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

Blog # 52 with some Football

My Beloved 95 Bloggees:

 

 

There have been some classic Florida-Georgia basketball games in Gainesville. Two come to mind. On January 11. 2003, Anthony Roberson hit a three-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer in a 66 - 63 Gator victory http://statsheet.com/mcb/games/2003/01/11/georgia-63-florida-66 . Then on the other side of the ledger there was two-sport Fred Gibson, a Bulldog wide receiver, who scored 13 points and hit all four of his free throws down the stretch to upset # 2 ranked Florida 74 - 69 on  January 19, 2002 http://staugustine.com/stories/012002/spo_443270.shtml.

 

On Thursday night the two matched up again in Gainesville. Georgia dominated the first half pounding it inside, shooting 60 % for a 33 -26 lead at the break. Then the Gators turned it up a notch in the second stanza with Chandler Parsons overcoming his deep thigh bruise getting back into the flow with 16 points.  Kenny Boynton nailed 3 consecutive threes to separate the two teams with under 6 minutes left resulting in a 71 - 62 win for the 13th ranked Orange and Blue, clinching a first place tie in the SEC East   http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/men/boxscore.php?gameid=9468 . 

 

When Boynton is effective offensively, which has not been frequent, the Gators are extra tough to beat.  In this game, when he was on the court the Gators outscored Georgia by 18. While he was on the bench, Georgia outscored Florida by 9. So, the Gators were 27 points better having him in the game than sitting him down http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/florida/kenny-boynton/plus_minus . (I love that website - check out how your favorite team performs when certain players are on the court versus on the bench).

 

A final observation is from new bloggee Holt, emphasizing Parsons' value. When teams play zone against Florida because of their constant shooting struggles, Parsons has a knack of getting  behind the zone on the baseline leading to easy shots by him. When he sat out the LSU game last Sunday, that weapon was missed, especially in the second half.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Old Dominion continued its hot play Thursday night with a convincing 75 - 59 road victory over James Madison http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102240282 . All-BB Frank Hassell was outstanding again with a double-double, 21 points on  9 for 12 shooting and 10 rebounds. The game was televised on ESPNU so I was able to watch him in action and his 6 ' 8  245 lb wide body dominated the boards with his teammates. In fact, James Madison only had 3 offensive rebounds in this rout. This toughness by the Monarchs should serve them well in March.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Another All-BB player, the nation's leading rebounder, Morehead State's Kenneth Faried, had a double-double Thursday night with 15 points and 13 rebounds in a 70 - 62 road loss to Murray State http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102240381 . Faried and his buddies did outrebound the Racers 40 - 26 but Murray State shot 9 for 17 from the perimeter while frequently playing with four guards. As long as they are hot, that may work for Murray State, as it did as a 13th seed in the first round upset of 4th seed Vanderbilt in the NCAA's last year 66 - 65 on a buzzer-beater. But, I prefer beef and Faried's Eagles in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament next week which will determine its likely one-bid.  NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

It is time for You Make Me Feel Old . Look who comes off the bench for Gonzaga....redshirt freshman walk-on point guard David Stockton son of another guy who used to play that position for the Zags....John  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/89766  .  David, at 5' 10  150 lbs plays about 15 minutes a game, averaging 4 points and about 2 assists per game. Why does his size not surprise me? 

 

On Thursday night he played 28 minutes scoring 5 points with 5 assists as Gonzaga won in overtime at St. Mary's 89 - 85 to tie for first in the West Coast Conference with those same Gaels http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102240538 . Yes, David Stockton, You Make Me Feel Old .

 

By the way, in third place in the West Coast Conference just a game back at 9 - 4 are the Dons from San Francisco. Who is their head coach? Former Kansas  guard in the early 90's  Rex Walters  http://www.usfdons.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/walters_rex00.html   NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

In Blog # 42, a trivia question dealt with John Hadl an NFL quarterback who wore a number greater than 19. I asked to reply with some college players who also wore an unusual number in the 1960's and later.  Bloggee Tom brought up Heisman winner Boston College's  Doug Flutie and his number 22 throwing the desperation touchdown pass to Gerard Phelan to defeat the U   47 - 45 in 1984  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3ykWbu2Gl0 .

