1. First, some housekeeping notes on Thanksgiving morning: in an interesting move, the Big 12 will split up the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments beginning next year. The men’s tournament will stay in Kansas City, but the women’s tournament will move to Dallas in 2013 and Oklahoma City in 2014. After that, it is anybody’s guess as to where the league holds its tournaments. It seems, however, that the departure of Missouri may have something to do with the women’s tournaments moving away from KC.
2. The Oklahoma State men’s team didn’t fare very well in a blowout loss to Stanford at Madison Square Garden last night, but basketball isn’t on anybody’s mind at OSU right now. ESPN caught up with coach Travis Ford about the tragedy in the women’s basketball program, and it is an article worth reading. As you may expect, Ford and the late Kurt Budke were good friends, sharing a bond as head coaches of Oklahoma State basketball teams. Although Ford would probably never admit it, the plane crash has to be a distraction right now for the Cowboys.
3. There are still a lot of question marks surrounding Iowa State, but freshman Royce White has responded to the critics so far with a brilliant early-season performance. As The Gazette details, White has put his legal issues at Minnesota behind him, and he has emerged as a new player and a new man in Ames. Fred Hoiberg could really use White’s production this season in the frontcourt, so it’s important that he continue to progress as a Cyclone.
4. After Missouri dismantled both Notre Dame and California in the CBE Classic, CBS’s Jeff Goodman asked the Tigers what’s so different about new coach Frank Haith. Kim English, who looks revitalized after a subpar junior year, says he’s got more freedom. He says he trusts Haith’s system and that the offense flows a little better than it did under Mike Anderson. Whatever Haith is doing is working: Missouri tallied 30 assists in those two victories in the CBE Classic. Part of it may be Haith’s more structured half-court offense, which features a lot of pick-and-roll and gets the ball in point guard Phil Pressey‘s hands. However, a lot of the credit has to simply go to the players, who are playing more unselfishly and are passing as well as anybody in college basketball right now.
5. It hasn’t been a banner week for Texas, which dropped two games to Oregon State and North Carolina State in the Legends Classic. The Longhorns are young, and they will probably look drastically different by February, but there is still clearly a lot of work to do. Luckily, the guys at Burnt Orange Nation are here to break everything down for us. If you’re interested in determining which offense Rick Barnes ran most frequently in the tournament, these are your guys. And if you want to know about every statistic known to man, these are your guys, too. Bottom line: for all things Texas basketball, check out that post.

The Grand-daddy of all preseason tournaments tips off with its semifinal round tonight at Madison Square Garden  in NYC. Enjoy some pre-Thanksgiving hoops with Stanford vs. Oklahoma State, followed by Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech this evening.  Join us for the conversation, after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Lede.  After winning its first four games by an average of 22 points, people expected California to not only compete with Missouri, but beat them on Tuesday night. However, that was far from the case, as the Tigers never let up in the CBE Classic championship,winning 92-53. Like California, Missouri was relatively unknown coming into this game due to their lack of quality opponents. However, a 14-5 run midway through the first half gave the Tigers some initial seperation, and they would just keep building and building that lead as the night wore on.

California guard Jorge Gutierrez led the Bears with 11 points against Missouri (credit: Ray Carlin).

Even though the final result was awful, in the end it is just one game amounting to one loss. Cal fans should be thankful that it was against a Top 25 team like Missouri instead of Loyola Marymount. The Tigers’ mix of an explosive four-guard offense and tenacious half-court trapping on the defensive side is something that the Bears won’t see in Pac-12 play, luckily. Read the rest of this entry »

Brendon Mulvihill is an RTC contributor. You can find him @themulv on Twitter.  See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

If you’re sad the Maui Invitational is coming to an end today, fear not as another pre-season tourney is getting started in New York City.  The NIT Season Tip-Off gets going with some interesting power conference match-ups.  Just don’t forget to catch the late night Maui championship between two of the heaviest heavyweights in the land.  It should be a fun night of hoops on Thanksgiving Eve.

