NCAAB Preview
Georgetown lost 82-75 to Oregon in Korea Friday, putting Oregon on foul line 44 (36-44) times; Hoyas shot 59% inside arc but were 1-15 on arc. Hoyas have three starters back from LY's 25-7/14-4 team, but best two starters are gone. Wright State has four starters back from LY, when they wert 23-13- they lost by 10 at Cincinnati, their only Big East foe.
Kent State pulled upset 81-77 at Temple Monday after trailing by 8 at 7:53 mark; Flashes made 11-22 3's, turned ball over only seven times vs young Owls. Seton Hall won opener 83-72 over Niagara in foul fest that saw 102 FTs taken (52 by Hall, 50 for Niagara). Kent has three starters back from 21-14 team; Pirates have four starters back from 15-18 club.
Florida State forced 25 turnovers in 91-67 win over Jacksonville in its opener, but they had 20 turnovers, only 14 assists; FSU has 4 starters back from 18-16/9-9 team- they're picked to finish imid-pack in ACC. UCF lost 73-50 to Seminoles two years ago, in teams' only meeting in last five years; Knights have four starters back from 20-11/9-7 team.
Valparaiso beat Murray State 77-74 in its opener in foulfest; three of its starters played 21+ minutes. Crusaders lost all five starters from 26-8 team that won Horizon title LY and lost by 11 to Michigan State in 1st round of NCAAs. Illinois opens with wins by 17-22 points over stiffs; Illini has lost three starters from 23-13/8-10 team that began year 12-0.
Providence blew 67-60 lead with 0:55 left, lost 69-68 to their local rival Brown LY; Friars won previous four meetings by 31-27-16-24-19, so it was big upset LY. Friars beat BC in OT in opener- they trailed by 3 in OT, but made 30-36 from line despite playing two starters 40+ minutes. Brown has four starters back from LY- they won opener by 17, but is obviously moving way up in class, from Binghamton to Providence.
DePaul made 11-21 from arc, beat Grambling by 38 in opener; when you finish year before 2-18 in last 20 games, any win is good. Blue Demons brought in seven new players this year. Southern Miss was 30-44 from line in 67-51 win in opener; they've got three starters back from LY, but have new PG. Tyndall says this is deepest team he's ever coached.
Wyoming beat Colorado last two years; they shot 68% inside arc LY in 76-69 home win. Both teams beat UT-Martin over weekend, but Buffs also lost to Baylor in Dallas; Colorado has four starters back from 21-12 team that made NCAAs. Wyoming went 7-14 in last 21 games after its 13-0 start LY- they've got three starters back from that team.
Oregon State lost 78-73 at home to Coppin State Sunday, awful way to start season in which Robinson may be on hot seat; Beavers' Nelson did not turn ball over in 37 minutes, probably because he took 26 of their 59 shots, plus another 12 from line. Portland was 30-37 from line in 100-83 win over UC-Davis; Pilots have four starters back from LY's 11-21 club.
Cleveland State rallied back from down 15 at half to beat Iona 73-69 in opener; Vikings played three subs 24+ minutes, grabbed 22 offensive boards in what was a brickfest. San Francisco beat an NAIA team by 38 in its opener. Both teams have four starters back from LY, Dons are #4 pick in tough WCC; Cleveland State is picked #3 in weakened Horizon.
Pepperdine lost its top two scorers from LY's 12-18 team; they brought in two undersized PGs. Waves beat an NAIA team by 13 in the opener. Cal-Riverside shot 29.6% for game, 26% inside arc in 62-40 loss LY at Malibu; UCR lost its opener 77-41 at San Diego State, shooting 1-9 on arc, 8-23 from foul line. Riverside brought in JC kids to get better, but it takes them a while-- this game will be better indicator than San Diego St.
Buffalo fired Witherspoon because he never made NCAAs, brought in Bobby Hurley for his first HC job; Bulls beat Niagara last four years, by 10-8-18-6 points- they lost 82-58 in opener at Texas A&M, but it was only 8 with 10:00 left. Niagara lost opening foulfest at Seton Hall, when both sides took 50+ FTs. Eagles have 3 starters back from 19-14 club.
Marist scored just 51.5 ppg in losing first two games under new coach by 16-27 points; Red Foxes were 6-41 from arc in first two games for Bower, who has NBA experience. St Joe's won its opener at Vermont by 10; they better not be looking ahead to Saturday's game with Creighton, who beat Hawks by 29 LY. St Joe's has 3 starters back from 18-14 club.
Oregon is back from Korea after beating Georgetown by 7, great win in light of Artis' suspension (has 8 games left to serve); Ducks got to foul line 44 times, held Hoyas to 1-15 from arc. Western Carolina forced 18 turnovers in 74-67 win over NC-Asheville; they lost at Illinois by 8 LY, at Wichita State by 16, so they won't be intimidated here.
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