Games I'd wish I'd seen: 7 December 2013

Despite the fact that there was enough college football on TV to choke a horse, there was also a lot of women's college basketball.  No, there weren't grand Top 10 matchups like Kentucky vs. Baylor, but there was a lot of variety.  So much to choose from.

Me?  I saw none of it.  Instead, our Junior Eurovision Party was held last night, and we watched 12 kid acts from Europe compete for the grand title of...well, they just get a plastic trophy.  Our cuisine was Ukrainian, in honor of last year's winner.  This year, the winner was Malta's Gaia Cauchi with her song, "The Start".

So next year, it looks like we'll be having Maltese cuisine. (I suspect it will be fish.)  So while I was watching "Smile Shop" from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia last night, here are the games I'd wish I'd seen.

Virginia Tech (7-2) picked up a home win against Michigan State (5-4) by a 72-66 score.  If this were the two years, this game would have ended much differently, but it looks like the Hokies are playing some decent ball.  They even managed an attendance of 1,317.  Four Hokies players scored in double figures, led by senior forward Uju Ugoka with 19 points and 10 rebounds. 
This is the third consecutive loss for the Spartans.  They are suffering the loss of point guard Kiana Johnson, who has an infection.  The video summary can be seen here.


Brigham Young (8-0) beats Creighton (4-4) on the road, 52-51.  A big question might be, "How long does Brigham Young go before it gets ranked?"  Last week they got one vote in the polls, but the Cougars just waltzed in and snapped the Blue Jay's 15-game home winning streak.  Creighton cut the lead to 51-49 with a tip-in at 31.8 seconds left.  Creighton then decided to foul sophomre guard Lexi Eaton, who only hit one of two shots for BYU to make it 52-49.

The Cougars then fouled to keep Creighton from hitting a 3-pointer, and Creighton sophomore Marissa Janning converted both free throws with eight seconds left to close to 52-51.  Creighton fouled immediately and sent junior guard Stephanie Rovetti to the line on a 1-and-1.  Rovetti missed the first shot, and Creighton rebounded but apparently couldn't get the shot off they needed.

BYU's 8-0 start is the best since 2005-06, when the Cougars started 10-1.  The Cougars have beaten three power conference teams - Boston College, Washington State and Arizona.

#21 California (6-2) beat Pacific (4-3) 68-66 in overtime at home.  Pacific junior forward Kendall Kenyon put the team on her back with a career-high 29 points and 16 rebounds on 11-for-16 shooting to almost knock off the Golden Bears.  Pacific shot 65 percent in the first 10 minutes of play.  However, it was the overtime period that doomed the Tigers when they went couldn't score in the last two minutes - California only managed to score a single point in that same time span, adding extra pain to Pacific's defeat.

Wisconsin (6-2) beat Marquette (6-2) by 62-60 on the road in a battle of Wisconsin teams.  Wisconsin managed to steal the win as neither team shot particularly well, which was good for them as they lost the battles of offensive rebounds (19 to 9) and assists (18 to 3).  Wisconsin senior Morgan Paige managed to score the last-second basket on a defensive switch by the Golden Eagles. In the last three games between these two teams, the winner has been decided by three points or less, so this game might be one to circle for the 2014-15 season.