Jesse Baumgartner is an RTC columnist. His Love/Hate column will publish each week throughout the season. In this piece he’ll review the five things he loved and hated about the previous seven days of college basketball.

Five Things I Loved This Week

I LOVED… a lottery pick play. They’re some of my favorite moments every year – the two seconds that make you go, “Ohh, OhhhhhhWOWWW!” as a talented underclassman goes to a level you weren’t sure he had – and one that definitely translates to the next level. I ventured down to Chapel Hill for Sunday’s UNC-Florida Atlantic game, and soph sensation James Michael McAdoo provided that moment in the second half when he drove baseline, took off from under the hoop and floated all the way to the other side before stretching back and stuffing it home. The season is young, but he definitely looks like a player ready for the next level after blooming during the final weeks of last season. And I can barely wait to see him go head-to-head with Indiana’s Cody Zeller on November 27.

I LOVED… Duke doing what they do in the early season – using superior coaching and discipline to beat a much more talented Kentucky squad. It seems like Coach K specializes in this – he uses the early-season schedule to prey on the highly-skilled but less highly-disciplined youth that comes into college basketball every November. They might not beat those Wildcats in March, but they certainly outplayed them on Tuesday night.

I LOVED… John Calipari saying what we all were thinking on a nationally-televised halftime interview: “They’re (Duke) floppin’ all over the place.” Preach the truth, Cal.

I LOVED… feeling like college basketball was back on November 13. Sometimes it seems like it takes a few weeks to get going, but as soon as Duke-UK heated up in the second half, the energy was there. We had a high level of play early in the year, Dickie V simultaneously trying (successfully) to jump on both bandwagons in the span of one telecast, Blue Devils flying through the air horizontally despite no contact…. ah yes. It’s back.

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1. We could lead off with so many things here following ESPN’s Tip-Off Marathon, but we will just refer you to our After the Buzzer post on the day’s events. Special events like games on naval ships may generate more buzz with the media and general public, but we will take games being played at crazy hours in front of rabid college students over games that are cancelled because of condensation. Of course, this will lead to the inevitable question about whether we should start the season with this Marathon. As easy it would be to say we should I think it would be a little bit too much to expect teams to come out and play well in their first game of the season (exhibitions don’t count) and the current format allows for a somewhat soft opening that gives us better quality games even if teams aren’t quite playing their absolute best.
2. If you are waiting on Jabari Parker to sign a letter of intent you could be waiting a while as his mother has come out saying that he will probably commit some time next month and then sign a letter of intent in the spring.  The news shouldn’t come as a surprise for those who have followed Parker’s drawn-out recruitment and his list — BYU, Duke, Florida, Michigan State, and Stanford — is not a change, but we still do not understand why a player of Parker’s caliber would even bother signing a letter of intent when he can force a school’s hand by just committing to play for them without locking himself in. Few players are in a position of power — when they are they should use it.
3. The list of ineligible freshman continues to grow as San Diego State freshman Winston Shepard has been suspended for three games for “inadvertently violating an NCAA rule.” Nobody at the school is willing to comment on the issue as they appeal to the NCAA, but it appears that the issue at the center of the suspension is an automobile loan that was co-signed by a family he met while attending Findlay Prep although no money was provided to Shepard and he returned the car within four days. Given the pace with which the NCAA can move, we doubt that Shepard’s suspension will overturned by the time his suspension is complete.
4. Speaking of the NCAA and suspensions, the family of Shabazz Muhammad issued a response to the NCAA after it had declared Muhammad ineligible. Essentially they criticize the NCAA for issuing a press release, which they claim the NCAA said it would not do, and that they cooperated with the NCAA despite what their press release said. For their part the NCAA issued another press release saying they were standing behind what they previously stated. Confused yet? Meanwhile UCLA continues to wait for the NCAA to release all of its information before filing an appeal to get Muhammad reinstated. The way this is going we are beginning to think an extended European vacation might in Shabazz’s future (although he did look pained on the UCLA bench in its one-point win over UC Irvine last night).
5. Yesterday on the Big 12 Morning Five we mentioned Joel Embiid‘s imminent college commitment and the 7-footer followed through as he announced that he will play for Kansas. Many of you probably are not familiar with Embiid as he is not included in many recruiting rankings, but he reportedly has only been playing basketball for 18 months and according to ESPN’s Dave Telep will likely become a top 20 player when the rankings are updated. Basically, he has “upside” (and “project”) written all over him. Embiid may not be able to contribute right away for the Jayhawks, but with his size, athleticism, and learning curve he should eventually become a valuable player in Lawrence during his time there.

