Last Thursday, I blogged that APSU was no match for WKU on paper. Turns out, they were no match on the court either as the Toppers prevailed last Friday by an 83-54 count. The Tops blew the Govs' doors off with a 14-0 run in the first half that led to a 25-7 score and the home team never looked back. Florida State transfer Benson Callier exploded for 17 first half points (21 for the game) and G Courtney Lee chipped in 13 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Sophomore F Boris Siakam tossed in 12 tallies and 5 boards (4 offensive) in just 14 minutes in a most impressive display of efficiency. The Tops did this without either of their true PG's. JC transfer Joemal Campbell sat out with a busted jaw, and FR Orlando Mendez-Valdez attended his grandfather's funeral. Freshman F Daniel Emerson also sat out with an injured collarbone. Everyone should be healthy and in uniform tomorrow night against IUPUI or certainly for Saturday's game against the Georgia Bulldogs.
Of course, this rather bland recap comes as a result of my ill-timed education conference in Chicago. I had a frigid run down to Navy Pier in 19-degree weather with a 30 mph+ wind on Friday, but a much more pleasant 8-mile jaunt down to Solider Field and Grant Park on Saturday (31 degrees at 6 am! Nice!). T-minus 19 days until the Rocket City Marathon. I also took in some tremendous sushi at Kamehachi and some delicious Chicago deep-dish pizza at Gino's East while I was in town. As major cities go, I really like Chicago...and I'm not a big city guy. My home "town" was a postal area with lots of fields, cattle, tobacco, and soybeans in rural north-central Kentucky. Bowling Green, KY, a city of just over 50,000 people, seemed like a gargantuan metropolis when I came to WKU as a student in 1996. Chicago is nice. Great fun on Michigan Ave.
On with the hoops.
Tonight's Games of Importance
--Texas vs. West Virginia. 6:00 CT [ESPN2]
--Kentucky vs. Iowa. 8:30 CT [ESPN2]
--Arizona vs. Kansas. 8:00 CT [ESPN]
--Arkansas vs. UConn. 10:30 CT [ESPN2]
--Dayton vs. Miami-OH
--Gonzaga vs. Maryland.
--Eastern Kentucky vs. Georgia. The Tops host Georgia this Saturday (Nov 26) and play at EKU next Saturday (Dec 3).
--Old Dominion vs. Wisconsin. This is for the Paradise Jam title. ODU could really get onto the national map with this win and start building that at-large resume.
Sun Belt Games
--Utah State at Middle Tennessee. On Saturday, USU won at Oral Roberts in a matchup of two of the country's top non-power conference teams. This would be a BIG win for the Blue Pegasi.
--Arkansas State at Mississippi State. Tough roadie for the Indians, but this is the year to get the Bulldogs. They will be down from recent seasons, but the cavalry is coming in next year's recruiting class.
Tomorrow, a closer look at the IUPUI Jaguars.
