Most Exciting Game

Slim pickings. Gonzaga v. Western Kentucky was dynamite though. Mendez-Valdez and Slaughter hit some tough shots but at the finish the defense was just scattered as all hell, allowing Demetri Goodson to essentially take a h-o-r-s-e shot for the win. Jeremy Pargo, the cat I thought was running the ball up the court there at the end, causing me to wrongly shout ‘freakin Pargo’, was feeling it a little in the second half. Pargo hasn’t played that good, well, all year.

Most Surprising Game

Purdue v. Washington. Purdue is about as interesting to watch play hoops as listening to Andy Rooney babble on about the history of erasable pens is. That saying about how offense wins games but defense wins championships could not better identify what Matt Painter is stressing with his Boilermakers.  They get after it. They have to, their offense is weak.  Although the second half defense they played against Washington was pitiful.  But for the most part I didn’t think JaJuan Johnson would be as Kevin Garnetty as he was. Johnson v. Thabeet will be something intriguing to watch for in the upcoming Sweet 16 matchup.

Best Individual Performance

I could argue that JaJuan’s 22 points, 6 boards, and 4 swats was the finest, or that Travis Walton’s (MSU) career high 18 points, 6′6 Terrence Williams’ 24 points and 15 boards, Sherron Collins’ 25 (11-19 fg), Nic Wise’s 21 (10-10 ft) and 8 feeds, Sam Young’s 32 points-8 boards and 3 rejections, Blake Griffin’s “quiet” 33 and 17, Ty Lawson’s 23 and 6 helpers, Matt Bouldin’s 20 points-8 boards and 6 feeds, Orlando Mendez-Valdez’s 25 and 7 assists, or Jon Scheyer’s heady save was the ultimate best.

But I won’t.

It’s Cole Aldrich.

The sophomore deserves the honor for his truly anti-Ostertag like TRIPLE-DOUBLE (13 points, 20 boards, and 10 blocks).

Would you like some Aldrich with that? (Image: Newscom)

Worst Moment

Buzz Williams acting like a mad man on drugs. Or more accurately, a mother ostrich.

You decide.

The runner-up Worst Moment would be the refs who repeatedly bent over to appease Blake Griffin on Saturday. I will leave it at that.

Game I Cared Most About

Well, besides the Michigan v. Oklahoma game, which was essentially taken over by the refs, I hoped Texas would punt Duke far far away. That didn’t happen, but Paulus only played two minutes and Singler made a really athletic play, so I guess that was refreshing enough to keep me from trolling on the Duke message boards for at least another night.

A Prediction For The Sweet 16

I will be glued to the T.V.

Post from: EveryJoe

Round 2 Wrap

Whitlock wrote an article for ‘FoxSports on MSN’ yesterday.

“NCAA Truths” he calls it.

I call it a bunch of mumbo jumbo. Ok, only some of it.

Whitlock’s words in bold

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are not my sleeper team. They’re my pick to win the whole thing.
Jason is trying to drum up some discussion and controversy on his article, no person (unless they’re a Zags fan) in their right mind thinks Gonzaga has a shot to win it all. That said, I also think Gonzaga can win it all, and I’m not a Zags fan.

If you’re looking for a tournament fraud, take a gander at the 27-4 Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma does not have an offense. The Sooners do nothing to free Griffin in the low post. He gets his points off talent and nothing else. Capel’s offense does not require Warren to move without the basketball.
Actually, I agree with this, plus, another thing that Whitlock did not mention, the Sooners have the depth of a kiddie pool with a hole in it. They might win two games.

Michigan State is the other top-10 poser. I don’t care what the RPI says, the Big 10 is the worst major conference this year. I’ve had the pleasure of watching many Big 10 hoops games this year. It’s all unskilled labor in that league. Michigan State is the perfect poster child to represent the Big 10. The Spartans can’t shoot. They don’t have enough ball-handlers and passers to run a consistent and effective offense. They’re brutal to watch. Thank a higher power that they won’t be around long.
Whitlock must have only watched MSU once this season (UNC game at Ford Field) to come up with an explanation like that. Travis Walton and Kalin Lucas are pretty good point guards. Goran Suton is one of the best big man passers out there. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Big Ten is overrated. Ha, eight overrated Big Ten teams will make the Big Dance. Riiiiight.

Stephen Curry, Davidson and Sonya Curry belong in the NCAA Tournament. Look, sex sells, and the NCAA Tournament is a television event put on to draw viewers. Sonya Curry makes me want to watch Davidson hoops. The woman is fine. She looks like Halle Berry’s big sister.
Interesting.

