Duke leads Boston College at the half
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- If Duke was going to continue to climb, to be a team to take seriously to win the title, then winning away from the comfy confines of Cameron had to be more of a priority.
But not just winning, rather playing with the same type of defensive intensity and care with the basketball.
Duke has had one of those true road games since New Year's Day. That came at Clemson and it was a surprising lackluster Tigers' that were the fodder.
But Duke has had its moments where even the Blue Devils looked pedestrian -- at NC State (prior to the Clemson game) and at Georgetown. That's why playing as well as the Blue Devils did in the first 20 minutes against Boston College Saturday -- getting timely shooting from Lance Thomas (facing the basket), Nolan Smith (rainbow 3-pointer as the shot clock expired) and a few key shots late from Jon Scheyer -- was critical for the psyche.
Duke opened up a 35-25 lead at the half.
(c) 2009 ESPN Internet Ventures.
Top-Ranked Kentucky Beats No. 21 Vanderbilt 85-72
Top-ranked Kentucky puts on show with LeBron in the house, tops No. 21 Vanderbilt 85-72.
DeMarcus Cousins posted his 12th double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds as No. 1 Kentucky bounced back from an upset loss to South Carolina with a 85-72 win over No. 21 Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Darnell Dodson added 16 points in a rare start for the Wildcats (20-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference), who played like the nation's top-ranked team for long stretches in front of special guest LeBron James.
Kentucky built an early 19-point lead then made it hold up while the NBA superstar, a friend of coach John Calipari, watched from courtside.
Jermaine Beal led the Commodores (16-4, 5-1) with 19 points, but Vanderbilt couldn't pull off its second road upset of the week in a physical, whistle-plagued game that featured 58 fouls and very little flow.
(c) 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Putting team first
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Unlike Arthur Agee, Jonathan Peoples wasn't forced to dodge the ever-present dangers of Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing projects. Different than William Gates, Peoples struggled little in the classroom.
There were no long commutes from the inner city to St. Joseph High School in Westchester to endure for Peoples, who grew up just a few miles away in the western suburb of Bellwood.
But similar to Gates and Agee, whose professional basketball aspirations while playing for legendary St. Joe coach Gene Pingatore served as the premise for the 1994 documentary "Hoop Dreams," a poverty-stricken Peoples was equally consumed by a desire to reach the NBA and change his empty-handed family's future forever.
Now in the twilight of his college career at the University of Notre Dame, which is 14-5 overall and 3-3 in the Big East following consecutive losses to Cincinnati and Syracuse, the 6-foot-3 senior guard admits that his dream has taken quite a detour.
"Life doesn't always go the way you plan," said Peoples, an Irish co-captain who cracked the starting lineup after waiting patiently three years, only to be demoted eight games into the season. "Coach [Mike Brey] had other plans. It's his decision, and I'll do what he tells me to do."
Brey, the only coach to show significant interest in the former Chargers star, benched Peoples in early December for junior forward Tim Abromaitis, who immediately reinforced the personnel change with a 31-point effort against Central Florida.
Peoples made a solid argument for his return to the starting rotation a couple weeks later, pocketing a career-high 24 points in a lopsided victory over Providence in Notre Dame's league opener. In the five games since, however, he's scored only three points in limited action.
But he hopes to get back on track as the Irish host embattled DePaul [8-10, 1-5] Saturday at 1 p.m. at Purcell Pavilion.
"It's hard to get in a good rhythm when you're only out there for two minutes at a time," Peoples said. "I try to be more productive, but coming off the bench right away and jacking shots is not my role. I'm not that type of player. I have to just let the game come to me and take those open shots when I get them."
Brey explained that's not what he's looking for in his sixth man.
"I think that one of the most overrated stats, because they have so many, is bench scoring," he said. "That might be the dumbest thing I've ever seen. We have enough scoring in the group that starts. I'm looking for impact and energy off the bench."
And leadership. Notre Dame's among the top five in assist-to-turnover margin. Brey said Peoples' savvy play, which often isn't directly reflected in the box score, is a big reason why. It was that same court vision and sound decision-making that first grabbed Brey's attention while on a quick recruiting stop in Westchester five years ago before a road tilt vs. DePaul.
"We were the only [team] at this level to recruit him," Brey said. "We were there looking at Evan Turner [Ohio State] and Demetri McCamey [Illinois] and [Peoples] makes a play in the open court. Then he gets a steal and scores. Then he gets fouled, makes both free throws and kind of huddles the team up and gets them organized.
"I turned to one of my assistants and said, 'Where's he going?' Come to find out he was unsigned and I said to check on his grades, and if his grades were good to offer him a scholarship.
"Yeah, he's disappointed about playing time. But I'm proud of the way he's embraced his role."
Grade-point average and test scores were never an issue for Peoples, who's on track to graduate this year with a degree in sociology -- the only one in his family to boast such an accomplishment.
"I'm so proud," said Pingatore, a legend in the world of Illinois prep hoops with over 850 career victories. "His sophomore year at Notre Dame he was thinking about transferring. There were so many outside influences. I said, 'Are you nuts? You know what a degree from Notre Dame can do for you? It's like signing a pro contract.'"
The Irish hope to avoid a second-half meltdown that cost them an NCAA tournament berth last season -- motivation that's kept Peoples engaged despite seeing his minutes drop.
"Last year we had a big spotlight on us and everybody wanted to get us," he said. "This year we came out and are playing like we're poor -- like we want to prove something."
No matter the end result, for Peoples, seeing the curtain close on a college career that some would call a disappointment, a top-notch education is the realization of a different dream.
"My family's not rich at all," he said. "That's one reason I decided to come here. Before I committed, me and coach Ping had a long talk about life after basketball. I didn't really have an answer because my whole life had been basketball."
Life after basketball appears to be rapidly approaching as Peoples is aware his odds of making it to the NBA are long.
"I took the whole night thinking about it and I walked into Pingatore's office the next day and said, 'Coach, I want to go to Notre Dame.' He said, 'That's a good choice.' He was right."
(c) 2009 ESPN Internet Ventures.
Saint Mary's can help its cause by beating No. 17 Gonzaga
Mitch Young has been with the Saint Mary's College men's basketball team for only a few months, but he's keenly aware of what a win over No. 17 Gonzaga would mean to the Gaels.
"(Tonight's) game or up (in Spokane) could be the decider on whether we get into the (NCAA) tournament or not," said Young, a freshman forward. "And it could also decide the West Coast Conference championship."
Saint Mary's went 13-2 in nonconference games and started West Coast Conference play last week with road wins over USF and Santa Clara. But there's no question a victory over the Bulldogs either tonight at McKeon Pavilion or Feb. 11 at Gonzaga would solidify the Gaels' chances for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament should they not win the WCC tournament in March.
Saint Mary's had a 25-6 record against Division I teams last season with an RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) of 49 by the time Selection Sunday rolled around but was 0-3 against teams -- meaning Gonzaga -- with an RPI of 25 or better.
It can be argued that if the Gaels had beaten the Zags at least once during the regular season and lost to them by less than an astonishing 25 points in the WCC final in Las Vegas, that they would have made the NCAA Tournament for a school-record second straight year.
Gaels coach Randy Bennett said a regular-season win over Gonzaga shouldn't have been a prerequisite for the 2008-09 team to make the NCAAs, "but you're asking a guy that thought we could have and should've been in last year."
Most college basketball bloggers and "bracketologists" have Saint Mary's making this year's NCAA Tournament, with ESPN even listing the Gaels as a No. 7 seed. But Saint Mary's RPI of 36 probably will tumble considering half the WCC teams have losing records.
"We have to win one of the two (regular season) games just to be considered for the tournament. I firmly believe that," said senior forward Ben Allen, who averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds in the wins over USF and Santa Clara.
"We all know the importance of this game, and we all know this is one we need to get. It's not going to be any easier at their place, so we know this one will be the easiest of the two. We need to put our foot down and play like we know we can play and get the job done."
Of course, beating a Gonzaga team that has two potential NBA draft picks (Elias Harris and Matt Bouldin), is scoring over 78 points a game and ranks 24th in Division I field goal percentage will be easier said than done. The Bulldogs have won six of their past seven, including victories over Oklahoma, Illinois and Portland.
"At the end of the year, they'll probably be the top RPI team on our schedule," Bennett said. "Anytime you can beat a team like that, I think it enhances your chances. It doesn't guarantee anything. The rest of your resume has to look good."
(c) Tri-Valley Herald.
No warm welcome for foes at Tigers' den
COLUMBIA | Laurence Bowers, halfway through his sophomore season, has played in just two games of the Kansas State-Missouri basketball series.
''When we went to their place, they beat us bad,'' Bowers said of last season. ''When they came here, we beat them bad.''
Guess what? Today's 1 p.m. game is again ''here'' in Mizzou Arena, where Missouri's 29-game winning streak ranks second in the nation only to Kansas' 51-game winning streak at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.
And in Columbia, Kansas State is 2-11 since the start of Big 12 Conference basketball in the 1996-97 season.
''Playing on the road, you're going to somebody else's home,'' Bowers said. ''And that can be tough.''
Missouri is merely 5-8 at Kansas State in the history of Big 12 play and has lost five straight in Manhattan, including 88-72 last season. In the return trip to Columbia, Mizzou won 94-74.
