Sunday's Shootaround

Dayton 90, Creighton 80: The Bluejays started hot, hitting 56% from the floor in the first half and using a pressuring zone defense to fluster the Flyers. Creighton coaxed Dayton into shooting tough, contested threes, which allowed the Creighton guards to control the tempo and take a 46-41 halftime lead (and Dayton had to rally to get it that close). In the second half, however, Chris Wright just took over. He set the tone early, hitting a three, a jumper, and two free throws while notching a block, a steal, two boards, and drawing three fouls in the first three minutes of the half as the Flyers took a 53-50 lead. Wright finished the game with 25 points and 8 boards, but he might not have been the best player on the floor. Reserve sophomore wing Chris Johnson had 18 points and 15 boards, knocking down three threes along the way.

Creighton only took the lead back once in the second half, but the Bluejays kept it close on the strength of 18 from P'Allen Stinnet and 16 points and 9 boards from Wayne Runnels. As we mentioned in yesterday's Pregame Beat, the Bluejays came into this game severely undermanned, with three of their front court rotation players out of the line-up. But they put up an impressive fight against a good team on the road in one of the toughest venues in the country. Creighton looked like a tournament team yesterday, and should give Northern Iowa a run for their money in the MVC.


Butler 73, Davidson 62: For a little more than 30 minutes in this game, Butler looked out of sync. Davidson was getting open shots, and hitting them, while the Bulldogs struggled offensively and defensively. With 9:39 left in the game, a Brendan McKillop three put Davidson ahead 58-56, but from that point on Butler really took control. They went on a 12-0 run over the next seven minutes, and outscored the Wildcats 15-4 to end the game. Gordon Hayward played well down the stretch, finishing with 17 points and 8 boards, while Willie Veasley had an impressive game as well, going for 15. Matt Howard (10 points, 4 boards, and just 2-4 from the field) and Shelvin Mack (7 points, 4 assists, 2-8 from the field) both were off yesterday, and as a whole Butler just didn't look like Butler.

Until the last 9:39 of the game. That's when their defense really picked up, they started hitting shots, and looked like a team deserving of a top 10 ranking. While Davidson proved to be a gutty team and may have outplayed the Bulldogs last night, at some point talent is going to win out.


Cornell 71, Alabama 67: In their first game under new head coach Anthony Grant, the Crimson Tide came out flat. Cornell opened the second half with a 9-0 run, which pushed a six point halftime lead to 35-20. Grant turned on the press, chipping away at the lead until they got it down to 53-52. But Louis Dale answered with a three-pointer, and Cornell never relinquished the lead. Ryan Wittman led Cornell with 23 points, hitting 5-8 from deep, while Jeff Foote had 17 points and 7 boards and Louis Dale added 13 points, 4 boards, and 5 assists.

Now, I know that Alabama is down, and it is never easy to incorporate a new coach's system, especially when the new system is different from what the team used to run, but for Cornell this is a pretty impressive win (which we called, thank you very much). Winning on the road against an SEC team is no small feat. The Big Red are the two-time reigning Ive League champs returning all five starters, four of whom are seniors. I have a feeling we are going to be hearing a lot about this team, especially if they can pull of an upset against Syracuse, Kansas, or Seton Hall.


Michigan 97, Northern Michigan 50: Evan Turner isn't the only guy posting triple-doubles. Manny Harris took over against the DII Wildcats, going for 18 points, 13 boards, and 10 assists. Impressive numbers, but lets see him do that against Big Ten competition.


Other notable games:

• Washington 96, Belmont 78: Matthew Bryan-Amaning had 23 points and Quincy Pondexter had 25 points and 11 boards as the Huskies out ran the Bruins. Close at the half, U-Dub used a 10-0 run at the start of the second half to blow the game open.
• Oklahoma 95, Mt. St. Mary's 71: Willie Warren had 15 points and 11 assists, but this was a story about the Sooner freshman - Tiny Gallon went for 18 and 15, Andrew Fitzgerald had 14, and Steven Pledger went for 21 points on 8-9 shooting.
• Georgia Tech 100, Florida A&M 59: This one was over before it started, as Tech shook off all doubters from their exhibition struggles. Derrick Favors had 10 points and 8 boards.
• Notre Dame 86, North Florida 65: Luke Harangody went for 19 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists, Ben Hansbrough added 19 (on 5-5 shooting from deep), and Tim Abromaitis went for 13 points off the bench.
• La Salle 83, Hampton 80: The Explorers didn't look like a team that could win the A-10 in their opener. But Rodney Green (23 points, 7 boards, 5 assists) and Aaric Murray (16 points, 11 boards, 7 offensive) looked like an excellent inside-outside punch.
• Binghamton 54, Bloomsburg 49: Moussa Camara had 16 points to lead the Bearcats wo what may end up being their only win this year. Bloomsburg is DII, and won four games last season.
• Oklahoma State 86, Seattle 64: James Anderson (22 and 15), Marshall Moses (17 and 11), and Obi Muonelo (12 and 11) all had double-doubles in the Cowboys win.
• Miami (FL) 83, North Carolina Central 53: Adrian Thomas had 16 and Dwayne Collins had 12 and 6 boards. Durand Scott looked good in his first game, checking in with 10 assists.
• Oregon 95, UC Davis 64: Tajuan Porter scored 26 points to lead four Ducks in double figures.
• Gonzaga 92, Mississippi Valley State 74: Matt Bouldin led the way for the Zags, scoring 22 points, while big man Robert Sacre looks like he may be a force this season. He had 17 and 9 boards.