#1 Florida 74, #24 Vanderbilt 64--This game was closer then it looks in the final tally. And yet it also underplays how good Florida can be. Vanderbilt was up 11 points at the start of the second half. And then gym rat honky, stop and pop shooter Lee Humphrey was left open a few times, hitting big 3's all over the place. Lee Humphrey makes Trajan Langdon look like Mark Madsen. Humphrey went 5-8 (62%) behind the arc tonight, bringing his SEC-play 3-pointer percentage down to 70%. That's just fucking sick. And one of these days, he's only going to hit 48% in a game, and it will be trouble for Florida. But tonight, his 3-pointers loosened up a game Vandy defense, and Florida's annoying but good big men got to work. It should be noted that with Vandy leading by 4 they got called for two technicals, helping, I'm sure, to get the Florida crowd all the more excited. Hey assistant coaches, save the motivational technicals for home games against teams that aren't #1 in the country. Just a thought. Don't take anything away from Florida, though: erasing a double digit second half deficit is one thing. Going on to win by double digits is another. Important note: this game was played in Gainesville.
(Derrick Byars lived up to his billing--21 points, 4 Boards, 3 assists).
Some guy* at CBS Sportsline says that Vanderbilt is the second best team in the SEC, despite an early season loss to Furman. I think that says more about the SEC than Vanderbilt. It's like talking about the 3rd best team in the ACC, or the Big 10. The SEC may be more top heavy than the Big 10, and that's fucking terrifying to think of. Honestly, when is the last time Kentucky didn't figure into SEC talk at all? It's a paradigm shift, people.
*Said writer is a little less trustworthy when his teeth are dyed/photoshopped to a painful white, whilst surrounded by cheeks that look like, upon first inspection, cherry red tomatoes.
#2 Wisconsin 65, #25 Indiana 71--Thus ends the longest active winning streak in Division I basketball. Wisconsin never put together the run that I thought they would, and said they would need. Despite Indiana being Foreigner quality Cold as Ice at the begininng of the game, Wisconsin never led by more than six. Assembly Hall is a tough place to win if the game is an ugly mush, and this game was exactly that. This will be touted as a huge upset, but I don't give it much creedence. I don't think anyone thought Wisconsin was going to go through the entire Big 10 season without a loss. On a neutral floor, the Badgers win this game 9 out of 10 times. But they were the only big hitter tonight to lose, so this will be considered a big deal, up until Wisconsin wins their next 4 games.
#3 UNC 105, Miami Florida 64--The expected asskicking. Hey, Arizona, now you don't have to feel so bad about getting your asses kicked! The unmitigated, ESPN lubricated handjobbing of Tyler Hansborough will continue unabated. To the point where either CBS or UNC or someone has taken upon themselves to Photoshop Tyler from goofy gangly white guy into Casear/Male Model. Here's the photo on CBS's website, you tell me. Ave, Biggus Dickus!
#4 Ohio State 78, Purdue 60--I wouldn't call the first half compelling exactly, but it was close (Ohio State led by two 33-31). And then Ohio State remembered they were playing Purdue, and played good enough basketball to blow apart Purdue on their own floor. Mike Conley Jr had a very nice game (he would be the Buckeye's most heralded freshman recruit if it weren't for that Oden guy.) But Oden was a factor, to be sure. Matt Painter, head coach of Purdue summed it up nicely:
"These guys are getting looks off of Greg Oden getting the ball, or they're beating us off the dribble off of Greg Oden getting the ball, and that leads to baskets."
Poorly articulated, coach! But we get the idea.
The ESPN crew interviewed former Purdue coach Gene Keady during the first half and he expressed concern that Purdue was single teaming Oden, and also that he, Gene Keady was somehow still alive. "For Christ's sake," he said, "I'm not dying, I'm fossilizing. My skin is turning into stone in front of my eyes, painfully slowly. Please, someone, anyone kill me, before I turn into some sort of Golem."
It is entirely possible I made that up. But I bet he was thinking it.
Other games I highlighted:
Texas decided that Texas Tech was not a worthy rival, and worked them pretty well, 76-64. The teams might be very evenly matched, except for young Kevin Durant, who is again, in terms of total game, probably the best freshman in the NCAA right now (Greg Oden, once he has two functional hands, still won't be the shooter Durant is). Durant finished with (this is sick) 40 minutes played, 37 points on 15-29 shooting, and 23 rebounds. Durant was the first player in Big 12 history (which is pretty storied) to finish a game with more than 30 points and 20 boards. In the second half, he, by himself, outscored Texas Tech as a team. Take that, Bobby Knight. Clearly you aren't hitting your players hard enough.
The SEC Clown Car of a Game, LSU vs. Alabama ended in unpredictable (and thus quite predictable fashion). Alabama needed free throws to take the lead in the final seconds, and then stole an inbounds pass to seal it. There was a time, long ago (last year) when this game would have been rife with implications. I love Alonzo Gee, I kind of like Big Baby Glen Davis, but on the whole I don't like either of teams doing anything in the SEC tournament, much less the NCAA tournament. Talk about reflected glory--Alabama is now 7 games into the SEC season, and needed to beat LSU (now on a 4 game skid) to get within one game of .500 in the conference, and they are somehow in the Top 25 in the country? Do yourself a favor in your office pool, and talk about how Alabama is the 2nd or 3rd best team in the SEC. Do it loudly. Then, come March, pick against them.
That said, Alabama's Jermareo Davidson is one of my favorite bad-ass names in the NCAA this year. Right now, he and Virginia Tech's Zabian Dowdell are at the top of my list. Incidentally, VA Tech, ranked as high as 16, lost to the Wolfpack of NC State tonight. All the same--Zabian? Dowdell? He's just adjectives waiting to happen. That's fucking badass right there. Zabianally, it is without a dowdellian doubt in my mind, badass.
Late Result: #23/25 Stanford 86, Gonzaga 90 (Double Overtime)
Game of the night. Jeremy Pargo was clearly pacing himself, as he scored 11 points in the second overtime to help Gonzaga beat a Major Conference Team. Anthony Goods of Stanford may be good enough to beat any team at any time. And yes, for those wondering, Stanford has twin brothers playing in the front court, AGAIN. It was cute the first time, Stanford. Now it just seems like a weird, liberal fetish. Derek Ravio had 21 for Gonzaga, and I'm not going to make a joke about he looks like Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta again. But I will link to it. Watch for this game to not be discussed as an upset at all--and it shouldn't. This was basically #25 vs. #26. And it looked it. Fabulously competitive. Zabianally Dowdellian competitive.
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