All that is good with Atlantic 10 men’s basketball.
Holloway, Anthony selected for A-10 weekly awards
NEWPORT NEWS, Va.—The Atlantic 10 has named Xavier senior guard Tu Holloway Player of the Week and Richmond freshman guard Kendall Anthony Rookie of the Week. Both awards were announced Monday for games played during the week of Nov. 28 – Dec. 4.
Holloway, a native of Hempstead, N.Y., lead the Musketeers to two wins over a pair of top-caliber teams. He scored 24 points, including 10 of XU’s 16 points in overtime at No. 20/19 Vanderbilt. He added five rebounds, four assists and three steals in the road win. He followed that with a 21-point performance against Purdue (which is receiving poll votes), adding four rebounds, four assists and a steal against the Boilermakers. Holloway again came through with late-game heroics, scoring Xavier’s final 11 points, including three 3-pointers, in the final 1:48 to cap a 19-point XU comeback win. He scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half.
C.J. putting an “Aiken” on opposing shooters
PHILADELPHIA – Saint Joseph’s sophomore C.J. Aiken has become the nation’s leader in blocked shots, in the NCAA Statistics released today.
Aiken is averaging 5.0 per game, with a total of 40 blocks in the Hawks’ eight games thus far.
The 6-9 forward tied his career-high with nine in Saint Joseph’s win over Drexel on November 30. He also helped the Hawks set a new school record with a total of 16 blocks in that game, breaking that mark that existed since December 1987.
Aiken is also averaging 12.1 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Hawks, who begin a six-game homestand on Wednesday against Boston University. Game time at Hagan Arena is 7 p.m.
La Salle 78 Bucknell 52
PHILADELPHIA – Junior Ramon Galloway had a game-high 20 points and was a big part of another outstanding defensive effort to propel the La Salle men’s basketball team past Bucknell, 78-52, on Saturday at Tom Gola Arena.
Galloway shot 5-for-8 shooting from behind the arc to go along with a career-high nine rebounds.
“We have good guards that get penetration and can kick it out when we’re open,” Galloway said of his effective shooting.
Senior Earl Pettis chipped in 18 points, while senior Devon White and sophomore Tyreek Duren each had 11. Joe Willman had 14 points for Bucknell (5-4), which was an NCAA Tournament team last season.
La Salle shot .492 from the field, including a .444 clip from beyondthe arc. The Bison shot .328 during the game.
Conklin scores 19 in Bills’ win
ST. LOUIS – Brian Conklin made all seven shots from the field en route to a game-high 19 points, and No. 23 Saint Louis beat Portland 73-53 Saturday night at Chaifetz Arena.
Cody Ellis had 16 points and Kyle Cassity and Mike McCall Jr. registered 10 apiece for the Billikens (7-1), who had a 25-3 run in the first half and led by 26 early in the second. Those three combined for Saint Louis’ seven 3-pointers, with Cassity going 3 for 5 from beyond the arc.
Out of Bounds with SBU’s Matthew Wright
SBU outruns Bulls
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Andrew Nicholson led St. Bonaventure (3-3) with 23 points and eight rebounds as the Bonnies took control in the second half and held on for a 66-60 victory at Buffalo (4-2) on Saturday.
Buffalo led 31-29 after a tight first half and 46-41 with 12:54 to play in the game after Zach Filzen – who finished with 26 points on 6-of-8 from 3-point range – converted one of his triples. From there though, the Bonnies rattled off 15 unanswered to build a 10-point lead that would hold up for good, though the Bulls pulled to within four twice within the final minute.
Balanced scoring gives UMass 86-56 win over Towson
AMHERST, Mass. – A balanced scoring effort paced by four players in double-figures kept the UMass basketball team undefeated at the Mullins Center as the Minutemen defeated Towson 86-56 on Wednesday night. The Minutemen improve to a 6-2 record on the season. Freddie Riley led UMass with 15 points, while Raphiael Putney, Cady Lalanne, and Chaz Williams all hit double-digits as well. The depth of UMass was evident with a total of 51 points coming off the bench.
Johnson scores career high in Duquesne win
PITTSBURGH – Sean Johnson scored a career-high 25 points and B.J. Monteiro added 18 to lead Duquesne to a 77-67 win over Tennessee Tech at the Palumbo Center.
The Dukes shot 50 percent in upping their record to 5-3. Tennessee Tech, which shot 40 percent, fell to 3-4.
Eric Evans and T.J. McConnell, who had five assists each, also reached double digits with 11 and 10 points respectively for Duquesne.
