News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Jan 18th

Posted on January 18, 2020 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-Dayton needed overtime last night, but pulled off a thrilling win at the buzzer against Saint Louis in the latest edition of the Arch-Baron Cup.  It is a rivalry that belongs to all of America!

-Michigan is now 0-5 in true road games.  They seesawed back and forth with Iowa for most of the game, but were unable to pick up the win.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-BAYLOR AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12).  Baylor is probably the team with the best profile right now, and they are looking to maintain that status with a road win today.  Oklahoma State still has work to do, and a win today would go a long way toward helping them even if they are at home.

-UCONN AT VILLANOVA.  Next year this will be a conference game.  As for now, it’s an OOC game between a Nova team that’s looking to get a protected seed and a UConn team that sometimes looks like an NIT team, and sometimes looks like a team that’s outside even the NIT.

-SETON HALL AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East).  They had a few stumbles early, but Seton Hall now looks like they’re the best team in the Big East.  The Johnnies have just one conference win and need to start picking up a few if they want to remain in reach of the making the field.

-OHIO STATE AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  Both teams are good, and it is a resume building opportunity for both.  Both have also had stretches where they’ve lost a few games and could use a win today to pull them out of it.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT PITTSBURGH (ACC).  Pitt is still outside the bubble and needs to string together some wins in order to reach it.  UNC is even further outside the bubble and needs to string together some wins just to reach the NIT.

-SYRACUSE AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  VA Tech is having a much better than expected season and is actually projected into our current field.  Syracuse has been playing better, but the Hokies should be able to hold serve today.

-BUTLER AT DEPAUL (Big East).  Butler is coming off just their second loss of the season and is looking to bounce back.  DePaul has lost all four of their Big East games.  They were all close, and they did a lot out of conference so they can still make the field, but they REALLY need a win.

-FLORIDA STATE AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  Florida State is looking more and more like a solid protected seed and should be able to pick this one up on the road.

-AUBURN AT FLORIDA (SEC).  Auburn is coming off a rather decisive loss to Alabama and has what could be another tough road test tonight.  Florida has been somewhat disappointing this year, but a win in a game like this could finally get their motor started.

-KANSAS AT TEXAS (Big 12).  Kansas remains one of the six teams that appear to be in solid contention for the #1 line, and is going on the road to take on a bubblish Texas team that could really use the win.

-WEST VIRGINIA AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12).  West Virginia is looking more and more like a solid protected seed, and this should be a winnable road game for them.

-PURDUE AT MARYLAND (Big Ten).  Purdue has been inconsistent, but that’s far better than being consistently bad.  When they’ve looked good, they’ve looked REALLY good.  Maryland has been digressing some.  They went from being ranked in the top five to now being ranked in the teens, and that’s about right.  They could still end up as a protected seed, and a win at home could help them out.

-TOLEDO AT AKRON (MAC).  I like this Akron team, and think they can play their way onto the bubble if they keep winning.  Their margin for error is small, but they do have a path to landing inside the bubble.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT VCU (Atlantic Ten).  VCU has a team that could be good enough to make the NCAAs if they finish strong, but they really don’t have much room for error.  The Bonnies got off to a somewhat slow start this season, but are playing much better now and could end up making quite a bit of noise in the conference.

-TCU AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12).  TCU needs to win a game like this to really get the attention of the committee.  Oklahoma is in decent shape, but certainly has room to improve so it is important that they hold serve.

-MARQUETTE AT GEORGETOWN (Big East).  Both teams look like tournament teams, but both also have room to improve.  This is a resume building game.  It should be a fun one as both are coming off really nice wins.

-CLEMSON AT NC STATE (ACC).  NC State is very bubblicious right now, so they need to be able to hold serve in home games against teams outside the bubble.  Having said that, Clemson is coming off of back to back wins against North Carolina and Duke, so their confidence has got to be at an all time high.

-COLORADO AT ARIZONA (Pac 12).  I really like how both of these teams are playing right now.  We’ve got both of them in our field, and given how each of them are playing I think both will improve their resumes between now and the end.  Today is a chance for whoever wins to do that.

