Hoops Schedule Items

The schedule.

As a supplement to SFN's analysis, here are some tempo-free tidbits about our OOC opponents, including potential Old Spice Classic foes:

'06-'07          PomRk     Pace(Rk)     OffEff(Rk)      DefEff(Rk)
Michigan State     15     61.6 (317)    114.1 (38)       87.6 (14)
Villanova          19     66.5 (172)    114.2 (36)       89.1 (18)
Kansas State       50     66.5 (174)    110.2 (71)       91.1 (32)
Davidson           74     72.7 (12)     109.8 (76)       96.2 (83)
Seton Hall         81     71.2 (33)     109.3 (80)       97.6 (107)
South Carolina    102     62.3 (309)    109.5 (78)      101.3 (138)
Cincinnati        113     65.7 (207)    103.7 (138)      97.2 (98)
Penn State        119     63.8 (284)    109.2 (81)      102.9 (170)
William & Mary    184     63.4 (295)    100.9 (177)     104.6 (200)
New Orleans       233     65.9 (202)    104.3 (128)     114.9 (332)
WCU               246     68.8 (87)      97.4 (227)     109.4 (267)
Rider             255     68.7 (90)      98.1 (217)     110.8 (294)
SC State          295     65.1 (225)     92.5 (285)     109.4 (268)
ECU               297     64.6 (250)     89.9 (305)     106.7 (228)
Presbyterian      N/A         N/A            N/A             N/A
NC Central        N/A         N/A            N/A             N/A

(Stats courtesy Ken Pomeroy.)

Notes:

-- We'll breeze past all of the teams listed below Penn State; those schools are so bad that what they're adding/returning is irrelevant. [/duh]

-- Michigan State looks to me like the best team in the Big Ten this season. They solve that TO% problem of theirs and they're going to be an elite team. They might be regardless. Like everybody in the B10, the Spartans were slow as molasses last year, and that plays to our advantage as the road dogs.

-- Kansas State loses Cartier Martin's efficient play, but with Bill Walker, Michael Beasley and other talented newcomers ready to contribute, I don't think they're gonna be too worried about it.

-- Only four schools allowed more points per possession than New Orleans did in 2007. Guard Bo McCalebb did just about everything offensively for UNO, leading the nation in possession usage and finishing second in %shots.

-- Cincinnati's Jamual Warren shot 39.4% in 2007. When is it a good time to stop shooting threes? When you are 9-60 (15%), that's when. You'll want to catch this one, as the Black Hole of Suck (which returns largely intact) is not to be missed.

-- The tallest player among Seton Hall's regulars last year was 6-7 (and he graduated). They were murdered by the Big East slate--utterly outclassed on the defensive glass and shot to death inside the arc. They also hacked the ever living Christ out of everyone. The only way they managed to piece together a decent defense was with quick hands--they forced a lot of turnovers. Unless they found a couple kick ass tall people, we should pulverize them with our front court just like the BE did. HULK SMASH!!!! GRRRR!!!

-- Rider's Jason Thompson compiled some impressive numbers in the MAAC. Like McCalebb, he's a one-man show.

-- What's this "field goal defense" people keep talking about?

-- East Carolina's offense was a special kind of awful last year. Odds that a Wolfpack player gets hit by a bottle/battery/bottle full of batteries when we're up 20 in the last two minutes: say, 3/1. So glad we're making this trip.