Jimmy Chitwood
Hall of Famer
Gonzaga waxed UNC more to come later, but it’s late and my pillow is calling.
Sleep? Unacceptable. As our top College Basketball beat writer I was expecting a full report on the Kentucky- Utah tilt. Ha.
i, in fact, will give a brief recap of Kentucky-Utah, as i caught most of the early going. and it’s nice to see an all-black #6 Kentucky team get knocked off by an unranked, under-appreciated, significantly-White Utah (9-2) team. here goes:
Kentucky got the advantage of home-cooking early, despite playing at a neutral site in Vegas. it was clear the officials didn’t think short, White, freshman point guard Rylan Jones belonged on the court, nor did 7-foot freshman center Carlson. so they hit Carlson with a couple of quick and VERY questionable “defending while White” fouls, and the young center sat nearly the rest of the game. conversely, they let Kentucky’s guards mug Jones, literally knocking him down on three occasions in a span of about 5 minutes in the first half. additionally, they gave him either a foul or a turnover for each, adding insult to injury. but Utah got lights out shooting from a couple of black players, and they kept the lead most of the half.
to his credit, Jones played MUCH better and mentally tougher in the second half. the freshman ended up with 12 points (on 3-4 shooting) after only hitting one basket before the break and 6 assists.
Utah’s third White starter also played much better and tougher in the second half. Battin, a sophomore, also ended the game in double digits, scoring 10 (on 4-5 shooting). the Utes didn’t get much from their young Finnish player, who seemed overwhelmed by the moment.
it seemed to me that the White players for Utah (as well as the officials) began the game being caught up in the “Kentucky mystique,” but eventually realized they were good enough to win. so they finally started playing like it.
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#2 Gonzaga (11-1) dominated North Carolina from the jump, looking like a team that is a serious contender in March. Corey Kispert led the way with a game-high 26 (on 10-12 shooting, 5-6 from three), and Petrusev added 20 (6-11 shooting). Tillie and Timme had quietly efficient nights, as well. the game was virtually over 5 minutes after halftime, and from then on the Zags put it on cruise control.
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Jay Huff played well off the bench in another low-scoring #9 Virginia (9-1) clampdown, scoring 12 (5-10 shooting) and hauling in a team-high 7 boards. Stattmann did his normal quietly effective thing, although he did have a highlight dunk. Caffaro got the start at center, but he didn’t do much.
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Payton Pritchard continues to be the engine that makes #8 Oregon (9-2) run. he once again led the team in scoring and assists. it’s a shame he’s the only “gym rat” “good enough”to play for the Ducks. you’d think they’d want more players like their best ...
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unranked and VERY under-appreciated Saint Mary’s (11-2) absolutely BLITZED Arizona State, winning by 40 on the road. in fact, only three players even scored for the Sun Devils. ouch!
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also-unranked-and-under-appreciated Utah State (11-2) continues to find ways to win, hitting a buzzer beater off an offensive rebound in overtime to knock off very affletic South Florida.
Just sitting at home while waiting for my golf tee time, I know why I don't watch much college basketball. Casually, I caught the Duke/ Brown game and through the first 9 minutes the game is tied 12-12. Duke shooting 29% with 3-4 dunks. I haven't seen them make one shot from the floor! I guess without the dunks they would be shooting 0%. It's horrible the quality of college basketball. Brown not much better at 38%. Looking forward to watching Clemson(football), tonight when I get back home.
At the half. Duke 35 Brown 29. Duke shooting 33%. 0-11 3 point attempts.
Does anyone know what's going on with the Hurt kid? He was supposed to be one of the nations best HS players. I haven't heard much out of him. Only two points today.
Hurt 25 points tonight against Boston College.I saw this game and yes Duke looked ragged. They were coming off a long break and they were missing their point guard but they won and Alex O'Connell hit some late threes. In my mind Duke has as much talent as anyone and I consider them a title contender.
As for Matt Hurt he ended up with 8 points on 4-8 shooting against Brown. He is off to a very nice start averaging 10.4 points a game in 21 minutes. He can score down low and shoot three pointers. He is shooting an impressive 38% from three land. If he continues to develop over the next few years he should get drafted. So to answer your question Hurt was a highly rated freshman and is answering the call.
Iowa, starting 4 Whites, putting a beating on #12 all-black Maryland. Iowa leads by 20 with less than 4 minutes remaining. Joe Wieskamp with 26, so far.
Iowa has lost 4 of their top 8 players due to injury this season, otherwise all 5 starters and the top 3 reserves would be of the “gym rat, lunch pail” variety.Iowa, starting 4 Whites ...