Oregon Rivalry Lifts an Otherwise Calm Monday Across College Basketball

It was quite a Sunday in the college hoops world.  Ohio State finally faced another Power Five opponent and got all they could handle against Notre Dame.  The Irish had a late lead, but Buckeyes center Christoph Tilly hit a layup with 13 seconds left to put Ohio State up for good.  Notre Dame was impressive in this game, coming back from multiple deficits before ultimately losing late.  I had mentioned the Irish would be improved, and it looked like it today.

In the nightcap, Florida beat Miami in Jacksonville.  The Gators' frontcourt dominated the game on both ends of the floor, but Florida is going to have to get more from its guards if it wants to reach its ceiling.  Miami, which had looked good through three games, was overmatched but was able to keep it close for a while because they were able to generate turnovers and get Florida into some foul trouble.  Miami will get some teams in the ACC, rest assured.

In the game of the day, the Houston Cougars beat Auburn in Birmingham.  Houston didn’t play nearly up to their potential, their entire front court fouled out, and they still won.  That says a lot about the program. It also doesn’t hurt that they have Kingston Flemings, and your team doesn’t.  He is the best freshman I have watched this year.  Auburn showed a lot.  The Tigers were able to get whatever they wanted for most of the game and continued to drive Houston and draw fouls. The game plan was perfect, but it just wasn’t enough.  Auburn is a top 25 team, at least for now.

Monday offers a break before the schedule picks back up again on Tuesday.  Here is a preview of the best game on Monday, followed by a pick of the winners of the remaining games.

Oregon State Beavers at Oregon Ducks - Battle of Oregon, with both teams looking for a win to kick-start their season

Oregon State heads to Eugene for the annual rivalry game, where anything can happen, and this game is always closer than it appears.  The Beavers are 3-0 but have won their games by a combined 7 points against North Dakota State, UIC, and North Texas. In the North Texas game, Oregon State was down by double digits before they turned up the defense and won the game late at the free-throw line. I have more confidence that Oregon State could pull this off if they were showing a little more on offense.

Oregon has not looked good to start the year.  The Ducks, much like their opponents, have not disposed of their lesser opponents as easily as everyone thought they should have.  Granted, Oregon has not had a full-strength Jackson Shelstad all year, but that shouldn’t have mattered. The Ducks need this game, and they need to blow out Oregon State for them to get themselves back on track.  The Ducks are too good to continue playing down to their competition all year.

Here are the winners from the rest of the games on a light Monday: