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Thursday’s Things To Know: UConn impresses, 3-point record falls and Oregon falters

By Travis HinesNov 16, 2018, 12:20 AM EST
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We’re closing in on one of the more entertaining stretches of the college basketball season with Thanksgiving tournaments giving us all-day hoops and really interesting non-conference matchups. It’s still early, and the best is yet to come, but Thursday night provided some quality hoops. Oh, and one guy shooting a ton of 3s. Literally more 3s than anyone has ever shot before. Here’s what you need to know:

1. UConn asserts itself against Syracuse.

It’s been a tough few years at UConn. It’s been two really bad years, but it’s mostly been not-great for the Huskies since that 2014 national title. It’s Dan Hurley’s job to change that. His first Big East throwback game certainly looked like it’s one he’ll be up for.

UConn’s quest to change the outlook of its locker room and the culture of its program was evident in the Huskies’ 83-76 win against Syracuse at Madison Square Garden.

Changing the culture has become The Thing New Coaches Simply Have To Talk About, but there’s no doubting it needed to happen in Storrs as a program that’s used to winning national titles began to languish in a league that’s simply second tier. UConn in the AAC is a different challenge for a coach than UConn in the Big East. It’s tougher. Hurley has a long way to go, but getting a team to buy in from the outset is a positive signal.

2. Jordan Lyons goes berserk

On Wednesday night, Josh Williams of Robert Morris tied a 23-year-old NCAA record by making 15 3-pointers. It took about 24 hours for that number to be matched again.

Jordan Lyons matched Williams’ 15 makes from distance, but broke an NCAA record with 34 attempts from 3-point range in the Paladins’ win against a Division II opponent on Thursday.

As teams continue to hoist shots from 3-point range at an ever-increasing rate, these types of nights are going to become more typical, but to see two guys tie a record that’s stood for more than two decades on back-to-back nights? I mean, c’mon, that’s a little crazy.

3. Oregon goes down

Give Iowa credit. The Hawkeyes shot just 35.7 percent from the floor, but got to the line 33 times, making 29 of their attempts (87.9 percent) and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds to keep the offense afloat. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a 77-69 neutral site win against a ranked opponent, which will certainly come in handy for a team looking to get back to the NCAA tournament after a two-year drought.

Also, the Big Ten looks like it might be pretty good. Michigan stomped all over Villanova, Indiana blasted Marquette, Wisconsin handled Xavier and now the Hawkeyes bested Oregon. That’s a pretty good week for a league that has been stuck in something of a malaise the last few seasons.

The overwhelming feeling from watching the nightcap at Madison Square Garden, though, was just how underwhelming Oregon looked. There just wasn’t a lot of there there for the Ducks. That’s problematic for a top-15 team that is the heavy favorite to win the Pac-12 this season. They just lost a game to what many would pick to be a middle-of-the-pac B1G while holding them to under 40 percent shooting while only committing eight turnovers themselves. Getting 25 points from Ehab Amin is nice, but otherwise an all around uninspiring performance from Dana Altman’s group.

Indiana freshman Jerome Hunter undergoes surgery

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By Travis HinesNov 15, 2018, 6:36 PM EST
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Indiana’s injury woes deepened this week.

Jerome Hunter underwent surgery Wednesday at the Cleveland Clinic “to treat a lower body condition that first developed early in the semester,” the school announced Thursday without elaborating on the nature of the situation, citing HIPAA concerns.

It’s unclear when the ailment is for Hunter, whom Indiana initially said had a foot injury before broadening the diagnosis publicly.

It’s sort of a leg injury, but it’s not a typical leg injury that is an injury caused by practicing or something,” Indiana coach Archie Miller said Nov. 9, according to the Indianapolis Star. “It’s more of an underlying effect that’s causing him some pain. When we get all the answers, he’ll be evaluated and decided on. As of right now, though, Jerome will be out for a to-be-determined amount of time.”

The 6-foot-7 Ohio native was a top-75 recruit in the 2018 class, a monster one for Miller and the Hoosiers that featured five-star prospect Romeo Langford and three four-star recruits. Hunter ranked only behind Langford, a top-10 player, in IU’s class.

He has yet to see the floor for the Hoosiers, though, and his future availability remains unclear. Indiana is also without Race Thompson (concussion), Zach McRoberts (back) and Devonte Green (thigh).

“I don’t see them playing here in the near future,” Miller said of that trio, per the Indy Star. “I see maybe the month of November being a very risky month for us just in general, but we have to do our part.

