Earlier this week it seemed inevitable that Missouri’s Frank Haith was doomed to receive a notice of allegations from the NCAA and a potentially devastating penalty to go along with it. Then, the NCAA reported unethical conduct within its own investigation of Miami booster Nevin Shapiro. Our overlords on the RTC home page discussed the embarrassment associated with another botched scenario for the NCAA in Wednesday’s Morning Five. The NCAA’s ineptitude could end up giving Haith a temporary victory. With the NCAA sidelined with sorting out its own transgressions, a notice of allegations for Haith probably will not be coming anytime soon. Haith might not get away from this scandal unscathed, but now it appears that he will at least have a temporary reprieve.
John Calipari is continuing to openly question his young team’s commitment to playing winning basketball in the wake of a 59-55 loss to Alabama. “Look, we still haven’t totally bought in,” Calipari said. “Individual players haven’t. But they just haven’t bought in, so we’re still doing it. But this is a team that’s growing and getting better. We showed signs and now we took a step back.” To paraphrase the words of former Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie, this team needs toughness, but Calipari maintains his staff can’t coach the intangibles. “If we have to coach emotion and intensity and effort, you’re not really coaching basketball.” One has to begin to wonder if Calipari’s decision to publicly criticize his team is based on a strategic move or has simply the result of frustration.
Calipari also praised Alabama’s effort in pulling out the win in a close game against his Wildcats. “I love that kind of game. It’s a gut game. Had nothing to do with anything else. Neither one of us played well. They gutted it. They had discipline at the end. We did not – and that sometimes happens with a young team.” Alabama coach Anthony Grant agreed and praised the way his team finished the game. “To be able to win speaks volumes about the character of our guys and the resiliency of our guys,” Grant said. Alabama’s tough play of late has the Crimson Tide firmly in third place in the SEC standings with a 4-1 start to conference play.
Florida’s 64-47 win over Georgia wasn’t a thing of beauty, but Billy Donovan was proud of his team’s effort. “I’m proud of our guys because we gutted the win out,” he said. “It wasn’t a pretty thing [where] we were just coming down and everything was easy. This was a hard-fought, tough, tough grind-out win”. Florida’s rebounding numbers have been key to the Gators’ continued success as they grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and tallied an over 80 percent defensive rebounding percentage on Wednesday night.
LSU had a gameplan in its victory over Texas A&M, and it didn’t necessarily involve Anthony Hickey‘s career-high eight steals. Johnny Jones‘plan consisted of shutting down scorer Elston Turner. “I think a couple of things helped us with Turner: We extended the defense, which put him away from the basket, and when he got in the half-court sets, they didn’t have as much time on the shot clock,” Jones said. “I thought our guys did an excellent job, Malik Morgan and Charles Carmouche did a great job of shadowing him well, and then I thought the post guys did an excellent job of trying to trap the ball out of his hands and force him away from the basket.” Turner scored just five points on a season-low seven field goal attempts. It is clear that SEC defenses will focus on Turner after his 40-point performance in Rupp Arena so the Aggies need to find a second scoring option to help shoulder the load.
One of the saddest yet least talked about endings in college basketball is looming. The Big East, while it isn’t entirely dissolving just yet, is in its final year as the league many of us more or less grew up with. Syracuse and Pittsburgh will officially join the ACC this summer, and you probably know the marching order for the other schools exiting stage left. It’s sad… well, it’s pathetic really… and you can be sure that for the next eight weeks any human with even a peripheral association with the league will be sure to tell you how sad and pathetic this shift is.
All 7 Big East games Saturday decided in final minute. #breakuptheleague
Best moment of the 2012-13 college basketball season? Best moment of the 2012-13 college basketball season, as an absolutely tremendous Saturday of hoops was capped off by the latest thrilling victory from Butler, who knocked off Gonzaga with a steal and subsequent mid-range floater from Roosevelt Jones as time expired.
And Roosevelt Jones just broke the internet. Are. You. Kidding. Me.