-RICHMOND AT GEORGE MASON (Atlantic Ten).  Richmond has a path to landing inside the bubble, but it is becoming rather rocky.  They really need to win games like this the rest of the way.

-MISSOURI AT ALABAMA (SEC).  Alabama still has a ways to go, but they’ve come pretty far pretty fast.  They are 7-3 in their last ten games, and have a blowout win over Auburn in that stretch.

-OREGON AT WASHINGTON (Pac 12).  This is a huge rivalry in the Pac 12, and today’s edition is very important.  Oregon is trying to rebound from a road loss to Wazzu, and Washington is trying to pull themselves out of a tailspin.  They just had a fairly decent win against Oregon State, so they should have some momentum built up coming into this one.

-KENTUCKY AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  This one is going to be fun.  Arkansas has a bloated record, but they’ve also got a lot of empty calories.  They do have some decent wins, but this would really elevate the level of their resume.  Kentucky has been playing better, but is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to South Carolina and could use a big road win to bounce back.

-HOUSTON AT WICHITA STATE (American).  Wichita State is coming off a road loss to Temple, but could still end up as a protected seed if they’re able dominate the conference the rest of the way.  Houston is a bubblicious team that has played really well at times, but up until now it hasn’t always been consistent.  Having said that, if they’re able to win this one, they will shoot way up our next seedlist and be safely inside the bubble.

-IOWA STATE AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12).  Texas Tech is in our field, but their resume is a little flimsy, so it’s important that they hold serve in home games against non-tournament caliber teams.

-OREGON STATE AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12).  Oregon State is hovering around the bubble, and therefore every game right now has a pivotal feel to it.  A conference road win in a game like this would certainly help.

-SAINT MARY’S AT PEPPERDINE (West Coast).  This is a winnable road game for a Saint Mary’s team that, quite frankly, would be in quite a bit of trouble if they ended up losing it.

-COLORADO STATE AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West) (Front Range).  Neither team is really any good, but we at Hoops HD love the Front Range!!

-PROVIDENCE AT CREIGHTON (Big East).  Both teams have really been playing well, and although Providence still has a ways to go before they would be considered to be inside the bubble, they are playing like a solid tournament caliber team right now, and a road win today would be another huge step forward.  Creighton is looking to bounce back from a close loss to Georgetown.

-NORTHWESTERN AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Illinois is in the rankings and moving up our seedlist.  They should be able to win today and hold serve.

-INCARNATE WORD AT STEPHEN F AUSTIN (Southland).  If SFA wins out, then they should be right on the bubble, and perhaps even inside of it.

UNDER THE RADAR

-HOFSTRA AT CHARLESTON (Colonial).  These are two of the better teams in the CAA, so it should be a fun one.

-LOUISVILLE AT DUKE (ACC).  Louisville has a solid resume by first ballot standards, but a rather flimsy one when it comes to protected seed standards.  That all changes if they can win this game today, though.  Duke, despite losing their last game, is still in contention for a #1 seed and this would be another nice win on their resume if they’re able to hold serve.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley).  Northern Iowa has been winning, but they havent been dominant wins.  They basically need to win out to end up inside the bubble, and they’ve got a tough road game today (by MVC standards) against a Bradley team that’s 9-0 at home.

-TENNESSEE AT VANDERBILT (SEC).  Tennessee is continuing to slide, but they can still get back in the conversation if they can pull themselves out of their tailspin and string together some wins.

-STANFORD AT USC (Pac 12).  We have Stanford in our field, but they really need more quality wins in order to shore up their resume, and a road win against a bubblish USC team would certainly help.  On the flip side, USC is on the bubble, so this game has a pivotal feel to it for them.

-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT WESTERN CAROLINA (SoCon).  ETSU still has a shot at landing inside the bubble, but they pretty much need to win out in order to do it.  This will be a bit of a challenge against a Western Carolina team that has yet to lose at home.

-LIPSCOMB AT LIBERTY (Atlantic Sun).  If Liberty wins out, which they should, then they will likely be inside the bubble.

-INDIANA AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten).  Indiana doesn’t have much in the way of road wins, so they really need to take advantage of this one since it is probably their most winnable remaining road game.

