Where to begin, where to begin?
You know what? forget the introduction this morning, there’s way too much to touch on today.
We might only be three weeks in, but we’re already in full spin-cycle mode. Today, Monday, November 19 could end up being one of the most news-packed days of college hoops all season. Major stories, breaking news, scandals, injuries, big non-conference games. Today has it all.
Whoops. Look liked I started to ramble again. My bad. But seriously, that’s how jam-packed today is.
Monday’s Top Games:
3:30 p.m. - Marquette vs. Butler
5:00 p.m. - Illinois-Chicago vs. Iona
5:30 p.m. - No. 1 Indiana vs. Georgia
6:00 p.m. - No. 11 North Carolina State vs. Mississippi State
7:30 p.m. - Texas A&M vs. Saint Louis
8:00 p.m. - No. 13 UCLA vs. Georgetown
8:30 p.m. - Fairfield @ Lehigh
9:00 p.m. - Long Beach State @ No. 12 Arizona
9:30 p.m. - Texas @ Chaminade
10:00 p.m. - No. 7 Kansas vs. Washington State
12:00 a.m. - USC vs. Illinois
Read of the Day:
All of them. Seriously. Thanksgiving it in a few days. You know (and I know) you ain’t taking this week seriously. Mail it in early and get caught up. This is going to be a BUSY (Yet wildly entertaining) week.
Top Stories:
What’s next for the Big East if they lose more members? With Rutgers reportedly in talks with the Big-10 conference, and rumors of more ACC defections, the future looks relatively uncertain, even with the addition of Temple, Memphis, SMU and Navy.
Oklahoma State provides first real stunner of the season, throttles No.6 North Carolina State by 20: We know how good Le’Bryan Nash is and we knew freshman Marcus Smart was the real deal, but this? Travis Ford’s thin roster now sits 4-0 with wins over Akron, Tennessee and NC-State.
Illinois is now 3-0, thanks to a late-night D.J. Richardson buzzer-beater: Illinois prepared for their upcoming appearance in the Maui Invitational by taking on Hawaii at the Stan Sheriff center over the weekend. D.J. Richardson won the game on a three-pointer with one one-hundredth of a second remaining. John Groce, who led Ohio to the Sweet-16 a season ago, is now 3-0 at Illinois.
Drexel earns first win of the season, losses key contributor Chris Fouchs to injury: The Dragons entered the season as the favorites to win the CAA, but dropped the first two games of the season. They were able to defeat Penn on Sunday, but saw senior guard Chris Fouchs, who missed part of last season with an injury, leave the Palestra on crutches.
Ohio State’s season will depend on the emergeance of a third main scorer: The Buckeyes feature DeShaun Thomas and Aaron Craft, but will not be able to carry the entire load by themselves. Thad Matta has a small yet talented squad filled with players ready to prove their worth. Now is the time for one of them to step up.
Adbul Gaddy is the key to Washington’s season: The Washington Huskies don’t have the star power they once had, but Adbul Gaddy, a former McDonald’s All-American, can reclaim his former status as “elite” by carrying the load this season. The Huskies struggled mightily against Sacramento State, but Gaddy was strong in the Huskies overtime win over Seton Hall in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off.
- Shabazz Muhammad will play tonight, but what impact will his season-long impact be?: The UCLA freshman phenom will finally be able to suit up tonight when the Bruins face the Georgetown Hoyas now that his bizarre ordeal with the NCAA is over with. But are we certain that Muhammad’s court presence alone with propel the Bruins to greatness this season?
Expanisionocalypse:
- In case you haven’t already heard the news, Maryland and Rutgers are in serious talks with the Big-10, Maryland seems close to making the move. (ESPN)
- All good points made here from John Feinstein about why Maryland will more than likely make the move. (Washington Post)
- Former-Terrapin and current ESPN broadcaster Len Elmore spoke out against the change, calling it “sad” and a “bad move”. (Washington Post)
- Former Terrapin head coach Gary Williams spoke out as well, but believes the move make sense for the university. (Sporting News)
- Pete Thamel chimes in on the situation, if you’re in to that sorta thing. (Sports Illustrated)
- The Maryland Board of Regents (will vote later today on the direction the school will head in regarding conference affiliation. (ESPN)
- Back in September, the ACC exit fee was raised to $50-million, and is going into effect immediately. (Washington Post)
- If Maryland does in fact go to the Big-10, Syracuse will probably benefit from it. (Troy Nunes)
- Speaking of the Big East, it appears that there are reports surfacing that indicate St. John’s and Georgetown may be interested in joining the ACC depending on the results of the Maryland/Rutgers shake-up. (New York Daily News)
- UConn is going to be one of the last Big East members standing (For now), and regardless of the outcome it’s probably going to get ugly. (The UConn Blog)
Hoops Housekeeping:
- Ohio State picked up a solid commitment from class of 2014 swingman Keita Bates-Diop. (Columbus Dispatch)
- Penn State’s “Mr. Everything” Tim Fazier injured his ankle just six minutes into the Nittany Lion’s Sunday win over Akron. The long-term diagnosis does indicate a quick recovery. (State College News)
Observations and Insight:
- a North Carolina insider (See: Whistleblower) is claiming that the university tolerated cheating from its student-athletes. Yeah, this little “scandal” thing isn’t over at all. (News-Observer)
- The people sure do love Nate Wolters. They must. Luke Winn doesn’t just pen 1,000-plus words about anybody. (Sports Illustrated)
- Minnesota and Duke will square-off on Thanksgiving, and the showdown could be pivotal towards recruiting success. (Pioneer Press)
- North Carolina State’s 20-loss to Oklahoma should provide a wake-up call for the talented Wolfpack. (State Fans Nation)
- Oklahoma State freshman Marcus Smart was highly touted coming out of high school, and he has proven exactly why, as he was the difference maker in the Cowboys dominant win. (The Dagger)
- Most of us pundits really liked the hiring of King Rice as the head coach of Monmouth before last season (and still to today). The Former-Tar Heel is starting to get this program back on track, and will do so through hard work and not accepting moral victories. (Big Apple Buckets)
- Notre Dame’s Scott Martin has been through six years of hard work and his current level of play shows just how much he has been able to endure. (Fox Sports)
- It’s one thing to have great shooters. It’s a completely difference thing to be able to get them in a position to be most successful. (Indianapolis Star)
News & Notes:
- Dan Monson once again built a loaded non-conference schedule for the Long Beach State 49ers, and face their third striaght ranked opponent tonight. (Arizona Daily Star)
- Syracuse drubbed Wagner on Sunday 88-57 en route to their 23rd consecutive home win. (Inside The Loud House)
- Florida guard Kenny Boynton surpassed the eccentric Dwayne Schintzius on Florida’s all-time leading scorers list thanks to his 20-point performance on Sunday against Middle Tennessee. (Gainesville Sun)
Odd & Ends:
- Did UW-Milwaukee have to practice in the dark at Arkansas-Little Rock while preparing for the Trojans? (Burn The Horse)
- Baylor’s Brittany Griner broke the all-time records for dunks by a women. (Fox Sports)
- Super-conferences are great for Goliath, not so good for Davis. (Upon Further Review)
- Will somebody please help Ryan Boatright pick up his broken ankles please? Quinnipiac’s Dave Johnson left them for him just behind the 3-point line. Ouch. (The Mock Session)
Dunk of the Day: Archie Goodwin nearly through down a “Dunk of the Year”. Well, he did, except it didn’t count. (Ballin’ is a Habit)
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