Alabama

Jon Teitel's "Coaching Greats": Alabama's Wimp Sanderson

Jon Teitel — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 09:10:40 -0700

In the latest installment in his "Coaching Greats" interview series CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with Wimp Sanderson, who was the head coach at Alabama from 1980 to 1992. While known for his plaid blazers, Sanderson also led the Crimson Tide to 265 wins and ten NCAA tournament appearances.

Jon Teitel: You were famous for wearing plaid sport jackets on the sidelines. Why plaid?

Wimp Sanderson: I do not think that I even wore plaid during my first couple of years there. I wore it once and the sportswriters wrote about it, then I wore it again and they kept writing about it, and it just sort of took off from there.

JT: In June 1963 as an assistant coach at Alabama you watched from a window in a building across the street from Foster Auditorium as Governor George Wallace stood at the schoolhouse door to stop two African-American students from enrolling. Did you realize that you were watching history?

WS: Our offices were across the street from the auditorium and I realized that I was watching something that I had never seen before. I knew it was unusual but did not know exactly what it would end up being.

JT: What are your memories of the 1975 NCAA tournament (Leon Douglas had 29 points and 21 rebounds in a three-point loss to Arizona State)?

WS: We got sent out west after losing to Vanderbilt at home, and Lionel Hollins (17 points and five assists) beat us pretty much by himself.

1976 NCAA tournament

JT: Douglas had 35 points and 17 rebounds in a win over North Carolina. Where does Douglas rank among the best players you ever coached?

WS: He was a very good player for us, but we were fortunate to have a lot of good players throughout the years.

JT: National POY Scott May had 25 points and 16 rebounds in a five-point win by eventual undefeated champion Indiana. Did you get the sense that Indiana was going to go undefeated that year?

WS: We had a chance to beat them but missed a couple of shots towards the end and had a controversial charge call made by a Big Ten official. Bobby Knight's team was great.

JT: In 1980 you took over for Hall of Fame coach C.M. Newton, who was the first SEC coach to heavily recruit African-American players. What made Newton such a great coach, and how was he able to convince African-American players to come to Tuscaloosa?

WS: After recruiting Wendell Hudson back in the 1960s (the first African-American scholarship athlete at Alabama), we just tried to recruit the best players in the state. Even after becoming head coach I made sure that I tried to do my part in recruiting.

1982 NCAA tournament

JT: Eddie Phillips scored 16 points (10-10 FT) in a one-point win over St. John's in New York. How were you able to hang on for the win?

WS: We got to the tourney after beating Kentucky in the SEC tournament title game. We were pretty fortunate to win a game against St. John's that went back and forth.

JT: Tournament MOP James Worthy scored 16 points in a five-point win by eventual champion North Carolina in Raleigh. Do you think that Dean Smith was out for revenge after losing to Alabama back in 1976?

WS: I do not think that he was out for revenge. We did a good job guarding Michael Jordan but it was a tough game. The following January we were getting ready to play #1-ranked UCLA on national TV when someone told me that Hall of Fame football coach Bear Bryant had just passed away. We beat the Bruins by two points and I was very proud of that.

JT: What are your memories of the 1984 NCAA tournament (Bobby Lee Hurt had 16 points and ten rebounds in a one-point loss to Illinois State)?

WS: They beat us on an 18-foot jump shot by Lou Stefanovic with eight seconds left.

1985 NCAA tournament

JT: Hurt scored 14 points in a nine-point win over Arizona and then 19 in a four-point win over VCU. What did Hurt learn from the Illinois State loss that helped him in the 1985 tournament?

WS: Lute Olson had a good Arizona team, and we beat them in a hard-fought game with a lot of fans who had made the trip from Tucson. One of VCU's assistant coaches was David Hobbs, who I later hired as one of my own assistants.

JT: Spud Webb scored 14 points in a six-point NC State win. How devastating was that loss?

WS: That was the year I thought we had a chance to win it all.

1986 NCAA tournament

JT: Terry Coner had 12 points and ten assists, and hit an off-balance 12-footer with one second left in a two-point win over Illinois. Do you think that Coner traveled, and where does that rank among the most clutch shots you have ever seen?

WS: Naturally I think he did not travel! Illinois coach Lou Henson asked me the same question after the game and I gave him the same answer.

JT: Kenny Walker had 22 points and three blocks while playing 40 minutes in a five-point Kentucky win. Did you change any of your strategy after losing to the Wildcats only 12 days earlier in the SEC tournament title game?

WS: The NCAA sent all of the SEC schools (Alabama, Kentucky and LSU) to the same regional site in Atlanta, which I think is the worst thing that they have ever done.

1987 NCAA tournament

JT: Derrick McKey had 25 points and 14 rebounds in a win over North Carolina A&T and 26 points (10-12 FG) in a win over New Orleans. How was McKey able to be so dominant that weekend?

WS: We won 19 of 21 conference games that year, and had a chance to win the two that we lost. We were a #2-seed, which was the highest we ever got.

JT: Billy Donovan had 26 points and ten assists in a win by Providence. Could you tell at the time that Donovan's success as a player would later translate to success as a coach?

WS: That was one of the saddest days of my life. I was a sore loser. Donovan wore us out that night.

JT: What are your memories of the 1989 NCAA tournament (Jeff Hodge scored 29 points and made a 23-foot shot with two seconds left in a two-point win by South Alabama in the first-ever meeting between the interstate rivals)?

WS: That was a killer for us. I did not want to play them in the regular season. I would attribute that loss to coaching.

1990 NCAA tournament

JT: Robert Horry scored 27 points (10-14 FG) in a win over Colorado State. Did Horry have the same clutch shooting ability back then that be became famous for in the NBA?

WS: Robert could shoot it well even back then.

JT: Horry scored 21 points but by missed a 15-foot shot at the buzzer in a 62-60 loss to Loyola Marymount. Did you think Horry's shot was going in, and how on earth were you able to hold LMU to 62 points after they had scored a tournament-record 149 PTS in their previous game vs. Michigan?

WS: After beating Arizon in the second round in Long Beach we had several days to prepare for LMU, who was on a roll despite the death of Hank Gathers. I talked to as many other coaches as I could to get a feel for LMU, and several of them told me not to try to run with LMU because that would not work. I told my team to run a little clock when we could, and we played well even though we did not shoot well. LMU coach Paul Westhead came very close to getting called for a technical foul at the end of the first half. If I had to do it over again I would have done something else because slowing it down did not win the game for us. I do not remember Robert's shot, but I remember Bo Kimble making a left-handed free throw in tribute to Hank.

1991 NCAA tournament

JT: PG Gary Waites scored 21 points (5-6 3PT) and had ten assists in an eight-point win over Wake Forest. What made Waites such a great three=point shooter (he had a school record 51.5% 3PT that season)?

WS: The funny part is that Wake Forest coach Dave Odom's son was on my staff...after Dave had hired my son to be on his own staff! It came down to the wire. We decided to play a zone defense at the end and they missed a few shots.

JT: Todd Day scored 31 points in a win by Arkansas. What was it like to face "40 minutes of hell" from Coach Nolan Richardson and his Razorbacks?

WS: We had beaten them before in the regular season. We just did not play well that night.

1992 NCAA tournament

JT: Latrell Sprewell scored 23 points in a five-point win over Stanford. What was Sprewell's behavior like when he played for you?

WS: His behavior was just fine. He was a good player for us. Stanford was a good team because Mike Montgomery's players could do a lot of things on offense. I was pretty tough on my players but Spree never gave me any trouble and he played hard. I think money changed him, and I was disappointed in the way he finished up his NBA career. There are three characteristics you could say about our teams back then: we had good players, we played good defense, and we played hard.

JT: James Robinson scored 22 points in a nine-point loss to North Carolina. Were you getting sick of playing the Tar Heels in the tourney all the time?

WS: Horry got a technical foul in that game after getting into a little scrape with Eric Montross.

JT: You son Scott currently coaches at Lipscomb. How proud are you of his success, and what makes him such a good coach?

WS: He is a level-headed guy who can manage whatever comes his way. He can handle wins and losses better than I ever did. All three of my sons were coaches at one time or another and I am proud of all of them.

