The 49ers loaded up their nonconference slate with the likes of Kansas, North Carolina, San Diego State, Louisville and Xavier. The team struggled through many of those games, ending up with a 7-6 record heading into Big West play.

But don’t be fooled. The 49ers were more than competitive against the big boys, with single-digit losses on the road at San Diego State, Kansas and North Carolina. Plus, the 49ers beat Pittsburgh, Xavier and Auburn. None of those are particularly outstanding — the Xavier win came during the Musketeers’ tailspin following the brawl against Cincinnati. But in short, Dan Monson’s team learned how to win and how to believe in itself.

This team has taken that lesson and applied it well through the first seven games of Big West play. Long Beach State sits atop the conference standings with a 7-0 record, and only Cal Poly stayed within 10 points of the 49ers.

If Long Beach State can continue to plow through the Big West and claim an automatic to the NCAA Tournament, the 49ers should be a popular first-round upset pick. Their lack of hefty wins will prevent the team from earning a seed much higher than a No. 12 or 13 spot. But that just makes this team a sound pick to upset any No. 4 or 5 seed from a major conference on a neutral court.

The benefits of such a tough schedule might not show up in the win-loss columns immediately. But if Long Beach State goes 1-1 or 2-0 during the first weekend of March, that tournament success will be partially due to the team’s preparation early in the season.

We take you coast to coast with news from around the college basketball nation.

Murray State will get back leading rebounder Ivan Aska, who grabs 6.0 rpg and scores 12.6 ppg, for the team’s game against Eastern Illinois Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

Michigan could have big Jon Horford back for the Wolverines’ game against Purdue Tuesday, coach John Beilein told Wolverine Nation’s Chantel Jennings for ESPN.com. Horford has been out with a stress fracture since early December.

Arguably the most intense and spite-filled rivalry in the ACC, Maryland and Duke will clash for the first time this season Wednesday night in College Park. And the Terrapins will likely have freshman 7-footer Alex Len, even though he twisted his ankle during the Terps’ loss at Temple last weekend, according to the Washington Post’s Liz Clarke.

Of course, that’s no disrespect to the North Carolina vs. Duke rivalry. And this year, coach Roy Williams won’t have his best defender, Dexter Strickland, who tore his ACL in the team’s win against Virginia Tech Thursday, according ESPN.com’s Robbi Pickeral.

Arkansas coach Mike Anderson is considering adding a hometown hero to the Razorbacks squad, according to the Associated Press. Former Oklahoma State guard Fred Gulley has enrolled at Arkansas and plans to play for Anderson as a walk-on or scholarship player. He was a star high school basketball player in Arkansas before leaving the state to play for the Cowboys.

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan railed against the rule that allows graduated players to transfer and play immediately during a news conference Monday, writes Benjamin Worgull for Badger Nation.com.

Already, about half of Division I conferences have played at least one conference game. The Summit League’s South Dakota State sits at 3-0, giving the Jackrabbits the most conference wins of any team in the country. There’s a random fact for you.

In many ways, it feels like the season starts anew when conference play begins in earnest when the calendar turns to a new year. Yes, there are plenty of fantastic nonconference games throughout the season, and some of the best rivalries involve teams from different conferences, such as this weekend’s bout featuring Louisville and Kentucky. However, no matter how intense those rivalries might be, the stakes just aren’t as high when the winner doesn’t gain ground in the win-loss column of its conference standings.

I like to view the nonconference schedule as a time for growth. Teams get two months to adjust to new arrivals — on the roster or coaching staff — while playing only a few games conference games. That gives the coaching staff a chance to settle on an effective rotation and integrate any late additions because of transfer rules or early season suspensions.

In addition to growth as a team, the nonconference slate gives teams a chance to build their résumé for the NCAA Tournament. For the vast majority of D-1 programs, the only route to an NCAA Tournament is the automatic bid awarded with a conference tournament championship. However, for a bunch of teams, November and December help set expectations for conference play. Just look at Indiana, which entered the season unranked. The Hoosiers beat up some overwhelmed competition, which wouldn’t do Indiana any good in the eyes of the selection committee members come March. Then the Hoosiers went out and beat Kentucky. That’s a massive win that will help solidify Indiana’s NCAA Tournament status, even if the Hoosiers scuffle a bit in Big Ten play, finishing with only a .500 Big Ten record.

On the other hand, teams like Vanderbilt enter conference play knowing they have some work to do. The Commodores started the season as a top 10 team, but they have dropped games to Cleveland State, Xavier, Louisville and Indiana State. A couple of those losses are surprising while a couple are missed opportunities. Right now, the Commodores’ best wins are against Oregon, Oregon State and North Carolina State. None of those teams is a lock for the NCAA Tournament. So Vanderbilt must make hay in the SEC, especially against Florida, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi State. The Commodores get those teams six times, and Vanderbilt probably needs to win at least three — preferably one on the road — to feel secure about an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

And that just spices up already-compelling conference slugfests.

