Saturday’s 6-pack:
Six highest-rated leagues in college basketball:
— SEC
— Big X
— Big 18
— Big East
— ACC
— Mountain West
Quote of the Day
“I mean, we just hold ourselves to such a high standard. We don’t feel like we’re playing our best football. We have to find a way to build up to play great (as) a full, entire team. It’s awesome that we’re finding ways to get wins. That’s what you’re going for. But our goal is to get to the Super Bowl.”
Patrick Mahomes
Saturday’s quiz
USC basketball coach Eric Musselman was also head coach for which two NBA teams?
Friday’s quiz
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley scored 3.8 ppg in his five-year NBA career; he played most of his career with the Sacramento Kings.
Thursday’s quiz
Hall of Fame QB Johnny Unitas played 18 years in the NFL, the first 17 for the Baltimore Colts; he played for the Chargers in his last season.
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I looked at the teams who played in the finals at Maui since 2000……..
4 teams who won the Maui Classic also won the national title, but North Carolina was three of those four teams (2005, 2009, 2017). UConn was the 4th team, in 2011.
Three other teams won the Maui Classic but lost in the Final Four; Arizona (2001), UCLA (2007), Purdue (last year).
2017-18 Notre Dame team is only Maui Classic champ that missed the NCAA’s; of the last 23 Maui champs, 18 won at least one NCAA Tourney game- those 18 teams went 12-6 in their second round game, so 12 of 23 Maui champs made the Sweet 16.
— Of the last 23 teams to lose the final at Maui, only two (Kentucky 2010/Kansas 2011) made it to the Final Four- neither won the national title.
The last 13 Maui runner-ups made the NCAA’s; those teams went 10-3 in their first round NCAA game, 7-3 in their second round game.
Auburn beat Memphis in this year’s Maui final; expect to hear a lot from those teams in March.
Lions 23, Bears 20
Bears in first half: 19 plays, 38 yards, trailed 16-0 at halftime.
Bears in second half: 40 plays, 259 yards, 20 points.
Chicago had ball on Lions’ 25-yard line on last drive, but didn’t score.
Bears lost last six games, four of then by 3 or fewer points.
Detroit’s first five drives: 61 plays, 352 yards, 2 TD’s, 3 FG’s.
Lions ran ball for 194 yards, outgained Chicago 405-301.
Detroit won its last ten games (8-2 ATS).
Detroit snapped a 7-game losing streak on Thanksgiving Day.
— Bears fired their offensive coordinator two weeks ago; Friday, they fired head coach Matt Eberflus, despite the improvement shown by rookie QB Caleb Williams. Eberflus was 14-32 as coach of the Bears, 4-7 this season, but Williams hasn’t thrown an INT in his last 232 passes.
This is the first time ever that the Bears fired their coach during a season.
Cowboys 27, Giants 20
Cowboys won their first home game in six tries this season.
Dallas was 7-15 on third down, Giants 3-12
Cowboys are 9-0 SU/7-2 ATS in last nine games against the Giants.
Backup QB Cooper Rush is 7-3 as an NFL starter.
Giants are 0-7 SU/ATS in their last seven games.
Last seven games, Giants were outscored 97-29 in first half.
Giants averaged only 3.4 yards/pass attempt.
Dallas outgained the Giants, 317-247.
Packers 30, Dolphins 17
Green Bay led this game 24-3 at halftime.
Miami is 0-6 when it gives up 20+ points, 5-1 if they allow less.
Tagovailoa threw for 365 yards; they ran 14 times for only 39 yards.
Loss snaps Miami’s four-game-winning streak.
Green Bay in first half: 34 plays, 203 yards, 24 points.
Packers won seven of last eight games (2-4 ATS in last six).
Green Bay is 8-0 when they allow less than 24 points.
Packers are 21-15-1 ATS in last 37 games coming off a win.
Chiefs 19, Raiders 17
Chiefs scored only one TD, were outgained 434-329.
Chiefs were 7-16 on third down, Las Vegas 3-12.
Raiders are now 0-8 SU/3-5 ATS in last eight games.
Rookie TE Bowers caught 10 passes for 140 yards and a TD.
Chiefs are 11-1; they’re also 0-6 ATS last six games.
Raiders have 23 turnovers in 12 games (minus-18).
Chiefs are 16-21 ATS in last 37 games as a home favorite.
Kansas City’s new kicker Wright made four field goals.
— LA Dodgers signed utility guy Tommy Edman to a 5-year, $74M deal; Edman hit .328 in the postseason for LA this past year, scoring 12 runs with 13 RBI in 16 games.
His career hitting stats are very ordinary, but he’s versatile defensively and that is important in modern baseball.
— Tomorrow’s den will be all about college football, but this game was notable:
Georgia 44, Georgia Tech 42 OT
17-point underdog Tech led this game 17-0 at halftime.
Georgia scored two TD’s in last 3:39 to force overtime.
Dawgs are now 20-3 in their last 23 games against Tech; Yellow Jackets covered last three.
— Famous birthdays, November 29:
Jim Chones, 75
Bo Jackson, 62
Ben Stiller, 59
Marcellus Wiley, 50
Andrés Nocioni, 45
Shane Victorino, 44
Rich Harden, 43
Elisha Cuthbert, 42
Kaley Cuoco, 39
— Oklahoma 69, Louisville 64
Oklahoma wins Battle for Atlantis, winning by 2-5-5 points.
Sooners start four seniors; experience matters.
Cardinals shot 7-32 on the arc, 9-16 on foul line.
— West Virginia 83, Arizona 76 OT
Mountaineers win 3rd place game at Atlantis; all three games they played there this week went to overtime.
Mountaineers are #73 in experience, #356 in continuity- lot of transfers. One of their best players is the coach’s son, who came with his dad from Drake, which was 59-17 in the MVC the last four years.
— Pitt 91, Ohio State 90 OT
Panthers hit a 3-pointer in transition at the buzzer for the walk-off win.
Ohio State led by 12 early in second half.
Buckeyes shot 11-20 on the arc; Pitt was 8-24.
— Purdue 80, Ole Miss 78
Purdue led by 17 with 6:00 left in first half.
Ole Miss led by 7 with 4:18 left in game.
Rebels were 15-36 on the arc, Purdue 10-22. Lot of offense.
— Butler 87, Mississippi State 77
Bulldogs made 12-22 shots on the arc, Miss State 7-27
Butler was +11 on the boards.
— Arizona State 68, Saint Mary’s 64
Sanon scored 19 points for ASU; he didn’t start.
Sun Devils are off to a 7-1 start.
— Modern college basketball: Arizona State was 14-18 last year, missing NCAAs for third time in four years. Something had to change; coach Bobby Hurley went to some boosters and asked them to open their wallets. As a result, the Sun Devils added………
Alston Mason, who scored 17.5 ppg at Missouri State
BJ Freeman, who scored 21.1 ppg at Milwaukee
Basheer Jihad, who scored 18.6 ppg at Ball State
ASU also added two five-star freshmen, who don’t come cheap.
This sounds like the script from the movie Blue Chips, where Nick Nolte pays off three recruits to play for his Western U Dolphins, except that now, it is all within the rules.
Six highest-rated leagues in college basketball:
— SEC
— Big X
— Big 18
— Big East
— ACC
— Mountain West
Quote of the Day
“I mean, we just hold ourselves to such a high standard. We don’t feel like we’re playing our best football. We have to find a way to build up to play great (as) a full, entire team. It’s awesome that we’re finding ways to get wins. That’s what you’re going for. But our goal is to get to the Super Bowl.”
Patrick Mahomes
Saturday’s quiz
USC basketball coach Eric Musselman was also head coach for which two NBA teams?
Friday’s quiz
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley scored 3.8 ppg in his five-year NBA career; he played most of his career with the Sacramento Kings.
Thursday’s quiz
Hall of Fame QB Johnny Unitas played 18 years in the NFL, the first 17 for the Baltimore Colts; he played for the Chargers in his last season.
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Saturday’s Den: Wrapping up a busy couple days……..
— Does winning the Maui Classic help you in the NCAA Tournament? Winning three games in three days in November; obviously, it helps your seeding, but how have the teams who have done well in Maui done in March?I looked at the teams who played in the finals at Maui since 2000……..
4 teams who won the Maui Classic also won the national title, but North Carolina was three of those four teams (2005, 2009, 2017). UConn was the 4th team, in 2011.
Three other teams won the Maui Classic but lost in the Final Four; Arizona (2001), UCLA (2007), Purdue (last year).
2017-18 Notre Dame team is only Maui Classic champ that missed the NCAA’s; of the last 23 Maui champs, 18 won at least one NCAA Tourney game- those 18 teams went 12-6 in their second round game, so 12 of 23 Maui champs made the Sweet 16.
— Of the last 23 teams to lose the final at Maui, only two (Kentucky 2010/Kansas 2011) made it to the Final Four- neither won the national title.
The last 13 Maui runner-ups made the NCAA’s; those teams went 10-3 in their first round NCAA game, 7-3 in their second round game.
Auburn beat Memphis in this year’s Maui final; expect to hear a lot from those teams in March.
Lions 23, Bears 20
Bears in first half: 19 plays, 38 yards, trailed 16-0 at halftime.
Bears in second half: 40 plays, 259 yards, 20 points.
Chicago had ball on Lions’ 25-yard line on last drive, but didn’t score.
Bears lost last six games, four of then by 3 or fewer points.
Detroit’s first five drives: 61 plays, 352 yards, 2 TD’s, 3 FG’s.
Lions ran ball for 194 yards, outgained Chicago 405-301.
Detroit won its last ten games (8-2 ATS).
