What a weekend it was for college basketball! I couldn't find a single hour during Saturday afternoon into the night where there wasn't great basketball being played. All week I had been looking forward to the Wake Forest/Clemson match up and it did not disappoint me. Even though the final score didn't show it I took a lot out of the game. Here are a couple of points that were brought to my attention after a well played college basketball weekend.
Coach Dino Gaudio of Wake Forest doesn't have to do anything else but make the NCAA Tournament to earn Coach of the Year honors. Gaudio has taken over this team that faced tragedy in the passing of Skip Prosser, loss of recruits, and with a total make over has brought the Demon Deacons back on the map. As I mentioned on with my "college basketball last week" photo, the Deacons are for real and will be for real all season.
In my personal opinion, as of right now, the ACC is more top heavy than that of the Big East. Duke really made Georgetown into a sub par team on Saturday. I really wasn't impressed at all with the Big East club. Don't get me wrong "snow birds", the Big East is very deep and anyone could end up winning the conference at MSG this March, but after final watching some Big East conference basketball this past week, I saw more weaknesses than strengths with clubs I thought were elite. I still believe that the Big East will find a team(s) in the Final Four this season, but watching the top heavy ACC on Saturday, they showed me more balance on both sides of the ball than that of the elite teams in the Big East.
How can you not enjoy watching a Herb Sendek coached team? For my readers who are basketball gurus and love watching a well coached team, if you saw the Arizona State/UCLA game you saw just that. Even though I will stick with my prediction of UCLA winning the PAC-10 title, Arizona State was the better team against the Bruins on Saturday even with super sophomore James Harden in foul trouble for most of the 1st half. The loss for the Bruins kept them from starting conference play with a 5-0 start, but more importantly, from my aspect, the game gave the Sun Devils some well needed confidence, after an erratic start with some lack luster play as of late. Sendek is one of my favorite coaches in the game, and his offensive sets (when executed) looks like a thing of beauty, not to mention the way they played defense on Saturday against a strong Bruin squad. His team game of basketball on the the offensive end, is what wins games come March. Look out nation Herb Sendek is back on the map!
Michigan State, Memphis, and Oklahoma will run away with the Big Ten, C-USA, and Big 12 titles this season. All of these teams are way too dominate for their respected conferences. The only team that can defeat them are themselves when the conference tournaments begin. All have great inside games, but can really push the ball when the time calls for it. If they have a stubble before March don't worry, coaches Tom Izzo, John Calipari, and Jeff Capel will make sure that it won't happen again.
There is a lot of hype about the SEC as of late and I am getting kind of sick of it. "Kentucky is a team to be reckoned with." "Florida is a tough squad." ENOUGH! The SEC is not that good! Yeah, it is a very competitive conference, but I am still not convinced that they have a team good enough to advance to the Elite Eight, not going to happen. So get over it!
Finally, what in god's name happened in Providence this weekend? Or should I say, did that really happen? Jeff Xavier of the Friars was poked in the eye on a play, then what happens next is something that I have never seen before. His brother, Jonathan, decked out in a big winter coat walks out of the stands, steps over the Friars bench onto the court and has a word with the officials after the play. Are you serious? I love my brother, but their is no way I would do anything like that. If you haven't seen it, here it is:
Coach Dino Gaudio of Wake Forest doesn't have to do anything else but make the NCAA Tournament to earn Coach of the Year honors. Gaudio has taken over this team that faced tragedy in the passing of Skip Prosser, loss of recruits, and with a total make over has brought the Demon Deacons back on the map. As I mentioned on with my "college basketball last week" photo, the Deacons are for real and will be for real all season.
In my personal opinion, as of right now, the ACC is more top heavy than that of the Big East. Duke really made Georgetown into a sub par team on Saturday. I really wasn't impressed at all with the Big East club. Don't get me wrong "snow birds", the Big East is very deep and anyone could end up winning the conference at MSG this March, but after final watching some Big East conference basketball this past week, I saw more weaknesses than strengths with clubs I thought were elite. I still believe that the Big East will find a team(s) in the Final Four this season, but watching the top heavy ACC on Saturday, they showed me more balance on both sides of the ball than that of the elite teams in the Big East.
How can you not enjoy watching a Herb Sendek coached team? For my readers who are basketball gurus and love watching a well coached team, if you saw the Arizona State/UCLA game you saw just that. Even though I will stick with my prediction of UCLA winning the PAC-10 title, Arizona State was the better team against the Bruins on Saturday even with super sophomore James Harden in foul trouble for most of the 1st half. The loss for the Bruins kept them from starting conference play with a 5-0 start, but more importantly, from my aspect, the game gave the Sun Devils some well needed confidence, after an erratic start with some lack luster play as of late. Sendek is one of my favorite coaches in the game, and his offensive sets (when executed) looks like a thing of beauty, not to mention the way they played defense on Saturday against a strong Bruin squad. His team game of basketball on the the offensive end, is what wins games come March. Look out nation Herb Sendek is back on the map!
Michigan State, Memphis, and Oklahoma will run away with the Big Ten, C-USA, and Big 12 titles this season. All of these teams are way too dominate for their respected conferences. The only team that can defeat them are themselves when the conference tournaments begin. All have great inside games, but can really push the ball when the time calls for it. If they have a stubble before March don't worry, coaches Tom Izzo, John Calipari, and Jeff Capel will make sure that it won't happen again.
There is a lot of hype about the SEC as of late and I am getting kind of sick of it. "Kentucky is a team to be reckoned with." "Florida is a tough squad." ENOUGH! The SEC is not that good! Yeah, it is a very competitive conference, but I am still not convinced that they have a team good enough to advance to the Elite Eight, not going to happen. So get over it!
Finally, what in god's name happened in Providence this weekend? Or should I say, did that really happen? Jeff Xavier of the Friars was poked in the eye on a play, then what happens next is something that I have never seen before. His brother, Jonathan, decked out in a big winter coat walks out of the stands, steps over the Friars bench onto the court and has a word with the officials after the play. Are you serious? I love my brother, but their is no way I would do anything like that. If you haven't seen it, here it is:
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