November 22, 2009

Rivals.com Staff
Rivals.com College Basketball

At the College Basketball Roundtable each week, we ask each member of the college basketball coverage staff for his opinion about a topic in the sport.

Today's question: What has been the biggest surprise of the young season?

Mike Huguenin's answer:
There are a few things that have caught my eye. One is Oregon State's bad start. I thought the Beavers had a solid shot at contending in the Pac-10, but I don't think a team that loses to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas Tech in a three-day period has much chance in the Pac-10, even with the Pac-10 appearing to be down this season. I was surprised Idaho, seen as a sleeper in the WAC, lost to Texas Southern a few days after the Vandals got a nice win over Utah. I was shocked that UCLA lost to what is supposed to be a middling Cal State Fullerton team, But most surprising of all were some bad early season losses by a few SEC teams. I thought the SEC was going to be a lot better this season, but I'm starting to wonder after seeing Wofford beat Georgia, Cornell beat Alabama, Missouri State beat Auburn and -- in perhaps the most shocking game thus far -- Rider whipping what had been a ranked Mississippi State team.

Jason King's answer:
For me, the biggest surprise was Memphis' performance in a 57-55 loss to No. 1 Kansas in St. Louis. The Tigers have a first-year, 32-year-old coach in Josh Pastner and a roster that, aside from Elliot Williams, is void of marquee talent. Couple that with the fact that Memphis was facing a veteran Kansas team loaded with NBA talent - including two preseason All-Americans - and everything pointed to a blowout. Instead, the Tigers' defense forced Kansas to play a sloppy brand of basketball, and Memphis actually had a chance to win the final seconds - Williams' three-pointer at the buzzer caromed off the back of the rim. Even though Kansas emerged victorious, the story of the night was the passion and energy the Tigers showed under Pastner, who looks more and more like a good hire each day.

Steve Megargee's answer:
UCLA figured to get off to a slow start. The Bruins had a flurry of preseason injuries and returned only one starter (Nikola Dragovic). But that doesn't excuse a season-opening loss to Cal State Fullerton. This wasn't a case of some promising mid-major power beating a big-conference team headed toward a rebuilding year. While the latter description might fit UCLA, nobody was considering Fullerton a potential sleeper before the season. Consider that Fullerton was picked to finish seventh in the nine-team Big West Conference. Fullerton pulled the upset by going to a zone defense and daring UCLA to beat the Titans from the perimeter. The Bruins couldn't do it. UCLA shot 31 percent overall and went 5-for-29 from 3-point range in the 68-65 double-overtime loss.

David Fox's answer:
How quick can you write off a sleeper team? When it's Oregon State, three days. With nearly everyone returning to a team that won the College Basketball Invitational, the Beavers seemed to have a realistic shot of playing in the NCAA tournament. Those hopes might be over after the Beavers weren't even the best team in Lubbock, Texas, for the "Duel in the Desert" tournament. The Beavers lost to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which is expected to contend in the West Division of the Southland Conference. Seth Tarver was the only Oregon State player to score in double digits in a 67-43 loss on Nov. 13. The Beavers fared a little better against Texas Tech, one of the worst teams in the Big 12, a couple of days later. But Texas Tech still won 64-60.