Atlantic Ten: Tempo Tuesday

Just when you thought there might be a hint of normality and an easy way to identify the top four seeds for Atlantic City, the conference has a wild and hard to figure Saturday.

 

	Record	Off Eff	Def Eff	Margin
Temple	11-3	113	103	+10
St. Louis	10-4	105	92	+13
St. Bona	9-5	108	97	+11
Xavier	9-5	106	101	+5
St. Joseph’s	9-6	104	101	+3
Dayton	8-8	110	105	+5
UMASS	8-6	98	98	0
LaSalle	7-7	105	101	+4
Duquesne	6-8	98	104	-6
Richmond	6-9	103	104	-1
Charlotte	5-9	96	101	-5
Geo. Wash.	5-9	102	107	-5
Fordham	3-11	94	115	-21
Rhode Is.	3-11	97	109	-12

 

Let us take a look at three big upsets from the weekend on an individual basis:

Fordham 67 LaSalle  62. Rams coming off a big setback against St. Bonavenrure, rebounded, literally and figuratively in this one. Fordham earned the win at Rose Hill with a 99 offensive efficiency while holding one of the A-10’s most efficient offenses to a measly 91. Big difference under the glass as Fordham showed an offensive rebounding rate of 55% led by an offensive rebounding ‘machine’ in Chris Gaston with 15.

Rhode Island 64   St. Louis  62. Another Ram surprise. Visiting St. Louis was better in the eFG (44-42%) and turnover rates (15-12%) but again the offensive boards came into play. Jim Baron’s group had a 38-26% advantage. Call it a group effort as no Ram surpassed three offensive boards.

St. Joseph’s  82 Temple  72. Owls had been coming around defensively but in this one, the Hawks put up a huge 122 efficiency. Temple’s 108 would win a lot of games but not the ones you allow over 120. The deciding factor? St. Joseph’s outstanding 56% eFG mark fueled by a 56% mark from two coupled with 38% from downtown.

St. Bonaventure has won three straight and is hot of late. The last two contests saw efficiencies of 135 at Fordham and 118 in the victory at Charlotte. Sure, Andrew Nicholson is playing outstanding ball but a key component for the Bonnies is the turnovers, or lack of them. In both the Fordham and Charlotte game the Bona TO rate was a better than average 18%.  

Keep an eye on Wednesday night’s matchup when St. Joseph’s visits Bonaventure. Phil Martelli’s group is also coming on strong, winners in four of their last five, and should provide a stern test for the Bonnies.

-         Ray Floriani

 

Around the nation

It wasn’t a good week for Missouri coach Frank Haith. First, the Tigers dropped consecutive games, first, a 10-point home loss to Kansas State and then a one-point loss at Kansas. That dropped Mizzou a full two games behind the Jayhawks for the Big 12 regular-season title with two games to play. The worst news for Haith, though, was that the Miami scandal just won’t go away. As the Associated Press reported on Monday, Miami center Reggie Johnson was suspended when it was determined his family was given improper travel benefits while Haith was still coaching at Miami. … Speaking of Kansas State, coach Frank Martin’s team is about as hard to figure as any team in America. The Wildcats got back-to-back road wins over Top 10 teams (the other team was Baylor), then returned home to lose to unranked Iowa State. On Monday, Martin questioned his team’s focus and maturity, but perhaps Iowa State deserves some credit here after sweeping the Wildcats this year. Coach Fred Hoiberg has engineered one of America’s best turn-arounds, going from 16-16 to 21-8 this year. Of course, it’s quite a different cast for Hoiberg this year: five of ISU’s top seven scorers didn’t play for the Cyclones last season. … The best turn-around, though, may belong to St. Louis and coach Rick Majerus. The Billikens are 21-6 and seem to be headed for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000. St. Louis doesn’t do anything that wows you on the stat sheet, but it sits at No. 12 in Ken Pomeroy’s current ratings thanks to Pomeroy’s 11th-rated defense. … SLU hasn’t gotten as much publicity as some of the mid-major teams, partly because it wasn’t included in any of ESPN’s Bracket Buster games (none of the Atlantic 10′s teams were, perhaps because the A-10 is closer to a high-major league than a mid-major one; it’s currently the seventh-best conference in America by RPI measures). On that note, here are a couple of other “bet-you-didn’t-knows” among teams that play out of the spotlight: Oral Roberts has won 19 of its last 20 games since losing to Gonzaga on Dec. 15.; Drexel has won 17 in a row and is generating some minor buzz as a potential at-large team out of the Colonial Athletic Association (it’s probably a long-shot, since Drexel’s only really good win is over VCU); the Atlantic Sun’s Belmont is in a similar boat with Drexel, and just wrapped up the A-Sun regular-season title at 16-2. Should Belmont win the tournament, it’ll be the fifth time in the last seven years that the Bruins have represented the league in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Rick Byrd’s club would probably be one of those 14-seeds nobody wants to face, and Ken Pomeroy’s system loves BU, ranking it 22nd currently. It won’t take Belmont long to know its fate, because the A-Sun Tournament starts Thursday and ends March 3. We’ll also know the Big South and Ohio Valley winners on that day. Those three tournaments are the first to complete; the next day, we’ll have the Missouri Valley winner, and two days later, we’ll also know the Colonial, Metro Atlantic, Southern, Metro Atlantic and West Coast automatic bids.

