Guest Contributor Ray Floriani -- Legends Classic

by Ray Floriani

East Rutherford, NJ - The attendance on both nights of the Ticketcity Legends Classic was, to put it politely, sparse. Too bad. There were four close games that got sloppy at times, remember it is not even Thanksgiving, but were not short on excitement coming down to the wire.

outside the Izod Center

The Scores:

Semifinal Games...
Vanderbilt	86		79	North Carolina State
Oregon State	100		95	Texas

Consolation Game...
North Carolina St.	77		74	Texas

Championship Game...
Vanderbilt	64		62	Oregon St.

We will look at the final evening's consolation and championship games from the Izod Center.

The possessions and efficiency:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Texas	67	111
North Carolina St.	68	113

For the second straight night the Longhorns showed an efficiency that should win you a basketball game. But came up short. Unfortunately that was the case in each of Texas' games here. On Saturday they posted a gaudy 117 OE only to generously allow a 127 OE to Oregon State in that overtime affair. Both teams shot the ball well (Texas 52% eFG, NC State 50%) and cared for the ball rather well. Texas had a 19% TO rate while the Wolfpack of the ACC came in at 16%. Both numbers are what you would love to have in March, and are ecstatic about in November. Achilles heel for Texas, and it was noted by coach Rick Barnes, was the persistent fouling. NC State had an off the chart 75% FT rate. They shot 33 of 44 from the line.

NC state came back from 18 points down. They made the decisive run the latter part of the second half after Texas' J'Covan Brown fouled out. With the Texas lead guard exiled on fouls, the Longhorns were a different team. And one who could not hold off the surging Wolfpack.

Leading scorers:

		Manley
	Points	Efficiency
CJ Leslie, NCSU	17	13
Sparked Wolfpack off the bench each game
J'Covan Brown, Texas	17	17
Shot 7-14, 1 turnover & 7 assists

Championship Game

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Vanderbilt	69	93
Oregon State State	71	87

Resilience was the key. Vanderbilt by as much as nine but in a game with nine ties and lead changes, Oregon State was determined not to go away. The decision was sealed in the final seconds on a jumper by Vanderbilt's Brad Tinsley. Chalk it up to Oregon State's persistence coupled with Vanderbilt's 'bull in a china shop' care of the basketball. The Commodores were guilty of 22 turnovers, translated, a ridiculously high 32% TO rate. Oregon State wasn't much better with a 24% TO mark. The SEC representatives also outshot Oregon State from the field with a 54-45% eFG mark. In a one possession outcome that is a big factor.

John Jenkins' 14 points for Vanderbilt, included a huge three pointer in the stretch. Jared Cunningham of Oregon State, entered the game with a 26 ppg scoring average, was held to nine points but did have seven steals.

Vanderbilt is a very good club at this juncture. One would be safe to assume, they will be even better when 6-11 Festus Ezeli returns from a knee injury and rejoins the Commodores in a few weeks.

Leading Scorers:

		Manley
	Points	Efficiency
Devon Collier, Oregon St	19	25
John Jenkins, Vanderbilt	14	6

Upper press view of the Izod Center court

Jenkins' Manley number was affected by 5 of 13 shooting from the field, no assists and three turnovers. Make no mistake though, Jenkins' came up big both nights for coach Kevin Stallings and Vanderbilt.

Official Jim Burr and Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings
share a lighter moment

MVP	John Jenkins, Vanderbilt
All Tournament Team:	C.J. Leslie North Carolina St.
	Sheldon McClellan, Texas
	Jared Cunningham, Oregon St.
	Jeffrey Taylor, Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt raises the championship trophy

And Then There is...
--   Good officiating friend Guy Pagano, who lives in Northern New Jersey, worked the final with Jim Burr and Mike Stephens.

--   Had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with one of the tempo-free 'Gods', John Gasaway. John was covering with Basketball Prospectus colleague Andrew Cannon.

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: A Second Look at the A-10 Quarter Finals

by Ray Floriani

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - A look and analysis of the other three quarterfinal games at Boardwalk Hall.

In front of Boardwalk Hall
between sessions

The scores...

