Game recaps are boring. If you want to read them, search your local newspaper or the Associated Press. With the Big East Tournament upon us, we figured we would try to offer four thoughts about every game that is played… emphasis on “try.” 

Jim Calhoun Is Back On The Bench And He Has The Huskies Playing Well.

1. Connecticut took care of business. Beating DePaul isn’t going to help the Huskies’ tournament chances very much, but losing to the Blue Demons would have almost certainly been a catastrophe. Luckily, the team — and especially Jeremy Lamb — came out firing on all cylinders, built a 13-point lead at halftime, and coasted to victory from there. Lamb was superb in the first half and finished the game with 25 points and four assists, and the offense that was non-existent in the last few weeks returned as the Huskies shot 46. 3% from the field. The victory sets up what many are calling a de facto play-in game with West Virginia tomorrow at noon.
2. The return of Jim Calhoun has energized a team in need of a pick-me-up. With Calhoun back on the bench for the first time since his spinal surgery, UConn handled Pittsburgh in its regular season finale on Saturday. After the game, freshman point guard Ryan Boatright told reporters, “It was just a whole `nother vibe with him back on the sidelines.” Well it looked that way again this afternoon. Neither the Panthers nor the Blue Demons have been particularly competitive this season, but Calhoun’s brave comeback, his perseverance, and his leadership is exactly what the doctor ordered for a team that looked timid and uninspired as the season came to a close. They were efficient on offense and held DePaul to just 27.4% from the field. I am not ready to starting drawing comparisons to the run the Huskies made through the Big East Tournament last year because this team is still one week removed from losing to Providence, but they are definitely not the same team they were last week, and Calhoun is a major reason why. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s an extremely busy week of basketball, with the Big East Tournament already beginning and the other power conference leagues all tipping off in the next two days. Instead of doing the standard early-week RTC Podcast this time around, we decided to break things up a little bit. First, we’ve got the shorter nationally-focused RTC Podblast, but we also brought in some of our microsite correspondents from each of the major leagues to riff a little about their upcoming tournaments. Today we’ll release the Big East Tournament Podblast (with Brian Otskey), the Big 12 Tournament Podblast (with Danny Spewak), and the Pac-12 Tournament Podblast (with Andrew Murawa). Tomorrow we’ll have the other three.

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT PODBLAST

BIG 12 TOURNAMENT PODBLAST

PAC-12 TOURNAMENT PODBLAST

Yesterday we named our All-Pac-12 team, today we hand out our awards. It may not have been a banner year in the Pac-12, but we have had good races for each of these awards and come away with some very deserving honorees.

Player of the Year

Terrence Ross, Soph, Washington: California’s Jorge Gutierrez won the official Pac-12 award, but Ross gets the nod here for a variety of reasons: 1) he’s the best player in the conference; 2) he’s the best player on the conference champion; and 3) when he gets in a rhythm (which is often), no other player in the conference (save perhaps his teammate, Tony Wroten) can make as big of an impact on the game. Ross’ best game of the year may have come on January 15 when he scored 26 points in the second half (while also adding a game-high 14 boards) to bring the Huskies back from a six-point halftime deficit to beat Washington State. Or maybe it came against UCLA on February 2 when he scored 10 points in the final five minutes to help bring the Huskies back from a 10-point deficit with seven minutes left. Or maybe it was his dominant performance inside the three-point line against Arizona on February 18, when he scored 25 points despite a perimeter jumper that took the day off.

Terrence Ross Was A Clutch Performer All Year Long For The Huskies (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

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Brendon Mulvihill is an RTC contributor. You can find him @themulv on Twitter. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

We are knee deep in Championship Week and the bigger conferences kick things off today.  However, the mid-majors are fighting for their tournament lives in championship games around the country. We’ll stay focused on the smaller guys for one more day. What an amazing time of year!

