The College Basketball Post

[ricardo malta]

UNC gave up 76 points to Rutgers. That right there is terrible and shows their defensive problems. What works in UNC's favor is that there aren't toomany explosive offenses out there that can also slow down UNC's offense a bit in order to give them a chance at the upset.

 

[worldbeefreeg]

Originally Posted by Ricardo Malta

UNC gave up 76 points to Rutgers. That right there is terrible and shows their defensive problems. What works in UNC's favor is that there aren't too many explosive offenses out there that can also slow down UNC's offense a bit in order to give them a chance at the upset.

Rosario is the truth though.

 

[ricardo malta]

He had 22 which aint bad but it wasn't like he was lights out.

Look what McAlarney did to UNC and Notre Dame still lost by a healthy margin.

 

[al3xis]

I think transition D is #1 priority if somebody is gona stop UNC


[h1]Weekly Watch: Arizona's Hill, West Virginia take home honors[/h1]
ESPN.com

Updated: December 28, 2008

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AP Photo/Wily Low

Jordan Hill has come out of nowhere to lead Arizona in scoring.

Editor's note: This edition is for games played from Sunday, Dec. 21, through Saturday, Dec. 27.
[h3]Player of the Week: Jordan Hill, Jr., F, Arizona Wildcats[/h3]
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com

OK, quick: Who had Jordan Hill as the leading scorer for Arizona and a challengerto James Harden of Arizona State for Pac-10 player of the year at the beginning ofthe season? Doubt many, if any, after Chase Budinger returned to the Wildcats andLute Olson abruptly retired. But Hill has been one of the best individual stories this season. The 6-foot-10, 235-pound junior has made himself into a legitfirst-round NBA draft prospect. His live body is a force around the basket and he has increased his post moves to the point where he's becoming a toughermatchup every single outing. Last week, in Arizona's only game, Hill was sensational again. He scored 23 points, delivered 11 boards and blocked a pair ofshots in Arizona's 84-67 victory over Kansas in Tucson. Hill's efficiency was needed, considering Budinger was 1-of-9 from the field. Hill is averaginga double-double (18.9 ppg, 11.8 rpg) and looking like the go-to player for a surging Wildcats team.

The rest of the starting rotation this week:

2. Alex Ruoff, Sr., SF, West Virginia: Joe who? Alexander?What's he doing now? He's averaging four points in just 12 minutes a game for the Milwaukee Bucks. Ruoff has quickly made Alexander a memory the pastthree games. In his return from back spasms that kept him out of a loss to Davidson in New York and a win at Duquesne, Ruoff scored 15 points in a home winover Miami (Ohio) on Dec. 20. But for this week's honors, on Tuesday, Ruoff scored 38 points and grabbed eight boards in a 35-point win over Radford. Hefollowed that up with 17 points in a crushing 76-48 win at Ohio State on Saturday.

3. Patrick Patterson, So., PF, Kentucky: Patterson looks healthyafter battling injuries at the end of last season and in the spring. Patterson scored 27 points, grabbed 14 boards and blocked three shots in acloser-than-expected game against Florida Atlantic on Saturday. He started the week by contributing 33 points and 11 boards in a win over Tennessee State onMonday. In the two games combined, Patterson was 27-for-33 from the field.

4. Willie Warren, Fr., SG, Oklahoma: For Oklahoma to becompetitive for the Big 12 title, forward Blake Griffin can't be the only specialplayer. Fortunately for the Sooners, Warren has been special, too. Warren scored 31 points, making 11 of 17 shots and four 3s, in Oklahoma's win at Rice onMonday. Warren's 14.9 points a game is good for second on the team, behind Griffin.

5. Patrick Mills, So., PG, Saint Mary's: The Gaels are onquite a roll, improving to 11-1 with seven wins away from Moraga, including true road wins over Oregon, Kent State and Pacific. Mills was solid as usual lastweek, with 23 points, three assists and one turnover in the Gaels' win over Pacific on Tuesday, and 17 points and four steals (but six turnovers) in a homewin over San Jose State on Saturday.
[h3]Team of the Week: West Virginia Mountaineers[/h3]
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Last week: beat Radford 89-54 on Dec. 23; won at Ohio State 76-48 on Dec. 27.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins was pretty direct in the hallway of Madison Square Garden after losing to Davidson in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 9. Hedidn't like losing, he said, and the Mountaineers probably wouldn't have lost if they had their backcourt of Alex Ruoff and JoeMazzulla healthy. Neither played, and the Mountaineers weren't able to stop Stephen Curry from making two clutch 3s to win the game.

AP Photo/Terry Gilliam

Alex Ruoff scored 55 points over his past two games for the Mountaineers.

Since then, the Mountaineers have gotten healthy and are on quite a tear. While the Miami (Ohio) win counts for the previous week in this column, that winstarted a roll, and West Virginia is heading toward the Big East slate with as much momentum as any other team in the conference.

The Mountaineers beat Miami 82-46 at home. They followed that with a crushing defeat of Radford. But the best came Saturday, when West Virginia gave OhioState its first loss of the season -- one of the worst home losses for any elite team this season -- pounding the Buckeyes 76-48. WVU's Big East slateopens with two road games against Seton Hall and Marquette, sandwiched around a monster home game against Connecticut. Nothing about the way West Virginia isplaying now seems to hinder the Mountaineers' ability to beat anybody on their schedule the rest of the season. They'll still take their share oflumps, but they'll continue to have weeks like this one.
[h3]Résumé Builders[/h3]
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Arizona: The Wildcats pulled away from Kansas in Tucson for their second significant victory of the season. Wins overKansas and Gonzaga (in Phoenix) will make it hard for the selection committee to dismiss Arizona, barring a collapse in the Pac-10.
Clemson: The Tigers dominated Miami in the second half and pulled away for a 19-point win over the Canes in their ACC opener Dec. 21.Clemson is once again in contention to finish in the top five in the ACC.

Texas: The Longhorns had issues finishing games against Michigan State in Houston and against Notre Dame in Maui. That wasn't the issueat Wisconsin on Tuesday. Texas pulled away in the final possessions for a solid five-point win at the Kohl Center.

Pitt: The Panthers played their first true road game of the season Dec. 21 and won an ugly affair at Florida State.

Louisville: Rick Pitino tinkered with his starting lineup to re-energize his team. The motivational tactic worked, as the Cardinals lookedmuch sharper in beating UAB on Saturday behind a strong effort from TerrenceWilliams, who was three assists short of a triple-double.

LSU: The Tigers couldn't pull out their first win against a possible NCAA tournament team when they lost to Texas A&M in Houston onDec. 20. But on Saturday, the Tigers beat a Washington State team that at the very least should be a postseason club, something that might be hard to find onthe Tigers' schedule in November and early December.

Butler: The Bulldogs pulled off a nonconference upset by winning at Xavier. At 10-1 through Sunday, the rebuilding Bulldogs hardly looklike a work in progress.

Illinois: The Illini had a significant neutral-court win over Missouri in St. Louis to jump-start their Big Ten chase.

Lower-level statements: Portland State, Niagara, Northeastern and Vermont are all making strong statements in nonconference play that theywill be players in their respective conference title races. Portland State won at Gonzaga, Niagara beat St. Bonaventure, Northeastern won at Indiana, andVermont opened the Rainbow Classic on Saturday with a win over George Washington.
[h3]Blemishes that might not go away[/h3]
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
South Florida: The Bulls had a trip to Puerto Rico they'd like to forget, losing to Oral Roberts by 23 and WrightState by 17. The Bulls righted themselves with a 13-point win over Iona, but the sting of the Puerto Rico trip may linger.
Gonzaga: The Bulldogs played with poor effort, didn't defend and were flat overall in a surprising home loss to Portland State.

Georgia: The Bulldogs continue to struggle at home, losing to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in overtime. Georgia previously beat Wofford byone in overtime at home.

St. John's: The Red Storm didn't exactly storm the Madison Square Garden floor, losing to Virginia Tech at home Dec. 21 in thefinal of the Holiday Festival and then falling to Miami on Saturday.

Seton Hall: The Pirates did rally to beat Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, but started the week with a road loss at middling CAA team JamesMadison on Monday.

Missouri: The Tigers were ranked entering the Braggin' Rights game, but were shown the door quickly by Illinois in Tuesday's rout.
[h4]Viewer's Guide[/h4](All times ET)
Monday:
7 p.m.: Georgetown at UConn (ESPN2)

Tuesday:
7 p.m.: Clemson at South Carolina

Wednesday:
Noon: Michigan State at Minnesota

Thursday:
2:30: Villanova at Marquette (ESPN2)

Friday:
10:30: Arizona State at Stanford

Saturday:
Noon: Pitt at Georgetown (ESPN)
Noon: Ohio State at Minnesota

[h4]Eight places to be this week[/h4]Hartford, Conn., Monday: The most anticipated Big East season in the past four years opens with co-favorite Connecticut hosting surprising Georgetown.
West Lafayette, Ind., Tuesday: The Big Ten season opens with Illinois at Purdue. The Illini probably got the attention of everyone in the league with an impressive thumping of Missouri in St. Louis. A road win here would certainly send a strong statement that the Illini are a serious player this season.