-NEVADA AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West).  San Diego State is on our #1 line, and they will likely stay there if they win out, which they are certainly good enough to do.

-LSU AT OLE MISS (SEC).  LSU is in our field and will remain there if they keep holding serve.  This is a winnable road game against an NIT-ish Ole Miss team that LSU should be able to win.

-VIRGINIA AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC).  The Hoos have lost three straight, and while a four point loss at Florida State isn’t damaging, losses to Syracuse and Boston College are.  They really cannot afford to lose yet another game to a sub-tournament caliber team even if it is a road game.

-TEMPLE AT SMU (American).  Neither team is in our field, but both are on the board.  They both have work to do and therefore could really use this win tonight.

-GEORGIA AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC).  This is a Georgia team that’s hovering around the bubble.  They do have a really nice road win at Memphis, but they need to do a little more than that and could really use this road win tonight.

-UTAH AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12).  Both teams have a ton of work to do if they want to land inside the bubble come March.

-PACIFIC AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast).  Santa Clara just got blasted by Gonzaga, but they still should be in the discussion if they can win the rest of their conference games.

-BYU AT GONZAGA (West Coast).  Gonzaga is on our #1 line, and BYU is hovering around our #10 line, so this is the kind of game that you may see in the Round of 32.  Obviously, if BYU can get the win, the quality of their resume goes through the roof.

-UC-RIVERSIDE AT UC-IRVINE (Big West). We shift gears from the Arch-Baron Cup to the fabled RiverVine Cup between a pair of rivals in the UC system! But seriously, these are two of the better programs in the league this season and a game that Irvine cannot take for granted in their race to return to the NCAA Tournament.

 

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Still Hanging with the Hoyas: Part 7

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Jon Teitel

HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the upcoming months covering several Georgetown basketball home games, with a very special reward coming in March. You can find Parts 1-6 at:

https://hoopshd.com/2019/11/09/still-hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-1
https://hoopshd.com/2019/11/20/still-hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-2
https://hoopshd.com/2019/12/15/still-hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-3
https://hoopshd.com/2019/12/20/still-hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-4
https://hoopshd.com/2019/12/29/still-hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-5
https://hoopshd.com/2020/01/09/still-hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-6

He continues his series with Part 7 featuring the Hoyas’ matchup on Wednesday night against St. John’s:

Solid pregame meal of make your own tacos/chocolate chip cookies. On an unrelated note, this could be the most respectful mascot that I have ever seen:

Let’s tip things off:

Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing seemed to be in a very good mood despite starting conference play with a 1-3 record that included 3 double-digit losses:

Creighton arrived in DC with a ranking as the 25th-best team in the nation. There is no big surprise to their success: they shoot 36% from behind the arc and are 12-0 this year when making at least 8 threes/game. They appeared well on their way in the 1st half as PG Marcus Zegarowski/wing Denzel Mahoney combined to make 5-8 long-range shots while their opponents only made 3-9:

As usual the Hoya hero was SR C Omer Yurtseven…once he fixed his luxurious hair:

He made several shots from his favorite spot (the baseline), had a follow-dunk after rebounding 1 of his teammate’s misses, and even had a STL that led to a Terrell Allen layup. His 10 PTS in the 1st half kept his team in it as they only trailed 37-36 at halftime.  Ewing and Creighton coach Greg McDermott both knew that they would be in for a dogfight in the 2nd half:

Mac McClung had a rough 1st half with 4 TO and then picked up his 3rd foul just 40 seconds into the 2nd half but Coach Ewing decided to leave him in. His faith was rewarded in an unusual fashion: McClung has done the majority of his damage this year via 3s/layups and getting to the FT line, but he made several jump shots and a baseline runner to lead his team with 12 2nd half PTS:

Zegarowski kept pouring it on with 3 more threes in the 2nd half including 1 off of a turnover when an outlet pass bounced off the back of Jamorko Pickett’s head to tie his career-high with 6 makes from behind the line (in addition to 3 STL on the other end of the court):

JR G Jahvon Blair had every single 1 of his team’s 12 bench PTS but returned to the bench at the under-12 timeout holding his hand in pain:

Bluejay JR G Ty-Shon Alexander made some nice layups inside and 2 consecutive long jumpers to cut the Hoyas’ lead to 70-66:

…then his fellow JR G Mitch Ballock (who went scoreless in the 1st half) knocked down back-to-back 3s in the final 4 minutes to cut it to 74-72:

Ewing huddled the troops while trying to figure out how to get a Tier 1 win on his resume:

SR G Jagan Mosely did not make a single FG attempt in the 1st half but knocked down 4-5 in the 2nd stanza including a huge dunk, a layup high off the glass, a 3, and a runner:

Yurtseven remained unstoppable, working the baseline for jumpers and working the boards for the hell of it to finish with 20 PTS/13 REB/2 BLK:

The end of the game resembled a scene from a horror movie: there was an officials’ timeout with 19.8 seconds left so that some blood could be removed from the floor, then I heard a commotion down the row from me where Allen was lying on the ground and holding a towel to his face due to a severe case of nausea before being escorted to the locker room:

The Hoyas hung on to win 83-80, which improved their record to 12-6 on the season and placed them squarely within the bubble…for now. Coach McDermott was not in a great mood at the postgame press conference so when silence descended on the media after a couple of questions I figured that I would ask him how he enjoyed his team’s Tuesday tour of the White House. His 4-word response summed it up: “better than the game”.

I tried to get a word in edgewise with Coach Ewing but there were so many other folks in the room that we simply ran out of time:

That’s all for now, check back in the weeks ahead for Part 8.

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Under The Radar Game of the Day: Friday, January 17th (and other News, Notes, and Games)

Posted on January 17, 2020 by John Stalica

For last night’s Bracket Rundown Podcast – CLICK HERE

For Jon Teitel’s interview with Marshall Terrill about Hall of Famer Pete Maravich – CLICK HERE

Brown (7-6, 0-0) at Yale (11-4, 0-0) – 7:00 PM EST (ESPN+)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to the Ivy League where the Yale Bulldogs will host the Brown Bears in the Ivy League opener for both teams. Brown got off to a hot start this year with wins in four of their first five games, the most notable one perhaps being their win at cross-state rival Bryant. A win at home against Rhode Island was no doubt their signature nonconference win – leading to the Ocean State Championship sponsored by Hoops HD! Brandon Anderson has averaged over 20 points a game for the Bears thus far.

Yale had the best record of any team in the Ivy League in the nonconference season – they had a seven-game winning streak from the end of November into December.  Wins at home against Vermont and on the road against UMass and Clemson highlighted this winning streak. Paul Atkinson averages 16.5 points a game and 7.2 rebounds a game for the Bulldogs.

 

OTHER NEWS NOTES AND GAMES

-Gonzaga beat Santa Clara by 50.  I was trying to tout Santa Clara as a potential NCAA team.  I’ll show myself out now.

-Oregon fell on the road to Wazzu.  I don’t want to say it’s a crippling loss, but it really does set them back because when it comes to conference road wins the fruit usually doesn’t hang a whole lot lower than it does at Wazzu.  It was the first time to Cougars had beaten a top ten team in twelve years, and they are out to a much better than normal 11-7 start now.

-Everything else last night was either chalky or off the radar.

-DAYTON AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten) (***SPOTLIGHT GAME***).  IT IS PERHAPS THE GREATEST MADE UP TROPHY GAME IN THE HISTORY OF COLLEGE SPORTS!!  IT IS THE ARCH BARON CUP!!! This is a big one tonight.  It may end up being Dayton’s biggest true road win of the season, so this would help out their resume if they’re able to win it, and help further verify that they are a protected seed caliber team.  Saint Louis is kind of flirting with the bubble and could use a big win like this to shore up their chances.

-WISCONSIN AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten).  This is a resume building opportunity for both teams.  Michigan State is trying to solidify that they are a protected seed and perhaps play their way back up to the top two lines, and Wisconsin is trying to make up for a slow start and really boost their potential seeding as well.

-MICHIGAN AT IOWA (Big Ten).  This would be a nice win for Michigan because it would finally give them a true road win, and to do that against a pretty good Iowa team would check a big box for them on their resume.

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Hoops HD BRACKET RUNDOWN: January 16th

Posted on January 16, 2020 by David Griggs

This show was recorded at 9:30pm, est and only reflects games that were concluded before that time.  Everything else, particularly the Oregon v Washington State game, was not considered

The panel is back for this week’s Bracket Rundown as they build a seedlist line by line and debate, discuss, and assess each team as they go.  There are up to six teams that they feel could be on the #1 line, and they discuss San Diego State being undefeated but not having any wins against top 15 teams, and Duke who has some fantastic wins but also has some questionable losses.  As they continue to build the bracket they debate who the final protected seeds should be, whether or not DePaul belongs in despite not having any conference wins yet, whether or not Wisconsin deserves a good seed because of their good play recently vs their slow start, and much more.

Below is the bracket of the seed list, but don’t look at it until you watch the show!!

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

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Geaux Tigers: HoopsHD interviews author Marshall Terrill about Pete Maravich

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Jon Teitel

This just might be the best month in LSU’s fabled sports history. Earlier this week the football team beat defending national champion Clemson 42-25 to claim the 4th national title in school history and the second 15-0 season by any team in the modern era. The basketball team has won 4 straight games to start January and is currently the only undefeated team in SEC play despite starting 3 sophomores/1 freshman. Heisman-winning QB Joe Burrow might go down as the greatest gridiron player to set foot in Baton Rouge but there is no WAY that anyone on Will Wade’s squad will ever match the resume of the legendary Pete Maravich: 3-time SEC POY, 2-time national POY, and he remains the all-time leading scorer in D-1 history with 3667 career PTS. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel recently got to chat with Marshall Terrill about the subject of his book “Pete Maravich: The Authorized Biography of Pistol Pete”.

During high school Maravich was nicknamed “Pistol Pete” due to his habit of shooting the ball from his side as if he were holding a revolver: who gave him the nickname, and how did he like it? It is an interesting question because it has an interesting backstory. Maravich was very skinny and frail in the 9th grade: not only was he undeveloped but was also small for his age…yet his skills were exceptional. It took all of his power to hoist up a shot. To Jerry McLeese, sports editor of the Anderson Independent in South Carolina, it appeared as if he were drawing a pistol from his holster. My co-author (Wayne Federman) and I made it a point to find out who it was and then bingo: we came across a December 1961 article where he wrote, “Friday night ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich, brother of Ronnie Maravich, popped in 33 points against Pendleton.” The most interesting thing to me is that when he moved to Raleigh the following year (where he finished out his high school years) the nickname did not stick. None of his teammates called him that, and neither did his teammates at Southwood College (later Edwards Military Academy). We noticed the next time his nickname appeared was in a 1967 LSU press release announcing his arrival to the campus. It was clear to me – because I am a reporter and in media relations – that this was drummed up by Coach Press Maravich (Pete’s father) to drum up local interest in his program. I can see it in my mind’s eye: he went right to the head of the sports media relations office (Bud Johnson) and asked him to write it up.

He played for his father Press at LSU: what was their relationship like on the court, and what was their relationship like off the court? It was unlike most father/son relationships, but because I am Serbian and extremely close to my father I do understand it. They were extremely close and you have to understand the dynamic that was at play. Ronnie Maravich was Pete’s half-brother: he was not Press’ kid but Press was good to him. Naturally he felt more bonded to Pete and so the dynamic was Pete and Press to the exclusion of everyone else. Serbians are intense and go full speed at everything with 100% of their energy. They focused all of that energy on basketball. Press was Pete’s mentor in addition to his father, but as they grew older many intimates told me that they were more like brothers. Helen (Press’ wife and Pete’s mother) often complained to them that she felt left out: she eventually committed suicide. Pete knew that Press knew more about basketball than anyone else, a fact that John Wooden told my co-author Wayne (which astounded us). Lastly, Press allowed Pete to shoot the ball and in fact told his teammates that Pete had to shoot the ball 40 times/game for them to win. When your dad gives you the green light to shoot the ball there is not much family friction! When Pete later became a born-again Christian he influenced Press in spiritual matters. They were truly as close as any relationship could be. 1 of Press’ friends put it best when he said that the only fault Press had was loving his son too much. If that is the worst thing that you can say about somebody,then it is not a bad thing.

He remains the all-time leading D-1 scorer with 3667 career PTS/44.2 PPG despite not playing with a 3-PT line/shot clock and being unable to play varsity as a freshman: what was his secret for being the best scorer ever, and do you think that anyone will ever break his records? I think his secret was that he worked so hard. We are talking 8-10 hours/day in the gym during the summer and 6 hours/day during the school year. Sure he had talent…but he put in the hard work. The other component was that when you have a coach who allows you to score as you please it helps get you there. It is possible that someone will eventually break his record but the dynamic in college ball has changed so much. If someone is that lethal in college then they are going to turn pro. My belief is that if someone breaks his record it will be at a smaller school and will involve a player who consciously wants to stay in school specifically to break Maravich’s record.

He was a 3-time All-American but never played in the NCAA tourney: how do you reconcile his amazing individual success with his lack of team success? We have to get real here for a second: I am answering this question days after LSU won the national championship in football. When Pete/Press were there in the 1960s football was THE sport, which meant that Press had to build and recruit from the ground up. Basketball was a minor sport at best. By the time Pete was a senior they were a respectable 16-10. You also have to remember that they took on some of the toughest teams that year and traveled more than any other team in the nation during Pete’s senior year because everyone wanted to see him play in person. LSU was also in a very tough SEC and gave their competition all they could handle, so their record did not truly reflect how good they were.

In the summer of 1970 he was drafted 3rd overall by Atlanta, then averaged 23.2 PPG en route to making the All-Rookie team: how was he able to make such a smooth transition from college to the pros? It was not a smooth transition in the beginning. He had a lot of pressure on him: he joined a very seasoned and cohesive squad that had done just fine without him. He came in not only with a heavy-duty reputation as a scorer but was quadrupling his teammates’ salaries (Maravich was making $250,000/year but the Hawks would not even give Lenny Wilkens $50,000!) and getting a ton of national endorsements/attention. This was all before he turned pro. There were also issues of race because he was seen as the “Great White Hope” and his style of play did not match that of his teammates. It was a lot for a 22-year old to have to adjust to. His play started to improve by midseason and then he turned it around.

In 1973 he finished top-6 in the NBA with 26.1 PPG/6.9 APG: how did he balance his scoring with his passing? That was the thing about Maravich that most people do not realize: he was an exceptional passer and a good pass turned him on as much as any made basket. If you watch his highlight clips he looked to pass much more than he is given credit for. Perhaps that was not the case at LSU but it certainly was as a pro.

On February 25, 1977, he scored 68 PTS/26-43 FG for New Orleans in a win over the Knicks (at the time the most points ever scored by a guard in a single game): was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? Yes: he talked about a night where everything would go in. Maravich was a visionary in a lot of ways but also applied visualization techniques to his game. This just happened to fulfill a prophecy and luckily for him it came on the night of a contract renegotiation, so maybe that had something to do with it as well!

After the Jazz placed him on waivers in January of 1980 he signed with the Celtics, where he played for Hall of Fame head coach Bill Fitch/Hall of Fame assistant coach KC Jones and with Hall of Fame teammates Nate Archibald/Larry Bird/Dave Cowens: how on earth did they lose to Philly in the Eastern Conference Finals?! That Philly team was loaded too: Julius Erving/Lionel Hollins/Bobby Jones/Caldwell Jones/Henry Bibby/Steve Mix/Darryl Dawkins…and a Hall of Fame coach in Billy Cunningham. Those Philly teams of the late 1970s/early 1980s often get overlooked by history but they were tough: those division battles were all-out wars. You also have to remember that Maravich’s play was limited. He came off the bench to give them some instant offense but was playing maybe 15 minutes/night.