Tonight’s Lede. Hoops Marathon Ends With Basketball Royalty in Atlanta. The fifth iteration of ESPN’s College Hoops Marathon went from Spokane to Albuquerque to Honolulu to New Jersey to Indiana to Amherst to Ohio to NYC to Cincinnati to Atlanta, with 16 games of varying quality and competitiveness, but it finished at the Champions Classic with two hard-fought and generally well-played games befitting the assembled hoops royalty of Izzo, Krzyzewski, Calipari and Self. Last season’s inaugural event in Madison Square Garden featured Krzyzewski’s 903d all-time victory and the coming-out party of Calipari’s talented band of super-freshmen. This year’s set of games in Atlanta featured a Michigan State team finding itself after a surprising loss to a scrappy Connecticut team last week in Germany, while Duke was looking to shore up its perimeter defense to reclaim its usual spot among the nation’s elite as a national title contender. Tonight’s losing teams, Kentucky and Kansas, came away from the experience not feeling terrible, realizing that November games — while important to their resumes — are more a time for reflection and focused learning than worrying about finished products. Let’s jump into the day’s games…

Your Watercooler Moment. Calipari Calls Out Duke’s Flopping. 

What else could it be? In one of the better preaching to the choir moments in recent college basketball history, John Calipari told ESPN’s Andy Katz at halftime of the Champions Classic nightcap in a half-joking/half-serious manner that Duke’s players were “flopping all over the place.” The Twitter-verse immediately seized the moment because if there’s anything that gets Duke haters riled up, it’s the tendency for Coach K’s defenders to find their backs on the floor with the ball headed the other way. For what it’s worth, Calipari said after the game that he was just joking. Nevertheless… the head coach may have made some new friends tonight.

This Other Thing… Both Kentucky and Duke Impressed. Duke walked out of Atlanta as the clear winner of the event, knocking off the #2 Wildcats and showing that some of the defensive deficiencies that caused so many problems for the Blue Devils last season may be solved. Seth Curry (23 pts) was outstanding in his twin roles as leader and scorer, and his game-finishing drive to fake Nerlens Noel off his feet and drop in a right-handed layup was a thing of beauty. Mason Plumlee, when not in foul trouble, showed that he is an elite big man (18/3 on 7-8 FG) and the rest of the Duke cast was at least serviceable on this night. Coach K was not going to let the Kentucky perimeter beat his team, and a 9-25 shooting night from Kyle Wiltjer, Archie Goodwin and Julius Mays ensured that Duke wouldn’t have to get into an 80- or 90-point game to win this one. As for the Wildcats, we anticipated that John Calipari would get a much better effort on the glass, and he did (27 each) while also allowing his talented big men, Alex Poythress and Noel, to pick their spots and follow the fluidity of the game. The duo combined for 36 points and 16 rebounds, and the mere sight of those two flying around the airspace above the rim should send shudders throughout the rest of college basketball wondering how good they’ll be when they figure out the plays. Brian Joyce was at the game and provided his takeaways here from watching it courtside, but from the perspective of talent (Kentucky) and cohesion (Duke), it wouldn’t surprise us to see both of these squads matching up again in that very building next April.

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Evan Jacoby is a regular contributor for RTC. You can find him @EJacobyRTC on Twitter. Night Line runs on weeknights during the season, highlighting a major storyline development from that day’s games.

With the departure of first team All-American and do-it-all superstar Draymond Green from this year’s Michigan State roster, the Spartans figured to take a new offensive approach this season away from the high post, Draymond-centric attack they featured last year. What they didn’t expect was a surprising season-opening loss to depleted Connecticut last Friday in which they shot just 37.5% from the field. Tuesday night presented another massive challenge in defending national runner-up Kansas, and Tom Izzo’s team found a way to change the narrative by converting 52.1% of their field goals and defeating the Jayhawks, 67-64, in the Champions Classic in Atlanta. In the process, Michigan State found a new go-to offensive player in Gary Harris and a clutch late-game playmaker with Keith Appling. Replacing the versatile Green isn’t an easy task, but this year’s Spartans team learned a lot about its potential to do so with the impressive offensive performance on Tuesday night.

Michigan State leaned on Keith Appling, left, down the stretch in Tuesday’s win over Kansas (AP Photo/D. Martin)

The Spartans couldn’t have looked any different in their first two tilts of a five-day stretch to open this season. A trip to Germany to play in an aircraft hangar might have something to do with that. A Hall of Fame head coach with an understanding of how to make quick adjustments might, too. Izzo understood that his team struggled to score in the 66-62 loss to Connecticut to open the season, and it needed better production from the players expected to carry this team offensively. The freshman Harris played tentatively with a “deer in the headlights” look in the season opener, according to Izzo, en route to a 4-for-13 shooting night for 11 points. Harris was much more assertive from the get-go on Tuesday, looking to score early and often with smooth moves to the hoop and a soft touch from the perimeter, and he finished with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Harris was aggressive and productive in attacking Kansas’ guards, so much so that the Jayhawks switched their top defensive player, Travis Releford, to guard Harris in the second half. Nonetheless the frosh still found ways to score without forcing the issue.

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Brian Joyce is an RTC correspondent and can be reached at bjoyce_hoops. He filed this report from the Champions Classic in Atlanta tonight. 

Three Key Takeaways.

1. What a difference a few days makes? – Freshman Gary Harris looked out of sorts just a couple of days ago in a loss to Connecticut. He struggled to a 4-of-13 shooting night, including 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Tonight, Harris established himself as a viable option in the Michigan State offense as he scored 18 points on 7-12 shooting. The guard made key shots down the stretch for coach Tom Izzo, demonstrating he can be counted on as a key cog moving forward.
2. How about a wrestling match? – Kansas got out in transition in the first half benefiting from 11 Michigan State turnovers. But Izzo slowed down the pace of the game in the second half, giving the Spartans a chance to execute their halfcourt offense and cut down their turnovers to just six in the second 20 minutes of play. The change of pace altered the course of the game, and gave Michigan State’s big men a chance to snag 10 big offensive rebounds. More opportunities to shoot generally equate to more opportunities to score.
3. The Withey Effect – Jeff Withey is a key difference-maker for Kansas, but he was limited to just 10 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. He came up big in the second half with six rebounds and two blocks, but it was too little too late for the Jayhawks. Withey has to stay on the court for Kansas’ interior defense and rebounding efforts to be effective. KU simply does not have the depth in the frontcourt to play for long stretches against quality opponents without their starting center.

Star of the Game. Keith Appling, Michigan State. After only three points, two rebounds, and one assist in the first half, Keith Appling came to play in the second half. He came up with big shot after big shot when it mattered most, finishing with 19 points and three assists in the contest. Appling’s penetration into the lane was key for the Spartans as Michigan State slowed down the tempo in the second stanza and turned the game around.

Quotes to Note.

• “We didn’t run offense down the stretch. We got the ball where we wanted to get it. I thought we did some good things. Our spacing stunk the last seven or eight minutes. But it will be a good teaching tool for us.” – Bill Self, Kansas head coach
• “We had a lot of energy because we didn’t waste any in Connecticut.” – Tom Izzo, Michigan State head coach

Sights and Sounds. The Champions Classic gave Kansas and Michigan State a March type of atmosphere in early November. With five minutes to go, both coaches got an opportunity to see how their teams would respond in a close game. That experience is crucial, especially at this time of year. And it just so happens that the Jayhawks and Spartans got to see this play out in the Georgia Dome, the host of the 2013 Final Four. That’s about as valuable as it gets before Thanksgiving.

What’s Next. Both teams have an opportunity for some easier wins over the next couple of weeks. Kansas plays Chattanooga on Thursday, then Washington State next week. Michigan State follows up this win with Texas Southern over the weekend and then Boise State. It is clear that the style and tempo favored Michigan State tonight, so Kansas has to learn to assert itself. Self has to determine what type of team the Jayhawks can be and who will get the ball when it comes down to crunch time again.

Welcome back to Y2 of the RTC Podcast. A brand new season has dawned on us and after all the monotony of preseason chatter and previews where we get to pretend we know what will happen, it’s time to get down to the business of evaluating actual game action. Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) is our host again as this week we take a look at some of the results from the opening weekend of college basketball. From aircraft carrier games to the ongoing eligibility status of Shabazz Muhammad to a look ahead to tonight’s Champions Classic games, it’s all there, and more.

These full podcasts (roughly 45 minutes to an hour long) will publish on Tuesdays during the season, while our shorter (~15-20 minutes) podblasts will drop on Fridays with a quick look at the intervening week’s worth of news and action. Feel free to jump around using the outline below.

Also make sure to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after each recording. Thanks!

• Start-8:15 – UConn downs Michigan State in Germany.
• 8:15-15:35 – Shipwrecked – Three aircraft carrier games fail to deliver.
• 15:35-22:10 – Kentucky survives scare from Maryland in first game as defending champs.
• 22:10- 24:45 – McDermott vs. Mitchell shows two good players and one good team.
• 24:45 -34:50 – Emails from Shabazz Muhammad and Leonard Hamilton.
• 34:50-38:30 – Highlights of the weekend from around the rest of the country.
• 38:30-40:52 – Does Michigan State start 0-2 vs Kansas?
• 40:52-45:30 – Kentucky and Duke marquee matchup.
• 45:30-47:40 – Florida finally gets to play their marquee OOC game vs. Wisconsin.
• 47:40-51:00 – 24 hour marathon thoughts.
• 51:00-52:40 – More UK-Duke knocking the dust off the old rivalry.

We welcome any and all feedback on these podcasts including topics for future discussion or if you want to send us any questions for our “May Not Be From Actual Listeners” segment. Hit us up atrushthecourt@yahoo.com or @rushthecourt on Twitter.

Brian Otskey is a regular contributor for RTC. Every Tuesday during the regular season he’ll be giving his 10 thoughts on the previous week’s action. You can find him on Twitter @botskey

1. In what seems to have become an annual November ritual, fans and members of the media tend to overreact in making bold statements about teams and players after just one or two games have been played. While I recognize that is the nature of the “what have you done for me lately?” society we live in, fans and the media alike must take a step back. While some early season wins may appear to be huge and some losses head-scratching, we all must remember that the college basketball season is a long, evolving process. The NCAA Tournament doesn’t begin for another four months. Most teams will play 12 non-conference games before they begin 16 or 18-game conference schedules.  It’s OK to say something nice about a team that came up with a great early season win or to be skeptical of a school coming off a loss you might never have expected, but making statements such as “Florida State is a bust because it lost to South Alabama!” is just plain foolish. While a loss like that certainly gives you pause, we’ve seen this movie before time and time again in November, especially as the college season has started earlier and earlier over the years. A loss to South Alabama is hardly a definitive indicator of how Florida State will perform in 2012-13. It’s just one of 30+ games the Seminoles will play this season. With that said, I do have a couple of questions about FSU. One, does the team miss the steady point guard presence of Luke Loucks from a season ago (nine assists, 17 turnovers against USA)? Two, is Leonard Hamilton’s defense not as strong as we are accustomed to seeing? South Alabama shot 9-of-15 from deep and Buffalo shot 50% overall from the floor in FSU’s second game on Monday. Those are examples of legitimate concerns, but not affirmative statements about how Florida State’s season will turn out. The Seminoles have plenty of time to come together and fix their weaknesses. Just don’t bury Florida State, or any other team for that matter, before Thanksgiving for crying out loud.
   

   How Much is FSU Missing Luke Loucks Right Now? (Reuters)

2. There were quite a few of those aforementioned head-scratchers over the first four days of the season. In addition to Florida State, teams such as Mississippi State, Virginia, Rutgers, South Florida, Purdue, Drexel and Georgia all started the season on the wrong foot. Other schools including Oklahoma State, Texas and Providence struggled with inferior opponents but managed to hang on and win. In some circumstances like those faced at Mississippi State, Virginia, Georgia and Purdue, these are teams rebuilding after critical personnel losses. While it’s unfair to blast their November performance, these losses could be a sign of things to come. On the other hand, you could say a team like Drexel just had a bad night. The Dragons are a talented bunch and the overwhelming favorites in the depleted Colonial Athletic Association. Above all, however, the worst loss of them all belongs to North Texas. The Sun Belt favorites, who boast the talented Tony Mitchell, lost to Division II Alabama-Huntsville on Monday night. What does this mean? Not a whole lot in the grand scheme of things but it underscores how important it is for teams to put forth maximum effort every time out. The instances in which a team can get away with an off night have shrunk over the years due to parity and better talent assembled on non-power six rosters. When trying to analyze a team at this early stage of the season, don’t dismiss a disappointing loss but don’t throw the team under the bus at the same time. There is a very long way to go. Read the rest of this entry »

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to discussing the recruitments of the top uncommitted players in the country. We also encourage you to check out his contributions dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account @CLykinsBlog for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Note: ESPN Recruiting used for all player rankings

Indiana Adds Noah Vonleh To Loaded Class

As Saturday night concluded, the Indiana Hoosiers landed a significant piece to its 2013 recruiting class that quickly vaulted them up the class rankings to join the likes of Kentucky and Memphis. Five-star forward Noah Vonleh, who reclassified back into his original class of 2013 in September, ended his college recruitment quicker than expected by giving the Hoosiers a verbal pledge after his official visit during Indiana’s season opener. Vonleh, the No. 8 ranked prospect in the class of 2013, was also considering Connecticut, Georgetown, North Carolina, Ohio State and Syracuse.

While visiting, 2013 No. 8 prospect Noah Vonleh chose the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday night

“From Day One, Indiana has been recruiting me the hardest,” Vonleh told Adam Finkelstein of ESPN.com. “They were just letting me know how they could develop me into the player I want to be at the next level. Their academics are good, they’re the No. 1 team in the country and they’ve got another great class coming in next year.” With the addition of Vonleh, head coach Tom Crean has landed his highest-ranked prospect since taking the Indiana job in 2008. At 6’9″ and 220 lbs., the Massachusetts native is best described as a freak athlete. He uses his great length especially well rebounding the basketball on both ends of the floor, as he is arguably one of the best rebounders in the class, and altering shots with his shot-blocking. For a combo forward, he also has excellent ball-handling ability with an ever-improving jump shot. As his body continues to mature, with added strength to his 6’9″ frame he will be more efficient from the low post with his endless potential.

