Thursday, February 04, 2010

Buckeyes Bounding Into Tourney Contender

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Ever since Evan Turner returned from injury to the Ohio State starting lineup, the Buckeyes have become a force to reckon with in the Big Ten, winning 7 of 9 games and vaulting into the national Top 25.

Turner proved his value once again on Wednesday, as the Buckeyes hammered Penn State, 75-62, winning their 12th straight home game since a 77-73 setback to North Carolina on November 19. Turner led all scorers with 27 points, his second-highest point total of the season (he had a career-high 32 points in a 70-66 win over Purdue on January 12), to go with 10 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Turner played all 40 minutes of the game and, at 6'7", 210 pounds, is truly one of the most feared offensive players in the nation. He has the ability to can jumpers from the perimeter but can also take opponents off the dribble and is a great finisher near the hoop. He averages 50% from the field, 35.9 from 3-point land and is a 73.8 free throw shooter. He leads the Buckeyes in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.

Ohio State, ranked #13 in the most recent poll, has improved to 17-6 and is in a 3-way tie for second place in the Big Ten at 7-3 with Wisconsin and Illinois. Everyone in the conference is chasing 9-1 Michigan State.

Notable: dominique Jones only scored 29 points, but the South Florida Bulls won their school-record 4th straight Big East contest by downing the Georgetown Hoyas, 72-64, at Georgetown.

The Bulls continue to get outlandish scoring from Jones, the leading Big East scorer at 22.4 points per game. Over the 4-game win streak, he's averaged 35 points.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Onuaku Polices the Lane as SU Goes to 22-1

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Arinze Onuaku, the 6'9" center for the Syracuse Orangemen, probably doesn't get enough credit for his work in the lane because of SU's reliance on Jim Boehiem's remarkably-effective 2-3 zone defense, but the big man in the middle does have a way of taking up space and discouraging traffic near the hoop.

In Tuesday's encounter with Providence, Onuaku delivered on both ends of the floor, scoring a season-high 20 points on 10-for-12 shooting, while keeping the Friars out of the lane defensively with 4 blocks and 7 rebounds, 3 offensive. Consequently, the #3 Orangemen turned a 3-point half time advantage into an 85-68 home win, improving to 22-1 overall and 9-1 in the conference, 1/2 game behind Villanova (9-0). Syracuse suffered its only loss of the season at home against Pitt, but that was a month ago, and the Orange have run off 9 straight wins while the Panthers have gone just 4-3 over the same span.

Syracuse will likely enter the NCAA's March Madness as a #1 or #2 seed, as their only remaining stiff challenges are at Georgetown (Feb. 18) and on February 27, when they host Villanova, a game that may decide the regular season Big East champion.

Notable: The selection committee for the NCAA tournament may have an easy time picking #1 seeds for this year's field of 65. Four teams: Kansas (20-1), Villanova (20-1), Syracuse (22-1) and Kentucky (20-1) have pulled away from the pack and are ranked 1-4 in the AP Poll. After them, only two teams in division 1 have two losses - BYU and Northern Iowa - though their conferences are not nearly the caliber of the Big 12, SEC or the Big East.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Hamilton's 27 Saves Texas

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, February 1, 2010

With Jordan Hamilton slicing through the Oklahoma State defense for a career-high 27 points, the obvious question is, "Where have they been hiding this guy?"

The Texas Longhorns overpowered Oklahoma State with a 40-24 second half, cruising to their 19th win against 3 losses, 72-60.

A freshman out of Dominguez High in Los Angeles, Hamilton played just 19 minutes, but put on a dazzling show of offensive skills, hitting 11 of 16 shots, including drives, dunks, jumpers and treys. He was 5 of 8 from beyond the arc and was generally unstoppable in the second half as Texas pulled away from the Cowboys after trailing 36-32 at intermission.

Hamilton's previous high was 17 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. After Monday night's performance, expect him to receive a lot more playing time and more attention from opposing defenses.

Texas, in desperate need of a win after dropping 3 of their previous four games, got a real lift from the frosh, whose exploits couldn't have come at a more-needed time. Adding him to the offensive arsenal will open things up inside for Damion James and slumping Dexter Pittman, who's averaged just over 6 points per game in his last 8 games.

Monday, February 01, 2010

No Keeping Up with Dominique Jones

College Hoops Player of the Day for DAY, Month, 2010

In South Florida, the focus has been on football, but lately, 6'4" junior guard Dominique Jones has drawing fans into Tampa's Sun Dome to see the Bulls take on Big East rivals.

On Sunday, the Bulls hosted Pitt, but proved to be quite rude to their guests, as Jones went off for 37 points en route to a 70-61 win for South Florida. Pitching them in from everywhere on the court, Jones was 10 for 20 from the field, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and 14-for-17 from the charity stripe. He also notched 8 boards and 3 assists as the Bulls won their third straight Big East game, for the first time in the program's history.

