College Basketball Gameday Discussion

[AboveLegit]

That's the problem I had with Rivers going to Duke, his style of play doesn't fit in with Coach K. Ultimately it will benefit his game playing under Coach K because he has some maturing to do, but he won't be able to showcase his full skillset.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RCL-BgLBss&feature=youtu.be

 

Sick.

[Built Ford Tough]

I actually thought his first one, followed by the pro hop, was more impressive. He just couldn't finish it off.

 

The explosiveness of the crossover, followed the seamless transition into the pro hop to avoid the help looked so damn smooth.

 

But yeah, he definitely has flaws in his game, particularly his decision making. He is very talented as a scorer, but his overall game needs a lot of work.

 

As for Sullinger, he has had a very good game on the scoresheet, but he hasn't really impressed me much more and looks like the same player he was last year. Granted, he hasn't exactly had a lot of opportunities to showcase much since Duke is immediately sending a 2nd or 3rd defender his way when he catches the ball and he hasn't needed to dominate since the rest of the team is shooting the ball really well, especially Buford.

 

Nothing I have seen from him this season (Florida game and 1st half of this game) has made me change my opinion of him as a pro prospect. A solid, but unspectacular post up 4.

[AboveLegit]

Completely agree, the more I watch him, the more I come away unimpressed. He takes plays off, despite being a talented rebounder he forgets to box out, and a lot of his points come off simple put backs.

 

I like his potential, but I think it will take a while for him to adjust to the NBA game.

[Built Ford Tough]

Rivers doing a nice job running the point. Found Mason and Miles Plumlee for two easy baskets off of his penetration. Sparked a nice little 6-0 run, although it is still a 17 point lead.

 

Not to mention a wicked step back move he made, although he couldn't stick the open jumper.

 

I wasn't impressed with him the last time I watched Duke, but man, he has looked filthy with the ball tonight. His major flaws (lack of a jumper, poor decision making and selfishness) are still evident, but he has done a lot of good things on offense tonight.

[Real Deal]

Now that I'm back at the house, I can comment on this.

 

Here's my comment:

 

LOL.

 

Ohio State is for real. As far as Duke goes, I know they are getting their asses handed to them, but have a little pride. They are playing like they couldn't care less if they were rocked by 30.

[AboveLegit]

Another thing I've noticed, when Sullinger is deep in the post and one of the guards give him the ball, he takes an awful long time going up for the shot.

[Built Ford Tough]

Another thing I've noticed, when Sullinger is deep in the post and one of the guards give him the ball, he takes an awful long time going up for the shot.

 

Its because he has absolutely no lift. He has to use fakes to try and get the opposing big men in the air, or he has to go into their body because he would get his shot blocked if he just went straight up. He has mediocore athleticism and he has average length, which makes it difficult for him to just catch the ball and immediately go up in traffic.

 

It is the major reason why I'm not much of a fan of his as a pro prospect. He can get away with it in college, but he is going to struggle mightily in the pros when he can't just out muscle his defender.

[AboveLegit]

Really makes me wonder why draft sites have him ranked so high.. I guess they assume because he's a great rebounder at this level, that he can turn into the next Kevin Love. Difference is, Love's motor never stops running, he's relentless on the boards and has a very solid shot that extends to the NBA three.

[Built Ford Tough]

Man, OSU is making Duke look like a D-2 team right now. They are getting whatever they want, whenever they want it offensively and defensively, they have Duke playing scared.

 

Just an absolutely dominating performance from OSU.

 

I said earlier in a different Duke game thread (might have actually been the Maui thread) that Duke, despite their top 5 ranking, doesn't really impress me all that much, and this game is showing why. They are way too soft on defense, they are easily outmuscled inside, their offense is heavily reliant on the three as Rivers is the only creator, and he is too selfish to be an ideal playmaker and they have little interior offense. The Plumlee's are nothing more than energy/hustle players as they are limited offensively and Kelly isn't anything special.

 

They almost fell apart against Michigan State when the Spartans started to get physical, they nearly lost to Kansas and they are getting completely outclassed against OSU. They are a good team, but in my opinion they aren't on the level of OSU, Kentucky, UNC or Syracuse.

[Cleveland's Finest]

Was lucky enough to be able to go to this game. First ever game I've seen at OSU, and it was great.

 

DeShaun Thomas was the player of the game easily. This was the best game he's had here, and it was a great sign. Last year he didn't have as big of a role, and we need a lot more from him this year. He really came through for us. Also, Craft did a great job forcing turnovers and getting loose balls. Sullinger looked average against Plumlee, but we still came out with a big win so it's a great sign.

[Built Ford Tough]

Time: 9:30 EST

TV: ESPN

 

Wisconsin leads the nation in scoring defense, giving up 39.2 points per game while limiting teams to 30.5 percent shooting. The Badgers also are the second-most accurate team from long range, connecting on 47.2 percent with nine players hitting at least two 3-pointers this season.

 

Ben Brust, who leads Wisconsin with 12.8 points per game, is averaging 3.2 3-pointers and is shooting 48.7 from beyond the arc.

 

Marshall and the Tar Heels will try to hand Wisconsin (6-0) its first loss. The Badgers defeated BYU 73-56 on Saturday, shooting 13 of 24 from 3-point range. Brust shot 7 of 10 from long range on his way to a career-high 21 points. Jordan Taylor added 18 points and eight assists.

 

Wisconsin is seeking its first 7-0 start since opening 11-0 in 1993-94, but will have to end an eight-game road losing streak against ranked teams to do that.

 

"Carolina is still Carolina," coach Bo Ryan said. "They are still the same players and we've got them in the Dean Dome. So North Carolina isn't any different than when they went out to Vegas. Probably a little ornerier maybe now, but they were going to play hard against us regardless of the loss.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/gametracker/preview/NCAAB_20111130_WI@NC

 

For anybody wondering, Barnes will be in the Carolina lineup.

 

Looking forward to seeing how UNC bounces back from a tough loss to UNLV.

[Built Ford Tough]

Also, just thought I'd mention this for any fellow Canadians, this game will be on The Score, followed by the Gonzaga game, if anybody wants to check out some Canadian talent in Kevin Pangos and Rob Sacre.

 

Not that anybody will likely care, since we seem to be down to about 3 Canadians on here.

[Built Ford Tough]

Very nice up and under move from Henson. He is much more confident in the post this year as opposed to last.

 

Barnes looks pretty shaky to start. Has already had a poor turnover and forced a bad jumper.

 

UNC's defensive rebounding has been bad to start, as well. With a Zeller, Henson and Barnes frontcourt, there is no reason why the Badgers should already have about 3 or 4 offensive rebounds in the first 5 minutes.

 

The battle at the point between Taylor and Marshall is going to be a fun one to watch tonight, though. Definitely interested ins eeing how that matchup goes, especially with how contrasting the styles of these two teams are.

Edited December 1, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[AboveLegit]

Big reason why I'm not particularly confident with UNC moving forward is their rebounding issues.

 

Wisconsin needs to start working Jordan Taylor off more pick and rolls, and he needs to do a better job of finding his cutters. Offense is way too stagnant right now.

[AboveLegit]

That drive by Harrison Barnes with about a minute left in the half is exactly what we need to see more of. He needs to step away from that one dribble one shot mindset and start creating more for himself.

[Built Ford Tough]

Nice drive from Barnes.

 

He saw his team was struggling offensively, so he demanded the ball and basically told everybody to get the hell out of his way. He put his head down and just muscled his way into the paint. He needs to do more of that. I realize that he is just trying to play within the confines of the offense, but there comes a point in time where you just need to get the ball and make something happen.

 

He is too content with just getting his within the flow of the offense. This is a good thing and a bad thing at the same time.

 

UNC up 25-24 at the end of the 1st. They really haven't played well thus far. They aren't playing their game and seem to be content with giving into the Badgers' desire for a slow paced, drag it out game. Considering how they played against UNLV and how uninspired they have looked in this game, Williams can't be happy with how his team has played.

 

If they continue to play like this, Kentucky is going to wipe the floor with them on Saturday.

[AboveLegit]

Barnes has no room to operate with this lineup, Roy Williams needs to spread the floor out.

 

I love McAdoo's motor, he's always active around the paint.

[Built Ford Tough]

Barnes has no room to operate with this lineup, Roy Williams needs to spread the floor out.

 

I love McAdoo's motor, he's always active around the paint.

 

That is the problem with Marshall. As much as I love his ability to run a team and make plays, you can't afford to have him and Strickland on the floor at the same time for extended periods of time. Teams just pack the paint once Barnes catches the ball because there is nobody who you have to worry about shooting from the perimeter, other than Barnes himself.

 

Bullock is a great shooter, but you also can't really have him and Marshall on the floor together for long either, since both are terrible defenders.

 

If there is one thing that has the potential to bite this team in the ass, it is going to be that.

 

 

Barnes is starting to take this game over, though. Both offensively and defensively. When he is on his game, he is an absolute terror on both ends of the floor. He is a game breaker both offensively and defensively. Too bad it takes his team falling behind or some other incident to trigger this kind of emotion from him. If he could play like this all the time, he would be scary.

Edited December 1, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[Built Ford Tough]

Strickland is really locking down Taylor in the 2nd half. Taylor was blowing by Marshall earlier in the game, but he hasn't be able to do much of anything since they switched Strickland on him.

 

Barnes comes off the bench and drills a huge three right away. He has taken over this 2nd half and put the Heels on his back offensively. 18 points for him now.