Minneapolis, Wednesday: Michigan State goes to undefeated Minnesota for its Big Ten opener. With the win over Louisville, the Gophers made sure they will be taken seriously. MSU is playing much better now that Goran Suton is healthy, and a road win at Minnesota would do wonders for this team's confidence.

Louisville, Ky., Wednesday: UNLV shook off an early-season slump and thumped Arizona two weeks ago. The Runnin' Rebels provide a quality test for a Louisville team that is still trying to figure itself out.

Palo Alto, Calif., Friday: Let's see whether Stanford is ready for prime time in the Pac-10. The Cardinal get first crack at one of the Pac-10 favorites in Arizona State. At the beginning of the season, the Bay Area trip didn't look so daunting, but that was before Stanford and Cal got off to surprisingly good starts.

Washington D.C., Saturday: Pitt at Georgetown. Get used to big-time Big East games coming fast and furious every week for the next two months.

Provo, Utah, Saturday: BYU puts its 53-game home-court winning streak -- best in the nation -- to the test against Wake Forest.

Lawrence, Kan., Saturday: Tennessee continues its grinding schedule at Kansas in what could turn out to be a huge seeding-type game for the Jayhawks.

-- Andy Katz, ESPN.com

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

Originally Posted by worldbeefreeg

Originally Posted by Ricardo Malta

UNC gave up 76 points to Rutgers. That right there is terrible and shows their defensive problems. What works in UNC's favor is that there aren't too many explosive offenses out there that can also slow down UNC's offense a bit in order to give them a chance at the upset.

Rosario is the truth though.

I'm really not a Rosario fan , but Fred Hill seems like a winner

 

[gatorb807]

Cant wait til Uconn vs. Georgetown tomorrow.

Finally there is conference play.

 

[juicy j 32]

Originally Posted by Ricardo Malta

UNC gave up 76 points to Rutgers. That right there is terrible and shows their defensive problems. What works in UNC's favor is that there aren't too many explosive offenses out there that can also slow down UNC's offense a bit in order to give them a chance at the upset.

I'd agree with that statement to some extent. We have the ability to be a good defense, but get way too lackadaisical during periodsthroughout the game. At this point in the season I think some of that might have to do with our schedule, being the first game in 8 days. I think it is goingto change around once we start playing twice a week and better quality opponents.


Rosario had 26 points and was 9-17 from the field. They shot way to well from the perimeter.

Overall, I'll take the 22 point win. But there is definitely room for improvement.

 

[al3xis]

Indiana really lost to Lipscomb?

Stanford blowing out Texas Tech on their way to 9-0

 

[al3xis]

JAI LUCAS HEADED BACK TO TEXAS Dec 28, 2008 | 6:40PM | report this According to sources close to the situation, Florida transfer Jai Lucas will play at Texas. Lucas - the son of former NBA player/coach John Lucas - chose the Longhorns over Baylor, Texas A&M and Arkansas. Lucas got plenty of playing time while in Gainesville, but it was clear that Billy Donovan wanted the ball to be in Nick Calathes' hands for the majority of the time. In Austin, the missing piece could be a pass-first point guard - since the Longhorns have a terrific incoming freshman class coming in with wings Avery Bradley, Jordan Hamilton and Shawn Williams. Add a comment

SOUTH FLORIDA DEALT BLOW Dec 28, 2008 | 6:36PM | report this South Florida coach Stan Heath worst fears were realized when it was determined that junior guard Mike Mercer tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season. Mercer, who became eligible just a couple weeks ago after sitting out a year after transferring from Georgia, suffered the injury in the Wright State game. He had played in just four games and was expected to give Heath a nucleus with Dominique Jones, Jesus Verdejo and freshman Gus Gilchrist that would allow the Bulls to be - at the very least - competitive in a loaded Big East.

 

[scuse7]

%@%% I have a game at 7:30

 

[ricardo malta]

Originally Posted by gatorb807

Cant wait til Uconn vs. Georgetown tomorrow.

Finally there is conference play.

I'm nervous as !%@% for this game but if we lose I don't think it'll be that bad. Everybody's gonna be beating up on each other Isee the winner of the big east having at least 3 losses in conference play.

 

[the wizard]

Did Bama really beat Yale by only 3 at home??

 

[scuse7]

Originally Posted by Ricardo Malta

Originally Posted by gatorb807

Cant wait til Uconn vs. Georgetown tomorrow.

Finally there is conference play.

I'm nervous as !%@% for this game but if we lose I don't think it'll be that bad. Everybody's gonna be beating up on each other I see the winner of the big east having at least 3 losses in conference play.

I could even see more. Because there will be so many tough games one of the top teams is bound to slip to a team like West Virginia, Providence,or someone like that.

Finally Big East is starting

 

[wildkycat]

Louisville vs. Kentucky sunday...

 

[ddot7]

Originally Posted by Al3xis

Clemson: The Tigers dominated Miami in the second half and pulled away for a 19-point win over the Canes in their ACC opener Dec. 21. Clemson is once again in contention to finish in the top five in the ACC.

 

[tmay407]

Originally Posted by wildKYcat

Kentucky takes an L on sunday...

That's what I'm talking about

*A&M is 8-0 at home this season and has won 54 straight regular-season non-conference home games.

Granted, the competition hasn't exactly been top-notch...but that'sstill pretty impressive.

 

[tmay407]

Monday, December 29

Brown at Quinnipiac				1pm
Georgetown at Connecticut				7pm
Temple at Villanova				7pm
NC Central at Michigan				7pm
Central Michigan at Kentucky				7pm
Virginia Tech at Charleston Southern				7pm
Alabama A&M at Auburn				8pm
Weber St. at Arizona				8:30pm
Cincinnati at Memphis				9pm
Davidson at Charleston				9pm
Seattle at Oregon St.				10pm
Long Beach St. at Oregon				10pm
TBA (at Honolulu, HI)				10pm
TBA (at Honolulu, HI)				12:30am

[th=""] Game [/th] [th=""] Network [/th] [th=""] Coverage Notes [/th] [th=""] PPV? [/th] [th=""] Time [/th]

 

[worldbeefreeg]

Originally Posted by The Wizard

Did Bama really beat Yale by only 3 at home??

If that man has a job next year...

 

[tbone95860]

G-Town vs UConn tomorrow???

Niiiiice!

 

[mez 0ne]

U-Conn got this.

 

[allen3xis]

Hopefully Uconn stays in Man and Greg can pull Thabeet out.

Win or lose, just wana see how this team continues to develop and how it fares against a team that's a bad match up.

Have to shoot it well...and for those who haven't seen much of C.Wright this year, you're in for a treat.

 

[allen3xis]

Brackins

[h2]What You Need To Know[/h2]
Tyler Hansbrough was great again.

Craig Brackins put up some Hansbrough-like numbers.

Here's Monday morning's What You Need To Know:

Notable game from Sunday: Tyler Hansbrough got 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina to a 97-75 victory over Rutgers. The win was the Tar Heels' 12th consecutive by double-digits, which broke the school record set by the 1992-93 team. Meantime, Hansbrough became just the ninth player in ACC history to record 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. He's scored at least 20 in six consecutive outings.

Notable performance from Sunday: Craig Brackins took 23 shots, made 15 and finished with 38 points and 14 rebounds in Iowa State's 71-67 victory at Houston. The 6-foot-10 sophomore -- who is one of the best unknown talents in the country -- was 2-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc. He has averaged 28.0 points in the Cyclones' past three games.

Notable game scheduled for Monday: Big East play gets underway with Georgetown at Connecticut -- the two teams ranked second and ninth in the latest Top 25 (and one). The Huskies (11-0) and Hoyas (9-1) come in with a combined record of 20-1, and both feature talented upper classmen (Hasheem Thabeet and DaJuan Summers) who are complimented by gifted freshmen (Kemba Walker and Greg Monroe). Tip-off is set for 7 pm ET.

 

[jamesonnt]

Tonight

Texas is going to be loaded next year ..

 

[wildkycat]

Originally Posted by tmay407

Originally Posted by wildKYcat

Kentucky takes an L on sunday...

you're crazy, Cats by 20

that's what i'm talking about.

 

[messiahchild]

DUKE SELF-REPORTS VIOLATION / WALL REMAINS UNDECIDED


Duke is self-reporting a possible recruiting violation by one of its associate coaches.

Jon Jackson, Duke associate athletics director for communications, said associate head basketball coach Chris Collins' alleged violation is being reported to NCAA officials, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer said Sunday.

Jackson said Collins had attended the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational high school tournament last Friday in Raleigh, N.C. The event was taking place during a three-day period in which college coaches are forbidden from attending any high school games.

Jackson told the Observer the situation allegedly was an oversight on Collins' part, adding details of the incident had been given to the school's NCAA compliance staff.

"Obviously he would not have been there if he had known it was a dead period," Jackson said of Collins.

Collins attended the event because it featured Ravenscroft High, which features Duke commit Ryan Kelly, and uncommitted point guard John Wall of Raleigh (NC) Word of God (pictured).

Wall, the No. 1 recruit in the land according to Rivals, lists Baylor, N.C. State, Duke, Oregon, Kansas and Memphis.

Word of God coach Levi Beckwith told the News & Observer Wall is preparing in his own way for his decision.

"John has let the schools know that he doesn't want to be pressured," Beckwith said. "If a school needs to get a commitment now from a point guard, then they should do that. John understands.

"But John isn't ready to decide."