- Jan 11, 2007
- 748
- 36
yes i played at brea with him something you never did
The College Basketball Post
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by allen3xis,
- Start date
yes i played at brea with him something you never did
- Apr 18, 2005
- 6,061
- 2,018
- Jun 8, 2006
- 10,056
- 10
- Jun 8, 2006
- 10,056
- 10
* and i know I sound a little salty and I probably am..
I've just seen this story before...an elite program for the whole decade and yet to get outa the Sweet 16..
They are perfectly built (mentally and physically) for the Big East.
I've just seen this story before...an elite program for the whole decade and yet to get outa the Sweet 16..
They are perfectly built (mentally and physically) for the Big East.
- Feb 18, 2007
- 1,482
- 157
GO BLUE!!!
11-3!!!
WE BACK!!!
11-3!!!
WE BACK!!!
- Apr 24, 2005
- 43,678
- 8,689
Originally Posted by Seymore CAKE
Where's Dre... he's prolly in a state of blyss screamin "Owwwwwwwwwwwww"
That boy is the TRUTH. Led that team, like a real PG should.
Gave Ty the business
Then they had the nerve to slap Larry Drew on him....
[T.I] _ HAVE YOU LOST YO' MIND ?!?!?!? [/T.I.]
- Jun 17, 2006
- 7,308
- 1,984
- Nov 23, 2008
- 1,172
- 10
allen3xis wrote:
oh yeah...most likely 9 Big East teams will be ranked tomorrow. This aint cute anymore.. To hell with conference pride.
- Aug 29, 2007
- 3,603
- 11
- Nov 14, 2007
- 8,956
- 39
North Carolina is like any team. They lose. Lawson came back down to earth and handjob didn't get the calls toward the end of the game. BC MADE them playin the halfcourt. And they couldn't do much. Wicked stale.
The other guys on BC besides Rice won them that game.
Pitt could be ranked 5 and I would think of them the same. The ranking means nothing. They'll lose too and everyone will hop off the bandwagon. If Levancegoes down for any period of time they'll struggle.
The other guys on BC besides Rice won them that game.
Pitt could be ranked 5 and I would think of them the same. The ranking means nothing. They'll lose too and everyone will hop off the bandwagon. If Levancegoes down for any period of time they'll struggle.
- Dec 21, 2008
- 715
- 10
Yea Pitt isn't that good and Levance means sooo much to them. A lot of it is on matchups
- Jun 25, 2008
- 2,714
- 10
Originally Posted by lnMyMind
Story .. isn't your national TV game on soon?
- Dec 21, 2008
- 715
- 10
Originally Posted by JamesOnNT
Originally Posted by lnMyMind
Story .. isn't your national TV game on soon?
Don't be a (()) and not do the tap tap pull
- Jun 25, 2008
- 2,714
- 10
^ dude said he would get benched for doing the tap tap pull but he was gonna do something else
- Jun 8, 2006
- 10,056
- 10
Wake's win at BYU shouldn't be overlooked
Monday, January 5, 2009 | Print Entry
Posted by Andy Katz
Dino Gaudio is embracing Wake Forest's newfound fame.
Prior to the Demon Deacons' monster win Saturday night at BYU, which ended the Cougars' 53-game home-court winning streak, Gaudio told his playersto get ready for the big stage.
"I told them they deserve it and showed them the attendance of BYU games," Gaudio said Sunday night in a phone interview. "One game was15,000, another one was 12,000, another one was 13,000, and I told them, 'You know why there will be 23,000? To see you."'
Gaudio said the stage was big-time. I used to cover the WAC in the 1990s when BYU was in that league. I've seen the Marriott Center at its best forgames against the Cougars' hated rival Utah. Unfortunately, mainstream hoop fans may not truly appreciate what Wake Forest accomplished by winning inProvo, Utah.
"It was an incredible atmosphere," Gaudio said. "There were 2,000 kids outside in the cold at 11 a.m. at our shootaround. You could hear therumbling when we walked in the arena."
Gaudio said he was hoping BYU's students wouldn't be in full force since the Cougars played at Wake Forest last season when Wake's studentsweren't in session. BYU wasn't in school Saturday, but the students were still well represented.
"Cameron is Cameron, but this was like Cameron with 23,000 people," Gaudio said of Wake's 94-87 win over a previously one-loss BYU team."You couldn't hear the refs' whistles. There were a few stoppage of plays where I was dumbfounded because I couldn't hear thewhistles."
