[The Poet]

I'm back, and already have a final for today:


Minnesota 76 - Indiana State 69 = A pretty decent game, with the Gophers needing a big second half to take this one from Bird's old school. Not a great victory, but OK I guess.

At the moment, UCF is giving U Conn a lot more than they want, with only 3 minutes left. Opps . . . now they're up by 3 with 2:11 left. If they can hold on and take the Huskies, everybody will be shocked. I'll likely have a final before I finish talking about:


Texas Tech vs. DePaul = I figured this would be tight, and so far it is. I'll try to update this one too.

Villanova vs. Saint Louis = I figured this would be tight too, but so far the Billikens are rolling pretty good. There's still time for a 'Nova run, yet they need to start it soon.

Virginia Tech vs. Oklahoma State = This too looked tobe good, and at the moment the Hokies are up by a trey.

Miami vs. Mississippi = This tips off about now, and should also be decent.

# 22 Florida State vs. Harvard = And this one too, believe it or not. The 'Noles have a defensive edge, but the Crimson aren't the cupcakes they used to be.

Dayton vs. Fairfield = Here too, we should have a good match-up. Me, I give the Flyers the nod.

# 5 Syracuse vs. Stanford = So far, the Trees have been one of the PAC-12's few bright spots. I give them a shot at handing the Orange a loss here.

Rice vs. Northern Iowa = And I can see this one being pretty good also.

BYU vs. Nevada = And this one too.

# 3 Ohio State vs. Valparaiso = But I can't see Valpo hanging around more than a half in this one. The Buckeyes have entirely too much talent for that . . . if they show up, anyway.

Marshall vs. Cincinnati = However, I can see the Bearcats having some trouble here. They may surprise me and run away with it, but they've already proven they are vulnurable.

# 10 Florida vs. Jacksonville = I can't see the Gators having too much trouble building a double-digit lead here before the horn.

# 17 Pittsburgh vs. Penn = And the Panthers should hold off these in-state "rivals", in hoops if not academically.

Elon vs. N. C. State = But I can see Elon giving Jerry's Wolfpack a good game. I hope they can win it, yet a margin over 10 would surprise me a bit.

# 7 Louisville vs. Ohio = If this one'd not done by halftime, Pitino will have a heart-attack in the lockerroom.

Charleston vs. N. C. Asheville = But I can maybe see this one being close. I don't think Charleston has shown they are as good as they've been in the past, while Asheville has competed well against some tough competition.

Wake Forest vs. Arizona State = Here's a "down" ACC school against one from the "down" PAC-12. Should be fun, and will be interesting at least.

USC vs. UNLV = I have no idea what kind of team the Runnin' Rebels have this year, but 5 will get you 10 they can take the crappy Trojans.

# 24 Mississippi State vs. Tenn- Martin = After a rough home loss to open the season, the Bulldogs have turned things around fast. I can't see them bothered much here.

Campbell vs. Creighton = Maybe it's my imagination, but I foresee a nice one here.

UAB vs. Wichita State = Both squads need a win badly, so here's another one to watch.

# 11 Wisconsin vs. Bradley = Bradley's not a complete dog, but the Badgers ought to handle them just fine.

Providence vs. Iowa State = Neither team will compete for the lead in their respective conferences, so this could be some fun also.

Washington State vs. New Mexico = WSU may have a fight on its hands, and could easily add to the PAC-12's woes.

Murray State vs. San Francisco = Sorry, Joe, but I can see your Racers having problems here. They struggled against Alaska, and the Dons are better than them.

# 1 North Carolina vs. South Carolina = My Heels go back on the road to take on the Gamecocks out in Sin City. Back in the day, when a young Dean Smith would go up against his old (and disgraced) boss Frank McGuire, this game would have been a dogfight, on the court and in the stands. Those days are long gone, and I can't see much of a fight breaking out here.

# 18 Vanderbilt vs. Monmouth = And although I'd like to see my (and Dean's) man make a game of this, I can't see one here either, despite the Comms earlier problems.

Southern Mississippi vs. New Mexico State = But this one could be decent.

Oklahoma vs. Santa Clara = And this one too, believe it or not. We're not talking football here, so the Left Coast boys have a shot at the Sooners.


Lemme go see what finals are up, and maybe what early games are on tap tomorrow. Later.