November 18, 2009 –
by Brendon
In retrospect, it was bad planning that I chose Arkansas-Louisville rather than the game that followed it, Memphis-Kansas, as the first game of the new season on which to take possession-by-possession notes. Still, there’s nothing as useful as taking possession data by hand to give me a good sense of a team and its players.
As it turned out, Arkansas’ lack of depth caught up with it in the game’s final 15 minutes, and Louisville’s 3-point shooting and ball-hawking defense ended the competitive phase of this game. The 96-66 Louisville victory, while lacking the last-second drama of the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader, still left plenty of interesting conclusions to glean.
Let’s start with the basic tempo-free team box:
|
Poss |
PPP |
eFG |
Turn |
Reb |
FTR |
| Arkansas |
76 |
0.87 |
0.422 |
0.211 |
0.262 |
0.293 |
| Louisville |
75 |
1.26 |
0.568 |
0.132 |
0.390 |
0.178 |
For a team with just six scholarship players thanks to a bevy of suspensions, Arkansas did a pretty good job of taking care of the ball against Louisville’s zone press. Julysses Nobles had just two turnovers in 38 minutes as the point guard facing most of the heat from the Cardinals’ seemingly endless depth of aggressive guards. It was big man Mike Washington’s careless play — six turnovers — in just 28 minutes — that accounted for more than a third of the team total (16). The senior center was called for three travels and had two shots blocked in Arkansas’ first 21 possessions. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Game of the Night, SEC
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Tagged Alcorn State, Appalachian State, Arkansas, Big East, Earl Clark, Edgar Sosa, Jared Swopshire, Jerry Smith, John Pelphrey, Julysses Nobles, Kansas, Kentucky, Kyle Kuric, Louisville, Marshawn Powell, Memphis, Mike Washington, Preston Knowles, Reginald Delk, Rick Pitino, Rotnei Clarke, Samardo Samuels, SEC, Stefan Welsh, Terrence Jennings, Terrence Williams, UNLV, USF, Western Kentucky, Yinka Dare
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October 20, 2009 –
by Brendon
College athletes are distinguished by their class, and each athlete has a finite amount of time — generally four years — to contribute to a team. Because of the rotating nature of classes, graduations and the addition of new recruits, a season becomes quite discrete.
In individual sports like pro tennis and pro golf, the short offseason makes the idea of a 2008 season or a 2009 season functionally meaningless for all but record-keepers. One could make a similar case — if not a strong one — for professional soccer where many leagues run from August into the following May and include various cup competitions and breaks during the single season.
I bring this up in anticipation of analyzing who’s back and who’s new on the college basketball landscape for the 2009-10 season. When college basketball writers are formulating their previews, they consider how good a team was last year, how much that team lost and what new additions — redshirts, transfers and recruits — might improve the team’s fortunes. I’m going to do the same thing here, only with an attempt to put a finer point on it. Read More »
Posted in National Perspective, Reviews/Previews
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Tagged 2009-10 season preview, A.J. Price, Arizona, Arizona State, Big East, Big Ten, Chase Budinger, Craig Austrie, Craig Robinson, Dar Tucker, Dean Oliver, DeJuan Blair, DeJuan Summers, DePaul, Dwight Burke, Earl Clark, Eric Devendorf, Georgetown, Hasheem Thabeet, Illinois, Jake Kelly, James Harden, Jeff Adrien, Jodie Meeks, Jon Brockman, Jonny Flynn, Kansas, Ken Pomeroy, Levance Fields, Marcus Thornton, Marquette, Nick Calathes, Oregon State, Pac-10, Paul Harris, Pittsburgh, Poss/100, Providence, SEC, Syracuse, Tennessee, Tyrell Biggs, Washington
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March 15, 2009 –
by Brendon
NEW YORK — In any other Big East Tournament, the story on Saturday night would have been the coronation. The Big East regular-season champion came to New York and took home the tournament championship, winning all three games by double-digits and capping each of the last two games with emphatic second halves.
But, despite Louisville’s 76-66 win over Syracuse on Saturday night, one in which the Cardinals overcame a 38-30 halftime deficit, everyone who watched this event will come away remembering Syracuse. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Game of the Night
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Tagged Andre McGee, Andy Rautins, Big East, Big East Tournament, Earl Clark, Eric Devendorf, Jim Boeheim, Jonny Flynn, Louisville, Rick Pitino, Samardo Samuels, Syracuse, Terrence Williams
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March 14, 2009 –
by Brendon
NEW YORK — Fans and members of the media like to construct a basketball team’s character around its ability to play defense. Good defensive teams “try harder,” have “more heart” and “want it more” than their opponents. That may be true in hackneyed leads and on messageboard threads, but, on a basketball floor, defense is built on talent and coaching just as much if not more than offense is.
There isn’t a team more talented or coached better defensively than Louisville, and the Cards proved it again in a 69-55 win over Villanova in Friday’s first Big East Tournament semifinal at Madison Square Garden. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Game of the Night
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Tagged Andre McGee, Big East, Big East Tournament, Corey Fisher, Dante Cunningham, Earl Clark, Jay Wright, Jerry Smith, Louisville, Preston Knowles, Rick Pitino, Scottie Reynolds, Terrence Jennings, Terrence Williams, Villanova
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January 27, 2009 –
by Brendon
I had written most of a full on article on the Marquette-Notre Dame, but I realized I didn’t have that many new or interesting things to say about it, especially about the Irish. So, instead, I’m going to do one of those lazy, bullet-point-itemed pieces — one that will include topics beyond Marquette-Notre Dame, the kind of stories that get the worn-out baseball beat writer through the dog days of summer (not that I’m worn out).
• I’m not sure that fans around the country realize how dire a situation Notre Dame is in. The Coaches Poll still assigned a little number next to the Irish this week despite a third straight loss on Saturday to Connecticut, which indicates to most that NDU has nothing to worry about. Most prognosticators — you can see BaselineStats.com’s projection listed under “Base” — still had the Irish in the field entering Monday’s matchup with Marquette, and five projectors who put who new brackets on Monday even had Notre Dame at a No. 6 seed or higher. I think they’re wrong. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Reviews/Previews
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Tagged Bracket Project, Buzz Williams, Connecticut, Earl Clark, Fran McCaffery, Iona, James Anderson, Jay Bilas, Kevin McAlarney, Louisville, Marquette, Mike Brey, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Providence, Ryan Ayers, Sean McDonough, Siena, Syracuse, Terrence Williams, Travis Ford, Villanova, West Virginia
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January 24, 2009 –
by Brendon
Pasta, wine and college hoops.
It wasn’t an evening at John Calipari’s house, but it was how I enjoyed Memphis’ trip to Tennessee on Saturday afternoon. Coach Cal might have preferred some vino with his hoops as well — it would have made the horrible offensive display in Knoxville a bit easier to digest. Neither team could reach even a 40 percent eFG, but Tyreke Evans had a terrific second half to lead Memphis to a 54-52 road win in the in-state rivalry.
Among the party with whom I watched the game was a friend from Memphis, and he and I agreed that this was destined to be a sloppy affair. Two fast-paced, long and athletic teams, neither of whom shoot well, figured to make for a game filled with wayward jumpers. Going in with those expectations, we weren’t disappointed. Neither team scored even 30 points in either half.
Here’s how the game looked in the Four Factors:
| Team |
Poss |
Off Eff |
eFG |
Turn |
Off Reb |
FTR |
| Memphis |
62.8 |
0.86 |
0.384 |
0.189 |
0.282 |
0.196 |
| Tennessee |
62.8 |
0.83 |
0.345 |
0.145 |
0.295 |
0.255 |
It takes a special team to shoot at a 38.4 eFG, trail in the other three factors and still manage to win. Or maybe it takes a special team to hold an opponent to 38.4 eFG, lead in the other three factors and lose. Read More »
Posted in Game of the Night, Mid-Majors, SEC
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Tagged Antonio Anderson, Bruce Pearl, Cameron Tatum, Conference USA, Earl Clark, John Calipari, Louisville, Memphis, Robert Dozier, Samardo Samuels, SEC, Shawn Taggert, Tennessee, Tyler Smith, Tyreke Evans, Wayne Chism
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January 16, 2009 –
by Brendon
Pittsburgh at Louisville (6 p.m.): The Pittsburgh Panthers are one of just three remaining undefeated teams, and they will put that unblemished record and No. 1 national ranking on the line at Freedom Hall on Saturday evening. Louisville is coming off a thrilling, overtime victory over Notre Dame in a game where Terrence Williams scored, rebounded, passed off and defended in a 87-73 victory.
Jamie Dixon’s team has put its perfect record in jeopardy in two previous road tests but emerged with an eight-point victory at Florida State and a brilliant 16-point decision at Georgetown. In each of the last two seasons, Pittsburgh has lost regular-season home games to the Cardinals before topping them in the Big East Tournament. In fact, Pitt has knocked Louisville out in all three of the Cards’ conference tournament appearances.
Despite the persistent perception that Pittsburgh is a defensive, grind-it-out team, the Panthers actually have one of the nation’s best offenses. No team rebounds more of its own misses than Pittsburgh does, led by DeJuan Blair who often grabs as many or more offensive rebounds than the other team put together.
|
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Offensive Rebounds
|
| Date |
Opponent |
Blair |
Opp. Total |
| Nov. 14 |
Fairleigh Dickinson |
7 |
5 |
| Nov. 21 |
Akron |
8 |
5 |
| Nov. 28 |
Texas Tech |
5 |
5 |
| Dec. 17 |
Siena |
8 |
8 |
| Jan. 3 |
Georgetown |
7 |
4 |
| Jan. 14 |
South Florida |
9 |
8 |
And Blair was within a rebound or two of his opponent’s total on several other occasions, as well. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Reviews/Previews
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Tagged Al Nolen, DeJuan Blair, Earl Clark, Jamie Dixon, Levance Fields, Nick Calathes, offensive rebounding, Sam Young, Samardo Samuels, Terrence Williams, Tory Jackson, Tyrese Rice
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January 12, 2009 –
by Brendon
With 5:35 left in the second half at Freedom Hall on Monday night, Notre Dame led Louisville, 73-69, in the first Big Monday of the season. Luke Harangody had just hit two free throws — bizarrely his only two of the game as it turned out — and had 28 points. Irish coach Mike Brey had to consider himself fortunate that his team had braved a withering Louisville defense to battle back from a seven-point, second-half deficit to take that four-point lead.
What Brey couldn’t have imagined, though, was that Harangody’s free throws would be the reigning Big East Player of the Year’s last points of the game and that his team would only score once more over the next 10:35 of the second half and overtime in an 87-73 loss. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Game of the Night
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Tagged Andre McGee, Big Monday, depth, Earl Clark, fatigue, Kyle McAlarney, Louisville, Luke Harangody, Mike Brey, Notre Dame, Preston Knowles, Rick Pitino, Rob Kurz, Ryan Ayers, Samardo Samuels, Terrence Williams, Tory Jackson
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