draymond green

Top 10 Performances of 2nd Round: 2012 Tournament

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 21:41:31 -0700

The top 10 performances of the 2nd Round. No more intro is needed:

1 Brady Heslip, Baylor - 27 pts, 4 rbs, 9-12 from three. Against a Colorado team that had been winning with defense, Heslip exploded with 9 threes.

2 Kenny Frease, Xavier - 25 pts, 13 rbs, 2 blks - The biggest game of Frease's career. Previously had only 4 double-doubles all season and not a single 20 point game.

3 Draymond Green, Michigan St - 16 pts, 13 rbs, 6 asts, 2 stls - Where would MSU be without him? Majerus sung Green's praises after SLU fell.

4 Walter Offutt, Ohio - 21 pts, 3 rbs, 4 stls, 4-4 from three. Offutt's hot shooting helped a team put 60 on the board vs. USF for first time since February.

5 Jae Crowder, Marquette - 17 pts, 13 rbs, 3 asts, 3 stls, 2 blks - There's a reason he earned so many Big East plaudits. Was the difference in a game that was closer than the score suggests.

6 Royce White, Iowa St - 23 pts, 9 rbs, 4 asts, 3 stls, 1 blk. Stat-sheet filler isn't greatest shooter, but take him off Iowa St and they're not even an NIT team.

7 Drew Gordon, New Mexico - 21 pts, 14 rbs, 2 asts - He accounted for 38% of the Lobos offense in a close loss to Louisville.

8 Robbie Hummel, Purdue - 26 pts, 9 rbs, 3 asts - Had monster 22 point first half, but faded along with Purdue's upset hopes. Still managed 43% of Purdue's points.

9 Aaron Craft, Ohio St - 17 pts, 10 asts, 3 rbs, 3 stls - Had his first 10 assist game of the season. Owned Gonzaga's opposing guards.

10 Marquis Teague, Kentucky - 24 pts, 7 asts, 4 rbs, 10-14 shooting. First 20-point game of the freshman's career. Where was this Teague 2 months ago?

Others of Note:

DJ Cooper, Ohio - 19 pts, 7 rbs, 6 asts, 2 stls - Standard do-it-all performance from the Bobcats main main.

John Henson, North Carolina - 13 pts, 10 rbs, 4 blks, 2 steals - Back from injury, his presence was felt even more than his stats suggest.

Elijah Johnson, Kansas - 18 pts, 4 rbs, 3 asts, 2 stls - With Thomas Robinson struggling, he keyed Kansas to a comeback win.

Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati - 18 pts, 6 rbs, 2 stls - With Wright and Dixon 7-24 from the floor, Cincy needed Kilpatrick to step up.

Kendall Marshall, North Carolina - 18 pts, 11 asts, 4 rbs, 7-8 shooting. Every jumper he hit seemed to be worth 4 points to UNC.

Hollis Thompson, Georgetown - 23 pts, 5 rbs, 3 stls, 2 blks - Basically a one-man team in tough loss to NC State.

On to the Sweet Sixteen!

Michigan State Earns a One Seed: West Region Thoughts

Raphielle Johnson — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 07:35:43 -0700

,pdf bracket

The West Region is where the S-curve, a tool used to rank the teams from 1 to 68, went to die apparently and that means some tough matchups on the way to New Orleans. Top-seed Michigan State was rewarded for their non-conference slate and winning the Big Ten tournament crown with the fourth number one seed, and while LIU Brooklyn can pose some problems a 16-seed has never beaten a one. Of greater interest is the 8/9 matchup, which consists of a battle between Memphis and Saint Louis.

Rick Majerus is one of the great tacticians in college basketball and it's going to be interesting to see what he put together in the game preparation when it comes to slowing down a Memphis team playing its best basketball of the year. Josh Pastner has an All-America caliber wing in Will Barton, and the move to make Chris Crawford more of a playmaker has both relieved some of the pressure on Joe Jackson and make the Tigers a better team. Either team can win this one, and either team can also reach the Sweet 16.

