Feast Week tipped off Monday night, and RTC contributor Brian Goodman (@BSGoodman) dispatched this report from Kansas City, where Maryland pulled away late against Arizona State before Iowa State handled Alabama to win its fourth straight game in the Sprint Center.
- Melo Trimble is going to be a load in the Big Ten. When Maryland’s attrition reached its apex over the summer (and arguably before then), it was easy to get down on their prospects for this season. Whether Mark Turgeon takes his remaining pieces to the NCAA Tournament is a question that won’t be answered for several weeks, but if they do, their freshman point guard will be a huge reason why. In just the fourth game of his career, Melo Trimble scored 31 points to nearly break a school freshman scoring record set by Joe Smith, but looked as poised and relaxed as a 31-point scorer could possibly look. While there’s a lot on the line for Maryland this year, the hope is that Trimble won’t need to be this good night and night out. Still, given shoddy performances by teams like Iowa and Indiana in the early going, there may be room for Maryland to ride its young star into the top half of the conference.
- Arizona State lets a good offensive effort go to waste. The Sun Devils’ offense was stellar thanks to spacing and excellent execution, especially from deep. Arizona State rained in 14 threes, its highest total since November 12 of last year. Jonathan Gilling was white-hot, hitting seven of his ten three-pointers while Bo Barnes added on five on seven tries of his own. Arizona State’s undoing came in the final minutes as it missed several key rebounds and allowed Dez Wells to take over for Maryland. The game effectively ended on a possession where Barnes rushed a deep jumper with a bad angle. While ASU’s fiery 51.9% clip from distance Monday night is hardly sustainable, Herb Sendek’s team looked like it was much further along developmentally than most teams are at this point in the season, especially considering that they’re moving on without two huge pieces from last year. Unfortunately, they could find themselves wondering what might have been if they had managed to get just a few more stops.
- Georges Niang proved to be just too much for Alabama. The versatile big man had another huge night in Kansas City, scoring a game-high 28 points on just 14 shots to lead the Cyclones over Alabama in the nightcap. He continued to make the Sprint Center his own personal gym, as he’s now averaged 21 points per game over his last four contests in the building. When Iowa State started off slowly, Niang picked the team up with a twisting layup and a pair of threes. His improved conditioning was among his best assets tonight, as he handled 35 minutes of play and endured enough contact to make eight trips to the line and haul in six rebounds. As much as the Cyclones pride themselves on getting contributions up and down its roster, the offense still revolves around the guy who may be the best all-around scorer in the conference, and we saw that on full display Monday night.
- Iowa State finally gets a lift from its bench. In my preview, I noted that the play of Iowa State’s bench could play a central role in the team’s success this week, especially with Matt Thomas returning from suspension. All Thomas did Monday was score 13 points in a reserve role, including two huge three-pointers to keep Iowa State in the game, and add in eight rebounds, giving Fred Hoiberg the confidence to leave the sophomore on the floor as the Cyclones eventually pulled away. Said Hoiberg, “He had some big games as a freshman… but he’s been on a mission. He’s really dedicated himself to doing everything right.”
- Missed opportunities doom Alabama. The Crimson Tide hung around much longer than their anonymous reputation would have implied, due to some uncharacteristically lazy passing from the Cyclones and 23 points off turnovers and second chances for Anthony Grant‘s team. Alabama ran a lot of high-low and backscreen action to get clean looks in halfcourt sets, but the close shots just wouldn’t go down for Shannon Hale and Jimmie Taylor. Considering the low quality of the SEC, the non-conference slate is even more important than usual for teams like Alabama, which led midway through the second half. While it’s tough to beat any team that shoots 58 percent, as the Cyclones did, busted plays and hurried possessions compounded the defensive frustration for the Tide.
Tuesday night, we’ll be treated to a juicy backcourt match-up as Trimble will match wits against Monte Morris, who sports a staggering 24-2 assist-turnover ratio through three games.