College Hoops Wednesday w/ Last Nights Recap
#16 Marquette Golden Eagles lead by HC Shaka Smart defend homecourt vs. #18 UCONN Huskies
Last night we went (3-2) thanks to a hard fought comeback by the Nevada Wolf Pack. Let’s go ahead and recap last night before we jump into tonight’s games. As we expected, St. John’s came out of the gates on fire. The Johnnies played tough, hardnosed defense forcing 22 turnovers with 12 steals and had a 19 point lead at one point. Joel Soriano finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He also shut down Butler’s best player center Manny Bates who only had 3 points. St. John’s defeated Butler 77 to 61, covering the short number of -3.5.
LSU on the other hand was not as fortunate. The Florida Gators who we thought had the better defense proved it last night. Both teams shot under 40% from the field and less than 20% from 3PT. A rock fight. Florida’s Collin Castleton finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds. LSU’s KJ Williams lead with 23 points and 7 rebounds, the only Tiger in double figures. In a damn near even game statistically the difference was the Tigers could not stop fouling the Gators. Florida shot 32 FTs at a 75% clip while LSU only shot 16 FTs. Gators made 11 more FTs and won the game by 11 points. Gators snap the Tigers home win streak and we take the L with ‘em.
Texas Tech lost by 34 points last night and fall to 0-4 in Big 12 play. A team that lost a few players from last seasons Elite Eight squad is showing its growing pains. Not taking anything away from the #13 Iowa State Cyclones who have a date with Kansas next. The Cyclones were 12/22 55% from 3PT range last night lead by senior guard Gabe Kalscheur who had 25 points. Iowa State also out rebounded Tech 45 to 28. We took an L after underestimating the Cyclones’ fire power.
The Sooners were lead by Fort Worth native Grant Sherfield who finished with 25 points. Oklahoma either lead or traded the lead with #2 Kansas the vast majority of the game. It wasn’t until under a minute left in the game Kansas took the lead and stole the victory from the Sooners’ grasp. Kansas’ sophomore big man KJ Adams from Austin, TX carried the Jayhawks to a victory posting a career high of 22 points. There was a little bit of home cooking for the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse with Kansas getting to the line with 39 attempts to Oklahoma’s 23. Oklahoma HC Porter Moser was visibly irate with the officials the entire game. Kansas was getting touch fouls in the paint, the calls Oklahoma was not receiving. Sooners kept it close and get the +10.5 home.
In a game that many people did not watch due to the late night tip off missed a good one. San Diego State lead the whole game and dominated until the last 8 minutes. Nevada flipped SDST script back on them by trapping the Aztecs and forcing them to turn the ball over. San Diego State went on a 5 minute stretch without scoring a point while the Wolf Pack continued to hound them and make a comeback. Unfortunately, for Nevada it was too much of hill to climb to steal the win. We’ll settle with covering the +9.5 spread by the hook.
We may break this up in the future as two parts: last nights recap and the daily breakdown. For today we will bunch it into one. Now, for today’s games.
#3 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. #20 Arkansas Razorbacks (pick); total 153.5 6:00pm ct
We have a dandy tonight in the SEC. The Razorbacks host the red hot Crimson Tide who are currently #3 in the country. Alabama will be lead by freshman Brandon Miller a future NBA player. The Razorbacks have a few NBA players of their own lead by junior forward Ricky Council IV and his 18 PPG. This should be an intense environment so I will be siding with the home team in a dead even matchup. I’m sure there will be NBA scouts galore in the building so expect a show from both sides.
#18 UCONN Huskies vs. #16 Marquette Golden Eagles (+2.5); total 147.5 6:00pm ct
The red hot Marquette Golden Eagles put its hot streak on the line against once top 5 UCONN Huskies. The Huskies have struggled and taken 2 losses on the road against tougher teams: Providence & Xavier. Marquette lost earlier this season to Providence in a 2OT thriller. I was impressed with the Golden Eagles toughness in a comeback victory vs. St. John’s this season. Marquette should not be ‘dogs in this spot. Its recent scoring has been on fire especially at home and they play physical defense. Something that UCONN does not handle well. Give me homecourt, Shaka and these Golden Eagles.
Baylor Bears (+1.5) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers; total 147.5 6:00pm ct
When was the last time Baylor was 0-3 to begin Big 12 conference play? Yea, I don’t remember either. Baylor’s 6’4” freshman from Lewisville, Texas Keyonte George has really been gaining confidence lately putting together a great campaign. He’s an NBA player. The Mountaineers have been struggling with an 0-3 record in conference play as well. There can only be one winner tonight. Baylor is 6-1 straight up against WVU winning the last two on the road. I trust the Bears here to find a way to climb out of this slump. This matchup is a clear representation of just how good the Big 12 is.
Creighton Blue Jays vs. #12 Xavier Musketeers (-2.5); total 152.5 6:00pm
Xavier is 5-0 in Big East play and Creighton is coming off of a loss to UCONN. The Musketeers dominated the Huskies from start to finish when they played on New Year’s Eve. With Sean Miller leading the Musketeers again they have been playing with toughness, using their speed and size. Xavier is lead in scoring by guard Souley Boum. Forwards Freemantle and Nunge like to run the floor and they average points in double figures. This spread should be no lower than 4 points. I’m laying it with Xavier tonight.
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs. Rice Owls (-2.5); total 146 7:00pm ct
The Rice Owls having been having a great start to the season after a couple hiccups. One being getting beat by 35 against Middle Tennessee in the 3rd game of the season. Rice has figured themselves out since them picking up wins against: Western Kentucky and UTEP. MTSU has loss 3 of its last 4 and I believe they are vulnerable to a surging Owls team. Rice has a strong offense and could put up points. They have also had success against MTSU in recent past. Let’s take a shot with the Owls here who have revenge on their mind.
Other games to look forward to tonight:
College of Charleston vs. UNC Wilmington 6:00pm ct
CoC has not yet made its appearance in the DDSN 24 Pack rankings because we were waiting for this matchup to shake out. This will be a great game between two highly skilled mid major programs.
Pittsburgh vs. Duke 6:00pm ct
Jeff Capel and his 3-1 Pitt Panthers travel to Cameron Indoor to face Duke. Old school Duke vs. the new school. Should be fun
Memphis vs. UCF
A top AAC matchup tonight. Both teams need this win to try and keep pace with Houston in the conference.
#14 TCU Horned Frogs vs. #9 Texas Longhorns 8:00pm ct
The Longhorns host the Horned Frogs in what should be Texas HC Rodney Terry’s first big test. Texas is currently favored by -6.5 points. This is too many to lay for my liking. It would be TCU and the points or pass. Great matchup in the prime time slot! I can’t wait to watch this one. Story lines galore and good basketball here.
