Around The Blogosphere: February 17, 2010
Posted by nvr1983 on February 17th, 2011
If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com. We will add to this post throughout the day as the submissions come in so keep on sending them.
Top 25 Games
- #2 Texas 73, Oklahoma State 55: “The Texas Longhorns (23-3, 11-0) stayed perfect in Big 12 play with a 73-55 win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys (16-9, 4-7) on Wednesday night in Austin. To put in context how strong a team is this Longhorns squad: I thought the Cowboys played improved basketball from the last time we saw them and that Texas was merely okay, and yet the game was never in doubt and the final spread was 18 points. This is a damn good team, even when it’s not at its best.” (Burnt Orange Nation)
- #11 Purdue 70, #9 Wisconsin 62: “Make no mistake, tonight’s win was a big one, and is yet another sign that this team is coming together. They still have their moments where they slip or make some poor decisions on shot selection, but by and large they’re good enough to overcome those lapses. Wisconsin is a solid opponent and one who just beat the #1 (and undefeated) team in the nation a few days ago. However, Purdue quite simply owns Wisconsin in Mackey, as the Badghuhs are now 2-37 all time in our favorite gym. JJ and E’Twaun wind up 6-2 against Wisconsin, including 4-0 at Mackey.” (Boiled Sports)
- #12 UConn 78, #10 Georgetown 70: “Welcome back, all, to the Kemba Walker Show. Here is the objectivity: 31 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds, 1 eye-popping self-pass off the backboard for a layup. 13-23 from the field, 12-18 from inside the 3-point line. Two backbreaking buckets to turn a 70-69 deficit into a 73-70 lead with just over a minute to play. Here’s the subjectivity: KEMBA KEMBA YEAH YEAH OH YEAH. Walker turned in a vintage performance tonight, and the Huskies looked once again like the team that blew off Kentucky’s doors and beat Texas in Austin. Not only did tonight’s 78-70 win over Georgetown remind me of the Maui Tournament games, but the positives of tonight’s game have me feeling sky-high looking forward.” (The UConn Blog or Casual Hoya)
- #18Vanderbilt 64, Georgia 56: “After dropping double-digit leads in road games against South Carolina and Tennessee, it was Vanderbilt’s turn to pull off the upset against a team that was unable to find its rhythm in the second half. The Bulldogs went without a field goal over the final 9:54 of the game and allowed Vandy to erase a 14 point deficit to improve to 7-4 in the SEC. Georgia fell to 6-5 in league play and into a tie with Tennessee for third place in the SEC East.” (Anchors of Gold)
Other Games of Interest
- Illinois 54, Michigan 52: The Illini survived a last-second prayer by the Wolverines and kept alive their fading NCAA Tournament hopes. (UM Hoops or Hail to the Orange)
- Tennessee 73, South Carolina 67: “Sometimes it’s better to just chalk a W up and move on. This wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination. The only positive parts of the first half were Tobias Harris, who opened with Tennessee’s first six points and seven boards, and Scotty Hopson, who finally got around to getting to the line tonight. Well, that’s not true; ball distribution was …well, improved might be going a bit too far, but the effort was certainly there.” (Rocky Top Talk)
News/Analysis
- The Curious Case Of Josh Selby: Chronicling the up-and-down freshman season of the Jayhawks freshman star. (Rock Chalk Talk)
- Big Ten power rankings: Week 8: Despite a loss the Buckeyes remain atop the Big Ten standings, but after that it is up for debate. (Inside the Hall)
- Wildcats 2010-11: Searching For The Pure Joy of Basketball: “One thing that is really different about this team from last year’s team is that they are much more reserved. While we do see the occasional 3-point eyeglass sign and some emotion on a dunk, what we see all too rarely from this team is the pure, unadulterated joy we used to see from the 2009-10 Wildcats. That lack of emotion, I think, is partially responsible for the sudden drop in confidence this team has displayed in itself. It’s hard to be happy when you are worried something bad will happen, and these guys clearly are finding ways to exacerbate, particularly in their own minds, the shortcomings of the team. This negative thinking appears to be metastasizing into a fear of losing.” (A Sea of Blue)
- Breaking Down the Kansas Basketball Defense: The Bigs: Analyzing the performance of the Jayhawk big men on the defensive end and pointing out why it could be the key for their post-season hopes. (Rock Chalk Talk)
- Bracketology: Orange Still Looking Like A 4-5 Seed: “Not too long ago it was a question of whether or not the Orange were a 1 or a 2. Now? The Orange could go anywhere between a 3 and an 8 depending on how the rest of the season plays out.” (Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician)
- Texas Longhorns Basketball: Guard Play Crucial For Opponents Success: Analyzing how the Longhorns have fared against some of the premier guards in the country this season. (Burnt Orange Nation)
- Crean: IU-Louisville series not on immediate horizon: Discussing the possibility of a match-up between the two schools. (Inside the Hall)
