College Hoops Thread '10-'11

[The Poet]

There were a lot of good close games this past weekend, as well as a fair number of blowouts, but there were only a handful of scores that really surprised me:


Indiana 80 - Michigan 61 = The Hoosiers are improving over past seasons, but they haven't improved this much. And the young Wolverines had shown some signs of late, particularly in their last few losses against Kansas and Ohio State. Scoring only 15 in the first half is one bad sign, and losing this one by a greater margin than those prior 2 combined is even worse.

Iowa State 72 - Baylor 57 = Though I though the Cyclones could beat the Bears, I would never have predicted such a spanking as this.

Kansas 63 - Nebraska 60 = OK, so maybe this wasn't such a shock. I told you I'd not been all that impressed by what I saw of the Jayhawks, and that the 'Huskers could keep it tight. But still . . . .

Michigan State 71 - Northwestern 67 (OT) = Here again, maybe I should not be surprised. Hey, I myself predicted it would be close enough to give Izzo more gray hair, and it was definitely that. But again, still . . . .

Ohio State 69 - Penn State 66 = And maybe the closeness of this one should not surprise me either, considering how PSU has suddenly seemed to find its game. Still, the Buckeyes tried their damnedest to blow their new # 1 ranking before they even got it.

Southern Mississippi 86 - UCF 69 = And even though I did say I would not be surprised if UCF got their second loss in as many games, yet a spanking such as this was not on my radar.


And speaking of spankings not on my radar, on Sunday:


Georgia Tech 78 - UNC 58 = Pitiful, just pitiful. The Heels were horrible on defense, and even worse on offense. It is one thing to allow an opposing player to score 30 points . . . hey, it happens . . ., but to couple that with a shooting percentage of 27.6? How bad is that? Well, it is Carolina's worst percentage from the field since they shot 25.7% against N.C. State . . . in 1955. As for the Jackets, it's a good win . . . or maybe not, come to think of it.

St. John's 72 - Notre Dame 54 = Although I gave the Red Storm a shot at taking this one in the Garden, I did not think they would. I most certainly did not think they would whup up on the Irish, and take their lunch to boot. This was a bad a beating as their previous loss to Marquette, and with Cincy, the Golden Eagles again, and Pitt coming up, this might be the beginning of the end for the leprechauns.

West Virgina 68 - Purdue 64 = Actually, I felt this one would be pretty close, so there's no big shock here. WVU gets a very good win, and the Boilermakers get a reality check.


In early action today, the "overrated" U. Conn Huskies have already edged the . . . even-more-so-overrated? . . . Villanova Wildcats 61-59 up in Storrs. Meanwhile, two more overrated teams, Missouri and Kansas State, just tipped off in what should be a pretty good one. Games to follow include:


Charleston vs. Chattanooga = Nobody much talks about teams like this, nor seem to much care, until they come up and bite some big boy in the butt. Don't kid yourself: These two are good, and should give us a very nice contest.

Fairfield vs. Rider = Like I just said. Weren't you listening?

Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh = The supposed # 3, and certainly undefeated, Orange visit the supposed # 5, and 17-1, Pitt Panthers. Now maybe you understand why I suggested above to wait until you PLAY the Huskies before you question their relative ability.

Kansas vs. Baylor = The Jayhawks have dodged a few bullets lately to remain amongst the undefeated themselves. The Bears have struggled, and are coming off a stomping, so need to try and turn things around. A win in Waco would go a long way towards doing that. I don't expect it, but as I have said, I don't have a ton of faith in KU either. So, pick your poison. If the line's over three possessions, take Baylor.


That's it for today. See you tomorrow. Until then . . . enjoy.