The Genera, Robert Montgomery Knight has joined the ranks of ESPN as an in-studio college hoops TV analyst! His first appearance will be on March 12, 2008, Mark your calendars! Knight will stay on-board throughout Championship Week, which you can also watch online at ESPN360, and also through the exciting NCAA tournament.
The dynamics will be interesting, Knight already teased confrontations as he said he'd enjoy working only with those people he likes. It is no secret that the ESPN "Old Guard", Vitale, Digger and Jay Bilas are drinking the Bob Knight Kool Aid, so he will probably be matched up with those.
On the other hand, some of the not-so-entrenched Old Guard ESPN'ers are not drinking the Knight Kool Aid. Skip Bayless may be so scared of Knight after all he has said, that he may decide to stay at the ESPN theme park at Disney until Knight finishes his stint at ESPN ;-)
So the big question is, who will Knight fight off in the ESPN Cafeteria? Will it be Skip Bayless or Doug Gottleib? :-)
Friday, February 29, 2008
Bob Knight joins ESPN - who will he fight with first?
UCLA at Arizona State
Who won this game? The clock did! That's right, 15 (game) minutes into the game, and both teams scored under 15 points! Oh boy! This is the Sad Ten! ASU was able to hold off UCLA, but a blown breakaway dunk ruined any chances the Sun Devils had to stay in the game. From that point onwards it was pretty much UCLA nursing the lead and the game was ZZZZzzZZZzz and over!
There was another sequence with back to back blown dunks on both ends. In fact super-athletic UCLA wing Westbrook missed at least two dunks during this game.
Not that it matters since UCLA got a comfy win. But it was also interesting that former UCLA great and FSN So Cal hoops analyst Donny Mac (Don Maclean) admitted that UCLA gets away with fouls on defense. This is really sad since the zebras are letting them get away with this type of dirty play.
Which is why Ben Howland will be ran out of town faster than you may think once he stops winning :) But will he stop winning? Not as long as he can get away with this "tough" multiple-fouls-per-possession defense :)
USC at Arizona
Revenge is served cold and on ESPN! USC was able to "take back" their home loss against Arizona, in front of an ESPN audience, a rarity for Pac-10 games.
And once again the Arizona Wildcats ruined it for ESPN. As you may recall, earlier in the year, Arizona visited UCLA for the primetime Gameday Saturday spotlight game. And how did Arizona reward ESPN for this? They did not show up. They got 0wn3d, manhandled, ruined, B-ruined!
This time however, they woke up later in the game, and made it interesting enough for some people to stick around as they threatened to make a comeback, but USC was able to hold on and get yet another road win, something that will work in their favor when the NCAA selection committee picks teams and picks seeds and match-ups for the teams.
The other good news for the Condoms was the return of Hackett. Th return of the do-it-all glue guy is big news for USC as they transform from a bubble team into a team that could win games in the NCAA tourney with Daniel Hackett healthy and in the rotation.
On the other hand, Arizoan did not get back their missing piece, Nic "Hoops" Wise. And Nic Wise is the difference between an NCAA team and a bubble team for Arizona. Can Wise return early enough and can Arizona win a game or two with Wise in the line-up, so as not to find itself on the wrong side of the bubble? Arizona had a couple of close calls the last couple of years, but there is no Silver Fox this time around. Getting the benefit of the doubt this year may not be as easy for the Wildcats! But having the #1 SOS and strong showings at Allen Fieldhouse and at Calipari Forum will be in the plus column.
In closing, I have to repeat: What have they done with my Pac-10? It is looking more and more like Big-10! Meanwhile, ACC is going more run and gun, with Pope K implementing a variation of the Phoenix Suns offense, Wake Forest running faster than fast, and Clemson and such.
Wow Billy Packer did a game on CSTV!
This is quite interesting! The one and only Billy Packer, the premier CBS basketball analyst and caller of all the Final Four games of the last 43,000 years just did a game on CSTV! Not only that, but it was not an ACC game, not even a BCS game! It was a ... *gasp* Conference USA game!
But don't be too surprised, it was a Memphis Tigers home game. That's right, Billy Packer called the Tulsa at Memphis game on CSTV on Wednesday February 27, 2008.
And his play-by-play guy was someone young enough to be his grand-son, CSTV's Carter Blackburn.
Did they ran out of ACC games for Billy Packer to do and he had to get his mid-week hands dirty with non-ACC games? :-)
Outside the Lines: Stacy Johnson-Klein and Fresno State
Today's OTL, Outside the Lines, looks at the legal situation at Fresno State with the women's basketball coach Stacy Johnson-Klein, her on-court success, and firing and legal issues. This will be the centerpiece story titled "Firing Line". It will air at a special time, at 3:30pm eastern (12:30pm pacific) on ESPN2, not ESPN. ESPN will have exhibition softball. Yes, it's almost softball season again? What???
A video intro at the Outside the Lines video page.
Here is a quick intro to the episode, courtesy of the OTL email alert. To sign up for the email alerts, check the OTL page.
After turning around the Fresno State basketball program, Stacy Johnson-Klein lost her job. Johnson-Klein felt the women's basketball program was being treated unfairly during her three-year reign and now she feels her willingness to speak up cost her the job and ruined her career.
Notre Dame at Louisville
Flashes of Pitino magic ten years after his back to back NCAA Finals? The Pitino RedBirds scored 32 points in the first nine minutes of the game! That's more than NBA teams score in a 48-minute game! But of course that didn't last for the rest of the game. But barring any injuries, this Louisville team looks like a Final Four candidate. They have a little bit of everything, a point-center in David Padgett, a space-eater in Caracter, an athletic forward in Earl Clark, a do-it-all T-Will, and such. Guards and free throws are their achilles heel, but with T-Will and Padgett able to organize the team on offense, it's not as big of a deal.
Meanwhile the Domers fell behind but were able to make a comeback towards the end of the game and gave the home team a headache! Meanwhile "Gody" is getting bigger and bigger, this time he scored 40 points with his first three career three pointers! "Gody" is a star baby! With a capital A! It's unbelievable!
The good news for Notre Dame fans is that this time around they are going to the NCAA tourney, they don't have to worry about just being left out, or losing half a dozen games in the last possession. They are in! Digger will be singing in March! And given their make-up, they could make it to the Sweet 16, but of course they could also lose in the first round.