 

Blogee Joe, a former Colgate running back, submitted another name, the former quarterback at Penn State during the late 60's, Chuck Burkhart who wore # 22 . "QBed the undefeated Nittany Lions against Kansas, led by Pepper Rodgers and Bobby Douglass, in the famous 1969 Orange Bowl.  They won the game on a 2-point conversion after the first attempt was unsuccessful against a Kansas defense consisting of 12 players.  What most people don't remember is that Kansas had 12 men on the field for most of Penn State's touchdown drive but the refs only managed to discover it during the first conversion attempt.

He was also my QB mentor at the 1970 Penn State QB-Receivers Camp for PA high school players.  A great guy". Thanks, Joe.

 

Two other college QBs with unusual numbers were NC Congressman Heath Shuler http://shuler.house.gov/ , who wore # 21 while at Tennessee in the 1990's and Bernie Kosar whose laundry displayed # 20 in the mid-80s for the U.  THAT'S IT.

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy......going to Samford's last home game today versus 1st place Chattanooga.....will be taping the Florida-Kentucky CBS game beginning at 3:00 CST...check out the preview of the game by bloggee Kevin http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20110226/ARTICLES/110229578/1136?Title=Florida-aims-to-spoil-Kentucky-s-32-game-home-streak- ........next week starts tournament week, wow did this season fly,

 

 

Barry

 

Blog # 51

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

Blog # 50

My Beloved 95 Bloggees:

 

As we start the 50th blog of the season, I checked that 12 of you have endured all 50. I am not sure who is in more need of therapy, you 12 or me....probably all of us. Our passion for college basketball does make us do some crazy things....like writing and reading blogs about the game we love. NEXT

 

 

 

 

If you continue to play games at an antiquated facility, you better win there. Well, after Tuesday night's  60 - 51 home loss to Tennessee http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102220615 , Vanderbilt might be having some architects visit today. The 'Dores collapsed in the last 13 minutes, outscored 29 - 9 by the Vols who had 15 steals during the game. It reminds me of ESPN Jimmy Dykes who would say "Vanderbilt's players need to protect the ball like it was their kid sister at a fraternity party."

 

Gator fans loved the upset stretching its SEC lead to 3 games in the loss column over three teams, with 4 games remaining. Florida plays two of those teams on the road, Kentucky and Vanderbilt and the other team, Georgia, at home. In between, the Gators host SEC West Champ, Alabama, next Tuesday. These next two weeks will be interesting, no doubt. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

A few blogs ago I mentioned the recent shooting woes of South Carolina's freshman point guard Bruce Ellington. His massive slump has continued as he shot 1 for 11 (1 for 9 from the arc)  at Kentucky on Saturday and 3 for 11 (0 for 5 from the arc) Tuesday night against Ole Miss. So, in his last 10 games he has shot 37 for 141 or 26.2 % and 14 for 76 or 18.4 % from deep  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/97663 . It is no wonder the Gamecocks have dropped to the SEC East cellar when a player has such a low percentage while still taking a bunch of shots. Devan Downey, they miss you in Columbia. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Free Throw Sensations   The Gamecocks and Sam Muldrow's double-double (23 points and 10 rebounds) defeated Ole Miss on Tuesday in spite of Ellington's shooting and  33 points from the Rebels' Chris Warren. The Ole Miss point guard was 7 for 7 from the line giving him a season total of 139 for 147 or 94.6% !  He now leads Division I (men and women) finally surpassing Samford's Emily London. 