“We just have to be ready and we have to be as smart as we can with the guys that are available. But right now we’re planning on moving through the rest of November, practically, maybe without all four.”

Three Takeaways from Indiana’s blowout win over No. 24 Marquette

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By Scott PhillipsNov 14, 2018, 11:10 PM EST
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Indiana earned a blowout win over No. 24 Marquette with a 96-73 home win on Wednesday night. The Hoosiers made this one look easy thanks to a balanced offense and a solid defensive effort as they earned the Big Ten another win in the annual Gavitt Games.

Here are three takeaways from this one.

1. Indiana is potentially deeper and more talented than anticipated

Coming into this season, Indiana was expected to have plenty of depth. A top-ten freshman class headlined by a five-star recruit will help with that sort of thing.

But even without upperclass vets like guard Devonte Green and forward Zach McRoberts in the lineup on Wednesday night, Indiana had plenty of options in scoring at will on Marquette. While it’s true that Marquette’s defense has been underwhelming since last season, Indiana’s balanced offensive outburst was pretty impressive.

Shooting 63 percent from the field, Indiana had five double-figure scorers led by freshman Romeo Langford’s 22 points (more on him in a moment). Graduate transfer big man Evan Fitzner provided a great offensive lift by scoring inside or knocking down three-pointers as he chipped in 16 points on 4-for-4 three-point shooting. Forward Juwan Morgan (13 points), guard Al Durham (13 points) and freshman guard Robert Phinisee (12 points) also had solid outings.

While returning veterans like Morgan and Durham are expected to have nights like this, Indiana has to be enthusiastic about its newcomers. The freshman backcourt of Langford and Phinisee was outstanding on Wednesday. Fitzner shouldn’t be expected to be that hot on a nightly basis, but he provides a nice floor-spacing option at the five when Indiana needs to change things up.

Once Indiana gets Green and McRoberts back in the rotation, they’ll be able to throw waves of bodies at opposing teams. Freshman Jerome Hunter is another potential rotation piece who is also currently missing. A top-65 defense (via KenPom) from a year ago should be even better. And Indiana has to be thrilled that a young backcourt is playing so well on both ends so early in the season.

Indiana is going to have off-nights with some of their younger players. That sort of thing happens during a long season. But we just saw the type of output this team is capable of. And it’s definitely better than anticipated.

2. Marquette needs to figure out a defensive identity

It’s no secret that defense was going to be Marquette’s big question entering the season. The Golden Eagles missed the NCAA tournament last season in large part because they had the No. 12 offense and No. 182 defense in the nation (via KenPom). When the Golden Eagles needed critical stops in big games last season, they struggled to bear down and get a stop.

Things didn’t look much better for Marquette’s defense on Wednesday night. Surrendering over 90 points on 60-plus percent shooting, the Golden Eagle defense was abused by a balanced Indiana offense that scored however they wanted. The Hoosiers were 9-for-20 from three-point range, as Marquette didn’t do a particularly effective job of limiting quality perimeter looks.

With Marquette maintaining much of its rotation from last season, the major question is going to be how will this defense get better? New pieces like Joseph Chartouny are supposed to help defend on the perimeter. Others like Joey Hauser and Brendan Bailey aren’t exactly known for their defensive prowess. Although known as more defensive-minded than many of the team’s newcomers, Nebraska transfer forward Ed Morrow has struggled to find consistent minutes early in the season.

That means, at some point, Marquette’s returning veterans need to look in the mirror and figure out how they’re going to get stops. We know this team has the capability to put up tons of points thanks to Howard and the Hauser brothers. All three players finished with 18 points each against Indiana. But Marquette has to improve on the other end of the floor if they want to make any kind of splash in the Big East.

3. Romeo Langford is living up to the preseason hype

Entering the 2018-19 season perhaps no freshman in the country faced more pressure than Romeo Langford. While Duke’s R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson are more highly-touted, they aren’t in-state heroes tasked with bringing a basketball-crazy program back to respectability.

Langford proved on Wednesday night that he’s living up to his lofty preseason expectations with a very good game against the Golden Eagles. Finishing with 22 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks, Langford filled up the stat sheet in a number of different ways. Known as a scorer during his prolific prep career, Langford’s length and natural timing was impressive on the defensive end, as he helped trap Marquette point guard Markus Howard on multiple occasions.

The scary thing is that Langford didn’t even shoot the ball particularly well in this one. Langford was 8-for-15 from the floor and only 1-for-5 from three-point range. It helps immensely that Langford can create offense for himself by consistently getting to the charity stripe, as he was 5-for-7 from the free-throw line. If Langford can find his perimeter shot, then he has the potential for 30- and maybe even 40-point outbursts.

The good news for Langford is that he still had a great all-around game against a top-25 team with big expectations. There’s still room for Langford to grow and get better. But this is the kind of start Indiana fans were looking for out of their new star.

No. 11 Michigan St pulls away, beats Louisiana-Monroe 80-59

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Associated PressNov 14, 2018, 9:33 PM EST
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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Cassius Winston gave his offensively challenged team a needed boost.

Winston scored 14 of his 23 points in the opening minutes of the second half, bouncing back from a rough start to help No. 11 Michigan State beat Louisiana-Monroe 80-59 on Wednesday night.

The point guard said he had to be aggressive because “we were struggling to get points on the board.” Michigan State made just 28 percent of its shots overall in the first half and was even worse on 3-pointers, connecting on 2 of 19.

“I could make 2 of 19,” coach Tom Izzo said.

Winston’s surge helped Michigan State lead 51-35 at the 16:52 mark after it was ahead by six points at halftime.

“Cassius is capable of that a lot,” Izzo.

Winston was 9 of 22 from the field, including 3 of 10 on 3-pointers, after going 2 of 9 overall and 0 for 5 beyond the arc in the first half.

“I didn’t let the first half affect my confidence,” he said.

The Spartans (2-1) lost Nick Ward midway through the first half with a sprained right ankle. Ward went down and pounded the court with both fists. He got up on his own and hobbled off the court, trying to keep weight off his right leg. Ward did not return after scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in five minutes.

“I don’t think it’s anything serious,” Izzo said.

Joshua Langford scored 16 points while Xavier Tillman had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Spartans.

Louisiana-Monroe’s Javien Williams had 25 points.

“Many times on the floor, his quickness bothered Michigan State, no matter who was guarding him,” coach Keith Richard said.

Michael Ertel added 20 points for the Warhawks (2-2).

Louisiana-Monroe was without Daishon Smith, who averages 17 points, for the second straight game because of a hamstring injury.

“We played without one of our better guards,” Richard said.

BIG PICTURE

Louisiana-Monroe: Leading the 11th-ranked team on its home court — as the Warhawks did in the first half for 1:27 — will be something they can look back on with pride.

“Our team played good in the first half,” Richard said. “Really competed well. To hang with them for 20 minutes is a really good feather in our cap.”

Michigan State: The Spartans hope Ward’s injury proves to be little more than a scare.

“They need him,” Richard said. “With him inside and the 3-point shooting and the push, they’ve got a chance to be an elite team this year.”

The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 17 points, ranking second, and a team-high 7.5 rebounds. He returned to school for his junior season after initially putting his name in the NBA draft.

HE’S OUT

Louisiana-Monroe lost forward Tyree White midway through the second half due to an ejection that followed a flagrant foul for an aggressive box out.

Richard said the rule is, and Izzo agreed.

“I don’t know how little guys are going to box out big guys,” Izzo said. “I’m just worried that’s going to happen to someone in a big game when it’s unintentional.

“We need to get more basketball people on the rules committee.”

White will have to sit out the team’s next game.

SHOOTING WOES

Michigan State freshman Foster Loyer made two shots and missed two attempts, sailing them over the rim.

“I have never missed two like that,” he said.

UP NEXT

Louisiana-Monroe gets some time to prepare for its next game on Nov. 23 at Tennessee Tech.

Michigan State hosts Tennessee Tech on Sunday night.

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Tuesday’s Things To Know: Badgers return to form, futures of Georgetown and Illinois on display and Izundu’s big night for Miami

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By Travis HinesNov 14, 2018, 12:04 AM EST
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There were only two top-25 teams in action Tuesday night, but there was still plenty of solid hoops action around the country with rematches, youth vs. youth and sterling individual performances. Here’s everything you need to know about what went down.

1. Wisconsin resurgent

The 2017-18 season was as disappointing as any for Wisconsin in some time. The Badgers were under .500, missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 20 years and were just generally uncompetitive in the Big Ten after years of consistently being one of its best programs. Given how Greg Gard inherited the program, that made this season an important one in Madison.

The Badgers look to understand that.

Wisconsin got 30 points from Ethan Happ, 22 from D’Mitrik Trice and 19 from Brad Davidson, who added a little flavor to the victory. The issues last year for Wisconsin were many, but so often the main problem was Happ being left to do everything himself. If the Badgers can consistently get help around Happ – while he continues to reassert himself as one of the country’s best players – Wisconsin should be back in the NCAA tournament and pushing for a spot atop the Big Ten. There’s a long way to go and Wisconsin finishes off November with a difficult slate of games, but the early returns are positive for Gard and Co.