Gaudio said the difference in this season's Demon Deacons' team is its maturity and body language.
"We say the right stuff in timeouts, everybody is in the game on the bench and I'm just seeing so much more basketball maturation," hesaid.
The undefeated Demon Deacons are 13-0, including wins against UTEP and Baylor in Anaheim and road wins against Richmond, East Carolina and now BYU.
"That says a lot," Gaudio said. "[Saturday night] was an incredibly difficult venue. We're growing up. We're still young, butwe're growing up."
Next up for Wake is North Carolina, which has a nonconference game against the College of Charleston on Wednesday, but is coming off an ACC season-openingloss at home to Boston College.
The Demon Deacons host Carolina on Sunday.
"It will be electric," Gaudio said. "It'll be off the charts."
• Sunday was quite a day in hoops:
-- The upset of the night was obviously Boston College's win over UNC.
-- With the BC shocker, perhaps lost in the shuffle was Louisville nearly giving away its game to Kentucky with two turnovers in the final seconds, only tohave Edgar Sosa bury a long 3-pointer to save the Cardinals from consecutive homelosses.
-- The undercard game of the day was between Portland State and Northern Arizona, which played four overtimes before the 2008 Big Sky champs from Oregonbeat the Lumberjacks in Flagstaff, 92-91.
• The turnaround of the weekend goes to Oregon State. The Beavers snapped a 21-game Pac-10 losing streak by upsetting USC in overtime, 62-58, in Corvallis.Oregon State's previous Pac-10 win came Feb. 22, 2007 against Washington. The last time the Beavers had won an overtime game was Dec. 6, 2003 againstKansas State. Oregon State coach Craig Robinson, coaching in only his second Pac-10 game, saw the Beavers get hammered by UCLA, 69-46, in the Pac-10 openerFriday night.
• Not to be outdone with a reversal effort was Stanford. The Cardinal lost by 30 at home to Arizona State in the Pac-10 opener Friday and then beat Arizonaby 16 on Sunday.
• Cal is 2-0 in the Pac-10 after protecting its homecourt by sweeping Arizona and Arizona State. Jerome Randle contributed 26 points and 10 assists against the Sun Devils on Sunday.
• Michigan got a must-win by beating Illinois at home this weekend, after dropping a home game earlier in the week to Wisconsin.
• Southern Illinois is now 0-3 in the Missouri Valley after losing to Drake at home.
• Fairfield, which hoped to challenge Siena and Niagara for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title, dropped its second straight game, this time toIona. The Stags are now 2-2 in the league, while Siena is 4-0.
• So much for an East Coast swing for Santa Clara. The Broncos played at Harvard and at New Hampshire this weekend. They lost both.
• Marquette held serve at home in the Big East for its second straight home win, this time pummeling Cincinnati by 34.
• Praising the Big East is commonplace lately. But look at the margin of victory for some of the games: Georgetown won by 11 over Connecticut; Syracuse beatSeton Hall by 24; Providence beat St. John's by 21; Pitt beat Georgetown by 16; West Virginia beat Seton Hall by 26; UConn beat Rutgers by 31; Marquettebeat Cincinnati by 34.
• According to a Pittsburgh athletic department spokesperson, the Panthers have been ranked second in both polls 16 previous times, most recently inDecember 2006. Pitt was also in position to be No. 1 twice in 2002-03 and once in 2006-07, but weren't quite able to get there. Expect the Panthers to takethe top spot for the first time in school history this week.
Monday, January 5, 2009 | Print Entry
Posted by Andy Katz
Dino Gaudio is embracing Wake Forest's newfound fame.
Prior to the Demon Deacons' monster win Saturday night at BYU, which ended the Cougars' 53-game home-court winning streak, Gaudio told his playersto get ready for the big stage.
"I told them they deserve it and showed them the attendance of BYU games," Gaudio said Sunday night in a phone interview. "One game was15,000, another one was 12,000, another one was 13,000, and I told them, 'You know why there will be 23,000? To see you."'
Gaudio said the stage was big-time. I used to cover the WAC in the 1990s when BYU was in that league. I've seen the Marriott Center at its best forgames against the Cougars' hated rival Utah. Unfortunately, mainstream hoop fans may not truly appreciate what Wake Forest accomplished by winning inProvo, Utah.
"It was an incredible atmosphere," Gaudio said. "There were 2,000 kids outside in the cold at 11 a.m. at our shootaround. You could hear therumbling when we walked in the arena."
Gaudio said he was hoping BYU's students wouldn't be in full force since the Cougars played at Wake Forest last season when Wake's studentsweren't in session. BYU wasn't in school Saturday, but the students were still well represented.
"Cameron is Cameron, but this was like Cameron with 23,000 people," Gaudio said of Wake's 94-87 win over a previously one-loss BYU team."You couldn't hear the refs' whistles. There were a few stoppage of plays where I was dumbfounded because I couldn't hear thewhistles."
Gaudio said the difference in this season's Demon Deacons' team is its maturity and body language.
"We say the right stuff in timeouts, everybody is in the game on the bench and I'm just seeing so much more basketball maturation," hesaid.
The undefeated Demon Deacons are 13-0, including wins against UTEP and Baylor in Anaheim and road wins against Richmond, East Carolina and now BYU.
"That says a lot," Gaudio said. "[Saturday night] was an incredibly difficult venue. We're growing up. We're still young, butwe're growing up."
Next up for Wake is North Carolina, which has a nonconference game against the College of Charleston on Wednesday, but is coming off an ACC season-openingloss at home to Boston College.
The Demon Deacons host Carolina on Sunday.
"It will be electric," Gaudio said. "It'll be off the charts."
• Sunday was quite a day in hoops:
-- The upset of the night was obviously Boston College's win over UNC.
-- With the BC shocker, perhaps lost in the shuffle was Louisville nearly giving away its game to Kentucky with two turnovers in the final seconds, only tohave Edgar Sosa bury a long 3-pointer to save the Cardinals from consecutive homelosses.
-- The undercard game of the day was between Portland State and Northern Arizona, which played four overtimes before the 2008 Big Sky champs from Oregonbeat the Lumberjacks in Flagstaff, 92-91.
• The turnaround of the weekend goes to Oregon State. The Beavers snapped a 21-game Pac-10 losing streak by upsetting USC in overtime, 62-58, in Corvallis.Oregon State's previous Pac-10 win came Feb. 22, 2007 against Washington. The last time the Beavers had won an overtime game was Dec. 6, 2003 againstKansas State. Oregon State coach Craig Robinson, coaching in only his second Pac-10 game, saw the Beavers get hammered by UCLA, 69-46, in the Pac-10 openerFriday night.
• Not to be outdone with a reversal effort was Stanford. The Cardinal lost by 30 at home to Arizona State in the Pac-10 opener Friday and then beat Arizonaby 16 on Sunday.
• Cal is 2-0 in the Pac-10 after protecting its homecourt by sweeping Arizona and Arizona State. Jerome Randle contributed 26 points and 10 assists against the Sun Devils on Sunday.
• Michigan got a must-win by beating Illinois at home this weekend, after dropping a home game earlier in the week to Wisconsin.
• Southern Illinois is now 0-3 in the Missouri Valley after losing to Drake at home.
• Fairfield, which hoped to challenge Siena and Niagara for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title, dropped its second straight game, this time toIona. The Stags are now 2-2 in the league, while Siena is 4-0.
• So much for an East Coast swing for Santa Clara. The Broncos played at Harvard and at New Hampshire this weekend. They lost both.
• Marquette held serve at home in the Big East for its second straight home win, this time pummeling Cincinnati by 34.
• Praising the Big East is commonplace lately. But look at the margin of victory for some of the games: Georgetown won by 11 over Connecticut; Syracuse beatSeton Hall by 24; Providence beat St. John's by 21; Pitt beat Georgetown by 16; West Virginia beat Seton Hall by 26; UConn beat Rutgers by 31; Marquettebeat Cincinnati by 34.
• According to a Pittsburgh athletic department spokesperson, the Panthers have been ranked second in both polls 16 previous times, most recently inDecember 2006. Pitt was also in position to be No. 1 twice in 2002-03 and once in 2006-07, but weren't quite able to get there. Expect the Panthers to takethe top spot for the first time in school history this week.
- Dec 21, 2008
- 715
- 10
I can see NC dropping another one
- Jun 8, 2006
- 10,056
- 10
9 of the first 22..
sidenote...West Virginia is currently statistically the best team in the country.
The USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 men's basketball coaches' poll, with team's records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in last week's poll and first-place votes received in parenthesis:
sidenote...West Virginia is currently statistically the best team in the country.
The USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 men's basketball coaches' poll, with team's records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in last week's poll and first-place votes received in parenthesis:
Others receiving votes: Dayton (13-1) 54; Illinois State (14-0) 50; Michigan (11-3) 49; Saint Mary's (13-1) 43; Ohio State (10-2) 40; Memphis (10-3) 37; Brigham Young (11-2) 34; Illinois (13-2) 34; California (13-2) 31; Davidson (10-2) 31; Arkansas (11-1) 27; Gonzaga (8-4) 27; Wisconsin (11-3) 26; Texas A&M (13-1) 22; Missouri (12-2) 21; Florida (12-2) 11; UNLV (13-2) 11; LSU (12-1) 10; Kansas (10-3) 7; Stanford (11-1) 5; Florida State (13-2) 1; Maryland (11-2) 1; Utah State (12-1) 1; Washington (10-3) 1. |
- Jun 25, 2008
- 2,714
- 10
Pitt
Duke
Wake
UNC
UConn
.. is what it should be IMO.
Duke
Wake
UNC
UConn
.. is what it should be IMO.
- Nov 15, 2007
- 7,899
- 2,185
media meatride UNC too much for that to happen.
Pitt
UNC
Duke
Wake
UConn
- Jun 8, 2006
- 10,056
- 10
[font=Arial, Helvetica]North Carolina lost a home game to an inferior opponent, and I should've seen it coming.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Happens every season.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Kind of like how LaDainian Tomlinson stands on the sidelines during NFL playoff games.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica][/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Anyway, let's do the Monday Look Back.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Best game of the weekend: If I worked at the State Fair I think I'd like to be the guy in chargeof the game where people shoot hoops for stuffed animals, and if I were that guy I'd love it if Edgar Sosa walked up with a stack of fives and his eyes ona big purple Barney. Why? Because the dude cannot shoot, and those would be my desired customers, dudes who cannot shoot. So you can imaginehow Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie must've felt Sunday when his Wildcats battled back from seven down in the final minute to tie the gameon a pair of Jodie Meeks free throws with 23 seconds remaining only to watch Sosa -- who shoots 32.9 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from the 3-pointline -- drain a 25-footer near the buzzer to give Louisville a 74-71 victory. It was a punch to the stomach for UK, because the only thing itneeded to get to overtime was for Sosa to miss from 25 feet, which is something he does roughly 80 percent of the time. But not this time. So now the Wildcatswill enter SEC play with a good-but-far-from-great 11-4 record.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Worst game of the weekend: Poor Rutgers ended its brutal stretch -- games againstNorth Carolina, Pittsburgh and Connecticut in a span of eight days -- with Saturday's 80-49 loss to the Huskies that was so lopsided UConndidn't even need its Hall of Fame coach to produce the blowout. Seriously, Jim Calhoun was dealing with shingles and a cold (which sounds painful as hell),so he didn't coach the second half. But Hasheem Thabeet played and finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, and if he would've done that last weekagainst Georgetown then the Huskies would now be ranked No. 1 because ...[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Win to brag about: The Boston College Eagles don't make much sense to mebecause they never look like much on paper but are always respectable (except for last season, of course), and sometimes they do things nobody sees coming,which brings me to Sunday evening. It was a slow night by most standards, and when I finished watching Louisville-Kentucky I was going to continue to masterWii Bowling. That's what I call family time, destroying my 5-year-old son at Wii Bowling. But then I turned on the North Carolina game,Boston College started pulling away, and before I knew it I was dropping the Tar Heels from the top spot in the Top 25 (and one), inserting BostonCollege at No. 16 and rethinking everything I thought I knew about college basketball, all because the Eagles went to the Dean Dome and dealt UNC an 85-78loss, which still doesn't make much sense to me.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Loss to hide from: It's one thing to get demolished by North Carolina, another to lose on aneutral court to Ohio State. But what you can't do if you're supposed to be a legitimate Final Four contender is lose to a St.John's team that was picked 13th in the Big East, though that's exactly what Notre Dame did Saturday. The final score was71-65, and now the Irish are about to learn how important it is to take wins over mediocre teams, because eight of their next 10 are against Georgetown,Louisville (twice), Syracuse, Connecticut, Marquette, Pittsburgh and UCLA, which is my way of saying the next month will feature few (if any) guaranteedvictories.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Player who deserves improper benefits: John Pelphrey's Arkansas Razorbacks hadthe trap game of all trap games Saturday, specifically an off-campus tilt with North Texas tucked between home games with Oklahoma and Texas.It was precisely the type of game a young team loses. But Michael Washington took 15 shots, made 12 and finished with 34 points and 11 rebounds, and that wasenough to push the Hogs to an 86-75 victory that propelled them into the Top 25 (and one) thanks to the 11-1 record they take into Tuesday night'sshowdown with Rick Barnes' Longhorns.