UAPB

Duke vs UAPB: Preview & Prediction

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:04:46 -0700

Start: Mar 19 2010 - 7:25pm

Team Previews: #1 Duke -- #16 UAPB

Vegas Odds: Duke -23 Bet at bodog

Why UAPB will win:

The big three for Duke all manage to go scoreless while Tavaris Washington, Terrance Calvin and Savalance Townsend lead the Golden Lions with the performances of their lives.

Golden Lion to Watch:

Tavaris Washington, G - 10 ppg, 5 rpg, 2 apg

He’s only their fourth-leading scorer but UAPB can ill-afford Washington turning the ball over six times as he did in Tuesday’s 61-44 win over Winthrop. To say the least: Duke isn’t Winthrop. He and Calvin will need to be on fire from the word “go” if UAPB is to stick around.

Why Duke will win:

No 16 has ever beaten a 1; you simply don’t pick something like that until you get visual proof that it’s happened. The big three will simply be too much for the Golden Lions.

Blue Devil to Watch:

Brian Zoubek, C - 5 ppg, 7 rpg, 1 apg

Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith are the known quantities for Mike Krzyzewski. But if Duke is to have any serious staying power in the tournament they’re going to need the seven-footer to play at his best. The hope here is that he gets his final tournament off to a good start.

How it will go down:

UAPB will ride the early wave of emotion but having played on Tuesday combined with going against a team that can shoot will simply be too much.

Betting Pick: Duke

Real Pick: Duke

Opening Round Game Preview: Your Commentary

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:56:49 -0700

Winthrop (19-13, 12-6 Big South) vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (17-15, 14-4 SWAC)
Location and Time: Dayton, OH (University of Dayton Arena); 7:30 PM
TV: ESPN

The NCAA Tournament begins on Tuesday night in Dayton with the annual opening round game, this time matching the champions of the Big South and Southwestern Athletic conferences. Neither team will light up the scoreboard but with both being solid defensive squads this has the makings of a low-scoring contest when you figure in both teams having just one full day of preparation. The key in a game like this: knowing who you are and what you need to do in order to win. A team can digest only so much in a scouting report about a team that in most cases you haven't seen much of outside of Championship Week.

Randy Peele's Eagles accomplished one of the tougher things to do in a conference tournament, winning on the home floor of the regular season champions (Coastal Carolina) to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008. Winthrop is not a good shooting team, shooting 38% from the field on the season. But Coach Peele's team is among the best defensive squads in the nation as their opponents shoot 39% and turn the ball over more than fifteen times per game. Frontcourt players Mantoris Robinson, Matt Morgan and Andy Buechert combine to average nearly seventeen rebounds per game and Reggie Middleton leads the team in scoring.

They took on some challenges in the non-conference schedule but they've got nothing on what George Ivory's team went through. A lot of teams that are HBCUs take on the role almost equivalent to that of a barnstorming outfit in November and December, taking on just about any opponent that offers a hefty paycheck in exchange for a game that the visitors are unlikely to win. The Golden Lions started the season 0-11, not winning a game until they beat Mississippi Valley State on January 4th. In that stretch they played four straight tournament teams (Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Missouri and Kansas State) and maybe there's something to be said for none of those games having a margin of more than eighteen points.

Guards Terrance Calvin and Savalace Townsend lead five UAPB players averaging at least eight points per game and Coach Ivory essentially sticks to his seven-man rotation. That's about the same number of players that Winthrop will play, although it will be interesting to see if either (or both) team extends their rotation in light of the hurried travel of having one day in between finding out the opponent and gameday. Calvin and Lebaron Weathers lead the way on the boards, and as a team UAPB out-rebounds their opponents by almost seven rebounds per game. The Golden Lions have a defensive rebounding percentage of 73.6% this season and that's a solid number.

The outcome will likely be determined by turnovers and which team can best capitalize on their opponent's mistakes. UAPB has a turnover rate of 24.5%; Winthrop is well below that at 18.2%. But that doesn't mean that the Eagles rely upon assisted baskets for the majority of their offense. Winthrop assists on 47.4% of their baskets, a far cry from Pine Bluff's 58.0% number. The players that Coach Peele relies upon to make things happen do a good job of not turning the ball over when they go to work and that could be the difference on Tuesday.

