Iowa

Company/Product Review: Retro College Cuts

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:23:57 -0500

Just a few years ago the demand for throwback jerseys was impossible to ignore, with many flocking to stores in search of that item that would allow them to relive their "glory days" as a fan. But the wearing of tops has faded away somewhat, and the words of one Sean Carter in his song "What More Can I Say" may sum up why for many people.

"And I don't wear jerseys I'm 30-plus..."

So what's a college basketball fan to do if they want to travel back in time without the throwback jersey? The founders of the company Retro College Cuts have just the answer: throwback shorts. Founded in 2011 by a pair of former college basketball players, Retro College Cuts specializes in the selling of replicas of game shorts worn by some of the more famous teams in college basketball history.

According to one of the founders the NCAA merchandising market grosses anywhere from $4-$4.5 billion, but the shorts market only makes up about $50 million of that amount. But while there's certainly a market for replica game shorts, this business isn't solely about making money.

"It started with my own crazy interest and passion for college basketball," he noted in a phone conversation earlier this week when asked about the reason for beginning the company. "I'm a former college basketball player and my dad was a Division III coach."

That devotion and knowledge of college basketball is noticeable from the moment you visit the site, as a highlight montage featuring some of the top players and teams of yesteryear plays. Each of the fourteen shorts in the first "class" has a story, with a paragraph of information on that specific team accompanying the page where customers can buy the shorts of their choice. There's also a link to a YouTube video for each team, which helps bring back memories of the "glory days" that each short is made to represent.

One may ask why there are only fourteen teams represented at this point, and this was a question posed to the founder during our chat. There are three different governing bodies when it comes to applying for the rights to sell officially licensed collegiate apparel, and they need to be negotiated with separately. Retro College Cuts was able to procure those rights with two of them and are currently negotiating with the third, which will open up the possibility of additions being made to the "catalog" later this year.

Retro College Cuts isn't just about shorts either as they also sell select retro T-shirts. They also offer a "combo" deal where customers can purchase a shirt and a pair of shorts for $99, a price that includes membership in their VIP program (which gives a 10% off discount for life) and free shipping (a perk that normally isn't given unless $75 or more is spent in a transaction). And $1 of every purchase is donated to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, which is another positive.

But what about the quality of the short? Made in the USA, the shorts are made of a fabric blend that replicates the weight and quality of an actual game short. The shorts are comfortable and with a 22" outseam there's no concern of replicating the size of those old-school shorts (which is good from a personal pride standpoint). The graphics are digitally printed and as an officially licensed product there's isn't a concern of being duped into buying something that isn't legit. From personal experience I can tell you that the shorts, which run large, fit well and look good.

Retro College Cuts also has a few promotions running that you should take advantage of in addition to checking out the gear. Twitter is utilized on both Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the "TIXonTUESDAY" promotion giving Twitter followers the chance to win a pair of college basketball tickets. The possible reward for "ThrowbackThursday" is either a retro t-shirt or a pair of replica game shorts. The "cost" of entry: just a simple follow of their Twitter account and a retweet of the message that they send out.

Lastly there's the contest that the founders are running, which closes on February 24th with a prize that the college hoops fan would definitely appreciate: an all-expenses paid trip for two (the winner and a guest of their choice) to Las Vegas for the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. The prize includes a three-day stay at The Hotel boutique and round-trip airfare, and with Vegas being what it is on that weekend the experience would be a phenomenal one.

Retro College Cuts is a new company that should meet the demand of college basketball fans hoping for a way to relive some of their favorite moments from back in the day in a fashion beyond searching the web for grainy video footage. The shorts certainly won't turn you into a Mark Jackson, Larry Johnson or Xavier McDaniel (our phone chat included the founder saying that the Wichita State design was his favorite) once you put them on, but they'll allow you to think back on their exploits and smile.

Saturday Recap: Northwestern, Florida State Pick Up Important Wins

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:06:41 -0500

There weren't many opportunities to watch ranked teams play each other (there was just one, which is discussed below), but Saturday's slate provided many teams the chance to improve their resumes. Florida State and Northwestern took full advantage of their opportunities as they both knocked off Top 10 opponents at home, albeit in different ways.

While #6 Michigan State put up a fight in losing to Northwestern 81-74 in Evanston, #3 North Carolina offered no such challenge for Florida State in Tallahassee. Deividas Dulkys, who entered the game averaging 6.2 points per game, went off to the tune of 32 points (8-10 3PT) in the 90-57 beating.

Roy Williams' team went into the locker room at the half down just eight points at 36-28, but the Tar Heels didn't look like a team that wanted to fight back in the second half. Entering the game Florida State was the worst team in the ACC when it came to taking care of the basketball, but it was North Carolina that turned the ball over 22 times on Saturday with Kendall Marshall tallying seven.

FSU did turn the ball over 17 times but six of those belonged to Luke Loucks, and all six came in the first half. Leonard Hamilton's team didn't shoot better in the second half (47.1% to 50.0% in the first), but they took better care of the basketball (six turnovers). And combining that with their defense (33.3% FG allowed) meant bad things for the visitors from Chapel Hill.

"I think it was a team effort just defending their system," said Hamilton when asked of how they limited Tyler Zeller (14 points, 14 rebounds) and John Henson (ten points, three rebounds). "You just try to limit the clean looks they get and make them work for whatever they get."

As for Northwestern, they received help from the supporting cast and that was a big reason why the Wildcats were able to beat Michigan State. John Shurna (22 points) and Drew Crawford (20 points) did what they normally do, but Davide Curletti and Reggie Hearn (10 points) also reached double figures. As a team the Wildcats shot 50.0% from the field and assisted on 20 of 26 made field goals with just seven turnovers.

Bill Carmody's team also played well defensively in the second half, limiting Michigan State to 34.4% shooting overall and 7-for-21 on two-point shots. Michigan State scored 37 points in both halves, but the drop in their accuracy on two-point shots (61.5%) and efficiency helped Northwestern take control of the game and eventually push their lead out to 12 (69-57) with 6:45 remaining.

Keith Appling scored 17 points and Draymond Green 14, but they were the only two Spartans to reach double figures. Both Northwestern and Florida State were "out of character" in their victories on Saturday, with the Seminoles taking better care of the basketball and the Wildcats getting scoring from guys other than their two primary options. But the wins aren't going to mean much if they can't build on the outcomes and continue to improve.

"In order for this game to be meaningful we need to continue to stacking on these types of games," remarked Hamilton. Can't say it any better than that.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Jamaal Franklin's runner in the final seconds pushes #22 San Diego State past #12 UNLV.
The lone contest on the schedule matching ranked teams was also the Mountain West opener for both the Aztecs and Runnin' Rebels, and they gave the fans either at Viejas Arena or watching on TV a treat. Jamaal Franklin, who had to leave the game with 1:01 remaining after injuring his ankle, returned to the floor 30 seconds later and provided the winning points for San Diego State.

Franklin's driving bucket with three-tenths of a second remaining was the difference in the Aztecs' 69-67 win over UNLV, who remained within striking distance thanks in large part to their work on the offensive glass. UNLV grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, leading to ten second-chance points.

Franklin was outstanding despite some early issues with rushed shots, finishing with 24 points and ten rebounds. But he wasn't the only key contributor for Steve Fisher's team, as James Rahon scored 22 points and Chase Tapley 11. Anthony Marshall led UNLV with 26 points, but he was the Runnin' Rebels' lone double figure scorer as SDSU did a solid job of defending the likes of Chace Stanback (3-9 FG, seven points) and Mike Moser (3-11 FG, nine points, 11 rebounds).

UNLV entered the game averaging more than 18 assists per game but they finished with just nine, and the foul line didn't help matters either. UNLV made 11 of 21 from the charity stripe while SDSU knocked down 16 of 20, and leaving points at the foul line is one of the easiest ways to lose a close contest. With New Mexico getting their shot at both teams next week (SDSU in Albuquerque on Wednesday, at UNLV on Saturday) there isn't much time to rest on this outcome, but at the very least San Diego State held serve at home.

2. Oregon hangs on the beat Arizona, pulling off the road sweep of the Arizona schools for the first time in 34 years.
Dana Altman's team entered Saturday's game in Tucson needing a win to remain a game out of first place in the loss column, but to say the least history was not on their side as they hadn't beaten both Arizona and Arizona State on the road in the same season in 34 years. But thanks to a balanced offensive effort (four players scored either 12 or 13 points) the Ducks made program history in winning 59-57 despite blowing a 17-point lead. The Wildcats had two chances in the waning moments to either tie or win the game but couldn't make either shot, and quiet afternoons from Jesse Perry (2-4 FG, eight points) and Kyle Fogg (1-9 FG, five points) didn't help matters either.

Arizona's had trouble with bigger teams this season, and that was no different with the Ducks having Tony Woods and Olu Ashaolu to pester Perry inside. Does Oregon have enough to contend for the Pac-12 crown? The addition of guard Devoe Joseph is one reason why, and E.J. Singler has played well for much of the season. In a wide-open league the teams that can pull off road sweeps will likely have the best chance of winning the title. This is a big weekend for Oregon from a historical standpoint, but how big it is this season depends on whether or not they can build on the positive momentum.

3. Kentucky makes the plays they needed to make late to win at Tennessee.
Cuonzo Martin welcomed freshman Jarnell Stokes (nine points, four rebounds) into the fold on Saturday, and while he still has a way to go with regards to both conditioning and understanding the system there's no denying Stokes' talent. In spite of a fired up crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena and a team that refused to lie down, Kentucky found a way to leave Knoxville with a win thanks in large part to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. It's become obvious that the freshman is Kentucky's leader and he once again made the "winning plays" needed to close teams out, finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds and three steals in the 65-62 win.

Anthony Davis added 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots and Terrence Jones ten points as Kentucky won their second conference road game of the season. That matches their total from all of last season, which should be a good sign for John Calipari's young team. Cameron Tatum led Tennessee with 16 points and Jeronne Maymon added 15 and ten rebounds, but the Volunteers couldn't overcome Kentucky's seven-point edge (21-14) at the foul line. Tennessee gave Kentucky everything they wanted and will get better as the season wears on, but a team with a glue guy the caliber of Kidd-Gilchrist is tough to beat.

4. Weber State makes quite the statement in whipping Montana to take sole possession of first place in the Big Sky.
The second-biggest game of the day out west took place in the Big Sky, with Montana and Weber State being the lone remaining undefeated teams in the conference. But with the return of two key cogs in the attack, Randy Rahe's Wildcats made a statement in their 80-64 win over the Grizzlies in Ogden. Damian Lillard (21 points) and Scott Bamforth (15 points) are names known by most college basketball fans, but what about Frank Otis and Gelaun Wheelwright? Otis, who like Kyle Bullinger missed multiple games due to injury, sparked a Weber State run from the eight-minute mark of the first half that resulted in a 49-36 halftime lead.

Both he and Wheelwright finished with seven points and Kyle Tresnak scored 12 as the Wildcats proved to be too much for Montana on both ends of the floor. Montana shot just 35.7% in the first half and 38.5% for the game as their six-game win streak came to an end. There's a lot of basketball to be played before Wayne Tinkle's team gets another shot at Weber State (the regular season finale for both on February 28th), but Weber State's performance on Saturday night clearly makes them the team to beat.

5. Oklahoma picks up a much-needed win, knocking off #18 Kansas State in Norman.
There aren't many teams that are going to beat Missouri and Kansas period, much less in back-to-back games, so there wasn't much shame in falling to those teams as Lon Kruger's Sooners did to start Big 12 play. But to lose at Oklahoma State on Monday night to fall to 0-3 made Saturday's game against #18 Kansas State even more important, and the Sooners rose to the challenge as they won 82-73 in Norman. Andrew Fitzgerald scored 21 points and Steven Pledger and Romero Osby scored 18 apiece for Oklahoma, who shot 70.0% from the field in the second half to maintain the nine-point spread they built in the first half.

Kansas State shot just 33.3% from the field in the first half and trailed 38-29 at the break, and a big problem for them was the lack of productivity from their starters other than Rodney McGruder (19 points, ten rebounds) and Will Spradling (11 points). The other three starters combined to score just ten points with nine coming from Jamar Samuels, and while Nino Williams and Jeremy Jones scored 12 apiece off the bench it wasn't enough as the Wildcats were unable to get stops in the second half. Whether or not the Sooners can make a run at a tournament bid remains to be seen and it will be tough since the Big 12 is now a true round-robin, but at the least they needed a win Saturday and they got one.

Quick Hitters

1. While neither team won on Saturday, both Pittsburgh and Villanova played far better than they did on Wednesday in losses to Rutgers and Syracuse respectively. The Panthers fell at #24 Marquette 62-57, but the move to put Isaiah Epps in the starting lineup at the point served as a boost for Ashton Gibbs (29 points). As for Villanova, Maalik Wayns (39 points, 13 rebounds, six assists) was outstanding but it wasn't enough in an 82-78 loss at Cincinnati. Whether or not these two can play their way into NCAA Tournament consideration remains to be seen, but at the least they've shown signs of life. That wasn't the case on Wednesday.

2. There may not have been a more impressive bounce-back from a bad outing earlier in the week than what Iowa was able to do, as they beat #13 Michigan 75-59 in Iowa City following a 95-61 loss at Michigan State on Wednesday. Matt Gatens led four Hawkeyes in double figures with 19 points and Fran McCaffery's team assisted on 18 of their 25 made baskets. It also didn't hurt to have Michigan shoot 8-for-31 from beyond the arc.

3. Good luck attempting to handicap the Atlantic 10 race, but unlike the Pac-12 that action would be to sift through quality options as opposed to detritus. Xavier looks to be back to their normal selves as they beat St. Bonaventure 77-64 at home, and Saint Louis was finally able to win a close game as they won 68-67 at Charlotte. But Temple and Saint Joseph's weren't as fortunate, falling to Richmond (76-65) and a surprising UMass (71-62) respectively. This is going to be a fun race to watch unfold.

4. Another non-BCS race to keep an eye on is the NEC, which currently has one undefeated team (LIU Brooklyn at 6-0), three teams at 5-1 (CCSU, St. Francis (NY) and Wagner) and Robert Morris sits a game behind those teams at 4-2. Dan Hurley's Seahawks beat CCSU 67-58 at home despite 21 turnovers, moving their win streak to seven games (Wagner hadn't done that since the 1979-80 season) thanks in large part to their defense (19 TOs forced, 38.8% FG allowed). Jonathon Williams led Wagner with 18 points while CCSU was paced by Robby Ptacek, who finished with 26.

5. The three remaining undefeated teams (Baylor, Murray State and Syracuse) all won on Saturday afternoon, with the Bears and Orange both blowing out overmatched opponents (Baylor beat Oklahoma State 106-65 while Syracuse beat Providence (without the suspended Vincent Council) 78-55). Murray State dealt with a stiffer challenge, beating Tennessee Tech 82-74 thanks in large part to a combined 52 points from guards Donte Poole (28) and Isaiah Canaan (24). With Ivan Aska out for the next month or so while his broken hand heals, the Racers are going to need more from their frontcourt to remain atop the OVC.

