As for tonight, Georgetown and 'Cuse put on a scoring frenzy as both teams had four players in double digits. DaJuan Summers led the entire night as he dropped 21 and earned a W for the 12th ranked Hoyas. Coach Thompson's team came out fast and never really looked back. I didn't guarantee a close game but I did say it was going to be a good one and both teams lit up the floor with plenty of baskets to "ooh and ahh" about.
The other game that I mentioned as a game to look out for was the ACC battle between the fresh boys from Winston Salem, North Carolina and the Golden Eagles of Boston College. Tyrese Rice and Joe Trapani both finished the game with 20 points each but it was nowhere near enough to slow down the Demon Deacons as Wake took an early lead and dominated throughout the game. Jeff Teague had a very impressive standout performance as he and the rest of Dino's crew continued to prove to the nation that they can compete, and secured their undefeated record for another night.
The night was full of excitement as top 25 teams fell like Jenga bricks (For those of you who don't know what Jenga is) Even some non ranked match ups proved to be worthwhile. Michigan State went heads up with Big-10 rival Penn State who kept the game close until the final seconds came to a close as the Spartans escaped a scare in University Park, Pennsylvania. The Big-10's top teams continued to show their vulnerabilities as unranked Illinois dropped #24 Michigan and pounded them by a margin of 15. During the first half, the game went back and forth and their were plenty of lead changes as the Wolverines led by one at half time but a spark went off as the Fighting Illini worked off of an 8-0 run and never looked back. #21 Baylor fell to the Aggies of Texas A&M as the boys in College Station took good use of home court advantage and came out big early and finished strong. The Bears never even had a chance. The last game recap of the night and probably the most exciting one is the only ACC game that no one was really talking about prior to the final result for the night. Gary Williams had his team in command all night and the Terps held a 17 point lead with just 12 minutes to go in the game but the Canes weren't about to let Maryland go for a cake walk with this one. Miami's defense locked down in the final twelve minutes as they only gave up 8 points and stormed back. McClinton earns the credits for knocking down the final shot of the game as he drilled a three to take the lead by two. Kudos to Miami but Maryland honestly just let this one slip away.
Enough of the Recapping talk that probably bores half of you readers to death (I hope not). Let's go to my most outstanding performer of the night. Many of you might have watched Curry pour on 39 points for the Davidson Wildcats but my game ball goes to the young man from Louisiana. Tasmin Mitchell had a career night as he scored 30 of his Tigers' 85 points while grabbing a monumental 14 rebounds. I watched this athlete a couple of times in the past two seasons and saw him as a rip off version of former LSU teammate, Tyrus Thomas. Both are freak athletes but Mitchell has extra weight under his belt and can move around with the ball a lot better. Tyrus may have some nice highlights in the NBA every once in a while but as soon as Mitchell hits the hardwood with the big boys, look for him to come out with something to prove. With the way he performed tonight, I think he believes he's ready for the draft. If you're someone who's always looking up on mock drafts and is interested in seeing who your favorite team is going to pick up, keep this young star in the making on your radar. He may not be a top draft prospect, but if he continues to improve, he will surely be a nice sleeper pick, late in the first round or early in the second round. At least, if he gets picked up later during the draft and not during the lottery and ends up doing nothing in the NBA, he won't really be considered a bust. That's not wrong of me to say is it? Now, don't hype him up too much because of all this talk he's getting for a one night performance. Like I said, just keep him on your radar. That's all I'm saying.
Remember to tune in tomorrow for a late night contest as UCLA hosts Arizona. There will be plenty of good basketball to watch there. Look for Chase Budinger to come out of the gates with a killer instinct as he could possibly go for 30 maybe even more. He has yet to have a 30 point performance this season and it's about time that happens. Don't be surprised if that night is tomorrow night. But then again, I could be completely wrong and he could be contained to single digits, but seriously, don't count on it. The dude's a true athlete and can jump out the rooftops. The rest of the night should be a quiet one as most games will be over before the half.
For all you NFL playoff lovers, I don't want to make my "bold" predictions yet, but to hype up the weekend, here are some key thoughts for both match ups. Sort of.
In the NFC Championship game, the Cardinals are the surprise contestants in this years season as they look to challenge a defense that is known to neutralize pass threats. The Eagles already showed that they can stop high powered offenses as New York looked clueless out on the field last week, even though they had the home crowd. The Cardinals have taken down two fine NFC South teams in the first two rounds but they have not faced a secondary nearly as good as Philadelphia's. Brian Dawkins leads the Eagles secondary unit and he will come out with brute force. The man is a workhorse that not many like to challenge. You can never count the Cards out with their impressive offense but expect their to be plenty of hard hits.
As for the AFC, it truly goes to show that defense wins football games. These two defensive monsters come in as arguable the two best defenses in the league. They got everything. D-lines that will come hard and quickly after your quarterback and cease to allow running backs to break free for big runs, all at the same time. Both have veteran linebackers as Ray Lewis is probably the most feared in the AFC if not the entire NFL. And lastly, how can you forget one secondary that contains Polamalu and another that has a magician who calls himself Ed Reed. These defenses are fast and the key to this game will be whichever offense falls first. The first turnover will be a big one. Don't be surprised if these defenses end up scoring more than the offenses. Maybe I'm talking too crazy but both have shown that they can score on the defense more than enough.
It's playoff time in the NFL and HD televisions couldn't be selling better.
My last few thoughts before I sign off on this one.
-What a game it was tonight as the Lakers fell to the Spurs. Roger Mason is Mr. Clutch of 2009. Someone get this man a plane ticket to the All-Star game in Phoenix! I don't care much for the old timers in San Antonio but this cat, Mason has come a long way since getting drafted in the second round just four years ago.
-Why does the World Cup happen only once every four years? I know it's a random thought, but seriously, these countries battle for one of only 32 spots and 16 of the teams that make it don't even play more than three games. I guess that just makes the victory taste that much sweeter.
Anyways, only 512 more days until kickoff!
-I never realized how much money baseball players got payed. I guess you need THAT much money to keep the players interested in it when they're playing the sport 11 months and 30 days a year. Seriously, their spring training is like 2 hours long total and the regular season consists of multiple series'. Imagine if the NBA did that. It'll feel like the playoffs every week. TNT would run out of two-face commercial ideas. (Check it out)
-The Knicks opened up all this cap space for LeBron and, who knows what other monster they could possibly lure in, but what happens if The King decides that he wants to stay in Ohio? I would love to see the man in a New York jersey but he is doing plenty of damage to the rest of the league with the team he is currently on. Why would he go elsewhere? You should think about that New York. Money can't always bring you happiness.
Don't forget about those games to watch during the rest of this week in college hoops. Until next time..
-Jason Chong
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