Games 797-805

797 - Lafayette at Rutgers

December 22 at Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, NJ
ESPNU

798 - Georgia State at Appalachian State

January 2, 2020 at Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, NC

espn+

799 - Georgia State at Arkansas State

January 6 at Convocation Center in Jonesboro, AR

espn+

800 - Louisiana-Monroe at Georgia State

January 11 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA

espn3.com

801 - Georgia State at South Alabama

January 16 at Mitchell Center in Mobile, AL

espn3.com

802 - Georgia State at Georgia Southern

January 25 at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, GA

espn+

 

803 - Georgia State at Louisiana-Monroe

February 8 at Fant-Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, LA

espn3.com

 

804 - Vanderbilt at Mississippi State

February 8 at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, MS

SEC Network

Reggie Perry and Nick Weatherspoon Miss St: 46 points, 15-19 shooting

 

805 - Appalachian State at Georgia State

February 13 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA

espn+

Game 796 - UT Arlington at Georgia State

December 19 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
espn3.com

Nice way to start Sun Belt Conference play as the Panthers had four in double figures in an 83-77 win.

Damon Wilson, the team's lone senior, led the way with a career-high 22 points, while adding his usual complimentary statistics as well (six rebounds and two assists, two blocks and two steals). The GSU backcourt, which is the clear strength of the team, was excellent tonight with Kane Williams adding 17 points and five assists and Justin Roberts chipping in with 15 points, six assists and five steals.

Another guard and the Panthers' leading scorer, Corey Allen, had a brutal fall on his back in the first half and only played 11 minutes. It'd be tough to lose Allen for any amount of time, though again, if any area of the team can afford an injury, it's the backcourt.

Jalen Thomas, a freshman who is part of young frontcourt (along with fellow freshman Joe Jones) that could help in a big way this season, had 11 points and five blocked shots.

That's six straight wins for GSU, which hasn't lost since falling at Georgetown on November 17.

Game 795 - DePaul at Cleveland State

December 18 at Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH
espn3.com

Color commentator Pat Vuyancih, midway through the first half:

"Moore right now is like a shark seeing blood in the water...he's feasting off his prey. [couple seconds pass]….and the Vikes are flopping around in the water right now!"

Game 794 - Southeast Missouri State at Youngstown State

December 15 at Beeghly Center in Youngstown, OH
Penguins Sports Network

Game 793 - Boise State at Tulsa

December 11 at Reynolds Center in Tulsa, OK
espn3.com

Color commentator Bryndon Manzer with a comment of the year nominee in this 69-56 Tulsa win:

"he was slow to be decisive."

!!

* Boise's Roderick Williams: 19 points, 7-of-9 from the field, rest of team: 37 points, 12-of-41

* Bench points: Tulsa 34-10

Game 792 - Marshall at Toledo

December 8 at Savage Arena in Toledo, OH
ESPN+

This was our first time watching Luke Knapke play and the Toledo senior was impressive.

Knapke scored a career-high 33 points on 12-of-16 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Rockets' 82-72 win.

Knapke, a 6-11 center, can score from anywhere and he added four threes.

Point guard Marreon Jackson had four threes as well and added 24 points and five assists for Toledo, which defeated the Thundering Herd for the second time in a month (96-70 back on November 10) and since losing by two in overtime at Notre Dame November 21 have won four straight.

Nonsense
Mason Lowry (pxp) & Rhett Boyd (cc)

"guys who play above the rim....this dude can play in the rafters!"
"ball security"
"that junkyard dog mentality"
"paralysis by analysis"
"great step through"
"turning defense into offense"
"early energy"
"dribble drive" (!) - Boyd, 17:59 left in first half

Dribble drives

Games 790-791: Saturday pair

791 - Bethune-Cookman at Jacksonville
December 7 at Swisher Gymnasium in Jacksonville, FL
espn3.com

The hosts led by 17 at the break and thanks to the trio of David Bell (22 and 15, 8-of-11 from the field), DeAnthony McCallum (13 and 11) and Destin Barnes (19 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting) had no trouble against their in-state rivals.

In an 82-60 loss, Bethune-Cookman got more scoring from its bench than it did its starters (33-27), which is almost never a good thing.

