Mad Crazy March...Madness

This weekend was full of great games, and if you missed them, kick yourself in the face! March is definitely off to a crazy start with some exciting comebacks and shocking upsets. Man I love college basketball. If this weekend's games are any indication of how sick nasty this year's tourney will be, then bring it on!

(6) Duke comeback victory over NC State, 87-86

Coach K almost had to wait another day for his 800th win, but never count out Duke. Doesn't matter th deficit or how sloppy they seem to be playing. A team like that seems to be able to turn it on at the drop of a dime, and that's exactly what they did when they came back to beat the Wolfpack. Down by 13 midway through the 2nd half, Jon Sheyer, DeMarcus Nelson and Kyle Singler came alive and eeked out the win. Congrats to

(2) UNC comeback win over Boston College, 90-80
BC Junior guard Tyrese Rice finished the game with a career high 46 points (34 in the 1st half), the 3rd most points an individual has scored against UNC - ever! But that wasn't enough - never underestimate the power of the Tar Heels! Tyler Hansbrough, in the running for player of the year, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green came up big. Both teams were amazing from the free throw line, a lost art form, and several teams could take some notes on how it's done. UNC shot 88%, hitting 23-26 and BC hit 17-23.

(1) Tennessee barely beat Kentucky, 63-60
Technically they're still the top team, but come Monday they will be #1 no more! But thanks to this won over Kentucky, they won't fall too far. Tennessee has a great starting lineup with Chris Lofton, Wayne Chism and the Smiths, JaJuan, Tyler and Ramar. Kentucky looked good after losing their 6'8" star freshman, Patrick Patterson, to a stress fracture in his ankle. Patterson averaged 16.4 points and 7.7 assists. You wouldn't have known it the way Kentucky played. They were down in the first half and even took a lead in the 2nd, but they couldn't hold off one of the top teams in the country.

(15) Michigan State stomped (12) Indiana, 103-74

And I mean STOMPED! The score was 59-31 at the half with Michigan State shooting 78%. It was one of those games where everything seemed to favor the Spartans who drained 9 threes in the 1st half. The Hoosiers could barely find the basket, and they had way too many turnovers. They won their first 2 games since losing head coach Kelvin Sampson but got whipped (pronounce the h) by the boys in green. This was MSU's last home game and they finished the season undefeated in East Lansing. Drew Neitzel, one of 2 seniors on the team, had 17 in his final home game. Even the fans scored a victory, with them all getting free tacos since MSU scored at least 70 points.

(5) Texas lost @ Texas Tech, 83-80

Ooh, talk about an upset! 16-12 Texas Tech beat 24-5 Texas in one of the biggest shockers of the weekend. I must say though, I'm happy for TTech's head coach, Pat Knight. He has some humungous shoes to fill since replacing his father Bob, who retired in February. People were skeptical of the younger Knight's decision to sign Alan Voskuil, a 6-3, 175 guard, but boy have they been surprised this season. Voskuil had 18 points in this . And the best player for Texas, DJ Augustin put up some major numbers, with 30 pts and 13 rebs, but that just wasn't enough. The Longhorns were on a roll, winning 8 straight before this loss to the Red Raiders. At one point, Texas was down by 13 points. The game was down to the wire in the final minutes, with the Longhorns down by 1 with mere seconds on the clock. But Tech held on for the win, and their fans rushed onto the court after the win. It was awesome to see.

Kansas State lost in (7) Kansas, 88-74

K-State handed the Jawhawks, then 20-0, their first loss of the season. Everyone was talking about Michael Beasley's comments about beating about beating Kansas again, and anywhere in the world. I know he's one of the top players in the NCAA, but he's still 19 years old! I thought he was joking around when he said the Wildcats would beat Kansas "in Africa" but as usual, most people in the media took the lines and ran far, far away with them. Instead, Beasley got in very early foul trouble, 2 in the first 2 minutes, and spent the rest of the game going in during K-State's offensive possessions, and back to the bench during the defensive possessions. I understand Coach Frank Martin not wanting Beasley to get into too much trouble and be limited come crunch time, but come on! Beasley is one of the top candidates for player of the year, and he proved why in a salty loss like this one. He finished strong with 39 points and 11 rebs, his 25th double-double of his freshman season. The kid is amazing, but the Wildcats have lost 4 in a row; they went from a top 25 ranking to a barely there bubble team. They need to get it together - fast. Relying solely on Beasley and sophomore standout Bill Walker has proved it can only take the Wildcats but so far.

