As I watch Brigham Young University and San Diego State University a couple of thoughts on how far I think each team will go in the tournament come to mind. BYU and SDSU haven’t quite impressed me as much as they have everyone else. I mean no disrespect towards either team in my analysis, I just want to point out some weaknesses that I think will catch up to them come tourney time.
BYU: From watching BYU against SDSU I noticed that they rely way too much on the 3 point game. With 3 minutes left in the game they’ve already chucked up 22 three’s, granted they hit 14 of them at this point. I know that’s their style of play and they know they can knock down three’s consistently. What worries me about this is the obvious, all teams at some point have an off game and have a cold shooting night. I’m not convinced yet that BYU and stick in a game with their post players. I think if they got far enough in the tournament and went cold they would have trouble with any of the teams in the Big 12, Big East, or the Big Ten. Another note about BYU’s 3 point game is that they take a lot of bad 3’s, especially Jimmer. This can obviously hurt them against fast transition teams that like to run. With long rebounds landing in their opponents hands a lot of fast break points could potentially be scored on them.
I know that playing tough, in your face, defense is tiring for 40 minutes. But at times I noticed BYU taking breaks, not hustling back, and sometimes playing lackadaisical D. For obvious reasons you know why this could be bad. Especially after a missed 3 and a long rebound not getting back on D will kill you.
Even though I’m a Jimmer Fredette fan the kid needs to get the ball out of his hands. He runs the point and sometimes forces his own shots, which aren’t necessarily good shots. He’s an amazing player and can score at will it seems but I just think if he didn’t have to run the point and create so many of his own shots BYU would be better off. To counter that point Jimmer has probably the best court vision in the Mountain West Conference. In such a big game Fredette put up 25 points and 9 assists! Those are career highs for some guys in different games. I won’t take anything way from Jimmer but if BYU had the option to set off the ball screens for him he might have a few more open looks.
SDSU: I haven’t been caught up in the hype of San Diego State all year. Yeah I find their 27-2 record to be extremely impressive but who have they really played? I’ll get more into that point for both squads later. Personally I thought SDSU was too reliant on Kawhi Leonard and D.J. Gay to score. Last year Purdue proved that only two guys couldn’t get the job done (E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson). Leonard only averages 15.2 ppg and Gay 12.1, and Malcolm Thomas adds another 11.6 a game. That’s only 3 players averaging over 10 points a game. If you add those point totals up between the 3 of them you get 38.9 points per game. Not that many. I’m almost positive for SDSU to get far in the tournament these three will have to pick up their point averages per game. If they can do this and take advantage of the way they share the ball as a team (14 assists/game) I think SDSU may have a chance to show me and all their other nonbelievers up.
I was not impressed with San Diego State’s defense. I realize they were playing Jimmer Fredette and the high scoring BYU Cougars but I think they could have played better defense. Too many time Fredette would split two defenders and get himself a 3 point play opportunity. There was apparently a lack of communication on the defensive end of the floor. I’m not going to question SDSU’s effort or hustle, it was there, I just don’t think they executed their game plan and it cost them a game. If they continue to lack communication they will suffer and be knocked out fairly early from the tournament.
BYU and SDSU: I still question The Mountain West Conference’s toughness and strength of schedule. Yes, most of the teams have good records but I’m not completely sold that they all play tough non-conference schedules. For SDSU I only see two solid non-conference victories: Gonzaga, at the time ranked 12th and Wichita State. Not all that great of a resume. I just don’t feel as if SDSU deserves as much credit as they have. I would like to see how they would do in lets say the Big 12 or even the Big Ten. From what I saw today SDSU would be and above average (just above .500) in either of those conferences. As for BYU, they have what I call 6 solid victories (SDSUx2, UNLVx2, Arizona, and Utah State). I think they have a more impressive resume but I would still like to see them matched up in either the Big 12 or Big East (I think BYU’s style of play fits a tad better here than in the Big Ten). With how crazy the Big East this season I think it would be very interesting to see how they would finish. But, to each teams credit they beat the teams they’re supposed to beat and I can respect that.
I’m really looking forward to see how each team does in the tournament. I think BYU is very deserving of a 3 seed at the worst, possibly a 2 seed. As for SDSU, I’m not as convinced and think they deserve a 5 seed. With these seedings and no idea of what possible match-ups may arise I’m going to go on my gut feeling and make some predictions as to how far I think each team will go. I think BYU has the better shot making it deep in the tournament. However, with the possibility of them having a cold shooting night I don’t think BYU make it to the Final Four. I see BYU making it to the Elite 8. SDSU, I can’t say enough how unimpressed with this squad I am. Honestly I don’t think they’re that good and depending again on match-ups I think SDSU makes it to the Sweet 16 but wouldn’t be surprised if they do get that 5 seed and they’re the 12:5 seed upset game of the year.
koonskollegebball 
What Should I do?
What should I do? should I admit that I was wrong about Ohio State? Should I admit that I’m terribly pissed off at Purdue’s performance Tuesday night in Columbus? Should I admit that I don’t think Michigan State is as good as I thought they were going to be? Should I admit that I absolutely hate Ohio State and have no other wish than for ESPN and other commentators to stop blowing OSU’s dicks? What should I do? Should I switch my blog’s topic to college football? Should I just completely give up on making predictions altogether? Should I just give up blogging and save everybody’s time? What should I do?
I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going write a post about who, at this point in the season, I think should be in consideration for Player of the Year. That’s what I’m going to do. There’s 3 guys that really stand out to me at this stage of the season. Jimmer Fredette, Kemba Walker(obviously), and JaJuan Johnson!
Jimmer Fredette just put on what is possibly the greatest show I’ve ever seen on a basketball court. I haven’t seen much of Jimmer but that’s mainly due to BYU not getting much air time here in Wisconsin. But, to my pleasure I got to watch him single handedly take down San Diego State Wednesday night. The kid was amazing! He put up 43 points making it his second consecutive 40+ point game. I personally had never seen such a performance from one player. After looking at some of his stats I’m flabbergasted at just how good this kid is. Some might argue that BYU isn’t really in that tough of a conference or this and that. You know what? To score 26.7 points per game (before the stats of the SDSU game were added) you still have to put the damn ball in the bucket. Fredette does just that. He scores. Whether it’s from the charity stripe (.900%), making jump shots or layups, or even from behind the arc (.410% from 3 point land) he puts the ball in the hoop. He’s making his name a household name with his 40+ points nights. I wouldn’t expect him to put 40+ from here on out every night but I wouldn’t be surprised if he put up a few more 30+ point nights. Jimmer Fredette is a freakish scorer on the 9th ranked team in the nation and is currently 20-1(6-0). If he doesn’t deserve Player of the Year then maybe one of these next two guys does.
Kemba Walker. What hasn’t already been said about Kemba Walker? I wanted to write a post solely on Kemba earlier this season but never quite found the time to get around to it. Kemba is currently second in the nation in scoring with 24.4 PPG, only behind Jimmer Fredette from BYU (obviously mentioned above). He’s also shooting .395% from behind the 3 point line and is sinking .831% of his free throws. But what’s most impressive about Walker is his ability to take over a game and win the game for his Uconn Huskies. On more than one occasion Kemba has been the star by hitting big last second game winners. He’s also in a few games taken over earlier in the game and put up big numbers to give his Huskies comfortable leads that led to victories. Kemba just might be the most deserving player of the Player of the Year award just from his last second heroics. Between Kemba and Jimmer I have a tough time deciding who I think should win the award. I sure wouldn’t want to be one of the voters this year.
My last guy is from Purdue. It’s a well known fact that I’m a Purdue fan. Some might say this is a “homer” blog, whatever the hell that means but hear me out. JaJuan Johnson is leading the Big Ten in scoring with 20.6 PPG followed by Taylor Batter of Penn State with a 20.2 average. Let’s take a closer look at JaJuan. Tall, lanky, center that’s put on some muscle since coming in as a freshman 4 years ago and is a scoring force on the blocks, in the paint, with his mid range jumper, his turn around fade away, his nice little hook shot, his bringing the roof down dunks, and his 3 point shooting. Yeah, I said it. His 3 point shooting. As a center JaJuan is shooting .357% from 3 point land. He’s a center shooting better than most guards from behind the arc. Most of his looks from 3 point range aren’t always wide open shots either. Teams have to extend their defense out to him and he’s knocking down 3’s with very little separation at all. His ability to shoot from anywhere on the court this year is amazing and phenomenal. I also want to point out that without JaJuan Johnson I don’t think Purdue has even 12 wins this season (that’s with Hummel out as well). He’s the most important player on our team and has consistently showed everybody why he’s our go to guy in the crunch. His toughness and determination has led the Boilermakers to their good start (with the exception of their game against Ohio State). Johnson is the essence of the Player of the Year. He leads his teams to victories and does it on a very consistent basis. Like I said, without JaJuan Purdue at best has 12 wins thus far this season. Do I think JaJuan will win the Player of the Year title? Probably not. But I think he should definitely be considered for the award. He deserves it just as much as either Jimmer Fredette or Kemba Walker.
There you have it. My top 3 players in the running for the Player of the Year award. Don’t like it? Don’t read it. What should I do now?