Blog # 61

My Beloved 104 Bloggees (Welcome Billy):

 

 

Donnie Jones's UCF Knights continued its downfall on Wednesday with a 75 - 60 loss to Jeff Lebo's East Carolina Pirates (more on them later) 75 -60 in the first round of the Conference USA tourney http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103090178 . Marcus Jordan, son of "Air", had a poor offensive night, 1 for 11 from the field, including 0 for 3 from the perimeter, finishing with 9 points.

 

What an up and down season for former Gator top assistant, Jones. He was on top of the Southern basketball world at the beginnng of January with a 14 - 0 record, including a 57 - 54 victory over Florida, and a national ranking. Then they lose their next 8 games, all within the conference. The Knights followed with an upsurge winning 5 of 6, but ended on a sour note losing their last three games, including at Marshall, where fans were quite hostile to their former coach. One report indicated UCF is hoping for a bid to the CBI postseason tournament....that is sad.  http://ucf.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1198328 . NEXT

 

 

 

Georgetown lost Wednesday to Connecticut 79 - 62 in a preliminary round of the Big East tournament http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103090229 . What is significant about that loss is senior point guard Chris Wright sat it out nursing a broken left hand, injured in a February 23rd game at Cincinnati. The Hoyas only had 6 assists during the entire game.....Wright averages over 5.

 

If Wright is not available for the NCAAs or even if a rusty version of himself can play, I would stay away from them when filling out the brackets. NEXT

 

 

 

Can you imagine the feeling when someone kicks you in the gut? That is how UAB fans, players and coaches must feel after the regular season champs of Conference USA lost Thursday in overtime to Jeff Lebo's East Carolina Pirates 75 - 70 in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103100034 .

 

Eastern Carolina is a team that UAB defeated at home just 5 days earlier in Birmingham by 18 points on Senior Night. Aaron Johnson, the gutty senior 5' 8 point guard, the C-USA's player of the year and the nation's leader in assists per game, scored 39 points, a tournament record in the defeat. Fellow senior, Jamarr Sanders, had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. This might shock you for an overtime game......no other teammate scored over four points in the 45-minute game. With no wins against teams who may make the NCAA tourney, UAB could be disappointed on Selection Sunday after this disappointing loss.  NEXT

 

 

 

Georgia just had too much size for Auburn Thursday in the Bulldogs' 69 - 51 victory in the first round of the SEC tourney  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103100230 . Travis Leslie and Trey Thompkins each grabbed 10 rebounds, so together they had one less than Auburn's team total of 21 (Georgia had 36 total). Both Bulldogs had a double-double scoring 12 and 22 points respectively. The talk is that the winner of the Georgia - Alabama quarterfinal game today earns a bid to the Big Salsa. NEXT

 

 

 

 

Florida's next opponent will be Tennessee in tonight's quarterfinals of the SEC tournament. The Vols barely squeaked out a 74 - 68 victory in the first round over Arkansas after squandering a 16-point lead late in the game http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103100019 . What was remarkable about the win was  Vols star Scotty Hopson failed to score in double figures with 8 points.

 

For a preview of the Florida-Tennessee game from bloggee Kevin # 1 who is in Atlanta covering the game for the Gainesville Sun, click on http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20110310/ARTICLES/110319943/1136?Title=Gators-motivated-to-cut-nets . To see and hear what Louisville coach, Rick Pitino, father of Gator assistant Richard, thinks of the Gators' chances in the NCAA tournament, click on http://brockway.blogs.gatorsports.com/11028/pitino-says-gators-are-ncaa-tourney-sleepers/  NEXT 

 

 

 

 

In what could have been a farewell party to North Carolina State's head coah and former star, Sidney Lowe, the Wolfpack lost Thursday to Maryland 75 - 67 in the first round of the ACC tourney http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103100343 . The Terps' Jordan Williams was just too much for the Felines with his double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds.

 

As I predicted in an earlier blog, former Lady Gator basketball coach, NC State athletic director, Deborah Yow, will annoint her former colleague (when he was a Gator men's assistant coach), current assistant to Lowe and legendary Wolfpack player, Monte Towe, as the new coach of the Raleigh university. THAT'S IT.

 

 

 

Enjoy, I am going to give you a break until the beginning of next week when we can analyze the brackets...amazing hoops this weekend including Selection Sunday....don't forget tonight is another Noah - Horford battle in the Hawks-Bulls battle on SportSouth,

 

 

 

Barry

 

 

 

Blog # 60

My Beloved 103 Bloggees (Welcome Graham):

 

 

 

They're back.....last year's national runner-up, the Butler Bulldogs, won the Horizon League Conference Tournament again defeating Wisconsin-Milwaukee 59 -44 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103080654 . After the Feb 3rd loss to lowly Youngstown State, their third defeat in a rown, many, including me, thought this team was still feeling the blues over losing Gordon Hayward and were destined to the NIT.  Well, they haven't lost since, winning 9 straight and could be an interesting pick for our brackets. The Bulldogs are playing just the way you want going into the Big Paso Doble (for all you Dancing with the Stars aficionados).

 

They still have a lot of experience, including Tuesday's leading scorers, Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack,  who had 18 and 14 points respectively.  Andrew Smith, a 6' 11 center, has made a recent impact with his inside presence. By the way, last year's starting point guard, Birmingham's Ronald Nored, has lost his starting point guard slot and was empty on all 5 of his shots in the conference championship final.    NEXT

 

 

 

It was probably too much pressure on him. The last couple of blogs have lauded the brilliant performances of North Texas's Tristan Thompson in the Sun Belt Conference tournament. Well, during the finals, he did score 15 points, but was just 4 for 12 from the field (although 2 for 4 deep) as the Mean Green lost to Arkansas-Little Rock on a three-pointer with 1.5 seconds from Solomon Bozeman. The hero of the night, finished with 20 points on 6 for 12 shooting.

 

North Texas was up by 7 with less than two minutes left but couldn't hang on. What a gut-wrenching loss for the Mean Green but a memorable win for UALR.  Watch the winning shot.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfBD_g8Mzyw  NEXT

 

 

 

In a battle between bloggee Barbara's Princeton at bloggees Eli's and Irby's Penn, the Tigers prevailed in a 70 - 58 victory resulting in a tie for first place in the Ivy League regular season which determines the NCAA bid because there is no conference tourney  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103080460 . Princeton will play Tommy Amaker's Harvard on Saturday at a neutral site, Yale University....where I saw Led Zeppelin and a "Whole Lotta Love" play in 1970 http://www.ledzeppelin.com/venue/yale-bowl .

 

Back to Tuesday night's game. Princeton played two distinctly different halves. The first one received "boos" from this blog for scoring less than a point a minute, 19 points. But they regrouped and prevented the Quakers from being spoilers, by scoring 51 points for the win. Princeton coach Sydney Johnson was the 1997 Ivy League Player of the Year and led the Tigers to two NCAA tournaments. He is hoping that he will be leading them there as a head coach after this Saturday.  NEXT

 

 

 

To football...."Complete....to Alvarez". Gator fans from 1969 - 1971 heard legendary play-by-play man, Otis Boggs, say those three words 172 times during the career of Florida great Carlos Alvarez (with most of the throws coming from quarterback John Reaves).  He is Florida’s all-time leading receiver, having compiled 2,563 yards during his career. He still holds records in passes caught in a single game (15 vs. Miami, 1969) and most 100-yard games in a season (8).

On Tuesday, Alvarez was named to appear on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot. What a terrific wide receiver...hoping he gets in!  http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_college_uf/2011/03/former-gators-wr-carlos-alvarez-named-to-college-football-hall-of-fame-ballot.html Thanks to bloggee Harold for the tip earlier today.  THAT'S IT

 

 

 

Enjoy........the power conference tourneys are getting in full gear....bubble teams are hoping for no upsets in other conference tournaments,

 

 

 

Barry

Blog # 59

Why would Crimson Tide fans care about the finals of the Metro Atlantic Conference Tourney?  Alabama lost to St. Peter's in November 50 - 49, but the stigma of that "bad loss" lessened when the Peacocks defeated Iona Monday night for an NCAA bid 62 -57 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103070275 . Selection Committee, take note.   NEXT

In a battle of All-BB (Barry's Blog) players, Wofford and Noah Dahlman defeated College of Charleston and Andrew Goudelock 77 - 67 to win the Southern Conference tournament. Dahlman, with the nation's 5th highest field goal percentage at 61.2 %, barely had another infrequent sub-.500 shooting day, 7 for 15, but his 21 points and 9 rebounds were keys to the Terriers' victory especially down the stretch.  Goudelock led Charleston with 25 points on 9 for 20 shooting including 4 for 8 from the perimeter, some of them from eye-popping deep range.

For you bracket fillers, Wofford hardly plays anyone over 6 ' 6, but their key players are all wise seniors, which I love at tournament time.  Tim Johnson, at 6' 6 and 225 is impressively chiseled like a linebacker and can keep bigger opponents out of the paint. If you remember, they gave a talented, large Wisconsin team trouble last year 53 - 49 in the NCAA's. I would not be surprised if they won an NCAA tournament game this year. NEXT

Now I get to boast about my top pick for a Sweet Sixteen appearance by a mid-major, red-hot Old Dominion. Yesterday's 70 - 65 victory against VCU in the Colonial Athletic Association tourney final was the Monarchs 9th straight http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/oah/schedule .

Once again ODU dominated their opponent on the boards, 34 - 21. All-BB Frank Hassell continued to show why he is such a force with 22 points on 8 for 9 shooting while also grabbing 9 rebounds  . He is a load at 6" 9  255 (bloggee Charlie from Norfolk insists he weighs much more) and should make a lasting impression on the NCAA tournament.  A dream matchup would be ODU vs. Morehead State to see Hassell go against all-BB and the nation's leading rebounder, Kenneth Faried, in a matchup of giants not seen since Hulk Hogan battled the late Andre the Giant in Wrestlemania III. We can hope.  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/oah/schedule . NEXT

I am not ashamed that I have developed a quick man-crush on North Texas's Tristan Thompson. Just a day after making all 20 of his free throws, this 6' 5 senior guard hand another stellar night lifting the Mean Green to an  81 - 62  thrashing of Western Kentucky (the Hilltoppers could have used Jordan Swing who transferred this year to UAB) in the semi-finals of the wide-open Sun Belt Tourney http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103070639 . Thompson put on a clinic with 28 points on 9 for 15 shooting, 4 for 6 long distance.

You have to love this time of the year when mid-major players, like the above-mentioned Thompson, Dahlman, Faried, Goudelock and Hassell get the center stage that they so richly deserve. NEXT

It has not been a fun couple of days for these college coaches whose nameplates are no longer on their office doors:

Jim Les  - Bradley (always tough to fire a former star player)

Perry Clark - TAMU Corpus Christi

Pat Knight - Texas Tech

Pat Kennedy - Towson

Tony Ingle - Kennesaw State (he was supposed to be the speaker at the final meeting of the Birmingham Tipoff Club next week)

Kirk Earlywine - Eastern Washington   NEXT

Look who is going to be announced as the new athletic director at Samford tomorrow? Martin Newton, son of C.M. and former Samford hoopster. He currently is the director of basketball operations at the University of Kentucky. You certainly can't complain about the legacy he brings. NEXT

Speaking of Samford, the city of Birmingham is still going crazy after the Lady Bulldogs upset top-seeded Appalachian State in Monday's finals of the Southern Conference tourney, 57 - 54 clinching a bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history http://samfordsports.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/stats/2010-2011/sam0307.html  .

Emily London Update. She nailed her first three free throws for Samford. Would you believe the nation's leader in free throw percentage, indirectly helped the team win by actually missing a free throw?  With 29 seconds left, down by 2, she drove to the basket and was fouled hard, landing on her wrist. I could see she was in pain watching the televised game. She missed the free throw but Samford got the offensive rebound and Paige Anderson nailed a three-pointer with 18 seconds left for the lead that was never relinquished.

Whenever I can get some of that March Madness frenzy, I will do it. So last night I was on the Samford campus with many students and supporters greeting the arriving bus carrying the champion Lady Bulldogs. You can't describe what it is like to be there when players, coaches and all those associated with a mid-major university, together experience the euphoria of making the NCAA tournament for the first time. This video captures the celebration. www.samford.edu/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=6442467272  THAT'S IT.

Enjoy.....the Big East starts the power conference tournaments today....more mid-major tournaments to watch tonight,

Barry

Blog # 58

My Beloved 100 Bloggees:

 

 

 

The Kentucky Wildcats spoiled Senior Night at Knoxville including the retirement of the jersey of all-time Vols scoring leader Allan Houston. Led by the shutdown defense of DeAndre Liggins on Scotty Hopson, limiting him to 2 of 10 shooting and 13 points  http://articles.centralkynews.com/2011-03-06/news/28660944_1_liggins-defense-scotty-hopson-uk , Kentucky "uglied" its way to a 64 - 58 win over Tennessee http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103060580 .

 

With both teams shooting under 40 %, Kentucky brought their lunch pails for a "blue-collar" road win. Brandon Knight who was held scoreless for all of the first half except the last 3 seconds, finished the game with 19 points leading the Cats offensively. Even Gator transfer, Eloy Vargas, contributed 3 points to the win making his only field goal attempt in his 7 minutes of play.

 

If Kentucky continues to get that type of defense from Liggins, that by itself will move the Wildcats up my bracket. Are the Vols in trouble at 18 - 13 and 8 - 8 in the SEC? With an 8 - 6 record against teams in the Top 50 based on RPI and important wins at Pitt and Vandy, they are probably still in.

 

Jay Bilas made some interesting comments on ESPN GameDay Saturday. He rebutted Bobby Knight's claim that the Selection Committee should first look at a team's bad losses, by indicating that a team's wins against top teams should be emphasized. His point was in the tournament, most of the time, "bubble teams" will be playing top teams so that should be the barometer for determining who gets into the tournament. Also, he is not a fan of RPI, calling it a Real Poor Indicator.

 

Speaking of Bilas, when he spoke to the Birmingham Tipoff Club a few years ago, he related his experience trying out for the Dallas Mavericks. After Coach Don Nelson saw him participate in practice, he came up to Bilas and asked him how well did he speak Italian? Hello, overseas basketball. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Gator victim, American University and its coach, former Virginia star player and head coach Jeff Jones, lost a heartbreaker and a bid to the NCAA's in double overtime  73 - 71 when 13 - 18 sixth-seed Lafayette's Jim Mower hit a three-pointer with less than a second left in the Patriot League championship game http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103060014 . It is games like these during tournament week that make college basketball so special  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JSy_SDhQnE . NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Brady's Arkansas State squad was upset in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament 59 - 52 by state rival Arkansas Little-Rock http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103060022 . Brady's Red Wolves had won the West Division during the regular season with an 11 - 5 rocord.

 

The overall winner of the Sun BeltConference, East Division winner and Gator victim, 13 - 3 Mike Jarvis's Florida Atlantic, also was upset in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament by North Texas 79 - 64  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103060221 . The Mean Green's Tristan Thompson deserves mention with his 36 points including, get this, 7 for 11 from the field including both three-point attempts and converting all 20 of his free throws!

 

 

By the way, also in the Sun Belt Quarterfinals, Isiah Thomas's FIU Golden Panthers had a BB (Barry's Blog) no-no...they scored less than a point a minute in its 73 - 38 loss to Kermit Davis's Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103060359 . It was a tough week for MTSU basketball as a member of the women's team, Tina Stewart, was stabbed to death on Wednesday by her roommate. At the end of this game, Davis inserted Stewart's boyfriend, walk-on K.C. Anuna, for the last three minutes in front of a supporting crowd, chanting “K.C., K.C., K.C.”  NEXT

 

 

 

 

Emily London Update. The nation's top free throw shooter in  Division I (men's and women's, recently passing Ole Miss's Chris Warren and his 93.5 %), hit all 6 of her free throws on Sunday, leading Samford to a 68 - 66 overtime thriller in the semi-finals of the Southern Conference tourney over host Chattanooga http://samfordsports.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/recaps/030611aaa.html .  So far in the tournament she is perfect from the gift lane making all 14 free throws and for the season is now an unbelievable 110 for 117 for just over 94 %.

 

At 3:00 CST today on SportSouth, London and her # 2 seeded Samford Bulldogs try to earn a bid to the NCAA tourney with a win over top-seeded Appalachian State...Father and Daughter Bloggees Jeff and Alison are there.....Go Dogs!  (She just hit her first two free throws in the finals.) NEXT

 

 

 

 

Below is the all-BB (Barry's Blog) team of relatively unknown mid-major players (sorry Jimmer...everyone knows you). Three of the five played on Sunday and all advanced to conference tournament finals on Monday;

 

 

Kenneth Faried - Morehead State - With his team's automatic bid as the Ohio Valley Conference tournament champion, he will be showcasing his talent next week as the nation's leading rebounder at a ridiculous 14.5 per game (second is Ryan Rossiter of Siena at 13.2, third is Jordan Williams of Maryland 11.6). Faried is also the nation's leader in field goal percentage at a whopping 64.4 % (second is Leon Powell at Southeast Missouri State at 63.0, third is Brian Qvale of Montana at 62.7 %) http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/stats

 

Tu Holloway - Xavier - In the previous blog, I erroneously indicated that Holloway scored 25 in a conference tournament game. It was actually the regular season finale at St. Louis.

 

Frank Hassell - Old Dominion  - In a CAA Conference tournament semifinal 77 - 69 victory over tough Hofstra, he was 6 for 9 from the field and 10 for 12 from the free throw line on his way to 22 points. His presence on the boards was unusually silent with just 4 rebounds http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103060447 .

 

Noah Dahlman - Wofford  - In the Southern Conference tournament semiinals, the nation's 5th best in field goal percentage, scored 18 points on uncharacteristic sub-.500 shooting,  9 for 15, but did hit 8 of 10 free throws leading the Terriers to a 86 - 72 victory over Western Carolina http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103060644

 

Andrew Goudelock - College of Charleston - In the Southern Conference tourney semifinals, even though he scored 31 points Goudelock had a poor shooting night, 8 for 28, taking more than half of his team's shots. His 12 for 14 free throw shooting was key to his team advancing past Furman into tonight's finals, 63 - 58. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103060107  .  THAT'S IT

 

 

 

Enjoy....in a battle of all-BBs, Dahlman vs Goudelock tonight at 8:00 on ESPN 2.......at 6:00 CST on ESPN  all-BB Frank Hassell against VCU coached by former UF assistant, Shaka Smart,

 

 

 

Barry

 

Blog # 57

My Beloved 100 Bloggees (Welcome Alison, taking us to triple digits!):

 

 

The Gators won sole possession of the SEC title Saturday with an impressive 86 - 76 win at the difficult Vanderbilt Rec Center  http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/men/boxscore.php?gameid=9471 .  

The highlight of the game was Kenny Boynton's outstanding defense on blog-favorite John Jenkins . Boynton fought through picks all night defending him, and Jenkins' numbers at the end (22 points on 9 for 15 shooting, 3 for 8 deep) did not tell the story of how well Boynton (and Scottie Wilbekin) defended such a great shooter, especially in the half court. When Jenkins was given just an inch to shoot, he showed in the second half that he is deadly.

 

A key play of the game was at the 8:20 mark of the second half when Boynton stripped Jenkins of the ball and then on the other end his Gator teammates set a triple pick (through which Jenkins navigated poorly) freeing him for an open three-pointer which he nailed to stretch the lead to 65 - 54. Just over a minute later, Boynton had his 6th four-point play of the season. You can't say enough about Boynton who expended so much energy shadowing the SEC's top scorer and still leading his team in scoring with 17 points.

 

Florida had great balance with the other four starters scoring no less than 13 points and Patric Young had effective minutes off the bench contributing 9 points and 5 rebounds along with 2 blocks. Erving Walker's clutch 10 for 11 free throw shooting, so crucial down the stretch, took Gator fans back to Taurean Green and his reliable efficiency from the stripe during the national championship years of 2006 and 2007. For a recap of the game from bloggee Kevin # 1 who was in Nashville, click here http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20110305/ARTICLES/110309697/1136?Title=Gators-own-sole-possession-of-SEC-title  NEXT

 

 

 

 

Alabama finished the season undefeated at home (16 - 0) on Saturday with a critical 65 - 57 victory over Georgia, http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=310640333 . It should lock up a bid for the Tide who finished 12 - 4 in the Conference, 20 - 10 overall. If a team wins 75 % of its games in a power conference, it should be going dancing, especially with 20 wins.

 

Charvez Davis hit 5 of 10 three-point attempts to give the Tide the offensive boost it needed. Like Boynton on the Gators, when Davis hits his shots, Alabama is very difficult to beat.

 

With Georgia's 20 - 10 record (9 - 7 in the Conference),  an RPI of 40 and 8 - 5 record on the road, the Dogs should join the Tide at the Prom. Its early season win against UAB turned out to be more helpful than originally thought at that time...see just below.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

At Bartow Arena, Three Dog Night should have been there playing "Celebrate" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXI6CdTVJ-0 as the UAB Blazers won the Conference USA Championship outright for the first time in 21 years with a convincing 66 - 48 home victory over East Carolina on Senior Night http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103050034  . The nation's leader in assists, senior Aaron Johnson, finished his regular season career with 9 assists and 11 points, joining 4 other teammates in double figures, including fellow senior, Jamarr Sanders who led the team with 15.

