It’s another busy Saturday in college basketball. Below is a rundown of all the action.
NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day between TAMUCC and SFA – CLICK HERE
-To sign our online petition so the President of the United States will order that Grand Canyon be allowed to play in the NCAA Tournament – CLICK HERE!!!! People, this is why WhiteHouse.Gov exists!! CLICK ON THE LINK AND SIGN THE PETITION!!!
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-WEST VIRGINIA AT FLORIDA (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). Florida is hovering around our bubble, and the one thing they’re really missing is a hugely notable win. Beating a top ten team would certainly help with that, even if they are at home.
-CLEMSON AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). Clemson has already picked up 5 notable wins at “home” in Greenville in ACC play (including Florida State); now they just need to start adding ACC road wins to their profile to solidify a profile that exponentially got better in January. The Seminoles are in a more perilous position with a 3-5 record in the ACC, but Tallahassee can be a snake pit at times. Just ask Virginia.
-VANDERBILT AT TEXAS (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). Coming into the season we were pretty high on Vanderbilt and had a lot of questions about Texas. Now, the roles have flipped. It’s Texas that appears to be on their way to the dance and Vandy who looks to be going to the NIT.
-MICHIGAN AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). This is one of the more winnable road games that Michigan has remaining so they need to take advantage.
-GEORGIA TECH AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Syracuse has played their way inside our bubble for the time being, but they’ve been very schizophrenic all season and can’t afford a home loss to a Georgia Tech team that’s been awful on the road this year.
-BUTLER AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Butler has just one loss to a team outside the top fifteen, but having said that they really need to continue to hold serve against non tournament teams, and that includes when they are the road team.
-VIRGINIA AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Louisville has not lost at home, whereas Virginia has struggled. Both teams have the opportunity to improve their resumes with a win today. For UVA, it gives them their best true road win of the year, and for Louisville it would be the best team they’ve managed to beat this year as well.
-IOWA STATE AT TEXAS A&M (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). This one should be a fun one as it’s a matchup between two top fifteen teams. It’s a chance for Iowa State to pick up a monster road win, and it’s a chance for TAMU to beat the highest ranked team on their schedule. Don’t be surprised if both end up as protected seeds come March.
-XAVIER AT DEPAUL (Big East). Xavier is back on our #1 line, and needs to hold serve in games like this in order to remain there.
-LA SALLE AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten). Dayton actually lost to La Salle earlier this year, but shouldn’t have any trouble with them at home today.
-MINNESOTA AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana has won a lot of games over the past several weeks, and they’ve climbed in the rankings as a result. The thing is that none of those wins came against particularly good teams. If they win today, that won’t change.
-MIAMI FL AT NC STATE (ACC). We still feel Miami FL is a solid protected seed, and I don’t expect them to have too much trouble picking up a road win today.
-WASHINGTON AT USC (Pac Twelve). Right now USC is safely in our field, and they still have a shot to end up as a protected seed if they finish strong. Washington is right on the bubble, but one way to really boost their resume is to pick up a high quality road win in a game like this.
-TEXAS TECH AT ARKANSAS (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). Texas Tech has been abysmal on the road, and Arkansas, while nowhere close to a tournament team, has been very strong at home. Both have tons of work to do in order to make the field, though, and although it’s not impossible, I don’t think either of them will.
-BOSTON COLLEGE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). I’m expecting a very lopsided result with North Carolina rolling and remaining in strong contention for a #1 seed.
-NEBRASKA AT PURDUE (Big Ten). I like Purdue a lot, and think that a strong finish will land them on one of the top four lines. Nebraska has been playing better, but they’ll have to really go on a tear between now and the end of the season to be anywhere close to the bubble.
-OKLAHOMA AT LSU (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). LSU keeps improving, and I think they’re good enough to make this game interesting, but Oklahoma is very strong, even when they play on the road. We do have two of the best players in the country on the floor today, so it’s definitely worth tuning tin.
-STANFORD AT UTAH (Pac Twelve). Stanford is right on our bubble, and needs quality wins between now and the end of the year in order to be safely inside it. Winning at Utah would certainly qualify as a quality win.
-GEORGIA AT BAYLOR (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). Given how Georgia has looked on the road, and given how well Baylor has been playing lately, I don’t think it’s fair to call this game a “Challenge.”
-ALABAMA AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC). South Carolina has a bloated record with a lot of decent wins, but no real good wins. A win today won’t change that, but it’s important that they hold serve.
-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten). The more and more I see this Joe’s team, the better I think they are. They can add another conference road win to their profile today and improve to a very impressive 18-3 overall.
