NCAA Basketball FanHouse http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com NCAA Basketball FanHouse http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/media/feedlogo.gif NCAA Basketball FanHouse http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ACC Players, Coaches Wag Finger at New Taunting Rulehttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/acc-players-coaches-wag-finger-at-new-taunting-rule/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/acc-players-coaches-wag-finger-at-new-taunting-rule/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/acc-players-coaches-wag-finger-at-new-taunting-rule/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , ,

ACC referee Karl HessGREENSBORO, N.C. -- The talk of the Atlantic Coast Conference's basketball media day Sunday was the trouble a player could get into if he talked too much.

Or said the wrong thing, or gestured the wrong way, or celebrated excessively, or did anything else that might be considered "unsporting behavior,'' according to a new zero-tolerance policy approved for this season by the NCAA.

Many of the players and coaches gathered at Greensboro's Grandover Resort bluntly said they either did not like the change, didn't understand why it was necessary, or both. The biggest issue: there is too much room left for the wrong interpretation.

"If you dunk on someone or whatever -- that's just someone's game. They take pride in it, "insisted Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney. "They don't mean to disrespect people, but that's sometimes how it comes out.

"I think they should have done a survey with the players, asked us for our input,'' he added. "We're the ones playing, and they wouldn't know how we feel about it unless they ask us. They wouldn't know how it affects how we play if they don't ask how we feel."

Said Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez -- formally voted by the media as preseason first-team all-ACC, and informally picked as the player most constrained by the new rule -- "What if you dunk on someone, and it's a crazy dunk, and you can't keep the emotions inside of you? I guess that's what they want us to do. But, that's why they have rules.''

Not even a coach's reputation as "old school'' kept him from being perplexed by the new rules, which call for a technical if an official -- at his discretion -- deems a player's actions as over the line.

"That's why college basketball is a great game, because of that exuberance,'' Maryland coach Gary Williams said, adding that there is a distinct difference between celebration and taunting. "These are 18-and-22-year-old kids who have grown up playing a certain way. It may not be the way I grew up playing it, but it's a great way to play.

"And I hope nobody gets penalized for making a great play and being penalized for it. You've seen it in football already,'' he added. "Hopefully, nobody loses a game over something like that.''

Williams was referring to the infamous "excessive celebration'' football penalty that essentially cost Georgia a victory over LSU earlier this month, a mistake the Southeastern Conference later had to admit to and for which the officiating crew was suspended. Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt also recalled that play, and laughed when asked about the new basketball rule.

"You always teach your players to respect the game, so I think it's important that you're serious about that -- but I'm smiling, because you're putting a lot on the officials,'' Hewitt said. "They're officiating the best athletes in college sports ... This is just another thing you're piling on their plates.''


The taunting rule is one of a handful of changes or areas of emphasis to be put into play this season. There now will be a specific blocking-charging area under the basket, but one that will not be marked by a line as in the NBA. Also, the use of replay will be expanded to determine whether certain fouls are called flagrant, intentional or technicals; three-seconds will be scrutinized more; excessively swinging elbows by a player with the ball will be subject to flagrant fouls; the choices coaches have in picking a replacement foul shooter when the fouled player is injured were narrowed, and distracting free-throw shooters once they are at the line was outlawed.

Even as he was explaining the new taunting rules, ACC officiating supervisor John Clougherty admitted that the Georgia-LSU situation "went too far.'' On the other hand, he said, the basketball officials would now have wide latitude on calling, for example, pointing at an opponent or standing over him after a dunk, flexing muscles, posing, speaking or gesturing to him.

The players would have to walk a fine line between celebrating with teammates and inspiring a home crowd, Clougherty said, and acting unsportsmanlike. As a guide, he said, "Act like you've been there, don't embarrass your opponent.''

Coaches and players don't mind the obvious unsportsmanlike acts being whistled, but they said there are too many that are being confused with normal expressions of excitement. With those, they said, there's no good reason to halt them anyway.

"You're not doing anything wrong, you're just showing the love of the game,'' Williams said. "It doesn't bother me. Obviously it bothers some people ... This is the 2009-2010 season. We're not playing in the 1960s, where everybody wears a crew cut.''

One of the few players who believed it would not alter how he plays was North Carolina forward Deon Thompson: "Not with our team. Our coaches don't like when our team dunks in a guy's face and taunts him -- he doesn't like that,'' meaning head coach Roy Williams.

Hewitt pointed out that with the way players grow up playing ball nowadays, traveling all over the country and building friendships in competition that continue as they move to differing college teams, what might look like trash-talk might be a completely innocent exchange between long-time acquaintances. "I don't think that was considered when they put this in,'' Hewitt said, adding that it would not have hurt for coaches as well as players to be "consulted'' on such a move.

Ironically, Thompson has such a bond with Clemson's Trevor Booker, a teammate on the United States' under-19 World University Games squad in Belgrade last summer; Booker, also a preseason all-ACC pick, boasted of what he and his team would do to Thompson's Tar Heels, and said of the rule, "That's a big one for me; I like showing my emotions ... They have to let you get your crowd into it.''

North Carolina, the defending regular-season and NCAA champs, and Duke, winners of last year's ACC tournament, tied for first in the preseason voting, the first time there has been a tie in 41 years of media voting. Duke's Kyle Singler was chosen player of the year and was joined on the all-conference first team by Vasquez, Booker, Delaney and North Carolina's Ed Davis. Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors was the overwhelming pick for rookie of the year.

The 2012 tournament, already awarded to Atlanta, will be played in Philips Arena rather than the Georgia Dome, the site the last two times the city hosted it, conference officials announced. The two preceding it and the three following it will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum.

ACC Players, Coaches Wag Finger at New Taunting Rule originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Derrick FavorsEd DavisGary WilliamsKyle SinglerKyleSinglerPaul HewittDavid SteeleSun, 25 Oct 2009 22:30:00 EST Jeff Teague Gets Unholy on Dave Nealhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/03/04/jeff-teague-gets-unholy-on-dave-neal/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/03/04/jeff-teague-gets-unholy-on-dave-neal/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/03/04/jeff-teague-gets-unholy-on-dave-neal/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Poor Dave Neal. He never stood a chance. Sure, it was senior night in College Park, Mary. And sure, Neal was white hot and having the best night of his career when he decided to try and defend the moving freight train that is Jeff Teague. Teague goes baseline, hops about 30 feet in the air and plants his unmentionables on Neal's face. At least it wasn't Neal's final home game or anything though, right?



Via Shutdown, er, the Dagger.

Jeff Teague Gets Unholy on Dave Neal originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>dave nealDaveNealjeff teagueJeffTeagueWill BrinsonWed, 04 Mar 2009 10:30:00 EST Ranking the Rankings: Pitt's Full Circlehttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/24/ranking-the-rankings-pitts-full-circle/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/24/ranking-the-rankings-pitts-full-circle/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/24/ranking-the-rankings-pitts-full-circle/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , ,

Ranking the rankings criticizes the critics when the polls come out.

Headlining: Pittsburgh beat Connecticut to kick off the week, led by DeJuan Blair's ridiculous 22-point, 23-rebound effort. It seemed relatively unlikely at the time that the Panthers could manage to jump both North Carolina and Oklahoma, providing that either one of the two won out for the week.

