CBE Classic Recap

In Arena Adventures, Entry #2, I blogged about the semifinal games of the CBE Classic, which were won by #1 Duke and #4 Kansas St., setting up a top 5 showdown for the title, with pretty much a decided homecourt advantage for the Wildcats. In order to get to the championship game, the consolation matchup between #22 Gonzaga and Marquette had to be played. This was an interesting matchup, if not for the teams themselves, but for the universities as these are 2 of the most respected Jesuit schools in the nation. Living in Wisconsin, this is a matchup I would like to see played on a more regular basis as I feel like these schools match up well academically and athletically. As for the game itself, it looked early like a Gonzaga blowout was in order. Steven Gray of Gonzaga was absolutely on fire from 3 in the first half, hitting 4 in a row within the first 10 minutes and a 5th before half to pace the Zags before Marquette settled down and held the Zags to only a 9 point halftime lead. In the 2nd half, Marquette battled back, lead by Jimmy Butler, eventually drawing to within 2 points within the final minute. After Gray split 2 FTs for the Zags, Marquette had 1 final chance to force OT, but Butler's shot from about 30 feet came up a bit short and Gonzaga held on for a 66-63 win. Gray and Elias Harris led the Zags, but the play of Mangisto (Manny) Arop off the bench was the biggest factor in Gonzaga getting the win. His 15 points made up for the missing Robert Sacre, who managed to only score 3 points in the game. This tournament was a good learning experience for Gonzaga, but it was absolutely imperative for the Zags to beat Marquette after dropping decisions to SDSU at home and K-State the previous night as a part of the CBE. However, I foresee both of these teams being factors come March.

As the consolation game wound down, the stands started to fill (with mostly purple-clad fans) in anticipation of the Duke/K-State showdown. With Coach K going for his 800th win as the coach at Duke, the team had extra incentive to down the Wildcats, even though I don't think the Blue Devils really needed any extra motivation. The atmosphere was electric (turning off the lights and doing NBA-style pregame intros didn't hurt either), and after the ball was tipped you could tell both teams were jacked up for this game. K-State was a little too jacked up though, committing foolish turnovers, committing silly (and questionably called) fouls, and shooting just etrocious from the charity stripe. Duke jumped out to an early 10-2 lead and never looked back the whole game, leading by double figures for much of the first half before K-State closed the margin to 8 at half. Kyrie Irving and Nolan Smith were the catalysts for Duke in the first half and throughout the game, blowing by K-State defenders at will and getting open shots for teammates. Curtis Kelly was the only reason K-State was even within striking distance at half, scoring 11 first-half points off the bench.

In the 2nd half it was more of the same, Irving and Smith scoring at will, Kelly being K-State's only offensive weapon, and fouls piling up on the Wildcats. Eventually, the lead swelled to over 20 before Coach K called off the dogs and the final margin of victory was 82-68. Even though the final margin was only 14 points, it seemed as though K-State never had a chance in the game. Whenever K-State made a run, Duke always had an answer. Additionally, star K-State PG, Jacob Pullen, had arguably his worst career game, scoring only 4 points and taking a host of terrible shots in the 2nd half trying to bring his team back. While K-State has some talented players in Kelly, Rodney MacGruder, and Wally Judge, Pullen is clearly the team leader and #1 offensive option. With him off his game, there was no way K-State was shocking the world with the upset. However, even if Pullen had been on his game, I don't think Duke was going to be denied in KC. The Blue Devils clearly showed why they are #1 and there is no doubt in my mind they should be #1 (as much as it pains me to say that). They may not have the most talent or athletes in the nation, but they have the best coach in the nation, and play the best team basketball. The schedule doesn't get any easier for Duke to defend its #1 ranking, with a tilt against Michigan St. on tap for 12/1/10 as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

To wrap up the CBE, Irving was named tournament MVP, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by: Mason Plumlee (Duke), Steven Gray (Gonzaga), Jimmy Butler (Marquette), and Jamar Samuels (KSU). From the tournament I think I learned that Duke is going to be hard to beat all season and is clearly the best team in the nation right now; K-State might be a bit overrated as the loss of Denis Clemente might be greater than originally thought; Gonzaga is a bit overrated as well as their young players need to continue to develop and the lack of a scoring threat from the PG position is going to be damning all season long as teams sag off of Demetri Goodson and his lack of a consistent jumpshot; and Marquette has a chance to do some damage in the Big East if players like Devante Gardner and Jae Crowder continue to grow to support veterans Butler and Darius Johnson-Odom. I think we will see all 4 of these teams in the field of 68 and I will be excited to see each team continue to grow as the season progresses as all have the potential to be good, with Duke and K-State having the potential to make the trip to Houston for the Final Four.

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.