Sanderson is also on Jon's list of best coaches in SEC history.

Alabama: Wimp Sanderson (1980-1992) 265-118, 10 NCAA tourneys, 1 conference title, 3-time conference COY
Arkansas: Nolan Richardson (1985-2002) 389-169, 13 NCAA tourneys, 7 conference titles, 1 NCAA title, 1-time national COY, 4-time conference COY
Auburn: Cliff Ellis (1994-2004) 186-125, 3 NCAA tourneys, 1 conference title, 1-time national COY, 2-time conference COY
Florida: Billy Donovan (1996-present) 386-158, 12 NCAA tourneys, 4 conference titles, 2 NCAA titles, 1-time conference COY
Georgia: Hugh Durham (1978-1995) 297-215, 5 NCAA tourneys, 1 conference title, 4-time conference COY
Kentucky: Adolph Rupp (1930-1972) 876-190, 20 NCAA tourneys, 28 conference titles, 4 NCAA titles, 1 NIT title, 4-time national COY, 7-time conference COY
LSU: Dale Brown (1972-1997) 448-301, 13 NCAA tourneys, 4 conference titles, 2-time national COY, 4-time conference COY
Mississippi: Rod Barnes (1998-2006) 141-109, 3 NCAA tourneys, 1 conference title, 1-time national COY, 1-time conference COY
Mississippi State: Rick Stansbury (1998-2012) 293-166, 6 NCAA tourneys, 5 conference titles, 1-time conference COY
South Carolina: Frank McGuire (1964-1980) 283-142, 4 NCAA tourneys, 1 conference title, 1-time conference COY
Tennessee: Ray Mears (1962-1977) 278-112, 3 NCAA tourneys, 3 conference titles, 2-time conference COY
Vanderbilt: Roy Skinner (1958-1976) 278-135, 2 NCAA tourneys, 2 conference titles, 3-time conference COY

Friday's NCAA Tournament Games to Watch

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 07:44:42 -0700

After an "opening" day that went mostly according to form, the hope of many is that Friday's slate provides some upsets. And with some of the matchups providing a nice contrast in styles as well as talented players on mid-major squads who may not be household names just yet, there's a good chance that an upset does happen. Here's the schedule for today along with a game from each site that you should keep track of.

Columbus: (8) Memphis vs. (9) Saint Louis
6:50 PM EST, TBS

Both of these teams have the potential to give Michigan State fits on Sunday, albeit for different reasons. Josh Pastner's Tigers were a team many expected to be in the Top 10 to start the season, but losses against the better teams on their non-conference schedule reuslted in Memphis likely being underseeded. Will Barton has been outstanding all season long, and the emergence of Chris Crawford has been another factor in their current run. The keys for Memphis are simple: make sound decisions without the basketball and make sure Tarik Black doesn't end up in early foul trouble.

Rick Majerus' Billikens get it done in a different way, as they're more comfortable with a game played in the half court. Kwamain Mitchell has played well at the point and despite his height Brian Conklin will battle inside for 40 minutes. SLU is one of the best coached teams in the tournament, so in that regards it may be safe to assume that at some point Saint Louis could have something special lined up Memphis especially if Barton gets rolling early. Both teams have been very good in regards to their efficiency numbers this season on both ends of the floor, which should lead to a tight contest. The team that does the better job of influencing the tempo of the game likely wins.

Other games in Columbus
(6) San Diego State vs. (11) NC State; 12:40 PM EST (truTV)
(3) Georgetown vs. (14) Belmont; 3:10 PM EST (truTV)
(1) Michigan State vs. (16) LIU Brooklyn; 9:20 PM EST (TBS)

Greensboro: (8) Creighton vs. (9) Alabama
1:40 PM EST, TBS

Xavier/Notre Dame is another contest to keep tabs on in Greensboro, but the first game of the day will be interesting in regards to how the Crimson Tide go about guarding Doug McDermott. With Tony Mitchell dismissed from the team a few weeks ago the most likely option for Anthony Grant is no longer present. But that doesn't mean that Alabama is without hope, as they allow opponents to shoot just 38.8% from the field. That's five percentage points better than Creighton, who's had issues defensively for much of the season. If McDermott and Antoine Young can get things going offensively the Bluejays should be able to create their kind of game.

But that's easier said than done, and they'll have to get stops at some point. Trevor Releford leads the way on the perimeter, and Alabama's going to need a Trevor Lacey or Levi Randolph to step up scoring-wise alongside him if they're to win. The battle in the paint between JaMychal Green and Gregory Echenique could be determined early if one of them gets into early foul trouble. The winner gets North Carolina and while most of the country likely hopes that it's Creighton who advances, they're going to need to bring a higher level of intensity on the defensive end if they're to move on.

Other games in Greensboro
(1) North Carolina vs. (16) Vermont; 3:10 PM EST (TBS)
(2) Duke vs. (15) Lehigh; 7:15 PM EST (CBS)
(7) Notre Dame vs. (10) Xavier; 9:45 PM EST (CBS)

Nashville: (4) Michigan vs. (13) Ohio
7:20 PM EST, TNT

All four games in Nashville have the potential to produce wins by the lower-seeded team, so don't be surprised if the Bobcats give Michigan a run for their money. Point guard D.J. Cooper has played very well for John Groce, leading the team in both points and assists. Cooper was also a member of that team that knocked off Georgetown two years ago so the experience shouldn't be a concern either. Ohio's got some talented players alongside Cooper such as Ivo Baltic, Walter Offutt and perimeter shooter Nick Kellogg. The key for the Bobcats: defending the three.

Michigan may not have the most impressive percentage from beyond the arc (35.2%) but that doesn't deter John Beilein's team from taking the shot, as they score 36.8% of their points via the three. Trey Burke has been outstanding at the point for Michigan, and joining him on the perimeter are Stu Douglass, Tm Hardaway Jr. and Zack Novak. If Jordan Morgan can control things in the paint that would bode well for the Wolverines as neither team is particularly good in the rebounding department. Ohio also forces more than 17 turnovers a game, but with Michigan averaging just 10.9 something has to give there. How well Ohio defends the three will likely determine the outcome.

Other games in Nashville
(6) Cincinnati vs. (11) Texas; 12:15 PM EST (CBS)
(3) Florida State vs. (14) St. Bonaventure; 2:45 PM EST (CBS)
(5) Temple vs. (12) USF; 9:50 PM EST (TNT)

Omaha: (7) Saint Mary's vs. (10) Purdue
7:27 PM EST, truTV

This has the potential to be one of the best games of the day due to the point guard position. Saint Mary's relies heavily on Matthew Dellavedova and rightfully so, as the WCC Player of the Year leads the team in both points and assists. On the other side is senior Lewis Jackson, who is one of the toughest players in college basketball. The Boilermakers need Jackson to keep Dellavedova out of his comfort zone on the floor, forcing him to both take challenged shots and make passes from tougher angles. If Jackson can do that the Boilers are more than capable of winning.

Also of note are seniors Robbie Hummel (Purdue) and Rob Jones (Saint Mary's), with the latter being virtually a guaranteed double-double for much of the season. Hummel's bounced back from two ACL tears to lead the Boilermakers in scoring, and he'll have to continue that today. The Gaels also have Brad Waldow inside, and off the bench Clint Steindl can make teams pay with his ability to knock down the perimeter shot. Having Stephen Holt go down didn't derail Saint Mary's on their way to the WCC regular season and tournament titles, and they're more than capable of getting to the Sweet 16 as well.

Other games in Omaha
(7) Florida vs. (10) Virginia; 2:10 PM EST (TNT)
(2) Missouri vs. (15) Norfolk State; 4:40 PM EST (TNT)
(2) Kansas vs. (15) Detroit; 9:57 PM EST (truTV)

Creighton vs Alabama: Prediction

Greg Mengelt — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:27:32 -0700

(8) Creighton vs. (9) Alabama: Midwest Region

Records

Creighton 28-5, 14-4, MVC (Conference Tournament Champions)

Alabama 21-11, 9-7 (At large)

Time: 1:40 p.m. Friday

TV: TBS

Location: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.

