Hoops 1/5-1/11

[Crimson's Ghost]

Pitt #68 KenPom
10-4 (0-1)
@ Boston College (#130) Tuesday 9:00
Clemson (#141) Saturday 12:00

Pitt didn't look so hot Saturday against NC State after a solid win against FGCU at home earlier in the week. Pitt's lack of a true center is killing this team, and it's really hard to think they can make the tournament given their schedule in late January/early February paired with how they are playing. The ACC has 5/6 teams that are very beatable and not very good, Pitt needs to win these two games this week if they have any hope of making any kind of noise this season.

Penn State #89 KenPom
12-3 (0-2)
Michigan (#88) Tuesday 7:00

Penn State did OK against a good Wisconsin team and still got beat soundly. They did horrible on Saturday, and lost to what is likely the worst team in the Big Ten. They have a chance to bounce back against a struggling and rebuilding Michigan team on Tuesday at home. Michigan certainly has talent, but like Penn State, it's all on the outside. It will come down to which guards are making their shots. Penn State doesn't have a lot of room for error if they have a chance at the tournament, so winning home games against middle of the pack teams are a must.

Saint Francis #152 KenPom
7-5 (1-0)
Robert Morris (#239) 7:00 Tuesday
@ Bryant (#233) 7:00 Thursday
@ Sacred Heart (#218) 3:30 Saturday

Big week for Saint Francis coming up, they have a chance to take a nice step in the right direction within the NEC, but two of the games are on the road, and those are never easy. SFU traveled to Cincinnati, Texas, and Rutgers this year, so they are battle tested.

Duquesne #251 KenPom
5-7 (0-1)
Saint Joe's (#127) Wednesday 7:00
Rhode Island (#45) Saturday 1:00

Duquesne got smoked by Dayton in the A10 opener. This is a young team, but many thought they would be better than they are this season. The game with Saint Joe's is winnable, but Rhode Island is a good team. Not expecting much from the Dukes during conference play.

[El-Moldo]

Michigan NEEDS this game more than the Nits. They do not want to fall to 8-7. Students are not on campus yet in Happy Valley. Will be a battle.

[Crimson's Ghost]

Saint Francis beats Robert Morris tonight by a score of 66-59. It marked the first time the Red Flash beat Robert Morris since 2007. Saint Francis moves to 8-5 and 2-0 in the NEC.

Interesting note, Joe Lunardi projected them as the NEC rep in the NCAA Tournament in his weekly bracket today. Has them playing Villanova in Pittsburgh in the 15 vs. 2 game.

Hoping their success continues.

[Crimson's Ghost]

Penn State wasted a good opportunity to start out the Big Ten 2-1, and now they sit 0-3. I didn't catch much of the game, but I caught bits and pieces. The trio of Dickerson, Travis, and Jack came up with another uninspiring performance. 12 points and 6 rebounds between the three post players.

Michigan is a growing team, and they are tough to defend when they are making their three's, and they seemed to hit their fair share of them last night in front of 5,342 at the Bryce Jordan Center.


Boston College had Pitt dead to rights, up 9 with under 3 minutes to go. Pitt looked lifeless throughout much of the game, and just flat out played poorly. They staged a pretty furious and improbably comeback and gutted out a 1 point overtime win on the road in conference play.

Still hard to be excited about this Pitt team right now, because they have a tough road ahead. Pitt has 3 home games in a row against some lower level teams in the league, if they want to do anything this season, they need to win all three and be 4-1 heading into the Duke game. Can't say I'm expecting much.

Individually, Michael Young played well, nothing spectacular but got his 15 points and 6 boards. Josh Newkirk came off the bench and played a fantastic game with 15 points,7 assists, and just one turnover. Out of nowhere, Sheldon Jeter posted 11 and 8, and if Pitt can start to get production from the 6'8" athletic forward, they might have a chance at winning a few more games than I expect.

[Crimson's Ghost]

As far as elsewhere in college basketball tonight.

Kentucky was 23 point favorites and snuck away with a 3 point win in OT over Ole Miss. Little surprising.

Villanova thrashed St. Johns. Nova is a really good team, SJ has now lost 3 in a row after such a great start. Lavin hasn't done much in his Red Storm tenure if you ask me.

Ohio State won in overtime by 2 on the road at unranked Minnesota. I haven't been all that impressed with OSU basketball in recent years.

[Crimson's Ghost]

Duquesne got a win last night over Saint Joe'a and moves them to 6-7 on the year. I can't imagine many more conference wins for them this season.

[Crimson's Ghost]

Duke, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Louisville all followed Kentucky in having a close game this week. The top 5 teams are good, but it shows you on any given night something could happen. No team is safe in college basketball.

[konjo78]

Welp pitt lost to clemson... Honestly the only team in PA that isn't named Villanova that has a decent chance at making it this year is St. Francis!!! Win that NEC title!

[PLDragons24]

Yeah Penn State is out for sure and now this pretty much eliminates Pitt.

[DragonsDoExist]

Nice win for the Heels today!