Coast to Coast...like Tyus Edney against Mizzou

Your friends at MTAC are travelling for our real job today, so the posts won't be as frequent. We may have some guest posters today, if they feel like that is. Regardless, Tuesday night TV is the worst, therefore its a great night to watch college hoops. We got to peep several games last night as the preseason NIT and the CBE Classic are in full swing. So lets go Coast to Coast....

Syracuse 72 St. Joseph's 69 - Last night was vintage Boeheim. Playing on back to back nights where all five of his starters played 33 minutes or more the night before, you'd think he'd use his bench a little more? Of course not! Donte Greene (18 points, 8 boards) and Eric Devendorf (12 points) both played all 40. Paul Harris (18 and 14) and Jonny Flynn played 37 and 36 respectively. It showed in Flynn, playing back to back nights for the first time. The previous night he scored 28. Last night, he didn't make a field goal until there was five seconds left, but what a shot it was; a game-winning three with the score tied. Boeheim and referee Tim Higgins also spent the night renewing there decades long hate-affair.

Arizona 76 Northern Arizona 69 - The Wildcats played their first game without coach Lute Olson who should be back soon from a personal leave. It was a shaky win at best as Northern Arizona trailed by only three with five minutes left. The Cats also went ice cold in a second half stretch where they shot 4-22. Volleyball Phenom Chase Budinger led the 'Cats with 25 and Freshman PG Jerryd Bayless played a solid floor game with 18 points and five assists. The problem is he was 6-12 from the line, that's not something you want for a drive and kick point guard.

Washington State 86 Boise State 74 - One of MTAC's favorite's, The Cougs struggled all night, but pulled away when it mattered. Trailing by six at the half, Wazzu exploded for 60 points in the second stanza, very un-Tony Bennett-like. AA candidate Derrick Low was dazzling with 26 points and his backcourt mate Kyle Weaver chipped in with 19. Daven Harmeling came off the bench with 18 in 32 minutes. The lack of depth on this team worries me.

Texas A&M 67 Oral Roberts 53 - We got our first real look at DeAndre Jordan last night (thanks Time Warner for adding ESPNU last month), and came away impressed. Man is he athletic and wiry for a 7-footer. Dwight Howard-ish. He was 5-5 from the field, had 12 points and 8 boards in just 23 minutes. Coach Mark Turgeon is doing a great job of developing a bench thus far, a big question mark coming in. None of the five starters played more than 29 minutes.

Michigan State 86 Chicago State 53 - Now that's more like it Izzo! A trendy pick to win the Big Ten looked awful this preseason, but showed up in a big way last night. Raymar Morgan had a huge night with 25 and 15 rebounds. Freshman Durrell Summers and Chris Allen were both in double figures. This is exactly the kind of game the Spartans needed. Too bad I still dont buy them.

Gonzaga 80 Idaho 43 - Who is Austin Daye and where did he come from? in 23 minutes off the bench, the Freshman sensation scored 18 coming off his debut 20 against Montana. Jeremy "the little dunker who could" Pargo, Matt Bouldin, and Abdullahi Kuso, were all in double figures. There was even a Micah Downs sighting! Too bad he did little again. Somewhere in Lawrence, Bill Self is smiling.