College Basketball Gameday Discussion

[Built Ford Tough]

This Duke team really doesn't impress me all that much from what I have seen so far (Michigan St. game and the first 10 minutes of this Tennessee game). I haven't had a chance to catch an Florida, Louisville or Syracuse game yet, but out of all of the early season favourties that I have seen, Duke impresses me the least.

 

I don't know what exactly it is about them that turns me off, but something about them makes me think that their current 6th seed isn't a true indication of where they are among the best teams in college. They aren't a bad team by any means, but they don't see to me to look like a top 5 or 6 team in the country.

 

One thing I do like about them is their backcourt, though. Assuming Rivers becomes less of a blackhole during the course of the season, I think him and Curry compliment each other very well. Neither are true point guards, but both have good enough ball handling to serve as point guards in the college game (Curry could develop into one, but Rivers is definitely a shooting guard). I do like the inside-out threat they have going with Rivers' strong slashing ability combined with Curry's excellent shooting. Rivers still has a lot of work to do on his game, but come Janurary/February, I think he might be one of the better scorers in the nation, although he likely still won't give much of anything else.

Edited November 21, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[Built Ford Tough]

Rivers really needs to learn to use his teammates more. You can tell that he has talent with the ball in his hands, but it seems like once he gets the ball the only thing going through his mind is either driving into the paint or taking a jumper. He could be a really solid playmaker if he would use his teammates more rather than forcing up these wild layups that have nearly no chance of going in.

 

It would only make him a more effective player out there and open up more room for him.

 

The other thing I noticed is that his left hand is really weak. He missed 3 layups/floaters with his left, two of which didn't even hit rim. He is always trying to go to his right and the times when he does go left, he seems to be a bit out of control.

 

He has talent, but his game certainly needs a lot of work if he is going to become a star in the NBA like many people believe. It should be fun watching his development this season and next (I think it would be best if he stayed for his sophomore season).

Edited November 22, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[Built Ford Tough]

Memphis-Tennessee are currently in OT, tied at 83.

 

Memphis had a double digit lead at one point but the Vols defense in the 2nd half, holding Memphis to just 28 points, allowed them to get back into the game. Memphis has went into a second half shooting slump for the 2nd straight game. Yesterday it cost them a win, will it cost them another one today?

[Built Ford Tough]

Tied at 91 with 17 seconds left.

 

Tennessee ball.

 

EDIT: Mayman (sp?) misses the shot from about 10 feet and Adonis Thomas nearly converts from behind half court as time expires.

 

Double OT now.

Edited November 22, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[GamerGuy]

Memphis should've just held onto the ball instead of trying to take it up court. Maymon probably would of made the shot had he not faded away so much. He had a great look at the basket there too.

[Built Ford Tough]

Memphis wins 99-97 in 2OT after Maymon misses a turnaround at the buzzer.

 

He never should've had the opportunity, though, if not for a boneheaded play by a Memphis player. Tennessee turned the ball over on the inbounds play, but the Tiget player who got the steal started celebrating by running up the court, without realizing that there was still a second and a half left on the clock. He got called for a travel with 0.8 left on the clock and gave the Vols another shot.

 

Even though he missed the shot at the buzzer, Maymon had a phenomenal game tonight, perhaps the best game in the history of the Maui Invitational. He finished the game with 32 points, including a shot at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. To go along with his 32 points, he set a Maui Invitational record by grabbing 20 rebounds, breaking the previous record of 19 which was held by 3 players, one of which was Nick Collison.

 

It really is a shame that the Vols couldn't pull out the upset and saw a game as great as this go to waste. He was a man among boys in the paint today.

 

For Memphis, the Bartons and Thomas all had very good games. Both Bartons had 20+ points (will with 25, Antonio with 21) while Thomas chipped in with 19 of his own. He is still raw and needs some cleaning up of his game, but when he gets accustomed to the college game and is comfortable with his teams offense and system, I think Thomas is going to be a very good player. He is very talented and has a bright future ahead of him.

