Thursday, January 13, 2011

Thursday Take-Twos (Unbeaten Edition)

Duke and Ohio State entered Wednesday night with unblemished records. The Blue Devils traveled to Tallahassee to face the11-5 Seminoles, while the Bucks played at Crisler Arena against 11-5 Michigan. Only one unbeaten would remain…
Florida State took down Duke in Tallahassee for the second time in five years to snap the Devils’ 25 game winning streak. The top ranked Blue Devils were defeated 66-61 at Donald Tucker Center on Wednesday for the first time this season. It was the national champ’s first setback since March 2010. FSU’s senior guard, Derwin Kitchen collected 22 points, including 17 in the second half, to carry the Seminoles to their 12th win. Chris Singleton added 18 points in the victory while Kyle Singler led Duke with 20. Duke is sure to be replaced at the top despite a strong comeback in the second half last night. The Devils struggled in the first half, missing ten 3-point attempts as the Seminoles took a 28-24 halftime lead. FSU surged to an eleven point advantage early in the second half but the Devils made it a tight game in the final minutes. Duke erased FSU’s 40-29 cushion and went on to tie the game at 42-42 with a 13-2. Singleton sunk two free throws with 33 seconds left to give the ‘Noles a five point edge. Nolan Smith’s trey cut Duke’s deficit to two with less than thirty ticks remaining but a pair of free throws and a bucket sealed the deal for the home team. Smith finished with 19 points for the number one Devils.
The Wolverines hosted rival OSU Wednesday on the day their football team announced the hiring of SDSU’s Brady Hoke. Michigan rallied from a 53-41 deficit but the Buckeyes held on to win the contest 68-64 to remain undefeated this season. Ohio State used a 12-0 second half run to put some distance between the one point halftime score. William Buford led the Bucks with 19 points and nine rebounds. David Lighty scored 12 points for the number two Buckeyes, who could be sitting pretty on the top of the college basketball world when the rankings come out this weekend. Lighty hit five free throws in the final five minutes of the game as OSU won for the 17th time this season. Darius Morgan had 18 points to carry the Wolverines, who shot over 50% from the field in a strong effort. Evan Smotrycz tied the game at 41with a shot from the arc shortly after halftime. Ohio State followed with a 12-0 run and used a barrage of defense and free throws to cling to their lead. Michigan held the Bucks without a field goal in the game’s final eight minutes. Ohio State hit 17-of-25 from the charity stripe. The Wolverines did a tremendous job containing fab freshman, Jared Sullinger. The 6’9” Sullinger has scored in double figures all but twice this season. Michigan limited him to just 12 and forced him to turn the ball over six times. Ohio State is off to the best start since 1990. That team began the season 17-0 too. The next game for the Bucks comes Saturday at Penn State. OSU looks to add to their ten game road winning streak.

Parting Points: Song for Thursday- “Hesitate” by Stone Sour

I don’t care what the Jets say off the field this week. If they don’t harass Tom Brady on Sunday, their weekly gabs really don’t matter.

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