Google Scouting Saint Mary's (minus the Google) and a Purdue/Davidson update

Coming into the first game of the John R. Wooden Tradition, Davidson guard Stephen Curry looked primed to break the tournament's scoring record if he matched his game average.

However, the Purdue Boilermakers asserted themselves as the physically dominant team as they outhustled the Wildcats en route to a 47-24 halftime lead.

Curry is an ice cold 3-for-17 from the floor and 1-for-8 from the 3-point line and still leads the team with 7 first-half points. If the Wildcats want to make a run in this game, they would be wise to move Curry off the point guard position and let him run wild off screens. But for that to work, Davidson is going to have to set more solid screens as they ahve looked lifeless on both ends of the court.

Purdue's E'Twaun Moore leads all scorers with 10 points as seven different Boilermakers tallied points in the first half in what has turned out to be a home game in the team fittingly wearing the white jerseys. Kyle Orton and Drew Brees must be proud.

Google Scouting Presents: Saint Mary's (without the Google)

The combination of a terrible internet connection and access to a Saint Mary's media guide has given me the opportunity to do Google scouting without opening an additional web browser. Here's what I've got for you today.

Location: Moraga, California. According to the SMC media guide, its campus is 13.5 miles away from Oakland (yuck!), 21 miles from San Francisco and 46 miles from Great America. So that's cool.

Mascot: Gaels. It is some sort of horse. I'm assuming it is fast. Who would want a slow horse to be a team mascot?

Conference: West Coast Conference. Better known as the WCC. Also known as the conference Gonzaga dominates. Hey, wasn't SIU supposed to be the next Gonzaga? Just wondering.

Record: 8-1 with wins over powerhouses such as Seattle Pacific and Vanguard. OK, let's give 'em some credit here. They have beaten Providence (81-75), Kent State (75-69) and Oregon (78-73).

Who to watch for: Patrick "Patty" Mills. The 6-foot guard was an Olympic star for the Australian national team. He is averaging 20 points per game and will be a handful for Saluki defenders to guard this evening. I'd also watch out for 6-foot-7 forward Diamon Simpson, who is averaging 12.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per contest and 6-foot-11 center Omar Samhan who averages 15.4 points and 9.6 boards per game.

Don't worry about... Daniel Kickert. The former Gael star graduated in 2006 finishing as the school's leading scorer with 1,863 points.

The 'X' Factor: It's a homecoming for senior guard Wesley Clemmons, who is an Indianapolis native.

Notable: SIU will be playing its third game on a neutral court this season.

Quotable: "I'm looking forward to Stephen Curry dropping 40 on Purdue tonight." - Me, prior to the Purdue-Davidson game.

Prediction: Someone's gotta pull an upset in this tourney, right? I think SIU wins a squeaker in the house that Danny Granger dominates, but no one cares or knows about. Southern Illinois 67 Saint Mary's College 64