Interesting on home court

Im not reaching here, but I find that the stats about the away differentials could be valuable in march.

Article ESPN Pomeroy: The team with the biggest differential between home and road scoring margin during this time is … drumroll please … Utah Valley! Iknow I could have given you a few hundred guesses before you came up with the Wolverines. But believe it or not, in 58 games they outscored opponents by 745 points at home and were outscored by 105 points on the road for an average home-court advantage of 7.33 points. UVU leads a top 10 that isn’t exactly a who’s who of teams playing in feared venues. Ranking the teams with the best home-court advantage. HSM is the total home scoring margin in number of games listed. RSM is the total road scoring margin in number of games listed. Avg. HCA is the average home-court advantage based on difference in home/road scoring margin per game.

Rank	Team	HSM	RSM	Games	Avg. HCA
1	Utah Valley	745	-105	58	7.328
2	Alabama	538	-341	60	7.325
3	Arkansas	384	-447	60	6.93
4	Denver	493	-617	82	6.77
5	Virginia Tech	255	-567	62	6.63
6	Ohio	513	-395	69	6.58
7	Marshall	433	-486	71	6.47
8	Indiana	495	-528	80	6.39
9	Hawaii	568	-733	103	6.32
10	Mississippi St.	576	-181	60	6.31
70	Kansas	1076	520	60	4.63
80	Duke	1171	481	76	4.54
116	Ohio State	658	-18	80	4.23
179	North Carolina	616	57	76	3.68
232	Kentucky	529	141	60	3.23

2/29 ESPN Interview with Creen. our program has finally bounced back this season. What’s the next step?

TC: Winning close games consistently, I think that’s big. We’ve had some really good road wins, double-figure road wins.

But every part of winning for this team is new this year. A winning streak, the nonconference record, beating ranked teams — highly ranked teams — this is the first time this group has done any of that. You never take it for granted but it won’t be the first time anymore, so that’s a big deal.

That’s why they’ve matured so much through this season. The biggest thing to understand is why we’re successful when we’re successful. When this team has really embraced the physicality of the game and played possession by possession, that’s when they’ve been their best.

Speaking of first times, this will be the first time this team heads to March with serious expectations for the Big Ten Tournament and a guaranteed NCAA tournament trip. How will they handle it?

TC: We’ll see. As coaches, we’ve been through it, so you do what you do and you do what you know works, tailoring it to your particular team. This group really dives into films. We’re a team that makes adjustments. We game plan for each game — how are we going to guard these screens? We don’t just do what we do. And they’ve been really good at that.

But the bigger we make it, the more overwhelming it gets. I don’t think anyone needs to do that. They already know how big it is. It’s our job to make sure they just go step by step.

Miss State

Interesting team. They have beat a lot of good teams this year.  Texas AM, AZ, WV, Utah St, Alabama, Vandi and their loses have been to pretty good teams.

Here are my thoughts… Dee Boss is a flat out gunner. He is shooting like 36% from the field but he just keeps attacking. He is the key to their team. In the game I saw, vs Vandi, he was cold and out of whack and they were down 11. In the paint, they have some real interesting pieces. Sidney and Moultrie form a powerful inside presence. Sidney is the humongous kid that punched his teammate last year. He was easily baited into foul trouble.. and as the announcer said.. doesnt have a real passion for basketball. BUT.. when he is in, he is really a presence – even passing. Moultrie is a 10 pt 10 reb guy every night and at 6’11 hes is big. In this game, with Boss struggling they couldnt score enough. But in the second half, they caught fire and won. Key for them was to keep attacking. They didnt just launch 3′s, they attacked off the dribble and with sound movement. If Sidney gets in foul trouble and Boss is hounded like this “Mississippi State’s Dee Bost scored 15 points, but was 4 of 15 from the field. The shorter Bost was hounded by 6-foot-9 Terrance Henry on the perimeter for much of the game, forcing the Bulldogs’ point guard into some tough shots.” then this is an upset in the making. If they are clicking on all cylinders, this team could win a few.

Dana Oneil Miss State Jan

Mississippi State is Mississippi State.

Which is to say loaded with talent but entirely annoying.

The Bulldogs lost to rival Mississippi on Wednesday night, getting beat up on the inside by Reginald Buckner. This despite having what should be their own formidable pair in Renardo Sidney and Arnett Moultrie.

It is vintage Mississippi State, winning enough games to turn people into converts and then losing one to exasperate those same bandwagon jumpers.

Article surprises and disappointments (Disappointments)

Mild Disappointments

1. Michigan State — Thought by many to be title contenders this year, the Spartans are projected to earn only an 11 seed into the tournament. Of course, anything can happen in March. Purdue is the only test left on the schedule, but the conference tournament will be a test in the stacked Big Ten.

2. Kansas State — Came out like gangbusters in the beginning of the year, but early losses to Duke and Florida, and narrow victories over Washington State and Loyola (Ill.) marked the decline of the Wildcats heading into Big 12 play. Originally projected as a No. 2 seed into the tournament, now they’re looking at a potential No. 11, unless they can run the table at the conference tournament.

3. Memphis — Expected to easily win the Conference USA title and earn a No. 3 seed into the tournament, the Tigers are tied for fourth in the conference and are projected to be an 11 seed in March. A game at league-leading UTEP is the only significant game on the schedule heading into the conference tournament.

4. Oklahoma State — Another Big 12 team with tournament expectations, the Cowboys were projected to be a No. 11 seed in March after being there last year. But they are near the bottom of the conference standings and don’t have the non-conference resume’ to land an at-large bid. But they could help themselves with a strong showing in the Big 12 tournament.

5. Mississippi State — Predicted to win the SEC West division title and earn a No. 9 seed into the tournament, the Bulldogs are four games behind Alabama in the division standings and barely over .500 in their overall record. While Tennessee is the only really good team left on the schedule, MSU will probably have to reach the conference tournament title game to get a spot in the Big Dance.

Major Disappointments

1. Gonzaga — The Bulldogs were “probable” WCC title contenders this year with a projected No. 4 seed going into March Madness, but with St. Mary’s in the conference lead, the Zags’ only hope for a 13-straight tournament appearance will be a conference tournament title.

2. Butler — After last year’s championship game appearance, many thought the Bulldogs would reload this year and enter March as high as a No. 4 seed. But they, too, will need to win their conference tournament as the Horizon may not be strong enough to land an at-large berth, although Cleveland State and Valparaiso are as tough as anyone in the country — which is why Butler has struggled to run away with the league.

3. Illinois — Projected to finish fourth in the Big Ten and earn a No. 5 seed into the tournament, the Illini are right where they were expected to be in the standings, but could miss the Big Dance altogether. Games left include one at league-leading Ohio State and another at second-place Purdue. It will take a high finish in the conference tournament to get the Illini a March bid.

4. Wichita State — The Shockers were projected to win the Missouri Valley Conference title and, therefore, get the automatic bid into the Big Dance, as high as a No. 7 seed. But they’re currently behind Missouri State in the standings and will need to win the conference title to get the bid in March.

5. North Carolina State — Expected to be a No. 8 seed into the tournament and the fourth-place finisher in the ACC, the Wolfpack are clearly out of the running with a 4-8 conference record and just 14-12 overall. Like with many other teams, it will take a conference tournament title to get them into the Big Dance.

Mississippi State

2011 Outlook:  Coach Rick Stansbury favors a blue-collar style, with an emphasis on toughness, defense and rebounding.  Dont think finese in the middle with Varnado this year. They throw out two new huge bodies including Sidney who was ineligible last year and was told he WOULD have been drafted in the NBA draft. Guards are meh behind NBA declaration and then reverse Dee Bost who may be suspended. They play in the weak SEC West and they appear to actually be good.

My Notes: This could really be a team that comes on strong late. They have Bost and one big guy not playing the first month plus with suspensions. When they get back and working well, barring injuries, this could really be a team to watch. Watch for guard play and also chemistry… a lotttt of new parts mixed in here.