Valparaiso

Gonzaga vs. #16 Saint Mary's: Thursday's Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:42:05 -0500

Could there be a changing of the guard in the West Coast Conference? While that may be a tough question to ask given the sustained run of success that Gonzaga (18-4, 8-2) has enjoyed over the years, winning the last eleven WCC regular season titles, Saint Mary's (22-2, 11-0) would establish a three-game lead with four conference games remaining with a win in Spokane. Led by seniors Matthew Dellavedova (15.5 ppg, 6.4 apg) and Rob Jones (14.8 ppg, 10.7 rpg), the Gaels have already swept BYU and handed Gonzaga an 83-62 loss back on January 12th. While Jones accounted for 11 rebounds and eight assists in that game he only scored two points, and the Gaels benefitted from other players stepping up their play.

One of those was redshirt freshman Brad Waldow (8.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg), who scored 17 points and grabbed ten rebounds in the first meeting. Waldow's reached double figures in points in each of the last four games, with a 14-point, 16-rebound performance at Santa Clara to begin the streak. Mitchell Young was also instrumental in the win over Gonzaga as he scored 12 points off the bench, and that production proved to be too much for the Bulldogs to overcome due in part to the quiet night that Robert Sacre (1-for-7, four points) had. Both Sacre (11.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and Elias Harris (13.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg) need to be productive if Gonzaga is to control the flow of the contest tonight.

Another issue for Gonzaga in the first meeting was the overall play of the backcourt, as Kevin Pangos was their most productive guard with 12 points and four assists. But the other members of the rotation, from David Stockton to Marquise Carter to Gary Bell Jr., were all relatively quiet as Dellavedova took over the game with 26 points and six assists. Stephen Holt was also a factor for the Gaels as he scored 17 points, and while Jorden Page and Clint Steindl were quiet on that night they both have the ability to step up as well. Steindl scored 16 points in 21 minutes off the bench in Saint Mary's win at BYU, knocking down four of six from beyond the arc.

While equal in three-point percentage (36.6%), Saint Mary's has been the better offensive team this season as they boast a higher efficiency (117.4 to 109.4) and a better assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4 to 1.04 for Gonzaga) on the season. Gonzaga is essentially breaking even on assists and turnovers to date, and they can't afford to do so if they're to beat Saint Mary's. If a guard other than Pangos can play well that will be just as much of a boost for the Zags as the raucous crowd. To become the champion sometimes it takes going into the house of the reigning champ and winning to take full possession of the throne, and that's the mission in front of Randy Bennett's team.

Illinois visits Indiana on the heels of a disappointing home loss to Norhtwestern, and it's a key game for both teams with regards to possible NCAA seeding down the line. The Hoosiers are coming off of a much-needed win at Purdue, and with the likes of Victor Oladipo and Jordan Hulls there isn't much reason to question the effort of Tom Crean's team. But for whatever reason that hasn't always been the case with the Fighting Illini, who really need to figure out their "identity" and how to get the most out of their talent. Meyers Leonard and Brandon Paul lead the way for Bruce Weber, but consistent play from the likes of Joseph Bertrand and D.J. Richardson is a must down the stretch.

There are a pair of important contests in the Pac-12 as Arizona hosts Colorado and Washington visits Oregon, with the Huskies currently alone in first place. The Wildcats, fresh off of their sweep of the Bay Area road trip, likely have the second-best at-large profile in the conference (Cal having the best) but falling too far out of first place could get them in trouble. Tad Boyle's Buffaloes have been a pleasant surprise within the league, and in Andre Roberson they've got the league's best rebounder. His battle with Solomon Hill will be worth the price of admission by itself, and the young talent on the floor for both teams should be a good sign for the future.

In Eugene Tony Wroten and Terrence Ross lead the way for a Washington team that allowed some important non-conference opportunities to slip away, making it even more important that they find a way to win the regular season crown. Oregon's perimeter trio of Devoe Joseph, Garrett Sim and E.J. Singler are skilled enough to be a handful themselves, and this game is usually one that gets the fans into Matthew Knight Arena.

Ole Miss could really use a win at Mississippi State to help their fleeting at-large hopes and the same goes for Minnesota, who hosts Wisconsin. NC State (at Georgia Tech) and Miami (hosting Virginia Tech) are both playing games they can't afford to lose for the sake of their respective resumes, and undefeated Murray State is also in action. Lastly the Horizon League features an important contest as Valparaiso visits Cleveland State with the Vikings (10-2) up a game in the loss column.

Top 25 Games
8:00 PM Tennessee State at (7) Murray State (ESPN3)
11:00 PM (13) Saint Mary's at Gonzaga (ESPN2)
7:00 PM Ole Miss at (18) Mississippi State (ESPN2)
7:00 PM (22) Wisconsin at Minnesota (ESPN)
8:00 PM Illinois at (23) Indiana (BTN)

