Ray Floriani of College Chalk Talk is the RTC correspondent for the NEC and MEAC, and provides commentary and analysis from additional action around the country.

A sellout crowd of 19,391 packed Madison Square Garden Tuesday night to provide an atmosphere of electricity. Four ranked teams playing in the doubleheader was a major selling point. Put simply, the Jimmy V Classic lived up to its billing of high-profile teams and the play they exhibited.

After a sloppy first half, Kansas turned their backs on making mistakes and pulled away from Memphis.

Game 1: Kansas 81, Memphis 68

The opening game was contested at a 75-possession pace with Kansas holding a 110-91 edge in offensive efficiency.

The Four Factors

About the only area Memphis had an edge was in turnover rate. Kansas coach Bill Self discussed those dreaded TOs as lost opportunities where his offense failed to capitalize. The raw numbers tell everything. In what was almost certainly the product of a passionate halftime speech in the KU locker room, the Jayhawks went from the 14:02 to 6:55 mark of the second half without committing a turnover. During that time, they built a double-digit lead that proved to be insurmountable for the Tigers to overcome. Kansas’ shooting from the floor was not surprising, considering their easy access to the paint, where they enjoyed a 46-35 edge in scoring. They also spread the wealth, with four players in double figures paced by Markieff Morris with 16 points. About the only place they did not shoot well was from the line (11-19 for 58%). The young Tigers, suffering their first loss of the season after a few close calls, struggled on both ends. In fact, a good part of the offense came courtesy of Kansas, as Josh Pastner’s club had a 29-18 edge in points off turnovers.

Game 2: Syracuse 72, Michigan State 58

In the nightcap, the 69-possession meeting was accentuated by defense. Specifically that of Syracuse, who enjoyed a 108-84 edge in efficiency.

The Four Factors

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo put it plain and bluntly, stating his club “just had our butts kicked.” Syracuse had the edge in each of the four factors. Coach Jim Boeheim, whose Orange are now 9-0, noted he never had a team like this year’s version struggle this much in early season play. Tonight, though, it was Michigan State that had its problems. Besides getting beaten up inside, the Spartans could not figure out Syracuse’s trademark 2-3 zone. Failing to work the ball into the paint, Izzo’s group settled for jump shots to the tune of a very poor 7-24 (29%) night from three. Inside, Rick Jackson had a field day against the Big ten reps with a 17-point, 16-rebound effort. If Jackson were in the Big Ten, Tom Izzo would not sleep easy.  Scoop Jardine led the Orange with 19 points and a perfect 6-6 shooting night from inside the arc. Syracuse was 2-11 from three, a mark indicative of continued struggles from the perimeter. Boeheim was not too concerned, except noting they will not attempt to shoot themselves out of a three-point slump. That’s fine. Given guard penetration and inside play, the Orange enjoyed a 42-24 edge on points in the paint. “I can’t remember anyone doing that to us before,” Izzo said. “And it won’t happen again.”

Brian Goodman (987 Posts)

Brian Goodman a Big 12 microsite writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BSGoodman.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 9th, 2010 at 12:50 pm by Brian Goodman and is filed under rtc analysis. Tagged: bill self, jim boeheim, josh pastner, kansas, markieff morris, memphis, michigan state, rick jackson, scoop jardine, syracuse, tom izzo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.