 

Since we last reported, Emily went a mortal 7 for 9 from the stripe during Saturday's regionally televised 83 - 80 win at Elon (she scored 33 points)  http://samfordsports.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/stats/2010-2011/sam0219.html  and a more London-like 6 for 6 on Monday in the 59 - 52 win at UNC Greensboro http://samfordsports.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/stats/2010-2011/sam0221.html . She still leads all Division I women with 93.2 % on 96 for 103 !  Kyle Macy, her free throw mentor, should be proud!   NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday night was not a good night for Gator transfers. Jai Lucas, who now attends my grad school alma mater, University of Texas, found himself with more playing time in the Longhorns 76 - 53 rout of Iowa State (coached by the "Mayor", and former Cyclone star Fred Hoiberg) http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102220585 . In his 12 minutes, he took 7 shots and sank just 1 of them.  Jai, I encourage you to study hard at 40 Acres http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/40_acres_university_of_texas_at_austin/ and get your degree.

 

Jonathan Mitchell and his Rutgers Scarlet Knights did a BB (Barry's Blog) no-no on Tuesday night by scoring less than a point a minute in its home 55 - 37 loss to Louisville http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102220492 . Mitchell contributed to the low offensive output with 4 points on 2 for 8 shooting in 28 minutes.

 

A few years back, I met the brother of a friend from Atlanta and he had just broken up with Miss Universe. Can you imagine that? Well that is what I think when I hear of someone transferring from the University of Florida....the Miss Universe of colleges. I can see alumni bloggees nodding their heads, especially thinking about springtime in that paradise (almost sounds like a Jimmy Buffet song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBsPZV14I-k ) . NEXT

 

 

 

 

I have decided to change the All-BB team to only include mid-major players to give them the recognition they so richly deserve and to help bloggees when considering upsets in their brackets:

 

 

 

Enjoy....Joakim Noah is finally returning to the Chicago Bulls this evening...basketball Iron Bowl tonight in Tuscaloosa....tomorrow night is the basketball Cocktail Party in Gainesville at 6:00 pm CST on ESPN2,

 

 

 

Barry

 

Kenneth Faried - Morehead State http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/73970

 

Tu Holloway - Xavier  http://www.blogger.com/ - On Tuesday night, although he shot 2 for 6 from the field, he was 2 for 4 from three-land, 6 for 6 from the charity stripe for 12 points, dished out 15 assists and just missed a triple-double with 9 rebounds in the 100 - 62 walloping of LaSalle.

 

Frank Hassell - Old Dominion  http://www.blogger.com/

 

Noah Dahlman - Wofford  http://www.blogger.com/

 

Andrew Goudelock - College of Charleston http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/73564  THAT'S IT

 

Blog # 49

My Beloved 95 Bloggees:

 

 

Florida does not have a history of playing well against SEC West teams, especially on the road. That is why Sunday's game at struggling LSU without injured red-hot Chandler Parsons was a concern for Gator Nation.

 

In the first half against LSU's man defense, UF pounded it inside and was successful giving the Gators a 40 - 25 point halftime lead. Then LSU head man, Trent Johnson, switched to zone. Without consistent perimeter shooting, especially from 2-guard Kenny Boynton, it posed problems for the Orange and Blue who still hung onto a 68 - 61 victory http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102200319 . Between you and me, I hope other teams don't see the game film and duplicate LSU's zone strategy. I don't even want to think about a Syracuse matchup-zone . NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, Alabama kept its unbeaten home record intact for the year at 14 - 0  by defeating Arkansas 69 - 56  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102190006 .  Tony Mitchell has taken his game to a different level as evidenced by his career-high 27 points on 11 for 15 shooting along with 9 rebounds. It is the 6th time out of his last 7 games that he has scored 20 points or more.  Coach Anthony Grant's pressing defense resulted in 11 steals by the Crimson and White as the team is reflecting the no-nonsense, business-like personality of its outstanding coach.

 

Next Tuesday's showdown in Gainesville against the Gators is certainly anticipated -- a battle between the two SEC Division leaders and mentor (Billy Donovan) versus his former assistant coach, Grant. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

The SEC East is showing its muscle with 5 teams in the top 37 with respect to RPI. Georgia is at the 37th position with an 18 - 8 record and all 8 losses have been to Top 50 teams http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/polls?poll=5 . Saturday's 69 - 63 win at Knoxville helped in its attempt to impress the NCAA Committee. Thursday's game at Florida and the season-ender at Tuscaloosa against the Tide could be pivotal.

