Sunday, March 21 (all CBS)
12:10pm - Syracuse vs. Gonzaga
2:20pm - Ohio State vs Georgia Tech
2:30pm - Maryland vs Michigan State
2:40pm - West Virginia vs Missouri
2:50pm - Wisconsin vs Cornell
4:50pm - Pittsburgh vs Xavier
5:00pm - Purdue vs Texas A&M
5:15pm - Duke vs California
Each day this week during the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament we’re asking some of our top correspondents to put together a collection of notes and interesting tidbits about each region. If you know of something that we should include in tomorrow’s submission, hit us up at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.
President Barack Obamapicked Kentucky to lose in his bracket’s final game but Coach John Calipari is worried about just getting momentum. “Land the plane. Survive and advance,” Calipari told Chris Low of ESPN. “That’s all we’re thinking about. We’re not worried about the score and who scores and what. Just land the plane and move on.”To that end, East Tennessee State lost by ten to Pitt last year as a #16 seed in the first round. Can they be the first to pull off the historic upset?
Perhaps both Texas and Wake Forest should just throw out their recent struggles.
Temple is only favored by 4 points over Cornell. Meanwhile Lafayette head coach Fran O’Hanlon has worked with both coaches and is rooting for both.
Would professors at Wofford dare to not pick the Terriers over Wisconsin in their office pool? And apparently message boards hounded Badger junior Tim Jarmusz earlier this season as he moved from starting forward to coming off the bench.
Washington’s Isaiah Thomas has a broken bone in his shooting hand, which is why he wears a glove.
Last year Marquette’s players shaved their heads in solidarity, but this time they got a different haircut.
New Mexico’s Darington Hobson is predicting a run to the regional finals. Meanwhile the New York Times has a great profile on Montana’s Anthony Johnson.
Over the next two days in a series of separate posts, RTC will break down all 32 of the first round games using our best analytical efforts to understand these teams, the matchups and their individual strengths and weaknesses. Our hope is that you’ll let us know in the comments where you agree, disagree or otherwise think we’ve lost our collective minds. Here are the Thursday evening games.
7:10 pm – #8 Northern Iowa vs. #9 UNLV (Oklahoma City pod)
The Midwest Region’s first game of the tournament features two teams battling for the privilege of going up against Kansas in the next round. What press there is about Northern Iowa, Jordan Eglseder gets most of it. UNLV will also have to watch out for senior guard Ali Farokhmanesh, a streaky three-point shooter who’s had five straight games in single figures and is due for a run. It was thought at the beginning of the year that UNLV’s Tre’Von Willis and Oscar Bellfield would do a little more sharing of the scoring burden for the Runnin Rebels this year, but it’s been Willis who’s shouldered most of the load. At 17.5 PPG, he averages a full seven points more than the Rebels’ next leading scorer, sophomore forward Chace Stanback. Both of these teams take good care of the basketball and, even though neither of them is going to give the scoreboard operator much of a workout, the game itself should be a good one between two teams of similar talent. We hope all these guys get to enjoy the trappings of the tournament… because it won’t last long, sorry to say.
The Skinny:In a game played in the mid-50s (both in tempo and era), look for UNI to make the key plays down the stretch to win this one by four.
7:15 pm – #1 Kentucky vs. #16 ETSU (New Orleans pod)
If any #16 seed is going to be the first to topple a top seed in this bracket, here’s your best shot. East Tennessee State was in this exact position one March ago and took #1 Pittsburgh to the wire. In fact, the Buccaneers trailed by just three points with 2:47 left in a contest usually reserved for monumental blowouts. ETSU was expected to rebuild after losing four starters from the Atlantic Sun champion of 2008-09, but the Bucs pulled off two upsets in the A-Sun Tournament and toppled Mercer in a true road game, meaning ETSU and former UAB headman Murry Bartow are dancing for the second straight campaign. One player who may give the top seed Wildcats some trouble is a 6’4 wing named Tommy Hubbard that has finally harnessed his talent and is one of the most improved players in the nation. Let’s be honest here, though: Kentucky should roll over the underdog Bucs. The Big Blue has more athleticism and pure ability than any team in the field, never mind the A-Sun champion that finished the season with 14 losses. No guard can come close to contain the blazing speed of John Wall. DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson should have their way on the boards. Even a few breathtaking alley-oops could be in store for the ESPN folks to feast on. Last year Cal State Northridge gave John Calipari’s Memphis team a real scare in the first round. Expect the Kentucky head coach to learn from that game and have his squad prepared to blow the doors off ETSU from the opening tip to the final buzzer.
The Skinny: Kentucky will spend most of the game up 20+ before calling off the dogs Cats to win by fifteen or so.
This is the fourth of our four quick-and-dirty region breakdowns. This will serve to help the quick triggers who like to fill out their brackets first thing on Monday morning. For the rest of you, we’ll be providing more detailed game-by-game analysis throughout the rest of the week.
Edward Jones Dome Hosts the Midwest Regional
Region: Midwest
Favorite: Kansas, #1-seed, 32-2. The overall #1 seed. The experts say there are no dominant teams this year, but for our money this year’s Jayhawks are just as dominant as North Carolina was in 2008-09. Top-flight weapons at every position. A solid bench. Excellent coaching. Youth. Experience. Any way you prefer to be beaten, they’ll beat you. That switch they flipped to put Texas A&M away in the Big 12 Tournament was scary, but that’s the sort of command of which they’re capable.
Should They Falter: Ohio State, #2-seed, 27-7. We all know how special Evan Turner is. But teams seem to make the mistake of thinking that this team has no other weapons. David Lighty, Jon Diebler, and William Buford are all capable of big games. They defer to Turner, yet Turner enjoys sharing the wealth. As a team, they almost never take a bad shot, a trait that will serve them well even more this time of year.
Grossly Overseeded: Northern Iowa, #9-seed, 28-4. Northern Iowa’s only win in the NCAA was 20 years ago. I know that has nothing to do with now, but the last four times they’ve been to the Tournament, they’ve been a popular upset pick and have always come up short. To be honest, based on their body of work, they’re probably seeded where they should be, it’s just that there are a few teams seeded lower than them that are playing a little better brand of basketball right now. If UNI can give us some results in the Tournament, then we’ll be happy to put some chips on their square in the future.
Grossly Underseeded: Michigan State, #5-seed, 24-8.At this point, we should all be used to Tom Izzo overachieving in the NCAA Tournament. This team went 14-4 in the extremely tough Big Ten. After that stretch in which they dropped three straight (at Wisconsin, at Illinois, and Purdue), everyone forgot about them. Then they won five of six to end the year before the conference tournament, the only loss coming against surging Ohio State. Don’t ever sell the Spartans short in the Big Dance.
