Bubble Tracker: Shuffling teams in the Big East, Big 12
Check out the latest edition of USA TODAY’s Bubble Tracker to see which college basketball teams will make the field of 68.
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Big East Basketball: Grading Each Team Halfway Through Conference Play
With the NFL winding down, college basketball is getting ready to step up. The Big East conference is wide open and any team can swoop in and take the crown.
The Big East is currently halfway done with conference play. The usuals are at the top of the conference, while there are some surprises as to who is succeeding and who is failing.
Over the next 16 slides, I will grade each team’s play so far and tell you what the team should be doing come the Big East Championship Tournament and March Madness.
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NBA Power Rankings: Breaking Down the Top 10 Teams in the East
The Chicago Bulls lead the NBA Eastern Conference’s 10 best teams, but the Miami Heat aren’t too far behind.
It’s a matter of Chicago’s championship-caliber depth versus Miami’s ability to field the most talented starting five in the conference. Both teams have jumped out front, despite nagging injuries to top stars like Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade.
While this looks like a two team race to the finish, the middle of the pack is stronger in the East than it has been in over a decade.
The Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks all have room to improve, but have also already proven capable against the conference “elite.”
The Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics are still hunting for past glories, yet one wonders whether these franchises are still living in seasons past.
With chemistry, injury and experience problems, the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers are all deeply flawed teams. As of right now, they may have little to look forward to even if they nab the eighth seed.
Watch as Bleacher Report’s Joel C. Cordes breaks down the NBA Eastern Conference’s Power Rankings.
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Miami Heat: How the Heatles Took over Top Spot in East by Dominating the Bulls
No matter how you look at it, the Miami Heat absolutely dominated the Chicago Bulls Sunday afternoon.
Sure, they failed to close the Bulls out when they had a double-digit lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Heatles controlled nearly every aspect of the game for all 48 minutes.
The Heat topped the Bulls in three-point field goal percentage, free-throw percentage, assists and rebounds, in addition to committing less turnovers and less personal fouls than the Bulls.
The close final score of 97-93 doesn’t do a good job of showing just how in control the Heat were for the entirety of Sunday’s much-hyped matchup.
The most telling statistic of the game is found in the fact that the Bulls trailed the Heat for all 48 minutes, never taking the lead from LeBron and company.
A majority of analysts and experts will chalk the loss up to the fact that the Bulls were without the mighty Luol Deng, who usually defends LeBron James, who led the Heat with 35 points on 51.2 percent shooting with 11 rebounds and five assists. But no matter how you look at the Heat’s performance against Chicago, the only word that aptly defines it is “dominant”.
So how exactly did the Heat dominate the Bulls? They did so by outplaying the Bulls on the defensive side of the ball while managing to control the tempo of the game with their own explosive transition offense.
As usual, the Heat’s transition offense was fueled by their ability to create turnovers. The Heat didn’t just force turnovers, they also capitalized off of them, scoring 22 points off of 15 Bulls turnovers, as compared to the Bulls, who only managed to score 11 points off of 13 turnovers.
The Bulls’ inability to stop the Heat in their transition offense, especially early on the game, allowed the Heat to set the tone of the game and control the tempo of the game, which proved too much for the Bulls to overcome.
The Heat didn’t just dominate in the transition offense alone. They also outplayed the Bulls defensively, which many didn’t think they could do. The Heat’s defense, by heavily contesting perimeter shots and overpowering the Bulls’ bigs in the paint, forced the Bulls to rely on Derrick Rose‘s ability to penetrate and hit difficult, which he did, but just like the 2011 NBA Playoffs it wasn’t enough to sink the Heat.
One of the most impressive takeaways from the Heat’s big win over the Bulls is the way that LeBron James took over the game, and proved to be the most dominant player on the court on Sunday afternoon.
LeBron ended the game with his eighth double-double and his 11th 30-plus-point game of the season, which is more than a majority of players are able to attain in an entire season and even an entire career.