Pennsylvania at Princeton – 7:00 PM EST on ESPN3 (****)

Penn needs to win one more to face Harvard in a winner take all playoff game (credit: Meghan Cadet / Daily Pennsylvanian)

• If Penn can pick up a road win tonight, they will force a one game playoff with Harvard to determine the Ivy League champion and who will get the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. To say this game is a must-win for the Quakers is an understatement. Penn knocked off Princeton at the end of January with an 82-67 win at home. While both teams shot over 60% eFG for the night, the Quakers dominated the offensive glass and the free throw line. They posted their highest offensive rebounding rate and highest free throw rate of the season. It turns out that Penn has one of the worst OR% rates (#299) and one of the worst free throw rates (#303) in the country. Inconceivably, Princeton is worse in both categories, coming in at #313 and #304, respectively, so the Quakers took advantage. Keep a close eye on Penn’s ability to get to the line, as it will play a huge factor in their ability to win one on the road.
• Princeton has shot the ball 41% from downtown in conference play, ranking first in that category in the conference. Watch to see if the Tigers can pick up some timely threes against the top three-point defense in the Ivy League. Princeton is no slouch on defense either. They have been able to hold teams to 45.5% eFG in league play. However, they must play good defense without fouling, which they struggle to do. Princeton is 3-10 when their opponents have a free throw rate above 36%.
• This game will be won at the free throw line. While it’s a little more complicated than that, watch the foul situation closely. The Tigers have the field goal defense to slow down the Quakers. However, if they are putting Penn on the line because they are fouling on second chance opportunities, they will lose like they did in the first game, and we’ll be treated with another Ivy League playoff game with a bid on the line later this week.

Horizon League Championship: Detroit at Valparaiso – 9:00PM EST on ESPN (****)

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We’ve spent the last couple weeks prognosticating and projecting the Big Ten Tournament bracket for this upcoming weekend in Indianapolis, but we now finally have something concrete to work from. The field has been set, and it’s just a matter of a few short days before things get underway. Below are the preliminary matchups with a few things to keep an eye on:

First round on Thursday:

• #8 Iowa vs. #9 Illinois (11:30 AM ET on BTN)
• #5 Indiana vs. #12 Penn State (25 minutes later, BTN)
• #7 Northwestern vs. #10 Minnesota (5:30 PM, ESPN2)
• #6 Purdue vs. #11 Nebraska (25 minutes later, ESPN2)

Will the Big Ten Tournament be kind to John Shurna and Northwestern's NCAA Tournament hopes? (Charles Cherney/AP)

Second round on Friday: 

• #1 Michigan State vs. Iowa/Illinois winner (12:00 PM, ESPN)
• #4 Wisconsin vs. Indiana/Penn State winner (25 minutes later, ESPN)
• #2 Michigan vs. Northwestern/Minnesota winner (6:30 PM, BTN)
• #3 Ohio State vs. Purdue/Nebraska winner (25 minutes later, BTN)

We’ll talk about the semifinals and championship game once we reach that point, but there’s plenty to talk about in the first two days for now.

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After an eventful and tumultuous season, the two writers on the ACC microsite retreated to our respective Fortresses of Solitude and engaged in ritual fasting, meditation, and research to come up with lists for your enjoyment and edification. Specifically, we are talking about the traditional conference awards, headlined by the Player of the Year Award and the All-Conference teams. Yesterday, the official awards came out, voted on by the ACSMA, which is all fine and good if you like your awards determined without the use of sweat lodges and divination. Spiritually cleansed, we are now ready to present our version of the awards.

Mike Scott is Amazing

Conference Player of the Year

Matt says:

The Player of the Year choice was a very tough one for me. In the end it came down to relative importance. Without Mike Scott, Virginia would be lucky to finish in the top half of the ACC. Without Tyler Zeller, North Carolina still finishes top two. The fact is that Mike Scott was the most efficient offensive player in the ACC by a wide margin. It wasn’t his offensive numbers that made me think twice about my pick. It was defense. Zeller is one of the best post defenders in the league; that’s why he received North Carolina’s award for best defensive player last year over John Henson (the ACC Defensive Player of the Year). But in the end, Scott is a slightly better defensive rebounder (he doesn’t block shots) on a very good defensive team, so I gave him the very slight edge.

