My Beloved 95 Bloggees:
Just like the Gators' trip to the Plains last month, Alabama struggled mightily in its 51 - 49 victory over Auburn http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/scoreboard?d=2011-02-23&refresh=60 . I will take a break and provide you with the recap furnished by bloggee Steve who viewed the entire game:
Ugly game from the start. Bama had 1 point in the first 6 minutes and trailed by 10 or more for most of the game. Bama could do nothing against the Auburn Zone defense. They were 11 of 42 for the game. That's right, a whopping 26% shooting from the field. I could probably throw the ball backwards over my head 42 times and make at least 11 of them. There was a turnover on virtually every possession. Bama had 19 and Auburn had 23! You would have thought the ball was a ticking time bomb. Nobody wanted anything to do with it.
I have never seen a more timid team trying to bring the ball up the court than Auburn. Their point guards were constantly backing up under Bama's full and half court pressure. It seemed like everytime they took a step forward it was followed by two or three steps back. What happened to attacking the press?
At the end of the day, Bama won the game by being able to get to the free throw line 40 times. They didn't shoot the ball well from the stripe (67%), but they got there enough to put them over the hump.
Fine recap, bloggee Steve. In fact, too good. I am worried you may start your own blog! NEXT
When it comes to the SEC, Kentucky is no Roger Miller http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmOe27SJ3Yc they are not "King of the Road". Their road record in the conference dropped to 1 - 6 after its 77 - 76 Wednesday overtime loss to Arkansas. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102230019 .
Rotnei Clarke led the Hogs with 26 points, converting 11 out of 12 free throws, a stat you all know I cherish. It is not a good sign when a team plays seven players in an overtime game and the seventh player is Gator transfer, Eloy Vargas, who played just two minutes for the Wildcats. Stacey Poole Jr., whose Pop was a Gator basketball standout from 1989 -1993 and 4th all-time career points leader (behind 4-year players Ronnie Williams, Andrew Moten and Udonis Haslem,) did the same thing as John Calipari during the game.....he watched it from the Kentucky bench. NEXT
Although grateful for the road SEC win on Sunday I was a tad disappointed that lowly LSU gave the Gators so much trouble, making a game out of it near the end before Florida went on to victory. Imagine how supporters of Mississippi State felt after Wednesday night's loss at home to that same rebuilding LSU team 84 - 82 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102230366 .
Other than the home victory over the Gators last month 71 - 64 when Florida was 9 for 19 from the free throw line, http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201101290366 Mississippi State's 14 - 13 record does not include any other significant wins leading to an astronomical 145 RPI rating for the SEC school. Rick Stansbury should be glad that spring football is soon upon us to deflect the attention away from his disappointing season. NEXT
Ex- Auburn coach Jeff Lebo helped out a former in-state competitor, UAB, with his East Carolina Pirates' 83 - 76 Conference USA upset victory over the sliding UTEP Miners http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102230178 . UTEP's loss was its third out of its last four games dropping them into a three-way tie for 4th a game out of 1st where there is also a three-way tie: UAB, Southern Miss and Memphis http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/standings . Ladies and gentlemen, we have a horse race in Conference USA. NEXT
Chip # 2 is doing cartwheels as his hometown Cincinnati Bearcats virtually clinched an NCAA bid with its 58 - 46 upset victory over the 11th ranked Georgetown Hoyas http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201102230229 on Wednesday. With its 9 - 6 conference record along with an unbeaten 13 - 0 nonconference record, this will be the first time that Mick Cronin dances as the head man during his five years in Pete Rose City.
Be sure to note, you bracket fillers, that Georgetown lost its senior starting point guard, Chris Wright, to a broken hand. He was averaging 13.1 points and 5.4 assists per game including 26 points last Saturday at South Florida in the 61 - 55 victory http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/73264 . A story has already come out that he should be back by the beginning of the tournament, but if he is back, how effective will he be? I will have the Hoyas watching the Sweet Sixteen. NEXT
All-BB Noah Dahlman was back to his high-percentage ways on 9 for 11 shooting for 23 points as Wofford demolished Chattanooga 97 - 58 on the road http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102230581 . He is currently 6th in the country with a shooting percentage of 62.7 %. Wofford seems to be peaking at the right time with the Southern Conference tournament next week which happens to also be at Chattannoga, the site of Wednesday night's stellar performance. THAT'S IT
Enjoy.....big TV hoops night.....Florida vs. Georgia at 6:00 CST on ESPN 2....there is an All-BB player double header on ESPNU, at 6:00 CST Frank Hassell and Old Dominion clashes with James Madison while Kenneth Faried of Morehead State and his nation-leading 14.2 rebounding average, clashes with Murray State at 8:00 CST.....Joakim Noah and the Chicago Bulls match up with the Miami Heat at 7:00 CST on TNT....I am already exhausted,
Barry
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