NCAA Division I Games
7:00 PM Lehigh at American (CBS SN)
7:00 PM NC State at Georgia Tech (ESPNU)
7:00 PM Maine at Boston University
7:00 PM Albany at New Hampshire (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Appalachian State at Furman
7:00 PM Elon at Chattanooga (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Wofford at Georgia Southern
7:00 PM Siena at Niagara
7:00 PM High Point at Coastal Carolina
7:00 PM Valparaiso at Cleveland State
7:00 PM Winthrop at Campbell
7:00 PM Rider at Canisius
7:00 PM Denver at Florida Atlantic
7:00 PM North Texas at Florida International (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Radford at Gardner-Webb
7:00 PM VMI at Presbyterian
7:00 PM UMBC at Stony Brook
7:00 PM Davidson at Citadel
7:00 PM Butler at Youngstown State (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Utah Valley at N.J.I.T.
7:30 PM Liberty at Charleston Southern
7:30 PM Manhattan at Fairfield
8:00 PM Arkansas State at South Alabama
8:00 PM North Dakota State at UMKC
8:00 PM Western Carolina at Charleston (ESPN3)
8:00 PM South Dakota State at South Dakota
8:00 PM Western Kentucky at Middle Tennessee (FCS)
8:00 PM UNC Greensboro at Samford
8:00 PM Tennessee-Martin at Southeast Missouri State
8:00 PM Eastern Illinois at Tennessee Tech
8:05 PM IUPUI at Oral Roberts (FCS)
8:05 PM Arkansas-Little Rock at Louisiana-Lafayette
8:05 PM North Dakota at Chicago State
8:30 PM Utah at Arizona State
8:30 PM Marist at St. Peter's (ESPN3)
8:35 PM Weber State at Northern Arizona (FCS)
9:00 PM Colorado at Arizona (ESPN)
9:00 PM Iowa at Northwestern (ESPNU)
9:00 PM Western Illinois at Southern Utah
9:00 PM Virginia Tech at Miami (FL) (ESPN2)
9:05 PM Louisiana Tech at Utah State (ESPN3)
9:05 PM Montana at Northern Colorado
10:00 PM UC Riverside at Cal Poly
10:00 PM Fresno State at San Jose State (ESPN3)
10:00 PM Washington State at Oregon State
10:00 PM San Diego at Pepperdine
10:05 PM Montana State at Sacramento State
10:05 PM Portland State at Idaho State
10:05 PM UC Irvine at Cal State Fullerton
10:30 PM California at USC
10:30 PM Long Beach State at Pacific
11:00 PM Stanford at UCLA
11:00 PM New Mexico State at Idaho
11:00 PM Cal State Northridge at UC Davis
11:00 PM Washington at Oregon (FSN)
11:00 PM Loyola Marymount at Portland
11:00 PM Santa Clara at San Francisco (ESPNU)
12:00 AM Nevada at Hawaii

Thursday Recap: Cougars Bounce Back in Provo

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:45:36 -0500

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.

Thursday Recap: Vanderbilt Wins Eighth Straight Game

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:37:54 -0500

Remember the concerns late in non-conference play that Vanderbilt was destined to be one of the country's biggest busts? Don't look now but Kevin Stallings' Commodores won their eighth straight game on Thursday night, beating Alabama 69-59 in Tuscaloosa to remain tied atop the SEC with Kentucky (4-0). Alabama shot 26.5% from the field in the first half and trailed 26-19 at the half, and a 17-4 run over a five-minute stretch pushed the Vanderbilt lead out to 23 points at 58-35 with 8:12 remaining.

John Jenkins scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the way for Vanderbilt, which is looking like the SEC title contender that many expected to see at the beginning of the season, and Jeffery Taylor added 17 and six boards. One reason for the turnaround was the return of center Festus Ezeli, who accounted for 12 points and ten rebounds as he outplayed Alabama's JaMychal Green (six points, eight rebounds in 31 minutes of action). Ezeli's presence, despite the fact that he's not a great shot-blocker by any stretch of the imagination, gives the other Vandy defenders a safety blanket that wasn't there when he was out of the lineup.

"Our guys are very physical in there. It's nice to have big strong bodies to throw out there," said Stallings of his frontcourt's play against Green. "I thought our front court play offensively, actually more so defensively, was the key of the game for us. Our bigs really stepped up and played well."

Vanderbilt's big men played well against the high-flying Tony Mitchell as well, as he missed all eight of his field goal attempts and failed to score a single point. Trevor Releford scored 14 points to lead Alabama but without their big men being able to get going offensively and a 48-35 deficit on the glass, it was going to be tough for Anthony Grant's team to grab the victory.

If there is a concern for Vandy to come out of the win it would have to be the turnovers, as they had difficulty dealing with the Alabama pressure late in the second half (17 turnovers for the game). Get that cleaned up and the Commodores can definitely make good on the promise many believed them to have before the season began.

"Well in the middle 30 minutes of the game it was very effective," remarked Stallings about his team's ball-handling. "The first five and last five it was not very effective at all. That's ok though. That's the second time we've had a game close like that. When you have it that far out of reach, I guess that's a good thing."

Other Notable Happenings

1. A starting lineup change lights two fires as Duke beats Wake Forest.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski made the decision before the Blue Devils' game against Wake Forest to replace freshman guard Austin Rivers in the starting lineup with junior sharpshooter Andre Dawkins. And whatever the reasoning was for the move, be it for motivation or the fact that Rivers wasn't playing his best, the move worked out best for the Blue Devils in their 91-73 victory. Dawkins came out of the gates hot and finished with a team-high 21 points (7-12 3PT) while Rivers added 20 points in his most efficient offensive performance in ACC play.

Add in another 20 from Ryan Kelly and Duke simply had too much for the young Demon Deacons, but it's just as important to figure out what this means for Duke as they look to win an ACC title and a national title as well. Rivers is a phenomenal talent, but if he's not making things happen while being efficient the other weapons can suffer. Florida State will provide a stiffer test on Saturday, so it will be interesting to see if Duke can build on this against an outstanding defense.

2. North Carolina gets back on track but Strickland goes down with a knee injury.
After getting their heads handed to them in Tallahassee on Saturday, North Carolina needed to bounce back with a win at Virginia Tech but with the game being in Blacksburg that was going to be a tough task. It certainly worked out that way in the first half, as the Hokies were hot from the perimeter and took a 39-34 lead into the half. What really needed to be seen was not an emphatic UNC victory but rather the Tar Heels showing the ability to respond to getting popped in the mouth, and Roy Williams' team did just that in their 82-68 win. Harrison Barnes scored a game-high 27 points, scoring nine of those points during an 18-0 second half run that essentially put the game away.

Forwards John Henson (16 points, 16 rebounds) and Tyler Zeller (14 points, 11 rebounds) both posted double-doubles for North Carolina as well. But the victory wasn't without concern as shooting guard Dexter Strickland went down with a knee injury in the second half (still no report on the severity of the injury). If Carolina were to lose Strickland for an extended period of time they would be without their best perimeter defender, and it's difficult to point out who would be best capable of assuming that responsibility. Hopefully it isn't a serious injury, because this would be a big loss for North Carolina if it were..

3. Penn State knocks off Illinois in Happy Valley.
Said it before and will say it again: a lot can be learned about teams in watching how they deal with prosperity, just as a lot can be learned in watching how teams deal with adversity. That was the case for Illinois on the heels of their win over Ohio State nine days prior to their game at Penn State, and apparently that was too much time in between games for Bruce Weber's team as they fell 54-52. Tim Frazier's floater with 8.3 seconds remaining proved to be the difference but the Fighting Illini didn't help themselves by turning the ball over 14 times or shooting 34.4% from the field either.

Brandon Paul, who lit up the Buckeyes for 43 points, hit the game-tying three with 39.3 seconds to go and finished with 20 points while Meyers Leonard added 15. But the other three starters, most notably D.J. Richardson (2-for-11, six points), accounted for just ten points combined and the Illini spent way too much time on the perimeter. Twenty-two of their 49 field goal attempts were three-pointers, and Illinois scored 40.4% of their points from deep compared to 38.5% from two. Illinois is at their best when they can get things going inside of the arc, with either Leonard or Paul, Richardson and Joseph Bertrand being able to get opportunities at the rim or in the mid-range game. Penn State deserves some credit for this, but Illinois needs to be more assertive in getting the best looks for themselves if they're to remain a contender in the Big Ten.

Quick Hitters

1. While they still have seven conference games left to play, it may be time to pencil in Davidson as the Southern Conference's regular season champ. Bob McKillop's Wildcats were too much for Charleston, out-rebounding the Cougars 44-31 in the 87-69 win. Jake Cohen (29 points, 14 rebounds) led the way and De'Mon Brooks scored 15 points in 17 foul-plagued minutes. No other team in the SoCon has fewer than three league losses.

2. A big development in the Pac-12 was the play of California walk-on Robert Thurman in the Golden Bears' 69-66 win at Washington. Thurman scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench and Allen Crabbe accounted for 16 and ten rebounds. If Thurman can be a solid contributor with Richard Solomon finished for the year, Mike Montgomery's team could have enough inside to still win the conference.

3. In a matchup of 5-1 teams it was Wagner who came out on top, beating St. Francis (NY) 73-61 in Brooklyn to remain a game behind LIU Brooklyn in the NEC. Tyler Murray scored 19 points while Kenneth Ortiz and Jonathon Williams scored 11 apiece for the Seahawks, who at 15-3 are off to their best start in school history. That sets up a huge meeting with the first-place Blackbirds on Saturday afternoon.

4. Charleston Southern landed an important blow in the Big South race as they beat first-place UNC Asheville 93-88 in Asheville. Arion Harper led the Buccaneers with a career-high 28 points, Saah Nimley added 20 and Kelvin Martin was all over the box score with 17 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals (seventh double-double of the year).

5. For all the talk about the inconsistent (when they weren't completely healthy) nature of Loyola Marymount, fact is they're two close home defeats to Gonzaga and BYU away from being in first place in the WCC. Anthony Ireland scored 27 points in addition to five assists and five steals for the Lions, who avenged that seven-point loss to BYU with an 82-68 win in Provo.

6. One team in the Horizon League that isn't receiving much press as a contender for the league crown is Valparaiso. Bryce Drew's Crusaders moved to 6-2 in league play with a 68-49 win at Loyola (IL) on Thursday night, limiting the Ramblers to 22 first-half points. Jay Harris led the way with 18 points and five assists off the bench and three starters reached double figures. One thing that needs improvement: free throw shooting, as the Crusaders shot 3-for-8 from the charity stripe.

7. North Carolina wasn't the only team to wake up on Friday hoping for good news on the injury front. NC State was without forward C.J. Williams the final nine minutes of their 76-62 win over Boston College due to a shoulder injury, and if he's out for an extended period of time Mark Gottfried will have some shuffling to do with his rotation. That would be a tough blow for a team that's improved a great deal since last season.

Three Notable Performances

1. F Jake Cohen (Davidson)
29 points and 14 rebounds in the Wildcats' 87-69 win over College of Charleston.

2. G Faisal Aden (Washington State)
33 points and five rebounds in the Cougars' 81-69 win over Stanford.

3. G Charlie Westbrook (South Dakota)
32 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks in the Coyotes' 88-78 win over IUPUI.

Saturday Mid-Major Preview & Predictions

Greg Mengelt — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 01:02:18 -0500

Greg Mengelt previews and predicts four of Saturday's intriguing Mid-Major battles:

BRADLEY (5-4) AT DREXEL (4-4)

Time/TV: 4 p.m., None

Line: Drexel -8.5.

Storylines: Drexel’s Chris Fouch appears to be healthy after back-to-back 23- and 24-point performances in wins over Princeton and Niagara. Fouch, who missed the Dragons’ first four games with a knee injury, and Samme Givens the main reason Drexel was picked as the pre-season Colonial Athletic favorites.

Key Matchup: Givens vs. Taylor Brown. The undersized Givens is one of the most creative scorers in the country and Brown has been one of the most improved players on the Missouri Valley each of the past two seasons.

The Bottom Line: The return of Fouch gives the Dragons another weapon and should set them back on course for a run at the Colonial title.

The Pick: Drexel 71, Bradley 56.

OAKLAND (7-4) AT VALPARAISO (7-3)

Time/TV: 8:05 p.m., None

Line: Valparaiso -1.5.

Storylines: At this point, both the Golden Grizzlies and the Crusaders could make an argument as their conference favorites. Oakland is 7-4 despite playing one of the nation’s toughest pre-conference schedules. Valpo is already 1-0 in the Horizon League after beating Butler on the road on Dec. 3.

Key Matchup: Valpo F Ryan Broekhoff vs. Oakland G Reggie Hamilton. The two will never go head-to-head on the court, but the game could come down to which Mid-Major star has the better outing.

The Bottom Line: Hamilton is nearly impossible to stop when he wants to get his shot. If this is a one-possession game, that gives the advantage to the Golden Bears.

