College Hoops Thread 2011-2012

[The Poet]

Once more, too many games, too little time. Here's my highlights from Saturday:


Presberterian 56 - Cincinnati 54 = Each year we have many surprises, and numerous shocks, but true stunners are rarer. Here's one. Don't get me wrong; I have a lot of respect for the Blue Hose, but it's not for their abilities and rather for their willingness to play anybody, anytime, anywhere. This should not have been a game at all. The Bearcats opened up a comfortable 15-point bulge with 10 minutes to play, as one would expect. Yet from that point it was not PU who stunk up the joint, but instead Cincy. And though they still held a 1-point edge with 7 ticks left, they left a Blue Hoser open for a game-winning trey . . . then could not answer to at least tie for the OT. Yeah, the Big East is the Monster of the East they always claim to be.

Cal Poly 42 - Southern Cal 36 = And this nearly qualifies as as big a stunner. It's so weird, it reminds me of an episode of Numbers, where they brought in some ringers from the Lakers. Plus, aside from losing, the Trojans were not just pitiful at scoring, they were absolutely atrocious. Shame, shame.

Duquesne 81 - Akron 76 = Now here we had a really good game, which I believe I predicted.

Charleston 72 - Clemson 69 = Here again, and not the shocker those not familiar with CoC hoops might believe.

Harvard 77 - Loyola Marymount = This one interests me because LM loses for the second time in a row, following a 7-point loss to Middle Tenn. State, and after embarrasssing then-#17 UCLA by 11 in the opener.

# 18 Vanderbilt 86 - N. C. State 79 = Maybe the Commodores are recovering from their shocking early loss too. Still, a decent showing by Jerry's Wolfpack. Besides, he should be happy enough with their victory over Clemson on the gridiron to not let this bother him.

Oregon State 100 - Texas 95 (OT) = I felt this would be an interesting match-up also. Seems it was.

San Diego State 77 - Long Beach State 73 (OT) = Ditto.

ODU 68 - South Florida 66 (OT) = Dit-three.


On Sunday we saw:



# 2 Kentucky 62 - ODU 52 = Ohhhh, baby! Those freshmen for the Cats are talented, but they are freshmen, so it took an upperclassman to come off the bench and save Cal's butt in this one. And don't let that 10-point final margin fool you, since it was much closer than that.

# 4 U Conn 87 - Coppin State 70 = In Hartford, no less. When you consider the fact that Coppin ain't no danged ODU, this one's just about as bad. A win's a win, but I don't think Calhoun's all that happy today.

# 16 Alabama 65 - Purdue 56 = I guess this one's about right. The Tide's been decent so far, and the Boilermakers have been iffy.

# 25 Florida State 80 - South Alabama 39 = I normally don't report on blow-outs, but I've been waiting for that vaunted Seminole defense to show up. Maybe it has started to do so. Either that, or South 'Bama didn't show up at all.

Belmont 87 - Middle Tennessee State 84 (2OT) = Now this Volunteer State marathon surprises me a bit. Yeah, Belmont pulled it out, finally, but it seems maybe I need to pay more attention to MTSU, to see if they can hoop a little more than I thought.

Saint Louis 77 - Washington 64 = I knew, and I said, that the Billikens could hoop some. Still, I hadn't the stones to call for an "upset" here. Good for them . . . and one more strike against the PAC-12.

Northwestern 80 - Seton Hall 73 = Well, the Hall did manage to compete with the Braini'cats, so I guess that's a moral victory for the Parish Pirates.

St. Joseph's 79 - Tulsa 75 = I called this one going down to the last possessions, and it certainly did so.

Temple 78 - Wichita State 74 = And I called this dogfight too.

Murray State 62 - UAB 55 = Well, I guess Joe's happy. His Racers finally played somebody that somebody else has actually heard of, and they came away with the W. Good on them!


Here's some selected Monday action:


Already # 15 Michigan has beaten # 8 (for 6 1/2 more days ) Memphis 73-61. I'm not surprised the Logans won, but do take note that they actually managed to score a little bit this evening. Also, Virginia's beaten Drake 60-52, if anybody cares. Otherwise:


# 6 Duke vs. Tennessee = Out in Maui. This one's already midway thru the 1st, with the Blue Devils and the Vols in a real fight. I give UT a chance here, since Dook does not travel often, or well, in the early season, but I really believe Coach K will wake them up after the break and have them pull away.

TCU vs. Mississippi = Eh, might be a pretty good game here.

N. C. State vs. Texas = And here too.

# 10 Florida vs. Wright State = The Raiders were spanked by Ohio State, and the Gators were at least slapped around by the Buckeyes themselves. Yet that won't make this one a contest. Gators gulp WS whole.

# 21 Missouri vs. Notre Dame = Baby Ben has departed South Bend, so I don't know what the Irish have. Still, I don't think the Tigers are the cat's meow either, so this could be decent.

Presbyterian vs. Davidson = The Blue Hose come off their huge win over the Bearcats, and the Wildcats hung real tough in Cameron against Dook . . . well, at least tougher than did the Presbers. This one interests me just because it does, since I want to see what each team has.

# 16 Marquette vs. Norfolk State = And this one interests me none at all.

# 3 Ohio State vs. North Florida = Nor this one.

# 18 Vanderbilt vs. Oregon State = OK now, this might be a little more like it. Might be, if Vandy struggles again, and if this OSU isn't the same crap we've come to expect from the PAC-12, like . . .

UCLA vs. Chaminade = No offense, Justin. Considering how they've played, I can't bet on your Bruins, though I wouldn't think they could possibly lose. Still, if Chaminade does pull it off, this won't be the upset it was when they beat Ralph Sampson's UVA squad.

