USC’s current 9.5-game improvement in basketball from 12-20 to 16-5 in the sixth-best in the nation according to research by J.D. Hamilton of the NCAA. Here’s the full list of the top turnarounds:
Team 2015-16 2014-15 Improvement
Tennessee St. 14-6 5-26 14.5
Southern Illinois 18-4 12-21 11.5
Ball State 13-7 7-23 11.0
Col. of Charleston 13-7 9-24 10.5
Ark-Little Rock 18-2 13-18 10.5
USC 16-5 12-20 9.5
Fairfield 11-9 7-24 9.5
Saint Joseph’s 17-3 13-18 9.5
Impressive….Also impressed SW you provided us
with this.
If we can step up our defense we can hang with almost anyone.
Sam,not getting pac12 network,and living 3
hours away,I’ve seen just two games.Both games
Our defense was weakest in second half,this true?
Is defense improving? Do you see us as a .500 PAC 12
Team or better?
Jovanovic is a huge liability defensively in the paint. He let’s short, tall, slow, fast players score at will. His feet barely leave the ground when he jumps. Metu is a shot blocking rim protector, but needs to put on muscle and weight. As a team we are very average defensively. Its to obvious that Jovanovic is the weakest link. I hate feeling that way about him, but he’s not as tough as the rest of the big men in the conference. But we can run with the best of them offensively. We’re a legitimate tournament team. #22 RPI ranking.
This, to a degree. Jovanovic is not small, but he does play smaller than he is, which, of course, is not a good thing as a big man. So he does, and USC does, struggle against bigger, physical teams (Oregon, Xavier). But Jovanovic is also the only low post-up option on the team, and he does have post moves. His offensive game in important in keeping teams from extending their defense to take out USC mid range game.
I’m ok with with his offensive game. He’s soft, misses more lay ups than he should, but produces usually. I just can’t get over how bad he plays defense. He reminds of a woman’s basketball player who gets rebounds without jumping.
Also we’ll be playing on FoxSports1 at least 3 or 4 times from here on out so you’ll get some chances to check out some games.
SW, what research have YOU done?
The fact that SC is doing it in (1) a major conference and (2) the toughest/deepest conference in the country makes their turnaround more impressive than the others, in this person’s mind.
Toughest/ deepest conference in the country? In your mind. Nobody plays defense in this conference.
According to the latest RPI, the Pac-12 could send 8 teams the tournament. They probably will not, but still, that’s two-thirds of the conference. That is pretty freakin deep.
Wasn’t referring to defense, necessarily, with the “tough” comment. Tough to beat!
even a blind squirrel…………i
… even a broken clock is right twice a day
… even turkeys fly in a hurricane
… even a blind squirrel is right twice a day
So that means one of your predictions will come true someday!
I find your paste game stronger than you cut game. What did Athlon have to say?
Word is the final recruiting weekend is going great and our friends in Westwood are going to needs face cup on signing day
Let’s hope we get some linemen that are tough nosed and don’t need to be face cupped.
Oregon series was a return to reality that there is still work to do…a win over huskies would show they are on the right road.
Did the blogger change? This is a positive post. I sure hope that more than a few of us – myself included – will owe Andy Enfield an apology at the end of the season.
We all hope so, but the bad weekend in Oregon has put a damper on our March Madness plans.