Wednesday's Pregame Beat: UT-UNC and Ole Miss getting upset?

Game of the night: 7:00 pm: Texas @ No. 6 North Carolina

This was supposed to be the year that Texas was rebuilding. Without a roster stocked with lottery picks for the first time in about five years, the general line of thinking was that the Longhorns were going to be in trouble. It didn't help matters that, just four games into the season, Texas had lost a pair after a) blowing a late lead against Oregon State and b) seeing an 18 point lead evaporate against NC State thanks to a technical foul that J'Covan Brown earned.

But this Longhorn team is one to keep an eye on. J'Covan Brown, technical fouls aside, is having a terrific year as a scorer. His jumper has been a bit erratic in the last couple of games, but he is scoring the ball and creating for his teammates as well as he has in his career, and he's doing all of that without committing turnovers. Throw in the surprising play of Julien Lewis and Shelden McClellan and a solid four-man front court rotation, and the Longhorns have themselves a solid squad.
Continue reading...

Christmas Wish List: What does Louisville need and want?

For the next five days over at Beyond the Arc, we will be detailing what some teams need. Here is what I put together for Louisville.

There is no team in the country that looks more comfortable and in control playing a game that is completely out of control than Louisville. At times, it seems like Rick Pitino is coaching his team by simply saying "the sloppier the better".

With Christmas right around the corner, here is a look into just what Pitino has requested from Santa Claus:
Continue reading...

Andre Drummond is back to being a walk-on

Back in late August, when Andre Drummond committed to UConn out of the blue.

The news itself was huge, but what made headlines and riled up sportswriters around the country was the fact UConn, who was dealing with NCAA sanctions and APR penalties, had been able to juke the numbers so that Drummond didn't count as a scholarship player. The way they did that was by taking a scholarship away from seldom-used Michael Bradley.

Well, it looks like we were wrong on that one. Gavin Keefe of the New London Day got the scoop, as Drummond told him on Tuesday afternoon "I'm thankful for what Mike was trying to do for me. I told Mike, 'Don't do that, man. I'll pay my way and take a scholarship next year. You don't have to give up a scholarship for me.'"

"It was my decision," Drummond continued. "That's not fair to him. He worked hard to get that scholarship. I'm not going to take something from somebody that's not mine. It was my decision to come late."

When this news first trickled about, I was confused. Why keep it from the public? Why take the PR hit? And, more importantly, how is Drummond allowed to be a walk-on? Doesn't the fact that he got recruited make him a scholarship player?

First of all, Drummond started out on scholarship. But, as he said to Keefe, Drummond didn't want to take Bradley's scholarship, so UConn's compliance department went to work trying to figure out how they could get Bradley back on scholarship. About midway through the semester, UConn finally got their answer: so long as a recruited player doesn't receive any institutional aid from the school, he can count as a walk-on.

UConn opted not to make an announcement because they felt that, when the time was right, Drummond, Bradley and their families would decide when they wanted the public to know. And yesterday was the day.

Congratulations to Bradley, who is once again a scholarship basketball player for the Huskies. And good for Drummond. He may be 18 years old, but he gets it.

I'm also sure that the money he'll get as a top five pick in the 2012 NBA Draft will make it really easy for him to shrug off those school loans.
Continue reading...

Wednesday Morning Dump

We get today rolling with a bunch of links on Phil Martelli being a jackass.

- Phil Martelli is acting like a jerk, but the problem is that the NCAA has allowed him to act like this. Gregg Doyel thinks that we need to hear the whole story first. The problem with that is that Martelli, the university and the NCAA won't and aren't going to tell it. Even if Martelli is right, this maneuver isn't exactly smart. I wonder if Martelli realizes that what he's doing is a complete embarrassment to the university. Everybody Hates Phil. Yeah Eamonn, I'm not sure what he's doing either.

- Remember a couple months back when we all blasted UConn and Jim Calhoun for taking a scholarship away from Michael Bradley and giving it to potential one-and-doner Andre Drummond? Well apparently Drummond gave the scholarship back and is actually a walk-on. Wait, why have they waited this long to tell us?

- I'm not exactly what Jeff Goodman is going for here, but if you are looking for a bunch of different quick-hitting stories, this article is for you

- I've been waiting to mention Alaska Anchorage all season, and I finally get my chance.. This is must-read stuff

- New Mexico State guar Christian Kabongo has been reinstated after he issued an apology for the obscene gestures he made during the Aggies game against UTEP. His actions earned him a two-game suspension

- Miami guard Daquan Jones was approved by the NCAA to rejoin his team after serving a ten game suspension

- Former-Syracuse center Da'Shonte Riley has been cleared to play at Eastern Michigan, where former-Syracuse assistant Rob Murphy is head coach

- Kentucky walk-on Sam Malone has a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season

- St. John's freshman (and MLB draft pick) Amir Garrett is finally eligible to participate

- Highly-touted recruit Jarnell Stokes will make his college decision on Thursday

- Things are going so well for Missouri thus far, why not look ahead to 2012-2013

- If the Saint Louis Billikens had a Christmas list, this is probably what it would look like

- Christmas wish lists for the Pac-12

- The Pac-12 is a three-bid league? I think three bids is generous

- Yes, I'd say it's entirely possible that UCLA is a better team without the services of their best player

- This is just bizarre: Roy Williams x-mas tree topper





Continue reading...

Phil Martelli's acting like a jerk, but the issue is that he is allowed to

I think Phil Martelli is being a jerk.

Plain and simple.

Because as far as I'm concerned, that's the only reason for Martelli to deny Todd O'Brien his release to play at St. Joseph's. In case you missed it yesterday, O'Brien submitted 2,000 words to SI.com on Monday afternoon explaining why and how he has been wronged by St. Joe's and Martelli.

In short, O'Brien -- who has finished his undergraduate degree -- transferred to UAB after staying on scholarship to graduate during this past summer. The graduate program he enrolled in is not offered at St. Joe's, which means that, if he was granted his release by St. Joe's, O'Brien wouldn't be forced to sit out a season. Since he has already transferred once in his hoops career, O'Brien doesn't have a redshirt year. In other words, St. Joe's is ending his basketball career for him.
Continue reading...

Wednesday's Shootaround: Two buzzer-beaters, Louisville and Ohio win

No. 4 Louisville 69, College of Charleston 62: I can say this pretty confidently -- Louisville is not the fourth best team in the country. Don't get me wrong, I like the Cardinals and I think that they have a shot to win the Big East if things break their way, but I think that Louisville is much closer to being the 10th or 12th best team in the country than the 4th.

That said, regardless of where Louisville is ranked, the fact that the College of Charleston went into the Yum! Center and very nearly knocked off the Cardinals is an impressive feat. The Cougars are legit this season. Antwaine Wiggins, a lanky, 6'7" small forward that can score from anywhere on the floor, is good enough to start at two-thirds of the high-major programs across the country. Trent Wiedemann and Adjehi Baru give CofC plenty of size. Andrew Lawrence isn't Andrew Goudelock, but he is a playmaking point guard that has made some big shots this season. The Cougars would usually be a favorite to make the NCAA Tournament, but they play in the SoCon's South Division.

The same division as Davidson. That will be fun.
Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: Robbie Hummel. Wait, ROBBIE HUMMEL?

I can honestly say that of all the current D-1 basketball players in America, Robbie Hummel is arguably the least likeliest to end up on an episode of B.I.A.H POSTERIZED.

Maybe it's because of his multiple knee injuries, and maybe it's because he's a slow, white, 6-foot-8 sharpshooter. But seeing Robbie Hummel dunk for the first time is like seeing a bald eagle for the first time:

Majestic and awe-inspiring.



Considering the circumstances and his limitations, this is arguably the most impressive thing Hummel has ever done. I don't care if Purdue did beat IPFW 81-56 in a cupcake game. What Hummel did is just flat-out impressive.

Add this to the many reasons why it's impossible NOT to root for this guy.


But was it as good as these?

Robert Brown, Virginia Tech vs. North Florida, 12/19
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 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











Continue reading...

Wednesday's Pregame Beat: Bullet form!

Been a busy day, so the Pregame Beat is going to be in note form today. Apologies.

Best games:

- 9:00 pm: Butler @ Gonzaga
- 8:00 pm: Ohio @ Northern Iowa
- 8:00 pm: Oakland @ Arizona
- 7:30 pm: UAB @ VCU
- 9:00 pm: Buffalo @ BYU

Upset Alert:

- 7:00 pm: Bucknell @ No. 1 Syracuse
- 8:30 pm: Lamar @ No. 2 Ohio State
- 9:00 pm: College of Charleston @ No. 4 Louisville

Other notable games:

- 7:00 pm: Samford @ No. 3 Kentucky
- 7:00 pm: NC State @ St. Bonaventure
- 7:00 pm: Old Dominion @ Richmond
- 7:00 pm: UNC-Asheville @ Tennessee
- 10:00 pm: Eastern Washington @ St. Mary's
- 10:30 pm: UC Irvine @ UCLA Continue reading...

