I woke her up long before that, and jumped out the window when you whooped. :-) (That's for bustin' my stones, Keith! :-) )


Though I don't feel all that talkative today, lemme do this, starting with:


Duke 85 - North Carolina 84 = The Heels had this one in their pocket, and Dook took it away from them. Hey, it's happened before, both ways. A great win for the Blue Devils to steal, and they needed it after that Miami fiasco. As for Carolina, the only thing that even partly saved the night was . . .

Boston College 64 - Florida State 60 = That result above should not have shocked anybody who knows jack about college hoops, but this is a stunner. The Seminoles could have grabbed the ACC lead for themselves, but due to this huge upset there is again a 3-way tie atop the league between the Big Dawgs, with NCSU and UVA both just a game behind. Fun fun fun! As for BC, well I guess they deserve a little fun this year too.


Syracuse 64 - Georgetown 61 (OT) = I can see why Hoya fans would be disturbed by this, but take solace in the fact that this young team has played well above expectations and acquitted themselves admirably against the Orange on their court. It only bodes well for their future. Good win for 'Cuse however.

Kansas 68 - Baylor 54 = And a good win for the Jayhawks in Waco too.

South Florida 63 - Pittsburgh 51 = Either the Panthers took a step backwards, or the Bulls got themselves another nice victory. They do that, several times each year.

Notre Dame 55 - West Virginia 51 = As do the Irish, and this one on the road counts as another.


Tonight:


Mississippi vs. Mississippi State = Could be a pretty decent in-state rivalry game in Starkville, though without the import of the one in Chapel Hill last night.

N. C. State vs. Georgia Tech = Jerry 'Pack has 17 wins so far, and at 6-3 are still in the ACC race. They may have already earned an at-large, though a few more wins would ice it. Here's a great shot at one in Atlanta tonight.

Wisconsin vs. Minnesota = And this Big Ten+ battle should be a close battle, with post-season import for both teams.

Tennessee State vs. Murray State = Joe's Racers may get a bit of a game at home tonight, but if they can regain some of the focus they've let slip lately they ought to prevail by 3 or 4 possessions.

Illinois vs. Indiana = It's hard to tell whose going to show up on any given night with either of these two. In Bloomington I'd give the Hoosiers an edge, but the Illini are capable of making it one hell of a game.

Colorado vs. Arizona = And this should be one hell of a fight in the desert for two of the better Pac-12 teams. Even in Tucson, the Buffs have a good chance of skinning the 'Cats. I'd flip a coin on this one.

Virginia Tech vs. Miami = The 'Canes got their signature win Sunday, and at 14-7 and 5-3 they even have a shot for at-large consideration. But they need to build on that upset of Dook, and cannot stumble against the Hokies here. This could get interesting.

St. Mary's vs. Gonzaga = And this will almost certainly be interesting in Spokane late tonight. The Big Boys on the Left Coast may be "meh" squads, but there are several mid-majors who can hoop with the best. Here's two of them. I'm not sure my head can follow my heart, which picks the Gaels over the Zags, so bet this one at your own peril.


That's about all I can stands for one night, and likely you feel the same. Enjoy.
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OK, I guess I'd best start with what's the biggest news of last night, that being:


Tennessee State 72 - Murray State 68 = And then there were none. I figured the Tigers might give Joe's Racers a game, but I also thought MSU would have learned from surviving a few scares that they needed to close out games. Apparently they haven't, and blew a late lead to drop their first one of the season. Furthermore, they STILL had a chance to pull it out late, but played the sloppiest last 10 seconds you've seen in a loooong time. It started with a stolen pass off an inbounds with the Racers down one, followed by a loose-ball foul off a fumbled dribble, with THAT followed with a fullcourt baseball pass that went to the stands. Pundits are asking if Murray State jinxed itself by printing T-shirts proclaiming them the "last of the unbeaten" . . . much like Syracuse jinxed themselves with their "20-0" shirts earlier this year. Yeah, OK. And the real reason they lost is that Joe forgot to turn his cap inside out. :-) (That's also the likely reason Middle Tennessee State also won over Western Kentucky last night, thus making it a miserable night for Joe.) Regardless, congratulations to Murray State for getting this deep into the season without a loss.

N. C. State 61 - Georgia Tech 52 = Not an unexpected victory for Jerry's Wolfpack, considering how crappy the Wreck is this year, but one that may have sealed an at-large for State. As this would be their first trip to the NCAAs since they (wrongly, IMHO) fired Herb Sendek, this is big in Raleigh.

