College Basketball Week in Review: The SEC Could Be Really Bad

GAME OF THE WEEK:
Duke 82, Rhode Island 79
The Rhody Rams were up for most of the game, and Jimmy Baron did his best Stephen Curry imitation in the second half, but the Blue Devils were too much down the stretch. It took a while for Duke to wake up at the start of the game as Rhode Island built up a 12 point lead in the first half, but the Devils used suffocating defensive pressure to force URI out of its offense rhythm and make an 11-0 run to end the half. The Rams were able to keep a slim lead for most of the second half, mainly due to Baron. As Duke started to get it going offensively, it seemed like Baron would respond to every Duke basket with a three (he hit seven of them in the second half). It was an incredible performance by the coaches son, who hit some ridiculously tough shots during that stretch. Duke was down 79-78 with 19.4 seconds left when Kyle Singler knocked down two free throws for the lead. Baron air balled a tough, fade away jumper, and Jon Scheyer hit two free throws for the final margin. Baron finished with 24 points, while Delroy Jones added 21 for the Rams. Singler had 21, 5 boards, and 5 assists, while Scheyer poured in a team-high 23.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Manny Harris, Michigan
Harris, who despite averaging 16.1 ppg last season as a freshman, flew under the radar nationally. Harris was phenomenal in his first two games of the Coaches vs. Cancer pre-season tourney. Against Michigan Tech, he went for a career high 30 points, while also grabbing 7 rebounds. Harris was even better the next night against Northeastern, coming up two assists shy of his first triple-double. All told, Harris finished the night was 26 points, 10 boards, and 8 dimes. For the week, Harris posted averages of 28.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, and 5.0 apg while shooting 67% from the floor, 57% from deep, and 87% from the line.

TEAMS OF THE WEEK:
VMI and Mercer
For the second straight year, Kentucky lost to an unranked, low-major conference opponent on their home floor. Last year it was Gardner-Webb. This season it was VMI. The Keydets used terrific three point shooting and forced Kentucky into 13 turnovers in the first 11 minutes as they built a lead that at one time grew to 26 points. The Wildcats would come all the way back and take a lead late, but the Keydets would make a run at the end to win it 111-103. VMI finished the week 1-1 after losing to Virginia on Sunday, 107-97. Mercer went 2-0 on the week, with their big win coming Sunday against Alabama, the second straight season that they have beaten a major conference opponent (USC). The Bears got a lay-up from Calvin Henry with 13 seconds left to take the lead, and James Florence stole the ball on the next Tide possession, sealing the win. Florence finished with 23 points. Mercer beat Piedmont 89-63 in their first game.

MATCH-UPS OF THE WEEK:
11/17 - Miami OH @ Pitt: Miami OH gave UCLA all they could handle in a defensive battle in Pauley Pavilion. This one should be another slugfest, as Pitt plays slower and more physically than UCLA.

11/17 - UMass @ Memphis: Not only is this game the first game of the college basketball tip-off extravaganza, but it is the homecoming of former Memphis assistant Derek Kellogg, who left Memphis this off-season for the head coaching job at UMass. Both teams play the same style, so expect a fast pace and a lot of scoring.

11/18 - Kentucky @ UNC: Kentucky is coming off of a loss to VMI where Patrick Patterson failed to show up. But UNC is depleted by injuries (Hansbrough, Ginyard, Frasor's coming off a sore ankle). It would have been great to see Patterson and Hansbrough mix it up.

11/18 - Tennessee-Martin @ Tennessee: Definitely worth it to watch stat-stuffer Lester Hudson from the UT-Martin Skyhawks play.

11/20 - UCLA vs. Michigan; Duke vs. Southern Illinois: A couple intriguing match-ups in the CvC semi's. It will be interesting to see Manny Harris go up against a vaunted Bruin defense. And coming off a near-upset from Rhode Island, Duke will face Southern Illinois and their stingy defense. The finals the following night will pit the winner's against each other.

11/21 - Winthrop @ Davidson: Two mid-major powerhouse programs do battle. Winthrop has dominated the Big South this decade, while Davidson ran through the Southern Conference the last two years.