Bill Self Will Need to Figure Out a Way to Stop a Red Hot Duke Team in the Maui Invitational Championship

Oklahoma State vs. Stanford – 7 PM EST on ESPN2 HD (**)

• Oklahoma State brings a deep squad into the game with ten players averaging double-digit minutes.  From a depth standpoint, they match-up well against a Cardinal team that also has ten players averaging double-digit minutes. Even with a deep bench, the play of one guy, freshman guard Le’Bryan Nash, may dictate how the Cowboys perform not only in this contest but throughout the season. He is going to have to pick-up his play against Stanford however as he is only shooting 33% from the field. The entire team is shooting under 50% for the season, which should be a major concern for coach Travis Ford. If his team cannot improve their shooting against Stanford, the Cowboys will be leaving Madison Square Garden with a loss.
• Much like Oklahoma State, the Cardinal have not faced many tough defenses this season. However, they are capitalizing on the situation and making 57.5% of their two-point shots. Look for coach Johnny Dawkins to bring size off his bench to take advantage of Oklahoma State’s lack of height. The Cowboys will have to counter with 6’11” center Phillip Jurick to maintain control of the paint. If Stanford can continue its hot shooting in the paint and take advantage of the size on their bench, they can beat Oklahoma State.
• Production from the bench will be the key factor in determining the outcome of this game. Both teams get a significant amount of support from their benches. The team with more points off the bench should win. Also, keep an eye on free throws. Both teams are shooting below 65% on the season. A few made free throws down the stretch could make a huge difference in what looks like a close contest between two mid-pack, major conference teams.

#5 Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech – 9:30PM EST on ESPN2 HD (***)

• Syracuse looks to be running on all cylinders through four games this season. The competition has not been difficult, but they have blown out each team. Their length and athleticism has led to an impressive start on defense, as they lead the country in block shot percentage and rank seventh in turnover percentage. Virginia Tech has to be very cognizant of turnovers against the Orange because the Hokies have been prone to coughing the ball up so far this season. The long arms of Jim Boeheim’s team will create all kinds of issues for Va Tech not only on defense, but also on the offensive boards.
• The Hokies have playing solid basketball thus far. Syracuse will be their toughest test of the season though. Seth Greenburg’s team is not a short team by any standard so it will be interesting to see how it matches up against the Syracuse length both on offense and defense. Interestingly, Virginia Tech is getting beat up on the boards. If they do not continue their hot shooting, which will be difficult against Syracuse, and cannot grab their misses, it will be long night for the kids from Blacksburg.
• Turnovers will be a huge part of this game. Syracuse will be creating them and Virginia Tech needs to protect against them. However, the key will be how Virginia Tech’s solid half-court defense will handle Syracuse’s smart two-point shooting. If Syracuse is hitting its two-point shots early and dominating the offensive boards, they should have no problem winning.

#15 Kansas vs. #6 Duke – 10 PM EST on ESPN HD (****)

• Duke continues to look incredibly difficult to defend. They beat Michigan in the Maui Invitational semifinals with incredible outside shooting. It is unlikely they can continue to hit over 50% of their three point shots, but until a defense proves otherwise, the Blue Devils look unstoppable from downtown. They face a solid, scrambling Kansas defense that had been defending the three point shot well until they allowed UCLA to hit 8 of 14 from deep last night. If Duke is allowed to sit outside and hit threes like that, the Jayhawks will go down fast.
• Kansas has been relying heavily on Thomas Robinson thus far. It was good to see guards Elijah Johnson, Tyshawn Taylor, and Travis Releford pick-up some of the slack in the first half against UCLA when Robinson was not much of a factor.  Bill Self’s team must continue to spread the ball around and get offensive production from more than just Robinson if they want to beat the Blue Devils.
• This game hinges on the Jayhawk defense and its ability to lock down on the Duke weapons. It is a tall task for any team at this point because scoring is coming from all over the court for Mike Krzyzewski’s team. Look for the Jayhawks to put a ton of pressure on the defensive perimeter to slow down the onslaught of three pointers. If they are able to do that, it will at least give them a chance. Unfortunately for Kansas, Duke has slashers like Austin Rivers and big men like the Plumlee brothers to look to if the shots are not falling from outside.

The Official RTC 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 2014
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

It’s a great time to be a college hoops fan. This week in college basketball is arguably the fifth best week in the season, you know, right behind the three weeks of the NCAA Tournament and the week of the conference championships. We’ve got a chance to see teams, often for the first time, matched up with other schools from disparate corners of the country in tournament play, with the opportunities for teams to snag resume-boosting wins in rapid-fire fashion. Sure, we’ve already got a few tournaments wrapped up, and there are even a handful that come along later, but for the most part we’re right in the wheelhouse for the early season tournaments. So, we’ll take a quick look at all the Pac-12 teams and either preview or review the early season tournaments that each team is participating in.

• Arizona – The Wildcats got things started right off the bat with an appearance in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. After dispatching of Valparaiso and Duquesne in the first week of the season, they rallied from behind in the semifinal against St. John’s to advance to the championship game, but folded down the stretch there, losing to Mississippi State.
• Arizona State – The Sun Devils are in Orlando over the Thanksgiving weekend for the Old Spice Classic. They’ll get things started with Fairfield, expected to battle Iona for the MAAC title this year, before facing either Dayton or Wake Forest on Friday.  Texas Tech, Indiana State, Minnesota and DePaul make up the other side of what looks to be a relatively weak bracket, but given ASU’s poor start to the season, expecting them to do much damage in Orlando seems to be a pipe dream.
• California – The Golden Bears are in the middle of the CBE Classic tournament in Kansas City this week, where they will play Missouri tonight in the championship game at 7 PM PST. They got to the final by demolishing Georgia last night 70-46, after handling George Washington and Austin Peay with ease in Berkeley last week.

Brandon Smith And The Cal Bears Take On Missouri In The Finals Of The CBE Classic Tonight

• Colorado – A seventh place showing in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off wasn’t what Buffalo head coach Tad Boyle had in mind, but that’s exactly what he got last weekend, after dropping the first two games of the week to Wichita State and Maryland in relatively close games before taking care of Western Michigan to avoid a winless trip to the tropics.
• Oregon – The Ducks spend their tournament time in something called the Global Sports Hoops Showcase, December 20-22 in Eugene, with games against North Carolina Central, Prairie View A&M and Stephen F. Austin doing absolutely nothing to help their at-large chances. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a look at the power rankings that Drew and I have compiled after the second week of Pac-12 games. Here we go!

1. California, 3-0: The Golden Bears hold steady at number one after playing just one game this week. The game was a 72-55 blowout win over Austin Peay. Jorge Gutierrez lead the way for the Bears with 14 points and six rebounds. Now it’s on to the Championship round of the CBE Classic, where Cal will face their first two tests of the year. Up Next: 11.21 vs Georgia in Kansas City

Gutierrez led the Golden Bears with 14 points on Tuesday night.

T2. Stanford, 4-0: The Cardinal had a great week, blowing out all three of their opponents. The highlight of the week came on Tuesday when Stanford beat a talented Colorado State team by 12 in the Preseason NIT Quarterfinals. Up Next: 11.23 vs Oklahoma State in New York City

T2. Oregon State, 4-0: The Beavers had one of the better weeks in recent memory, going 3-0 against solid competition. They started off the week on Monday with a 93-60 win over West Alabama, and they continued the streak with a ten-point win over Hofstra on Wednesday. The highlight of the stretch came on Saturday night in the Legends Classic Semifinals, where the Beavers used a 37-point performance from junior guard Jared Cunningham to upset Texas, 100-95, in overtime. Up Next: 11.21 vs Vanderbilt in East Rutherford

T4. Washington, 3-1: The week began with a 30-point win against Portland, but a blowout loss at Saint Louis leaves a sour taste in their mouth’s after week two. Terrence Ross was the highlight of the week, averaging 20.5 PPG. Washington should now get two easy victories before heading to New York to take on Marquette and Duke. Up Next: 11.25 vs Houston Baptist

T4. Arizona, 4-1: The Wildcats dropped two spots after a tough loss against Mississippi State on Friday night. However, the trip to New York wasn’t too terrible since they got a solid, résumé building win against St. John’s. Up Next: 11.23 vs San Diego State

T6. Washington State, 2-1: Not a bad week at all for the Cougars. They got their season started on Monday night at Gonzaga, where they hung with the Bulldogs all night but eventually fell, 89-81. Their two victories came against a pair of solid mid-majors, Sacramento State and Portland. Up Next: 11.24 vs Oklahoma in Anaheim Read the rest of this entry »

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Josh Paunil, the RTC recruiting guru. We encourage you to check out his website dedicated solely to college basketball recruiting, National Recruiting Spotlight, for more detailed recruiting information. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to who the hot prospects are at the lower levels of the sport. If you have any suggestions as to areas we’re missing or different things you’d like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Lead Story: Poythress Picks Kentucky, UK Still Able To Nab Number One Recruiting Class

Poythress Gave UK Fans Hope To Have the Best Recruiting Class In the Country... Again (Daryl Paunil/NRS)

Big Blue Nation Has Reason To Rejoice. Don’t lie Kentucky fans, you were worried about not getting the number one recruiting class for the fourth straight year. You tweeted about it, you posted on message boards about it, you wrote on Facebook about it. But when Class of 2012 small forward Alex Poythress decided to join Big Blue Nation last Thursday, head coach John Calipari kept his 2012 class in the running to be rated as the top collection of talent in the country. The 6’7″, 220-pound wing joins shooting guard Archie Goodwin and center Willie Cauley as Coach Cal’s commitments so far with top senior targets small forward Shabazz Muhammad and power forwards Anthony Bennett and Jarnell Stokes still out there. Poythress had a terrific summer and showed the ability to consistently get to the bucket, finish in traffic and an improved perimeter shot. At times, he’s simply unstoppable when he attacks the rim and he’s able to impact the game in a number of ways whether it’s defense, rebounding or running the floor. He fits in well with Calipari’s system and will thrive with Goodwin and Cauley running the floor with him. At this point, the Wildcats have the second-best recruiting class in the country only behind Arizona’s ridiculous haul of talent but with another commitment or two they could reign supreme for the fourth straight year.

What They’re Saying:

• Senior standout Robert Upshaw‘s mother, Ceylon Sherman, on her son choosing Kansas State: “It was a close run, he had a lot of great schools, but when it came down to it, him and all of us family just all had Kansas State. For Robert, it was about how much he liked the guys out there. He had chemistry with them.”

Read the rest of this entry »

With eight of the ten players on last year’s all-Pac-10 first team having moved on to greener pastures, there will be a lot of pressure on new players in the league to step into the shoes of their team’s departed stars. While it is always the case in any sport, and especially at the college level, that old players go and new players arrive, the Pac-12 in 2011-12 seems especially reliant on newcomers. At Washington, UCLA and Arizona – three of the four teams generally regarded in the top tier of the conference – players left those teams with eligibility to spare, as Isaiah Thomas, Malcolm Lee, Tyler Honeycutt and Derrick Williams left early for a chance at the NBA. And at each of those schools, newcomers will be asked to chip in right away to pick up the slack for the departed stars. Elsewhere around the league, at places like Oregon and Stanford, teams that had gone through down periods in terms of talent are restocking their cupboards with new faces. And while many of the newcomers are highly touted freshmen who’ve been on the recruiting radar for years (the Pac-12 has nine incoming freshman that were ranked in the ESPNU top 100), there are also Division I transfers and even junior college transfers who can be impact players immediately in this conference. While it remains to be seen exactly how these players will fit in new environments, here is our best guess as to the Pac-12 All-Newcomer team.

G Tony Wroten, Jr., Fr, Washington – An exciting lefty, Wroten steps into a good situation in Seattle. Alongside veteran point guard Abdul Gaddy, Wroten will have plenty of help in the backcourt with the Huskies. And, with a group of talented athletes around him, Wroten figures to get frequent opportunities to showcase his amazing passing abilities. More of a power guard than a flashy speed merchant, Wroten can post up smaller defenders or slash to the basket and score in the lane, but he’ll eventually need to tighten up his jumper in order to fulfill his potential.

Wroten, The Talented Freshman From Seattle, Doesn't Lack For Confidence

G Josiah Turner, Fr, Arizona – Turner is going to be a major part of Sean Miller’s plans in Tucson. A high-energy, athletic lead guard who excels in the open court, Turner will need to show that he is capable of playing under control and facilitating the Wildcat halfcourt offense. Furthermore, without a proven scorer on the squad, he will need to help shoulder the scoring burden in the wake of Derrick Williams and Momo Jones’ departures. While he figures to suffer some growing pains early in the season (pains already seen in Arizona’s two exhibition games), Turner should be a serious difference-maker by the time conference play rolls around. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the next two weeks, we’ll be previewing each of the Pac-12 teams as we head into the season.

