Sunday, November 20, 2011

Iona Blows Out Maryland

Iona 89, Maryland 63
I expected Iona to win this game fairly easily, but this was an annihilation. Iona's trio of Scott Machado, Michael Glover and MoMo Jones is the reason Iona is going to be a scary team to face come Tournament team, but it was the team's pressure defense that blew this game open, forcing 26 Maryland opponents - an advantage of 16. Machado was the MVP, dicing Maryland's defense for 15 points and 15 assists. He blew away the Puerto Rico Tip-Off's tournament record with 41 assists in three games. Iona's going to end up being a potential NCAA Tournament Cinderella. A Maryland team in total rebuilding mode was never going to give them much trouble.

It's worth asking if Iona has a chance to contend for an at-large bid, should they fall in their conference tournament. I would say that's a doubtful scenario. They still have road games against Richmond, Marshall and Hofstra, and they'll have this win over Maryland and will presumably get a decent opponent during Bracketbusters... but that's not going to impress much on Selection Sunday. The other Bubble teams will have high major wins, and Iona won't. Iona would have to go nearly perfect this season to have a chance. Most likely they'll need the MAAC's automatic bid which, as good as they are, will not be a gimme. Fairfield is a very good team in their own right. Maryland will presumably bounce back by beating Florida Gulf Coast on Friday. After that their next game will be at home against Illinois.

Penn State 53, South Florida 49
Penn State has a total dearth of talent this season. Tim Frazier was the only player on the floor for the Nittany Lions who looked like a legitimate Big Ten player. The only way they're going to win games is by playing with a ton of energy on both sides of the floor, and by playing an opponent that either lacks talent or that gives games away with dumb mistakes. South Florida is, of course, the latter. Penn State forced 12 steals on the day - and needed them desperately, because their offense had no chance in the half court. To give Penn State credit, they played really hard. Pat Chambers has given this team the feeling of a mid-major squad - they know they lack the talent, but they expect to outwork you. And while Penn State struggles to get large home attendances, the fans that do show up tend to be loud and boisterous. They aren't going to win more than a few Big Ten games this season, but they'll be feisty at home. I think they'll pull at least an upset or two over top half Big Ten teams at home this season.

South Florida is now 3-2, though the three wins are a two-pointer over Vermont along with a pair of cupcake wins. A neutral court loss to Penn State is not good at all. The Bulls should handle Georgia Southern on Wednesday, but then will play Florida Atlantic, VCU and then Kansas. I wouldn't be surprised at all if South Florida enters Big East play below .500. They'll almost certainly finish the season below .500.

Murray State 62, UAB 55
Neither of these offenses could get much going. UAB's 42.6 eFG% was actually better than Murray State's 38.2%. If there was a difference in the game it was that Murray State earned a bunch of extra possessions with five more offensive rebounds and seven more steals. This game is notable because it's the second straight disappointing loss for a UAB team that entered the season thinking they had a decent shot to play for an at-large bid. But they are now 0-2 with losses to Creighton and Murray State. Their offense has been the main culprit, as they've scored well under a point per possession so far.

UAB should beat Troy on Tuesday, but then they head on the road for another tough game, at Wichita State on Friday. Murray State, meanwhile, is now 4-0, though against a soft schedule (only two of their wins have even been against Division I opponents). They now head off to the Great Alaska Shootout, where they'll open up on Wednesday night against Alaska-Anchorage. Their second game will be against either Dartmouth or San Francisco. The other side of the bracket is the tougher side of the bracket, housing Southern Miss and New Mexico State.

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