Memphis has to be considered one of the most underseeded teams in the field, but while they receive a two-seed the Missouri Tigers likely belong in the discussion as well. The selection committee cited their non-conference strength of schedule as the reason why, but if Frank Haith's team is considered to be the weakest two...well, not really sure what to say about that. But the Tigers, who have one of the best backcourts in the country led by Phil Pressey and Marcus Denmon, are more than capable of winning a national title.

Their pod features a seven-seed in Florida that has enough talent to get to New Orleans, provided guards Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker make sound decisions. One of those would be to make sure that wing Bradley Beal and power forward Patric Young get more touches. Virginia's been hit hard by the injury bug and outside of Mike Scott really aren't playing well, and 15-seed Norfolk State has Kyle O'Quinn but the Tigers should be fine there. And should Missouri reach the Sweet 16, there's a matchup with a similarly-sized power conference team on the horizon.

Three-seed Marquette has seen Chris Otule (torn ACL) go down for the year and Davante Gardner have to deal with a sprained knee, and while that has limited them in the paint Buzz Williams' team did finish second in the Big East. Jae Crowder, Big East Player of the Year, and Darius Johnson-Odom are two big reasons why, but they're going to need improved play from point guard Junior Cadougan in order to go far. They'll get either BYU or Iona on Thursday, and that matchup is the best First Four contest. Can Iona defend well enough to slow down Brandon Davies and Noah Hartsock? Can BYU slow down one of the best offenses in the country led by Scott Machado? That's going to be fun to watch.

Also in Louisville is six-seed Murray State, who's led by junior point guard Isaiah Canaan and he's going to be on more than a few All-America teams. They may not be thrilled with their seed but the Racers did draw a similarly-sized team in Colorado State, but don't sleep on Tim Miles' guards either. Jesse Carr, Wes Eikmeier and Dorian Green can all get it done, but the most important question for the Rams is the health of wing Greg Smith. He missed the Mountain West tournament with a sprained ankle but has been given a clean bill of health for this week.

The four-seed in the West is Louisville, who likely jumped a couple lines with their winning the Big East Championship. But which team makes the trip out the Portland: the one that struggled with turnovers throughout the regular season, or the one that tightened things up in New York? Either way the Cardinals had better be wary of Davidson, as the Wildcats have a very good frontcourt tandem (De'Mon Brooks and Jake Cohen) to go along with a very good guard in J.P. Kuhlman.

The 5/12 battle will also be fun to watch as New Mexico, who is playing arguably their best basketball of the season, takes on Long Beach State. The Lobos feature Drew Gordon inside and guards Tony Snell and Kendall Williams on the perimeter, but the 49ers can counter with Casper Ware and T.J. Robinson. How well they defend Gordon will be a key factor as will the health of Larry Anderson, who missed the Big West tournament with a knee injury. Michigan State may be on top of the bracket, but there are a number of teams with the talent needed to take them down.

Winner: Missouri

Best second round matchup: Louisville vs. Davidson

All-Region Team
G Marcus Denmon (Missouri)
G Casper Ware (Long Beach State)
G Scott Machado (Iona)
F Jae Crowder (Marquette)
F Draymond Green (Michigan State)

NCAA Tournament 2012: Top 68 Players

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:08:10 -0800

When it comes time to pick your NCAA Bracket, its a good strategy to focus on teams with superstar players. Just look at UCONN last year: Kemba Walker put the Huskies on his back and led them to a surprise National Championship.

Which individual stars will lead their teams to success in the 2012 Tournament? It might be household stars like Anthony Davis, or lesser known stars like Casper Ware and Nate Wolters. Here are the 68 best players in the Dance:

LET THE DEBATES BEGIN...

