The Weekly Breakdown: Week 6 - A Clearing In The Middle

The Weekly Breakdown is our series that looks at the conference game action of the previous week. It contains a unique take on every team in the league. Teams are listed in order of their current in-conference Efficiency Margin.

The Efficiency Margin standings this week are fairly reflective of the actual win-loss standings this week. Therefore, there are few anomalies that need discussing. One note is worth mentioning, however. Though South Dakota State has two league losses, it has more or less beat up on conference opponents at the same clip as Oral Roberts. The SDSU-ORU game on Thursday will be as "must-watch" of a game as we'll see until March.

So that's where we stand as of the games played through Saturday, January 28. Now let's get to the individual teams.

Oral Roberts (12-0) Last week (home): W vs. USD | W vs. UMKC

In attempting to get its defensive efficiency back to a championship-level, Oral Roberts received exactly what it needed: a homestand against USD and UMKC. Those teams have some of the worst offenses in the league, so it is a positive sign to see that ORU held them to a combined 0.91 points per trip last weekend.

The Golden Eagles have won games in a variety of ways this season, where at the end of the day what the stats tell us may not matter much. When you have a core of upperclassmen playing with supreme confidence -- and bench guys who are making all their threes or throwing down dunks that make SportsCenter's Top 10 plays -- you have a team that wins 20 games before February 1.

South Dakota State (9-2) Last week (away): L vs. OU | W vs. IPFW

If you're a South Dakota State fan and concerned that the team dropped a game at Oakland, don't be alarmed. SDSU did a solid job of containing Reggie Hamilton, but Travis Bader just had one of those once-in-a-career nights from beyond the arc that proved insurmountable for the Jackrabbits. Coach Nagy has made quality adjustments all season long, and whatever ailments the Jacks had defending the perimeter against Oakland were cured against IPFW. The Mastodons made just 2-of-17 shots from beyond the arc. On the strength of its perimeter defense, SDSU put together the top defensive performance we've seen thus far in league play -- and it's not even close. Here are the top 10 defensive performances:

What strikes most about SDSU's performance is that it came on the road. Only one other team can claim a top-10 defensive performance away from its home. Moreover, it's also worth noting that this performance didn't come against South Dakota. As we can see, USD has had plenty of brutal showings this season.

North Dakota State (7-4) Last week (away): L vs. IPFW | W vs. OU

If you've watched North Dakota State this season, you know there are some guys on the team who can throw down dunks. TrayVonn Wright steals the show with his highlight-reel leaping ability, but there are several other players on the squad who can dunk with the best of them, too. Adrian Atkinson of HoopSpeakU has done some great work on dunks (and athletic ability), using play-by-play sheets to tally the feats in assorted major conferences. I have been doing the same for the Summit League with the hope of replicating some of his work in all its pace-adjusted glory, but for the time being I put together a chart that simply counts up the number of dunks Summit League teams have completed thus far in conference play.

NDSU is clearly above the rest of the competition.

Western Illinois (6-5) Last week (home):  W vs. IUPUI

The Leathernecks won their lone game of the week in dramatic fashion as freshman Remy Roberts-Burnett hit a game-winning three-pointer that had Western Hall going bananas. Just check out the video. Of course, credit must also go to Ceola Clark III for finding the open man through the outstretched arms of an IUPUI double team, but Roberts-Burnett knocked down the improbable shot. Just how improbable was his make? On the season, the rookie had been 0-of-3 from beyond the arc. In other words, he had yet to make a three-pointer in college. Moreover, that was the first shot of any kind -- free throw or field goal -- that he had attempted in the final four minutes of a close league game (there were five other games of this sort). If there was a guy to leave open, IUPUI picked the right one, but unfortunately for the Jags, Roberts-Burnett made them pay.

In another improbable end-of-game situation, it was Lawrence Alexander who hit the game-winning three-pointer for North Dakota State at Oakland on Saturday night (video). The freshman point guard entered the game as a 22 percent three-point shooter -- or 16 percentage points off the league average for a guard. He was also 0-of-3 from deep in the final four minutes of six prior league games considered "close." Oakland and IUPUI learned a tough lesson that even inaccurate young bucks can hit big shots when they're left wide open.

Southern Utah (7-5) Last week (home): W vs. UMKC | W vs. USD

Even though Southern Utah is below-average in offensive efficiency, its defense is very much on the verge of becoming elite. What's impressive about it is that it's not predicated on forcing turnovers, limiting second-chance opportunities, or refraining from fouling; nope, the Thunderbirds simply make their opponents miss shots. Opposing squads are shooting just 31 percent from beyond the arc and 48 percent from inside the arc, which are marks good enough for first and second in the league, respectively. Amazingly, teams are also making a league-worst 69 percent from the charity stripe against these guys as well. Perhaps all those missed field goal attempts psychs out opponents at the free throw line!

Oakland (6-6) Last week (home): W vs. SDSU | L vs. NDSU

Oakland's perimeter defense has been suspect all season, but its performance this weekend was particularly miserable. SDSU and NDSU went a combined 24-of-49 (49 percent) from beyond the arc at the O'rena. All of those three-point makes has given Oakland one of the worst defensive effective field goal percentages in the country (EFG% weights three-pointers). In fact, the team is currently ranked at 342 out of 345 Division I teams. That stands as one of the worst marks ever by a team in the Summit League era.

Yes, the Oakland defense is allowing a higher effective field goal percentage than the one-win Centenary team from last season.

IUPUI (2-9) Last week (away): L vs. WIU

Last week I wrote that it was "hard to find many positives with this squad." The same applies this week.

UMKC (3-9) Last week (away): L vs. SUU |  L vs. ORU

Carter Williams, who does a superb job covering Southern Utah hoops for the SUU News, Tweeted out this interesting fact from UMKC's game in Cedar City: "In the second half, SUU blocked more UMKC shots than UMKC actually made." Yikes! It is true that the Kangaroos get their shots blocked more than any other Summit League team. According to KenPom.com, nearly 12 percent of their offensive possessions end in a blocked shot.

IPFW (4-8) Last week (home):  W vs. NDSU | L vs. SDSU

Efficiency Margin doesn't like IPFW much. And a big reason why is because the team has been on the receiving end of a number of thorough beatdowns, including Saturday's 43-74 loss at the hands of South Dakota State. Despite that fact, the Mastodons have a better record than their Efficiency Margin would suggest. Their win over NDSU last week will go a long way to protecting them from being left out of the Summit League tournament.

South Dakota (2-10) Last week (away): L vs. ORU |  L vs. SUU

The Coyotes may be struggling, but they are still drawing more And-1 opportunities than any other team in the conference. They are the only squad in the league that has three guys who have drawn at least seven And-1s: Charlie Westbrook (10), Trevor Gruis (8), and Louie Krogman (7).

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That's it for this week's Weekly Breakdown. Please tell your friends about it. And check back for more next week.

The League Slate (Thursday 1/26): Return Of The Blowout?

The League Slate is our preview series that looks at the conference games of the night. It is posted on the morning of league games (usually Thursdays and Saturdays). Games are listed in order of start time.

Tonight's league games could be ugly. A week after we saw games between several evenly-matched teams, tonight's action may feature a blowout or two ... or three.

North Dakota State (6-3) at IPFW (3-7) 7:00 p.m. ET

Key Storyline: North Dakota State has hit its first rough patch of the season, losing two-straight in games at North Dakota and home against South Dakota State. How will this young team rebound on the road in the face of a bit of adversity?

South Dakota State (8-1) at Oakland (5-5) 8:00 p.m. ET

Key Storyline: South Dakota State has had a season of many "firsts" in 2011-12. Will the team extend that trend even further in picking up its first victory inside of Oakland's O'rena?

South Dakota (2-8) at Oral Roberts (10-0) 8:05 p.m. ET

Key Storyline: Oral Roberts has been engaged in a few shoot-outs at the Mabee Center in recent weeks, but this game offers a chance to showcase it can still lockdown defensively like in non-conference play. USD owns the league's worst per-possession offense.

UMKC (3-7) at Southern Utah (5-5) 9:00 p.m. ET

Key Storyline: The Kangaroos swept their homestand last weekend, which is a task that was aided greatly by the return of forward Trinity Hall. Now Hall and company will head to play a solid Southern Utah team that has had trouble winning on its home court. This homestand could make or break SUU's season.

The Weekly Breakdown: Week 5 - Resisting Blowouts

The Weekly Breakdown is our series that looks at the conference game action of the previous week. It contains a unique take on every team in the league. Teams are listed in order of their current in-conference Efficiency Margin.

For the first time this season, there wasn't a major shake-up in the Efficiency Margin standings. The top-six remains as it was last week, while UMKC jumped the two Indiana-based schools after putting together a strong homestand. The reason for the standstill is the balance that we had in the league schedule last week. Most of the match-ups featured evenly matched teams, and the previously most overmatched teams -- South Dakota and UMKC -- were at least playing at home. As a result, blowouts were few and far between last week.

So that's where we stand as of the games played through Saturday, January 21. Now let's get to the individual teams.

South Dakota State (8-1) Last week (away): W vs. NDSU

The Jackrabbits have had a number of monkeys on their back since joining The Summit League. At first, they had a tough time winning games, period. After learning to win in Brookings, they still struggled to put together a winning season due to an inability to win on the road. In 2009-10, the Jacks finally picked up a few road wins, and then last season they went 8-6 on the road in league play. But what prevented them from taking the next step was an inability to beat the league's top teams, namely IUPUI, Oakland, and Oral Roberts. They've slowly but surely gotten that monkey off their back, beating both IUPUI and Oakland this year. And they'll get ORU in Brookings in two weeks. But the biggest monkey over the last few years has been North Dakota State, which had beat SDSU 10-straight times heading into this season. Finally, on Saturday night, the Jacks dropped the Bison, in Fargo no less. It has taken the South Dakota State program a few years to get to this point, but by putting all of these stepping stones behind them, there's now just one thing on which to focus: the league championship.

Oral Roberts (10-0) Last week (home): W vs. IPFW | W vs. OU

Despite possessing the most efficient offense in the league, Oral Roberts still finds itself at No. 2 in the Efficiency Margin standings due its middling defensive efficiency. We know that ORU is capable of putting together strong defensive performances based on its non-conference results, but those performances have gone by the wayside as the offense has come along. Of course, the Golden Eagles have mastered the art of the shoot-out, or so it seems based on the outcomes of their home games against North Dakota State and Oakland. And while Oakland won the league race last season while partaking in a number of shoot-outs itself, that team did possess the No. 1 defense in the league, too. Here's a look at where some of the previous conference tournament champions have ranked at season's end in defensive efficiency:

We can't make a blanket statement that only the great defensive teams win the league tournament, but it's pretty darn close. It's still early, but if ORU continues to win games with its elite offense and average defense, it could go down as one of two outliers in the past seven seasons to defy the "defense wins championships" convention.

North Dakota State (6-3) Last week (home): L vs. SDSU

North Dakota State has two great offensive traits: tremendous accuracy from inside the arc and a league-leading ability to get to the free throw line. Those characteristics help conceal the fact that the Bison cough up the ball at a league-worst rate. We could look at this in two ways. First, NDSU is a very young team, and inexperienced squads tend to make more mistakes. Second, the Bison get a lot of their scoring by driving to the basket, which puts a player in a position to cough the ball up at an increased rate. Of course, this trait hasn't hindered them much, but it is something to keep an eye on as the season goes on, especially in a league that has been fairly strong at retaining possession of the ball. The following table shows the turnover rate for each team in the Summit League.

As you can see, the Summit League as a whole has an average turnover rate well under the national average. Only NDSU sits above the D-I mean.

Western Illinois (5-5) Last week (away):  L vs. UMKC | W vs. USD

I dedicated a lot of words to Western Illinois last week, including this piece about how pace discrimination could lead us to undervalue the per-game stats of its players. So let's keep this blurb short. Despite a terrible loss at UMKC on Thursday, don't count out the Leathernecks. That was their first lapse of the season, and they rebounded with an ugly win over South Dakota. The key for them going forward is to maintain their defensive toughness because their offense is too hot-and-cold for them to allow a team to get hot from the field.

Southern Utah (5-5) Last week (home): L vs. OU | W vs. IPFW

One of the website's readers submitted a question about Efficiency Margin splits between home and away games. While these splits are still not fully formed because not everyone has played everyone home and away, it can be interesting to see how teams performed in the first half of the season. The following table presents "home" Efficiency Margin less "away" Efficiency Margin for each team through week 5 (league games only). The higher, the better.

Oddly enough, Southern Utah is the lone team that has been better on the road than at home. The Thunderbirds are just 1-3 at home and 4-2 on the road. It's also worth noting that SDSU and NDSU have been the most dominant home teams. Again, part of that is due to the schedule they've played at home; we'd expect those numbers to come down after teams like ORU, SUU, and WIU come to town.

Thanks to reader NorCalJack for submitting the question. You can too by clicking here!

