Under The Radar: January 26th

Posted on January 26, 2022 by David Griggs

Tonight’s feature conference is the Big South where Longwood continues to be one of the bigger surprises among Under the Radar teams, and has a big showcase coming up against Winthrop in the always popular WinWood Cup.

From there we run through the other 21 UTR leagues and talk about how Vermont is starting to dominate the America East, how the Big West is upside down with teams like Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside near the top of the standings and UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine toward the bottom, a rough week for Belmont out of the OVC, but Murray State is still inside the bubble, how Seattle has come from out of nowhere to grab the lead in the WAC, how Ohio U’s blowout loss to Toledo has changed the shape of that league, and much more!!  And, as we do every week, we close with this week’s UTR Top Ten.

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Jan 26

Posted on January 26, 2022 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

CLICK HERE for Jon Teitel’s Interview With George Bisacca

-Auburn had to sweat out Mizzou, and it was quite a shock since Auburn is the top ranked team and Mizzou is closer to the Stallings Award than they are the NCAA Tournament, but they managed to escape with a (surprisingly) thrilling 55-54 win.

-UCLA beat Arizona at home rather handily 75-59.  It’s a setback for the Wildcats in the context of getting a #1 seed, but only in that context.  There is no dinging anyone who loses on the road to a top ten team.

-Duke also had to sweat against a team that seemed to a total non-threat, but managed to win a (surprisingly) thrilling game at home against Clemson 71-69 in a game that came down to the final seconds.

-Michigan State fell behind big to Illinois, but came back, made it close, and almost picked up another highly impressive road win, but Illinois held on 56-55 for one of their more notable wins of the year despite it being at home.

-Kentucky needed overtime to get by Mississippi State, which was surprising because they seemed to be in control the whole way but Mississippi State kept it close enough to make a run at the end.  The Wildcats escaped with an 82-74 win.

-Alabama tripped over the marble on the floor.  They lost on the road to Georgia 82-76 in a game they really had no business losing despite it being a road game.

-Cincinnati needed a road win at Temple to inch closer to the bubble, and they seemed to be in control for most of the game, but one part of the game where they were not in control was the end.  Temple ended up getting the 61-58 win and improving to 11-6 on the year.  Temple is a hundred miles outside the NCAA Tournament, but they aren’t as bad as we thought they’d be this year.

-I’ve been dogging Texas all year for a lack of notable wins.  Well, they have one now.  It was an impressive beatdown on the road against a really good TCU team 73-50.  I will no longer dog Texas for not having any impressive wins.  They certainly have one now.  In spades!!

-Wyoming and Boise seesawed back and forth with both teams appearing to be in control at different parts of the game.  It came down to the wire and Boise ended up with a very important 65-62 win.  It was a big win for the Broncos, and a missed opportunity for the Cowboys, but while there aren’t an infinite number of opportunities the rest of the way, they will have a few others.

-Oregon had appeared to have things turned around, and seemed to have a winnable home game against Colorado yesterday.  They didn’t win it, though, and this is a bit of a setback for a team that appeared to be poised to thunder down the stretch.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-FLORIDA AT TENNESSEE (SEC).  Tennessee is a fringe protected seed and Florida is a fringe bubble team.  The Gators need a win like this (and probably more than just one) to get safely inside the bubble.

-XAVIER AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  Xavier is safely in the top half of the bracket, and Providence is a team that we think that has been way undervalued and should be on the verge of a protected seed.

-CREIGHTON AT BUTLER (Big East).  Creighton is another team from the Big East that should be safely in the field.  This looks to be a very winnable road game tonight.

-NORTHWESTERN AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Michigan has underperformed all year, but they are coming off a nice road win against Indiana and have what should be another winnable home game tonight.  Perhaps they are starting to get things turned around.

-SMU AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American).  SMU is still outside the bubble, but I still think they are good enough to reach it if they can finish strong the rest of the way.  That would obviously include not losing at South Florida.

-MIAMI FL AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  Miami continues to hover around the bubble.  In short, road games against teams that are nowhere near the bubble are the kinds of games that NCAA Tournament teams should be able to win.

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  I think UNC is still pretty far outside the bubble, but a lot of people still like them.  Either way, this is a game they should be able to win tonight.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT GEORGE MASON (Atlantic Ten).  The Bonnies can make the field, but their path to get there is still really narrow.  They need this win tonight, and pretty much most of the rest of the wins on their schedule the rest of the way.

-ARKANSAS AT OLE MISS (SEC).  Arkansas is hovering around the bubble, and this is the kind of game they need to be able to win on the road.

-IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12).  Iowa State is having a big year, but Oklahoma State is playing with a purpose despite not being eligible for the NCAA Tournament, and they won’t be easy to beat at home tonight.

