SBNation.com - NCAAB From Our Editors

Anonymous Eagle And The Nova Blog Join SB Nation

2010-03-11T15:22:50Z

Just in time for this afternoon's Big East Tournament tilt between Marquette and Villanova, SB Nation has added brand new blogs for both teams: Anonymous Eagle covering Buzz Williams' Marquette Golden Eagles and The Nova Blog overing Jay Wright's Villanova Wildcats. We'll have all the results from Big East action in the StoryStream, but head over to the new blogs for more in depth fan reaction. Just a few more things to keep you from actually getting work done on this Championship Week Thursday.

Today's A Good Day To Be Unproductive

2010-03-11T14:55:10Z

We, of course, will be quite productive today, because we work in sports (poor us). But you, dear reader with a real job, should focus on doing nothing today but watching college basketball. Because this is one of the best days of weekday afternoon sports all year.

To wit, here are the (best) conference tournament games tipping off before close of business today:

NOON: Georgetown-Syracuse (ESPN); BC-UVA (RAYCOM); Texas Tech-Kansas (ESPN2)

2PM: Marquette-Villanova (ESPN); Miami-Wake (RAYCOM); Michigan-Iowa (ESPN2)

3PM: LSU-Tennessee (SEC Network); Nebraska-Texas A&M (Big 12 Network)

All of the above are also available on ESPN360.com, assuming you have one of the approved service providers and your office doesn't block you from time-wasting sites.

And if you're lucky enough to live on the west coast, this list expands to the 7PM tip-offs, which ushers in another group of awesomeness, highlighted by Notre Dame-Pitt and OK State-K State.

For all of your conference tourney needs, check out SB Nation's full coverage here, plus our Bracketology and Bubble Watch storystreams, both updated daily leading up to Sunday.

America, Meet Anthony Johnson Of The Montana Grizzlies

2010-03-11T04:25:36Z

If you turned off tonight's Big Sky Championship game when Weber State went to the locker room at halftime with a 20-point lead on Montana, you missed quite a show in the second

You see, the Grizzlies came back and took the conference's automatic bid, stunning the top-seeded Wildcats on their home court.

And it was mostly due to the efforts of one man, 6-3 senior guard Anthony Johnson.

You see the Grizzlies scored 66 points on the night, to top Weber State by one. Mr. Johnson had 42 of them.

Check out his line for the night:

13 of 22 from the field
2 of 5 from beyond the arc
14 of 14 from the free throw line

Whichever two or three seed draws the Grizzlies in the first round of the NCAA Tournament next week may want to try guarding him. Just a suggestion.

However, Johnson's performance was only the most impressive of the night because he won. Nicholls State's Anatoly Bose scored 40 of the Colonels' 57 points in a losing effort against Sam Houston State in the Southland quarterfinals.

'One Shining Moment' Is A Horrible Audio Slice Of Squid Vomit

2010-03-10T18:53:37Z

My goodness, there’s much to like about the NCAA men’s basketball tournament: gambling, watching four games at once, suffering a heart attack while watching four games at once and losing the mortgage, Gus Johnson suffering a heart attack calling a buzzer-beater, and taking naps while Wisconsin plays games. Chocked full of fun, it is.

(Did we mention gambling, sweet gambling? We did? Gambling. It needs another mention.)

I know tradition is important here, too, but if anyone takes offense at Jennifer Hudson redoing the song CBS continues to ladle like so much thin, cheap gravy onto the tasty pile of mashed potatoes NCAA tourney goodness, you need to swallow your tongue. John Tesh describes its treacly piano chords as “cloying.” Your aunt really likes it, and wishes they would play it more. Neither of these are good, and are in fact very bad.

Can we do what all intelligent people do in times of crisis: blame Armen Keteyian for “One Shining Moment?”

In 1986, he passed the song along to high school friend Armen Keteyian, an investigative journalist for CBS Sports and also at the time Sports Illustrated, who in turn passed it to CBS Sports Creative Director Doug Towey.

It’s in Wikipedia, so it must be true. Damn you, Keteyian! (Shakes angry fist.) That’s one more media quasi-celebrity’s iPod we can’t steal during assignments. What would I put in its place, you ask? Oh, I think you know the answer there.

NCAA Tournament Announcer Pairings Set; We Rank Them Arbitrarily

2010-03-10T17:12:31Z

CBS has set the announcing duos for the NCAA Tournament, which tips off NEXT WEEK (!!!!). Here they are, ranked from best (aka "please, god, let these two call my game") to worst (aka "eh, this is bad, but at least it's not Mike Patrick-Dick Vitale"):

Gus Johnson and Len Elmore. Best play-by-play man with perfectly adequate and not-annoying analyst.
Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery. Verne doesn't know what's going on half the time, but he's still somewhat likable and Raftery remains totally awesome.
Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas. Same rationale as previous pairing, but Bilas is still a notch below Raftery on the awesome scale.
Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel. Both are pretty good, neither is great.
Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner. See: Previous.
Spero Dedes and Bob Wenzel. I'm not sure who you two are, but I know I don't dislike either of you.
Tim Brando and Mike Gminsk. Brando's fairly insufferable and the G-Man is just awkward. Sometimes in a likable way, sometimes in a press-mute way.
Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg. CBS's No. 1 pair managed to get worse when they replaced Packer with Kellogg.

Again: These rankings are science and you simply cannot argue the validity of any of them. I dare you to try!

Could Kentucky Have Snagged Pat Summitt From Tennessee More Than 30 Years Ago?

2010-03-10T00:55:28Z

This little women's basketball tidbit from the Knoxville News-Sentinel is gossipy and decades old, but far too delicious to not pass along:

Heard last night on the ESPN broadcast that Pat Summitt, then Pat Head, was nearly the coach at Kentucky in 1974 or 1975, save for Kentucky's supposed unwillingness to pay her moving expenses, calculated at $200.

That ESPN broadcast mentioned, by the way, would be Sunday's game, in which Summitt's Lady Vols beat Kentucky's Lady Wildcats, 70-62 to claim the SEC championship. Summitt, the winningest coach in men's or women's hoops in NCAA history, has 15 of those championships to her credit now, along with eight national titles, but hey, who wants to pay some lady's moving expenses just because she thinks she can coach a little basketball?

A Freshman Is The Player Of The Year, But Not The Freshman Of The Year

2010-03-09T18:43:06Z

There would seem to be a disconnect in the headline, no? If John Wall was outstanding enough to merit player of the year honors, he was obviously the best freshman on his own team. Except... DeMarcus Cousins won it.

Hmm.

Interesting way to play it, SEC voters. I guess it makes sense. By giving the freshman honor to Cousins, the voters can recognize his excellent season, while at the same time showering praise on Wall. Everyone wins.

Except basic logic, of course. And while we're talking about disregarding logic, we may as well confront the elephant in the room: Is DeMarcus Cousins better than John Wall? That's what this is really about. While most of the nation has spent the year heaping praise on John Wall, there's a small fraction of fans and journalists that think DeMarcus Cousins is underrated. Hence the Freshman of the Year award. But let's get this straight.

DeMarcus Cousins is properly rated. Very good player, can dominate games for long stretches, and probably the most imposing low post player in the country. But he plays for about half the game, disappears for long stretches, benefits greatly from playing next to Patrick Patterson, and with a backcourt that features two point guards to get him the ball.

John Wall plays 35 minutes-a-game; Cousins plays 22 and frequently finds himself in foul trouble. Wall makes Kentucky a national title contender, whereas Cousins' mercurial history makes you wonder about their chances. Wall, the second SEC freshman to win player of the year since LSU's Chris Jackson, is worthy of the comparison to one of the best players in college basketball history. Cousins reminds people of Michael Beasley. Again, properly rated.

Very good player, but not on Wall's level, and regardless of the ambiguities that may emerge from the award season, he's nowhere near as valuable to Kentucky.

Jeremy Tyler's Failed Experiment In Israel: What's The Next Step?

2010-03-09T14:45:18Z

When we last checked in with Jeremy Tyler over in Israel, we spoke of an experiment "gone horribly wrong." A high school junior and one of the top prospects in the country, his trip overseas had been much rockier than expected. This was back in November:

Tyler seems like an immature boor surrounded by distractions and ego-inflating hangers-on; Tyler's Israeli coach, used to coaching young men after their mandatory three years of Israeli army service, has no idea how to reach him; and Tyler's teammates don't believe he is serious about his commitment to his team.

Now, it seems the experiment may be aborted altogether. At least with Maccabi Haifa, as Israel outlets have reported that the team has asked Jeremy to find another team. Will he bounce around Europe for the next two years? Try to join the D-League? Time will tell.

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress spoke to his agent, who had this to say:

"This year was transition year for Jeremy, showing amount of work needed. Haifa was great to him. [Jeremy] didn't fully understand everything required of him going in. Worked really hard last 3-4 months. [But he is] better for the experience."

On his next team: "I prefer European development model over D-League, in terms of practice time, support system, nutrition, etc. [He] will have European opportunities. [We] need to be selective of where he goes. Money is not the most important thing right now. [He] took significantly less money to go to Haifa [because he] felt more comfortable in Israel.

But wait a second. Does this mean it's NOT a no-brainer for a star high school player to go overseas and play alongside grown men, with no concerns for their teammate's learning curve or emotional immaturity? Who woulda thought that could end badly?

Makes you appreciate Brandon Jennings.

