So far today, it's been a good day for the state of Virginia, although not IN the state of Virginia. At the Garden in NYC, VCU knocks off UCLA 89-85 in what was one hell of a game for both teams. Meanwhile, a continent away out in Anaheim, Va. Tech just beat Ok. State 56-51, in a total crapfest. Collectively, the teams went a combined 34-108 from the field, including 5-29 from outside the arc. And you thought you couldn't shoot.

And, at the half, the Buckeyes hold a pitiful halftime 28-16 edge over Ohio U. And no, we are still talking cagers here, not on the gridiron. Ohio State shot about 20% from the field. They are obviously looking forward to moving up to at least #2 in next week's poll, but they are not showing they deserve that very well.
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[quote=The Poet;1074333]Ohio State shot about 20% from the field./QUOTE]

Oops. Correction. I read the box score wrong. It's OU that's shooting .208, while OSU went .458 . . . and STILL led by only a dozen. And as OU's hit the first shot of the second, that's now down to 10 points.
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Well, the Buckeyes have at least stretched out a working margin of about 20 points, but still. Tennessee leads 'Nova by 7 with 6 left in the first. Meanwhile, in the first 18 minutes of action, California has scored a sickening 5 whole points. Lucky for them, Notre Dame's only posted 17 themselves.
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Ohio State's won, 66-45, but they can't be happy even with the 20+ margin. That's just nasty. But it's not as nasty as the California Ormolu Bears. At the half, it's Notre Dame 21, Cal 5. Yes, five. That's five stinkin' points in 20 minutes of play, on .091 shooting. Had the Irish not gone 0-13 from 3, this would be over already.

Oh, and it looks like the Vols will take an OK lead into the break over 'Nova.
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Would you believe it? I just spent an hour typing up my report, and before I quite finished it . . . IT"S GONE!

I'm so disguested. I may be back, and I may just say fark it all.
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OK, I'll be damned if I'm gonna spend another hour redoing my whole long post, so I'll just hit some highlights. Forgive me for my disgust, or my laziness, and feel free to add you own here.

On Friday:


# 9 Syracuse 53 - Michigan 50 = Maybe it was just one of those games. Maybe UM's better than we thought, or the Orange is worse. But this was awfully slow and low.

# 21 Temple 65 - Georgia 58 = A decent enough win for the Owls, but not impressive.

# 23 BYU 77 - South Florida 75 (2 OT) = For some reason, much like Boise State in football, BYU always seems to get a rating they have done little to earn. The Bulls are OK, but they are not the Chicago Bulls.

Georgia Tech 71 - UTEP 61 = The Yellow Jackets are starting to play better than people expected. Maybe their loss to Kennesaw State was a fluke, and they may be fairly good this year.


Today:


# 16 Georgetown 87 - N.C. Asheville 72 = Not all that impressive a victory for the Hoyas.

#19 Illinois 78 - Western Michigan 63 = And no better one for the Illini.

New Hampshire 70 - Brown 66 = There's no way for me to prove it, put I picked this as a tight game in my "lost" post.

Rhode Island vs. Davidson = The Rams hold a ten-point lead with 8 to play. RI's pretty tough, though Davidson's not so much these days.

Louisville 80 - Marshall 66 = I expected a closer game than this. Perhaps the Cardinals are back . . . at least sort of.

Butler vs. Evansville = Butler's only up two with 11 1/2 to play. That's not good.

Vanderbilt vs. App. State = And Vandy's only up 6, with 7 1/2 to go. That's not too good either.

# 1 Duke vs. Oregon = Hmmmm. How should we go here? Duke, or Ducks? Duke, or Ducks. Gimme a break. What if it is in Eugene? This one is already over.

# 9 Syracuse vs. Ga. Tech = I can really see the Ramblin' Wreck giving the Orange some game here.

# 10 Purdue ve. Richmond = And this might be harder than the Boilermakers would like too.

# 6 Kansas vs. Arizona = I don't know if the Wildcats will be any good this year or not, but I do know the Jayhawks haven't played any-damn-body so far, so they may be in for their first test of the season.

# 23 BYU vs. St. Mary's = And I'm gonna go flat out and pick the Gaels to take the Cougars.


St. John's vs. Arizona State = One team's trying to get back where they were, and the other's trying to get where they've never been. Both should show up here. Might be fun.


On Sunday:


# 21 Temple vs. Texas A&M = If the Owls don't start playing better, they could drop this one quite easily.

California vs. Boston College = If Cal can score more than 5 points in the first half, this may be fun.

Siena vs. Princeton = Neither team has played all that well, but both programs are decent. Maybe one will make a turnaround, soon.

# 16 Florida vs. Florida State = The Gators have not been consistent, and could give the Semiholes a shot.

# 25 North Carolina vs. Charleston = Don't let others fool you. Charleston has a good team and coach. They came within a basket of beating the Terps in College Park, and their other loss was to a good Rhode Island team. If the Heels don't come to play, for a change, they can fall to .500 here.


That's all I have the energy for, for now. Enjoy.
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Well, let's see if I can update some weekend action without losing both my post and my cool. And, as usual, I'm only noting those scores I found interesting, leaving out the expected blowouts and the "who the hell cares anyway?" ones, yet as always, please add your own :-).


On Saturday:


BYU 74 - St. Mary's 73 = Yeah, I know I picked the Gaels to knock off BYU. Had the Cougars' star Fredette not hit a three with 10 seconds left, they would have too.

Evansville 71 - Butler 68 (OT) = I've been saying from the get-go that Butler ain't the Butler of last year. But even I didn't expect this one.

Weber State 82 - Drake 81 = OK, I know I said I'd leave out the "WTFC?" games, but give these guys some credit for a razor-tight contest with a reasonable high score. This must have been fun to watch.

Syracuse 80 - Georgia Tech 76 = A nice win for the Orange, and a nice showing by the underrated Jackets. If 'Cuse had been as cold with their shooting as they've been in previous games, they would have lost, big. Tech's Brian Oliver had a field-day shooting over that zone, scoring 32 points. Hey, I've been trying to tell Boeheim this for years . . . the zone's not all that effective against a disciplined team with shooters and penetrators.

Kansas 87 - Arizona 79 = Just an OK win for the Jayhawks here, and a damn decent showing by the desert Wildcats. Maybe KU will improve, and perhaps a lot, once Josh Selby finally starts playing in a few weeks, but for now they are not as good as last year's squad by quite a bit.

Nebraska 60 - USC 58 = Neither team may make much noise on the national level this year, but neither one's a total dog either. It was at least a pretty decent game.

N.C. State 77 - Fairleigh Dickinson 67 = Alright, maybe you think I'm not one to talk, but good gracious! The Wolfpack was supposed to jump up several notches this season, what with some top recruits, but this is not a positive sign. OK, it's a W, but for them to beat Fairly Ridiculous by only ten . . . jeez.

Richmond 65 - Purdue 54 = This one does not surprise me nearly as much as it might some. The Spiders have a good program, and the Boilermakers have not played well since Hummel went down last winter, then again this fall. But on the positive side, the 14 points Purdue scored in the first half was 9 better than California did a day earlier.

Texas 62 - Rice 59 = And, if you've been paying attention, you'll recall that I don't have a lot of faith in the Longhorns either. If you need some evidence of why, check that score again. A one-possession victory, over Rice? Please.

South Carolina 87 - Western Kentucky 85 (2 OT) = I love a game that goes extra innings, especially when it involves two decent programs. My only gripe with this is that it's a pretty low score for two OTs.

Xavier 94 - Wofford 90 (3 OT) = Though it's not as low as this for three OTs. And what the hell is wrong with the X-men? Coming into this game they were 4-1, with their only loss being @ ODU, which happens to a lot of teams. And Wofford was 2-4, with their only "quality" win being over George Mason. How could this go 3 OTs? Sheesh.


On Sunday:


Stanford 81 - DePaul 74 (OT) = After losses to Murray State and Tulsa, this is a good win for the Cardinal . . . even if it took them 5 more minutes. Yet that 14-7 run during that time makes a statement, though perhaps one they should have made in regulation.

Florida 55 - Florida State 51 = Judging by the tally, and by the box score, this must have been one ugly game. Neither team shot well, and neither made the big play when needed. Even the Gator who iced it for them, Erik Murphy, said that "Honestly, it was luck. I just turned around and looked and the ball was falling into my hand. I just went up with it." Right place, right time . . . and one more indication that Florida has a ways to go before they earn their high regard. You only win so many that way.

Georgia 61 - Manhattan 58 = And speaking of the SEC . . . what the hell?!!? A one-possession victory by what is supposed to be a quality SEC darkhorse, against a Manhattan team that's not in Kansas? Lord.

North Carolina 74 - Charleston 69 = Laugh if you wish, but I consider this a quality win. Charleston's not an easy out, as they proved, while the Heels did not do what they've done too many times going back to last year, when the game was tight late. Here they manned up, and made plays on both sides of the court for the W. They will need a lot . . . A LOT . . . more of that in the next few weeks, starting tomorrow when they visit Illinois.

Princeton 86 - Siena 77 (OT) = This was one of those games I touted as being important for both these schools. I figured it would be a war, and it was. We'll see if it has turned either one around.

Texas A&M 54 - Temple 51 = And I flat-out TOLD you A&M could take this one, if the Owls kept playing as they've done. See? I'm not nearly as dumb as I look. Hell, I couldn't hardly be that dumb.


There are a handful of games tonight, but most of them are either of the "so what?" variety, or just silly match-ups. Kansas State vs. Emporia State? Baylor vs. Prairie View A&M? C'mon. So I only spot two to keep one's eyes on:


Minnesota vs. Virginia = The Gophers have a better team, but the Cavs have some quality players too. If they can keep the margin under 10, then make a few shots and get a few bounces their way, they have a puncher's chance.

USC vs. TCU = OMG! LOL! WTF? But thing is, noboby's exactly sure who either of these squads will be, so it has the po' to be a nice little game.


There will be a fair number of better games tomorrow, but we'll get to that . . . tomorrow, hopefully. Until then, enjoy.
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Wake Forest vs. Iowa = And the way BOTH of these two teams have been playing, I don't see how either one of them can win this game. I suppose one of them has to, however, so toss a wooden nickel for your pick.

Mississippi vs. Miami = I did not realize Ole Miss had joined the Big Ten too, but so it seems. This could actually be a really good contest here.

Houston vs. LSU = Both schools have storied pasts, both schools have been down lately, and both are trying to make it back. Yet you'd have to give the advantage to the Cougars over the Tigers here, since they seemed to have made more progress. Still, it may be a decent enought game.


That's about it for top-notch action this evening, though some surprises may pop up. So keep your ears on, and enjoy.
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WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT? NINE TENTHS OF MY POST JUST DISAPPEARED AGAIN! DAMMIT! IF THIS KEEPS UP MUCH LONGER, I'M GONNA FREAKIN' QUIT ALTOGETHER! :-)


sheesh
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OK, Virginia beat Minnesota. Good for them. Tonight:

Ga. Tech vs. Northwestern

Wake Forest vs. Iowa

Kentucky vs. Boston U.

Syracuse vs. Cornell

Mississippi vs. Miami

U. Conn vs. New Hampshire

Tennessee vs. Middle Tenn. State

Ohio State vs. Florida State

Notre Dame vs. Indiana State

Houston vs. LSU

Missouri vs. Georgetown

Illinois vs. UNC

Washington vs. Long Beach State


In the "lost" section of my post, I not only told you who would win, and why, but I also told you if they will cover the points, the over/under, and which players would hit the first and last baskets. You don't believe me. Well, I'm in no mood to hear it, so :-)
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Curious, what browser are you using?
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It's just regular Windows IE, though I made Yahoo the homepage to access mail and sports etc more easily. I don't think it's the browser. Either in my haste I'm hitting Control or Alt or something in error, or I have noticed that, at times, if I take too long between post I'm automatically logged off of CA.

I'm thinking of making shorter multiple posts, and to hell with the complaints of "POST WHORE!!" Hey, I've never denied it. :-)
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Alright, here's the more interesting scores from last night:

# 2 Ohio State 58 - Florida State 44 = I guess this is an OK win for the Buckeyes, but sheesh! Since I don't believe either team is that dominent on D, I have to think it was a total lack of offensive effectiveness on both sides. The boxscore supports this, as the teams collectively shot 36-107 from the field.

# 7 U. Conn 62 - New Hampshire 55 = For a team who made such a statement last week, and jumped from nobody to Top Ten, this is a pretty poor victory. Was this a fluke, or were their previous great wins?

# 16 Georgetown 111 - # 9 Missouri 102 (OT) = This was the game to watch, as two tough teams found 15 rounds insufficient. The fight, and the outcome, are no surprise to me. The fact that the Hoyas scored so many points, when they are not known for their offense, is a bit of one.

# 20 Illinois 79 - North Carolina 67 = And this is no surprise at all. Even had the game not been in Champaign, the Heels have not shown they can consistently show up for big games for . . . well, over a year now.

# 25 Notre Dame 81 - Indiana State 72 = OK, did Larry Bird show up to play in this one? If not, then how did the Sycamores stick with the Irish like this?

