College Basketball 2007-2008: January 2008

[JohnBM01]

Happy new year, college hoops fans! This is the January thread of college hoops. Same business as the past few months, only that this is now about January. What's so special about January? The start of conference play. That's what. No more of (and I'm generalizing. Not relating to any real schedule) matching up North Carolina against Iona. No more of pitting California State-Northridge against Washington. No more Kentucky against Chicago State. I'm talking about your Michigan vs. Ohio State, Duke vs. North Carolina, Maryland vs. Boston College, Gonzaga vs. San Diego, LSU vs. Tennessee (men or women), Detroit vs. Illinois-Chicago, and stuff like that. You never find out how bad (as in good) you are until you play against teams in your conference. That's how you make your money. It also means that I'll be doing college basketball full-time until college football is done.

Big match later this week will be Louisville heading to Kentucky to settle the Battle for the Bluegrass. Only game I can report is that Cincinnati beat Louisville on the road. Something I CAN talk about has to do with unbeatens. So here's my way to start off the new year:

John-itorial: Pay No Mind to Unbeatens
You are likely to run the table in football, but it's much tougher to do in basketball. People are likely to disagree with me, but all the different tournaments and easy games and such are just there to MAKE you lose. It's okay to lose a game in basketball because it is very unlikely you can run the table from game one all the way through the National Championship game. Teams are going to lose. It's all about who loses least often en route to the National Championship. You can finish unbeaten, but everyone HAS to lose at some point. A friend of mine from Houston is a graduate of Winona State University in Minnesota. Winona State set the record for most successive wins in a season before losing to non-football Division 2 school, Barton College in the D2 National Championship game aired on CBS. It's all about taking a few losses in the regular season, but making COMPLETELY sure you don't lose where it matters most- March Madness. Teams here in Texas like Sam Houston State and Texas-Arlington weren't beaten. Both have taken at least one loss apiece now. It's good to be unbeaten. Just don't think every remaining unbeaten will stay that way. (I can't believe I'm saying this as a college football fan) It isn't like in FBS division football in which more than one team can finish unbeaten. Somebody has to lose. Doesn't matter when. Do NBA teams go unbeaten? Not even the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls were perfect despite finishing 72-10. Enjoy unbeaten status, just make sure to beat the team you play against next to be commended and honored for beating up other teams.



That's all from me. January 2008 hoops. Reply away!

 

[FoolKiller]

Cats vs Cards: neither team looks good this year, but the Cards look slightly better. That said, the Cats have had two key players out of action due to injuries. With Jasper and Meeks back the Cats look like the Cats I know and love. This should be an interesting game.

 

[JohnBM01]

Time to hoop it up! Lace up those Nikes, put your jersey on, pull up those shorts, and let's play college ball!

ONE NOTE BEFORE I BEGIN...
I forgot to mention yesterday that Eddie Sutton will NOT be the head coach of the University of San Francisco next season. Unless Sutton is hired to another program for the 2008-2009 season, or if Sutton has an amazing turnaround for San Francisco, the University of San Francisco will need to find someone who can truly elevate this team past Gonzaga (among many others in the WCC).

Now it's game time. Get ready.





The Kentucky State Championship... Basketball Edition!
* Louisville {Cardinals} at Kentucky {Wildcats} --- RIVALRY GAME: Battle of the Bluegrass ---
Someone's taking home the Governor's Cup. I always have a football mentality, but I don't know if the Kentucky Governor's Cup is on the line in basketball. Neither Kentucky team looks overly impressive. No matter who they play this season, this is the biggest game of the season for either school. Kentucky wants to beat Louisville. Louisville wants to beat Kentucky. Who's the better school (at least this season)? This game is the FoolKiller special. This one's going out to you, mate. The Louisville Cardinals went from being a preseason pick to be in the Final Four... to losing some games. Only 78 miles seperate Louisville from their rivals. The University of Kentucky is not far from the Kentucky capital (and FoolKiller's home town) of Frankfort. The University of Kentucky is in Lexington. This is the flagship university of the Bluegrass State. Graduates of UK include (but not limited to) Ashley Judd, Teyshawn Prince, Tim Couch, Chuck Hayes of my Houston Rockets, and many more. The Wildcats are a basketball factory. Most Kentucky basketballers would head to greatness in the NBA. Kentucky won the football version of this rivalry in a thriller. Louisville's women's team This game was on CBS. Verne Lundquist and Billy Packer had the call. Here are the starting lineups:

LOUISVILLE LINEUP:
McGee Smith Williams Caracter Palacios

KENTUCKY LINEUP:
Bradley Meeks Harris Patterson Coury

Kentucky won the opening tip-off and wasted NO time sending a prompt message to Louisville. Kentucky bombed from deep with less than 19:45 left in the First Half. Louisville takes the lead at about the end of 18:00 left. 17:47 left as Kentucky ties 5-5. I'll just let the two teams go at it as I type. The score at 13:05 left is 14-5 in favor of Louisville. Kentucky had some field goal futility as well as some woes in ball control. Kentucky regained their stride a bit as they changed up their lineup a bit. Joe Crawford reported for duty for Kentucky blue. It's a football score with 7:30 left in the First Half as Louisville led 21-14. Coury was in foul trouble as he picked up his third foul. Billy Gillispie was surprisingly still playing Coury. At about 7:04 left in the first half, Joe Crawford hit a tough shot near the rim.
Meeks hit a money three as Rick Pitino seen enough and called a timeout. It's 22-19 in favor of Louisville with 5:55 left in the first half. Kentucky on a 14-6 run. Kentucky hit a nice layup, got fouled, and have a chance to tie her up at 5:37. Bradley at the foul line... and tied at 22. Kentucky's excitement was halted on a heart-stopping three by Louisville. Crawford thought he'd get an and-one opportunity on a layup, but a charging foul was called on Crawford. I thought it should have been an and-one for Crawford. Bradley drove the ball into the paint, got bunched up by two Cardinals, hit the basket, and got fouled. Kentucky finally led at 4:43 as it's 27-26. First lead since the quick three that kicked this game off. The 24,300 at Rupp Arena love their Wildcats. So Kentucky's lineup changes led to a much more successful Kentucky team. Kind of like racing on cold tires until they finally get warm. At 2:06 left, UK led 29-28. Kentucky got turned over three straight times. The score at the half was 31-30 as Kentucky was on top.

I somewhat heard boos from the Kentucky crowd. Crawford's been the difference maker for the 'Cats. At 17:54 left in the game, Louisville darted ahead. Kentucky basically went flat as the second half started. It's 41-33 at the 16:00 left mark. Caracter didn't show too much character as Kentucky slam dunked the ball in Louisville's faces. Credit #54 for the rim-racker. At 14:14 left in the game, Kentucky needed a pit stop facing an 11-point deficit down 46-35. It's 48-39 in favor of Louisvile with 12:24 left in the game. Kentucky has more questions than answers. Louisville leads 52-39 with 11:09 left. I'm telling you. I think Kentucky needs the win more than Louisville. Neither team is impressive, but Kentucky has to beat their rivals from 78 miles away. They got a good Vanderbilt team next Saturday. You could say that either team needs the win. The 9:01 mark saw Louisville now in cruise control with a 59-39 spread. So over three minutes have passed since Kentucky's last score. Crawford connects one free throw to make it 59-40. At 8:13, Bradley was called for an intentional foul on Padgett. Some jaw-jacking went on by both teams. This is not the Kentucky of old. Williams for Louisville got a Technical Foul. It's 64-43 with about 7:29 left in the game. Louisville still leads. May be time to play a sound byte of "Never never never never ever give up!" for Kentucky. Caracter fouled out with six points at 4:52 left. UK tried to get a spark going down 64-51 with 4:23 left. Credit Kentucky for not throwing in the towel or bringing out the second team to prepare for their next match. It's 68-55 with 3:29 left in the game. Louisville led by as much as 22 once. Billy Packer thinks Kentucky won't be an NCAA tournament team. If so, it will probably be since 2001 when Kentucky failed to make the NCAA tourney. Kentucky had SOME life left as they hit a three with 1:47 left down 77-66. UK has 20 turnovers. It's heckled them all season long. As Verne Lundquist called out the credits, Kentucky fell hard on their faces after going completely flat in the second half. Looks like Kentucky's loss of Tubby Smith is Minnesota's gain as Minnesota's doing impressively. I think if Kentucky football fans had patience with Rich Brooks, then maybe they oculd have held a LITTLE bit longer for Tubby. Maybe if life had a Reset button, maybe keeping Tubby Smith would have kept Kentucky at their winning ways. I don't care if they call up "Turnaround" Tom Penders from my hometown University of Houston to save Kentucky. It's NOT working with Gillispie, at least this season. (89-75; Louisville)


DID YOU KNOW...
...that Kentucky has NEVER lost to Gardner-Webb, Houston, and San Diego in school history until earlier this season? Injuries for the Wildcats played a role in this. I still remember watching the Kentucky at Houston game. I picked Kentucky to win because I didn't think Houston had enough talent to match up with Kentucky. Things change through the season, though.

...that Kentucky scored their 100th win back in 1922? At the 29-28 mark of today's game, Kentucky led Louisville 29-22



OFF-TOPIC
Billy Packer took a few shots at John Gruden. A brief segment was about the National Championship matchup between Georgetown and Villanova at Rupp Arena in 1985. I didn't know John Gruden was a college hoops coach before going to football. Billy Packer said that John Gruden has a strange mentality. He talked about how Gruden tanked games in the NFL.



QUICK NOTES ON OTHER GAMES:
* Oregon upset #2? Arizona
* Michigan goes to 4-10 with another loss
* #3 Kansas beat Boston College on the road
* #15 Vanderbilt got a scare from Massachusetts, but soon pulled away to a win
* You know a team is sorry if they can't beat Savannah State. Southern Mississippi lost terribly to the Savannah State Tigers.
* Memphis remains unbeaten as they took down lowly Pepperdine at home
* It was a hotly-contested match, but Charlotte's dreams of beating Maryland were crushed in the late stages.

Sorry I don't have other full highlights. So I hope you have a great weekend! I'll make my comeback to full highlights (or at least try) starting Tuesday. So please take care and keep talking college hoops up in here!