We go coast to coast with news from around the college basketball nation.

We’ll have at least two undefeated teams heading into 2012, as Baylor and Syracuse don’t play again in 2011 after winning last night. And that’s more than previously unbeaten Indiana and Louisville can say after dropping their first game of the season last night. Missouri plays Old Dominion Friday, and fellow unbeaten Murray State will also be in action Friday, against Eastern Illinois.

Connecticut might not be undefeated, but the Huskies are 1-0 without Jim Calhoun on the sidelines this season, CBS Sports.com reports. The Huskies beat South Florida last night, the first game of Calhoun’s three-game suspension, which is his punishment from a recruiting scandal in which he was cited for creating an atmosphere of compliance in Storrs.

Rhode Island is 1-11 this season, and that’s with senior guard Jamal Wilson in the lineup for 11 of those games. Life won’t be any easier for coach Jim Baron after he suspended the team’s leading scorer for breaking team rules, according to an Associated Press report. Wilson is averaging 17.5 ppg for the struggling Rams.

One of the complaints about conference expansion/realignment/destruction is the loss of rivalries that get the fans going. The Big Ten and Pac-12 are looking to avoid those situations via a strategic partnership that will allow the conferences to schedule multiple games between its members to encourage compelling match ups, which could include rivalry games, according to an ESPN.com report.

Maryland had to wait 10 games to get Ukrainian big man Alex Len on the court, writes Eamonn Brennan for ESPN.com’s “College Basketball Nation” blog. However, he could become a critical player quickly, as evidenced by his 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in his first game Wednesday against Albany.

In case you missed the big news of yesterday, Louisville coach Rick Pitino announced that he intends to call it a career when his contract expires in 2017, according to the Associated Press. At 59, Pitino is already looking ahead to the end of his coaching run, which includes trips to the Final Four with three different teams (Providence, Kentucky and Louisville).

No one really keeps track of which conferences go the longest without a loss, but hoops pundits love to banter about which conference is tops in the game. The ACC hasn’t been part of that conversation for a few years now, despite claiming two of the past three champions and a contender or two for this year’s title.

As of this week, the ACC has North Carolina, Duke and Florida State in the top 25. No other team even received a vote from the pollsters. As Rodney Dangerfield often lamented, this conference doesn’t get any respect these days, with everyone focusing on Tobacco Road and ignoring most of the rest of the conference. That would be a mistake this season.

Already, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Virginia have flashed plenty of promise. They’ll need to bring down some of the big boys from conferences like the Big East, Big 12 and Big Ten before they rise into the public spotlight. That’s probably going to start happening in the next couple of weeks as the early season tournaments gain steam and more power conference squads go head to head.

When it’s all said and done this season, don’t be surprised if at least five different ACC teams spend some quality time in the top 25, and the conference once again joins the discussion as tops in the land.

We go coast to coast with other news from the college basketball nation.

• New Providence coach Ed Cooley and the Friars returned to his former employers at Fairfield Monday, and Providence escaped with a hard-fought 80-72 win, according to a CBS Sports.com report. The Friars’ head honcho had plenty of reason to feel emotionally torn after enjoying success in the MAAC in his first coaching gig and building strong relationships with players such as Rakim Sanders, writes Matt Norlander.
• UCLA suspended Reeves Nelson for bad behavior after the junior forward blew off a practice Monday and looked selfishly frustrated in the Bruins’ opening loss to Loyola Marymount, writes Peter Yoon for ESPN Los Angeles. The Bruins dropped their second consecutive game Tuesday when Middle Tennessee State handled the Nelson-less squad.
• After an 0-2 start, UCLA fans must be yearning for the golden age led by the legendary John Wooden. Those days are long gone, but Wooden — or at least a statue bearing his resemblance — will greet every player and fan entering the renovated Pauley Pavilion, Peter Yoon writes on ESPN.com.
• St. Bonaventure will play the rest of the season without forward Marquise Simmons, who tore his Achilles tendon against Cornell, according to a CBS Sports.com wire report. The junior provided solid depth for St. Bonaventure, averaging about four points and rebounds per game last season.
• If “best” refers to most talented, CBS Sports.com’s Jeff Goodman explains why Kentucky, not North Carolina, is the best team in the country this season.
• No sleep till Brooklyn! The Beastie Boys can lend that motto to Kentucky and Maryland next year when the Wildcats and Terrapins meet in the first-ever Barclays Center Classic, to be held at the new arena under construction in Brooklyn, N.Y., according to the Associated Press.

Projected starting five:

So. G Terrell Stoglin
So. G Pe’Shon Howard
Sr. G Sean Mosley
Jr. F James Padgett
Sr. F Berend Weijs

Important departures:

Coach Gary Williams: 668-380 overall record, 461-252 record with Terrapins, 192-156 ACC record in 22 seasons at Maryland.
Jordan Williams: 16.9 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 0.6 apg
Cliff Tucker: 9.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.2 apg
Dino Gregory: 9.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.8 apg
Adrian Bowie: 8.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.5 apg

Percent returning scoring and rebounding:

Scoring: 38.8 percent
Rebounding: 33.3 percent

Additions:

Nick Faust, No. 48 Rivals.com and ESPNU four-star shooting guard from Baltimore

Schedule highlights:

Best non-conference game: vs. Notre Dame
Toughest conference stretch: Jan. 25-Feb. 4 (vs. Duke, vs. Virginia Tech, at Miami, vs. North Carolina)

Outlook:

Life after Gary Williams begins now for Maryland. The legendary Terrapins’ coach called it a career after last season, and it seems like good timing. With Jordan Williams bolting for the NBA and several starts graduating, Maryland is losing about two-thirds of its scoring and rebounding. That puts new coach Mark Turgeon in the tough spot of giving anxious fans some hope for the future while building toward that future.

Mark this prediction: Turgeon will win in Maryland. The former Texas A&M coach has assembled a great coaching staff that has roots in the fertile Washington, D.C, recruiting grounds. Although Williams brought a national championship to College Park, his inability to keep top talent close to home rankled the fan base. Turgeon might have a rough year this season. But Terrell Stoglin is a budding star, and Pe’Shon Howard will provide a nice change of pace for Stoglin. Within a couple of years, Maryland should be back near the top of the standings. It just won’t be this season.

Prediction: 10th

Next: Miami Hurricanes

Back to ACC preview

Go coast to coast with a roundup of news from across the nation.

Here’s a quick recap of all the major NBA decisions from the past week. The NCAA’s deadline for early entrants to remain eligible required players to decide by May 8 if they wanted to remain in the NBA Draft or return to school.

Remaining in the draft:

• Boston College’s Reggie Jackson
• Butler’s Shelvin Mack
• Georgia Tech’s Iman Shumpert
• Kentucky’s Brandon Knight
• Kentucky’s DeAndre Liggins
• Louisville’s Terrence Jennings
• Maryland’s Jordan Williams
• Michigan’s Darius Morris
• Stanford’s Jeremy Green
• Tennessee’s Tobias Harris
• Tennessee’s Scotty Hopson
• Texas’ Cory Joseph
• Texas’ Tristan Thompson

Returning to school:

• Kentucky’s Terrence Jones
• Miami’s Reggie Johnson
• Missouri’s Laurence Bowers
• Missouri’s Kim English
• Northwestern’s John Shurna
• Pittsburgh’s Ashton Gibbs
• West Virginia’s Kevin Jones
• Xavier’s Tu Holloway

1. The biggest news of the past few days is Gary Williams’ retirement at Maryland. The Terrapins’ coach unexpectedly decided to call it a career at age 66 after working at his alma mater since 1989. Maryland moved quickly to court Arizona’s Sean Miller, who passed on the the offer by signing an extension with the Wildcats, according to John Marshall of the Associated Press. That makes Notre Dame’s Mike Brey one of the top choices right now, according to the Washington Post.
2. In other Washington, D.C., area coaching news, George Washington picked Mike Lonergan to be the Colonials’ next coach, according to the Associated Press. Lonergan comes back to D.C. after working at Vermont for five seasons, compiling a 126-68 record. Lonergan coached Catholic University to a Division III title in 2001 and worked with Gary Williams as an assistant at Maryland for a few years.
3. Gonzaga needs to find a new starting point guard after Demetri Goodson announced that he’s leaving the team to play football, according to the Associated Press. Goodson averaged 5.2 points and 2.6 assists per game for the Bulldogs this past season.
4. Michigan State Tom Izzo returned the favor for Spartan fans last week. To help boost student morale during final exams week, Izzo joined other Spartan coaches in serving food at the university’s dining hall, according to Diamond Leung of ESPN.com’s ìCollege Basketball Nation.î That’s a nice way to thank the Izzone fans who help give Michigan State one of the toughest home court advantages in the nation.
5. Speaking of Izzo, the Spartans’ coach might be getting some much-needed backcourt help in Valparaiso transfer Brandon Wood, according to the Associated Press.. The Horizon League’s No. 3 scorer is transferring to Michigan State after completing his undergraduate degree. Because of NCAA rules for graduate transfers, Wood might be eligible to play immediately for a team losing Kalin Lucas to graduation.
6. Jeff Capel has returned to a familiar sideline. The former Oklahoma coach, who was fired after this past season, accepted an offer to become an assistant coach on coach Mike Krzyzewski’s staff at Duke, according to the Associated Press. Capel played four years in Durham and put up more than 1,600 points.
7. The Pac-10 can’t complain about an East Coast bias for much longer. The conference soon to be known as the Pac-12 signed an agreement with ESPN and Fox Sports worth $250 million per season, tops in men’s basketball, according to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press.
8. Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt has recruited his first big name as the Cowboys’ new coach. Larry Nance Jr., son of longtime NBA player Larry Nance, will arrive in Laramie this fall after averaging about a double double as a senior in Ohio this past season.
9. Looking ahead to 2012, Louisville might not have the services of Rodney Purvis, a top-rated shooting guard in the class of rising high school seniors who reopened his recruitment, according to Eamonn Brennan of ESPN.com’s ìCollege Basketball Nation.î Louisville had received a verbal commitment from Purvis, partially thanks to the hard work of assistant Tom Fuller, who left Pitino’s staff recently to work for Frank Haith at Missouri.
10. Former Cyclone John Lamb, a walk-on who left Iowa State mid-season, was arrested last week and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell and a violation of Drug Tax Stamp Act, according to the Associated Press.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

This section is aptly titled for a Washington, D.C., area writer looking to write a column honoring the importance of recently retired Maryland coach Gary Williams.

In his 22 years at Maryland, Williams helped craft the Terrapins into a perennial ACC contender. His continued success eased the path to the construction of the Comcast Center, which is one of the largest arenas in the conference and has one of the best home court advantages. The 20,000-plus fans who fill the Comcast Center haven’t always approved of the quality of the home team, but they consistently fill the arena with rowdy fans, giving Maryland one of the best home court advantages in the country.

After the turmoil of the late 1980s, it’s amazing that Williams was able to get this program back to the top of the ACC so quickly. Trouble started in 1986 with the death of Terrapin hero Len Bias, who seemed destined to become a national hero as a possible heir apparent to Larry Bird in Boston. However, his cocaine-induced death and the subsequent brouhaha in College Park derailed the program, leading to the ouster of coach Lefty Driesell.

Without Driesell, the team fell into mediocrity — and NCAA violations — during the tenure of Bob Wade. With the program on probation and lackluster performance on the court, Williams returned to his alma mater with a tough task at hand.

It took Williams five seasons, but once he got the Terrapins into the NCAA Tournament, they remained fixtures of March Madness until 2005. That includes a Final Four run in 2001 that ended mercilessly with the team’s fourth loss of the season to eventual national champion Duke. But Williams and Maryland vanquished those demons the next season when the Terrapins won the 2002 title.

The championship title was a turning point for Williams’ tenure at Maryland. Until then, the critics liked to talk about Williams as one of the greatest coaches to have never won a title — a fraternity no coach enjoys being part of. With that monkey off his back, Williams then had to deal with detractors who bemoaned that Williams failed to use the program’s success to attract the top recruits to College Park.

Recruiting is a touchy subject for Maryland fans. On the plus side, no one has even sniffed an NCAA violation during Williams’ years. But on the other hand, Williams drew the ire of many fans because he couldn’t keep a lot of the talented kids in Prince George’s County, Md., and Baltimore in-state. Highly touted recruits like Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Ty Lawson, Rudy Gay, Nolan Smith and seemingly half of Georgetown’s starting lineup each season are all locals. That would be acceptable if Williams had a slew of talented recruits on a conveyor belt to College Park from across the country.

But after three NIT appearances in four seasons, the natives became restless. Williams had the misfortune of dealing with a few disastrous recruits, including the much-maligned post-championship class of Chris McCray, John Gilchrist, Travis Garrison and Nik Caner-Medley. That core failed to meet lofty expectations, and the fans nearly revolted at the perceived inability of Williams to coach a great class. But the players just didn’t work out. It happens.

Williams got Maryland back on track with Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes. He helped Vasquez mature from a sloppy point guard and nearly out of control hothead to a dominant ACC player who was a threat to post a triple double nearly any night. The Terrapins returned to the NCAA Tournament three out of four seasons but never advanced further than the second round.

Heading into this off-seaosn, Maryland was at a cross-roads as another disappointing recruiting class — Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker and Dino Gregory — finished their collegiate careers. Jordan Williams, one of the top recruits in recent years to come to Maryland, figured to be the linchpin of next season’s team, but he is heading to the NBA instead.

At age 66, Williams was staring at a complete rebuilding project in an era that makes it increasingly difficult to run a clean and successful program. Williams refused to sacrifice one for the other. That makes now a great time for Williams to step down. To rebuild the Terrapins, Williams would need at least a couple of years to get the right guys around solid building blocks like Pe’Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin. Williams might be pushing 70 before the Terrapins have another legitimate shot at a deep run.

When I’m pushing 70, I hope have the energy to work more than 60 hours a week recruiting, strategizing and representing a major college program. After such a remarkable, program-defining coaching career, Williams has earned this respite.

BASELINE TO BASELINE

Go coast to coast with a round up of the nation’s top stories.

If it’s April, three of the top stories in basketball relate to which coaches are changing jobs, which players are going pro, and which players are transferring. Fox Sports’ Jeff Goodman has a list for the latter category. In case you’ve missed some of the player movement of the past few weeks, Goodman lists all the players who have announced that they will play elsewhere.

At ESPN.com, you can track all the coaching movement in Division I in a chart that lists schools, former coach and new coach. As of today, 13 teams are still in the hunt for a new coach.

And if you want to find out whether your team’s best underclassmen will be playing in the NBA or NCAA next season, check out CBS Sports.com’s set of charts.

The most recent team to fill its open coaching position is UNLV, according to the Associated Press. BYU associate coach Dave Rice is moving on from the Mormons’ home base of Utah to Sin City. Rice’s now former boss, BYU coach Dave Rose, said Rice is an excellent teacher and has a history of success, which he’ll be taking to the desert and a Rebels team that has emerged as a perennial Mountain West contender.

St. John’s coach Steve Lavin will begin treatment for prostate cancer after announcing that he was diagnosed with the disease in fall 2010, according to SI.com’s “Fan Nation” blog.

BYU is extending coach Dave Rose’s contract, a rare reward for excellence at the university, according to Fan Nation. Just don’t ask about the financial details.

We already have some drama heading into next season’s North Carolina State vs. Maryland rivalry in the ACC. Granted, in recent years, there’s not much of a rivalry to speak of between those teams. However, Wolfpack Athletic Director Debbie Yow, former boss of Maryland coach Gary Williams, accused Williams of trying to sabotage her search for a new coach. She eventually hired former Alabama coach Mark Gottfried to replace Sidney Lowe, drawing the ire of State fans who wanted Shaka Smart or another hot name. There’s plenty of bad blood between Yow and Williams, according to the “Lost Lettermen” blog.

UCLA finally knows where the Bruins will be playing home games next season while Pauley Pavilion gets a facelift. Eamonn Brennan, of ESPN.com’s “College Basketball Nation” blog, reports that the Los Angeles Sports Arena will host 14 Bruins home games, with the team playing four others at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Fresh off his third national championship, Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun said he will take some to decide whether he wants to retire, according to a CBS Sports.com wire report. But don’t think that means he’s taking any time off from the recruiting trail.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

I watched every second of Connecticut’s championship game victory against Butler. And that might officially make me a basketball geek — as if there were any doubt about that.

I’ll be the first to admit that the Huskies’ 53-41 win wasn’t the prettiest game I’ve ever watched. But there’s been far too much talk about how terrible the game was, and some commentators have even hinted that the NCAA Tournament has a flawed format in which the best team doesn’t win the title.

To that, I say: horse manure.

The NCAA Tournament has one of the most difficult post-season formats of any sport at any level because a champion must win six — at least — games in a row against opponents that play a variety of styles. A championship run is a testament of a coach’s ability to strategize a game plan and adjust it during the heat of the action. It’s a testament of great players performing at a consistently high level for three weeks.

Even the most talented teams in the country will likely face at least one opponent that plays a style that makes the favorite somewhat uncomfortable. For underdogs, the ability to get a team outside its comfort zone, force mistakes and capitalize on opportunities forms the recipe for an upset. VCU took that recipe and repeated it from the First Four to the Final Four.

The Rams got past USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas with a pressure defense that preyed on inconsistent backcourt play. On offense, VCU rode hot three-point shooting to cover up for a size disadvantage in the post. If the Rams met the Jayhawks in an NBA-style seven-game series, there’s no way I could see VCU winning the series. I’d pick VCU to win one, maybe two games in seven against Kansas. But the more talented team — as NBA analysts Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley frequently pointed out during their stint as NCAA Tournament analysts — would likely advance, barring injuries or a major internal meltdown.

And that’s what makes the NCAA Tournament wonderful. To be champion, you must come to play every game for three weeks. Anything short of your best effort could send you home. And even your effort might not be enough if you’re running the wrong game plan.

So don’t tell me Butler’s 18 percent shooting in the championship ruined the tournament or somehow devalues Connecticut’s achievement. In the game I watched, I saw an outstanding defensive effort in which the Huskies limited the Bulldogs to a tiny number of clean looks at the hoop. However, Butler also failed to make in-game adjustments. The team took 51.6 percent of its shots from three-point range, making only 9-of-33 attempts. After Chase Stigall hit a three to open the second half and give Butler a six-point lead, the team didn’t make another shot from the field for seven minutes and only one shot in 13 minutes. During that stretch, the Bulldogs missed 11 three-pointers.

Brad Stevens realized his teams was overmatched in the post, but the Bulldogs just weren’t getting it done from the perimeter. The team’s stubborn insistence on jacking up bombs — and bricks — led to the dismal shooting percentage and put Connecticut on track to the championship.

More simply put, the Huskies executed their game plan more efficiently and effectively than Butler could, and the Bulldogs couldn’t adjust to do anything about that. In a championship game performance, that’s all you can ask from the winning team, regardless of the score.

“We’ve been involved in a lot of these this year where we’ve been close, and we haven’t been able to get over the top,” said the Terrapin mentor after the game.

After Boston College started fast, it was all Maryland for a few minutes early on. The Terrapins scored nine unanswered points, making the Eagles pay for several mistakes at their end of the floor, and took the lead. In the second half, they built a five-point lead and had smaller leads later. But once Boston College scored 10 unanswered points as part of a 16-2 run, they never lost the lead and the Terrapins couldn’t quite play catch-up.

Reggie Jackson was the biggest reason the Terrapins couldn’t pull it out, scoring a career-high 31 points on 12-16 shooting, including 5-7 from long range. He scored eight points in the decisive run, aided by six more from Corey Raji, and was the prime reason the Terrapins lost the game at the defensive end. Clearly, it wasn’t on offense, although the Terrapins shot 35.5 percent from the field in the second half. Boston College shot over 48 percent from the field for the game.

“You have to be able to stop people, and we couldn’t stop Jackson,” Gary Williams said.

One factor was the play of the Terrapins’ key players. Although they had five players score in double figures, Adrian Bowie was a complete non-factor and Jordan Williams struggled to get 12 points and eight rebounds while averaging a double-double on the season. Cliff Tucker went scoreless in 15 minutes off the bench. Meanwhile, Dino Gregory had 15 points and seven rebounds, while freshmen guards Pe’Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin each had 14 with good shooting. The latter is a promising development, as Howard and Stoglin are starting to grow up and Saturday provided further evidence. But with Bowie and Williams not having their best games, it was up to players like Gregory and the freshmen to beat Boston College.

Also sticking out is that this was a close game, although the Terrapins were never within one possession in the final nine minutes of the game. Maryland is now 2-4 in games decided by four points or less, and 2-6 in games decided by eight points or less. The four losses have all been in games which, if won, would surely have boosted their NCAA Tournament profile. They lost by four to Illinois in New York, twice by four to Boston College, and by three to Temple at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

In light of that, it’s not surprising that Gary Williams didn’t feel like Saturday’s game was as much a missed opportunity as it might seem at first glance.

“The missed opportunity was on December 12,” said the Maryland coach, referring to the first meeting with the Eagles. In that game, the Terrapins led with about a minute and a half to go, but the Eagles scored the last six points to pick up a big road win.

Is there a cumulative effect of the close losses, aside from the fact that they go down as losses on the NCAA Tournament resume? Although it is possible, it’s not like the Terrapins have been in these games non-stop. But when they have been in them, the result hasn’t always been what they hope.

“It feels like almost every game we’ve lost is a close game, and we still haven’t found out what it is to get over the hump and be able to win those tough games,” said Jordan Williams.

The Terrapins and Eagles are in a logjam in the middle of the ACC standings. The Eagles are now a half game up, but with two wins over the Terrapins they are in a better place should it come down to those two teams. Maryland’s best win could be either at Penn State or at home against Clemson, but neither team is an NCAA Tournament lock although Clemson had won four of five before losing at home to North Carolina on Saturday.

With the ACC being down this season, remaining opportunities for quality wins are hardly plentiful, although the Terrapins next play at Virginia Tech on Tuesday and still have to go to North Carolina late this month. But time is running out, and they need to pull out more of the close games to be in a better position.

“We’ve got to get tougher, that’s the main thing,” said Jordan Williams. “Toughness is the key, and the day we become tougher is the day we become better.”

The Terrapins naturally remain a confident team, aided by their good road record. They are 4-3 overall on the road and 3-2 in ACC play, so they’ve shown they can win on the road. Chances are, road losses won’t be a big reason it’s a close call for the NCAA Tournament, but games like Saturday’s will. The Terrapins will look back on a few missed opportunities along the way.

The final day results :

Consolation: Illinois 80, Maryland 76
Championship: Pittsburgh 68, Texas 66

1. Pitt can beat you many different ways. Their guard play is solid. The big men might not engage in a classic “old school” post-up style but they are active. Overall, one player can emerge and step up on a given night. In the semifinal win over Maryland, it was freshman forward Talib Zanna who energized Pitt with a 14-point, 12-rebound effort. On Friday against Texas, foul trouble relegated Zanna to a 2-point, 6-board effort in 15 minutes. More than taking up the slack was Ashton Gibbs with 24 points, 19 after intermission. Yes, on that “given night” virtually anyone Jamie Dixon’s rotation can be the difference maker. To a player, the Panthers are just fine with that.

2. Illinois cares extremely well for the ball. In the overtime loss to Texas in the semifinals, the Illini turnover rate (turnovers/possessions) was 15%. In the consolation with Maryland the rate was 17%. Both are impressive figures against defenses which are not exactly chopped liver. Bruce Weber’s club is respectable up front and strong at the guard spot.

One player who can do damage in both areas 6-3 guard Demetri McCamey. He’s strong enough to finish in the paint and had admirable range on the perimeter. Many observers have Illinois pegged for fourth behind Michigan State, Purdue and Ohio State in the Big Ten. If that’s the case, the conference is going to be a dog fight with several teams capable of doing significant damage come March. And the Illini won’t exactly be an easy out

3. Maryland left 0-2 for New York but showed their young players are making contributions while getting valuable experience. I took notice of the work of 6-10 sophomore center Jordan Williams. He scored 14 points with 8 rebounds against Pitt. In the consolation Williams did not score in the first half but had a strong second half, finishing with 15 points and 13 boards. In typical Gary Williams fashion, Maryland plays hard each night out. Williams is enthused with the group he had. There is reason to be as they should improve each time out, and surprise a few people along the way.

4. Texas was another young team with a fine showing. The Longhorns finished within a possession of knocking off No. 4 Pittsburgh but do not want to hear anything regarding “moral victories”. When one of the Texas players was asked what the team can take from this experience he simply replied, “second place.” To paraphrase the lottery slogan, Texas was “into to win it.”
Barnes cited the first ten minutes of the Pitt game as crucial, noting his young team came out too passive on defense. A 26% turnover rate, the highest of any team in the four games, and something a young team can be prone to, did not help either.

5. Pitt does not win “ugly.” After the final Jamie Dixon of Pitt was asked to comment on critics who say Pitt “wins ugly.” “They must be looking at me,” Dixon quipped. Pitt averaged 71 possessions the prior three contests before the final. In the final the pace was more half court, but credit both defenses. They stopped transition and forced teams to make several passes and use clock before settling on a shot.
Offensively the Panthers will run and attack the basket if the opportunity is there. The “win ugly” label comes from their tough half court defense, which makes the opposition work and often struggle, not from a supposed walk-it-up-the-floor offense. The “ugly” part of Pitt basketball is encountered by the opposition, having to face that defense. As Dixon added, “I’d rather ‘win ugly’ than lose pretty.”

The Final breakdown:

Possessions, Offensive Efficiency
Pitt  66  103
Texas  65  102

All-Tournament:
Ashton Gibbs (Pittsburgh) (MVP)
Trevon Woodall (Pittsburgh)
Jordan Hamilton (Texas)
Jordan Williams (Maryland)
Demetri McCamey (Illinois)

Brings Back Memories

The Coaches vs. Cancer event is always a favorite and brings to mind the wonderful event and work of the coaches association in fighting this dreaded disease. This year took an added meaning and reflection. A few days prior to the Garden games, Bill DeFazio passed away at age 63, a victim of pancreatic cancer.
DeFazio, a friend of St. Anthony’s coach Bob Hurley from youth, actually coached the girls at St. Anthony’s before moving to Marist. He retired from the sidelines two years ago, the winningest girls coach in Hudson County history with a superb 576-169 record. He coached both Marist and St. Anthony’s to state titles and won a number of other championships along the way.
DeFazio was a great tactician and motivator. And colorful on the sidelines, to say the least. Veteran writer Jim Hague remembers the night DeFazio (about 50 at the time) made a long jump clear over the bench at Dickinson High School. A book of DeFazio stories could fill quite a few pages – and probably sell at a brisk pace.
Three years ago I had the good fortune to see one of his teams play. They won a state tournament game with a fairly comfortable margin and DeFazio worked every possession along the sideline. At times he would plead, yell and still encourage his girls. Make no mistake: as much as he yelled at them for a mistake, he was devoted and would do always be there if they had a problem on or off the floor.
This past Spring the court as Marist High School was named in his honor. It shouldn’t be a surprise so many of the young women he coached and taught valuable lessons of life, were there for the celebration.
He is in several halls of fame. Beyond those wins, accolades and other awards is the work DeFazio did in touching and influencing the lives of so many young people. As good a coach as he was, that was the area Bill DeFazio truly excelled.

Possessions: 73

Not recklessly up-and-down but a quicker than normal pace that both teams seemed comfortable with.

Offensive Efficiency (points per possession times 100)

Pitt 108
Maryland 96

Pitt was very efficient and proficient on the offensive end. Defensively, they did a solid job against a team that presented several offensive weapons, as senior swingman Cliff Tucker (17 points) and 6-10 Jordan Williams (14 points 8 rebounds).

The Four Factors:

eFG PCT
Pitt 49%
Maryland 50%

FT Rate
Pitt 48%
Pitt 25%

Maryland got to the line but didn’t take advantage, going 0-7 the first half and 14 of 30 for the game.

OREB PCT
Pitt 41%
Maryland 18%

This is an area of concern for Maryland coach Gary Williams. His worries became reality as the Panthers owned the glass. Freshman forward Talib Zanna (12 boards) was especially active.

TO Rate
Pitt 22%
Maryland 12%

Jamie Dixon’s club was a bit over the limit here (20 percent or more of your possessions ending in turnovers is considered too high). Maryland cared for the ball very well, a factor that allowed them to hang around until the end despite the 49-28 rebounding disparity enjoyed by Pitt.

Final note: The Panthers showed great balance with five players, paced by Zanna with 14, scoring in double figures.