He died in 1988 at age 40 during a pick-up game in a church gym as a consequence of a previously undetected heart defect: how shocking was his death at such a relatively young age? It was very shocking not only to the sports world but the entire news cycle: his death led the news that night. It was shocking because he was such a familiar figure: it was almost like growing up with a figure from television. Combine that with the facts that he was fit/had a healthy lifestyle/was only 40 years old. His death was painful for many, including myself: he was my sports hero/favorite basketball player. We all knew that The Pistol was special.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987 and in 1996 he was named 1 of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history (the only deceased player on the list): when people look back at his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? As an exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime player who could do it all…except maybe play defense! His life reminds me of that quote from Hamlet: “He was a man, take him in all, I shall not look upon his like again.” Trust me, we won’t.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Thursday, Jan 16th

Posted on January 16, 2020 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

CLICK HERE for our latest Under the Radar Video Podcast

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Youngstown State and Northern Kentucky – CLICK HERE

-Auburn suffered their first loss of the season as they fell to Alabama 83-64 in a game that they were never really in.  It’s tough to win on the road, and Alabama had been playing really well lately and while they’re not in any brackets now, they will be soon if they keep playing like they have been.  But, I think this sort of confirms that Auburn is good, but not #1 seed good.

-Kentucky was another top ten team from the SEC that lost on the road.  After a late surge in the final minute to tie the game and making us all think it was going into overtime, South Carolina banked in a three-pointer just past mid-court to pull off the upset win.  Despite the loss, I still think Kentucky is playing better now than they did in November and is continuing to improve.

-The Butler v Seton Hall game was fantastic to watch, and you have to take your hats off to Seton Hall who fell behind on the road against a very good Butler team, but came back and outscored them in the second half by 18pts to pick up the win.  Seton Hall was slow out of the gate, but they are running at full speed now and are playing well enough to finish at the top of the Big East.  Butler has been a surprise team this year, and I think they’ll be able to bounced back from this one.

-Virginia has now lost three straight.  There is no shame in losing on the road at Florida State, who is a legitimate top ten team, but you get the sense that the Hoos are losing their grip and are running the risk of landing outside the bubble.

-Wichita State lost their second game of the year as they fell at Temple 65-53.  Temple’s defense was smothering and in the last few minutes they just pulled ahead.

-Georgetown picked up a big home win against Creighton 83-80.  Georgetown, despite all the turmoil and all the guys who have left the team, have continued to win and are looking more and more like they’re going to be dancing this March.

-Marquette absolutely blew Xavier off the court in an 85-65 win.  I think it’s time to start thinking of Marquette as a tournament caliber team, and to stop thinking of Xavier as one.

-Minnesota picked up another really nice win as they held on to beat Penn State at home 75-69.  Road wins in the Big Ten have not been easy to come by.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-CINCINNATI AT MEMPHIS (American).  Memphis has been struggling.  They barely escaped with a win against South Florida and had lost two straight prior to that.  It’s important that they hold serve at home tonight against a Cincinnati team that is currently outside the bubble.

-UTAH AT ARIZONA (Pac 12).  Utah is sort of hovering around the bubble and could really use a win like this at home.  Arizona’s biggest issue is that they don’t have any road wins, and while they can’t fix that tonight they still need to hold serve.

-OREGON AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12).  This should be a winnable road game for the Ducks, which would keep them on a pace to end up as a protected seed.

-COLORADO AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12).  Colorado is in fairly decent shape, but picking up a road win will always help the resume.  Arizona State right now is way outside the bubble and would need to put together a long string of wins to get back into the conversation.

-SAN DIEGO AT BYU (West Coast).  BYU is having a good year and is solidly in the tournament discussion.  They just need to hold serve tonight.

-CALIFORNIA AT USC (Pac 12).  At 13-3 USC definitely has a path to the NCAA Tournament.  The biggest thing they are lacking are quality wins, and that won’t get fixed tonight, but they still need to hold serve against a Cal team that is improved, but in the grand scheme of things still not very good.

-SANTA CLARA AT GONZAGA (West Coast).  Santa Clara is coming off a really big win at Saint Mary’s, which was easily their biggest of the year.  Going on the road to face Gonzaga is infinitely tougher and the win would be infinitely bigger.  Even Chad would have to pay attention to them if they’re somehow able to win this one!

-OREGON STATE AT WASHINGTON (Pac 12).  Washington is in a complete tailspin and unfortunately it doesn’t look like they’re coming out of it.  Oregon State is flirting with the bubble and can help themselves out again if they’re able to get this one on the road.

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