06Dec 4 - Tumblin' Down

Volume XI, No. 5 - 06 Dec 4 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Tumblin' Down

It looks like we're in for one of those years where no one team will assert itself as the clear favorite. No sooner did Kansas appear to right itself than the Jayhawks reverted to their previous ineptitude, managing to blow an 8-point lead on the road in a 57-@64 loss at 3-4 DePaul. Florida, although undermanned due to illness, was outplayed in its annual "State Title" grudge match with Florida State, falling @66-70 (after trailing by as many as 15). UCLA and Pittsburgh slide up into the top two spots by default. You'd rather see teams win their way into the top spot with a signature victory, but no one within range had a big enough result this week.

North Carolina's @98-89 win over talented Ohio State was a highlight reel for both rosters. OSU's gRon Lewis(30p;11/16fg) was great as the Buckeyes led for most of the game on the road until the home crowd pulled the young Tar Heels through. UNC's fTyler Hansbrough(21p14r) thrived against a weak Ohio State frontline, but later in the week in the Tar Heels' @75-63 win against Kentucky, he was shut down (7p3r;2/10fg) once again against a quality big man, UK's 6-11 cRandolph Morris(21p7r;10/11fg). cGreg Oden made his first appearance for Ohio State on Saturday against Valparaiso with a 14p/10r/5b performance in OSU's easy @78-58 win. (Even so, the Buckeyes were still outrebounded, 28-36, by the lowly Crusaders.)

The ACC rolled to an 8-3 win in the ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE, as Maryland won 72-@66 at Illinois, Boston College won @65-58 vs Michigan State, and Duke edged Indiana, @54-51. Only Wisconsin posted a quality win for the Big 10 with a convincing @81-66 win over Florida State (before the Seminoles regrouped later in the week to topple Florida).

{North Dakota State}, which is still only a Provisional Division-I school, pulled off the Unwelcome Guest bit, and knocked off Marquette, 64-@60, to take the BLUE AND GOLD CLASSIC crown. (Remember, these same guys won at Wisconsin last year.) They're not eligible for anything in the postseason, but give 'em a shoutout for the here and now.

Only a couple of late free throws by tCarl Elliott(16p5a7r) preserved a win for the home folks in the BB&T CLASSIC triple-header on Sunday as George Washington edged Virginia Tech, @63-62. Bucknell knocked off George Mason, 60-@57 and 5-1 Notre Dame came back to knock off Maryland, 81-@74. (The Irish' only loss is a @69-@71 buzzer-beater at the hands of Butler in the NIT SEASON TIP-OFF.)

Gonzaga continues to look great, posting another solid win, 87-77 over Texas in the HALL OF FAME CHALLENGE (despite 29p/9r from UTx's fKevin Durant). The 'Zags have already faced some of the premier talent that's out there and they've come through it well. (This week offers more young stars when they host Washington on Saturday in their annual in-state grudge match.) Arizona took advantage of undermanned Illinois, winning @84-72 in the second part of the HOF double-header.

Wichita State led by 19 points, 59-40, on the road in the Carrier Dome before Syracuse came all the way back to tie things up at 61, but the Shockers won the endplay, 64-@61, for their third impressive road victory of the season already. They don't have standout individual talent, but they win big games. Oregon won on the road at Georgetown, 57-@50, to add some legitimacy to its undefeated record. Likewise, 9-0 Missouri (now under the guidance of ex-UAB coach Mike Anderson) posted a solid @86-64 rout of Arkansas to give itself a calling card for a national ranking.

Some early league games are already getting under way. Young Georgia Tech faltered right out of the blocks, losing 82-@90 at 5-3 Miami(Florida). Boston College hosts Maryland on Sunday.

Texas A&M finally gets to test itself this week against some real competition: at LSU on Tuesday, and on the road in Anaheim on Saturday against UCLA in the JOHN WOODEN CLASSIC. (Whereas Connecticut won't play anybody legit until January.) Some of the better "State Title" games are up this week: Memphis at Tennesee on Wednesday, plus Washington at Gonzaga, Wisconsin at Marquette and UNLV at Nevada on Saturday. (Too bad we won't get to see Kansas-Wichita State, Illinois-Southern Illinois, Missouri-Missouri State or even Maryland-Georgetown this year.) Indiana at Kentucky (Saturday) has less luster than in years past. A few good inter-sectional games on tap are Oklahoma State at Syracuse (JIMMY V CLASSIC on Tuesday), Alabama at Notre Dame (Thursday), Xavier at Creighton (Saturday), and Southern Illinois at Western Kentucky (Saturday).

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

@Wisconsin-Winthrop,

Tuesday:

Gonzaga@WashingtonSt, TexasA&M@LSU, @Kentucky-Chattanooga(@LouisvilleKY), @SCarolina-ColofCharleston,
JIMMY V CLASSIC DblHdr @ New York NY
-(Arizona-Louisville, OklahomaSt@Syracuse),

Wednesday:

@Florida-Providence, @Duke-HolyCross, Memphis@Tennessee, WeKentucky@Montana, Creighton@Dayton, LoyolaMarymount@SamHoustonSt,

Thursday:

Alabama@NotreDame, Samford@JacksonvilleSt,

Friday-Saturday:

GOLDEN BEAR CLASSIC @ Berkeley CA
-(@California-ChicagoSt, SanDiego-EaMichigan),

Saturday:

@Gonzaga-Washington, @Kansas-Toledo(@KansasCityMO), @Duke-GeoMason, MissouriSt@UNCWilmington, Wisconsin@Marquette, @Nevada-UNLV, @Oregon-Nebraska(@PortlandOR), @MichiganSt-BYU(@AuburnHillsMI), Xavier@Creighton, @WeKentucky-SoIllinois, Indiana@Kentucky, @Georgetown-OralRoberts, Charlotte@Davidson,
JOHN WOODEN CLASSIC DblHdr @ Anaheim CA
-(@UCLA-TexasA&M, @USC-GeoWashington),
SAN DIEGO SLAM DblHdr @ San Diego CA
-(Arizona@SanDiegoSt, OklahomaSt-BallSt),

Sunday:

Maryland@BostonCol, LSU@Texas(@HoustonTX).

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Top 25 - 06 Dec 4 - [] Column

1. UCLA (5-0)
2. Pittsburgh (8-0)
3. Gonzaga (8-1)
4. North Carolina (6-1)
5. Ohio State (7-1)
6. Butler (8-0)
7. Alabama (7-0)
8. Kansas (6-2)
9. Florida (7-2)
10. Wichita State (5-0)
11. Texas A&M (7-0)
12. Maryland (8-1)
13. Duke (7-1)
14. Arizona (5-1)
15. Oklahoma State (9-0)
16. Missouri State (5-1)
17. Wisconsin (7-1)
18. Connecticut (7-0)
19. Florida State (5-2)
20. Louisiana State (4-1)
21. Nevada (6-0)
22. Oregon (6-0)
23. Syracuse (7-1)
24. Washington (6-0)
25. Missouri (9-0)

Honorable Mention:
- DePaul (3-4), {North Dakota State (5-2)}, Notre Dame (5-1), Miami(Florida) (5-3).