North Carolina State may not have beaten Virginia at home, and also deserves every bit of skepticism it has received for a puff pastry non-conference schedule where State ran up huge numbers against bad teams. Still, one would think the Wolfpack have to be encouraged in just how close they came to knocking off what is nothing less one of the best and most sound teams in the country. N.C. State shot just 34.4%-well below UVA’s 46.2% rate-went through the expected major dry spells against the Cavaliers, and yet still almost won with toughness and scrappiness that through off the top 5 team. The Wolfpack grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and also forced Virginia into an uncharacteristic 16 turnovers, both numbers way, way above the Cavaliers’ season averages. If there were any doubts of what N.C. State can do at its best-and there probably should’ve been after the Wolfpack were a Braxton Beverly buzzer-beater from having lost three of four entering the UVA game-they should be gone now, and it will be fascinating to see how State responds Saturday when it hosts another highly ranked ACC foe in Virginia Tech.
UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine both have posted gaudy records in the Big West, the Gauchos at 15-4 and the Anteaters 17-5, and the two will meet in a battle for first place Thursday night. UCSB’s Thunderdome this year has started to rock like it did in the old days when Jerry Pimm was the coach and Big Monday made regular trips there.
The game deserves more attention than it will get. In fact, there’s something wrong with this sport when multiple teams in a conference can put together records that good at this stage of the season now and aren’t considered even on the fringe of NCAA Tournament at-large consideration. We know that big, top-of-the-line wins are now all the rage to the selection committee these days, but there still needs to be a place when we start to acknowledge that winning games, and a lot of them, matters. While bending over backwards to find the positives on 12-9 teams, it would be nice to also see some credit given to teams that are approaching 20 wins with a loss total you can count on one hand.
Frustrating especially in UC Irvine’s case is that the Anteaters are Exhibit A for how the NCAA’s new NET still is guilty of rewarding built-in scheduling advantages way too much, just as the RPI did but also how-unacknowledged by most-almost every over rating does, too. UCI’s mark includes a non-conference road win in November at Texas A&M, an SEC team with an 8-10 record that should keep it well down any power ranking. And yet, here at the end of January the Aggies come in at No. 104 in the NET, a full 23 spots ahead of the Anteaters, and A&M does so with a whole two road/neutral wins, or eight less than Irvine. It’s the same way that it’s ludicrous that the NET can have Vanderbilt and its 9-11 mark at No. 115 while the Kent State team that won at Memorial Gymnasium, also won at Oregon State and possesses a 15-5 record somehow ranks more than 20 spots behind the Commodores (and over 60 spots behind the Beavers at 12-7).
Much the same way that it puzzles us here why more teams don’t implement Brad Underwood’s spread motion offense, it also surprises us just how few teams try to duplicate what Tom Izzo does at Michigan State. Specifically we’re talking of just how hard the Spartans push the ball in transition, even after made shots. The pressure Izzo’s teams put on a defense-forcing them to get back so quickly-is something that would think a lot of teams could take a small edge from, with a worst-case scenario being the defense does match up and you have to set up the offense, but also with the possible ‘medium’ of creating a helter-skelter game that can wear out the opponent. For certain, it helps to have Michigan State’s athletes, to say nothing of a point guard like Cassius Winston, but for as much as coaches love to talk about pushing tempo, the fact is few teams do it better than one that is ultimately more known for rebounding and interior play.
Nebraska might get to the NCAA Tournament with the Big Ten’s sky-high NET numbers (when can we start beating the drum claiming conferences are ‘gaming’ the NET?), and the Cornhuskers are a good, solid team, excellent on defense and with a lot of veteran guards to lead the way. We fear, though, that their lack of depth inside is a serious challenge come March. If Isaiah Roby gets in foul trouble…the Huskers will have a tough chore against any team with even modest beef in the paint. (And that chore only got tougher after losing Isaac Copeland for the season with a knee injury)
It’s a treat to see Barry Tompkins and Dan Belluomini still calling games together, now usually covering the West Coast Conference. Been watching those two work West Coast games since the 80s, and they’re always enjoyable
Lipscomb blew out Liberty on the road Tuesday night in a battle for first in the Atlantic Sun, yet another good win for a team that already had won at SMU and TCU this season and also drilled perennial America East power Vermont by 25 in December. For those familiar with them, the Bisons have been known the last couple years for a high-powered offensive attack, but what’s interesting and likely not known by many about them this year is this is actually a team being led by its defense. Lipscomb is holding opponents to 40.3% shooting, including 31.5% from long range, and also is forcing 16.7 turnovers per game. The Bisons are fascinating because, even with the offense cranking in recent years, they haven’t been the most efficient. They do shoot 48.8% this year but also commit 14 turnovers per game (and indeed it was TOs that killed Lipscomb in a loss at Clemson in December). But the Bisons have two players who can carry an offense with Garrison Mathews and Rob Marberry, and they very nearly won at Louisville this year too even when not playing their best game, meaning they’re certainly a team to watch in March.
From its colors, nickname, logo script, uniforms-shoot, even the dance team’s uniforms–Tulsa has one of the best looks and styles of any school in the country. The script ‘Tulsa’ and the blue and gold with a touch of occasional red are timeless. (Just stay away from the completely unnecessary black, please.)
Don’t look now, but UAB is on the rise again in Conference USA. Alabama-Birmingham is 6-3 in the league and before a loss at Middle Tennessee State on Wednesday had won four straight and to get to a 14-8 overall mark for the season. The young Blazers are winning with defense and rebounding, including, holding opponents to 40.7% shooting for the year. Before Rice shot a steamy 51.9% last weekend in an 89-86 UAB win, the Blazers had held their previous seven opponents to a combined below 43.1%, five of them below 40%. Up front, one of the leaders is redshirt senior Lewis Sullivan. It seems like forever since UAB’s 2015 NCAA Tournament stunner of Iowa State as a 14 seed, and Sullivan is the last link to that team, where he came off the bench seeing limited action in 26 games. A starter for the first time as a senior, he is averaging 11.2 points and 6.4 rebounds and shooting 53.5%, leading the team in rebounding and ranking third in scoring.
Of all the great names out there this year (Duquesne’s Sincere Carry sounds like one fit for the NBA right now), our favorite is at Sacramento State, home of Izayah Mauriohoohoo-Le’afa. When good play-by-play announcers drop it in, it’s easy to think they’re singing or laughing, or maybe both. Much respect to those who take it on fearlessly (it’s “Mo-DEE-oh-ho-ho Lee-ah-fuh”), and the junior guard and native of New Zealand has become a valuable player for the Hornets. He ranks second in minutes and leads in three-pointers made for a team that at 8-9 has already surpassed last year’s win total in a 7-25 campaign and has been in almost every one of its losses.
Saint Mary’s may not be an NCAA Tournament team this year-its recent back-to-back losses to BYU and Pepperdine likely ensured its at-large candidacy is done now-but the job Randy Bennett has done reloading this year and keeping the Gaels competitive still is mighty impressive. St. Mary’s played essentially a seven-man rotation last year, and five of those players departed, including a trio of 32+ minute per game seniors in Jock Landale, Calvin Hermanson and Emmett Naar. Jordan Ford has become the next great Gaels guard, though, and a scoring machine and South Florida transfer Malik Fitts has provided a big scoring lift. Moreover, returnees who played very little last year have developed nicely. Jordan Hunter, Tommy Kuhse and Elijah Thomas averaged 15.9 minutes and 5.2 points per game last year-combined, yet this year all three are playing key roles, including Hunter giving the Gaels size and rebounding to at least start to make up for the loss of Landale. Other than a surprising blowout loss to Utah State, the rest of SMC’s losses have all come by six points or less or in overtime. Bennett’s team is not far away at all, and next year will be a hot pick to get back to its regular 25-win level with just one senior (Hunter) playing major minutes this year.
Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