LeBron scored 35 points on 52.1 percent shooting, while accounting for 11 rebounds, five assists and one blocked shot. That out of LeBron outshined the 34-point performance of the 2011 MVP, Rose, who shot just 39.2 percent, and accounted for only six rebounds and six assists.
More impressive than LeBron’s point production or his ability to shoot above 50.0 percent from the field, was the fact that he accepted the role of being the focal point of the Heat’s offense down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
LeBron scored nine of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, and he took shots on the final two possessions of the game with the Heat only leading by two points. While the first of those possessions resulted in a missed 6-foot jumper, and the second ending with two missed free-throws, it at least showed that LeBron is gaining confidence when it comes to being the backbone of the Heat’s offense in the clutch.
Many feel that at the foundation of LeBron’s “clutch issues” is a lack of confidence in himself. The only way to improve on that, and build self-confidence, is to continue to take “clutch shots” during the regular season, and that’s what LeBron did Sunday afternoon. LeBron’s never going to hit 100 percent of the game-winning shots he takes, but to be considered one of the best ever he at least has to at least start taking them.
Although the Heat dominated the Bulls on Sunday afternoon, the debate over which team is the best in the Eastern Conference will live on, mainly because the Bulls were without star small forward Deng.
Even with Deng in the starting lineup, the Bulls just don’t have the athleticism or pure offensive talent to compete in a seven game series with the Heat.
The Bulls were arguably the best defensive team in the entire NBA heading into their matchup with the Heat, giving up only 87.0 ppg, but the Heat proved that having a high-powered offense is more important than having the league’s best defense.
Going into Sunday’s showdown the Bulls were considered the top team in the Eastern Conference, and I think it’s blatantly clear that they lost that title afar their battle with the Heat. Chicago might ultimately end up with a better record than the Heat, because teams don’t care as much about beating the Bulls as as they care about dethroning the mighty big three in South Beach when they have the chance.
Even if the Bulls do end the season with a better record than the Heat, it won’t mean that they are the better team, and that was put on display Sunday afternoon in South Beach.
The jury is still out on whether or not the Heat are the best team in the NBA, but one thing is for sure, and that is that the Heat are undoubtedly the best, most complete team in the Eastern Conference.
The Bulls will have to wait until their Mar. 14 rematch with the Heat in Chicago to try and reclaim the top spot in the Eastern Conference, because until then that honor goes to the Miami Heat.
Not only did the LeBron and company earn the top spot in the East, LeBron also earned the top spot on the “best dunks of the year” list by literally jumping over Bulls’ guard John Lucas III. Go ahead and ask Lucas who he thinks is the best team in the Eastern Conference, I’m sure he’d agree that LeBron and the Heat are.
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Bulls visit Heat in East finals rematch (AP)
A Sunday matinee matchup, with the top two teams in the Eastern Conference rekindling their playoff rivalry from a season ago. Derrick Rose says it’s just another game. LeBron James offers a similar sentiment. Odds are, the past two NBA MVPs aren’t being entirely truthful in their analysis. Rose and the Chicago Bulls visit James and the Miami Heat on Sunday, the first meeting this season…
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Pitt Basketball: Panthers Hit Rock Bottom During Big East Play
No one expected it to get this bad.
Certainly Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon didn’t see it coming, but things have never been worse for the Pitt Panthers during the Dixon era.
This is rock bottom for Pitt in that time span. To be honest, rock bottom could have come after the loss to DePaul. Or it could have been after the 39-point effort against Rutgers. A Division-I team filled with scholarship players has no excuse to only score 39 points in a 40-minute basketball game.
It could have been when Khem Birch, the best recruit in recent memory for the Panthers, packed up and left the program.
No matter when you feel, the Panthers hit rock bottom. They’re there now.
Then there was another blown lead that led to a loss to Marquette, as the Pitt losing streak reached six.
It gets worse.
The Panthers hit the toughest part of their Big East conference schedule and lost two more to Syracuse and Louisville.
Before beating Providence last night, the Panthers were the last Big East team to get a conference win, losing their first seven Big East games and eight consecutive games over all.
What’s the problem?
Try everything.
The most glaring weakness has been the constant turnovers. This team simply can’t handle the ball against pressure. With Travon Woodall missing 11 games on the season, it’s forced Ashton Gibbs to be the primary ballhandler.
It’s also forced young guards John Johnson, J.J. Moore, Cameron Wright and others into more pressing duties.
Where in years past Dixon could rely on a veteran cast to not make mistakes and melt down the stretch, these young Panthers have made plenty of mistakes late in games.
That’s expected, though. Dixon has had to play a combined nine freshmen and sophomores this season. Young teams are going to struggle, and that’s what this Pitt team has done.
Another huge problem is the total lack of scoring.
Other than Gibbs, a second scoring option hasn’t emerged on a consistent basis. Pitt currently is averaging only 71.4 points per game, which is good for 116th in the nation. In addition, they are only shooting 46 percent from the floor, only 78th in the country and are the 113th-best three-point shooting team.
Overall the Panthers are still doing a better than average job rebounding the ball and on the defensive end of the floor, but they haven’t been able to develop any consistency on the offensive end.
They had their window of success, and that window was slammed shut with Gilbert Brown’s missed free throw in the NCAA tournament last year against Butler.
The good news is that there is good young talent on this team, and Dixon has a pair of solid recruits coming in next season.
It won’t be long before Dixon has the Panthers back in contention in the Big East.
In the meantime, it’s very difficult to watch Pitt struggle in the fashion that they are.
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Villanova Basketball: Wildcats Finally Get a Big East Road Win
In a game that saw Villanova get back to its gritty roots, they were able to outlast St. John’s in overtime, 79-76. St. John’s is not a great team, but it is significant in that it’s Villanova’s first win on the road, giving them their first winning streak since November 24.
Even more encouraging is that Villanova didn’t do it with a rare, hot shooting performance. In fact, they were especially bad. The Wildcats shot 39 percent from the field, 25 percent from three and just 58 percent from the foul line.
So no, they didn’t do it by hitting shots. They did it by playing Villanova basketball. They played tough defense. They were scrappy rebounders. Most important, they never quit.
St. John’s was on a tear for most of the second half. After starting the game 9-of-28, they hit 20 of their final 32 attempts from the field. Trailing by a score of 60-50 with 6:29 remaining, Villanova dug in on defense and clawed their way back on offense.
Villanova grinded out a 13-3 run over the next 4:35 to tie the game at 63-apiece. Each team scored four more points to send it to overtime. It was in the extra session where Villanova hit some timely shots.
Maalik Wayns carried the load once again, scoring 28 points and adding three assists. But the story was his supporting cast once again.
Despite the poor shooting, Villanova put three other scorers in double figures. Dominic Cheek scored 20 points and added seven rebounds. He shot just 5-of-15 from the field, but he scored 10 of their last 20 points.
Freshman JayVaughn Pinkston continued his coming-out party with a second straight double-double. He scored 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Sophomore James Bell chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
Villanova was able to keep pace with relentless offensive rebounding. They pulled down 24 rebounds on the offensive end, tallying 19 second-chance points.
If the Wildcats can continue playing with this type of effort and aggression, they can expect to make a run in Big East play. Jay Wright has gotten the message through to his young team, and they are playing their best basketball of the season.
They are not likely to make the NCAA Tournament, but they can give any Big East foe a long night. Wayns is establishing himself as one of the conference’s best players, and the rest of the team is starting to follow his lead.
Next week is another big test, as Villanova plays at Louisville and hosts Marquette. It is a chance to establish themselves as a true threat. It’s starting to look like they may just salvage this season yet.
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Cincinnati Basketball: Bearcats Continue to Impress on Road in Big East
Not many teams can say they beat the No. 11 team in the country on the road twice in the span of 10 days. The Cincinnati Bearcats can, however.
