Arena Adventures: Daniel-Meyer Coliseum

Arena Adventures: Entry #11

Arena: Daniel-Meyer Coliseum
City: Fort Worth, TX
Date: January 5, 2011
Teams: TCU vs. #6 San Diego St.

Day 2 of my Texas basketball adventure took me to the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum on the campus of Texas Christian University to watch the Horned Frogs take on the sixth-ranked and undefeated San Diego State University Aztecs. I picked this game from 3 options when planning my trip simply because I wanted to see SDSU play as I expected them to be a solid team this season having returned all 5 starters from last season’s NCAA Tournament squad. I did not anticipate them being undefeated and in the top 10 in the country at this point, however. The Aztecs, led by D.J. Gay, Kahwi Leonard, and Billy White have been impressive thus far, including recording wins at Gonzaga and over Missouri Valley Conference favorite, Wichita St. As such, they might have been a bit overrated, but based on their body of work thus far and their unblemished record, they deserve to be ranked sixth until proven otherwise in my opinion.

As for TCU, they entered the game with a 9-6 record, with a solid win over an ever-improving USC squad. The Horned Frogs are led by Fort Worth native, Ronnie Moss, who was the team’s leading scorer entering the game. Heading to Fort Worth, I expected the thrill of the TCU football team’s victory over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl to carry on through to campus and energize the fans to knock off another top 10 team, this time in a different sport. Well, apparently that isn’t the case as the DMC was quite empty at tip-off and the arena didn’t really fill up throughout the game either. The sparse crowd that was there was loud and proud, especially as the Horned Frogs jumped on the Aztecs early to lead by as many as 6 points at 25-19 late in the first half. San Diego St. was terribly inept on offense early on in the game; not sure if that was a result of overlooking the Frogs being that they are projected to be one of the lower-tier teams in the Mountain West, or if TCU’s defense was really shutting down the Aztecs. In any case, the Frogs looked extremely competitive throughout the first half and only a late 10-1 run by the Aztecs to end the first half turned the tide in SDSU’s favor and carried them to a 29-26 halftime lead.

In the first half, SDSU was not led by Gay, Leonard, or White, but rather Malcolm Thomas. This stat goes to show the sheer depth of the Aztecs and why I think they will be a different out of the NCAA Tournament come March. Unlike a Connecticut team for instance which is led mainly by a one-man band in Kemba Walker and some role players who contribute very inconsistently, SDSU has no shortage of players who can carry the team and put the ball in the basket on a given night. For instance, when the Aztecs travelled to Spokane to take on Gonzaga, Billy White was the leading scorer and carried the team to victory. In this game, it was Thomas, but he was also complemented nicely by the rest of his teammates in starting conference play on a positive note with a 66-53 Aztec win in Fort Worth. I commend TCU on playing hard throughout the game and not being intimidated by a team as experienced and highly-ranked as SDSU. Head Coach Jim Christian has the Horned Frogs going in the right direction, but with a move to the Big East Conference starting in the 2012-13 season, it’s going to be extremely difficult for TCU hoops to have anywhere near the success of TCU football.

In the end, I enjoyed watching a game at the DMC. You can definitely tell it is set up for basketball and basketball only as the sight lines appear to be great throughout. Additionally, the building is set at just about the right size, with a maximum capacity of approximately 8,000 people. Knowing that most of the students are on winter break and big alumni were still probably in California celebrating the Rose Bowl victory, the sparse crowd didn’t look quite as bad as it would have in a 15,000 seat arena. It would seem that this should have been the game Horned Frog nation circled on its calendars to attend and create an electric atmosphere to bring a huge home victory to fruition. Apparently, TCU basketball fans are not as prevalent and dedicated as its football fans are, and that’s ok, until the basketball team starts putting up results like Gary Patterson’s football team has been recently.

Arena Adventures: Ferrell Center

Arena Adventures: Entry #10

Arena: Ferrell Center
City: Waco, TX
Date: January 4, 2011
Teams: Baylor vs. Morgan State

Being the college basketball fan that I am, and the huge Connecticut fan that I am, I try to find a game or 2 each year where I can watch my Huskies play that I haven't been before. As previously documented, I started the Big East season by going to Pittsburgh to watch UConn play Pitt. However, I also wanted to add a non-conference contest to my schedule and it just so happened that my work schedule coincided with UConn's non-conference game in Austin against the University of Texas Longhorns on January 8. As I have never been to Texas before, I decided to head down a few days early and enjoy the warm weather and try to catch a couple additional college basketball games while in the state since there are so many Division I teams in Texas. The first team I decided to watch was Baylor as I really wanted to see both top recruit Perry Jones III and senior guard, LaceDarius Dunn, play in person. The only Baylor home game during my visit was a contest against the Morgan State Bears. Coming from the MEAC, it would seem like this game should have blowout written all over it, however, Morgan St. was coming off an NCAA appearance last season and was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the MEAC again and represent the conference in the NCAA tournament. Obviously the Baylor fans also thought this wasn't going to be much of a game as the Ferrell Center was probably close to 2/3 empty making for a less than energetic atmosphere for the home Bears.


For the first 25 minutes of the game, Morgan St. was impressive, holding a lead of as many as 6 points over Baylor as Baylor appeared to be sleepwalking through much of the first half of the game. The most impressive of Morgan State's players was DeWayne Jackson, who was scoring almost at will against the long defense of Quincy Acy, Anthony Jones, and Perry Jones. Jackson had 19 first half points, but also picked up 2 fouls with about 8 minutes to go in the half and Morgan St. leading. Once Jackson went to the bench, Baylor was able to better contain the Morgan St. offense and eventually Baylor was able to turn the deficit it was facing for much of the first half into a 42-40 lead.


In the 2nd half, Baylor was able to jump on Morgan St. early and often, mostly lead by Dunn, who was absolutely on fire from three point range in the 2nd half. It seemed like every time down the court, Dunn was open for 3 and would hit. By the time the final horn sounded, Dunn had dropped 43 points on Morgan St., including a school-record 10 3 point baskets in Baylor's 89-72 victory. Not only did Dunn hit 10 3's, but he hit those 3's on only 18 attempts, and Dunn's attempts were the only 3 point field goals attempted by Baylor all evening. Along with Dunn's shooting prowess in the second half, Jones III looked significantly better on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court, showing why he is tabbed by most prognosticators as the #1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft if he decides to go pro. In my opinion, he still looks too raw to be a significant contributor right away and he could end up being an Anthony Randolph-type player if he leaves Baylor after only 1 season.


All in all, it was an interesting experience in Waco. I wish that Big XII conference play started earlier in the season so that I could have caught a conference game where the Ferrell Center crowd might have been a little more enthusiastic, but Baylor has a very nice arena with great sight lines from everywhere in my opinion. Whether you're sitting in the 3rd row or the 30th row anywhere in the arena, you would have a great view of the action. I'm sure when Texas or Kansas comes to town, the place is sold out and loud, but to be a top tier sports school, the fans need to come out and support their teams against all opponents. It was a little disappointing to see so many empty seats both in the season ticket section and the general public sections, but I give credit to the Baylor fans that were in attendance. They saw a show by Dunn and were very engaging and enthusiastic when their team needed them when Morgan St. was playing their hearts out.

Arena Adventures: Pauley Pavilion

Arena Adventures: Entry #9

Arena: Pauley Pavilion

City: Westwood, CA

Date: December 31, 2010

Teams: UCLA vs. Washington

As my alma mater the University of Wisconsin was playing in the 97th Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO, I decided to make a trip out to California to watch that game and hopefully catch a couple other basketball games as well. On New Year's Eve, the UCLA Bruins were playing the preseason Pac-10 Conference favorite, Washington Huskies, so I decided to head from downtown LA up to Westwood to see historic Pauley Pavilion. I assumed that with all the history that has been made in Pauley in the John Wooden days that the arena was going to be one of the nicer ones I had been to. Boy was I wrong...

I give UCLA credit as a major renovation project is currently in progress to update Pauley by 2012, which I think is extremely necessary if UCLA wants to draw in the recruits UCLA should be signing under a proven coach like Ben Howland. The main thing I noticed was the gigantic spaces behind the baskets as Pauley is set up to push the bleachers back and transform into 3 separate courts when used for normal campus activity. The other thing I noticed was the fact that all patrons enter the arena at the same level and the only way to move about the arena is through the actual seating bowl as the exterior concourses are tiny. This results in traffic flow that is less efficient than the 405 or I-5 at 5:00 on an LA weekday.

As for the game itself, Washington was clearly the stronger team throughout the day, but UCLA played hard. Behind Malcolm Lee on the perimeter and Josh Smith in the post, UCLA was able to hang tough with the Huskies, trailing by a 38-31 margin at the half. Had UCLA been able to get better production out of Tyler Honeycutt in the first half, UCLA might have been even closer or leading, but Honeycutt picked up a couple of cheap fouls early on and sat most of the half. Isiah Thomas and Matthew Bryan-Amaning led the way for Washington in the first half.

As the second half started, Washington poured it on and eventually built a lead of as much as 17 points before UCLA started a fast and furious comeback. Behind Honeycutt and Lee, UCLA was able to trim its deficit to as little as 4 points before a huge 3 was buried by Darrell Gant of Washington and the Huskies never looked back from there, eventually winning by a margin of 74-63. This was a big win for the Huskies to sweep the LA-area schools (Washington beat USC 73-67 in OT 2 nights earlier) and take control of the Pac-10 Conference title race early on as Washington State lost at UCLA 2 nights earlier. In the end, I think both teams played about how they were expected to; Washington looking like the conference favorite and UCLA looking like a middle-tier Pac-10 team with an outside shot of an NCAA berth come March.

Arena Adventures: Carver Hawkeye Arena

Arena Adventures: Entry #8

Arena: Carver Hawkeye Arena
City: Iowa City, IA
Date: December 29, 2010
Teams: #25 Illinois vs. Iowa

My second trip of the year to see my Illini play, 2-0 in games I have attended this year. Maybe that is a good sign for the January 22nd game at Assembly Hall? If you haven't been to Carver Hawkeye Arena before it is very funky; the outside looks like a restaurant and inside the concourse is completely above all of the seats. Basically it was built into the side of a hill.

Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.

Illinois started off slow and was down 4 5:00 into the game at 11-15. Much had to do with the inability of the Illinois guards to contain Iowa City native Matt Gatens early. DJ Richardson and Bill Cole made back to back three's and the Illini never looked back. Illinois stretched it's first half lead to 13 on Freshman Jereme Richmond's tip in to make it 29-16.

Illinois took a 12 point lead (49-37) into the half when Iowa guard Bryce Cartwright hit a buzzer beater, seemingly taking the momentum into the locker room.But it wouldn't last. The Illini came out of halftime and went on a 9-2 run to push the lead to 19 at 58-39. It looked like the Illini were going to cruise, I was thrilled.

I'm following the Bill Simmons way;
I've got five years to teach my daughter
she bleeds Orange and Blue.

Credit the Hawkeyes, they were down and out yet they still continued to battle back. They played within themselves and played good enough defense to get the game back into single digits and make it a game again. Cutting the lead to as little as six, but in the end the Illini proved to be the better team and won by ten, 87-77.

Demetri McCamey lead the Illini with his second 20/10 game scoring 20 points, dishing out 10 dimes and adding in three boards. McCamey has been dynamite for the Illini all year and has positioned himself as a legit NBA prospect and potential first team All American and is clearly the best Point Guard in the Big Ten, not Jordan Taylor (yes I'm talking to you Shon Morris and Dan Dakich, seriously do you guys actually watch games?).

Billy Cole has been great for the Illini as well, he isn't flashy but he plays within himself and has not backed down from taking wide open treys (and nailing them). He has been the perfect glue guy for this team and hustles on each and every play.

Iowa looked pretty good though, not fantastic but I really do like the Fran McCaffery hire. It might be a few years but if he can get some athlete's to Iowa City they could have a very solid team and potentially compete for top half of the Big Ten. I don't see them winning any titles anytime soon but this is a good step for Iowa.

I like the improvement my Illini have made, we aren't clicking on all cylinders quite yet but I still see a talented team who could push for some March wins, especially when Jereme Richmond has continued to improve each and every game.

Arena Adventures: Petersen Events Center

Arena Adventures: Entry #7

Arena: Petersen Events Center
City: Pittsburgh, PA
Date: December 27, 2010
Teams: #6 Pittsburgh vs. #4 Connecticut

With the sizes of conferences continuing to balloon, it seems like conference play keeps starting earlier and earlier each year. This year was no exception as the Big East decided to open its conference play on Monday, December 27 and feature its coaches’ and writers’ preseason pick to win the conference in Pittsburgh against traditional power, and preseason 10th pick in the Big East, Connecticut. Turns out this game became a much more significant contest than the preseason prognosticators could have ever imagined based on Connecticut’s taking home the Maui Invitational Championship and Pitt having taken home the 2k Sports Classic title itself. As those tournaments featured a plethora of ranked teams, Connecticut shot up the rankings to #4 with 2 of the more impressive wins this season over Michigan State and Kentucky. Everyone in the preseason knew what they were getting with Pitt, a tough, physical team with a veteran backcourt in Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker, and Gilbert Brown, while no one had any idea what to expect from Connecticut with 6 freshmen and Kemba Walker being the only returning player who contributed significantly in the 2009-10 season. Consequently, Connecticut came into this game as the higher ranked team, and undefeated, while Pitt experienced its only blemish at the hands of a Jekyll & Hyde Tennessee Volunteer squad two weeks earlier.

Heading to the Pete as the Petersen Events Center is known as on campus, and being a huge Connecticut fan, I knew this game would be very difficult to win. It was the team’s first true road game of the season, Pitt is a veteran and physical team, and the Panthers are 141-11 all-time at the Pete. Additionally, in order to win the Big East it is pretty obvious that the good teams have to hold serve at home, and due to the enormity of the Big East, only 3 teams play home-and-home in a given season. As such, Connecticut got the short end of the straw and had to go to Pitt for its conference opener no less. A win here would justify that Connecticut is truly one of the elite teams in the country as their #4 ranking suggests, a close loss would prove they have the ability to contend nightly in the conference and compete for a conference title, and a blowout would show that most of these kids are still freshmen and sophomores and that it’s just damn hard to win on the road in the Big East.

From the opening tip, it looked like option three from above was going to be the result of the Huskies’ trip to Pittsburgh. Right out of the gate, Pitt took an 8-2 lead behind the inside play of Gary McGhee and the outside shooting of Gibbs, while Connecticut struggled to make anything. It was pretty obvious that the Huskies were a bit rattled at the beginning in front of 13,000 jacked-up fans in a “gold-out” at the Pete. Connecticut continued to get up shots, but those shots just would not fall. As a result, Pitt was able to build a 10 point lead and pretty much maintain that lead throughout the first half. It seemed as though every time Connecticut attempted to string together a few baskets to try to come back, Pitt always had an answer from McGhee in the post or Wanamaker or Gibbs from the perimeter. Connecticut was able to get a few steals, but also gave up a lot of easy hoops overplaying the ball and the veteran Panthers took advantage of that continuously with backdoor cuts and layups. The officiating crew lead by Jim Burr didn’t do much to help the flow of the game either way as well, calling a multitude of fouls in the first half, including 2 of Connecticut’s only legitimate post presence in Alex Oriahki, forcing Coach Calhoun to sit Oriahki for much of the first half. Walker also picked up 2 fouls in the first half, but didn’t get called for his second until late in the half. The lack of depth for Connecticut compared to Pitt really showed when foul trouble hit both teams. Pitt was able to turn to Travon Woodall in the backcourt and Dante Taylor and Nassir Robinson in the frontcourt, while Connecticut’s bench of Niels Giffey, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel and Enosch Wolf struggled mightly. All of these factors contributed to a 37-28 halftime lead for the Panthers; a half in which Pitt shot 55% from the field and Connecticut 32%.

The second half brought a lot of the same for both teams, as Connecticut continued to struggle from the field and Pitt continued to brutalize Connecticut both from the perimeter and in the post. Connecticut had no answer for McGhee inside, especially without Oriahki, as Charles Okwandu was simply not a physical enough presence in the paint to keep McGhee from the basket. Okwandu eventually fouled out of the game trying to defend McGhee and Oriahki didn’t have much different results against McGhee, Robinson, or Taylor. Oriahki simply looked out of sorts in the game, not sure if the first half foul trouble caused that or if he was just frustrated by the Pitt defense all night, but Oriahki was not able to play Robin to Kemba’s Batman in this game. By the end of the game, Walker single-handedly brought Connecticut back into the game, cutting the Pitt lead to 7 on a drive to the hoop under 5 minutes. After a solid defensive possession by the Huskies, Kemba got a wide-open 3-point look from the right corner and left it short. If Kemba is able to hit that, all the pressure in the game turns to the home team who should win this game. As it didn’t and Pitt was able to head down to the other end and knock home 2 free throws to extend the lead back to 9, the Panthers were headed to their first Big East win of the season. The final margin of victory ended up being 73-58. Walker finished with 31 points for Connecticut, but was the only Husky in double figures and Kemba needed 27 shots to score those 31 points. The Panthers’ balanced attack was lead by 16 from Gibbs, 14 from Wanamaker, and 11 from McGhee.

So what did we learn from this game to open the Big East conference season? In my opinion, we learned that Pitt is going to contend for the Big East title and a possible Final Four berth as they have an extremely balanced team and veterans in both the frontcourt and backcourt. The only question to me is can Pitt get over the Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight hump finally? As for Connecticut, we learned what a lot of people thought, they were not the fourth best team in the country…right now. Could they be by April? Maybe, but they are going to need some consistent scoring from players other than Walker. When Kemba scores over 50% of the points in a game, the Huskies will probably not win very often. Oriahki needs to become a double-double guy and freshman PG Shabazz Napier needs to bring his offensive consistency more in line with the tough defense he plays nightly. Napier is a great defender, but does not always take shots in the flow of the offense or keep the offense moving. While he’s only a freshman, if Connecticut wants to make some noise in the tournament, he’ll need to be a consistent scoring option, along with Jeremy Lamb. In the end, this was a good win for Pitt to hold home court to open the Big East season, while Connecticut learned that they still have a lot of things to work on if they want to contend for a Big East championship in 2010-11.

Arena Adventures: Thomas & Mack Center

Arena Adventures: Entry #6

Arena: Thomas & Mack Center
City: Las Vegas, NV
Date: December 18, 2010
Teams: #22 UNLV vs. Southern Utah

As a work trip to Utah took me out west and the closest airports were Las Vegas or Salt Lake City (tough choice…I know), I flew into Vegas and decided I would catch a game at the Thomas & Mack. As the Thomas & Mack had hosted the NBA All-Star Game a few years back, I had fairly high expectations of the arena and its amenities for patrons. Turns out that the Thomas & Mack is a lot more of a college arena than a pro arena, that is for sure. The arena had a fairly standard bowl setup to previous basketball-only locales I have attended such as Crisler Arena at the University of Michigan or Assembly Hall for the University of Illinois. The seating bowl was quite steep in both the upper and lower levels, however, giving all fans a feeling of being close to the action…or a sense of “if I fall I’m heading straight down to the court.”

The highlight of the night had to be the extensive pregame introductions UNLV utilizes to kick off the game and pump up the fans. From rolling out a red carpet to bring the team out of the locker room to the flames from the top of the backboards and fireworks from above the scoreboard, one might have forgotten this game was being played indoors. I think the pyrotechnics show lasted a good five minutes and the smoke lingered for another 5 minutes of game action, creating a haze in the arena that was equal parts hilarious and unsettling.
Once the ball was tipped, both teams got off to an incredibly slow start, missing shots from all over the court. This wasn’t the best start for a UNLV team coming off back to back losses, including a home setback to UC-Santa Barbara. As the first half progressed, UNLV threw on a full-court press that the Southern Utah Thunderbirds simply could not handle. SUU struggled to get the ball across half-court and by the time they did and got set up, there was typically 15 seconds or less on the shot clock. As a result, the Runnin’ Rebels were able to build a 37-18 halftime lead. While UNLV star Tre’von Willis had a less than stellar first half, teammates Oscar Bellfield and Chace Stanback picked up the slack to lead the way. The second half brought more of the same for both UNLV and SUU, as UNLV kept pressing en route to a 72-50 win. This was a key game for UNLV to get back on track heading out to the Sprint Center in Kansas City (see Arena Adventures Entry 2 for discussion about the Sprint Center) to take on the Kansas State Wildcats in a nationally televised tilt.

Arena Adventures: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center

Arena Adventures: Entry #5

Arena: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center

City: Notre Dame, IN

Date: December 11, 2010

Teams: #23 Notre Dame vs. Gonzaga

After a speedy departure from the Gentile Center it was 2 hours in the car to get from Chicago to South Bend for an 8:30 pm EST tilt between two of the most well-know religious schools in the country, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Gonzaga entered this game on a 2 game losing streak and having lost 4 of 6 overall. While 3 of those losses were to top 20 teams in San Diego State, Kansas State, and Illinois, as well as a loss in the always tough to play in Paloose against Washington State, Gonzaga had looked pretty bad in its last 2, getting routed by Illinois in Seattle and Washington St. in Pullman. The Bulldogs were giving up 3 point baskets at an alarming rate as the perimeter defense was just not closing out on shooters. This spelled trouble heading to Notre Dame and their sharpshooters Tim Abromatis and Ben Hansbrough.

As the game started, both teams came out hot. It was raining 3's from Steven Gray of Gonzaga, Abromatis, and even Carlton Scott of the Irish was getting into the action. By the 10 minute mark of the 1st half, both teams were on pace for about 120 points a piece. As the half progressed, the shooting proficiency on both sides subsided and the Irish staked themselves to a 43-37 halftime lead behind an unlikely and career-high 19 points from Carlton Scott in the first half. Gonzaga's big 3 of Elias Harris, Robert Sacre, and Gray kept Gonzaga in the game, all while each picking up 2 fouls in the first half, which would spell trouble later on in the game.

For a good part of the 2nd half, the action was pretty back and forth, with the Irish maintaining at 6-8 point lead, until a personal 8-0 run by Abromatis capped by a 3 from the wing gave the Irish a 13 point lead with about 8 minutes to play. Gonzaga turned to its stars Gray and Sacre to lead the comeback, but the most consistent player of the night was probably Manny Arop. In this, and the 2 previous Gonzaga games I watched in person this season, Arop seems to be the key auxiliary scorer that Gonzaga needs to have as Gray, Harris, and Sacre cannot win a game alone.

Gonzaga managed to whittle the ND lead down to 5 with under 10 seconds to play behind some timely shooting and drives to the basket, especially drives by PG Demetri Goodson using his quickness to get to the rack, along with some untimely FT misses from Hansbrough and Atkins. As GU inbounded with under 10 seconds left, Gray pushed the ball up the court and drained a 24 foot 3 from the wing to give the Irish a tenuous 81-79 lead with 3 seconds to play. The Bulldogs fouled Hansbrough, sending him to the line for 2 FTs to seal a win for the Irish. Hansbrough calmly knocked both FTs down and as David Stockton half-court heave just missed at the buzzer, the Irish had held on for an 83-79 victory over Gonzaga. Scott and Abromatis lead the way for ND with 23 and 21 points respectively, while this game saw 4 of the 5 starters for Gonzaga foul out of the game.

In this end, ND had built too much of a lead during the mid-stages of the 2nd half, but one has to wonder if the Bulldogs' confidence is beginning to wean. Is Mark Few's "anyone, anytime, anywhere" schedule catching up to the young Bulldogs who still appear to lack a player who can take over the game when necessary as Adam Morrison and Matt Bouldin had been in years past? While Gonzaga has numerous chances to build up its non-conference resume still with games against Baylor in Dallas, Xavier and Oklahoma St. in Spokane, and a mid-conference tilt against Memphis, right now Gonzaga appears to have to win the WCC Tournament to make their 12th straight NCAA Tournament Appearance; which will be no easy task with the likes of St. Mary's, Portland, and Loyola Marymount being good or better than last season.

Arena Adventures: Gentile Center

Arena Adventures: Entry #4

Arena: Gentile Center
City: Chicago, IL
Date: December 11, 2010
Teams: Loyola (IL) vs. #5 Kansas St.

It's not very often you see a top 5 team in the nation playing a road game against a Horizon League opponent. This was not just any other game for Kansas St. though. It was homecoming for star guard, Jacob Pullen. Pullen played his high school ball at Proviso East in Maywood, IL and his mother in fact works as a database analyst for Loyola University - Chicago. K-State head coach, Frank Martin, promises his recruits a homecoming game in their senior season as part of his recruiting tools and I think it is a great way to recruit kids to come play in Manhattan, KS (besides getting the opportunity to square off each season with the likes of Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma). As a result, this game was all about K-State and Jacob Pullen.

Obviously most teams in the Horizon League do not have state-of-the-art venues and the Gentile Center is no exception. With bleacher seating for most of the fans and a capacity of under 6,000 or so, it is a perfect arena for a mid-major school; not exactly some place you would expect to see a Big XII team venture to. The atmosphere of the game was pretty electric at tip with a plethora of K-State fans in the building decked out in their purple and white hoping to see their star put on a show for the hometown crowd. Early on, it looked like it would be a pretty standard Power 6 school running a mid-major out of the gym as K-State grabbed a quick 10-2 lead. However, Loyola battled their way back behind the play of former Wisconsin Mr. Basketball, Andy Polka, and Ben Averkamp. From the beginning, the Wildcats looked a bit disinterested in the game besides Pullen, who one could tell was trying a bit too hard to show off for the home folks.

By halftime, it was only a 5 point lead for K-State as they shot less than 40% for the half were actually outrebounded by Loyola in the first half even though the size and strength of players like Curtis Kelly, Freddy Asparilla, and Jordan Henriquez-Roberts should have had the upper hand. As the game progressed, it continued to be a back-and-forth contest as the referees continued to call numerous fouls and take all flow out of the game whatsoever. With both teams in the bonus by the 10 minute mark of the 2nd half, it was quickly looking like this game was going to come down to whether or not K-State could make enough FTs in the clutch moments as they are one of the worse FT shooting teams in the country.

As the crowd continued to get on the officials for the constant whistles on K-State, the atmosphere became quite tense. Most K-State fans I think came into this game expecting it to be over by halftime. Turns out, this game would not be over until the final seconds. With K-State struggling to score consistently, both from the field and the charity stripe, the Wildcats found themselves up only 3 with 45 seconds left. Pullen calmed knocked down 2 FTs to give the Wildcats a 5 point lead that would never become less by the final horn. When the clock read all zeroes, K-State had escaped the Gentile Center with a 68-60 win behind 19 points from Pullen, but on a paltry 5/17 from the field.

I applaud Coach Martin for his approach to these games and being willing to take a highly-ranked team like the Wildcats on the road to unfamiliar territory for what is basically a lose-lose game for him and his team in most peoples eyes (if they lose it's damaging to ranking, RPI, and team confidence; if they win, well they should have won). In the end, the Gentile Center got a great game between a highly ranked Power 6 team and a team that having seen them in person could still be a sleeper team in the Horizon League despite the Ramblers 0-2 start to conference play.

Arena Adventures: Sprint Center

Arena Adventures: Entry #2

Arena: Sprint Center
City: Kansas City, MO
Date: November 22, 2010
Teams: 2010 CBE Classic Semifinals: #1 Duke vs. Marquette & #4 Kansas St. vs. #22 Gonzaga

Having been to Kansas City before to visit the College Basketball Experience (CBE) I had seen the outside of the Sprint Center before. From afar, the arena looks like a giant tire covered in glass. Very visually appealing, especially since it is less than 5 years old. I had never been to a preseason tournament before so I did not know what to expect in terms of fan attendance and overall atmosphere as the teams are typically coming from quite a ways away. My expectations were a bit higher for this tournament, however, with Kansas St. being a preseason top 5 team in the country and being only 2 hours or so away from KC. Additionally, everyone knows Duke has fans and detractors alike across the nation, plus with them having the #1 ranking in the land, basketball fans in general would be out to see the defending national champion Blue Devils.

