:50 to go in the half, but Lo came out of nowhere to make the block. On the ensuing possession, he had an offensive rebound to keep the possession alive.

With the Minutemen trailing 9-7 with 11:11 remaining, they went on a 12-2 run over 3:09 to take a 19-11 lead.

A Harris three-pointer extended UMass' lead to nine, 25-16, their largest lead of the half.

The Eagles responded with a 12-0 run of their own to overtake the Minutemen, 28-25. A Gaffney layup ended the 3:07 scoreless drought.

The Eagles extended their lead to as many as five, but couldn't distance themselves. UMass clawed back to cut their deficit to only three at the half, 37-34.

ACC: All-November Team

Jeff Fox — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:08:36 -0800

CHN is doing BCS all-conference teams in December? Perhaps it is a tad early, but it should be interesting comparing the names on the All-November to the names that ultimately make the grade come March. As all fans know, not all non-conference schedules are made the same, so these lists are weighted more heavily towards the top players on the top teams in the nation who have played the top competition - the top of the tops. We’ll start things off with the Atlantic Coast Conference:

Guards

Sean Singletary – Virginia – SR

Player Info

20.4ppg, 6.9rpg, 4.4apg

Best game – Nov 14^th – Howard – 23 points, 8 assists, 4 boards

Singletary has helped lead the Cavaliers to 6-1 record and an upset victory of Arizona in Tucson. Now if he could only get his turnovers to less than five a game and shoot better than 40% from the field he’d really be cooking.

Tyrese Rice – Boston College – JR

Player Info

23.4ppg, 6.8apg, 4.0rpg

Best game – Nov 28^th – Michigan – 28 points, 8 boards, 5 assists

BC has a knack for replacing departed starts – Craig Smith begat Jared Dudley who begat Tyrese Rice. After a rather soft early schedule, it will be interesting to see if Rice can keep up the blistering pace once conference play kicks off.

Tyler Hansbrough – North Carolina – JR

Player Info

20.3ppg, 9.6rpg, 1.6spg

Best game – Nov 18^th – Iona – 27 points, 9 boards, 3 steals

No surprise here – Hansbrough has been a beast for the top-ranked Tar Heels. Yes, they’re playing a weak schedule out of the gate (no teams currently in the top-25 through their first 14 games), but don’t expect a significant drop off in Hansbrough’s play when he faces the big boys later in the season.

Kyle Singler – Duke – FR

Player Info

14.1ppg, 7.0rpg, 1.0bpg

Best game – Nov 19^th – Princeton – 21 points, 12 boards

On a Blue Devil team lacking quality bigs, the undersized Singler (6’8” 220lbs) has been a godsend, leading the team in scoring and rebounding. Against top-25 competition he is averaging 19ppg and 6.5rpg.

J.J. Hickson – North Carolina State – FR

Player Info

18.5ppg, 8.3rpg, 2.5bpg

Best game – Nov 28^th – Michigan State – 21 points, 10 boards, 4 blocks

It’s been disappointing results in the early going for highly touted NC State with losses to New Orleans and a blowout loss to Michigan State already on their resume. However, Hickson has been all he’s been advertised as plus more, leading the Wolfpack in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots while shooting an unreal 72.9% from the floor.

Next up – the Big 12.