Conference USA Basketball

Put this into the list of ridiculous rules which make no sense to go along with the continuation rule in the NBA, homefield advantage in the World Series to the league that wins the MLB All-Star game, and the idea to not use replay in some sports.

As is the case with replay, however, the NCAA needs to wake up with this rule.

Why should four or five games mean an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament? Especially if a team is in an awful conference that only deserves one automatic bid to begin with.

Why even play the regular season if that is the case?

Every year we see teams that do not belong in the NCAA Tournament solely get in because they literally won four games at the end of the season.

This year it was Houston, who won the Conference USA tournament after finishing 15-15 in the regular season and 7-9 in the conference, which currently holds one ranked team in 25th ranked UTEP. Houston's only win against a top 25 team came against UTEP in the Conference USA championship.

Also getting an automatic bid was Washington who was third in the PAC-10 conference which holds zero ranked teams. Washington finished the regular season 19-9, losing to the only ranked team they faced.

Illinois, Arizona State, Mississippi State, and Virginia Tech, along with a host of others, are far better teams than Houston and arguably better than Washington. 

Yes, it is exciting to watch a team win four or five games in a row to earn a bid, but will it be exciting when that team loses by 20 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament?

Is it fair to a team that has built a resume based on the entire season to hand their bid to a team that ended on a four-game winning streak against a bad conference?

Absolutely not.

Give the winner of a conference tournament respect while contemplating whether or not they should make the tournament, but do not give them an automatic bid. Give them an automatic NIT bid if anything.

Besides earning the respect of a conference, earning an NIT bid would make teams in the lower part of a conference play hard in their conference tournament to continue their seasons.

The NCAA tournament is about the 65 best teams playing against one another. As with any playoff system, you want the best of the best to play each other.

This automatic bid rule is completely hypocritical as to what a playoff system is all about.

Imagine if divisions in baseball held divisional tournaments for non-division winners at the end of the season and the winners would face one another for the wildcard.

Cool? Yes. Fair? Not in the least bit.

Most of the time the team that wins a conference tournament is, although unworthy of an automatic bid, at least decent, but one day a below .500 team is going to win their conference tournament and make a mockery out of the NCAA Tournament, while at the same time ruin the chances of a more worthy team.

But as with anything that raises money and T.V. ratings, especially in the NCAA, this rule will stand for some ridiculous reason.

If Rodney Dangerfield was still alive, the UTEP Miners would be his favorite college basketball team.

If Johnny Paycheck was still living, he would probably write "Take This Bubble and Shove It" and dedicate it to the team.

Only The Hurt Locker is hotter than UTEP right now, but nobody seems to notice. The Miners have won 15 games in a row and only lost one time all season long to Conference USA opponents.

As well as the Miners are playing, it was strange to hear coach-turned-broadcaster Pete Gillen declare after UTEP humiliated the UCF Knights 76-54 that the Tulsa Golden Hurricane were the hottest team in C-USA.

It seems odd that a team that lost four games in a row in February and suffered a defeat just prior to the conference tournament would suddenly have more momentum than a team that has not lost since Jan. 13.

It is equally peculiar to hear at halftime during the broadcast of the game that C-USA will be a one-bid league because of Memphis and UAB losing in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. It is almost impossible to believe that a 25-5 team that is ranked No. 21 in the USA Today/ESPN Poll and No. 25 by the Associated Press would still be a bubble team.

The reality is that the conference is only a one-bid league if UTEP wins the tournament. Winning the regular season title in a major conference makes the Miners a lock for the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happens in the next three days.

The experts on CBS College Sports claim that UTEP needs more quality wins and won't get them due to the elimination of Memphis and UAB and that a loss to Houston is a key loss.

First of all, the Miners have a tough team to face in Tulsa today. Some feel Tulsa is just as good as Memphis and UAB.

