Vandy's Loss is Looking Better Already

Well, at least Vanderbilt's meltdown against Cincinnati already looks better. The Bearcats took down Maryland 69-57 tonight in the semifinal of the Maui Invitational. Hopefully we'll see them hoisting the trophy tomorrow night. People seemed to think that Cincy was a sneaky threat to win the Big East. Their early results seem to support that.
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Vanderbilt Commodores 58, Cincinnati Bearcats 67 - 11/23/09

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You always here about "Big East basketball". I guess Vanderbilt got a first-hand introduction to it tonight. Cincinnati seemed to be annoying the Commodores at every opportunity. The Bearcats got a piece of the ball on seemingly all of Vandy's attempts to take the ball to the hole. Vanderbilt shot an incredible 26.9% from the field. That's...REALLY bad. The rebounding category was also embarrassing. The 'Dores were out rebounded 42-27. In all, Vanderbilt seemed to be bullied/pushed around/dominated in a 67-58 loss in the opening round in the Maui Invitational. After 10 minutes of play, the good guys were only 1-12 shooting. Trailing by 12 at halftime was too much to overcome. Vandy outscored the Bearcats by 3 in the 2nd, but that poor stop was too much to overcome.

I guess every team has games like this. The entire game was simply brutal to watch as a fan. I had to make myself keep watching a number of times. I had to run a family errand at halftime, and I was not disappointed that the 2nd half started while I was in the car. The soothing sounds of Joe Fisher didn't help. How do you explain this feeling to people who don't care about sports? A game that may be meaningless in the long-run, but feels like you got punched in the face while it was happening.

Here are a few quick thoughts about the 5 Commodores that stood out to me:

Jeffery Taylor

He gave an extremely high effort all night. It seemed like he was super aggressive in the 1st Half, almost to the point of forcing things. Taylor started off the 2nd scoring a few buckets and getting to the line. He win 2-7 from the floor and finished with 11/7. The prospect just didn't have it all together tonight.

A.J. Ogilvy

Things looked better tonight. His energy level was higher, which showed in a couple really nice hustle plays. AJ made an incredible block on an open floor dunk attempt. Ogilvy finished with a 13/5 on an efficient 7-9 shooting. Better, but in the end it didn't matter.

Brad Tinsley

Where was he at? 0-5 shooting, no points, and one assist. He did have two turnovers, which is nice. He took three open 3's, but couldn't hit anything. I was hoping he would give the team a spark in the 2nd Half, but no such luck.

John Jenkins

It seemed like the 'Dores ran a few different sets to specifically get Jenkins an open look. In the end, he didn't disappoint. He scored 11 points on 50% shooting, including 3-6 from behind the arc. Excluding his stats, the Commodores only managed 2-13 from 3-point range. For all you non-math majors (including me), that 15%. Where's the button for a cringe face? Yeesh. It seems like JJ is getting more and more comfortable on the floor. A positive sign for the rest of the season.

Jermaine Beal

The 'Dores leading scorer with 16, Beal seemed to take a LOT of bad shots. He was 4-11 from the floor, and only 2-7 on 3's. I know he was trying to jumpstart the offense, but maybe he was trying a little too hard. Sometimes a leader needs to know when to back down and get others involved. He had 3 steals and only 1 assist. When the shots aren't following, its time to turn into Brevon Knight.

Maybe I just got my hopes up too high for this tournament. I'll just say this: If I would have paid for a trip out to Hawaii to watch the 'Dores, I would have walked over and ask Coach Stallings for a reimbursement after this mess. Now we have to go through the motions tomorrow against Chaminade. I mean...Chaminade. That's a no-win situation. Let's just say there's not going to be a preivew of that game. We should win by 30, and that's that.
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Thoughts before tomorrow's Vandy/Cincinnati game

After a fantastic victory over Saint Mary's, Vanderbilt landed in the Aloha State to take part in the Maui Invitational. With Maryland waiting in the semifinal and Gonzaga/Arizona likely in the final, the Commodores first have to get through Cincinnati.

In a deep Big East conference, Cincinnati was picked 7th in the preseason coaches poll. Beyond that, many experts consider the Bearcats a darkhorse pick to win the conference. As of now, they have no national respect, not receiving any votes in the AP or Coaches polls. The buzz however is that growing, especially with the addition of highly touted/controversial recruit Lance Stephenson.

In a complicated recruiting trail, Lance had been linked to Kansas, St. John's, Maryland, Arizona, but somehow ended up at Cincinnati. The New York prep star has two major scandals hanging over his reputation. The all-time New York career scoring leader was arrested for groping a 17-year-old in school. Also, on a recruiting trip to Maryland, he was given a tour of Under Armour headquarters. Since the CEO was a Maryland grad/booster, the NCAA was non to happy. The underlying though seems to be that a lot of teams didn't want to have anything to do with him. Stephenson wasn't cleared to play by the NCAA until November. The team seems to have a general gag order on him, but he said all the right things in a statement.

“I am happy to be able to put this behind me,” he said. “Since I committed to the Bearcats in the summer, all I have wanted to do was get here and start playing ball with my teammates. I want to thank everyone that has given me encouragement and support during this, especially my family, coaches and teammates. They have been with me every step.”

In their first two games, the Bearcats shot horribly from beyond the arc. The team shot 30% on a lot of shots (17-56). If you see a bunch a 3's go down quickly, Vandy may be in for a long night. The Bearcats seem to go about 8-9 deep, so hopefully the 'Dores can wear them down a bit. One of their guards Deonta Vaughn put up a nice line in their last game. He finished with 13 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds. The senior point guard seems to be the floor leader and should be the focus of Beal/Tinsley.

* As a quick side note/rant, the Cincy Athletics site doesn't have updated stats on the team. So when you click on the stats link, it takes you to the 08/09 numbers! Then when you finally find a link to this year's stats, it still says 08/9. How's an unpaid blogger supposed to get by on this?! Thanks for nothing Cincinnati athletic department.

In a fun story from Maui, if life imitates art, er electronics, then Vandy is in good shape in Hawaii. In an EA Sports XBOX 360 promo, Darshawn McClellan defeated a Gonzaga player to win the NCAA Tournament challenge. (Read the full story here) The 'Dores are truly hitting on all cylinders. I was hoping to see Coach Stallings calling plays behind Darshawn, but no such luck.

To be honest, I would be very disappointed with a loss against the Bearcats. This is very winnable, and a loss would cause the Dores to miss out on two addional quality games. A win tomorrow afternoon makes this team better prepared for March. A loss to Cincy results in loser bracket games against host Chaminade and either Colorado/Wisconsin. A win on the other hand means Maryland in the semi and either Arizona/Gonzaga in the Final or Consolation. Regardless of what happens, it will be nice to watch Vanderbilt on national television tomorrow afternoon.

My non-expert pick: Vandy takes care of business: 73-64
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