Sunday, February 11, 2007

Sunday 02/11 A.M. Quickie:
What Did We Learn?

Much much more on college hoops on Monday. But let's revisit my preview of my three biggest storylines of the weekend:

(1) Florida edges Kentucky: At times, the Gators looked awesome. At times, they looked mediocre. But in an otherwise meaningless regular-season game, I'll take a gritty win on the road as a building block for the NCAA Tournament over a blowout.

(One side note: What the hell was Joakim Noah doing with what looked like a smack toward a Kentucky cheerleader? It was hard to see live -- or even replayed on my DVR -- but I'll bet there's an ESPN camera angle that can show it. That merits a one-game suspension.)

(2) Georgetown vs. Marquette: This is one of those games that is going to kill me in my bracket picks: G'town just stomped Marquette, and it'll stand out when I take the Hoyas deep in the Tournament.

(3) West Virginia over UCLA: On Friday, I think I called this my "Upset Special." (Now, why didn't I bet Gabe's college fund on the result?) I have been a sucker for Beilein and WVA since they made that amazing Elite Eight tourney run a few years ago.

(But there's no shame for UCLA here, and it's dangerous to read too much into the loss: They were playing without catalyst PG Collison and a non-conference game across the country in Morgantown is just about as tough as it gets.)

How about that Big 12? Wow, Texas frosh PG DJ Augustin is nearly as must-see as Durant... OK St C Mario Boggan is a first-team A.A. player... Texas Tech is the hardest-luck team in the country...

Arizona beats Oregon: I defy you to figure out the Cats' NCAA Tournament fate. Chase Budinger joins the list of freshmen that are making this the most exciting, must-see (and, dare I say, most talented) freshman class in a long, long time.

Mid-Major Mania: Butler is no longer the new hotness after losing to Wright State. Want your newest mid-major hotness? Southern Illinois (or, as I've called them for years, "So. Ill.")

-- D.S.

15 comments:

jhawkjjm said...

No comments about Noah taking a swing at a Kentucky cheerleader? Kentucky shooting 1-19 at one point from 3?!?! Ugh.

Ku finally plays like they were predicted to all year. I hope they and A&M get a rematch in the Big 12 championship.

So how many qbs will skip the pro bowl next year after hearing about how Brees dislocated his elbow? Ouch.

ToddTheJackass said...

I wouldn't be surprised at all to see more teams try and take it to Florida like Kentucky did, and try and get Noah and Horford in foul trouble.

Kentucky easily could have won that game if they could have connected better from the 3-point line.

Still, as much as it pains me to say, Florida has to be the team to beat.

Mega said...

Other huge games were SIU taking out Creighton, then Va Tech destroying UVA.

Unknown said...

C'mon Dan - after all your little NASCAR bits and talking about Toyota how can you not even mention what happened last night in your lead items.

In case you missed it the Toyota Camry debuted last night at the Bud Shootout and as I predicted they absolutely shit the bed.

I think of the two cars that ran they got an 8th and a 18th (out of 21) - which isn't even as good as it sounds because 4 cars crashed on the last turn.

We'll see how they qualify today to see how many of this team even get to race on Sunday.

Brian in Oxford said...

I regret watching W. Va. versus UCLA on a color television. Eek!

Phil Friend said...

I don't think he took a swing at a cheerleader, I think she had the pom-poms a LITTLE too close to his face and just swatted the pom-poms away.

pv845 said...

I am not a fan of Noah. He isn't as good as everyone believes and I think as a whole the FL team is overrated. As much as everyone talks about how athletic they are, when they play physical teams they don't look near as good. There are several teams that I could easily see knocking off FL in the tourney, but as everyone knows, it is who is hot at the right time.

Big D said...

Wow. Agent Zero completely fizzling out in his final "revenge" game against Portland...

3-15? 0-8 from deep? Waste of a perfectly good guarantee.

Jon said...

And Duke loses again....one step closer to the UConn-Duke rematch for all the NIT glory.

OnlyInboards.com said...

Yes, the jayhawks sure looked good Saturday. Thanks for commenting Dan.

DP said...

@jhawkjim

If Noah took a swing at a Kentucky cheerleader, I hope he made her nose bleed. I can't stand Kentucky.

ESPnGuy said...

no mention of the pro bowl? really? I guess it's time to accept that football season is over and arena football season is still 2.5 weeks away..........

Signal to Noise said...

More Duke ammo coming for tomorrow. Maryland made that team look foolish.

Rocco Door said...

How about Arena's only going for NINE points against the Blazers... this must be addressed!

Unsilent Majority said...

Considering my Cats have a top ten RPI I'm sure they'll find their way into a reasonable seed despite their inconsistency. They are top five in talent, now they just need a coach who didn't lose his mind five years ago.