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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)

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)

College Hoops Saturday Recap: "Game of the Year" Lives Up to Hype

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 02:18:12 -0500

One of the most anticipated regular season college basketball games in recent memory came down to wingspan. That was the difference between Kentucky and North Carolina as freshman Anthony Davis got a hand on John Henson's jumper in the final seconds to preserve a 73-72 win at Rupp Arena. UNC would enjoy the largest lead for either team with just under seven minutes left in the first half as they led 34-25, and the two titans would play close throughout. But in spite of the close nature of the score there were areas in which John Calipari's team separated itself and ultimately won the game.

The biggest discrepancy could be found in the paint, where the Wildcats outscored the Tar Heels 36-14 on the afternoon. Unlike North Carolina, who scored 45.8% of their points from beyond the arc, the Wildcats were able to consistently attack the basket and scored 65.8% of their points on two-point baskets. Terrence Jones (14 points, seven rebounds) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (17 points, 11 rebounds) were two of the key factors in this department, with Kidd-Gilchrist successfully attacking Harrison Barnes off the dribble on multiple occasions.

"At the 12-minute timeout I told them who was doing the scoring for them and it was Teague and [Kidd-] Gilcrhist and the guys taking the ball to the basket so our defense had to get stronger," said UNC head coach Roy Williams. "You look at the stat sheet and (Kentucky) shot 56 percent in the second half but they were a little more patient with it than we were."

North Carolina's biggest weapon on the offensive end was the three-point shot as they made 11 of their 18 attempts. Four players made those 11 shots with Harrison Barnes (14 points) and P.J. Hairston (11) leading the way with four and three made bonus shots respectively. But the Tar Heels didn't attack the rim nearly as much as Kentucky throughout the course of the game, and that posed some issues as the game wore on. Doron Lamb woke up from his slow offensive start to score 12 of his 14 points in the second half to help lead the Wildcats, and he simply began to make better decisions after a slow start was amplified by four turnovers.

"I thought in the second half, I put the ball in his hands saying, 'Let's go down'," said Kentucky head coach John Calipari. "He [had] a couple layups. He had a couple 3s. They were big shots. That one in the corner was a huge shot. He knocked it down."

The question now is what the two teams need to do in order to position themselves for a possible rematch down the line. North Carolina displayed a level of toughness some wanted to see in the aftermath of their loss to UNLV, and the young Wildcats turned the ball over just nine times with Marcus Teague having just one. While there are definitely issues for both to work out, and there will be a large number of challengers for the national title, it isn't unrealistic to think that these two could meet again this season with a lot more on the line.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Marquette picks up a good win at Wisconsin despite personnel "limitations".
Before the game it was learned that head coach Buzz Williams suspended junior point guard Junior Cadougan for a violation of team rules. Add to that the foul trouble that Jae Crowder had to deal with and there would be little chance of Marquette leaving Madison with a win, right? Wrong. Darius Johnson-Odom scored 17 points and Todd Mayo added 14 off the bench as the Golden Eagles beat in-state rival Wisconsin 61-54.

How did Marquette get it done? Defense and toughness, as they limited the Badgers to 32% shooting from the field (35.4% on twos and 26.3% on threes) and controlled the boards to the tune of a 44-32 advantage. The numbers weren't pretty but Marquette won by attacking Wisconsin on both ends of the floor, and there were a number of players who contributed to the effort. Buzz Williams' teams will make opponents fight for every inch of space, and that's a big reason why this group is capable of being a player in the Big East race.

2. Down 19 at one points in the second half, Xavier storms back to beat Purdue.
It was absolutely ugly for Chris Mack's Musketeers in the first half as they turned the ball over 18 times and trailed Purdue 33-22 at the break. Things would get worse before they got better in the second half as the Boilermakers led 55-36 with 10:44 remaining, but Xavier's "never say die" attitude resulted in a comeback for the ages. Tu Holloway made up for a rough 30 minutes with some impressive pressure shot-making and Xavier limited Purdue to 37.9% shooting in the second half on their way to the 66-63 win.

Matt Painter's team wasn't helped by the fact that Robbie Hummel had to deal with leg cramps down the stretch, and his absence in the final seconds was apparent as the team struggled to fine a good look for Ryne Smith. Holloway would lead four Xavier starters in double figures with 21 points, and there may not be another player in the country who can not only take the big shots but embrace the pressure that comes with them. He and Mark Lyons form the kind of backcourt that can lead a team deep into the NCAA Tournament, and their aggressive nature makes them a handful for whoever the Musketeers face.

