Jesse Baumgartner is an RTC contributor.  In this piece he’ll spend each week reviewing the five things he loved and hated about the previous week of college basketball.

The Five Things I Loved This Week

I LOVED…..a monster throwdown over a brave defender. Too often these days the defensive player gets out of the way, fearful of ending up on the wrong end of an ESPN Top Ten nominee. But not Georgetown sophomore Hollis Thompson. He stood tall in the paint and boldly said “Posterize me,” to Memphis’ D.J. Stephens, who replied, “As you wish” in rim-rocking fashion. Also, you have to love that “Blake Griffin-esque” was the first adjective used by the announcers on the slo-mo replay.

I LOVED…..how many players rotate through the “No. 1 draft prospect in America” slot during the college season. First it was UNC’s Harrison Barnes, before he even took a shot. Then it was Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger for a bit, followed by some rumblings about Baylor’s Perry Jones. Of course we haven’t even gotten to the NCAA Tournament yet, that wonderful showcase that tends to exponentially inflate or deflate draft projections (remember Joakim Noah’s rise to the top of the board after Florida’s first title?). Stay tuned – next week’s No. 1 pick could be coming to a court near you.

I LOVED…..that Western Kentucky coach Ken McDonald felt so bad about his team’s performance that he reimbursed fans for their gas mileage. How awesome is that in today’s coaching world, which has plenty of big egos and more than a hint of the “don’t blame me” philosophy. You have to wonder why some big-name coaches don’t do things like this. Obviously it’s harder with larger fan bases, but big-name coaches make big-time money, and creative PR moves like this can go a long way. My hat is off to the Hilltoppers.

I LOVED…..an awkward moment. And who doesn’t love awkward moments, if we’re truly honest with ourselves. This week we had a doozy. Roy Williams, he of Carolina upbringing and the understudy of legendary Dean Smith (synonymous with God in Tar Heel country), released his necessary statement of admiration for Mike Krzyzewski as the Duke coach gets set to pass Smith in all-time wins. Take a read – it’s a humorous mixture of, “Yes this is amazing that you broke this record and I’m congratulating you” and “but you’re also passing my idol which really really sucks.” Oh and PS, these two coach in the sport’s biggest rivalry and don’t really get along that well to start with. Wayda suck it up Roy.

I LOVED…..a feel-good story. This one comes from Presbyterian College, which has a unique group of players who thought they would get a shot to play in the NCAA Tournament, only for the school to be denied Division I status. The cool part? Their studs all decided to stay and finish what they started, even though they won’t get a chance to be on CBS in March. Give it a read for a nice, refreshing change from the big-time programs.

The Five Things I Hated This Week

I HATED…..Renardo Sidney’s ridiculousness in the stands in Hawaii. Maybe it brings back too many eerie memories of Ron Artest’s rampage into the crowd, but any fan of college basketball has to cringe at what this type of publicity does to the sport. Yeah, the first instinct might be to smile and shake your head, but it’s downright embarrassing for the Mississippi State program – and a poor reflection on college athletes.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com. We will add to this post throughout the day as the submissions come in so keep on sending them.

Other Games of Interest

• Penn State 69, Indiana 60: “Things have gone from bad to worse, my friends. Another game Indiana was favored to win, another loss. In the Big Ten, you need defense, and you need someone to step up and hit shots when it matters. Indiana had neither tonight inside Assembly Hall.” (Inside the Hall: Part 1, Part 2,  Part 3, and Part 4)

Pre-Game Analysis

• #11 Purdue at Michigan: Looking at the match-up through a series of interviews from the Wolverines. (UM Hoops: Part 1 and Part 2)

