A column update and more college basketball notes
An update to my Wednesday column, plus other college basketball notes:
▪ I wrote about how Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State, the four blue bloods in the annual Champions Classic, are all struggling this season. Well, Michigan State added to its misery on Tuesday night.
The Spartans lost 84-78 at No. 8 Iowa to drop to 8-7 overall and 2-7 in the Big Ten. Iowa got 27 points and 12 rebounds from Luka Garza to improve to 7-3 in the league and 13-4 overall. Michigan State made 12 of 29 three-pointers but still dropped its fourth straight game.
▪ Kansas got back on the winning track by knocking off hapless Kansas State 74-51 in Lawrence. David McCormack scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Jayhawks, now 12-6, and who bounced back from last Saturday’s 80-61 loss at Tennessee.
▪ Speaking of Tennessee, the Vols remain hard to figure. Rick Barnes’ club shot just 35.6 percent and lost 52-50 at Ole Miss on Tuesday. The Rebels are just 4-6 in the SEC, while Tennessee fell to 5-4. Freshman Jaden Springer was just 1-of-7 from the floor. Victor Bailey was 1-of-4. And the Vols turned it over 16 times.
“Some of the ways we turn it over is honestly just being lazy, not understanding how important the ball is,” Barnes said afterward. “Right now it just baffles me to think of some of the ways we turned that ball over.”
▪ Big win Tuesday night for Eastern Kentucky, who rallied to beat host Jacksonville State 86-82 in overtime. The Colonels trailed 71-65 with 4:29 to go before forcing the game to OT and registering their ninth straight win. Wendell Green scored 22 points for the winners. Cooper Robb added 20.
Now 14-2 overall and 8-1 in the OVC, EKU plays host to Austin Peay on Thursday and Murray State on Saturday. Morehead State (13-6, 10-2) plays host to Murray State on Thursday and Austin Peay on Saturday.
▪ Baylor confirmed why it is the No. 2 team in the country — if not No. 1 — by handling Texas 83-69 in Austin on Tuesday night. Davion Mitchell scored 27 points for the Bears, who are now 17-0 overall and 9-0 in the Big 12. Baylor shot 58.6 percent from the floor. The Bears were 11-of-21 from three-point land.
▪ North Carolina is another blue blood struggling in 2020-21. The Tar Heels dropped a 63-50 decision at Clemson on Tuesday night. They made just five of 19 three-point attempts in advance of their rivalry game with Duke on Saturday.
▪ Tough loss for Indiana on Tuesday night. Illinois rallied to beat the host Hoosiers 76-72. Indiana dropped to 9-8 overall and 4-6 in the Big Ten. Illinois is now 8-3 in the conference and 12-5 overall. IU led 41-34 at the half. Kofi Cockburn had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Illini.
“Our second half taking care of the ball bit us again,” Indiana head coach Archie Miller said. “We had some reluctant shooters, at times, who felt like they wanted to drive it.”
▪ Remember a couple of weeks back when Alabama obliterated LSU 105-75 in Baton Rouge? The rematch is Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa. Bama Coach Nate Oats says that while the 10th-ranked Tide’s Mr. Do-It-All Herb Jones is not practicing because of various ailments, he is expected to play against the Tigers. It’s a 7 p.m. start on ESPNU.
▪ Georgia is on a bit of a run. The Bulldogs avenged an earlier loss to Auburn by beating Bruce Pearl’s club 91-86 in Auburn. It was Georgia’s second straight win. After an 0-4 start in league play, Tom Crean’s team is now 4-6 in the SEC and 11-6 overall. And Vanderbilt comes to Athens on Saturday.
▪ If you missed it, the Vanderbilt-Texas A&M game scheduled for Wednesday in College Station has been postponed. The host Aggies are dealing with COVID-19 issues.
▪ Arkansas improved to 6-4 in the SEC with a 61-45 victory over visiting Mississippi State on Tuesday. State shot just 30.6 percent from the floor. MSU’s star guard tandem of Iverson Molinar (1-for-4) and D.J. Stewart (4-for-10) was a combined 5-of-14 from the floor.
▪ As of Wednesday morning, Kentucky was 77th in the NCAA NET rankings. The Cats are at Missouri, No. 30 in the NET, at 7 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2. Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes comprise the television crew.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 9:44 AM.
