Thursday Morning Dump

Last night was arguably the best night of the college hoops season. #HandDownManDown

- Say goodbye to Big East classics like the one we saw last night between Syracuse and Georgetown. Chris Joseph wanted this rivalry to remember his name

- Duke beat North Carolina last night. They shouldn't have, but they did

- A collection of photos from Duke vs. North Carolina

- Just what this rivalry needed, more video evidence. Austin Rivers is now officially part of this rivalry. For now and for forever. An explanation as to why this is the best rivalry in American sports

- Yeah, that hurt

- Where does Rivers' shot rank amongst the other great Tobacco Road rivalry moments?

- Teams with Final Four potential: Kansas, yes. Baylor, no. That's right, Baylor should no longer be considered "an elite team". Why? Did you see them try to play defense?

- Things got more than just "chippy" during the rivalry game you probably all forgot about

- UConn announced that they would look to apply self-imposed sanctions in lieu of the NCAA's punishment of a post-season ban for their poor academic rankings. Yeah, no chance it works. (Make sure you read this one. It's from Pat Forde. It's definitely worth your time)

- Speaking of UConn, Jim Calhoun will not return to the sidelines in time for the Huskies Saturday showdown with Syracuse

Wait, are you telling me Florida State, the same Florida state team that beat UNC by 5,736,214 and beat Duke at Cameron, lost to lowly Boston College?!?

- More fallout from Memphis' admittance to the Big East: Does Memphis really make the Big East all that much better? Why doesn't anybody want Temple? Are you sure there are 40 teams that would make a better, more-logical fit than Memphis? Big East Coast Bias provides a solid list of media reactions to the addition of Memphis.

- Well, at least Memphis is east of the Mississippi River. That's got to count for something. Right? If Memphis and Houston ever play in the finals of the Big East Tournament, I quit

- One more expansionocalypse thought: How far away are we from seeing a C-USA/MWC merger?

- An awesome ranking of colleges based on combined earnings of NBA alumni

- Naval scheduling issues may put the Carrier Classic in jeopardy

- Jeff Reynolds has been fired as head coach at the Air Force Academy. The Falcons become the sixth team to have a mid-season coaching change this year

- Senior Malik Stith, the only St. John's player held over from the Norm Roberts era, has decided to leave the Johnnie basketball team

- Villanova's Maalik Wayns had an MRI done on the left knee he injured in the Wildcats Tuesday night win over Providence

- Don Amore enlists some the help of a physician to help cure Jeremy Lamb's shooting woes

- Today in mascot news: North Dakota will resume the use of "Fighting Sioux"

- Do any of us have a clue as to who is going to win the CAA? It's going to be one of these four teams. But outside of that, it's anybody's guess

- Big Sky BBall makes a case for Damian Lillard as the best point guard in the country

- New Mexico State's Wendell McKines is in fact the most interesting man in the WAC

- John Templon provides an excellent examination of NYC's dominance in the NEC

- An interesting-read on the importance of staying power and meaningful wins for Duquesne

- I have to imagine that I missed this because it took place in a MARYLAND/CLEMSON game

- High School administrators take high school athletics way too seriously

- This is the funniest thing you will see/read all day, and it has absolutely nothing to do with basketball

- For this year's High School 3-point and Slam Dunk Contest, the fans get to vote on the contestants. I you have want to nominate somebody, make sure you vote on the Facebook page