6. Zeke Marshall (17 points, six rebounds) became the 8th player in MAC history to block at least 200 shots in a career, but the biggest reason for Akron's 68-63 win over Ohio was the production of their bench. Nick Harney and Brett McClanahan scored 10 points apiece and the Zips' reserves outscored Ohio's 31-18. Keith Dambrot's team moved to 3-0 in league play and there's little doubt that Akron has the tools needed to return to the NCAA Tournament.

7. Arnett Moultrie won the individual matchup between he and JaMychal Green, scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, and as a result #20 Mississippi State beat Alabama 53-50 in Starkville. Dee Bost added 17, and it should be seen as a good sign for Rick Stansbury's team that they found a way to win with starters Rodney Hood and Jalen Steele combining to shoot 0-for-11 from the field.

8. Despite Shabazz Napier's foot still bothering him and guard Ryan Boatright being held out due to eligibility concerns, #16 Connecticut ended Notre Dame's 29-game home win streak with a 67-53 win. Napier scored a team-high 16 points, Alex Oriakhi had arguably his best game of the season (12 points, seven rebounds) and Andre Drummond posted another double-double (10 points, 13 rebounds) to make up for Jeremy Lamb scoring just six points. Eric Atkins scored 20 but Notre Dame made just 32.3% of their shots on the day.

9. Early pick for Ivy League Player of the Year? Has to be Penn guard Zack Rosen, who scored 18 points and dished out five assists (five steals as well) in the Quakers' 64-52 win at Cornell. Penn's off to a 2-0 start in conference play, and while there's quite the gulf between Harvard and the rest of the league Rosen and Tyler Bernardini (18 points, eight rebounds) are two reasons why Jerome Allen's team may be their biggest threat.

10. Bob McKillop's Davidson squad took control of the South Division of the SoCon with their 83-79 win at Appalachian State, moving to 6-0 in league play. Jake Cohen scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds and De'Mon Brooks scored seven straight during a 10-0 run to move the Wildcats to 12-4 overall. And with Georgia Southern losing at Wofford, Davidson is two games up on the second place Eagles.

Five Notable Performances

1. G Maalik Wayns (Villanova)
39 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in the Wildcats' 82-78 loss at Cincinnati.

2. G Deividas Dulkys (Florida State)
32 points (8-10 3PT) and four assists in the Seminoles' 90-57 pasting of #3 North Carolina.

3. C Kyle O'Quinn (Norfolk State) and F Dewayne Jackson (Morgan State)
In Norfolk State's 90-89 double overtime win O'Quinn posted a line of 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks while Jackson led the Bears with 33 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

4. G J'Covan Brown (Texas)
34 points (10-16 FG), four rebounds and two assists in the Longhorns' 84-73 loss at #9 Missouri.

5. F T.J. Robinson (Long Beach State)
14 points and 19 rebounds in the 49ers' 76-66 win over Pacific, Long Beach State's 17th straight win at home.

Tuesday Recap: Paul Leads Illinois Past Ohio State

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 02:41:32 -0500

The matchup between Ohio State and Illinois was anticipated by many for the individual matchup between the Buckeyes' Jared Sullinger and Illinois' Meyers Leonard. Then there was the ceremony honoring Lou Henson, the all-time winningest coach in Illinois history. But few people expected Brandon Paul to end up being the center of attention, which is exactly what happened in the Fighting Illini's 79-74 win at Assembly Hall.

Palu scored a career-high 43 points, making 11 of his 15 shots from the field (8-10 3PT) and 13 of 15 from the charity stripe to lead Bruce Weber's squad to the win. But it wasn't all about the points for Paul, as he contributed in other areas as well. Paul also led the team in rebounds (eight) and blocked shots (four), more than making up for his game-high seven turnovers. Wehn you've got it rolling like Paul did on this night, the mistakes tend to fade into the background.

"I was laughing a couple times. After the first couple threes, I just said I was going to keep shooting," remarked Paul. "That's the mindset that I've got to have."

Paul's offensive explosion was essentially the difference in the game as both teams finished with four starters reaching double figures and zero points from their respective benches. Deshaun Thomas (23 points, six rebounds) and Sullinger (21 points, five rebounds and three steals) led Ohio State offensively, but Sullinger was also their best three-point shooter as he made both of his attempts.

The rest of the team made just three of thirteen from beyond the arc and with Paul shooting the way he was, Thad Matta's team found itself in trouble throughout much of the second half. Shooting 60% from the field and 61% from three can cure a lot of ills, as it did for the Illini as they turned the ball over 18 times. It also didn't hurt Illinois to have a plus-7 advantage in points from the foul line (14-7), with Sullinger not attempting his lone free throws of the night until late in the game.

All things considered Leonard did a good job in his individual matchup with Sullinger, scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds in 38 minutes of action. But Tuesday night was all about the guard who got hot early and stayed so throughout. Even switching Aaron Craft, one of the best defenders in the country, onto Paul did the visitors from Columbus any good. Sometimes guys just have one of those nights, and that was exactly the case for Brandon Paul.

Other Notable Happenings

1. If you haven't given Baylor their due by now, this would be a good time to do so.
For whatever reason, Scott Drew's Baylor Bears haven't been discussed in the same realm as teams such as Syracuse, North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio State despite owning some impressive wins to date. But after the Bears made the winning plays they needed to make late in their 75-73 win at #18 Kansas State, it's time for the nation to put the Bears in that company when discussing teams that can not only get to the Final Four but win the national title. Perry Jones III led four players in double figures with 17 points and eight rebounds while two other players (A.J. Walton and Quincy Miller) scored eight and nine points, respectively.

By the four minute mark of the second half five Baylor players had four fouls, but none fouled out and it was one of those players who stepped up big in crunch time. Quincy Acy, who played just 24 minutes due to foul trouble, scored a basket and then stole a pass on Kansas State's ensuing possession to give the Bears a 73-71 lead with 3:14 remaining. The Bears wouldn't trail again, and it was Acy's deflection of a pass in the final seconds that preserved the victory. Rodney McGruder led K-State with 30 points but their mistakes late opened the door for the Bears, and the visitors took advantage.

2. Providence honors the '87 Final Four team and blows out Louisville for their first league win.
It seems as if every time Rick Pitino brings a team to Providence his 1987 squad that reached the Final Four is being honored. After Tuesday night however, he may look to no longer be involved in such ceremonies at The Dunk. Louisville didn't look ready for a street fight from the start, and that's a bad way to enter a game when playing a team desperate for its first league win. Bryce Cotton and Kadeem Batts scored 27 points apiece as the Friars more than made up for the absence of Gerard Coleman (back injury), beating the Cardinals 90-59 to give Ed Cooley his first Big East victory.

Louisville couldn't turn over the Friars as point guard Vincent Council was the consummate floor general with 15 points, 14 assists and just two turnovers, and from there things really got out of hand for the visitors. It's been known that Peyton Siva and the rest of the Cardinals have a hard time scoring when they're unable to get out and run off of turnovers. And until that changes results like this remain a possibility as they encounter league opponents who can take care of the basketball. Hindsight is 20/20, but it looks as if those who felt that the Cardinals were overrated when they reached the Top 5 were ahead of the curve.

3. Northern Iowa forced Antoine Young to make plays, and he did as Creighton kept pace atop the MVC.
UNI needed a win in Omaha to remain within striking distance of the top of the Missouri Valley thanks to their losses to Illinois State and Evansville, with the latter coming at home. But due to two defensive moves the Panthers left town with a 2-3 record as they fell to the Bluejays 63-60. Ben Jacobson's squad essentially dared Creighton guard Antoine Young to make them pay offensively, and he did just that with a game-high 21 points. On the other hand Greg McDermott and his staff made the defensive move that may have won the game, placing more emphasis on limiting Marc Sonnen's perimeter looks.