Sweet Sixteen Sleeper: Houston, #13-seed, 19-15. Aubrey Coleman is the nation’s leading scorer at 25.0 PPG, and it looks like he and Kelvin Lewis have finally started to put it together. Honestly, we thought we’d see more out of the Cougars this year. They’ll be a tougher out for Maryland than everyone thinks. Houston is second in the nation in turnovers per game (8.8), and 12th in turnovers forced (16.8), nice numbers when you have a pair of guards who can scoop up those turnovers and score quickly.
Final Four Sleeper: #5 Michigan State. They can own a game through their work on the boards.
Rob Dauster of Ballin is a Habit is spending the week as the RTC correspondent at the Big East Tournament. In addition to live-blogging select games throughout the tournament, he will post a nightly diary with his thoughts on each day’s action. Here is his submission for the championship game.
West Virginia 60, Georgetown 58
Everyone is going to have their own preference about which conference is the best in the country. If you live in Kansas, you may have a different opinion that someone living un upstate New York. I will say this — there is not more competitive of a league in the country, and there is no tournament that matches a league title won in Madison Square Garden. This final pitted an eight seed and a three seed. The semis saw a five seed and a seven seed lose. Don’t bet against the league getting two No. 1 seeds and more than one team in the Final Four. As Huggy Bear said: “If this league isn’t the best in the country, than I need to quit coaching because I don’t know anything.”
Is there a player you would rather have take a final shot than Da’Sean Butler? For the second time in three days and the sixth time this season, Butler won a game by scoring a basket in the last 15 seconds. He is the most clutch player in the country, and I don’t think it is even close.
Its pretty clear that Chris Wright didn’t know what the score was when he committed that foul on Joe Mazzulla. After the play, Austin Freeman came up to him and said “its a tie game.” In the press conference, an extremely disappointed Wright said “I made a mistake.” That was all he said. His play to tie the game essentially nullified it, however.
West Virginia’s length along their perimeter helps them make up for the fact that they lack some quickness. Guys like Jason Clark and a Chris Wright have to be hesitant to shoot it from three simply because they know a guy like Devin Ebanks or Wellington Smith — players with fantastic length who can really get up in the air — are running at them.
Are the Mountaineers a No. 1 seed? I’ll let Bob Huggins explain: “We have 18 top 100 wins. We have nine top 50 wins. The 18 is the most of any team in the country. Our non-league RPI was second. Our strength of schedule is going to be one. We’re going to end up in the top two or three in the RPI. They say do those things, we’ve done those things.” I’m not one to argue.
Georgetown should end up a three or four seed. While they do have some great wins, and their run through this tournament is commendable — and perhaps even more impressive than what WVU did — they still struggled quite a bit in the middle of the season. They may end up a three depending on how some things shake out tomorrow and the way that locations, conferences and so on break down, but if the Hoyas do end up a four, I don’t think they have a gripe.
I’ve written enough about Greg Monroe this week, but good lord is he a talented player. It takes seeing him in person to truly appreciate it.
For the third straight game, someone walked away with $10,000 for rolling an oversized die.
Tonight was one of the most incredible sports experiences of my life. I was at the 6OT game. I as at game 2 of the 2004 ALCS when Yankee Stadium was chanting “Who’s your daddy?” at Pedro Martinez. I was at the first Redskins game played after Sean Taylor died. Tonight was up there with those three. The atmosphere in MSG tonight was unreal, as both Georgetown and West Virginia fans were loud and into the game from the tip. The game was hard fought and intense. We had great plays down the stretch, a game-winner, and nearly a buzzer beater. But the part that got to me the most was after the game, when all of the Mountaineer fans were still in the arena and sang “Take me home country roads” by Mr. Sunshine on my damn shoulder John Denver. Chills up my spine doesn’t begin to describe it.
At some point, Digger Phelps did something to bash West Virginia, because both Huggins and Butler commented on it after the game. In the press conference, Huggins addressed it, criticizing Digger but saying “I like Digger. Digger and I friends.” Butler, on the other hand, made eye contact with Jay Bilas from the podium after the game and pointed at him. Bilas laughed. I asked Bilas what that was about, and as he was saying “Digger said something they didn’t like in the pregame, and…” Butler came up and said to Jay “I told you, I told you.”
Rob Dauster of Ballin is a Habit is spending the week as the RTC correspondent at the Big East Tournament. In addition to live-blogging select games throughout the tournament, he will post a nightly diary with his thoughts on each day’s action. Here is his submission for the semifinal games.
Georgetown 80, Marquette 57
Georgetown whooped Duke. They smacked Villanova. Just yesterday they knocked off Syracuse. That said, would you believe me if I told you that this may be the Hoyas’ most impressive win of the season? Marquette doesn’t get blown out. Prior to this, their ten losses were by an average of 3.5 ppg; just 3.0 in seven Big East losses. They hadn’t lost by more than nine on the season (at Wisconsin) and seven in Big East play (Pitt). 14 of their 21 Big East games were decided by five points or less. With 13 minutes left in this game, Marquette was down one. From that point on, the Hoyas blitzed Marquette, something that simply does not happen.
Greg Monroe had a two minute stretch where he showed why people are saying he is a lottery pick. From deep in the left corner, he drove baseline and finished with a dunk. The next possession, he knocked down a three. The following possession, he took a rebound and went coast-to-coast, finishing it with a gorgeous bounce pass to Austin Freeman for an and-1 layup. And for good measure, he blocked a Jimmy Butler shot 20 seconds later.
Marquette is going to win a game in the NCAA Tournament. At least one. This is a team that is scrappy, tough, and runs a difficult offense to defend.
Jimmy Butler is one of the key players for Marquette. Along with Lazar Hayward, his ability to defend inside and play on the perimeter is a huge reason Marquette is able to play – and is successful doing so – the style they play. Hell, two weeks ago he hit a buzzer-beater in overtime to beat St. John’s. He’s a pretty important part of this Marquette team. You wonder, then, why the Marquette fan sitting next to me asked, after Butler’s tip dunk in the first half, “Jimmy Butler? Who’s Jimmy Butler?” Fan fail.
Over the course of the night, as with any big time event, the MSG people like to run promotions that give away money. All week, they have been using this game with an oversized die where three of the same roll in a row wins you $10,000. They’ve done it in each of the 12 previous games, and not once did anyone win, only a few times did they even get to the third roll. Well, in both games tonight, the contestant won the $10,000.
