Duke fell to a highly-inspired Virginia Tech last night. defensively, the Hokies did a good job of preventing the Dukies from ever getting comfortable by pressuring the ball, and relentlessly kept attacking the basket on offense. and despite giving up a lot of size (and several dunks) to the Duke frontline, Va Tech actually out-rebounded the Blue Devils.
Kyle Singler finished with a game-high 22 points and added 12 boards, but it was another cold night for him shooting the ball. he was a dismal 6-19 from the floor, and only 1-7 from 3-point range. Ryan Kelly was also largely ineffective offensively, hitting only one shot and gathering only 3 rebounds in 27 minutes. Mason Plumlee looked very aggressive and (for the first time i can remember) was repeatedly demanding the ball in the low block. unfortunately, his teammates didn't give it to him despite his favorable match-up. he only managed 5 shot attempts (including on putbacks) but hit 4 of them for 9 points. he added7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Miles Plumlee didn't score in 16 minutes, but did have 3 blocks, 2 steals, and 2 rebounds.
i watched the BYU-SDSU game in the early afternoon, and the referees allowed a
VERY physical contest. Jimmer was beaten up when he tried to create off the dribble, and was not rewarded with his penetration by going to the free throw line ... because the officials were not calling fouls. fortunately for him (and BYU), the Cougars had several players get hot from beyond the arc. Noah Hartsock went 3-4, Jackson Emery went 2-6, Stephen Rogers went 1-1, Fredette went 4-8, and negro wing Joseph Abouo surprised everyone by hitting 4-5.
this type of team-balance and mental toughness bodes well for BYU come NCAA Tournament time.
6-5 sophomore combo guard James Rahon looked very impressive coming off the bench for SDSU. he had 10 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 rebound with only 1 turnover in 27 minutes. offensively, he looked like the total package ...
despite a poor shooting night for Notre Dame, they took care of business against Seton Hall. "Psycho B" Hansbrough had 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 blocked shot to lead the Irish. Abromaitis had 22 points and 8 rebounds but only shot 6-16.
the all-around brilliance of Chandler Parsons wasn't enough for Florida to handle Kentucky. in his sooner-than-expected return from a deep thigh bruise, Parsons once again showcased his unmatched versatility by posting 15 points (on 6-11 shooting), 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and just 1 turnover in a team-high 37 minutes. wow!
for Kentucky, rebounding machine Josh Harrellson snared a game-high 12 boards (including 6 on the offensive end!) and scored 6 points ... which came on putbacks of 3 of his offensive rebounds. that's virtually the only time he gets to touch the ball in the post.
Vanderbilt point guard Brad Tinsley had a nice game in the Commodores win. he finished with 16 points (on a sparkling 7-10 shooting), 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 5 assists with just 1 turnover.
Rotnei Clarke scored a game-high 17 points (6-12 shooting) to lead Arkansas to a second-consecutive victory, overcoming the 17 Razorback turnovers and other mind-numblingly stupid mistakes of his negro teammates.
Olek Czyz exploded in Nevada's loss to Boise State. the high-flying former Duke player went 9-10 from the floor for a game-high 25 points. his 11 rebounds and 33 minutes were also game-highs ... and he did it all by coming off the bench.
Hawaii's Zane Johnson's 22 points led the Warriors over NMSU. the Arizona-transfer has emerged as the team leader and best scoring threat from the perimeter.
one last note, Missouri State won their first-ever Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship. the Bears play a 7 (sometimes 8)-man rotation, and5 of their top8 players are White.