March Madness is fast approaching.

Every conference game matters. One big win could secure your team a birth in the NCAA tournament. One huge loss could dash your team’s hopes to play in the post-season.

Here are some of the biggest games to watch this week:

Tonight: #15 Michigan State at #9 Wisconsin - the Badgers are tied for first place in the Big Ten with Indiana and Purdue, while the Spartans are trying to play catch-up. Wisconsin needs to win this game to put the pressure on the Boilermakers and Hoosiers.

Saturday March 1st – Kansas State at #7 Kansas – super-freshman Michael Beasley could do a lot for his Player of the Year candidacy if he leads the Wildcats to a victory over UK. The Jayhawks are one game behind Texas in the Big 12 standings, and a loss to KSU would really hurt their chances at winning the regular season conference title.

Sunday March 2nd – #4 UCLA at Arizona – Arizona lost by 22 to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion back in early February, but the Wildcats are a different team at home. Kevin Love and the Bruins should be on high upset alert.

Post from: EveryJoe

Games to watch this week – February 28th

On paper, each of these contests should have been blowouts. No contest. Not even close. Cupcake city.

It’s a good thing the games are not played on paper…

We have another entry in our “and this is why you play the game” history. This entry comes to us from Las Vegas where Wofford upset heavily favored Purdue 69-66 in the second round of the Las Vegas classic.

Wofford, who was projected to finish in the middle of the pack in the Southern Conference, overcame a 10-point deficit in the first half to upset the Boilermakers. The Terriers outrebounded Purdue 38-36 and held the Boilermakers to 41% shooting for the game.

Is Wofford that good, or is Purdue that bad? Was Purdue focusing on the upcoming Big Ten conference schedule? Maybe. But heading into your conference battles, you want to be at your best, and Purdue was definitely not at their best.

Lesson learned – never, ever overlook an opponent. No matter how small, no matter their record. It has been proven over and over again – anybody can beat anybody at any given time.

And this is why you play the game…

Post from: EveryJoe

12/21 – And this is why you play the game (chapter 11)