Guest Contributor Ray Floriani -- The Jimmy V Classic

by Ray Floriani

New York City – The annual Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden gave us two interesting games. In the opener, Missouri had a little too much of everything in defeating Villanova 81-71.

Pre-game national anthem

The pace and efficiency:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Villanova	69	103
Missouri	69	117

The Four Factors:

		FTA
	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Villanova	51	17	36	22
Missouri	50	23	36	12

Jay Wright makes a point

Villanova coach Jay Wright watched all seven of Missouri’s previous games on tape. What he saw was a well coached, veteran team that defends and simply was a challenging task for his young Wildcats. “We were hoping to grind it out, keep it close near the end and possibly steal one,” Wright said.

Villanova trailed by double digits most of the second half but did close late to get it to a one possession game. Each time Villanova was unable to get any closer. The culprit was turnovers, untimely turnovers.

The Wildcats entered the game with a commendable 19% TO rate. Missouri, which exerts pressure in a half court setting forced Villanova into a 22% rate. That proved significant as Villanova shot well, got to the line and hit the boards hard. Transition points were crucial also as the Big Twelve representatives owned a 24-8 edge in fast break points.

Wildcats placed five players in double figures. Their points and Manley totals are as follows:

		Manley
	Pts	Eff.
Maalik Wayns	14	13
Darrun Hilliard	13	8
Dom Cheek	12	14
Mouphtaou Yarou	11	14
JayVaughn Pinkston	10	12

• Maalik Wayns canned three treys in the stretch. He added 9 assists but did commit five turnovers. Yarou is a nice player inside but needs help. Pinkston did some fine work in the lane. He is still coming around as Wright noted “he (Pinkston) is rusty.” The Villanova mentor noted Pinkston not only sat out suspended last year but worked nine hours a day and was able to get little gym time for himself. Hilliard is a freshman with a nice shooting stroke. Cheek does a good job in the open floor.

• Marcus Denmon led all scorers with 28 points. The Missouri guard was 6 of 10 from the floor. Kim English added 15 while Ricardo Ratliffe scored 17 points while grabbing 11 boards. Ratliffe proved it’s quality not quantity. He is Missouri’s only legitimate big man but the 6-8 senior forward is very effective.

• Learning experience. Wright and several of his Villanova players echoed that sentiment following the game. “we’ll learn from this,” Cheek said. “We’ll watch the tape, get back to practice and just get better.”

View of court from
upper press box

• Spent the first half recording possessions longhand. Came up with 34 per team, the same as the formula yielded off the box score. Missouri led 42-29 at the break with a noticeable 125-85 advantage in offensive efficiency.

• Missouri is 8-0. Villanova is now 5-3 with a Saturday game at Temple next on tap.

Marquette vs. Washington
The night cap of the V saw Marquette edge Washington 79-77 in a game settled on the last possession. The pace and efficiency:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Marquette	74	107
Washington	71	109

One of those rare occurrences, Washington won the efficiency battle but not the won-lost ‘war’. Huskies had a 46-28% lead in offensive rebounding percentage. Interestingly, Marquette had the edge 31-7% in free throw rate. Usually teams ‘owning’ the glass get to the line more.

A reason Marquette visited the line (27 to 10 in free throw attempts) more was their ability to attack the basket. They led 10-0 in fast break points and penetrated well.

The scoreboard tells the story of game two

Marquette coach Buzz Williams is a tempo free advocate who discussed Washington’s efficiency in the post game press conference. Williams is a stickler in preaching the value and numerical meaning of a possession to his players. Little surprise that Marquette had an outstanding 14% TO rate, as opposed to the 23% of the Huskies.

Jae Crowder (18 points) hit one three all night. It was the deciding basket for Marquette as a Washington attempt pon the next possession missed at the buzzer.

The leading scorers and Manley numbers:

		Manley
	Pts	Eff.
Darius Johnson-Odom (MU)	23	17
Terrence Ross (WU)	19	24

• Marquette’s Jae Crowder had a Manley Efficiency of 17 along with his 18 points.

• Chris Otule of Marqueete went out with a knee injury after the first two minutes. The 6-11 junior averages just over 5 p[oints per game but Williams felt his loss was significant in Marquette’s defending Washington’s ball screens.

• Marquette is 8-0, Washington is now 4-3.

• Huskies are spending a few more days in New York. They will take in a movie, two plays then on Saturday face Duke back at Madison Square Garden.