Oakland (5-5) Last week (away): W vs. SUU | L vs. ORU

Our next reader question comes from Jrad5221, who wonders how Oakland's big men have fared this season. The big men in question, redshirt freshmen Corey Petros and Kyle Sikora, have had the unenviable task of trying to replace last year's dominant duo of Will Hudson and Keith Benson. Of course, two redshirt freshmen would have a hard time replacing the production of Hudson and Benson, but when evaluated against the performance of similarly-positioned freshmen from past years, they've done alright. Here's a look at how Corey Petros compares in several tempo-free statistical categories to similar Summit League freshmen over the last few years:

The good news? Petros has performed at a similar level as last year's freshmen studs Marshall Bjorklund and Jordan Dykstra, and he's done it while playing significantly more minutes. The bad news? Neither of those players have taken much of a leap in 2011-12. They're solid players who would fit on any team in the league, but they've yet to develop a dominanting presence. Of course, Oakland fans will flock to the comparison to Will Hudson. Even as a freshman in limited minutes, Hudson was stellar on the offensive glass. But keep in mind he didn't truly breakout as a producer of points until his final season.

Now let's look at some comparisons for Kyle Sikora, the 7-footer who has been starting for Oakland in recent weeks.

Very few 7-footers have become legitimate contributors in the Summit League in recent years. NDSU's Jordan Aaberg has shown some flashes this season, and Sikora's freshman figures compare favorably with his up to this point. Having a guy like that to come off the bench is a positive in this league. James Granstra, who eventually became a solid producer for Western Illinois, is another who had a freshman season comparable to Sikora's. If Sikora followed Granstra's career-arc, he'd become a solid 10-point, 6-rebound starter with shot-blocking ability. The gold standard here is Keith Benson. The former OU standout is the only one here who had a plus-100 offensive rating in his first-year, and his defensive rebounding percentage is indicative of just how strong of a force he became on the defensive glass. Sikora's ceiling remains high, but so too do the range of possibilities on the low end. Fortunately for Oakland fans, the coaching staff there has a solid history of developing big men.

Thanks to Jrad5211 for the question. If you want to submit one for future use, learn how here.

UMKC (3-7) Last week (home): W vs. WIU |  W vs. IUPUI

The biggest difference for UMKC this week? A healthy Trinity Hall. The Roos had been without their starting swingman since the end of December, and it showed. Hall has the ability to create his own shot, and he's capable of getting rebounds at a decent clip. With him playing heavy minutes for the first time in almost a month, the Roos were able to get a few close-range buckets and a few more rebounds than normal. Hall was 8-of-10 on two-pointers and 2-of-5 from beyond the arc this week. He also chipped in 7.5 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-7 sophomore's return gave UMKC the boost it needed to protect its home court last week. Perhaps the team's season isn't lost after all.

IUPUI (2-8) Last week (away): L vs. USD | L vs. UMKC

Losers of six straight, the Jaguars now find themselves sitting in ninth place in the league standings. If the regular season ended today, so too would their season. It's astounding to think of a Summit League tournament without the Jags -- they've just been that consistent over the last decade or so. Right now, it's hard to find many positives with this squad.

IPFW (3-7) Last week (away):  L vs. ORU | L vs. SUU

Since he was injured at the beginning of the month, Trey McCorkle just hasn't been the same player. During non-conference play he was playing very well on the offensive end, and he was rebounding at a career-high rate. Over the last four games, the senior center has tallied just 20 points and 11 rebounds. IPFW can't compete if McCorkle isn't producing. Here's to hoping that whatever is ailing the big fella will fall by the wayside soon.

South Dakota (2-8) Last week (home): W vs. IUPUI |  L vs. WIU

The RPI doesn't mean a whole lot for teams that are not contending for a spot in the NCAA tournament, where RPI is one of the indicators used to determine seeding, but it does matter for symbolic reasons when judging the relative strength of conferences. Even though South Dakota is having a less-than-stellar season, its RPI currently sits at 277, which is a major improvement over previous cellar dwellars in the Summit League. Last season, two teams finished over 300 in the RPI (WIU, 336; Centenary, 342). In 2009-10, Centenary finished at 314; Southern Utah at 328. USD has helped to elevate the league in the conference RPI standings even as the team has struggled this season.

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That's it for this week's Weekly Breakdown. Please tell your friends about it. And check back for more next week.

The League Slate (Thursday 1/19): The Last New Meetings

The League Slate is our preview series that looks at the conference games of the night. It is posted on the morning of league games (usually Thursdays and Saturdays). Games are listed in order of start time.

The League Slate is getting a slight makeover now that the halfway point of the league season is upon us. After this weekend, every team will have played every other team at least once, and so instead of breaking down each team in the match-up for a second time, we'll be offering a key storyline for each game in a short and sweet manner. (Don't forget you can submit questions for inclusion in our next Weekly Breakdown post - read about it here.)

IUPUI (2-6) at South Dakota (1-7) 8:00 p.m. ET

Key Storyline: With half of the league games remaining, any team can go on a nice run to improve its positioning in the standings. IUPUI has three experienced seniors and improving freshman, but the pieces have yet to come together fully this year. USD is ineligible for the conference tournament, but IUPUI has to start winning games it if wants to avoid having to entertain the thought of being the lone eligible team left out.

IPFW (3-5) at Oral Roberts (8-0) 8:05 p.m. ET

Key Storyline: Oral Roberts is undefeated in league play, and a win over IPFW will mean it will have beaten every squad in the league on the first go-around. A letdown seems unlikely tonight for this confident, talented, and experienced Golden Eagles squad.

Western Illinois (4-4) at UMKC (1-7) 8:05 p.m. ET

Key Storyline: Western Illinois dropped two home games last week, which had Coach Jim Molinari questioning the team's toughness. They'll need to get back to playing tough to generate a win against a UMKC squad that is desperate to save its own season from the cellar.

Oakland (4-4) at Southern Utah (4-4) 9:00 p.m. ET

Key Storyline: Southern Utah begins a four-game homestand after playing six of its first eight games on the road. The Thunderbirds will be fired up in hopes of starting a win streak to help them stay in the race for a good seed come March. Oakland has won two-straight in convincing fashion after experiencing a bit of a tailspin in late December and early January. Expecting a battle in Cedar City.

Reader Questions: Submit Them Now!

Since we're at the halfway point of league play, I thought it'd be a good time to thank everyone who has stopped by to read Summit Madness this season. Whether you stop by everyday, occasionally click a link from Twitter, or read when there is a piece about your favorite team, every view is much appreciated. Moving forward, I'd like to get some help from you all in the form of reader-submitted questions.

Our most popular post series, the Weekly Breakdown, requires a lot of work and thought in order to discover something original to write on for each team. To make this process a bit more community-driven, I'm hoping to hear from you what you would like to read about in these posts. If there are enough questions, I may make a standalone Q&A post. But for now let's assume that some discussion of your question would occur in the Weekly Breakdown.

So what do you want to know about your favorite team, player, or coach? Or a rival team? Or the league in general? I've covered a lot of different topics in the Weekly Breakdowns so far, and do keep in mind that I keep a number of original stats, including And-1 rates, point guard assist tracking, player performance in crunch time, shot creation data, and points per steal. I also have some original team-level stats, such as points per effective possession. Of course, your questions don't have to be numbers-related.

If you'd like to submit a question, please do so in any of the following ways:

E-mail: corey (at) summitmadness.com
Twitter: @SummitMadness
Or post a comment in the comment box below.

Thanks again for reading the website. I look forward to hearing from you.

Ceola Clark, Terell Parks, And The Opportunity For "Pace Discrimination"

Two weeks ago advanced stats overlord Ken Pomeroy wrote a piece on the case for Virginia's Mike Scott as an All-American candidate. Scott's name had not been coming up in the conversation of the country's top players mainly because his per-game averages were not outstanding. As Pomeroy notes:

There always seems to be that one guy that is having a large impact but fails to get the proper recognition because his team plays at a very slow pace and thus said player is unable to accumulate the shiny counting stats that other big-time players use to get the media’s attention.

Scott's team is one of the slowest in the nation. The Cavaliers average about 60 possessions per game, which is seven-to-eight possessions lower than the Division I average. Therefore, Scott has about seven-to-eight less possessions per game with which he can use to help his team score, rebound, etc. As a result, his per-game numbers don't stand out like those of players on teams that play at a quicker pace. So Pomeroy utilized a number of advanced metrics to show that when tempo is accounted for, Scott is indeed as much of a stud All-American candidate as guys who put up big box score numbers.

Reading that piece prompted me to take a similar look at players from the Summit League's slowest team, Western Illinois. Jim Molinari's squads always play at a slow pace, which is no different this season. Through eight conference games, WIU is averaging a league-low 60 possessions per game, while the league-wide average is 67.3 possessions per game. As a result, when we evaluate the per-game averages from the Leatherneck players, there is potential for "pace discrimination," or the chance that guys could be overlooked because their per-game averages may not pop off the page, a la Mike Scott at Virginia. This is especially true for senior guard Ceola Clark III.

