Justin Lang's College Hoops Report: Feast Week

Today I am going to start a new segment which I am going to coin as generically as possible until I think of a new name: Justin Lang's College Hoops Report. I'll recap the week that was and look forward to the week ahead as comprehensively as possible.

FEAST WEEK

As any real college basketball fan can tell you, Feast Week is where college basketball season REALLY begins. This is where most of the season opening tournaments happen, and where the major players in the college game take on each other for the first time. Feast Week this season was particularly entertaining, with two great, widely publicized tournament finals: the Maui Invitational and the Las Vegas Invitational.

Maui Invitational

Duke 68, Kansas 61

In what most consider to be the best game of the early season, the Dukies took down the Jayhawks at Lahania. Thomas Robinson finished with 16 points and 15 boards and seemingly got whatever he wanted down low against the Plumlees, but it wasn't enough for Rock Chalk. This is the fifth time that Duke has competed in the Maui and the fifth time Duke has walked away with the championship trophy. Quite the incredible feat.

Las Vegas Invitational

UNLV 90, UNC 80

This may have been the Heels' Mike Tyson vs Buster Douglas moment. The #1 team in America stormed through Orleans Arena with ease before getting bamboozled by a rejuvenated Runnin' Rebels squad. Under new coach Dave Rice, the Rebs have gone back to their old RUNNIN' Rebels style made popular by Jerry Tarkanian. Hell of a game by the Rebels, who sit pretty at 7-0, could be a major player in the college hoops landscape as the season goes on.

Other Tournaments

2K Sports Classic: Mississippi State 67, Arizona 57

Charleston Classic: Northwestern 80, Seton Hall 73

CBE Classic: Missouri 92, Cal 53

Puerto Rico Tip-Off: Alabama 65, Purdue 56 

NIT Season Tip-Off: Syracuse 69, Stanford 63

Old Spice Classic: Dayton 86, Minnesota 70

76 Classic: Saint Louis 83, Oklahoma 63

Battle 4 Atlantis: Harvard 59, Central Florida 49 (The matchup nobody expected. Harvard beat #22 Florida State and UCF beat #4 UConn)

Another Note From the Week that Was

Ryan Boatright is back for UConn. Suspended six games by the NCAA in the early season due to eligibility concerns, Boatright will be able to be an excellent spell Shabazz Napier at point guard for the Huskies. Boatright, if you remember, Tim Floyd acquired Boatright's verbal to USC when he came out of the womb (later reneged when Floyd was canned), and then verbaled to West Virginia (again, reneged). Now he is at UConn.

Upcoming Week

This week upcoming is Jimmy V Week in college basketball. For those unfamiliar, Jim Valvano was the longtime head coach at North Carolina State and was the man seen frantically running around for someone to hug after the Wolfpack upset the Phi Slamma Jamma Houston Cougars in the 1983 National Championship (video below).

Valvano is also remembered for, what can be considered by many, to be the "Greatest ESPY Speech of All-Time" while receiving the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage Award.

On April 28, 1993, Valvano died of bone cancer less than two months after his famous speech. Shortly before his death, he started the Jimmy V Foundation, which has raised millions of dollars for cancer research in its eighteen years of existence. 

This years event will take place on Tuesday December 6 at Madison Square Garden. The doubleheader will feature Missouri and Villanova at 7pm, followed by Marquette and Washington at 9pm. Donate to the V Foundation at www.jimmyv.org.

Featured Games

(6) Duke at (3) Ohio State (November 29):

A make or break game of the early season with two powerhouses battling it out in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Jared Sullinger is one of the best big men in the nation, averaging 18.8 points and 10.7 rebounds as a sophomore for the Buckeyes. Those are man-sized numbers. When Sullinger didn't leave after last season, the already dominant and physical Ohio State team got that much better, and was immediately thrust into the national champion conversation. The Buckeyes are led at guard by senior William Buford, who is averaging 17.7 points, and at forward by Deshaun Thomas with 12.3 points. Duke, fresh off a Maui victory, comes in with Seth Curry, Austin Rivers, and Andre running rampant on the perimeter to the tune of 15.1, 14.4, and 10.1 points per game respectively. Ryan Kelly, the Maui Invitational MVP, is a force in that 3/4 spot, and will create matchup problems for the Buckeyes. Mason and Miles Plumlee are good, but I don't know how they will fare against the aforementioned Sullinger.

Ohio State has played a fluff schedule thus far, scheduling the likes of Wright State, Jackson State, North Florida, Virginia Military, and Valparaiso (and #8 Florida, whom they beat 81-74), and stands at 6-0. Duke's schedule thus far includes Belmont (win by 1), Presbyterian, Michigan State, Davidson, Tennessee, Michigan, and Kansas. The battle-tested Blue Devils seem to glimmer in my eye a little bit more based strictly on opponents and national exposure thus far.

The Pick: Duke

(11) Wisconsin at (1) UNC (November 30): Another battle of the ACC-Big Ten landscape. UNC just lost to UNLV. Don't expect them to blow two in a row in games they should have won. The Pick: UNC

(9) Florida at (5) Syracuse (December 2): Big East-SEC Challenge. Two ranked teams at the Carrier Dome. Friday night on the big ESPN stage. 'Cuse coming off the NIT Season Tip-Off victory. Scoop Jardine, Brandon Triche, Fab Melo, and Kris Joseph are firing on all cylinders for a program that has something to prove. The Pick: Syracuse

(1) UNC at (2) Kentucky (December 3): Game of the Week. 'Nuff said. The Pick: UNC

Upset Watch GOTW

St. John's at (2) Kentucky (December 1): Kentucky has UNC on Saturday in my Game of the Week. The Johnnies are coming off of a shocking loss to the Northeastern Huskies, while also losing to #16 Arizona, 81-72, and #18 Texas A&M, 58-57. While they sported no shocking wins on their resume, neither did UNLV and they just beat the #1 team in the nation by ten. St. John's was also a solid player in the Big East last year, and has Steve Lavin, who is one hell of a coach. This has all the makings of a trap game. The Pick: St. John's

Mid-Major GOTW

For those unfamiliar, a mid-major is someone outside of the Power Six conferences (Big East, ACC, Pac-12, SEC, Big Ten, Big XII). This is going to be a MM vs. MM game, and not a MM vs. Florida State or something like that. It is important for people to know that there are other teams outside of the Power Six.

Harvard (Ivy, 6-0) at Vermont (America East, 4-2)

December 1, 7pm

Harvard, led by coach Tommy Amaker, just won the Battle 4 Atlantis with victories over Florida State and Central Florida. The Crimson also sport victories over Holy Cross, Loyola Marymount, and Utah (as well as a win over non-D1 MIT, the other "wicked smahhht" kids). Vermont, led by new head coach John Becker, comes into the game with wins over Darmouth, Marist, Old Dominion, and Siena, along with losses to South Florida by two and Long Island by five. Their lone early season tournament was the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament, of which their quest for a championship was ended at the hands of the Blackbirds of Long Island at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT. There weren't many games to choose from, and this looked to be the sparkling diamond of the bunch. Two successful basketball schools in the greater northeast. Should be a good one on Thursday at Patrick Gymnasium up in Burlington. The Pick: Harvard

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We're looking at a great week for college basketball games. Any four-year-old with a basic knowledge of numbers and a crayon could've told you the games to watch, but if you want good basketball, that is where it's at. I am going to try to write this for every Monday morning so all my devout readers out there can drink it in with their morning coffee, orange juice, or vodka (some people need a stiff Screwdriver to start off the week). But I'll try to keep it interesting. I'll try to keep it enticing. I'll try to pander to all of your needs and loves of college basketball. I will also start writing about the NBA (now that there is going to be a season), so I can provide the Couch Potatoes with all you can ever hope and dream to acquire from a college student talking about basketball. That's all for today.

Good to be back,

JLang