- Chris Lee, VandySports.com

 

FDU ends long season on a positive note

Action inside Rothman Center

 

Teaneck, NJ- They had been in this situation too many times during this drawn out campaign. FDU was down 15-4 with the opposition threatening the blow the lid off the game, even prior to halftime. Today the outcome would be different. FDU hung tough, fought back and eventually earned a 45-44 victory over St. Francis(NY) Saturday at the Rothman Center.

          The win ended the FDU season at 3-26 (2-16 in Northeast Conference play). The NEC sends the top eight of its 12 teams to post season play so the 11th place Knights are on the outside with the season finished. Regardless, going out with a win is always enjoyable.

          “It was special finishing up like that,” FDU coach Greg Vetrone said. “It was nice for the young kids back in the program and it was gratifying for our three seniors.” One of those seniors, Briahn Smith, played a key role in the victory. The 6-4 guard defended St. Francis’ dangerous three point threat, Ben Mockford with excellence. Mockford finished with 12 points but was only 2 of 10 beyond the arc. The absence of a perimeter threat stifled the Terriers’ leading scorer Akeem Johnson. The 6-6 junior was limited to a 6 point, 4 rebound afternoon.

          On the FDU side, Kinu Rochford battled in the paint for a 14 point, 10 rebound showing. Melquan Bolding, the junior guard had a game high 18 points, including a key put back that gave FDU a 4 point lead in the final minute.

          “Since we moved (freshman walk-on) Dylan Moody to the point six games ago,” Vetrone said, “ Melquan has really played a lot better for us.”

          Securing a capable lead guard is a priority for FDU. There are a number of veterans returning but the Knights desperately need someone to orchestrate. Yes, the off season will be a busy one in the FDU program. For now, though, the victory was one to enjoy and savor.

          The loss dropped St. Francis to a four seed in the NEC tournament. They will host Quinnipiac in the first round. The Terriers are regarded as a dangerous team. They were without two key scorers Stefan Perunicic and Travis Nichols. Both are doubtful for NEC play which is a setback. St. Francis coach Glen Braica commented that,” not having Stefan and Travis hurt our attack. But I don’t want to take anything away from FDU they made the players and played very hard today.”

          St. Francis ended the regular season at 15-14 (12-6 NEC).

- Ray Floriani

 

‘Golden’ night for Trae, Vols

Ten minutes into Tennessee’s 73-64 win over South Carolina Saturday night, it was very clear that Tennessee leading scorer Trae Golden might have a major advantage on his South Carolina counterparts.  He hit two threes and scored on a lay up in transition to pace the Volunteers to an 18-9 lead as they were 8-of-13 from the field to begin the game.

Golden’s dribble-drive was a valued weapon in the half court as he was able to get to the rim when he had the opportunity, essentially against Gamecocks point man Bruce Ellington. He wound up with 21 points in 31 minutes to lead the Vols’ attack.  A big key in his scoring was getting to the line when South Carolina had no choice, but to foul when he blew by the defender with his quick first step.

“He did a good job, especially in the second half, of being aggressive and attacking the rim,” said Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin, as Golden had nine of his 21 in a 3:38 stretch that balloon Tennessee’s lead to 50-39 with 12:16 remaining, “I though he was hesitant defensively in the first half and let Ellington bring the game to him.”

Golden has been a glue-guy along with backcourt mate Cam Tatum in a year where most people thought the Volunteers would descend into the depths of the SEC.  Instead, Golden has led the Volunteers in scoring at 13 ppg. and 133 assists, third in the league.

“He was more aggressive in the second half and once he started doing that we got to rolling and everything else followed suit,” Martin commented, “When he’s attacking the rim like that, making plays, we are tough to defend.”

