Horizon

Jon Teitel's End of January All-Conference Teams

Jon Teitel — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:35:11 -0500

With the final month of the regular season on our door step, this is a good time to put together some all-conference teams. Enter CHN writer Jon Teitel, who not only picked his all-conference teams for each league but also provided a conference Player of the Year as well. Without further ado here are the all-conference teams, with the league POY in italics.

America East
G Gerardo Suero (Albany)
G Darryl Partin (Boston University)
G Gerald McLemore (Maine)
F Chase Plummer (UMBC)
F Alasdair Fraser (Maine)

Atlantic 10
G Ramone Moore (Temple)
G Carl Jones (Saint Joseph's)
G Tu Holloway (Xavier)
F Chris Gaston (Fordham)
F/C Andrew Nicholson (St. Bonaventure)

ACC
G Terrell Stoglin (Maryland)
G C.J. Harris (Wake Forest)
F Harrison Barnes (North Carolina)
F Mike Scott (Virginia)
F John Henson (North Carolina)

Atlantic Sun
G Jordan Burgason (Lipscomb)
G Markeith Cummings (Kennesaw State)
G Adam Sollazzo (ETSU)
F Torrey Craig (USC Upstate)
F Adam Pegg (Stetson)

Big 12
G J'Covan Brown (Texas)
G Marcus Denmon (Missouri)
G Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas)
F Thomas Robinson (Kansas)
F Perry Jones III (Baylor)

Big East
G Maalik Wayns (Villanova)
G Darius Johnson-Odom (Marquette)
G Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut)
F Kevin Jones (West Virginia)
F Herb Pope (Seton Hall)

Big Sky
G Damian Lillard (Weber State)
G Charles Odum (Portland State)
G Will Cherry (Montana)
F Collin Chiverton (Eastern Washington)
F Scott Bamforth (Weber State)

Big South
G Nick Barbour (High Point)
G Anthony Raffa (Coastal Carolina)
G Darren White (Campbell)
F Stan Okoye (VMI)
F Eric Griffin (Campbell)

Big Ten
G Tim Frazier (Penn State)
G Drew Crawford (Northwestern)
F John Shurna (Northwestern)
F Jared Sullinger (Ohio State)
F Draymond Green (Michigan St.)

Big West
G Orlando Johnson (UCSB)
G Phil Martin (UC Riverside)
G Casper Ware (Long Beach State)
F Stephan Hicks (Cal State Northridge)
F T.J. Robinson (Long Beach State)

Colonial
G Mike Moore (Hofstra)
G Devon Saddler (Delaware)
G Keith Rendleman (UNC Wilmington)
F Ryan Pearson (George Mason)
F Jamelle Hagins (Delaware)

Conference USA
G Will Barton (Memphis)
G Miguel Paul (East Carolina)
G DeAndre Kane (Marshall)
F Cameron Moore (UAB)
F Arsalan Kazemi (Rice)

Horizon
G Ray McCallum (Detroit)
G Chase Simon (Detroit)
G Kendrick Perry (Youngstown State)
F Kevin Van Wijk (Valparaiso)
F Ryan Broekhoff (Valparaiso)

Independent
G Mitch Albers (Nebraska-Omaha)
G Isaiah Wilkerson (NJIT)
F Aaron Broussard (Seattle)
F Jeremy Robinson (Chicago State)
C Antwan Carter (Longwood)

Ivy
G Zack Rosen (Pennsylvania)
G Tyler Bernardini (Pennsylvania)
G Brian Barbour (Columbia)
F Greg Mangano (Yale)
F Ian Hummer (Princeton)

MAAC
G Juan'ya Green (Niagara)
G Scott Machado (Iona)
G George Beamon (Manhattan)
F Michael Glover (Iona)
F O.D. Anosike (Siena)

MAC
G Rian Pearson (Toledo)
G Trey Ziegler (Central Michigan)
F Julian Mavunga (Miami (OH))
F Jarrod Jones (Ball State)
F Javon McCrea (Buffalo)

MEAC
G Darrion Pellum (Hampton)
G Tony Gallo (Coppin St.)
F Amin Stevens (Florida A&M)
F Brandon Riley (South Carolina State)
C Kyle O'Quinn (Norfolk St.)

MVC
G Colt Ryan (Evansville)
G Rayvonte Rice (Drake)
F Doug McDermott (Creighton)
F Taylor Brown (Bradley)
F Kyle Weems (Missouri St.)

Mountain West
G Chase Tapley (San Diego St.)
G Wes Eikmeier (Colorado St.)
G Jamaal Franklin (San Diego St.)
F Mike Moser (UNLV)
F Drew Gordon (New Mexico)

Northeast
G Shane Gibson (Sacred Heart)
G Velton Jones (Robert Morris)
G Robby Ptacek (CCSU)
F Ken Horton (CCSU)
F Julian Boyd (LIU Brooklyn)

OVC
G Kevin Murphy (Tennessee Tech)
G Isaiah Canaan (Murray State)
G Jud Dillard (Tennessee Tech)
F Robert Covington (Tennessee St.)
F Tyler Stone (Southeast Missouri St.)

Pac-12
G Jared Cunningham (Oregon St.)
G Tony Wroten (Washington)
G Allen Crabbe (California)
F Brock Motum (Washington St.)
F Andre Roberson (Colorado)

Patriot
G C.J. McCollum (Lehigh)
G Charles Hinkle (American)
F Ella Ellis (Army)
F J.J. Avila (Navy)
F Mike Muscala (Bucknell)

SEC
G John Jenkins (Vanderbilt)
G Kenny Boynton (Florida)
F Jeffery Taylor (Vanderbilt)
F Arnett Moultrie (Mississippi St.)
F Anthony Davis (Kentucky)

Southern
G Kevin Giltner (Wofford)
G Eric Ferguson (Georgia Southern)
F Antwaine Wiggins (Charleston)
F De'Mon Brooks (Davidson)
C Mike Groselle (Citadel)

Southland
G Mike James (Lamar)
G Trevon Lewis (Nicholls St.)
F Patrick Richard (McNeese St.)
F LaQuentin Miles (Central Arkansas)
F LaMarcus Reed III (UT-Arlington)

SWAC
G Quincy Roberts (Grambling St.)
G Savalace Townsend (UAPB)
G Jenirro Bush (Jackson St.)
F Casey Cantey (Alabama A&M)
C Paul Crosby (Mississippi Valley St.)

Summit
G Reggie Hamilton (Oakland)
G Nate Wolters (South Dakota St.)
G Frank Gaines (IPFW)
F Alex Young (IUPUI)
F Dominique Morrison (Oral Roberts)

Sun Belt
G DeJuan Wright (FIU)
F Tony Mitchell (North Texas)
F Chris Udofia (Denver)
C LaRon Dendy (Middle Tennessee)
C Augustine Rubit (South Alabama)

WCC
G Kevin Foster (Santa Clara)
G Anthony Ireland (Loyola Marymount)
G Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary's)
F Noah Hartsock (BYU)
F Rob Jones (Saint Mary's)

WAC
G Kevin Olekaibe (Fresno St.)
G James Kinney (San Jose St.)
G Deonte Burton (Nevada)
F Wendell McKines (New Mexico St.)
C Vander Joaquim (Hawaii)

Iona vs. Rider: Friday Thoughts

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:15:59 -0500

Light schedule tonight with Ivy League Fridays not really getting going on a consistent basis until next weekend, but there are some entertaining matchups to keep fans occupied. Both MAAC matchups consist of top-half (of the standings) teams taking on squads hoping to avoid "First Round Friday" in March's conference tournament. One such game is Iona hosting Rider on ESPNU, and while Tommy Dempsey's Broncs have been a major disappointment this year they have the firepower necessary to keep up with the Gaels.

But can Danny Stewart and company defend well enough to keep talents such as Scott Machado (the national leader in assists) and Mike Glover (AKA Optimus Prime) in check? Novar Gadson, who has found the going tough in recovering from offseason microfracture surgery, has shot 5-for-17 in his last three games and one has to wonder if there's some fatigue at play. The chemistry was off during non-conference play, especially with the addition of Virginia transfer Jeff Jones, but that seemed to be improving some before dropping games at Siena and Fairfield.

Also in the MAAC surprising Manhattan visits a Marist team that seems to be young every season, and it could become a situation where Chuck Martin's club needs a run in the MAAC Tournament to avoid a regime change. Freshman Chavaughn Lewis has been one of the better rookies in the MAAC and he's second on the team in scoring to Devin Price, but the Red Foxes average 15.7 turnovers per game. That could be an issue against Steve Masiello's Jaspers, who will look to ramp up the tempo with their full-court pressure.

George Beamon has led the way offensively for Manhattan, and after last season some seemed to forget how explosive a scorer he was in high school. Manhattan is a young team as well but they've all bought in to Masiello's vision for the program, and the team's experienced more success than expected as a result. Last year's meeting in Poughkeepsie looked to be a win for the home team...until Michael Alvarado did this. Hopefully we get similar fireworks tonight.

The best game of the night is in the Horizon League as first-place Milwaukee visits a Youngstown State team that's turned some heads this season. Seniors Kaylon Williams and Tony Meier lead the way for Rob Jeter's club, but they're going to have to be at their best defensively especially on the perimeter as the Penguins have multiple scoring options there. But what Youngstown State doesn't have is muscle in the paint, and Milwaukee may be able to take advantage of that. Butler was able to do so last weekend in their home win over YSU, and that could be what keeps Youngstown State from being a title contender this season.

Cleveland State is another Horizon contender and they host Green Bay, a team that has the ability to upset an unsuspecting title contender if not work their way back into the race. Center Alec Brown leads the way for the Phoenix, and his height (7'1") could be an issue for the Vikings in the paint. But can Green Bay slow down Jeremy Montgomery? That's easier said than done. And in the Atlantic Sun, Florida Gulf Coast visits Stetson in a battle of teams that are hoping to eventually separate from a middle of the pack that features five teams with either three or four league losses.

NCAA Division I Games
7:00 PM Florida Gulf Coast at Stetson (ESPN3)
7:05 PM Milwaukee at Youngstown State (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Green Bay at Cleveland State (ESPNU)
9:00 PM Manhattan at Marist (ESPN3)
10:00 PM Rider at Iona (ESPNU)

College Basketball Conference Ranking: RPI, KenPom, Sagarin

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:09:04 -0500

With the new year upon us and conference play starting in earnest, it seemed like a fitting time to check on how the computers rank the conferences so far. The computers all agree on one thing: the Big Ten is by far the most dominant league in the country. After that, there are subtle disagreements down the line. It is noteworthy that the Mountain West is ahead of 3 traditional power conferences, while the Pac 12 barely comes in ahead of the MVC and A10.

The overall ranking is based on an average of three rankings: the RPI, KenPom.com's ratings, and the Sagarin rating from USA Today.

Rank	Conference	RPI	KenPom	Sagarin	Avg
1	Big Ten	1	1	1	1.0
2	Big 12	3	2	2	2.3
3	Big East	2	3	3	2.7
4	Mountain West	4	6	4	4.7
5	SEC	6	4	5	5.0
6	ACC	5	5	6	5.3
7	Pac 12	9	7	7	7.7
8	Missouri Valley	7	9	8	8.0
9	Atlantic 10	8	8	9	8.3
10	CUSA	11	10	10	10.3
11	WCC	10	11	11	10.7
12	Horizon	12	13	13	12.7
13	WAC	18	12	12	14.0
14	MAC	14	15	14	14.3
15	Summit	13	17	15	15.0
16	Colonial	20	14	16	16.7
17	Ivy	17	16	19	17.3
18	Sun Belt	15	20	17	17.3
19	Atlantic Sun	19	18	18	18.3
20	MAAC	16	19	21	18.7
21	Big West	21	21	20	20.7
22t	Patriot	23	22	26	23.7
22t	Southern	22	24	25	23.7
24t	Ohio Valley	24	25	24	24.3
24t	Big South	27	23	23	24.3
26	Big Sky	28	26	22	25.3
27	Southland	25	28	27	26.7
28	Northeast	26	27	28	27.0
29t	America East	31	29	29	29.7
29t	MEAC	29	30	30	29.7
31t	Independent	32	31	31	31.3
31t	SWAC	30	32	32	31.3

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Jon Teitel's All-Conference Teams (Pre-League Play Edition)

Jon Teitel — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 01:59:57 -0500

With conference play beginning for many leagues this week (a few conferences began their league slate in early December) it's a good time to look back on some of the top performers. Enter CHN writer Jon Teitel, who put together his all-conference teams for each of the leagues.

America East
G Gerardo Suero (Albany)
G Darryl Partin (Boston University)
G Gerald McLemore (Maine)
F Ben Dickinson (Binghamton)
F Chase Plummer (UMBC)

Atlantic 10
G Carl Jones (Saint Joseph's)
G Tu Holloway (Xavier)
G Ramone Moore (Temple)
F Chris Gaston (Fordham)
F Chris Braswell (Charlotte)

ACC
G Terrell Stoglin (Maryland)
G Kendall Marshall (North Carolina)
F Travis McKie (Wake Forest)
F Mike Scott (Virginia)
F Harrison Barnes (North Carolina)

Atlantic Sun
G Markeith Cummings (Kennesaw St.)
G Kerron Johnson (Belmont)
G Adam Sollazzo (East Tennessee St.)
F Torrey Craig (USC Upstate)
C Adam Pegg (Stetson)

Big 12
G Steven Pledger (Oklahoma)
G J'Covan Brown (Texas)
G Marcus Denmon (Missouri)
F Thomas Robinson (Kansas)
F Royce White (Iowa St.)

Big East
G Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut)
G Darius Johnson-Odom (Marquette)
G Dion Waiters (Syracuse)
F Kevin Jones (West Virginia)
F Herb Pope (Seton Hall)

Big Sky
G Damian Lillard (Weber St.)
G Charles Odum (Portland St.)
G Will Cherry (Montana)
G Stallon Soldivar (Northern Arizona)
F Collin Chiverton (Eastern Washington)

Big South
G Darren White (Campbell)
G Nick Barbour (High Point)
G Anthony Raffa (Coastal Carolina)
F Eric Griffin (Campbell)
C Al'Lonzo Coleman (Presbyterian)

Big Ten
G Drew Crawford (Northwestern)
G Tim Frazier (Penn St.)
F John Shurna (Northwestern)
F Robbie Hummel (Purdue)
F Jared Sullinger (Ohio State)

Big West
G Orlando Johnson (UCSB)
G Casper Ware (Long Beach St.)
G Phil Martin (UC Riverside)
F T.J. Robinson (Long Beach St.)
F James Nunnally (UCSB)

Colonial
G Mike Moore (Hofstra)
G Devon Saddler (Delaware)
G Keith Rendleman (UNC Wilmington)
F Ryan Pearson (George Mason)
F Jamelle Hagins (Delaware)

Conference USA
G Will Barton (Memphis)
G Damier Pitts (Marshall)
G DeAndre Kane (Marshall)
F Keith Clanton (UCF)
F Arsalan Kazemi (Rice)