With the College Gameday season premiere on campus to build the game up and capture it all, I’d say ESPN execs had to be pretty satisfied with the drama that unfolded at Hinkle.
If my name was Roosevelt Jones, I wouldn’t just monogram every thing I owned, I’d put my full name it. EVERY thing.
Dick Vitale, who called the game alongside the great Dan Shulman, pushed out a pretty bold statement that speaks volumes to just how amazing this game, which really ended up being a bit of a spectacle, was.
Michael Carter-Williams Meeting Lofty Expectations
Switching back to the Big East, a few weeks ago it was Ben McLemore turning NBA scouts’ heads in rapid succession, now it appears to be the Syracuse sophomore Michael Carter-Williams turn. Despite eight turnovers and 4-of-13 shooting, MCW’s end of game play-making against then top-ranked Louisville on Saturday drew fear from Cardinals fans.
Every time I look at Michael Carter-Williams I see the dunk and steal. It’s like witnessing a murder and testifying in front of the killer.
Then 48 hours later, the Orange star followed up that performance, dropping 16 points – with some emphatic slams, steals and shares – helping his team squeak past Cincinnati.
MICHAEL CARTER-WILLIAMS IS THE LORD AND TAILOR OF THIS GAME!
Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.
Tonight’s Lede.Not Many Games, But A Lot Of Action. You may have looked at tonight’s hoops lineup and come to the quick conclusion that there were bigger and more important things to put on your television this evening. If that’s the case, I apologize for your misfortune, because you missed one of the best pound-for-pound weekday nights of the regular season. In total, 14 games were played. That is not a lot of games – at a glance, it fit the customary boring-Monday-night profile. But it was the ratio of quality to volume that made Tuesday night’s schedule special. We had a big upset in the ACC, a really tight SEC finish, two really nice wins from Big Ten teams of near-equal standing, a shocker in the Big East, and a reaffirmation of everything we already knew to be true about Big 12 basketball. All packaged tidily within the construct of a 14-game schedule.
Your Watercooler Moment. Cardinals Drop Second Straight.
Two straight losses has Louisville reeling as it hits a tough stretch of conference play (Photo credit: AP Photo).
When Louisville fell at home Saturday to Syracuse, college basketball fans nationwide let out a collective sigh. Don’t get me wrong: Beating the No. 1 team in the country is huge news for the Orange, and it might go down as the most important win of any team this season. But for Louisville, once you got past the initial disappointment of losing the No. 1 ranking, it wasn’t all that hard to fathom Syracuse pulling out a win against the nation’s best team. The Orange could, in fact, earn that same honor at some point this season. Michael Carter-Williams is an excellent basketball player. Boeheim’s 2-3 zone has spooked more than a few teams over the last 30-plus years. Louisville would lick its wounds, roll out the nation’s best defense (the Cardinals entered Tuesday allowing 0.81 points per possession) and stomp on Villanova in a vengeful, cathartic rout at the Wells Fargo Center. Instead, the Wildcats picked up a win they badly needed. They forced Louisville into 17 turnovers (up five from its season average), exploited its foul trouble by hitting 22-of-29 free throws and got a huge inside performance from JayVaughn Pinkston. Pinkston’s 11-point, six-rebound line won’t strike you as anything particularly noteworthy, but he was the perfect counter to Louisville’s loaded frontcourt, for a team that’s struggled to get consistent interior play all season long. Until things really spiral out of control for the Cardinals, I’m willing to give them a pass – teams are just as vulnerable (or nearly so) coming off big wins as they are big losses. Saturday’s trip to Georgetown will test Louisville’s mental resolve, not to mention their defensive ability, but unless the Cardinals’ struggles persist into February, Tuesday night’s loss will be remembered more as Villanova’s at-large clincher, or just a really nice moment for a struggling program. It says here that Louisville remains Final Four material.
Also Worth Chatting About. Court Rushings Becoming Familiar For NC State.
Ten days ago, NC State caught a Ryan Kelly-less Duke team at the right spot and the right time. In a frenzied PNC Arena, the surging Wolfpack – who for the past few weeks fell out of national favor after a couple non-conference losses killed NC State’s preseason hype train – upended the then-No. 1 Blue Devils. Hundreds of jubilant red-clad fans rushed the court (one notable fan wheelchaired his way onto the floor). C.J. Leslie and company basked in the glory. NC State had arrived. The Wolfpack then voyaged to Maryland, where the Terrapins were looking to do unto NC State exactly what NC State did to Duke four days earlier. College Park is no safe haven for traveling ACC teams, and the Wolfpack came up short. The resulting court rushing was debated vigorously on Twitter; but still, it happened. The Wolfpack had come full circle – from the pinnacle of happiness to the victim of another fan base’s joy. NC State had experienced quite enough floor celebrations of late. You could understand coach Mark Gottfried getting fed up with all this emotional noise, both in support of and against his team. The floor-rushing party continued Tuesday night in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest – long the bottom of most every ACC fan’s bar room jokes – actually did something of merit (backhanded compliment? You bet) under third-year coach Jeff Bdzelik by treating the visiting Pack to another RTC. These celebrations were already getting old for NC State. After being court-rushed twice, and having their own fans rush the court just once all in the last week and change, the practice must feel nauseating.
(A note: please do watch the above video. It brings you right into the celebration, with a unique hands-on-deck camera angle)
The NCAA’s investigation of the University of Miami program is expected to be released as early as this week, and it doesn’t sound like good news for one of the SEC’s newest coaches. Missouri coach Frank Haith is expected to be charged with “unethical conduct and failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance,” according to a report by Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports. Haith has been linked to well-known Miami booster Nevin Shapiro, who sold out the program while currently serving out a prison term for a $930 million Ponzi scheme. According to Goodman, “Haith will be charged with unethical conduct because the NCAA did not believe his story that payments to his assistants intended for camp money did not wind up going to repay Shapiro.” Haith is also linked to impermissible benefits because of airline tickets given to family members of players. He could potentially receive a show-cause penalty similar to the three-year ban former Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl received in 2011, but will have 90 days to respond to the allegations once they are released by the NCAA.
The fellas over at A Sea of Blue have the good, the bad, and the ugly for their beloved Wildcats in UK’s four SEC games thus far. ASoB mentions Ryan Harrow’s excellent assist-to-turnover ratio (also Julius Mays with just two turnovers in the previous four games), as he has just five turnovers over the last two games compared to 13 assists, but the Cats have struggled overall with a 20.7 percent turnover ratio in conference play. If not the point guard Harrow, who is coughing up the ball? That honor would go to, well, everybody else. Archie Goodwin leads the way with 13 turnovers over the last four games, for an average of 3.3 turnovers per game. Alex Poythress is averaging 2.3, Kyle Wiltjer with 2.0, and Nerlens Noel also with 2.0 turnovers per game. Kentucky’s primary ball-handler is taking care of the rock, but everybody else needs to follow suit for the Cats to be successful. The Wildcats’ next three opponents rank no lower than 63rd in defensive turnover percentage.
We all knew Nerlens Noel had big shoes to fill when he replaced the number one pick in the NBA Draft in Kentucky’s starting lineup, but he’s only worried about his own development. “I’m not trying to live up to him,” Noel said, referring to former Wildcat center Anthony Davis. “I’m trying to be my own player and set my own mark and play for my team.” And his development is going better than expected, even with incredibly high expectations in the offseason. “Defensively, I think I’ve got a lot better,” Noel said. “Coach Cal has made sure I’ve stayed disciplined defensively, staying on my feet. It’s helped me. I’m not going after every ball like I was earlier in the season. I’m blocking a higher (percentage) of shots. Offensively, just Coach Payne, just everything on the block, just working on my touches and things like that.” Noel’s work is paying off, as he was named SEC freshman of the week on Monday and is among the nation’s leaders in blocks, rebounds, and steals.
Mississippi State‘s lack of depth is continuing to prove difficult in practice situations, as the Bulldogs are attempting to simulate Arkansas’ famous full-court pressure. “It’s going to be difficult for us to simulate what Arkansas is going to bring with their pressure defense with all their different presses,” Mississippi State coach Rick Ray said. “We’re trying to find a way with managers, athletic trainers, coaches and things like that just to get bodies out on the court to try to simulate that. Even with those guys being out there, the problem is still simulating what Arkansas does with their length and athleticism with those pressures.” Mississippi State is one of the worst teams in the nation in turnover percentage at 25.2 percent (339th in the country). On the flip side, the Razorbacks force turnovers on just over 24 percent of opponents’ possessions. If you thought Kentucky’s freshmen turnover averages were bad, Mississippi State guard Craig Sword is averaging four turnovers a game in conference play, including seven miscues against South Carolina. So with all these factors in play, it could be a long night on Wednesday for the Bulldogs.
The Rowdy Reptilesgot their groove on during a timeout of the Missouri-Florida game on Saturday. Though I’m not a fan of the flash mob or synchronized dance movement, there wasn’t much else for the student section to do in the wake of an almost 30-point blowout. But seriously, can we move on from this horrendous point in American history when we feel like we have to do jazz fingers in perfect harmony with hundreds or thousands of our closest friends for an event to be meaningful? Enough already. Turn down your blasted pop music. And get off my damn lawn while you’re at it, you good-for-nothing kids. If you’re still reading at this point, here’s a video of the flash mob routine in the O’Connell Center from Saturday:
According to a report from Jeff Goodman, the NCAA is expected to charge Missouri coach Frank Haith with unethical conduct when it releases its notice of allegations against Miami. This would be a huge swing against Haith as many had expected him to get off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. According to Goodman’s sources, the NCAA could not prove Nevin Shapiro’s allegation that Haith and his staff paid $10,000 to former player DeQuan Jones, but they are charging him because they do not believe Haith’s assertion that he did funnel money back to Shapiro through his assistants. We cannot comment on the possibility of a show-cause penalty (brought up by Goodman in the column) as we do not know how strong the evidence is against Haith, but it would be a huge setback for a Missouri program that is still one of the best in the country even after Haith arrived. In addition, many of Haith’s assistants who left Miami around the time of the investigation are expected to also receive penalties from the NCAA. The notice of allegations could be released as early this morning or may be held back for another week or more. It appears that people in Columbia, Missouri will be waiting for that report with the same level of anticipation as the people in Coral Gables have been for several years now.
When it comes to matters of NCAA investigations and interpretation of rule violations, John Infante should be your first stop. In the case of the James Southerland investigation and why Syracuse is being investigated and North Carolina is not, that is still the case. Even though the corruption at North Carolina appears to have been much more widespread than what is reported in the Syracuse/Southerland case, Infante points out the allegations against UNC (fake classes, funneling athletes into these classes, etc) is less clear cut than what is alleged to have happened at Syracuse (a tutor writing part of a paper for Southerland). While we have our issues with what is reported to have happened at North Carolina, Infante is right and Syracuse may suffer the consequences of that.
Speaking of the NCAA, we know they have rules for a reason, but we can’t figure out why they denied Iowa‘s request to put the name “Street” on the back of their jerseys this past Saturday to honor Chris Street on the 20th anniversary of his death. To be fair to the NCAA we have not had a chance to hear their side of the story, but it is worth noting that they have allowed patches and even names to be worn on the front and back of jerseys to honor individuals or groups. We usually try to remain neutral in these situations especially since the general tendency from the public and media is to rip the NCAA, but we are having a hard time figuring out why they would not allow this.
What appeared to be a promising season for Utah State may be falling apart due to injuries. Coming into their game last Thursday against New Mexico State the Aggies were on a 13-game winning streak, but that all came crashing down 64-51 loss and more significantly injuries to Preston Medlin and Kyisean Reed. The co-captains missed the Aggies next game (a loss at Denver) and yesterday news came out that Medlin (fractured right wrist) will miss 6-8 weeks and Reed (torn left ACL) will miss the rest of the season. As the last two games have demonstrated this is a devastating loss for the Aggies and puts their chances of a NCAA Tournament run in serious jeopardy. At this point their only hope may be for Medlin to return and lead them to a WAC Conference Tournament title because it does not look like they will have enough to merit an at-large selection at this point.
