[The Poet]

Well, it's halftime in Lexington, with my Heels holding a slim 43-38 edge over the 'Cats. So far, so good, but there's a whole half to go. Lemme see if I can get some of this stuff out of the way before action gets serious again. Last night:


# 4 Syracuse 72 - # 10 Florida 68 = No big surprise here. What may be one is if the Gators don't drop more in the polls. One can't fault them much for losing on the road to the Buckeyes and the Orange, but on the other hand the only decent wins they have are against Wright State and Jacksonville . . . which ain't all that decent. Yet on the third hand, the 'Cuse finally have a decent win of their own, even if it was a close one at home.

Cincinnati 57 - Georgia 51 = This is not so decent a win for the Bearcats, but it sure beats some of the lousy losses they have had.

# 6 Louisville 62 - # 20 Vanderbilt 60 (OT) = A good game, and perhaps the one "good loss" the Commodores have had so far. However, as much as I'd like to see Vandy do well, I can't see how their 5-3 record can manage to keep them ranked. As for the Cardinals, they hung tough enough, and though not impressive they survived.

Columbia 69 - Loyola Marymount 61 = This battle of the Lions interests me for one reason only: After wins over UCLA and Saint Louis, LM fans may have gotten the idea that they were back. This loss to a 'meh" Ivy team should dissuade them of such fantasies for a while.


Aside from the early games already posted above, we have far too many to fully cover, even if I were not already distracted by that contest in Rupp Arena. However, here are a good number of picks:


BU vs. BC = This war in Boston could be some fun, especially considering that the Eagles seem to be struggling so far.

Valparaiso vs. Butler = Valpo's played pretty good, and Butler's down from the previous two seasons. I give Bryce Drew's boys an edge here.

Vermont vs. Yale = And for some reason I get the feeling this may be decent too.

Georgia Tech vs. Tulane = Here too, though the Jackets need to play a bit better than they have so far.

USC vs. Minnesota = I see the Trojans, who've been inept at scoring the ball, going down . . again.

Colorado State vs. Northern Iowa = However, this might go down to the final few minutes before it's over.

# 11 Xavier vs. Purdue = I give the Boilermakers a very good shot at knocking off the X-Men here.

# 8 U Conn vs. Arkansas = And I give the 'Hawgs a half-a-shot at taking the Huskies in a close one, though I'd not put money on it.

# 19 Gonzaga vs. Illinois = The same goes for the Illini here.

Arizona State vs. Tulsa = However, as much as I respect Herb Sendek, his Sun Devils haven't shown me any reason to believe they can take Tulsa.

# 9 Wisconsin vs. # 16 Marquette = The Badgers will be looking to bounce back from their loss in Chapel Hill. They may just do that, but I don't think it will be easy.

Texas vs. UCLA = Although the Longhorns don't seem to be nearly the team they've been of late, the Bruins need wins so badly they are looking for any sort of "quality" win. Yet Rick Barnes will want one too, quality or not, so this could be a lot of fun.

Oregon vs. BYU = And these two should be pretty closely matched also.

# 15 Kansas vs. South Florida = I can see Bulls hanging tough for a while, but the Jayhawks should prevail with relative ease.

# 17 Pittsburgh vs. Tennessee = I'm not sure the Vols have much to offer against the Panthers, but I'm also far from convinced the Panthers have all that much to offer either. If UT can hang close with 10 minutes left, this has some potential. Yet a blowout by Pitt would not shock me one bit.

Penn vs.Villanova = Penn was better than expected last year, and 'Nova seems a little down. I figure the war in Philly would go the Wildcats' way, but not by a ton.

LSU vs. Rutgers = I don't expect either of these two to have great seasons, but that may mean we'll have a great game.

# 25 Texas A&M vs. Stephen F. Austin = Please. If the Aggies don't win by at least 15, they should give up their ranking just on general principles.

# 23 Saint Louis vs. Portland = The Billikens want to rebound from their first loss, but Portland can give them game. I'm going with Majerus by 2 buckets.

# 22 Memphis vs. Austin Peay = Don't even bother.

# 21 Mississippi State vs. West Virginia = However, we have a chance for a good game here. The Mountaineers may be down, but the Bulldogs aren't worldbeaters either.

Indiana State vs. Boise State = And here's another that could go down to the final few possessions.

St. Mary's vs. Cal Poly = The Gaels have had good teams for a while, while the Mustangs are completely off the radar. But CP's beaten San Jose State and USC, so they may be more than just a blip. Keep a eye on this one, if you can stay awake for it.


I gotta get back to my game. See you later today with more.