Ben Ball Roundup: Focusing On Thursday Night

by Nestor on Mar 16, 2009 5:17 AM PDT in Basketball Comment 32 comments

Sounds like we all own Seth Davis some thank you notes this week for helping set the mindset of UCLA basketball team. From Dan Webber in the Press Enterprise (emphasis added throughout):

Adding insult to injury, of all 65 NCAA teams named Sunday, UCLA was singled out as CBS college basketball analyst Seth Davis' first-round upset special.

"I pick VCU to beat UCLA in the upset," Davis said, not once but three times.

"Good for Seth," Howland said. "We're the underdog. It's different for us."

I certainly hope a Howland coached team wouldn't nonsense from a Duke grad to get fired up for March Madness, but hey every bit of psychological edge (or boost) helps at this time of the year.

I also agree with bruinponhco re. flying under the radar a bit heading into Philly. As stung as we all were from this weekend's (worthless) Pac-10 tournament, the disappointment has taken the pressure off our basketball team. Just from pov, right now I don't expect this team to make it past Philadelphia and I also think it wouldn't be a shocker (although if I were the VCU Rams, I wouldn't be too happy about UCLA being called out so publicly on national TV by Seth Davis) if we fall on Thursday night, especially if we are not playing consistent.

FWIW the team is going with the old "us v. the world" cliche:

They will travel 2,721 miles, and should they get past the Rams, a date with No. 3 seed Villanova, which plays many of its Big East games at Wachovia Center, is likely coming in the second round. The Wildcats play No. 14 seed American in the first round.

"It's cool for (Villanova) and it's kind of cool for us, too," Bruins freshman guard Jrue Holiday said. "It's kind of us-against-the-world mentality. We had it at Cal and played well. We had it at Stanford."

There is a big difference here of course. VCU is a better team than Stanford and it will not be as easy for the Bruins to mount a comeback of they come out on Thursday night with the same lack of intensity they showed early on against the Cardinal in Palto Alto. They will be toast. So I hope JH and his team-mates are awake when they are tipping off on Thursday night.

As for VCU, they are coached by an individual who has a pretty good idea about scheming against Ben Ball:

Rams third-year coach Anthony Grant was an assistant with Florida in 2006, when the Gators beat UCLA in the national title game.

"Obviously UCLA's a great program and has a tremendous history," Grant said. "We're going to try to learn as much as we can about them right away, but obviously they're a great team. They're well coached and have had a great deal of success over the last few years under Ben Howland. We have tremendous respect for what they've been able to accomplish."

Comments

Bruins come to Philadelphia

I’m very excited to have the Bruins playing here this week. If anyone has any Philly questions or needs help with anything, please contact me anytime. toddharrington24@hotmail.com.

Very important, do not go to Genos, Pats or Jims for cheesesteaks. It’s Philips on 23rd and Passyunk ave. Personal fav, provolone pizza steak with onions. :)

Safe travels to all coming in.

by PHILLYPHN on Mar 16, 2009 6:32 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the tips!

GO BRUINS!!!

by uclafan11 on Mar 16, 2009 4:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree with the idea that VCU is better than Stanford, not because they aren’t but because we simply have no way of knowing. VCU is a team that, had they not won the CAA tournament, probably wouldn’t have made the NCAA tournament. A reason that Eric Maynor looks so good is because he’s playing against weaker competition. If Mitch Johnson played on VCU, he could be the CAA’s POY for all we know.

I watched the videos of Eric Maynor and I was not very impressed. Sure, they almost beat PItt a few years back and beat Duke a couple of years ago, but it’s not like Duke is known for their defense, and two years ago, Pitt simply wasn’t nearly as good as a team as they are now. So I’m not very swayed by all many of the expert predictions of an upset. They underestimate Ben Howland’s ability to prepare for a team and our defense, while failing to note that we have one of the best clutch players in the game, and we are the best shooting team in the country.

by chenalex on Mar 16, 2009 6:48 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Seth Davis

