We have no idea where Alabama’s season is going to go this year. Perhaps the Crimson Tide will hover right at the .500 mark all year and finish near the bottom of the Southeastern Conference. Maybe even worse.
All we know at this point is that, when Northeastern took care of the Crimson Tide with a convincing 68-52 win yesterday in the quarterfinals of the Charleston Classic, it was defeating a team that made the NCAA Tournament last year, returns a number of key players from that team (sans Collin Sexton, of course) and is expected to be in contention for a spot in it again this year. In November, it carries significant weight. It almost certainly should in March, too.
The Huskies looked the part on Thursday. A team with size, shooting, skill and even some star power never allowed Bama to make a serious run. Vasa Pusica-the Preseason Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year-scored 20, hit all four of his three-pointers, and was in complete control of the game. Bolden Brace-who scored 40 in a game last year-added 11, as did Jeremy Miller off the bench.
Northeastern had a three-pointer, a slice through the lane or a defensive stop every time the Tide drew near. And it did all of this without two starters, including last year’s CAA Defensive Player of the Year Shawn Occeus. And this was hardly the Huskies’ first win over a name opponent in recent years, as Bill Coen-one of the most underrated coaches in the country-has led teams to wins over Connecticut, Florida State, Georgetown, Miami (Fla.) and Michigan State of late.
The few early season exempted tournaments that feature blended, not-just-TV-darling fields, have become some of the very most important games of the year for teams like Northeastern. When chances are limited already, and when the NCAA tourney selection committee has moved the goalposts in recent years again to emphasize quantity of top-notch wins-regardless of number of losses-over all else, this is not just the best spin on the roulette wheel that programs like them have to make an impression. It’s essential that the Huskies win games like this-and that everything breaks right after, too.
The examples of Loyola Chicago, Middle Tennessee State and St. Bonaventure last year, as well as a number of others in recent years before them, show that such teams have to win games against teams like Alabama, and then also hope it turns out to be a significant win, probably of top-25 level or better. And then they probably still need at least one more win like it, since the selection committee clearly thought little of Loyola’s winning at Florida last year. And then they still have to avoid almost any kinds of bad losses (while facing a number of tricky road games). Oh, and they better be pretty much perfect in the CAA, a league that already features another excellent team (College of Charleston) plus several other dangerous clubs.
It can’t be said enough just how ridiculous the selection committee has made the expectations for teams like this, especially in lieu of Loyola’s Final Four run last year, and it needs to be remembered and pointed out all season long, not just in March. Alabama will very likely knock off at least a ranked team or two this year in the SEC, maybe more, and if it does, the fact Northeastern-shorthanded-could beat the Crimson Tide so handily on a neutral court should say it all.
Of course this is looking way, way ahead, but if the Huskies win 25 games or so and make a strong run to finish solidly in the top two in the CAA, it’s highly probable that there would be no good reason why they shouldn’t have a very solid chance at an at-large berth.
In the meantime, Northeastern now gets a shot at nationally ranked Virginia Tech, which held off a game Ball State squad 73-64, and the Huskies also will get a game yet against either Purdue (a 92-70 winner over Appalachian State on Thursday) or Davidson (which edged Wichita State 57-53, a big win for the Wildcats). The hope here for Northeastern as a team is that they can enjoy the journey and not expend energy worrying about what 10 people on a committee might do in a hypothetical scenario in March. And we’ll also continue to hope that the committee eventually starts giving the benefit of the doubt to teams like them, who long ago earned it.
Side Dishes
- Just up the coast from Charleston is the Myrtle Beach Invitational, which also opened Thursday. Winners included Saint Joseph’s-dominant in the second half of an 89-69 blowout of Wake Forest-and Central Florida, which used its size to great advantage in handling Cal State Fullerton 68-52. Western Kentucky turned back Valparaiso 83-71 in a complete ‘ref show’ where it appeared the goal was to call enough touch fouls that both teams might be left with less than five players on the court at the end of the game, and the day ended with West Virginia pulling away in the second half to top Monmouth 71-53.
- The other tourney on Thursday was the 2K Classic semifinals, which included a pair of surprises. Connecticut showed some signs that a turnaround under Dan Hurley may be fast tracked, as the Huskies topped Syracuse 83-76 in a matchup of former Big East rivals at Madison Square Garden. Keep watching Alterique Gilbert, who had 16 points, six boards and eight assists for the Huskies. Then, Iowa took it to No. 13-ranked Oregon, leading wire-to-wire in a 77-69 victory. The latter was filled with poor shooting by both teams, but the Hawkeyes made 29 of 33 at the charity stripe to win it.
- For the second straight night, a D-I team playing a non-NCAA Division I opponent saw a record performance. Furman’s Jordan Lyons scored 54 points and hit 15 three-pointers, tying the record for threes in a game set by Marshall’s Keith Veney in 1996 and tied by Josh Williams of Robert Morris just last night. Furman blew out North Greenville (S.C.) 107-67. The 54 by Lyons is the eighth-most in Paladins history and the most since 1956; this is, after all, the school where Frank Selvy scored 100 points in a game in 1954.
- Ohio State under Chris Holtmann just finds ways to win. The Buckeyes won their second road game of the season in a mega-rough environment, defeating Creighton 69-60. Keyshawn Woods scored 19 off the bench. Logic says such a young team shouldn’t do this, but Holtmann has been superb at OSU at forming the Buckeyes’ talent-and maximizing it. This is one tough squad.
- Belmont gained some revenge on rival Lipscomb in the Battle of the Boulevard, winning a dandy 87-83 on the road. The Bruins lost twice to the Bisons last year, but freshman Caleb Hollander was exceptional with 21 points (including 4 of 5 from three-point range) and 11 rebounds.
- As is so often the case, William & Mary was involved in one of the most entertaining games of the night, even as the Tribe came up short in a 100-95 overtime loss at Illinois-Chicago. Tarkus Ferguson scored 25 for the Flames, while Matt Milon lit up for 30 for William & Mary.
- UC Irvine is now 4-0 after another road win, the Anteaters coming back to defeat Santa Clara 61-49. Freshman Collin Welp is the son of the late Christian Welp, a former Washington star who played four years in the NBA, and he led UCI with 12 points. Irvine also limited the Broncos to icy 29.6% shooting.
- DePaul-yes, DePaul-is 3-0 after being one of the few Big East teams to help the league save face in the Gavitt Games. The Blue Demons outlasted Penn State 72-70 in overtime, regaining their balance after the Nittany Lions came back from eight down in the final two minutes of regulation.
- The game between Detroit Mercy and California scheduled for Thursday night was postponed due to effects from the tragic wildfires in northern California. Air quality in Berkeley dropped to unsafe levels, and Cal is reporting that smoke has even infiltrated Haas Pavilion. The teams will try to reschedule but no date is set at this time.
Today’s Menu:
- The tourneys in Charleston and Myrtle Beach continue. Semifinals in Charleston include Virginia Tech against Northeastern (11 a.m. Eastern, ESPN2) and Davidson taking on Purdue (6:30 p.m., ESPNU). In Myrtle Beach, it’s Saint Joseph’s meeting Central Florida (1:30 p.m., ESPN2) and Western Kentucky taking on West Virginia (9 p.m., ESPNU).
- The 2K Classic wraps up with the presumed title game between top-15 teams Syracuse and Oregon (4:30 p.m., ESPN2) now the consolation matchup and UConn meeting Iowa in the championship game (6:30 p.m., ESPN2).
- A number of tourneys begin on Friday. The Island of the Bahamas Showcase event has four quarterfinals, where the best matchup might be Georgia Southern against Florida Atlantic.
- The Paradise Jam on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands has a better field, including Oregon State against Old Dominion plus Northern Iowa versus Pennsylvania in the quarters.
- The Jamaica Classic actually is covered heavily by CBS Sports Network. The quarterfinals open with Austin Peay against Central Connecticut State (11:30 a.m.), followed by Florida A&M vs. Campbell (2 p.m.), Ohio taking on South Florida (4:30 p.m.) and Georgetown against Loyola Marymount to close it out (7 p.m.).
- The Air Force Reserve Tip-Off in Connecticut has Michigan against George Washington and South Carolina meeting Providence in the semifinals.
- Harvard continues a challenging-but doable-non-conference schedule as it travels to Rhode Island.
- After giving Kansas a push on the road, Vermont gives a try against another heavy when it travels to Louisville.
- Hofstra with Justin Wright-Foreman is dangerous enough to clip Maryland if the Terrapins aren’t careful at home.
- The Gavitt Games is a decent event, but too long. It wraps up with St. John’s at Rutgers (7 p.m., Big Ten Network) in a game that sounds more fit for the ECAC Holiday Festival.
- Louisiana Tech had a nice season-opening win at Wichita State, and now the Bulldogs get their shot at in-state foe LSU (8 p.m., SEC Network).
- Solid non-conference matchup: South Dakota State heads cross country to face Florida Gulf Coast.
- Kermit Davis takes Mississippi out to face Butler on the road (8 p.m., FS2).
- Another solid matchup in the east is Princeton at Lehigh.
- Out west, San Francisco has looked really good early, and now gets a rare opportunity to host a Pac-12 team as it will welcome Arizona State, and in its own War Memorial Gym.
- Wofford goes across country to face Stanford on the road in Maples Pavilion, just one weekend after the Cardinal was in the Terriers’ relative neighborhood playing at UNC Wilmington and North Carolina.
- Nevada’s lofty expectations have brought the Wolf Pack some extra TV games, including their hosting Arkansas-Little Rock tonight (11 p.m., ESPNU).
Have a terrific Friday and a great weekend.