Jim Calhoun Not Retiring Despite Reports He's Retiring

2010-03-09T05:37:40Z

It should probably go without saying that news coming from a program called Loudmouths is to be taken with a grain of salt. That said, the Loudmouths, otherwise known as Adam Schein and Chris Carlin, are reporting that "Sources close to Jim Calhoun believe he will retire a season's end." That news is backed up by the mention that a UConn recruit says Calhoun told him he was leaving due to "high blood pressure."

That doesn't sound like an unreasonable bit of news. Calhoun missed an extended period of the season with health issues, he's not getting any younger and the job's not getting any less stressful. Perhaps it's a good chance for Jim to spend more time with his family. That's except for the fact that his family is saying the reports are completely untrue.

"I can tell you unequivocally on my children he has not made a decision to retire and I fully expect him to be back," Jeff Calhoun said late Monday night by phone.

As for the retirement talk, Jeff added: "It's 100 percent that he has not made that decision and I would tell you right now all signs point to him returning to UConn."

It's so hard to know who to believe. The man's own flesh and blood or a couple of loudmouths...

If You've Got A Spare $10, Put It On DePaul

2010-03-09T03:54:22Z

The DePaul Blue Demons went 8-22 this season. Of those eight wins, only one of them came against a Big East team (good work, Marquette). That's their only Big East win in the past two seasons. So you can imagine that they're a bit of an underdog to win the Big East Tournament, which begins Tuesday.

DePaul starts their magical run as the No. 16 seed (out of 16, natch) and will play 9-seed South Florida. Win there and it's on to face Georgetown. Win that one and they get the No. 3 team in the nation, Syracuse.

Perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves. I mean, DePaul is a longshot. How much of a longshot? Well, according to Ken Pomeroy, they have exactly an 0.0004 chance to win the Big East Tournament.

If I'm Rutgers' PR rep and I'm looking at my 0.0008% odds, I'm already working on the "RU has twice as much of a chance to win BET than some teams" press release.

UConn Women Rewrite Their Own Record With Big East Semifinals Win

2010-03-09T02:18:54Z

The Husky Ladies* have gone and done it again, breaking their own NCAA win streak record from the 2001-2003 seasons. Their Monday night 59-44 victory over Notre Dame marks their 71st straight win, a new national record, and sends them to the finals of the Big East tourney, where something tells me they will find easy pickin's -- they have yet to dispose of an opponent by mere single-digit margins this season. UConn will face the winner of the West Virginia-Rutgers game currently in progress, and in January came perilously close to doubling up on both teams in consecutive games.

*Easy, Papa Geno. I fear and adore you in equal parts, and miss having you play Tennessee every year. Please don't send Tina Charles to hide under my bed again. Thanks, big guy.

Don't Drive Bobby Gonzalez Anywhere, Anytime

2010-03-08T05:39:19Z

The New York Times put together a profile piece of volatile Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez as he prepares to lead the Pirates through the Big East Tournament. But even one piece wasn't enough to capture just what kind of person Gonzalez is to work with.

And so, they've posted a sidebar piece with thoughts from Gonzalez' former boss, Manhattan College AD Bob Byrnes. Byrnes paints a picture of a man with serious road rage issues...even if he wasn't the one driving.

“The guy who runs the bus company called me and said something to the effect of: ‘I have 131 drivers that drive for us. But we’re down to one guy that will drive for Bobby Gonzalez,’ ” Byrnes said.

Byrnes said Gonzalez would ask campus security, “Do you know who I am?” and routinely broke campus speeding and parking rules.

Gonzalez is quoted later on as saying “I’ve never cared about being liked. I don’t care what people think of me.” Clearly.

Sixty Spots Remain For Men's NCAA Tournament

2010-03-08T03:22:46Z

There are 60 openings left in the 2010 Men's NCAA Tournament, with five of the automatic bids filled.

The five dance cards already punched:

Cornell (26-4), won Ivy League title (no postseason tournament)
East Tennessee State (20-14), Atlantic Sun
Murray State (30-4), Ohio Valley
Winthrop (19-13), Big South
Northern Iowa (28-4), Missouri Valley

Monday night, four more teams will earn their chance to be a part of March Madness, with championship games in the Southern, Colonial, West Coast and MAAC tournaments. Keep up with all the action with complete coverage at our NCAA Basketball page.

UConn Women Tie Record With 70th Straight Win

2010-03-08T02:08:20Z

April 6, 2008. That is the last time the Connecticut women's basketball team lost a game. Almost two years ago.

Since then, UConn has won -- a lot. On Sunday, the Huskies captured their 70th straight game, blowing out Syracuse, 77-41. It tied their program's own record for the longest win streak in women's hoops; another 19 wins and they would surpass the UCLA men's NCAA basketball record of 88 wins.

But it's not just that the women Huskies are winning -- they are destroying teams, winning by an average of 32.8 points per game; every win has come by at least 10 points.

