Who is the best team in Massachusetts?
For the last few years, the answer has been Harvard: The Crimson was a top-100 team nationally in each of the last five seasons, going 16-3 against their Bay State brethren in that time. But after Sunday’s 69-56 defeat at Boston College — on the heels of a 69-63 loss to UMass earlier in the week — Harvard’s reign has ended, at least for a year. Continue reading “Three Thoughts: Boston College 69, Harvard 56”
Not much happened in the world of assists during a slow day in college basketball. Only one player went over 10 assists, and that was even with some of the top assist guys in college basketball playing. Here’s a look at five of the highlights.
Shabazz Napier (G, Connecticut) – Napier had 13 assists in the Huskies’ 77-40 win against Holy Cross. Five of the 13 assists (38.5%) were for dunks. That’s pretty consistent with his season average. Also worth noting is that he had two assists for threes, both went to Jeremy Lamb.
Jordan Daniels (G, Boston College) – The Eagles proved their not terrible, with a 75-55 win over Bryant in which Daniels had nine assists. Six of those assists went to Lonnie Jackson, who led BC with 26 points. In all the two combined to account for 17 of Jackson’s 26 points and five of Jackson’s seven made threes came from Daniels.
Tim Frazier (G, Penn State) – Frazier is one of the most fascinating point guards in the nation and he didn’t disappoint against Mount St. Mary’s. He finished with 15 points and eight assists in 38 minutes in a 72-43 victory. His eight assists went to six different people and six of the eight were for threes. Frazier is the definition of a drive-and-kick point guard.
Nate Wolters (G, South Dakota State) – After turning some doubters into believers with 34 points and seven assists in a 92-73 win over Washington Wolters has to be feeling pretty good right now. The Jackrabbits’ guard, who is beloved by tempo-free wonks, played all 40 minutes against the Huskies and was the best player on the court. None of his assists went to a teammate close to the basket. He assisted on two jumpers and five threes on the night.
Luka Mirkovic (F/C, Northwestern) – Like Wolters, none of Mirkovic’s seven assists in Northwestern’s 87-72 victory over Eastern Illinois went to a teammate near the basket. The assisted on four jumpers and three threes, welcome to a center in the Princeton Offense. Want to know why David Sobolewski shot so well against the Panthers (he was 5-6 for 12 points). It was the two-man game with Mirkovic, who gave Sobo four of his seven assists. Oh, two of John Shurna’s record-tying threes were off Mirkovic assist as well.
Now that Lamont “Momo” Jones has been granted a hardship waiver and is eligible to play immediately at Iona after transferring from Arizona, the Gaels join a group of three MAAC teams that are going to be relying on majors conference transfers next season.
How Momo Jones, Rakim Sanders (Boston College to Fairfield) and Jeff Jones (Virginia to Rider) transfer their skills to a different level of basketball is going to go a long way towards determining which team earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Continue reading “MAAC contenders counting on transfers to make major impact”
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