Sunday Roundup

Yesterday was a great day of basketball with 18 ranked teams taking the court and a couple of upsets to boot. I was able to watch Georgetown-Memphis, Tennessee-Temple, UMass-Kansas, and Xavier-Cincinnati, and I will make a separate post today for each game. A lot of highly ranked teams struggled on Saturday against lesser competition. It is finals week for some and already break for others. So not only are these bigger schools struggling to get practice time, the players have to get focused on basketball against a team they should roll over in a gym that is more than likely very empty (perfect example - the Verizon Center upper deck was mostly empty during the Georgetown-Memphis game). 

Here is a quick rundown of what you need to know from Saturday's games:

• UNC 100, Oral Roberts 84: UNC jumped out to a 20 point halftime lead, but cruised in the second half. Although ORU never really made it interesting, the Golden Eagles out rebounded the Tar Heels and scored 50 points in the second half (they outscored UNC 50-46). It may have been an issue of conditioning for the Heels, as they are in the middle of exam week and only practiced twice in the last nine days. Regardless, against a better team, their lack of focus on the defensive end could have cost them a game. Hansbrough finished with 26 and 9 and Deon Thompson added 22.
• Pitt 91, UMBC 56: Maybe Pitt should start scheduling harder - this is the 6th straight year that they have started 10-0.
• Oklahoma 70, Utah 52: Oklahoma had all five starters reach double figures, but Blake Griffin, who was saddled with foul trouble in the first half, only had 11 and 11. He didn't make a field goal the entire game (0-3), but was able to draw fouls and find open teammates as the Utes routinely double and triple teamed him. Griffin is going to have to get used to this kind of treatment, but as long as he stays unselfish, finds the open man, and his teammates knock down open shots, then the Sooners will be just fine.
• Texas 81, Texas State 73: The Longhorns came out unfocused and almost lost the the Bobcats. Trailing midway through the second half, AJ Abrams sparked a run that put Texas up for good with a steal and a lay up followed by a three pointer. Abrams had 13 of the 'Horns last 16 points. Dexter Pittman had a huge game, going for 17 points and 10 rebounds in just 14 minutes. Although in this game he was in some foul trouble, he still in battling fatigue issues - he lost all that weight but he isn't in good enough shape yet. Once he gets there, whether it is this season or next season, he is going to be a force in the Big XII.
• Louisville 94, Austin Peay 75: Louisville needed a 17-2 run midway through the second half to hold on and beat a game Austin Peay team. The Cardinals got a career-high 21 from Preston Knowles, 21 and 12 from Samardo Samuels, and 20, 8 dimes, and 5 boards from Terrence Williams.
• Notre Dame 74, Boston University 67: The Terriers out rebounded the Irish by 13 in the first half (read the comments in this post - Rob 1, Ross 0), but Luke Harangody dominated the second half, finishing the game with 23, 15 boards, and 5 assists. The Irish, who trailed by six with 9:00 to go, needed a 10-1 run closing out the game to hold on for the win.
• UCLA 72, DePaul 54: Jrue Holiday led the Bruins with 14, 5 boards and 6 assists in a UCLA rout.
• Syracuse 79, Long Beach State 55: The Orange pulled away in the second half on the strength of 17 from Arinze Onuaku and 13 and 5 dimes fro Eric Devendorf (who Boeheim decided to play). Syracuse won despite getting just 3 points combined from Paul Harris and Jonny Flynn.
• Purdue 76, Indiana State 62: Robbie Hummel led the Boilermakers with 25 points and 8 boards, but E'Twaun Moore struggled (2-10) and Purdue never really gained control.
• Michigan State 118, Alcorn State 60
• Ohio State 54, Butler 51: The Buckeyes hung on against a very tough Bulldogs team. OSU built a 13 point second half lead, but only hit one field goal in the last 12 minutes of the game. It was a big field goal, however, as Evan Turner, who led the Buckeyes with 14, hit a pull-up jumper in the lane to break a 51-51 tie with 3:08 left. Butler was led by Gordon Hayward, who had 25.
• Davidson 100, Chattanooga 95: Steph Curry went for 41 (31 in the second half) and 6 assists, Will Archambeault had 20, and Andrew Lovedale added 18 boards as Davidson won their Southern Conference opener.
• Marquette 69, IPFW 50: Lazar Hayward led the Golden Eagles with 19 and 18.
• NC State 74, Winston-Salem 46
• Clemson 90, South Carolina State 63
• Seton Hall 60, St. Peter's 46
• Baylor 90, Prarie View A&M 63
• Kentucky 72, Indiana 54
• Michigan 91, Eastern Michigan 60
• New Mexico 103, Mississippi 70
• Florida State 62, Georgia State 57
• St. Mary's 67, San Diego State 64
• Missouri 75, Murray State 64
• West Virginia 68, Duquense 63
• LSU 87, Grambling State 41
• Oregon State 64, Nebraska 63
• Wisconsin 77, Wisconsin-Green Bay 57
• San Diego 64, Oregon 57
• Texas A&M 86, Alabama 78 OT
• Dayton 73, Coppin State 56
• Lamar 85, Texas Tech 79
• Stephen F. Austin 66, Drake 64
• Washington State 70, Montana State 51

There were a couple games on Friday you should know about:

• Iowa 73, Iowa State 57
• Miami FL 76, Florida International 57
• Maryland 86, Delaware State 58: More on this game tomorrow.
• Stephen F. Austin 112, North Dakota State 111 3OT: Walt Harris his a jumper with four seconds left to win it for SFA, but that wasn't the story of the game. Neither was the three OT's these two teams played. In was Ben Woodside of NDSU, who went for 60 in a losing effort. Yes, 60 points. Woodside was 14-32 from the floor and 30-35 from the line (he only hit two three's). He may have played 51 minutes, but that is still a ton of points.

What's on deck for Sunday:

• 1:00 PM: USC Upstate (0-7) @ Boston College (7-2)
• 1:00 PM: Robert Morris (4-4) @ Miami FL (6-2)
• 2:00 PM: Illinois-Chicago (5-2) @ Georgia Tech (5-1)
• 2:00 PM: Longwood (5-4) @ Virginia Tech (5-4)
• 3:15 PM: IUPUI (5-3) @ Arizona State (7-1)
• 4:00 PM: Wright State (2-6) @ Wake Forest (8-0)
• 6:00 PM: Gonzaga (7-0) @ Arizona (6-2): The Wildcats are always tough at home, but the 'Zags are just going to be too much for them.
• 7:00 PM: Villanova (9-1) @ La Salle (4-3)
• 8:00 PM: Portland State (7-1) @ Washington (5-3)