College Basketball Capsules: Tar Heels trying to regain control of the season

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Ed Davis walks to class wearing headphones like a shield against the negative vibe hanging over the North Carolina campus. Teammate Deon Thompson goes one better, rarely venturing out into public any more than he has to these days.

"I just try to stay out of sight," the senior said. "It’s just tough to be around people when you’re losing."

That’s never supposed to be a problem at a storied program that boasts five NCAA championships, 18 Final Fours and nearly 2,000 total victories. Yet when the defending champion Tar Heels host rival Duke on Wednesday night, they’ll be in a position few could have imagined: unranked, near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference and hurtling toward the NIT.

North Carolina (13-10, 2-6 ACC) has lost seven of nine games since the start of 2010 after earning a No. 6 preseason ranking and entering the year as ACC co-favorites with the eighth-ranked Blue Devils (19-4, 7-2). In the past month, the Tar Heels have twice set the record for their worst loss under Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams, lost their past two home games by double figures to unranked opponents and trailed by at least 19 points in five games.

Things have gotten so bad that Thompson joked that he’s ordering delivery food under an assumed name.

"Like coach said," he said, "how much worse can it get, you know?"

Yes, it’s a different team from the one that rolled through last year’s NCAA tournament, with Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green now in the NBA. Still, with Thompson, Davis and Marcus Ginyard returning to guide one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, the Tar Heels figured to at least give chase in the ACC.

Things looked OK after early wins against Ohio State and Michigan State, but no longer. Now Williams is reduced to coaching effort and concentration as much as Xs and Os for a young team with shaken confidence.

"At times, I feel we are getting better and at other times, I see us regress," said Williams, who hasn’t hid his frustration in his postgame comments in recent weeks. "The consistency of that has been difficult to handle. The bottom line is the results and you’ve got to keep trying. And you know the reason you’ve got to keep trying? Because it’s the right thing to do."

The struggles haven’t gone unnoticed over in Durham.

"My reaction to that is what’s going on?" Duke junior Nolan Smith said. "Because when I look at them, I know some of their players and I know they’re a very talented team. There are guys who are probably going to be lottery picks. It’s just very surprising to me."

While the Blue Devils talk respectfully of their rivals, they privately have to be eager to face the Tar Heels after losing six of the past seven meetings. That will be particularly true on Wednesday night, when the Tar Heels retire the No. 50 jersey of Hansbrough — who graduated as the program’s all-time scoring and rebounding leader to go with a 4-0 record at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium — during halftime.

But Hansbrough’s presence will also be a reminder of what’s missing in Chapel Hill. Whereas Hansbrough, Lawson and Ellington each hit last-second winning shots in the previous two seasons, this year’s group seemingly has no one ready or able to take that burden yet.

The 6-foot-9 Thompson leads the team at 14 points per game, but is more of a complementary player. The versatile Ginyard returned for a fifth year after missing most of last season after foot surgery, but an ankle injury in January hindered what was already a limited offensive skill set.

Davis, a 6-10 sophomore who returned after many projected him as a possible NBA lottery pick, is averaging about 14 points and 10 rebounds. But like Thompson, Davis has often disappeared during games as the Tar Heels’ thin perimeter — their most glaring weakness from the start — struggles to get the ball inside against pressure.

Much of the attention there fell on sophomore point guard Larry Drew II, who inherited Lawson’s job and got off to a strong start before fading during the slide. Meanwhile, junior Will Graves has been streaky as the team’s only real outside shooting threat.

Injuries haven’t helped, either. The Tar Heels are currently without Tyler Zeller, a skilled 7-footer sidelined with a stress fracture in his right foot. Williams said Tuesday that Zeller has been cleared for some light running, but it’s still unclear when he’ll return.

As for the freshmen, top recruit John Henson often looked lost after starting the year as a small forward, Dexter Strickland has also been up and down at both guard spots, and twins David and Travis Wear have given the Tar Heels serviceable minutes, but not steady production.

Williams has repeatedly said it’s his job to get the team playing better. But ultimately, Ginyard said, the players have to pull the Tar Heels out of this nosedive.

"There’s only a certain amount the coaching staff can do to try to change things up or try to get us to get the right things going on in our minds," he said.

"Things happen that you aren’t expecting sometimes and we’ve just got to do a better job of dealing with it. I think a lot of times we’re getting too caught up in worrying about how bad things seem to be going for us. Right now, it’s time we start focusing on just trying to get better and trying to make this thing work."

Zone defenses taking over the Pac-10

Pac-10 basketball teams are in the zone.

