Blog # 56

My Beloved 99 Bloggees:

The NCAA starts issuing bids to automatic qualifiers today, based on Conference Tournament Finals results. It all starts with the Atlantic Sun where Cinderella makes its first appearance as the 6th seeded North Florida Ospreys will battle top-seeded Belmont (my Sweet Sixteen pick) for the championship at 5:00 pm CST on the Deuce. It is just the 6th season, the Ospreys have been in Division I.

On Friday, North Florida (15 - 18, 10 - 10 Conference) upset Murry Bartow's 2nd seeded East Tennessee State Buccaneers (22 - 11, 16 - 4 Conference) 59 -55 to advance to the finals. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103040176 . Part of the reason was ETSU's poor 35 % shooting including Alabama transfer, Justin Tubbs,  1 for 8 from the perimeter and also missing his only 2-point field goal attempt.  The Tide surely haven't missed at all Tubbs'  37.3 % shooting throughout the year. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/60338   NEXT

Vanderbilt is breathing a sigh of relief, as their first round nemesis from last year's NCAA tourney, top-seeded Murray State, stubbed its toe against 4th seeded Tennessee Tech, in the one-bid Ohio Valley Conference semi-finals on Friday losing 64 - 59  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103040381 . Georgia transfer, Zac Swansey, knocked down a key, gutty three-pointer for Tennessee Tech with  24 seconds left stretching the lead to 5 points,  just after he looked to be in a great deal of pain injuring his wrist. Swansey also contributed 11 assists.

When Samford was in the OVC, I remembered seeing Tennessee Tech's head coach, Mike Sutton, barking instructions from a wheelchair while suffering from GBS, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare disorder that affects the nervous system.

http://www.ttusports.com/sports/mbkb/2009-10/releases/1_25_bkbtimes . Sutton, a former assistant to Tubby Smith, is an inspiration to us all...after undergoing intense rehab, he continues to coach and last reports indicate he only needs to use a cane to walk while wearing leg braces.

The following video of Sutton is a few years old, but worth watching, especially the touching part about his dear friend and mentor, Tubby.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CB8aIxQVu0  NEXT

My pick to win the OVC tourney, second-seeded Morehead State and their all-BB star Kenneth Faried, advanced to the finals defeating the Governors of Austin Peay, 68 - 49. Faried was Kevin Love-like with his 26th double-double of the year, 12 points on 6 for 8 shooting and 21 rebounds.  Oh by the way, the nation's leading rebounder, also blocked 8 shots and had 3 steals in a dominating performance.  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103040375 .

With top-seed Murray State out of the way, they can smell a bid. If fellow senior, 6 ' 4 Demonte Harper can repeat his Friday 25 point performance, former QB Phil Simms' alma mater could be doing the tango after tonight's game against Tennessee Tech on ESPN 2 beginning at 7:00 CST. Consider tuning in or taping some of the game to watch Faried both run the floor and attack the boards. It is a treat to see.  NEXT

You long-time bloggees know the answer to this previously asked slightly modified trivia question. Who leads the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage? It is former Gator, Matt Bonner, who has made 85 of his 161 right-shoulder three point shot for a whopping 52.8.  On Friday night he hit 6 of 7 from three-land against the Miami Heat in a 125 - 95 thrashing. Watch video highlights of Bonner here  http://www.nba.com/games/20110304/MIASAS/gameinfo.html .  THAT'S IT

Enjoy.....gigantic games today and tonight....Alabama trying to clinch at least a tie for the SEC title hosting Georgia....if Alabama wins then Florida needs a win at Vandy at 5:00 CST to claim the outright SEC championship....UAB, hosting Jeff Lebo's red-hot East Carolina squad, on Senior Night trying to solely win the Conference USA title and a near-certain NCAA bid,

Barry

Blog # 55 (a tad longer than usual)

My Beloved 99 Bloggees (Welcome Kap, Bruce, Barbara and Gregory)...we are so close to triple digits:

 

 

UAB, UAB, UAB. That is the cry on the Southside in Birmingham after the Blazers clinched at least a tie for the Conference USA regular season championship with a dramatic 67 - 66 road win over Southern Miss on Wednesday http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103020521 . After stud Gary Flowers gave Southern Miss a 2-point lead with 22 seconds left on a tough 18-footer, UAB freshmen, Preston Purifoy, nailed a rainbow three-pointer with less than 4 seconds for the gigantic victory.

 

It was a crazy game for UAB:

 

 

- They were 4 for 14 from the charity stripe for less than 29 %.

 

- The nation's leader in assists per game, UAB's 5 ' 8 Aaron Johnson, padded his lead with 14 against the Golden Eagles http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/stats . However, he was only 3 for 9 from the field.

 

- Their leading scorer, Jamarr Sanders ,was scoreless during the first half, but then scored 18 in the second half. 

 

 

See the highlights of this program-changing win for the Blazers. http://www.abc3340.com/global/category.asp?c=189742&clipId=5624821&topVideoCatNo=189741&autoStart=true  

 

For you bracket fillers, UAB could be a sleeper especially with star 6' 10 Cameron Moore making his first significant impact since his hand injury. He had a double-double with 12 points on 6 for 12 shooting and 11 rebounds in 36 minutes (the most important statistic). NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

North Carolina did their impersonation of UAB in its Wednesday road 72 - 70 win over FSU   http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103020213 . Down by 1 with 3 seconds left, the Heels also were bailed out by a freshman's three-pointer, as Harrison Barnes nailed the game-winner on his way to 18 points. See the highlights at http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6176364 .

 

John Henson and his 6' 10 frame had a double-double with 19 points on 7 for 11 from the field and 12 rebounds. Alabama transfer Justin Knox played 15 minutes scoring 2 points with three rebounds. FSU surely missed injured star Chris Singleton who is out for the year. Sorry bloggee Pete, I will have them one and gone in my bracket because of his absence.

 

Now it is time for the Duke Blue Devils to invade the Dean Dome on Saturday night with the # 1 seed in the ACC tourney at stake (Does Dick Vitale kinda like this game?). I wouldn't be surprised if these two teams meet again in the finals in a week. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tony Barbee has shown the basketball world that he can definitely coach. There is no better evidence than Wednesday night's 76 - 73 comeback victory over Mississippi when his War Eagles roared back from a 20 - point deficit for the win http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103020028 . These are the same players who I witnessed getting beat decisively 79 - 68  by the Samford Bulldogs in Auburn's new arena on November 19 and losing to Presbyterian 62 - 59 on December 18th.

 

When Barbee has more talent, it will be scary. You may remember, medical redshirt star, Frankie Sullivan, did play a few games this year and during that short stretch, they were undefeated including a 65 - 60  victory over NCAA-bound FSU, within a week of the Seminoles beating Duke. If Tony Barbee were a stock, I iwould nvest in him heavily. (Speaking of stocks, once again, look at my first cousin's company, Chembio Diagnostics, CEMI or CEMI.PK on Yahoo Finance now at ..45....they announced great earnings yesterday, have an amazing pipeline of patented rapid testing of HIV, TB and syphilis and apparently rebuked buyout offers not reflecting the true future value of this company. I know nothing except what everyone can see on the internet, but the upside is frightening and worth the small investment.)    NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

All-BB (Barry's Blog....got to let the new blogees know our lingo) player, Xavier's Tu Holloway, had a disappointing game from the field Wednesday, just 1 for 6, including 5 empty shots from three. The good news, he contributed 8 assists, deciding to pass to seniors during their last home game in the Muskateers 68 - 48 win over Charlotte http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103020682 . I like Xavier going to the Sweet Sixteen with their recent dominating play, winning 15 out of 16. (Of course my predictions now may vary once seedings are announced).  NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Clemson had a tough assignment on Wednesday...win at Duke on Senior Night to earn a ticket to the Dance. The Tigers were just down by 2 at the half and by 6 with 2 minutes left, but went scoreless the rest of the way in their 70 - 59 loss to Duke  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103020173 . Clemson shot just 30.4 % on 21 of  69 but did have 14 steals, harrassing  Blue Devils star, Nolan Smith, into 8 turnovers.

 

Some still say Clemson is barely in. Sorry bloggee Bebe, unless they perform miracles at the conference tournament, I believe their postseason appearance will begin with hosting an NIT game. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Binghamton Bearcats defeated Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers on Thursday night 91 - 65 in the first round of the America East Conference tourney http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103030346  . Besides being ESPN's Tony Kornheiser's alma mater, what is significant about Binghamton? Their coach is all-time Temple and Atlantic 10 scoring leader, Mark Macon http://www.bubearcats.com/sports/mbask/coaches.html .

 

The Bearcats have had a tough year, 4 - 12 in the conference and 7 - 22 overall. Macon has the difficult job of reviving a program that was associated with the dreaded word------scandal. Maybe this is a start http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/sports/ncaabasketball/12binghamton.html . NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tennessee is certainly in the Dance, but last night's performance has to continue the worry of Vol Nation. In its 73 - 69 victory at South Carolina on Senior Night http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103030525 , once again, other than the Tobias Harris and his 25 points along with Scotty Hopson and his 24 points, the Vols did very little else offensively. They were also hammered on the boards 33 - 22.

 

Their saving grace was going to the gift lane 21 more times than the Gamecocks, 34 versus 13 and Gamecocks freshman (former sensation) Bruce Ellington suffering another sub-30 % shooting performance, 3 of 13  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/97663 .

 

My apologies to bloggees AJ, Pace, Karen, Eli, Paul, Bebe and other Orange checkerboard supporters, but I would not plan travel to any of the Sweet Sixteen sites. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great story on the Birmingham ABC local sports about BB-favorite, the nation's top Division 1 women's free throw shooter and Southern conference player of the year, Samford's Emily London. Check out the 90-second clip http://www.abc3340.com/global/category.asp?c=189742&clipId=5616358&topVideoCatNo=189741&autoStart=true .

 

This just in. Friday morning, in Samford's quarterfinal 57 - 48 win over Western Carolina  http://samfordsports.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/stats/2010-2011/sam0304.html  Emily made all 8 of her free throws boosting her percentage to 93.7% . Gulp. She is also second in the country among the ladies in three-point shooting. After this morning's 1 for 3 , she is 78 for 160 or 48.8 %. Holy Toledo!   NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Jacksonville University suffered an upset loss 68 - 64 to crosstown rival North Florida in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Sun tourney http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103030281 on Thursday. Florida fans were rooting for JU to win the tourney to show the NCAA committee that its early season overtime loss to them was to a NCAA-bound midmajor.

 

Plus, I had them winning the tourney in a pool (no money, just bragging rights) I entered, thanks to bloggee Kevin # 1, where you have to pick each of the conference tournament winners...no easy task. I am already out of the Big South, picking Charleston Southern in another upset reach. Here are my picks of the early tournaments that have already started or will have started through the weekend, so you can vicariously participate with me in this unique pool:

 

America East,  -   Vermont

 

Atlantic Sun,  - Jacksonville - OUT

 

Big Sky,  - Weber State

 

Big South, - Charleston Southern - OUT

 

Colonial Athletic, - Drexel

 

Horizon, -  Butler

 

Metro Atlantic, -  Fairfield

 

Missouri Valley,  - Creighton

 

Northeast, - Quinnipiac

 

Ohio Valley, - Morehead State

 

Patriot, - American

 

Southern, - Wofford

 

Summit,  - IUPUI

 

Sun Belt  - Arkansas State

 

West Coast. - Gonzaga  

 

THAT"S IT

 

 

 

 

Enjoy....Samford men play tonight in the first round of the Southern Conference tourney.....hoops galore continue for the next month....my DVR will have smoke coming out of it,

 

 

Barry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog # 54

My Beloved 95 Bloggees:

 

 

Florida played a nearly perfect second half on Tuesday to beat a tough, gritty Alabama squad 78 - 51 on Senior Night in Gainesville http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/men/boxscore.php?gameid=9470 . With 15 minutes left, the Tide cut the lead to 39 - 38. I could feel the tension and see the excitement at Buffalo Wild Wings among the pro-Bama crowd at that point and then the Gators put on a clinic.

 

Defensively, they limited the Tide to my standard of excellence, less than a point a minute the rest of the game, 13 points from that 15 minute mark. Offensively, after starting out the game empty from the perimeter on their first ten attempts, the Gators converted 8 out of 11, including 6 for 9, again from that 15 minute mark. Florida scored 48 points in the second half shooting 69 % against the best defensive team in the SEC, a tremendous accomplishment.

 

The Selection Committee should treat this as a "road Senior Night" mulligan for the Tide. They deserve a bid. You could tell in the first half that their quickness especially at the point with freshman Trevor Releford  poses big  problems, preventing teams from penetrating. Florida could not get in the flow in the first half because of it (and missing open shots).  Like any team, if the opposition becomes unconcious shooting threes it is going to stretch out the defense like Florida did to Bama Tuesday night. Otherwise, Alabama has proven to be an outstanding defensive team that would be a force, especially at neutral sites, in March.

 

For a detailed recap of the game attended by bloggee Kevin, go to   http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20110301/ARTICLES/110309944/1136?p=2&tc=pg&tc=ar  For Billy's memorable post-game press conference, go to  http://www.gatorvision.tv/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=756147&db_oem_id=6500 . As bloggee Chip # 1 says "it is must-see online TV."  NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

North Carolina continued climbing up the seeding ladder with its Sunday 87 - 76 home win over Maryland to the glee of bloggees Sean, Hank and Fred  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102270413  . The Heels have won 10 of their last 11 with their only loss in that stretch being at Duke 79 - 73 last month...with a chance for revenge this Saturday at the Dean Dome. 

 

The Tar Heels 7-footer  Tyler Zeller had 25 points on an efficient 10 of 16. John Henson at 6 ' 10 grabbed 15 rebounds while Kendall Marshall dished out 10 assists for a well-rounded team effort. Anyone dressed in blue miss Larry Drew II? By the way, Alabama transfer Justin Knox in  12 minutes scored 4 points and had 2 rebounds (averaging 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds during the year) http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/72893 .

 

Maryland's hopes to do the March cha-cha faded even more after the defeat. However, 6 ' 10 Jordan Williams had an impressive double-double with 19 rebounds and 16 points on 8 for 16 from the field. The Turtles were led in scoring by Terrell Stoglin, the freshman guard who had 28 points on 11 for 20 shooting. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

The Gators keep getting good news with regard to December-victim Kansas State who defeated the # 7 Texas Longhorns 75 - 70 in Austin on Monday night. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102280585 . You talk about two teams going in opposite directions. Kansas State has won 5 in a row including ranked Kansas, Missouri and Texas. Meanwhile the Longhorns started the Big 12 with an 11 - 0 record. They have now lost 3 of their last 4.

 

When it comes to filling out the brackets, I like red-hot KSU with senior point guard, Jacob Pullen and their intense head coach, Frank Martin to go a long way.  Read the comments below from Manhattan, KS bloggee Charlie:

 

"Jordan Henrique's-Roberts, the seven footer, he has really blossomed with the added minutes and is a total surprise.  Curtis Kelly coming back to the team has been a real lift but probably the biggest change was when Frank Martin completely scrapped
his low post offense (after four BIG XII league games) and switched to the high post triangle wing offense you saw last night. This has relieved Pullen of setting up a play out front on his own and has freed him up to move without the ball....something he does very well.  In retrospect the reason for the switch was obvious, his bigs were not producing, but you have to give him credit...not many coaches would maket hat switch in the middle of a league race and coming off the success of his low post offense last year.  I was skeptical---it looked like desperation....then again it probably was.    Thanks, Charlie. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just looked up the word "letdown" in the dictionary and one of the definitions was "Virginia Tech losing at home to BC 76 - 61."   http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=20110301062  That is exactly what happened on Tuesday night, just three days after its 64 - 60 home upset victory over Duke which seemed to clinch an NCAA bid for the Hokies.

 

As Lee Corso would say, "not so fast, my friend". If Virginia Tech loses at Clemson on Saturday and then the first round game of the ACC.......they could be O U T. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of letdown, I thought Kentucky might suffer one after beating Florida on Saturday. It almost happened in Lexington Tuesday evening, but the Wildcats held off the Vanderbilt Commodores 68 - 66  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103010292 . Kentucky led by DeAndre Liggins helped slow down Vandy stud John Jenkins limiting him to 10 shots, who made 5 of them for just 16 points, below his average of 19.5 per game.

 

Josh Harrellson's pressure caused Vandy's Festus Ezeli to misplay a potential game-tying lob in the waning seconds to give Kentucky the exciting victory. See the highlights.  http://espn.go.com/video/clip?categoryId=2459792&id=6173170  Harrellson was the only Kentucky player to be honored on Senior Night, while Ezeli was having a double-double evening with 13 rebounds and 23 points on 8 for 13. NEXT

 

 

 

 

Gator Transfer Update

 

Jonathan Mitchell was only 2 for 11 (0 for 3 deep) on Sunday for Rutgers in the 65 - 54 home loss against West Virginia. He now averages 14.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/60343

 

Jai Lucas hit his only shot on Monday, a three-pointer, in Texas's Monday loss described above http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/73055 . He is scoring 3 points with 1 assist per game.

 

Eloy Vargas hit his only shot on Tuesday but had 3 personal fouls in 4 minutes in Kentucky's Tuesday victory described above http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/81431 . Vargas is averaging 1.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.  THAT'S IT

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy......UAB has a critical game at Southern Miss tonight....the conference tournaments continue.....on SportsSouth 6:00 CST tonight it is Chicago versus Atlanta in the NBA which means Noah against Horford,

 

 

 

 

Barry

 

Blog # 53

My Beloved 95 Bloggees:

 

 

Kentucky and Duke are very similar this year.....impossible to beat at home and vulnerable on the road.

 

On Saturday, Kentucky showed its home court advantage with a convincing 76 - 68 victory over the 13th ranked Gators http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/men/boxscore.php?gameid=9469 . The Wildcats had pinpoint accuracy shooting  51.7 % for the game with Darius Miller leading the way with 24 points on 9 for 15 shooting. Kentucky also was effective from the perimeter shooting 50 % on 7 for 14. The final nail to the Gators' coffin  was allowing Kentucky's Josh Harrelson to gather 12 rebounds, 6 offensively.

 

When Kenny Boynton has a solid offensive game like he had on Saturday scoring 21 points for the Gators, it usually results in a victory. But the power and mystique of Ashley Judd Arena proved to much for another visiting team. For a more detailed recap from bloggee Kevin who was at the game, click here  http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20110226/ARTICLES/110229558/1056/gatorsbasketball?Title=No-13-Gators-fall-at-Kentucky

 

On the other hand, Duke displayed once again why they are not the typical Duke when not playing in front of the Cameron Crazies (now just 10 - 3 with a suitcase). On Saturday night at Virginia Tech, the Hokies rallied in the second half to defeat the top-ranked Blue Devils 64 - 60 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201102260620 virtually securing an NCAA bid for 19 - 8 Virginia Tech who are also 9 - 5 in the ACC . Bloggee Bob had to be ecstatic with his alma mater's performance, especially outrebounding Duke 42 - 35 and limiting sharpshooter Seth Curry to  0 for 2 shooting in his 15 minutes before fouling out. Remember Seth's dad, Dell Curry, a sharpshooter himself, starred at Virginia Tech before his stellar NBA career.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Like Florida, Alabama could not maintain its winning ways before their showdown on Tuesday night.  The Tide fell Saturday at Ole Miss at the "Tad" 68 - 63 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102260365 . Alabama is hoping that freshman point guard, Trevor Releford, is not getting "Bruce Ellingtonitis" or running out of gas down the stretch the way his South Carolina counterpart continued his descent with a 3 for 12 shooting performance and zero assists in Saturday's 64 - 48 loss at Georgia http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/97663 .

 

Against Ole Miss, Releford had his second consecutive game with a "bagel" in the assists column and a poor field goal shooting percentage, 3 for 9 accuracy after a 1 for 4 performance on Wednesday against Auburn http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/97701  As the late legendary coach and broadcaster Al McGuire always emphasized, "you cut the head off, you kill the body".  In other words, if you can take the opposing point guard out of his game, you have a good chance of winning. Apparently the Tide's opposing teams are starting to listen to Al's sage advice. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday's game at Knoxville between Mississippi State and Tennessee is a "poster child" of why it is crazy to bet on college hoops. The Starkville Bulldogs just finished losing at home to lowly LSU 84 - 82 on Wednesday. The Smoky Mountain Volunteers figured they wrote their ticket to Jim Nantz Land with its Tuesday night upset at Vanderbilt 60 - 51. Then what happens?

 

Mississippi State pulls off a last second 70 - 69 upset with a dunk http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102260580 . Scotty Hopson played his normal outstanding game with 22 points on 8 for 16 from the field, but not much else  was contributed offensively by the Vols. Check out some of Bruce Pearl's strong postgame comments http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Lz16GpZXU  "we have competitors but not leaders"..... starters Scotty Hopson, Tobias Harris and Melvin Goins are significantly better than their backups". Ouch. 

 

With the second toughest schedule in the nation and an RPI of 34  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/polls?poll=5  , the 17 - 12 (7 - 7 in the SEC) Vols still look like they are dancing if they can win one of their two last games, at South Carolina or at home against Kentucky. I don't want to see anyone in the NCAA's with a sub-500 conference record unless they win the conference tourney. NEXT

 

 

 

 

Look who has sole possession of first place in Conference USA? The UAB Blazers, after its 68 - 55 road win at Houston http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102260254 are now in a unique position for them....leading the pack in March. Freshman 6 ' 5 guard Preston Purifoy is capitalizing on his increased playing time because of Cameron Moore's injury (who is now back playing limited minutes), with his second straight double-digit scoring game, this time with 17 points. It was also his second consecutive game shooting 3 for 6 from beyond the arc  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/97359.  Aaron Johnson had 10 assists solidifying his position as # 1 in the country with 7.6 assists a game  http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/stats .

