Closing in on Midnight! by Jared Whelan

With all this media hype about Davidson, you'd think we're witnessing a Cinderella story of George Mason proportions. But the truth is, we're not. Furthermore, why is Stephen Curry a household name now, while the moniker Courtney Lee remains obscure in the greater landscape of college hoops? I think we need some perspective here…Western Kentucky and Villanova are the lowest seeds remaining in this tournament, and WKU's Ty Rogers is the owner of the biggest tournament shot to date with a three point buzzer beater to take down the mid-major darling Drake. However, these stories apparently are not "sexy" enough for the mainstream media. Why? Two words…Stephen Curry--the son of former NBA sharpshooter, Dell Curry, has lit up the first two rounds of the tournament for 70 points while taking out Gonzaga and the 2-seeded Georgetown Hoyas. Admittedly, the kid is a story. He looks like he gets carded at R-rated movies, barely weighs 150 lbs, was snubbed by his father's alumni, Virginia Tech, coming out of high school, ranks in the top 5 scorers in the country, put 30 points on G'Town….and his mom is hot (thank you CBS for showing Mrs. Curry every chance you got last weekend)!Nonetheless, Davidson should not be such a surprise. They played a greuling out of conference schedule, taking on the likes of North Carolina and Duke, and they fared extremely well. They were undefeated in Southern Conference play, and have demonstrated a history of dominance in that league. Don't get caught up in that little number 10 next to the name Davidson on your bracket. The fact is, Davidson was ranked in the top 25 going into the NCAA Tournament. How a top 25 team gets a 10 seed is beyond me (but I would guess it was the same math used to give Butler a 7th seed as a top 12 team).Tell me the last time the country made such a big deal about a top 25 team making the Sweet 16! I can't remember. The bottom line is that stagecoach is about to turn back into a pumpkin. Much similar to last year's college basketball scene, there are a few teams that are head and shoulders above the rest…and the chalk will remain.For Davidson, they will face the number one defense in college basketball. And Mr. Curry will have trouble getting his numbers against an excellent perimeter defender in Michael Flowers. Wisconsin is too big and too good defensively to lose to Davidson, although both teams' styles can allow for a close game.The same goes for Western Kentucky and Villanova. While they have both made impressive runs, they will run into walls called UCLA and Kansas this weekend. Not many teams in the country can match up with the combination of talent and size that the Bruins and Jayhawks bring to the table.So while the first two rounds of this years tournament have afforded us some great upsets and intriguing stories, that glass slipper will remain in someone's closet (or wherever the heck you keep a glass slipper), because the clock is striking midnight for these wannabe Cinderella hopefuls. I hope the sportswriters can find a new darling to write about next week…Hansbrough is always a good back up plan!

Let The Games begin!!!!

Possible first round upsets:

Siena over Vanderbilt (Siena has a good well balanced team along with a victory over stanford to back it up.)

George Mason over Notre Dame (2 players from a team that made a nice final four run 2 years ago, not to mention some good victories.)

Winthrop over Washington State (Solid players return from a great team last year, victories over Miami and Georgia Tech don't hurt)

St. Joes over Oklahoma (St. Joes knows how to compete with good competition how bout 2 victories over Xavier in the past 11 days)

Nova over Clemson (this team has the guard play and defense to slow down a very potent clemson offense.)

Kansas State over USC (Michael Beasley and Bill Walker enough said)

Temple over Michigan State (Christmas came early for this team, very physical could give the spartans some problems)

Kentucky over Marquette (Kentucky enough said)

Western Kentucky over Drake (Courtney Lee, is a game changer, Drake is new to this tourney experience)

Baylor over Purdue (my sleeper from the beginning of the year watch out for these guards.)


COLLEGE BASKETBALLS FINEST BLOGGERS FINAL FOUR PICKS

EAST
UNC (makes me giggle)

Midwest
KANSAS (I wish I were home)

South
MEMPHIS (We have an Elvis Siting)

West
UCLA (Where is Tyus Edney now)

Selection Sunday Projection

1. UNC, Memphis, UCLA, Kansas
2. Duke, Tennessee, Texas, Georgetown
3. Xavier, Stanford, Louisville, Wisconsin
4. Pitt, Vanderbilt, Butler, Marquete
5. Clemson, Notre Dame, Drake, Uconn
6. Washington St, USC, Purdue, Mississippi State
7. Arkansas, Michigan State, Indiana, BYU
8. Kansas State, Gonzaga, Oklahoma, UNLV
9. Baylor, WVU, Saint Mary’s, Miami
10. Texas A&M, St. Joes, Kentucky, South Alabama
11. Davidson, Western Kentucky, Illinois State, Ohio State
12. Kent St, Temple, Arizona, Arizona State
13. San Diego, George Mason, Siena, Winthrop
14. Oral Roberts, Cornell, Boise State, Austin Peay
15. UMBC, American, Belmont,California Fullerton
16. Texas Arlington, Coppin State, Mt. Saint Mary’s, Portland St, Mississippi Valley St.

Holding on by a Thread
Kentucky, Arizona, Ohio State, Texas A&M, South Alabama, St. Joes, Arizona State, Baylor, Miami, Illinois State

On the Respirator
Florida, Rhode Island, UAB, Houston, Syracuse, Southern Illinois, Dayton, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Villanova, Umass, Charlotte, Ole Miss, New Mexico

Don't Get Your Panties in a Bunch Doug

As you can tell by our latest poll, Doug Gottlieb is not well liked by our readers. This former Oklahoma State standout, referred to as, "The smartest basketball player I ever coached," by coaching legend Eddie Sutton, would no longer be on ESPN if you guys had your choice. Could it be because he loves to rattle on about himself and preach like hes gods gift to the world of college basketball analyzing, maybe? Or could it be that we're just plain jealous of him and feel he doesn't deserve the sweet job on ESPN because he ripped off a roommate's credit card at Notre Dame and decided to charge $900 worth of goodies on it? We all make mistakes and he was a young whippersnapper when it happened so I'm not going to lay into him for that. What I am going to do though is commend him on making a great observation I've been waiting about 3-5 years for someone to notice. I may be way off here but I seriously have never heard anyone mention this until he did about 30 minutes ago.

I have noticed this for the last 3-5 years and wondered how no one either noticed, or had the balls to say to K, hey, why the snubbage? Mike Krzyzewski for years now, for some reason has snubbed the sideline reporter and decided against a Halftime and Post-game on court interview. He usually assigns the job for assistant coach Chris Collins but sometimes has fellow assistants Johnny Dawkins or Steve Wojciechowski fill in. I guess my main question is boiled down into one word, why? Why Mike? What did some over payed sideline reporter say to you or ask you to have you continuously decide not to talk to them? Coach K has absolutely no problem fielding questions after the game during post game press conferences, so what's the big deal with giving your two sense at the end of the half? Is he afraid the other team is watching the broadcast and going to use his words against him? Who the hell knows? Coaches are coaches and are entitled to their space on the court so he absolutely has the right to keep his mouth shut. But when it seems that every other coach is willing to field a question or two on the floor, I just wonder why he chooses not too.

