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term="UNCC"/><category term="USC"/><category term="UTEP"/><category term="Union"/><category term="University of Albany"/><category term="VMI"/><category term="Van Morrison"/><category term="Vaughn"/><category term="Vee Sanford"/><category term="Vegas Watch Blog"/><category term="Verdell Jones"/><category term="Vertrail Vaugns"/><category term="Villanova football"/><category term="Virginia Tech"/><category term="Vlad Kondratyev"/><category term="Vlad Sorin Moldoveanu"/><category term="Vladislav Trushkin"/><category term="Wanamaker Award"/><category term="Watson Summer League"/><category term="Weird Goedee"/><category term="Wellington Smith"/><category term="Whitey Rigsby"/><category term="Whitney Coleman"/><category term="Will Carroll"/><category term="Will Graves"/><category term="Windsor University"/><category term="Writers Poll"/><category term="Xaiver"/><category term="Xavier Henry"/><category term="Yannik Atanga"/><category term="Yvon Raymond"/><category term="Zack Spiker"/><category term="Zagsblog"/><category term="Zak Boisvert"/><category term="black hole"/><category term="blocks"/><category term="commentary"/><category term="consistency stat"/><category term="curtis Jerrells"/><category term="efficiency differentials"/><category term="event horizon"/><category term="forced turnovers"/><category term="individual performance"/><category term="individual usage percentage"/><category term="mascots"/><category term="minutes per field goal attempt"/><category term="opponents"/><category term="play efficiency"/><category term="possession-based stats"/><category term="recruits"/><category term="rotation"/><category term="the Red Line Missouri Valley Conference"/><title type='text'>Villanova by the Numbers</title><subtitle type='html'>Analysis and commentary on Villanova basketball, Big East and D1 basketball.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default?start-index=26&amp;max-results=25'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>944</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-5579547475152247423</id><published>2016-08-15T03:18:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2016-08-15T03:18:00.977-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2016 off season"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Dylan Painter"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Jalen Brunson"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Jay Wright"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Josh Hart"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Kris Jenkins"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Mykal Bridges"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Phil Booth"/><title type='text'>#CatsInSpain -- 5 Takeaways</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
2. <b>The Seniors Will Lead (Along with Jalen Brunson)</b><br /><br />I think this trip gives Josh (Hart) and Kris (Jenkins) to really get a sense of what it means to be a senior captain in this program.<br />-- Jay Wright, 8/1/2016<br /><br />The Villanova coach got his wish as Hart definitely emerged as <i>the</i> go-to guy on the tour. Hart was the leading scorer in each of the three Wildcat wins, and as his individual stats suggest, the offense looked to him for buckets when needed. The table below charts his production in each of the three games:<br /><br />
3. <table align="center" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#ffffcc" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9pt">
4. <tr><td align="center"><b>Hart</b></td><td align="center"><b>% Min</b></td><td align="center"><b>Poss %</b></td><td align="center"><b>Off Rating</b></td><td align="center"><b>PPWS</b></td><td align="center"><b>eFG%</b></td><td align="center"><b>OR%</b></td><td align="center"><b>TO%</b></td><td align="center"><b>A Rate</b></td><td align="center"><b>FT Rate</b></td><td align="center"><b>DR%</b></td></tr>
5. <tr><td>Game #1</td><td align="right">67.5</td><td align="right">26.0</td><td align="right">108.5</td><td align="right">1.30</td><td align="right">63.6</td><td align="right">12.3</td><td align="right">14.3</td><td align="right">16.4</td><td align="right">27.3</td><td align="right">16.5</td></tr>
6. <tr><td>Game #2</td><td align="right">85.0</td><td align="right">34.8</td><td align="right">110.2</td><td align="right">1.37</td><td align="right">69.4</td><td align="right">17.4</td><td align="right">17.4</td><td align="right">23.5</td><td align="right">22.2</td><td align="right">30.4</td></tr>
7. <tr><td>Game #3</td><td align="right">65.0</td><td align="right">34.1</td><td align="right">111.5</td><td align="right">1.47</td><td align="right">65.4</td><td align="right">11.0</td><td align="right">21.2</td><td align="right">8.9</td><td align="right">46.2</td><td align="right">36.4</td></tr></table>
8. <br />
9. The second game was the most competitive (87-80 Villanova) and Hart's minutes and possession rates increased accordingly. "Josh was dominant, by far the best player on the floor today...when we needed a bucket, we went to him every time and he came through." stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright after the game. The numbers back up what the coach's eyes saw -- a 35% possession rate combined with a shot rate of 33.4% and an assist rate of 23.5% -- the wing powered the offense either by taking the shot or passing to the open player. Hart's 27 points represented 31% of Villanova's points that Sunday. Hart's possession rate in all three games was higher than should be expected in regular season play (Villanova is in trouble if Hart is reponsible for more than 24-25% of the teams' possessions) that he could assume that large a role and do it without loss of efficiency (note his Off Ratings in games #2 and #3) is especially promising for the season as they suggest he can assume an even larger role in the offense (his possession rate, per Pomeroy, was 23.6 with an offensive rating of 117.7 -- #5 on Pomeroy's list of POYs) without loss of efficiency. The Big East has at least five legitimate candidates for Player of the Year, but Hart will most likely be named the favorite on Media Day next October.<br /><br />2. <b>The #5 is Unresolved.</b><br />This question surrounding the center position took two more twists on the eve of the trip as Villanova revealed that Omari Spellman had eligibility questions (unrelated to academic achievement) even as they announced that Darryl Reynolds would not make the trip due to a late injury incurred in practice. Reynolds should be healed before Fall Practice, but Spellman's eligibility questions may bleed into the season. For the tour Wright had the opportunity to take a long look at freshman Dylan Painter, a 6'9" 215 pound center out of Hershey Pennsylvania. The results were mixed:<br /><br />
10. <table align="center" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#ffffcc" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9pt">
11. <tr><td align="center"><b>Painter</b></td><td align="center"><b>% Min</b></td><td align="center"><b>Poss %</b></td><td align="center"><b>Off Rating</b></td><td align="center"><b>PPWS</b></td><td align="center"><b>eFG%</b></td><td align="center"><b>OR%</b></td><td align="center"><b>TO%</b></td><td align="center"><b>A Rate</b></td><td align="center"><b>FT Rate</b></td><td align="center"><b>DR%</b></td></tr>
12. <tr><td>Game #1</td><td align="right">65.0</td><td align="right">21.5</td><td align="right">114.6</td><td align="right">1.42</td><td align="right">66.7</td><td align="right">17.1</td><td align="right">17.9</td><td align="right">5.7</td><td align="right">22.2</td><td align="right">8.5</td></tr>
13. <tr><td>Game #2</td><td align="right">45.0</td><td align="right">9.1</td><td align="right">120.0</td><td align="right">1.04</td><td align="right">50.0</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">14.4</td><td align="right">100.0</td><td align="right">28.7</td></tr>
14. <tr><td>Game #3</td><td align="right">65.0</td><td align="right">10.8</td><td align="right">66.7</td><td align="right">0.80</td><td align="right">40.0</td><td align="right">5.5</td><td align="right">16.8</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">8.1</td></tr></table><br /><br />
15. Painter struggled with early foul trouble in game #2, but the video also suggests he struggled versus more experienced opponents. Note his defensive rebounding numbers in games #1 and #3 were well below an expected rebounding rate for Division 1 centers and his possession rate imploded versus the more competitive teams in games #2 and #3. If the video of game #2 is a good indication, Painter also struggles with the switching intricacies of Villanova's man-to-man defense (hardly surprising given that even the veterans miss assignments early in the season). This is <b>not a knock</b> on Painter. He is a freshman as the numbers suggest and will improve with conditioning and experience.<br /><br />If Painter drew most of the minutes during the tour, Eric Paschall was the designated starter at the #5 for each of the three games. Fans finally saw the 6'7" 240 pound transfer out of Fordham perform under (exhibition) game conditions, even if the (normally) stretch #4 was playing up a position:<br /><br />
16. <table align="center" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#ffffcc" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9pt">
17. <tr><td align="center"><b>Paschall</b></td><td align="center"><b>% Min</b></td><td align="center"><b>Poss %</b></td><td align="center"><b>Off Rating</b></td><td align="center"><b>PPWS</b></td><td align="center"><b>eFG%</b></td><td align="center"><b>OR%</b></td><td align="center"><b>TO%</b></td><td align="center"><b>A Rate</b></td><td align="center"><b>FT Rate</b></td><td align="center"><b>DR%</b></td></tr>
18. <tr><td>Game #1</td><td align="right">52.5</td><td align="right">19.4</td><td align="right">105.3</td><td align="right">1.21</td><td align="right">57.1</td><td align="right">21.2</td><td align="right">12.3</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">14.3</td><td align="right">15.9</td></tr>
19. <tr><td>Game #2</td><td align="right">60.0</td><td align="right">22.0</td><td align="right">65.2</td><td align="right">1.13</td><td align="right">50.0</td><td align="right">6.2</td><td align="right">29.1</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">5.4</td></tr>
20. <tr><td>Game #3</td><td align="right">55.0</td><td align="right">32.0</td><td align="right">112.3</td><td align="right">1.38</td><td align="right">68.2</td><td align="right">6.5</td><td align="right">13.4</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">72.7</td><td align="right">28.7</td></tr></table><br /><br />Like Painter, Paschall struggled with his low post counterparts in game #2, but managed better rebounding rates even as his possession rate dropped. Through all three games Paschall shot 15-26 from the field, but only 1-10 from beyond the arc (the lone conversion came in game #3). He appears to be a more mobile version of JayVaughn Pinkston, a starter who also rotated between #4 and #5 but graduated in 2015 along with Darrun Hilliard. In a post game #2 column NBC's Rob Dauster <a href="http://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2016/08/08/josh-hart-shines-as-villanova-rolls-in-spain/">opined about a Villanova version of Golden State's Death Lineup</a> of Brunson, Phil Booth, Hart, Mykal Bridges  and Kris Jenkins. but I think if Paschall can find the range, he would fit in at the #5 better than either Jenkins or Bridges. He has three more months to work on it. As for a more proto-typical low post rotation, the Wildcats have about 92 days, to idenfiy and develop it, or find a reasonable alternative.<br /><br />3. <b>Jay Wright Loves to Play Two Ball Handling Guards Together</b><br />And he will have that option again this season with Jalen Brunson and Phil Booth. Each started and alternated the ball handling responsibilities in each of the three exhibition games. Brunson was on the floor consistently for at least 75% of the available time (Burson averaged 31 minutes per game), Booth was plagued by turnovers and poor shooting in game #2 and poor shooting in game #3. The junior guard registered assist rates of 30%, 25% and 23.3% in each of the games, suggesting that when he looks for teammates he can find them.<br /><br />4. <b>Mykal Bridges is the Early Favorite for Big East Sixth Man</b><br />Who will start continues to be one of the favorite off season pasttimes of the Nova Nation, and Mikal Bridges has a loyal contingent who have slotted him at the #3 or #4 (with Hart and/or Jenkins playing down). Bridges will be first off the bench however, without a doubt. On a roster with the (publicly anyway) avowed philosophy of "positionless basketball", Bridges, a natural #3, is the only player who can legitimately play up or down two positions from his spot. Seeing him dribble versus pressure would make me nervous as would seeing him defend against a legitimate 260 pound 6'11" center, but Bridges can cover either for shot stretches. And that makes him far more valuable as a "first in" substitute than a starter. Villanova has had success with versitile sophomore sixth men as Josh Hart and Phil Booth can attest. Bridges can be that and more, as Wright will have some flexibility when deciding who to take out. Bridges, when he subs in, will force the opposing coach to reassess the match ups and adjust. Advantage Villanova.<br /><br />5. <b>Turnovers...Life Without Arch</b><br />Villanova's turnover rate in 2015-16 was 16.1%, due in no small measure to senior point guard Ryan Arcideacono's 14.1% turnover rate, coupled with equally impressive TO rates of 13.3% and 12.7% from Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins repsectively. Arch is gone to the NBA, Jalen Brunson and Phil Booth will be tasked with insuring that continues this season. Villanova's evolution to a perimeter-oriented offense means there will be fewer second chance opportunities (offensive rebounds) and oppertunities for points at the free throw line (for the four factors followers that means a lower free throw rate), which places a greater emphasis on lower turnover rates as well. The Wildcats will have to insure that the maximum possible possessions end with a field goal (or free throw) attempt.<br /><br />Keeping in mind this was a three game exhibition tour, the turnover rates logged (see table below) suggest there is room for improvement:
21. <table align="center" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="3" bgcolor="#ffffcc" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9pt">
22. <tr><td><b></b></td><td align="center"><b>Team</b></td><td align="center"><b>Brunson</b></td><td align="center"><b>Booth</b></td><td align="center"><b>Hart</b></td><td align="center"><b>Jenkins</b></td></tr>
23.  
24. <tr><td>Game #1</td><td align="right">20</td><td align="right">24.9</td><td align="right">23.8</td><td align="right">14.3</td><td align="right">13</td></tr>
25. <tr><td>Game #2</td><td align="right">19.2</td><td align="right">26.6</td><td align="right">7.2</td><td align="right">17.4</td><td align="right">17.9</td></tr>
26. <tr><td>Game #3</td><td align="right">27.1</td><td align="right">52.4</td><td align="right">42.2</td><td align="right">21.2</td><td align="right">32</td></tr>
27. <tr><td></td></tr>
28. <tr><td>Overall</td><td align="right">22.2</td><td align="right">32.3</td><td align="right">24.7</td><td align="right">17.9</td><td align="right">19.4</td></tr>
29. <tr><td>2015-16</td><td align="right">16.3</td><td align="right">20.2</td><td align="right">19.3</td><td align="right">13.3</td><td align="right">12.7</td></tr>
30. </table><br /><br />The 'Cats no doubt left Spain with three wins, a good many fond memories and several notebooks of areas for improvement that will, no doubt be areas of emphasis when working in small groups and later in team practices. The team will not start where they left off from last spring. They will be another work in progress this season.
31. &lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/5579547475152247423/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=5579547475152247423' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/5579547475152247423'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/5579547475152247423'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2016/08/catsinspain-5-takeaways.html' title='#CatsInSpain -- 5 Takeaways'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-5810848690015094383</id><published>2016-08-07T23:23:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2016-08-07T23:23:24.973-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2016 off season"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="points per possession stat"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="possession-based stats"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Spain Tour 2016"/><title type='text'>#CatsInSpain -- Villanova 89-49 Spain Barcalona All-Stars Revisited</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Complete Stat Sheet&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For those who wish to review the entire game, Villanova has provided a &lt;a href=&quot;http://nbntest.nbn23.com/stats/live/villanova/&quot;&gt;video feed of the game&lt;/a&gt; and a &lt;a href=&quot;http://nbntest.nbn23.com/stats/live/villanova/villanova-wildcats_vs_spain-all-star-barcelona.php&quot;&gt;completed box score&lt;/a&gt; that actually provides a few more details than your typical collegiate box score. With the more complete box score we also learned that...&lt;br /&gt;1. Computed possession for the game is 80 -- consistent with exhibition games. Pomeroy listed the average possession rate for Division 1 games in 2015-16 at about 69 possessions. Villanova&#39;s possession rate was 66.5 (below) the Division 1 average. Exhibitions due possibly to the difference in level of play/skill tend to be higher, as much as 25% higher than the team might play versus comparable competition in Division 1 games. Versus the Barcelona All-Stars, the possessions were 20% more than they typically took last season.&lt;br /&gt;2. For those wondering about the level of competition or comparable play, the closest game from last season might Villanova&#39;s 91-54 win over Fairleigh Dickinson to open the 2015-16 season. The &#39;Cats and Green Knights played for 77 possessions apiece with the &#39;Cats winning by 37 points.&lt;br /&gt;3. The offensive efficiency rate (points scored per possession) was 1.11, actually lower than last season&#39;s average of 1.23 (again, per Pomeroy). While a little surprising given the ease of the win, this can also be attributed to simple lack of practice and a four month layoff of play in game situations. Versus FDU for example, the &#39;Cats dominated the game throughout, but still scored at a 1.18 rate.&lt;br /&gt;4. The defensive efficiency (points per possession at which the opponents scored) was 0.61, good news for the &quot;defense first&quot; advocates among the Villanova faithful. For those looking for comparisons, the defensive efficiency rate versus FDU was 0.60, so the defense appears to be pretty close to season opening level, an observation consistent with onsite accounts of the game.&lt;br /&gt;5. The turnover rate for the &#39;Cats was 19.9, high by last season&#39;s standards (and very high compared to the FDU game). Where the breakdowns occured might help direct future practices. The &#39;Cats turned over the Barcelona All-Stars at a 26.1 rate, well above the defensive turnover rate last season (20.6), and the rate registered versus FDU (16.9).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For those wondering if the strong showing is confirmation that Villanova is well on its way to a second National Title, exhale please. These are exhibition games which rarely confirm a great team. They more frequently expose weaker teams rather than affirm stronger teams. Losing an exhibition game can identify areas where the team may struggle versus even stronger competition.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/5810848690015094383/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=5810848690015094383' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/5810848690015094383'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/5810848690015094383'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2016/08/catsinspain-villanova-89-49-spain.html' title='#CatsInSpain -- Villanova 89-49 Spain Barcalona All-Stars Revisited'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-8889337048099832996</id><published>2016-08-06T01:27:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2016-08-06T01:36:44.974-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2016 off season"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Denny Grace"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Donte DiVencenzo"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Dylan Painter"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Eric Paschall"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Jalen Brunson"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Josh Hart"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Kris Jenkins"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Mikal Bridges"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Phil Booth"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Spain Tour 2016"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Tom Leibig"/><title type='text'>#CatsInSpain: Day 2, Exhibition 1</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;
32. <b>A Very Brief Recap</b><br />
33. The Villanova Wildcats defeated a Spanish Select team 89-49 in the first of three exhibition games they will play on their eight day tour of Spain. The game, played in the Palau Municipal d’Esport Badalona, home court for the Divina Seguros Joventut of the ACB League in Badalona, drew an exhibition-sized crowd as Villanova, playing the first game since winning the NCAA National Championship last April, outscored and out rebounded (49 to 29) a team composed of players drawn from teams in Spain's ACB League, their top tier professional league. The ACB is ranked in the top three leagues in Europe. Josh Hart paced the Wildcats with a 16 point performance that included 5-11 shooting (2-5 from beyond the arc) and 3-4 from the free throw line. Hart also collected seven rebounds and dished three dimes while pacing Villanova to their 40 point win. Hart was one of four Villanova players to score double digit points. Rising sophomore Jalen Brunson scored 15 points in 30 minutes of play and led the team with five assists, freshman Dylan Painter added 14 points on 6-9 shooting and rising sophomore Mikal Bridges chipped in 12 points in 24 minutes while gathering four rebounds, three steals and two assists. The Wildcats led 56-26 at half-time. After opening the game 0-2 to the Spaniards Villanova went on a 9-0 run to take a lead that they never relinquished.<br /><br />
34.  
35. The starting lineup included three 2015-16 starters, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins, from the championship game and two new starters, rising junior Phil Booth, Villanova's sixth man in 2015-16 and red shirt sophomore Eric Paschall, a Fordham transfer who joined the Wildcats at the end of the 2015 season. Paschall played the center position in place of rising senior Darryl Reynolds who sustained a tailbone injury days before the team departed and did not make the trip. The Wildcats were also without heralded freshman Omari Spellman who the NCAA has yet to clear for play. Coach Jay Wright considers this an excellent opportunity to see what his three other newest front court players, Paschall, Painter and red shirt freshman Tim Delaney, can do in the position. The triumph was not without a price as rising sophomore Donte DiVencenzo sprained his ankle in the third quarter and was forced to leave the game. It is not clear whether DiVencenzo will appear in the other two exhibition games.<br /><br />
36.  
37. <b>A Closer Look at the Game</b><br />
38. Working from an incomplete box score posted on Villanova's website that showed individual minutes played, shooting, rebounding and assists for each of the 11 Wildcat players who drew some playing time (but lacks turnovers, steals, fouls and blocks), I can work out several shot efficiency statistics, but cannot estimate the number of possessions. The box is located <a href="https://twitter.com/NovaMBB/status/761527779741564928">here for those who wish</a> to see the partial detailed statistics. The shot efficiency, rebounding and assist rate statistics:<br /><br />
39.  
40. <table align="center" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#ffffcc" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9pt">
41. <tr><td align="center"><b>Player</b></td><td align="center"><b>%Min</b></td><td align="center"><b>eFG%</b></td><td align="center"><b>PPWS</b></td><td align="center"><b>Ast%</b></td><td align="center"><b>FT Rate</b></td><td align="center"><b>OR%</b></td><td align="center"><b>DR%</td></tr>
42. <tr><td>Jalen Brunson</td><td align="right">75.0</td><td align="right">77.8</td><td align="right">1.59</td><td align="right">23.8</td><td align="right">11.1</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">7.4</td></tr>
43. <tr><td>Kris Jenkins</td><td align="right">55.0</td><td align="right">26.9</td><td align="right">0.60</td><td align="right">11.9</td><td align="right">7.7</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">20.2</td></tr>
44. <tr><td>Josh Hart</td><td align="right">67.5</td><td align="right">63.6</td><td align="right">1.30</td><td align="right">16.4</td><td align="right">27.3</td><td align="right">12.3</td><td align="right">16.5</td></tr>
45. <tr><td>Eric Paschall</td><td align="right">52.5</td><td align="right">57.1</td><td align="right">1.21</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">14.3</td><td align="right">21.2</td><td align="right">15.9</td></tr>
46. <tr><td>Phil Booth</td><td align="right">45.0</td><td align="right">75.0</td><td align="right">1.50</td><td align="right">30.3</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">6.2</td><td align="right">18.5</td></tr>
47. <tr><td>Donte DiVencenzio</td><td align="right">35.0</td><td align="right">25.0</td><td align="right">0.48</td><td align="right">10.4</td><td align="right">8.3</td><td align="right">23.8</td><td align="right">31.7</td></tr>
48. <tr><td>Tom Leibig</td><td align="right">10.0</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">0.00</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">55.6</td></tr>
49. <tr><td>Mikal Bridges</td><td align="right">60.0</td><td align="right">71.4</td><td align="right">1.52</td><td align="right">12.0</td><td align="right">28.6</td><td align="right">9.3</td><td align="right">9.3</td></tr>
50. <tr><td>Tim Delaney</td><td align="right">27.5</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">0.00</td><td align="right">10.1</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">10.1</td></tr>
51. <tr><td>Denny Grace</td><td align="right">7.5</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">0.00</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">0.0</td><td align="right">74.1</td></tr>
52. <tr><td>Dylan Painter</td><td align="right">65.0</td><td align="right">66.7</td><td align="right">1.42</td><td align="right">5.7</td><td align="right">22.2</td><td align="right">17.1</td><td align="right">8.5</td></tr></table><br />
53. Defensive rebounding rates of 55.6 and 74.1 look great, but realize that Tom Leibig and Denny Grace, two of Villanova's newest walk-ons, gathered two rebounds apiece during their respective four and three minute runs. It does not necessarily follow that Leibig would have gathered 20 rebounds had he played the entire game. With "rates" stats that exclude time played, expect distortions at the lower margins. As for detailed explanations for the stats, <a href="http://kenpom.com/blog/stats-explained/">look here (Ken Pomeroy's website)</a>. The one that should be explained here is PPWS, which stands for Points Per Weighted Shot. This is a variation on the True Shot stat developed for NBA players by Kevin Pelton, except that the last step (dividing the anticipated points by two, which converts the stat to a one number, percentage expression, that includes field goals and free throws). PPWS answers the question "How many points were scored each time the player took a field goal attempt?" while True Shot answers "What are the chances a shot will be completed if the field goal attempt is taken?". I prefer PPWS as it gives me the answer "in points" rather than "completion rate". Lacking the number of turnovers committed by each team, I cannot calculate the number of possessions for each team. Given all of the other inputs, I have an estimate (that I know is too low) of 62 possessions for Villanova. Since turnovers "add" possessions, I know that estimate is too low. Most exhibition games come in with a (wide) range of 73-85 possessions, which suggests that the Wildcats committed 10-20 turnovers.<br /><br />
54.  
