Texas-Tennessee officials, BC, Ohio State/Florida
1. One of my pet peeves with basketball refs are those who allow one team to dictate their style of officiating. I thought that was the case in Tennessee's 111-105 overtime win over Texas.
Tennessee's frantic, pressing, physical style is designed to rattle the opposition, forcing them into quick shots and turnovers. Particularly at home, and particularly against a young team (like Texas), they don't need any help with that. But the referees did play a part in it, allowing excessive contact from Vols players -- presumably because that's their "style." I'm all for "letting them play," but only if it doesn't give one team an advantage over the other. Texas shouldn't be punished for being less physical than their opponent.
The must frustrating play for me was Kevin Durant's fourth foul, which kept him out of action for several minutes while Tennessee came storming back from a 15-point halftime deficit. Tennessee's Wayne Chism was guarding Durant on the perimeter, and was applying a pretty obvious handcheck. The official let it go, however, blowing the whistle only when Durant drove to the basket and gave Chism an ever-so-subtle push (which the Tennessee freshman embellished by flopping backwards).
I'd prefer that the handcheck be called in that situation. If it isn't, however, you have to let Durant's bump go as well. Texas was having a hard enough time with Tennessee's pressure and the rabid Vols crowd -- they shouldn't have to deal with officials who adapted to Tennessee's playing style and allowed more contact than they should have.
2. Boston College's flex offense is too crowded. Against a man-to-man defense, they are the rare college team -- I don't think I've seen another, in fact -- that plays inside the three point line.
The Eagles run some interesting, intricate motion involving screens and subtle cuts, but the result of the way they are set up -- four guys standing right outside the key -- minimizes the effectiveness of the offense. On Saturday, Kansas always had four defenders in the paint, so help was never farther away than the width of the key. BC runs a nice play to free someone for an elbow jumper, but it's easier to guard because so many defenders are within just a few feet of each other. There's little room for entry passes or penetration, as well.
I know Al Skinner has had success with this offense in past years, so I have to think that the absence of a real low-post presence -- like Craig Smith -- is what's hurting the Eagles this year. The offense seems to produce tough shots in cramped spaces, and besides Jared Dudley, they don't seem to have anyone comfortable operating in all that traffic.
3. First real poor performance from a young Ohio State team this year. They actually got some good looks from the perimeter at the start of the game, and simply couldn't knock them down. Once Florida switched to a 2-3 zone, the Buckeyes seemed lost, often taking 15 seconds -- and occasionally longer -- to get any movement from their offense. Mike Conley Jr.'s penetration was the only bright spot.
After a quick 9-0 run to start the second half that tied the score, Ohio State pretty much imploded. Offensively, the Buckeyes were hurt by Greg Oden's conditioning, which still isn't where it should be as the big freshman continues to recover from his time off the court due to a wrist injury. Once Florida started to extend the lead, Ohio State panicked a bit, jacking three-pointers as though a single shot from behind the arc would immediately put them back in the game. A play with about 7:30 minutes left and the Buckeyes trailing by double digits summed it up: Conley wasted his man was his first step and had a clear path to the basket for a layup, but as soon as he had his shoulders past his defender, he turned and kicked it to a teammate for a difficult three-pointer.
Defensively, as Billy Packer mentioned on the CBS broadcast, they struggled to defend a simple pick-and-pop play, and got hammered on the boards. In the end, they surrendered something like 70 percent shooting from the field in the second half.
For Florida, it was as good a performance as their dismantling of UCLA in last year's title game.
The Gators will always do well against perimeter-oriented teams, because with Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Chris Richard, they're extremely big for a college team. That trio wore Oden down, and Ohio State didn't have any reinforcements in the post.
(And 1) Two things I was disappointed in today.
1)The fact that Kevin Durant didn't get a shot in overtime until 1:20 remained in the extra period, and Tennessee had already jumped out to a two-possession lead. I'm actually not sure he had a "dangerous" touch -- a touch where he was in the frontcourt with a reasonable chance to score -- until that time, either. He's the best player on the court. He needs to be the go-to guy in that situation.