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Player(s) who should lose (their) scholarship(s): I'm adjusting this category this week toinclude Georgetown's starting guards, namely Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and Jessie Sapp. After going 12-of-26 from the field andcombining to finish with 34 points in that win at Connecticut, they stunk it up Saturday in a 70-54 home loss to Pittsburgh. Wright, Freemanand Sapp combined to go 4-of-22 from the field (including 2-of-12 from 3-point range), and when that happens against a quality opponent the Hoyas are typicallygoing to lose, even when DaJuan Summers and Greg Monroe combine for 37 points.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Why I'm smarter than you think: A reader named Josh asked back before the season started for some possible "surprise" teams, and so Idecided to supply a few names. The two teams I mentioned first were Wake Forest and Syracuse, both of which were rankedoutside the top 20 (Wake Forest was 21st in the AP poll; Syracuse was fifth in Others Receiving Votes). Now those teams are owners of 14-1 and 13-0records, and each should be ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll Monday afternoon, at which time the world will have further proof of my brilliance.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Why I'm dumber than I think: Despite how much I thought of Wake Forest, I stillpicked the Demon Deacons to lose Saturday at BYU. Naturally, they did not; they beat the Cougars 94-87, snapped BYU's 53-game home winningstreak and reminded me of one of my basic rules of predictions, which was also one of the rules I used to identify Syracuse and Wake Forest as"surprise" teams. What's the rule, you ask? It's simple: Pick the teams with the most talent. Do that, and you'll be right more thanyou're wrong, as Wake Forest -- and it's highly rated recruiting class -- demonstrated at the Marriott Center.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Three things you should know before you go[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]1. Johnny Dawkins' perfect record as a head coach at Stanford came to a haltFriday night by way of a 90-60 home loss to Arizona State. Then Arizona State turned around and lost 81-71 to Mike Montgomery andCalifornia late Sunday, which means the former Stanford coach (Montgomery) fared better than the current Stanford coach (Dawkins) thisweekend.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]2. Another interesting score from Friday night for a first-year coach belonged to Darrin Horn. Hetook his South Carolina Gamecocks to Baylor and left with an 85-84 win that has his team just a victory over Wofford onMonday night away from entering SEC play with an 11-2 record.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]3. Oregon State snapped its 23-game Pac-10 losing streak Sunday with a 62-5
vertime win against Southern California. The Beavers came from 15 down in the second half, and I think it's now fair to acknowledge thatUSC's post-O.J. Mayo era isn't going quite as planned.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]On tap: On Monday, Georgetown will get another massive test when it visitsNotre Dame. On Tuesday, Clemson's undefeated record will be on the line when the Tigers host Alabama. OnWednesday, Stephen Curry will be in Cameron Indoor Stadium when Davidson plays Duke. On Thursday, OregonState will try to record a second Pac-10 victory when the Beavers travel to Arizona State.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Final thought: I've been updating the Top 25 (and one) every Sunday night during theseason for three seasons now, and I'm not sure there has ever been a Sunday quite as challenging as the one I just spent. Fifteen of the 25 teams ranked inthe AP poll lost at some point over the past week, which literally had me stuck once I slotted 14 teams. I had 21 schools that I felt were worthy on some levelof one of the final 12 spots, meaning I was essentially trying to fit 35 schools into 26 slots.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Case you didn't know, that's just as difficult as it sounds.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]But my point is that the difference between the team I have 15th (Wisconsin) and the team I mighthave 35th (Saint Mary's? Villanova? Arizona State?) is smaller than LaDainian Tomlinson's playoffrésumé. So don't get angry, Baylor fans. And try to relax, UNLV fans. Your team is right there, reallyclose, capable of being a top 20 team by this time next week because if this past week showed us anything it's that everything is up forgrabs.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Happens every season.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Kind of like how LaDainian Tomlinson stands on the sidelines during NFL playoff games.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica][/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Anyway, let's do the Monday Look Back.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Best game of the weekend: If I worked at the State Fair I think I'd like to be the guy in chargeof the game where people shoot hoops for stuffed animals, and if I were that guy I'd love it if Edgar Sosa walked up with a stack of fives and his eyes ona big purple Barney. Why? Because the dude cannot shoot, and those would be my desired customers, dudes who cannot shoot. So you can imaginehow Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie must've felt Sunday when his Wildcats battled back from seven down in the final minute to tie the gameon a pair of Jodie Meeks free throws with 23 seconds remaining only to watch Sosa -- who shoots 32.9 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from the 3-pointline -- drain a 25-footer near the buzzer to give Louisville a 74-71 victory. It was a punch to the stomach for UK, because the only thing itneeded to get to overtime was for Sosa to miss from 25 feet, which is something he does roughly 80 percent of the time. But not this time. So now the Wildcatswill enter SEC play with a good-but-far-from-great 11-4 record.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Worst game of the weekend: Poor Rutgers ended its brutal stretch -- games againstNorth Carolina, Pittsburgh and Connecticut in a span of eight days -- with Saturday's 80-49 loss to the Huskies that was so lopsided UConndidn't even need its Hall of Fame coach to produce the blowout. Seriously, Jim Calhoun was dealing with shingles and a cold (which sounds painful as hell),so he didn't coach the second half. But Hasheem Thabeet played and finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, and if he would've done that last weekagainst Georgetown then the Huskies would now be ranked No. 1 because ...[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Win to brag about: The Boston College Eagles don't make much sense to mebecause they never look like much on paper but are always respectable (except for last season, of course), and sometimes they do things nobody sees coming,which brings me to Sunday evening. It was a slow night by most standards, and when I finished watching Louisville-Kentucky I was going to continue to masterWii Bowling. That's what I call family time, destroying my 5-year-old son at Wii Bowling. But then I turned on the North Carolina game,Boston College started pulling away, and before I knew it I was dropping the Tar Heels from the top spot in the Top 25 (and one), inserting BostonCollege at No. 16 and rethinking everything I thought I knew about college basketball, all because the Eagles went to the Dean Dome and dealt UNC an 85-78loss, which still doesn't make much sense to me.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Loss to hide from: It's one thing to get demolished by North Carolina, another to lose on aneutral court to Ohio State. But what you can't do if you're supposed to be a legitimate Final Four contender is lose to a St.John's team that was picked 13th in the Big East, though that's exactly what Notre Dame did Saturday. The final score was71-65, and now the Irish are about to learn how important it is to take wins over mediocre teams, because eight of their next 10 are against Georgetown,Louisville (twice), Syracuse, Connecticut, Marquette, Pittsburgh and UCLA, which is my way of saying the next month will feature few (if any) guaranteedvictories.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Player who deserves improper benefits: John Pelphrey's Arkansas Razorbacks hadthe trap game of all trap games Saturday, specifically an off-campus tilt with North Texas tucked between home games with Oklahoma and Texas.It was precisely the type of game a young team loses. But Michael Washington took 15 shots, made 12 and finished with 34 points and 11 rebounds, and that wasenough to push the Hogs to an 86-75 victory that propelled them into the Top 25 (and one) thanks to the 11-1 record they take into Tuesday night'sshowdown with Rick Barnes' Longhorns.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Player(s) who should lose (their) scholarship(s): I'm adjusting this category this week toinclude Georgetown's starting guards, namely Chris Wright, Austin Freeman and Jessie Sapp. After going 12-of-26 from the field andcombining to finish with 34 points in that win at Connecticut, they stunk it up Saturday in a 70-54 home loss to Pittsburgh. Wright, Freemanand Sapp combined to go 4-of-22 from the field (including 2-of-12 from 3-point range), and when that happens against a quality opponent the Hoyas are typicallygoing to lose, even when DaJuan Summers and Greg Monroe combine for 37 points.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Why I'm smarter than you think: A reader named Josh asked back before the season started for some possible "surprise" teams, and so Idecided to supply a few names. The two teams I mentioned first were Wake Forest and Syracuse, both of which were rankedoutside the top 20 (Wake Forest was 21st in the AP poll; Syracuse was fifth in Others Receiving Votes). Now those teams are owners of 14-1 and 13-0records, and each should be ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll Monday afternoon, at which time the world will have further proof of my brilliance.