790 - Georgia State at Mercer
December 7 at Hawkins Arena in Macon, GA
ESPN+

Games 787-788: Wednesday doubleheader

788 - Utah State at San Jose State
December 4 at Event Center in San Jose, CA
ESPN2

Welcome back, Richie Schueler, we've missed you:

"you have to be able to rebound the basketball to win basketball games"
"in Mountain West circles"

IN MOUNTAIN WEST CIRCLES

"a terrific basketball background"
"they determined it was a basketball play"

!

"the sneaky athleticism tool"
"skill set"
"all energy, all the time"
"a high IQ basketball play"

787 - Nebraska at Georgia Tech
December 4 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA
ESPNU

Game 786 - Luther College at Northern Iowa

December 2 at McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, IA
espn3.com

Quite a performance from Northern Iowa, which went 19-of-38 from three-point range and shot 60% overall in setting a program record for points scored at home in a 110-51 victory over the Division III Norse.

A.J. Green had an impressive night shooting the ball from deep, hitting 5-of-10 from three for 19 points, while Noah Carter was great from two (6-of-8) and three (4-of-8) for a game-high 25 points. Four others were in double figures for the Panthers, who according to the broadcast were playing their in-state rivals for the first time since the 1981-82 season, though I couldn't find a record of the game at sports-reference.com/cbb.

Speaking of the broadcast team, color commentator Kevin Lehman came up with a clutch "dribble drives" at the 1:24 mark of the first half.

Here's the full list of dribble drivers.

Game 785 - Central Florida vs. Pepperdine

November 29 at Anaheim Arena in Anaheim, CA
Wooden Legacy consolation round
ESPN News

In Central Florida's 78-65 win, we got a great collection of nonsense from the broadcast team of Jon Crispin and Corey Williams:

"he epitomizes swagger"
"isn't that a basketball play?"
"versatile bigs"
"a quasi euro step"
"that's just a heady play"
"screen the screener type of action" (2)
"it's called energy and ego, it's hard to stop that"
"a shot ready pass"
"earned the right to verticality"
"a modified pocket pass"
"can change the scoreboard with a flick of a wrist"
"throw a monkey wrench into your offensive plans"
"a back to the basket type of big man"
"crab dribble"
"he's impacted the basketball game"

Use this word in a sentence twice, please, sir - Corey Williams Edition

"you have to extend this basketball game and the only way to extend this basketball game is to foul"

Game 784 - Charlotte at Georgia State

November 27 at GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, GA
ESPN+

Games 782-783: Tuesday tournament doubleheader

783 - Kansas vs. BYU
November 26 at Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, HI
Maui Invitational semifinals
ESPN

782 - Western Michigan vs. Seattle
November 26 at HP Fieldhouse in Orlando, FL
NIT Season Tip-off third-place game
ESPNU

Games 780-781: Sunday doubleheader

781 - Robert Morris women at Kent State
November 24 at Memorial Athletic Convocation Center in Kent, OH
espn3.com

We've had baseball Billys before at 300 Game Season and ILTCSC, but Sunday we had our first basketball Billy. His name is Austin Arnold.

Let's enjoy a Sunday's worth of Billys:

"she's enticing to watch"
"she has absolutely been the engine in the car that keeps them going"
"in the words of many basketball players, 'if you keep shooting the shots will come'"
"Kent State just looking for some type of light to go their way"
"they've been hitting the three-point ball and that's reflective on the way they play"
"ball urgency"
"that almost could've been bad"
"to get this game now within some scoring distance"
"a lot of the Kent State points have definitely been down by that box area"
"she's really impressed a lot of eyes"
[watching replay of a lay up] "Asiah Dingle, [higher-pitched sound] what?!, see ya, I'll take two!"
"that's just another great awareness play"
"you draw a charge, which could be a very well good momentum shifter for the back end of this game"
"she's kind of been like an unsung hero, to say the least, for Robert Morris"
"welcome to the Ezeigbo show...she's done everything whether.....well, she's been doing everything because she's been on the court playing so well.....she's not on the court.....
"this is gonna start to become a barnburner really soon"
"kind of almost reminiscent of deja vu, wouldn't you say?"
"she's done absolutely phenomenal"
"this is going to be a very pivotal point in this game"
"I'm at a loss for words! This reminds me of Bulls-Hornets the other night!"


