One reason why I enjoy the finishing kick towards the conference tournaments is this is the time of year Girl Scout Cookies arrive...the perfect snack to enjoy while watching a Big East battle royale or an ACC extravaganza... although I did learn last year that in some parts of this fine country Cookie titles have been "dumbed down". Yes, in parts of South Carolina and Pennsylvania--kids aren't selling "Tagalongs" but rather "Peanut Butter Patties"... and if that wasn't bad enough, "Samoas" are called "Caramel Deelites". Not only a lame title that leaves nothing to the imagination, but do we have to spell delight "deelite"? Think about kids across this nation growing up thinking one spells delight "deelite", splendour "splenda" and Captain "Capn" (thank you Crunchberries for not only putting out an easily soggy cereal but one that doesn't spell correctly".
Georgetown bounced back from a tough road loss at Syracuse (I still can't believe the Hoyas had a chance to win at the end of regulation)...drilling South Florida 65-40. Coach John Thompson III's team outrebounded back to back opponents for the first time in memory this winter while sophomore Chris Wright and freshman Greg Monroe are both responding to their first full conference schedule (Wright was injured much of last year). Also, sophomore Nikita Mescheriakov has seen increased minutes over the last few weeks and appears to be doing a lot of the little things that don't show up in the stat-sheet. Next up--the hammer/anvil combination of Marquette and Louisville...two teams the Hoyas notched hard fought victories against last year.
Speaking of South Florida--here's a little bit about the big man that got away from College Park: Augustus Gilchrist finished with 11 points and 3 rebounds over 23 minutes for the Bulls...the freshman is averaging 10 points and 4 rebounds while shooting under 40% from the field...would he have made a difference with the Terps this winter--and how much of a difference?
Maryland followed up a fantastic 83-73 win over Virginia Tech with a 93-64 loss at Clemson that was a five-point game with 17 minutes remaining in regulation. The Terps just couldn't stop the 13th ranked Tigers, allowing 57.8% shooting from the field...the absence of a productive big man continues to hurt as Maryland was outrebounded for the fifth straight game. Amidst the Washington Post special articles and dual press conferences, Landon Milbourne is quietly having a solid season-- averaging 13 points and 6 rebounds a game...Next up: hammer and anvil, ACC style: home games with North Carolina and Duke...the bright spot being if the Terps can steal one of those two they leapfrog back into the NCAA consideration pack.
Interesting series of articles in last week's Washington Post regarding the current state of Terrapin Nation--this site has mentioned the seemingly rotating door for assistant coaches over the last few years as one reason why recruiting has been down. The AAU culture was an interesting read as well--I just wasn't into Saturday's wrapup...it kind of seemed tacked on. Much like a lot of my work here I know, but it didn't give me as much as Thursday's article did.
George Mason despite all of their road woes find themselves one game out of first place in the CAA with two conference games remaining. The Patriots need Virginia Commonwealth to lose twice while sweeping their remaining slate--tilts at UNC-Wilmington (3-13) and against Towson (4-12). GMU got into position to be in position by downing Northeastern 64-53 and nipping Drexel 49-48...Darryl Monroe's gamewinning shot with seven seconds left capping a night where the senior tallied 15 points and 9 rebounds. Next Up: Bracket-Buster at Creighton.
C-Span recently released their presidential rankings--and naturally as a college hoops fan I envisioned a bracket of the 42 former leaders...I mean who wouldn't want to see a second round matchup of #15 Clinton against #18 GHW Bush? Or the dream regional of #27 Nixon-#38 Harding (scandal showdown) with the winner facing #6 JFK? By the way, the undercard of Kennedy-Nixon II(this time it's personal)-- would be #11 LBJ - #22 Ford... with Gus Johnson announcing: "THE POLLS CLOSE! AND WE GO TO THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE!"
George Washington had a shot at a tie for 12th place in the Atlantic Ten slip through their fingers...getting smacked around by Charlotte for 25 minutes (and trailing 50-20 with 14:39 remaining)...opportunities to climb back up into the A-10 tournament are out there: four of GW's remaining opponents have losing conference records. Coach Karl Hobbs' crew surprised us last year with much-improved late season play--so why not this February? Next Up: St. Bonaventure's 4-7 in league action--has lost 5 of 7 and three straight road games.
Other Presidential Bracket-busters: potential regional semifinal battle between Eisenhower (master general) and Wilson (master peacemaker)...as well as Jackson-Polk in a regional final battle reminiscent of Knight-coach K in the '92 Final Four..."Old Hickory and the Little Napoleon"...
American moved a game ahead of Holy Cross in the Patriot League standings with a 58-36 triumph over Army...the Eagle defense shining once again (allowing 27% shooting by the Black Knights after allowing 31% by Colgate and 30% by Bucknell). Coach Jeff Jones received another fine effort from his backcourt--Derrick Mercer notched 17 points while Garrison Carr added 13...Mercer's had seven games where he hasn't scored in double figures this winter--just one of them has come in league play. Next up: a Patriot League showdown with Holy Cross that will go a long way towards determine who has home court for the conference tournament. AU lost at the Crusaders 71-62 last month in what has been the Eagles lone loss since December 22nd.
My Final Four: #1 Lincoln over Eisenhower, #13 Jackson over #12 Polk, #2 Washington over #10 Reagan and #3 FDR over LBJ...with Lincoln upending Roosevelt in the finals...with Jim Nantz's not-canned final call "AND HONESTLY, IT'S ABE!"
Howard's high-flying February came to a thud with back to back to back losses...the last a 74-69 defeat against MEAC leader Morgan State--a game where the Bison wasn't as much outshot but outrebounded and turned the ball over an unlucky 13 times. The Bears have obviously been reading this blog and my heralding of Eugene Myatt as the best player nobody knows about in and around the beltway came back to haunt Howard's leading scorer...as Morgan State held the senior to a league play-low 12 points. Next up: a Monday night matchup with tied-for-second place Coppin State.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment