The Fadeaway: Conference play is underway

Were you too busy to follow the college basketball action during the holiday break? Don’t worry, we stayed on it for you.

Tuesday

College hoops returned in earnest with conference play now officially underway.  At first I thought it strange for Wisconsin to be playing a non-conference game at Nebraska, then remembered the Cornhuskers are in the Big 10. Got to get used to this. The Badgers won easily 64-40.

What in the world is going on with Pittsburgh? Notre Dame got a huge conference win 72-59 over the Panthers. The Irish are in a rebuilding year, made even more dire by the season-ending injury to Tim Abromaitis. For the Irish to knock off Pitt is a good sign for Notre Dame, but a gigantic red flag for Pitt.

Last week I said look out for Providence. Yeah, look how they got whipped at St. John’s 91-67. Goodness.

Illinois had to win against a depleted a Minnesota squad, and did 81-72 in double-overtime. Looks like the Gophers aren’t folding and won’t lie down for anyone; it’s a shame Trevor Mbakwe went down, because the Gophers could have been a Big 10 force. I’ll stop repeating my lack of fear of Illinois any weak now.

Wednesday
A full slate of games. As expected, Louisville’s weaknesses finally caused the Cardinals to lose their first game of the year despite a late comeback. No one ever wants to lose their first game of the year. How good is the Georgetown team they lost to? Better yet, with so many freshmen and sophomores, how good could the Hoyas be?

Indiana fell behind big early at Michigan State, came all the way back and took a lead, then saw the Spartans pull away again. And here comes MSU as a force to be reckoned with, right on schedule.

The game of the night was in Dallas, where Baylor just held off Mississippi State. Baylor has NBA-level talent at multiple spots; the Bulldogs are good but need to keep their poise a bit better in close games. (I’m talking to you, Renardo Sidney). But MSU is probably the second-best team in the SEC right now. I think Baylor is the class of the Big 12. The game was an ugly defensive struggle – the kind of defense that wins games in March.

Jim Calhoun began serving a three-game suspension in Big East play. First thing that happens? UConn get a technical foul for submitting the wrong starting line-up. The South Florida Bulls put up quite a fight and the Huskies were just able to hang on for the win, 60-57.

Missouri State got an upset 77-65 win at #19 Creighton. Forward Kyle Weems had 31 points and seven rebounds. Does this represent a power shift in the Missouri Valley Conference? These two teams plus Wichita State will contend for the conference title.

I was big on Oakland earlier in the year. I’m off that bandwagon after they lost at North Dakota State 96-69. They could still compete in the Summit conference chase, but that is one big-time ugly loss.

New Mexico improved to 11-2 with an 89-69 win at rival New Mexico State. The Lobos shot 12-24 from 3-point range. Yeah, doing that usually leads to good things.

Thursday
A thrilling night of hoops with some surprising results, starting at Rutgers. Who knew? Playing most freshmen and sophomores, and getting 31 points from rookie Eli Carter, the Scarlet Knights upset #10 Florida 85-83 in double overtime. Huge win for Rutgers, tough loss for the Gators. We’ll keep the cliché of how hard it is to win on the road to a minimum, but there’s no other way to say it. Florida should not have lost to Rutgers. It was a thrilling game with sometimes questionable execution at the end. No easy wins in the Big East, that’s for sure.

Then again, Vanderbilt had no problems winning at #13 Marquette 74-57. Vandy has gotten off to a rough start this season, but there’s no denying their talent and potential. What’s surprising here is how easily they dispatched Marquette. Vandy went up 18-4, and that was pretty much it. A solid non-conference win for the Commodores.

At first I was surprised to see that #23 Harvard won at Boston College 67-46. But did you know Harvard has now defeated BC four seasons in a row? Wow. That’s not a coincidence. And the Ivy League almost got a second win vs. the ACC, with Wake Forest just holding off Yale 72-71. They are hoopin’ in the Ivies.

VCU won at Akron 76-75 in overtime on a last-second lay-up. No huge conclusions are ramifications here, just an awesome finish.

Milwaukee won at Valparaiso 57-55 to move to 3-0 in conference play.

Stanford just edged UCLA 60-59 to open Pac-12 play. Not that Stanford is near the Top 25, but the Bruins have been much more competitive since Reeves Nelson was booted off the team. Either way, hard to see anyone other than Arizona winning the conference.

We mentioned St. Mary’s last week, but they smoked BYU 98-82 in their conference opener. The Gaels are looking like a threat in the WCC and beyond.

Made reservations at one of our favorite, low key Italian restaurants for New Year’s Eve. What’s the best Italian meal to have on New Year’s Eve? A simple pasta dish seems pretty tame, like lasagna or spaghetti with meatballs. I think the way to go will be to load up on appetizers, you know, your mussels and clams and mozzarella, go easy on the entrée, and then go heavy on the red wine or the Peroni.

Friday
Who am I kidding? I’m up on Saturday morning yet Louisville and Kentucky tip off in less than three hours. Focus, focus – because there were some good action last night.

#10 Missouri got all it could handle at Old Dominion before finally prevailing 75-68. That’s a great road win for the Tigers. At only 6-7, don’t dismiss ODU. They could still be a threat in the Colonial Athletic race.

The train keeps rolling for #21 Murray State, who ran past Eastern Illinois 73-40. Will the Racers even be tested the rest of the way in Ohio Valley Conference play?

Lowly Towson remained winless on the season, but put a scare into #24 Virginia. The Cavaliers are still winning but have appeared shaky lately, showing signs of straining to handle their success.

