This fall I’ve had the pleasure to travel around a little and attend several college basketball games as a media member, but as I walked by the loading docks and into the back of the Cintas Center on Sunday night, I felt it as soon as I got inside. I’ve attended Xavier basketball games on a media credential in the past, but this time, the buzz, the sounds, the aura…
This was different.
I had expected a different experience, because this was my first Crosstown Shootout. But this was beyond expectation. I made a quick detour through the media room and, without being asked, one of the very helpful Xavier Sports Info workers showed me to my seat. I was positioned just around the corner from the Cincinnati bench, a short bounce pass away from UC head coach Mick Cronin, himself. If you’re familiar with the Cintas Center setup, you’ve probably already realized — I was right in front of the Xavier student section.
Total. Freaking. Mayhem.
Now, that period-after-every-word emphasis thing you see above is an overused tool by everyone ranging from amateur tweeters (myself included) to professional sportswriters (myself not included), and it’s losing a little luster. I use it here because…well, if I had to use it once in my life to get a point across, this is when I would choose to use it. As I said, I’ve been to a number of games in this part of the country this season. The only way I can think to describe this particular student section on this night is…”beautifully ridiculous.” I turned around, saw their painted faces and myriad noise-producing implements, heard the unbelievable roar that flowed from them, and I honestly thought I’d see Mel Gibson as William Wallace riding around in front of them on a horse. They were both exhilarating and horrifying. And I mean that in the best way possible. I didn’t grow up in Cincinnati, I didn’t go to either one of these schools, and I brought no allegiance with me for either program to this game. I was there as an observer. But they numbered in the hundreds and sounded like thousands. They were already putting in a legendary performance — and the game hadn’t even tipped off.
The Orchestra has finished its recital at Penn a little earlier than expected today, as the Philadelpia Daily News first reported that head coach Glen Miller has been let go by the Quaker program after getting off to a horrendous 0-7 start this year. This was Miller’s fourth season at the school, the third in a row of which appeared headed toward another disappointment, so the school pulled the trigger and placed former Penn star Jerome Allen into the top spot on an interim basis. Allen is an interesting choice, as he has no head coaching experience and only a few games as an assistant under his belt, but he is considered one of the all-time great Penn players (averaged 14/4/5 apg in a four-year career at Penn from 1991-95) and at a minimum should be able to energize the rabid Quaker faithful in the coming months. Anything’s better than oh-fer, right? The Miller firing continues a somewhat troubling collegiate trend of ADs pulling the trigger on coaches midseason – just eleven days ago, Fordham’s Dereck Whittenburg was canned after a spate of transfers and a 1-4 start to the season, while last year Alabama dropped Mark Gottfried in January. We’re not sure that we’re a big fan of this, but we certainly understand the pressures involved at the administrative level of these athletic departments.
We didn’t talk about this in the ATB, but it’s also worth mentioning here. UTEP got the services of the much-maligned and well-traveled Derrick Caracter over the weekend for the first time, and the previously unbeaten Miners immediately dropped their next game, 87-80 to New Mexico State. Caracter only played 12 minutes, and he contributed 2 pts, 2 rebs and 2 assts in his time on the court, but head coach Tony Barbee will work him into the lineup slowly over the next few weeks.
Here’s several good reasons why we should all proceed with caution on anointing Georgetown a top contender in the Big East just yet. It’s all true, but our contention is that Georgetown’s primary two issues were poor team chemistry and acceptance of losing in a loaded conference last year. The snowball effect, if you will. The primary issue the Hoyas appear to face this year will be depth, as JT3 is only playing seven guys so far this season. One injury among the starters could devastate this team.
“The Players Rushed the Fans!” There will be much more written on this game in the next 24 hours — you can count on it — but here’s Pat Forde’s take on the inimitable Crosstown Shootout from last night. Good to have him back from football.
We mentioned this over on the weekend ATB, but it’s too bizarre not to discuss here as well. If you haven’t heard, Roy Williams had a Presbyterian fan thrown out of the Dean Dome on Saturday night for heckling one of his players. So what was the out-of-control foul-mouthed POS guilty of saying? Um, according to a published report, something to the effect of “You’re going to miss it, Deon [Thompson]!” They say that suppression of dissent is one of the first steps toward totalitarianism, and in a showing of power drunkenness that would make even Dick Cheney blush, Roy has taken his standing to show up someone with whom he merely disagrees to an entirely new level. As he put it in the postgame comments, he doesn’t believe that “anybody should yell negative things toward our players (when) you come in on our tickets to watch our game.” EXCUSE ME?? The last time we checked, Roy, a Presbyterian fan has just as much right to purchase a ducat to ‘his’ team’s game as a UNC fan does. And that fan can yell for his players or against the UNC players as much as he likes (standard decency and decorum implied). So we wonder – does the Roy Doctrine now mean that UNC fans are excused from yelling much, much worse at opposing players who visit the Dome just because it’s ‘their’ game? Is he serious with this nonsense? Roy couldn’t have whiffed any harder on this one, and if he has any shred of decency, he’ll reach out to this fan, apologize for his completely ludicrous overreaction and invite the fan back to the Dean Dome to sit in his personal seats. And you know what — it’s perfectly fine if he yells at Deon Thompson to miss a free throw, even then.
In our first college football-free weekend of the season (except for Mark Ingram’s Heisman and ESPN’s phenomenal documentary on “The U”) we had quite a few interesting story lines from the weekend, but one stood out on Sunday — the pair of upset victories by Atlantic 10 teams over highly ranked Big East teams in crosstown rivalry games (Temple against Villanova and Xavier against Cincinnati). Not only does it give those individual programs some bragging rights and a much needed boost on the recruiting trail, but it also gives a huge lift to the national perception of the Atlantic 10 and might cause some consternation amongst the Big East fans who like to promote their conference as the best in the nation for college basketball.
A great night for Xavier and the A-10 (Credit: AP/David Kohl)
The A-10 Rising
Xavier 78, #19 Cincinnati 75 (2 OT). This might not be as shocking to the rest of the nation, but it might go down as the game of the year so far. It had a little bit of everything you could ask for in a game at this point of the season. Bitter rivalry? Check. Physical play? Check. Biting fan chants? Check (Brian Kelly). Big comeback? Check. Buzzer beater? Check (later waved off). National TV audience? Not so much thanks to ESPNU’s sparse national penetration, but RTC Live was there. In the end it was Terrell Holloway‘s 26 points and Jason Love‘s 19 rebounds that were the difference as the Musketeers overcame 22 points from Lance Stephenson in a game where neither team led by more than 4 points during the last 19 minutes of the game and that was only after the Bearcats fouled Xavier in an attempt to get the ball back when Dion Dixon missed a 3-point attempt that could have tied the game with 21 seconds left in the second overtime. To get a really good feel as to how intense this game was, definitely read our accounting from RTC Live above and check the highlight package below.
Temple 75, #3 Villanova 65: The Owls used an 11-0 run to start the 2nd half to overcome a 6-point deficit at halftime to knock off the Wildcats. The story of the game was Juan Fernandez who scored 33 points including 7 of 9 from 3-point range to knock off the highest ranked Big East team coming into the weekend. While the casual basketball fan will consider this a huge upset, those of us who follow college basketball closely knew that this would be a tough game for Jay Wright‘s crew against a team that had only lost by one to Georgetown (still undefeated) and St. John’s (only one loss by nine against Duke). The Wildcats managed to keep it relatively close with 23 from Scottie Reynolds, 16 from Antonio Pena, and 14 from Corey Fisher, but in the end it wasn’t enough to overcome Fernandez, 20 points from Ryan Brooks, and 10 points and 17 rebounds from Lavoy Allen. The loss was just the 2nd loss for Villanova in their last 23 games against one of their Big 5 rivals. After the victory, the fans began chanting, “We want Kansas!” in reference to their upcoming game on January 2nd. We love what the Owls have done so far this season, but the student body might want to be careful what they wish for because they might just get it. One bright spot for Villanova fans: Reggie Redding (think he might have been helpful against Allen today?) will return to action against Fordham on Saturday in his first action since he was suspended ten games for his arrest for possession of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia.
In other action…
Saturday’s Games.
#1 Kansas 90, La Salle 65: The Jayhawks were able to overcame an off-night from Sherron Collins (1/12 FG) thanks to a season-high 31 points from Xavier Henry (the last KU freshman to score 30 points in a game was some guy named Paul Pierce) and a 12-point, 12-rebound effort from Markieff Morris. Cole Aldrich added 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 blocks while Tyshawn Taylor had 10 points and 6 assists with no turnovers. The Jayhawks’ next two games should be a bit more competitive as they face a pair of teams—Michigan (12/19) and California (12/22)—that have failed to live up to preseason expectations, but both have a lot of talent.
For just about any college basketball fan, It’s one of those games that you find on the schedule and immediately circle. If you’re from the Cincinnati area and you’ve got a dog in this fight, then it’s even more important. Since the 1927-28 season, these two teams have come together every year in a tradition known as — say it with me — the Crosstown Shootout. Cincinnati owns a 47-29 lead but Xavier has won seven of the last ten. Jordan Crawford and Jason Love battle in the hopes of getting Xavier into the Top 25 and increase their role on the national stage, while Lance Stephenson, Yancy Gates, and Cashmere Wright try to move the Bearcats up the polls now that they’re back on the scene. There’s no love lost between these two programs and this is certainly a game both of these teams would love to have on the tournament resume. We’ll be there starting at 6:45 pm ET, so tune in the game and join us as well!
We are back with our first Boom Goes The Dynamite of the season (not counting our coverage of ESPN’s 24 Hours of Hoops Marathon). For those of you who are not familiar with this feature, we will be covering all of the important college basketball being played today in a live blog. So for those of you who love college basketball, we invite you to spend part (or all) of the day with us. If you’re still getting back into college basketball after spending the fall following a sport that does not let an undefeated team play for a title, here is a quick rundown of the major games that we will be following throughout the day:
Noon: #4 Kentucky at Indiana on CBS
Noon: #15 Ohio State at #20 Butler on ESPN and RTC Live
2 PM: #13 Georgetown vs. #16 Washington on FSN and RTC Live
2 PM: La Salle at #1 Kansas on ESPN
4:30 PM: Mississippi State vs. UCLA on FSN and RTC Live
5 PM: Marquette at #23 Wisconsin on ESPN2
6 PM: New Mexico vs. #18 Texas A&M on Fox Sports Southwest
7 PM: Kansas State vs. #17 UNLV on ESPN Full Court
9 PM: #5 Purdue at Alabama on ESPN2
Noon: And we’re live. Like we noted earlier there are 2 big games to watch in this TV session. We’re expecting Kentucky to destroy Indiana, but Ohio State-Butler promises to be much more interesting especially with the absence of Evan Turner.
12:10 PM: Agree with Greg Anthony. DeMarcus Cousins is the key for Kentucky’s title hopes this season. John Wall and Patrick Patterson are almost a given. If Cousins can play consistently (and the Wildcats play a little D), they have a great shot at a NCAA title.
12:12 PM: Phenomenal start for Indiana. Tom Crean could not have asked for anything more than a 12-4 start. Is it possible that Kentucky could have overlooked Indiana. I know the Hoosiers are down, but you have to get up for a trip to Bloomington, right?
12:15 PM: For those who caught that discussion about the relative scoring ability of Matt Howard and Jay Bilas. Here are Jay’s numbers from his time at Duke.
