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What everyone will be talking about over their morning coffee:
Wichita State Uses Late Charge to Pass Saint Louis
It was the battle between two of the top teams in the Mid-Major Madness Power 15, and it lived up to the hype. In a back and forth battle, Ron Baker took charge late to help Wichita State outlast Saint Louis, 70-65.
The shooting guard transferred over and played mostly at the point during the win, and scared up 22 points. This is a very different Wichita State team than we saw go to the Final Four last season. This team doesn't have the shooters, it doesn't have the tough inside game. But it does have a bunch of hard-nosed players that will wear you down until you can't compete any longer.
That is what the Shockers did to Saint Louis, who controlled the game early and led most of the way. When Saint Louis started to get into foul trouble inside, they were no longer able to control the paint and were taking a lot of outside shots, which is not its strength. After Rob Loe and John Manning fouled out, it was just a matter of time.
Dwayne Evans led the Billikins with 18 points.
Side of bacon:
George Washington Shuts Down Doug McDermott to top Creighton
Doug McDermott scored seven points. Doug McDermott scored seven points. Yes, I am in disbelief here. George Washington not only scored a win, they managed to do something that so many have tried at and failed.
This is a big win that proves that the Colonials belong in that upper echelon of the Atlantic 10, and are very deserving of a spot in the Mid-Major Madness Madness Power 15.
An all-around top effort for George Washington, and one that proves our Parks Smith wasn't crazy at the beginning of the season when he said he had a good feeling about the Colonials.
Other bites:
- Get the parade started in Trenton; the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights are the champions of New Jersey! Greg Herenda has done wonders early with this program, leading them to upsets that they should not be capable of. There were a lot of questions when he left a program on the rise to Division 1 to become the leader of this Knights team, and well, it looks like he has answered them early. Sidney Sanders Jr. had 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in the win.
- North Carolina has one very good win this season, against Louisville. North Carolina has a good win against Richmond. North Carolina has two losses this season, against Belmont and UAB. Will the real North Carolina team please let us know who you really are? Every time they play one of our teams, we think there is a chance, because there is. But there is that lingering doubt now because of that stupid Louisville win. Sunday, it was the Blazers with a 63-59 win over the Tar Heels. Chad Frazier led the way with 25 points, and UAB needed every bit of finger nail to hang on to this one at the end.
- VCU caused 21 turnovers to take out that Belmont team who had the win against UNC. I left the Bruins ranked in my entry to the Power 15 for now, because I don't know what else to do with this at this point. VCU is supposed to be really good. Today they were. It just must wane when they travel outside of the contiguous 48 states. Juvonte Reddic had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Melvin Johnson (4-for-7 3PT) and Treveon Graham each had 16 points in the win. J.J. Mann had 14 points, six assists and two steals in the loss.
- Jalen Cannon and Wayne Martin each hit big shots in the final 40 seconds against Stony Brook to give St. Francis Brooklyn another nice win on the season. The Terriers are now 5-3 overall, and that includes its near miss against Syracuse. I would not want to be a St. Francis opponent this season. They have that uncanny ability to win any night, and they have shown that so far. A real spoiler in the making here.
- St. Joseph's got 21 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks from Ronald Roberts Jr. to take fifth place in the Old Spice Classic with a 72-67 win over Washington State. The Hawks also edged out Siena in this one and sit at 4-2 on the season now. The next three are going to be very telling for St. Joe's as they face Big 5+1 opponents Temple, Villanova and Drexel. The easiest game might be against the Owls, but the Wildcats and Dragons will not go so quietly. This is make it or break it time early for the Hawks.
- Long Island's Jason Brickman had 14 assists, and still scored 10 points in a 74-72 win over Norfolk State. Nice.