How is it that Auburn only won by three points at home over Georgia Southern? Is it that hard to recruit hoops players to Auburn? Had Charles Barkley never gone to Auburn, would I be bothering to ask?

Man, I might move my chihuahua’s bed downstairs. I tend to scare her when  I yell at the TV during basketball games.

And so the Ivy League does get another win over an ACC team, with Princeton beating Florida State 75-73 in triple overtime. For the ACC, Pitt and Syracuse can’t arrive soon enough. For a clue as to what’s up with Ivy League athletics, I think I found the answer. Wouldn’t you know it? It all comes down to money, in this case, in the form of financial aid.

Oral Roberts is for real. They improved to 3-0 in conference play with a 79-67 win at South Dakota. Very close to adding ORU as a team that could spring an upset in March.

Texas State lost at Houston 94-71 to fall to 0-5 on the road. I guess they found it’s just as easy to lose in New York as it is in their home state. Come on Bobcats, let’s get it together. (Disclosure: next to the Texas Longhorns, Texas State is the closest Division I team to where I live.)

A very impressive win by Seton Hall at home over West Virginia, 67-48. Are the Pirates for real? Looks like teams going to Newark might be in danger, just like everything else going to Newark.

Actually, I got stranded at the Newark airport a few weeks ago and had to spend a night at the Marriott hotel across from the airport. It was much nicer than I would have expected. If you order room service, I recommend the Ceasar salad and French onion soup.

Saturday
Not too terribly hung over this morning, at least not from the booze. Kentucky, as expected, dismissed Louisville at home 69-62 to keep John Calipari’s record at Rupp Arena blemish-free. Louisville’s offense looked impotent, Kentucky’s defense looked formidable and Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist looked like they won’t be in Lexington for the majority of 2012.

It’s fair to question how good Indiana will be outside of Assembly Hall, but it’s also fair, after their 74-70 takedown of Ohio State, to say that within Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers are on the best team in the country. It’s the first time in school the history Indiana has defeated the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the same season.

An even more surprising result out of the Big 10 was Iowa’s 72-65 win at Wisconsin. Just a few weeks ago the Hawkeyes couldn’t win games at home against teams from their own state; now they’re winning at one of the toughest places to play in the conference. A very un-Badger like performance.

Yet another close call for Mississippi State, who just edged Utah State 66-64. The Bulldogs are living a bit too close to the edge.

And another wild results out of the Missouri Valley Conference. Coming off a huge win, Wichita State loses at home to Creighton 68-61. This conference is shaping up as a roller coaster, meaning some good teams will probably be left out of the NCAA tourney.

That was a decent St. Joseph’s team that Harvard knocked 74-69. Because of their schedule, Harvard might not get a great seed in the NCAA tourney; some unlucky team is going to have a tougher than expected first round game against them.

Was surprised to see Youngstown State win at Cleveland State 73-67. Both team are now 2-1 in Horizon league play. I’m telling you, between the Horizon, the Summit and the Missouri Valley, there is going to be some intense college hoops this season. Don’t just fixate on the Bigs.

On cue, Milwaukee, who was looking like a threat in the Horizon, lost to (who else?) Butler, 54-50. Still think a tourney bid is the ceiling for this Butler squad, but those could be famous last words.

Looking for a good story of revival and resurrection? Take a look at the job Larry Eustachy, former Iowa State coach, is doing at Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles improved to 13-2 with a 65-56 win at McNeese State.

Perhaps I got too excited too soon about UCLA. The California Golden Bears drilled the Bruins 85-69, which leaves the Bruins 0-2 in conference play.

I may have been wrong on UCLA, but not on Illinois, who got drilled at Purdue 75-60. Hmm…might the Boilermakers play spoiler in the Big 10? They are a talented team very much under the radar right now.

Haven’t mentioned the Big Sky Conference much, you know, that bastion of competition in the Pacific Northwest? Or close to the Pacific? Or maybe just the Pacific time zone, or perhaps the Mountain time zone? Weber State moved to 2-0 in conference play with a 74-63 win over Sacramento State.

My surprise pick to emerge out of the Sun Belt took a tough home loss, as Denver fell to Arkansas-Little Rock at home 66-59. In the West Coast Conference, it’s going to be another dog fight between Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s. Gonzaga notched an impressive road win at Xavier  — who is now back at full strength – while the Gaels moved to 2-0 in conference play with a win Pepperdine.

Still very big on Coastal Carolina to win the Big South. Easy pick to make as they glided to 3-0 in conference play with a win at High Point.

Lastly, I hope my editor Avery isn’t sleeping on college hoops in his own backyard. Loyola-Marymount won a thrilling game at San Francisco 77-76 in overtime on a last-second lay-up. Methinks he was too busy getting ready for his New Year’s Eve party.

Sunday
There was no college football on New Year’s Day (that felt weird, didn’t it?) but there was college hoops.

Villanova was game, but fell to 0-2 in Big East play in losing at Marquette. Jay Wright will probably come under some criticism as this season progresses.

And the bottom continues to fall out for Pittsburgh. They lost at home 66-63 to Cincinnati. The Bearcats are going to make things tough for a lot of their opponents this season, but no one expected Pitt to struggle quite this much.

Kudos to Minnesota for being so tough but they fell just short against Michigan. With Ohio State losing to Indiana, the Big Ten race got much more compelling. Don’t think Michigan can win it, but I think they’ll be good enough to make the NCAA tourney.

Way to go, Rutgers. You follow up your best win in ages by losing on the road to South Florida.

And with that, I leave you to enjoy the last week of college football.