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Weekly Wrap: Already a season of loss

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Jeff Goodman

Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. Check out his Yardbarker blog. MORE>>
 
Updated Dec 8, 2009 11:46 PM ET
     
 
To those who have left us. We'll miss Evan Turner, the early frontrunner for National Player of the Year, for the next two months or so after a nasty fall in which he broke two vertebra in his back. We'll miss Georgia Tech sophomore guard Iman Shumpert, who hasn't looked quite right all season, for the next month due to a knee injury. We'll miss Villanova's highly touted freshman big man Mouph Yarou — who has been diagnosed with Hepatitis B — for likely the entire season. And we'll even miss Drew Gordon, UCLA's most productive big man, who has left Ben Howland and the Bruins and will transfer elsewhere in a desperate time of need. Get well, guys. TEAM OF THE WEEK: You've got to give it to Texas Tech after Pat Knight's Red Raiders pulled off a huge upset in Lubbock against Washington. It appeared as though Mike Singletary won it with a trifecta in regulation, but after it was ruled he didn't get the shot off in time, Texas Tech still managed to win it in overtime. The Red Raiders are 8-0 for the first time since 1929. STUD (PLAYER OF WEEK): Wisconsin point guard Trevon Hughes scored 26 points in the Badgers' huge victory at home against Duke. Bo Ryan's team didn't get much credit in the preseason, but Hughes was terrific against the Blue Devils' backcourt. DUD: The Pac-10 continues to struggle. The league is still searching for a true resumé win and is just 2-8 thus far in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series with just two games remaining. The two victories came on Pac-10 home courts: Cal over Iowa State and Oregon State getting past Colorado. MID-MAJOR TEAM OF THE WEEK: Saint Mary's was thought to be in major rebuilding mode after losing Patty Mills, but the Gaels have been impressive thus far and Randy Bennett's team got a rare win at Utah State — where Stew Morrill's team has been virtually unbeatable. In fact, Utah State had won 37 straight at home and also 65 consecutive regular-season home games against non-conference opponents. WORST LOSS: Clemson blowing a 23-point lead to Illinois at home and losing to the Illini. Oliver Purnell's team led, 51-28, early in the second half, but the Tigers were unable to get the ball in the hands of star big man Trevor Booker down the stretch and Illinois mounted a huge comeback. WEEK TO FORGET: Portland — Just days after cracking the top 25, Eric Reveno's team endured a tough week in which it lost to Portland State and then was blasted by Idaho. WHY I'M DUMBER THAN I LOOK: My streak of picking weekly upsets ended at three because I didn't do my homework. I went with Santa Clara at home against a ranked UNLV team but didn't know that Santa Clara's star guard, Kevin Foster, had broken his foot against UCSB earlier in the week. Even without Foster, the Broncs nearly pulled the upset, losing 66-63. WELCOME BACK: While there were numerous losses throughout the country, one overlooked return was that of Dayton guard Rob Lowery, who played eight minutes in his first game in about 10 months following knee surgery. Two other freshmen — Duke's Mason Plumlee and UCLA's Tyler Honeycutt — made their debuts this past week after injuries held them out of the lineup. FINALLY: The Big Ten finally came out on top of the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Wisconsin's win against Duke proved to be critical, as the Badgers handed Coach K's program its first-ever setback in the history of the event. TIME FOR A CHANGE: It was time for Fordham coach Dereck Whittenburg's to leave the Bronx. The program wasn't going anywhere, and all the best players didn't want to stay at Fordham. After a 1-4 start, Whittenburg was fired this past week. Assistant Jared Grasso got the gig on an interim basis.
Tagged: Clemson, Iowa State, Georgia Tech, UCLA, Duke, UNLV, Dayton, Fordham, Utah State, Portland, Texas Tech, Oregon State, Ohio State, Santa Clara, Portland State, Wisconsin, Illinois

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