Quote:
Originally Posted by jcruse64
I think you might be right about the SEC. Sheeeesh!
Pitt has its hands full, with less than 6 minutes to the half.
Go Racers!!!!! |
A. Well, to be fair to the Gators and the Tide, I guess we should recognize they have a leg up in the East and West divisions. Florida may be a tiny bit of a surprise there, given their division competition, but 'Bama is a total puzzler to me. Then again, the West seems to be much weaker than its eastern sister, so I guess somebody has to be on top.
B. We have seen the Mountaineers play some good ball so far, and though I see Pitt taking the Big East regular season I never thought they'd face no challenges along the way.
C. Go Racers? They seem to be doing just that. Case in point:
Murray State 66 - Eastern Illinois 53 = The victory in itself was no shock, but it does give your Racers their 6th in a row. Furthermore, had they not lost by 2 to Austin Peay in their first meeting, and this EI squad by a single point a few weeks ago, this would have made 16 in a row. Not too shabby.
Pitt 71 - West Virginia 66 = A couple of buckets, a couple of boards, a bounce or two the other way, and we'd have had what the experts call an upset here. Don't kid yourself . . . in big-time conference play, there are few true upsets. It would have been a good win for the Mountaineers, but it's also a good one for the Panthers.
Kansas 103 - Missouri 86 = I pretty much assumed the Jayhawks would take this one, yet I find the margin a bit lopsided. But this leads me into what is rapidly becoming a pet peeve with me. OK, so Missou has an 18-6 overall record, but how can one justify a team getting a top 25 ranking when they are just above, at, or under .500 in their own conference? I'm not picking on the Big 12 here, since the same is or has been true in the Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Me, I do not get it, one damn bit.
Wright State 74 - Youngstown State 70 = Although the Raiders really should have handled the crappy Penguins with much more ease than this, the win does keep them in touch with Valpo and Cleveland State for the zenith of the Horizon.
There are a few interesting games tonight, leading up to Wednesday's big night of action. But that's to follow, so this evening we have:
Purdue vs. Indiana = Although the Hoosiers have played some decent ball from time to time, and actually have managed to steal a win or three they were not supposed to, I can't really see them going on the road to take the Boilermakers . . . unless, as they have done too often, the 'Makers make no shots. Other than that, I see this lasting a half, then unraveling for IU like one of Bobby's old red sweaters.
Cincinnati vs. DePaul = And though the Bearcats have been eminently beatable at times, the Blue Demons have yet to manage to win a league game so far. I don't expect this to be their first.
Xavier vs. Georgia = Big non-conference games are few and far between this time of year. A victory here would look good on both resumes come Selection Sunday, so plan on this one being a war down in Athens. I see this as a pick 'em.
Princeton vs. Penn = Although the Ivy season is still much too young to call, this one may prove key down the stretch. The Tigers want to hold onto their meagre early lead, and the Quakers would like to tie them up . . . even if that puts Harvard up by a 1/2 game. This is in Jadwin, so I'll go with the boys east of the Delaware here.
Tennessee vs. Kentucky = Bruce Pearl has served his 8-game conference suspension, and will be back on the bench tonight. I do not expect he will score any points or grab any rebounds, though he may make a couple of "turnovers" if he tries to get three weeks of yelling at the refs out of his system all tonight. If the Vols can steal one up in Rupp, they can put Cal's 'Cats under .500 in SEC play (see my gripe above), and considering how things are shaking out so far in this league, I see no reason why they can't . . . except for the fact that they themselves have been as inconsistent as has UK. Were I to wager, I'd give the home team a two-possession edge, but this one should be a blast from start to finish. Don't be surprised if the team that makes the plays in the final 2 minutes walks away with the W.
San Diego State vs. Utah = The Aztecs were not very impressive in wins against Colorado State and TCU, and probably need to turn up the juice a bit tonight by spanking the hapless Utes. If they do so, it may mean little save that they have refocused. But if they again slip by with a one or two possession victory . . . or a huge home upset . . . they had best steel themselves for a marvelous regular season, and a extremely short post-season run.
Boston College vs. Clemson = At the moment 4 teams are tied for 4th in the ACC with 5-4 records, and here are two of them. Though it is possible that the Selection Committee might go 7-deep in the conference, it is more likely they will only let at most 6 into the Dance. You don't think these guys don't know that already? This one down in Littlejohn is huge for these two teams, both of which have been in and out of the national spotlight during the course of the season so far. I figure this may just get nasty in Death Valley, so keep you eye on it.
That's all for today. I'm late for practice for THE BIG ONE tomorrow already, so I leave you with . . . enjoy. Screw Drew.