# 20 California vs. Georgia = And while we're talking PAC-12, I can see this one being a pretty decent game too. The Bulldogs don't purely stink, and the Golden Bears haven't proven anything to me yet.

# 14 Kansas vs. Georgetown = Here again, I could see a pretty good one, for at least a half or so. The Jayhawks are a little down this season, though maybe not as much as the Hoyas. Still, I don't expect Georgetown to completely roll over and play dead. This is one to keep one's eye on, just to see what's cooking.


That's quick and dirty, and all I've time for. So go amuse yourselves for a while, and enjoy.

[mase]

Originally Posted by The Poet

# 14 Kansas vs. Georgetown = Here again, I could see a pretty good one, for at least a half or so. The Jayhawks are a little down this season, though maybe not as much as the Hoyas. Still, I don't expect Georgetown to completely roll over and play dead. This is one to keep one's eye on, just to see what's cooking.

The Hoyas have some unproven freshmen talent, but most of their experience graduated last year. I hate to say it but I agree that Kansas will likely win this one.

[The Poet]

Originally Posted by mase

The Hoyas have some unproven freshmen talent, but most of their experience graduated last year. I hate to say it but I agree that Kansas will likely win this one.

Right on both counts, Kevin. But who was right about the game being decent?


# 12 Kansas 67 - Goergetown 63 = You can't much fault the Jayhawks for dropping one to Kentucky. You also can't have a ton of faith in them following a tight one like this over a team they maybe should have beaten by double-figures.


In other action yesterday:


UCLA 92 - Chaminade 60 = Means nothing, but I thought I'd get this out of the way for Justin right off the bat.

Davidson 68 - Presbyterian 54 = After shocking the Bearcats by two, the Blue Hose fall to the Wildcats by 14. Does this make Cincy's collapse even bigger? You tell me.

# 6 Duke 77 - Tennessee 67 = A win in Maui, where the Blue Devils don't seem to lose, but not a very dominant showing over a Vol team still in turmoil after all that Bruce Pearl mess last season. But they are Dook, so nobody's gonna pay any attention to that . . . yet.

# 10 Florida 78 - Wright State 65 = And pretty much the same danged story here. The Gators win, yet not by a safe enough margin to impress me. Still, it is better than . . .

# 21 Marquette 59 - Norfolk State 57 = Are you kidding me? This from a team that's supposed to compete with the Big Boys of the Big Mouth Conference? I don't think so.

# 18 Vanderbilt 64 - Oregon State 62 = OK, the Comms have more of an excuse here, but bottom line's the same. Are they ready to challenge UK or Fla. in the SEC? As much as I might like that, it looks doubtful so far.

N. C. State 77 - Texas 74 = And OK, the Longhorns are down this year. Blame Barnes for recruiting so much "one-and-done" talent, I think. Still, this is a very good win for Jerry's Wolfpack, who have been down for a lot longer.


Already again today we've got action, with # 8 Memphis edging in-state rival Tennessee in a real dogfight 99-97 in 2OT. All in all, I see no reason for the Vols to hang their heads, and not much reason for the Tigers to celebrate. Also, the Hoyas are starting to build a margin over Chaminade, as they should. Other games I find of note coming include:


Elon vs. Princeton = "Say what?", you ask. Well, you know the Tigers play tough, especially in Jadwin Gym (or Cameron North, as I call it ), but you've perhaps forgotten that the Phoenix beat South Carolina a week or so back. This might be a decent one.

# 17 Pittsburgh vs. LaSalle = And this one might be better than the Panthers would prefer. I already made the mistake once by saying Pitt does not lose games like this one, then they dropped one by 10 to Long Beach State, at home. Plus, the Explorers only lost by 7 on Villanova's court, so don't chalk this one up yet as a gimme.

# 6 Duke vs. # 15 Michigan = To my eyes, neither of these teams have played up to their rankings yet. It's not that they've been bad, but Dook's not owning other teams and the Logans have problems scoring too often. So this one out in Maui could be fun, even if only to see if one or the other will finally show up . . . if either is actually there at all to begin with.

# 7 Louisville vs. Arkansas State = Please.

# 1 North Carolina vs. Tennessee State = Please again, though I'm interested to see if my Heels can start to hit some 3s, hit more FTs, and defend a little better.

Cleveland State vs. Kent State = Now here, we might have us a game already.

Notre Dame vs. Georgia = And though these two didn't show up last night, that could bode well for some competition this night.

# 11 Wisconsin vs. Mo. Kansas City = Another .

# 14 Kansas vs. UCLA = Are the Jayhawks ready to find their feet? Are the Bruins ready to pull themselves up off the mat? This one's a hard call. It could be OK, it could be another stinker by the SoCal So-Sos. Me, I'd expect KU to romp, but I'm not convinced they are all that good, nor am I convinced that UCLA sucks. This makes it intriguing.

Richmond vs. Illinois = And here we have a good mid-major program facing a mid-pack major one. I can see this going down to the final 5 minutes, or less even.

# 9 Baylor vs. South Carolina State = I did not trust my memory so I had to stop and check on this. I was right. Much like Syracuse and U Conn, the Bears haven't faced much of anything so far, and all at home too. The only game that wasn't a total "gimme" was their 10-point win over San Diego State, and the Aztecs ain't the Aztecs of last year either. Don't watch this game, and refuse to watch any Baylor game until they finally get off the pot.

Boise State vs. Long Beach State = Here's just another one of those that hops off the page for me. Could be fun.

# 20 California vs. # 21 Missouri = And if these rankings have any relevance whatsoever, this one WILL be fun. Hey, I've not seen enough from either team to have much faith yet, but I'm willing to concede that they both can hoop a bit. If they both show up late tonight, this will be a war.


That's again all I can do today. So until later, enjoy.