College Basketball 2007-2008

[illiniguy]

but, if there's one thing not to worry about with a Sampson coached team, it's defense. This should improve, but, as I said, if it doesn't improve I'm very concerned about Xavier (if that match-up happens).

 

You would think so, but last year was a bizarro year for Sampson. They were toward the bottom of the league in defense but they had the best offense in the conference.

 

I would guess whether that repeats itself or not will depend on their freshmen because their offense will be damn good.

 

Those stats are a lot more indicative of the way the Big Ten plays than IU's lack of defense.

 

How so?

Everyone in the Big Ten plays good defense.

[hawkeyecub]

but, if there's one thing not to worry about with a Sampson coached team, it's defense. This should improve, but, as I said, if it doesn't improve I'm very concerned about Xavier (if that match-up happens).

 

You would think so, but last year was a bizarro year for Sampson. They were toward the bottom of the league in defense but they had the best offense in the conference.

 

I would guess whether that repeats itself or not will depend on their freshmen because their offense will be damn good.

 

Those stats are a lot more indicative of the way the Big Ten plays than IU's lack of defense.

 

How so?

Everyone in the Big Ten plays good defense.

 

Right, but among those teams they ranked 7th in defense, 1st in offense.

 

I'm not saying they played terrible defense overall, it was just a twist on what you would have expected from Sampson.

[Exile on Waveland]

but, if there's one thing not to worry about with a Sampson coached team, it's defense. This should improve, but, as I said, if it doesn't improve I'm very concerned about Xavier (if that match-up happens).

 

You would think so, but last year was a bizarro year for Sampson. They were toward the bottom of the league in defense but they had the best offense in the conference.

 

I would guess whether that repeats itself or not will depend on their freshmen because their offense will be damn good.

 

Those stats are a lot more indicative of the way the Big Ten plays than IU's lack of defense.

 

How so?

Everyone in the Big Ten plays good defense.

 

Right, but among those teams they ranked 7th in defense, 1st in offense.

 

I'm not saying they played terrible defense overall, it was just a twist on what you would have expected from Sampson.

 

Everyone in the Big Ten plays good defense. The more you score, the more you give up. The quicker you shoot, the more possessions the other team gets. Ohio State was only seventh in scoring defense, think they weren't good defensively? In overall games, IU gave up 61.8 ppg, allowed opponents to shot only .416, and allowed only .310 shooting from 3 (best in the Big Ten). Those are good numbers. IU's defense wasn't as good as Illinois, but it was good.

 

I do agree the offense was surprisingly efficient, but it wasn't great. It should be much, much better this year, though.

[CubColtPacer]

but, if there's one thing not to worry about with a Sampson coached team, it's defense. This should improve, but, as I said, if it doesn't improve I'm very concerned about Xavier (if that match-up happens).

 

You would think so, but last year was a bizarro year for Sampson. They were toward the bottom of the league in defense but they had the best offense in the conference.

 

I would guess whether that repeats itself or not will depend on their freshmen because their offense will be damn good.

 

Those stats are a lot more indicative of the way the Big Ten plays than IU's lack of defense.

 

How so?

Everyone in the Big Ten plays good defense.

 

Right, but among those teams they ranked 7th in defense, 1st in offense.

 

I'm not saying they played terrible defense overall, it was just a twist on what you would have expected from Sampson.

 

I honestly don't know why they played that way in the Big 10. Their defense was definitely better than their offense though. To illustrate, here are some key non-conference games from last year:

 

Duke- 54-51

Kentucky- 59-54

Southern Illinois-57-47

Gonzaga-70-57

UCLA- 54-49

 

There's their 5 big non-conference games, and the most points IU scored was 70 once (2nd best was 57) and the most points they allowed was 59 (2nd was 57). That's definitely a mark of a better defense than offense.

[hawkeyecub]

but, if there's one thing not to worry about with a Sampson coached team, it's defense. This should improve, but, as I said, if it doesn't improve I'm very concerned about Xavier (if that match-up happens).