Winner will face: (1) North Carolina or (16) Vermont/Lamar, Sunday

Rankings

Creighton No. 19 AP; No. 20 ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll

RPI Ratings

Creighton 26

Alabama 34

Line: Alabama -1½ (O/U 131½)

Players to Watch

Creighton: F Doug McDermott, 6-7 So. (23.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 61% FG); G Antoine Young, 6-0 Sr. (12.5 ppg, 4.5 apg, 2.1 rpg); C Gregory Echenique, 6-9 Jr. (9.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.6 bpg). Young – the Blue Jays’ only senior who sees significant minutes – was strangely absent from any of the four All-MVC teams. Young was second on the team in scoring, second in assists and second in steals and hit game-winning shots to give Creighton victories over Long Beach State and Indiana State.

Alabama: F JaMychal Green, 6-8 Sr. (14 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 54.4% FG); G Trevor Releford, 6-0 So. (11.9 ppg, 2.7 apg, 48.1% FG); G Trevor Lacey, 6-3 Fr. (7.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.8 apg). Green has played well since serving a 4-game suspension. In the five games since, he has scored 69 points and grabbed 43 boards, including a 22-point, 10-rebound performance in the Tide’s 3-point SEC quarterfinal loss to Florida.

Why Each Team Dangerous

Creighton: McDermott is a very difficult guard. He can score inside and outside and he makes plays for his teammates. The Blue Jays lead the nation in field goal percentage at 50.9 percent, and they’re third with a 42.5 3-point percentage. They have also made 521 of their 712 free throws this season. It’s not just McDermott who can beat opponents. Young is a great slasher and playmaker, Echenique can score in the paint and Grant Gibbs, Ethan Wragge and Jahenns Mangiat all shoot over 40 percent from deep.

Alabama: The Tide really defend, particularly from the perimeter. Opponents are shooting just 38.8 percent against Bama, including just 28.5 percent from the 3-point line. If they can keep the Blue Jays from going off from deep, they’ll have a shot at staying in this game. Alabama is young but really athletic, even after the expulsion of Tony Mitchell. Releford, Lacey and Andrew Steele will give the less physically talented Jays some trouble.

Why Each Team is Vulnerable

Creighton: The Jays’ defense is average. It has surrendered 68 points or more 14 times. Creighton allowed opponents to shoot 43.8 percent from the field and 35.6 from the 3-point line. It only forced 8.6 turnovers per game in MVC play. Opponents also get to the foul line over 17 times per game against the Jays.

Alabama: Bama really struggles to put the ball in the basket. It has scored 70-plus points just once since the beginning of February. For the season, the Tide are shooting just 45.2 percent from the floor and 28.5 from the 3-point line. They made only 129 3-pointers all season, fewest in the SEC and among the fewest in the nation. Despite its size and athleticism, Alabama only out-rebounded opponents by 2.2 per game during the regular season. It averages just 10.8 offensive rebounds per game, which is 203^rd nationally.

The Bottom Line: As good as Alabama’s perimeter defense has been, it can’t slow Creighton’s offense. This is one of the easiest picks (against the spread) of the first round.

The Pick: Creighton 79, Alabama 69

Greg Against the Spread This Season: 198-150-6

Consensus Ranking: Alabama, Memphis Underrated

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:04:00 -0800

Despite falling to 10th in the AP poll, Ohio St remains strong in the Consensus Ranking (CR). The computers were nonplussed by the Buckeyes loss to Wisconsin. Similarly, Missouri only fell two spots despite a pair of losses. The biggest losers this week were actually La Salle, West Virginia, and Marshall.

On the positive side, Dayton, Memphis, and Purdue made the strongest moves. Interesting that although the computers respected those teams, it was the likes of Iowa St, Drexel, and VCU that the AP voters hyped up.

Making their debut in the CR is South Dakota St and Tennessee. South Dakota St moved into the RPI top 60 and comes in at a very respectable 57th, ahead of many teams getting bubble love. SD St is also 9 spots ahead of Oral Roberts, despite trailing in the Summit standings. Tennessee comes in at a less respectable 75th, the lowest rank of any team getting bubble love.

Also of note, Wichita St moves into the top 10 for the first time. The Shockers are consistently respected across the board, though the AP voters have been slower to jump on the bandwagon. Lastly, Saint Louis is the highest CR team without a single AP vote. The Billikens lost at Rhode Island, which the computers were not as concerned about.

What Is It?

With the advent of computer rankings & metrics, we have many tools that attempt to overcome historical biases to rank teams fairly. Taking a consensus average of these rankings, we get a good sense of the lay of the land and can see where the human voters differ with the computers. More importantly, we can see whether there is a pattern to the human biases and whether certain teams are consistently mis-valued compared to their peers.

82 teams are ranked, consisting of A) any team with AP votes, B) any team in the RPI Top 60, C) any team in CHN Top 50, D) any team in the KenPom Top 50, and E) any team previously included. The teams are ranked by an average of their RPI, Sagarin, and KenPom ratings. At the right of the chart is the team's current AP ranking and their consensus ranking in the last two updates.

Below the ranking, you'll find a list of the most overrated and underrated teams, as well as teams that moved the most since the last update.

Rank	Team	RPI	KenPom	Sagarin	Avg	Last	2 Weeks	AP
1	Kentucky	3	1	1	1.7	1	2t	1
2	Michigan St	4	3	3	3.3	2t	4	5
3	Ohio St	7	2	2	3.7	4	1	10
4	Syracuse	1	6	5	4.0	2t	2t	2
5	Kansas	6	4	4	4.7	5	5	3
6	UNC	5	7	6	6.0	6	6t	6
7	Duke	2	10	9	7.0	8	9	4
8	Wichita St	10	8	10	9.3	14	18	15
9	Missouri	16	9	7	10.7	7	8	7
10	Marquette	8	16	13	12.3	11	15	8
11t	Georgetown	12	13	14	13.0	9t	11	11
11t	Baylor	9	18	12	13.0	12	6t	9
13t	Wisconsin	27	5	8	13.3	9t	13t	14
13t	Indiana	18	11	11	13.3	13	10	18
15	Florida	19	17	15	17.0	15	12	16
15t	Memphis	21	14	16	17.0	23	23	36
17	UNLV	11	30	20	20.3	19t	13t	17
18	Michigan	13	25	24	20.7	18	22	13
19	Saint Louis	34	12	18	21.3	16	19
20	New Mexico	33	15	17	21.7	17	21	29
21	Louisville	20	27	19	22.0	21	24	19
22t	Vanderbilt	22	20	26	22.7	24	31	31
22t	Alabama	24	21	23	22.7	29	26	40
24	Virginia	38	19	22	26.3	27	25	24
25	Gonzaga	17	33	31	27.0	26	27t	26
26	Florida St	25	29	28	27.3	19t	16	22
27	Temple	15	34	34	27.7	25	34	23
28	California	36	24	25	28.3	22	32t	37t
29	Kansas St	45	23	21	29.7	31t	32t	39t
30	Creighton	23	39	30	30.7	28	17	25
31	Iowa St	31	31	33	31.7	35t	35t	27
32	Purdue	40	28	29	32.3	40	44t	37t
33	UCONN	30	36	38	34.7	33	29
34	Texas	55	26	27	36.0	31t	37t
35	St. Mary's	32	41	36	36.3	39	20	28
36	Notre Dame	42	32	37	37.0	38	50	20
37	Harvard	37	35	40	37.3	30	37t	35
38	Belmont	59	22	32	37.7	44	x
39	Long Beach St	35	42	41	39.3	41	39	33
40	Murray St	29	48	43	40.0	46	47	12
41	BYU	49	38	35	40.7	35t	35t	34
42t	Seton Hall	44	43	44	43.7	42	49
42t	Southern Miss	14	66	51	43.7	37	30	39t
44	Miami	48	40	45	44.3	45	46
45	West Virginia	50	45	39	44.7	34	27t
46	San Diego St	28	60	49	45.7	48	41	21
47	Iona	41	49	48	46.0	49	51
48	MTSU	47	50	47	48.0	43	40
49	Northwestern	43	56	53	50.7	47	54
50	Cincinnati	77	37	42	52.0	52	59
51t	Arizona	67	44	46	52.3	50	44t
51t	VCU	60	47	50	52.3	57	x	32
53	Xavier	54	53	56	54.3	53t	53
54	St. Joseph's	51	64	58	57.7	51	55
55	South Dakota St	56	57	62	58.3	x	x
56	Washington	52	68	59	59.7	58	60
57	Dayton	61	59	60	60.0	75	69
58	Drexel	74	46	61	60.3	64	x	30
59	NC State	71	58	54	61.0	53t	x
60	Illinois	72	63	52	62.3	59	42
61	Davidson	65	62	64	63.7	68	62t
62	South Florida	46	69	77	64.0	62	x
63	Oregon	53	72	68	64.3	61	x
64t	Minnesota	82	61	55	66.0	55	43
64t	Oral Roberts	39	89	70	66.0	65	57
66	Colorado St	26	88	91	68.3	69	65
67t	Akron	58	78	72	69.3	60	56
67t	Mississippi St	64	81	63	69.3	66	48
69	La Salle	89	55	65	69.7	56	x
70	Stanford	106	54	57	72.3	71	62t
71	Northern Iowa	63	82	75	73.3	67	58
72	Ohio	78	74	73	75.0	78	68
73	Marshall	62	84	81	75.7	63	64
74	Cleveland St	75	76	78	76.3	73	52
75	Tennessee	92	65	76	77.7	x	x
76	UCF	66	80	89	78.3	70	71
77	Denver	91	73	80	81.3	74	72
78	Virginia Tech	104	77	66	82.3	77	66
79	Nevada	57	105	101	87.7	76	x
80	Ole Miss	69	103	98	90.0	79	70
81	Wagner	80	104	93	92.3	72	67
82	Arkansas	84	111	97	97.3	80	61

