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...

Friday, Nov. 27 in College Basketball

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Most of you were probably watching football (to be honest, so was I!) but hopefully you were able to catch some good basketball. Creighton and Michigan went to OT, and although the Bluejays played some inspired basketball at the end, Michigan shut them down in the overtime period and won. They'll take on Marquette today, who played Xavier even for most of the game but was able to pull away late. On the other half of the bracket, Alabama pulled out a close one over Baylor, and Florida State got all it could handle from Iona but advanced. In Anaheim, Clemson found out it's a little more difficult to run for 40 minutes against a quality opponent and fell to Texas A&M. West Virginia awaits the Aggies in the semis. Also, Minnesota upset Butler off some big three point shots late. However, the big story of the night was the demise of UCLA, who suffered their worst loss of the Ben Howland era to Portland. Don't get me wrong, the Pilots are a decent team, but this definitely isn't the UCLA of old, particularly offensively. So now on to today:

Game of the Night:

Preseason NIT final:

UConn v. Duke: After a one day absense, the NIT preseason tournament is back, and this final looks to be a good one. Maybe. See, the thing is, I'm not sure how well Duke matches up in this game. Their strength is inside, but UConn certainly didn't have any problems on the glass on Wednesday against a pretty good rebounding team. Duke has Singler, but UConn counters with a taller and more athletic Stanley Robinson. And if Arizona St. was able to get to the rim on Duke like they did in the 1st half, then how are they gonna stop Dyson and Walker? I'm pretty sure the game will be closer than my prediction. I'm just not sure how to justify that.

Pick: UConn 85, Duke 68

Others:

Old Spice Classic:

Michigan v. Marquette: Just finishing up as I type. If Marquette doesn't win, well, they've certainly looked like the better team. Michigan threw 1-3-1 and 2-3 zones in the 2nd half and while Marquette struggled early, they pulled it together and never gave up the lead. Bottomline: Marquette was the more athletic team, and Michigan (other than Manny Harris) had no answer.

Alabama v. Florida State: We could see a Bama-Marquette final on Sunday. Raise your hand if you picked that. I shouldn't see any hands.

Creighton v. Xavier: Neither mid-major could pick up a good non-conf win, so it's a fight to the death instead, where the winner's at-large hopes are still alive. Actually, Xavier will have some games vs. Dayton to prove themselves. The Bluejays are running out of quality opponents on their schedule.

76 Classic:

West Virginia v. Texas A&M: No Ebanks means this is probably the Aggies' best shot at getting a marquee win. Unless they want to take down KU or UT in conf, which I would not recommend relying on.

**EDIT** Ebanks is playing.

Minnesota v. Portland: The Pilots are one win away from having enough decent wins to be in the at-large discussion in March, provided they don't lose any cheapies. And if they don't get this one, they still have @ Washington and two vs. Gonzaga to prove themselves.

Butler v. UCLA: A better sounding matchup than it actually is.

Las Vegas Invitational:

Illinois v. Utah: Don't forget about this one, and do NOT sleep on the Illini. Paul and Richardson have added a new dimension to this Illini offense.

Michigan St. v. Florida: This is the best non-tournament matchup of the day. I really, really believe the Gators are gonna give Sparty a good fight tonight.

South Padre Invitational:

Old Dominion v. Missouri: My pick for underrated game of the evening.

Thursday, Nov. 26 in College Basketball

Thanksgiving, college b-ball style:

I'm thankful for being able to watch Gonzaga outlast Cincy down the stretch behind some big plays by Robert Sacre and some stifling defense (and if it were me, I'd be looking to get him the ball more often... having a 7 footer with touch around the paint is a very, very good weapon).

I'm thankful for Arizona St. and Stanford, who, although they didn't win, at least played like they have some pride (unlike other Pac-10 schools so far this year).

I'm thankful that Wisconsin beat Maryland and somehow shot over 45% from beyond the arc after shooting horrendously from there in the previous two games. I am not thankful, however, that the Badgers probably will not crack the top half of the conference, meaning for my Boilers, every single conference game is going to be a challenge to win.

I'm thankful for UConn, who looked dominant against LSU yesterday.

I'm thankful for mid-majors who continue to beat OU.

I'm thankful that Vandy got a decent win out of Maui. Arizona's got some serious work ahead of them if they want to be a tournament team.

I'm thankful to be able to watch the greatest sport on Earth today.

All is good.

Game of the Night:

76 Classic:

Minnesota v. Butler: How often is it that we get a first round tournament game as the game of the night? Okay, fairly often I guess. But still... the Bulld ogs have looked fairly beatable over their first few games. They've survived, but it hasn't been pretty at times. Shooting 28% from the field again isn't gonna get it done. Meanwhile, Minnesota has cruised through their first three games and gets their first real test today. Considering Minnesota's athleticism on the wings with Rodney Williams and Damion Johnson, Butler will have to execute their offense and make shots more than they have had to in previous games. I'll take Minnesota in a minor upset.

Pick: Minnesota 73, Butler 67

Others:

76 Classic:

Texas A&M v. Clemson: The Tigers have been running people out of the gym lately. Let's see if they are for real.

Portland v. UCLA: I would say this is a trap game for the Bruins, but that implies they are the better team.

West Virginia v. Long Beach State: WVU is still without Ebanks... may not hurt them tonight, but I think they'll need him to win this tournament.

Old Spice Classic:

Creighton v. Michigan: Important game for both teams, especially the Bluejays, who could use some good out of conference wins.

Marquette v. Xavier: A couple of rebuilding schools. Time to find out if either can play.

Alabama v. Baylor: Should be a competitive game if nothing else. The Bears have looked strong early.

Florida St. v. Iona: Definitely don't think the Noles should've gotten pounded at Florida. They can take out their aggression today.

Wed, Nov. 25th in College Basketball

Varez Ward went down in warmups, but the only real impact it had was it allowed the Horns to show off their backcourt depth. Three guards scored in double figures and Damion James had 20 as Texas knocked out Pitt 78-62. The Panthers starting backcourt shot 10 for 39 and, while Pitt actually had the lead at the end of the 1st half, were just overmatched down the stretch. In Maui, Cincinnati beat Maryland in a game that really wasn't as close as the score showed, and Gonzaga got good production from guards Matt Bouldin and Stephen Gray as the Zags went up big early on Wisconsin and held on in the 2nd half. The games in Maui, plus the continuation of the Preseason NIT, set up the big games for tonight.

Game of the Night:

Maui Invitational final:

Gonzaga v. Cincinnati: These seem like two pretty evenly matched teams to me. I think Cincy has an advantage on the perimeter. Bouldin, Gray, and Demetri Goodson will have their hands full trying to stop Vaughn, Stephenson, and the other guards Cincy will throw out there. Then again, Yancy Gates hasn't faced a front line that's this good either. Gonzaga seems to do their best when they sit in their 2-3 zone and let the bigs control the paint. The Bearcats have struggled from the outside all year, and that will be their downfall tonight.

Pick: Gonzaga 70, Cincinnati 66

Others:

Preseason NIT:

Arizona St. v. Duke: The Blue Devils have looked outstanding this year, albeit against vastly inferior opponents. The Sun Devils are undefeated, which is good enough to make them one of the best teams in the Pac-10 so far (isn't that kinda sad?).

LSU v. UConn: The Huskies revamped frontcourt will be tested tonight, as LSU is getting 33 points and 20 rebounds a game from Storm Warren and Tasmin Mitchell.

Maui Invitational:

Maryland v. Wisconsin: Pretty solid 3rd place game if you ask me. Vasquez has gotta start putting the ball in the bucket if Maryland wants to do anything this year.

Vanderbilt v. Arizona: Nic Wise woke up last night in the Wildcats OT win over Colorado. Vandy's a significantly bigger (and better) team, though, than the Buffs.

Cancun Challenge:

Stanford v. Kentucky: Is it sad when Stanford's win over Virginia the other day is arguably the biggest win the Pac-10 has had this year?

Tuesday, Nov. 24th in College Basketball

What a great night to be a Purdue fan! The Boilers and Vols were pretty much even in the stat sheet and the scoreboard. Purdue's mini 8-0 run late in the 2nd half gave them the lead, and they would hold on as Wayne Chism's game winning jumper missed right. Chism led the way in the paint for Tennessee with 24 points against a Purdue frontcourt that was in foul trouble all night long. E' Twaun Moore came up big for Purdue and took over offensively, putting in 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting. My Boilers found a way to win at the end and this will be a big confidence booster for the team going forward.

Meanwhile, Iowa held Texas close and actually led at one point in the 2nd half, but Pittman and the Texas guards were too much and the Longhorns blew Iowa out. Cincinnati took down a ranked Vanderbilt team. Vaughn struggled with foul trouble and Stephenson was okay, but Yancey Gates came through in a big way with 16 points as Cincy put together a big run early and never looked back. On the other side of the Maui bracket, Gonzaga staged a furious 2nd half comeback to edge Colorado, and Wisconsin grinded out a victory over Arizona. In other games, Northern Iowa got a much needed win over Boston College, and Pitt advanced, setting up this matchup for tonight:

Game of the Night:

CBE Classic Final:

Texas v. Pitt: There's a chance the Cincy/Maryland game will be closer, but I'm more intrigued by a game featuring a (somewhat) proven Texas squad and a very much unproven Pitt team. The Panthers have looked good this year. Ashton Gibbs has been the leader early. Pitt will look to slow the game down and grind out a victory, and unlike Iowa, they have some size inside to handle Dexter Pittman. The key to Texas' success, though, is the variety of offensive options they have. The Longhorns have a multitude of guards alongside James and Pittman in the frontcourt who can score. At the end of the day, there's just too much speed and talent for Pitt to handle.

Pick: Texas 81, Pitt 64

Others:

Maui Invitational:

Maryland v. Cincinnati: ACC power vs. Big East power. Gates could have another big day inside, but I think this will be won by whoever has superior guard play.

Wisconsin v. Gonzaga: The other semi-final. The Badgers probably lead the nation in "ugly wins" over the past 5 years or so.

Florida St. @ Florida: Annual rivalry has basketball significance as well.

Monday, Nov. 23 in College Basketball

The first major weekend in college basketball was relatively overshadowed by football, both of the college and professional variety. That means you missed a VCU upset over Oklahoma and a bunch of ranked teams beating down cupcakes. Except for Butler. And Louisville, to a lesser extent. Sunday featured a few other decent games, including a Kansas State upset over Dayton off of 26 points from Jacob Pullen, Villanova getting a game from Ole Miss in the 1st half before pulling away early in the 2nd to win the Puerto Rico title, Miami beating South Carolina for the Charleston Classic title (5-0 isn't too bad either), and Tennessee and Purdue advancing in the Paradise Jam, but through different circumstances (more on that later). Monday begins Feast Week, which means if you're not excited about college basketball now, you need to be. The Maui Invitational starts today, and while the field isn't as strong as in years past, it should be very competitive. Other tournaments are starting or finishing up and we'll get our first look at a couple of Top 25 teams, like Texas. Here's what's on the Monday slate:

Game of the Night:

Paradise Jam Final:

Purdue v. Tennessee: The Vols limp into the championship game after shooting 37% from the field and 3 of 12 from three but beating DePaul by 4. Purdue, meanwhile, shut down St. Joseph and knocked them out early in the 2nd half with a barrage of threes. Tennessee is capable of putting massive amounts of points on the board with their full court press, but Purdue has the ball-handling and passing skills necessary to break the press consistently. The Boilers will likely try to slow the game to more of a half-court pace, and if they do that I think they'll have the advantage, as they probably execute better in the half-court than the Vols do. If Tennessee is able to speed up the game and get some turnovers, though, this could be a long game.

Pick: Purdue 69, Tennessee 66

Others:

Maui Invitational:

Cincinnati v. Vanderbilt: No ranked teams in this tournament, but plenty of teams around the same level. These are both teams that received their fair share of preseason hype, meaning I want to see if either are legit.

Arizona v. Wisconsin: This should be an interesting match-up of teams that were depleted by graduation/the draft and are looking to rebuild quickly.

Paradise Jam Consolation:

Northern Iowa v. Boston College: I know, I know, it's early, but in this blog, we're always thinking about March, and both of these teams really don't need another loss.

DePaul vs. St. Joseph's: I'll take the 5th place game over this one, actually.

CBE Classic

Texas v. Iowa, Wichita St. v. Pitt: Both of the favorites should take care of business tonight, setting up a fun final tomorrow. Then again, things never seem to turn out the way you expect. But I certainly don't expect a team that couldn't beat Texas-San Antonio to beat Texas-Austin. That's Texas if you don't know. But you should. Okay, I'll stop typing.

Season Preview: Preseason Tournaments, Part 2

Feast Week is here! That means turkey, family, and... that's right, college basketball! (What did you think I was going to say? Football? Geez...) All kinds of Thanksgiving tournaments are taking place, and the biggest ones are highlighted and previewed here.

CBE Classic

Nov. 15-18, 23-24

Favorite: Texas. As mentioned before, they're so deep it's scary. They should roll through their semi-final and final games in this torunament.

Others: Pitt. They're 3-0, despite not looking particularly dominating in any of their games. Talent is there, but do they have the depth and scoring ability the Longhorns?

Sleeper: Wichita State. The Shockers are still probably too young to make much noise in this tournament, but they were one of the hottest teams in the MVC at the end of last year and could play a big role in the conference again this year.

Cancun Challenge

Nov. 18-21, 24-25

Favorite: Kentucky. They're easily the most talented team in the field.

Sleeper: None. If Kentucky doesn't win this I'll be shocked.

Las Vegas Invitational

Nov. 14-24, 27-28

Favorite: Illinois. Could go with Okie State, but I'll take the Illini, who have looked good in the early going. Brandon Paul and D. J Richardson add a new dimension to that offense.

Others: Oklahoma State is one of the most improved teams in the Big 12 and James Anderson has looked awfully good in their first few games. Should they meet the Illini in the final, they can and will give them a great game.

Sleeper: Utah. The Utes were not highly projected in the MWC and lost early to Idaho but got a good win over Utah St and will give Illinois a game.

Maui Invitational

Nov. 23-25

Favorite: Gonzaga. The traditionally strong field is replaced by a bunch of marginal tournament teams. I would have taken Maryland before the season, but I don't know if they have the size to match up with the Zags.

Others: Maryland will be competitive, along with Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Cincinnati. In reality, any one of these teams could take this tournament.

Sleeper: Arizona. Since I'm not picking Chaminade, of the power conference teams, the Wildcats have the least amount of hype but a lot of talented frosh and Nic Wise and Solomon Hill.

Great Alaska Shootout

Nov 25-28

Favorite: Oklahoma, although the loss to VCU makes them seem a little less dominating than they would have been.

Others: I think Washington State will be better than expected, and the Pac-10 is wide open at this point (and I mean wiiiiiide open. Like, win the conference open).

Sleeper: Houston. A lot of the focus in the C-USA has been on Memphis and Tulsa, but the Cougars could make some noise in conference as well.

76 Classic

Nov. 26-27, 29

Favorite: West Virginia. Nova has struggled, albeit against good teams, in their conference tournament. There are good teams in this tournament as well, and the Mountaineers will get some good tests next week.

Others: All the teams are either power conference at-large contenders or quality mid-majors. This includes UCLA, Minnesota, Butler, Texas A&M, and Clemson.

Sleeper: Portland. One of those quality mid-majors, they sit opposite of West Virginia and will get two winnable games before the final. They may be playing WVU for the title on Sunday.

Old Spice Classic

Nov. 26-27, 29

Favorite: Michigan. Another even field that could be won by several different teams.

Others: Florida State, Creighton, Marquette, Xavier, Alabama, and Baylor round out the big names.

Sleeper: Xavier. Dayton's gotten all the attention early, but something tells me the Musketeers will have a say in who the A-10 champ is. And don't be surprised if they win a few early here.

Legends Classic

Nov. 18-22, 27-28

Favorite: Michigan State. Neither of the other three teams should seriously compete for this title.

South Padre Invitational

Nov. 15-22, Nov. 27-28

Favorite: Mississippi State. Ugly loss early but they've rolled since. Vernardo has been dominant, averaging a double-double and 7.5 blocks a game.

Sleeper: Old Dominion. The Colonial's looked really good early this season, and the Monarchs were the preseason conference favorite. Bad news for the rest of the field.