NEW YORK – Part of the lure and attraction of this great tournament, the NIT, is what happens behind the scenes. It’s New York and never dull.
Here is a look at this year from train to Garden floor. Granted, it’s a plug for NJ Transit, but they were on time round trip and got me safely to and from both days.
NEW YORK - It is probably safe to assume neither team expected a game of this type. On paper it seemed to be an even matchup, but that is the reason they play them and settle it on the court. In the NIT championship, Stanford routed Minnesota 75-51. The title, in this 75th NIT, was Stanford’s second. The Cardinal also won the crown in 1991. The points of emphasis:
1. Defense. Exhibit a had to be the D. Good old man-to-man with denial and a physical presence in the paint. The Cardinal limited Minnesota to a 37 percent shooting night. Of greater importance was the forcing of the opposition into 22 turnovers. Those errors on the part of Minnesota led Stanford to an excellent 28-7 advantage in points off turnovers. “We saved the best for last,” Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. “We have had runs like this before but never in a game like this on this stage.” … Continue Reading
It’s hard to believe, but Selection Sunday is officially less than a month away — 26 days to be precise.
That means it’s separation time. The best teams throughout the nation need to raise the bar to claim a regular-season conference championship and jockey for NCAA Tournament seeding.
For the vast majority of the 31 conferences that receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament, winning a regular-season conference title is about more than bragging rights. In many conference tournament formats, the regular-season winner gets a bye or home court advantage — sometimes both — at some point in the upcoming conference tourneys. Teams like the America East’s Stony Brook, Big Sky’s Weber State, and SWAC’s Mississippi Valley State won’t be getting at-large bids to the Big Dance if they don’t capture a conference championship in the tournaments. So they’ll take any advantage they can get. … Continue Reading
Coach Tubby Smith (90-61) enters his fourth season at Minnesota.
Sr. F Trevor Mbakwe
Fr. F Andre Ingram
Jr. G Julian Welch
So. G Austin Hollins
Sr. F Ralph Sampson III
Blake Hoffarber: 13.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, 38.9 percent from 3-point range
Al Nolen: 8.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.7 apg
Colton Iverson: 5.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Fr. SG Joe Coleman (Rivals.com three-star player)
Fr. SG Andre Hollins (Rivals.com three-star player)
Minnesota looks solid with their two returning starters in Mbakwe and Sampson, both of whom entertained notions of leaving for the NBA. The Gophers surprised people last year with a late run in the Big Ten tournament, but unfortunately that fluke will not play out again. A lot of Minnesota’s players are good, but few are great and teams will exploit their weakened bench.
A very weak nonconference schedule will help inflate the Gophers’ final record, but after being cannibalized in their conference, Minnesota will sink to somewhere at or below .500 overall.
FULL COURT SPRINTS |
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BASELINE TO BASELINE |
LAST SHOT |
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Go coast to coast with our roundup of the nation’s top stories.
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Although the regular season doesn’t really get under way until today, the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic kicked off action this past week. Pittsburgh, Maryland, Illinois and Texas won their two games this week, though Maryland barely squeaked past College of Charleston at home. The Cougars led nearly the entire game, until Cliff Tucker hit a jumper with 4 seconds to go, giving the Terrapins a 75-74 win and denying Charleston a second win against ACC teams in two years. Bobby Cremins’ squad took down North Carolina last season, which was an omen of impending doom for the Tar Heels.
The other three 2K participants mostly breezed past their opponents, winning by an average of 28 points, though Rhode Island gave Pitt a scare in the opener Nov. 8. Meanwhile in Manhattan (Kansas), the Wildcats are hype for this season as a favorite to contend for the national championship. |
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STUDY SESSION |
OPENING TIP |
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| This week, Hoopville introduced its Total Impact Quotient for players from the six power conferences. This metric tallies the total impact a player has on the game per 40 minutes. Check out the ratings from the 2009-10 season for your favorite team and players.
In addition to breaking into the player ratings business, Hoopville gets back into its regular-season mode with a preview of Rhode Island by Phil Kasiecki, who got an inside look at the Rams’ upcoming season from coach Jim Baron. |
Welcome to the official start of the regular season! We’ve got 134 games with Division I teams on the slate for Nov. 12, including 16 of the top 25 teams in action. Here are the games you’ll want to pay attention to.
Georgetown at Old Dominion: Monarchs took out the Hoyas in DC last season. Seton Hall at Temple: Owls won a thriller, 71-65, in Jersey last season. East Tennessee State at Kentucky: Rematch of the first-round NCAA Tournament game in which the Wildcats embarrassed the Bucs. East Tennessee State returns almost every major contributor. Kentucky doesn’t and occasionally starts the season slow. If you’re looking for a top 10 upset on Day One, this is your pick. Other potentially surprising results could come from these match ups:
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HOME COURT ADVANTAGE |
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| If you’re deep into college basketball, you probably need a prescription for Ritalin.
We’re hours away from tipping off the first games for a couple hundred Division I teams, and we’re already a day into the early signing period for 2011-12. Fans are getting amped up for this season — and the next one. It’s enough to give you a case of attention deficit disorder. Duke is the No. 1 team in the country and begins its defense of the national title, which the Blue Devils won just seven months ago. But Duke fans are almost equally giddy about the upcoming arrival of No. 1 recruit Austin Rivers in another 10 months. In Lexington, Kentucky coach John Calipari has the top-rated recruiting class entering this season — though that ranking probably drops with Enes Kantes ineligible. Calipari also likely has the top-rated recruiting class for next season with three top 10 players heading to Kentucky. Let’s just go ahead and assume Calipari will deliver the top class to whatever school he’s coaching and start the rankings after that class. The recruiting rankings are undoubtedly a big deal. Athletic directors and university boosters love to hear that their highly paid coach delivers highly regarded kids to campus. But let’s not forget to celebrate the moment, too. There’s plenty to love about college basketball, from celebrating recent successes and basking in preseason hype to anticipating future success and lamenting the impending loss of top-tier talent to the NBA. But we should make sure that we don’t diminish the value of the thrilling action on the court. |
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Minnesota freshman Royce White announced that he will withdraw from the university.
A highly regarded recruit, White has not played a minute for the Golden Gophers after a run-in with the law in the fall. He was under investigation for theft of a laptop from a campus dorm room. After that incident, he announced in a YouTube video that he quit the team — without informing anyone in the athletics department first. Upon further consideration, he decided to remain with the team, albeit suspended.
White recently returned to practice before making his announcement to withdraw.
Minnesota sophomore center Ralph Sampson III – yes, the son of that Ralph Sampson – missed his second straight game when he sat out in the Golden Gophers’ 79-60 loss at Purdue, according to the Associated Press.
Sampson, who averages 7.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, is recovering from an ankle injury that forced him to miss Minnesota’s win against Iowa last weekend. Sophomore Colton Iverson started both games in Sampson’s place, amassing only two points but 14 rebounds.
Without Sampson, coach Tubby Smith has played a smaller lineup and hastened the pace. Against Iowa, Minnesota forced 25 turnovers en route to an 86-74 win, an uncharacteristically high scoring affair for two Big Ten teams. One of the best teams in the nation, Purdue was better prepared for the Golden Gophers’ game plan, committing 17 turnovers while stifling Minnesota’s half-court offense. The Golden Gophers shot only 30.8 percent from the field in the loss.
Charlotte naturally had hoped to make the NCAA Tournament, then hoped to make a run in the NIT when it came calling instead. But the 49ers have a season of progress now in the books and should be primed to continue growing next season from what they did this year.
Amidst much talk of whether or not conference tournaments are a good idea, Notre Dame got a boost in New York. They are happy with the tournament and feel more prepared for the NCAA Tournament despite a semifinal loss.
Georgetown vs. Syracuse lives on just a little longer in the context of the Big East. That, and more from Thursday’s quarterfinals, including one team being delayed coming to the press conference because of a special visitor.
The second round of the 2013 Big East Tournament is in the books and the quarterfinal matchups featuring the top four teams are set. Here are some notes from Wednesday’s games at Madison Square Garden.
The first round of the Big East Tournament saw a close overtime game and a blowout, with the former seeing a tournament record tied. We take a look back at the opening night in New York.
As the CAA gets ready to hand out awards, here is a look at how I voted. The biggest award was a tough call, while two other big awards were easy calls to make.
In 2012-13, a couple of consistent powerhouses should remain contenders, including one who lost an NBA lottery pick. In addition, teams with new head coaches are headed for rebuilding years.