Now I'm sure someone, somewhere has mentioned this before, but I've neither read it nor heard it. So, my question to you is, do you know why this is or have an idea? We would love to hear your thoughts on the subject so feel free to comment. Calm down Doug, we'll get to the bottom of this.

March 14 Bracket (Bubbles Bursting Everywhere)

1. UNC, Memphis, UCLA, Kansas
2. Duke, Tennessee, Texas, Georgetown
3. Xavier, Stanford, Louisville, Wisconsin
4. Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Butler, Marquete
5. Purdue, Mississippi State, Drake, Uconn
6. Washington St, USC, Clemson, Pitt
7. Miami, Michigan State, Indiana, BYU
8. Kansas State, Gonzaga, Oklahoma, UNLV
9. Baylor, WVU, Saint Mary’s, Arkansas
10. Texas A&M, New Mexico, Kentucky, South Alabama
11. Davidson, Western Kentucky, Illinois State, Ohio State
12. Kent St, Temple, Arizona, St. Joes
13. San Diego, George Mason, Utah State, Winthrop
14. Oral Roberts, Cornell, Siena, California Santa Barbara
15. UMBC, American, Belmont, Austin Peay
16. Lamar, Morgan St, Mt. Saint Mary’s, Portland St, Alabama St.

Holding on by a Thread
Temple, Kentucky, Arizona, Ohio State, Texas A&M, New Mexico, South Alabama, St. Joes

On the Respirator
Florida, Rhode Island, UAB, Houston, Syracuse, Southern Illinois, Dayton, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Villanova, Umass, Charlotte, Ole Miss, Arizona State

Sunday March 9th Bracket Projection

1. UNC, Memphis, UCLA, Kansas
2. Duke, Tennessee, Texas, Georgetown
3. Notre Dame, Stanford, Louisville, Wisconsin
4. Xavier, Vanderbilt, Butler, UConn
5. Purdue, Mississippi State, Drake, Marquette
6. Washington St, BYU, Clemson, Gonzaga
7. Baylor, Michigan State, Indiana, USC
8. St Mary’s, Pitt, Oklahoma, UNLV
9. Miami, WVU, Kansas State, Arkansas
10. Texas A&M, New Mexico, Illinois St, South Alabama
11. Davidson, UMASS, Kentucky, Ohio State
12. Kent St, Syracuse, Arizona, Arizona State
13. Ole Miss, George Mason, Utah State, Winthrop
14. Oral Roberts, Cornell, Rider, California Santa Barbara
15. UMBC, American, Belmont, Austin Peay
16. Lamar, Morgan St, Sacred Heart, Portland St, Alabama St.

Holding on by a Thread
Syracuse, Kentucky, Arizona State, Arizona, Ohio State, Texas A&M, New Mexico, UMass, Ole Miss

On the Respirator
St Joes, Florida, Rhode Island, Western Kentucky, UAB, Houston, Temple, Southern Illinois, Dayton, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Villanova

Ticket Punched
Cornell
Winthrop
Austin Peay
Drake
Belmont

Big Time, Big Impact, Pre Conference Tournament-Warm up Games

Ok serious question, who do you think is more scared at the moment, this dog or some of the teams playing this weekend? I know it's stupid but I thought this picture was perfect when trying to describe how some of the teams on the bubble feel right now. Back to the question, if we had to guess we would probably say some of the teams playing this weekend are more afraid. Think about it, if this chair were to break, at least the dog has a shot at survival. Now when compared to this weeks remaining games, if those teams that are on the bubble crumble, they will not only lose all chance of survival in this densley populated bubble watch but will also have to resort to kicking and squealing come conference tournament time.

There are only a few games this weekend that we feel could have a big impact on the NCAA Tournament. That was obviously a joke, we count about 58 games or so that could, make or break some teams come a week from Sunday. We also thought, just incase you arent doing anything but watching college ball the rest of the week and this weekend, here is a list of the major impact games to come.

Thursday

UConn vs. Providence 7:00 Arizona St. vs. Oregon 8:30
Michigan St. vs. Illinois 9:00 Xavier vs. St Joes 9:00
Cal vs. USC 10:30 Stanford vs. UCLA 11:00

Friday

Bradley vs. Creighton 3:35
Northern Iowa vs. Southern Illinois 9:35

Saturday

WVU vs. St. Johns 12:00 Miami vs. FSU 12:00
Louisville vs. Georgetown 12:00 UAB vs. Memphis 1:00
Baylor vs. Texas Tech 1:30 St Joes vs. Dayton 2:00
Stanford vs. USC 2:00 Vanderbilt vs. Alabama 2:00
Missouri vs. Oklahoma 3:30 Wisconsin vs. Northwestern 3:30
Cal vs. UCLA 3:30 LSU vs. Mississippi St. 4:00
Marquette vs. Syracuse 4:00 Kansas vs. Texas AM 4:00
Temple vs. LaSalle 4:00 Utah vs. UNLV 4:00
Ole Miss vs. Georgia 4:00 Kansas St. vs. Iowa St. 4:00
Cincinnati vs. UConn 4:00 New Mexico vs. Colorado St. 5:30
Arizona St. vs. Oregon St 5:30 Auburn vs. Arkansas 6:00
Notre Dame vs. South Florida 7:00 UMass vs GW 7:30
BYU vs. TCU 8:00 UNC vs. Duke 9:00
Houston vs. UTEP 9:35 Arizona vs. Oregon 10:30

Sunday

Florida vs. Kentucky 12:00 Depaul vs. Pitt 12:00
Michigan St. vs. Ohio St. 12:00 Virginia Tech vs. Clemson 1:30
South Carolina vs. Tennessee 2:00 Purdue vs. Michigan 4:00
Oklahoma St. vs. Texas 4:00 Kent St. vs. Akron 6:00
Maryland vs. Virginia 7:30

Now all you need is a TV guide, a big ass satelite, some food, and a few kegs on ice, and your weekend is set. Have fun.

March 2, 2008 Bracket Projection

1. UNC, Memphis, UCLA, Kansas

2. Duke, Tennessee, Stanford, Louisville
3. Vanderbilt, Texas, Xavier, Georgetown
4. Wisconsin, Michigan St, UConn, Notre Dame
5. Purdue, Butler, Indiana, Marquette
6. Washington St, BYU, Drake, Mississippi St
7. Baylor, UNLV, Gonzaga, Clemson
8. St Mary’s, Pitt, Oklahoma, Miami
9. USC, Arizona, South Alabama, Arkansas
10. WVU, New Mexico, Illinois St, Maryland
11. Davidson, Arizona St, UAB, Kansas St
12. Texas A&M, UMass, Kent St, Ohio St
13. Virginia Tech, VCU, Boise St, Oral Roberts
14. NC Ashville, Cornell, Rider, Cal St Northridge
15. UMBC, American, Belmont, Robert Morris
16. Lamar, Morgan St, Austin Peay, Portland St, Alabama, St.

