Three-point play: February 23, 2010

 1.    UConn is the ACC and A-10’s worst enemy

It wasn’t long ago when Connecticut was in disarray. Head coach Jim Calhoun was in the middle of a medical leave of absence. The Huskies were 4-8 in the Big East and shared the unwelcome honor as struggling powerhouses with North Carolina.

Calhoun is back, and after beating seventh-ranked West Virginia Monday night, the Huskies (17-11, 7-8) are right back in the middle of the NCAA tournament picture. Their final three games are all winnable, and a 10-8 mark in the Big East should warrant an at-large bid.

Just as the horn was sounding on the Huskies’ upset of the Mountaineers, several teams on the bubble cringed. Teams like Clemson, Dayton, Florida State, Rhode Island, Charlotte and Saint Louis are all uncertain of their postseason fates at this juncture.

If the Huskies continue to surge, they will surely sneak up and grab an at-large bid from one of those middle-of-the-pack teams from the ACC or A-10.  You can bet every one of the aforementioned teams will be rooting hard against the Huskies from here on out.

 

2.    Ross Tudor is right – Duke is a master scheduler

I did a double take tonight when looking ahead to the week’s slate of games, and I saw Duke hosting Tulsa on Thursday night. Why on earth the Devils are hosting this game in late February is beyond me, but this much is not: Mike Krzyzewski is a damn good resume builder.

It wasn’t until my friend Ross brought this to my attention that I realized it to be true: Duke makes a living off scheduling teams with RPI rankings between 75-150 who are easily beatable, yet still boost their own RPI greatly.

Now, this strategy is only surefire when you have a perennial top-15 power like the Blue Devils, because if you are any worse, you could lose a game or two in that slate and have some ugly losses to your name.

Tulsa, for instance, is 19-8, 8-5 in Conference USA. Their RPI as of Monday night was 75. That’s perfect for Duke, which has not lost a home game all season and is in little danger of doing so in Thursday.

Some of the Blue Devils’ non-conference games include Charlotte, Arizona State, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Penn, Iowa State and Georgetown. In the two of those games that were on the road, Duke lost. The other ones were all Blue Devil victories.

There were no games against top 10 teams; no epic made-for-TV matchups to bring money to the school. By playing games that are all mostly winnable but still competitive is why Duke has one of the five strongest schedules in the country and has an outside shot at a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

 

3.    Evan Turner has my vote for player of the year

There is no player in the country doing so many different things at the level Evan Turner is this season. Despite missing six games due to a serious back injury, Turner has been unstoppable even after returning.

Here’s his stat line: 19.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, two steals and one block per game; dude is the LeBron James of college basketball. Since returning from injury, the Buckeyes are 10-2.

When the postseason rolls around, teams with standout veteran superstars always seem to do big things. How far did Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo make it in their only seasons in college? Exactly. Every championship team in the last five years has been led by a bona fide veteran star.

This doesn’t mean Ohio State is prime for a national championship run, but here’s betting Turner is a household name in a month or so.

 

Three Point Play: February 16, 2010

1. North Carolina should still make the NIT, and Ed Davis’ injury helps their case

The defending national champion Tar Heels were left for dead after losing seven of eight games and four straight. Following the 64-54 loss to Duke, the team announced that Ed Davis would be out for the season with a broken wrist. His loss seemed to spell doom for the struggling Heels. Instead, UNC played perhaps its best game in weeks in a win over North Carolina State on Saturday.

The absence of Davis actually may have helped the Tar Heels’ hopes. Against the Wolfpack, John Henson was able to play his natural position of power forward, and the team’s offense played much more fluently. Davis commanded the ball too much while producing an insufficient amount of effort that actually hindered the team’s production.

With six games left, UNC needs to win two more in order to be eligible for the NIT. The most winnable games in that span are at Boston College on Feb. 20, and Miami at home on Mar. 2. The other games include trips to Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Duke and a home game with Florida State. Maybe with the improved outlook on offense, the Heels might have a chance.

2. Game of the week: Purdue at Ohio State, Wednesday 6:30 ET

With the recent slide Michigan State is on in conference play, this is a pivotal game involving two of the Big Ten’s best teams. The Boilermakers have not lost in a month, and are led by the dynamic trio of E’Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, and JaJuan Johnson. The Buckeyes enter the game on a six-game winning streak; they also defeated Purdue in West Lafayette earlier this season 70-66 in one of the best games this season.

Evan Turner returned from a serious back injury to play in the first Purdue game, and delivered a memorable performance. The national player of the year candidate scored 23 of his 32 points in the second half to help erase a 12-point halftime deficit. It was a complete turnaround from the first half, when Robbie Hummel scored 29 of his game-high 35 points. He also made eight three-pointers in the game, tying a school record.

The Buckeyes sit at 10-3 in Big 10 play, while Purdue is only a half game behind them at 9-3. A win in this game would put that team in prime position to win the regular season conference championship. Both teams are red-hot coming into the game, and if it turns out anything like last month’s tilt, it should be an exciting match-up.

3. Whatever happened to William and Mary?

Remember earlier this season, when the Tribe, picked to finish at the bottom of the Colonial Athletic Association, were knocking off ACC teams like they were Duke? That is a distant memory now, as they sit in fourth place in the CAA at 10-5 in the conference.

The Tribe currently hold victories over Richmond, Wake Forest, Radford, and Maryland to their name, and as of the beginning of January they looked to be a bona fide NCAA tournament team. Instead, they lost four of five games starting Jan. 20 and took themselves out of consideration for an at-large bid.

They have righted the ship to some extent by winning their last three games but the damage has already been made. The best they can hope for at this point is to win the CAA Tournament and finish the season strong, earning at best a 12 seed in March.