Matt's Draft Journal

A tip-off in Texas set for Friday at 9 PM EST —to be televised on ESPN2 — pits two potential tournament teams looking to finish up their non-conference schedule with a strong victory that would be to their benefit come Selection Sunday in March. Texas rose to being ranked the 16th team in the country following a win over North Carolina in late November before dropping three consecutive games to Michigan St., then at home against Redford and Virginia Commonwealth (VCU), head coach Shaka Smart last location. The Longhorns rebounded with a couple victories since that losing streak, defending their home court, defeating Purdue and Grand Canyon. They enter the game at 7-3 led in scoring by senior combo guard Kerwin  Roach (14.3 points, 39.3 field goal percentage). An explosive athlete, Roach operates as a primary ball handler (4.3 assists) who plays off the bounce and uses his bounce to elevate at the rim over defenders often taller than him —standing 6'4. Displaying attributes (...

In a neutral-site contest set to be played at "The World's Most Famous Arena" the feel could yield that of a matchup made for March Madness, with the talent on the floor favoring that of an NBA game. Featuring two talented teams with a combined one loss on the season and a handful of projected first round picks, provides promising play to take place under the lights in New York City. Entering the game undefeated at 10-0, Texas Tech is seen as the underdog going against a Duke squad ranked second in the country. Having began this season unranked — after ending the 2017-2018 schedule as the #14 team in the nation and losing their leading scorer in Keenan Evans, as well as first round pick Zhaire Smith — the Red Raiders have ascended to the #12 spot on the strength of a staunch defense. They currently rate tops in the country in points per game allowed, opponents field goal percentage, and defensive rating. While there are a number of complimentary scorers on the t...

(Photo Credit: Scott Walstrom/Northern Illinois Athletics) Later this evening the still early stage of the 2018 Bowl Season will resume with a matchup that deserves more attention than its received up to this point. The Boca Raton Bowl will hold serve to a couple of conference champions from the "Group of 5" in Mid-American Conference (MAC) winner, Northern Illinois and Conference USA champion, University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB).  Having had their football program shut down for two seasons before picking up play again just last year, 2017, the Blazers from UAB are a remarkable story. Powered by a top ten scoring defense in the country (holding opponents to 17.3 points per game) they come into the game at 10-3. Having dropped it's previous two games ahead of their conference championship appearance, to Texas A&M and in-conference foe Middle Tennessee State, they redeemed themselves against the latter opponent 27-25 to earn the Conference USA (C-USA) t...

Monday, December 17th: #18 Arizona St. @ Vanderbilt (7 PM EST) Tipping off the week of play will be a fascinating matchup pitting two quality NCAA Tournament-caliber teams, accentuated by each program's fab freshmen from Canada in Luguentz Dort and Simisola Shittu.  Leading Arizona State (8-1) in scoring at 20.9 points per game, Dort has established himself as a go-to option immediately at the college level. The 6'4, 215 powerful combo guard — with a physical build akin to former Sun Devil and reigning NBA MVP James Harden — plays with a high intensity and subtle but fiery passion on both ends of the floor (2.0 steals per game). Possessing a consistent tendency to attack the defense, determined to do so with a downhill direction, he draws plenty of contact — as it reflects through his regular appearance at the free throw line (8.6 free throw attempts per game, 63.6 FT%).  Though seemingly most comfortable when able to defeat the defense off the dribble, Dort ha...