Back in the Saddle Again: HoopsHD interviews interim South Florida coach Murry Bartow

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Jon Teitel

Some people ease into the new year…while others really take that “new” part to heart.  When we last saw Murry Bartow he was finishing a 200+ win career at East Tennessee State in 2015, a job he got after winning 100+ games as head coach at his alma mater of UAB.  South Florida hired him as an assistant to Orlando Antigua last August, but after Antigua was fired earlier today Bartow was named interim head coach.  He certainly has the genes to succeed: his father Gene was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.  He also has a proven track record: SoCon Coach of the Year in 2004 and Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year 2007.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel previously got to chat with Coach Bartow about winning an NCAA title in 1987 as a grad assistant to Coach Bobby Knight and his 3 trips to the NCAA tourney as a head coach: we wish him the best of luck at his new job!

In the early 1980s you played basketball at UAB where you were part of 4 NCAA tourney teams: how good was your program back then, and how on earth did you also have time to be a member of the golf team?! We had some really good teams at UAB. It was a lot of fun even though I was not a main part of the rotation. I was also a golfer, which was fine because the 2 seasons did not overlap that much. I played a lot of golf growing up so I liked it a lot.

After graduation you began your coaching career as a graduate assistant at Indiana where you worked with the Hoosiers’ 1987 NCAA championship team: what was it like to work with Coach Bobby Knight , and what did it mean to you to win a title? It was incredible to win it all after we had lost in the previous year’s tourney to Cleveland State. I loved my 2 years working for Coach Knight and tried to soak up everything he did/said.

From 1989-1996 you served as an assistant coach for your dad Gene, who created the Blazers basketball program: what was it like to work for your dad, and what made him such a great coach? I played for my dad when I went to UAB and also liked working for him. He was a great players’ coach and a very good recruiter. He knew what button to push with each player in order to get the most out of them.

From 1996-2002 you served as head coach at UAB: was it weird to take over for your dad, and what did it mean to you to become head coach at your alma mater? It was an honor to take over for him but it is difficult for any son to try and replace their father: just look at guys like Pat Knight, Sean Sutton, etc. There were big shoes to fill but we had some success.

In 2004 you finished your 1st season at East Tennessee State with a regular season title, a conference tourney title, and COY honors: how were you able to come in and be so successful right from the start? Ed DeChellis had done a great job building the program and we had some great players. It just all came together and we had a really good year.

What are your memories of the 2004 NCAA tourney (Tim Smith had 26 PTS/4 STL in a 3-PT loss to Cincinnati)? We played well and had a great shot to win. It was back and forth the entire game and could have gone either way.

In 2005 your team switched from the Southern Conference to the Atlantic Sun Conference: why did the school make the switch, and what was the biggest difference between the 2 conferences? The switch was made after we decided to drop football and the Southern Conference decided they did not want us in their league, so our AD and president decided to move to the Atlantic Sun. From a men’s basketball perspective they are very similar in terms of being perimeter-oriented leagues with good coaches/players.

What are your memories of the 2009 NCAA tourney (DeJuan Blair had 27 PTS/16 REB in a 10-PT win by #1-seed Pitt)? It was very similar to the Cincinnati game. We were playing really well at that time and entered the tourney with a lot of confidence: we would not be intimidated by anyone. We were overmatched yet were only down by 2 PTS with 4 minutes left. Blair took over late in the game and we did not have any answer for him.

What are your memories of the 2010 NCAA tourney (Eric Bledsoe had 29 PTS after making his 1st 8 3-PT shots in a win by #1-seed Kentucky)? My memories are obviously not real good! The Wildcats had a lot of great players and we were not as strong a team as the previous year. Our game plan was to hope that they did not hit a bunch of 3-PT shots, but once they started making threes it just snowballed from there.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Jan 3rd

Posted on January 3, 2017 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-For our latest Hoops HD Report Podcast – CLICK HERE

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-Monmouth and Chattanooga were teams we actually thought had a chance of making the NCAA Tournament without winning their conference tournament.  We now no longer feel that way.  Monmouth dropped their second conference game with a loss to Saint Peter’s last night, and Chattanooga fell to UNC Greensboro.  It’s not the lack of good wins that has hurt Monmouth the last two years.  It’s the bad losses.  I know it’s not easy to go on the road and win against anyone, but an NCAA Tournament caliber team is expected to beat sub NIT teams, much less sub CIT teams.  When a team like Monmouth goes out there and loses multiple games like that then the committee looks at that the same way they’d look at a power conference team losing a buy game.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-ARKANSAS AT TENNESSEE (SEC).  Arkansas has a bloated record but very few of their wins have been of note.  Tennessee is hardly a great team, but they have been better than expected, they’ve been playing well lately, and they’ve lost just one home game.  It will be a test for Arkansas.

-OLE MISS AT FLORIDA (SEC).  The Gators have been playing well lately and shouldn’t have too much trouble beating a decent but not great Ole Miss team at home today.

-WISCONSIN AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  This is a big early season conference game for both teams.  Indiana has lost two straight and needs their momentum back, and while Wisky has had a good season they don’t have a win anywhere close to being as good as this one would be on their profile yet.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT CLEMSON (ACC).  UNC is coming off a very surprising loss to Georgia Tech and a solid road win would be a great way to rebound from that.  Clemson is off to their best start in several years, and a home win today could really energize their fanbase.

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC).  Wake needs to win just to stay in the race.  BC isn’t a good team, but they’re not nearly as bad of a team as we thought and with the signs of life they’ve shown Wake just can’t overlook them.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten).  Rhody needs to absolutely dominate this league in order to land inside the bubble come March, and that certainly means being able to beat sub NCAA Tournament caliber teams at home.

-EAST CAROLINA AT UCF (American).  UCF can make it to the NCAAs, but their margin for error is small.  Losing at home to a non tournament team like East Carolina would certainly fall outside of their margin for error.

-DAYTON AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten).  Dayton is another team that’s hovering around the bubble and has a very small margin for error.  The Bonnies are likely an NIT team, so this is the kind of game Dayton needs to be able to win if they themselves want to demonstrate that they’re an NCAA team.

-ALABAMA AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC).  Mississippi State is much improved, but they’ll need to do very well in conference play in order to get the attention of the committee.

-TEXAS A&M AT KENTUCKY (SEC).  Kentucky seems destined for the #1 line and blowing through this conference should land them there.  TAMU’s profile is suddenly hurting and they’ll need to win some big games in conference.  This game would certainly qualify, but they’re probably swinging over their heads.

-OKLAHOMA AT TCU (Big Twelve).  TCU ran up a nice record against a weak schedule, which isn’t a bad thing for a program that’s trying to turn itself around to do.  Now that conference play has started they need to pick up some big wins in order to keep pace.

-KANSAS STATE AT KANSAS (Big Twelve).  Kansas is contending for the #1 line, and K State, while they just have one loss, is still contending for the NCAA Tournament.  Their wins aren’t all that great, but they can completely change the complexion of their profile if they somehow pull off the upset tonight.

-WEST VIRGINIA AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve).  West Virginia has had a great year with just one loss in a game where they really just had a bad half.  Any road game is tough, and tonight will be no exception as Texas Tech is unbeaten at home and looking for a notable win of their own, but if WVU is a top fifteen caliber team it’s the kind of game they should be able to win.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Chad

Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan, 7:00 PM Eastern, espn3

For our latest Hoops HD Report video podcast, CLICK HERE.

Conference regular season play gets underway tonight in the Mid-American Conference with a full slate of six games, highlighted by a potential early battle between the top two contenders in the West Division, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan.  The Eastern Michigan Eagles entered the season as our pick to win the MAC West, but have only put together an 8-5 record, with four of those wins coming outside of Division I.  They are coming off of a home win last week over Long Beach State, in a game where five players scored in double figures.  If the Eagles can continue to spread the scoring out, they certainly have the ability to finish at the top of their division and secure a high seed in the MAC tournament in March.

Central Michigan has put together the best overall record amongst MAC West teams, entering conference play at 10-3, though admittedly all ten of their wins have come against teams ranked outside the top 150 at KenPom.  Marcus Keene has been close to amazing for the Chippewas so far this year, as he enters the game leading the nation in scoring average at 30.7 points per game.  In fact, his average is more than 5 points per game better than the #2 player in the nation (Alec Peters of Valparaiso at 25.0 ppg).  If Eastern Michigan is unable to at least slow Keene down tonight, do not be surprised if the Chippewas are able to pull of the road upset and take the early lead in the West Division.

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The Hoops HD Report: January 2nd

Posted on January 2, 2017 by David Griggs

Conference play has just gotten underway, and we’ve already seen some surprising results.  Duke and North Carolina both went down in upsets, and Nebraska picked up two huge Big Ten road wins after struggling all throughout OOC play.  Chad and the panel run through all of the major conferences and reassess how many teams they think have a legitimate shot of making the NCAA Tournament, and what they need to do in order to get there.  They also take a look at all of the notable games coming up this week.

 

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

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David Griggs’s Bracket Projections: January 2nd

Posted on January 2, 2017 by David Griggs

The bracket below is a CHECKPOINT based on what I think a team’s CURRENT MERIT is.  It is not a prediction of what I think the actual committee will do in March.  It is what I personally think the field should look like.  If you want a bracket that tries to guess the actual committee check out Jon Teitel’s field –BY CLICKING HERE.  He’s among the best in the country at guessing the committee.

OTHERS CONSIDERED: Texas A&M, Arkansas State, Dayton, Kansas State, Miami FL, Memphis, Ohio State, Houston, Georgetown, UCF, Auburn, NC State, Georgia, Nevada, California, Wake Forest, TCU, Boise State, Illinois State, Oakland, Charleston, Ole Miss

NOTES FROM DAVID

-Indiana’s RPI is in the 100s, and obviously if it’s still there at the end of the season they’ll be nowhere near the field, but we are still to a point to where some of the numerical rankings, particularly the RPI, are very erratic due to less than half the season being played.  Their overall profile, and their team, is still really good.  I know they’ve lost two straight, but losing to Louisville isn’t really damaging, especially when they have wins against Kansas and North Carolina on their profile.

-Nebraska on the #9 line may seem crazy, but out of all their losses only one was particularly bad so they hadn’t really sunk themselves prior to this week.  So, when a team that’s been holding serve suddenly adds road wins against Indiana and Maryland to their profile, the value of their profile spikes big time.

And those who laughed at Tim Miles will be sorry!!!

-UCLA lost at Oregon, but Oregon has been tough at home, and it was on a last second shot, and if anything I think I was more impressed with UCLA’s team after the game than I was before the game.  It’s a non-damaging loss, with the types of wins they have, particularly the win at Kentucky, their profile and team still warrant a #1 seed.

-I know Xavier is high in the rankings, and I don’t particularly feel they are overrated, but I just can’t seem to get them any higher on my seed list.  They don’t have a win against a team that’s solidly in the field yet other than Clemson, who I have on the #7 line.  If X is as good as I think they are, they’ll get the wins they need in Big East play in order to move up, but for now I have them on the #7 line.

 

NOTES FROM JOHN

-I applaud the Puppet for adding Florida State to protected seed territory – given the fact that the Mothership highlighted all 4 Tobacco Road teams losing on the same day, what was overlooked was the Noles going into Virginia and getting a signature win against Virginia.

-And speaking of the Hoos, I think they belong a seed line lower here. I understand that Florida State and West Virginia suddenly look a lot better, but they do have a win at Louisville to boast about. I don’t think that in and of itself merits a 2 at this checkpoint, at least.

-I know Griggs has a little difficulty in moving Xavier ahead on his seed list, but I’ll give you a few teams that are seeded a little high at the moment – USC and Purdue. The Trojans won at Texas A&M earlier this year, but even Tennessee has been able to accomplish that. I’m starting to wonder about Purdue given that their only real win of note is against Notre Dame. They’ve lost at home to Villanova and now Minnesota, and even Georgia State was not easy, either.

-Florida may seem to be overseeded at a 5, but I do give them credit for winning a lot of games of note away from home (particularly Seton Hall and Miami in the Advocare Invitational and Arkansas on the road).

-I’ll admit it, I am on the bandwagon for Nebraska and Tim Miles – at least as far as getting into the field. Their schedule is brutal, and winning at Indiana and Maryland is impressive. However, their scarlet letter this year will be the Gardner-Webb loss at home. (Also note that Tim Miles has gone radio silent on Twitter since that loss!)

-I will again ask what business Rhode Island has of getting into this field, much less being considered at all. All they have is a win against Cincinnati, but that’s offset by losses against Duke, Valpo, Providence and Houston away from home as well. The good news for them is that they have a chance to run up a nice record in the A-10, but I don’t think that’s enough. Marquette is another team that shouldn’t be in yet until they can actually close out another close game or two away from home. Beating Georgia and Vandy is nice and dandy, but had they been able to finish off either Pitt or Seton Hall, I’d like their chances a lot better right now.

-South Carolina has reinstated Sindarius Thornwell, so we’ll have to see if they can regain their form when they beat Michigan earlier this year. Losses to Seton Hall, Clemson and Memphis in and of themselves aren’t fatal, but they don’t signal a positive trend for a team about to begin SEC play. They certainly can’t be losing games like Missouri and Mississippi State again, nor can they be swept in 3 games by a team not named Kentucky.

 

COMMENTS FROM CHAD

– Chad is taking a sick day this week and will wait until next week to rip David apart.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Harvard at Vermont (and Other Highlighted Games, Monday, Jan 2nd)

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Chad

Harvard at Vermont, 7:00 PM Eastern, americaeast.tv

The Under the Radar Game of the Day heads up to Burlington, Vermont tonight for one of the last handful of non-conference games left, this one featuring the America East’s Vermont Catamounts hosting the Ivy League’s Harvard Crimson.  Vermont enters tonight’s game at 9-5 overall and with their conference’s top KenPom rating at 90.  They have already picked up two home wins against the Ivy League (Yale and Dartmouth) and will be looking to make it 3-0 today.  Last time out, the Catamounts picked up a solid road win at Siena, led by 17 points off the bench (in only 16 minutes of play) from Darren Payne.  Also keep an eye on freshman Anthony Lamb, who had a career high 26 points three games ago in a win over Eastern Michigan.

Harvard began the season a disappointing 1-4, but has quietly run off five straight wins, including winning at Boston College and at Houston.  Bryce Aiken led the way in the Houston win with 21 points, while Chris Lewis had 22 in the win over BC.  With neither player having started, the Crimson certainly have shown that they have the depth to contend for their conference championship.  With a win today, Harvard will be the hottest Ivy League team as we head towards conference play and will send notice to the rest of the league that the 1-4 start was just an aberration and that this team is ready to win the Ivy.

 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-CHATTANOOGA AT UNC GREENSBORO (SoCon).  If Chattanooga wins out they should at least get a look from the committee.  Anything short of that and they’ll need the auto bid.  This is probably one of their tougher remaining games outside of having to go to East Tennessee State.

-MONMOUTH AT SAINT PETER’S (Metro Atlantic).  Monmouth is coming off a loss and pretty much needs to win every game until the conference tournament.  Anything short of that and they’ll have to win the auto-bid.

-ELON AT UNC WILMINGTON (Colonial Athletic).  UNCW should be able to run away from this conference.  If they do that and avoid bad losses they should be safe for a tournament bid.  But, having said that, just about any loss will be considered a bad loss.

-APPALACHIAN STATE AT UT ARLINGTON (Sun Belt).  I really like this UTA team.  I’m expecting them to run away from the rest of the league and earn an NCAA Tournament bid.

 

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