Saturday’s Den: Happy Felix Unger Day!!!

13) “On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to leave his place of residence. That request came from his wife……..”

When I was a kid, The Odd Couple was one of my favorite TV shows; that is how the show started every week, with Tony Randall’s character Felix sadly leaving his home, and showing up at the door of his friend, sportswriter Oscar Madison (Jack Klugman), needing a place to live.

It was a great TV show, very funny. If you find The Odd Couple on TV somewhere, it is well worth your time.

Today is November 13; happy Felix Unger Day!!! 

12) West Virginia 74, Pitt 59:
— 902nd career win for Bob Huggins, tying Bob Knight for 5th on all-time list.
— How is Huggins not in the college basketball Hall of Fame?
— 24 NCAA tournaments, two Final Fours, four Elite 8’s, nine Sweet 16’s. All in all, 33-24 in NCAA Tournament games. He is a Hall of Famer, for sure.

11) Furman 80, Louisville 72 (OT):
— Furman (+9) made 12-28 on arc, Louisville 7-29.
— Paladins start four seniors; this is a great win for them.
— Louisville coach Mack is suspended for first few games, for off-court stuff.

10) Oakland (+16.5) 56, Oklahoma State 55
— Oakland lost by 27 to West Virginia Tuesday.
— Oakland played 8 guys, including five freshmen, one senior.
— Oklahoma State was only 6-12 on foul line.

9) North Carolina 94, Brown 87— Is this a red flag for the Tar Heels? Brown hadn’t played a Division I game in over 600 days; Brown was up six points with 12:04 left. Brown shot 55.6% inside arc, scored 1.23 points/possession. 

8) UCLA 86, Villanova 77, OT
— Villanova’s 7th man played only 7:00- they’re not deep.
— Villanova led by 10 with 9:24 left.
— Wildcats lost despite making 11-24 on the arc.

— UCLA outrebounded Villanova 46-32.
— Bruins shot 52.5% inside arc; Villanova, 38.6%.
— High-level game for November 12.

7) When Cal-Riverside upset Arizona State Thursday night, they also banked an $85,000 check from the Sun Devils, what they call “a guarantee game”. If you’re paying a team $85,000 to show up and play, they’re not supposed to beat you.

6) NC-Greensboro 70, Northern Kentucky 69 OT
— UNCG led by 10 points at halftime.
— UNCG trailed by 7 with 7:54 left.
— Northern Kentucky was 10-33 on arc, 13-32 inside arc.

5) Eastern Michigan 103, Illinois State 98, 2OT:
— Illinois State led by 16 late in first half.
— EMU was 32-43 on foul line, ISU 23-28.
— Illinois State turned ball over 22 times (-7).

4) Denver Broncos’ offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur tested positive for COVID, won’t be calling plays Sunday, when Denver hosts the Eagles. Former Alabama coach Mike Shula is expected to be the Broncos’ play caller.

3) Brent Strom quit as pitching coach of the Astros couple weeks ago, signed on with the Diamondbacks Friday; lot of people thought Strom was retiring. Back in the 60’s, Strom was the second person to have Tommy John Surgery on his elbow- he pitched five years in the majors, for three different teams.

2) Lefty hurler Andrew Heaney signed a one-year, $8.5M deal with the Dodgers. Heaney was 8-9, 5.83 in 23 starts this past year, but the Dodgers signed him up.

1) Cincinnati 45, South Florida 28— Bearcats are now 0-4 ATS in last four games; unsure if it matters to pollsters, but it can’t help much. Cincinnati led 31-7 early in second half- they outgained USF 506-346, but turned ball over three times. USF had four turnovers.

Boise State 23, Wyoming 13— Cowboys (+13.5) scored on a 74-yard TD pass with 0:04 left- they got the backdoor cover, giving Boise backers a horrific bad beat.