Doug Gottlieb is the best guy calling college basketball today.
And Rush Limbaugh is a liberal.

The women’s 64-team field is an absolute joke and embarrassment. There are only 15 to 20 good programs, and less than half of those have a chance to win the national title.
Tell me about it.

Dwyane Wade’s strip and seal against the Bulls Tuesday night is one of the greatest regular-season moments in NBA history.
Whitlock wandering off topic again.

I like the Kansas Jayhawks a lot on the nights when Sherron Collins lets the game come to him offensively. They’ll lose in the first round if Collins gets out of control.
Let the game come to him offensively? Sherron Collins is the offense over there in Lawrence. Kansas will be lucky to make it out of the first weekend alive.

Post from: EveryJoe

Jason Whitlock is only slightly tolerable

First, Cleveland State punches it’s ticket to the Big Dance by punching Associated Press number 16 ranked Butler in the face 57-54 for the Horizon League tournament championship. Cleveland State (25-10) is dancing for the first time in 23 years.

Now the question is, will the selection committee take two teams from the Horizon League to the Big Dance?

I’m also watching the Cleveland Cavaliers lose to the Clippers right now. It’s late in the first half, and I’m sure once the second half gets underway, LeBron James will restore order.

DePaul’s win against Cincinnati in the first round of the Big East tournament is one more reason why I hate conference tournaments and why last place teams should stay home!

Did anyone stay up late enough to see No. 12 Gonzaga take apart St. Mary’s 83-58 for the West Coast Conference championship?

I’m now having second thought on giving the St. Mary’s an at-large tournament bid. Gonzaga really put a hurt on them.

Georgetown is out. The Hoyas (16-14), which were ranked as high as the top 10 this season were dismissed by St. John’s (16-16) 64-59 in the first round of the Big East tournament.

Ben Woodside buried a jumper with three seconds left to send North Dakota State (26-6) to NCAA’s with a 66-64 win against Oakland for the Summit League championship.

And as I write this, Western Kentucky just made reservations! The Hilltoppers (24-8) just beat South Alabama (20-13) 64-56 for the Sun Belt Conference championship.

Right now the NIT is shaping up to be a pretty decent tournament. You could have Georgetown, St. Mary’s, Davidson and Butler in the battle for No. 66.

We won’t know for sure until this weekend now, will we?

Here’s the latest list of teams headed for the Big Dance.

Cornell, Ivy League
East Tennessee State, Atlantic Sun Conference
Morehead State, Ohio Valley Conference
Northern Iowa, Missouri Valley Conference
Radford, Big South Conference
Cleveland State, Horizon League
Gonzaga, West Coast Conference
Siena, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Virginia Commonwealth, Colonial Athletic Association
Chattanooga, Southern Conference
Western Kentucky, Sun Belt Conference
North Dakota State, Summit League

Post from: EveryJoe

Cleveland (State) Rocks!

North Carolina was the consensus number one pick at the beginning of the season and held it for the first seven weeks of the season. The Tar Heels (27-3) lost that ranking eight weeks ago after an upset loss to Boston College.

And after a nice win over 79-71 win against Duke yesterday to sweep the season series, and with last week’s number one Connecticut’s 70-60 lost to Pittsburgh, the Tar Heels find themselves back where they started.

The win gave North Carolina its 17th Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title. If UNC win the ACC tournament, which starts this week, it will be the number one team going into the Big Dance no matter what happens in the other conference tournaments.

No one really checked in or out of this week’s ESPN/USA Today Top 25 for the first time since the second week of the regular season. Brigham Young (24-6) managed to sneak in at No. 25 in the Associated Press Top 25 replacing Illinois. I think it’s safe to say that everyone ranked in the top 25 will get an invite to the Big Dance.

But it going to be a bumpy ride for many of the top teams. North Carolina, No. 3 UConn, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 9 Duke, No. 15 UCLA, and No. 21 Marquette, all have suffered an injury or two to a top player this season.

The latest on the “Oh no” list is UCLA’s Darren Collison. Collison, a Preseason All-American, bruised his tailbone in the Bruins’ win against Oregon on Saturday. Collison says that nothing is broken after x-rays, but if you’re a Bruins fan, it does make you very concerned.

A mighty congratulations to the Washington Huskies. The No. 13 Huskies (24-7) won its first regular season conference title since 1953.

