Archive for the ‘Basketball’ Category
Jim Sumner opines on the ‘58 Dixie Classic
I meant to post this earlier, but I, uh, didn’t. Over at TheACC.com, Jim Sumner has a pretty fantastic write-up on a pretty fantastic Dixie Classic.
The Dixie Classic was never bigger than 50 years ago. The 1958 Dixie Classic brought together an unmatched collection of team and individual talent. Start with the local teams. The host Wolfpack entered the Dixie Classic with a 6-1 record, the sole loss to powerful Kansas State. NC State was ranked fifth in the AP poll.
North Carolina was 5-0 and ranked third. Duke was in the process of replacing all five starters from its 1958 team and was 2-4. Wake Forest was 3-3.
But the real excitement was on the visiting side of the equation. Yale was the sacrificial lamb but Louisville, Michigan State, and Cincinnati were formidable opponents. Michigan State was ranked seventh; Cincinnati second in the AP poll, first in UPI.
Read the full piece here.
State 74, Rams 46
As expected, State won big, even with Fells and Degand in street clothes (due to an ankle injury and a team rules violation, respectively) and Costner missing the second half due to a small cut above the eye.
Simon Harris got his first start of the season, scored six and picked up six rebound in 20 minutes. In all, 14 State players saw action, with McCauley, Ferguson, and Horner all scoring in double digits. The stat of the game has to be State’s assist totals: 22 on 28 field goals. They also out-rebounded the Rams, 47-30, but were again bested on offensive rebounds, 13-10.
State led by 20 at the half on 63% shooting. They ended the game at 52% and held WSSU to a miserable 28% from the field.
All in all, a good tune-up for a dangerous ECU squad next Wednesday evening. It’s good to see production from the bench (17 points in 90 minutes), but a healthy Courtney Fells would be a more than welcome sight against the Pirates.
Elsewhere … This wasn’t the first trip to Reynolds for WSSU guard Isiah Tucker … Brett Friedlander compares Lowe’s early season injury woes to O’Brien’s early season injury woes … Yow coaches her 1000th game for the Pack tomorrow against Ole Miss … Russell Wilson is CFN’s All-Freshman Team QB … Coack K was involved in a one-car accident yesterday. Don’t worry, he’s OK … Iowa St. coach Gene Chizik (career record: 5-19) has reportedly accepted the Auburn job
Game Preview: Winston-Salem State, 12/13/08
Winston-Salem State Rams
1-6 | schedule | stats
Last three games:
11/29 — Lost 53-33 @ Illinois State
11/30 — Lost 67-61 vs. Nicholls State (@ Normal, IL)
12/6 — Won 68-65 @ South Carolina State
Best player:
Jamal Durham, SR F — 13.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG
Pomeroy Ratings:
Tempo — WSSU: 65.2 (260), NCSU: 65.1 (264)
Offensive Eff. — WSSU: 72.3 (342), NCSU: 106.6 (78)
Defensive Eff. — WSSU: 97.7 (139), NCSU: 97.5 (134)
There’s no dancing around the issue: the Rams are a bad, bad team. They sit just eight spots from dead last in the Pomeroy Ratings and their only win was a squeaker against a hapless South Carolina State squad that has yet to defeat a Division I school. This is just the program’s third year in Division I, and they remain a routinely over-matched team on the court.
State has struggled quite a bit in the early going with collecting rebounds, despite playing against under-sized opponents. The good news is that WSSU is just about the worst rebounding team in the country.
I can’t really say much else here, State should win handily. Lowe said today that Fells is a game time decision with a bruised ankle. Unless he’s 110%, I’d expect him to sit this one out; he likely won’t be needed.
The new three-point line is working
If you didn’t already know, everyone’s favorite stat geek, Ken Pomeroy, has been keeping an up-to-date comparison of this year’s and last year’s three-point shooting percentages. Through games played last Sunday, the overall three-point percentage (3PM/3PA) has fallen 1.2% to 33.9%, the percentage of shots taken behind the newly extended arc (3PA/FGA) has dropped by the same rate to 33.2%.
It isn’t earth-shattering, but the new line has certainly taken a slight toll on would-be bombers. I’d like to see a comparison of points-per-game, though I’d think the change would be fairly negligible.
See the numbers for yourself here.
The Week Ahead: ACC Basketball Week 5
It’s exam season in most parts of the country, which means a rather thin schedule for the next few weeks.
Notably, Duke is in the middle of an eleven day layoff, presumably licking their wounds after the Michigan State loss, watching an endless amount of tape on upcoming opponent UNC-Asheville, and practicing their floor-slappin’.
With much trepidation, the game of the week nod goes to Virginia Tech @ Georgia. The very uninteresting Bulldogs lost by 21 to Loyola-Chicago early in the season and were obliterated by Illinois two nights ago. Maybe they can do better at home against a Virginia Tech team that has lost three of its last five games.
The stupid upset pick of the week is Georgia St. over Florida St. Somewhere a Seminole chief is shedding a single tear for Randy Spetman scheduling a home-and-home with Georgia freaking State.
Tuesday, December 9
Virginia Tech (5-3) @ Georgia (5-3), 7:00, FSN
Wednesday, December 10
Bryant (1-5) @ Boston College (6-2), 7:00
Friday, December 12
Florida International (4-5) @ Miami (5-2), 7:30
Delaware St. (2-10) @ Maryland (10-2), 8:00, CSN
Saturday, December 13
South Carolina St. (4-3) @ Clemson (9-0), 2:00
Winston-Salem St. (1-6) @ NC State (4-1), 2:00
Florida St. (8-1) @ Georgia St. (3-5), 4:00
Oral Roberts (2-5) @ #1 North Carolina (8-0), 4:00, ESPN2
Sunday, December 14
Robert Morris (4-4) @ Miami, 1:00
South Carolina Upstate (0-6) @ Boston College, 1:00
Illinois-Chicago (5-2) @ Georgia Tech (5-1), 2:00
Longwood (5-4) @ Virginia Tech, 2:00
Wright St. (0-6) @ #11 Wake Forest (8-0), 4:00, FSN
Other Awesome Games
#6 Texas (6-1) vs. #15 Villanova (8-0), Tuesday, 9:00, ESPN
St. Joseph’s (3-4) @ #15 Villanova, Thursday, 8:00, ESPN2
Butler (7-0) @ #21 Ohio St. (5-0), Saturday, 12:00
