NEWARK, N.J. – Seton Hall moved to 4-1 in Big East play with a 94-73 decision over DePaul at the Prudential Center on Tuesday. The 24th ranked Pirates improved to 15-2 overall, while DePaul is now 10-6 (1-3). In a quick-paced 78 possession contest, Seton Hall enjoyed a decisive 121-94 advantage in offensive efficiency. Our points of emphasis from this Big East meeting:
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – In a contest featuring a wild finish, St. Peter’s held on to defeat Canisius 65-61 at Yanitelli Center on Thursday night. Three points of emphasis come out of the game:
NEWARK, N.J. – Preparing for ninth-ranked UConn, Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard knew the guards would be a priority. Willard decided on defending Shabazz Napier as closely as possible, being defensively disruptive and taking him out of the flow. It all worked to near perfection as the Hall posted a huge 75-63 upset at the Prudential Center.
“We figured (Jeremy) Lamb would get his points,” Willard said. “It was pick your poison so we decided to defend Napier as tough as possible.”
NEW YORK – The first order of business is to look back at last Sunday’s Maggie Dixon Classic from Madison Square Garden. Baylor defeated St. John’s 73-59 in a game that was a challenge for the top-ranked Bears. St. John’s did a great job defending 6-8 Britney Griner and point guard Odyssey Sims. Griner was held to eight shots. She did make six en route to a 17-point, 13-rebound afternoon. Sims shot 2 for 10, scoring eight points. Getting some daylight was redshirt junior forward Brooklyn Pope. She put up a team-high 19 points along with 8 rebounds. In a slow to moderate paced game (Baylor 65 possessions, St. John’s 63) the offensive efficiency:
Baylor 112
St. John’s 94
NEW YORK - The Jimmy V Classic, always providing interesting matchups, did not disappoint. The Madison Square Garden doubleheader on Tuesday featured a strong Missouri team followed by an entertaining matchup in the nightcap. The scores:
Missouri 81, Villanova 71
Marquette 79, Washington 77
1. Missouri is good. Very good. The entered the game with a 126 offensive efficiency. Against Villanova, the Tigers put up a very impressive 117. Defensively they allowed a 103 efficiency to Villanova but did force the wildcats into a 22% turnover percentage rate. Frank Haith does not employ a full court pressing defense with this Missouri team. Rather, he’s decided to use a tough man-to-man defense that disrupts offenses an creates turnovers in a half court setting. Offensively he has a solid sharpshooter in Marcus Denmon, a game-high 28 point scorer on 6 of 10 three point shooting. Kim English is a capable guard and scoring threat. At the point Phil Pressey handed out 12 assists while committing just three turnovers in 24 minutes. Inside there is one key player. Ricardo Ratliffe is solid and the 6-8 forward made his presence known against Villanova with a 17 point 11 rebound outing. “Missouri is a tough team,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “They are so quick to the ball and rebound very well. They are the type team that can play four guards and be very successful at it.”
NEW YORK – Syracuse captured the Pre-Season NIT title with a thrilling 69-63 victory over Stanford. A few notes on the consolation/championship doubleheader…
1. Tempo Free gives us a better look. Following the victory over Stanford, Jim Boeheim said his Syracuse team played 35 minutes of “horrendous offense” and five (in the stretch) of good. A tempo free look shows the Orange had 72 possessions and a 96 offensive efficiency (points per possession times 100). The 96 is a bit below average. Boeheim lamented that his offense needed work and thankfully the defense was good both days.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.—Here’s a look back at the TicketCity Legends Classic, captured by Vanderbilt in a thriller over Oregon State, with three points in particular worth noting.
This word has been used frequently as a number of teams have shown the admirable trait of coming from behind, especially in the face of second-half deficits. … Continue Reading
NEW YORK – A brief note on the four teams in the recently completed Coaches vs. Cancer classic. The scores:
Semifinals:
Mississippi State 69, Texas A&M 60
Arizona 81, St. John’s 72
Consolation: Texas A&M 58, St. John’s 57
Championship: Mississippi State 67, Arizona 57
The games, thankfully, have begun in earnest. The time is appropriate to go over a few ideas regarding the study of tempo-free analysis. The tempo-free movement, if you will, is growing. Thanks to the work of Ken Pomeroy and the group at basketballprospectus.com, there is a much greater emphasis or at least exposure to the idea of using tempo free analysis to study trends. Baseball was enlightened by the work of Bill James. Many of his disciples have worked at applying his analysis to the basketball court. Basketball analysis is still relatively in its infancy but in the last five years alone significant strides have been made.
They are in the books. Both men’s and women’s championships are settled, with UConn and Texas A & M the respective champions. The quantity of complaints regarding the “ugliness” of the men’s game was probably matched by praise of the competitiveness and higher quality of the final game product by the women. Here, we take a look at the pace and efficiency of both contests:
On Monday UConn defeated Butler 53-41.
NEW YORK – In a battle of two programs, frequent participants but never an NIT champion, Wichita State emerged victorious. The Shockers defeated Alabama 66-57 in the title game on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. A tempo-free look follows.
Possessions:
Wichita State 65
Alabama 65
Offensive efficiency:
Wichita State 102
Alabama 88
NEW YORK – “Déjà vu all over again,” to quote a wise sage. The NIT semifinal doubleheader was similar to the semis of the recently completed Newark Regional in the NCAA. Washington State versus Wichita state was a one-sided rout devoid of ties or lead changes. Following that, Alabama and Colorado saw five ties, nine lead changes and an SEC team emerge victorious in a game not settled until the final shot.
A tempo-free look follows.
NEWARK, N.J. – Kentucky is Final Four bound. The Newark Regional started off slow but gave us two outstanding contests to cap off a wild weekend. A tempo free look at the games, beginning with the final.
Kentucky 76, North Carolina 69
Possessions:
Kentucky 69
North Carolina 71
LYNDHURST, NJ – For years the video games have provided a pleasant diversion. Yes, I religiously purchase Madden every August. The basketball simulations as NBA Live and NBA 2K as well as the college games (I always seem to do great with Xavier) are also favorites. Unfortunately no one released a college video game this season but that’s another story.
For a convenient, easy to play and enjoyable game, GoHoops is highly recommended. In addition, it’s ideal for travel. … Continue Reading
LYNDHURST, NJ – Have netbook will travel. Seriously, a time to assess the Big East Championship game. UCONN made it five wins in five days and one satisfying Big East championship at Madison Square Garden. The Huskies prevailed 69-66 in a game that literally came down to the final shot.
Possessions: UCONN 65 Louisville 65
Offensive Efficiency: UCONN 106 Louisville 102 … Continue Reading
LYNDHURST, NJ – Richmond earned their first Atlantic Ten Tournament title with a 67-54 decision over Dayton. The final at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall featured an outstanding defensive effort. The numbers:
Possessions: Dayton 61 Richmond 58
Offensive Efficiency: Dayton 89 Richmond 116 … Continue Reading
NEW YORK – Should the Big east send eleven members to the Big Dance? In the estimation of UConn coach Jim Calhoun, why not ?
“First the field is 68, not 64 anymore,” Calhoun said following the Huskies’ first round win over DePaul. “Look what our teams have done (out of conference). We have beaten the Purdues and the Kentuckys out there.” In conference, the Big East schools just go at it relentlessly. Virtually every night games are one- or two-possession affairs. To Calhoun there is not a “weak sister” among them. … Continue Reading
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – This was one that hurt. Like salt on a fresh wound. Seventh-seeded Canisius dropped a quarterfinal heartbreaker to second seed Loyola on Friday in the MAAC women’s quarterfinal.
The pain was on the expression of Micayla Drysdale. The Canisius senior guard, as usual, did all she could. Drysdale canned two free throws with three seconds left to give her team a three-point lead. The joyous anticipation of a semifinal date was fleeting. Seconds later, Miriam McKenzie buried a game-tying trey for Loyola to force overtime. There were five minutes of overtime to play but the spirit was noticeably drained from Canisius. The extra session was dominated by Loyola, a 68-53 winner. … Continue Reading
LYNDHURST, N.J. — When it comes to measuring player performance, there are several methods and accompanying formulas. From the Tendex system, developed in the 1960s, to John Hollinger’s PER, the quest for an accurate player measurement has persisted through the decades.
One of the most widely used formulas is the Manley formula, named after its developer, Martin Manley. The author of “Basketball Heaven,” an NBA statistical analysis book published in the late 1980s, Manley devised a formula for player efficiency that is user-friendly and useful. … Continue Reading
After losing to Drexel on Wednesday night, where Northeastern stands is clear in the CAA. They are not contenders yet, and until they knock off a team ahead of them in the standings, that’s where they will be.
The first full weekend of Ivy League play is in the books, and one thing that wasn’t too surprising happened: the league favorites asserted themselves as just that. Harvard looked like a team on a mission, and coming away with two convincing road wins is what was desired.
Some quick hitters about Boston University’s rebounding, a transfer helping Marquette, an improving Husky guard and a couple of key road wins among others as we head into another weekend.
Quinnipiac can now head home with the hope that their last game in the current road stretch does more for them than add one into the left-hand column. The Bobcats had a few tough games recently, and had another one in which they managed to pull out a 78-71 win in overtime at Bryant on Saturday.
We have a few quick hitters on a streaking America East team, another whose star had his first rough night, two inconsistent Patriot League teams and a couple of teams who have lost a player for the season but for different reasons.
Ron Hunter knew he had a culture to change at Georgia State, and he knew he was in a different place. Now he has a different issue on his hands with his team, which stands 5-2 in CAA play after a loss at Northeastern on Wednesday night.
There’s a big surprise near the top of the ACC standings. With only Duke sporting an undefeated record, one team in the logjam at 2-1 is the very young Boston College Eagles after two straight home wins.
Just over a month ago, Boston University looked ready go on a good run. But a six-game losing streak resulted instead, and the Terriers hope to regain confidence after ending it on Sunday.
Harvard improved to 13-2 on Saturday by winning the first Ivy League game of the season. While the bottom line is all positive, the Crimson also lived dangerously for a while, more so than the 16-point final margin of victory might lead one to believe.
With conference play, a bad non-conference run with one loss after another doesn’t matter on the bottom line. One example of that is UMBC, a team that won one game in non-conference play but is tied atop America East after an 82-76 win at New Hampshire on Monday night.
JUST IN TIME FOR TONIGHT’S GAMES… All the news you ever wanted to know about the Big Sky, the weekly edition. YOUR WEEKLY DAMIAN LILLARD IS A STUD LINK-FEST: A Salt Lake Tribune story on his success. USA Today also jumped in sometime in the last week to talk about …
In a game with major implications for the regular season Horizon League championship and seeding for the Horizon League Tournament, the Cleveland State Vikings dominated the Milwaukee Panthers by a score of 83-57 in a game in which the Panthers never led. The Vikings and Panthers began the day in …
One team stands alone atop the standings for now, with another a little behind them and a logjam near the middle of the pack.
The Cleveland State Vikings started 2012 off on a winning note with a 69-48 victory at home on Saturday afternoon over the visiting Loyola Ramblers. In his pregame radio comments, Vikings coach Gary Waters stated that the Ramblers’ 5-10 record heading into Saturday’s matchup was deceiving and that the Ramblers were …
Opening weekend in the Big Sky Eastern Washington Record: 7-7, 1-1 Weekend: 1-1 Major superlatives: Won by 16, lost by 8; 76.5 ppg for, 72.5 against; plus-4 scoring margin; 52-112 FG; 20-53 3pt; 29-43 FT. Summary: One night, the lead stuck. The other, it didn’t. The Eagles made an early …
The Big Sky is about to dive in to conference play, and so far, the season has unfolded pretty much as expected, with Sacramento State looking like the one surprise.
Like the rest of the country, the Horizon League teams have been enjoying the holiday season and taking it easy on the hardwood. Here’s a roundup of the action that did go down during the past week.
Cleveland State had plenty of Christmas cheer to share in the Vikings’ easy win against Sam Houston State, though they didn’t exactly give the Bearkats a festive feeling.
Butler Bulldogs (5-7): Butler began the week with a matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers at Conseco Fieldhouse. Having struggled in the early part of the season, the Bulldogs probably weren’t given much of a chance by most observers against the Boilermakers. Summing up some of the magic that has helped …
Butler Bulldogs (4-6): Butler has continued to struggle in the early stages of the 2011-12 college basketball season. However, don’t start writing Butler’s obituary just yet. Horizon League fans shouldn’t forget that Butler began last season slowly and bottomed out with a loss to Youngstown State before turning their season …
We take a quick run through the results from the past week in the Big Sky Conference, giving a little love to each team in the conference.
Missouri and Baylor are looking great, but we love the improvement of one of Lon Kruger’s guards.
Longtime Cleveland sports fans are familiar with the “Kardiac Kids,” which was the nickname bestowed on the 1980 Cleveland Browns team that won multiple games in the waning seconds of the game. Although the 2011-12 college basketball season is still somewhat young, the Cleveland State Vikings have already given that …
The Vikings keep rolling as they take out Detroit in an early battle for positioning at the top of the Horizon League.
Yes, a few Big East teams have faltered early in the season. No, that’s not a reason to panic, as it is still November.
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