Wright State, Bracketbusters, Mid-Major Hoops

Wright State suffered an ugly bracketbusters loss to Northeastern on Saturday afternoon. The Raiders turned it over 16 times to Northeaster's 6 turnovers. If I had turned that game on as just a casual basketball fan I think I'd be stunned to learn that Wright State had won 16 games this year. They are just a team with so many flaws. It is somewhat amazing that they have 16 wins. Offensively, the Raiders are brutal to watch at times. I hate to be so negative, but these are just my true thoughts! Haha

Scott Grote kind of mystifies me. I think he could be good, but he has lapses where he just is not quick enough, especially with the ball. It's like he is still adjusting to the quickness of Division 1 Hoops even though he's been around it for 3 years now. Sometimes I'm not sure he makes great decisions defensively, and his turnovers on the offensive side of the ball are frustrating.

With that being said, I think he is an aggressive offensive player, and that is something the Raiders desperately need. Graham and Evans just don't produce enough scoring so the Raiders need someone like Grote to step up to make any kind of run in the conference tournament.

 

Bracketbusters

I hear people complain about ESPN's bracketbusters every year and how it doesn't help them. It's usually the fans of the really good mid major teams who I perceive think their team/program is above the bracketbusters idea or that it hurts them if they lose. It usually just sounds like whining, but I am starting to understand that sentiment. I might be coming from a little different perspective though.

I watched parts of many of the bracketbusters games on replay through ESPN360.com (I love 360! Especially since I don't have cable television) Anyway, ESPN and their announcers seem to unintentionally belittle the Mid-majors. Maybe I'm over thinking it, but I just get the feeling ESPN feels like it is doing these small piddly schools a service, which in some ways they are…but I still don't think they get it. The top of the line Mid-Major teams can beat anyone in the BCS conferences on a neutral floor or on the mid-majors home floor.

Anyway, Gordon Hayward is (no pun intended) dog for Butler. One of the slights I thought the announcers made was when they said Indiana and Purdue, or Michigan State missed out on Hayward. First off, who really wants to go to Indiana with what they went through in the last year or two? But I honestly think Butler is just out-recruiting some of these big schools. I don't think these schools are necessarily "missing" on guys like Gordon Hayward. It's like out West where Gonzaga started just out recruiting Washington, Oregon, and Washington State for some of the top players in the North West.

Butler played great defense on Steph Curry, but I really hope Davidson makes the NCAA tournament. I kind of think they deserve to go if they lose in their conference tournament and don't get the automatic bid. Steph Curry is so fun to watch. He's just a tremendous player. Butler won that game easily. But you could tell that if Curry was playing like he normally does when healthy that Davidson probably could have won the game or at least been in the game in the last minute. He makes that big of a difference when healthy and sharp.

Mid Major Hoops

I'll be honest. I can't tell a difference in hardly any of the Mid-Major leagues anymore. People say the MVC is the best. They say the Horizon is pretty good. A-10 fans like to think they are the closest to being a major conference out of the Mid-Majors. But I would submit to you that there is so much parity that it'd hard to make any definitive statements. Butler and Gonzaga are probably the best mid-majors right now. Siena, Creighton, Dayton, and Xavier are all close in my opinion. Green Bay can be very good some nights.

I watched a little bit of Sienna and Niagra. Who is to say those 2 teams wouldn't be fighting for championships in the A-10, Horizon, or MVC conferences? Especially Sienna.

The A-10 is a little hard to figure out. UD isn't out of the woods yet. They could still end up with 5 losses in the conference. Xavier is good, but I think a little overrated. I kind of hope Green Bay and like Temple or Rhode Island win the Horizon and A10 tournaments because you know Butler, Xavier, and Dayton will get at large bids…those kind of upsets would keep out some of those 7^th and 8^th place teams in the ACC, Big 10, and Big East, that are just kind of boring to watch.

Butler Falls, Title Contenders

What's up with Butler losing to Loyola at home?! That was definitely a surprise, but then again, nothing is too surprising in College Hoops these days. Anyone can truly win or lose on any given night. College Hoops is not like College Football where the team with better athletes eventually just outmuscles the less athletic and less talented team.

Butler is definitely the most talented team in the Horizon League, but they are also a team that depends heavily on the three pointer. They remind me a little bit of certain Kentucky teams back in the day who lived and died by the 3 pointer.

Butler doesn't seem like a team though that is incapable of winning if it has a bad night shooting from behind the arc. It's defense is what was most disappointing in its loss vs. Loyola. The Ramblers shot 9-20 from behind the arc. That was the difference in the game.

I think Butler still wins the Horizon League tournament and probably makes the NCAA tournament as a 7-8 seed. It's probably better for them to have a seed like that instead of in the 4-5 spot. I think they will fare better with less pressure on them with being such a young team.

I tell ya what…if I'm a 1 or 2 seed, I don't want to see Butler in that 7 or 8 spot. They are the type of team that could knock off one of the big boys with a good night shooting from behind the arc.

