Games I wish I'd seen: 16 November 2013

There are a lot of games that I'd wish I'd seen yesterday.  I was reminded of how badly I'd wish I'd seen a game when I went out to a Taco Mac with some friends in Sandy Springs, Georgia.

It was the most bizarre sports bar I'd ever seen.  Usually at a sports bar there are television screens that surround the periphery, but this one did one better - each booth had its own television flat screen mounted on it, making sure that in any direction you looked, you'd never miss the big game - and alleviating the painful need for conversation with your fellow human beings.  By an odd set of circumstances not worth recounting, we ended up at Taco Mac for the Georgia at Auburn football game.  I'll admit that it was a good game, but even so, I would have enjoyed a good women's basketball game even more than that weird play that gave Auburn the victory.

We'll start with St. John's beating St. Francis (NY) 66-56.  When I saw this one on the schedule, I said, "I'll bet Queenie will be there" - and sure enough, she was, and she can tell you all about it at this link.

Boston University beats Rhode Island 52-49.  This was a battle of 0-2 teams and the 35 percent shot by the Terriers was better than the 29 percent shot by Rhode Island.

The Rams also had 23 personal fouls.  Sophomore forward Samantha Tabakman had five personal fouls in just eight minutes.  Rhode Island is off to an 0-3 start, and for a program that has 10 straight losing seasons - nine with more than 20 losses - maybe someone will power or money will take notice.

Creighton beats Minnesota 63-52.  The Blue Jays shot the lights out from 3-point land on their home court, shooting 11-for-36.  They had 20 assists to just seven turnovers.  (For the Golden Gophers, that ratio was 10 assists to 22 turnovers.)  I think the clip below shows...well, a lot of 3-pointers from Creighton.

This one has to sting, since Minnesota is looking to return to the NCAA sometime soon.


UTEP flattens Kansas State 89-34. That's one of those box scores you look at and go "WhaaaAAA?" It was the second biggest win against a Division I opponent in UTEP history.

* K-State commited 35 personal fouls!

* Five Wildcats fouled out.

* Kansas State shot 26 percent (the Miners didn't do much better at 32 percent).

* Kansas State also had 34 turnovers - I don't think I've ever heard of that many turnovers.  That's getting very close to the "one turnover per game minute" mark.

*UTEP went 35 for 47 from the free throw line.

* At one point, UTEP led 30-4 with 8 minutes or so to go in the first half.

Of the ten players for Kansas State in the box score, five are freshmen, which explains (partially) the win.  Nothing else does, though.  Is it going to be a long season for K-State?