The Saint Mary's Gaels had won 15 straight games before going to face the perennial WCC powerhouse Gonzaga in Spokane. Gonzaga has had a roller coaster season with two wins over Tennessee and Maryland and looking like a true national title contender but also dropping games to Portland State and resembling a WCC cellar dweller. Last night for the first half the Zags showed no signs of resurgence, giving up a 39-33 lead in the first half. But in the second half, Jeremy Pargo and Austin Daye ratcheted up the intensity after St. Mary's superstar Patty Mills went out with an ankle injury. Mills had 18 points in the first half and the Zags had no answer for him, proving that when healthy maybe St. mary's is the best team out west. Matt Bouldin led Zaga with 17 points, but it was a true team effort in the second half especially. Gonzaga had four players in double figures and took care of the ball, only surrendering seven turnovers while shooting 46%. Diamon Simpson had 17 points for the Gaels in all 40 minutes; he was a perfect 7-7 from the field. Gonzaga now has the lead in the West Coast by a game but still has to travel to St. Mary's where a healthy Patty Mills could spell trouble. Gonzaga has lost down there in consecutive seasons.
Shoot-Around
- Clemson overcame a 15-point second half deficit in Blacksburg to come back and beat Virginia Tech. A huge road win for the Tigers which they desperately needed after getting crushed in Chapel Hill last week. K.C. Rivers went off for 29 and seven triples leading an 18-0 run in the last ten minutes to win the game. Virginia Tech's Malcolm Delaney had a career high 37 points, but it was not enough in the losing effort. The Hokies really need more balanced scoring. If its not Delaney its Vassallo but rarely do both step up on the same night. The more balanced they can become they more dangerous Tech can be in the ACC.
- The hype started to develop for Washington and was quickly extinguished when they got beat 106-97 at Arizona. Arizona needed a win over a top Pac-10 team, and this was certainly it to get back on track. Washington now is in real trouble as they shuffle over to Tempe to face an Arizona State team that just got beat at home to Washington State. I maintain Arizona State is the best team in the Pac 10 but there is no excuse for shooting 37% from the field against arguably the worst team in the conference. Look for Zona State to rebound against Washington.
- How would you like to play a four overtime hundred point thriller? Utah Valley State guard Ryan Toolson obviously doesn't mind. Utah Valley State traveled to Chicago State for what was expected to be a regular run of the mill independent game and it turned into an epic. Toolson had 63 points on 20 of 21 from the free throw line as Utah Valley won 123-121. David Holston from Chicago State had 41 but it pailed in comparison to Toolson's performance. Toolson played all 60 minutes and hit seven threes and grabbed 12 rebounds. Gives Jodie Meeks a run for performance of the season thus far.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Daily Gus: January 29th
Would anybody in this great college basketball landscape like to be ranked number one? Duke is the fourth number one team this season (UNC, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest) and they are the fourth one to lose thier stranglehold in the polls. Last night Duke went TO Winston-Salem to play Wake and had the same result as Carolina. The Blue Devils could not handle the explosive size of the Demon Deacons and suffered a road loss to the team that may truly be the best in the country right now. Take away the little blip Wake has at home against Tech and they have been unstoppable. You had to figure they could not keep up the intensity of knocking off (at) BYU, UNC, (at) Clemson and (at) BC all consecutively. I'll forgive them for losing to a Tech team that is vastly improved since the non con if they can now continue their showcase of shear athleticism and talent. When you take a gander at the stat sheet for this game, nothing jumps out as to why Wake prevailed. In fact, they allowed Kyle Singler to go for 22 and 12 and Gerald Henderson to go for 20 and 8. On top of that, Jeff teague had only 11 points on a 4-14 night. They won the game with team defense; forcing 15 Duke turnovers and holding them to 4 of 22 from behind the arc. Duke shot poorly, a far cry from the show they put on Saturday against Maryland at Cameron Indoor.
Shoot-Around
- Note to the Big East: When you go on the road, don't even expect to win. Georgetown dropped its fourth straight at Cincinnati Big East contest to give them their SEVENTH loss of the year and fifth in the conference. Syracuse goes on the road, doesn't even bother to play defense, gives up 100 points and loses to Providence. It's okay though Jonny Flynn got his, he had 30plus. Last college basketball game ever played at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Villanova snags a huge win over Pittsburgh 67-57 to get themselves back into the Big East mix. The Spec closes after a long run of college basketball greatness. The site of Christian Laettner's shot against Kentucky in the Elite Eight, multiple Atlantic 10 tournaments and NCAA regionals. The Spec will certainly be missed.
- Around the CAA: Big win for Old Dominion to rebound from a couple bad losses to VCU and Northeastern. Winning at JMU has been tough this season, but now the Dukes have lost two straight at the Convo Center. Speaking of winning at JMU, Hofstra did it Saturday and then went down to UNC-Wilmington and got a win there. The Pride are getting better and better and don't be surprised if they are a-lurking and waiting for the second place VCU Rams to come into the nest in Staten Island Saturday.