The Pick: Oakland 81, Valpo 78.

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (6-3) AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (8-1)

Time/TV: 6 p.m., ESPN Full Court

Storylines: With Southern expected to compete in the Big South and Charleston a contender in the Southern Conference, this sets up as one of the best cross-town rivalries in a while.

Key Matchup: College of Charleston’s Trent Wiedeman vs. Southern’s Kelvin Martin. The opposing power forwards have seven double-doubles between them. It should be an epic battle under the boards.

The Bottom Line: Charleston is a little better and will have the crowd behind them.

The Pick: College of Charleston 82, Charleston Southern 71.

ST. PETER’S (2-6) AT LONG ISLAND (5-6)

Time/TV: 2 p.m., None

Storylines: Both teams were surprise entrants into the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Long Island should compete with Robert Morris, Wagner and Central Connecticut State for the Northeast Conference’s bid to the tournament. St. Peter’s will likely finish in the middle of the MAAC pack. It would have to pull off another March Miracle to go back to the tournament.

Key Matchup: LIU’s frontcourt vs. the St. Peter’s backcourt. Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere give LIU one of the nation’s best mid-major forward tandems. The Peacocks are led by guards Chris Prescott and Yvon Raymond.

The Bottom Line: This should be one of the most competitive games of the weekend.

The Pick: Long Island 77, St. Peter’s 75.

Opening Night Observations: No Surprises To Be Found

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:18:45 -0500

The college basketball season finally got underway on Monday night with three games featuring squads that will be in New York next week for the 2K Sports Classic Benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer. All three favorites, Arizona, Mississippi State and St. John's, won but predictably there were signs of rust. That comes with the territory, but what are some of the things that can be learned from these games? Here are a few basic observations for each of the six teams in action.

Arizona (beat Valparaiso 73-64)
Once again the Wildcats struggled in the first half, but the scored the final five points of the stanza to take a 32-30 lead into the break. Finding good shots in their half-court sets proved to be an issue for Arizona, but they did a better job on both ends of the floor in the second half. The Wildcats made 12 of 20 shots in the second half, and point guards Josiah Turner and Jordin Mayes made better decisions.

Jesse Perry (14 points, 10 rebounds) scored 10 points in the first half, and as his teammates improved offensively in the second half the senior hit the boards and played solid defense. Freshman Nick Johson and senior Kyle Fogg were Arizona's two best guards on Monday night, combining for 30 points, and Johnson led the team with six assists. Solomon Hill and Kyryl Natyazhko had rough nights, but they'll perform better on Wednesday night.

Eastern Kentucky (lost to Mississippi State 76-66)
The Colonels trailed by six at the half despite shooting 33.3% from the field, aided by the fact that Mississippi State shot just 9-for-19 on two-point shots. Michael DiNunno had an off night from the field, making just four of seventeen shots, and it's safe to say that EKU can't afford nights like that if they're to be a factor in the OVC race.

EKU's problem in the second half was points off of turnovers, with the Bulldogs scoring 12 points off of five EKU turnovers. Eastern Kentucky did score nine points off of six MSU turnovers, but none of those points can on fast break opportunities. And after keeping Dee Bost under wraps in the first 20 minutes he scored 17 points in the second half. EKU outscored Mississippi State 7-5 in second-chance points, and that edge could have been more if not for a minus-11 rebounding margin.

Mississippi State (beat Eastern Kentucky 76-66)
Renardo Sidney didn't make much of an impact in the box score (nine points, three rebounds), but the Bulldogs were able to manage it thanks to UTEP transfer Arnett Moultrie. Moultrie posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in addition to a pair of blocks. Will he be the consistent bell cow Rick Stansbury can count on nightly? He may have to be but at the least Moultrie gives Mississippi State a second option inside, something that was missing last year.

Dee Bost bounced back from a 2-for-7 first half, scoring 17 of his game-high 23 points. The difference? Aggression. Bost didn't take one free throw in the first half, staying out on the perimeter offensively, but once he attacked the basket the fouls began to mount for EKU. Brian Bryant didn't shoot well (2-9 FG) but in freshman Rodney Hood the Bulldogs got their first glimpse of the many things that he can do. Hood finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and no turnovers. Good start for the freshman.

St. John's (beat William & Mary 74-59)
The Red Storm looked a bit nervous in the first half, settling for perimeter looks against a packed-in William & Mary defense and it showed in the numbers. St. John's was 2-for-9 from three and 8-for-22 from two in the first half, so it wasn't surprising that they trailed 33-26 at the half. But led by Nurideen Lindsey (19 points, four assists) the Johnnies weren't content to settle for jumpers in the second half. St. John's made 17 of their 22 shots from inside the arc and attempted just six three-pointers.

Four starters finished in double figures, and with their seven-man rotation that will need to be a consistent occurrence in order for this team to be successful. God'sgift Achiuwa finished with 17 points and nine rebounds but where will the help come from if he gets into foul trouble? That's where the ineligibility of Norvel Pelle will hurt the most, and clearly Amir Garrett could be used as well (the hope is that both will be eligible come December). St. John's was a minus-6 in rebounding margin, with Maurice Harkless grabbing eight boards, and four of the five starters played 32+ minutes.

Valparaiso (lost to Arizona 73-64)
The Crusaders received solid efforts from forwards Ryan Broekhoff and Kevin Van Wijk, who scored 18 points apiece in defeat. Van Wijk was able to get to the foul line, where he made eight of his thirteen attempts. But no other player attempted more than four, and their 25% shooting from three proved to be Valparaiso's downfall. Valparaiso shot at least 50% from two in both halves, but the struggles from deep proved costly. Starting guards Erik Buggs, Jay Harris and Matt Kenney shot a combined 1-for-9 from deep on the night, and Bryce Drew's team can't afford that.

Valpo did a good job on the boards as they finished a minus-2 (32-30) in rebounding margin and led 19-18 in that department at the half. But Arizona outscored them by eight points (15-7) at the charity stripe in the final 20 minutes, and when combined with the Cats shooting 60% from the field it isn't too difficult to see what happened. But the offensive output from the guards is what will likely stick out in this defeat.