12:20 PM: Kentucky looks really sloppy right now. Have the Wildcats been listening to all the hype?
12:25 PM: Great start for Butler. Up 24-14 midway through the 1st half. William Buford answers a bucket but misses the free throw. Wow. That’s a ridiculous class for Ohio State, but like Bilas mentions how long will they stay there. Gordon Hayward almost converts a ridiculous alley-oop from Shelvin Mack.
12:30 PM: Wow. Bilas thinks Northwestern is still a NCAA Tournament team even without Kevin Coble. I’m not so sure about that. I guess there is a lot of Big 10/11 basketball to be played.
12:32 PM: And Kentucky has taken the lead at 21-19 thanks to a 12-2 run. It figured it would only be a matter of time before they came back, but this is pretty quick. The question is whether the Hoosiers can respond and keep this game tight. If they keep it within 10 at half, the crowd should still be into it.
12:35 PM: Did they just say that Wall has a 3.8 GPA? Has Kentucky’s semester already ended or is that his high school GPA? I have heard it was closer to 2.6 in high school. Is this another Tim Tebow situation?
It is a place where dreams happen. It is the home of Hoosiers. It is a basketball treasure tucked safely away in the Heartland of America at Butler University in Indianapolis, protected from boosters and alumni who crave a modern arena with all the trappings of money and power. It is Hinkle Fieldhouse: Home of the Butler Bulldogs. Butler will host big-time foe Ohio State Saturday afternoon at the historic old barn, dubbed by some as a venue designed as if God Himself wanted a basketball arena. The Bulldogs seek to move back into the national conversation after several losses in the past few weeks, while Ohio State looks to recover from a devastating injury to National Player of the Year candidate Evan Turner. There’s been talk around the country that the formerly nationally-ranked Bulldogs are in a no-win situation with this game. If they beat the Buckeyes – well, they should have, goes the thinking. After all, they’re at home and OSU is without its superstar, Turner. If they lose to OSU, well, that’s not good either. One thing we can say with assurance is that Butler head coach Brad Stevens is undoubtedly shooting for the first “bad” option over the second one, as right now, Butler needs nonconference Ws any way they can get them. And if Ohio State manages to go into Hinkle and steal a win without the spectacular Turner scoring, rebounding and assisting, then the Buckeyes will be viewed even better by the NCAA Selection Committee when he (hopefully) returns in February. Join us this afternoon at Hinkle for what could fairly be described as an important December game for both of these teams.
Before the season started, the Wooden Classic in Anaheim appeared to feature four probable NCAA Tournament teams in a double-header that oozed with potential — #13 Georgetown vs. #16 Washington in the first game, followed by Mississippi State vs. UCLA. That was before the local draw UCLA crapped the bed in the 76 Classic during their last trip to Anaheim, and Mississippi State lost to the two Rs — Rider and Richmond. Still, the season is only a month old, and there’s reason to believe that both UCLA and MSU will get it together to make a push back toward the Big Dance before it’s too late. UCLA had a solid showing in a loss against #1 Kansas in Westwood last weekend, and there’s enough talent here that it’s just a matter of time before Ben Howland figures out his team and maximizes his personnel. Mississippi State dominated DePaul in their last outing, which may not sound like much, but the Blue Demons had played fellow SEC teams Tennessee and Vanderbilt very tough in two previous losses. There’s one thing we know for sure about this game, though, and that’s the fact that local Fairfax product Renardo Sidney will not be making a homecoming debut for the Bulldogs — which is unfortunate. As for the early game, it will feature Georgetown’s first visit to the west coast in eight years, and the Hoyas will be looking to build on their strong showing at MSG in the Jimmy V Classic earlier this week by feasting on the smaller Huskies’ frontline and shutting down the inside (#3 in FG% defense). Washington, on the other hand, will attempt to save some Pac-10 face within the league’s regional footprint by knocking off an unbeaten Big East foe. This will not be an easy task, as Georgetown is getting superb production from its starters, including the kind of all-american numbers (15/11) from Greg Monroe that everyone expected from the talented center. It should be a fun afternoon on a rainy day in Anaheim (yes, it actually rains in SoCal!), and we hope you’ll take some time out of your weekend to spend it with us.