Most Overrated: AP vs. the computer ranking:

Drexel +28

Murray St +28

San Diego St +25

VCU +19

Notre Dame +16

BYU +7

Saint Mary's +7

LBSU +6

Most Underrated: AP vs. the computer ranking:

Teams w/ votes

Memphis -21

Alabama -18

Kansas St -10

California -9

New Mexico -9
Vanderbilt -9

Teams w/ no votes

Saint Louis

UCONN

Texas

Belmont

Seton Hall

Biggest Changes In Last Week:

Rising

Dayton +18

Memphis +8

Purdue +8

Alabama +7

Davidson +7

Falling

La Salle -13

West Virginia -11

Marshall -10

Minnesota -9

Akron/Harvard -7

Biggest Changes In Last Two Weeks:

Rising

Notre Dame +14

Purdue +12

Dayton +12

Vanderbilt +9

Wichita St +9

Falling

Arkansas -21

Minnesota -21

Mississippi St -19

Illinois -18

West Virginia -18

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Bearcats Pick Up Needed Win: Thursday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:55:26 -0800

In the game of the night Duke rode the hot shooting of Andre Dawkins and the playmaking of Austin Rivers to avenge an earlier loss to Florida State, winning 74-66 in Tallahassee.

1. The game wasn't pretty but Cincinnati did enough to beat #17 Louisville.
It went without saying that Mick Cronin's Bearcats needed another good win for their resume due in large part to their weak non-conference slate. Their contest with #17 Louisville won't be a video that basketball purists eagerly throw into the DVD player but all that matters is the result, a 60-56 Bearcat victory to move to 10-5 in the Big East. Cashmere Wright rebounded from a second half ankle injury to lead Cincinnati with 22 points, five rebounds and five assists, and the Bearcats' superiority from beyond the arc proved to be the difference. Cincinnati made 11 of their 27 shots from deep while Louisville finished 1-for-14.

Peyton Siva scored 14 points and Gorgui Dieng and Chane Behanan scored 11 apiece (20 combined rebounds as well), but the struggles of Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith were critical. Those two combined to shoot 0-for-15 from the field with Kuric missing all seven of his three-point attempts, and Louisville can't win when that happens. There's more work for Cincinnati to do to make their Selection Sunday as stress-free as possible, but beating the Cardinals at home is a good start to the stretch run.

2. Likely needing a weekend sweep to enter the bubble conversation, Colorado gets whipped at home by Stanford.
With a 13-1 home record entering Thursday's action, Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes had the look of a team that would enhance its NCAA prospects by winning at home against Stanford. But the Cardinal had other plans, as they jumped the Buffs in the first half on their way to the 74-50 victory. Chasson Randle scored 20 to lead the way offensively, and Johnny Dawkins' club was able to navigate 18 turnovers by limiting the Buffaloes to 29.6% shooting. Askia Booker led Colorado with 14 points, but a look at their resume depicts a team in need of a major run to reach the Big Dance. Andre Roberson (nine points, 11 rebounds) struggled, but he found other areas in which he could attempt to have an impact.

The same can't be said for guard Carlon Brown, who shot 1-for-8 from the field and has shot 6-for-28 over the last three games. As a result of Stanford's victory the Cardinal are back in the tournament discussion, but just ilke Colorado nothing other than the Pac-12's automatic berth will get them in at this point. Next up for Colorado is Cal on Sunday afternoon, and with a national audience watching that could be the Buffs' last stand. The hope in Boulder is that they find a way to avoid the slow start that has been their Achille's heal in recent weeks.

3. Gonzaga evens the score with BYU to keep alive their hopes of a 12th straight WCC title.
Elias Harris scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs to a 74-63 win over the Cougars, avenging their loss in Provo and moving into sole possession of second place in the WCC. Brandon Davies led BYU with 23 points and ten rebounds but it was obvious that BYU was missing something with Noah Hartsock (knee) sitting out the majority of the game due to his injury. The Cougars attempted 37 more field goals than Gonzaga (78-41) but they made just 30.8% of their shots, and making the same number of three-pointers as the Bulldogs (six) with fifteen more attempts (28-13) didn't help matters either.

Gonzaga turned the ball over 20 times but their parade to the foul line more than made up for that. Gonzaga attempted 44 free throws, making 36 and pushing the Bulldogs' total to 72 free throw attempts in two games against BYU. Gonzaga didn't have much of an answer for Davies in the post when he received the ball, but the Cougars had their issues in the second half as well. The win moves Gonzaga to second place with one league game remaining, which also means that the Bulldogs are still alive for their 12th consecutive WCC title.

Quick Hitters

1. Two more teams locked up postseason (NIT) berths on Thursday night: Belmont (Atlantic Sun) and LIU Brooklyn (Northeast). The Bruins whipped Kennesaw State 90-50 as Mick Hedgepeth and Scott Saunders scored 12 points apiece to lead four players in double figures. Jamal Olasewere scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Julian Boyd went off for 21 and 20 to lead LIU past Fairleigh Dickinson 91-80.

2. JaMychal Green didn't play but Alabama still found a way to pick up a key road win as they beat Arkansas 79-68. Andrew Steele scored 15 points and Trevor Releford 14 for the Crimson Tide, who also received 31 points from Rodney Cooper (17) and Nick Jacobs (14) off the bench. At 18-9 and 7-6 in the SEC, Anthony Grant's team will likely reach the Big Dance with a respectable finish to the regular season.

3. Long Beach State clinched a share of the Big West title and the top seed in the conference tournament, but they still aren't the outright champs...yet. Cal State Fullerton needed an Isiah Umipig three with 13 seconds remaining to beat Pacific 69-68, moving the Titans to 10-3 in league play. Fullerton is a game up on UCSB in the race for second with three games remaining for both.

4. It was the "Matt Gatens Show" in Iowa City, complete with a bobblehead given out to fans before the game, as Gatens led Iowa to a 67-66 win over #15 Wisconsin. Gatens scored a career-high 33 points, and the last player to do that against the Badgers was Stephen Curry ('08 Sweet 16).

5. Don't look now but Butler is a win away from locking up the two-seed in the upcoming Horizon League conference tournament. Brad Stevens' team won on Tuesday, and Cleveland State's 77-64 win over Detroit eliminates the possibility of the Titans winning a tiebreaker between the two. But locking up the seed will be tough, as the Bulldogs visit regular season champ Valparaiso on Friday night.