 

The Blazers achieved the BB standard of defensive excellence in the first half, allowing less than one point per minute, when the Pirates scored just 12 points! Listen to me NCAA Selection Committee, UAB must be invited to the Big Dance with their 28 RPI and this regular season championship. This is not the old Conference USA....6 teams are among the top 55 in RPI. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Look out for Belmont as they handily won the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament to seal an NCAA bid by defeating 6th seeded North Florida  87 - 46 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103050047 . The Bruins outrebounded the Ospreys 37 - 18, with 21 coming on the offensive end. Mick Hedgepeth at 6' 9  235 lbs had 23 points, on 10 of 17 and just missed a double-double with  9 rebounds. I look for  Belmont to continue its excellent postseason and could become the next Gonzaga....a mid-major teams fear each year in the NCAA tournament .   NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Jimmer Fredette showed why he may be the Player of the Year with 38 points in BYU's last home game, crushing Wyoming 102 - 78 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103050068 . Fredette hit 12 of his 24 shots, 4 of 9 from "way downtown" . Even after this big win, I still think your brackets need to stay away from BYU to go far in the NCAA's after losing its leading rebounder, 6' 9  235 lb Brandon Davies, for the rest of the year due to school "honor code" violations.

 

Speaking of Fredette, check out this video of  Jimmer, former BYU football coach LaVell Edwards and former BYU basketball 7' 6 giant Shawn Bradley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_v_NNkMCR0  . Thanks to my former high school baseball teammate Bloggee Pete for sending me the video. By the way, Pete won't mind if I tell you he is one of the founders of the Legends Poll (previously called the Master Coaches Survey).  It is an advisory poll comprised of 19 former college football coaches such as Bobby Bowden, Vince Dooley, Frank Broyles and Gene Stallings . They have their own college football rankings after viewing most of the games on DVD's that are sent to them weekly.  http://www.legendschannel.com/ . NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Regular season champ Coastal Carolina couldn't get it done in the finals of the Big South tourney under their coach Cliff Ellis, losing to UNC-Asheville 60 - 47 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recap?gid=201103050122 . The Chanticleers were hampered by injuries and grades and eligibility issues during the latter part of the season that were too much to overcome. NEXT

 

 

 

 

North Carolina, an NIT participant last year, will definitely have momentum going into the ACC tournament next week as the # 1 seed. The Heels soundly defeated its archrivals, the Duke Blue Devils,  81 - 67 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103050413 . As a team, North Carolina shot 52.4 % on 33 for 63, including Tyler Zeller sinking 7 of his 11 shots.

 

Freshman point guard sensation Kendall Marshall had a double-double, with 15 points and 11 assists (surpassing Duke's team total of 9). Duke's downfall was led by the continuing disappointing shooting of Kyle Singler who made just 3 of his 14 field goal attempts, coming up empty on his 5 three-point shots http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/72826 . Seth Curry scored 20 points for Duke including 6 for 11 from beyond the arc. His teammates missed all 16 of their three-point attempts. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is the all-BB (Barry's Blog) team of relatively unknown mid-major players (sorry Jimmer...everyone knows you). Notice how they all excelled on Saturday:

 

 

Kenneth Faried - Morehead State - In the finals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, the nation's leading rebounder and also tops in field goal percentage http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/stats  scored 24 points on 7 of 9 and had 15 rebounds to help lead the Golden Eagles to the NCAA's with a 80 - 73 victory over Tennessee Tech  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103050375 .

 

Tu Holloway - Xavier - In the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament quarterfinals, he had 25 points on 7 of 13 shooting, converting 3 of his 4 deep shots http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103050536 .

 

Frank Hassell - Old Dominion  - In a CAA Conference tournament quarterfinal 59 - 50 victory over Delaware, he was 9 for 13 from the field on his way to a double-double.....24 points and 10 rebounds http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103050447 .

 

Noah Dahlman - Wofford  - In the Southern Conference tournament quarterfinals, the nation's 4th best in field goal percentage, scored 21 points on 9 for 15 shooting leading the Terriers to a 69 -56 victory over Appalachian State http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103050659 .

 

Andrew Goudelock - College of Charleston - In the Southern Conference tourney quarterfinals, he scored 25 points on 9 for 17, including 5 for 11 from the perimeter  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201103050107  .  THAT'S IT

 

 

 

Enjoy......great conference tournament games continue through next weekend...SEC broadcaster Dave Baker is speaking to the Birmingham Tipoff Club on Monday,

 

 

 

Barry

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