A full deck of Saturday games across the country, and a few teams tipped their hand a bit. Here is a recap of some of the more interesting developments.
Memphis - Can't score in a half-court set. Yes, Georgetown plays smothering defense, but the Tigers struggle when they can't rely on the athleticism of the up-tempo game. They are going to have to find some shooters in a half court set, or expect teams to zone them to death the rest of the season.
Xavier - is really good. Their composure in the Crosstown Shootout left a little to be desired, but CJ Anderson, Dante' Jackson and Terrell Holloway handled the trapping pressure of Cincinnati's defense with aplomb. This team is emerging as a legit Final Four contender.
Atlantic 10 - is not interested in being a "mid-major" conference. Temple dismantled #8 Tennessee, UMass survived for a one-point win against #24 Kansas. Xavier laid it to cross town rival, Big East Cincinnati. Even Duquesne and Richmond looked solid in 5 & 1 point losses respectively to West Virginia and VCU. A good day for the A-10.
Davidson - better keep their eyes open all year. It is easy to have a letdown after the big-opponents they have tangled with so far. After the narrow escape against Chattanooga (1-7) it would be wise to remember the giant bullseye that will be on their back throughout conference play all season. Call Mark Few, he can tell you all about it.
Oklahoma - is good enough to handle some adversity. Blake Griffin was held scoreless from the floor - and they STILL won by 18 over a decent Utah squad.
Kentucky - will be an interesting team to keep an eye on. Yes, Indiana is not good. BUT - if they can bring the same intensity they opened up with Saturday (jumping to 19-2 lead), they have a shot to win a very down SEC.
LSU - needs to play somebody already. The easy wins might pad the record, but here's hoping the selection committee isn't fooled come March.
Tyler Hansbrough - is nine points shy of breaking the all time scoring record at UNC. Yes, he went 4 years where others only played three (Michael Jordan, etc) but anytime you are number one a list that included Phil Ford, James Worthy, Michael Jordan, Jerry Stackhouse, and more...you've done something right.
No comments:
Post a Comment