Beyond the Arc

Hey! A ranked showdown that was good!

2009-11-24T04:43:00Z

Now that’s more like it.

Brennan Linsley/AP

Purdue's Robbie Hummel, left, fights for a rebound with Tennessee's J.P. Prince and teammate Keaton Grant.

Most ranked matchups this season have either been sloppy or one-sided. The Paradise Jame championship was neither.

Purdue’s 73-72 win against Tennessee was nearly everything one could hope for in a Top 10 showdown – in November, or any month.

It was close throughout (a six-point lead was the most either could muster) and featured defense, impressive offensive displays (Tyler Smith’s full-court drive-and-dunk is bound for top plays) and some late-game drama.

In a 72 possession game, both teams were right around 1 PPP (Purdue 1.009, Tennessee .996), a testament to good defense and offense. Both took care of the ball (12 turnovers is excellent for any game) and were OK at getting to the line. Neither team shot lights out (47.4 eFG% for Purdue, 46.2 for the Vols), but that was because of the 3-pointers. (Don’t ask.)

It also provided a glimpse of two teams that have enough talent and skill to meet again in the Final Four. It wasn't pretty, but it was still a good game.

In fact, the game’s final play was about the only thing I’d change. Was Wayne Chism really the Vols’ best option for taking the game-winner?

(shakes head)

But hey, it’s November. It’s early in the season. Expecting a true classic at this point is probably too much.

Or not. Maybe the 76 Classic (West Virginia vs. Butler?) or the NIT (UConn vs. Duke) could be the ones…

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

Was that a make-up call? Study confirms it

2009-11-24T04:14:00Z

I don’t subscribe to the Journal of Sports Sciences, but it sounds like the latest issue contains a must-read article.

In a study of 365 games, including 93 played on neutral courts, a group of professors found that yes, refs are biased for the home team and “make-up” calls do exist. They also make more calls against teams in the lead – which can grow in the game is on national TV. Essentially, they’re trying to keep the game close.

The next time that obnoxious fan behind complains about the officiating, he might have a point. Here’s the tell-tale reason behind the study.

"Part of the reason for the study came from something my coach used to tell me," said study co-author Kyle Anderson, who played at Division III Knox College. "He said a team can come in and push and shove and grab and hold, and by the end of the game, or end of the half, they've only got one or two more fouls because officials kind of get tired of calling it."

Among the study’s key findings?

The probability of a foul being called on the visiting team was 7 percent higher than on the home team.

When the home team is leading, the probability of the next foul being called on them was about 6.3 percentage points higher than when the home team was trailing. The professors also cited an earlier study that concluded there were more calls against teams ahead in games on national TV versus those ahead in locally televised games. Calling fouls against the leading team tends to keep games closer, the studies said.

The bigger the difference in fouls between the two teams playing, the more likely it was that the next call would come against the team with fewer fouls. When the home team had five or more fouls than the visiting team, there was a 69 percent chance the visiting team would be whistled for the next foul.

Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News says that the refs don’t deserve all the blame, though. Give some to the coaches, who teach their players how to bump cutters and root offensive players out of their post position.

Fair enough. Now can well agree that we don’t want the game doesn’t get bogged down in fouls?

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

Syracuse can't get any better ... can it?

2009-11-23T20:35:00Z

OK, so everyone (me included) who didn’t include Syracuse on their preseason Top 25s turned out to be dumb. Only the coaches’ poll listed the Orange, and they were No. 25 in that.

But after crushing Cal (then ranked 13^th) and North Carolina (No. 6) last week, Syracuse vaulted to No. 10 in the AP poll, one of the biggest jumps in the poll’s history. Only two teams went from unranked to higher – and both ‘em logged more impressive wins, hard as that is to believe.

The most impressive move from unranked to ranked was Kansas’ jump in to No. 4 in 1989 after beating No. 2 LSU, No. 1 UNLV and No. 25 St. John’s in the Preseason NIT.

Second on the list was Arizona coming in at No. 8 in 2001 following wins over No. 2 Maryland and No. 7 Florida in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic and a victory over No. 23 Texas.

Still, give the Orange their props. No team’s had a better start thus far. (No other team’s played two Top 15 teams either, but hey, just sayin’.)

Should they be higher, lower? Does it matter? Now they’ll do the slow burn to Big East conference play, with only a Dec. 10 showdown against Florida looming as a possible stumbling point. ‘Cuse is going to be a Big East title contender, though BP’s John Gasaway says there one important thing to note about the start: The offense probably can’t play any better.

Me, paraphrasing: ‘Cuse is making 63 percent of its twos (only Georgetown’s made more than 57.7 percent of their twos in conference play in the last seven years), scored 1.16 PPP vs. Cal and UNC (insanely good) and Wesley Johnson, as good as he is, probably won’t continue to make 47 percent of his 3s and 62 percent of his 2s. If he does, he should go No. 1 in the draft.

So Syracuse is playing really, really good right now. Don’t expect it to get better … but that wouldn’t be possible, right?

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

'Nova wasn't efficient -- except with killer D

2009-11-23T06:33:00Z

It wasn’t pretty or efficient, but Villanova emerged from a solid tournament field unbeaten. The ‘Cats may even be a little bit better because of it.

Ricardo Arduengo/AP

Corey Stokes blocks a shot from George Mason's Johnny Williams.

A 79-67 win against Ole Miss on Sunday was just the capper of a tourney that revolved around defense and perseverance.

“You know, this tournament is a great tournament with all the teams that are in it,” said senior guard Scottie Reynolds, who scored 21 vs. the Rebs. “(We) haven’t really been tested against a tough team, and we beat three tough teams.”

Those teams include George Mason (which nearly knocked off Georgia Tech, then beat Indiana) and No. 18 Dayton (deep and aggressive on defense, just like ‘Nova), none of which scored more than a point per possession or shot better than 40 percent from the field.

Remember the stifling defense Villanaova used to smack Duke in the NCAA tournament last March? It hasn’t gone anywhere.

Yes, the Wildcats’ offense was simply good enough. They went for .992, .989 and .95 PPP in three games and never topped 45 percent eFG%. But what else would you expect when they’re without big men Reggie Redding – a starter last season – and star freshman Mouphtaou Yarou? (Yarou went home due to a viral infection, while Redding is still serving a suspension.)

When they return, could it be the best of both worlds -- a better offense and a defense that’s just as potent? May have to wait until Big East play begins to have that question answered.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

5 things to watch this week

2009-11-23T03:09:00Z

Perhaps every team should lose to a D-II school before the season starts. It sure didn’t hurt Syracuse.

The Orange (4-0) wrapped up an impressive start to the season by dismantling Cal and North Carolina in Coaches vs. Cancer. “That’s about as good as it gets,” said coach Jim Boeheim, “and it was against North Carolina and it was here.”

Ray Stubblebine/Reuters

Wesley Johnson shoots against UNC.

With Wesley Johnson as an emerging star and the point guard duo of Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche, it turns out the Orange are gonna be just fine without Jonny Flynn. To think that just 3 weeks ago that Internet chatter (and SportsCenter lede) centered around their exhibition loss to LeMoyne is a little stunning. Not that Syracuse wasn’t capable of a winning plenty of games. But doing this soon was a small surprise – especially on defense.

‘Cuse became the first team to hold the Heels to below 1 point per possession (.942) since Kansas did so in the 2008 Final Four. UNC’s youth plays a part in that, but give credit to that pesky 2-3 zone that’s flummoxed Roy Williams’ teams in the past.

Still, it is still November. Nothing at this point of the season should be taken as Gospel. Just ask Boeheim.

"You can't go by what happens early," Boeheim told ESPN. "You can't tell that much from this. You can't tell because it's so early. North Carolina is going to be good. Cal didn't have one of its key guys [Theo Robertson was out with a stress reaction in his right foot]. I think Ohio State is going to be pretty good with Evan Turner, but they don't have a point guard."