 

So now, coach Mike Davis can get the critics off his back, including me, with a victorious final week of the regular season which should take the Blazers and their current 31 RPI to the Big Dance. It starts off with a revenge game at Southern Miss (41 RPI) and coach Larry Eustachy, who dropped out of first place on Saturday with a heartbreaking 65 - 64 road loss to UCF on a deep three-pointer with less than 4 seconds left http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-02-26/sports/os-ucf-southern-miss-basketball-0227-20110226_1_rompza-sophomore-guard-marcus-jordan-gary-flowers . (It did help the Gators who lost to UCF in December).  Then UAB closes its season on Saturday hosting East Carolina and former Auburn coach and Tar Heel standout, Jeff Lebo, who seems to have righted the Pirates ship with back-to-back victories including a gigantic 83 - 76 upset of  UTEP last Wednesday http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/eac/schedule .  NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

The University of Texas players along with bloggee Kevin must have been strutting with their thumbs in their armpits with their 22 - point lead at Colorado in the first half on Saturday. Then they got "Alec Burks-ed" when the 6' 6 guard laid a double-double on them with 33 points on 10 for 21 shooting and 10 rebounds leading the Buffaloes to a 91 - 89 comeback win over the Longhorns http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102260125 . A month ago, bloggee Charlie from Big 12 country in Kansas warned me about this guy, touting him as a future NBA player http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/88801 . Those watching in Boulder during this game had to agree with Charlie. 

 

The Horns can't lay much blame on the loss to Gator transfer Jai Lucas. He only played 5 minutes missing his only shot attempt, a three-pointer. NEXT 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FSU has now won 4 out of 5 and are a lock for an NCAA bid with its 20 - 8 record, third in the ACC (10 - 4). Even though their superstar, Chris Singleton, is out for the year after foot surgery, the 'Noles keep winning such as in Saturday's 65 - 59 win against state rival, Miami http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102260213 .

 

In the first half the Seminoles limited the Hurricanes to the BB (Barry's Blog) standard of defensive excellence, less than a point a minute or 16 points while enjoying a 20-point lead at the break. Then Miami's 6 ' 10  303 lb center, Reggie Johnson, started getting funky with his 17 points on 7 for 11 shooting and 12 rebounds with 8 on the offensive  end. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/81078 . But FSU's Okaro White and Deividas Dulkys scored 17 points each to hold off the 'Canes who will probably be playing in a three-initial post-season tournament. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

What is a college basketball blog without mentioning All-BB Frank Hassell and Old Dominion. So I have to point out that the Monarchs outrebounded Bill and Mary on Saturday 46 -14 on their way to their 77 - 58 victory http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102260447 . Hassell had another double - double with 18 points on 6 of 9 shooting and 12 rebounds. Do you think this  5th-year senior is counting the days to post-season?  NEXT

 

 

 

 

The Gators are hoping the NCAA Selection Committee is looking the other way with respect to Saturday's game at DeLand, FL when Stetson defeated the Gator killers, Jacksonville University 70 - 62 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201102260548 . The Hatters were playing their final game for their coach, Derek Waugh, who is stepping down after 11 season. Waugh's 120 wins are second-most in Stetson history.....blogee Coach Glenn Wilkes, Sr has those honors with 552 victories. By the way, his son, Glenn Wilkes, Jr just surpassed that win total with 553 as head coach of the Rollins College Lady Tars in Winter Park, FL. That is a lot of family victory cigars!  THAT'S IT.

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy.....the Birmingham Tipoff Club speaker in about an hour is former Purdue head coach and current St. John's special assistant/adviser, Gene Keady http://online.wsj.com/article/AP6fd54a8f218a491abcd9850ecab8a643.html ...Gators and Alabama on ESPNU at 6:00 CST...a bunch of Tide fans and I will be watching at Buffalo Wild Wings on 280, come on by you locals...even though it is a home game for the Gators in Gainesville, it will feel like a road game here in Birmingham,

 

 

 

 

Barry