Upsets Begin a Day Early

It is not quite March--thanks to the extra day this year--but the madness has already begun in conference tournament play as the second and third seeds in the Big South, Coastal Carolina and Campbell, were knocked off in quarterfinal play by double digits by VMI and Winthrop. Don't care about the Big South? Well if you have any interest in a March Madness rotisserie, you had better pay attention to the doings this week in Asheville.

Thanks to the "First Four" games that open the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday of the opening week, teams that normally would have been of little consideration got the huge boost of a potential extra game. VCU got the lion's share of attention last year, and for good reason, but the actual star of week one was little=known UNC-Asheville guard Matt Dickey who scored 43 points as Asheville beat Arkansas-Little Rock on Tuesday in OT before losing to Pittsburgh on Thursday. And so despite going home before close to half of the tournament actually played a game, Asheville had greatly effected scoring leagues. Dickey's 43 was more than or equal to the points tallied by eight of the players selected in our 19-man first round including the top two selections (Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler of Duke). Running mate J.P. Primm added 36. Those are very good totals and you will see players like those two (or those two as they lead Asheville again this year) moving up draft boards.

So have fun watching the Big East and Big Ten games this weekend, but the guys to beat in your tournament will be scouting the Big South title game this Saturday at noon Eastern on ESPN2.

ESPN Finally Comes Around

After decades of success by mid majors in the NCAA tournament, ESPN finally accepts them as the potential threat they are every March. Everyone is now on the bandwagon, even guys like Vitale and Bilas who would throw a temper tantrum every time a mid major conference got an at-large bid over the 7th best team in the ACC. So now these buffoons are crowing about how good they think Murray State and others are as if we need their approval to accept what we know as fact.
But please do not listen to them. No, not that mid majors are not worthy. But if you listened to these guys you would only focus on the couple of teams they feel are the best of the mid majors and miss out on opportunities to pick winners and draft potential March stars. You see for every mid major we expect to make a run, there have been numerable mid majors to make runs without having received the blessing of ESPN analysts. The CAA, for example, produced two final four teams recently in George Mason and VCU who were not getting love from those supposedly in the know. In fact, they largely did not even want those particular teams in their respective tournaments at all.
So we ave learned to scout all mid major teams and not just the 1-2 darlings of the week. You will need to do this yourselves--or wait for me to do it for you--as ESPN does not want to waste their time on anyone under the radar. Take this year's Wichita State squad, who appeared to be the second best team in the MVC earlier in the season despite an impressive record. ESPN never mentioned anything about them, with the little attention given to their excellent conference being reserved for Creighton. But then the Shockers racked up even more impressive wins and entered the upper echelon of mid majors in ESPN's eyes. They can now talk about them for 10-15 seconds a week after ignoring them for tree months. But still ignored? Belmont, Drexel, Middle Tennessee, Long Beach State, Oral Roberts etc as ESPN would much rather spend their time on bigger conference teams, even those with middling chances to make the tourney. Heck, forget the little guys. How about Temple, who is 22-5 and atop te Atlantic 10 and has a win over Duke? Because their games are rarely on ESPN we never hear about them. That is ridiculous as we have had teams from that conference reach the elite eight over the past decade.
So come back for proper analysis and player rankings.

Dragons Slaughter Vikings

While the title of this post may make a good movie plot line, it is in fact a tribute to an impressive performance by Drexel today on the road at Cleveland State. Now 23-5, Drexel improved its case for a potential at-large bid to the NCAA tournament with a 69-49 romp. Freshman guard Damion Lee led the way with 18 points, close to six above his average, on 5-6 shooting as Drexel shot 49% from the floor while defensively allowing the Vikings to soot a pathetic 27%. Senior forward Samme Givens was also a difference maker for the road team, grabbing 14 boards and blocking two shots. He only scored 8 points, however, and has been in single digits in five of the last six games. Givens is the team's third leading scorer at 11.6. Leading scorer Franz Massenat, at 13.7 per, scored 10 points today but had scored 22-20-16-25 over his previous four and is someone to look for if the Dragons do indeed make the tournament. Right now they are tied with George Mason atop the CAA at 14-2 but have a slight disadvantage come CAA tourney time as the other three favorites for the tournament played in Richmond are Virginia-based schools (GM, VCU and ODU).
As for Cleveland State, the Horizon will be a one-bid league and they are in the hunt for a high seed. The regular season is hugely important as games in that tourney are played at the higher seed's arena. They have had some March success recently, although they will obviously punt that category if they are matched up with rival Butler.

