What’s Trending: #TipOffMarathon Edition
Posted by Griffin Wong on November 19th, 2014What’s Trending is a column examining the week that was in college basketball social media. Griffin Wong (@griffwong90) is your weekly host.
Kevin Pangos is Still in College
Believe me, when I turned on the Gonzaga vs. SMU game late Monday night, I was just as surprised as you were.
Did Kevin Pangos receive the "NCAA Player You're Annoyed To Still See Playing in NCAA" medal from Aaron Craft already?
— Fake Gimel (@fakegimel) November 18, 2014
Good to see Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos back for his 9th year with the Zags
— David Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 18, 2014
But I digress. Pangos was awesome, posting a cool 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds in Gonzaga’s 72-56 victory.
Bruce Pearl is Back…
And he’s sweatier than ever!
The early MVP of the college basketball season is Bruce Pearl’s Sweaty Turtleneck http://t.co/1HVAw4LALL pic.twitter.com/eq6J0LWAHm
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger_sherman) November 18, 2014
In terms of on-court performance, Auburn stuck around with Colorado until the Buffaloes ripped off a 24-0 run midway through the second half. Pearl’s reaction?
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl: "I just hope at 2 a.m. in the morning on the East Coast everyone went to sleep. Because we obviously did."
— Adam Munsterteiger (@adamcm777) November 18, 2014
An Offensive Showing of Offense
After a long night of watching the #TipOffMarathon, I’m sure you all were excited for the 2:00 PM matchup between #25 Utah and #16 San Diego State. Of course, with less than eight minutes left in the game, the Aztecs led by a score of 33-24. I think Twitter God, Jay Bilas, sums it up nicely in this tweet…
The Utah-San Diego State game is all about toughness. Are you tough enough to watch the second half AND stay awake?!
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) November 18, 2014
Luckily for both teams, they exploded for 45 points in the final eight minutes to avoid the infamy of Georgetown/Tennessee and George Washington/Saint Louis.
Kentucky Dominates Kansas by 32 Points
Of course, Coach Cal his this to say…
Calipari: "No, we're not that good." Says UK still has "so much to figure out" offensively. Teams will zone the Cats.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_CJ) November 19, 2014
Alright, Coach, whatever you say! He was very complimentary of his players, however, as he lauded not only their talent, but more importantly, their unselfishness.
Calipari: “I’m blessed to have a group of guys like this. They’re talented, but they’re selfless enough to do it.”
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_CJ) November 19, 2014
Of course, Kentucky and its new Platoon System dismantled Kansas last night. Nobody on the Wildcats played more than 21 minutes or scored more than 11 points. That’s a scary team. Just ask Bill Self!
Quick Hitters
- Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor dominated a thin Michigan State front line, dropping 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting and pulling down five boards. Is Okafor Duke’s final piece to the National Championship Puzzle?
- Wichita State showed the nation that it would be back this year with a convincing 71-56 win over Memphis. Check out Tekele Cotton‘s one-handed posterization here:
- Check out Manhattan guard Rich Williams‘ buzzer-beating dunk that forced overtime against UMass:
