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College Basketball NewsFlash

By Adam Stanco

basketballwriter@cs.com

December 29th

College Basketball NewsFlash

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, CHN bringsyou 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: Zags Do It Again

For the second time in three games, Gonzaga toppled the #3 team in the country. On December 19^th, the Bulldogs knocked off Georgia Tech and Tuesday night they defeated Oklahoma State 78-75 in the All-College Classic. Adam Morrison scored 19 points and J.P. Batista, filling in for an injured Ronny Turiaf, added 18 off the bench.

My Take:

Clearly Gonzaga is one of the top five teams in the nation. Despite a November loss at Illinois, they are now 3-1 against ranked teams and 10-1 overall. Batista’s fill-in performance was inspiring, yet the starters are the core of this team. The most fun-to-watch twosome since Pam Anderson’s implants, Turiaf and Morrison should be receiving All-American consideration by season’s end. 

Story: Scoring Explosion

Teams across the country put on scoring exhibitions Tuesday night. Oral Roberts, Maryland, New Mexico, and UAB all scored over 100 points, while TCU, UNC, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Arizona State, Southern Mississippi, and Oregon all hit the 90-point mark.

My Take:

Scheduling has a lot to do with the sudden scoring barrage, as many elite programs play softies just before the league schedule starts up. Still, there’s no denying that more teams are pushing the ball because transition buckets are easy buckets. No team is better at increasing tempo than Washington and their quicker than a blink point guard, Nate Robinson. In three of their last four games, the Huskies popped triple digits on the scoreboard.

Story: What’s Wrong With Memphis?

Since starting the season 3-0, the Tigers have dropped three of their last six games and four of their last five – winning only against struggling Austin Peay. Incredibly, the team’s four leaders in points and minutes played (Rodney Carney, Sean Banks, Darius Washington, and Anthony Rice) are all shooting under 40% from the field.

My Take:

At their current pace, Memphis wouldn’t even advance past the first round in Duck Hunt, never mind the NCAA Tournament. Carney and company are explosive and often highlight-worthy, yet in each of the four most recent losses, the Tigers failed to score 60 points. The club is dominated by sour shooting guards and lacks a consistent low post threat. If Memphis hopes to even make the NIT, they should try to get freshman forward Richard Dorsey more involved. The team is 4-0 when Dorsey scores in double-figures and 2-6 when he doesn’t.