-KENTUCKY AT KANSAS (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). When these two met last year it wasn’t pretty with Kentucky absolutely dominating. As good as Kansas is at home, it may not be pretty this year either, but with the opposite result. Right now, we don’t even have Kentucky as a protected seed. Now, if they manage a win today that would certainly change.
-GEORGIA STATE AT LITTLE ROCK (Sun Belt). These are two of the better teams in the Sun Belt, and we currently have Little Rock inside our bubble. It’s hard to say what the real committee will think of them, but they’ll certainly be in the discussion, and perhaps in the field, if they can blow through the rest of their schedule.
-SAINT PETER’S AT MONMOUTH (Metro Atlantic). Monmouth has had a great year overall, but they do have some losses on their profile that smell pretty bad. They should be fine if they win out, but they really can’t afford any more.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT UCLA (Pac Twelve). UCLA’s record is just 12-9, but they’ve played a tough schedule and managed some big wins. This is a big game simply because it’s winnable, and they need wins right now.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT UNLV (Mountain West). San Diego State isn’t inside our bubble yet, but if they win out, which I certainly think they’re good enough to do, I’m guessing they will be.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT GONZAGA (West Coast). The Zags have been one of the more disappointing teams this year, and are in danger of missing the field altogether. They basically need to win out in order to feel safe.
-SETON HALL AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton had been sneaking up on people, and I think they would have made our last field had they pulled off the win at Georgetown, but they ended up melting down late in the game. Still, they’re playing well, but still have a lot of work to do if they want to make the field. Seton Hall has looked really good this year, and I think they’ve been a little undervalued nationally. This will not be an easy game for them to win, and the Pirates will deserve credit for it if they do, but probably still won’t get it. At least not from the media. Hopefully the committee is watching.
-PROVIDENCE AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). Georgetown was sluggish out of conference, but are an impressive 6-2 in the Big East. They’re at home against Providence, but seeing as how all three of Providence’s conference losses came at home, Georgetown may fare better if it were at Providence.
-YOUNGSTOWN STATE AT VALPARAISO (Horizon League). We still have Valpo safely inside our bubble, but it’s hard to say if the actual committee would. Jon Teitel is guessing that they would not. I do think Valpo will be okay if they win out, though, which they’re good enough to do and should do.
-SEATTLE AT GRAND CANYON (WAC). THE TEAM OF THE PEOPLE IS BACK IN ACTION!!! Sign the petition if you haven’t yet!! CLICK HERE to do it
-OREGON STATE AT ARIZONA (Pac Twelve). Arizona has been really beat up with injuries, but they should still make the field. Just not as a protected seed. Oregon State is on the outside looking in right now, but they can change that with a big road win. Unfortunately, that’s much easier to say than to do.
-UC SANTA BARBARA AT UC IRVINE (Big West). We talked about this during Under the Radar, but if UC Irvine wins out they should get a serious look for an at-large if they end up needing it.
-SAINT MARY’S AT PACIFIC (West Coast). Saint Mary’s continues to face unchallenging competition, but they also keep winning, which they need to do since their margin for error is so small.
-LONG BEACH STATE AT HAWAII (Big West). Similar to UC Irvine, I think the committee will look at Hawaii if they can win out. Granted, both teams can’t win out, so….
Throwback Thursday: A March To Madness (Part 2)
Click here for David Griggs’ News and Notes for January 28, 2016
Click here for Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day and #LopesWaiver Petition
When we originally focused on John Feinstein’s book A March To Madness two weeks ago (click here for Part 1), we took a look at all 9 teams in the ACC going back to the 1996-97 season. We looked at the teams, but didn’t really go too much in depth to the coaches themselves.
North Carolina has Dean Smith, who could best be described as the first patriarch of the ACC. He began coaching in the 1960s after replacing Frank McGuire. Smith was originally a member of Kansas’s basketball teams under the legendary Phog Allen and honed his coaching skills both at Kansas (as the last man off the bench) and as a coach for an Air Force travelling team during his tour of duty; this is not to be confused with Air Force University in the Mountain West. Smith would go on to win numerous ACC Championships, two national titles and reached what was then the all-time win record in 1997.
The second patriarch is Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. He attended West Point and was the captain not only for Bob Knight’s team at Army, but also a captain in the U.S. Army during his post-academy tour of duty. After completing his service, Krzyzewski would spend a year as an assistant for Bob Knight in Indiana before taking the Army job in the 1975-76 season and ultimately the Duke job beginning with the 1980-81 season. Even back surgery in 1995 could not derail what has been a hall-of-fame career for Coach K, who has 1,000+ wins, 5 NCAA titles and counting.
