Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
Backcourt: The Irish backcourt is full of shooters with McAlarney, Jackson, and Ryan Ayers. These guys are not afraid to throw up threes and if they're on, ND is a very dangerous team offensively. Still, UNC has more guys that can not only shoot but create off the dribble, like Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, and Ty Lawson. Lawson is as quick a PG as there is in the nation, he's a great passer with good court vision, and he's a leader. Ellington wasn't completely on his game vs. Oregon but he's possibly the most dangerous guy on that team. Green has really come on offensively this year and gives UNC another weapon. As good as ND's backcourt is, they really can't match the Tar Heels in terms of backcourt athleticism.
Advantage: UNC
Frontcourt: With a fully healthy Hansbrough, this clearly goes to UNC. However, since I'm unsure how many minutes he can give them, I'll give the cautious nod to ND. Harangody is an absolute monster in the post and he can hit that outside jumper too. As far as the other forward spot, both Deon Thompson and Zach Hillesland play more support roles but both can score occaisionally if neccessary
Advantage: ND
Bench: Definitely UNC, who has All-Americans backing up All-Americans, while ND played only 5 guys more than 11 minutes against Texas.
Advantage: UNC
Experience: Both teams are returning a lot of players, but I'll go with UNC who has been in higher pressure situations later in the tournament.
Advantage: UNC
Teamwork/Unity: ND moves the ball better than UNC, but that's also because UNC has better 1-on-1 players. I'll go with ND on this one though
Advantage: ND
Prediction: UNC 90-75. The Tar Heels have issues stopping Harangody in the first half, then focus all their defensive attention on him in the 2nd half. ND's guards are unable to consistently make threes and UNC pulls away late on the back of Ellington and Green offensively
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
College Basketball Recap - Nov 25th
Wow... some really, really good games last night. I wasn't able to catch as much as I wanted but I saw the ending to the ND-Texas and Kansas-Syracuse games and they were both excellent. Impressions about both games:
ND beat Texas, 81-80
ND - Well, this team's got some talent around Harangody. Tory Jackson's points per game is up almost 7 ppg from last year, McAlarney is one heck of a shooter, Ayers made some key shots for them last night. But back to the big man. Harangody is an absolute beast in the post. He's more athletic than he looks, he can shoot the open jumper (not that banked three from 35 feet, like a 12-14 footer) but he's an absolute monster on the boards. If that's not enough, this team has 3-4 guys that can hit the three when open, meaning Harangody's got plenty of people to pass out to on the wings. Their free throw shooting almost cost them the game, though. And I'm still concerned about the lack of depth for this team, particulary when taking on a team that plays as fast as UNC.
Texas - Very good team here. Abrams is one heck of a shooter. Mason had a career day with 16 points on 7-12 shooting. James will get his. Gary Johnson gave them some good minutes off the bench. Depth could also become a problem for Texas, as they only played 5 guys decent minutes (I'm assuming Varez Ward would've played more had he not fouled out). Also, down the stretch I felt like this team did not take good shots, settling for contested jumpers rather than taking the ball to the hoop and kicking out, giving it to Atchley and kicking it out, etc. That could be due to the fact that they have no real PG. Abrams is good and everything but I think he's much better for the team flying around the perimeter without the ball and getting in position for open threes. I don't see Texas winning too many big games with him firing up 26 shots. The Longhorns are not really going to run anyone out of the building offensively so they need to get stops, and they were unable to slow down Harangody. I think Texas will be very good in the Big 12, but I'm a little worried about picking them as the Big 12 champs. I will have to see how OU looks tonight.
Syracuse beat Kansas, 89-81 (OT)
Syracuse - Great performance by the Orange, roaring back from 13 down in the 2nd half against a partisan crowd. So much for this team struggling at neutral sites. Honestly, there's so many offensive weapons on this team it's not even funny. Think of the ways they can score... Flynn with the drive or the 3, Devendorf with the drive or the 3, Onuaku in the post or grabbing rebounds, Paul Harris in a variety of ways, Rautins with the 3... they have 3 really good three point shooters and that's more than most teams can say or handle. Once they started feeding the ball inside to Onuaku, though, that's when their offense took over. I really think he needs more touches. Defensively, they didn't do a great job, and they still don't cover shooters well in that zone (or the drive in man-to-man), but they really got into the passing lanes in the 2nd half and came up with some big steals. I think they need to stick with man-to-man with all the athletes they have (I'm changing my mind from yesterday lol). Overall, this team is very, very dangerous and I still don't think they've come near their potential yet. That's a scary thought
Kansas - They had a really good showing, sparked by the crowd and all, but came up short in the OT session. Cole Aldrich is a beast in the paint both offensively and defensively. He didn't shoot very well today but he does a lot of things on the other side of the ball, disrupting and blocking shots, getting rebounds, etc. Marcus Morris has the potential to become a very good wingman. Sherron Collins was good as expected. They had a problem with foul trouble and that probably disrupted their rotation but they went 7 deep solidly and they have a good mix of post players, wingmen, and guards but it's going to take some time to develop as they were somewhat sloppy offensively in the 2nd half and uncharacteristically turned it over a lot. I still feel they move the ball as well as anyone in the nation and will be tough on a lot of teams defensively but they need to limit those turnovers because like Texas, they're not going to run anyone off the floor
UNC beat Oregon, 98-69. This game was a joke from the beginning. I thought UNC would come out and dominate but not like this. Oregon tried to come out and run like they did against Alabama... problem is, UNC does it better. A lot better. In their halfcourt set, Oregon looked awful. Bad shot selection, didn't really move the ball very well... outside of dumping it to Michael Dunigan in the post, this team had nothing really. UNC meanwhile has so many weapons offensively. Danny Green continues to impress and has really stepped up his game offensively. Hansbrough had 16 points in 19 minutes and it will be interesting to see how much PT he gets against ND. Ellington didn't even have that good of a game, and Lawson can also score if neccessary. This is going to be a good Maui final:
ND v. UNC, 10 PM (ESPN)
In other top 25 news: Soon to be out of the top 25, Florida squeaked by Washington 86-84. The game was closer than it probably should've been as Florida led much of the 2nd half. Calathes is a player but Florida needs a lot of work defensively, particularly in the post. Pitt beat Belmont 74-60 on the back of Young's 33 points. Marquette annihilated Texas Southern, and Davidson stomped down on Loyola (MD) despite Stephen Curry's ZERO points. Seriously, watch the highlight. Loyola just stuck two guys on Curry the ENTIRE game. Interesting defensive strategy. Oh, and St. Joe's destroyed IU. Had to put that in there :)
ND beat Texas, 81-80
ND - Well, this team's got some talent around Harangody. Tory Jackson's points per game is up almost 7 ppg from last year, McAlarney is one heck of a shooter, Ayers made some key shots for them last night. But back to the big man. Harangody is an absolute beast in the post. He's more athletic than he looks, he can shoot the open jumper (not that banked three from 35 feet, like a 12-14 footer) but he's an absolute monster on the boards. If that's not enough, this team has 3-4 guys that can hit the three when open, meaning Harangody's got plenty of people to pass out to on the wings. Their free throw shooting almost cost them the game, though. And I'm still concerned about the lack of depth for this team, particulary when taking on a team that plays as fast as UNC.
Texas - Very good team here. Abrams is one heck of a shooter. Mason had a career day with 16 points on 7-12 shooting. James will get his. Gary Johnson gave them some good minutes off the bench. Depth could also become a problem for Texas, as they only played 5 guys decent minutes (I'm assuming Varez Ward would've played more had he not fouled out). Also, down the stretch I felt like this team did not take good shots, settling for contested jumpers rather than taking the ball to the hoop and kicking out, giving it to Atchley and kicking it out, etc. That could be due to the fact that they have no real PG. Abrams is good and everything but I think he's much better for the team flying around the perimeter without the ball and getting in position for open threes. I don't see Texas winning too many big games with him firing up 26 shots. The Longhorns are not really going to run anyone out of the building offensively so they need to get stops, and they were unable to slow down Harangody. I think Texas will be very good in the Big 12, but I'm a little worried about picking them as the Big 12 champs. I will have to see how OU looks tonight.
Syracuse beat Kansas, 89-81 (OT)
Syracuse - Great performance by the Orange, roaring back from 13 down in the 2nd half against a partisan crowd. So much for this team struggling at neutral sites. Honestly, there's so many offensive weapons on this team it's not even funny. Think of the ways they can score... Flynn with the drive or the 3, Devendorf with the drive or the 3, Onuaku in the post or grabbing rebounds, Paul Harris in a variety of ways, Rautins with the 3... they have 3 really good three point shooters and that's more than most teams can say or handle. Once they started feeding the ball inside to Onuaku, though, that's when their offense took over. I really think he needs more touches. Defensively, they didn't do a great job, and they still don't cover shooters well in that zone (or the drive in man-to-man), but they really got into the passing lanes in the 2nd half and came up with some big steals. I think they need to stick with man-to-man with all the athletes they have (I'm changing my mind from yesterday lol). Overall, this team is very, very dangerous and I still don't think they've come near their potential yet. That's a scary thought
Kansas - They had a really good showing, sparked by the crowd and all, but came up short in the OT session. Cole Aldrich is a beast in the paint both offensively and defensively. He didn't shoot very well today but he does a lot of things on the other side of the ball, disrupting and blocking shots, getting rebounds, etc. Marcus Morris has the potential to become a very good wingman. Sherron Collins was good as expected. They had a problem with foul trouble and that probably disrupted their rotation but they went 7 deep solidly and they have a good mix of post players, wingmen, and guards but it's going to take some time to develop as they were somewhat sloppy offensively in the 2nd half and uncharacteristically turned it over a lot. I still feel they move the ball as well as anyone in the nation and will be tough on a lot of teams defensively but they need to limit those turnovers because like Texas, they're not going to run anyone off the floor
UNC beat Oregon, 98-69. This game was a joke from the beginning. I thought UNC would come out and dominate but not like this. Oregon tried to come out and run like they did against Alabama... problem is, UNC does it better. A lot better. In their halfcourt set, Oregon looked awful. Bad shot selection, didn't really move the ball very well... outside of dumping it to Michael Dunigan in the post, this team had nothing really. UNC meanwhile has so many weapons offensively. Danny Green continues to impress and has really stepped up his game offensively. Hansbrough had 16 points in 19 minutes and it will be interesting to see how much PT he gets against ND. Ellington didn't even have that good of a game, and Lawson can also score if neccessary. This is going to be a good Maui final:
ND v. UNC, 10 PM (ESPN)
In other top 25 news: Soon to be out of the top 25, Florida squeaked by Washington 86-84. The game was closer than it probably should've been as Florida led much of the 2nd half. Calathes is a player but Florida needs a lot of work defensively, particularly in the post. Pitt beat Belmont 74-60 on the back of Young's 33 points. Marquette annihilated Texas Southern, and Davidson stomped down on Loyola (MD) despite Stephen Curry's ZERO points. Seriously, watch the highlight. Loyola just stuck two guys on Curry the ENTIRE game. Interesting defensive strategy. Oh, and St. Joe's destroyed IU. Had to put that in there :)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
CBE Classic Final Preview
Syracuse Orange vs. Kansas Jayhawks
I will attempt to preview this game based on what I saw last night. And here we go:
Backcourt: Lots of options here for Syracuse. Jonny Flynn led this team in scoring last year and is averaging 20 a game this year. Paul Harris had 18 last night in the win over Florida. Devendorf is back after an ACL sidelined him last year and can score in a variety of ways. Andy Rautins lit it up from three last night. Between this group, there's a enough shooters and quick guys that scoring shouldn't be a problem. For Kansas, Sherron Collins has stepped up and become an offensive leader (19.7 pts a game). After that, it's a ragtag group of young guys who all share minutes and points. Freshman Tyshawn Taylor has started the past two games for the Jayhawks and had 10 last night in their win. In comparison, Kansas may be better as a group defensively but the offensive firepower gives this one to the Orange.
Advantage: Orange
Frontcourt: Arinze Onawaku anchors the frontline for the Orange. The junior is strong an athletic, and it shows in his rebounding and scoring. After that, there's not a lot. Kris Joseph's been playing good minutes for them but he isn't very big. Kristof Ongenaet started for them yesterday and gave good hustle minutes but isn't a big scoring threat. The Orange frontcourt (besides Onawaku) is mainly there for rebounding and defensive support (keep in mind the defense hasn't been stellar for the Orange this year). Kansas is somewhat thin on the frontline as well but they do have 6-11 center Cole Aldrich, who I believe is a star in the making. He can hit the 12-14 footer or score in the low post, and he's a good free throw shooter. He's also averaging over 3 blocks a game. Other than Aldrich, there's the Morris brothers, Markieff and Marcus, who average 37 minutes and almost 13 boards between them. The Kansas offense runs through Collins and Aldrich, and Aldrich's defensive presence gives Kansas the nod here
Advantage: Kansas
Bench: The benches were highlighted earlier on. Neither team appears to run a very deep bench. Kansas went 7 deep yesterday and Syracuse ran 8 deep, but typically Boeheim teams have a short bench. Syracuse probably has more offensive options off the bench and that's why the Orange get the advantage here
Advantage: Syracuse
Experience: Both teams are young. But at least Kansas has a couple of National Championship winners, whereas most of Syracuse's guys haven't even played in a NCAA tournament game.
Advantage: Kansas
Coaching: Both teams are well coached, obviously. I feel Kansas is the more disciplined of the two, while Syracuse still appears to be playing somewhat selfish basketball and is turning it over more (which could just be a product of a faster pace of play, but whatever)
Advantage: Kansas
FINAL VERDICT:
While I do feel Kansas is the more complete team at this point in the season, I'm picking Syracuse for two reasons. One, I picked them in the beginning of the season to win this tournament and I don't see a major reason to change now. Second, I think this team is more talented overall, particularly offensively, and Kansas hasn't faced this many guys who can beat you off the dribble or shoot yet this season. Syracuse wins 76-71.
I will attempt to preview this game based on what I saw last night. And here we go:
Backcourt: Lots of options here for Syracuse. Jonny Flynn led this team in scoring last year and is averaging 20 a game this year. Paul Harris had 18 last night in the win over Florida. Devendorf is back after an ACL sidelined him last year and can score in a variety of ways. Andy Rautins lit it up from three last night. Between this group, there's a enough shooters and quick guys that scoring shouldn't be a problem. For Kansas, Sherron Collins has stepped up and become an offensive leader (19.7 pts a game). After that, it's a ragtag group of young guys who all share minutes and points. Freshman Tyshawn Taylor has started the past two games for the Jayhawks and had 10 last night in their win. In comparison, Kansas may be better as a group defensively but the offensive firepower gives this one to the Orange.
Advantage: Orange
Frontcourt: Arinze Onawaku anchors the frontline for the Orange. The junior is strong an athletic, and it shows in his rebounding and scoring. After that, there's not a lot. Kris Joseph's been playing good minutes for them but he isn't very big. Kristof Ongenaet started for them yesterday and gave good hustle minutes but isn't a big scoring threat. The Orange frontcourt (besides Onawaku) is mainly there for rebounding and defensive support (keep in mind the defense hasn't been stellar for the Orange this year). Kansas is somewhat thin on the frontline as well but they do have 6-11 center Cole Aldrich, who I believe is a star in the making. He can hit the 12-14 footer or score in the low post, and he's a good free throw shooter. He's also averaging over 3 blocks a game. Other than Aldrich, there's the Morris brothers, Markieff and Marcus, who average 37 minutes and almost 13 boards between them. The Kansas offense runs through Collins and Aldrich, and Aldrich's defensive presence gives Kansas the nod here
Advantage: Kansas
Bench: The benches were highlighted earlier on. Neither team appears to run a very deep bench. Kansas went 7 deep yesterday and Syracuse ran 8 deep, but typically Boeheim teams have a short bench. Syracuse probably has more offensive options off the bench and that's why the Orange get the advantage here
Advantage: Syracuse
Experience: Both teams are young. But at least Kansas has a couple of National Championship winners, whereas most of Syracuse's guys haven't even played in a NCAA tournament game.
Advantage: Kansas
Coaching: Both teams are well coached, obviously. I feel Kansas is the more disciplined of the two, while Syracuse still appears to be playing somewhat selfish basketball and is turning it over more (which could just be a product of a faster pace of play, but whatever)
Advantage: Kansas
FINAL VERDICT:
While I do feel Kansas is the more complete team at this point in the season, I'm picking Syracuse for two reasons. One, I picked them in the beginning of the season to win this tournament and I don't see a major reason to change now. Second, I think this team is more talented overall, particularly offensively, and Kansas hasn't faced this many guys who can beat you off the dribble or shoot yet this season. Syracuse wins 76-71.
College Basketball Recap - Nov 24th
A bunch of important games today. I got a chance to see a few of them, so here's what I thought:
Syracuse beat Florida 89-83.
Syracuse - I really liked what I saw from the Orange offensively. They have a lot of weapons and a lot of guys that can score big on any given night. Having Devendorf back is huge, as it gives this team another offensive weapon (although he didn't do that well tonight) but Flynn is a stud, Onuaku is extremely strong and is an absolute beast in the post, Harris can score in bunches, and other guys like Andy Rautins and Kris Joseph can provide offensive support. Their biggest issue tonight was defensively. Tyus absolutely killed them in the post and they were getting beat a lot on the dribble from what I saw. I know Boeheim is trying to mix in some man to man, but if they're giving up so many drives and easy baskets in the post they're probably better sticking to the zone, especially against a relatively poor shooting team like Florida.
Florida - As far as the Gators are concerned, Calathes is going to be good, I saw some good things out of the freshman Erving Walker, and Tyus tore it up, but overall I thought they were very inconsistent offensively. They haven't shot well this year, especially from three, and that could become a huge problem vs. teams that primarily run a zone (like Syracuse). As of this point I'm feeling confident about my pick of Tennessee winning the SEC.
Kansas beat Washington 73-54
Kansas - I don't think anyone expected this Kansas team to be as good as last year's, and they're not. But that doesn't mean they won't turn some heads in the Big 12 this year. They have some very good players back, including Sharon Collins, who has taken over the scoring load nicely, Cole Aldrich, who I liked last year and looks to mature into a very, very good center, and a variety of freshman who gave them good minutes yesterday, like the Morris brothers and Tyshawn Taylor. This team shot horribly from three but they find other ways to score (like Aldrich in the post or Collins driving the lane) and they're disciplined on both offense and defense. They won't win the conference but they'll give Texas and OU some good games.
Washington - I think Bob Knight said it best when he said this is a game other teams will use as film tape to beat the Huskies. Kansas sat back in a zone and basically gave Washington open shots and threes all game long and Washington was unable to take advantage of that, making only 29% of their shots. Now with the exception of Taj Gibson and USC, teams in the Pac-10 won't punish Washington for driving the lane nearly as bad as Cole Aldrich (6 blocks) and Kansas did, but the strategy remains the same: pack it in and force this team to make shots from long distance. They're shooting under 30% from beyond the arc and they will have to manufacture other ways to score if they're going to want to keep up with the big three in the Pac-10.
UConn beat Wisconsin 76-57
UConn - Yea, they're good. They basically wore the Badgers down with their fullcourt press, forcing 20 turnovers, including 10 steals and several 10 second violations. All of the four guards that saw significant playing time are quick and disciplined defensively, and they all create havoc for the other team (even a Wisconsin team that emphasizes ball control and limits turnovers). Offensively, I still feel like this team runs through Adrien and Thabeet to a lesser extent in the post but all of those guards can shoot when open. They shot well from three but it never felt like they were forcing threes, just making open ones, so I think this team's pretty good at shooting in general. They turned it over a lot and sometimes looked uncoordinated offensively but they're still young and that will only get better with time. They will probably beat most of the teams on their schedule based on athleticism alone and the rest will depend on how this team meshes, particularly offensively
Wisconsin - Put up a good fight. Like a usual Bo Ryan team, this Badgers team is disciplined and rarely is sped up or put out of their element. In the halfcourt set Wisconsin was able to execute their offense and get points. The best thing about this Wisconsin team is the variety of guys and ways they can hurt you. They operated well in the post (although they're pretty undersized), they shot very well, and they moved the ball well. My concerns are two-fold. First, athletically this team just didn't compare. They had major problems vs. UConn's press and against quicker, more athletic teams in the Big 10 (like Purdue and Michigan St) they will have all kinds of problems offensively. Second, this team doesn't appear to have a guy who can take over a game offensively. I understand Trevon Hughes and Marcus Landry are good offensive players but they're not neccessarily the kinds of talent you'd like to have with the game on the line. They'll have to win with defense and discipline, something they will do a fair amount of the time. They'll get an unexpected win sometime this year but I don't think they'll compete for the Big Ten title.
Other games: Four fairly unexciting games in the Maui Inivational, setting up a Texas-ND and UNC-Oregon semifinals. Texas v. ND will be one of the best games so far this year, and Oregon could make things interesting vs. UNC but that's probably not happening. Miami (Fl) annihilated San Diego in the Paradise Jam consolation game, taking the Toreros off the list of "underappreciated teams the Chi Town Balla will constantly and obsessively hype." Wake Forest doubled up Winston Salem 62-31 in another cupcake game for them, and Davidson won on the back of Stephen Curry's 39 points. Seriously, this guy's starting to put up Pete Maravich-like numbers. It's kind of getting out of hand. Today should be a very exciting set of games, so tune in to the ESPNs for lots of college b-ball fun
Syracuse beat Florida 89-83.
Syracuse - I really liked what I saw from the Orange offensively. They have a lot of weapons and a lot of guys that can score big on any given night. Having Devendorf back is huge, as it gives this team another offensive weapon (although he didn't do that well tonight) but Flynn is a stud, Onuaku is extremely strong and is an absolute beast in the post, Harris can score in bunches, and other guys like Andy Rautins and Kris Joseph can provide offensive support. Their biggest issue tonight was defensively. Tyus absolutely killed them in the post and they were getting beat a lot on the dribble from what I saw. I know Boeheim is trying to mix in some man to man, but if they're giving up so many drives and easy baskets in the post they're probably better sticking to the zone, especially against a relatively poor shooting team like Florida.
Florida - As far as the Gators are concerned, Calathes is going to be good, I saw some good things out of the freshman Erving Walker, and Tyus tore it up, but overall I thought they were very inconsistent offensively. They haven't shot well this year, especially from three, and that could become a huge problem vs. teams that primarily run a zone (like Syracuse). As of this point I'm feeling confident about my pick of Tennessee winning the SEC.
Kansas beat Washington 73-54
Kansas - I don't think anyone expected this Kansas team to be as good as last year's, and they're not. But that doesn't mean they won't turn some heads in the Big 12 this year. They have some very good players back, including Sharon Collins, who has taken over the scoring load nicely, Cole Aldrich, who I liked last year and looks to mature into a very, very good center, and a variety of freshman who gave them good minutes yesterday, like the Morris brothers and Tyshawn Taylor. This team shot horribly from three but they find other ways to score (like Aldrich in the post or Collins driving the lane) and they're disciplined on both offense and defense. They won't win the conference but they'll give Texas and OU some good games.
Washington - I think Bob Knight said it best when he said this is a game other teams will use as film tape to beat the Huskies. Kansas sat back in a zone and basically gave Washington open shots and threes all game long and Washington was unable to take advantage of that, making only 29% of their shots. Now with the exception of Taj Gibson and USC, teams in the Pac-10 won't punish Washington for driving the lane nearly as bad as Cole Aldrich (6 blocks) and Kansas did, but the strategy remains the same: pack it in and force this team to make shots from long distance. They're shooting under 30% from beyond the arc and they will have to manufacture other ways to score if they're going to want to keep up with the big three in the Pac-10.
UConn beat Wisconsin 76-57
UConn - Yea, they're good. They basically wore the Badgers down with their fullcourt press, forcing 20 turnovers, including 10 steals and several 10 second violations. All of the four guards that saw significant playing time are quick and disciplined defensively, and they all create havoc for the other team (even a Wisconsin team that emphasizes ball control and limits turnovers). Offensively, I still feel like this team runs through Adrien and Thabeet to a lesser extent in the post but all of those guards can shoot when open. They shot well from three but it never felt like they were forcing threes, just making open ones, so I think this team's pretty good at shooting in general. They turned it over a lot and sometimes looked uncoordinated offensively but they're still young and that will only get better with time. They will probably beat most of the teams on their schedule based on athleticism alone and the rest will depend on how this team meshes, particularly offensively
Wisconsin - Put up a good fight. Like a usual Bo Ryan team, this Badgers team is disciplined and rarely is sped up or put out of their element. In the halfcourt set Wisconsin was able to execute their offense and get points. The best thing about this Wisconsin team is the variety of guys and ways they can hurt you. They operated well in the post (although they're pretty undersized), they shot very well, and they moved the ball well. My concerns are two-fold. First, athletically this team just didn't compare. They had major problems vs. UConn's press and against quicker, more athletic teams in the Big 10 (like Purdue and Michigan St) they will have all kinds of problems offensively. Second, this team doesn't appear to have a guy who can take over a game offensively. I understand Trevon Hughes and Marcus Landry are good offensive players but they're not neccessarily the kinds of talent you'd like to have with the game on the line. They'll have to win with defense and discipline, something they will do a fair amount of the time. They'll get an unexpected win sometime this year but I don't think they'll compete for the Big Ten title.
Other games: Four fairly unexciting games in the Maui Inivational, setting up a Texas-ND and UNC-Oregon semifinals. Texas v. ND will be one of the best games so far this year, and Oregon could make things interesting vs. UNC but that's probably not happening. Miami (Fl) annihilated San Diego in the Paradise Jam consolation game, taking the Toreros off the list of "underappreciated teams the Chi Town Balla will constantly and obsessively hype." Wake Forest doubled up Winston Salem 62-31 in another cupcake game for them, and Davidson won on the back of Stephen Curry's 39 points. Seriously, this guy's starting to put up Pete Maravich-like numbers. It's kind of getting out of hand. Today should be a very exciting set of games, so tune in to the ESPNs for lots of college b-ball fun
Monday, November 24, 2008
Games to Watch - Week of Nov. 24th
Know why they call it Feast Week on ESPN? Because it's Thanksgiving, that's why. But it's also because this week's chock full of great matchups. Let's check the slate:
Conference Tournaments:
Maui Invitational (Nov 24-26)
Teams to Watch: Texas, ND, UNC, Oregon, Alabama
Simply put, this tournament is loaded. 3 Top 10 teams, a bunch of team's looking for good wins to add to their tournament resumes, and Chaminade. Poor Chaminade... I really do feel bad for them. Anyway, there's all kinds of good potential matchups here
My pick: UNC. Can't really pick against the sure #1 team, with Hansbrough now back. Watch for Texas and ND to give them games though, especially Texas, who I think matches up fairly well against the Tar Heels and has athletic scorers to keep up with UNC's pace.
Old Spice Classic (Nov 27-30)
Teams to Watch: Tennessee, Georgetown, Michigan State, Gonzaga
And if you thought the Maui Invitational couldn't be topped, here's 2 more top 10 teams and a top 15 team in the Vols. And that's not even including power conference teams like Oklahoma St and Maryland who are looking for good out of conference wins and a very good small conference team, Siena.
My pick: Gonzaga. This tournament is more wide open than Maui, and I could go in a few directions on this one. Tennessee's looked very impressive thus far, even though they haven't really played anyone of note. Michigan State's a sexy pick, and Georgetown could give teams some issues if their young guys step up early and contribute. But my choice is the Zags. The experience, combined with Heytvelt and Daye in the post, will be sufficient to take down Michigan State in the semis and to slow down the Vols in the finals.
Anaheim Classic (Nov. 27-30)
Teams to Watch: St. Mary's, Wake Forest, Arizona St., Baylor If it wasn't for the Maui and Old Spice tournaments, this would be the highlight tournament of the week (geez, good thing I have nothing to do over Thanksgiving Break but watch college basketball!). This should be the most wide open of the three tournaments, with no clear cut favorite and plenty of small teams like UTEP and Providence that will be looking for upsets. Nobody's safe here
My pick: St. Mary's. Wake is athletically loaded but I don't think they'll win their first neutral site game vs. a good opponent (St. Mary's). If Arizona St. and Baylor advance that's going to be a very intriguing game... both teams returned plenty of starters from last year. I would say Arizona St.'s the favorite, but other than Harden, that team hasn't looked all that good this year. I'm going with Baylor and their set of guards in that game. In the final, look for Patrick Mills to take over and lead St. Mary's to the title.
Monday, Nov 24th
Paradise Jam Final:
UConn v. Wisconsin - A lot of people are saying this is a potential upset game for Wisconsin. And as much as I want to say that's silly, Wisconsin won both of their games in this tournament playing a slow, methodical pace and tough defense. That style could give UConn plenty of problems. However, I think there's too much size in the post for Wisconsin to handle with both Thabeet and Adrien, and I think UConn could easily dictate the tempo as well (and if this gets into a shootout, Wisconsin's done). I think it'll be close for a while but UConn will pull away late and win the tournament.
Consolation game:
Miami (Fl) v. San Diego - Okay, I'm going to keep pushing the Toreros for a tournament bid, but if they don't get some quality wins soon, I'm not going to have a choice. San Diego... back up my preseason hype... please
Maui Invitational First Round: St. Joseph's v. Texas - Trap game for the Longhorns. St. Joseph's isn't a great team, but they will be dangerous if Texas doesn't come to play. Oregon v. Alabama - A couple of potential bubble teams come March
CBE Classic Semifinals:
Kansas v. Washington - Much was expected of this Huskies team... then they fell on their face vs. Portland in their first game. Still plenty of time to make it up though... beating KU on a neutral court would certainly help
Syracuse v. Florida - Syracuse started out slow vs. Richmond but put them away in the end. Florida's won all three of their warm-up games. Both these teams are young and have something to prove this year. The hungrier team should win this one
Tuesday, Nov. 25th
CBE Classic Championship: Preview coming Monday night!
Maui Semifinals: Potential Matchups: Texas v. ND, UNC v. Alabama
Texas vs. Notre Dame should be very entertaining, as there will be all kinds of talent and hopefully lots of threes with McAlarney and Abrams on the court. Texas has more talent and depth, though, so I'm going with the Longhorns. Meanwhile, UNC gets another game against a mid-level SEC opponent
Wednesday, Nov. 26th
Maui Championship: Preview coming Tuesday night!
NIT Tip-Off Semifinals:
Purdue v. Boston College - This is a game my Boilers should win. Tyrese Rice will be difficult to stop but Purdue's never been one to let one guy beat them offensively, especially a guard. This is a young Boston College team that can be slowed down offensively, as St. Louis showed (BC lost to them 53-50) and I have no doubt Purdue's defense and variety of options offensively should get us the win.
UAB v. Oklahoma. A lot of people I've talked to are giving this game to Oklahoma. My thoughts? Hold up a second... UAB has a trio of guys averaging over 15 points a game: Robert Vaden, one of the best guards last year in the C-USA (and yes, I understand CDR and Rose were in that conference last year), Paul Delaney III, and Lawrence Kinnard, who has given the Blazers a much needed presence in the frontcourt. If OU's perimeter is unable to stop UAB's guard attack, Blake Griffin may not be able to win this one on their own. This is a real test for Oklahoma's perimeter.
Thursday Nov. 27th - Happy Thanksgiving!!
Old Spice Classic:
Tennessee v. Siena - Wait, isn't that the team that won the MAAC last year? The one that went to the Sweet 16? Oh... this may not be a lock game for the Vols after all...
Wichita State v. Georgetown - If G-Town seriously misses Wallace, Hibbert, and Ewing III, this tournament is the place they'll feel that the most.
Maryland v. Michigan State - Once again, no guarantees with this Michigan State team, and Maryland will be hungry to prove they belong in the ACC.
Oklahoma St. v. Gonzaga - Oklahoma State has a real shot at an at-large bid this season. A neutral site win over the Zags would look really, really good on that tournament resume.
Anaheim Classic:
Providence v. Baylor - If Providence is going to have any hope at getting an at-large bid, they need wins, and they need them now... mainly because they're going to be few and far between in the Big East schedule.
St. Mary's v. UTEP - Not going to be an easy game for the Gaels, but it shouldn't give them too many problems
Friday, Nov. 28th
NIT Tip-Off Final: Preview coming Thursday night!!
Old Spice Classic Semifinals
Projected Matchups: Tennessee v. Georgetown, Michigan St. v. Gonzaga
All likely ranked matchups if this is the semi-finals. It'll be interesting to see how the young Hoyas deal with the pressing, up-tempo Vols, while Michigan St. and Gonzaga is just oozing with talent and athleticism.
Anaheim Classic semifinals
Projected Matchups: St. Mary's v. Wake Forest, Arizona St. v. Baylor
Really, either of these matchups could go either way. Wake's got all the talent in the world but they haven't been tested yet. And I think the Pac-10 is wide open right now, but nobody on Arizona St. other than Harden wants to step up. They won't be able to slide past Baylor though.
Legends Classic Semifinals:
Washington State v. Mississippi State - a couple of teams that lost a lot of talent from last year but are well coached, disciplined, and will surprise some teams in conference games this year.
Texas Tech v. Pitt - I haven't heard a lot about Tech nationally (in basketball I mean) except for the 167 point performance they had earlier this season. They're 4-0 but haven't really been challenged yet this year. Neither has Pitt, but then again, Pitt's the better team. I expect Tech to give Pitt a fight but the more talented team should prevail... that and DeJuan Blair will probably have another beastly performance.
Saturday, Nov. 29th
Legends Classic final: Preview coming Friday night!!
Dayton v. Marquette - Easily the most intriguing game of the Top 25 matchups (except for the Legends Classic final). Marquette is good but still lacks an inside presence defensively. Enter 6-8 forward Chris Wright for Dayton, who probably would have led the Flyers to a tournament berth last year had he been healthy all season. With hin and guard Chris Johnson returning this year, expect a very competitive Dayton team that I think will give Marquette all they can handle.
Sunday, Nov. 30th
Cancun Challenge, Anaheim Classic, and Old Spice Classic Finals: Previews will be coming througout the week!!
Conference Tournaments:
Maui Invitational (Nov 24-26)
Teams to Watch: Texas, ND, UNC, Oregon, Alabama
Simply put, this tournament is loaded. 3 Top 10 teams, a bunch of team's looking for good wins to add to their tournament resumes, and Chaminade. Poor Chaminade... I really do feel bad for them. Anyway, there's all kinds of good potential matchups here
My pick: UNC. Can't really pick against the sure #1 team, with Hansbrough now back. Watch for Texas and ND to give them games though, especially Texas, who I think matches up fairly well against the Tar Heels and has athletic scorers to keep up with UNC's pace.
Old Spice Classic (Nov 27-30)
Teams to Watch: Tennessee, Georgetown, Michigan State, Gonzaga
And if you thought the Maui Invitational couldn't be topped, here's 2 more top 10 teams and a top 15 team in the Vols. And that's not even including power conference teams like Oklahoma St and Maryland who are looking for good out of conference wins and a very good small conference team, Siena.
My pick: Gonzaga. This tournament is more wide open than Maui, and I could go in a few directions on this one. Tennessee's looked very impressive thus far, even though they haven't really played anyone of note. Michigan State's a sexy pick, and Georgetown could give teams some issues if their young guys step up early and contribute. But my choice is the Zags. The experience, combined with Heytvelt and Daye in the post, will be sufficient to take down Michigan State in the semis and to slow down the Vols in the finals.
Anaheim Classic (Nov. 27-30)
Teams to Watch: St. Mary's, Wake Forest, Arizona St., Baylor If it wasn't for the Maui and Old Spice tournaments, this would be the highlight tournament of the week (geez, good thing I have nothing to do over Thanksgiving Break but watch college basketball!). This should be the most wide open of the three tournaments, with no clear cut favorite and plenty of small teams like UTEP and Providence that will be looking for upsets. Nobody's safe here
My pick: St. Mary's. Wake is athletically loaded but I don't think they'll win their first neutral site game vs. a good opponent (St. Mary's). If Arizona St. and Baylor advance that's going to be a very intriguing game... both teams returned plenty of starters from last year. I would say Arizona St.'s the favorite, but other than Harden, that team hasn't looked all that good this year. I'm going with Baylor and their set of guards in that game. In the final, look for Patrick Mills to take over and lead St. Mary's to the title.
Monday, Nov 24th
Paradise Jam Final:
UConn v. Wisconsin - A lot of people are saying this is a potential upset game for Wisconsin. And as much as I want to say that's silly, Wisconsin won both of their games in this tournament playing a slow, methodical pace and tough defense. That style could give UConn plenty of problems. However, I think there's too much size in the post for Wisconsin to handle with both Thabeet and Adrien, and I think UConn could easily dictate the tempo as well (and if this gets into a shootout, Wisconsin's done). I think it'll be close for a while but UConn will pull away late and win the tournament.
Consolation game:
Miami (Fl) v. San Diego - Okay, I'm going to keep pushing the Toreros for a tournament bid, but if they don't get some quality wins soon, I'm not going to have a choice. San Diego... back up my preseason hype... please
Maui Invitational First Round: St. Joseph's v. Texas - Trap game for the Longhorns. St. Joseph's isn't a great team, but they will be dangerous if Texas doesn't come to play. Oregon v. Alabama - A couple of potential bubble teams come March
CBE Classic Semifinals:
Kansas v. Washington - Much was expected of this Huskies team... then they fell on their face vs. Portland in their first game. Still plenty of time to make it up though... beating KU on a neutral court would certainly help
Syracuse v. Florida - Syracuse started out slow vs. Richmond but put them away in the end. Florida's won all three of their warm-up games. Both these teams are young and have something to prove this year. The hungrier team should win this one
Tuesday, Nov. 25th
CBE Classic Championship: Preview coming Monday night!
Maui Semifinals: Potential Matchups: Texas v. ND, UNC v. Alabama
Texas vs. Notre Dame should be very entertaining, as there will be all kinds of talent and hopefully lots of threes with McAlarney and Abrams on the court. Texas has more talent and depth, though, so I'm going with the Longhorns. Meanwhile, UNC gets another game against a mid-level SEC opponent
Wednesday, Nov. 26th
Maui Championship: Preview coming Tuesday night!
NIT Tip-Off Semifinals:
Purdue v. Boston College - This is a game my Boilers should win. Tyrese Rice will be difficult to stop but Purdue's never been one to let one guy beat them offensively, especially a guard. This is a young Boston College team that can be slowed down offensively, as St. Louis showed (BC lost to them 53-50) and I have no doubt Purdue's defense and variety of options offensively should get us the win.
UAB v. Oklahoma. A lot of people I've talked to are giving this game to Oklahoma. My thoughts? Hold up a second... UAB has a trio of guys averaging over 15 points a game: Robert Vaden, one of the best guards last year in the C-USA (and yes, I understand CDR and Rose were in that conference last year), Paul Delaney III, and Lawrence Kinnard, who has given the Blazers a much needed presence in the frontcourt. If OU's perimeter is unable to stop UAB's guard attack, Blake Griffin may not be able to win this one on their own. This is a real test for Oklahoma's perimeter.
Thursday Nov. 27th - Happy Thanksgiving!!
Old Spice Classic:
Tennessee v. Siena - Wait, isn't that the team that won the MAAC last year? The one that went to the Sweet 16? Oh... this may not be a lock game for the Vols after all...
Wichita State v. Georgetown - If G-Town seriously misses Wallace, Hibbert, and Ewing III, this tournament is the place they'll feel that the most.
Maryland v. Michigan State - Once again, no guarantees with this Michigan State team, and Maryland will be hungry to prove they belong in the ACC.
Oklahoma St. v. Gonzaga - Oklahoma State has a real shot at an at-large bid this season. A neutral site win over the Zags would look really, really good on that tournament resume.
Anaheim Classic:
Providence v. Baylor - If Providence is going to have any hope at getting an at-large bid, they need wins, and they need them now... mainly because they're going to be few and far between in the Big East schedule.
St. Mary's v. UTEP - Not going to be an easy game for the Gaels, but it shouldn't give them too many problems
Friday, Nov. 28th
NIT Tip-Off Final: Preview coming Thursday night!!
Old Spice Classic Semifinals
Projected Matchups: Tennessee v. Georgetown, Michigan St. v. Gonzaga
All likely ranked matchups if this is the semi-finals. It'll be interesting to see how the young Hoyas deal with the pressing, up-tempo Vols, while Michigan St. and Gonzaga is just oozing with talent and athleticism.
Anaheim Classic semifinals
Projected Matchups: St. Mary's v. Wake Forest, Arizona St. v. Baylor
Really, either of these matchups could go either way. Wake's got all the talent in the world but they haven't been tested yet. And I think the Pac-10 is wide open right now, but nobody on Arizona St. other than Harden wants to step up. They won't be able to slide past Baylor though.
Legends Classic Semifinals:
Washington State v. Mississippi State - a couple of teams that lost a lot of talent from last year but are well coached, disciplined, and will surprise some teams in conference games this year.
Texas Tech v. Pitt - I haven't heard a lot about Tech nationally (in basketball I mean) except for the 167 point performance they had earlier this season. They're 4-0 but haven't really been challenged yet this year. Neither has Pitt, but then again, Pitt's the better team. I expect Tech to give Pitt a fight but the more talented team should prevail... that and DeJuan Blair will probably have another beastly performance.
Saturday, Nov. 29th
Legends Classic final: Preview coming Friday night!!
Dayton v. Marquette - Easily the most intriguing game of the Top 25 matchups (except for the Legends Classic final). Marquette is good but still lacks an inside presence defensively. Enter 6-8 forward Chris Wright for Dayton, who probably would have led the Flyers to a tournament berth last year had he been healthy all season. With hin and guard Chris Johnson returning this year, expect a very competitive Dayton team that I think will give Marquette all they can handle.
Sunday, Nov. 30th
Cancun Challenge, Anaheim Classic, and Old Spice Classic Finals: Previews will be coming througout the week!!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
College Basketball Recap - Nov 21st
It's the weekend! That means college basketball time. As for Friday, no major upsets, but a couple of close calls and some important preseason tournament games. Let's start with the one final... Coaches v. Cancer. Duke won the tournament, beating Michigan 71-56. Michigan had a similar game plan vs Duke as they did when they upset UCLA... slow the game down, keep it close, and maybe steal one late. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, it was simply too much talent for Duke. Duke still had plenty of turnovers (17) and a so-so game from Henderson and Scheyer but Singler and Nolan Smith stepped up to take the scoring load. Meanwhile, Duke shut down the Michigan offense, allowing only 35% from the field and keeping DeShawn Sims in check for the most part (5-13 shooting, 10 points). Manny Harris went off for 25 but I would imagine Michigan will be more successful when guys like Sims are scoring and not when Harris is putting up 30 a game. In the consolation game, UCLA beat SIU 77-60 behind a monster game from Aboya (22 points, 6-8 shooting, 10-13 from the line) and Darren Collison (17 points). SIU had 23 turnovers and never looked in sync offensively.
The two other big tournaments going on this weekend are the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and the Paradise Jam. Both had preliminary games on Friday. The Puerto Rico semis featured Memphis, who jumped up early and big on Seton Hall and held on for the win 84-70. Memphis only shot 40% from the floor but still put up 84 points, which gives you an idea how fast this team plays and how often they get to the line (47 free throw attempts). They don't shoot well at all but all of them are athletic and can drive to the bucket. Memphis will take on Xavier in the finals, who drained a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to beat Virginia Tech 63-62. In a consolation game USC recovered from the loss to Seton Hall on Thursday and pounded Chattanooga 73-46. Taj Gibson had 17 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks, and Dwight Lewis added 16.
In the Paradise Jam, a couple of first round games saw Miami (FL) winning over Southern Miss 70-60, Wisconsin needing OT to beat Iona 60-58, and UConn getting key performances from Jeff Adrien (22 points, 14 rebounds) and Kemba Walker (23 points) to beat La Salle 89-81. This sets up semifinal matchups on Sunday between Miami (FL) and UConn (6 PM) and Wisconsin and San Diego (8:30 PM). In other top 25 news, Hansbrough made his debut and scored 13 points in UNC's win over UC-Santa Barbera 84-67. Pitt and Davidson won big in their matchups on Friday, while ND and Tennessee had semi-close calls vs. Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee St. respectively.
Saturday, there's a few Top 25 teams playing but no real great matchups. Watch for Sunday to be a good day for college b-ball, including the Puerto Rico final and the Paradise Jam semi-finals.
The two other big tournaments going on this weekend are the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and the Paradise Jam. Both had preliminary games on Friday. The Puerto Rico semis featured Memphis, who jumped up early and big on Seton Hall and held on for the win 84-70. Memphis only shot 40% from the floor but still put up 84 points, which gives you an idea how fast this team plays and how often they get to the line (47 free throw attempts). They don't shoot well at all but all of them are athletic and can drive to the bucket. Memphis will take on Xavier in the finals, who drained a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to beat Virginia Tech 63-62. In a consolation game USC recovered from the loss to Seton Hall on Thursday and pounded Chattanooga 73-46. Taj Gibson had 17 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks, and Dwight Lewis added 16.
In the Paradise Jam, a couple of first round games saw Miami (FL) winning over Southern Miss 70-60, Wisconsin needing OT to beat Iona 60-58, and UConn getting key performances from Jeff Adrien (22 points, 14 rebounds) and Kemba Walker (23 points) to beat La Salle 89-81. This sets up semifinal matchups on Sunday between Miami (FL) and UConn (6 PM) and Wisconsin and San Diego (8:30 PM). In other top 25 news, Hansbrough made his debut and scored 13 points in UNC's win over UC-Santa Barbera 84-67. Pitt and Davidson won big in their matchups on Friday, while ND and Tennessee had semi-close calls vs. Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee St. respectively.
Saturday, there's a few Top 25 teams playing but no real great matchups. Watch for Sunday to be a good day for college b-ball, including the Puerto Rico final and the Paradise Jam semi-finals.
Friday, November 21, 2008
College Basketball Recap - Nov 20th
Not a good day for the Pac-10. Two days after Arizona State had a pretty awful looking win over San Diego St., top 20 teams UCLA and USC go down to unranked opponents. USC blew a 15 point halftime lead vs. Seton Hall, shooting just over 21 percent in the 2nd half. The Trojans got good production from Taj Gibson (8-13 shooting, 19 points) but didn't get much from anyone else offensively, including freshman DeMar DeRozan (3 points in 20 minutes). Meanwhile, Seton Hall's defense stepped up and the Pirates got an important non-conference win. These are the kind of wins those lower tier Big East teams are going to have to get if the conference wants to get 10 teams in.
As for UCLA... they fell to Michigan 55-52 in the Coaches v. Cancer semis. UCLA has played this methodical, slow-paced style for a few years now, and it's worked well, but if they can't get consistent offensive performance, they're not going to be able to do this successfully. Josh Shipp (2-9 shooting) and Alfred Aboya (5 points) will have to contribute more down the stretch if UCLA is going to want to be a Final Four team. I think they're missing not just Kevin Love but guys like Mbah a Moute who provided a consistent scoring option in the post. That's something these Bruins lack. At least Holiday played well. As for the Wolverines, look out. This team may not be a tournament team, but they are much improved from last year and got big performances from DeShawn Sims (18 points) and Stu Douglass (10 points, 5 assists). We all know Manny Harris will be good, but if Sims can step up and be that 2nd viable scoring option, Michigan will not fall into as many offensive ruts as they did last year, particularly in the 2nd half.
As for the other Coaches v. Cancer semifinal, Duke and SIU played a fairly tight game but SIU never really made a charge and Duke pulled away late 83-58. The Salukis played the Blue Devils physical and tough but it ended up costing them in the end as they were in constant foul trouble throughout most of the 2nd half and had 47 free throws which amounted to almost half their points. 4 Duke players scored in double figures, including Brian Zoubek (10 pts, 68 from the line) who could be huge for Duke in the post later this season. As for SIU, this team is well coached for the most part and they are disciplined but not experienced and were somewhat undermanned vs. Duke.
In other top 25 news, Florida escaped some horrible 3 pt shooting woes to beat Southern Utah 64-50, and Memphis took down Chattanooga 83-71. They'll face Seton Hall tonight in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, while Chattanooga and USC will face off before them. Also remember tonight... Duke v. Michigan and UCLA v. SIU. Should be a good night of college basketball!
As for UCLA... they fell to Michigan 55-52 in the Coaches v. Cancer semis. UCLA has played this methodical, slow-paced style for a few years now, and it's worked well, but if they can't get consistent offensive performance, they're not going to be able to do this successfully. Josh Shipp (2-9 shooting) and Alfred Aboya (5 points) will have to contribute more down the stretch if UCLA is going to want to be a Final Four team. I think they're missing not just Kevin Love but guys like Mbah a Moute who provided a consistent scoring option in the post. That's something these Bruins lack. At least Holiday played well. As for the Wolverines, look out. This team may not be a tournament team, but they are much improved from last year and got big performances from DeShawn Sims (18 points) and Stu Douglass (10 points, 5 assists). We all know Manny Harris will be good, but if Sims can step up and be that 2nd viable scoring option, Michigan will not fall into as many offensive ruts as they did last year, particularly in the 2nd half.
As for the other Coaches v. Cancer semifinal, Duke and SIU played a fairly tight game but SIU never really made a charge and Duke pulled away late 83-58. The Salukis played the Blue Devils physical and tough but it ended up costing them in the end as they were in constant foul trouble throughout most of the 2nd half and had 47 free throws which amounted to almost half their points. 4 Duke players scored in double figures, including Brian Zoubek (10 pts, 68 from the line) who could be huge for Duke in the post later this season. As for SIU, this team is well coached for the most part and they are disciplined but not experienced and were somewhat undermanned vs. Duke.
In other top 25 news, Florida escaped some horrible 3 pt shooting woes to beat Southern Utah 64-50, and Memphis took down Chattanooga 83-71. They'll face Seton Hall tonight in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, while Chattanooga and USC will face off before them. Also remember tonight... Duke v. Michigan and UCLA v. SIU. Should be a good night of college basketball!
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