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Thursday Recap: Cougars Bounce Back in Provo

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:46:00 -0800

A week after being outclassed at home by first-place Saint Mary's there was no ignoring the importance of BYU's game against Gonzaga, especially if the Cougars were to remain alive in the race for second place in the WCC. Dave Rose's team responded as good teams should, taking control of the game with an 11-4 run to close out the first half on their way to an 83-73 victory. The frontcourt matchup proved to be the difference as BYU's duo of Noah Hartsock and Brandon Davies outplayed Elias Harris and Robert Sacre, with Hartsock's 24 points and 14 rebounds leading the way.

Davies added 15 points and five rebounds for BYU, who picked up an important resume-building victory to move to 19-6 (7-3) on the season. Harris attempted just three shots for the Bulldogs, making one and finishing with seven points in 21 minutes of action, while Sacre scored 11 points and grabbed five boards. Sam Dower (15 points, five rebounds) and Marquise Carter (11 points) led the way off the bench for Gonzaga, who as a whole didn't not deal well with one of the toughest environments in college basketball.

"We were rattled, frazzled, played with no poise and no composure," remarked Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. "We have two freshmen guards out there. But they were only part of the problem. It was everybody - seniors, juniors. BYU came out and played us physical and got after us. Their posts attacked us very well - Hartsock and Davies."

Gonzaga did manage to score 49 points in the second half as they shot 51.4% from the field but that didn't matter much as BYU was able to find the shots they wanted on the other end (45 points, 54.5% FG). Two reasons for that were guards Matt Carlino (18 points, five assists) and Anson Winder (10 points, five assists). Winder made his first start of the year on Thursday night, replacing Brock Zylstra in the starting lineup as Rose hoped that Zylstra would provide a spark to the bench scoring. Safe to say that Winder provided a boost himself by reaching double figures for the first time since December 20th.

Entering the week ranked 48th in the NCAA's most recently released RPI, BYU was without a win over an RPI Top 50 opponent (0-4) going into Thursday night. To take care of that now is a good development for the Cougars, who wouldn't have another shot until their regular season finale in Spokane. But more importantly the win keeps BYU in the conversation for one of the two double-byes in the conference tournament, which leaves a team two games away from an automatic bid.

"That's a big win for our team and for our guys," said Rose. "Every player that went in the game tonight played with real urgency and a great effort. Our effort was extremely high the whole night and that was our focus going in."

Other Notable Happenings

1. Arizona makes big plays late to win at Cal, showing that they aren't done yet.
There were some who left the Arizona Wildcats for dead in the aftermath of Kevin Parrom's season-ending injury as he broke his right foot in the first half of their two-point loss to Washington (the Huskies are now in sole possession of first place). And the Wildcats did little to erase that doubt early in Berkeley as they trailed Cal by as many as 12 halfway through the first half. But Arizona stormed back, outscoring the Golden Bears 36-14 over the final 10:43 of the half and holding off Cal's many attempts to wrestle away control in the second half to win 78-74. Kyle Fogg came up big on a night that saw Solomon Hill struggle with foul trouble, scoring 23 points and blocking an Allen Crabbe three that would have tied the game in the final seconds.

Jesse Perry added 18 points and four rebounds but there was also a bit of a youth movement for the Wildcats as well. Nick Johnson, who also had a critical blocked shot in the final minute of play, scored 11 points and dished out a team-high five assists and Angelo Chol added eight points, four rebounds and two blocked shots in his best performance of the season with regards to both the stat line and his activity. Josiah Turner was solid as well despite four turnovers, and he's going to have more on his plate with Jordin Mayes going down with a foot injury that could sideline him for the remainder of the season. That would be another tough blow for Arizona to absorb, but if Thursday's effort showed anything it's that they won't be going down without a fight.

2. Murray State storms back in the second half to remain undefeated.
Second-place Southeast Missouri State is the biggest threat to Murray State's hope of winning the OVC's automatic bid, and the Redhawks showed why in the first half on Thursday night as they led by as many as 11 and took a 39-33 lead into the half. But that margin proved to be too close for comfort on the road as Isaiah Canaan and company got rolling in the final 20 minutes. Murray shot 22-for-28 from the foul line and out-rebounded SEMO 28-18 (14 offensive rebounds) on their way to the 81-73 win.

Canaan finished with 32 points, five rebounds and three assists and Ivan Aska was one of three other players to reach double figures with ten points and 11 rebounds, moving the Racers to 22-0 on the season. Marcus Brister led four Redhawks in double figures with 17 points and eight rebounds but it's tough to win anywhere, much less on the road, when allowing a team to not only whip you on the offensive glass but also attempt 28 free throws. They'll get another crack at Murray State on the 15th, allowing Dickey Nutt's team the opportunity to apply the lessons they've learned, but that's far easier said than done against Steve Prohm's talented squad.

3. St. Francis (NY) beats CCSU to move to 9-2 in the NEC.
One of the better (and more unheralded) coaching jobs has been done in Brooklyn, and while many will rush to point out what Jim Ferry has done at LIU Brooklyn (and rightfully so) he's not the only one getting it done in the borough. Glen Braica's St. Francis (NY) Terriers have been the surprise of the NEC this season, and the continued their run of success with a 73-67 win over Central Connecticut State to move to 9-2 in league play. Akeem Johnson and Travis Nichols scored 16 points apiece to lead the way for the Terriers, who won despite allowing the Blue Devils to grab 18 offensive rebounds.

The reason: balance. The CCSU trio of Ken Horton, Robbie Ptacek and Kyle Vinales combined to score 53 points but no other Blue Devil put up more than four while SFNY had four players reach double figures. Also SFNY took care of the basketball as they finished with just eight turnovers, a far cry from their season average of 16.7 per game. St. Francis (NY) doesn't have the star power of an LIU or a Wagner but they're every bit the threat to win the league, something they can take advantage of with two meetings with their borough rivals next week.

Quick Hitters

1. In recent years the matchup with Virginia Tech has given Duke trouble, but there was no such luck for the Hokies on Thursday as the Blue Devils won 75-60. Austin Rivers accounted for 18 points, five rebounds and five assists and Seth Curry and Ryan Kelley combined to score 26 points off the bench.

2. #11 Florida shot just 37.3% from the field against South Carolina but made up for it by making 23 of their 32 free throws in a 74-66 win. Kenny Boynton scored 24 points and Bradley Beal added his first career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Quick turnaround for the Gators too as they host Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon.

3. Nate Wolters scored 24 points and dished out nine assists to lead South Dakota State past Oral Roberts 75-60, handing the Golden Eagles their first Summit League loss of the season. Dominique Morrison struggled with foul trouble all night, scoring 12 points but attempting just eight shots before fouling out.

4. Josh Brown scored 21 points and grabbed ten rebounds and Elfrid Payton added 20 off the bench as Louisiana-Lafayette beat Denver 72-71 in overtime, a result that left the visitors none too pleased thanks to some dubious officiating late. Denver needs to bounce back quickly however as their host the Sun Belt's best team (Middle Tennessee, who beat North Texas) on Saturday afternoon.

5. Idaho State was the preseason pick to finish last in the Big Sky, but after the second game-winning shot from Kenny McGowen (30 points) in less than a week the Bengals are now tied for third with Montana State (who they beat 87-86). At the least ISU is doing themselves the favor of remaining above the fight for those final Big Sky tournament slots, something few expected to happen back in October.

6. Latif Rivers scored 28 points in leading Wagner past Robert Morris 80-69 to keep the Seahawks a game behind LIU Brooklyn in the NEC race. Wagner's tied for second with surprising SFNY, who plays LIU Brooklyn twice next week and the outcome could very well open things up atop the NEC standings.

7. Wes Miller's making it tough on the administration to look for someone other than he to lead the UNC Greensboro program on a permanent basis. The Spartans beat The Citadel 82-71 to move to 7-4 in SoCon play, remaining atop the North Division standings. Trevis Simpson scored 23 and grabbed seven rebounds and Aloysius Henry and Derrell Armstrong combined to score 27 points off the bench.

8. Thanks to some questionable decisions from Detroit early in the second half along with their own shooting Valparaiso moved to 9-3 in the Horizon League with a 78-73 win. Valpo shot 57.9% from the field and 15-for-20 from the foul line in the second half, and Ryan Broekhoff led three Crusaders in double figures with 26 points.

