2011 Old Spice Classic primer and thread

By Paul Casey Gotham

ORLANDO, FL — College basketball’s version of a “It’s a Small World” tips off at at the ESPN Wide World of Sports.  Eight teams from eight conferences on the hardwood today for this pre-season showcase, and Pickin’ Splinters is court side. Join the conversation. We will be providing updates throughout the day.

Texas Tech (Big 12) and Indiana State (Missouri Valley) lead off the day’s events.

Indiana State leads the all-time series against Texas Tech by a 1-0 margin. The only previous meeting between the two clubs came on December 29, 1971 with Indiana State earning an 88-84 victory at the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City, Okla.

– Indiana State is 4-0 for the first time since 2005-06 when they won their first eight games of that season.
– The Sycamores won their road opener this year at Louisiana-Monroe by the score of  71-59 on November 14. It marked the first time the Sycamores won their road opener since 2005.
– Indiana State has won one game by five points or less this season, upping their total of close victories to 36 since 2005.
– In the November 18 victory over Ball State, the Sycamore bench accounted for 30 points, outscoring the starters who posted 27.
– Senior Jordan Printy has 163 career 3-pointers, which is second most all-time in the history of the program. Printy has recorded three consecutive double digit scoring performances.
– The Sycamores have recorded more free throws made than their opponents in all four
games this season.

Jordan Printy hit four 3-pointers to lead the Sycamores with 12 points in the 57-56 victory over Green Bay. Printy drained his final 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining to down the Phoenix in heroic fashion. Also key in the Sycamores’
victory over Green Bay was a strong late-game defensive performance which held the Phoenix without a field goal over the final 2:32 of the game and limited them to just eight points in the final eight minutes.

Texas Tech is coming off a 66-54 win over Stephen F. Austin at the United Spirit Arena. The game is being televised by ESPN2. It is also available on ESPN3.com. Bob Picozzi (Play-By-Play) and Tim Welsh (Analyst) are calling the action.
Texas Tech is look to start the season 4-0 first the first time since 2009-10. That season Texas Tech began the year 9-0.

One game removed from shooting better than 18.2 percent from the 3-point line, the Red Raiders hit 54.5 percent against Stephen F. Austin. For the season, the Red Raiders are 18 of 41 from beyond the arc (43 percent). Javarez Willis leads the way, hitting on 5 of 11 attempts (45 percent) from 3-point range.

Minnesota (Big Ten) vs. DePaul (Big East)

The Gophers and Blue Demons will be meeting for the first time since the 1982-83 season. The school’s have played 16 times prior. Tubby Smith’s only game against DePaul also came during Thanksgiving week, a 10-point victory in the first round of the 2007 Maui Invitational.

Minnesota has led the Big Ten Conference in blocked shots during the last three seasons, including three of
the top four season block totals in the history of the Gopher program: a program leading 201 in 2008-09, 199
in 2009-10 and 169 last season. Senior Ralph Sampson III led the team in blocked shots last season and is
currently fourth all-time in program history with 171 career swats. Minnesota has blocked 24 shots already
this season, led by Trevor Mbakwe with seven.

Minnesota forward Trevor Mbakwe finished his junior season with 19 double-doubles, tied for the second-most for
a Gopher in a single season. He produced three-straight double-doubles to start the season, most recently with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Fairfield.

With 20 wins during the 2011-12 season Golden Gopher head coach Tubby Smith could join a short list of coaches
to reach the 100-win plateau at the University of Minnesota. Smith began the season with a Gopher record of 80-53.

A win would give DePaul a 3-0 start for first time since the 2008-09 season… the 2008-09 squad started 4-0… a win would also be No. 1,375 in program history… Jeremiah Kelly needs one steal to move into a tie with Bobby Simmons (124 steals, 1998-01) for 20th all-time at DePaul… Kelly also needs four assists to move into a tie with Joe Ponsetto (264 assists, 1975-78) for 21st all-time.

Over the first two games of the season DePaul has totaled 22 three-pointers on 51 attempts from behind the arc. The back-to-back games with at least 10 three’s marked the first time of that occurrence since the 2007-08 season. The Blue Demons have knocked down at least one three-pointer in 550 straight games… DePaul’s last game without a three was Feb. 16, 1993 against UAB at Allstate Arena.

Entering the 2011-12 season, DePaul returns seven players including four that started at least 18 games a year ago. Headlining the returners are sophomores Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young. Othertop returners include seniors Jeremiah Kelly and Krys Faber and sophomore Moses Morgan.Melvin was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and to the league’s All-Rookie Team after averaging 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. In BIG EAST play, he averaged 17.4 points and 6.3 boards per contest. Melvin was joined on the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team by fellow Baltimore native Young. Young was second on the team with 12.6 points per game along with a team-high 115 assists. The duo picked up BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honors six times during the season with four honors for Melvin and two for Young. They also led all
BIG EAST freshmen in scoring throughout the season.Kelly led DePaul with 31.7 minutes per game last season while totaling 90 assists, 52 steals and a team high 50 three-pointers. Kelly averaged 7.6 points per game and joined Young as the only players to start all 31 games in 2010-11. Faber returns after leading the Blue Demons with 5.3 rebounds last season. He is oneof DePaul’s two tallest players measuring at 6-10 along with freshman Derrell Robertson Jr. Morgan  averaged 14.0 minutes per game last season and came off the bench to total 21 three-pointers during his rookie campaign.