Great day of basketball today, as we get three top 25 match-ups back-to-back-to-back. But first, the late games from Saturday:
Washington State 51, Arizona State 49: Crazy finish to this one -
BYU 63, Utah 50: Jimmer Fredette scored 25 points as the Cougars cut Utah's lead in the MWC to one game. Lee Cummard filled the stat sheet as usual - 17 points, 7 boards, 4 dimes, 2 steals, and 2 blocks (including a great block on Luke Nevill).
Oklahoma State 68, Texas 59: The Cowboys really improved their NCAA tournament resume in upsetting the Longhorns at home. James Anderson had 16 points and Marshall Moses had 15 points and 16 boards.
Penn State 61, Indiana 58: Talor Battle had 16 points as PSU held on to beat Indiana and keep their tourney hopes alive.
Gonzaga 58, San Diego 47: The 'Zags finished another perfect season in the WCC.
Stanford 75, USC 63: Anthony Goods had 20 points as the Cardinal just about put an end the USC's tourney hopes.
Kansas State 77, Nebraska 72: Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen combined for 32 points as the Wildcats got revenge for a 73-51 loss earlier in the season.
Pitt 89, Seton Hall 78: Sam Young had 29 points and 10 boards and DeJuan Blair, who was shaken up in the first half, finished with 9 points and 10 boards as the Panthers bounced back from a loss at Providence on Monday.
UCLA 72, Cal 68: Darren Collison had 16 of his 22 points in the second half as the Bruins stayed within a game of Washington atop the Pac-10.
Vanderbilt 96, South Carolina 83: AJ Ogilvy had 25 points as the Commodores jumped all over the the Gamecocks, who came in alone atop the SEC East.
Ok, let's get caught up on everything we missed yesterday:
Purdue 81, Indiana 67: The Boilermakers got a season high 26 form E'Twuan Moore and 14, 10, and 5 blocks from JaJuan Johnson as they moved a half-game behind Michigan State for first in the Big Ten.
Washington State 82, UCLA 81: Taylor Rochestie scored 14 of the Cougars last 16 points and finished with 33 points as Wazzu was able to hang on against a scrambling UCLA team. Rochestie hit a three to put Wazzu up 73-65 with 2:18 left, but UCLA hit some three's and Wazzu missed some free throws. Klay Thompson blocked a Josh Shipp 35 footer at the buzzer to seal it.
Florida 82, Vanderbilt 68: Erving Walker scored 17 points and Nick Calathes added 14 as the Gators jumped out to leads of 19-4 and 50-25. The Gators shot 61% from the field, hitting 10-19 three's.
New Mexico 75, San Diego State 49: Tony Dandridge scored 25 points and the Lobos used a 18-4 run midway through the second half to blow open a close game. SDSU's Billy White, who came in averaging 9.0 ppg, left after a collision early in the first half and didn't return to the game. He was sitting on the bench with his knee wrapped and iced.
Alabama 87, Mississippi State 85 2OT: Alonzo Gee scored 10 of his 28 in the second OT to lead the Crimson Tide.
Siena 81, Northern Iowa 75: Kenny Hasbrouck led four Saints in double figures with 16 points in a game that was no where near as close as the final score indicated.
Texas 73, Oklahoma 68: Blake Griffin got a concussion in the first half and didn't return to the game. Willie Warren carried the Sooners for a while, coming back from 12 down early in the second half to take a five point lead. But AJ Abrams was too much down the stretch as he scored 16 straight second half points to help Texas pick up a much-needed win.
Kansas 70, Nebraska 53: Sherron Collins scored 22 points and Cole Aldrich added 18 points and 12 boards as Kansas moved into a tie with Oklahoma leading to their Big Monday showdown.
Memphis 70, UTEP 63: Tyreke Evans scored 25 points to lead the Tigers to their 18th straight win.
Washington 60, USC 51: Quincy Pondexter scored 22 points as the Huskies moved back into first place in the Pac-10 with the losses by UCLA and Cal.
Oregon State 65, Cal 54: The Beavers got 19 points from Calvin Haynes as they won their third straight Pac-10 game. The loss knocked the Bears a game behind Washington in the Pac-10.
St. Mary's 75, Utah State 64: Mickey McConnell scored a career-high 22 points as the Gaels were able to pick up a big win at home against the Aggies. Omar Samhan added 17 and 12 for St. Mary's. Jared Quayle led USU with 22.
Kansas State 50, Iowa State 46: Jamar Samuels went for 13 and 10 off the bench as the Wildcats were able to overcome 24 from Craig Brackins.
Texas A&M 79, Texas Tech 73: Chinemelu Elonu led four A&M players in double figures with 21 and 12.
Pitt 80, DePaul 61: DeJuan Blair had a disappointing 4 points and 2 boards in the second half after going for 16 and 16 in the first half.
South Carolina 82, Arkansas 78 OT: Devn Downey scored 25 points, hitting four big free throws down the stretch to help keep USC tied atop the SEC East.
LSU 79, Auburn 72: The Tigers clinched the SEC West on the strength of 25 points from Marcus Thornton.
St. Louis 57, Dayton 49: Kevin Lisch scored 16 to lead the Billikens to a win over Dayton.
Florida State 67, Virginia Tech 65: Toney Douglas scored 22 points, inclding a runner in the lane with six seconds left. AD Vassallo had 15, but missed an open three from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded.
Oregon 68, Stanford 60: The Ducks pick up their first Pac-10 win of the year.
Gonzaga 92, Pepperdine 58: The 'Zags got 28 and 11 from Josh Heytvelt.
Creighton 76, George Mason 63: Booker Woodfox scored 22 points, including two three's during a 21-7 second half run, which blew open a close game.
UNLV 75, BYU 74: The Rebels got 22 points from Wink Adams, including key free throws down the stretch as the Cougars almost came back from a twelve points deficit with three minutes left.
Bracket Busters kicked off last night, and those lucky enough to get ESPN U (damn you comcast) got to see an excellent game out in Reno as Nevada went on an 18-5 run in the final five minutes to overcome a nine point deficit. Luke Babbitt hit a free throw with 1.8 seconds left to put Nevada up four, which ended up being really important because Joey Rodriguez hit a 75 footer at the buzzer. Babbitt and Brandon Fields both went for 15, while Armon Johnson and Malik Cooke had 13 each for the Wolfpack. Eric Maynor had 28 to lead VCU.
The other game was not quite as interesting, as Niagara used an early 14-0 run to open up a 20-6 lead over Illinois State. Tyrone Lewis had 19 and Bilal Benn went for 17 and 11 for the Purple Eagles.
I'm not going to post the entire schedule of games for today, but here is the schedule for Bracket Busters. The games I recommend watching: Butler at Davidson at noon, Northern Iowa at Siena at 3, and Utah State at St. Mary's at 5.
As far as non-Bracket Buster games go, there isn't all that much. Marquette plays Georgetown at 2, Louisville plays Cincinnati at 2, and Oklahoma heads to Texas tonight at 9.
Be sure to come by today, as we will be blogging away the Saturday once again.Continue reading...
Da'Sean Butler responded to one of his worst performances as a collegian (2-12, 4 points vs. Pitt) with his best, scoring a career-high 43 points as West Virginia knocked off Villanova 93-72 at home. It is a huge win for the Mountaineers, who improved to 6-6 in the league while knocking off a team in the top half of the standings for the first time all season. If they can avoid a collapse down the stretch, the 'Neers look like a pretty good fit to get an NCAA tournament berth.
In the only other game of significance last night, Butler beat Illinois-Chicago 80-61 on the strength of 19 and 8 from Matt Howard.
Once again, we will be blogging through out the day today, but here is a schedule of the important games:
There are no longer any undefeated teams in the Big East. Last night, Marquette went down to Tampa and got beaten by South Florida 57-56. Jerel McNeal, who finished with 22, scored to give the Eagles a 56-55 lead with 1:14 left in the game. After getting a stop, Marquette missed a shot with 15 seconds left, and Dominique Jones went the other way for a lay-up to give the Bulls the lead. Marquette missed three shots in the final seconds that would have given them the lead back. Jesus Verdejo had 21 to lead USF.
I'm just going to post the schedule of important games happening today, as I'm going to try something new. Instead of posting everything on Sunday morning, I'm going to be sitting on my couch, lap top on lap and remote in hand, watching games all day long.
Two games to get you caught up on from last night:
Butler 59, Valparaiso 51: The Bulldogs used a 11-0 run late in the second half to overcome a 43-41 deficit and remain undefeated in the Horizon League. Gordon Hayward led Butler with 18 points.
Jacksonville 82, East Tennessee State 72: Jacksonville overcame a ten point halftime deficit as Ben Smith hit a three to tie the game at 68 with 10 seconds left. The Dolphins would go on to win in OT as Smith finished with 26 and 5 dimes.
As is the case with all Saturday's, there are a lot of key conference games happening across the country. We'll start with the Big East, where there are four important games to watch.
12:00 PM: West Virginia (15-5, 4-3) @ Louisville (16-3, 7-0): You are going to need to be a man to step on the court at Freedom Hall this afternoon, as both of these teams play tough, rugged defense. I think the Mountaineers match-up well with Louisville, in that they have guys that are big, strong, and athletic enough to match-up with Earl Clark and Terrence Williams. The key to beating Louisville right now is keeping those two from making plays. Bob Huggins is a guy that preaches defense, and I can see those two having a rough day going against the likes of Devin Ebanks, Da'Sean Butler, and Wellington Smith. That said, Louisville has a pretty good defense itself. Truck Bryant has been fantastic filling in for the injured Joe Mazzula, but I see him having a tough day against the strong Louisville guards. I think West Virginia is going to give the Cardinals a dog fight, but the 'Ville should be able to pull this one out if they defend and box out on the defensive end.
12:00 PM: Notre Dame (12-7, 3-5) @ Pitt (18-2, 6-2): There may not be a team in the country that needs a win more than the Fighting Irish. They have now lost four in a row to the top tier teams in the Big East, and a loss at Pitt would put them at 3-6 in the conference. The Panthers are also coming off of a loss, dropping a 67-57 decision to Villanova. Pitt is much stronger on the interior and a much better defensive team, but that doesn't mean the Irish don't have a chance. There are two things they need to do to win. The first is to get DeJuan Blair into foul trouble. In both of Pitt's losses, Blair played right around 20 minutes because of fouls. Luke Harangody is a great player, but he is going to need to stay away from the jumpers and attack the rim if they plan on getting Blair out of the game. The other thing ND needs to do is shoot the ball. Both Ryan Ayers and Kyle McAlarney have struggled of late with their jump shots. If the Irish can do that, and hold their own on the glass, they could pull this one out.
2:00 PM: Georgetown (12-7, 3-5) @ Marquette (18-2, 7-0): If the Irish need a win worse than anyone in the country, then the Hoyas are second on that list. They have also lost four in a row, three to Big East schools and the last two to Cincinnati and Seton Hall. Marquette, on the other hand, is playing some of the best basketball in the country. They sit atop the league standings at 7-0 and have arguably the best back court in the country. Georgetown is going to have to slow down those three (plus Lazar Hayward) if they want to pick up this win. It won't help that DaJuan Summers, who injured his foot on an errant alley-oop against Cinci, looks like he won't be in uniform. The biggest issue for the Hoyas right now seems to be confidence - earlier in the season they had a swagger about them, that they couldn't be beaten. But since the whooping they took at Duke, this team just hasn't been playing the same. Without Summers, it is going to be tough, but the Eagles don't have anyone that can stop Greg Monroe is he plays the way he is capable of.
4:00 PM: Providence (14-6, 6-2) @ UConn (19-1, 8-1): The Huskies always struggle against Providence. Always. Last year, they got swept by the Friars and overall they have lost three straight and five of seven. This is certainly a trap game for UConn. While Providence is having an excellent season, they are not as good as Louisville, who UConn will travel to face on Monday. Providence is a team that can put up a lot of points, as evidenced by the century mark they put on Syracuse last week. Providence shoots a lot of three's (second most in the conference), but UConn has been a good defensive team against the three this season (28.6%). They will need to be able to slow down Providence's shooting if they want to avoid another upset at the hands of the Friars.
8:00 PM: DePaul (8-13, 0-8) @ Rutgers (9-12, 0-8): At the end of the day, there will only be one winless Big East team.
Pac-10:
5:30 PM: Washington (15-5, 6-2) @ Arizona State (16-4, 5-3): The Pac-10 looks like it is going to be a lot of fun down the stretch, as there are currently six teams within two games of first place, and another three just three games out. This looks like it is going to be the match-up of the day. I think ASU will pull this game out. U-Dub has a lot of talented and athletic perimeter players, but most of them tend to be 1-on-1 guys that excel against a man-to-man. The Sun Devils play a tough match-up zone defense, which should cause problems for the Huskies offensively. After getting upset by Wazzu at home, I see James Harden going for about 35 as ASU bounces back.
11:30 PM: Cal (16-5, 5-3) @ USC (14-6, 5-3): These are two teams headed in opposite directions. Cal jumped out to a 4-0 record in the league, scoring home wins over the Arizona schools, but has since gone just 1-3. USC started out terribly, but has been able to fight back to respectability after hanging on the beat Stanford. Cal's leading scorer, Jerome Randle, has been battling a severely bruised hip, and combined with having to go up against one of the best on-ball defenders in the league (Daniel Hackett), I see Randle struggling tonight. When Randle struggles, so does Cal. More than just their leading scorer, he is their best playmaker, and the guy that can get into the lane and get good looks for the rest of this Bears team. I think USC is going to be too tough defensively (I guarantee you see some triangle-and-two out of the Trojans tonight) for Cal to pull this one out on the road.
1:00 PM: Washington State (12-8, 4-4) @ Arizona (13-8, 3-5): Both of these teams are coming off of upset wins in their first games of the weekend - Wazzu over ASU and Arizona over Washington. A really fun match-up to watch is going to be Klay Thompson and Chase Budinger, two rangy, athletic wings that can really score the ball (Thompson had 28 against ASU). The styles of these two teams really contrast, as Arizona plays zone and likes to get out and push the ball, while Wazzu will grind you out defensively in man. I think Arizona pulls this one out at home, carrying over the momentum from the Washington win.
3:30 PM: Stanford (13-5, 3-5) @ UCLA (16-4, 6-2): UCLA is coming off of a 81-66 drubbing of Cal where they collected 16 steals. I see more of the same fromt eh Bruins as they play a Stanford team that has really been struggling in league play.
7:30 PM: Oregon (6-14, 0-8) @ Oregon State (9-10, 3-5): With a win, the Beavers will surpass their Pac-10 win total from the previous two years combined.
Big XII:
6:00 PM: Baylor (15-5, 3-3) @ Missouri (17-4, 4-2): Oklahoma and Texas are clearly the class of the Big XII, but after that it gets very iffy. Baylor was expected to be pretty good this year, but Missouri kind of came out of no where. I think this is a good match-up for Baylor to bet back on track. The Tigers play a "40 minutes of hell" press, using their length and their athletes to trap all over the court. But the Bears get excellent guard play out of Curtis Jerrells, LaceDarius Dunn, Tweety Carter, and Henry Dugat. The biggest issue for Baylor? Turnovers. All of those four have a tendency to sometimes make poor decisions with the ball and throw it away. If they can avoid doing that against the Tiger's pressure, Baylor should be able to get this one on the road.
1:45 PM: Oklahoma (20-1, 6-0) @ Iowa State (12-8, 1-4): The only other really interesting match-up in the Big XII today as, with all do respect to Cole Aldrich, the two best big men in teh Big XII go head to head - Craig Brackins and Blake Griffin. While Brackins is talented offensively, he has no where near the strength you need to slow down Griffin.
2:00 PM: Oklahoma State (13-6, 2-3) @ Texas A&M (16-5, 2-4): These two teams have been sliding a bit in conference play, but both still have an outside shot of getting into the tourney if they can turn things around. I really like this OK State squad this year. They are a real uptempo team that loves to shoot three's.
4:00 PM: Kansas State (12-7, 2-4) @ Texas (15-4, 4-1): The Wildcats have won two in a row after starting out Big XII play 0-4, but Texas is just too good and too big this year.
4:00 PM: Colorado (9-10, 1-4) @ Kansas (16-4, 5-0): The Baby Jayhawks are undefeated in the league, but their best win is against A&M. They actually have a shot of making a run at the Big XII title. Why? Because they only get Baylor, OU, and Texas once each.
8:00 PM: Nebraska (12-7, 2-4) @ Texas Tech (11-9, 1-4): Two teams playing much different styles - Nebraska plays a slowed down, defensive game while Tech likes to push the ball and put up points (see their 167 in a game earlier this year).
Big Ten:
1:00 PM: Michigan (14-7, 4-5) @ Purdue (16-4, 5-2): The Wolverines have really fallen off this year. A loss to Purdue drops them to 14-8 and 4-6 in the league, while they still have games against Michigan State, Purdue, Minnesota (twice), and at UConn. The win over Duke will only carry them so far, they need to get some W's.
4:00 PM: Ohio State (14-5, 4-4) @ Indiana (5-14, 0-7): I really feel bad for these Indiana kids. They are going to get beat up on all season long.
8:00 PM: Wisconsin (12-8, 3-5) @ Northwestern (11-7, 3-5): Wisconsin has lost five in a row, and has already started playing around with their lineup. Northwestern has been much better than in past years, and a win over Wisconsin could (gasp!) put them into bubble contention?
ACC:
12:00 PM: Wake Forest (17-1, 4-1) @ Georgia Tech (9-10, 0-6): The Yellow Jackets have some talented players on their roster (Gani Lawal, Iman Shumpert), but they are not all that deep, which should kill them against a team like Wake Forest. You will get a chance to see Al-Farouq Aminu and Alade Aminu (brothers, did you guess?) go head-to-head.
3:30 PM: North Carolina (18-2, 4-2) @ NC State (11-7, 2-4): The Heels should not have a problem disposing of the Wolfpack. Disregarding their fluke loss to BC, the two teams UNC has had the most trouble with have been Wake Forest and Florida State, who both have big and athletic front lines.
8:00 PM: Virginia Tech (14-6, 4-2) @ Boston College (16-6, 4-3): If Va Tech wants to be considered among the elite teams in the ACC, they must take care of business against the middle-of-the-pack conference foes. The Hokies will need to slow down Tyrese Rice, which, as always, is much easier said than done.
8:00 PM: Miami FL (14-6, 3-4) @ Maryland (13-7, 2-4): Maryland is a team in turmoil. They have blown big leads (14+) three times in the last month, just got shellacked by Duke, and have an AD and coach who cannot get along. Regardless of where this is played, Miami should win this game.
SEC:
9:00 PM: Florida (17-3, 5-1) @ Tennessee (12-7, 3-2): The Vols desperately need this win. They are coming off of losses to Memphis and LSU, and do not look like the team everyone thought they would be in the preseason. If Tennessee wants to beat Florida, they are going to need to slow down Nick Calathes. Calathes is a Jason Kidd-like point guard. He is bigger (which means he will be able to see over the Vol traps) and not overly athletic, but he is a phenomenal passer and such a heady player. Tennessee needs to keep the ball out of his hands when they are pressing, because he will be able to dribble and pass right through the defense. I like Florida in this game, however. They have more skilled players on the perimeter, but they are just as long and athletic as Tennessee's wings.
1:00 PM: Mississippi (11-9, 2-4) @ Mississippi State (14-6, 4-1): The Rebels look to knock off another tourney hopeful after beating Kentucky at home on Tuesday.
2:00 PM: Vanderbilt (12-8, 1-5) @ Auburn (13-7, 2-3): You couldn't pay me to watch this one.
3:00 PM: South Carolina (15-4, 4-2) @ Kentucky (16-4, 5-1): The Wildcats are coming off of a loss at Mississippi where the Rebels completely shut down Jodie Meeks (by completely I mean held him to 21 points on 4-15 shooting, no small task). The Gamecocks will need to do the same thing if they hope to win at Rupp.
5:00 PM: Arkansas (13-5, 1-4) @ LSU (16-4, 4-1): I have no idea why Arkansas has been losing so many games recently. Between Michael Washington, Courtney Fortson, and Rotnei Clarke, they have a solid trio. And their gym in Fayetteville is one of the best home courts in the country. But Trent Johnson has done a fantastic job with the LSU team, who looks like they are destined for the NCAA's after knocking off Tennessee this week. This should end up being a fun one to watch, as both teams are chock full of athletes.
7:00 PM: Georgia (9-11, 0-5) @ Alabama (12-8, 2-4): Georgia's first game without Dennis Felton. 'Bama's second without Mark Got fired Gottfried.
The rest of the day's games you need to keep an eye on:
Recap of Saturday's games coming up in a bit. Here's the Sunday schedule:
A couple of excellent games in the Big East. First, at noon, Louisville (14-3, 5-0) heads up to Syracuse (17-3, 5-2) to take on the Orange. Louisville finally looks like the team that everyone thought was going to be a top 5 squad this season. The reason for that has been the play of Terrence Williams and Earl Clark, who are both making a serious case for first-team all big east honors. The 'Cuse, on the other hand, have lost two of their last three (both badly and on the road to Georgetown and Pitt). But the Orange are a tough team to play in the dome (their one win in that string was by 19 against Notre Dame at home). Syracuse doesn't have the athletes to go man against the 'Ville, but I think they sit back in their zone, and the Cardinals fire away from three. If they are hitting, they'll win. I don't think they will, and I see the Orange picking up the W.
Pitt (17-1, 5-1) also has to travel to West Virginia (14-4, 3-2) to face the Mountaineers in the Backyard Brawl at 4. I am really high on WVU this year, I like what they bring to the table. But they are a team that wins based on their defense, their hustle, and their offensive rebounding. Basically, they are Pitt Jr, and no one is going to beat Pitt at their own game. Panthers roll.
2:00 PM: St. Bonaventure (11-7, 2-3) @ Dayton (17-2, 3-1)
2:00 PM: Georgetown (12-5, 3-3) @ Seton Hall (9-9, 0-5)
3:45 PM: Michigan State (15-3, 5-1) @ Ohio State (13-4, 3-3): Here is a chance for the Buckeyes to prove that they are for real this year, and didn't just happen to get hot early on in the season.
5:30 PM: Virginia Tech (13-5, 3-1) @ Miami FL (14-4, 3-2): These two teams are both sitting right in the middle of the pack in the ACC. Both have NCAA tournament hopes. These games between two bubble teams are going to play a huge role in the selection committee's decision come tourney time. I like Va Tech this year, but I think that Dwayne Collins eats up Jeff Allen in the paint.
As usual, Saturday is the best day for college basketball this week as we get some really important games taking place. And for the first time maybe all season, none of the two or three most important games are taking place in the Big East today.
This biggest game of the day is being played all the way out in Washington as the Huskies (14-4, 5-1) host UCLA (15-3, 5-1). Would you have predicted that on January 24th, Washington would be hosting the Bruins with a chance to earn sole possession of first place in the Pac-10? I sure didn't. The Huskies match-up pretty well personal-wise with the Bruins. Isaiah Thomas and Justin Dentmon should be able to hang with Darren Collison and Josh Shipp. U-dub has a little more athleticism on the wings, but their advantage is going to come in the paint. UCLA doesn't have anyone that can match-up with Jon Brockman under the rim. Brockman struggled a bit with the length and athleticism of USC on Thursday, but UCLA doesn't have that same length. Expect a big day out of the big fella.
For Washington, they obviously need to keep Collison in front, keep Josh Shipp from getting good looks, etc. But more importantly right now, they need to get a hand up on Nikola Dragovic. Since being moved into the starting line-up five games ago, he has been on a tear. He is averaging 14.0 ppg while shooting 17-36 from three during that span. Collison and Shipp are going to get their's, but the Huskies need to limit scoring from the Bruin role player if they want to win.
As much as I like U-dub this year, I think UCLA gets this one. The Bruins are more experienced, especially in their back court (Shipp and Collison have gone to three Final Fours - can you get anymore experience) and know how to win. Case in point - Collison taking over the Washington State game down the stretch and leading a struggling UCLA team to the win. I also think Washington is a little bit too reckless offensively, and I see UCLA's defense taking advantage of that.
There are three other games with a lot of significance today as well:
3:30 PM: Memphis (15-3) @ Tennessee (12-5): Today's game doesn't have quite the same mystique as last year's match-up did, when it was #1 vs. #2. But that doesn't downplay the significance of this game. Both of these teams have struggled a bit this season after losing so much to the NBA/graduation. This game is going to turn into an offensive struggle a defensive battle, as both teams play good pressure defense and neither team is balanced offensively. It's going to come down to two things - who wins the rebounding battle and who can force turnovers. More directly, Tennessee needs to keep Memphis off of the defensive glass and force the Tigers perimeter players into turnovers and tough shots if they want to win. I think Tennessee does, and gets the W at home.
4:00 PM: Baylor (15-3, 3-1) @ Oklahoma (18-1, 4-0): It's time to see what the Bears are really made of!! I have been on the Baylor bandwagon all season, and it is time to see if they are as good as I've been preaching. These two teams are polar opposites, really. Oklahoma has an excellent front line made up of the Brothers Griffin, but their back court play has been inconsistent. Baylor has a loaded back court that goes four deep, but their front line is their question mark. If the Bears want to win this thing, they need to slow down Blake Griffin. Baylor does have some size inside in Kevin Rogers, Quincy Acy, and Mamadou Diene, and those three guy are probably going to need to use all 15 of their fouls in beating up on Griffin. The other thing I think Baylor needs to do is get OU tired. The Sooners are essentially just six deep. If the Bears can get out and run the floor while keeping the clock moving (fouls, travels, and other whistles stop the clock and allow the Sooners to catch their breath), I think they have a shot at this thing, especially since they have a very similar make-up to the Arkansas team that gave OU their only loss. I think Baylor springs the upset and moves into a first place tie in the league.
7:00 PM: UConn (17-1, 6-1) @ Notre Dame (12-5, 3-3): Notre Dame really needs this win as they have fallen to the middle of the pack in the Big East after losing two straight to Louisville and Syracuse. The Irish are going to have their hands full on the interior with the size of UConn's front line. But that mismatch works the other way as well. All three of the Irish front court players are perimeter oriented and can step out and knock down a jumper or put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. The Huskies big men are not the best perimeter defenders. I would imagine that Hasheem Thabeet would have to cover Luke Harangody, which should mean that 'Gody will have to spend a lot of time away from the basket shooting jumpers. The key for UConn is going to be their defense. They are so much more athletic than the Irish, and in order to win they need to impose their will and make ND uncomfortable with the ball. The Irish are basically a jump shooting team, and if the Huskies can get ND to have an off-night, they have a much better shot of snapping that Joyce Center win streak. I don't think they do it - ND wins.
