Ballin' is a Habit

POSTERIZED: "I Believe that he will dunk!"

2012-02-10T15:45:00.000-05:00

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: Kyisean Reed is the best "two-footed" dunker in the country. He's the 2011-2012 version of John ~~"The Masked Dunker"~~ "Jet" Williams.

Sure, there are guys who get more hangtime leaping off of one foot, but when it comes to pure "springs", there is not a player in the country more "springy" than the Utah State forward.

Don't believe me?

Just watch what he did to some poor bloke for Louisiana Tech last night:

If we were to ask Jon Rothstein about this, he would say "So much John Williams in Kyisean Reed". And you know what? For once, he'd actually be spot on.

During our #BIAHRoadTrip, we got a chance to visit Utah State and talk with Reed, and former standout JuCo forward. We learned that aside from being a freakish athlete, he's also a really good dude.

See, it's one thing to posterize a defender in space. It's easy to get a lot of hang-time on a fast-break, alley-oop and one-on-one.

But when somebody gets #POSTERIZED down low in the paint, it's just down-right impressive.

(H/T Kraig Williams)

But was it as good as these?

Joshea Singleton, Bucknell vs. Colgate, 2/8
Kelsey Barlow, Purdue vs. Ohio State, 2/7
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State, 2/7
Roscoe Smith, UConn vs. Louisville, 2/7
Weekend Recap, 2/2 - 2/5
Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State vs. TCU, 2/4
Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse vs. St. John's, 2/4
Kwame Alexander, Cal State-San Bernardino vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills (D-II), 2/3
Bradley Beal, Florida vs. South Carolina, 2/2
Doug Anderson, Detroit vs. Valparaiso, 2/2
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 2/1
Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

Previewing your College Hoops Weekend

2012-02-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

Game of the Weekend: Sat. 4:00 pm: No. 14 San Diego State @ No. 16 UNLV:

By now you should all know what happened the last time these two teams got together. Playing on a bum ankle, SDSU's Jamaal Franklin had 22 points and 10 boards, including a tough, driving layup with just 0.3 seconds left on the clock as the Aztecs knocked off league favorite UNLV in Viejas Arena. That was the win that catapulted the Aztecs into the national consciousness and, frankly, to their spot at the top of the MWC standings.

But if you know anything about college basketball, you know that the Rebels are itching to get their shot at redemption in the Thomas and Mack Center on Saturday. UNLV is a different team playing in their own arena, which is a scary proposition considering that the Rebels are already considered arguably the most dangerous team on the west coast. With the taste of a last-second defeat still lingering on their palate and possibly their last shot to keep themselves within reach of a Mountain West regular season title on the line, you better believe that Dave Rice's club is going to be ready to play.

The matchup alone is juicy enough. UNLV is one of the most entertaining teams in the country to watch. They are loaded with athletes, they love to get up and down the floor, they shoot -- and make -- quite a few threes and they have one of the country's best kept secrets in Mike Moser. From a talent perspective, the Rebels should run away with this game. But SDSU is a poor man's Missouri. They are well coached, they have a crop of talented perimeter players and they win games because their whole is greater than the sum of their parts. Getting a chance to see talents like Anthony Marshall and Franklin share a court is worth tuning in for.

But, as I mentioned, the intensity of this game is going to be ratcheted up by the importance of it. SDSU is currently sitting at 6-1 in the league, with a one game lead on both UNLV and New Mexico. With the MWC having just eight members this season, it means that there are only going to be 14 games played. Falling two games back with just six to play is a huge hole for UNLV to try and dig out of, especially when SDSU has already won both matchups.

My pick: I think UNLV gets it done on their home floor, and I think that the final isn't going to be as close as the first meeting was.

Seven more you need to watch:

Sat. 1:00 pm: No. 20 Virginia @ No. 5 UNC: As the saying goes, 'styles make the fight', and no game this weekend is going to have a more intriguing contrast of styles than this one. Where UNC likes to get out and run the floor at every opportunity, UVA is as deliberate as teams come. They want to pack in their defense and turn this into a half court game. Think Wisconsin. And when UNC played Wisconsin, the Badgers nearly knocked off the Tar Heels despite playing far from their best game. UNC is coming off a dreadfully disappointing loss to Duke on Wednesday night. Unfortunately for the Cavs, they may have caught UNC at the exact wrong time. Of note: it should be interesting, especially for NBA scouts, to see Mike Scott work against the front line of Tyler Zeller and John Henson.

Sat. 1:47 pm: No. 6 Baylor @ No. 4 Missouri: Why the weird start time? Because somehow one of the best games of the season ended up getting stuck in the awkward time slot that the big 12 utilizes on every Saturday. So instead of being able to watch two top ten teams battle -- one trying to regain some of the national respect they lost in an embarrassing performance against Kansas on Wednesday and the other trying to prove to the country that they, in fact, deserve to remain in the Big 12 race with Kansas -- on that flatscreen HD you have, you better hope and pray that your internet service provider has ESPN3.

Sat. 3:00 pm: Cincinnati @ No. 19 Marquette: Cincinnati is reeling a bit. After picking up road wins against Georgetown and UConn, there was chatter that the Bearcats were actually the second-best team in the Big East. The inability to keep up that kind of play knocked the Bearcats back to the pack, however. Now Marquette is one of the teams that is getting put into that conversation, but they are coming off of a recent loss to Notre Dame. Of note: the Bearcats are one of the best road teams in the Big East, if not the country.

Sat. 6:00 pm: No. 12 Michigan State @ No. 3 Ohio State: The best basketball games always seem to be the ones where the individual matchup involves the coaching staff. With Tom Izzo going up against Thad Matta, there is little doubt in my mind that both teams will end up with perfectly drawn-up scouting reports. On the court, I see three keys to the game: how well Ohio State is able to keep the Spartans off the glass, how Jared Sullinger does against a defense that you know is going to be prepared and how William Buford plays.

Sat. 9:00 pm: Xavier @ Temple: Its a shame this game didn't happen back in November, because in the events since then, neither team has been quite like themselves. Xavier is still reeling from the brawl, unable to get back into the kind of rhythm they had earlier in the season. Temple, on the other hand, seems to finally be hitting their stride with Michale Eric back in the lineup. I don't care what the standings say, I still think these are the two best teams in the Atlantic 10.

Who's getting upset?: Sat. 9:00 pm: No. 1 Kentucky @ Vanderbilt

Here's my theory: the way that you beat Kentucky is by getting physical with their big guys. The Wildcats don't have much depth up front and the big men that they do have (Anthony Davis, Terrence Jones) can get pushed around by bigger opponents. Enter Festus Ezeli. Ezeli is a big, strong, first-round pick that is going to do nothing if not try to get Davis into foul trouble. If he succeeds in using his physicality inside -- and John Jenkins and Jeff Taylor get into a rhythm shooting the ball, Vandy has a shot to win this game at home.

Three more teams who should be on upset watch:

Sat. 12:00 pm: No. 23 Louisville @ West Virginia: The Mountaineers are heading into what many would probably terms a must-win. WVU has now lost four of their last five games, which assuredly is making West Virginia fans fret. They are getting dangerously close to being back towards the wrong side of the bubble. But with league player of the year favorite Kevin Jones anchoring their lineup and a mad Bob Huggins, this is the kind of game that is primed for the picking.

Sat. 1:00 pm: Miami @ No. 17 Florida State: I thought that I was convinced by Florida State after they won against UNC and knocked off Duke in Cameron. And then FSU had to go and lose to Boston College. I officially have no idea what to make of that team, but I do believe that Miami is going to be one of the nation's late-risers. With an upset of Duke in Cameron already under their belt as well and a roster with a ton of firepower -- including matchup nightmare Kenny Kadji -- the Canes just may have the pieces to beat the Noles.

Sat. 4:00 pm: No. 21 Harvard @ Princeton: Princeton is down a bit this season. Heading into the weekend, the Tigers are sitting at 2-3 in conference play. But with Harvard coming to town, you know that team is going to be ready to play.

Mid-major matchup of the weekend: Sat. 5:00 pm: Wichita State @ No. 15 Creighton

Well, this was pretty obvious, wasn't it? Do I even need to set the stage? Creighton went into Wichita and knocked off the Shockers a month ago, but that win and public sentiment made it difficult to convince people that the Shockers may actually be the best team in the Missouri Valley. They don't have the same kind of high-powered that the Bluejays do, but they have a much better defense. WSU has a slew of talented perimeter players, but no one in the Valley -- hell, very few players across the country -- have been playing as well as Garrett Stutz over the last three weeks. The question is whether or not WSU will have an answer to Doug McDermott.

Five more mid-major matchups worth keeping an eye on:

Fri. 7:00 pm: No. 21 Harvard @ Penn: If it wasn't for Creighton-Wichita State, I would have put this game up at the top of the evidence. In this one, you will get a chance to see one of the best point guars in the country -- Scott Machado.

Fri. 7:00 pm: Iona @ Loyola (MD): First place in the MAAC is on the line. With how many points Iona is capable of putting up, why wouldn't you check in for this game.

Sat. 1:00 pm: Arkansas-Little Rock @ Middle Tennessee State: The Sun Belt's division leaders square off. If you have still not seen MTSU play, this may be a good game to sneak in on them. The Blue Raiders may not have the profile to earn themselves an at-large big, but this is certainly a group that can win in the tournament if need be.

Sat. 2:00 pm: VCU @ Old Dominion: Both VCU and ODU are down, which could actually be better news for this. The CAA is wide-open, with four teams all within a game of that first.

Sun. 12:00 pm: Vermont @ Stony Brook: First place in the America East is on the line.

Friday Morning Dump

2012-02-10T07:58:00.000-05:00

- Seth Davis provides a great-read on Southern Miss coach Larry Eustachy, who is making the most of his second chance

- Luke Winn Power Rankings. Now w/ more B.I.A.H.

- There will never be a true, definitive set of rules on court-storming, but this is about as good as we are going to get right now

- Oh that's right, Duke and North Carolina get to do it all over again

- Your weekly update on the Bernie Fine scandal: Wife's sex life is off limits, says lawyer

- Murray State lost, but their season isn't over with just yet

- Look, it's Matt Norlander's weekly attempt at trying to be Luke Winn.....Although Matt does provide a great list. Speaking of Norlander, Kentucky Sports Radio went at him pretty hard. Listen, I love ripping on Norlander as much as the next guy. But still, how about we dial it down a bit fellas?

- But we're not done with Norlander just yet. He wanted to know which ACC-finish was better: '12 Duke/UNC or the "Miracle Minute"? The Rivers-led comeback was great, but nothing beats "The Miracle Minute"

- It looks like the Big-XII is going to help West Virginia pay their way out of the Big East

- I hope to God these jerseys are a one-time-thing

- North Carolina guard Dexter Strickland had successful surgery to repair the meniscus and ACL on his right knee

- Georgetown assistant Kenya Hunter was released from an area hospital after being admitted for feinting prior to the Hoya's departure for Syracuse on Wednesday

- Villanova's Maalik Wayns has been listed as "day-to-day" due to a sprained-ACL he suffered on Tuesday against Providence. But it's unlikely that he returns in time for Saturday's game against South Florida

- Louisville forward Wayne Blackshear has been cleared to play. The freshman has been out since the early fall due to a torn right labrum

- Rush The Court provides a run down of the teams that are starting to get hot at the right time

- I'm usually a vocal supporter of "citing your sources", but in this case, I think it was an honest mistake coupled with unintentional-similarity

- In case you ever wondered what Michael Jordan's national Letter of Intent looked like......

You fired-up for Wichita State vs. Creighton rd2?

A high-school full-court bounce-pass buzzer-beating alley-oop? Yes, all of those hyphens are worth it

Friday's Shootaround: Murray State and St. Mary's lose

2012-02-10T02:58:00.002-05:00

Gonzaga 73, No. 13 St. Mary's 59: See here.

Tennessee State 72, No. 7 Murray State 68: See here.

No. 22 Wisconsin 68, Minnesota 61 OT: In one of the stranger games you are going to see this season, Minnesota whiffed on a golden opportunity to land a marquee win heading into the season's crucial stretch. The Golden Gophers were down 13 point midway through the second half, but managed to hold Wisconsin scoreless over a seven and a half minute stretch to close out regulation. The problem? Minnesota was only able to muster 10 points during that stretch, eventually heading to overtime after Tubby Smith's club missed two shots in the game's final seconds that would have sent Wisconsin back to Madison with their fifth loss of Big Ten play.

In the extra frame, Minnesota went cold, allowing Wisconsin to reel off six straight point in the first 3:35 of overtime to take a commanding lead. The Badgers hit 11 of their 12 free throws in the final minute to seal the win. Jordan Taylor led the way for Wisky going for 27 points on 8-14 shooting from the floor. If Wisconsin wants a real shot to make some noise late in the season, they are going to need more out of the rest of the Badgers. Everyone not named Jordan Taylor went just 11-39 from the floor.

Minnesota's next five games: Ohio State, at Northwestern, Michigan State, Indiana, at Wisconsin. They'll have their chances to prove they belong in the dance.

No. 23 Indiana 84, Illinois 71: Its looks like Indiana may have finally righted the ship. After losing five of seven, four of which were away from Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers backed up a 17 point win in Mackey Arena with a solid win over an up-and-down Illinois team. Cody Zeller finished with 22 points and five boards -- outplaying Meyers Leonard, who fouled out with 17 points -- as the Hoosiers head into the stretch of the Big Ten schedule with a 7-6 record in the league and their three toughest opponents all visiting Bloomington.

No. 18 Mississippi State 70, Ole Miss 60: Despite losing their leading scorer midway through the season, the Rebels have found themselves sitting smack in the middle of the SEC and with a real shot at earning an at-large bid to the Big Dance. Unfortunately, this season looks like it is going to go down as one of missed opportunities. They lost in double overtime to both Alabama and Auburn. They blew a 16 point lead and lost to Florida at home. Dee Bost had 15 points and 13 assists while Arnett Moultrie added 18 points in the win for the Bulldogs, who improved to 6-3 in league play.

Pac-12:

- Oregon 82, Washington 57: There are times where Washington can look so good and there are times where the Huskies look downright atrocious. Tonight was the latter. The Ducks were up 49-26 at the half as they ran away with this one. I don't care if the game was played on the road, you cannot lose by 25 points in league play to a thoroughly mediocre team and be considered a threat to do anything. Unless, of course, you are Washington, who always seems to put themselves in this situation before making a miraculous, late-season run.

- Arizona 71, Colorado 57: All of a sudden, the Wildcats look like they may actually be the best team in the Pac-12. Granted, the Buffs have been atrocious on the road this season, but the Wildcats, playing without the injured Kevin Parrom, have now won three in a row, picking off both Cal and Stanford on the road last week.

- Cal 75, USC 49: With this win and Washington's loss, the Bears pull back into a first-place tie in the league with Washington at 9-3. Oregon, Colorado and Arizona are all sitting a game back at 8-4.

- UCLA 72, Stanford 61

Summit League:

- South Dakota 72, South Dakota State 68: The Jackrabbits hit 10 second half threes, including eight in the final 11 minutes, to cut a 19 point deficit all the way down to two points with 23 seconds left. But Nate Wolters, who finished with 27 points and six assists, missed a potential game-tying three and SDSU missed two front-ends late in the game. SDSU falls two games behind league leader Oral Roberts, a deficit that is going to be tough to make up in the season's final four games.

- Oral Roberts 76, IUPUI 74 OT: ORU barely survived in this one. Playing in the Mabee Center, the Golden Eagles fouled Alex Young, who finished with 34 points, when he hit a three. He hit the free throws, forcing OT. In the extra session, IUPUI hit a free throw to tie the game at 74, but Roderick Pearson bailed ORU out with a running one-hander to win the game at the buzzer.

NC State 61, Georgia Tech 52: The Wolfpack overcame an early deficit on the strength of 15 points from CJ Williams as they avenged an loss to the Yellow Jackets earlier this season. The win moves NC State to 7-3 in the ACC and keeps them in contention for an at-large bid.

Valparaiso 59, Cleveland State 41: Valpo's win gave them a sweep of the Vikings, my pick to win the Horizon this season, and in the process took over sole possession of first place in the league, although they are only a half-game up on CSU and tied in the loss column. Of note: Kevin Van Wijk injured his knee in the game and didn't return.

Other notable scores:

- LMU 76, Portland 62
- Nevada 88, Hawaii 79
- Davidson 77, The Citadel 66
- Stony Brook 80, UMBC 68
- Weber State 67, Northern Arizona 49
- Northwestern 83, Iowa 64
- Miami 65, Virginia Tech 49
- Long Beach State 74, Pacific 66

The key for St. Mary's: don't let the Gonzaga loss spark another collapse

2012-02-10T02:11:00.001-05:00

Last season, St. Mary's had the inside track to becoming the first team not named Gonzaga to win an outright WCC title since 2000.

They were sitting two games up on the Zags with three to play in the league, meaning that even with a loss to Gonzaga in the second-to-last game of the regular season, the Gaels controlled their own destiny. But the Gaels frittered that opportunity away. After losing to one of the worst teams in college basketball in San Diego, St. Mary's lost to Utah State in their BracketBusters game. Throw in their third loss of the season to Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament title game, and it was enough to send the Gaels to the NIT.