One Month To Go

The busy week of college basketball has ended with a number of questions answered and still others needing more time. Any doubts to Kentucky's ability to make a long run in the tournament were answered by their rout of Florida and solid win at an upset-minded Vandy. They look like the top seed to me. Syracuse, who has something to say about that, did what they had to do in holding off a game Georgetown squad and then pulling away from Connecticut. We will know more about the Orange tonight when they take on Louisville. The rest of the teams battling for top seeds have spent the past few weeks switching places with each other. Down this week? Ohio State, North Carolina, Baylor (especially Baylor) and Florida. Up? Duke, Michigan State and Kansas. Each week brings new challenges and the Jayhawks need to win at KSU tonight, MSU has both Wisconsin and Purdue on the slate this week and Duke has an improved NC State club scheduled for later this week.
The rest of the nation's best teams also have a month to improve their standing. It is difficult to understand why Temple and Wichita State remain unranked but they just need to keep winning. Of course what the polls say and what the eventual seedings look like are usually two different things. It will be interesting to see how the tournament committee deals with the large number of very good teams hailing from second tier conferences. Who deserves a higher seed, Florida State or Gonzaga?

Super Saturday

Okay, here goes. You want huge match-ups? College basketball has them in full force today. While the games garnering the most attention are Kentucky at Vanderbilt, Michigan State at Ohio State, Baylor at Missouri, Connecticut at Syracuse and UVA at North Carolina, the most intriguing games may involve rivals from outside the biggest conferences. San Diego State at UNLV and Wichita State at Creighton are as important as any other game. Ditto plenty of other games that may not feature top ten programs but feature teams fighting for conference and tournament seeding. sit back and enjoy and then lets sift through the results.

Big Night

If you are a fan of college basketball and you have other plans for tonight...CANCEL THEM!
At 7pm the big games are Kansas at Baylor and Georgetown at Syracuse. At 9 we have Duke at North Carolina. There are some other intriguing games, of course, and I can update everyone later on any key results, but all of the attention will be focused on these six programs. Five of those six are past champions and they all have their sights on top seeds.
Kansas has a lot to prove as the Jayhawks have lost their last two road games and need this win to remain in the hunt for the conference crown. They almost had their last loss, at Mizzou, in the bag but failed to make anything in the clutch. Baylor, despite being 21-2, needs to convince everyone that they are legit. They have won their last three without covering any of them and need a solid performance to be considered a legitimate national title contender. Losing by 18 to KU in January should be all the motivation they truly need. Look for guard Pierre Jackson, who shot 3-9 for 11 pts in that game but typically plays better in big games, to step up tonight for the Bears.
Georgetown is a surprising 18-4 and can make a statement tonight that there is more meat behind their good season than anyone gives them credit for. Guard Jason Clark will need to regain his scoring touch; since dropping 31 on DePaul on January 17 he has averaged less than 11 pts per in four games to bring his season average down to 15.2. Syracuse knows it needs to match Kentucky's impressive performance last night to stay in the hunt for number one. With Fab Melo back, the Orange should be too tough tonight but that rivalry has produced so many great moments that we will need to check in.
As for Duke, they were scolded by Coach K after their pathetic performance against Miami. They have amazingly lost two of the last three at Cameron, so perhaps it is best that they are on the road tonight as they have had some success on the road in this bitter series. Which Tar Heels group will show up? They need to take control of this game from the get go or the team's usual mishandling of pressure will begin to take its toll. Teams like Syracuse and Kentucky are probably rooting for UNC because if they continue to blow games and drop to the 4-5 zone, they could prove to be a very tough regional semi match-up. I expect guard Kendall Marshall to take advantage of Duke's poor backcourt defense and lead the Heels to a victory.
As for last night, Kentucky made a clear statement of their talent level. Florida does not match up well with them but has time to tinker with their usually successful formula. They should have pressed more and shot more 15 footers. The other noteworthy outcome was Creighton's second straight upset defeat. I know winning in the Missouri Valley is difficult but the Bluejays are quickly losing any chance they had at a top seed. And after what happened to rival Wichita State last year--wen the Shockers went from 20-4 to out of the tournament with mediocre play down the stretch--Creighton needs to step it up. Next up? Wichita State in Omaha.

Pennant Races Heat Up

Okay, college hoops fans. This is it. Buckle your chin straps and begin to focus. With the pro football season ending (gloriously I might add), the final push for NCAA tournament bids and seeding begins now. I equate it to Labor Day for MLB. Hopefully the team you root for is not only in the mix, but will not pull a Boston Red Sox or Atlanta Braves from the 2011 baseball season. Plus scouting players and teams for making out brackets and drafting for stat leagues is most important over the next 30 days.
Tonight features a marquee match-up with Florida traveling to Lexington. The Wildcats have a great opportunity to become the overall number one seed, while the red hot Gators have a shot to move up to a number two seed. Tonight is important to them as they are really floating between 2 through 4. As for the players, scouting Kentucky tonight is imperative as we need to see which of their young players steps up in a pressure game. Kentucky enjoys balance on offense with six players scoring between 9.6 pts per and 13.9. But forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who is third in scoring at 12.6 per, scored 24 in a huge late December win over Louisville and 17 against UNC earlier in that month. If he plays well tonight then he will firmly have an arrow next to his name for my March draft board. As for Florida, they are going to take threes and hopefully, for their sake, hit a lot of threes. Obviously that negates a lot of what Anthony Davis adds to the Kentucky defense. The Gators also have five players score in double figures and it will be interesting to see how effective their offense can be in such a tough place to play. If guard Kenny Boynton scores anywere near his 17.6 average then he will make a claim to the middle of round one in March drafts. It will also be interesting to see how super frosh guard Brad Beal holds up in the Rupp Arena environment. It should be compelling viewing, tonight at 7.
Tonight we also have another chance to see Ohio State, who is also a favorite for a number one seed. They should be able to beat an up-and-down Purdue squad. I am also interested to see how Creighton bounces back from their third loss of the season as they take on Evansville. Iowa State at Stillwater is also a key game for a team, ISU, hoping to improve their seeding while the same is true for Alabama, heading to play at Auburn tonight.