Not to be a Debbie Downer to fans out there, but half of the NCAA tourney teams lose in the first round :)
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
SportsCenterU finds itself on ESPN2!
Caught between the silliness and stubborness, ESPN is finding that it has to put more and more EPSNU content on ESPN2, because ESPNU has limited availability. And it's really sad because the people working at ESPNU are producing a lot of excellent content, like the "Inside the Polls" and "SportsCenterU".
So starting tonight, SportsCenterU, a version of Sportscenter for ESPNU, will be shown periodically on ESPN2, usually after college hoops games. Look for it tonight at 830pm pacific after the conclusion of West Virginia vs DePaul and the ensuing College Gamenight.
And speaking of TV, be sure to check the preview to the CIAA (division 2) conference tournament tomorrow (Thursday) at 930am pacific (1230pm eastern) on ESPN Classic. The tourney itself tips off later on Thursday. That's right, conference championships are upon us already! Hello March Madness!
For more TV listings be sure to check our February 2008 an March 2008 college hoops tv listings.
Week #16 of the Blog Poll Top 25 has been published!
We already live-blogged our blog poll vote, where we forgot to put a team at #25, and we shifted one up and added Kent State at #25. Now the votes our tallied, and our Blog Poll Commissioner at March to Madness has published week #16 of the blog poll top 25!
You can see all the votes, and how each blogger voted in this Google spreadsheet. Who did the Bloggers vote as #1? Which three teams received #1 votes? Who was the last in and last out? Are there two WCC teams in the Top 25? Is Indiana still in the poll?
So many questions, time for answers. Check them out!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Greg Oden on Jim Rome is Burning (Wednesday February 27, 2008)
Jim Rome will be hosting Greg Oden on his Wednesday show, on ESPN and repeating on ESPN2, on Wednesday February 27, 2008. We do not know if Oden will be in-studio, or more likely appearing via satellite.
Greg Oden is of course the NBA rookie and would-have-been NCAA sophomore with The Ohio State Buckeyes. Be sure to catch the latest episode of Jim Rome and get some "karma".
Kelvin Sampson Tarnished Image feature on Outside the Lines today
We just wrote about Kelvin Sampson and apparently so it ESPN's Outside the Lines! This will air at 3pm eastern (12pm pacific) today on ESPN. The Sampson feature will be "The Centerpiece" story.
More details on the OTL page. Here is how the OTL reminder email describes today's episode, in OTL's own words:
After admitting to recruiting violations while at Oklahoma, Kelvin Sampson promised to "do things right" at Indiana's Midnight Madness in 2006. Now less than two years later, Kelvin Sampson has been accused of committing five major violations during his tenure in Bloomington. Last week, Sampson agreed to resign from his post as the Indiana University basketball coach and accept a buyout. Sampson's departure brings forth a great deal of uncertainty for the program. George Smith examines the damage to Indiana University's image in light of the Sampson controversy.
Keep on texting Kelvin Sampson!
If the cellphone industry ever needed a poster boy to showcase how addictive text messaging is, they should hire Kelvin Sampson and start a national marketing campaign! "I lost my multi-million dollar job because I couldn't stop texting!"
And to add insult to injury, and to add to the "dumb jocks" stereotype of athletes and coaches, Kelvin Sampson was texting all of his former players after their first game without him. Even the bench player Brandon McGee received a text that said something like "keep looking good on the bench" - in positive way we assume.
Texting your former players doesn't sound too bizarre, unless you just got fired from your high-profile job because you got caught texting players in violation of NCAA rules, despite being caught and punished for it the previous year.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Live-Blogging the Week #16 Blog Poll Top 25 NHT Vote
We are "live-blogging" our vote and *gasp* thinking process for the BlogPoll Top 25 before we submit it. So without further delays, let's jump in!
While the mechanical process moves Tennessee to #1, the logic (if there's every such a thing with this field of top tier teams) glaringly points to Texas. They beat three of the top eight teams, one on the road, one at a neutral court by a blowout, and at home in-conference.
Compared to that, Tennessee beat #1 Memphis, an in-state rival at FedEx, and won at Xavier, but they were blown out by Texas. Texas won the head to head game, granted it was a long time ago, and has beaten three of the top eight teams. How can they not be the #1?
By the way, we look up all the RPI numbers at our favorite RPI site, Ken Pom RPI.
Tennessee grabs the #2 spot, and the UNC Tarheels by elimination grab the #3 spot. Memphis goes to the #4 spot, although you can easily make a case for them to be at #3 or even #2.
Next up, UCLA grabs the #5 spot, Kansas at #6 (a rematch of the Elite 8 game?), and evil Dookies Empire at #7, despite their two recent losses.
The #8 spot is wide open, we'll give it to the best available team, the Xavier Mouseketeers. The next best thing is Louisville, when you filter out the injuries and such. Rounding up the top 10 is the team they blew out in last year's NCAA tourney, the Stanford Trees.
Next up, Drake and Butler, the two new mid-major darlings du jour - and they have earned this spot with their play. Only one of the two could win the game they played on Bracket Buster Saturday, so Butler is not penalized for the loss.
Georgetown is not doing as well as they were supposed to, which is why they are outside the top 10. Is the #13 too generous for them? Well, maybe yes, maybe no...
The feisty Painters and Boilermakers grab the #14 spot, and we are lost at who to put at #15. Wisconsin will be at #17 - because we don't think they are a sweet 16 team. As simple as that. They have shown they can beat teams that are not as good as they are, but I don't think this team can beat a top tier team. The whole ceiling thing. But at least we are putting them in the top 20 now, so Badget fans don't be too disappointed :)
UConn feels like a Sweet 16 team, and the numbers don't lie. They beat eight RPI Top 100 teams in a row, and this includes four RPI Top 20 teams! That's before they beat South Florida, DePaul and lost to Nova. Hey, nobody's perfect!
So who's at #18? Well, we don't know yet, but we do know who is not in the top 25: Pac-10 teams! That's right, they are no more Pac-10 teams in our top 25. Why? USC: No Hackett, Arizona: No Nic Wise, Washington State: Ceiling (see Wisconsin above) and nine top 201+ wins. Providing we can find enough teams ahead of them. Otherwise they'll slide back in :) Also out of the top 25 is Indiana as this is a different team without The CellPhone Lover at the helm.
So we as again, who is at #18? Marquette? Notre Dame? Vandy? Michigan State? Mid-majors? Okay, Vandy grabs #18 by induction. How about #19? Let's give that to Izzo, and then feed the two aforementioned Big East teams. If Notre Dame had stronger wins away from their home court, I would have moved them higher.
How about Davidson? That's another team with the C-word. Ceiling! Despite the solid program ran by McKillop, they've never beaten a top 25 team!
Well, who is it then? We can't find enough teams to put in! So what to do, what to do? Let's put some of the teams we excluded three paragraphs above back in! Let's give Indiana and Washington State the benefit of the doubt and give them #22 and #23.
Two spots to go! Clemson you ask? Please point me to a solid win they had in the ACC... Waiting... Waiting... NONE!
Tempted to put Wake Forest at #25 to thank them for beating Duke, but they probably need a couple more wins before that. And to see how they respond to the loss at
UNC. But thank you Wake Forest for beating the sniveling Dookies!
Back to #24 and #25. Who can it be now? Who? Who? Who?
We'll follow the suggestion of Gopher Nation and put Miami at #24. Thank you Miami for beating the Dookies!.
So one spot left, #25... Let's give the mid-majors some love, since it's all spaghetti out there! Well, picking a mid-major out of all of them out there is no easy task either! There's the ones who won high profile Bracket Buster road games, like Creighton and Kent State, there's the venerable Davidson we mentioned above, the no-love South Alabama, St. Mary's and GoneZaga are no chopped meat either.
And how about Maryland? Kentucky? Arkansas? And how about Cornell, undefeated in the Ivy? Okay, that's a stretch... *Gasp* We even have to consider Pitt!
Okay, we have to pick something...
Don't want to stay up all night deliberating... We are so desperate we are even considering Southern Illinois with a #10 SOS, despite their dozen losses!
How about the leader of the Church League?
How about Robert Morris? They are 13-3 on road/neutral games. Syraucse doesn't play that many in three years :)
Well, we've found the #25, despite their loss a couple of hours ago, Anger Management Issues Billy Walker and B-EZ get the #25 spot...
And we are DONE!
Joe Lunardi gets confused about who won Duke at UNC this year?
Joe Lunardi made his usual Monday appearance on ESPN News "The Hot List" between 12pm to 3pm (pacific), but there was something strange. He seemed to be under the impression that UNC beat Duke this year. Not sure if he was confused, or the host got him confused, or his was drinking whatever Martelli is brewing at the bowels of the Hawk Talk studios ;-)
Because Duke and UNC have two losses each, and Duke beat UNC at UNC. Unless of course he was working on the silent assumption that UNC will beat Duke in March 2008, but that's not exactly an assumption one can make for such a game!
Texas at Kansas State
This was a nicely played game, with some excitement and stars and such. Despite Ron Franklin trying to put everyone to sleep with his monotone sinewave voice patterns, and Fran comparing body parts.
Did Rick Barnes dispel the rumors that he is not as good of an Xs and Os coach by throwing a box-and-one that put Beasley in an offensive straightjacket? We blog, you decide!
Texas showed how their crazy style of play can get them a win against just about any team, but can also cost them a loss against a lesser opponent. It goes with the territory!
Kansas State showed their growing pains. Both Billy Walker and Jacob Pullen have a lot of maturing to do, and first year head coach Frank Martin has to learn how to better be able to deal with such a situation. Not to take anything away from this brilliant first year season though. Billy Walker was 0 from 14 when the game was still on the line. Ouch!
And back to Texas, they will be my #1 when I submit my BlogPoll Top25 vote in a few minutes. Why? You have to wait for the post for the details :)
Atlantic-10 versus the BCS schools!
There has been a lot of talk about the Atlantic-10 recently, so we thought we'd give some hard numbers, on how the A-10 fared against the BCS schools. Numbers and stats at Ken Pom RPI.
| Team | Wins | Losses | Score |
| Xavier | Away: Auburn Neutral: Indiana (blowout) Home: Kansas State (blowout), Virginia (blowout), Cincy | Home: Tennessee Away: Arizona State (blowout) | 5-2 |
| Dayton | Away: Louisville Home: Pitt (blowout) | None! | 2-0 |
| Rhode | Away: South Florida Home: Syracuse, Providence | Away: Boston College | 3-1 |
| UMass | Away: Syracuse, Boston College | Away: Vandy | 2-1 |
| St Joe's Hawk Talk | Palestra: Villanova (blowout) Home: Patterno State | Away: Syracuse | 2-1 |
| Charlotte Moustaches | Away: Clemson Home: Wake Forest | Home: Maryland Neutral: Georgia Tech | 2-2 |
| Richmond | Home: Virginia Tech | Home: South Florida | 1-1 |
| Duquesne | None | Home: Pitt Away: West Virginia | 0-2 |
| St Louis Majerus | None! | Away: Pitt, Boston College | 0-2 |
| Fordham | None! | Away: Georgetown, Missouri, Syracuase | 0-3 |
| La Salle | None! | Neutral: Ole Miss, DePaul Away: Florida State Big 5: Villanova | 0-4 |
| G. Washington | None! | Home: Auburn Away: UCLA, Virginia Tech, Alabama (all three blowouts) | 0-4 |
| Temple | None! | Home: Duke Neutral: Providence Big 5: Villanova Away: Tennessee, Florida | 0-5 |
| St Bonaventure | None | None | 0-0 |
| Total | 17-28 |
So now what do y'all think of the Atlantic-14? Oops, Atlantic-10 :)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Tennessee at Memphis
#1 vs #2. Primetime! ESPN Gameday! Dick Vitale! Jay Bilas! Digger Phelps! Reece Davis! Hubert Davis! Erin Andrews! It was an all-star setup for an all-star battle of teams ranked #1 and #2. And the game did not disappoint.
As expected with games of such high intensity, it did not play out as expected, the players were too amped up for the game, and the game was all over the place, from running all over the place like kittens on caffeine, to a grinded out affair.
Ultimately, Derrick Rose was not enough, and the Bruce Pearl Energizer Bunnies out-did Memphis at just about every category.
Memphis exceeded its quota of three pointers made in the first ten minutes of the game, and that spelled doom for their offense, as they fell in love with the three, and were unable to go back to it when they really needed it.
This outcome could play well for both teams. Tennessee gets its first ever #1 ranking in men's basketball, and reaches new heights, and Memphis gets a much needed "reality check" after their close call at UAB.
This exposes Memphis as a candidate for another Elite 8 run, instead of Final Fours and national championships. Not because they lost the game, but how they lost the game. Are we starting to see a pattern? Remember how UCLA dissected the Tigers in the 2006 Elite 8?
Granted, this was just a single game, but perhaps those two teams should consider playing twice a year! Once in the pre-season and once in February! It's awesome baby with capital A!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Political Slogans for College Basketball Coaches
With the political season in full swing, it is time to give some college basketball coaches ...politically twisted slogans!
We start with "Change you can ...Wear", for Rick Pitino (see: ESPN Gameday game and the all-white suit).
How about "Change you can Cheat", for Kelvin Sampson's campaign? :)
"Change you can Eat" for Majerus, and "Change you can Drink" for Eddie Sutton!
"Change you can yell at" for Bob Knight, and "Change you can scowl at" for Gene Keady!
And how about "Change you can Defend" for Ben Howland, and "Change you can ruin" for Matt Doherty?
And two more before we totally ruin it, "Change you can Over-analyze" for Jay Bilas, and "Change you can Take a Sabbatical from" for Lute Olson ;-)
Oregon at UCLA
If it wasn't for the goofing around of Steve Lavin and Brett Musburger, the first half of this broadcast would have been unwatchable. Unwatchable with capital U! But instead we have Lavin and Musburger being Comedy Central, and Lavin revealing some more details about his exit from UCLA.
But back to the game, this was a typical UCLA comeback game, a slow start, and then grind, grind, grind, tie the game, take the lead, and never look back.
If Oregon was looking for a theme, "self inflicted wounds" would be a good one. Their Mighty Mouse had his good moments, but he also had his trademark disastrous, yes disastrous decisions on offense, leading to turnovers, steals and buckets for UCLA. The type of turnovers that really hurt. Ouch for Oregon!
This means that if Oregon wants NCAA Tourney play, they need to win all three remaining regular season, and get two wins in the Pac-10 tourney against other NCAA or bubble teams. Or perhaps win it all - depending on how all the other bubble teams do.
And yes, the new black Nike uniforms with the "Princess" sparkling letters were a horrible idea. How do they design these? Do they design them in Photoshop and hit print on the cotton printer? ;-)
Ironman: The 2008 Basketball Analyst Buzzword of the Year
You know each year, the basketball analysts start over-using particular terms or words. And this year is no exception. This year's buzzword: Ironman. Now just about every analyst feels almost contractually obligated to mention "ironman" at least once during a broadcast!
Are they all clones? :-) On a totally unrelated note, I will be launching the Ironman of the Year Awards, and start a weekly Ironman of the Week column ;-)
What other words did you notice getting overused by basketball analysts, commentators, play-by-play guys, announcers, sideline reports?
Digger Phelps goes crazy on ESPN's Gameday!
When discussing the Indiana situation on ESPN's Gameday on Saturday morning, Digger Phelps went crazy! That's right, he went crazy! The discussion was whether the players should take a game off to protest their coaches firing and such, and Digger went all neo-nazi, talking of benching players and kicking them off the team. Both Jay Bilas and Hubert Davis were vehemently protesting this Rosie O'Phelps outburst.
Of course we all knew that Digger was a ...theatrical diva ;-)
Friday, February 22, 2008
Kelvin Sampson has 750,000 reasons not to sing the Hoosier Blues
Happy Trails IU coach Kelvin Sampson! It was nice having you, the cell phone companies love the bills you ran during your tenure there and at Oklahoma ;-)
The final (perhaps) news in the Kelvin Sampson saga can be found at CSTV which includes the resolution and a statement from Kelvin Sampson as well. Also discussed at deadspin, and Tee Off, Sports Yenta, and such. And unsportsmanlike comment too!
Jordan Classic 2008: The Rosters have been revealed!
The rosters for the 2008 Jordan Classic, one of the premiere post-season high school showcase all-star games has been revealed, and an number of high profile 2008 recruits will participate including Tyreke Evans who just played on ESPN2, Greg Monroe, Samardo Samuels, JRue Holiday (the next Do-It-All-Paul?), Delvon Roe, Al-Farouq Aminu, Brandon Jennings, and many more.
More details at Recruiting Wars and the Jordan Brand Classic site.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
2007-2008 College Hoops TV Guide March 2008
Welcome to our March 2008 college hoops TV listings! We also have the:
* 2008 March Madness TV listings
* February 2008 college hoops TV listings
* January 2008 college hoops TV listings
* December 2007 college hoops TV listings
* November 2007 college hoops TV listings.
* All times mentioned here are Pacific Time
Saturday March 1, 2008
Sunday March 2, 2008
Monday March 3, 2008
Tuesday March 4, 2008
Wedn March 5, 2008
Thur March 6, 2008
Fri March 7, 2008
Sat March 8, 2008
Sun March 8, 2008
Monday March 10
Tuesday March 11
Wedn March 12 - things starting to GO CRAZY!
Thur March 13
Fri March 14
Sat March 15
Sun March 16
2007-2008 College Hoops TV Guide February 2008
Welcome to our February 2008 college hoops TV listings! We also have the:
* March 2008 college basketball TV listings
* January 2008 college hoops TV listings
* December 2007 college hoops TV listings
* November 2007 college hoops TV listings.
* All times mentioned here are Pacific Time
Friday February 1, 2008
Sat February 2, 2008
Relive your favorite 2007 NCAA Tournament games
Sun February 3, 2008 - SuperBowl Sunday - the soccer championship game :)
Mon February 4, 2008
Tue February 5, 2008 - Super Tuesday, vote early and often!
Wedn February 6, 2008
Thur February 7, 2008
Fri February 8, 2008
Sat February 9, 2008
Sun February 10, 2008
Mon February 11, 2008
Tue February 12, 2008
Wedn February 13, 2008
Thur February 14, 2008
Fri February 15, 2008
Sat February 16, 2008
Sun February 17, 2008
Mon February 18, 2008
Tue February 19, 2008
Wedn February 20, 2008
Thur February 21, 2008
Fri February 22, 2008
Sat February 23, 2008 - Bracket Buster Saturday!
Sun February 24, 2008
Mon February 25, 2008
Tue February 26, 2008
Wedn February 27, 2008
Thur February 28, 2008 - POST SEASON BEGINS TODAY!
Fri February 29, 2008
MARCH 2008
March 2008 college basketball TV listings continue here.
High School Basketball TV Schedule
The ESPN family of networks will bring us 15 high school hoops games this season. Details in this printer-friendly edition of ESPN High School.
Don't miss a game with TiVo!
Direct from the Source
North Carolina at North Carolina State
The in-state rivalry game never materialized as UNC managed to grab the lead and never look back. Granted it wasn't a cakewalk at first, but the Lawson-less UNC team also played with an injured Neon Deon Thompson, but did not miss a beat. The more Lawson stays out, the better it is for Q (Quinton Thomas). Imagine how good things will be for UNC when Lawson comes back. In fact Ole Roy may even be tempted to play them together for a few minutes.
NC State is finally getting back some of their injured players, but their lack of an ACC-caliber point guard is killing a team that has a number of serviceable and versatile forwards. The chemistry issues seem to be there, not necessarily personnel-wise, but skills and style of play wise.
What did we learn from this game? NC State will be lucky to make it to the new 3rd tier post-season tourney, while UNC is certainly a Sweet 16 team, a likely Elite 8 team, and has good chances of making to the Final Four, and it could also cut down the nets in April 2008.
Has Kelvin Sampson been fired already?
Has the embattled Kelvin Sampson been fired by the basketball-crazy Hoosiers even though he has their best on-court team they've had in years?
A number of stories are pointing in that direction, including the AOL Fanhouse and Fox Sports. The stories are accumulated and summarized in the following two Ball Hype posts: here and here.
Ouch! So who will be the temporary coaches? Will one of the assistants take over for the next few hours, and then an Indiana guy with experience brought in to finish the season? Someone like Dan Dakich, or perhaps Bob Knight, or any other "mercinary" coach with strong Indiana ties? How about Isiah Thomas? :)
Syracuse at Louisville
If you love zone defense, this was the game for you! Both teams spent a lot of time zoned out, tried to de-rail the opponents offense. The rosters were a stark contrast, Syracuse on a tight 7-man rotation, while Pitino probably having the deepest roster since he took over the Louisville RedBirds.
Ultimately the depth and the home court decided the game, along with the critically acclaimed point-center who goes by the name of David Padgett. What could kill Louisville in the post-season is their guards. Andre McGee is a backup type, and Sosa is quite unpredictable. Jerry Smith is the most reliable guard, while the only predictable thing from their back-court is the level of energy and enthusiasm Preston Knowles brings to the co(ur)t (Pitino-speak).
Meanwhile Syracuse, now with an improved schedule, has shown that they are not to be counted out, and they won't back down or take no as an answer. And they have the players to do so. From the two Flynnstones (Flynn and Greene), the built-like-a-tank Do-It-All-Paul, and the other four that fill in the blanks. I'm not sure whether they are in and out right now, but barring a collapse, I would be surprised if Syracuse was not included in the field of 65 in March!
Thank you Miami, thank you!
Thank you Miami Hurricanes! Thank you Frank Haith! Thank you state of Florida for delivering yet another Duke loss! Thank you Miami fans, alumni, players, alumni, professors, janitors, athletic department employees, boosters, and everyone affiliated with the great University of Miami!
Why am I so excited about Miami? Because they BEAT DUKE! last night!
To celebrate this win, be sure to get some Miami Hurricanes gear:
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
UCLA at USC
Who won the battle for Los Angeles? Defense won! That's right, basketball did not win, defense won. And UCLA ended up with a +1 in the win column. This game was supposed to be a premier game, with two of the top freshmen in OJ Mayo and Kevin "Beached Whale" Love. Instead it was an exercise in how to ruin a game with defense. The first one to 50 won.
OJ Mayo had double figures, but in turnovers! Tim "Pink" Floyd insisted on playing five players, and not even giving the rest of the players a sniff (until he got in foul trouble in the first half and needed fouls at the end of the second half). Even though USC played one game this week, the grinding nature of the game wore out the five USC players.
Meanwhile UCLA showed once again why their defense is so good. They foul multiple times per possession. And don't forget the way they screen on offense. Even UCLA great Marques Johnson confessed that the Bruins are "very aggressive" when setting screens and the zebras are not going to call most of them.
Arggg! What have all these slugfest coaches done with my Pac-10? :(
PS> Big props to Marques Johnson for calling the ACC game that preceded the Pac-10 game, the "JV game". Woohoo :-)
PS2> Our thanks to Wake Forest, their players, their fans, their alumni, and everyone associated with Wake Forest for their wonderful victory over the Dirty Dookies. Keep it coming Wake Forest! They win our Duke Slayer Award of 2008!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Washington State at Oregon
We are slightly behind as you can see :) But here we go: The battle of the contrasting style of plays, episode #23405. The run and gun Oregon Ducks hosted the Vulcans of Washington State! The game started faster than we anticipated, but sluggishness took over the second half where it took the Cougars a few centuries to go from 41 to over 42.
Despite all that, Washington State showed once again they are very capable of beating teams outside the Sweet 16. The Nike Ducks are one of the crazy teams of the year, like Texas and Xavier, that can beat almost any team on a good day, and lose to any team on a bad day. And this was not a good day for Oregon.
However, the clock is ticking for Oregon, and with the crunch in the middle of the Pac-10, an NCAA bid will be hard to come by. Unlike the many pundits who dream of 7 or 8 bids for the Pac-10, we would like to point out that the Pac-10 will get 6 bids, unless a team that is not supposed to get an at-large bid makes a run to the tourney final beating a couple of NCAA teams along the way.
Why would we say that? We are a west-coast-bias blog after all. Because unlike conference with unbalanced schedules, where at-large teams can keep on wining over non-tourney teams, Pac-10 plays a true round robin, which means there are not enough wins for seven at-large teams. The only "guaranteed" win is Oregon State. Nothing else is guaranteed. And you don't have to be a math major to realize that there's only 9 wins per week in the conference. That's all! Not enough room for seven at-large bids!
But the Pac-10 tourney could save the day for teams like Cal 420, Arizona State, Washington, Oregon, Wise-less Arizona and Hacketless-USC, especially if they don't finish strong.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Bonnie Bernstein talks trash about the Atlantic-10
Not sure if it was her idea or if Bonnie Bernstein was reading from what others wrote, but during ABC's "Race to the Final Four" she called the Atlantic-10 a "fringe conference". A fringe conference? Come on Bonnie! How clueless are you? Or whoever wrote that sentence. A fringe conference? Idiots!!!
This was in ABC's "Race to the Final Four" that aired on Saturday February 16, 2008. Neither Tom Brennan nor Pat Forde stepped in to save the day. They let it slide! This should be available at ABC.com and it will also repeat on ESPN next Monday. This is really sad.
Atlantic-10 fans, you know what to do! This is a slap in the face in a year that the A-10 is having a very solid game!
Charles Barkley "fake christians" starts a fire on CNN's Late Edition
Former Auburn great and NBA superstar and basketball analyst Charles Barkley shocked Wolf Blitzer on CNN's Late Edition when he called the religious conservatives "fake christians" because of their hypocrisy and such. I assume he won't be invited to the 700 Club ;-) Shocked not because it's not true, but because he said it out loud. Wolf of course is used to politicians who avoid saying anything that might cost them half a vote.
Barkley also revealed that he is planning to run for governator of Alabama in 2014. He just bought a house there in 2007 to start his seven year residency requirement. According to him.
The NBA All-star game tips off tonight at 8pm eastern on TNT. Was this just a gimmick to generate more buzz for the all-star game? CNN and TNT are owned by the same company :)
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Indiana Basketball was back (until Kelvin muddied the waters)
First it was the state of Tennessee that was experiencing a great college hoops renaissance, and everywhere in the top 10 you looked, you saw a team from Ten-nessee, with Memphis, Tennessee and Vandy being ranked very high.
After that we saw the return of the state of Indiana to national prominence once again, first up with *gasp* Butler having a solid preseason and solid fundamental on-court performance, then Indiana with super frosh Eric Gordon was piling up the wins, and then the youth-movement at Purdue starting to pile up game experience and wins, and Purdue rose to prominence at a national level.
And while the Hoosier state was in a state of bliss of the revitalization of their hoops programs, Kelvin "500 calls" Sampson came in to muddy the waters. While his "cheating" [allegedly] will not likely affect this season, it will marr and scar the Hoosier Hoops Renaissance.
Don't look now but Purdue won their last ten games folks. Butler is a headache for anyone they play, and Indiana is anyone's guess. They could get blown out in the first round, or they could make a run to the Elite 8. Who knows...
PS> Oh yes, did we forget about Notre Dame or are we picking on Digger Phelps? Not that Digger is reading this blog :) Yes, Notre Dame is also having a solid season, adding to the Indiana revival!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Indiana University presser today at 3pm eastern to address Kelvin Sampson situation
Seven thousand years of Bob Knight: Zero violations. Seven hundred days of Kelvin Sampson: Seven thousand violations! Okay, I'm exaggerating, but if there was ever a case to bring up the poster boy of untreated anger management, this may be it.
At 3pm eastern today, Indiana University will address the Kelvin "500 calls cheater" Sampson alleged violations. ESPN's Outside the Lines will address this at 3pm eastern today on ESPN. Also be sure to check ESPN News as they may be carrying the press conference event live.
For more on Outside the Lines, be sure to check the OTL main page.
On a totally unrelated note, season 2 of Robin Hood is coming to BBC America in April 2008 ;-)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
North Carolina at Virginia
No Lawson, no final four I'm afraid for UNC. But the good news is that Ty Lawson should be back before the March Madness tourney tips off.
Virginia looked a mess for quite a while, but they re-discovered their mojo and made the game respectable before losing to the Lawson-less TarHeels.
The tweek in the Carolana oafense was Ty Hansbro shooting mid-range jumpers. This was an interesting experiment, not sure if it was by design, or it organically developed during the game, but this could make things more interesting assuming Ty Hansbro is able to consistently hit those jumpers.
It was also interesting to see Ole Roy try to tighten up his rotations to seven players, before foul troubles got Graves in the game. And now you wonder why Roy Williams thought Wes Miller was crucial to the team. At the time, a number of people laughed it up, but Carolina could have surely used a Wes Miller right about now with Lawson and Fraser out due to injury.
What can we say about Virginia? Dave Leiteo had a solid season last year, but what happened this year? He should be safe, but if he picks up the paper and reads that 22 months after the Final Four John Brady was ejected from LSU... Ouch!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Kansas at Texas
This was a big game for the Big 12, and with the added boost of Big Monday coverage on ESPN. Sadly this game is only played once during each regular season, because of the way the Big 12 is structured.
The game did not disappoint. The run and gun Rick Barnes crazies managed to eek out a big home win in front of a home court, facing a deeper and more talented Self-less squad.
Texas, like Xavier and Oregon, are teams of the crazy variety, they have a wide range of play, and because of that, they have higher highs, and lower lows. On the other end of the spectrum we have teams like Wisconsin and Washington State which are operating on a much narrower band and have a higher lows, but also lower highs. And a lower ceiling too.
Kansas is so talented, yet there seems to be something off about this team. Not sure what it is. This is not the same feel as UNC, but with UNC we also get feeling they are missing something (and I'm talking when they had Ty Lawson and Bo Fraser in the line-up way back then).
Jayhawks fans may not like this, but Bill Self may have issues! Granted it's not easy to have post-season success, but he had at least two Final Four capable teams in his four years, yet he only delivered two Elite 8 and two first-round exits to Bucknell and Bradley.
Meanwhile other teams, with less talent, have been able to get back to back final fours, or make it to the final four. As we mentioned earlier in the year, Bill Self may be the next Tubby Smith.
Will the Bob Knight Insiders stage a coup and re-install him at IU?
With Kelvin Sampson's cheating/recruiting troubles continuing, will we go full circle at Indiana?
This may sound like fantasy, but let's follow this patterns:
If Sampson does indeed get in hot water when the NCAA spanish inquisition is completed in the post-season, Indiana may have to fire him, since there were some of that in his contract.
If he does indeed get fired for recruiting violations, the people who hired him, the university administrators will be in trouble for the hire. They may be fired too.
This would create an opening for the Bob Knight sympathizers for their power play, to get rid of the Myles Brand crowd, and install their own people. Once the Knight people take over IU, then the ground will be fertile for the return of the crazy man at the place where he once belonged.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Arizona State at Arizona
On paper, this looked bleak for Arizona State. They had lost 23 of the last 24 games to the Lute Olson Meercats before the start of this season. Arizona was coming off a woodshed beating at Pauley and in theory they should have been primed to punish the next opponent.
And that's how it started, with a 22-6 lead, with Jerryd Bayless hitting just about everything he threw up. At that point, Herb "Mensa" Sendek took a couple of strategic time outs and was able to inspire his team to tighten up the defense and stay patient on offense.
With Bayless the only Zona player able to score, and Jordan Hill reverting to the quick two first half fouls "strategy", Budinger (who looked like he belonged to a beach volleyball team last night) and J-Mac were unable to provide some offense. The value of Nic "Hoops" Wise was evident in game #1 since his season-ending (?) surgery. With the Michigan kid transferring back to Michigan, Arizona was a bit thin on the back-court.
The game was played like a Big Ten game, except without the intensity, which is a bit strange, since this is supposed to be a hated and heated rivarly ;-)
The box score looked like an AAU game, with Bayless and Pendergraph (not to be confused with GoneZaga's Pendergraft) both getting career highs above the high 30s.
With Arizona players not named Bayless unable to score, and unable to defend Sendek's half court offense, ASU slowly but steadily got back in the game, and then took the reigns, and finished off with a much needed victory.
This is even more important for Sendek in the eyes of Sun Devils fans, as the ASU won only 1 out of the previous 24 games against Arizona. Sendek has managed to sweep Arizona twice this season.
Arizona fans will point out that in game #1 Bayless DNP, and in this game, Nic Wise DNP due to injuries. But Arizona State fans will point out that ASU was playing with super-frosh James Harden as a shadow of his regular self due to a bad case of the flu. But Harden was able to play and make enough plays to allow his teammates to win the game.
Another item that will cheer ASU fans was the determination and energy of Pendergraph on both sides of the floor. If he plays like that every game, and Harden plays to his usual self when he recovers from the flu, the team could make an NCAA run!
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Tom Brennan and Doug Gottleib not afraid to talk Bob Knight
Unlike the "old school" Bob Knight appeasers at ESPN, the dynamic duo of Tom Brennan and Doug "Big Mouth" Gottleib were not afraid to say it like it is when they were discussing the Bob Knight "resignation" at Texas Tech. Both of them pointed out that Knight quit on his team, and threw cold water in the faces of his four trusty seniors.
Brennan pointed out his anger management issues, while Gottlieb pointed out the hypocrisy of Knight's double standard for himself and everyone else around him.
This could be even more interesting if Knight is hired by ESPN as a basketball analyst! Imagine the scene in the cafeteria when he faces Brennan or Gottleib ;-) Another Chris Everett moment? :)
Games to watch on Saturday February 9, 2008
We have some great games on TV today! First up, a shootout is promised as the wounded Marquette Eagles are visiting the Fighting Digger Phelps's at South Bender. This game on ESPN.
On CBS, the Dookies are hosting Boston College, and we hope that Al Skinner and BC slugfest it out and beat the Dookies!
On ABC, there's a Pac-10, Big 12 and ACC games, the most interesting being USC visiting the now desperate Washington State Cougars. Wazoo should win this game as USC is not a top 16 team.
At 1pm pacific, we have a rematch and a budding rivarly, as two hot teams square off, Georgia Tech without Jarret Jack and "take the women and children out of the lane" Ishm Mohammed, and UConn without Gordon and Okafor. But this promises to be a hot game for ESPN, as Georgia Tech is now able to play better on the road, not just at the Bobby Cremins (Alexander).
At 3pm pacific, ABC features their new program, Road to March Madness with Tom Brennan, Bonnie "I don't give a shit about Carolina" Bernsttein, and guest coaches. Last week they had super-abrasive Matt Doherty of SMU. Is he fired yet? :)
Also at 3pm pacific, Michael Beasley hosts Oklahoma State. We predict a 30/20 game from the Beastly Boy.
At 5pm pacific, Gameday preps us for the big game at 6pm pacific, Georgetown at Louisville which hopes to be a really good game! Rick Pitino gave away his game plan already on his coaches show, which aired on CSTV nationally.
And at 4pm pacific, a game of desperation for the Nike Ducks, they have to beat California, otherwise they have to win the Pac-10 conference tournament game. Cal is on the up-tick and they have to win to maintain their momentum and build up a case for an at large bid.
For more listings, be sure to check our February 2008 college hoops tv listings.
Friday, February 08, 2008
UCLA at Washington State
Friel the Heat, and Friel the Love! As I had suspected all along, Washington State has a ceiling. They are unable to beat a Sweet 16 (or better) team. Their initial softer schedule gave them an impressive record, and combined with the toughness of the Pac 10, they began climbing up the polls and rankings.
But when they started facing top 20 caliber teams, the wins were nowhere to be found. Washington State may be #1 in being able to get the max out of their talent and skills level, but that's their ceiling.
Just like Wisconsin, they may have the best record against the Bottom 300 teams in the NCAAs, but in order to win championships or have success in the NCAA tourney, you need to be able to beat the Top 32 teams in the country.
Unless something changes, Wazoo is heading towards a first round exit. Aron Bayness continues to not be a factor, which perhaps is linked to all that.
UCLA, with its patented multiple-foul-per-possession defense, and despite missing one of its wrestlers defenders, was able, partially thanks to the zebras, to take and maintain a lead with a small but safe margin.
I was hoping UCLA would lose, but they didn't :-(
John Brady fired at LSU - are we turning into the NBA?
