USC In NCAA 53- A real life MP dynasty [Archive] - Page 2

muns

11-01-2015, 05:51 AM

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TROJANS Averages

Player Pos GP GS Min Pts Orb Reb Ast Stl Blk To Fls +/-
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J.C. Quiles PF 6 6 35.8 11.5 3.0 14.5 1.8 0.5 0.5 1.8 3.3 0.0
Dante Douglas C 6 6 33.7 11.0 2.8 5.7 0.7 1.0 1.5 1.2 2.7 0.3
Freddie Nation PG 6 6 32.8 7.3 1.2 2.7 9.5 1.8 0.2 4.8 2.7 0.8
Allen Storer SG 6 6 29.8 10.2 1.0 3.0 1.8 0.7 0.0 1.5 2.7 -2.0
Hernando Hernandez SF 6 5 24.2 10.5 0.8 5.5 1.2 0.8 0.0 2.0 1.2 1.0
Vincent Lincoln SG 5 0 14.0 4.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.0 0.8 1.4 1.4
Ronald Mitchum SG 6 0 13.7 5.3 0.3 0.8 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.7 1.3 -2.0
Michael Fanning PF 6 0 10.0 1.5 0.7 1.5 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.3 1.0 -0.8
Edmund Nelson SG 2 1 10.0 4.0 0.0 1.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.5 1.5
Benito Lightfoot PF 6 0 3.5 2.0 0.2 0.8 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.2
Orval Tarter SF 3 0 2.0 0.7 0.0 0.3 0.7 0.3 0.0 0.0 1.0 3.3
Darrel Slone C 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Michael Ruth PF 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Sanford Crabb SG 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

We are getting balanced scoring this year, and I like the way we have been able to rebound the ball. Quiles has been a monster on the board this year, but if Allen Storer doesn't start to play better basketball we aren't going to do much this year.

PLAYER DETAILS

#13 SG Allen Storer - Southern California - Junior
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Height: 6-2
Weight: 182
High School: Powder River County Dist High School
Hometown: Broadus, MT

Attributes:
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Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
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Current: 8 11 11 18 19 8 7 5 6 7 9 5 19 7 16 20
1955: 8 10 10 17 17 7 7 4 6 6 8 4 19 7 16 19
1954: 7 9 10 15 15 7 6 4 6 6 8 4 19 7 16 18
1953: 7 8 9 13 13 7 6 4 5 6 7 4 19 6 16 15
Potential: D C C A A C D D D D C D

Health: Good
Scholarship: Yes
Status: Active Roster
Academics: 5

Stat Averages:
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Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF
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1954 29 3 13.2 3.3 0.4 0.9 0.6 0.9 0.62 0.1 0.0 1.4
1955 30 0 15.5 5.9 0.6 1.8 1.1 0.7 1.70 0.3 0.0 1.4
1956 6 6 29.8 10.2 1.0 3.0 1.8 1.5 1.22 0.7 0.0 2.7
Career 65 9 15.8 5.1 0.6 1.5 0.9 0.8 1.22 0.3 0.0 1.5

Shooting Averages:
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Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/-
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1954 1.3 3.0 .425 0.8 1.1 .667 0.0 0.0 .000 1.10 -2.86
1955 2.4 5.0 .490 1.0 1.8 .556 0.0 0.0 .000 1.18 2.17
1956 4.7 9.8 .475 0.8 1.5 .556 0.0 0.0 .000 1.03 -2.00
Career 2.1 4.5 .468 0.9 1.5 .594 0.0 0.0 .000 1.13 -0.46

Stat Totals:
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Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF
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1954 29 3 382 96 12 27 16 26 4 0 40
1955 30 0 464 176 18 53 34 20 9 0 42
1956 6 6 179 61 6 18 11 9 4 0 16
Career 65 9 1025 333 36 98 61 55 17 0 98

Shooting Totals
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Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/-
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1954 37 87 22 33 0 0 -83
1955 73 149 30 54 0 0 65
1956 28 59 5 9 0 0 -12
Career 138 295 57 96 0 0 -30

Career Highs:
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Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA
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Season 19 2 6 5 1 0 3 8 15 3 4 0 0
Career 19 3 6 5 2 0 8 8 15 5 6 0 0

Awards & Acheivements:
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Season Award
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1953 High School: Rated **** and #78 overall by the FBCB scouting service.
1953 High School: All-State (Montana)
1953 High School: Mr. Basketball (Montana)

Honestly, he is a guy I hate in game. There isn't much to do with him. He is average at best scoring, cant really play D the way that you would like. Is athletic and should be able to hold onto the ball. But that's about all the positives I can say. He is at a -2 on the year as our starting 2.... Just sad if you ask me.

I just don't know what his role is on this team, nor do I know what his role going forward will be. Nelson comes back as a starter this game, and I have bumped Hernando Hernnandez back into the starting SF spot, so Storer will be the 6th man for a bit or until we get Nincent Lincoln healthy

muns

11-03-2015, 02:27 PM

I was going to take some time to write more last night, however, the GF has grades due, and her computer wouldn't connect to my WIFI. Needless to say I lost the battle for the good computer .

USC went on a 3 game winning streak with Nelson back in the lineup. We beat Georgetown, St. Mary's (who has historically been a problem for us) and then Northwestern. We barely beat Northwestern by 2. Going 10-24 from the free throw line, had something to do with why the game was so darn close but a win is a win though and we will take it.

Going into tonights sim we are 7-2 and off to our best start ever at USC.

Vincent Lincoln comes back after fracturing his hip and is currently listed at 92% health wise. We have 4 days until our next game, so he should be good to go. I have moved him up the depth chart to be our 6th man and will replace Allen Storer. Storer over the past 3 games was ok. He played a great game against G-town, played a terrible game against St. Mary's, and then an ok game against Northwestern.

I need more from him, and Lincoln gets a shot to take his spot away from him. Really hoping he does the job, and I can put to bed our issues with playing time and who plays where.

muns

11-03-2015, 02:27 PM

We look ok so far

Team Prestige: 57

Season Record: 7-2
Record Vs 1-50: 3-1
Record Vs 51-100: 3-1
Record Vs 100-200: 1-0
Record Vs 200+: 0-0
Current RPI Rank: 15

Our RPI at 15 has me pretty darn excited about where I want to be headed. Just need to keep our injuries at bay

muns

11-03-2015, 02:34 PM

PF J.C. Quiles leads the Nation in rebounding at 13.0 a game and

PG- Freddie Nation leads the Nation in Assists with 9.3 a game.

We have some talented guys, just need everybody to show up and playing like they can in order for us to have a shot at the PCC and the national tourney.

muns

11-03-2015, 02:53 PM

Recruiting wise we only have 1 offer out because we only had 1 to give out.

We started on the number 1 recruit in the nation, and due to his grade issues, we had to drop off him.

We do lead on 5 star All-American 6'3 SG Jospeh Thomasson. He is ranked 20th and can light up the scoreboard, but we expect him to be a turnover machine.

However, another top 25 recruit (if he signs) on the roster would be welcomed, as Washington seems to just be killing it on the recruiting trail once again this year.

After Washington, CAL, Stanford, and Oregon also seem to be doing really really well on the recruiting front. The PCC doesn't get any easier, although with the realignment next year, the schedule will, as the loss of Oregon State sucks.

I also want to point out that little ole Idaho is 6-1 on the year. What a nice job they have been doing recruiting wise. While they wont have the talent to compete within the PCC, it wouldn't surprise me if they snag a win or 2 and disrupt some teams shot. 5'11 SG-Charles Witten is no joke on that roster averaging 19.3 points per game. The little firecracker is the early front runner to win Freshman of the year in the PCC

dawgfan

11-04-2015, 10:27 AM

However, another top 25 recruit (if he signs) on the roster would be welcomed, as Washington seems to just be killing it on the recruiting trail once again this year.
Cal is really the team to worry about in recruiting. They've already got the post I really wanted in #7 overall Milford Foster and another solid post in #28 overall Raymond Davis. I'm less sold on their third commit - #45 overall Gaston Tyler - but he could be one of those guys with "meh" stats and great ratings.

I like the guard I got, but I'm counting on him being better than my scouting report because that says he's more "OK" than "great". And if I don't get Gonzales I'll be scrambling a bit to fill out this class.

I'm hoping for a few more high-level prospects out of the PNW next season - after having 3 in-state guys in the top-100 for the 1955 class, the 1956 class was almost barren. I think the highest-rated Washington prospect was a 2-star.

murrayyyyy

11-04-2015, 10:42 AM

What's the crying about a recruiting class. Oregon State has had theirs locked up since April! (still can't believe I forgot).

Oregon State seems like a fraud built on defense right now. I still haven't figured out what offense to run with them. 1st in FT% and blocks in the conference has me thinking we will finally scare someone in conference play this year. 7th in scoring and 9th in FG% makes me think we finish a disappointing .500 in conference play.

muns

11-04-2015, 11:16 AM

Cal is really the team to worry about in recruiting. They've already got the post I really wanted in #7 overall Milford Foster and another solid post in #28 overall Raymond Davis. I'm less sold on their third commit - #45 overall Gaston Tyler - but he could be one of those guys with "meh" stats and great ratings.

I like the guard I got, but I'm counting on him being better than my scouting report because that says he's more "OK" than "great". And if I don't get Gonzales I'll be scrambling a bit to fill out this class.

I'm hoping for a few more high-level prospects out of the PNW next season - after having 3 in-state guys in the top-100 for the 1955 class, the 1956 class was almost barren. I think the highest-rated Washington prospect was a 2-star.

Ill disagree, and that's only because I think I have a decent scout, and from memory they wouldn't have been guys I would have gone after. Ill double check that when I get home though.

You on the other hand...... I like your guys :)

muns

11-04-2015, 11:16 AM

muns

11-04-2015, 11:24 AM

USC goes 2-0 that sim beating BYU and San Jose State. Neither are world beaters, but aren't exactly cup cakes either.

Our RPI sits at 19th, we are ranked 20th in the polls, and our record sits at 9-2.

More importantly at the moment, we are 6-0 vs top 50 schools. Hopefully that number stays high.

We get Idaho State, and Niagara next and neither are guaranteed wins. Idaho State has beaten Georgia Tech, Arizona State, and UCLA. They also lost to Cal by 7 points on the road. They make me nervous.

Niagara doesn't have the wins yet, but are a real scrappy team coming off an NIT berth last year. They are 4-7 on the year but their RPI is 47th.

After that game we start conf play with UCLA and Washington. Honestly, somehow I seem to get screwed each year by who we start off with. Both games are away, and coming back with an 0-2 record to start conf play would be terrible for us. It could be a possibility though with UCLA being ranked 15th and Washington ranked 3rd.

muns

11-04-2015, 11:29 AM

On the bright side, we did get healthy and we have a full squad again.

The lineup change with Vincent Lincoln worked nicely, and I am going to stay with that. Just now need to figure out to distribute the mins better.

Lincoln in those 2 games went for 18 points on 7-13 shooting, with 5 boards, 1 steals, 2 blocks, and 2 assists. I cant complain about that stat line at all. Very happy with how he is turning out. While I might have better guards as far as recruiting rankings coming in, he is showing me he isn't going to be buried on the depth chart at all.

dawgfan

11-04-2015, 11:43 AM

Ill disagree, and that's only because I think I have a decent scout, and from memory they wouldn't have been guys I would have gone after. Ill double check that when I get home though.

You on the other hand...... I like your guys :)
I hope you're right about Davis. I'm counting on my scout being too pessimistic about him.

Foster is a stud - terrific defensive player, shot-blocker and rebounder. His offense is more average, and he's a bit foul-prone, but overall he's the kind of defense and rebounding anchor I like to have in at least one of my starting posts.

murrayyyyy

11-04-2015, 01:46 PM

That was just due to schooly balance correct?

Yeah but also stupidity on my part. I swore it was St. Joseph's who had this so I didn't fire the coaches to spend all the money on coaches. Then I made the late switch to Princeton and got the school to do this with confused.

muns

11-06-2015, 01:06 PM

USC goes 2-0 as we pass the Idaho State and Niagara tests. No blowouts as they are quality teams, but wins are wins, we will take em while we can.

They puts us at 11-2 on the season with an RPI of 16.

Now starts the dreaded PCC Play. We start with #22 UCLA at UCLA and follow that game up with none other than the #4 Washington at Washington. Not ideal at all, but we are gonna find out real quick if this team can hold its own in PCC play. We continue to be one of the top shooting teams in the country that shoots a 49% clip. We are tops in the PCC with that stat and 10th in the country. I should prob slow the game pace way down in all honesty, but I want to see how we do against the first few teams of PCC play. That might be coming soon though.

SG- Vincent Lincoln continues his good play for me off the bench and in fact in both past games averaged around 15 mins compared to Allen Storers 4. I think I have solved my bench issue, but well see how that fares in conf play.

We still foul way to much, and PG- Freddie Nation turns the ball over too much for me, but I cant really complain. If Edmond Nelson doesn't go down in that first game I wonder if we would be undefeated right now. We haven't lost since his return, and that includes wins over #12 Seattle and #23 Georgetown during that stretch.

muns

11-06-2015, 01:32 PM

We are disappointed that 5 star All-American 6'3 SG Jospeh Thomasson didn't commit last sim, but we still lead on him, and expect him to commit this month. We need to land a good one to try and keep up with the rest of the PCC and freaking San Francisco (God Damn Vaugh Griffis)

Not sure what to expect against UCLA and Washington

In the UCLA game they have the advantage rebounding, and exploiting a SF match up that favors them tremendously.

We hope to counter that with the best rebounder in the nation with JC Quiles, who we hope will put a dent in their rebounding advantage, and then our PG match up. 6'4 Freddie Nation vs. 5'10 Michael Hoffman seems like favorable matchup to us.

UCLA has the edge though as they are at home.

In the Washington game, I don't think we stack up well against them either.
Nelson will have trouble guarding SG-Italo Malocco and Dante Douglas will have trouble with their stud C- Francis Calhoun. I think Fenton also gives Freddie Nation some trouble holding on to the ball all in which gives them a pretty nice advantage.

I think the only way we stay in this game is if we don't turn the ball over, and can somehow have our guards grab some offensive rebounds for extra shots. While Washington is great on the boards, our guards should be able to challenge them in that area. It's a stretch but that's the only way I see us staying in the game.

Either way it should be a fun slate of games, and I am praying that we don't start off the PCC 0-2. I would happily take a 1-1 start and call that a win for our program

dawgfan

11-06-2015, 02:10 PM

Here's a quick look at recruiting on the west coast with January results in the books - below are teams that currently have top-100 recruits committed:

California: 7, 28, 45
Washington: 12, 17
Oregon: 33, 63, 64
Stanford: 56, 60, 69, 74

San Francisco: 3, 11
Colorado: 8, 84
Saint Mary's: 51, 61, 93
Utah: 82
Pepperdine: 86

I expect USC and UCLA will enter this list too in the next couple of months. Cal is doing well as usual. Oregon and Stanford are reloading very nicely. Very impressive to see what San Francisco pulled, and watch out for Saint Mary's - they are picking up a very strong class too. Colorado continues to solidify themselves in the Big 7. And look at lowly Pepperdine sneaking a top-100 guy - looks like the conference prestige of the WCC is paying off for them...

muns

11-06-2015, 03:29 PM

The National Basketball Report: December 29, 1956
NBR Top Twenty
1. Kansas State (9-1, LW 3)
2. North Carolina State (8-2, 4)
3. North Carolina (7-2, 5)
4. Washington (10-1, 6)
5. Indiana (10-1, 7)
6. Kentucky (8-2, 1)
7. Seattle (13-2, 2)
8. Kansas (9-3, 10)
9. California (6-2, 11)
10. Dayton (10-2, 8)
11. Bradley (8-2, 11)
12. West Virginia (9-2, 13)
13. Duquesne (12-4, 12)
14. Iowa (6-2, 16)
15. Duke (7-2, 17)
16. Arkansas (8-3, 19)
17. Syracuse (13-0, 20)
18. Oregon State (8-2, NR)
19. Oklahoma A&M (7-1, 15)
20. Holy Cross (7-1, NR)
Dropped Out: San Francisco (15), Clemson (18)

With the advent of the new year just two days away, here are a bunch of thoughts about the present, as well as the future:

- Syracuse continues to work up wins, moving to 13-0. They have just one more game left on their massive six-game road trip, with a trip to Miami-Ohio. After that, St. Francis (PA) waits, before #12 West Virginia comes to town. This will be Syracuse's waterloo, we believe. If Syracuse were to win that game, they can afford two or three losses and get into the NCAA Tournament. If they were to fall against West Virginia, especially in a blowout, they would have to run clean the rest of the way.

At least, this is our opinion. It does come with some thought and precedent, however. They're ranked seventh in the poll, in a year where the Absolutely Preposterous posters are launching teams all over the place. We hate to trumpet our own horn, but again, if you want a poll that is more grounded in reality, consider our Top Twenty. Syracuse has a RPI of #68, and play as an Independent. The difficulty in attaining an at-large bid with a RPI rank that low is extremely high. They do possess the nation's top defense, which is commendable. We will see how that looks when the Mountaineers, with their #2 offense and top point guard in the nation, John Hildebrand, come calling.

- Kentucky hit a major point of contention in their season's quest for a top seed with a 61-60 loss at 4-7 Niagara. Out of Niagara's losses, only one or two can be considered poor; the Purple Eagles are a veteran group, led by a four-year star point guard in Curt To. They are no slouch, and have played San Francisco, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and George Washington close. Losing to them, for most teams, is more of a matter of X's and O's than about stature.

Not Kentucky, though. They are a top-five team, and one of the few who can feel a realistic shot at a top seed. Looking at other top-seed candidates...

Kansas: Losses to Kentucky, West Virginia, and Holy Cross
Kansas State: Loss to Kentucky
North Carolina: Losses at Oklahoma City and at Oregon
NC State: Losses to Bradley and at Kansas
Indiana: Loss to Duquesne
California: Losses to Seattle and San Francisco
Washington: Loss at NC State

You get the idea. This is, far and away, the worst loss for a potential #1 seed. This could be what slides Kentucky to a #2. The season is young, of course...conference play has yet to start.

Looking directly at that loss, Kentucky shot just 34% from the field. Stephen Wiliford, the team's leading scorer, shot 5-16. Curt Davis was 5-14. Dougie Cobbs was 3-14. It was a narrow, one-point loss, but this also speaks to Kentucky's other problem: their offense. Specifically, we mean their shooting. They're 11th in the nation in total offense, but 52nd in field goal percentage. They win their games, generally speaking, through offensive rebounding (7th in the nation) and free throw shooting (9th in the nation). If you meet a disciplined team, and Niagara only commited eleven fouls in the game, Kentucky's main offense is neutralized. Kentucky held a 51-35 edge in rebounding, but Niagara played smart, disciplined basketball, and many of Kentucky's chances off those putbacks went astray.

The Purple Eagles laid down the blueprint on how to defeat Kentucky, especially if you're generally undermanned. It will be up to the SEC to take what Niagara did and improve upon it. For the Wildcats, this could spell major trouble...if they don't make any adjustments.

- Michael Asche set a NCAA record with nine steals, in Marshall's 83-77 win over St. Joe's. The previou record, eight, was held by many players. Ashe has always been a solid man on defense, swiping 1.4 balls a year ago, and 2.5 steals averaged this year, but this nine is probably a one-time deal.

"I kept cutting passing lines," said Asche after the game. "We had their offense scouted well, and they kept trying to go backdoor. I was able to recognize it and come from the other side. And they kept doing it."

- Stephen Ferrari may have had the performance that puts him on the landscape of the professional ranks. In San Francisco's 92-75 win over California yesterday, Ferrari scored twelve points, but registered FIFTEEN assists. That fifteen is one off the national record, set twice in 1955.

"Guys were open," said Ferrari (14.6 ppg, 8.7 apg, 2.8 rpg, 1.5 spg) after the game.

In the win, San Francisco did more than just damage Cal. They may have asserted themselves as the #2 team in the West, behind Washington. Seattle is probably #3. That is big, because one of those teams may get shipped to the Midwest. Of course, they'll have to make a go without Ronnie Veasey, who will be out another four weeks.

"We have a talented team," said Ferrari. We know what we are capable of, and we know what can happen when we play to our potential. Washington beat us, but I know, if we played them again, there would be a different result."

The Dons (10-3) got 23 off Jared Stewart's 11-16 night. Cal, which is plagued by its frontcourt play, were accosted by San Francisco's 32 assists. That is just three off the national record, set by Utah back on February 1, 1954.

The Bears, meanwhile, continue to get next-to-nothing from their post guys. Willie Leagult, the team's center, is averaging just 4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds a game. Power forward Craig Kruger is not faring much better, going for 4.4 points and 7.9 boards a game.

"It is no secret that our big guys have to be more assertive," said Cal coach Ron Roberson. "Our guard play has been fantastic, but we need more balance. Otherwise, teams will be able to focus on just half of our team. This won't help us in the long run."

- Holy Cross gained respect with a victory over former top-five Kansas, walking into Kansas Fieldhouse and leaving with a 76-64 victory.

"That was a whooping," said Kansas coach, Dave Keene. "Those boys came in here to knock our heads off, and that they did."

The Crusaders held a 45-26 halftime lead, and held the Jayhawks to 41% shooting, and limited the damage to Luis Horne's 30. The Automorahn scored just four points. Charles Tillery scored 21 for the Crusaders, who now sit 7-1 on the season. Their lone loss is to Duke.

The season, however, is about to take form for the Crusaders. Their upcoming schedule:

12.30: at California
1.2: at NC State
1.4: at Bradley

Shortly after that, they travel to Kentucky and Iowa. It is likely that the team will not roll through all five games. If they were, they'd warrant serious consideration for the top seed in the East.

All of this from a team that is greater than the sum of their parts. Tillery is the true star of the team; the junior from the Connecticut shoreline is averaging a stout 17.6 points and 8.1 rebounds a game. Pierre Baltazar is adding defensive might, but this team is in disrepair. Carl Moeller, the sophmore starting center, is out for the year. Guards Robin Snelling and Carl Kelley, both double-digit scorers on average, are both nursing injuries.

"Chuck has been the shoulders of this team," said Kelley. "We have gotten hurt and relied on him to lead the way. He is the leader of this team, and a big reason why we are off to the start we are on. He sets the tone."

- As of this writing, there are five players averaging a double-double:

JC Quiles, Southern Cal PF: 12.2 ppg, 13.0 rpg
Angelo Davis, Villanova C: 11.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg
Abraham Powell, Iowa State C: 13.8 ppg, 11.5 rpg
Joe Lundberg, PF: 10.4 ppg, 10.6 rpg
Brady Poe, Siena PF: 11.6 ppg, 10.3 rpg

Elijah Davis, who took over the career scoring record from Maryland's Elijah Dawkins earlier this season, is at 1843. He is the nation's scoring leader, at 23.3 ppg. He should be the first, and only, player at 2,000 points by this season's conclusion.

Alvin McKissick, of Syracuse, is five rebounds away from being the first player with a thousand in his career. Brady Poe, who sits fourth all-time, is at 956.

Marcos Godfrey will forever be in the discussion of greatest point guard of all-time. The former Indiana lead had 734 assists in his three years in Bloomington. Second is Ferrari of San Francisco, with 644. West Virginia's John Hildebrand has 619, and Andrew Cosme of St. Joe's has 612. What Godfrey did in his three years is incredible, though dreadfully overlooked.

The same can be said for Navy graduate, Jason McKnight. The former big man swatted away 293 in his storied career. The best active number is Wisconsin's Freddie Yan, who has 246. He has started 100 games in his career, and has seen his block numbers jump from 2.8 a game last year, to 5.1 this year. His rate is likely unsustainable, so it remains to be seen if the 6'11 center can get enough to set the national record.

Chauncey HInkley is one away from setting the dubious turnovers record. He has 370; Ohio State's Dirk Adams sits at 371. Yes, Dirk Adams is about to turn over his crown.

- Lastly, here are a few of the games we're looking forward to seeing the most coming up:

12.29: Notre Dame at St. Joe. The Irish are, once again, America's Greatest Disappointment. Can they beat the Hawks in Philadelphia? And if they continue to slide, is Joe Dawkins' job in jeopardy?

12.29: Oklahoma A&M at St. Mary's. This will be a difficult trip for the Cowboys. Two of the Gaels' three losses are at Southern Cal and UCLA. And Denver has a winning record. This is no gimmie trip for A&M.

12.30: Iowa at Kansas. A distinct style clash, as Iowa's rough-and-tumble matches up with Kansas' flash-and-dash. Can the Automorahn and the guards secure victory? This has "signature win" all over it for Iowa, if they can produce a rather mild upset?

12.30: Holy Cross at California. Now we begin to find out if the Crusaders are for real.

12.30: Duquesne at Duke. The Dukes can ill-afford many more losses. A good showing at Duke will only go so far, especially if the Blue Devils fall off in conference play, like last season.

12.30: George Washington at Pittsburgh. A few weeks ago, the Colonials were 4-0 and ranked. The Panthers were the same. Now, GW is 5-6, Pitt is 6-6. How quickly the mighty tumble...

12.31: Michigan State at St. John's. Both of these teams need this win...Michigan State for at-large consideration, St. John's for seeding (come on, they're going to roll in the Metro).

12.31: Maryland at La Salle. This game can disrupt someone's season.

1.2: Holy Cross at NC State. Another big game for the Crusaders. This one has relevance to the Wolfpack, too.

1.4: West Virginia at Villanova. This is a big test for the Mountaineers. The Wildcats do not turn over for anyone, especially in Philadelphia. Don't expect a win for West Virginia.

1.4: Holy Cross at Bradley. The tour continues.

1.5: Iowa at NC State. Neither program has shied away from heavyweights, have them?

1.5: Oregon State at Loyola U of LA: Do not be surprised if the Lions give Oregon State a tougher game than they expect. Despite a couple blowout losses to Ohio State and Cal, this isn't a bad team. In fact, they've won three of four since the starting 0-4.

The Bottom Five
Ranking the worst of the worst...

To end our piece, we wanted to give a nod to what we believe are the five worst teams in the nation. This may become a regular thing. It depends on how bad it is.

5. Northwestern (1-7). Among the league worst in total offense, total defense, and a host of other categories. 161st out of 171 in point differential. The Wildcats were 23-9 three years ago; now, they are 1-7 and heading into a better Big Ten than they've seen. To their credit, they've only faced one bad team so far, and beat that team, Loyola-Illinois, 74-50.

4. Hardin-Simmons (1-11). They inexplicably beat an even Houston team in Houston, 50-41. The Cowboys are not exactly riding high, averaging just 56.7 points a game (152nd) and giving up 68.6 (137th). They are 164th in opposing field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot 50.3%.

3. George Washington (5-6). Want to know how far they've fallen after a 4-0 start? They just earned Colgate their first win, 72-64. At home.

2. Pennsylvania (1-10). They have the second-worst defense in the country, giving up nearly 77 points a game. They rank near the bottom in almost every defensive category. They're lone win, amazingly, came against 5-8 Temple. It has been drastically downhill since...except their rematch with Temple. That was a 66-65 narrow Temple escape. They also almost knocked off St. Joe, succumbing 64-61. Perhaps they are turning the corner.

1. Western Michigan (1-9). The Broncos are ranked 104th in total offense, 166th in total defense, and in the bottom quartile in most categories. They're best stat is that they are 79th, with 13.8 assists a game. Their lone win came against considerable disappointment Tennessee Tech, two days ago.

NBR NCAA Tournament Projection

1 Indiana NC State 1
8 Connecticut W. Kentucky 8

5 Syracuse Arkansas 5
4 Duquesne West Virginia 4
East South
3 Bradley Dayton 3
6 Holy Cross Clemson 6

7 Niagara Columbia 7
2 Kansas Kentucky 2

1 Kansas State Washington 1
8 Toledo Texas Western 8

5 Oregon State Oklahoma A&M 5
4 Iowa Duke 4
Midwest West
3 California Seattle 3
6 Southern Methodist Southern Cal 6

7 St. John Utah State 7
2 North Carolina San Francisco 2

muns

11-06-2015, 03:30 PM

muns

11-06-2015, 03:32 PM

NBR Analytics

Bracketology: First Look -- 2 per home game compared to road, also SOS adjustment(RPI under polls). A point per .01 of SOS over .500?

With conference play about to begin, NBR Analytics presents our first assessment of the tournament fields. These may indeed end up being somewhat different than those presented by the general editorial staff, making it useful to briefly comment on our methodology here at the 'nerdery'. Simply put, we are interested only in who has demonstrated themselves to be most deserving to date. Ranking is irrelevant to us, as is school prestige or reputation. This is an assessment of the body of work put forward on the court to date, nothing more and nothing less. As such, this is a projection of the teams that should make the field, not necessarily those who will. The two factors that matter to us are net rating(offensive efficiency minus defensive efficiency) and strength of schedule. All else is irrelevant noise.

A final disclaimer is that we would expect this projection to change a great deal as conference play unfolds. Much of the first of the year is a feeling-out period as teams try to find optimal lineups, rotations, and strategies. The level of competition in conference play is much different than it has been to date for many as well. This is merely how things stand at the moment.

NCAA

1 -- Kansas(Big 7), Kansas State, Bradley(MVC), West Virginia(Southern)
2 -- Indiana(Big Ten), North Carolina State(ACC), Oregon(PCC), Kentucky(SEC)
3 -- San Francisco(WCC), Washington, Seattle, Holy Cross
4 -- Virginia, Clemson, Duquesne, Georgia Tech
5 -- Syracuse, Michigan, San Jose State, Saint Mary's
6 -- Utah(MSAC), Dartmouth(Ivy Group), Georgetown, Duke
7 -- North Carolina, St. John's(Metro NY), Southern Methodist(SWC) Toledo(MAC)
8 -- Niagara(WYN3), Arizona State(BIAA), Connecticut(Yankee), Murray State(Ohio Valley)

The conferences are listed in parentheses for automatic bids, given to the best team in each conference as league play has not yet begun. Note: you could basically flip a coin between Duke, North Carolina, and Mississippi State for the final at-large spots. They're that close right now.

NIT

1 -- Mississippi State, Dayton, California, Ohio State
2 -- Oklahoma A&M, Southern California, Michigan State, Denver
3 -- Santa Clara, Alabama, Colorado, Idaho State
4 -- Maryland, UCLA, Iowa, Saint Joseph's
5 -- Villanova, Arkansas, Iowa State, Citadel
6 -- Stanford, TX Technological Colle, Oklahoma City, Northwestern
7 -- Utah State Agricultural Col, Washington State, Notre Dame, La Salle
8 -- Colorado A&M, Manhattan, Baylor, Columbia

We find it rather amazing the degree to which the pollsters find themselves impressed by well-regarded programs recording relatively unimpressive wins against a collection of subpar teams. Many of them will no doubt improve their results as the season progresses, but until they do, putting them in the field assumes facts not in evidence to date.

dawgfan

11-06-2015, 03:48 PM

Nice post there. That is some good kids coming into the PCC again. I only have one offer to give this year, so ill eventually only add 1 guy to the list. Not sure how many UCLA has to offer out this year. I was surprised to see them not on the list honestly. I knew Vince was cleaning up the Cali kids though
Scrubbing through the list, looks like you will likely land Thomasson (#20 overall) and Stanford will finish up with Martin (#25 overall). I had thought UCLA was up there for some of these guys, but it looks like they've aimed a bit lower despite having 5 rides to give. IIRC, it's been a while since Groundhog did an import for them, so it appears the AI has not been real aggressive on his behalf.

And don't look now, but Pepperdine - of the 29 prestige - could end up adding Poteat (#66 overall) to their class. Utah also looks set to add Valero (#99 overall) to their haul.

Vince, Pt. II

11-06-2015, 04:30 PM

It's funny you mention Pepperdine - it's that time of year for Dartmouth to start looking through for anyone that may have slipped through the cracks...and Pepperdine is all over all of them. No one is coaching them, right? I'm impressed with the AI pushing that far out of their depth prestige-wise.

muns

11-07-2015, 08:09 AM

I hope you're right about Davis. I'm counting on my scout being too pessimistic about him.

Foster is a stud - terrific defensive player, shot-blocker and rebounder. His offense is more average, and he's a bit foul-prone, but overall he's the kind of defense and rebounding anchor I like to have in at least one of my starting posts.

So looking through my scout,

Oregon- Benoit should be great on D but average everywhere else Orange/ Green

Cal- Tyler- should be able to score inside, defend, and rebound on d. average everywhere else. Red/Yellow

Davis- has 3 B's in potential. Free throws, O rebounding and post D. Red/Green

Foster- on the other hand should be a beats on the board and on D. 3 A's and 2 B's potential. Orange/ Green.

My scout isn't great, but I have the best scout combo in the PCC, and Foster would have been the only guy I would have gone after there.

We all missed out on Steven Williams from Cali. That guy is going to be a monster for San Fran. I guess that is good news for me, and none of you hyenas landed him :) but he is gonna be a load for the next 4 years.

St. Mary's also looks like they did well from my scout.

Not even gonna talk about Vince, as Willie Mays should help him out from the get go next year.

muns

11-10-2015, 03:10 PM

First game was UCLA @ UCLA and let me tell you it was a good game.

We end up losing to them by 3, and it was a tough loss to swallow. We are up 33-29 at the half and end up losing 63-60.

Bright side, we lost by 3, shot our lowest percentage of the year at 39% and had the nations leading rebounder foul out after playing only 19 mins. I suspect that if we had PF J.C. Quiles for the whole game, we don't get out-rebounded 41-34 and we don't lose. Giving them 30 free throw attempts didn't help either, but we certainly tip our caps to them as Quiles did foul out and they still won the game.

I was happy that we only turned the ball over 11 times (Freddie Nation had 4 of them) and that Edmund Nelson shot 50% while scoring 22 points. Going forward I think when we play them at home it will be a different game. The rematch has already been circled.

The second game, and the game I was dreading honestly was @ Washington. If you remember, I thought the only way we had a shot at beating them was if our guards were able to get us offensive rebounds to get us extra shots at the hoop. I was pretty spot on with that part of my thinking (I know surprise, surprise) and we somehow pulled off the Miracle and beat a top 5 team in the country 69-61.

We ended up with 13 offensive boards and out rebounded them 38-24. Another good thing for us going forward was that Freshman shooting guard Edmund Nelson only played 14 mins in this game due to fouling out and we still won. He was our leading scorer of the game with 16 points in 14 mins. he can light it up any day of the week. Back ups Vincent Lincoln and Allen Storer, especially Storer stepped up and played well enough to get us the win.

I am not sure how to view this win in all honesty. Their star Center Francis Calhoun had a terrible game, and there is no way that is going to happen again. He only had 4 boards and 4 points. Like wise, Nelson fouling out didn't help us. So I don't think we learned anything about Washington from this game, and I am not sure what I learned about ourselves from this game.
I will however, say I was happy with our depth, as Washington played everybody and we didn't tire out.

Overall, I am pretty pleased and excited about where this team is and where it could be going. Just need to stop fouling as much to make sure our key guys continue to get the mins they should.

muns

11-10-2015, 03:13 PM

Up next is a scrappy Stanford team, Idaho and then #18 Oregon.

Not sure how these games will fare, but Oregon scares me the most. Not because they are ranked 18th, but because I don't match up with them athletically at all. They have to be one of the most athletic teams in the country and they are hoping to ride that wave all the way to the tourney.

We are currently ranked 13 and our RPI is 2nd best in the country. I like that a lot. We are 7-1 vs the top 50 at the moment and 3-2 vs 51-100.

muns

11-10-2015, 03:15 PM

Bracketology: Pre-Conference Edition

Much is still in flux. Most teams stayed where they were for the most part, but those who had a particularly strong or weak couple of weeks showed it with some considerable swings in their standing. At the top, the twin power in Kansas still rule the nation's basketball scene. At the moment though, the Jayhawks have lost the top overall spot in our rundown to their in-state rivals. It's close though. Behind them there are 3-4 teams in a tight battle for the rest of the #1 seeds.

NCAA

1 -- Kansas State(Big 7), Kansas, Bradley(MVC), Indiana(Big Ten)
2 -- West Virginia(Southern), Oregon(PCC), Kentucky(SEC), North Carolina State(ACC)
3 -- Seattle, San Francisco(WCC), Washington, Michigan
4 -- Virginia, California, Dayton, Duke
5 -- Mississippi State, Holy Cross, Duquesne, Southern California
6 -- UCLA, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Southern Methodist(SWC)
7 -- St. John's(Metro NY), Utah(MSAC), Dartmouth(Ivy Group), Texas Western(BIAA)
8 -- Toledo(MAC), Niagara(WYN3), Connecticut(Yankee), Murray State(Ohio Valley)

NIT

1 -- Saint Mary's, Ohio State, San Jose State, North Carolina
2 -- Syracuse, Georgetown, Michigan State, Idaho State
3 -- Maryland, Saint Joseph's, Oklahoma A&M, Villanova
4 -- Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, La Salle
5 -- Santa Clara, Iowa State, Colorado A&M, Citadel
6 -- Denver, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Stanford
7 -- Northwestern, Brigham Young, Illinois, Utah State Agricultural C
8 -- Oregon State, Butler, Arizona State, Washington State

One of our readers noted that last time around we had 7 of the 9 PCC schools in the post-season. Well, now that's up to 8, though Oregon State and Washington State are only narrowly in. It certainly speaks to the conference's strength as well. The ACC has 6 of 8 in as well.

muns

11-10-2015, 03:15 PM

Conference Ratings

Using the same metric as our bracketology, which we've named Adjusted Net Rating -- mostly just because it makes us sound somewhat smarter than we really are -- we present now our outlook on the nation's conferences as league play is set to begin. The teams are listed with their current rating and the projected order of finish. At the end of the year, we'll be able to see how much we really know. Hopefully, without eating too much crow, but only time will tell and this is an unpredictable sport. Just ask a Hoosier fan.

ACC(11.71)

North Carolina State(+23.8)
Virginia(+19)
Duke(+17.2)
Clemson(+15.6)
North Carolina(+12.6)
Maryland(+10.9)
South Carolina(-1.6)
Wake Forest(-3.8)

With a full half-dozen legitimate quality teams, particularly with the Cavaliers and Tigers doing surprisingly well, there's little doubt about it: the ACC is the premier conference in America this year. They don't really have a peer right now.

PCC(+10.5)

Oregon(+26.1)
Washington(+19.8)
California(+18.2)
Southern California(+16)
UCLA(+15.8)
Stanford(+3.9)
Oregon State(+2.3)
Washington State(+1.5)
Idaho(-9.1)

We doubt the selection committee will have the good sense to do it, but the PCC should have five teams in the NCAA field. It's that strong this year, and the only conference even close to rivaling the ACC.

Big 7(8.77)

Kansas State(+32.7)
Kansas(+31.5)
Colorado(+7.5)
Iowa State(+6.0)
Oklahoma(-1.6)
Missouri(-5.8)
Nebraska(-8.9)

The road to the national title still goes through Kansas. Don't forget about Colorado and Iowa State though; both programs are doing a solid job and should not be overlooked.

Big Ten(8.49)

Indiana(+27.4)
Michigan(+19.3)
Ohio State(+13.1)
Michigan State(+11.7)
Iowa(+7.5)
Minnesota(+4.0)
Northwestern(+3.8)
Illinois(+2.9)
Purdue(-1.2)
Wisconsin(-3.6)

The Big Ten started a bit slow this year but has picked up steam recently. Big question marks are whether Michigan is as good as they have appeared against the ninth-toughest schedule in the nation, and whether Illinois has just been bored or whether they are as disappointing as they have looked against an inferior schedule. The last few games were better for the Illini. We'll find out soon.

WCC(+4.4)

San Francisco(+21.7)
Saint Mary's(+13.3)
San Jose State(+13.1)
Santa Clara(+7.2)
Pacific(-5.4)
Pepperdine(-8.3)
Loyola U of Los Angeles(-10.8)

The Dons have more competition than usual, but should reverse last year's surprise by Saint Mary's and take their second crown in three years. The WCC is good, but not nearly among the elite. There's too much drek at the bottom for that.

MSAC(2.15)

Utah(+8.7)
Colorado A&M(+4.8)
Denver(+4.6)
Brigham Young(+3.1)
Utah State Agricultural C(+2.9)
Montana(+0.9)
Wyoming(-3.5)
New Mexico(-4.3)

It hasn't been a good last couple of weeks for the MSAC, but for the season they are doing surprisingly well. Most of the conference elected for a challenging schedule, it may be catching up to them a bit but they've held their own and then some for the most part. This could well prove to be one of the more competitive leagues around this season. It will definitely be worth watching.

SEC(+1.83)

Kentucky(+25)
Mississippi State(+16.8)
Georgia Tech(+13.5)
Vanderbilt(+3.4)
Alabama(+1.4)
Tulane(-1.4)
Georgia(-2)
Alabama Polytechnic Insti(-3.0)
Tennessee(-3.5)
Florida(-5.2)
Louisiana State(-7.4)
Mississippi(-15.7)

It's definitely looking like a down year for the Southeast. Kentucky is outstanding as always, Miss. St. and Georgia Tech should go dancing, but it's a long fall after that. For a team in such a well-regarded league, the Rebels in particular are an absolute dumpster fire, and LSU expected much better things from this season as well.

MVC(-0.35)

Bradley(+27.9)
Oklahoma A&M(+9.4)
Municipal U of W(-1.2)
Saint Louis(-3.6)
Tulsa(-3.7)
Drake(-5.9)
Mercy Col of Detroit(-12.7)
Houston(-13.0)

The gap between Bradley and the rest of the MVC is hilariously immense. Oklahoma A&M should find itself somewhere in the post-season as well though. After a strong year last season, we find ourselves wondering what happened to Houston ...

Southern(-1.78)

West Virginia(+27.1)
Citadel(+4.8)
VMI(-1.3)
Virginia Tech(-1.9)
George Washington(-4.9)
Davidson(-5.3)
Furman(-8.5)
Richmond(-11.7)
William & Mary(-14.3)

Like Bradley in the MVC, this is a one-team conference with West Virginia in control.

Independents(-1.79)

Seattle(+22.6)
Dayton(+18.1)
Holy Cross(+16.5)
Duquesne(+16.4)
Syracuse(+12.5)
Georgetown(+12.2)
Idaho State(+11.2)
Saint Joseph's(+10.5)
Villanova(+8.3)
La Salle(+7.5)
Notre Dame(+4.3)
Butler(+1.7)
Penn State(+0.8)
Oklahoma City(+0.6)
Temple(+0.3)
Miami(-0.8)
Seton Hall(-0.8)
Colgate(-1.4)
Pittsburgh(-1.9)
Louisville(-2.0)
TX Techological Colle(-2.2)
Rutgers(-3.3)
Boston College(-3.9)
Iona(-4.3)
DePaul(-4.6)
Cincinatti(-4.7)
Bucknell(-6.4)
Siena(-7.2)
Marquette(-8.0)
Portland(-8.1)
Loyola-IL(-8.6)
Gonzaga(-9.4)
Memphis State(-9.5)
Muhlenburg(-9.8)
Florida State(-10.8)
Loyola-LA(-10.9)
Lafayette(-11.4)
Saint Francis-PA(-12.7)
Army(-13.3)
Creighton(-13.8)
Xavier(-14.1)
Lehigh(-16.4)
Navy(-20)

As usual, more bad than good but there are a number of quite solid teams here. Seattle has really distinguished themselves as a team that nobody wants a piece of, Syracuse had a great start but has fallen off a bit lately, and Idaho State is quite a surprise, continually improving so far. On the other end of the scale, there's Navy -- our clear choice for the most inept team in the nation.

Metro NY(-4.23)

St. John's(+11.6)
City Col of New York(-3.0)
Manhattan(-3.5)
St. Francis-NY(-4.0)
Brooklyn(-6.4)
Fordham(-10.2)
New York University(-14.1)

St. John's and everyone else -- another predictable year in the Metro.

SWC(-5.13)

Southern Methodist(+11.7)
Arkansas(+7.6)
Baylor(-0.7)
Texas Christian(-9.9)
Agricultural and Mechanic(-13.3)
Texas(-14.0)
Rice(-18.7)

It's looking like an annual tradition to have SMU and Arkansas at the head of the Southwest. We've got the Mustangs to repeat this year.

BIAA(-5.5)

Texas Western(+4.7)
Arizona State(+1.5)
West Texas State(-8.4)
Arizona(-8.8)
Hardin-Simmons(-9.1)
New Mexico A&M(-13.2)

Not a whole lot to say here really. Looks like a two-horse race for the NCAA bid, otherwhise this is a conference best avoided.

WYN3(-5.5)

Niagara(+3.9)
St. Bonaventure(-5.1)
Canisius(-15.3)

Niagara's ok, but the rest said about the other two, the better.

Ivy Group(-6.16)

Dartmouth(+8.2)
Cornell(-4.2)
Pennsylvania(-5.1)
Columbia(-5.7)
Harvard(-9.3)
Brown(-10.7)
Yale(-10.8)
Princeton(-11.7)

We respectfully disagree with our colleagues who wrote last week that the Ivy is 'incredibly underrated'. At least for this year. Dartmouth is a decent team, but the rest have been very disappointing as a whole. It's cant-watch-TV right now . In some cases it's youth that simply need seasoning; in others, a hodge-podge of talents that just haven't meshed for various reasons despite good coaching in most cases. The depth isn't there to survive injuries either. But whatever the whys may be, our perspective is that the conference has never been weaker than it is this year.

Yankee(-6.63)

Connecticut(+1.3)
New Hampshire(-5.6)
Vermont(-7.4)
Rhode Island(-7.5)
Masschusets(-9.6)
U of Maine at Or(-11.0)

UConn and the Misfits. Almost sounds like the name of a musical band. In all fairness, most of the rest of the conference is merely bad, not terrible as you would see at a few places around the country. The problem here is mostly that the Huskies are merely decent, and there's just nobody to challenge them.

MAC(-6.91)

Toledo(+3.9)
Bowling Green State(+1.4)
Ohio(-7.7)
Miami-Ohio(-10.5)
Western Michigan(-11.1)
Kent State(-11.2)
Marshall(-13.2)

Even Toledo isn't that great this year, but they still should have enough take the conference. The bottom half of the MAC is truly putrid right now.

Ohio Valley(-10.97)

Murray State(-2.5)
Eastern Kentucky State(-7.5)
Morehead State(-11.2)
Tennessee Tech(-14.4)
Middle Tennessee(-14.5)
Western Kentucky(-15.7)

Please do yourself a favor and avoid the Ohio Valley this year. If you're bored, go watch the Ocho, sharpen your ginsu knives, or spend some quality time outdoors watching the grass grow. It will be a much better use of your time. It's truly a traveshamockery that somebody from this conference, almost certainly Murray State again, will darken the doors of the NCAA tournament.

muns

11-10-2015, 04:08 PM

Radii

11-10-2015, 04:13 PM

Up next is ... Idaho

I suspect you'll be fine, we might tank your RPI a little though, sorry about that :D

muns

11-11-2015, 09:00 AM

USC ends up going 3-1 this sim with wins over Stanford, Idaho, and Oregon. However, we fall to Oregon State on the road.

The good- We stayed healthy, and there is a lot to say for that. I figured we would beat Stanford and Idaho, but Oregon was the game that worried me. Honestly, Oregon State would have worried me as well, but I thought we were only playing 3 games this sim and not 4 which is why I never said anything about Oregon State.

Beating Oregon was huge as we showed we would play in a track meet winning 88-85. Scoring 88 points was a season high for us. We also showed we will still shoot at a high % in a track meet as we shot 53% in that game. However, the concern is that one of Oregon's best players Center and first team all PCC Kenneth Foster only played 5 mins of the game before going down with an injury. If Foster plays his usual mins, would that have changed the outcomes. My guess is yes, so while I would love to sit here and say we have arrived, I am still not all that confident. Getting this win at their place was huge though, and I'd rather have him play us at home (where we are undefeated on the year) healthy for the next game.

Oregon State- It was only a matter of time before they crashed our party. We have been a major thorn to their side of the past few years, when they should have beaten us, so its not a surprise they got up for this and kicked us in the teeth for this one. They shut down our post players as our starting posts only scored a total of 6 points. Dante Douglas didn't score in the darn game at all. They came out firing at the top of their game and it was hard for us to play catch up. They were beating us 50-32 at the half. We needed to do a better job on the defensive side as they shot 49% for the game. That's not getting it done at all. Even with Freshman sensation Edmund Nelson dropping 28 and grabbing 13 boards on them we couldn't hang. Congrats to Mike on his teams win here, they earned that W.

Next up is a huge sim for us. California, Washington State, and then UCLA again.

dawgfan

11-11-2015, 01:44 PM

As I was looking at this I started noticing a theme for USC- we played a tough ass OOC schedule.

In this picture we have beaten/lost

Beaten Seattle and Washington on the 3 line
Lost to UCLA and Southern Methodist on the 6 line
Beat Niagara on the 8 line

On the NIT Predictions

Beat St. Mary's, and San Jose State on the 1 line
Beat Georgetown and Idaho State on the 2 line
Beat Northwestern and BYU on the 7 line
Lost to Arizona State on the 8 line.

No wonder our RPI is 2nd in the country

Your post got me thinking about my schedule - here's who we've played from that projection:

NCAA projected teams:

Beat Oregon, lost to N.C. State (2 seeds)
Beat San Francisco and Michigan (3 seeds)
Beat Cal (4 seed)
Lost to USC (5 seed)
Beat Utah (7 seed)
Beat Toledo (8 seed)

NIT projected teams:

Beat Idaho State (2 seed)
Beat Colorado (4 seed)
Beat Iowa State (5 seed)
Beat Stanford (6 seed)
Beat Northwestern (7 seed)
Beat Washington State (8 seed)

Radii

11-11-2015, 02:50 PM

I may want to slightly tone down my scheduling next year. NC State opponents:

NCAA:

(1) Kansas - loss
(1) Bradley - loss
(3) Washington - win
(4) Virginia - win
(4) Duke - loss
(5) Holy Cross - win
(6) Clemson - loss
(6) Georgia Tech - win
(8) Toledo - win

NIT:

(1) North Carolina - loss
(2) Idaho State - win
(3) Maryland - win
(4) Iowa - win
(5) Citadel - win
(6) Stanford - win
(7) BYU - win
(7) Illinois - win

Remaining on the schedule

NCAA

(1) Kansas State
(4) Duke
(4) Virginia
(6) Clemson

NIT:

(1) North Carolina
(3) Maryland

5-4 vs NCAA teams, hopefully we can take down the remaining NCAA 1 seed on our schedule.

Vince, Pt. II

11-11-2015, 09:06 PM

Since everyone's doing it, Stanford:

NCAA:
(2) NC State (L)
(3) Washington (L)
(5) Duquesne (W), USC (L)
(6) Georgia Tech (L), UCLA (L)

NIT:
(1) Saint Mary's (L), San Jose State (L)
(5) Santa Clara (W)
(6) Denver (L)
(7) Illinois (W)
(8) Oregon State (L), Washington State (L)

Yet to come:

NCAA:
(2) Oregon (twice)
(3) Washington
(4) California (twice)
(5) USC
(6) UCLA

NIT:
(8) Oregon State, Washington State

Way too many L's up there for my taste, and unfortunately none of them was particularly close.

Brian Swartz

11-12-2015, 01:02 AM

The thing is, not much point in trying to tone down your schedule IMO if you are in the ACC or PCC. It's murderous no matter how you slice it.

dawgfan

11-12-2015, 01:21 PM

The thing is, not much point in trying to tone down your schedule IMO if you are in the ACC or PCC. It's murderous no matter how you slice it.
I tend to not go crazy with my OOC scheduling since I know I'm going to get a good RPI boost from the PCC slate, but I do try to mix in a number of decent teams that have a chance to be pretty good as well (Colorado, Utah, ASU, Idaho State) as at least one top-20 type of team. Looks like my annual game with Seattle U will provide a nice RPI boost too.

But I also like to mix in a few creampuffs early as I work out the kinks and build up the competency of my team's defensive style, and give the schedule a regional feel to it.

Radii

11-12-2015, 03:44 PM

Vince, Pt. II

11-12-2015, 03:59 PM

Typically when I'm scheduling, I like to arrange a pair of games early that are against super weak competition, at least prestige-wise. Hardin-Simmons, etc. Then I go for a couple against decent mid-major type schools. I try to make the majority of my non-conference games against tough schools at that point, but I usually like to schedule one or two 'easy' games right before conference play starts.

muns

11-13-2015, 07:08 AM

I make my schedule based on opponent prestige, just to have some kind of system to it. This year I made a couple schedule offers to top human opponents, but other than those I made sure to play a few of the top teams and then just pick through a prestige range to get a good mix of mid to top tier competition, with a few cupcakes mixed in (but only a few). This year it just turned out that most of the mid-tier teams I scheduled appear to be at least NIT caliber.

I was surprised at how many opponents were on that list, but I actually probably won't change anything. I do want to play some top teams every year, and I'm 6-1 against "NIT" projcted teams (really 6-0 or maybe even 7-0, given the fact that UNC will be an NCAA team and Virginia may well fall to the NIT still) and don't really expect that to change much anytime soon given the advantages I had at the start with NC State. I just need a better record vs NCAA competition is all. I continue to worry about how much of that is luck vs sabotaging myself with shitty gameplanning.

I also subscribe to the Radii theory of scheduling. I didn't mean to schedule as hard as I did. I tried to revamp my scheduling this year, but didn't want to pick as many good teams as I eventually did. That just occurred by accident. I thought I had picked middle of the road teams that would give us a decent game, but that we would ultimately win. I was more than surprised (which is why I looked at our schedule) at how many teams seemed to be in the upper tier this year.

Next year, I will do the same thing, but hope that it gets turned down a notch. I question, if I would have lost some of those OOC games where USC would be sitting now.

muns

11-17-2015, 11:32 AM

I cant wrap my head around this team. All the talent in the world, but they turn it on and off when they feel like it and lose games they shouldn't be losing.

First up was the battle with California. We get serious in the 2nd half and score 42 to their 26 and we win 73-60. That puts us beating the top 2 teams in the conf and has us looking up, one would think right?

Well we decided that we were too good for our own good and lose then next game to Washington State 58-57..... Really guys??? Cant blame this on fouls or any other crap, we just decided that we could throw our shoes out on the court and would win... Not so fast and Washington State earns the victory.

Next up is UCLA. You know the UCLA that beat us in the first game of the season..... and we play the same way. UCLA dusts us 76-60...

Now the scramble is on. We have lost 3 of our last 4 and the conference title is just slipping right down the tubes.....

muns

11-17-2015, 11:34 AM

With just over a month to go now in the regular season, most schools have their teeth pretty well sunk into conference play and at this point it's just a matter of executing and hoping to stay healthy. Those who still have work left to reach their goals are either going to hit their stride now, or savor disappointments that will be bitter in some cases. Time is beginning to run short, and the expected hierarchy has established itself in most places.

Before we get to the projected field itself though, a correction and an apology must be made. It seems an error made it into our last issue. It stuck in our craw that Bradley was ranked so highly after a bad loss to Indiana, and a frankly much worse loss to Detroit Mercy. The Braves are a fine team but don't belong in the same category as Indiana and the two Kansas schools. The mistake has been corrected, and we think their current standing much more closely reflects the achievements of their season to date. We will endeavor to earn the confidence of our valued readers by being more vigilant in future editions.

NCAA

1 -- Kansas State(Big 7), Indiana(Big Ten), Kansas, West Virginia(Southern)
2 -- North Carolina State, Bradley(MVC), Kentucky(SEC), Washington(PCC)
3 -- Oregon, California, San Francisco(WCC), Duke
4 -- Seattle, North Carolina(ACC), UCLA, Duquesne
5 -- Virginia, Michigan State, Southern California, Michigan
6 -- Iowa, Georgia Tech, La Salle, Arkansas(SWC)
7 -- St. John's(Metro NY), Dartmouth(Ivy Group), Connecticut(Yankee), Niagara(WYN3)
8 -- Utah State Agricultural Col(MSAC), Texas Western(BIAA), Murray State(Ohio Valley), Marshall(MAC)

West Virginia is far from a sure thing as a deserving #1, merely the best of many possible options for the fourth spot there right now. The other three however, are basically locks at this point with the Hoosiers looking better and better with each passing week. One of that power trio is highly likely to cut down the nets at the end of the year in our view. Kansas is a bit behind the other two, but not by far. The PCC has a number of teams good enough to play spoiler as well if things fall their way(and they don't beat each other up too much)

NIT

1 -- Clemson, Southern Methodist, Ohio State, Oklahoma A&M
2 -- Holy Cross, Saint Joseph's, Dayton, Villanova
3 -- Maryland, Notre Dame, Mississippi State, Idaho State
4 -- Syracuse, Saint Mary's, San Jose State, Santa Clara
5 -- Stanford, Temple, Georgetown, Vanderbilt
6 -- Oregon State, Utah, Illinois, Oklahoma City
7 -- Colorado, Toledo, Washington State, Baylor
8 -- Tulane, Iowa State, Citadel, Brigham Young

muns

11-17-2015, 11:35 AM

The National Basketball Report: February 14, 1957

NBR Top Twenty
1. Kansas State (19-1, LW 1)
2. Indiana (20-1, 2)
3. Kentucky (18-2, 3)
4. Washington (20-3, 4)
5. Kansas (18-4, 5)
6. NC State (17-6, 6)
7. North Carolina (19-4, 8)
8. Seattle (26-3, 7)
9. Duke (17-5, 10)
10. San Francisco (21-3, 14)
11. Bradley (16-4, 13)
12. Southern California (16-5, 9)
13. Duquesne (22-5, 15)
14. Arkansas (18-5, 14)
15. West Virginia (20-4, 15)
16. Dayton (20-5, 18)
17. OKlahoma A&M (17-3, 16)
18. La Salle (22-5, NR)
19. California (15-6, 20)
20. UCLA (16-5, NR)
Dropped Out: Oregon State (17), Oregon (19)

The Season Inside
Taking the road least traveled to find rivalry and revelry

Throughout the season, conference races get heated. Except in this season. The ACC, Big 7, Big Ten, PCC, and SEC races have all but fizzled out. You already know who is getting in, who is vying for a top seed...there is incredibly little drama in those conferences.

What about a conference where there is only one postseason bid? What about a conference where the foes are so heated, police are often on standby in case the fans get rowdy? What about a conference involving a bunch of players few outside its jurisdiction have ever heard of, but within that perimeter, they are heroes?

This is life in the Mountan State Athletic Conference...the conference nobody wants to concede.

The conference which gives no quarter.

The conference, which resides in the Rocky Mountain range, includes teams from Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The conference has some notable players, primarily Utah's sterling guard, Robert Peeler, and the Utah State duo, Benjamin Doolittle and Fran Upshaw. Outside of that, little is known by the common fan. What should be known is this: As UNC, Duke, and the like travel on luxurious buses in fine weather, these schools are traveling around on rented buses in snowy conditions through treacherous trails.

"We had an accident heading to Provo, about a year back," said Peeler, discussing a trip to BYU last year. "A car spun out of control, and hit us. We ended up in a ditch alongside the road. They didn't have another bus for four hours, and it was snowing. The officers brought a paddy wagon for us.

"Unfortunately, that slipped on an ice patch, and ended up about a quarter-mile down the road in another ditch."

The life of the Mountain Stater is not glamorous. Your story, outside of local papers and this publication, will most likely go untold. The time zone is not conducive to East Coast reporters, and the West Coast already has the PCC to worry about. Only four players over three seasons have been in the national recruiting top 150, which is considered the upper echelon of recruit. Those are:

1953: C Hal Myers, Utah State (110th)
1954: PF Dave Baptist, Utah (104th)
1955: C David Long, BYU (103rd) and PG Rudy Grimmett, Colorado A&M (106th)

The most highly-ranked class is the 1954 Utah team, which ranked 48th. Last year's overall haul, in which half the conference ranked from 52nd to 89th, is considered the best yet.

"Our kids see opportunity here," said Utah coach Lacy Hutchens. "We see the true value of the player's hard work and dedication. We aren't always going to land Captain Hotshot, but we will land Hustle Russell."

This year has seen a culmination of years of Hustle Russells. The conference race is heated, more heated than any race in the country.

And nobody knows about it...until now.

Conference play began on January 21st. Going into conference play, Utah had the conference's best record, at 8-5. What has happened since has been nothing short of chaos.

January 21st
New Mexico 69, Utah 67 (OT): A wonderful primer for Mountain State play; the two teams combine for 46 fouls, and the Lobos' Dean Burroughs hit a fading shot from the corner at the buzzer to send it to overtime. With 1:33 left, he found Michael Weiland for a score, giving New Mexico a 69-67 lead. New Mexico forced a Utah miss, but Weiland traveled with :35 left. Gene Theisen had an open look, but missed. Fritz Owens got the rebound, and threw up a wild shot, hoping to get a foul. He missed. Robert Peeler fouled Hobert Chastain, fouling out of the game with :05 left. Chastain missed both free throws, giving Utah one more shot. Theisen got the rebound, took two dribbles, and launched a ball 75 feet. It hit the rim, but did not fall. The Lobos welcomed Utah to the season inside with a loss.

"We call it the season inside because it is simply more important to us than the season out there," said New Mexico head coach Tony Fuller. "We know this conference isn't getting more than one bid yet. We get our games outside of here, we take a few licks, and we get ready. Then we get inside our real season, the one inside our conference. The season inside, that's our goal. Anything out of it is gravy."

Denver beat Wyoming, 63-55, getting the Pioneers to 8-7. The aptly-named Marco Winner scores 19. They are one of two teams over .500 at this stage. They also own the league's best outside wins this year, beating Michigan State, Saint Mary's, Stanford, and Colorado on the road. They may be the best-tested for the season inside.

"Oh, that's a bunch of malarkey," said Pioneer coach, James Dao about Fuller's talk of the season inside. "That's the talk of a man who does not have a complete program. Look, you want to be the best? Go play somebody. Get better. You get better by learning from other teams, by finding what works for your team. These schools that want to play half the season, fine. Games are games. Play your best, be your best, and your best gets better as you become more experienced."

Make no mistake, however: the Mountain State is not like the ACC. When a school from a "big" conference gets taken down, the coaching staff usually gets congratulatory phone calls or telegrams about it the next day. Of course, that is after a call is placed to the advance men who were at the game, taking notes about who did what, and what was run. Despite the weather, these men conduct their thankless jobs with incredible detail.

January 26: The first full day of conference games. Denver takes out Utah, 79-70, sending a message across the conference. The Utes are 0-2, and Denver 2-0. Utah State, the preseason favorite, opens things up with a handy win over BYU. The Cougars, the program many thought would become kings of the conference, are an afterthought after three directionless seasons.

January 28: Utah gets in the win column with a 30-point win over Colorado A&M. That was not a surprise. What was a major surprise was BYU's 55-39 win over Denver. Denver was held to 29% shooting. Though, to hear Dao say it, BYU had little to do with it.

"Sometimes you don't shoot well," said Dao. "Sure, defense has something to do with it. But we missed twelve layups. We were not ready to play today. Sometimes, you tip your cap to the other team. And sometimes, you look in the mirror. Today was a day to look in the mirror."

February 2: Montana shocked Utah, 90-81, while Denver rebounded with a big, 66-55 win over Utah State. Their lead in the conference is conditional, though; BYU beat New Mexico, 66-59, has played one less game, and would hold a tiebreaker over Denver if the two were to tie (at least, for now). BYU is 6-13 on the year, but 2-1 on the season inside.

"We talked to our kids before the conference season started," BYU coach Maxwell Scudder said. "We had an honest talk with them. We played an amibitious schedule before the season started. We took some hard falls, but we made some progress, too. I told them I thought we were a better team than we were at the beginning of the season, and if they stayed mentally tough, and saw through it all, we were really 0-0. And we liked our chances. Our kids never lost focus."

BYU played NC State, Arkansas, Temple, Cal, Syracuse, Southern Cal, Illinois, Duke, Washington State, Saint Mary's, and Oregon before their conference slate took hold. During one stretch, they lost ten of eleven games. Since then, they are 6-3.

February 4: Denver and New Mexico took a break from the conference, registering non-conference wins. But BYU took the conference lead, blasting Colorado A&M, 73-57. Utah State beat up on Jekyll-and-Hyde Montana, 78-48, while Utah took out Wyoming, 64-59. The Cowboys are the one program that has had difficulty finding their footing in the conference. They are 0-5.

"We are a young team," said Wyoming head man Israel Schneider. "We're going to take our lumps. We play two seniors, and start three juniors. I think we're showing progress. This league is tight, from top to bottom. All we can do is ask our kids to learn and get better every day. If we do that, the chips will fall where they may."

Montana, meanwhile, seems to be the wild card in this whole mix. They beat Utah, in Salt Lake City no less, then turn around and lose by thirty at home to a similarly up-and-down Utah State team. They're 7-13, and in searching for answers, have found more questions.

"It's like a leaky ship," said Ellsworth Rainbolt, who is in his first year as the head coach at Montana after spending the last three years as the assistant coach at Kansas State. "You find one hole, plug it up, and another hole springs up. You're slowly going under, but you're going to prolong it as much as possible. We had that one five-game losing streak to start, then got a win...then had Syracuse and Seattle. Fine. We beat Idaho, but then had another losing streak. After the Utah win, I thought we may have turned a corner. I think we walked into one."

Montana, for the moment, is 2-2 in the conference.

February 9: Montana would fall again, this time 60-58 to Brigham Young. The loss came despite forcing 21 turnovers out of the Cougars. A 36-26 rebounding edge got BYU to 4-1 in the conference. Perhaps the turnaround is complete. At least, in these circles, they are an afterthought no more.

"We are eight and thirteen," said Scudder. "It is not time to sit back and rest on our laurels. Our laurels are thorns. Sit back, get pricked. This team should not feel comfortable and headstrong at this point."

The Cougars had let a nine-point halftime lead slip, and fell behind 52-51 with 3:35 left. They stretched it back to 59-54 with :14 left. Many who were at the game, though, say that if the Grizzlies had one more possession, that game may have gone into overtime.

"BYU was tired," said one scout afterwards. "Montana closed on them hard. They just ran out of time. Give them two more minutes of gametime, and Montana wins that."

Denver stayed with BYU, getting a key 63-61 win over New Mexico. Hubert Steffens led the Pioneers with 17. In many ways, Steffens embodies the Mountain State player.

"He's a heads up player," said Dao of Steffens. "He isn't flashy. Good jump shot. Hits his free throws, especially big ones. He rebounds well for his size (5.8 rebounds, 6'1 guard). He has gotten better every year he's been in the program. He's a kid who came in, knew his job, and does his job. He's just gotten better at doing it. He has his abilities. I wouldn't say he's outplayed them, like Winner. But he knows his strengths, and plays to them."

Marco Winner, meanwhile, started out of necessity on last year's 10-19 team. In many ways, he is the face of the program.

"He struggled early on," said Dao. "He's a guy who worked hard, and got into games, but he pushed too hard. He rushed his game. He had to learn. Now, he's near a thousand points. I don't know that anyone could have predicted that when he was a freshman. He didn't start until last year. He is not the fastest player, nor the biggest, nor the strongest. But you will have a hard time finding anyone who plays harder."

Utah State, meanwhile, cannot find their rhythm. They lose, handedly, to Colorado A&M. The 6'10, 245-pound behemoth for A&M, Josh Bernal, led the way with 20, adding to his conference record of career points (as of this writing, he is at 1,402). His nickname in the conference is "Sasquatch." This, despite the fact that hal Myers, Bernal's direct opponent in this game, is twenty pounds bigger.

"We call him the Yeti," said Bernal.

February 11: Utah gains some revenge, beating Brigham Young, 85-73. Robert Peeler, the star of the conference, scored 12 and dished 16 assists.

"I look at the things he does, and wonder why he chose Utah," said one scout.

Peeler is the conference's second-all-time scorer, behind Bernal. He is the Mountain State's all-time assist man, with 658 going into publication. He has 315 more than second place. And he's humble about it.

"I get to pass to guys who score," said Peeler. "It isn't rocket science. Do you see what those guys are doing? They're putting spaceships up there. All I do is throw a ball. The other guy has to score it."

If Utah (11-8, 3-3) is to pull this conference out, it will be because Peeler has willed them to it. On this day, he willed Jack Gallagaher to a career-high 22 in a must-win game against a conference leader. He has nutured forward Ernest Pedro into a consistent scorer. He makes the plays in front of him, and doesn't leave any plays on the floor.

BYU, meanwhile, never felt in sync. The old doubt returns, at least for a night. Players were hesitant. The Cougars commited 22 turnovers.

"We weren't us," said Scudder. "We were what we've been."

Colorado A&M, meanwhile, pulled even with the tops of the conference, beating Denver on the road, 80-69. Sasquatch scored just 11, but he had help. Pedro Duran had 15 with eight boards. John Waldman scored 12, Joe Bethune put up 11 off the bench.

"We have, perhaps, more experience than anyone here," said Aggie coach Ralph Musselman. "Seven guys have started many games for us. It seems like everyone on our roster has at least ten games in. Seven of our guys have been in the program for three years, at least. When you're around each other that long, you're bound to gain chemistry. They know where they are. It starts with 'Quatch, but everyone knows who is going to be where.

"With this outfit, it's a matter of hitting shots. That is not something we're particularly good at."

The Aggies are 122nd in field goal percentage. They've relied on the defense, which is among the worst in points allowed, but fourth in the conference in field goal percentage against. A lot of that comes from the thirty-point loss to Utah. Aside from that, they've been stingy.

Meanwhile, Utah State, for all of their stutters and failures to sustain success, find themselves tied atop the conference, after holding on in the final minute to beat Wyoming, 50-49. The loss kept the Cowboys winless, at 0-6. The win makes this a whole new conference.

Going into publication, this is the outlook:

On Saturday (2.16), Utah travels to Utah State in the key game. On Monday, Denver travels to Utah. It is possible that the fate of the Utes will be determined in these two games. Or, it will be determined that nothing will be determined. Look at how the first go-round of games went.

There is a lot of basketball to be played in the season inside. With just one place at the table, these teams will do what it takes to get in the chair. On the final day of the season, when Utah State travels to Utah, BYU plays Wyoming, Denver goes to Montana, and New Mexico heads to Coloraod A&M, chances are that nothing will be settled.

We'll have to wait for the snow to melt, and the dust to clear.

---

The List
Finalizing the list for major awards

There is a month to go before the tournaments get announced, and plenty of action between now and mid-March. However, the major awards should begin to be investigated.

Let's take a look.

National Player of the Year

Elijah Davis, SG, Clemson. Davis is the frontrunner for the award, in part for his play, and in part for leading a Clemson team expected to go nowhere towards a NCAA berth, while generally finding defenses geared towards stopping him every single night. He is averaging a nation-high 23.3 points a game, a full two points higher than Harvard's Matthew Cordoba. He's also averaging 7.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He's shooting 52% from the field, 81% from the line, despite facing those defense that are geared to stop him. He has scored 2145 points in his career, heading into publication. This is not just purely a Player of the Year award, but a Career Achievement Award. Davis is one of the finest collegiate players ever, and will be fifty years from now.

John Hildebrand, PG, West Virginia. The senior star is averaging 14.2 points, 8.2 assists, and 4.7 rebounds a game. He is the top point man in the nation, and has taken on more of an offensive burden as the Mountaineers require his shoulders to carry them. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.28 is the third-best mark for anyone averaging over an assist a game; out of those two, Chet Terrazas has a bit of a poor man's Hildebrand going on. Normand Herbert of Kansas State doesn't have the numbers. Hildebrand should find himself a spot on the All-American team. And he could win this award yet, especially if Clemson collapses yet.

Sonny Freeman, SF, Dartmouth. You know about Freeman if you read an earlier issue of the Review. He is averaging 18.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists a game. He is also leading a young Dartmouth team to the top of the Ivy League. He has a solid counterpart in Charles Smith (16.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists), but it is Freeman who makes the Indians go. He deserves the acclaim that goes with this list.

Dennis Sawicki, SF, North Carolina. One of the nation's most talented players, Sawicki is averaging 19.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists a game. Sawicki has a talented roster around him, but he is still the leader of a Tar Heels team that has championship aspirations.

JC Quiles, PF, Southern California. Quiles is averaging a double-double, 11.0 points and 11.7 rebounds a game, helping Southern Cal take the next step to the national stage. Quiles is shooting 55% from the field.

National Freshman of the Year

Charles Witten, SG, Idaho. Witten is averaging a frosh-best 17.5 points a game, along with 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Witten is the only Vandal averaging over 8.5 points a game.

Mario Poe, C, Columbia. Poe, who was considered the favorite early on, is averaging 13.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks a game. Columbia has struggled, but Poe has gotten better as the season goes on.

Joshua Azure, PG, Oregon. Azure is putting up 11.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists a game. He leads all freshman in the latter, and is the only player averaging at least ten points, three rebounds, and three assists a game.

Brent Burchell, PG, Michigan State. Burchell is putting up numbers somewhat similar to Azure. He's scoring more (13.1 ppg), but not quite as productive with rebounds (2.4) or assists (3.0). He is, however, averaging 1.4 steals per a gams, which is tied for third among freshman.

Kelley Kuehl, SG, San Francisco. Kuehl is putting up 12.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists a game, along with a freshman-leading 1.8 steals for the Dons. He can fill up a stat sheet, and is doing so for a team that has the largest profile on this list.

Coach of the Year

Saul Bray, Seattle. The Chieftains are 26-3 under Bray, who is in his first year after being Washington's top assistant. His defensive approach has paid dividends, as the Chieftains, who start four juniors and one sophomore, are second in the nation in defense.

Shawn Rankins, Syracuse. No matter what you think of Syracuse and their flaky schedule (2-1 vs the top 50), you cannot deny Rankins' ability to motivate and to teach. Syracuse has the seventh-best defense, is first in the nation in field goal percentage against, and has a top-thirty offense.

Romeo Woods, Oklahoma A&M. Woods has led a resurgence in Stillwater, getting the Cowboys off to their best start ever. He has had to juggle many things, including a mostly offensive roster. While his specialty is in defense, he has put together a great offense, one that ranks near the top twenty in many categories.

Duane Lear, Georgia Tech. It isn't quite how you succeed, but what you do once you do so. The Yellow Jackets are 15-6 after a 25-win season with a veteran group. Not many thought they would be terribly good, but here they are.

Dave Johnson, Clemson. The Tigers are 17-6, when many thought they'd be .500, at best. He's doing it with one of the nation's best players, but what else? Johnson's ability to keep Clemson focused, and away from media criticisms, is one of the more outstanding jobs done this season.

NBR NCAA Tournament Projection

1 Indiana Kentucky 1
8 Dartmouth Murray State 8

5 California UCLA 5
4 Duquesne Arkansas 4
East South
3 Duke West Virginia 3
6 Michigan State Georgia Tech 6

7 Connecticut Niagara 7
2 Kansas NC State 2

1 Kansas State Washington 1
8 Toledo Texas Western 8

5 Dayton La Salle 5
4 Southern Cal Oklahoma A&M 4
Midwest West
3 Bradley San Francisco 3
6 Clemson Oregon State 6

7 St. John's Utah State 7
2 North Carolina Seattle 2

muns

11-17-2015, 11:48 AM

Next up is Washington, Stanford, and Idaho.

I expect Washington to get us back, and then we take out Idaho and Stanford.....

So what do you think happens???

It's a big game so we decide to play basketball and take down Washington for the 2nd time this year 89-56.

It is beyond irritating that we can destroy a top 5 team in Washington, and then fail to show up for the little sisters of the poor here. I don't even know how we did it. Washington is too good to let us shoot 64% on them, and we are too good to only shoot 30% at Washington State... Edmund Nelson who should now be entering the picture for Freshman of the year goes 15-22 and scores 34 points that game.

Next up is Stanford.... and if you haven't been following the theme we lose 86-77. If you would have told me we would have had 17 offensive rebounds and shot 47% before the game, I would have told you we would have blown them out.... However, we forgot to hold onto the ball and turn the ball over 25 times.... Tip of the cap to Vince as his squad picked our pockets 13 times to earn that victory.

Thankfully in the 3rd game we do beat Idaho, however, we were down 34-29 at half so we didn't exactly play well there either.

All of this has me worried as we are 18-7 on the year and 7-5 in the conf. The game has us on the bubble list and listed as in. I am not worried about that, as I still expect to make the NCAA tourney, but we somehow need to figure out how to put 2 halves of basketball together when we aren't playing Washington and California.

It certainly doesn't get any easier for us, as we have Oregon, Oregon State, California and Washington State left. We could easily go 3-1 or 0-4 with this group. Hoping the trend does not continue to happen as I would like a few more wins under our belt for tourney time and playing 2 halves would be nice to see for a few games.

muns

11-17-2015, 11:52 AM

Bracketology

This our second-to-last pre-tournament projection, with the regular season now measured in just weeks remaining. There are still dozens of teams with their postseason futures uncertain, and a number of conference races are too close to call. Particularly interesting is the upcoming Georgia Tech visit to Kentucky; both are still undefeated in SEC play. And as brilliantly noted by others at NBR, the balance of power in the MSAC changes daily, sometimes even more often than that. Pressure is high in many places this time of year; few can afford an off game now.

NCAA

1 -- Indiana(Big Ten), Kansas State(Big 7), Kansas, West Virginia(Southern)
2 -- Bradley(MVC), North Carolina State, Kentucky(SEC), Callifornia(PCC)
3 -- Washington, UCLA, San Francisco(WCC), Seattle
4 -- Duke, Oregon, North Carolina(ACC), Southern California
5 -- Michigan State, Southern Methodist, Virginia, Duquesne
6 -- Clemson, Georgia Tech, Holy Cross, Arkansas(SWC)
7 -- St. John's(Metro NY), Dartmouth(Ivy), Niagara(WYN3), Toledo(MAC)
8 -- Connecticut(Yankee), Texas Western(BIAA), Brigham Young(MSAC) , Murray State(Ohio Valley)

The biggest change we have to report is at the very top. For the first time this season, we do not list a Kansas program as the #1 overall seed, with Indiana nipping Kansas State by the slightest of margins. Both have put a modest distance between themselves and Kansas, but the defending champions still cannot be overlooked. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers continue to head a group of four competing for that final #1 spot.

At the bottom of the heap it's a yo-yo for some teams, notably those such as Clemson, Holy Cross, and Southern Methodist who did well enough to move back into the field. Going the other direction there is movement as well, particularly in the case of Michigan who was considered a solid bet to not just get in but win a game until about three weeks ago; now, they are nowhere to be found.

