Wednesday NIT Turmoil

I know we are all preparing ourselves for lunchtime on Thursday, but that's no reason not to check out some pretty descent basketball action before hand. Like I was told hundreds of times in school, and ignored every time, don't judge a book by its cover. Yea, it might be the NIT, but since at least 15 of the teams in the NCAA tournament only got there because of automatic bids, so you have to figure that the majority of the teams ranked #30-50 in the country will be invited to this second tier tourney.

If your a college basketball fan, you like seeing competitive basketball, and I honestly believe there are a handful of matchups in the N.I.T that will feature competitive basketball. I mean, I would much rather watch Georgetown vs. Baylor rather than Missouri vs. Cornell, even if there isn't a lot at stake.


Tuesday's Results


- #6 Davidson 70, #3 South Carolina 63 - Davidson might not be the Cinderella anymore, but that didn't stop Steph Curry from dropping 30+ points for the 15th time this season.


- #2 Penn St. 77, #7 George Mason 73- Maybe it's because I currently reside in Pennsylvania (not for long), but I have been all about Penn State this year. They were just a Mississippi State loss away from making the big dance, and Talor Battle is proving to everyone that he is a play maker. He hit another buzzer-beater, this time to send it in to overtime. In OT, Battle scored 8 of PSU's 10 points and sealed the deal for the Nittany Lions.


- #2 Notre Dame 70, #7 UAB 64 - the bar scene in South Bend must have been out of control last night, because there was literally nobody at this game. But again it was St. Patrick's Day, and it's Notre Dame we are talking about here. UAB should have been a tournament team this year, but by the time conference play started they were down to 6 scholarship players. Luke Harangody dominated against a much smaller Blazers squad. But let me reiterate something I have been saying for the past two years: Robert Vaden is a stud. He had 16 points before halftime, but still, UAB's season is over.


- #4 Kentucky 70, #5 UNLV 60 - Rupp Arena was already being used (High School State Playoffs) so UK played in their practice gym and although they struggled early, they put together a solid second half to get the win. But more importantly, the win silenced any talk of firing coach Billy Gillespie. Wait, this is the NIT? Yea, BCG is screwed.

Other N.I.T. Results

- #3 New Mexico 83, #6 Nebraska 71
- #1 San Diego St. 65, #8 Weber St. 49
- #7 Washington St. 57, #2 St. Mary's 68
- #6 Rhode Island 68, #3 Niagara 62


Wednesday's Games
- 7:00PM: #7 Duquesne @ #2 Virginia Tech
- 7:00PM: #4 Miami (FL) @ #5 Providence - ESPN2
- 8:00PM: #8 Tennessee-Martin @ #1 Auburn
- 8:00PM: #8 Bowling Green @ #1 Creighton
- 8:00PM: #8 Jacksonville @ #1 Florida
- 9:00PM: #6 Georgetown @ #3 Baylor - 9 pm - ESPN2
- 8:00PM: #5 Illinois State @ #4 Kansas State
- 9:00PM: #5 Northwestern @ #4 Tulsa - 9 pm Continue reading...

Terrence Williams is hurt and Robert Vaden is a moron

Some important news about a couple of important players. First off, Terrence Williams tore his medial meniscus in a pick-up game on campus, just two days before the official start of practice and mere hours after being praised by Rick Pitino at the Louisville tip-off luncheon for his work and dedication in the off-season. Williams will undergo surgery in the coming days and will be sidelined for the next 4-6 weeks. The news about the torn meniscus was actually good news for Pitino and the Cardinals:

I'm ecstatic that it's not an ACL tear as was first feared. He'll be out only a short period of time, and we know he'll come back as good as new. We're totally relieved.

If all goes according to plan and Williams is back in 4 weeks, then he should be ready to play by the time games begin and back to 100% when Big East play starts in January. T-Will is so important to this Louisville team, as he is really the only guy they have that can create for someone other than himself. I really hope that this doesn't have a negative effect on his performance for his senior year, as he is one of the most entertaining and exciting players to watch in the Big East.

Robert Vaden is a different story. Vaden, who originally attended Indiana before transferring to UAB to follow head coach Mike Davis, was back in Bloomington this past weekend. While he was there, Vaden was arrested on a preliminary charge of public intoxication. Not all that big of a deal, right? Vaden is 23 years old, and was back visiting old friends and had a few too many, meaning he spent the night in the drunk tank. By itself, really not much to talk about. Except Vaden is still on probation from a disorderly conduct charge after he and four other Blazer players were arrested after a fight outside a club in August of 2007. Now I don't know if this will violate his probation (I assume it does) or what kind of punishment he will face as a result (I assume it depends on the mood of the judge or probation officer who handles it), but I would not be surprised if he missed some games as a result. Gotta use better judgement, Bobby.

Ironically, the story about his arrest broke on the same day he was announced as the preseason player of the year in Conference USA. Vaden, a sharpshooter who averaged 21 points, 4 boards, and 3 dimes per game last year (and also put on one of the greatest shooting displays I've ever seen against Kentucky last year - seriously, watch that video, it was incredible), declared for June's NBA Draft, but withdrew his name days before the deadline. Continue reading...