Random College Hoops Airballs

Is Jay Bilas taking over the Dick Vitale announcing spots until Vitale returns or is ESPN going to do it by committee? Bilas just did the Pitt vs Duke game and he is going to do the Georgetown at Memphis game, along side Dan Shuman and the underrated Doris Burke.

NCAA Selection committee chairman Tom O'Connor appeared for an extended in-game interview on CBS during the Wooden Tradition game on CBS Sports, between Louisville and Purdue. While "please retire" Lundquist was handing him assists, Billy "Fudge" Packer was trying to get something out of him, but just like a politician on the campaign trail, Tom O'Connor, the George Mason athletic director, managed to avoid answering any questions of substance. Packer did manage to get him to mention Gardner Webb though. But that was a "master of the obvious" type of a revelation.

Did you notice that Pitino's rosters in Louisville look impressive in the spring, but when the season starts the roster is nowhere near as long as the preseason? Some of that had to do with early entries to the NBA draft way back when high school seniors were allowed to crash David Stern's millionaire's party, but it's not just the NBA, it's also a wave of injuries. It seems like PitinoVille is one of those schools that keep having injured players year in and year out. Is it bad luck, or does it have to do with the conditioning programs or the facilities or the trainers? UCLA is another team that always seems to look like a MASH unit.

Pitt vs Duke, previewing the big game tonite at MSG

Just two hours before tip-off of a big game to be played at MSG on ESPN tonight. The Dookies are playing injured, as their #1 Bestest cheerleader, Dookie Vitale is on the injured reserve with a vocal chord injury. How can the Dookies adopt and play without Vitale? Watch tonight and find out!

Previews of the game from the Pitt perspective: Pitt Blather, Pitt Rivals, Pittsburgh live, Bill White.

Some previews of the game from the Duke perspective: , ACC Basketball blog.

And some more previews at Us vs Them, Doubt about it, blog hype, Vegas Watch.

Also, CNN SI interviews Pitt's Sam Young and the Charlotte Observer (link via Blog Hype via the ACC Basketball Blog) discusses Duke's D'Antoni D'AntDookie offense.

For all the upcoming tv listings, be sure to check our college hoops TV schedule.

My prediction: Duke wins in overtime while getting 70% of the 50-50 calls. Normally this would be considered unfair, but given that Duke normally gets 80% of the 50-50 calls, Hank Nichols sings the praises of his officials for "fair and balanced officiating" ;-)

My Preference: Pitt beats the Dookies by 20. DJ Blair has a triple double with 24 points, 22 rebounds and 11 blocks. Taylor King goes 0 of 8 from the three point line, Greg Paulus has 12 turnovers, Coach K gets caught by the cameramen mouthing filthy obscenities at the zebras, Kyle Singler gets in early foul trouble, and Jon Scheyer cries on the bench because he got benched for not playing good defense. Just about the only Dookie I do not dislike is De Marcus Nelson. Nelson, there is still time, the spring semester has not started, there is still time to transfer out of Coach K's SmugNest!

ESPN Full Court gets stingy with its freet previews

From what I recall from previous years, ESPN Full Court used to have more free previews and it would also selectively "unlock" some days or some games as teasers for fans to watch, enjoy, want more, and subscribe.

This year it seems they have gone stingy with their free promos and previews, as I have not run into any of them so far. Granted we are only one month into the season, but give us some freebies! We are pay a gazillion dollars per month just to get digital cable, so give some freebies baby! ;-)

Arizona at UNLV

This was an intensely ugly game. Oops! I should say it was intense but ugly. The scoreboard? That would have been the halftime score if Tark's UNLV was playing Lute Olson's run and gun Wildcats. But instead this game was defensive Lon Kruger squaring off defensive Kevin "Enforcer" O'Neill, and we were shocked to actually see one team score more than 50. Which is (sadly) what took to win the game.

On the plus side, Seth Davis fans will be thrilled that he will be the half-time show analyst on CSTV college basketball games this season. During this game he was joined by studio anchor/host Adam Zucker of CSTV in the Fieldhouse in New York City.

As expected, Jordan Hill had a big game against the UNLV smalls, getting a career high 19 rebounds, and 16 points or so. And the Arizona Meercats needed them all, as Chase "Over-Rated" Budinger was off once again, and Bayless spent more time in this game being a freshman than usual.

Meanwhile Nic "Hoops" Wise showed once again lots of onions and was the second most important player in getting the Cats the "W".

UNLV on the other hand, needs players, they need to sign a few free agents, but of course they can't, so they have to play small ball. Kruger seems to love getting power-guards, you know the 6'1" to 6'3" 200+ pounders, but can't seem to be able to get any big men.

And while he can deliver results and have a very solid team on the court, it's just not the same when you have the UNLV Running Rebels being the UNLV Grinding Slugfesters. Sorry UNLV fans, but the truth hurts!

More on this game at CSTV, UNLV Rebels, Ball Hype, Xs and Os Coaching Better Basketball blog, and Rebel Nation.

Don't miss Duke vs Pitt and the Zags tripping out to Oklahoma tonight! More details in our college hoops tv guide.

Memphis at Cincinatti

One time a big Conference USA rivalry, this game was reduced to an ugly and choppy affair where the bottom team of the Big East was hosting a Top 5 team. Calipari apparently decided he would win the game only with three pointers in the first half and it worked as long as the threes were falling.

Once again Memphis showed why I have so questions about them being a top team. This of course depends on how you perceive these games. Were they able to win despite playing bad, thus they are a really great team, or is this their true self and they are going to struggle winning close half-court games? We blog, you decide!

Cincy of course had its share of injuries but the feisty Mick Cronin (who wore an anti-GQ outfit that screamed against his red head (yes we are TMZ.com pseudo-analysts)) did not let his team fall behind, although they were never a "serious" threat of winning the game.

The good news for Tigers fans is that Derrick O'Rosie was raining threes, a welcome development for his game, both at the college level and in the eyes of the scouts. Just like Kevin Love, Rose (and the analysts) are discovering that it's a different game when you are not playing against the kiddies any more, but you have to face players that may be stronger, faster, taller, and older.

The Tigers big men were having foul trouble and frustrations which caused Calipari to go 11-deep and bust out not only Jeff Robinson but Pierre Niles as well. He is probably going to need his space-eaters to body-up Roy Hibbert on Saturday.

However the most effective line-up in this game was when Calipari went to a three point guard line-up, oh the luxury to be able to do that, most coaches will tell you. Rose and Kemp are big enough that they can cover most wings, and this line-up was able to significantly cut down on turnovers. Don't be surprised if they make another appearance if Georgetown causes them too many turnovers.

Meanwhile the Laurinburg group looked as if they were "on strike" in support of the television writers. CDR was a non-factor on offense, Dorsey had another "Oden" game, Dozier was off, and Antonio Anderson's saving grace was hitting a few threes (he lit up Cincy two years ago).

Cincy can look forward to fighting teams off for the #16 spot in the Big East. It's gonna get uglier before it gets better for Cincy, and perhaps they should strongly consider going back to Conference USA. There, they would have been a top-tier team, instead of having to scrap and claw just to make the Big East tourney.

More on this game from MySpace (yes, they have sports), Commercial Appeal, Zanesville Times Recorder, and on Memphis and Conference USA by the RealSportsBloggers.

Don't miss Pitt vs Duke tonight from MSG, and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Classic double header from Oklahoma. More details in our giant college hoops tv listings

Week #6 of the Blog Poll Top 25 is published!

Week #6 of the Blog Poll top 25 has been published! Be sure check out the total vote, along with details on how each blog-voter voted. All the details in this Google Doc.

Spoiler Alert: This sentence will reveal who is #1! The #1 in this week's BlogPoll is ... North Carolina with Memphis at #2, Texas a clear #3, Kansas a clear #4, the Dookies a clear #5 (I voted them #1, please Pitt beat them!!!)!

#6, #7 and #8 are nearby in terms of votes, Washington State, Georgetown and UCLA, the slugfest trio! (just kidding or am I?)

Much further away in terms of votes is Michigan State at #9, with Marquette rounding up the Top 10. Check the Google doc mentioned above for the complete top 25.

The last team in was BYU and the last team out was Villanova. Apparently people are holding the "phantom Mickey Mouse call" loss to NC State in the Disney made-for-thanksgiving-TV tourney against the Nova Wildcats. I am not!

For wall to wall coverage on the BlogPoll Top 25, and a list of participating bloggers, check the left-hand column of this blog, or click on the "blogpoll" tag/label at the end of this post.

Today on Outside the Lines: The Green Monster (Danny Ainge's new Boston Celtics)

Today's centerpiece of ESPN's Outside the Lines features the "Green Monster", Danny Ainge's "new" Boston Celtics "dynasty". Outside the Lines airs at 3pm eastern (12pm pacific) on ESPN today.

