Upstate Tips Off Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic At Saint Louis
12/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2008
Game Notes | Live Video - Saint Louis All-Access | Gametracker
St. Louis, Mo. - USC Upstate heads to the Gateway City to face Saint Louis Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. Central Time, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, in the first of four games in the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic. The game will be the second this season the Spartans will have played against a team from the A-10, having dropped a 79-69 decision at home against Duquesne on Nov. 25. Upstate enters the game looking for its first win of the season at 0-7 on the year. Saint Louis enters the game with a 4-4 record.
Fans not in attendance Wednesday night can watch the game live on the Internet via the official Saint Louis Athletics Web site, www.slubillikens.com. Live statistical updates are also available over the Internet at the official Upstate Athletics Web site at www.upstatespartans.com.
Looking Back At Boston College
Bobby Davis turned in a tremendous effort against the ACC's Boston College Eagles Sunday afternoon, finishing with a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. However, the Spartans could not overcome sub-40 percent shooting from the field and shaky free throw shooting as BC took a 67-55 victory.
Upstate grabbed the lead with a little over 13 minutes to play in the first half and held onto the lead for much of the half before Boston College opened a five-point advantage at halftime. Upstate got within three in the second half before the Eagles managed to increase its lead to 11 points and went on for the win.
Scouting Saint Louis
Saint Louis enters the game against Upstate with a 4-4 record, having won its last two contests. SLU opened the season with a win over Missouri-St. Louis before dropping four of its next five games. The win in that span was a 53-50 victory over Boston College, Upstate's last opponent. In the last two games, the Billikens defeated Savannah State, 55-37, and Samford, 70-49. Saint Louis is 4-1 at home in Chaifetz Arena this season.
Saint Louis, like Upstate, is not a high-scoring team. The Billikens average 57.8 points per outing and have topped 60 points just twice this season. While Saint Louis is not a high-scoring team, it is stingy on defense. The Billikens hold opponents to 55.2 points per game, 41.0 percent shooting from the field and 25.7 percent shooting from the three-point arc. Saint Louis shoots at a 42.0 percent clip overall and 31.0 percent from the three-point arc. The Billikens are solid at the free throw line, hitting 72.8 percent of its shots. Saint Louis limits opponents to just under 27 rebounds per game while grabbing nearly 33 on the year.
Kevin Lisch is one of two Billikens to average in double figures, scoring at a 13.9 points per game clip. He hits 35.9 percent of his three-point field goal attempts and is nearly flawless at the free throw line, hitting 29-of-32 on the year. He tops the club with 12 steals and is second with 21 assists. Tommie Liddell, III ranks second on the team in scoring at 13.4 points per outing and tops the Billikens with 6.5 rebounds per cpntest. Kwamain Mitchell leads the team with 33 assists, ranks second with 10 steals and is fourth in scoring at 6.9 points per game.
About The Coach
Rick Majerus is one of college basketball's top coaches, having built Utah into a national power prior to stepping down due to illness in 2004. He returned to the sidelines as a head coach last year at Saint Louis and led the Billikens to a 16-15 record. He owns a 442-166 record in 22 seasons as a head coach. He began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater, Marquette, working under legendary head coach Al McGuire for 12 seasons from 1971-83. He received his first head coaching job at Marquette in 1983, following in the footsteps of McGuire. He sepnt three seasons at the helm of the Marquette program before spending one season as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks from 1986-87. He took the head job at Ball State in 1987 and spent two seaosns with the Cardinals, leading the team to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1989. He moved to Utah in 1989 and built the Utes into a national power, leading the Utes to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances from 1989-2004, including second-place finish in the NCAA Tournament in 1998.
Spartans In Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic
In its second season in NCAA Division I, Upstate will play in its third tournament as a member of DI beginning Wednesday at Saint Louis in the first game of the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic. Following the game with the Billikens, Upstate will travel to Fresno to take on Fresno State Saturday before heading to Las Vegas for the final two games, the first against Southern on Dec. 22 and the final of the four games against either Liberty or Northern Colorado on Dec. 23. Upstate has not faced any of the five teams in the tournament in the history of the program.
Last season, Upstate traveled to Fairbanks, Alaska, for the BP Top of the World Classic and to El Paso, Texas, for the State Farm Sun Bowl Tournament. Upstate is currently 0-5 in tournament play, losing to Akron (64-60), IUPUI (80-54) and Oregon State (65-46) in Fairbanks and UTEP (77-69) and Buffalo (80-66) in El Paso. Luke Payne, a senior on last year's team, earned All-Tournament honors at both tournaments a year ago.
Coaches Combine For More Than 800 Wins
When Upstate head coach Eddie Payne and Saint Louis head coach Rick Majerus meet Wednesday night in the Chaifetz Arena, the duo will bring more than 800 wins to the sidelines. Payne has won 360 games in his 24 years at the helm of programs at Truett-McConnell, Belmont Abbey, East Carolina, Oregon State, Greensboro College and Upstate. Majerus has won 442 games in his 22 years as a head coach at the helm of the Marquette, Ball State, Utah and Saint Louis programs.
Payne is 0-2 against Majerus in head-to-head matchups between the two coaches when Payne was at the helm of the Oregon State program and Majerus was at Utah. Majerus took the first win, 69-61, on Dec. 20, 1997 in Portland, Ore. The Utes went on to finish second in the NCAA Tournament that season. Majerus took the second win in an 87-77 decision on Dec. 28, 1999 in Salt Lake City.
Davis Turns In Another Strong Outing Against The Big Boys
Senior forward Bobby Davis has played some of his best basketball against nationally-known programs on Upstate's schedule. Sunday at Boston College was just another indication he can play with anyone in the country as he finished with 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds at Boston College. He has scored in double figures in six of the seven games this season. He recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds in the season opener at Georgia. He turned in 14 points at South Carolina before finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds at nationally-ranked Notre Dame. He tallied 24 points with six rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block against Duquesne.
Free Throw Woes
While coaches can point to many things that happen during a game that could have changed the outcome, head coach Eddie Payne could easily pinpoint the Spartans' free throw woes as a reason Upstate has come up short in a few games this season. At Kennesaw State on Dec. 1, Upstate was a mere 9-of-18 from the charity stripe and lost by two. Against Boston College, the Spartans were just 7-of-15 from the line in the 12-point loss. Although Upstate was a respectable 14-of-21 against Duquesne, had the Spartans made a few more, it could have made the 10-point loss interesting to say the least. For the season, Upstate is shooting just 62.1 percent from the line, converting 54-of-87 charity stripe tosses.
Despite Upstate's recent struggles from the free throw line, a few Spartans have been strong at the stripe. Carter Cook enters Wednesday's game a perfect 8-for-8 from the line, while Josh Chavis is also perfect on the year at 4-for-4. De'Marion Gordon has converted 75 percent of his tosses, hitting 12-of-16 on the year.
From One Big Fella To Another
A funny thing happened on Upstate's trip from Boston to St. Louis Monday when a chance meeting between a legendary big man and the Spartans' 7-3 center took place in the Charlotte-Douglas Airport. As the Upstate players made their way to the gate for the connecting flight to St. Louis, assistant coach Bill Burrows noticed a familiar face, Brad Daugherty. Dugherty, a former All-American at North Carolina and NBA standout center for the Cleveland Cavaliers, was on his way to California when the two spotted each other in the airport. Burrows was Daugherty's high school coach and brought the 7-0 Black Mountain, N.C., native over to meet Nick Schneiders, Upstate's man in the middle.
Taking Care Of The Rock
An area Upstate head coach Eddie Payne can point to as a positive for the Spartans is how well Upstate has taken care of the ball in the last four games. Entering the Duquesne game on Nov. 25, the Spartans averaged nearly 23 turnovers per game. In the last four games, though, Upstate has not turned the ball over more than 15 times, averaging nine per game. Upstate committed 15 turnovers against Duquesne, 10 at Kennesaw State, a program-low two at Mercer and nine at Boston College. As a result, Upstate has lowered its turnover average to 14.6 per game. De'Marion Gordon is a perfect example of the Spartans' ability to protect the ball. In seeing increased action on the court and serving as the backup at the point, Gordon has turned the ball over just once in the last three games and has not committed a turnover in the last two outings.
Boros Back On The Court
Senior guard Gabor Boros began the season as the Spartans' starting shooting guard. However, after taking hard shots to his back during the first four games, he missed the Kennesaw State and Mercer games. Having dealt with nagging back injuries last season, Boros was looking forward to an injury-free 2008-09. He managed to play two minutes at Boston College Sunday afternoon and will methodically work himself back into more playing time so he can be ready for the remainder of the A-Sun season that starts on Jan. 3 in Spartanburg against North Florida.
Spartans In The A-Sun
Upstate ranks No. 1 in the A-Sun in blocked shots, swatting 4.4 shots per game. Nick Schneiders tops the Spartans and the league with 2.7 blocks per outing, while Pat Posey ranks in the top 15 with a 0.8 bpg average. Overall, Upstate players rank among the conference leaders in 10 statistical categories. Bobby Davis leads the way. The senior from Aiken, S.C., ranks among the league leaders in seven statistical categories - scoring (8th, 14.6), rebounding (3rd, 8.3), offensive rebounds (9th, 2.6), defensive rebounds (6th, 5.7), field goal percentage (12th, 48.4), steals (7th, 2.0) and minutes played (3rd, 34.7). In addition, Josh Chavis, Carter Cook, De'Marion Gordon and Mezie Uzochukwu join Davis, Posey and Schneiders as Spartans who ranks among the league leaders in the latest statistical report.
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 13th-Toughest In Nation
In the latest non-conference strength of schedule rating released by Ken Pomeroy on Dec. 15, Upstate's non-conference schedule was ranked as the 13th-toughest schedule in the nation. In the daily overall strength of schedule ranking released by Jeff Sagarin on Dec. 15, Upstate's schedule was ranked the 16th-toughest in the nation. The Spartans play two teams ranked in the Top 15 in the latest AP Top 25 poll, six teams ranked in the Top 100 in the Sagarin overall rankings, and nine 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. 33, while ETSU is third at No, 64.
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. 7 spot in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 poll and the No. 8 spot in the AP Top 25 poll, while Notre Dame is 12th in the AP poll and 14th 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 A-10
When Upstate takes on Saint Louis Wednesday night in the Chaifetz Arena, it will be the third time the Spartans will have faced a team from the A-10 in the history of the program. Prior to Wednesday, Upstate has dropped two games against Duquesne, an 84-66 decision in Pittsburgh last year and a 79-69 decision earlier this season in Spartanburg.
Starting Lineup Consistency
Last year, Upstate head coach Eddie Payne used 12 different starting lineups in 30 games on the season. Through seven 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 the last four contests.
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.