3. A power outage seemingly robs UCLA of their energy as they fall to Texas at home.
Late in the first half the LA Sports Arena lost power, and with UCLA leading by double figures this was the worst possible time for a team of shaky temperment to have to leave the court. Of course after the break Texas would outscore UCLA 9-4 to end the half, and Rick Barnes' team kept the ball rolling in the second half on their way to a 69-59 win. J'Covan Brown scored 22 points and Myck Kabongo added 13 points and eight assists in leading the comeback, but the soap opera that is UCLA Basketball added another unfortunate chapter on Saturday afternoon.

Reeves Nelson was benched the entire second half due to a missed defensive assignment, and outside of Lazeric Jones (21 points) and Travis Wear (13 points) the Bruins didn't get much done offensively. While Texas shot 54.7% from the field UCLA limped to the finish shooting at a 38.6% clip, and they struggled to keep the Longhorns off of the offensive glass as well (Texas' offensive rebounding percentage: 48.0%). With just one win over a Division I opponent it's extremely difficult to see UCLA contending for a conference championship with the current level of play, regardless of how weak the Pac-12 has been.

4. Charleston's late-game execution ultimately results in a double-overtime victory.
With 21 seconds remaining Bobby Cremins' team trailed visiting Chattanooga 65-61, and the Mocs looked to be a decent bet to pick up their first SoCon win of the season after dropping their league opener. But College of Charleston refused to lie down, and in coming back the Cougars played smart basketball in eventually forcing overtime. Andrew Lawrence scored five of his career-high 25 points in the final ten seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime, and the Cougars would ultimately take advantage of the second chance in winning 87-85 in double overtime.

Anthony Stitt came off the bench to score 20 points, and Trent Wiedeman (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Antwaine Wiggins (14 and 12) both posted double-doubles to back up Lawrence. The result dropped Chattanooga to 0-2 in SoCon play, and that's exactly the start that the Mocs were hoping to avoid given their status as the preseason favorite in the North Division. But execution is critical in games such as this one, and Charleston's ability to play smart basketball without panicking is why they were able to come back.

5. Tulane moves to 9-0 with a win over Georgia Tech, but how good are they?
You never want to discount a team's 9-0 start to a season, especially when that team has struggled as much in recent years as the Tulane Green Wave. But even with Ed Conroy's team off to a 9-0 start with their most recent outing being a 57-52 win over Georgia Tech, there remain questions about Tulane due to a strength of schedule that ranks 342nd nationally. Ricky Tarrant picked up the slack for leading scorers Kendall Timmons and Josh Davis with 24 points on Saturday, and on the season four players are averaging double figures in scoring.

Tulane shot just 31% from the field against the Yellow Jackets but won because of a +12 differential in points from the foul line along with 8-for-16 shooting from beyond the arc. Tulane likely won't overwhelm teams offensively once they get into Conference USA play but this is an improved basketball team. Just beware reading too much into the record, as the Green Wave likely won't be tested again until they visit Syracuse on the 22nd. So the answer to the question of how good Tulane is: we don't have enough information right now.

Quick Hitters

1. The development of big man Meyers Leonard has been a sight to behold in Champaign, and despite foul trouble he put up 21 points and six rebounds in Illinois' 82-75 win over Gonzaga. Leonard has added a physical dimension inside that Bruce Weber hasn't had for a couple years, and this could end up being one of his best teams as a result.

2. At some point in his career B.J. Young will be an All-SEC player at Arkansas. The freshman scored 28 points in 27 minutes off the bench, but it wasn't enough to lead the Razorbacks to a win at Connecticut as they fell 75-62. Another encouraging development for the Hogs: 27 offensive rebounds despite losing Marshawn Powell for the season with a knee injury last week.

3. Valparaiso won a thriller in their Horizon League opener as they beat Butler 77-71 in overtime at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Richie Edwards led five players in double figures with 18 points off the bench, and the Crusaders were solid enough defensively to limit the Bulldogs to 34.3% shooting from the field.

4. Mississippi State outscored West Virginia 23-10 over the final 8:02 in beating the Mountaineers 75-62 in Starkville. Arnett Moultrie led the way with 21 points and 13 rebounds and Dee Bost chipped in with 17 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals.

5. It was quite obvious how much Rutgers needed big man Gilvydas Biruta on the floor, as his foul trouble in the second half coincided with the Scarlet Knights' struggles in a 55-50 loss to LSU. Mike Rice's team scored just two points after Biruta fouled out with 4:49 remaining, and they had a hard time controlling LSU defensively when he wasn't in as well.

Five Notable Performances

1. F Greg Magnano (Yale)
22 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks in the Bulldogs' 68-52 win over Vermont.

2. G Kevin Giltner (Wofford)
28 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in the Terriers' 83-63 win over The Citadel.

3. G Taylor Braun (North Dakota State)
30 points (9-11 FG), eight rebounds and three assists in the Bison's 84-79 win at IUPUI.

