Only Up From Here

What's one of the greatest things about college basketball? There are alot of ways to look at the results of one game and that response is certainly a spectrum. You may watch the game and say, "We looked great out there and the box score just doesn't reflect that". You may have also been stuck at dinner with the in-laws and had to rely on a box score that made you say "We could be in big trouble this season". No matter how you felt, just know that this season is much like a 13 year old going through that awkward part of life and no matter how you're feeling, it's natural.

There were a lot of close games involving teams that could be looked at as contenders, whether that be on a national championship level or a conference title campaign. Today, I want to focus only on the teams who found themselves in a nightmare and weren't jolted out of their sleep as they found themselves behind when the clock hit zeros. But I've still got my eye on some of you... *glares suspiciously at Creighton, Providence, Syracuse, and USC*.

Texas A&M - You Get A Pass

Congratulations, Aggie Nation. I've completed my investigation and I won't come barnstorming with government officials to break up this creepy cult(ure) just yet. On Monday night, the Aggies left the court while the UCF students entered it when they fell 64-61 in Orlando. It's not time to sound the alarms in college station, but the fate of the football team seems uncertain so I know people had their eye on this game. UCF is no pushover, and opening the season on the road isn't an easy task. One question I had with this UCF team preseason was how are they going to share the load. With Hall, Ivy-Curry, Johnson, and Sellers, I wasn't sure if there would be enough shots to keep everyone happy. No slight to Sellers who didn't play, but it may have been addition by subtraction as four Knights got into double figures. On the Aggies' side, only Wade Taylor IV and Pharrell Payne crested 10 points. This may come as no surprise, but you have to make shots to win games, and the Aggies didn't do enough of that. They need guys like Hefner, Wilcher, and Obaseki to be threats from outside to create driving lines and give the big men a chance to operate. On the bright side, the Aggies took care of business on the glass winning the rebounding battle by eight and posting 16 O-boards. That is their bread and butter and will prove a sustainable way to win games throughout the year. They also put UCF on the line 31 times to their 14, which may have involved some home cooking. If they can defend without fouling, they are going to be just fine this season. They've got a few freebies before hosting Ohio State when we can see how they respond, and a 3-1 start to the year would not be damning by any stretch. R-E-L-A-X.

South Carolina - A Blip on the Radar?

While the goose egg in the win column isn't how the Gamecocks wanted to start the season, at least we have another data point on North Florida that doesn't look too shabby. On the opening night of college basketball, SCAR is taken down on their home court by the Osprey in a 74-71 affair. No surprise here, the difference in this game was 3-point shooting. I'll use the blanket "analytics" statement to summarize how the Osprey play. They took the most 3's in the nation last year and I would expect that to continue this year. The Osprey knocked down 10-of-29 from beyond the arc as the Gamecocks only strung together a 5-of-16 night from deep. Sometimes a team gets hot and that's okay. What's not okay is getting outrebounded in your home court when you're supposed to be the big bad SEC team. Couple that with 14-of-25 (YUCK) from the charity stripe and you've got a recipe to lose a buy game at home. There are a number of new faces on this Gamecocks team who will need to step up as the season continues and this team is certainly still meshing. Not to mention, the Osprey turned around three nights later in what some might call a "letdown" spot and they fed Charleston Southern their lunch 90-66. So North Florida may not be a pushover and we will learn more as the season goes on, but come on Cocks, rebounding and free throws need to be cleaned up.

Villanova - Disaster Watch

If I was Kyle Neptune, I'd already be awfully sweaty going into this weekend. First, you let Lafayette hang around in the first half, leading only by one at the break. Fortunately, they dominated the glass and went 9-of-11 from the free throw line which gave them enough to pull away for a 12 point win. With the loss of Tyler Burton, I had my suspicions that 3-point shooting could be an issue for this team. I thought the addition of Brickus, Poplar, and Perkins would be enough to overcome that hurdle and Boakye would give them an inside threat. On the flip side, since when have we had to worry about Villanova's defense? You add a 7'0" shot-blocker in Boakye and Poplar who loves getting in passing lanes and pressuring the ball... so what's going wrong? Only two days after notching their first win, the Cats let a veteran Columbia team waltz into Finneran Pavilion and put up 90 points on 53.7% from the field. The Cats went 11-of-32 from 3, 15-of-17 from the stripe, and won the rebounding tilt by four... If you told me that, I'd say they probably squeak out a close win. But to reiterate, they couldn't stop a noseblood letting a middling Ivy League program do whatever they want. That was compounded by the fact that the defense couldn't defend without fouling, putting the Lions on the line 26 times of which they made 24. Eric Dixon poured in 33 points, but the rest of the team needs to step up on both ends of the court. I think they can play through Boakye more, who only had one shot attempt against Columbia. While it's not Neptune's style, let the kids run! Poplar thrived in transition when Miami made its Final Four run two years ago and a guy like Boakye hustles down the court and will be able to catch and finish in transition. This team will always be steady from the line but they need to spend time on the things that they can control: defense and pace. This team is almost brand new so I don't expect things to get worse than this, but this has been an utterly disappointing start for a team that I hitched my wagon to as a dark horse in the Big East.