WASHINGTON — The Blizzard of 2016 wreaked havoc with the college basketball schedule, postponing a few games while moving others a few hours or even one day earlier. The mess left behind has area schools trying to dig out of 20 games worth of habits they’d rather not have, and the conference season is no longer a snapshot but more of an accurate portrait.
While teams can still change their fates with a fantastic February (witness: Maryland going 7-1 in ACC play after a 3-5 start in 2007), the current accumulation of pros and cons is what you’re going to have to shovel and sweep for the next month. Keep your sunglasses on as well…the snow reflects.
#8 Maryland (17-3, 6-2 Big Ten) came up short at Michigan State Saturday 74-65, as Rasheed Sulaimon shot just 2-11 with 3 turnovers (he shot 3-10 in the loss at Michigan). Does that make the senior the bellweather for this team? Outside of the “highlighter green” jerseys the Spartans wore, the big takeaway was that Tom Izzo’s team is closer to the one that was ranked #1 a month ago than the banged up bunch that had lost three straight. While being outrebounded on the road by the conference favorite is no big deal, getting beaten on the boards by nine at home by Northwestern should raise a red flag or two for the tallest team in the nation. Another concern — for all of the justifiable hype surrounding the backcourt of Sulaimon and Melo Trimble, the Terps are 9th in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio and 11th in turnover margin. Added to the lack of recent rebounding, that means even more possessions for the opposition. Up Next: #3 Iowa at home Thursday, a school that has already swept the Spartans.
Georgetown (12-8, 5-2 Big East) lost whatever buzz they gained from upsetting then #5 Xavier in Cincinnati last week, letting a late lead slip away in a 68-62 defeat at UConn. The Hoyas remain a team that is trying to put together enough productive possessions for a solid 40 minutes. DVauntes Smith-Rivera is a beacon of consistency, but how uneven is his supporting cast? Second-leading scorer Isaac Copeland has been held to 32 points over the last six games. LJ Peak followed up a 17 point effort against DePaul by going scoreless at St. John’s. Bradley Hayes hasn’t reached double figures since December 19. Coach John Thompson III somehow has to cobble together a rotation to get the Hoyas through the meat of their conference schedule. Tuesday, Creighton drops by the District (the Blue Jays beat the Hoyas by 13 in Omaha) in a matchup of the top two shooting teams in the league from 3-point range. Bombs away…
Just to prove that all 4-3 starts are not created equally, #11 Virginia (15-4, 4-3 ACC) bounced back with solid home wins over bubble teams Clemson and Syracuse, but both of those victories were at John Paul Jones Arena. Tuesday is the perfect opportunity to notch that initial road conference triumph: Wake Forest is 1-6 in league play and Danny Manning’s team is in the middle of a four game stretch against ranked teams. While the firm of Gill, Brogdon & Perrantes (53 of UVa’s 73 points Sunday) remains the engine that will move this team up the ACC standings, coach Tony Bennett has gotten decent play lately from sophomore guard Devon Hall (8-13 with just 2 turnovers over the last four games).
Virginia Tech (12-8, 4-3) lost 2 games by a combined 7 points to last year’s ACC Champs (#25 Notre Dame) and this year’s favorite (#2 North Carolina). The Hokies missed a major opportunity in South Bend as a 3-pointer just fell shy at the buzzer, and the schedule doesn’t lighten up for Buzz Williams’ bunch. Louisville, Pitt, Clemson, Syracuse, Virginia and Miami are on deck. When does spring football start?
George Washington (15-4, 4-2 Atlantic 10) rallied from 18 points down to beat Rhode Island Friday afternoon. Tyler Cavanaugh continues to be the difference in Foggy Bottom, with 13 points and 10 rebounds in that win. The Colonials also hit their free throws, knocking down 25-of-30 against the Rams after missing a few key freebies earlier in the month in a loss at Saint Louis. GW also won despite shooting just 38 percent from the floor. These are the game last year’s team lost en route to their fall from a 16-4 start to the NIT. A midweek matchup with Richmond (and high-scoring Terry Allen) precedes a Sunday trip to George Mason. I hope they’ll be shoveled out in Fairfax by then.
George Mason (7-13, 1-6 A-10) came up short against Duquesne in a snow-shifted game from Saturday to Friday and from EagleBank Arena (the former Patriot Center, and yes there is no gap between Eagle and Bank in the title) to a recreational center used for volleyball. The Patriots had it easy though…as the Dukes were stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for 30 hours as they tried to beat the snowstorm home. In addition to telling me never to drink milk out of the carton and that defense doesn’t end until you get the rebound, my mother always said “never try to outdrive a blizzard.” Speaking of rebounding, that is one thing that coach Dave Paulsen’s team is doing very well — as they lead the Atlantic Ten in rebounding margin. That’s very helpful when you are 13th in shooting, 14th from three-point range. Sunday a rested GMU team faces GW…while Fairfax County schools are rumored to be cancelled through the end of February.
American (3-15, 1-6 Patriot League) was fresh off their first conference win of the season when they saw their Sunday game with Holy Cross postponed. Freshman Delante Jones netted a career high 23 points in that victory over Lafayette, and if he can continue to grow into his role it will be much appreciated by senior Jesse Reed. The Eagles face conference contenders Colgate and Navy before making up that game with the Crusaders next Monday.
Howard (9-10, 3-1 MEAC) has had an unexpected two weeks off from league action, as they saw both of their conference games over the weekend wiped out…but at least the Bison were able to complete their game with Delaware State (a 71-67 win). Just as we scramble for non-perishables before the storm, coach Kevin Nickelberry has been stocking up on duct tape, rubber bands and paper clips to hold together a rotation that’s been ransacked by injuries. James Daniel III, James Miller and Marcel Boyd provide quite a matchup nightmare for the rest of the MEAC-unfortunately each has taken their turn on the shelf this winter. A stretch of three games in seven days begins with a home game against Bethune-Cookman Tuesday…and continues with the hope of minimal snow this weekend.