4. G C.J. McCollum (Lehigh)
31 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the Mountain Hawks' 81-79 overtime loss at Cornell.

5. F Noah Hartsock (BYU)
23 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and two assists in the Cougars' 79-65 win over Oregon.

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 Thursday: Your Commentary

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:25:10 -0500

Happy Thanksgiving! And while football tends to take center stage on this day there are also four in-season tournaments playing games, with action spreading from the Bahamas to Alaska. There really isn't a marquee matchup so to speak but there are games that could become important once March arrives, with New Mexico's game against Santa Clara in the 76 Classic being one. The Lobos were the preseason pick to win the Mountain West, and with players such as Drew Gordon and Kendall Williams there's no doubt that they can win this event. But in the Broncos of Santa Clara they'll take on a team that was a trendy sleeper pick in the WCC, and even with Marc Trasolini lost for the year with a knee injury they can still be a factor in the race.

Guard Kevin Foster is one of the top perimeter scorers on the west coast, as he scored 20 points or more in 16 games (30+ in three games) last season. The junior's shooting percentages are down through three games, but there's no doubt that Foster can turn it on in a hurry for Kerry Keating. Foster leads four Broncos in double figures, but just as important as Foster are forwards Niyi Harrison and John McArthur. Those two have had to step up in the aftermath of Trasolini's injury and they've done a solid job to start the year. But a lot more will be learned about both as they take on Gordon, who's scoring a shade under ten points per game while grabbing ten rebounds per contest.

Gordon may be the Lobo most likely choice to win Mountain West Player of the Year, Steve Alford's got a number of perimeter options from which to choose. Kendall Williams, Tony Snell and Demetrius Walker are three of New Mexico's top four scorers and freshman Hugh Greenwood may be ready to take over the starting point guard job as the Lobos look to make up for the graduation of Dairese Gary. UNM shoots 38% from beyond the arc and their effective field goal percentage of 53.2% is better than Santa Clara's by nearly five percentage points. The outcome will boil down to which team does a better job of generating quality looks, and that was a serious problem for Santa Clara in their blowout loss at UCSB.

Which game should you keep an eye on in the Battle of Atlantis in the Bahamas? Likely the first game of the day as College of Charleston takes on UCF, with the Knights needing to pick up a quality win in light of their 23-point loss to Florida State in their second game of the season. But that's easier said than done against Bobby Cremins' team, which is coming off of a good win at Clemson. Antwaine Wiggins and Andrew Lawrence have led the way for the Cougars, and their offensive execution looks to be the difference on paper (efficiency of 110.4 while UCF is down at 98.1).

In Orlando the Fairfield Stags have a game that, thanks to the current NCAA Clearinghouse issues for freshman guard Jahii Carson, has gone from "opportunity to pick up a decent win against a BCS AQ opponent" to "lose and essentially flush any at-large hopes down the drain". Sydney Johnson's team has already dropped games to Providence (home) and at Minnesota, and an early trip to the consolation bracket would be the worst possible outcome for the defending MAAC regular season champions.

And at the Great Alaska Shootout there's the chance to check out New Mexico State as either the food-induced coma wears off or die-hard shoppers fight off sleep in the quest to show up early for the "Black Friday" specials. The Aggies, who already have a win at New Mexico to their credit, are led by guards Christian Kabongo and Hernst LaRoche and forward Wendall McKines, with McKines averaging 18.0 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Central Michigan has sophomore guards Trey Zeigler and Derek Jackson, but for the Chippewas to have a shot at the upset they'll need to exercise good shot selection.

Top 25 Games
7:00 PM UNC Asheville vs. (4) Connecticut* (HDNet)
4:30 PM Massachusetts vs. (20) Florida State* (Versus)

NCAA Division I Games
12:00 PM Texas Tech vs. Indiana State* (ESPN2)
2:00 PM Boston College vs. Saint Louis* (ESPNU)
2:00 PM Charleston vs. UCF* (Versus)
2:30 PM Minnesota vs. DePaul* (ESPN2)
4:30 PM Villanova vs. UC Riverside* (ESPNU)
7:00 PM Dayton vs. Wake Forest* (ESPN2)
9:00 PM New Mexico vs. Santa Clara* (ESPNU)
9:30 PM Harvard vs. Utah* (HDNet)
9:30 PM Arizona State vs. Fairfield* (ESPN2)
10:30 PM Central Michigan vs. New Mexico State* (FCS)
11:30 PM Oklahoma vs. Washington State* (ESPN2)
12:30 AM UC Irvine vs. Southern Miss* (FCS)

College Hoops Weekend Recap: Alabama Wins Puerto Rico Tipoff

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:41:53 -0500

In-season tournaments can be tricky to analyze when the dust settles. Sometimes the winning team can build on the experience and move on to bigger and better things, with last year's Connecticut team (Maui Invitational champs) being a prime example. Others, like Minnesota (last year's Puerto Rico Tip-Off champs) can temporarily hide flaws that get exposed later in the season. Essentially these early season results should be taken with a grain of salt, because while we see flashes of teams in reality it's a small sample size.

