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Kody: Ready?

Nate: Let's do this!

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John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Auburn needs a new offensive coordinator. Who’s it going to be?

Word on the street is that current Auburn offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham is making a move back to a familiar boss. He’ll be the new Florida State offensive coordinator with his old head coach Mike Norvell. Norvell was announced as the new Seminole head coach over the weekend after Memphis won the AAC Championship over Cincinnati.

Auburn OC Kenny Dillingham is leaving to join Mike Norvell's staff at Florida State.https://t.co/uu9wQTxINc pic.twitter.com/zdSwtNdiEx

— 247Sports (@247Sports) December 9, 2019

Dillingham’s duties as offensive coordinator were magnified with the public knowledge that he wouldn’t be calling plays after Gus Malzahn took those responsibilities over before this season. Either way, Dillingham brought in some concepts that Memphis employed last year as Auburn broke in Bo Nix at starting quarterback. Next season, Auburn will return Nix and the vast majority of the other skill position players, but will need to retool the offensive line.

Assuming Dillingham doesn’t stick around for the bowl game, Auburn will have a similar situation to last year when Gus called plays in the blowout over Purdue. The Tigers take on Minnesota in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Immediately we’ve heard a few quick names emerge as candidates, but whether they’re true candidates or just the first thought remains to be seen. Among those names you hear:

Chad Morris

The former Arkansas coach was the offensive coordinator for Dabo at Clemson while the Tigers ramped up. His offense is still essentially run there, but under different leadership. While he wasn’t great as a head coach, he was a fantastic offensive coordinator. However, Gus will most likely retain the play-calling duties, so we’ll have to see how Morris would deal with that dynamic.

Patrick Nix

How about another former Auburn quarterback who has P5 experience as an offensive coordinator and who currently runs a version of the Malzahn offense? Not to mention that he coached our current starting quarterback for years in high school.

Kodi Burns

This would be the ultimate continuity move. Let Kodi continue to work with the offense, only his duties expand to include more game planning and input as to what we’ll be doing on offense each week. Gus has shown that he loves his guys, and Kodi is definitely one of his guys. Kodi is already the current co-OC, so this would just be a move to remove a couple of letters and a dash from his title.

Bobby Bentley

Former Auburn staffer, current South Carolina running backs coach (but not for long). His son, Jake Bentley, was the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback for the past couple of years, but he’s going to grad transfer away from Columbia. Bentley worked with Auburn under Gus back in 2014 before heading to South Carolina, and he’s obviously familiar with what Gus likes to do. With no play-calling experience, it likely wouldn’t be an issue if he worked with Gus in that regard.

The list of potentials is likely pretty small, but who would you like to have as the offensive coordinator?

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2019/12/9/21003088/kenny-dillingham-leaving-for-florida-state

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Virginia Final Four buzz is global thanks to international roster

With players from Guinea, New Zealand, Italy, Australia, and Argentinal, the Hoos have fans across the world.

As is the case at this time of the year, the entire nation is rapt in anticipation for the Final Four. The Virginia Cavaliers make their return to the final weekend of play for the first time since 1984, but this time the buzz around its semifinal match-ups has gone international, as Virginia’s diverse roster features players from New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Argentina, and Guinea.

Virginia’s Francesco “Frankie” Badocchi is one of the first two Italian players to play in the Final Four, with Texas Tech’s Davide Moretti being the other. Mamadi Diakite — who hit the game-tying shot against Purdue to keep the Hoos’ tournament hopes alive — is the talk of his native Guinea. Freshman Francisco Caffaro, who is redshirting this season for the Cavaliers, represented his home country of Argentina in the FIBA U18 Americas Championship, while fellow first year Kody Stattmann played for Australia’s U17 team. Senior big man Jack Salt is finishing up his final season at UVA after coming to Charlottesville from New Zealand.

Like Moretti and Badocchi, Diakite and Caffaro are also the first for their respective countries to play in a Final Four. Caffaro has been getting texts and messages from back home celebrating the achievement. “Even though I’m not playing and stuff,” Caffaro said during one of the team’s media sessions, “just being part of the team, I’m the first Argentinian to be, like, in this situation so that’s pretty big, and a lot of people from the national team and stuff texted me.”

The reaction in Diakite’s hometown of Conakry, Guinea, has been enthusiastic to say the least. “My cousins told me that if I go back home right now, the whole population would come welcome me home,” Diakite said.

Having the opportunity to represent his home country is a huge thing for the springy big man. “It means a lot to me,” Diakite said of being the first Guinean player to reach a Final Four. “Trying to show them that anything is possible. Coming from playing soccer, switching up to basketball and being able to prove that I can be on the big stage and probably win the whole thing. That means a lot to me.”

The international flavor in Virginia’s locker room has made it easier for new players to mesh into the squad. “It’s good because the team is used to having people from other sides, so it’s much easier to integrate and be part of the team,” Caffaro said on Thursday. “I think it was better to have people from the other countries.”

Badocchi agreed. “I feel like it’s more welcoming because coming here, I guess a third of the team is from around the world and there’s definitely a culture shock when you come in here. Having people around that have another culture shock, too, is easier to get adjusted to it.”

Virginia head coach Tony Bennett played in New Zealand and Australia after his NBA days and begun his coaching career abroad. “I think guys learn so much, how to interact with each other from different cultures,” Bennett said of his roster. “You learn to appreciate and respect one another, and I think that’s really great for our team and these young men when they’re done with it.”

The differences in culture have helped keep things light in the locker room for the Cavaliers as the players like to rib each other for food preferences and slang. Badocchi hasn’t “adjusted” to American food yet, and at the three year mark in the States, he’s not sure it’ll happen. Instead, Badocchi prefers to cook for himself.

“He makes fun of our food, mostly,” redshirt sophomore Jay Huff said of Badocchi. “He doesn’t like a lot of our food. He’s kind of picky.”

“It’s fun,” Ty Jerome said of the varying backgrounds in the Wahoo locker room. “It makes our team that much more diverse and it’s fun to hear about different cultures and hear what different people call different things.” Jerome thinks Stattmann and Salt’s use of “have a shower” instead of “take a shower” is hysterical.

For Stattmann it’s the use of words like y’all. “With Kody, listening to him say the word ‘y’all’ is hilarious,” Huff stated. “He’s like, ‘yaaaaawwl’.” Huff, from Durham, North Carolina, says he’s constantly having to teach Badocchi the endless slang he uses.

Caffaro says he hasn’t started using many of the American vernacular, though points out ‘y’all’ and ‘wildin’ as ones he frequently hears in the locker room that stand out for him. Huff, however, has found himself saying some of the phrases that his international teammates use. “Like if someone was going to say, ‘that’s like weird as heck’ or something like that, Kody [Stattmann] will just say ‘weird as’ and cut it off there. I’ve kind of picked up on myself saying it now and again — not that much — but it’s kind of worked its way into my vocabulary.”

Despite potential for communication issues, the players say that’s never translated onto the court. Diakite redshirted his first season with the Cavaliers as the coaching staff wanted him to improve his strength, work on developing his game, and give the French speaker a chance to get adjusted.

“It doesn’t matter what country you’re from,” Salt stated. “Coach recruits guys with good values and when you come to Virginia, you become a better person on top of that. It doesn’t matter where anyone is from, but in saying that, it’s awesome to have more international guys here. It just builds the fun team chemistry.”

Virginia will lay it all on the line Saturday night as the Cavaliers take on Auburn for a chance at the coveted NCAA championship trophy. Tip time is set for 6:09pm EST.

[biofunmy]

Virginia Is the National Champion. But It Can’t Seem to Make a Shot

The Virginia men’s basketball team, for a decade under Coach Tony Bennett, has had a methodical offense, playing at the slowest pace in the country for the last five seasons. But despite that style, the team has always been able to score.

Last season, it scored 116 points per 100 possessions, fourth best in the country. That scoring and the team’s traditionally smothering defense led it to the national championship in April, one year after an embarrassing exit from the N.C.A.A. tournament as the first top seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the first round.

Now, Virginia is again playing at the slowest pace in Division I. But its offense has disappeared. The team’s points per 100 possessions has declined to an appalling 88.9, ranked 327th in the country.

It would seem to be impossible to win with an offense that inefficient. Last season, none of the 64 teams averaging 99 points or less made the N.C.A.A. tournament, and the teams around the 88.9 mark put up records like 5-27 and 3-29.

But so far, Virginia has managed to mostly hide its offensive shortcomings. Its defense, fabulous as usual — it held Maine to 26 points — led it to a 7-0 start and a No. 5 ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Then Purdue, which lost to Virginia in the regional final last season, came to town on Wednesday night. The Boilermakers exposed Virginia with a 69-40 rout. For the first time since the national title last spring, Cavaliers fans might have started to realize that this was a new and perhaps significantly inferior team.

Virginia is shooting 40.2 percent, ranking 307th in the country. But its 3-point percentage is the real killer: 23.8 percent. That ranks 349th out of 353 teams, barely ahead of the likes of Florida A&M and Kennesaw State. In the telling Purdue loss, the team was 4 of 24 on 3-pointers.

Among the poor performers from beyond the arc are two freshmen, Casey Morsell (4-36) and Thomas Woldetensae (3-21), and a sophomore, Kody Stattman (1-14).

Senior swingman Braxton Key, who averages 10 points a game, missed the Purdue matchup with a wrist injury, but he is shooting a not-much-better 23.5 percent on 3s.

Throw in a decline in assists (on 46 percent of buckets this season, down from 56 percent) and more turnovers (18 per 100 plays, versus 13) and you have a team whose 7-1 record looks extremely shaky.

It hasn’t helped that the team lost three players to the N.B.A. draft, including De’Andre Hunter, who was selected No. 4 over all. All three of those players shot significantly better from outside. Restocking wasn’t a breeze. Despite the national title, Virginia managed to land none of the top 50 recruits ranked by 247 Sports.

Virginia is also struggling in an often overlooked category: getting to the free throw line. Last season, the team wasn’t especially great at it, but this year it is downright horrible, getting to the line just 0.14 times for each field goal attempt. That’s the 15th worst rate in the country.

Once it does get to the line, Virginia is shooting 69.1 percent, ranked 197th. Last year they shot 74.4 percent for 52nd place.

Virginia has its biggest game of the year this Sunday at home against North Carolina. Optimists would say that Virginia can’t stay cold forever, that its outside shots must start to fall. This Sunday would be a good time for that to start.

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Hyped rivalry game ends with Arizona victorious and Arizona State validated

Arizona State guard Remy Martin, left, reaches to steal the ball from Arizona guard Rawle Alkins (1) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)

The most anticipated basketball game in the history of the Arizona-Arizona State rivalry somehow ended with both teams having reason to feel good about themselves.

Seventeenth-ranked Arizona reasserted itself as the Pac-12 favorite with a tense, hard-fought 84-78 victory. Third-ranked Arizona State showed enough in a road defeat to suggest the Sun Devils will be a factor in the conference title picture all season long.

Twice in the final 12 minutes of Saturday night’s game Arizona built seemingly comfortable 12-point leads thanks to Allonzo Trier’s ability to consistently attack the basket off the dribble and DeAndre Ayton’s knack for dominating in the paint. Each time smaller yet quicker Arizona State refused to fold, battling back behind the creativity and shot-making of senior point guard Tra Holder.

Ayton’s tip-in of a missed runner by Trier gave Arizona a four-point cushion with less than 30 seconds to play, yet Holder came right back, drew a foul and sank two free throws for his game-high 30th and 31st points of the night. Not until Trier hit two foul shots on the next possession and Arizona State’s Shannon Evans missed a last-gasp 3-pointer could the Wildcats at last feel safe.

Arizona’s victory is another sign of how much the Wildcats (11-3, 1-0) have improved since their lost weekend in the Bahamas last month when they dropped back-to-back-to-back games against NC State, Western Kentucky and Purdue. While Arizona still isn’t performing like the preseason No. 2 team in the nation, the Wildcats have progressed enough to notch victories over Texas A&M, Alabama, UNLV and UConn before handing Arizona State its first loss of the season Saturday night.

The return of versatile wing Rawle Alkins is one big reason Arizona is blossoming. The development of the other members of their freshman class besides Ayton has also helped. But the biggest difference is a renewed commitment on defense, the area where the Wildcats were exposed most frequently in the Bahamas.

What Arizona did well Saturday against Arizona State was get back in transition, wall off the paint and force the Sun Devils to contested runners or jump shots. Holder still got his, but the Wildcats limited Evans to 3-for-14 shooting, consistently chased Kodi Justice off the 3-point arc and kept Remy Martin quiet in the second half.

Arizona State held Ayton in check for awhile with a series of effective double teams, but he eventually used his size and strength to assert himself inside and finish with 23 points and 19 rebounds. Trier also shook off a slow start and repeatedly attacked off the bounce, scoring nearly half his 23 points at the foul line.

It’s a testament to the job Bobby Hurley has done at Arizona State that the Sun Devils could provide a real test for Arizona in Tucson. This was an Arizona State program that went 15-18 last season and was projected to finish sixth in the Pac-12 before the season.

The freedom that Hurley gives his guards has really paid off this season as Holder and Evans have emerged as elite lead guards, Justice has become a consistent knock-down shooter and Martin has shown a knack for scoring and generating extra possessions with his hustle. Arizona State is also more effective protecting the rim, trapping opposing big men andf pressuring the ball in the backcourt this season.

While Arizona State (12-1, 0-1) can feel good about its series of late surges that pushed Arizona to the wire, the Sun Devils will also lament a missed opportunity to assert superiority in a rivalry where they have often been the little brother. Arizona State would have remained the nation’s last unbeaten team with a win and would have made a strong case to ascend to No. 1 in the polls Monday morning.

Even with the setback, Arizona State has the resume of a top-five team. The Sun Devils have upset Kansas in Lawrence, thumped Xavier on a neutral floor and defeated Kansas State, San Diego State and Vanderbilt. So few teams have beaten Arizona at the McKale Center under Sean Miller that even coming so close qualifies as an accomplishment.

There can be no debating that Arizona State is a tough, talented, relentless team, not after the scare the Sun Devils put into their rivals.

In the end Arizona got the win it needed at home to remain the Pac-12 favorite, while Arizona State secured validation that it too is a legitimate conference contender.

– – – – – – –

Jeff Eisenberg is a college basketball writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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Arizona State makes its case for being the most effective group in school basketball

Although the event is uncommon, every time Kansas journeys itself into a house loss the story is normally concerning the Jayhawks. Not right this moment. The story of Sunday — and one of many largest, most shocking tales of faculty basketball’s first month of this season — is about Arizona State. 

The Solar Devils’ 95-85 victory inside intimidating Allen Fieldhouse is likely to be the most effective highway triumph in program historical past. It was the group’s first win on the highway towards a top-five opponent in 19 years. The 16th-ranked Solar Devils impressively downed the No. 2 Jayhawks by taking pictures, slicing and slashing their well past a KU membership that nearly by no means will get beat like that. For Kansas, which is able to plunge within the polls after additionally dropping to unranked Washington earlier within the week, it is time for reassessment.

For Arizona State, now comes a uncommon nationwide second within the highlight. This system has by no means been on this place at this level on the calendar. Faculty basketball pundits will debate whether or not ASU is the most effective group within the sport. That hasn’t occurred in a long time, if it ever did.

However, significantly, Arizona State (!) may very well be the most effective group in school basketball. On the very least, it has a convincing argument for carrying the strongest resume as of Dec. 10. 

That is solely the second 9-Zero begin in class historical past. The primary one got here in 1974-75, in a sports activities media local weather drastically completely different from the one we stay in now. ASU has by no means had this a lot good press so quickly right into a marketing campaign. Plus, that ’74-75 group (led by former Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets coach Lionel Hollins) did not put 100-plus factors on a top-20 group the best way ASU dropped 102 on No. 15 Xavier on Nov. 24. That ASU squad from the ’70s did not snap off a six-game streak of 90-plus factors scored the best way this one has. The truth is, no Pac-12 group up to now 20 years has achieved that.

The Kansas win is the defining second of the season thus far and can certainly sign a vital second of arrival by the point we get to March. The victory validates ASU as a Pac-12 contender (Arizona’s in-state rivalry simply obtained very fascinating), a viable Closing 4 candidate within the lengthy view and brings to the desk proof that this might go down as among the finest seasons within the 106-year historical past of this system.