Holding on by a Thread
Texas A&M, Arkansas, Kansas St, Kent St, Arizona St, USC, UMass, Maryland, Miami, WVU, Illinois St, Ohio St, New Mexico, Virginia Tech

On the Respirator
St Joes, Syracuse, Florida, Rhode Island, Western Kentucky, Ole Miss, Houston, Temple, Southern Illinois, Kentucky, Winthrop, Villanova

Ticket Punched

Cornell

Points Anyone?

This week has been the week of individual performances. You have 1 player score more then 50-points in a single game, 3 more score over 40-points in a game, and a couple more have 30+ scoring games. To me it is truly amazing to see a college basketball player score more then 30-points in a game, first off the games are only 40 minutes, and secondly 5 fouls and you’re out of the game. Amazing to see such good individual performances this week, especially since March Madness has officially begun. Below are my top 6 individual performances of the week.

Jack McClinton – A Junior from the University of Miami had a tremendous game this weekend. This guy went off from 3-point land in the second half, at one point he scored 14 straight points in the second half as Miami held off pesky Virginia. McClinton finished the game 7-12 from 3-point land and finished with a career high 34 points.

Sean Singletary – A Senior from University of Virginia (who is good friends with Jack McClinton). He said anything you can do I can do better! Talk about an individual performance this guy single handedly kept his team in the game, as he went off for a career 41 points in the 2-point loss at Miami.

Michael Beasley – Need I say more about this young diaper dandy, a bit of a whiner at times, Beasley for sure has lived up to his hype coming into College. The man child averages 26 points and 13 rebounds a game (not to shabby). Playing in a huge game at the University of Kansas, he was a one man team scoring 39 points and adding 11 rebounds in the loss at Kansas.

Robert Vaden – A junior guard from UAB caught fire in this weeks game against Texas El Paso. Finishing 9-12 from 3pt land and recording a remarkable 41 points. Not to mention his next game out yesterday continued with his hot hand scoring 30 points on 7-15 shooting, and a cool calm and collective 11-11 from the charity stripe.

Robert McKiver – A senior from University of Houston took 34 shot (yes your reading that correctly 34!!) The crazy part is he hit 17 of them, and 7 of those were from downtown. Pair that with a nice 11-12 from the foul line, and you get a grand total of 52 points. That’s good enough for the highest individual point total on the year. Congrats ROB!

Tyrese Rice – Boston College guard takes the cake for best performance in a game. I was lucky, and yes I got to watch this entire game, and I must add that in the first half Tyrese Rice on his own was killing the Tarheels. He went off for 34 points in the first half knocking down 8 three pointers in the first 20 minutes. The Eagles ended up losing the game, but that’s not before Rice finished with 46 a career high. His previous career high was 32 points which he took care of in the first half alone.

Hey There Hot Stuff

How hot is Erin Andrews? She takes interviewing coaches and players to a whole new level. Although she loves to do the, “I’m not paying attention but as long as your mouth is moving I’ll keep nodding my head,” move, we still love to watch her work. This former University of Florida dance team hottie has been a sideline reporter for our beloved college basketball since 2004. In 2008 she was named, “America’s Sexiest Sportscaster by Playboy,” and also serves as a reporter for ESPN college football and Major League Baseball. Any woman, who can rattle on about sports and look good doing it, is our kind of woman.

Speaking of our kind of woman, I think we may have found Erin’s new understudy. In case you don’t watch Women’s Basketball or the Miss Teen USA pageant (who doesn’t), let us introduce you to Alexandra LaForce. Better known as Allie LaForce, this Freshman Point Guard on the Ohio University basketball team is on record saying her dream job is to become a commentator for ESPN. Well Sweetheart, you already have the looks, so stay hot and smile for the camera because ESPN will come calling.

We know they love their commenting cuties and if Allie has any public speaking skills, which we know she does, her on the sideline for ESPN within 10 years is a bigger lock then Mr. Alcindor being named ESPN’s best college basketball player of all time. So here is your new assignment Erin, make Allie look as hot as you do with a microphone in her hand, pose in Playboy with Allie in a spread called, “ESPN Babes Bear it All,” and tell Bruce Pearl to keep his greasy hands off you ass. If you could accomplish those tasks and have them on our desk by tomorrow afternoon we would appreciate it, thanks.

Miami vs. Clemson

I am a huge Miami Hurricanes fan, and its nice to see them finally get back to the point where they are in consideration for a berth to the NCAA Tournament. After a brilliant 12-0 start to the season they suffered their first loss to Winthrop University. Sitting at 15-7 two weeks ago, I along with many others thought their season was over, but a 4 game win streak which included wins against Duke and Maryland the Canes are back. Clemson the 3^rd best team in the Acc has been solid all season. Tonight’s match-up between the Canes and the Tigers is a rematch of an early Acc battle which Miami won on late game 3-pointers by Jack McClinton. This game was not televised so I purchased it on the internet and will watch it live because of the huge bubble implications of this game.

1^st Half
Bizarre start to the game after a quick Clemson basket, the lights go off for a couple seconds, the officials blow the whistle and Miami takes it out on the sideline (how odd that was). Through the first five minutes it’s all Clemson who jumps out to a 10-2 lead. Continues to be all Clemson half way through the first half and they are up 24-6. Clemson refuses to miss a three; they are making them from all over the place Oglesby even makes one from 6 feet beyond the 3-point line WOW! First half comes to an end and it’s all Clemson up 41-24. Lets hope Miami makes a little turn around in the second half and makes this a game.

2^nd Half
Miami comes out of halftime and scores some quick buckets, and picks up the defensive intensity which leads to a nice 10-2 run cutting the score to 43-34. Game has finally become what it was made out to be 7:26 remaining and Miami has brought to a 4 point game 59-55 talk about a turnaround. Under four minutes left now and after Miami took a brief 1 point lead the Tigers come right back and gain a 6 point lead 69-63. These next 5 minutes should be very exciting. Miami keeps on putting up 3’s rarely making any, now its all up to Clemson’s free-throw shooting 74-67 with 1:15 left. Good fight in the second half by Miami but it just wasn’t enough to cover up their poor first half showing. Clemson makes it out of this game and all but assures themselves a NCAA berth as the worst they can do is finish the Acc at .500.

Player of the Game:
KC Rivers 21 points (4/5 3pt field goals)

NBA Stars in the Making

The debate has already begun. Before the discussion becomes a Sportscenter special every other day, we thought we’d put in our two sense. Although this years draft may not have many, right out of the gate, impact players, we feel this years draft is filled with young talent. To stay within our expertise, we will only list players playing for a college program this year. Here are 5 college players in no apparent order, that we feel could have long, exciting to watch NBA careers.

