Confused about college basketball yet? This is the time of year where we see games that make us think "Wait, Team A beat Team B, and Team B beat Team C, so why is Team C beating Team A?" It's pretty simple, actually. Teams have good and bad games. Teams have games where they match up well and games where they don't. The most difficult job I have is removing preseason expectations from the mix and judging teams on how they actually look. So without further ado, I am here to sort out the mess... hopefully. Start with thursday:
Oklahoma beat USC, 73-72
Oklahoma - Good win for the Sooners, again. Blake Griffin had 25 points but only 6 boards, but if he continues to get good performances from his guards, OU will continue to win games. Austin Johnson helped with the scoring load tonight, with 17 points on 7-12 shooting. Warren only took six shots but had 5 points. Cade Davis stil does not look right from beyond the arc. Taylor Griffin is better than I thought and seems to know his role offensively. Tony Crocker's offensive numbers are down this year but he isn't taking as many shots either. Overall, this Sooner team takes care of the ball offensively and generally doesn't rush shots. These guys know their roles in the offense and don't do anything they're not capable of offensively. It helps to have one of the best players in the nation too. This is a top 10 team right now.
USC - This was my first look at the Trojans and I can say they are very athletic at many positions. A lot of those guys can beat their man off the dribble and get to the basket. Taj Gibson is not a true center but he holds his own on both sides of the ball. This team is big enough at the wings that rebounding won't be a serious issue either. Now for the bad news... a team that normally shoots 34% from three shot 70% from three and they still were unable to win. DeRozan will be good one day but he still looks like he's forcing shots. In general, the Trojans look more like 5 guys on the court than a true team, as they turned the ball over at key times and looked undisciplined overall (i. e. that cheap shot on Griffin which is one of the most inexcusable things I have ever seen on a basketball court or any sports field in general). This could be a dangerous team come March though.
Texas beat UCLA, 68-64
These teams are about as even as it's going to get. One of the best games all year. But it did confim one of my scares for this Bruins team... who will step up and make shots for them at the end of games? They were unable to do that on thursday, even when Texas continued to give them extra looks via offensive rebounds.
Texas - I hope the Abrams at PG experiment is over, because it's fairly obvious to me Abrams is better off the ball. He excels at coming off screens and getting open looks from three, where he is one of the best in the nation. Mason took more of a backseat offensively in this one but he can score when neccessary. James continues to mature nicely as an offensive threat. Defensively this team challenges every shot taken and is physical. They need to do a better job on the boards (Aboya had 7 offensive rebounds, 16 total for UCLA) but otherwise they're pretty solid defensively, probably the best in the Big 10.
UCLA - This is UCLA's second loss, and just like the first one, nobody steps up offensively to help Collison and Shipp. Darren Collison has done a good job of recognizing an offensive need and filling it. He's taking more shots this year and stepping up when his team needs him. Shipp is doing the same, although to me he appears uncomfortable in a lead scoring role. Outside of that, Holiday had a rough game but will play better and continue to mature. He's shown against other teams he can be a scoring monster but he needs to do that more consistently. In the inside, Keefe and Aboya are nowhere near the level this UCLA front line used to be at. Defensively, this team is a typical phsycial, in-your-face Ben Howland unit. Overall this team has a lot of talent and a lot of good freshman but nobody is stepping up at the moment and until some of these role players do, UCLA will continue to remain a top 15 team at best
One other big games of note... Butler beat Cleveland State on a last-second three to win 50-48. That's a very important game which could go a long way to determining the Horizon league champ.
Friday
Texas A&M beat Arizona, 67-66. Arizona tore them apart on the boards, 29-17, but when you lose the turnover battle 15-4 it's difficult to win a game. Budinger had 15 and Jordan Hill had 20, and the Wildcats shot over 60% from three but they still couldn't win. As for the Aggies, this team has flown under the radar and has a semi-ugly loss at home vs. Tulsa but got a good win here. They have some key games coming up (@ Alabama, home vs LSU) and if they can get both of them an at-large tourney bid isn't out of the question.
Saturday
Lots of crazy college basketball games, beginning with:
Michigan beat Duke, 81-73. I think we all knew Duke would struggle vs. a team with good post players but I didn't think it'd be this bad. On the other hand, Michigan has proven to be a good team this year (beat UCLA earlier in the year if you remember) and Sims has really matured into a legit scoring threat to complement Manny Harris.
THE VERDICT: Duke isn't going to shoot 22% from three all year, but then again, this isn't a good 3 pt shooting team. Duke was overrated in the Top 5 but shouldn't fall that far. Michigan should be a borderline top 25 team and will be a threat in a Big 10 that is starting to become a bit more crowded at the top than everyone (including me) thought.
Ohio State beat ND, 67-62
This is the 2nd legit team Ohio State has beaten away from home, but are they for real? The ND guards had no answer for Evan Turner, who was getting the ball to the rim all day. The Irish is not an athletic team by any means, though. And Harangody, while his numbers were fine, had to be affected somewhat by the pneumonia.
THE VERDICT: Ohio State will be competitive. B. J. Mullins had his best game of his college career and will only continue to get better. Still, I'm not ready to label them as Big 10 championship contenders just yet. Meanwhile, ND will live and die by the three, and while McAlarney won't go 0-6 from three every game, he certainly won't shoot 60% from three every game either.
Miami beat Kentucky, 73-67
The U was on their way to another collapse after giving away a 2nd half lead in the Ohio State game, but luckily for them McClinton wasn't going to let that happen. This guy is really, really good, as he can score from a variety of spots on the floor and is obviously the leader of this team on both sides of the ball. Meanwhile, Kentucky continues to find ways to lose and outside of beating West Virginia on a neutral court hasn't done much to hide that loss to VMI.
THE VERDICT: Miami is solidly 4th best in the ACC but not any better than that. Kentucky is still on the outside looking in for the moment.
Marquette beat Wisconsin, 61-58.
Marquette has a lot of good guards. And they can all score. Despite a game played at the Badgers' pace, Jerel McNeal would not let his team lose, as he went off for 26 points off 10-18 shooting as the Golden Eagles got a solid home victory. The Badgers are a very disciplined, well coached team but are unfortunately undermanned and under-talented (if that's a word)
THE VERDICT: Wisconsin moves to 4th in the Big 10 for the moment. Marquette may challenge in the Big East but will most likely stay in the logjam right below the top tier and they'll all beat up on each other.
Cincinnati beat UAB, 87-80
Well, so much for all those preseason expectations for the Blazers. I'm beginning to regret picking this team to beat Memphis (but I'm sticking with it)
Other random thoughts: Southern Illinois continues to suck it up in the non-conference season for the second year in a row (lost to Charlotte on Saturday). Providence beat Rhode Island in a game they needed to win. Don't look now, but VMI is 2-0 in the Big South and just beat the supposed favorites UNC-Asheville. Nobody in the Atlantic-10 wants an at-large bid so far (URI, St. Joseph's, Temple, and UMass all lost). And Baylor beat Washington State on the road, something that is not easy to do by any means.
Yea, this is still a mess. And to think it's only going to get worse...
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with wis at 4, does that mean osu moves up to 3, or uofm since they have beaten two top 5 teams. Duke is not overrated at 5, they are a very good team, remember what they did to your team a few days before. they just missed a lot of shots, which is what that zone wants you to take, take a lot of jump shots. Manny is the real deal, as is simns, who will not play that good every game but he is good. I think the big ten is better then a lot of people, me indluding thought it would be. Minn hasn't had a good win really yet, but they will be tough to beat at home. MSU will be fine, as will purdue, wis plays that style that gives people problems, and right now osu and uofm both look like big dance locks. I know there is a long way to go, but uofm has to be ranked now, with osu, don't they, beat two top 5 teams, only two losses to a top 5 team, and to a good maryland team on the road by 5. They have a better resume, right now, then a lot of teams in the top 25, and as much as I hate to say it, that includes msu. I still think the big ten winner will be purdue or msu, but don't count out osu, or uofm, and now it looks like 5 teams will be a lock, and depending on what minn does, maybe even ILL, it could be more
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