The Gaels are in the same position this season.

Heading into Thursday's date with Gonzaga, the Gaels were in a position to move three games in front of the Zags, Loyola Marymount and BYU in the WCC standings with just four games left on their schedule. Kevin Pangos had other ideas, however, as he went for 27 points, hitting 5-6 from three, as the Bulldogs knocked off the Gaels 73-59 in front of a raucous crowd at the Kennel. Gary Bell added 12 points -- including a pair of big threes down the stretch -- while Robert Sacre and Elias Harris combined for 22 points and 18 boards.

There's no question that this was a big win for Gonzaga. Its yet another quality win for the Zags, who are playing more for seeding in the NCAA Tournament than an at-large bid, and it keeps them within striking distance of notching another WCC regular season title.

But the bigger question, at least for those of us watching from the east coast, is whether or not this will end up being the beginning of another late season collapse for the Gaels.

Frankly, I don't think it will.

St. Mary's came into this game winners of 12 straight. They won a pair of quality games on the road in the past two weeks, coming away victorious at both LMU and BYU. They have one of the most underrated back courts in the country in Matthew Dellavedova and Stephen Holt. They have a junkyard dog at the forward spot in Rob Jones. they have size, they have depth and they have three point shooting.

In simpler terms, they have all the pieces that you look for in a team that can make a run down the stretch of the regular season and put together a couple of wins during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

The issue is going to be whether or not last season creeps into their heads.

Confidence can be a tricky thing in sports. When you play with it, a player and a team can reach entirely different levels. Confidence can carry a team to an upset and to a winning streak. But confidence can also disappear in the blink of an eye. All it takes is one loss to allow the seeds of doubt to start creeping in. In this case, a loss at Gonzaga can easily trigger memories of last season's collapse, one that saw the Gaels go from the top 25 to the NIT in the span of three weeks.

The Gaels get Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount at home before closing out the season with three straight road games, including a BracketBusters date at Murray State.

On paper, the Gaels look like a safe bet to win the WCC and cruise into the WCC Tournament with there at-large status solidified.

But we could have said the same thing about the Gaels last season.

Murray State loses their first game, but it shouldn’t change your opinion of them

2012-02-09T22:36:00.002-05:00

Murray State cracked under the pressure in their 72-68 loss to Tennessee State.

I have no problem with saying that.

The burden of being the nation's last undefeated team finally got to the Racers. That's the only way to explain how a team with so many veterans -- eight of the nine players in Murray State's rotation are juniors or seniors -- that have won a game in the NCAA Tournament could execute so poorly down the stretch. The three turnovers in the final 11.4 seconds were obvious. What wasn't quite as obvious were the number of less than ideal shots that were taken down the stretch as Tennessee State made a run to erase a 13 point second half lead and, eventually, pull ahead by as much as five.

Late in the game, Murray State tried to do too much. It cost them.

I don't fault the Racers, however.

Going undefeated throughout a season is an incredibly difficult thing to do, especially when you are playing in a league like the Ohio Valley. Every game Murray State played in conference was the biggest game of the year for their opponents. Getting a team's best shot on a nightly basis is exhausting, and Tennessee State is one of the best teams in the league. All it took was an off-night from the Racers against a quality opponent and this was going to happen.

This shouldn't change your opinion of the Racers. This is still a talented group with a superstar in Isaiah Canaan that has beaten the likes of Southern Miss, Memphis and Dayton. This is still a team that can win a game or two in the NCAA Tournament. One loss doesn't change that.

What it does do, however, is put the Racers in a bit of a precarious situation down the stretch. They have a tough schedule down the stretch. Not only do they face St. Mary's in the marquee matchup of BracketBusters weekend, but their last three league games are roadies against the other three teams that make up the OVC's top four. Throw in the fact that the OVC Tournament is played in Nashville, where Tennessee State is located, and the Racers have their work cut out for them.

If this team loses to St. Mary's, drops one of those road games and doesn't win the OVC automatic bid, they will be sitting somewhere around 26-4 with their three best wins coming against teams currently sitting on or around the bubble.

That's far from a lock for an at-large bid.

The good news? Murray State's destiny is in their hands. While I believe that the Racers are overrated when they are ranked as a top ten team, I firmly believe that this is a group that deserves to be considered among the top 25 in the country. They are, undoubtedly, the best team in the conference. Play like it, and they will be just fine.

The only thing we lost with Murray State's lost is the best story line of the college basketball season.

POSTERIZED: The ole "If a tree falls in the woods" debate

2012-02-09T22:16:00.000-05:00

The Colgate Red Raiders have only one more conference win than both you and I.

They have seven wins but none of them come against opponents even worth mentioning.

So you can probably understand why nobody would want to go to one of their home games. Especially not on a night when local-favorite Syracuse was playing their arch-rivals.

But still, league-leading Bucknell was in town. Apparently the residents of Hamilton, NY don't care much for Patriot League basketball.

and that's probably why their home team wound up on the wrong end of a BRUTAL posterization.

Now that's how you send a message.

Bucknell won by 16, but the score isn't what matters here.

Joshea Singleton was clearly upset with the attendance numbers, and he took it out on the home team.

So yes, if a #POSTERIZED dunk takes place in a near-empty gym, it still counts.

But was it as good as these?

Kelsey Barlow, Purdue vs. Ohio State, 2/7
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State, 2/7
Roscoe Smith, UConn vs. Louisville, 2/7
Weekend Recap, 2/2 - 2/5
Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State vs. TCU, 2/4
Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse vs. St. John's, 2/4
Kwame Alexander, Cal State-San Bernardino vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills (D-II), 2/3
Bradley Beal, Florida vs. South Carolina, 2/2
Doug Anderson, Detroit vs. Valparaiso, 2/2
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 2/1
Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

Breaking Down: What was so bad about Baylor's defense?

2012-02-09T12:00:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday night, Baylor lost to Kansas 68-54, which dropped them a game off of the pace in the Big 12 standings.

In the writeup that I did for SI.com on the game, I said that "for all the talent that the Bears have on their roster, they are not going to do anything of note in the postseason until they learn how to consistently defend at an elite level."

That statement was kind of vague, so I wanted to touch on it a bit deeper.

Baylor has been predominantly a zone team under Scott Drew, and while they have been playing more man-to-man than usual this season, they have reverted back to their bread-and-butter during Big 12 play. Scott Drew runs, more or less, a 1-1-3 zone that takes the shape of a 1-3-1 when Baylor gets more aggressive defensively. But, as Fran Fraschilla described it on the ESPN broadcast of the game, the zone is a bit of an amoeba; Drew has incorporated some of the principles of a matchup zone into his defense, which means that the defense will take the shape of the offensive players.

Here are a couple of examples to get an idea of what Baylor is doing on that end of the floor.

This first example should give you a solid feel for what Baylor does. Once Kansas gets into their half court set, Pierre Jackson matches up with the ball handler while Brady Heslip slides back into the foul line area, cutting off a pass to Thomas Robinson at the high post:

When the ball gets swung, instead of Heslip stepping out to matchup with Elijah Johnson, Perry Jones III does. Heslip stays on Robinson. Notice how open the short-corner area is behind Jones:

Eventually, the Kansas attack loses its shape, leaving no one at the high post. Baylor forces a turnover on this possession:

In this second one, you'll see AJ Walton defending the ball handler for 94 feet while Gary Franklin, the other guard on the floor, is planted at the foul line to prevent a pass to the high-post. Also notice how high the wings are defensively. This is what Baylor's zone looks like when Scott Drew has them playing more aggressively:

When the ball is swung from Elijah Johnson to Travis Releford, Quincy Miller comes all the way out to pick him up. Notice how much space there is in the short-corner on the ball-side of the floor:

When the ball is swung back to Johnson, Miller remains with Releford and Franklin tracks Robinson down to around the block:

------------------------------------------------------------------

Against a typical zone defense, the area that must be exploited is the high post. By getting the ball into the middle of the zone it forces the defense to either a) collapse and open up passing lanes to open shooters; b) create an angle to make a high-low pass to a player on the block; or c) try and defend the player at the high-post in a 1-on-1 situation. However it happens, its an advantage for the offense.

Not so against Baylor's zone. With the opposite side guard sloughing into the paint and the wings sliding up as high as foul line extended, it creates a soft spot in the short corner. (For those that don't know, the "short corner" is the area on the baseline about 12-15 feet away from the rim.)

Take a look at this example. As you can see, Baylor is in their standard zone set, with one guard matched up with the ball-handler, one guard sloughed into the high-post and the two wings pushing up on the perimeter to matchup with the wings in Kansas' offense:

But when the ball is swung from Elijah Johnson at the top of the key to Conner Teahan on the far-side wing, Anthony Jones and Gary Franklin both jump to defend him. At the same time, Kevin Young cuts from the high-post to the short-corner while Gary Franklin stays at the high-post and Quincy Acy remains wide on the opposite side of the floor:

Young receives the ball in the short corner, but since Baylor had four defenders above the foul line, it creates a 2-on-1 situation. Jeff Withey, who had slid into the high-post to replace Young, dives to the rim as Acy -- and the weak-side guard, for that matter -- is (very) late on his rotation to defend the rim:

Layup, and-one:

Want to see it again? And no, this isn't a replay, its actually an entirely separate possession:

One more example. Here, you once again see Baylor in their 1-3-1 zone, with Pierre Jackson matched up with Tyshawn Taylor and Brady Heslip sloughing off to protect the high-post:

But Kevin Young is able to find some space in the paint, receiving the ball about half way up the lane:

He turns and attacks the base-line -- short-corner! -- with the dribble. This time, Baylor's defense collapses. Four players are in the paint, leaving Conner Teahan all alone in the corner.

Teahan came into this game struggling, but he had hit a three not 60 seconds earlier. Young finds him and he knocks it down, giving Kansas the lead:

That was just the start of the run for Kansas. They would end up pushing their lead to 56-34 -- in total, a 47-15 surge highlighted by a 32-4 run -- as Baylor's zone continually got abused.

And while Baylor's rotations were slow, I think Baylor's zone is fatally flawed. Why they continually send two players in a soft double when an opponent as the ball 25 feet from the rim on the wing is beyond me. Scott Drew puts his team in impossible situations. Baylor might not be executing in that zone, but I'm not convinced that they are being put in a situation where execution is all that possible.

Which buzzer-beater was better?

2012-02-09T09:35:00.000-05:00

The 2011-2012 season isn't over just yet. But it's quite possible that we've already seen it's two most-signature moments.

Indiana wasn't supposed to beat Kentucky. Sure, it was at Assembly Hall, but this Hoosiers team was still a year away, right? Yeah, Kentucky and Indiana are two legacy programs, but even with Assembly Hall on the brink of eruption, there was no way Indiana was going to beat the Wildcats.

Duke dropped back-to-back home games against Florida State and Miami. The Blue Devils had no superstar leader. Austin Rivers, their all-world freshman, was struggling. People started to doubt Duke. Hell, Duke started to doubt Duke. The North Carolina Tar Heels just had to much size, too much talent, too much everything. Duke was going to keep the game close, but North Carolina would win.

Then Christian Watford happened.

Then Austin Rivers happened.

But which was better?

That question is much more difficult to answer than you may think.

If you are a fan of Kentucky or North Carolina, it's probably a bit easier.

But really, which was better?

The conventional wisdom will suggest that River's shot was best, as it should. That's a shot that kids in North Carolina emulate in the backyards, in their driveways, and on the playground. That's a shot that will forever be stored in the highlight videos for future Tobacco Road showdowns. His team was trailing late, somebody needed to step up. That shot will be replayed, re-aired and rehashed from now until forever.

But Rivers' shot was nailed in the unfriendly confines of The Dean Dome. His shot wasn't set up, rushed or hurried, there were certain elements of "the moment" that were lacking from this shot.

What Watford's shot lacks in historical significance, it makes up for in "spur-of-the-moment" pandemonium.

His shot was the result of a nice drive to the basket by Verdell Jones. His release had just a hint of "step back" to it. When his shot went through, he struck a pose. A beautiful, beautiful pose. Then there was the court-storming. If you ever want to know when/why/and how to storm a court, use that video as a guideline. It was magical. It was marvelous. It was the perfect court storm.

But both of these shots explain why sports are better than any movie or any TV show. You can't script it. You don't want it scripted. The best things in life happen when you least expect it.

So maybe Watford's was better, and maybe Rivers' was better.

And maybe, when it's all said and done, there will be another moment, one we don't know is going to happen, one we can't explain, that will trump both of these shots.

Thursday Morning Dump

2012-02-09T07:58:00.000-05:00

Last night was arguably the best night of the college hoops season. #HandDownManDown

- Say goodbye to Big East classics like the one we saw last night between Syracuse and Georgetown. Chris Joseph wanted this rivalry to remember his name

- Duke beat North Carolina last night. They shouldn't have, but they did

- A collection of photos from Duke vs. North Carolina

- Just what this rivalry needed, more video evidence. Austin Rivers is now officially part of this rivalry. For now and for forever. An explanation as to why this is the best rivalry in American sports

- Yeah, that hurt

- Where does Rivers' shot rank amongst the other great Tobacco Road rivalry moments?

- Teams with Final Four potential: Kansas, yes. Baylor, no. That's right, Baylor should no longer be considered "an elite team". Why? Did you see them try to play defense?

- Things got more than just "chippy" during the rivalry game you probably all forgot about

- UConn announced that they would look to apply self-imposed sanctions in lieu of the NCAA's punishment of a post-season ban for their poor academic rankings. Yeah, no chance it works. (Make sure you read this one. It's from Pat Forde. It's definitely worth your time)

- Speaking of UConn, Jim Calhoun will not return to the sidelines in time for the Huskies Saturday showdown with Syracuse

Wait, are you telling me Florida State, the same Florida state team that beat UNC by 5,736,214 and beat Duke at Cameron, lost to lowly Boston College?!?

- More fallout from Memphis' admittance to the Big East: Does Memphis really make the Big East all that much better? Why doesn't anybody want Temple? Are you sure there are 40 teams that would make a better, more-logical fit than Memphis? Big East Coast Bias provides a solid list of media reactions to the addition of Memphis.

- Well, at least Memphis is east of the Mississippi River. That's got to count for something. Right? If Memphis and Houston ever play in the finals of the Big East Tournament, I quit

- One more expansionocalypse thought: How far away are we from seeing a C-USA/MWC merger?

- An awesome ranking of colleges based on combined earnings of NBA alumni

- Naval scheduling issues may put the Carrier Classic in jeopardy

- Jeff Reynolds has been fired as head coach at the Air Force Academy. The Falcons become the sixth team to have a mid-season coaching change this year

- Senior Malik Stith, the only St. John's player held over from the Norm Roberts era, has decided to leave the Johnnie basketball team

- Villanova's Maalik Wayns had an MRI done on the left knee he injured in the Wildcats Tuesday night win over Providence

- Don Amore enlists some the help of a physician to help cure Jeremy Lamb's shooting woes

- Today in mascot news: North Dakota will resume the use of "Fighting Sioux"

- Do any of us have a clue as to who is going to win the CAA? It's going to be one of these four teams. But outside of that, it's anybody's guess

- Big Sky BBall makes a case for Damian Lillard as the best point guard in the country

- New Mexico State's Wendell McKines is in fact the most interesting man in the WAC

- John Templon provides an excellent examination of NYC's dominance in the NEC

- An interesting-read on the importance of staying power and meaningful wins for Duquesne

- I have to imagine that I missed this because it took place in a MARYLAND/CLEMSON game

- High School administrators take high school athletics way too seriously

- This is the funniest thing you will see/read all day, and it has absolutely nothing to do with basketball

- For this year's High School 3-point and Slam Dunk Contest, the fans get to vote on the contestants. I you have want to nominate somebody, make sure you vote on the Facebook page

Thursday's Shootaround

2012-02-09T04:42:00.002-05:00

We've already written pretty extensively about the three marquee games that took place tonight. This post will focus on all of the basketball that happened around the rest of the country that no one seemed to notice.

No. 10 Kansas 68, No. 6 Baylor 54: See here.

No. 2 Syracuse 64, No. 11 Georgetown 61 OT: See here.

No. 9 Duke 85, No. 5 UNC 84: See here.

Boston College 64, No. 17 Florida State 60: Thanks to a game-winner from Austin Rivers in Chapel Hill, the Seminoles had every opportunity in the world to move into sole possession of first place in the ACC. All they had to do was head up north and knock off BC, and they couldn't do that. The Eagles used a 23-3 run midway through the second half to turn a 13 points deficit into a seven point lead. Florida State exhibited their textbook offensive execution during that stretch.

The likelihood of the Seminoles missing the NCAA Tournament is probably not affected by this outcome, not with wins over Duke and North Carolina still on their resume. But this loss is concerning when its grouped in with Florida State losing to both Harvard and Princeton and getting dropped 20 points against Clemson. We all thought those inconsistencies were behind them. Should we be more concerned about FSU? Keep an eye on this team. One loss can kill any and all momentum and confidence a group.

