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Tuesday, November 28, 2000
Spartans in for another fight
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
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Lupe Izzo asked her husband Sunday morning when he would be home after he left for the office.
|  | | Tom Izzo knows what kind of a battle he's in for. |
Tom Izzo's reply?
In about three days -- after Michigan State plays North Carolina in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
Of course, Izzo was kidding. Sort of. But the pressure he's putting on this made-for-TV, nonconference matchup underscores the beauty of the event.
The game is the first true gauge for the Spartans. A year ago, Michigan State found out how good it was when it went to Chapel Hill and won.
The Tar Heels already have been tested this season with narrow victories against Winthrop and Tulsa before a road victory at Appalachian State. Defeating the Spartans in East Lansing, Mich., could send the Tar Heels on a roll with Kentucky coming in Saturday.
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Challenge at a Glance
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Tuesday
Northwestern at Clemson: This is the game to forget. Clemson should rout the Wildcats after nearly beating Seton Hall. ESPN did the Tigers a favor by giving them the overmatched Wildcats.
Illinois at Duke, Greensboro, N.C.: The only neutral about this game is the Duke students won't be within earshot. This is probably the best game of the event with Duke looking vulnerable against Temple and the Illini exceeding expectations in Maui.
Wake Forest at Michigan: Hello, the Demon Deacons are on the verge of cracking the top 10. Dave Odom has his veteran team listening to him and that's translating into convincing victories, thus far. The Wolverines could use a victory against a ranked team to restore confidence in Ann Arbor.
Georgia Tech at Iowa: Luke Recker scored 17 in one game and 26 in another to lead the Hawkeyes to two victories. Iowa needs this win for power-rating points. Anything close is gravy for first-year Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt.
Wednesday
North Carolina at Michigan State: The winner gets a spot in the top four while the loser will barely drop. The Spartans don't have a "name" win yet. Play at the point with the Tar Heels' committee against the Spartans' Marcus Taylor could decide the game.
Maryland at Wisconsin, Milwaukee: Ticket sales are slow at the Bradley Center but that was before the Terps lost two in Maui. The Badgers could use a confidence boost against an elite team. Maryland simply needs a victory.
Purdue at Virginia: Suddenly, this game has more meaning after the Boilermakers upset Arizona. The Cavaliers didn't get into the NCAA Tournament because they didn't have enough nonconference wins. The quality 'Ws' begin with this game.
Minnesota at Florida State: The Gophers are no longer a gimme after getting to the Hawaii-Pacific final against Georgetown. The Seminoles can't afford to drop this home game after failing to get past rival Florida in the opener.
Penn State at N.C. State: Like Purdue, the Nittany Lions are now a team to watch. N.C. State has to get back its fire after losing to Charlotte and Fresno State. A Penn State victory in Raleigh could be devastating to the team's psyche.
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The Michigan State-North Carolina matchup is the marquee game on Wednesday, but the game of the event might end up being Illinois against Duke in a "neutral" court in Greensboro, N.C., Tuesday.
"It's not Duke's homecourt and it's better than going to Cameron, but it's not neutral," Illinois coach Bill Self said. "But then Duke probably didn't think the United Center was a neutral court last year in the game."
Illinois is coming off an impressive run to the Maui Invitational final, before losing to Arizona. Duke swept through the Preseason NIT field, beating Temple in Friday's final.
Duke's players talked Friday of the importance of getting tested early in the season. Self can't avoid a challenge with the Illini schedule. They've still got Arizona (in Chicago), Seton Hall and Missouri before Christmas.
"The start has been good but not better than we expected to have," Self said of the 4-1 Illini in his first year in Champaign. "We've got two quality wins (over UNLV and Maryland) and a near-miss against a great team. The schedule makes you nervous. We might play well and not win some of these games. The reality is that with this schedule we'll be a lot better in January and February because of these games. We're going to play two No. 1s and a No. 5 team in the first 11 days of the season. I don't know if that's ever been done."
The Illini ran out of gas against Arizona. But the Illini should have the stamina to last against Duke, especially inside where players like Brian Cook, Sergio McClain and Marcus Griffin are creating extra possessions with hustle plays and rebounding. If they can finish at the offensive end then they've got a shot against a Duke team, which is thin on production behind Carlos Boozer and Shane Battier up front.
Regardless, this game will be between two of the tougher teams this season.
"The intangible things they're responding too," Self said. "We've got the mental toughness and we're thinking about the next play, loose balls and hustle plays. We've still had too many breakdowns, but I love their effort. We've gotten behind and haven't panicked. That's the sign of a mature team."