Derrick Rose
Memphis
Being compared to NBA stars such as Baron Davis and Jason Kidd, this 6’4 point guard has many attributes to give us good reason to believe he will be around for a long time. He has great size, tremendous quickness, and remarkable athleticism. With that athleticism though comes some wild shots and out of control turnovers. If he can limit his turnovers and improve his perimeter shooting, watch out. Being able to run a John Calipari offense, possibly the best offense Calipari has every coached, as a Freshman, also gives us the indication that he has the smarts and mental ability to lead an NBA team for years to come.

Michael Beasley
Kansas State
An obvious choice by many to be this years #1 pick, and for good reason. He is young, big, explosive, and athletic as hell. He is also averaging 26 points and 12 rebounds per game as a Freshman, in the Big 12 no less. Beasley also broke and is continuing to shatter the NCAA mark for Double Doubles as a Freshman which is quite an accomplishment seeing present NBA stud Carmelo Anthony held the record. Even though he needs to grow up, choose better shots, get back on defense more, and ease up on the ref bitching, we feel he may still make the leap to the NBA. Another year of college basketball could do wonders for him and it looks like he may come back, then again being the youngest player on his NBA team should make him mature quickly.

Brook Lopez
Stanford
This kid has NBA superstar written all over him. He is tall, lean, can run the floor, and best of all has great hands. His big feet and his lack of ability to explode to the rim could bring him down a peg or two. Brook can also hit a turnaround jump shot on a consistent basis and what we especially like is his ability to knock down the hook shot. This kid is also at the ideal weight for his size, not to chubby and not just skin and bones. He also has tons of potential on the defensive side. We feel he must improve in this aspect to make a quick impact in the NBA. He is very mature though and with his skills now and a little growth on the defensive side he will shine for an NBA team.

Jerryd Bayless
Arizona
Jerryd Bayless will be a star. He may not have the best shot selection but with his range, who cares. He can spot up from anywhere on the court at anytime. Bayless has a terrific first step, is quick enough to blow by almost anyone, and his ability to jump through the roof shouldn’t bother scouts. We can also tell that he loves the game and has the willingness to learn. This is a vital attribute that players must have going into the NBA. The only problem we see is that he likes to handle the rock, but isn’t sure if he wants to play the point. Like Beasley, another year in college could pay huge dividends for Jerryd. NBA scouts are drooling over this kids potential and you know what, they should be.

DeAndre Jordan
Texas A&M
Don’t let the fact that this kid comes off the bench fool you. Jordon is huge, has so much potential, and is one of the most athletic 7 footers we’ve ever seen. He can flat out dominate in the paint, and has no problem bodying up with anyone. We feel it may take a while for this kid to really become the star he can be, but hey what’s the rush. He is 19 and if you need a reminder of how athletic he is click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGW0zoGGpvQ. DeAndre will be great, possibly Dwight Howard great. The only problem we see is that he is skinny, has absolutely no range (yet), and really isn’t all that confident. So DeAndre, hit the weight room, keep practicing those 18 footers, and just have some faith, then watch as the confidence part takes care of itself. Congratulations to the team that wins his services.

Sunday February 24 Bracket Projection

1: Tennessee, Memphis, UNC, Duke
2: Stanford, Kansas, UCLA, Xavier
3: Texas, Georgetown, Wisconsin, Notre Dame
4: Louisville, Indiana, UConn, Michigan State
5: Purdue, Vanderbilt, Drake, Marquette
6: Butler, Washington State, Arizona, BYU
7: Gonzaga, Clemson, UNLV, St. Marys
8: Miami (FL), Baylor, USC, Oklahoma
9: West Virginia, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Pitt
10: South Alabama, Villanova, Texas A&M, Arkansas
11: St Joes, Kent State, Florida, Davidson
12: U Mass, Arizona State, Illinois State, Rhode Island
13: VCU, Boise State, Oral Roberts, UAB
14: Winthrop, Cornell, Rider, CS Northridge
15: UMBC, American, Belmont, Robert Morris
16: Austin Peay, Hampton, Alabama State, Portland State, Lamar

Last Four In- Illinois State, Arizona State, Rhode Island, UAB
Last Four Out- Kentucky, Florida, Ohio State, Maryland
Next Four Out- Houston, Dayton, Western Kentucky, Ole Miss

Thursday February 21 Bracket Projection

1:Memphis, UNC, Kansas, Tennessee

2:Stanford, DUKE, UCLA, Texas

3:Georgetown, Wisconsin, UConn, Xavier

4:Purdue, Notre Dame, Indiana, Louisville

5:Washinton State, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Butler

6:Pitt, Drake, Saint Mary’s, Marquette

7:Gonzaga, Clemson, BYU, Arizona

8:Kansas State, Texas A&M, USC, UNLV

9: Arizona State, Dayton, Oklahoma, Rhode Island

10: Ohio State, Miami(FL), West Virginia, Mississippi State

11: Oregon, Syracuse, Arkansas, Villanova

12: South Alabama, Maryland, St. Joes, Davidson

13: VCU, Kent State, Winthrop, UC Santa Barbara

14: Utah State, Stephen F Austin, Oral Roberts, Cornell

15: Belmont, Siena, Portland State, Robert Morris

16: UMBC, Alabama State, Hampton, American, Austin Peay


Last Four in
Villanova, Oregon, South Alabama, Arkansas

Last Four Out
Forida, Ole Miss, Wake Forest, Kentucky

Next Four Out
UAB, Houston, Illinois State, Temple

Thursday Bubble games:
UMASS vs. Rhode Island
Western Kentucky vs. South Alabama
Oregon vs. USC

Storylines Galore

You looking for storylines? Well if you are, this Big Ten clash has a plethora of juicy ones, so strap on your seatbelts and get ready for a rumble in Bloomington. First of all Indiana comes into the game with a coach who could possibly be on the Indiana sideline for the last time ever. In case you weren’t near a computer, TV, radio, or newspaper in the past week or so, Kelvin Sampson, Indiana’s head coach was charged by the NCAA with five major rule violations, and may be fired looking for a job come Friday. Purdue comes in to the game with a big target on their back as they sit on top of the Big Ten conference and could all but eliminate Indiana’s title hopes with a win tonight. Indiana on the other hand can get right back in the thick of things and make the Big Ten a 3-man race with a win here tonight. This is also the only meeting between the two teams this year, who might I remind you, haven’t played a meaningful game against each other since the Bob Knight, Gene Keady era. Add that to the fact that Robbie Hummel, Purdue’s big time freshman playmaker, was one of the alleged high school players that Kelvin’s coaches were calling illegally on the phone, and we have ourselves a little ball game. Does a win here save Sampson his job? Probably not, but a thought to keep in mind.
First Half
If I could sum the first half up into a few words I would say, sloppy, good defense, and a bunch of Indiana turnovers. The game started out with Indiana coming out cold, scoring only one basket before the first TV timeout, and continuing their numbness with only 4 points in the first 8 minutes. The two teams would exchange a few 3’s and after a fabulous, possible NBA continuation by Gordon, Indiana would pull within 3. Gordon looked very jittery in the first half, almost trying to force both passes and shots. His counterpart and sidekick DJ White would have his back though. He looked like a true man child scoring 10 points and grabbing 6 boards in the first half and at one point chest bumping and doing his best lion impersonation to fire up the very lively home crowd. As for Purdue they played very good defense forcing Indiana into 12 turnovers in the first half, but a dismal 0 for 7 from 3-point land to finish the half would cost them the lead and allow Indiana to take a 32-29 lead into halftime.
Second Half
The second half began just as the first half ended with a big dose of DJ White. He came out with a huge dunk to get things going, and mix that with Purdue forcing shots and his continuing domination of the Purdue big men and Indiana would build their lead up to a dozen. The Boilermakers would cut the lead to 2 at the 7 minute mark following 7 straight points by the crafty left hander Scott Martin. Free throws and 3 point shooting would prove to be Purdue’s nemesis in the second half though. They came in leading the Big Ten in 3 point shooting percentage but walked away tonight shooting a combined 24% from behind the arc. They also didn’t help themselves out by going 11-21 from the free throw line.
The key all game and all second half was the dynamic duo of DJ White and Eric Gordon. White is my pick for player of the game even though he fouled out, scoring 19 points and bringing down 15 rebounds. He was the workhorse of the Indiana defense and he was a workhorse on the Indiana offense. White and Gordon also teamed up to shoot a combined 20-23 from the stripe. Gordon would finish with a game high 22 points.
Although this team may need a coach in less than a week, they deserve a lot of credit for blocking all of their coaching problems out. I’m not saying they should be hoisted on shoulders just for doing what they are supposed to be doing, but having to deal with situations like this, in the middle of a season no less, will take its toll on anybody. Indiana was by far the better team on Tuesday night, but Purdue did show some heart and they still have everything to play for. The conference is now wide open for Indiana, Purdue, or Wisconsin’s taking. Wisconsin and Indiana still have Michigan State on the schedule so I’d give the edge back to Purdue if I had to pick the easiest schedule in. But then again Indiana already laid quite a whopping on Michigan State earlier this month so if I had to pick a regular season winner I’d have to lean on the Hoosiers. DJ White showed he was anything but, “doubtful,” tonight, so maybe, just maybe for the first time in a week, the actual basketball players will make headlines tomorrow.

Lions, Tigers, and Bears OOO MY!!!

Since it’s a slow night in college basketball in my eyes, with Louisville, and Xavier winning already and Texas and Texas A&M playing now, I thought I would take this blog in a different directions, and talk about something fun. The top 10 coolest Division I mascots. If you were to ask me any Division I schools mascot I am confident that I would guess it correctly. Lets start it off:

10) UMKC Kangaroos – Who doesn’t like a Kangaroo, hell I guarantee if a girl were to ask you what your favorite animal was, and you said a Kangaroo, she would respond with an “AWWWWW”

9) UC Santa Barbara Gauchos – I don’t know what a Gaucho is, but it sounds pretty cool. This team could probably have the coolest mascot if they were to keep the old Banana Slug.

8) Jacksonville Dolphins – Who doesn’t love a nice dolphin, we just aren’t sure if it’s a bottle nose or if its just a porpoise.

7) North Florida Ospreys – Ok this team doesn’t have the best record in the world they are 2-23 but guess what (They have an Osprey backing them up).

6) Campbell Fighting Camels – If I hadn’t been on a camel before I would say there are no such things as fighting camels, but the thing tried biting me so we will give it some love.

5) Southern Illinois Salukis – I swear that this school stole their mascot from the never ending story, it looks exactly like that flying dragon/dog Falcor.

4) Murray State Racers – It basically looks like the polo horse racing over the letter “M” that’s cool enough to make my list.

3) South Carolina Gamecocks – Wouldn’t be a mascot list with out this amazing mascot, no teenage boy in their right mind grew up with out a “COCKS” hat.

2) Wichita State Shockers – A shocker we all know what that is, even Bob Saget knows what a Shocker is!

1) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers – This thing is sooo cool, it looks like a mix between a Bear and the Kool-Aid guy “ OOOOO YEAHHH”

ONE Month Until Selection Sunday BRACKET PROJECTION

Sunday, February 17, 2008

1:Memphis, Duke, Kansas, Tennessee

2:Stanford, UNC, UCLA, Texas

3:Georgetown, Wisconsin, UConn, Xavier

4:Michigan State, Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue

5:Drake, Butler, Vanderbilt, Louisville

6:Kansas St ,Wash St , Saint Mary’s, Marquette

7:Pitt, Clemson, Texas A&M, Arizona

8:Gonzaga, BYU, USC, Mississippi State

9: Ohio State, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Rhode Island

10: Arizona St, Houston, Dayton, Maryland

11: UNLV, Baylor, Syracuse, Miami

12: Florida, Oregon, St. Joes, Davidson

13: VCU, Kent State, Winthrop, Oral Roberts

14: Utah State, Stephen F Austin, UC Santa Barbara, Cornell

15: Belmont, Siena, Portland State, Robert Morris

16: UMBC, Alabama State, Hampton, American, Austin Peay

Last Four in
UNLV, Houston, Baylor, Oregon

Last Four Out
UMASS, Ole Miss, Arkansas, South Alabama

Next Four Out
NC State, George Mason, Illinois State, Temple

Watch out Tropicana we have some other Oranges on the Rise!

I am a big fan of rivalries and when it comes to the Big East, this rivalry is the best. Georgetown University Hoyas vs. Syracuse University Orange regardless of who wins, and what the score is, I know this game is going to be a battle, and be very physical.

1^st half
This game started off like any other big east game, very slow and no one could score. The Cuse had a very good strategy to start the game (ATTACK HIBERT!!) at one point it was an 8-8 ball game before Syracuse decided to bring the intensity up a couple notches, and bring the home crowd into the game. I step out for a minute to grab some food, and I come back and the score is 36-17 WOW. At this point I don’t think The Cuse has to even score again to win this game. The Hoyas only score about 48 points a game (ok ill give them 55). The first half is over now, and if it weren’t for a few late buckets, then The Hoyas would be down over 20, I guess 16 isn’t that much better.

2^nd half
Hoyas start the half off quickly with 2 buckets, but The Orange are quick to respond. A real rollercoaster of a half with the Hoyas cutting the lead to 7 on two different occasions, but every time the Cuse answers with a run of their own to get the lead back up to 15. Georgetown was kept in the game by great 3-point shooting by Jon Wallace who hit 6 three’s (6 Three’s!) But it was the Orange with their young talent of Paul Harris, Donte Green, and Johnny Flynn who carried The Cuse to the upset victory. A huge victory for the Orange who got to finally put that signature win on their NCAA Tournament Card.

New Fun Feature

Starting today and continuing throughout the rest of the season College Basketballs Finest Bloggers will be posting our thoughts following a few handpicked games each week. We will precisely pick a few impact games and briefly summarize them in a post that will be available shortly after each contest. To find out which games we will be analyzing, we will post our upcoming schedule at the beginning of each week. With that said, here is our first one.