South Florida 63, Pitt 51: This is just a devastating blow to the Panther's NCAA Tournament chances. They drop to 4-8 in the league after winning their last four games. Pitt's struggles on the offensive end of the floor reared their ugly head again on Wednesday night. Tray Woodall was just 4-13 from the floor and Ashton Gibbs finished with only four points. This was, however, a nice bounce back win for the South Florida, who had gotten ripped and called a fraud after their loss to Georgetown over the weekend.

Notre Dame 55, West Virginia 51: The Irish just continue to ride on, moving into a tie for second place in the Big East standings after a solid win in Morgantown. The Irish had been ice cold all night long, but drilled three huge threes in the final minutes to put the Irish ahead for good. Jack Cooley had 21 points in the win.

UAB 71, Southern Miss 61: The Golden Eagles had not lost in 17 games before getting dropped in Birmingham by a scrappy UAB team. Cameron Moore led the way for UAB, finishing with 27 points and 12 boards. The loss drops USM into a first-place tie with Memphis, who beat East Carolina 70-59, and two up on UCF, who handed Marshall yet another loss.

Georgia 81, Arkansas 59: You really expected a Mike Anderson to perform on the road?

The rest of the top 25:

- No. 12 Michigan State 77, Penn State 57: The Spartans held up their end of the bargain, beating Penn State and staying within a game of first place in the Big Ten standings. Michigan State takes on the first place team in the league -- Ohio State -- On Saturday.

- No. 20 Virginia 68, Wake Forest 44: The Cavs got close to a perfect game out of Mike Scott, who finished with 19 points on 9-9 shooting from the floor. If only he had made that free throw.

No. 25 Michigan 62, Nebraska 46: Michigan used a 15-4 run to open a second half where they made 16 of their first 19 shot, blowing this one open.

Other notable games:

- Temple 79, GW 72
- St. Louis 72, St. Joe's 60
- Vanderbilt 76, LSU 61
- UMass 76, St. Bonaventure 67
- Drexel 63, James Madison 56
- George Mason 72, Hofstra 62
- VCU 66, Towson 43
- Old Dominion 70, William & Mary 51
- Xavier 84, Rhode Island 66
- Cincinnati 76, St. John's 54

If Syracuse doesn't learn to rebound, they won't go far in March

2012-02-09T02:42:00.000-05:00

By Brian Butterworth, Special to Ballin' is a Habit

Of note, we went in-depth on Syracuse's issues on the glass back in January.

Despite a gutty, 64-61 overtime win against a feisty Georgetown team, much of the talk surrounding Syracuse on Thursday will unquestionably be about the Orange's inability to keep opponents from beating them up on the offensive glass. Syracuse surrendered 23 offensive boards to the Hoyas, tallying a defensive rebounding percentage of just 46.4%.

This is the time of year where title contenders start to separate themselves from the pack and talking heads declare which teams have what it takes to make deep tourney runs. While Syracuse has certainly displayed the talent and depth required for a national title contender, it is hard to imagine any team, no matter how talented, overcoming such a glaring deficiency on the boards.

"This was a game they got on the boards from the beginning and that's just a disaster for us," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim told reporters after the game. "Getting 17 less rebounds, this was a disaster game as far as I'm concerned. I'm very disappointed at this stage of the year to get beat like that on the boards. You can miss shots; that's part of the game, but we've got to find a way to rebound the ball better. Some of them are long bounces but we just have to do a better job rebounding the basketball. There is just no excuse the way we are rebounding right now. It's a team effort; it's everybody, it's not one guy."

"Right now, I don't think we're a good basketball team because we can't rebound."

Zones are traditionally more difficult to rebound out of then man-to-man, but that is no excuse for the abuse the Orange took on the glass in what many will probably consider to be more of an escape than a win. Syracuse is content to simply turn and look for the ball and hope they can out jump their opponents, instead of going to the offensive players body, either moving them out of the rebounding area or preventing them from crashing into the paint uncontested.

"If we want to be a high quality team, we have to do a better job on the boards," Boeheim said. "We hit a couple of shots at the end, a couple key plays when we were down or this game could have gotten away. And the only conversation would be about the rebounding. When you win everybody forgets about it. But the only reason we won this game is because we hit a couple of shots late, our defense was good late, but there’s just no excuse for us to rebound the way we rebounded tonight."

"It's just not championship level and it won't win. We just won't win if we can't rebound better than that. Period."

Syracuse, who has been lauded for their depth all season, was carried by big time performances from Kris Joseph, Fab Melo and Scoop Jardine, as the rest of the team struggled to find any type of rhythm.

Melo provided Syracuse with timely defense and several crowed pleasing slams on his way to 11 points and seven boards. And while the six blocks Melo sent back to their sender were huge, his footwork and defensive positioning were the key to Syracuse getting the necessary stops down the stretch. It sounds weird to say this, but Melo is as good as anyone in the country at drawing charges. With Syracuse down two and just under two minutes remaining in overtime, it was Melo's excellent position defense on back-to-back possessions that made the difference. Melo moved over on a textbook baseline rotation, drawing a charge on a driving Hollis Thompson. After Dion Waiters converted on two free throws to tie the game at 61. Melo stepped up yet again playing perfect position defense, making sure not to foul as he forced an errant shot attempt by Georgetown center Henry Sims.

Joseph put the Orangemen offense on his back from start to finish, scoring a game-high 29 points as the Hoya's consistently lost track of him on the perimeter. Joseph scored a slew of clutch baskets, including six three-pointers, and connected from beyond the arc for what proved to be the game winner with just 26 seconds left on a Scoop Jardine assist.

Jardine was unquestionably the quiet hero of the game, tallying 8 assists and providing steady ball handling, as Georgetown was unable to keep him from penetrating and finding the open man. Jardine also made the defensive play of the game, causing Jason Clark, who hit two late second half threes to help send the game to OT, to turn the ball over with just 4.9 seconds remaining. Jardine's leadership experience and decision-making will be sorely needed as Syracuse enters the stretch run.

Duke needs Austin Rivers to be 'the man'

2012-02-08T23:23:00.000-05:00

Before we get into the meat of this post, before we spend anytime analyzing what happened in Duke's 85-84 win over UNC in the Dean Dome or how the Blue Devils were able to erase a ten point deficit in the final two minutes, let's all sit back and admire how the game ended:

That is what college basketball is all about.

A cocky freshman, playing in his first installment of the best rivalry our sport has to offer, buried a buzzer-beating three to cap off a miraculous comeback on the road on national television.

It doesn't get any better than that.

"This is the best feeling I've ever had on the basketball court," Rivers said after the game. "This is the best feeling I've ever had."

And for Duke, it doesn't get any better than Austin Rivers at this point in the season. He is, quite clearly, the only player on the Blue Devil's roster that is capable of creating for himself. When he gets it going like he did tonight -- scoring a career-high 29 points on 9-16 shooting from the floor, including 6-10 from three -- he's as dangerous as anyone in the country with the ball in his hands.

Duke would be best served to run their offense through Rivers from here on out. Two months ago, that would have been a risky proposition. Rivers was, more or less, still playing AAU ball. Forced drives, ill-advised threes, turnovers. He was scoring at a decent rate, but the inefficient manner in which he was getting those points was doing more harm than good for the Blue Devils. Not anymore more. Not only are those shots going down at a higher-rate, but he's learning how to better play with teammates as opposed to starring in the Austin Rivers Show.

There are still a handful of times every game where he makes a head-scratching decision, but eliminating his aggressiveness and his freedom offensively would only hinder him; the reason that he has taken so many tough shots is that he believes he can make those tough shots. You don't want to take away that confidence as much as you want to teach him how to channel it.

Perhaps the most important thing to note about this game is that the play that is going to be dominating the highlight shows tomorrow morning -- the game-winner -- was far from the only important shot that he made. Rivers started out the game on fire, scoring 10 of the first 12 Duke points to spark an early surge by the Blue Devils. Then in the second half, when North Carolina made their run to take control of the game and push their lead to as much as 13 points, Rivers hit two big threes to keep Duke within reach.

But there was more to Duke's comeback than an impressive performance from an NBA coach's son.

As good as Rivers was, the key to Duke making their push down the stretch was that they were finally able to turn this into a half court game. It took 38 minutes to do so, but they finally got a couple of stops and slowed down UNC's transition attack. Of course, it helped that they were able to knock down jumpers on their final five possessions, but they were afforded the opportunity to make those jumpers count because they corralled control of the tempo.

Much of that credit should be given to Mason Plumlee, who really played well in the second half. He finished with eight points and 14 rebounds on the game, but he helped hold Tyler Zeller -- who had 23 points and 11 boards on the night -- to just four points and three boards in the second half.

As telling as this comeback was for the Blue Devils, the inability of UNC to put Duke away when they had them on the ropes was just as important. Every time it looked like the Heels were primed to putting a finishing move on the Blue Devils, UNC would turn the ball over or commit a silly foul (Seth Curry's four-point play?) or simply miss a shot you wouldn't expect UNC to miss.

With the win, Duke pulls into a three-way tie with the Heels for first place in the ACC thanks to Florida State's inexplainable loss at Boston College. In a conference that has made little sense this season, its only fitting that the standing got even more jumbled thanks to the unlikeliest of outcomes on Wednesday night.

But analyzing the standings -- hell, analyzing why Wednesday night happened the way it happened -- is a disservice.

This was just another improbable outcome in the storied rivalry between two of college basketball's preeminent basketball programs. Instead of worrying about explanations and the ins-and-outs of Duke's comeback, we all need to kick back and savor this moment.

Because this is as good as it gets.

Think about it like this: Duke never lead during the second half. By the time the buzzer-beater from Rivers went through the net, the clock as already at triple zeroes.

Wednesday's Pregame Beat: Three GREAT games on the docket

2012-02-08T13:50:00.000-05:00

I think this may end up being the best night of college hoops we have this season, as their are three legitimately GREAT games on.

7:00 pm: No. 11 Georgetown @ No. 2 Syracuse: This has been the single best rivalry in the Big East, a hatred that was created by two of the Big East's pioneers -- John Thompson, Jr, and Jim Boeheim -- back in the 1980's. But, like what is happening with the Border War, this rivalry may be on its last legs. Syracuse is heading to the ACC, which means that the future of this game may be in doubt. Whether or not these two teams end up playing each other in the future is a different post for a different time. The key to tonight's game -- which may actually be between the two best teams in the Big East -- is going to be Henry Sims. The 6'11" senior center for the Hoyas has matured quite a bit this season, becoming a key component to the Hoya offense. His ability to knock down jumpers and pass out of the high post, the area in the Syracuse zone that has to be exploited, will be a key.

7:00 pm: No. 10 Kansas @ No. 6 Baylor: Here's why you should never pay attention to the polls: Kansas is ranked four spots below Baylor, but Kansas beat Baylor by 18 the last time these two got together. How? The Bears had no answer for Thomas Robinson and Jeff Withey inside. Its not that the Bears don't have the bodies, however. They are as big up front as any team in the country. Baylor has also had an issue defensively against some of the better teams in the Big 12 -- they have given up an average of 90.5 ppg in their two games against Missouri and Kansas. Are they going to be able to get stops? More importantly, are they going to win a game that makes us believe, once again, that they are a true title contender?

9:00 pm: No. 9 Duke @ No. 5 UNC: Obviously this is must-see TV. Anytime these two teams get together it is. That's what happens when you have one of the best rivalries in all of sports. This year's matchup will be a bit of a statement for the Blue Devils. Duke has some serious issues this season. They don't defend well on the perimeter and they don't have the kind of playmakers in their back court that we usually expect out of a Coach K team. That said, UNC's strength isn't their perimeter defense or their dynamic playmaking in the back court. In other words, you don't need to be a great on-ball defender to stay in front of Kendall Marshall. It will be fun to see the Plumlees go up against the two-headed monster of Tyler Zeller and John Henson, although I think, in the end, the x-factor is going to be Harrison Barnes. Who on Duke is going to be able to guard him?

7:00 pm: Pitt @ South Florida: The Bulls were exposed over the weekend at Georgetown. Can they bounce back from that loss and pick off a streaking Pitt team at home? The Panthers, with Tray Woodall back in the lineup, look like an NCAA Tournament team.

8:00 pm: Northern Iowa @ Wichita State: With a win, Wichita State moves a full game into first place in the MVC after Creighton lost at Evansville last night.

9:00 pm: Notre Dame @ West Virginia: The Fighting Irish have been as impressive as any team in the country over the last two weeks. Can they continue that trend playing a tough road game?

The rest of the top 25:

- 6:30 pm: Penn State @ No. 12 Michigan State
- 7:00 pm: No. 17 Florida State @ Boston College
- 7:30 pm: Wake Forest @ No. 20 Virginia
- 8:30 pm: No. 25 Michigan @ Nebraska

Other notable games:
- 7:00 pm: Marshall @ UCF
- 7:00 pm: Memphis @ East Carolina
- 7:00 pm: George Washington @ Temple
- 7:30 pm: St. Bonaventure @ UMass
- 8:00 pm: St. Louis @ St. Joe's
- 9:00 pm: LSU @ Vanderbilt

History of the Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry

2012-02-08T09:49:00.000-05:00

Ed. Note: This article was originally published over at Beyond The Arc on February 9th, 2011. Given that Rivalry Week is, once again, in full swing and this may be one of the last times these two teams get together, we thought it would be prudent it bump it up to the top.

In 1979, the Big East was formed.

It looked quite a bit different in those days. Instead of the massive, 16 team conference the children of the twitter generation have grown up with, the original Big East had just seven teams, including Syracuse and Georgetown.

While the inaugural Big East season was 31 short years ago, the names of the coaches leading those two programs haven’t changed … drastically. Jim Boeheim has been at the helm of the Orange for every season they have been affiliated with the Big East, while Georgetown’s current coach — John Thompson III — is the son and namesake of the Hoyas head man all those years ago — John Thompson, Jr.

And it was the elder Thompson that we can thank in large part for spawning what is one of college basketball’s most influential rivalries.

First, a history lesson. At the same time that the Syracuse basketball team was joining the Big East conference, the school was trying to keep their football program at the Division 1-A level. The old Archbold Stadium was crumbling, so the school began construction on the Carrier Dome, a football stadium with a fiberglass, inflatable roof. With the project scheduled for completion in September of 1980 and the basketball program’s move into a powerhouse Big East conference, it only made sense to play their basketball home games in the new facility, one that could hold many thousands more orange-clad fans than the 9,500-seat Manley Fieldhouse.

At the time, Manley was one of the most difficult places to play in the country. The Orange were riding a 57 game winning streak in Manley as they headed into the final men’s basketball game the building would host, a Feb. 12th, 1980, date with Thompson Jr.’s Hoyas. The plan, as you would imagine, was to send the building off with a farewell victory, but Georgetown had other ideas.

The Hoyas staged an epic comeback, rallying to beat the No. 2-ranked Orange 52-50. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Thompson Jr. grabbed the microphone after the game and infamously told the crowd “Manley Field House is officially closed.”

This angered Syracuse and the Orange faithful quite a bit, but hatred can only last a rivalry so long.

For a rivalry to survive in more than just proximity and conference affiliation — Rutgers and Seton Hall are must-see TV right? Dickie V’s on the call every time NC State plays Duke and North Carolina, isn’t he? — it needs three things: great teams, great players, and memorable moments.

Check, check, and check.

Georgetown made the national title game three times between 1982 and 1985, winning the 1984 title. Syracuse lost in the title game in 1987 and 1996. The Hoyas won 13 conference regular season and tournament titles between 1980 and Thompson Jr.’s retirement in 1999. Syracuse won nine in that span.

Great players came by the handful. Georgetown can claim Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutumbo, Reggie Williams, Charles Smith, Othella Harrington, and Allen Iverson as alums. Syracuse pumped out their own laundry list of stars — Pearl Washington, Sherman Douglas, Rony Seikaly, Derrick Coleman, Lawrence Moten, Billy Owens.

There were plenty of memorable moments as well. After losing to Georgetown in the 1984 Big East Tournament Final in overtime, Jim Boeheim knocked over a chair and screamed “the best team did not win tonight.” On March 5th, 1990, in the Carrier Dome, the Orange beat Georgetown 89-87 in overtime, aided by a 10 point possession thanks to Thompson Jr. picking up a technical foul from three different referees. And that doesn’t come remotely close to highlighting the number of bare-knuckle brawls and buzzer-beating buckets these two programs have had over the years.

While the hatred between these two fanbases has never subsided, the national attention it garnered did in the early 2000′s (we’ll blame that on the Craig Escherick era). But this rivalry’s impact on the current landscape of college basketball cannot be overstated. The battles between Boeheim and Thompson Jr. are what the Big East was built on. They are a primary reason why the Big East is, and has been, the nation’s preeminent basketball conference.

Without it, the Big East may not have blossomed the way it has.

That kind of legacy within the sport is why any true college basketball fan should be excited that the annual battles between these two programs are nationally relevant again.

Today’s 7:00 pm tip between Syracuse and Georgetown is only the appetizer for the Duke-UNC nightcap. Not even the most delusional Big East historian would argue otherwise.

