UF's Green, Hawaii make early noise
Taurean Green was spectacular in New York, scoring 46 points in two wins over Wake Forest and Syracuse.
Green had only five assists and four turnovers in the Coaches vs. Cancer title win over Syracuse, but his command of the team and desire to take the big shot showed that Sidney Green's kid has the heart to lead the Gators this season.
Florida's tournament title was one of its most significant championships under Billy Donovan. This team, led by Green, proved it can handle a zone or man defense, block shots, board, make 3s, and penetrate and dish.
Keep an eye on this squad throughout the season.
Hawaii's 22-point slap of Michigan State was no fluke. OK, we were stunned by the margin, but if you've ever been to a game in Honolulu (I'd say the count here is at least 10), you know how difficult the Warriors are to beat at home.
This win sent shockwaves throughout the WAC, signaling that Hawaii will be a contender to knock Nevada off its perch.
If the folks who vote in the AP and coaches' polls were paying attention, they shouldn't have flinched in putting the Rainbow Warriors in the Top 25.
That Hawaii is not even close to being ranked heading into Tuesday night's roadie at UNLV is wrong. This game wasn't too late to take heed.
The Warriors should have been on more ballots. How much more can they do in the first week?
1) While Riley Wallace had the most glamorous win in the WAC, Utah State's 72-67 OT win at Oral Roberts might have been just as big. ORU should win close to 25 games and Stew Morrill continues to be the best coach in America no one talks about. Utah State has six straight 20-win seasons and a 153-41 record over those six years (ninth most in NCAA D-I during those years).
Meanwhile, USU's former conference, the Big West, had a huge weekend. UCSB crushed San Francisco, Cal State Northridge spoiled Tim Floyd's USC debut with an OT shocker ... and, oh yeah, UC Irvine smashed Stanford in Palo Alto after starting off the year with a 23-point loss to George Mason! Northridge and Irvine were both playing guarantee games, so they left with a paycheck AND a win.
2) Don't be surprised if Maryland is the hot team in Maui. The Terps appear healthy and they head in with experienced ACC talent like Chris McCray and Nik Caner-Medley. Add to Mike Jones, who might live up to some of the promise he came in with, and Gonzaga (which might be without two starters against the Terps) could be in trouble.
3) The best matchups this week are at point guard, headed by Kansas' Mario Chalmers vs. Arizona's Mustafa Shakur. Shakur came out of high school ranked ahead of Chris Paul and has yet to play like it. His jump shot is awkward and his decision making has been suspect at best, but he is surrounded by ridiculous athleticism and the Wildcats are pressing and playing an all-out full-court style that is perfect for someone who struggles in the half-court. Chalmers is the real deal. Picture Jacque Vaughn with a jump-shot. The downside is that he is surrounded by youngsters who might try to do too much.
Part Two is the possible Guardians classic final between Texas and Kentucky. Daniel Gibson is the smoothest-shooting scoring point guard in the country and Rajon Rondo is known for his Isotoner-like defense. Rondo is a terrific defender and athlete, but his shooting is a work in progress. I will take Gibson and the surrounding cast for $200, Alex!
By the way, I watched both of the Longhorns' games last week, and if I had not known that LaMarcus Aldridge had hip surgery, I would never have known.
Michigan at Boston University, Tuesday: Be surprised if the Wolverines continue to schedule this series after losing to BU -- in Ann Arbor -- the last two seasons.
New Orleans vs. Tulane in College Station, Texas, Tuesday: This displaced game has plenty of meaning for both squads, but the biggest question is how many Aggie fans will take in the game to support the two programs sent to Texas by Katrina.
Florida State at Florida, Friday: The Seminoles could really shake up the state with a win here but you've got to think the Gators will have the O Dome rocking after their revival in New York.
N.C. State vs. Notre Dame, Wooden Tradition, Indianapolis, Saturday: This is one of the games in which we find out who could be for real. The Wolf Pack and the Irish both have a shot to be factors in their respective conferences and the bar is set with this matchup.
LSU at West Virginia, Saturday: A year ago, the Mountaineers started their race for an NCAA bid by winning in Baton Rouge. Wonder whether the Tigers can do same in Morgantown.