Maryland vs. Duke

I picked this game for two reasons. 1. Duke is my team and I watch every game so mind as well start with one of their games 2. Maryland and Duke always produce a good game so why not start with a guaranteed good game.

First Half

Duke truly dominated the first half from the beginning. After a quick Duke bucket and a quick Maryland miss, Singler goes down the lane and Osby greets the frosh with a nasty swat right back in his face. Duke then catches a little fire, hitting their first two 3’s to take the game to a quick 6-2 game. They would trade baskets for a little while when Duke’s defense would allow them to pull ahead. Vasquez had a very good half for Maryland though, showing off his talent with a hell of a lay-up to put Maryland down 8. This kid is just a raw point guard. Any team that wouldn’t want this kid running their point should have their head checked. Duke then regained their fire and showed that if they get hot from the outside they are as good as anyone in the country. Duke would continue playing well and lead by 11 after 20 minutes of play.

Second Half

Uh oh, Gary is pissed already, he calls a timeout just 50 seconds into the half. I don’t get that. Your guys have only messed up once or twice in all of 1 minute, why get back in their face, we know that’s where you just were 5 minutes ago in the locker room. Stacey makes a good point, where the hell is Gist? Only 3 points in the first half has allowed it to be the Vasquez show. He continues his solid play pulling the Terps back to within 6, and I’ll reiterate, Vasquez is solid and here comes Maryland. Duke would answer briefly with a big 3 by Scheyer. Duke would then struggle as Maryland starts to bring the heat. A few no calls get Coach K fired up and Vasquez equally as fired up, showing his emotion by jawing at the crazies. Duke has now gone 5 minutes without a basket right when Scheyer again knocks down a big 3. Here is a Gist sighting pulling Maryland back within 2 while Paulus has gone ice cold missing 4 straight from behind the arc. Duke would then get the lead to 9 with a great look from Paulus and another unselfish dish by Singler when he had a possible free basket, but quickly dumped it off to Nelson for an easy dunk. Duke has stretched the lead and here comes the spread offense and they will burn the clock. Maryland starts to foul and a long 1:15 later and this game is officially in the books.

Good game by Duke. Although their offense looked dismal at times in the Second half their defense kept them from losing the lead. Duke is a very good team this year and this game just exemplified their talent. Maryland should not hang their heads though. They are also a good team who has a very bright future. They showed a lot of heart coming back from the start that they had this season and I don't see them flopping down the stretch. If they continue playing the way they are now, there is no way the NCAA can snub them of a spot in the tourney.

Player of the Game

Kyle Singler

26 Points

7 Rebounds

Minnesota & Vander-Built shitty Basketball Courts

There are many things in life that I love, for example: Lobster (my favorite food), Heidi Klum (the most beautiful woman in the world), and of course watching college basketball (that’s the reason we have this Blog). For all of those 3 things I love, there are actually things I dislike about them also. I dislike Lobster because it is so hard to break into it and actually eat it, I hate Heidi Klum because I am not waking up next to her every morning, and I hate college basketball because of 2 reasons:

1) Memorial Gymnasium

2) Williams Arena

Memorial Gymnasium: I was watching the Vandy vs. Kentucky game last night which was one of the worst basketball games I have seen in my life. Kentucky lost by 41 points, and people call this basketball program one of the best of all time (YEAH RIGHT). That’s beside the point because I am going to blame the 41 point loss on the gym itself. First off it looks like the court is on a platform/stage, and the fans must have the most ridiculous view ever, and secondly what coach in their right mind wants to coach a game behind the back board. One of the poorest designed gyms I have ever seen in my life (The only time I would ever step foot in that place, is if Heidi Klum asked me on a date to eat lobster with her on center court).

Williams Arena: There is not one good thing going on at this Basketball Arena, even the State it’s located in is pretty boring (they lost the best thing that happened to them Johan Santana). Any time you see a player have to climb upstairs to get on the basketball court you know that it’s a crappy court. As seen in this picture, we can tell why Tubby Smith decided to coach at Minnesota, because when he is sitting on the bench you can only see half of his body.

Hopefully these two schools will soon realize that when it looks like you have an indoor track around your basketball court, you should probably build a new one.

Referees and such...

By now you’ve probably heard there was some questionable officiating going on last night in the world of college basketball, but if you haven’t, there was some, and they both happened about 45 seconds apart. The first coming in the match up between Georgetown and Villanova, the other Helen Keller sighting coming in the Women’s B-ball game involving Tennessee and Rutgers. OK that wasn’t very nice but seriously, they were both god-awful calls that the refs definitely looked at after the game, and immediately became very embarrassed.
First Game
The game is tied with about 7 seconds on the clock and Scottie Reynolds is driving down the baseline when he gets caught up in the air, quickly looks for someone to pass it too, then just tosses it in the direction of about 3 Georgetown defenders. The Georgetown players and the Villanova players both grapple for the ball when Hoya guard Jonathan Wallace comes up with it with about 2 seconds on the clock. He makes a move toward the outside when he’s bumped, and I mean barely grazed by Corey Stokes. The man of the hour, Bob Donato then blows his whistle with 0.1 on the clock and calls Stokes for a push. Now I stick up for refs, I really honestly do, (mainly because I’m a Duke fan and I have to) but this call was bad. The game should have gone to overtime, been decided by the players then and there, then everybody goes home. But no, Donato said I’m a little tired, lets go home now. Well as you can guess, Wallace sinks both free throws, game over.
Now if I’m going to rip the refs I have to lay into both Scottie Reynolds and Corey Stokes. Reynolds should have never left his feet, that’s one of the first things your taught in basketball, to not leave your feet, unless of course you are shooting or have someone to pass the ball too. The second slap on the wrist coming to Stokes who for some reason had to contest Wallace, when all he should have done was let him shoot the 80 footer and taken his chances. Dumb dumb dumb. FYI Corey, foul a bad shooter next time, Wallace shoots 80% from the line.
Big East coordinator of officials Art Hyland has already come out and said that, “Official Bob Donato was within his right to whistle Villanova for a last-second foul, a call that ultimately decided Monday night's game in Georgetown's favor,” obviously folks, he’s just doing his job, which sometimes forces him to stick up for referees who make bad calls.
Second Game
That brings me to the next game, which to this point our blog has been all men’s ball, but I’m going to spice things up a bit and talk about the ladies. Tennessee edged Rutgers last night in a game that ended about 5 seconds after the other game, was decided at the foul line, and all happened with under 0.2 seconds to play. Weird right? Anyway this one wasn’t totally the refs fault because it almost looked as if the clock person messed up. Replays showed the game clock seemed to pause as the Tennessee player came down with the ball, was ripped down by a Rutgers player, then went on again, then stopped again at 0.2 as the refs blew the whistle. Whew, did you get all that. Not entirely all the refs on the courts fault, but either way someone not in Pink (Rutgers was wearing pink) and Orange decided this one. So as you can imagine, this one finished on the foul line, when again, it should have been finished in overtime. Not saying I would have watched the overtime, just that it should have gone to overtime. OK I might have flipped over once or twice last night, but so what, it was a rematch of the National Championship game.
While were talking about referees and foul calls, I have to bring something up. Anyone ever notice that when, a few years back, Duke had a large free throw to opponent free throw advantage, and all you heard every time a Duke player was fouled was how much the refs loved Duke and how much they love Coach K and this and that. Well, here is a statistic I haven’t seen ESPN, our world wide leader in sports bring up yet, UNC free throws 651, while Opponents free throws 368. This could be accredited in part to Psycho T but all in all a Nice Stat right? Like I always say, if you want to be a Duke fan, get ready for a war.