**Note: These were the teams rankings going into these games. This weeks rankings were released today and several teams have shifted.

VOLUNTEEERing for that Number 1 Spot!

CONGRATS TO THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS!!

If you haven't been watching much college basketball this season then you're kinda like me. I was engrossed, I mean LITERALLY enGROSSed in the NCAAF and NFL. I watched some basketball games here and there, but now that football season is over I have more time to focus. And at the perfect time if you ask me. The schedule has really heated up over the past month or two with the big dance just around the corner. Surprise teams excel atop the leader board, while some big names struggle to stay on the bubble.

Just in case you missed it, Memphis been ranked in the top 3 since the preseason, and #1 since the 11th week of the regular season. The Tigers reeled off 26 straight wins, the only undefeated left, and was looking to head into March Madness without a single loss. Instead, this past Saturday, Memphis suffered their first beating at the hands of then #2 Tennessee Volunteers. With a 25-2 record, Tennessee is now the unanimous #1 in all the polls. This is the first time in the schools history that they have ever held the top spot. Keep in mind the Vols haven't beaten a number one seed since 1969. Yeah folks, this is kind of a big deal.

See, this is why when I tell you guys about something you should just go with me. I wasn't home to watch the game, but I saw it in its ENTIRETY (including commercials - that you can fast forward through like TiVo) on ESPN 360. I know I talk about this a lot, but I know a great thing when I see one! The game will probably be on there for a few more days, so if you haven't seen the game, go...NOW!!

Back to the game! It started off like several other college games I've seen lately with both teams launching, and hitting, threes. I understand that the 3-point line in college is not as deep as in the NBA, but a lot of these college cats throw it up from damn near half-court. Don't sleep on the college trey game! These guys are pretty serious from behind the arc. The game went back and forth in the first half, but Tennessee really turned it on in the 2nd. The final minutes were tight, as you can tell by the final score 66-62 Volunteers.

Sure Memphis fell to Tennessee but it's only 1 loss. They went from #1 to #2, but there are only 4 games left in the season, vs. Tulsa, USM, SMU and UAB. With a 26-1 record, the Tigers can easily finish in second place barring any more losses.

And don't get it twisted, Tennessee is ballin in that number one spot right now, but the Vols still have 4 tough games left including Kentucky, Florida and USC. Actually, tonight they play 18th ranked Vanderbilt who is holding steady at 23-4. And Vandy's a tough place to play! The crowd is crazy and they've beaten the last 3 #1 teams that have come to Nashville. It ain't over yet!!

Let's not completely forget the other basketball team at Tennessee, the Lady Volunteers!! They've been dominant in women's basketball over the past few seasons. The Lady Vols share the same record, 25-2, and are ranked 3rd behind #1 UConn (26-1) and #2 UNC (25-2). They really seem to have a lot of fun there in Tenn. Maybe you guys remember Bruce Pearl, the head coach of the men's team, at a Lady Vols game shirtless and going crazy with the other student fans. The women's head coach Pat Summit also attended a men's game dressed as a cheerleader! Oh, those Volunteers...

I saw Memphis play LIVE back in November here in the City. They came to The Garden and played in the College Hoops Classic, Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. This was erie timing too, because at the same time freshman phenom Derrick Rose was on the cover of the latest ESPN Mag. Chris Douglas-Roberts, Robert Dozier, the whole crew. The Tigers had some key wins against Oklahoma (currently on the bubble @ 18-9) and Connecticut (now #15 @ 21-6) to win the tourney.