1. Last night Pittsburgh ran into a very good Long Beach State team and got run out of the building in an 86-76 loss (at home!). Most alarming is the 86 points allowed in a 65 possession game (1.32 points per possession). The last time Pitt’s defense got torched like this? Never. Well, at least in the decade that possession data is available for. In Jamie Dixon’s eight year career, his team has finished among the top-40 defenses nationally seven times (54th in 2008 being the outlier). But in back-to-back games Pitt has given up 1.26 points per possession against Rider and 1.32 against Long Beach State. In Rider’s two other games (against Robert Morris and Drexel) they’ve been held under a point per possession both times. And Long Beach State only scored 1.08 in their previous game against Idaho. Last night Long Beach State converted 69.4% of their 2s. Pitt’s defense has some issues.
2. Another defense with issues comes from an unlikely place: Florida State. And like Pitt, they’re another team giving up way too many easy baskets. For two straight seasons FSU has limited opponents to 40% shooting on 2s. Last year they ranked 1st in the country, and two years ago they ranked 2nd. This year they’re surrendering 2s at a 44.8% clip, which is 136th. And they haven’t exactly been playing offensive powers. Stetson – who they beat 79-66 last night – is one of the worst offenses in the country, and Jacksonville and UCF both have issues. Leonard Hamilton needs to get this cleaned up, because without their defense they are definitely not a top-25 team.
3. NC State escaped Princeton last night (60-58) pushing the ACC to a perfect 26-0 record. Only two other conferences (out of 33) have as few as two losses, and one of them (the Big 10) suffered both their losses at the hands of the ACC. The streak could end tonight though, as Maryland faces Alabama, and Georgia Tech takes on St. Joe’s.
4. Hofstra is a bottom end Colonial Athletic Association team, though what Oregon State’s Jared Cunningham did is still impressive. Cunningham, a 6’4 guard, converted 10-11 2s on his way to 35 points. That puts him at 22.3 ppg for the season.
5. Since my grandfather was once captain of the Army team, I have to throw a shoutout when they do something good. After back to back losses in the All-Military Classic to open the season, Army took on the Marywood juggernaut last night and beat them 95-40. Sure, Marywood has no business playing Division 1 teams, but anytime someone holds an opponent under a half a point per possession (0.49) it deserves a mention. The other thing to note is coach Zach Spiker’s tempo. In his first season he slowed things down and was 289th in adjusted tempo. Last year he ramped that up to 73rd. This year? He’s averaging 80 possessions a game, and if he keeps this up will finish among the top-5 fastest teams nationally. They might not be good, but they’ll be entertaining.
