Tournament Time 2/27

2/27
Only 2 weeks until Selection Sunday!

ACC

Lock: Duke, UNC, Florida State

Probable: Virginia

Work to Do: Miami, NC State

Big 10

Lock: Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana

Probable: Purdue

Work to Do: Northwestern, Iowa

Big 12

Lock: Missouri, Baylor, Kansas, Iowa State

Probable: Kansas State
Work to Do: Texas

Big East

Lock: Syracuse, Marquette, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Louisville

Probable: Cincinnati
Work to Do: South Florida, Seton Hall, West Virginia

Pac-12

Lock: Haha None

Probable: Washington, California, Arizona
Work to Do: Oregon, Colorado,

SEC

Lock: Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt

Probable: None
Work to Do: Mississippi, Alabama, Mississippi State, Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas

Mountain West

Lock: New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV

Probable: None

Work to Do: Colorado State, TCU

Atlantic-10

Lock: Temple

Probable: Saint Louis

Work to Do: UMass, Xavier, LaSalle, St. Joseph, St. Bonaventure, UMass, Dayton

CAA

Lock: None

Probable: VCU, Drexel, George Mason

Work to Do: Georgia State, Old Dominion

Others

Lock: Murray State, Creighton, St. Mary’s, Wichita State, Gonzaga, Long Beach State

Probable: Harvard, Nevada, Iona, BYU

Work to Do: Belmont, Cleveland State, Oral Roberts, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Loyola Marymount, Davidson, Memphis, Akron, Valparaiso, Loyola (MD), Southern Miss, South Dakota State, UT-Arlington, Weber State, Montana, UNC Asheville

Tournament Time 2/20

Only 3 weeks until Selection Sunday!

ACC

Lock: Duke, UNC, Florida State

Probable: Virginia

Work to Do: Miami, NC State

Big 10

Lock: Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin

Probable: Indiana

Work to Do: Purdue, Minnesota, Northwestern

Big 12

Lock: Missouri, Baylor, Kansas

Probable: Iowa State, Kansas State

Work to Do: Texas

Big East

Lock: Syracuse, Marquette, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Louisville

Probable: Cincinnati

Work to Do: West Virginia, South Florida, Seton Hall

Pac-12

Lock: Haha None

Probable: Washington, California

Work to Do: Oregon, Colorado, Arizona

SEC

Lock: Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt

Probable: None

Work to Do: Mississippi, Alabama, Mississippi State

Mountain West

Lock: New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV

Probable: None

Work to Do: Colorado State

Atlantic-10

Lock: Temple

Probable: Saint Louis

Work to Do: UMass, Xavier, LaSalle, St. Joseph

CAA

Lock: None

Probable: VCU, Drexel, George Mason, Old Dominion

Work to Do: Georgia State

Others

Lock: Murray State, Creighton, St. Mary’s, Wichita State, Gonzaga

Probable: Harvard, Nevada, Long Beach State, Iona

Work to Do: Cleveland State, Oral Roberts, Middle Tennessee, BYU, New Mexico State, Loyola Marymount, Davidson, Memphis, Akron, Valparaiso, Loyola (MD), Southern Miss, South Dakota State, UT-Arlington

Weekend Preview 2/17

With Selection Sunday just over three weeks away, some teams are looking for a statement win to put on their NCAA tournament resume.

Here are a few bubble teams that have a chance to get a big win this weekend:

Kansas State @ #10 Baylor

K State is 6-7 in the Big 12 and really needs a win to put them back into the top half of the conference. Baylor won the first meeting at Kansas State by 2.

UConn vs. #13 Marquette

UConn is going to need some late season magic to have a chance to defend their title. They welcome in second place Marquette to Storrs, CT. UConn needs a boost after losing 6 of its last 8.

NC State vs. #21 Florida State

NC State blew their chance at getting a huge win by blowing a 20 point lead to Duke. Luckily, they can redeem themselves with a home win against a ranked Florida State, coming off a buzzer beater win against Virginia Tech.

Arkansas vs. #12 Florida

6 teams in the SEC are 6-5 or 5-6. Arkansas needs a win against Florida to stay alive in the tournament hunt. Florida has lost 2 of its last 3, but remains the SEC’s second best team.

