Arkansas

Rivers' Shot Caps Duke Rally: Wednesday Recap

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:36:16 -0500

There have been some thrilling comebacks in the history of the Duke/North Carolina rivalry, but surprisingly there haven't been many games that have been decided at the buzzer. Wednesday night's game in Chapel Hill wasn't a case of "down eight with 17 seconds to go" as it was in meetings in 1974 (UNC with the comeback and win) and 1995 (Duke with the comeback but UNC ended up winning), but with the Tar Heels up ten (80-70) with 3:35 remaining one would expect them to win.

But missed free throws and botched possessions late left the door slightly ajar, and the Blue Devils would take advantage as Austin Rivers' three from the right wing as time expired gave Duke the 85-84 win. Rivers was Duke's best offensive player as he scored 29 points, but even with his numbers the many critics were sharpening their knives with the expectation being that North Carolina would close the game out. Rivers and company would prevent that by outscoring UNC 15-4 over the final 3:35, resulting in a three-way tie atop the ACC.

"They made the right plays and we didn't. I mean, it's just that simple," said UNC wing Harrison Barnes, who scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half. "You've got to give credit where credit is due, and they played a great game."

Rivers is the focus on any night for the Blue Devils for the simple fact that he is Duke's most talented perimeter player, and the key for the Blue Devils down the road is that the freshman uses his talent to not only get his points but also get others involved. Ryan Kelly and Seth Curry scored 15 points apiece and Tyler Thornton knocked down a critical three during the final run, displaying a confidence one wouldn't expect from a player who'd gone 0-for-5 from deep to that point in the contest.

Barnes had a bit of a roller coaster game, as he was quiet in the first half only to get rolling in the first ten minutes of the second and then fade into the background down the stretch. Tyler Zeller (23 points, 11 rebounds) played well throughout but will be remembered more for the missed free throws and the fateful switch that resulted in him guarding Rivers on the final sequence, and John Henson (12 points, 17 rebounds) posted a double-double as well. If anything the contest was a mixture of North Carolina not taking care of business and Duke refusing to quit. And with a player like Austin Rivers at your disposal anything is possible.

"Austin was magnificent. We had a play set for a three, a different three, if they hit both free throws," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "But when they missed the second, we wanted to go to a quick angle and he could either take it to the basket or he shot it, and he shot it and it was all net."

Other Notable Happenings

1. Kansas goes on a 34-6 run spanning both halves to soundly defeat Baylor in Waco.
Jeff Withey proved to be a problem for Baylor in the first meeting between the two teams as he finished two blocked shots short of a triple double, and that was also the case on Wednesday night in Waco. Withey scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half to help Kansas navigate the half despite Thomas Robinson being in foul trouble. The Jayhawks' run reached the point to where they led by 20 points, and they never relinquished control in the 68-54 victory.

Tyshawn Taylor added 19 points and Robinson scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Kansas, who is tied with Missouri atop the Big 12 standings. The Jayhawks hit Baylor in the mouth and the Bears didn't respond well at all, with the game getting to the point where it's fair to wonder whether or not Scott Drew's team has the mettle required to make a run in March. The Bears have a great deal of talent but when Perry Jones III accounts for just five points and a player who burned them the first time does so again, it's difficult to expect the Bears to be a national title hopeful at this point.

2. Kris Joseph scores 29 points to lead Syracuse past Georgetown in overtime.
There were people who truly wondered how Georgetown would be able to hang with #2 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, seeming to forget the fact that the Hoyas had the system and the personnel to give the Orange some trouble. That's exactly what happened as Georgetown grabbed 23 offensive rebounds and out-rebounded to Orange 52-35, making up for their poor shooting. But it wasn't enough to leave with a win at Kris Joseph scored 29 points ot lead Syracuse to the 64-61 win.

Joseph and Fab Melo (11 points, seven rebounds and six blocks) were the only Syracuse players to score in double figures on a night that saw their guards struggle and the other frontcourt players used weren't much better. But that was countered by the struggles of Georgetown's Henry Sims, who shot 1-for-12 from the field in scoring six points, somewhat negating the impact he had as a distributor from the high post. Syracuse had the one player on the floor who didn't seem to have any issues finding good looks in crunch time in Joseph, and that ultimately was the difference on a night that saw them get whipped on the glass.

3. Arkansas leaves the Fayetteville and promptly gets blown out by Georgia.
There's a reason why so many were hesitant to give the Razorbacks that NCAA tournament "stamp of approval" after their win over Vanderbilt. The Hogs entered Wednesday's game at Georgia 0-6 in true road games and it was easy to see why by halftime with the Bulldogs taking a 43-24 lead into the break. Arkansas shot 26.1% from the field in the first half and where soundly whipped on the glass by a count of 25-10 (eight offensive rebounds for the Bulldogs), ending up in a hole that was too big to climb out of in an 81-59 defeat.

Gerald Robinson Jr. went just about wherever he wanted to, finishing with 27 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope chipped in with 18 and five rebounds. Arkansas has shot better than 40% from the field just once in seven road games this season, and that's a big reason why they haven't won on the road. Not sure what the missing spark is for the Razorbacks but they'd better figure out how to get things going away from Bud Walton Arena before it lands them in the NIT.

Quick Hitters

1. David Kyles scored 16 points off the bench and Toure' Murry led four players in double figures with 21 points as Wichita State took sole possession of first place in the MVC with an 82-57 win over Northern Iowa. Gregg Marshall's Shockers have the look of a team that can do some serious damage come March, and a win at Creighton on Saturday would give them a two-game lead.

2. Florida State's offensive execution down the stretch reverted to its pre-seven game win streak form in Chestnut Hill, and the end result was a 64-60 loss to Boston College. Jordan Daniels scored 21 points and dished out five assists to lead the Eagles, who snapped a six-game losing streak. Florida State is now part of a three-way tie for first in the ACC.

3. Cody Ellis scored 20 points and grabbed four rebounds off the bench to lead Saint Louis to a 72-60 win at Saint Joseph's, keeping them tied with Xavier in second place in the Atlantic 10 a game behind Temple (who came back from 15 down to beat George Washington) in the loss column. Rick Majerus has a solid eight-man rotation on which to rely, and he's one of the best in America at putting together a game plan.

4. Two possible conference champions to keep an eye on come March remained undefeated in league play with road wins on Wednesday night. UT Arlington moved to 10-0 in the Southland with a 75-63 win at Sam Houston State and Bucknell took care of Colgate 66-50 to move to 9-0 in the Patriot League. In LaMarcus Reed III (UT Arlington) and Mike Muscala (Bucknell) these two teams feature players currently on the short list for Player of the Year in their respective leagues.

5. Southern Miss did themselves no favors on the road as they fell 71-61 at UAB. The Golden Eagles simply did not have an answer for Cameron Moore, who accounted for 27 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots. Southern Miss is now tied with Memphis (7-2) atop the Conference USA standings and UCF (7-3) is just a game back in the loss column due to their win over Marshall.

6. In a matchup of the top two teams in the NEC it was LIU Brooklyn who came out victorious as they beat borough rival St. Francis (NY) 81-71 at Madsion Square Garden. Jamal Olasewere (21 points, 11 rebounds) and Julian Boyd (17 points, 11 rebounds) both posted double-doubles and C.J. Garner scored 19 points to lead the Blackbirds. They play again on Saturday, and a Terrier win could be the only thing that keeps Jim Ferry's squad from winning the regular season title as LIU has already swept second-place Wagner.

7. Form held in the CAA as the top four teams all won, widening the gap between themselves and the rest of the league. In most season that would essentially guarantee the conference cashing in to the tune of multiple NCAA tournament berths, but due to the league's profile and team's non-conference resumes that may not be the case this season. George Mason, VCU and Drezel are all 12-2 in league play while Old Dominion is a game out at 11-3.

8. In two other Big East results worth mentioning, Pittsburgh saw their run of success ended in Tampa as they shot just 34.6% from the field in a 63-51 loss at USF. Hugh Robertson led three Bulls in double figures with 18 points and Ashton Gibbs shot just 2-for-9 from the field and scored four points. And Jordan Theodore scored 24 points to lead Seton Hall past Rutgers 59-54, meaning that the senior will finish his career with a 4-0 mark on the floor of the Pirates' in-state rival.

Three Notable Performances

1. F Cameron Moore (UAB)
27 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots in the Blazers' 71-61 win over Southern Miss.

2. F Kris Joseph (Syracuse)
29 points, five rebounds and three steals in the Orange's 64-61 overtime win over Georgetown.

3. G Austin Rivers (Duke)
29 points, five rebounds and two steals and the game-winning three as time expired in the Blue Devils' 85-84 win at North Carolina.

Tuesday Recap: Spartans Lose Green and the Game

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:17:48 -0500

Tuesday's night matchup between #9 Michigan State and Illinois wasn't a pretty affair, as neither team could establish much of a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor. Whether it was due to good defense or just an inability to make shots on a consistent basis, neither the Spartans nor the Fighting Illini had much succes on that end of the floor. But when it's all said and done what matters is the result, which was a 42-41 Illinois victory as Brandon Paul made two free throws with 45 seconds remaining.

Paul finished with a game-high 18 points, and while he didn't shoot well from the field (6-for-17) the junior guard would be the closest thing to "scalding hot" that this contest would deliver. Freshman forward Branden Dawson led the way for Michigan State with 12 points and 13 rebounds, but their biggest loss came late in the second half as senior forward (and team leader) Draymond Green went down with a knee injury. There's been no word on the severity of the injury (that will likely come sometime on Wednesday), but a loss that simply prevented the Spartans from moving into a first-place tie in the Big Ten could become a lot more painful if he's ruled out for an extended period.