If Houston is a key loss for the Miners, I guess that means North Carolina State is a key loss to Duke and Oklahoma State is a key loss for Kansas. Butler is the only team to go undefeated in conference play, so one has to question why a team with one conference loss is getting criticized for it.

If UTEP's jerseys said "Memphis" on the front of them, none of this criticism would be directed toward the Miners. For years, people were complaining the Tigers were dominating C-USA. Now that they are not, the team that is on top is being perceived as not being very good.

I thought fans enjoyed teams with star power, and that is exactly what UTEP has.

If mathematics major ever took a ruler to Randy Culpepper, Culpepper would immediately become the best dunker in college basketball under six feet tall. The diminutive guard averages 17.8 points per game and has been voted C-USA Player of the Year.

Derrick Caracter may have been a thorn on Rick Pitino's side, but Caracter has been a key component to UTEP's success since his arrival on the court. A threat from both outside and in the paint, Caracter posts 13.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

Last season, Arnett Moultrie was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team and also played for the U.S. team that won a gold medal at the FIBA U-19 World Championships.

Point guard Julyan Stone possesses one of the most unique skill sets in all of Division I. Not many 6'6" players can handle the ball as well as Stone, and he also distributes the ball effectively and defends like a monster. Stone leads C-USA in assists and has been named to the conference's All-Defensive Team.

Jeremy Williams may be a forgotten starter, but he averages 10.5 points per game and has led the Miners in scoring seven times this season. Christian Polk, Claude Britten, Myron Strong, Isaac Gordon, and Wayne Portalatin compose of the best benches in all of college basketball.

Today's game against Tulsa at the BOK Center will not be easy since the confrontation is basically a home game for the Golden Hurricane. However, the Miners have already defeated Tulsa twice, and there is no reason they cannot do it again.

Despite the thoughts that UTEP will not make the NCAA Tournament, C-USA Coach of the Year Tony Barbee believes his team can make a deep run and even win the national championship.

I'd rather take the word of Barbee than listen to so-called experts who have an axe to grind against the Miners.

Photo Credit: Randy Snyder/Associated Press

It was almost inevitable that the Memphis Tigers would have a sluggish game Wednesday night at home against the Central Florida Golden Knights.

After all, senior post man Pierre Henderson-Niles was dismissed from the team on Monday, leaving a fawning gap in the playing rotation.

"He's going in one direction, and we're going another," Memphis head coach Josh Pastner said in summarizing why he'd made the shocking decision. "It was nothing criminal or derogatory. For whatever reason, he saw things in a different way than I saw things."

It’s also logical that the team would be reeling somewhat from the loss to Gonzaga over the weekend—as well as the distractions and uncertainty that the entire Henderson-Niles situation must have caused.

But in the midst of all the column inches being written about Henderson-Niles’ dismissal from the Memphis basketball team, not a lot is being mentioned about how many different ways this will hurt the Tigers.

Emotionally and in style of play, this team is going to suffer. His teammates are going to miss the young man that they refer to fondly as “the Big Guy” or “the Big Man.”

“It’s kind of hard for me personally and for Doneal [Mack],” said Henderson-Niles’ fellow senior, guard Willie Kemp. “We came in with Pierre. He was a big part of this team. He just had some things going on...but he’s still our teammate, and we still love him like a brother.”

Henderson-Niles also had a significant impact on team members who haven’t been around him nearly as long as Kemp has.

“I didn’t get to see what was going on on the bench,” said junior college transfer Will Coleman, “but from what I hear, everybody tells me that Pierre was my biggest cheerleader when I was in the game. I miss the Big Guy.

“Even when it all got out that he was leaving and all that stuff, to me, it felt like somebody had died. It was all over the paper, the way people were talking about it and stuff like that.

“This was a big win [over Central Florida]; yes, yes, yes. It makes us appreciate it more because we had to work that much harder, knowing [our bench] was so short.”

“It’s different [without Henderson-Niles],” admitted second-year Tiger Roburt Sallie. “I’ve been knowing Pierre for two years. [Pierre and I] have a real tight bond. For the rest of my life, he’s somebody that will be in my life.

