Game #55. RTC Live returns to the nation’s capital for a possible trap game for the streaking Hoyas.
While KenPom may be telling you that Washington State over Kansas State is the upset to watch out for, Utah State and Georgetown will absolutely be a game you need to keep an eye on while Kentucky invades Chapel Hill. Stew Morrill runs one of the most consistently underrated programs in the country. Generally, he avoids playing road games against power conference teams without a return game, but after living on the bubble for much of his tenure, Morrill made the decision to schedule the Hoyas. They are an experienced group with some good perimeter defenders. Tai Wesley is a better post player than Ricardo Ratliffe of Missouri, who had 22 points against the Hoyas. And Nate Bendall is back in the lineup, although he is still battling the foot injury that has plagued him this year. Throw in a potential hangover from Georgetown’s thrilling win over Mizzou, and the Aggies seemed primed for an upset. That said, Georgetown may have the best baskcourt in the country with Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, and Jason Clark. Utah State better make sure they close out long, because those three are all hitting well above 40% from deep.
***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2013
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game
Brian Otskey is an RTC contributor.
After an unexpectedly interesting game last night in Lawrence complete with controversy, your Friday night slate features a clash in the deep south and an intriguing battle out west. All rankings from RTC and all times eastern.
UAB @ Georgia – 7 pm on FS South/ESPN3 (**)
Georgia Needs a Healthy Thompkins to Reach Its Goals
Georgia had a very disappointing trip to Orlando last week for the Old Spice Classic, coming away with only one win. Even that win was a struggle, 61-58 over a bad Manhattan team. The Bulldogs did get Trey Thompkins back but he’s still trying to work himself back into game shape. Thompkins averaged 15/7 in the three games but turned the ball over almost four times a game. Georgia is not a very good defensive team, rated #104 in efficiency and #328 against the three. That will be a problem against a UAB team that features a 65% three-point shooter in forward Cameron Moore (18/9). Granted he’s only taken 17 treys so far this year, but he is a threat that could pull Thompkins away from the basket and open up the inside for point guard Aaron Johnson to distribute the ball. Johnson is averaging 10 points and a superb nine assists per contest this season. At 5’9 he really struggles shooting but makes up for that deficiency by getting others involved. UAB has only given up 61 PPG and is #14 in defending the three so Georgia is going to have to work hard for points. The Bulldogs are not a good three-point shooting team (29%) so they get most (62%) of their points from inside the arc. The good news for Georgia is that while they’re turnover prone, UAB doesn’t force many turnovers at all because they play a slower style. The rebounding battle will be important in this game and might very well determine the winner. Travis Leslie is an excellent rebounder for his size, pulling down nine a game. He’ll need to be on his game along with Thompkins for Georgia to control the glass, though UAB is a poor offensive rebounding team. Coach Mike Davis plays four guys at least 30 minutes per game so tired legs are something to watch for in the second half. The Bulldogs are the favorite at home but this really could be looked at as a toss-up game. UAB has some talent and they’ll certainly give Georgia a game tonight at Stegeman Coliseum.
#5 Kansas State @ Washington State – 11 pm on FSN (****)
Seton hall star guard Jeremy Hazellhad surgery on his broken left wrist on Thursday, which he injured nearly two weeks ago at the Paradise Jam. It’s a little strange that he didn’t have the surgery sooner even though his doctors knew that the wrist was broken some time ago, but we’re sure they had their reasons. Originally Hazell was expected to be out of the lineup for four to six weeks, but there’s been no additional information as to a revised timeline after this procedure. Let’s hope he’s back in time for the bulk of Big East play.
Seth Davis gave us five things we learned from Wednesday night’s Duke-Michigan State game. He makes the somewhat controversial claim that Kyrie Irving is Coach K’s best freshman ever at Duke, while also suggesting that the Blue Devils and Spartans are the best two teams in the country. As for Irving, if we’re comparing apples to apples (an 18-yr old then vs. now), then he’s probably right; but 18-yr olds are generally better now than they were in the 80s and 90s. Still, relative to the time period, we’re not sure that Irving surpasses Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley or Grant Hill, all of whom were outstanding freshmen going to Final Fours while competing against NBA-caliber juniors and seniors (those don’t exist nearly as much today). As for Duke/MSU, we’ll agree about the Blue Devils, not MSU. The Spartans will lose several more games, but they’ll turn it on in March as they always do and find a way to get back to the Final Four.
There’s a buzz around the country about Duke possibly going unbeaten this year, believe it or not. Let’s hold off on that talk, shall we? Seriously, does anyone over the age of 15 actually believe that a team with obvious flaws inside like Duke can go undefeated in the age of parity and 1-and-done stars? Come on…
Luke Winn’s weekly power rankings are always a great way to wile away a morning — seriously, it takes us at least an hour to read through all of it and actually digest it (which means he probably researched and wrote it in about three minutes while completing the NYT crossword puzzle and hand-brewing the latest hipster French press coffee). It’s nice to see he agrees with us on Georgetown (a bunch of bro-haters if we’ve ever seen one).
Duke’s Mason Plumlee shows a skill in the below clip that we’re not sure we’ve seen anyone else even attempt, much less actually perform — the three-basketball dunk. Yet for some reason, we really weren’t all that amazed by this. Maybe we’ve just been jaded by all the dunk contests over the years, but we’d actually have preferred to see him use only two balls and do simultaneous windmills or something.
The Lede. It was billed as a probable blowout, but when you place two of the game’s regal programs on the same floor with two of the best coaches in the business standing opposite one another, we all knew better. Kansas and UCLA represent about a million wins, a couple hundred conference titles and several dozen national championships (Helms titles included!) — well, at least it feels that way. The point is that no matter the present rankings, so long as Bill Self and Ben Howland are patrolling the sidelines at these two schools, they’ll always be competitive. Tonight’s game personified that word, competitive. Too bad it got ruined by an egregious whistle made by an official who needs to remember to let the kids decide the game.
KU Got the Call It Wanted At This Moment (LJW/N. Krug)
Your Watercooler Moment. Foul or not a foul? Should a referee make the same call with 19:01 on the clock as he does with 00:01 on the clock? These questions were the biggest story in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series game between Kansas and UCLA this evening. After 39 minutes and 59 seconds of back-and-forth basketball between two of the sport’s bluest of bloods, the game balanced on a loose ball situation where a UCLA player bumped a Kansas player as both pursued the rock. Kansas guard Mario Little arrived at the ball a split-second prior to UCLA’s Malcolm Lee, and the referee on the near-side thought the ensuing bump with 0.7 seconds remaining on the clock was sufficient to justify blowing the whistle. From our view (and most of America’s, if Twitter is any indication), that’s a bit of contact that you don’t call at any point of the basketball game, but ESPECIALLY not in a tie game such as this one with under a second to play. Although ours appears to be the majority viewpoint, there are alternate ones: ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla, for instance, stated that he believed the bump was a foul at any point of the game, and it was in fact the correct call. Gary Parrish says that there’s something for everyone in that play — KU fans, UCLA fans, and the fence-sitters. UCLA head coach Ben Howland, however, only saw it one way, throwing down a water bottle in disgust before later saying that it was a poor way to end the game. Star of the night Tyler Honeycutt said afterward, “as refs, you’re supposed to just let that go.” If this were the NBA, both UCLA player and coach would be facing hefty fines from the league, but we think that the Pac-10 will cut them some slack here, because, well, they’re right. But don’t take our word for it, check it out for yourself.
We were also lucky enough to have our correspondent Brian Goodman at the game in Allen Fieldhouse tonight. He filed this report after the exciting 77-76 finish.
If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com.
Top 25 Games
#4 Kansas 67, UCLA 66: “Bill Self and the Jayhawks no doubt need to thank the basketball gods for the way this one ended and they should feel extremely fortunate to be sitting at 64 straight in the Phog. Final score in this one 77-76, Kansas escapes on a last second Mario Little free throw” (Rock Chalk Talk) and “I’ll keep this short. It’s the only way I can type this out without inserting all manner of four letter words into this post. And the refs ruined one hell of a great game, inexplicably overturning years and likely decades of precedent of officiating at the end of games, gifting Kansas a cheap win with a cheap call on a loose ball. For 39 minutes and 59 seconds, the Bruins and Jayhawks battled to an even tie. Then the refs decided they wanted in on the action.” (Bruins Nation)
#10 Missouri , Oregon : “An Oregon loss has never left me feeling so good. Forget the emigration of talent out of the program over the last offseason. Forget that we have no expectations this season. This game was unlike any Oregon basketball game we’ve seen in the last two-plus years. Teondre Williams and Jeremy Jacob were out with injuries. Walk-on Matt Losli was seeing action in the first half. Oregon was down the expected twenty points at the half. And, yet, we found ourselves rooting for one last Mac Court miracle. Somehow, if Johnathan Loyd could hit just one last three at the buzzer, the Ducks surely would have won this game in overtime. As it was, Dana Altman took a short version of a Big Sky roster and gave a top ten team everything it wanted and then some.” (Addicted to Quack)
Game # 54. RTC Live enters the Phog Allen Fieldhouse for the first time in a matchup of college basketball bluebloods in Lawrence.
The UCLA Bruins came up short in New York, losing both of their games in the NIT Season Tip-Off. They’ll play their third straight game away from Westwood Thursday night as they travel to the nation’s loudest arena (depending on who you ask) to take on the #4 Kansas Jayhawks. Ben Howland’s team is led by the sophomore tandem of Reeves Nelson and Tyler Honeycutt, who account for over 40% of the Bruins’ scoring and rebounding output. The battle for control inside is the most intriguing aspect of this game, with Marcus and Markieff Morris, plus blossoming sophomore Thomas Robinson, all producing efficiently in the early going for the Big 12’s defending champions. In the backcourt, UCLA’s guard play has been decent against weaker teams, but against Villanova, looked outmatched and overwhelmed. KU will look to exploit that weakness as the Wildcats did with speedy guard Tyshawn Taylor. Sporting an assist-turnover rate of 43:17, Taylor can get to the basket, at which point he can dump it off to either twin or kick it out to Tyrel Reed or Brady Morningstar for a three. Join us at 9:00 pm EST for a Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series matchup that promises to be Thursday night’s marquee matchup!
That’s Debatable is back for another year of expert opinions, ridiculous assertions and general know-it-all-itude. Remember, kids, there are no stupid answers, just stupid people. We’ll try to do one of these each week during the season. We’re fairly discerning around here, but if you want to be included, send us an email with your take telling us why at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.
This Week’s Topic: The ACC/Big Ten Challenge just ended, and the Missouri Valley/Mountain West Challenge began last night. The Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series gears up in earnest this evening after one game last weekend. The Big East/SEC Invitational starts next week. Are you a fan of these conference challenge events and what would you suggest to the powers-that-be to improve them?
Brian Otskey, RTC Contributor
These inter-conference events are good publicity generators and certainly give teams opportunities for quality wins early in the season. I’m a fan of the concept but aside from the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, these events do not receive enough national coverage. ESPN is obviously the driving force behind the ACC/Big Ten but I’d like to see them become more involved in the other events. The Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series would be a good start. ESPN televises some games but most are on FSN, stretched out over almost a month. Then we have the Big East/SEC Invitational. The Worldwide Leader covers it but the event has just four teams from each league competing. I realize the Big East is a 16-team monstrosity but why can’t we have 12 Big East teams play all 12 SEC teams over three days? Instead we have two games per night at neutral locations played over two non-consecutive days, hardly creating any buzz. When it comes to the Mountain West and Missouri Valley, let’s face it: most casual fans don’t care about non-name teams competing against each other. It’s a sad reality for us diehards, but casual fan interest makes the money and drives ratings.
David Ely, RTC Contributor
I think any event that prompts teams from the big conferences to play each other rather than the smaller schools is a good idea. Duke playing Michigan State is much better for the sport than Duke-UNC-Asheville or Michigan State-Eastern Michigan. That being said, there are things that could be done done to re-energize these events. I for one am tired of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It’s time to mix up the conferences. Give me an ACC/Big East Challenge to pit the two supposed basketball meccas against each other in a winner-takes-all series. How about a Big Ten/Big 12 Hardwood Series? There’s already a little bit of bad blood between the two conferences because of football realignment. Basketball should capitalize on that hatred. Whoever wins the first series gets the Texas football program?
Zach Hayes, RTC Editor/Contributor
I’m a huge fan of these conference challenge events. It forces coaches to play true road games against quality opponents and sets up marquee matchups that normally may not occur. Two years ago, I distinctly remember Duke was sent to Purdue in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge in a battle of top-10 teams. Because Coach K prefers to play neutral site games in most years rather than visit the home floors of elite non-conference competition, that Duke-Purdue game felt like a rare treat that wouldn’t have happened if the ACC-Big Ten Challenge was never invented. As someone that appreciates the mid-major game, the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge, while it lacks a premiere TV deal, is a fantastic way for quality Cinderella candidates to face off in December. The only change I would make is moving the ACC/Big Ten Challenge to open the season in mid-November. This solves the problem of a lackluster, trickling start to the college hoops season and instead the campaign would open with a bang that Michigan State-Duke or Purdue-Virginia Tech provides. Surely those two conferences would welcome the change as well, with basketball-starved fans tuning in to ESPN in even greater droves than in the current setup.
***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2013
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game
Brian Otskey is an RTC contributor.
All rankings from RTC and all times eastern.
Arizona State @ #7 Baylor – 7 pm on ESPN2 (**)
Since his return from suspension, LaceDarius Dunn has played like the player Baylor needs him to be if they’re going to contend for a Big 12 title. Dunn has hit 10-19 (53%) three’s and is shooting 58% from the floor while averaging 22 PPG. The Bears haven’t been tested yet but the matchups strongly favor them against Arizona State. ASU averages just 64 PPG and 34 RPG while Baylor, led by Dunn and one of the nation’s best frontcourts, has averaged 77/43 a game. Against a Baylor front line that features three important contributors at 6’10, expect Arizona State to play their usual slow and methodical offense trying to create open mid-range shots. The Sun Devils do not shoot it well at all from three (29%) but they have 6’4 Trent Lockett (19/7/3) to exploit Baylor from inside the arc. Lockett is shooting 65.5% from the floor in five games, an astounding figure for someone of his size and position. Scott Drew figures to use a lot of zone defense which will keep his big men near the basket and out of foul trouble so Arizona State has to be on from the outside to have a chance. Rihards Kuksiks, a 40% career three-point shooter entering this year, is in a slump at 30% so far this year. He has, however, drilled five of his last ten from deep so Herb Sendek hopes that will continue against Baylor’s zone. It has to or else ASU will get run out of the building. With the versatile Quincy Acy and big man Perry Jones grabbing 19 combined boards a game for Baylor, Arizona State is going to need a heck of an effort in order to win the rebounding battle. One glimmer of hope for the Sun Devils is that Baylor averages 19 turnovers a game, one of the worst teams in D1 at protecting the ball. Baylor clearly has more talent but turnovers and hot shooting can keep Arizona State in the game. While that might happen early, talent will take over and Baylor should win this game by a nice margin.
If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com.
Top 25 Games
#18 Purdue 58, Virginia Tech 55 (OT): “Purdue relied on JaJuan Johnson to score 50% of their points as the otherwise icy-cold shooting Boilermakers clawed out an OT win in Blacksburg. The win clinched the Big Ten/ACC Challenge for the Big Ten for the second straight year.” (Boiled Sports)
#20 Texas 76, Lamar 55: “Texas’ 76-55 win over Lamar didn’t exactly go according to script, but the Longhorns were good enough in spurts to pull away for the comfortable final margin. Texas enjoyed a pair of 9-point runs in the first half to take a 9 point lead at intermission, then opened up the second half on a 14-4 run to put the game out of reach.” (Burnt Orange Nation)
#21 BYU 77, Creighton 65: “It is foolish to think that we just sort of zombie through the non-conference season and expect to be able to hit the reboot button once conference season comes around. These early games are where you define your teams. They were what defined the Bluejays last season. With the disasterous non-conference performance, that bled into conference season. Nothing really changed. Don’t think that adding one player will erase all of that.” (White & Blue Review)