The timing of Thad Matta‘s raise may seem a little strange, but we do not disagree with it as Ohio State revised Matta’s contract to increase his salary to more than $3.2 million per year and more stringently defines Matta’s role in reporting NCAA violations. While the annual salary that Matta receives (through 2019) may fall a little short of some of his contemporaries, we assume he will not have any problem paying his bills. The more interesting part of the revision is the more stringent wording of the role that Matta has in reporting NCAA violations, which is the direct result of the problems that the school when dealing with football coach Jim Tressel after many of his football committed several NCAA violations.
Ole Miss‘ win over Arkansas gives the Rebels a 4-0 beginning to SEC play marking its best conference start since the 1936-37 season. That’s 76 years since the Rebels have began this well in league games. It may feel like it’s been about the same length of time since Andy Kennedy’s club has been to an NCAA Tournament (never under Kennedy; the last time was 2002), and the Rebels are hoping to break that streak too. And while they’re at it, they may even try to break into the Top 25 rankings, a faraway land that Ole Miss hasn’t seen since 2001. The players sense that something special is brewing in Oxford as well. “Anybody can see it,” said senior Nick Williams. “It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to do something great here, and we understand what we need to do because me, Murphy (Holloway) and Reg (Buckner) — we have been here for a while and we’ve been so close for so long.” Could this finally be the year that Ole Miss breaks through?
Florida’s 83-52 thrashing of Missouri on Saturday led to a number of questions. Is Florida that good? Yes, especially at home. Is Missouri that bad? I really hope not. Does Laurence Bowers really make that much of a difference? No. But it’s undeniable that the Tigers are on a downward spiral. They’ve lost two of their last three games, and dropped three of their last six. To make matters worse, guard Keion Bell adds that Missouri simply wasn’t prepared. “I just think that we, as a team, we underestimated the amount of pressure that their full-court press would put on us,” Bell said. “Although the coaching staff has embedded it in our brains throughout the whole week, we just didn’t take heed to the things that they were saying about Florida’s pressure, and we weren’t ready at the beginning of the game.” Missouri needs to regroup before things get worse, and perhaps listen to the coaching staff during its preparation. A softer upcoming schedule of South Carolina, Vanderbilt, at LSU, and Auburn should help.
It was a homecoming of sorts for Mississippi State Bulldog Jalen Steele, who always dreamed of playing in Thompson-Boling Arena. Steele grew up in Knoxville as a Tennessee Mr. Basketball, but then-Volunteers head coach Bruce Pearl went for two recruits you may have heard of instead — Aaron Craft and Josh Selby. Even though his basketball career didn’t work out exactly as planned, Steele finally heard his name called in Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday. “To hear my name called and it said ‘Knoxville,’ that felt good,” Steele said. Steele showed he was good enough to play with the Vols too, as he added 15 points in a losing effort for the Bulldogs. I imagine it was a surreal moment, even in defeat, for a player who has been through a lot in Starkville.
When you’re playing as well as Florida is right now, four points probably won’t matter, but it might one day. Gators center Patric Youngisn’t satisfied with his free throw shooting after a 4-of-8 performance against LSU. “It’s huge because I’m leaving points on the board whenever you miss free throws,” Young said. “You go 4 for 8, that’s four points that help you with your draft stock or your average on the year. I mean, it doesn’t really matter but when it comes down to the line in a game-winning situation, you need to be able to step up with confidence.” For the sake of his draft stock, Young hit the practice courts to shoot 500 free throws a day, and the hard work is paying off. He entered the Texas A&M game shooting 50 percent from the line, but went 4-of-5 against the Aggies and 1-of-1 against Missouri.
Kentucky has struggled against quality teams this season, but John Calipari’s Wildcats have a surplus of NBA talent on the roster. However, during an ESPNU telecast of the Kentucky vs. Auburn game on Saturday night, Charles Barkley said none of the current Wildcats were ready for the NBA. “John Calipari’s a friend of mine. I love him as a friend. There ain’t one player on this Kentucky team who should go pro early. I hate the one-and-done rule in college basketball. Just ’cause there’s a rule does not mean you have to do it. Listen, Anthony Davis played well enough for him to go pro. … I wish some of these parents would talk to their kids.” Though Cal’s younger Cats will excel in the pro game one day, Chuck has a point for the here and now. Archie Goodwin is probably the most pro-ready of the three freshman Wildcats most likely to be selected in the first round. Nerlens Noel is ready defensively, but his offensive game has a ways to go. But Alex Poythress is the biggest question mark in terms of making the jump. He has tendencies to disappear for long stretches offensively, and did you see his defense on Elston Turner? The issue is not just directed towards Kentucky’s freshmen but the entire college game. The one-and-done mentality has watered down the talent level, enabling and pushing players like Noel and Poythress who could both benefit from an extra year of development to make the jump after just one year.
Brendon Mulvihill is an RTC contributor. You can find him @TheMulv on Twitter. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.
The top teams in several conferences go head-to-head and a non-conference mid-major battle in the midwest should provide a spectacular weekend of college hoops. Let’s get to the breakdowns.
#6 Syracuse at #1 Louisville – 4:00 PM EST, Saturday on ESPN (*****)
Jim Boeheim and Rick Pitino Meet on Saturday Again…
The cream of the Big East crop lock up in what should be an epic defensive battle. This may be the best defensive match-up we will see all season. Jim Boeheim’s match-up zone versus Rick Pitino’s press will be fun to watch. Louisville is known for its ability to create lots of turnovers, but Syracuse is almost just as good at causing teams to make mistakes. Additionally, Syracuse blocks a bunch of shots and locks down the perimeter. Louisville counters with its own shot-blocker deluxe in Gorgui Dieng. The question for Syracuse is how they will break the Louisville press — look to see if they use their length to make passes over the top of the Cardinals’ defense to get down the court. Also, watch the guard match-up between Brandon Triche and Michael Carter-Williams of Syracuse and Peyton Siva and Russ Smith of Louisville. Triche and Carter-Williams have a significant size advantage that could make scoring from the Louisville backcourt limited, although Smith just seems to find ways to score anyway. Ultimately, this game will come down to whose defense plays better, but this game is shaping up to be a classic.
#17 Missouri at #8 Florida – 2:00 PM EST, Saturday on ESPN (****)
Florida is coming off a dominant win against Texas A&M and is beginning to separate itself from the rest of the SEC. A win by Missouri on the road would be huge for the Tigers as they head into a stretch of games against the bottom tier of the league. Missouri needs to find a way to control the offensive boards without Laurence Bowers available if they are going to have a shot at winning this game. The Gators have been one of the toughest teams to shoot against this season, so don’t expect the Tigers to get a lot of great looks. However, as one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the country, the Tigers have a chance if they can get put-backs and tip-ins. The key will be the battle down low between Alex Oriakhi and Patric Young so pay close attention to those two big men battling inside. Also, keep an eye on Missouri’s perimeter defense. Florida is taking 40% of its total shots from three — if the Gators’ shooters are hitting from the outside, it’s going to be tough sledding for Missouri in its first SEC trip to Gainesville.
Oregon at #21 UCLA – 4:00 PM EST, Saturday on CBS (****)
The Pac-12 is looking like a three team battle between Arizona, UCLA, and Oregon. With the Ducks already knocking off the Wildcats, they can make a huge statement early in the conference season with a road win against the Bruins. It won’t be easy, however, as UCLA has quietly put together a 10-game winning streak including back-to-back road wins against Utah and Colorado. Keep a close eye on turnovers in this game. Oregon is turning the ball over frequently at a rate of over 21% of its possessions. We have seen road teams get down early recently because of multiple mistakes in a hostile environment. If the Bruins can create turnovers early with some tough defense, it will make things very difficult for the Ducks in Pauley Pavilion. Also, watch the rebounding numbers. The Ducks are a far superior team on the glass at both ends. UCLA’s Kyle Anderson and the Wear brothers need to box out. Rebounding will keep Oregon in the game and could prove to be the difference if they are able to avoid turnovers.