News/Analysis

• An Early Look At All-Conference Teams: RTC correspondent John Templon takes a look at potential all-conference teams for the Big East, Big Ten, and Horizon League.
• Kentucky Basketball: What UK Can Do To Win Every Game From Here On Out: “Did the lede get you interested? Well, I was only kidding. If I could really produce something that would get us victories every time, I’m sure Coach Cal would be on the line posthaste.  But there is something that all our losses and difficult games have in common.” (A Sea of Blue)
• Recalibrating Expectations: After a strong start fans in Ann Arbor are rethinking what they think the Wolverines could do this season and are wondering just how good their team could be. (UM Hoops)
• UCLA Basketball: Non-Conference Review (Part 1): “As we have finished non-conference play and enter the PAC 10 on Wednesday, over then next two days I will try to tee up for a discussion reviews of all the players so far this year and more importantly, the 2010-11 UCLA Bruins. The important thing is CBH needs to get this Bruins team to the Tournament.” (Bruins Nation)

If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com. We will add to this post throughout the day as the submissions come in so keep on sending them.

Top 25 Games

• #3 Kansas 78, Cal 63: “Kansas won the Pac10 grabbed their first true road victory of the season with a win over the Cal Bears. The late tipoff Wednesday night seemed to fit the Jayhawk play at times as a Kansas team that clearly looked like the more talented team, once again couldn’t manage to stay out of their own way during portions of the game.” (Rock Chalk Talk: Recap and Statistical Analysis)
• #4 Syracuse 93, Drexel 65: “That was the scary Drexel team we’ve been hearing about? The one that beat Louisville in the YUM? The one that’s apparently having their best season ever? Either they’re not quite as good as advertised or the Orange just about put together their best performance of the season in a 93-65 demolition job.” (Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician)
• #8 Villanova 76, Monmouth 36: “What can anyone say about a 76-36 win? I guess the coach summed it up nicely with ‘I like where we are right now.'” (Villanova by the Numbers)
• #10 Missouri 75, #21 Illinois 64: Taking a look at the game from the winning side and the losing side of the “Braggin’ Rights” game.
• #25 Texas 67, #12 Michigan State 55: “Tonight, with a 67-55 victory over the Spartans, Texas once again pulled off the impressive feat of beating North Carolina and Michigan State in the span of a few days. Even more impressively, they won both games on the road. In fact, tonight’s victory ended Michigan State’s much-publicized streak of 52 consecutive home victories against non-conference opponents. Essentially, Texas was the first non-con team to win a game in East Lansing in the last 7 years. This was exactly the type of game–against a good team and hostile crowd–that young teams can be expected to lose. But we didnt. Tonight was a virtuoso win, even if wasn’t exactly a virtuoso performance. Texas did enough to win, but, unlike last year, I doubt this will be their best performance of the season. To put it more simply, the win tonight feels bigger and more important than our actual performance, which was really-good-but-not-great.” (Burnt Orange Nation)
• #15 Kentucky 89, Winthrop 52: “My first impression of this game was, “Wow. What a game by Doron Lamb,” and upon reflection, that impression still stands. Setting the freshman scoring record by shooting 92% on 11-12 field goal attempts is simply staggering. That record has stood for nearly 20 years, and the guy who set it has a jersey hanging in the rafters. That’s the magnitude of the accomplishment by the young Brooklynite. It also seems somehow fitting that he bested another New Yorker, even though he was out of the Bronx.” (A Sea of Blue)

Other Games of Interest

• Maryland 89, NJIT 50: “After a game that one-sided, there’s only so much you can say, as well as only so much that can be learned. Maryland defeated NJIT 89-50 in the Comcast Center, with the 39-point margin of victory the Terrapins’ second-largest all season. On the way, they dominated every statistical category: they forced 22 turnovers, shot 60% from three, limited the Highlanders to 32% shooting from the field, and generally controlled play entirely from tip-to-tip. NJIT is awful, granted, and the stats should be enough to tell you that. But hey, you take any type of blowout when you can get it.” (Testudo Times)
• Louisville 114, Western Kentucky 82: “Louisville went on the road for the first time and gave perhaps their best performance of the season, burying 16 three-pointers on their way to a 114-82 rout of in-state host Western Kentucky.” (Card Chronicle)
• Northern Iowa 67, Indiana 61: “Defense, experience and execution. UNI, a Sweet 16 team last season, brought all three to the table tonight, and it was all just a little too much for the Hoosiers to handle.” (Inside the Hall: Part 1 and Part 2)
• Gonzaga 64, Xavier 54: “Against Baylor, Gonzaga showed they could win a game facing tremendous adversity. Tonight against Xavier, the Zags faced similar adversity but they did so at the friendly confines of the McCarthey Athletic Center.” (The Slipper Still Fits)