55. <b>A few observations:</b><br />
56. 1. Eric Paschall started at the #5, but Dylan Painter drew most of the minutes (26) at the position. The staff must have liked what they saw. Given Spellman's status, it is probably prudent to get the freshman as many minutes as possible in Spain and hope -- worst case -- he and Darryl Reynolds will develop into a serviceable rotation (with assistance from Paschall, etc.).<br />
57. 2. Brunson, Hart, Painter and Bridges (in that order) drew the most minutes. While not an expectation for games going forward, I suspect we will see Brunson and Hart, along with Bridges and Booth emerge as the nucleus this season.<br />
58. 3. The scoring was balanced with seven players (Hart, Brunson, Painter, Bridges, Booth, Paschall and Jenkins) scoring between 16 and eight points apiece, but the shooting efficiency was not. Brunson, Booth and Bridges were the most efficient scorers, followed by Painter, Hart and Paschall. Jenkins has work to do.<br />
59. 4. Note that Hart and Bridges drew the highest FT Rates -- they took contact while scoring, which suggests they went to the bucket to complete plays. Those two are not the most durable players on the squad. I would feel better had Jenkins, Painter and Paschall mixed it up more.<br />
60. 5. The squad had an offensive rebounding rate of 47.2% (the 'Cats gathered 17 of the 36 missed field goal attempts under their own basket) is crazy high, though consistent with exhibition games and the European opponent. The Spanish Select team was limited to an offensive rebounding rate of 19.4%, again suggesting rebounding was not a priority in their game plan or possibly their style of play. Those numbers will not hold up in Division 1 play, but clearly Painter, Paschall and DiVencenzo have no problems crashing the boards. The defensive rebounding rates were more evenly distributed with DiVencenzo, Jenkins, Booth, Hart and Paschall leading the way. Painter was strangely ineffective at that end of the floor, was the Select team center more effective in blocking him out?<br />
61. 6. Booth and Brunson led the assist rates, suggesting they will continue the duel point guard look into this season. I hope. The approach creates a lot of flexibility on offense.<br /><br /><b>Next...</b><br />The team will travel to Madrid Saturday and play exhibition games versus ACB Select teams Sunday August 7 and Tuesday August 9 in Madrid, before returning home Wednesday August 10.
62. &lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/8889337048099832996/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=8889337048099832996' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/8889337048099832996'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/8889337048099832996'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2016/08/catsinspain-day-2-exhibition-1.html' title='#CatsInSpain: Day 2, Exhibition 1'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-8877962210360575891</id><published>2016-08-05T01:04:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2016-08-05T01:04:01.719-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2016-17 Preview"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Eron Gordon"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Jevon Thomas"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Kevin Willard"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Madison Jones"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Manny Anderson"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Myles Powell"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Seton Hall"/><title type='text'>Seton Hall -- A First Look at the OOC Schedule</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Opponents Announced&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Pirates released their out of conference schedule early last week, and it appears that, despite the loss of Isaiah Whitehead, Coach Kevin Willard has upgraded the Hall&#39;s slate for the 2016-17 season. Borrowing &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.anonymouseagle.com/2016/7/17/12206002/comparing-the-2016-17-marquette-men-s-basketball-non-conference-schedule-to-years-past&quot;&gt;a leaf from Anonymous Eagles&#39; playbook&lt;/a&gt;, I have averaged Pomeroy&#39;s 2016 rankings for the slate announced late last week, along with Pomeroy&#39;s rankings for the out of conference slate they played last season. I also added the RPI rankings (averaged again, not using the algorithm for the SOS) as a point of comparison. As of last March, the NCAA&#39;s Selection Committee (for better or worse...) continues to use the RPI as a point of reference. On to the details (again borrowing Anonymous Eagles&#39; format (Kenpom rank is followed by RPI).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2015-16 Season:&lt;br /&gt;
63. <b>Low:</b> Wichita State (8, 50)<br />
64. <b>High:</b> Bradley (336, 305 out of 351)<br />
65. <b>Average of Seton Hall's 13 opponents (Pomeroy):</b> 165.3<br />
66. <b>Standard Deviation of Rank (Pomeroy):</b> 106.7<br />
67. <b>Median Opponent Ranking (Pomeroy):</b> 193<br /><br />Ironically, both their highest and lowest ranked opponents were out of the Missouri Valley Conference. Both games were wins.<br /><br />2016-17 Season:<br />
68. <b>Low:</b> California (29, 16)<br />
69. <b>High:</b> Central Connecticut State (351, 351 out of 351)<br />
70. <b>Average of Seton Hall's 9 known opponents (Pomeroy):</b> 151<br />
71. <b>Standard Deviation of Rank (Pomeroy):</b> 123.3<br />
72. <b>Median Opponent Ranking (Pomeroy):</b> 61<br /><br />The numbers reflect last season's performance, and are -- at best -- only partially predictive of performance this season. Iowa is listed as the highest ranked opponent per Pomeroy, but looking at both Pomeroy and the RPI, this should be a split decision between Iowa, 23 in Pomeroy and 28 RPI and California, ranked #29 by Pomeroy, but #16 in the RPI. I went with California because I believe coach Cuonzo Martin's squad will finish with a better rank next season. The Golden Bears return 6'11" forward Ivan Rabb, a consensus lottery pick had he stayed in the NBA draft last June. Rabb is a legitimate National (and Pac-12) Player of the Year candidate and a consensus of Pac-12 observers put California in the Pac-12 upper division with a return to the NCAAs in the offering. The Hawkeyes lost four senior starters off the 22-11 squad that rose as high as #3 in the AP polls before fading to a third round elimination in the NCAAs.  The good news for Iowa coach Fran McCaffery is that rising senior 6'6" wing Peter Jok, also an NBA draft candidate, returned for his senior season. Although McCaffery has a deep squad and expects a solid freshman class, Hawkeyes have a lot of gaps to fill and most likely will struggle to maintain a presence in the upper half of the Big Ten this season. A return to the NCAA Tournament is not a forgone conclusion.<br /><br />While the highs and lows both moved lower, the average and mean indicate the schedule is actually better (statistically) than the 2015-16 slate which featured (per Pomeroy) one opponent with a rank greater than #300 and four opponents ranked in the 200s. Those five were somewhat offset by two top 50 opponents and three others ranked in the top 100. While the 2016-17 slate has two last question marks (the second the third round opponents in the AdvoCare Invitational), the slate so far has one opponent ranked below 300, three ranked in the 200s and most importantly, three in the top 50 (Pomeroy) and two others in the top 100.<br /><br />The schedule with Pomeroy and RPI<br /><br />
73. <table align="center" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#ffffcc" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9pt">
74. <tr><td align="center"><b>Date</b></td><td align="center"><b>Opponent</b></td><td align="center"><b>H/A/N</b></td><td align="center"><b>Conf.</b></td><td colspan="3" align="center"><b>2015-16</b></td></tr>
75. <tr><td colspan="5"></td><td align="center"><b>K Pom</b></td><td align="center"><b>RPI</b></td></tr>
76. <tr><td>11-Nov</td><td>Fairleigh Dickinson</td><td align="center">H</td><td>NEC</td><td></td><td align="right">270</td><td align="right">208</td></tr>
77. <tr><td>13-Nov</td><td>Central Connecticut St.</td><td align="center">H</td><td>NEC</td><td></td><td align="right">351</td><td align="right">351</td></tr>
78. <tr><td>17-Nov</td><td>Iowa</td><td align="center">A</td><td>Big Ten</td><td></td><td align="right">23</td><td align="right">28</td></tr>
79. <tr><td>24-Nov</td><td>Florida</td><td align="center">N</td><td>SEC</td><td></td><td align="right">41</td><td align="right">52</td></tr>
80. <tr><td>25-Nov</td><td>TBD</td><td align="center">N</td></tr>
81. <tr><td>27-Nov</td><td>TBD</td><td align="center">N</td></tr>
82. <tr><td>1-Dec</td><td>Columbia</td><td align="center">H</td><td>Ivy</td><td></td><td align="right">110</td><td align="right">131</td></tr>
83. <tr><td>6-Dec</td><td>Hawaii</td><td align="center">A</td><td>Big West</td><td></td><td align="right">56</td><td align="right">86</td></tr>
84. <tr><td>7-Dec</td><td>California</td><td align="center">N</td><td>Pac-12</td><td></td><td align="right">29</td><td align="right">16</td></tr>
85. <tr><td>12-Dec</td><td>South Carolina</td><td align="center">N</td><td>SEC</td><td></td><td align="right">61</td><td align="right">57</td></tr>
86. <tr><td>17-Dec</td><td>Delaware</td><td align="center">H</td><td>CAA</td><td></td><td align="right">278</td><td align="right">271</td></tr>
87. <tr><td>23-Dec</td><td>Rutgers</td><td align="center">H</td><td>Big Ten</td><td></td><td align="right">291</td><td align="right">294</td></tr>
88. </table><br />Drawing Florida in the first round of the AdvoCare Invitational will provide the Pirates with the chance to earn a quality win, the type that draws the attention of the early polls and the Selection Committee. The Gators return four starters from the 2015-16 squad that won 21 games and went three rounds into the NIT. Angel Delgado will have his hands full with 6'11" 255 pound John Egbunu, a South Florida transfer who played 34 games for the Gators last season. Egbunu, an efficient scorer and rebounder, is foul prone. With a solid entering class and Virginia Tech transfer Jalen Hudson eligible, coach Mike White should have them ready to return to the elites of the SEC next season. Potential AdvoCare second round opponents include Quinnipiac and (most probably) a rematch with Gonzaga which, should it happen, be a story lede nationally. The Zags however, return only three contributors from their 28-8 squad, and will need much of the season to bring the balance of the squad up to speed. They may be ready for the NCAAs by March, but not for the Pirates in November. Opponents on the other side of the bracket include a rebuilding Stanford, along with conference powerhouses Iowa State and Miami. Should the Hall advance to the championship game, their RPI and Pomeroy ranks should be top 30. South Carolina graduated three senior starters from a 25-9 squad that played in the NIT last season, coach Frank Martin will count on rising seniors Duane Notice (who completed 40% of his three point attempts) and Sindarius Thornwell a talented 6'5" ball handling point to lead a young Gamecock squad back into the top half of the SEC (and the NCAAs).<br /><br /><b>Roster Moves</b><br />The published roster lists both of the Pirate transfers from last season, Jevon Thomas (Kansas State) and Madison Jones (Wake Forest). Both appear to be pass first point guards, though Thomas whose free throw rate from 2015, 67.2 (along with a turnover rate of 32.8), suggests he drives the lane as an alternative to setting up a teammate. The tendency is similar to the departed (and aspiring fire fighter) Derrick Gordon. Neither appear to be the kind of efficient (or even prolific) scorer like Isaiah Whitehead. Willard also has three freshmen, all guards, joining this season, giving the squad a guard-heavy flavor. As a ball handling scorer in the Whitehead mold, 6'3" 190 pound Eron Gordon out of Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, might be the closest match. Gordon, a younger brother of Hoosier great and Houston Rocket guard Eric Gordon, averaged 24 points per game as a junior and 19 as a senior. The other two guards, 6'2" Myles Powell averaged 25 points per game as a senior at South Kent Prep and 6'4" Manny Anderson played at the Hun School and Worchester Academy before a prep year at the Hotchkiss School.<br /><br />
89. &lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/8877962210360575891/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=8877962210360575891' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/8877962210360575891'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/8877962210360575891'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2016/08/seton-hall-first-look-at-ooc-schedule.html' title='Seton Hall -- A First Look at the OOC Schedule'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-4381447917148789745</id><published>2016-08-01T00:27:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2016-08-01T00:27:58.760-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2016 off season"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Big East Conference"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Chris Mack"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="conference alignment"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Eddie Ekiyor"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Edmond Sumner"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Kaisor Gates"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="RaShed Gaston"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Trevon Bluiett"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Tyrique Jones"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Xavier"/><title type='text'>Ten Teams and the Conference, Three Questions Each, Part 5</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;The &quot;skill camps&quot; are quieting down and summer league is almost over. Teams are preparing for (or have just finished up) their European tour. Before our attention is consumed by the Olympics, a last few questions come to mind about Xavier and the Big East Conference going into the 2016-17 season...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Xavier&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With the return of Trevon Bluiett, the X-men losses were limited to Jalen Reynolds and James Farr, two of Xavier&#39;s mainstays in the front court, along with wings Remy Abel (a senior) and Larry Austin who transferred to Vanderbilt. Coach Chris Mack anticipated the graduations of Farr and Abel, and knew Reynolds, a junior, would most likely depart at the end of the semester. He has most of those gaps covered by incoming freshmen (Eddie Ekiyor and Tyrique Jones) and transfer (RaShed Gaston).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. &lt;b&gt;Xavier&#39;s front court -- Who&#39;s got next?&lt;/b&gt; Mack lost seven years of experience with the simultaneous departures of James Farr and Jalen Reynolds. Although he has Sean O&#39;Mara (6&#39;10&quot;, 247 pounds), Tim Stainbrook (6&#39;6&quot;, 200 pounds) and Kaiser Gates (6&#39;8&quot;, 217 pounds) returning, he brought in Ekiyor and Jones with NLIs during the fall as insurance. When Jalen Reynolds made his departure official, Mack also signed Gaston, a fifth year senior out of Norfolk State in the MEAC. The front court starters in November will most likely be O&#39;Mara at center with Gaston and Gates at the #3/#4 (and Bluiett playing up to the #3 at times). As the season goes on expect Ekiyor and Jones to find regular minutes in the rotation as well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. &lt;b&gt;Is Edmond Sumner ready to take the next step?&lt;/b&gt; Despite a concussion that sidelined him for nearly two weeks at the beginning of conference play last season, Xavier point guard put together the kind of season that earned him five Freshman of the Week nods and one of three unanimous selections to the Big East Conference All-Freshman Team. His end-to-end speed and leaping ability kept opposing defenses off balance and gave the Musketeer offense an edge in transition. According to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.si.com/college-basketball/power-rankings-duke-kansas-villanova-oregon-kentucky&quot;&gt;Sports Illistrated&#39;s Luke Winn&lt;/a&gt;, Sumner connected on 49.6% of layups and dunks while drawing 5.8 fouls per 40 minutes (with a 73% conversion rate at the line). Already beginning to fill out his 6&#39;6&quot; frame, Sumner&#39;s off season To Do List includes improving his jump shot (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2016/07/28/nike-skills-academy-college-basketball&quot;&gt;per Winn, Sumner was identified by multiple pro scouts&lt;/a&gt; as the guard with the highest ceiling, but his form on jumpers needed lots of work) where he completed only 29.7% of his two point attempts away from the basket and three point attempts where he converted 30.3% of his attempts. Better shot selection and higher completion rates next season will earn All-Conference First Team honors. Look for a second graduate transfer Malcolm Bernard, a 6&#39;6&quot; guard out of Florida A&amp;M to push Sumner in fall practice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. &lt;b&gt;Can Xavier get past the Sweet Sixteen?&lt;/b&gt; Since dropping Division 1 football and making basketball the center piece of their athletic programs, Xavier has pursued excellence with a commitment that borders on obsession. Over the past 33 seasons the Musketeers have earned 25 NCAA bids across four different conferences under six different head coaches. In the 44 previous seasons the Muskies earned a single NCAA bid (1961) on a run that ended in the first round. Consistency has been achieved, but Xavier continues to pursue excellence as their ceiling, the Regional Final (Elite Eight), has been reached only once, under coach Sean Miller (now at Arizona). Now that Villanova has won a National Championship, Xavier&#39;s recent performance is coming under the microscope. Mack&#39;s ceiling has been the Sweet Sixteen, reached three times in six tournament runs as coach at Xavier. As a member of the Big East, Mack has reached a single Sweet Sixteen (2015), and exited the 2016 tournament as a #2 seed, 66-63, on a last second corner three by #7 seed Wisconsin&#39;s Bronson Koenig. Xavier will get back to the NCAA tournament, though they may not draw another #2 seed. Sumner, Gates and Bluiett will all show improvement while Myles Davis will continue to provide the experience that anchors the back court. If the front court comes together expect a seed from #2 to #4 which carries a good chance to be among the last 16 teams in the tournament. Match-ups matter here, a good draw would put them back in the hunt.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Big East Conference&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The conference had its most successful season in close to a decade. The conference sent five members (50%) to the NCAAs, while Creighton advanced three rounds into the NIT field before being eliminated by BYU. The conference drew two #2 seeds in the NCAA and Villanova won the National Championship last April. The conference heard the names of two players called in the first round and of the NBA draft June 23, followed by two others who were drafted in the second round. Providence guard Kris Dunn was a lottery pick (5th spot) by Minnesota while freshman Henry Ellenson was drafted in the 18th spot by Detroit. Sophomore Isiah Whitehead (42nd by Utah, traded to the NY Nets) and junior Ben Bentil (51st, Boston) were taken in the second round.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. &lt;b&gt;Has the conference regained its high-major status?&lt;/b&gt; Some would debate the Big East&#39;s status, despite losing six programs, was always a high-major. The number of NCAA bids earned since the reformation (16) is more than the SEC (11) and the American Athletic Conference (10). The conference sent 50% of their members to the NCAA in their first (reformed) year (2014), 60% in 2015 and 50% in 2016. That is a slightly better percentage than the Big Ten (50%, 50% and 50%) and the Pac-12 (50%, 33%, 58%) over the same period. Pomeroy ranked the conference 5th, 3rd and 3rd in the seasons since the reformation; the RPI ranks were 4th, 2nd and 4th. Yet in the minds of too many pundits the conference took a major step back when the conference reformed before the 2013-14 season. Villanova, after repeatedly drawing high seeds, won the 2016 National Championship, which, hopefully, puts those whispers to bed. Recalling the Big East of the early 1980s however, it is clear the conference did not draw elite recognition until 1985, when the conference put St. John&#39;s, Georgetown and Villanova (all members of the reformed conference...) into the Final Four.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. &lt;b&gt;Can the conference improve on the four invitational tournament championships they earned last season?&lt;/b&gt; Marquette (Legends), Villanova (NIT Tip-Off) and Xavier (AdvoCare Invitational) win their respective invitational tournaments, the conference also had three other members reach their championship games. Those tournaments, most coming during the 2015 Thanksgiving Week, accounted for an attention grabbing 20-3 (0.870) record, which in turn shined a very favorable light on the conference&#39;s bid contenders for the post season. This season the prospects are good that Creighton (Paradise Jam), Villanova (Charleston Classic) and Xavier (Puerto Rico Tip-Off) will repeat against so-so fields.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Finding a sure number four is challenging. Seton Hall, slated for the AdvoCare Invitational, may be the best candidate. The Pirates open versus semi-home Florida, and should they win, draw a rematch with Gonzaga (who bounced them from the NCAA&#39;s last March) next. Both games should be a challenge, but Stanford, Miami or Iowa State awaiting the winner of the Hall&#39;s bracket, would be the last team. Any of them (especially Miami or Stanford) would be difficult opponents. Butler, DePaul and Marquette have interesting match-ups that could work in their favor. Butler, due to appear in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational will face Vanderbilt in the host semi-final, with the chance to meet Arizona if the Bulldogs advance to the championship game. Vanderbilt has a new coach and some significant roster changes, which suggest Marquette might be able to advance. But Arizona, the prohibitive favorite in the other semi-final, will be difficult. DePaul, set to compete in the (also) Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic faces Wyoming in the semi-final and either Missouri State or (most likely) Southern California. Beating Wyoming, also guided by a new coach, is probable, but USC? Not so much as Andy Enfield has a roster that should challenge in the Pac-12. Marquette will face Michigan in the semi-finals of the 2K Classic, and if they win would face either Pittsburgh or SMU, both of which have new head coaches and some roster turnover.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The other tournaments are problematic. Georgetown faces a loaded field in the Maui Invitational that includes UNC, Oregon and Wisconsin. St. John&#39;s will participate in the Battle 4 Atlantis whose field includes Baylor, Louisville and Michigan State (or and Wichita State also...). Providence is slated for the Emerald Coast Classic whose field includes Iowa, Virginia and Memphis (which hired Tubby Smith). The Friars will face Memphis first, with either Iowa or Virginia to follow.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. &lt;b&gt;Will the latest round of realignment, initiated this time by the Big 12, affect the Big East?&lt;/b&gt; Ugh, not again. Having left the five FBS members behind in 2013, the seven schools that reformed the Big East dedicated their attention and money to sports other than Bowl Division football. That, it would seem, settled the question that tore at the fabric of the conference for over 20 years. Just when one would have to believe the Big East is immune from the machinations of the 65 Power 5 conference members (plus Notre Dame) and the 64 members of the Group of Five (the other five FBS conferences and independents) ESPN&#39;s Andy Katz twitter set off a ripple of nostalgia with his tweet/blurb...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;If UConn found a home for football, the Big East would seriously consider the Huskies for all other sports, according to a source with knowledge. The Big East would be a natural fit. So far the 10-team Big East only has all sports members, but doesn&#39;t offer Division I (FBS) football. UConn is in all sports in the AAC. If given the choice, the Huskies would want to be in the Big 12 in all sports. But the chances that offer ever comes is still too hard to predict now.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;-- Andy Katz, July 20, 2016&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The &quot;a source with knowledge...&quot; is of course unidentified leaving the reader with little to judge the value of the information (was the source a UConn insider? A Big East front office insider? One of the members schools? Scott Van Pelt?). Two weeks has cooled the nostalgia and slowly brought conference fans back to reality. UConn is not walking through that door. And even if the Huskies knocked (&lt;b&gt;extremely&lt;/b&gt; unlikely) would the conference &lt;i&gt;even answer&lt;/i&gt;? Consider that UConn would first have to leave the AAC, a process that would (per agreed upon procedures) take 27 months and a 10 million dollar exit fee (higher if exiting more quickly) to execute. UConn would have to (re)join the Big East &lt;b&gt;before&lt;/b&gt; applying to the Big 12 for football only. NCAA regulations prohibit a school from applying to a conference for membership in a sport unless the school&#39;s &quot;home conference&quot; does not play that sport. Unwinding the sequence of actions that have to take place can be confusing, but two questions really put this to bed -- Does Connecticut honestly want to move only their football over to the Big 12? Does the Big 12 consider football only status preferable for UConn (or any other program they invite)? If the invitation is tendered it will be for all sports. And UConn will accept eagerly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Scenarios that involve partial/split memberships are almost always for the benefit of the school who wants to maintain an unaffiliated status for their football program (ie Notre Dame, BYU and &lt;i&gt;maybe&lt;/i&gt; Texas). Those arrangements do not promote stability for the conference that buys in. And for anyone connected to the Big East (conference employee, employee of a member school or even a fan) to entertain the notion of taking a school (much less UConn, nostalgia aside) with an FBS program into the conference suggests the entertainer learned &lt;b&gt;nothing&lt;/b&gt; from the last three decades. Having put the FBS football issue aside, the only power 5 realignment variations that will impact the Big East would involve imploding conferences or the power 5 alignment leaving the NCAA and declining participation in the NCAA basketball tournament.