Path to the Hall of Fame (v2)

[randy]

Quarter Finals
(9) Boston College, Won 87-73

• FG: 48-50%; REB: -2; TO: -13
• POG: C Dan Dickel 13 pts, 5 rebs

Semi Finals
(4) Maryland, Won 54-53

• FG: 29-36%; REB: +9; TO: -2
• POG: PG Chris Hunter 12 pts, 6 rebs

Finals
(2) #8 Virginia, Won 76-53

• FG: 42-33%; REB: +4; TO: -9
• POG: SG Jonathan Ballinger 15 pts, 5 asts

[randy]

Rank (Media/Coaches): #11/#12; RPI: #1

We're in the East (Syracuse) Regionals

1st round matchup:
(2) #11 Clemson vs (15) South Dakota

Teams in the East Regionals

• (1) #1 Indiana - 6 National Titles, 13 Final Fours
• (2) #11 Clemson
• (3) #12 Georgia Tech - 6 National Titles, 16 Final Fours
• (4) #16 Seton Hall - 1 National Title, 8 Final Fours
• (5) #22 Arizona St
• (6) #25 Syracuse - 1 National Titles, 2 Final Fours
• (7) #23 Wagner
• (8) Maryland - 4 Final Fours
• (9) Mississippi St
• (10) Oregon St
• (11) Michigan - 1 Final Four
• (12) James Madison
• (13) Eastern Washington
• (14) Morehead St
• (15) South Dakota
• (16) Play In

Other Ranked Teams

Midwest

• (1) #3 Iowa
• (2) #10 Georgetown
• (3) #4 Temple
• (4) #14 Bradley
• (5) #20 Minnesota
• (6) #21 Arizona

South

• (1) #5 Kansas St
• (2) #7 Southern Illinois
• (3) #9 New Mexico
• (4) #2 UNLV
• (5) #17 Kansas
• (6) #15 Gonzaga

West

• (1) #8 Virginia
• (2) #6 Oklahoma
• (3) #19 UCLA
• (4) #18 St. John's
• (5) #13 Houston
• (7) #24 TX Pan American

On Probation

• None

ACC teams appearing on post-season tournaments

NCAA

• East: (15) South Dakota St vs (2) #11 Clemson
• East: (14) Morehead St vs (3) #12 Georgia Tech
• East: (9) Mississippi St vs (8) Maryland
• West: (16) Play-In vs (1) #8 Virginia
• West: (11) Vermont vs (6) Wake Forest
• West: (9) Stanford vs (8) North Carolina St

[randy]

Mar 16, 2010: (15) South Dakota St (18-12, 7-7) vs (2) #11 Clemson (24-7, 15-3)

Scouting Report

1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Outside (fast)
3. Key players:
   
   • Jr(R) SF Al Cox (17.1 ppg, 45% 3PT, 2-time All Conf)
4. Strengths:
   
   • Offense: 71.3 ppg (#34)
5. Weaknesses:
   
   • Defense: 70.7 opp ppg (#314), 45.8% opp FG (#273), 36.6% opp 3PT (#278)
6. How they got here:
   
   • Finished 4th Summit League; Won Conference Tournament

Strategies

1. South Dakota has decent scorers, but they have poor defense. We'll guard m2m, esp on Cox

Start of 1st half

Our outside shooting cold at the start, until we converted our last 2 sttepts from beyond the arc. We're in the penalty early though. Up 11-10, 13:37. Too many fouls being called and both teams in the penalty. SDAK waxed hot from the outside, shooting 3 consecutive 3pt shots. Down 21-23, 7:50. This is no joke now, as SDAK continues to bomb away from the outside and we go down by 7. Crowd sensing an upset. We tightened up our defense, and able to pull even. Halftime, Tied at 38.

Key stats / Notes (Halftime)

• 3PT shooting: SDAK 6-11, CLEM 2-6
• Our outside shooting is inconsistent today, so we'll go favor inside in the 2nd half. We'll have to play good defense on the next 20 minutes, or we could end up having an early vacation

Start of 2nd half

Our big men have done a good job at the start of the 2nd half, scoring on the inside and controlling the boards. Up 54-44, 13:19. We were cruising along with an 11 pt lead, but here comes SDAK again. Up 58-52, 7:35.

C Michael Jackson hit a couple of baskets to give us a bit more distance. Up 62-52, 5:42. We're in the penalty again, but SDAK missed some crucial FTs. We'll start slowing down the game. Up 66-52, 3:30. SDAK's wasn't able to sustain their offense in the 2nd half. But we had to work hard on this one.


Final Score: South Dakota - 54, Clemson - 70


Box Scores
[INDENT]Jackson 18, 6, 0 (*)
Weston 10, 6, 0
Holmes 6, 7, 2
Dickel 6, 7, 0
Johnson 6, 5, 1
Hunter 6, 2, 3, fouled out
Ballinger 5, 2, 3, 2 stls, 2 blks
DeWitt 4, 3, 1
McLean 4, 3, 0
J Lewis 2, 1, 1, 2 blks
Lee 2, 1, 0
Davis 1, 1, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 35-33%
REB: +10
TO: -7
Pts in paint: +22
2nd chance: +11 (13-2)
Fast break: +9
[/INDENT]
Notes

• We only turned the ball over 8 times, which helped us to pull away in the 2nd half, not allowing SDAK to come up with a big run
• Total of 47 combined fouls called today

[randy]

Mar 18, 2010: (7) #23 Wagner (24-8, 13-3) vs (2) #11 Clemson (25-7, 15-3)

Scouting Report

1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Balanced
3. Key players:
   
   • Jr SG David Bennett (15.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
4. Strengths:
   
   • Ball Handling: 12.5 topg (#17)
   • Perimeter defense: 32.2% opp 3PT (#47), 17.0 opp topg (#20)
5. Weaknesses:
   
   • Rebounding: 31.3 rpg (#134)
6. How they got here:
   
   • Finished 1st Metro-Atlantic; Lost Conference Tournament Quarter Finals
   • (Round 64) Def Oregon St, 80-67 (ORST: 25 tos)

Strategies

1. Another tricky opponent; if we don't take care of the ball, this could be a tough game for us. We'll start with favor inside offense, and m2m defense

Start of 1st half

Each of our starters contributed on offense, as we scored both inside and out. WAG also shooting well from the outside, keeping this game close. Up 18-13, 13:13. We have used our depth effectively to sustain our offense. SG Brett Holmes with 9 pts off the bench. Up 33-18, 7:43. We only had 2 turn overs, and that was a key factor in blowing this game wide open. Halftime, Up 47-24.

Key stats / Notes (Halftime)

• Pts in paint: WAG 2, CLEM 22
• Turn overs: WAG 8, CLEM 2

Start of 2nd half

PG Chris Hunter (15 pts) scoring enough to prevent any big rallies from WAG. Up 58-34, 13:20. I will start resting key players now. Up 70-34, 6:54.


Final Score: Wagner - 44, Clemson - 81


Box Scores
[INDENT]Holmes 22, 4, 2, 10-14 FG (*)
Hunter 17, 2, 6
Dickel 12, 10, 1
McLean 8, 2, 2, 3 blks
Jackson 6, 4, 0
Ballinger 6, 2, 7
Johnson 4, 3, 0
Davis 4, 1, 0
DeWitt 2, 5, 1
J Lewis 0, 3, 5
Weston 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 53-35%
REB: +12
TO: -13 (5-18)
Pts in paint: +38 (44-6)
2nd chance: +7
Fast break: +6
[/INDENT]
Notes

• Good job keeping our turn overs to a minimum, as we still came up with a big win despite us shooting only 26% 3PT. Our depth across all positions showed its strength today

[randy]

We face a familiar opponent. In my 6 years at Clemson, my W-L record against Georgia Tech is only 3-11. Georgia Tech are the defending NCAA champions, and they seem to recruit outstanding batch of freshmen every year

Mar 23, 2010: (3) #12 Georgia Tech (25-7, 14-4) vs (2) #11 Clemson (26-7, 15-3)

Scouting Report

1. Primary defense: 1-3-1 zone
2. Offense focus: Outside (fast)
3. Key players:
   
   • Fr SF Marcus Stidham (15.3 ppg, 2.6 spg, #6 class rank)
   • Fr SG Lou Mason (13.6 ppg, #5 class rank)
   • Sr(R) Ronald Honeycutt (10.4 ppg, 3.5 apg)
   • The other 2 starters are also freshmen, both in the top 30
4. Strengths:
   
   • Fast scoring: 74.4 ppg (#5), 74.1 tempo (#3)
   • Defense: 17.9 opp topg (#9), 9.0 spg (#10)
   • Ball Handling: 13.0 topg (#32)
5. Weaknesses:
   
