The Daily Gus: November 18

So maybe all Davidson needs is Stephen Curry. Curry who dazzled in the scoring column the past two seasons has had to assume the point guard role as Bob McKillop's team tries to become a perennial powerhouse. Many analysts believed Curry would struggle to score from the point and as a result Davidson would struggle a little more this season with not as powerful of a supporting cast around the 6'3 junior. Curry went off for 33 last night on 14-19 shooting, basically an average walk in the park. The hidden statistics: nine assists and four steals. Curry is attracting so much attention on defense he is able to penetrate and kick to the outside shooters, creating offense even without scoring. The Wild cats throttled James Madison Monday night 99-64, and they are well in tune with what they are capable of.

Shootaround
- What's in the water in Wilmington? Chad Tomko goes for 30+ in his second straight game as UNC-Dub beats Troy 107-95. This Wilmington team will up the tempo on anybody, and it looks like they have an adequate replacement for T.J. Carter.

- Virginia Tech down at halftime at home to Mount St. Mary's before squeaking one out in Blacksburg. The Mount was picked near the bottom of the NEC and managed to force 20 Hokie turnovers. Virginia tech shot 19 more free throws than the Mount, and managed to escape with a 62-57 victory. Not a good sign of things to come for a promising young team; Jeff allen and A.D. Vassallo had 15 and 13 respectively.

- Real impressed with Purdue last night. Purdue point guard Robbie Hummel can play the game, an easy 18 points, four assist output and one turnover. An easy win over Eastern Michigan 87-58 was a given, but it was the way the patient Boilermaker team did it with 19 assists and nine turnovers. 2:1 Assist-turnover ratio is a team is impressive.

- Shocker of the Day: Austin Peay wins in Nashville against Belmont. Belmont assumes to be at the top of the A-Sun for the third straight year and ahd a 14-point halftime lead on the Govenators. Drake Reed and Wes Channels went for 24 and 25 respectively to come back and thwart the Bruins in an uptempo affair. Austin Peay could have an impressive 1-2 punch in the OVC once January comes around.

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.

Origin of The Gus

My immediate, knee-jerk reactions will be simulcasted as often as possible from the previous nights games which I refer to as "The Daily Gus" named appropriately after my role model and hero, CBS broadcaster Gus Johnson. Johnson has famously called some of my most memorable college basketball moments, including UCLA's comeback over Gonzaga in the 2005 NCAA Tournament, Adam Morrison's game winning three pointer against Oklahoma State in the same season, Ohio State's Ron Lewis "firing" a huge three over Xavier in the 2007 second round. The greatest of all would be calling the 2005 Vermont upset of Syracuse, "Sorrentine, from the parking lot!." Johnson has been widely regarded as the most enthusiastic broadcaster to don the headset, and has always been outspoken for "the little guys" in college basketball. Midnight to March emulates this stance for the mid-majors and certainly takes college basketball as enthusiasm. Therefore every day, MTM will glance at "The Daily Gus", a pumped-up reaction and analysis of nightly happenings in D-I.

MTM Fearless Predictions (BCS Version)

Conference Champions
ACC: North Carolina
Big East: Connecticut
Big Ten: Purdue
Big 12: Oklahoma
Pac-10: UCLA
SEC: Florida

BCS All-Americans
G: Darren Collison, UCLA
G: James Harden, Arizona State
F: Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
F: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
C: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina

Final Four: North Carolina, Louisville, Oklahoma, and Florida

Game of the Year: November 26 - North Carolina versus Notre Dame (projected Maui Invitational final)

Biggest Sleeper: Miami

Biggest Disappointment: Pittsburgh

Coach on the hotseat: John Beilein, Michigan

Coach living the dream: Matt Painter, Purdue

Best freshman: Tyreke Evans, Memphis

Who I don't want to see leave college basketball: Dominic James, Marquette

Best NBA Prospect: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

Conference that will be discussed for getting nine bids: Big East

Conference that will be discussed for getting three bids: SEC

MTM Fearless Predictions (Non-BCS version)

I always say predictions are overrated, but I love to do them anyways, especially in November for four months from now. Every conference winner projected as well as some speculation of honors and maybe some help for your season prognostications (for recreational purposes only)


Conference Champions
America East: Vermont
Atlantic Sun: Belmont
A-10: Xavier
Big Sky: Portland State
Big South: Winthrop
Big West: Pacific
CAA: VCU
C-USA: Memphis (yawn)
Horizon: Cleveland State
Ivy: We don't do IVY at MTM
MAAC: Siena
MAC: Kent State
MEAC: Hampton
MVC: Creighton
NEC: Wagner
OVC: Tennessee-Martin
MWest: UNLV
Patriot: American
SoCon: Davidson
SLC: Stephen F Austin
SWAC: Alabama State
Summit: IUPUI
Sun Belt: Western Kentucky
WCC: Gonzaga
WAC: New Mexico State

Non-BCS All Americans
G: Stephen Curry, Davidson
G: Eric Maynor, VCU
G: Jeremy Pargo, Gonzaga
G: Lester Hudson, Tennessee-Martin
C: Marques Blakely, Vermont

Potential Davidson's 2008: Davidson, VCU, Gonzaga, Cleveland State
Curry for Davidson, Maynor for VCU and Pargo for Gonzaga give these teams all a chance to play in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Cleveland State will win the Horizon, and have a gaudy record heading into the Dance. Do not underestimate the 1-2 punch of Jonathan Bullock and Cedric Jackson with the Vikings.

Potential Cinderella: Portland State
They were young and got a taste of the NCAAs last season when they got crushed by eventual champion Kansas in the first round. Everybody is back and the conference is weak, paving the way for a return to March.

Mid-Major Disappointment: Butler
Who knows this may be a stretch, but the Bulldogs are real young and lost nearly all of their experience with AJ Graves graduation. Butler could very well go from the top ten to .500 in one season.

Major Turnaround for a Mid-Major: Utah
The Utes finished at the bottom of the Mountain West last season, but big Luke Neville will make sure the Utes regain prosperity where they have become comfortable. Look for Utah to swing to the outside and challenge for the league crown.