The opening day of the Maui Invitational was a good one. I knew Michigan would give Memphis trouble, but they ended up giving them mroe trouble than I thought. The other games went pretty much as expected. Duke took care of business. UCLA struggled for a half with Chaminade. Kansas got just enough alley oops to get by Georgetown.
Second Round
Memphis over Tennessee – This game could be another bad game for Memphis but I think they bounce back to pull out a closely contested game in this one. I think Josh Pastner will lay into his team about their defensive effort yesterday and the guards will give Tennessee fits like Duke did yesterday. If Memphis is feeling any sort of hangover from yesterday Tennessee will pounce and claim supremacy in the stats Tennessee.
Georgetown over Chaminade – Georgetown showed that they are gonna be better than most people thought this year, just as I figured. They made a few too many mistakes down the stretch and the ball bounced the way of Kansas just enough times for them to pull out the victory. Georgetown will have no problems with the host Chaminade today.
Duke over Michigan – Michigan took advantage of the poor Memphis defense yesterday and got plenty of easy buckets. Duke will not allow the same to happen. The guards for Michigan are every bit as good as the Duke backcourt. The difference in this game will be the Duke frontcourt.
Kansas over UCLA – UCLA got their one win of this tournament yesterday by finally waking up in the second half yesterday versus Chaminade. The fact that it was a two point game at halftime is all you need to know about how good they really are. I will be interested to see the battle between Josh Smith and Thomas Robinson in this one. Robinson won’t be able to push around Smith like he can do with most other big men in the country.
Bonus Pick
Missouri over California – Missouri’s up tempo frantic style usually gives California fits. That and the fact that this is a de facto home game for Missouri should be just what they need to pull off this victory.