Malinsky
b>4* #750 MINNESOTA over PORTLAND</b>
We are not sure that thumping U.C.L.A. by 27 points necessarily means
all that much right now. But the Portland Pilots do not know that,
and neither do the betting markets, which enables us to play this one
in such a short price range. Because beating Butler by nine points,
allowing 33 percent shooting and forcing 21 turnovers, really does
mean something. And that is the Minnesota story.
Tubby Smith has size, athleticism and depth galore, and the Gophers
are buying into his defensive schemes. The 21-9 turnover to assist
count forced vs. Butler was a thing of beauty, and with so many
interchangeable parts, playing back-to-back nights can be a plus
instead of a hindrance ? only Blake Hoffarber went more than 28
minutes on Thursday, and the ?bench? was credited with 46 points, 17
rebounds and seven assists. There is not much distinction between the
starters and the reserves with this bunch. And now they come out
hungry and forewarned as well, the combination of having the tourney
championship game in sight, and last night?s Portland result having
them alert.
For the Pilots it is difficult to not consider this trip already as
?mission accomplished?. That was a heady win for their level of
program (from Athletic Director Larry Williams - <i>"It's huge for
us. They wouldn't have recruited a single player off our roster, but
we would have taken all of theirs.?</i>). This is a well-coached team
that brings a lot of basketball skills to the table, but not size or
athleticism. They rely far too much on perimeter shooting to be
successful against this class of defense, with 19 of their 48 FG
attempts last night coming from beyond the arc, and even against a
weak U.C.L.A. defense they had 17 turnovers. They are not accustomed
to facing the tenacity that they will see from Minnesota tonight, and
over the course of 40 minutes of that pressure we will see them wilt.
<b>6* #752 BUTLER over U.C.L.A.</b>
Yes, they really are that bad. That is the best that we can say about
U.C.L.A. right now, and it is an awkward acceptance, because backing
Ben Howland has been so good to our pockets through the years. So we
had anxiously been waiting for this particular night, with the
over-matched Bruins having to go up against either Butler or
Minnesota, as our first step-in. Then we cringed at how easily
Portland dominated them last night, expecting it to ruin the value.
It did not. This is more than a fair price to back not only the far
superior team, but also one that will bring a chip on their shoulder
to make it happen easily.
What went wrong in Westwood? It has been one of those ?perfect
storms? in which the early departures of Kevin Love, Russell
Westbrook and Jrue Holiday the past two years took away what was to
have been an outstanding cast for this season, and losing long-time
mainstays Darren Collison, Josh Shipp and Alfred Aboya all at once
takes a great deal of leadership and chemistry away. But this is not
just a young team that is going to develop, it is actually a bad one.
SR Starters James Keefe and Michael Roll are little more than role
players that would fit better coming off the bench, and are not the
veteran leaders their years with the program should make them. Fellow
SR Nikola Dragovic may be back in the starting lineup tonight, and we
can classify him the same way. Jerime Anderson and Malcolm Lee are at
least real U.C.L.A. players in terms of talent, but neither brings
much experience to the table, and the best player on the roster,
Tyler Honeycutt, is a long way from being ready to return after
suffering a stress fracture in his back this summer. The home loss to
Fullerton State was not a fluke, and last night they were out-played
in every aspect by Portland, including a 34-25 drubbing on the
boards. There is nothing special about that Portland team, yet it
matched the lowest point count for U.C.L.A. in this millennium, and
the 27-point margin of victory matched the largest <i>ever</i> vs. an
unranked opponent (the other being a 1964 loss at Illinois).
Now the Bruins have to step up in class for the first time this
season, and they are particularly vulnerable against the precision
that Butler brings, especially in this setting. Brad Stevens and his
team will be in a particular hurry to get back on the court after an
uncharacteristic 21 turnovers last night (their most in over three
seasons), but we credit much of that to an excellent Minnesota
defense that had the depth and athleticism to keep the pressure on.
