I. Renko is an RTC columnist. He will kick off each weekend during the season with his analysis of the 26 other non-power conferences.  Follow him on twitter @IRenkoHoops.

I’ll be honest.  I didn’t expect St. Mary’s to be very good this year.  Last year, they lost five of their last eight games, including a lackluster home loss to Kent State in the NIT first round.  Over the offseason, they said goodbye to their unquestioned leader and star, Mickey McConnell.  Although they started the season with a win over Northern Iowa at home, they followed that with a 12-point loss at Denver.  Then came a string of victories against middling competition at best and a 13-point loss to Baylor.  So coming into this past week, St. Mary’s had a lot to prove, as far as I was concerned.  And, well, at a minimum they proved me wrong.

Randy Bennett Contemplates Whether to Accept I. Renko's Apology

First was last Friday’s neutral floor matchup against Missouri State, a strong if not outstanding team (more on them down below).  The Gaels handed them a decisive 77-61 defeat.  So far, so good.  But still, how would St. Mary’s fare against their prominent conference foes — BYU and Gonzaga — once the WCC season kicked off?  Could they register a win against a top 30 team?  Well the Gaels answered that question with authority Thursday night, posting their second straight 16-point win.

Mea culpa.  St. Mary’s is, indeed, a very good team that has a chance to make some noise in March, as it did two years ago.  But I owe them a bit more introspection than that.  How, exactly, have the Gaels built their 12-2 record and top 25 Pomeroy rating?

• Stat sheet stuffers —  Fifth-year senior forward Rob Jones and junior guard Matthew Dellavedova lead the team in scoring, but they do much more than that.  Jones is an excellent rebounder who averages a double-double.  Witness his 24 points and 15 boards against BYU.  Dellavedova, meanwhile, is averaging 6.7 assists per game.  Against Missouri State, he finished with 17 points, eight assists, and five rebounds.  And against BYU, he 18 points, 12 assists, six rebounds, and four steals.  Complete play from your best players helps stitch the fabric of a well-rounded team that is more than the sum of its parts.
• Offensive rebounding — In whipping up on Missouri State, St. Mary’s showed off an underrated asset — the ability to dominate a team on the glass.  They hauled down approximately 90% of Missouri State’s missed shots and 30% of their own.  The difference in offensive rebounding allowed them to take 12 more shots and cruise to victory.  The Gaels didn’t let up against BYU.  Although the Cougars are a very strong defensive rebounding team, St. Mary’s pulled down almost 40% of their own missed shots and 67% of BYU’s.  On the season, the Gaels’ offensive rebounding percentage is 12 percent higher than their opponents’.
• Balanced production — The departure of McConnell may have produced a team that is more offensively balanced, but just as efficient, as last year’s team.  In both of their wins this past week, four players finished in double figures.  And that was without Clint Steindl, who averages nine points per game, but was out with injuries.  Against BYU, Jones paced the team with 24 points, but Stephen Holt added 21 and Dellavedova 18.  By contrast, in their loss to Denver, Jones and Dellavedova scored 21 and 20 each, but no one else posted more than six points.
• Improved defense — The Gaels’ shot-stopping ability has improved this year, as they have a much better defensive FG%.  They didn’t show that as much against Missouri State and BYU, both of whom shot the ball at a reasonable clip.  That makes one wonder whether this newfound defensive strength is sustainable against high-quality opponents, but it’s at least a start to build on.

After the updated Top 15, we recap the wild start to the MVC season, preview a New Year’s Eve feast, and delve into much more in the week that was and the week that will be.

Read the rest of this entry »

I. Renko is an RTC columnist. He will bring you his analysis of the 26 other non-power conferences each Friday during the season.  Follow him on twitter at @IRenkoHoops.

The biggest and most impressive result — but also most perplexing — of the past week was Davidson’s 80-74 win versus Kansas. The Wildcats are a genuine contender in the Southern Conference this year, but they haven’t proven to be one of the best teams in the TO26.  Indeed, the win in Kansas City was sandwiched between a 23-point drubbing at Charlotte and an eight-point loss at UMass, two teams that are hardly the caliber of the Jayhawks.

