Desperate Gonzaga Finally Wins One

Gonzaga 68, #9 Baylor 64
The problem with playing elite opponents is that you can end up losing a bunch of games. The good part about playing elite opponents is that even if you lose some you'll continue getting chances to finally get that big scalp. Gonzaga came into this game desperate after losing to every other elite team they've played so far - to the point that there was real concern that the Zags wouldn't be good enough to earn an at-large bid. They will set those fears aside for at least a while with this strong win. Interestingly enough Gonzaga got a lot of bench production, including a very strong 13 points from Marquise Carter. Of the established Zags stars, only Robert Sacre (17 points and 6 rebounds against Baylor's tremendous frontline) played well. Still, even with this win Gonzaga is a long way toward assuring another Tournament bid. They're only 6-5, and still could probably use another elite win. They still have games against Memphis and Oklahoma State ahead, as well as a game against Xavier on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, it's hard to criticize Scott Drew too much because of how good of a job he's done rebuilding Baylor, but you have to wonder about the very short rotation (effectively seven players) he went with throughout this game against a deep Gonzaga team. It just seemed like Baylor wore out down the stretch. This is Baylor's first loss of the season, and it's against a quality team, but to be fair they've played a complete cupcake schedule. We still don't truly know how good this team is. They shouldn't be too seriously tested again until they head to Kansas on January 17th.

#25 Texas 78, North Carolina 76
Things have fallen far enough for North Carolina that they'll be happy with the way this game turned out. It's not that they'll be glad that they only lost by two points to Texas - they haven't fallen that far - but they may have finally found a point guard. Larry Drew III has been one of the primary problems for this team since Ty Lawson left, and he was in the midst of another awful game in this one (2 points, 3 assists, 4 turnovers, 5 fouls) when freshman Kendall Marshall really began to establish himself as a very exciting option (7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and only 1 turnover in only 15 minutes). Roy Williams should think seriously about starting Marshall along with Dexter Strickland, Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and John Henson. UNC falls to 7-4, but without a bad loss. If they can avoid a bad loss before starting ACC play (including a game against Rutgers) they should be in a position to get back to the NCAA Tournament if they can go 9-7 in the ACC regular season along with a decent ACC tournament. For Texas, the star was freshman Cory Joseph (21 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including a bunch of clutch play down the stretch). This really was the Day of the Freshman across the nation. Kansas has looked great this season, but Texas has (to me) looked like their top competitor in the Big 12. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, their only game of the regular season against Kansas will be in Lawrence, on January 22nd.

Georgia Tech 67, Richmond 54
This game proves that while the ACC is down this season, it's not as bad as the mainstream media thinks it is. Georgia Tech has probably been the worst team in the ACC other than Wake Forest thus far, but they're still good enough that they'll beat quality teams that don't show up. And Richmond didn't show up here: 3 offensive rebounds and 2 steals aren't going to cut it, particularly when the field goal defense is poor. This is a really tough loss for a Richmond team still trying to overcome that early season loss to Iona. Still, they're 8-3 with wins over Purdue, Arizona State and VCU. They still will play Seton Hall and Wake Forest before beginning Atlantic Ten play. This is a nice win for Georgia Tech, and they also have a win over UTEP, but they've also got a bad loss to Kennesaw State and had computer ratings well outside the Top 100 entering this game. They've still got a really large hill to climb to even get onto the bubble.