Emerging themes for this college basketball season? Some rather startling numbers Tuesday night tell of a few.
Auburn’s two-fisted grip on No. 1.
So the Tigers have the nation’s highest-rated offense by KenPom, right? Fine. But Tuesday was a reminder that defense is what makes them a monster. They rolled over Oklahoma 98-70 with 11 blocked shots, which means one of every five Sooners attempts was swatted.
Just try to keep up with Auburn’s scorers with that happening.
“Our offensive efficiency numbers are what they are, we’ve got inside-outside,” coach Bruce Pearl said. “And the fact that we will guard. Those two things together are why we are the No. 1 team in the country.”
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St. Rick’s revival of St. John’s.
The Red Storm won their Big East showdown with Marquette 70-64 despite going 3-for-16 in 3-point shots and 17-for-31 from the free throw line. Instead, they used the hard labor of a 50-28 domination in rebounding. Yep. Coach Rick Pitino has another team playing foot-to-the-floor, which is why St. John’s is 11-1 in the Big East for the first time in 40 years and on course to win its first season title in 33.
“The statistical data does not mean anything with these guys. Zero,” Pitino said. “I’m really proud of this victory because they don’t get down about missed free throws, they don’t get down about shooting percentages, they just get on to the next play and that’s exciting. It’s exciting to see Madison Square Garden like this. It’s exciting to see my team win in an old-fashioned way, which is good ol’ hard work.”
UCLA’s surge.
The Bruins defeated Michigan State 63-61 despite being outrebounded 45-27. They instead relied on a 16-3 gap in turnovers and 19-4 advantage in points off turnovers. “I told the guys, if we get to the NCAA tournament and we play every game with three turnovers, we’ll cut the nets down,” coach Mick Cronin said. A UCLA team that not long ago had lost five of six and started its first Big Ten season 2-4 has now won six in a row, beaten five ranked opponents and is 6-1 in games decided by five points or under.
Michigan State’s travel woes.
The Spartans quickly learned the rigors of these new West Coast conference trips. They landed in Los Angeles with a 13-game winning streak and averaging 81 points, but scored only 64 and 61 while shooting 40 percent in close losses to Southern California and UCLA. Out of 80 minutes in the two games, Michigan State trailed for 62 of them. It likely felt good to head back East.
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Indiana’s misery.
Badly in need of a good win, the slumping Hoosiers went to Wisconsin eager to do something about the 20-game losing streak at the Badgers’ place. Would Tuesday be the night? Uh, no. They were behind 26-4 in under eight minutes and lost 76-64. Make that 21 in a row and six losses in the past seven games for Indiana.
Houston’s Plan B.
Funny thing about the Cougars’ latest win, 72-63 over Oklahoma State. The Cowboys shot 51 percent, the highest Houston has allowed all season to any opponent except Auburn. Oklahoma State went into the game 289th in the nation in field goal percentage. So, the Cougars don’t have to totally suffocate their victims to win since they can go to other methods. But it usually helps.
Kentucky’s hard times.
Things are a little wobbly in Lexington. Coughing up 102 points in a loss to Alabama was followed by an upset defeat at Vanderbilt, and not long after coach John Calipari came to town and that didn’t work out so well, either. Tuesday, the hangover stretched all the way to Oxford. Ole Miss blasted the Wildcats 98-84 and led by 27. It was done with staggering efficiency — the Rebels with 24 assists, and one turnover. That’s four losses in five games for Kentucky, and seemingly an urgent need for defensive repair.
Purdue’s bid for history.
Braden Smith is third in the nation in assists for the Boilermakers. But never mind all that passing, he scored 31 points in a 90-81 win at Iowa on Tuesday and is averaging 26.3 points in the past three games. For the record, no school has ever produced the Big Ten Player of the Year in three consecutive seasons, and Purdue’s Zach Edey won the past two.
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Florida’s firepower.
The Gators sped to an 86-75 win over Vanderbilt and leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. didn’t play a minute because of injury. A lot of weapons on this team, which is a big reason Florida is 19-3. Take reserve guard Urban Klavzar for example. Before Tuesday, he was 3-for-16 in 3-pointers for the season and had played under six minutes in SEC games. He entered the Vandy game and immediately buried two 3-pointers to get the night rolling.
Georgia Tech’s perseverance.
Once 8-11 and 2-6 in the ACC, the Yellow Jackets won their third game in four and did it the hard way. The 89-86 victory in three overtimes at Clemson included 23 lead changes and 14 ties. The biggest lead for either side was six points. Six players went at least 49 minutes for the two teams and Georgia Tech’s Naithan George stayed on the court all 55, scoring 28 points. Last season, the two teams went double overtime at Clemson and Georgia Tech won 93-90 with 20 points from George.
Kansas State’s second wind.
When the Wildcats rallied from down 16 points to edge Arizona State 71-70 in Tempe, it was their biggest comeback victory on the road in 30 years. To finish it off they needed Arizona State’s Jayden Quaintance to miss two free throws with 4.1 seconds left. Quaintance, the youngest player in Division I at 17, was 1-for-6 from the line for the game. Kansas State has now won four in a row after losing nine of 10, and are yet another danger zone for opponents in the Big 12.
“This is a great journey that we’re on. Even the tough times have been great,” coach Jerome Tang said. “These guys were great through the losing streak and now we’re learning how to keep improving with wins. Because for every 1,000 men who can handle adversity there’s only one who can handle success. So, we’re going to try and be that one and just keep building on this.”
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Akron’s depth.
The only team with a better conference record at the moment than the Zips’ 10-0 in the MAC is Duke. They come in waves. They beat Ball State 81-73 with 49 points off the bench. Their reserves had provided at least 40 points in seven games and at least 30 in 15. The depth of coach John Groce’s program — Akron won the MAC last season — has made an impression on opposing coaches such as Kent State’s Rob Senderoff.
“I look at this like baseball now,” he said, comparing his rivals 12 miles up the road to the dominating ways of the old New York Yankees. “Free agents they get, they develop their returning players, they’ve got Joe Torre as the head coach. And you’re just sitting there saying, `I’m trying my best to compete.’”
UNLV’s close call.
One of the biggest shots Tuesday night was by UNLV’s Jailen Bedford in a 71-62 loss to Boise State. His 3-pointer with 9:49 left in the first half cut the Broncos’ lead to 16-15.
Why does that matter? The Rebels finished 1-for-16 from behind the arc. Since the introduction of the 3-point rule in 1986, they have never played a game without making a 3-pointer. Not for 1,250 games, an NCAA record. But they almost did Tuesday night.
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