Here is my game recap of the Michgan/Michigan State game…Spartans won this one in a thriller 57-56.

The Spartans remained undefeated in Big Ten play with a road win 65-64 at Minnesota after trailing by as many as 13 points in the second half.

Here’s my video recap of the Wisconsin vs. Michigan game.

47 Teams to go….55 days until Selection Sunday!



Michigan has struggled living up to the expectations so far this season, losing pretty much all meaningful non-conference games so far.  I’m sure the Wolverines had this one circled on their schedule as a “must win”.  It was their last chance at a quality out of conference win.  The Wolverines delivered and outplayed U-Conn nearly the entire way winning 68-63.  Michigan was able to get U-Conn to play the Wolverines style of play, a half court slowed down pace.

This was my first opportunity to watch U-Conn play and I have to say I was really impressed with their star guard Jerome Dyson.  Although Dyson only scored 13 points as he played limited minutes due to foul trouble, he still impacted the game.  He might be the fastest player with the basketball in the open court that I’ve seen this year.  U-Conn is a completely different team when he’s out of the game.  The Huskies should still finish in the top part of the Big East despite this non-conference setback.  They really need to improve their perimeter shooting and free throw shooting to make a serious run in the NCAA tournament.

This is my second time blogging about Michigan this season.  Going into this game I figured DeShawn Sims needed to score a bunch in the paint for Michigan to be successful.  I was wrong, as a variety of role players stepped up for Michigan and hit a number of three point shots.  Manny Harris and Sims both took charge the last 5 minutes of the game, but this win was a total team effort.  I was impressed with their team defense holding U-Conn to only 63 points and forcing the Huskies to play more of a Big Ten style of play.  At a record of 10-7 Michigan still has their work cut out for them to get an at large NCAA tourney birth.

49 Teams to go….58 days until Selection Sunday!

Why am I doing this?  Here’ the answer: NCAA Basketball New Year’s Resolution

Michigan State prevailed against Illinois 73-63 to remain undefeated in Big Ten Conference play.  This was Illinois’ first conference defeat.  The Spartans showed flashes of greatness today, but still haven’t played their best basketball.  That’s not good news for Big Ten foes.  Illinois had a rather soft Big Ten schedule to this point, but that changed with their visit to East Lansing.  Illinois battled hard and didn’t give up even when they trailed by 23 points in the 2nd half.  In the end, Michigan State was just too much for the Illini to handle.

Michigan State returned many players from last years NCAA tournament runner-up team.   This year’s Spartans have struggled at times, but they seem to be turning the corner now in Big Ten play with their 5-0 conference record.  It all starts with junior point guard Kalin Lucas.  Lucas scored 20 points and had 4 assists today, but his leadership is what is most valuable for the Spartans.  When he’s aggressive on offense, he puts TONS of pressure on the opposing defense with his dribble penetration.  This opens up many other options for the Michigan State offense.  Tom Izzo’s teams always play tough man-to-man defense and battle hard on the boards.  This Spartan team is no different.  I see the Spartans winning the Big Ten title, especially with Purdue losing 3 straight games.  Michigan State will most likely have a seed anywhere from 1 to 3.  They have the talent and coaching to make another final four run.

Illinois, in my opinion, started their Big Ten schedule today.  The Illini beat up on the bottom part of the Big Ten their first 4 games of conference play, but starting with this game against Michigan State, the schedule toughens up.  Bruce Weber’s team plays an unselfish style of basketball that is fun to watch.  They have 4 players averaging double figures in points.  They get after you on the defensive end too, but today they just couldn’t match-up.  I see Illinois finishing in the middle part of the Big Ten, but they should be a NCAA tournament team.

50 teams to go…..59 days until Selection Sunday!

I was really impressed with Georgia for about the first 35 minutes of the game.  They had a game plan and executed it very good.  I had to check their record twice because they didn’t look like a .500 ball club.  Then the last 5 minutes of the game came.  I saw why they’ve lost as many games as they’ve won this year.  Mississippi State turned up the pressure on defense and put on the full court press.  Georgia lost their composure and looked like a middle school basketball team trying to break the press.  Mississippi State erased a 13 point deficit and held on to a 3 point advantage (their largest lead of the game) for the win.

Georgia now has a record of 8-8, but they sure looked like a team that could compete to win the SEC for most of this game.  They played within themselves pounding the basketball inside and scoring with consistency.  Georgia isn’t a strong perimeter shooting team and they know that.  They took high percentage shots and attacked a very good defensive team in Mississippi State.  If they could have figured out how to break a full court press, they would have won this game…rather easily.  Georgia is a fairly young team with their two leading scoring being sophomores (Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie).  They will continue to get better but I see a NIT bid at best for this team.

Mississippi State is a very good defensive team.  This is no secret just check the stats.  They feature the country’s best shot blocker in Jarvis Varnado who finished with 6 blocks to go along with his 14 points and 14 rebounds.  Their defense was really tested by Georgia because Georgia didn’t settle for many outside shots.  They attacked the rim almost every single possession.  Give Mississippi State a lot of credit for battling back in this one after a poor shooting first half.  With a 3-0 SEC record (15-3 overall) I think Mississippi State has the talent to compete with the likes of Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt for the SEC title.  They should be a NCAA tournament team come March.

52 teams to go….59 days until Selection Sunday!

It was a tale of two halves at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Dukes 79-59 thrashing of Boston College.  The first half Boston College did anything they wanted on offense.  They attacked the paint and Duke presented little resistance.  However, as bad as Duke’s defense was in the first half, Boston college was probably as bad or worse.  Duke took a 3 point advantage into halftime.

Duke exploded on a 22-6 run to start the second half which all started on the defensive end.  Whatever Coach K said at halftime definitely worked.  Duke is led by their backcourt of Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer who had 24 points and 12 points respectively.    Kyle Singler looked like he still lacked confidence in the first half but he came around as the game went on.  Singler finished with 15 points and 10 boards.  It would be huge for Duke if he can continue to produce as they play their way through the tough ACC.  Despite the early conference loss at Georgia Tech, I still see Duke as the front runner (along with North Carolina) to win the ACC.  It looks to be another opportunity for Coach K and Duke to grab a number one seed come March.  Long way to go, but they opportunity is there.

Boston College is a team that is probably better than their 10-7 record.  Injuries have cost them some losses this season and they haven’t really meshed yet.  Sophomore guard Reggie Jackson was the only Eagle in double figures scoring 20 points.  Much of that should be credited to the Blue Devils defense in the second half, but Boston College needs someone to step up.  You can score 59 points per game in the ACC and expect to win many games.  They are well coached and have the ability to surprise some teams in the ACC but with 7 losses already, they have their work cut out for them. Looks like a NIT type season at best for Boston College.

54 teams to go….62 days until Selection Sunday!

Kentucky impressed me with a 89-77 road SEC win over Florida.  Florida started fast and jumped out to an early 7-0 lead.  The Gators were energized from the home crowd and played Kentucky tough most of the first half.  Florida trailed by double digits with under 10 minutes left in the game and found a way to fight back.  They started making threes and took the lead 73-72 with 5 minutes remaining in the game.  Then Kentucky hit the accelerator and outscored Florida 16-6 in the final 5 minutes of the game.  A great job of finishing the game by a great young basketball team.

Kentucky and John Wall have been getting lots of press to this point in the season and rightfully so.  After all they are 17-0 and John Wall is averaging 17 points and better than 7 assists per game.  Let me tell you Kentucky is better than the numbers show.  (even though the numbers are good!)  Just watch them when you get the chance.  In a tough environment at Florida, Kentucky responded to every run Florida through at them.  To me, that’s a sign of a great team.  I don’t know if they go undefeated but I think they have the talent to get a #1 seed and a DEEP tournament run is a STRONG possibility.  They are truly a treat to watch.

Florida came in to this game with the mind set to push the tempo and force Kentucky into turnovers.  Problem was Kentucky excelled at that quick tempo and kinda beat Florida at their own game.  However, Florida has the ability to get hot from outside the arc which makes them a very dangerous team.  Their hot shooting got them back into the game when it looked like Kentucky was going to cruise to victory.  Florida really needs to improve on their half court offense.  Some of their problems were probably the tough defense from Kentucky but a lot of it was poor execution and shot selection.  Florida will have their work cut of for them to make the big dance, but I think they have the talent to do it.  It will be a matter of getting better each game and playing their best basketball at the end of the season.

56 teams to go….63 days until Selection Sunday!

It was Big East Basketball at its best.  Ok, maybe not it’s best considering there was a total of 66 fouls and 94 free throws shot.  The game basically when 30 minutes past its scheduled block of time on TV.  It might have been sloppy at times but it was definitely entertaining.  In front of a “white out” crowd at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Rick Pitino sporting a white suit, Jay Wright’s Villanova Wildcats had the “Big East Road Mentality” that he had been preaching.  Lead by senior guard Scottie Reynolds the Cats rallied from a 17 point first half deficit to an impressive 92-84 Big East road win.

If you haven’t watched Louisville before, don’t blink…they like to play fast.  Rick Pitino is known for his up-tempo coaching style and this Louisville team fits the mold.  They run and they like to shoot the three.  (34 attempted tonight)  What they need to do more of score in the paint.  Louisville big man Samardo Samuels had 21 points tonight, but he could have had 41 if Louisville would have looked inside more.   I’m sure it’s something coach Pitino will tell his guards, assuming he wasn’t already.  Louisville plays a full court 1-2-2 press that forces their opponent to play faster than they are comfortable with.  The Cardinals fall back into a 2-3 zone that can really be described as a match-up zone at times.  I expect Louisville to be a NCAA tournament team and could win a game or two depending on the match-up.

Villanova is tough.  I don’t know a better way to describe this team.  You can’t count them out of any contest.  Scottie Reynolds who had 36 points, put his team on his back and made big shot after big shot.  Villanova plays mostly man-to-man defense, clamped down in the second half and forced some turnovers that led to easy baskets.  Villanova went to the Final Four last year, they lost some key players, but I think they have the talent to make another run.  Jay Wright has really done a great job of using his young players off the bench.  Villanova might be a deeper team this year despite being a bit younger.  A long way to go but Villanova has a chance to compete for a #1.

58 teams to go….64 days until Selection Sunday!

I really enjoyed watching Texas at Arkansas.  Texas survived a inspired Arkansas team that welcomed back their star guard Courtney Fortson from suspension and their coach, John Pelphrey, sported a red blazer which he only wears against Texas.  The final score was 96-85 so there wasn’t much defense being played by either team.  Texas will need to improve in that area as they get into the Big 12 schedule.  However, it sure made for an exciting game to watch!

Arkansas can definitely score in bunches and Texas had a difficult time slowing them down.  Their dynamic duo of sophomore guards, Courtney Fortson and Rotnei Clark should make the Razorbacks very competitive in the SEC.  Don’t let their 7-8 record fool you.  They have had injuries and suspension to this point in the season and now are getting back to full strength.  Clark (24 points) can flat out shoot the three and Fortson (19 points) attacks off the dribble and puts a lot of pressure on the opposing defense.  Given the slow start they will have their work cut out for them to get a post season birth whether that is NCAA or NIT.  Regardless, they are a fun group to watch.

Texas struggled in their first true road “test” of the season (at Rice doesn’t count!).  Give some of the credit to Arkansas as they played a heck of a game.  However, Texas can be better than they showed tonight and they need to be to win on the road in the Big 12.  I can’t get on them too much though, despite not playing their best game they still scored 96 points.  I’m willing to bet that 96 will get them a win on most nights.  However, Arkansas played a lot of zone…a lot of bad zone I should  say.  Texas will see much tougher defense in conference play so they need to be ready for it.  I was really impressed with Longhorn big man Dexter Pittman, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.  He couldn’t be stopped in the paint tonight.  That’s a great weapon to have in case of a “off” night shooting.  Their star Damion James finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds despite battling foul trouble.  The Longhorns are a legitimate candidate for a #1 seed in March.  Long way to go, but they have the team to make a deep run in the tournament.

60 teams to go….70 days until Selection Sunday!