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Why I'm dumber than I think: Despite how much I thought of Wake Forest, I stillpicked the Demon Deacons to lose Saturday at BYU. Naturally, they did not; they beat the Cougars 94-87, snapped BYU's 53-game home winningstreak and reminded me of one of my basic rules of predictions, which was also one of the rules I used to identify Syracuse and Wake Forest as"surprise" teams. What's the rule, you ask? It's simple: Pick the teams with the most talent. Do that, and you'll be right more thanyou're wrong, as Wake Forest -- and it's highly rated recruiting class -- demonstrated at the Marriott Center.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Three things you should know before you go[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]1. Johnny Dawkins' perfect record as a head coach at Stanford came to a haltFriday night by way of a 90-60 home loss to Arizona State. Then Arizona State turned around and lost 81-71 to Mike Montgomery andCalifornia late Sunday, which means the former Stanford coach (Montgomery) fared better than the current Stanford coach (Dawkins) thisweekend.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]2. Another interesting score from Friday night for a first-year coach belonged to Darrin Horn. Hetook his South Carolina Gamecocks to Baylor and left with an 85-84 win that has his team just a victory over Wofford onMonday night away from entering SEC play with an 11-2 record.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]3. Oregon State snapped its 23-game Pac-10 losing streak Sunday with a 62-5
vertime win against Southern California. The Beavers came from 15 down in the second half, and I think it's now fair to acknowledge thatUSC's post-O.J. Mayo era isn't going quite as planned.[/font][font=Arial, Helvetica]On tap: On Monday, Georgetown will get another massive test when it visitsNotre Dame. On Tuesday, Clemson's undefeated record will be on the line when the Tigers host Alabama. OnWednesday, Stephen Curry will be in Cameron Indoor Stadium when Davidson plays Duke. On Thursday, OregonState will try to record a second Pac-10 victory when the Beavers travel to Arizona State.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Final thought: I've been updating the Top 25 (and one) every Sunday night during theseason for three seasons now, and I'm not sure there has ever been a Sunday quite as challenging as the one I just spent. Fifteen of the 25 teams ranked inthe AP poll lost at some point over the past week, which literally had me stuck once I slotted 14 teams. I had 21 schools that I felt were worthy on some levelof one of the final 12 spots, meaning I was essentially trying to fit 35 schools into 26 slots.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Case you didn't know, that's just as difficult as it sounds.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica]But my point is that the difference between the team I have 15th (Wisconsin) and the team I mighthave 35th (Saint Mary's? Villanova? Arizona State?) is smaller than LaDainian Tomlinson's playoffrésumé. So don't get angry, Baylor fans. And try to relax, UNLV fans. Your team is right there, reallyclose, capable of being a top 20 team by this time next week because if this past week showed us anything it's that everything is up forgrabs.[/font]
- Jun 8, 2006
- 10,056
- 10
[font=Arial, Helvetica]Sosa -- who shoots 32.9 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from the 3-point line[/font]
%###$+ bum
he, Dominic and Scotty are all battling it out for the..
I hit my peak as a freshman award.
- Jan 20, 2006
- 17,900
- 793
Chris Thomas was a killer his fresh yr then....
I don't think we deserve the #2 slot but I'll take it
Now I just need Wake to smack UNC around and I'll be merry
I don't think we deserve the #2 slot but I'll take it
Now I just need Wake to smack UNC around and I'll be merry
- Nov 15, 2007
- 7,899
- 2,185
he, Dominic and Scotty are all battling it out for the..
I hit my peak as a freshman award.
Or the, I should have left after my freshman year award. I don't even think Sosa should be listed with Dom James, and scottie though cuz they really didhave great first years while Sosa has always been a bum.
Chris Thomas
- Dec 22, 2007
- 2,030
- 34
Dont worry everyone, let the media and everyone else drink their Pitt kool-aid for the next week or two, because when they come down to Louisville they will beleaving Freedom Hall with their first loss. (I can dream cant I?
) nah but seriously, if UL plays like they should, they have the talent that Pitt does soit should be a good game.
- Jun 8, 2006
- 10,056
- 10
That's not a stretch, I'd expect Louisville to win that at home.
I can't see anyone going through the Big East with out at least 3 losses..15-3 would def win it...
I expect the number to get it done to be at 14-4.
I can't see anyone going through the Big East with out at least 3 losses..15-3 would def win it...
I expect the number to get it done to be at 14-4.