After a thrilling 70-67 win over No. 11 Connecticut on the road Wednesday night, the Bearcats find themselves in sole possession of second place in the Big East standings.
They also won their eighth straight Big East road game.
Once again, they did it with defense and excellent guard play.
The four-guard offense now only starts the game with three, but when the game is on the line, there are usually four on the floor and they all delivered in a big way Wednesday night.
Those four guards all finished with between 12-16 points, and Cincinnati only turned the ball over five times the entire game.
That helped them overcome a rebounding deficit of nine.
The Bearcats won in all-too-familiar fashion, hanging on in a close game against a team with more size and talent.
The grind of the Big East will not get any easier as Cincinnati will travel to Morgantown to take on West Virginia on Saturday before returning home to take on No. 1 Syracuse on Monday.
Continuing their winning ways will be nearly impossible given the games coming up, but if Cincinnati can win the games they are supposed to, they will have no trouble getting back to the NCAA Tournament.
The win over Connecticut, who has an RPI of No. 8, moved Cincinnati up from No. 101 to No. 85 in the standings, and they will have two more big chances with West Virginia at No. 13 and Syracuse at No. 1.
Getting those two wins would not only put Cincinnati back in the rankings, but would also start chatter about the possibility of winning the Big East.
But, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here.
Cincinnati still has a lot to prove and has to continue to beat good teams, but the way they are playing now, they are extremely tough to beat, particularly when they are on the road.
That is perhaps the best quality to have in college basketball.
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College Basketball Conference Power Rankings: Is the Big East the Best?
College basketball season is in full swing, and every season, there seems to always be a debate on who has the best conference in the game.
Each conference has something special about it and has a certain type of play that makes them unique.
For example, the Big East is known for having a lot of NBA talent, and the Big Ten is known for power basketball with a lot of focus on defense and team play.
Although it’s a difficult task, here are my power rankings of the best conferences in college basketball.
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Cincinnati Basketball: Four-Guard Offense Leads Bearcats to Top of Big East
After starting the season losing three of their first eight games, the Cincinnati Bearcats have won nine of their last ten games, including seven-straight Big East road games dating back to last season.
That number is virtually unimaginable for any team, let alone the Bearcats.
They have been getting those wins by playing hard defense and taking care of the ball on offense.
The ball security can be pinned primarily on the new four-guard offense. An offense that only turned the ball over three times on Saturday in an 82-78 win over Villanova. That number tied a school record.
Leading the way in the four-guard offense is sophomore Sean Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick leads the team, averaging 16.2 points per game and can score from anywhere on the court.
Senior guard Dion Dixon is second on the team with an average of 14.1 points a night.
Point guard Cashmere Wright anchors the offense and averages 10.3 points and five assists a night. Wright is the key to the offense.
The final member of the four-guard offense is Jaquon Parker. Parker missed the early part of the season with a groin injury, but has come on strong in recent weeks and averages 9.3 points a game while shooting an amazing 58 percent from downtown.
The group is eerily reminiscent of the Villanova four-guard offense from 2006 and probably gave head coach Jay Wright flashbacks on Saturday of the top five team he took to the Elite Eight a few years ago.
That offense had a little more talent than Cincinnati and included the likes of Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry, Allan Ray and Mike Nardi.
There was clearly NBA talent in that group which may not be the case for Cincinnati, but the basic principles are the same and Cincinnati has a difference-maker in the middle that Villanova did not.
That difference-make is senior Yancy Gates, the most talented player on the Cincinnati roster. While he averages 12 points and nine rebounds a game, he does so much on the defensive side of the ball and plays very well with the four guards around him.
Those four guards will be tested tonight when Cincinnati puts its road winning streak on the line against No. 11 Connecticut.
With the exception of No. 1 Syracuse, Connecticut has more talent and size than anybody in the conference. This will certainly be a tall order for head coach Mick Cronin and his Bearcats squad.
If they can win the game it will go a long way toward locking up their NCAA Tournament hopes, also proving that speed and quickness is sometimes hard for talent and size to match up with.
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