[The Poet]

I've a bunch of work to do here, so lemme get to it. Last night:


Michigan 75 - Utah 64 = UM improves to a relatively gaudy 7-2 record with this victory, which may lead some to feel the Wolverines are back. Well, maybe so, but it remains to be seen. Aside from this one, the only "quality" wins they have are against Gardner-Webb, Clemson, and Harvard. That's not exactly Murderer's Row. Still, this is a decent W.

Iowa State 75 - Iowa 72 = As I said, an in-state rivalry can give you a good show. This one was.

Santa Clara 67 - San Jose State 63 = And maybe this one should have made my cut in yesterday's preview, as it was also a damn fine contest.


Were I to post all the games with potential to be good today, I'd be here until tomorrow. But as many pit .500 teams against each other (which does not mean these squads aren't good, as a lot are mid-majors or lower who have been beaten like drums by the Big Boys, so we have a false idea of who they truly are), I've tossed out a ton of them. Still, I'm left with a ton more. At the moment, 3 of the 4 early games are really tight, the exception being that Dook is trying to triple-up on St. Louis. To follow today, we have:


# 3 Pitt vs. # 11 Tennessee = Although I think the Panthers are better than the Vols, I don't think they are as good as a # 3 should be. Then again, I haven't much faith in UT either. I'd expect a pretty good one here, with Pitt taking it by maybe 3 possessions.

# 4 Kansas vs. Colorado State = But this one won't be nearly as good, nor as close.

# 5 K-State vs. Loyola Chicago = And this one has already ended, though it has yet to start.

# 8 Syracuse vs. Colgate = Please. You gotta ask?

# 14 San Diego State vs. San Diego = Apparently, the Aztecs have a pretty good team. Obviously, they are NOT the 14th best in the country. Yet I looked at their remaining schedule, and they do have a shot at remaining undefeated for the entire regular season. However: (A), This is mainly due to softness in the schedule, as the best opponents remaining are BYU and UNLV. (B) That undefeated streak, if it holds, will end come March.

# 15 Missouri vs. Presbyterian = And here's another cupcake turning buns up for the frosting of a paycheck. Yet they will give Missou a better game than some others above.

# 17 Kentucky vs. Indiana = The Hoosier faithful have a glimmer of hope that their team is finally coming back. I'm not so sure, since their record is a soft 7-1, with no really good wins. But if they can at least hang with the Wildcats and make this a contest, they can show me something. I'm very interested to see what happens here.

# 18 BYU vs. Arizona = And this is pretty much the exact same situation here. The desert Wildcats have only lost to Kansas, while the only "nice" wins the Cougars can boast are to Utah State and St. Mary's . . . which, as I said, are "nice", but not good. This game could tell us a lot about both teams.

# 19 Purdue vs. North Florida = But the only thing this one will tell us is if the Boilermakers can actually score enough to make it a laffer.

# 21 Washington vs. Texas A&M = This is more like it, and back to the same test of both squads which can give us a tight contest. The Aggies have not played a tough schedule, and lost to BC, but they do have a win over Temple. Meanwhile, though you can't fault the Huskies for losses to UK and MSU, that does leave their "quality" victories being UVA, Texas Tech, and Portland. Here's a test for both.

# 22 Minnesota vs. Eastern Kentucky = Maybe not exactly a "cupcake" game here, but not exactly a challenge either.

# 23 Notre Dame vs. Gonzaga = The Irish have played better than people thought they would, and the 'Zags have played worse, by a lot. They need the victory much more, so I would expect them to show up. That may not be enough, but the potential for a very nice game does exist.

# 25 Texas vs. Texas State = I think maybe Barnes & Co. can pull this one off.

TCU vs. Nebraska = And though these are not contenders for the crown, they should match up well and give a good show.

Wisconsin vs. Marquette = Same here. Both teams have shown positive signs.

Rhode Island vs. Quinnipiac = Which of these things is not like the other? Which of these things do not belong? Hey, I'm really just interested in seeing if you're paying attention . . . and if the Rams can stomp decent, albeit lesser, competition.

Rider vs. Drexel = Here, I'm not so much kidding. This one could go down to the wire.

Dayton vs. ODU = Here too, we should have us one hell of a game.

Cleveland State vs. Sam Houston State = I'm posting this one to give some props to the Vikings, who are off to an 11-0 start. And they actually do have some "eh" wins too, against Iona, Kent State, and Robert Morris f'instance. However, the Bearkats have played a tougher schedule, and lost only to Texas and Houston . . . the last one, by only 4 points. So just maybe the pillaging by the Vikes ends today.

VCU vs. Richmond = As with a few others above, this will be a good 'un.

UNC vs. Long Beach State = We don't yet know if the Heels are any damn good, despite their win over Kentucky. We do know the LBS 49ers are not very good, but they have played a fairly tough schedule, and 2 of their 5 losses are to ranked teams. Thus they won't be scared, so UNC better show up.


I could go on for another hour, but you wouldn't read them all anyway. Post your own picks, if you desire. Me, I'm gonna check for early results, plus Sunday's action. Back soon.