Team	Score			Team
Dayton	68		67	Xavier
Saint Joseph's	93	OT	90	Duquesne
Temple	96		76	La Salle
Richmond	55		45	Rhode Island

Jim Baron instructing the Rams
during a time out

Story of Richmond and Rhode Island was defense. A 58 possession game, neither team hit 100 offensive efficiency. That is good defense, In this case Richmond's was better. Rhode Island posted an offensive efficiency of 78 while the victorious Spiders were 97.

Richmond didn't do it by forcing turnovers. Both clubs had solid TO rates (URI 17%, Richmond 11%). Rather it was the lockdown variety forcing URI into a 40% eFG showing. Richmond also avoided fouling as the Rams attempted only 8 field goals.

Kevin Anderson, Richmond's outstanding senior guard, led the way with 21 points. He shot only 5 of 15 from the floor but did hit a late trey that basically sealed the verdict. Anderson was also 8 of 9 from the line. The vintage Anderson performance we virtually take for granted.

The Spiders' Kevin Smith did not score. The senior forward took only two shots. In the course of his 34 minutes, Smith's presence was felt with contributions -- 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a block and two steals. Valuable contributions in a hard fought victory.

this Rhode Island shirt is 'classic'

La Salle's problems were turnovers and defense. The Explorers had an abysmal 29% TO rate on the offensive end. Defensively, they couldn't force much as Temple had only 6 TOs remarkable 8% rate. Staying with the defensive topic, La Salle gave up a too generous 60% eFG percentage to the Owls. Temple actually shot a slight percentage point better from three than two. They were 10 of 19 (53%) beyond the arc and 25 for 48 (52%) from two point range. Fran Dunphy's club simply shot the ball from all over with five players in double figures.

In a 75 possession game the efficiencies:

La Salle	101
Temple	130

Temple fan lets allegiance be known

As noted I'm sure many times in the past, 101 offensive efficiency can win games for you. Winning with a defense of 130? Almost impossible.

Ramone Moore led the way with 23 points due to his versatility on the perimeter and inside. Lavoy Allen had 14 points while adding a dozen rebounds. Dunphy praised the ability of Allen to get the ball inside and find open teammates against a collapsing defense. In this game, Allen was very effective in that capacity with a team leading 6 assists and only one turnover, which came on an offensive foul.

On La Salle's behalf, note they did shoot a 60% eFG percentage. And they did get individual performances of note from Aaric Murray (22 points) and Ruben Guillandeaux (17 points). But those turnovers, which Guillandeaux unfortunately led in that category with 6, and that (lack of) defense….

The previously mentioned Richmond-Rhody game was more deliberate. Duquesne-St.Joseph's was quite the opposite. The ending also featured a lower seed holding on for an overtime victory. The St.Joseph's guards Langston Galloway and Carl Jones combined for 38% of the Hawks field goal attempts. It was not all perimeter by any stretch as Ronald Robert (19 points) and Idris Hilliard (18 points) were vital contributors.

In the 80 possession game, St.Joseph's had the edge in offensive efficiency:

Saint Joseph's	116
Duquesne	111

The Four Factors were relatively even. The Hawks did have a slight advantage in EFG percentage. They shot 59% to Duquesne's 56%. Credit that to a better showing from beyond the arc. The Hawks were 8 of 16 (50%) to Duquesne's 9 of 21 (43%).

Freshman guard T.J. McConnell missed a last second shot which could have forced a second OT. He scored 15, hitting 6 of 10 from the field. McConnell paced the Dukes with four turnovers but on a bright note, also led the team with 5 steals.

Carl Jones of St.Joseph's led all scorers with 28 points. Jones also had the TO 'bug' setting the game standard with half a dozen.

Despite these two extreme examples of individual turnover extravagance, the TO rates in this one were not that bad.

Saint Joseph's	21%
Duquesne	19%

Duquesne's Damian Saunders tied Bill Clark for the team scoring lead with 21 points. Saunders also tied Lavoy Allen of Temple with the best Manley efficiency rating of the day, at 31. When overtime is a factor though, there is another consideration regarding the Manley. More on that next time.

yours truly with
the Dayton cheerleaders

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Villanova at Seton Hall

by Ray Floriani
NEWARK, NJ - The previous post by greyCat covered everything from a tempo-free and Four Factors perspective. Here are a few added thoughts and some ‘Manley’ numbers...

outside the Rock

Seton Hall needed some help inside. Herb Pope was saddled with foul trouble putting up numbers reminiscent of November not of late. Pope had 7 points 4 rebounds. Jeff Robinson the likely candidate to play Billy Swan (sang a ‘75 hit “I can help’) came up short with 4 points, 7 boards in 35 minutes.