Final Note A:

Using the player efficiency model devised by Martin Manley, the performance by Zanna was outstanding. The metric adds points, FGM, FTM, rebounds, steals, blocks and assists while subtracting all missed shots and turnovers. The numbers for the 6-9 forward:

Efficiency 23
Minutes 23
Eff/MIN 1.000

That last figure, efficiency divided by minutes, of 1.000 is a performance of All-American or at least all-conference first team caliber.

Notes

• As the officials came on the floor prior to the Pitt-Maryland game it was great to see a very familiar face. Brian Dorsey, a New Jersey native, was working his first game at the “world’s most famous arena”.  Brian is a good officiating friend and I got to know and work with him since he broke in during the 90s.  Brian and I have worked CYO, AAU and have even officiated soccer together. He has ascended the ranks from high school JV to varsity to Division III and finally Division I.
• Through it all, he has remained the same, friendly, humble and a devout sports fan (especially regarding the Yankees).  Brian’s personality serves him well on the floor. He takes care of business when he has to with coaches and players. On the other hand, he is good in listening and establishing a dialogue. Something coaches admire in an official.
• For Brian there will be other trips to MSG. Still, nothing like your first time on the Garden floor. And it was a pleasure for yours truly to see him out there.

After a bumpy start to the season, conference teams enter the holiday tournament season needing to win some statement games. And the outlook isn’t great.

In the first week and a half, Wake Forest has dropped two home games, and Georgia Tech got obliterated by Kennesaw State. The Yellow Jackets gave up 80 points to the Owls, who mostly played only five guys. Georgia Tech’s eight-man rotation floundered, shooting only 35 percent while committing 19 turnovers.

In Winston-Salem, the Demon Deacons figure to have a long season ahead in coach Jeff Bzdelik’s first year at the helm. Stetson shot 46.4 percent against Wake Forest and, more revealing, out-rebounded Wake Forest 42-31. ACC teams shouldn’t get outworked in their own building to open the season, unless they’re facing a top 10 opponent. That’s just embarrassing.

But there’s plenty of time to change course. Although the conference ranks fifth in winning percentage of the six power conferences, there’s no shame in Virginia Tech losing at Kansas State or Miami losing at Memphis. Road victories for either team would have been a major upset for the conference.

The early season emergence of the ACC must start tonight, when Maryland plays Pittsburgh in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The Terrapins are one of seven ACC teams playing in tournaments during the next 10 days. However, Maryland is one of the few teams with an opportunity to pick up crucial statement victories.

Against Pittsburgh, Maryland will be decided underdogs, and a strong showing, even in a loss, would give the Terrapins plenty to crow about. If the team can beat Pitt or their next opponent — either Illinois or Texas in the championship or consolation game — the trip to Madison Square Garden would be a success. The worst-case scenario for the ACC and Maryland is a two-game sweep in which the Terrapins don’t look competitive against some of the strongest teams from the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12.

In San Juan, North Carolina is the highest rank team in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. That means the young, unproven Tar Heels are supposed to win the tournament, and anything short of a three-game sweep against a field that includes West Virginia and Minnesota would be a disappointment. We’ll quickly find out how this year’s Tar Heels handle the pressure of lofty expectations after last season’s squad fell apart.

Back on the shores of South Carolina, North Carolina State is one of the favorites in the Charleston Classic. The only way for the Wolfpack to pick up a quality win is to reach the championship game and beat Georgetown. A loss to anyone besides the Hoyas would be detrimental to North Carolina State’s résumé and the ACC’s credibility.

Georgia Tech and Boston College have the best opportunity to grab unexpected quality wins in the Legends Classic in Atlantic City and the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, respectively. Georgia Tech will face either Syracuse or Michigan in the championship or consolation game of the Legends Classic. However, the Yellow Jackets must first get past a tough UTEP team, which is perfectly capable of knocking off a shaky ACC team. The Eagles face a bunch of tough, unranked teams, with the exception of a possible match up with Temple. Boston College needs to represent the ACC well in potential games against Cal, Georgia, Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Wisconsin.

On the West Coast, Virginia Tech finds itself in the same situation that North Carolina does in Puerto Rico: tournament favorite. The Hokies’ toughest opponents in the 76 Classic are Oklahoma State, UNLV, Stanford and Murray State. Unfortunately for Virginia Tech’s résumé, the Hokies won’t garner much more clout by doing anything less than stomping those teams, which won’t be easy, especially 3,000-plus miles away from Blacksburg, Va.

And then there’s Duke. The reigning national champs are No. 1, so they’re supposed to beat anyone, anytime. Despite those ridiculous expectations, the Blue Devils would have a great opportunity to assert themselves as the unquestioned favorites to win this season’s national title if they draw Kansas State and beat the Wildcats in the CBE Classic in Kansas City, Mo. It’s practically a home game for the Wildcats, so a Duke victory would be huge for the ACC’s elite.