WAKE UP!!!
"If they switch, step in and come back to the ball". Textbook basketball. That's what James Johnson did to score a game-winning, wide open layup, as #4 Wake Forest knocked off #1 Duke, 70-68 at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Wakes win made Duke the fourth #1 team to fall this month, along with Wake Forest last week, North Carolina the week before, and Pittsburgh before them. It was the Demon Deacons first game since losing to Virgina Tech as the #1 team last week.
It was an offensive struggle for both teams, as Duke was just 22-66 from the field, while Wake was only 25-62. Wake was led by forward Al-Farouq Aminu, who finished with 15 and 11 boards, while Johnson supplied them with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Wake Forest guard, and second-leading scorer in the ACC, Jeff Teague, finished with just 11 points on 4-14 shooting. The Dukies, who were just 4-22 from three, were led by Kyle Singler, who had 22 and 12 rebounds, and Gerald Henderson, who had 20 and 8 rebounds.
Upset City In The Big East...
#21 Villanova beat #3 Pittsburgh 67-57 in their final game at the Wachovia Spectrum, which is to be torn down at the end of the year. Granted, it was in Philly and 'Nova's a really good team, so this game's only a "rankings upset". After losing to Texas, Marquette, Louisville, and UCONN earlier this season, Wednesday gave the Wildcats their first victory over a ranked opponent this season. 'Nova got 18 and 15 from Reggie Redding and Dante Cunningham, respectively. Pitt was led by Sam Young who had 14 and 9 boards on just 6-15 shooting.
For, Pitt, it marked their second loss in the past four games, the other coming at the hands of Louisville, when the Panthers were #1. A common factor in Pitt's loses is the limited play of DeJuan Blair. In both losses Blair has sat for much of the games due to foul trouble, something that stunts Pitt's rebounding and offensive attack. Against the Cardinals, Pitt, who leads the Big East with a plus-9 rebounding margin was outrebounded 42-38, and Wednesday, against Villanova, they were outrebounded 19-16 in the second half. Furthermore, while the Panthers shoot nearly 48% on the season, they shot just 35% against L'ville, and 42% against 'Nova. One common denomiator: DeJuan Blair's foul trouble. Blair, who's undoubtebly one of the nation's best Bigs, averages 14 points and 13 boards in 26 minutes per game on the season. However, in their two losses, Blair's averaged just 20 minutes, 8 points, and 9 boards. He's gotta be effective for Pitt to run their system as optimally and efficiently as possible.
Two other Big East teams - #15 Syracuse and #23 Georgetown - who have both been struggling lately, were bitten by the upset bug. Despite getting 35 and 27 from guards Johnny Flynn and Eric Devendorf, respectively, 'Cuse fell to Providence 100-94 in Rhode Island. It was the Orangemen's fourth loss in 5 games. On the other, Providence has been surging as of late, with Wednesday's win being their seventh in nine games, albeit Wednesday was their first win over a ranked team. Sharaud Curry led the Friars with 22.
Georgetown's upset came at the hands of Cincinnati, 65-57. The Hoyas loss was their sixth in eight games. Making matters worse, their leading scorer, forward, Dajuan Summers, twisted his ankle, something that could affect his ability to play heavy minutes over the next few games.
Cincinnati guard, Deonta Vaughn led all scorers with 20. The Hoyas will likely be out of the Top 25 next week unless they can bounce back and beat #8 Marquette.
Shouts out to Evan Turner, who led Ohio St. to a 72-54 win over Michigan. He had another one of his typical efficient nights, scoring 24 points on 6-9 shooting, in addition to 5 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. GOOD SHIT BOI!!!
Top 25 Scores From Around The Nation...1/28/09
#1 Duke 68, #4 Wake 70
#2 UCONN 71, DePaul 49
#3 Pitt 57, #21 Villanova 67
#6 North Carolina 80, Florida St. 77
South Florida 54, #7 Louisville 80
Charlotte 47, #10 Xavier 69
#15 Syracuse 94, Providence 100
#19 Memphis 85, East Carolina 64
#23 Georgetown 57, Cincinnati 65
Steph Curry had 32, 8 dimes, and 5 boards in Davidson's 92-70 win vs. Chattanooga. Florida G Nick Calathes had a triple-double - 20, 13, and 10 assists - in their 83-57 win over Georgia.
Via: ESPN
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