There’s a Quadruple-Header in Brooklyn Today. This is what we live for.
Two A-10 teams, two ACC teams, the Pac-12, the Big East, the AAC, and the America East Conference. This is Brooklyn on December 10th. Four games, one venue. The 2023-24 College Hoops calendar is full of opportunities early on in the year to see a cluster of teams in one venue. Whether its one of the many MTE’s around the Thanksgiving Holiday or these ever-popular one-day neutral events, there is more access to seeing teams. Selfishly this is a great thing for people like me who want to maximize team coverage, however, I do also believe we are losing too many games on campus as a whole. Nevertheless, I have arrived in Brooklyn and am ready to embrace the day!
Home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, the Barclay’s Center will be today’s epicenter in College Basketball.
North Texas - Fordham
North Texas has been an undersold program for several years now. This season, the Mean Green’s arrival to the American should help gather overdue attention. In case it doesn’t- UNT is scheduling anyone they can, anywhere. We are in the midst of a three-game stretch where the Mean Green went to Boise State, play here in Brooklyn today, and then head to Tupelo, MS to play Mississippi State. Why? UNT needs the tests, and it has proven too difficult to get teams to play in Denton that will move the needle. Also, getting these “neutral” chances will help with resume quality within the Quadrant system leveraged by the NCAA Selection Committee.
Today, the Mean Green meets Fordham University for the first time. Fordham came into this year with high expectations and off of a season in which the Rams climbed to second place in the Atlantic-10. Head Coach Keith Urgo sees an opportunity to stay at the top and sought out tests in non-conference play to make another strong in-conference run possible. The Barclay’s Center will once again host the Atlantic-10 Tournament, so today also allows the team to play in the same building where ultimately the fate of its season will be determined.
Fordham University and its basketball program fell in love with the home court advantage inside the Barclay’s Center this past March.
Sour patch kids were delivered earlier this week for very different reasons to each of these programs. North Texas (5-3) was sixty seconds or less away from a key road win at Boise State. Leading by five at the time, a myriad of things fell apart. Two of UNT’s best players Rubin Jones and Aaron Scott fouled out in that final stretch, causing some turmoil. BSU capitalized and finished the game on an 11-0 run. Fordham (4-5) was largely expected to steamroll NJIT, saw a 12-point lead evaporate and the visiting Highlanders seized the moment. That was the second straight home loss after Tulane came in and got the win at Rose Hill last weekend. Stunned North Texas left Boise on Tuesday and stunned Fordham has been looking to correct its mistakes since Wednesday Night.
Both teams entered the season with well-respected defensive reputations. North Texas is darn near elite defensively. Boasting three straight Top 50 finishes in adjusted Defense, and the past two in the Top 25. New Head Coach Ross Hodge has always had his hand in this defense during his time as an assistant for Grant McCasland (now at Texas Tech). The early returns analytically on Hodge are promising. The Mean Green are defending the interior extremely well (22nd nationally vs. 2-pt. attempts) and overall are right there again in the Top 50, at 31st in total adjusted defense. The Rams are a heavy ball-pressure group that loves to discombobulate opposing offenses. It was the crown jewel last season in Fordham’s run through the A-10 and A-10 Tournament. This season the formula remains as the Rams are 22nd in the country at rate of turnovers forced to its opposition. For Fordham, the defense is about where you want it to be mostly- boasting the 84th overall nationally in adjusted defense.
One of the brightest minds in College Basketball, Ross Hodge, is finally running his own program now at North Texas.
The problem for Fordham is the offense. Rams are struggling beyond the arc at 30.4% as a team and horrendous from the line at 61.5% (15th from the bottom in D1). The Rams are also turning the ball over far too often with a rate north of 20% of its possessions resulting in a turnover. That defeats a lot of the Fordham edge with its turnover creation. Unlike the Rams, North Texas is a team with quality shooters. As a team, the Mean Green are nearly 38% from distance and the 2nd best free throw shooting team in America at 80.2%. UNT does have a high rate of turnover issue, however, and that will be a primary key in today’s matchup.