But then Saturday rolled around. The Tar Heels fell to Maryland and Oklahoma, without Blake Griffin for most of the game, coughed one up to Texas.

And suddenly, Pitt was No. 1 in both polls and without any real question to the matter. Just four first-place ballots went elsewhere. There shouldn't have been any debate, either. Memphis nearly lost to UTEP while the Panthers throttled DePaul to close out the week on a seven-game winning streak.

Free-Fallin': Wake Forest (20-5). Despite the dead-horse nature of "young Wake team in Cameron" from Sunday night, there's a little bit of truth to what people are saying about Dino Gaudio's team -- they've hit a wall. It's intriguing to see just how streaky Wake Forest, and specifically star guard Jeff Teague, played in Durham. Yes, they're obviously talented, but, no, they're probably not winning the national title this year.

You Gotta Rise Up: Duke (22-5). It's not so much that the Devils skyrocketed in the polls, it's just that they switched Elliot Williams into the starting lineup and pumped Mike Krzyzewski full of Red Bull for the six hours leading up to the Wake game. It was a bizarre turn for a team that seemed to be free-falling (hence their inclusion) and games at Maryland and at Virginia Tech this week could make for some interesting schizophrenic tendencies as well. But, frankly, I think the Blue Devils are much more likely to keep rolling.

Hyped: UCLA (20-7). The Bruins earned three of their seven losses over the past two-and-a-half weeks, dropping games to Arizona State, Arizona and Washington State. It's certainly a rough patch, although it is a stretch that includes a win over Washington. That's nice and all, but the problem, as Mr. Papagiorgio pointed out, is that it was UCLA's first win over a ranked opponent. Yet, somehow they're still in the Top 25. See where I'm going with this?


Bunked: Kansas (23-5). What interests me is how high the pollsters will push the Jayhawks after their win over Oklahoma. I tend to think they might get discounted because Griffin didn't play on Monday. If that's the case, it seems a little bit silly since Kansas has only lost twice since the start of 2009, and those two losses were to Michigan State and Missouri. Yes, both teams are in the top 10.

WTF? Griffin didn't play Monday night because he couldn't pass the "Standard Assessment of Concussion." Like a good little blogger, I googled that mess to try and find out what kind of sheet Holly Rowe was actually holding up. And this link (a Word Doc) appears to best represent the test. Frankly, I hope they administered that before the season and gauged Griffin based on relative results, because there's almost no chance that I could pass that thing right freaking now.

People Who Vote Are Smart (Brought to You by Pollspeak.com): Roger Clarkson pulls the bizzaro ballot this week, and really it's for just two reasons. First of all, he has Wake Forest ranked seventh. That's unacceptable with the week the Deacons had, unless he missed the game Sunday night against Duke. That would actually be even more unacceptable. Secondly, he's got Memphis 12th. Twelfth! Something ain't stirring the Kool-Aid there.

Ranking the Rankings: Pitt's Full Circle originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>bill selfBillSelfblake griffinBlakeGriffindejuan blairDejuanBlairdino gaudioDinoGaudioelliot williamsElliotWilliamsjeff teagueJeffTeaguemike krzyzewskiMikeKrzyzewskirankingtherankingsWill BrinsonTue, 24 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST Elliott Williams Gets a Free Travel Passhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/23/elliott-williams-gets-a-free-travel-pass/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/23/elliott-williams-gets-a-free-travel-pass/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/23/elliott-williams-gets-a-free-travel-pass/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Conspiracy theorists will tell you that Duke gets more calls at Cameron Indoor than the Lakers do at Staples Center. John Cloughtery, the head of ACC officiating, will probably tell you differently. And it is, for the most part, a conspiracy. But the following video, in which white-hot Duke frosh Elliot Williams takes "a few" steps before dribbling against Wake last night, probably won't help matters, especially considering this was a no call.



I actually missed this call, because I was donning my KFC hat in order to get to the office on time, but grabbed it via the Piler. Personally, I don't think Duke gets too much love at home -- Mike Krzyzewski's best work is usually done on the officials -- but this one was pretty blatant.

Elliott Williams Gets a Free Travel Pass originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>eliot williamsEliotWilliamsjohn cloughteryJohnCloughterymike krzyewskiMikeKrzyewskiWill BrinsonMon, 23 Feb 2009 10:50:00 EST Wake Rebounds Big Over Boston Collegehttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/08/wake-rebounds-over-bc/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/08/wake-rebounds-over-bc/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/08/wake-rebounds-over-bc/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Wake Forest was on a very unexpected two-game losing streak heading into today's game against Boston College, following losses to Miami and Georgia Tech. The Eagles, meanwhile, were surprisingly all alone in third place in the league.

But a funny thing happened on the way to a tight battle of teams near the top of the ACC -- Wake drubbed Boston College 93-76.

The Demon Deacons were aided significantly by Jeff Teague's 22 first-half points, but were actually down by a point heading into halftime after the sophomore's best single half output. It was Tyrese Rice's inability to ever get going -- he shot just 7-of-17 and turned the ball over six times -- that really let the Deacs pull away.

Al Farouq-Aminu's career-high 26 points didn't hurt either, as Wake moved into a four-way tie for third place in the ACC, behind Duke and North Carolina, both at 7-2. It was a critical game for both teams; Wake desperately needed to rebound after two inexplicable losses (and three of their last four) while BC, after starting the ACC season 1-3, was looking to win their seventh straight conference game.

That didn't happen, of course, after the Deacs turned up the defense in the second half, and now the Eagles face Clemson and Duke in their next two games. Needless to say, three straight losses, a free-fall in the standings could be coming.

Wake Rebounds Big Over Boston College originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>al farouq aminuAlFarouqAminujeff teagueJeffTeaguetyrese riceTyreseRiceWill BrinsonSun, 08 Feb 2009 18:40:00 EST Miami Gets Signature Win With a Flourishhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/04/miami-gets-signature-win-with-a-flourish/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/04/miami-gets-signature-win-with-a-flourish/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/04/miami-gets-signature-win-with-a-flourish/#commentsFiled under: , ,

When your best wins are over bubble teams like Kentucky and Florida State and your conference record is below .500, any hopes for playing in the NCAA Tournament require some big wins. The Hurricanes accomplished that tonight with a second half blow out of Wake Forest, 79-52.

This was a complete decimation of Wake Forest in the final 20 minutes. Miami only held a three-point lead at the half, but blew the game open from the start of the second half. The Hurricanes went on a 25-8 run. Jack McClinton had a huge game scoring 32 points, dropping a slew of 3-pointers and getting to the basket.
For Wake Forest, Jeff Teague may have acknowledged that teams are now planning to stop him, but he has yet to show he can adjust to overcome that. Teague went for 19 points, but needed 14 shots to do it, and missed all of his 3-point attempts. Even worse, he was abused defensively by McClinton.

No one else for Wake Forest showed any shooting touch, though. The Demon Deacons shot below 32 percent and failed to play defense. The Hurricanes shot nearly 50 percent.

Wake Forest has now lost three out of their last four games. The Deacons are in a mid-season slump as the conference competition wears on them. Right now they have been playing to the level of their competition.

