10 College Basketball Teams in a Midseason Free Fall
As UConn demonstrated so aptly last year, a college basketball team can make up for many flaws by getting hot at the right point in the season. Conversely, though, an ill-timed losing streak can take a promising squad and keep it from getting a shot at a postseason run.
In a down year for the Pac-12, Johnny Dawkins’ Stanford Cardinal looked like one of the conference’s leading contenders for a spot in March Madness.
Those hopes are dwindling rapidly, however, thanks to a three-game losing streak that has dropped the Cardinal two games behind the league leaders with a month remaining on the schedule.
Herein lies a closer look at Stanford and nine other teams that are currently plummeting down the standings after strong starts in 2011-12.
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Saint Joseph’s Basketball: The Hawks Fall Prey to the Owls
Saint Joseph’s traveled up Broad Street on Saturday to battle city foe, the Temple Owls.
In this 153rd meeting between the two schools, the Owls proved to be the better team, defeating the Hawks 78-60.
In a sold-out Liacouras Center, Temple set the tone right from the start, led by seniors Juan Fernandez and Ramone Moore.
Of Temple’s 38 first-half points, Fernandez and Moore accounted for 32. When asked what was the reason for their hot start, Moore said, “In the beginning of the game Juan came out firing. In the huddle we said we were going to get him the ball, then I caught fire as well.”
On St. Joe’s side of the ball, they seemed to never really get any sort of flow to the game. One thing head coach Phil Martelli had preached all season was pace of the game, which was absent on Saturday.
Martelli gave credit to Temple for dominating the game, saying, “That wasn’t much of a contest. We were dominated, but they dominated, it wasn’t that we just gave in.”
Phil even went on to say, “We got waxed.”
Just as it seemed the Hawks were going to put on a run, the Owls would come right back answer with a basket of their own.
With three minutes left in the first half, Langston Galloway drilled a three-pointer. Then Temple missed a layup and St. Joe’s pushed it down the court. Chris Wilson missed a layup, but big man Ron Roberts was right there to grab the board and slam it home, resulting in Temple calling a timeout.
But this was about as close as the Hawks would get, as Fran Dunphy’s squad seemed to be too experienced and too talented for the Hawks to handle.
An interesting tidbit about the game, it was part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer “Suits and Sneakers” weekend, in which both coaching staffs wore sneakers to show their support for the American Cancer Society.
St. Joe’s will travel to Richmond on February 1 for a very important Atlantic-10 road game.
SJU is now 13-9 overall and 3-4 in the A-10.
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Magic fall 87-56 to depleted Celtics (AP)
The Boston Celtics’ injuries didn’t affect what coach Doc Rivers always wants — solid defense. Paul Pierce and former Magic forward Brandon Bass each scored 19 points to carry the injury-riddled Celtics to an 87-56 win over Orlando on Monday night. The Magic set franchise lows for points and field goals (16).
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Minus Rondo, Celtics fall to Suns 79-71 (AP)
Marcin Gortat scored five straight Phoenix baskets early in the game. By the time the first quarter was over, he had 14 points and four rebounds. “Midway through the first,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said, “he should have stopped and put his name on the (Hall of Fame) ballot.” Gortat finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Steve Nash had 11 points and nine assists to lead…
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Ohio State: Why Thad Matta and the Buckeyes Will Fall Short Once Again
There is no question about Thad Matta and his recruiting abilities. He can definitely get “ballers” to commit to OSU. But what will he do once these “cagers” get to Columbus?
Coach Matta has a real problem establishing depth and distributing minutes. Once again it will haunt him and the Buckeyes come tournament time.
The Buckeyes have players that can play. They should play. Playing them will only make them better. Distributing minutes to players and establishing a deeper rotation keeps players fresh and intense.
Starter’s tongues won’t be hanging out of their mouths as they chase players scoring 48 points in a game. Fresh defensive players won’t allow that to happen.
We all love Aaron Craft and his gamesmanship. He is a contributor and factor in each outing. However, he is not good enough to not be sharing minutes with Shannon Scott. Scott is a baller. He’s led his his prep squad to victories over major opponents such as Duke’s Austin Rivers. He can play. At no time should this young man not see time on the floor in a contest.
