By Paul Casey Gotham
Death, taxes and …
…low scoring games in the Big Ten. Ah, the beauty of it all. It should come as no surprise that the Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan State Spartans played a game in the fifties tonight. What with the Badgers making eight passes on every possession, and the Spartans like a topical ointment in the Badgers’ jock straps, one could only expect the outcome. MSU eventually won in overtime (they needed five extra minutes to get into the 60s), but not after some dramatics. The Badgers went more than ten minutes without a turnover only to have three miscues in 90 seconds. By the time Korie Lucious nailed a three, Sparty erased a nine-point deficit to tie the game. In the ensuing timeout, Bo Ryan looked like a cross between Ed Norton characters – Jack ascending the stairs of Tyler Durden’s basement with a face full of welts in Fight Club ready to deliver his own 25th Hour EFF You montage. (Does that mean Jordan Taylor is Marla Singer?)
Surprising to hear that Bo Ryan is 12 and 6 against the Spartans. Not saying anything against Ryan. It’s just that not too many coaches have that much of an advantage over Tom Izzo.
Despite the win, MSU still looks suspect. Even Izzo is struggling to put his finger on the problem.
Is it too simple to suggest that the problems revolve around the imbalance amongst Kalin Lucas, Draymond Green and Durrell Summers? Lucas is still not 100 percent. He needs a high ball screen to get in the lane with any consistency. He doesn’t keep opposing defenses honest. Opponents can afford to take another step or two out on the perimeter. Add to that Green is spending WAY TOO MUCH time outside the lane. Yeah, Green can hit threes, but he is NOT a three-point shooter. Plus, he has fallen in love with the fadeaway jumper. abbaduhdabbada – I can not come up with any logical explanation for Green to shoot fadeaways. Two words for Green: size advantage! Get in the paint Big Fella! In overtime, the big boy went in the post, and the Badgers could not handle him. Combine Lucas’s physical struggles with Green’s continued NBA audition, and Summers has lost sight of his role on the offensive end. His defender can afford to stay with him because they don’t have to worry about dropping off on Lucas, and Green is crowding the perimeter.
The bitterest pill
Bruce Pearl is finding it hard to watch Tennessee play on televsion. Really? No one would have ever guessed that the suspended coach of a major-college (or any team for that matter) would find it uncomfortable to have to watch his team play rather than be on the sidelines.
It gets better.
How is Pearl doing this weekend when the ESPN Game Day crew broadcasts from Knoxville?
Pfft!
It’s not like Pearl like the attention or anything. It’s not like he doesn’t like being on camera. This is a kind of cruel joke…and it’s funny. It will be interesting to hear that ESPN guys try to soft-soap this one. Yeah, we got our crew here, but the coach…well…he’s…uh…out of commission.
Steven Gray
Dana O’Neil does great work for ESPN. Her focus this week is Steven Gray’s life-changing experience in Africa.
Coming off the pine
Lamar’s Mike James showed that a bench player can take over a game. The junior guard hit 11 of 21 threes and went 18 of 35 for 52 points as the Cardinals beat Louisiana College 114-62.
The Fresh Prince is back
SI’s Luke Winn usually delves into some heady statistical analysis in his weekly columns. Winn decided to flip things a little and look at the lighter side of college hoops with his Style Archive: Midseason Report.
Where’s the love?
Jesse Baumgartner wears it on his sleeve telling readers about his Love/Hate relationship with college hoops.
Prep-school palaver
If you have to have tournament projections go for it here: 2011 NCAA Tournament Projection.
Let me know what you get out of it.
Mississippi mayhem
Make sure to read Pat Forde’s piece on law and disorder in Mississippi.
1st Team All-Casey
PG Kemba Walker – UConn
SG Jimmer Fredette* – BYU
SF Kyle Singler – Duke
PF Marcus Morris – Kansas
C Jared Sullinger – Ohio State
2nd Team All Casey
PG Nolan Smith
SG E’Twaun Moore – Purdue
SF Kahwi Leonard – San Diego State
PF Trey Tompkins – Georgia
C Robert Sacre – Gonzaga
Got any college basketball splinters? Share them here.
Jimmer Fredette got into that rare realm that is overused in sports these days: The Zone. When you score 30+ in the first half and complete it with a running 47-footer – yeah – you’re pretty good. The thing that was impressive about Fredette that will make this a truly special season for basketball fans is that he can get to the rim on his own and he can FINISH! Wish I lived near the West Coast so i could catch him games.
An Edward Norton reference from both Fight Club and 25th Hour? I love it. The thing that killed me about that game last night was Wisconsin’s last possession of regulation. I guess they were looking for a switch on the ball screen and got it. But the Badger guard did nothing to exploit the switch as he dribbled around for about 4 seconds and ended up shooting an 18 foot fade away over Green or Roe. Could have gotten a better look than that, I’m sure.
Is it time to start taking Penn State seriously? They have beaten Michigan State and Illinois in consecutive games. Both games were in Happy Valley, but winning both is worthy of noting. I expected a letdown after the win over the Spartans.
Good point about Fredette finishing at the basket. He has a strong lower body especially for a guard – a tough matchup for other guards. In transition, he has a sneaky burst in the lane. A lot of it has to do with his ability to cut off the defender’s path.
Great point. Watching Fredette in highlights, he is dangerously explosive. It almost seems like he can go from first to fifth gear in a heartbeat. That allows him to get the inside step on defenders and shield them off.
Penn State is at Ohio State next. I’ll withhold judgment until then 🙂
The story with Penn State those two games appears to be TOs. They turned it over 9 and 5 times. If you look at those games statistically, you wonder how the heck they won (aside from out rebounding Sparty). I have quickly realized as a coach that the single most important stat of all of basketball is your team’s turnovers. Limit those and you are competing in practically every game.
They certain should be taken more seriously than last year. Let’s not forget that two years ago, they won the NIT. But, there were several good seniors on that team, leaving Talor Battle with almost no supporting cast last year. But, Rey is right, it seems that both of these upset wins they won despite some major shortcoming…vs. Michigan St, Battle didn’t play all that well and vs. Illinois, the team didn’t shoot well.
They’ll probably get blown out at Ohio State. This is how things typically go for them.
Fredette also makes it look effortless. Which probably adds to his abilities. He catches opposing players by surprise with the quick change of pace.
All that being said, he can be a liability on the defensive end. Against UB, they couldn’t hide him at one point.
Great point of view on Fredette’s half court shot last night. I love how after he hits it he calmly peaks into the stands as if to say, “I know you guys are enjoying this.”
How the heck did Fredette get away from other schools to settle on BYU? Is he Mormon?
Geez … Florida State really seems to have Duke’s number, huh? FSU’s Singleton is a heckuva player … pretty sure Casey pointed that out earlier. Conference road games are tough … I know … Captain Obvious moment there 🙂