I’d be a little worried actually if he did pick us to win. When he opens his yap and picks us to win, it tends to jinx us. If his comment gets the Ben Ball Warriors fired up to play their hardest, it might be good bulletin board material. Coming off this past weekend, I think the team needs something to light a fire under them.

by RandBruin on Mar 16, 2009 6:58 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

from Luke Winn at Si.com

From his tourney blog:

The trendy upset I’m not buying … is VCU over UCLA. This Bruins team isn’t nearly as good as the ones that appeared in three straight Final Fours, and there’s little-to-no chance they reach Detroit. But I also can’t see Darren Collison bowing out in the first round during his senior season. He’s too clutch of a postseason guard to let that happen. And even though the Rams counter Collison with Eric Maynor, and have another NBA prospect in Sanders, the supporting cast isn’t nearly as good as the one on the team that upset Duke in 2006. UCLA is deep and experienced, and VCU isn’t.

So while it’s not exactly a glowing endorsement, at least there are some who think the “automatic upset” call is a little extreme

by bucknellbruin on Mar 16, 2009 7:55 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The one thing we have been consistent about this year is beating teams like VCU

So we lost more games than anyone would like this year. But unless I have it wrong, the only loss was to a non-tournament team was WSU (and they were hot when we played them at Pauley).

This team has taken care of business against lesser teams.

The projection that we will lose to VCU is nonsense. Hopefully we will prove Win right and Davis dead wrong (though he wont acknowledge it)

by Bruin Dad and Grad on Mar 16, 2009 11:40 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm impressed x2

First, I’m impressed with some of Shipp’s comments in the paper—noting that UCLA deserves the seed we got. I think that is the right attitude. Those comments have already been pointed out by others here on BN, but I just wanted to note it again.

Also, Nestor—thanks for pointing out Holiday’s comments RE: Cal & Stanford. When I read that, I was struck at how young Holiday seemed. The Cal and Stanford atmospheres were nice, for the Bruins however, Philadelphia will be like hell on earth in comparison. I hope we are ready for what will be two very difficult games.

Finally, let me also say something to the BN community at large. I half-expected to read a lot of comments this morning about how we got screwed, and about how our seed and location weren’t fair, etc. However, while I’ve read some of that (and rightfully so), I think the “we got what we deserved, let’s make the best of it” attitude around here this morning is INCREDIBLE. Moving forward is all we can do.

For me this season has been a little disappointing. But at end of the day, we have a chance like everybody else. And even though we’ve withered in some big games this year—those will all be forgotten if we seize on this, a last opportunity to show what we are capable of.

Go Bruins.

by rfirpo on Mar 16, 2009 8:42 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Why bag on our own team?

We have the oh-so-knowledgable pundits to do it for us. We’re talking about guys that probably saw us play once or twice all season long and look at box scores for the rest.

Obviously this isn’t our seniors’ first go around. They know what it takes. The trick will be to get the young guys to understand that. Farmar, AA, and those guys all had to learn the hard way with a first round exit. Hopefully the seniors will give the freshmen a less demoralizing introduction to the Big Dance. If it isn’t literally “us against the world” with seemingly everyone picking the first round upset, it’s sure as hell going to feel like it as you said. I’m sure that lesson is being taught by CBH as we speak.

by Tydides on Mar 16, 2009 10:12 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Larry Sanders sounds like he is ripe for a patented Howland double team.

One assist per 15 turnovers. I can see Keefe getting a lot of minutes in this game and helping AA2 with a tough double team when VCU gets the ball into the post.

by orlandobruin on Mar 16, 2009 9:33 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Offense or Defense

What I have read says that VCU likes to press. If so, ND has a big advantage over JK in helping against the press. He may get MORE playing time against VCU than you are thinking to insure we reduce the number of turnovers.

Could be a game where the game plan goes out the window early. You are right about JK if our defense gets challenged early. ND gets more if we get ourselves into turnover trouble.

by Bruin Dad and Grad on Mar 16, 2009 12:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

double team

I was thinking the same thing when I saw that assist to turnover ratio. Now big guys dont normally get many assists, but 1-15!!! I guarantee this guy for all his talents hasn’t faced a double team with two guys his own size playing crazy defense like PAA and JK can in his conference.

by bruinponcho on Mar 16, 2009 1:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: We have a chance like everybody else ( rfirpo )

You are darn right !