Sonnen scored 15 points in the first half as he made all five of his three-point attempts. Sonnen finished the game with 15 points, and without his shooting the Panthers sputtered offensively. UNI shot 33.3% from the field and 28.6% from three in the second half, a far cry from their first half numbers of 42.3% and 66.7%. In addition to Young, Creighton received some big plays from Grant Gibbs (ten points) and Doug McDermott (14 points, eight rebounds) in addition to 11 rebounds from Gregory Echenique.

Quick Hitters

1. Playing their first game as a ranked team in 11 years, Seton Hall used a 17-1 second half run to put away DePaul 94-73. Fuquan Edwin scored a career-high 28 points to go along with nine rebounds, and point guard Jordan Theodore finished with 26 and 11 assists. Theodore's play this season has been outstanding, so much so that he has to be considered for Big East Player of the Year. Makes you wonder what the Cousy Award committee was thinking when they left Theodore off the list of 20 finalists for the award.

2. After winning consecutive conference road games at Wisconsin and Minnesota, Iowa has found out the hard way that they've still got some distance to travel before becoming a factor in the Big Ten. Michigan State whipped the Hawkeyes 95-61 in East Lansing, and in their last two games Iowa has lost by a combined 63 points.

3. Bernard James put forth an impressive performance for Florida State, scoring 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in the Seminoles' 63-59 win at Virginia Tech. James also blocked three shots and Ian Miller scored 15 off the bench as FSU picked up a much-needed win on the heels of their embarassing effort at Clemson.

4. An Atlantic 10 team to keep an eye on over the next two months: La Salle. The Explorers have won 11 of their last 12 games, beating Big 5 rival Penn 68-57 at The Palestra on Tuesday night. Point guard Tyreek Duren scored 21 points and dished out six assists while Earl Pettis added 18. The key for Dr. John Giannini's team, whose guards can play with anyone in the A-10, will be how they deal with bigger teams in league play.

5. Washington made things far more difficult than they needed to be in beating Seattle 91-83, but then again is anything expected to be "easy" for the Pac-12 this season? C.J. Wilcox scored a team-high 25 points off the bench while Tony Wroten scored 24 for the Huskies, who are off until Sunday's matchup with in-state rival Washington State.

6. Missouri State and Wichita State both took care of business at home to remain tied with Creighton atop the MVC standings, with the Bears beating Southern Illinois and Wichita State holding off Illinois State. And in Kyle Weems (MSU) and Joe Ragland (WSU), these two teams have players who can go off on a moment's notice if teams don't limit their looks.

7. Harvard avoided what would have been a catastrophic loss with regards to a possible at-large berth (should they need it) as they beat Monmouth 70-61. Keith Wright led the way with 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Crimson, who play George Washington before heading back into Ivy League play.

Three Notable Performances

1. G Brandon Paul (Illinois)
43 points (11-15 FG, 8-10 3PT), eight rebounds, four blocks, two assists and two steals in the Fighting Illini's 79-74 win over #5 Ohio State.

2. F Fuquan Edwin and G Jordan Theodore (Seton Hall)
The old Paterson Catholic teammates led the way for the Pirates in their 94-73 win over DePaul. Edwin scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Theodore added 26 and 11 assists.

3. F Kadeem Batts (Providence)
Batts, who was suspended for the fall semester, was one of the key figures in the Friars' 90-59 win over #15 Louisville. Batts scored 27 points, grabbed ten rebounds and blocked three shots in helping lead the Friars to their first Big East win under head coach Ed Cooley.

Wednesday Recap: Temple Knocks Off #3 Duke

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:04:27 -0500

The question asked going into Temple's matchup with #3 Duke was whether or not they would be able to take care of business in the paint with the injured Micheal Eric still out. But by the end of the contest it was apparent that wasn't the biggest issue to be addressed for either team as the Owls won 78-73.

Temple relies heavily on their guards for offense, and Duke didn't have the answers for Fran Dunphy's perimeter players on either end of the floor. Khalif Wyatt led Temple with 22 points, Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson added 17 and three other players scored 11 points in leading the program to their first win over Duke since 1996 (nine meetings).

"I think there was only one way we could win, and that is to manage the game and have those three guys [in control]," said Temple head coach Fran Dunphy of Moore, Wyatt and Juan Fernandez. "And they're pretty good basketball players and they're going to be able to make good decisions with the ball."

Rebounding wasn't a concern for the Owls either as they out-rebounded Duke 32-29. Temple did turn the ball over 17 times in the win, but the Owls also forced 16 Duke turnovers with eleven coming by way of a steal. Duke's guards had a rough time on both ends of the floor, but the more glaring issue for the Blue Devils came on the defensive end.

As a team Temple shot 56.4% from the field as they were able to find the looks they desired when running their offense. Duke on the other hand made 47.5% of their shots, and while that's not a bad number the good looks were tougher to come by for Mike Krzyzewski's team. There's also the offensive end of the floor for the Duke perimeter, which failed to take advantage of the play of big men Mason and Miles Plumlee, who combined for 33 points and 17 rebounds.

Duke's starting guards (Austin Rivers, Seth Curry and Tyler Thornton) combined to make seven of twenty-one shots from the field while reserves Quinn Cook (2-6 FG) and Andre Dawkins (0-3 FG) didn't fare much better. Outside of Rivers the Blue Devils (right now) don't have players who can apply pressure to defenses with their playmaking ability, and that got them in trouble against Temple's experienced backcourt.

The key for Rivers, who will likely have to develop into the lead option for this role, is to develop into a guard who can also set up his teammates. That may be Duke's best hope in the long-term when thinking about whether or not they can win a national title.

"We wanted to take away the three and try to run them off the three-point line a little bit," said Dunphy of their defensive strategy. "I was pleased with our defense and obviously when you can win a game like this, everybody has to play well and you have to get a little lucky, and I think we did that."

The benefit of a game like this in defeat is that Duke has a far better idea of what they need to clean up going into ACC play than they likely would had this contest been against a lesser opponent. As for Temple, winning in front of the third-largest crowd to watch a basketball game at Wells Fargo Center is quite the boost for the program as they go into Atlantic 10 play.

There's been more than enough time to adjust to not having Eric or Scootie Randall, and the Owls will benefit as it has allowed player such as Anthony Lee to take advantage of more playing time. With Xavier going through their struggles the top spot in the A-10 is up for grabs, and Temple is more than capable of grabbing the regular season title.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Georgetown comes back from 17 down to beat #20 Marquette.
With 13:13 left in the game Buzz Williams' Golden Eagles led #9 Georgetown 56-39 and looked to be well on their way to a big conference road victory. But the Hoyas refused to quit, rallying all the way back to tie the score at 66 with 2:33 to go. And John Thompson III's team completed the comeback in thrilling fashion as Hollis Thompson knocked down a three with 24 seconds remaining to give the Hoyas a 73-70 win at the Verizon Center. Jason Clark scored a game-high 26 points to lead the victors, but the big switch occurred in the points in the paint and "paint touches" that are a core value of the Marquette program.

In the first half the Golden Eagles held a 22-8 edge in points in the paint, taking a 43-29 lead into the half as a result. Things flipped in the second half, as Georgetown outscored Marquette 20-4 in the paint. Marquette also falied to score a single fast break point in the second half, and Georgetown taking better care of the basketball (five turnovers compared to 12 in the first half) had a lot to do with that. Georgetown added another line to what is currently the Big East's best resume with a thrilling comeback, while Marquette was issued a tough reminder of what happens when they stray away from what makes them so successful.

2. Kansas controls the boards in a double-digit win over #22 Kansas State.
With Kansas State being the better rebounding team entering Wednesday's showdown it was imperative that Kansas take care of the glass at Allen Fieldhouse. Bill Self's team did that and then some, bludgeoning the Wildcats to the tune of a 50-26 edge on the boards in a 67-49 victory. K-State didn't help themselves by shooting 31.6% from the field (Kansas made 45.5% of their shots) either, but for the Wildcats to resort to shooting 20 three-pointers (making five) is an issue for a team that makes just 33% of their three-pointers on the season.

Thomas Robinson led the way for Kansas with 15 points and 14 rebounds, but it was the play of Travis Releford that stole the show. Releford scored a team-high 16 points while also grabbing 11 rebounds for his first career double-double, providing the help that Kansas will need more of as the season wears on if they're to compete with a team like Baylor in the race for the Big 12 title. Jeff Withey chipped in with eight points and six blocks, rebounding from an uninspired performance in the Jayhawks' win over North Dakota. If guys such as Releford and Withey can be consistent factors Kansas can win another conference title.

3. La Salle takes controls of the game late in the first half on their way to a win over Xavier.
It's been tough sledding for Chris Mack's Xavier club since the brawl with Cincinnati in December, as the combination of suspensions and a challenging schedule proved to be a bit much for the Musketeers. But with all parties involved back, should it really be taking this long to regain the confidence and chemistry they had before that incident? That's a definite concern for Xavier going forward, but on Wednesday night it was all about Dr. John Giannini's Explorers at Tom Gola Arena.

With the program's greatest player not named Tom Gola (Lionel Simmons) in attendance, La Salle closed the first half on a 22-6 run and went on to win 80-70 in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams. Earl Pettis scored 23 points and Ramon Galloway added 16 as four players reached double figures for the Explorers, who have now won nine of their last ten games. La Salle assisted on 20 of their 26 baskets, and outscoring Xavier 27-12 from deep was key as well. Xavier will be the attention-grabber due to the preseason expectations, but be sure to keep an eye on the Explorers as well.

Quick Hitters

1. Northwestern was presented a nice opportunity to pick up a quality win with Illinois visiting Evanston, and Bill Carmody's Wildcats couldn't get the job done as they fell 57-56. Myers Leonard's block of a Drew Crawford shot in the final seconds preserved the win for the Fighting Illini, dropping Northwestern to 1-2 in Big Ten play.

2. Without Josh Benson, Dayton still found a way to win their Atlantic 10 opener as they beat Saint Louis 79-72 in overtime. Cody Ellis banked in a three with two seconds remaining to send the game to overtime, but the Billikens were unable to get over the hump in the extra session. Kevin Dillard led the Flyers with 18 points.

3. Yancy Gates (and Cheikh Mbodj) returned to the floor for Cincinnati, chipping in with six points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the Bearcats' 71-55 win over Notre Dame. Dion Dixon led Mick Cronin's team with 18 points, and Cincinnati has the look of a team that's comfortable in its new style. UC hasn't lost since the brawl with crosstown rival Xavier, winning seven straight games.

4. Well, it may be time to start taking Ron Hunter's Georgia State team seriously, as they followed up a win over Drexel with a 55-53 win at VCU tonight. Jihad Ali scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Panthers, who are now 3-0 in CAA play and have an overall record of 11-3.

5. Even with wins over Robert Morris and Charlotte there wasn't the most positive feeling about Memphis' hopes as they approach Conference USA play. That may have changed on Wednesday as the Tigers beat Tennessee 69-51, controlling the run of play for much of the night. Antonio Barton led the Tigers with 19 points and Tarik Black added 18 and seven rebounds.

6. Iowa held on despite some bad free throw shooting to win their second straight conference road game, 64-62 at Minnesota. Matt Gatens scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Hawkeyes while Minnesota shot 4-for-23 from deep, allowing Iowa to get away with Melsahn Basabe going scoreless in 11 minutes of action.

7. There may not be a better piece of evidence to use in explaining the wild nature of the Missouri Valley than the fact that Southern Illinois is now 2-1 in league play thanks to their 74-65 win at Bradley. Mamadou Seck played very well, finishing with 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to lead the Salukis to their second straight league victory. SIU is part of a six-way tie for first place in the MVC.

8. Someone may want to frame the box score from Florida State's 85-56 win over Auburn, because in all honesty it's going to be tough for the Seminoles to match that offensive output in ACC play. FSU made 70.5% of their two-point shots while Auburn made just a third of theirs, scoring 16 points in the first half (FSU led 50-16 at the break). Michael Snaer led the victors with 22 points.

Three Notable Performances

1. C Garrett Stutz (Wichita State)
Stutz scored a career-high 29 points (12-14 FG), grabbed ten rebounds, dished out four assists and blocked three shots in the Shockers' 67-66 win at Evansville. Colt Ryan paced the Purple Aces with 31 points.

2. F Jamelle Hagins (Delaware)
21 points, 18 rebounds and five blocked shots in the Blue Hens' 67-66 win over Hofstra.

3. G Mike James (Lamar)
31 points (12-16 FG) and three steals in the Cardinals' 74-58 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Saturday Recap: Kidd-Gilchrist Leads Kentucky Past Louisville

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 19:36:51 -0500

The game between Top 5 teams and in-state rivals Louisville and Kentucky was expected to be a high-intensity affair played at a good pace. Well thanks to the "third team" we got the intensity but not the pace, but by the end of the afternoon at Rupp Arena it was clear that Kentucky's 69-62 victory would be long remembered for the play of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Kidd-Gilchrist, who has emerged as the leader of John Calipari's talented squad, stole the show with 24 point and 19 rebounds in leading Kentucky to their 44th straight home victory.

Just over a week ago Kidd-Gilchrist's mother was in the hospital with an unspecified illness, and on Saturday he put forth an outstanding performance with her in attendance. Kentucky has needed a leader to step up within the team and the freshman from Somerdale, New Jersey has been that man in their 13-1 start. Neither team shot the ball particularly well, with Kentucky making just 29.8% of their shots and Louisville not much better at 32.3%. It was a game that had to be won with heart, and that was the difference for the Wildcats despite a valiant 30-point performance from Russ Smith.

"It was a grittiness," said Calipari. "Of all the foul trouble in the first half, the foul trouble really throughout the game and playing guys, I even went with Twany, who I barely played, I thought Kyle Wiltjer was not afraid to play, went out there and did some good stuff. With bad lineups, no point guard, we figured out how to win."

A big problem for Louisville was the play of their starting backcourt, with Peyton Siva and Chris Smith combining for just 15 points on 4-for-23 shooting from the field. Louisville's had issues scoring in the half-court for much of the season, making their points off of turnovers that much more important. The Cardinals could muster just 15 points off of 21 Kentucky turnovers while the Wildcats scored 19 off of 14 Louisville miscues. And when adding to that deficits of 57-31 in rebounds and 20-6 in second-chance points it's not too difficult to see where this game was won (or lost).

The battle of the big men went to Anthony Davis, who posted a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) to go with six blocks while Gorgui Dieng finished with five points, five rebounds and six blocks. Obviously Louisville isn't going to run into many teams with the skill level of Kentucky (Syracuse and Connecticut being the exceptions right now), but the half-court offense issue is something that could short-circuit the season for Rick Pitino's team much earlier than expected once the NCAA Tournament rolls around. As for Kentucky while there's plenty to improve upon as they enter SEC play the Wildcats have a special player in Kidd-Gilchrist, one who has impressed with both his skills and leadership abilities. That could take this team a long way.

"He wasn't bothered as much as some of the other players by the physical play," remarked Calipari. "He almost relished it and just went after it, and that's why he played the way he did."

