More College Basketball News

College Basketball NewsFlash

By Adam Stanco

BasketballWriter@cs.com

November 17th

College Basketball NewsFlash

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, CHN will be brining you the latest news and commentary from the world of college basketball.  Each NewsFlash will feature three important news stories, and sharp commentary on the relevancy of the story.

The Story: Iowa Impressive

The Iowa Hawkeyes began this college basketball season absent from the Top 25, but after two straight wins over ranked teams they are now in the top two at the Maui Invitational. Iowa beat Louisville and Texas on back-to-back nights and now faces North Carolina in the finals of early season tournament.

My Take: Every basketball fan with a Hawaiian shirt and a tan expected UNC to advance to the finals of the Maui Invitational, but the only people suggesting Iowa would oppose them were either wearing Hawkeye tee-shirts or sucking down too many pina coladas. Behind 22.5 ppg from swish specialist Jeff Horner, Iowa has a chance to pull off the rarest of feats… three wins over ranked opponents on three consecutive days. If it happens, Iowa will shoot from out of the Top 25 and into the Top 10.  

The Story: The Brawl

The entire sports world is discombobulated over the incredible events which took place at the Palace in Auburn Hills between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons. The fight between the athletes and the fans was one of the ugliest incidents in the history of professional sports. Utterly dominating the headlines, highlights of the brawl have left little room for the start of college basketball to lead Sportscenter and even the local news.

My Take: “The fight”, as most casual sports fans have come to refer to the melee in Detroit, may change the way fans watch basketball at all levels. If a brawl can break out between NBA teams, it can certainly take place as hated rivals meet on college campuses. With the NBA trying to figure out ways to beef up security and eliminate some of the intimacy of first row seating, athletic directors must also now question how they will approach rivalry games, conference tournaments, and even the Final Four.

The Story: Scoring Showcase

Memphis guard Sean Banks torched Arkansas State for 31 points on Tuesday evening. Prior to the shooting display, Banks was averaging 16.5 ppg in the Tigers’ first four games.

My Take: Apparently there is now a Banks other than Lloyd capable of catching on fire. The Sean Banks breakout game was inevitable, but his breakout half was something special. The sophomore scored 28 in the second half – on 9 of 11 shooting – after not scoring more than 20 points in a full game this season. Banks is one of three players, joining freshman Darius Washington Jr. and Rodney Carney, who can simply light up a scoreboard. After this eruption, Banks will surely play with more confidence and turn the Tigers into a nice sleeper pick to make noise on the national scene.