You know sometimes you  sit and watch a game and wonder…. “What was that coach thinking???”

That happened yesterday as I watched the end of the GTown-UConn game. What in hell was JT3 thinking having Hibbert take a three with the game on the line? OR What was Blaney thinking having Dyson, who had been out of control the whole game, handle the ball with the game on the line?

We sat and discussed whether Hibbert was supposed to take that 3. Yes, he was……. No, he wasn’t.

Sometimes a coach does everything he can and his team just doesn’t show up, ala ND vs. Marquette yesterday or Marquette vs. WVU last week. Sometimes a coach just sits and watches in awe as his team plays flawless ball, like Crean yesterday. And sometimes he makes a decision for no apparent reason and it turns to gold, like Thompson.

Well after reading every news article about the GTown victory I realized that sometimes a coach is just brilliant and no one knows it. No, Hibbert wasn’t supposed to take the shot. But why he ended up taking it is the interesting part. JT3 wanted Wallace to take the jumper with 4 seconds left. But how to get him the ball? Hibbert said he looked for the shooter but UConn had a man on him. No one in the world would have have guessed that UConn would be in a 2-3 zone. That would be stupid, right? YES IT WAS! Even Blaney admitted he put the Huskies in the zone for one possession too many yesterday. UConn has had trouble defending the long jump shot all season. The reason????? 2-3 zone. So even JT3 knew that UConn would come out in man for the crucial possession. WRONG! So getting back to why Hibbert got the ball a the 3 point line. Thompson knew that UConn would be tight on his players. But he also knew that Thabeet would stay down low to rebound. So who would be the only player for the Hoyas not pressured? Right, Hibbert. And JT3 knew that Hibbert is an excellent passer. So who better to run the last offensive set through? You see, this is what makes a good coach into a great coach. No, Hibbert wasn’t supposed to take the last shot from 3. Hibbert said it, Wallace said it. But by going to Hibbert up top GTown avoided the chance for a turnover on their last possession. BRILLIANT! And to top things off, he bangs the 3! Why???? Because Wallace was covered like a blanket. Good Defense by the Huskies? Yes. REAL BAD defensive choice to paly a zone. ABSOLUTELY!

And why was Dyson the man with the ball on UConn’s last possession? Especially when he was so out of control all game? Don’t you want Price to take that 3 from the top of the key, when that is where he is most effective? Or Dyson in the corner, where he can make it? But no, Dyson gets the inbound from Adrien and loses it out of bounds. Well, Blaney, what’s with that? The play UConn was running was an inbounds pass to Robinson who would turn and hit either Price or Dyson streakiing down the court. Only one problem here. Stanley Robinson never broke for the inbounds pass. He stood near midcourt and Adrien had no option except to inbounds the ball to the wildman, who fumbled it. Robinson, you see, only shows up occasionally. He likes to stand at the 3 point line in the half court offense. He never flashes anywhere. He obviously didn’t want to take part in the last play yesterday. He was busy watching the excitement from midcourt.

So let’s not be too harsh on Blaney (except for his 2-3 zone call), and let’s acknowledge that Thompson IS a great coach!

Categories: Coach O, Commentary
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Yea, I’m talking about DePaul, Notre Dame and Syracuse. But mostly DePaul.

A 2-0 start for the Blue Demons? That’s something very few saw coming, especially considering they’ve defeated Villanova and Providence, two decent teams. DePaul has had great balance so far including tremendous support from their bench, and it makes me wonder, how did DePaul ever lose to North Carolina A&T? Next up they’ll have Georgetown, and even if they fail to beat the Hoyas, their next three games after that will include St. John’s, Villanova and Rutgers, all possible victories. Before the year started, I figured DePaul would fail to make the Big East tournament, but you have to give them credit for their hot conference start. Here’s something to remember, in the last few years (since we expanded to 16) we’ve had many teams start 2-0 in conference, and every single one of those teams made the Big East tournament. In fact, the lowest seed a 2-0 team ever received was a #10 (last year Providence). It’ll be interesting to see if DePaul can keep this momentum up, especially with the Hoyas coming to Rosemont next.