The ACC-Big Ten Challenge has aged well as a two-year event. Few conferences would have the depth to pull it off, even though a league like the SEC desperately wants ESPN to put one together for them (they'd prefer the Big East). The ACC-Big Ten has three marquee matchups and a few potentially decent draws.
It will only get better when Indiana and Ohio State rotate in next year.
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Looking back
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Team of the Week
Dayton: Forgive us for overlooking the Flyers and, in reality, all of the Atlantic 10. The Flyers are on fire after the Maui Invitational. How many teams can say they beat Connecticut and Maryland in a three-day period? Dayton didn't win the tournament after losing to Arizona in the semifinals but going 2-1 in the best field ever in an exempted tournament is simply sensational. Coach Oliver Purnell deserves the credit and the apologies for the lack of preseason respect, especially after last season's run to an NCAA Tournament berth. Somehow the Flyers failed to get love from the coaches' poll. Hopefully the AP poll will make more sense. Tony Stanley's heroic play in Maui, averaging 18.3 points during a tournament in which his mother passed away, was remarkable. Yuanta Holland was nearly as consistent and the Flyers have the necessary scorers in Nate Green, Brooks Hall, David Morris and Keith Waleskowski to compete for the A-10 title. The defense is obviously legit in holding the Huskies to 66 points.
Player of the Week
Preston Shumpert, Jr., Syracuse: The 6-foot-6 Shumpert scored 22 of 28 points in the second half of Saturday's Great Alaska Shootout victory against Missouri. Shumpert, who also had 11 rebounds, forced Missouri's Kareem Rush into fouling out. Shumpert was on fire throughout the tournament and after four games overall is averaging 25.3 points, 7.3 rebounds a game. No one gave Syracuse love in the preseason (including ESPN.com), yet Shumpert proved Jim Boeheim shouldn't have been doubted with a rebuilding team. You don't have to rebuild if you're retooled with a go-to guy like Shumpert.
Past players of the week:
Nov. 20: Trenton Hassell (Austin Peay)
Nov. 13: Joseph Forte (UNC)
Climbing up
St. Bonaventure: The crow we're eating on Dayton could be served up on the Bonnies, as well. Who knew? St. Bonaventure lost two of its best players from last season. Transfer Kevin Houston (from Miami) is the real deal (he's averaging 15 points per game) but the play of freshman point Marques Green and playmaker Patricio Prato seems to be the difference. New Mexico State and Fresno State couldn't keep them out of the lane in losses last week. But the clincher came when the Bonnies upset Charlotte 79-78 Saturday in Rochester, N.Y. St. Bonaventure gave Jim Baron a contract extension over the summer after he flirted with the Colorado State and Air Force jobs. Baron said "you'd better pinch me. Tell me we're 3-0," after beating Charlotte. Jim, we're just as surprised as you.
Better watch out
N.C. State: Let's hope Sunday's 38-point victory against Charleston Southern was a cure for N.C. State's early season slumber. The Wolfpack looked horrible in their 19-point loss to Fresno State Wednesday in Springfield, Mass. N.C. State was coming off a "good" loss to Charlotte the previous week, but it was still a defeat at home. The Wolfpack defense is giving up too many easy baskets. They're not getting consistent point-guard play and aren't physical enough inside. The schedule is favorable the rest of the calendar year with the only road game at Old Dominion Saturday and the home games against lower Division I teams. N.C. State has time to get its act together, and it better before the opening of the ACC -- at Virginia and at home against Duke.
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Watch the scores
Austin Peay at Tennessee, Monday: The Governors won the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks and have a chance to stun the Volunteers. Tennessee can't afford, for in-state pride and national recognition, to take Austin Peay lightly. This is a dangerous nonconference game.
Cincinnati at Dayton, Wednesday: The Flyers would love to add their in-state rival to their list of upsets this season. The Bearcats are reeling a bit after losing to Notre Dame. A Dayton victory would give even more credibility to an underrated A-10. Beat Marshall Saturday and the Flyers better be in the top 25 in both polls.
Gonzaga at Arizona, Wednesday: The undefeated Bulldogs are catching the Wildcats at the wrong time after they're improbable loss to Purdue Saturday. But Casey Calvary's 21 points a game could be a problem for the Loren Woods-less Wildcats.
