NCAA Men's Basketball Notes

In tonight's NCAA men's basketball action...

Kansas used an early 21-2 run to expand its lead over Richmond from 10-7 to 31-9 (play-by-play sheet). The Jayhawks were never challenged thereafter, winning 77-57.

Last night...

Trailing 53-47 to Duke with 16:35 remaining in the game, Arizona went on a 19-2 run to go ahead 66-55 (play-by-play sheet). The Wildcats, who shot 9-of-15 (.600) from three-point land, pulled away to win, 93-77. Big forward Derrick Williams excelled inside (13 rebounds) and outside (5-of-6 on three-pointers) for U of A, netting 32 points in all.

Butler used a 13-0 spurt to expand a 29-24 lead over Wisconsin to 42-24 (play-by-play). However, once the Bulldogs got their lead to 20 (47-27) at the 11:34 mark, the Badgers burrowed back with a 22-6 run to cut the deficit to 53-49 with 1:40 remaining. Wisconsin got no closer, however, with Butler prevailing 61-54. As this game article noted: "Jon Leuer, normally one of the Badgers' top offensive forces with 18.7 points per game coming in, was 1-of-12 shooting and finished with three points."

Talking about cold shooting, BYU star Jimmer Fredette had a rough night (3-of-15) from behind the three-point arc, although he scored 32 points in all, as the Cougars dropped an 83-74 overtime decision to Florida.

Big NBA Scoring Runs

Two dramatic fourth-quarter team scoring runs have taken place this week in the NBA:

The Boston Celtics outscored the New York Knicks 23-4 over the final 7:26 of play Monday night, in winning 96-86 (play-by-play sheet).

Then, on Wednesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers went on a 25-6 spurt to open the fourth, in a 105-100 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

Interview on McGraw Video Blog

University of Colorado professor Peter McGraw, who maintains a video blog on various social and behavioral phenomena, filmed a brief interview with me during a recent visit he made to Texas Tech. The interview, which focused on why there seems to be much stronger evidence of streaky performance in bowling than in basketball, is posted here.

Texas Tech with Five Straight Two-Out Hits in Nine-Run Rally to Tie Game

On Saturday, the Texas Tech baseball team staged an amazing comeback, scoring nine runs in the top of the ninth to tie Baylor, 13-13, only to have the Bears score a run in the bottom half to win. What I found particularly impressive was how Texas Tech got five straight hits to keep the rally alive after there were two outs, with three of the batters facing two strikes in the count. Talk about batting under pressure! Below, I have copied and annotated the official play-by-play sheet, which you can click to enlarge (red signifies outs, green signifies hits after two outs). You can also access the play-by-play sheet and an article on the game here.

Buckeye Shoots 7-of-7 on Treys -- and Other March Madness Items

In today's men's and women's March Madness...

The University of Washington men had an early 12-0 run against North Carolina, but the Tar Heels rallied and ultimately won the game, 86-83.

Duke's Nolan Smith scored 10 straight points as the Blue Devils expanded a 39-37 edge over Michigan to 49-37 (play-by-play sheet). After Duke upped its lead to 15 points (58-43), the Wolverines roared back with nine straight points. When Duke later held a 68-56 advantage with 6:25 left in the game, Michigan unleashed a 13-2 spurt to close within 70-69 with 1:30 remaining. Michigan had the ball in the closing seconds trailing Duke 73-71 and went for a two-point shot to tie -- and missed.

Trailing 24-23 to Purdue, the Virginia Commonwealth men reeled off 13 straight points to go up 36-24 (play-by-play sheet). Purdue rarely even got within single digits the rest of the way, as VCU captured a 94-76 upset.
         
Normally, it's Jon Diebler who leads Ohio State's three-point shooting brigade, but today it was David Lighty, who went 7-of-7 from behind the arc, as the Buckeyes routed George Mason, 98-66. At one point, OSU went on a huge run, outscoring GMU 50-15.

Men's and Women's Early-Round NCAA Hoops

Today we have the first day of the NCAA men's college basketball round of 32 and the first day of the women's round of 64.

MEN'S

Kentucky gave up a 22-7 spurt to West Virginia to close the first half, but rebounded with an 11-0 run to open the second half, en route to a 71-63 victory.

Temple outscored San Diego State 9-2 to close regulation play and force overtime, but the Aztecs won in double-OT, 71-64. Temple hit only 1-of-8 field-goal attempts in the second extra period, due in no small part to San Diego State's shot-blocking (play-by-play sheet).

Brigham Young's Jimmer Fredette hit on 7-of-13 three-point attempts and the Cougars put together runs of 11-2 and 12-0 to put away Gonzaga 89-67. (There seems to be a discrepancy between the game article and box score, as to whether Fredette had 12 or 13 attempts from behind the arc. The play-by-play sheet seems to confirm 13 as the correct number.)

