Player trying to get rolling: You never really expect a freshman to dominate an All-American candidate and possible league Player of the Year, but that's what happened Wednesday when Washington's Spencer Hawes owned LSU's Glen Davis. Hawes got 23 points and 12 rebounds on 10-of-16 shooting. Meanwhile, Davis only made 3 of 11 shots to finish with eight points, which snapped his streak of 48 consecutive games with double-digit points. A new streak needs to start Saturday when 12th-ranked LSU hosts Louisiana Tech.
Three things you should know before you go
1. Though this is the first time he has a legitimate shot to win, it's not the first time Ford has coached against Kentucky. While at Eastern Kentucky, the current UMass coach met Tubby Smith's Wildcats three times. He lost all three, including a 72-64 decision in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
2. There is no shortage of people (including yours truly) with travel plans already booked for next Thursday's game between Texas Tech and UNLV, which projects as Bob Knight's 880th win, a number otherwise known as one more than any coach in the history of Division I men's basketball. Problem is, Knight has to get to 879 wins first, and that might be more difficult than some realize with the Red Raiders hosting Bucknell on Saturday. Should Texas Tech win? Of course it should. But it's worth noting that Bucknell is coming off a victory at Xavier, and if the Bison can win there then it's insane to think they can't win in Lubbock, too.
3. When California plays at DePaul on Saturday it'll be the Bears' first game without DeVon Hardin, who was scheduled to have surgery Friday to repair a stress fracture in his left foot suffered in Tuesday's win against Furman. The 6-11 center who was averaging 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds is expected to miss eight to 12 weeks, and that's not good news for a team already short on frontcourt bodies (Jordan Wilkes tore a patella tendon before the season started) embarking on a four-game road swing.
Final thoughts: All preseason the fear was that when Ohio State and Florida met we'd be deprived of seeing the two teams at their best because it was unclear if Oden would be back from wrist surgery. In fact, Thad Matta and Billy Donovan even considered pushing the game to February based solely on Oden's health, but the Big Ten and SEC schedules made it impossible. Consequently, they stuck with Dec. 23, and everything looked great when Oden returned Dec. 2. But in a strange twist of fate, it's now Florida with a serious injury to the frontcourt thanks to Al Horford's high ankle sprain that could keep the Gators' leading scorer and rebounder sidelined.
So Oden is in.
But Horford is possibly out.
Funny how life works like that, huh?
