A lot of games to take note of this weekend. Let's start with Saturday's games, where three top 25 teams got knocked off.
Michigan 81, Duke 73: These two teams played for the second time in two weeks, but with a much different result. You can say what you want about the way Duke handled the Michigan zone or the way they defended the Wolverine's back doors, but the reason Duke lost this game was because they shot 3-29 from three in the first 37 minutes of the game (they hit four in a row down the stretch, when the game was all but decided). It is that simple. Most of them were good, open looks by the Devils good shooters (Kyle Singler, Greg Paulus, and Jon Scheyer combined to go 2-18). They just missed them. The Devils were able to get into the middle of the zone, either by pass or penetration, draw defenders and kick the ball out, the shooters just didn't make shots. And since they weren't making their three's, Michigan was able to force the Devils into making dumb passes (did anyone see the lob that Nolan Smith tried to throw to Kyle Singler over the entire UM zone from 40 feet away?) by packing in their zone. To be fair, Michigan really played well. DeShawn Sims looked like an all-american as he went for 28 and 12. The real spark for the Wolverines came off the bench in the form of Kevin Grady and Zak Novak. Grady finished with 9 points and 4 assists, the majority of which came during Michigan's surge at the end of the game. Two of the assists were to Novak, who hit three's on back-to-back possessions to give Michigan a 56-53 lead. Duke fans should not be worried, however, as I doubt we will see the Devils shoot this poorly very often.- Miami FL 73, Kentucky 67: Yes, the Hurricanes won, but it was more like they survived. If Kentucky had decided to play defense in the first half, Miami might not have been so lucky. The U could get nothing going against the Wildcats in the second half, scoring just 27 points, 14 of which came in the last four minutes as the Wildcats were forced to foul. If Kentucky didn't dig themselves a 21 point hole, they would have come out of this game with a win. The Wildcats seem lost offensively. Nobody knows what their role is, they have real problem getting the ball to Patrick Patterson where he can do something with it, and they turn the ball over way too often. The biggest problem is that they do not have a point guard. DeAndre Liggins is talented, but he really needs to learn what he can do and what is a good shot (someone needs to tell him that he is not a shooter, and taking a three off the dribble with a hand in his face early in the shot clock is a terrible shot). Miami FL looked great in the first half, but terrible in the second half, much like they did against Ohio State. If they can learn to put together a 40 minutes game, they will be able to beat pretty much anyone in the country.
- Ohio State 67, Notre Dame 62:
Didn't get to watch this game (comcast, if you read this, please add ESPN U). Luke Harangody had 25 points and 16 boards in his return from a bout of pneumonia (apparently he lost 12 pounds because of it), but the Irish couldn't get anything going offensively, especially McAlarney, who was 3-11 and 0-6 from deep and finished with just six points. Evan Turner was too much, as he finished with 28 points, 10 boards, and 5 assists. - Marquette 61, Wisconsin 58: Marquette proved their doubters wrong as they were able to beat Wisconsin playing the Badger's style. Jerel McNeal scored 19 or his 26 in the second half as the Eagles used a 26-10 surge over a 16 minutes stretch in the second half to turn a 7 point deficit into a 9 point lead. The most telling statistic is that the Eagles outrebounded the Badgers 21-14 in the second half. They may be undersized, but the Marquette guards are tough and experienced, and it showed down the stretch.
- Pitt 80, Vermont 51: The Panthers got 28 and 9 from Sam Young and 13 and 16 from DeJuan Blair as they held the Catamounts to 27% shooting. Marqus Blakely was fantastic as usual for UVM, as he posted 19, 14, 5 dimes, 4 steals, and 5 blocks.
- Gonzaga 70, Indiana 54: The 'Zags overcame a sluggish start against the undermanned Hoosiers. Josh Heytvelt had 17 and Jeremy Pargo had 13 and 8 assists.
- Purdue 90, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 42
- Louisville 83, Indiana State 43
- Wake Forest 81, Bucknell 52
- Georgetown 73, American 49
- Davidson 72, North Carolina State 67: Steph Curry tied his career high with 44 points to lead the Wildcats back from an early 16 point deficit. Curry scored Davidson's last 10 points, including an off-balance three from 30 feet the give Davidson a 70-66 lead with 1:21 left.
- Kansas 86, Jackson State 62
- Illinois 76, Georgia 42
- Cincinnati 87, UAB 80: Robert Vaden had 23, but the Blazers lost for the third time in their last four games. The only non-conference game of significance that UAB has left is against Louisville, meaning that the Blazers are going to most likely need to earn the C-USA automatic bid if they hope to make the NCAA's.
- West Virginia 53, Cleveland State 43
- Georgia Tech 63, Vanderbilt 51
- Minnesota 71, Cornell 54: Are the Gopher's really 8-0?
- Providence 66, Rhode Island 65: Geoff McDermott hit two free throws with 15 seconds left as the Friars picked up a win they desperately needed.
- Northwestern 63, DePaul 36: DePaul isn't all that great, but Northwestern put a whooping on them. The Wildcats are now 6-1 with back-to-back wins over DePaul and Florida State. Is the Big Ten better than they are getting credit for?
