We got college hoops, college hoops, and more college hoops. It's Saturday. The Barrett-Jackson collector car auction is taking place, the Dakar Rally is finishing up, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is next week... and we got about 330 or so Division 1 college basketball teams in the NCAA. I can hopefully get every school from Air Force to Youngstown State for you all. So what do you say, boys and girls? You ready to hit this thing off? Then let's get it on, players!
Let's begin in Texas. The other day, I took you all to my hometown for some college basketball. Now, I'm taking you to my home state. I say home state because Houston took on Tulsa (probably while freezing their asses off). We begin with a stunner in northwestern Texas. Actually, there's been a lot of stunners. Care to come along for the ride?
--- Big XII Texas Pack ---
Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor... if they played, I got their scores. All you need to do is read them and maybe drop me a line.
The Wicked Road Trip Continues for Texas
* #21 Texas at Villanova
This game was televised on CBS as we head into the greater Philadelphia area. The down South boys of Texas met the New Englanders in Villanova. When you come down south as a northerner, expect some southern un-hospitality. Likewise for southerners going up north. Southerners going up north describes this game in a nutshell. But what about the score? The Texas Longhorns lost at Oklahoma State in a triple overstime shootout. The Austin, TX unit continued their brutal road trip. I believe last season, Texas upset Villanova at Texas. So if that's true, then Villanova wants revenge. The only Wildcats of the Big East are a talented bunch. Find out if Villanova gets the revenge they have longed for as we kick this bad boy off. Texas kept it close, but you can kiss the #21 designation goodbye. It's kind of like getting dumped by a hot girl. Texas was hot, now after this game, they've been iced. (76-69; VILLANOVA) *upset!*
How Has Bobby Knight's Boys Been Doing Recently?
* #5 Kansas at Texas Tech
We return to Texas to go to Lubbock. Texas Tech's Red Raiders are going to try to upset Kansas. Why TRY to upset when Texas Tech did it? The Kansas Jayhawks went down in flames. Fried Jayhawk, anyone? (69-64; TEXAS TECH) *upset!*
Inconsistent Illini?
* #2 Wisconsin at Illinois
It's the
dougiemeats special! Simply put, the Wisconsin Badgers handed Illinois their lunch. It wasn't a blowout, but the Fighting Illini dropped another decision in this match. (71-64; #2 Wisconsin)
The Greg Oden Show
* Iowa at #7 Ohio State
"Live from the Value City Arena in Columbus, OH... it's the Greg Oden Show! Today's guests- the rest of the Ohio State Buckeyes! Thad Matta! And some Iowa Hawkeyes. And now, the star of the show... GRRRRRREEEEEGGGG ODEN!" (cheers and applause) In fact, that's all Ohio State's fans could so as this blowout was complete. (82-69; #7 OHIO STATE)
--- 1900 Club ---
One team is already a member of the 1900 Club for 1900 wins. Another just joined that list. Let's meet them.
Kentucky Joins the Top 25, But Would They Retain That Rank?
* Vanderbilt at #25 Kentucky
It's the FoolKiller special, folks! Let's try to jazz up this game a bit. Imagine being at a fashion show in New York or Paris. Or perhaps imagine you're one of the paparazzi flashing mad amounts of pictures of trendy celebrities. What normally happens is that the stars on the red carpet are usually going to be shown in various amounts of media so that inspired divas can get their love. These two teams are going to showcase how much of a hot statement they are. Is the black and gold of Vanderbilt "in," or is the royal blue and white "in?" Let's meet the Tennessee boys first. Vanderbilt shows wicked style on the basketball court. Their basketball inspires a lot of future stars on the basketball court. The Commodores would tell you that they are DEFINITELY in... hopefully "in" for the NCAA Tournament. In the world of fashion, this phrase is common: "___ is the new black." Why black? It goes with most everything. It's a tried-and-true style that works for virtually anyone. Kentucky will tell you that blue and white has ALWAYS been "in" even before any other team claims they're the hottest statement going. Kentucky is sort of like their own fashion show. Their red carpet is Rupp Arena's hardwood. The paparazzi are in the stands taking mad pictures of their beloved team. And all the Wildcats can do are give the 23K+ fans something to remember Kentucky basketball by. Unfortunately, black and gold are the new black in this upset. Kentucky loses only their fourth game. (72-67; Vanderbilt) *upset!*