Christmas wish list: What does Baylor need and want?

For the next five days over at Beyond the Arc, we will be detailing what some teams need. Here is what I put together for Baylor.

The Bears have been dominating at times this season, but as they demonstrated in their three point win at BYU over the weekend, there are still some things this group needs to work on.

We at NBCSports.com managed to get our hands exclusively on Scott Drew's wish list. Here is what Drew was looking to get out of Santa:
Continue reading...

Tuesday's Shootaround: Two upsets and a buzzer-beater

Davidson 80, No. 11 Kansas 74: See here.

LSU 67, No. 10 Marquette 59: See here.

Southern Miss 64, Arizona State 61: The Golden Eagles did everything they could to hand this game to Arizona State.

USM dug themselves a 30-21 hole in the first half by missing seemingly every shot they took. After battling back to take the lead, they got Torye Pelham -- who had nine offensive rebounds in the game -- ejected for fighting with Ruslan Pateev. Then after rebounding to build up a double-digit lead with just 1:33 left on the clock, USM decided to miss free throws and turn the ball over, allowing Arizona State to tie the game with 5.0 seconds left. Luckily, Darnell Dodson was there to bail them out:
Continue reading...

Tuesday Morning Dump

- If you haven't read this, take the time now to do so. Todd O'Brien, a former center at St. Joe's, had a year of eligibility left after graduating, and wanted to look elsewhere to play, but Phil Martelli would not sign the release form. Why would Martelli not let O'Brien play at another school? There isn't a reason, or justification. It's ridiculous. Apparently the University wouldn't sign off on it either. So they will let the kid graduate, but won't let the kid play basketball at another school? I don't get it

- Gary Parrish Poll Attacks. Git some

- Andy Bottoms wants to know why more teams aren't playing non-conference road games

- We have our third coaching change of the season. Idaho State coach Joe O'Brien stepped down as head coach of the Bengals after a 2-8 start

- Jared Sullinger probably deserves to take some time off in order to rest his body. But instead, he's going to jump right back into action tonight when the Buckeyes take on Lamar

- Jay Bilas provides an excellent list of the most impactful injuries suffered this season

- Lost Letterman does s decent job breaking down a list of the ten most unruly fan bases in college hoops

- Oregon's athletic website got hacked on Sunday night, and some of Dana Altman's post-game quotes were changed. Apparently the hackers don't like spaghetti

- Former-Oregon freshman Jabari Brown has official announced his intentions to transfer to Missouri

- Terrence Jones' status for the Wildcats' next game is up in the air after suffering a dislocated finger over the weekend

- The Crossroads Classic was a complete success. But what can the colleges and universities in Indiana do to make it better next year? The Crimson Quarry has some ideas

- A great-read on how BYU is paving the way for college athletics digital media strategy

- An awesome-read on Georgetown center Henry Sims, arguably the most unexpected assist leader in the country

- Would Syracuse's starting-5 beating their second-5? This question itself is an indicator of just how crazy-deep the Orange are this year






Continue reading...

Davidson plays perfect down the stretch, knocks off Kansas

Davidson finally got their revenge.

Three and a half years after the Wildcats came with a Jason Richards brick of making the Final Four, the Wildcats made a visit to the Sprint Center in Kansas City and knocked off No. 11 Kansas 80-74. Nik Cochran had 21 points (on 5-6 shooting) for Davidson, a number that included four threes, all of which came in the second half and quelled a Jayhawk surge. Cochran's hit his final three with 1:36 left in the game to push Davidson's lead to 71-65. Kansas wouldn't threaten again.

Much credit has to be given to Bob McKillop's group for this win. His team played near-flawless basketball in the second half. They didn't turn the ball over a single time in the second 20 minutes and hit too many big shots to count. You want an idea how impressive his team was? Think about this stat -- Davidson never trailed in the second half and only allowed Kansas to draw even once. But the Wildcats also didn't extend their lead beyond six until the final minute when the Jayhawks began fouling.
Continue reading...

LSU hands Marquette their first loss of the season

It just wasn't in the cards for Marquette tonight.

After racing to a 13-0 lead in the first 3:30 of the game, the Golden Eagles imploded. They managed just 10 points in the final 16 minutes of the first half to find themselves down 26-23 at the break and allowed LSU's Ralston Turner, who went for 22 points, to hit a pair of big threes down the stretch as LSU handed the No. 10 team in the country their first loss of the season.

