Sports InsideOut

Because of the long break between posts, I want to acknowledge some recent happenings in the college basketball world before I start my post. 1. Coach K Reaches One K The best college basketball coach ever gets his 1000th win, but I was not overly impressed with how they played, nor how they played in upset losses vs NC State and Miami. 2. The Big 12 continues to beat up on each other Oklahoma, a top 20 team, has lost 4 Big 12 games.  TCU, who went undefeated in non-conference, is 1-5 in conference play.  Texas Tech, who was previously 0-6 in conference, beat top 10 ranked Iowa State.  Kansas State, who was 7-6 out of conference, is 5-2 in conference play.  It is looking like Kansas will most likely win their 11th straight Big 12 title. 3. The Indiana Hoosiers announce themselves to the national scene Indiana joined the rankings this week, and proceeded to beat #13 Maryland 89-70.  I have heard both Clark Kellogg and an NBC sports writer say that IU is ...

This college basketball season has been filled with surprises, and has been filled with overrated and underrated players and teams. The Overrateds 1. Perry Ellis, F, Kansas Kansas has not played up to their potential this year, as they are seemingly laden with talent, but lost to Temple by 25 points.  Perry Ellis is the "star" of this Kansas team and is averaging a respectable  12.4 PPG.  But... Ellis should not be looked as a star, or as one of the best in the Big 12.  The problem with Perry Ellis' game is his shooting percentage.  He is shooting just 41.8% from the field, which is just terrible for a big man.  Although that is not a good rate for anyone, it especially isn't for someone who rarely makes threes.  Ellis disrupts Kansas' game flow by his bad shots and his quick contested shots.  Last season, he made nearly 55% of his shots, which was mostly because he rarely took poor shots.  This year, he has put more pressure on himself ...

1. ACC The ACC is absolutely stacked this year.  They have three top five teams (Duke, Virginia, and Louisville), as well as other ranked teams (Notre Dame and North Carolina).  The ACC has two undefeated teams (of just three remaining in all of college basketball) and Notre Dame and Louisville are one loss teams with many good wins.  The rest of the conference is not very deep, but NC State and Syracuse have looked solid, and Miami has been ranked for much of the year, and recently took Virginia to double overtime, after previously getting wins over Illinois and Florida.  Not to mention Pittsburgh is always solid.  The real big surprise in the ACC this year has been Notre Dame, led by possible POY candidate Jerian Grant, who has averaging 17.3 PPG and 6.3 APG.  They are top 5 in the country with 85 PPG, and are led by a big four that has averaged over 60 PPG this year (Grant, Zach Auguste, Demetrius Jackson, and Pat Connaughton). Top conference players ...

Kentucky has been incredible this year.  They have been number one all year long, haven't lost a game, and have wins over perennial powers like #11 Texas, #13 Kansas, #5 Louisville, #19 North Carolina and UCLA.  And their closest game has been an 8 point win on the road against Louisville, while beating UCLA by 39, and Kansas by 32.  So many people are talking about how Kentucky will go undefeated because they have done so well, but the biggest reason they could go undefeated is that they don't have another game against a ranked team on their schedule.  Though this isn't their fault (they are the only ranked team in their conference), it could help them threaten '76 Indiana's feat as the last perfect team. Why Kentucky's Defense Has Been So Incredible Kentucky's offense has been great this year, and their talent is obviously the best in the country, but their defense is the key to their success.  Their adjusted defense rating on  kenpom.com  is numb...

There have been many surprises in college basketball, and I have separated them into two major categories. Upsets by small schools over powerhouses This season has seen small schools steal the show with some big upsets.  Here are the top five small school upsets this year.  One thing that surprised me about this list: 4 of the 5 teams are Big 10 teams! 1. Michigan is upset by NJIT 72-70 at Home When I first read this headline on the day of the game, I thought that it must be a mistake.  "NJIT wasn't even a school, was it?" I thought.  I clicked on the article and saw that it was New Jersey Institute of Technology, and realized that I had never even known that New Jersey had an Institute of Technology, and that I definitely never knew them as a D-1 school.  As I sit writing this blog, I see that NJIT just lost to LIU-Brooklyn by 16 points, and that LIU Brooklyn's only other win is against 1-8 Maine.  I also remember that Michigan is one of the best coll...

PG Isaiah Taylor, Texas, So. I have trouble doing this because of the fact that he is out indefinitely.  But, he recently said he is hoping to play their Big-12 opener.  Taylor reminds me of Chris Paul, as he can get to the rim any time he wants.  He averaged almost 13 points per game last year, and 4 assists per game, but he is ready to step into a new role and become the top player on a top 5 team.  Texas just beat UConn without Taylor,  which makes me wonder how good they can be with him.  He gives them confidence, poise, quickness, defense and offense out on the floor, and they seem to be a top 10 team without him.  I am looking forward to seeing him back on the floor, as he has become one of my favorite young guards in college basketball. PG Delon Wright, Utah, Sr. Delon Wright has become the definition of a stat-sheet stuffer, as he is a guy that fills out every portion of the box score.  He accumulates blocks, steals, points, rebounds, ...

2nd Team: PG Juwan Staten, West Virginia, Sr. Staten is a do-it-all point guard on a team that could be really good this year.  West Virginia is 7-0 with wins over Boston College and UConn.  Staten became their best player last year, averaging over 18 ppg and about 6 rpg and 6 apg.  He can rebound pass, drive and shoot the three.  West Virginia could push Texas and Kansas for the Big 12 title, and they will definitely need Staten if they want to contend for a Big 12 title. PF Georges Niang, Iowa State, Jr. Niang was the third best player on Iowa State last year, after Melvin Ejim and DeAndre Kane, but still managed to average 16.7 ppg, as well as 4.5 rebounds per game and 3.6 assists per game.  His production has only gotten better this year, as Ejim and Kane have graduated.  Niang may be the best shooting big man in the country.  He can shoot from anywhere on the floor, and he also is a great passer.  Although he is labeled as a power forwar...