By Paul Gotham
Sunday sweep for the A-10
Rumors of the Atlantic 10’s demise appear greatly exaggerated, at least for now. After a sluggish November characterized more as opportunities lost rather than seizing chances, the A-10 seems to have landed on its feet. In a pair of intra-city rivalries, Xavier downed Cincinnati, 83-79 in a double overtime classic, and Temple took down Villanova, 75-65.
Sophomore, Terrell Holloway led the Musketeers to their third consecutive victory in the Crosstown Shootout. The 6’0″ (that is generous) point guard did everything possible to seal the victory. Holloway finished with 26 points, four assists, a steal, a rebound, and a defensive assignment not found in the box score. The point guard from Hempstead, New York went a perfect 11 for 11 from the line including six in the first overtime period. Holloway also assisted on the eventual game-winner when he drove the lane and dished to teammate, Jason Love, for the lay up.
All those numbers might take a back seat to Holloway’s late defensive stand. During a time out in the second OT, Holloway informed Xavier head coach, Chris Mack he could stop Lance Stephenson. The Bearcat freshman had 22 points BEFORE Holloway manned up. After that, Stephenson got nothing…and had no choice whether he liked it or not. Holloway, giving up five inches, drew a pivotal charge late in the game.
Key numbers in the game: Xavier went 28-36 from the line. Cincy finished 10-22. Ouch! Both teams grabbed 43 rebounds. This is an important stat for the Musketeers who have been out-rebounded of late. Kansas State held a 39-30 edge on the boards in a victory of XU. Likewise, Baylor got the best of the boards 40-29 in a 69-64 victory over XU. Xavier’s rebounding woes can be traced to Jamel McLean whose father recently passed away. McLean is Xavier resident ball-getter. He is active on the glass and tough to box out. Here’s hoping McLean and the Muskies can continue moving forward.
Jason Love grabbed 19 rebounds against Cincy. The senior is averaging 9.9ppg and 11rpg.
The game was the 77th meeting between the schools divided by 3.3 miles. Cincinnati holds a 47-30 advantage.
ESPN’s Pat Forde enjoyed the spice of the Crosstown Shootout.
Xavier’s wasn’t the only victory by an A-10 team over a Big East squad. Juan Fernandez dropped 33 points, Ryan Brooks added 20, and Lavoy Allen led the Owls on the boards as Temple took a Big 5 match-up from #3 Villanova.
Down six at half, the Owls opened the second stanza on a 11-0 run. Fernandez led Temple with seven 3s for the game. The Owls shot 11-22 from long range. Lavoy Allen pulled down 17 rebounds, and Temple bested their Philly ruval on the glass, 32-24. Allen pulled down three offensive rebounds.
Earlier this year, the Owls lost to Georgetown by one. Temple is currently 8-2. Temple plays Seton Hall later this week and has a date with the Kansas Jayhawks on January 2nd.
The loss was Villanova’s first of the season and first in Big 5 play since February of 2008. Scottie Reynolds led three Wildcats in double figures with 23. Antonio Pena scored 16, and Corey Fisher added 14.
What is the best non-conference rivalry in the country?
These wins come on the heels of a pair of other big victories for the A10. Charlotte tripped up Louisville, 87-65. Rhode Island trimmed Boston College, 80-69.
Capel making adjustments
Oklahoma coach, Jeff Capel, knew he would have to adjust. After losing 22ppg, 14 rpg, and 2apg when Player-of-the-Year, Blake Griffin, moved on to the NBA, Capel prepared for changes. Oklahoma dropped to 2-3 when they lost to Houston, 100-93. Since then, Capel shifted to a four-guard lineup. Capel has surrounded freshman center, Tiny Gallon, with Tommy Mason-Griffin, Tony Crocker, Cade Davis, and Willie Warren. The result is a four-game winning streak with triumphs over Arkansas, Arizona, Centenary, and Utah.
All the rage
Not sure the last time a freshman received as much attention as Kentucky’s John Wall. The 6’4″ freshman is averaging 18ppg, 7.1apg, and 4.1rpg. Everyone from Dickie Vitale and Jason Williams have heaped praises in Wall’s direction calling him the greatest freshman ever.
Okay, so it is as if in Wall they took Magic Johnson’s touch, put it in Adrian Dantley’s frame, and gave it Calvin Murphy’s speed. Wow! Did I just date myself? Right now, there are a half dozen hipsters googling Calvin Murphy. Save your energy. Trust me. As far as basketball court speed goes, no one is faster than the former Niagara Purple Eagle.
Here’s the thing with Wall. Yeah, the Wildcats have beaten Stanford, Carolina, UConn, and Indiana. Those aren’t exactly Little Debbie cupcake all-stars. But it is a matter of time before the Wildcats meet their own personal speed bump. Saturday, the Hoosiers used a 2-3 zone in the first half to keep the Wildcats in check. It was 42-41 at half. In the second stanza, the Wildcats converted two turnovers into a 19-2 faster than Kelvin Sampson can punch out a 150 character text message. The Hoosiers were forced to go man and Kentucky went on to a 90-73 victory.
Once a team takes care of the ball and can play a soft man, Kentucky will meet their match. That sounds like Florida on January 12th.
Is the medicine getting to Roy?
