I do think Duke flops more than most. Thats my opinion and I will stick to it. Wiltjier for UK started flopping last year and I couldn't stand it. Some people call it savvy play if you can get the foul. Good for them.

The whistles are NOT why UK lost that game. They were out played. Duke was the better team. How many UK fans do you know who will admit that? :-):-)

Watching the Florida game. Don't know if I will catch any others.
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Duke is well-known for winning by their defense, and some of that is based upon hustling and helping on switches to draw the charge. If you want to consider that flopping, feel free. (And remember, this comes from a Tar Heel, who's seen a damn sight more of this than any UK fan, so if I can accept it I don't see why Calipari can't.)

Of course, the best way to avoid this in the future would be to stop playing in Cameron . . . much like he refused to play in Freedom Hall after Indiana beat them LAST year. :-)

Florida handled Wisconsin easily, 74-56. Other interesting scores last night:

Georgetown 68 - Liberty 59 = Not a very strong statement from a Big East team here.

Fresno State 39 - UC Riverside 30 = Which type of field goals was this won/lost by? :-)

Already today Oklahoma State escaped the Akron Zips 69-65 in OT, while Tennessee did much the same against NC-Asheville 75-68. Parity, or poor performance by the big conferences? Other action coming:

Baylor vs. Boston College = The last score I saw, the Eagles were up a deuce over the Bears 43-41 at the break.

N. C. State vs. Penn State = Is the Wolfpack as good as predictions? This may not tell us "yes", yet could tell us "no".

St. John's vs. Charleston = In Charleston, and between teams that should be fairly closely matched. May be fun.

Alabama vs. Oregon State = Also has potential.

Providence vs. U Mass = Here too.

Chattanooga vs. Kansas = Can the Jayhawks bounce back after their loss to the Spartans? I'd bet on it, even were it NOT in Allen Fieldhouse . . . which it is.

SMU vs. TCU = Op. cit.

Murray State vs. Auburn = Will the Racers have the same dash as last year? As with NCSU/PSU, the Tigers may not be able to tell us much.

Southern Miss vs. Georgia = I just got me a feeling on this one.

Valparaiso vs. Nebraska = And I don't think either one of these are all that good . . . which may give us a good contest.

Villanova vs. Purdue = Both teams disappointed fans last year. Neither wants to do so again.
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Heels make a stop at Long Beach State tonight on their way to Maui. They had to struggle to beat them the last two times, both in Chapel Hill. However, this is NOT the same Long Beach team as then. However however, this is ALSO not the same UNC team as then then either . . . either.
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Just as I figured, the 49ers gave my Heels all they wanted and more, at least in the first half. But UNC wore them down and pulled away after the break for a 78-63 win to start their long roadtrip. A decent W against a scrappy team which broke their 23-game home winning streak, and hopefully was a good learning process for the young Heels.

A few things about the game NOT on the court. Seeing as how this was one of the biggest "names" to ever play on their court, LBSU raised ticket prices to $70, yet even though they added 2000 extra seats with temporary bleachers (thus shattering their attendance record), they still could not fulfill demand. More significantly for me, and one of the reasons I'm such a Tar Heel, is the fact that 49er coach Don Monson didn't expect the game to even happen. See, Roy adopted and continues a policy begun by Dean Smith, one of scheduling an away game close to a player's hometown, as a reward to the player and to more easily allow friends and family to see him play live in Carolina blue. Well, this one was planned to be the "homecoming" for the Wear twins, who left UNC to play for UCLA instead after their freshman year. Because of this, Monson just assumed Roy would not be showing up in Long Beach, and was thus shocked when a signed contract appeared in his mailbox. He call Roy to ask him if he was certain he still wanted to uphold this verbal committment, to which Roy replied he of course did, since if he didn't he would feel as if he'd done much the same thing the Wear boys did when THEY left, and he did not want to be that guy.

You don't like Roy Williams' "aww shucks" demeanor? OK, so screw you . . . you just don't get it. Realize this: The state motto of North Carolina is Esse Quam Videri . . . To be, rather than to seem. If we all lived by this, it would be a better world.
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That was cool of him to do :-)

I haven't been able to catch a UNC game yet. Curious to see how they look this year.

I'm really slacking in here already. :-) Been a little busy and watching an unusually low amount of games. Time to get back on the horse
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Two scores I found of interest over the weekend:


Okla. State 76 - N. C. State 56 = The Wolfpack was projected by the "experts" to be the favorite in the ACC this year, supplanting more traditional powers like UNC and Duke. Yet not only did the Cowboys beat them, they ran them off the court. Not a great sign for the long-suffering faithful in Raleigh.

U Conn 89 - Quinnipiac 83 (2OT) = When the Huskies pulled off the upset to start their season, people thought they might be much better than expected. Two weeks later, it takes them an extra 10 minutes to dispatch a perennial cupcake by a few buckets only. As I said earlier, I'm very intrigued by what will happen in Storrs this year.