Horizon
G Chase Simon (Detroit)
G Kendrick Perry (Youngstown St.)
G Ray McCallum Jr. (Detroit)
F Ryan Broekhoff (Valparaiso)
F Ben Averkamp (Loyola (IL))

Independent
G Mitch Albers (Nebraska-Omaha)
G Isaiah Wilkerson (NJIT)
F Aaron Broussard (Seattle)
F Art Bernardi (Houston Baptist)
C Antwan Carter (Longwood)

Ivy
G Zack Rosen (Pennsylvania)
G Tyler Bernardini (Pennsylvania)
F Keith Wright (Harvard)
F Ian Hummer (Princeton)
F Greg Mangano (Yale)

MAAC
G Dylon Cormier (Loyola (MD))
G Harold Washington (Canisius)
G Scott Machado (Iona)
F Michael Glover (Iona)
F Rakim Sanders (Fairfield)

Mid-American
G D.J. Cooper (Ohio)
G Rian Pearson (Toledo)
F Julian Mavunga (Miami (OH))
F Jarrod Jones (Ball St.)
F Javon McCrea (Buffalo)

MEAC
G Tony Gallo (Coppin St.)
G Darrion Pellum (Hampton)
F Brandon Riley (South Carolina St.)
F Dominique Sutton (North Carolina Central)
C Kyle O'Quinn (Norfolk St.)

Missouri Valley
G Colt Ryan (Evansville)
G Rayvonte Rice (Drake)
G Kyle Weems (Missouri State)
F Doug McDermott (Creighton)
F Taylor Brown (Bradley)

Mountain West
G Chase Tapley (San Diego St.)
G Wes Eikmeier (Colorado St.)
G Michael Lyons (Air Force)
F Chace Stanback (UNLV)
F Mike Moser (UNLV)

Northeast
G Shane Gibson (Sacred Heart)
G Kyle Vinales (CCSU)
F Ken Horton (CCSU)
F Julian Boyd (Long Island)
F Ike Azotam (Quinnipiac)

Ohio Valley
G Kevin Murphy (Tennessee Tech)
G Isaiah Canaan (Murray St.)
G Jeremy Granger (Eastern Illinois)
F Robert Covington (Tennessee St.)
F Tyler Stone (Southeast Missouri St.)

Pac-12
G Jared Cunningham (Oregon St.)
G Jorge Gutierrez (California)
G Tony Wroten (Washington)
F Brock Motum (Washington St.)
F Andre Roberson (Colorado)

Patriot
G Charles Hinkle (American)
G C.J. McCollum (Lehigh)
G Jim Mower (Lafayette)
F Mike Muscala (Bucknell)
F JJ Avila (Navy)

SEC
G John Jenkins (Vanderbilt)
G Kenny Boynton (Florida)
G Dee Bost (Mississippi St.)
F Anthony Davis (Kentucky)
F Arnett Moultrie (Mississippi St.)

Southern
G Kevin Giltner (Wofford)
G Harouna Mutombo (Western Carolina)
F Antwaine Wiggins (Charleston)
F De'Mon Brooks (Davidson)
C Mike Groselle (Citadel)

Southland
G Brandon Fortenberry (SE Louisiana)
G Kannon Burrage (UTSA)
G Anthony Miles (Lamar)
F LaQuentin Miles (Central Arkansas)
F Patrick Richard (McNeese St.)

SWAC
G Savalace Townsend (Arkansas-Pine Bluff)
G Marquis Baker (Alcorn St.)
G Jenirro Bush (Jackson St.)
F Kenderek Washington (Alabama St.)
C Paul Crosby (Miss. Valley St.)

Summit
G Reggie Hamilton (Oakland)
G Nate Wolters (South Dakota St.)
G Frank Gaines (IPFW)
F Alex Young (IUPUI)
F Terell Parks (Western Illinois)

Sun Belt
G Raymond Taylor (FAU)
G Chris Jones (North Texas)
F LaRon Dendy (Middle Tennessee)
F Chris Udofia (Denver)
C Augustine Rubit (South Alabama)

West Coast
G Kevin Foster (Santa Clara)
G Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary's)
G Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga)
F Noah Hartsock (BYU)
F Rob Jones (Saint Mary's)

WAC
G Kevin Olekaibe (Fresno St.)
G James Kinney (San Jose St.)
G Zane Johnson (Hawaii)
F Wendell McKines (New Mexico St.)
C Kyle Barone (Idaho)

Jon Teitel's "Coaching Greats" Series: Milwaukee's Rob Jeter

Jon Teitel — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:59:02 -0500

In the latest installment in his "Coaching Greats" interview series CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with current Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter. In his seventh season at the school, Jeter has led the Panthers to a pair of Horizon League titles and an NCAA Tournament in 2005. The Panthers are currently 9-4 on the season with a 2-0 record in conference play.

Jon Teitel: Your father Bob is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, your uncle Tony played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and your brother Carlton was your basketball teammate at Wisconsin-Platteville. Who is the best athlete in the family, and do you credit at least some of your success to genetics?

Rob Jeter: I am very proud of my family and the success that so many of them have had in sports and life. Family is very important in shaping who you are and pushing you to become successful in life, and I am no different. I give every member of my family credit for making me who I am today.

JT: At Wisconsin-Platteville you went 102-16 in your four seasons playing for Coach Bo Ryan. What was it like to play for Coach Ryan, and what makes him such a great coach?

RJ: There are so many different things that make Coach Ryan successful. You could say it is his work ethic, his preparation, his knowledge of the game, his attention to detail, his relationship with his players, or many other things. He put us in a position to be successful and he demanded excellence and accountability from us. From the first day of practice we worked on the things that we needed to do to become better basketball players and to win games. We continued to do that every day and it paid off in the end.

JT: You were captain of the 1991 team that averaged almost 100 points per game and won the Division III title. What did it mean to you to be named captain, and what did it mean to you to win the title?

RJ: It was an honor to be the team captain. I certainly did my best to be a leader for our team and to help push us to be successful. Winning a national championship is very special and to share it with all of my teammates and coaches made it even better, plus we had such great support from the campus and community. Platteville is a very special place and to win the national title with all of those people behind us was tremendous.

JT: After graduation you played professionally overseas, where you led the Portuguese national league in scoring. What did you learn from the experience, and how did it compare to college basketball?

RJ: Anytime you get to go out on your own into another country you learn a lot of lessons. It was a great experience to see some of the culture, to get to meet new people, and to experience what basketball is like somewhere else. I enjoyed it tremendously.

JT: After retiring you spent four years as an assistant to Coach Ryan at Wisconsin-Platteville, where you won two more Division II titles. How did winning a title as an assistant coach compare to winning a title as a player?

RJ: Every championship is different. As a player you are out there on the court making plays but as a coach you can look back at how players developed and learned lessons over time. I was fortunate enough to be a part of a great tradition of winning at Platteville as both a player and a coach, and all of those memories are extremely special.

JT: What are your memories of your trips to the NCAA Tournament as an assistant coach under Ryan at Wisconsin?

RJ: As a coach you probably do tend to remember every game you are a part of in some way but it is hard to go back and break down every moment of all of those games. I have a lot of tremendous memories of my time at Wisconsin and of the players and fans that really supported the team. We were fortunate enough to enjoy a lot of success and get the chance to play deep into the tournament, but we also worked very hard to be great during the regular season and compete for Big Ten championships. We are all especially proud of finding a way to win the Big Ten title in our first year at Wisconsin. You do think back to some of the great moments: the great road wins at places like Michigan State and all the great home wins in front of the great Badger fans at the Kohl Center. We had a lot of great players come through and they all played a very important role in building what has become an incredible tradition of winning at Wisconsin.