With his UNC Tar Heels en route to a 103-64 trouncing over big, bad Presbyterian, head coach Roy Williams had a rare moment of losing his cool. Ol’ Roy is recovering from shoulder surgery and it is well-known that the head coach suffers from occasional dizzy spell. Is it possible Roy is experiencing some side effects from the meds? Speaking of side effects to medicine – does it bother anyone else when seeing a TV ad for a medicine when the precautions and list of side effects outnumber the benefits?
Who says the Ivy League doesn’t care about wins?
Glen Miller found hot seats can exist in the Ivy League. After Pennsylvania started 0-7, Miller found himself on the outside looking in. The Quakers made the move to dismiss the third-year coach. Assistant coach and former Quaker great, Jerome Allen, takes over on an interim basis. Allen is the last Ivy Leaguer drafted into the NBA.
Staying in the Ivy League – Harvard recently topped Boston College 74-67. The Crimson also dropped a close one to UConn, 79-73. Harvard plays Georgetown on December 23rd.
Syracuse jumps to #5
Spurned by the pre-season voters, Jim Boeheim’s Syracuse Orange have run off 10 in a row to open the season. The Orange show how the total can be greater than the sum of the parts. With glue-like players, Andy Rautins and Wes Johnson the Orange are exceeding expectations. Many thought the Orange would stall with the exits of Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris, and Eric Devendorf. Instead, the Orange run the floor and play selfless basketball. Coming soon to a high school team near you – zone defense.
Got any college basketball splinters? Share them here.
After losing Sean Miller and several players to graduation – everyone had to expect that it was going to take Xavier some time to get going. Judging by the big W over Cincy – the Musketeers are starting to get going.
If teams are going to take on SU’s zone defense, they better study it. Boeheim’s zone has strong hints of man-to-man, that gets out and pressures the ball. The zone is extremely active, pressuring any passes and trapping on the wings. Hmmm.. seems like I just described a nice wine. Chateau le’ Orang.
The 2009 vintage is looking smooth.
Speaking of the Orange – it is nice to see how this team really spreads the ball around. Was it just me, or did it feel at times last year that the ball stopped with Flynn.. Actually I thought the Orange were at their best last year, when Flynn didn’t hold on to the ball.
“Chateau le’ Orang.” Nice! Is that a Finger Lakes wine? It must be.
Syracuse’s zone is confusing because that is how people attack it. Instead of seeing it for what it is: a match up zone. There is a big difference.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they are extremely long. My goodness, what is Johnson’s wing span?
I had my doubts about Temple’s season because it seems like no one came in with this recruiting class. But Fran Dunphy is doing a heck of a job building guard play there. Ryan Brooks and Fernandez are much more consistent than last year. Maybe they didn’t have that chance last season, but it still hard to suddenyl become the main option. Lavoy Allen has a true knack for the ball. He just sees it off the rim and always knows where it will go. I think he’ll play in the NBA for a long time, possibly a journeyman, but teams will not be able to pass up his abilities though they may seem minute at the pro level.
I might be biased, but two of the best college coaches are in North Philly. Dunphy is doing this without any “5-star” recruits. But the award to me goes to his collegue and football coach, Al Golden. 9-3 and a bowl game? Go Owls!
Rey
Great seeing you back on the Pine. I didn’t get a chance to see the entire Temple-Villanova game. I like Fernandez. He has a good handle and sees the floor well. He is a significant upgrade from…uh…hmmm….who played before he arrived during mid-season last year?
I forget that guy’s name. Christmas time always has me flustered anyway,
Watched UNC play today and nearly have their offensive rebounds tripled by Texas. Offense looked stagnant on both sides. Has college basketball become as simple as this: “dribble drive” to the basket (pick-and-roll optional) or kick it out for a three and then work the glass.
I swear I saw no resemblence of any set offense out of these two today. For me, too much reliance on a freakishly quick guard to create. UNC doesn’t have that and now they look really vulnerable.
Rey,
My mistake I left ‘point guard’ out of my previous response. Fernandez runs the point right? I know he hit a bunch of threes the other night. I wasn’t thinking of Christmas.
As for the UNC-Texas game – far be it from me to tell you what to do. If you want to use one game to represent college basketball, that is your choice. I enjoyed Butler-Xavier, Memphis-UMass, Duke-Gonzaga (even though the Zags were out of sync), and a little bit of Kansas-Michigan.
They were two top 10 teams and the game was ugly. I guess I was referring to a little over-reliance on guys to create. But wait a minute: I’m slowly learning how hard it can be to teach a bunch of kids how to run a fluid offense. So maybe I should watch what I say when I criticize.
You enjoyed Duke-Zags? I’m assuming you started watching around the second half then or your Duke bias is getting out of control 🙂
You have to take the good with the bad, so yes I enjoyed Duke-Gonzaga. Watching two proficient teams struggle is part of fandom. It’s kinda like enjoying Utica Club to make sure I appreciate Sam Adams Winter Lager.
The other night I enjoyed listening to ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ – don’t think I could have said that ten years ago. Of course, it helped that the entire student section from Nazareth was singing it during the time out. Sometimes, in retrospect you realize how good that hard fought game really was – especially when trying to teach the game yourself. I have been there.
Good luck trying to figure out what I just said – complete stream of consciousness.