The Daily Word: Thursday, Nov. 16 NCAA.com

CHAMPS

PRESENTED BY College basketball preview: 2. Oklahoma has had its share elite guards, regardless of who the head coach has been in Norman. But most of the time, they require development. They haven’t come in as ready-made players. Well, Trae Young will blow up that trend. He had 22 points and 13 (!) assists in a 108-69 win over Ball State. He’s averaging 18.5 points and 11.5 assists in two games. What is making Young so effective so far? “He’s very fast, passes ahead and eager to learn,’’ Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger told NCAA.com. “He makes his teammates better.’’ And that’s why the Sooners could be a top three Big 12 team this season. 3 11 3 — Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) 3. Nevada won the Mountain West Conference tournament last season and then lost to Iowa State in the NCAA tournament first round. Could this Wolf Pack team be even stronger? Possibly. The Wolf Pack are off to a 3-0 start after beating Rhode Island Sunday night. Nevada will get pushed plenty with games coming up against Davidson, at Hawaii, at Texas Tech and against TCU. What’s the difference with the offense? “We’ve got more 3-point shooting and we’re playing hard,’’ Nevada coach Eric Musselman told NCAA.com. So far, the shooters like Caleb Martin (7 of 16 on 3s), Lindsey Drew (4 of 7), Hallice Cooke (7 of 10) are giving credence to this being a more efficient 3-point shooting team and one which will be tough to defend. 4. Seton Hall is off to a fantastic start, crushing Indiana Wednesday night in the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The reason? “We really are playing unselfish basketball,’’ Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard told NCAA.com Thursday. “These guys are enjoying passing to each other.’’ And it shows. The Pirates are 3-0 because of the balance of an experienced crew with any number of players taking the baton to lead them. Against Indiana it was Desi Rodriguez, who chipped in with 23 points. Indiana is heading for a challenging season. The Hoosiers staff told NCAA.com rather bluntly Thursday, “We have to stop turning the ball over.’’ Indiana committed 19 turnovers in the loss to Indiana State, 18 in the road loss at Seton Hall. Indiana won’t be able to stay in games if that number doesn’t change. Indiana basketball: 5. Georgia Tech got closure on the suspensions of Josh Okogie (six games) and Tadric Jackson (three games) for a violation of NCAA rules for accepting extra benefits. Okogie will be back for Tennessee on Dec. 3, Jackson for North Texas on Nov. 24. So now what? Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner told NCAA.com that the onus will be on 6-10 senior Ben Lammers “to be a stud.’’ Pastner said that goes against their mantra of “open man, go-to-man, but we have no choice.’’ Lammers scored 24 points and grabbed 10 boards in the season-opening loss to UCLA. He’s capable. But the rest of the squad will have to step up as well in the absence of Okogie and Jackson. Pastner said last season’s surprising 21-win season and run to the NIT title game could be considered overachieving while this season is more of a rebuild. The Yellow Jackets are extremely young, but still talented. Freshman guard Jose Alvarado fits that description. He scored 12 and grabbed seven boards against the Bruins and will be counted on to do something similar going forward. 6. Providence desperately needs a good showing in the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden, beginning with tonight’s game against Washington. The Friars couldn’t contain Jordan Murphy, Reggie Lynch, Amir Coffey and Nate Mason throughout the second half of the 86-74 home loss Monday night. The Friars were the aggressor in the first half and made shots. Jalen Lindsey, Isaiah Jackson, Kyron Cartwright and Rodney Bullock all have the potential to bust out. They must. Hear what had to say after Monday night's game vs. — PC Men's Basketball (@PCFriarsmbb) Providence will need to get out of MSG with quality wins against at least one possible NCAA tournament team. “I feel we need to defend more with intent and purpose,’’ Providence coach Ed Cooley told NCAA.com Thursday. “We have to be able to guard the ball and rebound at elite level. And we need to find the right combinations down the stretch.’’ Champions Classic: 51 points in 50 minutes this season for .

— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) College basketball: In case you missed it, is back and they beat Vanderbilt. Check out some highlights from last night's game.

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