The seating bowl of the arena is angled quite sharply, helping for fans to be more on top of the action, granted I would think sitting in the upper levels it could be a bit treacherous after a few beers maybe. I was quite impressed by the turnout of K-State fans for the first game of the day between Duke and Marquette. There were very few empty seats, especially in the lower levels, through the midway point of the first half of Duke/Marquette. I give props to K-State fans (and Gonzaga as well) for using their tickets for both games, not just their team's nightcap against Gonzaga.

As for the on-court action, the first game between Duke and Marquette provided a lot more drama than did the K-State/Gonzaga game, much to my surprise (and chagrin). The Blue Devils ran out to a quick 10 point lead early on behind preseason All-American Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. Marquette battled the entire half, behind the strong play of Jimmy Butler and some tough post play provided by freshman Davante Gardner who brought some much needed strength to the post for Marquette to combat Duke's immense size. However, Marquette was only able to close to within 9 by the half. Coming out to start the 2nd, Marquette continued to chip away at the lead behind the play of Butler and reserve forward, Jae Crowder, eventually drawing even with the Devils at 57 with just over 10 minutes to play. The Blue Devils proceeded to score the next 9 points, led by the Mason Plumlee, who had a career night of 25 points and 12 rebounds, to put the Golden Eagles away. Marquette made the final score of 82-77 closer than it really was by watching the Devils miss 3 front ends of the 1 and 1 with under a minute left. If Marquette coach Buzz Williams had made the decision earlier to resort to the late-game foul tactics, Marquette might have just had a chance to force OT or get the win. Buzz's end game management was very questionable, especially the full timeout called with 0.9 seconds left down 5. In the end, the #1 Blue Devils had too much size and experience for the Golden Eagles to overcome, but Marquette laid a blueprint for beating Duke. Duke needs to shore up the free throw line in late game situations and Kyle Singler needs to not disappear for long stretches at a time if Duke wants to cut down the nuts at Reliant Stadium in April.

20 minutes after the Duke win, K-State tipped off with Gonzaga. Gonzaga, coming off a home loss to San Diego St. on Tuesday night, was looking to take down a top 5 win in basically a road atmosphere in KC, about 125 miles or so from the little apple of Manhattan, KS. With probably 75% or more of the crowd at the Sprint Center clad in purple and black, this was going to be a big test for the young Zags, and they looked young and shell-shocked from the tip. K-State opened the game on a 10-2 run before the first media timeout on a couple trifectas and a couple drives to the tin. Gonzaga was so discombobulated that coach Mark Few resorted to bringing in walk-on point guard David Stockton into the game at the first media timeout (Yes, Stockton is the son of Gonzaga and Utah Jazz legend John Stockton). Stockton brought some much needed energy and spunk to the Zags, scoring a bucket, dishing 2 assists, and forcing 2 K-State turnovers in the first 3 minutes on the court. Stockton's lack of size, however, made him an easy target for mismatches or for shooters to shoot over him. This was evidenced by the 3-point barrage K-State showed in the first half, led by Jacob Pullen and Will Spradling. Through most of the first half, the Wildcats were 9/13 from 3-point land, yet only 3/8 from the charity stripe. The hot shooting of K-State helped them build a lead of 17 points, before a 6-0 run by the Zags to end the half on a high note and close the deficit to 11 at 49-38.

The question for the Zags in the 2nd half would be who would step up and lead the comeback with former WCC Player of the Year, Matt Bouldin, no longer eligible due to graduation. The most likely candidates were Steven Gray, who had 35 points in the loss to SDSU, or projected 1st round NBA draft pick Elias Harris who dropped a gooseegg in the first half due to foul trouble. In the end, no one seems to be able to spark the Zags, who managed to get the lead to as few as 6 points early in the 2nd half at 57-51, before K-State steadily pulled away behind Pullen, who scored 18. The balanced scoring and hot shooting of K-State resulted in a final margin of victory of 81-64. Robert Sacre led the Zags with 17 points, who were dominated on the glass 37-24 by the Wildcats as well.

The Wildcats advance to the championship game of the CBE against Duke in the matchup all K-State and Duke fans (and ESPN for that matter) were hoping for when the participating teams were announced in March. This game could be a preview of a national semifinal or final in Houston in 4 months. The key to the game is going to be the free throw line for both squads as well as the stars (Singler for Duke and Pullen for K-State). Whichever teams makes more FTs and is able to better contain the opponent's star should walk out of the Sprint Center tonight with the trophy. K-State has the size to combat the Devils post presence, but do they have the mental toughness and experience? We shall see in front of a very partisan crowd in a few hours.

In the end, all 4 teams get 2 quality games out of this tournament with Gonzaga squaring off against Marquette in the consolation game this evening. No team wants to go 0-2 in a preseason tournament, but the urgency needs to be there for the Zags tonight as they have 2 losses from this tournament already due to the ridiculously quality matchup they were given in SDSU while Duke, K-State, and Marquette were fattening up on the cupcakes of Princeton, Miami (OH), Presbyterian, James Madison, Bucknell, and Green Bay, respectively. Duke and K-State showed why they are national championship contenders in the semifinals while Marquette and Gonzaga should both be solid NCAA teams come Selection Sunday.

Enjoy the championship tilt tonight! I know I will. I'll be tweeting live from the games starting at 6:30 (CST) for the consolation game at @connzag3.

Arena Adventures: Wells Fargo Arena

Arena Adventures: Entry #1

Arena: Wells Fargo Arena
City: Des Moines, IA
Date: November 21, 2010
Teams: Iowa St. Cyclones vs. Creighton Bluejays

I have to preface the remainder of this entry by saying that I don't expect to see either of these teams in the NCAA Tournament come March. That said, today's "neutral site" game between Iowa St. and Creighton certainly had an NCAA Tournament atmosphere. The Wells Fargo Arena is located less than an hour from Ames and about 2.5 hours from Omaha making this a very attendable game for all fans, as evidenced by the 10,000+ that were in attendance on a Sunday afternoon - must have been the sweet "Battle of the Birds" t-shirts given to all fans. While I would say the crowd was probably 2/3 red and gold, the Creighton contingent was certainly loud and proud. The arena itself was a pretty decent place to watch a basketball game. Probably helped having center court seats in the club section of the lower level, but I think even the upper levels would have made for an enjoyable experience. Ingress and egress from the arena was simple and smooth, which is always nice.

As for the game, I would have thought this was a mid-March game for a trip to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8. The level of play was extremely high throughout. Creighton lead most of the way, including by 6 at the half and as many as 12 after a Kaleb Korver 3 to cap a 6-0 run out of the gate in the 2nd half. ISU answered quick with a run of their own, but Creighton always seemed to have an answer to maintain the lead; whether it was an Antoine Young drive to the goal or a Kenny Lawson, Jr. 3 from the top of the key. As the game entered its final minutes, ISU finally grabbed a 1 point lead with baskets by Diante Garrett (from Milwaukee Vincent - shout out to Tom Diener) and Jamie Vanderbeken.

As the teams traded baskets again, insanity ensued in the final 30 seconds. Down 2, Creighton misses a shot and makes the cardinal sin of basketball...committing an intentional foul by almost ripping the shorts off an ISU player without going for the ball. Garrett makes 1 of 2 FTs on that visit and Melvin Ejim makes 2 of 2 for a 5 point lead. Creighton comes down an Lawson buries a 3 from the wing to cut the lead to 2. After ISU makes 1 of 2 FTs again, Young inexplicably takes the ball to the rack with less than 5 seconds left and draws a foul. He makes the first FT and intentionally misses the 2nd. Spectacularly, he grabs his own rebound and is fouled on a fadeaway jumper with 1.6 seconds left. One would think this is the height of drama with the game on the line, but this is just a helping of what's to come...Young calmly knocks home both FTs to tie the game at 88 and ensure overtime right? Jamie Vanderbeken from ISU had other ideas. Off a great inbounds pass from Scott Christopherson to about 35 feet from the basket, Vanderbeken takes 1 dribble, turns, and fires...SWISH as the horn sounds and the backboard lights come on!!

In real time, the shot looked late, but the officials called it good. For some ungodly reason, this game was not televised ANYWHERE so the officials could not replay the shot and properly send the game to OT. Either way, this was one hell of a basketball game (best I've ever seen in 20+ of my life so far) and no fan should have left the building too disappointed. Sure, Creighton got the L, but everyone got their money's and travel time's worth.

On a side note, Creighton freshman Doug McDermott looked strong in the post with 16 points, Young could not be stopped on a penetrating drive (scoring 21 total), and Lawson has a smooth stroke from 20 feet and out for a big man (dropping 20 points on 4 triples). On the ISU side, if Garrett learns to regulate his shot selection a bit better, he could be a first or second-team All Big XII performer in my opinion. Ejim had a very quiet 22 points in support of Garrett's 28 as well.

Final Thoughts: This game far exceeding any expectations I had arriving in Des Moines today. Both teams look like they could be competitive in their conferences, especially Creighton in the MVC, as the Big XII will be extremely tough this season for ISU.

On to Kansas City tomorrow for #1/#1 Duke vs. Marquette and #3/#3 Kansas St. vs. #10/#11 Gonzaga in the CBE Classic semifinals. I just hope these games are half as competitive as today's game. A full report on the 2 semifinal games and the Sprint Center will be detailed on Tuesday so stay tuned to Arena Adventures!