Kentucky survives Iona, 73-67. ISU may have lost to Iona by 17, but the Gaels certainly do not suck.

Ohio State in real danger of losing at home to Tennessee State, down by 2 with 10 minutes left in the game.

Interesting Big 10 score.

 

Indiana 51

Butler 46

 

6:42 left

Butler has already played Michigan and Ohio St. tough this season.

 

Never got closer than that. IU wins 73-55. Butler was able to play their slow game to keep the score lower, but it never really got scary. IU shot above 50% from the field again.

 

Killingsworth had 27 points and 6 boards, and Vaden had a solid line of 22 points, 8 boards.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
 

 1. Duke (30) 11-0 774 

 2. Connecticut (1) 9-0 739 

 3. Villanova 8-0 716 

 4. Memphis 9-1 667 

 5. Florida 11-0 643 

 6. Illinois 12-0 632 

 7. Washington 10-0 583 

 8. Gonzaga 9-2 533 

 9. Michigan State 10-2 470 

10. Louisville 9-1 453 

11. UCLA 10-1 444 

12. George Washington 8-0 402 

13. Boston College 8-2 342 

14. Maryland 8-2 311 

15. Oklahoma 6-2 304 

16. Texas 9-2 287 

17. Indiana 7-2 271 

18. N.C. State 9-1 264 

19. Kentucky 8-3 184 

20. Ohio State 8-0 172 

21. Nevada 8-1 168 

22. Wisconsin 9-1 116 

23. Pittsburgh 9-0 84 

24. Wake Forest 9-2 79 

25. North Carolina 6-2 61 

 

AP Top 25 

 1. Duke (61) 11-0 1,714 

 2. Connecticut (7) 9-0 1,658 

 3. Villanova (1) 8-0 1,595 

 4. Memphis 9-1 1,459 

 5. Florida 11-0 1,401 

 6. Illinois 12-0 1,361 

 7. Washington 10-0 1,270 

 8. Gonzaga 9-2 1,267 

 9. Michigan State 10-2 1,136 

10. Louisville 9-1 989 

11. UCLA 10-1 987 

12. George Washington 8-0 932 

13. Boston College 8-2 801 

14. Oklahoma 6-2 735 

15. Texas 9-2 651 

16. Maryland 8-2 638 

17. Indiana 7-2 564 

18. Kentucky 8-3 521 

19. N.C. State 9-1 482 

20. Nevada 8-1 413 

21. Ohio State 8-0 392 

22. Wake Forest 9-2 268 

23. North Carolina 6-2 169 

24. Wisconsin 9-1 136 

25. West Virginia 7-3 135 

#8 Gonzaga vs #4 Memphis Tuesday at 6:00 CT on ESPN2

 

I'd make sure to tune into this one. From the teams i've seen play so far, i think UConn is the best team i've seen...and i'd have to put Memphis 2nd.

Should be an interesting start to the Big Ten season for 3 of the conference heavyweights. 1st four games for Indiana, Illinois and Mich. St are:

 

Indiana

Michigan

Ohio State

@Michigan State

Illinois

 

Illinois

Michigan State

@Iowa

Michigan

@Indiana

 

Michigan State

@Illinois

@Wisconsin

Indiana

@Ohio State

 

These games could help separate a team from the pack right away or stick a team in a hole right away. I'm ready for some good hoops!

I'm ready for some good hoops!

 

Then watch the ACC

Then watch the ACC

 

And stay far, far far far away from the Big 12.

Then watch the ACC

Maybe they can get as many teams into the final four as the big ten does this year

Maybe they can get as many teams into the final four as the big ten does this year

 

Maybe they can also win the title again

Well if you are going to talk about which is the better conference, using depth is a better argument than which conference has the best team.

Well if you are going to talk about which is the better conference, using depth is a better argument than which conference has the best team.

 

I suppose I will use the fact that the ACC won the challenge for like the 7th straight year. That works.

Morrison can score.

 

Just thought I'd point that out.

I only saw the first half, and Morrison had like 21 points giving Zags the lead 40-35. Looks like he ended up w/ 34, but the Zags lost to Memphis 83-72.

Morrison ran out of steam at the end, he didn't score for quite a long time at the end of the 2nd half. It didn't help that Gonzaga's other bigs didn't have very good games.

 

Memphis is a damn good team. Washington can do everything.

Morrison ran out of steam at the end, he didn't score for quite a long time at the end of the 2nd half. It didn't help that Gonzaga's other bigs didn't have very good games.

 

Memphis is a damn good team. Washington can do everything.

 

What's scary is that they are a young team that will probably get better as the season goes on. They start 3 freshmen and 2 sophmores. Rodney Carney is a very gifted player and he comes off the bench. They make some ugly decisions that result in some poor shot selection and turnovers, but they make up for it with great depth and athleticism. They'll be an interesting team to watch this year.

Anybody surprised at how good the Illini are? I didn't think they would completely fall off, and I know the real challenge will come when conference play starts, but they've gone above and beyond what I expected from them to this point.

I definitely didn't expect to be undefeated at this point. The biggest reason for the illini being this good is because of jamar smith's ridiculous play for a freshmen. His shooting has saved us in several of these early games.

 

 

Another win against another made up school tonight.

I definitely didn't expect to be undefeated at this point.  The biggest reason for the illini being this good is because of jamar smith's ridiculous play for a freshmen.  His shooting has saved us in several of these early games.

Another win against another made up school tonight.

 

The defense has been even better than last year, IMO. And, yes, Jamar Smith has been a stud.

And ISU with way too much trouble with Tennessee State.

 

A lot of people are disappointed with the 10-3 start this year, but last year we started out 8-8, 0-5 in conference. We're in fine shape.

The Big 12 is so awful. Iowa State had way too much trouble with Tennessee State, Oklahoma trailed almost all game against Oral Roberts (who, although good, is still a Mid Con team).

 

I honestly think the Missouri Valley Conference is better than the Big 12 this year. The Valley is really good this year and deep, as showcased tonight by undefeated Indiana State falling at home to now 9-2 Wichita State, Creighton beating up on Missouri State in a battle of 2 real good teams, and Bradley with an upset win in OT over Northern Iowa down in Peoria.

Heh, UNI still lost to ISU.

 

The bottom of the Big 12 caught up to the middle and and the top fell. Honestly, how would you rank the teams in the conference? Texas and Oklahoma were vastly overrated at the beginning of the season. Oklahoma State got slapped tonight. Kansas has been all over the map. Iowa State with a BAD loss to Fresno and a big loss to an underrated Iona team. I'm pretty sure Colorado and Kansas State are playing over their heads. Baylor's undefeated, I suppose. A&M has been beating up on middle school teams. Texas Tech forgot how to win. Nebraska can't get their s*** together, getting skullf***ed by Creighton, and Missouri just plain sucks right now.

If the Big 12 is represented in the 2nd weekend of the NCAA Tournament this year, it would be an absolute miracle.

 

And the ISU win over UNI is simple to explain....HILTON MAGIC!!

No team deserves to win the conference thus far. I'm not trying to be a homer, but if ISU can win on the road they have a chance to be a top 4 team in the conference.

The Big 12 is so awful.  Iowa State had way too much trouble with Tennessee State, Oklahoma trailed almost all game against Oral Roberts (who, although good, is still a Mid Con team).

 

I honestly think the Missouri Valley Conference is better than the Big 12 this year.  The Valley is really good this year and deep, as showcased tonight by undefeated Indiana State falling at home to now 9-2 Wichita State, Creighton beating up on Missouri State in a battle of 2 real good teams, and Bradley with an upset win in OT over Northern Iowa down in Peoria.

 

As of last weekend, the MIssouri Valley was rated as the 3rd best conference based on RPI. That will change as the conference sched gets going, but that is a testament to the strength of the league this year. Being a top 8 league is very realistic, if not top 6 or 7.