Weekend of Nov. 28th Preview

Beat Florida State? Eh. Beat Michigan State? Okay, now we're talking. Florida shook up the college basketball world Friday night, knocking out the Spartans 77-74, and the Gators are now 5-0. They got Michigan St. to turn the ball over 22 times and go 2 of 12 behind the arc, which made up for the large rebounding gap. Are the Gators legit? It sure seems like it. Can they compete for the SEC East title? It's a crowded division, but neither Kentucky nor Tennessee have looked particularly dominating. Only time will tell. As for Michigan State... I'm not worried about them. If this becomes a habit, we'll talk again.



It takes a pretty significant event to out-headline Duke-UConn. I actually thought this was a pretty sloppy game. Duke shot below 30% but annihilated UConn on the boards which gave them plenty of second chances. The Huskies simply couldn't put the ball in the bucket, whether from the outside (no threes for the ENTIRE game!), at the baskey, or at the line. It appears the Huskies will have problems rebounding for much of the year, putting that much more pressure on Dyson an Walker to score consustently. They didn't tonight, and the UConn offense struggled as a result.



In other news, the finals of the 76 and Old Spice Classic are set. Marquette was efficient, quick, and deadly on offense and put Michigan away. They'll get an interesting matchup against a Florida State team that is much bigger inside and will not allow easy layups in the paint. I'm guessing the Eagles will need to hit some outside shots to win this one. In Anaheim, West Virginia took down Texas A&M once Desean Butler woke up. They'll take on (drum roll please) Cinderella wonders Portland, who won their semi-final over Minnesota and get a shot at making their claim to win the WCC. As in, beat Gonzaga. Last time someone other than the Zags won the WCC, Marion Jones was actually a legitimate athlete (zing!!!). An upset over WVU would have tremendous implications.



Saturday, Nov. 28



Game of the Night:



Louisville v. UNLV: This is a somewhat intriguing game, if only because the Rebels won last year in Louisville. The Cardinals will look to return the favor this afternoon. Louisville has looked less than stellar so far this year, but the Wildcats have really been challenged themselves with a tough schedule so it's okay (that's a joke. Ha ha. This is the only Louisville road game until early January). UNLV has beaten some decent mid-majors but this will easily be their biggest game to date. With absolutely no evidence to back this up, I will pick Louisville to return the favor and win this year.



Pick: Louisville 88, UNLV 74



La Salle v. Villanova: Maybe a decent matchup... maybe



Massachusetts v. Michigan St., Rutgers v. Florida: See, now why couldn't they have set it up so the Gators/Spartans matchup is for the championship of the Legends Classic and not a first round game?



Boston College v. Providence: So much for BC being a surprise team in the ACC.



St. John's v. Temple: These are a couple of teams you can name-drop at parties as potential sleepers and get some "ooh"s and "aah"s.



Presbyterian v. Southern: Both teams are 0-5. However, neither one has played a home game, so I'll cut them some slack. And they've both played a lot of tough opponents. Okay, they both suck. Come on, people, I'm trying to help these guys out.



Sunday, Nov. 29



76 Classic Final:



West Virginia v. Portland: This matchup is just too good to pass up. The Pilots have been on e of the most offensively efficient teams in the country up until this point... high effective FG%, low turnover %. They have some decent size and they crash the boards well. And these past two games have probably been their best defensive games of the season. Can they beat the Mountaineers? I don't know. They haven't faced as good a scorer as Butler yet this year. Minnesota had athleticism on the wings, but not like this. The thing about West Virginia is they can hurt you in so many ways, especially with Ebanks back. I think this is either a blowout for WVU or a really close game. And I men really close.



Pick: West Virginia 83, Portland 80



Others:



Old Spice Classic:



Marquette v. Florida State: Not quite as intriguing as the 76, although still fun to think about.



Michigan v. Alabama, Xavier v. Baylor, Creighton v. Iona: The first team fir each game should win. And if not, well, they've got some major problems. Maybe not Xavier, but definitely the other two.



76 Classic:



Minnesota v. Texas A&M: This is why preseason tournaments are awesome. Even third place games get good matchups and mean something.



Clemson v. Butler/UCLA: Both teams could really use a legitimizing non conf win.



Nevada v. UNC: Here's hoping this one's a good game.



Nebraska v. USC: Probably would be more fun if it was football. Even then...