Fisch Tank: College Hoops

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The madness of March is still too far off to think about especially with conference play just starting to hit full swing. Before we get into this weeks match ups, we have to look back at this past week.

Dave Odom is turning in his clipboard at South Carolina. I’d have to say that’s a good thing. Odom is a good coach, but for a young team like the Gamecocks they need a youthful, energetic and exciting coach. I’m just going to throw this out there; what about Donnie Jones at Marshall. The former Florida Assistant Coach knows how to win and how to build a program. He could take on Billy Donavon and the Gators twice a year and the SEC is far better than Conference USA. When Donovan took the two day excursion to become the Orlando Magic Head Coach, that’s exactly who Florida went after, the Gamecocks should really go after Jones! Speaking of taking it to the Gators, this Wednesday the Gamecocks have a chance at taking down the champs. Is it going to happen, it could, but I doubt it. If they can stop Nick Calathes they have a chance. The game I am interested in is Saturday when USC heads to Rupp Arena for the Wildcats. Kentucky has four players averaging double figures but the court to the bench is like a cliff in Lexington. There is a huge drop off from starters to backups. The interesting match up will be Patrick Patterson against Mike Holmes (If he starts). Patterson is averaging nearly a double double. My prediction, USC goes 1-1 this week.


Clemson can’t begin to think they are a big dog in the ACC until they take the bark away from Duke or UNC. They looked like they could hang in the early going at Cameron, but second half they were miserable. Oliver Purnell needs to figure out how to get these guys to hit a free throw. On the other hand Trevor Booker is really stepping up and Terrence Oglesby is proving to be a player. This week they are at Wake Forest and at home against the Hurricanes. It will be a tough one on the road in Winston-Salem, the Deacons haven’t lost at home this year and they’re allowing less than 65 points a game. It will be interesting to see how Purnell twists his roster with Wake running a four guard set. As for the Miami game, the Canes will be walking into Little John Coliseum fresh off their third straight loss, because UNC is going to crush them for redemption against Maryland. Therefore, Frank Haith’s boys will be clambering for a win. Clemson will have to show up for this one, because Miami will be hungry.
Clemson goes 2-0 this week.

Coastal Carolina got a huge win on the road against preseason Big South favorite High Point. Jack Leasure is lucky he didn’t burn the house down in that one, with eight three pointers and thirty three points. The way I see it, the Chants should be 3-0 in conference, but they had a melt down at home against a VMI team they had on the ropes. The problem for CCU is they’re away from the coop this week, where they are 1-6 on the year. The Flames are a happy at home team just like the Chants. Liberty is 8-0 in Lynchburg, but they can’t run like Coastal can. Since Cliff Ellis has gone to a four guard system, CCU can run and put up points. On the flip side, their defense is very poor. I believe they will walk out of Virginia with a victory. But when they go to Winthrop they will need to step up the defense because the Eagles love to go to their bench.
Coastal Carolina goes 1-1 this week.

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