2. Georgetown beats Illinois in fun battle of two young teams

I don’t know that either Georgetown or Illinois will be all that good this season. In fact, I would venture to guess neither is all that great once we hit the middle of winter. They did, however, play a super entertaining game Tuesday night.

Georgetown outlasted the Illini, 88-80, in Champaign as part of the Gavitt Games in a back-and-forth game that featured fun, mistakes, highlight plays, more mistakes, breathless action and, yup, some additional mistakes. Still, it was apparent that both teams have young talent that can take them places, whether it’s this year or in the future.

The Hoyas’ starting backcourt of freshmen James Akinjo and Mac McClung combined to score 31 points and dish out 11 assists while making game-winning plays down the stretch. On the flip side, they also tallied a combined eight turnovers. There was good and bad from the two youngsters, but the positive well outweighed the negative and the potential of both was on major display. Patrick Ewing looks to have this thing pointed in the right direction in D.C.

For Illinois, it was Chicago product Ayo Dosunmu starring. The point guard put up 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting, including 3 of 4 form deep. He was electric and at times unstoppable. Fellow freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili had 12 points, five boards and four assists. Brad Underwood’s four non-senior starters combined for 17 of the Illini’s points on the night while sophomore reserve Da’Monte Williams had 11 of those points. The future look good for Brad Underwood, too.

3. Izundu puts up numbers, Louisville impresses, Mays throws down and Temple knocks off Georgia

Ebuka Izundu had a night that’s not often seen. The Miami big man went for 22 points and 17 rebounds while shooting 11 of 13 from the floor. It was just the 13th time since 2010 that someone put up at least 22 and 17 while shooting 84 percent or better from the floor. So that’s pretty good. So, too, was the Hurricanes’ 96-58 win over Stephen F. Austin to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Louisville wasn’t all that good in Chris Mack’s debut, but the Cardinal looked significantly stronger Tuesday in a 1014-54 win over Southern. Jordan Nwora scored 20 points off the bench, and Louisville shot 58.2 percent from the floor as a team.

LSU defeated Memphis, 85-76, but more importantly, the 22nd-ranked Tigers got 19 points and one thunderous dunk from Skylar Mays.

Georgia shot 50 percent from the floor, but turned it over 20 times and lost to Temple in Philadelphia. The story, though, was the Owls’ duo of Quinton Rose and Shizz Alston, Jr., who both tallied 25 points as they improved to 3-0 in what will be coach Fran Dunphy’s final season leading them.

Brad Davison chomps Xaiver, Wisconsin is back

Kareem Elgazzar/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP
By Travis HinesNov 13, 2018, 9:02 PM EST
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It’s really nice to see the nascent-yet-kind-of-nasty rivalry between Wisconsin and Xavier has survived the graduation of JP Macura.

The Badgers and Musketeers met for the third time in four years Tuesday, with Wisconsin taking the rubber-match, 77-68, behind a big-time performance from Ethan Happ and some beautiful turnabout-is-fair-play trolling from Badger guard Brad Davison.

The genesis of this fun little back-and-forth is the 2016 NCAA tournament, when Bronson Koenig’s buzzer-beater ended second-seeded Xavier’s tourney run in the first weekend. Then last season as part of the Gavitt Games, the Musketeers dropped the Badgers 80-70 with Macura going for 20 points and a Florida-inspired (???) taunt to finish things off.

Image result for jp macura chomp gif

So the Badgers got a little bit of payback at the Cintas Center, leading by as many as 18 points as they turned a tight game into a what goes for a rout at the pace Wisconsin plays despite a mini-run late by Xavier, which saw a 41-game home non-conference winning streak come to a close.

Happ scored 30 points on 15 of 23 shooting while grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out five assists in what looked like an All-American performance from the Badger big man. D’Mitrik Trice added 22 points and Davison added 19 plus the finishing trolling touches in the callback to a fellow Twin Cities native and master trash talker in Macura.

The win looks to be a significant sign that the Badgers are poised to bounce back after going 15-18 last season and missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in two decades. Just exactly how good of win it’ll ultimately be remained to be seen with Xavier in transition under Travis Steele, but winning big in Cincy can’t be ignored.

We’ll almost certainly know for sure where the Badgers stand by the end of this month when they get three big games at the Battle 4 Atlantis followed by tips against NC State, Iowa and Rutgers.