6 Hours, 4 Wrong Predictions, and 1 Overtime Later

At ten till two, I sat down on my couch, preparing for the six hours of basketball that would follow. Yesterday, I gave you my predictions for whom would win the five best games of the day. At ten till two, I was very confident with those very predictions.

Duke 82, Xavier 64

At ten after two? Not so much. Around that time, Duke was already on their way to a rout of Xavier, a complete annihilation which surprised everyone. Xavier hadn't look so out-of-sync all season; they hadn't turned over the ball so much all season. The result of these problems was expected. The Blue Devils cruised to an 18-point victory that wasn't even so close as the score may lead one to believe.

The lead was so large so late in the game that the final ten minutes were not shown on CBS. They switched their viewers to the much more dramatic Michigan State/Texas showdown, but more on that later.

This game belonged to Duke. They jumped out to an 18-1 lead on eleven points from Jon Scheyer, whom I have been waiting all year to have a breakout game like he did today. He finished the game with 23 points on a remarkable 9-for-11 on field goals and 5-for-7 on three-pointers.

The other two players that led Duke were 7-footer Brian Zoubek and the uber-athletic Gerald Henderson. Zoubek scored the first three points of the game and finished 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks, and without a missed field goal or free throw. Henderson had 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting with many of his field goals coming somewhat later in the first half.

For the Musketeers, not much was going right until the second half began. They actually outscored Duke in the last twenty minutes, but the self-dug hole they were in at halftime was too much to overcome.

In that first half, Sean Miller's squad had ten turnovers, many of which led to layups at the other end courtesy of Duke. They couldn't get in a rhythm offensively and, although they held a size advantage on their opponents, their struggles with scoring on inside shots were clear as day.

Player of the Game: Jon Scheyer, Duke: 23 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals. His near-perfect shooting keyed the big 18-1 run to open the game for the Blue Devils.

Most Valuable Player: Brian Zoubek, Duke: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks. The 7-footer's presence alone deterred and altered many shots; his stat line doesn't accurately show how important of a role he plays for Coach K's team.

Best Losing Effort: Derrick Brown, Xavier: 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists. He shot better than 50% from both the field and long range but didn't really get going until the second half.

Michigan State 67, Texas 63

A more exciting game than the Duke/Xavier one, but I only caught about eight or ten minutes of game action so I don't have a whole lot to say about it. From what I did see, however, Kalin Lucas has improved his play tremendously over the summer, and the return of Goran Suton for the Spartans spells trouble for the rest of the Big Ten.

Suton, in his second game back from an injury, pulled down only two boards but made his mark on the offensive end with a team-high 18 points. Kalin Lucas controlled the offense for Coach Izzo and proved that he has the ability to lead his team deep into March. Raymar Morgan, Michigan State's best player when he wants to be, had a rough game with only eight points and five rebounds, both below his season averages.

If you're Texas, there were a couple reasons you lost. First, A.J. Abrams couldn't score. They sent him off screen after screen and even had him handling the ball at times but to no avail. He finished with eight points on 3-for-10 shooting from the field. Second, the Longhorns need to handle the ball down the stretch. They had a few turnovers that cost them the game.

A Durrell Summers three with 19 seconds left put the Spartans ahead and in position to win, but Summers was more vital than just that huge bucket late in the game. He played tough D and finished with an impressive all-around stat line.

Player of the Game: Durrell Summers, Michigan State: 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal. This game was a coming-out party for the 6-4 sophomore, who is a very good shooter and terrific defender.

Most Valuable Player: Kalin Lucas, Michigan State: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists to 1 turnover. Drew Neitzel's replacement is finally looking like a capable scorer and playmaker for the Spartans. His worth goes beyond the stat lines, and it showed in a game like today's.

Best Losing Effort: Damion James, Texas: 15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block. The 6-7 wingman recorded his fourth double-double of the year, but it wasn't enough to secure the win for his team.

UConn 88, Gonzaga 83 (Overtime)

A.J. Price is possibly the best point guard in America. Anyone who watched him today would at least agree that he's certainly in the top three. After nailing an improbable three-pointer to send the game into overtime, Price rallied his Thabeet-less troops (the big man had fouled out 22 seconds into OT) to a victory over one of the nation's elite teams.

Gonzaga took the lead roughly two minutes into the second half and held onto it until 10 seconds were left when Price sank the aforementioned shot. So the game went to overtime where Thabeet fouled out on a controversial technical foul call. Then Micah Downs and Matt Bouldin fouled out on consecutive plays to join teammate Austin Daye on the bench, since he had fouled out at the end of regulation.

