Sunday's Shootaround

On a day with some incredible college gridiron action, we hope you had the chance to watch some hoops. If not, now's your chance to get caught up on a few of the notable scores:

UK 68, UNC 66: UNC jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead, but then the John Wall show started. Wall scored 13 points and had 6 assists in the first half, much of which came during a 26-2 run that opened up a 28-11 Wildcat lead. UNC would fight back when John Wall went out with cramps, getting the lead to one possession at the end of the game, but the Heels never had the ball with a chance to tie the game. Patrick Patterson finished with 19 points and 7 boards despite going up against arguably the best front line in the country. Patterson has developed a pretty consistent jumper out the the three point line, which makes him all the more dangerous.

Kentucky still looked a bit lost offensively. They had some bad turnovers (especially Eric Bledsoe and Wall in the second half), forced some shots, and struggled running the floor in the second half, but what looked better yesterday was their defensive effort. They completely shut down UNC's transition game, and while they allowed some points off of post touches, well, that should be understandable against guys like Deon Thompson, Tyler Zeller, and Ed Davis.

Two last notes: DeMarcus Cousins has a long way to go attitude-wise before he can live up to his potential. Another example from yesterday - him arguing with Coach Cal after he got pulled for his fourth foul. Tyler Zeller looked great playing with his back t the basket. He had a couple of really good-looking lefty jump hooks.

Wake Forest 77, Gonzaga 75: Gonzaga had complete control of this game. They were up double digits early, and looked poised to throw this thing into cruise control. That is until Elias Harris unleashed an elbow to the throat of Chas McFarland as he boxed out the Wake seven footer. He was charged with a flagrant, ejected from the game, and Wake ended up getting five free throws as CJ Harris was fouled shooting a three when Harris threw the elbow. Harris would his four free throws and Wake made a three pointer on the ensuing possession to all but erase a nine point lead and give the Demon Deacons all the momentum. It sparked a 37-12 run in which Wake opened up a 59-47 lead, made all the more impressive because Al-Farouq Aminu was on the bench in foul trouble.

The Zags had a comeback in them. They cut it to 68-66 on two Matt Bouldin free throws, and after exchanging buckets for a few possessions, Steven Gray was fouled on a three with 8 seconds left. He hit the first, but missed the next two. Ari Stewart hit one of two on the Wake possession, but Matt Bouldin was fouled before he could shoot a three. He hit the first free throw, but intentionally missed the second and the ball didn't hit the rim.

The story for Wake was the play of Harris and Stewart, who combined for 36 points and 6-7 on threes. Bol Kong provided a lift for the Zags, hitting four straight threes off the bench.

Ole Miss 81, Southern Miss 79: Crazy final minute in this one (if any has found a youtube, please forward it along to contactbiah@gmail.com). Down 77-71, Eniel Polynice of Ole Miss hit two free throws. On the ensuing in bounds, Southern Miss turned the ball over, and Chris Warren drilled a three to cut the lead to 77-76. After a Southern Miss lay-up to make the lead three, Warren again buried a triple to tie the game with 40 seconds left. Southern Miss worked the clock, but missed a jumper with 10 seconds left. Warren corralled the rebound and found Polynice all alone for the game-winning dunk with 2 seconds left. Warren finished with 20 to lead the Rebels.

Charlotte 87, Louisville 65: Charlotte used a hot shooting first half where they hit eight threes to open up a 47-32 halftime lead and weathered a couple Louisville spurts in the second half to hand Rick Pitino his worst loss in Freedom Hall. Chris Braswell had 21 points and 14 boards, Derrio Green added 20 points, and Shamarr Bowden scored 17 in the win. Take the final score with a grain of salt, however. Louisville was without Peyton Siva, Preston Knowles, and Jerry Smith.

Rhode Island 86, Providence 82: The Friars held a 16 points second half led, but Rhody used a 14-1 run to cut that to three. Both teams exchanged buckets and runs until the score was tied at 78 in the final two minutes. After Jamine Peterson, who finished with 20 points and 11 boards for PC, had a lay-up blocked, Keith Cothran grabbed the rebound and hit two free throws to give the Rams a lead they would not relinquish. Cothran finished with 19 points.

NC State 77, Marquette 73: The Wolfpack used a 38-13 run to open the second half and withstood a flurry of late three's from the Eagles. Tracy Smith had 17 of his 19 points in the second half.


There are a couple good games on the docket tonight as Kansas takes on UCLA and South Carolina heads to Clemson, but BIAH will be live at the BB&T Classic to see Villanova and Maryland play in the Verizon Center.