Around The Blogosphere: Valentine’s Day Edition
Posted by nvr1983 on February 14th, 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
- #11 Wisconsin 71, #1 Ohio State 67: “After opening the 2nd half with a 19-6 spurt to take what seemed like a commanding 47-32 lead with 13:16 to play, Ohio State folded like a 9/2 off suit yielding a 30-8 Badger blitz over the next nine minutes to fall behind 62-55 before eventually losing 71-67 this afternoon in the Kohl Center.” (Eleven Warriors) “Two days after Wisconsin’s mammoth victory over previously unbeaten Ohio State, I still think that might have been the best college basketball game I have seen in person. The immovable object (Wisconsin at home) met the irresistible force (the No. 1 Buckeyes’ unblemished record, balanced attack) and held its ground.” (Bucky’s 5th Quarter)
- #2 Texas 69, Baylor 60: “Two streaks came to an end on Saturday afternoon at the Frank Erwin Center. For the first time this season, Texas failed to defeat a Big 12 opponent by double digits, as the Longhorns held off the Baylor Bears, 69-60. That streak really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the win broke a ridiculous four game losing streak to Baylor.” (Burnt Orange Nation)
- #3 Kansas 89, Iowa State 66: “A shorthanded Kansas Jayhawk squad jumped out early on Saturday to take control of the second matchup of the season against Iowa State. In a game where the Jayhawks played without Josh Selby and Thomas Robinson, Kansas seemed to heed the call from their head coach for better defense, at least early. At one point, just under the five minute mark in the first half, Kansas was up by 23 points and had held the Cyclones to just 14 points. While the Cyclones never pushed the game back within reach, Iowa State did start knocking down shots from beyond the arc.” (Rock Chalk Talk: Part 1 or Part 2)
- #19 Louisville 73, #12 Syracuse 69: “The Cards used torrid three point shooting from Preston and Kuric and some great interior defense to build a 20-point lead, and then let Syracuse back into it by seemingly trying to just run out the clock. I think we had the ball for 1:48 of the last 2:00 of the game, and a very lucky foul called against Syracuse with the shot clock running down and a risky pass to Kuric at the free throw line gave us some breathing room. It was also the first time I can remember Pitino making a halftime adjustment when UP 10, and we ran a high pick against their zone that let Siva get into the lane and create scoring opportunities. A few key shots and this thing stays a double digit win.” (Card Chronicle)
- #13 Georgetown 69, Marquette 60: “The mark of a good team is how well it responds to adversity. Today, the Georgetown Hoyas continued to show just how good of a team they are. The Hoyas beat Marquette 69-60 with star guard Austin Freeman hobbling through an ankle injury and standout big man Julian Vaughn plagued with foul trouble. Chris Wright picked up Freeman, his senior backcourt mate, scoring 20 points and adding 5 assists in the face of a strong Marquette defensive effort. Henry Sims, the recently announced GUSA Vice President candidate, was able to leave the campaign trail for a bit to secure a Hoyas victory. Sims scored the biggest basket of the game with the Hoyas clinging to a 52-50 lead with 7:07 left in the game. Sims made a pretty drop step move, nailed a layup, fouled out Davante Gardner, and made the and-one free throw. From there the Hoyas never looked back, winning their eighth consecutive Big East battle.” (Casual Hoya)
- #14 Purdue 81, Illinois 70: “For the first time in nearly six weeks, the Boilers won a road game as they took down the spastic Illini, 81-70 in Assembly Hall. Purdue is now 5-4 in true road games, which really isn’t that great…but it’s good enough to be in as good a position as they could really ask for, given all that has happened this year.” (Boiled Sports or Hail to the Orange)