Jones has been unstoppable of late, recently scoring 46 in a win at Providence and then 28 at home vs. Seton Hall. Both games went into overtime, but on Sunday, the Bulls downed the Panthers without needing an extra period.

The loss was the third in the last four games for Pitt, currently ranked #17, though they may be out of the Top 25 when the new poll comes out on Monday. South Florida still has a way to go before making the rankings. They've improved to 4-5 in the conference and 14-7 overall.

Notable: Ohio State avenged an earlier loss to Minnesota with a blistering 85-63 home win. Point guard Will Buford went for a career-high 26 points, with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. The 16-6 Buckeyes are ranked #20 in the nation.

Virginia improved to 16-6, as Sylven Landesberg scored 29 points and the Cavaliers dumped North Carolina, 75-60, in Chapel Hill. The struggling Tar Heels are 2-4 in the conference and 13-8 overall. On their current path, North Carolina looks to be playing in the NIT come March.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Hoyas Shoot 72%, Hammer Blue Devils

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, January 30, 2010

The Georgetown Hoyas put on a shooting clinic at the Verizon Center Sunday, hitting 33 of 46 shots from the field, for an impressive 71.7% effort as they cruised to an 89-77 win over Duke.

While the Hoyas were hitting just about everything from everywhere, the Blue Devils were trying their best to stay in the game. After a first half run, the Hoyas took command, heading into the break with a 46-33 lead. Duke cut that to six, but that was the closest they would get, as Georgetown players just kept making their shots. Other than the shooting, Georgetown wasn't all that special. They were outrebounded by Duke, 32-22, and turned the ball over 15 times, one more than Duke. They did, though, manage to block 9 shots, and 20 of the 33 baskets came off assists.

Shooting the lights out were a trio of Georgetown players: Austin Freeman (8 of 11, 2-3 3-pointers, 20 points); Chris Wright (8 of 9, 1-2 3-pointers, 21 points); and, super soph center Greg Monroe (7 of 11, 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists).

The Hoyas, taking a break from the rigors of the Big East, got into Duke's psyche and bolstered their own resume, improving to 16-4 on the season. Duke, despite the loss, is 17-4 and will likely still be ranked in the Top 10 come Monday.

Notable: Of 14 games involving Top 25 teams Saturday, 4 of them went into overtime. The two biggest were in the Big 12, where #2 Kansas withstood the Kansas St. challenge, winning 81-79, while in Austin, the Baylor Bears upset Texas, 80-77, hanging the Longhorns with their third loss in two weeks.

The other two OT games produced wins by unranked teams, as San Francisco toppled #13 Gonzaga, 81-77, and unheralded UTEP outscored #25 UAB 11-2 in the second overtime for a 74-65 win.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Cornell Stomps Dartmoth, Continues Roll through Ivy

College Hoops Player of the Day for DAY, Month, 2010

When Ivy Leaguers from Dartmoth meet with Cornell, it's Big Green vs. Big Red, but the greens were swallowed up in a sea of red Friday night as Cornell plastered Big Green, 71-37, continuing their dominance over fellow Ivy Leaguers.

Sporting a 17-3 record, Cornell's only losses have come from outside the conference, to powerhouses Syracuse, Kansas and Seton Hall, though Big Red held their own in each of those contests. Against Dartmouth, Cornell emptied their bench (amd maybe some of the stands) using 19 different players to extend a 27-13 half time lead for 44 second half points and a thorough beating.

Leading the way was 3-point specialist and Massachusetts transfer, Max Groebe, who hit his only 2-point attempt, and connected on 4 of 6 from beyond the arc to raise his season shooting percentage from long range to an incredible 59.4%. Groebe played just 16 minutes but tallied a team-high 15 points. 11 other Big Red players scored in the one-sided affair.

Cornell will try to go 4-0 in the Ivy League when they face Harvard - also 3-0 - on Saturday in Ithaca, NY. Back-to-back weekend games are the norm in the Ivy, where the focus is on books rather than hoops. All conference games are played on either a Friday or Saturday.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Razorbacks Clamber Past Miss. St. on Fortson's 35

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, January 28, 2010

Although their record is just 9-11, the Arkansas Razorbacks may be a surprise team from the wide-open SEC West, especially if the Hogs can find a player or two to step up to the level of sophomore point guard, Courtney Forston.

Forston, who missed the first fourteen games of the season due to a suspension for some untoward comments on Twitter, scored 33 of his 35 points in the second half to rally the Razorbacks to a 67-62 SEC win.