But in the case of Anthony Grant's Alabama Crimson Tide, what they showed off in San Juan was the ability to overpower opponents with one of the more talented frontcourts in the country along with a perimeter rotation that's rounding into form. Trevor Releford led the team with 20 points and five rebounds in Alabama's 65-56 win over Purdue, but just as important was the play on the defensive end of the floor.

As a team Purdue shot just 35% from the field, and while Robbie Hummel scored 17 points the fifth-year senior needed fifteen shots (making five) to do so. JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell, who nearly tore the rim down on multiple occasions this weekend, made life tough around the rim for all three opponents faced and will continue to do so as the season wears on. To compare Purdue's offensive numbers over their three games in Puerto Rico would display the difference in the level of defenders.

Here are Purdue's offensive efficiency and effective field goal percentage numbers in their three Puerto Rico Tip-Off games (courtesy of statsheet.com):

Iona: 113.8, 52.6%
Temple: 121.4, 52.7%
Alabama: 90.3, 39.5%

To say the least, things were a lot more difficult for Matt Painter's team offensively against the Crimson Tide. Offense can come and go by the game, but defense is something that is largely controlled by effort. Alabama used that to their advantage on Sunday night, and there really isn't a reason in their control as to why they can't continue to do so. While many will fawn over Kentucky, respect Florida and consider Vanderbilt with their offensive weapons, don't ignore Alabama in the SEC.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Xavier and Temple are the favorites in the Atlantic 10, but Saint Louis could be the league's third NCAA Tournament option.
While this game was expected to be a homecoming for the injured Scott Suggs and a return to his first head coaching job for Lorenzo Romar, it was also a dangerous one for the Washington Huskies. And it became more than dangerous from the start as Rick Majerus' Saint Louis Billikens sprinted out of the gates to 50 first half points, ultimately winning 77-64 in a game that wasn't as close as the final margin would indicate.

Brian Conklin scored 25 points and Kwamain Mitchell added 18 as the Billikens shot 53% from the field, and SLU led by as many as 29 in the second half. Washington may have won the rebounding battle 40-26 but that had more to do with the fact that they shot just 42% from the field, and their effective field goal percentage was nearly eight percentage points below their average. People within the conference have been high on the Billikens, and on Sunday the nation saw exactly why.

2. Weak non-conference schedules don't leave much room for error, a lesson Cincinnati learned on Saturday.
The key for the Bearcats now is to make sure their loss to Presbyterian doesn't rear its ugly head on Selection Sunday, but given the caliber of Mick Cronin's team they should be alright. The bigger concern is what happened in the second half of that game, which ended on a 24-7 run by the Blue Hose. Khalid Mutakabbir scored 25 points to lead the victors while the vanquished Bearcats seemed to forget the fact that in Yancy Gates they have one of the top interior players in the Big East.

Gates attempted just three shots in the second half, and the fact that UC finished the game with just a two-point edge in points in the paint (26-24) is inexcusable. Presbyterian deserves all the credit for mounting a rally capped by Mutakabbir's three with 8.6 seconds remaining, but this could have been avoided had the Cincinnati guards remembered where the team's bread is buttered. Look for the Bearcats to apply these lessons as they work towards a December 10th date with city rival Xavier.

3. Drew Crawford and John Shurna help lead Northwestern to the Charleston Classic title.
Just as it was noted earlier it's tough to forecast what teams are definitely going to do based on in-season tournament performance, but this was a good weekend for the Northwestern Wildcats. Drew Crawford scored 27 points and John Shurna 19 as the Wildcats beat Seton Hall 80-73 in the title game on Sunday night to win the Charleston Classic. But don't bother asking anyone associated with the program if this can be turned into the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance because it's far to early for that.

The Wildcats executed well on offense all weekend, and defensively their 1-3-1 trapping zone made a difference. Seton Hall did a better job than either LSU or Tulsa at attacking it, but down the stretch Crawford, Shurna and the rest of the squad did enough to regain the lead with 2:28 remaining. How many games the Wildcats win remains to be seen, but at the very least Bill Carmody's team will be a tough out in the Big Ten.

