Hey, I finally get a chance to talk a little hoops again. I found no scores that much interested me last night, but today has a ton of fun in store for us. Already Miami/Florida Atlantic have gone to OT, with several others surviving scares too:
Ohio State 74 - South Carolina 66 = I never thought the 'Cocks could stand up so well. Sully went out of the game with a bad foot, but I've not heard what the X-Rays says.
Mississippi State 80 - Detroit 75 = And once again the SEC West demonstrates why I've little faith in any of them.
Iona vs. Vermont = This has tipped off, and I expect a good one.
Purdue vs. Butler = Here too. Neither team seems as good as they've been, so the potential is there.
# 6 Baylor vs. BYU = Finally, the Bears actually play somebody. This is out in Utah, but even if it was in Texas I'd give the Mormons a shot at the "upset". At last look, BYU had a slim lead, but it's awfully early.
# 13 Florida vs. # 22 Texas A&M = And also at last, the Aggies have an opponent on their schedule. Don't be surprised if the Gators snap their feet off at the knees.
Temple vs. Texas = Like Purdue/Butler above, these two are "down", so this could be a nail-biter.
Arizona vs. Gonzaga = To a somewhat lesser degree, it's the same story here . . . by which I mean they are not as "down", yet are fairly evenly matched.
# 4 Louisville vs. Memphis = And if the Tigers can manage to actually show up for a game, this could give the Cardinals a scare.
Mississippi vs. Southern Miss = And this is just another of those potential fun ones that pop out at me.
# 18 Indiana vs. Notre Dame = Here also, though I'm giving the Hoosiers the edge until they prove me otherwise.
# 19 Illinois vs. UNLV = And this is sort of like that Louisville/Memphis one, in that the Runnin' Rebels are capable of beating anybody . . . if they can get into that runnin' game. The Illini may have all they can handle here, if not more.
ODU vs. UCF = Just another of those "poppers" for me.
# 25 Vanderbilt vs. Indiana State = Here's another potential close one, more for the fact that Vandy's been so inconsistent. If they are today, they could easily lose this one.
# 5 North Carolina vs. Appalachian State = The Mountaineers come out of the boonies down the Catawba, forge the Yadkin, and visit Chapel Hill. It may not be much of a game, though the Heels haven't practices all week due to exams (yeah, they have them there and even take them seriously
), and may be a bit rusty. But Jason Capel returns home as head coach for ASU, so the crowd will be into that anyway.
# 1 Syracuse vs. N. C. State = Believe it or not, but this game's in Raleigh, and not in the Carrier Dome! I wonder who made that scheduling error! I wish I could give Jerry's Wolfpack a chance against the Orange, but I don't think they have the experience to handle that zone of Boeheim's. But hey, I could be wrong.
# 21 Michigan State vs. Bowling Green = The Falcons may be able to give the Spartans a good 10 minutes or so, but Izzo's got them playing so much better I can't see much more than that.
Lamar vs. Rice = Again, this one jumped out as being a pretty decent match-up.
Villanova vs. St. Joseph's = And these Big Five games are always fun. Both teams are fighting to earn a bit more respect, so look for a donnybrook in Philly tonight.
# 24 Murray State vs. Arkansas State = I don't believe Joe's Racers will have much of a problem here.
Oakland vs. Valparaiso = Just another one with the po' to be good.
# 23 Alabama vs. Kansas State = It's not in Manhattan, but it is in KC. That might be enough of an edge to push the struggling Wildcats over the Tide. After all, this IS another of those SEC West teams, remember?
New Mexico vs. Oklahoma State = These two teams have been making efforts to move up a notch in college hoops, and both have had some success at it. A win here helps either program, and I look for a tight one.
I'm breaking for lunch now, and hope to get back with more early finals, plus a glimpse at Sunday games. Later.