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By Rhett, December 21, 2008 12:26 pm

As anybody could expect, returning from a vacation usually means you’ve got a stack of work just waiting for you when you return to your normal Monday / Friday routine. This was especially the case for me, which had me looking forward to this weekend, specifically yesterday with a great slate of games, and the chance for a few teams I follow to get off the schnide.

• Arizona @ UNLV – Arizona is ultra talented and ultra screwed up it seems. The whole thing with Olsen, then him bouncing at the start of the season, just a brutal way to handle things, especially with so much talent coming back. That said, they played well in the 1st half of this game, only to let things get out of hand early in the second half to the tune of Wink Adams dropping 3’s of greatness from all over the court. The Rebel defense was stellar. Switching and drawing charges and getting their hands in the passing lanes led to several fast break chances, which ultimately got the Thomas and Mack crowd riled up for most of the early afternoon. A sad note from yesterday was Baes Hamga leaving the program. Obviously he did not fit in with this hard working bunch. He wanted to play and had not earned it yet. Fair Theeee well, I’m sure he’ll find somewhere to play in a couple years. In the mean time he missed out on a great game and a great win for Vegas, UNLV 79, Arizona 64.

• Michigan State @ Texas – Neutral court my ass. I was able to enjoy this game much later in the day courtesy of the DVR, as I was at the UNLV game while it came on. What a difference having your whole depth chart available to you makes. Suton missed a single shot. While he’s not a big time mix it up down low guy, he’s been here forever and knows the rules / system. Taking him out has been brutal for Sparty. Nice to see them get a top tier win after a disappointing start to the season. Big Ten looking strong to start the season with Ohio State playing well, Purdue looking good, Michigan (barf) getting two top 5 wins, Michigan State righting the ship yesterday, and ‘ol Tubbs up in Minny going undefeated so far with a nice win over the ‘Ville and Johnny White Suits.

• Virgina Commonwealth @ Oklahoma – Was looking forward to seeing Eric Maynor playing. Oklahoma gave him the Stephen Curry treatment. Tried to take on too much, but when you’re the best player on a team, I suppose that is your job. Such is life.

There were several other nice match ups yesterday with Davidson @ Purdue, UConn @ Goncaga (again, forget your neutral court BS), and Dynasty in a neutral setting with Duke. Caught the end of the UConn game at the pub. Enjoyed seeing UConn come back, although there were a few small change calls at the end of the game that need not be called.

Game Log: WMU @ UNLV – Western could have pulled this game out. I had been looking forward to this game for a while, funny how it just happened and then it was over. I was impressed with the 500 or so Bronco fans who were in attendance at The Orleans Arena, just down the street from the Thomas and Mack. Would have likee to of seen Western play in a barn with a NCAA tournament championship banner hanging in the rafters. You can thank the rodeo for giving UNLV the boot for the better part of two weeks. Either way, Western looked talented enough to cause some racket in conference play, despite their horrid record thus far. David Kool is the Jesus. UNLV 70, Western Michigan 61.

Game Log: Campbell @ Florida Gulf Coast University – Yes, I did take it on the road to a small gym in Estero, Fl to take in a hoop game on a cloudy Saturday afternoon. The trip can now claim the Atlantic Sun. Michigan transfer Reed Baker threw up 26 perfectly timed points as FGCU pulled out the win. Campbell was well coached and made things interesting with 3 steals off of inbound passes in the final seconds that were converted into easy hoops or FT’s. Was also able to ham it up with the grandmother of a player for Campbell who gave a little insight into the road trips she goes on, how her son came to play at Campbell, and how her sun has “mad game”. It was a good afternoon. FGCU 72, Campbell 68.

So that’s numbers 8, 9 and 10 for me. Looking ahead I’ve got a small tourney here in Vegas I hope to catch a few games at, schedule pending. Here’s hoping to a decent short week at work, which would allow me to enjoy some hoops, time off, and a giant prime rib the lady friend has in the works. What else could one want? Final Four tickets? LOL.