Spartans Take On Hoosiers In First Of Three Television Games
11/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2009
Game Notes | Live Audio | Gametracker
Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate ends its two-game round swing through the Midwest to start the season with an 8:30 p.m. tip-off at Indiana in Assembly Hall Monday night in the first of three television games for Upstate. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network and can bee seen in the Spartanburg/Greenville market on Dish Network Channel 439 and DirecTV Channel 610.
Upstate enters the game with a 0-1 record following its 76-49 loss at Nebraska Saturday night. Indiana enters the game with a 1-0 record after its 83-60 victory over Howard on Friday. The game is the first meeting between Upstate and Indiana and the first time the Spartans will have played a team from the Big Ten.
In addition to the televised coverage on the Big Ten Network, live audio can be heard online through the official Upstate Athletics Web site, www.upstatespartans.com. Live statistical updates are available on Gametracker also on the Upstate Athletics Web site.
Looking Back At Nebraska
USC Upstate hung tough for most of the first half and cut Nebraska's lead to four points early in the second half before falling by 27, 76-49, Saturday night in the Devany Center. Upstate battled Nebraska early in the game and when Josh Chavis nailed a 16-foot jumper with 5:32 to play in the half, the Spartans took their third lead of the game, 22-21. However, Nebraska held the Spartans to just one field goal the rest of the half, closing with a 10-2 run to open a 31-24 lead at halftime. Carter Cook opened the second half with two three-pointers to get Upstate within four, 34-30, but Nebraska went on a 15-0 run to open a 19-point lead and led by as many as 32 late in the game. Cook finished with a team-high nine points as nine of the 10 active Spartans scored in the game in a balanced offensive attack. Nick Schneiders added eight points and eight rebounds. Sharod Minus finished with seven points in his Upstate debut, while Mezie Uzochukwu and Ryan LeGates each added six.
Scouting Indiana
Indiana opened the season with an 83-60 victory over Howard in Assembly Hall Friday night, playing 16 different players in the 23-point win. The win marked the 197th of head coach Tom Crean's career as the 11-year head coaching veteran has begun his second year at the helm of one of college basketball's most storied programs.
Indiana is a very young basketball team with six freshmen and five sophomores on the 16-member roster.
Indiana was solid offensively Friday night against Howard, shooting 55.7 percent (34-of-61) from the field and 50 percent (7-of-14) from behind the three-point arc. The Hoosiers dished out 20 assists on the night. Indiana dominated the play in the paint, scoring 50 points from close range. Howard, on the other hand, scored just 20 inside the paint.
Defensively, Indiana was also solid. The Hoosiers limited Howard to 35.8 percent (19-of-53) shooting from the field and a thin 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from behind the arc. Howard was forced into 19 turnovers on the night with the Hoosiers scoring 23 points off of their miscues.
Individually, four Hoosiers finished in double figures for the game. Maurice Creek led the way with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Christian Watford finished with the game's only double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Derek Elston added 14 points. Tom Pritchard added a solid 10 points and five rebounds. Jordan Hulls led the Hoosiers while dishing out five assists.
Last season, Indiana struggled to a 6-25 record, including a 1-17 mark in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers averaged just 60.1 points per outing and allowed an average of 70.6 points per contest. Indiana shot 43 percent from the floor and 33.5 percent from the three-point arc.
Crean is in his second season at the helm of the Indiana program. A 1989 graduate of Central Michigan, he came to Indiana after nine successful years as head coach at Marquette. He amassed a 190-96 record at the school, leading the Golden Eagles to five NCAA Tournament appearances including a Final Four appearance in 2003.
Crean got his start in college coaching in 1989 as an assistant at Michigan State. He left East Lansing a year later and served as associate head coach at Western Kentucky from 1990-94. He spent one season as an assistant at Pitt from 1994-95 before returning to Michigan State first as an assistant from 1995-97 and then as associate head coach from 1998-99.
Balanced Offensive Attack
In Upstate's first two years playing on the Division I level, the Spartans relied heavily on one go-to player to deliver offensively. In 2007-08, it was Luke Payne. Last year, Bobby Davis assumed the role. Against Nebraska Saturday night, Upstate dressed 10 players. With nine of the 10 reaching the scoring column, Upstate produced a balanced scoring attack. Carter Cook led the way with nine, while Nick Schneiders added eight and Sharod Minus finished with seven. In all, six players scored at least five points for the Spartans.
The Countdown Is On
Barring something unforeseen, Upstate's 7-3 center Nick Schneiders should break the Upstate all-time blocked shots record prior to the start of January. He currently has 120 blocked shots, 16 shy of the all-time mark of 136 held by Kevin Harrington. He averaged over two blocked shots per game last season and blocked three shots in the season opener at Nebraska Saturday night. If he maintains his 2.6 blocked shots per game average last season, he could break the record at home during Upstate's two-game homestand against Florida Gulf Coast and Winthrop.
Solid Debuts
Junior Sharod Minus and freshman Ryan LeGates had solid debuts for Upstate Saturday night at Nebraska. Minus, a transfer from Miami Dade College, finished with seven points as the third-highest scoring Spartan on the night. LeGates, a freshman who was picked as a Top 6 Senior Surprises last year by Rivals.com, totaled six points. His first bucket was a three-pointer from about 21 feet out.
Spartans Work On The Offensive Glass
Despite taking a 76-49 loss at Nebraska Saturday night, Upstate did have a few bright spots on the night. One of them was winning the battle in second chance points by a 15-12 margin. The figure was all the more impressive given that Upstate pulled down just nine offensive rebounds, while Nebraska grabbed 16 offensive boards.
Celebrating 25 Years
When Eddie Payne took USC Upstate on the court at Nebraska on Nov. 14, he began his 25th as a head coach on the collegiate level. He has amassed 369 wins in his illustrious career, coaching at all levels of college hoops. Last year he became the only active coach in Division I to have served as a head coach on all levels of college basketball, coaching in the NCAA at Divisions I, II and III, as well as in the NAIA and JUCO ranks. He coached his 700th career game in the season-ending game at Gonzaga last year, capping a successful second season in Division I after improving the Spartans' overall win total by two games and the conference win total by three games over the 2007-08 season.
Payne began his career as head coach at Truett-McConnell on the JUCO level and moved to Belmont Abbey when the Crusaders were members of the NAIA. He got his first NCAA Division I coaching position at East Carolina before moving to Oregon State. He then coached at Division III Greensboro College before taking the job at Upstate when the Spartans were members of Division II. With Upstate now in Division I, he has coached at three different DI institutions.
Upstate Receives $4 Million Gift For Hodge Renovations
Mrs. Dodie Anderson, a 1981 graduate of USC Upstate and a longtime friend and supporter of the University and its Athletics Department, formally announced a gift of $4 million to completely renovate the G.B. Hodge Center. Renovations are expected to begin on March 1 and expected to be completed by the start of the 2009-10 basketball season. Once complete, the "new" Hodge Center will feature a new floor, lights, seating, state-of-the-art scoreboards and scorer's tables, video capabilities and sound system. The $4 million gift is the largest single gift made to the Athletics Department and one of the largest in school history. Anderson and her late husband, Bob, were owners of Anderson Hardwood Floors, what was once the largest privately owned hardwood floor manufacturing company in the country.
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 five years. He is a redshirt senior 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 than doubled his averages to 4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per outing while blocking 25 shots. He had a breakout year last year, averaging 9.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while blocking a school record 79 shots.
Schneiders The King Of The Block
With four blocked shots against Belmont on Feb. 16, Nick Schneiders moved atop the single-season blocks list at Upstate. He finished the season with 79 blocks, surpassing the 56 swatted by Kevin Harrington in 2002-03. Schneiders, who already had demolished his single-season school Division I blocks record of 25 set in 2007-08, now has 120 in his career and ranks second all-time behind Harrington, who finished his career with 136 in four seasons. Schneiders has become just the second Spartan to reach 100 career blocks.
Making The Grade
While Upstate works hard to try to get it done on the court, the Spartans work to get it done in the classroom as well. The hard work has paid off as the men's basketball program posted a team GPA of 3.026 in the fall semester and a 3.113 GPA in the spring semester. The performance in the spring marked the highest GPA for the basketball team since the department began tracking team GPAs in the early 1990's. Eight members of the men's basketball team were selected to the A-Sun All-Academic team released by the league last summer. Gabor Boros, Cedric Koffi, Matt Preston, Lucas Reiff, Zac Rich, Chalmers Rogers, Nick Schneiders and Mezie Uzochukwu were each selected as All-Academic in the A-Sun. The eight All-Academic selections are the most ever in the history of the program, topping the seven selections to the Peach Belt Conference Presidential Academic Honor Roll in 2007 in the Spartans' final year in NCAA Division II.
The Renaissance Man
Not only is Nick Schneiders developing his game, he is also in the process of developing his skills as a graphic designer. Having done a few volunteer projects for the media relations and marketing departments at Upstate, he also dabbles in artistic expression. The senior center's work was on display at last year's NCAA Convention in Washington D.C. and in the online version of the NCAA Champions magazine featuring the NCAA Student-Athlete Art Exhibit. Schneiders donated two pieces of artwork to the exhibit, a wire shoe and an artistic picture of a fluorescent light bulb. Schneiders was one of 20 student-athletes from all NCAA Division I, II and III schools to have his artwork chosen for the exhibit in Washington D.C. and in the online version of the NCAA Champions magazine.
Koffi Waiting For His Time On The Court
Despite documentation supporting his case, Cedric Koffi was declared ineligible for all of the 2008-09 season and the first 12 games of this season by the NCAA. As a young club player in France, Koffi signed a document promising to only play for the club team in which he developed as a player. The agreement also allowed for typical game-day expenses, such as a meal, to be provided to each player on the club team. The NCAA, despite the assurances on the contrary from the club's president, deemed Koffi had received compensation for his play and that he had played on a team where others had been paid for playing. As a result, the NCAA prohibited him from playing last season and for more than a third of this year. For his part, Koffi decided to remain at Upstate last season instead of transferring to an NAIA school where he could have played immediately. Said Koffi at the time to head coach Eddie Payne, "Coach, I want to wear a Spartan uniform. You committed to me and I am committing to you." The first game the guard from Paris, France, can play for Upstate is the Jan. 4 contest against A-Sun foe East Tennessee State in the Hodge Center.
Rogers Looks To Make Impact
The biggest surprise of the preseason has been the development of sophomore forward Chalmers Rogers. A key role player last year, he averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game in 12.4 minutes per outing. However, he has been active on both ends of the court in practice and was more than solid in the Spartans' two scrimmages the last two weeks. His play has been so strong that he may very well find a place in the starting lineup as Upstate looks to fill the void at the position left by Bobby Davis who now plays professionally in Holland.
Chavis and Uzochukwu Bring Steady Experience
Juniors Josh Chavis and Mezie Uzochukwu have been starters for the better part of the last two seasons. As upperclassmen and two of three players who have been on the team since Upstate moved to Division I in 2007, the pair are central to the success of the team. Chavis, from Dudley High School in Greensboro, N.C., averaged 8.3 points and ranked second on the team with 69 assists last year. He finished the year with nine more assists than turnovers from his point guard position. Uzochukwu, from Northeast Guilford High School in Greensboro, N.C., averaged 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game a year ago while improving his outside game. He ranked fifth on the Spartans with 13 three-pointers. While 7-3 center Nick Schneiders will be much of the focus for opposing teams and fans alike, the play of Chavis and Uzochukwu, with their experience and skill, will be key to the Spartans this season.
Spartans Take "Provisional" Crown
With its 80-51 victory over Kennesaw State on Feb. 28, Upstate claimed the mythical A-Sun provisional title, besting Kennesaw State, North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast with an 8-12 conference record. All four schools are relatively new to the NCAA Division I ranks. Kennesaw State and North Florida finished their final year of provisional status by the NCAA in 2008-09 and will be able to compete in postseason play this season. Upstate and Florida Gulf Coast, now in their third year in DI, will be full Division I members in 2011-12.
Upstate Closes Out Season On Strong Note
Playing a brutal non-conference schedule in November and December led to Upstate beginning the season 0-9 on the year prior to a 72-47 thumping of Southern in the third-game of the Las Vegas Classic. However, after starting the season 0-9, Upstate closed out the year with a 9-12 mark. The Spartans hit their stride during the brunt of the A-Sun conference season, winning seven of their last 13 conference games, including a Division I school record three-game winning streak with wins at Jacksonville and at home against Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast.
Spartans Set Mark
With nine wins overall and eight wins in the A-Sun, Upstate broken the marks for wins established in 2007-08 in Upstate's first season playing on the Division I level. That year, Upstate finished with seven wins overall and five in the A-Sun. Last year, Upstate saw vast improvement despite playing yet another difficult schedule and beginning the season 0-9 after playing Georgia, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Duquesne, Kennesaw State (A-Sun), Mercer (A-Sun), Boston College, Saint Louis and Fresno State.
Record-Breaking Win
When Upstate claimed a 29-point victory over Kennesaw State on Feb. 28, it broke the school's Division I record for largest margin of victory. Prior to the game against the Owls, the record was 28 points against Southern earlier in the season in the Las Vegas Classic.
Lucky 7
Already the school's single-season record holder for blocked shots, Nick Schneiders pulled off back-to-back seven-block games in leading Upstate to wins over Mercer and Kennesaw State to close out the A-Sun portion of the schedule last year. Schneiders had five blocked shots in the second half of the Mercer game as Upstate rallied from 18 down to win in double overtime. He had four blocked shots in the first half against Kennesaw, helping stake the Spartans to a 14-point halftime lead.
Payne's Spartans In The Pros
While Upstate has not had a player taken in the NBA Draft under head coach Eddie Payne, the venerable head coach has produced several professional players throughout his tenure at the helm of the Spartans' program. Payne has had six players go on to play professionally, be it in the United States or overseas. Kevin Harrington (2000-04) played professionally in the USBL. Petros Tsampas (2002-04) and Ivica Grgurivic (2004-06) have all played professionally in Europe. Recently, Charleston Long (2003-05) finished his third season playing in Australia, while Luke Payne was named the Most Valuable Player of the Grand Final after leading the Lakeside Lightning to the State Basketball League championship in his first season professionally in Australia. Last year's go-to player, Bobby Davis, signed a contract to play professionally in Holland and is in his first season of his professional career.
Upstate Wins Three In A Row For First Time In DI
When the final buzzer sounded in Upstate's 71-62 victory over Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 9, the win marked the first three-game winning streak for the Spartans since joining the ranks of Division I last season.
Pack Your Bags, Boys
Year three in NCAA Division I will start out much the same as the previous two, on the road playing against some of the nation's top teams in the nation's top conferences. Upstate will play another marquee non-conference schedule this season, opening at Nebraska and Indiana and playing the likes of Miami, Wichita State, UNLV and Arizona State. With the A-Sun covering a five-state region in the Southeast, Upstate will travel more than 12,000 miles roundtrip to play its 17-game road schedule.
Spartans' 2008-09 Non-Conference Schedule Ranked 29th
In its two seasons playing on the NCAA Division I level, Upstate has not ducked playing anyone. In addition to a demanding A-Sun conference schedule, the Spartans have played the likes of Notre Dame, Utah, South Carolina, Georgia, Boston College, Duquesne, Akron, Oregon State, UTEP, Saint Louis, Fresno State and Buffalo in its first two seasons. In the final non-conference strength of schedule ranking released by Ken Pomeroy for 2008-09, Upstate's schedule was ranked 29th in the country.
Home Sweet Home
Despite playing just 11 games at home last season, the Spartans were happy to do so. Upstate has a solid home record, going 65-26 (.714) in seven years under head coach Eddie Payne. Overall, the Spartans are 324-137 (.703) in 461 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. Upstate will play 12 home games this season the Hodge Center.
A-Sun Schools Knock Off The Big Boys Again
In 2007-08, 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 in `07-'08. Mercer got the A-Sun off to a good start last year with 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 marked the second-straight year the Crimson Tide has fallen to an A-Sun school as Alabama lost to Belmont, 85-83, last year. Lipscomb knocked off a major DI program, defeating Indiana, 74-69, in Bloomington on Dec. 28.
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 eight different conferences in its nine-game non-conference schedule this season. Last year, Upstate played schools from nine different conferences in addition to its A-Sun schedule, while playing schools from 10 different leagues in 2007-08.
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 fifth 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 the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
