The Jimmy V Classic is the last of the major college basketball events at MSG during the fall. This year’s duo of games pitted Davidson against West Virginia and Texas against Villanova.Stephen Curry was doing a much better job at running the offense than he'd shown against Oklahoma, but he couldn’t find his shot. Other than some scoring from Andrew Lovedale and tough team defense, Davidson wasn’t bringing much else to the table. West Virginia lost Joe Mazulla to a shoulder injury in the first half and Alex Ruoff wasn't suited up, so they weren't able to take advantage of Curry's poor shooting. The question still boiled on the surface. How can Davidson win when Curry doesn't shoot well??
Somehow Davidson managed to hang around and Curry went off in the last few minutes, making all four shots with three from distance. I don't see that happening against other teams who score more prominently than West Virgina. It's the same problem they would've had in last year's NCAA tournament, but Curry was scorching hot and it wasn't an issue. This would all apply next March as well. Davidson has two more chances to prove themselves on a national stage. They face Purdue, a team known for it's perimeter defence, and Duke. Duke's scoring would be too much to handle if Curry's cold, but they should be able to hang with Purdue. We'll check back in with West Virginia once they have their full complement of players back.
Other than A.J. Abrams, Texas doesn't have much for outside shooters. Damion James was pulling the trigger late in the game and hit his shots, but he was cautious earlier on. I'd definitely try to zone these guys up. Justin Mason had a better handle than I expected him to have, but he's extremely hesitant to shoot from the outside. It would be worth opponents pressing them to see how well Mason can handle it. Dexter Pittman is strong on the inside. He finished well around the rim, but Nova didn't have size to deter him. Gary Johnson is also unafraid to play big inside. His foul shooting is rather mediocre, however, which presents an issue for anyone who constantly attacks the rim. Texas' foul shooting was rather poor all around. They shot 11 of 24 from the charity stripe. Wow! Conor Atchley is a waste without Augustin running the pick and roll. Zero points and rebounds are embarrassing statistics from him. Clint Chapman is a sack of shit and plays like a huge pussy despite his size.
Nova struggled to run their offense. It's nice to see Dante Cunnigham has refined his game and is now the team's best scorer in his senior year. He's become a nice post threat, reminding some of Kurt Thomas, but he might struggle against bigger physical players. Scottie Reynolds was highly disappointing. Corey Fisher was in the game with Reynolds a lot, which should free up Reynolds off the ball, but Jay Wright continued to have Reynolds bring up the ball. Corey Stokes started strong, but faded in the second half. Without Reynolds scoring, someone needed to step off, and Stokes was unable to do so. I could see these guys getting killed by a more physical team because they don't have the all around skill level to overcome that. Their #15 ranking was purely a result of a mediocre schedule.
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