Wisconsin 68 - Minnesota 61 (OT) = A very good, hard-fought battle, which unsurprisingly either team could have won. The one odd thing about this game is that the Badgers managed to score only 19 points in the 2nd half, yet tallied 17 in OT. WTF?

Indiana 84 - Illinois 71 = Nothing unexpected here, and maybe the young Hoosiers have gotten their second wind.

Arizona 71 - Colorado 57 = Though I'm not surprised the Desert 'Cats won in Tucson, I did expect more of a challenge from the Buffs. But that's my problem, not yours or theirs. What is germaine is that this result ties these two for 2nd place in the Pac-12 at 8-4, along with . . .

Oregon 82 - Washington 57 = . . . the Ducks, who spanked the Huskies to make that a 3-way for 2nd place. And as for those Huskies, this decisive loss drops them to 9-2 and into a 2-way tie for 1st with . . .

California 75 - USC 49 = . . . da Bears. So what's with all the blowouts in the Pac-12 last night? Or maybe it was for the entire Left Coast, considering . . .

Gonzaga 73 - St. Mary's 59 = Again, I'm not so much surprised by the result as I am with the margin of victory. A good win for the 'Zags, and a pretty ugly performance by the Gaels. And speaking of the Gaels . . .


Tonight's very limited action includes:


Iona vs. Loyola (MD) = Believe it or not, the all-but unknown Greyhounds are tied with the Gaels for 1st place in the MAAC with their identical 11-2 records. I should not need say more as to the importance of this game. One less important in a conference race is . . .

Wisc. Milwaukee v.s Detroit = . . . because the Horizon race seems to involve only Valpo and Cleveland State. Yet this should be a very good game between well-matched teams. Still, if you want to concentrate on those with true league-meaning, you can choose either . . .

Harvard vs. Penn = In the Palestra, so you have to give the 4-1 Quakers a shot at knocking off the 6-0 Crimson. And if they can manage to give Haa'vaad their first Ivy loss, it could move them into a tie with their arch-enemy . . .

Yale vs. Cornell = . . . for with the Eli at 5-1, they too are part of the hotly-contested Ivy race. And keep in mind that the Ivy has NO conference tourney and NEXT TO NO chance of getting more than a single NCAA bid, so each and every league game is almost a must. This is in Ithaca, but unlike the Crimson the Big Red pretty much suck, so I'd go with the Yalies here.


That's gonna be it for me tonight. I'd planned on previewing some early games tomorrow, but with a 300+ million dollar Powerball drawing I've been bugger every couple of minutes with pennyante gamblers who actually think they got a snowball's chance. However, speaking of snowballs, it's supposed to snow a bit tonight, so maybe I'll be slow enough tomorrow to do some work here . . . meaning here on this thread, not here at work. Hey, if I wanted to work, I'd get a REAL job, right? Until later then, enjoy.
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Big game for the Aztecs in Vegas. It should be a great game either way. Mountain West is tough this year.
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Well, at least they lost at home, where the crowd's not gonna shout "over-rated" :-). Tough loss for the Racers, and they actually played the best H1 I've seen from them in a few games. Then go up by 13 early in H2, and I caught the faint whiff of the brakes, and a shift into cruise control. While there were some calls that no home team should be on the end of (horrible "contact" call with an emmy nomination by TSU's leading scorer, and the "foul" against Caanan in the last 15 secs as he drove in and the ball was knocked away and he knocked to the floor), the Racers BLEW it. Several minutes w/o a FG; not hitting freebies; lack of offense from the bench and EVERYONE else but Caanan. When TSU took the lead and at the 3:30 mark, I could see panic in their eyes AND their play ( we lucked into front row bench seats). The 1st year coach showed his inexperience with the serious lack of any plan on 2 inbounds plays with less than 30 secs left (although we almost caught the across-the-court-pass). My hat's off to TSU players and staff for coming in and being a road team giant killer. They deserved to win.

Quite simply, the Racers bought the hype, and thought the swagger would win the season out. TSU did them a BIG favor, I think/hope. Also hope we stay out of the top 20 till after the Dance. Now, let's start another win streak :-). Tough 2 weeks coming up.

Well, Harvard has popped Penn.
Looking forward to seeing UK/Vandy tomorrow. I know Vandy's all over the place, but I will not be surprised to see a 2nd Cats loss here.
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Thanks for the play-by-play, Joe. I agree that a team can often learn more from a loss than a win, if they are capable of learning. And as the OVC may not get an at-large (whether they deserve one or not), it is important your Racers close out the season and league tourney, and forget about rankings and streaks. Play them one at a time, brother. :-)

Aside from that 'Cats/Comms game, there are a lot of big games today. I'll try to get back ASAP with some of those.
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I picked four games from the slim pickin's last night, and hit gold with them all:


Harvard 56 - Penn 50 = As Joe observed earlier, the Crimson took out the Quakers, though I'd opine calling it a "pop" is a bit of a stretch. :-) But they did what they needed to do to take control of the Ivy for now, as the win put them 2 1/2 up over Penn, as well as . . .

Cornell 85 - Yale 84 (OT) = A full 2 over the Eli following this upset at Ithaca to the Big Red. I am truly shocked that Yale could not take this one.

Loyola (MD) 87 - Iona 81 = And I'm a bit shocked that the Greyhounds beat the Gaels, but mainly because I've paid not attention to them so far this season, so they've snuck up on me out of nowhere. This huge win for them puts these 'Dawgs atop the MAAC.

Detroit 58 - Wisc. Milwaukee 57 = Aside from being the good tight contest I expected, this may have little import. Yet it is fun, when you consider this result makes it a 4-way tie for 3rd place in the Horizon. This race may also be affected by the first game I'll note below.


Early action today includes:


Butler 52 - Cleveland State 49 = This early final affects that Horizon race, as the Bulldogs were part of that 3rd place tie before this big win over the Vikings . . . which also knocked them down out of a loss-column tie with Valpo.

Louisville vs. West Virginia = At this moment it's just past halftime in Morgantown, with the Mountaineers up 10 over the psycho Cardinals. Anything can still happen, and I expect a war before it's done. If not, Pitino will be cheesed.

DePaul vs. Notre Dame = And midway through the 2nd the Irish are up a couple buckets over the Blue Demons. Again, anything can happen, as both teams have played good and bad games this year. I'd favor ND in South Bend, but their recent push may have made them complacent.

Virginia vs. North Carolina = The Heel have NO reason to be complacent in Chapel Hill, even before they p!$$ed away that Dook game. This one seems slow in starting, but I always only ask two things from my Tar Heels . . . the lead, and the ball. With that, I'm happy. UNC need a win to stay in that tie atop the ACC, and the Cavs need it to stay in touch with that. I'll keep you posted, you can believe that.

Miami vs. Florida State = The Seminoles dropped that shocker to BC, and also need a win to stay with the Heels and Blue Devils. Meanwhile, the 'Canes have one signature win on the road over Dook, and another at FSU today may punch them a ticket come March. This one could be fun, as well as important.

U. Conn vs. Syracuse = And even though the Huskies have come 'way back down to earth, they are capable of giving the Orange a contest in the Dome. At the moment it's tied, but it's too early to attribute any meaning to that.

AR Little Rock vs. Middle Tennessee State = And why would I put these two No-Names in with the Big Boys? Well, this is a huge game in the Sun Belt Conference, so in all fairness we ought to give them some thought.

Baylor vs. Missouri = Just as we ought to give these two some thought. Yeah, I know I've been busting on both of them all year as being over-ranked, yet the importance of this game on the conference and national levels is large. I'm hoping for a good one here.


I'll be back a bit later with updates and later games. Bye for now.
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Another early final:


Notre Dame 84 - DePaul 76 = A pretty good game on both sides, and another nice win for the Irish.

WVA still leads Louisville with about 3 left, but only by one possession. Speaking of one possession, FSU's up that over Miami at the break, as is my Heels over the Cavs.


As is normal, I can't cover all the upcoming games. Here's my picks:


Kansas State vs. Texas = This has all the makings of a battle. K-State's been iffy of late, and UT's been a little better. Should be fun in Austin.

Saint Louis vs. LaSalle = There's a logjam near the top of the A-10, and these two are in the midst of it. It's huge for them both. Me, I'll favor the Billikens, mainly because I like typing "Billikens" instead of all the Wildcats, Tigers, and Bears I usually get. Oh my!

VCU vs. ODU = As above, the Rams are in a 3-way for 1st in the Colonial, with ODU just one back. Need I say more?

Cincinnati vs. Marquette = A key Big East battle for these two "also-rans" for the league's elite.

Tennessee vs. Florida = I've learned not to have a lot of faith in the Gators, but I have even less in the Vols. Hey, strange things happen, but I don't think it shall here.

California vs. UCLA = Remember me speaking of bears above? Well, the Golden ones need to take care of the Bruins down in La-La to stay in the Pac-12 lead.

Maryland vs. Duke = And the Blue Devils need to defend home turf against the Terps to do the same in the ACC. If they're not still too jazzed by that win in Chapel Hill, they should be able to.

Oklahoma State vs. Kansas = I can't give the Cowboys much of a shot against the Jayhawks in Lawrence, can you?

San Diego State vs. UNLV = As Larry noted above, this is a huge game for the Aztecs against the Runnin' Rebels, and one that could go either way. You can pick one if you choose, but it's a gamble. But it is in Vegas, so you're in the right place for one.

Wichita State vs. Creighton = And here's another big game, with the two best teams in the MVC facing off in Omaha for the league lead. The Shockers hold it at this moment (21-4, 12-2), but just barely over the Bluejays (21-4, 11-3). For a "small" conference, they don't get much bigger.

Washington State vs. Oregon = When one considers how the Pac-12 has been slipping towards "small" status in hoops lately, you might think this one's huge too. Well, for the Ducks it is.

Michigan State vs. Ohio State = And here's another "small" conference match-up for you. :-) With the Spartans 8-3 and the Buckeyes 9-2 in Big Ten+ play, they don't get a lot bigger. I'd give MSU a chance in Columbus, but they'd better bring their A game.

Harvard vs. Princeton = The Tigers don't look like they're going to compete for the Ivy this year, but they may be able to muddy the waters some if they can upset the Crimson in Jadwin Gym. You know they'd like to play spoilers, again, so this may be some fun.

Austin Peay vs. Murray State = Will Joe's Racers rebound from their first loss of the season? Well, if they can't beat the crappy Governors, they ought to just up and quit.

Xavier vs. Temple = And here's another key game in the jammed-up A-10, with the X-Men fully capable of knocking the Owls down into the rest of the pack . . . if they have exorcised the bad karma still floating around them from that Cincy brawl.

Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt = OK, it's in Nashville, on that funky floating court suspended above the benches. OK, the Commodores have won a few big games. But do you really think they've shown enough consistency to pick them over the 'Cats? I'm not a gambling man, and certainly not a UK fan, but if you do I'll take some of that action.

Santa Clara vs. St. Mary's = The Left Coast Gaels got spanked pretty badly by Gonzaga, and may just take it out on the Broncos late tonight. As those Broncs have been whipped more than once already, and are pretty well broken, I'd expect as much.


One final while I was typing all that crap above:


Louisville 77 = West Virginia 74 = The Cardinals do just enough late to take this one, and hand the Mountaineers another heartbreaker. Not a bad game, if you like Big Mouth basketball. :-)


Back a little later, guys. I gotta keep an eye on my Heels for a bit now.
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Only one more final so far, though a few are getting close:


North Carolina 70 - Virginia 52 = An ugly, ugly ugly win for the Heels. Neither team could shoot worth a doodly-squat from the field. But it does bounce them back from that Duke fiasco, and put the Cavs a bit out-of-reach in the ACC for now. And FYI, John Henson again dunked the ball at the end, like he did against the Terps, and so has likely p!$$ed them off as well. :-)


Lunch time. I'll return shortly with some more scores and some Sunday games too.
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As promised, or threatened, here's some more early finals:


Florida State 64 - Miami 59 = The 'Canes made a game of it, but were unable to help out my Tar Heels by stealing this one. On the bright side, they were also unable to help Dook too.

Syracuse 85 - U Conn 67 = Though I'd hoped for a slightly better game, I'm not shocked at the outcome. The Huskies have now lost 8 of their last 11 games, lost their head coach due to health issues, and lost their appeal to the NCAA to allow them to swap regular-season games in exchange for a post-season ban imposed in 2013 for sanctions following their abysmal academic standing. Not a good time to be in Storrs, I'd imagine.

Missouri 72 - Baylor 57 = And though not as precipitous as with U Conn, the Bears have now lost 4 or their last 8 contests. Seem to me I kept saying that, once cupcake-time was over, so would be Baylor.

Georgia 70 - Mississippi State 68 (OT) = This would have been a shocker in Athens, but in Starkville, it's just nuts.


Sunday's limited action includes:


Pittsburgh vs. Seton Hall = Aside from being important when it comes to future positioning in the Big East tourney, we have two teams squarly on the bubble here. A few wins or losses here or there will spell the difference, so I'd look for a war in this one. Besides, most of us are curious to see if Pitt can actually get its act together, before it's too late.

Illinois vs. Michigan = And I'd assume both these are safely off the bubble, on the plus side. Still, it's two pretty good Big Ten teams head-to-head, and either one can win this game. As I'm wary of the Wolverines' scoring woes, I'd not expect a huge margin either direction.

St. John's vs. Georgetown = And I'd assume both of THESE are safely off the bubble too, yet on differing sides. The Red Storm seems to have blown out to sea, and the Hoyas have done much more than expected. If this one in DC's still a contest with 10 minutes left, I'd be surprised.

Washington vs. Oregon State = Yeah, seems like nobody much cares about the Pac-12 anymore, but that does not mean this one ain't huge, particularly for the Huskies on the road.

Northwestern vs. Purdue = And now we're back on that damned bubble again. I could see one, or both, or neither of these two getting an at-large, so every game down the stretch could be the deciding factor. You figure they have a better chance grabbing Ws against the also-rans as opposed to the kingpins, so you can also figure they will be focused for this one.


I may be back today, I may not see you until Monday. In either case, enjoy.
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This one was a lot closer than anticipated. The final score is not indicative of how close this game was.
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Did the Hoyas play down to their competition, Kevin, or did the Johnnies play up?


Regular update shortly.
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OK, let's try to do this now. There were a lot of good close games, and too many to cover, so I'll again just hit the ones I feel most notable:


Texas 75 - Kansas State 64 = For a while these two teams were headed in different directions. Guess what? They still are. The 'Horns have won three in a row, and the Prairie 'Cats have lost 3 of their last 5 games. With 6-6 records, they are presently tied for 5th in the Big12Minus2 Conference. Both may get to Dance, but neither may Dance for long.

Charleston 86 - Davidson 78 = Though CoC's not been bad this year, they're not as good as they've been in the past. The Wildcats have been the class of the Southern Conference, but have stumbled a few times lately. Either one of these can get hot and make a run to the NCAAs, or get cold and fall flat. Keep an eye on this.

Tennessee 75 - Florida 70 = One of several big "upsets" this weekend, and one I would not have called. Yes, the Gators have been spotty, and the Vols have had a good win or three. But for UT to beat this ranked team in Gainesville? Beats me too.

UNLV 65 - San Diego State 63 = The sort of tough game Larry and I expected, and the tough loss Larry was hoping his Aztecs could avoid.

Wichita State 89 - Creighton 68 = Another "upset", though in my eyes only by the sizable margin by the Shockers on the road. And if you've followed college hoops, you know these two have been dooking it out like Dook/Carolina for decades, so it's really not a shocker at all.

Michigan State 58 - Ohio State 48 = But this one may be one, not so much for the Spartan win but for the fact the Buckeyes could not break 50 on their own court. Yet take nothing away from MSU's great win.

Princeton 70 - Harvard 62 = And take nothing away from this Tiger one in Jadwin Gym. Princeton may not be going anywhere this year, but you know they love to spoil things for the Crimson.

Youngstown State 71 - Valparaiso 53 = Much like that MSU/OSU one above, the result's not as surprising as is the margin. Valpo's been not all that much better a team, yet a spanking like this was not expected.

Kentucky 69 - Vanderbilt 63 = Do you give the Comms any props for making a decent game of this? Me, I won't give them much, considering how many times they've already disappointed me this year. On the other hand, it's hard to give much props to the 'Cats either. Yeah, they won. Good for them. But even on the road, the "best team in the country" should have maybe done better against one that's struggled as much as Vandy.


And speaking of struggling, on Sunday we saw:


Seton Hall 73 - Pittsburgh 66 = The Panthers looked for a week or so that they'd finally found their game. Well, apparently they haven't. Meanwhile, after losing 6 in a row, the Pirates are trying to make a late push for an at-large. As the Selection Committee may again give a .500 . . . or sub. . . . Big Mouth team a bid (the Hall's 6-7 in conference play), they do have a shot, if they don't blow it over the next few weeks.

Michigan 70 - Illinois 61 = And speaking of sub .500 in league play, the Illini are midpack in the Big Ten+ at 5-7, and with 5 of their last 6 being potential tough ones (Purdue, OSU, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin) they are in danger of getting that kiss-from-your-sis NIT invite.

Georgetown 71 - St. John's 61 = I did not see this one, so don't know if it was truly as close as Kevin says (though I've no reason to doubt him). As for me, I'll take a 10-point win any day. Yeah, the Johnnies have pretty much stunk this year, but remember they do have some young talent that did win as Cincinnati and at home over West Virginia, so they can hoop a bit . . . from time to time, anyway. Hey, on any given night, right?


And tonight's few games include a couple worth noting:


Syracuse vs. Louisville = Can Pitino's Cards get up for the Orange in the Crum Bucket, and get that one signature win they've failed to so far? (Hey, at this point it's hard to count those against Vandy, Pitt, or U Conn :-) ) Maybe. They have enough talent, and Rick does know how to bust up that zone. This could be fun.

Iowa State vs. Baylor = And even though this one's in Waco, this one could be fun also. The Bears may have had their confidence shaken lately, and the Cyclones have played quite well on occasion. It's at least worth keeping watch on, for a half or so anyway, to see how things are shakin'.

MeNeese State vs. Northwestern State = Say what? Who? Well, these two look to be amongst the class of the Southland, with the Cowboys at 8-2 and the Demons at 7-4 in the East Division, good for 1st and a tie for 2nd place. And I'll let you find out for yourself which one's the Cowboys and which the Demons, and which one's hosting in Natchitoches. Where? :-)

Mississippi Valley State vs. Southern = And this one pitting the 12-0 Delta Devils against the 9-3 Jaguars is a key one in the Southwestern Athletic Conference race. Yeah, you and I might not give a damn, but rest assured somebody does.

Kansas vs. Kansas State = In fact, you may not give a damn about this one either. The Jayhawks no longer have a stranglehold on the Big12NoMore lead, being tied at 10-2 with the Mizzou Tigers. And the 'Cats aren't going to challenge either one of those, as they've slipped into that mid-pack tie mentioned above with the 'Horns at 6-6. Still, this is in Manhattan, not Lawrence, and I also have been led to understand that these two teams don't much care for each other. The knives might come out tonight.


That's all for now. Enjoy.
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FYI, I did my regular update, but when I clicked Post Reply it would not load, would not load, would not load, would not load . . . then it went away.

Hell, I ain't doing it again. :-) :-)
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OK, let me do this quick and dirty, and hopefully it won't get lost in the ozone today. Monday scores of some note:


Syracuse 52 - Louisville 51 = A disappointing loss for the Cardinals, and maybe even a disappointing win for the Orange, though better than a loss.

Baylor 79 - Iowa State 64 = The Bears bounce back from the skinning they took from Mizzou.

Kansas 59 - Kansas State 53 = Not quite the offensive offensive of the 'Cuse/L'ville game, and not a very impressive win for the Jayhawks over the struggling 'Cats, even in Manhattan.


Last night gave us a few big upsets, if there's really any such thing in college hoops:


Clemson 60 - Virginia 48 = Littlejohn's almost as tough a place to play as is Cameron or the Dean Dome, and the Tigers took advantage of a Cav team that again could not shoot the ball.

TCU 102 - UNLV 97 (OT) = Wow. I may not be a huge believer in the Rebels, but I never thought the Horned Frogs could take them. Honestly, did you?

LSU 69 - Mississippi State 67 (OT) = This one's not nearly as big a shock to me. True, the Bulldogs came into it at 19-6, but had lost 3 of their last 7 games. This makes 4 of 8 now, which for you mathematically-challenged ones is 50%.

Texas 69 - Oklahoma 58 = And even in Norman I'm not surprised at this. The 'Horns continue to make their late move towards an at-large.

Florida 61 - Alabama 52 = With both teams hobbled by suspensions and injuries, this was a toss-up. The Gators rebound from what must have been an embarrassing loss to the crappy Volunteers.

Seton Hall 94 - St. John's 64 = Are the Pirates for real, or is it that the Johnnies just suck? Maybe, and almost certainly.


Tonight:


Northwestern vs. Indiana = The Hoosiers have earned national ranking . . . or have they? Yes, they have won a lot more games than was predicted, but don't forget they are only 7-6 in Big Ten+ play. I give the Smarty 'Cats at least half-a-shot at an upset in Bloomington to drop IU to .500.

Rutgers vs. Notre Dame = And I'll even give the Scarlet Knights a half-a-half-a-shot at an upset over the Irish in South Bend. No, I don't think it's gonna happen, but I also don't think ND's good enough to be consistent night after night.

Detroit vs. Wright State = A big game in a smaller conference, which may mean it means even more.

North Carolina vs. Miami = The Heels have been spotty, and more so on the road. Yeah, they ought to beat the 'Canes handily. However, if Miama could beat Dook in Durham, they can also beat Carolina in Coral Gables.

Murray State vs. SE Missouri State = Has Joe's Racers learned their lesson? If not, I could see a tight one on the road tonight.

Purdue vs. Illinois = At 16-9 each, both of these are bubblicious for now. The Illini have the signature wins (Gonzaga, OSU, MSU), but have lost 6 of 7 lately. The Boilermakers don't have those good wins (unless you count one over Illinois) and have lost 6 of their last 10 games. Big as this is for both, you're best off if you flip a coin.

Oklahoma State vs. Missouri = Hey, if TCU can beat UNLV, the Cowboys can beat the Tigers. They WON'T, but they can.

New Mexico vs. San Diego State = The Aztecs face another tough challenge here, and could drop their 2nd in a row. At present they are tied with the Lobos for the Mountain West lead at 6-2, with the Runnin' Rebels just 1/2-back at 6-3 (thanks to those TCU Frogs). This should be a dogfight.

Loyola Marymount vs. St. Mary's = And this could be one also. LM's not as good as the Gaels, who are at home to boot, but they can hoop enough to make a game of it.


I could give you more, but if it goes away again I've just wasted more of my time . . . not to mention yours. So I'll see you later. Enjoy.
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OK, this is weird. I just went to Yahoo to check the latest RPI rankings, as it takes at least this long in the season for it to begin to make even the slightest bit of sense. Well, I don't know why, but at this moment they list at the top of the rating:

Nebraska Omaha!!


:-)


They apparently have a 10-16 overall record, and against other rated teams they are 0-2 against RPI 1-50 teams, 0-1 against 51-100, 0-2 against 101-150, 0-0 against 151-200, and 1-8 against 200+ teams. I'm assuming their other 9 wins came against non-D1 squads.

Somebody's screwed up badly here, and it wasn't me this time. :-)
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Many of last night's game were about what you'd expect, so I'm limiting my notes to:


Indiana 71 - Northwestern 66 = The 'Cats hung tough in Bloomington, but the Hoosiers and little brother Zeller did enough to get the win. Maybe their mid-season slump is over, and they've gotten a second wind.

Murray State 75 - SE Missouri State 66 = Unless I'm mistaked, Joe, this should clinch the regular season league championship for your Racers. I'm not sure what that gets you, however, since the NCAA may still insist you win the tournament to get a ticket to the Dance. I'm also not sure how I feel about that either, as it's both unfair if it happens, and unfair to a bubble-team that's played a tougher schedule who gets left out in the cold if the OVC gets an at-large.

North Carolina 73 - Miami 64 = Most of the Heels' wins have come off of outscoring and outrebounding opponents. Last night UNC again struggle from the field, and the 'Canes kept the battle of the boards close too. Thus the Heels had to win on the defensive end, making key stops and scoring off forced turnovers. I guess in a way that's a good thing, but I'd REALLY like to see them put it all together at least ONCE this year! Still, a W's a W, and at 9-2 it puts UNC 1/2-game up in the ACC.

Tennessee 77 - Arkansas 58 = And what's up with the Vols all of a sudden? They have won 5 of their last 6, with their only loss in that stretch being AT Kentucky, and improve to 14-12 and 6-5. They may need to run the table to earn an at-large at this point, or make that run in the SEC Tourney, but at least the folks in Knoxville have something to cheer about . . . for now.

Purdue 67 - Illinois 62 = On the other side of that coin, the Illini are in freefall, and Bruce Weber's on the hotseat for it. Since they got that huge win over Ohio State, Illinois has lost 7 of 8, and that one win was by a single point over MSU, an ugly 42-41 "triumph". Meanwhile the Boilermakers continue their late push for an at-large, improving to 17-9 and 7-6. I can see at least 2 more Ws in their future, hosting Nebraska and Penn State. They have no signature wins so far, yet they do have 3 more shots at that too, hosting MSU and at Michigan and Indiana. Should be interesting.

New Mexico 77 - San Diego State 67 = Did I not tell you the Aztecs could lose their 2nd in a row? The Lobos grab the Mountain West lead, and in San Diego to boot.

Loyola-Marymount 75 - St. Mary's 60 = And did I not also tell you LM could hoop enough to give the Gaels problems on THEIR homecourt. Yet even I did not expect such a lop-sided victory as this one was.


Tonight has some very important games, including:


Wisconsin vs. Michigan State = The Badgers are 4th in the Big Ten+ race at 8-4, with the Spartans in 2nd at 9-3, with the Buckeyes a whole 1/2-game on top at 10-3. Need I say any more about the vitalness of this for both teams? Yeah, both likely have bids already, but still.

Virginia Tech vs. Florida State = And the Seminoles need this one to regain a tie with the Tar Heels atop the ACC. I can't give the Hokies much of a shot for the upset down in Tallahassee, but I can always hope for the best. :-)

West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh = At this point of the season I'm just curious about both these squads. Neither may Dance in March, or at least not for long if they do, but as both have good traditions and "meh" performance . . . well, as I said, I'm curious. Ain't you?

N. C. State vs. Duke = Like FSU above, the Blue Devils need the win to get back into that tie with UNC. But the Wolfpack may need this even more. They do have records of 18-7 and 7-3, which puts them alone in 4th place behind those Big Boys, and which one might think would assure them an at-large already. But their RPI is fairly low (around 50 the last I looked), and their win over Indiana 'way back on Nov. 30 can't be counted as a signature win, as the Hoosiers hadn't found their footing at that point. It would be great for Jerry's 'Pack to get one, and if they don't get it tonight in Durham they can try again in their next two chances in Raleigh . . . against FSU and UNC. If you look at the Big Picture for all 4 teams, you see how huge this could be.

Arizona vs. Washington State = And this could be as huge in the equally-logjammed Pac12. The Desert 'Cats are in a 3-way tie for 3rd in the league at 9-4, a full game behind Cal and Washington at 10-3. Couple this with . . .

Oregon vs. California = In Berkeley, where the Golden Bears have only lost twice all year (which is maybe twice too many, but whatever), and with the Ducks being another of those 3rd-place 9-4 squads, and with . . .

Arizona State vs. Washington = The Huskies almost assured of a victory at home against the putrid Sun Devils, and you can see what a big night it will be on the Left Coast this evening.

Vanderbilt vs. Mississippi = I threw this in for much the same reason I did the WVU/Pitt one . . . because I'm curious. Yeah, maybe Vandy's been a bit better than those 2 Big Mouth Conference teams, yet they've been no more consistent. By this time of the year one normally knows if a team's for real or not, but the Comms still have me baffled . . . though I'm leaning towards NOT.

Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara = The stumble by St. Mary's last night has opened the door for the Bulldogs to steal the WCC from them late. A win over Santa Clara tonight would put the 'Zags just a game behind the Gaels, and even-up on the loss-side. I don't expect the Broncos can defend their home court tonight, as they pretty much suck this year.


That's gonna be all for me for now. Enjoy.
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Oh, and I forgot to tell you, Nebraska-Omaha beat Nebraska-Kearney 85-68 last night to improve to 11-16 and retain their spot on top of the RPI Ratings . . . according to Yahoo, anyway. :-)
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Amazing season so far. Much better that expected in Gottfried's debut. (even if he is a 'bama boy). The schedule is one thing he vowed to fix in his first interview here. He seems to be real competitor. He said he'd rather lose close games to the best in the country than win against Belmont Abbey.... He won me over right there.

Of course we've been getting spanked by some of the best in the country just down 70 and 54 for many years now. :-)

However, I suspect Bryan will be crying tonight....



or I'll be saying "Just wait till football season!"
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Col,

we liked Gottfried just fine, when he was here at Murray State. I hope he does well for ya'll too.

Murray wins a road game, but rival SEMO did not fold on them. Good match for the Racers to get ready for the weekend's BracketBuster.
Also, that DID clench the regular season title, but will likely mean nuthin if the OVC tourney title is lost, even with a win this weekend. I would hate it, but can also understand it, unless the selection they lose goes to a 17-win program...

This FSU/VT game is ending.....

Holy Cow!!!! What a finish!!! VT can't hit 2 freebies w/ 10s left, and FSU goes down and hits a 3 t win. VT pops the rim at the buzzer to lose. Wow!!! And VT had FSU down BADLY in H2. Wow! Gotta hit your freebies.

Okay, now to watch Pitt/WV and Vandy/Ole Miss.
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Just wait for till football season, Jerry . . . even though "Duke football" is sort of an oxymoron. :-)

Well, your 'Pack had its shot, but the Blue Devils made another late comeback to steal it from you. Hey, I know how you feel there, brother. :-) But had you held on, and had the Hokies done the same, it would have been a GREAT night for both of us.

I agree about State's surprising season so far, and with the job Gottfried's done. Plus, if that stellar recruiting class he's got coming in next year lives up to expectations it will only get better at Moo U.


Yeah, like Jerry's 'Pack (and my Heels also) the Hokies just could not catch a break last night. And though I felt NCSU could give Dook a game, I never thought VT could hang so tough on the road at FSU. Once more, shows what I know.

As for your Racers maybe getting dissed by the Selection Committee if they don't take the OVC tourney, I will feel you pain, or even anger. Yet you do seem to have a good handle on reality, and thus won't let it completely ruin a magical season . . . or your sleep and digestion. :-)

Back with details in update shortly.
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