Thursday, December 23, 2010

I'm aware of two men's college basketbal games recently, in which one team's fast start coincided with the other's slow start to produce a 20-0 score at the outset.

On December 18, Louisiana Tech took a 20-0 lead over Texas-Arlington. Before scoring its first points, UTA missed six shots and committed six turnovers. Thus, it was a combination of a cold hand and a sloppy hand that put the Mavericks in the hole (play-by-play sheet). Louisiana Tech didn't have that hot of a hand to start the game, for that matter, scoring its first 20 points on 3-of-4 shooting on two-point shots and 4-of-9 on three-pointers (plus a pair of free throws). Despite falling so far behind, UTA hung in there, cut the deficit to 10 points at the half (36-26), and ended up losing by only a single point, 62-61.

Then, today, Northwestern got off to a 20-zip start over Mount St. Mary's and was never challenged thereafter, winning 70-47. MSM missed 15 shots and committed five turnovers before scoring (play-by-play sheet). The Wildcats scored their initial 20 points on 6-of-10 two-point shooting, 2-of-6 on threes, and 2-of-3 on free throws.

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