January 3, 2010 –
by Brendon
JAMAICA, N.Y. — If a fan had ignored the scoreboard while watching the first 32 minutes of Providence’s 74-59 win over St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena on Sunday, he might have concluded that the Red Storm was comfortably ahead.
Indeed, St. John’s looked far better in its offensive sets than Providence, knocking down jumpers and navigating the Friars’ zone for easy buckets. At the other end of the floor, Providence couldn’t hit a shot. Even its nice drives ended in rim outs, and mostly the Friars were missing low-percentage looks. As evidence of the disparity in offensive flow, the Red Storm had 19 assists on 25 made field goals for the game, while Providence had just 13 on 22 makes.
But then there were the turnovers, which would be the game’s storyline. Instead of being behind by 10 or 12 points, Providence trailed by just four with 7:50 to play, because the Friars continued to force St. John’s miscues, and often the miscues — a season-high 23 giveaways — weren’t forced at all. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Game of the Night
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Tagged Big East, Bilal Dixon, Brian McKenzie, D.J. Kennedy, Dwight Hardy, Jamine Peterson, Jesus, Justin Brownlee, Keno Davis, Malik Boothe, Matthew, Norm Roberts, Omari Lawrence, Paris Horne, Providence, Sean Evans, Sharaud Curry, St. John's, Vincent Council
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November 16, 2009 –
by Brendon
In sum: The Missouri Valley didn’t get the results it wanted on the first weekend of play, but this was more of an incomplete than a failure. Creighton was short-handed in its bid at a road win against a top Atlantic 10 team. Bradley shouldn’t have been expected to win on the road at a very good BYU team. The Braves didn’t, but they weren’t embarrassed either. Drake’s home loss to IUPUI was a disappointment but not really an upset. The Valley will have many more chances at scalps this season, including in the coming week.
Team of the week: Southern Illinois. There’s not much to choose from for this honor, but I’ll give the nod to the Salukis for a dominant win against Tennessee-Martin. UT-Martin is not a good team, but SIU’s offense was encouraging. After sporting the ninth-best offense (according to adjusted efficiency) in the Valley last season, the Salukis scored 91 points in a 91-63 win. That’s more points than they scored in any single game last season. Read More »
Posted in Mid-Majors, Reviews/Previews
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Tagged Adam Emmenecker, Akron, Atlantic-10, Auburn, Big East, Brigham Young, Butler, Central Florida, Colonial, Colorado State, Creighton, DePaul, Drake, Georgia State, Indiana State, IUPUI, Keno Davis, Leonard Houston, LSU, Mid-Majors, Missouri State, Missouri Valley, Northern Iowa, SEC, Southern Illinois, Summit, Tennessee, Tennessee-Martin, UNLV
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November 13, 2009 –
by Brendon
Let’s face it — Sunday’s slate isn’t very interesting, but there is an upset watch in Providence as well as an intriguing scheduling trend for teams looking for an RPI boost.
Mercer at Providence (2:30 p.m. ET): The World Vision Invitational may not compete with the Maui Invitational or the NIT Season Tip-Off in terms of attracting marquee programs, but it does offer us one of Sunday’s intriguing matchups. This three-day “tournament,” which has four teams play a round-robin format, features Providence as the host. Mercer, Bryant and Bucknell fill out the field.
(Brief digression: World Vision is a terrific Christian charity that is often among the first responders with support after a natural disaster — like the recent floods in the Philippines. World Vision is also on the vanguard of preventing cases of malaria in the third world. I encourage you to check it out.)
Bryant has just recently become a Division I team, and, while Bucknell is a solid opponent capable of pulling off the upset, Mercer’s reputation as a giant-killer continues to grow. The Bears famously knocked off O.J. Mayo and Southern Cal in the teams’ opener two seasons ago. Last year, the Atlantic Sun program defeated Alabama and Auburn in a four-day span. With six of his top eight players back, head coach Bob Hoffman will hope to add a Big East scalp to his collection. Read More »
Posted in ACC, Big East, Mid-Majors, Reviews/Previews
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Tagged ACC, Alabama, Atlantic Sun, Auburn, Big East, Bilal Dixon, Bob Hoffman, Brian McKenzie, Bryant, Bucknell, Delaware, Duke Mondy, E.J. Kusnyer, East Carolina, Georgetown, James Florence, James Still, Jamine Peterson, Johnnie Lacy, Kadeem Batts, Keno Davis, Kyle Wright, Marshon Brooks, Mercer, Mid-Majors, Monmouth, O.J. Mayo, Providence, RPI, Russ Permenter, San Diego, Seton Hall, Sharaud Curry, Southern Cal, Stanford, Temple, Tulane, Vincent Council, Wake Forest, World Vision
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November 9, 2009 –
by Brendon
Feel free to jump to the conference of your choice by clicking on one of the links below:
• ACC
• Big 12
• Big East
• Big Ten
• Pac-10
• SEC
• Mid-Majors
With the first games that count coming up on Monday night, I figured I’d get my predictions in for all the major conferences and a few select mid-majors. Here are the conference-by-conference predictions with projected league record and postseason fate. It’ll be another four-plus months before I find out how wrong I am — sooner than that with some teams. Though I don’t officially make Final Four and Sweet 16 picks, you can infer them from the seedings.
