By Paul Gotham
South Carolina slays KU
Indiana Hoosier fans can rest easy. Your’75-’76 Hoosiers still hold the title as – the last division one men’s basketball team to go undefeated.
Not that there was any real cause for concern.
Devan Downey led a spirited Gamecock squad to an upset of the previously last remaining undefeated team, Kentucky. Downey scored 30 including 17 in the second half as South Carolina triumphed 68-62. Twice Downey converted three pointers the old-fashioned way as South Carolina outscored Kentucky in the second half, 42-33. The senior guard also hit 10 of 11 from the free throw line.
There is not any one number that jumps out and indicates how South Carolina upset Kentucky. Rather, the Gamecocks brought a balanced attack into the game.
Sam Muldrow grabbed 11 boards as the Gamecocks out-rebounded the Wildcats, 40-38. Kentucky entered play Tuesday with a rebound margin of 4.8. The Wildcats had been previously out-rebounded just three times. South Carolina limited Kentucky to 13 offensive rebounds – their fourth lowest output of the season.
South Carolina held Kentucky to just 57 shots on the night. In comparison, the Wildcats took 77 against Arkansas and 68 versus Florida. But it’s not just that South Carolina cut down on the number of shots, but it’s how the Gamecocks did it. South Carolina made Kentucky play half-court offense much of the night. The Wildcats want to get out in transition and get into 3 on 2 or 2 on 1 situations. South Carolina eliminated those opportunities.
Kentucky finished the night 22 of 57 from the field (38.6 percent) including 3 of 12 (25 percent) from behind the three-point arc.
A telling number was the amount of time played by Kentucky’s starters. Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall all played 34 or more minutes. Eric Bledsoe logged 31 minutes. These guys are accustomed to playing five minutes less per game. The Wildcat bench might become an issue at some point this season.
South Carolina fans stormed the court and earned the school a fine.
Indiana finished the ’75-’76 season 32-0.
Shot selection leads to Temple victory
Being limited to fewer shots does not always equate with a losing performance.
If ever a new secretary of energy is needed, Temple’s head coach, Fran Dunphy, might be the man. Dunphy’s Owls showed how to get a lot out of little indefeating Xavier 77-72.
Temple needed just 49 shots to account for the night’s total. The Owls shot 59.2 percent from the field including five of ten from behind the three-point arc.
In each of Temple’s three losses this year they took more shots and scored fewer points. Georgetown defeated the Owls 46-45 in a game where Dunphy’s squad shot 18 of 56 from the field. In an 84-52 loss to Kansas, Temple went 16-64. The Owls shot 18-64 while losing to St. John’s 55-48.
Xavier is no slouch on defense. The Muskies limit opponents to 40 percent from the field. The nation’s leader, Florida State, holds opposing shooters to 35.5 percent.
What was the difference? Temple played a patient game against the X-Men. They worked the ball from side to side, created a rhythm and found open shooters. There is a better tendency for that to happen when the defense is responsible fr the entire width of the court. Against Kansas and St. John’s, Temple rushed shots.
Player to watch: Julius Coles, Canisius
The junior guard averages 15 points and 5 rebounds for the Griffins. At 6’4″ and 180 pounds, Coles is not going to move anybody out of his way. But he is a lanky guard who is difficult to keep a body on when a shot caroms off the rim. Coles connects 35 percent (41-117) of the time from behind the arc. He has a quick release. Defenders struggle to defend his shot when he gets the ball to his release point.
A.P.B.: Pac 10
This week’s polls had a conspicuous absentee: the Pac 10. The conference considered the king of the west did not have any ranked teams. None. Nada. Zilch. In fact, only California managed any votes: two votes from the AP and two votes from ESPN. No school in the conference has fewer than six losses. California, Arizona St. and Washington all have six defeats. USC and Washington have each lost seven games. UCLA is 9-10.
1st Team All Casey
PG Scottie Reynolds – Villanova
SG Jeremy Hazell – Seton Hall
SF Wesley Johnson – Syracuse
PF Al-Farouq Aminu – Wake Forest
C Cole Aldrich – Kansas
2nd Team All Casey
PG – Sherron Collins – Kansas
SG Jordan Crawford – Xavier
SF Evan Turner – Ohio State
PF Patrick Patterson – Kentucky
C Jarvis Varnado – Miss State
Got any college basketball splinters? Share them here.
testing my new gravatar…thanks Casey
I’m not sure I’d rank “Wes J” as the best small forward in the nation. As many analysts are starting to notice, he does have some large flaws in his game. As a small forward, you are expected to slash to the basket and at times create your own shots. This is the weakest aspect of Wes J’s game so far. He also is a pretty good shooter, but if you watch, the majority of people guarding him are at least 2-3 inches shorter than he is. This will not be true in the NBA. He is also a junk scorer and gets many of his points on the fast break or off assists as he is set up by his teammates. Other teams’ big men are worried more about Onuaku and Jackson down low and he does not get boxed as well by the better individual rebounders on teams.
With all of that being said, he is a great teammate and very unselfish which is the mark of this year’s ‘Cuse team. However, I do not think that he will be an immediate impact player in the NBA. He will need years to develop. My argument (selfish as it may be as a ‘Cuse fan) is that he should get that development through at least one more year of college ball.
I don’t know who I’d pick over him, but I have seen Evan Turner, and I’d probably rank his skills higher and his NBA potential higher at this point than Wes J’s.
How about no Texas player in your 2 lineups. Damian James???
Dan,
Thanks for the read. Great energy with the comment. I am not rating guys according to what I think their NBA value is. Instead, it is in how they are playing right now. Johnson’s willingness and ability to do the simple things makes him all the better. He is not trying to get on the highlight films. That is a great aspect of him and the SU team. If opponent’s are worrying about Jackson and Onuaku, and Johnson is finding his niche, that makes him all the better in my eyes. Instead of coasting, he is stepping up.
Turner is good and maybe he will be a better pro. I am not looking at it that way.
Robbie Hummel, Kyle Singler, Stanley Robinson, Chris Johnson and Gordon Hayward would be the only guys I would consider to displace Wes Johnson.
As for Damian James – he is not better than Aminu or Patterson. At least not what I have seen so far this season.
How does Scottie Reynolds of Nova get it done to that level of effectiveness? He’s just a deceptively great player. Doesn’t appear to be very athletic, yet he’s an incredibly effective PG for one of the best teams in the nation. Just knows how to play the game … great instincts which overcomes his so-so athleticism … kinda like Larry Bird in a way.
You said it – instincts. He hits from behind the arc with accuracy but doesn’t overshoot. He knows how to create space and use it well. He recognizes lanes and can go off the dribble well. Of course, the fact that he has stayed through his senior year has helped those instincts.
And I still think I can jump higher than he can 😉
Who was that big-butt PG who played in the NBA for a couple years … Bagley from Boston College?? He was kinda the same way.
I have a couple issues with this list:
1) Patrick Patterson is not even one of the best two players on his team. Wall and Cousins have stepped up and contributed significantly more than Patterson this season. Looking at his stats compared to last year, Patterson has declined on almost every single statistic this season (minutes, points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and FT%). That’s tough to do! Yes he has a better supporting cast and doesn’t have to do as much, but his play has suffered and that can’t be overlooked. His teammate, DeMarcus Cousins is playing better, he’s tougher, and has been performing better as of late. Cousins is averaging 1.0 PPG and 2.0 RPG more than Patterson.
2) Devan Downey has to be talked about more than he is. He is the best pure scoring point guard in the country. Yes, the Gamecocks are 13-8, but looking at their schedule, they are the only team in the nation to have beaten Kentucky (Downey had 30 points) and their only bad loss was @ Wofford. Downey has scored 30+ points in five of his last seven games! All of which are against the much improved SEC. Oh yeah, he’s 5’9″ too (in high heels). If you haven’t watched him play yet, sit down and treat yourself to some high quality guard play.
3) Damion James is seventh in the nation in rebounding (11.3 RPG), leads the deepest team in America (Texas) in scoring (18.2 PPG). Also, James shoots just about 50% from the field all while not even playing 30 minutes a game.
Overall, I feel this list would be a lot better if Patterson was removed, Hazell was reconsidered, and Downey and Cousins were added. Also, John Wall MUST find a way onto this list. He’s that good.
**Cousins/James were added**
Doug
Good to see you back on the Pine. Great energy with your comments.
First off, the All-Casey teams are subjective. That is, they are subject to my opinion and how I watch games.
You will notice I have arranged my teams by position. That might be a shortcoming, but it is how I am doing it. Cousins is a center. Patterson is a power forward. Cousins is not better than Aldrich (IMO). I pick Varnado based on his overall contribution and how opposing teams have to change their game plan to account for his shot-blocking ability.
Yes, Patterson’s stats are down, but stats are nothing without context. I have seen Kentucky play twice this year. Patterson draws a lot of attention which opens the floor for his teammates. He could choose to try and pad his stats, but that would be at the expense of his team.
As for Wall, I don’t know who has more hype – the point guard from Kentucky or the Jonas Brothers. Only thing I know is that the Jonas Brothers are not in my ipod and Wall needs to show me he can consistently play against a half-court defense. He is great in the open floor and making decisions with an advantage in numbers. Put nine guys in front of him, and it is different. Right now, I would take Reynolds and Collins in front of him. Ten years down the road? I don’t know. I am looking at the present.
My omission of Wall was questioned a couple of weeks ago. I started our blind resumes in that thread. The three people who responded chose the OTHER point guard. Stats are nothing without context, but the blind resume showed that Wall is not as obvious a choice as you would think. Hype can sway clear thinking minds.