ACC Firefight
* Georgia Tech at #4 North Carolina
Want to see something scary? Come on over to Chapel Hill, NC. We got UNC taking on GT. The Georgia Insitute of Technology can be found basically in the heart of Atlanta. You can see some of downtown Atlanta if you go to their football field. The Yellow Jackets are ready to sting North Carolina with all they got. GT would kill North Carolina in football. But in basketball, this is usually a great matchup. One of the proudest North Carolina alums is Michael Jordan. One of the more recent basketball alums include
Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls(?). It was only the 2004-2005 season when North Carolina knocked off Illinois in the title game. That specific Illinois squad that season won all of their regular season games except the last. Then they won all the NCAA tourney games... except the last. Looking to last longer than any chance of Paris Hilton getting a platinum or double platinum album are North Carolina's Tar Heels. North Carolina beat down GT in this one. And with this win, they join Kentucky as having 1,900 wins. My congratulations to this great team. (77-61; NORTH CAROLINA)
-end "1900 Club"
Packers-Town Meets Colts-Town
Wisconsin-Green Bay at #15 Butler
Green Bay may not be in the playoffs. While the Indianapolis Colts are readying themselves to actually knock off New England this time, let's meet another sensational story in Indianapolis- Butler University. Butler is only one of two Horizon League schools that have football programs. The other is Youngstown State. Football is big in Green Bay, WI, but I'll tell you about something I read about why UWGB didn't want a football team there. Wisconsin-Green Bay has excelled in basketball. I normally say that Wisconsin-Milwaukee is a great team. But they aren't having a great season. The Phoenix of Wisconsin-Green Bay are doing great. But so are Butler. I usually confuse Butler with Drake. Both schools have the same mascot, but I normally mismatch the cities. Butler University is in Indianapolis, IN, the host city of the Final Four back last season. Amid all the anticipation of the Colts/Patriots match on Sunday night, college basketball fans at Butler just want to see this squad beat Wisconsin-Green Bay so that they can hope the Colts can beat the Patriots. Don't be surprised if you saw fans leave early because this game was nowhere near close. (80-59; #18 BUTLER)
(Extra) John's Feature School: Butler University
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butler_University
Website: http://www.butler.edu/
Athletics: http://butlersports.cstv.com/
Butler University's success in men's basketball has prompted me to talk more about this team. The motto for Butler is "Education, Research, Service." Founded on November 1, 1855, it was first known as North Western Central University. Today's NWCU is Butler University, a private coeducational liberal arts school. Over 290 acres of land in America's fastest city make up Butler. Their basketball is played at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler was a #12 seed in the 2003 March Madness tournament. They knocked off #5 Mississippi State in Round 1 and #4 Louisville in Round 2. Maybe one of the more popular basketball alum of Butler is Thad Matta, the head coach of Ohio State. Butler's football team is part of the Pioneer Football League. The PFL will likely see Campbell University make their triumphant retun to football in the 2008 season under the Pioneer Football League banner. I don't think Butler has the most impressive football team, but they are up there with teams like Dayton and San Diego in that conference. It was rated as one of "America's Best Colleges" according to the U.S. News and World Report last year.
As for basketball, they are currently 17-2 on the year and 5-1 in conference. Their only conference loss was at Illinois-Chicago in Overtime. Butler is the leader in the Horizon League. Only Dayton, OH's Wright State University has a 5-1 record. Rounding out the Top 5 are Loyola University of Chicago (12-7; 4-3), Illinois-Chicago (13-7; 4-3), and Youngstown State (9-11; 4-4). Their final games this month include going to Detroit (good team with a terrible season) next Saturday, at home to get their revenge over Illinois-Chicago one week from this coming Monday, and then they go to Youngstown State one week from this coming Wednesday. And that's Butler for you.
(Extra) Why no Football at Wisconsin-Green Bay?
College football can be great fun to watch. However, it isn't very fun if you're in a happenin' NFL city and not have some collegiate pigskin there. You can see the Packers rule Lambeau Field any given Sunday or Monday night. But it's been said that Wisconsin-Green Bay initially didn't want a football team there for two reasons. First off, it's an expensive venture. That's understandable. What isn't is this- the initial founder of Wisconsin-Green Bay didn't want to see their football team get overshadowed by the Green Bay Packers. I do find that pretty dumb because I think most professional teams overshadow ANYTHING collegiate. Look at it like this. I don't think there is any other Division 1 football team in Wisconsin other than the University of Wisconsin. There's no pro teams in Madison, but I'm sure there would be talk about the Green Bay Packers of the NFL and the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. And let's not forget the Milwaukee Brewers of the National League in MLB baseball. I forget most other teams there. But all I'm saying is that it is going to happen. Do you think the evening sports news in Green Bay is going to start with UWGB sports? Likely not. And it isn't like Wisconsin-Green Bay is its Big Ten Wisconsin brotheren. Or look here in Houston. There's hardly any talk about Texas Southern basketball in NCAA action or Houston Baptist University's NAIA basketball (they have no football team). So I say that if Wisconsin-Green Bay wants to add football so that maybe future Phoenix footballers can play for the Packers, then by all means (with appropriate funding) GO FOR IT!!!
--- Chicago Challenge ---
All games are either in Chicago or feature greater Chicago teams. Let's get ready to do this!
Red vs. Blue
* Louisville at DePaul
We're going to Chicago for the first of three different games played in Chicago. The Chicago Bears are ready to take on the New Orleans Saints to determine this year's Super Bowl in Miami. DePaul University is all about basketball since there's no more Blue Demons' football. Louisville has two National Championships and look to cover Chicago in Cardinal red. Mission accomplished. (59-50; Louisville)
Detroit Has a Terrible Season... But Could Make Things Better in Chicago
* Detroit at Illinois-Chicago
The University of Detroit-Mercy College is looking to take on a hot University of Illinois-Chicago squad. The Titans of Detroit are looking to extinguish UIC's Flames. They picked up a feel-good win for a floundering squad. (66-54; Detroit)
A Former National Champion Looks to Keep a Good Thing Going
* IPFW at Loyola UC
IPFW stands for "Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne." These Mastodons from Fort Wayne, IN are ready to hammer a former National Champion. In fact, I think no greater Chicago area school was won the NCAA Tournament except for Loyola UC. Back in either the 1950s or the 1960s, the Loyola University of Chicago saw their Ramblers win it all. The Ramblers of today made the Mastodons extinct. (69-53; LOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO)
Chicago State Meets one of Their Former Conference Foes
* Chicago State at Western Illinois (-; )
Before this season began, Chicago State was part of the Mid-Continent Conference. Now the Cougars are Independent. At least they were Independents that could still win games. Just ask Western Illinois' Leathernecks. (82-72; Chicago State)
end "Chicago Challenge"
The Apple Cup of Basketball
Washington at Washington State
If Washington beats Washington State in football, it's not really a problem. But if the Washington State Cougars beat the Washington Huskies, then something's wrong with the boys from Seattle. This is a TERRIBLE loss. (75-47; WASHINGTON STATE) *most disappointing loss*
Houston Looks to Rebound After Self-Destruction Against Rice
* Houston at Tulsa
After a rough night at Rice, Houston goes north in freezing cold Tulsa. The Cougars wear Scarlet Red, so they are hot no matter what the weather is. Houston's already endured enough bad weather, so a Golden Hurricane is the next worst thing for Houston. Houston weathered the storm to win. (69-67; Houston)
(RAPID FIRE)
-MEN-
* Charlotte at George Washington (76-68; GEORGE WASHINGTON)
* Colgate at Bucknell (50-36; BUCKNELL)
* Drexel at Delaware (69-61; Drexel)
* Boston College at #19 Clemson (74-54; #19 CLEMSON)
* Florida A&M at Maryland-Eastern Shore (65-55; Florida A&M)
* #17 Duke at North Carolina State (79-56; #17 Duke)
*** NOTE *** The Top 4 in NCAA Division 1 Men's basketball won their games, so no upsets.
-WOMEN-
* #25 Kansas State at #13 Baylor (79-70; #13 BAYLOR)
* #19 Marquette at Providence (79-77; #19 Marquette)
*
#?? TCU at Wyoming (66-51; WYOMING) *upset!*
* South Alabama at Denver (54-34; DENVER)
More scores here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/scoreboard?d=2007-01-20&c=all&refresh=0
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/scoreboard?d=2007-01-20&c=all&refresh=0
See you next time!