Score one for the good guys!
I’ve managed to catch some sort of nutty bacterial infection that has inflated my schnozz to Jimmy Durante-like proportions that is contagious on the very same day that ESPN’s 24 hour college hoops marathon tipped off. My doctor said I needed to stay home for a couple days so as not spread the infection, which I’m all too happy to do.
For me, the marathon began with watching Cal-State Fullerton upset storied UCLA 68-65 at Pauley Pavilion in a taught, if sloppy, double OT thriller last night. It was the Titans’ first-ever win over the Bruins, and can officially count as notice being served to the rest of the Big West that the Titans, despite losing high-flying, high-scoring Big West POY Josh Akognon, will be contenders.
Surprisingly, luck was with the good guys in this game, as Bob Burton’s squad survived potential buzzer beating game winning shots by the Bruins in both regulation and the first OT. While both teams played with the crispness of mashed potatoes, the resiliency shown by Titans team led by a sophomore point guard, Jacques Streeter, and six newcomers — including bigs Bryce Webster and Jer’Vaughn Johnson, who had major contributions early this AM — was impressive. Other teams that found themselves in the same situation as the Titans might’ve come undone in a heap of turnovers, rushed shots, and missed defensive assignments. That the Titans didn’t leads me to conclude that this a squad with the chops to win the Big West.
I thought about staying up for the St. Mary’s vs San Diego State scrap since I was banned from going to work today, and I did watch about five minutes of it, but it was pretty clear that the Gaels were going to run the Aztecs out of McKeon Pavilion, and they did to the tune of an 80-58 drubbing. It’s only two games, but junior point guard Mickey McConnell seems to be a more than capable replacement for Patty Mills. Randy Bennett’s squad is now 2-0 on the season with two blowouts in their first two games. My money is on them beating Vanderbilt when the Commodores come calling this Friday night.
While I’m certainly enjoying the tip-off marathon today, I have to admit that some of the tip-off teams are, ummm, not-so desirable. The casual observer may have lumped today’s Drexel at Niagara scrap in that group since it tipped at 8 AM. However, that’s actually not that odd a time for college hoops since many teams practice in the morning so kids’ bodies are accustomed to playing at the time of the day. They aren’t so used to playing at 11 PM, which is when the St. Mary’s-SDSU game tipped off, or even 9PM when Cal-State Fullerton and UCLA started their game.
The Purple Eagles 76-69 win over Drexel had it’s ragged and uneven moments, but, based on the three games I watched, it was the best played by both competitors of all three games. As always, the Gallagher Center was frenetic and packed. It’s a shame that Niagara’s fans will only get to see the Purple Eagles in two other non-conference scraps at the Gallagher Center. Considering that those games are Western New York derbies against Buffalo and St. Bonaventure, it’s a sign of just how much respect people have for Joe Mihalich’s program. In college hoops, respect equates to teams not wanting you to play you when you’re a Mid-Major program. That’s where the Purple Eagles find themselves.
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