07 Nov26 - Like A Coin In Your Mint

Volume XII, No. 4 - 07 Nov 26 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Like A Coin In Your Mint

Last week featured no fewer than twelve major (non-showcase) tournaments. Even though the one anticipated Top-10 clash didn't materialize, there was plenty of quality competition. Most everybody showed they are dented. The "Year After Rule" is in full effect for Texas. The Longhorns look just fine, thank you, even without last year's departed GC. UT(x) shredded "the Other UT"(n) 97-78 as four players had 20+ points, led by pD.J. Augustin(23p8a6to), to take the inaugural LEGENDS CLASSIC crown in Newark, NJ. Not to be outdone, Texas A&M didn't seem to miss its own departed star from a year ago as the Aggies devasted soft Washington 77-63 and solid Ohio State 70-47 in New York to claim the NIT SEASON TIP-OFF crown. TXAM is tremendously athletic, especially along its tall front line. They're already great defensively on physical talent alone, but the scary thing is they can become more polished offensively as the season progresses. USC found a gear Southern Illinois had never seen before as the Trojans (who are much more than "The GC gO.J. Mayo Show") raced past the Salukis 70-45 to take the ANAHEIM CLASSIC. And Xavier, which had stumbled 57-@59 on the road against tough Miami(Ohio), bolted to a lead against Indiana (and GC gEric Gordon) and forced the Hoosiers to play catch-up as the Musketeers rolled 80-65 to win the CHICAGO INVITATIONAL CHALLENGE.

The Top-10 clash between North Carolina and Louisville never happened. Tall and rough BYU spoiled the party by edging the Cardinals 78-76 in the semifinals. Then, the Cougars pushed the Tar Heels for all they were worth before UNC prevailed 73-63 in the final of the LAS VEGAS [THANKSGIVING] INVITATIONAL. The tandem of cTrent Plaisted and tJonathan Tavernari averaged 23p15r and 24p4r, respectively, for the pair of games. Having already gone on two-year missions, some of BYU's players are 24- and 25-years old and that edge in physical maturity shows on the court. This team can get to the Final Four. Michigan State threw a slew of big men at UCLA's cKevin Love and exposed his less-than-elite athletic ability. His skill set, however, makes up for it and he still managed to post 21p11r as the Bruins closed with a 10-0 run to claim the CBE/GUARDIANS final over the Spartans 68-63. (After playing the #1 team so tough, MSU inexplicably barely escaped 75-71 at home later in the week against Oakland(MI).) Duke and Marquette fought tooth and nail down the stretch of the MAUI final with the Blue Devils executing better in the endplay to take a 77-73 win. Duke has a better distribution of talent this year (but their same issue of lacking individual quickness defensively is still the elephant in the room).

N.C. State benefitted from a phantom foul call at the buzzer to sink the game-winning free throws to edge Villanova 69-68 in the final of the OS CLASSIC in Orlando. Earlier in the tournament, it was George Mason who taught young Kansas State a lesson, winning 87-77 (despite an easy 30p10r from KansSt's GC cMichael Beasley). The veteran Patriots appear poised for a return trip to the NCAAs as the favorites to win the Colonial (and they know what to do when they get there). Vanderbilt took SOUTH PADRE ISLAND over Bradley in the final behind 23p from GC cAndrew Ogilvy and 22p7r from veteran bShan Foster. With Tennessee's bubble burst, it may turn out to be the Commodores who are the class of the SEC this year. (The SEC had a bad week: Although, Kentucky has rebounded with blowout wins over scrubs, Tennessee lost to Texas; Alabama fell at home 83-@85 to Belmont of the Atlantic Sun; Florida lost badly at home to Florida State; Wisconsin routed Georgia; and Mississippi State and South Carolina lost twice each in the ANAHEIM and OS tournaments.)

Seton Hall beat Virginia in the final of the first PHILLY CLASSIC. Butler won the GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT (in the final over Texas Tech, which had upset Gonzaga in the semis). And Baylor emerged the victor (over Winthrop in the final) of the PARADISE JAM.

We're essentially done with the major preseason tournaments now. Only LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS (Alabama, Purdue, Missouri State), SAN JUAN (Clemson, Mississippi, DePaul) and the RAINBOW CLASSIC (Georgia, Ohio University, East Tennessee State, Hawaii) remain. None of those figures to affect the Top 25 much. Reports of the demise of the ACC have been greatly exagerated as it took four major crowns (LV-THANKS, MAUI, OS and PUERTO RICO); the Big 12 took three (LEGENDS, NIT TIP-OFF and P-JAM); and the Pac-10 (CBE and ANAHEIM) and surprising Atlantic 10 (CHICAGO and GLENN WILKES) took two each; the Big East (PHILLY) and SEC (SOUTH PADRE) only took one; and the Big 10 was shut out.

Despite Gonzaga's loss in Alaska, the WCC may be on the way up. St. Mary's shocked Oregon @97-88 behind 37 points from gPatrick Mills.

This week, first up we get the annual ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE, but it has competition with the even more appealing matchups of the BIG 12/PAC-10 HARDWOOD SERIES later in the week. (Next week, the fledgeling BIG EAST/SEC INVITATIONAL gets started as a pair of double-headers only.) Since the Big 10 has eleven teams, it's solid Miami(Florida) who is the odd team out this year for the ACC. The pairings aren't too bad for the Big 10 to hope for its first win (but I'll still take the ACC 5-4). The BIG 12 is already up 1-0 over the PAC-10 thanks to Kansas' @76-72(OT) win over Arizona on Sunday (despite bChase Budinger's 27p6r). The Jayhawks don't get many easy jumpers with pSherrod Collins out until January, but they managed to pull through. Arizona gets to participate twice (at home against Texas A&M on Sunday), while Texas Tech is the odd Big 12 team out of the picture. (Sunday's Kansas-@USC game is a return game from last year and isn't officially part of the SERIES. It says here: Pac-10: 7, Big 12: 4.)

For some reason, George Mason has quite a big conference game on tap Thursday at home against Drexel (which has also started well). Expect North Carolina to wallop Kentucky on Saturday, even in Lexington. Davidson will try for better luck back in Charlotte on Saturday, this time against Duke. The mid-major power teams will be looking to break through on Saturday as well: Butler hosts Ohio State, Southern Illinois hosts Indiana, Miami(Ohio) visits Louisville, and Winthrop visits West Virginia. They all have a legit shot.

(Back to a more normal week of hoops. Thankfully!)

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

@HolyCross-OhioU, @GeorgiaSo-Mercer(GA),

Monday-Wednesday:

ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE on-campus
([MiamiFL has no opponent.]
Mon: @Iowa-WakeForest,
Tue: @Duke-Wisconsin, @Clemson-Purdue, @Indiana-GeorgiaTech, @FloridaSt-Minnesota, @Virginia-Northwestern,
Wed: NCarolina-@OhioSt, @MichiganSt-NCState, @Maryland-Illinois, @PennSt-VirginiaTech, @Michigan-BostonCol),

Tuesday:

@Memphis-AustinPeay(TN), @Pittsburgh-BostonU, @UCSantaBarbara-UNLV, @GardnerWebb-HighPoint(NC),

Wednesday:

@TexasA&M-Alabama, @MiamiFL-AlabamaSt, SetonHall-@Princeton, @Arkansas-Missouri, Utah-@WeberSt(UT), @HolyCross-Yale, @NewOrleans-Lamar,

Thursday:

@Vanderbilt-SAlabama, Gonzaga-@StJosephs, @GeoMason-Drexel, VCU-@Hampton(VA), @MDBaltimoreCo-MorganSt(MD),

Thursday-Sunday:

BIG 12/PAC-10 HARDWOOD SERIES on-campus; (BIG 12 leads 1-0)
([TexasTech has no opponent. Arizona is participating twice.]
Thu: @USC-Oklahoma, Oregon-@KansasSt,
Fri: WashingtonSt-@Baylor, @OregonSt-IowaSt,
Sat: Washington-@OklahomaSt, @California-Missouri,
Sun: @UCLA-Texas, TexasA&M-@Arizona, Stanford-@Colorado, @Nebraska-ArizonaSt),

Saturday:

NCarolina-@Kentucky, @Duke-@Davidson(@Charlotte,NC)(NC), @Xavier-Belmont, @Louisville-MiamiOH, OhioSt-@Butler(BG), @StMarys-SetonHall, @Clemson-SCarolina(SC), Indiana-@SoIllinois, @Villanova-Penn(BIG 5)(PA), Creighton-@Drexel, @SanDiegoSt-WeMichigan, @WVirginia-Winthrop, @Siena-Albany(NY), @CoppinSt-MorganSt(MD),
HALL OF FAME CHALLENGE DblHdr @ Boston MA
(Gonzaga-@Connecticut, @BostonCol-Providence),

Sunday:

Kansas-@USC, @Monmouth-SacredHeart,
BB&T CLASSIC TrplHdr @ Washington DC
(@GeoMason-ECarolina, @VCU-@Maryland, @GeoWashington-Auburn).

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Top 25 - 07 Nov 26 - [] Column

1. North Carolina (5-0) [2v2:LAS VEGAS-THANX]
2. UCLA (5-0) [2v2:CBE/GUARDIANS]
3. Kansas (4-0)
4. Memphis (5-0)
5. Texas (4-0) [2v2:LEGENDS]
6. Texas A&M (5-0) [2v2:NIT TIP-OFF]
7. Duke (5-0) [3:MAUI]
8. BYU (5-1)
9. Georgetown (3-0)
10. Pittsburgh (4-0)
11. Xavier (4-1) [2v2:CHICAGO]
12. USC (5-1) [3:ANAHEIM]
13. Washington State (6-0) [3vHISP-WEST]
14. Louisville (4-1)
15. Ohio State (4-1)
16. Vanderbilt (5-0) [2v2:SOUTH PADRE]
17. Syracuse (4-1)
18. Oregon (5-1)
19. Marquette (2-1)
20. Tennessee (4-1)
21. Butler (6-0) [3:GREAT ALASKA]
22. Saint Mary's (3-0)
23. Clemson (4-0)
24. Michigan State (4-1)
25. Indiana (3-1)

Honorable Mention:

N.C. State (4-1) [3:OS], Seton Hall (5-0) [2v2:PHILLY], Baylor (5-0) [3:PARADISE JAM], Florida State (5-2).