Good Bball on TV Tonight
by awiggo on Nov 20, 2007 5:49 PM CST
19 comments
If you're like me, this is the shortest work week of the year. I'm done! Lot of good bball tonight and during the week ahead.
#13 Marquette (3-0) vs. Oklahoma State (2-1) 6 PM ESPN Maui
The Cowboys have lots of new faces after losing Boggan and Curry. How quickly will they gel? Dominic James is one of the best players under 6' in the country.
Maryland (3-1) vs. Missouri (3-1) 6:45 PM ESPNU Kansas City
I didn't get a chance to see Missouri take on Michigan State last night. However, the recap makes it clear that Mike Anderson's has fully installed 40 minutes of hell in Columbia.
#10 Duke (3-0) vs. Illinois (2-0) 8:30 PM ESPN Maui
Love em or hate em, the Devils remain one of the best teams in the country, but will they have to be carried by freshmen Kyle Singler and Taylor King? And are the Dukies better off with Greg Paulus on the bench? We'll see...
#1 UCLA (4-0) vs. #11 Michigan State (3-0) 9 PM Kansas City ESPN2
Both are future Horns' opponents. Tune in to catch Kevin Love, one of the top big men in the country of any age. Also, these are two of the best coached teams in the country. Ben Howland and Tom Izzo are just terrific.
Post your reactions here.
--AW--
All comments, FanPosts, and FanShots are the views of the reader-authors who create them.
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Early 32-22 Marquette
Ok State can't stop Marquette's dribble penetration and is having trouble holding onto the ball. Byron Eaton is fat, so he might be able to play for Coach Gundy but not for Coach S. Sutton, who won't start him until he get under 200 lbs.
Freshman James Anderson looks good for OSU and Terrel Harris appears to be the one they will look to fill the scoring void left by the departures of Curry and Boggan.
by awiggo on Nov 20, 2007 6:49 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Okla St getting pounded
James has mastered that pull up jumper. Even if he didn't, I have a feeling he'd be jacking those up anyway.
by goingforthecorner on Nov 20, 2007 6:53 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
46-28 Marquette at half
OSU has no offense identity right now. Too many substitutions, too many new players, and really good man to man defensive pressure from Marquette.
One good piece of news for OSU: Rick Majerus' favorite walk-on, Tyler Hatch, has scored two points and has an assist.
by awiggo on Nov 20, 2007 7:01 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Eric Gordon explodes again
30 points with 5 min left in the 2nd half. IU winning in a blowout over NC-Wilmington.
by goingforthecorner on Nov 20, 2007 7:55 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
OSU Gets Rolled, 91-61
It was a little of OSU not playing well, but more about how well Marquette played. Marquette's guards got into the lane all game long and finished or kicked to open shooters. OSU had no answer. On the other end, Marquette's ball pressure bothered the OSU guards all game long. I don't know how many turnovers OSU committed but it was a lot.
OSU will be a decent team by conference play, though. Eaton will likely have dropped some pounds which should lead to some floor leadership, Harris can shoot, and Munelo and Anderson will be effective scorers. They will need to find an interior scoring threat to be NCAA tourney contenders.
I'll call it right now, if Duke beats Illinois tonight, they will have the same difficulty containing the athletic and quick Marquette guards that OSU did. Marquette beat the Dukies in Kansas City last year in an early season tournament. I would expect the same thing to happen tomorrow in Maui.
by awiggo on Nov 20, 2007 8:08 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Tenn up 90-30
If the Horns win on Friday against NMSU, they will likley get the Vols for the third year in a row.
Tennessee up by sixty with nine minutes left in the second over Middle Tenn. Texas better be ready to play on Saturday night.
by awiggo on Nov 20, 2007 8:10 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Rick's low sheen polish.
Do you have some insight on this AW?
A comment by one of the commentators in the Illinois-Duke game made me realize a particular problem the Horns have. The guy mentioned that the Illini depth runs 15 deep and that made for very competitive practices.
Suddenly I realized Barnes doesn't have the luxury of that kind of depth - and didn't last year, either.
Thus, he probably spends much more time on instruction and correction, both personal and team, than he would with a deeper, more experienced squad where he could polish and refine the defense and offense. And he possibly takes different tact with the freshmen as well.
This seems like a fairly high degree of difficulty in terms of coaching.
And perhaps explains why it takes the Horns time to develop in the first two months of the season instead hitting the floor with some degree of shiny polish like Illinois and Duke.
by whills on Nov 20, 2007 9:29 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Depth
Depth is important. Having 15 guys is not. I think Bilas or McDonough or Rafferty wer greatly exaggerating when one of them said there wasn't much of a drop off in talent. The max number of scholarships is 13 so at least two of those are walk-ons. There is a huge drop off in talent between your starters and the 10th or 11th best player on your team.
Having competitive practices when you can go five on five is crucial. Texas is maybe suffering a little bit from that right now. But coming into the year, I didn't think depth would be an issue at all. If Balbay and Johnson were healthy/cleared, the Horns would be a legit nine or ten deep. That is plenty for both practice and in games.
Unfortunately, the top teams in the country are going to lose underclassmen to the NBA. That is just the way it is right now. If you are getting the top high school talent, they won't be in your program for a full four years. If they were McDonald's All Americans, you can expect two years on average and three at max. So, many teams, Texas included, will continue to rely on freshmen and sophomores to carry the team. There is nothing wrong with that but you will see some young teams struggle in November and December as those youngsters adjust to the college game and to each other.
by awiggo on Nov 20, 2007 9:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
That should change the teaching dynamic.
I get the feeling that what Barnes does is, at times, as much an art as a science.
by whills on Nov 20, 2007 10:19 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
44-36 Duke at Half
Gerald Henderson had a monster dunk and Demarcus Nelson did a nice job attacking the rim but the Devils had trouble controlling the defensive glass. This has been a recurring theme for Duke in recent years: good guards and wing players but no dominant and athletic post scorer.
Illinois scored the last seven points of the half with most of them coming on second and third chances. If Zoubek and Thomas and Singler don't rebound better, this will be a long second half and likely another Duke season that falls short of the Final Four.
by awiggo on Nov 20, 2007 9:46 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Mich St. up on UCLA 29-19, almost halftime
In a word, ugly. Both teams are good, but both appear to be beatable, at least in this game.
by goingforthecorner on Nov 20, 2007 10:10 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Spartans 36-25 at Half
It is important to point out that the Bruins are playing without their star point guard, Darren Collison. He should be back on the court in the next week or so, probably just in time to take on the Horns on Dec. 2nd.
I didn't get to see much of the first half but Michigan State looks rugged once again. I wouldn't expect anything else from a Tom Izzo team. UCLA's star freshman, Kevin Love, nearly has a double-double in the first half.
by awiggo on Nov 20, 2007 10:24 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
F the Bruins
God, UCLA is almost as unwatchable as the old Kelvin Sampson led Sooner teams, or for NFL fans out there, like the Bears and 49ers offense this year. Just revolting rhtyhm and execution.
by Blitzburgh on Nov 20, 2007 10:40 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Duke Moves On, 79-66
Gerald Henderson's silky smooth jump shoot helps the Devils move on. I was particularly impressed with the athleticism of Demarcus Nelson. He appears to be fully back from the injury that hampered him last year. I also like Duke's use of the 2-3. The zone seemed to frustrated the Illini at the end of the first half and helped Duke built a substantial lead that they never relinquished.
Duke and Marquette will be fun to watch.
by awiggo on Nov 20, 2007 10:50 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
#11 Oregon UPSET by Saint Mary's 99-87
Patrick Mills of SMC scores 37 points.
by goingforthecorner on Nov 20, 2007 11:15 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
St. Mary's
is on our schedule. At home Jan 5th. Last non-conference game.
by littlevisigoth on Nov 21, 2007 10:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
UCLA/Mich St. going down the wire
Michigan State up 4 with 5 minutes left in the game.
by goingforthecorner on Nov 20, 2007 11:16 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Suffocating UCLA defense
With big guys like Mbah a Moute and Love, they are going to give us some trouble, and will probably destroy us on the boards.
Gary Johnson, WE NEED YOU!
by goingforthecorner on Nov 20, 2007 11:22 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Drew Neitzel
NOT = Acie Law IV
by goingforthecorner on Nov 20, 2007 11:36 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
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