Nik Cochran Led Davidson to a Truly Shocking Upset

Yet for one shining moment in their non-conference schedule, Davidson went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the country in one of the toughest road environments and in the process, managed to avenge their loss to Kansas in the Elite Eight in 2008.  Nik Cochran led the way with 21 points on just six field goal attempts.  He was 4-5 from three-point range and 7-8 from the free throw line.  But it was a fairly balanced effort for the Wildcats, who also received double-digit scoring from Jake Cohen, De’Mon Brooks, and J.P. Kuhlman.  Perhaps most importantly, they were able to contain Thomas Robinson on the defensive end.  Although the Kansas star notched 21 points, it took him 18 field goal attempts and 12 free throw attempts to get there.

More on the week that was after the updated Top 15 rankings, after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

I. Renko is an RTC columnist. He will bring you his analysis of the 26 other non-power conferences each Friday during the season.

It was supposed to be a quiet week in college hoops, but as you know, when you’ve got more than 340 teams playing 30-game schedules over the course of four months, it’s never that quiet. And we found that out in a big way this past week as the fallout from the melee at the Crosstown Shootout reverberated through the college hoops world.  Lots of ink has been spilled on this, and there’s little that I could add to the various rounds of media condemnation and outrage.  So rather than trying to piggyback on all of that commentary, I thought I might take moment to, well, comment on it. 

It should go without saying that college basketball players should not throw punches at each other, stomp on people, or otherwise let the emotion of a high-intensity rivalry spill over into extracurricular violence.  That’s an easy enough point on which we can all agree.  But what has sparked an unusual amount of outrage among the commentariat is not the physical altercation itself so much as the post-game remarks about it by Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons.  Journalists have been tripping over themselves to decry Holloway and Lyons with as much self-righteousness as they can muster.  In this race to prove just how indignant they are, sadly, many observers have obscured the content of what Holloway and Lyons said.

Commentators have oversimplified Holloway and Lyons' post-game comments

To be clear, it didn’t seem like Holloway and Lyons had processed just how unacceptable the ending of the game was.  And they certainly didn’t choose their words carefully given the national audience.  But some of the more inflammatory language that media has seized on has been badly misconstrued and inaccurately portrayed.  Some have condemned Holloway for declaring his team to be a bunch of “gangstas.”  Others have criticized him for throwing around the word “thugs.”  And still others have suggested that the senior guards thought that the fight was simply an acceptable demonstration of their toughness.  It makes me wonder if they watched the whole press conference or simply seized on the most sensational statements that most easily lent themselves to moralizing outrage.

Read the rest of this entry »

I. Renko is an RTC columnist. He will bring you his analysis of the 26 other non-power conferences each Friday going forward.

Astute readers already noticed two things by the time they read this sentence:  (1) this column has been on a brief two-week hiatus, and (2) the byline at the top of this column has changed.  Good eye, astute readers!

It’s with a mixture of regret and excitement that I report that the originator of this outstanding column has passed the reins to this humble writer.  Kevin did such a great job of reporting on mid-major hoops that I hesitate to suggest that I can fill his large shoes.  But I’ll do my best, knowing that at the end of the day, nothing has changed about what drives fan and reader interest in the TO26 — the breadth and depth of Division I college basketball, the stories of the unheralded and underhyped, and the extraordinary things that can happen in ordinary basketball gyms across the country.

Tu Holloway's Musketeers Are #1 in TO26's Top 15 This Week

You may see some tweaks to the format as we go forward, but the core of the column (and the entirety, for today’s debut edition) will remain:  the top 15, a look back, and a look forward.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kevin Doyle is an RTC contributor and the Patriot League correspondent. Each week he will examine the other 26 non-power conferences in college basketball. You can find him on twitter @KLDoyle11.

Introduction

Well this is refreshing, isn’t it? College basketball on the tube every night, several Other 26 teams already knocking some ranked BCS teams off of their high horses, and a whole lot of goodness upcoming with more early season tournaments and games. There is not a specific theme that has made itself apparent to open the season — I will usually try to hone in on a theme during the introduction of each column — but business has been usual to open the season. We have seen two major upsets with Long Beach State and Cleveland State shocking Top 10 teams — both have crawled into our Top 10 as a result — and we have not seen The Jimmer all over ESPN routinely hitting shots from 35 feet, something that was all too common last year. Rest assured though, as more and more games are played, storylines and themes will naturally develop. For now, let’s dig into the Top 10 teams for the week.

The Top 10

Tidbits from the Rankings

Read the rest of this entry »

Kevin Doyle is an RTC contributor and the Patriot League correspondent. You can find him on twitter @KLDoyle11

Today is one of five days throughout the year when I roll out of bed in the morning and I can’t help but look into the mirror with a devilish looking grin. Today, of course, marks the beginning of the college basketball season. It is hard to believe that it has been seven months since that defensive slugfest between Connecticut and Butler in the National Championship game, but we can now return home from school/work and flip on the tube to have some college hoops brighten our evening. As for the other four days you may be wondering about. Well, they seem trivial right now, but here they are anyways: 1) BCS Title Game, 2) Super Bowl Sunday, 3) That Thursday in mid-March that commences the NCAA Basketball Tournament, 4) Sunday at the Masters.

O26 Celebrations Such As This One Warm My Heart (AP)

One caveat to my favorite sports days of the year that I must include: Any day when David overtakes Goliath in the NCAA Tournament is a favorite day of mine, and I am sure it is of others as well. America’s love of the “little guy” come March leads me into the focal point of this preview: an Introduction— or a refresher for others — to The Other 26 article that details life outside of the six BCS/power conferences. For those who are already familiar with the weekly article, please bear with me.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kevin Doyle is an RTC contributor.  Throughout the season, he has authored a column, The Other 26, which examines the teams from the non-power conferences and their impact on the game at a national level.  Today he attempts to tackle the questions of how Butler and VCU have crashed the party down in Houston.

First it was George Mason, and now it is their brethren Virginia Commonwealth in the Colonial Athletic and distant cousin Butler in the Horizon League. Not too far off in the distance are those pesky Davidson Wildcats who burst onto the national scene in 2006, nearly knocked off Maryland in 2007 with freshman sensation Stephen Curry, and just missed crashing the Final Four party with this lusty crew by just a game back in 2008.

Mason Set the Template in 2006

By my count, that is four different teams—one more not too far away either—from true Mid-Major conferences to reach the tasteful waters of the Final Four since 2006. Prior to 2006, one would have to search all the way back to 1998 to find a non-power league team—the Utah Utes—that reached this stage. The overriding question that not only myself, but many others in the college basketball world have is: How are these guys doing it? We can all elect to listen to the self-proclaimed “experts” on the subject who know all when it comes to college hoops, but then again didn’t one of them state in so many words that VCU “doesn’t pass the laugh test?” Now, I will not pretend to stand atop the highest of horses and preach what I believe several of the reasons are why Butler and Virginia Commonwealth have had a great deal of success in the 2011 edition of the world’s greatest postseason tournament, but I will rather merely provide a slew of reasons why Butler and Virginia Commonwealth will be squaring off against one another on Saturday evening instead of Kansas and Pittsburgh, or any of the other marquee names out there for that matter.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kevin Doyle is an RTC Contributor.

Call it what you want with this seemingly erroneous preamble of the NCAA Tournament known as the “First Four,” but the opening game of this year’s edition of the Dance could not have been much more entertaining. We have already had a clutch shot in the final seconds and an overtime game under our belts. Many people will not even remember that UNC-Asheville and Arkansas-Little Rock even partook in the Tournament, but for a few hours last evening the stage was all theirs. Even if it is merely a play-in game—errr, first round game—this is the NCAA Tournament and keen basketball observers were no doubt glued to their screens and smartphones last night tracking the game.

Just as a refresher in case you missed yesterday’s look into the Other 26 teams in the East and West Regions, I elected to break down the 16 teams by inserting each into one of the four categories: 1) Have a legitimate shot at actually advancing far into the Tournament; 2) Can win a game, but not much more; 3) If their shots are falling and their opponents are not, they have an outside shot; and, 4) We are just happy to be here.

Ability to advance to the second weekend

(8, Southwest) UNLV—After the conclusion of the 2010 Tournament, there is no doubt that a bitter taste was left in UNLV’s mouth. The Runnin’ Rebels lost to Northern Iowa in the final minute and then two nights later, in one of the gutsiest shots in Tournament history, Ali Farokhmanesh drilled a three from the wing to seal the victory over Kansas. UNLV had to painfully watch the remainder of the Tournament and endure the arduous offseason pondering the question: “Why couldn’t that have been us?” Now, UNLV is in a similar situation, as they are in the 8 vs. 9 game again. They are an experienced bunch with Tournament experience under their belts; if they are fortunate enough to get by Illinois, they will ironically play none other than Kansas.

(12, Southwest) Richmond—The Spiders were upset by St. Mary’s last year, and this year they are the ones who will have to be playing spoiler. Richmond has arguably the most dynamic player in the field with 6’10 senior forward Justin Harper. To make a comparison, Harper is the Atlantic 10’s version of Dirk Nowitzki. Although he spends most of his time inside the arc, his ability to step outside and hit a three poses endless match-up problems for opponents. Harper is complemented nicely by his running mate Kevin Anderson. Richmond matches up well against Vanderbilt, but containing John Jenkins—maybe the best shooter in the Tournament—will be a challenge. Expect a variety of match-up and 2-3 zones from Chris Mooney.

Harper is a Tough Matchup for Vandy

(3, Southeast) BYU—It is painfully obvious that the loss of Brandon Davies has detrimentally affected BYU’s play considerably; in the first game after his absence the Cougars were thrashed by New Mexico 82-64 on their home floor. While there is little doubt that Jimmer Fredette is the face of the program and their top player, the country is now officially seeing that there is much more going on in Provo, Utah, that can be attributed to BYU’s success  other than simply Fredette. While a deep run no doubt becomes more difficult without the services of Davies, the backcourt of Fredette and Jackson Emery has the ability to carry the Cougars to the second weekend.

(9, Southeast) Old Dominion—ODU presents all of the intangibles to be successful in the Tournament. They have an intelligent and proven coach in Blaine Taylor, a senior-laden team with NCAA experience, and the confidence that they belong here and can win—especially after knocking off Notre Dame as an 11 seed last year. It is more than merely intangibles for ODU though. The Monarchs are quite possibly the best rebounding team in the field, incredibly tough on the defensive end—according to Frank Hassell: “We go 50% man and 50% zone”—and run a deliberate offense that minimizes their opposition’s possessions. Blaine Taylor has created a formula for his team to have success in the NCAA Tournament.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kevin Doyle is an RTC contributor.

By now, we have all read, watched, and heard the breakdown of those teams fortunate enough to have earned a top seed in this year’s Tournament. We know Pittsburgh has the easiest road to Houston of the four #1 seeds—or do they? Georgetown, with Chris Wright returning to the lineup, is poised to make a run to the second weekend. Ohio State and Kansas are the favorites to advance to the Final Four according to many of the so-called experts. They can only review so many times how teams with Tournament experience traditionally perform well, and that having a formidable frontcourt is essential to reaching the Final Four. But, what about those pesky teams from the Other 26 conferences? While there are several popular teams that have the capability of playing the role of Cinderella this year that have received ample coverage—Belmont, Utah State and Oakland just to name a few—let’s dive in and investigate the fifteen O26 teams on the left-hand side of the bracket: the East and West Regions. Yes, even you, Texas-San Antonio and Long Island, are getting some love here.

I elected to break down the 15 teams by inserting each into one of the four categories: 1) Have a legitimate shot at actually advancing far into the Tournament; 2) Can win a game, but not much more; 3) If their shots are falling and their opponents are not, they have an outside shot; and, 4) We are just happy to be here

Ability to advance to the second weekend

(6, East) Xavier—Despite a setback to Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, Xavier breezed through their conference schedule with their only loss coming to Charlotte. Subsequently, they are one of the hotter teams entering the Tournament and possess one of the most dynamic and potent point guards in the country in Tu Holloway. The Musketeers’ date with Marquette in the first round is one of the most intriguing early match-ups of the tournament. Getting by the Golden Eagles would undoubtedly give them confidence against another Big East foe in Syracuse in the following round. Bare in mind, Xavier has reached the Sweet 16 in the past three NCAA Tournaments.

Tu Holloway Makes the XU Offense Go

(2, West) San Diego State—The Aztecs are one of the best feel good stories of the entire year. They have a very likable team with guys like D.J. Gay and Kawhi Leonard being the face of the program, and Steve Fisher’s journey back to the top of the college basketball world has been great to watch. San Diego State sprinted through their entire regular season schedule with their only two blemishes coming at the hands of Jimmer Fredette and BYU. The play of Gay in the backcourt and Leonard in the frontcourt makes it hard for any opponent to cope with. SDSU will look to avenge their first round loss to Tennessee in last year’s tournament with a much deeper run this year.

(7, West) Temple—In the illustrious career of Fran Dunphy, the longtime coach has never won an NCAA Tournament game. After a strong non-conference performance that translated to a 14-2 record in the Atlantic 10, Temple seems poised to give Dunphy that first “W.” The Owls are one of the best defensive teams in the tournament, which will suite them well for Penn State’s hard-nosed and methodical offense. The match-up featuring Ramone Moore and Talor Battle will no doubt be a great one that may determine the outcome of the game.

Can win a game

(8, East) George Mason—The nation is finally witnessing the highly touted recruits that Jim Larranaga attracted to George Mason following their magical Final Four run back in 2006. The play of Ryan Pearson and Cam Long has been nothing short of exceptional during the second half of the season as GMU won 16 consecutive games. The streaking Patriots will take on the slumping Villanova Wildcats in the first round who have lost five straight games and 10 of their last 15. While the Nova backcourt is one of the best around with Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes, GMU is playing with confidence and swagger that Villanova seems to have lost. I’ll take the hotter team in this one.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kevin Doyle is an RTC contributor.

Introduction

And down the stretch they come! Just like a commentator of a competitive horse race fervently belches when the horses make the final turn, college basketball commentators, analysts, and enthusiasts alike all speak of the game with greater eagerness and zeal at this time of the year. Judgment Week—still am not sure what ESPN is trying to do with this—has passed us, Championship Week is nearly upon us, and we all know what comes after that: the Madness!

While the majority of Other 26 teams around the country still have one or two remaining games left in the regular season, there are a handful of teams out there who have completed the second part of their season. Many coaches, especially those coaching in perennial single bid leagues, break down their year into three seasons: 1) the non-conference, 2) conference play, 3) the postseason. The opportunity is presented for many teams that have struggled during much of the season to get hot at the right time and advance onto the greatest postseason tournament in all of sports.

At the beginning of conference play, I wrote in a previous article the concept of “three games in March” which is often the mentality of teams from smaller conferences who have to win three games, or four in some cases, to advance to the Dance—it is their only way in. Well, here is that opportunity.

The conference tournaments will officially begin in the middle of next week with a few of the smaller conferences going at it. If one really wants to get technical though, the argument can be made that the Ivy League has a season-long conference tournament that commences at the beginning of league play.

The Other 26 Rankings

Tidbits from the Rankings

• Read the rest of this entry »