Once dominated by man-to-man defense, the conference has become home to an array of zones, from Arizona State’s 2-3 matchup zone to Oregon State’s 1-3-1 and a few hybrid schemes.

The trend may be a symptom of the Pac-10’s overall weakness this season, because the league lacks point guards who can dissect zones and shooters who can score over them.

It may also be a sign of desperation as coaches try to plug the defensive holes created by graduation and NBA departures. In other cases, it’s simply an effort to limit foul trouble on thin, inexperienced rosters.

"There’s a lot of reasons, but a lot of teams are playing zone in our league this year," California coach Mike Montgomery said. "Maybe it’s easier for them to stay competitive, stay in games and keep themselves out of foul trouble. They’re probably trying to buy some time, buy a win or two, by going to a zone."

Even USC coach Kevin O’Neill, a man-to-man diehard, has dabbled in zones this season — for seven possessions, with mixed results.

"Nobody scored on our first possessions, but we gave up three offensive rebounds," O’Neill said. "It may be something that we look at a little more. I know building a program, I want to build it playing man-to-man defense because that’s what I believe in."

O’Neill went against his long-held principles because, with a short bench, he wanted to avoid fouls. Arizona State coach Herb Sendek had a different reason for turning to a zone midway through his 8-22 debut season four years ago.

Sendek watched as his team struggled to guard quicker players, especially on the perimeter. His zone became a method to disguise the Sun Devils’ flaws, and he said recently that he never dreamed he’d become known as a zone guru.

"It happened the first year because we were desperate, and it was a complete shot in the dark," he said.

Sendek’s brainstorm evolved into a calling card. As he began to recruit more talented players to Tempe, Sendek plugged them into his scheme, with brilliant results.

Last year, with eventual NBA draft picks James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph clogging the passing lanes, the Sun Devils led the Pac-10 in field goal percentage defense (42.1 percent) and finished second in scoring defense (61.1 points per game) in conference play.

Even without Harden and Pendergraph, the Sun Devils remain among the nation’s stingier teams. They concede 58.9 points per game, seventh in the nation.

When Pac-10 coaches talk zone defense, they invariably mention ASU’s matchup zone and how difficult it is to attack. But Sendek, a native of Pittsburgh, shrugged off suggestions that he’s become a trendsetter on the West Coast.

"I think coaches by and large do what they do," Sendek said. "They have their systems."

This year, more Pac-10 coaches have been working zones into their defensive arsenals.

UCLA coach Ben Howland is so defense-minded that he often gets into a crouch, arms extended, as he’s exhorting his players to defend. For most of his career, Howland has believed in man-to-man defense, but he’s increasingly turned to a zone as the Bruins have struggled with the loss of numerous players to the NBA.

The Bruins allow 68.2 points per game in conference play, a shade higher than last season. They limit opposing shooters to 44.9 percent from the field, an improvement over 46.8 percent a year ago, but Howland hasn’t been impressed.

"I don’t think our zone is that great, to be honest with you," Howland said Tuesday on the Pac-10 coaches teleconference. "It’s better than our man (defense) had been. That’s why we’re using it.

"It’s allowed us to have a chance to win games," Howland said. "Bottom line, I still believe that man-to-man is the best way to play."

Statistics shed little light on whether the Pac-10’s zones have been effective. Six of the 10 squads are scoring more points in conference play than they did a year ago, but eight of 10 have lower field goal percentages.

Oregon coach Ernie Kent said his Ducks have played more zone defense than ever. He has two theories for the proliferation of zones across the league.

"Number one, the conference is so young, I think you see a lot of slippage all over the place in relation to man-to-man defense," Kent said. "Number two, I don’t think it’s a great shooting conference this year. I think over the last couple of years, so many great players have gone out of this conference, to the NBA early or through graduation, that it’s taken a lot of the skilled shooters out of the conference."

With some notable exceptions — Syracuse under Jim Boeheim and Temple in John Chaney’s reign — zone defenses often are viewed as a gimmick, or evidence that a coach doesn’t believe his players can guard opponents one-on-one.

Not surprisingly, Pac-10 coaches disagree with those perceptions.

"I don’t think it’s a sign of weakness," Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said. "It’s a sign of getting the most out of their team."

-- Andrew Bagnato

SU’s Boeheim still driven after all these years

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — When the final horn sounded inside Cincinnati’s Fifth Third Arena and Syracuse had yet another road win in the grueling Big East, the Orange were a cinch to move up again in the national rankings.

Orange coach Jim Boeheim surely wasn’t thinking about that, though, even if he does have a vote in the coaches’ poll.

"He takes it all in stride," said Boeheim’s wife, Juli. "At home, we are not celebrating. It’s good. It’s all good, but he has got the pedal to the metal.

