Couch Musings (1-6-05)
Well, what did we learn last night from seeing 2 of the last 6 undefeated teams take their first loss?
- Texas A&M is apparently as good as their record says. They were able to hang with Kansas through the whole game. Now, Kansas is without Wayne Simien who most likely would have caused some trouble inside for the Aggies. That is not to say that A&M can't make the NCAA tournament out the Big XII, or that they won't compete. From last night's game, it was clear they will be in every game and will challenge some teams on the bubble for the last few spots in March.
- There was an article in USA Today yesterday outlining the West Virginia Mountaineers. The last time that West Virginia was 10-0, they had a guy named Jerry West on their team. In case you didn't know, it is West's picture that makes up the NBA logo, so he might have been a little good. They could have used someone like West last night when they had their hat handed to them by Villanova. Apparently beating up on some mid-caliber teams before Big East play was good for one thing, getting wins. It didn't prepare them to take a big loss to the Wildcats. The MRI had Villanova as favored in that game, which should have told us something about the Mountaineers, as they were the lowest of the unbeaten teams in the MRI. The Wildcats did show that they were here to stay and could be making a run for the tournament themselves.
- Boston College is apparently more than just Craig Smith. With Smith in foul trouble all night against Connecticut, the Eagles still managed to build a ten point lead and hold on for a win on the road. They got a big boost from Jared Dudley who took over the game when Smith went to the bench and kept on leading when Smith came back onto the court. Boston College now takes over the title of lowest ranked undefeated team. They however proved they may have a little more staying power in that "0" next to their name.
- Alcorn State's win earned them their first Division 1 victory and officially got them on the board in the MRI. That leaves three teams without a Division 1 victory: Army, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Savannah State. The Tigers of Savannah State lost again last night to Norfolk State by 31. This puts them to a record of 0-18 and ensures that they will most likely remain in last place in the MRI for the rest of the season as their new MRI total is -120.33
- Apparently South Florida may be more than Terrence Leather and Bily Swift. The Bulls got a boost from freshman Collin Dennis last night to beat East Carolina by 1 on the road. Leather still led the team with 18 points but Dennis contributed with 15 points including 9 of 10 from the free throw line. He hit six in a row during the final moments to ensure the victory for the Bulls. If Dennis can continue to contribute like this, he may no longer be coming off the bench for Robert McCullum's team and we may hear more from the Bulls during the Conference USA season than we originally thought.
- Pittsburgh is now officially not looking so well. Not that a loss to Georgetown is much to be ashamed about but when you are expecting to contend for the Big East title, you are not supposed to lose to Bucknell at home and then follow it with a loss to the Hoyas. With giant killer Rutgers next on the schedule, especially on the road, coach Jamie Dixon has a lot of work to do with his squad or they might drop to 0-2 in the conference. Senior Chevon Troutman, who managed only 5 points in last night's loss is going to have to contribute more as the third scoring option for the Panthers to have any hope of winning on Saturday.
Tonight is a triple header of games on ESPN2 including DePaul-Cincinnati, Memphis-Texas (featuring Dickie V), and Gonzaga-Santa Clara. I am most interested in the bookend games as Texas should easily handle Memphis. Look for some recaps of these games over the weekend, and let's hope that at some point I can finally get those other three games written up and into the log.