Read the rest of this entry »

The Lede.  If you’re anything like us, and we suspect that you are, you spent tonight stationed in front of your television (hopefully HD) for anywhere between four to six hours, munching on way too many Christmas cookies, filling your stomach with eggnog or some similar milky concoction, and watching game after game of college hoops.  Now Texas, now Michigan State and Illinois!  On, Mizzou!  On Gonzaga, on Kansas and Cal! To the top of the polls!  To the top of the key!  Now get out on the break!  Fill those lanes!  Throw it down, all! It was Holiday Hoops at its best this evening, with several marquee matchups on the tube and nothing else on our agenda other than to nod knowingly when the Significant Other Unit started complaining about finishing the shopping.  This guy pretty much nailed it when he said that having the holiday spirit combined with some great hoops on the TV tonight equaled one incomparable thing: bliss.

This is a Snapshot Image of MSU's Evening (DFP/J. Gonzalez)

Your Watercooler Moment. What the Hell is Wrong With Michigan State? Nothing.  The Spartans are who they are.  They were never the second-best team in America — not this year, not last year, nor the year before.  In explaining why there’s nothing wrong with them, we got a little word-happy and decided to turn it into a separate post, which is located here.  Just remember that March basketball is a different animal than December basketball and that Izzo knows and understands this, and you’ll be fine.

Tonight’s Quick Hits…

• Whelliston’s Red Line Upset Record.  The Mid-Majority’s record of what he calls “red line upsets” was equaled tonight with ten teams from mid-major leagues defeating major-conference teams.  The Las Vegas Classic was particularly inspiring for the little guys, as New Mexico dropped Colorado and Northern Iowa got past Indiana.  The others: North Texas over LSU, Siena over Georgia Tech, Dayton over Seton Hall, Cleveland State over South Florida, Seattle over Virginia, Furman over South Carolina, Green Bay over Wyoming, Butler over Utah, and Northern Arizona over Air Force (note: Whelliston considers the Mountain West a major conference).  And nice representation among the power leagues, with the MWC dropping three games and the ACC, Big East and SEC grabbing two a piece.  Shockingly, the Pac-10 had none tonight (and yes, Oregon State played — see below).
• Tristan Thompson.  The 6’8 freshman forward was seemingly everywhere for Texas tonight, dropping 17 points and grabbing 15 boards (six offensive) against the typically beefy Michigan State front line.  He’s had his ups and downs this season, but tonight was his best performance of the year, and if Rick Barnes can convince this human pogo stick to crash the glass like this on a nightly basis, Texas suddenly becomes a darkhorse Final Four candidate this year.
• Jordanesque.  Coming off the bench nursing a sprained ankle to hit several key FTs down the stretch to get a big road win?  That’s what Marcus Jordan did tonight at UMass in a tight contest that could have gone either way, the first such exposure for UCF as a nationally-ranked team.  We’re not going to oversell this — after all, he only scored seven points in fifteen minutes — but UCF is turning into one of the better stories of this college basketball season, and a large part of it due to Heir Jordan.

• Read the rest of this entry »

If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com. We will add to this post throughout the day as the submissions come in so keep on sending them.

