Wednesday, Dec. 2nd in College Basketball

All kinds of things to talk about today after last night's games. UNC was hitting on all cylinders last night in their 89-82 victory over Michigan State. The Heels finally got a big time performance from Ed Davis and got the guard play they needed from Larry Drew. Dexter Strickland also looked impressive in limited minutes. They turned it over a lot, especially late, but when you shoot 57% you can afford to have a few poor possessions. Defensively, they were strong, limiting the Spartans from the perimeter (although they gave up a few too many offensive boards). As for Michigan State, they seem to miss Goran Suton a lot more than normal tonight. Michigan State's guards did not shoot well from the outside and they were beat up inside, which led to open outside jumpers threes for UNC. I think Sparty will be fine, but they can't afford shooting performances like that against top tier opponents.

Purdue shot just as poorly but ended up on top thanks to big games from Johnson and Moore. E'Twaun has risen to the occasion the past few games and taken over the scoring reins, and JaJuan was his usual dominant self. But the rallying call for the Boilers (as usual) was their defense, causing 25 turnovers and effectively negating Wake's height and Ishmael Smith's speed in the 2nd half. Wake needs to become more skilled on the perimeter if they want to avoid long scoring droughts like ones they had in the 2nd half of Tuesday's game. For the Boilers, well, I would like to see someone other than Moore and Johnson start scoring (Hummel??) but having one of the best defenses in the game is a nice tradeoff.

Now for today... You know you're a college basketball fan when you look at the day's lineup and it makes you all giddy inside. Today is one of those days. In fact, I have plenty of games to talk about without even mentioning the five ACC/Big Ten Challenge games taking place. Let's begin out west:

Game of the Night:

Washington State @ Gonzaga: Who would have thought this game would turn out to be as good a matchup as it is? Some in Spokane have been saying this is the best Zags team in years. Without getting into too much about recent Gonzaga basketball, let's just say that although their ranking isn't as high as previous years, the Zags are certainly equipped to make a deep tournament run. This team is as committed to defense as any Gonzaga team this decade. And while there may not be many big names, guys like Matt Bouldin, Steven Gray, and Robert Sacre have matured into very nice players and see to be working together well. Depth and athleticism could be an issue, but for now they look capable of beating anyone on their schedule, including @ Duke on Dec 19th.

The Cougars entered the year with even less expectations than the Zags, but apparently all they needed was a change in style. After seeing year after year of slow-paced, mid-50s scoring, Ken Bone has implemented a much more up-tempo style and Washington State has scored less than 85 in a game once this year. Clay Thompson is quickly becoming a household name with his 28 point per game average. The Cougars look like the 3rd best team in a very weak Pac-10 right now. But before we get too excited, let's remember they haven't really beaten anyone yet. And they haven't played a defense nearly as good as Gonzaga's. The Bulldogs take this one.

Pick: Gonzaga 79, Washington State 74

Others:

UNLV @ Arizona: Big win over the weekend for the Rebels, as they upset Louisville again. This one wouldn't be as big, but still important.

Siena @ Georgia Tech: The Saints are gonna be one of those mid-majors you know are good but don't have the resume to back it up. They really need this one.

Western Kentucky @ South Carolina: Same as above

Missouri @ Vanderbilt: The loser may look back on this one in March and see it as one that got away.

Old Dominion @ Richmond: The mid-major game of the night. I love finding gems like this :) okay, I'll stop being a nerd.

Oklahoma State @ Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane gets to prove themselves before C-USA play.

Northern Iowa @ Iowa State: Another game between two teams that could be fighting for a tournament spot come March.

Arkansas @ Oklahoma: So much for OU remaining an elite team when Blake Griffin left...

San Diego State @ San Diego: Okay, I understand nobody cares about this one (but they could both be really good mid-majors!!!!)... time to stop.