In case you missed it, Week 2 of the NCAA Division I Basketball season saw the crowning of a new all-time coaching wins leader: Mike Krzyzewski. At 903 (and counting), Coach K passed his mentor, Bobby Knight, for the most wins in Division I. He now stands alone atop the record books.
The Top 25 saw some shuffling, as a number of ranked teams added losses to their tournament resume. Some were inevitable (#3 Ohio State vs #7 Florida) and others were a tad out of character (#9 Pittsburgh losing to Long Beach State). The Top 5 (UNC, Kentucky, UConn, Ohio State and Syracuse) all remain undefeated.
Points of interest from Week 2:
- Mike Krzyzewski passes Bobby Knight as the winningest coach in Division I Men’s Basketball. A full recap and dedicated article: Coach K Stands Alone.
- Jim Boeheim, longtime Syracuse coach, has come out in defence of his assistant, Bernie Fine, in the midst of allegations that Fine molested two former ball boys. Have we not had enough of this, after the Penn State fiasco? If even a shred of evidence exists to charge Fine, the legacy of Boeheim will forever be tainted. ESPN has a full story here.
- Freshmen Kevin Pangos, a guard with the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who hails from Newmarket, Ontario, tied a school record on Monday night with his 9 three-pointers.
- Ohio State (#3) beat Florida (former #7, now #10) Tuesday night 81-74.
- Kentucky wins a wild one over Kansas, 75-65, last Tuesday night.
- Pittsburgh falls to Long Beach State, 86-76, Wednesday night. As a result, Pittsburgh has fallen from the Top 10; from #9 to ##.
- Texas A&M (formerly #19, now #25), lost to Mississippi State on Thursday, 69-60.
- Mississippi State followed up that win, with another over a Top 25 team, by beating the Arizona Wildcats (formerly #15, now #23) on Friday night. The Bulldogs, after two impressive wins, are rightfully ranked, sitting at #24.
- Cincinnati (formerly #20, now NR), lost to Presbyterian on Saturday night, 56-54.
Games of note, Week 2:
- Syracuse vs Virginia Tech, Wednesday night. Although Virginia Tech isn’t ranked, the Hokies have a tendency to play out-of-body when faced with a ranked opponent. They’ve done it for years against the likes of Duke and UNC, so I expect them to come out firing for #5 Syracuse.
- Arizona vs San Diego State, Wednesday night. Although it’s likely too early to call it a “watershed moment”, Arizona needs this win after falling to Mississippi State last week. On the flip side, beating the Wildcats could go a long way to impressing the committee come March, for the 5-1 San Diego State Aztecs.
- Mississippi State vs Louisiana Monroe (Monday) and Tennessee Martin (Friday). After impressive wins last week, the Bulldogs need to show that they are worthy of a new ranking and not just flashes in a pan. For good or bad, with a ranking comes the expectation of wins over lesser teams.
- The Maui Invitational begins this week, as does a host of other pre-season tournaments. The Maui Invitational plays host to Duke, Kansas, Michigan, Georgetown, and UCLA, among others. An anticipated Duke/Kansas final could be a great game. The championship round tip-off is tonight (Monday), with the final going Wednesday night at 10PM EST.
Enjoy the week, see you all next Monday!
… and thats the last word.
