If you didn’t catch up on sleep Wednesday after 24 hours of hoops, you blew it. More days and nights of basketball await, starting Thursday and extending Nov. 29 with the 76 Classic finals.
That’s 11 days of 20 college basketball tournaments. It’s not round-the-clock action, but it’s close. And that doesn’t even include the non-tournament games. (A complete schedule can be found here.)
So what to watch? Glad you asked.
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Foot injuries prompt worry among college basketball coaches. Sometimes little things that appear innocuous turn out to be season-ending. North Carolina’s Marcus Ginyard experienced this last season when a stress fracture delayed his season, then ended it.
OK, so it didn’t derail the Heels’ title run, but not everyone has their depth.
Case in point: Purdue, and the recent surgery to point guard Lewis Jackson.
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On a night when college hoops’ top two teams escaped upsets, what’d we learn?
That Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins are the key to Kansas’ season? Or that Kalin Lucas is Michigan State’s go-to guy? We knew all that going in.
Try this: Don’t forget recent history because Gonzaga and Memphis are actually good. Again.
The old cliché still applies, I guess. The more things change – both teams lost four starters from last season – the more they stay the same.
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Kentucky isn’t the only uber-athletic SEC team this season. Tennessee showed as much Tuesday.
The Vols’ 124-49 win against UNC Asheville was them at their best: pressing defense, balanced scoring and hitting from beyond the arc. Kinda like Bruce Pearl’s team played in 2007-08.
Can’t say it’s a huge surprise, though. Tennessee was capable of doing this last season.
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If there’s a spot on those ubiquitous Coors Light commercials for college basketball coaches, Charlie Coles just earned himself a spot.
Miami of Ohio’s coach was answering questions after his team’s 72-70 loss to No. 4 Kentucky Tuesday night – in which his RedHawks player marvelously – when someone asked him how the game got away from Miami.
Context: The RedHawks led UK by 18 at one point, but that was in the first half. They played the Wildcats – flush with one of the best recruiting classes of all time – even throughout until John Wall hit the game-winner.
Coles’ reaction? Classic mix of indignation, restraint and humor, worthy of Lefty Driesell. See for yourself after the jump.
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Those watching the end of the 24-hour hoops marathon Tuesday night should see some classics. Gonzaga vs. Michigan State. Arkansas vs. Louisville. Memphis vs. Kansas.
The final two are part of the Naismith Hall of Fame Classic and features four of the game’s most successful programs.
Not that those four exhibited Hall of Fame behavior during the offseason. Rob Dauster at Ballin’ Is a Habit thinks the tourney name is worthy of a little irony. Perhaps the Role Models Classic? I mean, do you remember what kind of offseason those four had?
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It’s a good thing Lance Stephenson moved on from his “Born Ready” nickname. It didn’t apply in his debut.
Cincinnati’s 6-5 guard is billed as one of the nation’s impact freshmen (fell for it), but there are no words for opening with a 7-point, 4-rebound performance against Prairie View A&M. The Bearcats won the game (barely), otherwise you’d be reading about UCLA and Cincy stumbling on Monday.
As for Stephenson – 2-10 from the field, 0-3 beyond the arc and 1 turnover in 22 minutes – there’s an explanation.
Kid was nervous.
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ESPN’s 24-hour college hoops marathon opened with an upset, but I’m not sure how many people stuck around. Poor shooting will do that.
UCLA clanked its way to a 68-65 double overtime loss to Cal State Fullerton, the first time the Bruins lost an opener in Ben Howland’s tenure. They hoisted 84 shots, hit just 31 percent of those and were a brutal 5 of 28 from beyond the arc.
If East Coast hoopheads were looking for reasons to stay up late, this wasn't it.
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John Wall’s Kentucky debut wasn’t perfect. It just had a storybook ending.
And that’s what Big Blue Nation wants, especially when March rolls around. For now, they can relish a win that probably wouldn’t have happened the last few years and think about what Wall can do the rest of the season.
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Let’s play a little game.
Raise your hand if Evan Turner and Manny Harris were on your preseason All-America team (both turned in triple-doubles last week). Just a few?
Now, what about Da’Sean Butler (26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) and Greivis Vasquez (13 assists topped all players last weekend)? Hardly any?
OK then, what about Chris Wright? Did anyone foresee the 6-8 Dayton junior opening with such an efficient, impressive performance like he did against Creighton?
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