I wrote more about Georgia’s win last night here, but the quickest version of my thoughts is…Georgia was really good this year. The best team in the country. And single-game results don’t always prove such things, but in this case, it probably cemented that reality. Good for them.
I’ll have more college football thoughts over the days to come, I’m sure, but the night is dawning, so let’s talk basketball:
Another SEC Smackdown
Auburn goes to Alabama tonight trying to clear space for itself as the conference’s team to beat. Alabama’s trying to bounce back from a terrible loss to Mizzou. It’s yet another top-of-the-league clash from a conference that just keeps giving those to us. The beauty of having five really good teams who are more or less the same level of good.
Baylor, Baylor, Baylor
Not to be outdone, the Big 12 has four medium ones tonight, but it’s Texas Tech/Baylor that, besides the Iowa State/Kansas game we’ll get to next, draws our attention the most. Tech’s potentially still shorthanded, but they also might be getting one or both of Terrence Shannon and Kevin McCullar back. With those guys, it’ll be tough. Without those guys, it’ll be even tougher. Baylor’s just so good, and I’m guessing we’re going to see that tonight, with Baylor also getting an opportunity to make a case they’re a good bit better than Kansas, whom Texas Tech just beat.
Speaking of Kansas…
Iowa State’s got them tonight in Lawrence, and if the Cyclones can keep it close, it’s a good night. Remy Martin’s been on and off the court recently for Kansas, dealing with a knee issue, but even with that…Kansas has weapons. Ochai Agbaji is an absolute stud, Christian Braun’s having a great year, David McCormack’s probably a bit underappreciated. The Cyclones have some work to do.
The recipe for an upset here is turnovers, especially because that ends possessions Kansas would otherwise like to lengthen on the offensive glass. One underappreciated strength of the Cyclones is their ball movement, and while Kansas does a relatively good job keeping opponents’ assist rates low, that’s one way ISU might be able to find open looks tonight, whether inside or outside the arc. If Iowa State can win the turnover battle by five or more, they’ll likely keep it close. If they can win it by ten, they could do the stunner.
Down Goes USC?
Finally, since we’re writing this right as the 7:00 PM EST games tip off, we know what’s happening in California (what a weird time slot for a Tuesday game in California). Stanford leads there by four in the closing seconds, meaning Baylor could tip off as the lone undefeated team in the nation here in a few. Not terribly surprising—USC hasn’t been tested much, our indicators said they weren’t as good as Arizona—but certainly of note.