Before the injury Green's night was a microcosm of the contest as a whole, as frustration led to a poor performance highlighted by a technical foul that was also his third personal in the first half. Green finished with five points (1-6 FG), eight rebounds and five turnovers while Keith Appling wasn't much better with four points (1-11 FG), two assists and five turnovers. Even with Illinois struggling as they were offensively and Michigan State grabbing 23 offensive rebounds, it's extremely difficult to win anywhere (much less on the road) when your two best players have poor nights.

"I didn't think we handled adversity very well at all," remarked Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo after the game. "My two best players had their worst games." (quote credit: Associated Press)

Illinois now has two wins over teams ranked in the Top 10 this season as they beat Ohio State in Champaign on January 10th, but while that's a good stat to claim it also has to make one wonder why the Illini can't carry their play over. Following that win the Illini dropped three straight, including road losses at Penn State and Minnesota. Bruce Weber's team is clearly talented enough to beat many teams both within the Big Ten and nationally, yet for some reason this group doesn't seem to deal well with prosperity.

Next up is Northwestern at home before trips to Indiana and Michigan, and while Tuesday's win showed that Illinois can gut out a victory on a night where things aren't going their way more will be learned about this group based on how they navigate this stretch of games.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Jae Crowder leads Marquette past Seton Hall, handing the Pirates their fifth straight loss.
Remember when Seton Hall was one of the country's biggest turnaround stories and looked poised to earn their first NCAA tournament berth since 2006? Well, the Pirates dropped their fifth straight game on Tuesday night and look more likely to end up in the NIT at this point. With Davante Gardner sidelined due to a sprained knee #18 Marquette did what they've tended to do during Buzz Williams' tenure in Milwaukee, and that's find a way to win tough ball games. Jae Crowder led the Golden Eagles to the 66-59 win with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Vander Blue (16 points, eight rebounds) and Darius Johnson-Odom (14 points, seven assists, five rebounds) also scored in double figures.

One of the major issues for Kevin Willard's team during this skid has been the productivity of senior point guard Jordan Theodore. Theodore shot 3-for-14 from the field last night, scoring seven points while dishing out seven assists. On a team that lacks consistent scoring punch behind he, Herb Pope (16 points, seven rebounds) and Fuquan Edwin (13 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals), Theodore can ill-afford to have nights like that. Theodore's shot 26.7% from the field in Seton Hall's last five games and while it would be unfair to place the losing streak on his shoulders alone, Seton Hall needs their senior leader to step up and soon. Their NCAA hopes may very well depend on how quickly he can get going.

2. Royce White's jumper with less than two seconds remaining caps Iowa State's comeback win.
With 14:27 remaining Kansas State led 53-39 and had the look of a team that was well on its way to a good win at Iowa State. But whether it was "Hilton Magic" or the fact that the Wildcats simply failed to execute down the stretch, it was the Cyclones who emerged victorious as Royce White scored the winning points in the 72-70 result. White (22 points, eight rebounds) was able to use a ball screen to work his way to the right side of the lane, and an up fake gave the Minnesota transfer enough room to get off a clean look that fell with 1.8 seconds remaining. Thomas Gipson led four K-State players in double figures with 13 points but that wasn't enough as the Wildcats fell despite shooting 58.3% from beyond the arc and grabbing 12 offensive rebounds.

Offensive rebounding was essentially the difference in the first half as Kansas State grabbed seven, converting them into nine second-chance points. Iowa State did a better job of keeping the Wildcats off the glass in the second half, limiting the Wildcats to five offensive boards while grabbing eight of their own. There were questions as to how Fred Hoiberg's team would bond given the fact that so many were transfers but these last two games are evidence that the Cyclones have established good chemistry, and they'll be a factor in the Big 12 the rest of the way.

3. Arkansas moves to 16-0 at home with an 82-74 win over Vanderbilt.
Mike Anderson's Razorbacks didn't shoot the ball well in the first half, making just 37.5% of their shots from the field. But the fact that they trailed #25 Vanderbilt by just two points (34-32) at the break had to have been an encouraging sign for the Hogs, whose problem was making shots as opposed to finding the looks they wanted. That changed in the second half as Arkansas scored 50 points, shooting 55.2% from the field, on their way to the 82-74 win. Rickey Scott led five Arkansas players in double figures with 18 points and Julysses Nobles added 17 for a team that's now 16-0 at Bud Walton Arena. John Jenkins (19 points, five rebounds) and Jeffery Taylor (18 and six rebounds) led the way for the Commodores, who did themselves no favors by shooting 6-for-21 from three.

So the question regarding Arkansas at this point has to be what are their chances of getting to the Big Dance. But with an overall record of 16-6 it's pretty clear that the focus at this point has to be winning some key games away from Fayetteville. NCAA tournament games are played on neutral floors but a team's success away from home is usually one of the factors that the selection committee values when filling out the field. That's what makes their games at LSU and Georgia that much more important despite the caliber of those teams (Arkansas doesn't have a quality road win opportunity left on their schedule outside of a trip to Mississippi State). If Mike Anderson's young team can take care of business away from home they can exceed the preseason expectations, but at the least their win on Tuesday is a good result to take to Baton Rouge.

Quick Hitters

1. Wisconsin didn't get off to the best of starts at Penn State, shooting 26.9% from the field and trailing 23-17 at the half. But Jordan Taylor (18 points, five assists) and company were able to rebound in the final 20 minutes, winning 52-46. The Badgers, who host Ohio State on Saturday, have won six straight games after starting Big Ten play 1-3.

2. Clemson fought hard despite the absence of forward Milton Jennings (academic suspension) but they fell just short in losing 65-61 at Virginia. The Cavaliers shot 63.2% from the field in the second half (efficiency: 140.3) and Mike Scott led the way with 23 points and ten rebounds.

3. Top-ranked Kentucky did allow 13 offensive rebounds in their 69-44 win over Tennessee, but that shouldn't overshadow how good the Wildcats were defensively. Tennessee shot just 28.1% from the field and 9-for-39 on two-point shots (23%). Having the likes of Anthony Davis (18 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (16 points, eight rebounds) and Terrence Jones (11 points, six rebounds) up front will have that kind of effect on teams.

4. North Carolina didn't play particularly well in Winston-Salem but they still beat Wake Forest 68-53. Is that a sign of how talented the Tar Heels are, or is it a sign of just how far Jeff Bzdelik's program has to go before they can be a consistently competitive team in the ACC? It's unfortunate for the Demon Deacons because in guard C.J. Harris they've got one of the better players in the league (Travis McKie can also play but he was kept in check by UNC), but due to their struggles he doesn't always receive the credit that he should.

5. New Mexico had no trouble with Air Force as they jumped out to a 40-19 halftime lead on their way to an 81-42 win in Colorado Springs. The Falcons, who took UNLV to overtime on Saturday night, had no such fortune against the Lobos as they shot 25.9% in the first half and 29.4% for the game. Drew Gordon and Kendall Williams scored 13 apiece to lead UNM, and two other Lobos finished with 11.

6. Washington State received the news many feared when guard Faisal Aden went down late in the first half of their loss at Arizona on Thursday night, with his season coming to an end due to a torn ACL. Aden averaged 14.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for the Cougars, who will now likely give even more opportunities on the offensive end to freshman DaVonte Lacy.

Three Notable Performances

1. G Markel Brown (Oklahoma State)
Brown led the Cowboys to an 80-63 win over Texas Tech by scoring 30 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

2. G Kendrick Perry (Youngstown State)
Scored 30 points and dished out four assists in the Penguins' 73-65 win at Milwaukee.

3. F Tyler Zeller (North Carolina)
18 points, 18 rebounds and three blocked shots in North Carolina's 68-53 win at Wake Forest.

Illinois vs. #10 Michigan State: Tuesday's Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:27:14 -0500

One of the season's bigger mysteries in the Big Ten has been figuring out which Illinois (15-6, 4-4) team would show up on any given night. A big reason for that is their inconsistent nature on the offensive end of the floor, as the Illini go through bouts with poor shot selection that's gotten them in trouble at times. Despite being at home they can ill-afford to go through such issues against #10 Michigan State (17-4, 6-2), who looks every bit the Big Ten title contender few expected them to be back in October.

Tom Izzo's team could be short-handed however as freshman guard Travis Trice is dealing with a groin injury and was deemed questionable on Monday. Not having him would limit the Spartans' backcourt depth but the progression of guards Keith Appling and Brandon Wood have played a major role in Michigan State's growth as a team. Appling (12.3 ppg, 4.0 apg) has done a better job of taking care of the basketball while also being the team's second-leading scorer, and Wood (9.2 ppg, 2.3 apg) has improved as well.

Illinois' perimeter rotation is in for a challenge, especially juniors Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson. Paul (14.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg) leads the team in scoring and does have that scintillating 43-point performance against Ohio State to his credit, but the efficiency numbers tend to show that him firing away at will is a bad thing for the Illini more times than not. Richardson's been inconsistent of late as he's reached double figures in just two of Illinois' last six games (33.3% FG in those games). That can't happen against a Michigan State defense that's allowing opponents to shoot 38% from the field, a number that ranks second in the Big Ten.

Also of note for Illinois are senior point guard Sam Maniscalco and freshman Joseph Bertrand, with Maniscalco recently returning from an ankle injury (still not 100%) and Bertrand averaging 8.8 points per game since his 25-point outing against Nebraska on January 7th. The play in the paint will be just as important, with Michigan State being led by one of the frontrunners for Big Ten Player of the Year and Illinois calling on a seven-footer who's likely the league's most improved player. Draymond Green (15.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 3.7 apg) does just about everything for the Spartans, and his comfort both inside and out makes him a very tough matchup.

Meyers Leonard (13.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.0 bpg) has stepped up for Bruce Weber's team, giving them a more consistent option inside than their two departed seniors did last season. But he's got to become more assertive on the offensive end of the floor, as this could end up helping the Illini avoid some of the bad perimeter shots they take. Michigan State's deeper inside as they can call on Adriean Payne, Derrick Nix and Branden Dawson, and it isn't out of the realm of possibility that multiple players are given the responsibility of guarding Leonard.

Those big men for Michigan State are one reason why they're so good on the glass, out-rebounding their opponents by 9.5 rebounds per game and boasting an offensive rebounding percentage of 38.8%. Illinois has done a good job of taking care of their defensive glass and they'll need to continue that in front of the home folks if they're to win. But shot selection, especially for Paul and Appling, will go a long way in determining the outcome as well.

Also of note is Seton Hall's trip to Milwaukee, where the slumping Pirates will look to boost their profile and pick up a much-needed win against #18 Marquette. There weren't many people outside of the Marquette fan base who thought that Buzz Williams' team would be 7-2 at the halfway point in the Big East, especially with the loss of center Chris Otule, but the Golden Eagles have stepped up.

Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder have been the two biggest reasons but the play of forward Davante Gardner has been just as important. Seton Hall needs seniors Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope to get back to playing as they did earlier this month, and their NCAA hopes could hinge on how quickly that turnaround occurs.

Kansas State's trip to Ames has become a little more important for the Wildcats due to their loss to Oklahoma over the weekend, and while Iowa State is coming off of a win over Kansas Fred Hoiberg's team can use all the quality wins they can get. Royce White has been one of the best players in the Big 12 this season, and slowing him down will be a tough task for a K-State team whose front court players outside of Jamar Samuels are far more comfortable in the paint.

Can Will Spradling and Rodney McGruder perform well enough to push Kansas State to a win on the road? Clemson, who will be without Milton Jennings due to suspension (unresolved academic issue), visits Virginia and Vanderbilt visits Arkansas in two other intriguing match ups. And in the nightcap New Mexico had better be careful at Air Force as the Falcons nearly knocked off UNLV in overtime on Saturday.

Top 25 Games
7:00 PM Tennessee at (1) Kentucky (ESPNU)
9:00 PM (6) North Carolina at Wake Forest (ESPNU)
7:00 PM (10) Michigan State at Illinois (ESPN)
8:00 PM Seton Hall at (15) Marquette (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Clemson at (18) Virginia (ESPN2)
8:00 PM (20) Wisconsin at Penn State (BTN)

NCAA Division I Games
7:00 PM Trinity Baptist at Savannah State
7:07 PM Kent State at Central Michigan (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Youngstown State at Milwaukee
8:00 PM Southern Illinois at Northern Iowa (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Oklahoma State at Texas Tech (ESPN3)
9:00 PM Vanderbilt at Arkansas (ESPN)
9:00 PM Kansas State at Iowa State (ESPN3)
10:00 PM New Mexico at Air Force (The Mtn.)

Syracuse Suffers First Loss of the Season: Saturday's Recap

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:27:30 -0500

With the announcement that starting center Fab Melo would miss Saturday's game due to an unresolved academic issue, the chances that top-ranked Syracuse would remain undefeated took a hit. But few would have thought that the Orange would have few (if any) answers in the paint as a result of his absence, and that's exactly what happened at Purcell Pavilion. Jack Cooley scored 17 points and grabbed ten rebounds and Notre Dame led by as many as 18 points on their way to the 67-58 win, the eighth in school history over a top-ranked opponent.

The biggest problem for Syracuse was their lack of rebounding, as Notre Dame out-rebounded the Orange 38-25 on the night. Syracuse on the season has allowed opponents to rebound 38% of their misses and while Notre Dame didn't reach that number, finishing with an offensive rebound percentage of 34.6%, it was enough to punish the Melo-less Orange. C.J. Fair moved into the starting lineup and was largely ineffective for the Orange, finishing with six points and four rebounds as the Irish took advantage of Syracuse's lack of interior muscle.

"The problem was that when they did that we did not get the rebounds," said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. "Probably six times we had a good defensive possession and Notre Dame put a shot up at the end of the shot clock and we did not get the rebound. If you give them a long possession and then they miss and they get the rebound, it is just not a good thing."

Notre Dame established their biggest lead of the game late in the first half on an Alex Dragevich three-pointer with 1:28 remaining, and the bonus shot was one of the themes of the half. The Irish made six of their ten shots from behind the arc and Syracuse received underwhelming performances from their starters (reserves scored 15 of their 23 first half points), establishing a distance the Orange were unable to overcome. The second half was where the rebounding came into play as Notre Dame made just two of six from deep, and three other players finished with at least six rebounds to go along with Cooley's ten.

Notre Dame finished the night with just seven second-chance points but it was those extra possessions that proved costly for the visitors in what turned out to be just a 61-possession game. The focus for the Orange now is how they go about fixing the rebounding issue without Melo heading into their game at Cincinnati, but it's been an issue well before his absence. Whatever happens with Melo, if the Orange can't do a better job of taking care of the defensive glass they'll be asking for more trouble down the road.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Michael Snaer's shot at the buzzer pushes Florida State past Duke at Cameron.
It's been an excellent week for Leonard Hamilton's Seminoles, who at this stage are not only a contender to win the ACC but also a logical choice in the "best team in the ACC" discussion. Simply put, Florida State has come a long way since opening conference play with a 20-point loss at Clemson. Florida State went toe-to-toe with Duke on Saturday at Cameron, ultimately winning 76-73 on a three-pointer from Michael Snaer as time expired. But Snaer shouldn't be the only one who receives credit for the final play. Luke Loucks remained under control in that final sequence, having the presence to find the open Snear as Andre Dawkins was too hasty in his help defense. Most players would have forced up a challenged shot but Loucks' composure made the shot possible.

FSU ultimately won the game from inside of the three-point arc despite Duke making ten of their twenty-three attempts from deep, shooting 55.5% from two while Duke made 37.5% of their shots from two. Bernard James (12 points, eight rebounds) and Xavier Gibson (16 points (7-8 FT), five rebounds and three blocks) outplayed the Plumlee brothers inside (combined 13 points and 14 rebounds) for a decent portion of the contest, and Seth Curry socred 12 points but shot 4-for-16 from the field for the Blue Devils. Florida State's offensive efficiency, which has been much improved over the last three games, made up for allowing Duke to grab 14 offensive rebounds and should be seen as a sign that they're figuring things out. ACC title contender? Definitely.

2. Missouri more than holds their own on the glass and wins at Baylor as a result.
Despite the final margin (89-88) it would be safe to say that Frank Haith's Tigers were more impressive than the final margin would indicate. The undersized Tigers out-rebounded Baylor 32-26 and finished the game with an offensive rebounding percentage of 48.3%, further highlighting Baylor's problems on the boards. Toughness could be cited as a reason why, but it shouldn't be at the expense of attention to detail. With the number of tall athletes that Scott Drew's team has the players on the floor seem to be more of the "outjump opponents for the ball" mindset when it comes to rebounding instead of boxing out, and Missouri made them pay on many occasions on Saturday afternoon.

Six of Ricardo Ratliffe's eight rebounds were of the offensive variety, and the national leader in field goal percentage finished the game with 27 points on 11-for-14 shooting. Baylor improved on the glass some in the second half as they allowed just four second-chance points and out-rebounded the Tigers 15-11 but the damage was done. Quincy Miller scored a game-high 29 points and Pierre Jackson added 20 to go along with 15 assists, but the last two games have shown that the Bears have a lot of work to do on the glass if they're to not only contend for the Big 12 crown but also have a shot at getting to the Final Four. As for the Tigers, Saturday's win should be taken as a sign that it's time to stop focusing on what they don't have but rather on what they do.

3. Arkansas and Tennessee pick up some solid non-conference wins for the SEC.
Not a big fan of the "best conference" but with the majority of the discussion centering on the Big Ten and Big 12 to this point in the season, the SEC may have been ignored some. That was before Saturday, as home wins for both Arkansas and Tennessee show that the league is deeper than many believe. The Razorbacks led by as many as 20 points at Bud Walton Arena before holding on to beat #20 Michigan 66-64. B.J. Young and Hunter Mickelson combined to score 26 points off the bench for the Hogs, who benefitted from the Wolverines shooting just 8-for-28 from beyond the arc. Arkansas is now 14-5 (2-2 SEC) on the season, and it may be time to wonder if Mike Anderson's young team has enough to reach the NCAA Tournament. This win will help their resume.

As for Tennessee, the Volunteers are beginning to play with the same toughness that their head coach displayed as a player at Purdue. Cuonzo Martin's team was the tougher of the two on the floor at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday afternoon and freshman forward Jarnell Stokes outplayed both Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond in the 60-57 win over #13 Connecticut. Stokes, playing in just his third collegiate game, finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds in his first start and Cameron Tatum added 15 points. UConn was without the services of Ryan Boatright but that's no excuse for zero bench points or the three starters outside of Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb (combined 41 points) scoring just 16. When shots aren't falling for either team toughness more times than not reigns supreme, and that's why Tennessee ended up with the win.

4. UNLV's depth the difference in their impressive win over New Mexico.
Dave Rice pledged to put the running back in the Runnin' Rebels program when he was hired in the offseason, and while that's happened what makes UNLV even tougher for opponents to defend is their depth. In their 80-63 win over preseason Mountain West favorite New Mexico, UNLV outscored the Lobos 26-0 in fast break points and 28-9 in bench points in what was an outstanding performance in front of the frenzied crowd at Thomas and Mack Center. Carlos Lopez (14 points) and Justin Hawkins (ten points) scored 24 of those bench points and three starter finished in double figures as well for UNLV, who remain a game behind first-place San Diego State with the win.

A couple of notable stat lines for New Mexico underline the difference on Saturday night. Point guard Hugh Greenwood, who has been dealing with a sprained ankle, finished without a point and key reserve Phillip McDonald shot 2-for-7 from the field (five points) one game after scoring 20 in their loss to SDSU. New Mexico also didn't do themselves any favors with 21 turnovers, which led to 32 UNLV points. So after the first "rotation" of the three contenders in the Mountain West it's safe to say that the pecking order is San Diego State, UNLV and then a decent gap between the Runnin' Rebels and New Mexico. But if UNLV can play the way they did on Saturday night, it wouldn't be a surprise if they finished the season on top.