ACC
Duke (predicted conference record 11-5; possessions returned — 63.8 percent*): There are concerns at point guard, but they were there last year as well, and while Jon Scheyer isn’t a natural at the position, he’s good enough to get by considering his talent and that of those surrounding him. The loss of Elliott Williams does hurt, but the combination of Scheyer and Kyle Singler plus emerging youngsters should keep Duke at or near the top of the ACC. NCAA No. 2 seed. Read More »
Posted in National Perspective
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Tagged 2009-10 season preview, A.J. Ogilvy, ACC, Al Skinner, Al-Farouq Aminu, Alabama, Alonzo Gee, Andy Kennedy, Anthony Crater, Anthony Grant, Arinze Onuaku, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Atlantic-10, Auburn, Augustus Gilchrist, Austin Freeman, Avery Bradley, Baylor, Ben Braun, Ben Howland, Big East, Big Ten, Bill Carmody, Bill Self, Bo Ryan, Bobby Gonzalez, Boston College, Brad Tinsley, Brandon Triche, Brigham Young, Bruce Pearl, Bruce Weber, Butler, California, Carleton Scott, Cashmere Wright, Chandler Parsons, Chase Budinger, Chinemelu Elonu, Chris Johnson, Chris Warren, Chris Wright, Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado, Conference USA, Connecticut, Cory Higgins, Courtney Fortson, Craig Brackins, Craig Moore, Craig Robinson, Creighton, Damion James, Dante Cunningham, Dar Tucker, Darryl Bryant, David Huertas, Dayton, DeJuan Blair, DeMarre Carroll, Demetri McCamey, Demontez Stitt, Denis Clemente, Deon Thompson, Deonta Vaughn, DePaul, Derek Glasser, Derrick Favors, DeShawn Sims, Devan Downey, Dexter Pittman, Doc Sadler, Dominique Jones, Duke, Dwayne Anderson, Dwight Lewis, Ed Davis, Elliott Williams, Ernie Kent, Evan Turner, Florida, Florida State, Frank Haith, Frank Lickliter, Frank Martin, Fred Hill, Gani Lawal, Gary Williams, Georgetown, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Gonzaga, Greg Echenique, Greg McDermott, Greg Monroe, Greivis Vasquex, Herb Pope, Herb Sendek, Horizon, Howard Thompkins, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Isaiah Thomas, J.T. Tiller, JaJuan Johnson, Jake Kelly, Jamelle Cornley, James Anderson, James Harden, JaMychal Green, Jarvis Varnado, Jeff Bzdelik, Jeff Capel, Jeff Leo, Jeff Pendergraph, Jeff Peterson, Jeffrey Taylor, Jeremiah Rivers, Jermaine Beal, Jerome Dyson, Jerome Randle, Jerry Wainwright, Joe Mazulla, John Beilein, John Henson, John Jackson, John Pelphrey, John Riek, John Thompson III, John Wall, Johnny Dawkins, Jon Brockman, Jon Scheter, Jonny Flynn, Jordan Hill, Josh Owens, Jrue Holiday, Junior Cadougan, Justin Dentmon, Kalin Lucas, Kansas, Kansas State, Keaton Nankivil, Kemba Walker, Ken Bone, Kenny Boynton, Keno Davis, Kentucky, Keon Lawrence, Kevin Coble, Kevin O'Neill, Kevin Stallings, Klay Thompson, Kyle Singler, LaceDarius Dunn, Lance Stephenson, Landry Fields, Lazar Hayward, Leo Lyons, Leonard Hamilton, Lorenzo Brown, Lorenzo Romar, Louisville, LSU, Luke Harangody, MAAC, Manny Harris, Marcus Thornton, Mark Fox, Mark Turgeon, Marquette, Marshon Brooks, Maryland, Memphis, Miami (Fla.), Michael Dunigan, Michael Snaer, Michigan, Michigan State, Mid-Majors, Mike Davis, Mike Montgomery, Mike Rosario, Mike Singletary, Mikhail Torrance, Minnesota, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, Mouphtaou Yarou, Murphy Holloway, Nebraska, Niagara, Nic Wise, Nick Calathes, Norm Roberts, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oliver Purnell, Oregon, Oregon State, Pac-10, Pat Knight, Patrick Christopher, Patrick Patterson, Paul Gause, Paul Hewitt, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Providence, Purdue, Quincy Pondexter, Raymar Morgan, Renardo Sidney, Rick Barnes, Rick Jackson, Rick Stansbury, Rihards Kuksiks, Robbie Hummel, Roy Williams, Rutgers, Samardo Samuels, Scoop Jardine, Scott Drew, Scott Martin, Sean Miller, SEC, Senario Hillman, Seth Greenberg, Seton Hall, Sharaud Curry, Sidney Lowe, Siena, South Carolina, South Florida, Southern Cal, St. John's, Stan Heath, Stanford, Stanley Pringle, Stanley Robinson, Sylvan Landesburg, Syracuse, Talor Battle, Tennessee, Terrico White, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Theo Robertson, Tim Abromaitis, Tim Floyd, Tom Crean, Toney Douglas, Tony Bennett, Travis Ford, Trevor Booker, Tubby Smith, Tulsa, Ty Abbott, Tyler Smith, Tyler Zeller, Tyrese Rice, Tyrone Nash, UCLA, Utah State, Vanderbilt, Vernon Macklin, Villanova, Virginia, Virginia Tech, WAC, Wake Forest, Washington, Washington State, Wayne Chism, Wesley Johnson, West Coast, West Virginia, Willie Warren, Wisconsin, Xavier, Zaire Taylor
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February 25, 2009 –
by Brendon
To be at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center for Notre Dame’s 103-84 dismantling of Providence on Saturday afternoon was — at least for me — to turn the page on this group of Friars seniors. Providence, the only college basketball team with five 1,000-point scorers, had a team long on experience and short on notable performances, and it seemed they had run out of time to achieve something — like an NCAA Tournament appearance — out of their basketball-playing time on Smith Hill.
The defense was never there. The smart decision-making was never there. The clutch play down the stretch was never there. And so the big wins were never there either. But then Tuesday night arrived, and everything came together at once. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Game of the Night
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Tagged Big East, Cincinnati, DeJuan Blair, DePaul, Geoff McDermott, Jamie Dixon, Jonathan Kale, Keno Davis, Levance Fields, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, Randall Hanke, Rutgers, Sam Young, Sharaud Curry, St. John's, USF
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January 23, 2009 –
by Brendon
There’s nothing quite like heading to New Jersey on a January Thursday night. The good news is that there have been far frostier nights recent weeks than greeted me after stepping off the PATH in Newark to watch Seton Hall host Providence at the nearly new Prudential Center. The matchup was featured in BaselineStats.com’s Games to Watch, so I heeded my own advice and watched, in person. It was a good choice — Providence’s 98-93 overtime win was worth the trip. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Game of the Night
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Tagged Big East, Bobby Gonzalez, Eugene Harvey, Geoff McDermott, Jeff Xavier, Jeremy Hazell, John Garcia, Jonathan Kale, Jordan Theodore, Keno Davis, Marshon Brooks, Matt Cajuste, Paul Gause, Providence, Randall Hanke, Robert Mitchell, Seton Hall, Sharaud Curry, Weyinmi Efejuku
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January 22, 2009 –
by Brendon
Fatigued after a long night of basketball-watching and writing, I’ll try to keep tonight’s edition of “The Nights in Hoops” brief despite a full slate of action.
The biggest story of the night was the fall of the last of the unbeatens. Virginia Tech went to Winston-Salem and knocked off Wake Forest, 78-71, built primarily around good 2-point shooting (19-for-29, 65 percent) and 37 free-throw attempts. Despite making just 22 of those freebies, the Hokies were able to come away with the victory. The 2-point performance was especially notable against Demon Deacons team that entered the game 10th in the nation at 2-point defense (40.4 percent). Read More »
Posted in Reviews/Previews
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Tagged A.J. Price, ACC, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Atlantic-10, Auburn, Baylor, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Blake Griffin, Brigham Young, Butler, Clemson, Colonial, Connecticut, Danny Green, Darrin Horne, Deon Thompson, Duquesne, Florida, Florida State, Frank Haith, George Mason, Georgetown, Horizon, Illinois State, Iowa, James Harden, Jarvis Varnado, Jeff Pendergraph, Jodie Meeks, Jonathan Kale, Kansas State, Keno Davis, Kentucky, LaceDarius Dunn, Louisville, LSU, Marcus Thornton, Matt Janning, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Missouri Valley, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northeastern, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oliver Purnell, Pac-10, Providence, Randall Hanke, Rhode Island, Richmond, Russ Pennell, Rutgers, Saint Joseph's, SEC, Seth Greenberg, Seton Hall, South Carolina, Southern Cal, Tasmin Mitchell, Terrence Williams, Travis Ford, Trent Johnson, Tyler Hansbrough, UNLV, Villanova, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Washington, Wayne Ellington, West Virginia, Wichita State, Wink Adams, Wisconsin, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Zam Frederick
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January 16, 2009 –
by Brendon
Marquette at Providence (9 p.m.): The Big East fan gets about an hour break between games No. 3 and 4 of this quadruple-header before the nightcap in Providence. This matchup may not have the cachet of the previous three, but Marquette comes in at 4-0 in conference, and the Friars are 3-1 after a close loss at Georgetown last weekend. Both teams feature offensive that can explode from the perimeter, and a small lineup that prefers to run. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Reviews/Previews
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Tagged Buzz Williams, David Cubillan, Dominic James, Geoff McDermott, Jerel McNeal, Jonathan Kale, Keno Davis, Lazar Hayward, Marquette, Maurice Acker, Ousmane Barro, Providence, Randall Hanke, Sharaud Curry, Wesley Matthews, Weyinmi Efejuku
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