I’m seeing the same pattern that Matta has shown throughout his coaching tenure at OSU. What is he thinking? If he wants championships he better start playing his talent. Depth is what wins championships. By tournament time the freshmen will be playing like seasoned veterans if they get the minutes on the floor.
I guarantee you that when tournament time comes their starters will have foul trouble. That’s a given. Will their underclassmen be ready to “plug-in”? They won’t be if Thad doesn’t heed this message.
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Illinois Basketball: Illini Fall to Penn State as the Parity Continues
The Illinois Fighting Illini lost to Penn State tonight, 52-54, in a game that featured a lot of heroics by Penn State, and showed the country once again why the Big Ten is the best conference.
No one is safe, as shown by the upset victory against the No. 25-ranked Illini by the Nittany Lions.
With the Illini dropping once again to the Nittany Lions, they suffer their second loss in Big Ten play further opening up the race for the Big Ten title this season.
In the loss, the Illini were led by Brandon Paul who put up an impressive stat line with 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.
The key point in the game that really closed the deal, however, had to be when sophomore sensation Meyers Leonard fouled out of the game. It was a huge turning point for the Nittany Lions, a smaller team, and allowed them to focus more on the perimeter defense.
After Tim Frazier’s tear drop floater went in to give Penn State the lead, Illinois still had a shot at tying the game, but a missed layup opportunity by Sam Maniscalco ended the Illini’s hopes.
This win by Penn State was not just huge for them but huge for the conference.
With Illinois falling, that now puts the conference in a five-way tie in the loss column for first place, something that is almost unheard of this far into the season.
If the Nebraska win last night, or the Iowa win in Wisconsin, wasn’t a big enough indication of how tough this conference really is, this should prove it.
Almost halfway done with conference play, this is still anyone’s race.
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Illinois Basketball: Illini Fall to Penn State as the Parody Continues
The Illinois Fighting Illini lost to Penn State tonight, 52-54, in a game that featured a lot of heroics by Penn State, and showed the country once again why the Big Ten is the best conference.
No one is safe, as shown by the upset victory against the No. 25-ranked Illini by the Nittany Lions.
With the Illini dropping once again to the Nittany Lions, they suffer their second loss in Big Ten play further opening up the race for the Big Ten title this season.
In the loss, the Illini were led by Brandon Paul who put up an impressive stat line with 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.
The key point in the game that really closed the deal, however, had to be when sophomore sensation Meyers Leonard fouled out of the game. It was a huge turning point for the Nittany Lions, a smaller team, and allowed them to focus more on the perimeter defense.
After Tim Frazier’s tear drop floater went in to give Penn State the lead, Illinois still had a shot at tying the game, but a missed layup opportunity by Sam Maniscalco ended the Illini’s hopes.
This win by Penn State was not just huge for them but huge for the conference.
With Illinois falling, that now puts the conference in a five-way tie in the loss column for first place, something that is almost unheard of this far into the season.
If the Nebraska win last night, or the Iowa win in Wisconsin, wasn’t a big enough indication of how tough this conference really is, this should prove it.
Almost halfway done with conference play, this is still anyone’s race.
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Without Derrick Rose, Bulls fall to Grizzlies
Rudy Gay scored 24 points to help Memphis avenge a 40-point New Year’s Day loss to Chicago, who played without star Derrick Rose.
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NBA Rumors: Nets Fall Even Farther Behind in Dwight Howard Sweepstakes
The New Jersey Nets just took a step back in the bid to acquire Dwight Howard and it wasn’t even their own fault.
Chris Sheridan of sheridanhoops.com reported on Monday that Howard has now included the Los Angeles Clippers in his wish list of potential destinations.
The 6’11″ center had previously only put the LA Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Nets on his list, but is intrigued with Lob City now that Chris Paul is in town.
According to one of Sheridan’s sources, it’s going to be all or nothing for the Nets:
“The Nets are either going to end up with both of them or neither of them,” a third league source said, going so far as to predict that the Nets would trade Williams prior to the deadline if Howard gets dealt to a different team (Lakers, Mavericks, Clippers) that would be able to sign him for the long-term.
With the Nets off to a 3-11 start, the playoffs seem like a reach unless they deal for Howard ASAP. It’s unlikely Howard would accept a deal at the deadline to a team with a worse record than the Magic (9-3).
Sherdian goes on to report that the likelihood of Howard playing out the final year of his deal is beginning to increase. That would make the Mavericks the frontrunner to sign him with the large amount of cap space set to open up this summer. They could sign both Howard and Deron Williams to form a deadly big three alongside Dirk Nowitzki.
Even if a midseason trade were to occur, the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum is currently the most valuable trade asset any team on Howard’s list could provide unless the Clippers part with Blake Griffin (yeah, right).
So, it sounds like the Nets are currently in last place in the Howard sweepstakes and there’s a good chance they’ll lose Williams as well.
How will the organization ever garner fan excitement for the move to Brooklyn with zero stars?
Ownership better figure out a plan soon or it’s going to be rough sledding for the foreseeable future.
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UNC Loses to FSU: How Far Will North Carolina Tar Heels Fall in AP Poll?
With the Florida State Seminoles defeating the UNC Tar Heels on Jan. 14, North Carolina figures to enter Week 11 out of the top three in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coach’s polls for the first time since Week 8, when UNC was ranked No. 5 in the AP poll.
Predicting where exactly the Tar Heels will end up in Week 11 may not be as straightforward as it seems. When No. 2 Ohio State lost to No. 13 Kansas in Week 5, they kept their No. 2 rank when standings were released a week later, with seven writers going so far as to place Ohio State at the No. 1 slot on their ballots.
When UNC lost to UNLV in the Las Vegas Invitational Championship, they fell from No. 1 in Week 3 to No. 5 in Week 4.
The Tar Heels retained their No. 5 rank in Week 5 after losing to then-No. 1 Kentucky days earlier.
So how far can we expect UNC to fall when Week 11 results are released in only a matter of hours?
To recap the Week 10 action, UNC defeated Miami 73-56 on Jan. 10 and lost to FSU by 33 points on Saturday.
No. 1 Syracuse and No. 2 Kentucky both went undefeated last week, meaning those two squads are fairly assured of holding their top spots.
No. 4 Baylor defeated Kansas State 75-73 on Tuesday, followed by a huge, 51-point victory at Oklahoma State on Saturday. Considering the Bears are still undefeated whereas UNC has now lost three games, expect them to take the No. 3 slot.
No. 5 Ohio State lost a 79-74 contest to Illinois last week but also defeated No. 7 Indiana by 17 points on Sunday. While both UNC and OSU lost to programs not in the Top 25, OSU’s loss came during a more competitive game, while their win was against a top 10 squad in Indiana. OSU will also leap right over the tumbling Tar Heels in Week 11.
No. 6 Michigan State beat Iowa by 34 points, while losing 81-74 at Northwestern. No. 13 Michigan meanwhile defeated Northwestern 66-64, suggesting Northwestern, previously not ranked, might deserve a look at the Top 25. The Spartans look poised to sneak up to and possibly over UNC.
No. 7 Indiana lost to unranked Minnesota 77-74 on Thursday and were defeated by No. 5 OSU on Sunday. UNC will likely remain ahead of Indiana when the poll is released, as both teams will fall.
No. 8 Duke might have lost to Temple on January 4, but they swept No. 17 Virginia and unranked Clemson last week, suggesting Duke might very well leap frog their rivals this week. The Blue Devils host FSU on January 21, and a dominating performance would suggest they are indeed better than UNC. Duke visits Chapel Hill on February 8.
No. 9 Missouri and No. 10 Kansas both defeated Iowa State, while the Tigers beat Texas by nine and the Jayhawks blew out Texas Tech 81-46.
Outside the top 10, Georgetown, UNLV, Michigan and Louisville all lost once last week, while No. 15 Murray State beat Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech.
UNC will probably not fall below Murray State in the Week 11 poll.
The last team to drop more than seven positions in a single week is Connecticut, which dropped from No. 8 to No. 17 after losing to both Seton Hall and Rutgers in Week 10.
This suggests one blowout loss for UNC will not be enough to knock them out of the top 10.
Given the performance of all top 10 teams around college basketball last week, the Tar Heels stand to lose some ground—a drop out of the top five is likely, but a fall out of the single digits is improbable.
When No. 3 Duke lost to Ohio State as their only game in Week 4, the Blue Devils slipped to No. 7 the following Monday.
Expect a similar fate for North Carolina.
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