WOMEN'S

Tennessee trounced Stetson 99-34. When a result is so one-sided, I'm hesitant to talk about streakiness, as any pronounced scoring runs likely reflect an overwhelming talent differential. For what it's worth, however, Stetson had kept the game close for a little while, before Tennessee's initial burst. According to this game article:

Stetson managed to hit a few early shots to keep up with Tennessee, which led 10-9 with 15:13 left in the first half. The Lady Vols' size and shooting became too much for the Hatters, though, and a 23-0 run put the game away early.

Gonzaga used an 18-5 spurt (from down 60-55 to up 73-65) to turn around its game with Iowa, before triumphing 92-86.

Texas Tech fell 55-50 as "St. John's had an 8-0 run and another 13-2 spurt late..." A late 10-2 run by the Lady Raiders cut their deficit from 50-38 to 52-48, but it wasn't enough.

Men's Hoops NCAA Round-of-64 (Day 2) Notes

Day 2 of the NCAA men's basketball round of 64...

After a close first-half, at the end of which Michigan led Tennessee 33-29, the bottom fell out for the Volunteers, as the Wolverines outscored them 42-16 in the second half, yielding a final score of 75-45. The key was a 16-0 Michigan run, increasing its lead from 36-31 to 52-31. Then, after Tennessee had chipped a little off the lead to trail 56-40, Michigan took off on another spurt, scoring 14 in a row to make it 70-40 (play-by-play sheet).

Texas withstood a late 12-2 run from Oakland University (Michigan), which cut a 78-63 Longhorn lead down to 80-75, to win 85-81. The Horns' J'Covan Brown went a perfect 12-of-12 from the free-throw line.

An 8-0 run vaulted George Mason to a 56-54 lead over Villanova with just under a minute to play, and the Patriots held on for a 61-57 win (play-by-play sheet).

Florida State unleashed a 13-0 run against Texas A&M, to convert an eight-point deficit (31-23) to a five-point lead. The Seminoles never looked back, winning 57-50.

An early 15-0 run by Illinois against UNLV set the tone for the game, as the Illini prevailed 73-62.

Virginia Commonwealth routed Georgetown tonight, 74-56. Three-point shooting proficiency differed markedly between the two teams (box score). VCU shot 12-of-25 (48%) from behind the arc. Georgetown's starters were absolutely awful from long distance, going 1-for-17. Only because of reserve forward Hollis Thompson's 4-of-5 shooting on treys was Georgetown able to bring its overall three-point shooting performance to the slightly less embarrassing rate of 5-for-26 or 19% (Hoya reserves other than Thompson went 0-for-4).

First Big Day of Men's March Madness

The first big day of March Madness (featuring 16 NCAA men's games) is nearly in the books, with a game that just ended -- UCLA vs. Michigan State -- providing a huge number of hot and cold stretches by both teams. The play-by-play sheet is now available, with which I can add detail [in brackets] to my previous general recollections.

UCLA used a 15-2 second-half run to go up by 23 [64-41 with 8:36 left in the game, after it had been 49-39]. Michigan State then had an 18-3 spurt in roughly a four-minute span, to close within 67-59 at the 4:21 point [I had erroneously said the lead was cut to 10]. The Bruins held a 10-point lead in the closing minutes [76-66 with 1:31 left], but a flurry of Spartan three-pointers [at 1:03, 0:59, and 0:08] combined with dreadful UCLA free-throwing [2-of-10 in the final 1:17] left the outcome in doubt until the final seconds. Ultimately, the Bruins held on, 78-76.

Earlier today...

Morehead State darted off to a 15-2 lead over intrastate rival Louisville, but saw the favored Cardinals gradually overcome their initial deficit and seemingly take control with a 48-41 lead. The Eagles then unleashed another run, 11-2, to lead 52-50, before prevailing 62-61 in a see-saw finish (play-by-play sheet).

San Diego State used a 13-0 spurt to pull away from Northern Colorado.

Florida stormed out to a 10-1 lead over the University of California, Santa Barbara, then went on a 12-0 run to increase a 23-13 Gator lead to 35-13, en route to a 79-51 win (play-by-play sheet).

At one point, UConn led Bucknell only by 27-20. The Huskies then outscored the Bison 30-5 to balloon the lead to 57-25, ultimately winning 81-52 (play-by-play sheet). During the time it gave up the 30-5 run, Bucknell made only 1 field goal in 16 attempts.

Soccer Coach Unbeatable at Home

Sports Illustrated recently ran an article on Real Madrid (Spain) soccer coach José Mourinho and a unique streak he has going: "He has gone nine years without losing a league game at home, 148 matches with four different teams."

Love's Double-Double Streak Over at 53 Games

Kevin Love had his streak of 53 double-double games (double figures in both points and rebounds) snapped tonight at Golden State. The Minnesota forward's stats consisted of 12 rebounds but only 6 points.

Ohio State-Michigan Scoring Runs in Big 10 Tourney

No. 1 Ohio State eliminated Michigan in the semifinals of the Big 10 men's basketball tournament this afternoon, 68-61, in a game featuring major runs by both teams. Quoting from this game article:

Michigan got as close as 47-45 with 9:51 left, but the Buckeyes answered with 16 straight points and held off a late charge that got the Wolverines within four in the final minute [my bold emphasis added].

Michigan Outruns Illinois in Big 10 Hoops Tourney

Things weren't looking good for the Michigan men in the Big 10 tournament when they allowed Illinois a 17-4 run (in which the Illini went from down 19-17 to up 34-23) over the final 7:23 of the first half (play-by-play sheet). However, after Illinois had taken a 51-39 lead with 8:35 left in the game, the Wolverines unleased a run of their own, 12-0, to tie the game at 51-all at the 3:31 mark. Michigan gradually pulled away over the final minutes to win, 60-55.

Up 10 with Under a Minute Left in Basketball? You Usually Win, But Not Virginia Men vs. Miami

Here's a wild outcome. Virginia went on a 20-2 run to take a 50-39 lead with 2:12 remaining in its Atlantic Coast Conference men's tournament game against Miami. The Cavaliers retained a 53-43 lead with 42.5 seconds left. I consider it a virtual certainty that a team leading by 10 or more points with less than a minute left will win and, in the over 25 years I've had this mental rule, it has only failed a few times (here, here, and here).

The rule failed again today, as Miami outscored UVa 10-0 in the remainder of regulation time (making a 3, a 3, a 2, and a 2, separated by a missed pair of free throws and two turnovers by the Cavaliers), and then pulled away in overtime. In the end, it was a 69-62 Hurricane victory.

What to Make of Kevin Love's 52-Game Double-Double Streak?

The Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love recorded his 52nd straight double-double last night (in this case, 16 points and 21 rebounds), setting an NBA record for the post-1976-merger era. Certainly, any performance that is the best in the last 35 years is nothing to sneeze at. As this article explains, however, the longer-term historical significance of Love's mark is open to debate:

It's been difficult to get a handle on what exactly Love has accomplished. It's certainly nowhere near the magic of Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak or the gravitas of Brett Favre's 297 straight games started.

Is it even a record at all? Not really, because the NBA doesn't keep double-doubles as an official record and several players had longer streaks before the [NBA-ABA] merger. Elvin Hayes had 55 in a row in 1973-74 and Wilt Chamberlain had at least 227 straight double-doubles at one point during his dominant career, though the exact number has been difficult for researchers to pin down.

Lady Raiders Outrun Cowgirls in Big 12 Women's Tourney

In last night's Oklahoma State-Texas Tech first-round game of the Big 12 women's basketball tournament, OSU struck first with a sizable run, taking an 8-0 lead. The Lady Raiders, however, came back with an even larger run of their own in the second half, 19-0, en route to a 75-52 win over the Cowgirls.

Diebler and Buckeyes Do It Yet Again from Three-Point Range

Ohio State senior guard Jon Diebler, whose hot three-point shooting has already landed him on this blog a couple of times this season, and his Buckeye basketballl teammates really outdid themselves this afternoon in routing Wisconsin, 93-65. OSU made 14-of-15 shots from three-point range (.933 percentage), including 14 in a row after Diebler missed the team's first try. Diebler finished 7-of-8 from behind the arc, after which he "apologized" for missing the Buckeyes' only trey. Having made 10-of-12 threes in Ohio State's previous game, at Penn State, Diebler is now 17-of-20 (.850) on three-pointers over his past two games. This ESPN.com article delves further into how remarkable the OSU and Diebler performances were.

Men's College Hoops Notes

Streak-related developments from today's college basketball action (all men's, as I didn't notice any from women's play):

Utah State darted out to a 25-2 lead over Louisiana Tech -- with the Bulldogs not recording their third point until only 7:24 remained in the first half  -- as the Aggies scored a 72-30 rout. LaTech made only 1 of its first 15 field-goal attempts.

Baylor put together a 15-2 spurt against Texas, outscoring the Longhorns 12-2 to end the first half and then hitting a three to open the second half, but UT still prevailed 60-54.

Michigan State missed its first 9 field-goal attempts against the University of Michigan, as the Wolverines led wire-to-wire and won 70-63.

40-9 Scoring Burst Lefts Orlando Magic to Comeback Win

The Orlando Magic came from 24 points down to stun the Miami Heat tonight, 99-96, thanks to a stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters in which Orlando outscored Miami 40-9.

Sports Analytics a Developing Field (Non-Streak Related)

This is not a hot/cold hand posting per se, but rather one about the general field of sports statistics. As this article from the Boston Globe details, sports number-crunching has advanced as an academic field and venue for employment with sports teams.

Diebler Does It Again

Ohio State's Jon Diebler, whose three-point shooting exploits I wrote about after a December game, was at it again tonight. In the Buckeyes' 82-61 win at Penn State, Diebler hit 10-of-12 from behind the arc.