9. Marcos Knight scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Middle Tennessee to a 68-66 win at North Texas, moving the Blue Raiders to 10-0 in the Sun Belt. Alzee Williams scored 29 points to lead the Mean Green, who will be a team to keep an eye on in the conference tournament due to talented players such as Williams and Tony Mitchell. But Kermit Davis' team is clearly the class of the conference, and they're up four games in the loss column in the East Division with six to play.

Three Notable Performances

1. G Lamont "MoMo" Jones and G Scott Machado (Iona)
Jones set a Hynes Center record by scoring 43 points in the Gaels' 105-86 win over Canisius while Machado dished out 14 assists with just two turnovers (14 points as well).

2. G Damian Lillard (Weber State)
The nation's leading scorer put up 40 points and five assists in the Wildcats' 92-79 win over Portland State.

3. G Kevin Murphy (Tennessee Tech) and C John Fraley (Austin Peay)
These were two of the stars in the matchup between the Golden Eagles and the Governors, which Tennessee Tech won 94-88. Murphy, who scored 50 points in a game earlier this week, paced Tennessee Tech with 33 points and seven rebounds while Fraley scored 31 and grabbed 17 rebounds in a losing effort. Can't forget Tennessee Tech's Jud Dillard either as he scored 29 and grabbed nine boards.

Saturday Recap: Iowa State Hands #5 Kansas Their First League Loss

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:00:00 -0800

To say that there were some complaints about the "quality" of Saturday's schedule would be an understatement as many felt that the college basketball slate wouldn't provide much intrigue. But once again college basketball didn't disappoint the fans, with the big result being Iowa State's 72-64 win over #5 Kansas. The Cyclones won despite turning the ball over 19 times by getting to the foul line and controlling the boards. ISU attempted 34 free throws (making 25) to just sixteen for the Jayhawks (who made ten) in handing the visitors their first Big 12 loss. Add in a 36-23 rebounding edge (with 11 offensive rebounds) and some "Hilton Magic" and the end result is a signature win for an Iowa State team that needed one for their NCAA Tournament hopes.

"It's the second time we've played Kansas and in both games our bigs did a heck of a job against some of the best front line players in the country so you have to take your hat off to them," said guard Scott Christopherson, who finished with 14 points (9-10 FT) and three assists. "Not only did they rebound but they defended really well. Kansas puts pressure on your bigs to guard, and our bigs definitely answered the bell today."

Royce White and Melvin Ejim combined to turn the ball over 13 times but they were also the teams leading scorers and rebounders. White, whose versatility has made him one of the best players in the Big 12, finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists while Ejim added 15 and eight rebounds. Iowa State won the majority of the 50/50 battles and that proved to be one of the key factors down the stretch despite their scoring just eight second chance points.

"We talk about 50/50 balls all the time. We don't put football pads on and dive after them but we talk about it a lot," said Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg. "We were the first to the floor a couple times and we talk a lot about that as well. Overall a great effort. The first few minutes of the second half was disappointing but we called a quick timeout and got them back out there and refocused. We finished off and played our best stretch of basketball of the season."

The play that essentlally clinched the game for Iowa State came by way of a Kansas turnover, with Chris Babb getting a steal with 1:21 remaining. The Penn State transfer would cash in on the change in possession 25 seconds later with a three-pointer to make the score 67-59, and Iowa State would go on to make five of their last six free throws to sew things up. Tyshawn Taylor led the Jayhawks with 16 points and ten assists and Thomas Robinson added 13 and seven rebounds, but on an afternoon that saw all five KU starters reach double figures their bench didn't provide much help.

Iowa State's reserves outscored the Jayhawk bench 15-5 with Anthony Booker and Tyrus McGee providing the points (and ten rebounds) for the victors. McGee's three-point play with 6:06 remaining broke a 53-all tie and gave the Cyclones the lead for good. Kansas will remain the favorite to win the Big 12 despite this result, but the win was huge for an Iowa State team that went into Saturday without a single RPI Top 50 win (going by realtimerpi.com's numbers). If they can continue to attack the boards (37.9% offensive rebounding percentage on Saturday) and play aggressive basketball, Iowa State has the tools needed to get to the Big Dance.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Saint Mary's takes care of BYU in Provo to remain undefeated in WCC play.
Having already dropped one game at home in conference play, Dave Rose's BYU Cougars needed a win over first-place Saint Mary's if they were to remain a major player in the WCC race. But with the Gaels showing a level of play on the road that's been absent in recent years BYU now finds themselves three games out of first with two games against Gonzaga still left on their schedule. Saint Mary's made up for 24 turnovers and allowing 17 offensive rebounds by shooting 55% from the field and going 25-for-33 from the foul line, winning 80-66 in front of a frenzied Marriott Center crowd that crossed the line at times with the throwing of objects onto the floor. What makes the win (and the margin) all the more surprising is the line that starting point guard Matthew Dellavedova put up, as he finished 1-for-4 from the field (ten points) to go along with seven rebounds, six turnovers and four assists.

But he had plenty of help, with redshirt freshman forward Brad Waldow (19 points, eight rebounds) continuing his solid play of late and Clint Steindl adding 16 points off the bench. Rob Jones scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Saint Mary's, who still has a trip to Gonzaga on their schedule to address. The BYU trio of Matt Carlino (15 points, three assists), Brandon Davies (14 points, seven rebounds) and Noah Hartsock (15 points, three rebounds) led the way but they didn't receive much help while the Gaels' stars did and that proved to be the difference. In prior seasons the late-season fade was an issue for Randy Bennett's team, but in their winning of a chippy affair (the officials were a little too vigorous in their use of the whistle, which didn't help either team) Saint Mary's showed that they've got the staying power needed to not only win the WCC but make some noise in the Big Dance.

2. #4 Syracuse survives a challenge from West Virginia...and the officials marred the ending as well.
What tends to happen in games that are marred by a missed call is that both teams get cheated. The losing team for obvious reasons but the winning squad as well, as they have to defend an outcome that came through no fault of their own. Three officials missed a clear goaltending violation by Baye Keita in the final seconds that would have tied the game, and with Gary Browne missing a last-second three West Virginia left the Carrier Dome with a 63-61 loss. Frankly the Mountaineers have a right to be furious over the missed call, which also overshadows the fact that they out-rebounded Syracuse 41-20 on the afternoon with 19 offensive rebounds. Safe to say that on the interior the Orange miss starting center Fab Melo, but when you get whipped like this one the glass the issue is bigger than one missing player.

Kevin Jones led the Mountaineers, who responded well to the whipping they took at St. John's on Wednesday night, with 20 points and eight rebounds and four other players grabbed at least five boards (three being guards) for the visitors. Looking at the box score it's natural to ask how did Syracuse win. They scored two more points at the foul line (13-11) but they also made up for a 4-for-18 afternoon from beyond the arc by shooting 63% from inside of it. West Virginia on the other hand shot 16-for-44 from two, which to a certain extent nullified their offensive rebounding performance (OR%: 55.9) as they only scored 13 second-chance points to eight for the Orange. Brandon Triche scored 18 points and Kris Joseph 13 to keep the Orange alone atop the Big East standings, leaving West Virginia to wonder what could have been had that violation been called.

3. Washington outlasts Arizona to complete their road sweep, and the Wildcats lose Kevin Parrom too.
Road sweeps will eventually determine who wins the Pac-12, as it tends to do in most seasons. But given the conference's struggled they've become even more important, making Washington's 69-67 win at Arizona that much bigger. Tony Wroten may have shot 5-for-18 from the field in scoring 17 points but his aggressiveness was just what the Huskies needed in front of a frenzied crowd, and his block of a Josiah Turner layup attempt just before the final buzzer preserved the win. Terrence Ross scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds and C.J. Wilcox added 15 off the bench (and five key free throws down the stretch) to keep the Huskies tied for first place in the conference. Solomon Hill was outstanding for Arizona as he finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds and Jesse Perry added 13 and 12, but the Wildcats were unable to finish off their late rally.

And Sean Miller's team was hit with another blow after the game as it was announced that wing Kevin Parrom would miss the remainder of the season with a broken bone in his right foot. Parrom missed the second half with the injury and it's a cruel twist for a young man who has fought a great amount of adversity this year. His loss is big for the Wildcats, as Parrom's versatility and savvy gave Arizona a player they could rely on to do whatever was required of him on the floor at any particular moment. Are youngsters such as Turner and Nick Johnson ready to step up? Can Kyle Fogg and Brendon Lavender give them more? The answers to those questions will determine Arizona's fate down the stretch. As for Washington the play of Wroten is quickly becoming the key to their hopes of winning the Pac-12, and if he can continue on this path the Huskies will be right there at the finish.

4. Good luck trying to figure out the Atlantic 10, but Temple made quite a statement at home.
Just as wild as the Pac-12 race (but better in terms of quality at the top) has been the Atlantic 10, which seems to become more unpredictable by the day. But if there's one thing that stands out after Saturday's action it's that Fran Dunphy's Temple Owls are currently a step ahead of the competition. Led by Ramone Moore (21 points) and Juan Fernandez (17 points) the Owls whipped city rival Saint Joseph's 78-60 in a game that saw all five Hawks starters fail to reach double figures. Khalif Wyatt added ten points and eight rebounds and Micheal Eric chipped in with 11 off the bench in a game Temple led by as many as 28 points late in the second half.

As a team the Owls shot 60% from the floor and 53.3% from three, overwhelming a Saint Joseph's team that was led by 6th man Ronald Roberts (17 points, ten rebounds). Temple is part of a three-way tie for first place in the Atlantic 10 with surprises Massachusetts (who beat Saint Louis) and La Salle (winners over Duquesne). Saint Louis, who has already won at Xavier, will remain a factor in the race as well Xavier (who won at Charlotte) and Dayton (who inexplicably lost at home to Rhode Island). But if one were to handicap the race right now Temple would be the likely choice to win the conference. The guard play has been well-documented and the return of Eric adds a big man the Owls were missing earlier in the season. If Temple continues to execute on the offensive end as they did against the Hawks they're going to be tough to knock off.

5. #13 Florida's shooting from deep proves to be the difference in their win over #16 Mississippi State.
In the first half of the Gators' 69-57 win over Mississippi State on Saturday the Bulldogs outscored the Gators 10-8 in the paint. That statistic flipped in a big way in the second half, with Florida outscoring the visitors 20-4 on their way to the win. Florida's ability to knock down three-pointers will get the majority of the headlines as they knocked down 11 of their 24 attempts on the day, but don't overlook the importance of their paint scoring. Bradley Beal led Florida with 19 points with Erik Murphy adding 14 and Patric Young 12, and nine of Florida's final eleven field goals were scored in the paint.

Murphy's ability to shoot from the perimeter (4-for-7 3PT) helped open things up for Florida inside, and the combined nine assists and no turnovers from Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton was key as well. Dee Bost and Arnett Moultrie scored 12 points apiece to lead Mississippi State (Moultrie also grabbed 13 rebounds) but Rick Stansbury's guys fell victim to an 11-0 run that put the game out of reach after a Bost three cut Florida's lead to four (51-47) with 8:01 remaining.

Quick Hitters

1. #6 Duke hung on to beat St. John's 83-76 but head coach Mike Krzyzewski was none too pleased after the game. The Blue Devils were sloppy in the second half offensively and defensively they didn't have an answer for Moe Harkless, who finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds. Ryan Kelly scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Mason Plumlee scored 15 and grabbed 17 rebounds for the Blue Devils, who need better guard play if they're to win the ACC.

2. Nasir Robinson scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Pittsburgh's 72-60 win over #10 Georgetown, moving the Panthers to 12-0 all-time at the Petersen Events Center against Top 10 opponents. This game is also another step in the right direction for Pitt, who assisted on 20 of their 25 made baskets. With Tray Woodall finally healthy the Panthers have their point guard back, and they can definitely make a run towards an NCAA berth.

3. There's more work to be done for Colorado State to earn an NCAA Tournament berth but their 77-60 win over #12 San Diego State was a step in the right direction. Wes Eikmeier scored 19 points and Will Bell 17 and five rebounds for the Rams, whose win also resulted in a tie atop the Mountain West as UNLV won in overtime at Air Force. Whether or not Tim Miles' team can make a run at the bubble (or better) remains to be seen, but this kind of win was absent from there resume before Saturday.

4. Wichita State was involved in a thriller but their 93-86 triple overtime loss at Drake dropped the Shockers a game behind Creighton in the Missouri Valley standings. Ben Simons led the Bulldogs with 29 points and eight rebounds and Kurt Alexander's 17 points off the bench were also key. Garrett Stutz led Wichita State with 27 points and Joe Ragland scored 25, but as a result of this loss the Shockers will likely need to win the games approaching the February 11th battle at Creighton to remain a game out.

5. So much for the momentum gained from their win over first-place LIU Brooklyn for Robert Morris, as they fell 81-68 to St. Francis (NY). The loss drops the Colonials two games behind LIU in the NEC, which is where they were before Thursday night's win. Glen Braica's Terriers, who were led by Brent Jones (19 points, four rebounds, four assists) and Travis Nichols (16 points off the bench), are now tied with Wagner a game behind their Brooklyn rivals.

6. Cal State Fullerton got their chance to not only make a statement but add some intrigue to the Big West race but Long Beach State was having no parts of that as they put together a late run to win 75-61. Dan Monson's team closed the game on a 22-10 run after having their lead cut to two points, and at 9-0 in league play the 49ers look to be in good position to win another regular season crown.

7. Kenny McGowen's three-pointer as time expired gave Idaho State a 64-62 win over Weber State, who entered the game undefeated in Big Sky play. McGowen scored 19 points to lead all scorers while Scott Bamforth led the Wildcats with 17 and Damian Lillard added 15. While the win breathes life into the Bengals' hopes of qualifying for the conference tournament it also gives new life to Montana, who is now tied in the loss column with Weber State atop the standings.

8. Dominique Morrison scored 28 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the field as Oral Roberts moved to 12-0 in the Summit League with a 77-67 win over UMKC. The Golden Eagles attempted just seven three-pointers but made five while also shooting 22-for-38 from two, and at 20-4 ORU hasn't received the level of national respect that they deserve. This team will be a tough out come March.

9. Speaking of March, good luck to the selection committee finding 37 at-large teams better than Middle Tennessee should the Blue Raiders not win the Sun Belt's automatic bid. Middle Tennessee lost 84-77 at Vanderbilt in what's a good win for the Commodores but the skill of players such as LaRon Dendy should not be lost in the final score. Few teams will be lining up to play Kermit Davis' club anytime soon.

10. Memphis and Southern Miss won the two matchups of the top four teams in Conference USA, setting up a showdown for sole possession of first place Wednesday night in Hattiesburg. Will Barton was outstanding for Memphis in their 83-76 win over Marshall, scoring 29 points and grabbing eight rebounds, while Neil Watson (23 points) and Darnell Dodson (22 points, eight rebounds) led Southern Miss to a 78-65 win at UCF.

11. Both Purdue and Illinois had chances to either move to or remain at the head of the pack in the middle of the Big Ten standings but only the Boilermakers took full advantage. Robbie Hummel's jumper from the left baseline in the final seconds gave Purdue a 58-56 win at Northwestern, but Illinois made some poor decisions late and ended up falling 77-72 at Minnesota. Tough to figure out how the middle of the conference will shake out but the ability to win tight games on the road will set teams apart.

Five Notable Performances

1. G Shane Gibson (Sacred Heart)
43 points (16-28 FG) and five rebounds in the Pioneers' 81-80 double overtime loss to Mount St. Mary's. Gibson's three at the end of regulation tied the score at 70 and sent the game into overtime.

2. F Ryan Pearson (George Mason)
29 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the Patriots' 89-79 win over James Madison.

3. F Moe Harkless (St. John's) and F Mason Plumlee (Duke)
Harkless accounted for 30 points and 14 rebounds in the Red Storm's 83-76 loss at #6 Duke while Plumlee led the victors with 15 points and 17 rebounds.

4. G Reggie Hamilton (Oakland)
37 points, six assists and four rebounds in the Golden Grizzlies' 78-75 loss to North Dakota State.

5. F Tony Mitchell (North Texas)
21 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks in the Mean Green's 76-64 win over Arkansas State.