 

[FoolKiller]

Well, it was a sad time for the Wildcats. I have no clue what happened in the second half but they just could not get it together for long. They would close the gap a bit and then lose it again.

Oh well, Gillispie's record shows one of the biggest second year turnaround patterns in the NCAA, by a difference of as much as 18 games, so I suspect this is his standard MO. The real question is, are the fans that patient? The coach's call in show is tonight. That should be interesteing.

 

[JohnBM01]

Like I said, FoolKiller, they were patient with Rich Brooks in Kentucky football. Question is, how much patience will Kentucky have with Billy G.? Kentucky football had their best stretch run in a few years (maybe ages) under Andre' Woodson and Dicky Lyons Jr. and such. Are the Kentucky types so impatient that they never should have ran Tubby Smith out of town in much the same way that (NBA reference) my Houston Rockets should have never traded Robert Horry after back-to-back titles for us?

We'll see if Gillispie can be the turnaround man at UK. What are the chances (out of 100%) that Kentucky still makes the NCAA tournament? If they did make the tournament, what seed do you think they would have and how far could they go?

 

[FoolKiller]

Like I said, FoolKiller, they were patient with Rich Brooks in Kentucky football. Question is, how much patience will Kentucky have with Billy G.? Kentucky football had their best stretch run in a few years (maybe ages) under Andre' Woodson and Dicky Lyons Jr. and such. Are the Kentucky types so impatient that they never should have ran Tubby Smith out of town in much the same way that (NBA reference) my Houston Rockets should have never traded Robert Horry after back-to-back titles for us?

It is easy to be patient in a sport that you always suck at. The problem is that we are used to winning in basketball, so I don't know if they can last a year for this.

It depends on the fans. The Tuby haters that don't want to ever admit he was a good coach, just not their style, say that Gillispie can't do anything with Tubby's players because they are horrible, forgetting that Tubby had a good record with said players. But if you talk to them long enough they will eventually tell you how Tubby only won a national championship because he had Pitino's players. In other words, Tubby can take good players and play good or he can apparently take bad players and play good, but they don't realize they just complimented him that way. The fact is, based on these fans' premise of how Tubby won a championship Gillispie should be able to win 20+ games because he has the same players.

The truth is, different coaches do different things. Tubby was able to come in to a team built by Pitino and continue their success by making minor changes. His record shows that he can make anyone look good. Gillispie's record shows he makes sweeping changes and so in the first year the players stumble in a bit of shock. But in his second year it is a complete turn around because they have adapted.

Two different coaches with two different styles and abilities, both showing that they can be very good.

We'll see if Gillispie can be the turnaround man at UK. What are the chances (out of 100%) that Kentucky still makes the NCAA tournament? If they did make the tournament, what seed do you think they would have and how far could they go?

I doubt they will make the tournament this year. Currently Gillispie is looking at a .500 season, and the only hoep we have is that teh SEC as a whole doesn't look to be very dominant. You know the conference is struggling when Vandy and Mississippi are unbeaten.

 

[JohnBM01]

Vanderbilt is middle of the road in men's basketball and football while Mississippi is usually second-worst to Auburn. Auburn and Georgia really turned it around and look to be viable threats for the SEC crown. An aspect of sports is that there will always be a powerful team and everyone else playing follow the leader. Kentucky's usually one of the toughest teams to play against year after year. This year, it's a time of rebuilding for the Wildcats. My storyline with them is, can Kentucky (and I know this is going to sound completely unreal) rebuild themselves quickly enough to return to the seven-time national champ style of basketball Kentucky usually is?

I personally keep thinking about how Kentucky's having some down time with Billy Gillispie while Tubby Smith is doing impressive at Minnesota in his first year. You ever come across any Kentucky fans who probably wished they didn't run Tubby out of Lexington? What do some of them usually say in response?

 

[FoolKiller]

I personally keep thinking about how Kentucky's having some down time with Billy Gillispie while Tubby Smith is doing impressive at Minnesota in his first year.

I am sure Tubby haters will say he just lucked into a team already full of good players.

You ever come across any Kentucky fans who probably wished they didn't run Tubby out of Lexington?

<------ That'd be me. And I know a few others.

What do some of them usually say in response?

I like to tell the Tubby haters how I can't wait until we get back to winning 20+ games every season. They usually think I mean that we can do it now that Tubby is gone. I also make comments like it would be nice to have a coach of the year and a guy who looked for long-term talent that follows the rules and tries to graduate. And I wonder what it would be like to have a coach that could take even the worst of players, with no pro prospects, and turn them into a winning team.

Superstars are fun, but short lived. They burn bright but burn out quickly.

The thing is when I say things like this many Tubby haters are so blind to the facts that they don't realize I just described Tubby Smith. Those who do realize it comment on how nine years without a Final Four appearance at Kentucky is unacceptable. I then point out that by their standards Adolph Rupp would have been gone before he ever won a championship. I then tell them that I am thankful that we didn't have the current fans and administration in the 30s and 40s because Kentucky would have never developed into a basketball power because they would have run out every good coach we ever had with their current standards.

The only truly negative stat Tubby holds is the longest stretch without a Final Four appearance of any head coach.

But if you read Tubby's resume at Kentucky it sounds like something most coaches would die for.


But the fact is that Tubby is gone and I don't blame him. The fact that his resignation speech didn't end with a big FU to the fans is the biggest surprise about him leaving. God knows I would have had a few comments.


So, now I have hope for Coach Gillispie. What he is doing currently is actually better than his past record of first years. So, I expect next year to be incredible.

The real concern for Gillispie is that he showed up with the fans already hungry. How long before they finally quit blaming Tubby for this year (I think he may be responsible for Hurricane Katrina too) and start to notice that Tubby is gone. The fans are hungry for a Final Four now. Most of them are smart enough to realize a new coach means a few more not so great years first. But they weren't willing to wait on Rich Brooks and they were used to losing all the time in football.

I am guessing that Gillispie gets one year with a "It's still Tubby's fault" pass, but next year he had better at least have 20+ wins or fans won't be happy.

I, on the other hand, will enjoy the sports and support my team while just making my comments, but I will never run a guy out of town because he is successful, but not successful enough. You have to lose all the time for a long time before I reach that point.

 

[JohnBM01]

I turn 25 years old next Tuesday. After turning my energy to college football mostly, I've gone back to talking roundball. I'm currently trying to find more ways to cover college hoops. You all know I cover just about all sides of the nation, from high majors to low majors, Pacific to Atlantic, and all points in-between. So it is in my higeest of honors to talk college basketball with all of you. If you've noticed in my limited contributions that I've covered few women's games, that's going to change. My belief is that you love college basketball. Why not get as much college basketball as possible?

I've focused my energy on college football while college basketball was in session to avoid having to cover two sports at once. Because there are a whole lot of teams in college hoops, I've covered a good majority of what I can provide. You notice that I also don't cover Divisions 2 and 3. One such reason is because I don't have a real reliable source to look at college hoops. And if I do cover Division 2 or 3 (or even the NAIA), it's going to be severely limited.

Now it's time I start my first full college basketball report. I will begin with a team that could be a serious bracketbuster come March. My first Profile School in a while- Sam Houston State University.

John's Profile School: Sam Houston State University
Sam Houston State University can be found in the city of Huntsville, Texas. Being a native of Houston, Sam Houston bears great significance to my hometown because he founded the city of Houston. SHSU sports teams are known as the Bearkats (correct spelling). You can listen to Sam Houston State's fight song in "College Hoops 2K8" by 2K Sports. It's actually one of my favorite fight songs of any school. That includes some of my other favorites like Alabama, Tennessee, Eastern Michigan, Illinois-Chicago, and teams like that. Sam Houston State is part of the Southland Conference. It was the conference in which Texas A&M-Corpus Christi had themselves successive 20+ win seasons in their eight or so years in Division 1. Is Sam Houston State a wonderful university? Well, just ask people like Walt Anderson (NFL Referee) and Josh McCown (backup QB for the Oakland Raiders) who are among some of the many graduates of SHSU.




Scores time. Come and get it! Last night's BCS National Championship game was between a Big Ten Team and an SEC team. So I'm going to start off with an SEC match followed by a Big Ten match. Take your charter jet flight to Tuscaloosa, because that's where we're headed first. I even went as far as setting up a basketball match on my copy of "College Hoops 2K8" between the All-Time Ohio State Buckeyes and the All-Time LSU Tigers. A basketball version of this football match. One of the guys for All-Time LSU Tigers was massively built. Guy was likely Shaquille O' Neal (better known as Shaq). It's illegal to make a college game feauting existing players. I think you college hoops fans should get "College Hoops 2K8" just to enjoy the college basketball experience virtually. To take a line from Bill Raftery, we'll see which team had more "onions" to win the game.



Two SEC Football Powers Make Ready for a Basketball Match
* Florida {Gators} at Alabama {Crimson Tide}
Florida doesn't have their team that won two successive National Championships. So can Alabama take care of business in Tuscaloosa? The University of Alabama is a pretty good school in the SEC. I think of them as "good, but not great" at least in SEC play. The Crimson Tide are somewhat the favorites in this match, unless the Florida Gators have something to say about this match. Florida wins with this NBA-style score. (90-83; Florida)

Michigan May Need Lloyd Carr to Help the Basketball Program
* #11 Indiana {Hoosiers} at Michigan {Wolverines}
No Big Ten Network needed here. We got some college hoops as we begin in the Big Ten. You know, there are links to both GTPlanet's Joey D and FoolKiller with these two teams. Joey D is an Oakland guy who loves Michigan football, and Jordan Crawford is the younger brother of Joe Crawford... who plays for FoolKiller's Kentucky Wildcats. Michigan first. The University of Michigan hasn't been impressive in basketball in a long while. I'm even familiar with the "Fab Five" from the 1990s ofr Michigan. ESPN Classic featured the 1993 match as Indiana traveled to Michigan. Wolverines' basketball has been lethargic this season, winning only four games. Most football guys transistioning to football probably think one school is much better in one sport compared to another. Well if that's true, then Indiana's embarassing in football while their basketball is great. I mentioned Jordan Crawford. He played against his older brother, Joe, back in 2007. It was on CBS as Indiana won that game. Now the Hoosiers are 11th in the nation and looking to get into a shootout with Michigan. So let's see who won this one. Michigan continues to lose once Indiana and Jordan Crawford were done in Ann Arbor. (78-64; #11 Indiana)


OFF-TOPIC:
It was 61 degrees for a high in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Can you believe that both Los Angeles and San Diego were in the low to mid 50s for high temperatures today?



I got two Missouri Valley games for you. Check these out:

Wichita State is Good... Unless Missouri State Has Something to Say About It
* Wichita State {Shockers} at Missouri State {Bears}
It's a basketball version of the Border War. It's Kansas vs. Missouri... only in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Missouri Valley is usually seen as the best non-power conference. These are usually two of the better Missouri Valley schools. I won't get into too much into intros, so let me just share what I've caught of this game. The Bears put up about 13 points until Wichita State's Shockers finally scored. The Shockers got shocked themselves as Missouri State just pounded Wichita State through the ground and back to Kansas. (71-47(?); MISSOURI STATE) *** disappointing loss ***

Bradley May Not Have Football, but They're Ready to Give an All-Out Blitz Against Southern Illinois
* Bradley {Braves} at Southern Illinois {Salukis}
Southern Illinois is one of the best teams in the nation. Times are a bit down in the Missouri Valley as it's anyone's conference to win (unless you're Evansville). Time to see how these two Illinois schools do. First is Southern Illinois. Southern Illinois University's flagship campus is in Carbondale, Illinois. There's a seperate SIU campus in the city of Edwardsville, which is a Division 2 non-football school. Southern Illinois could play in FBS football if they wanted to. They are just so talented in a number of sports. They even have a pretty good Formula SAE team. The Salukis are ready to make some noise. In case you don't know, a saluki is a kind of Persian hound. Now for Bradley. Bradley University can be found in Peoria, Illinois. Bradley University's fight song can be heard in "College Hoops 2K8." Bradley's fight song sounds a bit similar to Hawaii's fight song. Same note, same style, only different. The Braves are playing to the tune of a mediocre season this season. They want to prove their worth to the boys in Carbondale. The Salukis had a good time slapping around Bradley. (77-64; SOUTHERN ILLINOIS)



EXTRA: So Who's Better: The Missouri Valley Conference or the Atlantic 10?
The Missouri Valley Conference is an amazing conference. The thing about them is that they have some amazing teams like Southern Illinois, Wichita State, Creighton, Northern Iowa, and even Indiana State. The Atlantic 10 has their own big dogs including Saint Joseph's, Massachusetts, North Carolina-Charlotte (or just Charlotte), Saint Louis, and especially Dayton. What team would go further if it were up to these two in the tournament? Believe it or not... I actually like the Altantic 10 more, only slightly. The biggest surprise in the Atlantic 10 is the emergence of the University of Rhode Island. The Rams are in the Top 25.


Back to hoops.


The University of Missouri System Welcomes an Intra-System Challenge
* UMKC {Kangaroos} vs. Missouri {Tigers}
I added this game to my report because UMKC was ahead 31-30 at one point. The University of Missouri System school winner is... THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI IN COLUMBIA!!! The Tigers survived a Kangaroo scare. Tigers... surviving against... Kangaroos... don't sound right. Does it sound right to you? Never mind! Just read the damn score: (96-76; MISSOURI)

Presbyterian College is Scarce of Wins, So Maybe Beating Army Will Help the Win Portion
* Army {Black Knights/Cadets} at Presbyterian {Blue Hose}
Presbyterian College is a Division 2 school transitioning to Division 1. Kind of like Western Kentucky transistioning to FBS in the football ranks. Unlike WKU football, Presbyterian (which is a football school) isn't doing very well. On a lighter note, at least the Blue Hose aren't the Highlanders of the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The Army Black Knights lost this one in a 17-point blowout. Only Presbyterian's second win of the season. (52-39; PRESBYTERIAN)

A Division 2 Opponent Goes Northwest To Meet Colorado State
* Oklahoma Panhandle State {Aggies} at Colorado State {}
I thought you were supposed to BEAT non Division 1 opponents. Too bad the Rams didn't take down the Aggies of Oklahoma Panhandle State. Even the football team can beat Oklahoma Panhandle State's team, pathetic as the CoSU Rams were this past season. (97-91, OT; Oklahoma Panhandle State) *** upset! and big win ***


I know Oklahoma City University is trying to break into NCAA Division 1. Maybe this non-NCAA and non-D1 team can spark some life for Oklahoma schools in Division 2 and in the NAIA.



I'm going to start providing quick highlights to finish off each report. It's a quick overview of most of the teams that won or lost. I don't have scores in these quick reports, so I just let them off as highlights. So take a look. I'm going to start calling these as The Quick Rundown.

John's Quick Rundown
* Struggling early, Marquette defends home ground with a 7-point win over Seton Hall
* High Point pounded the holy hell out of their non-D1 opponent by as many as 70 or 80 points
* Liberty takes care of Kentucky Christian University



I Didn't Know...
...that Baylor is a Baptist institution. Only Women's Basketball is the only sport Baylor excels at. Maybe if Houston got into the Big XII rather than Baylor, perhaps Baylor could have a better chance beating teams from Conference USA or someplace.



To end the report with a non-important detail... LSU won the 10-minute match I set up as a demo game. It was 27-14, I believe. Small world, huh?

 

[JohnBM01]

I have one quick score to share for Wednesday action, Richmond beat La Salle 75-74 in triple overtime. The home team was La Salle.

As I learned outside of basketball, the real decimation of MAAC football has resulted in La Salle cancelling their football program as of late November 2007. Probably good for La Salle football because they've been lethargic in football losing to teams you think an FCS team would easily crush. One such loss was to Division 3's The College of New Jersey. They finished 0-10.

 

[JohnBM01]

Sorry, people... I've been so busy preparing my college football playoff thing that I haven't been able to compile a basketball report. For men's scores from yesterday visit the first link. For women's scores from yesterday, visit the second link:

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/scoreboard?d=2008-01-09&refresh=60
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/scoreboard?d=2008-01-09&refresh=60

Sorry for not posting results from Wednesday. Enjoy Thursday hoops!

[UPDATE] There's a HUGE 7'7" guy who plays for non-football school, North Carolina-Asheville. They lost to North Carolina despite he got a little publicity on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption." He's told to be 7'7", the tallest person ever in NCAA Basketball history. He's not seriously athletic for his 7'7" frame. He makes up for this by blocking a good number of shots. Perhaps he could be trying to take on 7'6" Yao Ming if George (either his first or last name) goes to the NBA Draft. Something to look out for if UNCA gets to the tournament behind his amazing ability.

 

[BlackBeadyEyes]

@Foolkiller:

Trust me, I know what it feels like when your main money-making sport pretty much stinks up the joint. My Notre Dame Fighting Irish (I'm a so-called "Subway Alum", by the way. If you don't know what that means, look it up on Wikipedia.)
went 3-9 in football this past year. 3-9!!??!?! At least at Notre Dame, we got two things we're proud of, athelics wise; soccer and basketball (both men and women). at least the football team got the number one recruiting class for next year. When I think of Kentucky Basketball under Tubby Smith, I can think only of one thing; the 2002-03 season, where your Wildcats were the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, only to lose to Marquette when a certain somebody named DeWayne Wade had the game of his life. Now, i consider that an upset, because I seriously thought (and everybody, don't laugh at me now) that your Wildcats were going to win it all that year. Seriously. In fact, I said at the time that Kentucky did one of the biggest choke jobs in the history of the NCAA Tournament. If Kentucky would have won it all, though, history would be a hell of a whole lot different.
In fact, two things would have been true;

1. Arguably THE greatest draft in NBA history would not have happened the way it did, and
2. Most importantly, Tubby Smith would STILL HAVE HIS JOB.

Of course, My Irish did a similar gagfest last year. Look at the raw statistics; 27-6 entering the NCAAs when nobody expected them to do anything; head coach Mike Brey was named Big East Coach of the Year; Number three seed AND first round bye in the Big East Tournament; Came within a missed three-pointer at the buzzer of beating GEORGETOWN who went on to reach the Final Four.

And then went out and lost in the first round to someone named wintarop.

But, of course, I wasn't disappointed. After all, we aren't the winningest program in the history of college basketball. you guys are, so...

 

[FoolKiller]

Hey, BBE, I think everyone's brackets got screwed up that year in that game.


Speaking of money making programs. Forbes ranked the top 20 richest basketball programs. The top 3 are North Carolina, Kentucky, and Louisville. We like our basketball, a lot.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3187410

Of course the article only talks about NC and Duke. Stupid ESPN ACC bias.

 

[JohnBM01]

Don't worry, FoolKiller. How do you think I feel when Houston teams get neglected or have cheap shots taken on by ESPN folk? ESPN can be PURELY biased.

Looks like I got myself a new reader. Welcome, BlackBeadyEyes. I'm sure your Fighting Irish are going to make plenty of noise in basketball. I know Notre Dame has a great women's program.

Time to hit the hardwood again. Have yourself a little shootaround and get ready to play.





Two Good Football Programs Collide
* West Virginia {Mountaineers} at Louisville {Caridnals}
FoolKiller said that neither Louisville or Kentucky are having impressive seasons. Unfortunately for my GTP friend FoolKiller, the Wildcats got tamed by Louisville. Louisville's going to meet another blue team. This time, it's West Virginia. The Cardinals of the University of Louisville "Dare to be Great." Well, not against a powerful Dayton team. West Virginia has been great in football. However, they're meeting the two-time National Champs in Louisville. The Mountaineers wear blue and gold. They need to be golden if they are to take down Louisville. So let's see if they did the dirty work to leave Louisville smelling like roses. I don't think Louisville has mountains, but West Virginia failed to climb Mt. Louisville successfully. (63-54; LOUISVILLE)

OFF-TOPIC
Now for a sad segway. Sir Edmund Hillary, the man who was the first to climb to the top of Mt. Everest has died at the age of 88. The New Zealander climbed Mount Everest in 1953 and set a gold standard in such a true test of human endurance. He was instrumental in helping out the mountain society of Nepal. He will be sorely missed. It is not known HOW he died.


Back to hoops.

Oakland's Push to be a Sleeper Continues
* Centenary {Gents} at Oakland {Golden Grizzlies}
If you play "College Hoops 2K8" and go to the Summit League teams, Centenary College of Louisiana is known as Louisiana-Calcutta. I have no recollection of a University of Louisiana-Calcutta. Just doesn't exist! The nickname is still the Gents. Not many people have a recollection of Oakland outside of Oakland, California. Oakland knocked off Oregon at the Palace at Auburn Hills in a neutral site match. Joey D is our Oakland guy. So let's talk basketball with these golden players. First is Centenary. Centenary College of Louisiana can be found in the city of Shreveport. Shreveport is usually home to the PetroSun Indepdendence Bowl postseason bowl game. Centenary doesn't have football, but I'm sure the Gents will do all they to attack the Oakland front on all sides. Now for Oakland. Oakland University is in Rochester, Michigan. Rochester is a suburb of Detroit. Oakland doesn't have football either. It's okay, because a Golden Grizzlie in any sport has just about as much power and force as a fullback busting up the middle to break through defensive coverages. No need to hold your blocks against these two teams because they're ready to go right now. Centenary is the Summit League's true cupcake. Oakland's Golden Grizzlies were golden as Centenary were reduced to biodegradable material. (74-61; OAKLAND)

Brett Favre Isn't the Only Big Deal in Green Bay
* Wisconsin-Green Bay {Phoenix} at Butler {Bulldogs}
Green Bay at Indianapolis. It's more than a Super Bowl pick. That's because these are two excellent teams in the Horizon League. The Butler Bulldogs pulled away to a win over the UWGB Phoenix. (74-65; #14 BUTLER)

Auburn Doesn't Stink Anymore? See if Arkansas Brings Auburn Back Down to Earth
* Arkansas {Razorbacks} at Auburn {Tigers}
Let's face it. When Auburn football fails, Auburn basketball... isn't much better. Auburn's season was mediocre this season in football. However, their men's basketball program is doing great so far. The win light goes to the Arkansas Razorbacks as the Auburn Tigers were cooked well done. (76-70; Arkansas)


Savannah State is All of a Sudden a Winning Program
* Savannah State {Tigers} at Bethune-Cookman {Wildcats}
NASCAR's Preseason Thunder rules the high banks of Daytona. When you want a learning experience in Daytona Beach, you go to Betehune-Cookman University (formerly Bethune-Cookman College). These are two historically-black universities. The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats are ready to tame some other kitties. Savannah State is terrible in just about every sport they play. This is a university that has produced ESPN NFL analyst Shannon Sharpe. The Tigers want to produce on the court so they can join a conference after being an Independent for a long while. The clobber job was complete in Daytona Beach. Savannah State's hoping to get a conference invite some day, and this win helps. (50-36; Savannah State)





Find some men's and women's scores by visiting the following links:

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/scoreboard?d=2008-01-10&refresh=60
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/scoreboard?d=2008-01-10&refresh=60


You know, you can just follow the men's link for men's scores for the specified day. Then just replacee the "b" in "ncaab" to a "w" to see women's scores. I'll be back here for Friday material as well as starting my NBA Focus for Friday scores.

 

[JohnBM01]

Friday gives way to Saturday. So here is a quick report.




--- Highlight Reel ---

Men's Hoops
A story on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" was how Saint Louis University scored an all-time NCAA low of 20 points. This team is usually amazing in their conference. Trouble is, the C-USA school turned A-10 school scored 20 while [at] George Washington scored 49. Here are a few scores from Friday action:

* Harvard at Dartmouth (73-56; DARTMOUTH)
* Navy at Bucknell (85-77; BUCKNELL)
* Manhattan at Canisius (69-65; Manhattan) <<< Canisius has only two wins.
* Stetson at Florida Gulf Coast (70-62; Stetson)
* Loyola College at Fairfield (67-63; Loyola College)

All East Coast action. Sorry, West Coast and Midwest and Southwest...



Women's Hoops

* Florida State at #12 Duke (70-38; #12 DUKE)
* St. Peter's at Rider (75-67; St. Peter's) <<< St. Peter's College one of many MAAC schools to drop football
* UCF at SMU (90-62; SOUTHERN METHODIST)
* Southern Mississippi at Tulsa (63-62; TULSA)
* California State-Bakersfield at NJIT (76-61; NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY) <<< battle of the Independents; NJIT played at Texas-Pan American's arena



NBA Focus
Let's see how the pro 'ballers work the hardwood. The NBA Focus here is like my NFL Focus in the college football threads. So see how some of your pro teams have done.

A Star in the Making in Space City
* Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets
The announcing crew of Bill Worrell, Clyde Drexler, and Matt Bullard were having flashbacks of classic Houston players. It was a fun little thing to watch on TV. As for the game, the Houston Rockets are seeing one young star involve into a potentially dangerous player to other teams. First-Round Draft Pick, Carl Landry (Purdue), really did an amazing job as well as Luis Scola. He netted himself his first double-double. Six Houston Rockets were in double figures pounding the Minnesota Timberwolves. The (112-82; HOUSTON ROCKETS)

Running of the Bulls
* Chicago Bulls at Philadelphia 76ers
Chicago squeaked out a victory as the Bulls made the 76ers extinct. (100-97; Chicago Bulls)

LeBron James Ready to Slam Down on Some Charlotte Suckas
* Charlotte Bobcats at Cleveland Cavaliers
The mentality of "everybody's supposed to beat Charlotte" is more like in the NFL's mentality of "everybody's supposed to beat the Houston Texans." Charlotte knocked off the Boston Celtics back on Wednesday on the road. Too bad the Bobcats couldn't shut down Cleveland's Cavaliers as the cavalry shut down Charlotte for good. (113-106, 2OT; CLEVELAND CAVALIERS)

Did You Know That This Season Isn't Over Yet?
* Toronto Raptors at New York Knicks
Much respect to you if you still love your Knicks despite a season to forget. New York City has been a huge breeding ground for basketball talent. Think of all the street ballers who play at Rucker Park, or all the cats that like to hoop it up in NYC. A cold front came through New York, but it wasn't Mother Nature's doing... it was the Toronto Raptors icing the New York Knicks into further embarassment. They've floundered terribly. (99-90; Toronto Raptors)

The Wizards of Washington Aren't Going to Solve Atlanta's Winning Woes
* Washington Wizards at Atlanta Hawks
The Wizards further complicated the season for the Atlanta Hawks. (102-98, OT; Washington Wizards)

Pathetic Last Season, Powerful This Season; New England Battle Ensues
* Boston Celtics at New Jersey Nets
The Celtics are doing amazing after last season was terribly bad. The team that looked bad was New Jersey in this one. 86-77; Boston Celtics

Graceland on Tour in the Bay Area
* Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors
The University of Memphis Tigers are doing great. The Memphis Grizzlies are just trying to make some noise out West. The Warriors of Golden State took good care of Memphis as this wasn't even close. (116-104; GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS)

Some Wisconsin Boys Think They Have What it Takes to Be Stars in Hollywood
* Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Lakers
The purple and gold of the L.A. Lakers took the win as the Bucks couldn't muster a win in L.A. (110-105; LOS ANGELES LAKERS)





A big Saturday of hoops is coming your way. I'll try to get scores for both men and women. Have a great weekend! By the way, this will be my final weekend before I have to start school again. I'll have my Associate's in the Arts at the end of this coming semester, but I'm doing one more semester. Take care!

 

[JohnBM01]

I've seen a few matches, but most of the rest of the night was spent by me test driving "Need for Speed: Pro Street." I'll have some feature matches coming up for you all. You're going to get to see how teams did including... my hometown Houston Cougars vs. the Arizona Wildcats, FoolKiller's Kentucky Wildcats, Joey D's Oakland Golden Grizzlies, BlackBeadyEyes' Fighting Irish (Notre Dame, in case you didn't know), and whomever the hell else I chat about. This will be my final weekend of being 24 years old as I'll be 25 on Tuesday. So let's get this!



SATURDAY SYNOPSIS: 1/12/2008
Five unbeaten teams entered this week of action whereas most conference play began. Bob Knight is looking for win #899 while most other teams are trying to start conference play on the right foot.





Saturday Scores: Men and Women
Remember that if you see: ~Women~, you know I'm talking Women's basketball.

Some Arizona Players Return to Houston to Meet Houston's Best
* Arizona {Wildcats} at Houston {Cougars}
Guy V. Lewis will be honored today along with some of the good old Houston stars. Today's Houston Cougars need to be stellar against the Arizona Wildcats to give themselves hope in their tournament resumé. If they don't beat Arizona, then they'll have to either beat Memphis or win the Conference USA tournament. So let's see which breed of feline got it done today. Houston tried to close in, but their trigger-happy ways on three-point shooting meant Arizona had a fun time whacking Houston. (-; Arizona)


From one pack of Wildcats... to another.