Detroit snapped a 7-game losing streak on Thanksgiving Day.
— Bears fired their offensive coordinator two weeks ago; Friday, they fired head coach Matt Eberflus, despite the improvement shown by rookie QB Caleb Williams. Eberflus was 14-32 as coach of the Bears, 4-7 this season, but Williams hasn’t thrown an INT in his last 232 passes.
This is the first time ever that the Bears fired their coach during a season.
Cowboys 27, Giants 20
Cowboys won their first home game in six tries this season.
Dallas was 7-15 on third down, Giants 3-12
Cowboys are 9-0 SU/7-2 ATS in last nine games against the Giants.
Backup QB Cooper Rush is 7-3 as an NFL starter.
Giants are 0-7 SU/ATS in their last seven games.
Last seven games, Giants were outscored 97-29 in first half.
Giants averaged only 3.4 yards/pass attempt.
Dallas outgained the Giants, 317-247.
Packers 30, Dolphins 17
Green Bay led this game 24-3 at halftime.
Miami is 0-6 when it gives up 20+ points, 5-1 if they allow less.
Tagovailoa threw for 365 yards; they ran 14 times for only 39 yards.
Loss snaps Miami’s four-game-winning streak.
Green Bay in first half: 34 plays, 203 yards, 24 points.
Packers won seven of last eight games (2-4 ATS in last six).
Green Bay is 8-0 when they allow less than 24 points.
Packers are 21-15-1 ATS in last 37 games coming off a win.
Chiefs 19, Raiders 17
Chiefs scored only one TD, were outgained 434-329.
Chiefs were 7-16 on third down, Las Vegas 3-12.
Raiders are now 0-8 SU/3-5 ATS in last eight games.
Rookie TE Bowers caught 10 passes for 140 yards and a TD.
Chiefs are 11-1; they’re also 0-6 ATS last six games.
Raiders have 23 turnovers in 12 games (minus-18).
Chiefs are 16-21 ATS in last 37 games as a home favorite.
Kansas City’s new kicker Wright made four field goals.
— LA Dodgers signed utility guy Tommy Edman to a 5-year, $74M deal; Edman hit .328 in the postseason for LA this past year, scoring 12 runs with 13 RBI in 16 games.
His career hitting stats are very ordinary, but he’s versatile defensively and that is important in modern baseball.
— Tomorrow’s den will be all about college football, but this game was notable:
Georgia 44, Georgia Tech 42 OT
17-point underdog Tech led this game 17-0 at halftime.
Georgia scored two TD’s in last 3:39 to force overtime.
Dawgs are now 20-3 in their last 23 games against Tech; Yellow Jackets covered last three.
— Famous birthdays, November 29:
Jim Chones, 75
Bo Jackson, 62
Ben Stiller, 59
Marcellus Wiley, 50
Andrés Nocioni, 45
Shane Victorino, 44
Rich Harden, 43
Elisha Cuthbert, 42
Kaley Cuoco, 39
— Oklahoma 69, Louisville 64
Oklahoma wins Battle for Atlantis, winning by 2-5-5 points.
Sooners start four seniors; experience matters.
Cardinals shot 7-32 on the arc, 9-16 on foul line.
— West Virginia 83, Arizona 76 OT
Mountaineers win 3rd place game at Atlantis; all three games they played there this week went to overtime.
Mountaineers are #73 in experience, #356 in continuity- lot of transfers. One of their best players is the coach’s son, who came with his dad from Drake, which was 59-17 in the MVC the last four years.
— Pitt 91, Ohio State 90 OT
Panthers hit a 3-pointer in transition at the buzzer for the walk-off win.
Ohio State led by 12 early in second half.
Buckeyes shot 11-20 on the arc; Pitt was 8-24.
— Purdue 80, Ole Miss 78
Purdue led by 17 with 6:00 left in first half.
Ole Miss led by 7 with 4:18 left in game.
Rebels were 15-36 on the arc, Purdue 10-22. Lot of offense.
— Butler 87, Mississippi State 77
Bulldogs made 12-22 shots on the arc, Miss State 7-27
Butler was +11 on the boards.
— Arizona State 68, Saint Mary’s 64
Sanon scored 19 points for ASU; he didn’t start.
Sun Devils are off to a 7-1 start.
— Modern college basketball: Arizona State was 14-18 last year, missing NCAAs for third time in four years. Something had to change; coach Bobby Hurley went to some boosters and asked them to open their wallets. As a result, the Sun Devils added………
Alston Mason, who scored 17.5 ppg at Missouri State
BJ Freeman, who scored 21.1 ppg at Milwaukee
Basheer Jihad, who scored 18.6 ppg at Ball State
ASU also added two five-star freshmen, who don’t come cheap.
This sounds like the script from the movie Blue Chips, where Nick Nolte pays off three recruits to play for his Western U Dolphins, except that now, it is all within the rules.