RPI: Ranking Poor Institutions

One of the worst things that has happened to college basketball is the creation of the RPI (rating percentage index) the process which is described below.

“The Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) is the formula used by the NCAA to rate men’s and women’s college basketball teams. The formula is described below. The RPI is calculated by adding three parts. Part I (25% of the formula): Team winning percentage. For the 2005 season, the NCAA added a bonus/penalty system, where each home win or road loss get multiplied by 0.6 in the winning percentage calculation. A home loss or road win is multiplied by 1.4. Neutral games count as 1.0. Part II (50%): Average opponents’ winning percentage. To calculate this, you must calculate each opponent’s winning percentage individually and average those figures. This is NOT calculated from the opponents’ combined record. Games involving the team for whom we are calculating the RPI are ignored. Part III (25%): Average opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage: Basically taking all of the opponents’ Part II values and averaging them.

Here’s how other columns in the RPI grid are computed…

SOS (Strength of Schedule): This is the last two components of the RPI formula:
(2/3) X Opponents Winning Pct. + (1/3) X Opponents Opponents Winning Pct. Non Conference RPI: This is computed applying the basic RPI formula only to a team’s non-conference games. A common misconception is that a team’s non conference RPI will remain the same after they have played their last non-conference opponent. This is not true because a team’s non-conference opponents’ records and their opponents’ records change as they play their conference games. This can have a substantial effect on the NCRPI. For example, in 2003 Alabama’s NCRPI had a ranking of #23 when they entered conference play. By the end of the regular season it had risen to #3. L10 (Last 10 Games): A team’s record in their last 10 games against Division I opponents. RD/NT (Road/Neutral Record): A team’s record away from its home court”.

This system reminds me a lot of the BCS which is used for the selection of the Division I college football bowl games. There is no reason that a computer something that I use to download music and occasionally look at porn (had to throw that in there) should be deciding whom should be playing whom. Below are the current RPI rankings:

RPI 1 Tennessee2 Duke3 North Carolina4 Memphis5 Kansas6 Drake7 UCLA8 Georgetown9 Texas10 Connecticut11 Vanderbilt12 Xavier13 Michigan State14 Arizona15 Pittsburgh16 Dayton17 Louisville18 Butler19 Stanford20 Wisconsin21 Mississippi22 St. Mary's23 Rhode Island24 Clemson25 Washington State

As seen above I am seeing a lot of suspect teams in the RPI rankings. Taking a look at Drake being ranked 7^th in the RPI is astonishing to me. This is a team from a mid major conference which in the past was a very strong conference but this year to me it’s a below average conference. You have a team like Southern Illinois who was a Pre-season top 25 selection who is now fighting just to stay above .500 (pretty pathetic to me). Drake though you can give a little credit to, but not number 6 in the country credit to. It pisses me off every time I see a team from a shitty conference in the top 25 unless they have played a decent schedule (Butler for instance). Dayton number 16 in the RPI, they really only have 2 legitimate and they were against a beat up Pittsburgh team, and another beat up Louisville team. Do you honestly think they deserve to be ranked #16 Absolutely NOT!! These computer rankings are helping out small nothing schools, who deserve to be in nothing more than the NIT playing in there crappy conferences. You have Pac-10 schools with better records (Washington State) who are ranked behind Dayton’s and Drake’s, who are playing legitimate teams night after night, but are only deserving of a #25 ranking, that does not seem right. They have come a little way in changing the system by adding the Bracket Buster games which help us organize the Mid-Major teams. This is a step in the positive which is a great start, but many more things need to be done before I believe we can finally have a fair way to distinguish which teams should make the NCAA tourney and which should be left at home.

Glad I didn't go to Illinois!!!

Everyone has been considered a “MEAN” fan before. I know when I was in college we used to heckle the other schools, For example when we played Mount St. Mary’s (MD) we always used to chant “Mount St. Ferries” (I know your thinking how original those kids from Monmouth are). We also used to chant “Safety School” when we used to play our in state rival Farleigh Dickenson University. The one thing we never did and I was taught never to do to opposing teams and fans, is throw objects or start fights with them. Late Thursday night at 9:07 pm there was a rivalry game on ESPN between the Indiana University Hoosiers, and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini.

This was a very unique game because the star player on the court (freshman Eric Gordon) was supposed to attend the University of Illinois as he told them in 2006, but one year later he changed his mind and decided to attend school in Bloomington. When they announced this poor kids name in the starting lineup he was booed more then any one I have seen in a long time, and it didn’t stop there. Through out the game this star was being heckled and yelled at, I would almost rather be Bill Buckner walking through the streets of Boston then be Eric Gordon playing at Illinois (probably not!). Everyone knew there would be yelling, and they dealt with that ok, but when it took a Ron Artest turn, is when things got out of hand. Towards the end of the game (which I must add was terrific) drunken Illinois fans started tossing cups of water, among other things at Eric Gordon’s family, this was completely out of line, and security was brought in. Me being a Cleveland Browns fan I attended a game in Pittsburgh this year, and yes people were yelling at me and saying ridiculous things, but at no point did I have anything thrown at me. These Illinois fans should be ashamed of themselves! They have to learn that “SHIT HAPPENS” so what you lose a star player to your rival school, there are many other fish in the sea.

The game on the other hand was a double overtime thriller (Indiana pulled off the W), which non other then Eric Gordon himself banked home a 3-pointer at the end of regulations to put this thing into overtime. If I was an Illinois fan I would have thrown stuff at Shaun Pruitt and his family because this guy couldn’t hit a free throw if his life depended on it! I would be more confident with Shaq on the free throw line!

On a brighter note this game had me thinking a lot about cheers that colleges use. The best cheer of all times goes to Austin Peay University, who used to have a player with the last name of Tinkle on their team (How fitting), the fans used to cheer “We’ve gotta Tinkle LETS GO PEAY” (most amazing cheer of all time). Over in Athens, OH where Ohio University is located, they have one of the most unique cheers of all time as seen in this video. If any of you out there are lucky one day I might even include the cheer that I made up for Delonte West while he was playing at St. Joseph’s University, but to hear that one you will have to shoot us an email.

Quick Big East Thoughts...

Although I’ve always preferred watching ACC games, I think I would rather watch a Big East game this season. As I just watched Pitt stun WVU at the buzzer it came to me that every Big East conference game is both fun to watch and crazy. It also occurred to me after watching last night’s game between Syracuse and UConn that the Big East is the conference to watch this year. Now don’t get me confused as to saying that the Big East will produce the national champion because I’m not saying that at all.

Some games that quickly come to mind would be Rutgers shocking Villanova, Cincy blowing out WVU, Seton Hall beating Louisville, St Joes beating Villanova, Louisville beating Marquette, every game has a story line and has lived up to it.

Georgetown has a conference leading 9-1 record but is followed closely by Notre Dame, UConn, and Louisville. I would almost go so far as to compare the Big East to College Football this year. College Football this year was so much fun to watch in part because on any given day anyone could beat anyone. Big East b-ball is shaping up to be all College Football was and more. College Football only had about 3 possible champions while the Big East has potentially 6. I don’t see Syracuse or WVU running the table and I don’t see every team above them slipping so far as to allow the Cuse or the Mountaineers to slip into the top stop. College Football also doesn’t have a playoff system to straighten things out at the end either, so there’s another leg up for the Big East.

Now I’m not talking about the Big East tournament here I’m talking about the regular season. Should you need a reminder on how crazy the Big East tourney can be just google, “Gerry McNamara 2005-2006.” Now do you remember?

While were on the Big East, anyone know what the hell happened to Villanova? Actually I might have an answer. I think one could some it up by simply saying that they ran into a rough part of their schedule and just couldn’t tread water. But just like the ACC is every year there is no real cakewalk game in the Big East either. This is in no way an excuse for their terrible play but if you break up their last 10 games it makes a little sense. They opened conference play with Depaul, then Pitt, Cincy, Depaul, and then Syracuse. That little stretch could tire a weak team out and obviously it did. Then pile a big laziness let up at Rutgers with Notre Dame, Pitt, and Syracuse, and you’ve got problems. Last but not least you’re face to face with a cross-town rival with nothing to lose and that spells, Season Over. Big win for St. Joes, even bigger loss for Nova.

Its time for some Busting, Some Bracket Busting!!

Its that time of the Year again for what I like to call the Mid-Major Extravaganza. Schedule for the television games which is below is highlighted by some incredible match-ups. There are a couple of very Intriguing match-ups I see in this years Bracket Buster, starting with on the first day Davidson vs. Winthrop. Davidson is a very dangerous team, winners of 11 straight games, this Davidson team is on a roll, playing one of the hardest non-conference schedules of all-times, they stuck close with UNC, Duke, UCLA, and North Carolina State. There opponents out of the Big South are the Winthrop Eagles who have a solid 14-8 record and have beaten the likings of Georgia Tech, and Miami(fla). This should be a very physical and close game throughout. Guards Michael Jenkins (Winthrop), and Stephen Curry(Davidson) should have a nice match-up.
Another Bracket Buster that looks very intriguing to me, is the match-up between Ohio University and George Mason. Both of these team are off to solid starts in their respective leagues, and each holds a solid RPI. This game means A LOT!!! The winner likely to go on and receive an Automatic Bid, and the loser will have to turn to their conference tourney for some help.
Off course the best match-up is the 10th/11th ranked Butler Bulldogs, against the 15th ranked Drake Bulldogs. The battle of the Bulldogs, This is not only the best Bracket Buster game, but it might be one of the best games all year. Drake winners of 19 straight games, which is also the second longest winning streak in the nation (Memphis owns the best), visits a Butler team who has won 11 out of their last 12 games. I am going to go out on Limb right now and predict a Drake victory. It will be a hard fought game, but in the end I see Drake coming out above.
Hope everyone enjoys these wonderful games, and becomes educated on these mid-majors who will definitely turn some heads in the NCAA Tourney

Friday, Feb. 22, 2008

Match-up	Time	Network
UCSB @ Utah State	TBA	TBA
Davidson @ Winthrop	TBA	TBA

Saturday, Feb. 23

Match-up	Time	Network
VCU @ Akron	TBA	TBA
Siena @ Boise State	TBA	TBA
UW-Milwaukee @ Bradley	TBA	TBA
Drake @ Butler	TBA	TBA
Rider @ Cal State Northridge	TBA	TBA
Marist @ Cleveland State	TBA	TBA
George Mason @ Ohio	TBA	TBA
Creighton @ Oral Roberts	TBA	TBA
Kent State @ Saint Mary's	TBA	TBA
Nevada @ Southern Illinois	TBA	TBA
Miami (OH) @ Valparaiso	TBA	TBA

Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008

Match-up	Time	Network
Wright State @ Illinois State	TBA	TBA

Bye Bye Bobby....for now

Today we say goodbye to one of the best college basketball coaches of all time. Although you may not like the guy or agree with some of his coaching tactics you have to pay the man his respects. He leaves the basketball world sitting atop the coaching realm with 902 career wins. The majority of his wins coming before his coaching stint at Texas Tech, where he coached Indiana University to 3 national titles and 11 Big Ten championships. Also included in his resume are 5 Final Fours, a gold medal from the 1984 Olympics, and a National Basketball Hall of Fame plaque.

Knights’ basketball records speak for them self but what he will be remembered for most by will be his actions that took place the night of February 23rd, 1985. In a game against Purdue, Knight was given a technical foul for arguing a call. He reacted by tossing a chair from the Indiana bench in the general direction of the referee. He was then given a second technical and eventually ejected from the game. After that though he would continue to foul up and recounts of prior incidents would surface. Have a look below for a fun timeline you may find helpful.

1976- Pulls guard Jim Wisman off the court by his jersey in a nationally televised game
1977- Choked and punched Indiana sports information director Kit Klingelhofer over a news release
1979- At the Pan American games he is arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer
1985- The well-known chair throwing episode
1993- Was booed by fans for kicking his son, then player Pat Knight
1995- Told off and berated an NCAA volunteer at a news conference
1997- Grabbed and choked player Neil Reed at a 1997 practice

Now we can poke fun at Bob and give him a hard time, mostly because he deserves it for being a little wacky, but in respects to his coaching ability we must tip are caps. While at both Indiana and Texas Tech his recruiting methods were never tainted by violations and his players hardly ever acted up off the court. His graduation rate was better than most, in part because he insisted his players both attend class and pursue their degrees. More than can be said for our ACC foe Gary Williams, who from 1997-2000 failed to graduate an athlete, but has since been on fire graduating five out of his last seven. Thought I’d throw that one in there for ya. Those are the kinds of numbers though that sometimes fall threw the cracks and if it takes throwing a punch at Gary Williams to show that some coaches still are paying attention to their boys outside of the gym, so be it.

Bob Knight has a terrible temper; there is no hiding that. There is also no hiding the fact that a fantastic coach retired today. But then again, who said retired? The quote from many sources was, “resigned.” Does that sound like the verbatim from a person who is done for good? Only time will tell. For now his son Pat will take over as head coach effective immediately.