The Week In Hoops

2009-01-27T20:18:28-05:00

The Week In Hoops

2009-01-26T11:51:24-05:00

2009-01-27T20:18:27-05:00

Tigerfan.1

Columbia 686940

6 I will just be glad when the last remaining shadows of the dark cloud from Q. Snyder finally blow over! Maybe then Mizzou basketball will get the attention from not only media but the fans. Granted attendance has picked up dramatically, but with the style of play that these tigers play, the crowd can act as a major influence. According to Pat Knight, this is his "favorite team in the league." With another road win at lowly K State and a win at home against Baylor, you can't help to be even more excited. As an alum and a fan who weathers all the ups and downs of all Mizzou sports, I know I am! 4132445

2009-01-27T15:10:44-05:00

crashingthedance

Atlanta 686640

5 "But if Duke plays like they did against the Terps on Saturday, look out." If every team played their best game of the year both on offense and defense every game, of course they would win. But they don't. 4128738

2009-01-27T14:45:53-05:00

atollefson8873

Las Vegas 114845

4 Jazzfan08 - you are on the money. When I read the tagline of the article, I thought, 'Cool, something about Utah State. I will click on the link.' USU has been impressive; if they come out of the WAC unbeaten - with their only loss to a pretty good BYU team, will that be enought to warrant some national coverage? I am not holding my breath. 4128394

2009-01-27T14:27:15-05:00

jazzfan08

Logan 639222

3 Missouri sounds great- that being said, if it is offensive efficiency you care about, the team really getting the short end of the stick is Utah State. Ranked number one recently in both field goal and free throw percentage in the nation, 19-1 record, 8-0 on the road, 11-0, with the lone loss being at a neutral site. I understand the strength of schedule is horrible, but the Aggies still have a tougher schedule than St. Mary's. You want offensive efficiency, look no further than Stew Morril 4128088

2009-01-27T00:22:06-05:00

MUfanatic

Columbia 686042

2 I'm glad to see that Missouri is starting to get the respect they deserve. I don't know that they're good enough to be considered a top team and I understand that they haven't really played that tough of a schedule so far, still they have been playing really well of late and really only have one bad loss to Nebraska. There other two losses came at the hands of Illinois and Xavier who are both solid teams. We'll see what their record is after these next two weeks and that will really say how good of a team they are. 4121380

2009-01-26T15:56:25-05:00

bluedevil99

Chicago 19432

1 No respect for Duke, huh? Yes, Wake is good. They have some similarities to Florida State, whose length gave Duke trouble, and have far more talent than the 'Noles. But if Duke plays like they did against the Terps on Saturday, look out. And I hope I don't detect a note of derision in the "one week engagement" comment. With seven out of the top 8 teams in the ACC and Big East conferences, I'm thinking the No. 1 ranking will change hands a few more times before the season is through. 4116782

<div class="photo_container image_center" style="width: 615px;"> <div class="photo"><img title="Duke Blue Devils" src="http://www.si.com/2009_images/duke-luke.jpg" alt="Duke Blue Devils" width="615" height="350" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Duke defends its top ranking against Wake Forest on Wednesday/Getty Images </div> </div> <h3>THE SLEEPER TEAM </h3> I'm obsessed with efficiency stats, but it's for good reason -- the teams in the Final Four always tend to be <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/luke_winn/01/07/midseason/index.html">the same teams</a> who sit atop the efficiency charts at season's end. For the past few weeks I've been tracking one club that keeps climbing the statistical ranks on kenpom.com, but remains on the outside of the AP's Top 25. This team is the biggest sleeper left in all of college hoops, garnering zero hype despite its solid credentials. Of the first eight teams in the Pythagorean Rankings on kenpom.com (I'm not going to link to it yet, because that would spoil the surprise), five are in the AP's top 10 (Duke, UConn, Pittsburgh, North Carolina and Louisville), one is 14th (Arizona State) and one is 20th (Gonzaga). The other team -- we'll refer to them henceforth as a proper noun, The Sleeper Team -- isn't ranked by the voters, but is seventh in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, and 25th in adjusted defensive efficiency, which means it has the profile of an actual Final Four contender, even if it hasn't behaved entirely like one in the win-loss column. The Sleeper Team's offense is more efficient than 19 of the AP top 25 teams' offenses, including Arizona State, UConn, Georgetown and Marquette. The Sleeper Team's defense is stingier than eight of the AP top 25 teams' defenses, including Syracuse, Michigan State, Clemson and Butler. According <a href="http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=516" target="_blank">to Basketball Prospectus</a>, The Sleeper Team has the fourth-best in-league efficiency margin of any major-conference school in the country. The only teams with better margins are top-ranked Duke (+0.32 points per possession), Kansas (+0.25) and strangely, LSU (+0.24). So who is The Sleeper Team? Your first hint is that it's a band of thieves, one that steals the ball from opponents on 15.1 percent of defensive possessions, second in the nation only to VMI. Your second hint is that The Sleeper Team's best player is a transfer from Vanderbilt. Your third hint is that The Sleeper Team's breakout rookie is a guard whose last name is very similar to that of one of Washington's starters in the backcourt. Your fourth hint, if you don't have it already, is that The Sleeper Team plays in the Big 12. Still need the answer? ... ... It's Missouri. This would be the same Missouri team that's 17-3 but suffered an embarrassing loss at Nebraska on Jan. 10, ensuring that the Tigers would be ignored on the national scene until they beat someone of consequence, like, say, Baylor on Saturday, or Texas in 10 days, or Kansas on Feb. 9. The Vandy transfer is one DeMarre Carroll, a "<a href="http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/999747.html">junkyard dog</a> who's averaging 16.3 points and 7.1 boards. The rookie is one <a href="http://mutigers.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/denmon_marcus00.html" target="_blank">Marcus Denmon</a> (sounds like Justin Dentmon, of UW), who's averaging 7.8 points and was clutch down the stretch in Saturday's 97-86 win over Texas Tech. Mizzou hasn't made the NCAA tournament since 2003, but the Tigers should get there this season as a mid-level seed -- and be a strong candidate to pull off a few upsets. <h3>THE STARTING FIVE</h3> (Clad in <a href="http://www.jsonline.com/sports/panthers/38121169.html" target="_blank">Big Lumber</a> throwbacks, from the <a href="http://www.ndscs.nodak.edu/athletics/mensbasketball/index.jsp" target="_blank">North Dakota State College of Science</a> ...) 1. Craig Brackins, F, Iowa State: Brackins said what he did on Saturday against Kansas "<a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090124/SPORTS020604/90124008/0/SPORTS" target="_blank">doesn't matter</a>," because the Cylcones still lost, but we were rather impressed by his 42-point, 14-board game, in which he accounted for 62.7 percent of ISU's scoring. His teammates, meanwhile, went 3-of-21 from the field. 2. Ahmad Nivins, F/C, St. Joe's: He's quietly making an All-America bid -- or at least a second-team All-America bid -- by putting up numbers like 34 and 16 against Duquense (on Wednesday) and 20 and 17 against Penn (on Saturday). Nivins is like Blake Griffin for the <a href="http://www.mid-majority.com/" target="_blank">mid-majority</a>. 3. Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma: The numbers for the clear leader in the national Player of the Year race haven't dropped off in Big 12 play. He went for 27 and 18 against Nebraska on Wednesday, then 20 and 17 against Baylor on Saturday. 4. Trant Simpson, G, Alabama A&M: He recorded the <a href="http://aamusports.com/custompages/MBB/2008/g14-alcm.htm" target="_blank">first triple-double in D-I history by a guy named Trant</a>, scoring 22 points, dishing out 12 assists and grabbing 10 rebounds in a 91-76 win over Alcorn State on Saturday. 5. Eric Maynor, G, VCU: Steph Curry gets all the attention, but Maynor is the best true point guard in the mid-major ranks, and he showed it against George Mason on Saturday, scoring 28 points, dishing out six assists against just one turnover to put the Rams in first place in the Colonial. <h3>THE ONE GAME YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT</h3> Wednesday, Jan. 28: Duke at Wake Forest , 7 p.m.: The Blue Devils and their <a href="http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/duke/story/1378705.html" target="_blank">newly assertive wingman</a> will be playing their first road game in a fortnight ... against their best opponent of the year. One gets the feeling that Duke's stay at No. 1 might be a one-week-only engagement. <h3>MY ONE WISH FOR THIS WEEK</h3> That we establish a new rule: If you're <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4ZryYqFmoc" target="_blank">moronic enough to stomp on someone's head</a> while he's laying on the court ... and then you laugh about it while the cameras can still see you, your suspension gets tripled. <h3>YOUR MONDAY MOMENT OF ZEN (or Zam) ...</h3> ... is the touchdown pass of the year in the SEC. <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="480" height="295" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> <param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i8kt8HqIiC0&hl=en&fs=1" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="295" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i8kt8HqIiC0&hl=en&fs=1" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed> </object>

Luke Winn

New York 4563 44124