Thursday, November 19, 2009

Memphis Pushes Kansas

#1 Kansas 57, Memphis 55
Elliot Williams has already proved how important it was that Memphis was able to get him, and to get him playing this season. He's already the best player on the team, and took them on his shoulders and nearly carried them to victory over the #1 team in the nation. Memphis will get a challenge from Tulsa in Conference USA, but it's hard to see them not getting back to the NCAA Tournament after this solid performance. As for Kansas fans, there's no reason to draw too many conclusions from this game. Their offense was atrocious, and looked like an offense full of a lot of young players who haven't had a lot of time together. With all of the talent that they have, they'll get their act together soon. I still believe Kansas is the best team in the country.

#10 Butler 67, Northwestern 54
You have to feel bad for Northwestern. They entered this season thinking this was their best chance ever at making the NCAA Tournament. A Kevin Coble and Jeff Ryan injury later, and now it's really looking like a long shot. And when you see how close they came to beating Butler even without those two players, you get a sense of how good this team would have been if everybody was healthy. As for Butler, I do feel like they're a bit overrated at 10th in the country, but I do think they're a Top 25 team. Wright State has looked really good early on, and will push Butler a bit, but it's hard to see Butler not winning the Horizon again.

Saint Louis 69, Nebraska 55

I believe that Saint Louis is the youngest team in the country, with only one junior and zero seniors on the roster. It's what you had to expect with Rick Majerus in as a coach, considering how unique and difficult his coaching style is. His first year or two it was just so obvious watching Saint Louis play how little he liked some of the kids he inherited, and how little they liked him. But now he's getting the kids he wants, and he's developing a pretty good team. I do think that it will be another year before they seriously contend for an at-large bid, but it's not out of the question that they'll make a run this season. They have a pretty easy out-of-conference schedule, so don't be too surprised to see them making noise at 9-1 or 10-1. Their most difficult out-of-conference game might be at the Chicago Invitational Challenge next week, where they'll play Iowa State, and then either Notre Dame or Northwestern. As for Nebraska, I do think they're starting to put together some decent talent, but they're probably another year or two away from being a Tournament team. This was not a good performance at all.

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