U.C.L.A. does not have that, and there are no shot blockers around
the basket. And note that even despite the miscues the Bulldogs were
still in a tie game with 14:00 remaining when Matt Howard drew his
4th foul and had to sit out. Minnesota then went on a quick 9-1 run
to take command, and Howard was limited to just 22 floor minutes (a
span in which he still scored 23 points).
We will call for a major bounce-back here by a savvy team (all five
starters are back from LY?s 26-win squad) that will relish the
ability to beat this kind of program, even though this is U.C.L.A. in
name only right now. The Butler precision should mean countless easy
scoring opportunities, and the Bruins lack the offensive punch to
counter.
<b>4* #794 TENNESSEE over COLLEGE of CHARLESTON</b>
Many times the first game back after a tournament trip is a soft spot
for a team, with a little bit of travel lag and a difficulty getting
the proper mental focus. That is not the case with Tennessee at all
in this one. Bruce Pearl and his team came back frustrated after
losing that title tilt to Purdue in San Juan on Monday night, and
that puts Bobby Cremins and his Cougars in the wrong place at the
wrong time here.
How did Tennessee celebrate Thanksgiving yesterday? With a 2.5 hour
practice, before later sitting down to the table. From Pearl -
<i>"They understand it's not personal, it's business. We're
practicing much more physically.''</i> And comments from the players
were of a similar nature, sitting this up as a spot to go for the
jugular. With nothing on deck until a home game vs. East Tennessee
State on Wednesday, that means 40 minutes of tenacious basketball
from a team that does not know how to play it any other way.
Cremins has some legitimate talent at the guard spots but his
front-court is woefully overmatched here. In losing at Coastal
Carolina and East Tennessee State in their only road games they were
out-rebounded by an ugly 87-58 count, a frightful 40 percent grab
rate for them. Now they step way in up class to expose those issues,
and in playing their second road game in three nights we can expect
fatigue to be a major factor in the latter stages. Considering that
their bench only supplied five points in Wednesday?s loss at E.T.S.,
it can lead to some crescendo-type Volunteer runs as this one breaks
wide open.
b>4* #750 MINNESOTA over PORTLAND</b>
We are not sure that thumping U.C.L.A. by 27 points necessarily means
all that much right now. But the Portland Pilots do not know that,
and neither do the betting markets, which enables us to play this one
in such a short price range. Because beating Butler by nine points,
allowing 33 percent shooting and forcing 21 turnovers, really does
mean something. And that is the Minnesota story.
Tubby Smith has size, athleticism and depth galore, and the Gophers
are buying into his defensive schemes. The 21-9 turnover to assist
count forced vs. Butler was a thing of beauty, and with so many
interchangeable parts, playing back-to-back nights can be a plus
instead of a hindrance ? only Blake Hoffarber went more than 28
minutes on Thursday, and the ?bench? was credited with 46 points, 17
rebounds and seven assists. There is not much distinction between the
starters and the reserves with this bunch. And now they come out
hungry and forewarned as well, the combination of having the tourney
championship game in sight, and last night?s Portland result having
them alert.
For the Pilots it is difficult to not consider this trip already as
?mission accomplished?. That was a heady win for their level of
program (from Athletic Director Larry Williams - <i>"It's huge for
us. They wouldn't have recruited a single player off our roster, but
we would have taken all of theirs.?</i>). This is a well-coached team
that brings a lot of basketball skills to the table, but not size or
athleticism. They rely far too much on perimeter shooting to be
successful against this class of defense, with 19 of their 48 FG
attempts last night coming from beyond the arc, and even against a
weak U.C.L.A. defense they had 17 turnovers. They are not accustomed
to facing the tenacity that they will see from Minnesota tonight, and
over the course of 40 minutes of that pressure we will see them wilt.
<b>6* #752 BUTLER over U.C.L.A.</b>
Yes, they really are that bad. That is the best that we can say about
U.C.L.A. right now, and it is an awkward acceptance, because backing
Ben Howland has been so good to our pockets through the years. So we
had anxiously been waiting for this particular night, with the
over-matched Bruins having to go up against either Butler or
Minnesota, as our first step-in. Then we cringed at how easily
Portland dominated them last night, expecting it to ruin the value.
