A couple of huge upsets yesterday in college basketball. Butler played another great game in beating Indiana in OT 88-86 at Indianapolis. Sean Miller's Arizona Wildcats nip the Florida Gators at home in another close one. Looks like Duke will move up to #1 tomorrow.
Don't look now but Bobda's Wolverines are 11-0. Should make the OSU/Michigan basketball series very interesting this year.
He is a good one....our kid Craft is a pretty good one as well. Their match-ups will become the stuff of legend. The biggest challenge for Burke will be that with the emergence of Shannon Scott as almost the equal of Craft from a defensive tenacity standpoint, he will have fresh legs coming at him for 40 minutes. That said, Burke is an extraordinary player and no doubt is up to the task. I like the way this young Buckeye team is shaping up Don.....the emergence of Thompson and Ross as offensive threats should help make things easier for Thomas to work his magic. Great to see Ravenel become a low post offensive option as well....if Amir can find a nasty streak, this can be a great defensive team.
Buckeye Terry, I agree that this team is showing some real talent and athleticism. We need to improve our defense but the chemistry looks good. Game with Kansas Saturday will tell us a lot about this team!
I agree Don....we'll know alot more after Saturday and it will help get them ready for what will be a brutal Big 10 conference this year.....
Big 10 is very strong at the top this year with IU, UM, Illinois, and OSU all being top 10 programs and you have to assume that Mich State will be a very solid team as usual. I see that Minnesota is ranked but I wonder how good they really are, we'll see as they will be tested! Big12 is weak this year beyond Kansas. I hope that Kansas is able to uphold the conference pride with it's game with Ohio State. Texas is really sliding, Rick Barnes might be in trouble as there is some unhappiness with the trajectory of the program in the last few years.
That's the great thing about College Basketball, it's not very likely that you get through the season undefeated and unlike football that doesn't really mean all that much. It's all about positioning yourself for a good run at the end of the year. You have a chance to build a team during the season, to recover from early injuries or a bad streak or an upset. Look at Kentucky, they have 5 or 6 freshmen HS All Americans, replacing last years crop of 5 or 6 freshmen HS All Americans. They aren't the team in December that they will be by the time the Conference tournaments roll around.
Buckeyes need more inside presence if we are to be successful this season. Sullinger was the difference last season. Kansas shot the ball very well and ripped us in the paint. You can not go ten minutes without a score! Temple dropped Syracuse, Missouri beat Illinois and Florida went down as well. The polls will look quite different come Tuesday.
Not a good day for the good guys.....nothing fell from the perimeter and we have no meaningful inside presence as yet. Kansas did a great job taking us out of our comfort zone offensively and we simply didn't develop any offensive rhythm.....kudos to them. Great, great defensive team. If there is a better freshman than McClemore, I'd love to see him play.....great,, great talent.