The winner gets Duke in Jacksonville on Friday, and the team heading to the Sunshine State will be Winthrop. Their ability to control tempo and defend while also not turning the ball over on offense will be the deciding factors in a six-point victory for the Eagles.

UAPB 2010 NCAA Tournament Capsule

Joel Welser — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:58:59 -0700

Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions

Southwestern Athletic Conference (17-15, 14-4)

Big Wins: 1/23 at Prairie View A&M (62-54), 2/22 Texas Southern (57-53), 3/13 vs Texas Southern (50-38)

Bad Losses: 1/11 at Alabama State (73-75), 1/25 at Texas Southern (67-70), 2/1 Jackson State (67-72)

Last NCAA Appearance: First NCAA Appearance

Coach: George Ivory (First NCAA appearance)

Why They Can Surprise:

Arkansas Pine Bluff pulled together at the right time. They entered the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament on a hot streak and rode it straight to their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Lions are not a dynamic team in the scoring department, but they will get plenty of offense from their amazing ability to hit the glass. Center Lebaron Weathers is the team’s best rebounder and the team’s best interior scorer and defender.

But Weathers is not alone in the frontcourt. Tyree Glass will start next to Weathers. Glass is not nearly as prolific of a rebounder, but he has turned into a pretty good scorer around the basket who can also step outside and hit the mid-range jumper. George Davis, a 6-6 senior, is the only other forward who sees significant playing time. He may seem a little undersized, but Davis is always tough on the glass and his hustle and versatility give the Golden Lions an unsung hero off the bench who can change a game by making a play that will not show up on the stat sheet.

Why They Can Disappoint:

Unfortunately for Arkansas Pine Bluff, much of their offense does come off of easy put backs. This is an offense that has trouble creating shots and there are very few shooters available. Savalance Townsend is the most prolific outside shooter on the team, but he has been quite inconsistent and has turned into the shooter off the bench. Weathers is one of the other long range threats on the team, but Coach George Ivory needs more production from the backcourt. Tavaris Washington starts on the wing, but he only scores attacking the basket. Allen Smith is an option off the bench, but he barely averages four points per game. The other concern is turnovers. The team as a whole deserves credit for the rebounding and the team as a whole deserves blame for the turnover issues.

Who To Watch:

However, it is Terrance Calvin’s job to keep his squad under control. He is easily the best passer on the team, but he is also a fine scorer. When the offense is not going anywhere, Calvin will be the guy who needs to create something and many times that will lead to a turnover or a hurried pass that leads to a turnover by somebody else. Calvin will do plenty of scoring and his ability to hit the glass and play solid defense have gotten Arkansas Pine Bluff this far, but they need him to keep the turnovers down if the Golden Lions first trip to the NCAA Tournament will be a memorable one.

Probable Starters:

Terrance Calvin, Senior, Guard, 10.4 ppg, 4.0 apg, 5.2 rpg

Allen Smith, Senior, Guard, 4.5 ppg, 1.9 apg

Tavaris Washington, Senior, Guard, 9.6 ppg, 1.9 apg, 4.6 rpg

Tyree Glass, Senior, Forward, 8.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg

Lebaron Weathers, Senior, Center, 9.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 12 bpg

Key Roleplayers:

George Davis, Senior, Forward, 5.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg

Terrell Kennedy, Sophomore, Forward, 3.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg

Savalance Townsend, Sophomore, Guard, 10.2 ppg, 1.8 apg

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 65.4 (253^rd in nation, 4^th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 66.3 (125, 3)

Field-Goal Percentage: 41.5 (264, 2)

Field-Goal Defense: 41.4 (90, 3)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.0 (328, 10)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: na

Free-Throw Percentage: 66.8 (233, 2)

Rebound Margin: 7.0 (9, 1)

Assists Per Game: 12.8 (186, 3)

Turnovers Per Game: 17.0 (325, 7)

Follow Joel Welser's Postseason Capsules & College Basketball Previews on Twitter @Joel_Welser and on his Facebook page. Joel will be back in June for his annual Top 144 Teams in 144 Days preview on CollegeHoops.net

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College Hoops Monday: Your Commentary

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:38:33 -0800

At one point a near-lock to wrap up a double-bye in the upcoming Big East Tournament, West Virginia finds itself just a game ahead of Louisville and Marquette in the race for one of those final two slots. They host a Georgetown squad that's in serious need of some positive momentum coming off of a double-digit home loss to Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon. The formula for the Hoyas is a rather simple one: as Chris Wright goes so do the Hoyas. John Thompson III's team can avoid this simple fate when Austin Freeman and Greg Monroe are both scoring but it undoubtedly makes things tougher for Georgetown. The junior point guard needs to be ready to go from the start on Monday night.

As for West Virginia getting off to slow starts has been an issue of late. They aren't the most accurate team when it comes to shooting, ranking 11th in the Big East in field goal percentage in league games at just over 43%. But their offensive rebounding has been what's kept them in the top four of the Big East all season; the Mountaineers have an offensive rebounding percentage of 42.1% which is the conference's best by 2.6 percentage points. The Hoyas must keep the likes of Da'Sean Butler, Devin Ebanks and Kevin Jones off the boards if they're to have any chance of winning on the road. It's the rebounding that makes West Virginia a slightly more efficient offensive team and if Georgetown can take that away they've got the edge.

Part two of the Red River Rivalry follows that one and with Oklahoma being shorthanded and slumping this could be the game where Texas rebounds from a loss at Texas A&M. J'Covan Brown took a bad fall on Saturday and may not be available but with Willie Warren likely being out the Longhorns still have the edge. And in the SWAV first-place Jackson State hosts second-place Arkansas-Pine Bluff with the opportunity to both extend their win streak to eleven and wrap up the outright regular season title. The Tigers had to hold on in the first meeting, winning 72-67 after leading by as many as nineteen in the first half. Round three could come in the SWAC Tournament final.

TV GAMES

6:30p Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Jackson State
7p ESPN Georgetown at West Virginia
9p ESPNU North Carolina A&T at Morgan State
9p ESPN Oklahoma at Texas

ONE PREDICTION

West Virginia over Georgetown: The Mountaineers may be prone to slow starts of late but what their trio of Butler, Ebanks and Jones will give Bob Huggins on most nights is pretty much known. As for Georgetown's Chris Wright, he's the player whose performance is most tied with the Hoyas' record. Tough to see him going off in Morgantown; Mountaineers by eight.

Poll: Who Will Win the SWAC?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:15:26 -0700

SWAC Basketball Preview: 08-09

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:10:28 -0800

Conference Rank: 31st

Conference Page

All-SWAC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Andrew Hayles	Alabama St	Sr
G	Trant Simpson	Alabama A&M	Sr
G	Darrion Griffin	Jackson St	Sr
G	Chris Davis	Southern	Sr
F	Grant Maxey	Jackson St	Jr

SWAC Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

143	Alabama A&M	SWAC	1	NCAA
202	Jackson State	SWAC	2
234	Alabama State	SWAC	3
273	Miss Valley St	SWAC	4
297	Southern	SWAC	5
305	Texas Southern	SWAC	6
321	Prairie View A&M	SWAC	7
325	Grambling State	SWAC	8
336	Alcorn State	SWAC	9
338	Ark Pine Bluff	SWAC	10

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the SWAC?

State of '08: Arkansas

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:44:53 -0700

What is the top D1 basketball program in each state.. and which program is the worst? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a state by state ranking based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

Up today: Arkansas. For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

Arkansas - With so many unfamiliar faces on next year's roster, no one's really sure what to expect.. will the Razorbacks be bad or really bad? Also on the negative end, the glory days of the early to mid-nineties (National Champs in '94) seem like distant memories. Regardless, there's not much competition for the title of top team in this state.

