College Hoops Thread '09-'10

[The Poet]

Boy, did I miss it last night! F'instance:

Butler 77 - Wright State 65 = I thought this would be close, but it was not very after all.

Washington State 78 - Arizona 76 = And I thought this would be a slaughter, as Arizona hasn't shown me much so far. They didn't win, but they came damn near.

Arizona State 68 - Washington 51 = The Huskies are not doing much to defend their Pac-10 championship, and that's a fact. But to me the more significant fact is how good a coach is Herb Sendek. In his 3+ seasons, his Sun Devils have beaten 7 ranked teams, while in the previous 11 campaigns they beat only five. I did not understand it when N.C. State let him go, and I've seen no reason yet to change that opinion.

There is much to much action going on today for me to post more than those games that pop for me, as this is the first weekend of full-tilt conference play. Regarding those games that have already started, U. Conn presently has a nice lead over Georgetown, but the Fla./Vandy and SJU/Louisville ones are both tight still. I'll keep you guys grounded at your keyboards updated. In the meantime, here's my picks for other games to note:

Purdue vs. Wisconsin = Could be a lot closer than the Boilermakers would prefer.

Texas vs. Colorado = Should not be.

Mississippi vs. Mississippi State = A better record only goes so far in state rival conference games like this one.

Duke vs. Georgia Tech = Almost always a fun matchup, though Dook should prevail.

Villanova vs. Marquette = Wow. I'd love to watch this one. Don't be shocked if 'Nova falls.

Kansas State vs. Missouri = Hey, this could be another upset.

New Mexico vs. UNLV = Or this one.

Kentucky vs. Georgia = This one, not so much. Stranger things have happened, however.

Michigan State vs. Iowa = No contest.

West Virginia vs. Notre Dame = The Irish are almost good enough to pull this out, and they need the W more. I don't expect it, but you never know.

BYU vs. UTEP = OK, who ordered the alphabet soup?

Gonzaga vs. California = Hmmm. The 'Zags often struggle in "prestige" games, so this may be another tough battle for them.

And the above is only the games with ranked teams involved. Other potential good ones today include:

Virginia vs. N. C. State = Both programs are attempting to improve, and here's a nice test.

Niagara vs. Siena = A mid-major war every year.

South Carolina vs. Auburn = A fight to stay respectable in the SEC.

Iona vs. Rider = See above re: mid-majors.

Ohio State vs. Minnesota = The Buckeyes appear lost without Turner, and need to figure out who they are now. Here's another shot at that.

Boston College vs. Clemson = Again, a fight to stay afloat in the ACC.

Nebraska vs. Texas A&M = A&M has slipped, and needs this to recover a bit.

Alabama vs. LSU = Conference floaties again.

Cincinnati vs. Seton Hall = And again. If the Hall has a fourth heartbreaker loss, Gonzalez may shoot himself.

Wake Forest vs. Miami = Wake need to show they can play with the ACC elite every night.

Oklahoma vs. Baylor = Don't look now, but Baylor is 12-1 so far. Their one loss was by 3 to Alabama, and they've beaten Iona, Xavier, Arizona State, Arkansas, and South Carolina. Yet do they get any love? No sir.

Rutgers vs. Providence = Hey, nobody wants to play in the cellar.

Texas Tech vs Oklahoma State = Tech's been embarrassed enough this week, what with that whole football fiasco, so they need this morale booster.


Wow, are my fingers tired! Yet I still need to report on the games coming up on Sunday:

Temple vs. Rhode Island = I can't see this being much of a fight.

Syracuse vs. South Florida = This may be more of one, but the Orange should squeeze one out.

Kansas vs. Tennessee = The Vols are pretty literally just that now, as they will play with benchwarmers and walk-ons. If KU doesn't win by 30, they should forfeit merely on principle.

Florida State vs. Maryland = The Seminoles have a slightly better club, but it ain't easy playing in College Park.

UNC vs. Virginia Tech = Carolina is 10-0 in Chapel Hill, but have not played well so far. Tech has played fairly well most nights, and are 3-0 on the road. Something's gotta give.

Xavier vs. George Washington = Didn't the X-men just win one? If things hold true, it's now time for them to lose again.

Butler vs. Detroit = Hey, if this pops up on your TV, catch a few minutes of it. I expect this to be tons of fun.

Washington State vs. Arizona State = Can Sendek get his boys onna roll?

Northwestern vs. Michigan = Both have been ranked, and both have slipped, so both need to win here.

Washington vs. Arizona = Now I am convinced . . . those guys from the upper right-hand corner of the nation share charters.

I'll be back in a few with updates on action in progress. Enjoy.