Thursday Madness

Seeing as championship week has officially started, we are going to be doing a new daily madness segment. Here, you can find the daily scores and schedules for every conference tournament game that day as Trizzle will once again be taking over BIAH. For a full schedule of the conference tournaments and a listing of the automatic bids, click here.

GAME OF THE DAY: Portland State 79, Montana State 77

Montana State came into this game with a losing record at 14-16 after finishing in sixth place in the Big Sky. But after upsetting #1 Weber State on the road on Tuesday, the Bobcats locked up their first trip to the Big Sky finals since 1998. While the Vikings were the heavy favorites coming in, the Bobcats were right in it for most of the first half. The Vikings used a 11-1 run to open up a double digit lead midway through the second half, but Montana State would keep chipping away, setting up this exciting finish:



Jeremiah Dominguez led PSU with 22 points and 5 assists, while Divaldo Mbungo led MSU with 20 points nad 10 boards.

PLAYER OF THE DAY: Mike Singletary, Texas Tech

This isn't even close. Just by looking at the number's he posted, you can tell Singletary had a helluva game. He finished with 43 points as the Red Raiders were able to come back from 21 down to knock off the #6 seed Texas A&M Aggies. 43 points. Nothing special, that has been done before. Well, what about scoring 29 straight points? Because that is precisely what he did. With 9:35 left in the game, the score was 60-50 A&M, but Singletary would outscore the Aggies 29-18, ending with a lay-up with 39 seconds left that game the Raiders the lead for good.

Mike Singletary scored 29 straight points to lead Tech to the upset.
(photo credit - Getty Images)

They were good too: Kevin Rogers, Baylor - 10 pts, 20 rbs; Dexter Pittman, Texas - 26 pts, 10 rbs; Melquan Bolding, Duquense - 23 pts, 13 rbs; Craig Brackins, Iowa State - 23 pts, 12 rbs; Aubrey Coleman, Houston - 20 pts, 14 rbs.

TEAM OF THE DAY: Robert Morris

The Colonials earned their first trip to the dance since 1992 with a 48-46 win over Mt. St. Mary's in the finals of the NEC tournament. With the clock running down, Jeremy Chappell lost control of the ball. It ended up in the hands of Dallas Green, who hit a short jumper with 2.5 seconds left on the clock. It was his only field goal of the game.

Wednesday's Results

CHAMPIONSHIPS

Big Sky Final (Ogden, UT)
- #2 Portland St. 79, #6 Montana St. 77

Northeast Final (Campus Site)
- #1 Robert Morris 48, #2 Mt. St. Marys 46,

Atlantic 10 First Round (Atlantic City, NJ)
- #9 St. Louis 62, #8 LaSalle 60 OT
- #5 St. Joseph's 72, #12 Charlotte 62
- #7 Duquesne 91, #10 Massachusetts 81
- #6 Richmond 65, #8 St. Bonaventure 49

Big East Second Round (New York City, NY)
- #8 Providence 83, #16 DePaul 74
- #5 Marquette 74, #12 St. Johns 45
- #7 West Virginia 74, #10 Notre Dame 62
- #6 Syracuse 89, #11 Seton Hall 74

Big 12 First Round (Oklahoma City, OK)
- #9 Baylor 65, #8 Nebraska 49
- #5 Texas 67, #12 Colorado 56
- #7 Oklahoma St. 82, #12 Iowa St. 67
- #11 Texas Tech 88, #6 Texas A&M 83

Big West First Round (Anahiem, CA)
- #8 UC-Davis 69,#5 UC-Irvine 68
- #7 Cal State Fullerton 59, #6 UC-Riverside 46

Conference USA First Round (Memphis, TN)
- #10 Rice 60, #7 Marshall 59
- #11 Southern Mississippi 77, #6 UCF 53
- #8 Tulane 69, #9 East Carolina 59
- #5 Houston 85, #12 SMU 76

MEAC Quarterfinals (Winston-Salem, NC)
- #6 Bethune Cookman 52, #11 MD-Eastern Shore 47
- #1 Morgan St. 71, #8 Florida A&M 41
- #2 South Carolina St. 57, #7 Hampton 56

Mountain West First Round (Las Vegas, NV)
- #9 Air Force 71, #8 Colorado St. 67

Pac-10 First Round (Los Angeles, CA)
- #9 Stanford 62, #8 Oregon St. 54
- #7 Washington St. 62, #10 Oregon 40

SWAC Quarterfinals (Birmingham, AL)
- #2 Jackson St. 72 , #7 Texas Southern 65
- #1 Alabama St. 70, #8 Alabama A&M 58


Thursday's Games

ACC First Round (Atlanta, GA)
- NOON: #8 Virginia Tech vs. #9 Miami
- 2:30PM: #5 Clemson vs. #12 Georgia Tech
- 7:00PM: #7 Maryland vs. #10 North Carolina St.
- 9:30PM: #6 Boston College vs. #11 Virginia

Atlantic 10 First Round (Atlantic City, NJ)
- NOON: #1 Xavier vs. #9 St. Louis
- 2:30PM: #4 Temple vs. #5 St. Josephs
- 6:30PM: #2 Rhode Island vs. #7 Duquesne
- 9:00PM: #3 Dayton vs. #6 Richmond

Big East Tournament Quarterfinals (New York City, NY)
- NOON: #1 Louisville vs. #8 Providence
- 2:00PM: #4 Villanova vs. #5 Marquette
- 7:00PM: #2 Pittsburgh vs. #7 West Virginia
- 9:00PM: #3 Connecticut vs. #6 Syracuse

Big 10 First Round (Indianapolis, IN)
- NOON: #8 Minnesota vs. #9 Northwestern
- 2:30PM: #7 Michigan vs. #10 Iowa
- 5:00PM: #6 Penn St. vs. #11 Indiana

Big 12 Quarterfinals (Oklahoma City, OK)
- 12:30PM: #1 Kansas vs. #9 Baylor
- 3:00PM: #4 Kansas St. vs. #5 Texas
- 7:00PM: #2 Oklahoma vs. #7 Oklahoma St.
- 9:30PM: #3 Missouri vs. #6 Texas A&M

Big West Second Round (Anaheim, CA)
- 9:00PM: #3 Pacific vs. #8 U-Davis
- 11:30PM: #4 UC Santa Barbara vs. #8 UC-Davis

Conference USA Quarterfinals (Memphis, TN)
- 1:00PM: #2 Tulsa vs. #1o Rice
- 3:00PM: #3 UAB vs. #11 Southern Mississippi
- 7:00PM: #1 Memphis vs. #8 Tulane
- 9:30PM: #4 UTEP vs. #5 Houston

Mid American First Round (Cleveland, OH)
- NOON: #2 Ball St. vs. #7 Central Michigan
- 3:30PM: ##3 Buffalo vs. vs. #6 Kent State
- 7:00PM: 1 Bowling Green vs. #9 Ohio
- 9:30PM: #3 Miami vs. No. #5 Akron

MEAC Semifinals (Winston-Salem, NC)
- 6:00PM: #3 Norfolk State vs. #6 Bethune Cookman
- 8:30PM: #4 North Carolina A&T vs. #5 Coppin St.

Mountain West Quarterfinals (Las Vegas, NV)
- 3:00PM: #1 BYU vs. #9 Air Force
- 5:30PM: #4 San Diego St. vs. #5 UNLV
- 9:00PM: #2Utah vs. #7 TCU
- 11:30PM: #3 New Mexico vs. #6 Wyoming

PAC 10 Quarterfinals (Los Angeles, CA)
- 3:00PM: #4 Arizona St. vs. #5 Arizona
- 5:30PM: #1 Washington vs. #9 Stanford
- 9:00PM: #3 California vs. #6 USC
- 11:30PM: #2 UCLA vs. #7 Washington State

SEC First Round (Tampa, FL)
- 1:00PM: E4 Kentucky vs. W5 Ole Miss
- 3:00PM: W3 Mississippi St. vs. E6 Georgia
- 7:30PM: W4 Alabama vs. E5 Vanderbilt
- 9:45: E3 Florida vs. W6 Arkansas

Southland First Round (Katy, TX)
- 1:00PM: #2 Nicholls State vs. #7 Texas State
- 3:30PM: #3 Sam Houston St. vs. #6 UT San Antonio
- 7:00PM: #1 Stephen F. Austin vs. #8 Southeastern Louisiana
- 9:30PM: #4 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. #5 UT Arlington

SWAC Quarterfinals (Birmingham, AL)
- 3:30PM: #3 Prairie View vs. #6 Mississippi Valley St.
- 9:00PM: #4 Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. #5 Southern

Western Athletic Quarterfinals (Reno, NV)
- 3:00PM: #4 Boise State vs. #5 New Mexico State
- 5:30PM: #1 Utah State vs. #9 Fresno St.
- 9:00PM: #2 Nevada vs. #7 San Jose St.
- 11:30PM: #3 Idaho vs. #6 Louisiana Tech
Continue reading...

College Basketball Week in Review: Where Have All The Freshman Gone?

What We Learned This Week: Even D1 hoopers get a Christmas break. A pretty slow week for college basketball as Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday saw a grand total on one game.

We also learned that this year, unlike the past two, freshman are, in fact, freshman again. It has been a recurring theme this season, but Saturday really reinforced it to me. Did anyone happen to see the West Virginia-Ohio State game? BJ Mullens was coming off his best game as a collegian, going for 19, 8 boards, and 3 blocks while playing over 20 minutes for the first time in his career.

Well, Saturday was a much different story. Mullens missed a dunk on the first play of the game, and it was all downhill from there. He was just 1-5 from the floor, finishing with 4 points, 3 boards, and 4 fouls. Mullens showed flashes of what he could become. On one possession it was sealing Wellington Smith for a lob entry pass and finishing on the other side of the rim with a one handed dunk. On the other end he blocked a couple shots and changed a couple more. But overall, Mullens was largely irrelevant in a game that featured one other player taller than 6'8".

Isn't this what freshman are supposed to be? Role players that fill in holes, with the idea that in a year or two they could become a star? I'm going to take a deeper look at this later in the week.

GAME OF THE WEEK:
Texas 74, Wisconsin 69
Texas hung on against a scrappy Wisconsin team to avoid losing to their second straight Big Ten foe. Neither team could pull away in the second half (the biggest lead came when Wisconsin was up 60-56 with 9:07 left), which set up an exciting ending. Jason Bohannon hit a three that put Wisconsin up 67-66 with three minutes left. Wisconsin then forced a Damion James turnover, but on the ensuing possession, Dogus Balbay made a steal and got a lay-up out of it, and James followed that up with a short jumper in the lane. Marcus Landry scored to cut the lead back to one with 1:23 left, but James grabbed an offensive rebound on an Abram's miss. The Longhorns ran the clock down, and Gary Johnson banked in a 20-footer to give Texas a three-point lead with 23.5 seconds left. James blocked a Trevon Hughes lay-up and was fouled, hitting both free throws to seal the win.

This is a huge loss for Wisconsin, as they now head into conference play without a signature win. Sure, the Big Ten is better than in recent years, meaning the Badgers will have plenty of chances to knock off big name opponents. But they are going to have their work cut out for them. Right now, they are probably the sixth or seventh best team in a league that should not get more than five, maybe six bids. That said, I will never bet against a Bo Ryan team, no matter how down they look.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Jeremiah Dominguez, Portland State
The diminutive (5'6") point guard caught fire as he led the Vikings to a 77-70 victory at Gonzaga. Dominguez finished with 25 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists, also hitting on 7-10 three's. It was a performance all the more impressive considering the problems Portland State had getting to the game. Due to a snowstorm in the Northwest, the Vikings bussed to Seattle, stayed over night there, then bussed to Spokane the morning of the game, getting there too late to hold a shoot-around.

This was a huge victory for an improving Portland State team. Not only is it their first win over a ranked team since they reinstated the basketball team in 1996, the win came against a Gonzaga team that people in Washington follow very closely. Combine that with their one point loss to Washington earlier in the year, and the Vikings might have a bit of an easier time recruiting in Washington and the rest of the Northwest (an area proving to be one of the more fertile for high school basketball).

TEAM OF THE WEEK:
West Virginia
The Mountaineers really made a statement in their win against Ohio State. Yes, the Buckeyes were missing David Lighty, arguably their most valuable player, but the Mountaineers still dominated a good basketball team. What impressed me the most was that they did it without dominating the offensive glass. West Virginia isn't a great offensive team by any stretch of the imagination, even with Joe Mazzulla in the line-up. What they rely on is forcing turnovers and getting easy baskets, or crashing the offensive glass and getting easy baskets. They didn't really do either against the Buckeyes. Instead, it was just tough, solid defense, forcing OSU to miss shots on the defensive end and great ball movement against a zone on offense, especially in the second half when they made their run.

The amazing part about this performance by West Virginia is that they didn't play all that great. Alex Ruoff was just 6-15 from the field, Da'Sean Butler scored 14 in the first half, but sat out for 10 minutes in the second half with four fouls. Mazzulla missed the game and may be out for the year. And despite all that, West Virginia shot 47.7% from the field and only turned the ball over seven times. I'm really starting to take a liking to back up PG Truck Bryant. Bryant reminds me a lot of Levance Fields as a freshman - a strong, thick, tough NYC point guard that can power his way into the lane and finish amongst the trees.

The Mountaineers also blew out Radford this week, 89-54, on the strength of 38 points from Alex Ruoff.

MATCH-UPS OF THE WEEK:
12/29 - Georgetown @ UConn: UConn struggled dealing with Gonzaga's bigs on the perimeter. How will they handles DaJuan Summers and Greg Monroe.

12/30 - Illinois @ Purdue: Are the Illini for real this year? A win at Purdue, and that 12-1 record looks a little more legitimate.

12/31 - Michigan State @ Minnesota: One of the best games on the year in the Big Ten.

12/31 - UNLV @ Louisville: After stomping on UAB, the Cardinals look to keep their momentum going as they host the Runnin' Rebels.

1/1 - Villanova @ Marquette: You think any of these guys want their Big East opener to happen on New Years Day?

1/2 - Arizona State @ Stanford: Stanford lost Team Lopez and coach Trent Edwards Johnson (Ed. Note: Troy Machir, ladies and gentlemen), but they still have started off the year undefeated.

1/3 - Pitt @ Georgetown: Georgetown starts off conference season with UConn, Pitt, Notre Dame, Providence, and Syracuse. Yup, that's the Big East.

1/3 - Ohio State @ Minnesota: Did anyone think that this match-up would be between two of the favorites for the Big Ten title?

1/3 - Tennessee @ Kansas: If Tennessee loses this game, then in all likelihood there will not be any SEC teams ranked in the top 25. The SEC in basketball is the opposite of the league in football.

1/4 - Kentucky @ Louisville: How do you define rivalry? Continue reading...