Daily rants and opinions...because we're THAT bored.
by Spaen - Monday, February 20
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Sam Young, the real winner of the slam dunk contest. Yes, Saturday night featured the most memorable true slam dunk contest in the NBA, if not the most controversial. But with Sam Young, there was no controversy. He slammed it, and everyone heard it. How about asking a crowd of over 19,000 to be completely silent with a breathtaking dunk? That's right.
Be it as it may, it still didn't give Pittsburgh that much momentum, and Marquette continued to stay hot. Well, Steve Novak did anyway. He nailed the 3's when they needed (5 total) and everytime Pittsburgh tried to come back and make it close, there he was. A fast-paced game led to another memorable game in the Big East, which honestly has proven to be a league in it's own. With 16 teams, it really could be if it wanted it to. Did Novak take home "Best Player of the Day" with his 27? No...Morrison steals that easily. You'll find out why later.
Missouri was already down by 20 before they got off the fucking bus.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES
Northern Iowa 65, 24)Bucknell 61 (2OT) BracketBuster
In the first overtime, UNI was on the brink of going on a 3-game losing streak and out of NCAA Tourney contention. Bucknell seemed to have the game at hand when they were up by 2 with seconds to go and the ball. The ball was thrown way over the half-court line, and UNI let the ball go out of bounds. UNI rebounds it at their own end, and a fadeaway jumper when time expires leads to a second overtime. UNI controls the beginning of the overtime, and never lets up. Now that's literally throwing the game away.
Kentucky 79, South Carolina 66
I guess this was okay in the first half. Kentucky scores an amazing 54 point in the second half to beat out the east-coast USC, and earn the right to stay in the NCAA tourney hunt. USC will be looking toward the NIT.
Kansas St 72, Colorado 60
Colorado needed this win, but instead it is jogged in as another critical loss when the selection comittee looks at them in a few weeks. CU had an incredible start, then went incredibly cold. How incredible was thing swing. Like...40 points, and that's no joke. With upsets all around, the Big XII is getting weaker and weaker by the moment.
Missouri St 72, WI-Milwaukee 63 BracketBuster
Missouri St needed this victory to stay in contention with the other 4 in The Valley to get an NCAA tourney bid. They certainly did that with a truely blow-out victory on the road. More than likely, they probably stole Southern Illinois' rights to that bid. On the other hand, WI-Milwaukee will be lucky to get that 12th seed this year in a depressing Horizon League.
1)UConn 81, 11)West Virginia 75
Another very impressive road victory for UConn, making up for that huge loss at Villanova earlier this week. UConn really had the upper hand the entire way in this game, and with just not playing those final minutes against Nova, the Huskies don't deserve to drop from their perch at the top.
16)Michigan St 90, Michigan 71
Every time I turned to this game, MSU had a 9-0 run going. Apparently I'm a Wolverine jinx, or maybe they just completely suck on the road. NIT at best, but they won't go anywhere. After such a great start to the season, it will be ending on a very sour note. However, Michigan State's fortunes will be the exact opposite of their rivals.
Notre Dame 102, Seton Hall 91
The Irish are looking to try and make it to the Big East tourney, and the only thing they can do is win, and some help from Rutgers. Quincy Douby obviously will try and stop that. However, Seton Hall has shown it was just a fluke, and loses the chance for an NCAA tourney bid (if not already from the smashing against UConn).
George Mason 70, Wichita St 67 BracketBuster
Entering into this game, these two teams were the best in the CAA and The Valley, respectively. The Valley may have gotten a blow for getting 4 teams into the tourney, while CAA made it's case to have an automatic bid for George Mason in case they don't win the conference tourney. It'll happen.
5)Gonzaga 79, Loyola-Marymount 70
Gonzaga's second-to-last landmine from an undefeated conference season would of happened if it wasn't for Adam Morrison's amazing 44-point performance. He stormed out of the gates at halftime, and nailed 8 of 10 3's. He also outscored the entire Loyola-Marymount team in the second. Watch out, Kobe.
Other BracketBuster games:
Iona 93, Buffalo 75
Kent St 80, Butler 76 (OT)
Western Kentucky 79, Northern Arizona 58
Old Dominion 84, Marist 71
Louisiana Tech 54, Southern Illinois 51
Utah St 66, Northwestern St 63
Creighton 67, Fresno St 62
Best Major Conference: Big East
Worst Major Conference: Pac-10
Best Mid-Major: Missouri Valley
Worst Mid-Major: MEAC / SWAC
Underrated Major: ACC
Overrated Major: Big 10
Underrated Mid-Major: Atlantic 10
Overrated Mid-Major: MAAC
Best Team: Connecticut (Big East)
Worst Team: Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun)
This Week
Best Mid-Major Game: Winthrop 98, Northern Illinois 97 (2-OT)
Worst Mid-Major Game: UAB 87, Southern Miss 50 (C-USA)
Biggest Blowout: 3)Memphis 105, Tulane 65 (C-USA)
Worst Offensive Performance: Hartford 52, Binghampton 46 (America East)
Worst Defensive Performance: Long Beach St 108, Manhattan 94
Biggest Upset: Oklahoma State 81, 6)Texas 60 (Big XII)
Best Major Team: Marquette
Worst Major Team: Washington St
Who Should Be in the Top 25 (AP):
George Mason, Marquette, Missouri St, Bucknell
Who Should Not Be in the Top 25 (AP):
LSU
Overrated Teams in the Top 25 (AP):
Duke, Illinois, Florida, Washington
The Big XII is faltering fast. They already lost their #1 seed for Texas, and both Colorado and Nebraska had tough losses for the committee to see. Could there really be only three from this conference? ... Ohio State struggles, Iowa loses, and Michigan St proves to be this week's Big 10 favorite. Just another day in that conference. ... The Valley was this close to having a disasterous day, but they end up going 3-2 with the games on TV. They'll only get four, if not three in though. ... By the way Doyel, the BracketBuster games are mainly focused on the games that are on TV. Not those loser ones that aren't. BracketBuster is a TV-made event. Do the math, dipshit. ... What was the point of ESPN's showing of the Ole Miss vs Miss St rivalry game? Both teams suck, and with that Miss St blew them out. If it wasn't for Missouri's debalacle, this would be on the top as worst game easily. Right now it's at a closer-than-hell second. ... The Big XII wasn't the only to suffer. Calfornia, UCLA, and Stanford took hits on their resume. Expect nothing higher than a 6 for any Pac-10 team. ... The Miami FL run to the NCAAs come to a screeching halt, giving up 59 points and only scoring 28 points in the second half agaisnt Duke. ... You can put a fork in Indiana too. ... Georgetown is on the bubble to reach the NCAAs, but the other school with George still rolls on undefeated in the A-10. ... Washington State can only score 10 points in the first half against Oregon, but yet have huge victories over in-state rival Washington. Your guess is as good as mine. ... Freaking LSU is back in the Top 25. Somebody shoot it. ... The SEC suffers hits as well from Florida and Tennessee. ... Memphis has earned its #1 seed, whether you like it or not. ... Really, can someone PLEASE expain to me why LSU is on the Top 25? There are approximately 6 teams not in there that are better than LSU, and that includes Alabama even.