Feast Week Recap

Happy Thanksgiving from Mack is Berning. It is very clear that I have a lot to be thankful for right now: The Jazz are in first place, Kentucky just got ran off the court, and Intramural Basketball season is right around the corner. But most importantly, college basketball is finally hitting its stride. Early season tournaments are some of my favorite games of the season. There's no other time to see big time non conference games on sick neutral site courts, other than March, of course. So, from the opening tip-off with Bill Raftery letting me know Michigan St was going mantoman, to the trophy awarding after the final buzzer, this has pretty much been a perfect week. I'll go through what I have learned from the first stretch of college hoops.

#1 Duke is still the team to beat.

Things were looking a little dicey when the Blue Devils couldn't seem to put Marquette away, the same Golden Eagles team that struggled earlier with juggernauts like South Dakota and Wisconsin-Green Bay. They turned it around, though, by putting a beatdown on a very solid Kansas St squad in what was essentially a

home game for the Wildcats (Kansas City). If Kyrie Irving keeps playing like he is now, and Mason Plumlee continues to control the paint, I definitely see Duke riding Kyle "Andrei Kirilenko" Singler to a repeat as NCAA Champions.

#2 The Big East is still on top. Everything started at the Square, where Pitt was crowned champs of the 2K Sports Classic. It wasn't exactly what E. Gordon Gee would call a gauntlet that they ran through, but they beat solid teams in Rhode Island, Maryland, and Texas. What impressed me the most about the Panthers was their rebounding. No team crashes the boards harder than Pitt, particularly Nigerian freshman Talib Zanna. Georgetown looks solid also, having beaten Old Dominion on the road and North Carolina St in the final of the Charleston Classic. Interesting fact is that the Hoyas are ranked in the top 25 of 3 Point % but 244 in free throws. Next up is Villanova, who really impressed me in the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Wildcats are just a well-coached, fundamentally sound basketball team that takes care of the ball, knocks down their free throws, and boxes out the shooter. As you know, I really respect that brand of basketball. Finally, we have UConn, who made a big time statement winning it all in Maui. The Huskies edged out a very good Michigan St team, and absolutely annihilated Kentucky in the final.

Kemba Walker emerged as a true leader of this team, and they will go as far as he takes them. There were talks about Kemba possibly being the best player in college right now, and rightfully so with his 30 PPG. Personally, though, I'd have to pick Jimmer Fredette of the Mormons, but regardless, Kemba is a hell of an athlete, and Connecticut has the horses to hang with anyone, and could be one of the big surprises of the season.

Changing of the guard on the West Coast? One team that did not rise to the occasion this week would be the Zags, who got exposed defensively in losses to San Diego St and Kansas St. Unless they step up the pressure on D and have someone emerge as an offensive threat other than Steven Gray, it's gonna be a sub-par year in Spokane. It's going to have to happen quickly, too, as Illinois, Washington St, Notre Dame, Baylor, Xavier, Oklahoma St, and Wake Forest loom ahead on a brutal non-conference schedule.

While this is bad news for the Bulldogs, it is great for the team that blew them out of the gym in last years WCC Championship, oh yea, and advanced a round further than them in the NCAA Tourney. The Saint Mary's Gaels lost big man Omar Samhan, but have playmakers all over the perimeter with Clint Steindl, Matthew Dellavadova, and the superstar, Mickey McConnell. Saint Mary's can go shot for shot with anyone in the nation, and is claiming its spot among the top mid-major programs. The Gaels have chances to prove themselves against Texas Tech, San Diego St, Vanderbilt, and of course the Zags, before they try to make another run in the NCAA Tournament.