As for Notre Dame, they have been nearly as impressive. After quality home wins against West Virginia and UConn, they get a week off before they go north to Marquette. Then they’ll have Cincinnati and Georgetown after that. The Irish have a significantly harder next few games than DePaul, but if Notre Dame can win two of those, they’ll be in tremendous shape for going after another bye, as they did last season. The matchup that I can’t wait to see is Harangody vs Hibbert. Should be very interesting.

Syracuse is 2-0 as well. However, their wins have come against St. John’s and USF in the dome. It’s interesting to me that all three 2-0 teams have played both games at home. Anyway, the Cuse should take them when they can get them, and they have Cincy, WVU and Rutgers as their next three. The Orange will actually have to play some very difficult games later on in the year, so I think a fast start is essential, especially with such a young team. So expect to see the Orange near the top of the table for most of January, and they’ll begin to fade in February.

Some teams have gotten off to some rocky starts and need to pick it up before they fall too far behind. Providence has had a bad start. Their next two games include Rutgers and USF. These are wins they need to have if they’re going to make the NCAAs. The good news for the Friars is that these two weak teams are coming up next. However, if they don’t pick up these games, the road is going to get difficult really fast for the Friars. So if you’re a PC fan, you need your team to win two this week, or you can pretty much forget about this year.

As for Pitt, they could use some lesser opponents while Fields remains injured. And here’s whose coming up next: USF, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Cincinnati, St. John’s and Rutgers. Other than Georgetown, all are winnable, even without their leader. After Rutgers, Pitt has a very difficult schedule, so hopefully for the Panthers, they can win all or most of those winnable games.

Categories: Commentary
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It’s a new year, so it’s more than high time–there’s a theme going today–for me to stat updating BigEastology. I’m not going to pretend that I’m contributing something as good as or better than well known computer-based rankings, but it has a purpose for me. I can nearly match the results posted elsewhere, and calculating the rankings allows me to revisit rankings at earlier times in the season. Late in the year this year, I plan on providing capsules for each BEast team that show how they either progressed or regressed through the year.

I’ve posted BigEastology through last night’s tilts–again, don’t look for anything special or new here. I’m interested in exploring the most over- and underrated schools across the country from this perspective.

Overrated

1. Vanderbilt. All that matters is wins, right? 15-0 looks very shiny in early January. They’re #15 in both polls and they’ll probably be higher Monday, but their quality of play translates to about #60 in the country. That won’t get it done over the next 16 conference games. I see a 3rd or 4th place finish in their division at 9-7 or 8-8, then an early exit in March for a higher than justified seed at 23-8 or 24-7.
2. Washington St. Another undefeated team? Yep. #4 in the country? Yeesh. They’re barely among the four best in the Pac-10. Wash. St. sits at #22 on my list, with UCLA far ahead and six Pac-10 teams between #23 and #45. There’s a reason all of the computer ratings systems have the Pac-10 as the top conference right now–depth. State got the 2nd worst, Washington, out of the way, but I can’t see them maintaining a conference record worthy of that #4 ranking into March. 11-7 or 12-6 is the more likely outcome, with a more appropriate seed around four or five in the Tournament.
3. Villanova. Sorry to say it, but Big Willie Style nailed it before the season. They’re playing in the 9th to 11th range among BEast teams. #16 in the country? #80 is more likely. Villanova will do very well to win 8 in conference, but 7-11 is most likely, sending Scottie and company to the NIT. Last year’s success and Scottie’s return blinded pundits from seeing the full picture here. Let’s be proud that the Wildcats are the only Big East representative on this list.
4. Dayton. Another mediocre school getting top-25 status in the polls. I see Dayton around #55 in the country, and about 5th in the A-10. Unlike the BEast however, the A-10 is weak enough for Dayton to win 10 of 16 and roll up a 22-7 record. They’re not much better than the middle of the BEast and only a bit better than Villanova, but there might be enough to get them into the NCAAs. Thems the breaks.
5. Boston College and NC State. Chalk this up to ACC love. Both schools got several votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Well they’re two of the three worst ACC teams so far on BigEastology. Ken Pomeroy agrees. Jeff Sagarin’s PREDICTOR agrees. Both are 10-3 today, but that +7 against .500 will have evaporated two months from now. Perhaps some of the pollsters need to find a way to fit five ACC teams into their ballots no matter what. Fortunately for the rest of the country, it’s a down year for the ACC. Duke and UNC are elite, Clemson is very good, and the rest is pretty ugly.