UALR - The Trojans bounced back from two down seasons to win 11 Sun Belt games, and won 20 games against all competition. Still, its been years since UALR was relevant on the national scene, or even in the Sun Belt title race. 1996 was their last postseason trip (NIT), and 1990 the last NCAA Tournament bid (which was the end of coach Mike Newell's late eighties glory run).

Arkansas State - The newly titled Red Foxes (nee Indians), Sun Belt rivals of UALR, are coming off a brutal season that included just 8 D1 wins, an RPI of 294, and a 9-game losing streak (at least one of their 8 wins was over UALR..) John Brady was hired in the off-season to right the ship, and hopefully get the program to the Big Dance for just the 2nd time ever.

Central Arkansas - The Fighting Pippens (this is where Scottie went), are new to D1 ball having completed just two seasons with the big boys. All things considered, last year's 10-16 record against D1 teams isn't that bad, and their 280 RPI topped Arkansas State and UAPB.

UAPB - While the Golden Lions are bad by any standard, 310 RPI last year, just two wins over Top 250 teams in the past three seasons, members of the SWAC (the worst league in D1), etc, this program is actually substantially better than it was just a handful of years ago. From 1999 to 2004, UAPB won just 17 D1 games combined in 6 seasons.

Yesterday: Alabama

State of '08: The Introduction

Coaching News: Change at UAPB and Other Tidbits

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:17:49 -0700

A rundown of some of today's coaching news:

- UAPB head coach Van Holt resigned after six seasons at the helm. The Golden Lions finished 13-18 this year, and Holt's overall record was 50-124. This record might not look good but consider that UAPB was 4-51 in the two seasons before Holt took over.

- Besides the firing of Barry Hinson and Tim Welsh over the weekend, other relatively prominent firings in recent days include Toledo's Stan Joplin (just one season removed from being MAC Coach of the Year) and TCU's Neil Dougherty.

- Yesterday I noted that Hinson was a candidate for Mercer's opening, and the Macon Telegraph reports the other interviewee so far has been Oklahoma assistant Bob Hoffman.

- According to the Springfield New-leader, Michigan State assistant Mark Montgomery and Texas assistant Rodney Terry are possible replacements for the Missouri State job.

- Multiple outlets in Chicago reported yesterday that former Bulls coach Scott Skiles will be interviewed for the Indiana job, but he is by no means the front-runner for the position.

Teams of the Day: Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Texas

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:10:36 -0800

Arkansas-Pine Bluff
12-14 (8-7 SWAC)

With a big road win by Texas, along with a home loss by bubble dweller Villanova, there were certainly better choices in regards to the NCAA Tournament. However, the finish that took place in Pine Bluff on Monday night is one that you just don't make up. After Marcelle Goins hit a shot from just inside of midcourt to get UAPB to overtime, some fans forgot that the goal is to win the game and not just send it into overtime (cue the Herm Edwards soundbite if you wish). Two technical free throws later, Texas Southern began the extra session with a 70-68 lead. After missing a couple of shots to win the game in overtime, UAPB fell 77-76. Looks like they could have used those two points after all.

Texas
24-4 (11-2 Big 12)
Computer numbers (courtesy of kenpom.com): RPI 5, SOS 3

Thanks to their win at Kansas State (74-65), maybe more people will talk about Texas being a one seed come NCAA Tournament time. Add this road win to earlier victories over Tennessee (neutral), UCLA (road) and Kansas (home), and you've got quite an impressive resume. And while many will focus on the 24 put up by D.J. Augustin and some timely three pointers by A.J. Abrams, don't ignore the 14-point, 7-rebound performance by Connor Atchley (6-6 from the field). The more the Longhorns can get from the likes of Atchley and Gary Johnson inside, the better this team will be in March.

On the clock: Ohio State. Winning at Indiana is always tough, but expect a charged atmosphere in the first IU home game post-Kelvin. And with OSU needing wins to bolster their NCAA Tournament hopes, that may not be a good thing.

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the SWAC?

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:11:47 -0700