Rank	Player	School	League	Yr	Pos
1	Anthony Davis	Kentucky	SEC	Fr	F
2	Thomas Robinson	Kansas	B12	Jr	F
3	Jared Sullinger	Ohio St	B10	So	F
4	Doug McDermott	Creighton	MVC	So	F
5	Draymond Green	Michigan St	B10	Sr	F
6	John Henson	North Carolina	ACC	Jr	F
7	Harrison Barnes	North Carolina	ACC	So	F
8	Michael Kidd-Gilchrist	Kentucky	SEC	Fr	F
9	Isaiah Canaan	Murray St	OVC	Jr	G
10	Marcus Denmon	Missouri	B12	Sr	G
11	Perry Jones	Baylor	B12	So	F
12	Kevin Jones	West Virginia	BE	Sr	F
13	Will Barton	Memphis	USA	So	G
14	Jeremy Lamb	UCONN	BE	So	G
15	Cody Zeller	Indiana	B10	Fr	C
16	Tyler Zeller	North Carolina	ACC	Jr	C
17	Mike Scott	Virginia	ACC	Sr	F
18	John Jenkins	Vanderbilt	SEC	Jr	G
19	Kenny Boynton	Florida	SEC	Jr	G
20	Tyshawn Taylor	Kansas	B12	Sr	G
21	Scott Machado	Iona	MAAC	Sr	G
22	Jae Crowder	Marquette	BE	Sr	F
23	Kendall Marshall	North Carolina	ACC	So	G
24	J'Covan Brown	Texas	B12	Jr	G
25	Trey Burke	Michigan	B10	Fr	G
26	Tu Holloway	Xavier	A10	Sr	G
27	Austin Rivers	Duke	ACC	Fr	G
28	Robbie Hummel	Purdue	B10	Sr	F
29	Matthew Dellavedova	St. Mary's	WCC	Jr	G
30	Darius Johnson-Odom	Marquette	BE	Sr	G
31	Jordan Taylor	Wisconsin	B10	Sr	G
32	Casper Ware	Long Beach St	BW	Sr	G
33	Dion Waiters	Syracuse	BE	So	G
34	Kris Joseph	Syracuse	BE	Sr	F
35	Drew Gordon	New Mexico	MWC	Sr	F
36	Nate Wolters	South Dakota St	SUM	Jr	G
37	Wendell McKines	New Mexico St	WAC	Sr	F
38	CJ McCollum	Lehigh	PAT	Jr	G
39	JaMychal Green	Alabama	SEC	Sr	F
40	William Buford	Ohio St	B10	Sr	G
41	Henry Sims	Georgetown	BE	Sr	C
42	Bradley Beal	Florida	SEC	Fr	G
43	Mike Moser	UNLV	MWC	So	F
44	Jamaal Franklin	San Diego St	MWC	So	G
45	Jason Clark	Georgetown	BE	Sr	G
46	Aaron Craft	Ohio St	B10	So	G
47	Ramon Moore	Temple	A10	Sr	G
48	Mike Glover	Iona	MAAC	Sr	F
49	Royce White	Iowa St	B12	So	F
50	Jeff Taylor	Vanderbilt	SEC	Sr	G
51	Andrew Nicholson	St Bonaventure	A10	Sr	F
52	Doron Lamb	Kentucky	SEC	So	G
53	Shabazz Napier	UCONN	BE	So	G
54	Terrence Jones	Kentucky	SEC	So	F
55	Lorenzo Brown	NC State	ACC	So	G
56	Kerron Johnson	Belmont	AS	Jr	G
57	Chance Stanback	UNLV	MWC	Sr	F
58	Rob Jones	St. Mary's	SEC	Sr	F
59	DJ Cooper	Ohio	MAC	Jr	G
60	Garrett Stutz	Wichita St	MVC	Sr	C
61	Mark Lyons	Xavier	A10	Jr	G
62	Kim English	Missouri	B12	Sr	G
63	Jake Cohen	Davidson	SoCo	Jr	F
64	Ray McCallum	Detroit	HL	So	G
65	Bernard James	Florida St	ACC	Sr	C
66	Elias Harris	Gonzaga	WCC	Sr	F
67	Sean Kilpatrick	Cincinncati	BE	So	G
68	Khalif Wyatt	Temple	A10	Jr	G