NIT

1 -- Saint Joseph's, Oklahoma A&M, La Salle, Iowa
2 -- Michigan, Dayton, Mississippi State, Notre Dame
3 -- Maryland, Ohio State, Saint Mary's, Stanford
4 -- Syracuse, Villanova, Idaho State, Illinois
5 -- Temple, Georgetown, Utah, San Jose State
6 -- Oklahoma City, Colorado, Oregon State, Utah State Agricultural Col
7 -- Santa Clara, Washington State, Vanderbilt, Baylor
8 -- Minnesota, Citadel, Iowa State, Virginia Tech

muns

11-17-2015, 11:52 AM

The National Basketball Report: February 26, 1957

The season is winding down, legacies are coming to an end, and the landscape is changing. We're looking forward to all of it. In this issue, we try to answer a few questions, and get you ready for what is to come.

NBR Top Twenty
1. Kansas State (22-1, LW 1)
2. Indiana (23-1, 2)
3. Kentucky (22-2, 3)
4. Kansas (21-4, 5)
5. North Carolina (22-4, 7)
6. Washington (22-4, 4)
7. Seattle (28-3, 8)
8. North Carolina State (19-7, 6)
9. San Francisco (23-3, 10)
10. Duke (19-6, 9)
11. Bradley (18-4, 11)
12. Duquesne (25-5, 13)
13. Arkansas (20-5, 14)
14. West Virginia (23-4, 15)
15. Dayton (22-5, 16)
16. Southern California (18-7, 12)
17. Clemson (19-7, NR)
18. Oklahoma A&M (19-4, 17)
19. La Salle (23-6, 19)
20. UCLA (18-5, 20)
Dropped Out: California (19)

A Little Q&A
A couple of questions were posed to us recently

Q: In the AP poll, NC State is ranked higher than North Carolina...this despite the Tar Heels being three games ahead of the Wolfpack in the ACC standings. How much disrespect should North Carolina feel?

Not too much disrespect. NC State is 13-7 against the top fifty. North Carolina is 7-3. The Wolfpack's losses are to Bradley, at Kansas (by six), Duke (13), at Clemson, North Carolina, to Kansas State (by one), and at home to Clemson (by two). North Carolina has losses to Oklahoma City, Oregon, Boston College, and Duke. The BC loss was an ugly one, and frankly, Oklahoma City was not much better. UNC is all but assured of a top-two seed in the NCAA, so I wouldn't worry too much if we were them. Besides, in our poll, North Carolina is ranked higher than NC State. The question is about the Absolutely Preposterous Poll.

Q: Who is the kid from Harvard that is among the scoring leaders?

That would be Matthew Cordoba, a 6'2 scoring machine out of New Haven. This year, he is averaging 22.1 points a game, along with 4.3 rebounds. He has 1,008 points for his career, and will likely set several scoring records in the Ivy, and perhaps nationally, by the time he's done. The single-season scoring record in-conference is 542, set by Columbia's Chris Telles in 1954-55. Cordoba has five games to go, and 508 points on the season. In all likelihood, that record will be his by season's end.

The scouting report on him says he is an expert scorer inside, which is interesting for someone who is "just" six-foot-two. He also has a reliable jump shot (43% shooting) and a capable free throw shot (72%). His shooting is up from 38% a year ago, and if he gets to 50% or so, he'll be at nearly 28 points a game. His turnovers are down from a year ago, though they're still higher than his coaches would like.

That said, he is definitely one to watch for the record books. With that on our mind...

Q: What are the most likely records to fall this year?

Scoring Records: Nationally, none, now. Elijah Davis has 2209 points for his career, nearly five hundred more than the previous holder, Maryland's George Dawkins. He likely won't get to his single-season mark of 759, set last year.

Rebounding: Brady Poe of Siena is now the record-holder, with 1172 in his career. Alvin McKissick of Syracuse is second, at 1126. The single-season record of 397, set by Kentucky's Jerry Young back in 1953-54, is not threatened this year.

Assists: John Hildebrand, the wonderful magician of West Virginia, recently took the career record from former Indiana great Marcos Godfrey. Hildebrand is up to 755 dishes for his career. Godfrey, though, delievered 734 scores to others in just three years. Stephen Ferrari, of San Francisco, is at 719. He likely will not pass Hildebrand. Andrew Cosme of St. Joe's (715) and Utah great Robert Peeler (690) may get past Godfrey this year, too. The single-season record, set by Godfrey back in 1954-55, is 258. Hildebrand has a chance to break that, but WVU has to get far in the tournament. He's at 219 so far. USC's Freddie Nation, the nation's leader in assists (9.3 ppg), also has an opportunity. He has 233 so far this year, and the Trojans are expected to get into the postseason.

Steals: Duquesne's Chauncey Hinkley is the career leader, with 275. He leads Lane McClary of Duke by 28. McClary probably will not catch him. Hinkley will probably also bust his single-season total, set last year. He has 88 this season, ten off his seasonal mark.

Blocks: Wisconsin's Freddie Yan has 320 after upping his block rate to 5.4/game this year. He leads McKissick by 22. The former leader, Jason McKnight of Navy, had 293. McKissick probably will not catch Yan, but he could see postseason action. If Syracuse makes a good run in the NIT, he could become the leader. Yan is six blocks off the single-season record, held by former NC State big man Angelo Parham, back in 1954-55. That record, barring some catastophe, will fall this year.

The Stretch Run
Your guide to the rest of the regular season

As we gear up for the very end of the regular season, the question begs...what is there to watch? What races are the best for the casual fan? Are there any players we should be specifically interested in? What are the toughest tickets over the next month? Will the questions ever end?

Well, we're here to answer all of that. So, without further ado, this is the End-of-Season Primer.

ACC

Games To Watch

2.27: Duke (19-6) at North Carolina (22-4). Duke is two games behind North Carolina. They probably won't jump seed on NC State, who looks to be assured a 1 or 2 seed, depending on the ACC Tournament. But they *can* jump the Heels. And keep themselves from falling into the bubble conversation (something Duke is closer to than anyone realizes). This will also be Lane McClary and Jonathan Fleenor's last trip to Chapel Hill. The two have had storied careers for the Blue Devils. They should be applauded by their chief rival.

3.2: NC State (19-7) at North Carolina (22.4). Anyone who needs to know why this is here is dense.

3.2: Clemson (19-7) at Maryland (16-10). The Tigers are the feel-good story of the nation, and are incredibly close to an NCAA berth nobody thought was possible back in November. Maryland, however, has NCAA plans of their own. A win over the Tigers alone won't help them achieve it, but it will help.

3.6: North Carolina at Maryland. This, combined with a Clemson win, could give Maryland a much better resume. North Carolina could be wrapping up a league title with a win here. Or it could be exposing itself to chaos if they lose.

3.9: North Carolina at Clemson. We know, all of these games are centered around a small subset of ACC teams. But North Carolina has a very difficult closing schedule. This will be Elijah Davis' last home game. And Clemson could be fighting for their tournament lives in this one. This has all the makings of one heck of a story. You know we'll have a reporter or two there.

Big 7

3.2: Kansas (21-4) at Kansas State (22-1). The Powers of Oz meet in Manhattan. This is the last high-profile home game for the 53 Boys, the superclass of Billy Jacob, David Gunter, Tommy Fritts and Erich Walton. For Luis Horne, Alphonse Howard, and Loren Brown, this is the last of these games...unless they meet in the NCAA Tournament, of course. We've been waiting for that for years.

Big Ten

3.2: Ohio State (16-7) at Illinois (17-6). This may be a play-in game, especially for Illinois. Ohio State is considered to be in the NCAA by the Absolutely Preposterous board...we have our doubts. But if the Fighting Illini lose, their chances will be slim to none.

3.6: Michigan State (16-6) at Michigan (12-11). The Wolverines are disappointed in their year (honestly, we told you this, in the beginning of the season). But they have a chance to spoil Michigan State's season with an upset. The Spartans will be in the NCAA if they win out. This is the one we think they can, and will, lose. Consider Sparty spoiled by the Wolverine.

3.16: Indiana (23-1) at Illinois. The Hoosiers are 50-0 in Big Ten games going into publication...14-0 the last three years, and 8-0 this year. This, most likely, is the biggest hurdle between four straight undefeated conference seasons. Can you imagine what Champaign would look like if the Illini got the first Hoosier loss in Big Ten play, especially on the eve of the tournament bracket announcement? The committee may have to wait on this result.

3.16: Ohio State at Michigan State. If they survive all other tests...this is a play-in game. Winner gets a NCAA bid. The loser is shuffled off to the NIT. Guaranteed.

Border Conference

3.2: Arizona (12-12) at Arizona State (10-13). With this conference so tight and up for grabs, Arizona plays their first of two against the Sun Devils. They also get a trip to Texas Western, before getting the Devils again at home. They could put a major tiebreaker together by beating the Sun Devils here. And put the pressure on Texas Western. The Miners have lost to the Sun Devils.

3.9: Arizona at Texas Western (12-11). If Arizona dispatches Arizona State, this might be for the conference. And this could be the moment for junior star guards Silvio Flores and Robert Williams to shine. This is a classic backcourt vs frontcourt strength battle, and we're looking forward to see who comes through.

3.16: Arizona State at Texas Western: Of course, if things shake out differently...say, Arizona State beats Arizona twice, and Arizona knocks off the Miners...this would be for the league crown.

Ivy Group

3.2: Columbia (15-10) at Dartmouth (14-9). The Indians have a three-game lead on Penn, and a three-and-a-half game cushion on the Lions. If Columbia is to drag themselves back into this, they MUST win this game.

3.2: Pennsylvania (11-13) at Princeton (12-13). Of course, the Quakers, a surprise entrant into this race after a ten-game losing streak early this year, need to win this to close any gap between them and Dartmouth. Princeton, who has fallen on hard times in conference play, can spoil the Quakers' year here.

3.4: Dartmouth at Pennsylvania. If Columbia and Penn win the aforementioned games, this could get the Quakers to within a game of the conference lead. Think Philadelphia wouldn't be ready for this game, if that were the case? This team will definitely be fun to watch next season...they're already pretty fun to watch now.

3.9: Dartmouth at Harvard (13-10). Matthew Cordoba, the nation's second-leading scorer, is only a sophomore. And he already has a thousand points, gained as part of a thirty-point output in the Crimson's 69-53 win over Harvard. The first he faced off with Sonny Freeman, he won the scoring battle, 22-18...but Freeman, and Charles Smith (18 apiece) won the game. Now, the game shifts to Cambridge. Can Cordoba even the score? Can Harvard continue a NIT run?

Metro

3.2: St. John's (18-7) at NYU (12-16). This is where the Johnnies clinch their fourth-straight Metro title. Then, they can start trying to move up in seed. Note...if NYU manages to beat St. John's, and Fordham (12-16) beats Brooklyn (7-19), there would be a three-way tie for first, where each of the three teams--St. John's, NYU, and Fordham--would hold a tie-breaker over the other. This has, very much, a trainwreck feel to the ending of the Metro.

Mid-American

3.2: Marshall (13-11) at Bowling Green State (9-14). Toledo clinches the conference if they win out and Marshall loses a game. Marshall has four conference games left; Toledo has just two. The play-in games start now for the Thundering Herd, with this trip to Bowling Green. They beat BGS 77-50 at home a month ago; however, the Falcons have won two in a row, both on the road, and may have a third if they beat Kent State before the Marshall game.

3.9: Toledo (14-12) at Western Michigan (3-21): If Marshall drops a game, expect Toledo to clinch here. If not, it'll especially be 3.16 against Bowling Green State.

Missouri Valley

3.9: Bradley (18-4) at Oklahoma A&M (19-4). Assuming these two continue their current trends, this will be for the conference title. Barring any unforseen collapses, both will make the NCAA Tournament. But seed, and region, are important. The winner of the conference can, and most likely will, receive a 3-seed. That will keep them away from a top seed until the Elite Eight. The winner will also play in the Midwest, while the loser could be sent to the West, in a tradeoff with the PCC.

Mountain State

3.2: Brigham Young (11-14) at Denver (15-10). It starts here, with the two conference kingpins facing off for, at least in BYU's case, sole possession of first place in the conference. This is something nobody has been able to grab a hold of this year, controlling your own destiny. The Cougars can do that with a win in Denver. If they fail, though, it likely creates a three-way standoff with Colorado A&M being added to the mix. That's good, because...

3.4: Colorado A&M (13-11) at Utah State (12-12). The Aggies need help. They can find it here, by knocking off one of the teams that stands in their way of a championship many thought they'd run away with in November.

3.9: Colorado A&M at Brigham Young. The dance continues, just with different partners.

3.11: Denver at Colorado A&M: Do-se-do...

3.11: Brigham Young at Utah (14-9). Not many have discussed the Utes. However, if chaos breaks this conference down, the Utes, and Utah State, all have shots, even with four losses. If the Cougars fall to either Denver or A&M, this would, in all likelihood, pull Utah even, and create complete havoc that even the finest of statistician would have trouble deciphering.

3.16: Utah State at Utah. If that chaos happens, this will serve to knock out at least one team. Think an in-state rivalry isn't heated enough? Stick them in Utah, in the still of winter (the season runs until mid-May), and tell them one playoff bid is on the line. That'll angry up the blood that didn't need to be angered up any more as it is.

3.16: BYU at Wyoming (7-17). Watch BYU get to this point a game up on everyone, and fall to Wyoming. That is the most fitting way to end this Mountain State season.

OVC: While there is intrigue atop the table, where Murray State (20-8, 8-1) holds a half-game edge on Tennessee Tech (10-16, 7-1), this won't be decided until the conference tournament.

Pacific Coast

2.28: UCLA (18-5) at Oregon (18-6): All of these will have a familiar theme. All seem like knockout games, Instead of the conference being viewed as strong because they are tough, top-to-bottom, they are eating themselves alive. As they accumulate victories and losses against one another, teams like Michigan State and Clemson, while being of inferior quality, are getting higher profiles because, well, gee, they keep winning. UCLA, in beating Oregon, can stay with Cal for the Southern Division ead.

3:2: California (17-7) at Washington (22-4): This is the rare game that will not involve teams trying to get into the postseason. Rather, it will involve two national heavyweights (regular season heavyweights, anyway) who are jockeying for NCAA position. In Washington's case, that means a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. For Cal, they are likely playing for a #2, probably a #3 seed. Regardless, whoever wins the PCC title will be viewed very strongly going into the vetting process. This one looms large for both teams.

3.2: Oregon(18-6) at Southern Cal (18-7). There are whispers in some circles that Southern Cal is no longer a lock for the NCAA Tournament. We agree that they have been on the back end of a downward trend; however, we still have them firmly into the big show in a month. That said...it's a month away. Much can happen to this team between now and then. Oregon is scuffling a little bit, despite winning three of four. They ave 4-4 since they last played the Trojans, back on the 31st of January. That was in Eugene. Now they have to come to Glendale and face one of the top post players in the country in JC Quiles. They'll have to do it without their own top postman, Kenny Foster, who is out for the next two and a half weeks with an injury. Good luck, Quackers.

3.5: Oregon State (16-9) at Southern Cal (18-7). The Beavers really are fighting for their NCAA lives. They are currently on the outside looking in. Beating the Trojans on the road could give them a temporary spot at the table...perhaps at the expense of the team hosting them.

3.5: Washington at Oregon: Things don't get easy in this conference, do they?

3.9: Washington at UCLA. Washington could very well go from penthouse to outhouse in this conference. There are three very possible losses sitting right there for the Huskies. UCLA is tough at home, and they're a team that could be jockeying for position, or jockeying to sit at the NCAA table, rather than with the NIT.

3.9: Oregon at Oregon State. Civil War on the hardwood, potentially for an at-large bid. Does this get any better?

3.9: Southern Cal at Cal. This may be the single greatest day NCAA basketball has had since it resumed play four years ago. Cal, especially if they fall to Washington, will be hearing critics left and right. The Trojans are already hearing them. We get the feeling that this is a game where both teams will assert themselves, and dish out a classic for all who are fortunate enough to view it.

3.12: UCLA at Idaho (9-14). Upset alert.

3.14: Oregon State at Washington. This is Washington's final attempt to show the NCAA Committee they are worthy of a top seed. It may be Oregon State's do-or-die attempt at a bid. Desperation brings about grace. We'll see a lot of grace in Seattle on this night.

3.16: UCLA at Oregon State. This could settle anything from seeding to inclusion. All we know is, this game will mean something.

Southeastern

3.5: Georgia Tech (19-6) at Kentucky (22-2). Both are 9-0 in the conference at publication. Both will presumably be 10-0 when they face off in Lexington. The Yellow Jackets are a surprise much in the way Clemson is; not much was expected from them, and here they are. Chalk that up to an unorthodox style (we've talked about it in the past) that forces teams to play in a manner of which they are unfamiliar. Kentucky simply has ballplayers, and good ones at that. Georgia Tech will not be knocked from a bid here; however, they can definitely make a name for themselves with an upset on the road.

3.12: Mississippi State (15-9) at Tulane (14-11). This has more NIT implications than NCAA, but it does pit two good teams who have disappointed some this year. That said, it does have two of the more electric players in the nation, Eusebio Williams of Tulane and Mississippi State's Douglas Lapierre, going against one another at the point guard spot. The best part? They're juniors.

Southern: West Virginia has clinched the top seed in the conference tournament. Virginia Tech is capable of making a NCAA run, but it'll have to come from winning the bid outright.

Southwestern

3.2: Arkansas (20-5) at Baylor (17-6). The conference is no sure thing for the Razorbacks, who have sat in our ranking all season. Even the Absolutely Preposterous has recognized their talent, and have kept them in the top twenty all season long. But this trip to Baylor is a major hurdle. Southern Methodist is breathing down their neck, sitting one game behind at publication time. Baylor is two back, at 5-3 in the conference. The Bears are playing for a NIT bid, but the NCAA bid is not cinched here yet. They are not in control of their destiny, but the Bears, behind a solid defense and admittedly ugly basketball, will have a say in matters within the conference.

West Coast: San Francisco (23-3, 8-0) has this conference sewn up. San Jose State is playing for NIT inclusion.

2.28: San Francisco (23-3) at San Jose State (16-8). What better way to get on the NIT's radar than by upsetting the conference kingpin? SJSU is three and a half games behind the Dons, but no matter. They're playing for the postseason. Whether or not they can handle the overwhelming talent of San Francisco is another story.

3.14: Santa Clara (9-14) at San Francisco. This is meaningful because it is Stephen Ferrari's final home game as a Don. Anyone who has had a chance to see him will tell you how fortunate they were to do so. If you're able, get a ticket and witness his farewell.

Western New York Three

3.2: Niagara (13-12) at St. Bonaventure (10-15). This figures to be a one-horse race, but if the Bonnies want to make this interesting, they'll score the win here. It is the only chance they have at denying Curt To a fourth NCAA trip in his four years.

Yankee

3.2: Maine (8-17) at New Hampshire (14-12). This is a knockout game; the winner will be the primary contender to Connecticut, while the loser will sit two back without a tiebreaker. That is, unless...

3.2: Connecticut (13-10) at Rhode Island (5-19). ....there's an upset of the Huskies. Connecticut has always finished strong, but this team has been bumpier than most Husky groups. The Rams could be prime to spring one here.

3.6: New Hampshire at Connecticut. This will, in all likelihood, be for the conference championship. If Connecticut wins, they will have a substantial edge heading into their home-and-home with Vermont. If New Hampshire wins, they would force a tie (assuming both teams win out).

NBR NCAA Tournament Projection

1 Indiana Kentucky 1
8 Connecticut Murray State 8

5 La Salle Clemson 5
4 West Virginia Arkansas 4
East South
3 Duquesne Bradley 3
6 California Georgia Tech 6

7 Dartmouth Niagara 7
2 NC State North Carolina 2

1 Kansas State Kansas 1
8 Toledo Texas Western 8

5 UCLA Oklahoma A&M 5
4 Dayton Southern Cal 4
Midwest West
3 Duke San Francisco 3
6 Oegon 6

7 BYU St. John's 7
2 Seattle Washington 2

muns

11-17-2015, 12:03 PM

Our current rank is 20th in the nation.
Our RPI is 5th

We have gone 10-5 vs the top 50
We have gone 3-1 vs 51-100
We have gone 5-1 vs 100-200

We are ranked 24th in the country in Rebounds
18th in the country in Assists
and 9th in the country in FG%

However, we suck at turnovers ranked 149th and points allowed at 109th.

So basically, in games that we shoot at high%, rebound and hold onto the ball just averagly we will win.

In games that we turn the ball over and shoot poorly we are gonna lose.

Not exactly a great combo but that's what we have.

In all honesty, that's my fault for recruiting the way that I have, however, in my defense I couldn't recruit kids that I wanted right away due to everybody in this conf having a leg up on me. I just needed to take the best that I could get and mush em together.

Hopefully with a tourney appearance this year, and a follow up one next, ill be able to be a bit more selective in terms of who I am recruiting. At the moment its kids that can score which is evident in our FG%, but we are paying for that with turnovers as these kids have no handles.

dawgfan

11-17-2015, 01:46 PM

Gonna be a wild finish to the season. So many really good teams in the PCC this season - in this sim Washington gets three ranked teams in Cal, Oregon & UCLA plus a dangerous Washington State team. Some very good teams in this conference are going to get forced into the NIT.

Brian Swartz

11-20-2015, 03:09 AM

Back to the scheduling thing, I use prestige as well for the same reason(to have a system). I try to schedule teams a bit higher than mine for a somewhat tough, but not unmanageable schedule. Well, this year that made Michigan's road very tough -- which was ok, I wanted it to be -- Tulane had a decent schedule, and a lot of Harvard's opponents ended up sucking even more than expected so they had an easier path than I wanted.

It ends up getting what I want, in general, more often than not, but there are still some outliers. I like that overall.

britrock88

11-20-2015, 03:21 PM

I'll offer an alternative approach to scheduling. My thinking is this: making the NCAAs is the goal. FBCB has demonstrated over many simulated seasons that your chances of qualifying fall off a cliff if you sport a record worse than about 19-11. The RPI--a win-loss and SOS-based metric--has a lot of influence over your standing in the eyes of the fictional bracket-makers. Finally, it appears that Top 50 wins receive additional consideration.

Balancing those 3 threads isn't perfectly done, but I've found that scheduling teams based on last season's W-L record is a workable approach. Assuming there are no huge drop-offs in your opponents' fortunes, you get some out-and-out great teams that may give you chances at Top 50 wins, some teams who will boost your RPI by virtue of a good record, and perhaps some filler for your own W-L record.

Other than that, for flavor's sake, I like scheduling teams that aren't too distant or schools where former assistants have take HC jobs. And I make sure to get home-and-homes whenever I go on the road (that makes it harder to schedule opponents more than ~20 points higher in prestige, but alas).

muns

11-23-2015, 06:38 PM

To finish up the regular season we have Oregon, Oregon State, Cal (Huge game there) and then Washington State.

Oregon worries me, We owe Oregon State one back from earlier on in the year, If we want to finish as conf Champs we need the Cal game and then some major help and then not to lose to Washington State again.

Basically we need to go 4-0, not an easy Task by any stretch of imagination, especially with these cast of characters we have in the PCC. Ive seen crazier though, and we do have Mr. Nelson running our show so I can be optomistic

muns

11-23-2015, 06:38 PM

The National Basketball Report: March 10, 1957

NBR Top Twenty
1. Kansas State (26-1, LW 1)
2. Indiana (27-1, 2)
3. Kentucky (25-2, 3)
4. Kansas (22-5, 4)
5. Seattle (28-3, 7)
6. North Carolina State (22-8, 8)
7. San Francisco (25-4, 9)
8. Washington (24-6, 6)
9. Bradley (22-4, 11)
10. Duquesne (26-5, 12)
11. North Carolina (23-7, 5)
12. Arkansas (24-5, 13)
13. Dayton (24-5, 15)
14. Duke (21-8, 10)
15. West Virginia (27-5, 14)
16. Southern Cal (20-8, 16)
17. Clemson (20-9, 17)
18. Oklahoma A&M (21-6, 18)
19. La Salle (23-6, 19)
20. UCLA (21-6, 20)
Dropped Out: Nobody

Well, we got what we wished for, didn't we?

We asked for the basketball heavens to open, and to deliver upon us intrigue until the final day of the season. We asked for the basketball gods to bring us a beautiul chaos. They most certainly delivered.

Look at the poll above. After the top four, only the bottom five stayed the same. There was tremendous fluctuation in the middle ten. It is amazing to see that this late in the season.

What we have before us may not happen again for years upon years. There are so many teams that still have a chance. There are many teams, those who have lost more than they have won, who are staring the postseason in the eye, and not blinking. There are conferences with more teams worthy of the NCAA than who will make it.

And then, there's the Big 7. No drama.

Party poopers.

Without further delay, we'll take you around the country once more, conference by conference, and see if we can sort out this beautiful chaos.

Atlantic Coast - We don't know anyone outside of South Carolina and Wake Forest rooting for South Carolina or Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament.

Many coaches are against the conference tournament concept, saying it reduces the impact of the regular season, and that it leads to teams getting a "cheapened shot" at a NCAA bid, costing worthy teams a selection. Athletic directors, who see the dollar signs, are not as easily persuaded. And George Washington, who shocked the Southern Conference by upsetting West Virginia from it's sixth-seed position, would easily disagree with the general sentiment.

The ACC, who has kept the conference tournament since the NCAA resumed play four years ago, has bucked the trend of regular season and done. It would not be a surprise if, after seeing how the conference does with its tournament, other conferences end up giving in to its fans, and its coffers, and adopts a tournament.

We digress back to the present. Top-seed North Carolina is stumbling, having lost three straight after knocking off heated rival Duke. Of course, losses to NC State, at Maryland, and at Clemson do not decree that the sky is falling. However, it does create some concern for the Tar Heels, who were fighting for a top seed in the NCAA before this losing streak started. Now, nothing but a tournament win will give them any chance. In all likelihood, the ACC champ, unless dominant, is in line for a #2 seed in a Kentucky-led South Region.

Clemson, in defeating the Heels, may have punched their ticket, regardless of what happened in the Southern. They had put themselves on the edge after their own three-game losing streak, which came at Duke, at Maryland, and against the Cavaliers, before rebounding against UNC. Of course, a win against Maryland in the first round of the conference tournament should complete that goal. Not only would it give them one more win over a quality opponent, it would prevent Maryland from potentially winning the tournament. Experts believe, and we agree, that if Virginia or Maryland win the ACC Tournament, it will take another spot from a team believed to be in. That could be Clemson, especially in the case of Maryland.

North Carolina, NC State, Duke and Clemson are ticketed for the NCAA, while Maryland and Virginia are likely NIT-bound. Maryland has the best case to get into the NCAA, but it will likely take an appearance in the final, meaning wins over Clemson and North Carolina. They are in the lump of teams, with La Salle, St. Joe's, Holy Cross, Georgetown, and Villanova, that are considered on the inner edge of the outside of the tournament bubble.

The tournament kicks off on Thursday.

Big 7 - The only issue here is if Kansas acquires the top seed in the West. Right now, we believe Kansas State has the Midwest #1, and Kentucky has the top seed in the South. These won't change, in our view. That leaves Indiana and Kansas, and potentially Seattle. NC State, currently ranked fifth in the Absolutely Preposterous poll, has to demolish the ACC Tournament to gain a top line. They are probably the second seed in the South.

As of now, we have Indiana heading to the East, which should be the easier of the two regions. Kansas would have to deal with Seattle, likely San Francisco, UCLA, Cal, or Southern Cal...or maybe even Washington, if UCLA wins the PCC and gains what would have been Washington's seed as a result.

Outside of that, the only question is whether or not Colorado receives a NIT bid. Losing to Villanova by 21 at home, then to SMU by 11, at home, and to 13-14 Nebraska, at home, doesn't gain our confidence. The Buffaloes wrap up with Kansas State at home on Saturday. How will that go?

Big Ten - Indiana has a top seed, likely in the East. If they are the #2 in the Midwest, in a flip of last year, we'd consider legislation against the tournament committee. Putting the top two teams in the nation against one another in the same region twice in a row was ludicrous enough. The committee is brazen (re: stupid) enough to do it. We're hoping history does not repeat itself thrice.

So now, the question is, can the Big Ten get three bids? Illinois and Michigan State are firmly on a bubble that may have burst when George Washington claimed the Southern. Michigan State was considered to be the final team in the field. Their SOS may have held them back. The same can be said about Oklahoma A&M, so you can debate the merits of either being included. Sparty has absolutely zero quality wins out of conference. The best you can say about Michigan State's schedule is they lost at Dayton...by thirty-two, and had the good fortune of Denver being better than advertised. They also lost to St. John's. The best team they've beaten in their OOC slate is Marquette, who is 16-13. Not getting a home game against Illinois is helpful. Honestly, in review, the case for Sparty being in the NIT is much stronger than being in the NCAA. They are a team that preyed on weaker teams, and could not beat teams considered even with them, or stronger...or even slightly weaker.

That leaves Illinois. They are in the same boat, really. They beat BYU, who while winning their conference, are still under .500. They have an admirable loss against NC State, but lost at Stanford. They almost won in Lawrence against Kansas, and own a win over Holy Cross when the Crusaders were struggling. This now looks worse for Holy Cross than it looks better for Illinois. In conference play, they were swept by a pretending Ohio State team. They did beat Michigan State.

You know what? Leave them both out. We don't know that we'd keep them in and yank a team like Oregon, Clemson, or Georgetown.

Border - Texas Western holds their own destiny. So does Arizona State. If the Sun Devils win out, that will include a sweep of the Miners. They face each other in the season finale on Saturday. So, if the Sun Devils get past Arizona in Tuscon (no easy task, given their rivaly), then go win at Western, they're in. If Texas Western beats Arizona State, they're in. It is that simple.

[b]Ivy{/b] - At publication, amazingly, Dartmouth sat tied atop the conference. The Indians started 9-0, but have lost three games in the last week, and have not looked good in any of them. It is not strange, of course, that they are tied. The Ivy is a tight league, and no team is truly that far and away better than anyone else.

However, it is who they are tied with that is the surprise. The Penn Quakers were 1-10 on Christmas day, after a 64-61 loss to St. Joe. Since then, they are 11-3, including an identical 9-3 record in the conference. They have split with Dartmouth, but, frankly, they feel like they are the ever-so-slight favorite at this point. They have won four in a row, have played excellent, including an 86-67 win over the Indians last week.

The path to travel is difficult for the Quakers, and puts them at a disadvantage. They have to go to Columbia (17-11), and then to Cornell (12-15) to close the year. The Indians have Brown (9-19) and Princeton (13-14), both at home.

That said, this is the Ivy, and anything can happen. Columbia has Penn and Harvard (16-10) at home. If Columbia wins both, and Dartmouth and Penn lose both, Columbia would get the bid, via having the best overall record. Cornell and Harvard are also tied in the conference, at 7-5...but Cornell cannot end up with the best record overall, and is thus eliminated from any chance at winning the conference. Harvard can, by the same scenario Columbia has: winning out, and Dartmouth and Penn losing out.

March 11 is a huge day across the national landscape...more on that in a bit. Here is the Ivy schedule.

Brown (9-19) at Dartmouth (14-12)
Princeton (13-14) at Yale (6-22)
Pennsylvania (14-13) at Columbia (17-11)
Harvard (16-10) at Cornell (12-15)

A lot will be decided on the 11th...specifically, whether anything needs to be decided on the 16th. Here is that schedule:

Princeton (13-14) at Dartmouth (14-12)
Brown (9-19) at Yale (6-22)
Harvard (16-10) at Columbia (17-11)
Pennsylvania (14-13) at Cornell (12-15)

Metro - St. John's is the pick, despite tying Fordham and NYU. They get the nod based on their overall record. This saves a major headache for the administration in the conference, as those three teams all went 1-1 against one another. The Johnnies are the only ones with a winning record, and thus, are the only ones to see postseason play.

Mid-American - Marshall controls their own destiny. They sit a half-game behind Toledo, and have two to play: at Western Michigan (3-24), and at Miami-Ohio (8-19). Both teams are 15-12 heading into the final week, though Marshall will get one more game.

If Marshall wins both games, they are in. They will have tied Toledo in the conference, at 10-2, but, and this is the confusing part...they went 2-0 against fourth-place Ohio, while Toledo went 1-1. When there are only two teams in a tiebreaker, it begins with head to head. They are 1-1 against one another. So then it goes to their records against the third-place team. In this case, that would be Bowling Green State; both are undefeated (Toledo's remaining game is against BGS, at home).

That brings us to fourth-place Ohio, in which Marshall gets the tiebreaker.

As long as either Marshall wins out, or wins one of two and Toledo loses their final game, which would tie the two once again, and set things in motion, this time BGS being the opponent that settles the score.

Missouri Valley - Bradley holds a two-game lead on Oklahoma A&M, and have swept the Aggies this season. The Braves are the MVC champions. Oklahoma A&M holds one of the final spots towards getting in. They have played some tough teams, including Texas Western, Colorado A&M, Dartmouth, Clemson (loss), St. Mary's (win on the road), Arkansas (win), SMU (win)...basically, we don't see how they aren't in. But this is the NCAA Tournament Committee, after all.

Mountain State - Oh, here we go.

Brigham Young (13-15, 9-3) controls its own fate. They win out, they're in. Denver, Utah State, and Utah are all chasing. from a game behind Colorado A&M, at 14-13, 7-5, needs a prayer...but they are not totally dead.

We mentioned that March 11th schedule, and how much it would shape the national landscape. Here is the second half of that schedule:

New Mexico (8-19) at Montana (8-19)
Denver (16-12) at Colorado A&M (14-13)
Brigham Young (13-15) at Utah (16-10)
Utah State Agricultural C (15-12) at Wyoming (8-19)

Three of those games are massive for the conference makeup. Denver and Colorado A&M could be in a playoff game, depending on what happens with BYU and Utah. Utah State has no cakewalk over Wyoming. The Aggies beat them, 50-49, at home earlier this season.

So, let's say BYU loses to Utah, and Utah State and Denver hold serve. That would make a four-way tie atop the conference, at 9-4. Here is the March 16th schedule:

Denver (16-12) at Montana (8-19)
New Mexico (8-19) at Colorado A&M (14-13)
Utah State Agricultural C (15-12) at Utah (16-10)
Brigham Young (13-15) at Wyoming (8-19)

Utah would only control their fate to a point. If they win, BYU is eliminated. But Denver remains. If they win, and all three teams go to 10-4 (let's say BYU wins, just for this sake, Utah would get the nod, at 18-10, over Denver's 18-12. This is based on a three-way tie for record.

Let's say BYU loses, and falls in a tie for third with Utah State. Then it would be a case as to who, actually, comes in third:

If third is BYU, then Utah wins the conference (Denver is 0-2 vs BYU, Utah would be 2-0).
If third is USU, then Denver wins the conference (Denver is 2-0, Utah would be 1-1).

Let's say Utah State beats Utah, and Denver wins. Denver would get the nod, based on their 2-0 record over State. At least, that's how we see the information.

Phew.

Ohio Valley - Season complete. Murray State wins the bid.

Pacific Coast

Currently, UCLA (21-6, 10-4) and Cal (10-4, 19-8) have a half-game lead on Washington (24-6, 10-5). Southern Cal (20-8, 9-6) has an outside shot, but would need a Hail Mary to come through twice.

UCLA kicks things off with a trip to Idaho. The Vandals, who were 9-3 heading into conference play, are 0-14 in the conference. The chance they pull the upset is extremely nil. So, let's say UCLA gets that win, and goes to 11-4 heading into the final day.

UCLA: 11-4
Cal: 10-4
Washington: 10-5

March 14, Oregon State travels to Washington, while Cal goes to Washington State. The Cougars have swept UCLA this year, and have home wins over Southern Cal, Stanford, and Oregon State. So this is no easy trip for the Bears. UCLA has to win, though, because they went 0-2 against a presumptive third-place team in Washington, while UCLA went 2-0.

Okay, let's say they win, as does Washington at home.

UCLA: 11-4
Cal: 11-4
Washington: 11-5

UCLA would win the conference by winning at Oregon State. Cal would win only if UCLA loses and they beat Stanford at home. Washington would be eliminated in this scenario. In fact, the only way the Huskies can win is if UCLA loses out, and Cal drops into a tie, at least, with the Huskies. Then Washington would win the conference via their head-to-head record with Cal.

So, to sum up...

UCLA: Wins if they win out, or wins one of two, and Cal loses one of two
Cal: Wins only if they win out, and UCLA loses at least one
Washington: Wins only they win out, UCLA loses out, and Cal loses at least one of two

We're pretty sure we've got all of that.

As far as NCAA bids are concerned, we agree with the notion of Washington, UCLA, USC, Cal, and Oregon having bids. Oregon State played their way into the NIT with a 2-7 mark in their last nine, including getting crushed at home by the Ducks, and losing poorly to Washington State on the road.

Southeastern - Simply put, if Kentucky (25-2, 12-0) wins a game in their final two, they win the conference. If they lose out somehow, after a 12-0 start, and Georgia Tech (21-7, 11-1) wins out against Vandy and LSU, then the Yellow Jackets would get the nod. GA Tech cannot win the conference by tying Kentucky, due to the Wildcats' victory over the Jackets earlier this season.

Southern - George Washington (14-18, 6-8) shocked everyone when they upset West Virginia, 79-71, to win their way into the NCAA Tournament. The sixth-seeded Colonials were ranked earlier in the season after a 4-0 start, but lost six in a row, and could not string anything together. In fact, they had not won consecutive games since January 12.

Southwestern - If Arkansas (24-5, 10-1) beats TCU (12-15, 5-5) at home, they win the conference. Should they lose, they'll have to watch Southern Methodist play TCU two days later for the conference title. If Arkansas loses and SMU wins, the Mustangs, by virtue of a 2-0 record against TCU (and a 1-1 record vs TCU for the Razorbacks), would gain the conference. Arkansas may be hard-pressed to get in without the title; we have ranked them all year, but a loss to TCU would hurt considerably. And it is doubtful the committee will take two teams, especially when they have to take two from the Southern. This is a one-bid conference; Baylor and whoever loses out between these two are NIT-bound.

West Coast - San Francisco (25-4, 10-1) won the conference easily. Saint Mary's (17-11, 6-5) and San Jose State (16-11, 4-6) are destined for the NIT.

WNY3 - Niagara (16-12, 3-0) is in. Even if they lose to St. Bonaventure, the Purple Eagles have the better record. This one is done.

Yankee - The Connecticut Huskies (16-11, 7-2) made things interesting by losing at Vermont (13-15, 5-4) yesterday. They'll have a week to stew on that, before getting the Catamounts again. If they win that, they win the conference.

The only caveat: they are 5-7 at home.

If Maine (10-17, 6-2) wins out, beating New Hampshire (14-15, 4-4) and Rhode Island (7-21, 2-7), and ties the Huskies at 8-2 in the conference, the Huskies would still win the conference, on the basis of the vote of their conference.

You read that right.

Connecticut and Maine would have lost to each other. Both would also have lost to Vermont, and to nobody else in the conference. So, all tiebreakers are out the window. This would then go to a vote of the league administration. Word is already out that they would vote for Connecticut, based on the prestige of the Huskies, over that of remote Maine. It is in the league by-laws, so Maine cannot argue or litigate.

