Basketball

Gonzaga - Georgia

Georgia's Corey Butler had a dangerous take down of Gonzaga's Jeremy Pargo in the final seconds Saturday in Spokane. Butler was ejected for the flagrant foul. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Georgia coach Dennis Felton said he didn't think it was a bad foul but nonetheless apologized to Gonzaga coach Mark Few. Pargo still took the free throws after being hurled to the court on a breakaway.

Louisville - Kentucky

Down year for both of these teams has taken some of the heat off this game.

Tennessee - Western Kentucky

Although Jay Bials told me to watch this, I still didnt expect this to be as good a game as it is.  Wow.  WKU up a point with 15 minutes to play.

Kentucky - UAB

I loathe Mike Davis.  If you want to know my opinion of this man who should be a career assistant in the D League - just ask. Oh fuck me, Mike Davis finally beats Kentucky in the state of Kentucky, although he is still a loser and will always be a loser.

Miami - Mississippi State

Ok, I might not be a believer that the Hurricanes have talent, but I cant help but be a believer thatthis team knows how to win.  They had shown nothing the first 36 minutes of this game.  Were down 6.  and then they got on the back of Jack McClinton and rode to a 56 pt victory.  They looked like they knew what they were doing in the final 4 minutes.  I cant make it any more obvious - they appeared to be a hungry AND well-coached team when the game was on the line.  Conversely, the Rick Stansbury team just thought they would run the ball down the court and throw up a shot.  I might not believe in Miami, but I am believing that they have what it takes to win the close ball game.

Vanderbilt - DePaul

I have been very impressed by this Vanderbilt team so far this year.  Imagine my surprise when the Commodores trailed by 12 at halftime and 58-40 early in the second half before roaring back. They stayed within their offense, they worked the ball for good shots, they played good D, and they let DePaul collapse under quick shots and horrific free throw shooting down the stretch.  They finally tied it at 79 when Ross Neltner whipped a pass to Ogilvy underneath for a layup with 22 seconds left in regulation. The game went to overtime after DePaul's Draelon Burns missed a wild ill-conceived baseline jumper in the closing seconds within a single pass to work for a shot after killing 20 seconds on the clock.  Jerry Wainwright looks content to let these kids turn the Rosemount Horizon into a playground.  Vandy wins in OT by 5.

Arkansas - Missouri State

An interesting game for me.  Arkansas hasnt lived up to expectations in the games I have seen and Missouri State is an unknown to me this year in an always competitive Missouri Valley (that might be down a tad this year.)  Missouri State already has wins over UNCG  and Winthrop squads that have been under consideration for my Mid Major Top 10.  Also, they have a win over the Rick Majerus -led St Louis team and a close loss to potential sleeper Toledo.  Missouri State led early in the game by taking advantage of open lanes to the basket.  The Razorbacks had a 13-2 run at the end of the first half to help them go into halftime with a 5-point lead. Missouri State fell out of contention in the second half as they only shot 20% from the field.  Former Wake Forest recruiting target Patrick Beverley had a horrible night shooting.