 

You would think so, but last year was a bizarro year for Sampson. They were toward the bottom of the league in defense but they had the best offense in the conference.

 

I would guess whether that repeats itself or not will depend on their freshmen because their offense will be damn good.

 

Those stats are a lot more indicative of the way the Big Ten plays than IU's lack of defense.

 

How so?

Everyone in the Big Ten plays good defense.

 

Right, but among those teams they ranked 7th in defense, 1st in offense.

 

I'm not saying they played terrible defense overall, it was just a twist on what you would have expected from Sampson.

Everyone in the Big Ten plays good defense. The more you score, the more you give up. The quicker you shoot, the more possessions the other team gets. Ohio State was only seventh in scoring defense, think they weren't good defensively? In overall games, IU gave up 61.8 ppg, allowed opponents to shot only .416, and allowed only .310 shooting from 3 (best in the Big Ten). Those are good numbers. IU's defense wasn't as good as Illinois, but it was good.

 

I do agree the offense was surprisingly efficient, but it wasn't great. It should be much, much better this year, though.

 

That's why I'm judging them based on efficiency. They were first in the conference in points per possession at 1.12. Ohio State was 2nd at 1.10, Wisconsin was 3rd at 1.07, Iowa was 4th at 1.05. Everyone else in the league was at 1.02 or lower.

Defensively they were 7th in the league at 1.03. The top 5 teams in defense were at .98 per possession or lower. Ohio State whom you referenced was at .94, almost a tenth of a point per possession better than Indiana.

Edited November 12, 2007 by hawkeyecub

[hawkeyecub]

but, if there's one thing not to worry about with a Sampson coached team, it's defense. This should improve, but, as I said, if it doesn't improve I'm very concerned about Xavier (if that match-up happens).

 

You would think so, but last year was a bizarro year for Sampson. They were toward the bottom of the league in defense but they had the best offense in the conference.

 

I would guess whether that repeats itself or not will depend on their freshmen because their offense will be damn good.

 

Those stats are a lot more indicative of the way the Big Ten plays than IU's lack of defense.

 

How so?

Everyone in the Big Ten plays good defense.

 

Right, but among those teams they ranked 7th in defense, 1st in offense.

 

I'm not saying they played terrible defense overall, it was just a twist on what you would have expected from Sampson.

 

I honestly don't know why they played that way in the Big 10. Their defense was definitely better than their offense though. To illustrate, here are some key non-conference games from last year:

 

Duke- 54-51

Kentucky- 59-54

Southern Illinois-57-47

Gonzaga-70-57

UCLA- 54-49

 

There's their 5 big non-conference games, and the most points IU scored was 70 once (2nd best was 57) and the most points they allowed was 59 (2nd was 57). That's definitely a mark of a better defense than offense.

 

You're right early in the season they played like Sampson's Oklahoma teams. They just couldn't make a shot against UCLA, but that's to be expected somewhat.

 

Conference games are just usually the best way to evaluate a team's strengths. They make up a bulk of their season and you exclude anomalies from playing major cupcakes so usually they give you a good indicator of how they played all year.

In the Big Ten, their offense was much better than their defense.

[Exile on Waveland]

but, if there's one thing not to worry about with a Sampson coached team, it's defense. This should improve, but, as I said, if it doesn't improve I'm very concerned about Xavier (if that match-up happens).

 

You would think so, but last year was a bizarro year for Sampson. They were toward the bottom of the league in defense but they had the best offense in the conference.

 

I would guess whether that repeats itself or not will depend on their freshmen because their offense will be damn good.

 

Those stats are a lot more indicative of the way the Big Ten plays than IU's lack of defense.

 

How so?

Everyone in the Big Ten plays good defense.

 

Right, but among those teams they ranked 7th in defense, 1st in offense.

 

I'm not saying they played terrible defense overall, it was just a twist on what you would have expected from Sampson.

Everyone in the Big Ten plays good defense. The more you score, the more you give up. The quicker you shoot, the more possessions the other team gets. Ohio State was only seventh in scoring defense, think they weren't good defensively? In overall games, IU gave up 61.8 ppg, allowed opponents to shot only .416, and allowed only .310 shooting from 3 (best in the Big Ten). Those are good numbers. IU's defense wasn't as good as Illinois, but it was good.

 

I do agree the offense was surprisingly efficient, but it wasn't great. It should be much, much better this year, though.

 

That's why I'm judging them based on points per possesion. They were first in the conference in points per possession at 1.12. Ohio State was 2nd at 1.10, Wisconsin was 3rd at 1.07, Iowa was 4th at 1.05. Everyone else in the league was at 1.02 or lower.

Defensively they were 7th in the league at 1.03. The top 5 teams in defense were at .98 per possession or lower. Ohio State whom you referenced was at .94, almost a tenth of a point per possession better than Indiana.

 

http://kenpom.com/sr.php?team=Indiana&y=2007

 

Indiana was 44th nationally in defensive efficiency, 29 in adjusted efficiency, 37th in effective FG %, and 25th in 3-point %. Their offensive numbers trail in almost every category. Indiana was a solid defensive team last year, especially relative to the rest of the nation. Part of the problem is that they had nothing inside beside D.J. White, but Sampson got all he could out of the team defensively (and offensively, for that matter).

[hawkeyecub]

http://kenpom.com/sr.php?team=Indiana&y=2007

 

Indiana was 44th nationally in defensive efficiency, 29 in adjusted efficiency, 37th in effective FG %, and 25th in 3-point %. Their offensive numbers trail in almost every category. Indiana was a solid defensive team last year, especially relative to the rest of the nation. Part of the problem is that they had nothing inside beside D.J. White, but Sampson got all he could out of the team defensively (and offensively, for that matter).

 

Except for adjusted efficiency.

 

Really my intent wasn't to say that Indiana wasn't a good defensive team last year. All I was trying to say was that it was a surprise their offense ranked a lot higher in the Big Ten than their defense, especially considering Sampson's resume. That's all.

[Exile on Waveland]

http://kenpom.com/sr.php?team=Indiana&y=2007

 

Indiana was 44th nationally in defensive efficiency, 29 in adjusted efficiency, 37th in effective FG %, and 25th in 3-point %. Their offensive numbers trail in almost every category. Indiana was a solid defensive team last year, especially relative to the rest of the nation. Part of the problem is that they had nothing inside beside D.J. White, but Sampson got all he could out of the team defensively (and offensively, for that matter).

 

Except for adjusted efficiency.

 

Really my intent wasn't to say that Indiana wasn't a good defensive team last year. All I was trying to say was that it was a surprise their offense ranked a lot higher in the Big Ten than their defense, especially considering Sampson's resume. That's all.

 

Yeah, I know. This devolved into an unnecessary argument, I think. It was very surprising how IU finished in those stats, I agree. It won't be this year.

[Butterscup1679666578]

Mizzou barely up on Central Michigan 43-38 at the end of the first half in their regular season opener. CMU scored 5 points in the last 17 seconds to cut the lead in half. DeMarre Carroll is a stud, however, with 17 points and 8 boards in the first half.

[Bruno7481]

Eric Gordon is pretty good...

 

Indiana freshman record 33 points.

 

99-79 over Chattanooga.

[Exile on Waveland]

Eric Gordon is pretty good...

 

Indiana freshman record 33 points.

 

99-79 over Chattanooga.

 

Game turned, again, when Gordon was switched defensively onto Chattanooga's primary ball-handler. Defense was awful in the first half, better in the second. Still porous.

[rawaction]

Eric Gordon is a beast. Seriously, who makes 7 of 11 three-pointers (most of which were at least 5 feet behind the line) and leaves you wondering how those 4 came out of the rim.

 

That was an ugly game defensively. Bassett gets abused by quick PGs. None of the newcomers are good defensively outside of Gordon, and DJ could stand to be a lot better in doubling down and stopping the ball from getting into the post.