Top 10 One-Bid League Stars

1 Isaiah Canaan - Murray St

2 Casper Ware - Long Beach St

3 Nate Wolters - South Dakota St

4 CJ McCollum - Lehigh

5 Kerron Johnson - Belmont

5 DJ Cooper - Ohio

6 Jake Cohen - Davidson

7 Ray McCallum - Detroit

8 Will Cherry - Montana

9 Matt Dickey - UNC-Asheville

10 TJ Robinson - Long Beach St

2012 All-America Team: CollegeHoops.net

CHN — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:44:56 -0800

Player of the Year Anthony Davis, only a freshman, highlights CollegeHoops.net's 2012 All-America Team. Davis, the nation's leading shot-blocker, led Kentucky to a 30-1 regular season record. Davis is joined on the First Team by Thomas Robinson of Kansas, Draymond Green of Michigan State, Doug McDermott of Creighton, and Isaiah Canaan of Murray State.

Davis is one of only two freshmen on the list, as teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist made the Third Team.

CollegeHoops.net All-America Teams were voted on by staffers Shawn Siegel, Raphielle Johnson, Greg Mengelt, and Jon Teitel.

Last year's winner was BYU's Jimmer Fredette.

Player of the Year: F Anthony Davis, Kentucky, Fr

First Team All-American

G Isaiah Canaan, Murray St, Jr
F Doug McDermott, Creighton, So
F Draymond Green, Michigan St, Sr
F Thomas Robinson, Kansas, Jr
F Anthony Davis, Kentucky, Fr

Second Team All-American

G Scott Machado, Iona, Sr
G Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas, Sr
G Damian Lillard, Weber St, Jr
F Jared Sullinger, Ohio St, So
F Tyler Zeller, North Carolina, Jr

Third Team All-American

G Marcus Denmon, Missouri, Sr
G John Jenkins, Vanderbilt, Jr
F John Henson, North Carolina, Jr
F Mike Scott, Virginia, Sr
F Kevin Jones, West Virginia, Sr

Fourth Team All-American

G Kendall Marshall, North Carolina, So
G Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette, Sr
F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky, Fr
F Will Barton, Memphis, So
F Jae Crowder, Marquette, Sr

Honorable Mention

G Harrison Barnes, North Carolina, So
G Kenny Boynton, Florida, Jr
G J'Covan Brown, Texas, Jr
F Perry Jones III, Baylor, So
F Kris Joseph, Syracuse, Sr
G Jeremy Lamb, UCONN, So
F Mike Moser, UNLV, So
F Arnett Moultrie, Mississippi St, Jr
F John Shurna, Northwestern, Sr
F Royce White, Iowa St, So

Hoosiers' Balance Too Much for Michigan State: Tuesday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:37:11 -0800

In other action on Tuesday night both Connecticut and Xavier fell on the road, and it's now beyond danger time for both teams.

1. Draymond Green played well, but Indiana's many contributors proved to be too much for Michigan State.
With the chance to clinch the outright Big Ten title #5 Michigan State hit the road to take on #18 Indiana in Bloomington. But while Green further strengthened his Big Ten Player of the Year candidacy with 29 points and eight rebounds his teammates struggled mightily, with no other Spartan scoring more than eight points (Austin Thornton). Indiana defended well (the other Spartans shot a combined 10-for-34 from the field) and they executed offensively, shooting 47.9% from the field and finishing with an efficiency of 120.7 in their 70-55 win. Michigan State wasn't bad offensively in the first half, shooting 40.7%, but on the other end of the floor they were unable to keep Victor Oladipo and the other Hoosiers from the foul line.

