Sparty Looking Better on the court

about 1 year ago

As much as I want to talk about football today, there is still one game left to be played tonight, so I am just going to focus on basketball today. There were some pretty awesome football games this weekend and if you watched even one of them, you probably know why it is so hard for me to put off writing about them.

It's actually quite rare that a college team would play twice in the same weekend unless some kind of tournament was going on. That wasn't the case for Michigan State, but they did have a game on Friday and a game on Sunday.

I'm not complaining, I love watching Spartan basketball, especially when they are playing well. The game against Butler on Friday started off a bit slow, but by the end, Michigan State was fully in command of the game. They had a big 20 point win over a Butler team that was up till that point undefeated on the season.

It was one of the final games of the Gavitt Tip Off Challenge between the Big East and the Big 10. It's interesting how teams can come out to slow starts, but then when one guy gets two fouls and has to sit on the bench, things really start to shift.

In other Gavitt Tip Off news, #21 Villanova took out Maryland on Friday 57 to 40. I'd also like to point out that #14 Arkansas was upset by UNC Greensboro 78 to 72. If you have been following me for any amount of time, you know that I love a good upset as long as it isn't against my Spartans.

Fun fact, the James Madison team that beat Michigan State earlier this year is now ranked 24 and they had a close game against Radford winning 76 to 73. If Radford sounds familiar to you, that's one of the universities that my niece is currently considering attending.

Saturday there were only two top 25 games and I should point out that #10 Florida Atlantic who had a deep run into the tournament last year if I remember right fell 52 to 61 against Bryant.

Finally, yesterday there were eight games played in the top 25. Indiana fell to #5 UConn by 20 points. #19 Texas had a close game against Louisville, but they just edged the Cardinals out 81 to 80.

As I said, Michigan State had another game yesterday too. After a tough couple of matchups between Duke and Butler, they had a cupcake game against Alcorn State. I had to look up where Alcorn State even is, but apparently they are down in Mississippi somewhere. They had a pretty easy time handling the Braves 81 to 49. I actually went to bed shortly after halftime because the game was just so lopsided.

Don't get me wrong, I love a lopsided game when my team is winning, but I was tired and I need to to get some sleep.

As we head into the holiday season, there is going to be a lot more college basketball on at weird times. For example, tonight there are seven top 25 games being played, which feels kind of weird for a Monday night.

We also need to remember that some of those early season tournaments are going to start happening as well. So be prepared for the Battle for Atlantis etc.

If you had to watch one game tonight, I'd point you towards #2 Purdue at #11 Gonzaga. That one should be a banger. I don't know if I would feel comfortable putting money down on that one either for or against. If Purdue was playing at home, I'd probably lean their way a bit. Since it is in Gonzaga, it's hard to say.