Top 25 Games

• #2 Ohio State 96, UNC-Asheville 49: “Shaking off a shooting slump that saw him fail to reach double figures in four straight games and shoot just 32% over the last six, David Lighty broke out of his offensive funk with a 29 point performance to key Ohio State’s 96-49 blowout victory over UNC-Asheville tonight in the Schott.” (Eleven Warriors)
• USC 65, #17 Tennessee 64: “”It started exactly the way you expected it would against Kevin O’Neill, and ended exactly the way it did just four days ago for Bruce Pearl. Down one with three seconds and change left on a side out-of-bounds, the Vols had to settle for a long three that didn’t fall. As a result, Tennessee lost their third straight game – their second by one point – and the beatdown of #3 Pittsburgh just ten days ago now feels more like myth than fact.” (Rocky Top Talk)

Other Games of Interest

• UNC 85, William & Mary 60: “It turns out William & Mary has even less luck in the Dean Dome then they do in Carmichael. Down three starters from last year’s NIT team, the Tribe were stymied by their own poor shooting, missing all twelve three point attempts in the first half. Meanwhile, UNC took care of the ball, had some good shooting of their own, and won handily despite keeping John Henson on the bench for all but four minutes after he re-injured his thumb. (X-rays should not be required, and he was sat more as a precaution than anything else.)” (Carolina March)
• Cincinnati 64, Miami 48: “Last night, the Bearcats went on the road and did something that they hadn’t done in 17 years, play, and defeat, Miami.” (Bearcats Blog)

Read the rest of this entry »

Zach Hayes is an editor, contributor and bracketologist at Rush the Court.

Self's next challenge: incorporating Josh Selby

– I’ve been taken aback by the number of analysts that believe Josh Selby is going to hurt Kansas, at least in the short term. While I understand that the college game is much more predicated on ball movement, teamwork and on-court chemistry than the next level, anyone that believes Selby throws a wrench into the Rock Chalk juggernaut is underestimating Bill Self’s coaching acumen, ignoring that the Jayhawks haven’t played like a well-oiled machine during all ten of their wins and are forgetting just how special Josh Selby is on a basketball court. Kansas doesn’t have a truly threatening foe on their slate until a month from now, January 17 at Baylor. This is plenty of time for the coaching genius of Self to integrate his star-studded freshman into the offensive flow. Every quote I’ve read from Selby shows he’s more than willing to play within Self’s halfcourt style- perimeter ball movement, high-low passing with their bigs and drive-and-kick action to their plethora of capable outside shooters, including Marcus Morris, whom Self insists the offense will still revolve around. Selby provides the Jayhawks with the type of player– a “pro” in scouting circles– that they need, someone who can rekindle a lost possession with seven seconds on the shot clock and find his own shot or draw a foul. Plus, Kansas has beaten Arizona by eight, UCLA by one, Memphis by 13 and USC by two in their stiffest tests to date. It’s not like Selby, the number one recruit in America per Rivals.com, is joining the 1990 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels.

– Re-watching the Syracuse-Michigan State game from the Jimmy V Classic, I was surprised at how the Spartans elected to defend a poor perimeter shooting team like the Orange. Kalin Lucas, Korie Lucious, Keith Appling and Durrell Summers often employed an aggressive defense against the Syracuse guards rather than electing to play softer and dare the Orange into shooting deep jumpers. The Orange are currently ranked a dismal 249^th in the nation in three-point percentage at 31.2% with their biggest offenders being Scoop Jardine at 30%, Kris Joseph at 27% and Brandon Triche at 27%. Luckily for Jim Boeheim, and the main reason why his Orange boast an undefeated record heading into Christmas, is that their length and athleticism allows for a plethora of offensive rebounds on those misses and that 2-3 zone continues to be lethal. But there does appear to be a blueprint for dethroning the Orange: sag off their perimeter players like Jardine and Triche and defy them to jack up long threes rather than allow dribble penetration. This could turn into a fatal flaw come Big East play in a similar fashion to how Kentucky was defended for most of last season.

– All throughout the summer and into the preseason, I couldn’t escape the hype surrounding the SEC East. Florida returned all five starters from an NCAA Tournament team. Kentucky was reloading with another powerful John Calipari recruiting class. Georgia was the sleeper extraordinaire with two all-SEC caliber players. Tennessee and Vanderbilt returned enough talent to be formidable foes for the entire season. Some experts even had the SEC in the discussion with the Big 12 and Big East as the second best conference in the nation after the Big Ten, especially if Mississippi State incorporated Renardo Sidney and Dee Bost and another SEC West squad surprised the masses. As we sit here five days before Christmas, I can’t help but label the SEC as a major disappointment thus far in the 2010-11 campaign. In fact, I’d go as far as to say Vanderbilt may be the class of the lot. Tennessee has continued their bipolar ways of overachieving as a plucky underdog and folding their tent when expectations begin the mount, plainly evident by quality wins over Villanova and Pittsburgh followed by back-to-back losses to sneaky mid-major Oakland and a middling Atlantic 10 team in Charlotte. Kentucky has collected wins over Washington and Notre Dame, but obvious flaws at the point (Brandon Knight is more of a scoring off-guard) and a gaping hole at center leave the Wildcats young and vulnerable. Florida and Georgia are glaring examples of a lesson we should all learn: just because a team returns a large chunk of their talent, it doesn’t mean they’re going to dramatically improve. Finally, the SEC West has proven to be nothing short of a disaster site, with their six representatives already having suffered defeats at the hands of Iowa, Rutgers, South Florida, UAB, Dayton, East Tennessee State, Florida Atlantic, Coastal Carolina, Nicholls State, Saint Peter’s, UNC-Asheville, Samford, Jacksonville, Campbell and Presbyterian (to be fair, Auburn represents a healthy chunk of those truly embarrassing losses).

Read the rest of this entry »

1. Dan Wolken’s weekend piece on the status of Memphis basketball provides much-needed perspective about both a team dominated by freshmen who are not yet ready to rule the world, and Josh Pastner as a coach.  It was written prior to last night’s victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but the salient points remain.  Memphis fans see what Calipari has done at Kentucky and expectantly want the same thing — but even Cal had quite a few missteps along the way at Memphis before he got things completely rolling.  Great article.
2. Coach K, who Monday night just tied Dean Smith for second on the all-time men’s DI list with 879 wins, and Geno Auriemma, whose UConn Huskies just tied the all-time UCLA winning streak of 88 games over the weekend, were honored yesterday as the co-recipients of USA Basketball’s COY award for 2010.  Both legends have won gold medals in the Olympics and are the reigning national champions in their sport — we think they might be solid choices.
3. Missouri will be even lighter at the guard position for Wednesday’s Braggin’ Rights game with Illinois in St. Louis as a result of freshman Phil Pressey’s broken right ring finger, an injury he suffered in practice on Sunday.  With starting point guard Michael Dixon currently under suspension from coach Mike Anderson and no timetable on his return, Marcus Denmon or Matt Pressey will have to step up and shoulder the load of ballhandling duties in the interim.  The Illini force a fair amount of turnovers so Mizzou’s replacement point guards will have to take care of the ball to give the Tigers its best chance to win.
4. Michigan State’s Korie Lucious will serve no additional jail time as a result of his August 30 arrest for driving a vehicle while over the legal limit.  He spent a night in jail at the time and will have to pay nearly $1000 in court costs, but his charge was reduced to reckless driving.  Opposing fans may believe this represents some form of special treatment, but for a first-time offender such as Lucious, this is pretty typical.  Let’s just hope he’s learned his lesson and doesn’t do it again.
5. From the anything-you-can-do, I-can-do-better, nyah-nyah-nyah department, you’ve undoubtedly heard over the past several days that Louisville head coach Rick Pitino has been in negotiations to take over the reins as the Olympic coach for the Puerto Rico national team (why US territories get “national” teams, we’ll never understand).  As Jeff Goodman writes, Pitino’s motive for taking this on has everything to do with self-interest (recruiting) and nothing to do with the Olympic spirit.  Well, news came out today that suggests Kentucky coach John Calipari might be interested in doing the same sort of thing an island or two over at the Dominican Republic.  This is still in rumor status, but if there’s a shred of truth to this… are you serious?  This is sorta like buying a Benz only to have your neighbor next door show up the next day with a Bentley.  One would hope that such interest by Calipari in coaching a national team in the Caribbean isn’t all about petty jealousies and pissing contests between coaching supernovas, but we’re not completely sure about this.

