Dayton defeats Wake Forest by 4

The opening tip of the game said everything you need to know about Wake Forest. At 6’7” Travis McKie is under-sized for the tip, but he’s Wake Forest’s best player, and the team’s only game-changing leaper. And under center for the start, McKie actually won the tip, sending it into the hands of teammate Carson Desrosiers. But since this is Wake Forest, the ball bounced off Desrosiers hands and hung in the air for several seconds. Then despite the fact that no one from Dayton was standing anywhere near Desrosiers, it took Carson so long to recover, that Dayton eventually took the ball away.

But after a shaky start, Wake Forest actually played some of its better basketball in recent memory. Wake Forest’s Tony Chennault is starting to emerge as a dependable back-court player, and he consistently beat his man off the dribble for easy lay-ups. And even freshman Chase Fisher played well in this game. After Fischer hit his third three pointer in the second half, he held up his hands as if to say, “Wow, even I can’t believe I’m this hot.”

This really looked like the day Jeff Bzdelik would get a breakthrough win. After Dayton took a 7 point lead early in the second half, Wake Forest went on a 9-0 run and Dayton looked completely rattled. At one point 6’0” Wake Forest guard Anthony Fields was guarding the 6’9” Dayton forward Josh Benson in the post. But when Benson caught the ball in the paint, he was so disconcerted by the Dayton run, that he actually passed the ball back out, instead of shooting over the smaller defender. It certainly seemed like Wake Forest was poised for the upset.

But Wake Forest head coach Bzdelik continues to have the anti-Midas touch when it comes to defense. With about 4 minutes left, he decided to play zone for the first time all day. For most coaches, switching defenses confuses the other team. It is a cheap gimmick to get a few key stops. But it never works that way for Bzdelik. The moment Wake Forest switched to zone, Dayton hit a three out of the corner, and re-took the lead.

Despite some questionable shot selection early, Dayton senior Paul Williams refused to let his team lose. He hit some huge three point shots which combined with the always clutch three point shooting of Chris Johnson, allowed Dayton to re-take the lead and win a very competitive game.

Minnesota Defeats DePaul by 1

Minnesota’s Rodney Williams spent the last two years on NBA draft watch lists, but after two season of mediocre play, it would appear that dream is over. Thursday’s play might cause us to pause and reconsider. After teammate Julian Welch missed two free throws late in the game that would have helped clinch it for Minnesota, Williams grabbed a key-offensive rebound and tipped the ball into the hoop.  Williams game sealing basket was fantastic, but to understand Williams full contribution requires a deeper discussion of the game.

On Thursday, DePaul used full-court pressure to attempt to rattle the Gopher’s inexperienced guards. And rather than sit back and take it, Minnesota fired back with some full-court pressure of their own. As always, this combination made for some fabulous basketball. But DePaul plays this style much more frequently than Minnesota, and they used the controlled chaos to enforce their will. First, DePaul used the quick pace to find open three point shooters. Then, every time Minnesota would make a run and seem to get back in the game, DePaul would force a key turnover.

One play stood out as a metaphor for the early stretch of the game. Minnesota’s Trevor Mbakwe made an extremely athletic leap to steal a DePaul inbounds pass. But in his excitement to get the ball to one of his guards, Mbakwe threw the ball back to DePaul.  DePaul finished the play for an easy lay-up.

The big problem for Minnesota is the lack of a true PG. And this game was a huge learning experience for transfer PG Julian Welch. Welch was the perfect combination of fantastic and horrible in the same game. On the plus side, Welch’s aggressiveness and willingness to attack the basket in the second half triggered Minnesota’s comeback from a 12 point deficit. On the other hand, his poor ball-handling, including a terrible pass out-of-bounds in the final minute, kept DePaul in the game.

And that’s why Rodney Williams needed to be the impact player. Williams is clearly not comfortable playing half-court basketball. But in a wide-open game, his ability to beat people one-on-one and attack the basket can be a difference-maker. Williams is known as a dunker. And there were two or three plays where it literally seemed impossible for Williams to get the ball to the rim. But his incredible leaping ability combined with his strength allows him to dunk the ball in ways other players can only dream. On Thursday, that ability, combined with a new-found sense of aggressiveness led Williams to a breakout performance.

Despite a breakout game by Williams, Minnesota still only won by one point. Williams late put-back was the difference, but another late game sequence was equally critical.

With about four minutes left, after a DePaul guard gambled for the steal, Minnesota's Austin Hollins found himself with the ball and a clean path to the basket. DePaul forward Krys Faber saw Hollins streaking to the basket, but made no attempt to step over and stop him. After a thunderous dunk from Hollins, Faber immediately realized the error in his ways, and pointed to his chest, telling his teammates that he messed up.

But with Minnesota up one and 13 seconds left, Minnesota’s Trevor Mbakwe would not make the same mistake. He helped off his post defender when his teammate was beaten off the dribble. And by drawing the charge, Mbakwe sealed Minnesota’s win. Minnesota’s help defense was a point better in the close win. And Mbakwe’s exuberance as he danced on the floor was the image of the day.

Indiana St. beats Texas Tech, Fairfield beats Arizona St.

I rarely have much to say about blowouts, but I have two quick observations on these games.

-With less than four minutes left, Texas Tech’s Kevin Wagner lost his shoe. Eventually Indiana St.’s Jake Odum drove by him for a lay-up. This was a nice metaphor for the game.

-Despite a horrific offensive game by Arizona St., you cannot say the Sun Devils didn’t try to come back against Fairfield. Perhaps the best example of Arizona St.’s effort came in the first half when Carrick Felix dove over the media desk attempting to grab a loose ball. But the ball was saved in play and the action continued. So Felix ran down behind the media desk, while the ball was advanced up the court, looking for a place with no media member. He eventually found a spot with an empty seat and jumped back into the action. Adding humor to the hustle play, as he jumped over the table, he practically landed on a surprised referee.

Final Thoughts

With a tournament of great mid-major teams and weak BCS teams, I was curious which teams would have the highest fan support. On day one, Dayton had by far and away the loudest crowd, with Minnesota and Indiana St. close behind. While all three move onto the winner’s bracket, I am far more interested in the loser’s bracket.

This weekend, we will finally be able to settle the question. Which is the weakest BCS team in the land? Texas Tech, DePaul, Wake Forest, and Arizona St. were all horrible last season, and one of them is going to lose the next two games. With all apologies to the bottom of the SEC, It should be fun to see which program really is in the worst shape in the BCS nation.