Saturday’s stock watch: Who’s rising and falling?

February 4, 2012   ·   0 Comments

Saturday’s stock watch: Who’s rising and falling?

Here’s a look at some of the players and teams whose stock has risen and fallen on a busy Saturday in college hoops. Check back because this file will be updated throughout the day:

Stock up: Florida

There no longer should be any question who the top challenger to Kentucky is in the SEC this season. Florida (19-4, 7-1) stayed one game behind the Wildcats and put two games between itself and third-place Mississippi State and Vanderbilt on Saturday with a 73-65 win over the Commodores. Foul-plagued center Patric Young logged just 14 minutes and continued to struggle with lingering tendinitis in his knees, but guards Bradley Beal and Kenny Boynton made up for it by combining for 34 points. The Gators also forced 17 Vanderbilt turnovers with their pressure off made baskets, winning for the seventh straight time after opening SEC play with a loss to Tennessee.

Stock Down: South Florida

If Saturday’s visit to Georgetown was a litmus test for whether South Florida’s 6-3 Big East start was legitimate or not, then the answer appears to be a resounding “no.” The Bulls (13-10, 6-4) had just five points in the opening 15 minutes, 15 points at halftime and 19 points with 12 minutes left in the game en route to an ugly 75-45 loss. Credit South Florida for improving enough to beat up on the Big East’s lesser teams this season like St. John’s, DePaul, Providence, but the Bulls lack the firepower to be competitive with the Big East’s upper echelon. They’re 16th in the league in scoring and 13th in points per possession, deficiencies that will catch up with them during a back-loaded Big East schedule.

Stock up: Jared Sullinger

If the consensus entering the weekend had been that Kansas forward Thomas Robinson held a slight edge in the national player of the year race, then Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger likely made up some ground Saturday against Wisconsin. The sophomore played all 40 minutes at Wisconsin, scoring 24 points, grabbing 10 boards and tallying three steals to lead the Buckeyes to a 58-52 victory at Wisconsin. The victory took on added significance for Ohio State since it was Thad Matta’s first-ever win at the Kohl Center and it avenged the Buckeyes’ first loss of the season last year. It also helped Ohio State extend its Big Ten lead to a full game over second-place Michigan.

Stock down: Arkansas

Arkansas’ 16-7 record features marquee wins over Michigan, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, yet it’s tough to take the Razorbacks seriously as a NCAA contender since they’re still winless away from home. A 71-65 loss at middling LSU on Saturday dropped Arkansas to 0-6 in true road games in addition to a neutral-court loss to Houston. In some ways, the loss to the Tigers was an improvement for the Razorbacks since they stayed competitive until the final buzzer by holding LSU to 41.4 percent shooting. Before Saturday, opposing teams were averaging 53.1 percent shooting and 1.11 points per possession against Arkansas away from Bud Walton Arena, both more than 20 percent higher than the Razorbacks’ season totals at home.

Stock up: Notre Dame

When Notre Dame struggled in non-conference play after losing star Tim Abromaitis to a season-ending knee injury, it looked as though just finishing in the upper half of the Big East would be too daunting a challenge. Now the Irish (15-8, 7-3) are within a half game of second place in the league thanks to victories over the likes of Syracuse, Louisville, UConn and Marquette. Saturday’s 76-59 home victory over the Golden Eagles was especially impressive because Notre Dame held Marquette to sub-40 percent shooting and received an offensive spark from a key reserve. Freshman Pat Connaughton scored 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting and 5-for-8 from behind the arc.

Stock down: Xavier

For 34 minutes on Saturday, Xavier outplayed Memphis on its home floor and appeared to be in position to secure its biggest win since the Dec. 10 brawl against Cincinnati. Then the Musketeers went ice-cold, surrendered too many transition opportunities off missed shots and blew an 11-point lead in the final six minutes to lose 72-68. Credit Memphis for its resilience and improved defense down the stretch, but the 17-1 Tigers run was aided by Xavier’s gambling defense and poor shot selection. Now the Musketeers (15-8, 6-3) are slipping toward the bubble since their best win since an 8-0 start came at home against St. Joseph’s.

Stock up: Fab Melo

It was a fast-paced game against a lesser team in a very friendly road environment, but Syracuse’s 95-70 throttling of St. John’s still highlighted how much the Orange missed Fab Melo the past two weeks. Melo, who missed the last three games due to an academic issue stemming from his first semester grades, scored a career-high 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting. The 7-foot sophomore also altered shots in the middle of Syracuse’s trademark two-three zone, enabling his team’s perimeter defenders to deny passes and go for steals with confidence that they had help in the middle if they got beat off the dribble. Syracuse’s wayward three-point shooting is still a concern but with Melo this is a team more capable of overcoming that flaw.

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