There’s more. At halftime of the first game, three people came to center court to try and win $10,000 in a Dickie V impersonation contest. The first two were heartily booed by the NYC crowd. The third contestant, however, had shaved his head bald, was wearing a half of a gray wig, had on a fake unibrow, screamed “Are you serious?!?!?” a good five times, and received a standing ovation and $10,000. I had to pay $8 just to take part in the MSG dinner buffet. I think I need to find a new profession.
With the regular season winding down to a close, the powers-that-be here at Rush the Court met in rtmsf’s basement bunker and spent 36 hours without food or water sorting out our 1st, 2nd and 3rd All-American teams for the 2009-10 season. Just kidding, we actually did it by e-mail. Regardless, here is the much-anticipated unveiling (with a slight adjustment to the three-guard lineup for the 3rd team based on the voting). Enjoy:
1st Team
G – John Wall, Kentucky (16.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 6.2 APG, 1.8 SPG)
G – Evan Turner, Ohio State (19.5 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.8 SPG)
There’s not much surprise with Wall, Turner or Johnson. All three garnered 1st-team selections from all four of our voters and accomplished the feat basically wire-to-wire. The two late bloomers were Cousins and Vasquez. Cousins was overshadowed in the early part of the season by his superstar teammate, but more and more attention was paid to his obscene production as the campaign wore on. His numbers spread out over 40 minutes are off the charts. Vasquez really took off late as well, dusting off the cobwebs from a slow shooting start to lead his Terrapins to a share of the ACC crown. His heroics at the end of the Duke win likely was the clincher for our voters.
The 2nd-team features the Jayhawks inside-outside tandem of Collins and Aldrich. While many expected at least one of them to finish the season as a first-teamer, I think both players would rather grab that #1 overall seed in the Dance. This honor is not a bad consolation prize, either. Reynolds and Butler provided the backbones for two squads that excelled in the loaded Big East, while Anderson posted the strongest raw stats of any power six-conference player other than Turner. He’s expanding his game to become more of a complete weapon, and, along with Turner, is probably the most important player to his respective team of anyone in the nation.
3rd Team
G – Jon Scheyer, Duke (18.9 PPG, 5.2 APG, 3.5 RPG, 1.6 SPG)
The Mountain West received some serious love on this team with outstanding seasons from Hobson and Fredette both rewarded. Despite missing a good portion of the stretch run, Harangody’s statistics just couldn’t be ignored. Monroe put up a solid campaign for the Hoyas and might be the best passing big man in the nation. The most efficient guard? Could very well be Scheyer. He’s led Duke to #1-seed contention.
Also receiving votes: Quincy Pondexter, Washington, Ekpe Udoh, Baylor, Robbie Hummel, Purdue, Luke Babbitt, Nevada, Damion James, Texas, Kyle Singler, Duke, Patrick Patterson, Kentucky, Gordon Hayward, Butler, Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest.
Rob Dauster of Ballin is a Habit is the RTC correspondent for the Big East Conference.
Season in Review
The Big East regular season ended on Saturday, and I think it is safe to say that the league had a bit of an unpredictable season. Don’t believe me? Show me a season preview that had Syracuse winning the league, Pitt getting a double-bye, UConn playing on Tuesday, and with South Florida and Notre Dame finishing above UConn and Cincinnati. See? Unpredictable.
But what does that mean? Was the Big East better from top to bottom than it was last year? Did teams like Marquette, USF, and Notre Dame benefit from a down year? The one thing that is for sure is that the top of the Big East is nowhere near the top of last year’s Big East. Five Sweet 16 teams and three No. 1 seeds is a pretty phenomenal feat. But last year the conference only sent seven teams to the tournament, and there is a very good chance that number will be surpassed this season.
The way the Big East bubble is shaping up right now, five teams are in – Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, Pitt and Georgetown. Louisville and Marquette should be ok, but a loss on Wednesday and things could get dicey depending on how the rest of the bubble plays out. If Notre Dame happens to lose their first Big East Tournament game (to either Seton Hall or Rutgers), then the Irish could be in trouble as they will likely be right on the cut line. That gives us eight that are reasonably safe.
It is possible, however, for the Big East to get two more teams in. If today was Selection Sunday, then Seton Hall may actually be in the tournament. While they have 11 losses, the average RPI of the team’s that have beaten the Pirates is 26 and they have not lost to a team with an RPI below 64. Add into that mix that the Pirates have wins over Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, at Cornell and an RPI of 53. Its not a great profile, but its a very weak bubble this year. That could be enough. The other team that still has a shot of an at-large bid is UConn, simply because the Huskies have more good wins than most of the bubble teams. That said, they also have 14 losses. UConn will likely need to make it to the Big East semis for any kind of real shot at a bid.
The Big East Conference released their all-conference teams today, and there isn’t much there that I disagree with. (Note: there are six players on the first team because one of those six will win POY; POY, COY, and ROY will be announced on Tuesday between Big East Tournament sessions)
#8 West Virginia 81, #20 Georgetown 68. Georgetown’s margin for error is just not very large against good teams, especially top ten teams on the road. It showed tonight as the Hoyas clearly missed the third primary scoring option that Austin Freeman, out with the stomach flu, typically provides. WVU’s Da’Sean Butler, playing in front of the home fans for the last time, dropped 22/6/6 assts in a well-balanced Mountaineer effort that jumped on top of Georgetown early and never relented. With this win, West Virginia clinched a double-bye in next week’s Big East Tournament and still has a chance at the overall #2 seed with some luck and a weekend win over Villanova. Georgetown has now lost four of five games, and two of those losses (Notre Dame and Rutgers) were inexcusable for a team with their talent. It could be that the heavy minutes are wearing down JT3’s team, as four starters average over 33 MPG and the Hoya defense has been considerably less potent recently than it was when beating top-10 teams like Duke and Villanova. One thing is for certain, though. For Georgetown to make any noise whatsoever in the Big East Tournament or NCAA Tournament this year, they have to get production from all four of Freeman, Greg Monroe, Chris Wright and and Jason Clark/Julian Vaughn at the same time. With one more loss on Saturday against Cincinnati, the Hoyas will drop to 9-9 and jeopardize their chances at an all-important first round bye in the Big East Tournament next week.