 

Title Contenders

For some reason I only think there are 3 teams that could win the National Championship right now. Those teams are…

UConn

Pittsburgh

North Carolina

I think this is the year Pitt breaks through and wins it all. I'll be honest. I'm not really a fan of Pittsburgh. Maybe because I don't like the Steelers. I just associate every sports team in Pittsburgh with being dirty.

But they are just a tough rugged team. They have the capability to beat you from the outside which is an area they haven't been to strong in past years. Dejaun Blair is a rebounding beast down low. Lavance Fields is a crafty tough stocky guard from NY City that I would want in a big game.

Fields averages over 11 points and 7 assists a game.

Then you have their leading scorer Sam Young who is a physical presence yet can hit the outside shot. He averages about 17 a game. Led by those 3 players and some solid role players, I think Pitt is primed to make a run to the Final 4 and possibly win it all this year. I may change my mind before I fill out my bracket, but that's what I'm thinking now!

Wright State, The Big 4 in Ohio in the NCAA’s?

Nice bounce back win for my beloved Wright State Raiders last night. Corey Cooperwood had a very good game finishing with 19 points. He has scored 19, 12, and 12 in his last 3 games. Over the whole season Cooperwood is averaging about 23 minutes per game. I think if he can average at least 5 more minutes a game down the stretch the Raiders offense will be more successful. He actually should have had about 25 last night if he hadn't missed some layups.

While Cooperwood's individual game is progressing, the Raiders guards' ability to penetrate last night was a key in Cooperwood getting some easy buckets. Todd Brown and N'Gai Evans especially were effective in penetrating to the basket.

As I was watching the game, one thing became clear. There is a big difference in Butler and Loyola! Butler cut off most of Wright State's efforts to penetrate in the game Saturday night, whereas Todd Brown, who isn't the quickest guy off the dribble, seemingly had his way taking the ball to the bucket against Loyola.

 

The Big 4 in the NCAA's?

I think most people would agree that the top 4 programs in Ohio are Cincinnati, Xavier, Ohio State, and Dayton. When is the last time those 4 teams have made the NCAA tournament. With Dayton's win vs. Xavier tonight, and Cincinnati beating St. John's it appears that all 4 are on their way to the NCAA tournament. Here are their records…

Dayton 22-3 (8-2)

Xavier 20-4 (8-2)

Cincinnati 17-8 (7-5)

Ohio State 17-5 (7-4)

 

I think these four teams are pretty even actually. One of them doesn't really stick out over the other. I think Cincinnati would be a bit of a surprise to make the tournament, but they have one of the best scoring guards in the country in Deonta Vaughn, a very talented big guy in Yancy Gates, and some other talented slash to the bucket type of players. They aren't great but I think they are improving.

With that being said, I think Cincy should still be on the bubble. The good thing if you're Cincy is that if you finish in the top 8 in the Big East, you're pretty much automatically in. I'm not sure that should be the case every year though. You can make a strong argument that Cincy doesn't deserve to be in. They haven't really had any really good wins, and have played hardly anyone on the road in the nonconference. I am a Bearcats fan, but they are one of those teams that as a "mid-major" fan I would despise because they may make the tournament with 10-11 losses, not playing a tough nonconference schedule…all the while keeping out a very good mid-major team with 4-6 losses. We'll See…

 

Finally…Big win for the Dayton Flyers tonight. They are a tough team to figure out. Very deep, but usually a terrible shooting team. They hit 6-14 from behind the arc tonight. If they should 40% from behind the arc they can beat about anyone. But it also seems like they can lose to anyone when they don't hit a couple threes. A few more thoughts on the Flyers

1. Chris Wright is the definition of raw talent. Sometimes I think he is overrated. He's not smooth in his offensive game. But he could be a great player if he stays 4 years at Dayton. I would say there is a 90% chance he stays 4 years. I'm not sure he would really excel in the NBA. He kind of is a good representative of the whole team. He'll brick a three-pointer, and then hit 2 threes in a row. If he becomes more consistent, he could be one of the best Dayton Flyers of all time.
   
2. Chris Johnson is really impressive. He only played 14 minutes tonight. You can't really criticize Brian Gregory tonight, but man how does that guy only play 14 minutes? Some night he looks like the best player on the team. He needs to play at least 20 minutes a game. He doesn't have the talent of Chris Wright, but he has more fluidity (probably not a word) to his game, plus he is quite athletic himself. Very impressive.
   
3. Xavier is a bit overrated. They don't look like a Top 15 team, and they definitely aren't a Top 10 team as they were ranked recently. I think as you build your program, it's a lot easier to get those higher rankings even when you may not quite deserve it. They are good don't get me wrong. A top 25 team, but I don't think they have the guards to make a big run in the NCAA tournament. I'd be really surprised if they make the Sweet 16.

