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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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