William & Mary (lost 74-59 to St. John's)
Things went well for the Tribe in the first half as they outscored St. John's 21-6 from beyond the arc. Defensively Tony Shaver's team was able to keep the SJU perimeter players out of the lane, forcing them to settle for jumpers. But unlike the Red Storm William & Mary didn't take care of the basketball, finishing the night with 21 turnovers to four for St. John's. Quinn McDowell played well, finishing with 20 points and eight rebounds and Julian Boatner knocked down four three-pointers to finish with 12 points.

But the Tribe's two-point defense left them in the second half, the result of their turnover issues. William & Mary did win the battle on the boards, but it's obvious what they need to improve upon in order to be the sleeper that some think they can be in the CAA. St. John's played much better in the second half but they received help in the form of William & Mary miscues as well.

Wednesday's Schedule

7 PM Lehigh at St. John's (ESPN2)
7 PM Akron at Mississippi State
8 PM Liberty at (19) Texas A&M
9 PM Duquesne at (16) Arizona

College Hoops Monday Recap: Syracuse Returns the Favor

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 12:44:59 -0500

Usually a concern to play a bit reckless when in his hometown of Philadelphia, Scoop Jardine had no such issues on Monday night in leading Syracuse to a 69-64 win over Villanova at the Well Fargo Center. Jardine made seven of eleven shots from the field, finishing with 20 points along with six assists and four rebounds and fellow Philadelphian Rick Jackson added 18 points and five rebounds. Offensively this contest was a far cry from the first meeting between the two, an 83-72 Villanova win that featured a combined 21 three-pointers made with the Wildcats making 11. Monday night's number: nine, and Jay Wright's team went 5-for-26 on the night.

Corey Stokes made his return to the lineup for the Wildcats and was their best offensive player, making seven of thirteen from the field to score a game-high 24 points, making all five Villanova three-pointers as well. But fellow guards Corey Fisher and Maalik Wayns were ice-cold from the field, shooting a combined 4-for-25 from the field and as a team Villanova shot 32.3%. Isaiah Armwood added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds but it wasn't enough to avoid dropping to 9-6 in Big East play. Syracuse's third straight win moves them to 10-6 in Big East play and puts them back into the conversation for one of those double-bye slots in the upcoming Big East Tournament.

And in a weird scheduling break for the Orange they've got just two games left in the regular season: at Georgetown on Saturday and DePaul in the home finale the following week. They'll have plenty of time to make adjustments on both ends of the floor, with the hope likely being to get guys such as Fab Melo and James Southerland to reach a level where they can be counted on for a few minutes down the road. But at the very least the light schedule gives guys like Jackson, Jardine, Kris Joseph and Brandon Triche some time off as they'll be the ones who have to lead Syracuse in March.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Tyshawn Taylor's absence has no impact as Kansas throttles Oklahoma State.
Any chance that Oklahoma State had of leaving Lawrence with a much-needed victory disappeared about halfway through the first half, with Kansas going on a 23-6 run over an eight-minute stretch to blow the game wide open. Marcus Morris scored 27 points while brother Markieff and Elijah Johnson added 15 apiece in a 92-65 win that keeps the Jayhawks within a game of first place Texas atop the Big 12. Marshall Moses scored a game-high 27 points but it was an uphill battle for the senior, especially when Keiton Page shoots 2-for-11 and Matt Pilgrim finds a way to play just 13 minutes before fouling out early in the second half. The biggest impact felt in the suspenseon of guard Tyshawn Taylor: the opportunity for Johnson to play more minutes, and as he did early in the season with Josh Selby out he took advantage of the time. The Jayhawks shot 54.4% and out-rebounded the Cowboys 38-25 on the night, and it's near impossible to beat Kansas when they're able to do that.

2. Green Bay's win over Valparaiso adds a lot of intrigue to the Horizon League race.
Bryquis Perine came up with a good way to celebrate his Senior Night and in the process made things a lot more interesting in the Horizon League. Perine's jumper with 11 seconds left in overtime gave Green Bay an 81-80 win over then-first place Valparaiso, dropping the Crusaders into third place (tied with Milwaukee) with two league games to go. Cleveland State sits atop the league with a 12-4 record and just a half-game behind them at 12-5 in Butler, a team more than a few counted out of the title race just a couple weeks ago. All four teams have a shot at earning the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament, the golden carrot that also means hosting the quarters and semis of the event (the highest remaining seed hosts the final). At this point it's safe to assume that Butler, Cleveland State and Valparaiso will be playing in a postseason tournament in March. But the fight to figure out which one became even more interesting following Monday night's result.

3. Texas Southern avenges their lone conference loss to move to 13-1 in the SWAC.
Tony Harper's Tigers have now one seven straight games, beating Mississippi Valley State 58-55 in overtime on Monday night to avenge their lone SWAC loss to move to 13-1 in conference play. Texas Southern is now three games ahead of Jackson State in the loss column with four games to go, but thanks to their season sweep of JSU Coach Harvey's team is likely one win away from sewing up an NIT berth. Travele Jones scored 17 points and Lawrence Johnson-Danner added 13 for Texas Southern, who won just three games in the non-conference portion of their schedule. Jones has reached double-figures in every game he's played (missing the first seven due to compliance issues), and averages a team-best 17.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. They've been tested in the non-conference portion of their schedule and it's paid off within the SWAC for Texas Southern, the goal for many of the HBCUs who play such a schedule in order to both build experience and balance the athletic department accounts.

Top Three Games

1. Green Bay 81, Valparaiso 80 (OT)

2. Kent State 74, Western Michigan 72 Michael Porrini was the hero in Kalamazoo, scoring the final of his 19 points off the bench on a jumper with two seconds remaining to knock off WMU. Flenard Whitfield, whose layup with 48 seconds remaining tied the game at 72, finished with 24 points and eight rebounds to lead the Broncos.

