Hoops HD

Final Four Rundown (and CIT/CBI Recap): Saturday, April 1st

Posted on April 1, 2017 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE to view our most recent Hoops HD Report, where we give a much more extended breakdown of each team and the games today.

#7 SOUTH CAROLINA VS #1 GONZAGA (CBS, 6:09pm, est). Just about everyone (including myself) is picking Gonzaga to win this game, but South Carolina’s overall play, particularly their defense, has been so good throughout this tournament that you can’t just write them off. This is a team that beat Duke, who many felt should have been a #1 seed, and who blew Baylor off the court, so simply based on the road each team took to get here, South Carolina’s has been more impressive. Both teams play great defense, and Gonzaga has certainly shown that they’re capable of scoring, even against tough defenses like West Virginia. I like the Zags a little better, but am not ready to just write off South Carolina.

#3 OREGON VS #1 NORTH CAROLINA (CBS, approx 8:49, est). Oregon had to sweat out their Round of 32 game against Rhode Island, as well as their Sweet Sixteen win against Michigan, but then pulled off what I still think is the most shocking single game performance when they ran away from Kansas in the Elite Eight. North Carolina had some trouble with Arkansas, but then beat Butler without too much trouble and then downed Kentucky on a near last second shot. North Carolina has looked like the better team especially when you consider Oregon isn’t at full strength, but it seems silly to keep pointing that out considering that Oregon has made it this far while not being at full strength. UNC could be dealing with injuries of their own.

OTHER GAMES PLAYED ON FRIDAY

Last night, the CIT came down to an exciting finish between Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Saint Peter’s. The Islanders were able to draw a foul while attempting a game-tying 3 pointer with 3 seconds left in regulation. They were able to hit all 3 free throws to tie the score. After SPC inbounded the ball cross court in front of their bench, they called their last timeout to set up one last play. They inbounded cross-court to someone who had an open drive to the bucket and managed to draw a foul with under a second remaining. Trevis Wyche hit the first free throw for the Peacocks and intentionally missed the 2nd one – Corpus Christi’s last-second prayer went unanswered to give Saint Peter’s a 62-61 victory and their first CIT title.

Elsewhere, Wyoming ended up with another 24-point victory to win the CBI championship. This time, they got off to a fast start with a 42-23 halftime lead. Coastal Carolina was unable to put together any runs of significance, and Wyoming won their first postseason tournament since winning the 1943 NCAA Championship.

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Under The Radar Postseason News, Notes and CBI/CIT Championship Previews – Friday, March 31

Posted on March 31, 2017 by John Stalica

For the penultimate Hoops HD podcast for the 2016-17 season – CLICK HERE.

TCU left little doubt as to who was the hottest team outside of the NCAA Tournament last night. They got out to an 11-point lead at halftime last night and outscored Georgia Tech by 21 in the 2nd half to cruise to an 88-56 victory over the Yellow Jackets in the NIT Championship game last night. Kenrich Williams had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Horned Frogs – Williams was also named Most Outstanding Player in the NIT for his efforts.

Elsewhere last night, the 3-point shooting contest and slam dunk contest were held last night at Grand Canyon’s on-campus arena in Phoenix. Peter Jok (Iowa) won the men’s 3-point shooting contest and Kendred Wesemann (Kansas State) won the women’s 3-point shooting contest. The finals between Jok and Wesemann ended in a tie, but Weseman ended up winning the overall contest on having the best overall round throughout the night. Rodney Prior (Georgetown) ended up winning the slam-dunk contest.

CBI (Game 3)

COASTAL CAROLINA at WYOMING (7:00 PM, ESPNU). Wyoming forced a decisive third and final game with an 81-57 win over Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night. While Justin James and Alex Aka Gorski provided Wyoming their main firepower, the Chanticleers were able to get 6 guys in double-figures in the scoring column in their win on Monday night.

CIT (Championship)

SAINT PETER’S at TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI (9:00 PM, CBS Sports Network). Thanks to a relatively easy victory over Furman on Wednesday, Saint Peter’s will make their second trip to Texas (following a win at Texas State in the quarterfinals) in the CIT. Their opponent will be Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – the Islanders earned the right to host the championship game with a 79-61 win at UMBC.

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The Hoops HD Report: Final Four Edition

Posted on March 30, 2017 by David Griggs

The panel gives a full breakdown of the Final Four. We discuss each team and review how it was that they got there. South Carolina has been one of the biggest surprises in the tournament, Oregon pulled off a shocking win against Kansas despite the injuries they’ve dealt with, Gonzaga cruised past Xavier after winning a nail-biter against West Virginia, and North Carolina won in a classic against Kentucky. We also take a look at some of the more notable coaching changes, as well as the NIT, CIT, and CBI Tournaments.

And for all you radio lovers, below is an mp3 version of the show…

Posted in Bracketology, News and Notes, Podcasts, Videocasts | 2 Comments

Under The Radar Postseason News, Notes and NIT Championship – Thursday, March 30

Posted on March 30, 2017 by John Stalica

Thanks to Wyoming’s win over Coastal Carolina last night, we are now assured of 3 more under-the-radar games remaining in the 2016-17 college basketball season. The Cowboys went into halftime with a modest 33-27 halftime lead, but they kicked into another gear in the 2nd half and ended up with a blowout 81-57 win at home over the Chanticleers last night. Justin James led Wyoming with 21 points and Alex AkaGorski also added 17 points off the bench. Friday night’s game will be a winner-take-all affair for the CBI Championship on Wyoming’s home floor.

