[The Poet]

I maybe have the chance to catch up a little now, so lemme get to it, with at least those scores that I found of interest. On Thursday 12/22:


UTEP 61 - Clemson 48 = I can't say it's a good win for UTEP, but it is certainly a poor showing by the Tigers.

Michigan 77 - Bradley 66 = And with all due respect to Bradley (but no more than that), this is not a great showing by the Wolverines, especially in Ann Arbor. Yeah, a win's a win. Still . . .

UConn 79 - Fairfield 71 = Speaking of which, with this one in Hartford, it's not that good a win for the Huskies either.

N. C. State 88 - Northeastern 59 = However, considering the lower expectations for Jerry's 'Pack, this is a nice one for them in Raleigh.

Florida 82 - Florida State 64 = I can't say I'm surprised the Gators won, but I am a bit surprised that the 'Noles gave them no game whatsoever. I guess that vaunted defense of theirs was guarding the wrong goal.

Mercer 65 - Georgia Tech 59 = It looks as though the Ramblin' Wreck is indeed one, or at least a wreck.

Rice 65 - Texas A&M 58 = Do you recall me telling you we'd see what the Aggies are once they actually started playing somebody? Well, this made their 2nd loss in a row. You can't fault them for losing to the Gators, but the Owls had lost THEIR last two before this win, and to Lamar and Temple . . . decent teams, but not monsters.

Butler 71 - Stanford 66 = A very good road win for the Bulldogs, who needed one badly.

Missouri 78 - Illinois 74 = Here's the one referenced above, where the Tigers were running away from the Illini before they tried to choke. A good win for them, but maybe not as good a sign for things to come.

Michigan State 90 - Lehigh 81 = Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of this one. The Spartans have turned things around from their bad start, and Lehigh's not a total cupcake. But it's still not much of a statement, considering it was in East Lansing.

Long Beach State 68 - Xavier 58 = The Musketeers pay again for their idiocy in the Bearcats fight. Good. Serves them right. As for Long Beach . . . well, I'll get to that below.

Kansas 63 - USC 47 = This must have been one snorer of a game, but with it out in LA it's an OK win for the Jayhawks.


On Friday 12/23:


Clemson 83 - Southern Illinois 75 (OT) = The Tigers actually show up for a change, at least in the extra 5 minutes.

UNLV 85 - Cal 68 = Either the Golden Bears are ormolu, or the Rebels just ran them over.

Tennessee 66 - East Tennessee State 63 = Wow. The Vols win one. Not by much, but they win one.

Louisville 70 - Western Kentucky 60 = And the Cardinals win one too, yet almost equally unimpressively. Well, I guess it's better than losing one unimpressively.

Wagner 59 - Pitt 54 = Another terrible loss for the Panthers. But then again, maybe not. Looking at their schedule so far, they've really played next to nobody much, and their other loss came at home (like this one) to Long Beach State. As for LBS, I'll get to that.

Baylor 83 - West Virginia 81 (OT) = And speaking of not playing much of anybody, consider now the Bears. Just a week before they escaped BYU 86-83 in their FIRST tough challenge of the year, and now they needed OT to handle their second. I see a bad fall coming this winter, since they cannot hibernate throughout the Big 12 schedule.

UCLA 71 - Rochmond 63 = OK, I know the Spiders have played a little down so far this year. But the Bruins were flat-out flatlined, so I must consider this a good step forward for them.

Hawaii 84 - Xavier 82 (OT) = Losing 3 in a row is never a good thing, at least for a team with national aspirations. But losing it to the Rainbows? Lawsy mercy.

Long Beach State 64 - Auburn 43 = Another spanking issued to a SEC West team. As for those 49ers what handled the paddles . . . well, let's review. They earlier beat Pitt, and have just beaten Xavier, and now the Tigers. They did lose at Kansas, but by only 8 points. So why did my Heels get so much grief from the "experts" when they won their game 84-78? Hey, just askin', that's all.


On Sunday 12/25, in very limited action:


Xavier 87 - Southern Illinois 77 = Finally, the X-Men stop the bleeding and end a 3-game slide. Still, I'm not sure their internal acrimony has ended, so for that we'll need to wait and see.

UTEP 83 - Auburn 76 = A game, between two teams likely to go nowhere.

Hawaii 75 - Clemson 68 = And what goes for Xavier also goes for the Tigers, albeit to a somewhat lesser degree. Hey, nobody much expected Clemson to be a power, yet still a loss to the Rainbows is not good.

Kansas State 77 - Long Beach State 60 = The 49ers go down fairly hard in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic, to a K-State team that everybody said would be down this year. But so far the Manhattan 'Cats have lost only to West Virginia (another supposed "down" squad), and beated decent teams like Virginia Tech and Alabama, and in these Hawaiian games Southern Illinois and UTEP. Maybe they're not as bad as some believe. We'll maybe find out between Jan. 4-10, when they face in succession Kansas, Missouri, and Baylor.


That's all for now. There are no games today, and not many worth watching (IMHO) tomorrow either. I'll give youse guys a chance to reflect and respond, and shall be back later to deal with that slim handful on 12/27. Later.