- #15 Missouri 84, Oklahoma 61: “I said in Friday’s preview that “if Mizzou can’t make some shots, settle into their press, and force Oklahoma out of their intended game, then this could be a slog.” And for a while, it was. With Mizzou’s starters missing shots and just appearing out of sync early on, the game played right into Oklahoma’s hands. But then the symbiotic relationship between the Mizzou offense and defense presented itself again — Mizzou started shooting better and, consequently, forcing more turnovers. And Oklahoma stopped making shots. A couple of spurts of turnovers later, Mizzou had a comfortable double-digit lead. And in the end, they almost got the 25-point margin at which I had hinted.” (Rock M Nation or Crimson and Cream Machine)
- #16 UNC 64, Clemson 62: “They can’t all be stunning offensive performances, I guess. Facing a tough defense – although one not as successful as Duke or FSU – the Heels had a lot of trouble moving the ball around and finding the bottom of the basket. They saved the day with a tremendous defensive effort of their own, and only a barrage of Clemson threes in the closing minute left the 64-62 final score as close as it was.” (Carolina March)
- #23 Vanderbilt 81, #18 Kentucky 77: “John Jenkins was unstoppable, and I didn’t believe he could come close to scoring 30 points on DeAndre Liggins. It really wouldn’t have mattered who was guarding him today, though, he was simply beyond any level of defense, and he and his teammates hand Kentucky their third straight road loss and fifth road loss of the year in the SEC.” (A Sea of Blue: Part 1 or Part 2 or Anchor of Gold)
- #21 UF 61, Tennessee 60: “For much of Saturday evening, it looked again as if Tennessee would get every bounce and call in defeating Florida. But the Gators kept digging and for the 14th time had a game decided by single digits or in overtime. And for the tenth time this season, Florida won, defeating the Vols 61-60 on a layup by Erving Walker and a lead block by Alex Tyus.” (Alligator Army or Rocky Top Talk)
- #25 Minnesota 62, Iowa 45: “The Gophers snapped a four-game skid Sunday night, playing some of their best basketball in weeks as they easily handled the cold-shooting Iowa Hawkeyes 62-45 in Iowa City. The win was a must for Minnesota’s once strong NCAA Tournament hopes, for Tubby Smith who had never endured a 5-game losing streak, for the fans who have been in near meltdown mode and for the players, who had to realize they can win games and salvage their season as they wait for Al Nolen’s foot to heal.” (The Daily Gopher)
Other Games of Interest
- Boston College 76, Maryland 72: “A win at Boston College would’ve been a huge boost for the Maryland Terrapins’ NCAA Tournament hopes. Reggie Jackson made sure they didn’t get it. Jackson dropped a career-high 31 points to lead the Eagles over the Terrapins in a crucial matchup between ACC bubble teams, 76-72.” (Testudo Times)
- St. John’s 59, Cincinnati 57: “‘Escape’ is the right word to describe the David Blaine/ Houdini act the St. John’s Red Storm did in pulling out the 59-57 win over the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena. The game was a heart stopper for Red Storm fans (the game thread is a twitchy-fingered convulsion), including the Bearcats’ buzzer-beating attempt from halfcourt that went just wide right. Sometimes road wins are rough wins. No matter how ugly, they still count.” (Rumble in the Garden)
- UCLA 69, Oregon State 61: “Before the stretch run can begin in earnest, the Bruins had one remaining “warm up” at home against the Oregon State Beavers. UCLA predictably had a turnover plagued game yet again, and although the scouting report indicated that we should have seen a higher turnover game coming, it doesn’t make it any less frustrating. Fortunately, the offensively inept Beavers started both halves in severe field goal droughts which was enough for the relatively consistent Bruins to twice expand their lead into the double digits and finish off Oregon State, 69-61, to improve to 18-7 and close to within a half game of idle Arizona in the Pac 10 race.” (Bruins Nation)
- Michigan 73, Indiana 69: “Inconsistency has plagued Michigan all season long but the last two games have upped the ante. For the second game in a row Michigan opened up a seemingly comfortable second half lead before falling asleep at the wheel. This time it was a 22 point lead with 5:26 left to play in the second half that crumbled into a four point win. A win is a win but finishing two games in a row with a relative lack of conviction certainly leaves a bitter after taste” (UM Hoops: Recap, Five Key Plays, John Beilein Video, and Player Video; Inside the Hall: Recap, Tom Crean Video, and Tom Crean Quotes)
- Nebraska 65, Oklahoma State 64: “OSU stayed winless on the road in the Big 12 on Saturday, succumbing to Nebraska’s stymieing defense and efficient offensive production. The odd thing was that OSU moved the ball on offense really well. They fed Moses, hit JPO on cuts, and found Keiton when he was open. Nebraska’s D, while solid, isn’t anything this team shouldn’t be able to deal with. They weren’t up to the task though and fell behind six by the time the first half buzzer sounded. I don’t have stats on it and don’t have the time to rewatch the game but I would imagine the number of shots OSU missed within three feet is not in the single digits. Lay-ups, short jump hooks, fast breaks — bang, clank, swat, they went everywhere but in the hoop.” (Pistols Firing)
- Virginia Tech 102, Georgia Tech 77: “Malcolm Delaney made amends for his poor outing down in Atlanta (8 points, 8 turnovers) as the Hokies, in their throwback gray VPI uniforms, blitzed the visiting Yellow Jackets 102-77. Delaney scored 22 of his season-high 33 points in the first half while Jeff Allen registered his fifth straight double-double — the 11th of the season — with 25 points and 14 boards. The 102 points are the most ever by a Virginia Tech team in ACC play. The Hokies scored 100 points in a 104-100 loss to Maryland last season.” (Tech Hoops)
News/Analysis
- Kansas Jayhawk Players Want The #1 Ranking: “Depending on who you talk to or listen to there are three teams in the conversation for the top ranking when the new polls are released on Monday. Traditional logic says it’s the Jayhawks. Many have pointed to the Texas win over Kansas as an argument in favor of the Longhorns. And still some believe that Ohio State deserves the nod with their sole loss coming this weekend on the road to a tough Wisconsin Badger team. While the Kansas players don’t have a vote, it’s pretty clear what they all want.” (Rock Chalk Talk)
- From Hero To Zero – The 48 Hour Saga Of Oklahoma State Saga Darrell Williams: “You know those pesky DUI arrests that college athletes seem to run into every now and then? They’re the kinds of thing that just make you want to look a kid in the eye and say, “boy what are you…stu…stu…stupid!” in your best Coach Red Beaulieu impression from the Water Boy. Those are the kind of guys you’d like to see run stadium steps until they puke, serve a suspension and then earn their way back on the field at some time. Then there are guys like Oklahoma State’s Darrell Wiliams who have the audacity/arrogance/stupidity to do the unthinkable and think they can get away with it. Then there’s the coach who plays said athlete out of desperation hoping that he can sneak past the next game before the law drops the hammer.” (Crimson and Cream Machine)
- Kentucky Wildcats Basketball: The Road To Perdition: “22 points. That’s the difference between a 5-5 SEC record and a 10-0 SEC record for this version of the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky has lost 5 SEC games by a total of 17 points. The additional five added in there would be what it would have taken to win those games. Throw in 3 more points, and this team could be 23-1 overall. Never before have I seen a Kentucky team about whom you could argue that their main utility in the SEC was to raise the rankings of all the other teams. Kentucky may wind up singularly responsible for putting two or three SEC teams in the tournament which, absent victories over the Wildcats, might well be in the NIT. Only time will tell if that turns out to be true, but it looks that way right now.” (A Sea of Blue)
- Top Ten Coaches With Infamous Tempers. “It’s not easy coaching a college basketball team. Coaches have to deal with the hormones of college students, expectations of fans, and, oh yeah, the X’s and O’s. Tonight you’ll see one of the more volatile coaches ever, Kansas State’s Frank Martin, lose his cool on ESPN in what’s likely to be another loss to in-state rival Kansas. With that in mind, we look at the 10 most infamous tempers among coaches in college hoops over the last 25 years.” (Lost Lettermen)
- Weekly Recruiting Beat (2-13-11): Summarizing some of the week’s big recruiting news. (Hoopniks)