WVU Towered Over Georgetown Tonight (AP/David Smith)
#25 Texas 87, Oklahoma 76. For a while it appeared that the Longhorn meltdown was imminent, as visiting Oklahoma took an 11-point lead five minutes into the second half as Cade Davis and Tony Crocker repeatedly lit up the Texas defense. An 11-2 run got Rick Barnes’ team back into the game, and with Damion James (24/8) and Jordan Hamilton (12/11) finding their way to the hole for layups, UT avoided the unthinkable tonight in a game that should bolster their confidence. It was just six short weeks ago that Texas was the #1 team in the land, but the shutdown defense that got the Horns to that lofty spot has been largely missing since, and tonight we only saw it in spurts as the Sooners shot 48% and hit ten threes. Additionally, the J’Covan Brown experiment as a starter appears to have been nixed, as Justin Mason got the nod (3/3 in 21 minutes) and Brown easily outdid his last two performances (15/5 in 33 minutes) off the pine. Texas is safely in the NCAA Tournament, but right now they appear to be a directionless team who, if they’re not careful, will be walking into a lion’s den at Baylor next weekend.
Orange Sweep.#5 Syracuse 75, #10 Georgetown 71. Syracuse looked like a Final Four contender for the first 28 minutes last night. Their zone was impenetrable, their offense efficient and unselfish. Behind big first halves from Andy Rautins and Wes Johnson, the Cuse was able to build a 44-31 halftime lead, a lead they pushed to 23 points midway through the second half. But the Hoyas weren’t about to go away. As the Orange got complacent, the Hoyas started forcing turnovers and getting to the rim. Greg Monroe really began to assert himself in the paint, almost singlehandedly fouling out both Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku. All told, the Hoyas put a 33-11 run on Syracuse, cutting that 23-point lead all the way down to 71-70 with possession of the ball. But on the one and only possession that Georgetown had with a chance to take the lead, the Hoyas settled for a deep, albeit open, three from Jason Clark, which he clanged off the front of the rim. At the other end, Kris Joseph took advantage of a mismatch, taking Greg Monroe to the hole to score with just nine seconds left for a three-point lead. The Orange fouled, Georgetown missed a free throw, and Andy Rautins sealed it. Rautins was the high scorer for the game, finishing with 26 points on 6-11 shooting while knocking down five triples. Wes Johnson had 14 of his 16 points in the first half. But perhaps the most important offensive performance came from Joseph. Joseph had been struggling all game long, but in the final two minutes, he got to the rim three times, twice scoring and the third time drawing a foul. It was his ability to take advantage of a mismatch that kept the Orange ahead late. Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, and Greg Monroe all went for at least 20, but there was no balance to the Hoya attack. Those three and Jason Clark scored all but two of Georgetown’s 71 points. The Hoyas have now dropped two in a row and four of seven. With a tough final four games (@ Louisville, ND, @ WVU, Cincy), the Hoyas will need some serious help if they want to snag one of the double-byes in the Big East tournament.
Ghosts of LMU Past. Loyola Marymount 74, #9 Gonzaga 66. The biggest upset by far tonight brought back shades of Hank Gathers, Bo Kimble, and yes, RTC favorite Jeff Fryer, as the LMU Lions did the unthinkable and defeated Gonzaga for their second WCC loss of the year. It was the first Loyola win over a ranked team in two decades, harkening back to the LMU teams of yesteryear. Tonight, though, instead of Gathers/Kimble/Fryer, it was Ashley Hamilton (17/6), Drew Viney (16/10/5 assts) and Kevin Young (11/5) leading the way. The Lion defense frustrated the Zags into 35% shooting as a team, and held Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray to a miserable 7-26 night. For the second time in a month, Gonzaga was shocked on the road by a vastly inferior team in terms of talent on the floor, and we’re wondering if these Zags are prone to losing focus. Otherwise, how else to explain commanding wins vs. better teams at Memphis, St. Mary’s and Portland in the same time period? One odd situation that came from this otherwise-huge win for the LMU program involved head coach Max Good and his sophomore forward Young. At one point the two traded words and reports from the game suggest that Good placed his hand on Young’s neck. When asked afterward if he had choked Young, he stated that he was merely trying to calm down an emotional player. One thing is for certain, though. His team didn’t choke — and the phalanx of students who RTC’d immediately following the buzzer verified it (send us a pic, LMU fans!) (thanks!).
LMU Fans RTC With Gusto (AP)
Leuer’s Return Unlucky. Minnesota 68, #15 Wisconsin 52. Minnesota has had a disappointing season with all their off-court controversy and inability to win on the road, but if they plan on putting that behind them and getting back to the NCAA Tournament this year, tonight was an excellent start. The Gophers used a solid performance from Blake Hoffarber (16/9), Ralph Sampson III (10/8) and Devoe Joseph (10/5/5 assts) to shut down everyone but the two UW stars Trevon Hughes (19/4 stls) and Jason Bohannon (18/3). Jon Leuer made his return from injury tonight but he was clearly off his game, shooting 2-12 from the field for four points. The Gophers have five games remaining (three at home), and you have to figure they need to win all of those. It’ll be the two road games — at Illinois and at Michigan — that could determine how this season will end up for Minnesota. The Badgers, of course, are safely in the Tourney, but their Big Ten regular season title chances took a huge shot with their fifth loss tonight.
The Last Winless Team. Bryant 53, Wagner 51. Bryant became the last Division I team in America to win a game in the 2009-10 season with their two late FTs to beat Wagner tonight, a mere 366 days after the school’s last win. Even with a 1-26 record, Bryant isn’t the worst team in the nation, according to Ken Pomeroy’s statistical profiles… they’re 346th of 347 teams. The only team lower? 1-25 Alcorn State.
RTC Live is back at the Verizon Center again to bring you coverage of another dandy in the Big East as Syracuse heads south to take on the Hoyas in what might be the Big East’s best rivalry.
Georgetown has been wildly inconsistent this season, mixing big wins over Villanova and Duke with losses to South Florida, Cincinnati, and Rutgers. Syracuse has been a conundrum of late as well, as they have struggled against teams like DePaul and Cincinnati before finally dropping a game to Louisville at home last week. The issue for Georgetown has been leadership. They don’t have a true point guard. Chris Wright has been great at times this season, but he is a scoring point guard. He’s not the kind of player that is going to take control of a team when they are struggling. As a result, when the Hoyas get behind, their offense as a tendency to devolve into players going 1-on-1, which is not their strength. They are at their best when they run that Princeton system and take the open looks they get off of it. Syracuse, on the other hand, has just been off their game. The Orange are not a great half court team offensively. They don’t have many great scorers. They are at their best when they can force turnovers and get easy shots in transition on a secondary break. They have great passers and great decision makers when the numbers are in their advantage. Georgetown got smacked by Syracuse last month at the Carrier Dome, but Greg Monroe was in foul trouble. If Georgetown can limit their turnovers and utilize Monroe’s ability in the high post to pass and score, they should be able to pick apart the Cuse zone.
It should be another fun one tonight. So drop by, leave a comment, and enjoy another Big East battle.