Michigan 69 - Clemson 61 = A decent enough competitive game, and so a decent victory for the Wolverines.

Florida Atlantic 61 - Mississippi State 59 = I keep getting amazed as to how poorly Miss. State is doing, after their nice season last year. But if they keep up such nonsense as this, I'm just gonna write them off entirely.

UTEP 74 - New Mexico State 72 = Two good squads, one good game.

Wake Forest 76 - Iowa 73 = Two poor teams, one good game, meaningless as it may be in the long run.


Now, to attempt to avoid the "lost" problems I have had, I'll be back shortly with tonight's action.
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Install Chrome. One thing that you would benefit from, greatly, is the ability to resize the Message window in Chrome. So, for your longer posts, you can view more of the entered message at one time.

You will thank me later :-)
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Oh, looking forward to your preview of Duke v. Michigan State. yeah... Im a Duke fan...
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Tonight's schedule promises to give us at least as many tough matchups, including:


# 1 Duke vs. # 6 Michigan State = So far this year, Dook's been playing better than anybody else. The Spartans? Not so much. The Blue Devils will get their comeuppance at some point this season, and if Michigan State shows up, it could even be tonight. However, I'm not going to bet on it . . . though I do suspect Coach K would like his boys challenged a bit, just for the experience.

# 3 Pitt vs. Duquesne = You can skip this one. I know I will.

# 14 Memphis vs. Arkansas State = And this one deserves a pass too.

# 17 San Diego State vs. St. Mary's = Yeah, I know I've already said I won't pick against the Aztecs until they give me some reason. And yeah, I know I picked the Gaels to beat BYU, but they let me down by allowing a late three to edge them. However, this one has the potential to be at least . . . AT LEAST! . . . as good a game as Dook/MSU.

# 18 Florida vs. UCF = On the surface, one might think this is another automatic "pass" game. Me, I'm not so sure. The Gators have only been consistent in their good fortune so far, whereas the "unknown" Orlando Mickeys . . . uh, the Central Florida Knights . . . are 5-0, and with a nice win over a pretty good South Florida team. They won't win, but they may give Billy Donovan more than he'd prefer.

# 19 Texas vs. Lamar = Though many of the things said about the Gators can also be said of the Longhorns, none of the things said about UCF can be said about Lamar. Don't bother with this one.

# 21 BYU vs. Creighton = Now here, here we might just have us a pretty decent game. BYU should start edging out a lead in the second half, but Creighton will at least show up to play.

# 22 Purdue vs. Virginia Tech = And here we should most definitely have us a pretty decent game. The Boilermakers are still trying to find themselves, and the Hokies ain't half-bad.

# 24 UNLV vs. Illinois State = This one might be within 10 at the half, but the Rebels should be Runnin' away with it from there.

VCU vs. South Florida = As stated above, South Florida is no cupcake. Neither is VCU. This one could be a lot of fun.

St. Joseph's vs. Drexel = And neither of these two are as good as the two preceeding, but they are fairly well matched. Could be a real battle until the end.

Richmond vs. ODU = And this one WILL be a real battle until the end, mark my word.

Indiana vs. Boston College = Here too, these are awfully close squads, with emphasis decidedly NOT on the "awful". BC's OK, and the Hoosiers are not totally back, but they are not totally crap either.

N.C. State vs. Wisconsin = And again. Wisconsin's always tough, in more ways than one, while the Wolfpack has added some talent.

Oklahoma vs. Arkansas = Another potential nice matchup, which could go either way.

Maryland vs. Penn State = I have to give the edge to the Terps here. Their 2 losses have been to Pitt and Illinois, whereas Penn State's single one was to the only really quality opponent they have faced . . . and that just a so-so Ole Miss team.


There are my picks for your midweek viewing. Post others if you wish, and as always . . . enjoy.
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Thanks for the suggestion, but this is my work computer, and so I'm loathe to install stuff, lest my boss object.

As a Tar Heel, I am definitely NOT a Dook fan, but I'm too much of a college hoops fan to be one of those @$$holes who hates a rival just because they are one. If UNC can't get it done, I'd as soon Dook does as anyone . . . and a good deal more than some others.
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I can respect that. I have no hatred toward UNC, either. I LOVE that rivalry.
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By the way... I love Dickie V. But can we all agree its probably time for him to hang it up? The "Diaper Dandies" and the "PTP's (Prime Time playa's)" are getting a little old, BABY!!!
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go bucks
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