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/4381447917148789745/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=4381447917148789745' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/4381447917148789745'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/4381447917148789745'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2016/08/ten-teams-and-conference-three.html' title='Ten Teams and the Conference, Three Questions Each, Part 5'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-4961711011694888361</id><published>2016-07-25T12:34:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2016-07-25T12:34:51.366-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2016 off season"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Bashir Ahmed"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Chris Mullin"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Jalen Brunson"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Jason Hart"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Jay Wright"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Kassoum Yakwe"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Kris Jenkins"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Marcus LoVett"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Omari Spellman"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Phil Booth"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Shamorie Ponds"/><title type='text'>Ten Teams and the Conference, Three Questions Each, Part 4</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;The FIBA tournaments are winding down and their NCAA players have gained valuable experience. The last of the transfers and fifth year seniors are finding their spots. July foreign tours are wrapping up as teams taking their tours in August are getting ready to start practice. As summer moves on, a few questions come to mind about each Big East program going into the 2016-17 season...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;St. John&#39;s&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rookie coach Chris Mullin found a very bare cupboard (returning 8% of the minutes, 5% of the possessions and 4% of the points scored from the 2014-15 squad) this time last off season, he has to feel good about heading into this season with 51% of the minutes and possessions, and 49% of the points scored from last season&#39;s squad. Even though the Red Storm posted a 1-17 in conference and 8-24 overall record, Mullin knows there is help in the form of more (in numbers and talent) players available to continue his roster overhaul and rebuilding program at St. John&#39;s.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. &lt;b&gt;What can the Red Storm fans expect in season 2?&lt;/b&gt; More wins for starters. Their single conference win matched the total from 2003-04, a tumultuous season that opened with player suspensions and a Mike Jarvis&#39; melodramatic walk-out six games into the season, which left Kevin Clark and the remainder of Jarvis&#39; staff to clean up the wreckage. Mullin&#39;s 0.250 overall winning percentage bettered only the 1918-19 squad which failed to win a game in seven tries. St. John&#39;s, ranked #300 on offensive by Ken Pomeroy, can expect help from the experience earned by the returning players and and five new faces, transfers and JUCOs, red shirts and true freshmen. Last season&#39;s front court rotation, Kassoum Yakwe, Yankuba Sima and Amar Alibegovic, will be helped by transfer Tariq Owens (Tennessee), who sat in 2015-16 and the return of red shirt (injury) Darien Williams. Mullin will fill out the back court rotation with red shirt freshman Marcus LoVett and true freshman Shamorie Ponds, who will compete with rising sophomore Federico Mussini for time at the point and shooting guard positions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Red Storm&#39;s out of conference slate which includes Nichols State, Longwood, Binghamton, LIU and Delaware State, is more an extended exhibition slate than bullet points on a post season resume. Post season considerations may come in 2017-18 (or later). Timely out of conference tests will come with trips to Minnesota (St. John&#39;s Gavitt Games opponent) and Tulane (fulfilling a home-away contract), both of which, given the state of their respective programs, are winnable for a well-prepared Red Storm squad.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. &lt;b&gt;How badly will St. John&#39;s rebuilding efforts be hurt by the loss of Barry (&quot;Slice&quot;) Rohrssen?&lt;/b&gt; A friendship forged nearly four decades ago in Brooklyn was a major factor that lured Rohrssen away from John Calipari&#39;s Kentucky staff and back to the Big Apple. Rohrssen had the reputation, the pedigree and connections to pull down the Associate Head Coach job, but he could not carve out a defined role on Mullin&#39;s staff. Left with only deep bench players, the staff cast a wide net that eventually gathered a squad with gaps both in the talent level and skill set. Not every scholarship player was able to suit up to boot. The lack of completeness seemed to reflect on Slice. And as the season lurched to a conclusion Slice&#39;s status seemed to diminish. For the 2016-17 season the Johnnies did sign Ponds, but they swung and missed on two other high profile elite targets into whom Rohrssen invested time and effort.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;By season&#39;s end Mullin turned the recruiting focus from highly-regarded high schoolers to junior college and transfer prospects. Mullin and staff found a wing -- Marvin Clark out of Michigan State -- and an additional guard, Justin Simmon out of Arizona. Two time NJCAA First Team Bashir Ahmed, a native of the Bronx who attended Hutchinson Community College before returning home was signed in December. Mullin picked up a second scorer, a forward out of Germany, Richard Freudenberg, who averaged 14.8 points per game for his club they ran to the U19 German League championship. Going forward, Mullin and the Red Storm staff will rebuild St. John&#39;s program and reputation with a mix of &lt;i&gt;reachable&lt;/i&gt; high schoolers and transfers. Top 50 recruiting will wait until success draws positive attention. Nearly eight weeks after Clark and Simmons signed Zagoria and others reported that Rohrssen and St. John&#39;s were nearing terms on a buyout. St. John&#39;s -- the program and their head coach -- should weather this transition.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. &lt;b&gt;What is St. John&#39;s greatest need?&lt;/b&gt; Scoring, or more precisely, more efficient use of their offensive possessions. A look at Pomeroy&#39;s 2016 profile for the Red Storm shows a team that scored 0.97 points per possession, ranked #301 out of 351 Division 1 teams. Ouch. As for the why, Ken Pomeroy&#39;s 2016 profile suggests two serious problems. The Johnnies&#39; field goal efficiency was 45.6%, ranked #321 out of 351 Division 1 schools. They shot badly when they had the ball. Their turnover rate was 20.9%, ranked #322 (out of 351). A thumbnail narrative might be &quot;the Johnnies were able to finish less than 8 of every 10 possessions with a field goal attempt or free throw (ie scoring) attempt. And when they did finish with a shot, they converted less than 50% of them&quot;. Notably, the Johnnies had difficulty converting inside the three point line, shooting only 44.1%. Their FTA/FGA rate -- 38% a bit above average for Division 1 -- further suggests that while they got to the line when they drove inside  they only shot 64% at the line, among the least efficient in Division 1. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.rumbleinthegarden.com/2016/6/18/11966132/by-the-numbers-better-shooting-team-lost&quot;&gt;Rumble in the Garden points out that the Johnnies were one of only two Big East teams that lost more games when their shooting was more efficient than their opponents&lt;/a&gt; than they won when their shooting was less efficient than their opponents. Shooting efficiency and turnovers are the more obvious problems, but defensive FTA/FGA percentage (43.3%, ranked #307 by Pomeroy) was the other problem. They have to foul less, especially at the end of close games. LoVett, Ponds and experience/maturity will help reduce the turnovers while Ahmed and Freudenberg should help with the scoring. Alibegovic, Sima and Yakwe will have to improve their offense around the basket to keep defenses honest.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Villanova&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu are playing in the NBA summer league, the Championship rings have arrived and the returning roster is prepping for their trip to Spain where, the staff has to hope, the squad will focus on the season coming up. The numbers, returning 72% of the minutes and points and 71% of the possessions are promising. However, how can one quantify the leadership and experience lost with the departure of Arcidiacono and Ochefu however? New faces include Donte DiVencinzo, a red shirt off guard, Omari Spellman a top 50 low post player with range and Dylan Painter, a traditional back-to-the-basket center much in the mold of Xavier&#39;s Matt Stainbrook and Villanova&#39;s John Pinone.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. &lt;b&gt;Can Arch be replaced?&lt;/b&gt; No, the intangibles are hard to duplicate, but Jalen Brunson and Phil Booth nearly match the tangibles and bring other assets to the point guard position. Brunson has an IQ and court vision equal to Arcidiacono&#39;s, which he can couple with a killer cross over move that he will learn to selectively apply to the appropriately scouted opponents. Brunson will have to master his tendency to over penetrate and learn to actively find and pass to the open shooter before the second (or third) defender closes off the passing lanes. Brunson will have to learn that even though you can hit the shot in front of you, passing to your teammate (who has an even better chance to convert) is essential to build the team. Booth will temper his tendency to over dribble and learn to look for and hit the open teammate, making his scoring instincts even more dangerous.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. &lt;b&gt;How will Wright manage a loaded roster?&lt;/b&gt; Villanova loses two senior starters (and most of his Bench Mob), but has to integrate an incoming class of five -- two true freshmen (Omari Spellman and Dylan Painter), two red shirt freshmen (Donte DiVincenzo and Tim Delaney) and a transfer (Eric Paschall) -- players with varying skill sets into a roster that features six returning veterans. The incoming group spans positions #2 through #5. If past is prelude, the new players will see the court when they commit to playing defense and when they are in game shape. Wright typically treats the first two months as an extended tryout and preparation for conference play, so expect to see the staff juggle the starting five and rotations early and often. Rarely going deeper than eight (or 8.5) come January, Wright will have to integrate two-three of the five newcomers with his six returning veterans. Everyone of the 11 players would probably start or be first off the bench for any of the other nine teams in the conference. Playing time last season ranged from a high of 32 minutes (Arcidiacono) down to 17 (#4/#5 Darryl Reynolds). Expect a similar distribution this season.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ochefu, the established starter in the low post, rarely played more than 25 minutes last season and averaged 23.4 minutes per game. His backup, Reynolds has become a serviceable low post journeyman who averaged only six fewer minutes per game than Ochefu while providing nearly the same rebounding and scoring efficiency. Reynolds will close some of that six minutes gap next season as freshmen low post contingent (Painter, Delaney and Spellman) along with Paschall, learn the system. Paschall, a 6&#39;7&quot; 260 pound transfer exploded in his post grad year at Thomas More Prep and went on to garner the Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year award playing for Fordham in 2014-15, has three years of eligibility and may be closest to playing shape.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Of the freshmen, Spellman, a consensus top 25 recruit with established scoring skills, is expected to have a more immediate impact than Dylan Painter, a 6&#39;9&quot; 215 pound bfc out of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Expect Spellman to invest quite a bit of his summer getting into a playing shape more suitable for Wright&#39;s style of defense. With multiple scorers at virtually every other position, the Wildcats&#39; low post needs tend more toward a mobile rim defender, strong defensive rebounder, someone who can effectively set picks and screens and move to the basket as the scoring option that will keep defenses honest. Irrespective of position, defense is the way to earn playing time in Wright&#39;s program.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Both Brunson (24.0 minutes per game) and Booth (21.9 minutes per game) will earn more minutes as the kind of tandem point guard pairing that Wright has used for the past eight seasons. Expect Josh Hart to slide down to the #2 (or even a ball handling #1) at times with only a very small increase in minutes (31.4 mpg in 2016) as Wright tries out longer lineups while giving either Brunson or Booth (or both) a breather. Mikal Bridges most likely will slide down to the #3 while DiVencinzo will cover the #2 and #3 when Bridges moves up to the #4 as he did at times last season.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. &lt;b&gt;Can the Wildcats expect success comparable to 2015-16 this season?&lt;/b&gt; Most analysts seem to think so. Luke Winn has the &#39;Cats ranked #3 in &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.si.com/college-basketball/power-rankings-duke-kansas-villanova-oregon-kentucky&quot;&gt;his too early poll over at SI&lt;/a&gt; as does &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/rankings/top25&quot;&gt;Garry Parish over at CBSSports.com&lt;/a&gt;. Should everyone get to campus and begin fall practice health (and happy...), expect the Wildcats to  be ranked in the top 2-5 in pre and early season polls. A very early road game at Purdue, along games with Virginia and Notre Dame, make running the table on their out of conference slate improbable. Scheduled for the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, the Irish should be a good test for fan draw, as many Villanova alums live in New Jersey and metro New York City. If the Charleston Classic field plays to seed, Wright will have to game plan a Ben Howland-coached squad in the championship game after working through a solid (but not great) set of tournament opponents. Winning the Big East regular season title three straight times, the Wildcats should repeat, though equaling their 16-2 regular season conference record may be a stretch as both Xavier and Creighton are expected to challenge -- and never over look a Seton Hall squad that has posted the best conference record versus Villanova since the conference reformed in 2013. Look for a more competitive conference in 2016-17 and do not be surprised if some combination of the Pirates, Blue Jays and Musketeers (and a revived Hoya program!?) prove to be very inhospitable hosts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; While the 2016 Wildcats had the look and feel of a team on a mission, common wisdom counters with &quot;draw and match-ups matter&quot;. Of the six coaches Wright had to prep his Wildcats for, only UNC-Asheville&#39;s Nicholas McDevitt was an unknown. And of the five coaches Wright had faced before, he had a winning record versus three -- Fran McCaffrey, Siena/Iowa (2-0), Jim Larranaga George Mason/Miami (2-1) and Bill Self Kansas (2-1). While Lon Kruger&#39;s Oklahoma squad won an early season match-up by 23 points, the Villanova squad they faced three months later was a more mature and far better prepared. Roy Smith, whom Wright had played while Smith mentored the Kansas team in addition to North Carolina, was the only coach who appeared to have Wright&#39;s number (0-4). Villanova should take the regular season title again this year and with it the #1 seed in Madison Square Garden. The Hall seems to have their number in the tournament; look for where they will meet. As for Selection Sunday, look for the draw and the matchups. The program is learning to travel well, especially for the NCAA Tournament.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/4961711011694888361/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=4961711011694888361' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/4961711011694888361'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/4961711011694888361'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2016/07/ten-teams-and-conference-three_25.html' title='Ten Teams and the Conference, Three Questions Each, Part 4'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-1693747170330587145</id><published>2016-07-21T10:51:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2016-07-21T10:51:46.595-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2016 off season"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Duane Wilson"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Ed Cooley"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Emmitt Holt"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Kevin Willard"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Marquette"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Providence"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Reggie Bullock"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Seton Hall"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Steve Wojciechowski"/><title type='text'>Ten Teams and the Conference, Three Questions Each, Part 3</title><content type='html'>&lt;body&gt;
90. <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" align="justify" style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt">The NBA draft is done, summer league games are winding down and the transfers have made their moves. As July turns up the heat and we all look for air conditioning, a few questions come to mind about each Big East program going into the 2016-17 season...<br /><br /><b>Marquette</b><br />By headcount (and starters), the The Golden Eagles personnel loss appears minimal. Appearances can be deceiving. The Ellenson brothers, along with senior Michael Mache departed. Starter Henry Ellenson put his name in for the NBA draft, brother Wally, recruited as much for track as basketball (and his 5 star brother) lost his scholarship in a numbers crunch that reverberated through the Ellenson clan back in April. With 5'11" transfer Andrew Rowsey ready to play and fifth year senior Katin Reinhardt waiting in the wings, expect Marquette to up the long range feature of Wojo's offense.<br /><br />1. <b>Steve Wojciechowski -- What can fans expect in year 3?</b> Wojo returns 80% of the minutes, 75% of the possessions and 76% of the points from the squad that went 20-13 last season. Year one to year two of the Wojciechowski Era saw the Golden Eagles improve by seven wins. Another seven win bump in 2016-17 is a stretch, but the back court rotation is promising. Headed by Duane Wilson, Traci Carter, Haanif Cheatham, Sandy Cohen and JaJuan Johnson will all get time. Johnson and Cheatham can hit the three consistently while Carter showed a good instinct for passing and stealing the ball. Wojo bolstered the wings this off season by bringing in Reinhardt, a fifth year senior who, despite starting 18 games for the Trojans in 2015-16, foresaw a diminished role with the 2016-17 Trojans. Reinhardt and Johnson will mentor freshman wing Sam Hauser, a 6'6" consensus Top 100 recruit out of Green Bay Wisconsin. The question marks come in the front court, where Luke Fischer (6'11") and Matt Heldt (6'10") are the roster's only players taller than 6'6". Both will have to stay healthy and contribute if Marquette is to improve on last season's 8-10 conference record. Assuming MU brings 10-11 wins into conference play, a 9-9 or better record should yield another 20 win season albeit versus a stronger slate of opponents. A post season invitation should be forthcoming.<br /><br />2. <b>Will the Ellenson breakup damage recruiting?</b> In need of a third scholarship, Wojo pulled Wally Ellenson's, which led to some social media "unfriending" in the days that followed. Henry maintains contact with Marquette and the staff while Wally will most like continue to run track for Marquette. Given that Wojo managed a commitment from Hauser, Wisconsin's Gatorade Player of the Year, along with Marcus Howard, another consensus Top 100 guard out of Arizona by way of Findley Prep in Las Vegas, the damage looks minimal at this point. Henry Ellenson's name was called June 23, just as expected, but having the opportunity to sign Reinhardt, a proficient and experienced scorer with stops at UNLV (as a freshman) and USC (two season), was too good to pass on. Wojo received an early verbal for the 2017-18 season from three star power forward Ikechukwu Eke, a Nigerian out of University of Detroit Jesuit High School in Michigan.<br /><br />3. <b>Will Wojo upgrade the competition this season?</b> Despite winning 20 games before being eliminated in the Big East Tournament, Marquette made no post season tournaments last March. The Golden Eagles out of conference schedule featured matchups with NCAA participants Iowa (a loss) and Wisconsin (a win), NIT invitee Belmont (a loss) to go with LSU and Arizona State (both wins). Five sub 300 RPI ranked teams devalued their 10-2 record going into conference play. Marquette will not participate in the Gavitt Games this season, but if tradition holds Marquette can count on a game with in state rival Wisconsin (at the Bradley Center). The out of conference schedule is taking shape as opponents and dates have been announced via twitter and news release. They will open versus Vanderbilt at a neutral site, return to Milwaukee to host Howard (2016 RPI #331) in their home opener, play Michigan (2016 RPI #58) in the semi-final of their early season invitational tournament (the 2K Classic Benefiting the Wounded Warriors Project this year), with a second game versus either Pitt (2016 RPI #51) or SMU (2016 RPI #13). Three home games follow -- IUPUI (2016 RPI #189), Houston Baptist (2016 RPI #224) and Western Carolina (2016 RPI #167) in that order. They return a date with Georgia (away -- 2016 RPI #62) and head back to the Bradley Center to host Fresno State (2016 RPI #69), in-state rival Wisconsin (2016 RPI #41) and St. Francis, PA (2016 RPI #267). That takes MU to Christmas Week and accounts for 11 of their 13 out of conference games. Howard, the lone  #300+ ranked team, will most likely not improve its RPI much next season while St. Francis (PA) and Houston Baptist are worrisome. There is no guarantee that those RPIs will carryover through all of next season, but by the numbers, should Marquette log 10/11 wins versus that slate, post season conversations going into Big East play will include the Golden Eagles. With 11 of 13 out of conference opponents (more or less) identified, let's hope the remaining two are about the same quality.<br /><br /><br /><b>Providence</b><br />Junior guard Kris Dunn, twice Big East Player of the Year, and sophomore Ben Bentil were both drafted by the NBA in June, taking the Friars top two scorers (and top rebounder in Bentil) to the league. Also losing rotation guard Junior Lomomba, Coach Ed Cooley returns 54% of the Friars minutes, 42% of the points scored, 43% of the possessions and 47% of the rebounds from last season's squad. There will be plenty of scoring opportunities available, the question is whether the 2016-17 version of the Friars has a player or players who can step into the role.<br /><br />1. <b>Who will be the next Council/Cotton/Dunn?</b> Cooley has managed to find a backcourt headliner in every one of his four seasons in Friartown. This time around the candidates his three returning guards, Kyron Cartwright, Drew Edwards and Vincent Council II, along with a true freshman point Maliek White and a transfer, Isaiah Jackson (George Mason, 3 years of eligibility). Cartwright, who connected on 36% of his shots, both short and long range, is the best candidate from the 2015-16 squad. He takes, however, nearly three two point attempts for every three point attempt. Jackson, a well regarded bballer out of Florida, took his first stop at George Mason, coached at the time by Paul Hewitt. Hewitt was considered more skilled at identifying and recruiting talent than developing it once on the roster, was fired in March of 2015, leading to Jackson's move to Friartown and Ed Cooley's roster. While at GMU Jackson took a major role in the Patriots' offense and rebounded well for a guard. White, a 6' 2", two time conference player of the year, lead guard out of Richmond, Virginia, has a profile similar to Dunn's. Though two inches shorter than Dunn and only 170 pounds, White averaged 19.3 points, 6.3 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game last season for George Wythe High School. He might be Cooley's best bet.
91. <br /><br />2. <b>Is Reggie Bullock ready for prime time?</b> The junior forward is the Friars' lead returning scorer from last season's squad. Cooley has two freshmen wings, Khalif Young out of Ontario, Canada who was selected to play in the Biosteel All-Canadian Games -- the Canadian equivalent of the McDonald's All-Star game and Alpha Diallo, a consensus Top 100 recruit from Brewster Academy. Cooley's fourth option is Indiana (by way of Indian Hill CC) transfer Emmitt Holt, a 6'7" 230 pound power forward who ran afoul of Tom Crean when he struck a teammate with his car (and in a later incident picked up for achohol consumption). Those four will, unless Cooley gets a late signing (he hosted a number of fifth year seniors and JUCOs during the late spring), will be the nucleus of the Friar front court rotation.<br /><br />3. <b>Can the roster (and Cooley) get the Friars back to the NCAAs?</b> PC lacks a traditional big man to function as a #5 on defense and that will be a problem. Historically Cooley's teams have played a high possession, quick paced game that relies on a well conditioned short rotation that presents an array of inside/outside threats designed to keep defenses honest. The out of conference schedule, as always, is weighted with traditional in state and regional rivals. Given that Rhode Island and Massachusetts should have good seasons, PC's SOS will benefit. Wins versus their Gavitt Games opponent (Ohio State) and Emerald Coast Invitational opponents (Memphis followed by Iowa or Virginia) will establish the Friars as credible challengers going into conference play.<br /><br />
92. <br /><b>Seton Hall</b><br />The Pirates lose a starter and their sixth man, a fifth year guard. While that seems minimal, consider they return 72% of the minutes played, but only 65% of the points scored, 63% of the possessions and 50% of the assists from last season's 25-9 team that won its first Big East Tournament in 24 seasons and made its first NCAA appearance since 2006. Such was the impact of Isaiah Whitehead, who was selected by the Utah Jazz (and traded to the New York Nets) in last months NBA draft. Though relegated to the bench, UMass transfer Derrick Gordon became the Pirate's glue guy and was a crucial part of the Pirates' run to the Big East championship and NCAA bid. Despite the first round elimination by Gonzaga, the run was the second in Gordon's career. Three of the more pressing questions that confront Willard during this off season include:<br /><br />1. <b>Who will lead the Pirates?</b> Willard handed Whitehead the ball and the point guard spot in May of 2015, a symbolic nod to Whitehead's defacto standing among his peers and a practical step to help Whitehead develop skills he would need for the NBA. Whitehead could put the ball in the basket, but could he run an offense and get his teammates involved? The chemistry developed over the 2015 off season was one key to the Hall's revival in 2015-16, and Willard may have to decide whether to actively promote a successor now that Whitehead has moved on. The early leaders include Desi Rodriguez, another wing nearly as talented -- but more mercurial than Whitehead -- and Ishmael Sanogo, a forward whose work ethic and evolving talents have drawn favorable comments from Willard multiple times over the past two seasons. Rodriguez's demonstrativeness has made him a fan favorite, but also landed him in the coach's dog house a few times last season, Sanogo has developed as a solid defensive, but not an especially assertive offensive, #4. Those two are part of a now four man junior class that also includes Angel Delgado and Kadeem Carrington. The four appear to have a tight bond and may simply lead by committee.
93. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. &lt;b&gt;Where will the lost points come from?&lt;/b&gt; Whitehead accounted for nearly one in four of the Hall&#39;s points scored last season. Taking his assists into account, he had a hand in nearly 400 additional points scored. With no obvious scoring machine in the wings, Willard will have to fashion a (large?) committee to close that gap. Rodriguez was efficient at scoring both close and long range, but he will draw more defensive attention. Willard must convince him to share the ball when he draws the extra defender. Among his teammates both Delgado, a traditional low post player and Carrington on the perimeter should be able to exploit any defensive cheating on Rodriguez. Sanogo and rotation player Michael Nzei were reliable inside scorers. Whitehead&#39;s absence should provide them with additional opportunities. If Veer Singh can improve his accuracy from the three point line, he may earn a sizable chunk of the available minutes left by whitehead and Gordon. Two freshmen off guards, Myles Powell and (especially) Eron Gordon, should get long looks from Willard.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. &lt;b&gt;Who runs the offense?&lt;/b&gt; Willard may have up to four back court players waiting in the wings. Two transfers were point guards at their previous stops and the two true freshmen were shooting guards. The high schoolers are expected to get to campus this fall, but there may be a glitch with Jevon Thomas, the more promising of transfers. A 6&#39;1&quot;, 185 pound rising junior out of Kansas State Thomas is a Queens, NY native and former teammate of Marcus Foster (transferred to Creighton). He was involved in an altercation during an intramural game on the West Orange campus last February and subsequently slipped off the radar. In two seasons with Webber, Thomas showed a good aptitude for passing the ball and setting up his teammates. Rising senior Madison Jones improved his assist rate in each of his three seasons at Wake Forest, but drew a second team suspension in August of 2015 and transferred to the Hall. Unlike Whitehead, neither Thomas nor Jones showed an aptitude for scoring, so Willard will have to look elsewhere. He could, much as he did Whitehead, attempt to convert one of the freshmen off guards, most likely Gordon -- who has been described as an excellent passer and good play maker -- into a serviceable point guard.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/body&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/1693747170330587145/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=1693747170330587145' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/1693747170330587145'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/1693747170330587145'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2016/07/ten-teams-and-conference-three_21.html' title='Ten Teams and the Conference, Three Questions Each, Part 3'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-8374369326836723705</id><published>2016-07-19T17:07:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2016-07-19T17:07:56.073-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Creighton; Big East Conference; 2016-17 Team; Greg McDermott; Kobe Paras; David Mintz; Anonymous Eagle"/><title type='text'>Creighton -- Some Questions Answered</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;A partial answer to question #2 is...&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Blue Jays have released their out of conference schedule, and it appears they Coach Greg McDermott has upgraded the slate for the 2016-17 season, with a few caveats. Borrowing &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.anonymouseagle.com/2016/7/17/12206002/comparing-the-2016-17-marquette-men-s-basketball-non-conference-schedule-to-years-past&quot;&gt;a leaf from Anonymous Eagles&#39; playbook&lt;/a&gt;, I have averaged Pomeroy&#39;s 2016 rankings for the slate announced late last week, along with Pomeroy&#39;s rankings for the out of conference slate they played last season. I also added the RPI rankings (averaged again, not using the algorithm for the SOS) as a point of comparison. As of last March, the NCAA&#39;s Selection Committee (for better or worse...) continues to use the RPI as a point of reference. On to the details (again borrowing Anonymous Eagles&#39; format (Kenpom rank is followed by RPI).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2015-16 Season:&lt;br /&gt;
94. <b>Low:</b> Oklahoma (7, 6)<br />
95. <b>High:</b> Texas-San Antonio (339, 348 out of 351)<br />
96. <b>Average of Creighton's 13 opponents (Pomeroy):</b> 187.2<br />
97. <b>Standard Deviation of Rank (Pomeroy):</b> 105.6<br />
98. <b>Median Opponent Ranking (Pomeroy):</b> 180<br /><br />My question dealt at length with problems in the 2015-16 schedule, so I am not going rehash the argument here.<br /><br />2016-17 Season:<br />
99. <b>Low:</b> Wisconsin (33, 41)<br />
100. <b>High:</b> Longwood (290, 324 our of 351)<br />
101. <b>Average of Creighton's 9 known opponents (Pomeroy):</b> 167.3<br />
102. <b>Standard Deviation of Rank (Pomeroy):</b> 85.9<br />
103. <b>Median Opponent Ranking (Pomeroy):</b> 172<br /><br />The numbers reflect last season's performance, and are -- at best -- only partially predictive of performance this season. They do suggest that McDermott has considered a more balanced schedule with fewer #200 and higher ranked programs, along with fewer top #50 programs. The second and third games from the Paradise Jam will be known only when the tournament is played, but looking at a second round match-up with North Carolina State (the better of the NCSU/Montana match-up) is not a stretch. The numbers improve at the margins in that scenario; the average and median drop to 158.8 and 131 respectively, while the standard deviation rises to 86.2 A quick look at the entire bracket suggests that Creighton would be the favorite in their side of the bracket, with (most likely) Mississippi (or less likely) Saint Joseph's/Oral Roberts the other bracket's contribution to the Championship game.<br /><br />Scheduling Division 2 Truman State as the last out of conference opponent is interesting. With no obvious historical or personal connection to Truman State, there are pros and cons to weigh with this decision. The game is scheduled early in the Big East season and will be a respite to the conference grind. As a Division 2 opponent, the Jays' SOS will not suffer for scheduling the game.  The school will include the stats in the records for the players and the history, while the NCAA will treat the stats and result as an exhibition game. While the Selection Committee will disregard the result when they analyze for the post season, it would be hard to unring the bell. This most likely is a guarantee game, a practice discouraged by the NCAA.<br /><br />The schedule with Pomeroy and RPI<br /><br />
104. <table align="center" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#ffffcc" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:9pt">
105. <tr><td align="center"><b>Date</b></td><td align="center"><b>Opponent</b></td><td align="center"><b>H/A/N</b></td><td align="center"><b>Conf.</b></td><td colspan="3" align="center"><b>2015-16</b></td></tr>
106. <tr><td colspan="5"></td><td align="center"><b>K Pom</b></td><td align="center"><b>RPI</b></td></tr>
107. <tr><td>11-Nov</td><td>UMKC</td><td align="center">H</td><td>WAC</td><td></td><td align="right">264</td><td align="right">285</td></tr>
108. <tr><td>15-Nov</td><td>Wisconsin</td><td align="center">H</td><td>B1G</td><td></td><td align="right">33</td><td align="right">41</td></tr>
109. <tr><td>18-Nov</td><td>Washington St.</td><td align="center">N</td><td>Pac12</td><td></td><td align="right">204</td><td align="right">207</td></tr>
110. <tr><td>19-Nov</td><td>TBD</td><td align="center">N</td></tr>
111. <tr><td>21-Nov</td><td>TBD</td><td align="center">N</td></tr>
112. <tr><td>26-Nov</td><td>Loyola (MD)</td><td align="center">H</td><td>Pat</td><td></td><td align="right">286</td><td align="right">257</td></tr>
113. <tr><td>29-Nov</td><td>Buffalo</td><td align="center">H</td><td>MAC</td><td></td><td align="right">131</td><td align="right">91</td></tr>
114. <tr><td>3-Dec</td><td>Akron</td><td align="center">H</td><td>MAC</td><td></td><td align="right">91</td><td align="right">36</td></tr>
115. <tr><td>7-Dec</td><td>Nebraska</td><td align="center">A</td><td>B1G</td><td></td><td align="right">98</td><td align="right">162</td></tr>
116. <tr><td>10-Dec</td><td>Longwood</td><td align="center">H</td><td>BSou</td><td></td><td align="right">290</td><td align="right">324</td></tr>
117. <tr><td>17-Dec</td><td>Oral Roberts</td><td align="center">H</td><td>Summ</td><td></td><td align="right">172</td><td align="right">149</td></tr>
118. <tr><td>20-Dec</td><td>Arizona St</td><td align="center">A</td><td>Pac12</td><td></td><td align="right">104</td><td align="right">98</td></tr>
119. <tr><td>14-Jan</td><td>Truman St.</td><td align="center">H</td><td>D2</td><td></td><td align="center">NR</td><td align="center">NR</td></tr>
120. </table><br /><br /><b>More information for question #3 (and question #1)...</b><br />Kobe Paras, a consensus Top 150 recruit who reopened his recruitment when denied admission at UCLA in late June signed with Creighton earlier this week and will be available in the fall. At 6'5" and 190 pounds the Californian, variously described as an off guard and small forward, will join David Mintz as the second true freshman in the Blue Jays' four member incoming class. Expected to carve out a role as a wing in McDermott's system, Paras is known for his speed in the open court, quickness and his ability to score in bunches. At 190 he may have to put on some muscle to add an inside dimension to his game.<br /><br />
121. &lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/8374369326836723705/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=8374369326836723705' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/8374369326836723705'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/8374369326836723705'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2016/07/creighton-some-questions-answered.html' title='Creighton -- Some Questions Answered'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-3316563330481818518</id><published>2016-07-18T08:22:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2016-07-18T08:22:40.458-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2016 off season; DePaul; Georgetown; Dave Leitao; John Thompson III; Rodney Pryor; Jagan Mosely; Jonathan Mulmore; Eli Cain; Billy Garrett; Tre&#39;Darius McCallum; Austin Grandstaff"/><title type='text'>Ten Teams, One Conference, Three Questions Each, Part 2</title><content type='html'>&lt;body&gt;
122. <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" align="justify" style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt">The NBA draft is done, the transfers have made their moves and the teams traveling abroad have made their travel plans. As summer moves on, a few questions come to mind about each Big East program going into the 2016-17 season...<br /><br /><b>DePaul</b><br />The Blue Demons lost five seniors and junior Tommy Hamilton (to transfer). Losing Hamilton, Myke Henry and Aaron Simpson hurt most, as coach Dave Leitao returns 54% of the possessions and minutes played, along with 50% of the points scored -- but only 39% of the rebounding -- from last season's 9-22 squad.<br /><br />1. <b>Leitao built a winning program at DePaul in his first stint in Lincoln Park (2002-03 through 2004-05) -- can he do it again?</b> In the second year of his second stint, Leitao left DePaul as the Blue Demons concluded their run in CUSA, but before they moved into the Big East. The Big East of 2016 may not be the Big East of 2003 (some would argue that point...), it is a far more competitive conference than CUSA. Leitao has a lot of work ahead. A talent upgrade is mandatory. In response to the Blue Demons large turnover of scholarships (five seniors and Hamilton) Leitao will add up to eight new faces to the returning nucleus of rising sophomore Eli Cain (who showed real progress as he closed out his freshman campaign) and rising seniors Billy Garrett Jr. and Darrick Wood. Embracing a Division 1 wide trend, Leitao's new contingent will include both four incoming freshmen, a JUCO and three transfers. Among the freshmen Devin Gage and Brandon Cyrus, should, along with fifth year transfer Chris Harrison-Docks (Western Kentucky), provide a solid backcourt rotation headlined by returners Cain and Garrett. Levi Cook and Al Eichelberger -- along with JUCO wing Tre'Darius McCallum (Indian Hills CC) -- have large roles to fill with the departure of Henry and Hamilton. McCallum might be the answer to Henry's departure, especially if he can maintain his 40% three point conversion rate. Two additional transfers, Max Strus (a Division 2 All-American from Lewis University) and Austin Grandstaff (Ohio State and Oklahoma) will sit this season per NCAA transfer rules and be eligible to play (Strus for two seasons, Grandstaff for three) in 2017-18.<br /><br />2. <b>How can DePaul avoid the conference cellar this season?</b> While Leitao gave back three conference wins (3-15) compared to Oliver Purnell's 2014-15 squad (6-12), DePaul managed to avoid the conference cellar for a second consecutive season thanks to Chris Mullin's 1-17 inaugural season at St. John's. The Red Storm will make progress in 2017, so DePaul must solve its tendency to slump in February and March to avoid the bottom rung for a third consecutive season. The Blue Demons' conference record from 2011-2016 is 17-73 (0.189) -- bad, but good compared to their February/March record during that same period -- 6-42 (0.125). Whether it is the grind of conference play, lack of conditioning, a too short rotation or eroding morale, the squad must develop the toughness to avoid this apparently inevitable late season malaise.<br /><br />3. <b>Will Billy Garrett finish his career with more than 1500 points scored?</b> Garrett is ranked 34th among DePaul's highest scorers. A healthy season with even average offensive production would virtually guarantee that he becomes the eleventh player to join DePaul's 1500 point club. Garrett needs another 380 points and 75 assists to join Brandon Young as the second player to score more than 1,200 points, convert more than 100 three point field goals and dish 400 assists over the course of his career.<br /><br /><br /><b>Georgetown</b><br />Bradley Hayes was granted another season of eligibility, leaving D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera as the Hoyas only significant loss this off season. Coach John Thompson III brings in three more players, guard Rodney Pryor, a fifth year senior from Robert Morris, Jonathan Mulmore, a JUCO point guard from Allegheny College in Maryland and freshman off guard Jagan Mosely, a St. Anthony's (NJ) graduate. The emphasis on guards is no mistake as the Hoyas are so stacked at the forward and low post positions that players will struggle to see the floor.<br /><br />1. <b>Will the Hoyas bounce back this season?</b> A team loaded with four and five star athletes could not seem to find second gear in 2015-16. Stumbling out of the gate at 0-2, the Hoyas staggered to a 7-5 record through the first two months. A mid season 6-2 rally petered out with a 2-10 closing run, which broke an eleven season string of post season appearances (two NITs, nine NCAAs). Thompson will work with 82% of the minutes, 77% of the possessions and 78% of the points scored from last season's 15-18 squad which suggests that Thompson will start out with an 84% "ceiling" on his continuity of minutes (see Pomeroy here) -- a strong hint that Georgetown will improve. Other hints of progress include youth -- as measured by both division 1 (1.38 years per Ken Pomeroy, 279th) and the conference (7th), they will mature and luck -- the Hoyas played 13 close (margins of 6 points or 2 possession) games last season, going 3-10. They played eight blowout (15 or more points) going 6-2.
123. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. &lt;b&gt;What two areas most need improvement?&lt;/b&gt; Thompson must address defensive fouls and turnovers (too many on offense and not enough on defense). Historically the Hoya combined shot efficiency with offensive rebounding to mask a tendency to lose possessions before taking a field goal attempt. Field goal conversion rates continue to be efficient -- &lt;i&gt;though not as efficient as the six squads Thompson coached from 2006-2011&lt;/i&gt;, but offensive rebounding has cratered to 28.3%m=, the lowest ever under Thompson. Maturity alone with improve the fouling rate at the margins. Greater discipline and better defensive preparation will definitely yield better results as well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. &lt;b&gt;Which will have a bigger impact on recruiting, the new practice facility or a new approach to offense?&lt;/b&gt; Both are long overdue. The John R. Thompson Jr. Intercollegiate Athletic Center, due for completion sometime in 2016, will provide separate men&#39;s and women&#39;s practice facility as part of a 144,000 square foot facility that will serve all 29 of the Hoyas&#39; athletic teams. It should serve as proof of administrative commitment to athletics for the 29 coaching staffs that will use the facility. Thompson&#39;s most successful teams ran a high-post version of the Princeton Offense with the offense directed by the passing center (Roy Hibbert, Greg Monroe) or through a point forward (Jeff Green, Otto Porter). Guards advanced the ball and with their wings (Jon Wallace, Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, Jason Clark, Jabril Trawick), connected on enough threes to keep the defense from collapsing on the low post. Thompson will no doubt incorporate &quot;Read and React&quot; elements, pick and roll along with isolation plays for his guards, into his pass-oriented offense. No one in this back court, LJ Peak excepted, has consistently hit three point attempts. The roster is stacked at virtually every position, expect very competitive practices come October and an updated look come November. Nothing helps recruiting more than a winning program.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;/html&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/3316563330481818518/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=3316563330481818518' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/3316563330481818518'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/3316563330481818518'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2016/07/ten-teams-one-conference-three.html' title='Ten Teams, One Conference, Three Questions Each, Part 2'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-6085550541399433024</id><published>2016-07-13T00:18:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2016-07-13T00:18:55.360-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2016 off season; Butler; Chris Holtmann; Creighton; Greg McDermott; Maurice Watson; Marcus Foster; Kelan Martin; Tyler Wideman; Kethan Savage; Avery Woodson"/><title type='text'>Ten Teams and the Conference, Three Questions Each, Part 1</title><content type='html'>&lt;body&gt;
124. &lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;After the NBA deadline and initial flurry of fifth year transfers, the rosters have settled down. With news of the out of conference schedules trickling out, it is time to look at some of the questions facing each Big East program going into the 2016-17 season...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Butler&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Bulldogs graduated Kellen Dunham, Roosevelt Jones and Austin Etherington, three solid contributors during coach Chris Holtmann&#39;s two years. Also departed, sophomore Jackson Davis a rotation forward and Jordan Gaithers, a graduate transfer who filled out the Bulldog backcourt rotation last season.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. &lt;b&gt;Butler&#39;s Backcourt -- Who&#39;s Got Next?&lt;/b&gt; The Bulldogs&#39; largest productivity losses came in their backcourt as Dunham, a 43% shooter from beyond the arc last season (38.5% career) and Jones, a 230 pound linebacker disguised as an off guard/wing moved on. Holtmann returns 53% of the minutes, 51% of the scoring and 50% of the possessions from last season, but Dunham and Jones account for most of those missing minutes and points. Holtmann has two transfers, red shirt senior Kethan Savage (George Washington) and graduate transfer Avery Woodson (Memphis), to team up with likely starting point guard, senior Tyler Lewis. Savage, a slasher who posted a 48% completion rate inside the arc in three seasons at George Washington, compliments Woodson who matched Dunham&#39;s long range productivity last season playing for Josh Pastner. This combination should help the Bulldogs post a third consecutive winning conference record and upper division finish. Those three should give freshman Kamar Baldwin time to get up to speed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. &lt;b&gt;Can Holtmann recruit at the Big East level?&lt;/b&gt; In his two years the coach logged hits and misses on the trail. He can identify and attract good transfers, while sophomores Tyler Wideman (a #4/#5) and (#3/#4) Kelan Martin, significant contributors at both ends of the court this past season, confirm that he can scout and recruit high school talent. This seasons three entering freshmen, #2/#3 Henry Baddley, a 6&#39;6&quot;, 190 pound wing from St. Vincent-St. Mary&#39;s High School in Akron, Ohio, 6&#39;11&quot; 240 pound #5 Joey Brunk from Indianapolis&#39; Southport High School and Kamar Baldwin, a 6&#39;2&quot; 175 pound combo-guard out of Winder, Georgia (Apalachee High School) do appear to be more projects than impact players. Red shirt freshman Sean McDermott, a 6&#39;6&quot; &#39;tweener has had the benefit of practicing with the team last season. Among the transfers, Austin Etherington (Indiana) did not have the anticipated impact, but fifth year senior Jordan Gaithers (St. Bonaventure) and two year transfer Tyler Lewis (North Carolina State) were consistent, solid backcourt contributors last season. Holtmann will look to two more transfers, Savage and Woodson to play expanded roles on this season&#39;s team. Another GWU transfer, Paul Jorgensen, will be available for two seasons starting in 2017-18.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. &lt;b&gt;Can Butler get out of the NCAA&#39;s first weekend?&lt;/b&gt; The question that haunted Villanova for the past three seasons will no doubt dog coach Holtmann&#39;s squad as they face the press on Media Day next October. Their records for 2014-2016 need no apology as they tallied wins over North Carolina, Purdue, Temple, Cincinnati, Texas, Texas Tech and Tennessee over that span. While the draw and match-ups will play a big role in how they do next March, do not minimize the experience gained by the staff and the returning members of the squad.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Creighton&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Geoffrey Groselle and James Milliken have exhausted their eligibility, but Maurice Watson, fresh off of an outstanding junior season, tested the NBA waters before returning for his senior season. Meanwhile guards Marcus Foster, a 6&#39;2&quot; transfer from Kansas State and 6&#39;4&quot; freshman Davion Mintz, are ready to compete for minutes. Coach Greg McDermott will have some interesting decisions to make about his backcourt.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. &lt;b&gt;How good is Creighton&#39;s back court?&lt;/b&gt; Potentially the best backcourt in the Big East according to many who cover the conference regularly. Foster (who, according to Jon Rothstein, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/big-east-offseason-storylines-villanovas-national-title-gives-league-momentum/&quot;&gt;reduced his body fat from 14% to 8% during his NCAA required sitting period&lt;/a&gt;) will pair with senior Maurice Watson Jr. to provide a 1-2 scoring and passing combination that should stretch opposing defenses next season. McDermott will have the option to run a long or a quick rotation as the Bluejays, returning 76% of the minutes and possessions and 74% of the scoring from last season&#39;s 20-15 squad, are deep at the wing and low post. The key will be the chemistry that Watson and Foster can develop and maintain, as they have similar skills. Their versatility will either enhance scoring opportunities for their teammates -- a healthy mix of seniors and sophomores --  or freeze them to setting picks and rebounding. The line however fine, should be easily recognized by McDermott, a Division 2 and Division 1 head coach  for 22 years with stops at Northern Iowa, Iowa State before Creighton. If McDermott can fine tune the Bluejays they should shake up the Xavier/Villanova hegemony at the top of the conference.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. &lt;b&gt;Will McDermott upgrade the Bluejays&#39; out of conference schedule?&lt;/b&gt; A 9-9 conference record that featured wins over Georgetown, Seton Hall, Butler, Xavier and Marquette (road) coupled with five losses by five or fewer points drew favorable comments from fans. The Bluejays, doomed by a so-so 9-4 out of conference record versus a #305 (RPI) ranked slate of opponents, were never in a serious NCAA bracket discussion. Their loss to #238 RPI ranked Loyola of Chicago rendered their pospects DOA by New Year&#39;s Eve. McDermott cannot control Creighton&#39;s draw in early season invitational tournaments. Stinkers like Rutgers (RPI #294) are inevitable, but he can control CenturyLink Center visitors and home-away contracts, five of whom last season were with teams ranked below #250. McDermott has an experienced squad that can post 20+ wins against a much stronger slate this season. The Bluejays are set to face in state opponent Nebraska, will kick off the Paradise Jam with Washington State (with either North Carolina State or Montana their second opponent) and have a return date with Arizona State (away). With five of 14 opponents set, McDermott can assemble a solid slate with (rumored) Akron (#36 RPI last season) and others in the #50 to #130 range. Rumors that Longwood (#324 last season) and Tennessee-Martin (#215 last season) are on tap -- let&#39;s hope McDermott can control his sweet tooth.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. &lt;b&gt;Has Creighton&#39;s recuiting pipeline made the trasition to the Big East?&lt;/b&gt; Yes, McDermott&#39;s annual additions usually include a healthy mix of freshmen and transfers/JUCOs. He appears to have many of his wing and front court needs for the next two years already in works. A pair of four star wings, Ty-Shon Alexander and Mitchell Ballock, are set to enter in 2017. This reduces McDermott&#39;s 2017-18 need list to #4s and #5s, the two areas where the heaviest attrition will take place. With Watson&#39;s departure timetable known, McDermott already has Syracusse transfer Kaleb Joseph waiting in the wings. Joseph will school Mintz in practice as he works out with the team during his NCAA-mandated red shirt season. Marcus Foster&#39;s plans could be the wild card (what else is new?). If he jumps after a single season in Omaha and disrupts McDermott&#39;s anticipated point guard line of succession (Watson-Foster-Joseph-Mintz), McDermott will have another spot to cover in the Jay&#39;s backcourt rotation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/body&gt;&lt;/html&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/6085550541399433024/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=6085550541399433024' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/6085550541399433024'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/6085550541399433024'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2016/07/ten-teams-and-conference-three.html' title='Ten Teams and the Conference, Three Questions Each, Part 1'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-4800432908620053416</id><published>2014-11-07T14:58:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2014-11-07T14:58:17.157-05:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Brandyn Adana"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Coaching Carousal"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="College of Charleston"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Derrick Whittenburg"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Doug Wojcik"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Gibb Arnold"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hawaii"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Jim Crews"/><title type='text'>Coaching Carousal Part 2015-01: The Short Off Season</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Ebb and Flow...&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Economic cycles, conference realignment and the expansion/contraction of Division 1 have disrupted the grander cycle of the Carousal, but the annual cycle, the cycle within any particular season/off season, has remained (with some exceptions) intact. Which party (employer or employee) dominates at any point in the cycle is governed by the timing. As the season winds down, Administrators perform their year-end assessment of their programs, and baskeball underperformers begin to search their souls. Administrators dominate until the third weekend of the NCAA Tournament when the accumulation of open positions and interviews brings job offers and the carousal begins to move. Departing coaches trigger more openings. This multiplier effect powers the carousal for 4-6 additional weeks. The spring signing period ushers in the next phase. General disaffection with job performance (or employer support or brighter spotlights) gives way to specific reasons -- health (Skip Prosser, Wake Forest; Rick Majerus, St. Louis), behavior (Mike Rice, Rutgers; Billy Gillispie, Texas Tech) and internal politics (of succession, for example -- Jim Calhoun, Connecticut; Dave Boots, South Dakota) or even a combination (Jimmy Collins, Illinois-Chicago) -- for the change in leadership. When the turnover occurs outside of the peak period of the cycle -- the end of February through the end of the spring signing period -- the more obvious the reason for change. Though not always initiated by administration, the changeover can disrupt the program.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The last two turnovers -- &lt;b&gt;Doug Wojcik&lt;/b&gt; (College of Charleston) and &lt;b&gt;Gib Arnold&lt;/b&gt; (University of Hawaii) -- both initiated by management and coming
125.    along the cusp of the 2014 and 2015 cycle -- are examples of the exigent circumstances. For Wojcik, the problem was <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2014/08/05/college-of-charleston-fires-doug-wojcik-after-verbal-abuse-allegations/13635155/">player abuse</a>, a growing concern among Division 1 Athletic Directors. Arnold and Assistant Coach Brandyn Akana were relieved of their duties amid <a href="http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/28/hawaii-head-coach-gib-arnold-will-be-fired/">rumors of document tampering during the admissions process of a potential transfer</a>. The allegations, self-reported late last season, resulted in a 14 game suspension for Akana. The investigation <a href="http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/20110722_Someones_investigating_Gib_Arnold_but_no_one_is_saying_why.html">continued through the summer</a> and concluded a fortnight into the official fall practice period. Wojcik settled on a payment; Akana has yet to respond publicly; <a href="http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20141028_gib_arnold_responds_to_firing.html">Arnold may well sue</a>. Given the timing, the College of Charleston looked locally and hired Clemson Assistant Coach <b>Earl Grant</b>, a Charleston native and journeyman coach at three South Carolina colleges/universities (and Wichita State in Kansas) before coming home to Charleston. Hawaii promoted Assistant Coach <b>Benjy Taylor</b> as interim Head Coach. Taylor, whose job before Hawaii was Head Coach at Chicago State (3 seasons, 39-53) has held staff jobs at eight different Division 1 and Division 3 schools in a career that spans 22 years.
126.   <br /><br /><b>Housekeeping</b><br />46 coaching vacancies since fall practice 2013 marked the lowest turnover since 2009. The percentage of Division 1 openings (13.1%) also marks a "bottom" since 2009 (9.3%). The last common trait the current cycle shares with 2009 -- the all-too-brief "offseason". <b>Jim Crews</b> was fired by Army in late September 2009 (the last turnover in the 2009 offseason) while Fordham's <b>Derrick Whittenburg</b> was fired on December 3, 2009 (the first of the 2009-10 cycle), making that coaching carousal "offseason" all of 11 weeks. This one, from August 5 to October 24, was just under 12 weeks.<br /><br /></div>
127. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/4800432908620053416/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=4800432908620053416' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/4800432908620053416'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/4800432908620053416'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2014/11/coaching-carousal-part-2015-01-short.html' title='Coaching Carousal Part 2015-01: The Short Off Season'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-1246209102761630522</id><published>2014-02-05T15:41:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2014-02-05T15:41:27.143-05:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Atlantic 10 Conference"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Rivalries"/><title type='text'>An Atlantic 10 - Big East Challenge? Already Happening</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Under Reported Conference Challenge&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&quot;Something I&#39;d love to see moving forward in the non-conference portion of schedules? A Big East-Atlantic 10 Challenge.&quot; I caught that tweet from a hungry -- yet humble -- sports writer several Sundays ago as I monitored my twitter feed while watching Massachusetts take Fordham behind the shed to the tune of 90-52. ESPN, CBS and Fox Sports, through the power of made for television events (power conference challenges, early season invitational tournaments and gimmick-inspired match-ups like the &quot;Aircraft Carrier&quot; and now-defunct &quot;Bracket Buster Weekend&quot; games), have transformed the out conference portion of the season from untelevised David and Goliath games in which an &quot;above the red line&quot; host pummels a &quot;below the red line&quot; visitor (and then settles the penalty clause for breaking the NCAA-mandated home-away contract with a check) into a series of games that capture the excitement of the post season in the weeks before conference play begins.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I wrote about this organic rivalry &lt;a href=&quot;http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2010/07/rivalries-big-east-vs-atlantic-10.html&quot;&gt;several years ago&lt;/a&gt;, and though conference realignment has changed the details, the general points remain the same...&lt;br /&gt;1. The conferences share a common geographical footprint that stretches from Rhode Island (URI and PC) in the east, south to the Washington DC metro area (Georgetown, George Washington, Richmond and VCU) and west (through the Rust Belt) to the Mississippi River Valley and it&#39;s tributaries (St. Louis and Creighton).&lt;br /&gt;2. Many of the teams continue historic rivalries initiated because of their shared geography. While there are exceptions (*cough* Georgetown *cough*), most, as the table below confirms, continue to play their neighbors even though conference commitments take a large portion of their schedules.&lt;br /&gt;3. Many of those schools located in the upper mid-west and south share conference affiliations.&lt;br /&gt;4. Early season invitational tournaments have brokered matches that two neighbors have not, on their own, created. The two conferences had 30 members who played 37 games back in 2010 (and 50+ games, including the post season, in the snapshot I took in 1975) when I wrote about the rivalry last. Conference realignment has reshaped both conferences. Today they have between them 23 teams (10 in the Big East, 13 in the Atlantic 10) that include four entirely new faces (Creighton, Butler, George Mason and Virginia Commonwealth) and 11 teams departed (Charlotte, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse, Temple and West Virginia), but the table below suggests that number of games played aside, the power relationship remains unchanged.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana;font-size:8pt&quot;&gt;
128. <tr><td></td><td><b>But</b></td><td><b>Cre</b></td><td><b>DPU</b></td><td><b>GTU</b></td><td><b>MU</b></td><td><b>PC</b></td><td><b>SHU</b></td><td><b>SJUNY</b></td><td><b>Nova</b></td><td><b>XU</b></td><td><b>A10</b></td></tr>
129. <tr><td><b>Day</b></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
130. <tr bgcolor="#c1c1c1"><td><b>Duq</b></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
131. <tr><td><b>Fdm</b></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>SJUNY</td><td></td><td></td><td align="center">0-1</td></tr>
132. <tr bgcolor="#c1c1c1"><td><b>GMU</b></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
133. <tr><td><b>GWU</b></td><td></td><td>GWU</td><td></td><td></td><td>MU</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td align="center">1-1</td></tr>
134. <tr bgcolor="#c1c1c1"><td><b>LSU</b></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>PC</td><td></td><td></td><td>VU</td><td></td><td align="center">0-2</td></tr>
135. <tr><td><b>UMass</b></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>UMass</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td align="center">1-0</td></tr>
136. <tr bgcolor="#c1c1c1"><td><b>URI</b></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>PC</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td align="center">0-1</td></tr>
137. <tr><td><b>Rich</b></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
138. <tr bgcolor="#c1c1c1"><td><b>SBU</b></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
139. <tr><td><b>SJUPA</b></td><td></td><td>Cr</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>VU</td><td></td><td align="center">0-2</td></tr>
140. <tr bgcolor="#c1c1c1"><td><b>SLU</b></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
141. <tr><td><b>VCU</b></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>GTU</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td align="center">0-1</td></tr>
142. <tr bgcolor="#c1c1c1"><td><b>BE</b></td><td></td><td align="center">1-1</td><td></td><td align="center">1-0</td><td align="center">1-0</td><td align="center">2-1</td><td></td><td align="center">1-0</td><td align="center">2-0</td><td></td><td></td></tr></table>
143. &lt;br /&gt;The number of common games has declined as the membership of each conference has changed, but the trend over the past five years (and the snapshot from 1975 seems to affirm), that the Big East schools tend to win the larger portion of the games; 2011 excepted (of the 21 games played the Big East record was 11-10 or 0.524) the Big East tends to win at least 60% of the games. 2013-14 is an outlier only in the smaller-than-usual sample and the high winning percentage (10 games, 8-2 so far). Of course the post season will yield at least one-to-two additional matchups.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Observations:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. If the last three invitations are any indication, A-10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade&#39;s realignment strategy will have the conference expand to the south. With the addition of Xavier, Butler and Creighton, the Big East appears open to moving westward should Commissioner Val Ackerman and the membership decide to expand beyond 10.&lt;br /&gt;2. The regions into which each conference expands will decide whether their pool of common games grows or diminishes.&lt;br /&gt;3. When the Hoyas joined the Big East in 1979-80, they allowed three of their most active local rivalries, with American (1938-39), George Washington (1906-07) and Maryland (1907-08) to lapse. George Washington (1981-82) and Maryland (1979-80) were discontinued in the early 1980s, while the American series continued until 1986-87 before taking a 20 year hiatus. Restarting the series with George Washington, relatively competitive at 54-39, would likely raise DC interest in college basketball. Reviving the Maryland rivalry would give the Big East an annual game with the Big Ten.&lt;br /&gt;4. As the rankings and head-to-head records suggest, both conferences would be better served with conference challenge showcases with better matched conferences. Fans may find a Big East-Pac-12 challenge more competitive for both conferences while the Atlantic 10, clearly at the head of that group of conferences consisting of the C-USA, Mountain West, West Coast and Missouri Valley might be better served with a conference challenge with the West Coast Conference, a showcase that could give both conferences exposure on the other coast.&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/1246209102761630522/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=1246209102761630522' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/1246209102761630522'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/1246209102761630522'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2014/02/an-atlantic-10-big-east-challenge.html' title='An Atlantic 10 - Big East Challenge? Already Happening'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-2474460209029841840</id><published>2013-04-17T21:15:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2013-04-18T13:57:39.934-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Bob Wenzel"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Coaching Carousal"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Craig Littlepage"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Fred Hill"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Gary Waters"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Kevin Bannon"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Mike Rice"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Rutgers"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Tim Pernetti"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Tom Young"/><title type='text'>Coaching Carousal Part 2013-02: On the Banks</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2-YlF3KIbV1LkySOxVQQ_3c8tah16ozVzAyqs0_iv0WTByihFf4MObO4aXHzOPqLX-qZJLEchjn5A8Nw8A_YVPH90E6avaaRxwChCm8nNtXtVJFBHMotj3SCtDtRl0MNKIbopDrgYfWL/s1600/TrentonMakes.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; &gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2-YlF3KIbV1LkySOxVQQ_3c8tah16ozVzAyqs0_iv0WTByihFf4MObO4aXHzOPqLX-qZJLEchjn5A8Nw8A_YVPH90E6avaaRxwChCm8nNtXtVJFBHMotj3SCtDtRl0MNKIbopDrgYfWL/s320/TrentonMakes.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;strike&gt;Trenton&lt;/strike&gt; New Jersey Makes the World Takes&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I remember seeing that slogan on a sign whenever I took the old Pennsylvania Railroad back and forth to college...an out of state school of course. New Jersey may be rated the best place to raise a child in the US, but every September the recently graduated high school class joins a tidal wave of 18-24 year olds who leave the state to pursue their education anywhere but in New Jersey. Successive recessions dating back to the Telecommunications Crash of 1999 and 9-11 have stemmed the tide slightly, but the truth everyone involved in secondary and higher education in the state knows is that the Garden State exports a much higher percentage of their college age students than any other state in the union. And that has been true for at least the last 50 years. The University of Delaware and the state colleges in Virginia have balanced their budgets with the tuition/room and board checks of New Jersey parents; even as New Jersey athletes have been recruited to the rosters of football and basketball powerhouses (and a number of the lesser lights) all across Division I. Persuading those athletes to play for &quot;State U&quot; is the perpetual challenge for Rutgers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;If You Build It...Will They Come?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Scarlet Knights joined the Big East for football in 1991 and have compiled a 117-151 record over that time. The program under Greg Schiano (11 years, 68-67) turned around a dreadful first decade of BCS football (two coaches, 40-80) to produce seven bowl teams in his last eight seasons in New Brunswick. His successor, Kyle Flood, took a 9-3 team to the Russell Athletic Bowl and lost. The men&#39;s football team has consistently earned post season play under Schiano and Flood, not so for the men&#39;s basketball team. Though the program earned a Final Four berth under Tom Young (239-116, 0.673) in 1976, the next 37 years and six coaches yielded four bids -- the last in 1991, four years before joining the Big East in all sports.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rutgers Athletic Directors going back to Fred Gruninger have vacillated between candidates with Rutgers/New Jersey roots (Kevin Bannon, Fred Hill, Craig Littlepage, Bob Wenzel) and those from outside of the Rutgers community and state (Tom Young, Gary Waters, Mike Rice for example). While not uniformly successful (see Mike Rice), the outsiders have produced better records, compiling a combined 362-242 (0.599, four NCAA bids) while the homies combined for a 257-335 (0.434, two NCAA bids) record.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mike Rice&#39;s termination, the &lt;b&gt;seventh consecutive termination&lt;/b&gt; going back to Tom Young, put the program back on the market. Lacking a sitting Athletic Director (Tim Pernetti was also fired/resigned as a result of the Rice Scandal), interim AD Carl Kirschner decided to first fill the basketball coaching vacancy before finding a successor to Pernetti. The field appears to have narrowed to another insider/outsider pair, with NBA assistant coach Eddie Jordan, captain of Rutgers&#39; 1976 Final Four squad opposite La Salle University head coach Dr. John Giannini. Jordan, strongly endorsed by NBA Commissioner (and Rutgers graduate) David Stern has connections in the NBA and over eight years of head coaching experience (with three different franchises) at the pro level, he has yet to manage his first collegiate program. Dr. Giannini, a native of Chicago educated at North Central University (Napierville, Illinois), North Texas and the University of Illinois, has 23 years of head coaching experience with stops at Rowan University (Glassboro, New Jersey), Maine and La Salle University. His specialty is building programs. Jordan is the favorite to be named later this week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;ESPN&#39;s Brett McMurphy reports that &lt;a href=&quot;http://espn.go.com/new-york/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9186395/eddie-jordan-agrees-become-rutgers-scarlet-knights-men-basketball-coach&quot;&gt;Rutgers has indeed hired Jordan&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Who Put On the Brakes?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My earlier projection of 50-60 now appears too high. While I believed the number of low and mid-major openings would drive the total to the 50+ range, the absence of a &quot;domino effect&quot; among the high-major schools applies a braking effect on the number of openings created to date. The UCLA firing for example brought Steve Alford of New Mexico to the Bruins, but the Lobos promoted assistant coach Craig Neal to the first chair, effectively snuffing the expected chain reaction initiated by Ben Howland&#39;s termination and limiting the domino effect to two openings total created by that termination. Firings at power conference schools -- Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers, Southern California, Texas Tech and UCLA so far this cycle -- should have the kind of multiplier effect that would create between 6 and 11 additional openings, accounting for between 12 and 17 total vacancies. Even though Rutgers is still open and the chain reaction from Southern California has not concluded, the total number of openings generated from those six original terminations is four, a very small multiplier effect that translates into 10 total vacancies (rather than the 12-17 anticipated). The multiplier effect is so small that only three more assistant coaching vacancies have been created to boot. True, Rutgers may trigger another head coaching opening or two, but if the Scarlet Knights opt for Eddie Jordan, that hire will have no effect on head coaching in Division 1 programs. Even if the Scarlet Knights turn to Dr. Giannini, the multiplier/domino effect overall will be still be smaller than expected. Given the total of vacancies to date is 41 (with 29 hired through April 16), expect no more than about 55 before the first Fall Practice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/2474460209029841840/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=2474460209029841840' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/2474460209029841840'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/2474460209029841840'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2013/04/coaching-carousal-part-2013-02-on-banks.html' title='Coaching Carousal Part 2013-02: On the Banks'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2-YlF3KIbV1LkySOxVQQ_3c8tah16ozVzAyqs0_iv0WTByihFf4MObO4aXHzOPqLX-qZJLEchjn5A8Nw8A_YVPH90E6avaaRxwChCm8nNtXtVJFBHMotj3SCtDtRl0MNKIbopDrgYfWL/s72-c/TrentonMakes.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-1458586482992169638</id><published>2013-04-08T09:07:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2013-04-08T09:07:50.559-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Alex Len"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Baylor"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Cory Jefferson"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Dean Smith"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="efficiency stats"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Iowa"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Isaiah Austin"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="NIT Tournament"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Pierre Jackson"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="play efficiency"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Roy Devyn Marble"/><title type='text'>Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: At the NIT Final</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;by Ray Floriani&lt;br&gt;&lt;br/&gt;New York City - The key to the game was defense. Baylor defeated Iowa 74-54 to win the National Invitation Tournament title at Madison Square Garden. While Baylor posted a glowing offensive efficiency, the foundation and framework for this championship originated on the defensive end.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;4&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Offensive&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Eff.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Reb%&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Iowa&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;78&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;38&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Baylor&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;114&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As impressive as the Baylor frontcourt performed during their New York stay, on both nights the Bears were defeated in offensive rebounding percentage. In fact Baylor coach Scott Drew was hard pressed to recall a time his team gave up 20 offensive boards, as they did in the finals, yet won by 20.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The rebounding deficit of Baylor was more than compensated by the outstanding job they did challenging, blocking and defending Iowa field goal attempts. Even after grabbing offensive boards the Hawkeyes struggled to finish, a testament to the Baylor frontcourt effectively guarding the rim.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Possessions vs. Plays:&lt;/b&gt; The old method used extensively by Dean Smith, calculated possessions by not subtracting an offensive rebound. In Smith&#39;s formula an offensive rebound started a new possession. Today that formula still has a usefullness as the calculation of Smith&#39;s gives us plays, rather than possessions. The formula:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;FGA + (FTA * .475) + TO = Plays&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The &#39;play&#39; result:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;4&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Offensive&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Plays&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Eff.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Iowa&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;89&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;61&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Baylor&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;70&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;106&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Naturally, Iowa&#39;s 20-5 offensive rebounding edge provided more plays. Not converting on those added chances severely limited their &#39;play&#39; efficiency. On the other hand, Baylor still put an impressive offensive efficiency for their plays.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;4&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Eff.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;FG%&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Iowa&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Baylor&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;58&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Baylor defense and an offense that got on track in the second half. Bears were 22 of 33 (67%) from two point range on the evening. Iowa took 24 of their 69 attempts from three, hitting just five for a 20.8 percentage that reflects their eFG struggles.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRB3AV-Z6tCsD2fVDgWY_je0-oUjQPLetPf1s-Bb8W5IAGHKvU_b68wajQighHN6H3GJYc78hcgjPhQmKYXOJa7hyphenhyphenkkmampOa4Y54I_cijfcb1Av-nGpWR-IDTIdZ4cR4s05wknKM4PZsj/s1600/RF001130408.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; &gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRB3AV-Z6tCsD2fVDgWY_je0-oUjQPLetPf1s-Bb8W5IAGHKvU_b68wajQighHN6H3GJYc78hcgjPhQmKYXOJa7hyphenhyphenkkmampOa4Y54I_cijfcb1Av-nGpWR-IDTIdZ4cR4s05wknKM4PZsj/s320/RF001130408.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For Baylor the celebration&lt;br /&gt;began just after the final buzzer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;The individual honors:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Most Outstanding Player:&lt;/b&gt; Pierre Jackson, Baylor&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;All-Tournament:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Alex Len, Maryland&lt;br /&gt;Roy Devyn Marble, Iowa&lt;br /&gt;Cory Jefferson, Baylor&lt;br /&gt;Isaiah Austin, Baylor&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/1458586482992169638/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=1458586482992169638' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/1458586482992169638'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/1458586482992169638'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2013/04/guest-contributor-ray-floriani-at-nit_8.html' title='Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: At the NIT Final'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRB3AV-Z6tCsD2fVDgWY_je0-oUjQPLetPf1s-Bb8W5IAGHKvU_b68wajQighHN6H3GJYc78hcgjPhQmKYXOJa7hyphenhyphenkkmampOa4Y54I_cijfcb1Av-nGpWR-IDTIdZ4cR4s05wknKM4PZsj/s72-c/RF001130408.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-4919842239795122078</id><published>2013-04-04T12:23:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2013-04-04T12:23:20.490-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Allison Hatfield"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Baylor"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="BYU"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Dave Rose"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Matt Carfino"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="NIT Tournament"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Pierre Jackson"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Scott Drew"/><title type='text'>Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: At the NIT Semi-Finals</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;by Ray Floriani&lt;br&gt;&lt;br/&gt;New York City - BYU did what they wanted. In the end Baylor had too much and held on for a 76-70 victory in the NIT semifinals. The Bears will face Iowa, 71-60 winners over Maryland in the other semi, for the NIT championship.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In a 68 possession game, Baylor held theedge in offensive efficiency:In a 68 possession game, Baylor held the edge in offensive efficiency:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;4&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Offensive&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
144. <tr bgcolor="#c0c0c0"><td></td><td align="center"><b>Eff.</b></td><td align="center"><b>Reb%</b></td></tr>
145. <tr><td>BYU</td><td align="right">103</td><td align="right">36</td></tr>
146. <tr><td>Baylor</td><td align="right">112</td><td align="right">27</td></tr>
147. &lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One of the priorities of BU coach Dave Rose was rebounding. Despite Baylor&#39;s size, Rose felt his team needed to compete and win the boards for a chance of getting to the final. In raw numbers BYU won that battle 40-33. The tempo free OREB percentage also saw the Cougars on top.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Both clubs took meticulous care of the ball with BYU showing a 16% turnover rate and Baylor an outstanding 10%. In the end it was a scoring drought on the part of the Cougars that allowed Baylor to gain some separation. A late BYU run sparked by the shooting of Matt Carfino (19 points and four threes the last five minutes) got it to a one possession game late but Baylor was able to maintain the edge.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;The stat MVP.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Scott Drew&#39;s outstanding lead guard Pierre Jackson. The Baylor standout senior scored 24 points and handed out 10 assists. In efficiency (using the NBA model) Jackson had a game high 27 efficiency. The main blemishes on the efficiency side were 6 of 14 shooting and four turnovers. Given the time the ball is in his hands and his expert orchestrating of the offense, the four turnovers are generally &#39;excusable&#39;. Especially against those 10 assists in 38 minutes of action.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As of late there has been much talk of Baylor. Most recently over the demise and upset of the defending national championship women&#39;s team. The national championship may return to Waco in the form of an NIT title. On Tuesday, Baylor did have a national champion grace the MSG hardwood.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5p_PAx1qCV_X6A5qxQIR1dIso1nR5kTqF9Pg2DNAFCW5Mq_QCzOeYePg3y9MaVAqkjaGPmhcG6yt34Qhdo6jml0yk7Cl2BqOPtTLvHxfskzHaLacYsubPXx60gtjj1Ev1fKaZDYyvCp1l/s1600/RF001130403.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; &gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5p_PAx1qCV_X6A5qxQIR1dIso1nR5kTqF9Pg2DNAFCW5Mq_QCzOeYePg3y9MaVAqkjaGPmhcG6yt34Qhdo6jml0yk7Cl2BqOPtTLvHxfskzHaLacYsubPXx60gtjj1Ev1fKaZDYyvCp1l/s320/RF001130403.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Baylor twirler Allison Hatfield in action&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Allison Hatfield a Baylor junior and baton twirler of international status, and a US champion, performed for the crowd. Her take on a first trip to MSG : &quot;I have performed at Cowboys Stadium, Reliant Stadium and the Alamodome and there is nothing like being at the &#39;world&#39;s most famous arena&#39;. The history and tradition here are fantastic.&quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The entire Baylor program is hoping to add to that tradition with a win on Thursday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/4919842239795122078/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=4919842239795122078' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/4919842239795122078'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/4919842239795122078'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2013/04/guest-contributor-ray-floriani-at-nit.html' title='Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: At the NIT Semi-Finals'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5p_PAx1qCV_X6A5qxQIR1dIso1nR5kTqF9Pg2DNAFCW5Mq_QCzOeYePg3y9MaVAqkjaGPmhcG6yt34Qhdo6jml0yk7Cl2BqOPtTLvHxfskzHaLacYsubPXx60gtjj1Ev1fKaZDYyvCp1l/s72-c/RF001130403.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-4842493370842713098</id><published>2013-03-25T21:56:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2013-04-04T13:23:54.891-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Ben Howland"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Bill Carmody"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Buzz Williams"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Chris Collins"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Coaching Carousal"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Josh Pastner"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Kevin O&#39;Neil"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Minnesota"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Northwestern"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Shaka Smart"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Tim Floyd"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="UCLA"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="USC"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="VCU"/><title type='text'>Coaching Carousal Part 2013-01: A Record Job Market?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;A Big Turnover This Off Season...Probably&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When the talking heads turn their attention to the Division I head coaching job market, most will declare that this off season will see the highest level of coaching turnover since the 60 created in the 2007 off season. And they will be right, but for the wrong reasons. Most will focus on a few of highly visible &quot;tall trees&quot; (UCLA &amp;amp; USC) but will miss the forest of vacancies created all around those two. Through the end of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament Division I coaching vacancies totaled 29. Between regular season vacancies and those created during Championship Week(s) -- 24 total before Selection Sunday -- hint that the total number of vacancies this cycle will range from 57 to 75, certainly above the average (50) for the last five seasons, with the potential to eclipse the total created in 2007. The sheer number of early vacancies, and not a much anticipated musical chairs effect generated by the UCLA and USC (and...Minnesota &amp;amp; Northwestern!?) job searches, will drive the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;The West Coast Housing Market is About to Get a Shot in the Arm...&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In addition to UCLA and USC, three other California colleges, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge (two UCLA assistants, Scott Garson and Phil Matthews, among five others, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dailynews.com/ci_22848795/csun-basketball-coach-search-down-5-candidates-including?source=most_emailed&quot;&gt;rumored to be in the mix&lt;/a&gt;) and San Jose are also looking for new coaches. The turnover will not be limited to the five fired head coaches, 23 staff members, ranging from assistant/associate coaches to operations directors are also updating their resumes. How many will be retained will be decided by the incoming head coach...but expect the attrition to be very high, probably four or fewer will be retained.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;The View Atop the Food Chain...&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;National media attention has focused on the four power conference jobs, Minnesota, Northwestern, Southern California and UCLA. Looking closely, when the higher profile and salary scale are balanced against the challenges, the Athletic Directors at each school have a selling job ahead. After promoting from within for much of it&#39;s 108 years, &lt;b&gt;Northwestern&lt;/b&gt; has looked to outside and floated from &quot;brand names&quot; like Kevin O&#39;Neil (yes, &lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;that&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt; Kevin O&#39;Neil), Harold Olsen, Tex Winters and Bill Foster to eccentrics like Ricky Byrdsong to &quot;system guys&quot; like Bill Carmody. Carmody brought the Princeton Offense and a 92-25 career record with him, and the administration stayed with him through 13 seasons. But Carmody&#39;s experiment yielded only five winning seasons and a 192-210 record. 