All of that is extra cherished by Arizona State as a result of it isn’t a faculty with basketball pedigree. James Harden has blossomed right into a top-five participant within the NBA, however this system itself has simply been a generic power-conference entity for a lot of the trendy period of faculty hoops. Previous to popping into the rankings a few weeks in the past, the final time the Solar Devils had a quantity subsequent to their title was the 2008-09 season. From 1994-95 till 2017-18, ASU was ranked in solely 4 of these seasons. 

Now Bobby Hurley’s group is poised to spike up the polls. A top-five rating/reward shouldn’t be out of the query, not with the dear commodity of a highway victory like what the Solar Devils simply landed on Sunday. Do not be shocked if no different group wins on the Phog this season. And if this 9-Zero begin results in a top-five rating come Monday afternoon, it can mark the group’s highest since 1981. If the AP voters are much more aggressive and declare Arizona State as a top-three group, the rating will match group’s highest ever, courting all the best way again to 1963. 

It has by no means been ranked No. 2, it has by no means been ranked No. 1 (an excessive amount of to ask?). Historical past is in Hurley’s grasp. As coach of this turnaround, he is guiding one of many feel-good tales in a season that wants it. He wanted it, too. Hurley took this job in 2015. That is his third season in Tempe. Should you suppose this surge to nationwide prominence is coming earlier than anticipated, you do not know Hurley. 

Over the previous two seasons, it has been his brother Dan, coach at Rhode Island, who has needed to be the affordable one. The brothers have turn into identified for the way scorching they will boil in-game, however clearly the eagerness is plugging into one thing very important. Dan Hurley took Rhode Island to final 12 months’s NCAA Match, the college’s first in a technology. Now Bobby, after teaching Buffalo to its first NCAA Match in class historical past, is seemingly on his approach to getting ASU to solely its third Massive Dance exhibiting in 15 seasons. 

These cellphone calls nonetheless linger in Dan Hurley’s thoughts. Chatting with CBS Sports activities by cellphone Sunday evening, Hurley recalled the stressed-out conversations he had together with his brother in 12 months 1 and 12 months 2 at Arizona State. Brutal losses and the therapeutic cellphone heart-to-hearts that adopted: a 72-58 loss at Kentucky in 12 months 1, then the infamous 115-69 embarrassment to UK within the Bahamas final season; an 81-46 sledgehammering by the hands of Utah; a non-competitive 97-64 beat-down courtesy of Purdue. 

“I must purpose with him,” Dan Hurley stated. “http://ift.tt/2AlFYeg are in 12 months considered one of constructing a program. You are not going to win 25 video games. You should not have scheduled like this in your non-conference. You guys are younger and rising and going to get there, but it surely’s not going to occur such as you’re used to it taking place.”http://ift.tt/1OPItWM;

Now Arizona State is taking out its anger on opponents. The Solar Devils even have victories towards Kansas State and St. John’s, each of which qualify as top-50 wins heading into Monday.

“For a man like Bob, who’s as aggressive and as pushed and decided, these two years he is needed to present an incredible quantity of endurance and progress,” Dan Hurley stated. “It hasn’t been simple. He did not take over a turn-key, top-of-the-conference program.” 

Behind the relentless play of seniors Tra Holder and Shannon Evans, plus the promising expertise of freshman Remy Martin (the trio mixed for 72 factors 14 assists and 7 steals within the Kansas recreation), Arizona State is ranked within the high 5 in offensive effectivity. One other participant vital to this revolution is senior Kodi Justice. Evans came visiting from Buffalo with Hurley, whereas Holder and Justice have grown into completely different gamers from who they have been three years in the past. 

“That is what I considered right this moment,” Dan Hurley stated. “Even speaking to him earlier than the sport … they’ve all misplaced collectively for a few years — and now they’re taking it out on individuals. They took it out on Kansas right this moment. They have been relentless with the best way they attacked the sport, it is virtually like they’re constructing with this gasoline and so they’re exploding.”

