CBB Splinters | 11/18/09

By Paul Gotham

Mind for a marathon

Nothing like a made-for-television event to feed the appetite of all basketball junkies. Nothing like a made-for-television event to start the revenue stream for ESPN. Billed as a marathon, ESPN offered 26 continuous hours of college hoops on Tuesday. How sweet it was to come home from work and catch some action. Never mind that it was the three o’clock hour and college kids were playing instead of …going to class. Who cares.

Owls spook the Hoyas

Everyone will focus on the paltry offensive stats for this game. There is no hiding it. Georgetown led at the half, 19-13 – not exactly a barn burner. Both of these teams could have taken a spot next to the tuba or clarinets and filled in fine because they were as tight as a drum. For the game, Georgetown and Temple combined to go 6-41 from the three-point arc.

Looking past those obvious shortcomings, both teams displayed notable maturity on the defensive side of the ball. Georgetown wanted to run ball screens all day, but Fran Dunphy has his Owls well versed on hedging. It also helped that the GU back court seemed out of sync. It’s probably not a good thing that Hoya center, Greg Monroe, led G-Town with three assists.

Georgetown’s defensive rotation continually frustrated Temple.The Owls displayed a deft passing touch on the interior, but nobody was willing to pull the trigger. Such is life after Christmas. Dionte Christmas that is. The former three-time A-10 leading scorer graduated last year, and the returners will need to pick up the slack. Given time, Lavoy Allen and Ryan Brooks will make their mark. Brooks hit a three-pointer to give Temple the lead, 39-33with 6:53 remaining. The Owls could not hold the lead on the road.

MSU wins; Gonzaga serves notice

Gonzaga led for35 minutes of this game. Unfortunately, they trailed when it mattered most. Tom Izzo’s Spartans recovered on their home court and downed the Mark Few’s Bulldogs, 75-71.  MSU showed flashes of what made them national runner up a year ago. Gonzaga showed that they been overlooked.

Down by as much as 13, the Spartans stayed the course outscoring the Zags 14-6 in the final 4:30 of game time. Durrell Summers led the way with 21, but Ramar Morgan came off the bench and added 16. MSU shows a balanced attack. The maturity of Kalin Lucas could add the missing element from last year. It is like Lucas spent the off-season watching replays of Ty Lawson eating him up. Last night, with :40 left on the clock, MSU went into a 1-4 set and Lucas took his man off the dribble to give Sparty a 73-70 lead.

In the end, foul trouble cost Gonzaga the game. Robert Sacre and Elias Harris played much of the second half with four fouls. The Spartans took advantage in the paint. Matt Bouldin is a classic Gonzaga-type player. The senior will not dazzle anyone with overpowering athleticism. Bouldin possesses a great feel for the game. He never seems rushed. He lets the game come to him and always seems to know when to make the extra pass and when to shoot. The guard finished with 15 points, three rebounds, and four assists. Few, if any, outlets included the Zags in their top 25. Going into East Lansing and sticking with the Spartans should change that.

The curious case of Josh Pastner

Much has been made of the new Memphis coach. Riding in the wake of the recent scandal in Tiger program, Pastner has nothing if he hasn’t been a beacon leading the program out of the dumps. First, there is the resume to consider.  Then came a report the 31-year old planned to not sign any endorsement deals. Despite all the possible negative press, Pastner inked a top-flight recruiting class in his first go round.

Everything is pointing in the right direction for the young coach. Judging by last night’s performance, the future might be closer than expected for the Tigers.

Cole Aldrich had a double-double, and Kansas took a white-knuckle ride and outlasted Memphis, 57-55. Memphis attempted a three late that would have won the game.

The story of this game is Memphis’s Elliot Williams. Much has been made how the sophomore transferred from Duke to be closer to his ailing mother. More is going to be made about his play. Williams must have been home sick for his jumper because I don’t remember him having that sweet stroke when he played at Cameron last year. Combine the outside threat with his ability to go off the dribble, and Williams has the potential to be a special player. You will be hard pressed to find a player who is a better on the ball defender. It sure would have been sweet to see him in a Duke uniform.

Dusquesne takes down Iowa

This game didn’t get television coverage.  Yes, Iowa is down this year. But do not overlook the Dukes. They return four starters from a team that went to the NIT last year. Dusquesne lost in double OT to Virginia Tech. The Dukes could surprise people this year. Damian Saunders grabbed 16 boards and threw in 16 points last night. Bill Clark scored 20 as the Dukes won on the road, 52-50.

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