Super Bowl Break

Go Giants!!!!!!

Remembering Upsets Past

Reading and then writing about Charlie Spoonhour had me reminiscing about the earlier years of our NCAA tournament stat league, which was founded in 1989. I had drafted H. Waldman in a late round in 1994, but the Billikens were one-and-done that year and H was hardly a factor. But it was the next season that St. Louis proved that players from mid majors that win a game or two tend to have a great influence on the standings of our league. The Billikens were seeded 9th against Minnesota and they dispatced the Gophers 64-61 to advance to round two. They then battled top seeded Wake Forest, who were led by Randolph Childress and Tim Duncan, before losing 64-59.
Three St. Louis players, Erwin Claggett, Scott Highmark and Waldman were drafted that season. Claggett went in round five to the team co-owned by C.J. and Marty. His 28 points helped them finish fourth and collect some money. Frank then drafted Highmark in round 7 and he ended up the leading scorer for St. Louis with 40 total including 22 in round two. With the two leading scorers off the board Jim then jumped on Waldman, who only scored 13.
There are plenty of lessons to be learned from that small sample size. For one, when mid major teams are balanced there is usually value with the second leading scorer. There was not much separating Claggett and Higmark, yet Claggett went two full rounds ahead of him. He also drew athletic guards defending him while Highmark was also out on the perimeter but against a forward who may not have been as comfortable. Frank, buoyed by Highmark's 40, finished 3rd. Jim, who drafted Waldman too soon as he was not as good as Highmark, finished last.
So, draft players from the mid majors--but always look for value.

Farewell Spoon

Charlie Spoonhour passed away yesterday at 72 after two years of battling a major lung disease. Spoon was a unique character, part Hee Haw extra, part hero of the underdog, who first built Southwest Missouri into a regional power and then took St. Louis to previously unknown heights.

Spoon came out of an era that did not have mid majors or non-BCS-conference teams. There were just good basketball teams and before UCLA became dominant, schools like Cincinnati, Loyola and Texas Western won titles and even during the great Bruins run, squads like St. Bonaventure, Jacksonville and Memphis enjoyed great runs. Yes the Big Ten and ACC were powerful, and then the Big East emerged, but the less heralded had plenty of opportunity to shine. And so Spoonhour coached a combined 16 years at Southwest Mo (nee Missouri State)and then St. Louis and made those squads winners. At Southwest he went to five NCAA tournaments in his final six years (through 1992), upsetting 4th seeded Clemson in round one of the 1987 NCAA tournament before narrowly losing to eventual champion Kansas in round two. That squad was led by one of the finest players in school history, guard Winston Garland. Spoonhour then took over the awful St. Louis program, which won only five games in the year (1991-2) before he arrived. Although five players bolted the program, Spoon took what was left and taught them the combination that would bring success: check egos at door, play tough defense and shoot threes. The Billikens won 12 games in year one and then 23 in year two, becoming as popular (by 1997-98 they were ranked 6th nationally in attendance) as they were successful. Suddenly Spoon's famous turtlenecks became Midwest fashion statements. In 1994, in year two of the Spoonhour turnaround, St. Louis took 23 three pointers a game and hit enough to reach its first NCAA tournament in 27 years and in the following season's tourney upset Minnesota in round one before losing to top seeded Wake Forest by five points. The stars of that team, Erwin Claggett, Scott Highmark and H (yes, just H) Waldman were great lower round picks in those early years of the tournament stat league I help run. Claggett remains the second leading scorer in school history.

A few years later Spoonhour coached perhaps his finest player when St Louis native Larry Hughes stayed home to run the Billikens offense. Hughes scored 21 pts per game as a freshmen in leading St. Louis to an at large bid to the tournament. As a 10th seed, St. Louis knocked off UMass in round one before running into a team they could not match up with, eventual champion Kentucky. The Wildcats were basically a bigger, deeper and more talented St. Louis and so the Billikens were blown out of the tourney. Hughes then stunned Spoonhour and the community by bolting for the pros. Spoonhour then coached only one more season before temporarily retiring. In 2001 he went to UNLV for three solid but unspectacular seasons. The expectations were amped up for the fun-loving Spoonhour and "Spoonball" was not what Rebel fans wanted. He retired for good and became a popular speaker and broadcaster. His lifetime record in Division One (Spoon also coached juco ball before taking Southwest Missouri) was 373-202.

Unique, fun-loving coaches like Spoonhour do not seem to exist anymore. And that is a shame as his lessons of teamwork and remembering that basketball is just a game are more needed than ever.