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.

Waco State of Mind

Two seasons removed from the Elite 8, Baylor's talent filled roster looks to take

the next step forward this year.

How much will LaceDarius Dunn's departure be felt?  Through his Junior & Senior years, Dunn led the Bears in points per game.  One of the better scorers in basketball throughout his last two years in college, the 6'4" guard seemed capable of pouring it in from anywhere at times. 

Perry Jones, a projected lottery pick in the 2012 draft, decided to stay at Baylor.  One has to believe that his decision had much to do with the uncertainty of the NBA actually playing any games in the 2011-12 season.  Chicago native Quincy Miller will be his running mate in the Baylor frontcourt.  His versatility should definitely help out Baylor, as well as give Perry Jones more isolation opportunities in the low post.  Pro Scouts have also been extremely impressed with Miller's Basketball I.Q.  When you have a player who's 6'8" and knows the game like Miller does, it can be extremely dangerous for the opposition.  Expect the Baylor frontcourt to dominate virtually all opponents this upcoming season.

If you go on YouTube, you can find a plethora of Duece Bello highlights films.  Almost unanimously considered the best dunker amongst freshman this year, Duece should somewhat be able to fill the void left in the Baylor backcourt by LaceDarius Dunn.  Although his jumpshot tends to be a bit spotty, his athleticism and ability to drive at will has head coach Scott Drew referring to him as "the most athletic player I've ever recruited." 

Depending on where they are placed during March, the Bears are very capable of making a run at the final four this year.  All of their pieces simply need to gel together.  If Jones and Miller show out they way that they're capable of this year, and the others can excel in their roles, the Bears will without a doubt compete for a date in New Orleans this year.





NBA 2K12 First Impressions

No rookies?  No problem.  NBA 2K12. will give basketball gamers all that they

 need during the duration of the NBA lockout.

No Kyrie. No Derrick Williams. Nobody will be taught how to Jimmer for the better part of two months since the release of the game. The lockout has left a number of NBA fans depressed, and maybe even drove a larger number away from watching the pro game. However, if you are a basketball junkie like myself, then NBA 2K12 will give you more than you need to stay entertained before the 2011-12 NBA season begins (whenever that may be). 

For the better part of an hour I navigated the menus, in absolute awe of a video game of all things. The 1964-65 Lakers vs the 1964-65 Celtics consumed the majority of my attention on October 4th. The black and white display, announcers' voices sounding 1960-ish, and no three point line were all among the amazing features that had my jaw dropped. Bill Russell, like he did in his playing days, changed the game like no one else. John Havlicek, with the ability to score from anywhere on the floor, bailed me out on numerous occasions. However, if the game came down to the closing minutes, Jerry West or high flying Elgin Baylor would stick a dagger in my heart with a spectacular play that they seemed to come up with on every single possession in the game's final quarter or overtime. Nonetheless, the NBA's Greatest Mode is extremely authentic, and even the casual basketball fan will be able to appreciate its accurate representation of the game in the "good ol' days."

The pregame pump up video is insane. Not only does the music coincidentally seem to fit whatever kind of game that you're playing, but one song even has a special effect when it is played during the pregame promo. If the song "Awesome" comes on, the word AWESOME will even pop up during the promo. After the short clip, the starting lineups look even more realistic than ever before. The back court players come up on the screen, dribbling the ball or even twirling it around their head while it displays their stats and percentages. The same happens with the three front court players. Like last year, the pregame rituals (such as Dwayne Wade's chin-ups on the rim, LeBron's Powder Toss, Tim Duncan's caressing the ball, etc.) all remain on one of the top selling franchises in sports video games. 

I have not seen it for myself, but from what I've heard, shots at the buzzer are reviewed on this year's game. It has been told to me that the referees go to the monitor after the shot, and even review the play in slow motion, so that one can tell much easier whether or not the shot was released on time. While the celebrations for winning shots are still a bit generic, the atmosphere in the arena definitely gets magnified by 100 when the game is close in the final seconds. Another thing that had me constantly viewing to the replay was the animated first row of the crowd. If the ball is heading towards the people who paid Donald Trump like money for their floor seats, they sometimes actually flinch to get out of the way. Other times, it seems like they also gravitate towards the ball. Some fan will be going home with a lucky souvenir. 

A thing that went remarkably unnoticed during Miami's 2006 Title run was the "White Out" by Heat fans. When you look around the crowd and see nothing but white, you know that the crowd is behind their team, and the stakes couldn't be higher. Now, when you play with certain teams on NBA 2K12, the local faithful will wear their battle colors. Whether it may be the blue for Oklahoma City, all red for the Windy City, or green in Beantown, you definitely know where you're playing during the postseason.

Now, unfortunately, come some of the negatives.  Despite 2K's servers being a major issue the last few years, they still have not been fixed.  On the game's release day, when I first played online, once I finally did find an opponent poor connection wouldn't even allow us to play.  Also, there were a few instances when the game froze after a defensive three second violation.  But, even with these few flaws found in this game, it without a doubt deserves the 9.5 rating that it received from IGN.com.

If you appreciate throwback basketball at its finest, do not hesitate to purchase the latest installment of 2K Basketball.  If you're a graphics person, then you may want to take a trip to your local Wal-Mart and pick up this game.  The faces look unbelievably real.  All in all, the pros outweigh the cons by a long shot.  Those who say "With no rookies, it's just like play NBA 2K11 all over again" couldn't be further from the truth.  In my opinion, this is the biggest leap that i've ever seen a sports game make over the span of just one year.

Team That Impressed Me (Week 4)

Although they faced adversity throughout, Oklahoma State persevered to win

a top-10 match-up in College Station.

For the past two weeks, Texas A&M has been all over ESPN and sporting networks everywhere.  The topic of realignment has been a subject that consumed the majority of our attention throughout the recent weeks.  However, today's Aggie/Cowboy game consisted of two teams in the top 10 of most major college football polls.  Remember, Kyle Field is home of the "12th Man" and one of the most hostile atmospheres in the college game.  The home field advantage worked for about 32 minutes on Saturday, then Brandon Weeden and the Cowboys began playing as if they were possessed. 

Along with throwing for a school record 438 yards and two scores, Weeden played extremely efficient as well.  47 for 60 passing, 7.3 yards per completion, and no interceptions were among his astronomical stats on the afternoon.  After Tracy Moore's four yard touchdown reception, the Cowboys gained a lead that they never relinquished.  Although A&M had a chance on its last drive, James Thomas dashed their hopes for winning on the last drive by intercepting a Ryan Tannehill pass with 1:31 remaining.  Justin Blackmon intentionally got a safety at the end of the game to secure a 30-29 win for the Cowboys, their first of the year against a ranked opponent. 

In a losing effort, Ryan Tannehill was stellar, throwing for 309 yards and two touchdowns, despite throwing three interceptions.  Josh Cooper led the way for OSU with 123 yards on 11 catches, while Blackmon caught 11 balls for 121 yards and a score.  

***This is my first football blog, please offer constructive criticism.  Thank you***