Finding ways to win

[randy]

Our RPI is 13, and ranked #15

We're in the Midwest Regionals (St Louis)

1st round matchup:
(4) Rice vs (13) Bethune-Cookman

Teams in the Midwest Regionals

• (1) #5 Arkansas, 5 Final Fours
• (2) #8 Arizona, 3 Nat'l Titles, 8 Final Fours
• (3) #12 Michigan, 3 Final Fours
• (4) #15 Rice
• (5) #21 Brigham Young, 1 Final Four
• (6) #19 Alabama St, 1 Final Four
• (7) New Mexico, 1 Nat'l Title, 10 Final Fours
• (8) Cincinnati
• (9) Texas
• (10) Pepperdine, 3 Final Fours
• (11) North Carolina St, 2 Nat'l Titles, 3 Final Fours
• (12) Louisville, 4 Nat'l Titles, 6 Final Fours
• (13) Bethune-Cookman
• (14) Vermont
• (15) UMKC
• (16) Northern Arizona

Other Ranked Teams

East

• (1) #4 St John's
• (2) #10 Kansas
• (3) #9 Georgia Tech
• (4) #11 Gonzaga
• (5) #20 Florida
• (6) #25 Drake

South

• (1) #2 Stanford
• (2) #7 Memphis
• (3) #13 Pittsburgh
• (4) #16 Oklahoma
• (5) #22 Indiana

West

• (1) #18 Georgetown
• (2) #17 LSU
• (3) #14 Seton Hall
• (4) #6 UNLV
• (5) #23 UCLA
• (6) #24 Toledo

On Probation

• #1 Temple
• #3 Georgia

[randy]

Mar 16, 2008: (13) Bethune-Cookman (20-10, 9-7) vs (4) #15 Rice (27-4, 15-3)

Pregame Notes

• Key Players
  
  1. Jr SF Dave LeBarrie (12.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
  2. Sr PF Tommie Ray 1(11.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
• How they got here
  
  1. Finished 3rd MEAC; Champion MEAC Tournament
• Strengths
  
  1. Fast-paced offense: 74.9 ppg (#11 nat'l)
• Weaknesses
  
  1. Defense:70.4 opp ppg
  2. 3PT shooting: 34.2% 3PT

Tip off

A foul-laden 1st half, as both teams combined for 29 fouls, and 43 FT attempts. Both teams shooting below 40% FG, but BETH had 9 turn overs. We also controlled the offensive glass, allowing ourselves to get more scoring opportunities. Our 2 freasmen led the way, with SF Ross Brown and C Curtis Harper scoring 12 and 11 pts respectively.


Halftime, Up 42-32
If we can control our fouls, we should be able to hang on. 19 of BETH's 32 1st half pts were from the FT line.


Start of 2nd half

BETH shooting the ball better in the 2nd half, but they can't make stops on the defensive end.
14:36, Up 61-44

Even our bench found it easy to score against BETH's porous defense, as we extended our lead to as high as 25. I didn't see the need for our starters to return to the floor the rest of the 2nd half.


Final Score: Bethune-Cookman - 68, Rice - 89
Both teams with 26 FTAs each, but we had 22 more FGAs, and it was difficult for BETH to overcome that. BETH's SF Dave LeBarrie with a game high 26 pts.


Box Scores
[INDENT]Harper 16, 6, 0
Brown 16, 3, 1 (*)
Tiggs 10, 3, 1
Lewis 10, 1, 1
Aylsworth 9, 5, 2
Smith 8, 1, 3
Hancock 6, 4, 1
Wilson 6, 2, 4
Kante 5, 0, 0
Woods 2, 0, 4
Sanders 1, 2, 2
Ashman 0, 1, 1
Betts 0, 1, 0
Ramsey 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 51-46%
REB: +9 (+8 off)
TO: -11
Pts in paint: +30
2nd chance: +6
Fast break: +8
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Mar 18, 2008: (12) Louisville (19-12, 9-7) vs (4) #15 Rice (28-4, 15-3)

Pregame Notes

• Key Players
  
  1. Jr SG Matthew Hall (16.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
  2. So SF Tom Belton (14.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
• How they got here
  
