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College Basketball NewsFlash

By Adam Stanco

BasketballWriter@cs.com

December 8th

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.  Check out old articles in the NewsFlash Archive.

The Story: 40 In a Loss

Despite losing to Iowa State 81-79 on Monday, Virginia‘s Devin Smith scored 40 points on 11 of 17 shooting. The senior forward also shot 14 of 15 from the free throw line and snatched 9 boards in the game. Iowa State sophomore Curtis Stinson quietly poured in 30 points for the victors.

My Take: What is the only thing that can ease the pain of a jaw clenching loss? Probably nothing… but if anything could it would be seeing 40 listed across from your name in the box score of the next day’s paper. Smith is now averaging 19.3 ppg on the year and shooting just under 45% from three point land. Incredibly, when UVA played Appalachian State on November 24^th, he was held to just 3 points on 1 of 5 shooting.

The Story: Great Week for Pitt

First they sneak into the BCS Championship Series with a Big East conference championship in football, then the Panther basketball team ups their record to 6-0 after throwing a Paulie Walnuts-like whacking on Memphis at the Jimmy V Classic.

My Take: Pittsburgh alums nationwide were already in permanent smile mode after the football team’s surprising season (remember, they went to overtime with Furman). Now they are experiencing the type of two-sport success only New England fans have been accustomed to. Playing an early season hoops schedule Syracuse would be proud of – including games against Robert Morris, Howard, and St. Francis of Pennsylvania) – the Panthers destroyed their first possible challenge, Memphis, 70-51 on Tuesday night. Winning on the defensive end of the floor, the Panthers have now held every opponent under 60 points.

The Story: Shhhh… Freshman Sensation in Lincoln

Despite little publicity on the national scene, Nebraska freshman guard Joe McCray is leading the 3-1 Cornhuskers in scoring with 17.5 ppg. 

My Take: With all of the marquis names in last year’s prep-to-pros Draft class (Dwight Howard, Sebastian Telfair, J.R. Smith, etc.) and the widely discussed freshmen stars-to-be (Marvin Williams, Randolph Morris, etc.), McCray was somehow forgotten in the fanfare. A remarkable thought considering the 6’5” marksman played for powerhouse Laurinburg Prep with a handful of Division I teammates, including Oklahoma’s Longar Longar. McCray possesses a varying array of skills and shoots the ball with as much confidence as any player in the country. The consistency of his play will determine whether Nebraska can be a shocking success story in the Big 12.