Arizona State is as much as 91.eight factors per recreation. Its protection is common, but it surely hasn’t mattered thus far. Holder (20.Three ppg) has been nearly as good as any participant not named Ayton within the Pac-12. He has as a lot offensive aptitude round him as any group within the league — perhaps the nation. Kansas was shockingly dangerous on protection Sunday, and with out depth down low Arizona State confirmed it has a backcourt that appears higher than Kansas’. What number of instances has that ever been the case?

The Solar Devils have earned this. They seem legit. Now comes the half most coaches declare is even more durable: successful with the goal firmly pinned to the again. Solely seven groups stay in Div. I males’s school basketball with out a loss: ASU, Florida State, Georgetown, Miami (Fla.), Mississippi State, TCU, Villanova. Accounting for energy of schedule, Arizona State is probably the most shocking member of that membership — and it has an opportunity to wind up as higher than all of these colleges, and actually may very well be the most effective group in school basketball proper now.

Kansas followers (and mascots) at Allen Fieldhouse may hardly consider their eyes Sunday. USATSI

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Stanford’s DiJonai Carrington scores 24 as women top Kent State

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Stanford’s DiJonai Carrington scores 24 as women top Kent State

DiJonai Carrington scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead No. 14 Stanford to a 79-54 victory over Kent State in the Play4Kay Showcase in Las Vegas on Thursday.

Alanna Smith added 15 points and eight rebounds, Nadia Fingall 11 points and Marta Sniezek 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Cardinal (3-2).

Carrington hit 10 of 14 shots while recording her second double-double in three games.

“I think she’s playing great,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “We’re counting on her to do a lot. Defend … she’s just steppping up to be a prime-time player.”

Jordan Korinek scored 21 points and Ali Poole added 14 for the Golden Flashes (3-2).

Kent State had its only lead after Korinek made consecutive three-pointers for a 25-20 edge early in the second quarter. Stanford responded with a 24-0 run, with 10 points from Carrington and nine points from Smith.

The lead remained in double figures, though Kent State cut it to 55-45, late in the third quarter with a three-pointer and bucket by Poole. Stanford quickly added plenty of cushion, outscoring Kent State 22-8 in the fourth quarter.

“We got different contributions from different people,” VanDerveer said. “And I think it’s just going to be that way all season. Just people really learning to play defense and taking care of the ball, rebounding and knocking down shots.”

Stanford will play Belmont in the tournament semifinals Friday after the Bruins defeated Gonzaga 71-63.

#7 Mississippi State 65,

#24 Arizona State 57: Teaira McCown had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs (4-0) in Mexico’s Cancun Challenge. Kianna Ibis had 13 points for the Sun Devils (4-1).

No. 8 Baylor 100, Missouri State 58: Lauren Cox had 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots in her return to the lineup after being hospitalized with complications of diabetes as the Bears (4-1) breezed at the Junkanoo Jam in Bimini, Bahamas.

#9 Ohio State 100, Memphis 69: Stephanie Mavunga had 35 points and 16 rebounds in 24 minutes as the Buckeyes (5-1) beat the Tigers (1-4) in the Play4Kay Showcase.

Men

No. 2 Arizona loses 2nd in row

Ben Emelogu scored 20 points as SMU defeated Arizona 66-60 in the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.

The loss was the second in two days for the Wildcats (3-2) against an unranked opponent in the tournament.

SMU (5-1) wasted an 11-point second-half lead but responded with a 10-2 run to go ahead for good.

Allonzo Trier scored 22 points to lead Arizona.

#1 Duke 99, Portland St. 81: Trevon Duval scored 22 points as the Blue Devils (6-0) pulled away from the Vikings (4-1) to open the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Ore. Marvin Bagley III added 18 points, and Grayson Allen had 14 points for Duke, which trailed by as many as eight points, but took control midway through the second half.

#5 Villanova 85, Tennessee 76: Jalen Brunson scored 25 points to help the Wildcats (5-0) rally from 15 down in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Grant Williams scored 20 points for Tennessee (3-1), which cut the deficit to 79-76 on Admiral Schofield’s three-pointer with 51.6 seconds left. But that was as close as the Volunteers got.

#9 North Carolina 102, Portland 78: Luke Maye scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Joel Berry II added 18 points and the Tar Heels (4-0) had five players in double figures in overwhelming the Pilots (2-2) to open the PK80 Invitational.

#15 Xavier 83, George Washington 64: Trevon Bluiett scored 20 points for the Musketeers (5-0) at the Las Vegas Invitational. Terry Nolan Jr. led the Colonials (2-3) with 18 points. Xavier will face Arizona State on Friday for the tournament title.

Western Kentucky 77,

#18 Purdue 73: Darius Thompson scored 12 points and hit two free throws with 5.1 seconds left to help the Hilltoppers (3-2) beat the Boilermakers (4-2) in the consolation round at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Rhode Island 75, #20 Seton Hall 74: In New York, Jared Terrell scored 32 points, including two on a tough drive with 5.2 seconds that lifted the Rams (3-1) past the Pirates (4-1) in the Preseason NIT.

#23 West Virginia 80, Marist 74: In the Advocare Invitational in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Jevon Carter had 20 points and Sagaba Konate added 14 as the Mountaineers (4-1) beat the Red Foxes (0-4).

Connecticut 71, Oregon 63: Terry Larrier scored 18 points and Alterique Gilbert and Jalen Adams added 16 apiece as the Huskies (4-0) beat the Ducks (4-1) in the PK80 Invitational. Payton Pritchard scored 14 points to lead Oregon, which was 0-for-10 on three-point attempts in the second half.

Arizona State 92, Kansas State 90: Kodi Justice scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half to lead the Sun Devils (5-0) past the Wildcats (4-1) in the Las Vegas Invitational.

St. John’s 82, Oregon St. 77: Shamorie Ponds scored 26 points and Marcus LoVett added 18 as the Red Storm (5-0) rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit in the Advocare Invitational. The Beavers (2-2) got 22 points from Stephen Thompson Jr. and Ethan Thompson had 19.

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[eurosimmer]

Time moves faster in a spare's gameplay. Not only did Nate and Kody just get married but they also ended up with a new infant on their hands. Welcome to the save, Milo Bloom!

[auburnfamilynews]

There has been virtually no real information coming out of Auburn on the battle for the most important position on the field. As preseason hype ramps up for college football, every perennial powerhouse in the land is being scrutinized. What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? Who is going to take over for the departed in different positions?  Auburn isn’t getting a ton of talk nationwide, and it isn’t because Auburn isn’t a powerhouse program. It’s the fact that the info gathered from the spring game months ago is still the only true, unadulterated insight anyone has into the quarterback battle between the two highly touted competitors, Joey Gatewood and Bo Nix. 

Here is a recap of the of the information we all know. Gatewood is a physical freak, who gets compared to Cam Newton even though he doesn’t like it. The six-foot-five monster finally got on the field in the Music City Bowl game blowout last season and looked the part. Of course, so did absolutely every Auburn player on the field, except he was playing against an abused and bleeding Purdue team by the time he made a SuperCam dive towards the end zone. Before an injury held him out last year, he looked lost against the Auburn defense, but so did every QB that played on A-Day. This year was quite different. Gatewood was 7 for 10, passing for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half, a solid stat line, and he did that without being able to show off his best asset, his running ability. 

Nix was 11 for 14 for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns, though he added an interception. However, he had complete command of the offense, pulling the defense offsides twice with one of those becoming a free play for a touchdown. What little we know about Nix’s fall camp is that the interception bug showed up again, even though one of those picks was attributed to his receiver. Nix isn’t Gatewood’s size, and he may not have the speed, but Bo isn’t a statue in the pocket, and his predecessor, Jarrett Stidham, showed what just a bit of mobility could do in his time on the Plains. 

You’ve read this time and time again, but not many of the popular websites are really reading between the lines. 

First, of course, is the assumption that both players are going to play against Oregon. This has never worked for Auburn or for many teams across the nation. There’s a reason the old adage goes “if you have two quarterbacks, you have none.” This Oregon team isn’t an Arkansas State, a team that will push you just enough to get in good reps but is not quite good enough to put the game in jeopardy. No one has tried this more than Gus Malzahn, and no one has made it look worse. 

Auburn fans are naturally split on whom they believe is going to be the trigger man for the Tigers. While everyone wants to win, there are a lot of people who would like to see Nix be the man simply because of the nostalgia of having a No. 10 named Nix heading the offense. Everyone agrees that Nix is the better passer, and the true freshman already has the polish of an upperclassman. Surely his father/coach had a lot to do with that. The spring game was very much like watching his father, Pat, in the no-nonsense-do-the-small-things way that won a lot of games for Auburn when dad Pat wore the Orange and Blue.

However, love him as fans might, he has a lot of things working against him that have little to do with his ability. 

First is the obvious: the Gus Malzahn offense has been at its best with a mobile quarterback. Debates run aplenty on this, and I believe that it has more to do with the individual players and their abilities than it does play calling. In the end, it’s not about having a mobile quarterback, but having the right player. Truth is, Gus has had only a few of those, and while they made him look really good, they artificially inflated a lot of opinions, possibly including Gus’ opinion of himself. Remember he’s now declared that he will again be calling plays. If that’s the truth, Nix is in trouble before Auburn even takes the field in Dallas. 

That may not sit well with some fans. But folks have to set their feelings aside and take a really objective look at a few things. Auburn has tried to go with the field general under Malzahn several times now. It started with his first stint at Auburn, preceding Cam Newton, and continues today. Consider this: only Chris Todd and Jarrett Stidham were successful pocket passers, and both looked severely mediocre in crunch time. There are a lot of factors to consider with a quarterback, such as the defense he played behind or the weapons around him. Yet, but in the end, the product from Todd to Barrett Trotter to Sean White to Stidham looked almost identical despite the fact that there was a gulf of ability between these guys, ending with Stidham who now looks the part of Tom Brady’s replacement in Foxboro.  Auburn has had plenty of dual-threat quarterbacks come through the program. Some never saw the field. Unfortunately, some like John Franklin III and Jeremy Johnson did, and the resulting product wasn’t very good. So, it’s not that Auburn needs a dual-threat QB to succeed, especially when Gus calls plays. It has to have the perfect player, and Gus has to call the right plays for that guy, whomever he may be. The question is, can Gus call plays for anything other than the right dual-threat guy? 

Auburn has some great things going for it this season like the offensive line, which is supposed to be among the league’s best with five seniors. Auburn has a group of good backs, and Boobee Whitlow may be a breakout player this season.

However, at some point, Auburn is going to throw the ball. There is receiving depth as the Tigers have Eli Stove and Will Hastings coming back from serious injuries, although Anthony Schwartz had hand surgery and is doubtful for Oregon and Seth Williams was limited this week. Even a guy like Shedrick Jackson, who has yet to see the field, was held out. In Auburn’s second scrimmage, drops were a serious issue. The quarterbacks apparently played a lot better, but drops got the best of them. On any other team, this wouldn’t be a surprise, considering the number of potential starters that are out. But at Auburn, there’s been a continual lack of development at that position under Kodi Burns. Auburn’s pass catchers looked incredible in the spring game, but their fall practice perfomance is troubling news, especially for Nix. If Gus is truly calling plays, there is little to no need for a field general. Gatewood is just as good at handing off the speed sweep, running the RPO and throwing the occasional play action pass to a wide open receiver. 

One other thing that is a serious strike against Nix is his dad, the very reason he is who he is. As a legacy QB who really wants to be at Auburn, Gus and Co. can roll the dice on Gatewood, knowing that Nix won’t pack his bags. In today’s college football landscape, the transfer portal is busier than Atlanta’s MARTA at 5:00 PM on a Friday before game day. Switching it up, if Nix were to be named starter and play all twelve games, would Gatewood stay? To answer that, just take a look at Auburn’s recruiting at the QB position versus the current roster. 

The post Battle for QB1: Between the Lines appeared first on Track 'Em Tigers, Auburn's oldest and most read independent blog.

from Track 'Em Tigers, Auburn's oldest and most read independent blog http://trackemtigers.com/battle-for-qb1-between-the-lines/

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The Blooms are gathering again because it's Nina's Birthday! Farewell, last teenager of Primrose and Johnny!

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Nate got himself a boyfriend, Kody Purdue.