College Hoops Thursday

Obviously, the CH world is abuzz over Gardner-Webb's shocking triumph over Kentucky last night. I'll go through that game with Andy Katz of ESPN, and talk about the other games from last night (yes, there were other games) and tonight's games as the wild Coaches vs Cancer Classic continues.

-First in football it was Appy State over Michigan, now just 109 miles away the Gardner-Webb Runnin Bulldogs win at Rupp Arena, and did it in convincing fashion. G-Webb got off to a jaw dropping 14-0 lead, and that advantage was never less than 7 points the rest of the way. Webb got 22 points from Grayson Flittner, and 21 and 10 from Thomas Sanders in this enormous upset. Ramel Bradley scored 24 for UK, but it wasn't enough as Gardner-Webb stormed into Rupp Arena and just flat out attacked Billy Gillispie's defense. Andy Katz has more of the factors that went into this upset:
"I saw the second half and I concur with GWebb coach Rick Scruggs. The Bulldogs attacked, attacked and attacked. The backdoor cuts they put in were perfect. This was a classic case of a team that had been together for at least a year, playing a team in Kentucky that was still figuring itself out under its new coach. Also, Kentucky is still limited in numbers with Derrick Jasper out."
So even if a team was bad the previous year, just that experience together coupled with great coaching can lead to a shocker like this. So the Bulldogs will be at MSG next week.
-At the first game in Storrs, Greg Gamble scored 25 points as Buffalo escaped with an 89-82 win over DII Ohio Valley. It'll be UConn next for the Bulls, who struggled to a 69-65 win over Morgan State. Jerome Dyson had 20 for the Huskies, and Curtis Kelly chipped in with 13 and 9 off the bench. Reggie Holmes scored 18 off the bench for the Golden Bears. In the consolation game in Lexington, Durrell Nevels had 13 points and got 20 boards as Central Arkansas came up with a 69-59 win over Alabama A&M. Defensive freak Mickell Gladness had 8 boards and 9 blocks in the loss.
-Today, the CvsC begins in Norman with East Central (who?) taking on Denver at 5:30. The Pioneers went 4-25 in the Sun Belt last year, and returns Soph Guard Tyler Bullock who averaged 11 points last year. At 6 in Storrs, Morgan State takes on Ohio Valley, which also happens to be a conference (confusing no?). The at 8, the Dons of San Francisco battle Oklahoma. The Dons went 13-18 in the WCC last year, and are led by combo Guard Manny Quezeda, who averaged just over 13 points per game last season. The Sooners were a disappointing 16-15 last season, and are led by Freshman sensation Blake Griffin. UConn and Buffalo will finish off the night at 9pm on ESPNU.