JT: You were hired as head coach at Milwaukee in 2005 and your team won the conference tournament in your very first year. How were you able to come in and have so much success so quickly?

RJ: I was fortunate enough to have a great group of players and coaches to work with in my first year. It was exciting because it wound up being a chance for me to finally coach a lot of guys that I had recruited to Milwaukee when I was an assistant coach. To see players like Adrian Tigert and Chris Hill (players who signed with us the first time around) playing at such a high level on the national stage was very exciting and rewarding. It was a tremendous group of people and players and a great season to be a part of.

JT: In 2009 you won a bronze medal as an assistant under Coach Ryan for Team USA at the World University Games in Serbia. How devastating was the one-point loss to Russia, and which player impressed you the most (Talor Battle, Robbie Hummel, other)?

RJ: The World University Games was a great experience. The talent around the world is very, very good. Probably a lot better than we realize many times. You can learn a lot from watching how those players play the game and the skills they put to good use. Of course we went there to win the gold medal so it was disappointing to get knocked off. However, at the same time I think all of the players and coaches learned a lot and have become better basketball players and people because of the experience, and that is important too.

JT: In 2011 you swept Butler in the regular season, lost to Northwestern in the first round of the NIT, and were named Horizon League Coach of the Year. What do you think your team learned from last season that can help you this season?

RJ: When you look back on things and how we did it, it was a very special season. It was not that we started off badly, but we certainly did not start off great either. Our inability to play consistent basketball early was a big concern. Once we really started to play at a higher level we were able to really put it together and string together some wins. To start that late run by winning at Butler and then finish it off by sweeping a league weekend in OH (something that no one else in the league did) showed that we really solidified some things late in the year and got results.

Jeter is also on Jon's list of best coaches in Horizon League history.

Butler: Tony Hinkle (1926-1970) 558-394, 1 NCAA tourney, 3 conference titles
Cleveland State: Kevin Mackey (1983-1990) 142-69, 1 NCAA tourney, 2 conference titles, 2-time conference COY
Detroit: Bob Calihan (1948-1969) 306-237, 1 NCAA tourney
Green Bay: Dick Bennett (1985-1995) 187-109, 3 NCAA tourneys, 2 conference titles, 2-time conference COY
Illinois-Chicago: Jimmy Collins (1996-2010) 218-208, 3 NCAA tourneys, 1 conference title, 1-time conference COY
Loyola (Chicago): George Ireland (1951-1975) 318-255, 4 NCAA tourneys, 2 conference titles, 1 NCAA title
Milwaukee: Rob Jeter (2005-present) 110-93, 1 NCAA tourney, 2 conference titles, 1-time conference COY
Valparaiso: Homer Drew (1988-2002, 2003-2011) 356-288, 7 NCAA tourneys, 8 conference titles, 4-time conference COY
Wright State: Ralph Underhill (1978-1996) 356-162, 1 NCAA tourney, 1 conference title, 1 D-2 title, 1-time national COY
Youngstown State: Mike Rice, Sr. (1982-1987) 75-67

Jon Teitel's "Forgotten Legends" Series: Cleveland State's Franklin Edwards

Jon Teitel — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:32:19 -0500

In the most recent installment in his "Forgotten Legends" interview series CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with Cleveland State great Franklin Edwards. Edwards' career scoring average of 21.9 points per game is the best in school history, and after an NBA career that included a championship in 1983 he's worked for both the NBA and Fox Sports Midwest (broadcasting). Edwards' son James currently plays at Lewis & Clark College.

Jon Teitel: Your middle name is Delano. Is that a family name, or were your parents just big fans of FDR?

Franklin Edwards: My dad actually picked the name, as he was a huge FDR fan. He also told me that he wanted a distinguished middle name that separated me from others. He surely accomplished that!

JT: In 1981 you scored a school-record 49 points at Xavier (scoring 31 in the second half). Was it just one of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were "in the zone"?

FE: There is an interesting story behind that game. We were an independent during those years and it was probably our best chance while I was at Cleveland State to make a postseason tourney. We needed to win that game but had to do so in a fashion that would draw attention to us as both a school and as a team. My mindset going into that game was to try to do something to keep the selection committee interested in considering us. The game was back and forth the whole time and it was senior night for Xavier. I knew I scored a lot of points but never thought it was that many until the final minute of the game. Two things about that game have always stayed with me. First, we had a 2-on-1 fast break with 20 seconds left. I passed off to a teammate who had just come into the game, and he scored.

Second, that pass gave me my 12th assist of the night. The reason why those two things stand out to me today is because looking at the stat sheet right after that game, I felt that I could have easily scored 60 points if my goal had been to shoot and score every chance I had. The field house scoring record at the time was 50 points, which I could have broken if I had chosen to shoot that final layup. However, I can honestly say 20+ years later that I would not change a thing. I was never the type of player to think only about my own records and accomplishments. I feel that those final few minutes really showed everything about me as a player and person, and I have been able to live proudly and happily with that. I hope this answer is not too long, but sometimes records do not tell the whole story.

JT: Your career scoring average of 21.9 ppg is still the highest in school history. Did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were?

FE: I can honestly say that due to the type of player I was it never crossed my mind at the time. Don't get me wrong, I knew that I was good but I always just tried to be the best player I could be. I must say that when I look back now at some of the things I did and the records I have, I marvel at myself. It never occurred to me at the time I was doing these things and how special they were, but I have far more appreciation for it now. I have been told that there are fewer than 200 players in NCAA history who averaged 21+ ppg for their career, but I have yet to research this myself.

JT: Your #14 was the first jersey to ever be retired by CSU. What did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding individual honor?

FE: Having my number retired was one of the honors that I truly grasped even back then. It meant the world to me if only because it gave me a glimpse into my accomplishments. My attitude was that if they retired my jersey then nobody would ever wear that number again, so I must have been pretty good while I was here! Years later I still realize the true magnitude of the honor.

JT: In the summer of 1981 you were drafted 22nd overall by Philadelphia (nine spots ahead of Danny Ainge). Did you see that as a validation of your college career or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA?

FE: I never looked at my career by comparing it to that of others. I always thought it was up to other people to do that. All I wanted to do was give my best every day, improve my game, play hard, and let the chips fall where they may. My validation came from reaching the NBA and having a blessed career. I always thought that I could do it, so proving it to myself was all the validation that I needed. Everything else was gravy in my mind.

JT: In 1983 you won the NBA title as a member of the 76ers. What did it mean to you to win the title, and what was the reaction like in Philly?

FE: Winning the title was an incredible experience. It meant that a kid with a dream of making it out of Harlem could not only do it, but win one of the greatest prizes in sports history in the process. It meant that the name Edwards will always be tied to basketball history. Everyone who looks at the history of the NBA will see that team listed along with my picture and name. I have always looked at myself as an example to kids of the importance of following your dreams. Winning an NBA championship just verified the power and truth in kids' dreams. As far as Philadelphia goes, it was a special time.

The 76ers had fallen short in previous years. They lost to the Lakers in the 1980 NBA Finals and to the Celtics in the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals (the year before I got there). It was a wounded team and city when I got there, which made it all the greater once we won the title. The city was on fire with joy and pride. Everywhere you went people mobbed you with love and joy. I always use this as the best barometer for what that team meant to the city of Philadelphia. Here we are 25+ years later and there is not a single time that I go back to Philly when someone does not stop me on the street to thank me for being a part of that team. That says it all!

JT: In 1986 you finished 6th in the league with 87.4 FT%. Did you consider yourself to be one of the best free throw shooters in the league, and what is your secret for free throw shooting?