Fair enough. With that in mind, here are five things to watch this week.

It’s not getting easier for Pac-10 and SEC
No, I didn’t forget what Boeheim just said. But the schools that have beaten some Pac-10 and SEC teams this season make a person shake their head.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Loyola-Marymount. Sacramento State. Wofford. Rider. Portland. Oral Roberts. Missouri State. Cal State Fullerton. Some of those were against NCAA-caliber teams (UCLA, Miss State) and some were against rebuilding teams (Stanford, Alabama, Georgia). The Mid-Majority has the best breakdown.

More dangerous mid-major matchups await: Montana-Oregon, Portland-UCLA, Oregon State-George Washington and Morgan State-Arkansas, Princeton-Cal.

If those go according to form, both leagues have showdowns with bigger schools too: Cincy-Vanderbilt, Florida St-Florida, LSU-UConn, Alabama-Baylor, Florida-Michigan St, ASU-Duke, Virginia-Stanford and Arizona-Wisconsin.

Ending the week above. 500 in those games would be a start…

No Big East dropoff?
The Big East, fresh off one of its finest overall season, hasn’t missed a beat. The conference didn’t lose a game until 12 days into the season. The 36-0 start ended when Providence lost to Alabama on Friday.

But this week should provide more challenges.

Vanderbilt plays host to Cincinnati on Monday. LSU is at UConn on Wednesday, (Kent State faces former coach Stan Heath and UCF the same day), Xavier-Marquette is Thursday, Siena-St. John’s is Friday and Saturday has Louisville-UNLV and BC-Providence. If the conference wins four of those, it’ll be well on its way to another impressive season.

Holiday treats
The early season tournaments are already underway – surely you watched Ole Miss play Villanova in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, not that Eagles-Bears game – but you don’t want to wade into Feast Week without a helpful guide.

For that, turn to Ken Davis’ preview. He details the key freshmen and champion predictions.

Whither Devin Ebanks?
West Virginia’s sophomore star didn’t play in the Mountaineers’ opener against Loyolya (Md.) for personal issues. And coach Bob Huggins says he doesn’t know if Ebanks will play this week, either.

West Virginia faces The Citadel on Tuesday (don’t need Ebanks for that one) and plays in the 76 Classic starting Thursday. It should beat Long Beach State, but it’ll need Ebanks for likely matchups against Clemson (Friday) and the title game (Butler, Minnesota or UCLA) on Sunday.

Then again, it doesn’t sound like Huggins is even considering Ebanks’ return anytime soon. He won’t confirm where the 6-8 forward is or hint at what the issue might be. Guess we’ll have to be patient to see just how good the Mountaineers can be.

Ole Roy just keeps winning
Provided North Carolina doesn’t lose at home to Gardner-Webb on Monday, Roy Williams could earn the 600^th win of his career on Sunday against Nevada.

As far as milestones go, it’s well short of Boeheim’s 800^th victory earlier this season, but is notable for two reasons: how long it took, and how many more are out there.

Only 2 coaches with at least 600 career victories have better records than Williams, Adolph Rupp and Jerry Tarkanian. Rupp won his 600^th in his 704^th career game; Tark in No. 720. Sunday will be Williams’ 739^th career game, which puts him in front of John Wooden (755), Dean Smith (773) and Hank Iba (775).

Williams just turned 59 and isn’t even close to retiring. He’s won 179 games in six seasons at Chapel Hill. If he coaches until he’s 66 (Smith retired at the same age), that’s roughly 200 more wins in seven seasons. At that pace, he could very well pass Rupp’s mark for fastest to 800 wins. And that would be a remarkable achievement.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

How serious are allegations at S. Florida?

2009-11-20T17:42:00Z

Sign of the times: The South Florida will probe the “issues” raised by an AOL Fanhouse report of numerous violations at the school. Ignoring Internet stories like this used to be easy. No longer.

The lengthy report, written by former Tampa Tribune reporter Brett McMurphy, who covered the Bulls and the Big East for the paper, is fairly well documented and covers a litany of issues, including a basketball aide providing improper transportation to a current player and overseeing open-gym workouts.

