Wild weekend
What a fun first week of full-throttle conference play in college hoops. Villanova beat previously undefeated West Virginia by 38, Houston took down Louisville, and a struggling Stanford team toppled Arizona.
Wednesday night, I had my remote control "jump" button in overdrive as Boston College won at UConn, Georgetown won at Pitt, and Michigan won at Iowa. Road wins always get extra attention from me, especially in conference play, because they are so hard to come by. I was very impressed by the game Texas A&M played at Kansas, too. The Aggies look like a team that could validate that unbeaten pre-conference record. Time will tell.
Speaking of Kansas, I'll start with the Jayhawks in recapping the games I highlighted going into the weekend.
Kansas 65, Kentucky 59
What an impressive win for Kansas in Lexington on Sunday. The Jayhawks beat Kentucky because the frontline of C.J Giles, Christian Moody, Sasha Kaun and Alex Galindo totaled 33 points on 13 for 21 shooting. Going into the game, I thought Kentucky would win that battle, but its frontline made just four of 20 field goals for 11 points. And on a day when both teams played hard (and perhaps too fast at times) but shot poorly, that was the difference in the game.
The Jayhawks remained unbeaten, but they will have a tough time remaining so in the next few games. Moody and Keith Langford, both starters, are both questionable for Wednesday's game at Iowa State, and Wayne Simien is expected to be out for at least another week. This current adversity, however, could be setting up the Jayhawks for another strong tournament run if everyone can get healthy and on the court together by month's end. Young, unproven players are getting valuable playing time during this period of injuries.
UCLA 95, Washington 86
UCLA is a very explosive offensive team when Ben Howland plays his small lineup of Dijon Thompson, Aaron Afflalo, Jordan Farmar, Josh Shipp and Brian Morrison. In coming back from a 21-point first-half deficit to beat a very good Washington team, that quintet made 10 of 19 three-pointers and scored 81 of the Bruins' 95 points. Thompson tied a career high with 29 and Morrison had 19 off the bench.
But perhaps most impressive for the Bruins is the persistence and poise they have shown in a number of their wins. Winning close games and coming from behind elevate a team's confidence and fortifies its resolve. For a young team like UCLA, that bodes well.
St. Mary's 89, Gonzaga 81
If you haven't seen St. Mary's play, you were probably surprised to see that the Gaels beat Gonzaga. While I thought Gonzaga would win on the strength of its inside game, I'm not surprised the Gaels came away with the victory. This is potentially a tournament team.
Paul Marigney "can go!" He had 30 in the win against the Zags and made seven of 11 from behind the three-point arc. The big guys for the Gaels are active and Daniel Kickert is one of the better three-point shooting big men in the country. In the win against Gonzaga, St. Mary's made 16 of 27 three-pointers and held its own up front. Making a bunch of threes can make opponents wheeze. The Gaels and Pepperdine are going to challenge Gonzaga for the conference title.
North Carolina 109, Maryland 75
Maryland held up in Chapel Hill until about the eight-minute media timeout. Then missed shots and turnovers helped fuel the nation's most lethal transition game. North Carolina's spurtability turned a close game into a 13-point halftime lead in just a few minutes, and a quick start to the second half resulted in a blowout. UNC placed seven players in double-figure points and scored 100 points for the third consecutive game.
It was a dominating performance, but even more so when you consider that the Tar Heels had 24 turnovers (15 in the first half). This team has no glaring weakness (24 turnovers is an aberration) and only has to prove itself on the road in ACC play to become the favorite to win it all.
Illinois 68, Purdue 59
Perhaps the only other team playing on North Carolina's level right now is Illinois. After Purdue played an outstanding first half resulting in Illinois' first halftime deficit of the season (Purdue was up 39-33), the Fighting Illini held the Boilermakers to just 20 second-half points, with most of those coming in the last five minutes of the game. Purdue shot just 33 percent from the field in the second half.
Illinois' perimeter defense was stifling, and on offense Dee Brown and Luther Head combined to make six three-pointers after halftime. Head led the way with 15 points and Brown scored all 14 of his points after the break. Illinois is a very balanced, confident and poised team. Like North Carolina, there are no glaring weaknesses.
Syracuse 70, Notre Dame 61
Syracuse had a very impressive win at Notre Dame on Monday night. It wasn't a thing of beauty from a shot-making standpoint, but defensively the Orange were outstanding. The zone defense bottled up Notre Dame's offense, which couldn't find many good shots. And when it came time to making plays on offense, Syracuse's Billy Edelin and Gerry McNamara were lethal. Those two were the difference in the game as Hakim Warrick sat out during a stretch late in the second half when Syracuse took over. Edelin had seven steals to go along with a couple of key assists and baskets, and McNamara hit a game-clinching three.
Keep an eye on this Syracuse team, folks. As Edelin continues to round into form while a couple of the talented sophomores start playing better, this team will need to be mentioned as capable of winning it all, too.
