Games I wish I'd seen on 15 December 2013

We're still counting down to tomorrow's big game between #1 Connecticut and #2 Duke at Madison Square Garden.  Unfortunately, the last time these two teams played it was a 30-point blowout by the Huskies, which seem to have the Blue Devils number.  It won't be a Game I Wish I'd Seen because I plan on seeing this one.  However, if Connecticut takes a 30-point lead don't be surprised if I find something else to do.

A Sea of Blue covered the game between Kentucky (Duke's next big opponent) and East Tennessee State.  So here are yesterday's games I wished someone covered for me.

Cincinnati (5-4) defeated Ohio State (7-6) at home, 64-49.  Do you know when the last time it was that Cincinnati beat Ohio State?  You have to go all the way back to December 10, 1988! This is only the fourth time in 20 games that Cincinnati has won against Ohio State, so I would have loved to see this game.

The Bearcats won the battle of the boards, 44-31 and scored 17 of 21 at the free throw line.  Cincinnati led 29-23 at halftime, and were never down in the second half, and the closest the Buckeyes could get in the second half was two points.  With five minutes left, Cincinnati led by double digits and kept that lead until the final buzzer.  Cincinnati senior forward Jeanise Randolph scored 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Quinnipiac (5-5) beat Albany (8-1) 74-53 on the road, handing the Great Danes their first loss of the season.  The Bobcats were in the lead for pretty much the entire game, winning all four of the four factors (Effective FG%, Turnover Rate, Offensive Rebound Percentage and Free Throw Rate).

This loss was the first home loss for Albany since November 9, 2012.  Quinnipiac scored 10 3-pointers - seven in the first half - and senior forward Camryn Warner scored 12 points in 19 minutes off the bench as one of five Quinnipiac players finishing in double figures.

#12 Penn State (7-3) defeated #24 Texas A&M (6-3) at home, 66-58.  It wasn't the best shooting game from either team - Penn State only shot 34 percent and the Aggies only hit 31 percent of their shots.  Both teams combined for 38 turnovers and 49 personal fouls - the referees got a lot of work.

Senior guard Maggie Lucas scored 17 of her 26 points in the second half for the Lady Lions.  The 12-0 run that led the game for Penn State proved to be the key for the victory.

Indiana (11-0) defeated IUPUI (7-4) on the road 51-45. The Jaguars only shot 25 percent in the loss, and don't be fooled by Indiana freshman Larryn Brooks's 15 points - 10 of those came at the free throw line (she was perfect there) but she only shot 2-for-16 otherwise.  The teams were tied 45-45 with 2:46 to go in the game, but IUPUI went 0-for-6 from the floor whereas Indiana was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line for the rest of the game.
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Elo Rankings at end of December 15, 2013:

1. Connecticut 10-0, 2. Duke 10-0, 3. Tennessee 9-0, 4. Kentucky 11-0, 5. Notre Dame 9-0, 6. Stanford 8-1, 7. Louisville 10-1, 8. Maryland 10-1, 9. Baylor 8-1, 10. North Carolina 8-2, 11. Oklahoma 7-3, 12. Colorado 10-0, 13. California 7-2, 14. Louisiana State 8-1, 15. Nebraska 8-2, 16. Iowa State 10-0, 17. South Carolina 9-0, 18. Purdue 7-2, 19. Oklahoma State 8-0, 20. Georgia 10-0, 21. Texas A&M 6-3, 22. Penn State 7-3, 23. Gonzaga 8-2, 24. Vanderbilt 8-2, 25. Dayton 3-4