Jan. 30, 2006
The beat goes on, and it seems that every weekend we are seeing upsets galore in college basketball. Several highly ranked teams suffered setbacks, so I guess it is fair to call it Surprising Saturday and Stunning Sunday, baby!
Washington appeared to have a win at Maples Pavilion when Stanford's Chris Hernandez was fouled in the final second on a 3-point attempt -- with the Huskies ahead by three points. Hernandez calmly sank all three free throws to send the game into overtime, and the Cardinal won by nine. Coach Trent Johnson and Stanford have come on strong after a rough start that included losses to UC Davis and UC Irvine.
Syracuse fell at home to a revitalized Seton Hall squad. Pirates coach Louis Orr got a win over his alma mater, and the Orange suffered their fourth straight defeat. Donald Copeland has come on strong -- he scored 18 points while dishing out eight assists for the Pirates. Syracuse hit just 5-of-27 trifectas; you won't win many times when shooting under 20 percent on 3-pointers.
Virginia Tech went on the road and got its first ACC win of the season, beating Wake Forest. The Hokies won despite the absence of Coleman Collins and Deron Washington. Coach Seth Greenberg's club dressed just six scholarship players. You would have thought Tech had no shot against a team hungry for a big win like the Demon Deacons. It has been a real struggle for coach Skip Prosser's Wake team.
It was really special out in Norman, Okla. Miss America, Jennifer Berry, rooted her team on and told the crowd at Lloyd Noble, "Go Sooners!" Football coach Bob Stoops was there shaking hands. It was incredible seeing all the fans in white T-shirts, creating a real "white out." ESPN's "College GameDay" was there, with Rece Davis, Digger Phelps, Jay Bilas and Andy Katz. Brad Nessler, Erin Andrews and yours truly were courtside as the intensity and emotion were obvious.
The place was rocking, and coach Kelvin Sampson had his Sooners geared up to close the gap in the Big 12 standings. Texas was prepared, too, and it was a real battle. The Sooners had lost to highly ranked opponents like Villanova and West Virginia, but this time they went back to the locker room with a huge W! Taj Gray and Terrell Everett were prime-time performers, putting up 47 points between them and coming through whenever the Longhorns made a run. Texas got a brilliant performance from LaMarcus Aldridge, but the 3-point shooting was kept in check. The Longhorns had made 25 trifectas in their previous two games; Oklahoma's perimeter defense was outstanding.
The Sooners were 0-2 to start the Big 12 season, falling to Missouri and Nebraska by a total of three points. Oklahoma was without Michael Neal for both of the losses, but he is back now, providing instant offense. Talk about courage: Back in September 2002 he had brain surgery, and his mother was told that he might not make it. Now he is knocking down 3s in Norman! The story is beautiful, as he is a vital factor for Sampson's squad.
If coach Rick Barnes and Longhorns had won, the Big 12 regular season would have been just about over. Now the race is on, and it should be exciting. College basketball has so much parity, so each weekend becomes unpredictable and flat-out wacky!
Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.
