The Weekend that Was

Let's take a quick look at some of the happenings in the college hoops world from this weekend:

-Just over one month ago, University of Tennessee men's basketball program was in the news for a variety of wrong reasons. From off the court issues like coach Bruce Pearl's admission to committing NCAA recruiting violations, to on the court issues like his team losing an exhibition game to Indianapolis (Lemoyne, anyone?), it was a not the greatest start in Knoxville.

Hopson is boxin' it up this season. (AP Photos)

Amazing what a month can do. The Vols are 7-0 now, including wins over two of the Big East's top teams, Villanova (at MSG) and most recently Pitt (in Pittsburgh) on Saturday.  Leading the way for Tennesse has been Scotty Hopson.  Daily Onions contributing reporter, Ramy Nammour, had a front row seat at Saturday's game and said Hopson "has the game and the look to be a top player.....great shooting form, athletic, put on a few pounds and he is set..." Not sure if "the look" had to do with Hopson's "Kid 'n Play" hairstyle, but Scotty has been the Vols leading scorer with 17.9 ppg.  The rest of his game needs to come around a bit, as he only averages 3.7 rpg, and has 21 turnovers compared to 10 assists on the season. UT, however, definitely a team to watch in the SEC.

-Following their showdown at MSG on Tuesday night, Syracuse and Michigan State went in opposite directions in their next game.  Syracuse pasted Colgate (athankyou) 100-43, while Michigan State struggled to beat Oakland, winning by 1 point.


-With Kyrie Irving on the sideline, let's welcome Jared Sullinger to the #1 spot on the Freshman of the Year Leaderboard.  The 6-8, 280 lb freshman forward dropped a 40 spot on Friday night against the Palindromes from IUPUI.  Yes, I know its IUPUI...but still, 40 for a freshman big man is impressive.

-The comeback story of Indiana University isn't ready to make that next step....at least not yet.  After starting the season 7-1, IU lost its first true test, on the road at Kentucky.  The score doesn't do the Hoosiers justice (81-62), as it was a 4 point game with about 5 minutes to play. But not making a FG from the 9 minute mark until 45 seconds left, isn't the best way to win basketball games.  Daily Onions is a big fan of Tom Crean, and knows he will bring IU back to the national stage within the next few years.