Miami Gets Signature Win With a Flourish originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 23:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Chas RichWed, 04 Feb 2009 23:25:00 EST Wake, Xavier to Play Prosser Memorialhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/03/wake-xavier-to-play-prosser-memorial/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/03/wake-xavier-to-play-prosser-memorial/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/03/wake-xavier-to-play-prosser-memorial/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Skip Prosser will always be remembered on the campuses of Wake Forest and Xavier for the work as a coach he did in each location before passing suddenly from a heart attack.

Instead of just living on in the memories of players and coaches, there will now be a special day to recognize the work Prosser did with student-athletes. The two universities announced that they will compete annually for at least the next 10 years in the Skip Prosser Classic.
The 10-year series will begin during the 2009-10 season with the first game scheduled to be played at Wake Forest. Over the course of the series, five games will be played at Wake and five at Xavier. The exact dates have yet to be determined and will be announced at a later time.

[...] "This series will serve as a legacy to the tremendous impact that Skip had on each university," said Wake Forest Athletics Director Ron Wellman. "We thought that it was a natural fit that the two schools should play in both Winston-Salem and in Cincinnati in recognition of Skip's achievements to both communities."
This is, frankly, a fantastic idea. I suppose it is something that needed to happen eventually, in order to fully remember Prosser's life. He was, by all accounts, a heck of a coach and a great human being.

The added bonus, of course, is that both Xavier and Wake Forest are highly competitive programs these days (mostly thanks to Prosser, natch) and it should provide college basketball fans with an extremely appealing matchup added to the calendar each year.

Wake, Xavier to Play Prosser Memorial originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>skip prosserSkipProsserWill BrinsonTue, 03 Feb 2009 19:30:00 EST Good Is Great for College Hoopshttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/good-is-great-for-college-hoops/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/good-is-great-for-college-hoops/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/good-is-great-for-college-hoops/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

First there was North Carolina. Then there was a brief fling with Pittsburgh that ended quicker than a Hollywood marriage. Wake Forest took over next, and the NTSB is still investigating that one-week crash. Then came Duke, which notched a stay atop the rankings that, like Eliot Spitzer's hotel bills, were charged in hours, not days.

This year, it seems, everybody is getting a shot at No. 1.

Just wait Dallas Academy, that 100-0 score won't last. Your time is coming.

But until then, the most dangerous proposition in sports this side of accepting an Evite from Pacman Jones belongs to Connecticut.

Five different teams have claimed the No. 1 ranking since the beginning of January and for four, like a Michael Phelps Saturday night, the high ended in embarrassment.

Yes, greatness, like movies about chimps in space, Charles Barkley's fave five and your retirement savings, is gone with the year 2008.

2009 is the year of good.

And nothing could be better for college basketball.

Sure, great teams are fun to watch every now and again, to see 12 guys march through the field like Patton's Third Army in a Red Rover game. But predictable dominance isn't what makes college basketball the best thing on television that's not accidentally broadcast by Comcast.

Last year was the season of wall-to-wall great. North Carolina grew into a top-flight team, and, so long as they didn't have to play defense, were a tank in a soap box derby. Memphis lost just once in the regular season and came within a free throw of the championship. UCLA went to a third straight Final Four with Kevin Love throwing sweet arcing outlet passes that would make Kurt Warner return to bagging groceries. And none was better than Kansas, which steamrolled North Carolina 40-12 out of the gate and clawed its way past Memphis.

Sure, all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four for the first time ever, but pulling for each of those teams was like rooting for IBM.

The last time there was no dominant team, we watched a George Mason run to the Final Four that did more for miracles than anyone since the 1980 U.S. hockey team and Lyle Lovett's marriage to Julia Roberts. That same year, LSU shocked top-seed Duke on a night J.J. Redick made Plaxico Burress look like a marksman shot, and marched to the Final Four behind the larger-than-the-dinner-table Big Baby Davis. Ben Howland made his first run to the final weekend and Florida's famed '04 recruiting class rebounded from a three-game losing skid in late February to bring home the Gators' first NCAA Tournament title.

And this is what makes college basketball great. Unpredictability.

College basketball isn't the neatly homogenized NFL, made up of 32 teams with all the comparative difference of the Olsen Twins. It isn't the BCS guarantee that the top two teams meet and leaves the non-blue bloods out to clean Urban Meyer's golf cleats, or the NBA's 40-games-in-40-nights death march to the NBA Finals.

It's Madness. And no year is better than this one.

And even though UConn is the latest team, let's just say there's no need to write that in chisel, unless of course you friend Billy Packer on Facebook and that's just how the cranky fella communicates.

The Huskies, who play Louisville tonight, may have the shortest actual reign at No. 1. Their best true road victory was over RPI 76 Notre Dame, losers of five straight games, while Louisville has been near perfect at home, knocking off Kentucky, West Virginia and Pittsburgh. Connecticut has done a miserable job of pressuring the basketball this season as well, ranking 325th in the nation in turnover percentage, while Louisville's early season struggles were marked by the inconsistent play of point guard Edgar Sosa.

Then again they may be the first team to hold No. 1 longer than the run of Manimal.

But they'll still be a flawed team, just like a Duke squad that's still developing its point guard play, a North Carolina team that's learning to ratchet up the defense, a Pittsburgh team that can't quite figure out how to play without DeJuan Blair and an Oklahoma team that's about as deep as a Paris Hilton rant.

They're all missing something. They're all just good.

And for college basketball, that's just great.

Good Is Great for College Hoops originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Ray HollomanMon, 02 Feb 2009 18:20:00 EST Georgia Tech Takes Down Wake Foresthttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/31/georgia-tech-takes-down-wake-forest/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/31/georgia-tech-takes-down-wake-forest/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/31/georgia-tech-takes-down-wake-forest/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The Georgia Tech Yellowjackets are without a doubt the best team in the country with a 1-6 conference record. They lost to NC State and BC in overtime and Maryland by seven. They have come close, but failed to seal the deal in close games. That changed today in a significant way. The Yellowjackets took down Wake Forest in Atlanta 76-74.

Wake Forest just could not keep Georgia Tech out of the lane, other than continually fouling. The Yellow Jacket's penetration really bothered the Demon Deacons, allowing GT to keep it close despite being not shooting as well and a dismal 3-for-18 from behind the arc.
In the final seconds, Georgia Tech tied the game at 74. With only 7.3 seconds left, Wake tried to inbounds the ball and threw it away under pressure.

Iman Shumpert brought the ball up for Georgia Tech, started to drive to the basket and pulled up for a jumper just past the free throw line. Shumpert had been only 3-for-9 in the game, but this shot was true. The Yellow Jackets had their first lead since there was nine minutes left in the game, and Wake Forest could not even get the ball inbounds.

The loss will keep Wake Forest from having a shot at reclaiming the number one ranking in the polls. They would have had an outside shot, even assuming that UConn beats Providence tonight. Now, they will probably stay right where they are in a week that saw them beat Duke at home then lose to Georgia Tech on the road.

Georgia Tech Takes Down Wake Forest originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:43:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Chas RichSat, 31 Jan 2009 14:43:00 EST Ishmael Smith's Sick Between the Legs Pass During the Duke Wake Gamehttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/ishmael-smiths-sick-between-the-legs-pass-during-the-duke-wake/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/ishmael-smiths-sick-between-the-legs-pass-during-the-duke-wake/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/ishmael-smiths-sick-between-the-legs-pass-during-the-duke-wake/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The most highlighted play of Wake Forest's win over Duke last night was James Johnson's lay-in with .8 seconds left. But the particular play that left me more slack-jawed than anything else was an Ishmael Smith between-the-legs pass to Al-Farouq Aminu with about 12 minutes to go in the second half. I was watching this game in a Winston-Salem restaurant, and it easily led the way on bringing the house down, Johnson's game-winner aside.

Ishmael Smith's Sick Between the Legs Pass During the Duke Wake Game originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>al-farouq aminuAl-farouqAminuishmael smithIshmaelSmithjames johnsonJamesJohnsonWill BrinsonThu, 29 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST Blaming Duke's Post Misses Pointhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/blaming-dukes-post-misses-point/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/blaming-dukes-post-misses-point/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/blaming-dukes-post-misses-point/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Old ideas die hard.

Before a fella named Nicolaus Copernicus, all of Christendom would've told you the Earth rotates around the sun. Now, thanks to the work of scientists and sportswriters everywhere, we know for a fact that we all rotate around Tim Tebow.

Before Charles Darwin, the world believed all of humanity was just placed here. Now, of course thanks to the wonders of DNA and TMZ, we know the world's population was entirely created by the yeoman efforts of Travis Henry.

But yet, every time Duke loses a basketball game, the blame falls on the tall fellows in blue faster than you can remember the shortcut for copy and paste.
Stop us if you've heard this one before.

Yes, the top-ranked Devils lost to No. 6 Wake Forest last night, and yes, the Demon Deacons are a team tall and long enough that they could change clean windows halfway up the Empire State building without needing a ladder. Heck, put their 6-foot-10, 6-10, 7-0 front line in Paul Bunyan's rec league and Al-Farouq Aminu might still be cracking Mini-me jokes.

But blaming last night's 70-68 loss on Duke's front court cadre is missing the point.

Pun intended, Nolan Smith.

Duke, in fact, outrebounded Wake Forest, which is even more impressive considering Duke shot so coldly from the floor that if you'd stuck your tongue out to razz a player, it might've stuck to a passing Blue Devil. (And bad shooting is always a rebounding problem unless you're the Detroit Red Wings. Defensive teams pull down, on average, about two-thirds of all misses.)

The Blue Devils missed 44 shots to Wake Forest's 37, and yet Duke still pulled down 47 rebounds to Wake's 43. On the offensive glass, Duke was even better. Wake Forest rebounded just 25.6 percent of its own misses; Duke put 31.6 percent of its own back into play. Versatile forward Kyle Singler pulled down 12 rebounds. Defensive specialist David McClure, who is the 6-foot-6 he's listed at only if he's standing on the Durham phonebook and in a pair of Marv Albert's finest stiletto heels, corralled 12 rebounds, more than either of Wake Forest's talented front line stars James Johnson or Aminu. All those offensive rebounds turned into 19 second chance points, six more than Wake.

Duke even pulled down the biggest rebound of the game, when Gerald Henderson grabbed Aminu's miss with 2.8 seconds left, only to collide with Johnson on the way down and fall to the floor, committing a travelling violation. How dare the Blue Devils' post players not learn to box out gravity?

On the ensuing inbound play, Duke point guard Nolan Smith botched a defensive switch off a screen, giving his assignment to Henderson, but failing to seal off Johnson. It was a brilliant play call by Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio, who capitalized on Duke's aggressive switching and used Teague as a decoy.

And sure, the final bucket was scored near the basket, but, short of seducing everyone on the court, even the ghost of Wilt Chamberlain couldn't have stopped that layup, given Smith's defensive miscue.

Overall, the Blue Devil defense performed well against Wake Forest's interior players. Aminu finished with 15 points, Johnson with 13. For the season, the duo is averaging 26.4 points. Toss in seven-footer Chas McFarland's nine points, and Wake's interior players had an exactly average game, scoring 37 against a season average of 37.2 points per game. Considering Duke's defensive efforts in Mike Krzyzewski's tenure have been to overplay the perimeter and gamble that the turnovers created will offset the matchup problems created in the interior, that number is even more impressive.

And unlike anyone else this season, Duke actually contained Jeff Teague. The star point guard scored just 11 points, nearly 10 under his average. He scored 34 against North Carolina and 24 against Clemson.

So Krzyzewski opted to stop the opposing team's best player and challenge the secondary post players to beat him.

How the heck did he ever win a gold medal with crazy decisions like that?

Sure, center Brian Zoubek had a rough night, and generally displayed all the enthusiasm of a dyspeptic Wal-mart greeter. And sure, if Duke had landed its top interior recruits the past two seasons - Kentucky's Patrick Patterson and Georgetown's Greg Monroe - Krzyzewski would already be humming the bars to "One Shining Moment." But saying Duke's interior game is a fatal flaw in a year in which it's 15th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage and is, generally speaking, getting highly productive minutes out of Zoubek and Lance Thomas is no more legitimate than saying North Carolina needs more guard play or Oklahoma needs more depth.

There is no great this year, and as they come Duke's good is just about as good as anyone else's.

So what went wrong with Duke? Point guard play and can't-even-buy-a-basket-in-this-economy cold shooting.

Against Wake Forest, Smith, a combo guard pressed into duty at the point, committed two turnovers without an assist and hit just one field goal attempt. Smith struggled against Wake Forest's pack-line defense and hit a rush-hour traffic jam every time he tried to cut his way into the lane. And without penetration, Krzyzewski's offense devolves into lots of contested shots, and Wake Forest, like Duke is an excellent defensive team. Wake limited Duke to a 36.8 percent effective field goal percentage, nearly 10 points below their previous low mark.

The Blue Devils found a few open shots, but Ronnie Lott could've counted them on his four-fingered hand. Credit that to Gaudio's defense. Mike Wallace interviews didn't make people sweat as much as the Deacons did last night.

And with Smith playing a less-than-confident 21 minutes, Duke's perimeter pressure defense collapsed. The Blue Devils only forced 11 turnovers, a season-low 14.4 percent turnover rate, and when they did manage to pry the ball from Ish Smith or Teague, they might as well have been running a fast break on a beach.

Duke finished with two points in transition. A Mike Krzyzewski defense may have, in fact, had a worse night at pressuring the perimeter, but, if so, the score may very well have been recorded by an abacus.

And blaming Duke's post ignores perhaps the most important factor of all: Wake Forest is just that darn good. The Deacons went toe-to-toe defensively with the Blue Devils and finished blowing Harley fumes over Duke's prone body. Duke held Wake to a season-low 92 percent efficiency rating. The Deacons returned the favor, holding Duke to an 89.3.

So the Blue Devils went on the road against the No. 6 team in the nation, fired up a shooting percentage so bad that, were it a batting average, it likely wouldn't win a silver slugger, got five points from players other than Henderson and Singler in the second half and lost by two points after an unlucky break on a rebound.

Welcome to the ACC.

Just don't lay it at the undersized feet of Duke's post players.

