11 Dec 5 - Meeting At The Summit

Volume XVI, No. 5 - 11 Dec 5 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Meeting At The Summit

If the national championship game in March is anywhere near as good as Saturday's showdown between Kentucky and North Carolina at Rupp Arena, we'll be oh so lucky. The Tar Heels didn't hold up their part to make this officially #1 vs #2, but they sure played like it on the court. The flaws they'd shown before this (even in their ACC/BIG 10 struggle to beat Wisconsin at home, @60-57, earlier in the week) were gone -- they hit from outside (11-for-18 on threes), they guarded individually, and they held their own on the boards. UNC led by nine, 34-@25, in the first half; but young UK hung in and gradually took control down the stretch. Even then, it took a blocked shot in the closing seconds by Wildcat freshman 6-10 cAnthony Davis on 6-10 cJohn Henson to preserve the 73-72 UK win. Beyond the 34-14 difference on points in the paint, Kentucky's edge was having more players who could take their man off the dribble. North Carolina probably can't play much better than this -- (you can't expect that kind of outside shooting from them every night); but Kentucky can still get a lot better offensively with more team-oriented offense. Here's hoping we get a rematch in New Orleans. (With this game behind them, the "U"-word is a real possibility for this Kentucky squad.)
     That game was so impressive from both squads that it pushed Ohio State's @85-63 massacre of Duke to second billing. The Buckeyes led 11-0 at the start, were up 47-28 at halftime, and cruised home to victory. 21p8r from fJared Sullinger and 20p5r from bWilliam Buford paced OhSU; 22p from gAustin Rivers led the Blue Devils (who were only 3-for-15 on threes).

The BIG 10, in fact, dominated the ACC head-to-head, 8-4, as Michigan State routed Florida State, @65-49 (behind 16p5a10r from xBrandon Wood); Purdue handled Miami(Florida), @76-65; and Northwestern throttled host Georgia Tech, 76-@60 (behind 25p8r from tJohn Shurna). A bright spot for the ACC was Virginia's upset of Michigan, @70-58.
     Even without the likes of Marquette and Villanova participating, the BIG EAST crushed the SEC head-to-head, 8-4 as well. tHollis Thompson's game-winning-three-pointer shocked host Alabama as Georgetown stole a 57-@55 victory on the road; Syracuse held off Florida at home, @72-68; and Louisville got the game-winner from pPeyton Siva in its thrilling @62-60(OT) win over Vanderbilt.
     The marquee games went the way of the MVC over the MWC, but things wound up tied 4-4 after all was said and done. Wichita State pounded giant-killer UNLV, @89-70, (behind 31p5r;8-for-9 on threes from bJoe Ragland); Creighton came back from 17 down on the road to win 85-@83 at San Diego State (thanks to 25p12r from xDoug McDermott).

Elsewhere, Marquette outlasted host Wisconsin, 61-@54, in a brutal defensive struggle for state supremacy (and Top-5 status to boot). The nation's best backcourt belongs to Xavier as pTu Holloway and pMark Lyons staged come-from-behind wins at Vanderbilt, 82-@70(OT), and vs Purdue, @66-63 (after trailing by 19). Like Kentucky, low assist totals (8 and 9) mean the guards did all the work themselves with individual scoring ability -- that's a great quality to have in the short run, but it'll get you in trouble relying on it over the long run. Baylor and its huge front line man-handled finesse Northwestern, 69-@41, (shooting 60% while holding the Wildcats to 24% shooting); new-look Illinois handled same-old-same-old Gonzaga, @82-75.
     You knew it wouldn't last (but you at least thought it could last longer than a week!): St. Louis fell to Loyola Marymount, 68-@75; Marshall lost at home to Ohio University, @68-70; and Dayton lost to Buffalo at home, @55-84, and then again on the road at splash-worthy Murray State, 58-@75. (Let's hear it for the Ivy League, as Columbia claimed an Unwelcome Guest crown over host Loyola Marymount in the 3-day round-robin CENTENNIAL CLASSIC in Los Angeles.)

Kentucky (Saturday at Indiana) and Ohio State (Saturday at Kansas) have trap road games that could possibly derail the "U"-train (but won't); Harvard and Connecticut get the meeting they missed at ATLANTIS in Storrs (Wednesday); it's the BIG 5 Game of the Year on Saturday as Temple hosts Villanova. Beware Greeks bearing gifts -- dangerous visitors come to town: Long Beach State at Kansas (Tuesday) and at North Carolina (Saturday), Marshall at Syracuse (Tuesday), Oakland vs Michigan (at Auburn Hills, Saturday), Iona at Marshall (Sunday) and Murray State at Memphis (Sunday). Unfortunately, the events at Madison Square Garden all look to be mismatches: JIMMY V (Marquette over Washington, Missouri over Villanova) and CQAP (Duke over Washington, Pittsburgh over Oklahoma State).

-- Ron

P.S. Look for the official invitation for the 5th Annual Pigskin Pool Party (Ron's College Football Bowl Season Pool) shortly.

Key games this week:

Monday:

@SacredHeart-Yale(Connecticut_6),

Tuesday:

@Kansas-LongBeachSt, @Syracuse-Marshall, Virginia-@GeoMason(VA), @MiamiFL-Memphis, @Iowa-NoIowa(IA_BIG_4), @UtahSt-UTValley(UT), @Hartford-Quinnipiac(Connecticut_6),
JIMMY V CLASSIC DblHdr @ New York NY/MSG/
-(Marquette-Washington, Missouri-Villanova),

Wednesday:

Xavier-@Butler(BG), Alabama-@Dayton, @Florida-Arizona, @Davidson-Vanderbilt, @Toledo-Temple, @MissouriSt-Oklahoma St,
(7P):@Georgia-GeorgiaTech(GA),
@Rutgers-Princeton(NJ), @Oakland-OhioU,

Thursday:

Harvard-@Connecticut,

Friday:

@IowaSt-Iowa(IA_BIG_4),
HALL OF FAME HOLIDAY SHOWCASE ?1Off? @ Springfield MA
-(@Massachusetts-Siena),

Saturday:

Kentucky-@Indiana(BG), OhioSt-@Kansas, @NCarolina-LongBeachSt, @Wisconsin-UNLV, MichiganSt-@Gonzaga, @Temple-Villanova(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG_5), @Michigan-@Oakland(MI)(@AuburnHillsMI/PALACE/), @Towson-MDBaltimoreCo(BaltimoreMD), @Montana-Nevada,
CQAP/MSG CLASSIC DblHdr @ New York NY/MSG/
-(Duke-Washington, Pittsburgh-OklahomaSt),
CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT 1Off @ Cincinnati OH
-(@Xavier-Cincinnati(CincinnatOH)),
BLACK & BLUE CLASSIC 1Off @ Richmond VA
-(@VCU-Richmond(RichmondVA)),

Sunday:

@Marshall-Iona, @Memphis-MurraySt,

Monday week:

@Iowa-Drake(IA_BIG_4).

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Top 25 - 11 Dec 5 - [] Column

1. Kentucky (8-0)
2. Ohio State (8-0)
3. Marquette (7-0)
4. North Carolina (6-2)
5. Duke (6-1)
6. Kansas (5-2)
7. Georgetown (6-1)
8. Xavier (6-0)
9. Alabama (7-1)
10. Syracuse (8-0)
11. Baylor (7-0)
12. Missouri (7-0)
13. Mississippi State (8-1)
14. Harvard (7-0)
15. Louisville (7-0)
16. Connecticut (7-1)
17. Wisconsin (6-2)
18. Creighton (7-0)
19. Illinois (7-0)
20. Florida (5-2)
21. Indiana (8-0)
22. Wichita State (5-2)
23. UNLV (7-1)
24. Michigan State (5-2)
25. Virginia (7-1)

Honorable Mention:

Loyola Marymount (4-4), Ohio University (4-1), Murray State (6-0), Buffalo (4-1), Columbia (3-4) [rr3@CENTENNIAL].