 

With respect to Tennessee (32), the Volunteers must avoid falling below .500 in the Conference. They are currently 6 - 6 with a road game at Vandy tonight and a home matchup against Kentucky, sandwiched around a home date against Mississippi State and a road trip to South Carolina. If they continue to receive production from just Scotty Hopson and Tobias Harris, they might be in trouble. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

Conference USA is starting to arouse some interest in terms of multiple NCAA bids, a sentiment echoed by bloggee Arnold in his recently published letter to the Birmingham News (http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/02/sound_off_birmingham_news_read.html  scroll down to the last letter to the editor).

 

After UAB's 63 - 58 home win over UCF Saturday night followed by UCF's 74 - 68  win at UTEP on Monday, there is a virtual 5-way tie for first with 4 losses. Based on the RPIs (shown in parentheses) of those five teams, Southern Miss (44), UAB (30), UTEP (60), Memphis (34) and Tulsa (92), it looks like UAB, Memphis and Southern Miss might all go dancing if they finish the season strong. The only remaining regular season game among those three against each other will be on Wednesday March 2nd when UAB travels to Southern Miss.  Then of course there is the conference tournament.....what a great time of the year!  NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virginia Tech is trying to hang in there for an at-large bid with its 4th place position in the ACC. However, losing at Virginia 61 - 54 on Saturday did not help its chances. Coach Seth Greenberg showed everyone his faith in his reserves. Only one player came off the bench and he only played five minutes. Check out this unusual-looking box score  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102190618  .

 

With Duke coming to town next Saturday and a season-ending road game at Clemson, the former Gobblers might need to win one of those two games along with home victories against Wake Forest and Boston College to make it to the Dance.   NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clemson will have a tough time making the NCAA field even with its 63 - 59 victory at the U on Sunday http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102200355 . Thursday night's loss at North Carolina State hurt as does its RPI of 66. I feel they have two chances and neither of them are likely....win at Duke a week from Wednesday or win the ACC tourney. Sorry bloggee Bebe. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Horizon League is now well-respected thanks to the success league-members Butler, Valpariso and Wisconsin-Milwaukee have had in March this past decade. However, current 1st place team, Cleveland State, was man-handled by BB-Sweet Sixteen pick Old Dominion (27) on Sunday 74 - 63 http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102200447 . ODU showed why it has been out-rebounded in just one game this year by dominating the boards 51 - 22, with 21 on the offensive end. All-BB Frank Hassell gathered 15 caroms and also had 3 steals, 3 blocks and 12 points on 4 for 12 shooting for the Monarchs. With Old Dominion, shooting percentage is not as critical because of their propensity to retrieve its own missed shots.

 

 

Here is a short trivia question. Which three schools have the highest RPI among the universities in Virginia? How about three members of the tough Colonial Athletic Association: George Mason (20), Old Dominion (27) and VCU (56). The two members of the ACC, Virginia Tech (66) and Virginia (145) are looking up to their in-state counterparts. NEXT

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Jacksonville University played their ideal disruptive defensive game (Florida's players can remember it from their December loss to JU) in its Friday night  75 - 60 home victory over Kennesaw State  http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102180281 (and its head coach, March 14th Birmingham Tipoff Club speaker, Tony Ingle). The Dolphins had 12 steals during the game which if duplicated in the Atlantic Sun tournament, could spell trouble for top teams Belmont and East Tennessee State. Birmingham's Ayron Hardy led the way for JU with 15 points on 7 for 12 shooting.

 

Jacksonville held serve again at home on Sunday with a 74 - 68 victory http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201102200281 generating another 11 steals. Of course, to Gator fans, the more JU wins, the merrier. THAT'S IT

 

 

 

Enjoy.....congrats to bloggee Dick who picked 16 out of 16 games correctly in the Birmingham Tipoff Club Contest  last week which included big upsets, Kansas State over Kansas and St. John's over Pitt ...guess who is getting a call before I fill out my bracket.....Joe Dean, Sr. spoke to the Club on Monday and it was a thrill to hear a live "String Music" from the podium,

 

 

 

Barry