Fordham returns to the Barclay’s Center. Our last memory of the Rams here was the ruckus Semifinal game vs. Dayton. Very memorable as I’ve never seen such strong support for the Rams in recent memory. They want to recreate that magic this year. I have no idea what to expect in turn out because this is an 11:30 am tip-off and I am barely awake myself. In any event, it’s good for them to get the chance to play in the building again before the pressure is on. North Texas played three competitive games in the Charleston Classic, two gut-wrenchers against St. John’s and LSU followed by a demolition of Towson. Besides the visit to Boise, that was their only experience away from Denton to date. Leaders Aaron Scott and Rubin Jones plus several staff members were part of last season’s successful wins in Springfield over UMass (62-44), and in Phoenix over Grand Canyon (60-58) in what some may consider similar experiences.
Colorado - Miami
In a matchup that will certainly steal most headlines today, the Hurricanes and Buffaloes are set to square off in a matchup that has been circled for many months. Miami, of course, coming off a historic run to the Final Four and bringing back the ultra-talented Norchad Omier along with Nijel Pack and breakout phenom, Wooga Poplar. The Canes were picked by many to upend Duke this season as the ACC’s shining squad. On the other bench, we have a Colorado team that brought back Tristan Da Silva, KJ Simpson, Julian Hammond III and nabbed a five-star player in Cody Williams for the first time in program history. Expectations for both of these teams entering the year were not only the NCAA’s but perhaps a protected seed (Regional advantage) and/or a favorite to reach the NCAAT’s second weekend. While March will always be the ultimate judge on a season, today’s winner will benefit with a key resume win in a true neutral court competition, far from Boulder and Coral Gables.
Cody Williams is improving rapidly and the data (119.9 ORtg) absolutely loves his efficiency.
Today, the Hurricanes only have one black eye to dwell on. A road rough-up at the hands of Kentucky in the new ACC-SEC Challenge. Certainly forgivable in general. A look at the film that day raised concerns about the Hurricanes’ ability to defend an athletic team such as Kentucky. Colorado is not that level of athlete, but the next cut below. Some serious Buffalo talent exists, CU has elite outside shooting marks, and it will test Miami. Hurricanes also were forced into becoming a jump-shooting team during the unfortunate 31-10 run Kentucky went on early in the second half to turn that contest into a runaway. On the flipside, Miami has looked the part pretty much every other time out. Canes’ obliterated opposition in all five home games thus far including P6 teams, UCF and Notre Dame. The Bahamas showing left no doubt who the best team was, as Miami handled Kansas State and Georgia. Every goal is in front of Miami to achieve, including a high seed in the NCAA.
Wooga Poplar’s shooting numbers are off the charts and the Hurricanes are off to a 7-1 start.
Colorado is finding its way still and has yet to make a big statement. An opportunity to perhaps change that today. Most nights, the Buffs have handled its business. The big concern in Boulder is the vulnerable defense, especially away from home. Colorado State exposed the Buffaloes most recently, shooting 51% and scoring 88 points. Second-half defense melted down in both the Richmond (five-point win)- shot over 50%, and Florida State (OT loss)- shot 61%, games down in Daytona Beach. Tad Boyle is likely tinkering with the right mix and managing any fatigue issues. Today is likely to be another barn-burner and we shall see how he adjusts from those three experiences.
Recognition is due for two of the top three effective three-point percentage teams in the land. Could be a slobber knocker of elegant and effective outside shooting. Miami comes in at 42.5% e3pt.- good for second best in America. Colorado comes in at 41.8%- good for third-best in the country. We could be in for a real treat today. When Julian Hammond III gets his chances, he is deadly and so is Tristan Da Silva and KJ Simpson. Weapons galore from the perimeter. The Canes’ Wooga Poplar is statistically the best downtown shooter on the court at nearly 54%. Also deadly are Bensley Joseph when he gets his chances, and usually Nijel Pack. A shooting showcase may be here, especially with an overflow of NBA scouts expected.
Colorado feels as if they haven’t played up to their potential in previous big games this year. They come in hungry and hyper-focused on defending the perimeter threats, but what is the answer for Omier? You might as well prebake a double-double in the oven because Omier is more than likely to provide that. The Buffs may take for granted that they prevent offensive rebounds/second chances and produce offensive rebounds for their offense. A nice edge on paper for CU on both ends. We’ll see if the perimeter focus impacts the interior edge.
Miami played in the Hall of Fame Tip-off event at Mohegan Sun. They beat Providence before losing to Maryland there, really the only relevant recent experience up in this part of the country in the past two seasons on a neutral court. Colorado’s best win of last season was arguably the win over Tennessee in Nashville. The Buffs played lights out that day in a 12-point win, and would be another huge boost if they get that type of result here Today.