Midnight Madness, the day after

Midnight Madness may be nothing other than a party, but who doesn't love a good party? So to help you deal with that college hoops induced hangover, we've got ... YOUTUBE! There are a number of great videos from the night circulating the intrawebs right now, so we'll do our best to get them all to you right here. This post WILL be updated throughout the day, so be sure to keep checking back here.

If you got a video that we haven't posted yet, send it to ContactBIAH [at] gmail [dot] com:


Creighton's Austin Chatman jumps over a seven-footer:




Credit Justin Young of the National Hoops Report for digging up this gem of Jamal Fenton doing, well, just watch the video:




The Memphis intros were phenomenal. Those kids must be so fired up. I loved Tarik Black coming out rapping, at the 2:30 mark Drew Barnham does ... something, and Wesley Witherspoon caps the video off at the 4:00 mark by doing the Bernie:




Memphis did some dunks too:




But they weren't as good as UConn's. Andre Drummond is a pterodactyl, but Ryan Boatright won this dunk contest hands down:




Does anyone "get" Midnight Madness better than Tom Izzo? This year, he enters in a jet:




Doc Nix and the Green Machine, the band at George Mason, may be the most entertaining in the country. For Mason's Midnight Madness, they played the Party Rock Anthem:




This is terrific -- Kentucky's women's coach dances to Billie Jean, hits the Dougie, and then does the John Wall:




Wagner's Josh Thompson dunks over his mom. But after he finishes the dunk, he doesn't give her a hug? Or anything? He just went viral because the woman that gave him life put her life on the line in a dunk contest? For shame, Josh. For shame:




More from Wagner's Midnight Madness. I don't think too many teams danced more than the Seahawks last night:




There is a reason Buffalo's Mitchell Watt was a member of the 2010-2011 B.I.A.H Posterized series. The dude can flat-out dunk:




Rodney Williams jumps over some barnyard animals at Minnesota's Midnight Madness:



I never expected Tubby Smith to pull of an entrance like this:




Pierre Jackson absolutely stole the show at Baylor's Moonlight Madness. Seriously, nobody his size should be able to jump that high:




It took four attempts, but Justin Coleman landed a fresh 360-off-the-backboard jam at Marshall's Midnight Madness:




A bunch of former-Wildcats made an appearance at Big Blue Madness:




There was nothing "mid-major" about the dunk contest at Cleveland State's Midnight Madness event:




It looks like there were plenty of open seats available at San Jose State's Midnight Madness:




A bunch of great highlights from Marquette Madness:




A solid recap reel of the Maryland Madness events:




Speaking of Maryland Madness, 7-footer Alexi Len does a cartweel. I hope this guy becomes elligible:




Angelo State is not a D-I school, but Alex Lewis dunks like a D-I athlete:




If there is one thing Oregon does well, it's flamboyancy. They certainly showed it off at "Matt Knight Madness":




Indiana's Will Sheehey rocked a "throwback" Hoosier uniform for the dunk contest at Hoosier Hysteria. The dunk he pulled-off wasn't bad either:



The West Virginia Mountaineers, led by Deniz Kilicli on his guitar, sing "Country Roads":




Syracuse was attempting to turn back the clocks by hiring Tone Loc to perform at their Midnight Madness. Unfortunately he was unable to attend. But it didn't matter because Sacred Heart turned the clock WAY BACK, getting The C+C Music Factory to perform:




Rick Ross was supposed to perform at Memphis Madness on Friday night, but suffered a seizure on the plane en route to Memphis. Josh Pastner was able to find a late replacement in the form of Yo Gotti:




Junior Cadougan and Buzz Williams do battle in a karaoke showdown at Marquette Madness:




Indiana's Victor Oladipo serenades the crowd at Hoosier Hysteria with a rendition of Usher's "You Got It Bad":




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Midnight Madness Review in Video

As we have mentioned time and time again, Midnight Madness is a special occasion. The event sets the tone for the upcoming season. Unfortunately, with 300+ teams partaking in the madness, us fans don't get to witness all the epic performances that took place. But thanks to YouTube and the B.I.A.H research team (that would be me), we have provided you with a handful of highlights from numerous Midnight Madness events.

If you find a video worthy-enough of being posted, shoot us a email to ContactBIAH@gmail.com or you can hit us up on twitter at @BIAHtheTrizzle or @ballinisahabit

Check out all the highlights after the jump:


Highlights from the Illinois slam dunk contest




Highlights from the Creighton slam dunk contest




King Leonides made an appearance at Michigan State Midnight Madness




Tom Izzo shows up as an astronaut to Midnight Madness (The Final Four is in Houston)




The "Dougie" was easily the most common song/dance move seen at March Madnesses across the country. Even Sparty, the MSU mascot broke it down




The tip-off of Duke's Blue/White game




Andre Dawkins won the dunk contest at Duke's Midnight Madness




But if I were voting, Mason Plumlee would have been the winner thanks to this heel-flick assisted dunk




The heel-flick is becoming more-and-more common in dunk contests. Take a look at the second dunk from some highlights of Buffalo's Midnight Madness dunk contest




Bill Self summoned his inner-MC-Hammer for Late night at the Phog




The player introductions from Big Blue Madness (Josh Harrellson does the "Carlton Banks" @ 3:52 and we get our first look at "The UnderKanter" @ 8:35)




You know what? I'm diggin' this UnderKanter thing so much, here's a video of just his entrance so you don't have to go through the trouble of finding the 8:35 mark. (I'm a sucker for mid-90's pro wrestling references)




The head coach of Kentucky's Women's team, Matthew Mitchell, gets my vote for Best "Dougie"




Wally Judge throws down a huge slam at Madness in Manhattan




Keion Bell makes a very early case for himself as Dunker of the Year at Pepperdine's Midnight Madness




Mr. All-Name-Team himself, the legendary God Shamgodd, makes an appearance at Providence Midnight Madness




Highlights from the Memphis Madness dunk contest




Some fantastic dance moves by the Memphis Tigers during player introductions (especially @ 1:15 and @ 2:05)




Highlights from the UC-Riverside slam dunk contest




Ryan Harrow of NC State entertained the crowd at the Red Rally




Who said Midnight Madness was limited to just D-1 programs?




The best Zombie Nation in college basketball



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My First Midnight Madness

I know the media is supposed to be unbiased, but as a DC native I grew up a die-hard Georgetown Hoya fan.

I have been to well over 100 Hoya basketball games. I've seen a buzzer-beater victory (UConn 2009) and a buzzer-beater loss (Miami 1999) live. I've seen an upset over the No. 1 team in the country and a subsequent court-storming (Duke 2006) live. I've seen the Hoyas clinch a Big East Regular Season Title (Louisville 2008), witnessed them advance to the Final Four (UNC 2007), and seen them defeat a No. 1-seed in the Big East tournament (Syracuse 2010) live. I was present for John Thompson Jr's final home game as head coach (Miami 1999) and Craig Esherick's first game as head coach (Providence 1999). I witnessed both Kevin Braswell and Jonthan Wallace score their 1000th point (Bethune-Cookman 2001 and Fordham 2008), and even saw a classic 4-OT thriller (Notre Dame 2002). Hell, I even lied to my coach sophomore year in college to get out of a Saturday practice in order to come back for the 100th Anniversary celebration and game (Marquette 2007). I've been to games at McDonough Gymnasium, The Capital Centre/US Air Arena, and MCI Center/Verizon Center.

Aside from winning a National Championship, I have seen the Hoyas do just about everything, live and in-person. But until Friday, October 15th, 2010, one of the few things I had never witnessed was a Georgetown Midnight Madness.


But I can now cross that off my list.

This Midnight Madness, like every other event around the country, was something special. Not just because it was my first Midnight Madness experience, not just because the university was honoring Greg Monroe. It wasn't even a result of Wale, the most popular musician to come out of D.C since Chuck Brown, performing (and getting his hat stolen). What makes Midnight Madness special is that, for the first time since early April, we get to experience the college basketball atmosphere.

The number of dance routines easily outweighed the number of drills executed by the team. I learned more about the women's team than I ever intended on knowing, and I heard "Teach me how to dougie" more times than I ever planned on hearing.

But I sat, watched, smiled, and got goosebumps every time the lights dimmed and every time the PA announcer got on the mic. Four hours on a mid-October night felt like a January edition of Big Monday. It would have been very easy to mistake the atmosphere during the player introductions for an overtime game against Syracuse.

It was exactly the type of drug I needed to tide me over until the season's first games tip off.

I watched two freshman (John Caprio and Nate Lubick) enter the gym using Hanson and Enrique Iglesias as introduction music. "Epic" and "classic" are just two of the many words that could be used to describe their entrances. More than two people on the team used Wale's "No Hands" song as introduction music. We even saw a couple of sophomores take "family photos" a la LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.


When freshman phenom Moses Ayegba crip-walked out to mid-court, McDonough gymnasium nearly exploded. I was pretty sure that he had just received the loudest ovation of the night.

But then Hollis Thompson entered to Sandstorm by Da Rude.

Game.Over.

Thompson proceeded to bust out some of the meanest techno-dance moves I have ever seen. At no point in time did I ever think that Hollis Thompson would be the one to steal the Midnight Madness spotlight. But you could have just ended the show right then and there. Seriously, in my notes, all I wrote next to Thompson's name is "THAT JUST HAPPENED".

Hollis Thompson hadn't sank a game-winning three-pointer, or thrown down an emphatic slam, and yet he received what may be the loudest ovation he has ever been given in his entire life. For merely picking the right music and doing the right dance.

That's why Midnight Madness is so special.


A bunch of other news & notes from Friday night:

Tia Magee of the women's team stole the show with a pretty memorable dance number which probably would not have been suitable for viewers under the age of 14.

Former players Tyler Crawford, Mark Tillman, Reggie Williams, Michael
Graham and Gene Smith were in attendance.

Last year, head coach John Thompson III honored Michael Jackson by having the team do "The Thriller". This year, he honored Lil' Benny, a iconic DC musician who passed away early in the year, by doing "The Soul Train".

When Jack the Bulldog ran onto the floor to eat his Syracuse-themed chew-toy, the PA announcer and the crowd started chanting "Eat that box".

Freshman forward Aaron Bowen took flight numerous times during the lay-up lines. The kid can soar.

Fans began leaving McDonough Gym once the actual basketball practice began.

Wale performed "DC Chillin'" and "Pretty Girls". During his second set, which took place after the practice had ended, he went into the stands to dap people up, and one fan stole his hat.

The loudest ovations went to Hollis Thompson, Wale, Moses Ayegba, John Thompson III, Nate Lubick and Jack the Bulldog

During a shooting contest between Fy/Soph and Jr/Sr classes, both Markel Starks and Jason Clark air-balled jumpers, while a female fan contestant wearing high-heeled boots, sank back-to-back 15-footers.

It was reported that Brandon Bolden, a high school forward in the class of 2012, committed to Georgetown after the event.

The new student section T-shirt slogan was revealed: "Victory Now, Georgetown Forever"

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College Basketball season officially begins TODAY

October 15th is the official beginning of the March to Houston.

For school's around the country, this season kicks off with Midnight Madness. Seeing as the NCAA changed their rules, allowing practices to begin at 7pm instead of Midnight (it helped cut down on late night travel from fans leaving the event), the "Midnight" aspect of the Madness doesn't necessarily hold true anymore. That doesn't change the excitement around the event, or make us any less giddy for the season to begin.

ESPN U will be hosting four hours of coverage from Duke, Kentucky, Memphis, Kansas State, Gonzaga, UConn (for the women), and St. John's. We will have Troy heading out to McDonough to cover the Georgetown Midnight Madness event.

But we also STRONGLY (and I do mean STRONGLY, its in bold) encourage you, the fans, to send us any and all pictures, videos, or stories of the events you attend. Video of a 360 windmill? Yes please. A photo of Brandon Knight's introduction to Big Blue Nation? Yes please. We will have an extensive post on last night's events (hopefully) up tomorrow afternoon, just in time for you to take a peek as you try to knock out your hangover before tailgating for football begins.

Continue reading...

College Basketball "Starts" This Weekend

For schools around the country, Midnight Madness marks the beginning of the college basketball season. Why is it called Midnight Madness? Because team's traditionally will hold their first official practice at midnight on the first day that practices are allowed by the NCAA, opening it up to the public and their fans (nowadays, with ESPN covering the practices, a lot of teams will hold their "Midnight Madness" in prime time). As we have discussed here before, Kentucky started a trend by holding their Big Blue Madness tonight at 10:00 pm. Follow the jump for the full schedule of teams holding their Midnight Madness this weekend:

• Mountaineer Madness (West Virginia): Friday, 9:30 pm
• Big Blue Madness (Kentucky): Friday, 10 pm
• The World's Biggest Basketball Practice (Illinois): Saturday, 3:30 pm CDT (or whenever the Illinois-Minnesota football game ends)
• Thundering Herd Madness (Marshall): Saturday, 7 pm

The award for the most interesting goes to Illinois, who will be holding their first practice (weather permitting) on a court set up in the end zone of the Illini football stadium immediately following the Illinois-Minnesota football game.

Don't expect this trend to continue much longer, however. The NABC is already looking into ending it because of the "recruiting overtones" associated with holding Midnight Madness earlier (read this article by Pat Forde and tell me it isn't a very convincing tool). Continue reading...