NCAAB
Armadillo's Write-Up
Friday, December 4
Detroit @ Michigan State
Detroit
— 3 starters back from LY’s 11-23 team
— picked 11th in Horizon by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #219 by KenPom
— This is Detroit’s season opener.
— Titans added three grad transfers, should be deeper.
Michigan State (3-0)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 22-9 team
— picked 4th in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #10 by KenPom
— Spartans won at Duke Tuesday, playing nine guys 10:00+.
— State has #22 eFG% defense, without forcing lot of turnovers.
— MSU starts three three juniors and a senior.
Tex-Arlington @ Tulsa
Tex-Arlington (1-3)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 14-18 team
— picked 8th in Sun Belt by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #157 by KenPom
— UTA lost three of four games, losing by 7-5-12 points.
— Mavericks are shooting only 43% inside arc, 63.8% on foul line.
— UTA played only two guys more than 18:00 in Wednesday’s loss at Arkansas.
Tulsa (0-2)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 21-10 team
— picked 4th in AAC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #96 by KenPom
— Tulsa went 0-2 on trip to KC, scoring 61.5 ppg.
— Golden Hurricane shot 22.9% on arc, turned ball over 25.8% of time in first two games.
— Tulsa starts three seniors and a junior.
Kent State @ Virginia
Kent State (1-0)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 20-12 team
— picked 6th in MAC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #174 by KenPom
— Kent beat a stiff by 49 in its opener.
— Kent started three seniors, one junior in its opener.
— Last six years, Golden Flashes are 61-47 in MAC games.
Virginia (2-1)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 23-7 team
— picked 1st in ACC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #14 by KenPom
— Virginia beat Towson by 35, St Francis by 25, but lost to San Francisco.
— Cavaliers are playing slowest tempo in country right now.
— No one played more than 23:00 in Tuesday’s 76-51 win over St Francis.
Georgia State @ Charlotte
Georgia State (2-1)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 19-13 team
— picked 2nd in Sun Belt by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #115 by KenPom
— Panthers upset Ga Tech in four OT’s, but also lost by 17 at Mercer.
— State starts two juniors, two seniors.
— Panthers beat Charlotte 81-78 at home in OT last season
Charlotte (0-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 16-13 team
— picked 5th in C-USA by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #185 by KenPom
— 49ers lost their opener 66-57 at East Carolina, after leading by 10 early.
— Charlotte starts three seniors, two sophs.
— Last year was first time in 10 years Charlotte had winning record in league play.
Wisconsin @ Marquette
Wisconsin (3-0)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 21-10 team
— picked 1st in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #7 by KenPom
— Badgers gave up 55.7 ppg in beating on three stiffs, by 10-34-40.
— First three opponents shot 33.3% inside the arc.
— Wisconsin starts five seniors, is playing pace #346.
Marquette (2-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 18-12 team
— picked 7th in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #34 by KenPom
— Marquette beat two stiffs by 42-25, then lost at home to Oklahoma State.
— Golden Eagles turned ball over 23.5% of time so far.
— Marquette is playing pace #43; contrast of styles here.
— Marquette beat the Badgers two of last three years.
Valparaiso @ Purdue
Valparaiso (0-2)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 19-16 team
— picked 9th in MVC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #167 by KenPom
— Valpo lost by 6 at Vandy, by 16 at Ill-Chicago.
— Crusaders are shooting 24.5% on arc, 54.2% on foul line.
— Valpo starts a freshman, two sophs.
Purdue
— 3 starters back from LY’s 16-15 team
— picked 11th in Big 14 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #25 by KenPom
— Purdue won 2 of 3 games, losing by 11 to Clemson in Florida.
— Boilers have turned ball over 24.3% of time, while playing pace #268
— Purdue starts three juniors, no seniors- their top four subs are freshmen.
Jacksonville State @ FIU
Jacksonville State (3-1)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 13-19 team
— picked 6th in OVC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #268 by KenPom
— Gamecocks lost by 24 at Alabama, then beat FAU, South Alabama.
— JSU is turning ball over 25.6% of time.
— These are playing here again on Sunday.
FIU (3-0)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 19-13 team
— picked 12th in C-USA by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #175 by KenPom
— Panthers beat Central Michigan by 20 in only D-I game.
— FIU starts two juniors, two seniors.
Toledo @ Eastern Michigan
Toledo (2-2)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 17-15 team
— picked 4th in MAC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #113 by KenPom
— Toledo split first four games, with losses by total of 5 points.
— Rockets are shooting 42.5% on arc, 35.3% inside arc. Go figure.
— Toledo starts two juniors, two seniors.
Eastern Michigan (0-1)
— 4 starters back from LY’s 16-16 team
— picked 10th in MAC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #158 by KenPom
— EMU lost by 16 at Michigan St in its one game, 9 days ago.
— Eagles played only seven guys against MSU.
— EMU starts two juniors, two seniors.
— Teams split last 10 meetings; home side won last four.
— Toledo lost last three visits to Ypsilanti, by 6-7-4 points.
South Dakota State @ Bradley
South Dakota State (2-2)
— 5 starters back from LY’s 22-10 team
— picked 1st in Summit by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #80 by KenPom
— Jackrabbits open 2-2 against schedule #29; they beat Iowa State Wednesday.
— South Dakota State is shooting 39.2% on arc thru four games.
— Jackrabbits played four starters 32:00+ in Wednesday’s upset win.
Bradley (3-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 23-11 team
— picked 3rd in MVC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #116 by KenPom
— Bradley’s only loss was by a point, at Xavier.
— Braves are shooting 44.2% inside arc, 55.2% on foul line.
— Opponents are shooting only 30.8% inside arc.
North Texas @ Mississippi State
North Texas (1-1)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 20-11 team
— picked 2nd in C-USA by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #108 by KenPom.
— UNT pounded on a stiff, then lost by 15 at Arkansas.
— Mean Green made 21-33 on arc in first game, 2-13 in second.
— UNT starts four seniors and a junior.
Mississippi State (1-2)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 20-11 team
— picked 10th in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #83 by KenPom.
— Bulldogs lost a pair in Florida, beat Texas State by 17 at home.
— MSU turned ball over 24.8% of time in first three games, shot 55.2% on line.
— State starts two freshmen, two sophs.
Troy @ Texas Tech
Troy (1-1)
— 3 starters back from LY’s 9-22 team
— picked last in Sun Belt by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #293 by KenPom
— Troy beat Western Carolina by hoop, lost by 23 to UNCW last weekend.
— Trojans shot only 33.8% inside arc in those games.
— Troy started two juniors, two seniors.
Texas Tech (2-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 18-13 team
— picked 3rd in Big X by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #9 by KenPom
— Tech beat two stiffs by 43-32, then lost by 11 to Houston.
— Other than McClung, Tech was 3-10 on foul line vs Houston.
— As I type this, Tech has #11 eFG% defense in country.
Oregon vs Seton Hall (@ Omaha)
Oregon (0-1)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 24-7 team
— picked 1st in Pac-12 by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #27 by KenPom
— Oregon lost its opener by 8 to Missouri Wednesday.
— Three Ducks played 34:00+ in Wednesday’s game.
— Ducks start three seniors and a junior, but they’ve got several transfers, so it takes some time to develop chemistry.
Seton Hall (1-2)
— 2 starters back from LY’s 21-9 team
— picked 3rd in Big East by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #57 by KenPom
— Pirates lost two of first three games, losing by 13 to URI Wednesday.
— Seton Hall’s only win was by 22 over rebuilding Iona.
— Pirates start three seniors, two juniors.
South Alabama @ Auburn
South Alabama (3-1)
— 1 starter back from LY’s 20-11 team
— picked 6th in Sun Belt by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #212 by KenPom
— USA split two D-I games, beating FAU by 2, losing by 4 to Jacksonville State.
— Jaguars are shooting 46.9% on the arc.
— USA already played two games against non-D-I teams.
Auburn (1-2)
— 0 starters back from LY’s 25-6 team
— picked 7th in SEC by Blue Ribbon
— ranked #75 by KenPom
— Auburn scored 61 ppg in losing last two games, to Gonzaga/UCF
— Tigers’ only win was in OT over St Joe’s.
— Auburn is shooting 26.7% on arc, turning ball over 24.1% of time.
