Big week coming up in college hoops, but all the talk is about North Carolina at Kentucky in an NBA LOTTERY GAME on Saturday. Many are saying that the talent that will be on display in this game has no equal. The hype is so big, in fact, that no one seemed to talk about Duke-Ohio St, which in hindsight was about what it deserved. Ohio State raced out to an 11-0 lead and the game was never close in an 85-63 Buckeyes win. I’m hoping better between UNC and UK and I’m excited to be broadcasting the game here on Westwood One Sports with Kevin Kugler.
UNLV’s victory over the Tar Heels can’t even take the shine off the big game. And how about the big win for the Runnin’ Rebels (7-0) — HUGE and what a performance by UCLA transfer Mike Moser. 16 points, 18 rebounds and 6 assists. Yes, Vegas is for real. I can’t wait ’til they play San Diego State (7-1) on January 14th.
First-Year Coaches Getting It Done. And One Who’s Found the Fountain of Youth.
After 20 years as an assistant, Dave Rice’s first year as the man in charge couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. The big win over Carolina has Rebel fans buzzing, and let’s take a second to talk about Archie Miller, the younger brother of Arizona head coach Sean Miller, who is the new head man at Dayton. The Flyers’ win over Minnesota in the Orlando Classic final was impressive. Sticking in the A-10, an old-timer has re-surfaced. Yes, Rick Majerus has St. Louis on the move (6-1). His Billikens squad just rolllllled through three games in Anaheim. Average margin of victory in wins over Boston College, Villanova and Oklahoma? 14.3 points. They lost to Loyola Marymount on Tuesday night, but it was still an impressive trip to California for St. Louis.
Problems in the Pac-12
When I coached in the Pac-10, teams like UCLA and Arizona were winning national championships. Now the Pac-12 continues to lose to the likes of CalPoly, Riverside, Fairfield, Loyola and others. It’s amazing how the conference has struggled for three years now. At 6-1, Cal is the only team ranked – and they got whacked by Missouri (6-0) 92-53.
San Diego St. has 7 straight wins over the Pac-12, with the latest coming last week at Arizona. They’ll have a chance to make it 8 straight when Cal comes to Viejas Arena on Sunday. But FIRST the 7-1 Aztecs have a big game Wednesday versus Creighton, who come in 5-0.
– Bill Frieder
Former Michigan and Arizona State head coach Bill Frieder is an analyst for Westwood One’s coverage of NCAA Basketball. In his weekly blog Boxed Out, Bill scours the box scores to bring you interesting stories from the world of college basketball. This Saturday he’ll be on hand for UNC-Kentucky from Rupp Arena in Lexington. Coverage begins at 11:45 AM Eastern on Westwood One Sports.
