Small-conference giants show off their potential
Just because UNLV, Memphis, and Gonzaga don't play in a major conference, that doesn't mean they should be ignored as legitimate Final Four contenders. The early returns are very good. UNLV stomped Northern Arizona 92-54; stud freshman recruit Anthony Bennett scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting...in just 20 minutes. Memphis is brimming with talent, which was on display in an 81-66 win over North Florida. Should be interesting to see the Tigers tested in the "Battle 4 Atlantis" tournament where they'll be matched up with VCU and potentially Duke. Gonzaga put together the scariest performance of them all, dismantling West Virginia 80-54 with an overwhelming shooting performance. And West Virginia is a decent team! In the Big 12! Coached by Bob Huggins! Yet they were blown out of the gym by the incredibly balanced and selfless Zags. High-quality stuff from these three programs.
Tough goings for Atlantic 10 newcomers
The Atlantic 10 Conference is welcoming Butler and VCU to its ranks, but neither could pull off a victory in its Tuesday matchup. Butler lost 62-47 at Xavier, its long-standing offensive woes unsolved. No one on that team can create a shot; it's ugly at times. Xavier wasn't even supposed to be good this year. VCU, meanwhile, lost a tight 53-51 affair to a sneaky-good opponent, Wichita State. Juvonte Reddic had a chance to tie in the final seconds but couldn't sink his free throws. The Rams should be fine moving forward. Despite these losses, the A-10 Conference is a lot more interesting with Butler and VCU in tow.
Keith Appling leads #21 Michigan State over #7 Kansas
Because the Spartans lost to unranked Connecticut in Germany, the voters dropped Michigan State out of the top 20 in this week's poll. This proved to be an overreaction after the Spartans topped seventh-ranked Kansas on a neutral floor, 67-64. With both teams trying to figure out how to move on without their respective leaders, Thomas Robinson and Draymond Green, Michigan State held the advantage. Experienced point guard Keith Appling was willing and able to take over in the final minutes (though his freshman partner in the backcourt, Gary Harris, was stellar too). Kansas lacks that go-to guy, but that should work itself out. These are definitely top-ten teams that are only getting better.
#9 Duke holds off #3 Kentucky
It's obvious what Duke's gameplan is going to be this season: feed Mason Plumlee inside, and use his presence to create open three-pointers for Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, and Rasheed Sulaimon. Even with Plumlee in foul trouble, that strategy worked against Kentucky on a neutral floor in a tight 75-68 win. Though the Wildcats lost, there was plenty to like from their side. Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress were unstoppable at times. They just need time to work out the kinks. Comparing them to last year's juggernaut is neither fair nor realistic.
A few embarrassing results
With some exceptions (like Duke and Kentucky), most teams are trying to start the season off with easy wins against creampuff opponents from weak conferences. Very few contenders are actually losing those games. Except for, apparently, Miami, which lost 63-51 to Florida Gulf Coast. The Hurricanes are expected to be real contenders in the ACC, so this is...a little awkward. They also lost an exhibition to a Division II school (oops). More ugliness: Washington, supposed to have its usual decent year in the Pac-12, fell at home to Albany 63-62. That's bad. To make matters worse, #13 UCLA, a league-mate of Washington's, nearly lost to UC-Irvine at home before squeaking out an 80-79 overtime win on Tuesday night. These phenomena are not exactly a ringing endorsement of the Pac-12's return to basketball relevancy.
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