DC may be sitting under two feet of snow, but we at RTC threw on our snow boots, busted out the parka, and took the rocket sled out to the Verizon Center for today’s match-up between Villanova and Georgetown. The Hoyas have had an up-and-down two weeks. Two weeks ago during Big Monday, the Hoyas got smacked by Syracuse. A week ago, Georgetown returned the favor to Duke. Then on Wednesday, Georgetown ran into the buzzsaw that is Dominique James, dropping to 6-4 in the league. Villanova, on the other hand, has cruised to a perfect 9-0 record in Big East play, but they have yet to hit the meat of their schedule. Today kicks off what is going to be a brutal February, as Nova will play Georgetown, Syracuse, West Virginia, and Pitt on the road this month.
But that’s down the road. Today’s game will be determined on the perimeter. Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, and Corey Stokes are known names in this league, and Maalik Wayns is well on his way to being the next great Nova guard. But the Hoyas have their own trio of talented back court players in Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, and Jason Clark. When talking about Georgetown, the first name that is always brought up is Greg Monroe, but he may not be the Hoyas’ most important player. When Chris Wright scores in double figures, Georgetown is undefeated. When he doesn’t, they are 1-5. Villanova is improved on the defensive end with Reggie Redding in uniform, but Georgetown’s disciplined and patient offense is a tough one to defend. Ask Duke.
Should be a heckuva game today. Drop by and join in the conversation!
***** – 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 2012
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game
Should Be a Great One in DC Today (David Maialetti)
Is Villanova the best team in the country? Many voters are split between the Jayhawks and Wildcats, but if VU wins its next two games at Georgetown and West Virginia, they will at least cement their standing as a top seed, if not the number one ranking. Georgetown can be a dangerous team, with wins over Butler and Duke, but also have losses to Old Dominion and South Florida. Villanova, largely due to their #60 defense in terms of efficiency, rank only 13th overall according to Ken Pomeroy. The Wildcats score 85 points per contest (second nationally), but if they have an off night against a GU team that surrenders only 63 ppg, they could find themselves in real trouble. The last time the Wildcats scored below seventy points, they lost to Temple. Since then, Nova has won 11 games in a row, one of which was a five-point victory against the Hoyas in Philly. On that afternoon, Georgetown actually outscored VU 46-36 in the second half and Greg Monroe scored 29 points. In addition to Monroe, four Hoyas average in double figures and they rank second in the country in field goal percentage at over 50%. If the Hoyas can make their shots and hold the Wildcats to less than seventy points, they will have a great chance to win the game.
Xavier @ Dayton – 12 pm on ESPN2 (***)
With wins in their last four games, Xavier has not only played itself back to the top of the Atlantic 10 (temporarily), but they have also gotten back into the conversation of an at-large berth. All of the wins were by double digits, while Dayton appears to be heading in the opposite direction. Although the Flyers are coming off a win at lowly Saint Bonaventure, they had lost three of their previous four games. They average an acceptable 70 points per game, but are ranked 112th in offensive efficiency. The A-10 will send a few teams to the tournament this year, but at currently sixth in the conference, Dayton will need to get it going to earn an at-large bid. In their last meeting on January 16, Xavier came back in the second half to preserve a 25-game home winning streak against the Flyers. Today’s matchup will be at Dayton Arena, where the flyers are 10-1 this year. If the Flyers want to win this time around, they will have to make the Musketeers shoot outside of their comfort zone. Led by Dante Jackson, Xavier shot 53% from beyond the arc and 80% from the line against Dayton in the first game. Dayton’s leading scorer, Chris Wright, only scored five points in their last game, so he will have to play one of his best games of the season to pull off the win.
Dominique Jones is Superman. South Florida 72, #8 Georgetown 64. A few days after getting its best win of the year against Pittsburgh at home, South Florida outdid itself tonight with a major upset at Georgetown to move back into the middle of the pack at 5-5 in the Big East race and put the Bulls squarely into the NCAA Tournament picture. The primary reason for the recent four-game surge, of course, has been the astounding play of guard Dominique Jones, who dropped another 29 points (plus 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals) to give him a ridiculous 140 points in the last four games (all USF wins, mind you). Georgetown, coming off a big win versus Duke and looking ahead to a huge game this weekend against Villanova, may have found itself lacking focus, but as usual, the Hoyas’ fortunes came down to the offensive play of Chris Wright, and he was not good. His 3-10 shooting included 0-6 from deep, and even though Greg Monroe (21/8/3 blks) and Austin Freeman produced (21 pts), it wasn’t enough for the Hoyas to survive. Monroe was in foul trouble in the second half, which undoubtedly ended the Hoyas’ chances as soon as he left the floor. We’d like to believe that this was a minor blip on the Hoya season exacerbated by a player hitting on all cylinders and a motivated team, but we have a feeling that Georgetown’s margin for error is just so incredibly slim because of the complete lack of quality depth. Where’s Vernon Macklin and Jeremiah Rivers when you need them?
Dominique Jones: USF Superman (AP)
Backyard Brawl, Literally. #6 West Virginia 70, #21 Pittsburgh 51. WVU easily handled Pitt tonight in the Backyard Brawl tonight, with solid games from Da’Sean Butler (18/5) and Kevin Jones (16/6), but it was an incident late in the game with the Mountaineers up twelve that makes you wonder what the hell is in the water in Morgantown these days. Just days after the WVU student section took heat for their uncouth behavior during the Louisville game, and barely 15-20 minutes after Bob Huggins excoriated the crowd for throwing things onto the court, someone threw a coin from the stands (see below), hitting Pitt assistant coach Tom Herrion just below the eye. The incident that inspired the bad behavior wasn’t even all that rage-inducing, as a couple of players got tangled up when a ref got under them and everyone fell to the ground. There certainly weren’t any punches thrown, and neither player seemed all that upset with the play. Pitt’s hot start to the Big East season has officially come to a grinding halt with this loss (four in five games), shooting just 30% and handing out just five assists in this one. The Panthers get Seton Hall at home prior to hosting WVU again next week — these unbalanced schedules are crazy, eh? Final thought – WVU’s Deniz Kilicli came off the bench for nine points on 4-4 shooting in only seven minutes – what a debut for Bob Huggins’ new big man.
RTC contributor and bracketologist Zach Hayes will deliver ten permeating thoughts every week as the season progresses.
This week’s Scribbles column will look ahead to a couple months down the road in Indianapolis, where 65 deserving teams will be whittled down to just four, and to that blissful Monday night in April when one lucky group will be dancing at mid-court to the tune of One Shining Moment. In my estimation, there are ten squads with a promising-to-slight chance of hoisting a 2010 National Champions banner during their home opener next season. I’m here to tell you those ten teams, why they have hopes of winning a national title, what’s holding them back, and the most realistic scenario as I see it come late March or beginning of April. These teams are ranked in reverse order from 10-1 with the #1 school holding the best cards in their deck.
10. Duke
Why they can win it all: Their floor leader and senior stalwart Jon Scheyer is the steadiest distributor in all of college basketball, evident from his incredibly stellar 3.28 A/T ratio and a 5.6 APG mark that ranks third in the ACC and 23d in the nation. Scheyer is also a deadly shooter coming off screens when he has time to square his body to the basket, nailing a career-high 39% from deep to go along with 44% from the floor overall. Duke is also a tremendous free-throw shooting team as a whole and Coach K has the ability to play a group of Scheyer-Kyle Singler-Nolan Smith-Mason Plumlee-Lance Thomas that doesn’t feature one player under 70% from the charity stripe. Duke also features a ton more size in the paint than during previous flameouts in the NCAA Tournament. When Singler plays small forward, Coach K can rotate Miles and Mason Plumlee, the glue guy Thomas, rebounding force Brian Zoubek and even Ryan Kelly at two positions with no player under 6’8. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more efficient backcourt in the nation than Scheyer and Smith. And it’s widely known that exceptional guard play is the ultimate key to winning in March.
What Makes Duke 2010 Different than Duke 2006-09?
Why they won’t win it all: Depth could certainly be an issue for the Blue Devils’ chances of raising their first banner since 2001. Andre Dawkins has fallen almost entirely out of the rotation and Coach K has started to limit Mason Plumlee’s minutes during important games. Also, Brian Zoubek’s tendency to immediately step into foul trouble limits his availability. It wouldn’t shock me to see Duke play Scheyer, Smith and Singler 40 minutes per game during their time in the NCAA Tournament. That could cause those key players, who rely primarily on their jump shot, to lose their legs and start throwing up bricks. Kyle Singler isn’t quite the superstar he was last season, either. Singler’s numbers are down across the board — scoring, rebounding, FG%, 3pt% — and he’s been dealing with a nagging wrist injury that may not improve in the weeks and months ahead. Duke also lacks the athleticism of teams like Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and Texas. They could struggle with quicker guards like John Wall and athletic rebounders of the Damion James mold.
Likely scenario: I see Duke reaching the Sweet 16 as a #2 seed where they fall to a more athletic, quick group of guards that can explode to the rim and draw fouls. Duke may have height, but most of that height just isn’t a threat offensively by any stretch of the imagination. Eventually getting into a jump shooting contest could be the Blue Devils’ downfall if two of Smith, Scheyer and Singler go cold.
9. West Virginia
Why they can win it all:Da’Sean Butler is one of the best players in the nation when the chips are on the table. If the Mountaineers need a big shot to keep their season alive, Butler will demand the basketball and more than likely deliver. He’s downed Marquette and Louisville on game-deciding jumpers and led the second half charge against Ohio State. West Virginia is also supremely athletic and Bob Huggins’ teams always crash the boards with a tremendous ferocity. No contender can match the height across the board that West Virginia touts other than Kentucky. Huggins has experimented with lineups in which all of his players are 6’6 or taller, including 6’9 Devin Ebanks acting as a point-forward and 6’7 Da’Sean Butler capable of posting up smaller two-guards. Sophomore Kevin Jones is an incredible talent and a rebounding machine (7.7 RPG) that hits 55% of his shots from the floor and 44% from deep. West Virginia has the luxury of any of their forwards being able to step out and drain a mid-range jumper, from Ebanks to Jones to Wellington Smith to John Flowers every once in a full moon.
Ebanks is the X-factor for West Virginia
Why they won’t win it all: Let’s face it: Bob Huggins doesn’t have exactly the best track record when it comes to NCAA Tournament success. Huggins hasn’t reached the Elite 8 since 1995-96 with Cincinnati and only one Sweet 16 in the last ten years. In 2000 and 2002, his Bearcats lost just four games all season and yet didn’t reach the second weekend of March both times. Most also question whether the Mountaineers can hit outside shots on a consistent basis. They’ve struggled mightily in the first half of Big East games and can’t afford to fall behind against elite competition in March like they did against Dayton last season. Point guard play is a prudent question for West Virginia, as well. Joe Mazzulla is a quality perimeter defender and a capable distributor, but he’ll never be the offensive threat he was two seasons ago due to that shoulder injury. Darryl Bryant can certainly catch a hot streak shooting-wise, but in all honestly he’s more suited as an undersized two-guard. Bryant is averaging just 3.6 APG in 25+ MPG of action.
Likely scenario: I’m still fairly high on this team. I love Butler at the end of games and Ebanks can do anything for Huggins — from score to rebound to run the point — and Kevin Jones is one of the most underappreciated players in the Big East. In the end, I see a clankfest from outside ultimately costing West Virginia their season. And for all their rebounding history, the Mountaineers are in the mid-60s in the nation. The Elite Eight seems like a proper place for their season to conclude.
8. Texas
Why they can win it all: No team boasts better perimeter defenders than Texas. Anyone that watched Dogus Balbay completely shut down James Anderson in the second half Monday night knows he’s the best perimeter defender in the nation, even stronger than Purdue’s Chris Kramer. Avery Bradley came in with the reputation as an elite defender and he’s certainly lived up to that billing. Even J’Covan Brown off the bench is a capable defensive player and Justin Mason is a plus defender. When Dexter Pittman stays out of foul trouble, Texas boasts a legitimate shot-blocking presence that can negate quick guards on the rare occasion they slip past Balbay or Bradley. Texas is also the deepest team in the nation and Rick Barnes has the capability of playing 10 or 11 men on any night if he feels the need. The preserved minutes could pay dividends in the form of fresh players come March. Damion James should also be on a mission come March as a senior. He’s never reached a Final Four during his Longhorns career and came back for a fourth year in Austin to accomplish that very feat.