Villanova was the only schol to bring cheerleaders.
Here Ray is enjoying the company

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: The 2010 Jimmy V Classic

by Ray Floriani
NEW YORK CITY - The Jimmy V Classic gave us another one of those March-like evenings in December. Four nationally ranked teams. A charged up atmosphere. A sellout (19,391) crowd filling Madison Square Garden. And all in the name of a wonderful cause.

The scores:

Kansas	81	Memphis	68
Syracuse	72	Michigan State	58

A sell out crowd
at Madison Square Garden

Memphis-Kansas
The Pace & Efficiency:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Memphis	75	91
Kansas	74	110

Oliver's Four Factors:

		FTA
	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Memphis	41	11	33	16
Kansas	63	20	45	30

The first four minutes were played at a 90 possession pace, too fast for either team to operate efficiently. Entering the game Kansas and Memphis both averaged possessions per game in the seventies. But the teams were over anxious, perhaps from the "large stage" provided by Madison Square Garden and ESPN, and it showed in their play. KU led 5-4 but had twice as many turnovers (4) as field goals. As the half progressed the tempo stayed fast but a little more reasonably paced.

About the only area Memphis had an edge was in turnover rate. Kansas coach Bill Self discussed those dreaded TOs as lost opportunities where his offense failed to capitalize. Going beyond the raw numbers we see the Jayhawks went from the 14:02 to 6:55 mark of the second half without a turnover. During that time they built a double digit lead that proved to be insurmountable for the Tigers to overcome. Kansas' shooting from the floor was not surprising considering their easy access to the paint where they enjoyed a 46-35 edge in scoring. They also spread the wealth with four players in double figures paced by Markieff Morris with 16 points. About the only place they did not shoot well was from the line (11 of 19 for 58%). The young Tigers, suffering their first loss, struggled on both ends. The defensive end was most upsetting and of immediate concern for Memphis coach Josh Pastner.

Memphis coach Josh Pastner
during an interview

Offensively, a good part of the Memphis offense was 'gift wrapped' by Kansas, as the Tigers enjoyed a 29-18 edge in points off turnovers.

No love for Memphis
from these Kansas fans (and Santa?)

Syracuse-Michigan State:
The Pace & Efficiency:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Syracuse	69	108
Michigan State	69	84

The Four Factors:

		FTA
	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Syracuse	46	41	36	16
Michigan State	45	17	26	25

Observations:
Tom Izzo was none too pleased. The Michigan State coach called it "gut check time" for his Spartans following the loss to Syracuse. The thing that had Izzo most perturbed was "we got our butts kicked". Specifically they were dominated to a 42-24 edge by the Orange in points in the paint. "That has never happened to us." Izzo said. "Nor will it happen again." Rick Jackson of Syracuse was the main inside threat for the Orange with 17 points 16 rebounds.

The offensive rebounding percentage and free throw rate reflect how Syracuse owned the paint. Orange had fifteen first half field goals and fourteen were in the paint. Besides Jackson's inside work Scoop Jardine (19 points) was effective on penetration. Jardine finished with 6 of 6 shooting (7 of 9 overall) from two point range.

Another highly regarded team falls to the 2-3 zone of Syracuse. Big East teams seem to fare a little better because they face it at least once a year. If you are out of the region, as Michigan State, you probably see some zones but none as tough and difficult to beat like that of Syracuse. Reviewing it on tape just doesn't do the zone justice. Athletic, quick and long defenders move, close the gaps and deflect passes in the Syracuse 2-3.

Izzo's Spartans struggled so much with the zone they reverted to what he called a "sissy jump shooting game". One that netted 7 of 24 (29%) shooting from three point range.

For those who argue zones are too passive we submit the TO rate figure. That is one quarter of Michigan State's possessions ending in a TO.

Michigan state did make a nice run to get it to a one possession game midway through the final half. Syracuse went on a run at that point to close it out. The run was aided by only two Spartan field goals from the 12 minute mark until 90 seconds remained and the issue settled.

Michigan State's best success game on late first half lobs over the back of the zone. An adjustment on the back line (being more cognizant on the baseline) by the Orange at the half ended that threat.

Jim Boeheim made the observation that he 'never had a team struggle like this in the early season." Not a bad sign given the Orange are 8-0 despite some bumps in the road.

The Syracuse mentor did note his club's offense is the area that needs some improvement. The defense has been good to date.

Durrell Summers, a 6-5 senior, led Michigan State with 18 points and was the most effective and versatile Spartan. He finished a few 'alley oops' inside and was 4 of 9 from three.

Numbers weren't eye catching but Boeheim was pleased with the play of freshmen C.J. Fair, Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita. A 7-foot center, Melo, "was very active," per Boeheim. "We just have to cure him of taking jump shots," Boeheim added with a touch of humor. Saddled by foul trouble Melo handed out two assists in thirteen minutes.

Special mention to Scott Peterman who runs the mensbasketballhoopscoop.blogspot.com web site. Proceeds for any e-book sold this weekend from his site, were donated to the V Foundation for cancer research.

Finishing:
Kansas put four players in double figures and Markieff Morris of the Jayhawks led the way with 16 points. Kansas is 8-0, Memphis is now 7-1.

Syracuse advanced to 8-0 while Michigan State is 6-3. Scoop Jardine led all scorers with 19 points.

It was Kansas' first win in three trips to the V Classic. Jayhawks' other two appearances were losses to Atlantic Ten and Big Five schools, Temple in 1995 and St.Joesph's just five years ago.

Jim Boeheim meets the media

Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: First Night at the Jimmy V Classic

by Ray Floriani

NEW YORK CITY - Touches and defense. Trying to get an early read on Georgetown-Butler at the Jimmy V Classic wasn’t the easiest task. Soon it came together. Greg Monroe was marginally involved in the offense the opening 10 minutes. Often he received the ball a good 15 feet from the basket. As the half wore on the touches increased. The second half, especially down the stretch, the ball made it to the low post to the 6-10 sophomore. It didn’t guarantee a shot by Monroe every time down the floor but getting the ball inside created opportunities, especially on the perimeter (Austin Freeman 18 points with 4 treys). Monroe finished with 24 points ( 9 of 20 from the floor), 15 boards as Georgetown defeated Butler 72-65.

Both clubs entered the contest with a mid 60s pace. On the evening Georgetown checked in at 71 possessions, Butler 72. With Butler trailing by double digits in the stretch the tempo quickened as the Bulldogs pushed the ball for quick three point opportunities. The final offensive efficiency numbers saw Georgetown with a 101-90 edge. The Hoyas entered the game with opponents only able to manage a 83 OE against the Georgetown defense. The four factors:

		FTA
	eFG	FGA	OR%	TO%
Georgetown	51	45	40	30
Butler	38	31	28	17

Defense on Matt Howard was exceptional. A 6-8 junior, Howard was selected Horizon League pre-season Player of the Year. He scored 9 points but was 1 of 9 from the floor. Butler was lead by 6-9 sophomore Gordon Hayward , 24 points 8 boards, who showed nice perimeter prowess knocking down four treys. Georgetown (7-0) now faces Washington on Saturday at the Wooden Classic in Anaheim. Coach John Thompson III said he scheduled these opponents to mirror a Big East week. In other words, quality opposition on Tuesday and again Saturday.

In the nightcap Pitt reminded us there will be nights like this. The Panthers lost a great deal from last year but got off to a good 7-1 start this season. Tonight they were simply beaten 74-64 by underdog Indiana who defended very well. The tempo was on the faster side.

		Off
	Poss	Eff
Indiana	75	99
Pitt	80	80

The four factors:

		FTA
	eFG	FGA	OR%	TO%
Indiana	47	46	23	16
Pitt	37	17	33	19

Free throw production was inflated in IU’s favor as Pitt was in the fouling mode the last few minutes as they tried to reduce the deficit. Panthers did have a good offensive rebounding mark, but there were ample opportunities given their field goal mark. Both teams had excellent turnover rates. All in all a nice win on Tom Crean’s return to MSG. Crean is still cleaning the Kelvin Sampson mess but despite facing many opponents with more talent, his teams always play hard and are prepared.

Verdell Jones III led IU with 20 points. Ashton Gibbs, a former Seton Hall Prep star, had a nice return pacing all with 25 points. Dante Taylor, Pitt’s 6-9 freshman, impressed again in relief scoring 12 points and grabbing 5 rebounds.

“Greg (Monroe) is unselfish. We have an unselfish team, It’s not how many shots a player takes, it’s how we play that matters” -- Georgetown coach John Thompson III

“They are good. Their system is good and they are well coached. Monroe is a player but they have other good players around him.” -- Butler coach Brad Stevens