College Hoops Rundown 2/21/08

Seven ranked teams took the show on the road last night, and not all of them came away clean:

# 1 Memphis – 97                           Tulane -  71

Well, Memphis kept their end of the bargain and stayed undefeated going into this Saturday’s big #1 vs # 2 match up against  Tennessee. Speaking of the Vols…

Auburn – 70                                       #2 Tennessee – 89 

… they didn’t get beat either. So much for the whole “trap game” theory. Maybe if they would have been playing better teams recently. So now the big game is truly set up for Saturday and I have a feeling that Memphis’ free throw shooting is going to be a problem as Tennessee mounts a late rally to win the game.

#4 Duke – 95                                      Miami – 96

To say that it is surprising that Duke lost 2 games in a row is a little bit of an understatement. The team that some considered the best in the nation a week ago has been a little exposed by their defense on the opposing teams guards. To give Duke credit, they were down 20 in the game and came back to make it real close in the end. Duke continues to shoot an insane percentage from the 3-point line, but one has to wonder if that is a good or bad thing come tournament time.

# 8 Butler – 51                                             Illinois-Chicago – 46 

Butler really hasn’t been all that impressive over the last few weeks, squeaking by with close wins over lesser teams in a bad conference. Regardless, they have a big bracket buster game coming up with Drake, who is coming off a very disappointing loss. Should be a good game, but I think Butler will take it.

#10 Wisconsin – 71                                       Illinois – 57

Illinois is just so disappointing this year.  A 3-7 Big 10 record is a real embarrassment to a program that wasn’t all that bad last year. Free throw shooting and clutch play has really killed them the entire season, but I think this team will surprise people people and knock off a high seeded opponent in the Big 10 tournament. Wisconsin was relieved that Indiana beat Purdue the other night, giving all three of those teams 2 conference losses. Should get a good finish to the regular season.

Penn State – 49                                   #17 Mich State – 86 

#24 Marquette – 73                               St. John’s – 64 

#25 Kansas State – 64                           Nebraska – 71 

Beasley’s below average game (17 points 10 rebounds) makes K-State the 2nd top 25 team to get beat on the road in yesterdays action. Hey, ya can’t win em all.