The rest of the night's action, broke down by conference:
Big East:
12:00 PM: Villanova (14-4, 2-3) @ South Florida (7-11, 2-4): USF has been a tough out so far in the Big East - losing by 3 to WVU, 5 to Syracuse, and 13 (much closer than that) to Pitt. If Villanova isn't ready to play, they could be the team to actually get upset.
7:00 PM: Rutgers (9-10, 0-6) @ St. John's (10-8, 1-5)
Big Ten:
4:00 PM: Wisconsin (12-6, 3-3) @ Illinois (16-3, 4-2): Illinois's experienced back court should not be bothered by the defense of Wisconsin.
6:00 PM: Iowa (12-7, 2-4) @ Penn State (15-5, 4-3): The Nittany Lions have been on a roll this year. This is one of those "must-win" games in conference play.
8:00 PM: Northwestern (10-6, 2-4) @ Michigan (13-6, 3-4): Michigan has been struggling of late while Northwestern has been playing much better. The Wolverines really need this win to get back on track.
3:00 PM: Kentucky (15-4, 4-0) @ Alabama (12-6, 2-2): Really good chance for Alabama to get their season headed back in the right direction.
6:00 PM: Mississippi State (13-6, 3-1) @ Georgia (9-9, 0-3)
8:00 PM: Xavier (16-2) @ LSU (15-3): LSU is still looking for a signature win this season. The Tigers are undefeated this season at home, but Xavier is an experienced, well-coached team. It should be fun to see Tasmin Mitchell go up against Derrick Brown.
8:00 PM: Mississippi (10-8, 1-3) @ South Carolina (12-4, 2-2)
Big XII:
1:30 PM: Texas Tech (11-7, 1-3) @ Missouri (16-3, 3-1): This game has a chance to reach the 100's as both teams love to play an uptempo style and score a lot of points.
2:00 PM: Kansas (14-4, 3-0) @ Iowa State (12-6, 1-2): Craig Brackins is one of the best players you've never seen play. This one's on ESPN, so if you get a chance be sure to tune in.
4:00 PM: Oklahoma State (12-5, 1-2) @ Nebraska (12-5, 2-2): This game pits two teams that play very contrasting styles - Nebraska is a defensive team in the mold of Washington State while Oklahoma State likes to run more and shoot three's.
6:00 PM: Kansas State (11-7, 0-4) @ Colorado (8-9, 0-3): Does anyone care?
8:00 PM: Texas A&M (15-4, 1-3) @ Texas (13-4, 2-1): The Aggies are looking to get back on track after falling to 1-3 in the league. Texas has struggled a bit of late, but blew out Texas Tech when they moved Justin Mason off the ball and used Dogus Balbay and AJ Abrams more at the point.
ACC:
12:00 PM: Maryland (13-5, 2-2) @ Duke (17-1, 4-0): Maryland always plays Duke tough, but I just don't see the Terps having enough this year. Greivis Vazquez is a good player, but he does not strike me as the kind of kid that is going to lead his team to victory against the hated rival Dookies.
2:00 PM: NC State (10-6, 1-3) @ Boston College (14-6, 2-3): Tyrese Rice should have a field day against the weak back court of the Wolfpack.
4:00 PM: Florida State (15-4, 2-2) @ Virginia (7-8, 1-3): If Florida State is serious about making an NCAA tournament run this year (which they are more than talented enough for), then they need to take care of games like this. The Seminoles are bigger, more athletic, and just plain better than UVA. It may be on the road, but road wins in conference are the games that prove your merit as an at-large.
Pac-10:
6:00 PM: Houston (12-4) @ Arizona (11-8)
6:00 PM: Oregon (6-13, 0-7) @ Cal (15-4, 4-2): Cal has to win this game. Getting swept at home by the Oregon schools would be devastating for their Pac-10 and NCAA hopes.
6:00 PM: USC (12-6, 3-3) @ Washington State (11-7, 3-3): Both teams badly need this win. I think USC is going to struggle against Washington State, especially if Dwight Lewis doesn't play. When you go up against a good defensive team, a talented PG is so important. Daniel Hackett isn't the answer.
10:00 PM: Oregon State (7-10, 2-5) @ Stanford (13-3, 3-3): The Beavers have proven that you have to come ready to play against them.
You guys are so lucky today. Instead of including a write-up for each of the marquee games between ranked teams, I'm putting each of those into their own post. Isn't that great? So much more for you to read about!!
Anyway, let's jump into the roundup. Here are the rest of the top 25 teams in action Saturday:
UNC 82, Miami FL 65: Tyler Hansbrough scored 20 of his 24 points in an action packed first half that saw Miami build up a nine point lead only to watch it slip away during a 13-0 Tar Heel run to end the half. This game had a number of youtube worthy highlights, including an legitimate Dunk of the Year candidate.
While Hansbrough was the one that was hot during the first half, Wayne Ellington absolutely caught fire in the second half. During a ten minute stretch, Ellington knocked down eight straight shots, the last seven of which were three's, to finish with 23 points.
Oklahoma 69, Texas A&M 63: Blake Griffin had 16 and 6 boards, but was battling foul trouble the entire game. Austin Johnson had 19 to lead OU, who barely hung on as the Aggies stormed back from 13 down to cut it to 2 with two minutes left.
Michigan State 63, Illinois 57: In typical Big Ten fashion, this was a slug fest that saw exactly no one get it going offensively. The Spartans, who trailed for most of the second half, used a 12-3 run to close out the game to win and stay undefeated in Big Ten play. Alex Legion had 15 to lead the Illini while Goran Suton had 12 for MSU.
Texas 71, Texas Tech 49: Rick Barnes tinkered with his line-up a bit for this one, and got a lot of success. He moved Gary Johnson into the starting line-up over Dexter Pittman (Johnson had 15 and 7) and slid Justin Mason back over to the off-guard spot instead of playing point (he finished with 15 and 10 boards, 6 offensive). He also used slick-passing center Matt Hill, a redshirt sophomore, a lot more than he usually does.
Marquette 91, Providence 82: The Golden Eagles were down for most of the game, including a 13 point deficit midway through the second half. But Marquette responded, using a 15-4 run to turn a 72-64 deficit into a 79-76 lead. After the Friars tied it up, Marquette would score the the next 11 points for the win. Lazar Hayward, Jerel McNeal, and Wesley Matthews combined for 72 points in this one.
In one of the stranger moments I've ever seen in a college hoops game, Jeff Xavier's brother came onto the court to confront a ref after a no call on a play that left Xavier's eye swollen completely shut.
Butler 59, Illinois-Chicago 52: The Bulldogs got 25 points and 7 three's from Gordon Hayward and 18 points, 8 boards, and 8 assists from Shelvin Mack as they were able to overcome a cold-shooting start and a 13 point second half deficit to beat UIC.
Baylor 98, OK State 92 OT: You wanna talk about a back-and-forth game? Baylor was down 17 in the first half, and came all the way back to go up by eight midway through the second half. OK State wasn't done, as they stormed back to go up by seven. Baylor then used a 12-1 run to take a 3 point lead, but a Keiton Page three game the Cowboys a one point lead with 4.5 seconds left. Curtis Jerrells got the ball and was fouled, hitting one of two shots to send it to OT. In the extra frame, Tweety Carter hit two three's in the first minute and change, and Baylor went on to win. Jerrells had 31 points and 10 assists and Quincy Acy, a freshman making his first start, added 17 and 12.
Stanford 75, Cal 69: Stanford got 25 from Lawrence Hill and used a 11-1 run at the end of the second half to put away Cal in a back-and-forth game. It was the first time Mike Montgomery, who coached for 18 years in Palo Alto, returned to the school as the coach of the Bears. Stanford was coming off of two close losses on the road at the Washington schools. Jamal Boykin had 22 to lead Cal.
Ohio State 65, Michigan 58: The Buckeyes used a 10-0 late in the game to break a 47-all tie and get a much needed win in Big Ten play. Evan Turner had 19 for the Buckeyes while Manny Harris had 21, 7 boards, and 6 dimes.
St. Mary's 96, Pepperdine 46: Diamon Simpson had 24 to lead the Gaels, who shot 15-31 from deep.
The rest of the action from Saturday:
Florida State 76, Maryland 73 OT: Toney Douglas scored 8 of his 25 in OT.
NC State 76, Georgia Tech 71 OT: Ben McCauley had 18, 10, and 6 dimes, including an assist to Dennis Horner who made a lay-up to give the Wolfpack the lead for good.
West Virginia 62, South Florida 59: Da'Sean Butler had 27 points and Alex Ruoff 19 as WVU hung on after the Bulls overcame a 17 point deficit.
Hofstra 57, Northeastern 52: NEU's first CAA loss.
Northern Iowa 81, Drake 59
Liberty 91, VMI 80: VMI's first Big South loss.
Missouri 77, Iowa State 46
Auburn 85, Alabama 71
Florida 80, Arkansas 65: 0-3 in the SEC = no one remembers Texas and Oklahoma.
Cincinnati 59, DePaul 55
George Mason 71, James Madison 57
Washington State 74, Oregon 62: Taylor Rochestie scored 30 and Aron Baynes added 19 and 12 as Wazzu managed to win in Oregon.
Davidson 89, Georgia Southern 68: Stephen Curry had 28 points on 11-30 shooting, including 3-16 from deep.
Kansas 73, Colorado 56: Sherron Collins led the way for the Baby Jayhawks with 18 and 7 dimes.
Siena 78, Fairfield 62
LSU 83, Mississippi 51: Tasmin Mitchell led the Tigers with 17.
New Mexico 81, BYU 62
Virginia Tech 79, Boston College 71: Jeff Allen had 30 and 9 for the Hokies, while Joe Trapani had his second straight double double, going for 23 and 10 for the Eagles.
VCU 61, Old Dominion 44
Wichita State 71, Creighton 64
Penn State 65, Indiana 55: Stanley Pringle had 19 and 6 dimes for PSU.
Nebraska 73, Kansas State 51: Paul Velander had 20 as Nebraska used a 25-5 run spanning both halves.
Utah 82, Colorado State 66
Tennessee 82, South Carolina 79: Tyler Smith had 20 to lead Tennessee.
Cornell 71, Columbia 59
Dayton 78, Duquense 69
USC 65, Arizona 64: Do you remember this? Arizona fouled UAB twice, intentionally and unnecessarily, in the final minute of a Preseason NIT game, costing themselves the win. Well, Jamelle Horne, who was the culprit the first time around, fouled Daniel Hackett with 1.2 seconds remaining as Hackett was attempting to push the ball up the floor for a last second prayer. Hackett his one of two for the win.
Great day for college hoops fans as there are some fantastic games on today. So if you're like me and you have no desire to set foot into the arctic air that has descended upon us, find a good spot on your couch and make your beer run early - the games commence at noon. My biggest problem today? I can only watch/record two games at a time.
There are five games on today between ranked teams:
12:00 PM: Notre Dame (12-4, 3-2) @ Syracuse (16-2, 4-1): Syracuse went into Georgetown sitting pretty at 4-0 in the league. The problem? Heading into that game, their opponent's record in Big East play was 1-14. They found out the hard way that not every night in the Big East is going to be that easy, as Georgetown jumped all over the Orange early, going up by as much as 20 in the first half and never looking back.
What concerns me for this game is that Syracuse got beat because they couldn't defend the three. Georgetown was 12-21 on the game, but they hit 10 of their last 13 after starting out the game 2-8. The issue was just the Syracuse wasn't getting out on shooters. A lot of people say that you cannot play zone against a team that can shoot three's. That's not true. If you move well and communicate where shooters are (and when they are cutting through) in the zone, you can defend them. There are two things that the 'Cuse will have to do. First, ALWAYS know where Kyle McAlarney (and to a lesser extent Ryan Ayers as well) is. He can stroke it from 28 feet with consistency if you let him get going. The second is to make sure you always have a body on Luke Harangody. The big fella does a pretty good job on the glass, but also has been becoming much more of a jump shooter of late. You don't want to lose track of him.
I think 'Gody will have a big game today (I mean, doesn't he always have a big game though?). He usually excels when he plays against big men that are strong and stocky as opposed to tall, long, and athletic (that's why he torched Samardo Samuels for 28 points in 35 minutes and was shut down by Terrence Jennings, going score less in the last 10 minutes, when to Irish played Louisville).
For the Orange, the key is simply going to be to play with energy and emotion. I could go on and on about how Jonny Flynn needs to be a play maker; or that Paul Harris needs to capitalize on his size and strength advantage at the three; or how Syracuse should be able to control the glass. But the fact of the matter is that none of it makes any difference if the Orange come out and play the way they did against the Hoyas. The Orange are a very good team this year. They have talent, athleticism, shooting, size, a great coach, etc., but all season long they have struggled to get up for games at the start. I'm going to put this onus on the Carrier Dome fans today. That place, 30,000 strong, needs to be rocking today. If it is, I don't see anyway that the Orange can come out flat.
I think the 'Cuse gets it done at home on the strength of a 25 and 12 game from Paul Harris.
1:30 PM: Georgetown (12-3) @ Duke (15-1): Greg Monroe almost went to Duke instead of Georgetown. Can you image the Devils if they had Monroe to pair up front with Singler? Scary...
OK, back to the previewing. This is going to be a tough game for Georgetown. Duke gets all over you defensively, playing a switching man-to-man where they get up in the ball-handler starting in the back court. They start their defense out so far that it makes things very difficult for a team trying to run their offense. And what is Georgetown's MO offensively? Running through their offense.
That said, if Georgetown's guards can be strong with the ball, I think the Hoyas have a shot at this. Duke loves to get out and pressure the wings. Georgetown kills teams that do that with back door cuts. The key for Duke, like it has been all season, is to put enough pressure on the ball that Georgetown cannot get into position to make that pass.
I think the Hoyas should also run a lot of their stuff through Greg Monroe. They need to use him as a pressure release. Brian Zoubek as been much better this season, but there is no way he should be able to guard Greg Monroe 20 feet from the basket. If he does, Monroe should get lay-ups all day long.
I think Georgetown is going to have to go zone against Duke for one reason - I do not see how they are going to be able to stop Gerald Henderson. Henderson has been playing the best basketball of his life over the last seven games, averaging 17.4 ppg and shooting 10-19 from three. He's shooting 43% from three on the year, and combined with his athleticism and how high his confidence is going to be right now, I don't see anyone on the Hoyas that can defend him. Jessie Sapp and Chris Wright are too small. Austin Freeman is too slow. Maybe Jason Clark, but I'd hesitate putting a freshman on him right now.
I like the Hoyas this year, but the last time they played a team that defended like this (Pitt) they got run off the floor (more of a case of rebounding problems than anything, but still). I see Duke getting it done at Cameron.
3:30 PM: Wake Forest (15-0, 2-0) @ Clemson (16-0, 2-0): Two of the last three undefeated teams face off. The biggest issue I see is Wake's size - how is Clemson going to match-up with them on the inside? And it is more than just how big they are. James Johnson and Al-Farouq Aminu both can step out and play on the perimeter as well as scoring in the paint. Trevor Booker is an excellent player, but he is all of 6'7". Johnson and Aminu are 6'9" and absurdly athletic. Chas McFarland and Tony Woods are both 7-footers.
The key for Clemson is going to be their defense. They need to pressure the Wake Forest guards and force them into turnovers or get them playing too quickly and ignoring the bigs. Basically, what Clemson needs to do is try and keep the big guys from Wake from getting involved. The Tigers are pretty good at doing that. They force 18 turnovers a game.
There may not be anyone in the country playing better basketball than Jeff Teague. In his last three games, the PG is scoring 31 ppg. He's shooting 55% from three, but he isn't really a three point shooter. He's a penetrator, and he can get to the rim just about whenever he pleases.
I know that this game is at home for Clemson, but I just think Wake is too big, too good, and playing too well right now for the Tigers to beat them.
3:45 PM: Arizona State (14-3, 3-2) @ UCLA (14-2, 4-0): The Sun Devils are coming off of a loss at USC on Thursday in which James Harden was held without a field goal and to just four points by the Trojans' Daniel Hackett. My money would be on Harden being just a bit fired up for this game.
UCLA sputtered a bit earlier in the season, losing to Texas and to Michigan, but they have really picked up their play of late, looking much more fluid on the offensive end. They are sitting at 4-0 in the Pac-10, with three of those wins coming on the road (albeit two were against the Oregon schools). A large part of that success can be attributed to Darren Collison. In Pac-10 play, Collison has looked like an all-american. He's averaged 17 ppg and 6.3 apg, while turning it over just five times.
This is a huge game for Arizona State. If they lose, it means that they will be three games (in the loss column) behind Cal and UCLA in the Pac-10 standings, both teams that they have already lost too. But more importantly, it will say something about this team. Good teams win games on the road. The Sun Devils are currently 1-2 on the road in conference, with the only win coming against Stanford.
If ASU wants to win, they are going to need a big game out of Jeff Pendergraph. UCLA is small up front, and Pendergraph is one of the best big men in the conference. UCLA has even made a change to their starting line-up, bringing James Keefe off the bench and starting Nikola Dragovic. Dragovic may be tall, be he is essentially a perimeter player and a jump shooter, which means that it should be that much easier for Pendergraph on the block.
James Harden is a great player. There is no doubt about that. But I'm starting to have my doubts about the rest of the Sun Devils. Rihard Kuksiks, Derek Glasser, Ty Abbott - I have yet to really see anything from these guys that makes me believe they are good enough to make the Sun Devils the team to beat out west. I think UCLA takes care of business at home here.
6:00 PM: Pittsburgh (16-0, 4-0) @ Louisville (12-3, 3-0): There is a very good chance we could be down to just one undefeated team left in the country when it is all said and done today. The Cardinals have been playing their best basketball of the season of late, as they have beaten Villanova and Notre Dame in their last two games. Clearly, the most important (and unenviable) task today will be to keep DeJuan Blair and company off of the offensive glass. As a team, the Panthers average over 16 offensive rebounds per game (with 6.3 of those coming from Blair). They are not a great offensive team, and at times their best offense seems to be throw up a shot and go get the rebound.
The matchup between Sam Young and Terrence Williams may pit the two best athletes in the country. Young has developed into such a good scorer. His perimeter shot is dangerous (38% from three), but he can also put the ball on the floor and get to the rim, using his size to bully past a smaller defender. T-Will is a pretty strong guy himself, and should be able to handle Young defensively. T-Will, offensively, needs to be able to get into the lane and create. He is really the only player that is going to be able to against this tough Pitt defense, and Louisville has a tough time offensively when they can't get the ball into the paint and kick it out. When they don't, they end up forcing a lot of contested three's.
There are two keys for Louisville if they plan on winning this game. Blair and Young are going to get their's. There isn't much anyone can do about that other than to make it tough for them. What Louisville needs to do is limit all the role players. Jermaine Dixon has been playing much better of late, scoring 17 in Pitt's win over South Florida. Gilbert Brown is an athletic play maker who can put up some points in a hurry. Ashton Gibbs and Bran Wanamaker are really good three-point shooters. If Louisville wants to hand Pitt their first loss, they cannot allow someone other than the big three to go off.
The other thing Louisville needs to do is keep Levance Fields out of the paint. He is averaging 7.0 apg this year, and he creates so many easy baskets with his penetration. If you make him a scorer/jump shooter, Louisville has a much better chance of winning.
All that said, I still think Pitt gets it done. I think their defense is going to wreak havoc on Louisville, who may not get a good shot the entire game.
So in case you missed it, my predictions for the five marquee games were Syracuse, Duke, Wake, UCLA, and Pitt.
There are a lot of other very good games being played today. Let's break it down by conference:
Big Ten:
4:00 PM: Illinois (15-2, 3-1) @ Michigan State (14-2, 4-0): The Illini have flown under the radar all season long, but Michigan State is rounding into shape and looks to once again be the favorite in the Big Ten.
6:00 PM: Penn State (13-5, 2-3) @ Indiana (5-11, 0-4): The Nittany Lions could use this win to get back on track.
8:00 PM: Ohio State (12-3, 2-2) @ Michigan (13-4, 3-2): The Buckeyes have really fallen off this year after a great start. I don't see them matching up well at all with Michigan's zone because they don't have much point guard play.
Pac-10:
2:00 PM: Washington State (10-6, 2-2) @ Oregon (6-11, 0-4)
8:00 PM: Cal (15-2, 4-0) @ Stanford (11-3, 1-3): Stanford has come back to earth, but Cal cannot fall asleep in this rivalry game that features Mike Montgomery's homecoming to Stanford.
8:00 PM: Arizona (11-6, 2-3) @ USC (11-5, 2-2): If USC wins tonight, are they relevant again?
10:00 PM: Washington (12-4, 3-1) @ Oregon State (6-9, 1-4): All of a sudden it looks like Oregon State is a tough place to play.
Big East:
12:00 PM: South Florida (6-10, 1-3) @ West Virginia (12-4, 1-2)
9:00 PM: Marquette (15-2, 4-0) @ Providence (11-5, 3-1): If the Friars are serious about making a run at an NCAA berth, these are the games they need to win.
ACC:
12:00 PM: Maryland (12-4, 1-1) @ Florida State (14-3, 1-1): Florida State's huge this year, and the Terps don't have the horses to match-up inside.
12:00 PM: Georgia Tech (9-7, 0-3) @ North Carolina State (9-5, 0-2): Can Derrick Favors suit up now for the Yellow Jackets? All kidding aside, great match-up of front courts as Gani Lawal and company take on Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner.
4:00 PM: Boston College (13-5, 1-2) @ Virginia Tech (11-5, 1-1): Man, do the Eagles need a win badly.
9:00 PM: Miami FL (13-3, 2-1) @ UNC (15-2, 1-2): The first college gameday of the year! The Hurricanes are better than they are getting credit for right now, but I don't think anyone is going to be beating the Heels are home anytime soon.
Big XII:
1:30 PM: Iowa State (11-5, 1-1) @ Missouri (13-3, 1-1): Craig Brackins vs. DeMarre Carroll - should be fun to watch:
1:45 PM: Oklahoma State (12-3, 1-0) @ Baylor (13-3, 1-1): Both teams have great back court play and are small up front. Is OK State for real this year, even without Ibrahima Thomas?
2:00 PM: Oklahoma (16-1, 2-0) @ Texas A&M (15-2, 1-1): The Aggies have a chance to prove their worth against the Sooners.
3:30 PM: Kansas (12-4, 1-0) @ Colorado (8-7, 0-1): How is this game on ABC?
4:00 PM: Texas (12-4, 1-1) @ Texas Tech (10-6, 0-1): Doesn't exactly have the hype of the football game, does it?
6:00 PM: Kansas State (11-5, 0-2) @ Nebraska (11-4, 1-1): K-State really needs a win.
SEC:
2:00 PM: Alabama (11-5, 1-1) @ Auburn (10-6, 0-2)
2:00 PM: Arkansas (12-3, 0-2) @ Florida (15-2, 2-0): The Razorbacks desperately need a win to try and recapture the momentum they had after beating Texas and Oklahoma.
4:00 PM: LSU (13-3, 1-1)@ Mississippi (10-6, 1-1): LSU needs to prove they can win on the road.
6:00 PM: South Carolina (12-3, 1-1) @ Tennessee (10-5, 1-1): Tennessee needs to right their ship soon. Hopefully, they can keep Devan Downey under 50.
8:00 PM: Vanderbilt (12-4, 1-1) @ Mississippi State (12-5, 2-0): The Bulldogs all of a sudden look like a threat in the SEC.
First things first - let's talk about the big game of the day. At 8:00 tonight, UNC will be heading to Winston-Salem to take on the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. Wake is playing as well as anyone in the country right now, coming into this game with a 13-0 record (one of just three unbeatens left). UNC, on the other hand, is fresh off of a loss to BC in their ACC opener.
It has been a while since Wake was relevant on a national level, and clearly the schedule makers did not exactly expect the Deacs to be this good this soon. Not only is the game being played very early in the season (this is actually Wake's ACC opener), it is on a Sunday night after playoff football and it is being aired on Comcast and Fox Sports. Don't expect Dickie V to be on the sidelines for this one.
That said, we are going to learn a lot from this game. Everyone knows about Duke, and everyone knows about UNC. As is true just about every season, they are the two favorites for the ACC crown. But both Wake and fellow unbeaten Clemson have emerged as dark horses in the league, although both teams still have a lot to prove to the nation (Clemson and Wake are undefeated, but ranked behind Duke and UNC, who both have one loss). Of the two, Wake has been a little more impressive, with wins over Baylor and at BYU (which is a much better win than you think - BYU had won 53 straight at home prior to Wake Forest, and they pack 22,000 screaming mormons into their home gym).
I love this Wake Forest team. There is an argument to be made for Jeff Teague as the best guard in america. James Johnson is one of the most underrated players in the country. Their front line is loaded, with a seemingly never ending string of big, athletic players. LD Williams is one of the best defenders in the ACC.
But I am just not sold on Wake as a top five team yet. I hate to be stereotypical and drop cliches, but the Demon Deacons don't have "it". I don't even know how to define "it". I'll put it like this: I'm not yet convinced that Wake can win a big game. They have a ton of talent, they are balanced, they are well coached, they have good guard play and great size. On paper, they have it all. But there is a mindset of teams that are championship caliber teams. They go into games and you expect them to win. If they are down, you expect them to make a come back. If they are up, you expect them to make a run to put it away.
The best example I can give you is the Yankees and the Red Sox. Prior to 2004, when you watched a Yankees-Red Sox game and the Sox got the lead, everyone (even Red Sox fans) would be thinking "how are they going to blow this one?". You just knew that the Yankees were going to make a come back, and you expected it to happen.
The Yankees had "it". The Red Sox didn't. I'm not saying that Wake doesn't have what it takes to knock off UNC, I'm just saying I have yet to see it from them. But like the Sox did in 2004, Wake has a chance to prove me wrong by picking up a win tonight.
So what does Wake need to do to knock off the Heels? Besides the obvious - shoot well and slow the Heels break, well, that's actually what they need to do. Wake likes to get out and run the floor as well, but they need to keep this game from turning into a track meet. No one in the country, maybe no team ever, could keep up with this Tar Heels squad.
So the question of the day is how does Wake play their style without allowing the game to turn into a track meet? For one thing, they only run when it is to their advantage. For example, if Teague grabs a long rebound and has a 2-on-1 break, then run. But if Carolina has three guys back on defense Wake has no numbers, than they need to pull the ball out and run their offense. UNC does a lot of things well, but they are not great in the half court, especially on defense.
Wake also needs to limit the numbers of chances UNC has to run. That is what BC did. The best chance you have for a fast break is off of a live-play turnover (i.e. jump a passing lane, rip a cross over, not a travel or three second call) or a defensive rebound. BC only turned the ball over 10 times (and just five of those were steals) and shot very well from the floor. Wake will need to do the same.
But UNC-Wake isn't the only good game on tomorrow:
1:30 PM: Wisconsin (12-3, 3-0) @ Purdue (11-4, 0-2): Purdue is just not the team everyone expected them to be right now. They are battling injuries (Robbie Hummel and Chris Kramer both missed the Penn State game) and struggling to score. Wisconsin is doing what they always do - slide under the radar during non-conference play, then come in and dominate the Big Ten. Purdue really needs this win. The conference is much better than people expected (I'd say they are right up there with the ACC in terms of the second best in the country), and the Boilermakers might not be able to recover is they start out in a 0-3 hole. This game is going to end up being as stereotypical a Big Ten game as there is - slow, grind it out pace with two very good defensive teams. If Hummel and Kramer play, I think Purdue gets it done at home.
3:30 PM: Penn State (13-3, 2-1) @ Minnesota (14-1, 2-1): Some of the questions about whether or not the Nittany Lions were for real were answered when the beat Purdue (albeit an undermanned Purdue squad) their last time out. But the Gophers are really good this year, especially on the defensive end. They play three different defenses, and play them all very well. When a team can throw multiple looks at you defensively, you are going to need a really good leader and floor general at the point. Talor Battle is a heckuva player, but he is not a true PG as much as a playmaker, if that makes sense.
10:30 PM: UCLA (12-2, 2-0) @ USC (10-4, 1-1): The Pac-10 is better than a lot of people think, and it doesn't look like USC is going to be one of the top teams. I don't see any way the Trojans end up being better than Arizona State or UCLA, and I would even rank them below Cal and Washington right now. It's not that they aren't talented or that they don't have many good players. In fact, they may be as good as ASU or UCLA on paper with guys like Taj Gibson, Dwight Lewis, Demar Derozan, Daniel Hackett, and Marcus Johnson. Yes, they have had to deal with some eligibility and injury issues this season, but their roster was pretty much intact (minus Leonard Washington - ankle sprain) when they blew a 15 point lead and lost to Oregon State. The biggest issue with USC right now is that they don't have a leader. Who on the Trojans roster would you have faith in to go get you a basket when you really need one? Dwight Lewis is mostly a jump shooter. Demar Derozan isn't ready. Daniel Hackett? Taj Gibson? I don't have too much faith in them yet. I'm sure Tim Floyd will have these guys playing better by the end of the season, but right now I just don't see this team making much noise in the Pac-10. Hopefully, a home game against rival UCLA gets the going.
The rest of today's games:
11:30 AM: Iowa (11-5, 1-2) @ Michigan (12-3, 2-1): I know that it was against Indiana and the Wolverines never should have been down that much, but they showed a lot of heart and toughness coming back from a 20 second half deficit. Iowa looks decent this year as they have come close to beating Ohio State and Minnesota.
12:00 PM: St. John's (10-4, 1-1) @ Pitt (14-0, 2-0)
1:00 PM: Xavier (12-2, 1-0) @ Fordham (2-11, 0-1)
1:30 PM: LSU (12-2) @ Alabama (10-4)
4:00 PM: Siena (11-5, 5-0) @ Manhattan (9-6, 3-2)
10:00 PM: St. Mary's (14-1, 1-0) @ San Francisco (8-8, 0-1)
Now let's get into what happened yesterday. I love Saturday's. There are a ton of games on for me to watch, but the problem is they best games always seem to overlap (that will happen when you need to get 135 games in over the course of 12 hours). Today, I made all the wrong decisions. For example, I watch Marquette-West Virginia and recorded Kansas-Michigan State, both blow outs by the end, instead of Louisville-Villanova, which was down to the wire. Seeing as the NFL playoffs were on, and I have a roomate that is a football fan, those games were on TV. Instead of TiVoing the Cal-Washington 3OT thriller, I TiVoed UConn beating Cinci in what was yet another underwhelming display by the Huskies. Great decision making on my part.
Anyway, let's get to Saturday's scores, starting with the Big East:
Marquette 75, West Virginia 53: This game was actually much closer than the final score indicates as West Virginia led at the half and was down just three with eight minutes to go. Marquette out scored the Mountaineers 24-5 from that point on. I know I will probably be saying this a lot this year, but this game epitomized Big East basketball. Physical play. Battles in the paint. Bodies on the floor. No whistles. Big East basketball is a man's game, and never has that been more evident than this season.
West Virginia came out in an interesting defense. I guess it was technically a match-up zone, but essentially what WVU did was to switch every single exchange. If Jerel McNeal got a screen set for him off the ball on the wing, they would switch. If Wesley Matthews happened to run by Dominic James, they would switch. It worked for a while, as Marquette was cold early on. Especially Jerel McNeal. Apparently, he is playing with an injured finger, and tonight he wore a sleeve on it (think AI's elbow sleeve, except for your finger). He had trouble shooting with it one, but started knocking down jumper after jumper once he took it off. McNeal finished with a typical night - 26 points, 7 boards, and 3 steals.
Marquette does a really great job on the glass for a team with size issues inside. WVU is an excellent offensive rebounding team, with a bunch of long, athletic guys that attack the glass. The Mountaineers were outrebounded by the Golden Eages 34-32 and WVU only got 13 offensive rebounds. McNeal, Matthews, and Lazar Hayward really go after rebounds hard, which more than makes up for their relative lack of height.
Louisville 61, Villanova 60: The Cardinals blew an 11 point second half lead, but still managed to hang on and win in Philly. I am not that impressed with either of these two teams. Edgar Sosa struggled again tonight, going for just 7 points on 3-9 shooting, which means that Louisville is still an incomplete team. Villanova just simply is not as good as people are giving them credit for. Top 20 in the country? What have they done to deserve that ranking?
The last minute of this game proved that fact, as Louisville hung on because they were able to screw up less. You know about there are games where people say "they only won because they were able to have the ball last". Louisville won this game because Villanova had the ball last. Down by one with under a minute left, Antonio Pena got an offensive rebound and drew a foul. Pena only hit 1-2 for a tie. On the next possession, the Wildcats came out in a soft, trapping press, and Sosa decided to try and throw a tough 40 foot pass to the other side of the court that he airmailed and sent into the Louisville bench. Villanova's Dante Cunningham would eventually draw a foul, where he hit one of two free throws. Louisville got a running lay-up from Terrence Williams on their next possession to take a 61-60 lead, but Williams over ran a pass in the front court (as Louisville decided to press) and Villanova ended up with a 2-on-1 break. Pena was fouled again, but this time he missed both free throws. Earl Clark knocked the second one out of bounds, meaning that 'Nova had the ball under their own basket with 4.0 seconds left. They ran a pretty screen-the-screener play, and it ended up with Cunningham missing a contested, but very makeable, lay-up and Reggie Redding and Dwayne Anderson both missed tips as time expired.
Not exactly the most well-played final minute. Williams finished with 10 points, 14 boards, 6 assists, and 2 steals while Clark added 16 and 11 boards. Cunningham led 'Nova with 21 and 5 boards while Pena had 14 and 8.
UConn 81, Cinci 72: The Huskies overcame some early foul trouble and eventually held on to beat the Bearcats in Cincinnati. UConn, for the most part, was able to keep Cinci from getting easy buckets by not allowing offensive rebounds and by protecting the ball. UConn was a very efficient team offensively, shooting 58% from the floor, and racking up 18 assists (on 29 field goals) to just 10 turnovers. It was especially important on a night that UConn's defense looked far from menacing. They gave up a lot of open looks from deep (although, how often is Cinci going to shoot 7-15 from beyond the arc) and could never put Cinci away.
UConn has not played a complete game yet. Yesterday, AJ Price finally broke out of his slump, going for 22 points (on 8-12 from the floor, 5-8 from three) and 5 assists. He also stepped up and hit two huge three's late in the first half that gave UConn the lead heading into the break. But yesterday, Hasheem Thabeet failed to show up. Granted, Cinci is a big team, but how can a 7'3" center that some people have on all-american lists end up with just 3 boards in 29 minutes? That cannot happen. It's one thing if he is holding a box out on a guy like DeJuan Blair, waiting for wings to swoop in and grab a board, but I don't think Thabeet ever boxes anyone out. One of his biggest problems right now is that he has a tendency to go to hard for a block. It happens a lot when he comes from help side, and he will miss the block, leaving his man wide open for a put back.
The good news from this game for the Huskies is that they looked good against Cinci's zone defense, moving the ball around and getting it to Jeff Adrien at the high post. Adrien finished with 13 points, 12 boards, and 3 assists. Deonta Vaughn had 19 points and 6 assists for Cinci.
Georgetown 82, Providence 75: The Friars were up for a good part of the first half, but struggled during the second half as the Hoyas defense really locked down. Georgetown went on a 15-0 run over six minutes, which turned a 44-40 deficit into a 55-44 lead. The most impressive part of the run was that they did it with three freshman and two sophomores on the floor - DaJuan Summers had picked up his fourth foul earlier in the second half. Greg Monroe had the kind of game that makes scout dream about this kid's potential. He finished with 13 points, 11 boards, 8 assists, and 5 steals.
Syracuse 82, Rutgers 66: Paul Harris had 26 points on 11-13 shooting, while Jonny Flynn added 15 points, 10 in the second half when the Orange pulled away, which included this dunk:
I think Flynn got away with a charge.
Notre Dame 88, Seton Hall 79: Luke Harangody had 30 points and 16 boards, Kyle McAlarney hit four three's en route to 18 points, and Tory Jackson added 18, 7 boards, and 8 dimes as the Irish were able to hang on against the Pirates at home. Things could have been different if Notre Dame didn't shut down Jeremy Hazell, who finished just 3-12 with 12 points.
South Florida 80, DePaul 58: Well, there is one less winless team in the Big East now.
Big Ten:
Michigan State 75, Kansas 62: The Jayhawk youth showed against an aggressive, tough Michigan State team. Sherron Collins went for 25 and Cole Aldrich had 14, 11, and 3 blocks, but Kansas got basically nothing from the rest of their team. Kalin Lucas is turning into one of the best point guards in the country. He finished this one with 22 points while consistently pushing the ball up the floor. The Spartans broke this one open with a 31-7 surge during the last ten plus minutes of the first half.
Illinois 76, Indiana 45: Trent Meachem led the Illini with 21 points on seven three's in a game that was never close.
SEC:
Tennessee 86, Georgia 77: A pretty unimpressive win for Tennessee considering they just blew a big lead in their last game (against Gonzaga) and they are more than likely going to drop out of the top 25, leaving the SEC without a ranked team. You have to tip your cap to Tyler Smith, however. Smith hurt his knee late in the Gonzaga game (it looked really bad at the time), but returned to finish out that one. He had spent the two days prior to the Georgia game on crutches, but somehow managed to convince Bruce Pearl he was healthy enough to play. And he sure was, as Smith finished with 24 points and 11 boards. Tennessee needed every point as they trailed by as much as 10 in the second half.
Mississippi State 70, Arkansas 56: Someone please explain this one to me. Arkansas knocks off Oklahoma and Texas at home, but then loses to Mississippi State by 14 at home not a week later? Arkansas was up 41-37 when the Rebels went on a 13-0 run, and never looked back. Courtney Fortson and Stefan Welsh, who both played so well versus Texas, never got it going. They combined to go 6-29 from the floor for nine points while shooting 0-12 from deep. You're not going to win many games getting that kind of performance from your starting backcourt.
Kentucky 70, Vanderbilt 60: Vandy was playing without center AJ Ogilvy (foot sprain), but still managed to keep it relatively close as both Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson had off nights. Meeks finished with 21 points on just 5-16 shooting, while Patterson (was was dealing with foul problems all night) had just 11 points and one rebound. I'm not sure what it is with Patterson this year, maybe he is pouty because he isn't getting as many touches or as much press as he did as a frosh, but there are times when it someones seems like he just isn't trying. How else can you possibly explain a 6'9", all-conference center can go against a team like Vandy (playing without their star center) and get just a single rebound.
Florida 78, Ole Miss 68: The Gators went up by 20 in the first half, and although the Rebels got it down to seven at one point, they never really threated. Nick Calathes led Florida with 19 points, 8 dimes, 7 boards, and 4 steals while Walter Hodge added 16 points.
South Carolina 68, Auburn 56: Good teams win games even when their best players struggle (right, Arkansas?). Devan Downey scored just nine points on 4-14 shooting, but the Gamecocks got 27 points out of Zam (that's his name - Zam?) Frederick and blew the game open with a 21-4 run to open the second half.
ACC:
Duke 66, Florida State 58: I don't think there is a team in the country that plays better, more aggressive half court defense than Duke. They get out and pressure the ball and they switch all screens and exchanges on the perimeter, which makes it so difficult to get into an offense. It forces you to play 1-on-1 basketball and take tough shots at the end of the shot clock, which isn't exactly ideal offense. Their defense was as impressive as it has been all season in the first half against Florida State, holding the Seminoles to just 14 points. Duke got it going early in the second half, and completed what eventually ended up being a 41-11 run and taking a 46-21 lead. Gerald Henderson was a huge part of that. The 6'4" swing man has the ability to do so much on a basketball court, the question always is whether or not he actually decides to play. He did yesterday, as he finished with 25 points on 9-14 shooting.
It wasn't just that Henderson was making shots, its that he was making baskets that Duke really needed. FSU made a comeback in the second half. Their defense really started to pick up, and once they get hot from the field, they made a run. The lead was right around ten, and Henderson was isolated on three or four possessions and was able to get Duke a big basket each time that took some of the air out of the Seminole's sails. Asking him to play like he did tonight every game is a bit much, but if he is able to provide Duke with another legitimate scoring threat, especially one that is able to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim, it makes Duke so much better.
Clemson 63, NC State 51: The Tigers used a 24-10 run in the second half to break open a close game. Clemson's defense was too much for the NC State backcourt, as the Wolfpack turned the ball over 18 times. Offensively, the story of the game was Trevor Booker, who finished with 23 points, 6 boards, and 6 blocks.
Miami FL 77, Boston College 71: Its official. It was a miracle that BC knocked off UNC. The Hurricanes got a balanced effort with five guys scoring in double figures as they "upset" the Eagles. The game was basically decided when Tyrese Rice got called for a charge on a very close play with BC down three points and less than a minute left.
Maryland 68, Georgia Tech 61: The Terps came back from 10 down in the second half, thanks in large part to some turnover issues with the Yellow Jackets. Tech finished the game with 28 turnovers, which allowed Maryland, who shot 32% from the floor and was outrebounded by 10, to pull out the win.
Virginia Tech 78, Virginia 75: The Hokies got 29 points from AD Vassallo and 24 from Malcolm Delaney as they built a 15 point second half lead. UVA got four three's in five minutes from Mustapha Farrakhan and cut it to a two point lead at one point, but Vassallo hit a jumper on the next possession to seal it.
Big XII:
Oklahoma 61, Kansas State 53: The Sooners got 29 points and 15 boards from Blake Griffin as they pulled one out in a tough, conference road game. Oklahoma broke the game open when they switch to a 1-3-1 zone near the end of the first half. It forced seven straight turnovers, and the Sooners went on a 10-0 run.
Texas 75, Iowa State 67: AJ Abrams continued to struggle with his shot (2-10, 8 points), but Damion James and Gary Johnson both chipped in with 19 and 17 points, respectively. The Cyclones got 20 and 13 from Craig Brackins.
Baylor 73, Texas Tech 61: LaceDarius Dunn scored 20 points and hit five three's, but it was the 11 straight he scored midway through the second half that broke the game open. Kevin Rogers had 14 and 14 for the Bears.
Nebraska 56, Missouri 51: The Huskers blew an 18 point lead, but they were able to hang on down the stretch. Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll both went scoreless in a first half that saw 12 Tigers turnovers. After tying the game at 51, the Huskers Sek Henry hit a lay-up with 1:12 left to give Nebraska the lead for good.
Oklahoma State 72, Texas A&M 61: After nearly squandering a 16 point lead in the first half, the Cowboys used a 10-0 run to take a 17 point lead during the second half. Marshall Moses, a sophomore that rarely sees minutes, had 15 and 13 for OSU.
Pac-10:
Arizona State 76, Oregon 58: James Harden had 19 and Derek Glasser added 15 and a career-high 11 assists as the Sun Devils knocked off the Ducks.
Arizona 64, Oregon State 47: Oregon State had just cut the lad to 55-47 with over two minutes remaining, but head coach Craig Robinson picked up two tech's and got tossed, and Chase Budinger hit four straight free throws which all but iced the game. Budinger finished with 24, while Jordan Hill added 15 and 11.
Washington State 55, Stanford 54: Taylor Rochestie hit a runner with 17 seconds left as Wazzu came back from 11 down against Stanford to pick up a win at home.
Cal 88, Washington 85 3OT: The game of the night, which I didn't get to watch. Patrick Christopher had 27 and 11 boards, Jerome Randle had 23 before fouling out, and Theo Robertson had a three point play that put Cal ahead 86-85, which (if you can believe it) was their first lead since 1-0. Cal had to rally at the end of each overtime period. Man, I wish I had TiVoed this.
The rest of the night's action:
VCU 68, Hofstra 60
UMass 75, Dayton 62
VMI 103, Coastal Carolina 102
Butler 54, Detroit 50: Matt Howard scored 11 of his 15 in the second half and grabbed a huge rebound with about a second left (hitting two free throws to ice it) as Butler hung on against hufe underdog Detroit.
George Mason 61, Old Dominion 53
St. Joe's 92, Rhode Island 86: Ahmad Nivins had 28 and 20 for St. Joe's as they were able to hang on after blowing a 17 point halftime lead.
BYU 86, Colorado State 60
San Diego State 72, Utah 63
Memphis 73, UCF 66
TCU 80, UNLV 73
Indiana State 75, Illinois State 70 OT: So much for Illinois State being for real. The Sycamores are now 4-12 on the year.
Davidson 84, Citadel 69
Houston 75, UAB 56
Gonzaga 67, Portland 50
Creighton 73, Bradley 64: Bradley's first loss in the MVC.
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