It did not. This is more than a fair price to back not only the far
superior team, but also one that will bring a chip on their shoulder
to make it happen easily.
What went wrong in Westwood? It has been one of those ?perfect
storms? in which the early departures of Kevin Love, Russell
Westbrook and Jrue Holiday the past two years took away what was to
have been an outstanding cast for this season, and losing long-time
mainstays Darren Collison, Josh Shipp and Alfred Aboya all at once
takes a great deal of leadership and chemistry away. But this is not
just a young team that is going to develop, it is actually a bad one.
SR Starters James Keefe and Michael Roll are little more than role
players that would fit better coming off the bench, and are not the
veteran leaders their years with the program should make them. Fellow
SR Nikola Dragovic may be back in the starting lineup tonight, and we
can classify him the same way. Jerime Anderson and Malcolm Lee are at
least real U.C.L.A. players in terms of talent, but neither brings
much experience to the table, and the best player on the roster,
Tyler Honeycutt, is a long way from being ready to return after
suffering a stress fracture in his back this summer. The home loss to
Fullerton State was not a fluke, and last night they were out-played
in every aspect by Portland, including a 34-25 drubbing on the
boards. There is nothing special about that Portland team, yet it
matched the lowest point count for U.C.L.A. in this millennium, and
the 27-point margin of victory matched the largest <i>ever</i> vs. an
unranked opponent (the other being a 1964 loss at Illinois).
Now the Bruins have to step up in class for the first time this
season, and they are particularly vulnerable against the precision
that Butler brings, especially in this setting. Brad Stevens and his
team will be in a particular hurry to get back on the court after an
uncharacteristic 21 turnovers last night (their most in over three
seasons), but we credit much of that to an excellent Minnesota
defense that had the depth and athleticism to keep the pressure on.
U.C.L.A. does not have that, and there are no shot blockers around
the basket. And note that even despite the miscues the Bulldogs were
still in a tie game with 14:00 remaining when Matt Howard drew his
4th foul and had to sit out. Minnesota then went on a quick 9-1 run
to take command, and Howard was limited to just 22 floor minutes (a
span in which he still scored 23 points).
We will call for a major bounce-back here by a savvy team (all five
starters are back from LY?s 26-win squad) that will relish the
ability to beat this kind of program, even though this is U.C.L.A. in
name only right now. The Butler precision should mean countless easy
scoring opportunities, and the Bruins lack the offensive punch to
counter.
<b>4* #794 TENNESSEE over COLLEGE of CHARLESTON</b>
Many times the first game back after a tournament trip is a soft spot
for a team, with a little bit of travel lag and a difficulty getting
the proper mental focus. That is not the case with Tennessee at all
in this one. Bruce Pearl and his team came back frustrated after
losing that title tilt to Purdue in San Juan on Monday night, and
that puts Bobby Cremins and his Cougars in the wrong place at the
wrong time here.
How did Tennessee celebrate Thanksgiving yesterday? With a 2.5 hour
practice, before later sitting down to the table. From Pearl -
<i>"They understand it's not personal, it's business. We're
practicing much more physically.''</i> And comments from the players
were of a similar nature, sitting this up as a spot to go for the
jugular. With nothing on deck until a home game vs. East Tennessee
State on Wednesday, that means 40 minutes of tenacious basketball
from a team that does not know how to play it any other way.
Cremins has some legitimate talent at the guard spots but his
front-court is woefully overmatched here. In losing at Coastal
Carolina and East Tennessee State in their only road games they were
out-rebounded by an ugly 87-58 count, a frightful 40 percent grab
rate for them. Now they step way in up class to expose those issues,
and in playing their second road game in three nights we can expect
fatigue to be a major factor in the latter stages. Considering that
their bench only supplied five points in Wednesday?s loss at E.T.S.,
it can lead to some crescendo-type Volunteer runs as this one breaks
wide open.
hno:
