2008/09 NCAA Basketball Thread

[JStarr]

The fact that we're more than a week into the season with no college hoop thread is a bummer. So, let's remedy that.

First, I have to get this out of the way: lol, Kentucky. At least VMI had a little bit of cred, unlike Gardner-Webb last season. VMI was one of the top shooting teams in the nation last year, and they're ready to keep it up this year, it seems. They've put up at least 97 in all four of their games now.

And speaking of big numbers: Texas Tech raining 167? Fuck. They hadn't even broken 100 in three years.

Preseason NIT is down to the final four: Purdue, Oklahoma, Boston College, and UAB. Anyone who pays a damn bit of attention knows who I'm picking there. And incidentally, I'm circling the calendar now for Dec. 20: Purdue v. Davidson. Purdue's already a mad shooting team, and they get to play against Stephen Curry? More bombs than Thursday night in Baghdad.

And for the west coast haters: Michigan over UCLA and Seton Hall over USC. Yuss.

Discuss.

[JStarr]

So yeah, looks like I'm talking to myself, but this made me chuckle to myself, so why not:

Curry gets 0, Davidson routs Loyola (Md.) 78-48

By MIKE CRANSTON, AP Sports Writer Nov 25, 11:29 pm EST

DAVIDSON, N.C. (AP)—By the third possession, Davidson’s Stephen Curry had figured it out. Loyola (Md.) was double-teaming him. Everywhere, on each possession, no matter what the scenario.

So Curry decided to test the triangle-and-2 defense taken to the ultimate extreme. He went into the corner and two defenders followed him, setting up a 4-on-3 for his teammates.

Curry decided to keep standing there, and his teammates kept scoring—for 40 minutes—in a 78-48 head-scratching win for the 24th-ranked Wildcats that will be remembered for some time.

The nation’s leading scorer was held without a point and took only three shots. But the game was never in doubt because Davidson played the entire game on a virtual power play.

All this was courtesy of a bizarre coaching move by Loyola’s Jimmy Patsos.

“We had to play against an NBA player tonight,” Patsos explained. “Anybody else ever hold him scoreless? I’m a history major. They’re going to remember that we held him scoreless or we lost by 30?”

Some will remember the catcalls Patsos received from the fans when he stuck with the defense well after the game was decided. Davidson coach Bob McKillop was so annoyed he kept Curry in the game until the final minute.

“It seemed to me they were willing to risk the game at the expense of locking Steph up,” McKillop said. “When you put two people on somebody and you do it for 30 minutes and at the end of the game, you have to wonder what the reasons for that are.”

Curry, the darling of last season’s NCAA tournament, had scored a career-high 44 points in a loss at Oklahoma this month. He followed that up with games of 30 and 39 points.

“If Oklahoma can’t stop him, how is Loyola College going to stop him?” Patsos asked.

Trouble is, Davidson (5-1) has other options, and they often scored at will even if Curry didn’t reach double figures for only the second time of his career.

Andrew Lovedale provided the muscle inside with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Bryant Barr hit six wide-open 3-pointers and scored 18 points. Will Archambault hit three more 3s and scored 13.

And Curry, coming in averaging 35 points a game, joked that he had the best seat in the house.

“Every dead ball I asked them how long they were going to do this,” Curry said he asked his shadowing defenders. “They really didn’t say anything. They weren’t very conversational about it.”

Marquis Sullivan scored 16 points and went over 1,000 for his career for the Greyhounds (2-4), who hold the distinction of being the first team to hold Curry scoreless. The trouble is they shot 34 percent and trailed by as many as 34 points.

Plus, Brett Harvey, Loyola’s top scorer coming into the game, didn’t score as he spent most the game standing next to Curry in the corner.

“I know the fans are mad at me, but I had to roll the dice as far as a coach goes. I’m not some rookie coach,” said Patsos, a former longtime assistant at Maryland. “I won a national title as a top assistant coach to Gary Williams. For 13 years I spent on Tobacco Road. I coached a couple of No. 1 picks in the draft. And we scored 48 points. That’s the problem that Loyola basketball had today.”

But Curry’s teammates also overwhelmed the undersized Greyhounds.

Lovedale missed just once in his first seven shots. Archambault then had a layup on Curry’s only assist of the first half before drilling a 3-pointer to complete an 18-0 run for a 22-9 lead.

It was the second time in the four-round NIT that Loyola surrendered 18 straight points. The Greyhounds went five minutes without scoring against Boston College and nearly seven this time.

They fell farther behind even with Curry on the bench with two fouls. He was shuttled in and out of the game over the final 10 minutes, yet Barr made four 3s to close the half for a 39-17 lead.

