Afternoon Delight: Close calls and teams missing chances at needed Ws
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| Herb Sendek's Sun Devils had a shot to get a really huge W but came up way short late in the game. (US Presswire) |
On busier Saturdays and Sundays this season, we're not going to make you wait until the end of the slate of games to catch up with all that's happened. Afternoon Delight recaps the first five-or-so hours' worth of action, the perfect appetizer right before dinnertime.
The best we've seen so far: Texas, you almost had 'em!
Kansas looked rough to start out. Texas and its underrated -- or under-realized -- defense had the Jayhawks looking like they were in for their first Big 12 loss of the season. Elijah Johnson looked out of sorts, but Ben McLemore (ankle) ended up playing, looked good (16 points, six rebounds, a few posters) and led Kansas back from a second-half deficit. Jeff Withey finished with 14 points, nine boards and three blocks.
Deserving of a free dinner at the restaurant of their choice: Florida, man.
The Florida angle is covered at large in the post linked above. Parrish's words, and I agree with them.
Missouri is now 1-2 without Laurence Bowers this season, and he's still out due to a sprained MCL. The Tigers were outplayed to the tune of 48-14 in paint points and looked brutal. It was the fifth consecutive win for Florida with a 20-plus point margin of victory. It wasn't just the absence of Bowers, though. Phil Pressey hurts this team -- at times -- plenty. His 10 turnovers were the most for a Tiger since the '90s.
No soup for you: Baylor.
Which apparently ganged up on some two-man team that consisted of a two-man team named Hardin-Simmons. What are you doing scheduling this kind of game on Jan. 19, Scott Drew?
Afternoon all-stars
- Through five hours, Michael Lyons of Air Force leads all scorers with 37 points in a win over Boise State.
- Green Bay's Jordan Fouse had himself a day: 17 points, 10 rebounds, four steals, three assists, three blocks. Might be the best line by day's end.
- Demetrius Treadwell had 16 huge boards in Akron's win. More on that one below.
Other daytime action worth your attention
- Harvard couldn't end up stealing one in Memphis due to Siyani Chambers getting hit with four fouls. Chambers is gonna be an Ivy great by the time he leaves. Memphis blew what was once a 17-point lead but wound up with an at-large-consideration-saving win, beating Harvard at home 60-50 thanks to 10 in the second half from Chris Crawford.
- Jahii Carson had foul trouble all afternoon and that prevented Arizona State from getting a game it really needed to get a win at home against in-state rival Arizona. The Wildcats won 71-54, improving to 4-1 in Pac-12 play, while ASU is now 3-2 -- and what a wilt job by the Sun Devils. It was close ... until it wasn't. Carson finished with 22 on 7-of-13 shooting, even with foul trouble all game long. Mark Lyons had 24 points for Arizona, a season high, and it was perhaps the best guard battle we'll see all Saturday. ASU gets USC, UCLA at home next week. Has to win both.
- 69-61 Pittsburgh victory at home over UConn, and the Panthers are now 15-4. Getting there. Just as important is the .500 mark in the Big East (3-3). Elsewhere, with the game at The Zoo, this subject came up. I'd like to see it, but I doubt this happens.
Jim Calhoun has said he wants to surround the lower section at Gampel with students, kinda like Pitt does. I'm strongly in favor.
— Kevin Duffy (@KevinRDuffy) January 19, 2013
Delightful (and not-so-delightful) thoughts
-- If you're curious about the North Carolina win over Maryland, we covered that a bit earlier.
-- This is something we'll get into once all the game action slows down Sunday, but know that the NCAA really did slim up its rulebook, as hoped/promised, on Saturday.
-- Props to Brad Stevens for reportedly doing good for a meme that's already jumped the invisible shark.
Brad Stevens grabs microphone and asks Butler students to remove all Te'o girlfriend signs/banners. #HoosiersTearJerker
— Kokomoschmoe (@Kokomoschmoe) January 19, 2013
-- Temple entered the day 30-0 all-time against St. Bonaventure at home, winners of the past 15 games in this series. So you know what happened: Bonnies won. An 81-78 ending. Temple is so schizo. Can't trust this team this season.
-- Via ESPN, Ole Miss is a 4-0 SEC team for the first time since -- wowsa -- 1936-37. Expect the Rebs to be ranked come Monday.
-- A round of appluse to Bill Coen and the Northeastern Huskies, who won at Delaware and remain undefeated in the CAA. On a smaller level, this is the surprise team of the season.
-- Akron won on the road at Kent State, 71-67, to stay unbeaten in the MAC. Now a 4-0 team and seen as the league favorite.
For more college basketball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnCBB on Twitter, like us on Facebook and subscribe to the thrice-a-week podcast on iTunes. You can follow Matt Norlander on Twitter here: @MattNorlander.