I dare anyone reading this to prove to me that you were alive in 1953.

“Championship Week,” another one of those cute terms make up by the fine folks at ESPN, continues tonight with a handful of teams trying to punch their ticket to the Big Dance.

No. 12 Gonzaga (27-5) plays unranked St. Mary’s (25-5) for the West Coast Conference title tonight. Gonzaga’s in no matter what, but I think that St. Mary’s should get an at-large invite even if it loses. The Gaels were 18-1 and ranked in the top 25 until they lost guard Patrick Mills to a broken hand in a 69-62 loss to Gonzaga on Jan. 29.

Charleston (26-7) plays Chattanooga (17-16) for the Southern Conference championship. George Mason (22-9) faces Virginia Commonwealth (23-9) for the Colonia Athletic Association title, and Niagara (26-7) meets Siena (25-7) for the Metro Athletic Association Conference championship.

Could there be a team more on the bubble right now than Davidson?

The Wildcats, (26-7) last season’s Big Dance darlings that were a shot away from the Final Four, lost to Charleston in the semifinals of the Southern Conference tournament yesterday 59-52. Davidson did play a very tough schedule this season that included Oklahoma, West Virginia, No. 24 Purdue, No. 9 Duke, winning only one of those games (68-65 against West Virginia).

It seems like everyone in the country likes this team and all-star junior guard Stephen Curry. The winner of the Charleston vs. Chattanooga gets in, but where does that leave Davidson? Will the Wildcats sneak in because of their tough scheduled, star power and body of work from last season?

Not only do the losses to the above mentioned top 25 teams hurt, but three losses in a weak conference hurt even more.

I say that the 26-7 record and regular season title should be enough to the Wildcats an at-large invite. Especially when you consider some of the slobs that will get in with sub-par records, because they had a good run and won their conference tournaments.

Already in:
Cornell, Ivy League
East Tennessee State, Atlantic Sun Conference
Morehead State, Ohio Valley Conference
Northern Iowa, Missouri Valley Conference
Radford, Big South Conference

Here are the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 polls.

AP Top 25
1. North Carolina (35) 27-3, 1,734
2. Pittsburgh (33) 28-3, 1,731
3. Connecticut 27-3, 1,592
4. Memphis (2) 28-3, 1,544
5. Louisville (1) 25-5, 1,513
6. Oklahoma 27-4, 1,399
7. Michigan State 25-5, 1,349
8. Wake Forest 24-5, 1,246
9. Duke 25-6, 1,237
10. Villanova 25-6, 1,108
11. Kansas 25-6, 1,038
12. Gonzaga 25-5, 978
13. Washington 24-7, 910
14. Missouri 25-6, 779
15. UCLA 24-7, 752
16. Butler 26-4, 536
17. Clemson 23-7, 528
18. Syracuse 23-8, 518
19. Xavier 24-6, 465
20. LSU 25-6, 461
21. Marquette 23-8, 453
22. Florida State 23-8, 333
23. Arizona State 22-8, 199
24. Purdue 22-9, 169
25. Brigham Young 24-6, 158

Others Receiving Votes
Illinois 131, Texas A&M 63, Saint Mary’s 56, Utah 21, West Virginia 17, Auburn 9, Dayton 7, Utah State 6, Virginia Commonwealth 6, Weber State 5, Creighton 4, Northern Iowa 3, Siena 3, Oklahoma State 3, Penn State 2, New Mexico 2, California 2, Texas 2, American University 1, Ohio State 1, Tennessee 1.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. North Carolina (23) 27-3, 767
2. Pittsburgh (5) 28-3, 740
3. Memphis (3) 28-3, 702
4. Connecticut 27-3, 679
5. Louisville 25-5, 659
6. Michigan State 25-5, 608
7. Oklahoma 27-4, 592
8. Duke 25-6, 545
9. Wake Forest 24-5, 532
10. Washington 24-7, 466
11. Kansas 25-6, 444
12. Gonzaga 25-5, 426
13. Villanova 25-6, 410
14. UCLA 24-7, 369
15. Missouri 25-6, 327
16. LSU 25-6, 274
17. Butler 26-4, 251
18. Clemson 23-7, 223
19. Xavier 24-6, 196
20. Syracuse 23-8, 182
21. Marquette 23-8, 157
22. Florida State 23-8, 135
23. Arizona State 22-8, 133
24. Purdue 22-9, 68
25. Illinois 23-8, 57

Others Receiving Votes
Saint Mary’s 43, Brigham Young 30, Utah State 23, Dayton 11, California 9, Utah 7, Boston College 3, Texas 3, Texas A&M 2, Siena 1, Weber State 1.