Opening Tip
Arkansas is one of only two SEC teams (along with Georgia) that didn't lose a double-digit scorer from last season to graduation or early departure. The Razorbacks, who face UConn in the opening round in Maui on Monday, seem to be the trendy choice to upend Alabama in the SEC West.
The most talked about Razorback has been junior Ronnie Brewer, the do-everything swingman and son of former Arkansas star Ron Brewer. The younger Brewer doesn't quite match up to his dad in terms of field goal percentage (Ron Brewer shot 56.6 percent for his career while his son shot 47.5 percent as a sophomore) but is sound statistically in every other area.
How sound is he? Brewer is one of the few major conference players who averaged at least 15 points, four rebounds and three assists a game last season:
| 15/4/3 IN '04-'05 | ||||
| PLAYER/SCHOOL | PPG | RPG | APG | SKINNY |
| Mardy Collins, Temple | 17.5 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 85 steals, played 38 min/game |
| Curtis Stinson, Iowa State | 17.2 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 72 steals |
| Jared Dudley, Boston College | 16.5 | 7.5 | 3.2 | 95/49 A/TO ratio |
| Ronnie Brewer, Arkansas | 16.2 | 4.8 | 3.4 | 101/61 A/TO ratio, 76 steals |
| Carl Krauser | 16.0 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 54 3s |
| Randy Foye, Villanova | 15.5 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 52 3s, 67 steals |
Rocking The Rim
Well, Michigan State found out Saturday that every team it faces this season will be gunning for them. They also found out that Maurice Ager's shooting might again be a leading indicator.
The Spartans lost seven times last season and Ager struggled from the field in almost all of them. Ager shot 5-for-15 against Hawaii.
| Spartan Shooting | |||
| 2004-05 Ls | VS. HAWAII | SKINNY | |
| Ager FG% | 35.8 | 33.0 | Shot 47.6% in 2004-05 |
| MSU A/TO | 102/101 | 10/17 | Ratio was 1:1 or less 5x in 2004-05 |
Maui Matchup
Someone had the good sense to schedule Arizona and Kansas for first-round action at the Maui Invitational Monday. The history of this matchup dictates that Kansas usually comes out on top when the two meet, but the games have been high-scoring and very exciting. The Wildcats and Jayhawks have met six times in the last 10 years, including three times in the NCAA Tournament. Five of those six contests have been decided by single digits, with four decided by three points apiece.
| Matchup Highlights | ||
| DATE | RESULT | SKINNY |
| 3/29/03 | Kansas, 78-75 (West regional final) | Kirk Hinrich had game-high 28 points, key block in final seconds |
| 1/25/03 | Arizona, 91-74 | Arizona rallies from 20 down with 2nd-half barrage, snaps Kansas' 25-game home win streak |
| 12/1/01 | Kansas, 105-97 | Drew Gooden's 23 points, 15 boards offsets Jason Gardner's 37 points in Tucson |
| 12/2/97 | Kansas, 90-87 | Raef LaFrentz scores 32 as Kansas led almost all the way |
| 3/21/97 | Arizona, 85-82 (Southeast regional semifinals) | Freshman Mike Bibby had 21 points, 5 assists in upset of No. 1 Kansas |
Drexel won at Princeton and had a rocking time in beating Sam Houston State in the second round on ESPN2. The Dragons now get two more games on the ESPN family of networks from MSG. George Mason nearly took out Wake Forest in overtime. Old Dominion, the league favorite, opened with two wins in the Virgin Islands -- over Georgia and Fordham -- and faces Wisconsin on Monday for the tournament title.
The Huskies are off to a 4-0 start after losing Nate Robinson, the heart of their team last season. The Huskies didn't get a shot at Miami, since the Canes lost to Air Force, but UW took care of the Falcons.
The Tigers handled the road show at Alabama with relative ease by beating the Tide for a bid to the NIT semifinals. The Tigers had the toughest road to New York, also needing to beat UW-Milwaukee at home in the first round.
The new-look league barely avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Southland Conference -- Louisiana Monroe beat SMU (along with the aforementioned Stephen F. Austin win over Tulsa) while Southern Miss squeaked past Lamar by three in Fairbanks, Alaska, Five of the teams in C-USA are a combined 1-7 so far. We still don't understand why C-USA never raised a stink with the Big East the way the Big East did after the ACC raided its teams.