Thursday, December 20, 2007

Linked Up, December 20

If you couldn't tell, I'm trying out various names for my morning "News and Notes"-type column; in a few days, I'm going to make a poll where you can vote for your favorite name. Also, I had to bring my car in for service this morning, so I'm running a little late. In other words, it's another day of quick-hitters.

- Stanford sophomore forward Brook Lopez didn't take long to make a dominant impact in his first game back after academic suspension. (San Francisco Chronicle)

- UCLA freshman center Kevin Love isn't getting the ball enough, but he also might not be at his peak in terms of fitness. (Los Angeles Times)

- Arizona freshman guard Laval Lucas-Perry is transferring to Michigan after just one semester on the Wildcats. (Ann Arbor News)

- Alabama is really struggling from the free-throw line, hitting only 57.5 percent of its foul shots -- 11th in the SEC. (The Tuscaloosa News)

- The Louisville players are trying to rally around sophomore big man Derrick Caracter and support him after another one of his recent suspensions. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

- Injuries have played a major role in Kentucky's 4-5 start, although head coach Billy Gillispie has avoided saying that until now. (Lexington Herald-Leader)

- Kansas head coach Bill Self was happy with the Jayhawks' win over Georgia Tech on Tuesday, but he says they still have a lot of things to work on. (Lawrence Journal-World)

- Joe Posnanski writes that Kansas State needs to get freshman forward Michael Beasley more involved in the team's offense and build around him. (Kansas City Star)

- Pittsburgh has a chance to show the country it is for real tonight when it faces Duke in a battle of undefeateds at Madison Square Garden. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

- Duke has been running its own version of the Phoenix Suns offense this season, which has helped the Blue Devils become more explosive than last year. (Raleigh News & Observer)

- Texas A&M head coach Mark Turgeon is beginning to prepare his team for Big 12 play by using his top players for more minutes in the coming games. (Bryan-College Station Eagle)

- Oregon, last in the Pac-10 in scoring defense, will emphasize that side of the ball in practice until conference play begins. (Eugene Register-Guard)

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