Weekend of Nov. 21st - Preview

Well, I guess the world knows who Wesley Johnson is. Boeheim placed Johnson at the 4 and he simply manhandled bigger, slower defenders en route to 25 points and 10 of 17 shooting. Meanwhile, UNC struggled from the field early in the 2nd half and Syracuse buried them in a hole that proved to big to break out of. UNC is big, talented, and deep, but don't have that one guy on the offensive end to take over the game. Johnson, on the other hand, can score early, often, and in a variety of ways. This team is also getting some good contributions from players like Rautins, Brandon Triche, and Scoop Jardine (we knew Onuaku was going to be good offensively anyway). Syracuse was obviously very underrated and will be a threat come Big East play.

That wasn't the only important game on Friday, though. Ohio State rebounded with a good win vs. Cal. The Bears could really, really use a healthy Theo Robertson. Dayton put up a good fight but Villanova pulled it out with the help of Corey Fisher and 18 points. Georgia Tech and Ole Miss picked up good wins in their preseason tournaments, and DePaul and St. Joseph's both won in minor upsets.

So it's time for the first weekend preview of the year! Conference tournaments really heat up during Feast Week, but this weekend's got some good matchups in store. Expect an update on Sunday when more games are known.

Saturday:

Game of the Night:

Ohio St. vs Michigan (football): With the college football season wrapping up, college basketball has chosen not to interfere and as a result, there really aren't any marquee matchups. And actually, Oregon v. Arizona is probably the bigger game this weekend. Screw it, let's stop talking college football.

Oklahoma @ VCU: Trap game for the Sooners. They look good so far with Warren running the show, but quality opponents have not come up yet.

Siena @ Temple: Always happy when the Saints get a decent matchup. Watch 'em while they're playing quality opponents.

Utah St. @ Northeastern: Fun mid-major matchup.

Southern Illinois @ UNLV, Houston @ Nevada, Oregon @ Portland: A bunch of mid-majors I want to keep on my radar, and Oregon. Because the Pac-10 needs some decent wins, and quick.

Sunday:

Game of the Night:

Puerto Rico Tip Off Final:

Villanova v. Ole Miss: A couple of decent matchups on TV tonight, but I'll go with the Wildcats/Rebels matchup. A team that everyone expected to be good (Nova) vs. a team that hasn't gotten much preseason attention but is talented and very capable of winning this game (Miss). While Nova has relied primarily on Corey Fisher to carry their offense these past two games, Ole Miss has four guys that can all carry the offense on any given night: Murphy Holloway, Chris Warren, Eniel Polynice, and Terrico White. This should be a great matchup of two talented backcourts. Although I've been hyping up the Rebels recently, I'll take the Wildcats, who are better defensively than anybody the Rebels have faced so far this year and should slow them down enough to take home the W.

Pick: Villanova 82, Ole Miss 75

Others:

Purdue v. St. Joseph's: The Hawks pulled off the upset over BC last night and are looking to make it two for two. Returning seniors Darrin Govens and Garrett Williamson have joined with freshman Carl Jones and forward Idrus Hilliard to form the bulk of the offense. St. Joe's hung with the versatile BC Eagles but should have a tougher time scoring against a defensively sound Boilermaker team.

Tennessee v. DePaul: The other half of the Paradise Jam semis. We'll see if Tennessee runs the Blue Demons off the court like they have with the rest of their competition this year.

Dayton v. Kansas St.: The consolation game in Puerto Rico may be as fun as the final, however less talented.

Miami v. South Carolina: Both teams could really use an early season quality non conf victory.

Friday, Nov. 20th in College Basketball

Although today's top games involve the same teams as last night, there are plenty of great matchups on this Friday, including another game between two ranked opponents, two under the radar schools, and some good mid-major/major conference matchups.

Games of the Night:

CvC Finals

UNC vs. Syracuse: It was tough to get a good read on the Heels last night. They alomst blew their dominating lead once Ohio St started hitting from the outside, but they did dominate athletically and in the paint for the vast majority of that game. Meanwhile, the Orange took Cal to the woodshed yesterday on the back of Scoop Jardine and Wesley Johnson. It will be interesting to see how UNC does against a more dynamic team that is shooting the ball well right now. Guys like Rautins, Johnson, and Jardine should make UNC pay for open outside shots. Will size dominate again, or can Syracuse negate that with their 2-3 zone and athleticism on the wings? I think UNC's size is too much in the paint for Syracuse and they win a close one.

Pick: UNC 77, Syracuse 73

Ohio State vs. Cal: The early game features a couple of perimeter oriented teams. The difference? Cal has no one to match up with Evan Turner. With no Marcus Gilyard-type player to slow down Turner, and with Theo Robertson out, Cal will rely on Jerome Randle to take over the game again. He will get his, but in the end I think the Buckeyes offense goes back to the level it was at before UNC and they pick up a solid non-conf win.

Pick: Ohio St 81, Cal 71
Others:

Dayton v. Villanova: The Flyers look to go 3 for 3 against ranked opponents. And they're one win away from getting this b-ball fan (and plenty of others) on their bandwagon for the rest of the year.

Georgia Tech v. George Mason: The Yellow Jackets get a solid non-conference win. The big 3 for GT: Lawal, Favors, and Shumpert, all played well and GT got to the line early and often (although they still didn't shoot them well). GT should fight for a tournament spot in the middle of the ACC.

Ole Miss v. Kansas St.: A slightly under the radar game featuring two schools who I think are tournament teams.

St. Joseph's v. Boston College: DePaul/Northern Iowa turned out to be a pretty good game, but this should be the best first-round matchup of the Paradise Jam. Or maybe BC will blow them out. I don't know.

Thursday, Nov. 19th in College Basketball

So what happened last night? Well, Butler and Northwestern fought early but once the Bulldogs shut down Michael Thompson's threes Northwestern's offense went down the tubes and Butler never really looked back. Texas cruised by Western Carolina, and Florida St., Florida, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin all won handedly as well. The best game of the night by far was Utah squeaking out a 1 point win over Utah State on the back of 22 points by junior guard Carlon Brown. Thursday actually has less games overall but conference tournaments start today, which means lots of good matchups, including the night games:

Games of the Night:

Coaches v. Cancer semifinals

Syracuse v. Cal: The first game features two teams heading in different directions in terms of preseason predictions. The Orange lost an exhibition game to a Division II squad but have looked dominant in the early CvC games. Onuaku is taking more of a leadership role after the perimeter losses Syracuse suffered in the offseason. Meanwhile, Cal was one of the expected Pac-10 favorites and cruised through their first two games (well, Murray State gave them a game) on the play of their standout guards Randle and Chritopher and forward Theo Robertson. I think Cal's not quite as good as expected, and Syracuse is going to be better than some think, but that's not enough to make me pick the Orange.

Pick: Cal 72, Syracuse 65

UNC v. Ohio State: A Big Ten fan told me at the beginning of the season that he thinks Ohio State can be a Top 5 team. You know what? I just might agree with him. Evan Turner does a bit of everything offensively and gets William Buford and Jon Diebler open shots, which they haven't been missing early on. Plus there's plenty of reasons not to pick UNC: Larry Drew could struggle in his first true test at the point, Thompson, Zeller, and Davis may struggle initally to establish consistent offense, perhaps this team is not built to run like the previous UNC dynasty was... who knows at this point.

Pick: Ohio State 76, UNC 72

Others to watch:

Dayton v. Georgia Tech: Finished this afternoon. The Flyers got what they needed to win: good offensive contributions from the bench, especially from the outside, and good defense. It didn't hurt that Lawal had 8 turnovers for the Yellow Jackets (26 overall). It's going to be a learning process for Paul Hewitt's young team.

George Mason v. Villanova: First Round Puerto Rico tip-off action is going on as I post. Early on Mason has been limiting the Nova guards offensively and has led most of the half. Nova is getting to the line but is having trouble making free throws. This would be a huge win for GMU and a legitimizing game for the Colonial.

Indiana v. Ole Miss: IU won't be as bad as last year, but they won't be all that good either. First test for the Rebels as well.

La Salle v. South Carolina: Don't let this late Charleston Classic slip by your thoughts. Both up and coming teams, and too much Devan Downey is never a bad thing. Unless you're playing the Gamecocks, of course.

Wed, Nov. 18th in College Basketball

24 hours of college basketball is over, and while I didn't pull an all-nighter like I was hoping (real life intervened... geez) I was still able to catch a lot of games and write down some observations. That includes Kansas actually looking inept offensively, Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers pretty much willing Michigan State to victory, UCLA and Georgetown struggle, and a couple of MAAC teams that should have some very good battles come conference season. They will all be blogged, don't worry, but for now let's talk about today, which is a pretty slow day in college hoops. Don't fret... Thursday's looking real good.

Game of the Night:

Butler @ Northwestern: Butler gets tested again early in the season. Butler already has had one scare against a much weaker Davidson team but now draws a pesky (albeit hurt) Northwestern team with annoying 1-3-1 trap zone and the always fun to watch Princeton offense. NW is down a couple wings with Kevin Coble and Jeff Ryan out for the season, but will still play hard and compete, and their defense is so unique that it's a pain to play against. They may struggle to score, however, and Butler should win a slow-paced game.

Pick: Butler 64, Northwestern 52

Others to watch:

Utah vs. Utah St. - Fun rivalry game between two mid-majors, one that should be good (Utah) and one that could be very good (Utah St.).

Oakland vs. Wisconsin - Oakland could be a decent team in the Summit this year... okay, fine, just watch Texas blow out Western Carolina. That's the best I got tonight.

Tuesday, Nov. 17 in College Basketball

This is the daily feature of the blog. Each night, recaps of games from the night before, followed by a small preview of upcoming games for the day. Since this is the first of the year, I'll start by recapping some important weekend/Monday games:

Friday, Nov. 13th

Pretty much every ranked team played a cupcake and won (save for one school). Impressive debuts included: Kansas (beat Hofstra 101-65, Xavier Henry with 27 in his first college game), Michigan State (beat FL Gulf Coast 97-58 after a slow start), Duke (beat UNC Greensboro 96-62), Minnesota (beat Tennessee Tech 87-50), Illinois (beat SIU-Edwardsville 96-69. 96 points for U of I???). Notable close calls include Washington, who needed 30 points from Isaiah Thomas to beat Wright State 74-69, and UConn, who got 27 from Jerome Dyson in a 75-66 win over William & Mary. The one big upset of the night: Rider over Mississippi St., 88-74. Rider did shoot 10 of 16 from three, but my pick to win the SEC isn't looking so hot right now. Oh, and Arkansas won 130-68, with Rotnei Clarke shooting 13 for 17 on threes and scoring 51 points.

Saturday, Nov. 14th

Dayton 90, Creighton 80 - The Bluejays were up by as many as 10 in the first half but the Flyers righted the ship in the 2nd half and pulled away late to pick up the early-season win. Creighton, down two of its top forwards, went into the game in a zone and pressured Dayton out of their rhythm. Creighton also shot 56% in the first half. At the start of the 2nd, Chris Wright had his way, scoring 7 points, blocking a shot, and creating 3 fouls in the first two and a half minutes en route to 25 points overall. He will need to have those kinds of days when Dayton gets into funks offensively. Chris Johnson added 18 points and 15 rebounds. As for Creighton, they missed out on a great chance for an at-large win, and that could come back to haunt them in March.

Butler 73, Davidson 62 - The Bulldogs avoided an early-season disappointment by putting it together in the 2nd half after shooting 31% with 7 turnovers in the first 16.5 minutes. Gordon Hayward had 17 and Willie Veasley had 15.

Michigan 97, Northern Michigan 50 - Manny Harris had 18 points, 13 boards, and 10 assists... and this was with 8 minutes in the game. Michigan shot 57% from the field and they rolled.

Sunday, Nov. 15th

More Top 25 teams rolling over nobodies. UNC held off Valpo to win 88-77 and go 3-0, for what it's worth.

Monday, Nov. 16th

Kentucky 72, Miami (OH) 70 - I don't think John Wall anticipated needing to make a 15 footer to win in his college debut, but that's just what he did. Wall finished with 19 points and is already cementing the hero status Kentucky fans gave him thr moment he set foot on campus. Miami packed it in and prevented Wall and Bledsoe from driving much of the game, but the Wildcats still got 32 points in the paint and outrebounded the RedHawks by 12 (mostly due to Patterson and Cousins). Despite this, Miami (OH) shot 15 of 26 from three and jumped out to an 18 point lead in the first half. While they played better offensively today, Kentucky has looked very sloppy early on in the season. Probably all the youth trying to come together as one team (hey, someone warned you all these freshman on one team isn't going to go over so smoothly. Don't worry, I fully expect them to figure it out this year. At some point... maybe)

Western Kentucky 69, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 65 - Best 1st Round game of the Preseason NIT so far. After a quick start by the Hilltoppers, this game remained close the entire way. A. J Slaughter had 30 points on 10 of 16 from the field and WKU shot 51% from the floor compared to 42% for UW-Milwaukee.

Otherwise, Monday was mostly Top 25 teams winning tune-up games and minor upsets (such as Missouri St. over Auburn)

Tuesday:

Game(s) of the Night:

Memphis @ Kansas (St. Louis) - Look, it's the first daily preview and I'm already mired in indecision. We'll start with a rematch of the 2007 National Championship game (for what it's worth). Kansas looks like they could score over 100 points a night in every game they play. The key for Memphis is keeping up with the high-powered Jayhawk offense. Elliot Williams is good, and Wesley Witherspoon, Doneal Mack, and Roburt Sallie form a solid backcourt, but there's definitely a talent disparity between the two squads. Look for Kansas to pound it inside with Aldrich against a smaller Tiger team.

Pick: Kansas 90, Memphis 75

Gonzaga @ Michigan State - In my opinion, the better of the two games. Michigan State is not going to blow anyone out of the water with size or athleticism or shooting, but they do a lot of things very well and are a complete team. Well, except at center. Meanwhile, the Zags are attempting to replace a lot of key contributors from last year. Matt Bouldin will be the leader of this squad, as he was on Saturday vs. Miss Valley State. Gonzaga played a lot of guys in their first game and might have a deep rotation as Mark Few tries to find his regulars. Gonzaga, as always, has a tough non-conference schedule, with games still upcoming against Washington State, Wake Forest, @ Duke, Oklahoma, and @ Illinois, so we'll know what the Zags are made of by mid-January.

Pick: Michigan State 82, Gonzaga 70

Others to watch:

Temple @ Georgetown - Time to find if G-Town is for real, early. This isn't a big test, but Temple is the kind of team that can get you if you're not ready.

Arkansas @ Louisville - Might be a fun non-conference matchup between power conference schools. Louisville's season debut will be against an Arkansas team that is only dressing 8 guys due to suspensions.

Northeastern @ Siena - Bracket Busters in November. One of the top teams in the Colonial faces off against one of last year's cinderellas who is currently just outside the Top 25. Fun times.

Season Preview: Preaseason Tournaments

First a quick update: my wrist surgery went well but I am currently typing with one hand, making this a very slow process. I am still blogging but it will be slower than before. The show must go on, right? Anyway, continuing on with season previews, here's a look at the major preseason tournaments starting this week. A part two will begin next week for Turkey Day preseason tournaments. And here we go:

Coaches v. Cancer:

Nov. 9-13, 19-20

Favorite: UNC. The Tar Heels had no problems in their first two games. Plenty of talent and depth is present, and Larry Drew and Marcus Ginyard looked fine. Still the most athletic team in this tournament.

Others: Ohio State. Evan Turner can't do it all, but he'll try. This team is right on the border of "scary good" right now.

Cal. If they're shooting well, they can beat anyone in the country. Probably the best backcourt in this tournament with Randle and Christopher.

Sleeper: Syracuse. It's evident that they lost a lot of talent and will be fairly thin across the board. But if Rautins shoots well and they get significant offense from guys like Wesely Johnson and Rick Jackson, they could surprise.

Preseason NIT:

Nov. 16-17, 25, 27

Favorite: Duke. Until a young UConn squad proves themselves, I'll go with the more proven Blue Devils. Duke looked just fine on Friday even with Nolan Smith and Mason Plumlee out. Scheyer and Singler will log plenty of minutes and carry this team.

Others: UConn. Every starter logged 30 or more minutes in Friday's win over William & Mary. Dyson will be the star, but Kemba Walker will be the key for this squad after losing A. J Price to graduation.

Sleeper: Western Kentucky. A. J Slaughter and Stephon Pettigrew give the Hilltoppers two effective outside shooters and will spread out teams in this tournament. Do they have the size to handle bigger teams, especially Duke and UConn?

Cancun Challenge

Nov. 18-25

Favorite: Kentucky. With Wall out on Friday, Eric Bledsoe and Patrick Patterson led the team. Lots of turnovers, but lots of talent on this Wildcat team.

Others: None. Oral Roberts, Rider, Virginia, and Stanford isn't really the kind of competition that will keep John Calipari up at night (although Rider did just beat Kentucky's biggest competition for the SEC crown, Mississippi St.)

Sleeper: Rider. They shot lights out to take down the Bulldogs on Friday and may challenge Niagara and Siena in the MAAC this year.

Puerto Rico Tip-Off

Nov 19-22

Favorite: Villanova. No struggles for the Wildcats on Friday. The guards will carry this offense, but forwards Mouphtaou Yarou, Antonio Pena, and Taylor King will have to provide some support offensively.

Others: Georgia Tech, Dayton, Mississippi, Kansas State. There's a lot of teams that could take out the Wildcats and win this tournament. My money would be on either the Flyers or the Yellow Jackets.

Sleeper: Mississippi. This team returns three guys who were all hurt last year but played significant minutes the year before. It will be interesting to see how the Rebels fare this week.

Charleston Classic

Nov. 19-22

Favorite: South Carolina. The Gamecocks lead this somewhat depleted field. Finding a 2nd scorer to complement Devan Downey will be key for the Gamecocks if they want to make the tournament this year.

Others: La Salle. The A-10 will show its depth here, as the Explorers are expected to be one of the better teams in this conference and this tournament.

Sleeper: Miami (FL). Dwayne Collins and co. will look to pick up the production of Jack McClinton after his graduation.

Paradise Jam

Nov. 19-22

Favorite: Purdue. The Boilers looked strong on Friday. They will be thin at forward but the backcourt depth is impressive. Watch for frosh Kelsey Barlow, who has impressed in the early season and will fight for minutes in a crowded backcourt.

Others: Tennessee. If these two teams meet in the finals, it will be a classic battle if tempo. Look for the athletic Vols to push the pace more often this season.

Sleeper: Boston College. The Eagles have lots of weapons offensively and good wings with Sanders and Raji. They could emerge from a crowded middle pack in the ACC this year, and this tournament should be a good test of their overall strength.