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1. Usually the NCAA announcements of future NCAA Tournament sites do not generate much fanfare, but yesterday’s announcement of the 2014 and 2015 sites appears to be an exception. The big direct news is, of course, that the NCAA Tournament will be coming back to Madison Square Garden for the first time since 1961. The big indirect news is that the NCAA did not award New Jersey a single game, which appears to be a continuation of their opposition against the legalization of sports betting within the state. Outside of that the only particularly noteworthy selection is the Carrier Dome for 2015 East Regional because it would eliminate the Orange from the East Region that year.
2. Despite cancellations of two of the three events this weekend (and the third event being played only after a delay) the powers that be have decided to bring back the Carrier Classic in 2013. Citing an engineering solution that will fix the condensation/dew problem (we are imaging something like those anti-condensation water bottles) the organizers plan to keep the event in Charleston, South Carolina, on the USS Yorktown. As we said yesterday in this space if the promoters want to recognize military members there are ways other than playing on a naval ship. Hopefully the organizers will realize that at some point soon.
3. With all the data of one game played for most teams the new polls came out and frankly we don’t particularly care, but what we do care about is the return of Poll Attacks from Gary Parrish, who took the opportunity to pan the rankings submitted by Ron Morris, a journalist from Columbia, South Carolina (his full rankings here). We can’t get too worked up by any rankings this early in the season and Morris is probably more interested in college football right now, but when you leave Syracuse out of your top 25 we have to question whether you are paying attention at all. Our best guess is that he (or his intern) was putting together his Top 25 and simply forgot to include the Orange, but there are nine other teams where he either has them the highest or lowest in the AP poll so either he has very different views on how the season has played out so far or he just has not been paying any attention.
4. We usually do not notice NBA Draft boards this early in the season, but the reaction of several draft analysts to the performance of Alex Len caught our eye. We are not sure how to go back and track previous mock drafts on some sites, but from what we remember Len was a borderline lottery pick coming into the season, which is where DraftExpress had him on their 2013 mock draft from November 1. Now at least two sites — ESPN’s Top 100 (#5) and NBADraft.net (#7) — have placed him up much higher with updates after Len’s opener against Kentucky. We understand Len’s potential — athletic 7-footers are hard to find — we found a few of the comments in Chad Ford’s update amusing (sorry, ESPN Insider so if you don’t have access you will just have to trust us) where he said “Len made himself a lot of money on Friday” while commenting on his inconsistency. He also mentioned in his last update one month ago that if Len improved this season he “has a decent chance of cracking the lottery”. Perhaps Ford and the other NBA Draft analysts are right, but it seems like we would want to see a lot more consistency out of Len before saying he has essentially doubled the value of his rookie contract after one admittedly excellent game.
5. By the time you are reading this we are already several hours into ESPN’s Tip-Off Marathon. You have probably seen several guides telling you how to survive 24 hours of basketball mostly from people who might only be awake that long once a year at most. We are going to give you a little professional advice coming from a place where we are awake working for well over 24 hours on a not infrequent basis: pace yourself (don’t get too worked up over early games), eat small meals (people who stay awake for long periods routinely can get away with eating big meals, but most people will pass out soon after), don’t rely on caffeine (if you rely on it routinely to get through the day then you might need it, but most people should save it for emergencies), and don’t put yourself in a position to sleep (once your head hits that pillow you are done). Good luck and enjoy the games.

Tonight’s Lede. The 24 Hours of Hoops Marathon Returns. If the college hoops calendar consists of a series of holidays, ESPN’s annual Tip-Off marathon measures up with the sport’s best celebratory events. It doesn’t quite provide the suspense of March Madness, or the do-or-die desperation of conference championship week, but the 24 hour-long dose of nonstop hoops action that tipped off at Midnight ET with West Virginia visiting Gonzaga captures the essence of fandom in a way no other sporting event can. This is when the true diehards put their mental fortitude – and their ability to resist somnolent desires – to the test. Even if you can’t make it through the night without sneaking in a few Zs between games, don’t worry. For most, the marathon goes down sweeter in pieces; fortunately this year’s slate offers no shortage of highlights. So if you’ve already hit your saturation point on college hoops viewing, or are still gearing up for tonight’s headliners, enjoy the round-the-clock drama. It is the apex of college basketball’s scheduling ingenuity.

Your Watercooler Moment. Gonzaga Destroys West Virginia Again.