Underrated

1. Xavier. A couple December losses stand between Xavier and some love. Not one vote in the E/U poll? They’re obliterating people–one of the best signs of dominance looking forward is the ability to blowout your opponents. Well, Xavier just beat Kansas St., #52 in BEO, by 26, then beat Virginia, #74, by 38. Those are two of five double-digit wins against the top 100. UNC has six such wins. Kansas has two. Duke? Three. Seems to me, Xavier belongs much higher, and I have them #7.
2. West Virginia. The Mountaineers need a couple quality wins, and the only bad loss in my mind is the semi-home game against Oklahoma. Like Duke, they have three double-digit wins against the top 100. It’s time to prove they’re among the Big East’s best, and if they do, the recognition will be there.
3. Notre Dame, Duquesne, and Drake. All three are around #15-20 here but have zero votes in the polls. ND has lost twice by a combined five points–both back in November. Their first two shots in the Big East were quality home wins. I think the Irish are Big East royalty this year, and will rise to top-15. Duquesne (and Xavier) would be a good choice for early recognition in the Atlantic 10, but it’s Rhode Island with a ranking. Duquesne has dominated 10 and lost to three top-25 schools. Drake is currently the best of the MVC with only one loss against St. Mary’s, who just happens to be ranked. There are only three cupcakes on the schedule so far and they’ve beaten SIU and Wichita St. in conference play. Look for 14-4 in the MVC and a decent NCAA seed.

Categories: Dan'l B, Rankings
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This is the secret to success:

1. Get some weed.
2. Smoke up.
3. Get kicked out of school.

What can I say? It worked bigtime for Kyle McAlarney on Saturday night when ND downed UConn 73-67. What did he do? Oh, just score 32 points on 13-19 shooting (6-7 from three), pass for 5 assists, and not turn the ball over once. Throw in four rebounds and call it a day. All I have to say is: damn, that must be some crazy good weed.

I was only able to watch the first half of the game. It was just too depressing as a UConn fan. You see, it was a rainy day here in the Bay Area and I ended up on the couch all afternoon. ESPN Classic was on a Big East bonanza, and I saw two old games — St. Johns vs. UConn (February 9, 2002) and the Georgetown vs. UConn Big East Championship (1995). Those were some totally different times for UConn and it was such a treat to see players I had forgotten about — Eric Hayward (and his gap-toothed smile), Doron Sheffer (what court sense!), Ricky Moore (his unbelievable heart and defense on Allen Iverson), Taliek Brown (again, a bull on defense), and Kirk King (I forgot what a huge game he had against Georgetown). I remember the days that I used to be frustrated with Travis Knight. I long for those days, because we were so damn spoiled.

Bonus points for those who know where the title of the post comes from.

(Correction — this was the 1996 Big East Championship game, not 1995, as Big Willie notes in the comments)

Categories: Commentary, Connecticut, donald, Notre Dame
3 Comments »

Four games tonight, and all of them should be highly entertaining.

UConn is going to coast over Seton Hall. The Pirates are not good this year and although UConn’s offense is anemic at times, the Huskies should coast by about 12 points.

Villanova will beat DePaul by about 10. If this game were in Philly, I’d have the Cats favored by 20. I think the Wildcats are quite a bit overrated at #16 right now, but they still have plenty enough to get it done in Rosemont.

Marquette will defeat Providence by 20 at home. I think Providence will have a good season, but I have a feeling they’re going to get shelled tonight. If my memory serves me correctly, PC beat Marquette last year (which I think I picked), and perhaps that loss will add some motivation as well.

Notre Dame will defeat West Virginia by less than 3. This game will come down to the last possession, and Joe Alexander will miss a shot to cost WVU the game. This should be a great game, and I suggest checking it out on ESPN2 tonight.

Categories: Commentary
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