Freshman Jones Scores 29 for Wildcats; Dunn Back for Baylor; Duke-K-State Tuesday

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, November 22, 2010

Teams may find scoring in the lane to be somewhat more difficult against the Kentucky Wildcats if freshman Terrence Jones is prowling the lane this season. A 6'9", 230-pound shot-blocking and rebounding machine, Jones is likely to be high on the list of Dick Vitale's "Diaper Dandies" as the season progresses.

In Kentucky's 76-64 victory over Oklahoma Monday, Jones not only clogged the middle and hauled in 13 rebounds, Oklahoma defenders were also mostly powerless to slow him down on the offensive end, as Jones tallied a career-high 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting. He also blocked four shots.

The Wildcats blazed their way to a 42-28 half time lead and coasted to their third win of the season without a loss.

Notable: Following a three-game suspension to begin the season, Baylor's Lacedarius Dunn laced up his shoes and began firing away, mostly from beyond the arc. By the time he was finished, Baylor topped Lipscom, 72-60, and Dunn had 24 points on 8-13 shooting, including 7 of 11 three-pointers.

Mason Plumlee scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Duke dropped Marquette, 82-77, in a semi-final game of the CBE Classic in Kansas City. Plumlee, a 6'10" sophomore, hit 12-of-16 shots and blocked five shots.

Duke will play Kansas State, 81-64 winners over Gonzaga in the other semi-final, Tuesday night for the tourney championship. It was the second straight loss for the Bulldogs. Kansas State and Duke are both 4-0.

UConn's Kemba Walker is being called upon to score more points, and the junior guard has responded in a big way, scoring 42 points last week in Connecticut's win over Vermont and following up that effort with 31 points in the Huskies' 83-79 win over Wichita State. Walker hit only 8-of-16 from the field, but canned 14 of 15 free throws.

Johnson's 25 and 11 Lead Purdue to 3-0 Record; Heels Drop Second Straight

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, November 21, 2010

It would be a mistake to ignore the Purdue Boilermakers, even though they've lost their star forward, Robbie Hummel for the season. Hummel tore his right ACL back in October and is done for the season. It was the second time in eight months that Hummel's suffered the same injury, but the Boilermakers are committed to moving on without him.

Picking up much of the slack is JaJuan Johnson, a big-time player in his own right. Johnson, a 6'10" senior who is likely to be a first round pick in next year's NBA draft, is a force in the pivot. In Sunday's 82-67 Boilermaker win over Oakland, Johnson scored 25 points to go with 11 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.

E'Twaun Moore led all scorers with 26 points, as Purdue improved to 3-0. Purdue is currently ranked in the Top 15 in all polls.

Notable: Those who thought the North Carolina would be back in their usual Top 10 form this season might want to rethink that notion after the Tar Heels suffered their second straight loss, as Vanderbilt dumped them, 72-65, in one of the consolation games at the Puerto Rico Tip Off Sunday. Minnesota, who won the tourney with a 74-70 win over West Virginia, bested Carolina on Friday, 72-67.

The problems for the Tar Heels are very much the same as last season's, in the back court. There's plenty of talent, but nobody seems to be able to handle or distribute the rock. In the loss to Vanderbilt, they only had eight assists, while committing 22 turnovers.

Xavier's Tu Holloway scored a career-high 31 points, leading the Musketeers to a 57-52 victory over Seton Hall in the Paradise Jam tournament Sunday. Xavier will face Old Dominion, 61-60 winners over Clemson, in the tournament championship Monday night.

Flyers' Johnson Scores 20 as Dayton Topples Mississippi

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, November 20, 2010

Denied an invitation to the NCAA tournament last season, the Dayton Flyers did the next best thing by winning the NIT tournament, winning five straight games over Illinois State, Cincinnati, Illinois, Mississippi and finally, North Carolina, 79-68, in the final.

While the list is fairly impressive, Dayton still seeks respect, playing in the Atlantic-10, and got a share of it Saturday, winning at Mississippi, 78-71, in overtime.

Led by Chris Johnson's 20 points and 12 rebounds, the Flyers rallied from a 46-33 deficit at the half to tie the game at 65 and eventually win it in the extra five minute period.

A 6'6" junior, Johnson's 20 points were a season high, and the win improved Dayton to 3-0 on the year. The Flyers used a combination of pressure and solid defense to hold the Rebels tojust 19 second half points and six in overtime.