   Shooting: 43.4% FG (#212), 32.8% 3PT (#255)
   
6. How they got here:
   
   • Finished 3rd Atlantic Coast; Lost Conference Tournament Quarter Finals
   • (Round 64) Def Morehead St, 88-62 (Stidham 24 pts, 6 stls; GT +15 fast break pts)
   • (Round 32) Def #25 Syracuse, 61-48 (Stidham 11 pts; GT +16 fast break pts)

Strategies

1. Syracuse able to shut down GT's half court game, but GT able to capitalize on SYR's 24 turn overs to get a big advantage on fast break pts. In our 2 games against GT this season (1-1 record), we were also able to limit them below 35% FG, but we averaged 19 turn overs on our end. I think we have the advantage on rebounding, so it is important we don't allow them to run.
2. Initially, we'll go m2m on defense and press all the time. We'll employ a balanced focus offense, to counter their zone defense.

Start of 1st half

Good start as we picked off 3 steals in the early part of the game and established a 7 pt lead. GT able to come back with a couple of 3pt shots. Up 15-12, 13:36. Once again, SG Brett Holmes has led our bench scoring with 8 pts. Up 29-21, 6:05. GT got themselves into more turn over problems, as we continued to pick off their passes. Halftime, Up 39-28.

Key stats / Notes (Halftime)

• Fast break pts: GT 5, CLEM 19
• Steals: GT 3, CLEM 8
• We need to continue being aggressive on shutting down GT's passing lanes, and get easy pts in transition

Start of 2nd half

GT off to a quick start scoring 7 straight pts. We answered back with also a 7-0 run. Up 46-35, 14:33. We extended our run to 13-0, and GT forced to call a time out. Up 52-35, 13:16. SG Brett Holmes (21 pts) picking up where he left off in the 1st half, and continues to shoot well. meanwhile, after getting off to 7-0 run to start the 2nd half, GT's offense has completely disintegrated since then. Up 65-38, 7:46. No signs of a rally from GT, and I pulled out my key players. Very good win in dominating a talented, yet inexperienced GT team. Up 71-45, 3:56.


Final Score: Georgia Tech - 55, Clemson - 79


Box Scores
[INDENT]Holmes 23, 3, 2, 3 stls (*)
Johnson 14, 1, 0, 4 tos
Hunter 9, 4, 5, 2 stls
Jackson 8, 11, 1
Weston 6, 5, 1
DeWitt 6, 2, 0, 3 stls
Dickel 6, 2, 0
Ballinger 3, 4, 5, 2 stls, 4 tos
Davis 2, 1, 0
J Lewis 2, 0, 4, 2 blks
McLean 0, 4, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 54-34%
REB: +11
TO: -4 (17-21)
Pts in paint: +22
2nd chance: +6
Fast break: +14 (23-9)
[/INDENT]
Notes

• We kept GT on their half court offense, and they had a difficult time executing.

[randy]

Another tough game ahead of us, but if we can duplicate our performance in our last match (against Georgia Tech), we should have a good chance against the #1 team in the country

Mar 23, 2010: (2) #11 Clemson (27-7, 15-3) vs (1) #1 Indiana (33-3, 16-2)

Scouting Report

1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Balanced
3. Key players:
   
   • Sr C JT Hansen (22.8 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 2.5 bpg, 54% FG, 3-time All American, #9 class rank)
   • Jr SF Anthony Reynolds (13.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 47% FG, 2-time All Conf, #19 class rank)
   • Sr SG Jesse Martin (10.8 ppg, #44 class rank)
4. Strengths:
   
   • Interior defense: 53.3 opp ppg (#2), 37.6% opp FG (#2), 5.4 bpg (#2)
   • Rebounding: 35.6 rpg (#12)
   • Scoring: 71.5 ppg (#32)
5. Weaknesses:
   
   Perimeter defense: 33.7% opp 3PT (#116),
   
6. How they got here:
   
   • Finished 1st Big 10; Won Conference Tournament
   • (Round 64) Def Norfolk St, 70-53 (Hansen 29 pts, 11 rebs; IND: +20 pts in paint)
   • (Round 32) Def Maryland, 73-45 (Hansen 22 pts, 11 rebs; IND: +26 pts in paint)
   • (Sweet 16) Def #22 Arizona St, 66-54 (Hansen 21 pts, 12 rebs; IND: +12 pts in paint)

