Sports Blog » Alabama

Rivals Announces Its Preseason Top 25 For 2009-2010 College Hoops

Dave — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:30:48 +0000

You can view it here. And though I haven’t looked into next year’s rosters, and really have no clue who’s going to be good and who isn’t, I find it odd that they put UNC as the No. 3 team under the assumption that Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson return. If that’s the case, Danny Green and Tyler Hansboro will be the only players gone, Marcus Ginyard will be back, and Ed Davis will take over for Tyler Hansboro, and he showed in this tournament that he can definitely handle the load.

Anyway, enjoy the preseason, way too early top 25. It is what I thought it was.

[Rivals]

March Madness Update: More Georgia Tech Love

Dave — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 07:12:59 +0000

Wake Forest 61, Georgia Tech 75: Were you really expecting me to headline another college game over my Yellow Jackets? This was win number 18 for Georgia Tech, who has games left against UNC and Boston College at home, and Virginia on the road. GT will need to beat Boston College and play UNC close, I think, to make sure they get a bid. Nineteen wins in the ACC is generally enough, but with teams like Michigan State — who thought to be out, according to most of the bracketology stuff I read — beating Wisconsin, things get a little trickier. Oh yeah. Javaris Crittenton, a freshman I’m quite fond of, had 22 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds.

South Carolina 49, Florida 63: It’s never good to have to play Florida after they’ve lost, something the ‘Cocks just found out firsthand. It also doesn’t help South Carolina’s chances when they only score 13 points in a half. Al Hortford scored 20 points, and Joakim Noah didn’t punch anybody. He’s gone after cheerleaders and coaches now, so we’re thinking the next road game, maybe a fan.

NC State 64, UNC 83: The Tar Heels got their revenge from their loss to the Wolfpack earlier in the season. Hansbrough dropped 20 and freshman Brandan Wright led the team with 24. I wasn’t able to watch this game, but I get the feeling that in person Ty Lawson looked a lot better than his five points in the box score would indicate.

Vanderbilt 70, Mississippi State 83: So much for that big win against Florida. It’s usually hard to win games, though, when you allow the other team to shoot 54% from the field.

Penn State 60, Ohio State 68: Jamar Butler was 4-6 beyond the arch, and Greg Oden had a double-double (17 and 14) to help — number one? — Ohio State win its 12th straight game. While that’s impressive, the teams they’ve beaten aren’t (Tennessee was the only tournament team they beat — Michigan State and Purdue, bubble teams, were the other quality wins).

Alabama 66, Tennessee 69: It’s hard to win when your best scorer, and maybe best shooter in the nation, goes 3-15 from beyond the arch, but Tennessee found a way. Chris Lofton played like garbage, but still managed 20 points. JuJuan Smith scored 16 to help the Vols get a much needed win.

March Madness Update: Greg Oden Hit Puberty At Three

Dave — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 05:52:55 +0000

Duke 78, Boston College 70: They were up 20 at one point, and BC put on a nice comeback, but it was all for not in the end. Josh McRoberts had 18 points and 12 rebounds in a game Duke desperately needed. It’s always nice to know that Duke is heating up just before they play Georgia Tech. *sigh*

Ohio State 64, Penn State 62: The Buckeyes led this one 40-19 at halftime, but apparently a Nittany Lion is a pesky lion. Greg Oden had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and in the ESPN day of Greg Oden Goodness, nothing else matters. He shoots left handed, right handed, blocks shots, wins games, and occasionally saves a life. My question: Is this guy really only 18, or is this like the little league world series where you find out these kids aren’t 11 at all, but really 30?

Alabama 67, Florida 76: It’s going to be hard for me to not pick this team to win it all. I hate going with everybody’s favorite, but they’re just too deep: Four of their five starters had double digits, and they outscored ‘Bama 45-25 in the second half when they really had to turn it on.

Wisconsin 75, Minnesota 62: It’s been official for a while, but I’ll go ahead and announce it now: Alando Tucker is a badass. He had 29 points and 9 boards, but I still think that Wisconsin is going to get hurt in The Dance, because they simply don’t have guards that can shoot.

Memphis 69, Tulsa 52: Memphis held Tulsa to 16-50 from the field. You don’t need to see a score to know Memphis won (but I provided you with one, anyway; it’s called being generous). I hate to harp on something I’ve already mentioned 250 times, but one of Memphis’ three losses was to Georgia Tech. . . just hoping the committee is reading.

Utah 43, Air Force 69: This might be a popular sleeper come March. They control the ball, they shoot threes, and they have solid big men. Their one problem: No guards, much like Wisconsin.

Top 25 Last Night

Dave — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 15:09:04 +0000

Maybe They Needed a Pep-Talk From Saban: Losing to Auburn in football has become annualy accepted, but losing in basketball isn’t supposed to happen. The Tigers put it all over their state rival, beating the Crimson Tide, 81-57. They ended a 7 game losing streak to the Tide, and have now beaten two top 25 teams in a row, after going 0-for-their-last-15 against their previous top 25 opponents.

Finally, A Win: Nice to see Illinois win a game. Every time I watch this team, it’s an ESPN weeknight game, and it’s the same result: They lose. Illinois got their first win against a top 25 opponent last night, beating the Hoosiers, 51-43. I know it’s college basketball, and every year is completely different, but it’s hard to imagine that this team was in the finals two years ago.

Luck of the Irish? Nah: Notre Dame dropped one to St. John’s, probably dropping them out of the top 25. Larry Wright hit a three-pointer with time winding down, and the Johnny’s beat Notre Dame for their second big win in a row. If Notre Dame wants to continue to win basketball games, it shouldn’t resemble the football team’s secondary, giving up 49 points in the first half.