Spiders put Wake to sleep
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Freshman Kendall Anthony poured in a career-high 21 points to lead Richmond to a 70-62 win over Wake Forest in Winston Salem on Saturday. The Spiders’ win, now its third straight, marks the program’s third-ever victory in 21 visits to Wake and its first in Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
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Temple sets new Liacouras Center record
PHILADELPHIA – Home Sweet Home! That is how the Temple men’s basketball team felt as it defeated Central Michigan, 86-74, Saturday afternoon in its home opener. The win set a new Liacouras Center record for consecutive wins with 23 and improved the Owls to 4-2 on the season.
Sophomore Aaron Brown had a career-night. The 6-5 guard shot seven-of-11 from the field (4-7 form 3-point range) to finish with a career-high 21 points off the bench. He also had a season high five rebounds in his 22 minutes on the court.
College Chalktalk’s Diary Series with GW’s Kevin Sutton
Have you watched a basketball game lately and the game just left you wondering what happened?
Why did the player take that shot? Why didn’t the team call timeout? Why did they foul?
Have you ever wondered why so many time outs are called late in the game to diagram a play? Why doesn’t the team have a play for that situation? Why do games just end with no strategy employed?
Briscoe ignites Charlotte win at ECU
Charlotte raced out to 19-point lead in the second half and then held off a furious East Carolina rally to grab a 12-point 76-64 road victory at East Carolina.
Deuce Briscoe led the 49ers with 19 points including 18 in the second half and Chris Braswell and Javarris Barnett added 13 points. Charlotte led 26-25 at the half, but erupted for 50 second half points.
Fordham holds on for 54-53 win over Hampton
Bronx, N.Y. – For the first five games of the season, Fordham head coach Tom Pecora was looking for a veteran to take charge of his young team, a squad that features seven freshmen and four sophomores. Tonight he got his wish as seniors Kervin Bristol and Alberto Estwick, along with junior Chris Gaston, propelled the Rams to a 54-53 win over Hampton University in the Rose Hill Gym.
With the win, Fordham evens its record at 3-3 while Hampton falls to 4-5.
“What a difference it makes when you have a six-ten senior center playing his tail off,” said Pecora regarding Bristol. “This is what we want and need from him every game. He was a force around the basket. Alberto Estwick did a very good job as well, making some big shots at the right time, as did Chris Gaston.”
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UD takes the Old Spice Classic
For the many Flyer Faithful who turned the HP Field House into South Dayton for the Thanksgiving weekend, their vehicle for dreams coming true was General Archie Miller. The last time Dayton won an in-season tournament was 2008. UD went on to win a first-round game in the NCAA tournament that year. Will the Old Spice championship become a springboard for UD?
Scanning the Game Notes
Outerbridge’s career day versus Nebraska
URI’s Orion Outerbridge registered career-highs in points (24) and rebounds (10) at Nebraska on Nov. 20. It was his second collegiate double-double (previous: 10p/10r vs. UMass, Feb. 19, 2011). The 6-9 forward also tied his career-high with four 3-pointers made (4-for-9).
STOP, THIEF
Through five games of the 2011-12 season, the Fordham University Rams have recorded 47 steals. The Rams opened the season with two straight double digit steal totals, notching ten steals at fifthranked Syracuse in the season opener
and then eleven more in the win over Binghamton before coming up just short of double digits with nine at Loyola. But the Rams responded with a season-high 15 steals in the next game, a 79-69, win over Colgate on Tuesday. The back-toback double digit steal total was the first time a Fordham team recorded double digit steals in back-to-back games since 2008 (the Rams had only two games of double digits steals in all of 2010-11). Fordham’s 9.4 steals/game average is second best among all Atlantic 10 schools and tied for 20th best in the NCAA Division I.
DOUBLE TIME
In the first two games, the 49ers posted fi ve double-doubles. Junior scoring leader Chris Braswell and senior Javarris Barnett notched double-doubles in each of the first two games while DeMario Mayfi eld added his fi rst career double-double at Central Michigan. Braswell now ranks 9th all-time with 17 career double-doubles. Barnett has doubled his career total, this season and has four career double-doubles. at Central Michigan: Braswell (22 p, 10r); Barnett (17 p, 12r); Mayfield (10 p, 10 r) vs. NCCU: Braswell (19 p, 12 r); Barnett (10 p, 10 r). NOTE: Braswell and Barnett posted back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in their careers.
Living by the Three
GW entered this week’s games as the leading three-point field goal percentage team in the nation at nearly 49 percent. The Colonials struggled through a 1-of-11 second-half effort behind the arc at Kansas State, finishing at 26.3 percent for the contest to fall to 44 percent for the season. That total is still tops in the Atlantic 10 and would still be good for a tie for 16th nationally with Tennessee. The Colonials‘ 64.7 effort from three-point range in the victory over the host Falcons was their best since making 10-of-12 triples in a 90-62 win against St. Bonaventure in February 2009. GW also shot 61.2 percent from the field against BGSU, its highest rate since shooting 63.8 percent at Duquesne in January 2009.
Fresh Start
XU Freshman Dezmine Wells has started his first five games as a collegian and has made a definite impact. Wells, a preseason A-10 All-Rookie Team selection, is third on the team in scoring at 9.8 ppg. He is bidding to become the first XU freshman to score in double figures for a season since Stanley Burrell scored a team-high 12.7 ppg. in the 2004-05 season. The last Xavier freshman to start his first collegiate game was Romain Sato in a win over Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 18, 2000 at Cintas Center.
XU-Butler preview
I’m a Ken Pom obsessive, and one of my favorite aspects of his site are his Win Probability Graphs. Look at the graph for the second half against Purdue at right. At 55-36 with 10 minutes to go, Purdue was a 97% favorite to win the game. Ninety seven per cent. The importance of Tu Holloway’s late bombs is further underlined — his first moved the needle about 11% toward X (pushing the Muskies within two points at 60-58). The second three pushed X into favorite territory, moving the WP chance from roughly 38% to 55%. And the third took X from 55% to north of 75%. Those are huge, colossal shots.
UD’s Dillard overcomes obstacles, excels on the court
There are different kinds of losses.
There’s the embarrassing kind the University of Dayton men’s basketball team suffered Wednesday night when they were uncharacteristically blown out by Buffalo at UD Arena.
And then there’s the kind that leaves you with a pair of eyes crying teardrops into a rose that’s tattooed onto your upper arm. One where you’ve filled a notebook with poems trying to write away the longing and hurt. One where you think all you have left is a fading photograph of a 19-year-old girl that you keep on the desk in your Stewart Street apartment.
UD hopes to learn from loss to Buffalo
University of Dayton basketball players may have been guilty of sleepwalking through their previous game against Buffalo, coming off the high of the Old Spice Classic title, but first-year coach Archie Miller had no trouble getting energized for the lightly regarded MAC foe.
He screamed. He exhorted. He even shattered a grease board used to diagram plays in an attempt to get the Flyers’ attention.
10 things you don’t know about Joe Sunderman
Joe Sunderman, former Xavier basketball standout and current radio voice of the Musketeers, was born July 22, 1956. Four months and two days earlier, Xavier lost to No. 3 Dayton in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. Exactly one year and eight months later, Xavier beat No. 11 Dayton in Madison Square Garden to win the NIT.
XU wants to turn back the clock at Butler
An unspoken rule prevents Xavier basketball players from focusing on any game other than the next, so Saturday’s Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout at Cintas Center might as well be in June.
The Musketeers hope to settle a score at Butler much sooner.
Spiders have been ‘major’ headache for top-tier teams
Before his Vanderbilt team met the University of Richmond in last season’s NCAA tournament, Commodores coach Kevin Stallings was asked about the Spiders’ reputation as giant killers.
“That went away a long time ago,” Stallings said. “They certainly knocked off some giants … but that’s way in the past. Their program has elevated to a much higher level now.”
UR beat Auburn (1984), Indiana (1988), and Syracuse (1991) in NCAA tournaments to earn the giant-killer tag. But in recent years, the Spiders have gone from occasional upset-pullers to regular conquerors of opponents from major conferences. Vanderbilt is one of 11 teams UR has beaten in its past 16 games against major-conference opposition.
Majerus’ rebuilding program takes flight in year 5
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Last season was such a downer for Saint Louis, there’ll be few tears shed if the school’s first appearance in the Top 25 since 1994 lasts a single week.
The Billikens figure to be back.
A year late, coach Rick Majerus’ program is finally taking flight.
All five starters are back on a team picked to finish third in the Atlantic-10. Saint Louis has already beaten Oklahoma, Villanova, Boston College and Washington in a scintillating 6-0 start.
Katz 3-point shot
Xavier’s Tu Holloway has been this season’s Kemba Walker. Holloway isn’t shooting as effectively over the course of 40 minutes, but his timely shooting led to a comeback road win at Vanderbilt and a turnaround home win over Purdue.
Got any A10 news or notes to the add to the Bounce? Post it here.
Alan Major. God love ’em. That just gets more spectacular each time I see it.
Wait a minute – why wasn’t Majerus fired 3 years ago?! You don’t get five years to rebuild anything in this day and age! Thank you Saint Louis for showing us that good coaching and good coaches do need some time to get things going and that there are still peaks and valleys on occasion.
BAM! Rey – my sentiments exactly about Majerus. Good to see that some places can show a little a patience, and let a process run its course. Maybe he should call Turner Gill and offer him a job. Turner could work as his strength and conditioning guy.
Alan Major – second only to Stephen A. Smith and Ron Washington.