Monday Night….Basketball?
Well it was a pretty interesting first weekend of basketball with several top 25 teams falling and some close calls in the process but tonight should be by far the most interesting day of the four day old season.
Baylor vs. Uconn
Last year Baylor kicked off the season at Tennessee losing by double figures before avenging that loss and making it to the final four only to lose to Uconn in the process. Baylor hasn’t had it easy in this pre season losing starting point guard Kelly Griffin to quitting the team and not having the services of Mariah Chandler who’s nursing a knee injury. Uconn got 30 points in the first half from Tiffany Hayes last night as well as 18 from all word freshman Bria Hartley. To me I think that the strength of Baylor is inside with Brittany Griner while Uconn is strong on the perimeter and most of basketball on this planet circulates around guard play. Baylor is searching for a guard and could spend most of the non conference hoping they can turn Odyssey Sims into the player she was supposed to be post ACL surgery as the #2 recruit nationally. Can Baylor do it again? Lose early in the season then turn around and knock off Uconn? Well last year that is exactly what happened with Tennessee….the difference this year is that this match up probably wont happen until the final four.
How good is Uconn? As good as everyone else on the team aside from Maya Moore is…if they consistent effort from Hartley, Hayes and the rest of the gang they should win the national championship again. Some people are talking of Stanford being their first loss since they beat them in St Pete in the Final Four more then 2 years ago. I think the guard play of Uconn is going to be something people are really underrating. If Geno can get anything out of the middle look for it to be a long year for opponents and this just to be a replay of the last 2 seasons. The pick for tonight? Uconn 77 Baylor 63 …. But what will the result be when it matters….only time will tell.
Maryland vs. Georgetown
Maryland is another team ACC coaches are talking about as a big sleeper. Georgetown is picked pretty high in the Big East but still hasn’t really proved anything at the highest level. Tonight I expect it to be a little lower scoring then later in the season as the trend has been teams struggling to find offense in the opening weekend, the large crowd expected in support of Georgetown in their small arena should be interesting to see what type of game atmosphere. In the end I think Georgetown is a little frail in the front and doesn’t have the heavy strong post to beat Maryland and I think Maryland is on the way back to possibly being nationally significant and maybe a year away from the final four. The Pick for tonight? Maryland 65 Georgetown 59
Other Games
Xavier vs. Michigan
Xavier is rolling in to Michigan their 2nd BCS opponent in as many games. Michigan isn’t a bad team but is playing a team which could be playing the last weekend of the year. The pick? Xavier 81 Michigan 69
Florida State vs. Auburn
Florida State has been rolling on all cylinders this season and pre season so far, this will be the first real test for Natasha Howard who might be a candidate for national freshman of the year. Look for FSU to be pretty strong this year and this could be the first time people get a real sense of how good they are early in the season on a national level. While I think Auburn has improved this year just gaining of year of experience I see them being a year away from contending with a top 15 team nationally. The Pick? FSU 67 Auburn 59
Duke vs. USC
Well this isn’t a football game, but I expect Duke to really be on a mission this year to get back in the final four and this game might be a little over hyped. USC struggled some in their first game of the year and Duke is really good. If USC can hang in it says a lot about how good they will be in the PAC 10 this year and possible an NCAA tournament team for Michael Cooper. Watch to see how good Chelsea Gray is she might be the impact player in the freshman class to propel them into the final four. Also see if Krystal Thomas has improved at all her senior season will be her final judgment on what type of player she was on the court in Durham. The Pick? Duke 70 USC 53
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