Seth Davis, go fly a kite as high as you want . Come Thursday, THE FORCE WILL BE WITH US !!!

by Htse005 on Mar 16, 2009 10:11 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

what do we know about

the other 3 starters, anyone know how deep the usually run off the bench? I think itll be interesting to see if there are any match ups we can exploit outside of their big two

O.A.

by Ollie on Mar 16, 2009 10:19 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

A little more faith?

Nestor – “Just from pov, right now I don’t expect this team to make it past Philadelphia and I also think it wouldn’t be a shocker (although if I were the VCU Rams, I wouldn’t be too happy about UCLA being called out so publicly on national TV by Seth Davis) if we fall on Thursday night, especially if we are not playing consistent.”

Listen, I’m a senior this year so I know something about high expectations. I’ve seen our team make a final four each year of my college career. This season has had its disappointments and I’m not expecting our team to make a Final Four, but I still have faith. My first year, JF, LMR, AA made that surprise run to the Final Four. We were a 2 seed, but it seemed like in every game we played we were the underdog. We didn’t see the heart of that ‘06 team until the very end of the season, maybe not even until the tournament. I’m not saying that this year’s team is anything like the team 3 years ago, but still, don’t count them out before the tournament even starts.

by theschully on Mar 16, 2009 10:20 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I kind of like

Being seen as the underdog in this game, as everyone is calling the upset on us.

As far as VCU goes, I know its the trendy pick for the upset, but we should match up well. Their big man doesn’t pass very well, they play full court press (while we’re a good dribbling team and good at breaking the press), and most of their offense is centered around 2 players. We play at the same pace also, so no surprises.

Anyways, much of this relies on how DC’s health is, otherwise we’re going to have to rely on our freshmen guards even earliert han expected

by blinkshot on Mar 16, 2009 11:05 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Lost in all the uproaor about drawing Nova

Is the fact that UCLA’s first two games are likely their most difficult in this pod. If they do happen to get by both VCU and Villanova (highly possible), Pitt is arguably the weakest #1 seed in the field and Duke is eminently beatable (if Texas hasn’t already disposed of them). If UCLA does make it to the Sweet 16, this is a relatively easy region to come out of, all things considered. Ask yourself this: would you rather play Memphis or Pitt in the Regional Finals? Pitt’s a way better matchup for UCLA.

If you look at the larger picture, the pool really isn’t that terrible. I’m sure Villanova fans are belly-aching that they have to face UCLA as a 6 seed – that’s a pretty big screw-job for them as well, if you ask me. It all matters not though – just focus on one game at a time, and things will fall into place.

by CAJason80 on Mar 16, 2009 11:12 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't see any reason for Nova to be unhappy

IF we get past VCU, they couldn’t ask for a better shot at us: Playing us on their home floor while we’re 2700 miles from home.

by Tydides on Mar 16, 2009 11:19 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Seriously

Between that softball, three #1 seeds and Syracuse getting a #3 seed, could the Big East get any more gifts?

Add in the fact that we’d be facing Nova in our second game on a Saturday, and there’s good reason to be worried.

But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.

by tasser10 on Mar 16, 2009 11:36 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Strangely enough

Nova is 1-2 in that stadium this year, and they have significantly losing records at that arena both in big east play and against ranked opponents. These are philly fans after all!

by blinkshot on Mar 16, 2009 12:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good

I’m not too optimistic overall, but I know that on any one day, we can play great basketball and beat just about anyone.

Forget the switch though. It’s time to get on a perpetual motion. Bring it, every game.

But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.

by tasser10 on Mar 16, 2009 1:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good Point

I think we matchup well against Duke and Pitt.

No reason for VCU to whine other than we are the best 6 seed in the tournament. Would anyone have been shocked if we were a 5 seed? I dont think so. But we will have to win a road game.

