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[Ed. Note: Many of these are from Sunday night, but weren’t up in time for our Monday edition.]
Games of Interest
- Montana 66, UCLA 57: “Just when you thought the weekend could not get any worse it did. UCLA lost to Montana 66-57 and it was not really that close. . . Maybe Fox Sports did us a favor not televising it live so most Bruins could hear the score and not watch it.” (Bruins Nation)
- USC 73, Texas 56: “Ah, that first game of the season where the opponent fully exposes the team’s weaknesses. It is inevitable, but it always provides clarity as to the challenges of the road ahead.” (Burnt Orange Nation)
- Arizona 83, Oklahoma 60: “Oklahoma was outmatched once again on the basketball floor by a team superior in talent. Arizona at all of the answers for an Oklahoma squad that managed to only shoot 48% from the floor and was out rebounded by a margin of 30-17.” (Crimson and Cream Machine)
Pre-Game Analysis
- #4 Kansas versus #18 Memphis: “Coming off the tight UCLA game, Kansas gets another test on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against Memphis. This will be the 3rd time in the last four years these two programs match up, with Kansas winning a close one last year 57-55. And it’s not like anyone will forget the meeting before that.” (Rock Chalk Talk)
- #6 Michigan State versus #14 Syracuse: “The Syracuse Orange are 8-0 but it doesn’t take a Jim Boeheim Press Conference snide comment to know they’re not exactly wowing the nation. A quick look at the AP rankings shows you that opinions vary when it comes to the Orange, who have struggled in almost every game they’ve played so far this season. A lot of SU fans don’t feel like we know this team’s potential yet. Or worse, they fear that we DO know this team’s potential, or lack thereof. Fans will have a much clearer idea of where their Orange stand after Tuesday night’s bigtime showdown with the Michigan State Spartans at Madison Square Garden.” (Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician)
News/Analysis
- Fab Melo Doing Battle With Achilles: The highly touted freshman has been battling a sore Achilles this season. (Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician)
- Baru to Charleston: Where Do Maryland and Gary Williams Go From Here?: Analyzing where Maryland stands after one of their targeted big men opted to go to the College of Charleston. (Testudo Times)
- Kentucky Basketball: What Went Wrong in Chapel Hill: “The Kentucky Wildcats 75-73 road loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday, while certainly not the end of the big blue world, has surprisingly been treated as a Gardner-Webb/VMI-like loss by many of the UK faithful. Realizing the passion of Kentucky fans is one aspect of the program that makes it great, sometimes though, that passion blinds and skews ones thoughts on losses (as well as wins), and can have the unpleasant side effect of misdirected blame.” (A Sea of Blue)
- Four Things We Learned From Maryland’s Loss to Temple: “Another meaningful non-conference game, another close loss. Four things we got out of Maryland’s loss to Temple are below (in the linked article).” (Testudo Times)
- Blood in the water: “I expected to wake up Sunday morning a little more relaxed and a little more at ease with what I saw transpire on Saturday afternoon between Gonzaga and Illinois. Sleeping those kind of losses off is typically exactly what I need to clear my head and try to deliver some semblance of coherence on this site. All day Sunday, however, I tried to write something about this team to try and sum up Saturday and I simply couldn’t. Where do you begin? Where does it end?” (The Slipper Still Fits)
- Who Beat Who? And They Beat You!: Taking a look at the Big 12 teams so far based on the teams that they have beaten. (Rock Chalk Talk)
- Is Mackey Renovation Disturbing An Ancient Burial Ground?: “I jest…but only sort of. I’m not one to really believe in bad luck or bad karma, etc. And I know lots been made of the rash of ACL tears at Purdue in the past few years, but I don’t think there’s really anything to find there. . . But I will admit things are beginning to get a little silly with the basketball team. I know all teams go through injuries, but these aren’t just minor ones, you know?” (Boiled Sports)
- 2012 Q&A: Forward Mitch McGary: Asking the 6’11” recruit about his game and his recruitment. (UM Hoops)
- Big Ten Power Rankings: 12-6-10: An insider’s ranking of the Big Ten with a very interesting pick at the top.(UM Hoops)
- Etherington, Zeller post big numbers in weekend games: A look at some of Indiana’s recruits. (Inside the Hall)