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College Basketball NewsFlash

By John Talty

jtalty2003@yahoo.com

December 13th

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.

Story: Marquette is on fire; improves to 9-0

Marquette defeated Wisconsin 63 to 54. The Golden Eagles have just been dominating recently, especially star guard Travis Diener. Diener scored 29 points and brought down 5 rebounds. In a losing effort for the Badgers, Alando Tucker was the leading scorer with 13 points.

My Take: Marquette might be the best team in Conference USA. Led by Travis Diener, who is now averaging 21.1 ppg, this team plays very good basketball and doesn’t make too many mistakes. Wisconsin on the other hand has been struggling recently and having problems scoring. The Badgers drop to 5-2 and will most likely drop out of the Top 25, while Marquette figures to get into the Top 25 for the first time this season.

Story: What a letdown!

Just days after defeating Connecticut, Massachusetts lost to Miami 80 to 53. Rashaun Freeman, the hero of the UCONN game, scored only 7 points here in 27 minutes of work. Miami was extremely sloppy (40 turnovers), but they still managed to beat UMASS by 27 points mostly because of guard Guillermo Diaz. Diaz had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists and was the main reason that Miami defeated UMASS.

My Take: Steve Lappas does it once again, by winning the ones he shouldn’t and losing the ones he shouldn’t. Coming off an emotional high, the Minutemen did not come out pumped up and did not play the way they did against the Huskies. From Kings to Paupers in the matter of only a few days, UMASS drops down to 3-3 and are going to have a very hard time getting into the Dance after this one.

Story: Washington escapes past Loyola-Marymount

The Huskies barely escaped past the Lions, winning 100 to 93 in a close one. Washington had 3 players score in the 20’s, those players were: Bobby Jones with 21 points, Nate Robinson with 28 points, and Tre Simmons with 26 points. Loyola-Marymount had a more balanced offense and had 5 players score in double figures.

My Take: Washington clearly was the more talented team in this game, but Loyola-Marymount played well and they certainly deserve kudos. Washington has looked great some games, and as they showed here, they have also played poorly in some games. This game was actually tied at half, which is pathetic for a team that is looking to be a contender come March. This of course is not the most important story out of Seattle though, as the Huskies have also hired Tyrone Willingham to coach the football team.