Here is how ESPN describes the centerpiece in their OTL promo email:

So far in this young NBA season, Danny Ainge appears to be a genius. The Boston Celtics are 20-2 and are dominating the league. The additions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen this off-season along with Celtics favorite Paul Pierce have given Boston a 1-2-3 superstar punch that Boston hasn't seen since the Bird, McHale and Parrish era. However, some critics say that the Celtics haven't proven anything yet with an easy early-season schedule. Wednesday night should be a good indicator as the Celtic's face off with the always tough Detroit Pistons. Today on Outside the Lines, we examine what the Boston Celtics have done so far and what they are capable of doing.

Kentucky at Houston

Turnaround Tom is one of the last few remaining "mad scientists" of the game. His "scramble" style of play was "modernized" by attaching the "Phoenix Suns offense" tag to it, and his specialty in re-recruiting continues to pay off with the likes of Dior Dowell and Marcus Cousin (who did not play in this game).

This was another disappointing game for Kentucky, considering the high level of expectations, but the silver lining was that Jodie Meeks came back with guns ablazing (he picked up from where Darth Vaden left off in their previous game), and the team continued to fight and chip away even when everyone knew what the outcome of the game was.

They were playing without Patrick Patterson who had a "last minute" injury because according to the ESPN crew he was fine in practice. Without Patterson to patrol the paint, the crazy Cougars had their way on the offensive glass, running and gunning Penders style.

Patterson's absence was an opportunity for the seven footer Carter to get some PT, but the style of play of Houston was not a good match for a seven footer. Carter, who considered transferring, may want to considering "Division 2" if he really wants to play (Ouch!). The new NCAA ads say "I chose Division 2", so it can't be that bad :)

Crawford added another bad mark to his under-achieving career with a "coward's foul" on an opponent's breakaway dunk. I think the NCAA needs to punish players beyond just a technical for fouls that endanger a player's career. Those types of fouls are just wrong, and the excuses used by players and coaches are just plain LAME! NCAA, do your job!

Meanwhile Tom Penders probably has to have a roll coll before each practice, that's the only way he can keep track with his ever-changing roster. With Lanny Smith healthy so far (knock on wood for his sake), the team looks like it may have the breakout year Tom Penders was hoping two years ago. They certainly have lots of players to mix into the rotation. I was impressed by Toney's rebounding ability but then again, there was no Patrick Patterson to patrol the paint.

More on this game at the following websites and blogs:

A Sea of Blue

John Clay's Sidelines Report

UHCougars.com

Jerry Tipton

The Sporting News

The Three Pointer Blog

Cats Pause (Rivals)

SEC The Good the Bad and the Dirty

Kentucky.com

Don't miss any TV games! Visit and Bookmark our College Hoops TV Guide of December 2007, updated on an on-going basis!

Dick Vitale on the injured reserve!

Dookie Vitale is on the injured reserve! Dickie V had successful surgery to remove ulcers from his vocal chords and will be sidelined from broadcasting games until February 2008. This according to ESPN News.

Vitale will continue to cover college hoops online, on his website and at the ESPN website. But he won't be doing any games until February 2008.

While we all wish Dickie V a speedy and full recovery, one cannot help but wonder: Who will ESPN pick to do Vitale's games? Will ESPN go after an outside analyst for the spotlight games, "promote" one of their current analysts in the "star analyst" role, or "rotate" their existing analysts in those slots?

Live-blogging my Week #6 BlogPoll Top 25 vote

My vote for week #6 of the BlogPoll top 25 is going to be wacky, but in a good way. When I vote in the blog polls, I do not use the same approach used by the AP and Coaches polls, which causes some teams to be ranked/unraked despite "conventional wisdom" which really is just "programming" from following the way the AP/Coaches poll "moves" when teams win or lose regardless of how they played, who they played, and the circumstances of the game.

Let's not forget that the Top 25 is not a single-elimination vote like the NCAA tourney, but an "overall picture" type of ranking with a blend of past, present and future mixed in.

One more thing, I will be "honoring" the RPI by voting the #1 team in the RPI at #25 or higher each week. This week the Miami Hurricanes are the #1 team in the RPI (Kenpom.com), so I will add them to my top 25. Where? Read on to find out!

I'm saying all that because my #1 is *gasp* the hated Duke Pukedevils. While both North Carolina and Memphis are loaded with talent, the "truthiness" component of my vote feels that there's something missing from each team. Duke on the other hand has the extra benefit of getting 80-20 of the calls, and they have a more "basketball-friendly" style of play this year after Coach RatCase K "stole" from his assistants. D'Antoni's offense and Boeheim's defense!

Because of the UNC/Memphis "uncertainty", I am ranking Georgetown at #2. Georgetown is not going to dazzle and razzle but they are going to knockout a team out when the game is on the line.

With UNC and Memphis at #3 and #4, Texas, UCLA, Kansas, and Washington State are ranked #5 through #8.