The aggressive Oladipo scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half, with seven of those points coming from the charity stripe, and as a team the Hoosiers shot 16-for-18 as they built a 41-27 lead. Cody Zeller finished the night as Indiana's leading scorer with 18 points while Verdell Jones III scored 12 off the bench and starters Jordan Hulls and Christian Watford (14 rebounds) scored ten apiece. Indiana has now won 23 games this season and at this rate Tom Crean's squad could earn a "protected" seed in the NCAA tournament given their resume that features three wins over Top 5 teams (Kentucky and Ohio State the others). Michigan State can still win the outright Big Ten crown with a win over Ohio State on Sunday, but in order to do so they're going to need more from Keith Appling and the rest of Draymond Green's supporting cast.

2. All four home teams hold serve in the first round of the Horizon League tournament.
There wasn't much suspense in the first round of the Horizon League tournament on Tuesday night as all four home teams advanced to the quarterfinals. Butler shot 53.7% from the field and Andrew Smith put up 25 points and seven rebounds in the Bulldogs' 70-52 win over Wright State. The Raiders have had issues offensively for much of the season, but it was their defense that let them down at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler will take on Milwaukee, who led UIC 35-14 at the half in a game the Panthers would win 68-55. Milwaukee shot 11-for-25 from beyond the arc, making up for their poor free throw shooting (13-for-24) and 19 turnovers. Butler and Milwaukee played a pair of low-scoring contests in the regular season, splitting the two games with the home team winning both games.

The other quarterfinal will match Detroit and Youngstown State, and those two split their regular season series with the visiting team winning both meetings. Detroit forced 23 Loyola (IL) turnovers in their 80-71 win over the Ramblers, and offensively Eli Holman (20 points, six rebounds) and Chase Simon (19 points, four steals) led five Titans in double figures. Youngstown State also won the turnover battle in their first round matchup, forcing 17 Green Bay turnovers while also knocking down ten three-pointers in their 77-60 win. YSU scored 45 points in the first half thanks in large part to making eight three-pointers out of twelve attempts, and with all five starters scoring in double figures the Penguins did enough in the first half to retain control of the game.

3. Montana controls play at home to beat Weber State and win the Big Sky regular season title.
The battle between the Grizzlies and Wildcats was arguably the most important regular season game on the schedule Tuesday night when considering what was at stake. The winner would not only win the regular season title but also host the semifinals and title game of the conference tournament, an honor that Montana earned with their 66-51 victory. Wayne Tinkle's team got the job done on the defensive end of the floor, limiting Weber State to 30.2% shooting and a frigid 3-for-26 from three. Weber State did manage to grab 16 offensive rebounds but due to their shooting woes the Wildcats were unable to take advantage.

Montana was led by guard Will Cherry, who was outstanding in scoring 23 points and dishing out four assists. Combining with Kareem Jamar (17 points, seven rebounds) on the perimeter, Montana's backcourt outplayed Weber State's Damian Lillard and Scott Bamforth. Lillard did manage to score 19 points but he needed 19 shots to do so, making just seven, while Bamforth scored nine points on 4-for-13 shooting. These two split the regular season series with the home team taking control in the latter stages of the first half in both meetings, which may add to the importance of having home court in a possible title game rubber match. And given how much better Montana and Weber State were than the rest of the Big Sky, it's expected that these two would meet for a third time this season.

Quick Hitters

1. For all the talk about Arkansas' struggles on the road, one would expect the Razorbacks to take care of business at home down the stretch. That wasn't the case on Tuesday as the Hogs allowed 51 second half points in a 77-75 loss to Ole Miss, and that's the last thing Mike Anderson's team needed given their at-large prospects. Arkansas will most likely need to win the SEC tournament to go dancing.

2. How's this for an impressive stat: according to Wisconsin Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Patrick Herb, the Badgers clinched a first-round bye in the Big Ten tournament for the 12th consecutive season with their 52-45 win over Minnesota. Wisconsin scored 36 of their points in the second half, quite the reversal from their 19% shooting in the first half.

3. Texas A&M may have shot 51% from the field but they still didn't have enough offensively to prevent Kansas State from leaving College Station with a 76-70 victory. K-State shot 12-for-17 from beyond the arc with Rodney McGruder going 5-for-7 (26 points) from deep, and Jamar Samuels added 17 and 11 rebounds.

4. Vanderbilt kept alive their hopes of finishing second in the SEC with 77-67 win over Florida in Nashville. John Jenkins made six of his nine shots from beyond the arc in scoring 22 points and Jeffery Taylor added 18 on what was an emotional night for the Commodores' senior class.

5. Led by Will Barton (18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots), not only did Memphis move one step closer to an outright Conference USA title but they also may have ended UCF's at-large hopes in the 84-55 beating. Memphis shot 63.3% from the field in the second half, and while they anxiously await a definitive diagnosis of Antonio Barton's foot injury Josh Pastner's bunch has played some good basketball of late.

Georgetown, Michigan State Continue To Defy Logic

Greg Mengelt — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:08:19 -0800

Every year it seems that a team or two defy the odds and improve after losing a large chunk of their previous year’s production.

This year, it’s Michigan State and Georgetown that are thriving despite losing their star players. Both entered this season with low expectations, yet each are currently atop their conferences and ranked in the top 10. Michigan St was unranked in the preseason AP poll, while Georgetown did not even garner a single vote.

Even with Kalin Lucas – the Spartans’ fifth all-time leading scorer and sixth all-time leader in assists – Michigan State suffered through a forgettable 2010-11 season. Ranked second in the nation to begin the season, the Spartans suffered through a 19-15 campaign that was reportedly rife with dissention and discontent, and they were ousted in the NCAA Tournament’s first round by UCLA a season after a run to the Final 4.

Despite also losing Durrell Summers, Korie Lucious and Delvon Roe, whose degenerative knee problems forced him to miss his senior year, Michigan State has won 14 straight games and is sitting atop the Big Ten standings after a 63-60 overtime win at Wisconsin Tuesday.

Spartan coach Tom Izzo predicted before the season that, despite being omitted from the pre-season Top 25, Michigan State would return to the top of the Big Ten this season. His reasoning? Better leadership and cohesion.

Draymond Green – MSU’s one returning star – has been great, but it’s been some lesser-known players who have come through for the Spartans. Keith Appling, who scored 25 points as Michigan State knocked off previously-unbeaten Indiana last Wednesday, is averaging 12.3 points, 3.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds at the point. Freshman Branden Dawson is regularly scoring in double-figures, and Valparaiso transfer Brandon Wood has provided the Spartans the outside threat they lacked a year ago.

Similarly, Georgetown entered last season with high expectations only to fizzle. With Chris Wright and Austin Freeman in the backcourt, the Hoyas jumped out to 8-0 and 11-1 before finishing 21-11 and suffering an embarrassing loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament – 74-56 to VCU – for the second straight season.

Without Wright, Freeman and Julian Vaughn (38.3 ppg between them), Georgetown was unranked and picked to finish 11th in the Big East. A seventh-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament under John Thompson III was considered a longshot.

Instead, Georgetown has won 11 straight to improve to 13-1 – with only a four-point loss to Kansas keeping it from an unbeaten record – and the Hoyas are tied with No. 1 Syracuse at the top of the Big East after an upset win over Louisville, a home victory over Providence, and shocking come from behind win over Marquette last night.

Jason Clark was expected to carry Georgetown this season – and he has been outstanding. But it’s the role players and newcomers who have made the difference in D.C.

Hollis Thompson’s stats are up across the board, including a 47.1 field goal percentage. Former highly-touted recruit Henry Sims is beginning to reach his potential in his senior season, including a team-best 3.7 assists from the center position. Sophomore guard Markel Starks has increased his scoring average from 1.5 a year ago to 10.2 this season, and freshman Otto Porter, who had 14 points and 14 rebounds in last week’s win over Louisville, looks like a star in the making.

Talent is essential in college basketball. As Michigan State and Georgetown are proving, unity and continuity can sometimes be just as important.