Purdue vs. #8 Michigan State

Purdue lacks a big conference win and this could be it. Michigan State is coming off an impressive road win at Ohio State. Purdue is currently on the right side of the bubble and a win here should make them a lock for the tourney.

This weekend only has two games featuring two ranked teams, but this weekend is special because it is highlighted by a couple Bracketbuster matchups. Here are some games I am really looking forward to this weekend:

#6 Ohio State @ #19 Michigan

This is the big one. Ohio State is coming off a rare loss to the Spartans and will be looking to avoid consecutive losses. Michigan is undefeated at home this year and a win would keep them in the hunt for a Big-10 regular season title.

#11 UNLV @ New Mexico

First place in the Mountain West: UNLV? No, SDSU? No, it is New Mexico. The Lobos have taken over first place in the MWC after winning at San Diego State. UNLV has lost their last two road games, but did beat New Mexico 80-63 in their first matchup. The Lobos have quietly been taking care of business and could be a tough out in the NCAA tourney.

#16 St. Mary’s @ #14 Murray State

This is the big Bracketbuster matchup of the weekend. Even though we expected Murray State to be undefeated, it should still be a great game. We will figure out how good Murray State actually is and if St. Mary’s is good enough to dethrone Gonzaga as the WCC’s top team.

Wichita State @ Davidson

Wichita State has proven itself to be the MVC’s top team and has won 13 of 14 in 2012. Davidson should win its conference this year. It will be interesting to see how they play against the caliber of Wichita State because they haven’t played a team this good in a while.

Nevada @ Iona

These two teams make for another good Bracketbuster matchup. Iona has two very good players in Scott Machado and Michael Glover. It is hard to tell how good they are because they have yet to play a ranked team and have some very questionable losses. Nevada is another solid team without a quality win, but they have their conference title locked up. Both teams will provide a tough matchup in the NCAA tourney.

Long Beach State @ Creighton

Long Beach State played a tough non-conference schedule, but is undefeated in the Big West. They should make the tourney even if they don’t win their conference tourney. Creighton is having a solid year behind the scoring of Doug McDermott. They have lost 3 of their last 4, but should make the tourney regardless of their finish. Creighton leads the nation in FG%.

Super Lintendo

He did it again and better than ever.

Tournament Time 2/13

2/13

 Tournament Time

 ACC

Lock: Duke, UNC, Florida State
Probable: None
Work to Do: Virginia, Miami, NC State

Big 10

Lock: Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin

Probable: Indiana
Work to Do: Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota

 Big 12

Lock: Missouri, Baylor, Kansas

Probable: Iowa State
Work to Do: Kansas State, Texas

 Big East

Lock: Syracuse, Marquette, Georgetown, Notre Dame

Probable: Louisville

Work to Do: West Virginia, Cincinnati, South Florida, UConn, Seton Hall

 Pac-12

Lock: Haha None
Probable: Washington, California
Work to Do: Oregon, Colorado, Arizona

 SEC

Lock: Kentucky, Florida

Probable: Mississippi State, Vanderbilt
Work to Do: Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama

 Mountain West

Lock: San Diego State, UNLV

Probable: New Mexico
Work to Do: Wyoming, Colorado State

 Atlantic-10

Lock: Temple

Probable: Saint Louis
Work to Do: UMass, Xavier, LaSalle

CAA

Lock: None

Probable: VCU, Drexel, George Mason

Work to Do: Old Dominion, Georgia State

Others

Lock: Murray State, Creighton, St. Mary’s, Wichita State, Gonzaga

Probable: Harvard, Nevada, Southern Miss

Work to Do: Cleveland State, Oral Roberts, Middle Tennessee, BYU, Long Beach State, New Mexico State, Loyola Marymount, Davidson, Iona, Memphis, Akron, Valparaiso, Loyola (MD),  

Linsanity

How does a California state player of the year not get a Division 1 athletic scholarship? That doesn't make any sense. He wanted Stanford, they didn't want him. This was a steal for Harvard. He never averaged over 20 points a game, but there was no questioning his talent. In his junior year, Lin was the only Division 1 player to finish in the top ten in his conference for scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage. He went undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft. He eventually ended up on the Warriors and played 29 games with them before going to play for the Rockets. They decided they needed to cut him, so they could sign someone else. Now Lin, plays for the New York Knicks and has gotten a lot of playing time with all of their injuries.

In his last four games, Lin has scored 25, 23, 28, and 38. He is putting up these numbers with a high field goal percentage, and at least seven assists in each game. Every time he touches the ball, the crowd at Madison Square Garden goes crazy.

NBA All-Star Rosters

Western Conference                                                                Eastern Conference

         

         Starters                                                                                      Starters

   G Chris Paul                                                                             G Derrick Rose

   G Kobe Bryant                                                                         G Dwyane Wade

   F Kevin Durant                                                                        F LeBron James

   F Blake Griffin                                                                         F Carmelo Anthony

   C Andrew Bynum                                                                    C Dwight Howard

         Reserves                                                                                   Reserves

  C Marc Gasol- Memphis Grizzles                                   C Roy Hibbert- Indiana Pacers

  F LaMarcus Aldridge- Portland Trail Blazers                 F Joe Johnson- Atlanta Hawks

 F Kevin Love- Minnesota Timberwolves                         F Andre Iguodala- Philadelphia 76ers

  F Dirk Nowitzki- Dallas Mavericks                                F Chris Bosh- Toronto Raptors

  G Tony Parker- San Antonio Spurs                                 F Paul Pierce- Boston Celtics

  G Steve Nash- Phoenix Suns                                           F Luol Deng- Chicago Bulls

  G Russell Westbrook- Oklahoma City Thunder              G Deron Williams- New Jersey Nets

Where is Rondo?! The guy is second in the league in assists. The Eastern Conference only has one reserve guard. It almost makes too much sense to pick him. He is averaging more points and rebounds per game, and his field goal, free throw, and three point percentage are all higher than his All-Star season last year. Not only that, his team is worse than it has been in recent years. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have both been injured and there has been more pressure on him to perform. The East roster was just harder to make this year. Guys like Greg Monroe, Brandon Jennings, Danny Granger, and Josh Smith were well-derserving of a spot too. Some of the players on the Western Conference team are questionable. Dirk is a fantastic player, but he is definitely not having an All-Star caliber year. Also, old guys like Steve Nash and Tony Parker are big names, but they don't belong there this year. I think it is funny to see Marc Gasol and not Pau Gasol on the roster. Kevin Garnett's streak of 14 and Tim Duncan's streak of 13 consecutive all-star appearances has come to a close.

With the All-Star game being played in Orlando, look out for Dwight Howard to make a statement in front of his home crowd, or at least for now his home crowd.

No More Ochocinco

Chad Ochocinco is changing his name back to Chad Johnson. Is this a joke? I can never tell with this guy.

Chad Ochocinco Name Change

Is the Streak Coming to an End?

Sorry to disappoint you all, but this is not an article about Adam Morrison. I know it's an awesome picture, but keep reading and you will see why it is relevant.

Thursday’s slate of college basketball games does not feature a Duke-UNC or Syracuse-Georgetown matchup, but there is one game I am really looking forward to watching.

There is a lot on the line for tonight’s St. Mary’s-Gonzaga game. In recent years, St. Mary’s has been close at ending Gonzaga’s reign atop the West Coast Conference. Gonzaga has won eleven straight WCC regular season championships, the longest streak in the nation, and the second longest of all-time. UCLA won 13 straight Pac-10 championships from 1966-1979. The big talk in the WCC was the arrival of BYU to potentially end Gonzaga’s streak. But, it is the Gaels of St. Mary’s that are on top of the conference with a record of 11-0. At 8-2 in the conference, Gonzaga needs to win this game to have a realistic chance of catching St. Mary’s. With a win tonight, the Gaels could give themselves a three game lead heading in the final six games of the season. Basically a win tonight, would ensure St. Mary’s a WCC championship, ending Gonzaga’s streak.

It’s not going to be easy though. Playing in Spokane is never easy and the fans are going to be fired up for this one. Elias Harris, Kevin Pangos, and Robert Sacre are the Bulldogs’ top players.  The only loss at home this year for Gonzaga came against Michigan State. St. Mary’s hasn’t lost since December 22^nd and that was to Baylor. They beat Gonzaga by 21 the first go-around at McKeon Pavilion. I have a feeling this one is going to be much closer.

Rivalry Week at it's Finest

In case you missed it, or you just want to see it again, here's is Austin Rivers's game winning shot to beat the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. Duke was down 10 points with a little over two minutes to go and they started to knock down big shots. Why didn't Tyler Zeller have his hands up? I don't know.

This was a huge win for Duke and the rest of the ACC. Florida State wasted a huge opportunity by losing at Boston College. Had North Carolina or Florida State won their game, they would have had sole possession of first place in the ACC. Now UNC, Duke, and FSU are tied for first with UVA, NC State, and Miami right behind.



College Basketball's Ultimate Night

Today is a great day for college basketball.

Three matchups featuring top 11 teams. Are you kidding me?!

Let’s preview some of tonight’s great games.

 

#11 Georgetown  at  #2 Syracuse

Both teams are off to great starts. Georgetown lost some key players from last year, but has gotten out to an 8-3 start in the Big East. Syracuse, despite all the Bernie Fine allegations, has only lost one game all year and is college basketball’s deepest team. Syracuse destroyed St. John’s in Fab Melo’s first game back from a suspension due to academics. Before you pick Syracuse to win this game, just know that the away team won both matchups last year. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim needs one more victory to pass Dean Smith and take over third place on the Division I all-time wins list. Boeheim enters Wednesday’s game with 879 career victories. In addition to passing Smith on the career victories list, Boeheim would have the most wins by a coach at one school. Expect a 33,000 plus crowd tonight at the Carrier Dome.

Prediction:  Syracuse 69  Georgetown  59

#10 Kansas  at  #6 Baylor

Baylor received a major wake-up call when Kansas destroyed them at Allen Fieldhouse to give them their first loss. Since then Baylor has only lost once and that was against the talented Mizzou Tigers. Missouri is currently a half game up on both teams in the Big 12 standings and tonight’s winner will join the Tigers with a 9-2 conference record. Tonight’s matchup features many standout players including Kansas’s Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor who combined for 55 points in the first Kansas-Baylor game. Kansas is coming off a three point loss at Missouri and will be looking to extend its streak of not losing consecutive games for over six years, a span of 227 games.  Baylor will need a big game from Perry Jones III to win this one.

Prediction:  Kansas 78  Baylor 76

#9 Duke  at  #5 North Carolina

It’s the biggest rivalry in college basketball, maybe in all of college sports, and sports in general. Here’s a stat that sums up this incredible rivalry. The combined score of the last 75 Duke-UNC basketball games is 5,858-5,857, with Duke having a one point advantage. That’s simply incredible. UNC is tied with Florida State atop the ACC standings, while Duke is one game back. People have overlooked UNC, after their blowout loss to FSU, but they are still a national championship caliber team. Duke is talented, but hasn’t been as dominating usual, with home losses to FSU and Miami. Backcourt advantage goes to Duke with Seth Curry and Rivers, while the frontcourt advantage goes to UNC with Tyler Zeller, John Henson, and Harrison Barnes. North Carolina has yet to lose at home this year and I don’t see that first loss coming tonight.

Prediction:  North Carolina 81  Duke 72

If you are a college basketball fan, then you will be in heaven tonight. Three top 11 games, two of college basketball’s best rivalries, and some of the country’s best coaches make for a night to remember. Enjoy!

Boston vs. New York

When I get sad about the Patriots loss, I look at this to make me feel better.

Boston, MA

Titletown, USA

Heartbreaker

I am a very superstitious person. I chose not to write an article leading up to the Superbowl because I did not want to jinx my Patriots. Turns out it wouldn’t have made a difference.

Everyone knew this was going to be a close game. Anyone who thought it would be a blowout is crazy. The setup was perfect for the Patriots. In 2007, the Patriots were the favorites, beat the Giants in the regular season, and ended up losing. Because the Giants were favored by most analysts and beat the Patriots in the regular season, I thought they might end up losing. The football gods were simply not on New England’s side.