Game of the Weekend.#2 Kansas 81, #13 Kansas State 79 (OT). First, props to the K-State fans for stepping up on Gameday. They created an environment for this one that was as electric as any place we’ve seen this season. There’s no doubt their players felt the love, too. They needed to. If you think these teams thought this was just another game, think again. Sherron Collins was so amped up that he was dehydrated BEFORE the game started. Jacob Pullen was seen on two different occasions dry-heaving into a trash can at the KSU bench. If Kansas could manage a win in such surroundings, they’d be the presumptive #1 on Monday and would certainly deserve it. The first narrative hook came early when Bill Self yanked Cole Aldrich (18/11/3 blks) and evidently reminded him on how to use his size to eat up space on the inside, because he began to hit layup after layup and pull rebound after rebound. KSU stayed close even with Aldrich’s elevated play, but as the Wildcats’ shot selection began to fail them, KU built a five-point lead. This was quickly erased as Jacob Pullen began to get more touches, and KU’s halftime lead was a mere point. The Jayhawks managed to build it back to eight early in the second half, but KSU remedied that by settling for layups instead of bad looks from three, and by hitting the offensive glass HARD. After regulation time couldn’t decide it, and a neck-and-neck overtime, it’s only fitting that this game should be effectively decided by an incredible play by a big time player. With KU up by a point and thirteen seconds left, Sherron Collins — battling dehydration and muscle spasms the entire night — drove to the hole knowing he was going to take contact, knowing there was little chance he was going to land in any way except on his back, and banked in a lay-up for a three-point play. The Wildcats’ body language told the story. He couldn’t convert the free throw, but after a Cole Aldrich offensive board and two Brady Morningstar free throws (which proved to be vital, after Jacob Pullen drilled a long three at the buzzer), it was done. There were a few moments of celebration by the Jayhawks, but soon after, what you saw was more solemn pride and relief. True, there isn’t much difference between the one-loss teams at the top of the polls. But you can’t really have a three-way tie for #1, and the way the wins and losses have fallen — and after seeing what Kansas went through to win in Manhattan — the Jayhawks deserve the top position for now.
Collins and KU Will be Back at #1 (KC Star/Rich Sugg)
Finally, No Obama Jinx.#11 Georgetown 89, #7 Duke 77. Well, at least Duke shot 84.6% from the free throw line. And that’s because you can’t guard free throws. If you look at the numbers on this one, you might simply assume that the Hoyas “out-defended” the Blue Devils, since they held Duke to a 37% shooting day, including 31% (9-29) from three-point range. All due respect to the Hoyas, because that statement is formally true — in this case, though, it’s not profound. This wasn’t the Duke defense to which we’ve grown accustomed. If you were looking for that in this game, you saw it on maybe one of every five Georgetown possessions. Even more importantly, John Thompson III instructed his squad to be as selective with their shots as the admissions committees are with applicants at these schools. As a result, Georgetown took 16 fewer shots in this game than the Devils — but hit 72% of them (33-46), an unfathomable number against anyone, let alone Duke. All but maybe two of Georgetown’s attempts from behind the three-point arc were good looks, and they hit six of them (46%). What was it that forced Duke out of their usual game plan? Was it just Georgetown’s economical approach? The excellence of Greg Monroe (21/5/5)? The presence of Barack Obama and Joe Biden on the front row? RTC Live in the building? Hard to say. Maybe it was the fact that this wasn’t Cameron Indoor, since Duke has dropped four of the five true road games it’s played this year.
Welcome to another installment of RTC Live, coming to you courtside from the Verizon Center. We have a doozy on our hands as the Georgetown Hoyas host the Duke Blue Devils. How big of a game is this? President Barack Obama will be in attendance. If our suspicions are correct, it is because he is a big fan of RTC and heard we would be covering the game, but I digress. Duke has had their fair share of struggles of late, but at the end of the day they are still just a game out of first place in the ACC. After dropping a game to NC State on the road, the Devils bounced back nicely with wins over Clemson and Florida State. The one thing box score junkies will have noticed is the rapidly decreasing minutes of freshmen Mason Plumlee and Andre Dawkins. As Coach K makes his annual rotational cuts, it has meant more time for the Blue Devils’ big three. Could weak legs become a factor again this season?
Georgetown has a big three of their own, and with the lack of depth on their roster, it has resulted in heavy minutes for Greg Monroe, Chris Wright, and Austin Freeman as well. The most interesting stat for this year’s Hoyas comes in the form of Mr. Wright. In the Hoyas four losses, he is averaging 6.5 ppg, 6.5 apg, and just 1.3 turnovers. In their 15 wins, those numbers jump to 16.8 ppg, but only 3.5 apg and 2.9 turnovers. With the offense running through Monroe, Georgetown needs Wright and Freeman to be the guys that can score. And thus far, they have done a pretty good job. When its all said and done, this game has no importance other than seeding come tournament time. Duke and Georgetown will both be looking for a two-seed, and a win here could go along way towards that goal for both sides. So sit back, leave a comment, and enjoy what is sure to be a heckuva game.
Big Monday, Not So Much. And this is why they play the games. On paper, the two ESPN games tonight looked like tremendous matchups with the potential of both going down to the wire. Didn’t really work out that way, though. Perhaps better luck tomorrow night…
It had an 80s Feel at the Dome Tonight (The Post-Standard/Gloria Wright)
#4 Syracuse 73, #7 Georgetown 56. It may not have been a classic, but the first matchup between the Cuse and Georgetown in twenty years with both teams residing in the top ten was certainly interesting. The Hoyas denigrated the Syracuse zone from the tip, jumping out to a 14-0 lead behind four threes and a layup that had the 25,000+ upstaters wondering when Jim Boeheim’s team was going to show up. The answer wasn’t long in coming, as Syracuse shook off the early doldrums and put together a 30-15 run of their own to take the lead before the half ended. From that point it was all downhill for JT3’s team, as the well with which the Hoyas had hit early jumpers ran dry throughout the rest of the game. The biggest problem for the Hoyas was that two of their primary scoring options — their star point guard, Chris Wright, and center, Greg Monroe — were completely ineffective tonight on the offensive end, scoring only fifteen points on 7-17 shooting (0-6 from three). Considering that Georgetown gets so much of its scoring from its starters (92%), they simply cannot afford off nights from these players (note: the Hoya bench contributed zero points tonight). As for Syracuse, their offense is incredibly efficient — in 15 of the Orange’s 21 games this year, they’ve shot over 50% from the field, and tonight was no exception (53%). They know what they’re good at and they force other teams to deal with it — most cannot, which means they better hope they’re having a strong shooting night against the confounding SU zone. Good luck with that. In terms of the Big East race, does this mean that Syracuse and Villanova are clearly the teams to beat? Hard to say because VU has had a very weak conference schedule to date, but we can state without equivocation that Syracuse is in the top tier of contenders.