Marquette just couldn't find any kind of rhythm on the offensive end of the floor on Monday night. After building that 13-0 lead, Marquette shot just 31.3% from the floor and looked utterly discombobulated in their sets. Too often their offense deteriorated into ill-advised drives and tough, contested jumpers. Case in point: Marquette finished the night with just seven assists while turning the ball over 14 times. Darius Johnson-Odom had six of those turnovers by himself.
Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: Robert Brown is comin' into your living room

Sweet mother of God.

Robert Brown, a 6-foot-5 freshman guard, isn't exactly known for his freakish athleticism. Sure, he's got some serious length, and can move in transition well.

But, I mean, I don't think any of us ever planned on seeing the Virginia Tech freshman do this:



The Florida-native didn't exactly welcome the North Florida Osprey to Blacksburg with open arms. He probably would have, but e was too busy dunking over the entire team.

(H/T @DJClayCollier)

But was it as good as these?

Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Kansas State, 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



Continue reading...

Monday's Pregame Beat: UCSB at Cal highlights the night, Creighton on upset watch?

Game of the night: 10:30 pm: UC-Santa Barbara @ Cal

The Gauchos are one of the best mid-major teams in the country and led by one of the best 1-2 punches in the country regardless of conference affiliation. Orlando Johnson is a potential all-american and Joe Nunnally will be a first-team all-Big West player this season. The Gauchos lost by seven at Washington and took UNLV to double over time. They are an experienced group that does not get intimidated by anyone.

That said, Cal is a team that has a lot to prove. The Pac-12 has been abysmal early in the season, so much so that arguing it isn't a top ten league nationally isn't as it sounds. Cal has contributed to that line of thinking, as they are probably the favorite to win the conference despite having lost to San Diego State and Missouri (by 39) already this season. UCSB isn't exactly a pushover, but the conference can't handle anymore questionable losses, and while that might be offensive to the Gauchos, Cal losing to them at home would be questionable.
Continue reading...

The Emery Board: Chane Behanan Edition

Dear Louisville freshman Chane Behanan,

Thank You.

Sincerely,

Locker room bulletin boards everywhere


For now, this weekly post will remain as "The Emery Board", but a new title could be coming soon, and it's all thanks to the first-year forward.

You see, Louisville just beat Memphis this weekend in a tough non-conference affair to remain undefeated at 10-0, good enough to land them at No.4 in the AP/Coaches Poll. But according to Behanan, the Cardinals are better than that. His team is the best team in the country:
Continue reading...

Whoever lists the Cousy Award nominees needs to be fired

Seriously, who picks the nominees for the Cousy Award? Because they done effed up again.

You remember last season, when Jordan Taylor and Tu Holloway were left off of the finalists for the Cousy Award? Well, they were both on the list nominees that was released today. So was Kendall Marshall, Scott Machado, Shabazz Napier, Casper Ware and Aaron Craft to go along with 58 other names.

Those names would have been unforgivable to leave off.

You know who else would be unforgivable? Phil Pressey.
Continue reading...

Taking a look at the Pac-12's struggles

It seems like we say it every year around Christmas time, but it may actually be true this season: the Pac-12 might struggle to get an at-large bid.

Seriously.

Chew on these stats, if you please. The league is currently ninth in the RPI, sitting behind the Mountain West, Atlantic 10 and Missouri Valley. They don't have a single win against a top 25 program and are just 2-16 vs. the RPI top 50 and 12-33 against the top 100. Their best win on the season is against Texas, NC State, Denver or Colorado State.

Their bad losses are too many to mention, but I'll do it anyway: Loyola Marymount, Middle Tennessee State, Cal Poly, Northern Arizona, Georgia, Pepperdine, Fairfield, DePaul, Idaho, UC Riverside, South Dakota State and, well, everyone that Utah has played.

Does that sound like a high-major league to you?
Continue reading...

College Hoops Week in Review: Reggie Hamilton, Florida and a thriller in Indianapolis

Player of the Week: Reggie Hamilton, Oakland

You should know who Reggie Hamilton is by now. He's one of the most dynamic guards in the country and the star of a team that could legitimately win a game in the NCAA Tournament if they are able to get there. He went for 35 points in a nationally televised win over Tennessee and followed that up with 28 points in a tough loss to Michigan. The 5'11" Hamilton averages 22.0 ppg and 4.2 apg on the season, but he had the best game of his career on Saturday afternoon.

