Quick Takes: Arizona lost in Atlantis

Whether its the palm trees, soft sand, or clear waters, the Arizona Wildcats look a little lost in Atlantis.  A preseason No. 1 seed, UA has dropped back-to-backers against NC State and SMU.  Neither is bad, per se, as both are potential tournament teams, but still unexpected.  Yes, Rawle Alkins remains out with an injury, but Arizona is far from depleted with Allonzo Trier and Deandre Ayton on the court.  If there’s any good news, head coach Sean Miller said yesterday the early losses might end up being helpful because everyone was telling them how good they are.  We’ll see if that’s true.  Today, Arizona gets Purdue.  One of those two squads will leave Atlantis 0-3. Think about that for a moment.

Other Thanksgiving Quick Takes:

• Speaking of Purdue, if the Boilermakers fail to beat what should be a desperate Arizona team today, they’ll head back to West Lafayette without a victory during their stay in the Bahamas.  And if you haven’t looked ahead, Purdue’s next two games are Louisville (home, ACC-Big 10 Challenge) and at Maryland (Big Ten opener).  Sense of urgency, perhaps?
• Can’t say Villanova has played its best basketball in Atlantis either, but at least Jay Wright’s group has garnered a couple of wins.  Not sure they expected to see Northern Iowa today – then again, who did?
• Meanwhile, Northern Iowa’s early resume now includes wins over SMU and NC State.  Those could help later on regardless of today’s outcome with ‘Nova.
• Rhode Island notched a solid victory over Seton Hall; it should resonate a while.  Also worth nothing, the Rams won it without E.C. Matthews.
• Arkansas and Oklahoma put on a fun show at the PK 80 event.  Today, the Razorbacks get a rematch with North Carolina.
• Texas looked a little disjointed but had enough to beat Butler.  Up next, the Longhorns play Duke – meaning we’ll see Marvin Bagley, III vs. Mohamed Bamba in Portland.
• Virginia’s defense remains a constant. The Cavaliers dismantled Vanderbilt.
• Connecticut upended Oregon, a good neutral-courter for the Huskies.  Coupled with SMU’s win over Arizona, the American Conference continues to look like a potential five-bid league.  Temple is off to a good start, and UCF will get B.J. Taylor back.  There’s also those other two teams – Cincinnati and Wichita State.

More storylines will develop Friday.  Feast Week has certainly been delicious.  Another Seed List update tomorrow.  Ebb and flow, early, folks.