Other Notable Happenings

1. Iowa takes advantage of Wisconsin's three-point shooting to win in Madison.
Going into Saturday's game the Badgers were 78-6 at the Kohl Center under Bo Ryan, so it's understandable if few people gave Fran McCaffery's team much of a chance to win. But the guys in that locker room believed and Aaron White scored 18 points off the bench to lead the Hawkeyes to the 72-65 win. The biggest culprit for the Badgers: three-point shooting. On the season Wisconsin scores 35.8% of their points from beyond the arc, a number that ranks third in the Big Ten behind Northwestern and Michigan. Saturday, Wisconsin shot a miserable 3-for-28 from beyond the arc compared to Iowa's 2-for-6 afternoon. That's the opening that the Hawkeyes needed to pull off the upset, and thanks to reserves White and Bryce Cartwright (17 points, five assists) they were able to capitalize.

2. Creighton bounces back from their loss to Missouri State and wins at Wichita State.
After dropping their MVC opener at home earlier this week, Greg McDermott's Bluejays needed to bounce back at Wichita State to avoid an 0-2 start. Antoine Young led four starters in double figures with 19 points while guard Grant Gibbs may have had the largest impact with his 11 points, six assists and four rebounds in the 68-61 win in Wichita to move both teams to 1-1 in the MVC. The idea of plus/minus in basketball can be a tricky one as there are many variables to consider, but Gibbs finished the night with a plus/minus of +25 and he made many sound decisions throughout his 26 minutes on the floor. Carl Hall was outstanding for the Shockers with 17 points and 13 rebounds but it wasn't enough to knock off the Bluejays. A loss wouldn't have eliminated Creighton from the Missouri Valley race by any means, but it was clear that they needed this road win after dropping one at home. Mission accomplished.

3. Indiana gets it done down the stretch, beating #2 Ohio State in Bloomington.
Highly-ranked teams may want to avoid Assembly Hall, as Ohio State became the second team to go into the building and leave with a loss. All five Indiana players finished in double figures with Jordan Hulls leading the way with 17 points, and the defense of Victor Oladipo (15 points, six rebounds) on Aaron Craft also had a major impact on the Hoosiers' 74-70 victory. Craft finished the game with a season-worst six turnovers in the first game this season that's seen the sophomore finish with more turnovers than assists. The battle between Jared Sullinger (15 points, nine rebounds) and Cody Zeller (14 points, four rebounds) was largely dictated by foul trouble (Zeller would eventually foul out), meaning that other players had to step up. And with William Buford and Deshaun Thomas combining for just 13 points, it was Indiana who won that battle.

4. Gonzaga hits the road and picks up a big non-conference win at Xavier.
Even with an RPI of 17 and a strength of schedule that ranked 21st going into Saturday's action (per realtimerpi.com), Mark Few's team could have used another big non-conference victory from an NCAA Tournament seeding standpoint. And thanks in large part to Sam Dower the Bulldogs did just that, beating Xavier 72-65 at the Cintas Center. Dower scored 20 points and grabbed ten rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench while the Bulldogs' freshman backcourt was solid against one of the best backcourts in the country. Kevin Pangos made just three of his ten shots from the field but he dished out seven assists , and Gary Bell did a solid job defensively on Tu Holloway. The problem for the Musketeers: outside of Holloway, Mark Lyons and Kenny Frease (42 combined points) there wasn't a whole lot of productivity. Xavier also shot 3-for-16 from beyond the arc (24-9 Gonzaga edge in points scored) and was out-rebounded 41-27, which allowed Gonzaga to get away with turning the ball over 17 times (Pangos had five).

5. Harvard comes back from a 12-point deficit to beat Saint Joseph's.
17 seconds into the second half Saint Joseph's took a 50-38 lead on a Halil Kanacevic jumper, and with the 23rd-ranked Crimson playing arguably their worst defense of the season there was a real chance of the Hawks leaving Lavietes Pavilion with a huge win for their resume. But Tommy Amaker's team buckled down, limiting Saint Joseph's to 19 points the rest of the way to come back and win 74-69. SJU shot just 29.8% from the field in the second half while Kyle Casey scored 20 of his 26 points (ten rebounds on the day as well) to lead the charge. Carl Jones led Saint Joseph's with 22 points but that wasn't enough to hold off Harvard, who outscored SJU 22-12 in the paint in the final 20 minutes after the Hawks led that category 20-16 in the first half. With Harvard's remaining schedule consisting of the Ivy League slate and non-conference games against Fordham, Monmouth and George Washington this was a game the Crimson needed for a resume that will take some hits from a computer numbers standpoint between now and March.

Quick Hitters

1. Billy Donovan's team bounced back from their loss at Rutgers with a 90-70 win over Yale, but that wasn't the only bit of good news for Florida on Saturday. 2013 point guard Kasey Hill tweeted after attending the game that he'd verbally committed to the program, and this is a big get for the Gators given how many players will be out of eligibility by the time 2013 rolls around.

2. Seth Greenberg's Virginia Tech Hokies picked up a needed win on Saturday as they won 67-61 at Oklahoma State. But this was a game that would have more of an impact on their NCAA Tournament resume had they lost, so avoiding that fate was critical. At 11-3, Virginia Tech is in a solid spot ahead of what should be a wild ACC season.

3. Youngstown State handed Cleveland State their first conference loss of the season by the final score of 73-67. Damian Eargle led the Penguins with 20 points and ten rebounds, and while YSU may not be a serious contender in the Horizon League come March they're going to scare some folks.

4. Despite Tyler Lamb scoring a career-high 26 points UCLA fell 85-69 at California to go 0-2 in the Bay Area this weekend. Why? Lazeric Jones made just two of seven shots and he along with Jerime Anderson and Joshua Smith combined to score 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting from the field.

5. With Wisconsin losing to Iowa some the question of who the second-best team is in the Big Ten looks to be wide-open. How about Purdue? The Boilermakers moved to 2-0 in conference play with a 75-60 win over Illinois, and they have the ability to be right there with the likes of Michigan State, Indiana and Wisconsin.

6. The Mountain West picked up a good resume-building victory as New Mexico beat Saint Louis 64-60 at The Pit. Drew Gordon scored 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the Lobos, who have won ten straight games and look like the conference title contender many expected them to be in the preseason.

7. With Creighton's win over Wichita State there's just one team in the MVC with a 2-0 record in conference play. That would be Missouri State, who beat Drake 72-61 at JQH Arena. Kyle Weems followed up his impressive performance at Creighton with 22 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bears past the Bulldogs.

8. Friday night had big news on the injury front as Dayton lost starting big man Josh Benson for the season with a torn ACL. The Flyers were able to overcome his loss to beat Ole Miss 62-50 on Friday but against the better teams in the Atlantic 10 not having Benson could be an issue.

9. Also on Friday Seton Hall bounced back from their blowout loss at Syracuse in a big way, beating West Virginia 67-48 at The Rock. Fuquan Edwin, who leads the nation in steals, led the way offensively with 19 points and Jordan Theodore added 18. With UConn next on the schedule Kevin Willard's team couldn't afford to lose lest they risk an 0-3 start to Big East play, and they got the job done.

Five Notable Performances

1. F Thomas Robinson (Kansas)
30 points (10-14 FG), 21 rebounds and four assists in the Jayhawks' 84-58 win over North Dakota.

2. F Brandon Davies (BYU)
21 points (8-13 FG), 22 rebounds and four assists in the Cougars' 88-52 win over San Diego.

3. F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Kentucky)
24 points and 19 rebounds in the Wildcats' 69-62 win over #4 Louisville.

4. F Greg Magnano (Yale)
26 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks in the Bulldogs' 90-70 loss at #10 Florida.

5. F Stan Okoye (VMI)
27 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals in the Keydets' 78-70 overtime win over Presbyterian.

Tuesday Recap: Crowder's Shot Lifts Marquette Past Washington

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:42:00 -0500

The Jimmy V Classic doubleheader at Madison Square Garden annually provides soe outstanding basketball, with all of it being for a good cause. Tuesday night was no exception, and in the second half of the doubleheader Marquette and Washington put forth a thrilling display of basketball. Ultimately a Jae Crowder three pointer with seven seconds remaining gave the Golden Eagles the 79-77 win, but while the Huskies did fall there are more reasons for optimism than doubt for a team that let one slip away at Nevada on Friday night.

Terrence Ross led four Washington players in double figures with 19 points, and the Huskies controlled the boards to the tune of a 46-32 edge with 18 offensive rebounds. But they need to get point guard Abdul Gaddy going in order to possibly win the Pac-12. Gaddy made just two of his eleven shots from the field and scored four points, breaking even on his assist-to-turnover ratio with two apiece. Washington is very talented on the perimeter with Gaddy, Ross, C.J. Wilcox and Tony Wroten (13 points) but they can ill-afford Gaddy having too many off nights.

As for Marquette, Buzz Williams' program always has and always will be regarded as tough. It's a basic requirement for being a part of the program, but this is also a group that's very talented. In addition to Crowder there are guards Vander Blue (11 points) and Darius Johnson-Odom (23 points), and reserve Todd Mayo is a key contributor as well. But the rebounding numbers are a concern; removing Tuesday night Marquette grabbed just over three rebounds per game more than their opponents and with Chris Otule going down with a sprained knee that was one less big body inside.

As a positive the Golden Eagles, just like Missouri in the first game, played an unselfish brand of basketball that resulted in 20 assists to ten turnovers and four players in double figures. Mayo and Junior Cadougan combined for ten assists and two turnovers on the night, and of the seven players to see double-digit minutes only Blue (two assists, three turnovers) had more turnovers than assists. Does Marquette have enough to crack the top three in the Big East? They don't have the true big men like Syracuse or Connecticut (or even Pittsburgh for that matter), but it would be wise to not rule that out. The nation saw first-hand that the Golden Eagles are talented, but most importantly Buzz Williams' team remains tough.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Missouri holds off Villanova, and their unselfish nature could lead the Tigers to big things.
While Missouri/Villanova was a good matchup in regards to style of play, it became rather apparent as the game went on the different ceilings for the two teams. Villanova is a middle of the pack team in the Big East while Missouri is capable of doing some serious damage...or even getting to New Orleans. Yes, New Orleans, because even though they're lacking depth up front Frank Haith's team is tough defensively and unselfish offensively (and in general). In the 81-71 win the Tigers assisted on 23 of their 28 field goals with just eight turnovers, and Marcus Denmon led the way offensively with 28 points. Ricardo Ratliffe put up another double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and as a team Missouri was just a minus-1 (38-37) in rebounding margin.

Missouri outscored Villanova 31-20 in the paint and forced 15 Wildcat turnovers, and those numbers spelled doom for a team that's counting on young players at a number of key positions. Missouri may have changed their style with the arrival of Haith, eschewing the full-court pressure of the Mike Anderson era, but they've retained their unselfishness. That's one big reason why this team is still capable of great achievements despite a rotation that's essentially seven players deep.

2. Two more Pac-12 suspensions: UCLA's Reeves Nelson and Arizona's Josiah Turner.
Someone could make some good money doing a soap opera on the Pac-12 this season. Not only has the league continued to have issues in non-conference play, but some key talents can't seem to avoid trouble. Following on the heels of Utah suspending leading scorer Josh Watkins was the news on Tuesday that UCLA (Reeves Nelson) and Arizona (Josiah Turner) had to suspend key players...once again. Both Nelson nor Turner have been down this road before this season, and Nelson's situation has been bad enough that in some circles people hoped that the initial report that he'd been dismissed from the team was accurate. As for Turner, according to the Arizona website PointGuardU he missed practice on Monday and was left in Tucson ahead of their game Wednesday at Florida. Suspensions, transfers and on-court mediocrity has overshadowed the play of Oregon State and Stanford, two early-season surprises who could be capable of even more as the season wears on, which is bad news for the Pac-12 from a perception standpoint.

3. In a bizarre game Iowa goes from 10-0 up to losing by 20 at UNI.
Things were looking very good for Fran McCaffery's team in the early going at Northern Iowa as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead. But the Panthers would methodically work their way back into the game as the first half went on, eventually taking a 32-27 lead into the locker room. The wheels would eventually fall off for the Hawkeyes in the second half of what would finish as an 80-60 loss, complete with five technical fouls and McCaffery being ejected. Why were emotions so high for the visitors? A 33-9 difference in free throws attempted had a lot to do with it, and four of Iowa's technical fouls helped spark a 20-2 UNI run that put the game away. Another issue for Iowa in the loss was their three-point shooting, as they made just one of twelve shots and were outscored by 30 in that area by the Panthers. That split (along with the 29-3 UNI edge in points from the foul line) proved to be too much to overcome for the Hawkeyes.

Quick Hitters

1. If TCU is the 7th-best team in the Mountain West as the coaches predicted in October that league's going to be a beast come conference play. The Horned Frogs moved to 7-2 on the season with a 75-69 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night, and the triumvirate of point guard Hank Thorns and guards Garlon Green and J.R. Cadot can give opponents fits.

2. Congrats to first-year Monmouth head coach King Rice, whose team picked up their first win of the season at Navy (69-67). While there are some holdovers from last year's team the Hawks are starting from scratch, and the adjustment on both ends of the floor has been a tough one. Jesse Steele led the way for MU with 20 points.

3. While he's been over 20 points in four of the last five games, Will Barton's performance on Tuesday night could be the one that Memphis followers look back to as a catalyst a month from now. The sophomore went for 27 points, 14 rebounds, four steals, three assists and two in the Tigers' 71-54 win at Miami (FL). Barton was all over the floor, and the best part (in addition to those numbers and the win): just one turnover.

4. One of the more stunning player progressions has been that of Kansas center Jeff Withey, who has taken advantage of the increased minutes due to Kansas' lack of interior depth. With finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks in the Jayhawks' 88-80 win over Long Beach State. One thing about KU however: they're not going very far if they rack up 22 turnovers on a consistent basis.

5. Brad Loesing scored 24 points to lead the way in Wofford's 61-50 win over Tulane, handing the Green Wave their first loss of the season. Ed Conroy's club made just two of sixteen shots from beyond the arc, and while they have definitely improved from last season a suspect early slate helped push them out of the gates to a 9-0 start.

Three Notable Performances

1. F Will Barton (Memphis)
27 points, 14 rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks in the Tigers' 71-54 win at Miami.

2. G Keith Rendleman (UNC Wilmington)
29 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks in the Seahawks' 77-68 win at Liberty.

3. C Jeff Withey and F Thomas Robinson (Kansas)
Withey finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks while Robinson put up 26 points, 11 rebounds and three assists in the Jayhawks' 88-80 win over Long Beach State.

College Hoops Tuesday Recap: Buckeyes Blow Out Duke

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:24:17 -0500

The game between #3 Duke and #2 Ohio State was a matchup expected to be a barnburner throughout. But in runs to begin and end the first half, the Buckeyes made a case to their fans and a national television audience that they should be mentioned in the same breath as Kentucky and North Carolina when talking about early favorites to win the national title. Thad Matta's team opened the game on an 11-0 run and finished the half with an 11-2 run on their way to the 85-63 win at Value City Arena, and four of their five starters finished in double figures.

Jared Sullinger scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds while William Buford added 20, and Buford would combine with Aaron Craft (17 points, eight assists) to score nine of Ohio State's first eleven points (Sullinger scored the other two). Duke would fight their way back into the game thanks in large part to freshman guard Austin Rivers, who finished with a game-high 22 points and three assists. Rivers was able to get to the basket with a variety of moves while also knocking down perimeter shots but when the time came for his teammates to step up they were unable to, and that's a credit to the Buckeyes.

