College basketball thread...

The Gators are fairly good as long as Speights decides to play that night. When he doesn't, they're extremely vulnerable. Disagree about the bubble - with six more regular season wins UF's guarunteed a winning conference record and a minimum of 22 wins. No way in hell the two time defending champs would be left out of the NCAAs if they get to that point, even though their non conference schedule was almost all garbage.

 

Lopez just wore out the Sun Devils tonight. A sweep during the Cal/Stanford run was just too much to ask.

 

The KY-Florida gamer had the worst officiating I've seen in about two years.
It's one thing to miss a bunch of calls but, down the stretch, it became plain that these guys didn't really know the rules.

 

Disappointing, too, because Mike Kitts was there and Kitts is one of the better officials around.

 

But this is clearly not the two-time champs. That team is gone, and the SEC looks weak this year. I think they'll get in the NCAAs, but I think they'll be on the bubble unless they go 10-6 in the league. I think they'd just barely squeak in at 9-7.

 

just breaking away from 2-day snowskiing trip and look whos leading the SEC West

long way to go, for sure, but boy this is nice to see

 

Don't forget after football is over to flip over to FSN at 8 p.m. to see WSU host Oregon.

 

Big-time gut check for the Cougs. Oregon is into them for 13 straight wins and swept them last year when Wazzu should have won both. If the Ducks win this one Wazzu has to take a bitch of a road swing to Zona next weekend and it could easily be the start of a three-game losing streak. If the Cougs are a legit Top 10 team they win this thing going away.

 

Plus, Oregon doesn't want to come away from Washington with two losses, so you know the Ducks will be up for it.

 

Tough break for Wazzu, IMO, that this thing got moved to Sunday, giving the Ducks an extra day of rest after a physical game against u-dub. Those teams always beat the hell out of each other and with the Cougs off a dismantling of the Beavs, it was advantage crimson. With an extra day, not so much. Key for Oregon is Porter. If he gets off, he is a matchup nightmare for the Cougs. Guys with crazy range eat them up, though they held Appleby down, so who knows?

On another topic, I just read that Stacey King had his jersey retired at Oklahoma after nearly 20 years. How did it take so long? Kelvin Sampson. I always have defended the guy, but I am starting to believe he really is among the more slimy guys out there. It's one thing to disavow all things Billy Tubbs, another to let a truly great player like King drift on the margins. I doubt anybody else cares, but I know my wife doesn't, so I had to vent here.

 

Uconn manages to lose to Providence this week, then proceeds to crush #13 Marquette today. The team is freaking confounding-never know which team is going to show up.

 

I am starting to think Calhoun is done as a relevant, elite coach. His teams are starting to have that Paterno feel to them. Maybe I am way off, but his teams just don't look like a top-level treat anymore and his program is not rising to the level of the new Big East.