BB&T Classic (Michigan vs. Maryland; St. John's vs. George Washington), Saturday-Sunday, MCI Center, Washington D.C.: The Terps need a strong showing in this field to reassert themselves as a top five and ACC title contender. The Wolverines could re-establish credibility with a split here after losing to Oakland to start the season. GW has its own issues with a game against former coach Mike Jarvis. The Red Storm is already tournament tough with a split in the Coaches vs. Cancer two weeks ago.
DePaul at Florida, Saturday: The Blue Demons couldn't shoot against Syracuse's zone and now they've got to prove they can handle pressure. Pat Kennedy has to play guards Imari Sawyer and Rashon Burno more against the Gators. If he goes big, the Blue Demons will struggle against the press.
Kentucky at North Carolina, Saturday: The Wildcats arrive wounded and are an easy target in Chapel Hill. Jason Parker was signed and sealed for the Tar Heels before they rejected him in August. He shouldn't need any motivation for this game and he's starting to live up to his hype with a double-double in the loss to Penn State. The Tar Heels will be coming off a game at Michigan State and will likely need another confidence boost.
Duke at Temple, Saturday: Can the rematch be better than the original? They'll try after the two teams staged one of the better recent Preseason NIT finals. The Blue Devils have to make the Owls play catchup earlier than the final few seconds. Expect a raucous First Union Center.
Wooden Classic (Utah vs. USC; Georgia Tech vs. UCLA), Saturday, Anaheim, Calif.: This is USC's first real test and high-flying guard Jeff Trepagnier is expected back from a foot injury. The Trojans should pose some matchup problems for the Utes, who should have coach Rick Majerus back on the bench after he stayed home from Puerto Rico because of a swollen knee. Meanwhile, UCLA could use some positive pub in the L.A. area after losing to Northridge at home last week. The Yellow Jackets have played better than expected but are still beatable this early in the season.
What's at stake
South Florida's power rating: The Bulls went 1-2 in Fairbanks and must beat George Washington Tuesday to get back in the good graces of the computer. The Bulls need something good to happen in November before they lose their confidence.
Charlotte's momentum: The 49ers were soaring after beating N.C. State in Raleigh but then stumbled against a surprise St. Bonaventure. Beating Miami (Fla.) on Tuesday would keep them on the national radar screen and on the verge of the top 25 again. Taking out the Hurricanes and South Carolina on Saturday would close out a wonderful week.
Mercer's ability to schedule the SEC: Mercer already beat Auburn last week. If Mercer can take out South Carolina on Wednesday in Columbia, then the Bears might not get another SEC game. Being deemed too dangerous isn't good for a low major in scheduling.
Hoosier hysteria: Mike Davis and his staff desperately need a victory against Indiana State on Wednesday to soothe any chaos in Bloomington. Three straight losses, and two consecutive to the Sycamores over two years, wouldn't go over well.
First-place in the America East: It's not even December and Hofstra and Delaware are playing on Long Island on Thursday. The Blue Hens are off to a 1-2 start, but Hofstra is 4-0 and can take a decided advantage with a decisive season-opening conference victory.
Alabama's legitimacy: The Tide has beaten up on a few soft opponents but gets a chance to prove they're for real when they play host to Louisville on Thursday.
The Musketeers status as A-10 favorites: Xavier heads to Wisconsin for a classic, physical battle. But Xavier is the only one of the top A-10 teams that hasn't had a chance to pull off a "name" win. Beating Wisconsin would help the Musketeers' standing as the preseason favorite. The depleted Badgers just have to keep surviving.
Calipari's adaptation to a Tiger rival: John Calipari has to make the trip to Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville in his first year on the job. Pity John. Playing at Arkansas is said to be one of the toughest road assignments for any coach.
What's working
Crispin brothers: Penn State got a combined 57 points from Joe and Jon Crispin in an upset of Kentucky. If the Nittany Lions can get that kind of production out of the Crispin pair then they might just get Penn State, and coach Jerry Dunn, to the NCAA Tournament after falling short the past few seasons.
Something at Southern Illinois: The Salukis are 3-0 after beating Long Beach State, St. Louis and Ball State to start the season. The Missouri Valley's unknown team looks like it will challenge Creighton for the title and possibly for an NCAA bid (or both).
Oregon State without Phillip Ricci: The Beavers weren't supposed to be as good this season with only eight scholarship players and Ricci deciding to redshirt because of a knee injury. But Ritchie McKay got the Beavers into the Big Island Invitational final, before losing to Oklahoma on Sunday. Oregon State bested Appalachian State and Long Beach State prior to the title game. Brian Jackson and Jason Heide have been double-figure scorers for McKay in Ricci's absence.