Edited November 22, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[Real Deal]

KU/Duke tonight. I'll probably post an individual topic for it.

[Real Deal]

TIME: 10:00 PM ET

TV: ESPN

[Real Deal]

The one thing interesting about the KU/Duke game tonight? Duke doesn't have anyone that can defend Robinson in their starting five, which means they will pull a Plumlee off the bench (probably Mason) to start. Curry played a smart game last night against Michigan, could be the guy we need to stop, so Taylor needs to step his game up (stop taking bad shots, have a consistently good night on defense). We have to attack the basket, get a Plumlee in foul trouble, and then proceed to go hard with Robinson and Withey near the rim. GO KU.

[TheHutch]

GO KANSAS!

[Make It Naaaashty]

Kinda bummed I'm going to miss this game but whatever.

[Real Deal]

KU still has a lot of work to do. Duke got away with a travel or two, but that's irrelevant. Maintaining leads seem to be a problem, and transition defense...could be laziness, who knows. Taylor is a turnover machine, as expected, but 11 TO's is unacceptable, against any defender. And, hey...it wasn't too long ago that we were eliminated from the tourney when we let VC hit almost half of their threes in the game. Oh...were we playing a 3-out, 2-in zone offense, or just standing around and running a two-man game? So frustrating...

[Real Deal]

Ha...basically posting Facebook status updates, lol. I'm just pissed. I knew this was going to happen.

 

Those travels hurt, now that I think about it. We just fell apart, too. Ugh.

[Real Deal]

Almost over...anyone watching? ESPN2.

[Built Ford Tough]

I had to work tonight so I wasn't able to watch it.

 

Even though Carolina lost, I still think that they are the best team in the country. Kentucky will likely get the #1 seed in the next set of rankings because of this loss, and you can definitely make the argument that the Wildcats are more talented than the Tar Heels, but I think that UNC is the better team.

 

They just had an off game tonight. Hell, it wasn't even an off night. It was more of an off 5-10 minutes to start the 2nd half and they just happened to dig themselves a hole too deep to get out of.

 

I may be a bit of a homer here, though. I don't have a specific team I constantly follow and jump from team to team based on the players I like, but UNC has been "my team" over the past two years because of Harrison Barnes and Kendall Marshall.

[valo35]

The Tar Heels have a lot of work to do if they want to be considered the best team in the nation.

 

First off is defending the pick and roll, as well as the three point line. They don't have any especially good defensive players, especially on the perimeter so guys are able to get past them easily, and into the pain easily. The whole team looks to play the passing lanes/crash on the guy driving, which opens the 3 point shot. It's something they have struggled with going to last year and will continue to struggle with this year.

 

They don't have any three point shooting outside of Hairston on the bench, Marshall doesn't like to get played physically and full court pressure bothers him, especially against athletic players. He also never shoots off of the pick and roll, which makes it a whole lot easier to play his pick and roll. Barnes can't create off the dribble, is just a one dribble and shoot kind of person. Finally, their big men are paper soft, especially Zeller. Easily boxed out, doesn't grab the ball but just kind of paws at it like a kitten, and doesn't like getting played tough and physical down low. Michigan State showed that, but was too young on the perimeter to capitalize on this.

 

Now to their credit it takes a certain kind of team to beat UNC, unfortunately there are quite a handful of those teams that have the ability to full court pressure Marshall with athletic guards, body up the big men, and shoot the three. Unfortunately Duke, Kentucky, Ohio State, Syracuse, the big dogs from this year ALL have that ability.

[Built Ford Tough]

Time: 9:30 PM EST

TV: ESPN

 

Big game tonight between two top 3 teams (some polls have Duke 4th, though).

 

The Buckeyes have relied on 2011 national freshman of the year Jared Sullinger (18.8 points per game, 10.7 rebounds), William Buford (17.7 ppg) and Aaron Craft (9.2 ppg, 33 assists, 21 steals) while developing chemistry with a young team.