It was a quiet Sunday of college basketball so our recap today will be short. If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com.

Game of Interest

• Indiana 102, South Carolina State 60: “Another home non-conference game, another dominant performance. We know the drill by now. Sure, it wasn’t a complete cakewalk. South Carolina State came out with more intensity than the Hoosiers. Indiana also hit a stretch in the early first half where it couldn’t buy a bucket — despite getting some good looks — and were letting the Bulldogs get some easy buckets. They actually snagged a 27-20 lead at the 7:59 mark in the first half, but the Hoosiers started to connect, were grabbing offensive rebounds when they weren’t and getting after it a bit more as they finished out the half on a 23-8 run to take a 43-35 lead into half. The second half was an offensive clinic as Indiana scored a whopping 59 points on 61.1 percent shooting from the field (21-of-31), 66.7 percent from three (4-of-6) and 81.3 percent from the line (13-of-16).” (Inside the Hall)

News/Analysis

• Dominican Republic Basketball Federation now looking at John Calipari: “In the words of every KSR post written about Louisville: “folks, you just couldn’t make this up if you tried.” With Rick Pitino appearing poised to be announced as the new head coach of the Puerto Rican national basketball team, reports are now surfacing that the Dominican Republic, P.R.’s Latin American rival, is making a serious play to land Kentucky head coach John Calipari.” (Card Chronicle)
• The Gameplan’s Weekly Recap: Tennessee/Michigan: “Another week, another weekly recap from the Gameplan. This week’s edition covers the Tennessee upset and Michigan loss.” (Golden Grizzlies Gameplan)
• Five Key Plays: Oakland: Breaking down the key plays in Michigan’s victory over Oakland (UM Hoops)
• Zeller goes for 27 points, 20 rebounds in win at Bosse: A look at Cody Zeller and other Indiana recruits. (Inside the Hall: Text and Video)
• Kentucky Basketball: Statistics And Other Nonesuch From Last Night’s Game: Digging deeper into the Wildcats win over Mississippi Valley State. (A Sea of Blue)
• UCLA Basketball Wins a Big One for Coach: Looking back at the Bruins victory over BYU. (Bruins Nation)
• A (Semi) Statistical Recap of USC: Using a “Four Factor” analysis to look back at the Jayhawks victory over the Trojans. (Rock Chalk Talk)

The Lede.  Did you spend the weekend getting your Christmas shopping finished or watching basketball games?  It was quite a bit of both around the RTC compound, and we learned that should you not under any circumstances expect Tennessee to handle pressure well or question your significant other whether she already has “enough shoes.”  These are hard and fast rules that are inviolate, and the quicker we learn those two maxims, the better off we’ll be.

Your Watercooler Moment.  Help Save Kyrie’s Toe (h/t Beyond the Arc).  In the spirit of the holiday season, Duke fans ask us to dig deep to pray for the return of their superstar point guard Kyrie Irving this season.  Fairly clever, even for a bunch of Dookies (especially enjoyed the Durham… New Jersey… bit).

Season Debuts.  The semester break has started most everywhere and there were several significant and long-awaited debuts over the weekend.

