Tip Off!
4 min readBasketball$0.78 pending
Believe it or not, we are already starting another season of NCAA Basketball. If you have been following me for a while now, you know that this is one of my favorite times of year. There is always so much optimism, and it is a refreshing break from the dismal reality that is your favorite college football team. Especially if your favorite team is the Michigan State Spartans like me. I remember a handful of years that they were good at football. On the other hand, I remember a ton of times they were good at basketball.
There is a feeling of hope when this time of year comes around. People start looking at the preseason rankings and think about the potential that lays ahead for their favorite team. In addition to that, this is also a time to remember that the slate is wiped clean. No one cares about who won last year (especially since it was the Wolverines). Instead, we move forward knowing that anything is possible this season.
There were some games over the weekend, but the real action picked up on Monday with most of the top 25 teams playing a game of some sort.
Oakland is a really good team despite not being in a power conference. Unfortunately, the fell to number 16 Michigan 84 to 68. Number 1 Florida beat number 14 Miami 77 to 67, and number 2 Duke took down Army 84 to 50.
Number 13 St. John's beat Monmouth 78 to 63, and in our first big upset of the season, Memphis beat number 18 Iowa State 80 to 76. Number 19 Texas Tech beat Jackson State 76 to 42, number 24 Vanderbilt beat Bellarmine 93 to 47, and my own number 6 Michigan State Spartans beat Quinnipiac 96 to 59.
The Spartans have a long road ahead of them though, coach Tom Izzo has a motto of anyplace anywhere. Which means he is ready to play the top teams at any chance he can get. The Spartans are going to be facing at last three or four high ranked teams in the first month of their season. It's going to be a trial by fire for them.
Number 15 Gonzaga took down Purdue 78 to 72 in a very close game, and number 17 Kansas beat Fordham 95 to 65.
Number 3 Illinois hammered FDU 120 to 45, number 25 BYU beat Ohio State 94 to 83, and number 7 Texas beat Chicago State 109 to 59.
Louisville sitting at number 11 beat Chattanooga 84 to 70, number 4 Connecticut beat Gardener-Webb 86 to 46, and number 10 Houston beat La Salle 94 to 55.
Finally, number 22 UCLA had a huge upset win over number 5 Arizona 84 to 75, and number 21 USC beat Milwaukee 95 to 63.
That was all on Monday...
Tuesday gave us five more games with number 8 Tennessee taking down Wofford 90 to 59, number 23 Kentucky beat Manhattan 85 to 57, and number 20 Alabama beat Sam Houston 96 to 74.
Finally, number 9 Virginia beat Drexel 89 to 60, and number 12 Arkansas beat AR Pine Bluff 106. to 61.
Hats off to the two big upsets this week so far, and another well done to Illinois. The fact that they are in the Big Ten with Michigan State has me a bit concerned.
There are no games tonight, but tomorrow we pick up the action again.
Are you ready for this?
There is a feeling of hope when this time of year comes around. People start looking at the preseason rankings and think about the potential that lays ahead for their favorite team. In addition to that, this is also a time to remember that the slate is wiped clean. No one cares about who won last year (especially since it was the Wolverines). Instead, we move forward knowing that anything is possible this season.
There were some games over the weekend, but the real action picked up on Monday with most of the top 25 teams playing a game of some sort.
Oakland is a really good team despite not being in a power conference. Unfortunately, the fell to number 16 Michigan 84 to 68. Number 1 Florida beat number 14 Miami 77 to 67, and number 2 Duke took down Army 84 to 50.
Number 13 St. John's beat Monmouth 78 to 63, and in our first big upset of the season, Memphis beat number 18 Iowa State 80 to 76. Number 19 Texas Tech beat Jackson State 76 to 42, number 24 Vanderbilt beat Bellarmine 93 to 47, and my own number 6 Michigan State Spartans beat Quinnipiac 96 to 59.
The Spartans have a long road ahead of them though, coach Tom Izzo has a motto of anyplace anywhere. Which means he is ready to play the top teams at any chance he can get. The Spartans are going to be facing at last three or four high ranked teams in the first month of their season. It's going to be a trial by fire for them.
Number 15 Gonzaga took down Purdue 78 to 72 in a very close game, and number 17 Kansas beat Fordham 95 to 65.
Number 3 Illinois hammered FDU 120 to 45, number 25 BYU beat Ohio State 94 to 83, and number 7 Texas beat Chicago State 109 to 59.
Louisville sitting at number 11 beat Chattanooga 84 to 70, number 4 Connecticut beat Gardener-Webb 86 to 46, and number 10 Houston beat La Salle 94 to 55.
Finally, number 22 UCLA had a huge upset win over number 5 Arizona 84 to 75, and number 21 USC beat Milwaukee 95 to 63.
That was all on Monday...
Tuesday gave us five more games with number 8 Tennessee taking down Wofford 90 to 59, number 23 Kentucky beat Manhattan 85 to 57, and number 20 Alabama beat Sam Houston 96 to 74.
Finally, number 9 Virginia beat Drexel 89 to 60, and number 12 Arkansas beat AR Pine Bluff 106. to 61.
Hats off to the two big upsets this week so far, and another well done to Illinois. The fact that they are in the Big Ten with Michigan State has me a bit concerned.
There are no games tonight, but tomorrow we pick up the action again.
Are you ready for this?
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