-Jim Root
As I live the dream that is covering the Maui Invitational, I’ll be posting some thoughts each day about the games that were - some analysis, some insider bits of info, some general nonsense. Here’s Day 1!
Dayton 80, Georgia 61
People talk about how the Lahaina Civic Center is akin to a high school gym, and that felt especially true in the leadup to the Dayton/Georgia game. The Flyers Faithful made the trip to Maui en masse, and the crowd was in a fever pitch right off the bat despite the 9:30am local tip time. The team immediately gave them something to cheer about, storming out to a 14-2 lead thanks to Obi Toppin’s physical dominance of the Georgia frontline.
Toppin laid the foundation for the blowout, and then the outstanding dual-point guard backcourt of Jalen Crutcher and Rodney Chatman put the finishing touches on it. Crutcher entered the game shooting just 3/15 from deep, but he got back on track in a big way in this one, aided by the always-benevolent Maui rims:
Chatman made a plethora of key plays as well, and he was primarily responsible for Anthony Edwards showing up on Hawaiian missing persons reports. Though he gave up nearly 50 pounds to the burly future NBA lottery pick, Chatman was completely unfazed, chasing Edwards around any screens that Georgia actually tried to set and using his quick hands to keep the freshman guessing. Toppin, Crutcher, and Chatman form a phenomenal trio for the Flyers, and role players like Ibi Watson, Ryan Mikesell, and Trey Landers are plenty capable of filling any gaps around them. Dayton looked every bit of an NCAA Tournament team today.
Virginia Tech 71, Michigan State 66
Mike Young’s final Wofford team was one of the most aesthetically pleasing college basketball teams I’ve ever watched, and he has somehow already recreated the same spirit of unselfishness and maximum effort at Virginia Tech. Young made the point that his players “don’t know any better” than to rely on each other and move the ball, and he’s emphasized from day one how important the collective is.
The Hokies had 16 assists on 23 field goals against Michigan State’s vaunted defense, and the way the ball pinged around the perimeter – often without any dribbles – was terrific to watch. As Young said: the players have smartly bought in to the fact that they all need each other to succeed.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the performance was how the young Hokies withstood a furious comeback from the heavily favored and more experienced Spartans. Michigan State pulled within one with under a minute left, but then Mike Young laid this set play ace down on the table:
If that was the exquisite main course of “Landers Nolley set play triples,” Mike Young did serve us an appetizer with just under five minutes left to help build a double-digit advantage. Running what is apparently called “54,” the Hokies used this lovely action to get Nolley open as his defender had to help with the diving roll man:
(My guess is the play is named 54 because the 5-man and the 4-man run a “roll and replace” action – I love Mike Young sets.)
Young’s start at Virginia Tech has been nothing short of remarkable, and I’d join Kevin if the Coach of the Year voting were today:
Kansas 93, Chaminade 63
I don’t have a ton to say about this one, as Kansas clearly outclassed their Division II foes after a semi-rocky first five minutes. Perhaps the best part was the Silverswords hyped student section that had journeyed over from Oahu; while not large, they were mighty, and it added to an already excellent atmosphere in the Lahaina Civic Center. The one bone I would have to pick: chanting “Swo-ords” (two syllables) sounds WAY too much like “Score-board,” and when you’re down 20 in the first half, that is a strange look.
BYU 78, UCLA 63
BYU’s three-headed backcourt monster is scary, plain and simple. In a way, not having Yoeli Childs has allowed TJ Haws, Jake Toolson, and Alex Barcello to emerge into more starring roles, with Haws and Toolson taking the lead tonight. Both guys discussed the importance of “making the right basketball play” in the postgame press conference, and they really did that as the Cougars had a late burst to pull away.
Haws was brilliant with the ball in his hands, probing the defense and keeping his dribble alive when faced with UCLA’s towers in the paint, and that patience ended up opening things for his teammates. Toolson, meanwhile, hit several huge threes to spur the momentum, and the former WAC Player of the Year appears quite comfortable while once again playing under Coach Mark Pope.
UCLA, meanwhile, has plenty of question marks. Mick Cronin is still figuring out his rotation, and like most Cronin teams, these Bruins are short on shooting. That makes them easier to guard, and despite having a solid playmaker in Tyger Campbell, the floor was often too packed to get an open look. The Bruins now have a scary matchup with a fearless Chaminade squad, and if they aren’t locked in (they play again in 15 hours), the Silverswords could leave UCLA on a three-game losing streak and wondering what the hell went so wrong.
Random observations
1. There was a fan in an Arizona jersey (why?) under the east end baseline basket (left side for TV viewers) whose sole goal appeared to be making players miss free throws. For four straight halves, with four different teams shooting at the hoop, this nutjob was waving his arms like a lunatic as players were at the charity stripe, even dapping up the Spartan mascot late against Virginia Tech when Wabissa Bede missed one. Great use of hundreds of dollars, sir.
2. Tom Izzo referenced Cassius Winston being exhausted, both emotionally and physically – and who can blame his star point guard? He’s been through an absolutely devastating couple of weeks, and carrying such an enormous burden for his team is tough, too. To his credit, he told his coach to keep riding him, and once things settle around the Spartans (perhaps in the new year?), I expect we’ll see a laser-focused Winston playing at an elite level.
3. Tom Crean blasted his team in the postgame presser, a nice follow-up after he hinted that his team wasn’t ready for the Maui physicality on Sunday morning. And while he wasn’t wrong (the Bulldog turnovers were constant and inexcusable, and the big men shrunk against Toppin’s terror), it was still a little shocking to see him rant through the entirety of the presser; it looked like he was mad at the microphone. I would not want to back the Dawgs against an angry Spartan squad on Tuesday.
4. Bill Self seemed to realize what every Kansas outsider has known since the offseason: his team is way better without two bigs on the floor. He downsized to match up with Chaminade, despite dwarfing the Silverswords, and KU’s extension to “blowout”-sized leads synced up directly with this decision to play smaller and faster.