Thoughts on last night...

Rotnei Clarke is the best shooter in the country. After the 6'0" University of Arkansas guard hit 13 three pointers and scored 51 points against Alcorn State last Friday night, people were a little surprised.  They must not have realized that prior to the Razorbacks season opener, Clarke spent an evening in an empty gym with his father and a shooting coach, converting 556 out of 600 three point shots.  So yeah, the boy can shoot. The half a hundred he put up against the same Alcorn State team that put Ohio State's Evan Turner on the map after his own outstanding performance a few days earlier is an individual season high for scoring thus far.  Needless to say, when news began to spread, basketball fans all over the place tuned into watch his squad play Louisville last night.  His encore performance was limited, however, as he only scored 16 points.  Don't think 51 was a fluke, though, he played well and converted a couple of long range bombs. True hoopheads know that shooters shoot, and making 13 threes isn't an accident. Keep in mind that after two games, Rotnei Clarke is actually leading the country in scoring with an average of 33.5 points per game.  With seven players suspended from a team that won only two conference games last year, a perfect storm has been created for Clarke to put up some big numbers. 

Georgetown is in for a long season.  It's been a pretty safe bet for a lot of years now that when Georgetown plays Temple it's going to be a low scoring, physical affair.  Still, there's no excuse for yesterday's snooze fest at the Verizon Center.  Yesterday afternoon, they barely beat the Owls on a last second layup from their best player, Greg Monroe.  At halftime the score was 19-13 and there were more fouls commited than baskets scored.  The Hoyas trailed most of the second half until Monroe's basket at the buzzer whch gave them a 46-45 win.  Not much more can be said of the game, and it's definitely not one that should have been listened to while operating heavy machinery..  After making it to the Final Four two seasons ago, Georgetown went 16-15 overall last season, failing to live up to expectations and playing a brand of basketball that was tedious to watch.  Very few teams can take the famed Pete Carrill Princeton offense and make it look boring, but Georgetown seems to excel at doing just that.  This year, although they are 2-0 with an easy win over Tulane last week, it looks like we'll see more of the same.  It will be hard for them to win basketball games in the Big East Conference, especially if they have more offensive performances that see them on the wrong side of the 50 point mark.  The Hoyas stand at #19 nationally, but don't be surprised if they fall out of the rankings very quickly.

Gonzaga is the best unranked team in the country.  If you watched them play at Michigan State last night, you heard the announcers say it over and over again. Although they lost by four, they led most of the night and played impressive, mature basketball.  After losing their three top players last season, (Josh Heytvelt, Austin Daye and Jeremy Pargo) most analysts thought this year would be a rebuilding year for veteran Coach Mark Few.  With the exception of senior guard Matt Bouldin, this is the youngest Zags team that Few has had during his tenure. Bouldin displayed moments of brilliance last night and looked like a solid All-American candidate witth a couple of great passes and his ability to create scoring opportunities for himself.  He finished with 15 points and 4 assists in the losing effort. Why the Zags are unranked this season is a mystery, considering that at this point they should be considered a major college program. They have all the pieces they need to make a run deep into March.  They have a 7'5" (not a typo) center in Will Foster to go along with another seven-footer named Robert Sacre, who finishes strong time after time when the guards can get him the ball. He had 17 last night and hands down has the best sky hook since Lew Alcindor owned the paint at UCLA in the late 1960s. A loss is never a good thing for a team, no matter the circumstances, but the Zags have to be happy with their performance on the road against the second best team in the country.  They will win a lot of ball games this year and will crack the top 25 early on.

Tennessee is the best team in the country right now.  Tennessee slaughtered UNC-Asheville 124 to 49 last night.  Yep, they won by 75 points.  The Volunteers put up the most points ever scored by a Tennessee team in only their second game of this season, which is nothing but a good sign for head Coach Bruce Pearl.  Pearl, who won his 100th game last night, saw six players scored in double figures for the Volunteers behind Scotty Hopson's career high 25.  Tennessee isn't necessarily under the radar because they're consistently pretty good, but it seems like they aren't getting as much respect as they deserve yet. Their opponent last night was sub-par, but they were still picked to finish second in their league.  Either way after the first media timeout, Tennessee was up 18-0, and during one point, led 61-10.  UNCA didn't score their first field goal of the game until there were three minutes left in the first half.  By the end of the half, one more field goal had been scored by the Vols' opponents.  Although UNCA didn't help themselves, Tennesee's offensive output can't be overlooked.  What also can't be overlooked is that Tennessee didn't lost a single player to graduation or the NBA last year, so they're a veteran squad who will continue to produce and play well together all season.  If they can continue to thrive under Bruce Pearl's system, they have a chance of making it to the last game of college basketball season in a few months.