6. Isaiah Canaan scored 24 points and Donte Poole 16 to lead #12 Murray State to an 80-62 win over Tennessee State, the team responsible for the lone blemish on the Racers' record. Murray won despite being out-rebounded 33-22, but that tends to happen when a team shoots 56.5% from the field and 12-for-22 from three.

7. Also locking up a postseason berth on Thursday night was Middle Tennessee, who won 94-61 at Louisiana-Monroe to move to 14-1 in Sun Belt play. Kermit Davis' team assisted on 30 of their 35 field goals and 12 of the 15 Blue Raiders who played ended up scoring.

8. Thanks to 26 points and 14 rebounds from center Mike Muscala, Bucknell won 55-50 at American to clinch at least a share of the Patriot League title. The Bison entered Thursday's game on a two-game losing streak, which added some unexpected drama to the league race. Daniel Munoz led three Eagles in double figures with 15 points, and they now need a win and some help this weekend to wrestle away the two-seed from Lehigh.

#16 Florida State vs. #4 Duke: Thursday's Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 07:24:38 -0800

There's the perception that the trip to Tallahassee has been a nightmare for #4 Duke (23-4, 10-2) in recent years, but while it is a tough trip the Blue Devils hadn't lost there since 2006 before their 66-61 loss last January. On the line tonight is a share of first place (with North Carolina), a position few expected #16 Florida State (19-7, 10-2) to be in as they were struggling in November and December. FSU won the first meeting this season on a Michael Snaer three as time expired, but the Seminoles' offensive performance in the second half of that game was arguably their best of the season.

Florida State scored 50 points in the second half of the January 21 meeting, shooting 66.7% from the field, 80% from three and assisting on 11 of their 18 made baskets. Leonard Hamilton's team was successful due to their offensive balance and they took care of the basketball, finishing the game with 12 turnovers. On the season however, Florida State turns the ball over an average of 16.7 times per game, a number that remains the worst in the ACC (their assist-to-turnover ratio is also the worst in the conference). Ian Miller's return has improved things offensively in terms of adding a guard who can make plays, but the turnovers have been a concern all season long.

Florida State's lost just once in the seven games since their win at Cameron Indoor Stadium but they've racked up 15 or more turnovers in five of those. This isn't a "vintage" Duke team from a defensive standpoint, especially on the perimeter outside of Tyler Thornton, but they have enough players who can give Florida State some trouble if the Seminoles are careless with the ball. Miller, Snaer, Deividas Dulkys and Luke Loucks all have to make sound decisions with the basketball if Florida State is to feed off of what should be a raucous crowd. Duke's issues in the first meeting (besides Snaer's shot) came inside of the arc offensively, thanks in large part to FSU's defensive prowess.

Mike Krzyzewski's club shot just 37.5% from two in the first meeting, with guard Seth Curry (2-for-8) and Ryan Kelly (1-for-7) being the biggest culprits. The Blue Devils can go blow for blow with anyone in the ACC on the perimeter thanks to Curry, Austin Rivers and sharpshooter Andre Dawkins (Kelly can also step out and knock down shots), but at a certain point tonight they're going to need tough buckets inside from Miles and Mason Plumlee. Mason's been the more productive of the two in both scoring (11.2 ppg) and rebounding (9.7 rpg) but Miles has played well of late, which is a good sign heading into a game against a frontcourt as physical as FSU's.

Xavier Gibson, Bernard James and Okaro White lead the way inside for Florida State and seven-footer Jon Kreft will also see some time, and this group is a big reason why Florida State leads the ACC in both field goal percentage defense (37%) and adjusted defensive efficiency per Ken Pomeroy's stats (85.4; subscription required for link). Duke's biggest issue in the first meeting was the simple act of missing shots, and the fact that they scored 41 points in the second half shows that they're more than capable of navigating the Seminoles' tough defense.

Turnovers are going to be key on both sides of the basketball, especially when Florida State has possession. Live-ball turnovers against Duke, whose shooters are very good when it comes to finding open spots in odd-man situations, are a good way to get beat regardless of the venue. Duke's also done a better job of keeping opponents off the offensive boards than Florida State, owning a slight edge in opponents' offensive rebounding percentage. Duke grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in the first meeting but thanks to Snaer's heroics it didn't burn the Seminoles. FSU may not be as fortunate this time around, especially if they don't keep their turnovers in check.

Also of importance on Thursday night is the second meeting of the season of BYU and Gonzaga, with the winner remaining alive in the race for the WCC title. BYU won the first meeting in Provo as their frontcourt tandem of Brandon Davies and Noah Hartsock was too much for Elias Harris and Robert Sacre. But things may change in front of "The Kennel", as both Bulldogs play better at home. The key for BYU will be the decision-making of Matt Carlino at the point as well as getting contributions from a player such as Anson Winder, who scored ten points in the Cougars' win in Provo.

Alabama may or may not have JaMychal Green back in the lineup for their game at Arkansas, but either way this is a critical game for both teams in regards to reaching the NCAA tournament. Mike Anderson's Razorbacks have been brutal on the road this season, which in turn makes the home games they get even more important. B.J. Young has been one of the best freshmen in the SEC, and his performance tonight against Trevor Releford will go a long way in determining the outcome. If the Hogs can turn Alabama over and get some fast-break opportunities they'll have a good chance of picking up another win at Bud Walton Arena.

And Thursday night is a big one on the bubble as Cincinnati and Colorado host key league games. The Bearcats will look to knock off #17 Louisville in a game they really need to boost their resume. The big problem for Cincinnati has been that weak non-conference slate, which includes losses to Presbyterian and a Marshall team that hasn't played as well in Conference USA as many expected them to. Cashmere Wright (UC) and Peyton Siva (Louisville) will be the most important players on the floor; whichever point guard plays better will end up leading the winning team.

Colorado kicks off a big weekend with a matchup against Stanford, who is also hoping to fight their way into the bubble conversation. Tad Boyle's Buffaloes are 13-1 at home this season and a sweep of Stanford and Cal would go a long way when it comes to getting into the bubble conversation. Andre Roberson and Spencer Dinwiddie need to have big games if the Buffs are to defend their home floor. Stanford freshman Chasson Randle has been one of the Pac-12's best freshmen (as has Dinwiddie), and his skill gives the Cardinal a good shot at leaving Boulder with a win.

Lastly the Patriot League title will be decided tonight as Bucknell visits American. Dave Paulsen's Bison entered last week's play 10-0 in league play only to drop games to Lehigh and Holy Cross, opening the door for both the Mountain Hawks (10-3) and American (9-3). Led by big man Mike Muscala (21 points, 12 rebounds) the Bison won the first meeting 67-61 as they shot 52% from the field. But the Eagles still had a chance to win thanks to their ability to get to the foul line and rebound, and in Charles Hinkle American has one of the best players in the Patriot League. Two weeks ago Bucknell was a win from locking up the regular season title. A loss tonight and they could find themselves in third place.

Top 25 Games
7:00 PM (4) Duke at (16) Florida State (ESPN)
8:00 PM (12) Murray State at Tennessee State (ESPNU)
9:00 PM (15) Wisconsin at Iowa (ESPN2)
9:00 PM (17) Louisville at Cincinnati (ESPN)
10:00 PM (23) Saint Mary's at Portland (ESPNU)

NCAA Division I Games
7:00 PM Alabama at Arkansas (ESPN2)
7:00 PM Bucknell at American University (CBS SN)
7:00 PM LIU Brooklyn at Fairleigh Dickinson
7:00 PM Chattanooga at Furman
7:00 PM Detroit at Cleveland State
7:00 PM Belmont at Kennesaw State
7:00 PM Albany at Binghamton (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Mount St. Mary's at Central Connecticut State (MSG+)
7:00 PM Elon at Davidson
7:00 PM Stetson at East Tennessee State
7:00 PM South Alabama at Florida Atlantic
7:00 PM Coastal Carolina at Liberty (ESPN3)
7:00 PM St. Francis (NY) at Monmouth
7:00 PM Gardner-Webb at UNC-Asheville
7:00 PM St. Francis (PA) at Quinnipiac
7:00 PM Presbyterian at Radford
7:00 PM Robert Morris at Sacred Heart
7:00 PM Charleston Southern at VMI
7:00 PM Samford at Western Carolina
7:00 PM Wright State at Youngstown State
7:00 PM Wagner at Bryant
7:30 PM SIU-Edwardsville at Eastern Kentucky
7:30 PM Troy at Florida International
7:30 PM Lipscomb at Mercer
7:30 PM Eastern Illinois at Morehead State
7:30 PM Florida Gulf Coast at USC Upstate
8:00 PM Milwaukee at Illinois-Chicago
8:00 PM Arkansas State at Western Kentucky (FCS)
8:00 PM Oakland at UMKC
8:00 PM Georgia Southern at Charleston (ESPN3)
8:00 PM IPFW at South Dakota
8:00 PM North Texas at Arkansas-Little Rock
8:00 PM San Jose State at Louisiana Tech
8:00 PM Green Bay at Loyola (IL)
8:00 PM IUPUI at North Dakota State
8:00 PM Western Illinois at South Dakota State
8:30 PM UCLA at Arizona State (FSNAZ.com)
8:30 PM USC at Arizona (FSN AZ)
8:30 PM Middle Tennessee at Louisiana-Monroe
8:30 PM Austin Peay at Tennessee-Martin
8:45 PM Southeast Missouri State at Jacksonville State
9:00 PM Northern Arizona at Montana (Altitude)
9:00 PM Hawaii at New Mexico State (ESPN3)
9:00 PM California at Utah
9:00 PM Siena at Marist (ESPN3)
9:05 PM Eastern Washington at Idaho State
9:05 PM Weber State at Northern Colorado
9:05 PM Houston Baptist at Utah Valley
10:00 PM Seattle at Fresno State
10:00 PM Cal State Fullerton at Pacific
10:00 PM San Diego at Loyola Marymount
10:00 PM Pepperdine at Santa Clara (CSN CA)
10:30 PM Stanford at Colorado (FSN)
10:35 PM Portland State at Sacramento State
11:00 PM BYU at Gonzaga (ESPN2)

Bracketology Implications: What To Know On Thursday

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:39:16 -0800

Unlike last night's whopping 18 bubble games, Thursday features only five..ish. Here's a breakdown of the night's action as it relates to NCAA Tournament & NIT Bracketology:

Major Bubble Games

Cincinnati (19-8, 9-5) vs #17 Louisville (21-6)

While Louisville is firmly in the field, these are two teams with schizophrenic personalities. On any given night, either one can look awful or great. Cincinnati can't afford an off night here. Sure, they've had some head-scratching losses, but if they were to add Louisville to a resume that includes wins over Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Seton Hall, they'd be tough to keep out. In the Big East, you get many arrows to hit the bulls-eye, and luckily Cincy (though far from a great team) has hit the target enough to stay in contention.

Arkansas (17-10, 5-7) vs Alabama (17-9, 6-6)

For Arkansas, a loss simply eliminates them from contention. But with their wins over Michigan & Vandy, a 9-7 SEC finish would make them somewhat viable as a bubble team. Alabama showed they can still win even without Green & Mitchell. Green won't play against Arkansas either, but I wouldn't count them out. Considering all the problems the program has faced, a win would be huge for the Tide's tourney hopes.

Gonzaga (21-5, 11-3) vs BYU (23-6, 11-3)

In my latest NCAA Tourney projection, Gonzaga was a #6 seed, and BYU a #10. However, it would be crazy to say that BYU is a lock. The Cougars have some nice wins on the season (Gonzaga at home, Nevada on a neutral court, LMU on the road), but their season does not wow you. In fact, BYU is just 1-4 against RPI Top 50 teams, and a loss to Gonzaga would make that 1-5. The committee focuses on "big" wins, and BYU could use another to solidify their spot in the field.

Arizona (19-9, 10-5) vs USC (6-21, 1-13)

Arizona is riding the bubble. I have them out in my latest projection, and a win wouldn't change a thing.. but a loss to lowly USC would be devastating.

Louisiana-Monroe (2-25, 1-13) vs Middle Tennessee (24-4, 13-1)

MTSU gets little respect nationally, but they're certainly on the committee's radar. With a Top 40 RPI, and 4 wins over fringe tourney teams, their resume is bubble-worthy. A big win over ULM is a must.

Secondary Bubble Games

Colorado (18-8, 10-4) vs Stanford (18-9, 8-7)

Stanford's earlier win over Colorado St is the Pac-12's lone non-conference Top 50 win. Were they to win their 3 remaining league games, they have a better tournament resume than most of the other Pac-12 contenders like Oregon & Colorado. The Buffs have the far superior RPI (72nd), but a very weak non-conference resume in which their best win was by 2 points at home over mediocre Georgia. Still, you can't count out any of the Pac-12 teams contending for the conference title.

Not Really Bubble Games: Not Really Bubble Team in Bold

Kennesaw St (3-26, 0-16) vs Belmont (22-7, 14-2)

Earlier in the season, Belmont was a trendy mid-major at-large pick. A couple hiccups against Miami OH and Lipscomb took the luster off the Bears. But they've won 9 in a row and deserve a look. Will they make the dance? No. But they're no worse than many of the bubble teams actually being discussed.

Loyola Marymount (18-10, 10-4) vs San Diego (11-16, 6-8)

LMU has been soaring up the RPI charts in recent weeks after beating Saint Mary's and then Valpo in BracketBusters. An earlier win over Saint Louis looks good too. Assuming LMU tops San Diego and then Santa Clara to close the regular season, a 12-4 WCC record is pretty damn solid. Like Belmont, they won't get a look, but perhaps they really should.

For Bracketology questions, post comments below or drop me a note @collegehoopsnet.

Seton Hall Whips Georgetown: Tuesday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:14:07 -0800

In the recap of Tuesday's big game, Pierce Hornung led Colorado State to a key win over New Mexico. The rest of Tuesday's key happenings include:

1. Jordan Theodore leads Seton Hall to a statement victory over #8 Georgetown.
To say the least this was a huge game for Kevin Willard's Pirates, as they were looking to bounce back from a 62-57 loss to fellow bubbler Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon. Enter senior point guard Jordan Theodore, who took control of the game as seniors are expected to this time of the year. Theodore led Seton Hall to the 73-55 win over the Hoyas with 29 pointsfive assists and four rebounds, and he had a role (scoring four points and assisting on two Herb Pope buckets) in Seton Hall's first eight points of the game. Herb Pope added 12 points and Fuquan Edwin and reserve Brandon Mobley scored ten apiece, for the Pirates, who have won four of their last five after losing six straight.

Offensively the Pirates were outstanding as they shot 61% from the field and posted eighteen assists to just eight turnovers. Georgetown on the other hand finished the night with a field goal percentage of 40.4%, and John Thompson III's team uncharacteristically finished with more turnovers (11) than assists (nine). For the second time in the last three games Seton Hall has shot better than 61% (62.3% against St. John's), and according to statsheet.com's numbers Tuesday marked their most efficient offensive performance of the season. SHU's final two regular season games (Rutgers, at DePaul) are ones that will have a bigger impact if lost than one, but with Theodore leading the way it's difficult to think that they'll fail to take care of business.

2. Kansas State sweeps the season series with #3 Missouri.
Last season Frank Martin's Wildcats inexplicably lost to Colorado (now in the Pac-12, of course) three times. It was all a matter of matchups, just as Kansas State sweeping their season series with Missouri this season is. Kansas State beat the Tigers 78-68 in Columbia on Tuesday night, limiting the Tigers to 38.8% shooting from the field and Rodney McGruder led the way offensively with 24 points. With consecutive road wins at Baylor and Missouri the Wildcats have added two big wins to their resume, likely punching their ticket barrin a collapse. One key in both wins over Missouri for K-State has been the play of Jamar Samuels in his matchup with Missouri's Kim English.

