11/28: Pac-12 Black Friday Hoops

The Pac-12 had a Black Friday deal of their own for their fans-play four games, win them all.  Again, they were spread out on the map like an exploding rack of pool balls, but that didn't seem to matter much on Friday, as everyone was victorious in their non-conference struggles.

Washington State 76, Rice 74: I suppose I should lay off the poor Cougs after the lambasting they took yesterday, but I can't just turn a blind eye to the fact they were up 12-0 and 26-9 in the first half, yet only won that half by six and the game by two.  Focus on the positives you say?  They won some game in an Alaskan tournament against an academic/baseball school from Texas; so that's something, right?

A real positive?  Josh Hawkinson is a man-child.  His eight rebounds were actually tied for a season-low, while his 27 points were a game, and season-high.  I'll pretend not to be skeptical of the fact that he put up his two biggest games of the season against Rice and Idaho State, but rather tip my hat to the best thing Wazzu has going.

Utah 90, North Dakota 53: SO MUCH EFFICIENCY!!!  As a team, the Utes would go 30-for-45 from the field on Friday night, which comes out to a sweet percentage of 66.6 and an infinite amount of sixes after that.  No, these Utes aren't devils, they may just be kings of the Pac-12 before it's all said and done.

Get Jakob Poeltl the rock.  The seven-foot Austrian played out of his body with a 10-for-10 night from the floor, finishing with 24 points and 12 rebounds; easily one of the best nights of any player in the country.

After not being able to throw the ball in the ocean against San Diego State, Delon Wright has frighteningly developed efficient shooting methods.  He would go 7-for-8 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the line while finishing with 23 points to go with his five assists.

#22 UCLA 88, UAB 76: Don't take this as a Thanksgiving Day turkey food coma overreaction...the Bruins season ends in one of two ways.  They'll either ride their hot shooting to a Final Four, or they'll take the streakiest bunch of shooters in the country and be a sexy round of 64 (first round, finally?) upset pick.

They overwhelmed the Blazers with five players in double-figures in scoring with Isaac Hamilton leading the way.  Knocking down five threes, Hamilton finished with 21 points and stayed hot while the rest of his team was ice from behind the arc.  Normal Powell would pitch in 17 points despite his woeful 1-for-8 performance from three, as well as Bryce Alford who went just 1-for-8 from the floor overall, but knocked down 11 of his 12 free throws.

Another positive that came from what should be the last game the Bruins will played ranked for a bit, was the contributions of Thomas Welsh.  With Tony Parker battling foul trouble, Welsh put together his best game of the season with 12 points and six rebounds.

Washington 80, Long Beach State 70: The first game of the Wooden Legacy featured a prolifically exotic court design, an all-around dominant game from Nigel Williams-Goss, a block party from Robert Upshaw and the sweet-shooting of Donaven Dorsey.  Wait, that's exactly what happened in round two as well.

Overcoming a nine-point second half deficit, the Huskies scored 18 points in the games final five minutes, opposed to the five scored by the 49ers.  Andrew Andrews's only two three-point baskets of the game came in crunch-time, spurring Washington on to victory.

Next up for the Huskies in the Wooden Legacy are the undefeated Miners from Texas-El Paso.