• The most anticipated such debut, of course, was at Kansas where point guard Josh Selby came off the bench and pretty much won the game for his team down the stretch against USC.  His five threes included two in the last four minutes that each time regained the lead for the Jayhawks, the second without which would have more than likely ended the KU 64-game homecourt winning streak.  So we know that Selby is a difference-maker — his offensive scoring punch and playmaking abilities provide a dimension to the Kansas attack that the Jayhawks previously didn’t have.  But does he make KU better?  Keep in mind that from what we saw on Saturday, Selby needs to have the ball in his hands to be effective — he took a team-high eleven shots and handed out only one assist (to four turnovers).  Will team chemistry be affected by this?  How will it play with the juniors and seniors who have been through the wars and earned their places as the team leaders?  We’ll admit that we could be very wrong about this, but something just didn’t rub us the right way about how Kansas played on Saturday.  Maybe it was a one-time adjustment to bringing on the talent of a player like Selby, but we have our misgivings.
• Fordham transfer and USC point guard Jio Fontan also made his debut in the same game as Selby, and his fifteen points as well as leadership were the primary reasons that the Trojans had a realistic shot at knocking off Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.  He only had two assists on this day, and in fact it was his fifth turnover when he stepped on the sideline that ultimately proved the difference, but Southern Cal looked nothing like the same team that Rider destroyed in the Galen Center or TCU punched in the mouth three weeks ago.  Fontan will make a world of difference for the Trojans, and in a Pac-10 that appears to be punctuated with mediocrity up and down the standings, his ability to lead talented big men such as Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stepheson means that USC could surprise some people.

Read the rest of this entry »

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

Top 25 Games

• #2 Ohio State 79, South Carolina 57: “Ohio State once again rode a dominating effort from Jared Sullinger, easily dispatching the cold shooting South Carolina Gamecocks 79-57 this afternoon in Value City Arena. In front of a regional CBS audience, Sullinger blew up for 30 points and 19 rebounds in 30 minutes of action erasing any doubts as to exactly who is the best freshman in the country.” (Eleven Warriors)
• #3 Kansas 70, USC 68: “Winners on the day for Kansas are quite obviously Josh Selby, along with Thomas Robinson, rebounding, the first half defensive effort and surviving.  Losers?  The Kansas offense, taking care of the basketball, free throw shooting and the ability to put away an opponent.” (Rock Chalk Talk)
• Charlotte 49, #4 Tennessee 48: “Fans of offensive basketball would have cringed at times during this game, it was all defense from both teams for most of the game.  Charlotte controlled the tempo of this game, keeping the score low and the legs fresh, and in the last 2:30 minutes, one defense folded and one held serve.” (Green Tinted Glasses)
• Florida 57, #5 Kansas State 44: “Despite all the struggles early in the year, this team has always brought it and played well against good teams, Duke excepted.  Tonight was a different story.  Once the momentum turned against K-State, the team couldn’t find an answer.  It doesn’t get any easier, as the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels will be waiting in Kansas City next Tuesday at Sprint Center.” (Bring on the Cats)
• Gonzaga 68, #7 Baylor 64: “I just sent out about 30 text messages with the same words:  “How did that just happen!?!” What a game.  What a frustratingly, close your eyes, yell, scream, cheer, ridiculous game.” (The Slipper Still Fits)
• #12 Georgetown 99, Loyola (MD) 75: “The last tuneup of the year couldn’t have been any better for the Georgetown Hoyas.  After a week-long layoff while the players were taking finals and being college students, Georgetown came out and destroyed Loyola (MD) 99 – 75.” (Casual Hoya)
• UCLA 86, #16 BYU 79: “One year after an ugly and embarrassing performance in front of Coach, the Bruins redeemed themselves and picked up a much needed victory against the #16 ranked and previously unbeaten BYU Cougars 86-79 in the John R. Wooden Classic (box score). With the win, UCLA notches its first “good” win of the year, and brings the Pac 10 conference a much needed victory.” (Bruins Nation)
• #17 Purdue 65, Indiana State 52: “If you watched it, you saw what I saw- a team that looked rusty and uninspired at times versus a team that really wanted to win, but just didn’t have the firepower to do so.” (Boiled Sports)
• #18 Kentucky 85, Mississippi Valley State 60: “This was one of those games. Most teams, like our orange and white neighbor to the south or red and black neighbor to the west, say that through gritted teeth and a frozen grimace.  But not this Kentucky team.  “One of those games” means the same thing this year as it did last year.  Against notably inferior opponents, Kentucky has off games just like everyone else.  The difference is, off games are a matter of degree, not result.” (A Sea of Blue)

Read the rest of this entry »