The Daily Gus: February 5th

The top two teams in the ACC, Duke and Wake Forest, both traveled to difficult venues for a regular run of the mill Wednesday night showdown. The old quote goes "You can't take a night off in the ACC, you must lace them up every night," blah blah. Although it may be true. Duke and Wake got absolutely punished. Duke goes to Clemson and shoots poorly? 3 of 13 from three and drops their first one to the Tigers in 22 games 74-47. A 27 POINT LOSS?! A tough road game for Duke, but Clemson just is not the same team at Littlejohn. They used two separate runs to extend their lead and were helped out by Trevor Booker's 8 of 10 shooting for 21 points. Now, who knows if Clemson is any different this year than any other season when they jump out to a gaudy number of wins without playing anyone. One thing is for certain, don't play 'em at Littlejohn. Wake Forest on the other hand is so confusing. They look great at home to Duke and UNC; they look great on the road to Clemson. But then they play at Georgia Tech and then Wednesday night at Miami and get sent home crying both times. Jack McClinton hit six threes for Miami and the 'Canes punished them 79-52. A 27 POINT LOSS?! Yes, both Duke and Wake go on the road, play no defense and shoot poorly. The recipe for getting lambasted in conference games. Maybe the ACC is the toughest conference in America; I still am not fully convinced, but when your two best teams go out and get crushed like the other night that speaks volumes for the depth of the league.

Shoot-Around
- Win of the night which may go completely unnoticed? Bobby Maze had two points in the second half; a midrange jumper with 5.4 seconds left to give Tennessee a two-point lead. That was it. Tennessee's 74-72 victory in Fayetteville against Arkansas. Tennessee has now won two in a row against similar teams, Florida and Arkansas. Although the Razorbacks dropped to 1-6 in the SEC, the fashion which the Vols got this win could really springboard them back into some prevalence. Wayne Chism had 22 and 9 and UT placed four guys in double figures. The issue at hand is whether or not Tennessee will be able to find enough scoring from players other than Chism and Tyler Smith. The athleticism will always be there for the Vols and apparently they don't mind playing on the road now. 3-0 on the road in SEC play and they are just a half-game behind Florida in the East (with a current advantage in tiebreaker).

- Luke Harangody goes for 28 and 14 for his 11th straight double-double as the Irish went on the road to play a fellow 4-5 Big East team. No doubt they finally got it under control? Bzzz. Cincinnati beats Notre Dame to drop them to 4-6 in the league and left Mike Brey really scratching his head. Deonta Vaughn had a season high 34 and Larry Davis had a career-high 21 to give the Irish their sixth straight loss. Notre Dame ain't playing any defense, they have given up 90 points three times during the streak. If Dame doesn't figure things out quick, there is no possible way they can even think about an at-large berth. They are not going to be able to convinve the committee that a 12-loss overall, 10-loss Big East team deserves a place. There is no substitute for winning games.

- Everybody got in on the action in Lansing Wednesday night. Michigan State had lost two straight home games, a shocking development which Tom Izzo certainly had to be questioning the ability and desire fo his squad. All that uncertainty was quelled when they jumped out to a 42-16 lead over a really good Minnesota team and held them to 17.2 percent shooting in the first half. The Spartans shot over 50% for the game and held Minnesota to 28.8, as the Gophers high scorer had 11 points. Durell Summers had 21 for Michigan State on 8 of 10 shooting and they also outrebounded Minny 38-21. An all around impressive performance for Michigan State as they remain atop the Big Ten.

- So much for Anthony Grant to Georgia. VCU got thwarted at UNC-Wilminton Wednesday night 81-72 by a team that is 11th in the Colonial and has shown no signs of life all season. Eric Maynor went 0 for 11 from distance and the Rams allowed UNCW, who starts five guards, to remain even with them, 32-32, on the glass. This VCU team is mental and has underachieved all season long. Unfortunate that Eric Maynor may go out prematurely...Speaking of head-scratching CAA games, Northeastern goes to William and Mary for their third Virginia road trip in two weeks and suffers a tough loss, 68-63 to W&M. William and Mary slowed down the game to an absolute crawl and held Matt Janning to ten points for the game.

The Daily Gus: February 4th

Florida welcomes South Carolina into "The Swamp" for a spot in first place in the SEC East on Tuesday night after getting walloped at Tennessee over the weekend. South Carolina came out on a mission and kept the Gators in a game; Devan Downey scored 33 for the Gamecocks. South Carolina had beaten Florida at home on January 21st on a quick lay-up by Downey as time expired to shock the Gators. Since then, South Carolina had been on a roll, tallying up a total 16-4 record going into the showdown. Florida got to the free throw line 40 times compared to South Carolina's 22 and forced 17 turnovers as Florida recaptured the top spot in the SEC East 97-93 although they tried their best to give it back down the stretch. Walter Hodge missed a series of free throws and Downey nailed three last minute treys to pull within two before the well ran dry for South Carolina. Still, reason for optimism for the Gamecocks; for a team with alot of uncertainty they are playing up to potential and should certainly be considered among the top four SEC squads come March.

Shoot-Around
- 12th ranked Purdue went on the road to Columbus to face an Ohio State team desperate for a signature win at home where they could stay atop the Big Ten. The Buckeyes were 5-4 coming in and had shown real signs of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; not knowing what kind of team will show up ever since a win at Notre Dame which does not look as appealing anymore. Ohio State got their win (even though Purdue was without leading scorer Robbie Hummel) 80-72 in overtime. Ohio State was the first team to shoot over 45 percent against the Boilermakers all season, and Purdue could not snag a crucial road win which would have tied them with Michigan State. Although Hummel is cleared to play with a hairline fracture in his back, having him perform is crucial to the Purdue success.

- UNLV hosted San Diego State for a spot in second place in the Mountain West and trailed the entire game before tying it at 56 with under two minutes left. The Rebels forced overtime, but San Diego State guard Kyle Spain had eight of his 17 in overtime and hit a crucial three with a minute left to put SDSU up four. MTM fave Wink Adams had a shot to win it at the buzzer, but to no avail and San Diego St got a huge road MWC win.

The Daily Gus: January 30th

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.

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.

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.