POSTERIZED: TrayVonn Wright is Stretch Armstrong

Remember how everybody went crazy over Thomas Robinson's awesome alley-oop jam against Baylor on Monday night?

People tweeted, retweeted and blogged the night away about his leaping abillity and arm extension.

Well, that dunk looks like a baby sky-hook compared to what North Dakota State's TrayVonn Wright did.

Seriously, I've never seen anything like this.







Are you speechless yet?

Just add this play to the list of crazy things that went down this past Saturday. When all is said and done, Saturday, January 14th could end up being the most wild-n-crazy day of the college hoops season, and TrayVonn Wright will have helped make that possible.


But was it as good as these?

C.J. Fair, Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh, 1/16
Bandja Sy, New Mexico State vs. Utah State, 1/12
Kenny Hall, Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, 1/12
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Duquesne, 1/11
Kadeem Batts, Providence vs. Louisville, 1/10
Karam Mashour, UNLV vs. CS-Bakersfield, 1/6
Tony Snell, New Mexico vs. Houston Baptist, 1/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, 1/3
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro vs. Miami, 1/2
Orion Outerbridge, Rhode Island vs. Boston College, 1/2
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Indiana, 12/31
DeShon Minnis, Texas Tech vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12/30
Keith Gabriel, VMI vs. Old Dominion, 12/22
Eric Etherly, Loyola (Md.) vs. Kentucky, 12/22
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. Texas-Arlington, 12/21
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina vs. Texas, 12/21
Robbie Hummel, Purdue vs. IPFW, 12/20
Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 12/17
Torye Pelham, Southern Mississippi vs. Ole Miss, 12/17
Quincy Diggs, Akron vs. Florida A&M, 12/17
Anthony Davis, Kentucky vs. Chattanooga, 12/17
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

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Top 10 moments from 2008-2009 - No. 8

College basketball season tips off today, and in an effort to get you guys (and ourselves) excited, we will be counting down the Top 10 moments from last season. Check back with us throughout the day as we will be posting on the hour until 7pm, when UNC and FIU kick off the 2009-2010 college basketball season.

8. North Dakota State earns their first ever NCAA Tournament bid in their first year of eligibility. Their senior class had all red-shirted as freshman in order to be eligible for the dance in their fifth year.


Continue reading...

3/18 - Some Links, Some News

I just wanted to pass along these stories. They are the kind of things that make March Madness so special:

- Cleveland State’s Healing Begins With an N.C.A.A. Bid.

- North Dakota State has grown as a team Continue reading...

Butler Bursts a Bubble and Woody Goes Dancing

Butler is a lock for the NCAA tournament.

I repeat, a lock.

Which is devastating news for the Florida's and the Creighton's and the St. Mary's and the Arizona's of the world.

Why?

Because Butler was beaten last night by a tough Cleveland State team 57-54 in the Horizon League final. So now, instead of there being 34 available at-large spots, the rest of the bubble will be competing for 33 spots.

Cleveland State came out on fire in the second half of this one, hitting six of their first seven threes. The Viking trailed for the majority of the first half, and found themselves down 39-31 early in the second half. Cedric Jackson, who was named tournament MVP, capped a 19-9 run with a three with exactly 10 minutes left, giving the Vikings a 50-48 lead they would never relinquish.

Cleveland State took a three point lead into the last possession, but Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack both had good looks at the rim to tie it.

Cedric Jackson finish with 19 points, 7 boards, and 8 dimes to lead the Vikings to their first NCAA tournament since 1985, where coincidentally they knocked off Bobby Knight's third-seeded Indiana Hoosiers in the first round.

The Vikings look destined be to seeded a bit higher than 14th this year, but regardless of where they end up, this is going to be a dangerous first round match-up for anyone. Just ask Syracuse, who Cleveland State beat back in November. Kansas State, Washington, and West Virginia would all probably second that motion, as the Vikings gave each of those three teams a dogfight earlier in the year.

This was also the third meeting between Cleveland State and Butler. The first two were decided by two points each - the first when Butler hit a three at the buzzer, the second with Cleveland State missed a three at the buzzer.

Two shots. That is how far away CSU was from sweeping Butler.

The Vikings are led by two seniors, J'Nathan Bullock and Cedric Jackson. Bullock is a bruising forward that can bully his way to the rim on just about anyone. At 6'5", he doesn't post up as much on the block, but is effective squaring you up from about 15-17 feet (think Paul Harris, even down to the long hair). Jackson is the Vikings best playmaker at the point, averaging over 10 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists per. Big East fans may remember the name - he transferred in from St. John's.

As a team, Cleveland State loves to get to the rim. Outside of freshman Jeremy Montgomery, they do not have all that much in terms of shooters. So remember these guys come March, especially if they are playing a team that doesn't defend well on the perimeter.


Great story about North Dakota State. After dominating the D2 ranks, the Bison decided to go D1 a few years back. When you transition from D2 to D1, there is normally a waiting period before you are eligible for the postseason. For the Bison this was five years.

That was a problem for their recruiting class five years ago, which included their two leading scorers Ben Woodside and Brett Winkelman. So the incoming freshman decided to redshirt a season, so they could have one year the play where they were eligible for the dance.

That was this year.

And they won the Summit League.

The Bison are led by Ben Woodside, who averages over 22 ppg and has hit 60 in a 3OT loss to Stephen F Austin. But don't fall into the trap thinking that this is a one man team. Winkelman also averages more than 18 ppg, while Mike Tveidt scored 21 in their league final win over Oakland.

The Bison rely pretty heavily on the three, or more specifically on Woodside getting into the lane, drawing an extra defender, and finding an open shooter. If they get hot, you better watch out.

Remember, as red shirt freshman, this group beat Wisconsin. Continue reading...