FE: I considered myself to be one of the best free throw shooters in the league. I always felt that I should have had an even higher FT% that year, but I got lazy and lost my concentration and missed four or so free throws during the final month of the season. It is wild how things like that stick with you throughout your life! My secret (if you can call it that) was always practicing them the way you would shoot them in games. I tried to shoot 100 every time I practiced, which gave me a good gauge on my concentration level and percentage. Being a great free throw shooter is just about doing many practice repetitions: there is no way around it.

JT: After retiring you worked for the NBA helping to promote education, and later became a college basketball broadcaster for Fox Sports Midwest. Which gig did you like more, and what do you hope to do in the future?

FE: I worked with the NBA and NBA Players Association for 12 years. It was so fulfilling and interesting. I oversaw the Education and Career Development departments. Everything and anything the players and spouses wanted to become involved with off the court was handled by our office. It was incredible. Every day was different. I absolutely love doing color commentary for college basketball games. This is my 18th season doing it. I love the fact that I get to evaluate players, strategies, and game plans. Both jobs have been equally satisfying but in very different ways, so I really do not have a favorite between the two. In the future I look forward to doing more work with high school athletes, as it has always been an area that intrigues me.

JT: Your son James played guard at Lewis & Clark. How proud are you of his success, and which of you is the better athlete?

FE: I am so proud of James. He is doing well and I could not be happier for him. I tell people that James has always been a better athlete than I was.

JT: When people look back on your career, what do you want them to remember the most?

FE: I hope that I am remembered as a person who always cared. I believe that the way someone is on the basketball court closely mirrors the way they are in life. I always felt that my best qualities were first and foremost my unselfishness as a player and person. Secondly, I had the ability and the will to get better and never settle for who I was as a player. My drive to not only be good but great is something that (looking back now) has always allowed me to push myself more than others. There is a saying that goes something like, "the will to prepare for greatness must far exceed the will to be great". That statement would sum me up, so I hope that is what people remember most about my career.

Edwards is also on Jon's list of best pro players in Horizon League history.

Butler: Billy Shepherd (1973)
Cleveland State: Franklin Edwards (1982)
Detroit: Dave DeBusschere (1963)
Green Bay: Tony Bennett (1993)
UIC: Sherell Ford (1996)
Loyola: Les Hunter (1965)
Milwaukee: NO ALUMNI IN ABA/NBA
Valparaiso: John Janisch (1947)
Wright State: Vitaly Potapenko (1997)
Youngstown State: Leo Mogus (1947)

College Hoops Thursday Recap: Hoyas Win a Thriller

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:26:52 -0500

Suspense was expected in the matchup between Georgetown and #12 Alabama, and that's exactly what the two teams provided as the Hoyas beat the Crimson Tide 57-55 on a Hollis Thompson three-pointer with 1.8 seconds remaining. Instead of simply giving Jason Clark (22 points) the ball and telling him to shoot, Georgetown used the senior guard to run a dribble hand-off with Thompson on the right wing and the junior rose up and knocked down the shot. Levi Randolph's shot from half court missed just left of the rim at the buzzer, ending the Tide's 24-game home win streak.

"We had some breakdowns during the play," said Alabama head coach Anthony Grant of the game-winning sequence. "We talked about what we needed to do from a defensive standpoint in the timeout but unfortunately we didn't get it done on the court."

Alabama had a lackluster first half from an offensive standpoint, shooting 31% and scoring just 16 points as the visiting Hoyas took a seven-point lead into the locker room. The big issue for the Crimson Tide throughout the game was their offensive execution against the Georgetown zone. Alabama made just three of sixteen shots from beyond the arc, and for a team that shoots 27% from deep on the season that may be too many attempts. But as they didn't perform as well as they would have hoped in finding the open areas in the zone defense, Alabama had to resort to perimeter shots. Look for opponents down the road to give the Tide more zone looks as a result of this.

As for the Hoyas, their wins over Memphis and Alabama may be the best that the Big East has to offer from a non-conference standpoint, and in hindsight the preseason pick to finish 10th in the conference could be a bit conservative. But that will ultimately depend on the play of Thompson (12 points, eight rebounds) and Henry Sims (13 points), not to mention the progression of young contributors such as Markel Starks, Otto Porter and Greg Whittington. At the very least John Thompson III's team has shown signs of growth, and they've picked up a couple decent non-conference wins to boot.

"This is our third game against a team in the Top 15 so we've had a few tests and battles," said Thompson III. "To come in here and win against a team that's so well coached; on a court where they don't lose is a huge win for our group. I don't want to get into where we thought we would be at this time. Our guys have a lot of room for growth."

Other Notable Happenings

1. Youngstown State drops Detroit in their Horizon League opener for both.
Many, myself included, pegged Detroit as the team most likely to win the Horizon League even with Eli Holman being out indefinitely for personal reasons. But the Titans didn't get off to the best of starts in league play, losing to Youngstown State 64-61 at Calihan Hall. DuShawn Brooks knocked down six three-pointers for the Penguins, who fired away from beyond the arc with reckless abandon (9-for-28). But YSU only turned the ball over seven times, and that combined with their outscoring Detroit by 12 from deep proved to be the difference. Chase Simon and Ray McCallum Jr. scored 21 points apiece to lead UDM, but they need guys such as LaMarcus Lowe to step up in order to win a conference title. Losing Nick Minnerath hurts the Titans, who find themselves now down two expected contributors (counting Holman) and that could be a serious issue when discussing their chances against the likes of Butler and Cleveland State.

2. Distracted (?) Quinnipiac falls to Sacred Heart at home in their NEC opener.
Two Bobcat playes, James Johnson and Ike Azotam, were arrested in mid-October for their alleged roles in an on-campus fight back in September. But while Tom Moore's key players were disciplined in house the strength of the distraction was minimized by the timing of the case. No such luck on Thursday night as three more players, Jamee Jackson, David Johnson and Nate Gause, were arrested just hours before their game against Sacred Heart. All three were bailed out and able to play since the team handled their punishment in October as well, but the question of whether or not Quinnipiac was distracted on the floor is a fair one to ask. Quinnipiac shot just 31% in their 68-55 loss to Sacred Heart and made a deplorable nine of twenty from the foul line. The Bobcats have the talent needed to be a factor in the NEC, but bad decisions off the court could end up stunting this team's growth.

3. Ole Miss survives a wild finish and wins at DePaul.
With 13:55 remaining in the game Andy Kennedy's team led DePaul 50-33 and seemingly had things in control at Allstate Arena. But Oliver Purnell's pressing style began to affect the Rebels, who would finish with 20 turnovers on the night with young guards Nick Williams and Jarvis Summer combining for ten. But thanks to some critical missed free throws by the Blue Demons and Murphy Holloway's driving basket in the final seconds Ole Miss escaped with a 70-68 win in the HTC Big East/SEC Invitational. Williams and Summers did combine to score 29 points, and both their talent and inexperience were on display Thursday night. Holloway finished with a double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) and his return after a brief stint at South Carolina is a good pickup after the graduation of Chris Warren. The one problem for the Rebels this season: the move to one division in the SEC, which makes it that much tougher to win a title. But they still play a similar conference schedule, which may set them up for a decent league campaign.

Quick Hitters

1. It took a half or so but Kentucky showed glimpses of the team pegged as one of the favorites to win the national title. Anthony Davis (15 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks) was two blocks short of a triple-double in the Wildcats' 81-59 win over St. John's and Terrence Jones scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds. As a team the Wildcats set a school record with 18 blocked shots.

2. South Dakota State won the game of the night, beating IUPUI 97-93 in overtime with Nate Wolters (32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists) leading the way. Alex Young led the Jaguars with 28 points and nine rebounds and the two teams combined to make 25 three-pointers.

3. C.J. Garner scored all 15 of his points in the second half and Jamal Olasewere scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Long Island beat Wagner 78-73 in Brooklyn. Tyler Murray led the Seahawks with 19 points, and along with Robert Morris and CCSU look for these teams to fight it out at the top of the NEC all season long.

4. Thursday was a big night for Bilal Dixon, who scored ten points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked seven shots off the bench in Providence's 76-67 win at South Carolina. Ed Cooley's got a team that's accountable, especially on the defensive end, and that change has been noticeable in the early going. Five players finished in double figures.

5. Mercer picked up a nice road win to open Atlantic Sun as they beat Lipscomb 79-72. Justin Cecil led four starters in double figures with 22 points and seven rebounds, but they're going to face a tougher challenge on Saturday at defending league champion Belmont. Can Bob Hoffman's team play what amounts to a six-man rotation all season long and be successful? Why not?

Three Notable Performances

1. G Nate Wolters (South Dakota State)
32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the Jackrabbits' 97-93 overtime win at IUPUI.

2. F Terrence Jones and F Anthony Davis (Kentucky)
Jones finished with 26 points, nine rebounds and four blocks while Davis added 15 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks in Kentucky's 81-59 win over St. John's.

3. F Ken Horton (Central Connecticut State)
32 points (6-10 3PT), nine rebounds and three steals in CCSU's 83-51 win at Bryant.

Jon Teitel's November All-Conference Teams

Jon Teitel — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:22:22 -0500

With the first month of the college basketball season concluded, this is a good time to recognize some of the top players throughout the country. With that in mind, CHN writer Jon Teitel gave his all-conference selections for each conference (and independents, which includes the Great West in this piece).

America East
G Darryl Partin Boston University
G Justin Edwards Maine
G Gerardo Suero Albany
F Ben Dickinson Binghamton
F Chase Plummer UMBC

Atlantic 10
G Carl Jones Saint Joseph's
G Mark Lyons Xavier
G Tu Holloway Xavier
F Andrew Nicholson St. Bonaventure
F Chris Braswell Charlotte

ACC
G Kendall Marshall North Carolina
G Terrell Stoglin Maryland
G Glen Rice Jr. Georgia Tech
F Travis McKie Wake Forest
F Mike Scott Virginia

Atlantic Sun
G Marcus Dubose ETSU
G Markeith Cummings Kennesaw St.
G Jordan Burgason Lipscomb
F J.J. Mann Belmont
F Torrey Craig USC Upstate

Big 12
G J'Covan Brown Texas
G Marcus Denmon Missouri
F Royce White Iowa St.
F Thomas Robinson Kansas
F Quincy Miller Baylor

Big East
G Maalik Wayns Villanova
G Darius Johnson-Odom Marquette
G Jeremy Lamb Connecticut
F Kevin Jones West Virginia
F Herb Pope Seton Hall

Big Sky
G Damian Lillard Weber St.
G Will Cherry Montana
G Kareem Jamar Montana
F Scott Bamforth Weber St.
F Collin Chiverton EWU

Big South
G Keith Gabriel VMI
G Darren White Campbell
G Anthony Raffa Coastal Carolina
F Eric Griffin Campbell
F Al'Lonzo Coleman Presbyterian

Big Ten
G Tim Frazier Penn St.
G Drew Crawford Northwestern
F John Shurna Northwestern
F Jared Sullinger Ohio St.
F Robbie Hummel Purdue

Big West
G Casper Ware Long Beach St.
G Orlando Johnson UCSB
F Stephan Hicks Cal State-Northridge
F James Nunnally UCSB
F T.J. Robinson Long Beach St.

CAA
G A.J. Davis James Madison
G Devon Saddler Delaware
G Humpty Hitchens James Madison
F Ryan Pearson George Mason
F Nathaniel Lester Hofstra

Conference USA
G Will Barton Memphis
G Miguel Paul East Carolina
F Keith Clanton UCF
F Josh Davis Tulane
F Cameron Moore UAB

Horizon
G Kendrick Perry Youngstown St.
G Chase Simon Detroit
F Kevin Van Wijk Valparaiso
F Ryan Broekhoff Valparaiso
C Alec Brown Green Bay

Independents
G Mitch Albers Nebraska Omaha
G Isiah Williams Utah Valley
F Aaron Broussard Seattle
F Jeremy Robinson Chicago State
F Antwan Carter Longwood

Ivy
G Zack Rosen Pennsylvania
G Sean McGonagill Brown
F Ian Hummer Princeton
F Greg Mangano Yale
F Keith Wright Harvard

MAAC
G Scott Machado Iona
G Harold Washington Canisius
G Dylon Cormier Loyola (MD)
F Michael Glover Iona
F Rakim Sanders Fairfield

MAC
G Rian Pearson Toledo
G D.J. Cooper Ohio
G Trey Ziegler Central Michigan
F Jarrod Jones Ball State
F Julian Mavunga Miami (OH)

MEAC
G Tahj Tate Delaware St.
G Tony Gallo Coppin St.
G Darrion Pellum Hampton
F Dominique Sutton NC Central
F Brandon Riley South Carolina St.

Missouri Valley
G Colt Ryan Evansville
G Rayvonte Rice Drake
F Doug McDermott Creighton
F Ben Simons Drake
F Taylor Brown Bradley

Mountain West
G Michael Lyons Air Force
G Chase Tapley San Diego St.
G Wes Eikmeier Colorado St.
F Anthony Drmic Boise St.
F Mike Moser UNLV

NEC
G Kyle Vinales Central Conn. St.
G James Johnson Quinnipiac
F Ken Horton Central Conn. St.
F Alex Francis Bryant
F Ike Azotam Quinnipiac

Ohio Valley
G Kevin Murphy Tennessee Tech
G Isaiah Canaan Murray St.
G Jud Dillard Tennessee Tech
F Mike Liabo UT Martin
F Robert Covington Tennessee St.

Pac-12
G Jared Cunningham Oregon St.
G Jorge Gutierrez California
G Trent Lockett Arizona St.
F Devon Collier Oregon St.
F Brock Motum Washington St.

Patriot
G Charles Hinkle American
G Jim Mower Lafayette
G C.J. McCollum Lehigh
F Ryan Willen Lafayette
C Mike Muscala Bucknell

SEC
G John Jenkins Vanderbilt
G Kenny Boynton Florida
G Brad Beal Florida
F Arnett Moultrie Mississippi St.
F Tony Mitchell Alabama

Southern
G Jamaal Trice Appalachian St.
G Eric Ferguson Georgia Southern
F De'Mon Brooks Davidson
F Antwaine Wiggins Charleston
F Mike Groselle Citadel

Southland
G Brandon Fortenberry SE Louisiana
G Anthony Miles Lamar
G Antonio Bostic Stephen F. Austin
F LaQuentin Miles Central Arkansas
F Patrick Richard McNeese St.

