Lofty Heyts

Josh Heytvelt and the Zags absolutely laid the wood to Washington St. tonight. Regardless of the final score, Gonzaga is up 30 at the time of writing this with less than 5 minutes to go - and that is what matters. It was never, ever close.

Wazzou is not Top 25 good, but they are tourney-bubble good. And Gonzaga treated them much the same way North Carolina treats mere-mortal foes; with quick and utter disdain.

Gonzaga is big with Heytvelt, Micah Downs and Austin Daye all topping 6'10''. They are quick at the point with NBA-bound Jeremy Pargo. They can shoot the eyes out with do-everything swingman Matt Bouldin (and DOwns and Heyvelt popping out as well). And they are deep, playing 9 players without drop off.

Make that #2 with an exclamation point!

Let's just say the Maniac is feeling better about going on a limb and moving the Zags all the way to #2 in last week's Bracketeering. They aren't going anywhere soon either.

With tests still remaining against Arizona, Connecticut, Tennessee and Memphis, the Zags have a real shot to sow up a number 1 seed in January. (I don't care if they lose 2-3 games in conference. Run this non-conference gauntlet unblemished, and you are a #1)

Circle your calendar NOW - Dec 20th v. UCONN! (in Seattle) - Right now, Zags have to be a 2-3 point favorite...who'da thunk it...

Another Miss

Score of the night:
Charlotte 70 @ Miss St. 64

With the win Charlotte pushes their record to 3-6. A quick look at some of their other "gems":

	Sun, Nov 16	Old Dominion	L 68-69
	Wed, Nov 19	at Appalachian St.	L 84-87
	Sat, Nov 22	Clemson	L 70-71
	Thu, Nov 27	(14) Arizona St.	L 56-84
	Fri, Nov 28	Providence	L 62-67
	Sun, Nov 30	at CSU Fullerton	L 84-92

The losses keep piling up, someone needs to say it. The SEC could (should) be a 1 or 2 bid league at this point. They will still get 3 or 4, but how is 9-7 in the SEC any more impressive than 9-7 in the A-10 or Mountain West??

Maniac Picks - Dec 10th

A slate of good games today - some under the radar (Dayton @ Creighton is a gem) and others on TV only for the strong-of-stomach (TCU @ Indiana). Here's how the Maniac sees them going down.

Oh - by the way, we are 59% A.T.S. so far on the young season...

MANIAC PICKS:

Ohio +16 @ Xavier - Muskies win, but still have some point guard issues to resolve before they run anyone out of the Cintas Center. They best figure them out before Saturday with the high-pressure UC Bearcats looming seven miles down the road.

Cal +6 @ Utah - A good game. Cal can win this straight-up. Take the security of the six points.

Butler -2 @ Bradley - They're Baaaaa-aaack. Take the tough Bulldogs on the road.

Dayton +6.5 @ Creighton - This line seems like Vegas saw the name on the jersey and the home court and ran with it. Dayton is the better club this season, and gets a chance to prove it tonight. I'll make this my LOCK of the night.

Gonzaga @ Washington St. +4.5 - Give me the rivalry factor, plus the the grind of having so many big games stacked back to back to back to...(you get the point) working against the Zags. Wazzou might not steal the win, but expect a really tough, well played game. Washington St. might be the most under appreciated program in the country over the past 2 seasons.

Under the radar? Not if they steal a win over the Zags...

.

Hook 'Em Horns

Texas basketball, utilizing a football-esque ruggedness accomplished something their Longhorn gridiron compatriots couldn't. Lockdown defense.

The Horns utilized a smothering defense and relentless athletic assault on the glass to hold Scottie Reynolds (10pts) and the Villanova Wildcats to just 58 points, capturing an impressive neutral court win in the back half of the Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden.

AJ Abrahams continued his outside POY campaign netting 26 points and playing a solid floor game, while the inside bruisers did their job grabbing contested offensive boards all night.

A couple takeaways from this game:

1. Texas has a lot of Memphis in them. Great quickness, relentless rebounding, tough extended pressure defense.. and the ability to build a house laying bricks from the charity stripe. It is a glaring weakness they need to shore up to win 5 games in March (no one is winning 6 other than UNC - sorry.)

2. 'Nova is a little small inside. With the bevy of big-man talent in the Big East (Harangody, Thabeet, Young (Pitt), Samardo Samuels ('Ville), Greg Monroe (GTown) it is tough to envision Villanova as any better than 6th in the carnage of that conference. Add in Syracuse, Marquette, Cincinnati (underrated - watch out for the 'Cats) and it is not that hard to see the Wildcats on the dreaded "Boeheim" come March...

No need to cry this year... so far!

3. The Big East is still really good. Yes, they went 0-2 tonight at the Garden. BUT - WVU is no better than the 7th best team in that conference and lost a close game to a Sweet-16 caliber Davidson team. (Read "Poles Are For Strippers" for more on Davidson's true "ranking"). In reality WVU will be battling with a host of Big East squads for the 8th and possibly 9th bids come March.

Villanova hung right with a Texas team that is a legit Top 6-8 team in the country. With the early season prowess displayed by that conference (Read "Big 12 December Report Card"), they or Oklahoma have positioned themselves early for the #1 seed that will go to the Big 12 winner. Villanova is good - but not near the true cream of the Big East crop.


.

"Strugglin" Steph

Sorry Jimmy Pastos. It turns out the key to defending Steph Curry isn't ridiculous gimmicks and stunts. Rather it is something that teams in the Southern conference don't have, size and length on the perimeter.

Blanketed by wave after wave of long, lean defenders, Curry struggled all night to get clean looks at the hoop. Granted, on many nights, his looks aren't that clean - but still seem to find the bottom of the bucket.

What stood out to me was two things: ONE - Curry is pretty unselfish, especially considering that TWO - his team is garbage around him. Lovedale is a good athlete inside, but limited offensively. There are several spot-up shooters who benefit from the attention Curry draws. But to be frank, the cupboard is pretty bare.

How badly did Curry struggle? At about the 7:00 mark in the second half, after Curry attempted his 13th 3-pointer, there were no gasps, no "ooohs" and no "ahhhhs." The excitement and anticipation that follows every Curry release had subsided. For tonight, it seemed Curry was just another player. And when that happens, Davidson is even a little less than "any old" team.

A team that looked a little "out-athleted" by West Virginia.

Then it happened. A star did what STARS do; Steph shook off all the struggles, and took over the game down the stretch. A steal and a pop-back 17-footer. A slipped screen for a NBA-range three. A one-on-one, shake 'em out his sneakers step back three. Two calm free throws and an improbable win on a night when they (and Steph) did not play particularly well.

End of the night? 27 points, 10 assists. Must be nice to "struggle" like that in the Garden.