"The intensity is, oh," Juli said, looking skyward. "This team, everything, I think it’s rejuvenated him."

After rallying without leading scorer Wes Johnson to beat Cincinnati 71-54 on Sunday, just the Bearcats’ second loss in 13 home games, Syracuse (23-1, 10-1 Big East) moved up two slots to No. 2 in the AP Top 25, its highest ranking since a six-week stretch at No. 1 in 1989-90.

"We have a good, solid, well-balanced team," Boeheim said. "That’s really the key."

Nearly seven years removed from guiding Syracuse to its lone national championship, the 65-year-old Boeheim remains focused on the goal at hand — winning the next game — and nothing else.

Discussing the success of his team, which is off to the best start in school history, or even making it to another Final Four is simply premature in Boeheim’s mind, which he jokingly reaffirmed after the Orange rallied from a 14-0 deficit and beat archrival Georgetown by 17 points at home two weeks ago.

"He wants to win another championship badly. To win one is great. To win two is special. It makes you hungrier," Juli said. "He was hungry to begin with, but that hunger has not eased off at all after winning one.

"We don’t talk about it," she said. "To realistically say that he thinks we’re sitting on one, I don’t know that he would agree with that."

Boeheim’s most difficult job might be ignoring what his young sons, Jimmy and Jack, say at dinner time.

"They just talk about it at the table," Juli said. "They watch it together. They break it down. They know who has beaten who. Now, they’re kind of on his level where they can really discuss it as a family. ... They’ll say, ‘Dad, we can beat them.’

"He says, ‘Ahhh. Ahhh.’ Nothing really. No reaction."

In his 34th year at his alma mater, Boeheim became the eighth Division I coach to reach 800 wins when the Orange defeated Albany in the season-opener. He has taken Syracuse to the national championship game three times — 1987, 1996, and 2003 — winning the title his last trip with freshmen standouts Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara.

While McNamara is a constant reminder — he’s on Boeheim’s staff this season as a graduate assistant — Anthony is an NBA megastar, having left for the pros after that championship season.

This year’s remarkable run has been authored by a group of mostly veteran starters that includes two fifth-year seniors in guard Andy Rautins and center Arinze Onuaku; 22-year-old junior forward Wes Johnson, just the fifth transfer Boeheim has accepted in his long tenure and a candidate for national player of the year; junior forward Rick Jackson; and freshman point guard Brandon Triche, like Rautins a local product with connections to Syracuse teams of the past.

Guard Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph, both of whom probably could start on just about any team in the nation, have been saviors off the bench. In the past six games, Joseph has 92 points and 36 rebounds while averaging 30 minutes, while Jardine contributed 45 points and 30 assists with just six turnovers while averaging 23 minutes.

"We’re good, especially with our bench contributing right now," said Rautins, the vocal leader of the Orange. "They’re keeping everybody fresh."

The departure of the top three scorers from last season’s team — Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, and Paul Harris — figured to have an impact.

It has — in a very positive way.

"I think there were a lot of unknowns coming in, especially Jonny," Juli said. "He (Boeheim) had a sunny outlook on this team coming in, but not this sunny. He knew Wes would be good, but the way everything has come together I think is surprising to everybody."

While Flynn and Devendorf were McDonald’s All-Americans and Harris nearly was, this year’s team does not have a player that was ranked in the top 50 of his respective class by Scout.com.

"There was a lot of individual play last year, a lot of isolation," Rautins said. "This team really moves the ball and we enjoy playing defense. I don’t think our defense last year was as good as it is this year. We really want to work. That’s our core thing."

-- John Kekis

Giant killers again? Spiders need strong finish

RICHMOND, Va. — The results suggest that with a few weeks left in the regular season, Richmond has done what it needs to do to be in the NCAA tournament conversation.

Quality wins against power conference schools Florida, Mississippi State and Missouri, a home blowout of No. 21 Temple and a victory against Old Dominion and its high RPI all have enhanced the Spiders’ chances of going to the tournament for the first time in six years.

But proving time is still ahead. Richmond (18-6, 7-2 Atlantic 10) plays at another conference contender, Rhode Island (19-3, 7-2), on Wednesday night, and closes with a rugged stretch against three other top teams in the conference: Xavier, Dayton and Charlotte.

"We’re just focused on trying to finish the conference well and trying to be, if not in the top spot, fighting for the top spot at the end of it," senior David Gonzalvez said after Richmond drubbed No. 21 Temple 71-54 at home Saturday. "Each game is huge for us."

The Spiders have one of the most unusual histories in college basketball, with a well-earned reputation for pulling NCAA tournament upsets, but also a tradition of rarely doing enough noise-making in the regular season to garner any national attention.

When Richmond beat Mississippi State and Missouri in the South Padre Island Invitational in November and got votes in the Top 25, the school said it was the first time since 1986 the Spiders even got a mention in the rankings. The Spiders have been ranked just three times ever, in 1954, 1955 and 1986, and have been to the tournament just seven times, last in 2004.

But when they have gone, they have often made headlines.

In 1991, the Spiders became the first No. 15 seed to win a game in tournament history when they stunned Syracuse 73-69. They also took out fifth-seeded Charles Barkley and Auburn in 1984, defending champion Indiana in 1988, and third-seeded South Carolina in 1998.

Now, it’s as though they feel another memorable opportunity just ahead.

"I think we’re getting more and more hungry with each game," Gonzalvez said. "I think everybody realizes the importance of this season and how special this season could be."

Gonzalvez and Ryan Butler are the only two seniors in coach Chris Mooney’s playing rotation, but with guard Kevin Anderson, forward Justin Harper and center Dan Geriot all juniors, this is a team that was built to be challenged, and to perform, this season.

"Once we had the schedule solidified, we met with the team and passed out our nonconference schedule," Mooney said, "just so they could see that we believed that we could be this good and we believed that we could win these games, and also so that we could have an understanding of how much we needed to work to get ourselves ready."

In his sixth season, it’s all been part of Mooney’s rebuilding plan.

"These guys have worked very, very hard, and not only have worked hard this week and this season, but have worked hard to build this program to where we can be considered an elite team in the A-10 and a national basketball program," said Mooney, whose record is 75-47.

"Any kind of credit they can get, we’re going to try to take advantage of," he said.

Temple was 15th in the unofficial RPI standings and Rhode Island was higher, and Mooney used that to draw a confidence-building comparison. "We told them it’s like playing Syracuse and Michigan State, because those are the teams that are right next to them," he said.

It’s the kind of thinking his team has learned to embrace, and to thrive on.

"Our nonconference schedule, that was to set us up for big games like this," Anderson said after scoring 29 points in the victory against the Owls, "and Rhode Island is going to be even bigger than this one because we’re coming off a big win. We can’t let down."

-- Hank Kurz Jr.

Lobos hit the road for a big test at UNLV

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico’s visit to UNLV offers plenty of tantalizing angles — a showdown between Top 25 squads, two of the hottest teams in the country and a matchup of top Mountain West players in Darington Hobson of the Lobos and Tre’Von Willis of the Rebels.

Plus, the winner Wednesday takes over first place in the conference standings, and the No. 15 Lobos want payback against the last team to beat them.

"Revenge is on our minds," Hobson said. "They came in here and played a great game and stole one on our court. It’s going to be a big-time game. There’s going to be a lot of adversity. We’ve just got to stick together and I think we can come out with a win."

With only one senior on the roster, the Lobos (21-3, 7-2) have overachieved based on preseason forecasts that listed them fifth in the nine-team Mountain West. Now, after winning seven straight, New Mexico faces a big road test at No. 23 UNLV (19-4, 7-2).

In seasons past, road trips sometimes made previous Lobo squads quake in their sneakers. But under third-year coach Steve Alford, New Mexico has improved away from The Pit.

Alford’s teams are 20-15 in true road games, including a 6-2 mark this season with losses at Oral Roberts and San Diego State. In the eight-plus seasons before he came to Albuquerque, it took the Lobos 87 games to reach 20 road wins.

Alford said he expects UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center to be just as hostile toward the Lobos as The Pit is toward New Mexico opponents, but he noted his team has responded to tough challenges all season.

"I’m not going to go into this week saying it’s an impossible week, a difficult week," he said. "Our guys have found ways of staying in games and winning games. Hopefully, we can do that again."

The Rebels have won five straight and the teams’ rematch should be a thriller. On Jan. 9, UNLV ended New Mexico’s 19-game homecourt winning streak with a 74-62 victory at The Pit. Willis scored 20 points and Kendall Wallace made seven 3-pointers.

"I said it when they beat us — I thought that was the best team we’ve played," said Alford, whose squad also beat BYU. "At least in how things match up against us, I still think this is the best team that we play. ... We’ve got to go to Vegas and put together 40 really solid minutes."

After UNLV’s victory in Albuquerque, the Lobos regrouped and started over. They’ve won seven straight after an 88-86 overtime defeat of visiting San Diego State last weekend.

Hobson was sensational, scoring 29 points and making two free throws in the closing seconds. He set career highs with four 3-pointers and 43 minutes and even swished a 55-footer at the halftime buzzer — a basket that turned out to be more than a highlight in such a close game.