The NCAA Women's Tournament begins March 20 -- hopefully the other schools already know they're playing for second place.

Kyle Kuric, The Last Hero Of Freedom Hall. Also, Fan Of Skillet.

2010-03-06T23:24:42Z

This headline should probably be the title of a comic book or something.

Louisville upended No. 1 rival Syracuse on Saturday, ensuring that Freedom Hall's final college basketball game would also be its greatest. And it wouldn't have happened without Kyle Kuric. Kuric scored 22 points -- all in the second half -- to send the Cardinals surging ahead to a lead they never gave up.

Keep in mind that Kuric is a reserve sophomore who was averaging 3.5 points a game this season. After doing some math, I found that Kuric has averaged about 0.26 points per minute on the floor. In the second half of today's game -- the most important half of the season for the Cardinals -- Kuric averaged over one point a minute.

So now that Kyle Kuric has achieved cult hero status, let's take a moment to get to know him. His official Louisville biography page lists some of his favorites.

Books: Time Travel in Einstein's Universe: The Physical Possibilities of Travel Through Time

Actor: Kevin James

Musical Group/Singer: Disturbed, Eminem, Skillet, Lil Wayne, RHCP

He's kind of all over the place here, isn't he? I'm most intrigued by his love of Skillet. Really? Skillet? Well, you've earned it, Mr. Kuric. This one goes out to you.

Keeping A/V Equipment On Sideline Tables Reaches Logical Conclusion

2010-03-06T22:03:13Z

During No. 9 West Virginia's stirring 68-66 comeback overtime win against host No. 10 Villanova, the Wildcats' Scottie Reynolds chased a loose ball to the sideline near midcourt. Funny thing: that's where CBS had set up shop, because that's where broadcasters always set up shop. But ball don't lie, and ball certainly don't take back seat to some tiny television monitors and papers:

Video courtesy of the 700 Level. We're actually a little surprised this doesn't happen more often; if your local gym kept a folding table full of random things a foot away from the sideline while people were playing a pickup game, disaster would quickly ensue and players would quickly question the logic of placing such an obstacle so close to the court.

Also, it's worth mentioning that the monitors did not explode in a hail of sparks and smoke, because this is not the WWE. And yes, we realize the WWE is not real life, but imagine if there were such an explosion at the end of that clip. Instant top story of the day. Why won't the NCAA take more cues from the WWE?

No Storming The Court, Please

2010-03-06T21:03:48Z

Louisville fans, please do not storm the court. If your team ends up winning one of the most historically significant games in its history against the No. 1 team in the nation, please applaud, doff your cap, and exit the stadium in an orderly fashion.

Once outside, run around and overturn cars. Remember, the number of cars you should overturn is n + 1, in which n represents the number of cars you have already overturned.

Video: Go To Old Dominion If You Like Words That Rhyme With 'Inspiration'

2010-03-06T17:56:07Z

On Saturday, Old Dominion begins its quest to win the CAA Tournament as well as an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Monarchs stand as the favorites to win the CAA crown. Also, they boast what is certainly one of the best/worst promotional videos ever.

In other words: go to Old Dominion if you want your college experience to be like the opening credits of a 1990s sitcom. Is this better/worse than the legendary "HOT HOT HOT" Appalachian State promotional video? I've already deconstructed that one at length, so I'll leave it for you to decide.

Westside Walk It Out, Southside Walk It Out, Old White Coach Walk It Out

2010-03-05T21:15:02Z

Given that we’re dealing with one of the most mediocre at-large fields in history, I like to think that this video alone can get Marquette and head coach Buzz Williams off the bubble:

(HT: The Dagger)

Elvis Robinson Is The President Of Club Trillion

2010-03-05T00:53:09Z

Mark Titus has made himself (relatively Internet) famous as the author of Club Trillion, a blog that details his life as a bench-warmer for the Ohio State men's basketball team. The name is in reference to "a player who has played one minute without recording any other statistic. The term takes its name from its appearance in a box score, as it reads as one followed by twelve zeros."

College basketball is full of these trillionaires; our Iowa Hawkeyes blog, Black Heart Gold Pants, highlights Devan Bawinkel and his "12 trillion" -- playing 12 minutes without recording a single statistic. But that's not even a record: Nate Pomeday once recorded a 14 trillion, in 1998.

Amazingly, that doesn't even come close to a trillionaire high: "Since 1996-97, the longest by any Division I player is a 31 trillion (!) by Elvis Robinson of Mississippi Valley State on 1/3/2001 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff."

Thirty-one minutes, and not one single stat. Not a foul. Or a turnover. Nothing.

We have no idea how that could possibly happen. Like, even if someone were shaving points, that guy would at least be hoisting bad shots and turning the ball over. Hell, we could literally sit down at the top of the key during a game and probably get a rebound or two to fall in our laps.

Send that man a Club Tril shirt, Mark Titus.