Monday Grab Bag: Women Grab 4th

A mostly quiet weekend in the rearview, I'm about to gear up for the final road trip of the season.  The Buffs will need at least one win in San Francisco to both keep pace in the race for a top-four spot, and stay safely north of the bubble. 

Today in the bag, I'm talking about the women's big win, how the Pac-12 fared during CU's off week, and my thoughts on Argo.

Click below for the bag...


 Women sweep Washingtons, take over 4th place - 

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor disruptive snowstorm could keep the ladies from their appointed victorious rounds.  Faced with a golden opportunity to claim the inside track for a top-4 seed, the Buffs took full advantage, earning a 68-61 win over Washington on Sunday.

On senior day, who else but star senior guard Chucky Jeffery could lead the way, dropping yet another double-double with her 11/13/4 performance.  While the Maclom-Pecks made for a nice story (MeganBrenna saw action for the first time all season), Jeffery has been the heart of the program, and it was awesome to see her have a strong final regular season home game.

Chucky delivered on Sunday.  From: the BDC

With the win, despite being picked by the media to finish 9th, the ladies will finish no worse than 5th for the year.  The rival Huskies now get the pleasure of hosting the Bay Area monsters in the final week, leaving the Buffs as the odds-on favorite to earn 4th place and first-round bye in Seattle.


The weekend that was: Pac-12 hoops - 

Washington @ Arizona St - 

OK, it's official.  I don't get either of these teams.  Given an identifiable route to the Tournament, ASU spit the bit, and lost at home to a spiraling Washington squad 68-59.  The extremely inconsistent Husky Scott Suggs not only had the best night (16 points), but also iced the game with a clutch three pointer.  I hope he both flipped the bird, and pantomimed shushing the ASU student section when he did it.

*choking motion*

Oh, and Jordan Bachynski, that oaf who seemed like a competent big man in January?  He took another game off, only producing 4/3 in 17 minutes of play.  Lurch just cannot compete against a big man of comparable size.

Cal @ Oregon St - 

I at least had this game called right.  Cal was almost tripped up by the trap game in Corvallis, but barely managed to escape with a 60-59 victory.  They remain the hottest team on the block, and probably leap-frogged ASU in contention for a fifth Tournament bid from the Pac-12. (Yes, I still believe that the Pac-12 is a five-, rather than a six-bid league)


UCLA @ USC - 

Again, I had this one nailed.  UCLA was embarrassed last month when they lost, at home, to the middling Trojans.  They weren't about to let it happen again, and they throttled their crosstown rivals 75-59 Sunday.  Jordan Adams, who I think is their best player, had a 20/6 performance to pace the Bruins.

UCLA had little difficulty blowing past the over-matched Trojans.  From: BruinsNation.

BruinsNation was, predictably, unimpressed by the 16 point throttling.  I don't think they've ever enjoyed a win.  I hope we never get like that.


Oscars - 

I'm not a big cinema gossip hound, but I got into the Oscars this year, mostly because the best picture nominees were not only good, but accessible.  Over the past few months I have seen, and enjoyed, Lincoln, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Zero Dark Thirty, and Argo, and I was eager to see which would get Best Picture. Of course, Argo received the honor.

Unrelated.  From: 30FPS

While I enjoyed Django the most (I have a thing for Tarantino), Argo was plainly the best of the bunch, and well deserving of the award.  When viewing the others, I was keenly aware that I was enjoying a movie.  With Argo, I felt like I was standing next to the characters as they tiptoed through the climax.  Suspension of disbelief is the truest sign of a quality film, and Argo nailed it.

Congratulations to Ben Affleck. Who knew that the co-star of Gigli would turn in one of the best films of the past decade?  Should've seen it coming, though.  Dude was the bomb in Phantoms.

Happy Monday!