There are only a few notable scores from last night, and a few more notable games this evening:
# 9 U Conn 67 - # 25 Harvard 53 = It's no surprise the Huskies won, yet I felt the margin might be tighter. But if the Crimson had shown up for the second half, seeing as how they only trailed by 2 at the break, it may have been so.
Cleveland State 62 - Robert Morris 58 = The type of close game I expected.
West Virginia 85 - Kansas State 80 (2OT) = And the type of all-out war I expected here too, considering how badly both teams wanted a "quality" win.
Tonight's limited action includes:
# 12 Florida vs. Rider = Please. Don't bother.
Iowa vs. Iowa State = Instead, watch this one, as it should be a lot better, though maybe not as good as . . .
Richmond vs. VCU = Another in-state rivalry, bot one pitting teams with more recent good history.
ODU vs. Fairfield = And I can see this one being some fun too.
Wyoming vs. Colorado = As with this one.
Idaho vs. Oregon State = Despite the travails of PAC-12 teams so far, the Beavers have done pretty well in comparison. They haven't faced a lot of top teams, but they did beat Texas by 5, and their only loss was to Vandy (for what that's worth
) by a deuce. The Vandals may not give them enough of a game to convince me that THIS OSU is for real, yet if they do do so it could nudge me towards the belief that they are NOT.
While I have the time, lemme give you some of the early games on Saturday as well:
# 18 Georgetown vs. Howard = The Hoyas were off the radar at the start of the season. This one won't put them more in focus, but it won't knock them out either.
# 7 Duke vs. Washington = This one has a better chance of being a decent game, though I figure the Blue Devils will stretch out a sizable lead before it's over.
# 19 Creighton vs. St. Joseph's = And this one could even be better, considering that the Hawks don't seem to be as down as they were last year.
# 8 Xavier vs. Cincinnati = The Bearcats have had a really rough start, and need a big win (or at the least a tight loss) in the worst way. Meanwhile, the Musketeers have had an excellent start, but there's no way in hell they are as good as their ranking. Their good wins were over a "meh" Georgia, an apparently over-rated Vandy, and the decent-but-down Purdue (by only 3) and Butler. That's better than Cincy's done, for sure, but a win here is no lead-pipe cinch for the X-Men.
That's it for me for now. Until tomorrow then, enjoy.