They Didn't Beat Louisville, So They'll Take Their Anger Out on #15 Vanderbilt
* #13 Vanderbilt {Commodores} at Kentucky {Wildcats}
Ever heard of the saying, "Hell hath no fury than a woman's scorn?" Well, Kentucky's trying to get things straightened out. The best Kentucky can hope for at this point is that everyone else stinks while UK starts taking down some fools. The Wildcat faithful at Rupp Arena have believed in their beloved felines, but many are wishing they never ran Tubby Smith out of town. Vanderbilt's just trying to show why they're great. Vandy's bringing the Grand Ole Opry to the Bluegrass State. Thanks, but no thanks. Kentucky would love nothing more than to see Commodores go down. Kentucky faithful are ready to celebrate as they defended home court. Just like Kentucky football in triple OT against the eventual football champion LSU Tigers, the Wildcats picked up a big win. Now let's see if this gives Kentucky even further hope in getting Billy G.'s offense going. (79-73;, OT; KENTUCKY) *** upset (by ranking)! ***

Fighting Irish Ready to Take the Fight to Some Birds in Dairy Country
* Notre Dame {Fighting Irish} at #15 Marquette {Golden Eagles}
The first of the non-football schools will be coming up in this report. A 3-9 season in football is unacceptable on many levels if you're a Notre Dame fan. I may need this verified, but I think Notre Dame has never won the National Championship in men's basketball. Marquette has a National Championship. We'll see who's the champion of this match. I'll be adding some more Notre Dame coverage with the arrival of BlackBeadyEyes to my reports. Let's talk about Notre Dame. Don't confuse Notre Dame with le catedral de Notre Dame in the beautiful city of Paris, France. Quasimodo doesn't play football for the blue and gold. Notre Dame may need some luck as the Fighting Irish try to take care of some birds. Now let's meet the other team. Marquette University is the last non-football school to win the National Championship. Marquette is the 1977 National Champions. My brother was born one year before Marquette won their championship. They are known as the Golden Eagles. And if you look online, there is a such bird as the Golden Eagle. It's not gold all over. So just do some reading online. Okay. On to the game. Then again, this wasn't a game to begin with. Go to another score report if this is too ugly for you to watch. (92-66; #15 MARQUETTE)

From Wisconsin to Michigan: Oakland Locks Horns With Their Golden Target
* Oral Roberts {Golden Eagles} at Golden Grizzlies}
Oakland needs to beat Oral Roberts and even IUPUI to really make a name for themselves. Oakland University can be found in Rochester, Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. The Golden Grizzlies are just trying to make even more noise than when they beat Oregon. Oregon was big... out of conference. The



John's Feature Conference: Horizon League
Okay. Let's talk about the Horizon League and some scores from the Horizon League. Here are four games for you in quick scoring fashion:

* Wisconsin-Milwaukee {Panthers} at #14 Butler {Bulldogs} (72-56; #14 BUTLER)
* Youngstown State {Penguins} at Detroit {Titans} (70-66; Youngstown State) <<< Detroit used to be competitive. What's wrong with the Titans?
* Cleveland State {Vikings} at Wright State {Raiders} (65-63; Cleveland State) <<< ClSU leads Horizon League play
* Wisconsin-Green Bay {Phoenix} at Valparaiso {Crusaders} (-; ) <<< only non-conference Horizon League game


Ever Wonder About the Balls NCAA Teams Use?
Last NBA season saw the demise of the love-it-or-hate-it basketball teams used in the NBA. They've since been discontinued. Even stores stopped selling that basketball. This basketball by Wilson is the one officially used by the NCAA. The official size of the basketballs are 29.5 inches in diameter. I couldn't really notice the grip levels of the NCAA ball compared to the Spalding NBA ball. I don't have a regulation basketball. So some of you that may have one of those NBAA basketballs may know more about the ball itself as opposed to the NBA ball by Spalding. You may even sometimes notice team logos on the balls. I think I've seen the Kentucky logo on a regulation NCAA basketball for games played at the University of Kentucky. Some of you may chat with me in this thread about the feel of the NCAA ball compared to the NBA ball. One of those Wilson basketballs will cost you about $18.88 (plus tax) at a Wal-Mart. I guess schools have about 15 or so balls to use during shootaround and even at game time. Assuming you pay about $20 for one of those NCAA balls, you could fill a rack of 15 of those balls for about $300. Safe to say that making a full-on court doesn't come cheap.



A Surprisingly Unbeaten Washington State Takes a Trip to L.A.
* #4 Washington State {Cougars} at #5 UCLA {Bruins}
Washington State has been a real surprise. You know something's wrong when Washington State is better than the University of Washington. Right, kylehnat? The Cougars sure love being relevant after lots of mediocrity. Their trip to UCLA will be a decisive one. Midnight struck for the Cinderellas from Pullman, Washington. UCLA's Bruins made sure to send Washington State packing. An upset by ranking, but a big win for UCLA. (81-74; #5 CALIFORNIA-LOS ANGELES) *** upset (by ranking)! and big win ***



--- The Big XII Kansas Double ---
* #3 Kansas at Nebraska (79-50; #3 Kansas)
* Kansas State at Oklahoma (84-82; Kansas State)

RAPID FIRE
More scores here: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/scoreboard?d=2008-01-12&c=all&refresh=0

* #6 Michigan State at Iowa (43-36; IOWA) *** upset! and big win ***
* Prairie View A&M at Texas Southern (70-65; TEXAS SOUTHERN)
* San Francisco at San Diego (46-41; SAN DIEGO)
* Grambling State at Southern --- RIVALRY GAME --- (76-56; SOUTHERN) <<< Grambling State is winless
* Creighton at Wichita State (68-65; Creighton) <<< what's wrong with Wichita State?

RAPID FIRE: Women
More scores here: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/scoreboard?d=2008-01-12&c=all&refresh=0

#24 DePaul at Providence (66-55; #24 DePaul)
* Saint Louis at Fordham (84-78, 2OT; Saint Louis) <<< Rose Hill Gym for Fordham is lovely; also the oldest arena in NCAA history
* #13 Texas A&M at #8 Baylor (59-56; #8 BAYLOR) <<< only sport Baylor doesn't stink at
* Northern Iowa at Indiana State (73-69, OT; INDIANA STATE) <<< IN State pulled upset earlier
* Oral Roberts at Oakland (71-57; OAKLAND)
* #1 Connecticut at Louisville (92-71; #1 Conneticut)
* San Diego at San Francisco (80-62; SAN FRANCISCO)
* Prairie View A&M at Texas Southern (71-49; Prairie View A&M) <<< PVAMU recently on 3 yrs. probation for NCAA violations
* North Carolina Central at West Virginia Tech (71-49; WEST VIRGINIA TECH) *** disappointing loss ***
* Arizona State at Arizona --- RIVALRY GAME --- (75-65; Arizona State)
* South Alabama at New Orleans (68-65, OT; South Alabama) <<< USA will start football in 2009 in Sun Belt; joined by Western Kentucky in 2009 for Sun Belt football
* #6 Oklahoma at #25 Oklahoma State (82-63; #25 OKLAHOMA STATE) *** upset! ***





That's all, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you have a great weekend.

 

[FoolKiller]

That Wildcat victory is bittersweet. Yes, it is a win, but Jasper is down, again, with a knee injury sustained in the first OT. The cats played decent, and even had a 16 point lead at one point just to find themselves going into OT.

Without Jasper I don't know how well this team can do.

 

[JohnBM01]

I start school again on Monday. I'm going to get my Associate's in the Arts this May. I'm going to celebrate my 25th birthday this Tuesday. Life is good when you're me? Well, not really. Life is good if I've graduated already from a prominent 4-year university and getting out and seeing the world and all that. Life is good for me if I was a hard-bodied hunk drawing Houston's hottest ladies (as well as non-Houston ladies from the world over) like bees to honey. In other words... I'm just glad to be back doing scores for you all. I'm going to start off in Big Ten country. Then, I'll take you as many places all over America through the medium of the Internet. So take a ride on THIS fantastic voyage!





Rival States Collide Again
* Illinois {Fighting Illini} at #10 Indiana {Hoosiers} --- RIVALRY GAME ---
Rival states collide. There's been some real beef with these two Big Ten schools for a long while. One of them was a player that still wanted to commit to Illinois... until he eventually de-committed to Illinois... and went to Indiana. Let me give you an analogy for this. This would be like Matt Leinart committing to Southern California, then decommit and go to UCLA. What's happened since? Indiana's never been better. And Illinois is ailing. They've had four straight losses- the longest in Bruce Webber's career as head coach. The Fighting Illini would hate to lose five straight. Not the kind of "welcome back" party for Illinois' own and GTP own- dougiemeats. Now Indiana. Kentucky lost to Indiana earlier this year. Why did I mention UK? That's because Jordan Crawford (Joe Crawford's younger brother) plays for Indiana. As much as Joe is a factor for Kentucky, Jordan (and I'm not talking about Illinois' Jeff(?) Jordan) is a factor for Indiana. The Hoosiers know they won't see the second-coming of the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers this season, but they will get to see some b-ballers rock the house in Bloomington, Indiana. The Indianapolis Colts lost their playoff round against San Diego. So Indiana will need to give Indiana folk some uplifting in terms of Indiana sports. The game had its fair share of jaw-jacking, foul trouble, but in the end... Illinois' long losing streak continues at five. Indiana actually had to come from behind to keep their #10 ranking alive. It wasn't a pretty game, but they earned it. ()

The Pit Tries to Consume Stanford
* Stanford {Cardinal} at Oregon {Ducks}
Remember Mortal Kombat? You know, the game that TRIED to be better than Street Fighter? One of the stages was "The Pit." Meaning that the winner of the match could uppercut his/her opponent when "Finish Him/Her!" was displayed. An uppercut knocks him/her off the bridge and down to a spike-filled floor. Then the blade impales you, and you're guaranteed dead. Oregon's pit is also dangerous, just not as grotesquely violent. The Ducks are the first NCAA tournament National Champions back in the late 1930s. Oregon's trying to prove they are still good. Stanford's been good. Just too bad their football can't beat most of the football schools they go up against. If Oregon's overrated, explain this. Oregon probably pretended Stanford were Oakland University and pulled off this win. (71-66; OREGON) *** upset! and big win ***

Fashion Trend Alert: the Atlantic 10 is the New Missouri Valley!
* Duquesne {Dukes} at #2? Rhode Island {Rams}
I follow fashion (usually women's fashion). I get to see what are some of the hottest trends going and what are some of the latest styles. Ladies have worn everything from big earrings to fashion sunglasses with huge lenses to peep-toe pumps. Trends even change into makeup and hair styles. Think of the lovely Rihanna going from her long locks of hair to this edgy new bob hairstyle. If you ever hear of a color being "the new black," it's a color that goes with everything and looks great. The Missouri Valley has been the best non-power conference for some time. The MVC is having some down time. In its place? Meet the Atlantic 10. And also meet Duquesne and Rhode Island. The Duquesne Dukes were in the news last season, but not for good reasons. A gunman shot at members of the men's basketball team. The five different players would all recover. Duquesne looks to put some buckets up against a surprising Rhode Island team. The University of Rhode Island can be found in the city of Kingston, RI. It's home to some Top 25 Rams who are more than glad to be among the nation's 25 best. The Rams backed it up in a score that's more like a low-scoring NBA game. (80-78; #2? RHODE ISLAND)

Two Private Religious Schools Will Meet in a New England Clash
* Fairfield {Stags} at Marist {Red Foxes}
The Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference is a conference full of private religious universities and colleges in New England. The appeal to these schools is that these are mostly small schools either in major cities or in greater metropolitan areas of major cities. The MAAC doesn't have too many standout programs. I usually love Niagara University and Marist College in this conference. Two New York state schools for you. I'll have Niagara later in this report. But first, this game. The Red Foxes of Marist College (Poughkeepsie, NY) took out the Stags from Fairfield University. (77-70; MARIST)

Two New York State MAAC Schools Try to One-Up the Other
* Manhattan {Jaspers} at Niagara {Purple Eagles}
I've seen a few games on TV from Niagara University. The school is based in Lewiston, New York (western New York state). The Purple Eagles want to take down some boys in green and white. That would be Manhattan College and their Jaspers. How do you show how bad you are? Win by 17. (80-63; NIAGARA)


Let's pause and get to meet Niagara.

John's Profile School: Niagara University
(most information courtesy of Wikipedia) Niagara University is a Roman Catholic university around Buffalo, New York. It is a private university established in 1856. Its president is Reverend Joseph L. Levesque, C.M. This is a school with tons of academic programs and ways to get around. I usually say that religious schools don't really offer much in terms of being a school where you can truly have fun and enjoy yourself. It does have it's own ROTC program. You would still be in the same state where the United States Military Academy is located. As far as sports go, their rival is Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. Their sports teams even had the highest-scoring baseball game of all-time when Niagara beat NYC's Columbia University with a whopping score of 209-10. This was in 1869. Can you imagine belting out 209 runs in Major League Baseball or in any other form of baseball? That would take forever to get runners on base and get all those Homers and Grand Slams. They are best known in men's basketball as they have a great program. Just last year, they beat Florida A&M 77-69 in the Play-In game. Purple Eagles sure know how to have fun!



More men's scores: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/scoreboard?d=2008-01-13&refresh=60
Women's scores: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/scoreboard?d=2008-01-13&refresh=60





As far as Kentucky goes, injuries are really a tough break. You can't coach against preventing injuries. There is no play on offense or defense to handle injuries. I just hope the rest of the Wildcats step up in a crucial time.


I have one last story to share. FoolKiller hates the deal about fouling players to stop the clock. One of the reasons why could be that you have a situation like one women's game last week. Arizona had only six players dress up and compete. The game went into Double Overtime as four of the six women fouled out of the game. So it's essentially a 5-on-2 match. Talk about being outmatched. The two-player team (Arizona) eventually lost. And I quote from the Sports Illustrated article:

"If one more player fouled out Arizona womens' basketball coach Joan Bonvicini might have started recruiting from the stands at Gill Coliseum." -from: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/caitlin_moscatello/01/10/arizona.osu/index.html





That does it for Sunday action. Come back to see how Monday action all went.

 

[JohnBM01]

ESPN is calling this the Week of Impact. Plenty of crucial matches on the ESPN family of networks. Time to play with heart because you're going to need to. Classes are starting up around the nation. You ready to enroll for another semester of college basketball? I didn't get to set up a report. So I won't get into too many drawn-out reports. I have a good women's game to report later in this thread. So feel free to stick around and take a look and see who beat who on the hardwood.





Oklahoma Needs to Step Up Tonight
* Oklahoma {Sooners} at #3 Kansas {Jayhawks}
The Jayhawks eviscerated the Oklahoma Sooners. This wasn't even close. (85-55; #3 KANSAS)

VMI Falls in Line to Take Down an Impossible Coastal Carolina
* VMI {Keydets} at Coastal Carolina {Chanticleers}
The Keydets won this match in an NBA-style scoring fest. VMI's beating the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina University is a definite upset. (107-100; Virginia Military Institute) *** big win ***


NOTE: Dartmouth at New Hampshire was postponed due to bad weather. The game will be re-scheduled for tomorrow night.


Big Big East Programs Seek a Stellar Win
* #5 Georgetown {Hoyas} at #15 Pittsburgh {Panthers}
The Pitt Panthers seem relentless in returning to postseason play. The Georgetown Hoyas seen their winning ways averted thanks to the Pittsburgh Panthers. (69-60; #15 PITTSBURGH) *** upset! ***



--- Historically Black Colleges and Universities Focus ---
Let's take a look at schools in the SWAC and MEAC.

The SWAC's Best HBCU Takes on a Dangerous SWAC Team
* Mississippi Valley State {Delta Devils} at Alabama A&M {Bulldogs}
Black college basketball time, folks! Where else is Battle of the Bands as important of a battle as the action on the hardwood? I personally think the SWAC is the weakest of the HBCU conferences. I take nothing away from Alabama A&M, Southern, and all the hard-charging SWAC basketballers. The Bulldogs wanted to sink their teeth into the MVSU boys, but the Delta Devils were very sinful in taking down some doggies. (68-63; Mississippi Valley State)

Two HBCU's Wear Blue and Gold as One Team Will be Golden in this Match
* Coppin State {Eagles} at North Carolina A&T {Aggies})
The MAAC is the only HBCU conference in Division 1 that has some non-football schools. Coppin State is one of them. The Baltimore school is home of the Eagles. Coppin State wears blue and gold, but so does North Carolina A&T. The Aggies of North Carolina A&T took the Eagles out of the sky like a game of Duck Hunt. (59-56; NORTH CAROLINA A&T)

Border Rivals Will Clash
* Jackson State {Tigers} at Southern {Jaguars}
Southern University is based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The buzz in Baton Rouge at LSU is still going strong. Southern knows they aren't as superior as LSU, but the Jaguars can really make some magic happen on the floor. Southern took Jackson State for a wild wide. The Mississippi school lost badly to Louisiana's Southern University. (85-69; SOUTHERN)

A Former Football Powerhouse Meets Some South Carolinians
* Maryland-Eastern Shore {Hawks} at South Carolina State {Bulldogs}
The Bulldogs played UMES hard until the Hawks got bested by South Carolina State. (68-60; SOUTH CAROLINA STATE)

-end "HBCU Focus"



Save the best for last? See what you think:

The Blue Devils Went Up to Maryland ~~~ women's hoops ~~~
* #10 Duke {Blue Devils} at #4 Maryland {Terrapins}
My only match pitting the fairer sex is a rivalry match between Maryland and Duke. Both teams have a combined total of five losses (Duke = 3; Maryland = 2). Register a loss for Duke because the Lady Blue Devils couldn't keep up with the Lady Terrapins once they got into cruise control. Terps get her done here. (85-70; #4 MARYLAND)





That's as many matches as I can report for you. My 25th birthday is Tuesday. I'll take any well-wishes you may have here on GTPlanet, my Myspace page, my Facebook site, whereever. I appreciate the love. Thank you all for your support.

 

[JohnBM01]

Officially 25 years old now. Happy birthday to me! Yay! ^_^

 

[FoolKiller]

Happy Birthday, John! Enjoy it!

And don't forget to eat some cake and ice cream and be sure to do something stupid in the spirit of celebration, because people let it slide on your birthday.

 

[JohnBM01]

Thank you very much, FoolKiller. I likewise hope Kentucky will get the job done against Mississippi State tonight. I've been saying that your Wildcats play on my birthday. So I'm sure Kentucky can keep coming of age in trying to take care of business in the SEC.



As a small announcement, today is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day. I will mostly cover black college basketball matches in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I covered some last night. I'll even go into Division 2 to talk about some of the historically-black schools in Division 2. These include schools like Fort Valley State, Elizabeth City State, Kentucky State, Tuskegee, Stillman, and any other HBCU teams that played on this day. See all of you around!

 

[JohnBM01]

I basically took a day off to celebrate my birthday. If you want to read about something I thought about as my 25th birthday was nearing the end, please visit this Myspace blog entry of mine at: < http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?f...n=DDE9B3B9-F8A8-4FA4-A60DDCCE082EED8775022209 >. It is something passionate I thought about even as my mother was telling me something as she came home from work to see me.

I don't make promises or guarantees. I was going to make a salute to our HBCUs (historically-Black colleges and universities), but I'm unfortunately going to have to cancel that. I may just come up with something on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (1/21/2008). I may try each day next month to give out a black college basketball spotlight. I saw about two games and parts of others. I'll report on Ohio State's visit to Michigan State as well as Kentucky leaving Rupp Arena for the first time in 2008. College basketball is always a nice gift for any day, let alone a birthday. Here are my two reports followed by RAPID FIRE highlights of games around America.





Buckeyes Can Beat Michigan State in Football, But Do They Stand a Chance in Hoops?
* Ohio State {Buckeyes} at #8 Michigan State {Spartans}
I thought Iowa was sorry. So how did Iowa knock off Michigan State? Beating up on Michigan State has had Ohio State feeling good about themselves. We're about to see if Ohio State can trump Michigan State at their house. The Ohio State/Michigan games won't take place until February 5th (Michigan at Ohio State) and February 17th (Ohio State at Michigan). I'm sure Ohio State loves to go to Michigan to beat up on Michigan teams because the Buckeyes can't wait to go at it against Michigan each year. But they got Michigan State for this match. The Spartans want to say, "this is basketball. We're not those pathetic saps in Ann Arbor. Instead, we are Michigan State University." The game saw Michigan State pull ahead heading into the end of the first half. Ohio State was on a mission scoring successive field goals to trim the lead down. This is like starting a drive in football on the 1-yard line... only to fight your way to 1st and Goal at the 1-yard line. Michigan State, however, were too powerful on this night. (66-60; #12 MICHIGAN STATE)



Will Kentucky's Win Over Vanderbilt Spur a Winning Streak?
* Kentucky {Wildcats} at Mississippi State {Bulldogs}
I've been saying that Kentucky plays on my birthday. So on my 25th birthday, I'll talk about Kentucky in part of a conference celebrating 75 years of character. Kentucky has PLENTY of character. People have reason to be truly excited about Kentucky football under the wing of Andre' Woodson and players like Rafael Little and Dicky Lyons Jr. Even before this whirlwind run of Kentucky football the past two years, the Wildcats have been kings of the hardwood. They have over seven NCAA championships in men's basketball. Not as impressive nowadays with Tubby Smith gone (and doing a hell of a job at Minnesota) and Billy Gillispie as the head cheese, but Kentucky is still a team you don't want to laugh at or make "your momma" jokes at. Cats and dogs don't get along well. Mississippi State is home of the Bulldogs. One of those bad doggies is Jarvis Varnado. Varnado's triple double over the 'Cats ended up in a bad road trip to Starksville for Kentucky. (69-64; MISSISSIPPI STATE)




--- RAPID FIRE: Men's Scores Only ---

* #17 Wisconsin at Pennsylvania State (80-55; #17 Wisconsin)
* BOSTON COLLEGE *** upset! *** <<< 13th successive win over Miami
* Jacksonville at Savannah State (65-64; Jacksonville)
* La Salle at Pennsylvania (62-58; La Salle)
* Creighton at Northern Iowa (68-59; Creighton)
* Southern Illinois (80-67; Southern Illinois)
* New Mexico at TCU (74-72; TEXAS CHRISTIAN)
* Indiana University-Southbend at Murray State (80-62; MURRAY STATE)





I apologize for not getting this material out earlier.

 

[JohnBM01]

People, I didn't get to prepare any full report. So I'll just offer some quick highlights of random games.



John's Rundown

* Texas Tech upsets #9 Texas A&M as Bobby Knight picks up his 900th win.
* #?? Villanova takes care of DePaul.
* #2 Memphis isn't going to be stopped by lowly Rice... and they didn't.

DID YOU KNOW...
...that Rice plays at Reliant Arena within the confines of Reliant Park? Their games are actually played there since Autry Court (Rice's home court) is having renovations done. Reliant Stadium is supposed to be used for March Madness action.

* In an absolute thriller, the #1 Tar Heels of North Carolina barely survived the onslaught of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. I figured this would be an NBA-style scoring game as it ended 83-82 in favor of UNC.

* #21 Xavier University was a hot program, but they are now fading fast as Temple beat them down like it was nothing. Overrated? Probably what that Owls think as they beat the Musketeers 78-59. This is Xavier's fourth loss.

* In a battle of Texas C-USA schools, the Houston Cougars were victorious by the tune of a 99-71 beating of Dallas' Southern Methodist University.

* Saint Joseph's barely lost to the Charlotte 49ers. Yes, they lost 70-66, but being down by four is still a tough loss to take.



I don't have much in terms of women's scores at this time. For all scores for both genders, please visit the following links:

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/scoreboard?d=2008-01-16&refresh=60 (Men)
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/scoreboard?d=2008-01-16&refresh=60 (Women)





We got a rivalry game coming up on Thursday night as Tennessee and Vanderbilt will square off. Come back for my next report.

 

[JohnBM01]

I have no report. You know I'll type up at least something from the past time if I have no full report. So here is a quick rundown:



John's Rundown
* #?? Butler Upset on the Road at Cleveland State 56-52
* #13 Marquette Disappointingly Gets Upset 71-51 on the Road at Louisville
* #?? Rhode Island stunned At Saint Louis 68-61 (SLU scored only 20 points at George Washington, edges out Rhode Island)


These were three upsets that stood out for me. You can see more scores at these two links:

* http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/scoreboard?d=2008-01-17&refresh=60 (Men)
* http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/scoreboard?d=2008-01-17&refresh=60 (Women)

Kentucky Struggles, Louisville's Doing Okay, But Who's the Best in Kentucky Right Now?
Neither Kentucky power school looks great (according to FoolKiller). But there is one school really carrying the load for the Bluegrass State, and they wear red- Western Kentucky. They are one of the most winningest programs in all of college basketball. This team not likely to make a Final Four anytime soon, but the Hilltoppers are 13-5 overall and 5-1 in the Sun Belt. I always say Western Kentucky vs. South Alabama is a tough matchup. The best in the Sun Belt Western Division is Arkansas-Little Rock. South Alabama is unbeaten in conference and 14-3 overall. Either South Alabama or Western Kentucky will likely make a run for the tournament. Maybe both will get in this season. I'd like to see both WKU and USA advance to the tournament. That is, unless the tournament committee thinks one or both will miss the NCAA and visit the NIT.



Only FOUR teams play Friday night. I'll have my NBA Focus as usual. I may start having some NBA Focus moments when I have something to share from the NBA.

 

[JohnBM01]

You want Saturday basketball? Most of the juicy action is on Saturdays- just like college football. So allow me to show you Friday action including a focus on the NBA.




John's Rundown

--- Men's Action ---
* Rival Schools Niagara University and Canisius College Ended With a 70-62 win for the Golden Griffins (Canisius)- Canisius was Home Team
* Gardner-Webb Stunned Kentucky at Rupp Way Back When, but Campbell Ruled Over Gardner-Webb 93-73
* Hosts Iona College Proved to be Better Than the Fairfield Stags With a 67-52 win
* The Bucknell Bison Stampede 73-65 Over The College of the Holy Cross


Women's Action
* The key match in the Women's matches was #4 Maryland meeting Virginia. Maryland were better with a 74-62 win.


All Men's scores covered. More Women's Scores:
* http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/scoreboard?d=2008-01-18&c=all&refresh=0





--- NBA Focus ---

Don't Expect Miami to Get Hot Again When Portland Comes to South Beach
* Portland Trailblazers at Miami Heat
This would be the a6m5 special. His Trailblazers took a trip down to Miami. The Miami Heat lacked sufficient firepower in averting their losing skid. This is Miami's 12th-successive loss. (98-91; Portland Trailblazers)

Knicks Can't Seem to Shake the Losing Monkey Off
* New York Knicks at Washington Wizards
(111-98; WASHINGTON WIZARDS)

Not a Happy Travel North of the Border for Atlanta
* Atlanta Hawks at Toronto Raptors
(89-78; TORONTO RAPTORS)

Get Some Asprin... This One's Gonna Hurt
* Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
(116-89 BOSTON CELTICS)

MoTown Ready to Throw Down by Dethroning the Kings in the Pistons' Kingdom
* Sacromento Kings at Detroit Pistons
(100-93; Sacromento Kings)

From the Pacific Northwest to Graceland
* Seattle Supersonics at Memphis Grizzlies
(124-100; MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES)

The Timberwolves Just Want to Win
* Minnesota Timberwolves at Phoenix Suns
(115-95; PHOENIX SUNS)

Golden State isn't a College, But Excels in Slapping Teams Silly
* Golden State Warriors at Chicago Bulls
119-111; Golden State Warriors)





--- John's Student Lounge ---

Losing Two Figures
* Chess great, Bobby Fischer died at the age of 64 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He was one of the finest in the game of Chess. He had been in the news for all the wrong reasons, especially with his completely erratic behavior. * St. Louis Rams' owner, Georgia Frontiere, died at the age of 80. She lost her battle with breast cancer. Perhaps the most significant moment for her was moving the Los Angeles Rams to her native St. Louis. You can read more about her passing by visiting this Yahoo! Sports link: < http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_y...ubYF?slug=ap-obit-frontiere&prov=ap&type=lgns >. My thoughts and prayers go out to all whom have known both B. Fischer and G. Frontiere.





That's all for this one. ESPN College Gameday will have their first college basketball show of the season as they will be in Gainesville, FL for the Saturday Night game as Florida hosts Kentucky. The way I've been doing these shorter scores, I think this may give me a chance to offer some more quick highlights. As I always say, don't wait on me to make the report. Tell me about ANY game or any moment in college basketball. Why wait for my report when you can comment about the action while I'm making my report? I need you all to help expand my college basketball discussions. So keep these threads rolling!

 

[JohnBM01]

You probably have a three-day weekend. I can make your weekend better with college hoops action from around the nation. I'll try to take you around America as best as I can.





Saturday Scores


North Carolina's Been Dodging Bullets Recently... Will One Finally Hit?
* Maryland {Terrapins} at #1 North Carolina {Tar Heels}
I actually saw most of this game. The Maryland Terrapins were the 2002 Men's National Champions, and they delivered a championship performance at the capital of Tar Heel country. I'm sure Duke (featured later) were celebrating like crazy even as they hosted Clemson. (82-80; Maryland) *** #1 Upset!!! ***




Kentucky Triple Crown: UK, UL, and WKU
All three of Kentucky's talented programs had road games. Let's see how the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University all did in their respective games. It's a FoolKiller special.

Kentucky Plays in Murky Water Against Some Reptiles
* Kentucky {Wildcats} at Florida {Gators}
Welcome to "Animal Planet." Find out what happens when ferocious felines meet ravenous reptiles. It's surival of the fittest for two SEC bad boys. Let's meet these two schools as part of ESPN College Gameday's marquee matchup. First, Florida. The University of Florida is in the city of Gainesville, FL. The school is hoping to give Billy Donovan three sueccessive National Championships. Good news for Kentucky fans is that Joakim Noah is in the NBA and not calling Kentucky as the "kitty cats." Gators don't play nice. They'll sink their teeth into any lifeform. Including felines. The Kentucky Wildcats are going through the motions. Florida faithful were in the house including Tim Tebow (Heisman-winning QB for the Gators) and former player and Atlanta Hawk, Al Horford. Kentucky took it into Overtime, but unlike their game against Vanderbilt, Kentucky couldn't close out Florida. Almost seems like Kentucky's working hard to make this season a success, but are kind of wishing this long season will finally end. (81-70, OT; FLORIDA)

If You Play Your Cards Right, ANYONE Can Beat Louisville
* Louisville {Cardinals} at Seton Hall {Pirates}
Seton Hall University can be found in the city of South Orange, New Jersey. It is a suburb of New York City if I'm not mistaken. The Pirates are usually a doormat in Big East play (unless you account South Florida or maybe even St. John's). Louisville played this game before Kentucky's trip to Florida. Even then, Kentucky lost by nine in Overtime at Florida. Louisville lost by ten at the lowly(?) Seton Hall Pirates. No Overtime. (92-82; SETON HALL)

Western Kentucky Meets Some Ragin' Cajuns
* Western Kentucky {Hilltoppers} at Louisiana-Lafayette {Ragin' Cajuns}
Ending this Triple Crown of Kentucky basketball is Western Kentucky's visit to Louisiana-Lafayette. The Hilltoppers of Bowling Green, Kentucky call E.A. Diddle Arena home. I'm sure E.A. Diddle would be proud of this year's WKU program. Louisiana-Lafayette's football team beat Alabama. Could the Ragin' Cajuns beat the 'Toppers from Western Kentucky? It was close, but Western Kentucky pulled out the win. (69-66; Western Kentucky)

-end "Kentucky Triple Crown"



Michigan vs. Indiana in a Match of Non-Football Teams
* Oakland {Golden Grizzlies} at IPFW {Mastodons}
Joey D ? You in the house? Oakland University won't be serving justice at home because they'll be heading to Fort Wayne, IN to meet some animals brought back from the Ice Age. Unfortunately, it was the Oakland Golden Grizzlies that were extinct as the IPFW Mastodons had their way. (77-69; INDIANA-PURDUE-FORT WAYNE)

Texas A&M Tries to Get it All Back Together
* #9 Texas A&M {Aggies} at Kansas State {Wildcats}
This is TAMU and KanSU. Beasley for Kansas State has been pretty huge for the purple and silver(?). The Aggies had no answer for the Wildcats of K-State in a beatdown. (75-54; KANSAS STATE) *** upset! and disappointing loss ***

Duke IS the Devil... And I'm Sure They Don't Have a Problem With That
* #21 Clemson {Tigers} at #5 Duke {Blue Devils}
Duke University is done laughing at North Carolina for losing to Maryland. Well guess what? Clemson isn't a slouch either. Not impressive, but certainly not a cupcake. If they can win the 1981 National Championship in football, imagine what the Tigers could do in basketball. Playing at Duke is tough, especially when the Blue Devils welcomed Clemson to their own blue purgatory. (93-80; #5 DUKE)

OFF-TOPIC
Cameron Indoor Stadium seems very small when a game is played. It's not big like North Carolina's Dean E. Smith Center, Kentucky's Rupp Arena, or any other large arena. Still, the Cameron Crazies make the joint feel like the Neyland Stadium of college basketball. Just unreal. Will they ever play Kentucky again?





East vs. West: Conference USA's Texas Shootout
* UTEP {Miners} at Houston {Cougars}
The University of Houston will face the Texas-El Paso Miners in this game. Houston may not have Phi Slamma Jamma, but they have some Cougars trying to make the postseason for the first time since 1992. This Houston isn't entirely impressive, but they need to keep turning up the heat to make some noise in March. Houston made sure to dispose of UTEP properly so they can look forward to their match against Rice (their crosstown rivals) this coming Tuesday. They improved to 13-3 with this win. Houston played host to the East-West Shrine Game in football, but this match in men's basketball was a win the Coogs will gladly take. (77-72; HOUSTON)

SIDE NOTE:
If Memphis remains unbeaten, here are the dates in which Houston and Memphis will collide:
* February 2nd: Memphis at Houston
* February 13th: Houston at Memphis
Prognosticators believe this could be Houston's season to stun Memphis. We'll see if that comes to form next month.



Kentucky Beat Vanderbilt; Can LSU Too?
* LSU {Tigers} at #16 Vanderbilt {Commodores}
LSU's Tigers came to play, and came to get their asses whipped by some fiery Commodores.[/B] (92-76; #16 VANDERBILT)

DID YOU KNOW...
...that this loss makes LSU 7-11 overall? Did you also know that they are officially 0-4 in SEC play with this loss? I'm not even sure "we play in a tough conference" is a good excuse for this usually great team this season. They are now dead last in the SEC West. They are tied for fewest overall wins by an SEC team, tied with Kentucky, both with seven wins apiece.


Los Angeles' Pride on the Line Between L.A.'s Two Premier Schools: Round 1
* USCal {Trojans} at #4 UCLA {Bruins}
O.J. Mayo has been in the news for the wrong reasons in his high school action, but he's really helping the Trojans in basketball apart from their football success. The Trojans did just that as the UCLA Bruins didn't know what hit them. Southern Cal doesn't seem to be just a football school anymore the way this team's been playing. (72-63; Southern California) *** upset! ***



John's Rundown: Men
Something I'm going to start doing in my rundowns is underline teams. The team that is underlined is the home team in the games.

Men's Rundown:

* Notre Dame Badly Lost a Fight Against Georgetown 84-65
* Syracuse Loses By a Dime to #25 Villanova (81-71)
* Georgia Tech Decisively Wins the Battle of the Techs Over Virginia Tech 81-70
* The Tigers of Savannah State Have Came of Age in Beating Longwood
* Tony Kornheiser's Alma Mater, the Binghamton[/B] Bearcats Took Care of the UMBC Retrivers 62-59
* Religious Chicago School, DePaul University Barely Edge out Rutgers' Scarlet Knights
* Fordham's Rams Won a Close 75-74 Victory Over Duquesne
* The University of Texas-San Antonio Trumped the Northwestern State Demons Late in an 81-78 Overtime Win
* Wichita State's Gone South as the Southern Illinois Salukis Beat the Shockers 63-52
* Tennessee's Volunteers Shown Ohio State Who's Boss in a 74-69 Win





John's Rundown: Women

* Oakland's Men Lost Against IPFW, and So Did the Women (75-70)
* Connecticut Remains Unbeaten as they Handle Cincinnati 86-49
* The Syracuse Ladies Handled Villanova Quite Well 73-60
* Temple's Men Handled Xavier a Few Days Ago; Temple's Women Upset #13 George Washington in a Tight 68-66 Clash
* If Only #17 Notre Dame's Men Could Have Beaten Georgetown the Way the Women Did... (104-86)
* The #22 Pittsburgh Lady Panthers Beat Providence's Lady Friars in an 81-61 Blowout
* The Lady Mountaineers of #14 West Virginia Handled the St. John's Lady Red Storm 68-44
* The Lady Broncs of Texas Pan-American Couldn't Silence the Chicago State Lady Cougars
* The Lady Bison of North Dakota State Blew Out the Lady Kangaroos of UMKC 80-62
* Kansas Men Beat Missouri, and So Did the Lady Jayhawks 66-60





Didn't see your favorite Division 1 team's score? Find more scores by following these links:
* http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/scoreboard?d=2008-01-19&c=all&refresh=0 (Men)
* http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/scoreboard?d=2008-01-19&c=all&refresh=0 (Women)





Thank you for reading! Hope you have a great weekend!

 

[FoolKiller]

Kentucky has got to quit these overtime games. Heart attacks are not cool!!!!

 

[JohnBM01]

(the following was from Sunday)

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (observed) is tomorrow. I'll have a focus on historically-black schools that day while also providing scores for non-HBCUs. This is another nationwide tour. You ready for your Sunday fix? The conference championships in the NFL is going on, but they aren't the only sports in action today... as you will soon find out.





Sunday Scores: 1/20/2007

Blue and Gold Meets Blue and White
* #13 Marquette {Golden Eagles}
(89-73; CONNECTICUT) *** upset! ***



For a change of pace, I'm going straight into the women's scores to show you a women's game for a devoted reader.

An SEC Cat Fight Pits a Football Power Against a (Men's) Basketball Powerhouse
* Auburn {Tigers} at Kentucky {Wildcats}
Previously on Kentucky basketball... the men's team took Florida into overtime, only to lose in OT. Perhaps the Kentucky ladies can warm things up in Lexington... and I'm not talking about the cheerleaders. Auburn's men are surprsingly good while Kentucky's men have had a long season. The Lady Tigers of Auburn are thinking beatdown when they take on 8-9 Kentucky. Meanwhile, the Kentucky ladies are looking to show that while they aren't the best women's team in the SEC, they can be every bit as intense and impactful as the men. The Lady Wildcats will be willing to prove that to Auburn. Kentucky's men may be having a rough season, but the Kentucky women took care of business. Goes to show you that Kentucky women have more fun... beating down other teams. (62-55; KENTUCKY) *** upset! ***



I wished I had more to share. So visit the following for more Sunday scores:

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/scoreboard?d=2008-01-20&refresh=60 (Men's Scores)
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/scoreboard?d=2008-01-20&refresh=60 (Women's Scores)





I'll have Monday scores when I have them available.

 

[JohnBM01]

Dr. Martin Luther King Day has come and gone as of this date. I'll highlight on the big matchups before I make my HBCU focus.





John's Rundown
Remember, the home team is underlined.

* Syracuse Thinks Upset, but Falls Short in Overtime at Georgetown
* Someone Had to Lose, And it Was #3 North Carolina to #1 Connecticut ~women's ball~
* Eddie Sutton Denied Win #800 at Gonzaga as San Francisco's One-Game Winning Streak Ends





John's HBCU Focus
Here is a quick look at how some historically-black colleges and universities and how they did in basketball on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Take a look:

--- Men ---
* Florida A&M at Coppin State (63-48; Florida A&M)
* Alcorn State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (74-68; ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF)
* Texas Southern at Jackson State (69-57; JACKSON STATE)
* Norfolk State at Maryland-Eastern Shore (84-65; Norfolk State)
* Southern at Mississippi Valley State (61-58; MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE)
* Bethune-Cookman at Morgan State (59-50; MORGAN STATE)
* Howard at South Carolina State (60-58; SOUTH CAROLINA STATE)
* Hampton at Winston-Salem (64-62; Hampton)
* Miles at Stillman (83-69; STILLMAN)
* LeMoyne-Owen at Tuskegee (66-60; LeMoyne-Owen)

--- Women ---
* Savannah State at Alabama State (59-56; ALABAMA STATE)
* Alcorn State at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (62-57; ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF)
* Florida A&M at Coppin State (90-62; COPPIN STATE)
* North Carolina A&T at Delaware State (64-57; North Carolina A&T)
* Prairie View A&M at Grambling State (66-50; Prairie View A&M)
* Texas Southern at Jackson State (62-54, OT; JACKSON STATE)
* Norfolk State at Maryland-Eastern Shore (88-65; MARYLAND-EASTERN SHORE)
* Southern at Mississippi Valley State (60-46; Southern)
* Bethune-Cookman at Morgan State (54-52; MORGAN STATE)
* Howard at South Carolina State (97-45; SOUTH CAROLINA STATE) *** ownage ***
* Hampton at Winston-Salem (58-38; Hampton)
* Miles at Stillman (57-52; Miles)
* LeMoyne-Owen at Tuskegee (84-60; TUSKEGEE)






For more scores from Monday, visit these links:
* http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/scoreboard?d=2008-01-21&refresh=60 (Men's Scores)
* http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/scoreboard?d=2008-01-21&refresh=60 (Women's Scores)



Get ready for some Tuesday basketball from both the men and the women. I'll have my next report when I have it fully complete.