The result? The Zags couldn't score. Three of their best scorers were on the bench, and the rest of the team managed only nine points in five minutes. Downs's and Daye's absences also allowed UConn slasher (and leading scorer) Jerome Dyson to get to the hoop at ease. The Huskies outscored Mark Few's squad 14-9 and were the winners of the "Battle of Seattle."

As the announcers mentioned countless times, Gonzaga was successful when they attacked the basket. It either led to a layup or a pair of free throws or a wide-open three on the kick-out. Late in the game this started to happen less and less. They forced shots that weren't there. Part of this was also UConn's great defense, but a big part of the blame falls on the Bulldogs' shoulders.

Another reason as to why they lost was Jeremy Pargo. The senior leader for the team committed a few crucial mistakes that absolutely killed Gonzaga down the stretch. He threw an errant pass way down court one time; he over-penetrated another time. After his basket twenty seconds into the second half, Pargo only scored two more points, which came when the Huskies were playing dummy defense at the very end of overtime.

His effectiveness, or lack thereof, in the second half and overtime period was directly related to their losing control of the game. As a senior point guard, that shouldn't happen. In March, it can't happen.

Co-Players of the Game: A.J. Price, UConn: 24 points, 10 assists, 3 rebounds. He controlled the game, made the right decisions, and provided clutch scoring that was essential for the #2 team in the country to remain unbeaten.

Gavin Edwards, UConn: 14 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals. Off the bench, Edwards was exactly what the Huskies needed. He posted a double-double and made some very key plays in overtime and the end of regulation to win the game for his team.

Most Valuable Player: Jerome Dyson, UConn: 21 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block. A great all-around stat line along with a 10-for-12 performance from the free throw line was invaluable to UConn. He pulled down rebounds, scored, and dished to the big guys down low after the Zags had lost some of their interior strength.

Co-Best Losing Efforts: Austin Daye, Gonzaga: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals. The versatile sophomore cemented himself as one of the best in his class today. When Heytvelt was out, he made Thabeet play him all over the court. When Heytvelt was in, Daye could have been found taking advantage of the shorter defenders. My only complaint is that he sometimes gets himself into too much trouble by dribbling into traps and over-penetrating.

Steven Gray, Gonzaga: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists. The 6-5 sophomore performed way above his season averages and provided scoring for his team when many of Gonzaga's leading scorers were fouling out.

Curry Watch

I missed the entire game because I was watching Gonzaga and UConn, but Steph Curry's stat line reads of only 13 points, way below his average of 32. Even worse is that he shot a horrid 5-for-26 from the field and 2-for-12 on threes. (That will put a damper on the shooting percentages.)

One must be happy with his eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals, but not so happy about his six turnovers. Are teams starting to figure him out? It's hard to say.

Purdue has really been the first team to keep him from scoring a bunch on them while also winning the game. The Wildcats didn't have a chance with the halftime lead of 23 being too much for them to come back from. The final score was 76-58.

Syracuse 72, Memphis 65

Between the overtime of the Gonzaga/UConn game and my dinner, I only saw about ten minutes of action in this one. From what I did see, though, Jonny Flynn is one of the best scoring point guards in the country, and Roburt Sallie is a damn good shooter.

I said before that this game would be about who doesn't make more turnovers, and that certainly proved to be the case since Memphis committed 20 turnovers in a loss. Tyreke Evans and Antonio Anderson, two starting Tiger guards, combined for eleven of them.

Player of the Game: Jonny Flynn, Syracuse: 24 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals. Today must be the breakout day for sophomores, because this particular sophomore point guard led the Orange down the stretch and sealed the game with a couple of free throws, something that was very difficult all day for Syracuse.

Most Valuable Player: Paul Harris, Syracuse: 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal. Whether it was a rebound the Orange needed greatly or a three as the shot clock was expiring, Harris was everything Coach Boeheim needed him to be today.

Best Losing Effort: Roburt Sallie, Memphis. This bench player made four of his six attempts from long range and kept the Tigers in the game with his timely shooting. More playing time should be headed his way.

It will be called "The Day of the Sophomores" from now on. So six hours, four wrong predictions, and one overtime later, here I am, just happy that the college basketball season is in full swing.

To contact this writer, you can email him at marchmadness14@gmail.com.