Stanford Cardinal

Strengths.  The Cardinal returns four starters from last year’s team, including senior power forward Josh Owens. Owens led the team in points and rebounds last year, and with the addition of freshman guard Chasson Randle in the backcourt, there is reason for hope in Palo Alto after a mediocre 15-16 season. While they have a highly-touted freshman in Randle, the Cardinal also have a great sophomore class that got a ton of experience last year. Leading that group is guard/forward Anthony Brown, who one minute will be draining threes from behind the arc, and the next he will be posting up in the paint. The second of the sophomore sensations is forward Dwight Powell, who averaged 8.1 PPG in 26 starts last year. However, Owens is the rock of this team, and if he is “on” night in and night out, the Cardinal will find themselves in a major postseason tournament come March. He has the ability to guard either position, back a big guy down in the paint, and beat someone off the dribble. Also, if you are looking for a guy besides Oregon State’s Jared Cunningham for a highlight-reel dunk, Owens is guaranteed to provide a few.

Stanford Will Rise and Fall With Owens Leading the Cardinal

Weaknesses.  They lose Jeremy Green to the NBA D-League, and he was by far the best outside shooter on the team. Sophomore Aaron Bright will be asked initially to fill Green’s shoes, which by last year’s stats will be an 11.6 drop in PPG. Finding a dynamic, outside scorer at the guard position is the main thing the Cardinal need to work out in preseason practices, because at the end of the day, Bright is much more comfortable dishing the ball off than taking his own shot.

Nonconference Tests.  The Cardinal have a very manageable nonconference slate with the exception of three games. They will likely play in the NIT semifinals on Nov. 23 against (presumably) Oklahoma State and on Nov. 25 in either the championship or consolation game against (most likely) Syracuse or Virginia Tech. The final challenge will come against the Butler Bulldogs on Dec. 22 in Palo Alto. If Stanford can get out of that stretch 2-1 or 3-0, it will mean a lot for their RPI come Selection Sunday.
Read the rest of this entry »

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Josh Paunil, the RTC recruiting guru. We encourage you to check out his website dedicated solely to college basketball recruiting, National Recruiting Spotlight, for more detailed recruiting information. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to who the hot prospects are at the lower levels of the sport. If you have any suggestions as to areas we’re missing or different things you’d like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Lead Story: Arizona Secures Top 2012 Recruiting Class

Next Year These Heads Will Be Of Gabe York, Brandon Ashley, Grant Jerrett And Kaleb Tarczewski (C. Morrison/US Presswire)

Tarczewski Takes To Tucson. This is something I’m not used to, this is something you aren’t used to, this is something no one on the recruiting circuit  is used to. For the first time in four years, a head coach has assembled a downright dirty collection of talent into one recruiting class and his name isn’t John Calipari. Arizona head coach Sean Miller has beautifully crafted his 2012 recruiting class so it will resemble North Carolina’s group of big men this year when center Kaleb Tarczewski committed to Arizona pm Monday. Not only do the Wildcats have commitments from three of the top nine recruits in the senior class [according to ESPN] in addition to a top shooting guard in Gabe York, but they have two of the top three power forwards between Brandon Ashley and Grant Jerrett and the second best center in Tarczewski. This front court talent is scary considering the versatility and skill level of the players. If Miller doesn’t want to sit one of his star recruits, he could possibly slide Ashley to small forward since he’s a combo forward who likes playing on the wing as well. All of these big guys can move and get up and down the court and can be game-changers in so many ways. Here’s another thing to think about, the Wildcats got two of the top guards in the Class of 2011 with point guard Josiah Turner (#13) and shooting guard Nick Johnson (#28) and both players will definitely be staying longer than one year. I’m not going to go around and start predicting 2013 NCAA tournament Final Four teams, but I wouldn’t bet against Arizona.

What They’re Saying

• Senior standout Dominic Artis on committing to Oregon: “I really thought it was the best fit style-of-play wise after watching practice and I liked the athletes that are already in the program. [Class of 2011 shooting guard] Jabari [Brown] and I have been together since fourth or fifth grade. Him being there sure didn’t hurt. It gave me a nice comfort level and someone I could relate to.”