November 2008 - Posts
As if No. 1 North Carolina didn’t have enough going for it this season.
The reigning national player of the year, one of the nation’s top backcourts, loads of talented freshmen, a deep bench and the guidance of coach Roy Williams have made the Tar Heels the team to beat.
Now, it looks like karma may be on the Heels’ side, too.
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It’s fairly common to score less than 40 points in a loss. Scoring less than 30, not so much. Yet it’s already been done three times this season.
At this rate, we may see a team score less than 20.
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During a week loaded with great basketball, who knew a mid-major coach would steal the show?
Just not in a good way.
Jimmy Patsos, the coach of Loyola (Md.) devised a way to prevent Davidson star Stephen Curry from scoring on Tuesday night. Curry, a sharpshooter who came into the game averaging more than 30 points a contest, was double-teamed whenever he was on the court. He took three shots and scored zero points.
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Michigan’s win against No. 4 UCLA shouldn’t be a huge shock. Expect nothing less from a John Beilein team.
Sure, the Wolverines (3-0) started off hot this season, mostly behind Manny Harris’ scoring touch. But it’s the third time a Beilein-coached team has beaten the Bruins. In 2007, Beilein’s West Virginia squad took advantage of a Darren Collison’s absence to snag a 70-65 win. In 2006, Kevin Pittsnogle & Co. pulled off a 60-56 win.
Whether it’s Beilein’s perplexing 1-3-1 zone or some timely 3s, his teams get it done vs. UCLA. ‘Nuff said. Especially since it wasn’t Thursday’s most remarkable game.
That would be Texas Tech’s 167-115 win against East Central (Okla.). Yes, you read the score correctly. 167-115.
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Stephen Curry effectively started the Player of the Year debate Tuesday. Scoring 44 points against the No. 12 team will do that.
It’s an amazing thing, too. Oklahoma keyed on Curry from the start. It didn’t matter. The guy is just good.
Still, Davidson may need some marquee wins for him to snag the hardware.
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Tuesday night’s main events went pretty much according to plan. North Carolina outran Kentucky. Stephen Curry scored a bunch, but Davidson lost to Oklahoma. And Kansas raised its championship banner.
Lost among the shuffle – and that late starting time – was a ridiculous finish between Arizona and UAB. Well, ridiculous is being nice. Stupid, maybe? Pick your favorite synonym because it applies. The House that Lute built is slowly crumbling.
The quick synopsis is this: A free-throw with .8 seconds remaining gave UAB a 72-71 in the quarterfinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off. But that omits all the boneheaded details leading up to the end.
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Twenty-four hours of hoops. Now this is a proper start to the college basketball season.
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It’s amazing thing to have coached your last nearly 50 years ago, yet your influence in college basketball is still felt today. That’s Pete Newell’s legacy.
The former California, Michigan State and San Francisco coach died Monday. He was 93.
Newell, who guided Cal to the 1959 NCAA title and the Dons to the 1949 NIT crown, retired in 1960 after leading Team USA to a gold medal in basketball. Doctors advised Newell, then 44, to quit because the game was taking a toll on his health. His impact remained, though.
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Losses in November aren’t the end of the world, no matter how dire the situation may seem after a fun opening weekend.
We saw as much last season when Kentucky lost to Gardner-Webb in its second game. The ‘Cats eventually recovered (though they were 6-7 at one point), made a run at the SEC East crown and once again made the NCAA tournament.
Wait, Kentucky lost again this year? Other Big Dance hopefuls Alabama, Washington and Providence did the same? And others like Wisconsin, Kansas and UNLV all struggled? Yeesh. Maybe it is time to panic – at least for a few teams.
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Ever wondered what percentage of college basketball teams run the Princeton offense? Or play zone defense? What about featuring international players? Or, if you’re a top recruit, who wears Nike?
Good news, because someone has answers.
The Hoops Ideology Report, a sampling of 301 of the 341 D-I schools, has 50 items relating to hoops. And it’s great stuff.
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North Carolina is the heavy favorite to win it all this season. Get used to it.
Wednesday’s early signing period secured more riches for the nation’s No. 1 team. Recruiting sites Scout.com and Rivals.com both gave the Tar Heels the top classes for 2009, which features an elite prospect in power forward John Henson.
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Officially, the college hoops season began Monday. True, it was an underwhelming two games – including a Duke rout, stunner – but the season is finally here.
It also means most of the season preview stories have been written. How much build-up does one need?
With that, here’s our final preview: bold predictions for 2008-09.
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Mike Krzyzewski became one of college basketball’s coaching legends by being smart, aggressive and direct in his demands.
But there are times when the Duke coach is a little too turbo.
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Wednesday links, as the country makes the transition from one poll to another that really counted.
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The 2008-09 college basketball season doesn’t feature a Michael Beasley. Or a Greg Oden. Or a Kevin Durant, Kevin Love or O.J. Mayo. It’s full of good, but not great players.
At least, that’s the general opinion by most media outlets.
Still, even if the player of the year isn’t a freshmen, there are plenty of dynamic newcomers you’ll need to know. Here are 10.
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Ken Mink’s in the record books. Now he can focus on the rest of the season.
Mink, a 73-year-old college basketball player for Roane State (Tenn.), scored two points in a 93-42 win on Monday night. He’s the oldest person to play college hoops.
Mink, who played for Lees College (Ky.) in the ‘50s, missed his first shot attempt, but later sunk two free throws to cement his spot in history.
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Ken Mink’s ready for his shot.
The Roane State (Tenn.) senior may become the world’s oldest college basketball player on Monday. He’s no ordinary senior. The last time Mink, 73, played college hoops, Dwight Eisenhower was President.
“Fifty-two years,” Mink says. “Can I retain that memory? Can I recapture that? I don’t know. It’s going to be a mystery for me.”
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