3. (20) Syracuse 69, (14) Villanova 64

Three Notable Performances

1. C Alec Brown (Green Bay) 22 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two blocks in the Phoenix' 81-80 overtime win over Valparaiso.

2. F Antwaine Wiggins (Charleston) 24 points (10-13 FG), nine rebounds and four assists in the Cougars' 75-49 win over Samford.

3. F Marcus Morris (Kansas) 27 points, five rebounds and two steals in the Jayhawks' 92-65 win over Oklahoma State.

College Hoops Weekend Recap: 14 Ranked Teams Fall

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:58:38 -0500

The lesson learned this weekend: almost anyone can be had. And that should make for an exciting month of March if results like the ones we saw become the norm. Twelve ranked teams went down on Saturday, but it should be noted that four of the losses came to opponents who were also ranked and eight of the twelve lost on the road. How does one narrow these results down: ask the simple question of which losers may be in some trouble at this point in the season. One such victim has to be Syracuse, who has now dropped four straight and has to play at Connecticut on Wednesday night. The Orange fell at Marquette 76-70 and while there's no real shame in that there are still some troubling signs with Jim Boeheim's team. Scoop Jardine played his best game of the four-game skid with 13 points and 13 assists, but James Southerland didn't play and defensively Syracuse couldn't slow down Jae Crowder (25 points, seven rebounds) or Jimmy Butler (19 points, eight rebounds). C.J. Fair scored ten off the bench for the Orange but the question marks revealed in this streak show that there's a lot of work to be done with this team (the center position stands out).

Also with some issues is Villanova, who fell victim to Austin Freeman in a 69-66 loss to Georgetown at home. Freeman scored a game-high 30 points for the Hoyas, making the big plays late for John Thompson III. The issue for the Wildcats: shot selection. While they took some shots that most teams shouldn't put up in their win at Syracuse, Villanova made those so it wasn't a major issue. But in losses to Providence and now Georgetown their overall efficiency has dropped, and Corey Stokes (4-13 FG, 13 points) needs to raise his percentages as well. Villanova shot 41% yesterday and was out-rebounded by the Hoyas 28-20 in a game that saw the Wildcat frontcourt fail to distance themselves from Georgetown's interior players. They've got the guard play needed to turn things around provided those players make sound decisions, but if Villanova is to have any chance at being special the big men will need to bring it on a consistent basis.

BYU and Saint Mary's both fell on the road following important conference victories earlier this week, with the Cougars falling at New Mexico to a borderline desperate team and Saint Mary's getting their doors blown off at Portland. Letdown? For Saint Mary's that could definitely be the case despite the fact that the Pilots were outstanding. Mickey McConnell scored 32 for the Gaels but when Matthew Dellavedova and Clint Steindl (who was scoreless in the win at Gonzaga) struggle it becomes that much more difficult for Randy Bennett's team to win. In Alberquerque Jimmer Fredette scored 32 points but with a second straight game of limited production from Jackson Emery and nine bench points the Cougars dropped one to a New Mexico squad that needed the win to revitalize hopes of a run towards the NCAA Tournament. Tony Snell scored 16 off the bench for the Lobos while four starters reached double figures in the win.

And come Monday we may be down to just one ranked team in the SEC with both Florida (at Mississippi State) and Vanderbilt (Arkansas at home) falling. The more troubling defeat of the two? That would have to be Vandy, who was lit up by Rotnei Clarke (36 points) while Michael Sanchez added 20 off the bench. Three Commodore starters reached double figures but when Lance Goulbourne puts up a bagel and Brad Tinsley doesn't play well at the point they're in trouble. Clarke went 12-for-16 from the field, which begs for the question of how many of those looks were contested, despite his status as one of the premier perimeter shooters in the nation. Survivors included Ohio State and Pittsburgh, while Texas navigated poor free throw shooting to beat Missouri and Kansas blew out Kansas State in the return of forward Thomas Robinson. Just another fun Saturday, and at this rate we could be in store for a fun month of March as well.

Other Notable Happenings

1. Ohio State survives a methodical Northwestern rally to remain undefeated.
It wasn't difficult to figure out what Northwestern would have to do in order to slow down Jared Sullinger. Surround the big man with defenders when he touched the basketball, bang him around and hope that he commits a silly foul or two. That didn't happen as the freshman scored 21 points and eight rebounds, but the Wildcats kept with their methodical offense and nearly stole a victory before falling 58-57 in Evanston. Juice Thompson led Northwestern with 16 points while Mike Capocci added 11, but with Drew Crawford struggling from the field (2-for-12) and John Shurna out with concussion symptoms you can't help but wonder what could have happened if they have Shurna. But that's the nature of sports, and Ohio State made plays late (David Lighty coming up with a big play that doesn't involve scoring should surprise no one) to remain the nation's lone undefeated team. And unfortunately for Northwestern the Buckeyes have a player in Sullinger who's the ultimate mismatch inside.

2. Baylor escapes a defeat that could have ended their at-large hopes while Butler doesn't.
Baylor was in serious trouble at the half yesterday, trailing a Colorado team also in need of a victory 35-21. But LaceDarius Dunn played arguably his best all-around game despite poor shooting from the field (6-for-18) in scoring 26 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists, and Quincy Acy and Perry Jones III combined for 27 points and 15 rebounds in the Bears' 70-66 win. The win doesn't put Baylor into the Big Dance but it at least keeps the conversation going at a respectable volume, something that may not be said for Butler after their loss at first place Valparaiso. Valpo knocked down some huge shots in overtime to hand the Bulldogs their fourth conference loss, dropping Brad Stevens' team two games behind the Crusaders and Cleveland State. Zach Hahn and Matt Howard scored 17 points apiece but Shelvin Mack made just three of twelve shots in scoring 10 points, and given the relative lack of offensive weapons to last year's group that got Butler in trouble. There's still plenty of time to go on a run but how many wins that will register with the computer numbers (again, these are just one tool used) remain on the table for Butler? That's an important question at this stage for the Bulldogs.