Welcome to this week’s RTC Podblast, hosted by Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114). There has been no shortage of big games this week and there will be even more on a blockbuster Saturday this weekend. We review everything and give our takes on who needs to do what, and when. The outline is below.
Remember that our full podcasts (roughly 45 minutes to an hour long) will publish on Tuesdays during the season, while our shorter (~15-20 minutes) podblasts will drop on Fridays with a quick look at the intervening week’s worth of news and action. Feel free to jump around using the outline below.
0:00-5:31 – Michigan Bounces Back with a Win Over Minnesota
If you’re a fan of an SEC team not named Ole Miss, than chances are high that you entered this season with no idea who Marshall Henderson is. But I bet you know who he is after Tuesday night. Grantland says we need more passion and unpredictability in college basketball these days, like the type of raw emotion that Henderson displayed against Vanderbilt. Of course, the guard contributed more than just energy and on-court antics. He scored 26 points, including a memorable game-tying three in regulation. Henderson, along with the Rebels’ current winning streak, should place Ole Miss as must-see TV in the next couple of weeks with important games with Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
Everybody wants to talk about Henderson’s game-tying shot and the emotion with which he plays the game, including Andy Kennedy, but Ole Miss’ head coach cautioned his junior guard. “Marshall Henderson without that edge isn’t the Marshall Henderson that leads the SEC in scoring,” Kennedy said. “He needs that edge, but it has to fuel him in a positive way.” Henderson had some off the court issues in several previous stops before Oxford, but Kennedy said he hasn’t had any trouble with the Rebels. “There’s a fine line,” Kennedy added. “I want kids to play with passion, and his passion is genuine, but we have to make sure it doesn’t turn into emotion that doesn’t help him or our team.” Kennedy has taken chances on troubled guards before (see: Jelan Kendrick), but it seems this gamble might just pay off.
Rebounding was one of the major concerns for Florida coming into the season, but a team effort has made that area a strength for the Gators. Coach Billy Donovan attributes some of the improvement to going to a bigger lineup that is more focused on the boards. “When you have [Casey] Prather out there and you have [Will] Yeguete out there and you have Mike Frazier out there at the small forward spot, we’re a team that can compete on the glass,” Donovan said. Florida’s poor rebounding numbers last season (2012: 33.7% offensive rebounding rate, 69.7% defensive rebounding rate), are significantly improved in 2012-13 (2013: 38.4% offensive rebounding rate, 73.5% defensive rebounding rate), putting the Gators in the top 25 in both categories.
After a 15-point loss to Ole Miss on Saturday, Mizzou coach Frank Haith is questioning the Tigers’ toughness. “Emotions and toughness, they’re two different things,” Haith said. “I want emotion. I want passion. I want energy. I want all those things. But that to me isn’t toughness.” Missouri rebounded for a victory over Georgia on Wednesday night, though the game was played in the friendly confines of Mizzou Arena. Haith hinted at a related issue for the Tigers – winning on the road. “Because you don’t let the environment make you do something you’re not supposed to do. That’s how I define toughness,” Haith said. Missouri has yet to win a road game this season in just two attempts.
Kentucky coach John Calipari still loves his team, but he also accepts what they are capable and not capable of doing. And he warns UK fans to buckle up for a bumpy ride. “I have coached teams that have absolutely whomped on people, and this ain’t one of ’em,” said Calipari. “And every game, we are going to be in is going to be a dogfight, and instead of going crazy about it, how about just accept it.” Calipari also cited toughness as a reason the Cats aren’t running away with games. “You’ve got to be a man. This is a man’s game and this is a man’s league we play in. You have to play through bumps. Quit crying about fouls. Everybody is fouling everybody.” Like Missouri, Kentucky has struggled on the road. The Wildcats travel to Auburn on Saturday for a showdown with the 8-8 Tigers.
The defending national champions are squarely on the bubble. That realization hit the Kentucky faithful hard this weekend as the Wildcats dropped their fifth game of the season in a home loss to Texas A&M. The idea that John Calipari’s team wouldn’t be invited to this year’s tournament scarcely cross the minds of college basketball fans going in to season, but through the first half of the season, Kentucky’s season-opening win over Maryland is their only RPI Top 100 victory. “It’s still early January. It’s going to be another month before this team comes together,” Calipari said Saturday. “I just hope we are winning enough games as we learn to do this.” He may be out of luck. There’s a lot of basketball to be played, but with the SEC’s lack of quality, there are very few opportunities for quality wins left on the schedule.
Texas A&M’s Elston Turner has deservedly been admitted to the unofficial pantheon of “Cat Killers”. He can’t claim the top spot (the belongs to David Robinson and his 45 points way back in ’87), but I can’t imagine that the Aggie senior would be too bummed about finishing behind the Admiral. Maybe he can just settle for National Player of the Week. Singing the praises of a guy who just dropped 40 points in one of college basketball’s most hallowed venues is tough to do without sounding overly obvious. But I’ll try. He simply couldn’t miss. Opponents know that stopping Turner is practically synonymous with stopping Texas A&M, and Kentucky’s collection of athletes still couldn’t him. He made 14 field goals on 19 attempts, and while I haven’t found an official stat for so-called daggers, Turner had plenty of those as well. The Aggies are peaking at the right time, and will hope to carry that momentum through to their home date with Florida this week.
In addition to being charged with creating a gameplan to stop Turner, Billy Donovan will be dealing with another injury to a contributor leading up to Florida’s trip to College Station. Casey Prather suffered a lower leg injury in the Gator’s blowout of LSU over the weekend, and the junior swingman is facing an indefinite (quickly becoming college basketball’s new buzzword) stretch on the sideline. “That is what they are saying right now— a high ankle sprain,” said Donovan. “Those things are tough to come back from and they’re a long healing process if that’s what it is.” Prather joins Mike Rosario (suffering from a high ankle sprain as well) on the trainers table, and while neither injury appears to be season-ending, Florida’s depth in the short term will clearly be taking a huge hit. Erik Murphy’s return against LSU couldn’t have come at a better time, but a six-man rotation isn’t conducive with the brand of basketball Donovan wants to play.
Does Missouri really need Laurence Bowers? I can’t imagine that anyone was actually asking that question, but the answer is a resounding yes. The 10th-ranked Tigers were run off the floor in Oxford over the weekend, unable to overcome the loss of their primary frontcourt scoring option. Point guard Phil Pressey finished with as many turnovers as he had assists, stifled by an offense that struggled mightily for creativity and inspiration. Jabari Brown, Earnest Ross, and Pressey combined to miss 13 3-pointers, several of which were forced because of the newly-reinstalled 4-guard offense’s inability to cope with the Ole Miss pressure defense. “I don’t think they ever got in an offensive rhythm and that’s a tribute to how much effort our guys had defensively,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy told reporters.
Vanderbilt’sKevin Stallings doesn’t strike me as coach who would admit to believing in moral victories, but last week’s close call against Kentucky was undoubtedly an improvement for his young team. Any momentum from that effort, however, was quickly extinguished as the Commodores failed to compete against Arkansas, totaling only 33 points for second time this season. The Commodores turned the ball over 25 times and barely reached double digits in made field goals. Stallings wasn’t in the mood to dig for a silver lining. “Well, there’s not a lot to say,” he told reporters. “We got our tails whipped, and I was real disappointed in our play in just about every way.” The Dores’ unfortunately doesn’t have a lot of time for adjustment as Ole Miss visits Tuesday night, Vandy’s third game in six days.