- Florida is starting to gain more and more confidence as the season progresses. Although not truly tested, the Baby Gators won at Vanderbilt on Sunday by 30 and then go on the road and spank Georgia all night by 26. Now, Georgia is no juggernaut team by any stretch, but Nick Calathes went for a triple double, 20 points, 13 boards, 10 assists in 33 minutes on 7-11 shooting. Efficiency. Vanderbilt has tanked their season away. With AJ Ogilvy injured and sick and whatever the Commodores have lost four in a row and five of six. Ogilvy scored just three points on 0-3 shooting in 21 minutes. Problems in Nashville.
- Kansas rallies from a 13 point deficit and overcomes 21 TURNOVERS(!) to win at Nebraska. The Jayhwaks have yet to face any stern Big 12 challenges but all the while are 5-0 and trucking along nicely now capturing road wins at Iowa State, at Colorado and now at Nebraska. The Jayhawks have won eight of nine and could be 12-0 in the league heading into an undefeated showdown against Oklahoma on Big Monday at the end of February.
Shoot-Around
- Note to the Big East: When you go on the road, don't even expect to win. Georgetown dropped its fourth straight at Cincinnati Big East contest to give them their SEVENTH loss of the year and fifth in the conference. Syracuse goes on the road, doesn't even bother to play defense, gives up 100 points and loses to Providence. It's okay though Jonny Flynn got his, he had 30plus. Last college basketball game ever played at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Villanova snags a huge win over Pittsburgh 67-57 to get themselves back into the Big East mix. The Spec closes after a long run of college basketball greatness. The site of Christian Laettner's shot against Kentucky in the Elite Eight, multiple Atlantic 10 tournaments and NCAA regionals. The Spec will certainly be missed.
- Around the CAA: Big win for Old Dominion to rebound from a couple bad losses to VCU and Northeastern. Winning at JMU has been tough this season, but now the Dukes have lost two straight at the Convo Center. Speaking of winning at JMU, Hofstra did it Saturday and then went down to UNC-Wilmington and got a win there. The Pride are getting better and better and don't be surprised if they are a-lurking and waiting for the second place VCU Rams to come into the nest in Staten Island Saturday.
- Florida is starting to gain more and more confidence as the season progresses. Although not truly tested, the Baby Gators won at Vanderbilt on Sunday by 30 and then go on the road and spank Georgia all night by 26. Now, Georgia is no juggernaut team by any stretch, but Nick Calathes went for a triple double, 20 points, 13 boards, 10 assists in 33 minutes on 7-11 shooting. Efficiency. Vanderbilt has tanked their season away. With AJ Ogilvy injured and sick and whatever the Commodores have lost four in a row and five of six. Ogilvy scored just three points on 0-3 shooting in 21 minutes. Problems in Nashville.
- Kansas rallies from a 13 point deficit and overcomes 21 TURNOVERS(!) to win at Nebraska. The Jayhwaks have yet to face any stern Big 12 challenges but all the while are 5-0 and trucking along nicely now capturing road wins at Iowa State, at Colorado and now at Nebraska. The Jayhawks have won eight of nine and could be 12-0 in the league heading into an undefeated showdown against Oklahoma on Big Monday at the end of February.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Return of MTM
Sometimes the lights are shining on me and other times I can barely see. -The Grateful Dead
Nearly a month and a half has gone by since the last posting at MTM. This has not been an accident. Over the course of these days, I have taken a back seat to college basketball, unable to identify with the fervor and passion I once took to every night and every game that I took the privilege to view. Maybe due to my involvement with college athletics, I have become desensitized to the sport which captivated my young soul and transformed me into a martyr for college basketball. When I now look out onto the court I do not share the same joy and excitement for every game as I did when I was just a boy sitting in the stands. An interesting thing happened as I sat courtside for the VCU vs. George Mason game on Saturday January 24th though. My love for the game began to spark back; I heard a roaring crowd, watched two fantastic teams battle out for first place in a mid-major league all the while not even thinking about national exposure or anything else in life. The world stopped for two hours. When you are able to lose yourself in something as trivial as college basketball, we all become kids again. It proves an escape to all that we know may be wrong and gives us hope for all that we wish to be right. With the season continuing, I have found what college hoops means to me, and hopefully you, again.
Nearly a month and a half has gone by since the last posting at MTM. This has not been an accident. Over the course of these days, I have taken a back seat to college basketball, unable to identify with the fervor and passion I once took to every night and every game that I took the privilege to view. Maybe due to my involvement with college athletics, I have become desensitized to the sport which captivated my young soul and transformed me into a martyr for college basketball. When I now look out onto the court I do not share the same joy and excitement for every game as I did when I was just a boy sitting in the stands. An interesting thing happened as I sat courtside for the VCU vs. George Mason game on Saturday January 24th though. My love for the game began to spark back; I heard a roaring crowd, watched two fantastic teams battle out for first place in a mid-major league all the while not even thinking about national exposure or anything else in life. The world stopped for two hours. When you are able to lose yourself in something as trivial as college basketball, we all become kids again. It proves an escape to all that we know may be wrong and gives us hope for all that we wish to be right. With the season continuing, I have found what college hoops means to me, and hopefully you, again.
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