Against most teams the matchup between English, a guard who plays the four for Frank Haith's team, and the opposing team's four is a mismatch in favor of the Tigers. That hasn't been the case against K-State, who can count on the athletic Samuels to limit the senior's quality looks from the perimeter. In the two games English has scored 17 points (8.5 ppg) on 6-for-12 shooting, a far cry from his season average of 14.0 points per game. Also of note is that in both games the Wildcats have set the tone, leading by 19 at the half in Manhattan and leading by ten at the break on Tuesday night.

3. #13 Michigan takes Northwestern to overtime and controls the extra session to win going away.
Never been a big fan of placing "Northwestern" and "bubble" in the same sentence due to the fact that the Wildcats have never reached the NCAA tournament. But to be fair Bill Carmody's team had reached that point going into their game against Michigan, which represented a golden opportunity for the Wildcats to pick up a big win. Michigan would refuse to go down without a fight, as Tim Hardaway Jr. tied the game at 49 on a three-pointer with 1:41 remaining and the Wolverines would outscore Northwestern 18-6 in overtime to win 67-55. Hardaway Jr. finished with 14 points while Trey Burke led the way with 19, and crucial threes from Zack Novak and Stu Douglass in overtime established a nine-point margin the Wildcats couldn't overcome.

John Shurna led the Wildcats with 14 points but he shot just 6-for-16 from the field, and sidekick Drew Crawford had a quiet night with just six points in 27 minutes of action. Michigan (37.5%) shot a lower percentage from the field than Northwestern (41.2%), which isn't a surprise given the similarities found in their offensive systems, but they took better care of the basketball (seven turnovers to NU's 14). Northwestern scored .937 points per possession while Michigan was at 1.164, and that turned out to be the difference. The key for Northwestern now is to make sure that Michigan doesn't "beat them twice" with a trip to Penn State up next.

Quick Hitters

1. Three things in the second half in Starkville pushed #1 Kentucky to a 73-64 win over Mississippi State. One was the shifting of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to Dee Bost on the defensive end, a move made possible in part by Rodney Hood going down with an injury in the first half. After scoring 16 points in the first half Bost managed just five in the second, and as a team the Bulldogs shot just 32% from the field. Secondly there was the effort of senior guard Darius Miller, who scored all 12 of his points in the second half and knocked down some huge shots. And Terrence Jones played far better in the second half as the Wildcats clinched at least a share of the SEC title with the win.

2. The upset of the year in college basketball took place in Vestal, New York as Binghamton, who entered the game 0-26, knocked off Vermont 57-53 for their first win of the season. After a Matt Glass jumper 41 seconds into the game opened the scoring the Catamounts wouldn't lead again, and Binghamton led by as many as 12 points. Robert Mansell led the Bearcats with 18 points and Ben Dickinson added 16 and 11 boards, and the result also gave Stony Brook sole possession of first place in America East.

3. As if it wasn't time to get concerned about Xavier before their game at UMass, the Musketeers didn't show up on the defensive end in their 80-73 loss. Chaz Williams went off for 29 points, nine assists and rebounds to lead the Minutemen, who have road games at Dayton and Temple next. As for Xavier, Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons combined to shoot 8-for-29 from the field, and if not for Dezmine Wells' 19 the final score would have been a more accurate representation of what happened in the Mullins Center.

4. It wasn't a good night for ACC bubble teams as both Miami and NC State fell. NC State can point to the fact that their loss came at the hands of North Carolina, who frankly is not a good matchup for the Wolfpack. Kendall Marshall scored 22 points and handed out 13 assists...without one turnover. Few teams will beat UNC when their sophomore point guard is dealing like that. As for the Hurricanes, they lost 75-70 at Maryland, a defeat that dropped Miami to 7-6 in league play. The win at Duke certainly helps their cause, but it would be wise for Jim Larranaga's team to pick up another resume-building victory.

5. Anton Grady scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Cleveland State, but it wasn't enough as the Vikings lost 71-67 at Green Bay. All of a sudden Gary Waters' team sits a game behind Butler in the loss column for second place, and that seed receives the other bye straight to the semis in the Horizon League tournament. The other bye goes to Valparaiso, who clinced the regular season title by beating Loyola (IL) in overtime. It hasn't helped CSU that D'Aundray Brown's been out due to injury, and they've dropped five straight with him on the sidelines.

6. Creighton nearly took the momentum gained from their comeback win over Long Beach State and flushed it down the drain but a Josh Jones shot with 23 seconds remaining in overtime gave the Bluejays a 93-92 win over Evansville. Creighton survived a 43-point night from Evansville's Colt Ryan, and it took a Gregory Echenique putback as time expried to send the game into overtime. Creighton picked up the win but there's no doubt that they have to get better defensively (UE shot 58.9%) if they're to make some noise in March.

7. Two key personnel notes in the SEC on Tuesday involving Alabama and Florida. Alabama head coach Anthony Grant stated that the recently reinstated JaMychal Green is unlikely to play on Thursday at Arkansas, and Green's return (whenever that happens) will have an impact on the Crimson Tide's at-large hopes. As for the Gators, forward Will Yeguete is out indefinitely due to a broken foot suffered in their 63-47 win over Auburn. His absence puts even more pressure on Patric Young and Erik Murphy inside, but it helps to have guards can hit the glass like Bradley Beal and Erving Walker (seven boards on Tuesday).

UConn Won But Don't Be Fooled: Monday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:59:52 -0800

We're going with a different setup for daily recaps in hopes of making the reading easier. One piece will focus on the game of the night (or day) and the top individual performances, and the other will touch on other key happenings and some quick hitters on other games.

1. Shabazz Napier's shot gives UConn a much-needed win, but calm down on the "turning point" talk.
The battle between the Huskies and Villanova was a matchup of teams trending in the wrong direction at this point in the season. Jay Wright's young Wildcats were without point guard Maalik Wayns as well as coming off of a tough overtime loss to Notre Dame on Saturday night, and UConn was looking to rebound from a 15-point loss to Marquette. Shabazz Napier called out his teammates following that loss, so it was fitting that the sophomore ended up being the difference in UConn's 73-70 win. Napier knocked down a 30-footer with two-tenths of a second remaining, and with #2 Syracuse next on the slate this was big win for the Huskies.

But to used the phrase "turning point" ignores both the fact that Villanova lacks any kind of depth and the Huskies' level of play throughout the night. There were still mental and physical errors being made, and Jeremy Lamb was UConn's lone player in double figures with 32 points. He's a likely lottery selection but to have that kind of split between Lamb and the rest of the team underlines the issues that UConn has had to deal with this season. The consistency hasn't been there, and coming out of the gates and trailing by as many as 18 points early showed a lack of urgency on their part. The talent is definitely there but the effort isn't always present, which is why UConn finds themselves in their current position. Does all of that automatically change because of one shot? No.

2. Mercer falls two games behind Belmont in the Atlantic Sun race due to a loss at North Florida.
Bob Hoffman's Bears had two games to win to remain a game behind Belmont in the standings leading into the regular season finale between the two teams on February 28th in Macon. But they were unable to accomplish that goal, falling at North Florida 75-66, and that combined with Belmont's 88-79 win over USC Upstate pushed the margin out to two games. The culprit for Mercer in losses to Jacksonville and North Florida: defense, as the Dolphins shot 50% from the field and UNF 45.7%.

The Bears had no answer for Parker Smith, who went off to the tune of 46 points (11-17 3PT) to lead the Ospreys. Langston Hall scored 17 points and dished out four assists to lead Mercer but their inablity to slow down Smith proved costly. The good news for Mercer is that they also host the A-Sun tournament and the worst they'll finish is third, but with their defensive effort not being up to par the last two games the Bears need to correct some things if they're to threaten the defending champs. This should be seen as a minor bump in the road however, as Mercer defended at a high level during their nine-game win streak before this weekend.

3. Paul Crosby's three gives Mississippi Valley State the SWAC regular season title.
Sean Woods' Delta Devils were in good shape to win the SWAC heading into Monday night's game against Texas Southern as they led the pack by four games with four to play. Mississippi Valley State clinched the outright title and moved to 15-0 in league play with a 56-53 win over the Tigers, as Paul Crosby knocked down a three-pointer with six seconds remaining to break a 53-all tie. In fact Crosby did the same in MVSU's win over Prairie View A&M on Saturday, which clinched a share of the SWAC title.

Terrence Joyner led the way for MVSU with 17 points and Crosby tallied a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds, as the Delta Devils won despite shooting 32% from the field and 9-for-31 from beyond the arc. Who has the ability to take out MVSU in the conference tournament? Texas Southern would be a clear choice with Southern ineligible for postseason play, and Prairie View A&M and Alabama State will also be heard from. But the Delta Devils are hot and have now won 15 straight, meaning that knocking them off will be an extremely difficult task for anyone in the SWAC.

Quick Hitters

1. Alabama head coach Anthony Grant made the move on Monday to keep suspended forward Tony Mitchell out of the lineup for the remainder of the season while reinstating JaMychal Green, which provides some needed closure to the situation. With Green back Alabama could lock down a tournament bid with good play down the stretch, but at the least Monday's decisions provide some closure for all involved.

2. The ACC reprimanded official Karl Hess for his actions in Saturday's game between Florida State and NC State in Raleigh. Once again the league noted that Hess' mistake was in using arena security instead of game management to remove Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani from the arena and not whether or not the long-time official overreacted. Hess was in Queens officiating the DePaul/St/ John's game on Monday.

3. Keep an eye on Fairfield in the Metro Atlantic, and sure enough the Stags have a matchup with first-place Iona on Friday night. Derek Needham led three Stags in double figures with 16 points in Fairfield's 60-49 win at Marist, but the bigger story was the visitors' work on the defensive end. Marist shot 32.7% from the field and turned the ball over 16 times against Fairfield's tough defense, and the Stags have now won seven straight MAAC contests to move to within a game of Iona.

4. Tahj Tate and Marques Oliver scored 20 points apiece to lead Delaware State past Hampton in double overtime by the final score of 73-68. The win keeps the Hornets a game behind Savannah State, who whipped Bethune-Cookman 67-44, in the race for first place in the MEAC with three league games remaining.

5. The race for Big East Rookie of the Year should be fin to watch if only because there's the question of whether or not two St. John's players could cancel each other out in the voting. D'Angelo Harrison scored 23 points while also racking up five assists and five rebounds in the Red Storm's 79-72 win over DePaul, and Moe Harkless added another double-double with 14 and ten rebounds. Harkless would be the pick here, but you never know how the voting may break down.

Monday's Recap: Quincy Acy Leads Baylor Past Texas

Bracketology Trip: NCAA Mock Selection Committee: Part Three

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:09:09 -0800

Shawn Siegel is taking part in the NCAA's "Mock Selection Committee" in Indianapolis. Each day, he's reporting on the day's events and answering questions on Twitter @collegehoopsnet. Follow the action as the bracket is finalized on Friday.

The NCAA first held the media "Mock Selection" in 2007 as part of an ongoing effort to improve the transparency in what was once a very secretive NCAA Tournament selection process. Of course, with greater transparency comes greater scrutiny. And although the NCAA Selection Committee usually ends up with a pretty darn good field of 68, there is much about the process that deserves to be scrutinized.

What Does "Best" Really Mean?

To me, the largest glaring problem with the selection process is the broad question of: What are they actually selecting? The NCAA's official position is that they select "the 37 best at-large teams." But "best" can mean two very different things. Best can mean a) The 37 teams that had the best results before Selection Sunday, or best can mean b) The 37 teams that the committee thinks will do the best in the days after Selection Sunday. This is a huge distinction, although the committee chair and others from the NCAA didn't seem to understand or care about the distinction.

Let me give you an example: Alabama is under a bit of strife with multiple player suspensions, and it was unknown whether the players would return for remaining games. (In the hypothetical mock selection, the remaining games would only be NCAA Tournament games since the season hypothetically ended today.) Some committee members suggested that the status of those players would hugely alter their seeding, or whether they even made the tournament. This suggests that the seeding/selecting is based on how the team will fare going forward, but yet the committee chair (the real one, not the mock one) Jeff Hathaway said specifically the committee does not "project" the future. Based on the totality of their regular season, Alabama might be considered the 35th best team, but without those players, they might be considered the 100th as of tomorrow. It is unclear how this issue should be resolved because of the NCAA's ambiguity on what the whole purpose of the tournament is. On the one hand, the chairman says its simply about the "totality of the season", but on the other hand, its not.

(This leads to a larger question about the lack of real criteria for the selection process. Although the committee chair spoke of criteria, the committee members can pretty much bring whatever thoughts on a team they feel like to the table, and thus the criteria are not really criteria, but simply vague preferences.)

The RPI Is One of Many Factors.. But Not Really

The second glaring problem is how the NCAA presents their statistics to the committee members. The NCAA says, "The RPI is one of many resources/tools available to the committee." In some sense, this is true, the committee has access to other resources (including but not limited to the human polls, other rankings, and personal perspectives on teams from advisory members). However, the major information interface that the committee members sees is entirely based on the RPI. For example, the "Team Sheet" includes RPI, records vs RPI Top 50, Top 100 etc, Avg RPI win, AVG RPI loss, all the opponents with their RPI next to them, etc. Nowhere on the main interface is any other statistical measure referenced.

Now, I don't have a major bone to pick with the RPI. To me, it is no better or worse than other ratings (Sagarin, Pomeroy, etc), but it is clearly different. It is one perspective amongst many. All one has to do is see the wild computer variations in a team like Cincinnati (buried at 93rd in the RPI, but up at 41st in Pomeroy's rating) to see how different these two computer systems see things.

The committee will say that the RPI is not the "only" or "main" rating they use, but it is by far the most prominent (by a wide, wide, wide margin.) Whether or not committee members solely focus on the RPI, there has to be an unconscious or conscious effect of seeing Cincinnati 93rd over and over (vs 41, 41, 41).

Odd Reasoning

The NCAA's retort for why the RPI is so prominent was two-fold: a) there has to be some underlying statistical analysis to present the information in a clear and easy fashion, and b) we can all agree the top RPI teams are "really" the good ones and the bad ones the bad ones (and the top teams in the RPI are similar to the top one's in other ratings), and since it is only part of the puzzle.. so be it.

To counter the first retort: This is true, one unifying system is preferred. Being presented with 6 team sheets for one team, multiplied by 100 teams, multiplied by the dozens of times each team is looked at, would be unmanageable. So agreed, there should be one set of numbers to organize the information. But the question remains: why the RPI? Or, as some of the media members suggested, why not an aggregate/consensus ranking of the RPI, Sagarin, Pomeroy, etc. As shown by the Cincinnati example (just one of many), there is huge variation amongst the ratings (especially once you get out of the Top 10) and a consensus would help remove the noise.

To counter the second retort: That's just ridiculous.

It's Not All Bad. Though There's Still More Bad.

I don't want to make it seem like the Selection Process is all bad. It's not. (Though I could write a whole article criticizing the shocking focus on the "eye-ball" test and live/tv analysis of teams as opposed to cold, hard numbers. Committee members are encouraged to use subjective feelings about how good teams "look" in their decision-making process. There were echoes of "Moneyball" here. The NCAA Selection Committee is unfortunately the Art Howe of "Moneyball" and not the Peter Brand/Paul DePodesta. If these guys showed up at a fantasy baseball draft, these are the guys who would pick AJ Burnett ahead of CC Sabathia because they saw him throw "nasty" stuff a few times.)

Okay, Finally, The Good

Anyways, back to the good. The good is that the committee cares. A lot. They spend a ton of time dissecting and discussing the pros and cons of each team. They prepare by watching and attending tons of games (whether this should matter or not is besides the point. The point is they put in time.) They are proud of being part of the process. They take precautions to remove personal biases from the process. The shuffle and sort ad nauseum. (Literally, I was a bit nauseous following an ill-chosen dinner break of hot wings.)

And they care a ton about getting things right. The only problem is that what they're getting at is ambiguous at "best".

I'll have more to discuss later tonight and tomorrow once the field is finalized. There are fan questions that remain to be answered, as well as more criticisms to discuss. There are also a few more positives to discuss as well.