- Temple 65, Penn State 59
- Dayton 54, Akron 50
- Creighton 69, St. Joseph's 58
- San Diego State 57, San Diego 46
- Baylor 58, Washington State 52
- UNLV 64, Nevada 57
Sunday's games:
Florida State 57, Florida 55: The Seminoles bounced back from a 14 point loss to Northwestern on Tuesday to knock off the Gators at home. Big win for the 'Noles, who now boast an 8-1 record with wins over Cal and Cincinnati. The most impressive part of this win is that they basically did it without Toney Douglas, who was 1-9 from the floor with three turnovers and just about gave the game away at the end. With under a minute left, Florida was down one after a basket. They put on a soft press which Florida State broke, but right over half court, Douglas tried to dribble between two defenders and Nick Calathes knocked the ball away. Douglas was able to land on it and call time out. If he didn't, the Gators would have had a 2-on-0 to take the lead. The difference in this game ended up being FSU's size. The 'Noles are a very big team this year and between Chris Singleton (6'9"), Ryan Reid (6'9"), Ryan DeMercy (6'7"), and Solomon Alabi (7'1"), the 'Noles basically start three forwards and a center; not too mention their second leading scorer Uche Echefu (6'9") comes off the bench. That size advantage over a relatively small Gator team helped the 'Noles overcome 31% shooting because they grabbed 14 offensive rebounds.
It was a real back-and-forth game. FSU had built a 39-30 lead early in the second half, but Florida used a 19-4 run to take a 49-43 lead. The 'Noles responded with a 9-2 spurt capped by two Ryan Reid free throws to put them ahead for good.- Oklahoma 69, Tulsa 44: Blake Griffin had his second consecutive normal game, posting 19 and 9 with 3 steals and 3 blocks.
- UCLA 85, UC-Northridge 67
- Louisville 91, Ohio 56: Earl Clark was 2 assists shy of a triple double, adding 17 points and 14 boards.
- Michigan State 75, Bradley 59
- Arizona State 64, Nebraska 44: James Harden had 20, 9 boards, and 6 assists as the Sun Devils handed the Huskers their first loss of the season.
- Alabama 61, Louisiana-Lafeyette 44
- Missouri 93, Cal 66: While Cal is nothing special this year, Mizzou smacked them at home, forcing 20 turnovers with their press. Watch out for the Tigers in the Big XII. With their size, athleticism, and relentless defensive pressure, they are the Clemson of the Midwest. I would love to see those two teams match-up this year.
- Clemson 80, Liberty 75: KC Rivers had 9 of his 32 points in the last 2:32 to rally the Tigers back from a four point deficit late in the game. He also had 11 boards. Seth Curry had 24 for the Flames.
- Kentucky 88, Mississippi Valley State 65: Look at the Delta Devils schedule. They are now 0-10 on the year, playing every game on the road, and they have to go to Arkansas State and Houston before finally getting a home game on December 20th.
- Virginia Tech 79, Navy 70
- Maryland 76, George Washington 53: If someone out there has figured out Maryland, please feel free to share with me. They went to OT with Vermont, solidly beat Michigan State, got blown out by Gonzaga and Georgetown, but then beat Michigan and GW.
- Oregon 75, Kansas State 70
Michigan 81, Duke 73: These two teams played for the second time in two weeks, but with a much different result. You can say what you want about the way Duke handled the Michigan zone or the way they defended the Wolverine's back doors, but the reason Duke lost this game was because they shot 3-29 from three in the first 37 minutes of the game (they hit four in a row down the stretch, when the game was all but decided). It is that simple. Most of them were good, open looks by the Devils good shooters (Kyle Singler, Greg Paulus, and Jon Scheyer combined to go 2-18). They just missed them. The Devils were able to get into the middle of the zone, either by pass or penetration, draw defenders and kick the ball out, the shooters just didn't make shots. And since they weren't making their three's, Michigan was able to force the Devils into making dumb passes (did anyone see the lob that Nolan Smith tried to throw to Kyle Singler over the entire UM zone from 40 feet away?) by packing in their zone. To be fair, Michigan really played well. DeShawn Sims looked like an all-american as he went for 28 and 12. The real spark for the Wolverines came off the bench in the form of Kevin Grady and Zak Novak. Grady finished with 9 points and 4 assists, the majority of which came during Michigan's surge at the end of the game. Two of the assists were to Novak, who hit three's on back-to-back possessions to give Michigan a 56-53 lead. Duke fans should not be worried, however, as I doubt we will see the Devils shoot this poorly very often.
Didn't get to watch this game (comcast, if you read this, please add ESPN U). Luke Harangody had 25 points and 16 boards in his return from a bout of pneumonia (apparently he lost 12 pounds because of it), but the Irish couldn't get anything going offensively, especially McAlarney, who was 3-11 and 0-6 from deep and finished with just six points. Evan Turner was too much, as he finished with 28 points, 10 boards, and 5 assists. 
Florida State 57, Florida 55: The Seminoles bounced back from a 14 point loss to Northwestern on Tuesday to knock off the Gators at home. Big win for the 'Noles, who now boast an 8-1 record with wins over Cal and Cincinnati. The most impressive part of this win is that they basically did it without Toney Douglas, who was 1-9 from the floor with three turnovers and just about gave the game away at the end. With under a minute left, Florida was down one after a basket. They put on a soft press which Florida State broke, but right over half court, Douglas tried to dribble between two defenders and Nick Calathes knocked the ball away. Douglas was able to land on it and call time out. If he didn't, the Gators would have had a 2-on-0 to take the lead. The difference in this game ended up being FSU's size. The 'Noles are a very big team this year and between Chris Singleton (6'9"), Ryan Reid (6'9"), Ryan DeMercy (6'7"), and Solomon Alabi (7'1"), the 'Noles basically start three forwards and a center; not too mention their second leading scorer Uche Echefu (6'9") comes off the bench. That size advantage over a relatively small Gator team helped the 'Noles overcome 31% shooting because they grabbed 14 offensive rebounds.
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