5. LIU Brooklyn wins at Wagner, further establishing themselves as the team to beat in the NEC.
In what may have been the most anticipated game of the season in the Northeast Conference to date it was three-point accuracy that lifted Jim Ferry's Blackbirds past Wagner on Staten Island. LIU Brooklyn, who many believe to have the best frontcourt in the NEC, made up for allowing 17 offensive rebounds by making six of ten shots from beyond the arc with Jason Brickman making all three of his attempts and scoring 17 points. Julian Boyd led the way for LIU Brooklyn with 19 points and 15 rebounds on the night and Jamal Olasewere added 18 for the visitors, who are now two games ahead of the competition with an 8-0 league record.

Latif Rivers led four Seahawks in double figures with 17 points but as a team Wagner made just four of nineteen shots from beyond the arc. In a 69-possession game that proved to be the difference in spite of 17 second-chance points. The win also earned LIU Brooklyn a sweep of the season series (78-73 win on December 1st being the first), which could prove vital in the case of a tiebreaker. LIU Brooklyn is a middle of the pack rebounding team when looking at percentages so that will need to improve if they're to get back to the NCAA Tournament, but if they can continue to shoot as they have (2nd in the NEC in three-point percentage) it's going to be tough to dethrone the NEC's best offense.

Quick Hitters

1. Mississippi State picked up a good road victory, beating Vanderbilt 78-77 in overtime in Nashville. Arnett Moultrie scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Dee Bost scored 24 for the Bulldogs, who moved to within a game of the second-place Commodores with the win.

2. The presence of "College Gameday" provided a spark for Pittsburgh and their fans but it didn't bring a win as Louisville won 73-62 to drop the Panthers to 0-7 in the Big East. Tray Woodall wasn't as effective as Pitt would have hoped but the bigger issue was their defense. Louisville shot 55.3% from the field and received a boost in the form of Kyle Kuric's return.

3. As a result of their 87-72 win over rival Xavier, Dayton moved to 4-1 in the Atlantic 10. Kevin Dillard (16 points, eight assists) and Matt Kavanaugh (20 points) led the way for the Flyers, who are now in sole possession of first place in the A-10.

4. Torrey Craig's putback just before time expired gave USC Upstate a 79-78 win over Belmont and made the Atlantic Sun race a lot more interesting than many outsiders expected it to be. Craig finished with 22 points and six rebounds for the Spartans, who are now one of three teams that sit a game behind the Bruins and Mercer atop the A-Sun.

5. Cincinnati had a chance to pull into a tie for first place in the loss column in the Big East ahead of their game against Syracuse on Monday night, but it wasn't meant to be as West Virginia won 77-74 in Morgantown. Kevin Jones posted another double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds and Gary Browne's three late in regulation sent the game into overtime.

6. E.J. Singler went 16-for-17 from the foul line and scored a career-high 26 points (and seven rebounds) as Oregon came back from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat UCLA 75-68 in Eugene to move to 6-2 in the Pac-12. The Ducks are one of four teams tied in the loss column atop the league standings, with Cal being the other team sitting at 6-2 (Colorado and Washington are 5-2).

7. Tony Mitchell's putback as time expired in overtime gave North Texas a 75-74 win over Denver, moving the Mean Green into a tie for first place in the West Division of the Sun Belt with both the Pioneers and UALR. Mitchell, a transfer from Missouri, scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds while Roger Williams added 18 and ten boards.

8. The Big West showdown between Long Beach State and UCSB proved to be anything but as Dan Monson's 49ers took over at the Thunderdome, leaving with a 71-48 victory. The Beach, who is now 7-0 in league play, had four starters in double figures with Larry Anderson (19 points) and T.J. Robinson (11 points, 11 rebounds) being two of the leaders.

Five Notable Performances

1. F Leonard Washington (Wyoming)
32 points and 14 rebounds in the Cowboys' 70-51 win over Colorado State.

2. F Tony Mitchell (North Texas)
30 points and 17 rebounds in the Mean Green's 75-74 overtime win over Denver.

3. G Darren White (Campbell)
22 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists in the Camels' 80-73 win over VMI.

4. G Velton Jones (Robert Morris)
35 points, six assists and three steals in the Colonials' 81-73 win at Monmouth.

5. G Langston Galloway (Saint Joseph's)
32 points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks in the Hawks' 84-80 loss to Pennsylvania.

#2 Kentucky vs Arkansas: Prediction

Greg Mengelt — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:44:54 -0500

ARKANSAS (13-4, 2-1 SEC) AT No. 2 KENTUCKY (17-1, 3-0 SEC)

Time/TV: 9 p.m./ESPN

Location: Rupp Arena

RPI Ratings: Arkansas 74 (No. 8 SEC); Kentucky 9 (No. 1 SEC).

Line: Kentucky -18.5 (Total: 143)

Arkansas Players to Watch: G B.J. Young, 6-3 Fr. (15 ppg, 3 rpg, 52.2% FG); G Julysses Nobles, 6-1 Jr. (9.4 ppg, 4 rpg, 3.6 apg); F Hunter Mickelson, 6-10 Fr. (4.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 bpg). Despite being just a freshman and playing just 16.6 minutes per game, Mickelson has proven to be a natural defensive talent. He’s averaging a blocked shot nearly every five minutes and has at least one in every game in his career.

Kentucky Players to Watch: F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, 6-7 Fr. (13.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 49.4% FG); F Anthony Davis, 6-10 Fr. (13.1 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 4.6 bpg); F Terrence Jones, 6-9 So. (11.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 47.9% FG). Kidd-Gilchrist recorded his third career double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday’s 65-62 road win over Tennessee.

Storylines: Kentucky has won 10 straight games since its lone loss at Indiana and is tied atop the SEC with Vanderbilt at 3-0. Arkansas has been a bit of a surprise, especially without Marshawn Powell, at 12-4 overall and 2-1 in the SEC.

Keys: Kentucky is 44-0 at home under John Calipari. … Expect a lot of points in this one. Kentucky is averaging 79.3 points per game, while the Razorbacks score 76.9 per night. The Wildcats will love to try to match Arkansas’ fast-paced style. … Just about Arkansas’ only hope is that it can force freshman point guard Marquise Teague into a turnover machine. Teague is averaging over three turnovers per game, while the Razorbacks force 18.4 turnovers per outing. … Arkansas is a poor free throw shooting team at 69 percent. In their last two games, the Razorbacks are 25-of-45 from the charity stripe. … Arkansas has one of the deeper teams in the SEC. Mike Anderson’s squad has 10 players who play at least 16 minutes per game. Kentucky, on the other hand, has just six players who play 16 minutes or more. … Arkansas won the last meeting against Kentucky, 77-76 in overtime in Fayetteville last season, but the Razorbacks have lost eight straight at Rupp Arena. … Both teams are very young. Kentucky’s youth is obvious. Arkansas has three very talented freshmen in its rotations in Young, Mickelson and Devonta Abron. … Davis could wrack up the blocked shots in the game. He’s averaging 4.6 per game and the Razorbacks allow opponents to block 4.1 per contest.

The Bottom Line: Kentucky’s at home and Arkansas’ style plays right into its hands. This one will be over early.

The Pick: Kentucky 84, Arkansas 65.

#19 Michigan vs. #9 Michigan State: Tuesday's Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:50:57 -0500

Tuesday night's schedule may be light but that simply allows one of the Big Ten's more heated rivalries to take center stage as #19 Michigan (14-4, 4-2) hosts in-state rival #9 Michigan State (15-3, 4-1). With both teams coming off of road losses on Saturday (Michigan at Iowa and Michigan State at Northwestern) there will be an added sense of urgency to not only get back on track but to remain one of the key players in the conference title race. The key for Michigan State is to remain disciplined on the defensive end of the floor, something they did not do when faced with a similar offensive system to the one they'll see from Michigan in their loss to Northwestern (NU: 50% FG, 126.6 efficiency per statsheet.com).

Michigan is second in the Big Ten in points scored by way of the three-pointer as 36.1% of their points come by way of that shot. Five different players have the ability (and the green light) to fire away from deep in John Beilein's system with Evan Smotrycz (9.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and Zak Novak (9.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg) being the most accurate. Smotrycz, who normally is a tough matchup for opposing power forwards due to his ability to step out, will see a lot of either Draymond Green (15.8 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 3.4 apg) or Branden Dawson (8.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg) when on offense.

But Green offers a unique matchup when the Spartans are on offense as well, as his versatility allows Tom Izzo to run a lot of their stuff through the senior in a role that could be described as a "point forward". This, combined with playing games, has helped young guards Keith Appling (12.9 ppg, 3.8 apg) and Travis Trice (5.8 ppg, 2.1 apg) grow into their roles in the backcourt. Add in Valparaiso transfer Brandon Wood (10.1 ppg, 2.4 apg) and the Spartans have a core trio of guards that have improved a great deal since those losses to North Carolina and Duke to start the season.

They're in for a serious test in Ann Arbor as freshman Trey Burke (14.3 ppg, 4.9 apg, 3.6 rpg) and junior Tim Hardaway Jr. (15.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.6 apg) rank among the best backcourts in the Big Ten. Burke's been one of the best freshmen in the country, especially when considering his role as the point guard, and Hardaway Jr. has continued to develop as a primary scoring option. That's been a big reason as to why the Wolverines have been able to account for the early departure of Darius Morris, who was a second-round draft pick last June.

If there's one stat to keep an eye on Tuesday night it's the rebounding margin because while Michigan State isn't dominant in this area they're far better than Michigan. The Spartans out-rebound their opponents by an average of 6.1 rebounds per game while the Wolverines are just below breaking even (minus-0.6). And that's due in large part to the number of perimeter shots they take as opposed to getting whipped on the offensive glass, as opponents have grabbed just 9.3 offensive rebounds per game.

Michigan State has rebounded 39.7% of their misses this season, and if the likes of Adriean Payne and Derrick Nix can help out Green and Dawson in this area it could be tough sledding for a Michigan team whose leading rebounders (Smotrycz and Jordan Morgan) average a combined 11.0 rebounds per game. Look for Michigan's rebounding and Michigan State's defense of the three (opponents shoot 30.2%) to ultimately decide the victor.

Also of note on Tuesday is an ACC tilt between Maryland and Florida State, as the Seminoles look to build on their win over North Carolina while the Terrapins need quality wins to work their way into the NCAA Tournament conversation. It's anyone's guess as to how the middle of the conference will shake out and these are two of the teams that can make a run for that final first-round bye slot come ACC Tournament time.

Terrell Stoglin ranks among the best guards in the ACC, but a concern for Mark Turgeon's young guards has been shot selection. They'll need to keep that under control in dealing with one of the league's best defenses, and the same goes for Florida State in the turnover department. It's no coincidence that Leonard Hamilton's team pulled away when they took better care of the basketball and Deividas Dulkys (32 points) got hot.

#2 Kentucky hosts Arkansas in a game that may not impress from a scoring margin standpoint as the Wildcats (on paper) are far superior to the Razorbacks. But it does offer viewers the opportunity to watch some of the SEC's best freshmen. Kentucky's crop is well-known at this point in the season, but in guard B.J. Young the Hogs have one of the conference's most prolific scorers. If Mike Anderson's team can harass Marquis Teague with their pressure this could be a more strenuous exercise for Kentucky than many anticipate.

There's also a big game in the Big South as defending conference tournament champ UNC Asheville hosts the reigning regular season champ in Coastal Carolina. J.P. Primm and Matt Dickey are arguably the best backcourt in the conference and Eddie Biedenbach's club currently leads the conference with a 7-0 record, but Cliff Ellis' Chnaticleers are just a game back at 6-1. With the regular season champion hosting the conference tournament semis and title game the outcome will go a long way in determining who gets that honor come March.

Top 25 Games
9:00 PM Arkansas at (2) Kentucky (ESPN)
7:00 PM (9) Michigan State at (19) Michigan (ESPN)
7:00 PM (12) Georgetown at DePaul (ESPN2)

NCAA Division I Games
7:00 PM UMBC at Hartford
7:00 PM Auburn at LSU (ESPNU)
7:00 PM Coastal Carolina at UNC-Asheville (ESPN3)
7:00 PM High Point at Radford
7:00 PM Toccoa Falls at Western Carolina
7:00 PM Campbell at Winthrop
8:00 PM North Dakota State at North Dakota
8:00 PM Texas Tech at Oklahoma (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Iowa at Purdue (BTN)
9:00 PM Maryland at Florida State (ESPNU)
10:00 PM Boise State at Colorado State (The Mtn)
10:00 PM Nebraska Omaha at Nevada
10:30 PM Cal State Bakersfield at Pacific

Bubble Watch: Memphis, Arkansas, UNI On the Edge

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:55:41 -0500

Based on CollegeHoops.net's most recent Bracketology projection, here is how the NCAA Tournament Bubble currently stands. CHN will publish Bubble Watch on Tuesday's following the Bracketology update.

As always, the field below is a prediction of what the committee would do as things stand today, not what they should do. Teams are listed in order of likelihood of making the tournament.

This week's notes: BYU & Iowa St jump into the field, replacing Florida St, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota. Dayton also enters the field as the new A10 leader, but as you see below, they'd most likely make the tourney as an at-large bid currently. Memphis remains just on the fringe, and Arkansas enters the bubble picture for the first time. Ohio, though still in the tourney as the projected MAC champs, would no longer be considered for an at-large bid in these projections.

Change	Seed	Team	Conf.	Record	RPI	KenPom	Sagarin	AP
	11	Texas	B12	11-4	72	26	44
	11	Arizona	P12	11-5	57	42	61
	12	Marshall	CUSA	10-4	46	54	51
	12	Cincinnati	BE	13-4	109	43	60
	12	Virginia Tech	ACC	11-4	40	38	41
	12	Xavier	A10	10-5	51	61	69
	12	BYU	WCC	12-4	45	21	28
	13	Northwestern	B10	11-4	31	67	50
	13	Iowa St	B12	12-3	44	53	54	38
Bubble
		Memphis	CUSA	10-5	36	31	30
		Arkansas	SEC	12-3	82	79	76	34
		Northern Iowa	MVC	11-4	23	47	46
		St. Joseph's	A10	11-5	47	59	57
		Florida St	ACC	9-6	85	46	73
		Pittsburgh	BE	11-5	84	62	77
		NC State	ACC	12-4	48	54	55
		Colorado St	B12	10-4	28	96	67
		Minnesota	B10	12-5	31	66	66

Dropped Out of Bubble Watch: Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Washington

Projected Conference Champs that would be on the Bubble if they lost title:

Change	Seed	Team	Conf.	Record	RPI	KenPom	Sagarin	AP
	10	Southern Miss	CUSA	13-2	11	72	34
	11	Dayton	A10	12-4	17	48	42	37
	11	Iona	MAAC	13-3	32	41	37
	13	Middle Tennessee	SB	14-2	86	58	43
Bubble
	13	Ohio	MAC	11-3	68	76	58
	13	Long Beach St	BW	8-6	22	40	38
		Belmont	ASUN	10-6	98	36	59
		Oral Roberts	SUM	14-4	53	52	48
		Nevada	WAC	11-3	81	86	79
		Davidson	SoCo	9-4	41	73	62

Projected Conference Leaders Out of Bubble Watch: Cleveland St

We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section or on twitter @collegehoopsnet :

Saturday Recap: Five Ranked Teams Fall to Unranked Opponents

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 04:27:34 -0500

The first Saturday of the new year proved to be far more exciting than anticipated, much to the detriment of ranked teams who took their show on the road. Removing #7 Missouri and #20 Marquette, who both lost on the road to ranked opponents (more on both of those games below), five ranked teams lost to unranked opponents with four of the losses coming on the road. The Big East provided the most intrigue, with #8 Connecticut and #9 Georgetown falling on the road while #10 Louisville lost in double overtime at home. So which of the three defeats is most concerning? That's likely a toss-up between the Huskies and Cardinals.

Connecticut lost at Rutgers, who already owned a win at The RAC over then-#10 Florida, 67-60 with Eli Carter leading the Scarlet Knights with 19 points. It was a Saturday night to forget for Jeremy Lamb, who scored just eight points before fouling out. With the preseason All-America dealing with foul trouble for much of the night, Rutgers head coach Mike Rice was able to go with a zone defense to take advantage of the Huskies' issues in dealing with zones.

While UConn's 36.5% shooting from deep on the season isn't a great number it's definitely better than the 4-for-19 performance they put up against Rutgers. But of more concern than the lack of perimeter shooting is the lack of leadership and toughness for this group, something that was lost with the departure of Kemba Walker. And it's a sore subject for head coach Jim Calhoun, who returned to the bench after missing the last three games due to an NCAA suspension.

"There's not a lack of leadership, there's none," said Calhoun. Short, and to the point.

As for Louisville, their issues of running a half-court offense with cohesion has been well documented, and for that reason it's reasonable to say that Rick Pitino's team was given too much credit earlier in the season. Eric Atkins' shot with 17 seconds remaining gave the Fighting Irish a 65-63 lead and his two free throws in the final seconds of the second overtime sealed the 67-65 victory, giving Notre Dame their first win in the Commonwealth of Kentucky until 1980.

Louisville shot much better from the field, making 42.3% of their shots compared to 31.7% for Notre Dame. But when you hand the ball over 18 times, allowing Notre Dame to score 16 points off of turnovers, there's a good chance that the outcome won't be a positive one. The Cardinals now already have two home conference losses, and that's definitely not a good spot to be in if they're to contend for a Big East title.

"Hard fought game, but if you break it down, they made their free throws and we didn't," said Pitino. "To lose two home games in the Big East with the type of schedule we have is very destructive to say the least."

The other two losses to unranked opponents came in the SEC, with Florida kicking off the crazy day with a 67-56 loss to Tennessee (more on that below) and #15 Mississippi State getting lit up at Arkansas 98-88. The Bulldogs weren't much more than a sieve defensively, allowing the Razorbacks to shoot 56.5% from the field for the game. Rick Stansbury's team seemed to be in solid shape at the half, trailing by just six (43-37) despite turning the ball over eleven times to just two for Arkansas.

But that optimism was misguided as the Bulldogs allowed 55 points in the final 20 minutes with the Hogs making 67.9% of their shots. Julysses Nobles and B.J. Young scored 24 points apiece to lead Arkansas, who finished with five players in double figures, and they were also aided by the fact that three players scored 63 of Mississippi State's 88 points. Arnett Moultrie scored just nine but did grab ten rebounds before fouling out with over six minutes remaining, but his fifth foul essentially signaled the end of the game for Mississippi State. The lesson the Bulldogs learned was similar to that learned by the other ranked teams to fall: anyone can fall on any given day.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Kansas State takes advantage of #7 Missouri's lack of interior depth and hands the Tigers their first loss.
There were certainly concerns about how Frank Haith's team would deal with bigger teams as the season wore on, as Missouri has just seven scholarship players and two true frontcourt players. And at the "Octagon of Doom" the Tigers got their first glimpse of how difficult things could be, especially if their perimeter scorers aren't as productive as expected. Missouri shot just 32.7% from the field and were out-rebounded 39-25 by #23 Kansas State in the Wildcats' 75-59 victory, suffering their first loss of the season.