After a lethargic first half from both squads, in which the Bulldogs led 29-21, Forston put the entire program on his 5'11" frame and lifted the team to victory, hitting 9 of 17 shots, including 3-for-6 on 3-pointers, while canning 14 of 18 free throws. The diminutive guard added 7 boards, 4 assists and a pair of steals. Down by as many as 11 points, Forston carried Arkansas back to their second conference win against 3 losses.

Besides Mississippi State, Alabama and Mississippi should vie for the SEC West title, and you can add Arkansas into that mix, especially if they can upset the Rebels when they travel to Mississippi on Saturday.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

James Matches Career High as Texas Returns to Winning Form

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Even though Texas only managed to stay #1 for a couple of hours before losing - first at Kansas State last Monday, and then at UConn on Saturday - they still came in at #6 in the most recent poll and have now gotten off their losing skien with a 95-83 home win over a pretty solid bunch from Texas Tech.

As usual when the Longhorns are rolling, forward Damion James led the way, matching his career-best (also against Texas Tech, last season) of 28 points on 12-for-20 shooting while also helping out on the boards in a big way with 13 rebounds (4 offensive). It was the 11th double-double for james this season, in 20 games.

The 18-2 Longhorns host #24 Baylor on Saturday before back-to-back road games at Oklahoma State (Feb. 1) and Oklahoma (Feb. 6).

NOTABLE: With the possibility that the Mountain West Conference could send more teams to the NCAA Tournament than the PAC-10, the New Mexico Lobos have regained some of their swagger with their 5th straight conference win after dropping their first two. Wednesday's 76-72 win over high-flying #12 BYU was spurred by Dairese Gary's career-high 25 points. The win was the Lobos' third against ranked opponents this season and has them settled into a second-place tie in the Mountain West with UNLV, at 5-2. BYU still leads the pack, at 5-1.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Then There Were None: Gamecocks Shock #1 Kentucky

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Kentucky's freshman sensation, John Wall, has gotten an inordinate share of press and frothy praise by NBA scouts who believe he'll be the #1 pick in the draft later this year. s Wall has helped the Wildcats to the Top of the AP poll, ranking #1 for the first time since 2003 with their 19-0 record, that was, until Tuesday night when Kentucky squared off with SEC foe South Carolina Gamecocks at the Colonial Center in Columbia, SC.

Amid all the hype and excitement over Wall and the #1 Wildcats, 5'9" guard Devan Downey was having none of it and he proved his point with 30 points and a 68-62 win, eliminating the last of the undefeated teams in college hoops.

Downey was the ultimate water bug against Kentucky, spinning, whirling, twisting, and leaping past defenders. Though he only shot 31% (9-for-29), he made up for it with impressive defense and by hitting 10 of 11 from the foul line. Easily the shortest player on the court, he managed to grab 5 rebounds to go with his 3 assists, keeping the Wildcats off-balance and in awe most of the night. Downey leads the SEC in scoring at 22.4 points per game.

Helping in the upset effort were 6'8" forward Sam Muldrow, who contested everything in the paint, blocking 5 shots while scoring 9 points with 11 rebounds. Downey's backcourt mate, Brandis Raley-Ross, chipped in with 17 points and 5 boards.

Kentucky's reign as #1 lasted just over one day before they tasted their first loss of the season, though they will retain the #1 ranking through Sunday, and might just stay there, depending on how they fare against Vanderbilt on Saturday and how other teams - #2 Kansas, #3 Villanova and #4 Syracuse - perform during the week.

NOTABLE: The University of Seattle is a fledgling independent playing mostly teams from the Big West, PAC-10 and other independents, and they've done fine, sporting a 9-11 record heading into their Tuesday night game at Washington. Seattle hoped to be competitive against the Huskies, but the wheels fell off completely as the Redhawks committed 45 personal fouls, had six players foul out and sent the Huskies to the charity stripe 61 times, where the Washington players gleefully dropped in 46 freebies en route to a 123-76 thrashing.

Washington built an insurmountable 61-20 lead by the half, and Seattle played the final 1:27 with just four players on the court due to the foul-outs. Quincy Pondexter led 6 Washington players in double figures with a game-high 27 points. Washington shot 56%, to just 30% for Seattle.

Monday, January 25, 2010

#4 Syracuse Rips #7 Hoyas at Carrier Dome

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, January 25, 2010

Big East rivalries don't get any bigger than the one witnessed Monday night by a national television audience (ESPN), as Georgetown headed north from the nation's capitol to take on the Syracuse Orangemen.

At the beginning, everything went Georgetown's way, with the Hoyas building a 14-0 lead. Once Syracuse got on track, however, it was game over, lights out, everybody down. The Orange stormed to a 34-29 lead at the break and opened up by as many as 20, eventually winning in a laugher, 73-56. Too quick and too physical for the Hoyas, Syracuse converted 21 of 28 free throws, compared to just 6 of 11 from the line for Georgetown.