It all started with the very first offensive play by the Patriots. An intentional grounding call in the endzone gave the G-Men a quick 2-0 lead. Really Brady?! You had plenty of time in the pocket and couldn’t find anybody to throw it to, before launching it into no man’s land. The Patriots did a great job of forcing fumbles and with a couple of fortunate bounces, New England could’ve ran away with this game. Hakeem Nicks and Ahmad Bradshaw both fumbled, but the New York Giants recovered both times. The one that hurt the most is when AFC championship game hero Sterling Moore forced a fumble. The Patriots recovered the fumble, but a 12-man on the field penalty negated the turnover. The Patriots had 5 penalties, which combined for more than their previous two playoff games.

The Giants punter Steve Weatherford did a good job of forcing the Patriots bad into field position. Only one of the Patriots nine drives started in front of their 25 yard line and none in front of their own 30. After getting down 9-0, the Patriots rallied for 17 straight points to take a 17-9 lead. In this stretch, Brady led a 96 yard drive and set a Superbowl record with 16 straight completions. The gameplan was certainly different without a full healthy Gronkowski. Gronk had two catches and was targeted three times. Compare that, to Aaron Hernandez’s eight catches on fourteen targets.

Being up by two points from the beginning of the fourth quarter to the final minute was nerve-racking. You just knew the Giants were going to score, but how time would the Patriots have left to put together a final drive. When I saw the David Tyree-esque catch made by Mario Manningham, feelings of 2008 started to set in. It looked like the Giants would run down the clock and kick an easy field goal as time expires to win the Superbowl. But, in one of the strangest plays of NFL history, Ahmad Bradshaw broke through the New England defense, stopped at the goal line, and for some reason, fell into the endzone (momentum?).

New England fans were given some hope. 57 seconds left, 2 timeouts, and 80 yards to go. The Patriots set themselves up for a decent hail mary opportunity and were nearly successful. Imagine if that ball was tipped a foot higher or if Gronkowski was closer to where the ball was deflected. This was a great Superbowl with average commercials, and a mediocre at best halftime show by Madonna. Unfortunately, the Patriots didn’t come out on top, but there is no reason to be bashing Brady and Belicheck. Both the Giants and Patriots have great teams and look out for them to make deep postseason runs again next season.

Tournament Time 2/6

Tournament Time

 Now that football season is over, it’s time to focus on college basketball. Here’s the current tournament picture.

ACC

Lock: Duke, UNC

Probable: Florida State, Virginia

Work to Do: NC State, Miami

Big 10

Lock: Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Wisconsin

Probable: Indiana

Work to Do: Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota

Big 12

Lock: Missouri, Baylor, Kansas

Probable: Iowa State

Work to Do: Kansas State

Big East

Lock: Syracuse, Marquette, Georgetown
Probable: UConn, Notre Dame
Work to Do: West Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida

Pac-12

Lock: Haha None
Probable: Washington
Work to Do: California, Oregon, Colorado, Stanford, Arizona

SEC

Lock: Kentucky, Florida
Probable: Mississippi State, Vanderbilt

Work to Do: Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama

Mountain West

Lock: San Diego State, UNLV
Probable: None
Work to Do: New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado State

Atlantic-10

Lock: None
Probable: Temple
Work to Do: UMass, Xavier, LaSalle, Saint Louis

CAA

Lock: None
Probable: VCU
Work to Do: George Mason, Drexel, Old Dominion 

Others

Lock: Murray State, Creighton, St. Mary’s

Probable: Wichita State, Harvard, Nevada, Southern Miss, Harvard, Gonzaga
Work to Do: Cleveland State, Oral Roberts, Middle Tennessee, BYU, Davidson, New Mexico State, Loyola Marymount, Long Beach State, Iona

Wooden Player of the Year

Although, this espn rank em' poll has no say in who wins the Wooden Award, it is interesting to see what the fans think.

Mike Scott is in the lead!

Please read the comments because they are incredibly funny.

ESPN Wooden Award Rank Em' Poll