SWAC
G Marquis Baker Alcorn St.
G Savalace Townsend UAPB
G Tramaine Butler Alabama St.
F Casey Cantey Alabama A&M
F Demarquelle Tabb Alabama A&M

Summit
G Frank Gaines IPFW
G Nate Wolters South Dakota St.
G Reggie Hamilton Oakland
F Dominique Morrison Oral Roberts
F Alex Young IUPUI

Sun Belt
G Chris Jones North Texas
G Jeremy Allen FIU
G Phil Taylor FIU
F Chris Udofia Denver
C Augustine Rubit South Alabama

WCC
G Evan Roquemore Santa Clara
G Kevin Foster Santa Clara
F Noah Hartsock BYU
F Rob Jones St. Mary's
C Robert Sacre Gonzaga

WAC
G Kevin Olekaibe Fresno St.
G Christian Kabongo New Mexico St.
G Zane Johnson Hawaii
F Wendell McKines New Mexico St.
C Kyle Barone Idaho

College Hoops Thursday: Your Commentary

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:15:25 -0500

Thursday's schedule is highlighted by the first night of the SEC/Big East Invitational, and while the marquee games are tomorrow there are solid match ups to keep track of tonight. At the top of that list has to be Georgetown (5-1) heading south to take on #12 Alabama (7-0), and the question will be what John Thompson III's big men can do against JaMychal Green (15.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Tony Mitchell (14.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg). To say the least this will be a tall task for Henry Sims, Nate Lubick and the rest of the Georgetown frontcourt, as Mitchell is one of the best athletes in the game and Green is considered to be one of the top interior players in the SEC.

Sims is averaging 13.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, and his ability to step out on the perimeter in Georgetown's system makes him a tough cover when on. But his performance will need to be consistent if the Hoyas are to have a serious shot at leaving Tuscaloosa with the win, and the season goes for Lubick. Georgetown will also use the versatile freshman Otto Porter (9.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and classmate Greg Whittington, and it's going to have to be a group effort as it wouldn't be realistic to expect any of these four to rise to the level of a Green or Mitchell on their own.

The guard play should also be entertaining, and in Georgetown's Jason Clark (17.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and Alabama's Trevor Releford (11.6 ppg, 2.4 apg) there will be two of the better guards in their respective leagues on display. Clark's really had to step up his offensive production with Austin Freeman and Chris Wright moving on, becoming more of a scorer in his senior campaign. Outside of he and wing Hollis Thompson (14.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg) the Hoyas are young on the perimeter, as they look to the likes of Markel Starks and Jabril Trawick for minutes.

As for Releford (11.6 ppg, 2.4 apg), he leads a young backcourt with just one season of experience under his belt. Freshmen Levi Randolph, Trevor Lacey and Rodney Cooper are all capable of being outstanding players for Anthony Grant in the future, and each has shown the ability to make plays now as well. The one concern for the Crimson Tide has to be the fact that they essentially break even in their averages for assists and turnovers per game, and Georgetown's opponents have averaged 15.5 turnovers per game this season. Both teams are good at attacking the offensive boards, but the Hoyas will need to take advantage of their superiority in offensive efficiency and valuing the basketball if they're to pick up what would be a big road victory.

Also playing in the SEC/Big East Invitational tonight is top-ranked Kentucky, which hosts a St. John's team even younger than their rotation and lacking the depth that John Calipari's group brings to the table. A prohibitive favorite to win tonight, this is a good test for the Wildcats from a maturity standpoint. Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb and Darius Miller need to lead Kentucky and make sure there aren't any signs of the team looking ahead to Saturday's game against North Carolina. Providence visits South Carolina and DePaul host Ole Miss in the other two games on the docket.

But the bigger deal on Thursday night is the start of conference play in multiple conferences that tend to play their league tournaments on the first weekend of "Championship Fortnight" (nearly 12 days is not a "Week"). In the NEC games between St. Francis (NY) and Mount St. Mary's and Wagner visiting LIU will help shape the league race that takes a break until January after this weekend. In the Big South, defending regular season champion Coastal Carolina begins their quest to finally get to the NCAA Tournament after squandering opportunities in each of the last two seasons with VMI coming to town, and defending Big South Tournament champ UNC Asheville opens at Gardner-Webb. And Liberty at Campbell should be another solid opening night tilt in the Big South.

Play in the Atlantic Sun, Horizon, MAAC, SoCon and Summit leagues also begins tonight, with gems including South Dakota State at IUPUI (Summit), Cleveland State at Wright State (Horizon) and Davidson visiting defending champion Wofford (SoCon) highlighting the slate. The conference games for this weekend may not get the major highlights on ESPN, but these are incredibly important games. League titles aren't lost on this weekend, but an 0-2 start makes it far tougher to win a conference title when getting back to that business a couple weeks from now.

Top 25 Games
7:30 PM St. John's at (1) Kentucky (ESPN2)
9:30 PM Georgetown at (12) Alabama (ESPN2)

NCAA Division I Games
5:30 PM UNC Asheville at Gardner-Webb
7:00 PM South Dakota State at IUPUI
7:00 PM St. Francis (NY) at Mount St. Mary's
7:00 PM Arkansas State at St. Bonaventure
7:00 PM Harvard at Vermont
7:00 PM Chattanooga at Georgia Southern
7:00 PM VMI at Coastal Carolina
7:00 PM Liberty at Campbell
7:00 PM Eastern Michigan at Colgate
7:00 PM Youngstown State at Detroit
7:00 PM Lehigh at Fordham
7:00 PM FIU at Georgia State
7:00 PM Savannah State at Hampton
7:00 PM Morehead State at Kent State
7:00 PM Wagner at Long Island
7:00 PM South Dakota at Oakland
7:00 PM Winthrop at Presbyterian
7:00 PM Sacred Heart at Quinnipiac
7:00 PM Fairleigh Dickinson at Robert Morris
7:00 PM Providence at South Carolina (ESPNU)
7:00 PM Monmouth at St. Francis (PA)
7:00 PM Siena at St. Peter's
7:00 PM Davidson at Wofford (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Cleveland State at Wright State
7:00 PM Central Connecticut State at Bryant (MSG+)
7:00 PM Jacksonville State at USC Upstate
7:15 PM East Tennessee State at Stetson
7:30 PM UMBC at American
7:30 PM Radford at Charleston Southern
7:30 PM Marist at Loyola (MD)
7:30 PM UMKC at IPFW
8:00 PM Murray State at Western Kentucky
8:00 PM Citadel at Charleston (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Loyola (IL) at Milwaukee (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Texas Tech at Texas A&M-CC (ESPN3)
8:00 PM UNC Greensboro at Appalachian State
8:00 PM George Washington at Kansas State (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Western Carolina at Samford
8:00 PM Middle Tennessee at Tennessee State
8:00 PM North Dakota State at Western Illinois
8:00 PM UIC at Green Bay (ESPN3)
8:05 PM McNeese State at Louisiana-Lafayette
8:05 PM Cal State Fullerton at Wichita State
8:15 PM Mercer at Lipscomb
8:15 PM Kennesaw State at Belmont
9:00 PM San Francisco at Montana
9:00 PM Ole Miss at DePaul (ESPNU)
9:00 PM Paul Quinn at Sam Houston State
9:05 PM Westminster UT at Northern Colorado
10:10 PM Stanford at Seattle

College Hoops Sunday Recap: Atlantic 10 Earns Two Titles

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:06:23 -0500

Sunday set up to be a big day for the Atlantic 10 with Dayton (Old Spice Classic) and Saint Louis (76 Classic) playing in the title game of their respective in-season tournaments. And even better for the conference is that both picked up wins, displaying the depth of a league thought by many to be Xavier, Temple and 12 other teams before the season began.

Saint Louis used an 18-2 run halfway through the second half to pull away from Oklahoma, winning 83-63 in Anaheim. Tournament MVP Brian Conklin made nine of his eleven shots from the field and scored 25 points, and as a team the Billikens shot 60.4% from the field and 52.9% from beyond the arc. Rick Majerus' team scored 1.32 points/possession, and their offensive efficiency of 131.7 was their best performance of the season, surpassing the 125.0 posted in their win over Villanova on Friday (numbers courtesy of statsheet.com).

"I thought the guys played with good poise and composure," said Majerus. "We were good with shot selection. A big goal of ours was to restrict the three. I thought [Conklin] deserved the tournament MVP, if nothing else for his defense and rebounding, and he was a beneficiary of his hard work in the summer."

The key for Saint Louis (as is the case with UNLV, who beat top-ranked North Carolina on Saturday night) will be how they deal with prosperity. A lot is made of how teams deal with adversity, but some things about Conklin and his teammates will be learned in their game at Loyola Marymount on Tuesday night. As for Dayton, their three wins in Orlando were a big deal in the first season of the Archie Miller era. Kevin Dillard was outstanding for the Flyers, posting a line of 19 points, 10 assists, seven steals and three blocks in winning the tournament MVP award.

Chris Johnson (18 points), Josh Benson (16), Josh Parker (12) and Luke Fabrizius (11) also reached double figures in Dayton's best offensive performance of the season since their opening win over Western Illinois. In Dayton's three best offensive games of the season they've assisted on at least 63% of their baskets, providing a blueprint for what the Flyers will need to do in order to continue on this path. And just like Saint Louis, Dayton will need to show that they can deal with prosperity. Following a home game against Buffalo the Flyers visit Great Alaska Shootout champ Murray State and host Alabama, meaning that a lot more will be learned about this team's potential.

While there were disappointments for the Atlantic 10 on Sunday (more on those below), the tournament wins for Dayton and Saint Louis show that the conference has something that it hasn't always had in recent seasons: depth. St. Bonaventure (who lost at Virginia Tech on Sunday), Duquesne and George Washington are three other teams that could be a factor in the A-10 race come January, and the race is setting up to be a very entertaining one at that.

Other Notable Happenings

1. A foul-counting mishap aids in Villanova's late collapse against Santa Clara.
With just over seven seconds remaining Villanova asked for their team foul count during a timeout while leading Santa Clara 64-61. Jay Wright and his staff were told that they only had five team fouls, and that was also displayed in Anaheim Arena. But when Darrun Hilliard gave the foul the Wildcats were found to have actually committed their seventh team foul, sending Evan Roquemore to the line for a 1-and-1. Roquemore made both, and after JayVaughn Pinkston missed the front end of his 1-and-1 he fouled Roquemore in his pursuit of the loose ball. The Bronco guard came through once again, making both free throws to give Santa Clara the stunning 65-64 win.

While the administrative error didn't help Villanova at all, they really have no one to blame but themselves for ending up in that situation. Leading 64-57 with 2:56 left in the game, Villanova failed to score again and turned the ball over four times in the final 2:56. Raymond Cowels III led Santa Clara with 20 points, and he combined with Roquemore to score 24 second-half points on a night that saw Kevin Foster (5-17 FG, 13 points) struggle. As for Villanova, Mouphtaou Yarou led the way with 19 points, and for them to be successful as the season wears on they'll need more than a combined 4-for-15 outing from Dominic Cheek (10 points) and James Bell (seven). Can this group that's adjusting to life without Corey Stokes, Corey Fisher and Antonio Pena produce enough offensively to account for those losses? We shall see.

2. Indiana has an impressive second half in pulling away from Butler.
While some have pointed out the improved play of Tom Crean's Hoosiers to start the season, skeptics pointed at their schedule and wanted to see more evidence against credible competition. Indiana got their chance on Sunday night with two-time defending national runners-up Butler visiting Assembly Hall, and after a 30-minute slugfest the Hoosiers separated with an 11-2 run. Indiana went on to win 75-59 with Will Sheehey (Hoosier Invitational MVP) scoring a career-high 21 points and Cody Zeller leading three other Hoosiers in double figures with 16, but the bigger story was their defense.

Butler finished the game with seven assists and 21 turnovers, which means an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.33. Crean praised his team for their defensive effort, pointing out that Indiana had 74 deflections on the night. Indiana shot 50% in the second half as they outscored Butler 44-31, and outside of Chrishawn Hopkins (19 points) and Khyle Marshall (16) the Bulldogs couldn't establish much of anything offensively. With NC State and Kentucky in two of their next three games, Indiana will definitely be challenged. But for the first time in Crean's tenure at IU, it can be said that the Hoosiers look capable of attacking those challenges head-on.

3. Syracuse makes the move to fire associate head coach Bernie Fine after new information "surfaces".
Unfortunately there was more off-court news involving the sexual assault accusations levied against now-former Syracuse associate head coach Bernie Fine. Not only did a third accuser surface but a recorded phone call between Fine accuser Bobby Davis and Fine's wife Laurie from 2002 was released by ESPN's Outside the Lines. Both chancellor Nancy Cantor and head coach Jim Boeheim released statements on Sunday night in support of the action taken against Fine by the school, with this being a sharp departure from the defiant stance taken by Boeheim in support of his long-time assistant and friend when these allegations were first made. The question now is just how far this investigation goes, and what effect it may have on the Orange on the floor. Given the way they dealt with the distractions on their way to the NIT Season Tip-Off crown last week and the team's experience, Syracuse will likely be fine on the floor. But given both the sensitive nature of the charges and the statement issued by Boeheim in the beginning, this situation likely won't be solved for a while.

Quick Hitters

1. With Trevor Mbakwe scheduled for an MRI on his right knee, injured in their loss to Dayton, Minnesota has a lot on the line with regards to their season. Hopefully he checks out OK, but that would be a major loss for the Golden Gophers if he were to be ruled out for a significant amount of time.

2. The most disappointing in-season performance of the weekend: Washington State, who capped an 0-3 weekend in Anaheim with a 64-63 loss to UC Riverside. Yes the Cougars lost Klay Thompson and DeAngelo Casto, but there's talent back in Pullman. Not a good weekend for the Cougars or the Pac-12.

3. Team that should feel good about their weekend: DePaul. The Blue Demons made things tougher on themselves than they should have late but they did enough to hold off Arizona State 68-64 in the fifth place game at the Old Spice Classic (2-1 for the weekend). Cleveland Melvin led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds.

4. Cleveland State whipped Rhode Island 67-45 in Kingston in the final day of that particular three-game Legends Classic round-robin. Jim Baron's team turned the ball over an astonishing 17 times in the first half and as a result trailed 40-23 at the break. Rhody finished the game with 21 turnovers (27-23 CSU in the second half).

5. Bowling Green scored a nice win for both themselves and the MAC with a 67-64 win over Temple. BGSU shot 58% from the field in the second half and 56% for the game, and A'uston Calhoun led the way with 16 points and seven rebounds.

6. What's going on with UAB? Mike Davis' Blazers dropped to 1-4 on the season with a 59-54 loss to UT-Martin despite 15 points apiece from Cameron Moore and Jordan Swing. Mike Liabo scored 22 points off the bench to lead the Skyhawks, who entered the game having lost five of their first six games.

7. Indiana State hung on to beat Fairfield 72-66 in the third place game of the Old Spice Classic. Jake Odum posted ISU's first triple-double in 32 years and Dwayne Lathan and Myles Walker scored 16 apiece, with the Sycamores controlling the play in the paint throughout (34-20 points in the paint advantage).

Three Notable Performances

1. F Kyle O'Quinn (Norfolk State)
23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the Spartans' 70-63 win over Eastern Kentucky.

2. G Jake Odum (Indiana State)
10 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in the Sycamores' 72-66 win over Fairfield. The triple-double is the first in ISU history since the great Larry Bird posted one in 1979.

3. G Kevin Dillard (Dayton)
19 points, 10 assists, seven steals and three blocks in the Flyers' 86-70 win over Minnesota.