192 wins might be second to Dutch Lonborg&#39;s 236 (1927-1950) wins, and his 0.478 winning percentage was better than his seven immediate predecessors (dating to 1963). The candidate pool appears surprisingly wide. Athletic Director Jim Phillips has assembled a to-do list, according to various sources, that includes longtime Duke assistant Chris Collins along with head coaches Dr. John Giannini (La Salle), Bryce Drew (Valparaiso), Dave Paulsen (Bucknell), Ben Jacobson (Northern Iowa), Bob McKillop (Davidson) and Brett Reed (Lehigh) to interview. I suspect that beyond Giannini and Paulsen, who have professional connections to Phillips, the real field consists of Collins and (maybe) Drew. The Chicago Tribunes&#39; Teddy Greenstein &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/chi-chris-collins-bryce-drew-northwestern-20130320,0,1569284,full.story&quot;&gt;thinks Collins and Drew&lt;/a&gt;, despite drawbacks, would generate the most buzz. Collins has a pocket full of recommendations from media types, most of whom draw paychecks from ESPN and have openly lobbied for their guy on air and via twitter. If their voices prevail, Phillips will revert to &quot;buzz&quot; and pick Collins. &lt;b&gt;Caveat Emptor&lt;/b&gt; -- of the 10 head coaches (all fired) to prowl the Welsh Arena sidelines between the legendary Lonberg and Bill Carmody, only two, Kevin O&#39;Neil and Tex Winters, went on to head another Division I program.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wracked by an academic scandal whose punishment included vacating the school&#39;s only Final Four appearance, &lt;b&gt;Minnesota&lt;/b&gt; gave Don Monson of Gonzaga seven-plus seasons to rebuild the program. The rebuilding project stalled, but the Golden Gophers caught lightening in a bottle when Orlando (Tubby) Smith, head coach of Division I&#39;s premier program, the Kentucky Wildcats, decided he was tired of stoking the outsized egos of an out of control fan-base and the unrealistic expectations of it&#39;s Athletic Director, and took his approach to basketball to the Twin Cities. Smith compiled a 124-81 record (a 0.617 winning percentage) and earned three NCAA bids, while running a squeaky clean program. Tubby, despite an 85 year old (renovated twice) arena and seriously out-of-date practice facilities, was building something in the Twin Cities...just not fast enough. Athletic Director Norwood Teague, Virginia Commonwealth&#39;s former AD, thanked Smith for his contribution as he showed him the door early Monday. Teague, most likely rattled by media reports that Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart would be courted hard by UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero (and most likely USC&#39;s AD Pat Haden), decided to eat Smith&#39;s 2.5 million dollar buyout and rely on his prior relationship with Smart to make up for lost time. Smart has to feel a bit lonely because he is the only candidate in Minnesota&#39;s pool right now. That could spell bad news for Teague, because someone, Shaka Smart or not, will have to blow the whistle next October 15 to start the fall practice in that old basketball practice facility and get whoever is on the roster ready to play basketball in Williams Arena.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Faced with mounting evidence of a massive payoff scandal in their football program that could result in death penalty-level sanctions, &lt;b&gt;Southern California&lt;/b&gt;&#39;s then AD, in a gesture meant to show the NCAA that the USC Athletics Department would re-establish control over that outlaw program, threw then basketball coach Tim Floyd out the window. Floyd landed at Texas El Paso. USC&#39;s AD of the past two years, Pat Haden, is still trying to decide where to take the Trojans next. Haden dismissed the program&#39;s cleanup crew, Kevin O&#39;Neil, in January, and turned to Tom Cantu to finish out the 2013 season. Haden&#39;s list -- after Pittsburgh&#39;s Jamie Dixon signed his annual extension (that takes his tenure at Pitt through the 2023 season) -- includes a collection of young head coaches (Shaka Smart, Josh Pastner of Memphis and Buzz Williams of Marquette) and Mark Hopkins, longtime assistant coach to Syracuse&#39;s Jim Boeheim, who has ties to the Southern California area. The problem? USC&#39;s &quot;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBIxkO5dv9U&amp;list=PL87B464F2EAB65D5C&quot;&gt;One Shining Moment&lt;/a&gt;&quot; was Henry Bibby&#39;s tenure (specifically the 2000-01 season) and since the John Wooden Era in Westwood, the Trojans are perennially the second (or third) best ticket in Los Angeles in the months between the Rose Bowl and Spring Practice. Whoever takes the job will have to compete with Sean Miller (Arizona) and UCLA for the area&#39;s best recruits. Interviews I would have loved to be a &quot;Fly on the Wall&quot; for in this cycle has to be Haden&#39;s interview with Texas El Paso&#39;s Tim Floyd (yes, &lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;that&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;) Tim Floyd).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The object of a prolonged media feeding frenzy for the past two years, Ben Howland&#39;s time in Westwood was over even before the season began. Despite taking the &lt;b&gt;UCLA&lt;/b&gt; program to three consecutive Final Fours -- a feat unmatched since John Wooden -- Howland and the Bruin fan-base were headed to a divorce on grounds of (mutual) alienation of affection, with a 3.5 million dollar buyout to Howland. The candidate pool -- high profile youngish coaches for the most part -- includes Smart, Butler&#39;s Brad Stevens, Florida&#39;s Billy Donovan, Villanova&#39;s Jay Wright, pro coach Mike Brown, Washington&#39;s Lorenzo Romer and Marquette&#39;s Buzz Williams. While each offers a quality resume, a few (Williams, Stevens and Wright) are puzzling. The others might want to consider that Howland and Steve Lavin, the last two to pace the Pauley Pavilion sidelines (both fired) combined to win 378 games over their collective 17 years in Westwood. Lavin earned six NCAA bids, advanced to four Sweet Sixteens and a Regional Final in his seven year tenure and failed to win at least 20 games only once. But he was fired in favor of Ben Howland, who earned seven NCAA bids, advanced to three Final Fours, won 30 or more games three times and turned in two losing seasons (not this season) before being fired at the end of his tenth year. In the thirteen seasons before he took UCLA to it&#39;s first Final Four, coaching legend John Wooden won 247 games, earned three NCAA bids and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen (but no farther) each time. Given the total circumstances, Smart or Brown (or Romer) make the most sense for the Bruins.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Housekeeping&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The total vacancies from the 2011-12 season was 50, with UMBC head coach Randy Monroe&#39;s surprise resignation three days before the start of fall practice, the &quot;official&quot; last vacancy created. Commentators last March/April projected a &quot;down year&quot; for the coaching job market, but 50 is average for the period 2007-2012. I include Saint Louis in the vacancies for this season. Although Coach Rick Majerus took a medical leave last August, the stated intent (though few who saw the coaching legend in 2011-12 believed it would happen) was to return to the bench for the 2013-14 season. His resignation in November of 2012 was the confirmation that his career was indeed over. For the nose counters, the period between the end of the NCAA Tournament and the Spring Signing Period will provide important clues for the final count. Vacancies created during the NCAA Tournament (already at five) should be the single largest number created for the cycle; combined with the Spring Signing Period total, the number should be about 1.5 to 2 times the number created during the season and immediate post season (the conference tournament, but before Selection Sunday) period. Should it come to pass, the number by the third week in May would be between 50 and 62.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/4842493370842713098/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=4842493370842713098' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/4842493370842713098'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/4842493370842713098'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2013/03/coaching-carousal-part-2013-01-record.html' title='Coaching Carousal Part 2013-01: A Record Job Market?'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-5186395314458992719</id><published>2013-03-21T00:07:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2013-03-21T00:09:10.101-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Andrew Smith"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Brad Stevens"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Butler"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Rotnei Clarke"/><title type='text'>Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Talking Stats with Brad Stevens</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;by Ray Floriani&lt;br&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Brooklyn, NY&lt;/b&gt; Following the former presser it was a chance for a one on one interview. The interviewer nervously introduced himself, fumbling on words. Such was the excitement of meeting one of the best young coaches in the nation. With two NCAA finals on the resume and, of paramount importance, a tempo free advocate. Brad Stevens&#39; Butler Bulldogs had just defeated Dayton in the opening round of the Atlantic Ten Tournament.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Following the somewhat awkward self-introduction, came a calm as the topic turned to advanced statistics. A facet of the game where interviewer and subject both share a passion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&quot;One of the major aspects of studying tempo free statistics is trends,&quot; Stevens said. The next opponent would be LaSalle in the quarterfinals. Stevens would crunch the numbers since the last time the teams played (a 54-53 LaSalle victory on January 23). The idea, to see if there was a marked change in a certain area regarding LaSalle since that meeting. &quot;The numbers give you trends and a good read on styles,&quot; Stevens noted.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The numbers would be used to produce and emphasize key points in the scouting report. They serve a purpose of not only evaluating your opposition but your own team as well. &quot;We would look at what we do well and what they (LaSalle) do well,&quot; Stevens said. For instance, Stevens pointed out a concern would be LaSalle&#39;s guard play. &quot;It is an important part of their attack,&quot; he said. &quot;But looking at it closely we are making a decision. We probably will feel it is not as good to pick up their guards 40 feet from the basket. Twenty one feet away is probably better.&quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;During the tournaments you have live scouting. During the regular season, the reliance is on tape. Stevens will integrate tape breakdowns with the numbers he crunches.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Butler mentor was asked which of the Four Factors in his view is most important. Stevens took the neutral road saying all four (effective field goal percentage, free throw rate, offensive rebounding percentage and turnover rate) are equally important. He did concede, with his present team, &quot;Rebounding is something we look at very closely.&quot; In Atlantic Ten play the Bulldogs enjoyed a 35.5% offensive rebounding percentage while allowing opponents A 27%  mark. That is a plus 8.5% advantage.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Finally, Stevens was asked how and why he poured himself into the stat analysis. &quot;Just another way, a different way to look at the game,&quot; he said. &quot;From the beginning of my coaching I found statistics and numbers very useful. I have been doing (tempo free) stat breakdowns well before there were web sites.&quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYddKZED3aDJaCglxra59z3pK82jnWEpy-KR4W4HlJooQRmdA_SMtUxE65SOFLyOy-Cl4VH8mA9BlqUYFlahUjUHQ7Cj3YuxpiBX5Wh30Azgfx7iWSfaHwxIBDAS9KqVCl9FE7vSs88FbN/s1600/RF001130320.JPG&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; &gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYddKZED3aDJaCglxra59z3pK82jnWEpy-KR4W4HlJooQRmdA_SMtUxE65SOFLyOy-Cl4VH8mA9BlqUYFlahUjUHQ7Cj3YuxpiBX5Wh30Azgfx7iWSfaHwxIBDAS9KqVCl9FE7vSs88FbN/s320/RF001130320.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Brad Stevens (Right) with Amdrew Smith (Center) and Rotnei Clarke (Left)&lt;br /&gt;discuss Dayton game&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/5186395314458992719/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=5186395314458992719' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/5186395314458992719'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/5186395314458992719'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2013/03/guest-contributor-ray-floriani-talking.html' title='Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Talking Stats with Brad Stevens'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYddKZED3aDJaCglxra59z3pK82jnWEpy-KR4W4HlJooQRmdA_SMtUxE65SOFLyOy-Cl4VH8mA9BlqUYFlahUjUHQ7Cj3YuxpiBX5Wh30Azgfx7iWSfaHwxIBDAS9KqVCl9FE7vSs88FbN/s72-c/RF001130320.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-8256095076061133571</id><published>2013-03-20T00:56:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2013-03-20T00:56:02.160-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Boise State"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Butler"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Charlotte"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Chaz Willilams"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Dayton"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="La Salle"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Massachusetts"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Saint Louis"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Temple"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="VCU"/><title type='text'>Atlantic 10 Tournament Efficiencies</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;A Tournament Grows in Brooklyn&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The first tournament championship at the Barclay&#39;s Center concluded on Sunday as Saint Louis beat Virginia Commonwealth 62-57 and led five A-10 teams (Butler, La Salle, Saint Louis, Temple and VCU) into the NCAA tournament. Five bids (more than the ACC, SEC or ?) matches the conference&#39;s all-time high from the 1997 and 1998 tournaments -- the hey days of John Calipari and John Chaney. The format used this season brought the top 12 conference teams to a neutral site (the Barclay&#39;s Center) for four days of basketball. Seeds #5 through #12 paired off Thursday, with winners facing seeds #1 through #4 in Friday&#39;s quarter-finals. The four survivors (Butler vs. Saint Louis and Massachusetts vs. Virginia Commonwealth) played Saturday with the winners playing the Finals on Sunday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;By the Numbers&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I decided to plot the possessions and offensive/defensive efficiencies (points per possession) for the 12 teams:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#FFFFcc&quot; cellpadding=&quot;2&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;C0C0C0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Points&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;u&gt;Poss&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Efficiecies&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;C0C0C0&quot;&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Team&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Gms&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;For&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Agst&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Gme&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Off&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Def&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Diff&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
148. <tr><td>Saint Louis</td><td align="right">3</td><td align="right">201</td><td align="right">168</td><td align="right">69</td><td align="right">0.971</td><td align="right">0.812</td><td align="right">0.159</td></tr>
149. <tr><td>VCU</td><td align="right">3</td><td align="right">210</td><td align="right">203</td><td align="right">71</td><td align="right">0.991</td><td align="right">0.958</td><td align="right">0.033</td></tr>
150. <tr><td>Butler</td><td align="right">3</td><td align="right">198</td><td align="right">192</td><td align="right">66</td><td align="right">1.000</td><td align="right">0.970</td><td align="right">0.030</td></tr>
151. <tr><td>Massachusetts</td><td align="right">3</td><td align="right">218</td><td align="right">217</td><td align="right">73</td><td align="right">0.995</td><td align="right">0.991</td><td align="right">0.005</td></tr>
152. <tr><td>Saint Joseph's</td><td align="right">2</td><td align="right">137</td><td align="right">139</td><td align="right">62</td><td align="right">1.114</td><td align="right">1.130</td><td align="right">-0.016</td></tr>
153. <tr><td>Xavier</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">57</td><td align="right">58</td><td align="right">52</td><td align="right">1.096</td><td align="right">1.115</td><td align="right">-0.019</td></tr>
154. <tr><td>George Washington</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">72</td><td align="right">77</td><td align="right">74</td><td align="right">0.973</td><td align="right">1.041</td><td align="right">-0.068</td></tr>
155. <tr><td>Temple</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">74</td><td align="right">79</td><td align="right">70</td><td align="right">1.057</td><td align="right">1.129</td><td align="right">-0.071</td></tr>
156. <tr><td>Richmond</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">63</td><td align="right">68</td><td align="right">57</td><td align="right">1.105</td><td align="right">1.193</td><td align="right">-0.088</td></tr>
157. <tr><td>Charlotte</td><td align="right">2</td><td align="right">123</td><td align="right">135</td><td align="right">64</td><td align="right">0.961</td><td align="right">1.055</td><td align="right">-0.094</td></tr>
158. <tr><td>Dayton</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">67</td><td align="right">73</td><td align="right">64</td><td align="right">1.047</td><td align="right">1.141</td><td align="right">-0.094</td></tr>
159. <tr><td>La Salle</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="right">58</td><td align="right">69</td><td align="right">64</td><td align="right">0.906</td><td align="right">1.078</td><td align="right">-0.172</td></tr>
160. &lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The sample is far too small for conclusions, but there are a few things that jumped out:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Defense Prevailed&lt;/b&gt; -- the Billikens&#39; offense was uneven and not partcularly efficient as they generated 1.04 points per possession versus Charlotte Friday and a low of 0.939 versus VCU on Sunday, but their defense was solid throughout the three game stretch. The same could be noted for VCU, Butler and Massachusetts, the four teams to advance to the semi-finals.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Butler showed some offense&lt;/b&gt; -- The Bulldogs had a shootout with Dayton on Thursday as both teams posted offensive efficiencies of 1.14 and 1.05 respectively (Dayton&#39;s offensive efficiency is Butler&#39;s defensive efficiency). Brad Stevens&#39; squad lowered their defensive efficiency below the 1.00 mark in their next two games, though their offense declined slightly versus La Salle as well. Fatigue played a role perhaps, as their outing versus eventual winner Saint Louis saw the Bulldogs&#39; productively crater at 0.800 points per possession, well below their two +1.0 outings. If Rotnei Clarke can get some rest between games and freshman Kellen Dunham has any gas left in the tank (and Andrew Smith can stay out of foul trouble and...) the Bulldogs are poised for a run to the second weekend (at least).&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;One game samples can&#39;t tell us much&lt;/b&gt; -- but La Salle&#39;s showing gives me pause. Temple, (NCAA) bid in hand ran into a very motivated Chaz Williams-led Massachusetts squad, but the Explorers served up a very uncompetitive offering versus a Butler squad that featured an overworked Rotnei Clarke. Dr. John Giannini&#39;s game plan may have been to run Clarke all over the arena, but after competing for the first half, La Salle seemed content to hang on the perimeter and chuck threes. The Explorers are, at best mediocre two point defenders, which may work to their advantage versus their first NCAA opponent, Boise State. Or it may not.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;UMass&#39; showing was strong if unsuccessful&lt;/b&gt; -- the Minutemen, especially senior guard Chaz Williams, were motivated to run the table and grab the A-10&#39;s automatic bid, but they clearly ran out of gas in their third game (in three days) versus VCU. Notable that they held the Rams to miserly 0.947 points per possession in a losing effort Saturday afternoon. After posting &amp;gt;1.0 points per possession against George Washington and Temple, coach Derek Kellogg&#39;s squad collapsed under VCU&#39;s pressure. If they can avoid a first round letdown in the NIT, UMass should be strong and experienced enough to duplicate their 2012 NIT run, get back to Madison Square Garden and allow Williams to close out his career on a winning note.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/8256095076061133571/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=8256095076061133571' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/8256095076061133571'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/8256095076061133571'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2013/03/atlantic-10-tournament-efficiencies.html' title='Atlantic 10 Tournament Efficiencies'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-4591416651692430826</id><published>2013-03-19T19:12:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2013-03-19T19:12:27.507-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Barclay&#39;s Center"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Saint Joseph&#39;s"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Saint Louis"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Virginia Commonwealth"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Xavier"/><title type='text'>The Atlantic 10 Tournament: Six Takeaways</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Eleven Games, Four Days, One Winner...&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;...16 winners actually. The entire Atlantic 10 Conference won as Commissioner Bernadette McGlade made the decision to switch the conference tournament site from Atlantic City (every inch the gracious host for the last six years) to the brand new Barclay&#39;s Center just across the Brooklyn Bridge from Madison Square Garden. The Big East have their Garden Party, but the A-10, five of whose members garnered NCAA bids on Sunday evening offered a host of interesting matchups for their four day Coming Out Party last weekend. Covering the tournament for &lt;a href=&quot;rushthecourt.net&quot;&gt;another publication&lt;/a&gt;, I was able to enjoy four terrific days of basketball as the Barclay&#39;s Center debuted as a conference tournament venue.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;1. &quot;Our whole style of play is to get the other team rattled&quot;&lt;/b&gt; -- Shaka Smart after his team lost to Saint Louis in the A-10 Tournament Final. On the strength of their HAVOC defense the Rams were able to climb out of a 45-32 hole and close to 46-45. VCU used a combination of a full court press and half court traps to force the normally unflappable Billikens to turnover the ball without a shot, and quickly convert those turnovers into points at the other end. The Bills, like Temple the weekend before, exhaled, posted a big (usually Loe or Dwayne Evans) along the middle of the back court and swung the ball inbound to the opposite side from the inbounder. Once in, the ball handler (usually Jett or Mitchell) would draw the second defender and then to the big posted in that middle zone. Press broken, Saint Louis had to insure not to pass to a forward posted too close to the sideline or midcourt line, which would inevitably draw the second VCU defender for a trap. How many tournament teams have the experience and ball handling skill to counter the Rams&#39; press? Akron for example (VCU&#39;s next opponent) has a freshman and sophomore oriented squad that turns over 20% of their possessions without a field goal attempt. The Zips will be in for a long night Thursday...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;2. Saint Louis Will be a Tough Out&lt;/b&gt; -- &quot;...they have all of the ingredients of a team that can make a run in the NCAA Tournament: They are very well coached; they have older guys that don&#39;t get rattled; they&#39;re good inside; they&#39;re good outside and they defend&quot; -- Shaka Smart after the A-10 Tournament Final. The Billikens drew a #4 seed Sunday, giving them #12 seed New Mexico State, the 24-10 winner of the Western Athletic Conference championship in the opening round on Thursday in San Jose, California. Both Saint Louis and New Mexico State have been there before, but the Billikens having advanced to the field of 32 last time, are ready to go farther.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;3. The Atlantic 10 is a Very Deep Conference&lt;/b&gt; -- The conference matched it&#39;s all-time high for NCAA bids with five Sunday, but also advanced three teams, Charlotte, Massachusetts and Saint Joseph&#39;s, to the NIT which kicks off Tuesday (tonight). Richmond, eliminated in a controversial opening round match with Charlotte Thursday, will try to improve it&#39;s 18-14 in the CBI Tournament. Xavier, which had it&#39;s NCAA run stopped at seven consecutive this season and was snubbed for the NIT, passed on a CBI invitation. Had the Musketeers accepted, the conference would have had 10 of 16 members playing after Brooklyn.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;4. Saint Joseph&#39;s Has a Hard Time Coming Back&lt;/b&gt; -- Coach Phil Martelli&#39;s Hawks squad was the conference coaches&#39; favorite going into the season. Well stocked at all five positions, the Hawks have the option to &quot;go big&quot; with Aiken, Kanacevic, Roberts and a backcourt of Jones and Galloway, or &quot;go small&quot; by starting sophomore Chris Wilson beside Galloway and Jones, and bringing Aiken (or Roberts) in off the bench. Blessed with that flexibility, the Hawks nevertheless need to take the lead and control the game flow to insure a successful outcome. Of their 13 losses this season only three were by six or fewer points (ie 1-2 possessions), leaving this observer with the impression that, given their offensive system requires multiple screens and/or picks to develop a shot opportunity, falling behind poses a larger than usual obstacle to putting points on the board quickly. Although they cut Virginia Commonwealth&#39;s 10 point half-time lead to three (and then back to four) Friday night, the Hawks were effectively out of the game when they fell behind by 13 after Halil Kanacevic picked up an offensive foul (change of possession) and a technical with 11:22 left in the second half. The Rams added two more 90 seconds later, pushing their lead out to 15. Though the Hawks finished with a 36-24 run, they were not really in it, trailing by double digits with 94 seconds left and by at least two possessions, until Langston Galloway nailed a three point attempt with 13 seconds left to cut the deficit five. The play that netted center Papa Ndao his eighth three of the season took nine seconds to develop. Facing a Saint John&#39;s team (in the Battle of the SJUs?) in the first round of the NIT, the Hawks will have to guard the shot and control the boards to insure the Johnnies don&#39;t jump ahead quickly on them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;5. The Subway and Schedule Gave the Media Choices&lt;/b&gt; -- The media turnout Saturday was larger than I remember in Atlantic City. By starting their first semi-final game at noon and their second second semi-final before 5:00 pm, the Atlantic 10 was able to draw the considerable New York City media (not to mention filmmaker Spike Lee) to Brooklyn (and back to Manhattan) before the Big East Championship Final tipped off at 9:00 pm. The A-10 started their Women&#39;s Championship game at 7:00 pm and drew the media and fan following typical for women&#39;s basketball -- a brilliant counter scheduling move by the A-10. Las Vegas, by hosting the Mountain West, the Western Athletic and the West Coast Conference, has established a presence in Division I basketball, but the Big Apple, by hosting both the Big East and the A-10 tournaments simultaneously, gave fans an outstanding Championship Week experience.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;6. Saint Louis Won the War, but VCU Won the Battle...of the Bands&lt;/b&gt; -- College basketball bands tend to be miniature versions of the mammoth marching bands that serenade BCS football teams. Virginia Commonwealth is not terribly different, though the Rams, like several school bands, augment their normally brass and drum-heavy sound with a couple of electric guitars and performed several half-play half-sing/chant musical offerings. What set the Rams apart was the physicality of their performance. The tuba players danced as the rest of the rather large contingent of musicians danced, bopped and bounced as they played some of their more exuberant numbers. Well known offerings like &quot;Thriller&quot; were given a different, brassier, edgier treatment by the VCU band which often, by simply changing the beat or adding syncopation, lent a very different (and refreshing) musical interpretation to the number. A second place to the La Salle band, which consistently lent a bouncy, funky interpretation to their music, which seems a good deal closer to the temperament of Philadelphia than their A-10 brethren, Saint Joseph&#39;s and Temple.&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/4591416651692430826/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=4591416651692430826' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/4591416651692430826'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/4591416651692430826'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-atlantic-10-tournament-six-takeaways.html' title='The Atlantic 10 Tournament: Six Takeaways'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-5779171443870164116</id><published>2013-03-09T18:20:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2013-03-09T18:21:45.213-05:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="A-10 Conference"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Temple"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Virginia Commonwealth"/><title type='text'>VCU to Wreak HAVOC in Philadelphia?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;The End of a Most Irregular Season&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;The Media Day buzz was the unusual strength of the Atlantic 10 and the possibilities for at least five (if not more) bids to the NCAA. Charlotte and charter member Temple would take their curtain calls as Butler and Virginia Commonwealth took the measure of their new conference and their future conference mates. What a difference 10 weeks makes. Temple departs to an athletic association that only recently settled on American 12 as their new brand, a shell of the former Big East. The Catholic 7 (nee Big East), having stripped the American 12 of their last vestages of basketball legitimacy, borrow a leaf from the ACC and appear to have raided the Atlantic 10 of two of their more better basketball members...&lt;a href=&quot;http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9000502/catholic-7-schools-keep-big-east-name-new-league-next-season-according-sources&quot;&gt;if rumors are to be believed&lt;/a&gt;. The conference maker was clearly thinking TV Storyline when he made the last game of the regular season and matchup between the best of the two departing and entering teams. Hosted by the departing team of course.  