Beard Or No Beard on Kilicli, This is Becoming a Trend ( AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

In a rematch of last year’s Second Round NCAA Tournament game between the Zags and Mountaineers, tonight’s result was surprisingly similar to the game played last March — the only major difference was the setting. Last season, after traveling cross-country to face WVU in their backyard (Pittsburgh), the Zags ran out to a quick 27-10 lead and never looked back in a dominating 77-54 win. Tonight, after West Virginia repaid the favor in traveling cross-country to Spokane, the Zags ran out to a 34-12 lead en route to a dominating 84-50 win. It’s actually quite eerie to view the two box scores side by side, given how similarly both games played out. Over the past two games, Gonzaga has outscored the Mountaineers by a ridiculous 57 points, and the vaunted WVU defense has given up better than 50% shooting from both the field and beyond the arc in these two games. After last season’s loss, Bob Huggins said that he’d “never gotten beat like that” — clearly Mark Few’s team has provided the road map for the Big 12 in beating the Mountaineers, because it just happened again.

Tonight’s Quick Hits…

• Hoosiers Keep On Rolling. Gleaning meaningful analysis from early season cupcake draws is never easy, so it’s hard to make too much of Indiana’s blistering 2-0 start, which includes a combined 69-point victory margin over Bryant and North Dakota State. But the Hoosiers have done little to shake their preseason perception, which is another way of saying Indiana looks like a #1 team. Cody Zeller finished with 22 points and nine rebounds and sophomore guard Remy Abell added 14 of his own against the Bison, who are expected to challenge the Nate Wolters-led South Dakota Jackrabbits for the Summit League crown.
• Hawkeyes Freshman Continues to Impress. The name most every big Ten fan mentions in Iowa-related hoops discussions is freshman center Adam Woodbury, and for good reason: the Iowa native spurned offers from North Carolina, Ohio State and Wisconsin before deciding to stay in his home state. Woodbury will come around eventually — he’s a legitimate seven-feet, armed with above-average athleticism and a refined offensive game. After two games, though, fellow freshman Mike Gessell looks the more well-rounded product. Gessell notched five points and five assists in the Hawkeyes’ 73-61 victory over Central Michigan Monday night. With a few more performances like that, Gessell, not Woodbury, can assert himself as the Hawkeyes’ best freshman asset.
• Balance Key For Memphis in Season-Opening Win. The notion that Memphis coach Josh Pastner is a better recruiter than coach is a popular one, and at this point in his tenure, probably a fair one. His early recruiting successes could finally pay dividends this season, just in time for the Tigers’ move to the Big East in 2012-13. The Tigers removed the curtain on their immensely-talented roster Monday night with a comfortable 81-66 defeat of North Florida. Forward Tarik Black led all scorers with 18 points, while point guard Joe Jackson added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. Memphis gets one more tuneup Saturday with Samford before the Battle 4 Atlantis, far and away the best compilation of top-to-bottom talent of any non-conference tournament on this year’s slate.
• No Rust For New-Look Michigan. There were few teams who polarized the college hoops punditry this preseason as much as Michigan. Various rankings pegged the Wolverines anywhere from outside the Top 25 to a Final Four contender. There’s good reason for this wide difference of opinion. Michigan is replacing a host of capable shooters (Zack Novak, Stu Douglass) with a frontcourt-heavy freshmen class. That kind of personnel turnover and roster dynamic is not, on its face, amenable to John Beilein’s guard-oriented attack. Early season results – the latest a 91-54 rout over IUPUI Monday night – indicate otherwise. Much-hyped freshman Glenn Robinson III submitted 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. As Michigan prepares for its ACC-Big Ten Challenge matchup with NC State (November 27), the new pieces are firing on all cylinders.
• Florida State is Going To Be Ok, After All. The most disappointing result of opening weekend was Florida State’s 76-71 home loss to South Alabama. Esteemed guard Michael Snaer finished 2-of-11 from the field, the stingy defense we’ve come to know from Leonard Hamilton’s teams of recent vintage was inexplicably AWOL, and you couldn’t help but walk away thinking the Seminoles didn’t enter the season in a sound mental state. Florida State rebounded from that harsh reality check against Buffalo, with Snaer contributing 19 points and forward Okaro White adding 13. More importantly, the Seminoles brought the defensive intensity that made them such a dangerous team last season. Buffalo turned it over 25 times and hit just six of 17 three-point shots. A note: Lead guard Javon McCrea, the reigning MAC freshman of the year, scored a team-high 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting.