So, Maine needs Vermont to sweep UConn, and then win out. It's the only way for the Black Bears. Talk about having the entire world against you...

Independents - Because there are so many, we saved them for last.

Seattle (28-3), Duquesne (26-5), and Dayton (24-5) are the only independents considered firmly in the tournament. In our view, La Salle (23-6) should only have a little worry. George Washington likely took Holy Cross' (20-9) spot. The Crusaders would be in over Georgetown due to their RPI, which is 14th. They played to a 14-9 schedule against the top 100, including a 6-8 mark against the top fifty. Georgetown is 10-3, but only 4-2 against the top fifty. They can get one more score if they beat Notre Dame, but that won't help them, either.

Gonzaga (19-9) has played nobody. Do not expect them.

St. Joe's RPI of 44 is too low. Same goes for Seton Hall (20-9, 62), Oklahoma City (19-10, 40) and so on. Syracuse, at 25-4 but a RPI of 80, is this year's Pitt...a team with a gaudy record but a bad schedule. Villanova is 21-7, which is too many losses for too crowded a field.

Especially, expect Seattle, Duquesne, Dayton, and maybe La Salle. After that, all of the teams mentioned here, you'll probably find in the NIT Media Guide.

NBR NCAA Tournament Projection

1 Indiana Kentucky 1
8 Niagara George Washington 8

5 Clemson Georgia Tech 5
4 Duquesne Duke 4
East South
3 Bradley West Virginia 3
6 St. John's Arkansas 6

7 Connecticut Murray State 7
2 Washington North Carolina 2

1 Kansas State Kansas 1
8 Toledo Texas Western 8

5 Southern Cal Oklahoma A&M 5
4 Dayton California 4
Midwest West
3 San Francisco UCLA 3
6 Oregon Illinois 6

7 Dartmouth Brigham Young 7
2 NC State Seattle 2

muns

11-23-2015, 06:53 PM

First game up is Oregon and we just pounce on a top 25 team here. Nelson is huge once again with 28 points as we win this one 80-55.

Second up is Oregon State- A much better game as we get revenge for the earlier loss, as we end up winning the game 72-64

Next up is the game we need to have with Cal, but it just wasn't meant to be this year, as we lose a heartbreaker 74-78. I can with confidence say that if we don't have 4 out of our 5 starters foul out of the game (with Nelson only playing 20 mins of it) we with that game just like we won the first one. We need to get a handle on that as we aren't going to go very far if that continues to happen. We certainly have had our fair share of foul troubles this year and going forward that is a concern for the NCAA tourney.

Last up is Washington State- and thankfully they don't play spoiler here. We beat them 85-57 as Nelson had 24 in that game.

So we don't win the conference. Freaking Cal does, and as a matter of fact we finish up 3rd in the South of the PCC (just tells you how strong the PCC is), but we are going dancing this year for the first time in the programs history, and ill take it.

Time to see who we get matched up with in the tourney

muns

11-23-2015, 06:54 PM

Readers,

The unveiling of the 1956-57 NCAA and NIT brackets were done over NBC Radio this evening.

You may find the show at your local listing here http://www.spreaker.com/user/8207885/the-1956-57-ncaa-tournaments-show

This is a strict unveiling. Any analysis of the tournament, both selections and the tournament itself, will be this weekend.

Regards,
NBR

muns

11-23-2015, 06:56 PM

20-20 Hindsight: Conference Champions Retrospective

At the mid-point of the season, we set out grades for all of the conferences and predicted the races in each. So how did we do? Pretty well, but not perfectly. Here's where we got it wrong:

ACC -- Along with most others, we had North Carolina State here but it was their in-state rivals who took both the regular-season and tournament championships. We must congratulate the Tar Heels here.

PCC -- We had Oregon. California ended up winning it at the end with a 12-4 mark, while the Ducks were 8-8 for 5th place. It was certainly a highly competitive conference, but Oregon disappointed in the season's second half and we're not particularly proud of missing the call on the best two leagues in the country.

SWC -- We went with Southern Methodist, while Arkanas ended up just beating them out. Given that they played one of the great classic games this year and it was only a game between them, we don't have many qualms about owning this pick. It really could have gone either way.

That's it. Three missed calls, so we ended up right on 14 out of 17. Some of those of course were obvious to most people. Others were much closer than we thought, like St. John's winning a three-way tie in the Metro, or as similar deadlock with Connecticut in the Yankee, but in the end we backed the right horse. Overall, I think it's fair to say that's a pretty good track record inan unpredictable game, but Orregon really sticks out like a sore thumb. We really thought they'd do better in arguably as tough a conference as their is, having them a fair bit ahead of the rest, but clearly we were proven wrong there. What did we see that wasn't really there? That's a tougher question to answer.

From the past, we move on to the present: our final rankings for the 1956-57 season.

Conferences

ACC(12.04)
PCC(11.37)
Big Ten(8.75)
Big 7(6.0)
SEC(2.35)
WCC(1.76)
MVC(-0.05)
Independents(-1.01)
Southern(-1.53)
SWC(-1.53)
MSAC(-3.13)
Ivy Group(-4.71)
WYN3(-5.53)
Metro NY(-6.56)
Yankee(-6.77)
MAC(-7.8)
BIAA(-9.97)
Ohio Valley(-10.25)

The joint supremacy of the ACC and PCC this year is highlighted well by the fact that only those two conferences had more than two NCAA bids this year. They had four and five respectively, with half of each conference going and you could still make an argument that they are actually under-represented. On the other end, the BIAA gave an impressive chase of the Ohio Valley, but did not quite catch them for the title of most inept conference this season.

Team Rankings(Final)

1. Kansas State(+36.3)
2. Indiana(+31.9)
3. Kansas(+28.3)
4. Bradley(+27.2)
5. West Virginia(+26.8)
6(t). North Carolina State(+24.6)
6(t). Kentucky(+24.6)
8. California(+23.1)
9. Washington(+22.1)
10. San Francisco(+21.1)
11. Seattle(+19.5)
12. North Carolina(+18.5)
13. UCLA(+18.4)
14. Southern California(+18.0)
15. Duke(+17.6)
16. Michigan State(+17.1)
17. Oregon(+16.5)
18. Virginia(+16.1)
19. Georgia Tech(+15.8)
20. Duquesne(+15.3)
21. Holy Cross(+15.0)
22. Southern Methodist(+14.7)
23. Dayton(+14.2)
24. Saint Joseph's(+13.9)
25. La Salle(+13.8)
26. Iowa(+12.9)
27. Notre Dame(+12.5)
28(t). Maryland(+12.4)
28(t). Oklahoma A&M(+12.4)
30. Clemson(+12.3)
31. Villanova(+11.6)
32. Mississippi State(+11.3)
33. Syracuse(+10.7)
34. Arkansas(+10.2)
35. Ohio State(+8.9)
36. Michigan(+8.8)
37. Illinois(+8.3)
38. Saint Mary's(+8.2)
39. St. John's(+7.8)
40. Idaho State(+7.6)
41. Georgetown(+6.7)
42. Stanford(+6.3)
43(t). Temple(+5.5)
43(t). Oregon State(+5.5)
45. Utah(+4.7)
46. Oklahoma City(+4.6)
47(t). Dartmouth(+4.5)
47(t). Niagara(+4.5)
49. Seton Hall(+4.3)
50. Connecticut(+4.2)
51. Santa Clara(+3.9)
52. Washington State(+3.8)
53. San Jose State(+3.5)
54. Colorado(+3.1)
55. Toledo(+2.9)
56. Wisconsin(+2.8)
57. Utah State Agricultural Col(+2.7)
58. Vanderbilt(+2.6)
59. Texas Western(+1.9)
60. Virginia Tech(+1.2)
61. Minnesota(+1.0)
62. Citadel(+1.0)
63. Penn State(+0.3)
64. Murray State(+0.2)
65. Siena(-0.1)
66. Georgia(-0.1)
67. Tulane(-0.2)
68. Pennsylvania(-0.3)
69. South Carolina(-0.4)
70(t). Northwestern(-0.5)
70(t). Baylor(-0.5)
72(t). Louisville(-0.7)
72(t). Columbia(-0.7)
74. Butler(-0.9)
75. Alabama(-1.0)
76. Colorado A&M(-1.3)
77(t). Iowa State(-1.7)
77(t). Denver(-1.7)
79. Brigham Young(-1.8)
80. Bowling Green State(-2.0)
81(t). Saint Louis(-2.4)
81(t). Texas Christian(-2.4)
83(t). Tulsa(-2.5)
83(t). Tennessee(-2.5)
83(t). George Washington(-2.5)
86(t). Marquette(-2.9)
86(t). Louisiana State(-2.9)
88. Cornell(-3.1)
89. Richmond(-3.2)
90(t). Colgate(-3.4)
90(t). Marshall(-3.4)
92(t). Municipal U of W(-3.5)
92(t). VMI(-3.5)
94(t). Purdue(-3.7)
94(t). Pittsburgh(-3.7)
96. DePaul(-3.8)
97. Iona(-4.0)
98(t). TX Technological Colle(-4.4)
98(t). Manhattan(-4.4)
100. Wake Forest(-4.8)
101(t). Boston College(-4.9)
101(t). Harvard(-4.9)
103. Alabama Polytechnic Insti(-5.0)
104(t). Montana(-5.1)
104(t). New Hampshire(-5.1)
104(t). U of Maine at Or(-5.1)
107. Arizona State(-5.2)
108. Miami(-5.6)
109. Cincinatti(-5.7)
110. Loyola-IL(-6.0)
111. Bucknell(-6.1)
112(t). Rutgers(-6.3)
112(t). Mercy Col of Detroit(-6.3)
114. Missouri(-6.4)
115. Xavier(-6.5)
116. Vermont(-6.6)
117(t). Lafayette(-7.1)
117(t). Drake(-7.1)
117(t). Florida(-7.1)
120. Mississippi(-7.3)
121. Loyola U of Los Angeles(-7.4)
122. Pepperdine(-7.9)
123. Princeton(-8.0)
124. Middle Tennessee(-8.2)
125. St. Bonaventure(-8.3)
126. Davidson(-8.4)
127. Memphis State(-8.5)
128(t). Portland(-8.6)
128(t). St. Francis-PA(-8.6)
130(t). Nebraska(-8.8)
130(t). Oklahoma(-8.8)
130(t). Yale(-8.8)
133. New York University(-8.9)
134. St. Francis-NY(-9.0)
135. Pacific(-9.1)
136. Gonzaga(-9.2)
137. Kent State(-9.6)
138. City Col of New York(-9.7)
139. Arizona(-10.0)
140(t). Lehigh(-10.3)
140(t). Wyoming(-10.3)
142(t). Loyola-LA(-10.6)
142(t). Texas(-10.6)
144(t). Brooklyn(-10.7)
144(t). Rice(-10.7)
146. Western Kentucky(-10.8)
147. Ohio(-10.9)
148. Fordham(-11.0)
149. Massachusetts(-11.1)
150(t). Idaho(-11.4)
150(t). Agricultural & Mechanic(-11.4)
152. Furman(-11.7)
153. New Mexico(-12.2)
154. Canisius(-12.8)
155. Tennessee Tech(-12.9)
156. Army(-13.0)
157. William & Mary(-13.5)
158. Morehead State(-13.6)
159. Hardin-Simmons(-13.8)
160. Muhlenburg(-14.0)
161. Florida State(-14.2)
162. Navy(-14.5)
163. Western Michigan(-14.8)
164. New Mexico A&M(-15.0)
165. Creighton(-15.5)
166. Eastern Kentucky State(-16.2)
167. Brown(-16.4)
168. Miami-Ohio(-16.8)
169. Rhode Island(-16.9)
170. West Texas State(-17.7)
171. Houston(-18.3)

muns

11-23-2015, 06:57 PM

Grading the Committee

As we all know by now, at least this year the temptation to throw Indiana and K-State in the same region was avoided. At least that we can be thankful for, but this year's tournaments are certainly not without their errors.

NCAA Top-Half Seeds

#1s -- Kansas State, Indiana, Kansas, Washington

Three out of four isn't terrible. Until an unimpressive final month by the Jayhawks, the top three were pretty obvious all year long but again, the committee managed not to screw them up anyway. We do take issue with Washington at the fourth spot though; they should be a #2 at best. We'd have preferred Bradley there due to West Virginia's unexpected loss in the Southern tournament, but the Mountaineers still wouldn't have been a bad choice. Kentucky or N.C. State also would have been better options.

#2s -- California, San Francisco, Kentucky, North Carolina State

No question Kentucky and N.C. State deserve to be here, and we like Cali as well. Once again it's three out of four as San Franciso is overrated here, particularly with Bradley and West Virginia both still out there.

#3s -- Bradley, Southern California, UCLA, Seattle

Notably missing here are ACC champ North Carolina and, once again, West Virginia. We get that it was a bad loss to GW, and it wasn't their only bad loss of the season, but they were only the best offensive team in the country this year. It was against a pretty pedestrian schedule, but not a horrible one and we see the Mountaineers as the most disrespected team this season. Southern Cal and UCLA should have been dropped down a spot.

#4s -- Duke, Clemson, North Carolina, Duquesne

Still no WV, though we'll stop beating that horse. This is right where Duke should be, North Carolina is a bit underrated here, and while we'd rather see a couple others instead of Duquesne, it's arguable. But Clemson? They were a marginal NCAA team before their late-season nose-dive, which took them down to 30th overall in our rankings and should have relegated them to the NIT. How they get a 4-seed is truly beyond our capacity.

Why Are THEY Here?

Clemson has already been mentioned, and we find Oklahoma A&M to have a similar resume, although at least they had the good sense to give them a lower seed. But those are really the only two that we see in that don't deserve to be, and while there's a pretty clear case against them, it's not the kind of call that's completely off the reservation.

Biggest Snubs

We can't sign off before mentioning one more time that West Virginia as a 5-seed is a travesty. Right now an obvious game that we're looking at is their first-round matchup with Clemson, which should provide some immediate correcting of things.

It's also apparent the last couple of years that 13 is indeed an unlucky number. For the second year in a row, the team stuck on that number for their year-end RPI is frozen out. Last year it was Oregon; this year it's Virginia. We've had them as a solid NCAA team all season, and we repeat that opinion now. 17-13 is not a great record, but .500 in the toughest conference in the country, and overall a +3.5 net rating against the third-roughest schedule? Yeah, we see no good reason why the Cavaliers aren't dancing. Holy Cross is the other team with a bone to pick. It's not as big of one, but they are 10th in RPI and won 20 games against a Top-20 schedule. If not them, Southern Methodist would have been another good choice to have replaced Clemson and Oklahoma A&M in our view.

NIT

The teams in the 'pretty good' category that tend to make up the second-tier tournament are a lot closer packed together, usually leading to a competitive event with a lot of surprises. It can be a lot harder here to decide who is deserving and who isn't.

Having said that ...

** Georgetown as a #1 seed? A #3 would be generous.
** Harvard? Rutgers? Even Gonzaga? Please. Have them go play somebody and get back to us. Unlike Syracuse, who at least dominated weak opposition, they just managed to win more often than they didn't. Not even close to good enough, especially the Zags.
** We're not fond of Alabama Poly getting an invite either. Zero wins against NCAA teams, and only one against a solid NIT foe(Mississippi State, at home). Marquette we don't like either, though it's not as egregious.
** Iowa gets the other end of the stick, a team almost good enough for the Dance and they are a #4. Boo. And NCAA snub Southern Methodist is inexcusable as a #3. Even worse, one of the better teams in the field, Notre Dame, is stuck as an 8-seed. That's a travesty, pure and simple. What really takes the cake though is Virginia as a 7. Whoever made that call needs a lobotomy. It's an insult to make them a 7-seed in the NCAAs, never mind here.
** There are some others who probably shouldn't be here: Baylor, Denver, Columbia, but it's close enough that we can't get upset about them.
** In terms of snubs, it definitely seems that teams who struggled against tough conferences didn't get enough respect. Michigan and Stanford stand out, and to a lesser degree Washington State, Colorado, Utah State, Vanderbilt ... we have a tough time seeing how the Gonzagas, Rutgers, and Harvards of the world should get in ahead of them. Does anybody really think that latter group of teams is better?

Analytics vs. SelCom

Finally, as promised we will put ourselves on the line here. The following are the matchups that are set now that we take issue with the committee on. In each matchup, their higher-seeded team is listed our first, our 'underdog' is second.

1. Clemson vs. West Virginia

Clemson could win. They do have Elijah Davis, so they have a chance against almost anybody, and West Virginia has certainly shown themselves to be upset-vulnerable. Having said that, we've got the Mountaineers by probably about 10 points. It really doesn't look like even a close call to us.

2. Duquesne vs. Georgia Tech

This is the only other NCAA first-rounder that we take issue with, and it's a close call, but we like the Yellow Jackets by a nose. Their consistency was certainly on display during an SEC run that had them lose just one, at Kentucky.

3. Denver vs. Virginia Tech
4. Saint Joseph's vs. Virginia

It's absurd that this is a first-round NIT matchup, it could almost be an NCAA game. We're sticking with the Cavaliers.

5. Oregon State vs. Saint Mary's

So that's it. We have five disputed games in the opening rounds; we'll be back in a few days to report on how the first of them turned out.

muns

11-23-2015, 07:05 PM

The PCC gets 4 teams in the NCAA this year, and it could have been 5.

Oregon State just couldn't get it together down the stretch to make it happen though. They won 2 of their last 7 games and 3 out of their last 12. They made the NIT however, so the beginning of the season carried some weight for them.

We got a 3 seed which is where I think we should be. I think we are a strong 3 seed actually, but time will tell on that one.

Washington got a 1 seed which it deserves and Cal got a 2 spot. Cal should go out in the 2nd round though. They are a paper champion and should get eaten alive in the post in the tourney.

Washingtons draw honestly sucks. They have Duquesne, Georgia Tech, Niagra, NC State, Seattle and St. Johns in that bracket. Holy Moly is that murderous row. I have no idea how that is going to shake out, but I wish Kirk all the luck going through that

We draw the 6 Seed Oklahoma A&M and as I look at their roster I see they lost their starting PG for the rest of the year. We should be able to run them off the floor and I hope for a 10+ win here.

As I look ahead something jumps right off the page though and has me SCREAMING I CANT WAIT FOR THE 2nd ROUND!!!!

muns

11-23-2015, 07:21 PM

If we make it to the 2nd round we have a potential match up with San Francisco.

YES THAT San Francisco.

If anybody needs a recap on why I hate them, they came out of nowhere to land their Starting Center Vaughn Griffis over me at the very end of recruiting 3 years ago. If we had landed him, Southern Cal would be in a hell of a position right now as Vaughn averages 9.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. He was ranked as the 35th best recruit in that years class, and would have been the foundation for USC'S growth.

Not only would that game give us the potential to shove that mistake of a choice in his face, but that exposure (if its a win) could help shove these CALI kids in USC'S direction. Especially, if CAL goes out in the 2nd round as well. The potential implications are here huge.

First thing is first though, we need to beat Oklahoma A&M

muns

11-23-2015, 07:21 PM

Analytics vs. SelCom(NIT First Round)

Well, we didn't do so hot out of the gate here.

** Denver 82, Virginia Tech 74(OT)

We had this as nearly a pick-em and it pretty much was, but nonetheless we backed the wrong horse.

** Saint Joseph's 83, Virginia 69

This one really surprised us with how overwhelmed Virginia looked physically. Bad time for them to have an off night obviously, and both teams shot it well.

** Saint Mary's 80, Oregon State 69

This one we were right on; aside from Arthur Brodie(23 pts, 8-15), the 'favorites' couldn't buy a shot.

Current Score -- SelCom 2, Analytics 1

Hopefully we'll do better in most of the rounds to come. The teams we didn't think should be here pretty much all lost, most of them badly. The one big surprise of the NIT's opening games was Columbia. We figured them to probably lose against Seton Hall but to have a shot, but certainly didn't expect the Lions to blow them out 89-67! It will be interesting to see how they back up that performance.

NIT Second-Round Matchups

** Georgetown vs. Syracuse

This should be where the Hoyas get exposed as a poorly chosen 1-seed. Syracuse had an impressive win over an Iowa team that we like a lot more than Georgetown.

** Ohio State vs. Southern Methodist

Both won easily against teams that shouldn't have been in the NIT. We think SMU is almost four points better here.

That's it, just two more games in the next round. Aside from seeing what Columbia does, we're also interested in the Maryland-Mississippi State matchup which should be a heck of a game between two solid basketball teams.

muns

11-23-2015, 07:23 PM

The National Basketball Report
1956-57 NCAA Tournament Preview

There are many storylines heading into this year’s NCAA Tournament. We have seen surprises, disappointments, amazing performances, and incredible games.

And now, we are down to the final 31 games.

The NCAA Tournament.

We will not hold the suspense any further. There is a lot to read.

West Region

1) Kansas State (28-1, Big 7 Champ) vs 8) Dartmouth (15-13, Ivy Champ)

Kansas State has a veteran team; they start five seniors and their first two players off the bench are juniors. They have depth and star power. The starting backcourt of David Gunter and Billy Jacob are finally professionally eligible, and they are viewed as the top two players in the upcoming class. Erich Walton, the team’s power forward, is fourth. Tommy Fritts, the team’s jack-of-all-trades small forward, is fifth. Joe Delrio, who gets no publicity whatsoever, is the ninth-best prospect in the junior class.

They do not play with the attitude one may anticipate with such expectation; they are royalty, but roll their sleeves on defense with the common peasant. Their top billing in opponent scoring exemplifies that. They simply dislike to be scored upon, and do what it takes to prevent that from happening. Most of the time, it is a combination of talent and hustle. In short, this is a top-flight team that plays like they are fighting for the last crumb at dinner. Their record over Kansas in the last four seasons, a two-time NCAA champion, is 8-2. Do you think they do not have pride?

Dartmouth, meanwhile, managed to pull themselves out of their Dartmouth-created hole with a pair of wins in the final week of the regular season. Their tie with Penn dissipated, and the Indians won the Ivy Group. They have a solid starting group, revolving around forwards Sonny Freeman (17.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and Charlie Smith (16.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg). Both have scored over 1300 points in their careers, and both return next season.

We have two issues with the team: first, starting center Marin Dutries, the only designated center on the team, will miss the game with an injury. It is hard to beat Kansas State’s 6’8, 6’8, 6’9 front line with your only post player out. Second, the bench is barely Ivy Group muster. Playing the top ten of this roster, without one of your top five, is a miracle in hope.

It does require noting that this is not the first meeting between these two this season. Dartmouth traveled to K-State on 12.22, losing 73-65. Smith (18 points, 7 boards) and Freeman (13 pts, 11 reb) had little help, mainly from Les Cox (10 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast). Jacob (24-6-5) and Gunter (13-5-2) led Kansas State to the win.

Pick: Kansas State by 18. We think the Indians, behind their two stars in Smith and Freeman, will keep it close. But the Jayhawks, behind their overall depth and experience (three national semis, one title loss) will pull away.

4) Duke (22-9, At Large) vs 5) Oregon (21-9, At Large)

The Blue Devils are a mystery, quite honestly. They score at will at times, but decidedly do not like defense. They are an okay rebounding team, force turnovers and do not give up their own, shoot well, but let others do, too. In short, this team likes the up-tempo route for its games.

It will be hard to do that without three key players in their rotation. Oakley and Jackson will be out for the game. Griffin, who has started ten games at the point in Oakley’s absence, will be back, but may not be game-ready. Without their top two point guards, the team may have to turn to Lane McClary to run the offense; that is fine, as he averaged 5.1 assists a game as it is. But Charlie Rodriguez, a little-used redshirt freshman guard, may have to step into a bigger role. The Blue Devils are terribly light at guard without Griffin and Jackson. Assuming Griffin is at 75% for gametime is fine, but without Jackson, they’ll be severely hampered. Rodriguez is the man who has to step into that role, and thrive. Stefan Jordan (14.1 ppg), Jonathan Fleenor (13.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.5 apg) and McClary (12.3 ppg, 6.1 apg) can handle the bulk of the work. Rodriguez can play defense, find his spots, and produce when it works in the context of the offense. Or, he can splash onto the scene, and be Duke’s new star.

Oregon is almost a carbon copy of Duke. They love to score, don’t care if they’re scored upon, and do not turn it over as much. The two differences in their play is that Oregon rebounds better (+6 for Oregon), and they do not shoot free throws as well (-7%). In order for Oregon to have the best chance to win, they have to get Duke in foul trouble, and make them pay for those fouls. The way to do that is to hit their free throws. Duke’s weakened rotation could not handle any major foul trouble. Feeding Kenny Foster, the 7’0, 250-pound ox of a man in the middle, and having their little guys round around him, it will create a sucking of the wind by Duke’s players on defense, but also trouble trying to guard Foster. Physically, Duke does not have anyone to do that.

Oregon has the inside track to win this game, quite honestly. Duke is hurt, and Oregon controls the one thing Duke does not do well whatsoever (rebounding). Duke’s ability to gain offensive rebounds will be difficult against a team as fundamentally sound in the art of boxing out as the Ducks. The Ducks will not be intimidated by Duke’s jerseys, either. The Blue Devils are from the ACC, but they are an average team there. Oregon comes from a tougher conference. As far as they’re concerned, Duke has to prove it to them, just as much as Oregon has to prove it to the world.

Pick: Oregon by 7. Oregon has the size, the balance, and the personnel to disrupt Duke’s method of winning. The lack of a true rotation will likely bother Duke’s wishes to run the ball up and down the floor. Oregon’s preference to do the same should hurt the Blue Devils. The seven-foot Foster may have a career game.

2) California (21-8, Pacific Coast Champ) vs 7) Utah (18-10, Mountain State Champ)

Throughout the season, everyone took their turn as the favorites to win the Pacific Coast. The Cal Bears were considered afterthoughts, also-rans, and long-agos (as in, “California used to be a force, but that was long ago.”) And yet, here they are…Pacific Coast champs. They are not the strongest of champions to take the trophy, but the judgment is on the court. They had to adjust on the fly, after losing Willie Legault, their 6’11 freshman ace in the middle, to a torn ligament. Their offense has still revolved as we thought it would: around their crackerjack backcourt of Tony Eyre (14.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.4 spg), SG Tyron Crandall (15.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg), and the surprising contributions of sophomore sniping small forward, Dale Frank (10.6 ppg). Craig Kruger, the other senior than Crandall on this team, provides the steady post presents from his post. And Rene Storm, a 6’10 junior, provides size.

The Bears are what the rest of the PCC may not be: they are rather ordinary, and somewhat forgotten. Eyre is a classic example. He originally was overlooked by all other schools during recruiting, and walked on at Cal. He was the #7 recruit in the nation. This is just like Cal, who ended the year not in our rankings. (We goofed on that one, did we not?) They thrive on being handed injustice, on being slighted. They are perfect at the lesser talk, us versus the world. Their play is not that of a top-flight team, at least in the stats. But, in the end, they won over 70% of their games.

Utah, meanwhile, has a top-20 defense…but they allow points on the other end. They make the extra pass, and get turnovers. They also had to come from nowhere, it appeared, to win the Mountain State. Just like the Bears, it seemed like there was a flash-in-the-pan every week, while the Redskins were overlooked. In the end, the Utes took care of their business, and made it four straight MSAC titles.

That said, this is easily their worst roster of the four. Robert Peeler, one of the players in the nation who will never get his due outside of Salt Lake, is as steady as they come. The National Freshman of the Year and two-time MSAC Conference Player of the Year is not a particularly good shooter (43% for his career), but he finds the open man, and hits shots at their absolutely most necessary moments. One factoid about him: he is about as cold as they come to start a game, shooting 31% in the first ten minutes of any game. In the last five minutes, he is a 77% shooter. When the game is on the line, few are as unraveled, fittingly, as a man named Peeler.

All of that said…while they had four players average more than 10.4 ppg, and six average 8.8, who else is going to stand up? Peeler can stand up to Cal’s backcourt, but they may dominate everyone else. Cal’s bench is tougher than Utah’s. And while the style of play benefits Utah against Cal (being very little in the way of post play), you have to remember that it also benefits Cal. And they have Rene Storm, who may cause headaches for Utah C, 6’8 Jackie Lutz. His backup is a true freshman, Daniel Preece, he of 5.1 points and two fouls in 20.4 minutes on average.

Pick: California by 5. The Bears, in our view, won’t get much further. But they should see past Utah, who will give them trouble simply by the diversity in their offense. In the end, though, Eyre and Crandall will save the day for the Bears, and they will advance.

3) Bradley (24-4, Missouri Valley Champ) vs 6) Dayton (24-5, At Large)

Let us be clear about this now. This Bradley team does not have the name power of the championship team of two seasons ago. They do not have the bench. They do, however, have seven players that can lead them there. This is a championship-caliber team, if they are able to shorten their bench. It begins with C James Calvo, the immovable 6’10, 280-pound mammoth in the middle. He is considered the third-best professional prospect in the upcoming class (blanketed by four Wildcats). He does not have the fanfare, nor the statistical weight of his counterparts. Nor is he a fan favorite, a la Antonia Dabney. But he gets the job done, at 8.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks a game. He sets the tone for this group defensively, disrupting shots and controlling rebounds. They are fifth in rebounding, and second in preventing rebounds from opponents. He, and power forward Felix Holzer, are the main reasons why.

On offense, Dionisio Vega (16.8 ppg) and Richard Bulger are a solid 1-2 combination. They also get a lot of little contributions from virtually everyone on the roster. The key for them, as we said before, is tightening that up a bit. They have played top competition, losing to San Fran by 6, to Kansas by 4, and at Indiana by 20 in a competitive game until the end. They also beat NC State by 23 on the road. The Braves will not be intimidated.

Neither will Dayton. The Flyers have their own beast in the pain, in C Denver Logan. The 6’11, 270-pound senior is the eighth-best prospect in the class, and considered the third-best center. He is a little bit more of a scorer than Calvo; it will be extremely interesting to see these two take each other on. We are also looking quite forward to seeing the backcourts of Chris Duron (14.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.4 spg) and Richard Sloan (12.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.7 spg) tackle Vega and Bradley PG Robert Bohannan (11.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.7 spg).

In all honesty, this might be the most even matchup of the first round. Bradley deserved an opponent more becoming of a six-seed, while Dayton didn’t deserve to be so low.

Pick: Bradley by 1. We would not be surprised if Dayton won this. We are taking this win based on Bradley’s experience, as well as just a bit more depth on the bench. This is likely the most balanced game in the first round.

West Semifinals

1) Kansas State vs 5) Oregon: Oregon does not have enough offensive firepower to overcome the Kansas State defense. There is one telling stat, though: only twice this season did Oregon score less than 62 points: 2.21 against Cal (85-48 loss), and 3.2, against Southern Cal (an 80-55 loss). Oregon needs to score to win. Kansas State will not allow that, at least to a level Oregon finds comfortable. The frontcourt of Kansas State should overwhelm Ken Foster, and the waves the Wildcats can throw at the Webfoots should drown them.
Pick: Kansas State by 11. Oregon has to shoot well and stay ahead of Kansas State. The moment the Wildcats control the tide, Oregon will rush, and perhaps get sloppy. The Wildcats will ply their trade, secure a win, and move on.

2) California vs 3) Bradley:: It is hard to fault Cal, but honestly, they got very few wins against quality teams. Despite playing in the top conference in the land, despite winning the top conference in the land, the Bears had earned the reputation as a second-rate team in the conference. It was not until the end that they won the thing, after the rest of the conference laid waste to one another. We do not wish to bode ill on their run, but facts are facts. When it came to the heavyweights of the West, California was not among them for most of the season.

Bradley did not get the recognition that perhaps they deserved. That may be due to the conference they play in. Maybe it is due to the abundance of chaos that has reigned supreme, compared to the relative calm of their waters over the season. But the Braves, as we wrote before, are championship caliber. And they would be a nightmare matchup for Cal. They have the height, the guard play, and the depth necessary to give Cal fits throughout the game. It would take a massive effort from Eyre and Crandall, and then some, for the Golden Bears to emerge victorious.
Pick: Bradley by 9. The backcourt is game for Cal. But we believe the frontcourt, and the defense, is enough to see the Braves through to Kansas State.

West Championship: 1) Kansas State vs 3) Bradley. This reminds of the Bradley-Dayton matchup, if only because the top six on each side are nearly even. Kansas State has minor advantages at all positions but center. They have played some common opponents, notably Kansas (KSU swept, Bradley lost 79-75) and NC State (Bradley won by 23 at NC State on 11.20; KSU won by one on 2.12). It comes off as hedging bets, but honestly, this game can really go in either direction. Both teams are in the top six in total defense, and both have premier offenses. Both have experience, both have depth (though Kansas State has more). Both have excellent coaching; Domingo Jones is one of the game’s very best, while Tommie Teran led Seattle to three 21+ win seasons before coming to Bradley and improving this bunch. This all comes down to execution. And maybe a flip of a coin.
Pick: Kansas State by 2. We’ll go out on a limb and say, consider this Erich Walton’s finest forty as a collegian. Make it four straight for Kansas State.

muns

11-23-2015, 07:27 PM

Midwest Region

1) Indiana (29-1, Big Ten Champ) vs 8) Toledo (15-13, Mid-American Champ)

We said, very early in the season, that this was not the same Indiana team of year’s passed. This is true; it may be better. Sure, they don’t have Enoch Horn, or Marcos Godfrey, or Rene Eckstein. Coach Kyle Kappe will tell you, though, that this group should be discounted because of a lack of name power.

“Octavio (Broussard) has become the best combination of scoring and rebounding in the nation,” Kappe said. “He’s a top-ten professional candidate, and probably higher than that. Merv (Erickson) has been in this program a long time. So has Jamal (Conway), Art Porter, Ike Winfrey, Des Phillips…just because we lost a lot of guys from the past couple of seasons, that doesn’t mean we lost a lot. If anything, because these guys had to play in a more constrained manner, because of Enoch and Marcos and the guys who were getting a lot of talk, they are used to going about their jobs without all of the media attention.”

That’s an interesting comment, one that holds water. They got to toil as the backups last year, as the grunts who played not for the publicity or the glory, but because there was still time left on the clock. Now, the stage is theirs, and they don’t have to share it. They also aren’t bothered by the circus around them. They’ve seen it for years.

They are also the group, of course, that has had to live with the elephant in the room for the past year.

Toledo.

The MAC champions, the ones who knocked off the undefeated Hoosiers a year ago, are staring at them once again. We’re not sure that the Rockets are quite thrilled with this situation, either.

“Honestly,” said coach Chas McCarley, “we’d like to leave last year there, and focus on a few days. We have a lot of work to do. We’re not worried about lightning striking twice. We’re worried about the very talented team in front of us.”

The Rockets are not an awful matchup against the Hoosiers. Their defense is quite adequate, and the Hoosiers are prone to going for stretches without scoring. But can Toledo pull out another crackerjack like last year?

Our answer: Not with Richard Rivera and Timmy Torre out. Torre was the man of the hour last year, when Toledo sprung the upset. He’ll be available for the game, but he certainly will not be game-ready. The junior out of Canada, who led the Rockets at 13.5 ppg this year, may have some rust to him. Rivera, the team’s top big man, has been banged up for the past few weeks. He may be game ready, but Broussard is quite the task.

Indiana has their injuries too, of course. Des Phillips was their starting point guard, and Refro a key asset off the bench. However, freshman Sheldon Moultre is more than ready for his time. The bigger issue is whether Art Porter, the junior who has been somewhat buried under the weight of expectations as a former Mr. Basketball in Indiana, can perform as a sixth man off the bench. He will have to play at a higher level if Indiana is to win.

Pick: Indiana by 24. Lightning will not strike twice. And Indiana’s issues with depth will not be exposed…yet.

[b]4) Clemson (20-10, At Large) vs 5) West Virginia (27-5, At Large){/b]

The biggest news in Clemson is Elijah Davis’ injury. He is fine, insists the team, and will be at full strength when the ball tips off. Still, Davis has meant more to his team than any man has meant to theirs. He was passed by Matthew Cordoba for the scoring lead, though just barely (21.8 to 21.2). He is their second-leading rebounder, and second in assists. He sees double and triple teams, and manages to score. He is the likely National Player of the Year. Truthfully, look at this roster. Who else could have taken Clemson to the tournament, if in Davis’ situation?

The Tigers, of course, have a difficult task in West Virginia. The defending maid-of-honor, the Mountaineers have the nation’s top point guard in John Hildebrand (all due respect and condolences to USC’s Freddie Nation). They have Demarcus Woods, one of the best stat-stuffers in the nation. They have been without Tony Gregory for some time, and will be for the next two weeks, at least. But they have depth, and they have offense in droves. They might have also received a wake-up call in the Southern final, when George Washington simply knocked their blocks off.

“We needed that,” said Hildebrand. “We were on cruise control. We’re focused. We know how to navigate, how to get through and survive.”

The Mountaineers will greatly test the Clemson defense. Please remember, though, that the Tigers played in the ACC, home of offensive-minded basketball. What the Mountaineers can throw at Clemson is nothing they haven’t seen all season.

So, the question begs…can Clemson’s plan of Davis and just enough defense throttle the Mountaineers? The Tigers looked like they were on fumes in the 65-41 loss to Maryland in the ACC quarterfinals. The nine-day rest may be just what they needed. They had lost four of five. And the Mountaineers thrive off the extra pass; they are third in the nation in assists. It is their ability to make a defense work that will finally do in Clemson.

Pick: West Virginia by 8. The Mountaineers will make the Tigers work in a manner most ACC teams do not function. Many ACC teams are one or two passes and go; they have great individual scorers. West Virginia thrives off ball movement and continued cutting. They will wear down the Tigers in the second half, and a great effort by Davis (say, 28-30 points, 8 rebounds) will go for naught.

2) San Francisco (26-4, West Coast Champ) vs 7) Texas Western (17-12, Border Champ)

We believe this will not be a contest, and will not waste too much time writing about it. Texas Western turns it over. San Francisco is gifted at forcing miscues by the opponents. The Dons have one of the top guards in the country in senior Stephen Ferrari (13.5 ppg, 7.1 apg), a top-slight scorer in PF Ronnie Veasey (17.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg), and one of the top defensive postmen in Vaughn Griffis (9.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.0 bpg). They also have a discovered gem in SG Kelly Kuehl (11.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.9 apg, 2.0 spg), who may have gone buried had Gil Dittman not gone down for the season with injury.

Texas Western has a veteran team (six players have a season’s worth of starts) with a backcourt that is one of the more underappreciated in the country. Silvio Flores is an All-American candidate, at 18.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, and 1.6 spg. The battle between him and Kuehl will be fantastic. The big issue for the Miners is, well, the Don frontcourt.

Pick: San Francisco by 16. The Dons will grind the Miners down. Unfortunately, unlike what miners hope to find, it will not be a gem. It will be dust, and the Dons will move on.

3) Southern California (21-8, At Large) vs 6) Oklahoma A&M (23-6, At Large)

We were terribly excited for this game until we realized Witcher would be out. The battle between WItcher/Matthew O’Bryant and Freddie Nation/Edmund Nelson would have been quite compelling. As it is, Witcher is done for the year, and Nelson, the Trojans’ leading scorer at 16.6 ppg, is banged up and may not be at full strength for this game.

The Trojans still have Allen Storer, who has become something of a forgotten man in Glendale. The guard out of Powder River County in Montana has never quite found his footing, despite displaying obvious talent when he does play. As it is, the team will likely revolve around Nation (7.9 ppg, nation-high 9.2 apg), JC Quiles (11.0 ppg, 11.7 rpg) and Hernando Hernandez (11.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg). They play a high-tempo style that would normally suit the Cowboys well, if they were with their starting point guard. But the Trojans do go at a high speed while shooting efficiently; their 49% shooting is seventh in the nation.

Add to this that the Cowboys are the worst free-throw shooting team in the country, points they would need if they are going to slow down Southern Cal, and you have a recipe for disaster for the OKA&M.

To add to the intrigue, Quiles was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying, “We want San Francisco. Please, for all that is good in this world, give us the Dons. We want to set the table straight with who is the best out west. It sure isn’t them.”

Careful what you wish for.

Pick: Southern California by 12. This would be closer if Witcher were available. We do not wish to give the Cowboys an excuse for losing the game; truth be told, even with Stefan, they would be a four-to-five point underdog. But without Witcher, their incredibly guard-deficient roster becomes a wreck of an offense. The Trojans should capitalize, and control the tempo of the game to their liking.

Midwest Semifinals

1) Indiana vs 5) West Virginia: There are a couple of questions about this game. Can West Virginia score efficiently away from the basket? Indiana is very good at taking away the inside shot with their big men. Or, more importantly, can West Virginia get Octavio Broussard in foul trouble? If they can succeed, the game completely changes. If they try, fail, and struggle from outside, that would be their obvious death knell. Their shooting percentages only give so much…Woods shot 51%, Timothy Freeland 53% (on only 88 attempts), Charlie Woolfolk 52%, and Matt Olson 54%. Hildebrand shot 45%. Presuming these were not all layups, that sounds pretty good.

The bigger issue at play is, of course Indiana’s guard depth. This is where you find an issue in missing Des Phillips and Win Renfro. With these guys, Indiana would be a clear favorite. Without them, we’re not sure that Indiana’s inside presence is enough to neutralize the Mountaineers. The only loss Indiana suffered, back to Duquesne in November, came in a game where Chauncey Hinkley scored 34. The combination of Chris McKeehan and Richard Manion had five points. The Mountaineers do not rely on the post to get their points. There-in lies the rub for the Hoosiers: an efficient offense that focuses on making the correct pass and finding either an uncontested layup or an easy jump shot.

Without Phillips and Renfro, the onus falls on Ike Winfrey, Sheldon Moultrie, and Art Porter. With all due respect to those three, we cast our lot with West Virginia.

Pick: West Virginia by 6. Indiana does not have the guard depth to control Hildebrand or Woolfolk all game. And they may not have a true answer for Woods. But the star of this game should be Hildebrand, showing the importance of experience at the primary ball-handling spot. We also believe this is where West Virginia’s previous experience most comes into play. Many, including us, like to tout Kansas State’s three straight national semis. West Virginia has been to back-to-back semifinals, and, as history tells us, got to the big game last year.

2) San Francisco vs 3) Southern California: As mentioned before, the Trojans were crowing about this game, demanding to see the Dons before the game is played out. In this scenario, they get it, And they do not like it.

In a matchup of Ferrari vs Nation, we take the former. He has the experience at this stage: he has started all 128 games in his career. Here is the list of people who have played in that many games:

Elijah Davis (131), Clemson
Lane McClary (128) and Jonathan Fleenor (128, 126 starts), Duke
Tommy Fritts (128, 95 starts), Kansas State
Octavio Broussard (129, started 67), Indiana
Glen Girard (129, started 62) and Dorian Brady (128), Rutgers
Lenny Snell (130, started 33), Kentucky
John Hildebrand (142, started 109), West Virginia

That’s it. That’s the list. The most experience any USC player has is 88 games (Hernandez, Storer). Nation has played in 83 games, and started 59. He has played against excellent point guards. He does not have nearly the experience of Ferrari, who started at a high level, and only gotten better. Nation only stepped into the limelight this season.

In the end, this has the feel of a bad matchup for the Trojans, much in the way Cal was a bad matchup for the Trojans late. With Nelson on the mend (he will likely be fine for this one), and with a tough matchup against Kuehl, you are asking Nation to do a lot. This will also be a tough matchup for Quiles, who has difficulty against scoring forwards. He is a great rebounder, but not particularly the best defender Veasey has seen this year.

Pick: San Francisco by 4. The Dons have seen the national semifinals. Ferrari, Griffis, Warren Tandy and Jared Stewart were part of that team. We really feel like the Trojans’ best is yet to come. This will likely be a lesson in playing defense the whole way through.

Midwest Championship: 2) San Francisco vs 5) West Virginia. Could you imagine, reader? The top two offenses in the country, going at one another? The ballet of these two efficient offense…great at the extra pass, at finding the open spot on the floor, the open man? If this were to happen, it would be the game of the tournament.

Picking a winner here is difficult. The Ferrari/Hildebrand matchup, alone, would be worth the price of admission. Add in Woods and Veasey and Woolfolk and Griffis and Kuehl and Freeland, and you have a matchup for the ages.

So, how do you pick a team against a mirror image of itself?

Pick: West Virginia by 1. We think the Hildebrand/Woolfolk/Woods combination will beat out the Ferrari/Kuehl/Veasey combo. But it is that close. Freshman guard Jared Bazan could be a hero here…after all, is it not the player off-the-radar that delivers the biggest blow?

muns

11-23-2015, 07:29 PM

South Region

1) Kansas (24-5, At Large) vs 8) Connecticut (16-12, Yankee Champ)

The Jayhawks are the defending champs for the second time in three seasons. The Huskies are the four-time Yankee champions. You tell us which sounds more impressive. By the comparison, the Huskies do not stand much of a chance. The Huskies do have former All-American, senior point guard Jessie Calvert (14.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.7 apg) and redshirt junior forward, Joe McInerney (14.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg). They also have a roster full of guys who have the potential to play at a high level. By Yankee terms, well…they are the four-time champions.

But, Kansas. The Automarahn. That backcourt of Horne and Burns. The bench, the overall talent. Loren Brown is considered a leading talent for one of the new overseas leagues, or even someone who could hook onto the National Basketball Association; he has not played a single minute in two seasons. They have the diverse offense, the rebounding ability…the one thing they do not do as well is defend. If Connecticut shoots the daylights out of the ball, they may make things a little interesting. By “daylights”, we mean eighty percent or better.

Pick: Kansas by 28. This is the weakest of the Husky champions so far. They have yet to gain a win in the NCAA Tournament; why should we believe they can beat Kansas? This would be akin to Toledo beating Indiana, though moreso. The big seeds are far more cognizant of not overlooking small-conference opponents.

4) North Carolina (26-7, Atlantic Coast Champ) vs 5) Michigan State (21-7, At Large)

When you consider the rankings above, these two teams look about even-keel, no? Then you consider the schedules. The Tar Heels were 18-7 against the top 100, 10-6 against the top fifty. The Spartans were 12-7 against the top 100, 7-5 against the top fifty. The Tar Heels, of course, had a steady diet of NC State, Duke, Clemson, Maryland…Michigan State had Illinois and Indiana, but after that, the Big Ten was underwhelming. Advantage, North Carolina.

The Atlantic Coast champions should feel disrespected. Yes, the struggled with a three-game losing streak late. They’re still the conference champions, both in the regular season and the conference tournament. The Tournament Selection committee hammered them on their non-conference schedule, which did not that much pep. The toughest game UNC may have had was at Oregon (an 82-66 loss) or at Oklahoma City (a 71-69 loss). Michigan State faced Denver (lost), St. John’s (lost), Dayton (crushed), and…that’s it. This may be a wash.

But, the talent…North Carolina has one of the finest players in the nation in SF Dennis Sawicki (19.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.7 apg). Point guard Archie Means has been one of the finest point men in the country for two years running (9.8 ppg, 7.0 apg), and Chris Stoner, the redshirt freshman people keep waiting to have a breakout year. This year, he’s putting up 6.3 points and 7.4 rebounds a year. Their bench is quite talented as well, with Emmanuel Shotwell and Johnnie Northern leading the way.

Michigan State has a solid backcourt, led by redshirt freshman Brent Burchell (12.5 ppg, 2.8 apg) and Dougie Gibson (8.8 ppg, 4.6 apg), as well as forward Cyril Clancy (15.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg). Chris Hendren (8.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg) adds some rebounding muscle. After that, though, things tail off. This is where the Spartans fail their biggest against the Tar Heels.

Pick: North Carolina by 11. The Tar Heels’ depth will see them through. On their balance, the five of Sparty can mostly play with the five of the Tar Heels. But when you replace those five with a similar five, well…Sparty cannot do that.

2) Kentucky (27-2, Southeastern Champ) vs 7) Murray State (21-8, Ohio Valley Champ)

Kentucky is different than the Wildcats of years’ past, in that this group can shoot free throws. The Wildcats were dinged over the past for their inability to shoot free throws. Of course, they have also made three straight national quarterfinals, and two national semis. So, dinged is saying, well, they were supposed to win it all. In the case of 1953, that is absolutely correct.

The Wildcats start with Curt Davis, who is a spitting image of Jerry Young. He scored 11.1 points, picked up 8.0 rebounds, dished 2.3 assists, and had 2.6 blocks a game. He is a potential All-American candidate, and the frontrunner for the National Player of the Year award in 1958.

Stephan Williford, the team’s shooting guard, leads a dynamic and diverse offense with 14.5 points a game. Eight players average at least 6.8 points a game for the Wildcats, which is amazing. The team has a duo at center, in Scott Moncada and Carson White, who average a combined 14.0 points and 14.3 rebounds a game. Lenny Snell manages to put up 7.4 points in just 16.8 minutes a game.

These Wildcats, who beat Kansas and Kansas State in the Tournament of Champions, holding the Wildcats to 57 points, which is the average for the defense this year. We do not expect their defense to be this good in the tournament; truth be told, they haven’t really played many offenses that are capable of scoring that much. The best defense for UK is their offense; they run teams to the point of exhaustion. They gave up just 70+ points twice after the loss at Clemson; once to Boston College (who had the 148th offense in the nation this year), and against Georgia Tech. The SEC was a pitiful offensive conference this year. After UK and GT, the next-best offense was Mississippi State, at 57th.

This is where Murray State will have issues. They also like to score. They shoot it well, and teams don’t shoot all that well against them, on average. But this is Kentucky. Forward Brian Jacob (15.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg) has not seen anyone who will defend him the way Davis will. And guards Ben Guidry and Brooks Schulman have not seen anyone that they’ll see in white uniforms in the first round. This is not to the Racers’ advantage.

Pick: Kentucky by 22. The Wildcats, who may feel slighted by not having a top seed (and rightfully so), need to get out of this game healthy, and prep for the second round.

3) UCLA (22-7, At Large) vs 6) Arkansas (24-6, Southwest Champ)

The Bruins have ascended to their first postseason spot because of their defensive strength. They keep teams off the rebounds, and work hard to make teams uncomfortable on their offensive end. They make their free throws, and they don’t make too many mistakes. They have a veteran team, with their top five players being juniors and seniors. The leader is David Mackay (13.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.8 apg), though SF Mark Lorenzo (11.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg), SF Jean Becker (10.2 ppg off the bench), and the tandem of C Derek Busby and PF Robert Hutton (14.3 ppg, 18.6 rpg) give the Bruins a solid base.

The Bruins lost point guard Michael Hoffman with five games to go in the regular season. That might save them, as it gave them time to see what they have with true freshman, Andrew Grayson. The returns are incomplete, but he has played admirably, with a 2.07 assist-to-turnover ratio during the time he is in.

Of course, it’s one thing when you’re going up against Idaho and Washington State. Arkansas is another beast altogether. The backcourt, Bennett Dougherty (17.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.2 apg) and Kerry Groves (11.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.9 spg) are as formidable as any in the nation. Many around the program were questioning when Groves was going to show up this season; alas, he has played much better as of late. Top sub Seth Wessels (5.0 ppg, 3.5 apg in 17.5 mpg) is just as good as those two. The team has had to deal without William Bingham, their starting small forward for the first 2/3 of the season. The early returns on Scott Garza are pretty good: 13.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg. They are an excellent scoring team, don’t turn it over, force turnovers, and create a hectic style that teams have a hard team dealing with if they haven’t seen it.

The issue for Arkansas is their bench and their post depth. But that’s UCLA’s issue, too. The issues for both are negated. This will be a guard’s game.

Pick: Arkansas by 7. The Razorbacks have the better backcourt, especially with UCLA having to rely on the true freshman Grayson. Dougherty and Groves are difficult for anyone to have to deal with. Forcing a freshman to have to rise to that challenge, after being a severe bit player for most of this season, is almost unfair. This will be the key to the game. Arkansas and Kentucky will get a battle both fan bases have been pulling for.

South Semifinals

1) Kansas vs 4) North Carolina: This matchup is a bit of a travesty, in our view. We find no fault with Kansas being a top seed (Kentucky fans may have issue with Kansas taking the South, and that would be justified). But the Tar Heels are not the kind of four-seed Kansas should be facing at this point. Really, the ACC champion, in this spot? It isn’t as incompetent as Indiana-Kansas State, but it’s in the conversation.

But, we digress.

Kansas beat NC State earlier in the season, 74-68. In that game, the guard play led the way. We should expect that out of the Jayhawks. They are a complete team, but the Atomarahn holds more of a defensive presence than on the offensive end. There is one nugget North Carolina can take from this: SF Abram Willoughby had 14 points, on 6-12 shooting.

In fact, if you look at the box scores, you’ll notice the small forward often led the offense against Kansas. North Carolina has Sawicki, perhaps the best small forward in America. He averages 19.4 points a game. The blueprint for North Carolina to win is exactly how they win.

Of course, there is more to it than that. Can Archie Means hold Steven Burns in check? Burns is the lynchpin that makes Kansas go. He’s the one who finds ways for Rahn to contribute his eight points a game. He gets Luis Horne going on his patented runs. He is the one who gets the bench guys their buckets.

In short, Sawicki is going to do what he does, and Kansas has that built into their gameplan. The real key, for North Carolina, is whether or not Means can win his battle with Burns.

Pick: Kansas by 4. We do not believe he will.

2) Kentucky vs 6) Arkansas: This, like West Virginia and San Francisco, would be a frantic matchup of top offenses, with defenses that mirror one another in their fly-about-the-court nature, causing turnovers. This is where Arkansas’ depth comes into issue. We once heard Michael Murray, Arkansas head coach, state that you only “really need a rotation of seven, if you want to win”. That is exactly what Arkansas has…a seven-man rotation.

The problem with their rotation? No post guys. They have junior forward John Berry, and sophomore center Mac Burroughs, and that’s it.

Kentucky has Moncada, Carson White, and Abel Williams at the center spot. Davis and Jorge Masse are the men at the power spot, though James Willaims can slide to the four if need be. Lenny Snell can play either guard position, and Carl Williams can slide to the off-guard spot if you need.

All of that leads to a more labored offense for Arkansas, having to score through fresh legs and long limbs. And heaven forbid, if the Razorback bigs get into foul trouble. If they do, this will turn one-sided in a hurry.

Pick: Kentucky by 13. This has a laundry list of ways Arkansas can lose this game, and only one or two ways they can win it. Even if Kentucky struggles in stretches against the pressure from Arkansas (and we’re certain that they’ll have stretches where they will), we think the Wildcats should gain their footing easily, and once they do, be able to knock Arkansas off their perch. If anything, we feel like this has a chance to be a larger victory for the Wildcats.

South Championship: 1) Kansas vs 2) Kentucky. It is funny, with all of the great teams in this region, it plays to chalk up to this point. These two faced each other in the Tournament of Champions, in the very first game of the year. That game, won by Kentucky, 80-77, can really be tossed right out. These teams are vastly different than they are at this point. The biggest difference is Kentucky’s defense. We wrote before that we do not expect their defense to play to the statistics, that the teams they will face in the tournament will be better than what they saw. This is true; however, we also expect Kansas to have a far more troubling time scoring than they did in the first go-round.

To us, whoever controls the rebounding controls the game. In the first run, Kentucky controlled the boards. Kansas has to make a more concerted effort on this end, especially on the offensive end, to win this game.

Pick: Kentucky by 2. It will be close, a back-and-forth battle throughout. In the end, we think it will be Kentucky’s front line that does the job. They forced Kansas’ starting frontcourt to shoot 9-27 from the field in the first game. And now they’ve gotten better. We don’t believe Rahn will get another 6-10 output, which will hamper things more. The onus on the guards is great for Kansas, whereas Kentucky can adapt to the flow better.

muns

11-23-2015, 07:30 PM

East Region

1) Washington (25-6, At Large) vs 8) George Washington (14-18, Southern Champ)

The Huskies should have a field day with George Washington’s open-fenced defense. They make the extra pass, move well without the ball, and the Colonials have trouble following through on screens. The Huskies have Danny Fenton, a potential All-American and PCC Player of the Year candidate. The Italian import, Italo Malocco, has become big this year, averaging a career-high 14.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Add in Gisbert Bittes’ defense and Francis Calhoun’s rebounding, and the bench, and you have a tough opponent to stop.

George Washington does not like to stop many, too. And now they are without shooting guard Hershel Ramirez, who is down with an injury. His 11.4 points are going to be hard to replace. Guard Andrew Batson (13.8 ppg) is very productive when he plays; he will get more minutes, and his production will have to go up accordingly. Overall, GW has a solid roster…but an awful bench, and very streaky play.

Pick: Washington by 16. The Huskies should cruise by the Colonials behind Fenton and Malocco.

4) Duquesne (26-5, At Large) vs 5) Georgia Tech (23-7, At Large)

Many have wanted to pile Duquesne this year, saying that the Dukes are so high because of their name and recent success. That would be patently absurd. The Dukes were 14-5 in games against the top 100 this year, and while they may have faced more bottom-feeding opponents than some teams, they still faced Villanova, Indiana, Seattle, Kansas, Duke, and Notre Dame. They also have Chauncey Hinkley, one of the best all-around forwards in the nation. He averaged 16.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists (4.7 turnovers, too), and 2.9 steals per game. Forward Chris Green (12.4 ppg) has been a solid supplemental figure, whil guard Rod Williams, forward Richard Manion, and C Chris McKeehan offer solid support. They have a solid bench, with Al Samson and Jimmy Matos leading the way.

The Dukes have one of the better defenses in the nation, ranking 15th in points, and tenth in field goal percentage. They do not allow teams gain assists on them, and get into passing lanes quite often. They surprise you with their speed. They have solid backups at each post position, something not all teams can say.

The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, are just like Clemson. Not many thought they would be here (our Analytics bureau was sure Clemson would not be here). On the surface, GT is much weaker than they have been over the past couple of seasons. They go only seven deep, and their two bench guys are sophomore guard Chris Hardnett and freshman forward Andrew Wong, neither of whom have much experience. So, the Jackets rely on a collective approach on offense. Four players average double figures, led by guard Albert Johnson’s 16.2 a game. Justin Jones (11.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg) and Joe Lundberg (10.9 ppg, 9.9 rpg) are the rebounding chaos brothers that make things tough on other teams. They are excellent at offensive rebounds, too (2nd in the nation).

So, the question becomes, Georgia Tech’s offense, or Duquesne’s defense? Here is one thing to keep in mind, when making this pick: Georgia Tech’s defense is 21st in the nation, in terms of field goal percentage against. Their style is always difficult to play against. That is why we like them here.

Pick: Georgia Tech by 5. The Yellow Jackets should own the rebounding edge, and limit how Duquesne shoots the ball. The team statistics in this trend towards Georgia Tech getting this one narrowly.

2) North Carolina State (24-9, At Large) vs 7) Niagara (17-12, WNY3 Champ)

Niagara is here for the fourth straight season. They have a fantastic legacy point man in Curt To, who has started every (120) in his career. He’s going to be severely hampered in the first round, though, for two reasons: 1) leading scorer Monroe Serrato is out with an injury, and Niagara will not be able to fully replace those twenty points a game, and 2) NC State.

The Wolfpack is not seeded incorrectly as a #2, despite many wondering how they are there when North Carolina is a #4. This is a veteran group led by three solid scoring options in forwards Lou Bergeron (15.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and Abram Willoughby (13.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg), and guard Chris Davis (13.4 ppg, 5.2 apg, 3.9 rpg). John Rossi (8.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 2.0 bpg) anchors the defense that held its own in the high-scoring ACC. They move the ball, don’t turn it over, and have one of the top rebounding groups in the nation (tenth overall).

In all honesty, this is an easy pick.

Pick: NC State by 26. Expect the Wolfpack to get early separation, and continue to build throughout the game. Niagara was going to have a hard enough time as it is; without Serrato, this becomes a near-impossible mission.

3) Seattle (28-3, At Large) vs 6) St. John’s (18-10, Metro Champ)

Frankly, we find Seattle’s seeding to be absurd. They are, quite arguably, the best team in the west. To be sent east, and as a third-seed, is ludcrious. They were 18-3 against the top 100, 6-3 against the top fifty. They have the third-best defense in the nation, second-toughest to shoot against. They will be without starting off-guard Jesus Guzman for the tournament, which is a blow. However, their lead guard, Gregory Wyman, is also their leading scorer (14.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.4 spg). Jesus Jones, the much-heralded small forward, averaged 12.7 points and 4.4 rebounds this year, and is big candidate to break out as a star in this tournament. David Harder (10.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.7 bpg) gets lost in the shuffle by opponents sometimes. Expect Justin Lavergne, a true sophomore who has been efficient this season, should step into a bigger role.

St. John’s, meanwhile, is purportedly one of the best defenses in college basketball. We don’t see that. We see them as having played a pretty awful schedule, and while they rebound well, they get into sloppy games. They do have some solid players, led by Russian forward Veniamin Alexeev (10.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg), and a trio of guys who score nine points a game. Dennis Shelby (9.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.2 bpg), as well as the guards Andrew Davis (9.3 ppg) and Columbus Herrera (9.0 ppg) are tough contributors. Kelvin Denton (7.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg) is the key off the bench.

Seattle’s size, and their ability, far exceeds St. John’s. This may be the lowest-scoring game of the first round to us, as both teams do have defensive mindsets.

Pick: Seattle by 10. The Chieftains have real defense, though, and should shut down the Johnnies regularly. Expect Harder, in particular, to have a good game.

East Semifinals

1) Washington vs 5) Georgia Tech: The Huskies have issues with teams that can rebound well. Georgia Tech rebounds better than just about anyone. The PCC has several teams that rebound well, though, so take that with a grain of salt. Also, they ranked 18th in total rebounds themselves. Georgia Tech will have to contend with that.

What we like is how the Huskies are able to achieve against tough defenses. They execute well, don’t press, and find the open man. We will be very interested to see how Georgia Tech’s defensive tenets force adjustments from the Huskies.

Pick: Washington by 6. We don’t believe they will have to make too many adjustments. They have balance, talent, and depth. The latter is where Georgia Tech falters. Washington will have to earn the victory, but we believe they will.

2) North Carolina State vs 3) Seattle: There are many things we like about this game. What we would like the most is Seattle’s defense against NC State. They have plenty of size to match up with the Wolfpack bigs. How they handle Bergeron, specifically, should dictate the flow of the game. If Bergeron is able to establish himself, NC State’s offense gets much easier to orchestra. If Bergeron is limited, Seattle should be able to dictate the flow.

Moreover, the battle between Wyman and sophomore guard John Clawson (7.5 ppg, 5.8 apg) will be the other big matchup to watch. It may be whoever wins that matchup wins the game.

One thing we do not like, however, is NC State’s defense against Seattle. The Wolfpack have a tendency to let teams score on them. They did not see a defense like Seattle’s in the ACC season. Kansas State allowed NC State to shoot 52% from the field, but forced 21 turnovers in their 64-63 win at NC State. That is the closest we can get to mimicking Seattle’s defense. If the same plays out, it does not mean well for the Wolfpack.

Pick: Seattle by 3. There are many pros and cons to taking either side. Maybe it comes down to free throw shooting. NC State is not particularly adept at this aspect of the game. It feels as though any missed opportunities will be massive for either team. We think Seattle will force more miscues, and move on.

East Championship: 1) Washington vs 3) Seattle.. This is the game everyone wanted to see out west. In this scenario, we get it, but in the east. This game will come down to the defenses: how effective can Seattle be against the varied Washington offense, and how will Washington’s middling defense be against Seattle’s leveled attack? In this, we favor Seattle in both regards. We also believe this will be the game Jesus Jones announces himself to the nation. He has had a tendency to shy away in the big moments thus far, deferring to Wyman. But with Wyman having to deal with Danny Fenton all game, Gisbert Bittes, a noted defender, will have his hands full with Jones.

Pick: Seattle by 4. The lower scoring this game is, the better for Seattle. Washington has to come out shooting the ball well. If they’re cold, and Seattle grabs control, well…ask Duquesne what happens. They were held to just 36 points by the Chieftains earlier in the season.

muns

11-23-2015, 07:33 PM

East Region

1) Washington (25-6, At Large) vs 8) George Washington (14-18, Southern Champ)

PPG OPPG Rebounds OREB Assists Turnovers oTO FG% OFG% FT% Key Player
1) Washington 74.9 (8) 63.7 (77) 38.4 (18) 34.0 (73) 18.8 (10) 13.9 (96) 18.6 (4) 48.1 (16) 43.9 (52) 72.0 (20) PG Danny Fenton
8) Geo Wash 69.8 (31) 72.3 (168) 35.6 (54) 36.3 (134) 15.6 (34) 13.8 (82) 13.3 (89) 44.2 (104) 47.6 (148) 72.7 (9) PG Charlie Arroyo
Injuries: Washington: PG Marquis Gray (2); GW: SG Hershel Ramirez (31)

The Huskies should have a field day with George Washington’s open-fenced defense. They make the extra pass, move well without the ball, and the Colonials have trouble following through on screens. The Huskies have Danny Fenton, a potential All-American and PCC Player of the Year candidate. The Italian import, Italo Malocco, has become big this year, averaging a career-high 14.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Add in Gisbert Bittes’ defense and Francis Calhoun’s rebounding, and the bench, and you have a tough opponent to stop.

George Washington does not like to stop many, too. And now they are without shooting guard Hershel Ramirez, who is down with an injury. His 11.4 points are going to be hard to replace. Guard Andrew Batson (13.8 ppg) is very productive when he plays; he will get more minutes, and his production will have to go up accordingly. Overall, GW has a solid roster…but an awful bench, and very streaky play.

Pick: Washington by 16. The Huskies should cruise by the Colonials behind Fenton and Malocco.

4) Duquesne (26-5, At Large) vs 5) Georgia Tech (23-7, At Large)

PPG OPPG Rebounds OREB Assists Turnovers oTO FG% OFG% FT% Key Player
4) Duquesne 67.5 (43) 57.7 (15) 35.0 (71) 34.4 (88) 15.5 (38) 13.7 (78) 16.9 (9) 47.7 (26) 41.3 (10) 69.0 (65) PG Rod Williams
5) Georgia Tech 72.6 (19) 63.8 (80) 41.1 (3) 33.9 (68) 16.8 (20) 13.5 (68) 12.8 (117) 47.3 (28) 42.4 (21) 67.7 (83) PF Joe Lundberg
Injuries: None

Many have wanted to pile Duquesne this year, saying that the Dukes are so high because of their name and recent success. That would be patently absurd. The Dukes were 14-5 in games against the top 100 this year, and while they may have faced more bottom-feeding opponents than some teams, they still faced Villanova, Indiana, Seattle, Kansas, Duke, and Notre Dame. They also have Chauncey Hinkley, one of the best all-around forwards in the nation. He averaged 16.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists (4.7 turnovers, too), and 2.9 steals per game. Forward Chris Green (12.4 ppg) has been a solid supplemental figure, whil guard Rod Williams, forward Richard Manion, and C Chris McKeehan offer solid support. They have a solid bench, with Al Samson and Jimmy Matos leading the way.

The Dukes have one of the better defenses in the nation, ranking 15th in points, and tenth in field goal percentage. They do not allow teams gain assists on them, and get into passing lanes quite often. They surprise you with their speed. They have solid backups at each post position, something not all teams can say.

The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, are just like Clemson. Not many thought they would be here (our Analytics bureau was sure Clemson would not be here). On the surface, GT is much weaker than they have been over the past couple of seasons. They go only seven deep, and their two bench guys are sophomore guard Chris Hardnett and freshman forward Andrew Wong, neither of whom have much experience. So, the Jackets rely on a collective approach on offense. Four players average double figures, led by guard Albert Johnson’s 16.2 a game. Justin Jones (11.2 ppg, 9.0 rpg) and Joe Lundberg (10.9 ppg, 9.9 rpg) are the rebounding chaos brothers that make things tough on other teams. They are excellent at offensive rebounds, too (2nd in the nation).

So, the question becomes, Georgia Tech’s offense, or Duquesne’s defense? Here is one thing to keep in mind, when making this pick: Georgia Tech’s defense is 21st in the nation, in terms of field goal percentage against. Their style is always difficult to play against. That is why we like them here.

Pick: Georgia Tech by 5. The Yellow Jackets should own the rebounding edge, and limit how Duquesne shoots the ball. The team statistics in this trend towards Georgia Tech getting this one narrowly.

2) North Carolina State (24-9, At Large) vs 7) Niagara (17-12, WNY3 Champ)

PPG OPPG Rebounds OREB Assists Turnovers oTO FG% OFG% FT% Key Player
2) NC State 73.6 (14) 64.8 (95) 39.9 (10) 34.8 (99) 19.4 (5) 12.2 (28) 14.2 (61) 47.2 (32) 44.0 (56) 66.9 (105) PF Lou Bergeron
7) Niagara 66.2 (52) 65.3 (107) 34.4 (84) 34.1 (78) 16.5 (25) 13.7 (76) 15.5 (24) 45.7 (57) 47.5 (147) 68.7 (70) SG Matthew Ashton
Injuries: Niagara: SF Monroe Serrato (22)

Niagara is here for the fourth straight season. They have a fantastic legacy point man in Curt To, who has started every (120) in his career. He’s going to be severely hampered in the first round, though, for two reasons: 1) leading scorer Monroe Serrato is out with an injury, and Niagara will not be able to fully replace those twenty points a game, and 2) NC State.

The Wolfpack is not seeded incorrectly as a #2, despite many wondering how they are there when North Carolina is a #4. This is a veteran group led by three solid scoring options in forwards Lou Bergeron (15.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and Abram Willoughby (13.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg), and guard Chris Davis (13.4 ppg, 5.2 apg, 3.9 rpg). John Rossi (8.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 2.0 bpg) anchors the defense that held its own in the high-scoring ACC. They move the ball, don’t turn it over, and have one of the top rebounding groups in the nation (tenth overall).

In all honesty, this is an easy pick.

Pick: NC State by 26. Expect the Wolfpack to get early separation, and continue to build throughout the game. Niagara was going to have a hard enough time as it is; without Serrato, this becomes a near-impossible mission.

3) Seattle (28-3, At Large) vs 6) St. John’s (18-10, Metro Champ)

PPG OPPG Rebounds OREB Assists Turnovers oTO FG% OFG% FT% Key Player
3) Seattle 68.6 (41) 52.8 (3) 36.0 (48) 34.1 (76) 16.1 (29) 12.0 (23) 16.5 (15) 48.3 (12) 38.8 (2) 68.5 (73) SF Jesus Jones
6) St. John's 63.3 (81) 57.7 (14) 36.0 (46) 32.8 (42) 13.1 (94) 14.0 (100) 12.9 (113) 46.7 (39) 41.1 (9) 65.6 (135) C Dennis Shelby
Injuries: PG Jesus Guzman (33)

Frankly, we find Seattle’s seeding to be absurd. They are, quite arguably, the best team in the west. To be sent east, and as a third-seed, is ludcrious. They were 18-3 against the top 100, 6-3 against the top fifty. They have the third-best defense in the nation, second-toughest to shoot against. They will be without starting off-guard Jesus Guzman for the tournament, which is a blow. However, their lead guard, Gregory Wyman, is also their leading scorer (14.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.4 spg). Jesus Jones, the much-heralded small forward, averaged 12.7 points and 4.4 rebounds this year, and is big candidate to break out as a star in this tournament. David Harder (10.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.7 bpg) gets lost in the shuffle by opponents sometimes. Expect Justin Lavergne, a true sophomore who has been efficient this season, should step into a bigger role.

St. John’s, meanwhile, is purportedly one of the best defenses in college basketball. We don’t see that. We see them as having played a pretty awful schedule, and while they rebound well, they get into sloppy games. They do have some solid players, led by Russian forward Veniamin Alexeev (10.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg), and a trio of guys who score nine points a game. Dennis Shelby (9.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.2 bpg), as well as the guards Andrew Davis (9.3 ppg) and Columbus Herrera (9.0 ppg) are tough contributors. Kelvin Denton (7.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg) is the key off the bench.

Seattle’s size, and their ability, far exceeds St. John’s. This may be the lowest-scoring game of the first round to us, as both teams do have defensive mindsets.

Pick: Seattle by 10. The Chieftains have real defense, though, and should shut down the Johnnies regularly. Expect Harder, in particular, to have a good game.

East Semifinals

1) Washington vs 5) Georgia Tech: The Huskies have issues with teams that can rebound well. Georgia Tech rebounds better than just about anyone. The PCC has several teams that rebound well, though, so take that with a grain of salt. Also, they ranked 18th in total rebounds themselves. Georgia Tech will have to contend with that.

What we like is how the Huskies are able to achieve against tough defenses. They execute well, don’t press, and find the open man. We will be very interested to see how Georgia Tech’s defensive tenets force adjustments from the Huskies.

Pick: Washington by 6. We don’t believe they will have to make too many adjustments. They have balance, talent, and depth. The latter is where Georgia Tech falters. Washington will have to earn the victory, but we believe they will.

2) North Carolina State vs 3) Seattle: There are many things we like about this game. What we would like the most is Seattle’s defense against NC State. They have plenty of size to match up with the Wolfpack bigs. How they handle Bergeron, specifically, should dictate the flow of the game. If Bergeron is able to establish himself, NC State’s offense gets much easier to orchestra. If Bergeron is limited, Seattle should be able to dictate the flow.

Moreover, the battle between Wyman and sophomore guard John Clawson (7.5 ppg, 5.8 apg) will be the other big matchup to watch. It may be whoever wins that matchup wins the game.

One thing we do not like, however, is NC State’s defense against Seattle. The Wolfpack have a tendency to let teams score on them. They did not see a defense like Seattle’s in the ACC season. Kansas State allowed NC State to shoot 52% from the field, but forced 21 turnovers in their 64-63 win at NC State. That is the closest we can get to mimicking Seattle’s defense. If the same plays out, it does not mean well for the Wolfpack.

Pick: Seattle by 3. There are many pros and cons to taking either side. Maybe it comes down to free throw shooting. NC State is not particularly adept at this aspect of the game. It feels as though any missed opportunities will be massive for either team. We think Seattle will force more miscues, and move on.

East Championship: 1) Washington vs 3) Seattle.. This is the game everyone wanted to see out west. In this scenario, we get it, but in the east. This game will come down to the defenses: how effective can Seattle be against the varied Washington offense, and how will Washington’s middling defense be against Seattle’s leveled attack? In this, we favor Seattle in both regards. We also believe this will be the game Jesus Jones announces himself to the nation. He has had a tendency to shy away in the big moments thus far, deferring to Wyman. But with Wyman having to deal with Danny Fenton all game, Gisbert Bittes, a noted defender, will have his hands full with Jones.

Pick: Seattle by 4. The lower scoring this game is, the better for Seattle. Washington has to come out shooting the ball well. If they’re cold, and Seattle grabs control, well…ask Duquesne what happens. They were held to just 36 points by the Chieftains earlier in the season.

National Semifinals

[b]Seattle (East) vs West Virginia (Midwest).[b] Seattle’s defense will be severely tested against West Virginia’s vaunted offense. Truth be told, West Virginia does not get held down. They only scored less than 70 points five times this season. This may be the game where the Chieftains have more questions than answers.

We believe this game will be the coronation of John Hildebrand as the top point guard of the last four years. He’ll have to go through at least one more incredible point guard, this time Wyman. We believe Hildebrand will get the better of this matchup. West Virginia is good at getting opponents into foul trouble, too (though they are not terribly too good at shooting the free throws). This is something to watch.

Pick: West Virginia by 6. To be honest, when we looked at this game, we initially thought Seattle would romp with their defense. But after we delved in, we thought all signs pointed to West Virginia. The Mountaineers are the unlikeliest team to get to back-to-back title games. Yet, here they are.

Kentucky (South) vs Kansas State (West). The first time these two teams met, Kentucky got themselves a 71-57 win. They held Kansas State to 44% shooting, and Kansas State shot 11-20 from the line. Billy Jacob shot 3-11, while Stephan Williford had 23 points. Curt Davis was hurt, but managed eight points and ten rebounds. That left Kansas State 1-1 on the year.

They have not lost since.

The Wildcats have since shook off their wishes to be a totally offensive team, and have bought into the defensive philosophy and vision Domingo Jones had for this team. Since then, they have become the defensive juggernaut we know them as now. They keep teams off the boards. They disrupt passing lanes, to the point that teams go one pass and shoot. They force bad shots. They make opposing offenses miserable.

Kentucky has too much poise to get bothered to such a degree that they cannot operate. But we would expect Williford to not reach the numbers he reached the first time. We would expect the Wildcats to try to funnel the offense into the post, and force Moncada and Davis to carry them.

If Kentucky can keep things varied, and find ways for their guards to produce, they will probably win the game. If they have areas of the offense shut down for stretches, and if they allow the Kansas State guards to dictate the flow and action of the game, Kansas State should win more easily than one would think.

Pick: Kansas State by 7. We believe the Wildcats will be able to dictate the action. This should be a beauty of a game, though, with two teams who know themselves, with the amount of talent they have on the floor…it will be a national semifinal for the ages.

National Championship: West Virginia vs Kansas State

This seems fitting, that the attention of this season ends the way it started, with this rematch. The first game was won by West Virginia; they shot 56% from the field, overcoming 22 turnovers to win, 78-69. Demarcus Woods had 16 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists, while John Hildebrand had 12 points and 12 assists. Billy Jacob had 19, David Gunter 18, and Erich Walton 17 for the Wildcats.

With teams like these, with the kind of abilities these two teams have, there really is not a lot to say. It will come down to who executes, and who steps forward into the light.

Now, we have been burned twice by taking Kansas State. We believe the third time is the charm. The four seniors, Gunter, Jacob, Tommy Fritts, and Walton, have gone into the past two seasons as the favorite to win the title. This year, they went into the year as the favorites to win it all. They have given us no reason to pick against them this time. In this scenario, no team comes between the Wildcats and the final goal.

The Kansas State Wildcats have gone through heartache and failed expectations in each of the last three years. This year, the final one of this era, will see the happy ending.

Pick: Kansas State 74, West Virginia 72

muns

11-23-2015, 07:35 PM

I need to make a mention again, that I did not write any of that, and we have the best ghost writers in just about any league I have seen

If anybody is on the fence about playing multiplayer FBCB, this is the league you should be joining. Come grab a team you wont be dissapointed

muns

11-23-2015, 07:38 PM

Well I hoped for a 10+ point game in the opening round and boy did we not disappoint at all

Southern California 90, Oklahoma A&M 65

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oklahoma A&M (23-7, 11-3):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
James Burrow C 19 0-1 0-2 1 1 3 1 0
John Wendt PF 20 5-9 0-1 2 8 0 2 10
George Brown SF 22 4-7 1-2 1 3 2 3 9
Michel Neely SG 33 5-12 2-2 1 3 0 2 12
Matthew Obryant PG 32 7-22 3-3 7 8 3 1 17
Tim Bullard C 15 2-5 0-0 0 1 0 5 4
Ronald Rueda PF 10 2-4 0-0 0 1 2 2 4
Gregory Stevens C 14 2-7 0-0 1 4 1 2 4
Andreas Zimmerman PG 24 2-4 1-4 1 1 2 1 5
Herman Silvia SG 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
David Weekley SF 4 0-1 0-0 1 1 0 0 0
Robert Deschamps PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0

Turnovers: 17 (G.Brown 6, M.Neely 4, M.Obryant 1,
T.Bullard 2, G.Stevens 2, A.Zimmerman 2)
Blocked Shots: 3 (J.Burrow 1, J.Wendt 2)
Steals: 11 (J.Burrow 2, M.Neely 2, M.Obryant 4,
A.Zimmerman 3)
3P FGs: 0-0

Southern California (22-8, 10-6):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Dante Douglas C 31 5-8 0-2 2 8 2 1 10
J.C. Quiles PF 35 7-8 5-6 3 15 1 2 19
H. Hernandez SF 29 8-14 2-2 2 6 2 3 18
Edmund Nelson SG 32 10-18 1-2 1 4 2 1 21
Freddie Nation PG 33 3-6 2-4 1 1 8 2 8
Vincent Lincoln SG 9 1-1 2-2 0 0 0 4 4
Allen Storer PG 16 0-1 1-2 0 3 2 2 1
Ronald Mitchum SG 2 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 2
Michael Fanning C 15 2-3 3-3 2 5 1 0 7

Turnovers: 19 (D.Douglas 3, H.Hernandez 3, E.Nelson 5,
F.Nation 6, R.Mitchum 1, M.Fanning 1)
Blocked Shots: 3 (D.Douglas 2, J.Quiles 1)
Steals: 7 (H.Hernandez 1, F.Nation 5, A.Storer 1)
3P FGs: 0-0

Player of Game: PF J.C. Quiles (USC)

We smoked em with hot shooting 61% for the game and blew the doors off A&M.

I think we really want San Fran EH?????

muns

11-23-2015, 07:52 PM

Analytics vs. SelCom Update

There were upsets all over the place in the NCAA tournament, out of respect for certain teams we'll leave some of them alone. You know who you are. Most of them were ones that neither us nor the committee predicted, which just goes to show that this is a crazy sport sometimes.

** Clemson vs. West Virginia.

We said it wasn't a close call, and we were more right than we thought. West Virginia trounces the over-seeded Tigers by 30!

** Duquesne vs. Georgia Tech

We had this as a close one, and it was, with Duquesne winning 62-60. Short end of the stick for us.

In seven, nearly half of the games, the lower seed won in the NCAA first round. We correctly picked ... one. Ok, that's one more than the committee got with their seeding, but perhaps the real lesson here is that nobody knows what they are talking about and we might as well choose the at-large teams by drawing names out of a hat ...

** Georgetown vs. Syracuse

Moving to the NIT, Syracuse did in fact get by Georgetown as we predicted with a seven-point victory. The Hoyas are the only NIT #1 eliminated before the regional finals.

** Ohio State vs. Southern Methodist

In the other half of the same region, we were a bit surprised to see the Buckeyes advance 89-82. So it's one up, one down for us in both tourneys.

Current Tally: SelCom 4, Analytics 3

We're feeling a bit less cocky about ourselves these days. Nobody should pretend they know what they're doing after the first round of the NCAA tournament though. Nonetheless, here's the games we have coming up in the next round:

NCAA Sweet 16

None. We are on the same page on all eight matchups, which probably just means we are both equally wrong the way things are going.

NIT Elite 8

** Ohio State vs. Syracuse

We're a lot less confident about this one than we were against Georgetown, but we still think the Orangemen keep it going. We think it's only a gap of a little more than a point though, either team could win here.

And that's all. Just the one game. We are impressed with Columbia who clearly is hitting their stride at the right time rather than being depressed about missing the NCAAs for the first time in four seasons.

muns

11-23-2015, 07:59 PM

Oregon beat Duke to advance and Washington handled their stuff as well. Cal on the other hand lost to Utah 74-66.

3 teams in the PCC with big games to go for all!

Radii

11-23-2015, 10:39 PM

The writeup preview for the NCAA Tournament was amazing. Its too bad I checked the first round results before I read the preview and was slightly checked out mentally after that. ;)

murrayyyyy

11-24-2015, 09:50 AM

The National Basketball Report, Vol IV, Issue 14: First Round Mania
The National Basketball Report: March 27, 1957
Upsets and unlikely stars: We have you covered

Lightning Strikes Twice

At the end of Toledo’s 76-70 upset win over Indiana, the locker room area was much more subdued than you would think. Toledo’s was loud, but not boisterous. Of course, Indiana’s was silent.

So, why, after being the second eighth-seed to knock off a top seed, are they so quiet?

“They got their hoopla out last year,” said Toledo coach Chas McCarley, “when they did it the first time.”

Toledo (16-13) repeated what many, including this very publication, said they could not do once. They upset Indiana, 76-70. Indiana is now, if you’ll believe this, 60-3 over the last two seasons. Two of those three losses are at the hands of the Mid-American featherweight.

“We have their number, I guess,” said Timmy Torre, who scored 19, and led Toledo down the final stretch with solid ball-handling.

This game was not without unsung heroes. For the Rockets, that would be sophomore guard, Brian Schmaranzer. The 5-10, 160-pounder from Hammond High in Indiana was the 324th-ranked prospect in the country, far below Indiana’s top-twenty requirement for entry. All he did was score twenty points, a career high. He was 6-7 from the field, 8-10 from the free throw line. His steal and dunk, with 3:15 left, made it a 65-58 game. It demoralized Indiana. It would be over a minute before Indiana would score. With 1:51 left, Scharanzer was fouled. The gravity of the situation would fall upon his shoulders, many thought. He would falter under the pressure, and Indiana would get it to within three, or possibly two.

They were wrong. He hit both, never hitting the rim.

Indiana, undeterred, got it to within three, 69-66, with :38 left. They fouled Schmaranzer again.

Again, he calmly hit both.

He would hit three more over the final seconds, giving Toledo their final points.

“We talked about this leading up to this game,” said Indiana coach Kyle Kappe. “In any game, regardless of who you’re playing, you do not take care of your business and execute with the basketball, you can get beat. We got beat. We did not lose the game. We did not give it away. We were beat.

“You cannot be as lifeless as we were defensively, and win this game,” he continued. “You have to tip your cap to Toledo. They took care of the ball, and played to their advantages. And they went after our weaknesses. They executed their gameplan, and forced us out of ours. That’s to their credit.”

Torre, who had 19 points and six assists, was named Player of the Game. Demarcus Grant (14-7-4) and Richard Rivera (10 pts, 10 reb) were heavy contributors.

For Indiana, 5’9 true freshman Sheldon Moultrie led the way with 17. Octavio Broussard also had 17, along with nine rebounds. Jamal Conway added 14.

The Hoosiers now enter a bit of intrigue; gone is Broussard, Conway, and power forward Merv Erickson. They’ll return their backcourt, which includes sophomores Ike Winfrey and Des Phillips (out with injury), along with Moultrie. Redshirt sophomore forward Win Renfro, a key reserve who was out with injury, will also return, as will Spanish seven-footer, Alvaro Iglesias. But where their leadership comes from is unknown. Next year will bring with it many more questions than answers.

But this is not about them. This is about Toledo. The Rockets move on to face last year’s runners-up West Virginia, who blasted Clemson, 76-46. The Rockets, who feasted upon a lack of experience (Indiana racked up just seven turnovers from Toledo, who received almost no pressure from Hoosier guards) will suddenly face one of the most experienced players in collegiate basketball history. John Hildebrand shined with 18 points and eight assists against Clemson. How will Torre and company fare against what Hildebrand brings: a balanced attack?

“They’ll be the team in white,” said Torre afterwards. “We watched them after our game. We see what we’re up against. (West Virginia) is impressive, sure. I thought we were too, tonight. I am sure they’re talking about us, just as we are about them. They know what this is about, just as we do. Nobody will be under tremendous pressure. We all have been here before.”

For the Rockets, the victory is nothing but sweet. Getting to the Elite Eight, and land yet uncharted by the MAC, would be groundbreaking not just for Toledo, but the conference itself.

“We know we come from this little conference nobody pays attention to,” said McCarley. “You know, we play good basketball there. It is heated basketball. Our rivalries are just as intense as Kansas and Kansas State, as Indiana and Illinois. Those boys get the headlines, but we put the same ball in the same basket as they do. The hoop is ten feet high in the MAC, too.”

The rest of the Midwest played to chalk; West Virginia clobbered Clemson, as noted. Second-seed San Francisco, behind a diverse effort led by Jared Stewart’s 19, held Texas Western to 41% shooting in a 75-53 victory. They will face Southern California, 90-65 winners over Oklahoma A&M. JC Quiles had 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Freddie Nation had 8 points, 8 assists, and 7 steals. Edmund Nelson had a team-high 21. Matthew O’Bryant’s 17 and eight rebounds led the Cowboys.

After the game, the Trojans continued their mantra of demanding San Francisco.

“Frankly, we’re tired of hearing about them,” said Quiles. “They play in a garbage league. They ducked several top teams during the regular season, including us. They can’t duck us now.”

There was no comment from the San Francisco side.

Midwest Semifinals:
5) West Virginia (28-5) vs 8) Toledo (16-13): We had West Virginia beating Indiana. Toledo conquered a mountain for the second time. We don’t believe they will conquer the Mountaineers. PICK: West Virginia
2) San Francisco (27-4) vs 3) Southern California (22-8). An original pick in our forecast, and we’ll stay with it. PICK: San Francisco

Niagara Throws NC State Over

As compelling as Toledo’s repeat was, it did not begin to touch the biggest upset of the first round. That took place in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“We always believed we could win, even without Monroe (Serrato),” said Niagara point guard Curt To, following the Purple Eagles’ 73-68 win over second-seeded North Carolina State. “We have other guys who can score on this team. A couple of them stepped up.”

In addition to To’s 15-6-6 line, Niagara got an unlikely source of steady scoring out of forward Bill Gumm. The reserve forward saw 11.8 minutes a game this year, scoring a career-high 4.2 points a game. In this game, he tallied 17 points in 13 minutes of action.

“This is not new,” said Gumm, whose career high is 21 points, achieved earlier this year. “Coming off the bench is not being asked to hold down the fort. I have to produce, or my minutes go to someone else. Coach said that replacing Monroe was going to be done by several people, not by just one. I think we did a good job tonight.”

Monroe would be Monroe Serrato, who went down for the year in Niagara’s final regular season game. He averaged 20.0 points a game for the Purple Eagles. Many, including this very publication, felt Niagara would never be able to replace his production.

We were wrong, once again.

Niagara got their penultimate push with 13:50 to go in the second half. After John Clawson beat the press for a layup, bringing NC State to within one (47-46), Daniel Judge hit a jump shot. Chris Davis missed one of his own, and Douglas Scott scored on a nifty Curt To pass, which went between a defender’s legs. After a few silent possessions, John Rossi scored for State. To responded with a jumper off a Gumm assist. Gumm then got a steal, got fouled, and hit both free throws to make it a 55-50 game.

Gerald Cardenas almost cost Niagara quite a bit, by getting charged with a technical arguing a foul call. He was out of the game; Clayton Wheeler’s two free throws brought it back to 52-55. But Judge stripped Wheeler on the ensuing possession, leading to a Dennis Rand basket.

NC State collectively sagged their shoulders, but kept going to work. Wheeler scored from inside. Chris Arenas got a strip, and William Munoz scored. It was back to one. Gumm beat the press and scored. Wheeler beat the press and answered. Gumm scored again. Munoz scored, making it 61-60.

With 7:52 left, Judge got Wheeler on a ball fake. He scored the bucket, plus the penalty. He missed the shot, but John Rossi missed a two-footer on the other end. Niagara got three looks at the bucket on their possession, before Judge tipped in To’s miss. NC State came up empty, and Robert Lombard tipped in Judge’s miss on the other end.

It was 67-60, and NC State felt defeated.

“Every time we got close, they were able to push it back out,” said Rossi after the game. “The rebounding was inexcusable. We should have done much better.”

Niagara outrebounded State, 41-31. 11 of those came on the offensive end, and several came during that stretch.

Davis led State (24-10) with 17 points and four rebounds. Clawson added a 14-3-5 line.

Niagara will face third-seeded Seattle (29-3), a 42-34 winner over St. John’s, in the East semifinal. In the top half of the bracket, top-seeded Washington (26-6) got 22 points from Danny Fenton, crushing George Washington (14-19), 91-62.

They will face Duquesne, who got the final of Chauncey Hinkley’s 26 points with four seconds to go. His jumper from the left wing broke a 60-60 tie, and gave the Dukes a 62-60 win over Georgia Tech. Joe Lundberg had tied it just seven seconds earlier.

“I had an open look, and had a good rhythm,” said Hinkley afterwards. “I was surprised I got that open. I think, because we pushed it down the court quickly, they were caught off-guard. They thought we would call time, and coasted on the play.”

“Yup, that’s exactly what happened,” said Lundberg (15 pts, 10 reb) afterwards. “When Green brought it over the half-court line, we thought they’d set up their last play. Then he saw Hinkley, and fired. We couldn’t recover.”

East Semifinals
1) Washington (26-6) vs 4) Duquesne (27-5). We had Georgia Tech beating Duquesne, and Washington beating Georgia Tech. Frankly, we think Duquesne is a different, more difficult matchup for the Huskies. This is a weird hunch call, but we’re switching things up. PICK: Duquesne
3) Seattle (29-3) vs 7) Niagara (18-12): Niagara sprung the upset, but we liked Seattle from the start. PICK: Seattle

Bottom Seeds Hold In Wild West

The West region found two underdogs in the first round.

The first, Utah (19-10), reigned because of their battle-tested point guard. Robert Peeler dominated the vaunted backcourt of California, as Utah ran away with a 74-66 over the Golden Bears (21-9).

“He was really good,” said Cal guard Tony Eyre after the game. “Very quick. He’d have done great in this league.”

With the game tied at 39 and fifteen minutes to go, Peeler got Utah rolling with a jump shot. He then stole an Eyre pass, and found Fritz Owens for an easy shot from the line. Peeler then stole Eyre again, and finished with a dunk. That made it 45-39, prompting Cal to call timeout.

On their next possession, Peeler forced Tyron Crandall into a bad shot. Utah got the rebound, and Peeler found Ernie Pedro for a bucket. Jackie Lutz hit two free throws after being fouled by Cal big man Rene Storm, making it 49-39 with 12:51 remaining.

Cal would score thirty seconds later, but Peeler beat Cal’s press, and found Owens to respond. Cal scored again, but Peeler got Crandall to travel on his next possession. David Nelson scored; he would, after a series of fouls and traded buckets, get a steal and a dunk, making it 57-45, Utah, with 8:41 left. They would keep pushing, eventually stretching the lead to fifteen. They coasted from there.

Peeler finished with 9 points, 15 assists, and 5 steals. But make no mistake; he was the best player on the floor.

“He knows where guys are going to be before they do,” said Crandall (14-9-4) after the game. “I was greatly impressed. I’d seen him before, of course. Tonight, he was the guy in charge.”
Jack Gallagher led Utah with 17 points, while Nelson, Lutz and Owens scored 12 each. Crandall and Eyre led Cal with 14 apiece.

The Redskins will face the sixth-seeded Dayton Flyers, who had a surprisingly easy time with third-seed Bradley, 70-54. The Flyers (25-5) shot 55% from the field on the usually solid Bradley defense. The Braves (24-5), meanwhile, shot just 38%.

“We could not find the bottom of the net regularly,” said Bradley head man Tommie Teran. “You have to find good stretches against teams like Dayton.”

Bradley did well just to keep it within six most of the second half. They seemed spent at the half, grateful that they were only down seven, 39-32. Every time Dayton seemed poised to make a decisive run at the finish, the Braves would pull back to within striking distance. They could never find that last switch, however.

Chris Duron, the redshirt sophomore star guard for Dayton, led the way with 23, while Charlie Gomez, called in because of foul trouble to starting guard Richard Sloan, earned POTG honors with 12 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Denver Logan, the giant man in the middle, had just five points, but ten rebounds, four assists, and six blocks.

Richard Bulger, in his final game as a collegian, scored 16 points and had six assists to lead Bradley. Robert Bohannan had just four points on 2-13 shooting, though he did manage nine assists.

This may begin a fall from grace for Bradley, at least temporarily. Their cupboard is not as well stocked as in previous seasons, and they will be hard-pressed to replace Bulger or 6’10, 280 center James Calvo. For the record, we believe Calvo (10 points, two rebounds, two blocks) was outplayed by Logan in this one, despite being difficult to handle defensively (Logan shot just 1-5).

The top half of the bracket played out as we envisioned. Kansas State decked Dartmouth, 81-49, sending the Ivy Group champion out of the tournament. Billy Jacob went for 21-5-6 to lead the top-seeded Wildcats (29-1). Sonny Freeman was the only scorer for the Indians (15-14), leading with 16 points on 8-11 shooting. Charlie Smith, the fellow forward scorer for the Indians, had just four points on 2-12 shooting.

Kansas State will face fifth-seed Oregon, who polished off Duke, 91-73. Colin Dunleavy scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds off the bench for the Webfoots (22-9). Do not underestimate Dunleavy’s play…but we’ll talk about him later.

Senior star Lane McClary had 13-3-5 for Duke (22-10), while fellow star Jonathan Fleenor was held to eight points on 4-15 shooting, with eight rebounds. Ray Griffin’s 15 led Duke scorers.

The key to the game, it would turn out, was Oregon’s 40-17 edge on the glass. Even of those were on the offensive end. Kenny Foster, the Oregon big man, had 16 points and seven rebounds to help supplement Dunleavy’s efforts.

West Semifinals
1) Kansas State (29-1) vs 5) Oregon (22-9). This is true to our original forecast. We have no reason to change our pick from before. PICK: Kansas State
6) Dayton (25-5) vs 7) Utah (19-10): We did not have this game the first time around. In fact, we had neither team in this spot. To be quick, we like Dayton’s diversity and length against Utah. Dayton, with Denver Logan in the middle, presents the kind of difficult around the basket that the Utes did not find with Cal. Dayton should control the rebounding fairly easily in this, and it is Utah’s inability to gain second and third chances, something they did in key spots against Cal, that will cost them. PICK: Dayton

Arkansas Floors UCLA, Awaits Kentucky

The Arkansas Razorbacks were in no mood to mess around during their first round game against UCLA.

After their 87-67 victory, they were in no mood to celebrate, either.

“No time,” said Arkansas star Kerry Groves afterward. “We play in two days.”

Groves scored just six points in this one; help, however, was found in several places. Scott Garza led the Razorbacks (25-6) with 21 points, on 8-13 shooting. Mac Burroughs added 19 points and five rebounds, while Bennett Dougherty added 14. Seth Wessels had six points, six rebounds, and seven assists off the bench.

“We have a team with a lot of firepower,” said Arkansas coach Mike Murray. “We can attack from many avenues. Kerry didn’t fire well (3-9 from the field). With our team, we do not rely on a single player. Someone is always hot on our roster.”

As a team, Arkansas shredded UCLA’s defense to the tune of 59% shooting. On defense, they forced UCLA into 47% with 20 turnovers. That helped offset a 36-28 UCLA rebounding edge.

“We did not get enough stops,” said UCLA forward Jean Beckner. He led UCLA with 16, but shot 6-17 to get there. “We play better from the front. We got behind, and we got impatient.”

UCLA finishes their year at 22-8. Meanwhile, Arkansas moves on to a game they have wanted all year, even if they won’t tell you that.

“Kentucky’s just another team,” said Dougherty. “Sure, we are owed our shot at them. But do we seek them out? Do they seek us out? You didn’t see them scheduling us, did you?”

Dougherty, it is said, is considering politics when he graduates.

Second-seed Kentucky (28-2) rolled Murray State, 80-53, to set up this game. Stephan Williford had 19 points, leading four scorers in double figures. Carson White added nine points and nine rebounds off the bench.

When told of their comments, Kentucky coach Rob Roberson said of Arkansas, “Who?”

Brian Jacob led Murray State (21-9) with 12 points.

In the top half of the East bracket, both higher seeds played to form, though Kansas got a little more than they bargained for with eighth-seeded Connecticut.

The Huskies, major underdogs in this game, kept coming at Kansas. In fact, with 7:29 left in the game, they held a 66-64 lead.

“They are a disciplined team who has been here four years in a row,” said Kansas coach Dave Keene. “Did anyone think that their guards would be rattled?

Kansas retook the lead from there, but the Huskies never went away. They were down one, 71-70, with 4:46 left, after former All-American Jessie Calvert found Gary Garfield. Kansas got the lead to 81-74 with 2:18 left, but UConn came roaring back, getting to 83-80 with :37, and 85-82 with :27 left.

But they could get no closer.

“They gave us everything, and then some,” said Kansas guard Luis Horne, whose 21 led the Jayhawks (25-5). “We were concerned, but never panicked. We know who we are, and we know that we could control the rebounding against them (42-33 KS edge). They were going to have to make every shot to beat us.

“They (darn) well nearly did, though.”

Joe McInerney, UConn’s scoring junior forward, led the Huskies with 31 points before fouling out late. Calvert, a two-time Yankee Player of the Year, finished his career with 14 points and seven assists.

“It’s a tough way to end, but we were the low seed,” said Calvert afterwards. “I mean, that’s Kansas over there. Everyone knows who they are. And now, after today, maybe more will know who we are. We’ve been here the same number of times as they have, after all.

“I’m proud of this program, and proud to have been a part of it.”

UConn finishes the season at 16-13.

Kansas will face Atlantic Coast champion North Carolina (27-7), who downed Michigan State, 61-51. The Spartans got close a couple of times, pulling to within three in the second half. Otherwise, the Tar Heels held serve for the afternoon, despite fouling 25 times, to just 16 for Sparty.

“We were sloppy,” said North Carolina coach Noah Brisbin of UNC’s fouling, as well as their 22 turnovers. “We played well enough to lose. Fortunately, Sparty could not find the basket.”

The Spartans (21-8) shot just 30% from the field, and had twenty turnovers of their own. None of their players scored in double figures; Cyril Clancy led with 9, on 3-15 shooting. Doug Gibson scored 8, on 3-14; Brent Burchill shot 2-13 for just four points.

“They were all over us,” said Burchell after the game. “Frankly, I thought there should have been more fouls. There was a lot that went uncalled. But that’s the nature of the game. They were physical, and we cowered in response. They took control.”

Freshman forward Chris Stoner led UNC with 11 points and eight rebounds. Caleb Clegg and Darrel Brown scored ten each in support.

South Semifinals
1) Kansas (25-5) vs 4) North Carolina (27-7): We picked this originally. No reason to go against our first call. PICK: Kansas.
2) Kentucky (28-2) vs 6) Arkansas (25-6): Another game we originally picked. Again, neither team did anything to persuade us otherwise. PICK: Kentucky

murrayyyyy

11-24-2015, 09:51 AM

NBR Record, First Round: 11-5

The Games We Cannot Wait To Watch

We are looking forward to all eight games. But if you had a ticket, which game would we recommend? We decided to rank the eight remaining games.

8. Seattle vs Niagara. This should be the biggest blowout, though it is worth it to see Seattle’s Gregory Wyman and Jesus Jones.

7. West Virginia vs Toledo. Another blowout, but your best chance to see West Virginia’s incredible, unselfish offense running at its highest level...probably for the final time this tournament. Tougher defenses await.

6. Dayton vs Utah. This is an enticing game that matches a team full of solid parts against a player who makes his teammates better. Watching Robert Peeler go against the Flyers is worth the price of admission alone.

5. Kansas State vs Oregon. Oregon is fun to watch, and watching the Fearsome Foursome of Kansas State is always worth it. This one is not a slam dunk for the Wildcats…but it’s close.

4. Washington vs Duquesne. The Kings of Streaky face off against one another. This should be a frenzied, high-scoring attack. It may be the highest scoring game in tournament history.

3. Kentucky vs Arkansas. The former doesn’t recognize the latter as a talented team. The latter finds the former overrated, and ready to knock its block off. Two Dixie heavyweights, facing off in the heart of Dixieland? This has high-level drama all over it.

2. Kansas vs North Carolina. The defending champions against a super-talented Atlantic Coast champion? North Carolina was dreadfully underseeded, and the Tar Heels have used that chip on their shoulder to supreme motivation. How will their bigs do against the Automarahn? The guard play, Horne v. Means, should be a barnburner.

1. San Francisco vs Southern California. The biggest rivalry going is anyone in the west against anyone in the west. Specifically, this is the PCC against the PCC, and the PCC against San Francisco and Seattle. The Trojans have sounded off on the Dons well before the tournament started; they were miffed that they couldn’t schedule the Dons during the offseason, and have held it against them all year. They said, going into the tournament, that they were hoping they’d get the Dons. San Francisco has stayed silent, deciding that their activity on the court was energy better spent. This in-state war should produce an epic battle. We cannot wait to see it.

First Round Game Balls

Bill Gumm, Niagara: Scored 17 big points in just 13 minutes, shooting 6-6 from the field, and 5-5 from the line. Most of his points came during a pivotal second half run, which catapulted the Purple Eagles to the 73-68 upset of the #2-seed Wolfpack.

SF Colin Dunleavy, Oregon: We said we’d discuss Dunleavy before. Here is his player biography:

Code:
PLAYER DETAILS

#20 SF Colin Dunleavy - Oregon - Junior
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Height: 6-1
Weight: 187
High School: Eagle Point High School
Hometown: Eagle Point, OR

Attributes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current: 14 7 11 9 15 6 12 18 4 17 6 8 15 9 20 15
1955: 13 6 11 8 14 5 11 16 4 15 6 8 14 9 20 13
1954: 12 6 10 8 13 5 11 15 4 14 5 8 14 8 20 12
1953: 11 6 9 8 12 5 10 13 4 13 5 7 14 7 20 9
Potential: B D C C B D C A F A D D

Health: Good
Scholarship: Yes
Status: Active Roster
Academics: 7

Stat Averages:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season G GS MIN PTS ORE REB AST TO A/T STL BLK PF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1954 27 0 5.4 3.1 0.3 1.3 0.3 0.2 1.50 0.1 0.1 0.7
1955 30 30 29.2 10.0 2.0 7.2 2.0 1.5 1.28 0.6 0.3 3.2
1956 31 0 21.2 11.8 1.3 5.9 1.7 1.4 1.21 0.5 0.1 2.8
Career 88 30 19.1 8.5 1.2 4.9 1.4 1.1 1.21 0.4 0.2 2.3

Shooting Averages:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P% PPS +/-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1954 1.1 2.4 .470 0.8 1.1 .700 0.0 0.0 .000 1.26 0.48
1955 3.9 9.9 .399 2.1 2.8 .762 0.0 0.0 .000 1.01 5.50
1956 4.5 10.2 .442 2.8 3.6 .775 0.0 0.0 .000 1.15 5.97
Career 3.3 7.7 .426 1.9 2.6 .760 0.0 0.0 .000 1.10 4.13

Stat Totals:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season G GS MIN PTS OREB REB AST TO STL BLK PF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1954 27 0 147 83 8 36 9 6 2 2 18
1955 30 30 875 300 60 217 59 46 18 9 97
1956 31 0 656 366 41 182 52 43 15 3 88
Career 88 30 1678 749 109 435 120 95 35 14 203

Shooting Totals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA +/-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1954 31 66 21 30 0 0 13
1955 118 296 64 84 0 0 165
1956 140 317 86 111 0 0 185
Career 289 679 171 225 0 0 363

Career Highs:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type Pts OReb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO FGM FGA FTM FTA 3PM 3PA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season 29 4 11 5 3 2 3 10 19 9 12 0 0
Career 29 5 15 5 3 2 6 10 19 9 12 0 0

Awards & Acheivements:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Season Award
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Player of the Game: 5
1953 High School: Rated *** and #125 overall by the FBCB scouting service.
1955 1st Team All-Conference (Pacific Coast Conference)
So here you have a player who not only was a starter last year, but he was a first-team All-Pacific Coast selection. He was actually more efficient off the bench this year, scoring more points (11.8 ppg) in less minutes (21.2). What the junior did, going for 24 points and 11 rebounds (a career high) on 9-15 shooting, 6-8 from the line, is not a surprise. This is more a nod to someone who has had to completely adjust to life on the bench, a season after he found distinction as one of the best among his peers. That takes a bigger man than a player to be able to adjust to a part-time role, albeit one just as important as a starter. Many players could not make just an adjustment.

PG Robert Peeler, Utah: Peeler has, time and time again, willed his team to victory. He enables his teammates to take risks they would not unable to take with a player of lesser quality. He is a leader on and off the court. His 9 points, 15 assists, and 4 rebounds helped lead the Redskins to a 74-66 win over a Cal team that should have won the game, had they the same leadership Peeler presents with the Utes.

PG Brian Schmaranzer, Toledo: The player who was once described in the Toledo Blade as “a player here for extended high school credit”, the 5’10, 160-pound guard showed his worth. He scored 20 points, Toledo requiring every one of them, in the Rockets’ 76-70 upset of top-seeded Indiana. He went 6-7 from the field, and 8-10 from the line. Every single one of those figures is a career high. “My teammates encouraged me to find my shot,” said Schmaranzer after the game. “They enabled me to achieve more than I thought I was able.”

West Virginia Defense: The Mountaineer defense is often derided because it is often discarded in favor of their offense. However, against Clemson, they answered the call. The Mountaineers forced 27 turnovers, including 11 steals, in their 76-46 romp of the Tigers. They held Elijah Davis to his worst game, at the worst time: 14 points (6-19 shooting), 13 rebounds, one assist, SEVEN turnovers.

collegesportsfanms

11-24-2015, 10:48 AM

I absolutely love this dynasty and the fact that you guys brought it to these forums. Even though I haven't been too involved lately, I'm going to start getting more involved, but I enjoy reading all this stuff, even if it is a lot to catch up on! Great job guys.

dawgfan

11-30-2015, 12:20 AM

1956 Review:
It was a season of some disappointing lows, close calls and amazing highs. Washington was coming off a terrific 31-3 campaign that saw the Huskies claim their first PCC title and advance to the Sweet Sixteen, and the thought was 1956 would probably see a small step-back. The Huskies were able to defend their Pre-Season NIT championship (including a nice win over #7 San Francisco), but they fell badly on the road to #6 N.C. State. Still, the Huskies managed to go 13-1 against non-conference teams heading into PCC play. The conference was a buzz-saw with several strong, ranked teams in 1956. Still, the Huskies were 10-3 at one point and in position to retain their PCC crown only to lose two games late and finish a game back. Their 4th straight NCAA Tournament bid under Coach DeGrasse followed.

What happened after that will be remembered for a long time in Seattle. The Huskies had little problem with George Washington in the first round, and then proceeded to beat #11 Duquesne, #12 Seattle and #10 West Virginia to reach the NCAA Championship Game. Unfortunately for Washington they had to face off against Kansas State, very nearly a wire-to-wire #1 in the polls. The Wildcats squashed any dreams the Huskies had of taking home the title by winning in convincing fashion, but once that sting wore off Washington celebrated their most successful season in their history.

We would expect this season will result in another nice boost to our prestige rating – I would guess to somewhere around 86-88. It might also trigger more boosts to our assistants and perhaps goad our AD into launching improvements to our training facilities.

Team Leaders:
Points: PG Daniel Fenton (Sr) - 16.6, SG Italo Malocco (Jr) – 14.3, SF Ellis Murphy (RS-Sr) - 8.3
Rebounds: C Francis Calhoun (RS-Jr) – 8.4, PF Gregoire Dupretz (RS-Fr) - 7.3, SF Gisbert Bittes (RS-Sr) - 5.5
Assists: PG Daniel Fenton (Sr) – 4.4, SG Italo Malocco (Jr) – 3.3, PG Marquis Gray (RS-Fr) - 3.1
Blocks: C Francis Calhoun (RS-Jr) – 1.3
Steals: SG Italo Malocco (Jr) - 2.4

Fenton stepped up his game as a senior, perhaps enjoying the benefits of controlling the ball more as primarily a PG rather than a SG. Malocco moved from super-sub to very good starter, and along with Fenton gave the Huskies a couple of excellent ball-hawks in the backcourt. While the team lost some skill overall defensively from 1955’s outstanding unit, there wasn’t much drop-off in production. The Huskies ranked 17th overall in Defensive Efficiency, and they were 5th in steal % and were 4th in opponent turnovers. Offensively the team lost a bit of passing ability in the starting lineup and their Offensive Efficiency – while still good at 24th overall – took a bit of a hit. Francis Calhoun stepped up his rebounding and interior defense, but we’d like to see a bit more out of him on the offensive end.

Graduating players:
PG/SG Daniel Fenton: 16.6 ppg, 4.4 apg, 2.0 steals
Fenton leaves the Huskies as one of their all-time greats. A four-year starter, two-time 1st team All-Conference, Freshman All-American, PCC Freshman of the Year and PCC Player of the year as a Senior, he was clearly the MVP of this team and the biggest reason the Huskies advanced to the NCAA Championship Game. He was a fantastic combo guard with the ball skills and passing to play PG and the scoring ability to play SG. There were essentially no weaknesses in his game and only a few areas where he wasn’t outstanding. He rates as the 8th best pro prospect among the 1956 seniors and we’re certain he’s headed to a strong NBA career. Fenton’s name is all over the Husky record book, and he’ll be next to impossible to replace.

SF Gisbert Bittes: 8.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.2 steals
Bittes was a 3-year starter for Washington after coming over from his native Germany. A classic glue-guy who did a lot of things well but few things great, he managed to stay under the radar of most observers. But he was perfectly suited to SF with the quickness to hang with smaller wings and the strength to bang with the bigger forwards, and was a fundamentally strong defender all-around. He had some good scoring moves inside and could hit an open jumper, was a decent passer and ball-handler and wasn’t a bad rebounder. While not a star, he was an important player that allowed us to play our preferred style of basketball.

Recruiting Class:
#5 WASHINGTON HUSKIES Recruiting

Name Pos Ovl Reg Pos RPos AA AS MBB
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charles Gonzales C 17 4 4 1 Yes Yes No
Thomas Davis SG 12 5 4 1 Yes Yes Yes

Washington was able to follow-up their big 1955 class haul with another one composed of highly rated prospects. With just two commits this class probably won’t rank any higher than 10th in the country, both commits are 5-star prospects and considered among the top-20 overall in the nation.

Gonzales is a long, lanky post out of Texas. At 6’10”, 204 lbs he has some work to do in the weight room, though he appears to already possess adequate strength, promising bounce and decent quickness for a big, though his stamina needs work. His numbers in high school and his high ranking (#17 overall, #4 C prospect, High School All American) suggest a better player than his scouting report. He appears to be a post that doesn’t mind shooting jumpers, but also has some ability beneath the basket. His rebounding – particularly on the defensive glass – should be a plus. He should be a pretty good shot-blocker, and his post defense should be at least adequate, though we have hopes it will be better than that.

Davis is a combo guard out of Florida. He’s on the smaller side (5’11”) but looks to be a terrific athlete: very quick, good jumper and surprising strength. He’s another player where the high school numbers and high ranking (#12 overall, #4 SG prospect, High School All American) suggest a better player than his scouting report. He was a big scorer (23.9 ppg) and also showed PG ability (6.1 apg, 3.10 A/T ratio) at Osceola H.S. He looks to be a strong offensive player with some ability to get to the basket and a good jump shooter. He also shows good hands and promising potential as a passer. Most importantly he projects as a strong perimeter defender, and we suspect he’ll end up a pretty good ball-hawk.

Washington has managed to build a lot of quality depth on the roster, so the Huskies should have the luxury of redshirting both.

1957 Preview:
It’s the end of an era for the Huskies with the graduation of Fenton, but with a trio of highly talented freshman ready to come off their redshirts and join the roster, the future looks bright.

It’s hard to believe C Francis Calhoun is heading into his final season as a RS-Sr. A sure bet to start for the 3rd straight season at C, Calhoun will be a significant key to the Huskies’ success in 1957. With adequate size (6’9”), terrific strength and surprising bounce, he does a lot of things very well in the post. He’s a very good rebounder (none better on the offensive glass) and a terrific post defender who is improving as a shot-blocker. He’s not a huge part of the offense, though he’s adequate in the paint and possesses a decent jumper. He was joined by RS-So Gregoire Dupretz in the starting lineup last season at PF. Dupretz has similar size, is a bit stronger and quicker than Calhoun but not as good a jumper. Dupretz was just OK defending the post but has room for growth, and should end up a pretty good shot-blocker. He’s an improving rebounder and has excellent potential on the defensive glass. He passes the ball reasonably well for a big man, and he’s similar offensively to Calhoun. Dupretz will face a serious challenge from RS-Fr Monroe Willman. A bit undersized at 6’7” and still developing his strength, he’s a quicker post player with the skill set to defend down low as well as out along the perimeter, and could see some minutes at SF as well. He projects as an elite all-around rebounder and already possesses good offensive moves in the paint and has some potential with his jump shot. He also looks to develop into a pretty good ball-handler and passer. The main backup down low his first two seasons, RS-Jr Burt Lingle will probably be the 2nd post off the bench in 1957. He’s got good size at 6’11”, is plenty strong and is a decent defensive player. He’s average on the glass and OK on the offensive end (he’s the best free throw shooter of our big men), though he’s not much with the ball in his hands.

Bittes graduating leaves an opening at SF, and there’s no doubt who will fill it – Jess Johnson, the #2 overall recruit last season. He’s an impressive-looking all-around forward. He’s got good size at 6’8”, has decent quickness, strength and jumping ability, can defend all over the court (already above-average and with lots of room to improve), could end up a very good ball thief and should develop into a strong rebounder at both ends. He’s already a skilled dribbler with decent potential as a passer. On the offensive end he’s a terrific shooter from deep, already possesses pretty good ability to get to the hoop and has the potential to be a very good shooter. In short, if he follows his expected development path over the next four seasons, he should be the kind of player that carries a team.

The backcourt remains very deep even with the graduation of Fenton. Entering his Sr season is SG Italo Malocco. A super-sub for us his first two seasons, he transitioned nicely into a starting role and should remain one of our two best scoring options. He’s a good athlete – quick, good jumper, reasonably strong – though perhaps a touch on the short side at 6’1”. He’s a terrific defender out on the perimeter and one of the best in the nation at grabbing steals. He’s an above-average passer and improving ball-handler. He’s got a well-developed all-around game on offense, able to penetrate or stick a mid-range jumper. He’ll likely be joined in the starting lineup by RS-So Marquis Gray who was the primary backup at PG last season. He’s exceptionally quick and has nice size for the position at 6’2”. He’s an above-average dribbler and a very good passer with more room for improvement. He’s an improving defender and should become above-average on the perimeter. He’s not much for generating his own shot, but he’s got a good jumper. RS-Jr Wayne Toro is his main competition at PG – he’s of similar size, very nearly as quick and a better dribbler, though not as good a passer. He’s similar offensively with a more well-developed shot. Where he falls short is on the defensive end – he’s below-average here, and unless he can show some improvement in this regard he’ll likely remain a backup. Another part of the deep stable of guards is RS-So Manuel Parenteau who should see time at both SG and SF. He’s a very good athlete – quick and an elite jumper. He’s similar offensively to Toro with a nice jump shot, especially from deep. He’s a decent passer and has the potential to help out on the glass. He’s below average defensively, but shows the potential to develop into an adequate defender. Yet another wing in the mix is RS-Jr Jose Park. At 6’3” and with decent strength he’s probably our best backup option at SF. He’s quick and another elite jumper. He’s at his best on the offensive end where he can create his own shot and complements it with a good jumper, and has pretty good handles. However he contributes nothing on the glass and is a below-par defender, so that limits him. Last, but certainly not least is RS-Fr Woodrow Shelley who will join the rotation and immediately compete for quality minutes. Shelley is another very good athlete – extremely quick, very good jumper, decent strength. He might be the best jump shooter on the team already and has at least adequate potential to drive to the hoop. He should end up an average rebounder and passer, but what sets him apart in this crowded backcourt is his defense – he’s already the 2nd best perimeter defender on the team with elite potential, and he’s got a good shot at replacing Malocco as a starter when he graduates.

As tough as it is to lose a talent like Fenton, there are some really terrific players returning and a potential star in Johnson to replace the production Fenton provided. With improving depth in the front court and an extremely crowded backcourt, this is a team that can withstand some injuries and should be able to challenge the stamina of opponents. I’m certainly not going to predict a return to the NCAA Championship game, and with the quality of teams in the dangerous PCC it’s foolish to predict a conference title. But this team certainly has the potential to do what the 1956 team did and should be among the top-10 teams in the country.

muns

11-30-2015, 05:38 PM

Well USC got the game they wanted in the 2nd round, but fell to San Fran. BLAHHHHHHHHHHH

I tried to slow the game down big time so that we wouldn't get in foul trouble, but that didn't work at all.

Honestly, and I am sure people would debate me on this, but we are the better team. If we didn't foul (28) and turn the ball over (24) what could have been. Its easy to tell, blow out city...... We shot 60% to their 40 something % and depending on who you talk to our first or 2nd best player only played 17 mins before fouling out......

Just a season of ups and downs, but this was a GIANT disappointment.

San Francisco 76, Southern California 69

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southern California (22-9, 10-6):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Dante Douglas C 32 1-1 0-0 2 9 3 4 2
J.C. Quiles PF 17 3-3 0-0 1 3 0 5 6
H. Hernandez SF 33 8-16 0-1 1 10 1 1 16
Edmund Nelson SG 23 9-13 1-1 0 5 1 4 19
Freddie Nation PG 35 4-6 3-5 2 3 12 4 11
Vincent Lincoln SG 18 4-8 0-0 1 1 1 3 8
Allen Storer PG 6 1-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 2
Ronald Mitchum SF 4 1-1 0-0 0 1 0 1 2
Michael Fanning PF 18 0-0 0-0 0 6 0 5 0
Benito Lightfoot PF 7 1-4 1-2 0 0 0 1 3
Orval Tarter PF 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0

Turnovers: 24 (D.Douglas 1, J.Quiles 2, H.Hernandez 5,
E.Nelson 4, F.Nation 10, V.Lincoln 1, M.Fanning 1)
Blocked Shots: 2 (D.Douglas 2)
Steals: 2 (J.Quiles 1, F.Nation 1)
3P FGs: 0-0

San Francisco (28-4, 11-1):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Vaughn Griffis C 32 6-10 2-6 3 8 1 1 14
Ronnie Veasey PF 33 9-13 7-10 1 4 1 3 25
Jared Stewart SF 32 1-12 7-8 1 3 2 0 9
Kelley Kuehl SG 24 4-7 3-4 0 4 7 5 11
Stephen Ferrari PG 32 1-5 2-2 3 4 9 2 4
Warren Tandy PG 19 3-6 1-2 1 3 2 2 7
Adolph Rabe SG 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0
Tony Potter PF 12 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 0 2
Darin Armstrong SF 8 2-7 0-0 1 1 0 1 4
Anton Steverson PF 2 0-1 0-0 1 1 0 0 0

Turnovers: 8 (R.Veasey 2, J.Stewart 3, W.Tandy 1,
T.Potter 1, D.Armstrong 1)
Blocked Shots: 4 (V.Griffis 1, J.Stewart 1, T.Potter 1,
D.Armstrong 1)
Steals: 9 (V.Griffis 1, J.Stewart 2, K.Kuehl 2,
S.Ferrari 1, W.Tandy 2, T.Potter 1)
3P FGs: 0-0

Player of Game: PF Ronnie Veasey (SF)

muns

11-30-2015, 05:40 PM

Analytics vs. SelCom

The favorites did a lot better the last few days, although Columbia's improbable run continues as they knock of Holy Cross. Last time it was Justin Root refusing to miss against Saint Joe: this time it was balance as all five starters scored in double figures. Mario Poe is averaging over 15 ppg in the NIT, and the two of them seems to be playing together much better than earlier in the year.

** Ohio State vs. Syracuse

We pull even with the Orangemen getting it done again. Despite 20 turnovers, they out-rebound Ohio State by nine, shoot 49% for the day, and the Buckeyes are left to rue 11 missed free throws. This was our only contested game.

Current Score: SelCom 4, Analytics 4. I hate ties ...

Upcoming Games

** San Francisco vs. West Virginia

The Mountaineers have vindicated our faith in them in their opening games, but to get to the Final Four they'll need to pass a much sterner test. Still, we thought they were absurd as a 5-seed and they've proven that true with lopsided wins to get here. We've got West Virginia in another 'upset' by four points here.

Kansas State should get by Dayton fairly easily, and while the other two Elite Eight matchups figure to be very tight, we agree with the favorites there. Similarly in the NIT, we're off the 'Cuse bandwagon against LaSalle, and we like Villanova to end Columbia's Cinderella run. So once again we have only game to dispute with the committee, and it's getting late enough that this could decide the contest ...

muns

11-30-2015, 05:42 PM

The National Basketball Report: March 30, 1957
Regional Semifinal Drama? Go East, young man…

High Drama in the East

In the regional semifinals this weekend, the East hogged the spotlight. Every region saw the higher seed win; however, only in the East was that in doubt.

In the first game at the Palestra in Philadelphia, Niagara looked like they were going to continue their fairy tale run to the East finals. The seventh-seeded Purple Eagles led third-seeded Seattle 29-20 at the half. The Chieftains went in to the locker room expecting an angry coach.

Instead, they found Saul Bray with a smile on his face.

“We were really hesitant to sit down then,” said Jesus Jones, who scored a team-high 16. “But he told us we took their best shot, and that while we shot poorly, we had good looks at scoring. Sooner or later, those shots would fall.”

It would be sooner.

Justin Lavergne scored on the first possession of the second half. Niagara forward Robert Lombard responded, and Matthew Ashton scored after a Seattle miss. Niagara led, 33-22. Ashton thumped his chest on the way down the court.

They would never feel so good again.

Blaine Martin scored on a David Harder pass. Then Harder scored off a Jones assist. 33-26, 17:45 left. Seattle came out in a press, and Lavergne stole Curt To’s pass to Ashton. He finished with a big dunk, and glared right at Ashton. To scored, but Jones easily got inside.

35-30, Niagara.

Daniel Judge missed for Niagara. Jones scored from about 25 feet away, prompting Niagara to call time, their lead dwindling from eleven to three, in the span of ninety seconds.

“We knew we had them,” said Harder afterwards. “They were panicked.”

The big play, it would turn out, would involve Harder, and it came immediately after the timeout. To got the inbounds, and found a double screen. He came charging out of it, towards the hoop. Harder, playing Lombard, stepped towards the hoop. To barreled into him. The ref blew his whistle.

Charge.

To got up incensed, but walked away to avoid a further whistle. On Seattle’s possession, Jones was fouled by Judge. He scored both. Doug Scott scored for Niagara on a tip-in, making it three again. But Niagara was just pushing off the inevitable. Martin scored; Werner Montez got a steal, and a layup.

Seattle had their lead. From there, it was nip and tuck. The game was tied for about four minutes, before Niagara got their lead back, on Gerald Cardenas’ steal and dunk with 5:47 left. On the next possession, Cardenas would foul, and, for the second game in a row, get charged with a technical for arguing.

Jones hit one of two, making it a one-point game. Then Montez, the man fouled originally, hit both free throws. Seattle led by one again. Montez stole a pass from Ashton and found Jones on the other end. Al Miller scored with 4:04 left, making it a 51-46 game.

“We were never out of this game,” said To. “We were good enough to beat that team. We knew the game was not over.”

Ashton was fouled by Jones; his two freebies made it 51-48, 3:52 remaining. After stopping the Chieftains, Cardenas cut the lead to one on a jumper from the right wing. Seattle called time with 3:17 to go.

“I told the guys to enjoy this moment, because when they look back, they’ll want to remember it as fun,” said Bray afterwards. It seemed to loosen his team up.

Lavergne hit one of two free throws after being fouled by Ashton. With 2:21 to go, Judge was fouled. He hit both free throws, tying matters once again. Miller-to-Martin gave Seattle the lead back, with 1:47 left. Harder fouled Lombard on the other end, catching a pass.

“I was trying to steal it,” said Harder afterwards. “It was a stupid play.”

Lombard hit both. Tie game, 1:41 left.

Niagara came out in their press, but Seattle broke it. Then, rather than rush up a shot, they ran the clock down. With 1:07 left, and after countless passes, Jones got open on the baseline. He took it, and drained it.

Many, after this game, would say that Jesus Jones has risen.

Curt To, the venerable old guard of 22 years of age, caught a pass from Tom McCarthy. He made a pump fake on Wyman, got around him, and shot it from the line.

Net. Tied again. Fifty-three seconds left.

Seattle ball. Lavergne found Wyman, who dribbled around, looking for an opening. He found Martin, who found Lavergne, who found Wyman again. Wyman found Jones, again on the left baseline.

Jones’ arms went up. Bill Gumm, the hero of the first round, leapt to block it. Then Jones’ legs went up. He faked Gumm beautifully, keeping his rhythm for a shot.

The whistle blew. The ball flew towards the heavens, before finding its target, coasting through the net.

Seattle led by two, twenty-three seconds left. Jones stepped to the line.

“I tried to block everything out,” said Jones. “If I thought about it, I probably would have not scored.”

Jones went through his routine, dribbling twice, and twirling it back to his hands. He looked at it, then let it fly. It hit the rim, and dropped through.
Seattle 59, Niagara 56.

The Purple Eagles rushed up, and To found an opening. He missed, and Martin secured the rebound. He was fouled with three ticks left. He missed both, but it didn’t matter.

Seattle advanced.

“That was a great game,” said Bray afterwards. “It is one of those games where everyone had tension, but everyone had fun. Every one of those players will remember this after, for different reasons. You have to feel for those fellows in the other locker room…they played well enough to move on.”

Martin, the Player of the Game, had 12 points, 15 rebounds, and a pair of blocks. Wyman had, perhaps, his worst game as a collegian; he was held scoreless by To, 0-4 with four fouls, in just eleven minutes.

To, meanwhile, ended his career with 18 points, four rebounds, and two assists. It was a bittersweet end to a stellar career.

“It felt great to get here, but awful to end it that way,” he said afterward.

Niagara ends their year at 18-13, having reached the regional semifinal for the second straight season. Seattle, now 30-3, moves on to the final to face fellow western power Washington.

The Huskies were tested as well, though against an opponent of a more quality of fiber. The Duquesne Dukes held a 75-73 lead with 4:07 left. The next forty seconds changed, and defined, this game.

First, Danny Fenton scored on a jump shot. Fenton led the Huskies with thirty points; every time they needed a big basket, they went right to their point guard.

“He was phenomenal,” said Duquesne coach Ronald Polson. “He is the hallmark of a veteran leader. He came up in the big moments.”

The next possession will be debated for years to come. Duquesne worked the ball, eventually, to a cutting Chauncey Hinkley. Hinkley caught the ball as Gregoire Dupretz stepped into his space. Both fell. The ref was definitive: Charge on Hinkley.

That was Hinkley’s fifth foul. He was gone.

“There is no way that was, nor would ever be, a charge,” said Polson afterward, just as definitively. “Their guy was not in position. Look at how he fell. He fell to the side. How is someone taking a charge dead on fall anywhere but backwards?

“I will not say that a referee decision cost us the game,” he continued, “but it did put us at a disadvantage.”

On the ensuing possession, Fenton scored again, off a pass from Italo Malocco. That gave Washington a 77-75 lead. In a half dominated by Duquesne up until that moment, you could feel the air going out of the Dukes’ balloon. The Pittsburgh outfit was in their home state (albeit 300 miles away from home), and held a 74-64 lead just three minutes prior.

“We got tight,” said Hinkley after his final collegiate game. “We let them back in. I still thought we’d have had it.”

Chris McKeehan tied things up after Brent Dampier netted a steal of Gisbert Bittes. Once Washington got the ball back, they passed…and passed, and passed some more. A tired Duquesne defense, minus their best defender, did what they could. But their man-to-man defense met their fate on the ninth pass, which found Malocco in the left corner for an easy bucket.

Duquesne caught Washington setting up their press; Chris Green tied the game just four seconds later, off a long pass from Rod Williams. It was 79-79, with 1:42 left. Eighteen ticks later, Al Samson fouled Fenton, who went to the line.

The guard hit one, but not the second, to give Washington a 80-79 lead. Jimmy Matos had a good look on the other end, but his shot was long. Dupretz got the rebound. He was fouled, but missed the free throw. Forty-three seconds left, still a one-point game. This time, Richard Manion had a look. He was way off, and immediately called for a foul on Fenton. He got nothing. Dupretz got the ball, and got fouled again.

He missed, again. However, he somehow beat four Dukes to the basketball. He was fouled again, this time for two shots. He sank both.

“I make good that time,” said the redshirt freshman Frenchman, his learned English coming through.

Chris Green missed on the Dukes’ last gasp. Malocco, the Italian import on this Washington team, secured the rebound. Duquesne let three valuable seconds go off before he was fouled by Matos; eight seconds remained.

Malocco sank the first. That made it a four-point game. One more would make it a three-possession game, virtually out of reach for the Dukes.

He hit nothing but net.

Matos scored, and Malocco was fouled with one second left. He missed the first, and missed the second on purpose. Clock runs, game over.

“We found multiple ways to foul up that ending,” said Polson. “That starts with me. We have been through many tough situations. I did not prepare our young men for that. I also did not think I would be starting my life without Chauncey as early as during this game…but…”

He stopped, and shook his head, before walking away.

Fenton, as stated before, was the star. He has upped his scoring average (16.7) in each of the Huskies’ two games thus far, scoring 22 against George Washington, and 30 tonight. He was 13-22 from the field. Against the Chieftains on Saturday, they will need him to be even keener with his shot.

Malocco had 15 in a supporting cause for the Huskies, who move to 27-6 on the year.

Green led Duquesne (27-6) with 21; Hinkley’s 16 points came on 6-9 shooting, and 4-4 from the line.

muns

11-30-2015, 05:42 PM

East Championship: 1) Washington (27-6) vs 3) Seattle (30-3): We had not discussed the first time these two faced each other, back on February 11. That was a comfortable 75-64 win for the Huskies in Seattle. The Huskies led by as much as seventeen in the second half. Fenton (16-6-10) won POTG honors, shutting down Wyman (3 points, 1-9 shooting; 10 assists) in the process.

We would expect a different game this time. We have felt Seattle has been peaking for some time now. Jones went for 20 in the first matchup, and Wyman will not go 1-9 again (though the team does have to be concerned about his lack of scoring as of late). Harder and Martin contributing the way they have will make things difficult for Washington. And Werner Montez has added an element Washington did not see the first time; he only played six minutes, going 4-4 from the field. Extended time for him will mean more headaches for Fenton.

We chose Seattle the first time, and we will not leave them now. PICK: Seattle.

The Rest of The Field Fails To Excite

Outside of the East, despite all the wonderful matchups, there failed to be much that brought the fan to their feet. North Carolina nearly got there, pulling to within three against a Kansas team they spent the entire evening trying to catch. The Jayhawks ran free through, hitting free throws and playing intelligent basketball in an 85-79 victory. Steven Burns had 18 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, and four steals. He won POTG honors. Blaime Sommer scored 15 in 11 points off the bench, and Genaro Whaley scored 13 in 18 minutes off the pine. Their depth proved to be too much for the Tar Heels, who got just eleven points from their bench men. Dennis Sawicki led UNC (27-8) with 24 points and nine rebounds, showing the quality many already know. Archie Means mostly held his own, with 13 points, ten assists, and five rebounds. But he also had six turnovers, and found a lot of uncomfortable situations against Kansas’ defenders.

Kansas (26-5) will face second-seed Kentucky in a game we thought would only show in the national semifinal. The Wildcats used all of their depth to pull away from a game Arkansas squad, 71-55. The Razorbacks were constantly down 8-10 points until about 7:30 left in the game, when the Wildcats used a mini run to quickly get it to fifteen. They coasted from there.

Stephan Williford led the Wildcats (29-2) with 14 points; all in all, their starters did little. But ten players scored for Kentucky, and eight of them played at least 13 minutes. It can be hard to handle that kind of depth, dealing with fresher legs. Lenny Snell had 12 points and six assists, while Carl Williams, a forward who would star on most teams, had 10 points off the bench.

Kerry Groves led Arkansas (25-7) with 19 points and six rebounds in his final collegiate game. Bennett Dougherty contributed 14, but little else.

South Championship: 1) Kansas (26-5) vs 2) Kentucky (29-2). We wrote about this game as well. In fact, three of our regional finals have arrived intact; only Dayton has broken our bracket, so to speak. Kansas State still looms large for them, though. We have no reason not to expect an absolute crackerjack of a match here. And we have no reason not to stay with our original selection. PICK: Kentucky by 2. We’ll call this the game of the tournament.

The Midwest regional saw West Virginia, predictably, glide past MAC fairy tale Toledo, 63-49. This was, for a half, a barnburner, as WVU led by just three, at 35-32. Then, in the first few minutes of the second half, it appeared the Mountaineers would run away with the game. They quickly got out to a 43-35 lead after three minutes played in the second half.

But the Rockets (16-14), who have stayed long past their welcome in many games this year, only to slide past their opponents, seemed to be doing it again. They slowed the game down, and forced West Virginia to slow their pace down. Four minutes later, when David McIntosh hit a jump shot off a pass from Demarcus Grant, it was 45-43, WVU. That forced a timeout.

Sixteen seconds later, John Hildebrand hit a jumper from the free throw line. Three minutes later, it was 53-45, and thirty seconds after that, the lead was ten. WVU was off and running again. Toledo was left in the dust.

Charles Woolfolk was named the top player int his one, with 18 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Hildebrand added ten points and ten rebounds. Four players scored in double digits for the Mountaineers, who are now 29-5 on the year.

Toledo got 12 from Timmy Torre, who never backs down from a challenge. Grant added 11, but they got little help elsewhere. Toledo shot just 36% on the day.

The Mountaineers will face San Francisco, who turned back the Southern California Trojans, 76-69, in a testing game. USC committed 28 fouls, to just 14 for San Francisco. The Trojans tried to be the aggressor all day, and tried to rile up San Francisco into making stupid plays.

In the end, the Trojans, in addition to their 28 fouls, turned the ball over 24 times. If they had slowed down, perhaps they would have won. They shot 61% from the field, generally getting their way on the offensive, when they were not committing needless fouls.

“They were reckless out there,” said one scout in attendance. “I am amazed a kid didn’t get thrown out of the game, or that there were no fights. They hammered (Ronnie) Veasey and (Stephen) Ferrari numerous times.

“That San Francisco team showed a lot of poise, knowing if they gave in, they would probably lose.”

Veasey dominated his power forward counterpart, JC Quiles: Veasey scored 25 points on 9-13 shooting, and 7-10 from the line. Quiles, who had been the most vocal Trojan player going into this game, scored just six points in seventeen minutes. He fouled out with 3:13 left, having committed four of his fouls on Veasey.

“I have no idea what we did to that guy to get him so angry,” said Veasey after the game. “But whatever it was, I’m glad we did. He’s a good player. A hothead who hurt his team with his play. The refs were not going to allow a game that aggressive. He dictated the way this game would be played when he brought up his laundry to the papers. How could he not realize that?”

The lead, when Quiles went out, was just three, at 62-59, San Fran. Veasey hit the free throws. On the next possession, Dante Douglas was called for an illegal screen. The foul count at that point: Southern Cal 12, San Francisco 3. The only player who was in serious foul trouble for the Dons was Kelly Kuehl, who fouled out. But not before securing a big steal and a dunk with 1:40 left, giving the Dons a 66-59 lead.

After Freddie Nation found Edmund Nelson to get it to five, Vincent Lincoln fouled Ferrari. He was quiet in the scoring column all game, having just two points to that point. But he stepped up and hit the pair. It was back to seven. Hernando Hernandez broke the press for a layup, making it 68-63 with 1:23 left…but Kuehl, the freshman pushed into play because of a season-long injury to presumed starter Gil Dittman, was fouled.

He went to the line, and hit both of his free throws.

“They do not cave to pressure,” said USC coach Jeremy Munson after the game. “They do not bow to the moment.”

Sure enough, in the final two moments, Kuehl committed his fourth foul, did not back down, and got a steal and a dunk. Four players combined to make eight of ten (Jared Stewart went 3-4). The only mishap was Kuehl fouling out on Nation’s dunk. But Nation, either shaken up from the foul, or perhaps bowing to the moment, missed his free throw. That could have made it a 74-70 game with nine seconds left…two possessions; not exactly surmountable, but not insurmountable.

“We do a drill with our guys,” said Dons coach William Mays. “We call it ‘On The Line’. I will line up all of our guys on the baseline, and, at random…well, sometimes not…call out a player. None of them knows who it will be. They have to come to the line and shoot a one-and-one penalty. All eyes are on them. Sometimes I try to rattle them. Sometimes I say nothing, but stand next to them. Sometimes I’ll talk about politics.

“If they make both, nothing. If they make the first, but miss the second, they have to run one suicide sprint. If they miss the front end…two suicide sprints, done in 90 seconds. If they don’t finish, they do it again.

“Now, I ask you this: how is shooting free throws with strangers watching you more pressure than doing it while your teammates are watching you, their fate in your hands?”

Vaughn Griffis was one of those guys who went to the line in the final two minutes. He was oh-for-six going into those two. He sank one of two, though the first should have been called back. A USC player stepped into the line in front of him, a clear violation. It was not called. Regardless, he scored 14 points with eight rebounds. Kuehl had 11 with seven assists and four rebounds, including a pair of steals. Ferrari scored just four points, on 1-5 shooting; the two free throws he shot in the final two minutes were the only two he shot for the game. He did contribute nine assists, and four rebounds, and had not a single turnover.

Nelson led USC with 19 points, while Hernandez added 16 points and 10 rebounds. And Nation…well, he had himself a cancel-out triple double: 11 points, 12 assists, 10 turnovers. By comparison, San Francisco turned it over just eight times.

Midwest Championship: 2) San Francisco (28-4) vs 5) West Virginia (29-5). Again, a game we thought would happen. As we said before, this is a game with a mirror image. These two teams are nearly identical. We found it impossible to pick then; we find it nearly impossible now. We are tempted to swap and go with the Dons, because of the challenge they met and conquered. But WVU will have fresher legs, and less bruised bodies. The Trojans put the Dons through a brutal forty minutes. Expect the less-weary Mountaineers to get by…still, just barely. PICK: West Virginia by 1.

In the West region, Kansas State does what they are so good at, yet what ends up being their death knell. They get up by 8-12 points, and go on cruise control. They have done it for years; in the tournament, it has ended their season. But they continue to do it, because it is their style.

Against the Oregon Webfoots, they held a 37-33 lead at the half, though the game felt decidedly in the Wildcats’ favor. And they came out, and pushed it to double-digits, and let Oregon hang around. They controlled the key stats; outrebounded Oregon, 36-34…had eleven steals to three for Oregon, seven steals to the Ducks’ two…seven less turnovers (21-14), and eight less fouls (24-16).

So, what gives here? Why was this not more than the 77-67 win they received? And is this a precursor for one of their games where they let a team hang around long enough to take them down?

All in all, it was the shooting. They shot just 46% from the field. Oregon shot 50%, though they made the same amount of field goals (30-60 for Oregon; 30-65 for KSU).

“We have to be more efficient on offense,” said KSU coach Domingo Jones. “We were careless with our shots at times. Other times, we looked great. We lose our focus every so often…not for long, but long enough for it to be a concern at this stage.

“I thought we would have grown out of this by now. I hope we take that step soon.”

Billy Jacob led five players in double-figures, with 21 points. David Gunter shot just 1-7 from the field, but he made up for it by going 8-12 from the line, and securing five steals. Most of the bad shooting came from reserve Joe Delrio, who thought he was the next Antonia Dabney; he shot 5-16 from the field, Oregon daring him to shoot at times.

Nonetheless, Kansas State, now 30-1 on the year, moves on.

The Webfoots (22-10) were led by Joshua Azure’s 18 points and four assists. Kenny Foster, the big man in the middle, had 11 points and nine rebounds. Coach Noah Brisbin III refused to show any disappointment in the loss.

“This was a very successful season, not just for now, but beyond,” he said afterwards. “We got to the tournament. Do you know how few chances there are for that? And we had the top team in the nation within striking distance. If a few bounces go our way, the outcome could have been different.

“This was a game, and a season, to build on.”

The Wildcats will get Dayton, after the sixth-seeded Flyers upended Utah, 80-75, with a push in the final two minutes. After Utah got to within three, at 70-67, Dwight Sweet scored to make it a five-point game. Denver Logan then made a hustle play, managing to tie up Donald Nelson. The arrow gave the ball back to Dayton, with 1:45 left. Utah began to foul, eventually sending guard Chris Duron to the line. He hit both of his attempts, giving Dayton a 74-67 lead with 1:33 left.

Utah missed their chance, and Logan was sent to the line. The behemoth of a man in the middle had a feathery release to his shot, hitting both.

The Redskins had an opportunity; Fritz Owens scored, and Richard Sloan missed the front end of his free throws. Jackie Lutz scored for Utah, making it 76-71 with 1:09 left. Sloan was fouled again; this time, he made the first, but missed the second. He made up for it, though, by stealing a pass on Utah’s next possession. He got the ball to Duron, who was fouled by Robert Peeler.

Duron hit one of two, making it 78-71. Ernie Pedro missed a jumper, but a tie-up gave it back to Utah with :27 left. Donald Nelson got a score off a Peeler pass. But time had run out. Dayton, who shot their free throws poorly down the stretch, had enough of a cushion to secure the win.

“That won’t do (against Kansas State,” said Dayton coach David Oakley afterwards. “We have to play better in the endgame, or we will get swallowed up.”

The Flyers (26-5) were led by Logan’s 20 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks. Duron added 18 points and eight rebounds, and Sloan tallied 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and four steals.

The Utes (19-11) losing brings an end to the incredible career of guard Robert Peeler. He scored 12 points, on 5-14 shooting, added nine assists, and five rebounds before fouling out in the game’s final seconds. During an interview afterwards, he fought tears as he thought about his future.

“There have been talks about going overseas,” he said. “I don’t know. I feel like I can do more than that. But maybe doing that could actually give me perspective, go see things around the world. West Germany has a lot of potential.”

Donald Nelson scored 23, one off his career high, to lead the Redskins.

West Championship: 1) Kansas State (30-1) vs 6) Dayton (26-5). We said it before: Dayton is underseeded. They also will not be intimidated; they played Kansas earlier this year, and had them tied in the final minutes, before a late push gave Kansas a small cushion. The Jayhawks needed it, because the Flyers came storming back, making it a 82-80 game with nine seconds to go.

That said, how can we pick against the Wildcats? They have been to four straight national semifinals. They were the tournament’s top seed going in, and they have done nothing to show us we should pick against them. This will be a difficult game, though…expect single-digit margins for most, if not all, of the second half. PICK: Kansas State

Game Balls

PG Danny Fenton, Washington: Scored 30 points, with a pair of rebounds and a pair of steals, to lead Washington to an 84-81 win over Duquesne.

PF Ronnie Veasey, San Francisco: Scored 25 points, on 9-13 shooting, and drove JC Quiles to distraction in San Francisco’s 76-69 win over Southern California.

C Denver Logan, Dayton: The 6’11, 270-pound Bunyan of a man scored 20 points, going 6-7 from the line, and added eight rebounds and four blocks, in Dayton’s 80-75 win over Utah.

PF Curt Davis, Kentucky: It goes almost unnoticed, but Davis, who had just nine points on 3-5 shooting, had 14 rebounds. Eight of them came on the offensive end. He confounded the Razorbacks in Kentucky’s 71-55 win.

PG Steven Burns, Kansas. He scored 18 points, had ten assists, six rebounds, and four steals (and a block), leading the Jayhawks over Atlantic Coast champion North Carolina, 85-79.

SF Dennis Sawicki, North Carolina: The junior class’ top prospect showed why he holds that distinction, battling Kansas bigs all night. He scored 24 points on 11-21 shooting (just 2-3 free throws; we feel he deserved at least eight more attempts), and registered nine boards and three assists.

PF David Martin, Seattle: Scored 12 points on 6-11 shooting, registered 15 rebounds, and had a pair of blocks, as Seattle outlasted Niagara, 59-56.

muns

11-30-2015, 05:43 PM

Analytics vs. SelCom Update

** San Francisco vs. West Virginia

Talk about close! San Fran almost pulled it off but the Mountaineers are in their second straight final four, 71-70! Turnovers almost did them in, but West Virginia shot 52% and controlled the boards, with Demarcus Woods(10-19 fg, 22 pts) the focal point. And with that, we take an equally narrow lead.

Current Score -- Analytics 5, SelCom 4

Form held elsewhere in the Elite 8, with the exception of defending champion Kansas having their season ended by Kentucky. They'll next try to pull the magic again taking on Kansas State in a wildcat tussle, but we don't see them being quite good enough to pull it off.

** Washington vs. West Virginia

We're still riding our horse here. Washington has a couple of competitive wins over teams(Duquesne, Seattle) that we don't think are nearly as good as West Virginia. We're tipping the Mountaineers now to get back to a second straight championship game, though it's certainly a shot in the arm for the Huskies and the PCC as a whole that they made it this far. If WV does win, that should pretty much ice this contest for us.

In the NIT, it was a couple more upsets with Syracuse and Columbia now meeting for the title there. The Lions are definitely the surprise team of the post-season as far as we're concerned. Who knows who takes this but we are sticking with the favored Orangemen, nothing to contest here.

muns

11-30-2015, 05:43 PM

The National Basketball Report: April 4, 1957
The Changing of the Guard is delayed, while Washington finally breaks through

West Virginia Plays To Our Script; Washington Flips It

A thought crossed our collective mind, as we discussed West Virginia’s 71-70 win over San Francisco, in the Midwest regional final in Kansas City, Missouri.

Several months ago, we did not feel that the Mountaineers were up to the quality of a champion. We felt that they were a bit of a paper champion, one who had the lofty ranking, but not the standard worthy of such a ranking. We felt they were, through no fault of their own, making the most of their history and the Southern Conference.

Then, they dropped the conference final to George Washington. Many told us that it was the best thing to happen to them. We’ve heard that before, and believe it as a player extension of coach hubris, of using the vernacular handed down to them by the guys in the offices, that they just regurgitate for the media. Most do not realize they are doing it.

However, we spoke to John Hildebrand. From our preview edition, regarding that loss:

“We needed that,” said Hildebrand. “We were on cruise control. We’re focused. We know how to navigate, how to get through and survive.”

Coming from most others, we would cast it into that coach language that we know to parse through. Coming from a coach on the floor, from someone who speaks for himself, we asked Hildebrand to elaborate. We did not print this before.

“We felt that we were untouchable,” he said. “You know, we made that run last year in the tournament, all the way to the final. To some guys on this roster, just showing up meant a victory. It was as if we had a reputation. What they failed to either realize or ignored was, we do have a reputation. And that reputation puts a bullseye on our back. We can’t get by just because we’ve been there before.

“That’s why losing tonight was good for us,” he continued. “It served as a stark reminder that we have to do more than show up. We have to work, and we have to execute. We don’t get to hang a banner up after tonight. You don’t get banners for being a conference bridesmaid. You don’t want to be the first team in West Virginia history to not hang a banner.

“Now, we have a goal. And I guarantee you, if we get the right draw…we’re not stupid, we know this tournament is just as much about your potential opponents as it is how you play against them…we’re going to have our chance to hang a banner.”

When Hildebrand told that to us, well…you’ll remember what our selection out of the Midwest bracket was.

West Virginia. Over San Francisco. By one point.

The game between the Mountaineers and Dons came down to the final play, as many expected. Five minutes of game time earlier, nobody thought that would be the outcome.

With exactly five minutes to go, Demarcus Woods scored to make it a 69-62 West Virginia lead. Woods, the focal point of the Mountaineer offense on this day, was sensational; through many cuts, weaves, and floating shots over opponents, namely Vaughn Griffis. Normally a shot blocking specialist, Griffis was held to just one swat on this day.

The Mountaineers had been a little concerned, as the Dons had cut their twelve-point deficit down to five in less than five minutes. But Woods’ jumper gave them a moment to relax.

It was just a moment.

Thirty-three seconds after Woods’ jump shot from the left baseline, Ronnie Veasey missed from the top of the key. The Mountaineers, who had made winning the rebounding game a priority, had a lapse of focus. Warren Tandy flew through the paint, and tipped the ball through the hoop just as it came off. The lead was down to five.

West Virginia worked it around, the focus of the offense being distributed by Charles Woolfolk. He found Woods, who took a shot from the opposite corner. This came off, secured by the Dons’ Jared Stewart. The Dons were beginning to gain more confidence. It seemed to coincide with the Mountaineers’ dwindling sense of closure.

“We played the end not to win,” said WVU coach Lonnie Williams, who has now coached the Mountaineers to three national semifinals and one NCAA title game in his three seasons since coming from Oklahoma A&M. “We played simply not to lose. We hoped the clock would run out, instead of continuing to make plays and force the issue on them.”

Case in point: Adolph Rabe missed a jumper on the Dons’ next possession. Michael Morton got the ball, dribbled it up the floor as fast as he could, then threw it to nobody in particular. San Francisco made the affair a three-point one on their next try, with Griffis scoring easily from inside.

The Mountaineers would bring Hildebrand back in after a rest. Woods, seemingly pressing the issue, missed from the wing. Matthew Olsen got the rebound, and worked the ball around for Hildebrand, who found Woods again. Woods had Olsen wide open for a layup, as his man left him to charge Woods. Woods, however, threw up another shot. It clanged into the hands of Darin Armstrong.

Fortunately, WVU’s guards decided to force the issue on defense. The trapped Dons’ lead guard Stephen Ferrari after a pass into the corner. Olsen ended up with a steal. With 2:03 left, Ferrari fouled Woolfolk.

“Not my best minute,” said Ferrari afterwards, his head draped by a towel, eyes fixed on the floor. He would not move from this pose for the entire interview.

Woolfolk walked to the line, and hit the two biggest free throws of his life. 71-66, West Virginia. Two minutes, three seconds remained.

The Dons struck just seven seconds later, as Ferrari found himself open on the wing. That made it 71-68.

On West Virginia’s ball, they moved it around on a play they called “hawk”. On that play, Jared Bazan works the right side, while Hildebrand and Timothy Freeland work their way to that side. Hildebrand is the safety option. If he receives the ball, Freeland immediately sets a screen for Bazan to cut back-door, where Hildebrand will have his option of Bazan, if he gets free, or Freeland, who normally has a man on his back, and an easy layup.

This time, though, Freeland had not set his screen before Bazan made his cut. It was an easy whistle: illegal screen on Freeland. He threw his arms up, then looked at Bazan. Slow down,Freeland seemed to be saying to Bazan. It was as if Bazan felt, if he were cutting more quickly, the clock must be moving in sync with him.

A minute thirty-four still remained.

Tandy beat WVU’s press on the next possession, another gamble that almost cost the Mountaineers. Tandy hit a layup, cutting the lead down to one, at 71-70, with 1:27 left. West Virginia was forced to call time, where Williams emphasized focusing on the play in front of you, and playing together.

The team moved the ball wonderfully on the next possession; however, Tony Potter tied up Olsen. The arrow stayed with WVU, which was an unfortunate circumstance for the Dons.

“If the arrow had been going our way, I bet we take the lead there,” said Griffis after the game.

West Virginia tried to catch the Dons sleeping, as Bazan found himself open on a drive and kick play by Freeland. Olsen missed the tip, and Armstrong secured the rebound. He found Ferrari, who thought he found Veasey.

“Not my best two minutes,” said Ferrari.

Griffis fouled Woolfolk on the next play. Woolfolk, oddly sensing the moment, had his free throw miss right. Stewart corralled the ball, and got it to Ferrari. Thirty-five seconds remained.

Ferrari passed to Stewart, who got it to Tandy. Ferrari cut back, got the ball, and drove off the wing, where Veasey had set a screen. Veasey stepped back, received a pass, but had not shot. There were seven seconds left. Ferrari came back, got the ball, and took off towards the baseline. He stepped back, away from Demarcus Woods, who had been chasing him that entire time.

Ferrari let the ball go.

Woods recovered. He tipped the shot.

The buzzer sounded. Ferrari fell, the weight of the last four years of experience, now turned into only memories and what-ifs, now bearing upon him like the world upon Atlas. Woods fell too, though merely from exhaustion. Hildebrand jumped up and down around the court, looking for his family; the normally stoic, silent leader the Mountaineers needed him to be since he first walked onto campus, became the leader of the victory party.

He will have a very different point-of-view of this game, and of his four years, than Ferrari will be.

These two point guards, playing with grace and beauty the likes of which will inspire future guards, have had seemingly convergent paths since they walked onto campus. In the past two years, however, they have taken divergent paths. Hildebrand has become the essence of calm, of understanding how to get it done. When the Mountaineers needed a play, he was the one who delivered.

Ferrari has become the gutsy guard who simply could not get the ball to go his way when needed. To critics, which do not include this publication, he will be viewed as the guard who played too frantically to lead, because his team could not follow. They will use the final two minutes of this game as a prime example; that, however, is unfair.

Many will wonder if the story would have been different had Kelley Kuehl the freshman guard who will now inherit this team from Ferrari, did not get hurt just nine minutes into the game. He did not return, finishing with just two points. Ferrari, asked to shoulder the load, finished with 16 points and six assists; Tandy, asked to play more, finished with six points on 3-9 shooting, and five assists. He had three big offensive rebounding.

Veasey will also spend time wondering what could have been.

“It felt like there was a lid on the basket,” he said of his 3-of-16 night. He did go 5-8 from the line, ending with 11 points and five rebounds. He owned up to his statistically poor evening, though. “I could not score, and I tried to shoot my way out of it. I hurt us considerably.”