3. Xavier uses the foul line to soundly defeat Richmond on the road.
Saturday's matchup between the Musketeers and Spiders was billed as a crucial battle in the Atlantic 10, and with Richmond already a game back in the standings it was a game they needed in order to entertain thoughts of a regular season title. Xavier had other ideas as Tu Holloway scored 33 points and as a team the Musketeers made 29 of 30 from the charity stripe in whipping Richmond 85-62. Justin Harper scored 20 for Richmond while Dan Geriot added 15, but with Kevin Anderson struggling from the field Chris Mooney's team got into a hole they were unable to climb out of. Kenny Frease added 19 and Mark Lyons 14 for the first-place Musketeers, who look to be on a collision course with Duquesne that comes to a head on February 13th at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh (instead of on campus at the Palumbo Center). But for an early statement to follow last week's win over Temple, the beating of Richmond will certainly suffice.

4. St. John's ends their skid in emphatic fashion at the Garden.
Simply put the Red Storm blitzed Duke in the latter stages of the first half, expanding their lead out to 21 points by halftime. In that first half St. John's outscored Duke 22-6 in the paint and 21-4 off of turnovers. Nolan Smith (32 points) and Kyle Singler (20) did what they're expected to do offensively but when Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins combine to shoot 4-for-13 from the field Duke is going to have problems. With the return of Kyrie Irving looking to be more unlikely by the week one of those two will need to be a consistent number three on offense, and the Plumlee brothers have to get better inside. As for Steve Lavin's team the brief step out of Big East play was exactly what they needed, with Dwight Hardy (26 points) and Justin Brownlee (20) leading the way on offense. The Johnnies assisted on 21 of their 32 made baskets while also scoring 50 points in the paint, and defensively forced 17 Duke turnovers in controlling the run of play. While the win doesn't make St. John's a lock to go dancing, a senior class that hasn't experienced a lot of national success definitely has the ability to make that dream a reality.

Top Five (plus one) Games

1. (25) Utah State 89, Hawaii 84 (2OT) Brian Green came up big with a game-tying three pointer to send the game into double overtime, and his 22 points led the way as the Aggies remained undefeated in WAC play. Zane Johnson led the Warriors with a game-high 25 points.

2. (19) Louisville 79, (5) Connecticut (2OT)

3. UC Davis 108, UC Irvine 107 (2OT) Eric Wise scored a game-high 34 points while also grabbing 12 rebounds but it wasn't enough to beat the Aggies. Mark Payne led UC Davis with 32 points while Eddie Miller and Joe Harden chipped in with 25 and 23 respectively.

4. Weber State 72, Northern Colorado 71 A Scott Bamforth shot from just inside of half court may have been the finish of the day, giving the Wildcats an improbable win while handing the Bears their first Big Sky loss. Jordan Richardson led Weber State with 17 points while Devon Beitzel led all scorers with 29.

5. North Dakota State 89, UMKC 88 (2OT) A sideline out of bounds lob from Eric Carlson resulted in a Michael Tveidt layup in the final seconds to give the Bison a one-point home victory. Carlson led all scorers with 32 points while also handing out 12 assists, and Jay Couisnard led UMKC with 28 and 13 rebounds.

BONUS: Manhattan 60, Marist 59 A Michael Alvarado heave from behind midcourt gave the Jaspers the victory in Poughkeepsie. George Beamon led three Manhattan players in double figures with 13 points while Dorvell Carter led Marist with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Five (plus one) Notable Performances

1. G/F Eric Wise (UC Irvine) 34 points and 12 rebounds in the Anteaters' 108-107 double-overtime loss at UC Davis.

2. G Tu Holloway (Xavier) 33 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the Musketeers' 85-62 win at Richmond.

3. G Steven Pledger (Oklahoma) 38 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in the Sooners' 82-76 overtime win at Iowa State.

4. F John Henson (North Carolina) 16 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks in the Tar Heels' 84-64 win over North Carolina State.

5. F Noah Dahlman (Wofford) 34 points (15-17 FG), four rebounds and three assists in Wofford's 75-66 win over Western Carolina.

BONUS: F Thomas Robinson (Kansas) 17 points and nine rebounds in the Jayhawks' 90-66 win over Kansas State.

Belmont's Balance Key Factor in Success

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:47:01 -0500

In this era of the BCS and multi-million dollar television contracts it takes quite a bit to receive proper respect (and attention) if your conference flies under the radar. It's safe to say that Rick Byrd's Belmont Bruins, 8-0 in Atlantic Sun play and 16-3 overall, have served notice this season that they've got the ability to not only get to the NCAA Tournament but also take someone out once in the field. One thing that sets the Bruins apart is their balance, brought about by a rotation that has eleven players averaging double-digit minutes with none playing more than 24 minutes per contest. Players are able to remain fresh and as a result play both faster and harder, resulting in a team that's able to apply pressure to their opponents on both ends of the floor.

"It's easier to push yourself when playing 24 minutes per game instead of 35," said Coach Byrd of the Bruins' rotation and its impact. "There's not a best player at any spot. We can go two-deep at the point and at the five, and we're deeper at the wing and four."

Where have we seen this before? Last year's Murray State team, one that had ten players playing double figure minutes, used its depth and versatility to get to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling by two points to eventual runner-up Butler. Six players on that team averaged at least 9.7 points per game and the Racers won 30 games by an average margin of nearly 16 points per game. Belmont by comparison has five players scoring at least seven points per game with another two scoring six, and their overall margin of victory is just a shade less than 19 points per game. But the amazing margin of victory stat for the Bruins has been what they've done through eight league games, whipping the opposition by an average of 28.9 points per game.

"I don't know how you can't be surprised," remarked Coach Byrd when asked about the margins. "We've had a lot of games where we've had large margins [not just within A-Sun play]. It's a product of using our depth and not simply picking eight guys and playing them ahead of everyone else."