Golden plays an underrated role.  He has a 2.28-to-1 assist-to-turnover margin in SEC play and is 43-of-49 from the line over the last nine games of which Tennessee has won six of it’s last seven.  Martin is looking for Golden and his teammates to continue their consistency in his system to end the regular season this week and then into March as the Volunteers could garner a top-four seed and a bye in the SEC Tournament in New Orleans.

“When you get better as season goes, it is a great signed to see,” noted Martin, “Guys aren’t getting fatigued and they are defending at a high level.  Guys are taking pride in getting stops.”

Golden has now scored double figures in seven in a row and eight of his last nine as it is no coincidence that Tennessee is playing some of it’s best basketball with Golden contributing so readily.  Saturday was Tennessee’s first wire-to-wire win of the year.

-Ken Cross

 

Tennessee maturing in Cuonzo’s system

Anytime a program restructures, there is supposedly a period of transition where things bottom out before the club can move ahead.  That hasn’t been the case at Tennessee where Cuonzo Martin winds up his first season this week as the Volunteers are 8-6 in the SEC and tied for fourth place in the league after Saturday’s 73-64 win over South Carolina. 

Martin replaced a legend in Bruce Pearl, who led the Volunteers to their finest hours on the hardwood with a 145-61 record from 2004-2011. The new coach hit the ground running and his defensive approach with an aggressive mentality has given the Volunteers a chance to make some noise next week when the SEC Tournament begins in New Orleans.

“I think you are talking about a new coach, a change of staff, a new philosophy, and only one proven guy from the returning team in Cam Tatum,” said Martin, minutes after Tennessee’s sixth win out of it’s last seven, “That’s a lot of stuff when you play the schedule we played out of the gates.”

Duke, Memphis, twice, Pitt, and UConn supplemented the always competitive and tough SEC campaign. Tennessee was in the game with Duke until the end in Maui, lost to Memphis in double overtime the next day and then lost a five-point decision to Pitt as they outplayed the Panthers for most of the game.  Tennessee  used it’s experiences to topple UConn in Knoxville in January, showing a tough mantra the Martin is developing in out-physicaling the Huskies, 60-57.

“We had tough road games against really good mid-major teams,” Martin said of losses to Oakland, Austin Peay, and College of Charleston, “It was really hard to see progress with those losses but I though our guys were making progress all the time.  It’s a blessing but a credit that the guys kept coming to work every day.”

The Vols took a 67-56 win over Florida in Knoxville in Martin’s SEC opener.  The UConn win came two weeks later and then arguably the statement victory came at Florida on Feb. 11 as the Vols won 75-70 in the six of seven string.

“If you work hard and stay consistent as a coaching staff and if you believe in what you preach and you stay consistent with that, the results usually follow up,” summarized Martin, “I am just proud of the work the guys have put in.  They have never wavered and have stayed the course and I think for a program its always good when you getting better late.”

-Ken Cross

 

Billy Baron Interview

Billy Baron’s jump shot with 4.6 seconds remaining lifted Rhode Island over Saint Louis by a final score of 64 to 62 on Saturday. After the game, the Rhode Island guard talked with Andrew Greene about the game, his season, and the game winning shot.

 

Bearcats’ statement win should assure dance invitation

After Cincinnati dispatched Louisville, 60-56, last night in the Queen City, UC picked up it’s10th Big East win and solidified it’s stock as a team to beat in not only the Big East Tournament, but in the NCAA Tournament.

The Bearcats had been victims of the dreaded “Strength of Schedule,” an open square on the NCAA checklist that means little, if anything, when you play in one of the top 10-12 conferences in the nation and are tested, night-in, night-out. That number is still at 127 and the Bearcats are 82 in the RPI, but really, if you know basketball and if you watch lots of basketball, you know that Cincinnati is easily a Top 68 team that should have a solid seed and could cause major problems as Louisville saw last night.

“We talk about execution and improvement as a team and individuals,” said Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin, when asked about NCAA concerns, “We don’t worry about things we can’t control and we don’t let other people define us.”

The Bearcats have won five out of their last six to bolt to a 20-8 overall record and into a tie for fourth in the league.  Roadies at South Florida and Villanova and a home tilt next Wednesday against Marquette is all that is left between Cincinnati and a possible double-bye in two weeks at Madison Square Garden.

“We talk about life because that is how life is too,” Cronin assessed, “If you do what you are supposed to do as a person and player, that stuff all takes care of itself.”