In the CIT last night, Rashawn Thomas became the first 2,000-point scorer in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s program history. The Islanders got a decisive 79-61 victory last night over UMBC. They will play host to the CIT Championship on Friday night against Saint Peter’s – the Peacocks also had a comfortable 77-51 victory at home last night against Furman.

As we type this article this morning, Dayton has announced that Anthony Grant will return home as their next head coach. He played for the Flyers under legendary head coach Don Donoher in the mid-80s and was part of a team that went to the Elite 8 in 1984. He spent 3 years as a head coach at VCU and 6 seasons at Alabama in the collegiate coaching ranks. Right now, he is an assistant coach on Billy Donovan’s staff for the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic 10, former Chattanooga head coach Matt McCall will officially become the new head coach at UMass. The job was originally going to go to Pat Kelsey, but he did a 180 just prior to being announced as their new head coach at the time. Former Purdue associate head coach Jack Owens will become the new head coach for the (Mother) Miami RedHawks as well.

NIT (Championship)

(6) GEORGIA TECH vs. (4) TCU (8:00 PM, ESPN). Regardless of who wins tonight’s game, we are assured of at least one feel-good story in the coaching ranks in terms of rapidly rebuilding a moribund program. Will it be Josh Pastner’s Georgia Tech team – a team picked by some pundits to not win a single game in ACC play all year? Or will it be Jamie Dixon and TCU – a program that hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since the run-and-gun days of Billy Tubbs in the late 1990s?

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Under The Radar Postseason News, Notes and Highlighted Games – Wednesday, March 29

Posted on March 29, 2017 by John Stalica

For a photo recap of Jon Teitel’s postseason coverage of the Big Ten Tournament in Washington, DC – CLICK HERE

All good things eventually come to an end, and the same thing held true in the NIT last night for the Cal State-Bakersfield Roadrunners. Georgia Tech won 76-61 in the first semifinal game to advance to their first NIT Championship game. The Yellow Jackets were led by Josh Okogie’s 22 points along with Ben Lammers’ 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Awaiting them in the championship game on Thursday night will be the TCU Horned Frogs. TCU won 68-53 in a game where just about everyone in a Horned Frog uniform got in on the act. They had 20 assists on 26 made field goals, and outrebounded Central Florida 44-35. They will play Georgia Tech in the NIT Championship Thursday night at 7 PM.

There were also a couple of notable players that declared for the NBA Draft in the past 24 hours and signed with an agent. Maryland’s Melo Trimble will forgo his final year of eligibility. Xavier’s Edmond Sumner also declared yesterday, although he will be unable to do workouts as he rehabs his knee following ACL surgery and awaits surgery later this spring on a torn labrum in his shoulder.

CBI (Game 2)

COASTAL CAROLINA at WYOMING (9 PM, ESPNU). Coastal Carolina won the first game of the best-of-3 CBI Finals on Monday night and must win at least one game at Wyoming to win their first postseason title in their program’s history. Coastal had 6 players in double-figures in the point column on Monday night, but going from sea level to 7,220 feet in altitude will be demanding from a conditioning point of view for the Chanticleers.

CIT

TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI at UMBC (7:00 PM, CBS Sports Network). The UMBC Retrievers have won all 3 games at home during the CIT – their most recent victory came against Liberty on Sunday. They will take on the Southland’s perennial bridesmaid TAMU-CC (at least during the SFA years) in the first of 2 semifinal games to be broadcast on CBS Sports Network tonight.

FURMAN at SAINT PETER’S (9:00 PM, CBS Sports Network). As alluded to a couple of days ago, both Furman and Saint Peter’s were unlikely 2nd-place finishers in their respective conferences during the regular season. The Paladins did get a road win on Saturday against Campbell to advance to tonight’s semifinal. Saint Peter’s also returned from their brief road trip with a win against Texas State last Saturday night as well.

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HoopsHD at the Big 10 Tourney: Photo essay (Day 4)

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Jon Teitel

HoopsHD is always hovering around the edge of legitimacy (see Puppet, The), but thanks to the good folks at the Big 10 we are kicking it up a notch this week with a media credential to the Big 10 Tourney in DC. From his prime perch in the now-3rd row Jon Teitel will be bringing you daily updates of all the action from the Verizon Center via a series of photo essays. Day 4 brought us a pair of semifinals with Minnesota vs. Michigan and Wisconsin vs. Northwestern, but since we are already a couple of weeks behind let’s get right to the photos.

The Gophers brought their band and some determination:

Unfortunately, Michigan brought a team of destiny:

You know it’s a big game when Nantz/Hill/Raf are in the house:

Derrick Walton Jr. was simply unstoppable in the 84-77 win: 29 PTS/10-10 FT/9 AST/1 TO:

Coach Richard Pitino even called him 1 of the most underrated PGs in America:

Northwestern brought its mascot and you know I like a good Wildcat!

Usually I do not like it when parents are looking over their kid’s shoulder at a basketball game, but when Grant Hill’s mother Janet ends up sitting 1 row behind me, I give her the benefit of the doubt:

The Badgers are known for their 1-2 frontcourt punch of Nigel Hayes/Ethan Happ, but it is their backcourt of Zak Showalter/Bronson Koenig who make this a Final 4-caliber team:

Even though Northwestern lost 76-48 I still got to sneak a peek on the way out at Julia Louis-Dreyfus, whose son Charlie plays on the team: the Veep is in DC!

I asked Coach Chris Collins about the alums who had waited their entire lives for the Selection Show the following day, and he admitted that it would be exciting if they heard their name called: