NEW YORK – Five things we learned, in between Thanksgiving, at the NIT Season Tip-Off.
1. Duke will battle you in the paint. The image of Duke for the past few years has been the motion offense featuring precision cuts, quick pin point passes and the availability of open looks. Now, some added height gives Coach Mike Krzyzewski a few big men able to battle inside. Against Arizona State, a 64-53 Blue Devil semifinal victory, Duke enjoyed a 35-28 edge on offensive rebounding percentage (OREB PCT = OREB / OREB + opponents Def. Reb). In the championship the UConn frontcourt posed a formidable problem with their rebounding and shot-blocking skills. Duke won the battle of the boards handily with a 46-31 offensive rebounding percentage advantage. Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas inflicted damage on the offensive glass with 7 and 5 offensive rebounds, respectively. That edge was the decisive margin in the 68-59 Duke win. A game where the Blue Devils shot 28 percent from the field and had only eight second half field goals.
2. LSU needs work – a lot of it. The Tigers were swept away by the UConn transition game in an 81-55 semifinal loss. In addition the Huskies blocked 13 shots. Simply, it was not a night for Tiger faithful to remember. The players and coach Trent Johnson promised LSU would come out more focused in the consolation. They kept their word, building a nine-point first half lead with five minutes left in the half. At the break they led Arizona State by seven. In the second held LSU went into a complete meltdown, getting outscored 44-18. The Tigers managed five second half field goals while Arizona state shot 15 of 22 (68 percent). Once ASU drew even and pulled away the Tigers seemed to fall into a funk. They lost movement on their zone offense and collapsed on the defensive end. Only a last-second trey kept them from a second consecutive 20-point loss as they fell 71-52.
To their credit, LSU did play a good first half in the consolation. But the game is 40 minutes. Not helping matters is the loss of Bo Spencer. The LSU point guard injured his ankle near the end of the UConn game and sat out the consolation. Spencer is day-to-day and Johnson hopes he is back before long. Spencer’s return will help but not solve everything.
3. Arizona State can do damage in the Pac-10. The Sun Devils posed problems and battled against Duke before falling. In the consolation they showed resolve in the first half and fire power in the second in the romp over LSU. Lead guard Derek Glasser can hit the three and displayed an ability to gain access to the paint. Eric Boateng struggled up front against Duke but showed the resiliency to post an impressive 17-point, eight-rebound effort in the third place game. Herb Sendek’s club does a nice job with a patient offense that dictates a slow to moderate tempo. On defense they employ a zone that appears passive but is effective. Many prognosticators pegged Sendek’s team near the bottom of the conference. Given the start of some of the more highly regarded members and the way they played in New York there’s no reason to believe the Sun Devils won’t make some noise on the “left coast”.
4. UConn has a few big men who can get out and run the floor like deer. Against LSU the Huskies turned the game into a track meet and simply ran away from the SEC reps. Gavin Edwards, Charles Okwandu and Alex Oriakhi also showed they know how to defend, blocking 13 LSU shots. What UConn needs is a consistent effort. Their earlier rounds before New York were less than impressive showings. They looked light a highlight film against LSU but were soundly beaten on the offensive boards in the final, a deciding factor, in the loss to Duke. With the aforementioned big men, Kemba Walker at the point, Jerome Dyson a deft penetrator and Stanley Robinson, who can do damage in the paint and on the wing, there is a lot of talent on UConn, a lot of ways they can beat you and a Hall of Fame coach on the bench. This is a team certain to be heard from come March.
5. Coach K may not be sending a holiday greeting to Doug Gottlieb. After the final, the Duke mentor was asked to comment on the ESPN analyst’s comment that “Duke is alarmingly unathletic”. Krzyzewski simply said, ”Well (Gottlieb) is an expert on what it feels like being ‘alarmingly unathletic’.” Krzyzewski did admit, “We are not as athletic as UConn but we do have a number of athletic players on our team.” Enough to capture the NIT Season Tip-Off.
