Upstate Set To Take On Boston College
12/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2008
Game Notes | Live Video - ACC Select | Gametracker
Boston, Mass. - USC Upstate looks to knock off the rust of not playing for 11 days due to the final week of classes and final exams as it travels to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to take on Boston College Sunday afternoon at 1:00 in the Conte Forum. The Spartans enter the game with an 0-6 overall record, while BC is 7-2 after defeating Bryant, 80-61, Wednesday night. The game can be seen live on the Internet via BC's official Athletics Web site, www.bceagles.com and on www.ACCSelect.com. Fans can get live statistical updates via the official Upstate Athletics Web site, www.upstatespartans.com, using Gametracker.
Looking Back At Kennesaw State, Mercer
Upstate lost a heartbreaker nearly two weeks ago as John-Michael Nickerson sank a running jumper with 0.7 seconds remaining to lift Kennesaw State to a 66-64 victory over the Spartans on Dec. 1 in the A-Sun opener for both schools in Kennesaw, Ga. The following night, Upstate dropped a 74-64 decision at Mercer in Macon, Ga., dropping to 0-2 to start league play.
At Kennesaw, Upstate led by as many as 10 points in the first half and battled the Owls back-and-forth throughout the second half. But, the Spartans were held scoreless for the final 3:09 as Kennesaw took the win. Mezie Uzochukwu turned in a career-high 16 points in the loss. At Mercer, Upstate started the game cold from the floor but De'Marion Gordon's three-point barrage in spurts in each half kept Upstate in the game before the Spartans eventually fell by 10. Gordon finished with a career-high 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the three-point arc.
Scouting Boston College
Boston College enters Sunday's game against Upstate with a 7-2 overall record. The Eagles have yet to play a game in the ACC. BC is a perfect 5-0 at home, having dispatched of Central Connecticut, Loyola, St. John's, Iowa and Bryant in the Conte Forum. The Eagles are 2-2 away from Chestnut Hill, losing at Saint Louis and against Purdue (neutral site), while winning against UAB (neutral site) and at Massachusetts. The game against Upstate is the second of six-straight home games for the Eagles.
Boston College scores at a 74.6 points per game clip while giving up an average of 65.6 points per game. The Eagles have held opponents to just 40.6 percent shooting from the field and just 31.0 percent from the three-point arc. BC also out-rebounds opponents 39.0 to 33.1 for the year. An unselfish team, the Eagles have dished out 138 assists (15.3/game) on the year, 35 more than their opponents.
Tyrese Rice leads Boston College in scoring at 17.1 points per game. He has also dished out a team-high 43 assists on the year and leads the Eagles with 12 steals. He shoots the ball at a 42.9 percent clip from the three-point arc (15-of-35) and is 46.3 percent from the field overall. Joe Trapani leads the team in rebounding at 7.1 rebounds per outing and in blocked shots with 10. He is second on the team in scoring at 13.2 ppg. Two other Eagles average in double figures in scoring. Corey Raji and Rakim Sanders average 12.1 ppg and 11.9 ppg, respectively.
About The Coach
Now in his 12th season at the helm of the Boston College program, Al Skinner has become an institution in Chestnut Hill. He owns a 217-139 record at BC and an overall mark of 355-265 in his 21st year as a head coach. He took the head job at BC in 1997 and has won 15 or more games seven times in 11 years prior to this season. He has led the Eagles to six NCAA Tournament appearances and one postseason berth in the NIT. Before taking the job at BC, Skinner was the head coach at Rhode Island from 1988-97. He led the Rams to a 138-126 record, two NCAA Tournament appearances, and two appearances in the postseason NIT in nine seasons with the program. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Marist (1982-84) before moving to Rhode Island as an assistant in 1984. He was a three-time letterman at UMass, graduating in 1974 as the only player in UMass history to be a three-time All-Yankee Conference selection. He was an All-America honorable mention pick in 1974 and went on to play professionally in the ABA for the New York Nets and in the NBA for the New York Nets, New Jersey Nets, Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers.
Upstate-Boston College Connection
When Boston College Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo watches Sunday's game between Upstate and BC, he will have the pleasure of watching two programs he has guided as athletic director. DeFilippo has been the AD at Boston College since 1997, but he cut his teeth as a head man at Upstate where he served as AD from 1984-87, his first stint as an athletic director. Under his guidance, then-USC Spartanburg reestablished the baseball, men's golf and men's tennis programs and elevated them to varsity level. He oversaw the construction of an on-campus baseball facility and the installation of lights at the soccer stadium. The men's soccer team finished third in the nation in the NAIA in 1984 and 1985 and hosted the semifinals and final of the NAIA Tournament in 1985. The men's and women's basketball teams advanced to the NAIA District Six Tournament each year he was in charge of the athletics department.
DeFilippo left Upstate to become an assistant director of athletics, and later promoted to associate AD, at Kentucky from 1987-93 before accepting the Director of Athletics position at Villanova. He left Villanova in 1997 to take the head position at Boston College and is 12th year with the Eagles.
More Than 700 Combined Wins On The Sideline
When USC Upstate head coach Eddie Payne and Boston College head coach Al Skinner bring their teams together Sunday afternoon at the Conte Forum, the pair will bring a wealth of experience to the court. The two have combined for 715 career wins with Payne tallying 360 victories and Skinner with 655.
Gordon From Way Downtown - Bang!
A Georgia native, De'Marion Gordon did his home state proud Tuesday, Dec. 2, in Macon when his three-point barrage kept the Spartans in the game at Mercer despite Upstate's cold shooting for most of the contest. Gordon hit two three-pointers in the first half to help keep the Spartans in the game and went on a tear in the second half, nailing six trifectas to help Upstate cut a double-digit deficit to six before settling for the 10-point loss. He finished the game with a career-high 22 points and was 6-for-10 from behind the arc. Gordon currently ranks second on the team in scoring at 9.7 points per game and is hitting 42.1 percent of his attempts from long range.
Freshmen Stepping Up In The Backcourt
To say that Upstate has been predominantly a frontcourt team this season is an understatement. For most of the season, Bobby Davis and Nick Schneiders were the main keys in point production for the Spartans, while small forward Mezie Uzochukwu turned in his typical solid performances. With last year's senior guards Luke Payne and Jeremy Byrd no longer with the team, it is no surprise that Davis, Schneiders and Uzochukwu would take over the primary roles on the team. However, a pair of freshmen are beginning to emerge as key players on the perimeter, something Upstate has desperately needed.
De'Marion Gordon and Carter Cook have become more prominent on the offensive end and have increasingly gotten better on the defensive end. Gordon finished with a career-high 22 points at Mercer and has reached double figures in three of the six games this season. He ranks second on the team in scoring at 9.7 ppg coming off the bench as a backup at the point and shooting guard. Cook has started the last two games in place of injured Gabor Boros. He finished with a career-high 13 points at Kennesaw State and has reached double figures in three of the six games this season, including each of the last two. Both players are shooting 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from behind the three-point arc.
Schneiders Tops The A-Sun In Blocks
Nick Schneiders is 7-3 and is supposed to block shots. He is doing so at an A-Sun-leading 2.8 blocks per outing average. While he has stepped to the top of the league in blocks, he is also one of the most improved players in the league. He averages 7.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, up from his 4.9 ppg and 4.8 rpg averages a year ago.
Taking Care Of The Rock
In Upstate's first three games of the season - at Georgia, at No. 12 Notre Dame and at South Carolina - Upstate averaged 22.7 turnovers per game. Though the Spartans battled, Upstate was not in a position to win the games, losing by an average of 23 points a game. However, Upstate has cut down on its turnovers in the last three contests and has put itself in position to win each of the last three games. The Spartans started with just 15 turnovers at home against Duquesne before committing just 10 at Kennesaw State. Against Mercer, Upstate committed just two turnovers, the lowest single-game total in school history. The Spartans enter Sunday's game at Boston College averaging just over 15 turnovers a game.
Offense Gaining Confidence
With the emergence of Carter Cook and De'Marion Gordon on the perimeter, Upstate's offense is beginning to come around from being a one-dimensional frontcourt look. Upstate averaged 49.7 points per game in its first three outings, scoring 48 in each of the Georgia and Notre Dame contests. However, the Spartans have scored in the 60s in each of the last three games, averaging 65.7 points per outing during that span, an improvement of 16 points per game.
Boros Looks To Get Back Into The Lineup
Gabor Boros entered the season with a renewed vigor after extensive rehab for a nagging, season-long back injury from last year paid off with the senior guard felling 100 percent. In the season opener at Georgia, though, the Debrecen, Hungary native jumped up for a loose ball and was undercut, accidentally, by a Bulldog player. The play started Boros back down the path of having a nagging back injury and after hard spills at Notre Dame and South Carolina, and at home against Duquesne, the senior was forced to the sideline for the last two games. Rehab has seemed to pay off and Boros' condition has been upgraded from doubtful to questionable for the Boston College game. He averages 4.8 points per game for the Spartans this season and is hitting 35.7 percent of his attempts from behind the three-point arc.
Spartans Hang Tough In First Half At #12 Notre Dame
Upstate certainly gave No. 12 Notre Dame, then No. 9, all it could handle in the first half of the game on Nov. 16. Behind the solid play of Bobby Davis and Nick Schneiders, who combined to score the Spartans' first 14 points, Upstate held two leads during the half, the first at 17-16 with 12:17 to play and the second at 19-18 with 11:05 to play. Despite Notre Dame's effort to increase the lead midway through the half, the Spartans trailed by just three, 34-31, with 3:38 to play. However, the Fighting Irish had a late surge and Luke Zeller's three-pointer at the buzzer took an eight-point lead to an 11-point advantage at the intermission as Notre Dame went on for the 72-48 win.
Upstate's Non-Conference Schedule Ranked 14th-Toughest In Nation
In the latest non-conference strength of schedule rating released by Ken Pomeroy on Dec. 12, Upstate's non-conference schedule was ranked as the 14th-toughest schedule in the nation. In the daily overall strength of schedule ranking released by Jeff Sagarin on Dec. 12, Upstate's schedule was ranked the 21st-toughest in the nation. The Spartans play two teams ranked in the Top 15 in the latest AP Top 25 poll, five teams ranked in the Top 100 in the Sagarin overall rankings, and 11 teams ranked in the Top 150 in the ranking report. Like last season, Upstate owns the toughest strength of schedule among all A-Sun schools. Jacksonville is second in the A-Sun at No. 29, while Stetson and ETSU are strong at No. 40 and No. 78.
Spartans' 2007-08 Non-Conference Schedule Ranked 20th
In Upstate's first season as a member of NCAA Division I last year, head coach Eddie Payne did not shy away from playing some of the top traditional basketball powers. According to Payne, "We felt like we shouldn't tiptoe into the water, but jump right in." The Spartans did just that, playing the 20th toughest non-conference schedule in the nation, according to Ken Pomeroy in his final analysis of the 2007-08 non-conference strength of schedule ranking. Upstate's nearest competitor in the A-Sun was Jacksonville, which played the 60th-toughest non-conference schedule, according to Pomeroy.
Another Year, Another Tough Schedule
While the 2007-08 schedule was indeed demanding, Upstate has taken another step up in playing some of the toughest competition in college basketball. Not only will the Spartans play a grueling 20-game A-Sun schedule, the Spartans play four teams - Belmont, Georgia, Gonzaga and Notre Dame - which earned bids to the NCAA Tournament a year ago. In addition, Upstate plays two teams ranked highly in the Top 25 polls with Gonzaga holding down the No. 4 spot in the AP and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 polls, while Notre Dame is 12th in the AP poll and 13th in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
Upstate Road Warriors
By season's end, USC Upstate will have played 30 games with nearly two-thirds of the contests played away from the G.B. Hodge Center. The Spartans opened the season playing at Georgia, Notre Dame and South Carolina before its home opener against Duquesne on Nov. 25. Upstate hits the road Friday for five straight games away from the Hodge Center before returning home for its A-Sun home opener against North Florida on Jan. 3. By season's end, Upstate will have traveled more than 17,000 miles roundtrip from Spartanburg to play its 30-game schedule, playing in 11 states and three time zones.
Upstate vs. The ACC
When Upstate takes the floor at the Conte Forum Sunday afternoon, the Spartans will play just their second game against an ACC opponent in the history of the program. Upstate first played an ACC opponent last year when the Spartans fell, 72-48, to Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Dec. 1. Upstate did play at Florida State in 1986, a 97-69 loss to the Seminoles, but that was five years prior to FSU joining the ACC.
Starting Lineup Consistency
Last year, Upstate head coach Eddie Payne used 12 different starting lineups in 30 games on the season. Through six games this season, Payne has used just two different starting lineups and a total of six players to start games. Josh Chavis has started every game at the point and has been joined in the starting lineups for all six contests by forwards Mezie Uzochukwu and Bobby Davis and center Nick Schneiders. Gabor Boros started the first four games at shooting guard before a back injury forced him to the sideline with freshman Carter Cook taking his place in the lineup.
Spartans Play Conference Variety
Upstate has strategically scheduled its non-conference opponents to play a slate of games in a variety of locations and teams from several different conferences. Outside of their 20-game A-Sun slate, the Spartans will play schools from nine different conferences in its 10-game non-conference schedule this season. Last year, Upstate played schools from 10 different conference in addition to its A-Sun schedule.
Gaining Tournament Experience
While Upstate is not allowed to compete in the A-Sun and NCAA Tournaments until 2011-12 when it completes its provisional status as a new DI member, head coach Eddie Payne has seen fit to give the Spartans a dose of tournament experience in its first two seasons in DI. Upstate competed in the BP Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, and the State Farm Sun Bowl Tournament in El Paso, Texas, last season. This year, the Spartans play in the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic.
Schneiders The Tallest Tree In The Forest
Nick Schneiders, Upstate's only center on the roster, is the tallest player to ever wear a uniform at Upstate. At 7-3, he holds the distinction by five inches over Michael Gibson, who tipped the height chart at 6-10. He is also the tallest player playing in the A-Sun. The Rietberg, Germany, native has played organized basketball for just four and a half years. He is a redshirt junior after sitting out his first season on the Upstate campus in 2005-06. Despite his youth in the game of basketball, he has developed at a rapid rate. In his first year playing with Upstate in 2006-07, he averaged 2.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while blocking 13 shots. A year later, he more doubled his averages to 4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per outing while blocking 25 shots. In his third season on the court for Upstate, his development is expected to steadily continue.
Home Sweet Home
Despite playing just 11 games at home this season, the Spartans will be happy to do so. Upstate has a solid home record, going 58-23 (.716) in seven years under head coach Eddie Payne. Overall, the Spartans are 317-134 (.703) in 451 games played at the Hodge Center since it opened in 1973. Prior to 1973, Upstate played its games at a local junior high school. The Spartans won a school-record 50 straight regular season home games from March 4, 1989 to Feb. 17, 1993.
Hitting The Century Mark
Upstate head coach Eddie Payne won his 100th game at the helm of the Spartans' program at Campbell on Feb. 21, 2008. Payne is now in his seventh season at Upstate and his 24th overall as a head coach. He owns a 100-83 record at Upstate and led the Spartans to two Peach Belt Conference championships and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament prior to Upstate's move to Division I and the Atlantic Sun Conference last season.
