NCAA and NBA news and notes. . .
Huge college basketball upset -- The Cinderella’s of NCAA basketball make college hoops arguably the most exciting sport of all. Oral Roberts proved the point, with the first huge upset of a top 10 team this season, when the Golden Eagles thumped No. 3 Kansas, 78-71.
Two-time Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year, Caleb Green, carried Oral Roberts in every way, with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 steals. It was Marchello Vealy, though, who put the Jayhawks away early, nailing seven straight 3-pointers, as the Golden Eagles sprinted to an 11-point lead and never looked back.
Oral Roberts’ impressive early-season upset is certain to move the Eagles up on the next Cinderella Watch list, along with certain newcomer, Vermont, which posted an upset of its own over Boston College.
Morrison leads Bobcats upset – Highly-touted rookie Adam Morrison came out of his shell in a recent Charlotte Bobcats win. Morrison hit 12 of 23 shots, including two 3-pointers, scoring a career-high 27 points, as the Bobcats shocked San Antonio in an early-season David vs. Goliath victory.
The Gonzaga graduate has had a hot-and-cold start to his career. Playing time may prove to be the key to Morrison’s success. He scored just two points in 24 minutes in an early-season loss to Denver. He followed that career low with 21 and 27 points, respectively, while averaging 44 minutes per night, in those two games. It seems obvious that Morrison needs time to get his rhythm going.
Denver’s K-Mar out for the season – Just when things were going well for the Denver Nuggets, the proverbial roof caved in, as power forward Kenyon Martin tore up his knee. Martin, who was averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, recently had surgery and will miss the remainder of the 2006-07 NBA season.
Hate to say we told you so – We felt pretty certain that the Detroit Pistons would not be the same without star center Ben Wallace, who fled for the greeners of Chicago this past off-season. Without defensive force Wallace patrolling the paint in Detroit, the Pistons are surrendering a very un-Detroit-like 97 points per game.
Wallace’s replacement, Nazr Mohammed, meanwhile, is averaging less than 7 rebounds and less than one steal per game. Plus, he’s not nearly the intimidating force that Wallace is.
Losing one player may end a long run of Detroit dominance in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