“Nobody on this team, not one of those fellows in the locker room, should hang their head,” said San Francisco coach William Mays. “They played their hearts out. There is not a single player, nor a single play, I will look at and say, we should have done more. This team is a very good team, who happened to play another very good team. There was one point between them. Someone had to finish on the losing side. Today, it had to be us.”

The Dons finish their year at 28-5.

West Virginia (30-5), meanwhile, marches to their third NCAA National Semifinal in a row. Hildebrand finished with six points, eight rebounds, ten assists, and three steals, filling the statbook in a manner very few do. If he is not an All-American after this season, or perhaps Player of the Year, those who choose the award will have to come up with a doozy of a compelling reason why.

Bazan finished with 14 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Most of it was used when WVU went to a smaller lineup, due to Olsen’s four fouls. Their quickness led to issues for San Francisco; it remains to be seen if they will employ the lineup against Washington in the national semi.

Woolfolk finished with 12 efficient points, on 5-8 shooting, and four rebounds.

As mentioned just a paragraph ago, the Mountaineers will face off with Washington. The Huskies (28-6) held Seattle (30-4) at bay, before blowing the game out midway through the second half, winning the East region, 70-61. The Huskies got off on a 12-4 spurt in the first three minutes of the second half, blitzing the Chieftains with tough defense and efficient scoring.

The Chieftains got it to 50-41 with 15:23 left, on Gregory Wyman’s breakaway layup. But Washington kept up the pressure, and with 10:52 left, it was 60-45.

They never let off the pedal.

“We were supposed to be here the last three years,” said Huskies guard Danny Fenton, the only player on the roster who has played, and started, all 130 games Washington has played over the last four seasons. “We got to this point, and we felt that we had to finish it. Nobody wanted to coast.”

Fenton, the man of the game, finished with 22 points, five rebounds, and five assists. He also racked up a pair of the Huskies’ eight steals. The rest of the Husky offense was diverse, as only forward Gisbert Bittes had double-figures (10). Center Francis Calhoun had eight points and ten rebounds.

The Chieftains got 18, on 6-9 shooting, from Wyman, their senior stud. He also had six assists…but his nine assists hurt the Chieftains. Jesus Jones, the star forward for Seattle, had 15 points on 7-10 shooting. Outside of that pair and Justin Lavergne (10 points, 5-9 shooting), the rest of the team shot miserably. They were a combined 4-24 from the field.

“Our big three could only take us so far,” said first-year coach Saul Bray, who is now 0-2 coaching against his own team. He left Washington after last year to take over Seattle, leading them to their best season yet. “I have mixed feelings, of course. I feel awful for our kids, but I am thrilled for those kids over there. There was no animosity when I left; I still keep in touch with everyone over there. My kids here understand that. It is one of my tenets, I suppose…once you’re one of my guys, you’re part of my family.

“I was the only one here who was guaranteed a victory. I wish it could have been doubly so.”

b[]National Semifinal #1: Washington (28-6) vs West Virginia (30-5).[/b] We felt West Virginia would get to this point, but had Seattle over Washington in our preview. Honestly, the insertion of the Huskies in place of the Chieftains does not change our view. The Mountaineers are the kings of the moment. The Huskies are a very solid group, but this is uncharted territory for them. The naivete of the moment can be supplanted by fear. This is unlike anything any player has felt so far. We believe there will be one of two scenarios:

1) The Huskies are terrified at the start, tentative and unable to shoot confidently. The Mountaineers will pounce early, and ride that initial burst to victory.
2) The Huskies, unaware of the moment they will experience, will come out a ball of fire and adrenaline. They will take an early lead, but tighten as the game moves forward. The Mountaineers, quite aware that this takes many moments and runs in order to secure the opportunity to move on, will find them in the second half. The victory would be narrow, but it would still be West Virginia’s.

Washington played a familiar foe in Seattle; they played once before. Seattle, not having been to this point in the tournament before, tightened up in that second half run. They felt their chances shrinking, and tried to force the issue. Washington may find themselves in that exact situation, and may respond in very much the same manner. It is not a critique of them; rather, it is more an observation of what playing in one of these games does to a player, does to a team.
PICK: West Virginia by 7. Hildebrand, like Fenton, has been along for the entire ride. Unlike Fenton, Hildebrand understands the moment. This one will be seized. Expect a career day out of him.

Kentucky Sprints Past Kansas; The Wildcats Get The Wildcats In Semi

The Kentucky Wildcats found themselves down, 47-41, to the Kansas Jayhawks at the half. They had not played particularly well. Their coach, Rob Roberson Jr., noticed something.

“They controlled the tempo,” he said. “By that, I mean, they slowed down when they wanted to. We never want to slow down. We want to move, and move quickly.

“I told that to our boys at the half. Never stop moving. Never stop. Tire them out. Get that big truck (Arlon Rahn) in the middle so exhausted, he crashes and puts a hole in the floor. It could backfire, but leave this building knowing you played Kentucky basketball. Don’t allow Kansas to dictate what you do.”

The team got the message. They hit the floor running.

The Jayhawks didn’t know what hit them.

“We knew they would try to turn this into a track meet,” said Kansas coach Dave Keene after the game. “Unfortunately, we didn’t make the adjustments necessary at the half to try and counter what we thought they’d do. They did exactly what we thought they might…but we couldn’t stop it, especially once Luis and Steven got into bad foul trouble.”

That would be Luis Horne and Steven Burns, the Kansas starting backcourt. Both fouled out in this game; Horne got his second with 10:24 left in the first half, but navigated his way through the last seven minutes without one. However, he, like his teammates, couldn’t help it early in the second half. He committed his third foul, and Kansas’ seventh, with 15:45 left in the game.

By that time, Burns had already fouled out, and been assessed a sixth foul: a technical. He was gone with 16:25 to go.

“You cannot foul that much, that early, and expect to compete,” said Keene. “Not against such a good shooting team. We lost our composure very early.”

Kentucky went 14-22 from the line. Their blitz to begin the second half resulted in reactionary basketball by the Jayhawks. The result was Kentucky coming from eight down, 53-45 with 17:27 left, to up 64-59 with 11:38 left. It was an unbelievable flurry of jumpers, steals, and layups.

“We looked like Joe Louis got us,” Keene said.

When the two teams faced off to start the year, Kentucky got Horne and Burns into foul trouble, then used that to expose Kansas’ inexperience with their depth. The result was 17 points from Stephan Williford, while Horne had 12 points in just 14 minutes. His replacement, sophomore sixth man Blaine Sommer, had six points on 3-9 shooting.

In this one, Williford again had 17 points, while Burns was the one to suffer; he had eight points in just 13 minutes. Horne played great in his 21 minutes before fouling out, netting 18 points on 8-14 shooting, and getting five rebounds. Sommer, again, had just six points, on 3-11 shooting in 18 minutes of replacement Horne. And Irwin Lear, the freshman who was Burns’ replacement, played quite well in his time replacing Burns. He had six points and four assists. Keene felt he should have been more aggressive.

“Freshman hesitancy,” Keene said of Lear’s deference with shooting the ball. “He’ll learn that as he gets older. He thought he’d make Rahn mad or something.”

The Automarahn was an odd focal point of attack for Kentucky. But it worked. They tried to run him up and down the floor with a diet of 7’1 Scott Moncada, the venerable power forward Curt Davis, and sixth man and mega pro prospect, Carson White. It worked. Rahn played thirty minutes, logging ten points and seven rebounds, but he was constantly out of position on defense; he registered no blocks.

“Not many teams have the ability to force him to move like that,” said Keene after the game. “They had the right idea.”

“I think I lost ten pounds tonight,” said Rahn afterwards.

Douglas Cobbs had 14, on 7-11 shooting, in support of Williford’s shooting for Kentucky (30-2). Davis, an All-American candidate at power forward, had 10 points, six rebounds, and six blocks before fouling out late in the game. Reserve forward Carl Williams scored 12 and netted six rebounds, while White had 10 points and 11 rebounds—six offensive—in 27 minutes off the bench.

Leland Avelar had 15 points and six rebounds to support Kansas, who finishes the year 26-6.

Kentucky takes their act to the national semifinals, where a rematch with Kansas State awaits. It is interesting, how the Tournament of Champions is playing out. Kansas and Kentucky had their rematch. Now Kentucky and Kansas State will have theirs, while West Virginia and the Wildcats are playing to end the year the way they started it. Just wanted to note that. We have discussed a changing of the guard; the guard, at least in this season, has shown they are in no rush to give up the mantle.

The Wildcats (31-1) will look to avenge their only loss of the season in the rematch; they felt 71-57 to the Wildcats at that Tournament of Champions, a rematch of last year’s national semifinal. They earned it by doing what they do. We talked about it against Oregon. They get a lead, and then they just hold that lead. They should have flattened Dayton by twenty. The final score, 64-56, could feel unsatisfying, or in leaving the feeling that Kansas State is a little overrated. Frankly, how a team that has thirty-one wins in thirty-two appearances is overrated, we would not understand. So we will leave that there.

This is the Wildcats’ method. It works well for them. They grab you by the neck, and hold you there…not entirely choking you down, but not letting you maneuver. That worked in the West final, where the Wildcats went on a run late in the second half; the lead went from 23-22 with 4:27 left, to 31-22 with 2:40 left. The half ended with a 35-26 Wildcat lead.

That lead would get stretched to 39-28 early in the second half. Kansas State never looked back.

Billy Jacob, considered by many to be the top professional prospect in the nation, had 19 points on 8-16 shooting. He also registered five assists and four steals. Erich Walton had 15 points and 10 rebounds, along with two blocks and a steal. Joe Delrio, the gunner off the bench, had 10 points on 4-9 shooting.

For the sixth-seeded Flyers (26-6), Chris Duron was the only consistent scorer. He finished with 22. Denver Logan, the mountain man in the middle, he had eight points and seven rebounds, along with four blocks.

National Semifinal #2: Kansas State (31-1) vs Kentucky (30-2). We said this would be a national semifinal for the ages. We still believe that. We are also going to narrow our score down a bit. Kansas State does not totally put teams away. And Kentucky found a gear we did not think they would find against Kansas. That could give the Kansas State guards some issue. However, the Wildcats have more established depth than Kansas had. They are also at their fourth straight national semifinal. Their legacy, though, is not settled. We said, at the beginning of this season, that their story ends in a hollow manner if it does not end with a national title. We will hold our original prediction…this will be a semifinal for the ages.
PICK: Kansas State by 2. We do not profess to know who the hero will be here. We feel like it will be David Gunter's night...he has been due. But, while he may be the man of the evening, he may not be the man of the moment. Such intrigue...

muns

11-30-2015, 05:43 PM

Analytics vs. SelCom

We'll start in the NIT now. Syracuse dumped Columbia convincingly, and probably has a chip on their shoulder now. 30-4 is a heck of a record for a team that was stuck in the secondary tournament, but that's what they get for not playing much of anybody. Thirty wins is thirty wins though, and a full ten more than they managed any of the past three seasons. Fast fact: all of their losses were at home, they didn't lose a game on the road. That's a bit of rather strange and useless information for you. We agreed with the decision to keep them out of the NCAAs, but it would have been nice to see Alvin McKissick on the biggest stage.

Moving on to that ...

** Washington vs. West Virginia

Ahem. We have been so good at picking teams that just barely lose. And here it is again. West Virginia falls by a single point. Both offenses hummed, but the Mountaineers committed a few too many turnovers(18 to 15). In a tight game, that's all it took. Might as well have flipped a coin. Hats off to the Washington backcourt of Fenton and Malocco, which combined for 37 points and made Hildebrand look fairly ordinary. And this leaves us with ...

Current Score: Analytics 5, SelCom 5. *sigh*

With Kansas State getting by Kentucky in a game only slightly less close, there's a pair of 1-seeds vying for the championship. We've got Kansas State, who has looked like the best team in the nation for almost all of the second half of the year and, surprise, here they are. Washington though we weren't sure was good enough to reach the Elite 8, let alone the title game.

And our contest is over in a ... *choke* ... tie. We can only repeat that the lesson here seems to be that nobody really knows what's going to happen this time of year. That's why they call in Madness, after all. At this point, we turn over the floor to our colleagues for the final. We'll be back next year, with fresh prognostications.

muns

11-30-2015, 05:44 PM

The National Basketball Report: April 7, 1957
The Legacies of Five Men, Now Up For Review

When considering the evening that played out before us, and the evening to come in Boston, we realized that, while we were correct in considering legacies, we failed to consider all of them.

Washington Continues March, Knocks Out West Virginia

The Washington Huskies continue to be the most surprising top-seeded team in recent memory.

Consider that for a moment: a top seed, bringing surprise against a fifth seed. It seems preposterous, no? A fifth seed is typically a team that dreamed a most impossible dream, traveled the road most are unable to traverse, and end up into the national semifinal feeling their season already a massive success.

Consider the fifth seed Washington eliminated on Saturday night: 30-6 West Virginia, the defending last loser of last season…if that is something to defend. They were considered by many, including this very publication, to be solid favorites heading into their semifinal against Washington.

Nobody, it appeared, bothered to inform the Huskies that they were supposed to roll over.

Bad dogs. (Bad pun, but we digress.)

The Huskies (29-6) finished West Virginia’s season in thrilling fashion in the nightcap of a wonderful doubleheader at Boston Garden on Saturday evening. The final action of the evening brought with it the most suspense. It was also fitting, in a bookend sense.

On the game’s first possession, Frank Calhoun found senior forward Gisbert Bittes flashing inside for a basket. On their final possession, Gisbert Bittes caught a pass just outside the outstretched fingertips of Demarcus Woods. He took off towards the basket. Matthew Olsen came crashing from the weak side.

Bittes leapt. Olsen did, though he said he should not have.

“Once he goes up, he has the basket,” said Olsen. “I understand trying to make him earn it from the line. But I had no chance, once he got in the air. Trying to stop him is just plain dumb. I made a plain dumb play.”

Olsen fouled Bittes, who threw down the slam dunk with both hands. That put a man tormented by the free throw line all game in a position that he found somewhat unenviable.

More on that later.

First, let’s discuss Fenton for a moment. The senior guard was named the Man of the Game for the thirty-seventh time in his 131 games as a player. This particular game pitted Fenton against Hildebrand, West Virginia’s legendary point guard, in a game involving two of the three top point guard professional prospects in the nation. In this particular game, Fenton, with his 21 points, four rebounds, and two steals, outplayed Hildebrand, who had 11 points and six assists, but four fouls. His presence was definitely missed: Wolfolk, forced to handle the basketball more than he is used to, had six turnovers. He also made a decision that will forever be discussed and debated by WVU fans, and college basketball followers.

There will be much more on Fenton later, too. His story is not finished.

“That was a barnburner, wasn’t it?” asked West Virginia head coach Lonnie Williams afterward. “Shucks, someone had to lose that game. You never want it to be you, but heck, we got here again. I couldn’t be more proud of a group of young men, especially when so many of you said we would be paying customers on a field trip to New England if we were to show up. The way they kept coming at us, they were like hound dogs, you know? They had our scent. We couldn’t get far enough away from them, and those hound dogs, you know…once they got your scent, you’re not going to be far away from them for long.”

Early on, though, it seemed like the Mountaineers had slipped the Huskies, distancing themselves with what many believed was an early knockout blow.

Both teams came out firing, and Washington held a 17-15 lead with 11:55 left. Tony Gregory’s jumper, five seconds later, was followed by an Olsen jumper. Fenton’s understudy and heir apparent, Marquis Gray, threw the ball out of bounds. Gregory hit another jumper. On Washington’s next possession, Jared Bazan got a steal out of the WVU press. He converted a layup. Olsen got a steal immediately after, and while they did not convert, Washington was confused and reeling.

With 6:01 left, when Michael Morton, a deep reserve whose story will also be told later, scored off a Hildebrand pass, it was 31-17, West Virginia. The Huskies were the recipient of a Mountaineer 14-0 run. It was their first severe test of the game. Degrasse, as is his custom, let the Huskies play through it.

“They are grown men,” he said. “They are going to have to deal with issues far tougher than how to put a ball in a basket. And they’re going to have to deal with teams far less accustomed to one another than they are. We gave them the tools throughout the season to see their way back. It was up to them to use those tools.”

After two Olsen free throws with 4:58 left, Washington began to claw back. Quite naturally, it was Fenton who got things going; his jumper made it 33-19 with 4:08 left. Italo Malocco got a steal of a Olsen pass, got a layup, and was fouled by Hildebrand. He made the free throw, cutting it to 33-22 with 3:09 to go. Freeland was called for an illegal screen, and Fenton hit a jump shot.

The deficit was at nine. West Virginia called time, and restored some order to the chaos bestowed upon them.

Fenton fouled Woolfolk, who sank two free throws. But Washington would close the half on a 6-2 run, cutting the halftime deficit to 37-30. They would immediately start chiseling away again at the start of the second half.

Hildebrand found Woods to open the second half, but, once again, it was Fenton who got the ball rolling. He hit a jumper immediately following Woods’ basket. His defense forced Hildebrand into a travel on WVU’s next possession. Malocco hit a shot from the right corner; WVU answered, but Fenton scored again. WVU scored again, after Hildebrand found Woolfolk; however, Frank Calhoun scored on a layup, and was fouled by Freeland. His free throw cut the WVU lead to four, 43-39, just two minutes in. Hildebrand scored in response, which brought forth an interesting diverging philosophy from fans the two teams:

For West Virginia, Washington kept coming on. They could not get away, and it was only a matter of time before they pulled even. For Washington, West Virginia had an answer for everything the Huskies threw at them. It would only be a matter of time before the Mountaineers went on another run, and the mountain, if you pardon the expression, would have yet another peak to climb.

Fenton beat WVU’s press, making it a 45-41 lead. The Huskies thought they caught a break, when WVU was hit with a shot-clock violation; however, Manny Parenteau’s layup was off the mark. Hildebrand grabbed the rebound, came down, and hit a jump shot. Burt Lingle found Parenteau out of a trap for a layup. That made it 47-43. Woods was fouled by Malocco, but made just one of two from the line. Malocco made up for that by hitting a jump shot, but Woods responded, getting the WVU lead back to five, at 50-45.

Washington fans’ fears were briefly met when they the teams exchanged empty possessions, then Freeland drew a charge on Gregoire Dupretz. Olsen scored off a slip pass from Freeland, making it 52-45. Calhoun traveled on Washington’s next possession, and Hildebrand hit a jump shot. With fourteen minutes left, it was 54-45, and Washington’s hard work to get the game back to even seemed to be for naught.

This seemed especially true when Malocco was fouled on a shot, and made one of two. He got the rebound on the second, but missed the putback.

But then, the Huskies came roaring back once again.

Dupretz stole a pass, and Fenton, once again, was the scoring catalyst. He hit a jumper off a Malocco pass. Bittes got a steal, and Fenton was fouled by Freeland. He hit one of two; Gregory missed a layup, Fenton corralled the miss, and found Dupretz. It was suddenly 54-51. The teams exchanged empty possessions for the next minute, before Malocco found his mark from the top of the key.

It was 54-53. West Virginia called timeout. The mostly pro-WVU crowd was quiet…a small contingent of Husky fans, consisting of fans from Washington and those who became fans during the tournament…were quite boisterous.

The Mountaineers got a small reprieve, when Morton was fouled. He hit the first, missed the second, but Gregory beat Calhoun for the tip-in. That made it 57-53. The Huskies responded immediately, with Gray finding Jose Park, who beat the coverage down the floor.

The Huskies had a chance to tie after Gregory was called for traveling at the eleven-minute mark. Bittes was fouled by a troubled Gregory. However, the forward missed both free throws. He seemed frustrated, obviously not knowing what was to come. His next shot was blocked, but Lingle, a deep reserve, got the rebound. The offense began anew. The ball returned to him, but Olsen fouled him. With WVU in the penalty, at 10:04 to go, Lingle went to the line.

On the season, he was 21-29 from the line. He went 3-4 in this game; these two tied the score, at 57-57.

Now, it was ten minutes until Monday night.

Olsen gave WVU the lead once more, on a Hildebrand missed. Fenton responded immediately. Gray picked Hildebrand’s pocket, but Washington came up empty. Hildebrand found Woods. Bittes was fouled again; again, he missed the front end. Calhoun backed him up, though, tipping in the miss.

Woods scored, and Calhoun missed his shot. Bazan then forced a turnover on Fenton; perhaps Washington’s best chance had slipped away.

Then, there was Lingle again, this time blocking Gregory’s dunk attempt.

“That was huge,” said Fenton afterwards. “If (Gregory) throws that down, that may have been a deflator. But Burt came up with that block, stonewalled him…it lifted us. We knew, even if we got done by four or six, we had time, and we can find stops.”

The Huskies continued to come up hollow on the offensive end, and when Bazan hit a shot from the corner with 5:41 left, it was a four-point WVU lead. Parenteau, though, hit another quick shot…Washington was good at catching WVU on the transition from offensive to defense, finding them out of position and defensive rhythm several times. Hildebrand scored again, making it 67-63 with five minutes to go.

On Washington’s next possession, Hildebrand fouled another reserve. This time, it was guard Wayne Toro. In this game, Toro would play six minutes, and register just two points.

They came here.

Malocco fouled Hildebrand with 4:31 left, and fouled out of the game. Hildebrand hit both free throws, making it a 69-65 lead. Now, the Huskies were without their Italian import, putting the weight on Fenton’s shoulders that much more. The 6’1, 208-pound well-proportioned guard was up for that challenge.

His basket with 4:06 left, made it 69-67.

Up until this point, Bittes had been tormented on both sides of the ball. Though foul shooting was never his strong suit—he was a 49% shooter from the line on the year, and a 54% career shooter—his particular 0-3 line disturbed him. And while he was the defensive catalyst of the team, Woods was en route to an efficient 22-point day.

But, with 3:46 left, he made his first mark. He stole a pass from Freeland intended for Woods; his layup tied the score at 69.

Thirty seconds later, Hildebrand was fouled. For the first time this game, he made a mistake that profoundly hurt his team. He missed the second free throw. West Virginia still had the lead, but they could no longer play with the confidence of a possession lead. It was 70-69. He made up for it a minute later, when, after a Washington miss, he found Woolfolk for the bucket.

Fenton answered right back, though, with the last of his 21. It was 72-71, with 2:11 to go.

With 1:42 left, Calhoun fouled Freeland. He made the first, but missed the second. However, the rebound went long, and ended up back in Freeland’s hands. It got to Hildebrand, who made his second big mistake. He looked for Olsen, but Olsen cut back inside. Hildebrand threw it away.

It appeared that, on Washington’s ensuing possession, Woods would save the day. He got a steal. But Park, another reserve who came up big on this day, tied Woods up. The arrow went back to Washington. This time, Gray found Lingle.

The reserves had pulled the Huskies even, with 1:12 to go.

The roles quickly reversed. WVU worked the ball methodically, and with thirty-seven ticks left, Park fouled Woods. He calmly sank both, giving West Virginia a 75-73 lead.

That set up Bittes and Olsen. Washington caught WVU out of position one last time. Olsen reacted, fouled BIttes late; Gisbert had already tied the game.

Now, the man who was tormented by the line three times tonight, could let everyone, including himself, forget those misses. He had one shot, one chance at making it right, and adding to his own legacy.

He walked to the line, took two dibbles, and let fly.

“It was hope, not confidence,” he confided later.

The ball hit the back of the rim, and went straight up. Its downward flight took its course straight through the net, which did not move.

That small contingent of fans, which grew in number as the night went on, went nuts.

Washington 76, West Virginia 75.

For the first time since early in the game, the Huskies had the lead. But WVU had an answer for every Washington problem. Surely, they had one last response.

On West Virginia’s last possession, the ball found the hands not of leader Hildebrand, nor scoring whiz Woods. Rather, Charles Woolfolk, upon finding a double-team on his drive with four seconds left, played a little fast, and perhaps instead of thinking the situation through, found Michael Morton.

Morton, in for rebounding opportunities on a shot taken earlier than, perhaps, four seconds left, was as surprised as the crowd to have received the ball. The nearly 200-point career scorer—he has 195 in his two-year career—took a shot that had no chance. Senior guard Danny Fenton—more on him in a moment—secured the rebound, and the victory for the Huskies.

“We liked our chances (on the final possession),” said Washington coach Kirk Degrasse. “We have had our trap late play all season, just for this situation. “We used it for the first time here. I think it was worth the wait.”

Malocco, who fouled out, was still second on the team with his 16 points. Bittes and Calhoun equally shared 18 points, and collected 15 rebounds. Lingle, Park, and Toro added nine points in their 20 minutes, on 2-4 shooting. They added defense, keeping WVU in check while the starters got valuable rest.

“I would put our bench with anyone in the nation,” said Degrasse. He may rethink those words on Monday.

Olsen added ten points and seven rebounds to supplement Woods and Hildebrand. Woolfolk and Bazan had eight each, while Gregory had six in his twelve minutes (on 3-7 shooting).

While West Virginia failed to return to the NCAA title game for the second straight year, they would have been the first team to do so since the NCAA regained form. The legacy of the program and its players in this, the Hildebrand and Woods era, is secure. Their future is speculative, but many feel as though this is the high-water mark for Mountaineer basketball, and that there are dark clouds looming. The next recruiting class will go a long way towards that determination.

The one thing a WVU loss does do is deny fans a rematch of last year’s national semifinal, and a chance at vindication for Washington’s opponent Monday night. We are pretty sure, though, that they are okay with that.

For Washington, however, this is an opportunity to wipe away the last three years of emptiness and frustration on the national stage. In 1953, they were a second seed that got upset by Columbia, before we knew who the Lions were. In 1954, they lost to Dayton in the first round. And last year, they were a top seed that fell to Vanderbilt in the second round.

One win in three years makes you the Big Program That Can’t.

Unless, of course, you’re overshadowed in that department, too. Indiana takes the top prize, of course; but Washington’s opponent Monday night, the Kansas State Wildcats, come awfully close.

The Wildcats have been here before…three times. They have moved to the fabled, sought-after Monday night just once, losing to Antonia Dabney and Bradley in 1954, 59-43. Three players—David Gunter, Tommy Fritts, and Erich Walton—were starters on that team. Billy Jacob was injured for the game, while Gregory Cole, this team’s starting center, played just two minutes in that loss. Normand Herbert held the same role he does now, that of sixth man, while Joe Delrio went 0-2 in six minutes of play.

Some things haven’t changed.

The knock on Kansas State is the same knock, to a lesser degree nationally, that stuck Washington: they could not win the big one. At some point, one has to question what qualifies as a “big one”; the Wildcats are 8-2 against Kansas all-time, after all, and 3-1 against West Virginia, including a 78-69 win this year.

The one loss that the Wildcats (32-1) had, a 71-57 loss to Kentucky in the Tournament of Champions, they avenged Saturday night in the first game. In a game many felt had the stature of a national title game, Gunter, now a senior, had his shining moment on a national stage. He netted a game-high 21, on 9-13 shooting, and seven rebounds and two steals. Billy Jacob, now a healthy senior and the 1b to Gunter’s 1a, scored 14 points, grabbed three rebounds and nabbed three steals himself.

Cole, now a redshirt senior and the overlooked member of this famous graduating class, got 13 points, six boards, a pair of assists and a pair of blocks. Fritts, the super senior forward, had 10 points, 9 rebounds, and seven assists, along with three blocks, in a stellar performance. This was done without much of Walton, who had just two points, but four fouls, in eighteen minutes.

This game was nip and tuck, and the tension was high. With 5:50 left, Billy Jacob received a foul, then compounded his issue by arguing to a technical. Lenny Snell hit the two free throws, tying the score. He made up for it by stealing a pass just a bit later. That led to a Cole bucket, giving Kansas State a 56-54 lead. They would increase that to four, but Kentucky, much like Washington later on in the evening, would not go away.

“They are too disciplined to let us run off with the thing,” said Kansas State coach Domingo Jones after the game.

Sure enough, every time the Wildcats would get the tiniest of cushions, Kentucky would answer. Douglas Cobbs scored with 4:35 left, making it 58-56. Jacob scored with 3:22 left, but Carson White hit a shot from the free throw line to cut it to 60-58 with 3:08 left.

Jacob’s response came ten seconds later, but Stephan Williford followed a Curt Davis miss with a major slam dunk from the baseline. 62-60. Herbert scored with 1:55 left; Snell was fouled by Jacob six seconds later. He also got the basket. His three-point play made it 64-63, with 1:49 left.

Kentucky got no closer.

Herbert found Gunter for a basket. On Kentucky’s next possession, White was called for an illegal screen. Kansas State managed to burn thirty seconds off the clock on the ensuing possession, which resulted in Gunter’s bucket off a Jacob assist. It was 68-63, and Kentucky was suddenly rushing to commit fouls.

Erich Walton hit his two free throws, making it 70-63 with :17 left. Williford missed, and Cole got the rebound. He hit a pair of free throws, giving Kansas State permanent breathing room, at 72-63.

Kentucky (30-3) was led by Williford’s 14, and White’s 10. Ten players scored for the Wildcats. Curt Davis, Kentucky’s best all-around player, was limited to 4-11 shooting, and zero free throws. He finished with eight points and six rebounds. Scott Moncada finished with just six points and seven rebounds.

“We knew we had to limit their big men,” said Jones. “If we allowed their big men to do what they wanted, we would have a hard time stopping anything. But shutting down the big men, it shrinks the floor and puts a huge burden on their guards. Williford took 17 shots. Cobbs was 3-7. I think we did our job, defensively.

Sure enough, Kentucky, one of the top offenses in the country, was held to 45% shooting, and had 17 turnovers. Their legacy, the top team of the South, comes with it some caveats. They reached three national semifinals and a fourth regional final. But they, like Kansas State, have not won the last game of the season. Should they be held to the same standard the Wildcats are?

Perhaps. But they also had changing parts throughout. Indiana, realistically, only had two years at their peak. The Big Ten is in transition, and, frankly, was not very good this year. While they have failed to win the final game, they were not expected to this year. Kansas State, we have held that expectation every year. If memory serves, we have selected them three times to be the champion of the country.

It comes back to this complete class, this group of four super players…four of the top five professional prospects in the nation. Gunter is the tops, while Jacob is right behind him. Walton is #4, while Fritts is fifth. To everyone in Manhattan, and realistically, the nation, their story is not complete without this last goal. To leave college without at least one title would feel hollow, especially while their in-state McCoys have cut the nets down twice.

Forgotten in all of this, perhaps because he has been stashed away in Seattle, is Fenton. His legacy could be forever stamped by slaying the giant dragon in front of him. He has laid down one of the top three guards in the nation, in Hildebrand. Gunter is the only one who sits above him on the pecking order. Fenton could be known as the greatest point guard of this era by leading Washington to victory.

This is the Game of Unfulfilled Destinies.

Only one side can write their ending. The other will have it penned for them.

Neither side wants the other to man the pen.

1956-57 National Championship Game: Kansas State (32-1) vs Washington (29-6): We have not strayed from Kansas State this year, despite Washington flipping the script twice on us. First, it was Seattle…then, WVU on Saturday. By all logic, we should jump aboard this Washington group, as they appear to have the hands of fate leading the way. But we are still enchanted by Kansas State, and feel they still have the magic, and the roster, to finally see this to the end.

Expect the lifetime of a game by Jacob. And a lifetime of memories to be had by finally winning the big one.

PICK: Kansas State 71, Washington 68

muns

11-30-2015, 05:51 PM

While my USC team left the tourney early, I couldn't finish up the season without giving a huge clap to what Kirk and the Washington Huskies accomplished.

Yea, they didn't bring home the title, but they sure announced to the basketball world that they will be a top program and a force for years to come. They lose 2 starters next year in Fenton and Bittes (I love that name btw) but with a hell of a recruiting class last year, they will be able to replace them both in talent and in depth.

They will lead the way in the PCC next season and there isn't a lot the rest of us can do about it

muns

11-30-2015, 05:53 PM

On a brighter note for us Freshman SG- Edmund Nelson wins the PCC freshman of the year (as he should have) but gets left off the National freshman list. That's ok though because Oregon's Joshua Azure made the national team :banghead:

1956 PCC AWARDS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Player of the Year:

SR PG Daniel Fenton Washington 16.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 4.4 APG 2.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG

Freshman of the Year:
FR SG Edmund Nelson Southern California 16.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.7 APG 0.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG

Coach of the Year:
Angus Haynes UCLA 22 - 8 (11 - 5)

All-league 1st Team:
C SR Kenneth Foster Oregon 12.9 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.5 SPG, 2.3 BPG
PF JR J.C. Quiles Southern California 11.1 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG
SF JR Colin Dunleavy Oregon 11.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG
SG JR Italo Malocco Washington 14.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG
PG SR Daniel Fenton Washington 16.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 4.4 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG

All-league 2nd Team:
C JR Derek Busby UCLA 7.0 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.6 SPG, 3.4 BPG
PF SR Craig Kruger California 4.4 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.6 SPG, 2.8 BPG
SF JR Ted Walk Oregon State 10.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG
SG SR David Mackay UCLA 13.2 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG
PG JR Freddie Nation Southern California 8.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG

All-freshman Team:
C FR Michael Fanning Southern California 3.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG
PF FR Grégoire Dupretz Washington 5.6 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.2 BPG
SF FR James Houck Oregon State 2.4 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 0.5 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.0 BPG
SG FR Edmund Nelson Southern California 16.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG
PG FR Joshua Azure Oregon 10.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.0 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG

muns

11-30-2015, 05:58 PM

Moving forward, we lose one guy to graduation, and he didn't play (10 total games in 3 years). In theory, we should be in line for another hell of a season next year, as both UCLA and CAL should be down due to graduations.

Oregon State should be the team to watch next year as they didn't play to expectations this year, and they also return EVERYBODY. A betting man would be playing them in vegas as a 100 dollar bet there, could return some major money. Also, there is no way Idaho State goes 3 years in a row without winning a conf game right? That would be a bet I would be staying away from, as they should be able to squeak one out somewhere right???

Radii

11-30-2015, 05:59 PM

On a brighter note for us Freshman SG- Edmund Nelson wins the PCC freshman of the year (as he should have) but gets left off the National freshman list. That's ok though because Oregon's Joshua Azure made the national team :banghead:

Idaho's Charles Witten ended up at 17.1 ppg/3.3 rpg/2.1 apg, i was expecting he'd end up getting it. Nelson was close enough that I can't worry about that one too much though.

muns

12-01-2015, 07:44 AM

Idaho's Charles Witten ended up at 17.1 ppg/3.3 rpg/2.1 apg, i was expecting he'd end up getting it. Nelson was close enough that I can't worry about that one too much though.

The game looks too much at PPS and + - even though +- is a team stat.

muns

12-01-2015, 07:47 AM

The National Basketball Report, Vol IV, Issue 18: Kansas State Wears the Crown

The National Basketball Report: April 9, 1957
Where Kansas State finally claims their rightful throne

The Four can finally breathe a sigh of relief, it would seem.

Then, they, along with the rest of Manhattan, Kansas, can begin celebrating.

The center of the basketball world, after falling short for three ever-eternal seasons, is firmly located on Kansas State University.

The Wildcats, behind their professional backcourt of David Gunter and Billy Jacob and their do-everything forward, disrupted and ultimately destroyed the Washington Huskies in the 1956-57 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship on Monday night. The final, 80-59, does not completely encapsulate how complete this victory truly was.

The Wildcats (33-1) outscored the Huskies, 48-31, in the second half, behind Man of the Game, Erich Walton’s 20 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks, and two steals. He shot 8-11 from the field. With fellow future pros David Gunter (22 points, eight rebounds) and Billy Jacob (16 points, five assists, two steals) leading the way, the Wildcats threw off the Huskies plan to press and trap as much as possible, and try to force the game into the hands of their reserves.

Washington (29-7) was aided by two early injuries to star forward Tommy Fritts, and redshirt senior center Gregory Cole. However, their replacements, Joe Delrio (six points, 2-3 shooting) and Alec Larkin (8 points, 2-3 shooting, 4-6 FT) more than held their own.

They also deferred to the Wildcats’ remaining Big Three.

KSU built a four-point lead, 32-24 at the half, though many could see they were beginning to demolish Washington’s press attempts, and ready to break out.

“We could see over and through it,” said Gunter after the game. “We knew where we needed to be, and when to make the cut. We were prepared for this by our coaches, and we executed their plans quite well, I think.”

After leading 32-22, the Wildcats let Washington score eight in a row, including the first basket of the second half. Larkin scored to get things started…and then, things got hairy.

Danny Fenton, who started the half with three fouls, picked up what could have easily been argued as a cheap fourth foul. Evidently, he said something the referee did not like. The ref, who could have stayed on the side of caution, knowing how big of a game this was and how important a player Fenton was to Washington, could have let it go.

He did not, issuing Fenton a technical foul.

That was his fifth. He was gone, just two minutes and ten seconds into the second half.

The Huskies were stunned. Gone was their senior leader, the one who had guided them through 132 games. In his final half, he had been ousted by what could be considered, by some, to be an overly sensitive referee.

“In the regular season, by all means, chuck him,” said Washington coach Kirk Degrasse, who was still disappointed with Fenton’s ouster afterwards. “But, this is the last game of the guy’s college career. Why on earth would you do that? Our referees should be respected, but so should our players. Dan should have had a longer leash than what he was given.”

Gunter hit one of the two technical freebies. Washington, perhaps out of frustration, began to play more aggressive trapping defense, which led to easy looks inside and fouls on Washington. Walton scored when Larkin passed through the trap to him wide open underneath. After two consecutive blocks, Walton scored again. A Walton free throw made it 40-30; on the next possession, Delrio drew a charge on national semifinal hero, Gisbert Bittes.

Gunter scored on the next play, making it 42-30 with 14:58 to go.

“Everything we tried, they had a counter,” said Degrasse after. “We had a game plan that should have surprised them, or at least made them work more…especially before the injuries. But they basically did whatever they wanted. It was impressive, though.”

Marquis Gray scored to finally break the Washington silence. But Kansas State kept piling it on. Jacob scored, followed by Gunter. Bittes got a layup, but Delrio scored two possessions later. When Gunter scored a minute later, with 11:53 to go, it was 50-36.

The rout was on.

“To have come as close as we have, and come up so short three times,” said Gunter afterwards, “it feels wonderful to go out this way. Anything less than this would have been disappointment. I’m sure, for their guys, it is too. They have a great team, and have nothing to hang their heads about.

“This is our time, though.”

Cole and Fritts were both hurt early in the first half. Fritts pulled up going for a pass, clutching his back. It was called a pinched nerve, and he was unable to return. Shortly after, Cole broke his finger.

“We have such a diverse team, we knew it would hurt not having them, but we were able to continue,” said Jacob after. “We’re used to playing with all of our guys, not just a few. The injuries were sad. You never want to lose a teammate. But, in terms of the actual game, it didn’t affect us that much.”

Malocco was the only player in double figures for Washington, and his ten points came on 4-17 shooting.

“It didn’t fall through the hoop,” said Malocco after the game about his shooting woes.

Calhoun finished with eight points, 16 rebounds, and two blocks.

Fenton finished with four points on 2-4 shooting in his seven minutes of action. Gray, who got the bulk of the action in his place, scored five points on 2-7 shooting, and registered four assists against three turnovers.

“If you told me, four and a half years ago, that these were the four seasons we’d have, I’d have never believed you,” said Kansas State coach Domingo Jones. “This was special. A group of kids will never be together again in college basketball.

“Tonight, we were all witness to history.”