2)Boston College's energy. The Eagles were terrible on transition defense, and were often two steps slow to the ball on the glass.
Tennessee's frantic, pressing, physical style is designed to rattle the opposition, forcing them into quick shots and turnovers. Particularly at home, and particularly against a young team (like Texas), they don't need any help with that. But the referees did play a part in it, allowing excessive contact from Vols players -- presumably because that's their "style." I'm all for "letting them play," but only if it doesn't give one team an advantage over the other. Texas shouldn't be punished for being less physical than their opponent.
The must frustrating play for me was Kevin Durant's fourth foul, which kept him out of action for several minutes while Tennessee came storming back from a 15-point halftime deficit. Tennessee's Wayne Chism was guarding Durant on the perimeter, and was applying a pretty obvious handcheck. The official let it go, however, blowing the whistle only when Durant drove to the basket and gave Chism an ever-so-subtle push (which the Tennessee freshman embellished by flopping backwards).
I'd prefer that the handcheck be called in that situation. If it isn't, however, you have to let Durant's bump go as well. Texas was having a hard enough time with Tennessee's pressure and the rabid Vols crowd -- they shouldn't have to deal with officials who adapted to Tennessee's playing style and allowed more contact than they should have.
2. Boston College's flex offense is too crowded. Against a man-to-man defense, they are the rare college team -- I don't think I've seen another, in fact -- that plays inside the three point line.
The Eagles run some interesting, intricate motion involving screens and subtle cuts, but the result of the way they are set up -- four guys standing right outside the key -- minimizes the effectiveness of the offense. On Saturday, Kansas always had four defenders in the paint, so help was never farther away than the width of the key. BC runs a nice play to free someone for an elbow jumper, but it's easier to guard because so many defenders are within just a few feet of each other. There's little room for entry passes or penetration, as well.
I know Al Skinner has had success with this offense in past years, so I have to think that the absence of a real low-post presence -- like Craig Smith -- is what's hurting the Eagles this year. The offense seems to produce tough shots in cramped spaces, and besides Jared Dudley, they don't seem to have anyone comfortable operating in all that traffic.
3. First real poor performance from a young Ohio State team this year. They actually got some good looks from the perimeter at the start of the game, and simply couldn't knock them down. Once Florida switched to a 2-3 zone, the Buckeyes seemed lost, often taking 15 seconds -- and occasionally longer -- to get any movement from their offense. Mike Conley Jr.'s penetration was the only bright spot.
After a quick 9-0 run to start the second half that tied the score, Ohio State pretty much imploded. Offensively, the Buckeyes were hurt by Greg Oden's conditioning, which still isn't where it should be as the big freshman continues to recover from his time off the court due to a wrist injury. Once Florida started to extend the lead, Ohio State panicked a bit, jacking three-pointers as though a single shot from behind the arc would immediately put them back in the game. A play with about 7:30 minutes left and the Buckeyes trailing by double digits summed it up: Conley wasted his man was his first step and had a clear path to the basket for a layup, but as soon as he had his shoulders past his defender, he turned and kicked it to a teammate for a difficult three-pointer.
Defensively, as Billy Packer mentioned on the CBS broadcast, they struggled to defend a simple pick-and-pop play, and got hammered on the boards. In the end, they surrendered something like 70 percent shooting from the field in the second half.
For Florida, it was as good a performance as their dismantling of UCLA in last year's title game.
The Gators will always do well against perimeter-oriented teams, because with Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Chris Richard, they're extremely big for a college team. That trio wore Oden down, and Ohio State didn't have any reinforcements in the post.
(And 1) Two things I was disappointed in today.
1)The fact that Kevin Durant didn't get a shot in overtime until 1:20 remained in the extra period, and Tennessee had already jumped out to a two-possession lead. I'm actually not sure he had a "dangerous" touch -- a touch where he was in the frontcourt with a reasonable chance to score -- until that time, either. He's the best player on the court. He needs to be the go-to guy in that situation.
2)Boston College's energy. The Eagles were terrible on transition defense, and were often two steps slow to the ball on the glass.
posted by H.S. Slam, Ph.D at 3:43 PM
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