What’s Trending: Championship Week Begins
Posted by Griffin Wong on March 9th, 2015What’s Trending is a column examining the week that was in college basketball social media. Griffin Wong (@griffwong90) is your weekly host.
Indiana Fans Getting Impatient
After getting handled by Iowa and versus Michigan State in Bloomington over the last week, Indiana has now lost four of their last five games. The Hoosiers are hanging by a thread and another misstep in the Big Ten Tournament could cost them an NCAA Tournament bid. For some Indiana fans, their anger toward head coach Tom Crean is growing.
Well, this is genius. http://t.co/6tl9Vm7x4U pic.twitter.com/1SQtuAnTrj
— Kami Mattioli (@kmattio) March 5, 2015
Wow. Just wow. RT @markalesia: And now we have this: http://t.co/mGwlTkbhTB (h/t @FakeCoachWilson) #iubb pic.twitter.com/2eTPGnSen5
— Matt Glenesk (@MattGlenesk) March 5, 2015
Well, well, well. http://t.co/83D7nh349X is officially a thing.
— Tony Adragna (@tonyadragna) March 5, 2015
A nice idea in theory, but $12 million is quite the sum.
Izzo’s Wild Saturday
Tom Izzo has been burned multiple times this season for failing to foul while up three late in a game. On Saturday against Indiana, Izzo appeared to have instructed his team to foul after a made free throw but Denzel Valentine failed to realize the score (only up two) with a miss. He fouled Yogi Ferrell, sending his coach to the floor.
Denzel Valentine just tried the infrequently used #FoulUpTwo strategy. Tom Izzo was not pleased.
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) March 7, 2015
Izzo Face. http://t.co/K3oPPagbLs via @thebiglead
— Tyler Duffy (@tyduffy) March 7, 2015
Izzo’s face says it all. Though Ferrell missed the game-tying free throw, Indiana got a final chance when Marvin Clark Jr. failed to purposely miss a free throw. Izzo, again, was not pleased.
Tom Izzo gave up on life here and I can't stop laughing. pic.twitter.com/cHb7h7kACQ
— Isaac (@WorldofIsaac) March 7, 2015
The Spartans escaped with a two-point victory but not at the expense of several gray hairs on Izzo’s head.
Tensions Rise in the Lone Star State as Texas Stays Alive
Texas has struggled mightily in Big 12 play but kept itself in the NCAA Tournament discussion with an overtime win over Baylor last week. Lost among the huge win was a bench-clearing fracas in which seven players from both sides were ejected. Though the skirmish itself wasn’t too bad, the players were removed for leaving the benches.
Seven guys ejected from both sides. Now just rooting for triple-overtime so we can see some walk-ons.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) March 3, 2015
Just another night in the Big 12. Makes me sad the season is coming to an end.
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 3, 2015
Sophomore Isaiah Taylor hit this shot to win the game in overtime.
Clutch. The Horns went on to win again versus Kansas State over the weekend.
The NCAA Comes Down on Syracuse
The NCAA released its sanctions on Syracuse Friday — five years of probation, significant scholarship reductions, 108 vacated wins, and a nine-game suspension for head coach Jim Boeheim to begin next season’s ACC slate.
NCAA hits Syracuse with five-year probation, scholarship reductions, vacation of wins, 9-game suspension for Jim Boeheim.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) March 6, 2015
In retrospect, this really was the perfect photo selection for Syracuse's media guide this season: pic.twitter.com/KHGeJ4yKIU
— Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) March 7, 2015
Tyler Adams Gets His Moment on Senior Day
Georgetown senior Tyler Adams, whose career ended shortly into his freshman season because of a heart condition, got to start Saturday’s game and log a basket thanks to this classy gesture from Seton Hall. After allowing Georgetown to win the jump ball, the Pirates cleared the lane so that Adams could score. What a wonderful moment for a great kid.
One Game Playoff
The Ivy League seemed all but locked up for Yale after Friday night’s win over Harvard, but the Bulldogs weren’t able to seal the automatic bid against Dartmouth on Saturday. The Big Green delivered a late dagger to Yale’s NCAA Tourney hopes.
Despite this heartbreaking loss, it isn’t over for the Bulldogs. Yale will face Harvard in a one-game playoff next Saturday at the historic Palestra. A knockout game for an NCAA Tournament bid is already huge — make it Harvard vs. Yale, and that’s juicy right there.
Harvard vs Yale III -oldest rivalry in the country for one spot. That is cool
— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) March 8, 2015
Championship Week Heats Up
Championship Week is here. You know what that means… it’s March! Several mid-major conference tourneys have started with North Florida, Coastal Carolina, Northern Iowa, and Belmont already punching their tickets to the Big Dance. Belmont in particular did so in dramatic fashion over favorite Murray State on Saturday.
Are you kidding me with that shot? Then, there was Delaware State big man Kendall Gray’s 33/30 game.
Delaware State's Kendall Gray had 33 points and 30 rebounds v. Coppin State. Baller. Teammate Amere May dropped 40 in the same game. Damn.
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) March 6, 2015
No, you didn’t read that wrong. He had 30 rebounds.
Finally, there was North Florida’s band member, who was pretty excited to be going dancing, to say the least.
Now there’s a man with passion! And this is only the beginning… Stay tuned next week for more auto-bids, Cinderellas, and general March Madness as Championship Week continues!
Quick Hitters
-In preparation for its game at Minnesota, Bo Ryan made his freshmen practice diving for loose balls off of the Golden Gophers’ elevated floor. Pretty funny stuff.
-West Virginia’s Jevon Carter with the prime-time chase-down block on Kansas’s Frank Mason.
-Check out Maryland’s Dez Wells with the huge jam on two Rutgers defenders.
His day wasn’t over after that, though… Wells also jumped over Myles Mack, forcing an awkward travel.
-Was this call on Penn State’s DJ Newbill the worst call of all-time? That’s for you to decide, but it has to be in the conversation, right?
-Watch Kris Brewer go coast-to-coast to lead Kent State to a dramatic victory over Akron.
-Ohio State’s Sam Thompson with an… interesting… bucket against Penn State.
-Georgetown’s D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera with the ankle-breaking stepback J.
-Ferris State’s Josh Fleming with the huge dunk on Ashland University.
-Tulane’s Kajon Mack getting in on the posterization party with this one on Houston.
-St. John’s Rysheed Jordan. Oh my goodness.
-Iona’s Kelvin Amayo with the elevation to throw it down on Marist.
-Indiana’s Hanner Mosqueda-Perea with the one-handed putback slam. Wow.
-Speaking of one-handed jams, check out this ridiculous alley-oop from Kendrick Nunn to Rayvonte Rice.
I think like the rest of America, I am not happy with Syracuse College Football and Men’s Basketball still kicking because Darth Emmert can’t bring himself to be the law, and unless the Ivy wins next years College Football Playoffs over SMU, the miracle is Darian at best. And, I feel the Basketball Sized Pulps the last Generation left us need cleaning up, because, even though Preps to Pros is a necessary evil, but, education should be a privilege, not a right. I think a decision on Syracuse Men’s Basketball and Football will happen soon again, and if that meant shuttling Northern Iowa, Iowa State, and Notre Dame to the Big Ten, shuttling Maryland to Conference USA and Rutgers, Penn State and West Virginia to the ACC and Drake, SMU, Houston and Missouri State to the Big XII. I hate to pull this out, but, would shuttling schools as a bid to potentially end Conference Realignment for All Time Later help end the endless shuffle?