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

Top 25 Games

• #2 Ohio State 85, Western Carolina 60: “As expected, Thad Matta’s basketball Buckeyes showed a bit more emotion out of the gate and overwhelmed the Western Carolina Catamounts 85-60 this afternoon in venerable St. John Arena.” (Eleven Warriors)
• #8 Georgetown 89, Appalachian State 60: “It’s always interesting to see how a team reacts to a heartbreaking loss. Today’s game for the Georgetown Hoyas was that test. In addition, this team has had the reputation of playing down to competition in the last few years.  Today, none of that mattered. The Hoyas outworked, outmuscled and outhustled Appalachian State in an 89-60 victory.” (Casual Hoya)
• #16 Illinois 86, Northern Colorado 76: The Fighting Illini won despite a lackluster defensive effort. (Hail to the Orange)

Other Games of Interest

• Virginia Tech 79, Penn State 69: “Virginia Tech got a balanced effort on Sunday and snapped a couple of troubling streaks – namely their three game losing streak and four games without reaching 60 points. The Hokies controlled the game for the final 30 minutes, minus a brief Nittany Lion run to start the second half, and rolled to a 79-69 win.” (Tech Hoops)

News/Analysis

• Reality Check: Time to Exhale: “That is the reality. Since encountering Tennessee’s 1-3-1 zone/trap in the NIT Tip-Off Finals, I suspect the Wildcats have seen variations in the two succeeding games. For the last three games (Tennessee, Saint Joseph’s & Pennsylvania) the two point guards have combined for 11-52 (2-21, 9-31), a combined 23.1% eFG%. That is a very bad run. In four of the first five games the two guards would combine to take possession and shot rates (among other things…) in the range of 60%-75% and 50%-65% respectively, a possession and shot distribution pattern that tends to make defense too easy. The Madison Square Garden sojourn was a awakening for the staff. The efficiency stats (Oliver’s four factors) for the Saint Joseph’s and Penn games…” (Villanova by the Numbers)
• Kentucky Basketball: The Wildcats Are Improving, But Do They Have What It Takes?: “Does this team have what it takes?  Maybe not.  Maybe our depth is too big an issue to overcome.  Maybe Harrellson and an occasional Vargas is just not enough.  Maybe our lack of size and post presence just cannot be overcome.  Maybe the talent on this team is just too young. But I am not copping to that yet, and neither should you.” (A Sea of Blue)
• A (Semi) Statistical Review of Colorado State: “Bill Self says they were terrible. They, of course, weren’t, but one could be forgiven for thinking that from only watching the game.” (Rock Chalk Talk)
• The four factors: Kentucky: Breaking down Indiana’s 81-62 loss to Kentucky by using Dean Oliver’s four factors. (Inside the Hall)
• Five Key Plays: Utah: Taking a look at the plays that led to Michigan’s victory over Utah. (UM Hoops)

nvr1983 (1398 Posts)

This entry was posted on Monday, December 13th, 2010 at 5:30 am by nvr1983 and is filed under around the blogosphere, Regular Features. Tagged: appalachian state, colorado state, georgetown, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, michigan, northern colorado, ohio state, penn state, utah, villanova, virginia tech, western carolina. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.