My Heels open up in the Maui Invitational tonight against Mississippi State. Being a young team as they are, I'd normally expect a challenge here, so far away from home. But reports are that, due to injuries and suspensions, MSU will have only 6 scholarship players available. However, their coach says that he knows the Heels will want to run, and he intends to run with them. Well, maybe they can do that for 40 minutes, and maybe not. We shall see.
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Going to be switching between IU vs. UGA and UNC vs. MSU :-)
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My Heels had no problem at all with an undermanned Miss. State team, taking them to school 95-49. And no, Roy didn't run up the score. He played 16 guys, and McAdoo got the most minutes, with only 23 of them. Next, after dispatching the Bulldogs, they face . . . the Bulldogs, as they face Butler tonight, who beat Marquette at the buzzer.


Other scores of interest, at least to me:


Georgetown 78 - UCLA 70 = Shabazz Muhammad was finally cleared to play for the Bruins, and started his college career with a decent showing. But it wasn't enough to prevent the Hoyas from smacking them down. Of further interest to me as a Tar Heel is the fact that, though I do not hate UCLA, neither the Wear twins nor He Who Shall Remain Nameless had very productive nights. Serves them right. :-)

New Mexico 66 - U. Conn 60 = Hey, I told you the Huskies showing against Quinnipiac gave me pause. The Lobos take the championship of the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands, and thus prevent U Conn from winning the only trophy they are eligible to compete for this season. :-)

Chaminade 86 - Texas 73 = The D-II Silverswords improve their record in the Maui Invitational to 7-76 by sticking it to the Longhorns with this upset. And they actually beat them too. They owned the boards 43-35, while the 'Horns collected 18 TOs to only 10 assists. This was NOT as huge an upset as was their 77-72 victory over Ralph Sampson's #1 Virginia team 30 years ago, when Chaminade was merely a NAIA squad facing the best in the nation, but it was still a pretty big deal for them. :-)
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Crazy Carolina comeback tonight, Can't wait for our meeting next Tuesday.:-)
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Lets go Buffs!!!
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UCLA Bruins lose to Cal Poly 70-68, in Pauley no less. Guess it's not as embarrassing as losing to Cal Tech, but it's pretty damn close.
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Thats a pathetic loss, but I can't say much. UK had its fair share of embarrassing losses with Billy at the helm.

I'm totally slacking on the basketball viewing/coverage. Still reeling from the Duke loss :-):-) I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

Time to get back on the wagon. Cant wait for the UNC vs IU matchup tomorrow.
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I can. :-)

Don't much like my Heels' chances in Bloomington. They've been inconsistent, and won't have P.J. Hairston available due to a "slight" knee strain sustained in practice Sunday. Yet the Hoosiers won't have a few key freshmen available either, as they were deemed ineligible by the NCAA, plus they won't have backup forward Derek Elston, out with a torn meniscus.

I'm just hoping it's a good game.
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Happy 2013-2013 season, guys!!

Well, Murray State got the undefeated monkey off their back for the season:-) . it was a good tournament for them, and I really thought we'd play Baylor in the final if we got past St Johns, but the Buffaloes came to play, and we were not very good in the final. One plus was taking some vacation time to drive to Charleston to watch the tourney and get to see the area for the first time. We barely got past Old Dominion the other night.

Going to be an interesting season watching UK and the new frosh crop. Still ill at Barnhart and Cal for cancelling the IU series; REALLY lame on their part.

Cook has beaten 2 top KY teams now; the Mayans may be right!!! :-)
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Always happy to see the college BBall season get under way. I'm looking for a good season for Syracuse despite losing so many starters to the NBA after last season. A sophomore PG (Carter-Williams) with great moves and court smarts and amazing defense. Senior 2 guard (Triche) who is a good scorer and can play the point. A couple small forwards who came through big last year (Fair and Southerland). Freshman PF (Coleman) who already looks powerful enough to hold his own. Sophomore C (Christmas) is slightly undersized but showed promise last year after the 7 footer fab melo washed out. Team has a few promising role players like Trevor Cooney redshirt freshman guard who should stretch any zone they face and fresham forward Jerami Grant (son of Harvey) who was highly regarded coming out of DeMatha.

Only bad thing is this is the last year of SU in the big east. Boo.
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Me too. But for the Hoosiers.:-)

Big test for us, tonight. Hoping for a good show.
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SDSU gets to play them next, wonder what they will look like this week....
Good to see you Thomas...
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Indiana might be one of the best teams at home. I will be keeping an eye on them when conference play starts.
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Yeah, but next year will be their first one in a TRUE conference. :-)
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And..... Notre Dame beats Kentucky. I like this season.

MCS
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