Fifteen snap judgments from college basketball's opening weekend
Snap judgments from season openers often turn out to be wrong a few months later, but it’s all we have to go on right now. Here are some first impressions from college basketball’s busy opening weekend:
1. This is how every college basketball season should start
For a sport that has typically started with a whimper instead of a roar, Friday night was a huge step in the right direction. The Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu featured four name-brand programs, a slew of NBA prospects and two dramatic finishes. In a battle of shorthanded top 15 teams, Arizona edged Michigan State by two on a coast-to-coast drive by senior guard Kadeem Allen. Then James Blackmon scored 22 of his 26 points after halftime to lead Indiana to a 103-99 overtime victory over third-ranked Kansas. Two great games to whet our appetites for what should be a fun season. Hopefully marquee opening night events like this become an annual tradition rather than a rarity.
2. Point guard play could be a season-long problem for Vanderbilt
There’s a reason Bryce Drew has been busy recruiting point guards since he took the Vanderbilt job. The Commodores don’t really have one on their roster after Wade Baldwin left early for the NBA last spring. The lack of a true point guard was a major issue in Vanderbilt’s 95-71 loss to a Marquette team projected to finish in the bottom half of the Big East. The Commodores committed 19 turnovers, which led to a whopping 35 points off turnovers for the Golden Eagles. That starting point guard Riley LaChance finished with only one of the 19 turnovers is part of the problem. His inability to get by his man and create off the dribble too often forces other guys to be playmakers.
3. Another bleak season lies ahead for Boston College
Boston College made an early statement in the race to be crowned college basketball’s worst power-conference team. The Eagles opened the season with a 79-73 home loss to a Nicholls State team that finished 11-23 last season, failed to crack the RPI top 300 and lost its four matchups with power-conference programs by an average of 33 points. Yes, Boston College is coming off a winless season in the ACC. Yes, Boston College features seven newcomers this season. But still, trailing from start to finish against a program like Nicholls State is inexcusably bad for an ACC program. If Boston College doesn’t improve dramatically over the next six weeks, the Eagles could be headed for a second straight winless season in the powerful ACC.
4. The Miles Bridges show will be all kinds of fun
Miles Bridges, SportsCenter. SportsCenter, Miles Bridges. It’s good these two are getting acquainted early because they’ll spend a lot of time together this season. While 12th-ranked Michigan State was surely disappointed with its 65-63 loss to 10th-ranked Arizona, the Spartans should take solace in the All-American-caliber performance of their prized freshman. Bridges looked impossible to stay in front of off the dribble in scoring 21 points, four of which came on maybe opening night’s two best dunks.
There was this acrobatic reverse dunk.
And this high-flying alley-oop slam.
5. The evolution of Chase Jeter bodes well for Duke
The absence of Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden created an opportunity for another Duke big man to step forward. Sophomore Chase Jeter delivered 11 points and eight rebounds in a blowout of Marist. If those numbers don’t sound like a big deal against such an overmatched opponent, consider Jeter’s shaky performance as a freshman. The highly touted 6-foot-10 forward never scored in double figures the entire season and often looked tentative and scared in what little playing time he did receive. On Friday, he played with more confidence and assertiveness and defended without fouling — a major issue a year ago.
6. Saint Mary’s has found another weapon
With all four double-digit scorers back from a 29-win team that put up points with ruthless efficiency last season, Saint Mary’s already figured to be among the nation’s best offensive teams this season. The Gaels became even tougher to stop on Friday night when they uncovered another scoring threat. Jock Landale, a 6-foot-11 Australian big man who averaged 7.9 points off the bench last season, erupted for 33 points and 9 rebounds in a 81-63 rout of a promising Nevada team. Starting in place of Dane Pineau, Landale sank 15 of 20 field goal attempts, doing most of his damage with his back to the basket. Landale should have plenty of one-on-one opportunities on the low block considering how well Saint Mary’s shoots from the perimeter. If he’s as effective as he was Friday night, that will only make the Gaels better.
7. Controlling the tempo is key to beating UConn
Not only did Wagner stun 18th-ranked UConn on Friday night, the Seahawks may have also revealed the season-long formula for giving the Huskies fits. By slowing the tempo to a crawl, taking care of the ball and keeping UConn out of transition, Wagner was able to hold a lead from nearly start to finish en route to a 67-58 victory. UConn’s array of quick, athletic perimeter players excel in transition, but on Friday they struggled to score against a set defense. The Huskies shot just 37.8 percent from the field, hit only 6 of 19 threes and dished out just nine assists, too often resorting to hurried jump shots in their quest to cut into the deficit. It’s way too early for UConn to panic, but half-court offense is clearly an area in need of improvement. After all, there are a lot tougher opponents than Wagner ahead on the schedule.
