Gameday: Miami at North Carolina

It's awesome baby with capital A! It was the first all-star Gameday with the one and only Dookie Vitale, but it seems that the priority was the destination, not the actual game, as ESPN picked an expected Tar Heels win over Miami. But expected it was not during the first quarter of the game, as the BC-TarHeels showed up.

Eventually though they woke up, and Ellington (yes, he was on the roster the last few weeks) hit six three-pointers in a row to seal the game for UNC.

And while initially it may have looked like the Zeller and Ginyard injuries would not have been a major issue, well, it looks like they were after all. Zeller would have given them an actual seven-footer to go against other centers, while Ginyard would have given them someone who locks down on defense all the time. Ed Davis is going to make lots of money on basketball, but this season he is too skinny/weak to wrestle with the big guys down low. Notice how the ball gets taken away from him on offense. Imagine if he adds strength to his other skills!

Miami feels under-appreciated by the basketball people. Well, they are probably under-appreciated at their own football school, so they have to earn it the hard way. And as we have seen in the past, teams with Iversonesque guards don't always have a lot of team success (Virginia/Singletary anyone?) Nevertheless Frank Haith looks like he has exceeded expectations so far, and he is bringing in talented recruits. But if all else fails, he can always "Steve Robinson it" with a high-profile assistanship :)

Tennessee at Memphis

#1 vs #2. Primetime! ESPN Gameday! Dick Vitale! Jay Bilas! Digger Phelps! Reece Davis! Hubert Davis! Erin Andrews! It was an all-star setup for an all-star battle of teams ranked #1 and #2. And the game did not disappoint.

As expected with games of such high intensity, it did not play out as expected, the players were too amped up for the game, and the game was all over the place, from running all over the place like kittens on caffeine, to a grinded out affair.

Ultimately, Derrick Rose was not enough, and the Bruce Pearl Energizer Bunnies out-did Memphis at just about every category.

Memphis exceeded its quota of three pointers made in the first ten minutes of the game, and that spelled doom for their offense, as they fell in love with the three, and were unable to go back to it when they really needed it.

This outcome could play well for both teams. Tennessee gets its first ever #1 ranking in men's basketball, and reaches new heights, and Memphis gets a much needed "reality check" after their close call at UAB.

This exposes Memphis as a candidate for another Elite 8 run, instead of Final Fours and national championships. Not because they lost the game, but how they lost the game. Are we starting to see a pattern? Remember how UCLA dissected the Tigers in the 2006 Elite 8?

Granted, this was just a single game, but perhaps those two teams should consider playing twice a year! Once in the pre-season and once in February! It's awesome baby with capital A!