Since the boss kept hangin' about last evening, tying up the phones and generally making a nuisance of himself, I had no chance to do this then. So now lemme put on a full-court press and play a little catch-up.
Games of note Tuesday 12/28:
Wisconsin 68 - Minnesota 60 = I begin with what most consider an upset. I'm not one of them, for as I predicted, this one turned out to be a war. It's a great win for the Badgers, and not that bad a loss for the Gophers, disappointing as it may be.
Syracuse 81 - Providence 74 = And though the Orange did not quite hit that double-digit margin I predicted, they did get the W over what I knew would be a tough Friar team.
Purdue 80 - Michigan 57 = And yes, I know I already gave this final, but there's one interesting point I missed. This was but a 4-point lead for the Boilermakers at the half, then they scored 50 in the second to blow away the Wolverines. So you see, Purdue CAN score, on occasion anyway.
N.C. Asheville 85 - Western Carolina 79 (OT) = I did not preview this one, but this Battle of the Smokies deserves to be noted.
St. Bonaventure 82 - Siena 79 = Nor did I pick this one, yet it too turned into a real snowball fight.
UNC 78 - Rutgers 55 = And I'm not so much citing this rout in MSG because I'm a Heel, but rather to mention an interesting factoid: Carolina and Rutgers (which, despite the deceiving name, IS the University of New Jersey, believe it or not) have met on the court 13 times. The first game was back in 1921, and Rutgers took the victory (I have no idea of the score, but knowing what I do of basketball of the past, it was likely something like 11-8
). Since then, the Scarlet Knights have lost to the Tar Heels each and every time. So it's not quite a century of futility, but it is getting close.
On Wednesday 12/29:
Duke 108 - N.C. Greensboro 62 = I kick off last night's action with this one not because the game was good, or in any way unexpected. The UNC-G Spartans didn't have a snowball's chance against the Blue Devils . . . well, maybe if Durham had gotten socked with 2 feet of snow so their bus couldn't have made it over to Greensboro they might have gotten a forfeit . . . as they have yet to win a game all year, no matter how good or bad the competition, and fell to 0-12. But I would be remiss if I did not congratulate Coach K on his 880th win, which puts him one above Dean Smith for sole possession of second in all-time victories behind his mentor, Bobby Knight (with, if I'm not mistaken, has 902). Coach K deserves all the accolades for passing his arch rival . . . and, if he had the same amount of class Coach Smith did, he would now retire, in the same way Dean did once he got one more win then Adolph Rupp.
Notre Dame 69 - Georgetown 55 = And though this can't be considered a huge upset, as the Irish have played well all season, and the Hoyas have been shaky at times, the win is a very good one, and the margin is a bit of a shock. But it is not the only one like this . . .
Tennessee 68 - Tenn. Martin 62 = Are you freakin' kidding me? The Vols were hot as a pistol, but have fallen apart. OK, they got the W. Big deal. The Skyhawks have only won 4 games so far this year, and only two were against D-1 squads. Their previous game was a loss to Ohio State . . . by 60 points, or 10X the margin here. Please.
Illinois 87 - Iowa 77 = And this one for the Illini ain't a whole lot better. OK, these Hawks are better than those above, but not by all that much. Iowa is now 7-6, and their only "quality" win was against a
meh Alabama team.
Washington 73 - USC 67 (OT) = And this one for the Huskies is a good amount worse. They are supposed to be the class of the Pac-10, whereas the Trojans are about a .500 team at best. I don't care that the game was in LA . . . to go to OT here is pitiful.
Vanderbilt 77 - Marquette 76 = OK, so this one's not so bad. The Commodores are pretty good , but not commanding, and the Golden Eagles ain't half-bad themselves. Their 3 previous losses were to Dook, Gonzaga, and Wisconsin, so there's no shame there.
Auburn 88 - Georgia Southern 84 (OT) = Not a very good win for the Tigers, but considering how bad they are I guess it's better than another loss.
Quinnipiaac 82 - Boston U. 81 = In case you haven't been noticing, the Q. Bobcats have been having a nice year so far. This close victory moves them to 9-2, with their only losses coming to decent team, Vermont and U. Mass.
Dayton 73 - George Mason 67 = And the Flyers have made a little noise too. This is another good win for them. The Patriots are not what they were some years back, but they had won 7 in a row before this loss.
New Hampshire 68 - Cornell 66 = To be honest, I don't know if this is an OK win, or a bad one, for the NH Wildcats. On the one hand, they pretty much stink. On the other, the Big Red totally sucks, as this was their 8th loss in a row. But on the third hand, 6 of those 8 Ls were by 5 points or less. So I am completely befuddled. Yeah, I know: "What else is new?"
Towson 93 - LaSalle 90 (OT) = And this just adds to my confusion. The LaSalle Explorers may be a .500 team, but they have played fairly well at times, and only lost to Villanova by 3 back on the 12th. Meanwhile, the Tigers have been lousy, coming into the game at 3-7. This should not have gone to OT, and LaSalle should not have lost. But it did, and they did, and I don't get it.
St. Mary's 94 - Mississippi State 72 = But this one, I do get. The Gaels are pretty danged good, and may have had the edge even before the Bulldogs became a doughnut team by suspending their two best bigs for fighting in the stands out in Hawaii. Lends a whole new meaning to "Dawg Pound", doesn't it?
Rhode Island 67 - Boston College 65 = The BC Eagles were on a roll, and had even started to gain some national attention. But the Rams told them where they could shove that with this victory. Here was an excellent game from two good teams, either of which could have, or even should have, won.
Delaware 54 - Santa Clara 53 = And though the Blue Hens and the Broncos are both .500 teams, they were well-matched, as the final indicates.
New Mexico 61 - Texas Tech 60 = But now I'm back in the puzzlement again. The Lobos have been playing well, and the Red Raiders have not been playing worth a squat. This should not have been a 1-point game, even in Lubbock.
UCLA 80 - Washington State 71 = And though this should perhaps confuse me too, it really doesn't. The Pac-10 is still a mess, and although the Bruins are not back, and though this was just the Cougars 3rd loss all season, nothing out of the Left Coast surprises me all that much these days. Just chalk it up as a nice win for UCLA, and move on.
St. John's 81 - West Virginia 71 = And even though the Johnnies are even further away from being back than are the aforementioned Bruins, and from a greater distance (time-wise, I mean), this is an even better win for the Red Storm, over what has recently been one of the better teams in the Big Mouth Conference. And and even even though though the Mountaineers may not be nearly as good this year, they still are not garbage, so give St. John's some credit, and some hope they won't be scraping the bottom of the barrel in the East again.
I'll check out the upcoming action and give my preview later in the day. See you then.