All day today we will be couch side, remote in hand, giving you all the insight and analysis of Saturday's college hoops action that you can handle.
- Oklahoma beat Texas Tech 95-74 this afternoon behind a career game from Blake Griffin. Griffin recorded his 22nd double-double of the season in impressive fashion, going for career-highs of 40 points and 23 boards.
Seriously. 40 and 23.
Some other scores to get you caught up on.
- NC State 86, Georgia Tech 65
- Missouri 70, Nebraska 47
- Penn State 68, Minnesota 63: Neither of these teams have the look of an NCAA tournament team this year.
- La Salle 75, St. Joe's 68: The Hawks lose their second straight in conference play, dropping a game behind Xavier and Dayton.
- Texas 85, Colorado 76 OT: AJ Abrams went for 29 in the win.
Why is that so impressive?
Because Jodie Meeks scored 45 points.
Still not impressed?
He scored 45 and Patrick Patterson, the only other offensive threat on the Wildcats, missed the game with a sprained ankle. Granted, they beat an Arkansas team that is missing Courtney Fortson and, by and large, seems to not care anymore (how do you beat Texas and Oklahoma, then go 1-9 in the SEC).
But 45 points against a defense that is totally keyed on you is impressive, no matter how poor that defense is.
- Is there any team in the country hotter than Arizona right now? The Wildcats beat UCLA (beat isn't the right word ... pounded? Shellacked? Ass-kicked?) 84-72 today in a game that was never really as close as the final score would indicate. UA has now won seven straight games and moved within a game and a half of first place in the Pac-10. The biggest reason for that? The unheralded Nic Wise. He is the least known of Arizona's big three, but he has been playing incredible basketball of late. During Arizona's win streak, Wise is averaging 20.3 ppg and 4.2 apg while shooting 52% from the floor.
Against UCLA, Wise had 26 points, and took over late in the game as Arizona pushed the lead to 25 points. Wise scored eleven straight at one point, knocking down tough jumpers and making impressive drives to the rim. On two consecutive possessions, he drove through the entire UCLA defense, spinning in tough lay-ups.
Russ Pennell really has his guys playing well, especially on the defensive end. Today, they forced UCLA into 14 first half turnovers.
The issue for Arizona is always going to be whether or not the Wildcat role players show up. Today, they did. Zane Johnson had 11 points and hit three three's (including two to close out the first half). Kyle Fogg was just 1-7 from the field, but finished the game with five assists. Jamelle Horne played 27 minutes and while he didn't put up great number (4 points, 3 boards, 2 steals, 1 block), he did a lot of little things - defense, making a save, taking a charge.
When Arizona is getting that kind of play from their role players, they are going to be a tough out.
- Russ Pennell, Arizona's head coach, really, really needs to get rid of that dirty goatee he has right now. Really.
- What an ending to the Syracuse Georgetown game. The Orange pulled it out in OT after blowing a 16 point first half lead. While Onuaku was impressive, Jonny Flynn was the best player on the floor. He finished with 25 points and 13 assists, getting into the lane whenever he wanted to do. Chris Wright was just as impressive, going for 25 points and 7 assists before fouling out in OT.
Georgetown showed a lot of heart making that comeback, and overall looked pretty impressive outside of the 15 minute stretch where they couldn't stop the 'Cuse. Problem is, that 15 minute stretch allowed the Orange to build a 16 point lead. It is too late in the season for moral victories. As I said before, Georgetown needs to get to .500 in the league if they want to feel comfortable with their NCAA tournament chances.
- And you thought Thabeet's line was impressive, how about what Blake Griffin is doing against Texas Tech: 21 (of the team's 34) points and 10 (of the team's 19) boards with four minutes to go in the half.
- Surprising score of the day: UCLA is down 49-31 at Arizona. The Bruins have turned the ball over 14 times, which is part of the reason that the Wildcats almost put up half a hundred on one of the nation's best defensive team.
- Georgetown made an incredible rally, capped by a Chris Wright 25 footer with 10 seconds left to send the game to OT. Looks like I spoke a bit too soon...
- UConn game is over, Huskies won 62-54. Thabeet finished with 25, 20, and 9 blocks. Player of the year in the Big East? He and Jerel McNeal should be at the top of the list.
- Syracuse and Georgetown were tied at half time, but the Orange have come out on fire in the second half. They used a 17-6 run to start the half, eventually opening up a 16 point lead. Syracuse looks like (and is) the better team, especially now that Arinze Onuaku looks healthy. The beefy big man has 15 points, 11 boards, and 4 blocks, but more importantly, he is 3-4 from the free throw line (he came into this one missing 22 of his last 24 from the line). He actually got a standing ovation from the Carrier Dome crowd after hitting two.
Right now, the 'Cuse is up 12 with about four minutes on the clock. Assuming the Orange hold on to win, this would be a huge victory for them. The Orange are currently tied with West Virginia for the 8/9 spot in the league. #8 gets a first round bye in the Big East Tournament. #9 doesn't. The Orange should be favored in four of their last five game. They are a game back of Cincinnati and Providence, and if they can hop in front of those two teams and into sixth, they can avoid UConn and Pitt until the semis.
Georgetown, on the other hand, may be done. This loss would put them at 4-8 in the league. They probably need to be 9-9 in league play to feel comfortable on their chances, and with Marquette, Louisville, and Villanova still on their schedule, .500 may be a difficult number to get to.
- With 10 minutes to go, UConn is only up 51-41 at Seton Hall. The sole reason they are ahead? Hasheem Thabeet. The big fella has 22 points, 17 boards (7 offensive) and 6 blocks ... and there is still a quarter of the game left. The rest of the UConn team is struggling (10-37 from the floor). Tough to tell if it is just an off game for the Huskies or if the loss of Jerome Dyson is really hurting them that much.
What we are seeing is Thabeet turn into a star before our eyes. In his last four games, he has averaged 13.5 ppg, 12.5 rpg, and 6.8 bpg. And that isn't including the numbers he is putting up today (in the time it has taken me to write this, Thabeet has upped his total to 23, 19, and 8). He is the most intimidating presence at the rim in the country, and now that he has developed a bit of a back to the basket game, we may be looking at a future all-star.
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