But we will need to see the team that played 4 games great to get to the Sweet Sixteen. So lets stay focused on VCU.

by Bruin Dad and Grad on Mar 16, 2009 11:37 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

We have to win

6 road games in a row! :)

But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.

by tasser10 on Mar 16, 2009 11:44 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You speak the truth

From a travel perspective we are talking about 6 road games.

Last year we had the advantage of Anahiem…this year we get to face the opposite when we are in Philly: the locals will be lined up against us.

But from a fan in the stand perspective, I am not sure that Boston will have any allegiances generally to any of the teams in the East Bracket. Detroit would if Michigan State and/or Michigan were to get there.

None of this will matter only if we play well — which has been our challenge this year.

by Bruin Dad and Grad on Mar 16, 2009 12:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

To paraphase W.C. Fields:

On the whole, I rather have UCLA be in Philadelphia than not in the tournament at all.

by Gen2Bruin1987 on Mar 16, 2009 12:42 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

A trap game, but winnable if we're focused

This is definitely a trap game. An upset is likely, if we aren’t focused. VCU is definitely one of the best mid-majors in the conference, and had they not been bracketed against us, I would’ve penciled them in for a deep run as they are underseeded imo.

That said, we need to counter their game plan with a solid one of our own.

They play a full court press for defense. In years past, this would’ve been a huge problem, like we saw against WKU last year. However, out of our starting 5, our 1-4 players are all good or great ball handlers, and this year, most teams didn’t keep the press on us for long when they realized that we aren’t a team that turns it over a lot. We are inconsistent, however, and Arizona did this to us on a sloppy day and we paid the price.

As long as we protect the ball well, we should have the advantage.

Next, they have much less depth than we do. Get Sanders into foul trouble, and they lost their 2nd best scorer and their best rebounder and defender. His actual Assist to Turnover ratio is 1:5.5, not 1:15.5. Still, that’s not a great ratio at all, and enough pressure on him and he should turn it over a bunch. Plus, he’s a raw player who goes for the block shot a lot, and if we can challenge him in the paint and draw fouls, he might get limited minutes as well. We’ll have a much deeper bench in the post and can wear him out.

Who I am mainly worried about though is Eric Maynor. The guy can straight up ball. Jrue and Lee must be on him at all times IMO, or else he’s going to play like James Harden on us.

It’s very winnable, and we have the fortune of being unfamiliar, but IMO what we need to watch out for is being overconfident and sloppy going into this game.

by blinkshot on Mar 16, 2009 2:26 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Watched egg never hatches

There is no way that VCU is a trap game. After what they did to Duke 2 years ago and how everyone has picked them to upset us, there is no way that CBH comes out flat on Thursday. I am actually glad that we ended up in this position because otherwise I would worry about us coming out complacent. But given the circumstances, no way.

by bruinponcho on Mar 16, 2009 3:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

There is no way in hell...

…that Howland is going to let Maynor blow up on us. VCU knows this, so they’ll probably be feeding the post early and often. I’m fine with that strategy because we do a great job doubling the post (usually). The other way they could go is just run Maynor through countless screens and take their chances hoping that his shot is on. I haven’t seen VCU play, but it sounds like we can win this game if we grind it out like in past years. It should be very interesting, but I think we should be able to pull this one out.

Go Bruins.

by hicalliber on Mar 16, 2009 2:51 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Maynor wont run off screens

He is the type of player that has to have the ball in his hands and VCU is the type of team that needs the ball in his hands. Strong pressure defense on him is what we can expect. He will burn us a few times off the dribble, but we would rather have Maynor the scorer than Maynor the playmaker.

by bruinponcho on Mar 16, 2009 3:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Where do we have trouble: Against a strong starting 5

Let’s remember the single biggest rule about Howland’s defense: it can take away one or 2 players but not all 5. We have really struggled against balanced teams. But we have been very effective against teams with one or two good players. From what I am reading about VCU, we match up well with them.

2 caveats about this “rule”: like most Bruin fans I have not seen VCU and the rule was especially true in previous years, less true today

by Bruin Dad and Grad on Mar 16, 2009 2:54 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs