BYU 71, San Diego State 58

So much for writing a blog post about every game I watch this year. I don't know if it's laziness or what, but that New Year's Resolution went out the window pretty fast. I will say, however, that with some notable exceptions, I've felt that the majority of the college hoops games I have watched this season have been pretty poorly played. There seems to be an awful lot of bad offense out there, and perhaps that's why my enthusiasm to write has waned a bit. (Okay, a lot.)

Anyway, I did catch last night's Mountain West showdown of these two top-ten teams, albeit at a bar, which is never the most convenient venue for close examination or thoughtful reflection. But seeing as the nation seems to be in something of a Jimmer Fredette frenzy, I figured I'd write a few words on the guy who is now leading the country in scoring by a full three points.

ESPN's Andy Katz has this to say about Fredette, and it's noteworthy that Katz's first order of business is to distinguish Fredette from Stephen Curry, because the Davidson phenom turned legit NBA weapon for the Golden State Warriors is the guy everyone wants to compare Fredette too. There are some similarities -- shooting range is one, being the focal point of the offense is another -- but there are also some differences. I've only seen Fredette play on occasion, and so I don't want to speak too generally about his game. I do, however, want to focus on one difference between him and Curry and what that means for his NBA prospects.

Curry is as clever a scorer as they come. He's got unlimited range, sure, and he's reasonably quick, but he relied so much on deception, on little head and shoulder fakes to create space, on unconventional tempo and rhythm to get his defender off-balance. I wasn't sold on Curry in the NBA until I saw him at Summer League in Vegas after he got drafted. He had a terrible week shooting the ball, but he got the same sort of shots he had gotten in college. I had been worried that the individual defenders at the professional level would be too good for him, but he was able to get his shot without a problem and I knew it was a matter of time before the ball started going down. I certainly didn't expect this kind of success this quickly (and he's certainly in a system that uses his talents well), but I did think he'd do well after that.

Fredette is something of a different story. He's got the same unbelievable range that Curry does, but against the Aztecs anyway, he got a lot of his points on drives to the bucket, using traditional moves: crossovers, a straightforward first step, etc.

There are a couple of points I want to make here. To start, note that there are obviously concerns about Fredette's athleticism at the next level. If there weren't, then a scorer as prolific as he is would be a shoo-in lottery pick, not a fringe first-rounder. But as there were with Curry, there are concerns that Fredette is not big enough, strong enough, or quick enough to have success against defenders at the next level.

Next, consider that, like Curry, Fredette has the green light to do basically whatever he wants, including take jumpers from outrageously far away. This green light -- and his ability to make use of it -- makes him tougher to guard, as defenders need to take his shot fakes from 30 feet seriously. They must play up on him at all times, which makes it easier for him to get to the basket.

Golden State aside, however, there aren't really any other NBA systems where Fredette would have the kind of offensive freedom that he currently enjoys (and that Curry has with the Warriors). This is significant because if you add a higher-caliber athlete on defense with a less-dynamic game on Fredette's part, the concerns about his ability to drive past people using the bounce seem more valid.

Oddly, then, it's precisely because Fredette displays a more traditional arsenal that I'm less bullish on his NBA prospects than many others are. The guy can definitely play, and perhaps his penetration game is legitimate. But because I haven't seen the same type of stuff I saw from Curry -- the off-balance jumpers and off-the-dribble 27-footers over two defenders -- I'm not yet convinced of his value beyond that of a superb long-range shooter (for which there is certainly room on an NBA roster).

I actually think that Charleston's Andrew Goudelock is a better comparison to Curry, but that's an entry for another time.

Illinois 88, Northwestern 63

Easy win for the Illini on Thursday night. I continue to be impressed with power forward Mike Davis, the kind of player that makes college basketball so fun for me. Davis won't make a splash on the next level, I don't think, but he's really effective in the post in the college game, with a good jump hook and the best turnaround jumper I've seen from a post player this year.

Also, Bill Carmody is making a mistake playing John Shurna while Shurna struggles with a high ankle sprain. The kid wears a walking boot between practices and games, yet continues to play. I get that Shurna is one of the Big Ten's top scorers (he averages 21.3 points per game) and the Wildcats are trying to capitalize on what appeared to be a real shot at earning the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. And the Wildcats have gotten unlucky with this injury given their conference schedule; they opened with road games against Purdue and Illinois and a home date with Michigan State -- perhaps the three best teams in the league behind Ohio State. The drive for a win in one of those games is understandable, but Shurna is hardly doing anything out there and may be hurting his team. He's 7-for-26 from the field in conference play, having scored just 29 points in the three games, and went 1-for-11 in a 65-62 loss to Michigan State.

Shurna hasn't sat since hurting his ankle, so the only chance he's really had to recover has come from the relatively light schedule due to the semester break. Continuing to play has likely pushed his return to health further back, jeopardizing the softer part of the conference schedule -- games that are truly "must win" for a likely bubble team like the Wildcats. Let Shurna rest, see if promising freshman JerShon Cobb can handle more of the scoring load, and trust veteran point guard Michael Thompson to step up his game in Shurna's absence.

Cincinnati 66, Xavier 46

This game was Thursday, and was as uncompetitive a Crosstown Shootout as I can remember.

I think Cincy, undefeated but relatively untested, might be the real deal. I've seen Xavier a few times this year and they aren't as good as we've grown accustomed to over the past few seasons, but I was really impressed with Cincy's two big kids, Yancy Gates and Ibrahima Thomas. They both can score, rebound, and defend, and have good chemistry on the high-low. Gates also hit a pair of impressive fadeaway jumpers from 15-plus feet where he caught the ball in the post, faced up, took a couple dribbles backwards, then put up a good-looking, high-arcing shot. It reminded me a bit of late-career Karl Malone, though there's a chance I'm mis-remembering Malone.

As for the Musketeers, I've been really unimpressed with point guard Tu Holloway, the junior whose scoring average has jumped this season. He can put the ball in the basket, but he uses a ton of possessions, doesn't create for his teammates, and seems to lack the poise and leadership qualities you need out of a point guard. He picked up a technical foul against the Bearcats, was constantly looking to the officials for calls he didn't deserve, and I remember at least one instance of him yelling at a teammate who didn't catch one of his passes.

Marquette 79, West Virginia 74

New Year's Resolution: Write something -- anything at all -- about every basketball game I watch. I had hoped to get this blog into better shape over break, but my hard drive crashed almost as soon as I got to DC and I haven't been able to do much. I'm currently posting using my Dad's Netbook, which isn't great for stuff like that. Maybe I'll have time to do it once I get back to LA and get my computer fixed.

Woke up this morning hangover-free thanks to a low-key New Year's Eve spent by myself watching 12 straight hours of college hoops and caught a terrific Big East game. Buzz Williams has got himself another solid team at Marquette, with five double-figure scorers -- Jimmy Butler, Darius Johnson-Odom, Jae Crowder, Vander Blue, and Dwight Buycks. The Golden Eagles always seem to have squads like this: a bunch of solid perimeter players without a really strong inside presence, with an undersized four (Crowder in this case, Lazar Hayward in years past) doing some of the dirty work inside. What I like about this year's squad is that it doesn't rely too heavily on the three-pointer. I know that threes are an efficient form of offense, but one thing that has soured me on the college game is how so many teams are just three-point factories. The college line is too close and it's not a terribly difficult shot for many college players, and it can be fun when a capable team gets hot from the arc (like Ohio State did yesterday against Indiana), but it's just not enjoyable to watch when mediocre shooters take so many three-pointers. The Golden Eagles get a lot of stuff at or near the rim -- another very efficient shot -- so it's not as if they are hurt by this year's offensive strategy.

This was a back and forth game. Oddly, given Marquette's balanced scoring attack and perimeter orientation, it was the only bucket scored by Chris Otule that put the Golden Eagles ahead for good. That had to have been a frustrating play for West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. Down by a point with less than two minutes remaining, Buycks took what the defense gave him, which was a wide-open three-pointer from the right wing (Buycks was 11-for-32 from deep on the season heading into the game). The shot hit the front rim and bounced softly off the backboard on the weakside, where Otule was waiting to slam it home. On a play where West Virginia chose to leave the shooter open, it also left the weak-side rebounder uncontested, and that's gotta drive a coach crazy.

The game wasn't sealed until a couple of possessions later, when Crowder -- last year's juco player of the year -- ripped the ball from Casey Mitchell, another former juco player of the year, at the top of the key, and Mitchell instinctively reached out and grabbed Crowder's shorts before he could stop himself, resulting in an intentional foul. Crowder was outstanding all night; career high on offense (I think he ended with 29), some nice assists, disruptive on defense, and leading the way on the boards.

Marquette's experience late in close games showed; they played something like 16 games decided by four points or less last year. West Virginia played its fair share of close games last season, too, and have plenty of returning players. The difference is that they don't have Da'Sean Butler, last year's closer who had like six game-winning shots last year. Mitchell is the Mountaineers most talented offensive player, but he's also something of a loose cannon from what I've seen and I wouldn't necessarily feel comfortable with his shot selection in that situation. Truck Bryant had a great offensive game, but couldn't come up with the big baskets late. It will be interesting to see who carries the load for WVU down the stretch going forward.

Bryant did most of his damage, by the way, when he shared the court with fellow point guard Joe Mazzulla. It's interesting, because it's not like Mazzulla was creating a lot of opportunities for him. I guess being relieved of the burden of initiating the offense and getting everyone else involved is enough to set Bryant free on offense.

One other note about West Virginia: On paper, they had the edge inside, but didn't get much out of Deniz Kilicli and Kevin Jones in the early stages of the game, or late in the game. They also didn't get to the free throw line as often as they should have given their size advantage.