780 - Columbia vs. Central Connecticut State
Hall of Fame Tip Off consolation game

November 24 at Mohegan Sun Arena

espn3.com

Game 779 - Alice Lloyd College at Eastern Kentucky

November 19 at McBrayer Arena in Richmond, KY
ESPN+

A really nice pair of STATS WE DON'T NEED provided by the broadcast team in Eastern Kentucky's 99-63 victory over the NAIA Eagles:


1. [EKU wins opening tip]
"Colonels with the tap. They are 3-2 in that category."

2. [Late first half, EKU's Lachlan Anderson with a dunk]
"Anderson, second dunk of the night and 18th of his career."

Game 778 - Georgia State at Georgetown

November 17 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC
Fox Sports 1

Let's just move on from this weekend - fell at Duke 74-63 despite being tied at 40-40 with about 17 minutes to go and holding the No. 2 team in the nation to 34%/25%/58% shooting on Friday, followed two days later by a 91-83 loss to the Hoyas despite leading by as much as seven in the second half and still at 54-53 with just under 12 minutes to go - as quickly as possible.

It's the first three-game losing streak for GSU since February, 2017, which speaks both to the quality of the program now, and also how nauseating the first two weeks of this current season have been.

Game 777 - Evansville at Kentucky

November 12 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY
SEC Network

Huge night for Evansville, which got 18 points (and an 8-for-8 free throw performance) from K.J. Riley and escaped Rupp Arena with a 67-64 win.

Not only did the visitors, who are coached by former Kentucky national champion Walter McCarty, knock off the Associated Press No. 1 team, but ended the Wildcats' 52-game home winning streak against unranked, non-conference opponents.


Couple quick broadcaster notes:

Paul Sunderland: "despite the icy roads (in Lexington), these guys are leaving everything on the floor. They're not leaving skid marks!"

Andy Kennedy: "the game of basketball is a possessions game."

Also, Kennedy came through with a "dribble drive" with 5:10 left in the game so excellent late-game production out of him.

Game 776 - Cal Poly at North Dakota State

November 11 at Scheels Center in Fargo, ND
Mid Coast Sports Network

A ton of great guard play in this one with NDSU point guard Vinnie Shahid leading the way in a 74-67 victory.

Shahid, a preseason first-team all-Summit League member, scored 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Junior Ballard led Cal Poly with 20 on 8-of-13 shooting. Another Cal Poly guard, Jamal Smith, was impressive as well, getting to the rim and knocking down some nice mid-range jumpers to add 17 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting.

Cal Poly had a 17-0 run that stretched from the end of the first half to the first few minutes of the second and led 38-30 on a Ballard 3-pointer. A lot of back-and-forth followed with the hosts taking the lead for good on Tyree Eady's jumper at about the 8 1/2-minute mark.

Game 775 - VMI at East Carolina

November 5 at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, NC
espn3.com

Stan Lewter on opening night? Sounds delightful.

I see Stan Lewter is one of the announcers, I immediately yell "Stan!". Happens every time.

Lewter was in Lewter Season form, saying the word "basketball" 40 times (average of one per game minute) in East Carolina's 80-68 victory.

Lewter's broadcast partner, Evan Lepler added 24 to give the duo a total of 64.

Top "basketballs"

"whistle-free basketball"
"the threes are falling because of basketball spacing"
"he can not come into this basketball game"

Really nice start to the college season for guys saying the word "basketball".

Game 772 - (5) Auburn vs. (1) Virginia

NCAA Tournament national semifinals
April 6 at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN
CBS

Virginia is one win away from its first national title after a crazy ending Saturday.

Kyle Guy was fouled (?) by Samir Doughty on a three-point attempt with no time on the clock and knocked down all three free throws to secure the Cavaliers' 63-62 victory. Guy finished with 15 points and those were his only free throw attempts. Ty Jerome was great for the Cavaliers, scoring 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting.

No field goals were made after Bryce Brown's three with 1:56 left gave Auburn a 59-57 cushion. Brown hit four threes, but he and Jared Harper were just 8-of-22 combined from the floor to help send the Tigers home.

The Cavaliers, now 34-3, advance to the title game after losses in the 1981 and 1984 final four.

Virginia was also the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 in the opening round as Maryland-Baltimore County got the Cavs in last year's tournament. 

Game 765 - (10) Iowa vs. (2) Tennessee

NCAA Tournament second round
March 24 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH
CBS

Chris Webber:

"it's an adjustment in heart"
"he didn't try to play hero ball"