Uzochukwu A Calm Customer
Some freshmen, no matter how talented, shy away from taking the ball in key situations. That was not the case last year when Mezie Uzochukwu, now a sophomore on Upstate's team, put himself in position to deliver Upstate's monumental win at SMU (Dec. 18). He was fouled with 0.6 seconds to play in the game and with the score tied at 56-56. He calmly stepped up to the free throw line and sank both tosses to give Upstate the 58-56 win over the Mustangs, securing the Spartans' first-ever win over a Division I opponent.
Uzochukwu played in all 30 games for Upstate and started 15 contests. He ranked fourth on the team in scoring at 7.5 points per game and grabbed the third-most rebounds per outing at 4.7.
Hard Luck Spartans In `07-'08
Newcomers to the Division I level are supposed to take their lumps, but Upstate proved to be a solid program in its new surroundings. While Upstate's 7-23 record was less than sterling, the record was also misleading. The Spartans lost 10 games by eight points or less and four games by four points or less last season. Had a few plays broken differently, Upstate could easily have looked at a double-digit win total and, possibly, a record approaching .500. One thing head coach Eddie Payne hopes the Spartans have learned from last year's experience is how to win close games on the DI level.
Carolina On Our Mind
Of the 14 players listed on the Upstate roster, nine hail from either South Carolina or North Carolina. Bobby Davis (Aiken), Pat Posey (Greenville), Zac Rich (Lexington), Chalmers Rogers (Fort Mill) and Cameron Rousey (Greenville) all call the Palmetto State home, while Josh Chavis (Greensboro), Carter Cook (Clemmons), Matt Preston (Nags Head) and Mezie Uzochukwu (Greensboro) call the Tar Heel State home.
Even the Upstate coaching staff is rooted in either South Carolina or North Carolina. Head Coach Eddie Payne was born in Winston-Salem, N.C., and grew up in Charlotte. Assistant Coach Steve Smith was born and raised in the Lowcountry of South Carolina in Varnville. Assistant Coach Ryan Walker was born in Charlotte and lived in the Queen City until the start of his junior year in high school before the family moved to Galesburg, Ill. Assistant Coach Bill Burrows was born in Baltimore, Md., but spent most of his late childhood and nearly all of his adult life in North Carolina.
Big Shoes To Fill
When Upstate takes the floor this season, it will do so without the services of guard Luke Payne for the first time in four years. Payne graduated in May and has been on tour with Athletes In Action while waiting for an opportunity to play professionally overseas. Payne was simply the do-all leader for the Spartans last season. He led Upstate in scoring with 14.9 points per game. He also led Upstate in making 63 three-pointers, making 87 free throws and dishing out 84 assists. He also led the Spartans in scoring in 18 of 30 games and finished in double figures on 25 occasions.
Payne finished his career ranked ninth all-time in scoring at Upstate with a 1,381 points. He garnered all-tournament honors at the BP Top of the World Classic and State Farm Sun Bowl tournaments, while also earning A-Sun Player of the Week honors.
Mercer First A-Sun School To Knock Off One Of The Big Boys
Last season, Belmont nearly stunned Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and introduced the nation to A-Sun basketball. However, the college basketball world already knew how strong the conference was last year and how tough league teams are year-in and year-out. A-Sun schools picked up wins over Kentucky, Southern Cal, Alabama, Georgia, Cincinnati and SMU last year.
Mercer has gotten the A-Sun off to a good start this year with two wins against SEC teams as the Bears claimed a 72-69 victory over Alabama on Nov. 16 and a 78-74 win over Auburn on Nov. 19. Mercer's win over Alabama marks the second-straight year the Crimson Tide has fallen to an A-Sun school.
Paul Makes Good
Former Spartan starting point guard C.J. Paul is now living the life around the NBA. No, he is not playing in the world's top league, he is serving as the personal assistant/manager for his younger brother, Chris, the former NBA Rookie of Year now in his fourth season with the New Orleans Hornets. Paul was on-hand in Beijing, China, to watch his younger brother win a gold medal for the United States in last summer's Olympic Games.
