Jimmy V Classic Has Contrasting Matchups
NEW YORK – It was a contrast of matchups: two inexperienced teams looking for what might be a breakout win, followed by two teams projected to be among the nation’s best prior to the season. The Jimmy V Classic brought us a look into two worlds of college basketball, which are fast becoming one as more young players are forced to play key roles on many teams.
St. Joseph’s 70, Kansas 67
In the first game, St. Joseph’s and Kansas hooked up in a game that was a mismatch a year ago. The Jayhawks opened the Hawks’ season with a 91-51 thumping in Lawrence, a game that St. Joseph’s head coach Phil Martelli said he “must have missed” when asked about it after the game. But as much as he insisted, he must have had some flashbacks in the early going when freshman Brandon Rush scored 10 of 13 straight Jayhawk points to give them an early 17-4 lead.
Then things started to turn around. The Hawks would start to come back, then score seven straight points to get within 21-18, and suddenly it looked like a ballgame. The Jayhawks would then go on an 11-2 run to get it back to 32-20, before the Hawks scored 11 of the last 13 points of the half to get within 34-31.
That, Kansas head coach Bill Self said, was the deciding part of the game.
“We lost the game the last two minutes of the first half – we’re up 11, we go in up three,” he said after the game. “I told our team with 2:27 left, we’re up 11, and that 11 could be five or it could be 15, and that’s the difference between winning or losing. Instead of five, it was three.”
The second half was the time for Hawk senior Chet Stachitas to shine. After keying their first half runs with either baskets or assists, he would score 17 of his career-high 27 points in the second half. More importantly, every basket seemed to be in the clutch. He put them up 42-39 with a three-pointer, then made key shots that would stave off charges by the Jayhawks and broke another tie with a three-pointer that gave them a 56-53 lead.
In the end, while both teams were more experienced, St. Joseph’s had the senior leadership with Stachitas and Dwayne Lee (13 points, seven assists) to push them to the victory. The Hawks also got a nice boost from Ahmad Nivins (11 points, five rebounds), who came off the bench in the first half to get them going.
Martelli spoke of Stachitas as an old-school player, and he certainly fit that description on Tuesday night.
“He’s the type of player people should enjoy because he plays the way we all used to play,” he said. “He is always in motion.”
The win not only puts the Hawks at 4-1, it also gives them a momentum boost heading into a difficult part of the schedule. On Saturday, they host Ohio State, before taking time off for final exams and playing three difficult road games at Bucknell, St. Mary’s and Gonzaga. The Atlantic 10 awaits after those games.
The Jayhawks, on the other hand, are 3-4 for the first time since the 1971-72 season. It’s easy to think that they could be in trouble given their relative youth, but Self doesn’t look at it that way.
“The three teams we’ve lost to are probably going to be in the NCAA Tournament,” Self said of their first three losses. “We’re not far off.”
Indeed, the Jayhawks’ losses have come against Arizona, Arkansas, Nevada and now St. Joseph’s – hardly the weak sisters of the nation. The challenge will be to get the young players to keep improving as the Big 12 season nears, and to get the entire team to play a full game together.
“We just haven’t put it together yet,” said Self. “I think we’re getting closer, but obviously these are tough games to try to get confidence from, where we’re just coming up a possession short.
“We’ve just got to keep plugging, and these guys got to understand that it’s a marathon and not a sprint.”
Michigan State 77, Boston College 70
The nightcap featured two teams that were in or near the top ten of most preseason polls, making it a statement game for Boston College and Michigan State. It would wind up being a tale of two halves, with the Spartans coming out on top thanks to a big second half where they shot better than 77 percent from the field.
The first half was a game of runs, with both teams having leads and the pace suiting Boston College. Eagle post players Craig Smith and John Oates effectively bodied Paul Davis, rendering him ineffective on the offensive end in the first half as he had just four points. The Eagles neutralized the running game of the athletic Spartans by holding a 24-14 edge on the backboards and held a one-point lead at the half.
“We weren’t rebounding well enough to get any breaks,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said of the first half.
In the second half, that changed. The Spartans got rebounds and turnovers leading to run-outs, with Maurice Ager leading the charge as he scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half. Up 41-39, the Spartans broke the game open with a 13-2 run with Ager scoring six of those points, then hitting a three-pointer to make it 57-44. Paul Davis also came alive, scoring 14 of his 18 points in the second half.
While the Eagles’ dynamic duo of Craig Smith (18 points, nine rebounds) and Jared Dudley (23 points) had good nights, the guard play was lacking and was ultimately the biggest reason the offense went stagnant at times. Louis Hinnant and Tyrese Rice combined to go 4-13 from the field, which took away from their eight assists against just three turnovers. Smith and Dudley had more touches where they weren’t able to make anything happen; Smith committed six turnovers.
Much of the credit goes to redshirt freshman Marquise Gray, who made his first career start. Gray had just eight points and five rebounds, but his interior defense gave the team something they needed.
“We felt we had to get more out of it,” Izzo said of the power forward spot. “Give Marquise a lot of credit, and give Mo a lot of credit because he’s been nurturing him for about four months and kind of taken him under his wing. I think that’s made a big difference in Marquise’s growth on the court and off the court.”
Michigan State now stands 6-2, with the schedule getting a little easier before Big Ten play. Having made it through the toughest part of the non-conference schedule, Izzo feels like this team is moving in the right direction. He also knows where they still have to improve.
“We are mentally, I think, a tougher team, and that’s proven by the way these guys played in Hawaii, playing through injuries,” Izzo reflected. “Physically, we’re not a strong enough team yet. I thought that team tonight was a strong, physical team. So we have to get more physical, and most of that comes down to some of our inside guys. Paul is playing that way, we thought Marquise could give us more of that junkyard dog toughness. It’s still not what it needs to be if we’re going to be a real, real good team.”
Ager, who is averaging just under 22 points per game, said it’s been a tough start despite the 6-2 record.
“It’s been rough the last couple of weeks,” said the senior guard, who had flu-like symptoms earlier but played through it. “We’re just trying to continue to grow with all the young guys we have on this team.”
Boston College, meanwhile, heads to Maryland for their first-ever ACC game on Sunday. Their hope is that they come up with a better effort to not have to play from behind, where they seem to play their best basketball.
“I don’t want to play from behind,” said Dudley. “I see that we always come back, but this time, it was too little, too late.”