Wright State, Teams I wouldn't want to face

Let's be honest. Wright State got creamed over the weekend against Butler. I don't think Butler is 20 points better than Wright State, but they certainly are better in all aspects of the game. I kind of thought Butler would win by 7-10 points. Wright State has probably played it's worst two halves of the year against Butler, and I think Butler has probably played it's two best halves of the year against the Raiders.

For the Raiders to have success down the stretch a few things are going to have happen in my opinion. In no particular order

1)Corey Cooperwood has to establish a low post game. I've thought all year that he is capable of scoring down low, but for some reason the Raiders don't make it a focus. Sometimes I think some of our low post guys have more potential to score then we've given them credit for. There's no one prolific, but the Raiders rarely even try to feed it to Cooperwood, Thomas, Horne, etc.

2) Scott Grote needs to play a lot and play well. Grote is finally turning into the player many of us thought. Grote's emergence has been surprising and encouraging. I'll be honest. I thought Grote was terrible in the beginning of the year. He didn't look like he belonged at the D1 level. But he is a crafty offensive player. I think he could be very big for the Raiders the rest of this year.

3) N'Gai Evans has to hit some outside shots, and Will Graham has to develop a Vernard Hollins attitude of taking the ball to the basket aggresively. Some people think Graham should like never shoot. I actually kind of think he needs to be more aggressive. His career is almost over. I think he needs to take a commando attitude and start becoming more aggresive mainly by taking the ball to the rack.

A few thoughts on a few mid-major teams I wouldn't want to play in the NCAA tournament.

1) Butler-They have the ability to just destroy you if they are shooting well. Then you have to consider that they win even when they don't shoot well because they also play great defense. They will be a tough out for anyone in the NCAA tournament. This team is deep, and Gordon Hayward has NBA potential in my opinion after 4 years at Butler.

2) Miami of Ohio-They lost their PG in Kenny Hayes. I thought they would fall off the map a bit after this, but after a few stumbles they are quietly having a very good season. Michael Bramos could start for anyone in the Midwest, Tyler Dierkers is solid and they always play great defense.

3) Utah State-I don't know a whole lot about them honestly! But they are a solid program who has made the NCAA tournament a fair amount of times. I think if they get in this time (and with just 1 loss so far it looks like they are a lock), they'll beat someone. Great defensive team, and a good program maybe ready to take that next step.

Welcome to The Peach Basket

Welcome to The Peach Basket! I love College Basketball to the core. Growing up, my first love in college hoops was the Xavier Musketeers. Then it was the Cincinnati Bearcats. Yes I was probably a bit of a front runner but was a kid at the time when Xavier went to the Sweet 16 in the late 80s...and I was still a kid when Bob Huggins took over at UC and took the Bearcats on a glorious run to the Final 4 (1992 I believe it was).

Fast forward to the year 2000 (in the yeaarrr 2000! Conan Obrien joke). I became a student at Wright State University. Rewind a little bit. I had been to a few Wright State games before becoming a student. I remember the great Keion Brooks dominating Chicago State. But the most memorable game that I attended was of course when #7 ranked Michigan State came to the Nutter Center and were handed a loss by the Israel Sheinfeld-led Raiders! Michigan State went on to win the National Championship that year.

Ok, fast forward again. For some reason it took 4 years for me to get involved in the radio station at Wright State, but finally in my 4th year at Wright State I got involved (I graduated in 5 years. I red-shirted either my freshman or sophomore year. I'm not really sure which one I'd consider my redshirt year.)

I did some weekly radio shows which I really enjoyed, but my favorite part of volunteering at WWSU was being able to participate in broadcasts for both the women's and men's basketball teams. I was able to try a little of everything...play-by-play, color commentating, and producing pregame, halftime, and postgame shows. It was really fun, and increased my love of Wright State basketball.

As far as other experience that I have involving the game of basketball...
1) Averaged 3 ppg as the starting center for my 9th grade basketball team (Central Bucs)
2) Several double doubles in local pickup games at Fairgrounds Park over the years
3) Have watched hundreds of hours of basketball over the years on television

...I love basketball, especially College Basketball.

There will be a couple main focuses to this blog

1) Wright State..."we must do our alma mater"
2) The Horizon League
3) College Hoops in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Midwest...Dayton,UC, Xavier, Ohio State, UK, Louisville, Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue
4) Mid-major hoops
5) The National Landscape, Top 25 Hoops

There will be more of a local focus, but I'll branch out all over the country.

It's getting to that exciting part of the year when the men are separated from the boys. But even with that, the boys still have a chance to become men by winning their conference tournaments.

If you've come to this blog, I hope that you enjoy my random thoughts, and feel free to comment. I'd love to hear some feedback. I'm hoping to stick with this and write often and hopefully provide some entertainment and insight into the madness that is College Hoops.

In closing my first blog, I'd like to propose to the powers that be an annual "Old Timers" game in D1 hoops between like Princeton and Brown where actual Peachbaskets are used, no dunks are allowed, and free throws must be shot under-handed.