Post from: EveryJoe

Division I Rankings for March 9, 2009

You sat around, waited patiently and won all but one of your games. You did while pretenders like those other two schools in your state and Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh?) held the top ranking this season.

So here you are at the top of both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls. And it’s the first time in three seasons you’ve held the top spot.

And to add insult to injury, you solidified the number one ranking by clobbering an Atlantic Coast Conference cream puff in Maryland by 41 points over the weekend.

Didn’t Maryland used to be good?

But lets be honest here Duke fans, does this really mean anything?

What has more meaning? Being number one on January 26 or being number one at the end of the season? Your standards are too high to be celebrating a number one spot this time of the year. Leave that to others like Wake Forest and Pittsburgh (again, Pittsburgh?).

If anyone tells you how great of a feat this is, tell them to talk to you in April when it will really mean something.

Washington is making a fool out of me and anyone else who said that UCLA was a Final Four team. The Huskies beat this Bruins this weekend for something like the fifth straight time in Seattle and climbed to the top of the Pac-10 rankings. They check in at No. 23 in the AP poll, but not the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. UCLA dropped to 16th in one poll and 17th in another.

But you never know how these things will play out. UCLA is notorious for getting hot at the end of the season and making a run. That’s why the Bruins have been to three straight Final Fours. But losses like the one to Washington and Arizona State may be the reason why they haven’t cashed one in.

Not to get all cryptic or anything, but last week’s number one Wake Forest DEMON DEACONS got 666 points in the ESPN/USA Today poll this week as they dropped to fourth.

Here’s the top 25.

AP Top 25
1. Duke (62) 18-1
2. Connecticut (6) 18-1
3. Pittsburgh (3) 18-1
4. Oklahoma (1) 19-1
5. North Carolina 17-2
6. Wake Forest 16-1
7. Louisville 15-3
8. Marquette 17-2
9. Michigan State 16-3
10. Xavier 17-2
11. Texas 14-4
12. Clemson 17-2
13. Butler 18-1
14. Arizona State 16-3
15. Syracuse 17-4
16. Purdue 15-4
17. UCLA 15-4
18. Memphis 16-3
19. Illinois 17-3
20. Gonzaga 14-4
21. Villanova 15-4
22. Saint Mary’s 18-1
23. Washington 15-4
24. Kentucky 16-4
25. Georgetown 12-6

Others Receiving Votes
Notre Dame 154, Minnesota 138, Kansas 84, Florida 65, Missouri 52, Virginia Tech 37, Baylor 34, West Virginia 32, Davidson 27, Utah State 23, Dayton 14, California 13, UNLV 4, Florida State 3, Ohio State 1, Virginia Commonwealth 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Notre Dame 19, Minnesota 21, Florida 24.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Duke (30) 18-1
2. Connecticut (1) 18-1
3. Pittsburgh 18-1
4. Wake Forest 16-1
5. Oklahoma 19-1
6. North Carolina 17-2
7. Louisville 15-3
8. Marquette 17-2
9. Michigan State 16-3
10. Xavier 17-2
11. Clemson 17-2
12. Texas 14-4
13. Butler 18-1
14. Arizona State 16-3
15. Syracuse 17-4
16. UCLA 15-4
17. Purdue 15-4
18. Saint Mary’s 18-1
19. Memphis 16-3
20. Illinois 17-3
21. Villanova 15-4
22. Notre Dame 12-6
23. Georgetown 12-6
24. Minnesota 17-3
25. Gonzaga 14-4

Others Receiving Votes
Florida 59, Utah State 56, Kentucky 50, Baylor 42, Washington 41, California 31, Missouri 22, Dayton 18, Davidson 14, Kansas 13, Brigham Young 6, Florida State 3, UNLV 2, Virginia Tech 1, West Virginia 1.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division I Polls For January 26

First it was a wild overtime loss against the Connecticut Huskies in a tournament like atmosphere in Seattle’s Key Arena back on December 20th. Not a fall on your face kind of loss by any means. UConn can ball with the best of them.

The second loss (face smashing begins) was at the hands of Portland State, a team that had not beaten a Top 25 club since reinstating its basketball program in 1996-97. Even worse was the fact 5′6 Jeremiah Dominguez led the way with 25.