  1. Finished 6th Big East; Lost Quarter Finals Big East Tournament
  2. (Play In) Def Morehead, 62-53 (Hall 27 pts, 4 stls)
  3. (Rd 64) Def #21 Brigham Young, 66-51 (Belton 12 pts, 7 rebs)
• Strengths
  
  1. Ball handling: 12.0 topg (#8 nat'l)
• Weaknesses
  
  1. FG shooting: 41.0% FG
  2. Rebounding: 31.7 rpg
  3. LVILLE's record does not reflect their level of talent, as they didn't had Hall during the 1st half of the season due to academic ineligibility. With Hall back, they have 3 perimeter players who can score double figures. They are thin on the front court though, with PF Jay Johnson their only legitimate big man.

Tip off

We got ourselves a break, as LVILLE's SG Matthew Hall picked up 2 quick fouls. Without Hall, LVILLE's offense seems lost, shooting just 1-8 FG
13:32, Up 14-4

We got ourselves into team foul trouble, and LVILLE coming back by making 11-13 FT. LVILLE with just 2 turn overs so far
6:14, Up 25-21

We're supposed to be the better rebounding team, but we already allowed LVILLE with 10 offensive rebs. We also got called for 16 fouls in the 1st half, and personal foul troubles would likely be a factor in the 2nd half.


Halftime, Up 34-33
More than half of our pts are inside the paint, led by C Curtis Harper's 13 pts. LVILLE's SG Matthew Hall and SF John Belton are combined 0-9 FG, but have made 10-10 FT.


Start of 2nd half

After going 0-8 3PT in the 1st half, LVILLE has hit back-to-back 3s, both from PG John Wells (10 pts).
12:45, Down 42-44

LVILLE continue to wax hot from the outside, with SF Tome Belton hitting a couple, and SG Matthew Hall adding another one. I had to call an early timeout
9:43, Down 44-53

I have no choice but to shorten the rest of my starters. We got a couple of stops, SF Ross Brown scoring back-to-back FGs, but LVILLE answered back with a 3.
7:25, Down 48-56

We had many chances to come even closer. C Curtis Harper missed his last 3 shots at close range. And we turned the ball over during our last 3 possessions
3:57, Down 54-61

LVILLE hits another 3, their 8th in the 2nd half, and we go down by 10 again. We missed a 3, and SF Ross Brown called for his 5th foul on the other end.
2:41, Down 54-65

After PG Jevon Wilson got a split, our pressure defense collapsed allowing an easy 2 for LVILLE. On our next offensive play, we got called for a charge, for our 17th turn over. After getting the ball back, we had 4 attempts from 3 on the next possession, but missed all of them.

Disappointing day today. Our m2m defense is an area that we need to give more focus next season.


Final Score: Louisville - 69, Rice - 58
We were not able to sustain the kind of defense we played during the 1st half, as LVILLE went 8-13 3PT in the 2nd half. Overall LVILLE shot poorly than us, but we were not able to respond when they made that run middle of the 2nd half.


Box Scores
[INDENT]Harper 15, 10, 0, 2 blks
Brown 11, 7, 0, 2 blks, 3 tos, fouled out
Wilson 10, 4, 4, 3 tos
Tiggs 8, 4, 1
Woods 7, 2, 2
Lewis 2, 6, 0, 3 tos
Hancock 3, 1, 1
Sanders 2, 2, 0
Ramsey 0, 2, 0
Aylsworth 0, 1, 1
Ashman 0, 1, 0
Smith 0, 0, 1
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 40-34%
REB: +4
TO: +9
Pts in paint: +14
2nd chance: -4
Fast break: -2
[/INDENT]

[randy]

NCAA

• #5 Arkansas def #17 LSU, 75-62, and win their 1st national title

[randy]

All-American 2nd Team

• Fr C Curtis Harper

CUSA Individual Awards

• FOY: Fr C Curtis Harper

CUSA 1st Team All-Conference

• Fr C Curtis Harper

CUSA 2nd Team All-Conference

• Sr PG Jevon Wilson

I won my 1st CUSA COY

[randy]

If applicable: (National Rank, Conference Rank; NR = Not Ranked)


Points

1. C Curtis Harper - 16.8 ppg
2. PG Jevon Wilson - 12.5
3. SF Ross Brown - 9.2
4. C Richie Lewis - 9.1
5. SG Daniel Aylsworth - 8.1
6. SF Speedy Hancock - 7.0
7. PF Kevin Tiggs - 6.1
8. PG Brian Smith - 3.3
9. C Mark Sanders - 3.1
10. PG James Woods - 2.8
11. SG Jon Betts - 1.7
12. PG Quyn Kante - 1.4
13. PF Jason Ramsey - 1.3
14. SF Ronnie Ashman - 1.1

Rebounds

1. C Curtis Harper - 9.0 rpg
2. C Richie Lewis - 4.3
3. SF Ross Brown - 3.9
4. PF Kevin Tiggs - 3.7
5. PG Jevon Wilson - 3.3
6. SF Speedy Hancock - 2.9
7. SG Daniel Aylsworth - 2.5
8. C Mark Sanders - 2.4
9. PG James Woods - 1.5
10. PF Jason Ramsey - 1.3

Assists

1. PG Jevon Wilson - 4.4 apg
2. PG James Woods - 3.6
3. PG Brian Smith - 2.2
4. SG Daniel Aylsworth - 1.8
5. SF Ross Brown - 1.3
6. PG Quyn Kante - 1.3
7. SF Speedy Hancock - 1.0

Steals

1. PG Jevon Wilson - 1.2 spg

Blocks

1. C Curtis Harper - 1.5 bpg
2. C Richie Lewis - 1.1

3PM

1. PG Jevon Wilson - 46
2. SG Daniel Aylsworth - 46
3. SF Ross Brown - 39
4. SF Speedy Hancock - 17
5. PG Brian Smith - 12
6. PG James Woods - 8
7. SG Jon Betts - 2
8. PG Quyn Kante - 1
9. SF Ronnie Ashman - 1

Turnovers

1. PG James Woods - 1.8 topg
2. PG Jevon Wilson - 1.7
3. SF Speedy Hancock - 1.3
4. SG Daniel Aylsworth - 1.2
5. SF Ross Brown - 1.1
6. PG Brian Smith - 1.1
7. C Richie Lewis - 1.0

FG% (min 30 FGA)

1. C Curtis Harper - 59.9%
2. PF Kevin Tiggs - 57.7
3. C Richie Lewis - 57.4
4. C Mark Sanders - 49.3
5. PG Brian Smith - 43.9
6. SG Daniel Aylsworth - 43.8
7. PG James Woods - 41.7
8. SF Speedy Hancock - 41.5
9. PG Jevon Wilson - 40.7
10. SF Ross Brown - 36.3

FT% (min 20 FTA)

1. SG Daniel Aylsworth - 87.0% (20 of 23)
2. PG Jevon Wilson - 84.1
3. SF Speedy Hancock - 84.1
4. PG James Woods - 81.8
5. C Curtis Harper - 79.6
6. SF Ross Brown - 78.0
7. C Mark Sanders - 75.0
8. PF Kevin Tiggs - 71.7
9. C Richie Lewis - 55.6

3PT% (min 10 3PTA)

1. SF Speedy Hancock - 40.5% (17 of 42)
2. PG Jevon Wilson - 37.7
3. SG Daniel Aylsworth - 34.6
4. SF Ross Brown - 32.2
5. PG Brian Smith - 31.6
6. PG James Woods - 24.2

Minutes

1. PG Jevon Wilson - 27.9 mpg
2. C Curtis Harper - 26.4
3. SG Daniel Aylsworth - 22.1
4. SF Ross Brown - 21.2
5. C Richie Lewis - 20.2
6. PF Kevin Tiggs - 19.4
7. SF Speedy Hancock - 17.7
8. PG James Woods - 15.9
9. C Mark Sanders - 10.8
10. PG Brian Smith - 8.9
11. PG Quyn Kante - 5.3
12. PF Jason Ramsey - 5.1
13. SG Jon Betts - 3.8
14. SF Ronnie Ashman - 3.4

[randy]

If applicable: (+/- from last season, National Rank, Conference Rank)


Team Stats (per game)

