it was a loooooong week at work, but a terrific week on the hardwood. 5 games saw teams ranked in the Top 5 knocked off on the road (Kansas lost twice) by unranked teams, and there were outstanding performances by "White" teams and dominant performances by White athletes (even when they were the lone bright spot on the court).
one of my favorite players, Nate Wolters had back-to-back HUGE games. he exploded for 53 points on Thursday (while shooting over 60% from the floor), the highest point total by a collegiate player since 2009, in a win. Wolters then went for 36 last night (and once again hit 60% from the floor), while adding 6 rebounds and 7 assists (to just 2 turnovers) albeit in a loss to Oakland.
Oakland's outstanding sharp-shooter, Travis Bader went for a team-high 31 in the win, knocking down 9 three-pointers. NINE! wow! before Wolters set the mark, Bader had held the top spot for single-game scoring this year, pouring in 47 (and knocked down 11 3-pointers; ELEVEN!!!) in a win on January 24.
Wisconsin faced off against Michigan in what turned out to be a VERY good game, with an NCAA Tournament feel to it. both teams played an exceptionally clean, tough game with very few fouls or turnovers, and neither could pull away. additionally, both teams featured lineups that had as many as 4 White athletes on the court. the game featured some amazing shots at the end of regulation, including a near-half-court heave by guard Ben Brust that sent the contest into overtime. and it was Brust's 3-pointer in overtime that provided the final margin for the Badgers' win. as a side note, both teams were coming off overtime wins: Wisconsin knocked off Iowa in double-ot on Wednesday (another very good game featuring terrific White talent), and Michigan defeated Ohio State in ot on Tuesday. perhaps the highlight of the game, aside from Brust's cold-blooded clutch shooting, was Jared Berggren's amazing dunk:
[video=youtube;WI9Yee3V3zk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI9Yee3V3zk[/video]
speaking of overtime games, Notre Dame's epic 5-overtime victory over Louisville will likely be remembered for a looooong time. despite have nearly their entire starting lineup on the bench with 5 fouls, the Irish managed to make big play after big play and kept hanging on, until finally guard Pat Connaughton's free throw gave them the necessary cushion. Connaughton finished the game with 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists (to just 1 turnover) in 56 minutes. you read that right, 56 minutes! Jack Cooley had a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards (and 2 blocks) before fouling out. but perhaps the most surprising figure for Notre Dame was junior center, Garrick Sherman.
Sherman didn't even set foot on the court for the Irish until overtime, yet he finished with 17 points (on 7 of 10 shooting) and 6 rebounds and just 1 turnover in 21 minutes. give him some more playing time, coach!
for Louisville, Luke Hanc0ck's 22 points weren't enough (because he simply didn't get enough looks), as negro guard Russ Smith managed to ball-hog his way to the loss. Smith connected on 4 of 19 from the floor with only 3 assists in 56 minutes (with 3 turnovers). ouch.
Gonzaga got another nearly perfect night from power forward Kelly Olynyk in an easy win. the big man went 7-8 from the floor and 6-6 from the line en route to 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists (and just 2 turnovers), and 2 blocked shots. Kevin Pangos added 20 more (on 7 of 11 shooting).
as one pundit put it, the Zags are so good it's almost boring. they play again on Thursday night, when they square off against WCC rival Saint Mary's on ESPN2.
Saint Mary's also cruised to a win over San Diego, behind the stellar play of point guard Matthew Dellavedova (who along with Wolters would provide my dream backcourt of this year's college players). "Delly," as he's called, scored 19 (on 7 of 16 from the floor), snared 4 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists with just 2 turnovers in 37 minutes. he is an amazing player. on a side note, SMC has a guy who comes off the bench that i really like. Beau Levesque (pronounced Luh-veck) is a high energy, bouncy forward who can guard multiple positions and can score without having plays run for him. he's fun to watch.
in the loss, San Diego's terrific 6-foot shooting guard Johnny Dee went for 19 points and 7 rebounds. Dee is the WCC's second-leading scorer. i don't know if he's been mentioned on the boards before ...
Butler tried to give the game away against George Washington, nearly blowing a 14-point lead in the final 4 minutes, before finally holding on to win by 3. Rotnei Clarke led all scorered with 14, but it was an ugly win on the road. still, it was a win.
Creighton, though, managed to lose at home to Illinois State, despite 24 points and 13 rebounds from Doug McDermott and 16 points and 7 rebounds from Grant Gibbs. ultimately, they couldn't stop ISU's negro guard Tyler Brown who had an outstanding second half, and finished with a game-high 27.
nobody has mentioned EJ Singler on the forums in quite a while, which is a shame, because he is the reason Oregon is in the Top-25. the less-heralded Singler brother is now a senior and is the unquestioned leader and best player for the Ducks, who were picked to finish in the cellar of the Pac-12. thanks to Singler, though, they are surprising everyone. EJ went off for a game-high 21 points (on 4 of 6 shooting, and 12-13 from the line) while chipping in with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a blocked shot to lead the Ducks over Utah.
a couple of other White players on otherwise very dark teams are Florida's Erik Murphy and Kentucky's Kyle Wiltjer. Murphy went for 17 points (on 7 of 10 shooting) and 7 rebounds in a Gator win on Saturday. Wiltjer scored a team-high 14 off the bench in a Wildcat win. the two face off on Tuesday.
there were several other performances of note, but i think that'll do it for now.
oh! #1 Indiana plays #10 Ohio State today at noon (central) on CBS. OSU's Aaron Craft is the best defensive guard in the country, but he's the only White contributor for the Buckeyes. Indiana's talented trio of Zeller, Hulls, and Sheehey, make this a no-brainer for the Caste Football fan club.
later today, Duke (and their PoY candidate Mason Plumlee) take on Boston College, who is very White for an ACC team.
