Once was a time when November college hoops consisted of nothing more than glorified scrimmages with fans in the bleachers. Top 25 teams looking to catch their stride would schedule games against bottom of the barrel squads in contests that would amount to nothing more than a match up resembling the one-sided affairs of the Harlem Globetrotters and Washington Generals.
With the Maui Classic celebrating its 25th anniversary, the NIT Tip-Off continuing its tradition and several other pre-conference play tournaments – the Old Spice Classic, Puerto Rico Tip-Off, the Coaches vs. Cancer, and the Anaheim Classic to name a few – popping up all over, college hoops is getting serious early in the season.
Sprinkle in a few key non-conference match-ups, and the Great Alaskan Shootout is finding it difficult to bring in teams because so few are available.
Not only are teams using November games as tune-ups for conference play, but in many cases these inter-sectional battles have become valuable when putting together a resume for the NCAA tournament.
The Syracuse Orange appear to have learned a lesson.
Spurned by the NCAA Selection Committee for the past two years, Coach Jim Boeheim and the ‘Cuse have beefed up their November ledger.
Oft-criticized for a pre-conference schedule limited to the likes of Colgate and LeMoyne (sorry Smitty) the Orange have already played two Top 25 teams and an ACC team and come away victorious.
Trailing by 11 at half the Orange switched to a smaller lineup and gave the Virginia Cavaliers all sorts of fits.
Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris, and Andy Rautins dissected Virginia’s interior defense and freed up Rick Jackson for a few monster dunks. With the Cavaliers on their heels trying to cover up inside, Rautins took advantage and nailed four from behind the arc. The son of former SU player and current coach, Leo Rautins, delivered a text book approach on the perimeter displaying pinpoint foot work as he led the Orange comeback.
The win for the Orange came just a few days after a pair of impressive showings at the CBE Classic in Kansas City.
Once again the ‘Cuse came from 11 back at half to topple reigning NCAA champ, Kansas. Flynn’s dagger with nine ticks on the clock sent the game into OT. There the Orange outscored the Jayhawks 17-9. Flynn finished with 25.
One night earlier Syracuse took down #18 Florida 89-83. The Orange held off the Gators who missed a three-point attempt down four with one minute remaining. In the end we will probably learn that Florida is not worthy of a top twenty ranking, but nonetheless an impressive win for the Orange.
Syracuse will need to build from this early-season success if they are going to survive the Big East. The seven teams in the conference earning a top 25 ranking have combined for a current record of 31 wins and two losses.
The two losses? Georgetown dropped a 12-point decision to the talented Tennessee Volunteers, and Notre Dame fell hard to #1 North Carolina in the championship of the Maui Classic.
The Irish opened the Maui by pounding the hapless Indiana Hoosiers (It pains me to couple hapless with the Indiana basketball program. It would serve Kelvin Sampson right if he suffered from severe carpal tunnel for the duration of the Hoosiers rebuilding period).
Mike Brey’s gang followed with an impressive victory over the Texas Longhorns. The Irish led by as many as eight down the stretch before the Longhorns used some full-court pressure to get the deficit to one.
Texas coach, Rick Barnes, has to be happy with his squad as they look to find their identity after DJ Augustin. AJ Abrams looks ready to shoulder the responsibility of leading the Horns.
ND will have to go back to South Bend and work on their press offense. Early in the season teams are usually susceptible to pressure, but Brey will not want to ignore that warning sign.
One night later the Irish couldn’t hang with the Heels despite Kyle McAlarney dropping threes like they were lay ups. The NCAA could move the arc back another foot, and McAlarney would not be bothered. The senior hit 10 of 18 for the game including eight trifectas in the game’s final 10:00.
Big East player-of-the-Year, Luke Harangody looked over matched against NCAA Player-of-the-Year, Tyler Hansbrough. As he should have considering that we now know he was suffering from pneumonia.
The Irish will probably gain more from that loss than the Heels will from the win. UNC is a very good team who played very well. They shot almost 56% inside the arc. Was it a case of the Heels playing well? Or the Irish playing poorly? A combination of both? Or did ND’s defense suffer because their big man was hacking up a lung?
UNC brings a speed of play that has to be impossible to simulate in practice. Now that the Irish have seen it first hand, they can make adjustments in practice. Of course, the Irish will have to learn how to play without Harangody for a while. And they better learn quickly. Did I mention that the Big East is going to be a brutal ride this year?
The Heels, on the other hand, have to be careful to not get sucked into the temptations that have brought upon their downfall the last two seasons. Yeah, it was another impressive win, but the Heels did it without establishing any inside play. Sure Hansbrough scored 34. Seven of those 34 came from the line, and I would venture to guess most of Psycho T’s points came in transition. Someone speak up if they saw Hansbrough score in a half-court set while catching the ball with his back to the basket. UNC’s inability to score in the half court has been their Achilles heel come March, and Wednesday’s game could perpetuate that.
UNC has now won the Maui three times – second only to Duke who has taken the title four times.
The Blue Devils are 7 and 0 including wins over So. Illinois and Michigan in the 2K Classic. Thank heavens the Duke coaching staff has made the move to Nolan Smith over Greg Paulus at point guard. Paulus can still contribute, but Smith is much more comfortable with the ball in his possession. The Blue Devils escaped an early season scare as Jimmy Baron Jr. went 8 for 10 behind the arc as Duke beat Rhode Island 82-79. It is just a matter of time before Duke’s inability to rebound becomes a problem.
In what I hope will be the first of many – the family ventured out to catch the Xavier / Miami of Ohio match up. Props to Paddy’s Irish Pub. Per our request the owner made a phone call and was able to reel in Fox Sports Ohio for our viewing pleasure. Our attendance at the establishment on Latta Road near Long Pond for future Musketeer games is almost assured.
The X-Men have put together an impressive start.
Dante Jackson’s half-court buzzer-beater lifted the Musketeers over Va. Tech and secured a birth in the finals of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip Off. The Muskies didn’t look back from there as they knocked off Memphis 63-58 in the finals.
Xavier will have to make some adjustments as freshman point guard, Terrell Holloway, will be lost for a couple of weeks with a broken bone in his foot.
BJ Raymond is a player to keep in mind. He is Mr. Intangibles. Yeah he scored 13 and grabbed 6 boards, but the kid does all the little things – whether it’s hedging on a screen or making sure his man doesn’t get a rebound while a teammate scoops up the board, Raymond gets it done.
On Saturday, the Musketeers looked like they were struggling
from the after effects of too much turkey and stuffing as they fell behind Miami of Ohio by three at half. With Red Hawk point guard, Kenny Hayes running all over the Muskies in the first half, it was Raymond who stepped up in the second stanza. The 6’6” Raymond put a glove on Hayes, and the X-Men finished a 60-53 victory.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s game between Tennessee and Gonzaga. The Volunteers have coasted through the first two rounds of the Old Spice Classic with a pair of double-digit wins. Against Siena the Vols hit six from behind the arc and pounded the glass when they missed for a bunch of second-chance points. Chances are the Zags will not give in so easily tomorrow.
When that is done, it is time for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. And it’s only December. We’re just getting warmed up. Oh this is gonna be a fun season.
Leave a Reply