The Report Card: Amida Brimah erupts for 40 in UConn's win
DATE: Sunday, Dec. 14
A+ — Amida Brimah
The flashes of scoring potential Brimah has shown during his UConn career all came together Sunday afternoon. The 7-foot sophomore sank all 13 shots he attempted against Coppin State en route to 40 points, double his previous career high set against UCF last season.
Every one of Brimah's baskets came at the rim via anything from lobs, to tip dunks, to put-backs, to strong post moves. He benefited from the dribble penetration, court vision and unselfishness of freshman guard Daniel Hamilton, who assisted on six of Brimah's baskets.
It's unclear how much Brimah's breakthrough performance means considering 1-9 Coppin State hardly offers much competition, but it was timely for UConn. The Huskies had lost three straight — the last two on buzzer beaters at their expense — and they face second-ranked Duke next.
A- — Tennessee
When Alex Barlow measured up a wide-open 3-pointer early in the second half with Butler already leading by 12, it appeared Tennessee was in jeopardy of being blown out on its home floor. Instead Barlow's shot rimmed out, Josh Richardson grabbed the defensive rebound and he took it the length of the floor for a transition layup that launched a game-changing Vols surge.
Richardson scored the next eight points of the game himself and had 18 of his 20 points in the second half as Tennessee rallied for a 67-55 victory over the 15th-ranked Bulldogs. The Vols held cold-shooting Butler to 21 second-half points and forced nine second-half turnovers, making it difficult for the Bulldogs to get the ball into the paint with their quick hands, length, athleticism in their zone defense.
Tennessee improved to 4-3 this season and showed why it could be tougher to beat in SEC play than many expected coming into a rebuilding year. The Vols don't have a proven point guard or much interior scoring, but they've taken on the tough, battle-you-to-the-buzzer person that first-year coach Donnie Tyndall's best teams often have.
B- — Syracuse
Syracuse was in jeopardy of going to overtime against Louisiana Tech on Saturday until Rakeem Christmas sank one of the bigger shots of his career. The 6-foot-9 forward cut directly to the low block on an inbound play caught the pass and spun right for a go-ahead jump hook with less than three seconds left, propelling the Orange to a 71-69 victory.
Christmas finished with 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting Sunday, but he was far from the only hero for Syracuse. Trevor Cooney emerged from an early-season shooting funk to tally a game-high 25 points and also relieved freshman Kaleb Joseph of ball handling duties in stretches. And sophomore forward Tyler Roberson had an incredible 11 offensive rebounds, a big reason Syracuse won despite shooting only 41.9 percent from the field and committing 17 turnovers.
The victory was critical for Syracuse for two reasons. Louisiana Tech is a contender in Conference USA and figures to be a quality win for the Orange by the end of season. Also, Syracuse (6-3) couldn't afford a third consecutive loss with a road game at Villanova up next.
D — NC State
In referee Karl Hess' first NC State game since ejecting former Wolfpack stars Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani nearly three years ago, it was only fitting that the outcome came down to a replay review. Referees correctly ruled that Trevor Lacey's potential game-saving 3-pointer came a tenth of a second too late, dooming NC State to a 55-54 loss to Wofford.
NC State needed heroics from Lacey because the Wolfpack couldn't hold a nine-point second-half lead over a Wofford team that reached the NCAA tournament last year and is favored to win the Southern Conference this season. The two teams traded the lead during the final minute until Justin Gordon scored a contested layup off a baseline inbound pass, giving Wofford a one-point lead with 1.9 seconds to go and paving the way for a wild finish.
Lacey caught a long inbound pass at mid-court, took one dribble and launched what appeared to be a game-winning 25 footer from the top of the key, sending the NC State bench spilling onto the floor to mob the Alabama transfer. The celebration died down when referees huddled around the monitor for several minutes before waving the shot off, leaving Lacey with his hands on his head and his mouth agape.
NOTES:
• Penn State (10-1) is enyjoing its best start in nearly two decades. D.J. Newbill scored 20 points and the Nittany Lions played stifling defense, defeating Atlantic 10 contender George Washington 64-51 to notch what is probably their most impressive win of the season.
• The chasm separating traditional Philadephia powers Villanova and Temple these days was on full display Sunday afternoon. Darrun Hilliard and Josh Hart each scored 20 points apiece as the unbeaten Wildcats routed the struggling Owls 85-62.
• Florida Gulf Coast's inability to defend Dennis Mavin doomed the Eagles to just their second loss of the season. The FIU star had 27 points in a 69-63 road upset for the Panthers.
• The good feelings that accompanied DePaul's 6-1 start are proving short-lived. The Blue Demons fell for the second straight time on Sunday, committing 18 turnovers and surrendering 16 offensive rebounds in a 78-72 home loss to Illinois State.
• West Virginia shot poorly from the field and played behind most of the day before salvaging a 69-66 win over in-state foe Marshall. The key for the Musketeers was that they still managed to be disruptive defensively, forcing 24 turnovers from the Thundering Herd.
• Eastern Washington was a scary opponent for Washington in the Huskies' first game since an upset of San Diego State propelled them into the national rankings. Washington trailed most of the game, but Nigel Williams-Goss and Darin Johnson sank back-to-back crucial 3-pointers in the final 80 seconds to finish off a big comeback and seal an 81-77 victory.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
