Friday Look Ahead: Irving on display in Princeton-Duke matchup
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- There are more than 200 college basketball games scheduled for the weekend, and not a single one features a ranked team against another ranked team. It's disappointing, certainly. But it's not enough to keep me from doing a Friday Look Ahead.
(Nothing could ever keep me from doing a Friday Look Ahead.)
Let's go ...
|
|
| Electrifying Duke freshman Kyrie Irving will showcase his talent in a game that's not likely to be competitive. (US Presswire) |
Another interesting matchup: So I was at a Final Four party late one night last March watching the Southern Illinois staff try to talk Illinois assistant Jerrance Howard into scheduling a game with their Salukis, and I couldn't stop laughing at the back-and-forth. Classic stuff. Really funny. But there was absolutely no indication that the game would ever actually happen, which is why I was shocked (and laughing hysterically) when I realized No. 13 Illinois subsequently agreed to play SIU. Seriously, had you been at that party that night you would think what's happening Saturday at Assembly Hall is the funniest thing in the world. And in a related note, I don't ever want to hear a non-BCS coach complain again about not being able to get a game with a team from a power conference. If that's the case with your school, you clearly haven't tried antagonizing Howard until he convinces Bruce Weber to give in and play. Going forward, remember it's worth a try. With my own two (bloodshot) eyes, I've seen it work.
Yet another interesting matchup: A school (Syracuse) that was a No. 1 seed in last season's NCAA tournament is opening against a school (Northern Iowa) that upset a No. 1 seed in last season's NCAA tournament, and, yes, there's a reason I used the word "school" instead of "team." These are the same schools, but they aren't the same teams. We're missing Wesley Johnson, Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku from Syracuse, Adam Koch, Jordan Eglseder and Ali Farokhmanesh from Northern Iowa. So I doubt either team will prove to be as good as last season's teams (even though the Orange are ranked 10th in the AP poll). Nonetheless, Syracuse rolled in what was a nice opener for both schools, regardless.
Guaranteed to be a blowout: The majority of this weekend's games could be featured in this category, which is, as I've noted many times, one of the problems with college basketball. The sport opens each season with a whimper. I hate it. But if I must focus on one game that'll be a blowout, I'll focus on Saturday's matchup between McNeese State and No. 18 Washington because that just seems like the type of contest that'll get ugly early.
| Friday Look Ahead |
| Related links |
(Almost) Guaranteed to be an upset: I admire how Georgetown's John Thompson III is willing to go on the road and play quality non-BCS programs, but he's going to learn soon enough why other traditional powers don't do it, and he almost learned Friday night at Old Dominion. The Monarchs, with four of their top five scorers back from last season's NCAA tournament team, gave Georgetown all it wanted before finally succumbing. So you shouldn't be surprised that they nearly caught the 20th-ranked Hoyas.
Player trying to keep rolling: Terrence Jones got 23 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks in No. 11 Kentucky's final exhibition. Yes, it was played against something called Dillard, meaning what Jones did in that exhibition is almost certainly misleading compared to what he should or will do this season. But I figured UK fans needed some sunshine after learning of Enes Kanter's fate on Thursday, and the fact that Jones finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks the last time he played in a basketball game qualifies as sunshine. (You're welcome.)
Player trying to get rolling: Lost in Tennessee's exhibition loss to Indianapolis was that Scotty Hopson only played nine minutes because of foul trouble, which is disappointing on multiple levels (even if a couple of the calls were questionable). Simply put, it's time for Hopson to consistently perform better and he must for the 23rd-ranked Vols to have the season they're capable of having. Hopson had 13 points in the Vols' 82-62 win over Chattanooga on Friday at Thompson-Boling Arena. That might be a start for Hopson to start playing like the All-American candidate his natural ability suggests he should be.
Three things you need to know
1. No. 2 Michigan State opened Friday night with a 96-66 win over Eastern Michigan without Korie Lucious. The junior guard who famously buried a game-winning 3-pointer against Maryland in the second round of last season's NCAA tournament is suspended because of an offseason drunken-driving arrest. Lucious is expected to return for next week's game against South Carolina.
2. No. 19 Memphis opened with a 109-40 win over Centenary on Friday. Touted freshmen Will Barton and Tarik Black, who missed Tuesday's final exhibition because of ankle injuries, both played. In terms of talent, they're probably two of Josh Pastner's five best players.
3. Minnesota opened Friday with a 69-55 win over Wofford without Devoe Joseph. The junior guard, who averaged 9.4 points last season, has been suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules. There's no timetable for a return, but Minnesota coach Tubby Smith has already announced that Joseph will not travel to next week's Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Final thought: I'm technically in Gainesville for Saturday night's football game between Florida and South Carolina that'll decide the SEC East, but I'll be in the O'Connell Center for Friday night's basketball game between the No. 9 Gators and UNC-Wilmington, too. It's the SEC favorites against a team picked last in the Colonial Athletic Association, which suggests Florida probably won't need Chandler Parsons to hit one of his legendary game-winners to escape. I feel safe predicting that. But we'll see.