This is crazy! Another coach gets fired mid-season because the results on the court are not pretty. Unless of course there's more to the story that we are not aware of. And it's not like he didn't deliver. He got them to the Final Four in 2006. So why did LSU fire John Brady?
A forum user at TigerU made the case to get him fired in January 2005 for continuing to under-perform. And that seems to be the reason he was fired according to FoxSports. Super-assistant Butch Pierre has taken over, and he may be the heir to the throne. The Fox Sports story mentions that Tim Floyd might be one interested entity, or if they want to go with a young rising star they may take a look at VCU's Dookie-slayer Anthony Grant.
How about Bob Knight? Are they desperate enough?
What are other blogs saying? Here is a sampling of the reactions, SEC Hoops TGTBTD, BamaHoops, Pelican State, Rocky Top Talk, Hog Blog, and many more.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
LIVE: Indiana at Illinois just went to second overtime
Drop everything and turn on ESPN now! Indiana and Illinois have just starter their second overtime! Lots of drama in this game, narrated by Rece Davis, Jay Bilas and Pat Forde (yes, he is venturing into ESPN national games now). Currently 3 minutes left in OT #2 with the Hoosiers up by one point!
Shaun Pruitt could have won the game at the end of overtime #1 but he missed two free throws!
Oh my! Eric Gordon gets a 10-second backcourt violation with 24 seconds left, while something is thrown towards the friends and family of Eric Gordon in the stands. Oh my!!!
Swoosh! Inside Nike on CNBC next Tuesday
If you are into the shoe business and the business world or Nike, be sure to check out a brand new original CNBC production on Nike, premiering on Tuesday February 12, 2008, at 10pm eastern (7pm pacific), and repeating at three hours later. If you miss those airings, it will air a couple more times later in the week.
The program description? An examination of Nike's success including how it makes and markets its products, commentary from superstar athletes like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Bron Bron (LeBron James). Also featured is retired founder Phil Knight.
The documentary is one TV hour long, which means it's probably around 45 minutes or so without commercials.
Arizona Blues: Nic Wise out four to six weeks
When it rains it poors in Arizona, because it's probably a monsoon! After suffering a humiliating defeat at UCLA, the Arizona Meerkats received new bad news, their fire hydrant point guard Nic "Hoops" Wise will be sidelined for 4 to 6 weeks due to injury that requires surgery to fix it. The news is flashing at the bottom of the screen on the ESPN and ESPN2 ticker.
Who is desperate enough to hire Bob Knight
Our initial post was just minutes after the Bob Knight news. Now it is clear that Bob Knight is not retiring at all. He is simply ejecting from Texas Tech before he gets Myles Brand'ed again.
It's rather clear now that his motives were to give Pat Knight a chance to be a head coach, without having to worry about the new university administration opening a nationwide coaching search. So Knight essentially is forcing their hand.
This also allows Bob Knight more time to evaluate the current openings and the openings that may become available. It also signals universities that may be considering a coaching change to accelerate their process and take a look at Knight - if he is their type.
Through various surrogates (read: almost all ESPN college basketball yes-men analysts) he had let it be known that he has "ten more years in him", which Vitale was shouting at the top of his recently repaired vocal cords over and over on ESPN.
So who currently has an opening or might be desperate enough to take a shot (no put intended) at Bob Knight?
Dick Vitale vs Billy Packer
Billy Packer likes to drink Coke, but he doesn't seem to enjoy it that much. Or rather, he enjoys it, but in a serious manner, with a subtle satisfaction deep inside his angry soul ;-)
Dick Vitale on the other hand likes to eat DiGiorno pizzas and jump over everyone and dunk. And after a hard day's work, he goes to Hooters to wind down and get his sleazy old man hands paws all over the cheerleaders waitressess.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Bill Self on Rome is Burning on Thursday
Kansas and Bill Self fans all over the world, be sure to check out Jim Rome is Burning tomorrow on ESPN as Bill Self will be the guest. The show is expected to air at 430pm eastern (130pm pacific) on ESPN. Check local listings for more details and possible repeats. With all the stuff happening right now in the world of sports, it might get pre-empted. From the NBA blockbuster trades, to the soccer with helmets spygate, to the Major League Steroid saga, and the Bob Knight resign-retire-athon.
Not sure if the coaches of Bucknell and Bradley will be invited with Bill Self ;-) Just kidding Kansas fans, didn't mean to rub it in! Or did I?
Duke at North Carolina
No Ty Lawson, no Bobby Frasor, no offense from Wayne Ellington and Danny Green, well what do you expect, no victory for the UNC Tar Heels.
The first signs of a loss were observed at the second TV timeout, with the score tied, but game patterns so far were pointing towards Duke. And so right they were, the Dookies won, and they should have won by a lot more considering they had ten or so three pointers made more than the UNC Tar Heels (before the game was decided), and UNC had more turnovers than all the bakeries in NYC combined.
Psycho T had a solid game as expected, as the Dookies did not have a space-eater to fight him off. He did miss a couple of free throws more than he usually does, and was close to a 30/20 game. But Psycho T could not do everything. And there was no one to really help him, other than Ginyard.
The two Cali forwards came to UNC full of promise, but they are both under-performing. Deon Thompson started strong on offense, but then got in foul trouble and faded away. Meanwhile the more defensive minded Alex Stepheson was a turnover factory, which didn't help either.
Speaking of Cali forwards, there were at least six players from California in this game, played on the other coast, with such notables as DeMarcus Nelson, David McClure and Taylor Queen of Duke, and Deon Thompson, Q Thomas, and Alex Stepheson of UNC.
Duke won the game because of defense, three pointers, style of play, and such. Greg Paulass couldn't miss a three pointer, and just about every Dookie who played stayed within the game plan for the most part.
But given the way the game developed, UNC was much closer in the game, given how badly they turned the ball over, and they couldn't hit the dessert from the Grand Canyon, and the Dookies were making everything outside.
What would have happened had Ty Lawson played? Well, unless you have a way to check the result in the parallel universes we'll never know. But we will get at least one re-match in March when they square off in March on an ESPN Gameday Primetime game with Dookie Vitale.
Speaking of which, he is sounding more and more like a bigger diva than Paris Hilton. Yes, he was back baby!!! No more quiet games! It's all about the Vitale Show baby!
