09 Dec 7 - At-Ten-Tion!!!

Volume XIV, No. 5 - 09 Dec 7 - [] Top 25 Ballot

At-Ten-Tion!!!

Well, it took them 11 tries to get it done, but the Big 10 finally won its head-to-head CHALLENGE with the ACC (6 games to 5). Even though they had the edge in home games 6-5, they figured to surrender Iowa (to Maryland) and Indiana (to Virginia Tech). It didn't figure for Michigan to go down at home, however. The Wolverines have one of the best players in the country, bManny Harris, and a solid big man in fDeShawn Sims, but that's it. Freshman 6-4 pDarius Morris hasn't been ready to immediately take the reins and, without a point guard, fSims can get lost and bHarris tries to do everything himself. Instead, Boston College's Year After (pTyrese Rice) squad took a 62-@58 win behind fCorey Raji's 24p9r.
    Surprising Northwestern was able to win at N.C. State 65-@53, and disappointing Penn State did manage to win at Virginia 69-@66 behind 32p from gTalor Battle. The third road win came in dramatic fashion as Clemson held a @57-35 lead in the second half over Illinois, only to watch the Illini put on a stirring 28-4 run to lead 63-61 and then hang for a 76-@74 victory. This year's Illinois squad is more athletic and shoots better -- both of which were major problems last year.
    Purdue forced Wake Forest into 25 turnovers in its @69-58 win. Miami(Florida) held off game Minnesota @63-58. Ohio State's outside game outdid Florida State's inside game with the Buckeyes' xEvan Turner(25p13r6a) besting the Seminoles' cSolomon Alabi(21p10r). (Unfortunately, xTurner -- who was having a Player of the Year-calibre season so far -- injured his back in Saturday's win over Eastern Michigan and will miss at least 8 weeks [if not the entire season]. Devastating news for OSU, and for all of college basketball.)
    North Carolina ran out to a 19-point lead at home against Michigan State, but the Spartans came back to close within 6 points late in the game before UNC won it @89-82. The huge shocker was Wisconsin's win over Duke (@73-69), which had never lost in the CHALLENGE in the previous 10 years. The Badgers matched up well with the Blue Devils: pTrevon Hughes (26p) is athletic and had enough size to hound gJon Scheyer(10p4a) and UW's big men, fKeaton Nankivil and fJon Leuer(17p7r), were more capable than their counterparts; fKyle Singler's 28p6r wasn't enough.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 poured it on the Pac-10 in their HARDWOOD SERIES, leading 8-2 so far with two road games left. California did beat Iowa State @82-63 (although the Bears later lost at New Mexico, 78-@86). But the other standard-bearers for the Pac-10 this year, Washington and Washington State, fell on the road: WU losing 92-@99(OT) at Texas, and WSU falling 69-@86 at solid Kansas State. The remaining games, Oklahoma State at Stanford (Dec16) and Texas A&M at Washington (Dec22), could just as easily go for the visitors, frankly.

Missouri did even the score at 2-2 between the Missouri Valley and Mountain West by beating Air Force @58-48. The MWC is generally held out to be the stronger league -- they haven't felt the need to participate in BRACKETBUSTERS, for example -- but with 3 home games out of 5 remaining, the MVC may well take the CHALLENGE.

The Kentucky-North Carolina game was quite a show. UNC started great with an impressive 9-2 start showcasing the inside power of its big men . . . but then UK adjusted to the jump in talent level compared to its previous opponents. The Wildcats went on a spectacular 28-2 run giving a glimpse of just how entertaining this squad can be. Kentucky can't match Carolina's depth up front, though, and fDeMarcus Cousins was saddled with foul trouble as the Tar Heels were able to fight back and make the game an endplay before UK prevailed @68-66.

Gonzaga's surprising start has been keyed by the play of freshman tElias Harris. With him, the 'Zags were comfortably pulling away from Wake Forest, but he was ejected from the game for throwing an elbow. As soon as he sat, Wake took control and came away with a 77-@75 road win.
    Louisville is struggling in the preseason -- what else is new. This time, the Cardinals fell at home @65-87 to 6-1 Charlotte. It wouldn't surprise me if it weren't part of some purposeful strategy from Rick Pitino to lose a game badly this time of year. (Last year, they lost a shocker to Western Kentucky yet they went onto to a TiTo season in one of the strongest years the league has ever had.)

Butler gets another chance to prove it can beat an elite team against Georgetown in the JIMMY V CLASSIC on Tuesday. (Don't count on it.) At the start of the season, Kentucky-@Connecticut (Wednesday) looked to be the marquee matchup in the BIG EAST/SEC INVITATIONAL -- and it'll be plenty entertaining, to be sure -- but it's actually Syracuse-@Florida (Thursday) that features a clash of Top-5 squads. (Don't expect the young Gators to solve the 'Cuse zone.)
    Even on the road, Villanova should have no trouble in its two Big 5 games this week: St. Joseph's (Wednesday) and Temple (Sunday).

-- Ron

P.S. If you're interested, the 3rd Annual Pigskin Pool Party (Ron's College Football Bowl Season Pool) is now open for entry (through Saturday, 19 December 4Pet).

Key games this week:

Monday:

@Texas-LongBeachSt, @Providence-Brown(ProvidenceRI),

Tuesday:

@KansasSt-Xavier, @Minnesota-MorganSt, @OldDominion-MtStMarys, @NoIowa-Iowa(IA),
JIMMY V CLASSIC DblHdr @ New York NY /MSG/
- (Georgetown-Butler, Pittsburgh-Indiana),

Wednesday:

@Kansas-Radford, @NotreDame-IUPUI(IN),
THE HOLY WAR 1Off @ Philadephia PA - (Villanova-@StJosephs(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG5),

Wednesday-Thursday:

BIG EAST[1-0;1]/SEC[0-1;1] CHALLENGE DblHdrs @ New York NY /MSG/; @ Tampa FL
- (Wed @ NYC: Kentucky-@Connecticut, @StJohns-Georgia;
   Thu @ Tampa: Syracuse-@Florida, @MississippiSt-DePaul),

Thursday:

@MichiganSt-Oakland(MI),

Thursday-Saturday week; Tue-Wed 22-23 Dec:

LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC RndRob on-campus; Semis @ Las Vegas NV /OHA/
- (A: BYU, Nevada, Wagner, EaWashington;
   B: Tulsa, Nebraska, ChicagoSt, JacksonSt),

Friday:

@Dayton-OldDominion, @IowaSt-Iowa(IA),
SUN BELT CLASSIC DblHdr @ Nashville TN
- (@Tennessee-@MidTennessee(TN), @Vanderbilt-WeKentucky),

Friday-Sunday:

DRAKE INVITATIONAL RndRob @ Des Moines IA
- (@Drake, SUNYB, {SDakota}),

Saturday:

Kentucky-@Indiana(BG), @Wisconsin-Marquette(WI), @UNLV-KansasSt(@/OHA/), @TexasA&M-NewMexico(@HoustonTX), @Butler-OhioSt(BG), @NoIowa-Siena,
BATTLE IN SEATTLE 1Off @ Seattle WA - (@Gonzaga-Davidson),
JOHN WOODEN CLASSIC DblHdr @ Anaheim CA
- (Georgetown-Washington, @UCLA-MississippiSt),
BLACK & BLUE CLASSIC 1Off @ Richmond VA - (@Richmond-@VCU(RichmondVA)),
WYOMING SHOOTOUT 1Off @ Casper WY - (@Wyoming-NoColorado),

Saturday-Wed 23 Dec:

MVC/MWC CHALLENGE on-campus; (Evansville doesn't play); tied 2-2
- (Sat: @WichitaSt-TCU;
   Sat 19 Dec: @NewMexico-Creighton, @Utah-IllinoisSt;
   Tue 22 Dec: @Drake-SanDiegoSt;
   Wed 23 Dec: @NoIowa-Wyoming),

Sunday:

Villanova-@Temple(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG_5),
CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT 1Off @ Cincinnati OH - (@Xavier-Cincinnati(CincinnatiOH)).

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Top 25 - 09 Dec 7 - [] Column

1. Kansas (7-0)
2. Texas (6-0)
3. Syracuse (8-0)
4. Kentucky (8-0)
5. Florida (8-0)
6. Purdue (7-0)
7. Villanova (8-0)
8. West Virginia (5-0)
9. North Carolina (6-2)
10. Duke (7-1)
11. Michigan State (5-2)
12. Tennessee (6-1)
13. Memphis (5-1)
14. Connecticut (6-1)
15. Gonzaga (6-2)
16. Wisconsin (6-1)
17. Georgetown (6-0)
18. Charlotte (6-1)
19. UNLV (6-0)
20. Richmond (7-1)
21. Texas A&M (6-1)
22. Mississippi (7-1)
23. Kansas State (6-1)
24. Missouri State (8-0)
25. Tulsa (6-1)

Honorable Mention:

Illinois (4-2), New Mexico (6-0), Texas Tech (8-0), Georgia Tech (6-1), Boston College (6-2), Murray State.