The Third Loss

So Gonzaga’s New Year’s Eve matchup with the sad sack Utah Utes seemed like a prime opportunity for the Zags to remember what it was like to whoop somebody. But the whooping didn’t go so well. Utah defeated the Zags 66-65.

See, everyone keeps underestimating the Utes ( maybe it’s just me). Yeah, it is true that Utah lost to Southwest Baptist University all the way back on the 15th of November. Humiliating loss, right? Well, hold on. Southwest Baptist ( I know, it’s hard to take a school seriously with a name like this) is actually the 3rd ranked team in all of DII basketball. Matt Rogers, their 6′11 center, is averaging more than 20 ppg. The SBU Bearcats are a legit squad. So anyways, sure, Utah lost to one of the finest DII schools around, but still, its DII. You got to take care of business. This is Utah we’re talking about, the once proud basketball school that made it to the Final Four in 1998 under Rick Majerus and had great college players like Andre Miller and Michael Doleac running around slaying dragons. Not to mention Keith Van Horn graced the landscape of the university just a year before that Final Four run happened. And I cannot overlook the drubbing the currently 3-10 Idaho State Bengals gave the Utes back on the 6th of December. Sure, Idaho State might end up being a quality team, seeing as they nearly knocked of Wisconsin earlier this season and have performed admirably against some other pretty good teams on the road, but give me a break, you can’t lose to a 3-10 team and not be called out for it.

Essentially what I’m saying is this: Gonzaga in no way should be losing to a squad such as Utah, a program that hasn’t been squat shit relevant since Andrew Bogut left early for the NBA draft in 2005. Had all of this Gonzaga tomfoolery happened before the first edition of the Room of Stink was published, I almost assure you this freak show Mark Few has been running in Spokane would have made the Stink list.

STAT of the DAY

I will leave you all with this amazing stat only a 7′5 sloth could manage and only a mother could love.

Gonzaga reserve center Will Foster, the abnormally tall sloth mentioned above, pulled off the feat known as a trillion. Except for the fact that Foster didn’t just play 1 minute in the game (this will make sense if you click on the link provided), he actually played 7 minutes. So his stat line is a 7 with a ton of zeroes behind it.

Well done Will.

Would have loved to see that 7 minutes of game tape.

Post from: EveryJoe

Gonzaga falls on face for second straight game

Not much change in this week’s rankings until you get to the bottom half and see teams like Gonzaga and Xavier tumbling after losses last week.

My question is, of the remaining undefeated teams, (North Carolina 12-0, Connecticut 11-0, Pittsburgh 12-0, Oklahoma 12-0, Wake Forest 11-0 and I’ll even throw in Clemson 12-0 and Minnesota 12-0) which one will flinch and lose a game first?

My money is on anyone ranked below North Carolina. Conference is about to start and all of these teams are vulnerable.

North Carolina is 12-0 and all 12 wins have been by double figures, a school record. Granted some of those wins came against cream puffs like UC Santa Barbara and Chaminade, but you have to admit that this is a pretty cool accomplishment and shows just how dominate they are.

The Tar Heels won’t get a true test until Jan. 11 when they play at No. 6 Wake Forest.

In other news, Missouri dropped out of the AP Top 25.

Honestly, I didn’t know they were ranked.

Here are the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 polls.

Associated Press
1. North Carolina (72) 12-0, 1,800
2. Connecticut 11-0, 1,719
3. Pittsburgh 12-0, 1,641
4. Oklahoma 12-0, 1,600
5. Duke 10-1, 1,511
6. Wake Forest 11-0, 1,351
7. Notre Dame 9-2, 1,231
8. Texas 10-2, 1,193
9. Purdue 11-2, 1,160
10. Michigan State 9-2, 1,058
11. Georgetown 9-1, 1,015
12. UCLA 10-2, 991
13. Syracuse 12-1, 863
14. Tennessee 8-2, 854
15. Villanova 11-1, 691
16. Gonzaga 8-3, 608
17. Arizona State 10-1, 602
18. Louisville 8-2, 588
19. Baylor 10-1, 580
20. Clemson 12-0, 563
21. Minnesota 12-0, 351
22. Xavier 9-2, 327
23. Michigan 9-2, 237
24. Ohio State 9-1, 219
25. Butler 10-1, 166

Others Receiving Votes
West Virginia 100, Marquette 79, Illinois 64, Davidson 50, Memphis 43, Saint Mary’s 30, Texas A&M 21, Stanford 17, Brigham Young 13, Florida 12, Maryland 12, Dayton 11, Florida State 10, Arizona 7, Miami (FL) 6, Illinois State 2, Creighton 2, George Mason 1, Missouri 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Missouri 25.

ESPN/USA Today
1. North Carolina (31) 12-0, 775
2. Connecticut 11-0, 737
3. Pittsburgh 12-0, 715
4. Oklahoma 12-0, 683
5. Duke 10-1, 651
6. Wake Forest 11-0, 598
7. Texas 10-2, 531
8. Georgetown 9-1, 510
9. UCLA 10-2, 496
10. Notre Dame 9-2, 453
11. Purdue 11-2, 398
11. Syracuse 12-1, 398
13. Villanova 11-1, 351
14. Arizona State 10-1, 346
15. Michigan State 9-2, 308
16. Clemson 12-0, 293
17. Gonzaga 8-3, 285
18. Louisville 8-2, 223
18. Tennessee 8-2, 223
20. Baylor 10-1, 194
21. Minnesota 12-0, 181
22. Xavier 9-2, 169
23. Ohio State 9-1, 158
24. Michigan 9-2, 66
25. Marquette 11-2, 55

Others Receiving Votes
Brigham Young 43, West Virginia 41, Butler 37, Memphis 33, Dayton 32, Saint Mary’s 26, Davidson 12, Arizona 10, Missouri 9, Illinois 8, Illinois State 6, Stanford 6, Florida 5, LSU 4, Texas A&M 3, Florida State 2, Utah State 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Memphis 24.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division I Polls For December 29

Zag’s point guard Jeremy Pargo struggled a bit, scoring just 11 on 3-8 shooting.

Very recently I have noticed a lot of players under 5′9 who are seemingly doing great things for their respective programs. Or maybe I’m just now noticing smaller players as equally as I notice the giants when scanning through unfamiliar rosters and such.

Either way, these guys should be commended. All too often I hear people comment on how short a player is and whether or not they can be productive.

Usually there are factors being overlooked.

Quickness. Agility. Passion.

A quick yet smooth shooting stroke sure doesn’t hurt either.

To be continued…

Post from: EveryJoe

5′6 Dominguez lets em’ fly

You think that it’s time for the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions to stop playing on Thanksgiving Day (especially Detroit! They’re awful!).

And college football doesn’t float your boat? Please! It doesn’t even have a playoff system (at least Division I doesn’t).

The NBA and NHL? Talk to me after their all-star breaks.

There’s is hope for all of us with plenty of college basketball on television to fall asleep to after that big dinner.

There are three tournaments on Thanksgiving Day featuring top 25 teams.

The Old Spice Classic runs tomorrow through Nov. 30 in Orlando near Disneyworld.

It features No. 12 Tennessee vs. Sienna, Wichita State vs. No. 21 Georgetown, Maryland vs. No. 5 Michigan State, and Oklahoma State vs. No. 9 Gonzaga.

The 76 Classic also begins tomomrrow through the Nov. 30 in Anaheim and is (you guessed it) right next to Disneyland.

Saint Mary’s takes on UTEP, No. 19 Wake Forest plays host Cal State Fullerton, No. 14 Arizona State plays Charlotte, and Providence faces Baylor.

The Great Alaska Shootout at the University of Alaska continues tomorrow through the 29th with San Diego State playing Western Kentucky, and Seattle taking on Louisana Tech.

Check your local listings for start times.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Post from: EveryJoe

Thanksgiving Day Hoops

College basketball is represented by the Duke Student Section on the first team, and Bobby Knight on the second team.

Erskine said this about the Duke Student Section.

“Listen up, you little punks. Pride in your team is one thing. But you’ve helped turn college hoops into a rancorous R-rated spectacle, from which mothers shield their young ‘uns. I guess sportsmanship wasn’t an essay question on the SAT’s.”

And this about Bobby Knight.

“Humanitarian. Destined to be the first male cast member on “The View.”

I’d like to add broadcaster Billy Packer to the list.

I wrote about Packer on this blog in July when he announced his “retirement” from broadcasting.

No more will we have to hear about how great the ACC is and how everyone else sucks. We won’t have to put up with his rants about how “mid-major” teams like Gonzaga don’t belong in the NCAA tournament.

Feel free to write to us and nominate your own.

And Duke fans, before you hit that reply key and bombard me with posts, I’m not the man to complain to.

You can complain to Erskine directly at chris.erskine@latimes.com.

Post from: EveryJoe

Duke Fans and Bobby Knight Make the All-Ego Sports Team