161. <br/><br/><strong>Does Temple Need this More Than Virginia Commonwealth?</strong><br />Yes. Like their City Series Mates, the Owls are at the tailend of a roller coaster season that has three of Philadelphia's Big 5 on everyone's "Last Eight" (In or Out) List. Flattened by Duke on a neutral court, they went on to take a baffling loss to Canisius (at home no less) before they bounced back with a win over then #3 Syracuse. They opened their conference schedule with a loss to Xavier and played 0.500 ball in conference before a second baffling (and truly damaging) home loss to Duquesne seemed to get them focused. No more margin for error, the Owls have rattled off six straight to put themselves back on the NCAA bubble and in the hunt for a #3 seed to the Atlantic 10 Tournament next weekend (the scnearios are complicated, see below).
162. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;How VCU Can Lose This Game&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am heading down to Philadelphia to cover the Virginia Commonwealth - Temple game tomorrow for &lt;a href=&quot;rushthecourt.net&quot;&gt;another publication&lt;/a&gt;, and those who tune in (12:00 noon CBS) might want to keep track of Temple&#39;s turnovers. I know I will. Virginia Commonwealth&#39;s HAVOC defense works to force turnovers, and the Rams tend to win when the HAVOC is effective. The Rams the best turnover rate in Division I (29.1%) and in Atlantic 10 conference games (about 25%). Following the adage &quot;offense flows from defense&quot;, the Rams&#39; ability to convert at the offensive end tends to follow that defensive turnover rate. When they don&#39;t force turnovers their shot conversion rate tends to suffer. VCU is 7-5 in the twelve games where their offensive eFG% is less than 50%. But more tellingly, if they cannot force turnovers they tend to lose outright. The Rams are 3-6 in games when their opponents lose less than 25% of their possessions. That includes every loss VCU has taken so far this season, with six of those games coming away from Verizon Wireless Arena (their home court). The Owls tend to value the ball/their possessions, logging the third lowest turnover rate in the conference. But the Owls also do not seem bothered when they do have a relatively sloppy game, as they are 6-0 when they lose 20% or more of their possessions on turnovers (they have never turned over 25% or more of their possessions). The Owls win when their conversion rate (eFG%) is 50.0% or better. The Rans have allowed 50% or better in 15 of their games this season, half of their outings. Stats were gathered from &lt;a href=&quot;kenpom.com&quot;&gt;Ken Pomeroy&#39;s website&lt;/a&gt;. Pomeroy by the way, favors the Rams in this one.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Sorting Out the Seeds&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Saint Louis&#39; win over La Salle means the Billikens can do no worse than a tie (with VCU) for the regular season title and a #1 seed in Brooklyn. Virginia Commonwealth gets the #2 seed win or lose versus Temple, with La Salle&#39;s seed (#3 or #4) left to the result of the Temple/VCU game. Should Temple beat VCU, the Owls end up in a at least a two way tie with La Salle and a threeway tie should Butler beat Xavier tonight. Tie breakers -- both two with La Salle and three with La Salle and Butler -- favor Temple by virtue of their win over Saint Louis (three way). La Salle would take the #4 seed and Butler plays Thursday with the #5.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/5779171443870164116/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=5779171443870164116' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/5779171443870164116'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/5779171443870164116'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-end-of-most-irregular-season-media.html' title='VCU to Wreak HAVOC in Philadelphia?'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-1894667909071001876</id><published>2012-04-16T11:34:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2012-04-18T14:02:13.227-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Canisius"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Coaching Carousal"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Duquesne"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Jim Baron"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Mike Adras"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Northern Arizona"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Rhode Island"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Ron Everhart"/><title type='text'>Coaching Carousal Part 2012-01: The Pendulum Swings Back</title><content type='html'>&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Trickle Down?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not one of the six coaches released/replaced during the regular season (defined here as 10/15/2011 through 2/29/2012) coached in the power conferences, a sharp break with the trend dating to 2007 (and earlier?). Of the six who were replaced, all but the first (Northern Arizona&#39;s Mike Adras resigned unexpectedly on December 9 &lt;a href=&quot;http://azdailysun.com/news/local/adras-under-fire-before-exit/article_a7cae745-9435-52e8-a1da-f0505f6cb20e.html&quot;&gt;during an NCAA probe of possible program violations&lt;/a&gt;) appeared to be at the overt initiative of the administration, with losing records and flagging fan interest cited as the catalysts for change. Those who lament the path taken by the mid/low majors of the Division I basketball world should at least acknowledge that those programs are subject to the same pressures (revenue, TV exposure, fan/alumni pressure to compete...) as the power conference programs. Adopting the same course of action as step #1 to remediate and set a new course should come as no surprise. The break in the high-to-mid pattern comes at the end of the season. Given the damage to the brand sustained with an embarrassing mid-year termination, high major programs often look outside of the institution for a prestige hire to repair that damage. Nonpower conference program ADs tend to evaluate the progress made during the season and in a number of cases promote the interim selection (almost always an assistant coach) who engineered the recovery. Of the six individuals who stepped in as interim hires last season, three were promoted to the first chair while two others hired someone outside of the program. Northern Arizona has yet to resolve Dave Brown&#39;s status, but it seems likely at this point that the Lumberjacks will open Fall Practice 2012 with a new head coach hired outside of the program.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Winning Isn&#39;t Everything...Tickets Sales &amp;amp; Tournament Bids Are&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That may sound crazy to the Arkansas-Pine Bluffs and Elons of the Division I world, but a 60.3% winning percentage was not good enough to save Doug Wojcik&#39;s job. Having logged a 140-92 record in seven seasons at Tulsa, Wojcik&#39;s teams had a series of badly timed losses combined with no NCAA bids (or CUSA championships) which convinced Tulsa AD Ross Parmley that it was time for a change. Fans, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=203&amp;articleid=20120312_203_B1_CUTLIN334738&quot;&gt;chastised by Wojcik more than once during his tenure&lt;/a&gt;, did not raise the hue and cry in the wake of his dismissal last March. Fan apathy and/or declines in ticket revenue/attendance were reasons cited in the dismissals of &lt;a href=&quot;http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2012-03-16/mike-davis-fired-uab-blazers-coach&quot;&gt;Mike Davis at UAB&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2012-03-02/report-siu-fires-coach-chris-lowery&quot;&gt;Chris Lowery at Southern Illinois&lt;/a&gt;, though both had compiled winning records while heading up those programs. Unmet expectations, measured by NCAA bids, regression from prior (or historic) success or the even the team&#39;s conference record were variously cited in the dismissal announcements of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/17683831/illinois-tells-weber-hes-out-as-coach&quot;&gt;Bruce Webber at Illinois&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dailynebraskan.com/sports/sadler-fired-as-nebraska-men-s-basketball-coach-1.2713917#.T4W2kNWGASU&quot;&gt;Doc Sadler at Nebraska&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.wtae.com/r/30746869/detail.html&quot;&gt;Ron Everhart at Duquesne&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;An A-10 Digression&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For Baron and Everhart in particular the fire/retain paradigm was more complicated than a single step-back season or year-end slump. Baron, a curmudgeonly 57 year old had clashed repeated with the Rhode Island fan-base during his 11 year tenure in Kingston, RI. A succession of late season collapses with no NCAA bid to show coupled with late off season recruiting sprees (always triggered when early recruits asked out of their LOIs in April or May) left a bitter taste for fans that even four consecutive 20 game winning seasons could not mask. The recession of 2008 worked in Baron&#39;s favor, placing enough pressure on Rhode Island&#39;s operating budget to discourage AD Thorr Bjorn from mounting an buyout initiative. Oddly, this season seemed to mark a turnaround in recruiting and Baron&#39;s efforts to put the program on the path to sustained success. The freshman class, recruited early, managed to get to campus intact and two very promising transfers, Andre Malone and Billy Baron (yes the coach&#39;s son) cleared the NCAA-mandated waiting period and joined the team late in December. Baron rekindled in season controversy by tossing senior guard Jamal Wilson, the team&#39;s leading scorer, off the team in late December even as the Runnin Rams were staggering to a horrific 1-11 start. The loss tally reached 23 as the season closed March 3. Eight years removed from a honeymoon with the Rhody fan-base, and with non-public money pledged to underwrite a buyout, Baron was released hours after Rhode Island&#39;s season-ending loss to Massachusetts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Duquesne fans breathed a sigh of relief when Coach Ron Everhart pulled his name from the Penn State coaching search last May. Coming off a 19-13 season that included a post season turn in the CBI, fans expected a better outcome (despite the graduation of overachiever Damion Saunders) for the program than the 15-16 run in 2011-12. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/columnists/s_788366.html&quot;&gt;Everhart had his defenders&lt;/a&gt;, but the fan-base, possibly still digesting the bombshell that &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/duquesne/mcconnell-leaving-program-627238/&quot;&gt;three sophomores, headlined by T.J. McConnell, intended to transfer&lt;/a&gt;, took Everhart&#39;s dismissal with relative calm. In an email to the Duquesne Board of Trustees AD Greg Amodio wrote&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.theduquesneduke.com/university-reveals-why-everhart-was-fired-1.2826488#.T4oPqNWncdU&quot;&gt;...&lt;b&gt;We reached the conclusion that this kind of performance was impossible under his leadership due to uneven recruiting, large turnovers among his student athletes and coaching staff, an overall average win-loss record and a losing record in the A-10, poor performance in close games, the predictable collapse of our teams late in the season, and a general disorganization and lack of communication that is clear to those close to the program&lt;/b&gt;...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;as the principal reasons for Everhart&#39;s dismissal. T.J. McConnell&#39;s transfer (he will go to Arizona) might have been a big blow to the continued success of the program, but of the 30 ball players (freshmen and transfers) recruited during the Everhart Era, fully 46.7% left the program before exhausting their eligibility, placing extraordinary pressure on the staff to rebuild the roster virtually every season. Everhart, who has won over 500 Division I games over an 18 year career that has included stops at McNeese State and Northeastern in addition to Duquesne, has developed a reputation for resurrecting down-and-out programs, and will no doubt land a job (much as Jim Baron has...) in this cycle.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;By the Numbers&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mike Adras&#39; resignation was the first of 36 openings in this cycle (to April 16). Look for 42-48 openings in this off season, which despite perceptions, is about average since 2007-08. Consistent with historic trends, the administration initiated 13 of the 16 openings (81.3%) created before Selection Sunday, an overwhelming number that dropped to seven of 16 openings (43.8%) created during the NCAA Tournament. The coaches have seized control of the process since Kentucky was crowned champion, creating four of the six (67.7%) post tournament openings. Expect that trend to continue through the Spring Signing Period (May 16 this season). Seven jobs (18.4% of the total made available -- if &lt;a href=&quot;http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2012/04/reports-florida-international-to-hire-richard-pitino-/1#.T4w2CtWGASU&quot;&gt;Rick Pitino&#39;s leak about son Richard&#39;s pending job at Florida International&lt;/a&gt; comes to pass) continue to be filled by interim coaches. Northern Arizona closed out the longest job hunt so far (125 days) on Thursday (4/12) when they hired Memphis Assistant Coach Jack Murphy. The Flagstaff, Arizona school went with a native son, as Murphy started as a student manager at Arizona under legendary coach Lute Olsen, filling a number of jobs in the Wildcat program over an eight year period before moving on as a scout for the Denver Nuggets and later an Assistant Coach under Josh Pastner (another former coach in the Arizona program) at Memphis.&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/1894667909071001876/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=1894667909071001876' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/1894667909071001876'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/1894667909071001876'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2012/04/coaching-carousal-part-2012-01-pendulum.html' title='Coaching Carousal Part 2012-01: The Pendulum Swings Back'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-8602972383151434043</id><published>2011-12-22T13:59:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2011-12-22T13:59:07.023-05:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Branden Frazier"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Chris Gaston"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Devon McMillan"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Fordham"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="God&#39;s Gift Achiuwa"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Malik Stith"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Moe Harkness"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Myles Mack"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Nurideen Lindsey"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Ray Floriani"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Rutgers"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Sir Dominic Pointer"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="St. John&#39;s"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Stony Brook"/><title type='text'>Guest Contributor Ray Floriani -- At the Holiday Festival</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;by Ray Floriani&lt;br&gt;&lt;br/&gt;New York City - The format of the MSG Holiday Festival went through another alteration. Up until a few years ago it was contested just after Christmas. Since then it has been before December 25th and this season was not a true tournament. No semifinal and final doubleheader -- just a twin bill -- this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CIjT7SOzrIvdsvk0ycainqjhHvhlpUl30Kn1iaENwK41cvuxqJz2TbDDJkxalS6NCfFZX1YF0AqLZEjCeC5XQUQpnPWgxHK4vAaigcVs5gQOiLosZtA0oAKuzY986vEm2_rrZNJ_2uv2/s1600/RF11122204.JPG&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CIjT7SOzrIvdsvk0ycainqjhHvhlpUl30Kn1iaENwK41cvuxqJz2TbDDJkxalS6NCfFZX1YF0AqLZEjCeC5XQUQpnPWgxHK4vAaigcVs5gQOiLosZtA0oAKuzY986vEm2_rrZNJ_2uv2/s320/RF11122204.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;The Holiday Festival logo&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The scores:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; cellpadding=&quot;6&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana;font-size:12pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;Rutgers&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;67&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;58&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Stony Brook&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;St. John&#39;s&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;56&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;50&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;Fordham&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Possession and efficiency:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;4&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Off.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Poss.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Eff.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Stony Brook&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;66&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;88&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Rutgers&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;63&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;106&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg46G8WHnLEydJpMC_yLP24XBOHNEzgXDTjEZkX22rTZ146n7jmkHg4FEOrVTNLQ3-Cx2ictAeXNzUnoCqr2psM3vf8V_uePyBFvzj4zI5IiH8syIHW3A-HiB27CBNFVdBArKMolW3HKgJ1/s1600/RF11122202.JPG&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg46G8WHnLEydJpMC_yLP24XBOHNEzgXDTjEZkX22rTZ146n7jmkHg4FEOrVTNLQ3-Cx2ictAeXNzUnoCqr2psM3vf8V_uePyBFvzj4zI5IiH8syIHW3A-HiB27CBNFVdBArKMolW3HKgJ1/s320/RF11122202.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;View of MSG&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;4&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Off.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Poss.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Eff.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Fordham&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;68&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;73&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;St. John&#39;s&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;68&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Notes &amp;amp; Points of Emphasis&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;1. Rutgers was tested.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The American East representatives, Stony Brook worked hard on the offensive glass showing a 46-32% edge in offensive rebounding percentage. Rutgers coach Mike Rice pointed out , partially in jest, that his Scarlet Knights (6-5)  had too much holiday spirit and were willing to give up second chances to the Seawolves.  Stony Brook did not have an easy time finishing those opportunities showing only a 13-9 lead in second chance points. Stony Brook (3-6) basically lived on the perimeter and shot better from three (7 of 24 for 29%) than from two (9 of 36 and 25%). Rutgers shot 56% from two en route to a 54% eFG mark. Both teams had identical and sloppy 24% TO rates. &lt;b&gt;Myles Mack&lt;/b&gt; of Rutgers led all scorers with 22 points. The freshman guard did not start but proved the old axiom &#39;it is more important who finishes rather than starts the game&#39;.  Mack used 18% of the Scarlet Knight possessions and obviously was very much involved.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBN44I-5s-9v4Wnyq5qQIO2IUjJA6fEcLgpItBc8nVKK7OCk-swcXuwh6PqGGkA_wZ2XyLFsAYzXRZG0IgBkp7VA7zzhwyHJZBWzCFoQFSwlz9k246qx0DVHjlezfq9c4zC_sTpWzcjsh/s1600/RF11122201.JPG&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBN44I-5s-9v4Wnyq5qQIO2IUjJA6fEcLgpItBc8nVKK7OCk-swcXuwh6PqGGkA_wZ2XyLFsAYzXRZG0IgBkp7VA7zzhwyHJZBWzCFoQFSwlz9k246qx0DVHjlezfq9c4zC_sTpWzcjsh/s320/RF11122201.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rutgers coach Mike Rice feels his team was in a holiday mode&lt;br /&gt;giving too many offensive rebounding &#39;gifts&#39;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;2. Fordham is improved&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They entered MSG at 4-5. Tom Pecora is getting double figure scoring from three players, none are seniors. Junior &lt;b&gt;Chris Gaston&lt;/b&gt; leads at 14.6 PPG while the backcourt of sophomore &lt;b&gt;Branden Frazier&lt;/b&gt; (10.0) and freshman &lt;b&gt;Devon McMillan&lt;/b&gt; (11.6) has been effective.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Against St. John&#39;s there were opportunities. Gaston got inside but struggled to finish. He scored 11 points, grabbed 14 rebounds (5 offensive) but was 4 of 16 from the field. Both clubs failed to hit 40% eFG with Fordham at 36% and St. John&#39;s not much better with 38%. The young Ram backcourt did a nice job caring for the ball with a 15% TO rate, compared to St. John&#39;s&#39; 22%. Red Storm got the big and arguable game decisive advantage on the offensive glass. They showed a 42-24% dominance in offensive rebounding percentage. &lt;b&gt;God&#39;s Gift Achiuwa&lt;/b&gt; (5) and &lt;b&gt;Moe Harkness&lt;/b&gt; (3) accounted for half of the 16 St. John&#39;s offensive boards. Harkness, a 6-8 freshman swing man, had a nice 13 point, 16 rebound double-double.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;3. St. John&#39;s has concerns&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Red Storm is now 5-5. Beyond the .500 won-lost record are other issues. The exit of &lt;b&gt;Nurideen Lindsey&lt;/b&gt; further depletes an already thin squad. In the first half against Fordham the starters went the entire way. For the game, four players put in the full forty minutes. The only one who did not was freshman guard &lt;b&gt;Sir Dominic Pointer&lt;/b&gt; who put in 36 minutes and spelled by &lt;b&gt;Malik Stith&lt;/b&gt; for only 4 minutes. The biggest concerns in this situation are foul trouble -- the Storm do zone frequently to stay out of that situation -- and injuries. They can ill afford an injury to anyone. With Big East play and its physical nature, practices, plus Winter and the illnesses it can bring coming up, St. John&#39;s will be embarking on conference play in a very tenuous circumstance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ62rJ10vtHuQmNn_aGs4AmgiMuXKMKQmKnxiDPU-pZ56lKJshAaZhYtsXfyIftThIuMVcxWesCjlgmJm6rumUpfnvo-_guoZDN1xRQMoHydivsHZDNgHpUpjYEgDOEf7a4hzuUbjwGlre/s1600/RF11122203.JPG&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ62rJ10vtHuQmNn_aGs4AmgiMuXKMKQmKnxiDPU-pZ56lKJshAaZhYtsXfyIftThIuMVcxWesCjlgmJm6rumUpfnvo-_guoZDN1xRQMoHydivsHZDNgHpUpjYEgDOEf7a4hzuUbjwGlre/s320/RF11122203.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;The Stony Brook band entertained&lt;br /&gt;and enjoyed their MSG appearance&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/8602972383151434043/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=8602972383151434043' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/8602972383151434043'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/8602972383151434043'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-contributor-ray-floriani-at.html' title='Guest Contributor Ray Floriani -- At the Holiday Festival'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CIjT7SOzrIvdsvk0ycainqjhHvhlpUl30Kn1iaENwK41cvuxqJz2TbDDJkxalS6NCfFZX1YF0AqLZEjCeC5XQUQpnPWgxHK4vAaigcVs5gQOiLosZtA0oAKuzY986vEm2_rrZNJ_2uv2/s72-c/RF11122204.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-1193789351379493723</id><published>2011-12-15T18:28:00.001-05:00</published><updated>2011-12-15T18:28:55.352-05:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Baylor"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Britney Griner"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Brooklyn Pope"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="De Paul"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Kim Barnes Arico"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Post game analysis"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Ray Floriani"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="St. John&#39;s"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Tennessee"/><title type='text'>Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Analysis of the Maggie Dixon Classic</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;by Ray Floriani&lt;br&gt;&lt;br/&gt;New York City – The annual Maggie Dixon Classic gave us two interesting games. The 5,486 in attendance saw St. John’s put up a good battle before falling to number one Baylor in a game closer than the score hints. In game two, Tennessee, despite coming in with two losses, proved they can defend and are still an elite program, not to go away any time soon.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgHgkBfvnFzkWsuHtxRDuNgKZ4joe-r58rTjmfhcs5I_22eB_Zadlcoal-mc5VY9FPx9evKA2tW_auiMkvt4FKu6iAdCjbDr7azDzwQ1NNWgO7s5I7hj5VoRaWNoBFt9DL_8jPl0g6wRr/s1600/RF11121203.JPG&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgHgkBfvnFzkWsuHtxRDuNgKZ4joe-r58rTjmfhcs5I_22eB_Zadlcoal-mc5VY9FPx9evKA2tW_auiMkvt4FKu6iAdCjbDr7azDzwQ1NNWgO7s5I7hj5VoRaWNoBFt9DL_8jPl0g6wRr/s320/RF11121203.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At halftime a travel team from Oakland, NJ got to play on the Garden floor.&lt;br /&gt;Yours truly officiated them in a tournament a week earlier.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; cellpadding=&quot;6&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana;font-size:12pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;Baylor&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;73&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;59&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;St. John&#39;s&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The possessions and offensive efficiency:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;4&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Off.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Poss.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Eff.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Baylor&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;65&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;112&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
163. <tr><td>St. John's</td><td align="right">63</td><td align="right">94</td></tr></table><br />Of the Four Factors, two key areas saw the Bears excel. FT rate and offensive rebounding percentage.  Baylor enjoyed 22-6% advantage in free throw rate (FTM/FGA) by virtue of hitting 14 free throws to St. John’s’ four. Red Storm, though, had only four attempts to Baylor’s 20. In the offensive rebounding department the advantage was a 43-31% difference in Baylor’s favor. <b>Britney Griner</b>, Baylor’s outstanding 6-8 junior center, had a game leading 13 rebounds. Three were offensive as Brooklyn Pope did the most damage for the Bears with five offensive rebounds.<br /><br /></div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" align="center" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMM1QYSa77PMn0HJI12u2xIeah4ALZIjR1Ao1GmZEXiJgAGfgm0gzANSzq-25XT92Ve80d14pD4_4Jy-p6ADLp-_Qb0PLtidynFHuAAKZp7pSJO6NUOt2ymBzxpBMwVnKfGAVpyyyBBSxy/s1600/RF11121204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMM1QYSa77PMn0HJI12u2xIeah4ALZIjR1Ao1GmZEXiJgAGfgm0gzANSzq-25XT92Ve80d14pD4_4Jy-p6ADLp-_Qb0PLtidynFHuAAKZp7pSJO6NUOt2ymBzxpBMwVnKfGAVpyyyBBSxy/s320/RF11121204.JPG" /></a><br />St. John's coach Kim Barnes Arico<br />makes a point<br /></div><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" align="justify" style="font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt"><br /><br />Second game score, possessions and efficiency:
164. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; cellpadding=&quot;6&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana;font-size:12pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;Tennessee&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;84&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;61&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;De Paul&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;4&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Off.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Poss.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Eff.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Tennessee&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;101&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;De Paul&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;81&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;75&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfHRL26mHuI1Hi3pfWz7YxOocQqDKoRadzsqP_ym6yo5aYDedsmY2FQyyobxEsjx1OcXTAU9B_KrDN0lOKKNaUvKV6GjYNqieo9Oaxb8qXMcHplhAbK6CfuDPdNYaUuf0GX_i02CVy0q-f/s1600/RF11121201.JPG&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfHRL26mHuI1Hi3pfWz7YxOocQqDKoRadzsqP_ym6yo5aYDedsmY2FQyyobxEsjx1OcXTAU9B_KrDN0lOKKNaUvKV6GjYNqieo9Oaxb8qXMcHplhAbK6CfuDPdNYaUuf0GX_i02CVy0q-f/s320/RF11121201.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tennessee assistant Holly Warwick and Glory Johnson&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Possession total shows us it was a bit of a faster pace. Very glaring number among those Four Factors, DePaul’s 30% turnover rate. Blue Demons had 24 turnovers and the 30% means almost one third of their offense resulted in the TO. Tennessee did have 19 of their own for a high 23% TO rate, a figure they will undoubtedly address in preparation for their next opponent.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;A Look at Possessions and Usage&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;From Golden State of mind site &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2011/12/6/2602153/advanced-stats-primer&quot;&gt;there was a nice piece on advanced statistical breakdowns&lt;/a&gt; you can use analyzing the NBA. Actually, the metrics are applicable for the college game as well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To calculate individual possessions you employ this formula:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma; font-size:12pt&quot;&gt;Poss = FGA + (FTA * .475) + TO&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The NBA free throw multiplier is .44, on the college level the accepted is .475. Once you have possessions of an individual player you divide that figure by team possessions. The final total is multiplied by 100 for the Usage percentage rate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We will now take a look at the possessions and usage of the leading scorer for each team in the two games.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;b&gt;Player, Team&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Poss&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Pts.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Usage&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;B. Pope, Baylor&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;E. McPherson, SJU&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;24&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;J. Penny, De Paul&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;G. Johnson, Tenn&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Taking it further let us look at the Baylor distribution. After all, they are the nation’s top ranked team:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;b&gt;Player&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Poss&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Pts.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Usage&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;B. Pope&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;B. Griner&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;O. Sims&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;K. Hayden&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;J. Madden&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;D. Williams&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;M. Robertson&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;S. Agbuke&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The usage totals 98% because many of the usage figures contained percentage points, under .5, which I did not round up. St. John’s coach &lt;b&gt;Kim Barnes Arico&lt;/b&gt; targeted Griner and point guard Sims for added defensive attention. She knew Pope and Madden would get additional and/or open looks but was willing to take the chance. The usage points out the impact the latter two had on the Baylor attack and outcome.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Griner entered the game with a 21% usage while Sims was right behind at 20%. &lt;br /&gt;The team records:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;5&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Baylor&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;10-0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;St. John&#39;s&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;5-5&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Tennessee&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;8-2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;De Paul&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;8-2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgZm0-Z6DJ49WtGC5YxoMQ2SD7WcXCNW7vEc9h5NlYcFs-1nnO2WNP55ryQ9H3qXacMfobJ79lYnzAfUozAPXwcPUp4PUna2kNbwZj9MuQny5L82NBsRICjb-_-fKj7ssVV4uFLkILh_o/s1600/RF11121202.JPG&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgZm0-Z6DJ49WtGC5YxoMQ2SD7WcXCNW7vEc9h5NlYcFs-1nnO2WNP55ryQ9H3qXacMfobJ79lYnzAfUozAPXwcPUp4PUna2kNbwZj9MuQny5L82NBsRICjb-_-fKj7ssVV4uFLkILh_o/s320/RF11121202.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Baylor&#39;s Britney Griner graciously signs autographs&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/1193789351379493723/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=1193789351379493723' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/1193789351379493723'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/1193789351379493723'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-contributor-ray-floriani-analysis.html' title='Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Analysis of the Maggie Dixon Classic'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgHgkBfvnFzkWsuHtxRDuNgKZ4joe-r58rTjmfhcs5I_22eB_Zadlcoal-mc5VY9FPx9evKA2tW_auiMkvt4FKu6iAdCjbDr7azDzwQ1NNWgO7s5I7hj5VoRaWNoBFt9DL_8jPl0g6wRr/s72-c/RF11121203.JPG" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-7017505745774852367</id><published>2011-12-08T13:15:00.000-05:00</published><updated>2011-12-08T13:31:46.703-05:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Chris Otule"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Darius Johnson-Odom"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Jae Crowder"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Jimmy V Classic"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Maalik Wayns"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Marquette"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Missouri"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Mouphtaou Yarou"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Post game analysis"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Ray Floriani"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Terrence Ross"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Villanova"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Washington"/><title type='text'>Guest Contributor Ray Floriani -- The Jimmy V Classic</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;by Ray Floriani&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;New York City – The annual Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden gave us two interesting games. In the opener, Missouri had a little too much of everything in defeating Villanova 81-71.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULiCAqbAuUTo2JW29LJEleRpiCI5pxPra7PxhmkHTaAmucQhCb2wQ9fBfUukTpTknxcK6L4akP6P7uxHR6uR0m7VnUmp9swCCIfj1AtcoYSTIZbb3DreBBvrX9ikAmf6elyRtPu72JSj0/s1600/RF11120704.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULiCAqbAuUTo2JW29LJEleRpiCI5pxPra7PxhmkHTaAmucQhCb2wQ9fBfUukTpTknxcK6L4akP6P7uxHR6uR0m7VnUmp9swCCIfj1AtcoYSTIZbb3DreBBvrX9ikAmf6elyRtPu72JSj0/s320/RF11120704.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pre-game national anthem&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The pace and efficiency:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Off.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Poss.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Eff.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Villanova&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;69&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;103&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Missouri&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;69&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;117&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Four Factors:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#C0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;u&gt;FTA&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;eFG%&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;FGA&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;OR%&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;TO%&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Villanova&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;51&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;36&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;22&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Missouri&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;50&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;36&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSDb25h5ch91XuaScSgNlSXwglpaBCLtRmuHveq475fNQMHED5TH7frELuBea3ZAEkv1DX1ny4ADCj5vnwKRVdpu4AJfDm_VGCmT4kLnmPSNzuSJ8hCvBO2rjyJrhoTvjhr8yxTVQOXfOn/s1600/RF11120702.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSDb25h5ch91XuaScSgNlSXwglpaBCLtRmuHveq475fNQMHED5TH7frELuBea3ZAEkv1DX1ny4ADCj5vnwKRVdpu4AJfDm_VGCmT4kLnmPSNzuSJ8hCvBO2rjyJrhoTvjhr8yxTVQOXfOn/s320/RF11120702.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jay Wright makes a point&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Villanova coach Jay Wright watched all seven of Missouri’s previous games on tape. What he saw was a  well coached, veteran team that defends and simply was a challenging task for his young Wildcats. “We were hoping to grind it out, keep it close near the end and possibly steal one,” Wright said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Villanova trailed by double digits most of the second half but did close late to get it to a one possession game. Each time Villanova was  unable to get any closer. The culprit was turnovers, untimely turnovers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Wildcats entered the game with a commendable 19% TO rate. Missouri, which exerts pressure in a half court setting forced Villanova into a 22% rate. That proved significant as Villanova shot well, got to the line and hit the boards hard. Transition points were crucial also as the Big Twelve representatives owned a 24-8 edge in fast break points.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wildcats placed five players in double figures. Their points and Manley totals are as follows:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;4&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Manley&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Pts&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Eff.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Maalik Wayns&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Darrun Hilliard&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;13&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Dom Cheek&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Mouphtaou Yarou&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;11&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;JayVaughn Pinkston&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• &lt;b&gt;Maalik Wayns&lt;/b&gt; canned three treys in the stretch. He added 9 assists but did commit five turnovers. Yarou is a nice player inside but needs help. Pinkston did some fine work in the lane. He is still coming around as Wright noted “he (Pinkston) is rusty.” The Villanova mentor noted Pinkston not only sat out suspended last year but worked nine hours a day and was able to get little gym time for himself. Hilliard is a freshman with  a nice shooting stroke. Cheek does a good job in the open floor.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• &lt;b&gt;Marcus Denmon&lt;/b&gt; led all scorers with 28 points. The Missouri guard was 6 of 10 from the floor. Kim English added 15 while Ricardo Ratliffe scored 17 points while grabbing 11 boards. Ratliffe proved it’s quality not quantity. He is Missouri’s only legitimate big man but the 6-8 senior forward is very effective.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• &lt;b&gt;Learning experience.&lt;/b&gt; Wright and  several of his Villanova players echoed that sentiment following the game. “we’ll learn from this,” Cheek said. “We’ll watch the tape, get back to practice and just get better.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4cd9-8ZQPI09gW9fSdiUbVdUqnFFic2-VAIxu7iV1YLkcb6JPi5dX9_h2Fme9wSZGGLQPp9kvSb5muIBx1c4vF6ruOqWjlxO79nlgHE5QXV8AzQb8IiJlkHIYWsiPpcGVf0x4SJ7oKFV/s1600/RF11120703.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4cd9-8ZQPI09gW9fSdiUbVdUqnFFic2-VAIxu7iV1YLkcb6JPi5dX9_h2Fme9wSZGGLQPp9kvSb5muIBx1c4vF6ruOqWjlxO79nlgHE5QXV8AzQb8IiJlkHIYWsiPpcGVf0x4SJ7oKFV/s320/RF11120703.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;View of court from&lt;br /&gt;upper press box&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Spent the first half recording possessions longhand. Came up with 34 per team, the same as the formula yielded off the box score. Missouri led 42-29 at the break with a noticeable 125-85 advantage in offensive efficiency.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Missouri is 8-0. Villanova is now 5-3 with a Saturday game at Temple next on tap.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Marquette vs. Washington&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The night cap of the V saw Marquette edge Washington 79-77 in a game settled on the last possession. The pace and efficiency:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana;font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Off.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Poss.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Eff.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Marquette&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;74&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;107&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Washington&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;71&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;109&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One of those rare occurrences, Washington won the efficiency battle but not the won-lost ‘war’.  Huskies had a 46-28% lead in offensive rebounding percentage. Interestingly, Marquette had the edge 31-7% in free throw rate. Usually teams ‘owning’ the glass get to the line more.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A reason Marquette visited the line (27 to 10 in free throw attempts) more was their ability to attack the basket. They led 10-0 in fast break points and penetrated well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhBzEXDFPx4cqDtzlRj2eQadxKHJfuf4w74D-9p7hwbyqRHKyWZZjSvhf32rTWeM3x-57DkKTDDV-tfUSJCiVuyx5841bA91p7tT3AN2jT-CdB5qvD_5AQHXOb6A8oZoLQ4K3PdjWjzc1/s1600/RF11120701.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhBzEXDFPx4cqDtzlRj2eQadxKHJfuf4w74D-9p7hwbyqRHKyWZZjSvhf32rTWeM3x-57DkKTDDV-tfUSJCiVuyx5841bA91p7tT3AN2jT-CdB5qvD_5AQHXOb6A8oZoLQ4K3PdjWjzc1/s320/RF11120701.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The scoreboard tells the story of game two&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:11pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Marquette coach Buzz Williams is a tempo free advocate who discussed Washington’s efficiency in  the post game press conference. Williams is a stickler in preaching the value and numerical meaning of a possession to his players. Little surprise that Marquette had an outstanding 14% TO rate, as opposed to the 23% of the Huskies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jae Crowder (18 points) hit one three all night. It was the deciding basket for Marquette as a Washington attempt pon the next possession missed at the buzzer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The leading scorers and Manley numbers:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;4&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Manley&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Pts&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Eff.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Darius Johnson-Odom (MU)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Terrence Ross (WU)&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;19&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;24&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Marquette’s &lt;b&gt;Jae Crowder&lt;/b&gt; had a Manley Efficiency of 17 along with his 18 points.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• &lt;b&gt;Chris Otule&lt;/b&gt; of Marqueete went out with a knee injury after the first two minutes. The 6-11 junior averages just over 5 p[oints per game but Williams felt his loss was significant in Marquette’s defending Washington’s ball screens.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Marquette is 8-0, Washington is now 4-3.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;• Huskies are spending a few more days in New York. They will take in a movie, two plays then on Saturday face Duke back at Madison Square Garden.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3A21xnM0P6PrUnz4kF33xQXmHzu3fQ0SZFSsfKF035RGX6WfsluL7UULhwkzI4jDAI-NHYqLyoc5sLxtS8i-hDba02OhjRgWAmllzTQXTFKOVdTMkNYxGtfn90Jbu9ZSO-yI8FuWIBWz/s1600/RF11120705.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;240&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3A21xnM0P6PrUnz4kF33xQXmHzu3fQ0SZFSsfKF035RGX6WfsluL7UULhwkzI4jDAI-NHYqLyoc5sLxtS8i-hDba02OhjRgWAmllzTQXTFKOVdTMkNYxGtfn90Jbu9ZSO-yI8FuWIBWz/s320/RF11120705.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Villanova was the only schol to bring cheerleaders.&lt;br /&gt;Here Ray is enjoying the company&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/7017505745774852367/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=7017505745774852367' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/7017505745774852367'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/7017505745774852367'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2011/12/guest-contributor-ray-floriani-jimmy-v.html' title='Guest Contributor Ray Floriani -- The Jimmy V Classic'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULiCAqbAuUTo2JW29LJEleRpiCI5pxPra7PxhmkHTaAmucQhCb2wQ9fBfUukTpTknxcK6L4akP6P7uxHR6uR0m7VnUmp9swCCIfj1AtcoYSTIZbb3DreBBvrX9ikAmf6elyRtPu72JSj0/s72-c/RF11120704.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4753743645741034308.post-1070212372871003199</id><published>2011-12-05T03:35:00.001-05:00</published><updated>2011-12-07T10:34:07.623-05:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Achraf Yacoubou"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Big 5"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Maalik Wayns"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Markus Kennedy"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Maurice Sutton"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Mouphtaou Yarou"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Penn"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Post game analysis"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Ty Johnson"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Zack Rosen"/><title type='text'>Penn Post Game -- Closing Out</title><content type='html'>&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;They Were on Fire, and Then...&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There were times in the first half when it appeared, Big 5 game/rivalry or not, Villanova was going to sweep Penn right out of the Pavilion. The &#39;Cats opened with a 12-4 run in the game&#39;s first five minutes on their way to a 73-65 win over their Big 5 rival. The score understated the Wildcats&#39; domination...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Score&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Poss&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;PPP&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;eFG%&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;TO%&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Penn&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.50&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;33.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td&gt;Villanova&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.50&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;75.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The teams were on track for a 32 possession half and a 64 possession game...with a score of 96-32 Villanova. Numbers too good to be sustained...and the skeptics were not disappointed. Not before Villanova doubled the score on Penn, 32-16 near the 3:00 mark of the first half. The Wildcats took a solid 18 point lead, 38-20, into the intermission.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&quot;I thought it was important (with &lt;b&gt;Maalik Wayns&lt;/b&gt; out with two first half fouls) that we did not let him (Penn point guard &lt;b&gt;Zack Rosen&lt;/b&gt;) get started...&quot; Coach Wright asserted in the post game press conference, &quot;...because once he gets going, it&#39;s really tough to stop him...&quot; This served as the explanation for Penn&#39;s point guard &lt;b&gt;Zack Rosen&lt;/b&gt;&#39;s second half explosion. Going into the half with six points on 2-4 (0-1, 2-3) from the floor and 2-2 from the line, Penn&#39;s preseason favorite to take Player of the Year honors in the Big 5 used the time to gather himself, and returned to the floor to record 17 more points as he engineered the Quakers&#39; second half rush to close the gap. Though they fell short, Penn whittled a deficit that bulged to 18 early in the half down to four with 0:15 left to play. Rosen&#39;s three pointer (one of seven they managed to convert after shooting 0-7 in the first half) brought the Quakers to 65-69, but they could get no closer as the young Wildcats hit their free throws to push the margin back out to eight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht32vFXr7uH7cdLaplRDN7MiDmxvyPqSK2bf1xoVQw1IJ-2umfefwYmcItNym6EKIHyrVDT8UAraEtbIhuj-Qx6OJ4AAbXpi-JU5V1mWUf2rovmTqk7v-G4t_xiJM36Ae5NWRI9Nq5y5jH/s1600/VUPenn001.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;180&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht32vFXr7uH7cdLaplRDN7MiDmxvyPqSK2bf1xoVQw1IJ-2umfefwYmcItNym6EKIHyrVDT8UAraEtbIhuj-Qx6OJ4AAbXpi-JU5V1mWUf2rovmTqk7v-G4t_xiJM36Ae5NWRI9Nq5y5jH/s320/VUPenn001.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With Maalik Wayns on the bench&lt;br /&gt;Zack Rosen schools Achraf Yacoubou (24) in first half action&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The bloggers over at &lt;a href=&quot;http://vuhoops.com/&quot;&gt;VUHoops.com&lt;/a&gt; focus on Villanova&#39;s nine game winning streak over Penn and how the squad converted at the line to bring home the win in their piece, &amp;quot;&lt;a href=&quot;http://vuhoops.com/2011/12/03/villanova-leads-penn-38-20-at-the-half/&quot;&gt;9 Straight for Cats Over Quakers&lt;/a&gt;&amp;quot;. The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thenovablog.com/&quot;&gt;Nova Blog&lt;/a&gt; noted Penn&#39;s second half rally in &amp;quot;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thenovablog.com/2011/12/3/2609011/villanova-holds-off-penns-second-half-rally&quot;&gt;Villanova Holds Off Penn&#39;s...&lt;/a&gt;&amp;quot; and how the Wildcats preserved the win. The University site posted the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.villanova.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/120311aab.html&quot;&gt;AP wire story&lt;/a&gt; and the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.villanova.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2011-2012/game7.html&quot;&gt;official boxscore&lt;/a&gt;. The breakdown by halves&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table align=&quot;center&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffcc&quot; cellpadding=&quot;3&quot; cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Verdana; font-size:10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Opponent&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; colspan=&quot;4&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Penn&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;6&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1st&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2nd&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;Pace&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;33.1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;33.4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;66.5&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td colspan=&quot;5&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offense&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot; colspan=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Defense&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr bgcolor=&quot;#c0c0c0&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1st&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2nd&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1st&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2nd&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;Rating&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;114.8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;104.8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;109.8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;60.4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;134.8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;97.8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;eFG%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;62.1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28.8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;46.4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;29.2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;66.1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;50.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;TORate&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;21.2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16.5&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;24.2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18.1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;OR%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;33.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;35.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16.7&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;33.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;24.2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;FTA/FGA&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;17.2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;92.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;52.7&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;33.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;16.1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;23.6&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;FTM/FGA&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.9&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76.9&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;40.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;25.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;12.9&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;18.2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;ARate&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;60.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;71.4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;63.6&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;14.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;58.8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;45.8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;Blk%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;10.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;4.2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.5&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.5&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;Stl%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.7&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.9&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;9.1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;3.1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;6.1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;PPWS&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.21&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.94&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.06&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.72&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.35&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;1.06&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;2FG%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;47.4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;46.2&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;46.9&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;46.7&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;55.6&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;51.5&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;3FG%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;60.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;7.7&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30.4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;53.8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;31.8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;FT%&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;40.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;83.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;75.9&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;75.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;80.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;76.9&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;%2FG&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;47.4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;34.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;41.1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;70.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;44.4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;52.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;%3FG&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;47.4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.6&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;28.8&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;0.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;46.7&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;32.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr &gt;&lt;td&gt;%FT&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;5.3&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;57.1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30.1&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;30.0&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;8.9&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td align=&quot;right&quot;&gt;15.4&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Half Time Adjustments&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The pace was dictated by Villanova and remained consistent through both halves. Penn&#39;s marked, half-over-half improvement on offense (or Villanova&#39;s defensive lapse if you wish) was graphic and led by the turnaround on their outside shooting. The Wildcats kept their points per possession rate north of one (1.048 PPP) on the strength of their offensive rebounding, dramatic drop in turnovers and the large number of times they got to the line. From Zack Rosen&#39;s post game comments, &quot;...I don&#39;t know where our confidence was...we want to go out and play with anybody, no matter who it is...and do what &lt;i&gt;we do&lt;/i&gt;. I think in the second half we did what we did...&quot; Indeed, the Quakers hit 7-13 from beyond the arc, One of the minor surprises is how Penn, which racked up a staggering 27 personal fouls managed to keep their entire rotation eligible for play. Three Quakers, Rosen, forward &lt;b&gt;Henry Brooks&lt;/b&gt; and forward/center &lt;b&gt;Cameron Gunter&lt;/b&gt; picked up four fouls apiece while four others had three fouls apiece. Five of Penn&#39;s 18 rostered players are 6-8 and taller. They struggled to block out &lt;b&gt;Mouphtao Yarou&lt;/b&gt;, sending the junior forward to the line for 12 free throw attempts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Notes &amp;amp; Observations&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. About Villanova&#39;s defense -- &quot;We gotta learn we have to play 40 minutes...it&#39;s hard (to maintain defensive intensity), but good teams do that...when you&#39;re young...when you get a lead...the place you rest is on defense. When you&#39;re a veteran...and you&#39;re going to rest, you do it on offense&quot; -- Coach Jay Wright&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. &lt;b&gt;Maalik Wayns&lt;/b&gt; picked up his second foul with nine minutes left in the first half and sat for the balance of the period. He took no shots in the first half, dished two dimes, racked up a steal and committed two turnovers before retiring to the bench. Urged at the half to shoot more, the junior&#39;s line at the finish was 11 points on 2-4 (1-2 from beyond the arc, 1-2 inside) shooting from the field and 6-6 at the line.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVwN7EVsWCrWS2WR34sRU0QvPAYzP_a4FIYFiVQgM9AhT6kYjAPciMohjCXotUmX6GqoewNi6dy2kDqMhVCeYi5wQRirVIZyMcwel4j2v97C4Lk_g8px_akS7eVI6n7MQNXHi780YSA-50/s1600/VUPenn004.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;180&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVwN7EVsWCrWS2WR34sRU0QvPAYzP_a4FIYFiVQgM9AhT6kYjAPciMohjCXotUmX6GqoewNi6dy2kDqMhVCeYi5wQRirVIZyMcwel4j2v97C4Lk_g8px_akS7eVI6n7MQNXHi780YSA-50/s320/VUPenn004.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maalik Wayns&#39; three pointer in the second half&lt;br /&gt;helped staunch a Quaker comeback&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. With Wayns on the bench and Rosen on the loose, the staff with limited options turned to freshmen &lt;b&gt;Ty Johnson&lt;/b&gt; and &lt;b&gt;Achraf Yacoubou&lt;/b&gt; to pick up Wayns&#39; minutes and they did not disappoint. Johnson logged 15 minutes as he manned the point, recording six points while providing three assists to two turnovers. The freshman grabbed a rebound and was credited with a steal. Yacoubou was a bit less productive offensively, but he did dish two dimes while committing one turnover in an 18 minute stint.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4. Yarou racked up a double-double, 21 points and 11 rebounds in 33 minutes of action. The Quakers did not have a player, or combination of players who could contain Yarou.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJuPZV5RdfCE7Buqo_z8He7sX0a7CTQHgQsA6pxGgkR8xw3RHpr8y0VF0J-z4R6vhMMuv1VsdUyvnzXNM-mrXqW8PBdWbV5LaQKE6PR_E3nC0Foe1FQ8wdD1EE_9CerQ0s8NPaNW3Mcnn/s1600/VUPenn002.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;180&quot; width=&quot;320&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJuPZV5RdfCE7Buqo_z8He7sX0a7CTQHgQsA6pxGgkR8xw3RHpr8y0VF0J-z4R6vhMMuv1VsdUyvnzXNM-mrXqW8PBdWbV5LaQKE6PR_E3nC0Foe1FQ8wdD1EE_9CerQ0s8NPaNW3Mcnn/s320/VUPenn002.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ty Johnson directs the Wildcats late in the first half&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;5. With the win, the latest in a streak of nine (as reported by VUHoops.com), Villanova now holds a 39-14 edge over Penn in their Big 5 series. This is the least competitive of the head-to-head series within the Big 5.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Arial;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCxQhzJ0gDDJKmvY2-a3GHHIaxiqAx5znot4xgqE6b3SLzSlY_9Rpgj9gTmev1Fp8WVr-xLjz-iT8Js4cKqmPgqnTWrrb6zrGBUu-xkb_jER81RXmVVfHuARnbPrWH0WYGF29av9iVp1T/s1600/VUPenn003.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqCxQhzJ0gDDJKmvY2-a3GHHIaxiqAx5znot4xgqE6b3SLzSlY_9Rpgj9gTmev1Fp8WVr-xLjz-iT8Js4cKqmPgqnTWrrb6zrGBUu-xkb_jER81RXmVVfHuARnbPrWH0WYGF29av9iVp1T/s320/VUPenn003.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Penn&#39;s Coach Jerome Allen directs the Quakers&lt;br /&gt;from the sidelines&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div xmlns=&quot;http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml&quot; align=&quot;justify&quot; style=&quot;font-family:Tahoma;font-size:9pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;Roster Moves&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The staff used an eight man rotation against Penn, the shallowest this season, as junior forward/center &lt;b&gt;Maurice Sutton&lt;/b&gt; dislocated his right thumb in practice this week. He is expected to miss between two and three weeks. Do not look for him before the Big East season. Freshman forward &lt;b&gt;Markus Kennedy&lt;/b&gt; collided with &lt;b&gt;JayVaughn Pinkston&lt;/b&gt; in practice and sustained a shoulder injury. Coach Wright hopes he will be ready Tuesday for the Missouri game in Madison Square Garden.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/feeds/1070212372871003199/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4753743645741034308&amp;postID=1070212372871003199' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/1070212372871003199'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/4753743645741034308/posts/default/1070212372871003199'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2011/12/penn-post-game-closing-out.html' title='Penn Post Game -- Closing Out'/><author><name>greyCat</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/08205379240405158462</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht32vFXr7uH7cdLaplRDN7MiDmxvyPqSK2bf1xoVQw1IJ-2umfefwYmcItNym6EKIHyrVDT8UAraEtbIhuj-Qx6OJ4AAbXpi-JU5V1mWUf2rovmTqk7v-G4t_xiJM36Ae5NWRI9Nq5y5jH/s72-c/VUPenn001.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>

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