Gary Williams was another fascinating coach; his career included stops at American, Boston College and Ohio State, but Maryland was his first and last home. After his playing career at Maryland and a teaching gig at Camden High School in New Jersey, he was encouraged by Tom Davis, his former assistant at Maryland, to join him as a full-time assistant at Lafayette College in the early 70s. The only catch was that he also had to be the head women’s soccer coach for Lafayette as well. Even though he had never played or coached soccer, he did learn how the game was played and actually had a decent career as both soccer coach and assistant at Lafayette (and later Boston College) under Tom Davis. He restored Maryland to prominence it once had under Lefty Driesell and even exceeded it with 2 Final Four appearances, including the 2002 NCAA Championship.
Rick Barnes also has a fascinating back-story as it relates to his beginnings in the coaching ranks. He was originally scheduled to interview for an assistant’s position at Davidson under Eddie Biedenbach during the summer in the 1970s. Barnes actually sat in a hot gym for over 12 hours waiting for Biedenbach, but ultimately did get the job. He did double-duty between the assistant gig and early morning shifts at a nearby lumberyard. He would ultimately land head coaching jobs at George Mason for a year and Providence for 6 seasons before taking the job at Clemson. While he did reach the Sweet 16 at Clemson, he would ultimately make a bigger name for himself at Texas while leading the Longhorns to the Final 4 in 2003.
While Williams was an assistant at Lafayette, another up-and-coming coach by the name of Pat Kennedy would begin his paid coaching career as an assistant at Lehigh under Brian Hill. Kennedy had actually been a student-coach at Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; he coached their JV while he was a varsity player for Kings. After stops at Kings and Lehigh, he took the Iona job after Jim Valvano moved on to NC State. Kennedy actually led Iona to multiple NCAA Tournaments, but as the Big East began beating Iona for prized recruits, Kennedy moved on to Florida State. He led the Seminoles to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in 1992 and 1993, respectively. He even turned down the UNLV job in between the aforementioned years. He was never able to replicate that success; he also coached at DePaul after leaving Florida State following the 1996-97 season.
Both Dave Odom and Jeff Jones had Virginia connections; they served as assistant coaches at one time under Terry Holland. Odom actually saw the assistant job at UVa as a promotion from his head coaching job at East Carolina; while he was unable to have any consistent success at East Carolina, he did lead Wake Forest to their most consistent stretch of success since the 1960s. Thanks to players like Randolph Childress, Rodney Rogers and Tim Duncan, Odom was able to reach the Elite 8 in 1996 and also had 2 other seasons where they made the Sweet 16. Odom would also eventually move on to South Carolina and became the only coach to lead a team to back-to-back NIT titles.
As for Jeff Jones, he was also a member of Virginia teams in the early 1980s that included Ralph Sampson, Othell Wilson and Jeff Lamp. Jones as a head coach made it as far as the Elite 8 in 1995, upsetting the hometown Kansas Jayhawks in the Sweet 16. After getting dismissed at Virginia, Jones took a sabbatical from coaching before resurrecting himself at American and Old Dominion.
Bobby Cremins had built Georgia Tech up from nothing when he took the job in the early 1980s; he also had success in his first head coaching job at Appalachian State. He was a fabulous recruiter (Mark Price, John Salley, Dennis Scott, Kenny Anderson, Travis Best and Stephon Marbury all had notable careers) and had reached the Final 4 in 1990, the Elite 8 in 1985 and the Sweet 16 on 3 other occasions. He would also coach for a few seasons at Charleston before hanging up the whistle for good.
Herb Sendek was an interesting coach at NC State in quite a few ways. He was the polar opposite of legendary Jim Valvano from the public point of view, but he was also responsible for a lot of Miami of Ohio’s success in the mid-1990s. He also recruited a lot of players that ultimately made the Sweet 16 under Charlie Coles in the 1998-99 season. Sendek was able to give NC State fans a ray of hope in the 1996-97 season with their improbable run to the ACC Championship in 1997 with wins over Georgia Tech, Duke and Maryland. He ultimately led the Wolfpack to 5 straight NCAA Tournaments (including a Sweet 16 in 2004-05), but it was not enough to satisfy a fan base in the Triangle that was tormented by Duke and North Carolina’s success. He would move on to Arizona State, where he was able to get the Sun Devils to the NCAA Tournament twice in 8 seasons.