[The Poet]

No, I'm not late in getting back to this because my Heels dropped their second game in a row Sunday. Rather, these crazy women I work with keep ordering this crap that will never sell . . . German Spatlese Eiswein, semi-sweet reds from that Georgia without the peaches, Armenian brandy in crystal shoes, fer Krissakes! . . . then leave it for me to price and find some freakin' place to put it, usually by moving the crap that will never sell that they bought LAST week! So this one's gonna be quick and dirty, so feel free to add you own insights.


On Saturday 11/20, on my list there was:


Arizona State 69 - UAB 66 = Good showing by both teams.

Campbell 61 - Auburn 54 = They fired my boy Jeff Lebo at the end of last season, after they went 15-17 following their 24-12 campaign the previous year, and gave the task to Tony Barbee. This loss to Campbell was preceeded by ones to N.C. Asheville, and Samford . . . I said SAMford, not Stanford.

Chattanooga 69 - Marshall 68 = Another good game.

Dayton 78 - Ole Miss 71 (OT) = I figured this one could be close.

San Jose State 75 - Oregon 72 = I didn't figure this one would.

Georgia 61 - St. Louis 59 = Early this year, there's a trend for "also-rans" to challenge the big conferences.

UC Riverside 73 - SMU 69 (OT) = See what I mean?


On Sunday 11/21:

TCU 74 - Bradley 68 = I think I picked this one as one to watch also.

Coastal Carolina 79 - Charlotte 75 = I think nobody picked this one.

Auburn 68 - Middle Tenn. State 66 = Well, good for the Tigers, who get their first win of the season . . . barely.

Florida 61 - Morehead State 55 = It's a win, I guess, but jeez.

Iowa State 91 - Creighton 88 = And I believe I gave this one a nod too.

ODU 61 - Clemson 60 = Here too, and another tight fight.

Texas Southern 66 - Oregon State 60 = OK, maybe I'm not one to talk, but are you kiddin' me?

Syracuse 63 - William & Mary 60 = And you thought the Gators' win was iffy.

Ill. Chicago 74 - Rhode Island 66 = The result, and the margin, both surprise me.

Minnesota 74 - West Virginia 70 = A nice hard-fought championship game down in Puerto Rico.

Vanderbilt 72 - UNC 65 = What can you say? The Heels are getting shots, and missing them, just like they did too much of last year. Hey, you play like crap, that's what you are. Congratulations to the Comms for beating a ranked (for now) team for the first time in about 2 years.

Wofford 82 - George Mason 79 (OT) = See? You don't have to go all that far, or spend all that much, to catch a good game.


So far today, U. Conn has edged Wichita State 83-79, and two more "also-rans" showed up to play, what with St. Peter's taking Alabama 50-49 and Long Beach St. over Iowa 78-72. In action to follow:


# 1 Duke vs. Marquette = OK, it's not a total cupcake game, so maybe we'll see if Dook can actually play a little.

# 4 Kansas State vs. # 22 Gonzaga = And here too, maybe the Wildcats will get a test.

# 8 Kentucky vs. Oklahoma = I don't expect a whole lot from the Sooners, but I'm not sure it will take nearly as much to push these Wildcats this year. Maybe this game will give some evidence, one way or the other.

# 12 Baylor vs. Lipscomb = On the one hand, Lipscomb gave UNC a pretty good game. On the other, maybe that ain't sayin' all that much. I'll know better tomorrow . . . at least about Lipscomb.

# 13 Washington vs. Virginia = Ehhh, could be interesting, and may give us some idea what these 2 teams really are.

# 18 San Diego State vs. Miami OH = Go Aztecs! Fried quetzalcoatl for the whole team!

Seton Hall vs. Clemson = I don't expect either team to make any serious noise this year, but I do expect they will both show up to play.

Princeton vs. James Madison = Same here.

Xavier vs. ODU = Halfway the same way here, in that the X-men may toot a bit, and ODU's been known to tweet some also.


That's about all I have time for. Sorry for the hit-and-miss coverage. Fill in all the gaps you wish. Until later then. Enjoy.