8. Chattanooga has giant killer potential in March
When Chattanooga defeated Tennessee 82-69 in Knoxville on Friday night, it was an upset in pedigree only. By the end of the season, it will be clear that the Mocs are better than a rebuilding Vols team with eight newcomers on its roster. With four starters back from a 29-win Southern Conference Championship team, Chattanooga has a realistic chance of exceeding last year’s achievements. Forwards Justin Tuoyo and Tre McLean combined for 43 points on Friday, while guard Greg Pryor tallied 14 points and four assists. The Mocs also got more good news Friday as 6-foot-10 Xavier transfer Makinde London was cleared to play this season. He came off the bench to score two points and grab four rebounds.
9. Victory could be costly for UAB
A key injury cast a pall over Robert Ehsan’s UAB coach Robert Ehsan’s first victory as head coach of the Blazers. Point guard Nick Norton had to be helped off the court with an apparent right knee injury suffered in the first half of UAB’s 86-66 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Losing Norton would be a huge loss for UAB, which is favored to win Conference USA this season. The junior has been UAB’s starter at the position for his entire career and tallied 8.9 points and 5.1 assists per game last season. Norton will undergo an MRI on the knee on Saturday in hopes of determining the extent of the injury.
10. Semi Ojeleye will be worth the wait for SMU
In his first college game since he left Duke in search of more playing time 23 months ago, Semi Ojeleye showed he’ll be worth the wait. The SMU forward scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead SMU to a rout of Gardner-Webb. The strong performance from Ojeleye is welcome news for a Mustangs team counting on him to play a big role this season. With SMU graduating three-time all-league point guard Nic Moore and standout forwards Markus Kennedy and Jordan Tolbert, the Mustangs need Ojeleye to emerge as a focal point if they are going to challenge Cincinnati and UConn in the American Athletic Conference.
11. Syracuse point guards off to a good start
If point guard play is Syracuse’s biggest question entering the season, then the Orange have to be encouraged by Friday season-opening 83-55 victory over Colgate. Sophomore Franklin Howard shined in his first career start, scoring 11 points, dishing out nine assists and committing only three turnovers in 22 minutes. Not to be outdone, Colorado State transfer John Gillon came off the bench to tally 13 points, six assists and zero turnover. It’s only Colgate, so take those performances for what they’re worth. But if Howard and Gillon can perform like that against tougher competition and Tyler Lydon can regain his shooting stroke, Syracuse has Final Four potential.
12. The Big 12 has some All-American candidates at point guard
Kansas point guard Frank Mason scored 30 points in an overtime loss to Indiana on Friday night. Somehow, he may have produced only the third best stat line among Big 12 point guards. Iowa State’s Monte Morris lived up to his preseason All-American hype on Friday, tallying 21 points and 11 assists on 9-for-11 shooting in a 113-71 thrashing of Savannah State. Not to be outdone, Oklahoma State’s Juwan Evans scorched Campbell for 34 points and 3 assists on 11-for-18 shooting. Granted better competition awaits both Morris and Evans, however, both looked formidable on Friday night. In other words, there should be some fun point guard duels in the Big 12 this season.
13. Marvin Menzies’ debut season at UNLV will be rough
Even though UNLV missed the NCAA tournament each of the past three seasons, the Rebels will likely get worse before they get better. New coach Marvin Menzies inherited just two returning scholarship players from last year’s 18-win team, neither of whom were among UNLV’s seven leading scorers. The extent of the challenge facing UNLV became clearer during the Rebels’ 76-68 home loss to South Alabama on Friday night. UNLV tallied more turnovers than assists, shot 36.8 percent from the field and was outscored off the bench 29-3. Are the Rebels ready for a non-league schedule that includes Duke, Kansas and Oregon? Uh, no. Could they mesh in time for a middle-of-the-pack Mountain West finish? That’s the best-case scenario.
14. Reid Travis won’t be a forgotten man much longer
The stress fractures that have sidelined Reid Travis for most of the past two seasons make it easy to forget how big an addition he was for Stanford in 2014. The top 40 prospect chose the Cardinal over national power Duke and hometown Minnesota. Travis offered a glimpse of what he can do when he’s healthy Friday night when overpowered Harvard’s frontcourt. He scored 24 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and would have posted even more impressive stats had he made more than 10 of 19 free throws. With Stanford lacking outside shooting or proven point guard play this season, it will rely heavily on its talented frontcourt. Look for Travis to be at the forefront of that.
15. Clemson is not a one-man team
All the talk about potential first-round draft pick Jaron Blossomgame sometimes makes it seem as though he’s all Clemson has. On Friday, the Tigers proved that’s far from accurate. Blossomgame managed a modest 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting in Clemson’s impressive win over Georgia, however, Robert Morris transfer Marquise Reed and junior guard Gabe DeVoe picked up the slack. Reed scored 19 points in his Clemson debut and DeVoe added 15, helping the Tigers pick up a quality win that could help them in March. Making the NCAA tournament out of the loaded ACC will not be easy this season, but Clemson has a chance, especially with Texas A&M transfer Elijah Thomas eligible to bolster the frontcourt next month.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him atdaggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