Cincinnati was stellar last night on defense as the Bearcats held Louisville scoreless from the score for over ten minutes in the second half as a 45-39 deficit turned into a 15-0 Cincinnati run and a 54-45 lead that UC would never relinquish.  Just as eye-popping was holding Louisville sharp-shooter Kyle Kuric to 0-of-9 from the floor while shooting only 34.5% from the field, making only one triple all evening.

“We had many guys do great things, but obviously, our second-half defense to hold them to 26 percent in the second half and 0 of 10 from the three-point line,” Cronin commented, “I’ve been trying to get our team to become a great defensive team knowing that we’ll need to get there to beat the teams we need to beat. The guys did a great job on the defensive end.”

Cincinnati’s three-ball was a difference as well as the Bearcats made 11 of those with Cashmere Wright going 6-of-13 for a game-high 22 points.

“Before the game Coach told us, ‘there is no offense, just play.’ ‘If you’re open shoot, if you can drive, drive,’” Wright explained, “I felt that that was a very comfortable situation for me. Not worrying about mistakes, just going out there and playing.”

Watching teams mature through a season shows just what a misnomer the computer generated information can be, and for Cincinnati, the Bearcats passed ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes’ famed “eye-test” in the uppermost percentile.

-Ken Cross

 

 

Courtside notes from Fordham: Efficiency, usage, the Commissioner, AC and Brooklyn….

Fordham's Tom Pecora praised the Bonnies' efficiency

Bronx, NY – Fordham coach Tom Pecora lauded the ‘efficiency’ of St. Bonaventure, especially Andrew Nicholson and Da’ Quan Cook. Pecora’s reference sparked an introduction here, with examples, of usage. The term ‘usage’ is something even casual fans have hear mentioned. In tempo-free, usage deals with how many possessions a player ‘uses’. What percentage of the total possessions is said player involved.

          The team possession formula takes field goals attempted plus free throws attempted (times .475) minus offensive rebounds and adding turnovers. Last night’s St. Bonaventure-Fordham game (won 89-63 by the Bonnies) saw a 66 possession contest. To arrive at a player’s possessions, statsheet.com suggests using the same formula as applied to a team, for the individual  player. The numbers:

	Possessions	% of Team Poss.
Nicholson	17	25.8
Cook	14	21.2

Anything over 20% of a team’s possessions, suggests that player is an important option. Nicholson and Cook combined for 47% or almost half of St. Bonaventure’s possessions.  Now a look at Fordham’s leading scorer Chris Gaston with 18 points.

	Possessions	% of Team Poss.
Gaston	16	24.2

Gaston used almost one quarter of Fordham’s possessions. Despite not starting and logging 29 minutes, he obviously was a vital part of the Ram attack during his time on the floor.

          Commissioner Bernadette McGlade of the Atlantic Ten was a courtside ‘neighbor’ at Rose Hill. We spoke at length (and she even got to hear and enjoyed my officiating stories) but the question arose. What about the move to Brooklyn from Atlantic City? The conference post season tournament finishes its six year run in AC in just a few weeks, moving next March to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

          “The arena (Boardwalk Hall) is so historic and has a wonderful charm.” McGlade admitted. And the city has been a hospitable host. So why move? “We did a study and saw there are only 35,000 Winter residents in Atlantic City,” she said. “In the New York metropolitan area, conference schools have over 100,000 alumni living here. So obviously you are dealing with bigger numbers.” Another consideration is, if you want to make a move, get in on the ground floor, the first year of the new Barclays Center.

          McGlade also said having conference teams like Fordham, appear for a December non-league game at Barclays is in the works. The idea is to entice the local fan to recognize and get exposure to an A-10 team or two very early in the season with the hope of returning a few months later for the tournament.  

-Ray Floriani

 

St. Bonaventure 89 Fordham 63: An offensive show

Left to right: St. Bonaventure's Da'Quan Cook, Andrew Nicholson and coach Mark Schmidt

Bronx, NY – An outstanding offensive display was the main factor in an 89-63  St. Bonaventure victory over Fordham at Rose Hill on Wednesday.

          Bonnies attacked the paint and were equally effective on the perimeter. The defense was not bad at all either. “We rebounded, defended and shared the ball,” said St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt. Indeed, the offensive efficiency was outstanding:

	Possessions	Off. Efficiency
St. Bonaventure	66	135
Fordham	66	96

            That efficiency was largely due to a white hot eFG percentage of 71% by the Bonnies. They canned 7 of 11 (63.6%) from three point range. Inside the arc, the two point percentage was 62.9% (22 of 35). Bonnies also had 19 assists with a rate of 65.5% of the field goals being assisted.

          Perimeter shooters as Matthew wright 10 points (3 of 4 from three) benefitted from Fordham’s inability to close out on the perimeter. Whether it is physical fatigue or mental fatigue of a now six game losing streak, the Rams were a step slow. Inside they were beaten by the Bona offense found gaps inside and continuously fed the  big men. As Fordham coach Tom Pecora noted, “they (Bona) just threw it too deep inside. Their inside percentage was very good and that happens when you get two foot shots.” Andrew Nicholson (game high 30 points) and Da’Quan Cook (16 points) were the beneficiaries of those looks down low. Cook shot 7 of 12 from the field while Nicholson was 10 of 14 and even stepped out to can 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.

          “They (Bona) are very good,” Pecora praised. “They are what we want to be in a few years.”

          Fifty two.  With all the efficiency and percentage metrics, this was a figure on the mind of everyone, coaches, fans and players.  At the 5:58 mark of the first half play was stopped to replace a broken rim. The delay lasted 52 minutes. At the time the Bonnies were in possession of a 31-19 lead. Naturally there was concern over the long layoff. Would it negate the momentum built and/or provide Fordham a chance to regroup. Following a free throw by Fordham’s Alberto Estwick, the Bonnies Demetrius Conger drained a three pointer. A significant shot in Schmidt’s estimation as it allowed the Bonnies to continue that momentum started prior to the break.

          Turnovers, a Bona nemesis, saw them commit only a dozen for an 18% TO rate. That last metric was the one area Fordham did do well in. They had only 8 turnovers for a nice 12% rate.

          Chris Gaston did not start for ‘violation of team rules’. He logged 29 minutes leading Fordham with 18 points. Too much of the Ram offense relied on Gaston or the perimeter. As noted the Ram junior battled adding four blocked shots, but the outside game was a struggle. Fordham, a 42% eFG percentage on the night, shot 3 of 19 (15.8%) from three point range.

          St. Bonaventure is 15-10 (8-5) while the Rams fall to 9-17 (2-11).

- Ray Floriani

 

Seton Hall 73 Georgetown 55: Three points of emphasis

Jim Spanarkel, quite the backcourt performer in his day, interviews Jordan Theodore

NEWARK, NJ – Eighth ranked Georgetown was not simply upset. They were soundly defeated 73-55 by a red hot shooting Seton Hall team at the Prudential Center on Tuesday. Three points of emphasis:

 1.The Hall is in a great comfort zone at home. As of late Seton Hall is shooting the lights out. A week ago against St. John’s the Pirates connected for a 76.4% eFG percentage. Against a decidedly better defensive team (than St. John’s) , the Hall shot an eFG percentage of 71%. They were 8 of 13 from three (61.5%). Inside the arc the Pirates shot 17 of 28 (60.7%). As noted, their percentage from beyond the arc was better than that from two point areas. The deadliest Pirate shooter was Jordan Theodore. The senior guard scored a game high 29 points and was 5 of 5 from long distance.

2. Georgetown did not have an offensive answer. No one was able to step up and respond as Seton Hall began pulling away the second half. Not reliable options as Henry Sims, Hollis Thompson or Jason Clark. “If a player (Theodore) is having a great game you just can’t get down and forget the offensive end,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. They did. In a statistical rarity in this shot clock era, not one Georgetown player hit double figures. Greg Whittington led the way with 9 points. Thompson can’t remember ever happening. And certainly wants no repeat of such a situation on his offensive end

3. Inside-outside. With all this long range bombing going on, it’s easy to forget the philosophy of Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard. Begin your attack inside and take advantage when the perimeter opens up. The Pirates did just that. Theodore played a superlatively complete game. One of the things he did early was breaking down and penetrating the Hoya defense. Theodore handed out 5 assists while Herb Pope (12 points) and Brandon Mobley (10 points) established an inside game. Once Georgetown adjusted and the perimeter opened. Seton Hall seized full advantage.

3A. Rush the court. Seton Hall student section near our press seating had a night long succession and litany  of ‘Georgetown sucks’ chants. Near the final buzzer the students were up, ready and primed to celebrate by running onto the Prudential Center floor. As the clock ran out they made the move but were unable to get on the court as a few were ‘intercepted’ and/or tackled by security. With no access to the floor the students went off celebrating the big Pirate victory. One security worker said they would have let the fans ‘rush the court’ but felt media sitting at baseline press tables would have been in danger from the onrushing crowd.

     Seton Hall improved 10 19-9 (8-8 Big East). Georgetown is now 20-6 (10-5).

-         Ray Floriani