The Daily Gus: November 20th

In what was a pretty uneventful night around the nation for action-packed close games, the Look-Ahead game of the day certainly did not disappoint. Kent State and St. Lou went at it for 40 minutes and it was not enough to determine which side had the more manly men. After regulation ended the score was knotted up at 60-60, and then Kent State's 6-1 senior guard Al Fisher got his game off. Fisher had 16 of his team's last 17 points as he placed them on his back and took them to a big time road win for Kent State. Fisher put it up 35 times over the course of the game and played 39 minutes. Saint Lou's Kevin Lisch logged 42 minutes and had 22 in the losing effort. If anything can be pointed to as a reason for the Billiken defeat, look at the turnover column. Majerus' club had 18 TO's, including five by point guard Mitchell. An inexcusable amount by a Majerus team that is normally considered the most disciplined teams in the country. This is certainly a building block for St. Louis however; they went to an extra session with a real good ballclub that was far superior talent-wise.

That wasn't exactly the plan for Michigan State when they scheduled a game at IPFW (Indiana-Purdue-Ft. Wayne) in the offseason. The Spartans really struggled, and to an extent probably well warranted, it being the first road game for a real young Michigan State team. Team has alot of talent and they certainly overlooked IPFW in this one with good reason. Raymar Morgan had 22 for Michigan State, who trailed three times in the second half. IPFW slowed down the pace to a near crawl where they were able to take advantage of Spartan impatience. Luckily for Michigan State, IPFW featured zero depth after only three scorers had more than six points. IPFW head coach Dane Fife was a throwback player to the Mike Davis led Indiana squad that made the title game and lost to Maryland in 2002.

So long to the prestige and impressiveness of the Wichita State Wheatshocker program. The Shockers are far far away from the days of Mark Turgeon and that Sweet 16 appearance in 2006 after dropping one to UMKC at home Wednesday night. Ta-State finished dead last in the Valley last season, and show no sins of improvement in a deeper, more talented league this year. A tight game throughout, Wichita just would not have lost this game three years ago with their homecourt. They have somehow become inferior talent-wise and that is the reason they will struggle again in the MVC. This is a new low however; losing to a Missouri foe who has not even been on the local map in years.

Shoot-Around:
- Somebody tell UNCW coach Benny Moss to play defense. Please. 120-88 loss to Wake. Long year in Wilmington if that doesn't change.

- VCU gives up nine threes to South Dakota State in preparation to defend Jimmy Baron on Saturday in Kingston. Not a good omen. But they do have Eric Maynor (29 points on 11-19).

- American stretched out an early lead to ten against local foe Howard before squandering all of it in the last four minutes. The Eagles win by two, a surprising result after they got throttled by Oklahoma last week.

- Appalachian State had four guys go 40+ minutes in an 87-84 double overtime thriller with Charlotte. Mountaineer Isaac Butts went for 15 and 17 in the victory. Charlotte a hard-luck loser for the second straight time out, those 19 turnovers don't help much.

- UVA shoots 16 more free throws than South Florida at home to escape with a 77-75 victory. The Bulls shot 49% from the field but were completely negated by the Cavaliers uncanny ability to get to the line. South Florida placed two guys with over 20 points, but could not close the deal in Charlottesville.

- Nebraska used ten guys with ten plus minutes to wear down TCU and knock them down early. The Huskers led by 12 at half and dominated the entire way, winning 62-50. Nine players scored for Nebraska.

- Maybe Mercer should contemplate joining the SEC. After ruining the return of Ronald Steele in Tuscaloosa Sunday, the Bears beat Auburn 78-74 in Auburn. James Florence of Mercer had 25 in the win as Mercer completely dismantled Auburn on the glass, 46-21. Mercer looks to be a force in the A-Sun, they get Georgia Tech at home on Saturday.