Strategies

1. It is clear what we have to do on defense, and that is to do everything to stop Hansen. We'll use 2-3 zone. IND has players who can knock down shots from the outside, but we'll take our chances. We'll also press all the time, and force IND to use their bench more.
2. On offense, we'll go favor outside hoping our perimeter players are on target today

Start of 1st half

We're doing fairly well on our half court defense, but we have allowed IND to score a couple of easy transition pts off our turn overs. Our starting PG Chris Hunter already with 2 fouls. Tied at 11, 13:53. SG Brett Holmes providing 8 pts off the bench, to keep us afloat on offense. Up 21-20, 6:25. IND got into penalty, and FTs helped increased our score in the latter part of the 1st half. Halftime, Up 35-30.

Key stats / Notes (Halftime)

• Blocks: CLEM 0, IND 4
• FT shooting: CLEM 13-14, IND 3-5
• With the exception of 8 fast break pts we allowed, we are executing our game plan. IND attempted a little more 3pt shots than they are used to, going 3-12. IND's C JT Hansen with 7 pts, 2-4 FG.

Start of 2nd half

IND started hot from the outside in the 2nd half, scoring 3 consecutive triples, and they have quickly regained the lead. IND's JT Hansen added 5 more pts, and we're looking lost in the court now. I was forced to call an early time out. We'll shift to m2m defense, and max out our pace. Down 39-48, 13:32.

We played with some energy for a while, trimming the deficit to 6. But IND has started going more to C JT Reynolds (18 pts) realizing we're not using 2-3 zone anymore. Down 48-59, 9:24. After struggling from the 3pt area in the 1st half, IND has shot 6-8 3PT in the 2nd half. We're not making any progress in coming up with a rally; to make things worse, we're in the penalty. Down 55-69, 5:54. Lead increased to 19. We started hoisting up 3s, but didn't make enough of them to threaten IND.


Final Score: Clemson - 63, Indiana - 78


Box Scores
[INDENT]Hunter 19, 3, 1, 4-5 3PT
Holmes 13, 1, 2, 2 stls, 6 tos
Dickel 7, 6, 1
Johnson 7, 3, 0, 5 tos
Jackson 5, 6, 3
J Lewis 4, 3, 3
Weston 4, 2, 0
McLean 2, 2, 0
DeWitt 2, 0, 0
Ballinger 0, 1, 2
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 38-51%
REB: -4
TO: +3
Pts in paint: -14
2nd chance: +3
Fast break: -4
[/INDENT]
Notes

• A promising 1st half, but a complete meltdown in the 2nd half. Credit to IND though, as they stepped up their offense, scoring 48 pts in the 2nd half.

[randy]

Final 4

• #1 Indiana def Louisville, 64-59
• #5 Kansas St def North Carolina St, 81-55

Championship

• #1 Indiana def #5 Kansas St, 66-47
• Indiana wins their 7th national title, the most by any school in NCAA history

[randy]

None

[randy]

Legend (Conference Rank, National Rank)

Points

1. SG Brett Holmes, 11.0
2. PG Chris Hunter, 10.3
3. C Michael Jackson, 10.2

Rebounds

1. C Michael Jackson, 7.4
2. PF Adam McLean, 5.2

Assists

1. PG Chris Hunter, 4.3
2. SG Jonathan Ballinger, 2.9

Steals

1. SF Dennis Johnson, 0.8

Blocks

1. C Michael Jackson, 1.2

Turn overs

1. PG Chris Hunter, 2.9
2. SG Brett Holmes, 2.2

3PT Made

1. SG Jonathan Ballinger, 65
2. PG Chris Hunter, 62

[randy]

Legend (Conference Rank, National Rank), +/- from last season

Offense

• PTS, 71.2 (#3, #34), -3.3
• AST, 16.3 (#3, #9), -0.9
• FG, 43.6% (#6, #194), -3.0%
• 3P, 38.2% (#2, #44), -3.3%
• FT%, 66.9% (#11, #314), -3.6%
• TO, 13.3 (#4, #53), -1.2

Rebounding

• REB, 37.1 (#2, #3), +3.8

Defense

• Opp PTS, 59.4.2 (#1, #15), -1.8
• Opp FG, 38.4% (#2, #8), -1.7%
• Opp 3P, 32.9% (#5, #72), +2.0%
• Opp TO, 16.1 (#5, #45), +0.3
• STL, 6.5 (#5, #98), -0.5
• BLK, 4.2 (#2, #7), +0.5