1. Points: 78.6 (+2.8, #2, #1)
2. Rebounds: 34.9 (+1.8, #26, #3)
   
3. Assists: 17.3 (+1.1, #4, #1)
4. Steals: 6.7 (, -0.1, #75, #3)
5. Blocks: 3.6 (+2.4, #22, #1)
   
6. Turnovers: 11.4 (-0.9, #3, #1)
7. FG%: 0.471 (-0.003, #21, #1)
8. 3PT%: 0.338 (-0.061, #208, #9)
9. FT%: 0.759 (+0.032, #63, #2)

Opp Team Stats (per game)

1. Opp Points: 65.3 (-2.4, #106, #5)
2. Opp Turnovers: 16.4 (+0.6, #27, #2)
3. Opp FG%: 0.412 (, +0.001, #50, #3)
   [color="Red"]
4. Opp 3PT%: 0.369 (+0.028, #287, #10)[/color]

Metrics (Offense)

1. OEff: 57.0 (+1.0, #3, #1)
2. OeFG%: 47.6 (-0.2, NR, #1)
3. OTO%: 13.8 (-1.3, #1, #1)
4. OR% 32.0 (+6.0, #14, #1)
5. OFTRate: 26.8 (+1.3, NR, #9)
6. Tempo: 72.5 (-1.4, NR, #2)

Metrics (Defense)

1. DEff: 47.4 (-2.6, NR, #7)
2. DeFG%: 41.9 (+0.3, NR, #3)
3. DTO%: 20.8 (+1.8, NR, #2)
4. DR%: 76.4 (+5.0, NR, #3)
5. DFTRate: 32.6 (+3.3, NR, #6)

What we did well

1. Inside scoring led by C Curtis Harper allowed us to score more pts, despite playing at a slightly slower pace as compared to last season
2. Again due to having better front court players, we have become one of the better rebounding teams in the country

Areas of improvement

1. We're a decent defensive team, but we can move up to the next level once we improve in defending the 3PT area

[randy]

Offense: 66 (+5)
Defense: 64 (+5)
Recruiting: 59 (+4)
Scouting: 33 (--)
Development: 64 (+5)
Reputation: 46 (+4)

Record: 232-35 (0.869)

[randy]

HS Seniors

1. SF Andre McFadden (#40); SCR: A, DEF: A, OVR: A
2. SG Jimmy Young (#109); SCR: B, OUT: A, OVR: B
3. SG Jared Mason (#156); SCR: B, OUT: B, OVR: B
4. C Scott Fountain (#197); REB: B, DEF: B, OVR: B
5. PF Sam Piatkowski (#390); REB: B, INS: B, OVR: C
6. PG Brett Evans (#466); PAS: B, HND: A, OVR: C
7. PG Jovan Barker (#576); PAS: A, HND: B, OVR: B

[randy]

Starting Lineup

• 1: Fr PG Brett Evans, 6-3, 1.5/4.0 (Allen, TX)
• 2: Sr(R) SG Jon Betts, 6-2, 2.0/3.5 (Hilo, HI)
• 3: So SF Ross Brown, 6-8, 4.5/5.0 (Memphis, TN) (*)
• 4: Sr C Richie Lewis, 6-11, 4.0/4.0 (Norridge, IL)
• 5: So C Curtis Harper, 7-3, 4.0/4.5 (Iowa, LA) (*)

Bench

• 3/4: Fr SF Andre McFadden, 6-8, 2.0/4.5 (St. Johnsbury, VT)
• 4/5: So PF Kevin Tiggs, 6-9, 2.0/4.0 (Big Lake, TX)
• 2: Fr SG Jimmy Young, 6-1, 1.0/1.5 (Jacksonville, NC)
• 1/2: Fr PG Jovan Barker, 6-5, 1.0/1.0 (Dallas, TX)
• 4/5: Fr PF Sam Piatkowski, 6-11, 2.5/3.0 (Oakman, AL)
• 2/3: Fr SG Jared Mason, 6-5, 1/0/1.0 (Hemlock, MI)
• 4/5: Fr C Scott Fountain, 6-10, 2/0/4.0 (Hood River, OR)
• 3/4: Sr(R) PF Jason Ramsey, 6-7, 1.5/3.5 (Aurora, NE)

Walk-ons

• 4/5: Sr C Mark Sanders, 6-8, 1.5/1.5 (Palestine, TX)
• 1/2: Jr PG Brad Hahn, 6-4, 2.0/2.0 (Donna, TX)

(*) Norton candidate