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 Ohio State 92, Oakland 63: “Early on it looked like it was going to be another pick your poison type game where one of Ohio State’s stars would score 30 points. Jared Sullinger scored the first eight points, but was held scoreless the rest of the first half. Instead it turned into a balanced effort as six Buckeyes scored in double figures as No. 2 Ohio State rolled to a 92-63 victory over Oakland.” (Eleven Warriors)
• #9 Georgetown 86, Memphis 69: “What a clinic. That’s all that game was – an absolute clinic. It was a testament to senior leadership trumping flashy freshmen, fundamental basketball withstanding explosions of athleticism, team over individual, good triumphing over evil. The Georgetown Hoyas simply dominated the Memphis Tigers tonight in Memphis, winning 86-69 with a second half for the ages. Austin Freeman, oh sweet sweet Austin. 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal, taking only 12 shots to get there. Chris Wright complemented his backcourt mate with 19 points of his own, expertly handling any defense Memphis threw at him.” (Casual Hoya)

Other Games of Interest

• Colorado 78, Indiana 69: Analyzing the Hoosiers’ loss to the Buffaloes and going over Tom Crean’s comments. (Inside the Hall: Part 1 and Part 2)
• Michigan 87, Bryant 71: “It’s only natural that Michigan’s worst defensive performance of the year comes just two days after I wrote an entire post devoted to improved perimeter defense. Tonight, Michigan’s defense looked like it had taken off early for Christmas break. Bryant started hot, connecting on three pointers all over the court, and Michigan was never able to slow them down. Luckily, Michigan shot the ball well enough that it didn’t really matter how bad their defense was. In many ways this game was the opposite of Michigan’s handful of ugly wins earlier this year where the defense was excellent and the offense never got going.” (UM Hoops)
• UCLA 74, UC-Irvine 73: “I don’t care whether Tyler Honeycutt is injured, on the court, or stranded at Heathrow Airport. There is no excuse for a UCLA team to be outplayed on Wooden Court by a physically inferior (in terms of the measurables) and – until tonight – offensively weak Irvine team.” (Bruins Nation)

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

• #3 Kansas 78, Cal 63: “Kansas won the Pac10 grabbed their first true road victory of the season with a win over the Cal Bears. The late tipoff Wednesday night seemed to fit the Jayhawk play at times as a Kansas team that clearly looked like the more talented team, once again couldn’t manage to stay out of their own way during portions of the game.” (Rock Chalk Talk: Recap and Statistical Analysis)
• #4 Syracuse 93, Drexel 65: “That was the scary Drexel team we’ve been hearing about? The one that beat Louisville in the YUM? The one that’s apparently having their best season ever? Either they’re not quite as good as advertised or the Orange just about put together their best performance of the season in a 93-65 demolition job.” (Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician)
• #8 Villanova 76, Monmouth 36: “What can anyone say about a 76-36 win? I guess the coach summed it up nicely with ‘I like where we are right now.'” (Villanova by the Numbers)
• #10 Missouri 75, #21 Illinois 64: Taking a look at the game from the winning side and the losing side of the “Braggin’ Rights” game.
• #25 Texas 67, #12 Michigan State 55: “Tonight, with a 67-55 victory over the Spartans, Texas once again pulled off the impressive feat of beating North Carolina and Michigan State in the span of a few days. Even more impressively, they won both games on the road. In fact, tonight’s victory ended Michigan State’s much-publicized streak of 52 consecutive home victories against non-conference opponents. Essentially, Texas was the first non-con team to win a game in East Lansing in the last 7 years. This was exactly the type of game–against a good team and hostile crowd–that young teams can be expected to lose. But we didnt. Tonight was a virtuoso win, even if wasn’t exactly a virtuoso performance. Texas did enough to win, but, unlike last year, I doubt this will be their best performance of the season. To put it more simply, the win tonight feels bigger and more important than our actual performance, which was really-good-but-not-great.” (Burnt Orange Nation)
• #15 Kentucky 89, Winthrop 52: “My first impression of this game was, “Wow. What a game by Doron Lamb,” and upon reflection, that impression still stands. Setting the freshman scoring record by shooting 92% on 11-12 field goal attempts is simply staggering. That record has stood for nearly 20 years, and the guy who set it has a jersey hanging in the rafters. That’s the magnitude of the accomplishment by the young Brooklynite. It also seems somehow fitting that he bested another New Yorker, even though he was out of the Bronx.” (A Sea of Blue)

