Winthrop at Davidson It just makes sense that the two Charlotte-area schools that have defined their respective conferences, the Big South and SoCon, for the last decade would play more often. But after February's 13-point Davidson win in a Friday night BracketBuster special, Davidson head coach Bob McKillop pretty much deflected every single question about an ongoing series, preferring instead to talk about Brazilian soccer, team chemistry and Stephen Curry. Which is his right. So we'll get to enjoy this ESPN-mandated return game for what it's worth, and hope that they get matched up again someday. It's hard to talk about Davidson (2-1) without mentioning a certain Wooden Award candidate and All-America selection, but I'm going to take up the challenge of writing a 1,500 word story about the Wildcats without mentioning his name once. That'll be later, though. For now, Curry is the shining, boyish face of mid-major basketball, All That's Good About Our Game, and could probably cure several obscure diseases with his jump shot. He's the nation's leading scorer at 35.3 ppg, shooting 51.5 percent and has settled into his new point guard role nicely -- try 7.3 assists on for size. He was last seen putting up 44 (including 14-of-14 from the line) against Oklahoma on national teevee, in a losing cause. Curry is now scoring 37.3 percent of the team's points. If other people step up, they win that OU game. Curry and Co. will likely have little problem handling Winthrop tonight, but it's a great opportunity to see how the third (by my count) major rebuilding project in Rock Hill is going. Every year, no matter how many pieces they have to replace, Winthrop keeps winning the Big South. There are only four upperclassmen on this year's roster, and a slow 1-2 start, buoyed by a glorified exhibition win over North Greenville, includes two wide losses to South Carolina and Akron. In both, the Eagles allowed over 70 points, something that rarely happened in 2007-08. The key thing to watch this season is how the defense develops under stop-happy Randy Peele.
NEW YORK CITY -- Madison Square Garden IV, indeed the fourth venue to have had this name, is a layer cake built on the corner of 7th Avenue and 33rd Street. It opened in 1968, four years before I was born. By the time I started going to games there, in the mid-1980's, its internal workings were as stained and dysfunctional as those of a 60-year-old lifetime chain smoker. The "blue seats" in the ring farthest from the floor, in particular, were in the worst shape. I learned a lot of things about human nature up there in the ten-dollar obstructed-view seats during Rangers games, where the dockworkers would drink and yell and vomit and piss in the aisles. Folks would come down from Harlem or in from Queens for Knicks games, and I saw more than a few instances of hand-sex up there in the 400 level. I don't recall many people sitting up there for the NIT or Holiday Festivals or Big East tournaments, that is unless Saint John's was playing. Then it was hard to find a seat. Even when the crowds were thin, Madison Square Garden maintained its status as the capital of college basketball. It's always mattered to play here, a feeling that's survived the building changes as well as the generations that have passed since the NIT stopped meaning anything. New York City is the place where the original championship was decided, before the NCAA stole the idea. In sepiatone days, cigar smoke would create a cloud above an arena floor full of set shots and chest passes, scratching and clawing and blood in the post. New York City is the crucible out of which college basketball started to matter, before it was polished and buffed and packaged for mass consumption.
North Texas at Sam Houston State It's great to catch up with our old friends from Texas. At around this time last year, both the Mean Green and Bearkats were burrs in some Big XII saddles -- North Texas beat Oklahoma State by nine, while SHSU took out Texas Tech, both road games. They were impactful enough victories to keep the two teams hanging around the State of the Other 22 ratings, despite the fact that both ran out of gas through league season. We've since adjusted the formula to make more of measurable momentum. Both won at least 20 games (Sam State won 23), and neither made any sort of national postseason. So what now? North Texas returns some key pieces, most notably sophomore Josh White, the 5-10 supershooter that busted OSU for 25 points in just his second college game. He's tallied 17.5 ppg in his first two games, including 23 in the return match with the Cowboys on Monday, which Oklahoma State survived 100-88. That game was notable for the contributions of a newcomer, trickle-down transfer George Odufuwa. From deep in the Arizona State bench, the 6-8 Dallas native sat out a year and reemerged meaner and greener. He notched a 10-and-13 double-double in that OSU game. Sam State did it with seniors last year, and this year it's all about the newcomers. No fewer than six have suited up in orange for Bob Marlin's rebuilding crew, and one to keep an eye on is 6-1 Corey Allmond, a juco transfer from Howard College in Big Spring, Texas. After two games, it's clear that he's the go-to guy, scoring 24 in the 100-42 blowout opener against Schreiner and 23 in the year-after game against Texas Tech. No win this time, but Sam played the Red Raiders to within 11. Both teams have had no trouble scoring, averaging over 87 points a piece. Will there be enough defense to save the scoreboard from blowing up? We'll see tonight. NEW YORK CITY -- I didn't get a chance yesterday, but I wanted to thank all the folks who stopped by during the ESPN SportsNation chat component of the College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. I ran the anchor leg and I held it down mid-major style for two hours, and I noticed a couple of things. First, having some sort of opening day for our sport is absolutely crucial, an announcement that We're Back. It was obvious that a lot of casual fans noticed, and a lot of people came out of the woodwork and wanted to talk about hoops instead of pigskin. (Later, we'll work on making it an actual opening day and removing the time exemption of a certain preseason tourney that no longer deserves it.) The second is that being connected to the internet via a tethered mobile device creates a magma-hot core in your pocket with the capability of singing the inside of your pants. Just another friendly byproduct of The Future. I love doing the chats, I've done over 60 of them in my three-plus years with the Worldwide Leader. I've been told that I'm one of the few who enjoys it to the point of badgering the SportsNation crew to let me do it more often than I'm scheduled. It's a great way to talk in real time about our favorite subject while downplaying my weaknesses (namely, radio and TV). There are the regulars who always stop by, the power-conference trolls, and as always, the folks who just want to hear something nice about their team.
Charlotte at Appalachian State Tonight in the rarified air of Boone, two very good teams that were out in the cold when the Big Ball started this past March. Charlotte won 20 games and mounted a run to the semifinals of the Atlantic 14 conference, where it lost to eventual champions Temple. App State couldn't convert an 18-7 record into a tourney shot at Davidson, losing in the SoCon quarters to UNC Greensboro in a mild 5-over-4 upset. But you know what they say, that was last year, tomorrow never dies, etc., et al. Both teams have started their 2008-09 campaigns well, but a little unevenly. LaMont Mack, Charlotte's 6-7 senior, is making a successful return from May knee surgery, and his 49ers (1-1) blew out UNCG on Friday by 18 points in a win highlighted by a Mack double-double (18 and 10). Then the team lost a tight battle to Old Dominion two days later, in which they let a late lead slip away. Didn't help that ODU outrebounded Charlotte by 13, a statistic that will bear watching as the season goes on. Houston Fancher's mighty Mountaineers will be making their home regular-season debut tonight. After leading most of the way on Friday against UNC Wilmington, the host Seahawks mounted a late comeback from 18 points down and ran away from ASU in OT, 108-101. App State had six in double figures, including fearless sophomore guard Donald Sims with 23 and slimmed-down giant Ike Butts (10 and 12), but yielded three 20-plus performances by UNCW. Can App State finish a game? Can Charlotte hang in on the boards? Tune in if you're able to. |
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