Pull up a chair and sit down at the breakfast buffet, an assortment of all the freshest newsworthy college hoops stories on the net. To make a submission, contact me via email or Twitter.
• San Diego State validated its status as the best non-BCS conference team in the nation with a blitzkrieg-style second-half run on Saturday to put away Missouri Valley favorite Wichita State. The Aztecs scored 14 straight points in 1:11, overcoming a one-point deficit and sending the Shockers to an 83-69 loss that all but dooms their chances of contending for an at-large NCAA tournament berth.
• It's not a good sign that Gonzaga continued its recent trend of flopping in marquee nationally televised non-conference games because the Zags still have several more of those ahead this season. Illinois buried Gonzaga 73-61 in Seattle on Saturday behind stingy defense on Zags guard Steven Gray and an avalanche of open three-pointers.
• Considering that Old Dominion had beaten Xavier, Clemson and Richmond already and that its only loss was by three to Georgetown, the Monarchs suffering a 75-67 loss to Delaware on Saturday was easily the most shocking result of the day. The Blue Hens opened a nine-point first-half lead and never trailed after that point, handing the Colonial Athletic Association favorites a stunning loss to open league play.
• It was easy to bury Miami after a scratch-your-head 61-46 loss at woeful Rutgers last month, but credit the Hurricanes for showing some signs of life with two significant non-league victories. Less than a week after defeating SEC West contender Ole Miss, Miami stunned Big East power West Virginia, 79-76, on Saturday behind a career-high 26 points from guard Malcolm Grant.
• Utah State coach Stew Morrill has traditionally refused to play a marquee program on the road without getting a return game at home the following season, but he reneged on that policy to schedule a game against Georgetown this season. The result wasn't what Morrill was hoping for, however, as the foul-plagued Aggies squandered a chance to bolster their NCAA tournament at-large hopes and lost 68-51.
• Southern Mississippi's non-conference schedule is weak enough that not being able to hold a late lead at in-state rival Ole Miss could prove very costly in a few months. Two crucial late three-pointers from Chris Warren helped the Rebels overcome a four-point deficit and escape with an 86-81 victory.
• The most memorable buzzer beater of the day on Saturday belonged to Jihad Ali of tiny Georgia State. Ali rebounded an errant shot and made an acrobatic layup as time expired to lift Georgia State to a 64-63 victory over favored James Madison in the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both teams.
• Stop me if you've heard this before: Jim Boeheim is still worried about Syracuse's shoddy outside shooting. The Orange made just 38 percent of their shots and two of 16 three-point attempts in Saturday's uninspiring 65-59 victory over NC State, but they played stingy enough defense to emerge with their eighth straight win.
• Michigan held off Harvard's upset bid and emerged with a 65-62 victory on Saturday, but Crimson coach Tommy Amaker still appreciated the polite applause he received in his return to Ann Arbor. "It's certainly always great to come back to Ann Arbor," Amaker told the Detroit News. "I enjoyed my time here as a coach and being a part of this great school. I saw a lot of friends that I hadn't seen in quite some time."
Samaire Armstrong Selita Ebanks Michael Michele Marisa Tomei Shannyn Sossamon
No comments:
Post a Comment