WINNER: Texas
You know, I think the Longhorns have recovered from losing at Kentucky two weeks ago. And that’s a credit to their fantastic defense, which ranks third nationally in adjusted efficiency (thanks, KenPom!). Texas came out Saturday and held a not-entirely-terrible Texas State team to 27 points (and a cool 0.44 points per possession) in a 59-27 win, then followed that up with a comparatively pedestrian 103-61 win over Lipscomb in which the Bisons only scored 0.81 points per possession. Yes, that is a “comparatively pedestrian” 42-point win. That’s how good Texas’ defense is. Here’s some stats to back that up: The Longhorns are first in the nation in effective field goal shooting against, first in opponents’ two-point field goal percentage (32.7 percent!) and second in block rate, swatting nearly one in five two-point attempts. The defense is the third most efficient in the country despite being in the bottom five nationally in forcing turnovers. Oh, and by the way, the Longhorns are now 9-1, including 6-1 without injured starting point guard Isaiah Taylor.
(Related winners: People who really like defense. Related losers: Texas State; Lipscomb, but mostly for making “Bison” plural by adding an “S.”)
LOSER: Connecticut
Not to be an alarmist or anything, but the defending national champions are running out of time to get some good wins. Now 4-4, Kevin Ollie’s Huskies had an opportunity against a stacked Duke team Thursday night on a neutral court and came away with a 66-56 loss. But with the American looking like it will have a down year in the wake of Louisville’s departure, the only chances for statement wins are at Florida and a pair of conference match-ups with Cincinnati. (I reserve the right to judge SMU until Markus Kennedy is playing for them, but the Mustangs have taken three non-nconference losses already. Not promising.) And the best UConn non-conference win thus far, against Dayton, will lose a lot of shine after the Flyers dismissed their two tallest players after a campus incident. Now what I find alarming is that UConn gave up more than a point per possession to lowly Coppin State on Sunday, owner of a bottom-10 offensive efficiency, proving that the Huskies took at least one night off. You can’t afford to do that when you need to stack up a gaudy record in a conference full of minnows. And you certainly can’t afford to do that when you can’t score above a point per possession yourselves, which has happened in each of the Huskies’ four losses.
(Related winners: Duke, which managed to overcome a nearly 50 percent turnover rate in the first half to win somewhat comfortably. Related losers: UConn stud guard Ryan Boatright, who has to be wondering what he did to deserve his woeful offensive supporting cast; the American, which needs all the good teams – and NCAA Tournament teams – it can get.)
WINNER: Amere May
I do not care if he only had seven points in an 83-44 loss Saturday to Rhode Island. The Delaware State guard is nearly single-handedly responsible for one of the greatest performances – and strangest box scores – I’ve ever seen. The 6’3” senior guard had 48 points in the Hornets’ 72-64 win Wednesday at Saint Francis College (the one in Brooklyn), shooting 16 -of-25 from the field and 6-of-10 from three-point range, while making all 10 free throws he took. And he even got assists on two of his teammates’ nine field goals. Well, the three teammates who scored. Yes, Delaware State really did get 72 points from just four players. Six Hornets played nine or more minutes without scoring, which I can’t remember having ever seen. And yet they won! Offensive balance is apparently overrated.
(Related winners: Delaware State, which mind-blowingly managed to win a game despite only four players scoring. Related losers: Saint Francis, which just became a statistic.)
Smitten with The Mitten: Oregon State fans are falling in love with the Glove’s kid. (Oregon State Athletics)
LOSER: Saint Mary’s
The Gaels forgot to look out for the letdown game. The 71-67 overtime win Saturday at Creighton is pretty nice, but following it up with a 73-71 home dud against Northern Arizona on Tuesday is brutal. Given coach Randy Bennett’s generally soft scheduling, taking losses like this is a killer when you are trying to inflate your record and RPI with easy wins. (To be fair, that tactic has landed the Gaels NCAA Tournament at-large bids, but it has to be executed properly.)
(Related winners: Northern Arizona – go Lumberjacks! Related losers: Saint Mary’s forward Brad Waldow, whose 25-point, 15-rebound, six-assist performance against NAU was in vain.)
WINNER: Gary Payton II
Oregon State fans must be smitten with The Mitten right now. The son of The Glove, Oregon State legend Gary Payton, joined his father in an exclusive club Monday, becoming the second Beaver to ever record a triple-double. Payton II victimized Grambling State in a 71-43 win, stacking up 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, while throwing in six steals for good measure. He followed that up with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks against DePaul in a 90-59 win Thursday. The 6’4″ guard leads the 8-2 team in scoring (13.6 PPG), rebounding (9.4 RPG) and steals (2.8 SPG), and his shooting line is impressive, too: 56 percent from the field, 39 percent from three-point range and 81 percent from the free throw line.
LOSER: Grambling State
Speaking of Grambling State being victimized… the Tigers are bad. That’s not new, and it’s not news. And a 71-43 loss Monday to Oregon State and an 86-38 loss Wednesday to Washington reaffirmed that. But the program is an embarrassment, and it’s sad to see. I understand many of the socioeconomic barriers that hinder historically black schools, but I don’t think that’s entirely to blame here. Running former coach Joseph Price out of town after he got four conference wins from a team that went winless in his first year was weird. Not announcing the hire of current coach Shawn Walker for months after the deal was made was even weirder. (How is a coach supposed to recruit when nobody knows he has the job?)
This year’s Tigers squad is going to rival the 2012-13 edition – the winless one – for futility. The offense is currently ranked as the second-least efficient in the nation, and the defense is dead last. Starting point guard Chase Cormier turns the ball over on 36.4 percent of possessions he uses, while shooting 5-of-31 from the field in Division I games. (His 1-of-4 performance against Washington actually increased his shooting accuracy.) “Shooting” guard Remond Brown is 5-of-31 from the field. It’s not like the frontcourt is much more promising, what with only two players taller than 6’6″.
I got to watch this Grambling State squad in person this week, and I would be shocked if they win even one game against a Division I opponent this season. And that’s sad.
(Related winners: Nobody wins in this situation. Related losers: The kids who have to suffer through this program dragging on the bottom of Division I again.)