Hobson also had 12 rebounds, six assists, three steals and zero turnovers.

"He had a special week," Alford said. "We only played one game, but he did more in one game than a lot will do in two games."

But Willis was equally spectacular. He had 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists in a 78-50 win at Wyoming. Then in an 88-74 homecourt victory over BYU, Willis scored a career-high 33 points with eight assists, no turnovers, two steals and a blocked shot.

"Obviously, he was a big factor throughout. A pretty efficient 33, if you will," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "He missed a couple late, ended up 11-for-20, but did a good job moving the ball, creating opportunities for teammates. He kept everybody in the flow."

-- Tim Korte

Nevada, biz leaders try to boost WAC attendance

RENO, Nev. — Plagued by a dip in attendance in recent years, local business leaders are teaming up with Nevada athletic officials to offer discount tickets to the Western Athletic Conference basketball tournament March 11-13.

The total attendance of 46,600 fans during the four-day tournament at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno last season was down 20 percent from the previous season in Las Cruces, N.M. It was down 31 percent from the last time Reno hosted the event in 2006.

As a result, despite booking more than 1,720 room nights thanks to the event last spring, the tournament operated at a deficit of about $199,000 last year, according to the Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitor’s Authority.

"So, we have gotten together as a team of people and made the decision to offer our community new ways to get involved in the tournament," Wolf Pack athletic director Cary Groth said in announcing the "Champions of the WAC Tournament" program.

Local companies and organizations in northern Nevada that participate in the program can purchase blocks of single-session tickets for their employees for Nevada’s opening-session games at a discount of $10 per ticket (minimum purchase of 15 tickets).

With the discount, tickets will cost as low as $15 for the men’s basketball games and $10 for the women’s games. Each single session consists of two games.

In addition, the Wolf Pack and RSCVA announced that starting Feb. 27, employees of city, county, state and government agencies in northern Nevada can purchase single-session WAC Tournament tickets at various discounted prices.

Most of the ticket prices have been frozen from last season, with some actually decreasing in price.

"We’re trying to come up with ways so people can still afford to come to events," Groth said. "I’d rather have a full arena with less of a cost to the consumer than half of an arena that’s too expensive for people to come to."

This is the final year Reno will host the WAC Tournament before it moves to Las Vegas for a two-year stint.

Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas returns vs. Purdue

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas played against Purdue after missing one game with a sprained right ankle.

Lucas came off the bench with 14:25 left in the first half for the 10th-ranked Spartans against the sixth-ranked Boilermakers on Tuesday night and had a brace wrapped around his ankle.

He was injured a week ago in a loss at No. 11 Wisconsin didn’t play in Saturday’s loss at Illinois.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said he wasn’t sure if Lucas would be healthy enough to face Purdue the day before the possibly pivotal Big Ten matchup.

The reigning Big Ten player of the year leads the Spartans in scoring with 15-plus points per game.

UVa-Maryland game postponed by snow

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — With more snow in the forecast for the Washington area, Maryland has postponed Wednesday’s men’s college basketball game against Virginia.

The game will be made up Monday, Feb. 15. The starting time will be announced later.

With another severe storm set to hit the area Tuesday, both schools agreed on the postponement.

The campus has been closed since Friday because of snow.

Tennessee Tech-Austin Peay game postponed

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.— The men’s basketball game between Tennessee Tech and Austin Peay, scheduled for Tuesday night, has been postponed due to inclement weather. The game has been rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18.

Women

Rutgers suspends Stringer for oneme

Rutgers suspended Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer on Tuesday for one game for misusing practice players.

Stringer will miss the Scarlet Knights’ game against Seton Hall on Wednesday. She is third among women’s coaches on the all-time victories list with 838 wins and was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last September.

Stringer violated an NCAA bylaw which states that managers may not participate as practice players with the institution’s team if they are not eligible student-athletes.

"Accountability is a vital element of the Rutgers athletics family," the school’s athletic director, Tim Pernetti, said in a statement. "We will always follow what is in accordance with athletic department and NCAA policy."

Associate head coach Carlene Mitchell will be the acting head coach against Seton Hall.

Rutgers only has nine players on its roster after freshman Christine Huber decided to transfer in early January. The Scarlet Knights entered the season without leading scorer Epiphanny Prince, who decided to leave school last spring after her junior year to pursue a playing career overseas. She was the team’s leading scorer averaging 19.5 points.

As a result, the Scarlet Knights have struggled this season, going 13-10 including losses in three of their last four games. They sit in sixth place in the Big East conference.

-- Doug Feinberg