Struggling USC Attempts to Reach .500 Tonight vs UNLV

After a sluggish start, the underachieving Trojans

can silence a few of the doubter with a solid performance in

four team Las Vegas Invitational.

Their football team can't play in the postseason, but their Men's Basketball team can.  After being a team many considered an NCAA tournament lock in the preseason, Jio Fontan tore his ACL and was declared out for the year.  Fontan was expected to lead USC this season, even carry the team on his back.  Now, with his injury, the Trojans haven't found any one player who has been able to fill even somewhat of the void.

Although former Iowa Hawkeye Aaron Fuller and 5'7" sophomore Maurice Jones are both averaging double figures in scoring, junior college standout Dwayne Dedmon has failed in many people's eyes to live up to the hype.  In 24 minutes per game, Dedmon has averaged seven points and six boards.  Not exactly impressive for a man who was believed to be a dominating force down low for USC.

Things aren't getting much easier for USC tonight, as they take on a UNLV team who is 5-0, expected to win the Mountain West conference and appear in their third consecutive NCAA Tournament.  The Rebels are led by first year head coach Dave Rice, who played for Jerry Tarkanian's 1990 national championship team. 

The Trojans have to be nothing short of stellar from here on out if they expect a tournament berth this year.  While they lost to Nebraska and a declining San Diego State team, they also fell at home to Cal Poly, an opponent from the much smaller Big West Conference. 

If they are victorious tonight, they will play the winner of the #1 North Carolina/South Carolina contest. 

Maui Invitational Preview

With one of the most intriguing tournament fields in recent years,

the 2011 installment of the EA Sports Maui Invitational promises

to bring us great match-ups, all the way through the

title game on November 23rd.

Quarterfinal #1:  Michigan vs Memphis

Expect two sophomore standouts to battle it out during Maui's opening contest.  Memphis guard Will Barton is physically gifted and has a unique knack for the game of basketball.  Although his decision making can be called into question at times, he will ultimately determine how far Josh Pastner's Tigers go this season.  On the other side of the court is the son of the man with the "Killer Crossover", Tim Hardaway Jr.  With last year's leading scorer Darius Morris now having to deal with the unfortunate NBA lockout, Hardaway will be the main option this year for Michigan. 

Although both sides have shooter who can terrorize opponents from the perimeter, this game will ultimately come down to which star comes up big.  Will Barton is the overall more talented player, so Memphis wraps this one up in nail biting fashion.

Memphis def. Michigan 68-63

Quarterfinal 2#:  Duke vs Tennessee

Yes, Tennessee has a few freshman to watch out for.  The most notable is freshman Josh Richardson.  And through two games they are shooting an impressive 49 percent from beyond the arc.  However, when you look at Duke's team, and their coach, you tend to forget much of that.  Duke's Austin Rivers, in my opinion, is the best freshman in the nation, and maybe the best all-around guard in America, regardless of class.  People also tend to look past the versatility of the Blue Devils' Mason Plumlee.  The junior is averaging 11 points & 9 rebounds on the young season, and is deceptively athletic. 

And, if the talent for whatever insane reason isn't enough to beat Tennessee, then the shooting of Andre Dawkins, Ryan Kelly, Tyler Thornton, and Seth Curry will be.

Duke def. Tennessee 91-75

Quarterfinal #3:  UCLA vs Chaminade

Did anyone see the Bruins starting 0-2?  Okay, this team may have been a bit overrated in the preseason, but they shouldn't be losing to Middle Tennessee State by 20 points.  Despite all of this, and the suspension to Reeves Nelson, they're playing a Division II opponents who should produce virtually no challenge for struggling UCLA.

UCLA def. Chaminade 89-55

Quarterfinal #4:  Georgetown vs Kansas

For the first time in a long while, the Hoyas are in a rebuilding stage.  With only two seniors on the team, they don't have much in the way of talent to contend for long against Kansas.  Thomas Robinson should dominate the rebounding category early and often, while Tyshawn Taylor will hurt the Georgetown defense in a number of ways. 

Kansas def. Georgetown 79-68

Semifinal #1:  Duke vs Memphis

While Josh Pastner's team may be talented enough to defeat many other opponents, this shouldn't be the case against Coach K's program.  Mason Plumlee's length should bother the Tigers, and Austin Rivers has the ability to score at will.  Once again, Duke just has too many weapons, and has a deadly arsenal with several shooter who can fill it up from the three point line.  Don't expect this game to be a cake walk, but the Devils are just too talented for Pastner's Tigers.

Duke def. Memphis 69-62

Semifinal 2:  UCLA vs Kansas

Ben Howland's team isn't playing so-so opponents anymore.  They're playing a still talented Kansas team despite all of the Jayhawks' key losses from last season.  Although Reeves Nelson should have returned from his suspension by this time, they will most likely be outclassed by Bill Self's team.  Robinson plus Taylor simply provide too much of a dynamic duo for a team still searching for its identity to deal with. 

Although I expect UCLA to make a bit of a rally during the second half, the Jayhawks still come out on top.

Kansas def. UCLA 71-61

Championship Game:  Duke vs Kansas

Basketball fans, old school and new, will want to tune in for this match-up.  On one side there's Mike Krzyewski who is now the all-time winningest coach in Division I history.  Across the sidelines from him will be Kansas coach Bill Self, who has kept the Jayhawks amongst the nation's elite year after year since arriving on campus in 2003.  He also has an AP Coach of the Year Award (2009) and the 2008 National Championship on his resume.

This title game should go back in forth, but Duke's role players & shooters will make the difference in the end.  Expect Seth Curry to have a big night (with the defense locked in on Austin Rivers) as well as sharpshooting Tyler Thornton. 

Duke takes home the title in a hard fought overtime thriller.

Duke def. Kansas 73-70 to win 2011 EA Sports Maui Invitational

Thank you everyone for reading this, and be sure to subscribe and check out my other blogs, which cover basketball & college football.  Thank you.



  

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.1

Can Arizona catch its stride tonight against Duqense?

After a shaky start in exhibition play, can the Wildcats

regain the mojo that they showed on Monday?

In the season opener against Valparaiso, the Arizona Wildcats looked nothing like the team that lost to Seattle Pacific in an exhibition game during the preseason.  Instead, they more so resembled the Wildcat team that made it all the way to the Elite Eight of the 2011 NCAA Tournament. 

From the tip-off Arizona proved it was more talented than the struggling Crusaders, who, with the exception of two players who had 18 points, had nobody in double figures for scoring.  The Wildcats had three players that recorded double digits.  Freshman Nick Johnson came off the bench and scored 14, while Kyle Fogg led 'Zona in scoring with 16 points.  Senior Jesse Perry poured in 14, and along the way grabbed ten rebounds.

The Duqense Dukes are competing in their first game of the season tonight.  They have lost their two leading scorers from the 2010-11 season, Damian Saunders & Bill Clark.  The Dukes finished last year with a 19-13 record, finished off with a loss to Oregon in the CBI Quarterfinals.

Also, Nick Johnson of Arizona has an upside that any coach would love for a player to have.  U of A fans hope that they can soon forget about Lamont Jones' transfer to Iona with Nick Johnson leading their back court for the years to come.