“I wish he was here.”

Even first-year Tiger star Elliot Williams feels the impact of PHN’s departure.

“It’s weird,” he said point-blank. “I’ve been on this team for a year now, and he’s been a great teammate. But we’ve got to move on. He was a great teammate, but we’re all we have now. I’m gonna miss him.”

So even though first-year Head Coach Josh Pastner prefers not to dwell on the loss of Henderson-Niles, and although he minimizes the emotional impact on his team, it is naïve for fans to think that the young men left behind to complete the season do not miss him.

Even beyond the emotional component, though, the 76-70 victory over the UCF Golden Knights exposed the one area in which Memphis will feel the loss of Henderson-Niles the most: defense.

The constant component to Memphis’ success all season long has been the defensive pressure. The Tigers have consistently forced the opposition to shoot poorly and to cough up the basketball regularly.

However, we need to give credit where it’s due: Henderson-Niles was a key reason why this Memphis team could do that.

PHN is a unique specimen because he is able to do things on the basketball court that very few men his size can do. He has remarkable footwork; in practice, his spin moves and crossovers were better than even many of the Tiger guards.

His nimbleness and quick hands allowed him to switch off on pick-and-rolls and mark the opposing point guards. This allowed the Tigers precious extra seconds to shift on defense and find favorable matchups instead of being left in mismatches and exposed to easy shot attempts.

It also cut off driving lanes and helped keep opposing guards out of the paint.

Additionally, Henderson-Niles has played basketball in the post all his life, as opposed to the few years of competitive ball that Coleman has logged.

This is important because what many people breathlessly call “good instincts” in a basketball player—anticipating movement, jumping passing lanes, and making smart gambles that do not leave teammates unnecessarily exposed—is actually a result of experience.

You play enough basketball, and you can “see” in your mind what a player is trying to set up—and you can combat it, if you have the guts, the speed, and the skill.

Henderson-Niles has all three qualities in spades.

Looking back over the season's statistics, you will find that Memphis has allowed the opposition to shoot more than 45 percent from the floor just eight times in 24 games, and 50 percent or better a mere four times (exactly .500 twice, at that).

What is the common denominator in those defensive performances?

Besides the Kansas game (and let’s face it, they’re the Jayhawks, yet they still only shot 46.5 percent from the field) and the Texas-El Paso loss (when PHN had a dislocated finger), Henderson-Niles played no more than 16 minutes in the eight games when Tiger foes shot more than 45 percent—and was in foul trouble in most of them.

Of course, against UCF, who converted field goals at a 53.1 percent pace (behind only Syracuse at 54.5, against whom PHN played 16 minutes before fouling out), Henderson-Niles didn’t play at all.

Even more telling, however, is the fact that Memphis has committed more turnovers than they have forced only two times all season long: against Gonzaga, when the Tigers coughed up a season-high 15 turnovers and forced 12 (in a game where PHN played indifferently) and against UCF, when the Tigers created just 10 miscues.

In other words, when Henderson-Niles played significant minutes and came with his game face, the Tiger defense was stingier and more capable of forcing turnovers.

It is too early to say whether or not this trend can be continued without “the Big Man.”

There are now plenty of minutes for Angel Garcia, who is still not able to play above the rim on his surgically repaired right knee, and D.J. Stephens, a guard in high school who plays down low simply because of his scintillating vertical and ever-revving motor.

Coleman and Wesley Witherspoon, who played significant minutes in the post over the last few weeks as Henderson-Niles' attitude and production waned, will need to step forward and do battle with the Derek Caracters, Jerome Jordans, Arnett Moultries, and Hassan Whitesides of Conference USA.

Perhaps Coleman said it best of Henderson-Niles' absence:

“His presence is missed.”

The Tigers will not allow this to become an excuse for losing, to their credit. As Roburt Sallie said:

“You know, we’ll have to move on. We don’t want to wallow on that too much. We have to move forward.”