One of those players who have been on display for Belmont is redshirt junior forward Scott Saunders, who averages 11.3 points per game yet hasn't made a start all season. Saunders, who started his collegiate career at Rice, has raised his production across the board from last season and Coach Byrd credited his tenacity and hard work for the improvement. "One can claim that he's our MVP to this point in the season," noted Coach Byrd. "We run a 4 out/1 in offensive system and Scott was unfamiliar with that when he arrived. He's more comfortable and making better decisions." Saunders and starter Mick Hedgepeth form a very good tag team inside, and when you combine their averages in points and rebounds (22.2 ppg, 11.3 rpg) you get a "center" that would rank among the nation's best.

One can rattle off a number of statistics to show off Belmont's offensive ability, as their average of 83.4 points per game ranks seventh nationally. But this is also a very good defensive team that forces an average of 19.7 turnovers per game, with only four teams in America being better (Northwestern State, Duquesne, Navy and Nicholls State). To put Belmont's number in perspective with regards to their success: just one of the top 10 teams nationally in turnovers forced per game is ranked (Missouri), and the other eight in the Top 10 have an average of eight losses with just three being above .500 (Northwestern State, UNC Asheville and VMI). So clearly turnovers by themselves don't always equal wins, making it a good thing that the Bruins limit teams to shooting an Atlantic Sun-best 39.7% from the field.

"When we first arrived we tried to develop more of a solid defensive philosophy," said Coach Byrd when asked about his team's half-court defense. "We've maintained it but played faster, and we value deflections in our defense."

Good teams are also blessed with solid perimeter play, and the Bruins certainly have that with senior Jordan Campbell being one of the contributors. One of just two seniors on the roster, Campbell has put forth what Coach Byrd says is his "best year" as a senior in averaging 8.2 points per game, shooting 49.5% from the field and leading Belmont in both three-pointers made (39) and percentage (45.3%). Campbell played in Belmont's most recent NCAA appearance in 2008, playing well in a tough one-point loss to Duke in the first round. In point guard Drew Hanlen Belmont has a floor general that takes care of the basketball, having an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 3-to-1 on the season. And Ian Clark, who led the way in a 90-55 win over Campbell with 20 points, was named Atlantic Sun Player of the Week and averages 12.1 points per game. Thus far just five of the eleven players have been mentioned and therein lays the problem in dealing with a team that has this kind of depth, something that gives Belmont a clear advantage when it comes to game preparation.

"The good thing about this team is that it's about how we play," said Coach Byrd. That should serve the Bruins well as they embark on a three-game road swing that begins with USC Upstate on Friday night. But after that game things get tougher for Belmont, with East Tennessee State on Sunday and rival Lipscomb Tuesday night. Belmont's already beaten Lipscomb once, an 88-52 pasting on January 13th, which will serve as added motivation for Adnan Hodzic and company. But while the margin of victory could drop some in the next week, Coach Byrd has a team more than capable of making it through the stretch run. And if they happen to show up in the Field of 68 look out. Those who saw the roster and thought that 2011-12 was their year to shine, Belmont's opponents can attest to the fact that the Bruins don't have much interest in waiting.

Three Other First Place Teams to Keep Tabs On

- Coastal Carolina (16-2, 7-0 Big South) Cliff Ellis' Chanticleers have won 14 straight games since losing to Georgetown in the first round of the Charleston Classic in mid-November, and they hope to get back to the Big South final where they lost to Radford last season. Five players average at least 8.8 points per game with junior guard Desmond Holloway averaging a team-best 18.8 ppg. Add in South Carolina transfer Mike Holmes inside and the Chants look like a team more than capable of getting back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993.

- Long Beach State (11-8, 6-0 Big West) Dan Monson's team took some beating in the non-conference portion of their schedule, and the absence of Larry Anderson (injury) for six games had something to do with that. They've now won six straight, most recently beating Pacific by a point and are up by two games in the loss column on preseason favorite UCSB (and already have a win over the Gauchos in Santa Barbara). And if you're a fan of offensive balance five players average between 11.1 (Eugene Phelps) and 14.7 (Casper Ware) points per game.

- Valparaiso (14-5, 6-1 Horizon) Homer Drew's club doesn't enjoy the separation in the standings that these other clubs do, but they've flown under the radar for much of the season thanks the presence of teams such as Butler and Cleveland State. But with Brandon Wood and Cory Johnson leading the way this is a good basketball team that's already 4-1 in conference road games. Next up for Valpo: three straight home games against Milwaukee, Green Bay and Butler. Don't hand the trophy over to Butler or Cleveland State just yet because the Crusaders may have something to say about that.

Horizon League Preview: 2009-10

CHN — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:44:39 -0500

Butler, with legitimate Elite Eight aspirations, should be the dominant force in the Horizon. An infusion of Juco talent and returning injured players should help the quality of play throughout the league.

Conference Rank: 12th

10 year average: 15th

Conference Page

All-Horizon Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Shelvin Mack	Butler	So
G	Norris Cole	Cleveland St	Jr
G	Vaughn Duggins	Wright St	Jr
G/F	Gordon Hayward	Butler	So
F	Matt Howard	Butler	Jr

Player of the Year - Gordon Hayward Freshman of the Year - Seth Evans (Green Bay)
CHN Award Winners		Leaders
CHN All-Americans Gordon Hayward Mid-Major All-Americans Gordon Hayward (1st Team) Matt Howard (1st)		Best Scorer: Gordon Hayward Best Rebounder: Matt Howard Best Passer: Spencer Stewart

Horizon League Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

11	Butler	Horizon	1	NCAA
57	Wright State	Horizon	2	NIT
87	UWM	Horizon	3	CBI/CIT
111	Green Bay	Horizon	4	CBI/CIT
152	Cleveland St	Horizon	5
177	Valparaiso	Horizon	6
200	Illinois Chicago	Horizon	7
231	Detroit	Horizon	8
281	Youngstown St	Horizon	9
310	Loyola Ill	Horizon	10

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the HL?

College Basketball Preview - 348 Team Ranking - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Poll: Who Will Win the Horizon League?

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:04:33 -0400