Barr’s fifth straight 3—with no one around him—in the first minute of the second half continued the onslaught.

Curry didn’t attempt his second shot of the game—a long straightaway 3-pointer that clanged off the rim—until 14:57 remained. He then missed a foul-line jumper in the closing minutes.

“I don’t think irritate is the word. Just confused,” Curry said. “When they’re down by that much and still allowing us to get open shots. It kind of surprised me.”

It turned out pretty good for his teammates.

“Their coach obviously wanted guys other than Steph to beat him,” Barr said. “If you’re playing 4-on-3 against us, somebody is going to hurt you.”

I would express a little cheer that Davidson appears to be more than just a one-man team...but seriously, it's Loyola. If Duke tries this same strategy, I think the results would differ a bit.

[gunnar hendershow]

Hell yeah! Terps beat Michigan State. It's a young team we got this year, curious to see how they do. So far, so good.

[thuganomic]

Ugh. What a terrible showing without Suton. As much as I hate that big clumsy oaf, he's the only presence the Spartans have inside. I actually thought this team had a shot against Carolina next week...not if they play like tonight.

[JStarr]

Yep, almost time to tune in to the Duke loss Duke/Purdue game. EDIT: Or not. Fuck and damn, Duke's rocking it out on defense.

I love the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The football conferences need to take note and do something similar, so they can stop scheduling the cadaver colleges, especially in November. (*AHEMTHECITADELHARUMPH*) Of course, about as likely as a playoff. :/

Edited December 3, 2008 by Nashville Starr

[JStarr]

All right, so we're five days from Selection Sunday, so let's kick the EWB Pick 'Em game off again. (aka Hajjhowe's Mid-Major Love-Fest 2009 )

Everyone who was in last year's group should have gotten an invite, and for those who didn't:

Group ID#: 51475

Password: ewb

Apparently, nothing is sacred, as it seems Kentucky might miss the tourney for the first time in two decades and Northwestern actually stands a fighting chance of getting in for the first time EVER. I was surprised to hear it, but Northwestern is the only school in any of the BCS conferences that has never been to the NCAA tournament. Of course, they'll have to beat at least Minnesota and probably Michigan State to do it, but hell, why not?

[Lowerdeck]

Can we get some more mid majors instead of some shitty major conference team? Like seeing different names get a chance

[HailtotheYo]

I'm in, with an appropriately named bracket

[sahyder1]

Anybody catch the Depaul/Providence game just now?

[sahyder1]

Who else is watching the Syracuse/UConn game? Going to quadruple OT on ESPN.

[sahyder1]

5th OT! Where was the whistle at the end of the 4th OT?

6th OT!

Edited March 13, 2009 by sahyder1

[livid]

Yeah I'm catching the end of this. This is ridiculous.

[Grade A Superstar]

so i was at the bar and i caught the end of the regulation...and i couldn't stop. Johnny Flynn is becoming my favorite player after the poise he's showing in the sixth OT holy cow this is amazing. Looks like Cuse might pull it out Price just fouled out.

[Krone]

Oh my god, as a Syracuse fan for all 18 years of my life, watching that game last night was amazing. I can't put into words just how good of a game that was overall from Devendorf hitting the 3 pointer only for it to get called off, then Thabeet fouling out in a slaying of the giant moment to Flynn controlling the game with Rautins hitting big 3 after big three. It truly was an epic night to be an Orange fan and I can't wait to see what they still have left for West Virginia, if anything at all.

Go 'Cuse!

[JStarr]

67 minutes...fuck yes, Jonny Flynn's balls are solid titanium.

And did anyone catch the note about Rautins' father making a game-winning triple-OT game-winning three in the '81 (I think it was) Big East tourney? Eerie.

[sahyder1]

67 minutes...fuck yes, Jonny Flynn's balls are solid titanium.

And did anyone catch the note about Rautins' father making a game-winning triple-OT game-winning three in the '81 (I think it was) Big East tourney? Eerie.

Heard that earlier in the test when they played Rutgers.....and yes this is Leo Rautins we're talking about.

[Maxx]

I loved the game last night, but is anyone really going to pick Syracuse over West Virginia tonight? Sure they'll be fired up, but they've still got to be dead tired.

[Krone]

i have to root for the Orange tonight against West Virginia, and I think that would be a feat in itself. Let's go Flynn!

[Grade A Superstar]

'Cuse goes into overtime yet again, only one though, and they got the win. If they take Louisville to overtime and win it might be my favorite road to any title ever.

[Blaze09]

'Cuse goes into overtime yet again, only one though, and they got the win. If they take Louisville to overtime and win it might be my favorite road to any title ever.

Nah, the '06 run would still be my favorite, seeing as without it, they would not have made the tourny