Andy Rautins and Kris Joseph led the Orange attack with 15 points apiece. Joseph added 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Rautins dished 6 assists and had 6 steals.

Wesley Johnson had a superb all-around game with 14 points, 9 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocked shots, all while committing not a single personal foul.

Notable: Kansas, seeking their 54th straight home win, held Missouri to 27% shooting in the first half while building a 50-30 lead en route to an easy, 84-65 win. Cole Aldrich had 11 rebounds by half time as all 8 Kansas players who saw floor time scored, led by Marcus Morris with 11 points. Aldrich finished with 16 rebounds, 6 blocks and 12 points and was a key factor in Kansas' fast breaks with deft, deep outlet passes. #3 KU improved to 19-1, and 5-0 and sole possession of first place in the Big 12.

Pirates Bloody Panthers as Pope Reigns in Paint

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, January 24, 2010

Winning on the road in any conference is a tough task, but it's especially difficult in the Big East, as the #9 Pitt Panthers found out on Sunday when they traveled to New Jersey Sunday to face the Seton Hall Pirates. The Panthers were coming off their first home loss in 3 years, and a win would be a big boost to their confidence, but the Pirates had other ideas.

After close calls against Syracuse, UConn and West Virginia, the Hall was poised to make a statement, and they did, despite leading scorer Jeremy Hazell riding the pine for most of the game due to foul issues. Hazell, who averages 22.2 points per game, saw just 16 minutes of floor time and scored only 9 points, his lowest point total since the season opener.

Picking up the slack was sophomore forward Herb Pope, who played 38 minutes, scored 19 points and ripped down 9 boards. Pope was a solid force in the paint, hitting 8 of 12 shots, mostly from point-blank range. With help from Jeff Robinson, rounding into form after missing the first eight games of the season, the Pirates were able to hold on for a 64-61 win and improve their conference mark to 3-4.

Playing solid defense for the duration of the game, the Pirates held Pitt to just 35% shooting, including holding the Panthers' leading bomber, Ashton Gibbs, to just 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. Gibbs, the game's high-scorer with 23 points, made up for his poor shooting by hitting all 14 of his free throws, but in the end it wasn't enough.

Pitt is now 15-4 (5-2 Big East) and will still be ranked when the poll results come out on Monday, but two straight losses have taken some of the swagger out of their step.

NOTABLE: A huge match-up in the Big East is slated for Monday night, when the Syracuse Orangemen and Georgetown Hoyas renew their rivalry at the Carrier Dome. 19-1 Syracuse is ranked #5; the 15-3 Hoyas are ranked #12.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Longhorns Corralled by Huskies, 88-74

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, January 23, 2010

The Big 12 is a tough conference, but the Big East is even tougher, proven, in distinctive fashion by the Connecticut Huskies, as they thumped the Texas Longhorns, 88-74, at the XL Center in Hartford.

Texas entered the week ranked #1 in the polls, but since then has suffered two straight losses, the previous one at Kansas State on Monday, where the Wildcats bumped them, 71-62. Five days and another long road trip later, Jerome Dyson and the Huskies took them down again. Dyson led all scorers with a season-high 32 points, hitting 12 of 23 shots from the field, including 4 of 8 3-pointers. Down 42-34 at the half, the Huskies rallied in the second stanza, outscoring the Longhorns, 54-32. Texas drops to 17-2 on the season, while UConn, during a week in which they lost head coach Jim Calhoun to a medical leave and dropped out of the Top 25 for the first time in 36 weeks, improved to 13-6 with their second straight win over interim head coach George Blaney.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Cal Golden Bears Devour Ducks

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, January 21, 2010

The PAC-10 is having a down year. Not a single team in the conference is ranked in the Top 25, but, since they will be sending three or four teams to the NCAA Tournament, it's a good idea to keep tabs on which teams are likely to get bids and potentially pull off an upset.

The league is pretty wide open at this early date, though a number of teams, including Washington, Washington State, Cal and Arizona State have winning records and may be headed to the field of 65.

On Thursday, the Cal Golden Bears, led by 21 points from senior guard Patrick Christopher, mauled the visiting, defenseless Ducks from Oregon, 89-57. Christopher, who was one of five Cal players in double figures, also chipped in with 6 rebounds, 3 of them on the offensive end.

With the outcome of the game almost never in doubt past the opening minutes, Cal took a 48-21 lead into the half and cruised from there for their 12th win against 6 losses. The Bears are tied for first in the PAC-10 with Arizona State at 4-2, but, after 4-3 Washington State, a pack of four teams are in pursuit, at 3-3. The conference may not be one of the best in the nation, but it appears to be highly competitive.