Kellen says:

So here’s the thing: offensive efficiency all comes down to how you count it. Looking at Ken Pomeroy’s Offensive Efficiency ratings, Zeller clocks at 121.4 while Mike Scott manages 117.4. This is pace-adjusted so you don’t have to worry about Virginia’s slower tempo. Zeller is a better offensive player (though admittedly Scott carries a heavier load) as well as a better defensive player. Zeller dominated Scott in head-to-head matchups. But really, the reason I give Zeller the nod is simple: if the teams of the ACC were broken apart and we had a draft to pick a team, Zeller is easily the first to go in the draft.

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Last Night’s Lede – Not a single power conference team played on Monday night and there were only 12 total games played, yet it ended up being one of the best nights of the entire season. Why’s that? Because it was the first full night of Championship Week, in which all games taking place from here on out will come during postseason tournaments. Monday saw four conference tournament finals take place – two at 7:00 PM ET, two at 9:00 PM ET – on ESPN or ESPN2, and each game came down to the final possession. The four championships were decided by 13 total points and included three overtime sessions. There was also important action taking place in other mid-major tournaments, so let’s jump right into it…

Your Watercooler Moment – VCU Returns to the Tournament

Brad Burgess and VCU Shot Their Way Back to the Big Dance (Washington Examiner/L. Alvarez)

Last year’s unbelievable Cinderella story has guaranteed itself a place in the Big Dance once again this year. Shaka Smart’s VCU Rams were squarely on the bubble heading into Monday night’s CAA Tournament final, as was their opponent, Drexel. A hard-fought game in which VCU led by double-digits for much of the game wound up being close at the end and came down to the final possession when Drexel guard Frantz Massenat’s three for the tie hit the back iron. VCU earned itself an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and there’s not a single team in the bracket that wants to face Shaka Smart’s team in the first game next week. The Rams got 16 points, five assists, four rebounds, and five steals from Darius Theus while their star Brad Burgess had just six points. Drexel, which had just eight assists compared to 18 turnovers, now must sweat it out on Selection Sunday with a very strong conference showing but some weak overall profile numbers such as the #226 strength of schedule that won’t be pleasing to the NCAA Tourney committee. Don’t be shocked, though, if Drexel ends up making it so that you’ll see both of these teams playing again next week.

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1. California (23-8, 13-5) Projected NCAA Seed: #10

Here it is, the only team locked into the NCAA Tournament no matter what happens this week in Los Angeles. With only eight losses and wins against Oregon and Washington on the road and Colorado at home, even a loss to or Stanford or Arizona State on Thursday wouldn’t knock them out of the Tournament. However, I could see them moving up to a nine seed (which is exactly like an eight) if they win two games at Staples and have teams in front of them (Long Beach State, Alabama, and Kansas State, to name a few) lose early on in their respective conference tournaments. While we could see any team from Cal to UCLA win the Pac-12 Tournament, the Golden Bears are the definite favorite coming in. They’ve got a near-elite to elite player in Allen Crabbe, and with a supporting cast made up of Jorge Gutierrez, Justin Cobbs, and a sleeper player that I think will come alive this week, Emerson Murray, the Golden Bears have unrivaled depth in this conference.

Allen Crabbe and The Cal Bears Appear To Be Headed To The Big Dance (Ben Margot/AP)

2. Oregon (22-8, 13-5), NIT

The Ducks remain on the outside looking in heading into the Tournament, but I’m of the belief that if they win two games and play in the Pac-12 Championship, regardless of what happens there, the Ducks will be included in the field of 68. Oregon has been on the bubble for the better part of conference play, but the real noise in Eugene began when it went down to the desert and took both games from the Arizona schools. Before that trip, Oregon was embarrassed by a 77-60 loss to California at home. Since then it has gone 11-3, with the biggest margin of defeat coming in a 76-71 loss at home against rival Oregon State. Besides Cal, the Ducks have the best chance to make a run in the Pac-12 Tournament; it’s almost like their team was built for it. To win any college basketball tournament, whether it is the Maui Invitational or NIT, you need to be able to shoot lights out, and two, have depth off the bench. As of late, the Ducks have been making everything they put up, and they put up a lot of shots. Watch for Devoe Joseph, E.J. Singler, and Garrett Sim to go off on any given night, considering all three are capable of creating and making their own shot. Look for junior forward Carlos Emory to have a big tournament coming off the bench.