#2 Kansas 84, Missouri 65. When Kansas plays team defense like they did tonight against rival Missouri, there is nobody in America who can beat them. Not Kentucky, not Texas, not Villanova, not Duke, not Syracuse. It’s a testament to just how dominant their D was tonight that the Jayhawks could turn the ball over twenty-three times (vs. four for Missouri) and still have absolutely no trouble with the Tigers, whom they held to 28% shooting. Imagine what it would have looked like if they’d been more careful with the ball. The KU defense of course starts and ends with Cole Aldrich inside, and he was spectacular, nearly earning a trip-dub with 12/16/7 blks. Marcus Morris continues to come on strong with a 17/9 night in his fifth straight game of double figures as well. Mike Anderson’s Tigers never got into any kind of offensive groove after an opening 8-3 run, as there was often a sense that Kansas had a sixth defender on the floor to get out on the Missouri shooters. Since the loss at Tennessee three weekends ago, the Jayhawks have yet to play another tough road game, but they’ll have their hands full with Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente on Saturday night in the Little Apple. It says here that the brief issues of focus that KU had, in part because of Aldrich’s family matters, are put behind them and will be tough to beat more than once the rest of the year.
Other Games of National Interest.
Western Carolina 100, Charleston 90. A wild offensive-minded game in the SoCon tonight, with Western Carolina giving Charleston its first loss in league play. Both teams put five players each in double figures, with the Catamounts hitting eleven threes and shooting 59% from the field while Charleston nailed a scorching nineteen treys on 57% shooting. The SoCon is more than likely a one-bid league this year, but with WCU possessing the scalps of Louisville and Charleston holding UNC’s, keep an eye on one of these two as a possible first-round darkhorse in March.
HOLY GUS JOHNSON, there’s a lot of college basketball on tonight. We usually do our hoops-watchin’ live blog on Saturdays and the occasional Sunday, but we got such a nice response from last week’s special Wednesday edition that we’re going to fire it up again tonight. We’ll start off focusing on Wake Forest vs UNC and Georgetown vs Pittsburgh. We’ve got RTC Live going on at Michigan at Wisconsin. So join us, send us some comments, tell us what’s on your TV, and enjoy the hoops with us. Because it starts in, like, ninety seconds…
7:02 pm ET: JStev here at RTC’s Southern Compound, and we’re starting off with Wake at UNC, but we’ve got quite a selection already. So I guess this game is one of those announcer-trade things. ESPN’s NBA announcers are calling this one. I don’t know if I’m liking this. We might get to Pitt/G’town earlier than expected…
7:16: …AND, we’re there. Faster pace, two ranked teams, and fewer people get the U so this will actually help more folks tuning in. See? We’re all about helping people at RTC. Boy, Georgetown looks comfortable early. That last move by Greg Monroe was quite tasty. NBA quality drop step and lay-in, wow. Up six early.
7:24: Just flashed over to Wake/UNC and L.D. Williams just THREW DOWN an alley-oop, following a three and a previous dunk by Al-Farouq Aminu. I know it’s mid-first half, but has UNC lost their mystique? Teams just look more confident against them this year, steadier. Back on G’town/Pitt, Gilbert Brown was going out of bounds and threw the ball off of Jerelle Benimon, and hit him right in the misters. Looks OK, though.
We’re trying a new star system out here at the Set Your Tivo desk beginning today. Let us know in the comments if you think we should change our ratings system.
SYT Star System
***** - 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 2012 * - don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game
Xavier @ Temple – 7 pm on FSOhio and CSN (*****)
It is a shame more people won’t be able to watch this Atlantic Ten battle that will most likely decide the regular season conference champion. Xavier is the only 4-0 team in the A10 right now, but Temple is the conference’s representative in the top 25 rankings. Both teams are coming off four straight wins, including Xavier’s recent victory over a strong Dayton team. Needless to say, these teams are talented and should provide an entertaining game. Scouts will also be in attendance to see how potential first round pick Jordan Crawford can match up against Temple’s methodical style of play. The Owls only score 64.6 points per game, but at 56.0 points given up on defense, most of their games are close. Considering Xavier’s lack of success in big games this year (Butler, Wake Forest, Baylor, Kansas State) and Temple’s ability to perform well at home, look for the Owls to give Xavier a run for their money, but something tells me the Musketeers are ready to emerge as the best team in this talented conference.
Georgetown @Pittsburgh - 7 pm on ESPNU (****)
Those without ESPNU will unfortunately miss out on the night’s only matchup between two top 25 teams. Both Pittsburgh and Georgetown have been pleasant surprises this year, as Georgetown responded from last year’s NIT season and Pitt has been able to cope with the loss of several key players. The Panthers have all the momentum heading into this game, as they have won eight straight while the Hoyas are coming off of a loss to Villanova. Over 82 percent of ESPN voters claim Pitt will win this game at the Petersen Events Center, where they are 10-0 this year, but Georgetown will not be an easy team to take down. The Hoyas are much more balanced with four players scoring in double figures, including center Greg Monroe, who is averaging a double-double so far this season. If Georgetown’s road woes (just 3-2 on the year with losses in their last two road games) and Pitt’s ability to excel at home continue, look for Pitt to ride Ashton Gibbs and company to stay even with Villanova atop the Big East. However, Georgetown’s defense has been strong all season, and if they can find a way to lock down Gibbs or Brad Wanamaker, this game will be a close call.
Whether it is for home court advantage (Georgetown is 4-3 on Villanova’s home court; Villanova is 5-1 at the Verizon Center), a Big East Championship (1982) or a National Championship (1985), the games are almost always close and always hard fought. Coach John Thompson, III, brings his Georgetown Hoyas into the Center in downtown Philadelphia on Sunday January 17 at noon to play the Villanova Wildcats. Between them, the teams have 28 wins against only 3 losses, and each brings a John Wooden Award nominee to the tilt. The Hoyas’ Greg Monroe of Georgetown will anchor their front court, while Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds leads the Wildcat backcourt. Georgetown has swept the last five games, winning four by five points or less. Join us on RTC Live for the 67th meeting of these two Big East powers, in what should be another great one.
No Comments » | 
2010 ncaa tournament | Tagged: adam koch, anthony johnson, arnett moultrie, barack obama, ben jacobsen, bj jenkins, butler, byu, cornell, darington hobson, dashonte riley, derrick caracter, etsu, florida, florida st, fran o'hanlon, georgetown, georgia tech, gonzaga, greg kampe, greg monroe, isaiah thomas, jim boeheim, jimmer fredette, john calipari, kenny boynton, kentucky, lon kruger, matt howard, mike anderson, missouri, montana, morgan st, murray st, ncaa tournament, new mexico, northern iowa, oakland, oklahoma st, pittsburgh, san diego st, syracuse, temple, texas, Tim Jarmusz, unlv, utep, wake forest, washington, west virginia, wisconsin, wofford | 
Permalink
Posted by rtmsf
