Recapping The Week: Thursday

#5 Duke 83, Southern Illinois 58
Duke played absolutely awfully in the first half, having more turnovers than minutes played for much of it. The fact that Southern Illinois didn't capitalize and grab the lead made it obvious that Duke was going to open this game up in the second half. There was no way that they weren't going to play much better. Duke did get to use a lot of Brian Zoubek in this one because of the deliberate style of SIU. He's obviously a bit slow for the style of ball that Duke will want to play in the ACC, but I like how smart of a player he is and how he's a leader when he's on the floor. With his size, he'd be a great player if he were only a little bit more mobile. One comment about SIU was that I was amazed how confident sophomore Carlton Fay was in a game at Madison Square Garden against Duke. He had no qualms about creating his own points and making moves in the post. I don't think there's any doubt that he's going to be one of the best players in the Missouri Valley very soon. That said, I still don't like how Bryan Mullins is playing. I know that he's intelligent and a leader, but I feel like he dribbles way too much. He needs to have more confidence in his teammates. One final comment is actually on the announcing: What do people think about Bobby Knight in the booth? He clearly doesn't have the rhythm down, and often rambles on into the next play. But what I did like is that I felt like I learned a lot about basketball. And honestly, I prefer somebody who knows so much about the sport teaching me about it to those announcers who just say "Wow, what a play" all the time. I already have friends to watch games with and who get excited at good plays - I want something else out of my color commentators.

Seton Hall 63, #20 USC 61
Without a doubt the biggest win for Bobby Gonzalez as a coach at Seton Hall. You've got to love the way that Seton Hall's lineup has come together. Eugene Harvey has turned into a good floor leader, Jeremy Hazell is lighting up the scoreboard (15 points in this one, and is shooting 41% from behind the three-point line for the season), and John Garcia is a big guy to deal with in the paint. I really liked how Seton Hall's guys played their hearts out fighting back to win this game without ever taking a rest. Harvey played all 40 minutes, Garcia played 39 and Hazell played 35. It was a great effort, but that's not a sustainable way to play basketball. Without a deep bench, Seton Hall is going to really struggle trying to move up the Big East standings. That said, all of their best players should be back next season, and they should have a great shot at finally returning to the Tournament then (if not this year, of course). Looking at USC for a moment, they are going to have to get their act together as the season goes along. They have a lot of talent, but the whole is just a lot less than the sum of the parts. DeMar Derozen should be a good player eventually (3 points scored in 20 minutes here), and obviously Daniel Hackett is a star and will not normally shoot 0-for-7 from the field. There's no reason that USC can't be one of the top teams in the Pac-10, but they have to learn from this bad result.

Illinois 69, Vanderbilt 63
Illinois fans surely remember how much grief Bruce Weber got for losing Eric Gordon to Indiana. Below the radar of many casual fans, Weber picked up Demetri McCamey as a consolation prize. It turns out, McCamey may end up being better. Indiana only got one year out of Gordon, while McCamey is already one of the best players in the Big Ten as a sophomore. He led the way with 23 points as Illinois scored a good early season win in this one. The Illinois team rebounding did the rest, collecting 17 offensive rebounds (compared to 20 defensive rebounds for Vanderbilt). The Illini have a relatively tough schedule ahead, with one of the most intriguing match-ups being a road game at Kent State on November 28th, so we should know a lot about this team before the Big Ten season begins. I don't think anybody views Illinois as one of the favorites to win the conference, but they have a great shot to earn an at-large bid. I've been a bit down on Vanderbilt for some time now (since they were way overrated last year), but I wouldn't draw too many conclusions from this loss. Let's not give up on their at-large chances because they lost one game.

Michigan 55, #4 UCLA 52
Probably the most shocking upset so far this season. Michigan did all of the right things here: They minimized UCLA's rebounding advantage, they prevented turnovers by only coughing up the ball 9 times, and they held the Bruins to 42% shooting from the floor. Of course, this was also the perfect time to play UCLA, as I can't imagine Michigan pulling a similar upset in March. Early in the season, the advantage goes to teams that have played together and work well as a team. UCLA relies heavily on freshmen who still don't understand that they're not in high school anymore. The worst offender is Jrue Holiday, who is outstanding with the ball, but isn't entirely in the offensive flow. Much worse, though, is his atrocious defense. That will undoubtedly improve as the season goes along, as he has the athletic ability to be a good defender, but merely lacks the maturity and the know-how. I wouldn't panic too much if I were a UCLA fan. This team is still going to be a 1 seed in the BP65 coming out after tonight's games. But the biggest story from this one is the win for Michigan, as it practically assures that they're going to be in the at-large debate for some time to come. And if they do manage to go 10-8 or 11-7 in the Big Ten, how huge will it be to have this win on the resume? Clearly, a very much improved Michigan team.