[The Poet]

Say what you will, what few games there were last night sure gave us some sizzle:

Kentucky 89 - Florida 77 = And once again, this was a lot closer than the final, It was tied at 72 with 5 minutes left, but UK ducked yet another slug. Hey, if they keep this up, they will never lose another game - ever, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

Ohio State 70 - Purdue 66 = I guess having Turner back at 50% is sufficient, as he scored about that same percentage of the Buckeyes points (46%). Either that, or the Boilermakers enjoyed their first loss so much they decided to continue.

Kansas State 88 - Texas A&M 65 = I normally ignore spankings, even those involving ranked squads, but I thought this of note due to A&M's complete and utter collapse. But maybe I should not be to shocked . . . after all, this was in Manhattan (KS, not NY), and so far this year the Big 12 is a sick 113-1 on their home courts.

Colorado 78 - Baylor 71 = Like I just said, as this was in Boulder. And like I also said yesterday, Baylor is not accustomed to playing as a ranked team. That should not worry them next week.

N. C. State 88 - Florida State 81 = Did I not tell you the boys from Moo U have been playing some decent ball? Had that 75-footer in OT not gone in for the Gators a few games back, the Pack might be getting some respect from someone besides me.

Illinois 54 - Penn State 53 = OK, I know the Illini do not have a great team this year, but Penn State purely sucks. There's no excuse for this "bad" win.

Wake Forest 85 - Maryland 83 (OT) = 'Nuff said. Yeah, I'm repeating myself, but what else can you say?

Tonight's action promises to give us even more of the same, especially with the conference matchups:

Texas vs. Iowa State = Or maybe not.

Kansas vs. Nebraska = Or maybe not again. You can expect that Big 12 113-1 home margin to change by tomorrow.

Michigan State vs. Minnesota = OK, now this might be a game, at least for a while, if the Gophers can slow the Spartans down enough.

Miami vs. Virginia Tech = And this too should go down to the end.

Temple vs. Pennsylvania = And this too . . . wait, Penn? Nevermind. This Big 5 contest isn't one.

Cincinnati vs. St. John's = The Johnnies have yet to get a conference win, and Cincy may be too much to expect one to come tonight . . . even in MSG. But at least there will be some basketball played there this evening.

West Virginia vs. South Florida = The Mountaineers need to spank somebody soon to prove the earlier hype was more than just that. I predict a W, but not a whuppin'.

Duke vs. Boston College = The Eagles are not flying too high this year, and this is at that asylum in Durham. The Devils rebound from their loss Saturday, and big.

Georgia Tech vs. Virginia = The Cavs are tied atop the ACC at the moment . . . at 1-0. That ends all to soon for the Charlottesville faithful.

UNC vs. Clemson = And here's the team they're tied with, playing against the Tigers. It has sometimes been a struggle for the Tar Heels in Littlejohn, yet they almost always prevail. If the Heels show up tonight, they shall again.

U. Conn vs. Pittsburgh = You want your war? Well, here's your war. Neither team got much respect before the season started, particularly the Panthers, but they have both played good ball and are a nice matchup.

Syracuse vs. Rutgers = You want another war? Well, look elsewhere, because this ain't one.

BYU vs. Air Force = Nope, keep looking.

Mississippi vs. Georgia = Ehhhhh, maybe, if the Bulldogs bring what they learned against Kentucky to the court.

Wisconsin vs. Northwestern = Ehhhhh, OK, maybe again . . . though I truly have no abiding faith in either team.

Missouri vs. Texas Tech = Ehhhhh, I think this has a better shot at a shoot-out.

Vanderbilt vs. Alabama = Yeah, and quite possibly this one too.

We'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out for sure, so until then . . . enjoy.