Caron Butler in Connecticut's lineup: The Huskies got beaten up inside by Dayton in the Maui Invitational opener. They found the inside-out scoring presence they lacked when freshman forward Caron Butler made his debut against Louisville two days later. Butler scored 20 points against the Cardinals and promises to make the Huskies a contender in a rugged Big East. Butler missed the first three games because of an NCAA suspension related to receiving aid for prep school.
Minnesota under Monson: The Gophers lost in the Hawaii-Pacific final against Georgetown after beating TCU 107-99 Saturday. That's right, the supposedly weak-on-offense Gophers ran up 100-plus points over the Horned Frogs. The Gophers entered the Georgetown game 4-0, including a victory against Georgia. Even though they lost to the Hoyas, the Gophers can now tell top signee Rick Rickert they could be heading toward an NIT bid.
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Top Five
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Lynn Greer, So., Temple: Greer was sensational at the NIT in New York, scoring 20 points in 40 minutes in a victory against Indiana and then 15 in 40 in the loss to Duke. The Owls are 4-1, largely because of Greer. Pepe Sanchez was one of the top defenders in the country, especially in the Temple matchup zone. But Greer is a better scorer (also has a 20-7 assist-to-turnover ratio) and keeps the Owls in every game, shooting 39.3 percent on 3s, thus far.
Carlos Boozer, So., Duke: Boozer continued his play for most improved player, not just on Duke, but in the nation. Boozer leads the top-rated Blue Devils with 19 points a game. Boozer was instrumental in the Preseason NIT final victory with 26 points on 10 of 14 shooting. Boozer came up with a key defensive play in the final second and pushed the Devils when he was on the bench when he was as enthusiastic as he was on the floor.
Casey Jacobsen, So., Stanford: The sharp-shooting Cardinal guard scored 22 points in a convincing Puerto Rico Shootout victory over Georgia. He opened the tournament with 16 over Old Dominion and had 22 in a rout of Memphis in the semifinals for a blistering 4-0 start for the Cardinal.
Troy Murphy, Jr., Notre Dame: The likely top five draft pick scored 30 points, had six blocks and seven rebounds in an impressive 18-point victory against Cincinnati Saturday in Indianapolis. Murphy is averaging 28 points and 8.3 rebounds in three games. He's shooting 60 percent and 45.5 percent on 3s. Not bad for a co-player of the year favorite.
Frank Williams, Jr., Illinois: The Illini playmaker has settled into his leadership role, averaging 19.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in five games. Williams is shooting 40 percent overall, but the most impressive stat might be his six turnovers to 15 assists. He's making better decisions and as a result the Illini are winning big games they couldn't a year ago.
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What needs fixing
Kentucky's 3-point shooting: The Wildcats looked like they could recover from a 0-2 start in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. They easily beat Jacksonville State. But their poor shooting returned in a stunning home loss to Penn State. Kentucky made just 5 of 26 3s against the Nittany Lions. Tayshaun Prince is shooting 20 percent from 3-point land. The only player with decent 3-point numbers is Erik Daniels (4 of 5).
Our predictions: We might have jumped the gun on TCU. The Horned Frogs lost to Minnesota on Saturday and then the College of Charleston on Sunday in Honolulu. TCU can certainly still make a run for an NCAA Tournament berth but going 1-2 in a tournament that provided the few chances for quality power-rating games didn't help its cause.
Memphis' ability to close: That's twice now the Tigers have had top 25-type teams down but couldn't win. Memphis should have beaten Temple but couldn't finish the game. The Tigers had a chance to put away Utah on Saturday in Puerto Rico but couldn't. The players need to listen to John Calipari before they can start benefiting from his knowledge. They spoke of his magic in practice but haven't translated it into action yet.
Massachusetts' schedule: Poor shooting by Monty Mack and Shannon Crooks (a combined 5 of 27) didn't help the Minutemen in their upset loss at Holy Cross. But the key point is this: Bruiser Flint's team has no chance to get enough victories to feel secure about the postseason before the A-10 season with only three nonconference home games. The Minutemen have been on the road two of three games and lost them both -- at Marquette and at Holy Cross.
Maryland's toughness inside: We were simply dead wrong last week in the Watch about the Terps. They didn't have the best chance to beat Arizona without Loren Woods because they couldn't get to the title game. The Terps were outhustled inside by Illinois and Dayton in two shocking consecutive losses at the Maui Invitational. There's really no excuse. The Terps have the talent and the depth inside to challenge any team in the country.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Watch, a look back at the week and a preview of the week ahead, runs every Monday.
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