Special Note: Towson picks up their first win of the season
Congrats to Pat Skerry's Towson Tigers, who picked up their first win of the season (and ended a 41-game losing streak) with a 66-61 win over UNC Wilmington. Marcus Damas led the way with 18 points while Deon Jones (15 points, six rebounds) and Robert Nwankwo (12 points, 11 rebounds) were also good. And Erique Gumbs, the lone member of the team to have experienced every loss, chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds. Good to see the program get rewarded for the hard work put in; hope Binghamton (0-20) gets to experience this feeling soon as well.

Thursday Recap: Badgers Hold Off Indiana

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:28:45 -0800

The game between #17 Indiana and #25 Wisconsin proved to be every bit as competitive as expected with the largest margin either team held being seven points with two seconds remaining. In the end it was the little things that made the difference in the Badgers' 57-50 victory, as Bo Ryan's team shot 12-for-12 from the foul line in the second half and grabbed the final seven rebounds of the game. That rebound stretch was over the final 3:38 of the contest, with their offensive rebounds leading to four of their nine second-chance points. Wisconsin's offensive rebounding percentage in the second half was 33.3% after finishing the first half with a percentage of 22.2%, and that allowed them to shut the door late.

"It's our first game holding a team under 30 percent on the field, but they got a couple of really big rebounds at the end of the game at crucial times," remarked Indiana head coach Tom Crean. "We put ourselves in position to win, we just didn't finish it off."

Jordan Taylor didn't shoot particularly well, missing all five of his three-point attempts while scoring 12 points but there were other contributors to the win for Wisconsin. Ben Brust made three of his six shots from deep and scored 13 points off the bench while Mike Bruesewitz (ten points) and Ryan Evans (12 points, nine rebounds) reached double figures as well. The foul line was also critical on a night in which Wisconsin, who scores 35.4% of their points on threes, made just four or seventeen shots from distance. Wisconsin made 15 of 19 from the charity stripe, outscoring the Hoosiers by ten as Indiana made just half of their ten free throws.

"I've never tried to over-analyze free throws other than guys get their routine, they get comfortable, they get their elbow lift, they get their rotation, they get their target sights- some guys look to the front, some guys look to the back," said Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan. "And in every drill we do, you've got to be 80 percent or better. So, I think that's helped us over the years. We were close tonight."

Christian Watford and Verdell Jones III led the way for Indiana with 12 points apiece but Cody Zeller and a quiet night and Wisconsin's Jared Berggren was a big reason why. Zeller shot 2-for-7 from the field and scored seven points while grabbing just three rebounds in 19 minutes of action, and while the foul trouble was problematic having to deal with Berggren while he was on the floor didn't help matters. Berggren may not have done much offensively with just four points but he blocked five shots, helping limit the number of quality looks Indiana was able to get near the basket.

"I think he was in a help position and maybe got there a little late and tried to make sure that he didn't foul and waited until Zeller made his move, noted Ryan. "He was fairly effective with it, but Zeller's a good player- he got his offensive opportunities, he's the real deal inside and fortunately we got some fouls on him and that helped us."

With the win Wisconsin remains a game in the loss column behind the three teams atop the Big Ten, and despite their struggles earlier in league play the Badgers gave another reminder that it isn't wise to count Bo Ryan's team out of the title race.

Other Notable Happenings

1. North Carolina whips NC State in impressive fashion to move into a tie for first in the ACC.
Thursday night provided a good test for NC State in regards to how much staying power the Wolfpack could possibly have in the ACC race. Unfortunately for them North Carolina was ready to make a statement of their own, leading by as many as 29 points on their way to a 74-55 victory. Tyler Zeller (21 points, 17 rebounds) and John Henson (nine points, ten rebounds and five blocks) proved to be too much for the Wolfpack inside, and on the perimeter the Tar Heels performed well in their first game without starter Dexter Strickland.

Kendall Marshall dished out 11 assists to just three turnovers while both Harrison Barnes (15 points) and Reggie Bullock (11 points, five rebounds) reached double figures. Scott Wood led the Wolfpack with 11 points but they lost by 19 despite making nine three-pointers due to their struggles inside. NC State shot 32.4% from two as the Tar Heels outscored them 52-24 in that department, and the 46-28 rebounding discrepancy (UNC: 15 offensive rebounds) didn't help matters either. NC State is a bright future under Mark Gottfried with a talented recruiting class on the way and the current bunch is definitely capable of reaching the NCAA Tournament. But Thursday night showed that they may not be ready to think ACC title right now.

2. Robert Morris wins the guard battle and beats LIU Brooklyn to close the gap in the NEC.
LIU Brooklyn had a great opportunity to put even more distance between themselves and the pack in the Northeast Conference race, but winning at Robert Morris is a very difficult task. And in a rematch of last year's NEC Tournament title game, the Colonials went on two runs in the first half to establish a 34-26 halftime lead and led by as many as 15 in the second half of a 75-66 win. Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere did their part for the visitors as they combined for 43 points and Boyd grabbed 12 rebounds to go along with his 25 points. But their guards had a tough night and Robert Morris took advantage as Velton Jones scored 23 points, Coron Williams 13 and Lucky Jones ten.

Velton also dished out seven assists on the night, while LIU's perimeter trio of Jason Brickman, Michael Culpo and C.J. Garner combined to score 16 points on 5-for-24 shooting (Culpo shot 0-for-10). LIU shot 3-for-16 from three on the night and without the balance they normally enjoy offensively (24% of their points come from deep on the average) the Blackbirds were unable to beat the Colonials. RMU and surprising St. Francis (NY) are now a game back (and they play each other on Saturday) in the standings, and a race that could have been out of reach is now back on.

3. Milwaukee slows Butler to a crawl and moves to 7-3 in the Horizon League.
The matchup between the Panthers and Bulldogs was the defensive-minded slugfest that many expected going into the contest, with Butler taking a 25-24 lead into the half. But the Bulldogs went cold in the second half, shooting 5-for-25 from the field and scoring just 17 points in what would become a 53-42 loss. Milwaukee shot 48% in the second half and did a much better job of setting up good looks than they did in the first, assisting on ten of their 12 made baskets. Neither team finished with great efficiency numbers but Butler's were startling, as their offensive efficiency (67.7) and effective field goal percentage (28.9%) were season lows.

James Haarmsma (12 points) and Ryan Allen (11 points) led the way scoring-wise while Kaylon Williams made up for a rough shooting night by dishing out 11 assists and grabbing seven rebounds. Milwaukee remains a game behind Cleveland State in the loss column while Butler falls two games back, and they're also tied with Valparaiso in second place (the Crusaders lost to Green Bay). By no means is anything decided in the Horizon League, but Milwaukee took an important step with their win.

Quick Hitters

1. It's been a rough season for USC to say the least, but their injury issues reached a new low in their 74-50 loss to Colorado. Center Dwayne Dedmon was lost early in the game with a sprained knee (MRI scheduled for Friday) and late in the second half his replacement, James Blasczyk, went down with a lower leg injury. That left USC with just five healthy scholarship players, and at 0-8 in the Pac-12 things don't look good for the Trojans.

2. One player the nation needs to become more familiar with is UC Riverside guard Phil Martin. Martin nearly led the Highlanders past first-place Long Beach State with 31 points and seven rebounds but it wasn't enough as the 49ers strengthened their grip on first place with a 77-70 overtime win. All five starters for The Beach reached double figures with Casper Ware's 18 leading the way.

3. On Saturday, Arizona made just three of twenty shots from beyond the arc in a one-point loss at Colorado. Against Washington State on Thursday night the Wildcats made 15 of 26 in their 85-61 win over the Cougars, who also lost reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week Faisal Aden late in the first half with a left knee injury. Losing their most explosive scorer for an extended period time would be a terrible blow to take for the Cougars.

4. Interim head coach Wes Miller has done a good job of turning things around at UNC Greensboro, and the Spartans won their fifth straight 77-73 over Appalachian State in overtime. Derrell Armstrong scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench and Trevis Simpson added 24 for UNCG, who is now 5-4 in Southern Conference play (half-game behind Elon for first in the North Division).

5. Nevada was able to separate themselves from the pack in the WAC with a 68-60 win at New Mexico State, moving two games ahead of the Aggies in the standings. Deonte Burton scored 17 points and Dario Hunt added 15 and eight rebounds for the Wolf Pack, who also received some help in the form of Utah State's 77-72 win over Hawai'i.

6. Idaho State won a thriller at home, beating Northern Colorado 99-94 in double overtime. But even more important for the Bengals is that they're now a game ahead of both UNC and Eastern Washington in the standings at 4-4, and in the Big Sky only the top six teams qualify for the conference tournament. Chase Grabau led the way with 30 points on 11-for-15 shooting and Melvin Morgan added 22 and five assists for the Bengals.

7. Saint Mary's remained undefeated in WCC play with a 71-64 win at Loyola Marymount, remaining a game ahead of Gonzaga and two ahead of BYU with a trip to Provo next on the schedule (Saturday). Stephen Holt scored 19 points, Matthew Dellavedova 13 and Rob Jones 11 and 15 rebounds. But Brad Waldow's been a key contributor of late as well, scoring ten points following a 14-point, 16-rebound performance at Santa Clara.

Three Notable Performers

1. G Travis Bader (Oakland) and G Nate Wolters (South Dakota State)
Wolters posted a very good line of 21 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds, but it wasn't enough as Bader led the Golden Grizzlies to the 92-87 win with a record-setting night. Bader shot 10-for-14 from three on his way to 37 points off the bench.

2. G J.P. Primm (UNC Asheville)
30 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds in the Bulldogs' 90-70 win over High Point.

3. G Kevin Murphy (Tennessee Tech)
34 points, six rebounds and three assists in the Golden Eagles' 82-65 win at Eastern Kentucky.

Monday Recap: #10 Marquette, #12 Kansas Both Upset

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:18:10 -0800

What looked to be a routine post-finals Monday in college basketball turned out to be anything but as two ranked teams fell. #10 Marquette went on the road to take on an LSU team that much isn't expected of this season and found themselves in a dog fight. Averaging 81 points per game the Golden Eagles finished the game 22 points below their average in the 67-59 loss to the Tigers, with LSU making the required plays on both ends of the floor late.

Ralston Turner led the way with 22 points while Justin Hamilton (13 points, seven rebounds) and Storm Warren (10 points, six rebounds) also reached double figures and point guard Anthony Hickey added eight points, six assists and four steals. LSU very well could have allowed things to get out of hand from the start as Marquette rushed out to a 13-0 lead, but Trent Johnson's team didn't panic and they used defense to get back into the contest. Marquette shot 36.3% from the field and turned the ball over 15 times, and their bench was outscored 24-4 as well.

"We got hit in the face a little bit with that 13-0 run," said Johnson. "I thought those guys (senior reserves Malcolm White, Storm Warren and Chris Bass) came in and gave us a lot of energy. They competed their tails off and then we got back in the thing and found out that we can compete a little bit."

How often will Buzz Williams' team have to account for quiet nights from Vander Blue (four points, 1-4 FG), Junior Cadougan (six points, 3-10 FG) and Todd Mayo (two points, 0-5 FG)? Probably won't happen all that much, and when adding to that LSU's offensive efficiency of 103.1 despite turning the ball over on 28% of their possessions the makings for an upset are there. Jae Crowder (22 points) and Darius Johnson-Odom (16 points but six turnovers) led the way offensively for Marquette, and a positive they can take out of the game was the seven points and eight rebounds supplied by Davante Gardner.

Not as much luck for #12 Kansas, who trailed for much of the night in their 80-74 loss to Davidson in Kansas City. The big question for Bill Self's team in the aftermath of the defeat: outside of Thomas Robinson (21 points, 18 rebounds) where did the Jayhawks have a clear edge on the Wiildcats? Davidson turned the ball over 12 times in the first half yet still went into the break with a 33-32 lead as the Jayhawks shot just 39.8% from the field.

Bob McKillop's team would be even better in the second half taking care of the basketball, not turning it over once. Nik Cochran led four starters in double figures with 21 points and while Davidson didn't shoot well from the field (41.0%) they shot well from the foul line (19-25) while Kansas left points on the board in shooting 18-for-31. It's one thing to shoot poorly from the field, but leaving points at the charity stripe will more times than not come back to haunt you.

The Wildcats also outscored Kansas 33-18 from beyond the arc, with Cochran being the main marksman by knocking down four of five attempts. Kansas made a few threes late to stay in the game but it was too little too late, as Davidson put more effort as the game wore on in doubling Robinson inside. The Jayhawks simply couldn't get over the hump in front of a partisan crowd, and in the final minutes Davidson landed the critical blows needed to bounce back with a win following their blowout loss at Charlotte.

"I thought we came out in the second half and scored two baskets, which at least put us in the center ring for the rest of the half," remarked McKillop. "I thought our resiliency was a great statement about our team maturing and showing poise and taking a week of practice after a tough loss and really capitalizing on it."

Other Notable Happenings

1. Marshall beats Belmont by one in a thriller in Huntington.
The game of the night did not disappoint, with Marshall needing a missed Kerron Johnson layup as time expired to hang on for the 87-86 win. Damier Pitts (19 points, 11 assists) and Dennis Tinnon (24 points, ten rebounds) each posted double-doubles while DeAndre Kane led the way with 29 points for the Thundering Herd, who are now 8-2 and have the talent to challenge Memphis in Conference USA. Johnson led six Belmont players in double figures with 18 points, but despite the margin of defeat Rick Byrd's team will be able to point at second-chance points as the difference.

Marshall grabbed 14 offensive boards and outscored Belmont 23-7 in second-chance points, a margin that did more damage to the visitors than the 16-4 spread in fast-break points. The good news for the Bruins is that they'll get another shot at the Herd in ten days in Nashville, but if they can't rectify the issues on the boards between now and then the rematch will likely net the same result. As for Marshall this is another solid win for their resume, and if they can to C-USA play with an 11-2 record Bill Herrion's team would be a a nice spot in terms of a possible at-large berth.

2. No Gutierrez or Solomon? No problem for Cal, who blew out UCSB.
With forward Richard Solomon out for at least the next two games with a stress fracture in his left foot and guard Jorge Gutierrez falling ill, the Golden Bears were without two key cogs for their game against UCSB. With the Gauchos having one of the more potent perimeter attacks in James Nunnally and Orlando Johnson a loss at home was a distinct possiblity. But Justin Cobbs would have none of that talk, scoring a career-high 25 points (10-12 FG) and Allen Crabbe adding 19 in the Golden Bears' 70-50 victory.

Nunnally and Johnson combined to score just 19 points, making nine of twenty-five shots from the field and as a team UCSB made two of thirteen from beyond the arc (Cal finished 11-for-20). Freshman David Kravish replaced Solomon in the starting lineup, finishing with seven points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Kravish isn't needed to be a scorer as the Bears have enough weapons to take care of that department, but his ability to hit the glass and do the little things has been a factor in their 10-2 start. Next up for Cal is a tough non-conference game at UNLV this weekend before they begin Pac-12 play next week.

3. Denver does the job defensively in handing Wyoming their second loss.
There was the question of just how legit Larry Shyatt's Cowboys were as they boasted an 11-1 record going into Monday's game at Denver. But in the aftermath of the Pioneers' 57-46 win at Magness Arena the better conclusion to draw may be that Joe Scott's got a Sun Belt title contender on his hands. Denver attempted just 39 shots for the game but they outscored the Cowboys 27-3 from beyond the arc, and Chase Hallam scored 21 points in his third double-digit effort of the season.

Wyoming shot 37.2% from the field while making just one of thirteen from beyond the arc, and that difference proved costly as the Pioneers made six of nine from three in the second half. Hallam's a key figure for Denver if they're going to be right there with Middle Tennessee in the Sun Belt race. After averaging 12.5 points per game and shooting 46.2% from the field in 2010-11 Hallam's numbers have dropped significantly this season (7.8 ppg, 40.3% FG), and that will need to change in order to supplement the efforts of Brian Stafford and Chris Udofia. The hope for Denver is that Hallam's 21-point outing is a step in the right direction.

Quick Hitters

1. A third head coach stepped down on Monday, with Idaho State and Joe O'Brien parting ways. The Bengals are 2-8 on the season and O'Brien concludes his tenure at ISU with a record of 56-105. Assistant coach Deane Martin was named interim head coach.

2. North Carolina grabbed a staggering 72 rebounds in their 99-49 win over Nicholls State. The Colonels have to adjust to life without the graduated Anatoly Bose, and it's been a rough go as they dropped to 4-8 on the season. Three UNC players grabbed at least ten rebounds with two more grabbing at least seven, and as a team the Tar Heels finished with 31 offensive rebounds.

3. It might be time to speak of Creighton forward Doug McDermott the same way Bum Phillips used to speak of Earl Campbell when he coached the Houston Oilers. He might not be the best forward in the country but it doesn't take long to call roll, and McDermott put up 35 points (career-high) and seven rebounds in the Bluejays' 83-64 win at Tulsa.

4. Another forward moving in that direction is West Virginia forward Kevin Jones. Jones put up 25 points, 14 rebounds and two assists in the Mountaineers' 72-53 win over Tennessee Tech, and he's got six double-doubles in ten games.

5. Kudos to USF for proving this writer wrong with their 70-55 win over Cleveland State. Jawanza Poland made his return and scored 13 points off the bench while Cleveland State made just seven of twenty-six shots from beyond the arc in their second loss of the season. Good win for Stan Heath's club.

6. Two teams tied for first place in the Big South dropped non-conference road games on Monday night, as Campbell lost to UNC Wilmington 67-65 and Coastal Carolina was whipped 76-51 by East Carolina. The Chanticleers made just three of twenty-one shots from three in their loss at ECU while Matt Wilson's tip-in with 1.4 seconds remaining spelled doom for the Camels.

7. Welcome back, Darnell Dodson. His three-pointer as time expired gave Southern Miss a 64-61 win at Arizona State in what turned out to be a wild affair. Well before the Golden Eagles blew a nine-point lead in the final minute USM's Torye Pelham and ASU's Ruslan Pateev were ejected for fighting, and LaShay Page scored all 14 of his points in the second half.

8. What's more surprising about USC's 83-59 beating of TCU: that they scored 83 points or that they got college basketball's "iron man" Maurice Jones four minutes of rest? Jones, who leads the nation in minutes per game, led four Trojans in double figures with 25 points and USC shot 50.9% from the field. That "extra" rest could come into play on Thursday night as USC hosts Kansas.

9. The Basketball Hall of Fame released its first list of candidates for the Cousy Award on Monday, and two names are missing from the list: Saint Mary's Matthew Dellavedova and Missouri's Phil Pressey.

Four Notable Performances

1. F Kevin Jones (West Virginia)
25 points, 14 rebounds and two assists in the Mountaineers' 72-53 win over Tennessee Tech.

2. F Doug McDermott (Creighton)
Career-high 35 points and seven rebounds in the Bluejays' 83-64 win over Tulsa.

3. F Thomas Robinson (Kansas)
21 points and 18 rebounds in the Jayhawks' 80-74 loss to Davidson.

4. C Meyers Leonard (Illinois)
19 points, 16 rebounds and two assists in the Fighting Illini's 64-60 win over Cornell.

Poll: Who Will Win the Big Sky?

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:41:04 -0700

Big Sky Tournament: Preview & Odds

Evan Dorey — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:01:15 -0800

This is one in a series of conference tournament previews, in which I run down all the teams involved, give a brief statistical review and present the log5 projections, using in-conference offensive and defensive efficiency. The basic log5 methodology comes from Bill James, and this is an area Ken Pomeroy has looked at in the past as well. I claim nothing new in the application, but obviously with slightly different methodologies, these numbers may differ from others you find. I don’t claim to be an expert on any particular conference, and I’m sure there are some mis-characterizations on some players I’ve seen sparingly at best, so please add your thoughts in the comments. Anyway, with no further ado, the preview follows below:

Big Sky Conference

The Big Sky Tournament features just 6 of the conference’s 9 teams, with the top two teams getting automatic semifinal byes. The first round games are played at campus sites, while Weber St. hosts the semis and final at the Dee Events Center.

#	Team	SF	F	W
1	Weber St.	100.00%	87.17%	73.11%
2	Portland St.	100.00%	58.13%	13.29%
3	Montana	94.12%	41.37%	7.97%
4	Idaho St.	70.40%	9.54%	4.30%
5	Northern Colorado	29.60%	3.30%	1.31%
6	Montana St.	5.88%	0.50%	0.02%

Weber would have been favorites at a neutral site. At home, they should be able to win the two games they’ll need.

#1 – Weber St. Wildcats (21-8, 15-1) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.173

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2007 (1^st Round)

There’s little question which team was the best in the Big Sky, as Weber St. has dominated its conference competition, entering the tournament with an 11-game winning streak. With the tournament being hosted in Ogden, the Wildcats should be heavy favorites, though it is worth noting that their only loss of the season came on their home court. They’ve taken the league thanks to their spectacular play on the offensive end, as they have put up one of the best eFG percentages in the nation. They take a lot of three-pointers, and hit more than 41% of those attempts, while also managing to make 55% of their attempts inside. They are poor offensive rebounders, but they don’t get much chance to practice, given how they make shots. Weber St. also has the best defensive team in the conference, dominating the boards and stopping shots well in all areas of the floor.

Players to watch:

5-6 SR Kellen McCoy, 14.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 58.2 eFG% - The Big Sky MVP, McCoy is the Wildcats’ top scorer and best three-point shooter, and can easily go for twenty points in a game. His free-throw shooting is also excellent, but the Wildcats must be concerned that he hasn’t been to the line in either of the last two games.

6-2 FR Damian Lillard, 11.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.0 APG, 53.6 eFG% - Lillard is coming in on a huge high, after finishing his regular season with a career-high 27 point effort against Montana St. He’s one of a large cast of strong shooters the Wildcats can call upon.

#2 – Portland St. Vikings (21-9, 11-5) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.093

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2008 (1^st Round)

The defending champions got a couple of big results in the non-conference schedule, losing a close one against Washington and winning at Gonzaga, but struggled with their form on the road in the last month of the season, winning just one of five games. The Vikings have a three-heavy offense, and do a pretty good job with it, hitting more than 38% of their attempts, and are a solid team inside as well. Their strength is their defense, and while they aren’t great at stopping opponents’ shots, they force a lot of turnovers and rarely send opponents to the line.

Players to watch:

6-1 JR Dominic Waters, 11.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 58.9 eFG% - Waters is the best three-point shooter on a team of quality shooters, hitting 46% of his long range attempts, and while he tends to be a inconsistent scorer, he has had a strong run in the games leading up to the tournament.

5-6 SR Jeremiah Dominguez, 12.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.8 SPG, 54.0 eFG% - Portland St.’s leading scorer is another player who hits more than 40% of his three-pointers, but unlike Waters, he hits just a third of his shots from inside the arc. He also leads the team in assists and steals.

#3 –Montana Grizzlies (17-11, 11-5) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.071

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 2006 (2^nd Round)

The Grizzlies ran off a seven-game winning streak in the middle of the conference season, and that was enough to power them up to third in the league. They are the last of the Big Sky’s teams to hold opponents under a point-per-possession, as they stop opponents from making shots, including allowing just 45% from two-point range. They need to force a lot of misses, as they don’t take the ball away from their opponents too often. The Montana offense hasn’t been that good; it hasn’t been able to transfer its obvious shooting ability, nearly 78% from the free throw line, into shots from the field. It is a poor offensive rebounding team, but this is somewhat mitigated by how well it holds onto the ball.

Players to watch:

6-2 JR Anthony Johnson, 17.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, 54.0 eFG% - Johnson is the conference’s best scorer, and leads the Grizzlies in assists. He shoots 54% on his two-point attempts, and leads the conference in shooting from the free throw line, at 87%.

6-9 SR Jordan Hasquet, 10.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 50.6 eFG% - Hasquet leads the team in rebounding, is one of the team’s better three-point shooters, and has committed just 9 turnovers in 2009.

#4 – Idaho St. Bengals (12-18, 9-7) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.068

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1987 (1^st Round)

Idaho St. should be able to make the semi-finals, as it is has had a very good record at home in conference play, only losing to Weber St. With the Wildcats waiting in the semis, though, any further would be a big surprise. The Bengals are a slow, deliberate, interior focused team, and make 54% of attempts from inside the arc, good enough to make them the conference’s second best offense. Idaho St. has been average defensively, though they have had problems with sending opponents to the free throw line.

Players to watch:

6-6 SR Matt Stucki, 12.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 55.2 eFG% - Stucki is a 6-6 player whose style is a lot like a guard’s; he’s not a great rebounder, but leads the conference in assists and leads the team in three-point shooting.

6-5 JR Amorrow Morgan, 13.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 50.7 eFG% - Morgan plays more minutes than anyone else in the Big Sky, and leads the Bengals in scoring, a good inside player who can also hit threes pretty well.

#5 – Northern Colorado Bears (14-17, 8-8) ; Efficiency Margin: +0.047

Last NCAA Tournament bid: None

Just five years into its Division I history, Northern Colorado has made its first Big Sky tournament, and will have a decent shot against an Idaho St. team that it split a tight pair of games with in the regular season. The Bears’ games tend to feature a lot of threes being hit, as they make 42% of their attempts and allow opponents 38%. Despite these extremes, they are average on both ends of the floor, as they are excellent defensive rebounders, but commit a fair number of turnovers. They also get to the free throw line a lot, an area where they earn a lot of points.

Players to watch:

6-7 JR Jabril Banks, 12.3 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 64.4 eFG% - Banks leads the Bears in scoring, and is an excellent inside shooter, with one of the conference’s best field goal percentages. He also get to the free throw line a lot, and shoots a very respectable 73% once there.

6-0 SO Devon Beitzel, 11.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 61.8 eFG% - Beitzel had a magical four game stretch just before the holiday break in which he averaged more than 25 points, but since then he’s been pretty up-and-down with his scoring. He’s a very good shooter, well over 40% from outside and nearly at 60% inside the arc.

#6 – Montana St. Bobcats (9-19, 5-9) ; Efficiency Margin: -0.060

Last NCAA Tournament bid: 1996 (1^st Round)

Montana St. snuck into the tournament despite going 1-6 to close the conference season, and sitting 8^th in the league in efficiency margin, so an early exit should be expected. The Bobcats are the conference’s worst shooters, and allow opponents to make a high percentage of shots inside, so their strength on the glass doesn’t help them that much. They lost both of their games with Montana fairly handily, and I’d expect a third defeat in a similar vein.

Players to watch:

6-9 SR Divaldo Mbunga, 10.1 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.6 BPG, 54.4 eFG% - Mbunga has been a very efficient player over the season, but has seen his role in the offense decrease over recent weeks, something that’s not caused a lot of trouble for the Bobcats. Still, he leads the conference in rebounds and blocks, and is a critical player inside.

6-3 JR Will Bynum, 10.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.1 SPG, 49.8 eFG% - No, not that Will Bynum. Leading the team in scoring, and the Big Sky in steals, he’s an solid inside scorer, over 50% from two-point range.

My statistical all-Big Sky team:

Montana JR G Anthony Johnson, 17.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, 54.0 eFG%

Weber St. SR G Kellen McCoy, 14.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.4 SPG, 58.2 eFG%

Idaho St. SR G Matt Stucki, 12.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 55.2 eFG%

Northern Colorado JR F Jabril Banks, 12.3 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 64.4 eFG%

Northern Arizona SO F Shane Johannsen, 9.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 72.7 eFG%

College Basketball: 20 Random Thoughts & Observations

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:26:11 -0800

20 Random Rants, Thoughts, and Observations from the Week in College Basketball by CollegeHoops.net Editor Shawn Siegel:

1 - Everyone knows the Big East is loaded. This is most unfortunate for Rutgers who will have a hard time winning more than a game or two in league play. The Knights have already lost to Lehigh, Binghamton, and St. Bonaventure (2 of those coming at home.) When they go on the road to face UNC in 2 weeks, the score could potentially be 100-0.

2 - One of the Big East's other 2nd rate teams is DePaul. It's only a matter of time before Jerry Wainwright loses his job. Home losses to Morgan State won't cut it.

3 - Gonzaga is real good.. and whether you like him or not, Josh Heytvelt is going to be on an NBA roster in less than 12 months.

4 - Davidson finally knocked off what will be an RPI Top 100 team for the first time in about 5 regular seasons. Granted, the opponent, West Virginia, was missing their starting backcourt, and it went down to the wire, but still.. a win is a win. Give Davidson a lot of credit for scheduling some tough non-conference games, which still includes Purdue and Duke. The administration was smart to maximize the programs' sudden national TV opportunities.

5 - I was at the Jimmy V Classic last night, and maybe I only saw him at his best, but Davidson freshman Ben Allison has some raw potential to look out for in the future. A lively and physically impressive 6-9 player out of England, Allison could become a top-level SoCo performer.

6 - Whatever happened to.. Scottie Reynolds? Except for a stat-boosting joke win over Houston Baptist, the Nova junior has been highly mediocre. His game has mostly remained stagnant since his breakout freshman season.

7 - On the flip side, Dante Cunningham has made impressive gains each of his four seasons in Philly. His stats have improved across the board (he's now averaging 18 & 8), and his 15 foot jumper is suddenly a weapon.

8 - I mentioned this on the message board, but since when did UMASS forward Tony Gaffney get good? The 5th year senior has been filling the stat sheet with averages of 13 points, 13 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 2 steals per game. Gaffney made another triple-double run tonight with 17, 11, and 8 blocks in a win over Holy Cross. Will NBA scouts begin to take notice of his production?

9 - San Diego is now just 4-5, a weak start for a program some experts felt would make a push for a repeat tourney bid. Don't forget though that if not for hosting the WCC tourney, the Toreros would simply have never made the Dance, and no one would have paid attention to them in the off-season.

10 - Butler's solid start continued with a win at Bradley tonight, which sets up a very intriguing test against unbeaten Ohio State on Saturday. The player to watch is Gordon Hayward, a 6-8 wing who has quietly emerged as one of the country's best freshmen. Hayward's best weapon is his top-notch 3-point shot, but he's surprisingly athletic and can board, defend, and even pass the ball around with ease.

11 - Last week I spoke about Charlotte being a bit unlucky. Equally snake-bitten is Idaho State, who lost 3 overtime games in a row in November (against Hawaii, Boise State, and LBSU). Following an upset win over Utah earlier in the week, ISU almost pulled of a shock upset over Wisconsin last night. This is a dangerous team once Big Sky play takes off.

12 - While Eric Maynor is a lock to win the CAA Player of the Year award, next year's winner might be Hofstra's Charles Jenkins. Following the graduation of Antoine Agudio, the sophomore has emerged as the Pride's go-to scorer and overall leader. He's averaging 22 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists a game, and is one of the most consistent contributors on a night to night basis. Hofstra's 7-1 start has to be considered a surprise.

13 - I thought tonight would be NJIT's big breakthrough, but the winless Highlanders lost to lowly St Peter's at home. I don't see a winnable game on their schedule for almost another month.

14 - One formerly winless team off the hook is Wright State. The Raiders beat Toledo 50-35 to end a 6-game skid. This was a team that was supposed to contend for the Horizon title, but who so far as been a major disappointment. Even in the win, they shot a brutal 1-19 from three.

15 - Every season, I put together a best names in college basketball list.. Creighton's Booker Woodfox is definitely making an appearance.

16 - It boggles my mind that I'm not winning CHN's pickem game yet. You should sign up if you get the chance. (Need to get a little CHN promotion in here each week..)

17 - BYU has played an extremely soft schedule, so you can't get overly excited about their 8-0 start. But the Cougars have been pummeling people all year, and I'm a believer in this team's Top 25 pedigree. They make their debut on the national scene next week when they face ranked Arizona State. Lee Cummard is legit.

18 - For his sake and the female involved, lets hope today's story about Eric Devendorf hitting a student in the face turns out to be false. If it is true, I hope the University takes a firm stance and doesn't relax the rules because he's a basketball player.

19 - Somehow #19 ended up being a copy of #1 in a faulty copy and paste move along the way.. so a day late, here's the new #19: I cried last night knowing that Billy Packer won't be covering any more Final Fours..

20 - Tomorrow night is awful for college basketball fans. Just 8 games, and the lone TV affair (St. Joe's at Villanova) shouldn't be terribly exciting. Saturday's action can't get here soon enough.