I don’t know the history between McMurphy and Bulls coach Stan Heath, but it doesn’t sound like Heath is impressed.

"You want to keep nickel and diming him," Heath said. "All this little [crap] ... I don't know what this is all about. It's stupid."

Are they serious allegations that could result in NCAA sanctions? Hard to say. It depends on how often they occurred. After all, even little things like phone calls can pile up into one big mess.

If the school deems it didn’t gain a competitive advantage from the allegations, they’ll likely self-report everything to the NCAA and it won’t be a big deal. I mean, even squeaky clean coach can make mistakes.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

Calipari's had it up to here with bad 'D'

2009-11-20T04:42:00Z

Kentucky’s defense – or lack of – is killing John Calipari.

Three days after watching Miami of Ohio’s Nick Winbush hit 8 of 10 from beyond the arc and escaping thanks to John Wall’s late heroics, it was more of the same for the Wildcats against Sam Houston State on Thursday. Corey Allmond made 11 of 16 from deep and finished with 37, a Rupp Arena record. Kentucky still eked out a 102-92 victory, but it didn’t sit well with Calipari.

Ed Reinke/AP

John Calipari gives his team directions.

“If we don’t do better defensively folks, we are in trouble,” he said afterward. “Do you think we can score 100 against everybody? Because we’re going to have to. They are going to score 100 against us.”

Threes were the biggest problem by far. The Bearkats were 18 of 38 beyond the arc. Their 49.4 eFG% wasn’t that impressive, but was enough to irritate Calipari, whose team was sloppy (22 turnovers on 83 possessions? ouch) and did whatever it wanted on offense.

But that’s apparently all the ‘Cats care about.

"Our execution stinks right now," Calipari said. "It stinks because everybody's trying to get theirs."

The Lexington Herald-Leader has more along those lines, including video. It’s worth a listen to hear how exasperated he is.

"We need to get a little better rhythm. Our rhythm stinks right now,” Calipari said. “In other words, we race it up, that means shoot it fast. No! You race it up to try to put pressure on (the defense). So they all get in the lane, you pass, pass (to get an uncontested shot)."

The silver lining for Big Blue Nation is that the players realize they have to get better.

“Sometimes we didn’t bring it a lot on the defensive end and other times we just messed up on a lack of communication,” Daris Miller said. “We didn’t play how we wanted to.”

I know what practice is going to focus on the next few days…

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

Cal's big 3 down to 2 -- that's an issue

2009-11-20T02:08:00Z

It’s panic time at Cal. One of the big three could be out a while.

Last year, the Bears relied on Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson for 60 percent of their scoring. After two games this season, they’ve accounted for 62 percent. They’re always the floor (all three played at least 82 percent of Cal’s minutes last season) and are their three best shooters.

Suffice to say, Cal needs all three to play, and play well to have a chance at winning the Pac-10 or making a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

Robertson missed Thursday’s loss to Syracuse with ~~an undisclosed injury~~ stress reaction to his right foot. And that’s an injury that could linger throughout the season.

Robertson will reportedly play through the injury on a “tolerance basis,”which means when it gets worse, he’s coming out. Stress reactions aren’t season ending – Tyler Hansbrough’s was a pain last season, but he did play through it – but it can turn into a stress fracture or even a broken bone.

If that happens, Cal’s a two-man show. And that’s one show that won’t have a very long run in March.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

Thursday kicks off more non-stop hoops

2009-11-19T02:42:00Z

If you didn’t catch up on sleep Wednesday after 24 hours of hoops, you blew it. More days and nights of basketball await, starting Thursday and extending Nov. 29 with the 76 Classic finals.

That’s 11 days of 20 college basketball tournaments. It’s not round-the-clock action, but it’s close. And that doesn’t even include the non-tournament games. (A complete schedule can be found here.)

So what to watch? Glad you asked.

Jay LaPrete / AP

Evan Turner will be the main attraction for Thursday's games.

Luke Winn highlighted the 10 best tournaments and listed the teams involved, reasons why you should care and picked winners.

Take particular notice of The Paradise Jam finals on Nov. 23 (a potential Purdue-Tennessee matchup), 76 Classic title game on Nov. 29 (where Butler and West Virginia are likely to meet) and the preseason NIT championship on Nov. 27 (Duke vs. UConn?). All of ‘em feature Top 15 showdowns.

But Thursday is the real treat. The Coaches vs. Cancer semifinals involves four ranked teams, while the Puerto Rico Tip-Off has at least five NCAA tournament teams – and it starts with No. 18 Dayton vs. No. 21 Georgia Tech at 11:30 a.m. ET.

How’s that for more hoops?

The Flyers – led by dunker extraordinaire Chris Wright – are trying to secure their spot as the A-10’s top team and perhaps the country’s best mid-major. They displayed uncharacteristically efficient offense during a home win against Creighton, but the Yellow Jackets should provide a much bigger test. You know, because their players are taller.

With 6-9 Gani Lawal and 6-10 Derrick Favors along the frontline, Tech has the size to keep Dayton off the offensive boards (something the Flyers did very well last season), but I anticipate a game very similar to Kansas’ win against Memphis Tuesday night – physical and low scoring. The winner gets a likely matchup with Villanova! Lucky!

After that, grab a late lunch and settle in for the CvC semis. Syracuse vs. Cal (7 p.m. ET) kicks things off. Both teams are trying to cement themselves among the game’s elite teams, which sets up an intriguing matchup: the Orange’s 2-3 zone vs. Cal’s 3-point shooters.

The Bears hit 42.7 percent of their 3s last season (tops among D-I teams), and after wins against Murray State and Detroit, they’re close to that again (41.4). Yet their defense hasn’t fared as well. Opponents are making nearly 50 percent of field-goal attempts. That’s just asking Wesley Johnson and Andy Rautins to shoot. A lot.

And if that whets your appetite for offense, you’re in luck. North Carolina and Ohio State (9 p.m.) are content to push the pace. Both average more than 70 possessions this season. But would you be surprised to know that the Buckeyes are far more efficient doing so? (Correct, dear reader, you said no. You undoubtedly figured the Heels’ relative youth is making it tough for Roy’s team to – in analyst speak – score the basketball.)

Perhaps it’s because Evan Turner is the next coming of Tyreke Evans, or because William Buford and Jon Diebler are turning into reliable scorers.

But I’d say taking care of the ball helps. A lot. Ohio State’s only giving away the ball once every 10 possessions, while UNC is doing so once every four (and forcing foes into turnovers every five possessions). Something’s gotta give Thursday night.

Provided Turner can handle those long-armed Carolina defenders (and they are plentiful), the Buckeyes will pull off one of the early season upsets. And it’ll have been the perfect way to end a day of hoops.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

If Purdue could only stay healthy ....

2009-11-18T18:05:00Z

Foot injuries prompt worry among college basketball coaches. Sometimes little things that appear innocuous turn out to be season-ending. North Carolina’s Marcus Ginyard experienced this last season when a stress fracture delayed his season, then ended it.

OK, so it didn’t derail the Heels’ title run, but not everyone has their depth.

Case in point: Purdue.

The Boilermakers are a serious Final Four contender because their core group of standout players – Robbie Hummel, E’Twuan Moore, Chris Kramer, JaJuan Johnson, Keaton Grant – are on their third season together. But, they’re not the deepest team.

That’s why there should be some concern about sophomore point guard Lewis Jackson being out indefinitely after foot surgery on Tuesday.

"We'll miss having Lewis on the court while he recuperates, but it's important that we take the necessary steps to ensure his full recovery," Purdue coach Matt Painter said.

Does it mean Purdue’s toast? Nah. Jackson may very well return better than ever. And Painter’s been through this before. Hummel dealt with a back problem all of last season (and is the more indispensible player).

But it is cause for hang wringing in West Lafayette.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.