 

Lost in the shuffle will be Gordon's defense (not to IU fans), his 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Bassett with a quiet 20, if that's possible. DJ with 17. Ellis only had 5 points, but led the team with 9 boards and 6 assists. Big Dre with 11 and he helped change the tide of the game.

[Andy]

ND 82, Long Island 50. Rob Kurz 19 points, 10 rebounds. Tory Jackson and Kyle McAlarney get 8 and 7 assists respectively and Luke Harangody adds 15 and 6.

 

This season's gonna be fun.

[Guest]

UCLA takes on Youngstown State in about 5 minutes at Pauley. The game will be on ESPN2 with Steve Lavin broadcasting, it will be the first time Lavin will be at Pauley since he was fired.

[Derwood]

Penn State beats St. Francis by 10 without Jamel Cornley.

[SouthSideRyan]

Apropos of nothing I talked to Brandon Hassel of Penn St. for a half hour outside of the McDonald's in Penn St. at about 3 AM. Pretty cool guy.

[snoodmonger]

Sherron Collins joins Brandon Rush on the bench with a stress fracture in his foot. He'll be out six weeks. We'll probably lose a game or two because of this, but hopefully he'll be 100% by tourney time. I had been thinking he was the key to the team.

[Guest]

UCLA rolls to an 83-52 win over Youngstown State and will play Cal State San Bernardino tomorrow at Pauley in game two of the CBE tourney. Lorenzo Mata-Real went off for 14 points and 14 rebounds while Kevin Love got 21 and 8. The two worked well together on the court and I really love it when the two centers are on the court.

 

Westbrook struggled again at the point w/ turnovers but he did look better in the second half. Darren Collison should be playing again next week. Mike Roll and James Keefe should be back by December.

[chuckywang]

Oregon downs a game Western Michigan team 97-88. That was quite an entertaining game to watch. If you don't have it already, by all means get ESPN Full Court. It's only $99 now for the entire season, but that won't last.

[TruffleShuffle]

ND 82, Long Island 50. Rob Kurz 19 points, 10 rebounds. Tory Jackson and Kyle McAlarney get 8 and 7 assists respectively and Luke Harangody adds 15 and 6.

 

This season's gonna be fun.

 

anything the basketball team does will be fun after the ass-pounding the football team has taken all year.

[CuseCubFan69]

ND 82, Long Island 50. Rob Kurz 19 points, 10 rebounds. Tory Jackson and Kyle McAlarney get 8 and 7 assists respectively and Luke Harangody adds 15 and 6.

 

This season's gonna be fun.

 

anything the basketball team does will be fun after the ass-pounding the football team has taken all year.

 

This coming from a Penn State basketball fan? Talk about butt pounding year after year.

[CuseCubFan69]

Syracuse has some impact Freshmen and this is the best group I've seen here since 86/87. Jonny Flynn steps up and goes for 28 and is 6-7 from outside the arc against in a 97-89 win over Siena. This team can beat anyone and lose to anyone but if they improve on D and decrease their turnovers this may be the best team we have had since 2003...actually it is the best team we've had since then. Nice depth and if Rautins didn't blow out his knee Boeheim planned this team perfectly making them 3 deep at every position. Plus, they are fun as heck to watch. I'm excited about this team and the beauty part is that they only have 1 Junior 2 Sophs and 2 Freshmen starting.

 

Tough game against St. Joes on ESPN at 7 tonight.

[Magnetic Curses]

i heard this big ten freshamn looked really good in his debut, but i don't know who that is.

[TruffleShuffle]

ND 82, Long Island 50. Rob Kurz 19 points, 10 rebounds. Tory Jackson and Kyle McAlarney get 8 and 7 assists respectively and Luke Harangody adds 15 and 6.

 

This season's gonna be fun.

 

anything the basketball team does will be fun after the ass-pounding the football team has taken all year.

 

This coming from a Penn State basketball fan? Talk about butt pounding year after year.

 

hey i'm a holy cross fan :wink: