Week #15 - Games of Interest

[rambone 78]

They should be whining about their own team's piss poor performance. They aren't going Dancing unless they win the conference tourney.

Getting outscored by 42-12, in the first 14 minutes of the second half, and they are complaining about the refs? Sheesh.

I would LOVE to see us beat them here, the last game of the season. Unfortunately, we just don't have enough bodies to pressure them for the entire 40 minutes like VCU can.

[STC]

Derek Kellogg, the new Jim Baron of the A10. He will win you 20 games with a soft schedule then get blown away against legit competition. No way will UMass go dancing with Kellogg at the helm. Told you guys earlier this year that UMass squad was a fraudulent team. Last night proved it.

Btw, Idk about yall but I would love to see La Salle make the tourney. They have played a solid schedule, beat Butler and VCU and dont have many bad losses on their resume. If Aaric Murray had kept his head screwed on straight and stayed at La Salle this team might have been the class of the A10. I really like that kid Ramon Galloway, he can ball.

[ATPTourFan]

Agreed on UMass fans, Kellogg, and LaSalle making the Dance.

[RIhoopz14]

Obadiah, did u watch the game? Definitely some homecourt calls that helped put the dagger on UMass. In the first half, Umass absolutely dominated VCU to the point where they stopped pressing because it was hurting them too much. Chaz was getting by it single-handedly and distrubiting the ball extremely well. The 2nd half was the COMPLETE opposite, and I blame that on poor coaching by Kellogg. He let VCU start the 2nd half on a 17-1 run before calling a timeout, with about 6 straight turnovers from the press.

Here is a GREAT article that fully explains the VCU diamond press, I highly suggest you all read it, and you'll actually see a GIF of their press when they played at URI. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/colleg ... &eref=sihp

[rodfromcranston]

Billy had a stat line GBG would love!
4-13 FG 2-8 3Pt. 14 points ,2 rebs, 5 turnovers in 38 minutes.
As for UMass, Putney started out like Kevin Durant, and vanished
in the HAVOC.
How you let a team go 17-1 without calling a timeout, is absurd.
Kellogg IS the new Baron. Umass is the mirror image of Baron's NIT teams.
Lots of talent, without a clue.

[rodfromcranston]

Love the Temple fans who are indignant that their team is not on the not making
the NCAAs list. They lost to Canisius and Duquesne!
Ridiculous!
Also Rick Borzello has Temple and Xavier in the A-10 title game.
Odd, because Butler and VCU are clearly better than either of those teams.

[ATPTourFan]

Temple's DONE short of winning Brooklyn.

Thanks for that post about Havoc press, RIhoopz14!

[Iggy1979]

Great SI piece.
Agree on Kellogg, and UMass plays a similar style as URI under Baron. Works against inferior opponents; big deal.
I think Giannini at LaSalle is a lot like Baron -- not good enough for this conference.
And how about Martelli. It's been a long time since they've been good and they're having a very disappointing year.

[Obadiah]

Thanks hoopz14 for the SI article. Great read. No, I didn't watch the UMass-VCU game. Yes, I think refs make some bad calls at times, maybe even in critical situations, but rarely does it affect the game outcome, especially in the blackout this game became. VCU's havoc defense tends to piss off fans of opposing teams who then tend to accuse refs of favoritism.

Maybe Kellogg pulled a bonehead move by not calling a timeout in the opening second half run by VCU, but it is obvious that Smart/VCU made halftime adjustments to counter UMass, especially Chaz Williams which is apparent in his first half versus half stats - Williams had seven assists and three TO's in the first, he had no assists and three turnovers in the second. The telling stat was 24 TO's for UMass vs. 8 for VCU who committed only one TO in the second. VCU had 15 steals to UMass' 6. It was a tale of two very different halves.

VCU also made successful second half adjustment in the games versus URI, except the difference was not as dramatic and URI never suffered a bad run like UMass did. Overall URI handled the havoc better. Yes, our Rams made 18 TO's, but VCU had 19. And VCU's steal advantage was only 9 to 7. Was this difference simply a case that URI had a home court advantage and UMass was playing in front of a hostile and admirably vocal VCU crowd?

[RIhoopz14]

There's no doubt that homecourt advantage is a huge factor, especially when the home team is going on a run like VCU was. They shot the ball at a high percentage in the second half, and were able to get easy buckets off of all the turnovers. These were forced from Shaka making adjustments on Chaz, ensuring they stayed in front of him on the press and cutting down his angle for passes and lanes quicker than the first half. I think VCU hasn't seen a PG as quick and evasive as Chaz and might have understimated him in the 1H, and by the 2nd half Chaz looked completely worn out. The first half was ALL Chaz and Putney, and a good coach like Shaka knows how to make the right adjustments.

Overall these teams are a reflection of their coaches. Hurleys teams are in good condition, play tight D, and won't quit; whereas Kellogg team is quite the reflection of Baron-coached teams, as mentioned before. Other than homecourt, that is the main difference in why URI was closer to beating VCU than UMass.

[reef]

Temple losing to Duq may have sealed their fate

[SGreenwell]

Even if you think the refs called a horrible game, here's the thing - Part of being a good team is staying under control when you don't get calls. Giving up a 17-1 run doesn't exactly suggest that sort of composure.

[Obadiah]

A full slate of A-10 action today:

URI at Duquesne at 7 PM.

Xavier at Dayton. On ESPN2 at 12 Noon.

St. Joe’s at La Salle. On NBC Sports at 1 PM.

#11 Butler at Fordham. On CBS Sports at 4 PM.

Temple at UMass. On CBS Sports at 6 PM.

St. Bonaventure at Richmond.

Charlotte at St. Louis at 7 PM.

GW at VCU at 7:30 PM.


In action involving OOC opponents:

#21 Notre Dame at PC. On ESPN3 at Noon.

#7 Florida at Auburn. On ESPN3 at 1:30 PM.

Virginia Tech at NC State. On ESPN2 at 2PM.

SMU at Tulane.

Georgia State at George Mason.

Cornell at Brown.

St. Mary’s at Loyola Marymount.

Loyola (MD) at Siena.

#6 Syracuse at Seton Hall. On ESPN3 at 8 PM.

[ATPTourFan]

PC is smoking ND at the Dunk by 20 after leading by 8 at the half in front of a sellout crowd. 3 Mins left before they score their 4th straight BE win and 2nd straight win over a ranked team in as many home games.

[RF1]

PC is smoking ND at the Dunk by 20 after leading by 8 at the half in front of a sellout crowd. 3 Mins left before they score their 4th straight BE win and 2nd straight win over a ranked team in as many home games.

PC's RPI moved up 13 spots and is nearing NIT range at #84. Who would have thought two weeks ago that the Friars would win 4 straight? Back then it looked like they were headed for their 4th straight losing season.

[rodfromcranston]

More important than PC, is Dayton easily beating Xavier.
Dayton destroyed Xavier inside, all day.
Dillard for Dayton shoots 100% of his free throws this year
in the final two minutes.

[rodfromcranston]

Listening to announcers in the PC game gushing over Council pasing Ernie D in career assists.
Um, Ernie player three years, Council four.
When is whoever runs the NCAA going to logically go to per game averages, instead of totals?
This would level out the extra season or more games certain players had, to pad those totals.

[rjsuperfly66]

I agree Rod.
As of today, VC has played 23 more games than Ernie (and that is with missing half a season).

Council benefits from playing in an era where seasons are longer and assists are given more freely.

[seanmc94]

So if a guy goes 1 and done and has numbers off the charts; that should be ranked ahead if a solid 4 year guard? Pretty sure Joe Hassett knows about Ernie D.

[Obadiah]

In some other outcomes of the day:

Fordham gave Butler a good challenge before finally falling, 68-63.

On some blistering second half shooting, La Salle powered by Philly neighbor, St. Joseph's, 76-64.

UMass leads Temple by five at the half.

In somewhat of a surprise, Georgia State routed George Mason on the Patriots home court, 78-60. GSU led the entire way.

SMU falls at Tulane, 78-67, bringing its record to 13-13.

Virginia Tech loses in OT at NC State, 90-86.

[rodfromcranston]

Stop being a smartass, Sean. They could make it that thee and four year players only, qualify for
school and NCAA records.

[Billyboy78]

Richmond beat the Bonnies, 83-80, in a game that affects our chances for a playoff spot.

[Ramulous]

A one and done player could still hold the season record for assists per game or assists in a season.

Avery Johnson of Southern University holds the all-time NCAA Division I record for single–season assists per game (apg) average (13.30), which he accomplished in 1987–88.
He also recorded 399 assists that season, which is the second–highest single–season mark behind UNLV's Mark Wade's record of 406, which occurred in 1986–87.

[rodfromcranston]

Of course, but I was talking more of career records.
Don't forget, until the 90's the standard schedule was 26 games.
Before the NCAA went to 64 teams, it was 32, which meant not a lot of players played
nearly as many as the 30-36 games they do now.

[seanmc94]

Rod,

You sound like my dad

[TruePoint]

PC is smoking ND at the Dunk by 20 after leading by 8 at the half in front of a sellout crowd. 3 Mins left before they score their 4th straight BE win and 2nd straight win over a ranked team in as many home games.

Its a great win for PC, and it looks likely now that they could win 3 of their last 5 and finish .500 in the BE, which is a hell of an accomplishment for them. I do think it should be qualified that Notre Dame is coming off of consecutive 5OT and OT games (the second of which was against DePaul, which seems to provide evidence of the toll taken by the 5OT game). PC handled them and deserve credit for the win, I just wouldn't read much into the margin. Strikes me as a game ND punted, similar to how NBA teams punt on the second night of a back-to-back on the road sometimes. They scored 20 points less than their season average, and Providence is a decent defensive team but isn't exactly a defensive juggernaut.

[ace]

Great article on Bashir Mason, if you're interested

http://www.nj.com/college-basketball/in ... witterfeed

[seanmc94]

PC is smoking ND at the Dunk by 20 after leading by 8 at the half in front of a sellout crowd. 3 Mins left before they score their 4th straight BE win and 2nd straight win over a ranked team in as many home games.

Its a great win for PC, and it looks likely now that they could win 3 of their last 5 and finish .500 in the BE, which is a hell of an accomplishment for them. I do think it should be qualified that Notre Dame is coming off of consecutive 5OT and OT games (the second of which was against DePaul, which seems to provide evidence of the toll taken by the 5OT game). PC handled them and deserve credit for the win, I just wouldn't read much into the margin. Strikes me as a game ND punted, similar to how NBA teams punt on the second night of a back-to-back on the road sometimes. They scored 20 points less than their season average, and Providence is a decent defensive team but isn't exactly a defensive juggernaut.

While no defensive juggernaut; the Friars have held opponents under 55 points in 5 straight games.

[Obadiah]

Thanks, ace, for this article on Bashir Mason. Not only it is an inspiring story, it also reminds us that college athletics, especially basketball, represent one of the best programs in getting so many minorities out of toxic urban climates. Despite some failures there are hundreds of success stories. Reading the article is also such a refreshing change from all the elitist talk that often punctuates the college sports scene.

[ace]

Right, and basketball can be that vehicle, even if a guy doesn't go on to play professionally. For Mason, when he graduated from Drexel, he had offers to play overseas but wasn't sure. He discussed it with his former coach, and Hurley offered him a job coaching the post-grad team at St. Benedict's, which he took. It helps when a player can be realistic about where they fit in the game, and Mason set himself up for success from early on.

[bigappleram]

not sure if ND punted, but PC played a great game on both ends of the floor.

i dont think ND is all that good, at every position PC had the better talent with Cooley and Batts a virtual push. ND joins Cincy in this year's overrated BE team category. Ville, Cuse and Pitt are very good, Marquette, Gtown are legit, and everyone else is overrated. IMO PC is as good as anyone in that next tier.

[rodfromcranston]

Calipari after a 30 point loss to Tennessee:
"We have a couple of guys who are just uncoachable."
Guess when you hold all the cards, you can tell it like it is.

[TruePoint]

Live by the gun, die by the gun. He recruited them, and he could have had anyone he wanted.

[Iggy1979]

Liked the story on Mason but I'm rooting for Tim O'Shea

[reef]

Say it aint so Calipari could be NIT ???