- Think I'm wrong? Let's hear it below:

Big Sky Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:16:03 -0800

Conference Rank: 23rd

Conference Page

All-BIG SKY Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Jeremiah Dominguez	Portland St	Sr
G	Josh Wilson	NAU	Sr
F	Phil Nelson	Portland St	So
F	Jabril Banks	No. Colorado	Sr
F	Jordan Hasquet	Montana	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
none		Points: Jeremiah Dominguez 14.2 Rebounds: Jordan Hasquet 7.2 Assists: Josh Wilson 5.4

BIG SKY Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

112	Montana	Big Sky	1	NCAA
149	Portland State**	Big Sky	2
181	Northern Arizona	Big Sky	3
203	Weber State	Big Sky	4
243	Idaho State	Big Sky	5
265	Eastern Wash	Big Sky	6
279	Northern Colorado	Big Sky	7
308	Montana State	Big Sky	8
327	Sacramento St	Big Sky	9

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the Big Sky?

Other BIG SKY Content

Conference Media Poll

Other

Rise & Fall: Big Sky

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the Big Sky?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:41:14 -0700

Seven Day Stretch: The Week in College Hoops

Rob Carpentier — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:24:37 -0800

Seven Day Savior (Team): New Jersey Schools

This week’s selection is not a team, but a state. The schools in New Jersey had a heck of a week. Both Rutgers and Seton Hall went 2-0 last week, and in the Hall’s case, its two victories, over Providence and Cincinnati, went a long way to making them look like and NCAA Tourney team. Fred Hill’s Rutgers squad needed the wins, over Louisville and on the road against Pitt, to possibly save his job. Now the Scarlet Knights have some serious momentum going. Interestingly enough, Rutgers and Seton Hall squared off last night. Even Princeton, which has fallen precipitously over the past three seasons, won for only the third time this year…granted, it was against a non-D1 school, but a win’s a win. In fact, of the four losses suffered last week by NJ’s 7 D1 schools, (I don’t count NJIT, who clearly made a mistake by opting up to Division 1), two of them were losses to other schools from the Garden State.

Seven Day Savior (Player): Amorrow Morgan

Sophomore guard Amorrow Morgan of Idaho State. The Bengals, who sit at 8-12 overall, are 5-2 in the Big Sky Conference and are in a virtual tie with league leader Northern Arizona, got 21 points from their point guard as they defeated NAU this past Saturday. Morgan was scoring at will against the Lumberjacks, which was good for Idaho State because they were down by as much as 11 points in the second half before the rest of the squad decided to follow Morgan’s lead. Earlier in the week, Morgan led the Bengals to an easy win over Sacramento State, not by scoring, but by handing out assists. He had 8 assists, but only one turnover in the game as well as scoring eight points. Morgan has been key for an ISU program that hasn’t been this high in the conference’s standings this late in the season in almost a decade.

Game of the Week (The one you DON’T know about): Winthrop vs UNCA

The top two teams in the Big South, Winthrop and UNC-Asheville, face off on Saturday in Asheville. Perennial conference heavyweight Winthrop is sitting in second place in the Big South with one loss. Asheville, on the other hand, which has already made national news because of 7’7” center Kenny George, is sitting atop the conference with an undefeated record. Both teams recognize the mental boost winning this game will give them, as the Big South is a one-bid league. That’s a shame because both teams have shown they can beat teams from the “power” conferences. Winthrop has already defeated Miami (FL), who will probably make the NCAA Tournament, and Asheville has defeated South Carolina on the road and lost at North Carolina by only 12 in a game that was closer than the score. Most importantly, however, the Big South has a conference tournament where games, including the championship, are played at the site of the higher seed. Asheville stands a much better chance of getting to the NCAAs if they can hold serve on Saturday and take a two-game lead on the Eagles.

Seven Days Under the Radar: South Alabama

The South Alabama Jaguars are quietly having one of the best seasons in the school’s history. The Jags are currently on a 13-game winning streak, lead the Sun Belt Conference with an undefeated 9-0 mark and have an overall record of 17-3. Perhaps most importantly, USA has an RPI rating of 27. Along the way, South Alabama has defeated Mississippi State, who is currently the leader of the SEC West, Southern Mississippi and Western Kentucky, while losing at Mississippi by 3 and at Vanderbilt in overtime back when the Commodores were still undefeated. Coach Ronnie Arrow, who is in his second stint as Jaguar head coach, has a squad dominated by upperclassmen and has four players averaging in double figures, including senior guard Demetric Bennett, who is averaging over 20 PPG. The high major conferences better hope that USA wins the Sun Belt Conference Tournament because if they don’t, barring a complete collapse, the Jags are going to get an at-large bid to the NCAAs.

Seven Days on the Hot Seat: Ben Braun

California’s Ben Braun has been able to bring some very good talent to the Berkeley campus, but he hasn’t been able to get it to ever fully gel. While a god recruiter, (Cal is one of the tougher academic institutions in the country), Braun has been criticized each year because of his supposed mediocre in-game adjustments. At the end of the past two seasons there has been noise made by the Cal faithful about dumping Braun, and the noise has gotten progressively louder. Last spring, there was a fairly unified effort by boosters and fans to convince Golden Bear Athletic Director Sandy Barbour to move in a new direction. Instead Braun was given another season or two because he last year he lost arguably his best player in 6’11” center DeVon Hardin. Well, Hardin is back and Braun is running out of excuses as Cal slipped to 9^th place in the Pac-10 this past weekend after losing at home to Stanford. Braun and the Bears are 2-5 in the conference and four of those losses have come at home. Now the Bears travel to the Washington schools before starting the second half of their Pac-10 schedule which will include trips to L.A., Arizona and Stanford. Jay John was fired last week; Ben Braun may be the next pac-10 coach to get a pink slip.

Seven Days of Head Scratching: Refusing to Play Zone

As I was watching Connecticut host Louisville on Monday night, it dawned on me that the only reason that Louisville was staying in the game was because of Coach Rick Pitino, and more specifically his decision to go with a zone defense against the Huskies. It’s not important as to the specifics because the question that left me scratching my head was: Why don’t more coaches employ zone defenses in their repertoire? I have watched several games this year where I wondered out loud why a coach would prefer a man defense against a team that is so good at attacking it. In the Pac-10, teams insist on playing man against UCLA when they clearly struggle against a zone defense. USC ran zone against them and beat them. The Trojans ran a “gimmick” zone against Memphis and should have beaten the Tigers. Louisville ran a zone against the Huskies because Pitino knew that two of UConn’s best outside shooters were suspended. Pitino did this despite knowing his team likes to push the tempo. Coaches today seem less flexible with changing defensive styles because they feel that they want to establish an identity for their team. Jim Boeheim acts much the same way, only he refuses to play man defense, even when he has some outstanding athletes on his roster. It’s almost as if coaches are working as if their jobs were to look innovative and smart in front of the cameras. And here I thought a coach’s job at the D-1 level was to win games. Isn’t that the innovative and smart thing to do?

News of the Week: Tournament Bids

As January gets close to turning into February, the talk of who will make the Big Dance is beginning to heat up. Among the foremost topics right now is the total number of teams that will receive an NCAA Tournament invite from a given conference. Surprisingly, the ACC and the Big Ten are the current focal points of this conversation. I say surprisingly because it seems like each year both of these traditionally powerful basketball conferences are virtually guaranteed to get at least five teams into the Tournament. However, this year, both conferences have serious questions regarding about how many teams will get their tickets punched. The ACC has two locks in Duke and North Carolina, but then there is a jumbled mess. 9 of the 12 conference teams have at least 3 conference losses already and, outside of Clemson, all of them have middling computer numbers. The Big Ten is even worse off. Indiana, supposedly one of the top 2 in the conference, was defeated at home by a very average Connecticut squad. While Indiana is most likely a lock, along with Michigan State, only Wisconsin and Ohio State are even in a realistic NCAA conversation right now. Even worse, the conference sits 6^th in the RPI standings, last among the so called “BCS” conferences. So what does this all mean? Major conferences such as the Pc-10 and the Big East may very well be the beneficiaries of this drop off, with both conferences looking at realistically getting at least 7 teams into the Tournament. More importantly, though, and here’s the news, it opens things up for mid-major conferences. There is talk of the Atlantic 10 getting as many as four teams into the Tournament, while the Mountain West can argue that their 3^rd and even 4^th place teams have better resumes than those in the middle of the pack of either the ACC or the Big Ten. Then there’s the Horizon League and West Coast Conference that have real chances of getting multiple teams into the Big Dance. Things can change between now and Selection Sunday, but don’t be shocked if there are some major surprises when the brackets are unveiled.