After all, the Earth seemed a little too flat last night.

Blaming Duke's Post Misses Point originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Ray HollomanThu, 29 Jan 2009 13:37:00 EST Onion Peels: The ACC and Big East, Not Home to Road Warriorshttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/onion-peels-the-acc-and-big-east-not-home-to-road-warriors/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/onion-peels-the-acc-and-big-east-not-home-to-road-warriors/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/onion-peels-the-acc-and-big-east-not-home-to-road-warriors/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Onion Peels is a recap of last night's action and an unofficial Bill Raftery blog.

Wake Forest 70, Duke 68
Two things stand out about Wake Forest from this game. First, Dino Gaudio has done a tremendous job turning the Deacons into a team that can actually play defense (Holloman noted this a while back, actually), and second, can this Wake team close? I know they actually won, so that seems like a silly question, but after seeing the Virginia Tech debacle and then seeing them play down the stretch against Duke, it wouldn't be fair not to question their throat-stomping ability

Duke, on the other hand, just lacks an inside presence. No offense to Brian Zoubek, who, despite being a seven-footer, managed to finish with an impressive zero points and two rebounds last night, but this is going to be a really, really big deal when they play North Carolina and anyone with a big guy in the NCAAs.

Villanova 67, Pittsburgh 57
A lack of a serious inside presence for Pittsburgh -- DeJuan Blair and Tyrell Biggs dealt with foul trouble all night -- gave Villanova ample room to attack the basket and put the Panthers from behind at the start. In a similar fashion to Pitt's loss to Louisville, the Panthers let an opponent hang around and subsequently lost. Scoring 57 points isn't exactly impressive, either.

North Carolina 80, Florida State 77
The Seminoles always play the Tar Heels tough, and last night's game was no exception. However, North Carolina usually doesn't just collapse; as Shiloh pointed out, they almost did last night. But for Ty Lawson's ability to hit a last second 3-pointer, the Heels are staring at three losses in ACC play. BUT DON"T WORRY! THEY"RE ROLLING RIGHT ALONG! No, but seriously, when your point guard leads you in rebounds, you have issues.

Gary Williams 1, Kathy Worthington 0
Sweaty Gary gone done and LOST HIS MIND. Don't believe me? Witness the best quote of the NCAA season -- in a season filled with a lot of great lines coming from College Park no less -- so far: "Kathy Worthington doesn't speak for me. She has never won a national championship. She has never done anything." Click, click, BURN. Touche, Gary. Touche.

Providence 100, Syracuse 94
The Orange continued their Top-25 shame spiral, losing their third straight (and four out of five) Big East game, despite Jonny Flynn throwing up a 35/3/6 line with four three pointers. How did they lose? Because 'Cuse likes to play zone, and Providence likes to shoot threes.

Elsewhere: Louisville stomped South Florida, setting up what should be an awesome matchup against Connecticut (who plowed through DePaul) Monday. LSU toppled Tennessee ... but WHERE ARE THE MARISSA MILLER STORIES??


Onion Peels: The ACC and Big East, Not Home to Road Warriors originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>bill rafteryBillRafterybrian zoubekBrianZoubekdejuan blairDejuanBlairdino gaudioDinoGaudiogary williamsGaryWilliamskathy worthingtonKathyWorthingtononion peelsOnionPeelsty lawsonTyLawsontyrell biggsTyrellBiggsWill BrinsonThu, 29 Jan 2009 11:15:00 EST Against Wake, Duke Faces No. 1 Testhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/28/duke-is-no-1-with-question-mark/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/28/duke-is-no-1-with-question-mark/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/28/duke-is-no-1-with-question-mark/#commentsFiled under: , ,

There's not much novel about the Blue Devils being No. 1.

In fact, they've done it more times than Tiger Woods has won golf tournaments, than Detroit Lion fans have brown-bagged it to Ford Field and almost as many times as Mike Krzyzewski advised you on your choice of credit card, insurance or any of the other products endorsed with a smile by college basketball's top coach.

But whether the three-time national championship coach and his team admits it, there is something different this time around. This No. 1 comes with a question mark. At least, until Wednesday night's road game against Wake Forest.

The pulpit is now yours, Mr. Krzyzewski. Make us believe.

Even in lean years, Duke's dominance in January is just part of the New Year's tradition, up there with white sales and Super Bowl arrests. Over the past four seasons, Duke has won its last 20 January games in a row and is 28-3 in the year's opening month.

But when the calendar flips to February then March, each of these Blue Devil teams have told a different tale.

You thought Visanthe Shiancoe got exposed? You ain't seen nothing until you've watched Duke in March.

These Blue Devils could've fallen out of a ski-lift and been photographed upside down and pantless and it would've only been slightly less embarrassing.

Duke is 10-8 in March, a record that might be fine somewhere without rafters full of banners, but hardly befits the bluest of college basketball's blue bloods.

So as Duke travels to former No. 1 Wake Forest, it isn't so much game as referendum.

"We know Wake Forest will be a huge test," Krzyzewski said. "They've done such a good job this year. Their starting five is big and talented. Teague is playing like a conference player of the year and a national player of the year. ... We know in for a tough game."

Tough in part because the opponent has already beaten North Carolina, owned the No. 1 ranking and, after stewing on a loss to Wake Forest for a week, is probably angrier than their Deacon logo.

But more importantly the Deacs are tough because they're the perfect storm of opponent for the Blue Devil teams that have faltered over the past three seasons. They couldn't be better built to frustrate Duke if they were cobbled together with bits of LSU's Tyrus Thomas, Virginia Commonwealth's Eric Maynor, West Virginia's Joe Alexander with a ram's head on top for good measure.

They have the length that bedeviled Duke in the 2006 Sweet 16 loss to the Tigers, the slick point guard that dropped Duke in 2007 and the athleticism that carried West Virginia into the Sweet 16 last season.

And it all starts with Teague, who's speedy, elusive and as a shooter, and plays with more angles in his game than a Picasso.

"He reminds me, in his attitude ... of Randolph Childress," Krzyzewski said, referring to the the Deacon star with the dead-eye and deadlier killer instinct that lifted Wake to back-to-back ACC titles in the mid-90s. (If you need a refersher on Childress, please let Mr. McInnis provide it.) "He just gave his team tremendous confidence. They knew he was going to hit a big bucket and always felt like have chance to win with him on the court. That's what Teague gives them. And he does that as well as anyone in the country."

Then there's the not-so-small matter of the Demon Deacons front-line, a long, scrappy bunch that could probably clean Paul Bunyan's gutters without a ladder.



James Johnson, Al-Farouq Aminu and Chas McFarland, who run 6-foot-9, 6-9 and 7-0, could cause the same sorts of problems Thomas and the LSU front court caused in 2006 when they bounced the nation's No. 1 team in the Sweet 16.

"They're not only big, they're good athletes," Krzyzewski said. "They're talented. ... They're good basketball players who happen to be big and that's a good combination for the home team."

And should the Blue Devils find a way to handle those issues, they've still got to score themselves. After all, these aren't Chris Paul's Deacons allegedly playing defense anymore. Second-year coach Dino Gaudio's team hounds opposing perimeter players and stifles penetration with its pack-line defense.

What's the difference between this team and Skip Prosser's best defenses? Think of the level of the Providence security team versus the Beijing police.

"The staple for our season and how we get off to a great start is our defense," Gaudio said. "Any future success we have, that's where it's going to have its foundation."

But this has been a season of exorcising ghosts for Duke. Saturday, there was a bit of a deed dispute at Cameron Indoor Stadium, after Grievis Vasquez, who finished one rebound short of a triple-double his freshman year, and followed up with a 25-point performance as a sophomore, said it was, in fact, his house.

Four points, 40 minutes and an 85-44 fire-and-brimstone leveling later, Duke did its part to keep the foreclosure crisis going.

Against Florida State, the Devils went up against the nation's tallest team, grinding out a 19-14 halftime advantage against a team whose two-guard could change light bulbs in a cathedral ceiling, they held on for an eight-point win.

They've developed Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas as legitimate interior players on both sides of the ball, installed point guard Nolan Smith as a starter and defensive stopper, and, aside from one forgettable afternoon in Ann Arbor, have harped on the driving element of Krzyzewski's offense, rather than passing around the perimeter.

And against Rhode Island, the Blue Devils stopped a hot-shooting guard hellbent on having a career night. Jimmy Baron hit 8-of-10 3-pointers, but versatile forward Kyle Singler managed a defensive stop in the waning seconds and the Blue Devils held on.

That day, Duke started its march toward No. 1 with a signal that this team might be different from the last three.

Now it's time to prove it against the team that sent the Blue Devils spiraling to a 4-4 finish in ACC games after a 10-0 start last year.

You're No. 1 again, Mike Krzyzewski. Now it's time to make us believers.

Against Wake, Duke Faces No. 1 Test originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>accduke blue devilsduke universityDukeBlueDevilsDukeUniversitymike krzyzewskiMikeKrzyzewskiwake forestwake forest basketballwake forest universityWakeForestWakeForestBasketballWakeForestUniversityRay HollomanWed, 28 Jan 2009 12:30:00 EST Ranking the Rankings: Duke's No. 1http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/26/ranking-the-rankings-and-yada-yada-yada-dukes-number-one/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/26/ranking-the-rankings-and-yada-yada-yada-dukes-number-one/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/26/ranking-the-rankings-and-yada-yada-yada-dukes-number-one/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ranking the rankings criticizes the critics as soon as the polls come out.

Headlining: It's obvious, right? Duke tops both polls for the first time since the end of the 2005-06 regular season and we're all depressed ecstatic! I want to say that it's hard to like this Blue Devil team, but when is it easy to like Duke? (Answer: When you're a Duke fan. Or when the Blue Devils are playing Carolina.) That being said, the 2008-09 incarnation isn't nearly as hate-able as previous teams.

Gerald Henderson is a freakish athlete who tries hard, Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer embody a certain Durham stereotype, but at least they're not Chris Collins and Wojo, and Greg Paulus has been relegated to a supporting role and has yet to play more than 24 minutes a game.

The antipodal proposition alone should be worth a slightly less odoriferous and palatable annoyance. (Yes, I'm pretending that I graduated from Duke and write for Slate.) Of course, there's still the matter of butting heads with the previous top team, Wake Forest, Wednesday, but for now: Everyone respects Duke.

Freefallin': Georgetown (12/14 to 25/23), Syracuse (8/8 to 15/15) and Notre Dame (19/19 to UR/22). In fairness to all three teams, the Big East is really good. And in fairness to the pollsters, this group of teams combined to lose five games (the Irish lost that Saturday prime timer as their only game of the week en route to three straight losses; coughing one up to Marquette Monday won't help their case either) last week, so it's not that shocking. The Big East teams are certainly going to beat up on each other all season long and they'll fluctuate; anything other than the same from the top tier ACC teams would be surprising as well.

You Gotta Rise Up: Kentucky (UR/UR to 24/UR), UCLA (17/16 to 13/11). It's never a total shock when two big name programs -- Louisville could apply here too, I suppose, just based on the relative inaction of the top 10 -- win a couple of games and start vaulting higher. In Kentucky's case, it's Jodie Meeks helping to propel the Wildcats back into the rankings for the first time since November ... 2007. It wouldn't seem that long if it wasn't Kentucky we're talking about, but the Wildcats are held to a higher standard. Presuming they can beat both Mississippi and South Carolina this week, it's safe to say you'll see them ranked in both polls next week.

Hyped: Clemson (12/11). Yes, the Tigers only have two losses, but they're still in the top 15. And while I don't necessarily know that the Tigers are en route toward a total and utter meltdown, I certainly won't vouch that they aren't, either. They've got games against Virginia Tech, Duke, Florida State and Boston College in their next four matchups. Two of those teams have beaten No. 1-ranked squads ... and they're the two inferior teams on the schedule. A win against Georgia Tech kind of righted the ship, but there's a distinct possibility that they could go 0-4 over that span.

Bunked: Arizona State (14/14). Call me a Herb Sendek homer if you want, and I won't care. I love the guy, and all he does is produce teams that go to the NCAA Tournament. His last five teams at N.C. State went to the Big Dance and It's not far-fetched to say that the Wolfpack would probably deal with an annual tourney bid right now. The Sun Devils are not a high-scoring bunch, and losses to USC and Cal aren't impressive, but James Harden is a baller and 22 points per game in Sendek's offense might be equal to 49 anywhere else.

WTF?: No one from the coaches' poll dropped. Like, literally no one. Florida is this -- makes pinching motion with index and thumb -- close to inching in, just one point shy of Gonzaga, and Utah State is right behind, but it's still really unusual to see a poll with no movement whatsoever.

People That Vote Are Smart: Ron Morris of The State in Columbia, S.C., takes the cake. He really thinks highly of Luke Harangody, so much so that he puts Notre Dame at No. 14 in his poll. Yes, the Irish are a talented team, but when he voted they had lost three straight, and they've dropped four straight now. It's kind of tough to bump a team from No. 14 to unranked in one week, but here it's arguably deserved. He also has UConn and North Carolina ahead of Duke.

Ranking the Rankings: Duke's No. 1 originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>chris collinsChrisCollinsgerald hendersonGeraldHendersongreg paulusGregPaulusherb sendekHerbSendekjames hardenJamesHardenjodie meeksJodieMeeksjon scheyerJonScheyerkyle singlerKyleSinglerluke harangodyLukeHarangodyRankingtheRankingsron morrisRonMorrisWill BrinsonMon, 26 Jan 2009 22:00:00 EST Duke Tops Polls After Rout of Marylandhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/26/duke-tops-polls-after-wake-loss-devil-de-pantsing-of-maryland/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/26/duke-tops-polls-after-wake-loss-devil-de-pantsing-of-maryland/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/26/duke-tops-polls-after-wake-loss-devil-de-pantsing-of-maryland/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Coach K can finally rest easy, it appears his Duke Blue Devils are en route to getting some respect. At least that's what this week's AP and ESPN/USA Today polls say. The Dukies pulled 62 first-place AP votes (six went to Connecticut, three to Pittsburgh and one to Oklahoma) and 31 firsts in the Coach's poll (UConn earned the lone other vote.)

There shouldn't be any question about this either, really, although it's fairly surprising to see even a few voters stray from sliding their first-place votes to the Devils (especially after Wake Forest's stumble last week). Duke is 18-1 overall and undefeated in ACC play, including an obscene 41-point stomping of Maryland on Saturday.

Since losing to Michigan, they've more or less mowed down most of their competition, and one has to think that, providing they win this Wednesday at Wake Forest, there won't be any other teams pulling first-place votes until the Devils cough up their next loss.

Coach K is actually happy about this, and performing a lovely media-friendly half-pirouette:
"We've had a chance to drink from that cup of No. 1 a number of times," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said on the ACC coaches' teleconference. "It's a tremendous honor, and we don't take it lightly."
Elsewhere in do-not-take-lightly news, the ACC has now had three teams be No. 1 this year, only the fourth time that's ever happened: 2002-03 for the SEC, '89-90 for the Big Eight and '85-86 for the ACC. Sure, the bottom half of the conference might not be that spectacular, but it's a pretty good indication that league has moved past its miserable football season.

Duke Tops Polls After Rout of Maryland originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>mike krzyzewskiMikeKrzyzewskiWill BrinsonMon, 26 Jan 2009 16:45:00 EST Real Challenge Begins for Wake Foresthttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/22/real-challenge-begins-for-br-1-and-stunned-wake-forest/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/22/real-challenge-begins-for-br-1-and-stunned-wake-forest/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/22/real-challenge-begins-for-br-1-and-stunned-wake-forest/#commentsFiled under: , ,

And so, Wake Forest's stay atop the nation's polls turned out to be shorter than a Britney Spears marriage.

Thanks for trying, Wake. And if you leave within the hour, you might still get the early bird parking special.

Yes, there are those who thrive in the spotlight. Then there are those who Amy Winehouse thinks handle celebrity poorly. And for the second time in school history, the Demon Deacons are the latter, grabbing the No. 1 ranking only to crash so hard the FAA had to investigate.

In November, 2004, it was a two-week run, ended by an 91-73 rout that still wouldn't have as close as the score indicates if you added two zeroes behind the Illini's tally. This year, it was a two-day run ended with an ESPN televised 78-71 pie in the face by Virginia Tech.

And the bad news is that the real challenge starts now.

Of course, let's not get ahead of ourselves. There's no need to flood eBay with your Wake Forest gear or to go digging up your Rusty LaRue DVDs. Unlike your house or your 401k, there's still value in these Deacons.

They're still one of the nation's few elite teams, if maybe not yet the best. They've still got a long, athletic front line that could harass the heck out of Paul Bunyan's rec league team , they've still got the ACC's premiere guard in Jeff Teague, and, generally speaking, they've still got a defense that could make a penguin sweat.

Really, all Wednesday night's loss to Virginia Tech proved in and of itself is that winning in college basketball, no matter who you're playing, is awfully hard.

Heck, Michigan State lost to Northwestern's brand of pocket protectors and passes Wednesday. Even New Jersey Tech, losers of 51 straight, found a victory somewhere between the couch cushions.

So in some respect it wasn't so much what Wake Forest did wrong, but what college basketball does oh-so-right, that cocktail of upsets , raucous arenas, and school pride, lit aflame by the short 40-minute frame the games are played in.

(And it's never more true than against Seth Greenburg when playing the No. 1 team. He's fielded competitive teams in the ACC since Virginia Tech joined the league, but when he faces a No. 1, it's like the coach dumps all his Scrabble tiles out only to draw exactly the right letters to spell "quioxitic." They Hokies have now knocked off two No. 1s in that period and lost to two others, Duke and North Carolina, both on buzzer beaters.)

And maybe the Deacons simply confused the men in the day-glo orange jerseys for a road crew and were waiting for them to place a few traffic cones or spear a couple pieces of garbage.

Whichever the reason, Wake Forest lost.

But what the Deacons did on the floor was probably as fixable as it was uncharacteristic. Their pack-line defense, which is designed to envelope and stop dribble penetration, let the Hokies take a route to the basket that couldn't have been more direct if they'd used a GPS device. After forward Al-Farouq Aminu left the game in the first half with a bloodied forehead, the Deacons abandoned their inside game and settled for perimeter jumper after perimeter jump, which, other than Teague, no one could particularly hit. As a result, the Deacons allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent for the first time this season and went to the free throw-line 25 fewer times than Virginia Tech. These things will be fixed by the first series of suicides the Deacons run in their next practice.

But the better question is what happens to this team now that they've taken a little leather directly to the chin?

Can coach Dino Gaudio get center Chas McFarland's attitude back in check after he had more collisions with Hokies (two) than points (zero) and far fewer than fouls (five)?

Can he get the team to buckle down on defense every possession of every game from now until the final chorus of "One Shining Moment"? (Just ask North Carolina how tempting, and disastrous, it is to take a few defensive possessions off).

Can he get Teague to take the shots that count? The star scored 23 points and helped bring the Deacons back in the second half, but late in the game his body language looked more like a sophomore trying to avoid a professor's question in a 9AM lecture than a sophomore leading a team to the Final Four.

And can he get all that talent on the same page?

If there was one play that defined the Deac's fall-from-grace loss, it was junior L.D. Williams trying to drive between four Hokie defenders and what looked like half the third armored with 51 seconds left instead of passing the ball out to a wide-open Teague. Williams was whistled for a charge and the game all but ended there.

So yes, the Deacons lost. And yes, the perfect mark is gone, the No. 1 ranking is gone.

But for Wake, the real challenge has only just started.

Real Challenge Begins for Wake Forest originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Ray HollomanThu, 22 Jan 2009 07:00:00 EST Wake Forest Loses at Home to Virginia Tech, Undefeated No Morehttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/21/wake-forest-undefeated-no-more-loses-at-home-to-virginia-tech/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/21/wake-forest-undefeated-no-more-loses-at-home-to-virginia-tech/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/21/wake-forest-undefeated-no-more-loses-at-home-to-virginia-tech/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

"Chippy" is a term that's thrown out a lot these days. It refers to a sporting contest that gets a little heated without getting violent. Wake Forest, the nation's top-ranked team, and Virginia Tech, a classic "look past" opponent for the Deacs, took that adjective to an entirely different level on Wednesday night in a fantastic ACC battle.

Virginia Tech led by 10 at the break, and as much as 13 throughout the second half, and while there were pendulum-like momentum swings throughout the final 20 minutes, the mistakes made by the Demon Deacons down the stretch resulted in a 78-71 loss to the Hokies. The biggest issue surrounding those mistakes, and something that will be addressed frequently over the next few days, is probably Jeff Teague, who failed to take charge late.

Additionally, Wake settled for jumpers late in the game, despite the Hokies clanking free throw after free throw (19-of-29) in the last three minutes of the game. That -- the Deacs' willingness to fire off 18-footers instead of driving to the hoop -- may have stemmed from Teague hitting an absolute monster of a 3-pointer with 1:45 left in the game, slicing the lead to five.

And then really weird things started happening. Teague -- easily the best player on Wake -- started (allegedly) avoiding the ball. OK, "avoiding" might be too much; Len Elmore called him out for "sulking", and discussed how he dogged his teammates in high school, but it looked like he gave the rock up with 30 seconds to go looking for the extra pass.

