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Sully's court

Email|Link|Comments (0) Posted by Joe Sullivan, Globe Staff December 11, 2006 04:28 PM

Boston Globe sports editor Joe Sullivan will provide weekly insights on men's college basketball until the champion is crowned at the Final Four in Atlanta.

Opening tip

Some random thoughts:

Sean Williams makes a measurable difference for Boston College. Do you think the Eagles would have lost to Vermont if he had played? He has to stay out of trouble because the Eagles are a different team without him.

Greg Oden, the top freshman in an incredible class, made all eight shots he took Saturday for Ohio State. He's stock is rising, if that's possible.

Air Force held Colorado College to six points in the first half. The CC coached pulled his goalie.

Loyola of Chicago beat Loyola of New Orleans by 34 Saturday. Where was Loyola of Maryland? (Answer: playing Manhattan on Sunday). How about adding in Loyola Marymount of Los Angeles and have a Loyola tournament?

Finally saw Oregon's freshman 5-fot-6 phenom point guard Tajuan Porter. It was disappointing as he shot poorly and didn't really affect the game. The Ducks, however, won their eighth straight to begin the season.

Gonzaga and Washington met for what could be the last time because Washington coach Lorenzo Romar is ending the series. What a shame. In a great atmosphere in Spokane Saturday, the Zags ran the Huskies out of town, 97-77. I guess now we know what he doesn't want to play anymore. Or maybe he needs dates for more home games against Southern Utah and Sacramento State.

Seton Hall's freshmen Eugene Harvey and Larry Davis are going to be a tough duo in the future. It's tough to get noticed among this freshman class.

Five on the rise

Notre Dame: It's amazing how the Irish can be overlooked in basketball. They have an array of sharpshooters who were on target in consecutive victories over Maryland and Alabama.

Tulsa: The Hurricanes used to be the king of the mid-majors until falling on some hard times. They're back, 7-1 for the first time since '02-'03 under coach Doug Wojcik. This is the second season for the former Michigan State and North Carolina assistant. In college he was David Robinson's point guard at Navy.

Army: The Cadets won five games last season, now they are 7-2 in their fifth season under Jim Crews, a Bob Knight disciple.

Dayton: The Flyers are 8-1 with quality victories over Louisville and Creighton. The Flyers could compete for an NCAA bid.

Clemson: Oliver Purcell left Dayton to go to the ACC and he has the Tigers at 10-0. Surprisingly the record hasn't been sugarcoated home game vs. cupcakes. The Tigers have won on the road at Old Dominion, Minnesota, and South Carolina.

Five falling

Oklahoma: The Sooners’ 40-game non-conference home winning streak ended against Villanova.

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets dropped consecutive games to Miami and Vandy. Relying on freshmen can makes things difficult.

San Diego State: The Aztecs had a chance for a big statement game Saturday but got blown away by Arizona.

Missouri: Last year the Tigers were on the rise but then they played their first road game and got pummeled by Purdue 79-62.

Pacific: The Tigers had become a perennial NCAA participant (and almost knocked BC out last year) but they suffered their worst home loss in 15 years Saturday night, falling to Santa Clara 67-49. They're now 3-6.

Sully's rant

See Gonzaga-Washington above.

This week's George Mason

Drexel. Bruiser Flint has the Dragons thinking NCAAs after consecutive victories over Philly rivals Saint Joseph's and Villanova.

This week's Final Four prediction: Florida, UCLA, Ohio State, Pittsburgh

This week's National Champion prediction: Florida

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About the college sports blog Updates and insights from Globe sports editor/hoop junkie Joe Sullivan and his college staff reporters, including Mark Blaudschun on Boston College football.

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