 

EDIT: To add to my comment about Strickland shutting Taylor down, Marshall gets put on him and immediately gets into the paint and draws the foul. He missed both of the free throws, but it was pretty much the only scoring opportunity he has had since Strickland was put on him.

Edited December 1, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[AboveLegit]

Yeah which is why I don't think much of Marshall's pro potential, because he severely lacking in three major categories, athleticism, scoring, and defense. He's fundamentally sound, he knows the game, but he's pretty much one dimensional.

 

In order for this team to make a deep run in March, Roy's going to need to work with his rotations.

 

On the other hand, Wisconsin's offense is abysmal at times. It's basically everyone standing on the three point line, passing it off to each other, and dancing around with the ball. There's no fluidity to it at all. Taylor has been shut down this half, Strickland is doing an excellent job on him.

[Built Ford Tough]

Nice play to get Bullock the open look.

 

Marshall really sold that he was going to be going down low the Zeller, who had nice position deep and Barnes set a great backscreen to free Bullock up for the curl. That was the first perfectly executed set play from UNC in a while. Most of their offense this half has come from broken plays. Either Marshall creating something or Barnes.

 

The two turning points for UNC were Barnes' aggressiveness in looking for his own shot on offense and Strickland's defense on Taylor in the 2nd half. He has held him to 1-7 shooting in the half and Wisconsin's offense has become completely stagnant without him being able to create anything.

 

EDIT: And just as I give Strickland all of this praise, he comes into the game and makes two absolutely brutal mistakes, fouling Taylor on the inbounds and then turning the ball over on a stupid pass. Suddenly this game isn't nicely wrapped up like it seemed to be just 20 seconds before.

Edited December 1, 2011 by Built Ford Tough

[Built Ford Tough]

Time: 7:30 EST

TV: ESPN 2 & 3

 

With all of their starters averaging double figures in points and senior Darius Miller (8.5 ppg) coming off the bench, the Wildcats have met every challenge rather easily. Miller and sophomore forward Terrence Jones each scored 19 in an 87-63 win over Portland on Saturday.

 

A starter on last season's team that reached the national semifinals, Miller could make his first start since the opener in either game this week.

 

"I'm not really worried about coming off the bench or starting or whatever," Miller said. "We've got a lot of things we need to correct before we try to make a run at a national championship."

 

Guard Marquis Teague added 14 points, eight assists and four steals while fellow freshman Anthony Davis had 13 points with 12 boards.

 

Though the Wildcats had little trouble putting Portland away, the Pilots went 11 of 23 from 3-point range and outrebounded Kentucky 39-38. Those appear to be two areas where Kentucky needs to improve with a couple of bigger challenges on tap this week.

 

"We know (they are) going to be two really tough games," Miller said. "St. John's, North Carolina, they're two of the elite teams in the nation."

 

While Miller might see St. John's (4-3) as a worthy opponent, the Red Storm will need to be at their very best in order to pull off the upset. This is the first meeting between the schools since St. John's 62-61 victory at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 9, 2000.

 

Making its first visit to Rupp Arena since the 1985 Final Four, St. John's will be without coach Steve Lavin for a third straight game as he takes more time to recover from prostate cancer surgery.

 

"I'm cancer free, but now recognize I set myself back with a premature return to the sidelines," Lavin said. "I was hoping with each subsequent game that my stamina would improve but instead it regressed. It became clear that presently I have not recovered enough from surgery to lead the team through the toil of a game."

 

Without Lavin, the Red Storm will look to bounce back from a 78-64 home loss to Northeastern on Saturday. Junior God'sgift Achiuwa scored 17 points and sophomore Nurideen Lindsey added 16, but the Red Storm shot 41.4 percent for the game and were outscored 45-33 in the second half.

 

Lindsey is averaging a team-leading 14.4 points.

 

St. John's is facing its third Top 25 opponent after falling 81-72 to then-No. 15 Arizona and 58-57 to then-No. 19 Texas A&M at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at MSG two weeks ago.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/gametracker/preview/NCAAB_20111201_STJNNY@KY

 

I'm hoping to see a bit more from Anthony Davis on the offensive end tonight. He hasn't really been much of a factor offensively for the Wildcats this year, but I know that he is talented at that end of the floor. Kentucky just has so much depth that he gets lost in the suffle.

[AboveLegit]

Our third chatroom of the week BFT.

 

Looking forward to this game.

[Real Deal]

May get to see the entire game this time. I've been so busy, it sucks...missing most of every game I want to watch, even a couple of KU games.

[Built Ford Tough]

Our third chatroom of the week BFT.

 

Looking forward to this game.

 

 

Too bad I'm going to miss the game I want to see most, which is the UNC/UK game on Saturday, since I'll be at work.

 

Then again, judging how UNC has played the last two games, I think Kentucky would walk all over them anyways, so it may not be a bad thing that I will miss it, haha.