4. Creighton blasts Iowa in a neutral site meeting in Des Moines.
Many knew that the Creighton Bluejays were one of the better teams in a BCS non-AQ conference before the season began. But if there were any fans in need of evidence in favor of this, check out the Bluejays' 82-59 win over Iowa, led by Doug McDermott's 25 points and nine rebounds and Gregory Echenique's 15 points and nine rebounds. Avery Dingman scored 14 points off the bench in a game that turned late in the first half. The Bluejays led by as many as 19 points in the first half before an Iowa three just before the half cut the lead to 45-29.

But there wasn't much that Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery could game plan during the break: Creighton was that much better. Iowa shot 36.2% from the field and was out-rebounded 43-27, and forward Melsahn Basabe (two points, three rebounds) practically disappeared when his team needed an outstanding performance. But the credit should go to Creighton, who seems to have an answer at just about any position on the floor.

5. Ever think that you'd see a game in which Oregon State scored 100 points?
The two semifinal games of the Ticket City Legends Classic didn't feature much in the way of defense, but the surprise of the night was the 100 points put up by Oregon State in their 100-95 overtime win over Texas. Jared Cunningham led the way with 37 points and nine rebounds, 20 of his points coming at the foul line, and Oregon State took advantage of their furious rally late in regulation with 19 points in the extra session. Ultimately the difference was turnover margin, with the young Longhorns turning the ball over 23 times to Oregon State's 15.

The win earned Oregon State a matchup with Vanderbilt on Monday night in the title game, and given the way in which the Beavers have played on offense (no fewer than 82 points in any of their four games to date) it isn't far-fetched to think that they could do the same against the Commodores. With Oregon losing Jabari Brown (head coach Dana Altman did leave the door open to a return) does Oregon State become the trendy sleeper in the Pac-12? Maybe so.

Quick Hitters

1. Someone decided that Clemson was a 13-point favorite over College of Charleston on Saturday night, and this proved to be incorrect as the Cougars won 72-69. And while Adjehi Baru has a ways to go offensively, his weakside block late to preserve the win showed his value on the defensive end of the floor right now.

2. One day after scoring 19 points in Kentucky's blowout win over Penn State, freshman forward Kyle Wiltjer scored three points and grabbed five rebounds in 11 minutes in their 62-52 win over Old Dominion. Why? The physicality of the game. It remains to be seen if John Calipari is confident enough in Wiltjer's rebounding and defense to call on him in a game of this style at this point in the year, but Wiltjer will be needed as the season wears on.

3. There aren't too many names to be called on a list of the nation's top point guards before reaching Iona senior Scott Machado. Machado established a Puerto Rico Tip-Off record for assists in the tournament with 41 in three games (six turnovers), and he dished out 15 in the Gaels' 89-63 win over Maryland on Sunday. Machado's ability to set the table for Iona's many scorers is one big reason why they're the preseason favorite in the MAAC.

4. Louisville may have provided the most impressive result of the weekend as they beat Butler 69-53 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Point guard Peyton Siva (ankle) didn't play but the Cardinals got the job done by limiting the Bulldogs to 39% shooting. Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith combined to score 32 for Louisville.

5. On the night that news came out that UCLA forward Reeves Nelson missed the team's flight to Hawaii, UNLV forward (and UCLA transfer Mike Moser) continued his personal demolition of the Rebels' non-conference slate. Moser finished with 23 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and five steals in UNLV's 92-55 win over Morgan State.

Seven Notable Performances

1. F Mike Moser (UNLV)
23 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and five steals in UNLV's 92-55 win over Morgan State.

2. G Shabazz Napier (Connecticut)
22 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds (9th triple-double in school history) in the Huskies' 87-70 win over Coppin State.

3. F Tarvin Gaines (Jacksonville State)
30 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench in the Gamecocks' 78-65 win over Alabama State.

4. F Herb Pope (Seton Hall)
32 points and nine rebounds in the Pirates' 80-73 loss to Northwestern.

5. G Jared Cunningham (Oregon State)
37 points, nine rebounds and three assists in the Beavers' 100-95 overtime win over Texas.

6. G C.J. McCollum (Lehigh)
32 points (10-16 FG), five rebounds, three assists and two steals in the Mountain Hawks' 90-80 win at Liberty.

7. G Scott Machado (Iona)
15 points, 15 assists, four rebounds, three steals and no turnovers in the Gaels' 89-63 win over Maryland.

Jon Teitel's "Coaching Greats": Jacksonville and Furman's Joe Williams

Jon Teitel — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:45:48 -0500

In the latest installment in his "Coaching Greats" interview series CHN writer spent some time with Joe Williams, who put together impressive runs at both Jacksonville and Furman. During his time at JU Williams led the Dolphins to an NCAA title game appearance, coaching Artis Gilmore and Rex Morgan on that 1970 team. Williams also led Furman to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure there.

Jon Teitel: According to my interview of Artis Gilmore, you had no training rules and scribbled scouting reports on the backs of envelopes. Is that true, and do you think it was easier for you relate to your Jacksonville players because you were such a young man yourself?

Joe Williams: My only two training rules were the attend class (or explain why you did not attend) and play hard when you stepped on the court (whether it was a preseason drill or an NCAA tourney game).

JT: In 1970 your team at JU became the first to ever average 100+PPG for an entire season, despite no shot clock or three-point line. How was your team able to score so many points, and what kind of offense did you run?

JW: We ran a controlled break. Broadcaster Ed Jucker once said on the air in a specific game that he had not seen us take a bad shot yet. Rex Morgan had averaged almost 30 PPG the previous year and then we added Artis who averaged about 20 RPG, so the only way to make sure everyone would have good stats was for the point guard to quickly push the ball up the court with two guys out on the wing. We had a rule that unless you had a wide-open 2-on-1 situation, you had to wait for Artis to come down the floor so he could have a chance to rebound!

1970 NCAA Tournament

JT: Your basketball program had such a small budget that you had to "pass the hat" among the boosters to raise enough money to pay for the team's hotel rooms. How big of a disadvantage was the size of your program, and do you feel like your run in the tourney helped save the program?

JW: We played in Dayton that year and it was snowing pretty hard. We got a restaurant recommendation that turned out to be a little more expensive than we thought, so a booster helped pay for the meal. When I first got to JU I had to teach five classes and I had a $250 recruiting budget. As we got better we started to sell more season tickets and got money from the booster club to increase our budget.

JT: You beat Western Kentucky (led by Jim McDaniels with 29 points) in your school's first-ever game on national TV after walking into the gym and seeing a "Jacksonville Who?" sign. Did you feel that your team was getting no respect at all, and how big a deal was it to get the first tournament win in school history?

JW: It was a big sign that everyone could see. Western Kentucky had a great team and built an early lead before setting up a press against us. We had a lot of good ball-handlers so we just kept dribbling around them and getting some easy shots. After that game nobody pressed us anymore (not even UCLA!), which was a compliment to our team.

JT: You had a one-point win over Iowa (led by Fred Brown with 27 points) when Pembrook Burrows tipped in a last-second miss by Vaughn Wedeking for the win (and later wrote a song about the game). Did you think that your team was going to hang on after Artis Gilmore fouled out, and where does Burrows' tip-in rank among the best fantastic finishes that you have ever seen?

JW: I heard that there were some people in Iowa who broke their TV sets after that shot! Iowa had a great team: anytime you can make it that far you have to be a little lucky. We had to slow down the pace of the game and control the tempo because they kept scoring and scoring.

JT: You had a six-point win over Coach Adolph Rupp's top-ranked Kentucky team (led by Dan Issel with 28 points and 10 rebounds before he fouled out with 10 minutes left). Did the momentum completely turn once Issel fouled out, and what did you learn from walking around the day before in a brown suit?

JW: I only had one really nice suit, but I got the brown suit because Coach Rupp had a brown suit. My birthday is in February and the boosters picked out some clothes for me to wear and presented them to me during a TV interview.

JT: You had an eight-point win over St. Bonaventure (who played without star center Bob Lanier, who injured his knee in an earlier tourney game against Villanova). Do you think you would have won that game if Lanier was healthy, and how far did you think that your team was going to go?

JW: We just really enjoyed playing and our team had a lot of charisma. We played in Hawaii earlier that year and the entire team ended up getting Hawaiian shirts and puka shell necklaces. When the players walked into the gym for their game dressed up in their new attire, the home crowd gave us a huge ovation. Everywhere we went to eat people complimented us on how good our team was. The key to discipline is not about screaming and hollering, but whether a player does something that you ask him to do.

JT: Gilmore shot 9-29 from the field before fouling out in a title game loss to Coach John Wooden's UCLA team (led by Sidney Wicks with 17 points and 18 rebounds, who blocked four of Gilmore's shots despite being six inches shorter). Did you consider your run in the tourney to be a success (due to making it to the title game) or a failure (due to getting so close but not winning it all)?

JW: We were very proud of our team: I told the players not to say anything negative because we played hard and lost to a great team, so there was nothing for them to be ashamed of. That was one of the first years that almost all of the games were televised. Every time we came back from another tourney win, the entire route from the airport to campus was full of fans who were excited about our team. A Louisville newspaper even wrote about how nice it was to see a losing team not blame anyone else for the loss.

JT: After that game you left JU to become coach at Furman. Why did you make the switch, and did you have any regrets?

JW: I had previously been an assistant coach at Furman, and it is a beautiful part of the country. They offered me a tremendous financial offer to come and build a program, and JU did not really do anything to try and keep me there. At the end of every season you have to assess what you want to do.

JT: What are your memories of the 1973 NCAA Tournament (you were down by 18 with 10 minutes to go against Syracuse, and fought all the way back before losing by one)?

JW: That was a great game: we actually had the lead late. Syracuse pressed us and one of our players was called for traveling, but today the refs let that call go all the time. Syracuse went on to the Final Four, so they were a good team.

JT: What are your memories of the 1974 NCAA Tournament (upset South Carolina before losing to Pitt)?

JW: We had an outstanding player named Clyde Mayes, but South Carolina had a great club featuring Alex English. Clyde just took over the game in the second half. We had a slight lead against Pitt late in the game but they had a four-point play that gave them the momentum, and Billy Knight was pretty tough.

JT: In 1978 you left Furman to go to Florida State, where you joined a short list of coaches who have taken three different teams to the tourney and had a winning record at each school. How were you able to have so much success at so many different schools?

JW: The key is to have good players and a sound system. If they play hard and get good grades, then you will probably win. Coach Wooden (who was nice to everyone) once told me that even though people like to talk about who the best coaches are, the coach with the best players is usually the one who wins. He also said that the way to tell if you have a good defense is not how many points you allow, but how big your scoring margin is.

JT: You are on an even shorter list of men who are the best coaches in the history of two different schools (Furman and Jacksonville). Did you enjoy one job more than another, and do you think that is a good litmus test for seeing just how good a coach someone is?

JW: I enjoyed both jobs even though they were different kinds of programs. They are both in big cities, so I got help from both communities in building up the programs. I told people that since our school is called Jacksonville University we were representing the entire city. When you play in a big downtown arena it helps the chamber of commerce and local business get behind you. The players also enjoyed playing in a big arena. You can find unique things at each school to "sell" people on it. One of the reasons that I was successful at Furman was because of all the success I had at JU. Back in the day you could go see high school players a lot to aid in the recruiting process, but the NCAA now limits such things, which gives a big advantage to big schools. Butler is a great example of a school with a great tradition that has a big arena that is tied in with a large city.

JT: Your son Blake was recently named an assistant coach at Furman. Did you inspire him to go into coaching, and do you think it will be easier or harder for him to coach at Furman after all of your prior success there?

JW: Both of my sons were captains of their high school and college teams. Blake loved basketball and worked really hard on drills to become better. Blake played on some great summer league teams in high school. One of his teammates was Amare Stoudemire! When you have the passion like he and I do it is not considered "hard work", just "time-consuming". I think that my success at Furman will make it easier for Blake. I was invited back there to speak recently and everyone is still excited about the basketball program. Head coach Jeff Jackson is a fine young guy and he is excited about Blake being there.

JT: When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most?

JW: When I was coaching I had some really fine players who graduated. At Furman every single freshman we had ended up graduating, and Artis was the first person in his family who graduated. All of my players were good students/positive kids.

Coach Williams is on Jon's list of best coaches in both Atlantic Sun and SoCon history.

ATLANTIC SUN
Belmont: Rick Byrd (1986-present) 518-278, 4 NCAA tourneys, 4 conference titles, 1-time national COY, 2-time conference COY
East Tennessee State: Murry Bartow (2003-present) 162-98, 3 NCAA tourneys, 2 conference titles, 1-time conference COY
Florida Gulf Coast: Dave Balza (2001-2011) 153-121, 1 NCAA tourney
Jacksonville: Joe Williams (1964-1970) 92-61, 1 NCAA tourney
Kennesaw State: Tony Ingle (2000-2011) 178-165, 1 D-2 national title, 1-time national COY, 1-time conference COY
Lipscomb: Don Meyer (1975-1999) 663-181, 1 NAIA title, 2-time national COY
Mercer: Bill Bibb (1974-1989) 222-194, 2 NCAA tourneys, 2-time conference COY
North Florida: Matt Kilcullen (1999-2009) 98-186
South Carolina Upstate: Eddie Payne (2002-present) 120-146, 2 NCAA tourneys, 1 conference title, 1-time conference COY
Stetson: Glenn Wilkes (1957-1993) 552-435