Groundhog Day?
Maybe Jay Wright thought about that during the final possession, as Seton Hall trailed by three and Jeremy Hazell had a good look beyond the arc. The shot missed and Villanova after two tough losses in a row had a road victory in the books.

Pace, A Factor
Villanova did not want to get in a running game with Seton Hall. Paramount was stopping the Hall’s transition. For the game the Wildcats did a great job of turning this into a more pedestrian 63 possession affair. The Hall did have a 12-6 edge in fast break points but virtually the only transition opportunities they had available was off a few, but not many, of Villanova’s 22 turnovers. Simply, Villanova even made sure their turnovers didn’t translate to a track meet tempo.

our press row view at halftime

As noted Bell, with 21 points in 29 minutes, provided appreciable offense with Corey Stokes sidelined. The 6-5 guard also took up some of the slack for Corey Fisher. Seton Hall defended Fisher very well, limiting his touches as he scored 12 points (4 of 4 shooting). To his credit the veteran Fisher did not force the issue. Rather the flow dictated that opportunities were there for Bell. He took them and responded.

Entering the game, Bell had four three pointers on the year. He was shooting 4 of 14 (29%) from beyond the arc. A fact not lost on Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard who could only shake his head in near disbelief as Bell (6 of 6 for 67%) equaled his three point field goals made total in one contest.

Flagman during a time out
10 laps...

The Manley Efficiency Numbers
Warning: Scoring points can, but does not always equate to a great efficiency. Players with 10 or more minutes logged are listed:

		Manley
Villanova	Pts.	Eff.
J. Bell	21	23
A. Pena	10	14
C. Fisher	12	12
I. Armwood	2	8
M. Yarou	8	7
D. Cheek	0	3
M. Wayns	5	2

Pena’s solid 10 point 12 board effort helped his numbers. Fisher only scored 12 but didn’t miss a shot (4-4 field and 3-3 from the line).

		Manley
Seton Hall	Pts.	Eff.
J. Hazell	25	14
J. Theodore	10	10
H. Pope	7	7
J. Robinson	4	6
F. Edwin	7	5
E. Polynice	2	4
P. Auda	2	4

Efficiency does not hide Pope and Robinson’s struggles. Hazell could have been higher but his 9 of 23 from the field chipped into the numbers.

* Efficiency = Pts + R + A+ S +Bl - missed shots -to

3. Too Many Threes
The Pirates shot 4 of 26 from beyond the arc for a 15% showing. “That is way too many threes at home,” Willard said. On the night Seton Hall was 19 of 58 from the floor for 33%. Adding it up, 45% of Seton Hall’s field goal attempts were from three but only 21% of their scoring was dialed long distance.

Final Notes
Seton Hall is 11-15 (5-9 in the Big East). Villanova improves to 20-6 (8-5). Villanova visits DePaul Saturday and hosts Syracuse on Monday. The Hall is at Marquette Saturday and at Notre Dame the following Saturday. Jeremy Hazell led all scorers with 25 points. Hazell shot 9 of 23 from the field (4 of 13 from three). Tough home coming for Dominic Cheek. The Villanova sophomore forward out of St. Anthony’s High School did not score. Cheek was 0 for 5 from the floor but did grab 6 rebounds. Attendance was 9,408.

"This was big for us. For our resume,
"We gutted it out.
Seton Hall is playing well and I liked our effort.
It (the game) was a little ugly
but it's a Big East road win." - Jay Wright

greyCat notes -- I noticed the Hall had opened the upper bowl. The Rock's lower bowl holds about 9,000 & the Hall normally uses just the lower bowl, content to draw a series of curtains to mask the additional seating. The University has been eager to open the upper bowl as a sign that they are building their fan-base, and I recall seeing those seats available for the Syracuse game, and maybe the Georgetown game. Opening the upper bowl for a midweek game is plus for both Seton Hall and Villanova. Appropriate for their 100th meeting.