NEWS AND NOTES
It was another fantastic Saturday in college basketball!
-Down goes #1!! Duke, who clearly had the best resume of the season and perhaps the best team of the season, went down at Boston College yesterday. There are several things to take away from this. BC is much better than what we’re used to, perhaps Duke isn’t quite as good especially considering one of their big wins came against Florida and they’ve had their struggles, but the third and perhaps most notable thing is how hard it is to win your first true road game regardless of who you are. We’ve seen protected seeds, and even #1 seeds, lose their first true road games before. So, while it’s never fun, I wouldn’t chalk this up as a hugely damaging loss for Duke. They need to win some road games at some point, but they’ll have other opportunities.
-Naturally, Cal goes on the road for the first time this season and steals a win at San Diego State after blowing a double-digit lead in the 2nd half. 2 free throws by Juhwan Harris-Dyson in the closing seconds put the Bears ahead for good and gave the Aztecs a damaging loss in the friendly confines of Viejas Arena. If you had told me at the beginning of the day that Cal would win their first road game and Duke would not, there is a very good chance that Chad and the rest of the HoopsHD panel would have me committed.
-Florida got a nice win against Cincinnati up in Newark that they really needed after losing two straight. I like this Cincinnati team, but their guard play could use some work and they still don’t have a solid win on their resume.
-Since being outscored in a situation where the game ended up 5-on-3 against Alabama, Minnesota has lost three out of four and were absolutely blasted yesterday by Arkansas.
-West Virginia was blowing out Pitt in the renewal of the Backyard Brawl, but Pitt somehow closed it up and made the game very interesting in the final minutes. Still, it was the first true road win of the year for West Virginia, and getting it against a hated rival should give them some momentum.
-Marquette went into Wisconsin and dispatched the Badgers from the planet. Perhaps Marquette is better than we thought. Perhaps Wiscy is worse. Perhaps it’s some sort of combination of those two things. Perhaps the Badgers also have a very short bench now that 2 of their guards are out indefinitely with injuries.
-Alabama didn’t get the win at Arizona, but I think I was more impressed with their effort and how well they played in this game than in any other I’d seen before. This is a legit top 25 caliber team that Bama has, and I don’t recall the last time that was the case.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-TULANE AT FLORIDA STATE. Tulane looks to be much improved, but still has a ways to go. Florida State looks to be much better than we thought in the preseason. They come in at a perfect 8-0 and that includes a road win at Florida.
-LA SALLE AT VILLANOVA (Big Five). Nova has blown through their schedule and rolled in every Big Five game they’ve played so far. Today probably won’t be any different.
-ARIZONA STATE AT KANSAS. Arizona State has proven that they are a solid tournament team, and at times they’ve looked like they’re good enough to end up as a protected seed. If they can win at Allen Fieldhouse, it is an indication that they are perhaps good enough to end up as a #1 seed. Kansas is coming off their first loss of the year earlier in the week to Washington and will be looking to rebound from that.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT OHIO. This WKU team has a pretty solid profile so far, but this is their first true road game of the season so there is something to be gained here.
-MISSOURI STATE AT ORAL ROBERTS. A win for MO State gets them to 10-2 on the year and to 3-0 in true road games.
-GONZAGA AT WASHINGTON. Not only is the rivalry back, the intrigue is now back! Washington is 7-2 and they’re coming off a huge win against Kansas in Kansas City. They have the makings of being an NCAA Tournament caliber team and if they can pick up this win against the Zags, they’ll suddenly have all kinds of momentum.
-UMES @ Virginia Tech – buy game
-Dubuque (nondiv1) @ Northern Iowa – buy game
-Alcorn State @ Iowa State – buy game
-IUPUI @ Purdue – buy game