The under-appreciated Butler Bulldogs are at #9, with the Indiana Phone Cheaters at #10. Marquette's power-trio of guards is also flying under the radar a little bit, given their impact, but they are getting #11 from me, which is one spot above the "Clyde do you miss us?" Texas A&M Aggies.

I reluctantly vote Izzo State at #13, and at #14, the Arizona Meercats! Yes, the Kevin O'Neill the Enforcer is starting to "toughen up" the team, with Bayless and Wise emerging as "tough cookies". The team has enough pure talent to be a top 10 team, but they are not there yet. The #14 might be a little bit generous, but I couldn't find anywhere else to put at #14 :-)

From here on, it's really a toss-up, if I voted one hour earlier, I would have come up with a different list :-) So here we go, into the hat they go, and out of the hat they come in this order: USC, Villanova, West Virginia, Vandy, and Xavier. Why Xavier? They looked average at best against Cincy and they got "owned" by Herb Sendek. Well, I have good excuses for both losses: Cincy was an emotional intracity rivarly, and Sendek was Sean Miller's former mentor/head coach. As you may recall, Sean Miller also got beat by former co-coach Charles Coles. Since they taught him everything he knows (ha!), they were able to beat him. So goes the theory anyways :)

More A-10 love as Rhode, Dayton and UMass are ranked next. Yes, UMass!

#1 RPI team Miami of Florida sits in at #23!

Now there's two spots left, and about 30 teams that I could make a case for. So, who gets in then? Well, let me throw the darts ;-) Based on "gut feeling", the Zags get #24 and the Donuts get #25!

Others receiving consideration, in no particular order: St Mary's, Louisville, Oregon, Arkansas, BYU, Cal, George Mason, UAB, Wright State, Miami of Ohio, and Syracuse.

So who is left out that may surprise some?

Tennessee: Look at who they played and how they played. Enough said!

Pitt and Clemson: Because of "past performance" by these two programs and coaches, they have to beat a top 25 team before I put them in the Top 25. Pitt, make my day and beat the Dookies on Thursday :-)

Injury report: Eric Devedorf out for the season

Sad news for Syracuse fans as Eric Devendorf is out for the season. This is a big blow for the Orange but the silver lining is that it would throw the "FlynnStones" even more into the fire and force them to mature more quickly.

More coverage on this at the Daily Orange, Orange Basketball blog, Cuse Country, and Orange Hoops.

North Carolina at Rutgers

"THE TARHEELS WERE AS GOOD AS WE THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE!", Denny Green would have said if he was the Rutgers college basketball coach.

The game was exactly as Denny Green's "trademark" phrase suggests, with Tywon Lawson getting a new career high with 26 (or so) including a healthy number of three-pointers made. Tyler Hansbrough hit his head on a camera man's knee and left the game with a few minutes left, and Rutgers saw a glimmer of hope, but that was quickly squashed by the rest of the Tar Heels - something that perhaps can make the Carolina fans feel less uneasy - at least they didn't have a Georgetown meltdown without Hansbro.

Convincing players to come off the bench became easier for Roy Williams (and other coaches to a lesser extend) after #3 NBA Draft pick Marvelous Marvin Williams came off the bench of the 2005 NCAA college basketball national championship team. And that's perhaps the role that Danny Green (no relation to the trademark/football coach) could play in this season's squad if it hopes for a national championship.

Ole Roy was not happy with a 9-man rotation so he mixxed in a little bit of William Graves and Copeland. Some people (read: Doug Gottleib) have a problem with that, I do not. If you have the players, play them! If you can mix it up and win, just do it!

There was once again an awkward offensive moment where Q. Thomas, Ginyard and Stephenson were on the floor at the same time. But this time it was quickly corrected as they made a quick substitution to add more offense to the line-up.

Rutgers on the other hand is on a long and winding rebuilding road. But the good news is that they have the right man for the job, Mr Jersey Fred Hill. He already brought in (read: kept in-state) a touted guard in Corey Chandler, with more talent in the pipeline. His current roster has a relatively low ceiling, especially playing in the 16-team Big East team, however the bottom of the Big East is "competitive" the wrong way at the moment, so they do have a chance of ...making the Big East tourney this year (last year only 12 make it in).

Meanwhile JR Inman has probably learned his lesson the hard way as his "statements" were empty, both scoreboard-wise and personal statline-wise. Win some games first JR Inman, and then run your mouth :-)

More on this game from the Tar Hell Times and Ball Hype. Meanwhile the Basketball Predictions blog projects North Carolina as their overall #1 in their latest Bracketology projections as of today (12/16/07).