1. Maryland has desperately needed two things, a point guard, and size. The point guard (Pe’Shon Howard) returned last game, and on Wednesday it was time for size. After sitting out the first ten games of the season 7’1 Ukrainian center Alex Len made his debut, and did it in style by finishing an alley-oop on the Terps 2nd possession. On the night he scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in an 83-72 win over Albany. The rust did show as he had 5 turnovers, and was called for goaltending on both ends of the floor. In somewhat of a statistical oddity, Maryland allowed exactly one point per possession for the 3rd straight game.
2. And then there were 5. Wednesday night began with six undefeated teams, but Louisville fell at home to a very good Georgetown team. The Hoyas, which are one of the best teams in the country at taking care of the ball, couldn’t handle the Louisville pressure and turned it over on 27.7% of their trips. But they made up for it by shooting 64% from beyond the arc and outscoring the Cardinals by 8 from the line. Georgetown’s Markel Starks, who made all four of his 3pt attempts, led all scorers with 20.
3. And then there were 4. Indiana travelled to Michigan State and lost in a game of remarkable runs. The Spartans had 12-0 and 9-0 runs in the first half while Indiana countered with their own 25-2 run which split the halves. But the Spartans came right back with a 19-0 run. In the end it was Michigan State 80, Indiana 65. Keith Appling had 25 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in the win. IU’s Christian Watford had a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
4. Creighton’s offense combined with Florida State’s defense would be a top-5 team. Unfortunately for both teams they’re each stuck with their weaker units. On Wednesday the Blue Jays took on Missouri State at home and lost 77-65. Missouri State scored 1.17 points per possession, even though they entered the game having played five top-100 teams and maxing out at 1.02. Kyle Weems scored a season high 31 for the Bears, and the nation’s leading scorer – Doug McDermott – was limited to 19, just his second game this season with less than 20.
5. In their first game without coach Jim Calhoun, the UConn Huskies struggled with a not-very-good South Florida team. Jeremy Lamb scored 16 of his 23 in the 2nd half, and UConn was able to hold on for a three point win in Tampa. Their 1.02 points per possession was their worst offense of the season, and this against a defense ranked out of the top-100. UConn shot 25% on 3s, 63% on FTs (which is about their average) and only generated an assist on 6 of 21 made baskets (28.6%).