This afternoon, Mizzou Arena will be packed to the rafters with the first sellout of the season -- 15,061. The Tigers haven't lost a home game since Feb. 26, 2008, when Oklahoma State escaped with a 75-73 victory.
''You've seen 'em in this place,'' said junior forward Justin Safford, aside from senior J.T. Tiller the only current MU player ever to have lost a game at Mizzou Arena.
''When people get in here, I think it's one of the toughest places to play in the country.''
Of course, even recent history can be ancient history in the arena of college basketball.
Kansas State, for instance, lost its first four Big 12 games a year ago. But these Wildcats come in at 13-1 and ranked No. 11 in the latest Associated Press poll.
While Missouri has won seven straight games, Kansas State has won its last 10.
After a Wednesday practice at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, K-State guard Denis Clemente told Rivals.com:
''I'm hungry, man. It's like I've never eaten. That's how I want to start the Big 12.''
In Clemente (14.1 points a game) and Jacob Pullen (20.1), the Wildcats have a veteran guard tandem that would seem well-equipped to cut through the roar of Mizzou Arena and the defensive pressure of a Missouri team that leads the nation in steals (13.3 a game) and ranks No. 2 in turnover margin (plus 8.3).
MU sophomore guard Marcus Denmon contends Mizzou's home-court advantage may provide the biggest boost by being a visiting court disadvantage.
''They can't hear,'' Denmon said. ''They can't communicate out there on the court, which is key. It helps us get after people.''
During the 29-game streak, Missouri has hit 49.1 percent of its shots and 39.2 percent from three-point range while averaging 19.7 assists and 12.8 steals.
''Every venue of a Big 12 team is tough to play at,'' Bowers contends. ''Even like the Colorados and Nebraskas, the teams people overlook sometimes. Those are tough places to play.''
But Mizzou Arena?
''We feed off the crowd,'' Bowers said. ''We defend our turf. You know that, and I know that.''
The 29-game winning streak began with the final game of the 2007-08 season against Iowa State. Missouri finished 18-0 at home last season.
In a 10-0 home record this season, Missouri has ripped Oregon 106-69 and Georgia 89-61.
Overall this season, Missouri has racked up 196 steals compared with only 92 for its opponents, and the Tigers are shooting 40.1 percent on three-pointers.
Ten players are averaging 10 or more minutes per game. Three -- guards Kim English (15.9) and Denmon (11.1) and forward Bowers (10.8) -- are scoring in double figures.
At 12-3 and unranked, Missouri has to be considered the underdog to Kansas State, even at Mizzou Arena.
But MU coach Mike Anderson contends there may not be much difference between the underdogs and the big dogs in the Big 12 this season.
''Arguably, it's one of the best leagues in the country,'' Anderson said. ''Even the teams that people think are going to finish in the lower half, when you go into these arenas, you'd better come with it if you're going to have a chance to win.''
No. 11 Kansas State at Missouri
MU's home run
How dominant has Missouri been in winning 29 in a row (and 47 straight nonconference games) at home?
* Twenty five of 29 games have been won by 10 or more points.
* Nineteen of 29 have been won by 20 or more.
* Eleven have been won by 30 or more.
* Six by 40 or more.
* Two by 50 or more.
* Nine of those 29 victories have come against Big 12 competition, including upsets of No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 16 Kansas.
(c) The Kansas City Star.
Gerrity takes unusual path to success at Southern California
Coming out of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei High in 2005, Mike Gerrity had a vision for how his college career would play out.
He would sign with a school close to home and start for four years, culminating in a senior season in which he played a starring role on an NCAA Tournament team.
Five years and three teams later, Gerrity, a senior point guard for USC, admits: "It really didn't work out the way I planned."
There remains the possibility of a storybook finish, however, which is remarkable given Gerrity's tumultuous career and how the Trojans started the season.
USC opened 2-4, including an embarrassing home defeat to Loyola Marymount and blowout losses to Texas (by 19) and Georgia Tech (26). With coach Kevin O'Neill in his first season and the roster thinned by early exits and the defection of several recruits, a rebuilding year was expected. Still, few could have predicted the Trojans would look so overmatched.
Gerrity watched those first few games from the bench, sitting out per NCAA rules after transferring from Charlotte. "We knew we were better than we had showed but I'm not sure anyone else knew that," Gerrity says. "We just needed to get more pieces of the puzzle together."
Gerrity was the biggest of those pieces, which was apparent when he made his USC debut Dec. 19 against Tennessee, which was ranked ninth at the time. He scored 12 points and had 10 assists in a 77-55 upset, after which Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl, stating the obvious, said USC was "a different team" with Gerrity.
Gerrity continued to make a difference, winning MVP honors as he helped USC capture the title at the Diamond Head Classic, which featured victories over St. Mary's (Calif.) and then-No. 20 UNLV, both of which, like Tennessee, had lost only once before facing the Trojans.
Suddenly, USC stands 8-4, winners of six straight as conference play opens this week. In a down year for the Pacific-10 Conference, the Trojans have to be considered title contenders.
"We know that there is a huge opportunity there for us," says the 6-foot-1 Gerrity. "The big wins we've had recently, they've given us some confidence and taught us that we can play with anybody."
USC has gotten strong play from earlier transfers Marcus Johnson (Connecticut) and Alex Stepheson (North Carolina), but Gerrity has made the biggest impact. His presence has a freed up guard Dwight Lewis and made a unit still finding itself under O'Neill more cohesive.
"If you watched our games before [the Tennessee game], it looked like we were playing in fast forward," O'Neill said. "One playmaker can make that much of a difference."
A rare four-year starter at Mater Dei, Gerrity was ready to run a team as a college freshman. He signed with Pepperdine and was the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year in 2005-06 after averaging 14.1 points and 3.4 assists. One game into his sophomore season, he announced that he was transferring, unhappy with the direction of the program after the coach he signed with, Paul Westphal (currently the Sacramento Kings' coach) was replaced by Vance Walberg, whose dribble-drive offense didn't fit Gerrity's skill set.
"I fully expected to play four years at Pepperdine and would have if coach Westphal had still been there," Gerrity says.
Gerrity next moved to Charlotte, convinced that coach Bobby Lutz would play an up-tempo style and that he would see major minutes after sitting out a season. "I thought the system was the right fit but I never saw the system they talked about when they recruited me," Gerrity says. "I had every intention of finishing there but then before my junior season I worked my butt off and came in the best shape I had been in. But then when practice started I saw things unfolding the same way that it had been."
Gerrity began looking at Division II and NAIA schools, convinced that his Division I days were over, but then he got a call from Gary McKnight, his former coach at Mater Dei. He said USC coach Tim Floyd was in the market for a point guard.
"It was USC and it was close to home," Gerrity says. "It was a no-brainer."
Then between last season, which he sat out while attending classes at USC, and the start of this year, Floyd resigned amid allegations of NCAA violations.
"When [Floyd left] I was like 'Of course this happens,'" Gerrity says. "With the ways things have been going for me, you just knew it wasn't going to go as planned. Luckily, Coach O'Neill has been an awesome fit for me and he has helped me expand my game."
Just as he scripted coming out of high school, Gerrity's family and friends attend his games at the Galen Center, and his senior season is full of promise. It remains to be seen whether the Trojans are bona fide contenders for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but the possibility exits.
"I went through all those ups and downs," Gerrity says, "but there is still an opportunity for me to finish my career the way I had hoped."
(c) 2009 Time Inc. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
A New Star Emerging in Morgantown
By this time, most college basketball fans have heard of Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks, the two West Virginia forwards who were preseason All-Big East selections. But in their first eight games of the 2009 season, another player has burst onto the scene for the No. 6 Mountaineers.
Last season, Kevin Jones was one of Bob Huggins' most reliable players off the bench, averaging 6.3 points and 4.9 rebounds in just under 20 minutes per game. But in the offseason, the Mount Vernon, NY native added 35 pounds to his 6'8" frame and came into this season at 250 pounds, solidifying himself as the potential low-post presence that WVU needed.
All season, Jones has been one of the most consistent players for the Mountaineers. He is the only player on the team to reach double figure scoring numbers in every game this season, and has led the team in rebounding in four games.
Though he has been one of their main threats down low this year, "KJ" is able to do a lot of his damage with his solid midrange game.
"I feel more confident this year with the shots that I wouldn't have taken last year;" Jones said. "My teammates and coaches have confidence in me to just go out there and play."
That confidence in his shot has definitely shown as Jones is leading the team in field goal percentage, making 58.5 percent of his shots.
Jones continues to improve every game and in the Mountaineer's 80-78 nail-biter against Cleveland State, the sophomore achieved another career-high with 23 points.
With the starting frontcourt of Jones, Butler, and Wellington Smith, as well as Ebanks, John Flowers, Danny Jennings, and Cam Thoroughman coming off the bench, WVU has one of the most talented and versatile groups of forwards in the country.
This versatility will be needed as the Mountaineers prepare for future match-ups against Purdue, Ohio State, and their Big East schedule.
At this point however, this talent and versatility hasn't always led to the team playing as well as they should against the competition they've played so far. "This isn't anywhere near our best basketball." Jones said. "Our best basketball is coming up soon."
(c) 2009 Bleacher Report, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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