By Paul Gotham
November offered heaps of fodder for discussions among college hoops fans. Pre-season tournaments shared surprises and glimpses into the near-future for the faithful. Careful not to jump to conclusions. Many of these teams are seeking an identity. Just a year ago, Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans were 4-1 after a close victory over Wichita State. Then, the Spartans endured a 30-pt. beat down courtesy of North Carolina – barely a suggestion of their Final Four destiny. On the other hand, with wins over Georgetown and Siena, Tennessee looked like a trip to Detroit was inevitable. Still, trends and tendencies can be deciphered.
That shook the bushes
Either the experts didn’t know the teams, or there are too many good teams to pick just 25. Pre-season polls across the board took a hit. The AP had a record-setting seven teams move into the top 25.
The jerseys have changed; the result is the same
Twelve months ago, Big East foes, Pitt and UConn, ranked near the top of the college basketball mountain. Louisville wasn’t too far away. One year later and a new host of Big East teams loom large on the college hardwood: West Virginia, Syracuse, and, oh yeah, don’t forget Villanova.
The Mountaineers proved they are contenders taking the 76 Classic in Anaheim. Who would expect any less of a Bob Huggins-coached team.
Syracuse made the biggest jump of anyone. With convincing wins over #12 California and #4 North Carolina, the Orange vaulted from others receiving votes to #7. Along the way, hall-of-fame coach Jim Boeheim might have found a player in Wesley Johnson who can shine when the lights burn brightest. Johnson hit 4 of 8 from long range while dropping 25 on the Heels. This came one day after Johnson scored 17 and pulled down 11 boards against Cal.
Marquette earned some notoriety with wins over Xavier and Michigan. A one-point loss kept the Golden Eagles from a spot in the top 25 but elevated the Jesuit school to contender status in the eyes of Mike DeCourcy.
Villanova might have taken a hit. Freshman, Mouphtaou Yarou might be sidelined for the season.
10 and counting?
For 10 years the ACC and Big Ten have battled. And each time the ACC has come away victorious. Five games tonight will determine if the Atlantic Coast will make it 11. The two conferences split the first six with few surprises. Unless of course you thought Michigan State would win AT Chapel Hill. It’s early in the season and the Heels looked plenty rested. Give it time. The Spartans tried to run with North Carolina…again! And, again it didn’t work.
Congratulations to Huckleberry Hound…er…Coach Roy Williams on his 600th career victory.
Northwestern went into Raleigh and knocked off the Wolfpack, 65-53. The Wildcats have a 6-1 record including victories over Notre Dame and Iowa State. Northwestern’s only loss is to Butler. It was only a matter of time before Bill Carmody’s Wildcats started winning. Carmody served as an assistant under Pete Carril at Princeton for many years. He was on the bench when the #16 Tigers almost toppled the #1 seed Georgetown Hoyas in 1989.
Some dandies on tap for tonight: Illinois at Clemson, Minnesota at Miami, Boston College at Michigan, Duke at Wisconsin, and Florida State at Ohio State.
It is easy to dismiss these early-season tournaments as nothing more than money-making schemes, but as Andy Katz writes, the ACC/Big Ten Challenge matters.
Kings of the West
Which is the hottest conference on the west coast? If you guessed the Pac 10, you might be wrong. Gonzaga and Portland have boosted the rankings of the West Coast Conference and St. Mary’s could make it three WCC teams in the field of 64. The Zags took the Maui invitational with wins over Colorado, Wisconsin, and Cincinnati. Gonzaga’s lone loss came to Michigan State when the Spartans took advantage of a foul-ridden front line.
Portland tripped Oregon, UCLA, and Minnesota before falling to a hot West Virginia team.
St. Mary’s is also 5-1.
Got any college basketball splinters? Share them here.
Wally says
Keep an eye on Washington State vs Gonzaga tonight. Zaga won the Maui Invite and Wazzou won the Alaska Shootout. I saw them play … Clay Thompson went off in the title game … Interesting to see if he’s the real deal.
Casey says
Nice win for Gonzaga last night. They have a challenging out of conference schedule: Wake Forest, Davidson, Duke, Oklahoma, and Illinois.
One concern Mark Few will need to deal with is getting more playing time from his bench – particularly his back court. Bouldin and Gray played 40 and 34 minutes, respectively, last night.
Wally says
Add Wazzou to that challenging non-conference slate. They’re a young team with a new coach … they were in great position to win that game last night, but cratered in the final 4 mins in a pretty hostile environment. I predict they’ll finish in the top third of the Pac 10 … which will be quite surprising given pre-season expectations.
Bouldin was awesome for the Zags last night. REAL good player…the main reason they pulled it out.
Casey says
Finishing in the top third of the Pac 10 MIGHT not be a big deal this year.
Casey says
I enjoy watching how Bouldin lets the game come to him. That is something you can’t teach, but Mark Few’s kids (with the exception of Jeremy Pargo) seem to grasp that concept.