And Misses…

• Youngstown State Not Rewarded For Upsetting Georgia. Thanks to predetermined rules that set in stone the semifinal teams of the Legends Classic, Youngstown State cannot advance to the Brooklyn-based semifinal despite knocking off Georgia 68-56 in a game that saw the Bulldogs score just 14 points by halftime and shoot just over 32 percent from the field. The only reason Georgia kept the deficit within a respectable margin was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who finished 10-of-18 from the field for 27 points and six rebounds. The Penguins are steadily improving under head coach Jerry Slocum and are more than capable of competing at the top half of the Horizon League in 2012-13. That said, even for a team as flawed and preponderantly-reliant on one player as Georgia is Caldwell-Pope, this counts as a bad loss, and a major stain on the early non-conference ledger. The Bulldogs clearly have some work to do before they get into SEC play.
• Early Struggles Continue for LIU. Last month brought a very promising development for LIU’s hopes at winning a third consecutive Northeast Conference title. That’s when the Blackbirds learned the fates of four of their best players (including reigning NEC player of the year Julian Boyd and All-NEC forward Jamal Olaswere), all of whom were awaiting word on their status following an on-campus altercation that led to arrests and third-degree assault charges. The players would have to miss two NEC conference games, they learned, and take anger management courses and file community service work… and that’s about it. Their availability apparently has not helped LIU’s early season fortunes. The Blackbirds fell to 0-2 Monday night, the latest loss coming against projected middle-of-the-pack Patriot League member Lafayette. In two games, LIU has scored a combined 168 points, which leads one to believe defense ranks highly on the Blackbirds’ early season checklist. For the most part, An 0-1 start is forgivable. Lose your first two against inferior competition, and there are serious questions to be had about LIU’s mindset and focus level following a tumultuous offseason.
• What’s Wrong with North Texas? People were legitimately peeved about the lack of television arrangements for Friday night’s Creighton-North Texas game. This was two of the nation’s best mid-major teams, or so we thought, featuring two of the nation’s best players in Doug McDermott and Tony Mitchell. What transpired was a disappointment; the Mean Green were outclassed in Omaha as McDermott legitimated his NPOY hype with a sterling 21-point, 11-rebound effort. That wasn’t a huge surprise. Monday night’s Preseason NIT defeat to Division II Alabama-Huntsville in Manhattan, Kansas, merits an entirely different analytical tone. The win by Alabama-Huntsville represents not only the first appearance by a D-II team in the PNIT, but now also the first victory.

Monday’s All-Americans.

• Jackie Carmichael, Illinois State. The Redbirds’ star blew up for 27/10/3 assts in only 24 minutes of action as his team destroyed UC Santa Barbara in its season opener.
• Anthony Bennett, UNLV (NPOY). Quite a debut Monday night for the precocious Bennett, who dropped 22/7/2 blks in a mere 20 minutes of action as UNLV routed Northern Arizona.
• Garrick Sherman, Notre Dame. The reserve big man for the Irish went for 22/9 including six offensive boards in Notre Dame’s crushing win over Monmouth.
• Glenn Robinson III, Michigan. So far, so good for the Big Puppy, as Robinson has only missed three shots in two games this season after his 21/6 night on 8-9 shooting in a win over IUPUI.
• Kadeem Batts, Providence. A 27-point, nine-rebound night for the junior big man looking to break out in a big way this season for Ed Cooley’s Friars.

Dunkdafied. This was from late last week, but it’s worth showing here. Detroit’s Doug Anderson looked a little like Scottie Pippen on this swoop to the hoop…