Thursday Morning Shootaround

I am a creature of habit. I like having a system in my life. I like my time to be organized, and I like when I have a schedule to follow. For example, tonight I knew that Gonzaga-Washington State was scheduled to be on one of the many Fox Sports stations I get. Knowing that the game tipped at 10, and after burning the midnight oil last night (Rush the Court runs a tight ship), I decided my best bet would be to take a nice long nap in the afternoon to get ready for another late night.

Anyway, I wake up from a splendid nap around 8:00, grab some leftovers from the fridge, and turn on the TV to find that Die Hard 2 is on, and its on HBO nonetheless (John McClane isn't John McClane when the F-bombs are edited out). The movie ends at 10:30, which is perfect because it means I can TiVo the start of the game and fast forward through commercials.

So after watching McClane single-handedly save the day, I flip over to Fox Sports to start watching the 'Zags-Wazzu, and what is on? UW-Oshkosh vs. UW-River Falls. A D3 game. Featuring two teams from Wisconsin. Did I mention I live in DC? How does this happen? So not only do I ruin my sleep cycle, I don't get to see Washington State, a possible tourney team from the Pac-10, play for the first time this season, and I don't get to see Gonzaga play a team with a stingy defense for the first time this year. 

Seriously, two D3 teams from Wisconsin? They aren't even good teams (one is 2-4, the other is 4-3). I am willing to bet that in the entire city of Washington DC, I was the only person that watched any of that game (I actually did, for like five minutes - some kid from River Falls had a nice dunk too).

So now that is out of the way (bitter much Rob), let's look at the last night's games:

• Gonzaga 74, Washington State 52: Wazzu hung around for a while, keeping the score low as they trailed 32-29 at the half. But Josh Heytvelt sparked a 27-2 run with 11 points early in the second half, the 'Zags coasted down the stretch. Heytvelt finished with 22 and Jeremy Pargo added 11 and 10 dimes (and just one turnover). The 'Zags handled the Cougars defense well, turning the ball over just 8 times.
• Oklahoma 78, Maine 52: Blake Griffin had another great night (22 on 11-13 from the floor, 10 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks) to go along with a couple huge dunks and Willie Warren had 19 to break out of his mini-slump. I like that Warren has been deferring to some of the other Oklahoma players, but he is the most talented player and best scorer they have in their back court. Yes, this is Blake Griffin's team, but I think Warren needs to think of himself as a side kick as opposed to a role player.
• Xavier 78, Ohio 56: Terrell Holloway returned and played 15 minutes for the Musketeers, giving them a spark off the bench during an 18-2 run late in the first half that blew a close game open. As the only true point guard on this team, Xavier's offense flows much better with Holloway on the court. 
• Charlotte 70, Mississippi State 64: Not a good sign for the Rebels, as Charlotte was 2-6 heading into this game. 
• Florida 94, Florida Gulf Coast 60
• Vanderbilt 78, Alabama A&M 55
• California 72, Utah 69
• Illinois 89, Chicago State 50: David Holston was held to 17.
• Butler 87, Bradley 75: Butler just keeps on winning. Against Bradley they were led by two freshman - Shelvin Mack (20, 8 boards, 6 dimes) and Gordon Hayward (20, 6 and 4).
• Creighton 77, Dayton 59: The Bluejays were on fire, hitting 13-25 from deep as they became the first team to shoot better than 40% against the Flyers. Booker Woodfox led Creighton with 21.
• Morgan State 79, DePaul 75
• Minnesota 74, South Dakota State 60
• Arizona 69, San Diego State 56