Other Games of Interest

• Maryland 89, NJIT 50: “After a game that one-sided, there’s only so much you can say, as well as only so much that can be learned. Maryland defeated NJIT 89-50 in the Comcast Center, with the 39-point margin of victory the Terrapins’ second-largest all season. On the way, they dominated every statistical category: they forced 22 turnovers, shot 60% from three, limited the Highlanders to 32% shooting from the field, and generally controlled play entirely from tip-to-tip. NJIT is awful, granted, and the stats should be enough to tell you that. But hey, you take any type of blowout when you can get it.” (Testudo Times)
• Louisville 114, Western Kentucky 82: “Louisville went on the road for the first time and gave perhaps their best performance of the season, burying 16 three-pointers on their way to a 114-82 rout of in-state host Western Kentucky.” (Card Chronicle)
• Northern Iowa 67, Indiana 61: “Defense, experience and execution. UNI, a Sweet 16 team last season, brought all three to the table tonight, and it was all just a little too much for the Hoosiers to handle.” (Inside the Hall: Part 1 and Part 2)
• Gonzaga 64, Xavier 54: “Against Baylor, Gonzaga showed they could win a game facing tremendous adversity. Tonight against Xavier, the Zags faced similar adversity but they did so at the friendly confines of the McCarthey Athletic Center.” (The Slipper Still Fits)

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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 Ohio State 96, UNC-Asheville 49: “Shaking off a shooting slump that saw him fail to reach double figures in four straight games and shoot just 32% over the last six, David Lighty broke out of his offensive funk with a 29 point performance to key Ohio State’s 96-49 blowout victory over UNC-Asheville tonight in the Schott.” (Eleven Warriors)
• USC 65, #17 Tennessee 64: “”It started exactly the way you expected it would against Kevin O’Neill, and ended exactly the way it did just four days ago for Bruce Pearl. Down one with three seconds and change left on a side out-of-bounds, the Vols had to settle for a long three that didn’t fall. As a result, Tennessee lost their third straight game – their second by one point – and the beatdown of #3 Pittsburgh just ten days ago now feels more like myth than fact.” (Rocky Top Talk)

Other Games of Interest

• UNC 85, William & Mary 60: “It turns out William & Mary has even less luck in the Dean Dome then they do in Carmichael. Down three starters from last year’s NIT team, the Tribe were stymied by their own poor shooting, missing all twelve three point attempts in the first half. Meanwhile, UNC took care of the ball, had some good shooting of their own, and won handily despite keeping John Henson on the bench for all but four minutes after he re-injured his thumb. (X-rays should not be required, and he was sat more as a precaution than anything else.)” (Carolina March)
• Cincinnati 64, Miami 48: “Last night, the Bearcats went on the road and did something that they hadn’t done in 17 years, play, and defeat, Miami.” (Bearcats Blog)

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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

• #4 Syracuse 97, Morgan State 55: “Sure, the way this game went you’d pretty much be disappointed if Southerland hadn’t set a career-high with eighteen points (12 of which were on three-pointers). Still, couple that with his five rebounds and you’d be remiss not to appreciate what Southerland did during his audition for a spot in the Big East rotation in 12-0 Syracuse’s 97-55 romp over Morgan State (4-5).” (Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician)

Pre-Game Analysis

• Preview: UNC-Ashville at #2 Ohio State: “Fresh off a 79-57 stomping of South Carolina behind 30 points and 19 boards from Jared “Big Ten Freshman of the Week” Sullinger, the Buckeyes welcome UNC-Asheville to the Schott for the third time since 2008, beginning a stretch of three games in seven days to finish up the non-conference slate.” (Eleven Warriors)
• Know Your Braggin’ Rights Rival: Illinois: “Braggin’ Rights is upon us once again, though both teams stumble into St. Louis a bit. Illinois fell into a small funk that culminated in a shocking loss to Illinois-Chicago on Saturday; meanwhile, Mizzou was playing much, much better but has to deal with more adversity, this time in the form of an injury to Phil Pressey. Illinois is a thin team anyway, and it appears Mizzou will continue to play with a shorter bench than Mike Anderson would prefer. Of course, Illinois was thin last year and Mizzou was dealing with injury (okay, illness) then too, and that turned out pretty well for Mizzou, right?” (Rock M Nation)
• Sizing Up the Bears: “The Jayhawks wrap up their Pac10 tour this week against the Golden Bears of California. The Bears are picked to be a middle of the pack team in their conference, behind three teams Kansas has already beat and the two Washington schools. That’s not to say this game is going to be a cakewalk. All three games against the teams from out west this year have been far from smooth and the Jayhawks benefited from having two of those at home. This game comes at a time when Kansas seems to be struggling a bit and it is their first true road game of the season.” (Rock Chalk Talk)
• UCLA v. MSU Preview: “Don’t think it will ever happen again”: “UCLA plays Montana State tonight at 7:30 Pacific.; All you local fans better go to the game as it will only be on Bank West (Jumbotron) Bruin TV. Montana State(MS) has lost four of their last five, with their only win in that span coming against Johnson and Wales a law firm NAIA school. Montana State has also not won on the road this year. So this game should be a cake walk right?” (Bruins Nation)
• Sleeping With The Enemy: The Tigers of Memphis: Putting the spotlight on the Memphis-Georgetown game. (Casual Hoya)

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It was a quiet Sunday of college basketball so our recap today will be short. If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com.

Game of Interest

• Indiana 102, South Carolina State 60: “Another home non-conference game, another dominant performance. We know the drill by now. Sure, it wasn’t a complete cakewalk. South Carolina State came out with more intensity than the Hoosiers. Indiana also hit a stretch in the early first half where it couldn’t buy a bucket — despite getting some good looks — and were letting the Bulldogs get some easy buckets. They actually snagged a 27-20 lead at the 7:59 mark in the first half, but the Hoosiers started to connect, were grabbing offensive rebounds when they weren’t and getting after it a bit more as they finished out the half on a 23-8 run to take a 43-35 lead into half. The second half was an offensive clinic as Indiana scored a whopping 59 points on 61.1 percent shooting from the field (21-of-31), 66.7 percent from three (4-of-6) and 81.3 percent from the line (13-of-16).” (Inside the Hall)

News/Analysis

• Dominican Republic Basketball Federation now looking at John Calipari: “In the words of every KSR post written about Louisville: “folks, you just couldn’t make this up if you tried.” With Rick Pitino appearing poised to be announced as the new head coach of the Puerto Rican national basketball team, reports are now surfacing that the Dominican Republic, P.R.’s Latin American rival, is making a serious play to land Kentucky head coach John Calipari.” (Card Chronicle)
• The Gameplan’s Weekly Recap: Tennessee/Michigan: “Another week, another weekly recap from the Gameplan. This week’s edition covers the Tennessee upset and Michigan loss.” (Golden Grizzlies Gameplan)
• Five Key Plays: Oakland: Breaking down the key plays in Michigan’s victory over Oakland (UM Hoops)
• Zeller goes for 27 points, 20 rebounds in win at Bosse: A look at Cody Zeller and other Indiana recruits. (Inside the Hall: Text and Video)
• Kentucky Basketball: Statistics And Other Nonesuch From Last Night’s Game: Digging deeper into the Wildcats win over Mississippi Valley State. (A Sea of Blue)
• UCLA Basketball Wins a Big One for Coach: Looking back at the Bruins victory over BYU. (Bruins Nation)
• A (Semi) Statistical Recap of USC: Using a “Four Factor” analysis to look back at the Jayhawks victory over the Trojans. (Rock Chalk Talk)

If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com.

Top 25 Games

• #2 Ohio State 79, South Carolina 57: “Ohio State once again rode a dominating effort from Jared Sullinger, easily dispatching the cold shooting South Carolina Gamecocks 79-57 this afternoon in Value City Arena. In front of a regional CBS audience, Sullinger blew up for 30 points and 19 rebounds in 30 minutes of action erasing any doubts as to exactly who is the best freshman in the country.” (Eleven Warriors)
• #3 Kansas 70, USC 68: “Winners on the day for Kansas are quite obviously Josh Selby, along with Thomas Robinson, rebounding, the first half defensive effort and surviving.  Losers?  The Kansas offense, taking care of the basketball, free throw shooting and the ability to put away an opponent.” (Rock Chalk Talk)
• Charlotte 49, #4 Tennessee 48: “Fans of offensive basketball would have cringed at times during this game, it was all defense from both teams for most of the game.  Charlotte controlled the tempo of this game, keeping the score low and the legs fresh, and in the last 2:30 minutes, one defense folded and one held serve.” (Green Tinted Glasses)
• Florida 57, #5 Kansas State 44: “Despite all the struggles early in the year, this team has always brought it and played well against good teams, Duke excepted.  Tonight was a different story.  Once the momentum turned against K-State, the team couldn’t find an answer.  It doesn’t get any easier, as the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels will be waiting in Kansas City next Tuesday at Sprint Center.” (Bring on the Cats)
• Gonzaga 68, #7 Baylor 64: “I just sent out about 30 text messages with the same words:  “How did that just happen!?!” What a game.  What a frustratingly, close your eyes, yell, scream, cheer, ridiculous game.” (The Slipper Still Fits)
• #12 Georgetown 99, Loyola (MD) 75: “The last tuneup of the year couldn’t have been any better for the Georgetown Hoyas.  After a week-long layoff while the players were taking finals and being college students, Georgetown came out and destroyed Loyola (MD) 99 – 75.” (Casual Hoya)
• UCLA 86, #16 BYU 79: “One year after an ugly and embarrassing performance in front of Coach, the Bruins redeemed themselves and picked up a much needed victory against the #16 ranked and previously unbeaten BYU Cougars 86-79 in the John R. Wooden Classic (box score). With the win, UCLA notches its first “good” win of the year, and brings the Pac 10 conference a much needed victory.” (Bruins Nation)
• #17 Purdue 65, Indiana State 52: “If you watched it, you saw what I saw- a team that looked rusty and uninspired at times versus a team that really wanted to win, but just didn’t have the firepower to do so.” (Boiled Sports)
• #18 Kentucky 85, Mississippi Valley State 60: “This was one of those games. Most teams, like our orange and white neighbor to the south or red and black neighbor to the west, say that through gritted teeth and a frozen grimace.  But not this Kentucky team.  “One of those games” means the same thing this year as it did last year.  Against notably inferior opponents, Kentucky has off games just like everyone else.  The difference is, off games are a matter of degree, not result.” (A Sea of Blue)

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If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com.

Top 25

• Charlotte 49, #4 Tennessee 48: “I expected this…but not on back to back nights.  And not against Oakland at home, and a 4-6 Charlotte team on the road. And if you think it’s going to get any easier, you’re new to this game.” (Rocky Top Talk)

Other Game of Interest

• Indiana 88, SIU-Edwardsville 54: “When you win by 30-plus and your opponent doesn’t hit a field goal until the 7:05 mark in the first half — which, yeesh — sometimes there’s not much to say. A dominant win is a dominant win.” (Inside the Hall: Part 1 and Part 2)

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Things have been a little slow in the college basketball world with finals and the Blogosphere has reflected that, but we’re back with another edition of ATB2. If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com.

Top 25 Games

• #2 Ohio State 83, Florida Gulf Coast 55: “It was the Jon Diebler show as the senior sharp shooter tied a school record by making nine three-point baskets. He also scored a career-high 29 points. Diebler was 9-of-13 (all threes) from the field and actually connected on nine consecutive threes. He missed his first two before making the next nine and missing his last three attempts. Jay Burson held the three-point record by himself for 22 years. Burson made nine threes against Florida in 1988 at Madison Square Garden.” (Eleven Warriors)
• #19 Minnesota 66, Akron 58: “Despite a slow start that saw them down 32-27 at halftime against an inferior opponent, the Gophers re-established their inside presence and utilized their athletic ability to take down the Akron Zips 66-58 in their last game before an eight-day finals break.” (From the Barn)

Other Games of Interest

• Gonzaga 103, Lewis-Clark State 61: “Six Gonzaga players scored in double figures tonight as the Bulldogs dominated Lewis-Clark State, an NAIA Division I team.  Elias Harris led all scorers with an efficient 19 points in 19 minutes played.  The German forward only missed on one shot attempt all night.  Rob Sacre, David Stockton, Kelly Olynyk, Mathis Monninghoff, and Sam Dower all hit double figures in the 103-61 victory. The only noteworthy item from tonight’s game is that Steven Gray’s toe injury is not serious and he was merely held out because, well, the opponent was an NAIA team.” (The Slipper Still Fits)

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If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com.

Top 25 Games

• Oakland 89, #4 Tennessee 82: Differing takes from the winning side (Oakland Grizzlies Gameplan) and the losing side (Rocky Top Talk).
• Drexel 52, #20 Louisville 46: “I’m not sure whether to make a joke or voice how pissed I truly am. I’m not sure whether this will serve as a wake-up call or a catalyst to the disappointing season we feared and so many predicted. I’m not sure if the first eight games of the season were completely misleading or if the team that showed up out of nowhere this evening will be banished for good by the time Big East play rolls around.” (Card Chronicle)

Other Games of Interest

• Michigan 64, North Carolina Central 44: “Michigan continues to push the limit of just how ugly a 20 point win can be. The Wolverines haven’t played many complete games this year and tonight was no different as Michigan crawled their way to just 23 first half points against North Carolina Central’s 2-3 zone. While the Wolverines looked hapless and befuddled versus the zone in the first half, the Eagles made the inexplicable choice to go away from the zone in the second half.” (UM Hoops

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Relatively quiet day for college basketball action, but that should be picking up in the next few days. If you are interested in participating in our ATB2 feature, send in your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com.

Other Games of Interest

• Seton Hall 78, Longwood 51: “Coming off an impressive win at UMass on Saturday, Seton Hall made it two straight with a 78-51 win over Longwood at the Prudential Center.” (Villanova by the Numbers)

Pre-Game Analysis

• Game Preview: Oakland at Tennessee: After giving two highly rated Big Ten teams all that they could handle the Golden Grizzlies turn their focus to what may be the hottest program in the country. (Golden Grizzlies Gameplan)

News/Analysis

• Kentucky Basketball: Comparing UK To Some Upcoming Foes: Looking at Kentucky’s performance so far this season compared to UF and Tennessee. (A Sea of Blue)
• Big East Basketball Power Rankings Week Five: Syracuse jumps quite a bit while the voters still aren’t buying Louisville yet. (The UConn Blog)
• Big Ten Power Rankings: December 13th, 2010: The voters in the Big Ten do not agree with the national rankings leading to some very surprising results. (UM Hoops)
• Today in things that don’t make sense: UConn is ranked 4th in the country: “Yes, I understand that these polls are built, in large part, on who has yet to lose, so I can intellectually understand why UConn is No. 4. Still, really? I mean, I can already hear the “overrated” chants coming from the Pitt fans in two weeks. This is a good team, maybe even a very good team, but until someone besides Kemba (and occasionally Oriakhi) proves themselves to be a regular force we can rely on, I can’t say they’re one of the best four teams in the nation.” (The UConn Blog)
• Recruiting Roundup: December 13th, 2010: Analyzing some of the top players that have either committed to play for Michigan or are targeted by the Wolverines. (UM Hoops)