 

"You can't give (Sullinger) easy ones," Duke forward Mason Plumlee said. "You've got to stay between him and the basket. You've got to be physical. He's a good free-throw shooter, so you can't foul him; you can't bail him out with fouls.

 

"You just got to keep him off the glass."

 

Duke spreads its scoring around. In fact, five players -- Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, Austin Rivers, Mason Plumlee and Andre Dawkins -- average double figures.

 

"Duke is a good defensive team, a great basketball team overall," Sullinger said. "Coach K. is a great coach and he always has his teams ready for games like this."

 

No one knows that better than first-year Ohio State video coordinator Greg Paulus, who played for Duke from 2006-09.

 

"It's fun watching (Duke) on film because they play so hard, they share the ball," he said. "As a college basketball fan, they play the right way."

 

More than 19,000 fans will pack Value City Arena for this one, and students have camped outside the building for several days with a fervor usually reserved for football games.

 

"With the Florida game, we thought it was loud," Sullinger said. "Imagine all the hype coming into this game. It's going to be a very loud gym."

 

http://espn.go.com/ncb/preview?gameId=313330194

Edited November 29, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[Built Ford Tough]

There are as many as 27 NBA scouts attending this game.

 

Game just getting underway with OSU jumping out to a 9-0 lead.

Edited November 30, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[AboveLegit]

Great test for Sullinger against a lengthy Duke frontcourt.

[Built Ford Tough]

Nice drive from Rivers. Showed a great first step to get by the initial defender, then had a nice crossover on the help. He also did a solid job of absorbing the contact and finishing the basket. Earlier in the game he had a similar situation where he blew by the defense, but he blew the layup.

 

Duke has done a nice job of staying composed and fighting back into the game after the opening flurry from the Buckeyes. You knew that they would come out absolutely jacked up, and got out to an early 9-0 lead. Since then, Duke has played under control and just ran their offense, which has enabled them to get back into the game.

[AboveLegit]

Rivers' crossover is lethal, haven't seen one guy successfully defend it.

 

Sullinger needs to work on passing out of double teams.

[Built Ford Tough]

Tough call on Mason Plumlee. He did a great job of fighting for position against Sullinger, resulting in him catching the ball about 5 feet further out than he would've liked. Then he did an excellent job of using his length to keep Sullinger in front of him. I thought he played that about as well as you can, but I guess the refs didn't think he went straight up and called the foul on him. I thought it was great defense.

 

To add insult to injury, OSU went on a nice little run after that play to stretch their lead to 8 or so.

 

ABL, I agree about Rivers' having a lethal crossover. It is very quick and explosive, which allows him to get by almost anybody. If only he could finish better in traffic. He has had 2 great drives that resulted in nothing as a result of his inability to finish in traffic. His handle is very impressive, though.

[AboveLegit]

Sullinger plays lazy at times, doesn't box out, doesn't play defense, really needs to step it up.

[AboveLegit]

ABL, I agree about Rivers' having a lethal crossover. It is very quick and explosive, which allows him to get by almost anybody. If only he could finish better in traffic. He has had 2 great drives that resulted in nothing as a result of his inability to finish in traffic. His handle is very impressive, though.

Yeah, finishing off drives has been a problem for him all year, but if he can pair that crossover up with the ability to pass out to shooters on the perimeter, he can lead this team in March.

[Built Ford Tough]

Rivers is absolutely filthy. He is just abusing OSU's perimeter defense and getting to the rim at will.

 

This game would be very ugly if it wasn't for him. Duke needs to give him the ball and get the hell out of his way right now.

 

Duke's defense is playing really soft. They aren't fighting through screens, aren't battling down low and are allowing way too many easy looks from 5-12 feet. They really need to be more physical and show a higher compete level defensively or else this game is going to be a blowout, regardless of how well Rivers is playing on the other end of the floor.