I'm not entirely sure why Teague would have bothered shutting it down. Granted, his teammates didn't entirely play like they wanted to win, but they also didn't give an entirely empty effort. L.D. Williams and James Johnson both scored 15, and you can hardly blame Al-Farouq Aminu -- he did get his face broken open by a random elbow early in the first quarter.



The truth is that Wake's probably better off losing this one. And no, that's not just me consoling myself because Wake lost and I picked them to win the title. When you don't lose for a while and get too cocky, you're bound to get popped in the mouth by someone like Duke next week. Instead, Wake should be hungry now.

That's not to take anything away from Seth Greenberg and Virginia Tech, though. Malcolm Delaney balled it up with 17 points, while Jared Allen and A.D. Vassallo tossed in 16 each as well. The Hokies, as you'll hear over the next 24 hours, "punched Wake in the mouth." And it's true; they did. But a championship caliber team doesn't fold when their opponent is shooting from the charity stripe like a Shaquille O'Neal-Ben Wallace love -child late in the game.

Kudos to the Hokies, indeed, but there are a whole lot of questions that are suddenly going to be asked about the Deacs. And rightfully so.

Wake Forest Loses at Home to Virginia Tech, Undefeated No More originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>ad vassalloAdVassalloal-farouq aminuAl-farouqAminujames johnsonJamesJohnsonjared allenJaredAllenjeff teagueJeffTeagueld williamsLdWilliamslen elmoreLenElmoremalcolm delaneyMalcolmDelaneyseth greenbergSethGreenbergWill BrinsonWed, 21 Jan 2009 21:20:00 EST Ranking the Rankings: Wake Forest Claims the Top Spot; ACC, Big East Rulehttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/19/rankings-ranking-wake-forest-claims-the-top-spot-acc-big-east/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/19/rankings-ranking-wake-forest-claims-the-top-spot-acc-big-east/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/19/rankings-ranking-wake-forest-claims-the-top-spot-acc-big-east/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ranking the rankings criticizes the critics as soon as the polls come out.

It shouldn't come as a tremendous surprise that the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, the nation's only remaining undefeated team, are the consensus number one team in the nation. Oh wait, what's that? They're not the consensus team? Interesting.

They are close though -- Duke garnered four AP first place votes and six votes in the coaches poll to lock up the second overall ranking in both polls, while Connecticut and Pittsburgh rounded out the top four. Perhaps Coach K's media scathing resonated with more than just the News & Observer.

This is, the first time that Wake has been No. 1 since Chris Paul graced the hardwood of Lawrence Joel, but it's an interesting change because this is a completely different Deacon team, and one that's dominated by a youthful demeanor.

But, yes, in other words, when it comes to college basketball this year, there is the ACC, there is the Big East, and then there is everyone else. That's not to say that the ACC is necessarily better overall than the Big East; it's probably telling that the latter's two "best" (by record) teams are ranked lower (Louisville is 9 in the AP, 12 in the coaches', while Marquette is 11 and 10, respectively) than the two teams everyone else considers to be the favorites: UConn and Pitt.

North Carolina and Oklahoma round out the top five and while, yes, I may be known for piling on the Tar Heels ... well, I'm going to do it again. They whipped up on two bad teams in Virginia and Miami, they've lost both their tests and they're just not as tough on defense without Marcus Ginyard, who won't be around for the Clemson game. I understand that people have a really, really, really hard time not putting them in the top 10, and that's somewhat understandable, but putting them above Oklahoma, who recently pummeled Texas, seems like a bit of a stretch.

Ranking the Rankings: Wake Forest Claims the Top Spot; ACC, Big East Rule originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>chris paulChrisPaulmarcus ginyardMarcusGinyardRankingtheRankingsWill BrinsonMon, 19 Jan 2009 20:30:00 EST Clemson Fan Thinks the Best Way to Help Fallen Wake Player Is Via Piledriverhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/17/clemson-fan-thinks-the-best-way-to-help-fallen-wake-player-is-vi/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/17/clemson-fan-thinks-the-best-way-to-help-fallen-wake-player-is-vi/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/17/clemson-fan-thinks-the-best-way-to-help-fallen-wake-player-is-vi/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Wake Forest and Clemson had an up-and-down defensive battle today that left the Deacons unbeaten. And probably left Clemson a little bitter. At least that's what I have to think after watching this random Tiger fan take Chas McFarland and piledrive him into the ground when he fell into the stands. I'm not even sure what to say other than: "Really?"



Via the Dagger

Clemson Fan Thinks the Best Way to Help Fallen Wake Player Is Via Piledriver originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 20:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>chas mcfarlandChasMcfarlandWill BrinsonSat, 17 Jan 2009 20:10:00 EST Wake Forest Wins Battle of Unbeatens, Taking Out Clemson in Littlejohnhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/17/wake-forest-wins-battle-of-unbeatens-taking-out-clemson-in-litt/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/17/wake-forest-wins-battle-of-unbeatens-taking-out-clemson-in-litt/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/17/wake-forest-wins-battle-of-unbeatens-taking-out-clemson-in-litt/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Wake Forest, depending on the outcome of the Pittsburgh-Louisville game, has a legitimate right to argue it deserves to be the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. The Demon Deacons have now taken out North Carolina and unbeaten Clemson, knocking off the Tigers 78-68 in Littlejohn on Saturday afternoon.

Jeff Teague led the way (again) with 24 points, while Al-Farouq Aminu posted a double-double (12/10); he and Chas McFarland, who posted 12 boards, kept anyone most of Clemson's roster off the glass all afternoon.

The game was a back-and-forth affair until the Deacs amped up the defense and held Clemson scoreless to close out the first half with an eight-point lead. Wake held close to a double-digit margin for most of the second half, but Clemson was able to ratchet down and bring the game within a single point with just under few minutes to go.

Despite nearly having all five starters in double figures though, the Tigers were never able to take the lead back and Wake, which shot nearly 80 percent from the stripe as a team, was able to close out the home team.

Four things really stood out from this game. First of all, Clemson is legit. The Tigers didn't play their best basketball today, particularly in the second half, but there's a pretty good chance that they can break their 0-for-50,000-53 record against North Carolina in Chapel Hill next Wednesday. (Aside: that game is going to be reasonably crucial to the Tigers' schedule; a win and they can get on a serious ACC roll, but a loss just reeks of a six-game losing streak.)

Secondly, this is the all-time best start by any Wake Forest team in the prestigious, albeit undervalued, history of the school's basketball program, toppling the previous all time best start of 15-0 by the 1926-27 team.

Additionally, have you heard that Wake Forest is good? Because most people, geniuses aside, didn't realize just how talented they were before the season.

Oh, and finally, Clemson fans are, unsurprisingly classy. How do I know? Because we have video proof of a Clemson fan piledriving McFarland after he falls into the stands chasing after a loose ball. But at least they're not bitter.

Wake Forest Wins Battle of Unbeatens, Taking Out Clemson in Littlejohn originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:41:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Al-Farouq AminuAl-farouqAminuchas mcfarlandChasMcfarlandJeff TeagueJeffTeagueWill BrinsonSat, 17 Jan 2009 19:41:00 EST