Rush The Court

If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com.

Top 25 Games

• #1 Duke 82, Butler 70: “There is absolutely zero belief in moral victories on this end, as Butler lost to a team who was better than it was and who, in crunch time, played better than it did. There are several reasons why that happened – which will be brought up in a bit – yet there were some positives to come out of losing to the Blue Devils in a contest that was within a couple possessions both ways for most of the day.” (Victory Firelight)
• #9 Villanova 71, St. Joseph’s 60: “The Hawks of Saint Joseph’s held the lead over the Wildcats of Villanova for the first 4:30 of the game, relinquishing the lead briefly to regain it at the 13:53 mark. They would hold it for only 30 seconds more before releasing it for the last time. For the next 33 and half minutes the question was only by how much the Wildcats would win. The answer turned out to be 11, as Villanova won 71-60 and ran their Big 5 record to 2-0 for 2010-11.” (Villanova by the Numbers)
• #10 Georgetown 68, Utah State 51: “No matter how thrilling and enjoyable Tuesday night’s win against Missouri was, I will take a game like today every single time.  After a back and forth first half, the Hoyas came out of halftime and tore the Aggies apart, winning 68-51 in Washington, DC. Chris Wright was the best of Run DMV The Holy Trinity our dynamite three guards that have yet to be named.  Wright attacked the basket time and time again, getting easy layups while scoring 21 points on 9 shots.  He added 4 steals and 2 assists.  No other Hoya was in double figures, but 5 other players had 6 points or more.” (Casual Hoya)
• #12 Minnesota 71, Cornell 66: “The Gophers pulled out a 71-66 win Saturday night over the Cornell Big Red. That’s the good news. The bad? The  Gophers again played no perimeter defense, had just occasional consistency on offense, and shot free throws at a 59 percent clip (26-44). It wasn’t pretty. At all.” (The Daily Gopher)
• UNC 75, #14 Kentucky 73: “For Kentucky, this is a tough, brutal loss.  Speaking as a Kentucky fan, my disappointment on losing this game could be measured on the Richter scale.  I know we played well enough to win, and a gritty effort by Doron Lamb and DeAndre Liggins now goes by the boards.  I know that this is sometimes how basketball goes, but right now, I am absolutely inconsolable.  This is a game Kentucky should have won, and frankly deserved to win.  Alas, we did not.” (A Sea of Blue)
• #16 Syracuse 65, NC State 59: Breaking down a lackluster performance by the Orange. (Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician)
• #18 Purdue 66, Alabama 47: “It’s funny. We were ribbed the other day during the Va Tech game via Twitter about “Purdue’s vaunted offense” and how we were wrong to have taken issue with people like John Gasaway and other MSM types. Sure, Purdue’s offense isn’t blowing people away, but they won that night and they won again today. It’s always fun to have your team’s offensive prowess mocked… while they’re still winning. Matt Painter trademarks are pressure defense and smart play. The Boilers, while sloppy at times today, used their suffocating defense and their plenty-good offense to win today’s game with the Crimson Tide, 66-47.” (Boiled Sports)
• #23 Illinois 73, #24 Gonzaga 61: “Stop me if you’ve heard this before.  Another big time, nationally televised game; another big time, nationally televised Gonzaga flop. It has truly become an abysmal trend that Gonzaga can’t shake.  There is going to be a lot of finger pointing after this game so I’ll go ahead and fuel the fire.” (The Slipper Still Fits)

Other Games of Interest

• Michigan 65, Harvard 62: “As expected, this game was no walk in the park for Michigan. Harvard provided the Wolverines with just about everything challenge that they could handle but luckily Michigan had just enough answers.” (UM Hoops: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3)
• Indiana 79, Savannah State 57: “Tucked in between IU’s two non-conference road games was Saturday night’s meeting with one of Division I’s worst teams, Savannah State. The Tigers, an independent in the midst of a transition to the MEAC, came into Assembly Hall on an eight-game losing streak and with one win on the books thus far — Brewton Parker, a NAIA school. And so it’s with caution that we try to glean much from this win, IU’s seventh of the season, simply based on the quality of the opponent. Truth be told, this game was mildly competitive at times in the first half, but once the Hoosiers turned it on for good in the final 20 minutes, it was over.” (Inside the Hall)

News/Analysis

• On to the next step: “It has been suggested, perhaps not unfairly, that Indiana’s early-season schedule will eventually weaken it, perhaps critically. A November filled with nameless opponents, it was feared, wouldn’t provide Indiana enough tests to get the Hoosiers ready for the tough meat in the schedule. The naysayers point to Boston College as proof, but we really can’t know yet one way or another. What we do know is that we’re not going to get much more substantive information about Indiana from the likes of Savannah State.” (Inside the Hall)
• Adjehi Baru Commits to College of Charleston…Or Doesn’t: Taking a look at whether the highly recruited senior has actually committed. (Testudo Times)
• Side by Side — Seton Hall versus Syracuse (via Cornell): A Comparison of Seton Hall and Syracuse, Controlling for Possessions and Using Oliver’s Four Factors (Villanova by the Numbers)