Leroy Watson, Jr. is a Bleacher Report Featured Columnist as well as a credentialed writer for Rivals, assigned to cover the Memphis Tigers for both entities.

This felt like a must-win game for the Knights going in.

It wasn’t going to be a big win, but it could have been a big loss.

In the end, the Knights would put together a complete game pulling away from the Rice Owls in their home conference opener, 77-58.

The Owls led 21-16 following a three-pointer by Trey Stanton with 7:30 left in the first half. The Knights would score the game’s next 17 points, while the Owls experienced a scoring drought lasting nearly seven minutes.

From there on, UCF cruised to victory. They were led by freshman Keith Clanton who had his best game of the season to date, scoring 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 2-for-2 from three, and added six boards and three blocks.

A change in scenery for the Knights came when freshman Marcus Jordan was named to the starting lineup, replacing Isaac Sosa in that role. Jordan had just five points in 19 minutes of action. Sosa ended up with eight points in 25 minutes, including two three-pointers.

Clanton picked up his game after fellow freshman Dave Diakite went down with an apparent leg injury after just eight minutes of action.

Clanton got help from an especially efficient effort from the field by his teammates, leading to 53.6 percent shooting for the game.

The Knights held Rice to just 39.2 percent from the field for the game, while their leading scorer, freshman Tamir Jackson, shot just 6-of-16 from the field for 17 points.

A.J. Rompza turned in his second-straight double-digit scoring performance, tallying 13 points, six assists, and five steals while connecting on 3-of-7 three-point attempts.

Rompza led the team to a very solid three-point shooting day in which the team made 11-of-23 attempts.

The Knights looked as good as they have all season Saturday night. The key was getting the big performance out of Clanton inside. That opened up more opportunities for the guards to hit perimeter shots, and they came through.

The game served as a definite confidence booster, with the Knights coming off two losses to Jacksonville and Ole Miss. Rice is now a team in the conference that the Knights know they should beat.

UCF will play a tough schedule this coming week that should reveal where the team stands in Conference USA, as they host Marshall Jan. 13 and then travel to conference-favorite Tulsa on Jan. 16.

Read the full article here: The Sports Genius.

Photo courtesy of www.ucfsports.com.

The Knights got out to another slow start on the road against Ole Miss Tuesday night, falling behind 19-4 just four minutes into the game, after the Rebels made their first five three-point attempts.

Ole Miss continued to roll, beating the Knights by a final of 84-56.

UCF was coming off a devastating 61-51 loss to Jacksonville, in which the team shot just 33.3 percent from the field for the game. The Knights didn’t do much better against the Rebels, going 33.9 percent from the field and 0-for-11 from downtown.

Ole Miss countered with a hot shooting night from beyond the arc going 11-for-28 for the game. The Rebels also held a huge height advantage leading to 10 blocked shots for the team.

The Knights trailed by as many as 26 points at one point in the first half.

There were few, if any, bright spots for UCF in the game although freshman Marcus Jordan registered another solid performance against a quality opponent.

Jordan has played his best games this year against the toughest teams and had 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals in 29 minutes of action. Jordan was aggressive in getting to the line all game but made just half of his 10 free throw attempts.

A.J. Rompza also came out aggressive after a tough last game. He led the team with 16 points (12 in the first half) in the contest going 6-of-15 from the field for the game. He only had three assists, however, which was a testament to UCF’s shooting struggles as a team.

The Knights’ leading scorer, Isaac Sosa, didn’t have a field goal until there was seven minutes left in the game, finishing with only four points.

Orlando native Chris Warren countered Sosa’s first bucket with back-to-back threes as he scored 14 against his hometown team.

Keith Clanton and Dave Diakite, UCF’s best chance to counter Ole Miss’ size, both had tough nights.

Clanton was scoreless in the first half, but finished with eight points and seven rebounds, however, he also found the turnover bug again committing seven in the game.

Diakite again couldn’t stay on the floor much due to foul trouble and played just 16 minutes playing no impact in the game.

The Knights fall to 8-6 on the year with conference play looming right around the corner, in the form of a conference opener at home against Rice Jan. 9.

Read the full article and others like it here: The Sports Genius .

Photo courtesy of www.ucfsports.com .

The first thing the Knights need to do is forget about this game.

The UCF men’s basketball team lost 61-51 Wednesday night to Jacksonville in the championship game of its own holiday tournament. These teams weren’t scheduled to come to UCF and beat them.

Even though there are some obvious flaws with this team that were exposed in the game, the fact still remains that UCF played a bad game overall. Literally, not one player had a good game and just about all of them played worse than normal.

Jacksonville hit two backbreaking three-pointers in the final 2:17 to pull away from the Knights.

First, forward Lehmon Colbert stepped outside and drilled a trey to put the Dolphins ahead 52-50. Then with 1:19 left, Ben Smith hit his third three-pointer of the night to give Jacksonville a 55-50 lead.

In the final minute UCF did nothing to help its cause in the comeback.

Dave Diakite got fouled after an offensive rebound off his own missed three-pointer and missed both free throws. Sharpshooting guard Isaac Sosa then stepped to the line with the team down six and clanked the first free throw.

Freshman Keith Clanton put the icing on the cake with a nice spin move and finish that was negated by a bogus traveling call.

The Knights failed to hold a late lead after having come back from a 15-point deficit in the first half.

With 7:23 left in the game, Sosa made a three-pointer to tie the game at 42. Sosa then made a steal back down the court that led to a driving dish from Marcus Jordan to P.J. Gaynor for a dunk that gave UCF their first lead since 5-3.

While the Knights got out of the gates slowly, it still seemed like they would be able to come back and win. Jacksonville was shooting lights out, and the Knights weren’t getting their usual buckets to fall.

UCF had scoreless dry spells lasting 5:18 and 4:21 in the first half during a stretch where they scored just four points in nine minutes.

A.J. Tyler, who has been coming around offensively, having found a soft touch from mid-range, struggled all night connecting on just 2-of-11 shots. Clanton also had a tough time getting some easy buckets to go in and was blocked a surprising number of times in the second half.

When the outside shots weren’t falling and the Knights couldn’t get anything established in the post, they had nothing else to turn to. No one was able to create a shot off the dribble for himself or a teammate.

Only Jordan was given the opportunity down the stretch with a high pick-and-roll look but he reacted the same way every time, and it only led to one basket.

Point guard A.J. Rompza could best be described as pointless for this game. He can’t hit outside shots. He can’t penetrate against decent perimeter defense, and he’s too short to matter at all on defense unless he gets steals.

As a team, UCF finished shooting just 33.3 percent from the field for the game. Jacksonville also struggled somewhat, but the difference came in the form of the long ball, where the Dolphins held a 9-2 advantage in makes over the Knights.

This holiday tournament was supposed to serve as a nice tune-up before conference play began. The Knights were just coming off two straight losses to Big East opponents South Florida and Connecticut, and needed to get on track again.

Go ahead and add Jacksonville to the loss column now. That looks terrible. Sure, UCF is a young team, and it can expect some hiccups along the way, but a loss to the Atlantic Sun’s finest is unacceptable.

UCF is now 8-5 overall and will play at Ole Miss in their next game Jan. 5.

 

Read the full article here: The Sports Genius

Photo courtesy of www.ucfsports.com.  

THURSDAY, DEC. 31, 2009

No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers (9-2) vs. Memphis Tigers (9-2)

The No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers will travel to the FedEx Forum on Thursday to face off against the Memphis Tigers in Memphis, TN.

Memphis edged out the Vols 54-52 the last time these two teams met on Jan. 24, 2009.

Duke transfer Elliot Williams scored 27 points, including five of six three-point attempts, as Memphis cruised to an 87-67 victory over Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis on Monday. Williams has provided a much-needed go-to guy and leads the team with 20.1 points per game.

Pierre Henderson-Niles contributed with 15 points in the win. The victory extended the Tigers' home winning streak to 22 games and a 100-10 record at FedEx Forum.

Memphis has neither progressed nor regressed into a team that has the talent to defend its C-USA title this season. Their only two losses came by way of a struggling UMass team, 73-72, and a 58-57 loss to Kansas, while their nine wins came from a pretty soft early schedule.

Tyler Smith led his team with 16 points as No. 16 Tennessee cruised to a 99-78 victory over North Carolina A&T on Wednesday night. The win bumped the Vols to No. 13 this week.

Freshman walk-on guard Skylar McBee hit three three-pointers in the win and had a total of 12 points in the win. McBee’s threes helped in the win but fell short of helping Tennessee overcome its current three-point shooting slide, as the Vols were only 5-of-26 from behind the arc against North Carolina A&T and are only 11-of-68 (16.2 percent) over their last three games.

This is the Vols' first true road test after falling to USC 77-55 on Dec. 19.

Odds are not yet posted.

Since 1995, Tennessee has a record against the spread when at home of 109-98 and a record when away of 76-75.

Expect the Tigers to keep their home streak alive, edging out a narrow margin victory.

By Caesar Cliffius

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The Marshall University men’s basketball team has the community buzzing once again. Off to a 9-1 start, the Herd is the seventh highest-scoring team in Division I, averaging 85.2 points a game.

They are riding a seven-game win streak after losing their only game to the Old Dominion Monarchs 70-62.

The early success of the team isn’t the only thing that has basketball fans talking. The play of freshman forward Hassan Whiteside is also causing a stir.

The 7′0″ freshman is the nation’s leader in blocked shots per game with 5.3. He ranks 20th in field-goal percentage at 61 percent and is ranked second nationally in triple-doubles with one.

He scored his triple-double in a 105-54 thrashing of Brescia.

Whiteside is a graduate of Patterson High School in Lenoir, N.C., where they were rated No. 1 nationally in the 2008-2009 season. In 2009 he was the 19th-ranked big man in the country. He chose the Herd over UConn, Louisville, Mississippi State, South Carolina, South Florida, Xavier, VCU, and West Virginia.

Head coach Donnie Jones has the Herd playing a fast-paced game that makes it fun to watch. After two seasons of rebuilding, he has evened his record at Marshall to 31-31.

With most of the Memphis Tiger team graduated or moved on to the NBA, Marshall could certainly be the team to beat.

The Herd goes to Chapel Hill tonight to play the 10th-ranked Tar Heels of North Carolina. After beating High Point the other night 109-76, former Tar Heel standout and current High Point coach Scott Cherry was impressed with the young Marshall team. “They’re going to give the Tar Heels a test,” Cherry said. “The Tar Heels are good, but so is Marshall.”

Whiteside’s statistics for the young season are:

The High Point game marked the first time that Whiteside was a starter in college basketball, making his statistics all that more impressive.

His future looks bright and secure. Some are saying he is the best big man they have had since Charlie Slack in the 1950s. For anyone not familiar with Slack, he is still the owner of the NCAA career rebounding record, averaging over 25 rebounds per game.

Please visit my website where this article was first published.

If college basketball was just a two-on-two competition, the Houston Cougars would be one of the best teams in the nation.  Unfortunately, Houston has to field five players at a time, and the Cougars are 5-2 with no votes in the AP or Coaches Poll.

Aubrey Coleman and Kelvin Lewis are amazing fans at the Hofheinz Pavilion and are waiting for their teammates to join in on the fun.

Coleman is leading all of Division I in scoring with 26.7 points per game. Instead of stepping on opponents, he is dribbling around and shooting over them.

The 6'4'' senior guard is shooting 48 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range.

Showing that he is not just focusing on offense, Coleman tops Division I in steals with 3.7 per game and leads the Cougars in rebounds at seven per outing.

Lewis is averaging 17.9 points per game while shooting an amazing 53 percent from three-point range. Lewis' 4.14 made three-pointers per game ranks him third in Division I.

In the seven games the Cougars have played so far, Coleman has been the team's leading scorer five times, and it has been Lewis in the other two games.

A loss to San Diego represents the only occasion neither player scored at least 20 points in a game. Together, Coleman and Lewis represent 51.6 percent of the team's scoring output.

Although Houston has earned a win over a previously-ranked Oklahoma squad, the team needs to find others to help out its dynamic duo.

The most likely candidate is junior college transfer Adam Brown. Brown is averaging 13.7 per game and 12.8 in his four starts.

The problem with starting Brown with Coleman and Lewis is that the Cougars would have four starters no taller than 6'4'', assuming 5'8'' Desmond Wade runs the point.

Wade does a great job orchestrating the offense and dishing out assists but only scores 8.1 points per game.

Coach Tom Penders was hopeful that juco transfer Maurice McNeil would be a productive player in the post, but a 19.7 average at San Jacinto College has only translated into 5.3 points per game at Houston.

Freshman forward Kirk Van Slyke is shooting poorly and committing too many fouls to earn consistent playing time. Freshman forward Kendrick Washington has struggled to get back on the court after having surgery to repair stress fractures in both shins.

In the game against Troy, Penders gave extended playing time to both forward Kahmell Broughton and guard Nick Haywood.

The pair responded by scoring 10 and four points respectively. On the negative side, those point totals also represent the only points that either registered all season long.

Houston's dependence on the production of two players has affected the Cougars' success on the defensive end.

The Cougars are clearly not playing as a team defensively. The opponents are out-rebounding Houston by 10.6 per game, and the Cougars help defense has often been non-existent.

The Cougars can beat teams like Nicholls State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi the way they are performing now.

However, in order to defeat Mississippi State and Conference USA teams like Tulsa, Memphis, UAB, and UTEP, the Cougars have to play at both ends of the court as one cohesive unit.

Two men scoring and the rest watching will only lead to disappointment and the Cougars playing in a post-season tournament they would rather not be participating in.

Photo Credit: Yardbarker.com

The UCF men’s basketball team lost their third game of the season Wednesday night, on the road to cross-state rival USF 69-65. The loss dropped UCF to 7-3 on the year.

While they were in the game throughout its entirety, they simply couldn’t get over the hump and make a run big enough to come back. The problem right now is that they can’t get into a good rhythm and put together a complete game.

The season is still young and the team is young too, but it is time for head coach Kirk Speraw to tighten his rotation, especially when the Knights are playing teams from the Big East like USF and Connecticut, who they will play next.

Right now, UCF has eight players averaging at least 18 minutes a game, which is no big deal except for the fact that some players have separated from the pack and should be carrying larger loads of playing time.

I’ve broken down the Knights’ roster into three categories:

1. Players who can play and maybe start for BCS conference teams.

2. Players who are just a level below but can sometimes play up to the level of BCS conferences.

3. Players who are perfect for Conference-USA play and are fine in limited minutes against the better teams.

The Knights have two studs (BCS conference quality players) on their roster right now in freshmen Keith Clanton and Dave Diakite. They need to each be playing at least 30 minutes against the best teams, even if they struggle a little because they are freshmen. They just simply give the Knights the best chance to win and compete at the highest level, especially physically, which is where the Knights often fall short against the better teams.

Clanton has come around and established himself as a rare and top talent for this UCF team. Although he turns the ball over quite a bit for a big man, he is UCF’s best low-post scorer and defender, second best rebounder, and a smart player. He is still trying to find the best way to fit in with his teammates and is just about there. He is ready to play in big games and getting just 19 minutes in the USF game, even though he was struggling a lot (four turnovers, but have four steals), is not going to give the Knights their best chance to win.

Diakite is the best athlete the Knights have probably ever had, and when he is not in foul trouble, there is absolutely no reason for him to be on the bench. He is the team’s best rebounder despite being just 6'6" and more importantly, he is a terror on the offensive glass.

He has struggled of late mainly because of foul trouble, but saw just 22 minutes against USF despite not being in foul trouble until the very end of the game. The Knights gave up 12 offensive rebounds to the Bulls. For an explanation, look no further than Diakite’s absence from the game.

The second level players for the Knights are A.J. Rompza, A.J. Tyler, Isaac Sosa, and Marcus Jordan. These guys can all play big minutes, but there are reasons why they shouldn’t against certain matchups.

Rompza is on the brink of a level one player but is too small and not quick enough to control a game consistently, but makes up for it a lot of times with his hustle and heart. He too, needs to be in the game for 30-plus minutes against the best teams, with Taylor Young acting as a perfect spell for him to get rest. The offense just runs differently with him on the court as opposed to when he’s on the bench.

Tyler is not enough of a banger for UCF to rely on him to get rebounds if he doesn’t have Clanton or Diakite playing beside him. He is solid defensively, developing offensively, and most importantly, gives UCF an outside threat from the center position. He needs to play a lot too. Tyler just can’t be expected to control the paint by himself, which means the Knights can’t go small with him in the game.

Sosa is great for spreading the floor and knocking down three-pointers but is still too much of a defensive liability to play major minutes. USF dominated the Knights in this department with Dominique Jones, a big physical junior guard, who scored 27 points. If Speraw can find a way to hide him on defense, then he should be in the game as much as possible. Otherwise, the Knights can’t afford to sacrifice perimeter defense, despite the offense he brings.

Jordan has just gotten to the second level in the past three or four games. He had 11 points in the loss to USF as he handled the ball late in the game in half court situations, much like former UCF player Dave Noel. His biggest problem right now is passing in transition and turning the ball over a little too much. Other than that, he has become one of UCF’s best perimeter defenders because of his strength and is a reliable scorer and shooter from three.

Taylor Young, P.J. Gaynor, and Jakub Kusmieruk are the third level of players for the Knights. I don’t mind them playing a lot if a level two player is struggling, but otherwise, they should only be seeing the floor for 10 minutes or less.

Young looked for a second last year like he might become a starter this season alongside Rompza, but he isn’t quite there yet. He’s a nice backup point guard to have and if he shot more I’d have no problem with him playing as much as he is right now. He was a huge problem on defense against USF and just hacked the ball handlers like crazy. And Rompza is just simply better at making plays right now, so there is no need for them to split time when Rompza has the endurance to play major minutes.

Gaynor is finally not starting, with Clanton being inserted into the starting lineup in UCF’s last game against Bethune-Cookman. Gaynor is a nice change of pace as an energy guy off the bench for the Knights, but can’t be expected to play more than 10-12 minutes effectively. He does a decent job getting rebounds, but when he is in with Tyler as the four and five men, they simply do not get enough boards for the Knights to stay with the better teams on their schedule.

And then there is big Kuba. He really has no business ever playing more than five minutes a game right now and should only be used if the Knights really want to change the pace and go to a 2-3 zone or if they are playing against a tiny team. He does just about nothing offensively and despite being 7'4", he cannot hold on to a rebound to save his life. If the Knights are losing and need to come back, he can’t be in the game.

The Knights have No. 14 Connecticut next and are then hosting a Holiday tournament against teams they should beat, before playing at Ole Miss. Wins against Connecticut or Ole Miss are looking unlikely right now, but would be huge to help turn this team in the right direction before conference play starts.

The Knights aren’t going to have a chance in those games if they limit the minutes of their best players and shuffle their lineup as much as they have been to start the season.

Read the full article here: The Sports Genius .

Photo courtesy of www.ucfsports.com.