Quote:
Originally Posted by mase
The Hoyas have some unproven freshmen talent, but most of their experience graduated last year. I hate to say it but I agree that Kansas will likely win this one.
|
Right on both counts, Kevin. But who was right about the game being decent?
# 12 Kansas 67 - Goergetown 63 = You can't much fault the Jayhawks for dropping one to Kentucky. You also can't have a ton of faith in them following a tight one like this over a team they maybe should have beaten by double-figures.
In other action yesterday:
UCLA 92 - Chaminade 60 = Means nothing, but I thought I'd get this out of the way for Justin right off the bat.
Davidson 68 - Presbyterian 54 = After shocking the Bearcats by two, the Blue Hose fall to the Wildcats by 14. Does this make Cincy's collapse even bigger? You tell me.
# 6 Duke 77 - Tennessee 67 = A win in Maui, where the Blue Devils don't seem to lose, but not a very dominant showing over a Vol team still in turmoil after all that Bruce Pearl mess last season. But they are Dook, so nobody's gonna pay any attention to that . . . yet.
# 10 Florida 78 - Wright State 65 = And pretty much the same danged story here. The Gators win, yet not by a safe enough margin to impress me. Still, it is better than . . .
# 21 Marquette 59 - Norfolk State 57 = Are you kidding me? This from a team that's supposed to compete with the Big Boys of the Big Mouth Conference? I don't think so.
# 18 Vanderbilt 64 - Oregon State 62 = OK, the Comms have more of an excuse here, but bottom line's the same. Are they ready to challenge UK or Fla. in the SEC? As much as I might like that, it looks doubtful so far.
N. C. State 77 - Texas 74 = And OK, the Longhorns are down this year. Blame Barnes for recruiting so much "one-and-done" talent, I think. Still, this is a very good win for Jerry's Wolfpack, who have been down for a lot longer.
Already again today we've got action, with # 8 Memphis edging in-state rival Tennessee in a real dogfight 99-97 in 2OT. All in all, I see no reason for the Vols to hang their heads, and not much reason for the Tigers to celebrate. Also, the Hoyas are starting to build a margin over Chaminade, as they should. Other games I find of note coming include:
Elon vs. Princeton = "Say what?", you ask. Well, you know the Tigers play tough, especially in Jadwin Gym (or Cameron North, as I call it
), but you've perhaps forgotten that the Phoenix beat South Carolina a week or so back. This might be a decent one.
# 17 Pittsburgh vs. LaSalle = And this one might be better than the Panthers would prefer. I already made the mistake once by saying Pitt does not lose games like this one, then they dropped one by 10 to Long Beach State, at home. Plus, the Explorers only lost by 7 on Villanova's court, so don't chalk this one up yet as a gimme.
# 6 Duke vs. # 15 Michigan = To my eyes, neither of these teams have played up to their rankings yet. It's not that they've been bad, but Dook's not owning other teams and the Logans have problems scoring too often. So this one out in Maui could be fun, even if only to see if one or the other will finally show up . . . if either is actually there at all to begin with.
# 7 Louisville vs. Arkansas State = Please.
# 1 North Carolina vs. Tennessee State = Please again, though I'm interested to see if my Heels can start to hit some 3s, hit more FTs, and defend a little better.
Cleveland State vs. Kent State = Now here, we might have us a game already.
Notre Dame vs. Georgia = And though these two didn't show up last night, that could bode well for some competition this night.
# 11 Wisconsin vs. Mo. Kansas City = Another
.
# 14 Kansas vs. UCLA = Are the Jayhawks ready to find their feet? Are the Bruins ready to pull themselves up off the mat? This one's a hard call. It could be OK, it could be another stinker by the SoCal So-Sos. Me, I'd expect KU to romp, but I'm not convinced they are all that good, nor am I convinced that UCLA sucks. This makes it intriguing.
Richmond vs. Illinois = And here we have a good mid-major program facing a mid-pack major one. I can see this going down to the final 5 minutes, or less even.
# 9 Baylor vs. South Carolina State = I did not trust my memory so I had to stop and check on this. I was right. Much like Syracuse and U Conn, the Bears haven't faced much of anything so far, and all at home too. The only game that wasn't a total "gimme" was their 10-point win over San Diego State, and the Aztecs ain't the Aztecs of last year either. Don't watch this game, and refuse to watch any Baylor game until they finally get off the pot.
Boise State vs. Long Beach State = Here's just another one of those that hops off the page for me. Could be fun.
# 20 California vs. # 21 Missouri = And if these rankings have any relevance whatsoever, this one WILL be fun. Hey, I've not seen enough from either team to have much faith yet, but I'm willing to concede that they both can hoop a bit. If they both show up late tonight, this will be a war.
That's again all I can do today. So until later, enjoy.