More College Basketball News

College Basketball NewsFlash

By John Talty

jtalty2003@yahoo.com

November 29th

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.

Story: Illini thrash Zags

In the John Wooden Tradition, the Illinois Illini defeated the Gonzaga Zags by a score of 89 to 72. Illinois at one point in the game was up by 38 points until they decided to rest the starters and clear the bench. The leading scorers for Illinois were Deron Williams and Luther Head, both scoring 20 points. In a losing effort for the Zags, Adam Morrison with 26 points was the leading scorer.

My Take: For all the hype that Illinois got during the off-season, they certainly have proven themselves. I was a bit skeptical in the beginning about Illinois, but they have certainly proven themselves as a contender to cut down the nets in April. Illinois doesn’t get their scoring from just one person; it truly is a team effort. The majority of their points do come from the guards though. Illinois, which starts 3 guards and 2 forwards, have had great success from the backcourt and in this one got a combined 57 points from the backcourt. Gonzaga on the other hand has not impressed me, especially star forward Ronny Turiaf. Sure Turiaf can score 40 points against Idaho, but in this one where it really counts he scored a measly 12 points. The country’s Cinderella may be in trouble this year with the good play from conference rivals Pepperdine, Saint Clara, and St. Mary’s.

Story: Washington off to a hot start; wins Great Alaska Shootout

Washington added another win to their total on Saturday with a win over Alabama to win the Great Alaska Shootout. Washington is now 4-0 mostly because of the great play of guard Nate Robinson, who is now averaging 23.3 ppg.

My Take: Washington now has to be considered the favorite to win the Pac-10 with their successful start and Arizona’s struggles. It’s not rare for teams to go 4-0 early especially because most teams schedule creampuffs early. But to be 4-0 and have wins against good teams that’s a big deal. Washington has beaten the Mountain West favorite (Utah), a SEC favorite (Alabama), and a team that was predicted to make some noise in the Big XII (Oklahoma). Washington is a very small team, though so far that has not been a factor. Little guy Nate Robinson stands at 5’9, but when he averages 23.3 ppg and shoots .500 from 3-point range, who cares?

Story: Wake Forest squeaks by Arizona

In the championship game of the Preseason NIT, Wake Forest defeated Arizona 63 to 60. Justin Gray had a great game with 21 points and for the Wildcats forward Hassan Adams with 19 points was the leading scorer. Arizona was at one point up by as many as 11 points, but Wake Forest clawed it’s way back and pulled it out.

My Take: Wake Forest really was not sharp in this game as evident with super soph Chris Paul having as many turnovers (4) as points scored (4). Paul truly had an off night, but guard Justin Gray picked up the slack and carried this team on his back. Arizona had the lead early, but just could not put Wake Forest away and ended up blowing it. Arizona hasn’t impressed many and now drops to 3-2. Arizona was the favorite to win the Pac-10, but they’ve played poorly and Washington has played great thus the passing of the torch to the Huskies. Arizona really needs to get their act together because after their game against Wyoming on November 30^th, they will have to play against Mississippi St., then Utah and finally Marquette. All will be tough games and if Arizona doesn’t bring their “A” game they could lose all of them. Wake Forest has their first true test coming up against Illinois. Both teams are ranked in the Top 5 and will make for the best game so far this season.