Late Halloween for Gators

Florida got a scare tonight as Alabama was up by double digits at the half. How did it turn out? Let's take a look:

1. Florida: play host to Alabama. You remember Alabama, don't you? The team that unseeingly hung around the top-25 until this week despite the fact that they only beat one top-25 team, and that was LSU--who, by-the-way, also overstayed their welcome in the Coaches' poll. And then we all know Florida. The Golden Gators, who can do no wrong. Oh, they are good, but they cannot prove a #1 ranking by playing teams in the SEC, which pales in comparison to the ACC, Big East, Pac-10, Big 10, and Big 12 this season. Great to be a big fish in a little pond, but once they get thrown into the ocean we will all see if all of this UF hype is valid or not. Anyway, ho-hum, the Gators will beat Alabama. Gators trailed early, but they did something we have not yet seen them do, which is outscore their opponent in the second half. Wake-up call for UF? We are still wondering if they should be #1.

2. Ohio State: at Penn State. No contest here as the Buckeyes dominate. But it WAS a contest! OSU won, but, as often happens when a low-life team like PSU takes on a top-ranked team like OSU, the underdog puts up a huge rally and looks legit. 99% of the time, though, this happens in the first 15 minutes, but PSU, bless their hearts, were down 21 at halftime and came out and outscored the mighty Buckeyes by 19 in the second half to only lose by 2.

3. Wisconsin: at Minnesota. Minnesota is really a pretty state. Lots of lakes. They even had a decent basketball team long ago until the NCAA noticed some "questionable" recruiting and tutoring practices. Since then, it has been all downhill for the Golden Gophers. The only positive thing you can say about this 9-16 team is that they are deep. Wisconsin wins. This was probably a little closer than it should have been, but Win-consin continues to shine.

8. Kansas: at Colorado. Despite one of their 6 wins being against OK State last week, Colorado is pitiful. They are out of their league in the Big-12, and Kansas will prove that as they beat the Buffaloes. As we said, Colorado was no match for the Jayhawks.

9. Memphis: at Tulsa. Tulsa sits right in the middle of Conference-USA. They are neither good nor bad. They struggle to score, rebound, and share the ball. They even have a pretty high turnover average. Bottom line: they are average. BUT, they are 14-2 at home this season. Memphis is on a 13 game winning streak with their only 3 losses coming on the road. Should Memphis be worried??? Uh, no. They will win. Sorry to Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik (former UNC assistant under Matt Doherty). Memphis wins 14th straight. No problem here. Sorry again Doug. Let's just hope you are kinder to your players and front office staff than your former boss was.

10. Nevada: hosts San Jose State. No comment. SJS is all bad. Nevada wins. Yes, Nevada wins, but by 8?? At home?? Not a game to be proud of. They are better than that.

11. Washington State: at Washington. The last time these two teams met, WSU just stomped on the Huskies. This will be deja vu. WSU wins. No stomping here, but Washington State wins just the same.

13. Marquette: at Depaul. Marquette looked very vulnerable in their 18-point loss to now-#16 Georgetown this weekend. We have not ever been completely sold on this Marquette team, but we do know that Depaul stands no chance in hell of beating them tomorrow night. Oh how wrong we were. Depaul led by 7 at the half and won by 5. What went wrong for Marquette? Well, they were playing on the road after a very poor loss to Georgetown, so that had to be a factor. We think they showed their fatigue by shooting only 52% from the FT line, well below their 65% average for the season. We continue to take a wait-and-see approach to this Golden Eagles team.

14. Air Force: host Utah. Both teams are struggling, and remember that Utah beat AF back in January. However, we think the Falcons win this game at home. And they did. No big news here. Air Force dominates.

21. Boston College: play host to Duke. We don't want to be all about hype, but this is the biggest game of the season for Duke. They are falling fast (not ranked this week for the first time in 11 years) and they are not good. It's not bad luck or bad officiating or any other flukes that have gotten the Blue Satans to this point. The harsh reality is that they suck. Paulus? McRoberts? Do you think these guys will have their jerseys retired? Look down the Duke bench (beyond all of those "classy" assistant coaches with their heads in their hands) and you see nothing more than pure mediocrity. Duke has no "go-to" guy like a Battier or a Reddick. They have nothing. So, put your Duke shirts and banners and hats and car flags away in a box down in your basement. You won't be needing them anytime soon. Put away your Duke American Express cards, and your "You Will Be Working For Us One Day" placards. It's over for now. Pack up your tents and your X-Boxes, as K-Ville will be closing down soon. Forget about all of those "classy" cheers and don't count on bouncing up and down in Cameron anymore. Yes, Dook Vitale and his faithful sold-out sidekick Mike Patrick will try and raise your hopes, but don't be fooled, dear Dookies. Your time has come and passed. Beat BC at home? We don't see it. In fact, we see Duke winning maybe 3 more games this season, which would put them at 7-9 in the ACC. Wave at Coach Cry and all of his assistants (NOTE: not one of them--Wojo, Dawkins, Collins--have ever won a national championship while playing for Duke) as they ride off into the sunset. All the Duke Crazies can say what they will, but they did not actually win this game. Yes, the final score was Duke 78 BC70. But, the Eagles lost this sure win. Witness the lollygagging of the BC players for the final 10 minutes of the first half and the first 10 minutes of the second half. It was pathetic! They telegraphed their passes, and then watched as one Blue Satan after another stole the ball. They let Jason McRoberts, who is about as good a basketball player as Ronald McDonald, get lots of dunks and rebounds. BC was pitiful. Did their 1-point win against scum-sucking Florida State this weekend not get through to these guys? Whatever the outcome, Duke has a long haul, and we are still penciling them in for the NIT.

Quickly, four top-25 games tomorrow:

7. UCLA: at Arizona State. UCLA bounces back from loss at WVU this weekend to beat ASU>

17. Oregon: at California. No secret that the Ducks are struggling to be consistent, but California has lost 6 in a row, and their remaining schedule is chock-full of top-ranked teams. We think the Golden Bears will make a huge run in the first half, but Oregon has too many offensive and defensive weapons to me overcome. Bottom line: unless the Ducks play their worst game of the season they should win this game.

19. Indiana: at Purdue. Seems like most of the top-25 teams are playing on the road this week. Purdue is by no means a good team, but the Hoosiers struggle on the road, so what the hell?--let's call an upset here. The Boilermakers win at home.

23. USC: at #24 Arizona. Game of the night. Both teams are in recovery-mode after suffering the mid-season slump, but USC did beat Zona in January. We're looking at the stats and see an even match. Let's give it to the home team. USC wins. Sorry Lute.