Watching sports has a great deal to do with expectations. If you expect your team to win and they only eek out a victory, you’ll be unhappy. On the other hand, if you have low expectations, you’ll very rarely be disappointed (that’s one of my mottoes). So, I started the Kansas-UMass game on Saturday hoping that it would be competitive and I’d get a good look at rising fantasy stud Tony Gaffney. Kansas had won seven of its first eight games while the Minutemen had only won twice on the season. I was expecting Massachusetts to play at a speedy pace, but ultimately not have enough talent to keep up with the Jayhawks. As you know by the final result by now, I was not only satisfied with the competitiveness of the contest, but I got to see a taut thriller.

Granted, this Kansas team has almost nothing in common with last year’s champion. Sherron Collins was part of a deep guard rotation and Cole Aldrich had one ballyhooed performance against Tyler Hansbrough in the Final Four, but the rest of the parts are new. And to be honest, none of them stood out to me. Sophomore guard Tyrel Reed hit three threes, but I couldn’t tell one Morris twin from the other. Tyshawn Taylor was not effective and top juco transfer Mario Little did not play.

As for the two Jayhawk stars, I was impressed by one and not the other. Unfortunately for me, the unimpressive Collins is on my team (the Primer Syrens, who gave their name to this blog). Let’s start with Aldrich, I think he will be a productive big man. He’s a bit too slow to really get onto the NBA radar (although I am not saying that some NBA team won’t draft him), he uses his size well and has good hands. He provided a double double and helped get Gaffney in early foul trouble.

Collins is clearly a talented player, but he does not trust his teammates and he tries to do way too much on his own. Most of his three-point attempts were early in the shot clock before his team was in position to get an offensive rebound. For a young team, few things are as dispiriting as to not get a chance on offense. Collins’ quick trigger also helped negate Kansas’ greatest strength – its sheer size advantage.  When Collins wasn’t bombing madly, he made forays (which were also mad) to the basket into the teeth of the Minuteman defense (i.e. Gaffney).

Maybe Collins will figure it out in time, or maybe he just isn’t a point guard. Although Massachusetts’ G Ricky Harris has a similar body type, he seems more comfortable with his role as a shooting guard. Harris did not have a great shooting game (just 6-for-16 from the floor), but his shots were smarter than those of Collins. Of course, Harris doesn’t have to be the point guard because he is flanked by Chris Lowe, who had a solid game. It would be incorrect to say that Harris and Lowe caused Collins’ poor shooting, but they both are decent defenders and from probably the best backcourt in the Atlantic 10.

Gaffney has been the biggest surprise of the fantasy season to this point. The fifth year senior was a non-factor in his first four years in Amherst because he was behind players like Rashaun Freeman, Stephane Lasme (who was also a fantasy stud), and Etienne Brower. One can only speculate at the buried gems on other benches across the country. The 6-8 Gaffney has excellent timing on his shot blocking attempts. He did block 1.7 shots per game last year in 20.0 mpg, but this year he has swatted 5.4 bpg and 23 shots in his last three games. It has helped that Minuteman C Luke Bonner has been out, but even when Bonner returns from his knee injury (and he should be ready to return soon – he could have played a few minutes against Kansas, according to The Republican) Gaffney will be the main rebounding and shot blocking presence.

Massachusetts forged a 14-point lead in the first half, but Kansas chipped away in the second half. It looked inevitable that the home town favorite would rescue a win, which would have been a lot less memorable. Fortunately, the final play was a microcosm of the whole game as Collins tried to break down the defense and get to the basket. He almost made it, but his shot was swatted away by Gaffney, who finished with 13 rebounds and six blocks.