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Each week through conference play, we will offer up a couple of different takes on the biggest question of the week in the Pac-12. This week:

“Which team that did not earn an opening round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament has the best chance at winning four games in four days to earn the conference’s automatic bid?”

Andrew Murawa: After consecutive impressive wins to end the regular season, and with the team seemingly rallying around head coach Ben Howland, things set up pretty nicely for UCLA to defy the odds and find its way into the NCAA Tournament by winning the conference tourney. With a couple of senior guards in Lazeric Jones and Jerime Anderson to go with an imposing front line, the Bruins have the horses to make a run, especially considering that they are probably playing their best basketball of the season right now. They open the tournament with cross-town rival USC in a game that is really just a half-step tougher than an opening round bye (and it is tougher, only because of the potential for someone getting hurt) before digging into the meat of the matter. Arizona would be up next, setting up a season tiebreaker between the two Pac-12 powers ; UCLA won by seven in Anaheim back in January before dropping a tight two-point affair at the McKale Center two weeks ago. Washington would be the best bet to be waiting in the semis, and UCLA just showed this past weekend that they can hang with the Huskies.

UCLA Is All Smiles, Having Picked A Fine Time To Play Its Best Basketball Of The Year (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/US Presswire)

Certainly, as is the case for any of the bottom eight teams in the conference, the margin for error is slim, but throw in the fact that all year long the Bruins have been playing their “home games” a bit further down the 110 in front of relatively tepid crowds, and UCLA should feel right comfortable playing in the Staples Center this week. And if the Bruins actually seem to be getting things together, maybe the atmosphere at Staples this week will rise above lukewarm.

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Joe Dzuback is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference. You can also find his musings online at Villanova by the Numbers or on Twitter (@vbtnblog)

Tournament Glance

Postseason Preview

All first round games will be played at the campus of the higher seed on Tuesday (3/6) night. Using the log5 calculation, the order of probability of an upset is:

#8 Massachusetts/#9 Duquesne (73-27)
#7 La Salle/#10 Richmond (76-24)
#6 Dayton/#11 George Washington (86-14)
#5 Saint Joseph’s/#12 Charlotte (84-16)

• Probability follows seed this season, a departure from previous seasons. The Dayton/George Washington game will be a return engagement. The Flyers beat the Colonials by 16 at home last Saturday. A rookie coach with a team that may be overconfident could spell upset. But unlike 2010-11, the higher seeds in this round have proven over the last 16 games to be the stronger teams. Seed should hold. If Xavier, Saint Joseph’s and Dayton all win at least once more, the conference will boast seven 20-game winning programs for the 2011-12 season, only the second time in conference history when seven members collected 20 or more wins.
• The Temple/Saint Bonaventure side of the bracket offers (if seed holds) two interesting quarterfinal matchups for a Friday afternoon. Both could well become “do-overs” of games played in the last week of the season. Temple barely beat Massachusetts (at the Liacouras in Philadelphia) on February 29, but only after an overtime period. Neither squad should need much by way of motivation. The Hawks dropped their last game of the regular season to the Bonnies, by five, on the road. A Bonnies win would bolster their NIT credentials (and put them into a winnable semi-final game with either Temple or Massachusetts), while a Saint Joseph’s win could well set-up an all-Philadelphia semi-final that should cause a traffic jam as Big 5 fans and partisans of both schools pile onto the Atlantic City Expressway to see the rubber game. Read the rest of this entry »