SOUTHERN
Appalachian State: Buzz Peterson (1996-2000, 2009-2010) 103-52, 1 NCAA tourney, 4 conference titles, 2-time conference COY
Charleston: John Kresse (1979-2002) 560-143, 4 NCAA tourneys, 9 conference titles, 4-time conference COY
Chattanooga: Mack McCarthy (1985-1997) 243-122, 5 NCAA tourneys, 8 conference titles, 3-time conference COY
Citadel: Les Robinson (1974-1985) 132-162, 2-time conference COY
Davidson: Bob McKillop (1989-present) 401-263, 5 NCAA tourneys, 10 conference titles, 1-time national COY, 6-time conference COY
Elon: Bill Miller (1959-1979) 329-224, 2 conference titles
Furman: Joe Williams (1970-1978) 142-87, 5 NCAA tourneys, 3 conference titles, 1-time conference COY
Georgia Southern: Frank Kerns (1981-1995) 244-132, 3 NCAA tourneys, 4 conference titles, 4-time conference COY
UNC Greensboro: Fran McCaffery (1999-2005) 90-87, 1 NCAA tourney, 1 conference title
Samford: Jimmy Tillette (1997-present) 218-200, 2 NCAA tourneys, 1 conference title, 1-time conference COY
Western Carolina: Steve Cottrell (1977-1987) 145-133, 1-time conference COY
Wofford: Mike Young (2002-present) 137-139, 2 NCAA tourneys, 2 conference titles

Jon Teitel's All-Conference Picks, Part Two

Jon Teitel — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:13:58 -0400

In the latest installment in our 2011-12 preview series, CHN writer Jon Teitel took some time selecting his preseason all-conference selections for 31 conferences as well as the Independents. Below are the picks for the final 16 conferences, and Part One can be found here.

MAC
G: Trey Ziegler (Central Michigan)
G: Zach Filzen (Buffalo)
F: Justin Greene (Kent State)
F: Julian Mavunga (Miami-Ohio)
F: Jarrod Jones (Ball St.)

MEAC
G: Darrion Pellum (Hampton)
G: Landon Clement (North Carolina Central)
G: Kwame Morgan II (Hampton)
F: Dewayne Jackson (Morgan St.)
C: Kyle O'Quinn (Norfolk St.)

Missouri Valley
G: Colt Ryan (Evansville)
G: Antoine Young (Creighton)
G: Anthony James (Northern Iowa)
F: Doug McDermott (Creighton)
F: Kyle Weems (Missouri St.)

Mountain West
G: Oscar Bellfield (UNLV)
G: Kendall Williams (New Mexico)
F: Garlon Green (TCU)
F: Drew Gordon (New Mexico)
F: Chace Stanback (UNLV)

Northeast
G: Robby Ptacek (Central Connecticut State)
G: Shane Gibson (Sacred Heart)
G: Tyler Murray (Wagner)
F: Ken Horton (Central Connecticut State)
F: Alex Francis (Bryant)

Ohio Valley
G: TyShwan Edmondson (Austin Peay)
G: Jeremy Granger (Eastern Illinois)
F: Kevin Murphy (Tennessee Tech)
F: Leon Powell (Southeast Missouri State)
F: Kenny Moore (Tennessee State)

Pac-12
G: Allen Crabbe (California)
G: Jorge Gutierrez (California)
G: Trent Lockett (Arizona State)
F: Reeves Nelson (UCLA)
F: Josh Owens (Stanford)

Patriot
G: CJ McCollum (Lehigh)
G: Jordan Sugars (Navy )
G: Devin Brown (Holy Cross)
F: Ella Ellis (Army)
C: Mike Muscala (Bucknell)

SEC
G: Dee Bost (Mississippi State)
G: John Jenkins (Vanderbilt)
F: JaMychal Green (Alabama)
F: Terrence Jones (Kentucky)
F: Jeffery Taylor (Vanderbilt)

Southern
G: Ben Drayton III (Georgia Southern)
G: Drew Spradlin (Elon)
G: Omar Wattad (Chattanooga)
F: Omar Carter (Appalachian St.)
F: Jake Cohen (Davidson)

Southland
G: Fred Hunter (Nicholls St.)
G: Melvin Johnson III (UTSA)
F: Jeromie Hill (UTSA)
F: Patrick Richard (McNeese St.)
C: Jereal Scott (Stephen F. Austin)

SWAC
G: Lawrence Johnson-Danner (Texas Southern)
G: Jenirro Bush (Jackson St.)
G: Savalance Townsend (Arkansas-Pine Bluff)
F: Casey Cantey (Alabama A&M)
F: Daniel Broughton (Arkansas-Pine Bluff)

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

Sun Belt
G: Gregg Gant (Florida Atlantic)
G: Fred Brown (UL Monroe)
F: Chase Hallam (Denver)
F: DeJuan Wright (FIU)
C: Augustine Rubit (South Alabama)

WCC
G: Kevin Foster (Santa Clara)
F: Elias Harris (Gonzaga)
F: Rob Jones (Saint Mary's)
C: Robert Sacre (Gonzaga)
G: Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary's)

WAC
G: Deonte Burton (Nevada)
G: Zane Johnson (Hawaii)
G: Brockeith Pane (Utah State)
F: Dario Hunt (Nevada)
C: Kyle Barone (Idaho)