It didn't help matters that starting forward Ricardo Ratliffe played just 14 foul-riddled minutes, scoring two points and grabbing one rebounds. The Tigers can't afford that level of production when their guards are on, much less when Phil Pressey misses all six of his shots from the field and the team shoots 7-for-24 from three. Rodney McGruder led K-State with 20 points and as a team the Wildcats assisted on 18 of their 28 field goals, resulting in an efficiency (111.9) 21 points higher than what Missouri opponents averaged on the season.

2. Syracuse runs out to a big lead and hangs on to beat Marquette in the Carrier Dome.
Thanks to a 23-1 run in the first half to turn a 12-11 lead into a seemingly insurmountable 35-12 edge, top-ranked Syracuse seemed to be well on their way to an emphatic victory over #20 Marquette. But Jim Boeheim's team apparently left their intensity in the locker room, as they came out of halftime flat while Buzz Williams' team displayed the fight expected of his program. Marquette would eventually pull to within two points (59-57) but could get no closer as the Orange would eventually win 73-66, moving to 17-0 and by the end of the night sitting alone atop the Big East standings.

Marquette could hit nothing in the first half, shooting 30% from the field and going 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. But led by Darius Johnson-Odom (19 points), Jae Crowder (15 points, seven rebounds) and Junior Cadougan (10 points, five assists) the Golden Eagles attacked the inside of the Syracuse zone, resulting in quality looks that were few and far between in the first half. But with Kris Joseph scoring 17 points and reserves C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters combining to score 25 points Syracuse was able to sew things up late, and while they weren't as efficient as usual the Orange did assists on 19 of 24 made baskets. While the landscape beneath them is too muddled to make sense of, it's pretty clear that the Orange are the class of the Big East.

3. Florida has some things to work on defensively if they're to be a factor come March.
The first thing that will stick out in#13 Florida's 67-56 loss at Tennessee is likely the fact that they scored just 56 points, shooting 35.7% from the field in doing so. But what should really be taken out of the defeat is their play on the defensive end of the floor, because despite the struggles offensively Billy Donovan's team won't lack for scoring options. Simply put, can Florida get the stops needed when the possessions become even bigger in March? If they're going to do so some things will need to change, with one being the lack of ball pressure on the perimeter. The issue against Tennessee wasn't about what the Volunteers could do off the dribble but rather the lack of pressure on entry passes.

On multiple occasions the lack of pressure on passers allowed a Jeronne Maymon (12 points, seven rebounds) or Kenny Hall (13 points, five rebounds) the time to walk their man up the lane and out of prime defensive position. If Florida couldn't get away with this against Tennessee, what are they going to do in their two meetings with Kentucky? And it's not out of the realm of possibility that a team like Alabama (or even Mississippi State) that has multiple big men could give them a hard time inside. The Vols entered Saturday's game scoring 33% of their points from three, but they didn't have to do that as the paint was open for business. Florida can't allow that to happen if they're to reach their full potential, prolific offense or not.

4. George Mason beats Georgia State to take over sole possession of first place in the CAA.
In prior seasons the three-game stretch for Georgia State of Drexel/VCU/George Mason would elicit bets of what the Panthers' combined margin of defeat would be. To say the least things have changed under Ron Hunter, as they'd won the first two games of that stretch going into Saturday's showdown with the Patriots for sole possession of first place in the CAA. But despite Ryan Pearson failing to make a single field goal it was George Mason who was able to make the key baskets late on their way to the 61-56 win. Neither team shot well from the field and George Mason turned the ball over 19 times, but the deciding factor was the charity stripe.

George Mason, who shot 67.3% from the line on the season, made 18 of 21 on Saturday night and outscored the Panthers by eight in that department. Vertail Vaughns (17 points) and Mike Morrison (14 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks) more than made up for Pearson's 0-for-4 night, while the Georgia State combo of Josh Micheaux and Devonta White shot a combined 3-for-15 (they entered the game averaging a combined 20.2 points/game). Jihad Ali led Georgia State with 19 points, and while they didn't win the Panthers have the look of a team that could hang around the race throughout the season. But they didn't have enough down the stretch, allowing the Patriots to take control of the driver's seat a quarter of the way through CAA play.

5. Oral Roberts blows out South Dakota State and moves to 6-0 in the Summit League.
The matchup between the Golden Eagles and Jackrabbits was anticipated by some due to not only the matchup of early Summit League POY frontrunners Dominique Morrison (ORU) and Nate Wolters (SDSU) (Oakland's Reggie Hamilton will also figure in the discussion). But they game didn't live up to that, much to the detriment of the Jackrabbits, who fell 97-75 in Tulsa. Morrison was outstanding as he finished with 38 points and seven rebounds, but he had plenty of help as Steven Roundtree scored 17 off the bench and Michael Craion and Warren Niles scored 15 apiece.

Wolters led five SDSU players in double figures with 22 points to go along with six assists, but the Jackrabbits' biggest problem was they they couldn't stop the Golden Eagles. ORU shot 60.7% from the field on the night and 67.5% from two while also making ten of twenty-one from beyond the arc, and when ORU's got it rolling like that they're extremely difficult to beat at the Mabee Center. Oral Roberts finished the game with an offensive efficiency of 154.0, scoring 1.5 points/possession on the night. To say the least South Dakota State will do their best to make sure that doesn't happen in the rematch on February 2nd.

Quick Hitters

1. Saturday marked the first step towards another March in which Virginia Tech is once again discussed as a bubble team, with the Hokies losing at Wake Forest 58-55. Erick Green was solid for the Hokies, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but more is needed from Dorenzo Hudson (4-13, eight points) if they're to be a tournament team.

2. Entering the week with an 0-2 league record, UCLA couldn't afford anything less than a split with the Arizona schools if they wanted to be a contender in the Pac-12 race. Ben Howland's squad did better than that, wrapping up a sweep with a 75-58 win over Arizona State. Travis Wear scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Joshua Smith added 18 off the bench.

3. Few people gave Colorado a shot at being in first place in the Pac-12 at this point in the season, but there they sit after sweeping the Washington schools this weekend. A big reason why: defense. In their 71-60 win over Washington State, Colorado limited the Cougars to 36.5% shooting and none of their three league opponents have shot over 40% from the field. Also in forward Andre Roberson, Tad Boyle's got one of the most underrated players in the country.

4. Of the four teams tied for first place in the MVC the most surprising has to be Illinois State, who beat Evansville 75-73 on a miraculous shot by Jackie Carmichael. Carmichael, who finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, banked in his first career three-pointer as time expired to win the game. We'll find out how much staying power the Redbirds have immediately too, as they visit Wichita State and host Creighton in their next two games.

5. In a matchup of teams undefeated in SoCon play Davidson shot 60% from the field and made 11 three-pointers in their 96-74 win over Georgia Southern. Jake Cohen (29 points) and De'Mon Brooks (24 points) combined to score 53 points with Cohen also grabbing 12 rebounds in the victory.

6. There was also a matchup of undefeated teams in the NEC, and that game wasn't particularly close either. Ken Horton scored 21 points and grabbed ten rebounds while Robbie Ptacek scored 24 points and Kyle Vinales 18 in Central Connecticut State's 68-53 win over Robert Morris. Robert Morris shot just 30.3% from the field and turned the ball over 15 times in defeat.

7. Back in the ACC, Florida State laid a serious egg in their ACC opener as they fell 79-59 at Clemson. Not only did the Seminoles struggle offensively, shooting 35.5% and turning the ball over 15 times, but they also allowed the Tigers to shoot 60% from two and 49% overall. Leonard Hamilton's team can ill-afford the defensive breakdowns they had on Saturday if they're going to be a tournament team.

8. Both Temple and Saint Joseph's dropped conference games at home on Saturday, with Dayton pulling away late to be at the Owls 87-77 and Charlotte shocking the Hawks 57-52. Archie Miller's Flyers picked up a key resume-building win, and Charlotte's victory was a good step for Alan Major as he looks to rebuild that program.

9. Bowling Green also provided a surprise in their MAC opener as they beat Ohio 67-57. Jordon Crawford led the way, scoring 16 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds and two steals. BGSU turned the ball over 20 times (Crawford: six turnovers) but the Bobcats shot 4-for-20 from three, alliowing the home team to lock up the victory.

10. And in terms of a possible changing of the guard Nevada may have struck the biggest blow, handing Utah State their first conference home loss since 2007 by the final score of 78-71. Deonte Burton, who finished with 25 points and five assists, provided the dagger in the form of a four-point play with 37 seconds remaining while Dario Hunt scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Five (plus one) Notable Performances

1. F Doug McDermott (Creighton)
44 points (18-23 FG), eight rebounds and two assists in the Bluejays' 92-83 win at Bradley.

2. F Dominique Morrison (Oral Roberts)
38 points (11-15 FG), seven rebounds and two assists in the Golden Eagles' 97-75 win over South Dakota State.

3. G Damian Lillard (Weber State)
38 points (8-14 3PT), five rebounds and five assists in the Wildcats' 88-81 win at Portland State.

4. G Isaiah Canaan (Murray State)
35 points (7-8 3PT), five assists and two rebounds in the Racers' 87-75 win at Austin Peay.

5. F Kevin Jones (West Virginia)
22 points (8-12 FG) and 16 rebounds in the Mountaineers' 74-62 win over #9 Georgetown.

Plus One: F Royce White (Iowa State)
18 rebounds, ten points and ten assists in the Cyclones' 74-50 demolition of Texas A&M in College Station.

Game of the Day: Stanford 103, Oregon State 101 (4 OT)
If you missed this one late that's too bad, because the Cardinal and Beavers combined to play an instant classic. The game didn't truly take off until the final moments of regulation, as Stanford's game-winning basket was ruled to have come after time expired. Stanford would eventually win as Roberto Nelson's three-point attempt as time expired missed the mark. Chasson Randle led six Stanford players in double figures with 24 points off the bench while Nelson and Jared Cunningham led six Oregon State players in double figures with 19 apiece.

Saturday Preview: #20 Marquette at #1 Syracuse

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:09:03 -0500

Just two games on the schedule for Saturday match ranked teams, one of which being #1 Syracuse (16-0, 3-0) hosting #20 Marquette (12-3, 1-1) with the visitors looking to rebound from a disappointing loss at Georgetown earlier this week. The Golden Eagles led by as many as 17 points in the second half but they went away from the "paint touches" that are so valued in Buzz Williams' program, which led to the Hoya comeback. Those paint touches will be even more important at the Carrier Dome, as Syracuse does a good job with their 2-3 zone at limiting those opportunities.

Jim Boeheim's team is always well-versed in who should be allowed to shoot perimeter shots and who should be defended tightly as well, meaning that Marquette will need to be judicious in their shot selection. As a team Marquette shoots 34.7% from three, scoring 22.3% of their points from distance on the season. The most reliable shooters are also their leading scorers: Darius Johnson-Odom (17.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.7 apg) and Jae Crowder (16.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg) both start while freshman Todd Mayo (10.2 ppg) come off the bench.

The Golden Eagles can match the Syracuse depth on the perimeter, with those three along with Vander Blue, Junior Cadougan and Derrick Wilson, but the Orange have been flat-out explosive this season. Scoop Jardine (8.7 ppg, 4.3 apg) and Brandon Triche (10.3 ppg, 3.1 apg) are the starters and have played well for much of the season, but in sixth man Dion Waiters (12.6 ppg, 2.8 apg) the Orange have one of the best reserves in the country. It can even be argued that Waiters is Syracuse's best option when considering postseason awards, which is a testament to his growth as well as Syracuse's depth.

Freshman Michael Carter-Williams also sees some time at guard, and on the wing the Orange are deep as well. Senior Kris Joseph (13.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg) leads the team in scoring and when allowed to get out and fill a lane on the break is a dangerous player to contend with. But there's also sophomore C.J. Fair (8.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg), who is second on the team in minutes, and junior James Southerland (8.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg) shoots 42.6% from beyond the arc. Marquette will be smaller than Syracuse on the wing, but they can manage the difference due to their speed. The real concern comes in the paint, where the Golden Eagles are without a key contributor.

Chris Otule is still out with a knee injury and there's been no announcement on his prospects for the remainder of the season, meaning that Davante Gardner (8.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg) had to step into the starting role. Gardner came off the bench in Marquette's win over Villanova after a subpar performance in the loss to Vanderbilt, but he responded with 13 points and ten rebounds and followed that up with 11 against Georgetown. Facing the much-improved Fab Melo (7.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.1 bpg), Gardner's going to need a similar performance if Marquette is to win. Turnovers will also be a major factor with Marquette forcing nearly 18 per game and Syracuse almost 19.

Also in the Big East, #9 Georgetown hits the road to take on West Virginia, and Bob Huggins' team could definitely use a win like this for their resume. Kevin Jones has been one of the best players in the Big East for the Mountaineers, who will need young guards Gary Browne and Jabarie Hinds to mature as the season wears on in order to be a team that can win games in the NCAA Tournament. And Seton Hall will look to build on the momentum gained in their win over Connecticut with a win at Providence, but with the Friars desperate for their first league win that's going to be a tough task for Kevin Willard's squad.

League play tips off in the ACC and SEC this weekend, with the former looking to sort itself out after the generally accepted top three of North Carolina, Duke and Virginia. While the Tar Heels shouldn't have much of a problem with Boston College, Duke should be on upset alert at Georgia Tech while Virginia hosts a Miami team that could be a factor in the ACC as Reggie Johnson approaches full strength. In the SEC Mississippi State visits Arkansas, and the Bulldogs had better make sure that freshman B.J. Young isn't allowed to heat up.

The Big 12's got a pair of dangerous games for ranked teams on the schedule as well, with Baylor visiting Texas Tech and Missouri taking on Kansas State in Manhattan. The Bears should beat the Red Raiders but that trip to Lubbock could be a tricky one if you're not focused. As for the Tigers, their interior depth will be tested by the Wildcats, led by Jamar Samuels, Thomas Gipson and Jordan Henriquez. If either Ricardo Ratliffe or Steve Moore get into early foul trouble, Missouri could end up in trouble as well.

Other games of note include Georgia State, who is currently in first place in the CAA, visiting George Mason just days after winning at VCU. Ron Hunter's done a masterful job with the GSU program in his first season in charge, and Devonta White and Jihad Ali have done a good job of leading the way offensively. Mike Morrison and Ryan Pearson can be a handful up front for the Colonials, and there's a strong possibility that this game isn't decided until late. Temple hosts Dayton in the Owls' Atlantic 10 opener, and after they beat Saint Louis in overtime this could be a big week for Dayton's resume if they can win at Liacouras Center as well.

Top 25 Games
4:00 PM (20) Marquette at (1) Syracuse (ESPN3)
4:00 PM South Carolina at (2) Kentucky (ESPN3)
12:00 PM (3) Duke at Georgia Tech (ESPNU)
2:30 PM Boston College at (4) North Carolina (ESPN3)
1:45 PM (5) Baylor at Texas Tech (ESPN3)
1:30 PM (6) Missouri at (22) Kansas State (ESPN3)
3:00 PM (7) Ohio State at Iowa (BTN)
8:00 PM (8) Connecticut at Rutgers (ESPN3)
12:00 PM (9) Georgetown at West Virginia (ESPN3)
4:00 PM Notre Dame at (10) Louisville (ESPNU)
11:00 AM (14) Florida at Tennessee (ESPN2)
2:00 PM (15) Kansas at Oklahoma (ESPNU)
9:00 PM (16) Mississippi State at Arkansas (ESPN3)
8:00 PM (18) Murray State at Austin Peay (ESPNU)
2:00 PM Dartmouth at (21) Harvard
6:00 PM Miami (FL) at (23) Virginia (ESPNU)
8:00 PM (24) Creighton at Bradley (ESPN3)

NCAA Division I Games
12:00 PM Virginia Tech at Wake Forest (ESPN3)
12:00 PM Xavier at Fordham
12:00 PM Canisius at Loyola (MD)
12:00 PM Wagner at Monmouth
1:00 PM Nebraska at Illinois (BTN)
1:05 PM Missouri State at Indiana State (ESPN3)
1:30 PM Ole Miss at LSU (ESPN3)
1:30 PM Auburn at Vanderbilt (ESPN3)
2:00 PM Colgate at American
2:00 PM Mount St. Mary's at Fairleigh Dickinson
2:00 PM Albright at Cornell
2:00 PM Washington at Utah (FSN)
2:00 PM Northeastern at James Madison
2:00 PM Loyola (IL) at Cleveland State (ESPN3)
2:00 PM Western Michigan at Ball State
2:00 PM St. John's at Cincinnati (ESPN3)
2:00 PM NJIT at Longwood
2:00 PM LIU-Brooklyn at Quinnipiac
2:00 PM Charlotte at Saint Joseph's
2:00 PM Kennesaw State at USC Upstate
2:05 PM Evansville at Illinois State
2:30 PM Charleston at Furman (ESPN3)
2:30 PM UMBC at Maine
2:30 PM Western Illinois at IPFW
3:00 PM Georgia Southern at Davidson
3:00 PM Texas State at Northwestern State
3:05 PM Wichita State at Southern Illinois
3:15 PM Jacksonville at Stetson
3:30 PM Lehigh at Holy Cross
3:30 PM North Dakota at New Mexico
3:30 PM Robert Morris at Central Connecticut State
3:30 PM St. Francis (NY) at Sacred Heart
4:00 PM Washington State at Colorado (FSN)
4:00 PM Dayton at Temple
4:00 PM Florida State at Clemson (ESPN2)
4:00 PM Iowa State at Texas A&M (ESPN3)
4:00 PM Bucknell at Army
4:00 PM St. Bonaventure at Duquesne
4:00 PM Mercer at East Tennessee State
4:00 PM Florida A&M at North Carolina Central
4:00 PM Bethune-Cookman at North Carolina A&T
4:00 PM Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois
4:00 PM Coppin State at Savannah State
4:00 PM Morgan State at South Carolina State
4:00 PM Southern Miss at Tulane
4:00 PM Delaware at William & Mary
4:00 PM VMI at Winthrop
4:00 PM St. Francis (PA) at Bryant
4:30 PM Denver at South Alabama (ESPN3)
4:30 PM Central Arkansas at Lamar
4:30 PM Liberty at UNC Asheville
4:30 PM Wofford at Western Carolina
5:00 PM Troy at Western Kentucky (FCS)
5:00 PM UCF at East Carolina
5:00 PM Jackson State at Alcorn State
5:00 PM Grambling State at Southern University
5:15 PM North Florida at Florida Gulf Coast
5:30 PM Tennessee State at Jacksonville State
5:30 PM Coastal Carolina at Charleston Southern
6:00 PM Ohio at Bowling Green (ESPN3)
6:00 PM San Francisco at BYU (BYU TV)
6:00 PM Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Alabama A&M
6:00 PM Mississippi Valley State at Alabama State
6:00 PM Howard at Hampton
6:00 PM Maryland-Eastern Shore at Norfolk State
6:00 PM IUPUI at Oakland
6:00 PM Seton Hall at Providence (ESPN3)
6:05 PM Fresno State at Idaho (ESPN3)
6:30 PM Louisiana-Lafayette at Middle Tennessee
7:00 PM Alabama at Georgia (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Akron at Miami (OH)
7:00 PM Richmond at Rhode Island
7:00 PM Appalachian State at Chattanooga
7:00 PM Oklahoma State at Texas (LHN)
7:00 PM Towson at Old Dominion
7:00 PM Hofstra at UNC Wilmington
7:00 PM Kent State at Buffalo
7:00 PM Toledo at Central Michigan
7:00 PM Southeast Missouri State at Eastern Kentucky
7:00 PM High Point at Gardner-Webb
7:00 PM Georgia State at George Mason
7:00 PM Lafayette at Navy
7:00 PM Southeastern Louisiana at Stephen F. Austin
7:00 PM SIU-Edwardsville at Tennessee-Martin
7:00 PM Prairie View A&M at Texas Southern
7:05 PM Samford at Citadel
7:05 PM Illinois-Chicago at Youngstown State
7:30 PM Louisiana-Monroe at FIU
7:30 PM Campbell at Presbyterian
8:00 PM George Washington at Saint Louis
8:00 PM South Dakota State at Oral Roberts
8:00 PM SMU at Tulsa
8:00 PM Marshall at Rice
8:00 PM Nicholls State at Texas-Arlington
8:00 PM Green Bay at Milwaukee (ESPN3)
8:00 PM McNeese State at Texas A&M-CC
8:00 PM Florida Atlantic at Arkansas-Little Rock
8:00 PM Santa Clara at Gonzaga
8:00 PM New Mexico State at Louisiana Tech
8:00 PM Pepperdine at Portland
8:05 PM South Dakota at UMKC
8:05 PM North Texas at Arkansas State
8:05 PM Northern Iowa at Drake
8:05 PM Eastern Illinois at Houston Baptist
8:30 PM Morehead State at Tennessee Tech
9:00 PM Memphis at UAB
9:00 PM Nebraska Omaha at Colorado State
9:00 PM Loyola Marymount at San Diego
9:00 PM Houston at UTEP
9:05 PM Montana at Idaho State
9:05 PM Nevada at Utah State (ESPN3)
9:05 PM Northern Arizona at Eastern Washington
9:05 PM Seattle at Utah Valley
9:30 PM North Dakota State at Southern Utah
10:00 PM Cal State Fullerton at Cal Poly
10:00 PM Stanford at Oregon State
10:00 PM UC Riverside at Pacific
10:00 PM UC Irvine at UC Davis
10:00 PM Weber State at Portland State
10:00 PM Texas-Pan American at Cal State Bakersfield
10:05 PM Northern Colorado at Sacramento State
10:05 PM Long Beach State at Cal State Northridge
10:30 PM Arizona State at UCLA
12:05 AM San Jose State at Hawaii

College Hoops Wednesday Recap: Blue Devils Win Thriller in Maui

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:43:58 -0500

The game between Duke and Kansas more than lived up to the pregame expectations on Wednesday night, but it was an unsung hero who stepped to the forefront late. Tyler Thornton, essentially a defensive substitute when Austin Rivers picked up his fourth foul, knocked down a pair of critical three pointers late to catapult the Blue Devils to the 68-61 win. Duke earned their fifth Maui Invitational title and moved to 15-0 all-time in the prestigious early season event.

Tournament MVP Ryan Kelly and forward Mason Plumlee scored 17 points apiece with Plumlee also grabbing 12 rebounds, and the big difference between the two teams was the three-point line. Duke made 11 of their 25 attempts from beyond the arc while Kansas finished 2-for-8, and that 27-point difference made up for a combined 4-for-13 night for guards Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins.

Tyshawn Taylor led the Jayhawks with 17 points but also had an unfortunate double-double with 11 turnovers, with things getting away from him in the second half. Thomas Robinson was a warrior for Kansas all week, and he added 16 points and 15 rebounds while Jeff Withey added 14 and 10 to cap a solid three days in Maui. But turnovers played a major role in the outcome, with one of Taylor's miscues setting the stage for Thornton's game-sealing three pointer.

Kansas held a 61-60 lead with 1:31 to go following a Travis Releford three, only to have Thornton answer with a trifecta of his own 21 seconds later. Coming out of a timeout Taylor turned the ball over five seconds later, and Duke's ensuing possession looked to be headed nowhere. But Thornton let fly from in front of the Duke bench at the end of the shot clock with the primary goal being to avoid the violation. The shot fell, making the score 66-61 with 20 seconds to go and essentially putting the game away.

"When Seth kicked me the ball, I looked at the shot clock, it was [at] three seconds, and I just tried to get up a good shot," said Thornton. "Once it left my hands, I kind of thought it was going to be good and luckily it was."

Duke capped a stretch of seven games in 13 days, so the rest that comes will be welcomed for a group that's had the quest for the all-time wins record for their coach to deal with as well. Rivers, who made the All-Tournament team, will continue to figure out how to mesh his superlative talents with what the teams wants to get done offensively and he'll grow defensively as well.

But most importantly Duke learned more about veterans such as Kelly, who averaged 17.0 points per game in Maui and emerged as an offensive option they'll be able to count on. And Mason Plumlee showed the ability to handle the workload on the glass, which in turn allows Duke to start the more offensively-inclined Kelly and bring Miles Plumlee off the bench. As for Kansas, he Jayhawks showed themselves to be a more talented team than many anticipated before the season began, meaning an eighth straight Big 12 title is more than possible.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Iowa fails to bounce back from their loss to Creighton, falling to Campbell at home.
Sunday was a flat-out bad day from Fran McCaffery's team as they were blown out in Des Moines by the Creighton Bluejays, but it wasn't unrealistic to expect the Hawkeyes to bounce back against Campbell on Wednesday night. That did not happen, as Eric Griffin led the Camels to a 77-61 win with 23 points and 13 rebound. Four Campbell starters reached double figures and as a team the Camels shot 62.2% from the field. In many games like this the expectation is that the winner concentrated heavily on the three-point line. Not so much with Campbell, who only attempted eight (making four) while shooting 68% from inside of the arc.

One tie in both losses for Iowa: Melsahn Basabe. He didn't play well against Creighton and that was the case on Wednesday as well, scoring two points and grabbing three rebounds in 19 minutes of action. Is Basabe solely to blame? Of course not, but when a player with the talent to become an All-Big Ten caliber player says things like this he'd better step up. Matt Gatens scored 17 points and Devyn Marble 14 to lead Iowa, who's going to need guys such as Basabe and Eric May to step up if they're to make a move in the Big Ten standings.

2. The evolution of Dion Waiters sparks Syracuse's win over Virginia Tech in New York City.
It's been reported many times in the preseason as well as early in the year about Dion Waiters, that the frustrated freshman was ready to transfer at the end of the season. But he stuck it out, and both he and the Orange look to be better off as a result. Waiters scored 11 points to go along with four assists and three steals in 25 minutes off the bench to help lead Syracuse to a 69-58 win over Virginia Tech in the second semifinal of the NIT Season Tipoff. Kris Joseph led the Orange with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Brandon Triche added 17 and six assists, but the big development (or continuation of it, rather) was the play of Waiters.

He's improved his physical conditioning, is playing with more confidence and isn't worried about what he does so long as the team wins. He and C.J. Fair (12 points, 10 rebounds) look to be the two "locks" to be in the rotation should Jim Boeheim look to cut the number down from ten players, and performances like last night's make sure that remains the case in the future.

3. San Diego State ends Arizona's 22-game home win streak, but they better not suffer a "hangover".
For the second consecutive game Sean Miller's Wildcats failed to lead at any point in the game, but unlike their their loss to Mississippi State in the title game of the 2K Sports Classic Arizona was jumped early. San Diego State opened the game with a 21-4 run, and despite their attempts to rally the Wildcats were unable to fully recover as the Aztecs won 61-57. A deep two at the top of the key from Chase Tapley (17 points) sealed the game with just over a minute remaining, and removing Utah (once a fellow Mountain West member) SDSU is 4-1 against the Pac-12 since 2009.

Nick Johnson and Josiah Turner scored ten points apiece off the bench for Arizona, but guards Kyle Fogg (five points) and Jordin Mayes (two points) struggled all night. SDSU limited the Wildcats to 33.3% shooting in their best defensive performance of the season, but they better be ready to go with a trip to UCSB on Saturday. SDSU lost an awful lot from last year's Sweet 16 team, but they've shown in this 6-1 start that they're still a threat in the Mountain West.

Quick Hitters

1. On the injury front Alabama saw forward Tony Mitchell go down in their win over Alabama A&M but luckily for the Crimson Tide it was a sprained ankle and nothing worse. To not meet the same fate as Arkansas, who lost Marshawn Powell for the season with a knee injury in practice last week, is a piece of good luck for Alabama.

2. Josh Pastner's Memphis Tigers can score with just about anyone, and they're going to win their fair share of shootouts. But if the Tigers want to be a factor in March they have to get better defensively. Georgetown beat the Tigers 91-88 in overtime, and in Maui the Tigers allowed an average of 1.13 points per possession over three games. That's not going to get it done in big games.

3. Stanford was highly impressive in their 82-67 win over Oklahoma State in New York City, and it can be argued that the game wasn't as close as the final margin would indicate. Josh Owens (21 points) led the way while guards Chasson Randle and Aaron Bright proved to be a handful for the Cowboys. We'll see just how good this team is on Friday when they take on Syracuse.

4. A pair of Brian Voelkel steals late in overtime sealed Vermont's 65-63 win at Old Dominion, and while the CAA takes another early season hit this is a good win for the Catamounts. Luke Apfeld led three players in double figures with 15 points, and while Voelkel scored just six points he chipped in with 14 rebounds and five assists.

5. Keep an eye on Denver in the Sun Belt, who put together an impressive 70-58 win over Saint Mary's to move to 4-0. Seven players scored at least six points for the Pioneers, led by Rob Lewis' 17 points. Joe Scott's team has been solid defensively as well, allowing an average of just 0.92 points per possession thus far.

Three Notable Performances

1. G Scott Machado and F Mike Glover (Iona)
Machado scored 33 points and dished out ten assists while Glover led the Gaels with 34 points and 15 rebounds in their 104-99 double overtime win over Saint Joseph's.

2. G Michael Lyons (Air Force)
31 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists in the Falcons' 76-73 overtime loss to Colorado.

3. F Quincy Acy and F Quincy Miller (Baylor)
Miller finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists while Acy put up ten points, 11 rebounds and six blocks in the Bears' 75-65 win over UT-Arlington.