Heading into an interesting Saturday of games, we’ve got a few dollops of knowledge that will help you navigate things. Keep in mind we’ll be doing our first weekend Boom Goes the Dynamite this afternoon, in addition to RTC Lives for Butler vs. Ohio State and the Wooden Classic this afternoon…
UNC’s Marcus Ginyard will be held out of today’s game against Presbyterian with pain in his foot. A UNC doctor was quick to say that this pain was unrelated to last year’s stress fracture that Ginyard suffered, but it is in the same foot. This is a ‘precautionary’ measure to keep Ginyard from fracturing the foot. UNC undoubtedly won’t need the defensive dynamo today, but against #2 Texas next Saturday? Yeah, probably want him in the lineup then.
Some Comings and Goings. Wake Forest junior guard Konner Tucker is leaving the school after seven games (he was JuCo transfer), and St. Mary’s fifth-year senior guard Wayne Hunter is out for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL in a game this week against Utah State. In terms of relative importance, the Hunter loss is much more significant, as he was averaging 12/3 for the season and was one of the best perimeter defenders for the Gaels. Tucker was only averaging 2.2 PPG in just over five minutes per contest.
Unless Notre Dame is interested, and they’re not, the only way this makes sense is if the Big Ten can poach another major conference football power. Missouri? Kentucky? West Virginia? Pittsburgh? Louisville? It’s fun to speculate about this, but from a hoops perspective we’d hate to see the Big East change at the top (you can send the bottom quarter to the A10 or America East for all we care).
Want to get ready for today’s games — Seth Davis, Gary Parrish and Jeff Goodman give us a pretty good rundown of what to watch this weekend.
Upset of the Night. Western Kentucky 76, #24 Vanderbilt 69. Vandy dropped its second game in four days after becoming ranked this week, this time losing at the Sommet Center in Nashville (site of this year’s SEC Tournament) to Western Kentucky for the first time since World War II. Granted, the two teams have only played ten times in the last sixty-four years, but ten in a row is still ten in a row. WKU got 27/3 from their star AJ Slaughter and outrebounded the Commodores by five despite giving up considerable size on the interior. Perhaps this game would have gone differently at Memorial Gymnasium across town, as the ‘Dores only shot 5-19 from three, and we know how they can heat up in their old building. This is a very good win for the Hilltoppers, as Ken McDonald’s team lost their previous two games against SEC competition this year (LSU and South Carolina), and will need a couple of solid nonconference wins to ensure an at-large bid come March if they don’t win the Sun Belt Conference.
WKU Had a Lot to Celebrate Tonight (Joe Imel/BG Daily News)
Other Games of National Interest.
#9 Tennessee 75, Middle Tennessee State 54. UT got a breakout game from JP Prince (17 pts) off the bench that helped to make up for a poor offensive game from Scotty Hopson, who had only one point in 24 minutes of action. Bruce Pearl is getting five or more points per game from eight of his players so far this year.
Dayton 58, Old Dominion 50. Dayton’s Chris Wright (16/12) turned it on tonight when needed, scoring ten straight points in the second half to ensure the Flyers’ 24th straight victory at home, good for the third longest streak in the nation.
Iowa State 81, Iowa 71. Iowa State got a huge game from its star Craig Brackins (28/8/4 blks) to win its fourth straight home game against its intrastate rival Iowa Hawkeyes. Todd Lickliter was not back coaching in this game, but is expected to be back next week for the Hawkeyes, but he has some serious issues to deal with on this team.
USC 59, Idaho State 53. Kevin O’Neill once again basically played six players, but he got a school-record thirteen blocks from this team in the hard-fought win.