Hamilton went for 41 points in a win over Valparaiso. He made 14-24 shots from the floor, hitting five threes and added four assists, four steals and three rebounds. More impressive, however, was the fact that the Grizzlies were down by as much as 17 points in the second half, but Hamilton lead the charge back. He scored the first 12 points during an 17-1 run that trimmed the lead to 61-60 and kept Oakland in the game. It was Hamilton's final shot of the game that truly made the difference, as he went the length of the court in the final five seconds and banked in a runner as time expired:
Continue reading...

Monday Morning Dump

- In their first game since the Crosstown Brawl, Xavier shot just 32% from the field and lost their first game of the season, to Oral Roberts by 18.

- D-III hoops provides arguably the coolest dunk of all time

- Goodman and Parrish provide their weekly Top-25 (and-1)

- Terrence Jones had another woeful performance on Saturday. Sure, he injured his finger, and yeah, it looks pretty painful. But Jones was asked to play through the pain and he refused to do so.

- With Jared Sullinger hobbled by various injuries, Deshaun Thomas has stepped up as tOSU's scoring threat. The Mikan Drill breaks down the sophomore's offensive tendencies

- The Indy Star provides some good insight on the first Crossroads Classic and why this four-team Indiana state classic needs to continue

- Glen Logan provides some detail on the biggest surprises and disappointments in the SEC thus gar

- BYU played Baylor very tough, but couldn't pull off the upset. Gonzaga absolutely manhandled Arizona. So, who is the favorite in the West Coast Conference?

- Baylor was able to defeat BYU because 5-foot-10 Pierre Jackson made a game-clinching block on 6-foot-10 Brandon Davies

- If you are a fan of New York metro-area college basketball, Big Apple Buckets is a daily must-read

- No state has more underachieving teams than Tennessee. Belmont, Memphis and Vanderbilt all were thought to be March Madness threats. All three are looking like they might be left out come March

- Mike DeCourcy recaps the Memphis/Louisville game and wonders if Peyton Siva is the most complete point guard in the country

- Gary Parrish believes that Memphis will be fine despite another close loss

- Ryan Greene provides a "Five Up and Five Down" for Saturday's game results

- Andy Katz has five observations from the college hoops weekend. Jason King does the same

- Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor could return to action on Monday night. The senior tore his meniscus two weeks ago and had surgery to fix the tear last week

- Cal forward Richard Solomon will miss some time due to a stress fracture in his foot

- Miami's DeQuan Jones has retained an attorney and will appeal his season-long suspension for his involvement with Nevin Shaprio

- Speaking of Miami, big-man Reggie Johnson made his return to action on Saturday. The junior center had been sidelined since June because of knee surgery

- On Sunday, Washington suffered a shocking loss to South Dakota State. But according to ehad coach Lorenzo Romar, it's not time to panic yet

- Virginia Tech sophomore Tyron Garland will transfer to LaSalle. The Philadelphia-native is the third-leading scorer in Philadelphia Public League history with 2,198 career points

- If you watched the Indiana/Kentucky game last week, then you undoubtedly heard Dick Vitale complain about the Hoosiers inability to get Cody Zeller the ball on a consistent basis. Well, The Mikan Drill put together some pics and vid explaining why

- Speaking of Indiana, the Hoosiers remained focused despite a hectic week of publicity, exams, and an in-state rivalry game

- An awesome-read on Bradley's Dyricus Symmes-Edwards (Sleeper-stud and B.I.A.H All-Name Team member)

- The Columbus Dispatch put together a great feature on Bob Knight and his connection to Orrville, OH

- Butler got a must-needed victory by defeating Purdue at the buzzer. But did Butler really earn the win or did Purdue give the game away?

- A look at the top offensive impact players from the major conferences

- The design of the new Rupp Arena has been approved, but still won't be funded by the city

- The Pac-12 continues to be woefully-awful. Stanford is the only team yet to suffer a mind-boggling loss. Just how good is Stanford?

- The Iowa Hawkeyes are really struggling, even for a team in "rebuilding mode"

- This weekend provided a tremendous amount of #POSTERIZED-dunks. We tried our best to document them all: Washington's Terrence Ross threw down the exact same dunk he had against Marquette two weeks ago. Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis has the longest arms in the entire world. Akron's Quincy Diggs got some help from a foolish Florida A&M defender. Alabama's inability to score hasn't stopped Tony Mitchell from dunking on everybody. The Hawks of St. Joseph's put on the most dominant display of dunks I have ever seen


Yeah, this is awesome



Continue reading...