The Daily Gus: November 17th

Well we're in it. The season has kicked off for the majority of division I programs and it began with a surprising weekend.
- Virginia Military Institute waltzed into Lexington, Kentucky and obviously thought it was still in Lexington, Va. VMI led Kentucky by 23 with 14 minutes left and held on for a 111-103 victory after Travis Holmes went off for 30. Billy Gillespie must certainly already feel the crush from Ashley Judd and the like because the fans in Rupp Arena will not stand for back to back season home opening losses. At least Kentucky came storming back from the deficit, but someone needs to tell Patrick Patterson to show up and start playing. The sophomore finished with eight points and seven rebounds in just 27 minutes. Looks like Kentucky may be relying on Jodie Meeks this season, the junior had 39 points on 27 attempts from the field. The Keydets nailed 14 treys on 31 attempts as they upped the tempo on Kentucky, and punched them right in the jaw. VMI subsequently came back and nearly defeated ACC foe Virginia on Sunday.
- Friday night was littered with high majors blasting D-II and NAIA squads, but one game did jump out. Appalachian State went into Trask Coliseum (a pit) in Wilmington and jumped out to a 14 point halftime lead against a young rebuilding UNC-Wilmington team. The Seahawks came storming back to force the game into overtime which they later won 108-101. Sophomore Seahawk Chad Tomko had 27 points including a deep trey with 20 seconds left to force OT. A crippling road loss but certainly optimism for Appie State, as they get ready to host an 0-1 Charlotte team Wednesday.
- Saturday I gave much credit to Florida State. The 'Noles went and played at Atlantic Sun competitor Jacksonville AND got a victory 59-57. Florida State is not assumed to be in the mix of the ACC and either is J-ville in the A-Sun, but a high-major going into a low major's domicile deserves a little bit of recognition. It won't happen more than ten times this season.
- Portland takes a win over Pac-10 foe Washington in the opening weekend, 80-74. The Pilots have some promise this season, they graduated nobody from a team that led both Gonzaga and St. Mary in the second half last season. A young team slowly gaining experience will be helped mentally with a big win over a BCS school.
- So maybe expectations are too high at Providence. The Friars could not hold home court against Northeastern Saturday as they lost 70-66; Northeastern is no slouch, but scorer Mart Janning had 24 points on 10-14 in the Dunkin Donuts Center. Keno Davis didn't suffer his first loss last season until the turn of the year at Drake.
- UNLV with a huge home win over San Diego in a middy showdown on the first weekend of the season. Both of these teams should have amazing seasons in their upper eschalant mid major leagues; The Rebs were helped by 19 Torero turnovers and although Wink Adams struggled offensively, UNLV locked up and got the win 65-60.
- Sunday provided us with the DOOKIES against a hugely underrated Rhode Island team. Evident by this game (23 point underdogs!) Jimmy Baron has the Rams back where they could make noise in the A-10. Baron went 8-9 from distance and had URI up three in Cameron Indoor with more than a minute left. Kyle Sinlger knocked down four free throws and Duke escapes much to the delight of the ACC officiating crew. Coach K's squad shot 32 free throws to URI's 16. For now, I give Duke a reprieve for their forgetfulness to show up, but don't get used to it.