Two Words

Letdown and Lexington

Missouri State finally looked vulnerable last night in their loss at Arkansas. I was wrong. But the Bears should have won that game. Arkansas played incredibly on defense, holding MSU to 39% from the field and just 18% from 3-point range in the first half. On the season, the Bears are averging 51% and 46%, respectively. Even Blake Ahearn, statistically the best free throw shooter in NCAA history and Missouri State's leader, shot terribly (5-18 from the field).

Arkansas, on the other hand, has made it through the meat of their non-conference schedule with only two losses, to Connecticut and Maryland. Since then, they've won 5 straight.

I, for one, am excited about the SEC this year. All 12 teams have a winning record at this point, with a little over 2 weeks until conference play starts.

Which brings us to Lexington. Gregg Doyel said just about everything there is to be said in his Top 10 Games.

Countdown to Davidson-Syracuse is at 2 days, 15 minutes.
HOO-AH!

Anyone else thinking Taquan Dean is a darkhorse for Player of the Year? Yeah, didn't think so. Louisville has an excellent big man as well, 6'11" soph David Padgett. He's averaging 10 ppg and 7 rpg, which will shoot up as conference play starts. Oh yeah. One more thing. He's doing it shooting 72%.

Washington in action tonight against Eastern Washington. Talk about exciting teams, the Huskies are averaging 96.4 ppg?!? In all 8 games, they have scored at least 80 points, eclipsing 90 in 5 games and scoring over 110 in 2 contests.

Deep breaths.

One other top 25 team, #12 Michigan State, playing at home tonight against an awful Cleveland State team. No upset here.

--Dave

Randolph Morris, tonight's games...

Kentucky's sophomore center, Randolph Morris, originally suspended for the rest of the season, was granted a reprieve today when the NCAA issued a second statement saying that Morris would only be suspended half of the season, or 14 games. The original suspension was for recieving over $7,000 in paid expenses related to tryouts from nine NBA teams. Morris should not have backed off after practically declaring himself "NBA material". A commitment is a commitment. On the other hand, the Wildcats are glad to have Morris back...sort of. Kentucky will be a much better team once conference play begins and Morris returns to the lineup.

No Top 25 teams in action tonight, but 2 big games nonetheless.

Missouri State (6-0) at Arkansas (6-2)
A chance for both of these teams to make some noise. Tony Mejia picks the Razorbacks by 12, but I can't see that happening. Missouri State is one of the top few mid-majors in the country, and the Bears have seven players averaging over 9 points per game. Arkansas, on the other hand, has been playing sloppily.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee (3-2) at Wisconsin (8-1)
This game is huge for UWM. They have a lot on the line, because this is their last chance to win a big game until the NCAA's. After tonight, the Panthers play no more high-majors. I haven't seen much from the Panthers so far this year, dropping a couple road games to start the year. They might be on the right track, however, with a good win over inconsistent Hawaii.

12/15 picks:
Wisconsin 77, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 65
Missouri State 80, Arkansas 65

6ft1 Top 10
1.)Duke
2.)Villanova
3.)Connecticut
4.)Memphis
5.)Florida
6.)Texas
7.)Illinois
8.)Louisville
9.)Gonzaga
10.)UCLA

6ft1 Mid-Major Top 10
1.)Bucknell
2.)Missouri State
3.)Northern Iowa
4.)Davidson
5.)UNC-Wilmington
6.)Old Dominion
7.)Buffalo
8.)Penn
9.)Iona
10.)Loyola-Chicago

--Dave