Notable: BYU improved to 3-0 with a 109-60 win over Chicago State, led by, who else? Jimmer Fredette, who's lighting it up to the tune of 25.7 points per game thus far. Fredette hit 9-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-6 three-pointers for his game high 27 points. Amazingly, he did it all in just 21 minutes of court time.

Mitchell's 31 Sends Mountaineers to Puerto Rico Tip-Off Final

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, November 19, 2010

Coach Bob Huggins is right where he wants to be: at the school for which he played in younger days, now coaching what appears to be another Top 15 team at West Virginia.

After reaching the Final Four in last year's NCAA tourney (ousted by Duke in a semifinal game, 78-57), the Mountaineers have the nucleus of a strong contender in the Big East and beyond. Departed from last year's squad is Da'Senn Butler, who was a high-profile scored and team leader. Butler, injured during the NCAA tournament, was drafted by the Miami Heat and subsequently waived, still rehabbing from a serious knee injury.

On the brighter side, senior Casey Mitchell has been elevated from bench-warmer to starter. Last season, Mitchell, a 6'4" guard out of Savannah, Georgia, averaged only eight minutes per game, but on Friday played 34 impressive minutes as the Mountaineers outlasted Vanderbilt, 74-71, thanks, in large part, to Mitchell's 31 points and his key three-pointer with 3.8 seconds left to play.

Mitchell was 9-for-15 from the field, including 6 of 12 three-pointers and 7-of-8 from the foul line. An exceptional foul shooter, Mitchell's lone miss was his first of the season, in 16 trips to the line.

West Virginia is off to a 3-0 start, but they face a stiff test when they play Minnesota on Sunday night. The Golden Gophers knocked off North Carolina in their semi-final round game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, 72-67.

The final will be televised live on ESPN2 at 7:30 pm ET.

Notable: Xavier looks like a Top 25 team for sure, as long as Tu Holloway keeps up his torrid scoring pace. Holloway poured in a career-high 28 points in the Musketeers 86-73 win over Iowa. In his previous two games this season - each Xavier wins - he tallied 25 and 24 points.

Jeremy Hazell is back for his senior year at Seton Hall, and he's heating up from beyond the arc. Hazell hit 5-of-6 treys en route to 27 points and an 83-78 win over Alabama. In three games this season, Hazell is nailing three-pointers at a rate of 64.7%.

Tim Williams a Center of Attention for St. Mary's; Double Figure Math

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, November 18, 2010

Last year, St. Mary's turned the tables on Gonzaga in the West Coast conference. The Bulldogs had won the conference title for so many years that it had become almost a foregone conclusion. They did win the regular season title for the 10th straight year, but St. Mary's - who had lost to them twice during the regular season, came back with a vengeance to win the tournament championship with an 81-62 win and an automatic berth in the NCAA tourney.

The Gaels made the most of March Madness, winning two games before falling to Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen round. This season, without star center Omar Samhan, who graduated and is now playing in Europe, the Gaels seek their second straight WCC tournament championship and have their eyes set toward Gonzaga again, their main challengers in the regular season.

Samhan won't be missed too badly if redshirt sophomore Tim Williams continues to show the kind of game he produced in St. Mary's 101-69 win over Point Loma Nazarene on Thursday. Williams scored the nets for a game-high 23 points and clogged the middle, pulling down 14 rebounds in the process.

Played sparingly last season, Williams is being looked upon as a viable replacement for Samhan, who earned a 2010 All American honorable mention. After the big effort against little Point Loma, Williams bears watching against better teams as the season progresses.

Notable: Getting four or five players into double figures is normally a good sing of team balance and usually produces an abundance of wins. On Thursday, a couple of wins were produced with more than the normal numbers and another with none. The Florida Gators had 8 players in double figures in the 105-55 win over NC A&T, outdoing Valparaiso, which had seven players score in double digits as they topped Purdue North Central, 98-44.

The strangest stat sheet of the night, however, belonged to to Missouri. They slipped past Western Illinois, 66-61, with no players in double figures. Four different Tigers tallied 9 points, and nine players scored in all, ranging between 4 and 9 points.

Notre Dame Seniors Double-Double the Fun in 102-62 Win

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Here's something you don't often see: three double-doubles by one team in the same game.

That's what happened when Big East powerhouse took on Chicago State, with the Fighting Irish coming away with another easy win - their third of the season, without a loss - topping the Cougars, 102-62.

While Ben Hansbrough led all scorers with 22 points, he did not have a double-double, though he did pull down 5 rebounds and hand out 6 assists.

Tim Abromaitis was next with 21 points. He had 10 rebounds and 7 assists, bordering on a triple-double along with fellow senior Tyler Nash, who had 10 points, 11 boards and 7 assists. Another senior, Carleton Scott, pumped in 17 points and snatched 11 rebounds with 3 assists, a steal and 3 blocked shots, all in just 23 minutes of floor time.

Notable: The Memphis Tigers are sure to make some noise this season in search of their fifth straight Conference-USA championship. They geared up Wednesday night with their third win of the young season, downing Northwestern State, 94-79, with Wesley Witherspoon leading the way hitting 5 of 7 shots from the field, 13 of 14 from the foul line for a game-high 24 points, to go with 12 rebounds.

White, Leonard Lead Aztecs Past Gonzaga, 79-76

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Nobody likes to take a loss this early in the season, but good teams will interpret tham as learning experiences and hope to build off the mistakes.

For Gonzaga, Steven Gray's 35 points were offset by a lack of intensity on the boards, as the Bulldogs were out-rebounded 39-29 and defeated by San Diego State, 79-76.

What the Bulldogs will clearly see is that not only were they seriously deficient in the rebounding department, but that nearly half of the Aztecs' boards were of the offensive variety, many resulting in put-backs and extra possessions, as 6 of Kawhi Leonard's 12 boards were on the offensive end and senior forward Billy White dumped in 30 points on 14-for-18 shooting, also hauling down 9 rebounds, 7 offensive.

White had his share of easy buckets as he crashed the offensive boards with gusto, but he also made both of his 3-point attempts. Leonard, a 6'7" sophomore, had his second double-double of the season with 18 points.

Gonzaga dropped to 2-1 and has a date at powerful Kansas State on the 22nd. Putting the loss in perspective, it wasn't an enormous upset as the Aztecs are already ranked #25 in the most recent AP poll and are one of the favorites to win the Mountain West conference.

Freshman Jones, Junior Vucevic Lead USC Past Santa Clara

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, November 15, 2010

Last season was a seriously down year for the PAC-10, usually one of the stronger conferences in the national basketball elite, as they sent only two teams - Cal and Washington - to the NCAA tournament.

As a whole, the conference seeks to turn things around in 2010-11, with freshmen adding some spark to otherwise mundane lineups. Down the coast at USC, the Trojans may have found themselves a little magic - and we do mean little - in 5'7" freshman guard, Maurice Jones who lit up Santa Clara for 29 points as the Trojans rolled to their second win of the season, 86-73.

Jones hit 10 of 20 shots from the floor, including 2 of 3 three-point attempts, was 7-for-10 from the charity stripe and dealt four assists. The little man was aided in his offense by USC's big man, 6'10" Nikola Vucevic, who recorded his second double-double with 22 points and 11 boards.

With the nice blend of size and inside-outside play, the Trojans, who were just 16-14 last season, seek a return to top form and a trip to the Big Dance in March. While most of their PAC-10 counterparts are also trying to put together cohesive squads, the Trojans seem to have found a combination that works, thus far.

Singleton's Triple Double Lifts Florida State

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, November 14, 2010

For Florida State, playing basketball in the ACC is a mixed blessing. Sure, they get some big crowds when North Carolina or Duke head down for a visit, but the results are generally not great. The Seminoles generally get lost in the shuffle of the top teams from Tobacco Road.

Still, things are looking up for Florida State. After going 25-10 in 2008-09, they went 22-10 in 2009-10, though both years they lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Duke continues to beat up on them, but the 'Noles have taken two of the last three from the Tar Heels.

This season shapes up as more of the same, maybe even better, especially if junior forward Chris Singleton continues his progression. He's been logging more minutes, scoring more points and getting busier on the boards as he matures. On Sunday, in Florida State's easy 97-73 victory at North Carolina Greensboro, Singleton produced a rare triple double, scoring 22 points to go with 11 boards and 10 steals. He also blocked four shots and distributed the ball for six assists.

The Seminoles were never really challenged, outscoring the Spartans 46-29 in the first half and throwing down 51 in the second stanza on 51.5% shooting from the floor. Improving to 2-0, Florida State has a few more "easy" ones before things get serious when Florida and Ohio State visit on November 28 and 30. Those two games should provide a better indication of what lies ahead.

Moore on Game as Pitt Smothers North Florida, 85-49

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, November 13, 2010

Improving to 3-0, with a 95-49 rout of North Florida, the Pitt Panthers may prove to be the "Beast of the East" once conference play starts in late December.

Not only does Pitt have some of the best shooters in the country in Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wannameker, they might have a real diamond in the rough in 6'6" freshman swingman, J.J. Moore, who tallied 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting in 19 minutes of play Saturday.

Moore, who comes to Pitt via South Kent Prep in Brentwood, NY, also grabbed seven rebounds and handed out three assists.

Now having clobbered three creampuffs, Pitt will get a real test when the maryland Terrapins visit this coming Thursday, November 19.

Steven Gray Electric in Gonzaga Win

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, November 12, 2010

Last season, the Gonzaga Bulldogs accomplished almost everything they set out to do, but almost wasn't good enough, as they lost the WCC tournament title game to up-and-coming St. Mary's and were bounced out of the NCAA tourney in the second round by Syracuse.

Steven Gray was a big part of the 2009-10 team and he's back for his senior year, expecting better from himself and his teammates. The Zags, 27-7 last year, opened this season's campaign by topping the century mark - something they did only once last year - with an impressive 117-72 win over Southern University.

Gray, the only senior on the team, displayed his enormous talents in 28 minutes of play, scoring a game-high 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including 5 of 8 three-pointers. The 6'5" guard also grabbed seven rebounds, handed off nine assists and made three steals.

Terrapins Slip Past Charleston, 75-74; Jordan Williams a Brute Force

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, November 10, 2010

To get their teams in shape and work on various aspects of the game, in the early days of any new college hoops season major conference teams usually play a number of games against lesser foes, teams from smaller conferences who are just supposed to hang in and eventually roll over.

Sometimes, however, like last season when the Syracuse Orange were topped by their smaller cousin, LeMoyne College, just a few miles North of the SU campus, the little guys come with some bite and a fired up attitude. Thus was the case Wednesday night, when the Maryland Terrapins had their hands full with little College of Charleston, a team with enough history that they should never be overlooked.

The Terps and Cougars battled to a 37-all half time tie, but the gritty Cougars would not die and actually led by eight points with under nine minutes to play. Maryland avoided an embarrassing early-season loss when freshman Pe’Shon Howard hit a short jumper with three seconds left to seal the 75-74 win for the Terps.

It was a little too close for comfort, but coach Gary Williams can take heart in the knowledge that his youthful troops are learning how to deal with adversity and win close games, two skills which will no doubt be useful during the heady ACC season.

Another bright spot for Maryland was sophomore Jordan Williams, who connected on 12 of 21 shots for a team-high 26 points (Charleston's Andrew Goudelock led all scorers with 27) and snatched 15 boards to open the season with his second straight double-double.

Williams averaged 9.6 points and 8.6 boards as a freshman, and appears to have improved his game over the off-season, though his foul shooting still remains an area of concern. After nailing 5 of 6 from the line in Monday's win over Seattle, Williams retreated on Wednesday, making only two of eight from the line. Problems at the line - a condition shared by many big men (Williams is 6' 10") - is something that coaches will grudgingly live with as players like Williams are such huge forces in the paint.

Hamilton Hoists Longhorns Over Middies

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, November 8, 2010

Last season, the Longhorns were ranked for much of the time, though they faded late under the pressure of the Big 12 schedule. During their slow descent, however, freshman Jordan Hamilton emerged asa big time playmaker with dazzling ball skills and the ability to provide instant offense off the bench.

A starter this season, Hamilton got the unranked Longhorns off on the right foot with 26 points and 10 rebounds in a season-opening, 83-52 win over the Navy Midshipmen.

A 6'7" sophomore from Los Angeles, Hamilton creates match-up problems because of his size and speed. He's equally adept at hitting jumpers from any range or going inside with slashing drives to the can. Hamilton was 10-for-17 overall, hitting 3 of 8 three-pointers.

NOTABLE: Pitt's Brad Wanamaker went 7-for-13 for 24 points and dished eight assists as the Panthers downed Rhode Island, 83-75 to open the 2010-11 season. In Maryland's 105-76 season-opening win over Seattle, Jordan Williams scored 17 points and hauled in 15 rebounds.