Tuesday night was a real treat for me, as my two pet teams of this season, Missouri and Long Beach State, each played nationally-televised games in opposing time slots. Missouri cruised to a relatively easy win over Villanova at Madison Square Garden, while the Beach got into a big hole early against Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse and couldn't quite climb out of it.
Watching the two games, I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the Tigers and the 49ers. Both teams start four perimeter players, both like to get up and down the court, and both are only about seven players deep. And since Missouri and Kansas are likely to challenge for the Big 12 crown and meet twice this year in the regular season, I thought that we might be able to learn something about Missouri's probability of success against Kansas by seeing how the Beach played the Jayhawks.
Showing posts with label Casper Ware. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Casper Ware. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Louisville 79, Long Beach State 66
[recap] [box score]
So much of this game was decided by fouls.
In the first half, T.J. Robinson picked up a quick two. The 49ers are not deep, and when one of their four perimeter/wing players goes out, their first sub off the bench is freshman point guard Mike Caffey. Caffey has had an okay first few college games as a role player, but he was not ready for the speed and pressure of the Louisville defense. His entrance into the lineup also requires that Casper Ware -- the team's best scorer, ballhandler, and playmaker -- play off the ball more, because Caffey can't.
Caffey's struggles and the ball being out of Ware's hands allowed Louisville to build a double-digit first-half lead, even as their point guard, Peyton Siva, sat on the bench with two fouls. The Cardinals are a lot deeper than the 49ers and can handle foul trouble to one of their players, even with some of the injuries they've suffered.
In the second half, though, Louisville found itself with foul problems of its own.
So much of this game was decided by fouls.
In the first half, T.J. Robinson picked up a quick two. The 49ers are not deep, and when one of their four perimeter/wing players goes out, their first sub off the bench is freshman point guard Mike Caffey. Caffey has had an okay first few college games as a role player, but he was not ready for the speed and pressure of the Louisville defense. His entrance into the lineup also requires that Casper Ware -- the team's best scorer, ballhandler, and playmaker -- play off the ball more, because Caffey can't.
Caffey's struggles and the ball being out of Ware's hands allowed Louisville to build a double-digit first-half lead, even as their point guard, Peyton Siva, sat on the bench with two fouls. The Cardinals are a lot deeper than the 49ers and can handle foul trouble to one of their players, even with some of the injuries they've suffered.
In the second half, though, Louisville found itself with foul problems of its own.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Long Beach State 86, Pittsburgh 76
[recap] [box score]
The college basketball season's not yet two weeks old, but I guarantee that you won't see a more impressive non-conference win all season than Long Beach State's victory at Pittsburgh.
A bigger upset? Sure. A few have already happened. But a more impressive one? No chance.
How can I be so sure? Because I can't point to a game remaining on any schedule which would be more impressive.
Sure, Maine could go into the XL Center Thursday night and beat the defending national champions. There are a huge number of games over the course of the season where that could happen. But they would be flukes, one-offs, the product of the favorite not taking the underdog seriously.
Pittsburgh was plenty aware of Long Beach State. The 49ers have received a few votes for the top 25. They went 14-2 in the Big West last season, before getting upset by UC-Santa Barbara in the conference championship and having to settle for an NIT bid.
Yes, Pitt knew all about Long Beach. And yet Dan Monson's crew went into the Petersen Events Center -- the same building in which Pitt had lost to exactly one non-conference opponent since it opened in 2002 -- and kicked their asses. The Pitt team that returned three starters from the team that earned a No. 1 seed in last year's NCAA Tournament. Kicked. Their. Asses.
The college basketball season's not yet two weeks old, but I guarantee that you won't see a more impressive non-conference win all season than Long Beach State's victory at Pittsburgh.
A bigger upset? Sure. A few have already happened. But a more impressive one? No chance.
How can I be so sure? Because I can't point to a game remaining on any schedule which would be more impressive.
Sure, Maine could go into the XL Center Thursday night and beat the defending national champions. There are a huge number of games over the course of the season where that could happen. But they would be flukes, one-offs, the product of the favorite not taking the underdog seriously.
Pittsburgh was plenty aware of Long Beach State. The 49ers have received a few votes for the top 25. They went 14-2 in the Big West last season, before getting upset by UC-Santa Barbara in the conference championship and having to settle for an NIT bid.
Yes, Pitt knew all about Long Beach. And yet Dan Monson's crew went into the Petersen Events Center -- the same building in which Pitt had lost to exactly one non-conference opponent since it opened in 2002 -- and kicked their asses. The Pitt team that returned three starters from the team that earned a No. 1 seed in last year's NCAA Tournament. Kicked. Their. Asses.
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