"We couldn't hit a shot," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzweski. "Their defense was outstanding and then they got hot. They can score from a number of different positions. They had a great crowd, they had a lot going for them and they took advantage of everything."

Mason Plumlee played well for the Blue Devils as he finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, but the other three starters combined for just seven points (all scored by Seth Curry). Not only were Andre Dawkins and Ryan Kelly scoreless but they took just three shots combined, and few teams much less one the caliber of Duke can win big games with that happening. As a team Duke shot 47% on the night but made just three of fifteen shots from beyond the arc, a far cry from Ohio State's 8-for-14 night.

As for the run to end the first half, Deshaun Thomas was a big factor as he scored Ohio State's final nine points to push the margin out to 19 (47-28) at the intermission. Thomas finished with 18 points, scoring 13 of those in the final 7:41 of the first half. In pulling away the Buckeyes outscored Duke 10-0 in second-chance points in the first half, and they would lead by as many as 24 in the second half. While many will look to jump on the backs of the Blue Devils as a result of the big loss, more energy should be spent crediting Ohio State for their play.

"This team is still so young at times I don't know what to expect from them," said Matta. "There's a lot of uncertainty going into games like this, so I'm always excited to see how we respond. Our guys played to their strengths tonight which is a credit to them."

Other Notable Happenings

1. Virginia defends their home floor and beats Michigan.
It's still early but what a difference a year makes for Tony Bennett's Virginia Cavaliers, especially defensively. Last season the Cavaliers ranked 11th in the ACC in points allowed per possession, and their field goal percentage defense finished in the same spot. Through seven games this season Virginia leads the ACC in points allowed per possession and rank second in the conference in field goal percentage defense. Michigan shot 44% on Tuesday night but with Tim Hardaway Jr. limited to just five points the Wolverines fell 70-58 in Charlottesville. Michigan's offensive efficiency was 12 points below their season average as a result of Virginia's packline defense, and offensively Joe Harris and Mike Scott scored 18 points apiece to lead the way. Virginia moved to 6-1 on the season, and has the look of a team that can challenge for a possible NCAA Tournament berth.

2. Don't read too much into Saint Louis' loss at Loyola Marymount.
Saint Louis, fresh off of winning the 76 Classic over the holiday weekend, took on the test of playing a road game against a well-rested team in playing their fourth game in six days. LaRon Armstead scored a game-high 22 points and Anthony Ireland (17 points) made some big shots late to lead LMU to the 75-68 win at Gersten Pavilion. Cody Ellis led SLU with 18 points off the bench, but the fact that they turned the ball over 15 times (24.6% of their possessions) proved to be too much to overcome. Did fatigue play a role in the outcome? It likely did for a team that while talented has been out on the road for a week. So try not to make too big of a deal about this loss because there's plenty of time left in the season for a team that's proven itself to be a viable NCAA Tournament candidate. Plus, this isn't the first time LMU has beaten a ranked opponent this season (UCLA).

3. Arizona's freshman guards step up in a good win at New Mexico State.
Make no mistake about the fact that Arizona's short trip east to take on New Mexico State was a dangerous one, and given how the Wildcats began their last game (a home loss to San Diego State) it would have been easy to expect the Aggies to win. But Sean Miller's team rose to the challenge, winning 83-76 thanks in part to good nights from freshman guards Nick Johnson and Josiah Turner. Johnson scored a game-high 19 points in his first start of the season and Turner added 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals off the bench. With Kyle Fogg and Jordin Mayes quiet for much of the night it's likely a safe assumption that Arizona loses if not for their freshmen. The consistent Jesse Perry posted another double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Solomon Hill scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds to carry the load in the frontcourt. The reconfigured starting lineup avoided the slow start, and as a result Arizona picked up a solid road victory.

Quick Hitters

1. For a team that some thought could be an NCAA Tournament possibility out of the Big Ten, things sure have gone downhill for the Iowa Hawkeyes. They were ice cold from the field in a 71-55 loss to Clemson at home, shooting 28.6% from the field and scoring 20 points in the first half. Fran McCaffery's team has lost three of their last four, with all three losses being by 16 points or more.

2. Perry Jones III made his return to the floor at Baylor and it was a triumphant one as the Bears rolled Prairie View A&M 90-54. Jones finished the game with 27 points and six rebounds, but Pierre Jackson's line may be the eye-opener. 17 points and eight assists off the bench for Jackson, who turned the ball over just two times. It's been said many times: if the Bears can get solid backcourt play to go with their deep and talented front line, look out.

3. Harvard might have the best team in the Ivy League, but the best point guard in the league is Penn senior Zack Rosen. Rosen scored a team-high 20 points and dished out five assists in the Quakers' 75-72 win over Manhattan to move to 4-4 on the season.

4. Life without Demetri McCamey has gotten off to a very good start for Illinois, who moved to 7-0 with a 71-62 win at Maryland. The big reason why: the steady play of Bradley transfer Sam Maniscalco, who scored a team-high 24 points to lead the way.

5. As if things weren't going bad enough for UMBC, the 0-6 Retrievers learned that senior point guard Chris De La Rosa was leaving the team for personal and family-related matters. He played in just one game this season, but De La Rosa accounted for nearly a quarter of UMBC's field goals and more than half their assists in 2010-11.

6. Oregon lost another freshman with the announcement that Bruce Barron decided to leave the team. But the departures of he and Jabari Brown opens the door minutes-wide for the remaining players, and Johnathan Loyd took advantage to the tune of a career-high 24 points in the Ducks' 64-59 win over UTEP.

Three Notable Performances

1. F Wendell McKines (New Mexico State)
28 points (10-18 FG) and 10 rebounds in the Aggies' 83-76 loss to Arizona.

2. F Perry Jones III (Baylor)
27 points (10-14 FG) and six rebounds in the Bears' 90-54 win over Prairie View A&M.

3. F John Shurna (Northwestern)
25 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals in the Wildcats' 76-60 win over Georgia Tech.

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.

Who Will Win the 2011-12 Big Ten Title?

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:52:54 -0500

Big Ten Basketball: 5-Year Ranking

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:20:06 -0500

As part of our 5-Year Ranking series, here's how the Big Ten teams stack up according to conference wins. The makeup of the Big Ten is quite different from most of the other power-conferences. The also-rans in the Big Ten have fared much better than other league also-rans, while the middle teams are much more mediocre. With one or two surprises, the final league standings will probably look pretty similar to the 5-year standings.

First Tier

1t - Ohio St - 65 wins - Neck and neck with Wiscy, thought it seems like OSU gets all the hype

1t - Wisconsin - 65 - Constantly overachieve in Big Ten play, but rarely surprise in NCAA's

3 - Purdue - 63 - For all these wins, Purdue hasn't advanced past the Sweet Sixteen

4 - Michigan St - 58 - For first time in a long time, Michigan St is officially in a rut

Second Tier

5 - Illinois - 44 - Fans have higher expectations than such mediocrity

Wannabees

6 - Michigan - 36 - It seems like slowly but surely, Michigan is headed in right direction

7 - Minnesota - 35 - Gophers yet to win a tourney game under Tubby Smith

8 - Indiana - 32 - 2007-08 seasons make this number look a lot healthier than reality

Also-Rans

9 - Penn St - 30 - Have been a 2nd class citizen for some time, but never completely dormant

10 - Iowa - 28 - No postseason trips in this 5-year stretch

11 - Northwestern - 25 - Have been competitive the last three seasons, but still not over NCAA hump

*The Big Ten adds Nebraska, who won 30 games in Big 12

Check back for the Pac-10 & SEC rankings tomorrow.

All 5-Year Rankings.