But don’t ignore the historical significance of this rivalry. Without it, college basketball could look very different today.

Wednesday Morning Dump

2012-02-08T07:57:00.000-05:00

Yup, that's right. The Morning Dump is back.

We took a week-long break to recharge our batteries and get ready for the long haul. Now that the Super Bowl is over with, all your hoops knowledge can be found here every morning. Luckily, the days of using "The Breakfast Buffet" and "The Wake-up Call" are now over.

Thanks for the help fellas, but I'm back now, which means your services will no long be needed.

- In case you missed it, we unveiled our 2011-2012 All-Hair-Team yesterday

- Memphis will join the Big East Conference at the beginning of the 2013-2014 season. Some think it's a good move. Some think it's a bad move. Some think the move will have a great impact. Others think Johs Pastner will have his work cut out for him. What is this? Conference-USA2.0?

- Duke and Carolina go at it tonight, so consider this your quick, link-heavy primer. What have we learned about the Tar Heels this far? Why players decide to attend Duke. Why players decide to attend Chapel Hill. Did you really think Harrison Barnes would let a bum ankle stop him from playing against Duke? But it really wouldn't be Rivalry Week without some gossip-laden stories. Ahhh, that's more like it

- Oh yeah, that's right, Georgetown/Syracuse is on tonight as well. Troy Nunes provides a thorough preview

- The key to Arizona's success lies in the hands of somebody you probably didn't expect

Nicole Auerbach of The USA Today explains how John Thompson III is constantly reminded of "Great Brawl of China" and how his team continues to handle adversity

- Jason King primes us for the final stretch of Rivalry Week

- Mike DeCourcy provides four thoughts following Kentucky's rout of Florida. Kentucky's biggest threat may end up being themselves

- Pat Forde explains why he thinks this is the best week of the college basketball season

- Two Kentucky State students have been charged with shooting KSU basketball player Patrick Dawson

- Your weekly look at Northwestern's case to make the tournament for the first time in school history

- A daily dose of NIT bracketology (You know you want it)

- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz provides words of wisdom to NYC-area hoops players

- Utah State assistant coach Chris Jones could be leaving to take over as the Idaho State head coach

-Arizona State assistant coach Scott Pera is in the running to become the head coach at Northern Arizona

- Jim Calhoun will coach UConn again this season, but it will be after Saturday at the earliest

- Miami has some work to do in order to get a ticket to The Big Dance, but a road win at Duke will certainly help

- A great-read on how social media is changing the shape of the game for prep stars

- Jared Sullinger got #POSTERIZED by Kelsey Barlow

- A solid list of the best defenders in the ACC

- For all the stat-nerds out there, Brian Mull has provided some efficiency numbers for CAA players

Auburn's basketball team may not be that good, but there Sports Information Department is getting it done

Now this is what you call an #unPOSTERIZED

Wednesday's Shootaround: Kentucky rolls, Ohio State struggles, Creighton loses

2012-02-08T00:48:00.001-05:00

No. 1 Kentucky 78, No. 7 Florida: When Kentucky is playing their best, they are just about unbeatable. When Marquis Teague is distributing and knocking down perimeter jumpers, when Terrence Jones is bought in to a team concept and when Doron Lamb and Darius Miller are shooting the ball well, Kentucky simply has more weapons that anyone else in the country.

This is not a secret, however. I've been saying for about a month that I would wager my money on the Wildcats winning the national title. Think about it like this: Kentucky appears to finally be hitting their stride as a basketball team and they are currently one Christian Watford buzzer-beater away from being undefeated. If Kentucky was actually able to give their foul in the final seconds against the Hoosiers, than John Calipari's group would, in all likelihood, be heading into the stretch run undefeated.

And this team still isn't playing their best basketball.

That's scary.

But beating Florida by 20 points at home isn't the defining win that should vault UK into lock-status for the Final Four.

Look, I know that the Gators are ranked in the top ten and I know that the consensus is that this group is the second-best team in the SEC. But the gap between the first and the second teams in that league is fairly large, and the gap between where Florida truly ranked and the No. 7 spot is just as big. The Gators are a streaky team that stinks on the road, where they have lost to Rutgers and Tennessee already this season. Handling the Gators in Rupp should have been expected.

Kentucky fans will likely misinterpret that as a shot at their team, and it isn't. I still think the Wildcats are the best team in the country. I just don't think this performance is the proof that many believe it is.

No. 3 Ohio State 87, Purdue 84: William Buford snapped out of what felt like a season long slump to score 21 of his 29 points in the second half -- including seven straight to put OSU up 80-73 with two minutes left -- as the Buckeyes avoided getting upset at home. Buford's second half was all the more important considering that Purdue was shooting the lights out and both Jared Sullinger and Aaron Craft were dealing with foul trouble.

Its tough to call a loss on the road against the No. 3 team in the country a costly loss, but it is certainly fair to say that Purdue missed a major opportunity for a marquee victory on Tuesday night. If it wasn't a couple of late defensive lapses and questionable offensive decisions -- including Matt Painter's decision to leave DJ Byrd, who finished with a career-high 24 points on 7-9 shooting from three, on the bench down the stretch -- Purdue would have escaped Columbus with this win. For a team that appears to be squarely on the bubble with a shell of Robbie Hummel leading them, that's huge.

The good news for the Boilermakers is that they were able to stay this close without Hummel playing well. In addition to Byrd's performance, Kelsey Barlow played as well as he has in his collegiate career, finishing with 14 points, three assists and a trio of highlight reel dunks. If those two can play near that level the rest of the season, Purdue won't have to worry about getting an at-large bid.

Evansville 65, No. 13 Creighton 57: This is what happens when you have on off-night on the road in the Valley. The Bluejays shot just 4-22 from three and turned the ball over 16 times, which, when combined with the 13-1 run the Purple Aces put on Creighton to close the game, was enough to send the Bluejays to their second consecutive loss. This could end up looming very large for Creighton. Not only does this loss drop them to a half-game behind Wichita State in the MVC standings -- the Shockers play UNI Wednesday night -- but it makes Saturday's matchup between the two teams all the more important. Simply put, Creighton is not going to win the Valley regular season title if they fall two games behind WSU. And if they don't turn this losing streak around soon, might they play their way out of a guaranteed at-large bid?

Oklahoma State 69, Iowa State 67: I've been saying it all season long -- the issue for Oklahoma State this season is less talent and more effort. They don't care enough or play hard enough on a consistent basis to win games. After nearly upsetting Baylor on Saturday afternoon, the Pokes knocked off Iowa State, who is probably the fourth best team in the Big East, on the strength of 19 points from Markel Brown. LeBryan Nash added 18 points on 6-10 shooting, but more importantly he hit an impressive step-back jumper to give OSU the lead with 4.6 seconds left and then blocked Chris Allen's attempt to tie the game at the buzzer.

Villanova 74, Providence 72: Providence jumped out to a big first half lead, extending it to as much as 19 in the second half. Throw in the fact that Maalik Wayns was battling a knee injury, and the Wildcats seemed like the longest of long shots to come back and win that game. But thanks to 27 points from Jayvaughn Pinkston, who looked like an all-Big East player, the Wildcats came all the way back. It was a driving layup from Pinkston in the final minute that ended up being the decisive bucket.

Campbell 81, Coastal Carolina 75: Campbell stayed within striking distance in the Big South thanks to Eric Griffin, who had 25 points, 10 boards, three assists, two steals and two blocks as the Camels overcame an 11 point second half deficit.

Other notable scores:

- Maryland 64, Clemson 62
- Kansas State 65, Texas Tech 46

POSTERIZED: He went to Jared

2012-02-07T23:25:00.000-05:00

Kelsey Barlow must have gone to Jared.

How else do you explain this diamond-of-a-dunk thrown down by Purdue's Kelsey Barlow?

I didn't know that could happen to All-Americans. Poor Jared Sullinger.

This certainly Sully'd his reputation......

Hot-damn that was amazing....The dunk, not my egregious pun. I really don't have much to say other than that. I think the video speaks for itself.

But was it as good as these?

Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State, 2/7
Roscoe Smith, UConn vs. Louisville, 2/7
Weekend Recap, 2/2 - 2/5
Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State vs. TCU, 2/4
Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse vs. St. John's, 2/4
Kwame Alexander, Cal State-San Bernardino vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills (D-II), 2/3
Bradley Beal, Florida vs. South Carolina, 2/2
Doug Anderson, Detroit vs. Valparaiso, 2/2
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 2/1
Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

POSTERIZED: Welcome to the Markel Brown Show

2012-02-07T22:55:00.000-05:00

With Alabama's Tony Mitchell on the shelf due to an indefinite suspension, the floor is open for somebody to take over as "Human Highlight Reel".

Oklahoma State' Markel Brown seems to be the right guy to fill that void. He's thrown down monster jams in the past, and his three-dunk performance against Iowa State only furthers his case.

OK-State may not be the best team in the country, hell, they may not be a Tournament team. But they sure are fun to watch.

But was it as good as these?

Roscoe Smith, UConn vs. Louisville, 2/7
Weekend Recap, 2/2 - 2/5
Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State vs. TCU, 2/4
Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse vs. St. John's, 2/4
Kwame Alexander, Cal State-San Bernardino vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills (D-II), 2/3 (DotY Candidate)
Bradley Beal, Florida vs. South Carolina, 2/2
Doug Anderson, Detroit vs. Valparaiso, 2/2
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 2/1
Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

Hair we go again: A look at the best hairdos in college basketball

2012-02-07T11:01:00.000-05:00

With every new year comes new fads, fashions and trends. The college basketball scene is no different; Platinum jerseys, 3-goggles, faux-hawks, just some of the trends currently overtaking the hoops landscape.

But as I've said time and time again, basketball is one of the few sports that allows players to show off their follicle freedom and allows fans to see their creativity up-close. Every season is different, and what we've been presented with in '11-'12 is of it's own flavor and style.

To Look back at past "All-Hair-Teams", choose from the following:
- Best Hair in College Basketball '10-'11
- Basketball's Best Beards '10-'11
- Hoops Hairdos '09-'10 Part 2
- Hoops Hairdos '09-'10 Part 1

If you think I missed anybody, go back and look through the previous editions. If I didn't mention them there, be sure to let me know. There is more to come.

For those of you just tuning in to college hoops for the first time this season now that football is over with, here is what you have missed.

Mike Scott, Virginia

Not only is Scott a legitimate contender for ACC Player of the Year, he's also the most versatile hair stylist in the country.

The Cavalier big-man has donned no less than five different cornrow patterns this season, each one more complex than the other.

Sure Virginia plays a painfully-boring style of basketball. But there's nothing boring about what Scott is doing to his hair follicles.

Ed Daniel, Murray State

Lost in all the "perfect season" hype is the masterful afro displayed by Racers' forward Ed Daniel. According to a report from WPSD Channel-6 in Kentucky, Daniel's hair has it's own mysterious powers. Yes, I agree, that may be the most ridiculous news package I've ever seen. But there's no denying that Daniel's hair is a popular topic of discussion.

After all, it has it's own Twitter account, Facebook page and StatTracker. I'm seriously not making any of this up.

Now more than ever, I'm hoping Murray State stays undefeated and runs the tables come March. If/when Ed's hair becomes the next pop sensation, just remember that I was on the bandwagon before anybody else.

Honorable Mention: Quincy Diggs, Akron; Jontel Evans, Virginia; Bryson Johnson, Bucknell

Austin McBroom, Central Michigan

Somebody must have put him up to this.

He must have lost a bet.

There is no way a sane human being would knowingly do this to his own head of hair. I'm literally speechless. Wha...who...I mean...why..... I just....Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. I just can't take this any more.

Imagine if Khem Birch had transferred to Central Michigan instead of UNLV.... You know what? Don't imagine that, I wouldn't wish that on anybody. One bleached-blonde skunk-hat is heinous enough.

Now, if you would excuse me, I have to go douse my eyeballs in concentrated bleach.

Honorable Mention: Khem Birch: ~~Pittsburgh~~ UNLV

Evan Roquemore, Santa Clara

The fauxhawk is one of the worst epidemics to ever hit college basketball. It's silly, it's stupid, and most importantly, it's not creative at all. However, if you do decide to rock the fauxhawk, you should do it with extreme vigor, just as the Broncos guard has done. He has since gone with the clean-shaven look, but nonetheless, his fauxhawk was one of the few that deserved mention.

Ivory White, Alabama State

And to think, here I am wondering how a guy with the name "Ivory White" could possibly get any more awesome?

Easy, rock some dreads like these and you're well on your way. Seriously, this hairdo is awesome. Pure, concentrated awesome. Is it an afro? No, not exactly. Are they dreadlocks? no, not that either. Instead it's an awesome combination of two equally-awesome hair styles. This may be the only time all year you read about Alabama State, so make sure you take notice.

Jordan Bachynski, Arizona State

Like if it weren't already bad enough that he's a goofy white seven-footer who plays on one of the worst BCS-conference teams in the country. Nope, Bachynski had to go out and rock one of the ugliest looking mop-tops in recent history.

If he wasn't seven feet tall, I'm sure he would fit right in with all the Kid Cudi-listening, lax penny wearing bros chillin' on the quad playing hacky-sack. It would not surprise me at all if we were to learn that Bachynski is also the chairmen of the ASU chapter of The Young Republicans Club.

And, on top of all that, it turns out that Bachynski is also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Now, that's not an issue at all. Except, well, I thought "long hair" was one of the things forbidden by the religion, you know, up there with caffeine, 64-bit gaming systems, premarital sex, driving sports cars and foods with artificial flavoring.....

Honorable Mention: Skylar McBee, Tennessee

Jimmy Williams, North Florida

This hairdo hasn't been seen in the sports world since The Rock left pro wrestling in order to make sub-par Disney movies. But hey, good for him. In 15 years, he'll still be making crappy movies (Read: Millions of dollars) while a bunch of his former co-workers will be in rehab units getting fed via plastic tubes....

Anyways, this really is an awesome look. I'm not sure what it is, but there's something about that smooth transition from scalp-to-sideburns-to facial hair going on in this look. Williams has since gone to a more conservative look, but if he ever decides to grow it out again, a bevy of post-dunk celebrations would become available.

Royce White, Iowa State

There may not be a single player in the country who is as important towards his team's success as Iowa State' Royce White. Seriously, take him away from the Cyclones, and what are they?

Sure, White has had his problems in the past, but there is no denying that the power forward is having a superstar-year. And what better way to emerge as a burgeoning superstar than rocking some ridiculous (and I mean RIDICULOUS) hairdos. First he went with the homage to "Nino Brown", a bleach-glazed mini-afro which, to be honest, was not his best look. Some guys would have stopped there, but White took it to a whole new level.

He took his already-bleached hair and dyed it bright red, then decided to shave all but the middle, leaving nothing but a thick strip of red mowhawk running down his scalp. Apparently, it's called "The Cy-Hawk" and he decided to do it as a form of school spirit, which wouldn't be the first time he showed off his school spirit. Nonetheless, this is a truly unique hairdo. You can love it or hate it, but you have to respect his moxy.

Tyler Lamb, UCLA

Quick. I need a Jon Rothstein-like comparison for Tyler Lamb right away. Take a look at the picture and tell me who you see:

If you said "So much Terrence Howard from 'Hustle & Flow' in Tyler Lamb", you win.....well nothing, but you do end up on the same page as I.

In fact, you aren't the only one who agrees with me. Go and do a Google Images search for "Tyler Lamb UCLA". One of the first results that comes up is a black-and-white photo of Little Richard.....

I'm just going to end on that right there, because it's little things like this which makes life worth living.

Matt Stainbrook, Western Michigan

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes and Yes.

This. Is. Awesome.

He'd be a member of the All-McDonald's American Team, the All-Swag Team, and well, the All-Hair Team. Big fella not only rocks the mop-top, but dons the turtle-neck AND rec-specs. I'm just at a loss for words. Go read what Luke Winn has to say about big slim right here, he's much better at writing than I am.

Honorable Mention: Michael Sanchez, Arkansas

Demetrius Walker, New Mexico

If you are a fan of collegiate sports at all, then you should know this kid's story. He was the first passenger on the post-LeBron hype-train, A Sports Illustrated cover boy, the next "All-Everything". But again, you already knew that. So fast-forward to the present day, and you can find Walker rocking a solid hi-top fade for the New Mexico Lobos.

Now, we've certainly seen better hi-top-fades, (See: 2011 Scotty Hopson), but for a guy who has been in front of such a bright spotlight, only to be buried deep in the background, it's nice to see him stand out for something unique.

Honorable Mention: Ryan Evans, Wisconsin

Jordair Jett, St. Louis

OK. So, your name is Jordair Jett. Yeah, you're parents decided to name you Jordair, and your last name is Jett. Everyone at school looks at your during roll call. The teachers chuckle when they announce your name. Public recognition is always awkward. So what do you do in order to take some of the attention away from your ridiculous name? Simple, grow ridiculous dreadlocks. If the kids are going to stare at you, might as well have them take a good look.

Seriously, dude looks like he should be filling in for Coolio at MTV's Spring Break 1995. Jett has been a viable spark plug for the Billikens, who still seem to be in the mix for an at-large bid or potentially the A-10 championship. It would be a huge shame if March Madness is void of Jordair Jett. Whether for his hair or his name, this guy needs to get some publicity.

Honorable Mention: Jesse Perry, Arizona; Josh Davis, Tulane

Levi Randolph, Alabama

I don't think you can possibly find a current college basketball player that has a more-feminine look than Alabama freshman Levi Randolph. Now that's no knock on Levi himself. I'm sure he's a good dude, masculine and all the stuff, but this hairdo just doesn't suite him. Hell, it doesn't suit anyone.

I've seen Alabama play a lot this year, and I swear to God, every time I watch them play, I have to remind myself that Randolph is in fact a dude, and I am in fact watching men's basketball. It does get difficult, because, well, Alabama is averaging less points per game than a marginal women's team.

Seriously, He could pass as a stunt-double for Brittney Griner.

Honorable Mention: Freddie Riley, UMass; Martez Harris, UT-Martin

Marquavese Ford, Northern Illinois

What's with all these "All-Name Teamers" rockin' sick hair-swag? If they would have just let me known, i could have consolidated my work and made one extensive list. Regardless, Marq (I'm going to start calling him "Marq" because typing "Marquavese" all the time gets strenuous) has some unique threads. And by "unique", I clearly mean "Looks like basket-weaving" or "something you'd find on a sailboat".

Carl Hall, Wichita State

Does the NCAA forbid the use of a "skullcap" during game play? Because, well, Wichita State's Hall could definitely benefit from it. More to the point, Hall's opponents could benefit from it. Sure, Under Armor probably doesn't make a "skull cap" big enough to fit around all these dreadlocks. I mean, look at this picture. really take a good look at it. It's sheer chaos. How does he control all of it? There's just so much hair. It looks like he bunches it all up and hopes it stays in one place.

Dominique Morrison, Oral Roberts

You probably don't know a lot about Dominique Morrison, and that's a damn shame. "DoMo" is one of the most underrated and under-appreciated forwards in the country. His jumper is silky-smooth, he can handle the ball with ease and has solid post skills. He's also just an all-around great-guy. But since he goes to Oral Roberts and plays in the Summit League, you probably don't know a lot about him. So now is your chance. I mean, wouldn't you want to know more about a guy with a luscious mane like that? I know I would.

Plus, the mustache just makes everything so much better. I don't think there is a player in the country with more voluminous hair than "DoMo". If there is, I'd really like to see what it looks like.

Honorable Mention: Terran Petteway, Texas Tech; Johnny O'Bryant, LSU

Angelo Chol, Arizona

Chol is one of the most fearsome-looking guys in the country. There aren't many guys who sport a meaner-mug than him, and his choice of hairdo has a lot to do with it. Guys with long hair don't tend to evoke fear. Sure there are exceptions (Jae Crowder, Marquette), but on a whole, long hair just isn't all that frightening. But short, stubby dreadlocks? They look like thorn-bushes. Have you even looked at a thorn bush and thought "Wow, I would really like to stick an appendage in there"? Didn't think so.

Mike Wilder, UC-Irvin

Last, and certainly not least, is "Mr. All-Hair-Team Himself" Mike Wilder. No collection of awesome college basketball hair would be complete without recognition of Wilder's tremendous afro. It's the best afro in sports. Period. It's thick, it's luscious, it's flawlessly-perfect and perfectly-flawless.

I'm going to stop typing so you can just soak it all in. It's magnificent.

Honorable Mention: Andre Coimbra, Central Michigan

So there you have it. An in-depth look at some of the best hairdos in college hoops this season. But my work isn't done. I know there are dome-pieces out there I haven't seen yet. If you have noticed a bizarre hairdo, or if something catches your eye during a game, hit up @BIAHTroyMachir or email us at contactBIAH@gmail.com

Tuesday's Shootaround: Missouri survives, Jamil Wilson shines

2012-02-07T00:40:00.002-05:00

No. 23 Louisville 80, UConn 59: See here.

No. 4 Missouri 71, Oklahoma 68: This was the epitome of a trap game for the Tigers. They were coming off of an emotional win over Kansas at home -- one that forced Frank Haith to set a 2am curfew -- and have a date with Baylor on the books for Saturday. And in between? A Monday night trip to Norman, OK, for a game that wasn't even high enough profile to get put on ESPN's Big Monday.

That's an easy way to slip up, but luckily for the Tigers, Marcus Denmon has yet to cool off. The senior sharpshooter went for 25 points while Ricardo Ratliffe added 15 points and 10 boards as Mizzou escaped Oklahoma with a win. It wasn't easy, mind you. After fouling Romero Osby with 2.5 seconds left to prevent a potential game-tying three, Osby missed both free throws. But the rebound was tipped back out to Steven Pledger, who missed a wide-open three that would have forced overtime.

The good news for Missouri is that, this season, they have excelled in games that have come down to the final couple of possessions. Four of their last six games have been decided by one possession or less. They've won all four.

No. 19 Marquette 89, DePaul 76: The Blue Demons jumped out to a big lead early in the first half, but Marquette was able to use a 11-2 run to close the first half and draw within three. The Golden Eagles used another surge early in the second half to take the lead and pull away from DePaul. Darius Johnson-Odom had 23 points in the win while Jamil Wilson added 18 points and 10 boards. Wilson also added three assists, two blocks and two steals. That's a good day.

Texas 70, Texas A&M 68: J'Covan Brown had 20 points and Sheldan McClellan added 15 as the Longhorns avoided losing in College Station. The Aggies did have enough juice to make a late run and eventually take the lead in the final minutes, but Brown scored on a driving layup and followed that up with two free throws to put Texas in front for good.

Texas A&M has been as snake-bit as any team in the country this season. Khris Middleton hasn't been healthy all year. Kourtney Roberson is out with a foot injury. Dash Harris is banged up and on the shelf. Throw in the fact that Billy Kennedy is dealing with Parkinson's Disease, and the circumstances couldn't be much worse. Considering that, the fact that the Aggies are still this competitive in the Big 12 is impressive. BK will be just fine with the Aggies.

Other notable scores:

- Stony Brook 57, New Hampshire 48
- Vermont 73, Maine 63
- Davidson 76, Wofford 54
- Mercer 54, East Tennessee State 46
- Belmont 94, Austin Peay 55
- Montana 76, Idaho State 40

What to make of the UConn collapse

2012-02-06T23:47:00.001-05:00

We all thought that UConn was on the verge of turning their season around.

After a disastrous performance against Georgetown in DC on Wednesday and the loss of their head coach to spinal stenosis of Friday, UConn came out and looked motivated against Seton Hall on Saturday. Some of their underlying issues were still evident -- Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier were still struggling to shoot the ball and UConn still didn't run any semblance of an offense -- but there was some effort and some fight that showed through. Between that performance and the way that they handled the press conference after the games, saying all the right things about team unity, and there was reason to be hopeful about the rest of the season.

So much for that.

Louisville trucked UConn on Monday night, taking home an 80-59 win in front of a national TV audience. And the game wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicated. With five minutes left in the first half, UConn had a 21-18 lead despite struggling offensively. By the end of the half, they were down 29-24. Four minutes into the second half, and Louisville had pushed their lead to 40-28. And that's when the Cardinals went on their run. By the time UConn finally put up a fight, they were down 67-38.

All told, in a 20 minute stretch spanning from the five minute mark in the first half to the five minute mark in the second half, Louisville outscored the Huskies 49-17. And while much of the credit must be given to Louisville, its impossible to ignore the fact that UConn simply rolled over and took it, without a shred of fight or a glimmer of pride.

I've already gone in depth on what is wrong with UConn, but the question that must be asked now is whether or not this is fixable. Because what happened tonight was not only embarrassing for the UConn program, it was a disastrous sign for the direction of the program. UConn not only played terribly, they looked completely apathetic towards the outcome. Once Louisville put their run on the Huskies, the Huskies put their tails between their legs and quit.

How do you fix that?

How do you make a team that looks like they just want their season to end care about what happens?

If the NCAA Tournament started today, UConn would have a solid case for an at-large bid. But the tournament doesn't start tomorrow. The Huskies still have to play seven more regular season games and the Big East Tournament. At the rate things are going, UConn will be lucky to get an NIT bid.

It raises the question: if this continues for the Huskies, if their season completely goes up in smoke, where do they rank in terms of all-time disappointments? The first one that comes to mind is the 2009-2010 North Carolina team that went from top five in the country in the preseason to a .500 record and an NIT trip. Ironically enough, that team was also coming off of a national title. The same season, Texas climbed all the way to the top of the polls with a roster stocked with NBA talent before plummeting and losing in the 8-9 games in the tournament. The 2009 Notre Dame team that went from top ten to the NIT and the 2011 Baylor team that, coming off of an Elite 8 run, finished below .500 in the Big 12 also must be in that conversation.

And, I think it goes without saying, that conversation is not one you want to be a part of.

As impressive as this win was for Louisville, and as refreshing as it must be to get back into a rhythm like that, this game was all about UConn. This may end up being the defining moment in a collapse for the ages.

POSTERIZED: R-O-S-C-O-E Dunk

2012-02-06T22:43:00.001-05:00

UConn suffered their worst defeat of the season. it was ugly, embarrassing, and borderline-disgraceful. Louisville beat them 80-59 and that score doesn't fully detail the smackdown that Louisville layeth.

The Huskies looked out-of-sync, incohesive, and disinterested. Frankly, it's kinda frustrating given their talent and given that nobody has shown any signs of leadership. Sure, none of them are going to become Kemba Walker over night, but I haven't seen any positive body language in over a month.But not was all bad.

If 99.5% of UConn's performance was bad, which it was, Roscoe Smith provided that 0.5%

It was an impressive 0.5%

But UConn's performance was so bad that ESPN did not even show a replay of the dunk. Why would why they? The Huskies didn't deserve to have anything emphasized other than their pathetic effort.

But in a vacuum, Roscoe Smith's dunk was nasty. Really nasty.

But was it as good as these?

Weekend Recap, 2/2 - 2/5
Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State vs. TCU, 2/4
Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse vs. St. John's, 2/4
Kwame Alexander, Cal State-San Bernardino vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills (D-II), 2/3 (DotY Candidate)
Bradley Beal, Florida vs. South Carolina, 2/2
Doug Anderson, Detroit vs. Valparaiso, 2/2
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 2/1
Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

POSTERIZED: Weekend Recap

2012-02-06T21:25:00.000-05:00

It was a busy busy weekend. There were well over 150 games played on Saturday, and well, we all know what happened on Sunday. Unfortunately, we just couldn't get around to documenting all the great plays from the weekend, so we're gonna provide a quick summary of some of the great dunks that you probably missed.

Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Western Michigan, 2/4

Chris Evans is one of the nation's most elite rim-rockers. Consider him the "Tony Mitchell of the MAC", well except only without the indefinite suspensions. Seriously, if you see that there's a Kent State game been aired on TV, make sure you watch it, or record it. Just make sure you get the footage.

More dunks after the jump

Jon Henson, North Carolina vs. Maryland, 2/4

This is one of those "circumstantial #POSTERIZED" entries. This dunk wasn't too spectacular, but it occurred as the game-clock expired with his team up seven. There was no need for him to dunk this ball. I know he probably didn't think too much of it, but it comes off as extremely distasteful and very unsportsmanlike. And, the last place you want to piss students off is in College Park.

Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Ole Miss, 2/4

The Crimson Tide are trying to right the ship. they've won two straight games after dropping four in a row. During their most recent victory, a 69-67 double-OT win over Ole Miss, Tony "Mr. DVR" Mitchell threw down another highlight reel dunk. But since then, hes been suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team". As SBNation said so eloquently, the Tide have now lost 80% of their highlight reel video.

Devin Price and Chavaughn Lewis, Marist vs. Canisius, 2/4

Marist and Canisius have combined to win just four MAAC games, which is as many St. Peter's, the team in front of them in the standings, has. So you can imagine how shocking it is to see two #POSTERIZED entries featured during a game between the two. Thank God we have the technology available to be able forgo watching the entire game.

Carlos Emory, Oregon vs. Utah, 2/2

OK, OK. This dunk didn't go down this weekend, but it's still pretty #POSTERIZED worthy. Emory isn't even the best dunker on the team, that honor would go to Olu Ashaolu. But we've yet to see "Air Canada" throw down a dunk as nasty as this.

Roy Devyn Marble, Iowa vs. Minnesota, 2/1

OK, this one isn't from the weekend either, but it's legit. It's also a dunk from ROY DEVYN MARBLE. That's one of the best names in the country.

But was it as good as these?

Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State vs. TCU, 2/4
Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse vs. St. John's, 2/4
Kwame Alexander, Cal State-San Bernardino vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills (D-II), 2/3 (DotY Candidate)
Bradley Beal, Florida vs. South Carolina, 2/2
Doug Anderson, Detroit vs. Valparaiso, 2/2
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 2/1
Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

POSTERIZED: The FranklinSlam

2012-02-06T17:35:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was very busy, very hectic. Over 150 games were played on Saturday, and well, yesterday was SuperBowl Sunday. With all the games to watch, games to cover, and activities to participate in, there were going to be some things that slipped through the cracks.

This ridiculous reverse-put-back slam by San Diego State's Jamaal Franklin is one of those things that slipped through.

That's one helluva dunk. That's also a pretty pathetic display of weak-side box-out defense. I've heard that Franklin tend s to go by the nickname "Circus Time", and it seems like a rather appropriate name.

The Aztecs won the game 83-73 to move to 20-3 overall and 6-1 in the Mountain West Conference, one game ahead of UNLV, who they beat 69-67 at home on January 14th. The Aztecs will head to the Thomas & Mack Center this Saturday for a rematch with the Runnin' Rebels.

But was it as good as these?

Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse vs. St. John's, 2/4
Kwame Alexander, Cal State-San Bernardino vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills (D-II), 2/3 (DotY Candidate)
Bradley Beal, Florida vs. South Carolina, 2/2
Doug Anderson, Detroit vs. Valparaiso, 2/2
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 2/1
Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

Monday's Pregame Beat: UConn looks to rebound, Missouri tries to avoid trap game

2012-02-06T13:27:00.002-05:00

7:00 pm: UConn @ No. 25 Louisville: This is all of a sudden a huge game in the Big East. Louisville has turned their season around, winning four straight games, but they are still having some of the same issues they've had all year long. Namely, they aren't shooting the ball well and they are turning it over too much. UConn, on the other hand, finally earned a win against Seton Hall at home, ending a four game losing streak and, for the first time in weeks, looking like they actually cared about basketball. But that was Seton Hall at home with Herb Pope out. What happens on the road against a team on a roll?

7:00 pm: No. 4 Missouri @ Oklahoma: Missouri is coming off of a huge win against Kansas on Saturday night. Next Saturday, they host Baylor. In the middle, they have to make a trip to Oklahoma. Missouri is 3-2 on the road in league play this season. The last time they were in the Sooner State they lost to Oklahoma State. The ultimate trap game.

Other notable games:

- 9:00 pm: No. 15 Marquette @ DePaul
- 7:00 pm: Wofford @ Davidson
- 9:00 pm: Texas @ Texas A&M

College Hoops Week in Review: Tray Woodall and Miami make noise

2012-02-06T12:32:00.001-05:00

Player of the Week: Tray Woodall, Pitt

Pitt lost eight straight games this season. They started off Big East play with seven consecutive losses. They lost to Wagner. They lost to DePaul. They lost to Rutgers by 23 points at home. And despite all of that, the Panthers are all of a sudden a team that not only looks destined to be headed to the NCAA Tournament, they look like they actually deserve an at-large bid.

Why? Its simple: Tray Woodall. The talented Panther point guard missed an extended period of time in the middle of the season due to groin and abdominal injuries, but he returned to the lineup on January 21st. Pitt lost that game as Woodall was, quite evidently, working to get his bearings back. But since then, the Panthers have won four straight, including going into West Virginia and taking home the title in this year's Backyard Brawl. Woodall had 24 points and three assists. Then on Saturday, Woodall went for 29 points, six assists and five boards in a nine point win over Villanova.

I went back and watch the tape of Pitt prior to Woodall's and return and with him back, and there are a couple of differences. The first is that the Panthers are now able to break a press. Believe it or not, that was as big of an issue as any without him in the lineup, particularly against Marquette. More importantly, however, Woodall's return give Pitt a playmaker at the point that is capable of creating off of the dribble not just for himself, but for the rest of the team. Ashton Gibbs, when he is forced to go 1-on-1 off the dribble, can get a good look, but he's not going to be finding assists. Woodall is a much more dangerous player with the ball in his hands.

The All-They-Were-Good-Too Team:

- G: Damian Lillard, Weber State: The nation's leading scorer showed why he is such a dangerous offensive weapon this week. He went for 40 points and five assists in a win over Portland State and followed it up with 35 points and five assists against Northern Colorado, upping his scoring average to 25.5 ppg. What makes Lillard so dangerous is how efficient he is. Lillard's offensive rating is 130.3, which is an astounding number considering that he uses 31.7% of Weber State's possessions. Think about it like this: looking at every player in the country regardless of usage rate, Lillard is 12th in terms of efficiency. No one else in the top 20 uses more than 23.3% of their team's possessions. Only three players in the top 50 -- Jared Sullinger (25.9%), Doug McDermott (28.0%) and Isaiah Canaan (26.0%) -- use more than 23.9%.

This week, Lillard totaled his 75 points while shooting 25-36 (69.4%) from the floor and 11/17 (64.7%) from three with just five turnovers in 70 minutes. That's impressive.

- G: Kevin Murphy, Tennessee Tech: Lillard may be this season's scoring leader, but Murphy was this week's champ. On Monday night, the 6'6" guard went for 50 points, the most scored this season to day, on 16-21 shooting. On Thursday, Murphy followed that up with 33 points before finally closing out the week with a measly 23 point performance at Jacksonville State. If the 106 point aren't enough, Murphy shot 59.3% from the floor, hit 12-22 from three and added 7.0 rpg.

- F: Garrett Stutz, Wichita State: Don't look now, but Saturday's matchup between Wichita State and Creighton will be one of the most anticipated games of the season. Why? Because after the Bluejays got dropped on a buzzer-beating three on Saturday afternoon, the Shockers pulled back into a first-place tie in the MVC with them. And the biggest reason WSU has been able to make their run has been their biggest player. Stutz had 25 points and 11 boards in a win at Missouri State on Wednesday and followed that up with 24 points, 15 boards and five blocks as the Shockers outlasted Indiana State on Saturday night.

- F: Joshua Smith, UCLA: UCLA went just 1-1 on the week, with their one win coming against Washington State and their loss coming when they blew a late, 10 point lead against Washington. It wasn't exactly the greatest week for the Bruins. It was, however, arguably the best weekend that Smith has had in his collegiate career. He went for 24 points and nine boards against UW and followed that up with 19 points against Washington State. Its a shame that it takes a trip back to his native Seattle to get him motivated, but maybe tasting success keeps him motivated. When he wants to be, Smith is a top ten center in the country.

- C: Anthony Davis, Kentucky: What is there to say about Davis that hasn't already been said 100 times over? He's a freak. He's the most terrifying defensive force in the country. His presence around the rim makes the Wildcats one of the best defensive teams in the country, and that wouldn't change even if I was playing the two. His offense is starting to come around now as well. This week, in wins over Tennessee and South Carolina, Davis averaged 20.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 7.5 bpg.

Team of the Week: Miami Hurricanes

You might not have realized it on Sunday with that other game going on, but Miami landed a massive win that vaulted them into serious contention for the NCAA Tournament. The Hurricanes went into Cameron Indoor Stadium and knocked off the Blue Devils in overtime despite the fact that Malcolm Grant managed just one field goal on the day. Reggie Johnson went for 27 points and 12 boards, eight offensive, which led to a fourth straight win. Miami has also won five of their last six and nine of 12 since Reggie Johnson returned from him injury.

In fact, the biggest reason for Miami's turnaround is not necessarily Johnson's return. Well, it is, but what Johnson's presence inside has allowed is Kenny Kadji to get free up as a stretch-four on the perimeter. He's averaged 16.7 ppg and 6.7 rpg in the last 12 games and looks like one of the best four-men in the ACC. I do have concerns about Miami's back court -- they don't always make great decisions and Shane Larkin is a freshman running the point -- but this group looks like they can be in contention for a top four spot in the ACC.

Teams that deserve a shoutout:

Arizona: The Wildcats lost Kevin Parrom to a season-ending foot injury at the start of last week, a blow that had caused the majority of the Pac-12 watching public to all-but write them off this season. So what did Sean Miller's club do? Oh, they just went into Cal and knocked off the Bears and then went into Stanford and handled the Cardinal. No big deal. Arizona is still very much alive in the Pac-12 race.

Notre Dame: The Irish are back because the Burn Offense is back. After going into Hartford to knock off UConn, Notre Dame beat Marquette -- who just may be the second best team in the Big East -- by 17 points at home. They have now won four straight games, including a win over Syracuse, and have moved into sole possession of fourth place in the Big East. Who saw that coming? Mike Brey has to be at the top of a short list for National Coach of the Year right now.

Florida: Florida seems like one of those teams that no one is talking about right now. They are right on the edge of being in the top ten and, after beating Vanderbilt on Saturday, seem to have a pretty firm grip on second place in the SEC. They have a lottery pick in the middle and a ridiculous amount of talented spread across their perimeter. But this group still isn't being taken seriously, and that's probably because we all have visions of terrible shots from Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker dancing in our heads. Well, with Brad Beal starting to come into his own and Will Yegeute providing quite a dangerous defensive presence at the point of Florida's press, maybe we should start paying a bit more attention to this team.

Florida State: Yup, the Seminoles did it again. After rolling over Georgia Tech, FSU beat Virginia at home despite blowing a 15 point second half lead. The win keeps Florida State on pace with North Carolina at 7-1 in the ACC, a game in front of Duke and two games up on NC State, Miami and Virginia.

Yale: All the talk heading into this season in the Ivy League was that Penn and Princeton would be the two teams that would give Harvard their biggest test of the season. After this weekend, however, its Yale that is sitting all alone in second place in the league. Thanks to 44 points and 22 boards from big man Greg Mangano, the Elis took care of both Penn and Princeton at home. The bad news? Six of Yale's last eight games are on the road, including return trips to both Penn and Princeton and a rematch with Harvard, who beat Yale by 30 in New Haven.

Five Thoughts:

- Kansas and Missouri rivalry has to continue, but in time: There is so much to love about this rivalry, and with Missouri well on their way towards returning to national prominence, this intensity of this game will continue to grow. That said, there is no way that it happens immediately. If the Big 12 hadn't managed to survive -- which is still no guarantee for the future -- the Jayhawks would have been deciding between the remnants of the Big East, the Mountain West and the Missouri Valley for their conference affiliation. You'd be mad, too.

- Temple taking control of the Atlantic 10?: No conference in the country -- and that includes the Pac-12 -- is as big of a mess as the A-10 is right now. Just last week, there were 11 teams within a game of first place in the conference. As of today, there are six teams within a game and two more just two games out. But only one team -- Temple -- has a hold on first-place, and the Owls look like they are primed to run away with the league. They've won six in a row and now have starting center Michael Eric back in the mix.

- Iona needs to get better defensively: Thanks to two dominating offensive performances this week, the Gaels have moved into first-place in the MAAC. But as well as Iona can score the ball, they are going to be in trouble if they cannot figure out a way to get stops. The Gaels gave up 86 points to Canisius, who is 1-12 in MAAC play. Their two losses in league play were the result of blowing two separate 18 point leads. Its not difficult to imagine their season being cut short because of their inattentiveness to the defensive end of the floor.

- Colorado is still hanging around: I keep waiting for the bottom to fall out of the Buffalo's season, but this group just simply keeps on winning. This weekend they swept Oregon and Oregon State, moving into a tie for second place in the conference with Cal. They've now won five of their last six games. That said, the Buffs have done their damage at home. They are 7-0 in Boulder in league play and 1-3 on the road. The one win came against USC. Oh, and five of their last seven league games are away from home. It will be interesting to see if they can continue to perform at this level.

- Time for Northwestern's run?: We've been asking the question for so long that it seems almost silly to bring it back up again, but could this be Northwestern's year to make the dance? Last week, that idea would have seemed silly as the Wildcats were sitting in at 2-6 in Big Ten play. But after this past week, where the Wildcats beat Minnesota and knocked off Illinois on the road, this group still has a glimmer of hope left. They visit both Purdue and Indiana and get Michigan and Ohio State at home. They'll need to win at least two of those games for a chance.

VIDEO: Did Oregon get homered?

2012-02-05T11:35:00.002-05:00

And you thought Thomas Robinson's charge was the only episode of home-cooking on Saturday night.

Out in Boulder, Colorado was getting a friendly whistle of their own. With just a few seconds left on the clock, Oregon's Olu Ashaolu finished a layup off of a dish from Jonathon Loyd to tie the game at 71 with just a couple of seconds left on the clock. But he missed the free throw, allowing Colorado's Nate Tomlinson go dribble the length of the floor. He missed a shot at the other end, but the referees called EJ Singler for a foul with just 0.1 seconds left (start at the 1:00 mark):

The call sent Oregon head coach Dana Altman into a rage. On the video, you can see him trying to chase down the officials instead of going through the handshake lines. But he seemed to get his composure back the time he went to the press conferences, telling reporters that the call was "just part of the game."

The timing of the whistle was tough, but I don't think the referees necessarily made the wrong call. Singler fouled Tomlinson. If there were 10 minutes left in the game, no one would be disputing the call. The bigger issue seems to be that the whistle was blown after the buzzer sounded, which may be true. But the foul occurred with time left on the clock.

Let's put it like this: Colorado -- who moved to within a game of first-place Washington while dropping the Ducks two games off the pace -- caught a bit of a break, but there was certainly nothing egregious about this call.

When referees swallow their whistles to avoid affecting the outcome of a game, they affect the outcome of the game. A foul with 0.1 seconds left is a foul.

(h/t Jeff Eisenberg for the moving pictures)

Missouri beats Kansas after a controversial, 11-0 run to close the game

2012-02-05T01:10:00.000-05:00

This season has featured a change to the block/charge rule.

In an effort to prevent weak-side defenders from planting themselves under the rim to try and draw a charge, the NCAA has put in a charge circle. Its not quite as far out as the NBA's charge circle, but its there, and its something new that college refs have to pay attention too. As much as in any season that I can remember, people have been complaining about the inconsistency of this call in the college game, and the thinking is that it is because the refs aren't used to having to determine where a player's feet are at the same time they have to decide if that player is in good defensive position.

Why am I bringing this up?

Because the talk of Missouri's come-from-behind, 74-71 win over Kansas on Saturday night is going to be a questionable charging call on Thomas Robinson. The call came after Marcus Denmon scored a tough, and-one layup to cut the Jayhawk's lead to 71-66. Robinson drove the lane to his right hand and spun back to his left, making contact with Steve Moore on the spin as he knocked down a floater in the lane. Instead of having the chance to answer Denmon's and-one with one of his own, the basket was waved off and Missouri headed in the other direction.

On the ensuing possession, Denmon hit a tough three curling off of an in-screen. After Missouri regained possession on a Tyshawn Taylor turnover, Denmon buried another three, this time from deep in the corner with a hand in his face. All of a sudden, instead of shooting a free throw to take an eight point lead, Kansas found themselves down one with less than a minute left in the game.

That's a helluva swing.

And it will be easy for Kansas fans the blame this loss on that call, not to mention a similar charge that was called on Taylor with 42 seconds left in the game and Kansas trailing by a point.

But pinning the final result of this game on a little bit of home-cooking would be unfair and incorrect, because the fact of the matter is that, in the final two minutes, Missouri executed and Kansas didn't. The Jayhawk's final six possessions included four turnovers, two missed free throws and a prayer from Elijah Johnson that hit nothing but backboard after he passed up an open look at a game-tying three. That's not the kind of late-game execution that wins you basketball games.

More importantly, despite a sensational first half from Taylor where he scored 17 of his 21 points and 25 points and 13 boards from Robinson, the Jayhawk's lost. Why? Those pesky turnovers. Taylor and Robinson combined for 11, which is far too many when you consider how much of a role those two play in Bill Self's offensive attack.

That said, those turnovers and Denmon's heroics overshadowed the fact that Missouri lost their composure a bit in the second half.

One of the biggest reasons that Missouri has been this successful thus far this year has been their ability to attack in transition when they have numbers and recognize when there is no advantage to be had, pulling the ball out and running offense in the half court. They didn't do that for much of the second half. Whether is was ill-advised passes, forced penetration into the paint or poor shot-selection with a lot of time left on the shot clock, the Tigers allowed Kansas to take control of the game.

It seemed like the Tigers allowed the moment to get to them. With how much this game meant to the fans and the players of both teams, there was so much emotion in Mizzou Arena. When Kansas made their surge and took seven and eight point leads, the Tigers were trying to get it all back in one possession. The same thing happened in the loss at Oklahoma State.

And that's concerning. As good as Denmon is, he's not going to score 29 points -- or nine points in the span of a minute -- every time the Tigers find themselves in a hole. He's not going to be able to bail the Tigers out in every game they play with a raucous atmosphere where the other team makes a run. With home dates left against Baylor, Kansas State and Iowa State and a return trip to the Phog -- which will be as anticipated as any game this season -- in their future, Missouri is going to have plenty of games on national television with plenty on the line. They cannot get flustered in the second half.

They cannot wait for Denmon to come rescue them.

But it sure is nice knowing that he can if he has to.

VIDEO: Wild finish in Northern Iowa's upset win over Creighton

2012-02-04T19:28:00.000-05:00

Before I say anything, just watch:

Awesome.

What's it mean? Well, Creighton -- who is all but ensured a trip to the NCAA Tournament already -- will now be tied with Wichita State atop the MVC standings should the Shockers knock off Indiana State later tonight. Guess what happens next Saturday -- Creighton hosts Wichita State. Clear your schedule.

(h/t Matty Numbers for the moving pictures)

Ohio State’s two-man show leads them to a win at Wisconsin

2012-02-04T17:26:00.002-05:00

Want to hear a crazy stat?

Before this season, Bo Ryan had lost just 11 games at the Kohl Center while head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers. His record in Big Ten play? 78-6. In ten years.

This season has been a completely different story, however. Thanks to Ohio State's 58-52 win on Saturday afternoon, the Badgers have now lost four times at the Kohl Center, with three of them coming during Big Ten play. Think about that. We're not even two-thirds of the way through the conference season and the Badgers have already lost half as many conference home games as they did in the last decade.

Today's loss put Wisconsin is a major hole in the Big Ten title race. They are now sitting a game and a half behind the Buckeyes, two games in the loss column. That puts them in fourth place for now (they'll be, at worst, tied for third pending the outcome of second place Michigan taking on third place Michigan State tomorrow) with an 0-3 record against the top three teams. If that's not enough, the Badgers still have to play at Michigan State and make a return trip to Columbus, and while it may be easy to say Wisconsin is a better road team than home team this season, they did lose to Michigan 59-41 on the road.

The math says its unlikely Wisconsin makes a late-season run, regardless of what Kenpom tells us.

What happened on the court backs that line of thinking up.

As expected, this was an ugly game from the moment the ball was tipped. Wisconsin has an innate ability to do that to a basketball game. They play as slow and patient as anyone in the country, and they don't attack the offensive glass all that hard, making it difficult to get out on the break with numbers. The Badgers are also the second-best defensive team in the country in terms of efficiency, which means that without the benefit of easy transition buckets, every point you get against Wisconsin is going to be earned through offensive execution.

But Ohio State isn't too shabby, either. They are actually leading the country in defensive efficiency, and while they prefer to get out and run more than the Badgers do, this group can thrive in the half court. Ask Michigan, who lost 64-49 to the Buckeyes in a 59 possession game.

The Buckeyes didn't have a bench player even attempt a single field goal. Starters Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith went just 2-5 from the floor, combining for seven points. William Buford had 11 points, but he shot 4-15 from the field. That leaves Jared Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas, Ohio State's starting front court. This was, quite literally, a two-man show for Ohio State and Wisconsin could do nothing to stop it.

Sullinger finished with 24 points (16 coming in the first half) and 10 boards. Thomas had 16 points and six boards. They combined for more than half of Ohio State's rebounds -- all of the their offensive rebounds -- and more than two-thirds of the scoring. Wisconsin simply had no answer inside.

But we knew they would have no answer. We knew they had no interior presence. Wisconsin makes up for that with the three ball and Jordan Taylor. But Taylor was controlled today by Craft -- I say controlled because he finished with a tough 12 points and six assists but three turnovers -- while the Badgers shot 5-27 from three. When they don't shoot well, they don't win games.

The Badgers have lost six games on the season. In those six games, they are shooting 22.9% (33-144) from three. In their 18 wins, the Badgers are 40.7% (146-359) from deep.

If Wisconsin has any hopes of making a run at the Big Ten crown, they better figure out a way to become more consistent shooting the three.

POSTERIZED: Three Names, One Dunk

2012-02-04T16:45:00.000-05:00

Syracuse freshman Michael Carter-Williams was highly-touted coming out of St. Andrew's School in Rhode Island. He figured to be a key contributor for the 'Cuse this season. unfortunately, the Orange feature one of the deepest rosters of the last decade, so M-C-W hasn't had a lot of opportunities to show off what he's capable.

But during Syracuse's rout of St. John's on Saturday, Carter-Williams got some playing time, and made the most of it.

Cue the footage.

I think this might be why he was so highly-coveted coming out of high school. Just imagine what it's going to be like when this kid can see the floor for more than 15-minutes a game.

But was it as good as these?

Kwame Alexander, Cal State-San Bernardino vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills (D-II), 2/3
Bradley Beal, Florida vs. South Carolina, 2/2
Doug Anderson, Detroit vs. Valparaiso, 2/2
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 2/1
Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

POSTERIZED: Cal State-Posterized

2012-02-04T15:05:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the best #POSTERIZED dunks come from the most unlikely of places. We all saw what happened during the SWAC game last weekend between Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Grambling State.

Today, I bring you remarkable video from D-II hoops.

On Friday night during a CCAA (California Collegiate Athletic Association) game between Cal State-San Bernardino and Cal State-Dominguez Hills, Kwame Anderson, a junior forward for CSUSB brought down the house.

Former-Youngstown State forward Tre' Brewer got the ball in transition and lobbed an alley-oop pass towards the basket for Alexander to finish. But I don't think anybody in the building, even the state thought they would see what happened next.

Alexander literally brought down the house. I haven't see this happen since the theatrical release of Kazaam.

CSUSB won the game 67-47, but I don't think anybody is going to be talking about the final score.

But was it as good as these?

Bradley Beal, Florida vs. South Carolina, 2/2
Doug Anderson, Detroit vs. Valparaiso, 2/2
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 2/1
Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

Maybe, just maybe, Calhoun's leave could be the turning point for UConn

2012-02-04T14:29:00.000-05:00

For what feels like the tenth straight season, UConn head coach Jim Calhoun's health will force him to miss time. Calhoun, who is 70 years old, has a painful condition known as spinal stenosis that was aggravated on UConn's trip to DC to play Georgetown this week. This isn't something new, either. Calhoun strongly considered getting surgery when he was suspended for three games at the start of Big East play.

UConn made the announcement on Friday afternoon, and the overwhelming sentiment was that this could end up being the beginning of the end of Calhoun's career. He's 70. His health has been less than ideal over the last decade. And, after a disastrous performance against Georgetown extended UConn's losing streak to four games and dropped them to 4-5 in Big East play, Calhoun looks like he may finally be regretting returning to coach again instead of riding off into the sunset as a national champion after last season.

If that wasn't bad enough, every analyst in the country seemed to be throwing in the towel on the UConn season.

The Huskies are a team with a chronic lack of leadership, a group that simply does not appear to hold each other accountable for their mistakes. Should we really expect the Huskies to become less dysfunctional when their fiery head coach, who couldn't get anyone on this team to replace Kemba Walker's leadership in the first place, has to leave the team?

But despite having their coach watching the game couch side and even with Andre Drummond buried on the bench early with two fouls, UConn easily handled a short-handed Seton Hall team 69-46. Beating the Pirates, who have now lost six straight games, without Herb Pope is already an impressive achievement, but it does allow us to question whether Calhoun's leave could end up being a good thing for UConn.

The biggest of UConn's problems are fixable -- they aren't playing with any effort or urgency, seeming to be more worried about how much time they spend on the being (Alex Oriakhi) and how they are shooting the basketball (Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb). Talent isn't the problem for UConn; as Calhoun said after the loss to Georgetown, its "their will and their want". And what better way to convince the defending national champions to play hard and play for each other than to present them with the very real possibility of missing the NCAA Tournament.

Oriakhi is the elder statesmen on this team, but he's spent too much time this season sulking about his playing time; UConn's best lineup is when Andre Drummond is the center and either Tyler Olander or Roscoe Smith joins him in the front court. Oriakhi has had a tough time going from arguably the most valuable non-Kemba UConn player last season to a role player and the second-best option at his position.

But against Seton Hall, Oriakhi had 10 points and eight boards, making some impressive post moves -- one of the first times he showed aggression this season -- and playing as well as he has all year long. This came a day after he called a player's only meeting to let his team know just how much it hurts to miss the NCAA Tournament. "I told guys if I'm not playing I'll be biggest cheerleader. I just want to win," Oriakhi said on Saturday. UConn also got 19 points, five assists and four steals from the dynamic Ryan Boatright, who looked like a much more dangerous playmaker than he did in his first game back from a second suspension this season.

Some of UConn's issues were still quite evident on Saturday. They turned the ball over 16 times. They shot 2-13 from three. Jeremy Lamb was just 3-10 from the floor and Shabazz Napier, while snapping an 0-18 shooting slump, was just 1-6 from the field.

The answer clearly isn't known yet, but the question has to be asked: can Calhoun's leave be the turning point for the UConn season?

POSTERIZED: The Real Beal

2012-02-03T21:08:00.000-05:00

I thought Florida freshman Bradley Beal was nothing more than a standout perimeter player. I was wrong.

But I guess when you play on a team where everybody wants to take the first shot they see, you have to be able to do stuff like this:

DUDE!

That was kinda awesome.

But was it as good as these?

Doug Anderson, Detroit vs. Valparaiso, 2/2Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 2/1
Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

Previewing your college hoops weekend: The final year of The Border War?

2012-02-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

Game of the Weekend: Sat. 9:00 pm: No. 8 Kansas @ No. 4 Missouri

Let's put this game in a vacuum. Let's pretend that Missouri hasn't turned into a top five team and that Kansas has struggled this season with their two-man attack. This game would still be must-see TV. Why? Because this could be the last time that these two teams meet in Mizzou Arena for a long time. The Border War is one of the most heated rivalries in the country, but with Missouri's decision to head to the SEC next season, what little friendliness existed between the two schools is all but gone. The environment at this game is guaranteed to be absolutely electric, a fact that is only going to be magnified by Gameday's appearance in Columbia.

But this game doesn't occur in a vacuum. The fact of the matter is that these are two of the best teams in the country, with both having legitimate Final Four aspirations. That is sure to make things even more intense.

The intrigue is this game is heightened by the differing styles between the two teams. Simply put, Kansas is going to have a mismatch inside on every single possession. Its no secret that Missouri runs a four-guard lineup, using 6'6" shooter Kim English at the power forward spot. No matter who he ends up guarding -- National Player of the Year candidate Thomas Robinson or seven-foot center Jeff Withey -- Missouri is going to have issues matching up with the Jayhawks inside.

But the flip side of that is Missouri will have a mismatch of their own. Will Bill Self risk tiring out his star by having him chase English around the perimeter? Will he risk putting a less-mobile Withey on English? Will Self be forced to go small? Will Haith be forced to go big?

My pick: I'm taking Missouri. I think that the Tiger's ball pressure defensively is going to force Tyshawn Taylor into too many turnovers and that Marcus Denmon is finally going to break out of this shooting slump.

Five more to keep an eye on:

Sat. 11:00 am: South Florida @ No. 14 Georgetown: It feels weird saying this, but this game could actually end up being quite important in the Big East standings. The way things are today, Georgetown is sitting all alone in third place, a half game up on South Florida, who is tied with Notre Dame one game behind the Hoyas in the win column. The Hoyas got Hollis Thompson going on Wednesday night against UConn, but save for a four minute stretch in the second half, Henry Sims had another tough game. He needs to get things turned around for the stretch run.

Sat. 1:00 pm: Vanderbilt @ No. 11 Florida: The way it looks like right, these are the two teams that are fighting for the right to be considered Kentucky's biggest challenger in the SEC. Florida is coming off of a less-than-inspiring Thursday night win over South Carolina where Patric Young, who looked like he was getting over a nagging ankle injury the past week, was a limited factor. Florida is going to need Young to battle with Festus Ezeli inside. The perimeter battle between these two teams should be quite entertaining. Will Kenny Boynton go back to shooting like John Jenkins -- which he did in non-conference play -- or Kenny Boynton -- which he's done for the entirety of the rest of his career.

Sat. 1:00 pm: No. 18 Virginia @ No. 24 Florida State: Raise your hand if you like high-scoring basketball. If your hand is currently raised, then grab the remote and find out what channel this game is on. Now set your TV to make sure that channel is blocked for this two-hour time-block, because if Leonard Hamilton and Tony Bennett have their way, this game will look like the slop-fest that was Michigan State and Illinois. While this may not be a pretty game on the eyes, it is quite important in the ACC race. Florida State is tied with Duke and UNC at the top of the ACC while the Cavs are sitting one game behind those three.

Sat. 1:00 pm: Xavier @ Memphis: I don't think that its a stretch to say that these are the two best non-BCS programs in the country, but neither of them are having the kind of season that they had hoped. Memphis looks like they have started to turn things around, but they are still sitting a game out of first place in the CUSA race. Xavier, on the other hand, appears to be a completely different team than they were at the start of the season. This isn't a league game, but the bubble implications are huge.

Sat. 2:00 pm: No. 3 Ohio State @ No. 20 Wisconsin: You guys remember what happened the last time these two teams got together in the Kohl Center? This did. That game was a similar situation as well: Ohio State was the favorite in the Big Ten and Wisconsin was trying to prove to the nation they deserve to be in the conversation. The Badgers are going to have a very difficult time dealing with Jared Sullinger and they definitely aren't the same team without the consistency that came with Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil. That said, despite early season struggles, Wisconsin is a tough team to beat at home, especially if their back court is shooting well.

Sun. 1:00 pm: No. 10 Michigan State @ No. 22 Michigan: Will he or won't he? Draymond Green, that is. He left the Spartan's Tuesday night game against Illinois with a knee injury, one bad enough that he couldn't put any weight on it the rest of the game. Will he be available just five days after that? Without him, Michigan State not only loses their leader, but a facilitator in their offense and one of their best offensive rebounders.

Who's getting upset?: Sat. 1:45 pm: No. 6 Baylor @ Oklahoma State

Yeah, I know. This seems kind of silly. The last time these two got together, Baylor won. By a lot. 106-65 to be exact. And given that Oklahoma State has lost four of their last six -- which includes a 15 point loss to a Texas A&M team that was missing 60% of their starting lineup -- its not exactly like they are an underdog making a late-season surge. One of those two wins came against Texas Tech, who hasn't won a game in league play yet. The other? Against Missouri at home. This game against Baylor? Its at home.

The issue with Oklahoma State is that they don't always come to play. Its not like they don't have the talent, because they do. Its an issue of effort. When they play up to their potential -- which is a much easier thing to do when a rocking Gallagher-Iba Arena is backing them -- they can win games. I think they'll show up to play.

Who is on upset watch?:

Sat. 1:00 pm: No. 15 Marquette @ Notre Dame: Notre Dame has gone back to the Burn Offense, and its worked of late. The Irish are coming off of wins over Syracuse, Seton Hall and UConn because of it. What makes it so effective is that the Irish have two very talented playmakers in their back court in Eric Atkins and Jerian Grant, a quality big man in Jack Cooley and a number of solid role players. But more importantly, they have a roster full of kids that have bought into this system and are willing to sacrifice stats for wins. Marquette is sitting a game above the Irish in the loss column. A win here and Notre Dame will climb into fourth place in the Big East.

Sat. 4:00 pm: No. 13 UNLV @ Wyoming: Wyoming is a much improved team this season, riding USC transfer Leonard Washington to a 17-5 record. They've struggled of late however, losing two of their last three games to fall to 3-3 in the MWC. We all know how tough it is to win games on the road in league play. I've been to Laramie, WY. Its not exactly ... happening.

Sat. 4:00 pm: No. 6 UNC @ Maryland: When Maryland is right, the Comcast Center is one of the toughest places in the country to play. The problem is that its been a while since the Terps have been right, but that doesn't mean the place doesn't fill up when the right opponent comes to town. UNC is the right opponent. Maryland is going to need a bit of luck for that to happen -- Terrell Stoglin will have to shoot the ball well and Maryland's front line is going to have to play their best game of the season.

Sat. 5:00 pm: No. 12 Creighton @ Northern Iowa: The Panthers came into MVC play with fairly high expectations, including an outside chance at an at-large bid. Unfortunately, their success was short-lived; UNI has lost seven of their first 12 league games. That said, the Panthers have a bit of a chip on their shoulder in this one. Creighton's player of the year candidate? Doug McDermott? He was supposed to be a Panther.

Sat. 7:00 pm: No. 20 Indiana @ Purdue: Would this even count as an upset? Purdue is 5-4 in Big Ten play. Indiana is 5-6. Purdue is great at home. Indiana stinks on the road. But Indiana is ranked, Purdue isn't and this is an intense rivalry. That makes it count as an upset, right? No?

Mid-major matchup of the Weekend: Sat. 5:00 pm: Old Dominion @ George Mason

On Wednesday night, George Mason lost at Delaware. On Thursday night, Old Dominion knocked off James Madison. That means that there is now a four-way tie for first place in the CAA.

Five more to keep an eye on:

Fri. 7:00 pm: Belmont @ Lipscomb: Round two of the Battle of the Boulevard.

Sat. 7:00 pm: Iona @ Manhattan: The MAAC has been as competitive as any mid-major league in the country this season. Guess who the top two teams in the league are?

Sat. 8:30 pm: Oral Roberts @ North Dakota State: On Thursday night, Oral Roberts went into South Dakota State and lost, putting them just a game up on the Jackrabbits in the Summit League standings. NDSU is currently sitting in third place in the league.

Friday's Shootaround: Pac-12 excitement, St. Mary's pulls ahead

2012-02-03T06:58:00.000-05:00

No. 9 Murray State 81, SEMO 73: See here.

The Pac-12: Since the Pac-12 has such a terrible TV and I spent the last three weeks on the road, tonight was the first night that I have actually been able to sit down and watch some Pac-12 basketball. It also happened to be arguably the best night of Pac-12 basketball this season. I think I'm spoiled.

- Washington 71, UCLA 69: Washington overcame a late 10 point deficit as Terrence Ross scored 10 of UW's final 12 points down the stretch to knock off UCLA and move into sole possession of first place in the Pac-12. Perhaps more importantly, Washington was able to make their run while Tony Wroten was stuck on the bench. Wahsington's talented freshman came up lame midway through the second half, turning him into a liability on defense and hampering his explosiveness offensively.

We also finally got a chance to see just how good Joshua Smith is capable of being when he decides to play. The Washington native went for a career-high 24 points against the Huskies. The problem with Smith finally being motivated against Washington? It shouldn't take a hometown crowd for him to be motivated. He needs to play like that at all times.

- Arizona 78, Cal 74: Playing their first game without Kevin Parrom, who broke his foot last week, the Wildcats put together their most impressive performance of the season. After digging themselves a 22-9 hole, Arizona went on a 33-10 run. Over one stretch, the Wildcats hit 19 of 23 shots from the field. But Cal fought back from as much as 14 points down, eventually pulling even two possessions after Jorge Gutierrez and an Arizona assistant got into a bit of a scrap. In the end, however, Kyle Fogg was too much. He hit a big three to break the tie and block a potential game-tying three from Allen Crabbe.

This win was huge for Arizona. It keeps them relevant and it makes a statement. Avoiding a collapse on the road with a roster that young is a big deal. But the Cal loss is a bad thing for the Pac-12. The Bears probably have the best chance to earn an at-large bid of anyone in the conference, and the best chance of that happening would be for them to pull away from the Pac-12 pack. They had a chance to do that on Thursday but missed out.

- Colorado 82, Oregon State 60
- Oregon 79, Utah 68
- Stanford 68, Arizona State 44
- Washington State 60, USC 53

No. 5 Duke 75, Virginia Tech 60: Coach K implemented some changes heading into this game, both on the court (Seth Curry came off the bench in favor of Tyler Thornton) and off it (a ban on social media and a bus trip to Blacksburg instead of a chartered jet). It worked. Duke used a 13-2 run at the end of the first half to take control of the game and Austin Rivers -- who finished with 18 points, five assists and five boards - played as well as he has all season long.

No. 24 St. Mary's 84, San Diego 73: Rob Jones had 28 points and eight boards and Stephen Holt added 23 points as the Gaels maintained control of the WCC with a come-from-behind win over the Toreros. USD was up 42-38 at the break. The bigger news for St. Mary's is this:

BYU 83, Gonzaga 73: BYU thoroughly dominated the Zags from the tip, opening a lead as big as 19 points in the second half, as they forced 19 turnovers and collected 14 steals. Noah Hartsock led the way with 24 points and 14 boards. The Gonzaga loss means that St. Mary's now has a two game lead over the rest of the pack in the WCC.

Nevada 53, Utah State 52: Deonte Burton hit an off-balance three with 11.2 seconds left in the game to knock off a scrappy Aggie team. The Wolf Pack remain undefeated in WAC play and still have slim hopes of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Old Dominion 80, James Madison 71: Kent Bazemore led six scorers in double figures with 19 points and Chris Cooper went for 22 boards as the Monarchs as they pulled into a first place tie in the Colonial with VCU, GMU and Drexel.

Middle Tennessee State 68, North Texas 66: Marcos Knight had 19 points and the Blue Raiders used a 25-6 run to close the first half and open up a 10 point lead. They pushed that lead to 15 before UNT made a furious run down the stretch to make the game interesting. MTSU is still undefeated in Sun Belt play and has a chance to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

South Dakota State 75, Oral Roberts 60: The Jackrabbits moved to within a game of first place in the Summit League with an impressive win over Oral Roberts, getting revenge for an earlier loss in Tulsa. Nate Wolters led the way with 24 points and nine assists.

Iona 105, Canisius 86: Momo Jones had 43 points and Scott Machado added 14 points and 14 assists as the Gaels kept pace with Manhattan atop the MAAC standings.

Other notable scores:

- No. 11 Florida 74, South Carolina 66
- LIU 75, Bryant 70
- UNC-Asheville 89, VMI 86
- Weber State 92, Portland State 79

I'd like to welcome y'all to The Murray State Show

2012-02-03T04:51:00.000-05:00

On Thursday night, Murray State overcame a double-digit deficit at home to knock of Southeast Missouri State 81-73, keeping their record unblemished and the dream of a perfect season alive.

But having to overcome a double-digit deficit against a team like Southeast Missouri State isn't exactly the way to prove to the country that an unblemished record is anything more than happenstance. Murray State plays in the Ohio Valley, a league that isn't exactly known for one-and-done freshmen and fielding Final Four favorites. Murray State's three marquee wins this season? The two teams -- Southern Miss and Memphis -- currently battling for the regular season title in what may end up being a one-bid Conference USA and the Dayton Flyers, whose season has been more of a roller coaster ride than a night out with Lindsey Lohan.

As of today -- Friday, Feb. 3rd -- Murray State is sitting 10th in the AP top 25 poll. If the season ended today, the Racers would probably be looking at a five seed, give or take a seed line, in the NCAA Tournament.

I think we can all agree that the Racers aren't one of the top 10 teams in the country. We can also probably agree on the fact that whichever 12 seed draws the Racers in the first round will be looking at a pretty favorable matchup.

In simpler terms, Murray State is overrated, and you probably won't find many people that will argue that fact.

But that's not the point.

Let me ask you this question: in the last five years, how many regular season Ohio Valley games have you watched? I'm not talking about the five conference championship games that have been broadcast on ESPN in that time frame or the seven games NCAA Tournament games -- including wins by Murray State and Morehead State in 2009 and 2011, respectively -- a league member has participated in.

I'm talking regular season conference games.

You're number probably isn't that high even if you are a college basketball junky.

But on Thursday night, everyone was tuned into what turned out to be a fantastic game between the Racers and the Redhawks. Everyone got a chance to see the Racers make a tremendous second half run, sparked by a flurry of deep threes from aptly named star guard Isaiah Canaan. Literally, everyone.

Yahoo's lead college hoops scribe Pat Forde was tuned in. He tweeted "Isaiah Canaan is a bad man." ESPN's Dana O'Neil was watching, as she tweeted "Anyone still doubting talent of Murray St., please watch Isaiah Canaan right now and correct your opinion." Jeff Goodman of CBSSports said "Isaiah Canaan owned this game when it mattered. Love this kid more and more every time I see him." Seth Davis of SI.com was the most prolific Murray State tweeter, reeling off 14 Murray State related tweets during the game.

To get an idea of the kind of national attention Murray State commanded, think about this: their game was played at 8:00 pm, which happened to overlap the end of Duke's trip to Virginia Tech and the start of a Pac-12 battle between UCLA and Washington and Florida hosting South Carolina. Care to venture how many times those four scribes commented on those three games?

Once.

And that right there is why this Murray State team and their run towards an undefeated regular season matters.

How good they are is irrelevant. Whether or not they are ranked too high or will end up overseeded on Selection Sunday is besides the point. Focusing on what's wrong with this team completely ignores the fact that this group is everything that's right about college basketball.

One day, if he's lucky, Canaan may have a shot at making an NBA roster. Maybe. The rest of these guys will be lucky if they are able to carve out a career for themselves in a professional league in some obscure country in Europe. This team isn't about draft standing. These aren't McDonald's all-americans that have spent the entirety of their adolescence under the microscope of talent evaluators nation wide.

This is a group of kids living out a dream season in front of our eyes.

Every time Murray State steps on the floor they will be playing a team in their biggest game of the season. They are going to get every opponent's best shot. Win and you will be all over Sportscenter and written about on every college basketball outlet in the country. We saw that on Thursday as the Redhawks played one heckuva of a basketball game.

But Murray State, and the Canaan show, was simply too much. And you know what? It was great to watch. It was fun. Its what being a fan is all about.

Instead of complaining about what Murray State isn't, we all need to sit back and appreciate what this team is.

An incredible story, one that is going to be must-see TV for the rest of the season.

Save your complaints for Selection Sunday, the only day they will actually matter. Until then, do like the rest of us -- sit back and enjoy the show. Who knows when we will ever see one like it again.

POSTERIZED: MR.. (Doug) ANDERSON!!!!!!

2012-02-02T22:47:00.000-05:00

Detroit's Doug Anderson can dunk, that's for sure.

True, he hasn't made #POSTERIZED before tonight, but it's not because a lack of trying. He just struggled to be in the right place at the right time.

But against Valpo, he got the ball with some space to work.

And, well, he did work.

If only he could have grabbed the P.A Announcer's mic and yelled "MIIIIIIIIIIISSSSTER ANNNNNNNNNNNNNDERRRRSON"

Regardless if he screams or not, this is still one helluva dunk.

But was it as good as these?

Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Oklahoma, 2/1
Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

POSTERIZED: Yeah, it's best you not stand in Thomas Robinson's way

2012-02-02T13:15:00.000-05:00

If not for the unearthing last night of Savalace Townsend's world-destroying dunk, this is probably the dunk we'd all be talking about.

Thomas Robinson is a physical specimen. I dare you to try and find me a current NCAA basketball player that's more chiseled than he is. You won't find one. The 6-foot-10 power forward isn't just a force on the low block. he can step out and play on the perimeter.

And by that I mean, take a running start from the 3-point arc and destroy everything in his path.

Luckily, all the Oklahoma defenders were smart enough to get out of his way.

The guys at Oklahoma have clearly watched the film from Major League 2.

"Welcome to the big leagues, Hayseed. Next time, don't stand on the tracks when the train's coming through."

- Jack Parkman

But was it as good as these?

Markel Brown, Oklahoma state vs. Texas Tech, 1/31
Royce White, Iowa State vs. Kansas State, 1/31
Savalace Townsend, Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Grambling State, 1/28 (DotY Candidate)
Weekend Recap, 1/25 - 1/29
Tony Wroten Jr., Washington vs. Arizona State, 1/26 (DotY Candidate)
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Dayton, 1/25
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri, 1/25 (DotY Candidate)
Larry Nance Jr., Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 1/24
Dion Dixon, Cincinnati vs. Syracuse, 1/23
Victor Rudd Jr., South Florida vs. St. John's, 1/17 (DotY Candidate)
C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
TrayVonn Wright, North Dakota State vs. South Dakota, 1/14
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

Thursday's Shootaround: SDSU survives, Southern Miss takes control of CUSA

2012-02-02T10:31:00.001-05:00

No. 14 Georgetown 58, UConn 44: See here.

No. 12 San Diego State 58, Boise State 56: On Saturday afternoon, San Diego State was drilled by Colorado State, losing by 17 in a game that was never much in doubt after the first 10 minutes. On Wednesday, the Aztecs did everything they could to try and earn their second straight upset loss. They shot just 31.3% from the floor. They went just 3-19 from three. They got behind by as much as 12 points in the second half. And after using a 22-3 run to take a seven point lead with six minutes left, the Aztecs nearly blew it. On the game's final possession, Boise State, who was only down two after Chase Tapley missed a free throw, somehow managed to find a wide-open Thomas Bropleh, but his three was off the mark.

That's called escaping.

There are a couple of things to take out of this game. For starters, this is the second time that Boise has given a league favorite a run for their money; they took UNLV to overtime earlier this season. And while their record in league play may not be all that pretty (0-6 rarely is), this is a young group that is still learning to play at the collegiate level. I'd put money on the Broncos pulling off a couple of upsets before the season is over and really making a name for themselves next year.

The mark of a good team is that they are able to win games when they don't play their best basketball, and if this game showed us anything, its that SDSU is apparently a good team. They do, however, need to get this slump figured out. Steve Fisher's team is guard-oriented this season, which means that there are going to be some games where the Aztecs cannot buy a jumpshot. They cannot, however, allow one bad game to beget another.

No. 13 UNLV 82, Colorado State 63: Perhaps the only people rooting for Bropleh's game-winner to drop more than Boise State fans were UNLV fans. Had the Broncos knocked off the Aztecs, than UNLV's 19 point win over Colorado State would have moved the Rebels into first place in the MWC. Anthony Marshall and Oscar Bellfield combined to go for 29 points, 13 assists and just four turnovers as UNLV shot 50% from the floor and hit nine threes in a game that was never really in doubt.

This loss adds more credence to the notion that UNLV is the best team in the conference, not SDSU. The Aztecs lost to Colorado State by 17. UNLV beat them by 19. That's a big difference, although neither team was as impressive as New Mexico in their 33 point win over the Rams. Maybe Colorado State is simply team schizophrenia.

No. 6 Baylor 63, Texas A&M 60: Pierre Jackson is a bit of a polarizing figure in college basketball circles. Some love him as a player, others simply love his athletic ability and some believe he is going to eventually be the downfall of Baylor's team this season. All are fair perspectives. Jackson is a ridiculous athlete with the ability to do some incredible things on a basketball court, but there are times where he buys into his own hype too much. When he plays as Pierre Jackson, he's great. When he tries to be Steve Francis, he struggles. Its that simple.

But the one thing that no one can disagree with is his ability in the clutch. He's proven time and time again that he's a player that can be trusted with the ball in his hands at the end of a game. On Wednesday, he hit a three with 17 seconds left to put Baylor up 61-60 and followed that up with two free throws after Elston Turner missed a tough fadeaway jumper. (Jump to the 2:45 mark):

Its the fourth time this season that Jackson has made a play in the final minute that has won a game or forced overtime. Against BYU, his block of a Brandon Davies' three saved the game. Against West Virginia, he forced OT with a three. And in a win over Mississippi State, he scored the game-winning bucket on a driving layup in the final minute.

No. 22 Michigan 68, No. 20 Indiana 56: Stop me if you've heard this before: Indiana lost on the road to a quality opponent. This game was eerily similar to the loss the Hoosiers had at Michigan State earlier in the season. The Wolverines jumped out to a 13-0 lead and led by as much as 20 in the first half, but the Hoosiers came storming back. They got within two points late in the second half, but Stu Douglass and Tim Hardaway, Jr., hit back-to-back threes to push the lead back up to eight points. The win moved Michigan into a tie with Wisconsin for second place in the league, one game behind Ohio State in the loss column and one game ahead of Michigan State in the win column. Trey Burke led the way with 18 points, four boards and four assists.

Southern Miss 75, Memphis 72: In one of the best games of the night -- a game that didn't actually get on the air until midway through the first half thanks to a high school football all-star game -- Southern Miss won their 16th game in the last 17 outings, taking over sole possession of first place in the Conference USA standings. Darnell Dodson had 23 points and Neil Watson added 17 as USM did everything they could down the stretch to give the game back to Memphis. Chris Crawford missed a decent look at a three as time expired, however, the first time Southern Miss has beaten the Tigers in 18 tries. Its worth noting that, when USM lost to Memphis, it was because the Golden Eagles missed a three at the buzzer to win it. Can we get a grudge match?

Texas-Arlington 67, Texas-San Antonio 66: LaMarcus Reed scored 24 points as UTA christened their new arena with a win that moved them into sole possession of first place in the Southland.

The Atlantic 10: The conference just gets weirder and weirder. So here's what happened last night: Xavier won a tight game against George Washington; UMass lost in overtime to Rhode Island; St. Joe's beat Richmond on the road; Temple and La Salle beat Fordham and Charlotte, respectively, at home; Dayton lost their third game in a row to Duquesne at home; and St. Bonaventure blew out St. Louis.

Ok.

What's that mean?

La Salle (?!) is currently sitting all alone in first place in the league at 6-2. Temple, at 5-2, and Xavier, at 6-3, are both a half game back. St. Louis, UMass and St. Bonaventure are all 5-3 while Dayton, Duquesne and St. Joe's are all 4-4. Got it? Good. There will be a quiz on Friday.

The CAA: Quite obviously, the big news in the Colonial is that George Mason, who had been holding on to first place in the conference, lost at Delaware on Wednesday night. With Drexel and VCU both winning, it now means there is a three-way tie for first place in the league, with Old Dominion sitting just a game back in the win column.

The rest of the top 25:

No. 8 Kansas 84, Oklahoma 62: Thomas Robinson has 20 points, 17 boards, four assists, two blocks and two steals while Tyshawn Taylor added 21 points and six assists in a Jayhawk win.

No. 12 Creighton 102, Illinois State 74: The Bluejays got 25 points from Doug McDermott as they stayed a game in front of Wichita State in the MVC standings. The Shockers beat Missouri State 74-67 on the road.

No. 24 Florida State 68, Georgia Tech 54: Michael Snaer scored 21 points and the Seminoles bounced back from a halftime deficit to knock off the Yellow Jackets.

Other notable scores:

- Davidson 71, Furman 53
- Akron 86, Toledo 72
- Marshall 63, Tulane 44
- Stony Brook 82, Binghamton 48
- NC State 56, Boston College 51
- Miami 90, Maryland 86 2OT
- Ohio 67, Northern Illinois 58

Georgetown bounces back from a loss to Pitt by beating UConn

2012-02-02T08:44:00.001-05:00

WASHINGTON - John Thompson III has unquestionably brought the Georgetown basketball program back to national relevancy, but if anything has defined his tenure as the head coach of the Hoyas, its late-season meltdowns.

The Hoyas won the Big East Tournament and made a run to the Final Four in 2007, but that March seemed to use up all of their postseason magic. In 2008, the Hoyas won the 2008 Big East regular season title and made the final of the tournament before losing to Davidson and Steph Curry in the second round of the Big Dance. The following year Georgetown didn't even make the NCAA Tournament, getting bounced in the first round of the NIT after finishing the regular season 16-14 and 7-11 in conference play despite a 10-1 start to the year. In 2010, the Hoyas started the year out with wins in 15 of their first 18 games, but went 8-8 down the stretch and got bounced in the first round of the Big Dance by Ohio. And last season, Chris Wright's broken hand facilitated four losses in their final five regular season games before first round exits in both the Big East and the NCAA Tournaments.

This season, Georgetown fans have been waiting for the collapse, determined not to have their hearts broken. They've been waiting for the team that, prior to their Wednesday night tilt with UConn, was 16-4 overall and 6-3 in the Big East to come back to earth.

And for a while, it looked as if that collapse was on the horizon. After two less-than-stellar performances in wins over DePaul and Rutgers, Georgetown went into the Peterson Events Center and got dropped by the Panthers. That's what made this win so important for Georgetown. At this point in the season, they don't "need" a win, not when they are sitting in third place in the Big East with enough strength in their non-conference schedule to ensure that they are going to have to fall pretty hard to miss the NCAA Tournament.

More than anything, Georgetown just needed a confidence builder, the kind of performance that would push their recent struggles to the back of their mind. And that's what they get in Wednesday's 58-44 win over UConn.

"It was good to have this type of performance, because I thought we played well at both ends of the floor," JT III said after the game. "Our communication, our effort and our attentiveness was good."

Thompson isn't quite on the level of his father in terms of putting a guard up around his program, but he does not like to allow anyone into the inner-workings of his team. Case in point: Jason Clark was asked about the offense that Georgetown was running last night, and he responded by saying the Hoyas were using some new sets they had been putting in over the last week. But about halfway through his answer, you could hear Thompson in the background with a subtle "shhh". Clark heard this, smiled and continued answering the question, only with a more vague and stock response.

For a coach that rarely comments on how important or influential a single game is to make that kind of statement about Georgetown's play is notable.

Georgetown's defense was terrific against UConn, as was their work on the glass, but perhaps the most important aspect to take out of this game was the play of Hollis Thompson and Henry Sims.

Thompson has struggled of late. Over the last three games, he was averaging just 9.7 ppg while shooting 37.5% from the floor and just 3-10 from three. And while Thompson didn't exactly shoot the ball as well as we have seen him in the past, he did finish with 18 points, nine boards and two steals. He also hit a couple of big shots midway through the second half as the Hoyas held off a UConn run.

His coach, however, was more impressed with the work Thompson did without the ball in his hands.

"I thought this was one of the better games that Hollis has played because he did so many things," JT III said. "You can look at the stat sheet and see that he had 18 and 9, but he was key in that zone defense. Not just the steals, but being there so they didn't get the shots."

"Its the exact opposite of the Pittsburgh game where I thought he was just floating. He wasn't floating today, he was an active part in every aspect of the game and effective."

Sims was also able to put together a solid performance, although it took a while for him to find his rhythm. Early on in the game, UConn's star freshman Andre Drummond looked dominant, scoring eight points in the first 3:23 of the game. He finished with 18 points on 9-12 shooting and helped force Sims into seven turnovers on the game. Turnovers have been an issue plaguing Sims over the last few weeks, and he was exposed on Wednesday night.

But to his credit, he didn't stop attacking. Sims scored the last six points in a 10-2 run after UConn cut the lead to six, a stretch that included a thunderous dunk over Jeremy Lamb that got the Verizon Center rocking.

"Everybody was just like 'Woah'", Thompson said of Sims' dunk, "'on his head?' It was a great dunk."

UConn is not the team we expected them to be this season, but this is still an extremely talented basketball team that, eventually, is going to turn this thing around. With Georgetown's recent struggles, they seemed like a perfect victim to be the catalyst of change for the Huskies.

But thanks to the play of Sims and Thompson in the second half, the Hoyas were able to send UConn back to Storrs with their fourth straight loss.