Clark is a known commodity in the Summit League. He is a former First Team selection and Defensive Player of the Year. Folks around the league generally know that he is the guy who makes Western Illinois "go." And yet this season, with seemingly every team leader in the Summit scoring 20 points per game, Clark has not generated much admiration, at least among fans. This may be because of pace discrimination. Like Scott, Clark has about seven-to-eight less possessions to work with per game than most of his counterparts. In order to showcase the impact this can make on his per-game stats, I put together the following table that compares the standard per-game stats to the pace-adjusted stats for four of the league's best guards.

Clark gets a sizable boost across the categories when we look at his pace-adjusted stats. Making such a comparison can help us see just how much of an impact a team's pace can have on a player's per-game stats. Reggie Hamilton, who plays on the league's fastest-paced squad, gets an adjustment in the opposite direction of Clark. The pace-adjusted stats of Nate Wolters and Reggie Chamberlain are largely the same as the standard stats because their respective teams average the league-wide average of possessions per game. So while Clark still isn't as prolific of a scorer as the other three guys, his pace-adjusted stats show that he is just as strong across the board as some of the league's more heralded names.

With all of that said, perhaps the most impressive player on the WIU roster this season -- after accounting for the team's pace -- has been Terell Parks. Consider the following table presenting key in-league averages for some of the better scoring and rebounding big men in the league this season:

Playing on the league's most possession-deficient team, Parks leads the league in standard points, rebounds, and blocks per game! His team has about eight fewer possessions per game than the average team, yet he still manages to post better numbers than his competitors. That's an astounding feat, to say the least. ORU's Michael Craion, playing on the second slowest team in the league, also gets kudos for the numbers he posts on fewer possessions. But Parks has been a step ahead of his league counterparts this season, including on the defensive end where he is second in the league in blocks per game while anchoring the top two-point field goal defense. As a junior college transfer, Parks will likely be a candidate for Newcomer of the Year, but he's also putting together a season that screams "All-League First Team selection."

We're just halfway through conference play, so there is still plenty of time for players to make a case that they are among the elite players in the league. As we move forward, hopefully this article will help us all avoid overlooking players because of the pace at which their teams play.

The Weekly Breakdown: Week 4 - Halfway There

The Weekly Breakdown is our series that looks at the conference game action of the previous week. It contains a unique take on every team in the league. Teams are listed in order of their current in-conference Efficiency Margin.

We're now at the halfway point of league play, and with that we can see some definite tiers forming in the standings. Oral Roberts (8-0) is unscathed, but South Dakota State (7-1) and North Dakota State (6-2) are lurking. Oakland, Southern Utah, and Western Illinois (all 4-4) are battling for the league's middle spots, while IPFW (3-5) and IUPUI (2-6) are bringing up the rear in terms of competition for the last spots in the league tournament. Those realities are reflected in our updated Efficiency Margin rankings:

So that's where we stand as of the games played through Saturday, January 15. Now let's get to the individual teams.

South Dakota State (7-1) Last week (home): W vs. USD |  W vs. UMKC

Despite owning a loss to Oral Roberts, South Dakota State jumps to the No. 1 spot here due to the gift that has become the USD-UMKC homestand. Summit League squads have made a habit of beating up on the Yotes and the Roos this season, and it just so happens that the Jackrabbits are the best at pummeling lesser opponents. They are 11-3 against teams ranked above 100 in the KenPom.com ratings, and they've outscored those teams by an impressive +0.24 points per possession. That trend has held up in league play, including last week when the Jacks held their opponents to only 0.78 points per possession. Of course, all of those beatdowns will be for naught if they can't carry over some of that defensive might into future games against top-100 opponents like Oral Roberts and North Dakota State.

Oral Roberts (8-0) Last week (away): W vs. WIU | W vs. IUPUI

The ORU-WIU game on Thursday night, won by the Golden Eagles in double overtime, was the best Summit League game I've watched this season. It had all the drama of a conference tournament game, clutch baskets from Dominique Morrison, and highlight-reel passes from Ceola Clark. Through all of that, I came away from that game most enthused by the play of Steven Roundtree. I love watching players who thrive on the offensive glass, which is something Roundtree has been especially strong at during his time at ORU. But the sophomore stud had only logged three offensive boards in five prior league games before grabbing four against Western Illinois. The following graphic showcases the series of events that led to one of his offensive rebounds and an And-1 opportunity:

Click to enlarge.

This play showcases how Roundtree relies on instinct and athleticism to battle for a board. From frame 1 to frame 2, we see that none of the WIU defenders are preparing to box out after Rod Pearson shoots a three from the near corner. Roundtree manages to out-hustle the opposition, including rebounding machine Terell Parks, to put himself in a position to grab the board in frame 3. He comes down with it and goes for the put-back in frame 4, which goes in as he is fouled by one of the three WIU players surrounding him in the paint.

Now Roundtree is a long-armed, athletic four-man, but he is stringy to say the least. While his offensive rebounding has dipped off in recent games, he's still among the league leaders for the whole season despite his small build. Just look at the size of the guys he is contending with for offensive boards, per KenPom.com:

	Player	Team	Weight	OffReb Rate
1.	Terell Parks	WIU	215	14.3%
2.	Mario Hines	IPFW	205	13.5%
3.	Michael Craion	ORU	215	13.4%
4.	Lyonell Gaines	IUPUI	217	13.2%
5.	Christian Siakam	IUPUI	245	13.0%
6.	Marshall Bjorklund	NDSU	230	12.9%
7.	Ricardo Andreotti	USD	225	12.5%
8.	Steven Roundtree	ORU	190	11.5%
9.	Corey Petros	OU	240	10.2%
10.	Taevaunn Prince	SDSU	215	10.0%

Because he lacks the bulk of the other league leaders, Roundtree relies on his keen nose for the ball. There's also no evidence to suggest his thin frame doesn't allow him to finish at a strong rate. As shown in the graphic above, the 6-foot-8 forward finished the put-back and was fouled in the process. And he currently leads the league in And-1 opportunities generated, according to my own recording. Roundtree is a special player who has the ability to rebound and finish like a bruising center. It's those skills that make him one of the most versatile players in the league and a key cog for ORU going forward.

North Dakota State (6-2) Last week (home): W vs. UMKC |  W vs. USD

First, a shout out is in order for redshirt sophomore Jordan Aaberg for notching a 15-point, 11-rebound night against USD on Saturday. The 6-foot-9 center has never tallied a double-double in his young career, and he had only scored more than 10 points twice all season. Aaberg has largely been a role player for the Bison this season as a back-up to Marshall Bjorklund, but he's been steady for the team in that role. But if his game against USD was a sign of what he can provide in the future, then he will give the team some needed depth, ensuring little drop-off when Coach Saul Phillips has to go to his bench.

Second, a note about NDSU's schedule. After hosting South Dakota on Saturday, the Bison will prepare to face in-state foe North Dakota on Tuesday in a rare January non-conference game before hosting South Dakota State on Saturday. That's a lot of Dakota teams to face in a one-week span, and it is likely the first time one of the four schools will have played the other three in such a time period since they all moved up to Division I. While the SDSU game is clearly the most important of the group, there's definitely some symbolic storylines here worth following.

Western Illinois (4-4) Last week (home):  L vs. ORU | L vs. SUU

After winning three games in Week 3, including two on the road, Western Illinois was not able to protect its home court last week. Still, the week was not without its highlights, most of which were provided by senior guard Ceola Clark. Against Oral Roberts, Clark and center Terell Parks hooked up on a number of plays that had Western Hall buzzing. That is becoming a familiar sight this season as Clark-to-Parks is one of the top duos in the league when it comes to connecting for a bucket. They have done so 16 times in conference play, which trails only Rod Pearson-to-Dominique Morrison (17 times) for best in the league. Still, a majority of Pearson's assists to Morrison have been on three-point shots, while Clark has assisted Parks on an array of close-range buckets. To show you the entertainment level of this duo, I've prepared two animated .gifs. The first shows Clark dishing across the defense to hit a streaking Parks for an easy lay-in.

The second animated .gif shows the pair connecting on a pick-and-roll situation, which they run very well together.

I also have a bonus animated .gif that shows one of the best passes I have ever seen in a game. Here, Clark throws the ball backward over his head (and the head of his defender) to hit a cutting Tommie Tyler, who quite frankly looks spooked to have received that pass. Tyler is unable to connect on the bucket, but Clark's pass is worth admiring.

Southern Utah (4-4) Last week (away): W vs. IUPUI | W vs. WIU

Southern Utah sits at a respectable 4-4, especially when one considers that six of its eight games have been played on the road. The team's record is reflective of its Efficiency Margin, which currently sits at +0.01. In other words, the Thunderbirds have been engaged in a number of very close games. In fact, six of their eight games have counted in my Clutch Gauge system, which tracks individual performance in crunch time in close games. Since that is the most instances of any team in the league, I thought today would be a great day to debut the Clutch Gauge matrix for SUU. I'll explain this a bit more in a future post, but for now the red and green text in each area of the matrix should tell you what you need to know:

The good news for the T-Birds is that they don't have any players who are irresponsibly taking a large chunk of crunch time shots, as evidenced by the lack of anyone in the top-left corner. Ray Jones Jr. and Jackson Stevenett have been serviceable in the clutch, but they are also overlooking Damon Heuir a bit in these scenarios. We must keep in mind that the sample size of this data is very small, but it can at least help us determine who may be effective options for the team in close, late game situations.

Oakland (4-4) Last week (away): W vs. IPFW

Oakland's defensive efficiency has improved enough to no longer rank last in the league, but it's still been rather weak when compared to the conference average. It seems that the fate of the Golden Grizzlies will hinge completely on their offensive. If the offense is firing as it did a week ago against IUPUI (1.21 PPP) or on Saturday against IPFW (1.30 PPP), then they will run over most opponents. If, however, they run into quality defenses -- as they will later this week at SUU and ORU -- then they'll likely be the ones getting run over. Until they show otherwise, which they haven't shown since December 17, then "blow them out or get blown out" is the assumption we'll go forward with in regards to this Oakland team.

IUPUI (2-6) Last week (home): L vs. SUU | L vs. ORU

There was a rather large free throw disparity in IUPUI's games against Oral Roberts on Saturday -- the Jags attempted 12 to ORU's 35. This difference prompted me to think more about Alex Young, who had just six free throw attempts in this game, and why he doesn't possess a stellar free throw rate. One might think that a player with Young's athleticism and driving ability would have one of the top free throw rates in the nation, yet he checks in with a rate of 39 percent -- not even high enough to generate a national rank at KenPom.com. While that rate is higher than it was for him last season, it lags behind other top players like Frank Gaines (50 percent), Nate Wolters (47 percent), and Reggie Hamilton (44 percent). So what's the deal?

For starters, Young isn't generating And-1s at the rate he did last year. In 2010-11 conference games, Young had an And-1 rate (And-1/FGA) of 7.2 percent, compared to 5.3 percent through eight games this season. This could mean that defenders have recognized his ability to finish near the rim up and are attempting to avoid committing a foul. We can't fault Young much for that, especially when we consider that 80 percent of his made two-pointers have come in the paint, compared to 20 percent on mid-range jumpers. However, Young is at least partially culpable for his lack of free trips to the line due to his unwavering reliance on a three-point shot that has failed him more often than not. As a junior, Young took just 24 percent of his shot attempts from downtown in league games, and he connected on a decent 36 percent of them. This year, he is hoisting 36 percent of his shots from beyond the arc and connecting on only 23 percent of those shots. That is not a recipe for success. If Young continues to live beyond the line that has thus far betrayed him, he is unlikely to generate many more trips to the one he should be living at -- the free throw line.

IPFW (3-5) Last week (home):  L vs. OU

While we're on the subject of And-1s, let's pay respect to Antwaun Boyd, the senior guard who became eligible for IPFW at the semester break. The 6-foot-3 guard doesn't carry a huge offensive load for the Mastodons, but he has proven to be a great finisher near the basket. He's connecting on 53 percent of his two-point attempts in league games, and he has generated five And-1s on just 37 shot attempts for an And-1 rate of 14 percent. He joins Ian Chiles of IUPUI as low-usage guys who should get a chance to drive to the hoop more often based on their ability to finish through contact. Chiles has six And-1s on just 39 two-point attempts (15 percent rate).

UMKC (1-6) Last week (away): L vs. NDSU |  L vs. SDSU

Including non-conference games, the Kangaroos have now lost eight straight games. The problem that was visible in the preseason and early non-conference games -- mainly, a lack of offensive might -- has caught up with them as of late. They've made just 18-of-60 three-point attempts (30 percent) in their last three games. Moreover, they've made only 40-of-99 two-pointers (40 percent) in that same span.

South Dakota (1-6) Last week (away): L vs. SDSU |  L vs. NDSU

After scoring 32 points on 18 shots in a win against UMKC two weeks ago, Charlie Westbrook tallied only 17 points on 28 shots in two games last week. In better individual news, Ricardo Andreotti came up huge for the Coyotes on the glass against SDSU and NDSU. He grabbed 31 boards total in the two games! Andreotti had superb rebounding rates last year when USD was in the Great West, but he had yet to really showcase that skill this season in the Summit League.

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That's it for this week's Weekly Breakdown. Please tell your friends about it. And check back for more next week.