-OKLAHOMA AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12).  You get the sense that both teams need this win.  West Virginia probably doesn’t need it as much as the Sooners, and neither team will be dead in the water if they lose, but both need wins between now and the end in order to be safely in the field.

-VCU AT DAVIDSON (Atlantic Ten).  Davidson is in the rankings, safely inside the bubble, and will easily make the field barring a collapse between now and the end.  VCU is a decent team, but it’s a team Davidson should be able to beat at home.

-PENN STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Indiana’s resume is improving, but they need to hold serve in this one tonight.

-TEXAS A&M AT LSU (SEC).  TAMU continues to hover around the bubble and is in big need of a win like this.  LSU continues to hover around a protected seed and needs to be able to hold serve in games like this at home.

-FLORIDA STATE AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC).  Florida State has won six straight and is on a rampage.  They should be able to make it #7 tonight as they have another winnable conference road game.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West).  San Diego State is a team that looks like they’re hovering around the bubble.  They have a challenging but winnable road game tonight.

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In Memoriam: HoopsHD remembers George Bisacca

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Jon Teitel

It is not always fun being ranked #1 in the nation: just look at Auburn last night as they held on for dear life to beat Missouri by a single point. Another to-ranked team that was not so lucky was the 1968 Niagara Purple Eagles, who were upset by Fairfield more than a half-century ago. The architect of that win was George Bisacca, who in his 10th and final season as head coach of the Stags defeated Niagara and its future Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy 88-85 before a sell-out crowd at the New Haven Arena on January 26, 1968. Coach Bisacca passed away in 2018 but HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with him a few years ago and is proud to present this never-before-published interview. Today is the 54th anniversary of that legendary upset so we take this time to honor Coach Bisacca’s life/legacy.

You played basketball at Georgetown: how good a player were you back in the day? I was not a star but had a great 2-hand set shot and was a decent player.

After college you became an attorney: what kind of law did you practice, and how did you decide to get into coaching? I played a little semi-pro ball with my old high school team while waiting to take the bar exam. The coach asked me if I would take care of the JV team, and when we became more successful than the varsity he asked me to take over the varsity.

You became coach at Fairfield in 1958: why did you take the job? Fairfield did not even open until 1947. I loved the game and had some success, which whet my appetite. Within a few years we were playing some of the best teams in the country like Houston/St. Bonaventure.

What are your memories of the 1960 D-2 tourney (a 1-PT loss to American)? Not much. The 1 loss that stands out in my mind was to CW Post after my alma mater refused to play us. Their coach was George Kaftan, who was a friend of mine. Our most notable win was Bob Cousy’s 1st game at BC after he brought in 5 high school All-Americans.

In 1964 the program made the leap from D-2 to D-1: what was the biggest difference between the 2 levels? We actually had a better record at the D-1 level! We were an “Independent” so we were used to playing against the top teams. I figured that as long as we were playing some good teams then we might as well play a full schedule of them. We snuck up on a lot of people and often played the spoiler: I would show up to recruit and the high school coach would say, “There is a guy here from Fairchild”!

In January of 1968 you had a 3-PT win over Niagara: how were you able to pull off the win, and could you tell at the time that Murphy was going to become a superstar? I tried to recruit Calvin because he was from the next town over in Norwalk: inch for inch he was 1 of the best of all-time. They had more than Calvin (such as All-American Manny Leaks): we came up with a couple of intricate defenses for Calvin and held him to 26 PTS…which was actually good because he was averaging 44 PPG at the time! In my final game we had a 1-PT 2-OT loss to a St. Bonaventure team led by future Hall-of-Famer Bob Lanier.

In addition to coaching you also served as athletic director: how were you able to balance the 2 jobs? I was a lousy athletic director because I was only interested in the basketball team: I felt bad for all the other coaches because I never gave them a big enough piece of the budget! I did not enjoy it but they asked me to do it for a few years. I coached in Italy for a while as well.

You later worked as legal counsel for the NIT: what kind of legal issues did the organization face? Fighting the NCAA all the time! They were always trying to put us out of business by not allowing teams that turned them down to play for us: it was a clear antitrust violation on its face. We sued the NCAA and I was a principal witness. We hired Jeff Kessler (a top-notch sports lawyer) to represent the NIT. The presidents of the 5 New York City schools that own the NIT got an offer of $56 million from the NCAA, so they took it.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? My plaque in the school’s Hall of Fame calls me “The father of Fairfield basketball” because I helped get the program off the ground. I did the best I could and loved the kids who played for me. You know you are old when the players who show up at the reunion are in their 60s/70s! They are great personal friends who still call me on my birthday. Once you coach your players they never call you by your 1st name, which is a nice feeling.

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Happy Birthday!: HoopsHD interviews 2-time ABA All-Star Byron Beck

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The Denver Nuggets have had a lot of great players during the past 50 years, starting with David Thompson in the 1970s, then Alex English in the 1980s, and continuing to the present with Nikola Jokic. 1 of their 1st great players was Byron Beck, who played for the Denver Rockets in the ABA and stuck with them when they joined the NBA and changed their name to the Nuggets. He retired in 1977 and became the 1st player in franchise history to have his jersey number retired. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Byron about making the ABA Finals in 1976 and then switching leagues. Today is Byron’s 77th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You were nicknamed the “Moose in the Middle”: who gave you the nickname, and how did you like it? I got that in the 8th grade because I was the new kid. My classmate Joe Valdez saw me run over a couple of people so he called me “The Moose”.

You were a 3-time all-state selection at Kittitas High School and were later named to the Seattle Times All-Century team: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were? I was always 1 of the top 4-5 players so I knew that I was moderately good. I was a shy kid who was not cocky. I almost did not play basketball because I did not want to be out there in shorts: what I really wanted was to be a pro baseball player.

In 1967 as a senior at Denver you were named an AAU All-American: what did it mean to you to win such an outstanding honor? It was a good confidence-builder to have such success.

In the summer of 1967 you were drafted 15th overall by the Denver Rockets (2 spots ahead of Phil Jackson): what did it mean to you to be drafted, and was it extra-special to stay in your same city? It was outstanding! It was nice to stay in the same location. Chicago also drafted me and offered the same amount of money but Denver offered me a no-cut contract, which helped make the difference.

You are 1 of 2 players (along with teammate Louie Dampier) who played for the same team during all 9 seasons of the ABA from 1967-1976: did you feel a strong sense of loyalty to the franchise, and why do you think that other players failed to do so? A lot of players eventually get involved with their community, but going to college there and being involved with the community from the start helped a lot. I liked the city: it was a small “big town” and I had a lot of friends in the area. I even met my wife there. It just all fell into place for me…but I think that money sometimes trumps loyalty.

What are your memories of Game 7 of the 1972 Western Division Semifinals (Ralph Simpson scored 30 PTS in a 2-PT loss to eventual champion Indiana)? That was a sad thing because we had a real shot at that. I used to guard George McGinnis quite often and enjoyed it: he was hard-nosed but I knew what to expect from him. It was the cheap-shot artist who was nasty to defend. Indiana had a lot of talented people and it was a great series.

Take me through the magical 1976 playoffs:
Your coach was Larry Brown: what made Brown such a great coach, and could you ever imagine that he would be a college assistant coach more than 45 years later?! Larry was a great coach/motivator. If you did not buy into his system (which a lot of the older players did not do because they did not want to pick up the pace) then you had problems, but if you hustled then it usually worked out. I still use some stuff from him today to help my grandkids in AAU ball. He is an original: I enjoyed playing with/against him as well as for him after he became my coach.

You scored 9 PTS in a 3-PT win over defending champ Kentucky in Game 1 of the semifinals after Dampier’s potential game-tying 3-PT shot was ruled to have been attempted after the buzzer: what was it like to play a game without a working scoreboard/clock? We kind of had to rely on our senses! I was just in awe of Louie: what a shooter. His shooting ability reminds me of Steph Curry: he would just come off a screen and stop/pop. He was not quick but knew how to get open.

David Thompson scored 40 PTS in a win over Kentucky in Game 7 in front of a playoff-record crowd of 18,821: where does Thompson rank among the greatest players that you ever saw, and how big of a home-court advantage did all of those fans give you? Home court advantage was big: our home record must have been fantastic that year. I was in awe of David: sometimes I caught myself standing around with my mouth open while watching him do all of his stuff. He had a huge vertical leap. I loved Bobby Jones: he reminded me of the runner in “Chariots of Fire”. We had some talent too with my roommate Dan Issel…although we got into a fight the week before!

You lost to the Nets in Game 6 of the Finals after blowing a 22-PT 3rd quarter lead: how devastating was that loss, and how did it feel to play in the very last game in ABA history? It was devastating: there was no reason for that to happen with the talent we had. Doctor J went nuts: we got so desperate that they had ME try to guard him! In his early years we would just let him shoot from the outside, but once he learned to make some jumpers it was all over. We got timid at the end and did not shoot with confidence. I truly believe that if we had won that game then we would have won Game 7.

You played 1 year for the Nuggets in the NBA after the ABA-NBA merger: what was the biggest difference between the 2 leagues? The referees! At the time they would call the game a little closer in the NBA. We had more finesse in the ABA, whereas the NBA was more physical. We brought some great things to the NBA like the 3-PT line, the run-and-gun offense, the halftime entertainment, etc. The red-white-and-blue ball was hard to catch in the 1st few years: we would go out to the highway and bounce the ball on the pavement to scratch it up!

In 1977 you became the 1st player in Denver franchise history to have his number retired: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is an important thing to be recognized in some manner. It helps you know that the work you put in was respected.

You later worked in security for a large company in southern Washington: what do you hope to do in the future? The future is here! I retired in 2012 after 33 years as a manager in operations security and am enjoying it. I wish that I would have retired a few years ago because now I get to spend a lot of time with my family.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Jan 25

Posted on January 25, 2022 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

CLICK HERE for our latest HOOPS HD REPORT Video Podcast

-Not included in the Hoops HD Report was the double overtime thriller between Texas Tech and Kansas.  Kansas led most of the way, but Texas Tech kept it close, then got the lead late, and had a chance to win at the end of both overtimes.  It was a thrilling game, and even though Tech didn’t get the win, it was definitely an impressive showing and a statement that they can play with a Final Four caliber team on the road.

-North Carolina took care of Virginia Tech at home, but their resume is still terrible.  This was arguably one of their better wins of the season, and it came at home against a team that’s nowhere  near making the NCAA Tournament.

-Seton Hall was blown out on their own home floor by Saint John’s.  The Hall isn’t any any danger of missing the field, but they are in a bit of a tailspin right now.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-GEORGIA AT ALABAMA (SEC).  This should be an easy road win for an Alabama team that has fallen out of the rankings, but could still be really dangerous if they can get things turned back around.

-CLEMSON AT DUKE (ACC).  Duke is dominating the ACC as you would expect and should cruise to at least a #2 seed if they keep it up.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Michigan State followed up a head-scratching loss to Northwestern with a super impressive road win at Wisconsin.  They’ve got another extremely tough road test against an Illinois team that has looked really good at times, but not enough of the time for us to say they are cruising to a protected seed.

-DEPAUL AT VILLANOVA (Big East).  DePaul isn’t an easy team to beat, but they’re not hard enough to beat to where most of the Big East teams are unable to do it.  Nova shouldn’t have too much trouble winning this one at home.

-SIENA AT IONA (Metro Atlantic).  Iona should land inside the bubble so long as they continue to run through the MAAC.

-CINCINNATI AT TEMPLE (American).  Could Cincinnati be inching their way onto the bubble??  They’ve still got a lot of work to do, but they’ve won seven of their last nine, and if they can take care of business in the next three games they’ll be hosting Houston with a chance to put themselves on the board.

-KANSAS STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12).  K State is fairly good.  Their problem is that their in a conference where all the other teams are REALLY good.  Baylor still has a solid path to a #1 seed and should be able to pick this one up at home.

-AUBURN AT MISSOURI (SEC).  It’s a winnable road game for a team that has proven they can win pretty much anywhere.  Auburn is good enough to get to a Final Four.

-GEORGETOWN AT CONNECTICUT (Big East).  UConn is one of several teams in the Big East that continues to look impressive.  This is some of the lower hanging fruit that exists for them the rest of the way.  They should be able to take care of business at home.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT KENTUCKY (SEC).  Mississippi State is squarely on our bubble and a win in a game like this could push them inside of it.  The thing is…it’s very difficult to win a game like this.  Kentucky is coming off a loss at Auburn, but it was hardly a setback, and if anything it was an impressive showing.  They should be able to roll in this one.

-TEXAS AT TCU (Big 12).  I’m not big on Texas, but based on the prognostications of everyone else they seem to be reasonably safe.  Still, a road win in a game like this would really help.  TCU is squarely on the bubble, and like every bubble team it seems that every game they play has a pivotal feel to it.

-NEVADA AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West).  Colorado State will safely make the field so long as they continue to take care of business.

-WYOMING AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West).  This is a bubblicious game!!  Both teams really need this one, and both have been playing well lately, so it should be fun.

-COLORADO AT OREGON (Pac 12).  Oregon seems to be hitting their stride.  They’re definitely trending in the right direction and can continue to improve their resume so long as they continue to string together wins.

-ARIZONA AT UCLA (Pac 12).  Some feel Arizona can end up as a #1 seed.  If they can win this game, then I’ll agree.  Both teams are ranked in the top ten, both should end up as protected seeds, and this is a huge resume boosting opportunity for both of them.

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The Hoops HD Report: January 24th

Posted on January 25, 2022 by David Griggs

The panel looks back at a busy week in college basketball and begins in the Big Ten where we discuss Michigan State’s big win at Wisconsin, how Indiana had a big win against Purdue but followed it up with a loss to Michigan, and whether or not Michigan can get back on the bubble.

After that we go through the other nine major conferences and discuss how Baylor and Kansas are starting to distance themselves from the rest of the Big 12, how we might have four teams from both the West Coast and Mountain West make the NCAA Tournament, how Marquette is continuing to look more and more impressive in the Big East, how Providence is being undervalued, and how Arizona could end up as a #1 seed if they can finish strong.  All that, and much more!!

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

Posted in Hoops HD Report, Podcasts, Videocasts | 1 Comment