March Mad(der)ness; Sunshine City; On the Road Again

March Mad(der)ness
Three of the first four games ended on buzzer beaters this afternoon, starting off what is shaping up to be a crazy March of college basketball.

West Virginia was tied with Clemson at the half, 40-40, but pulled away in the second half to take the Big East to a 1-0 record with an 84-76 victory.  Huggins' crew shot nearly 50% from the floor and held Clemson to 5-21 beyond the arc.

Louisville went out and got the Big East right back to .500 with a last second loss at the hands of Morehead State, 62-61.  Demonte Harper drilled a three with 4.2 ticks left to stir the pot in this March Madness.

Temple took down a red-hot Penn St. team on a jumper by Juan Fernandez with under a second left, 62-60.  North Philly got the win in this intrastate battle - speaking of Battle, Penn St. stud Talor Battle's 23 points weren't enough to help the Nittany Lions.

In an 8/9 matchup, Butler pulled out a win against Old Dominion with a tip-in at the buzzer by Matt Howard, 60-58.  Butler got outscored at the stripe 21-9 but made up for it with their defense, which held ODU to 36% from the floor.

Kentucky survived a scare from the smart kids over at Princeton, 59-57.  Despite being outrebounded by the Tigers, the fact that they held Princeton to three three-pointers helped them pull it out and avoid a monumental upset.  (side note:  UK only hit 5 threes).  UK advances to take on West Virginia.  Huggy Bear and Coach Cal - contrast of styles.

In other action, San Diego State is pulling away from Northern Colorado (I know, who?) and Pitt put UNC-Asheville out of their misery courtesy of an 18-point advantage in the second half.  With just over two minutes left, Richmond holds a slim two point lead over Vanderbilt.  A 12/5 upset in the making?

Sunshine City
After a chilly start to the day, the sun decided to come out and turn it out.  I think I got some owl-eyes going on from wearing the Oakleys all day every day for the past few weeks.  The trip to Tennessee and the past two games (in Newark and South Orange, NJ) were beautiful as well, so that might have contributed.

A beautiful day to practice turned into a beautiful night for a women's college basketball game.  I'm here for the first round game of the WBI (Women's Basketball Invitational) against Sacred Heart.

We're the 5-seed hosting the 4-seed - still trying to wrap my head around that one, but that's for another day.

On the Road Again
This weekend we head down to (It's Always Sunny in) Philadelphia.  LaSalle, St. Joseph's, and Villanova are on tap this weekend.  It's shaping up to be a nice weekend.

Hopefully we can keep our pitching going and carry it through the weekend.  It'd be nice to have a good week of games.  We beat NJIT 8-1 on Tuesday and took down Seton Hall 6-3 yesterday.  All three teams this weekend are playing some good baseball it seems.  It'd be nice to go on a little roll, but we'll see how it goes.

Tune in over the weekend and I'll keep you posted - on our team and my March Madness analysis.

NCAA College Hoops

Big slate tonight of college games.  I happen to be at Draddy Gym for the Iona/Manhattan game - 38-23 Iona in the first half.  Iona scores in bunches it seems, it was just a seven point game I thought.  I watched through the first two media timeouts.  For those unfamiliar with this, media timeouts take place in each half during the first stoppage after the 16-, 12-, 8, and 4-minute mark.  That is why on television, during games, there are at least four timeouts every half - even if there are no called team timeouts. 

Other action includes:

#5 Duke at Virginia - Duke up seven with just over three minutes to play in the first half.  Duke had to overcome a 31-25 halftime defecit the first time they played at Cameron Indoor - a 51-29 second half helped the Dukies coast.

#18 Vanderbilt at Georgia - Georgia is looking to pull an upset (only if you go by ranking) as they lead #18 Vandy 21-16 with a little over two minutes to go in half number one.  Georgia was actually favored in this one.  The Commodores took down UGA the first time they met, 73-66.

#16 Louisville at Cincinnati - This one is getting ugly, but it's not that surprising, as Cinci was a 2-point favorite going into tip-off.  We all know my feelings on Big East play - it's a bear.  This is the only meeting between these two teams this season. 

#9 Georgetown at #13 UCONN - This one was looking like a blowout early, as G'Town led by 10 midway through the first half, but Jim Calhoun (almost) always has his guys ready to scrap.  With 2:25 left, it's the Hoyas 34, the Huskies 31.

#10 Wisconsin at #11 Purdue - I know my man thormoo has his eyes on this Big Ten showdown.  With 14:48 to go in the game, the Boilers are up 44-34 on Wisco.  This was a 6-point Purdue lead at the half - they're looking to avenge their loss in Madison on February 1st. 

Time to unlock the locker rooms.  First, a quick update on this one.

Iona at Manhattan - 54-33 Iona.  They were laying 12.5 points coming in to this one, so this, I guess, is no surprise.  Manhattan played well against Siena last time out, and with Senior Day festivities, I figured they'd come out with a little more fire.  Iona does look pretty tough and athletic though.

Draddy-ville

The Manhattan basketball team faces last years MAAC Champion Siena Saints today at 2 pm in the friendly confines of the Draddy Gym.  

I was speaking to the Siena staff yesterday for a while - good bunch of coaches on that staff. 

Their previous coach, Fran McCafferey, jumped ship to take the Iowa head job.  They're struggling a little bit, but so are the Saints this season.

On to the game...

#1 Stunner; Valentine's Day

#1 Stunner
Ohio St. went to Kohl Center to take on the Badgers.  They were rolling.  They were the only undefeated team left.  They came out strong and had a big lead early in the second half.

The Badgers, they were confident they could make a run.  And they did.  Undefeated no longer, Ohio St. saw their lead slip away and an undefeated season slip away, largely in part to Jordan Taylor's 27 point effort (21 of them in the 2nd half) in a 71-67 win. 

It was the first time since 1962 that Wisconsin had taken down #1.  The wait is over, and the students rushed the court in case anyone was unsure of the severity of this win.  Wisconsin can play (and beat) anyone in the country.  Their losses are all to quality teams - at UNLV, Notre Dame, at Illinois, at Michigan State, and at Penn State (who's beaten 3 of the top five Big 10 teams).

Now the big question is who'll move up to #1 - #2 Kansas or #3 Texas?  My vote is for Texas - they already beat Kansas and are the hottest team in the country (10 W's in a row).  Sure, Kansas only has 1 loss - to Texas.  Texas, Kansas, Pitt, Duke, Ohio State.  That's my Top 5.

Wisco heads to Boiler Country to take on #14 Purdue on Wednesday.  Ohio State looks to rebound against a reeling Michigan State (2-5 in last seven) team on Tuesday.

The Big Ten just got a whole lot more exciting - even though Ohio State still has a two game lead.

Valentine's Day
We've agreed that we're not exchanging gifts this year.  I am holding up my end of the deal - and although I've said that many times, I plan on sticking to it.  I can't even take her out to dinner because there's a basketball game here tomorrow at 7 pm.  Good planning. 

For all intents and purposes, it's a greeting card and flowers holiday.  If you really care about someone, there shouldn't be one day a year that requires you to show it more than the other 364 days.  And if you don't buy her jewels or flowers, you shouldn't be in the dog house (and if you do, you shouldn't be awarded brownie points).  I mean roses aren't even in season right now - spring is.  This holiday should be in May or June, not during the frigid month of February.

And if you do buy flowers, DO NOT get them at the gas station. 

NCAA College Hoops

Tonight, in the Draddy Gymnasium, the Jaspers host the first place Fairfield Stags.  Fairfield escaped their home game with Manhattan with a 61-59 win.

Tonight, the Jaspers are looking for payback - and to knock off a solid team (18-5 overall) with their losses coming to Rutgers, Penn St., St. Joe's, Loyola (MD), and Rider.  They were supposed to travel to Florida in late December but the Post-Christmas Storm cancelled that trip.

The MAAC has a full slate tonight.  This one features the 11-2 Stags and the 2-11 Jaspers.  There's a whiteout here in the Draddy - they're handing out white t-shirts to whatever students decide to show up.  Free t-shirts typically bring out students in droves.

Whiteout City!!! 

Rivalry Week; Prep Work; Recovery

Now that the Super Bowl is over, what can a sports fan look forward to next?  How about some NCAA College Basketball - especially this week.

Rivalry Week.

Indiana at Purdue - tonight at 7 pm.  (On paper, it's thormoo's Boilers all the way, but factor in the hate factor for the Hoosiers and it may stay a game for a little while.)

Tennessee at Kentucky - tonight at 9 pm.  (Kentucky's coming off a tough L at Florida.  Bruce Pearl is back on the bench for Tennessee.  This one won't be short on offense - loads of points.)

Georgetown at Syracuse - tomorrow at 7 pm.  (The Orange seem to be back on track after two big road wins.  G'Town has won 6 straight, including a W at Villanova.  Typical bloodbath in the Big East.)

Texas at Oklahoma - tomorrow at 7 pm.  (Texas has a W in 8 straight including 4 vs. Top 15 teams.  The Sooners are mediocre at 12-10, but 11-1 at home.  This one has some intrigue.)

North Carolina at Duke - tomorrow at 9 pm.  (UNC is ranked and relevant.  Duke is coming off a demolition of NC State.  The best rivalry in college basketball gets better.)

Some other matchups:  BYU at Air Force (Wednesday at 10 pm); Florida at South Carolina (Wednesday at 8 pm); and St. Mary's at Santa Clara (Thursday at 11 pm);

This is always one of my favorite weeks, even though I have no ties to any of these schools.  Duke is the team I root for but some of these other games might catch my attention.

As far as prep work goes, I just ordered a car charger for my iPad for the grueling 12 hour bus trips later this month into early March.  I can't see my iPad lasting that long, now when I am on the 3G playing games, sending e-mails, listening to music, and maybe even watching the occasional movie.

We head to Western Carolina (in Cullowhee, NC); Winthrop (in Rock Hill, SC), Tennessee (in Knoxville, TN), Philadelphia (which is only a few hours), then finally to East Tennessee State (in Johnson City, TN).  Quite a bit of travel going on.  At least I'm beginning to get ready for it, or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

As far as my health is concerned, and I'm sure my entire Blog Army was concerned, I feel I'm working at about 95% today.  Yesterday it felt like my body just didn't want me to do anything.  I felt weak and light-headed and had a migraine.  I was pretty useless for anything but sleep.  Today I woke up at 4:39 am and was ready to go.

I even did some running today - 1.5 miles in a shade over 12 minutes.

Stay tuned!

Isn't Sunday A Day Off?

Sunday's are generally an off day, right?  Not so fast.

The men's basketball team had a game on MSG at noon, so this guy had to be in at around 7:45am.  Not too pleased with that, but I guess whatever pays the bills, right?  The camera guys and TV crews were there around 5:00am, so it could be worse.  Granted, they probably make somewhere north of what I earn.  Met one guy, Pete, a Packer Backer - a grizzled older guy with long white hair underneath his GB beanie.  Oh yeah, and he had on a Packers vest.  He mentioned how he's worked a bunch of Sunday Night Football games.  I feel like I missed an opportunity to make a connection.  Damn it.

They lost in case you were wondering, to St. Peter's, 62-53.

I got home around 4:15pm with a bag of food for Nathan and caught the end of the Packers/Bears game.  It looked almost like the Packers were trying to give it away there towards the end.  I then whipped together some turkey burgers and roasted potato fries for dinner and realized I hadn't posted today.  And here I am now.  Here's something I always punish myself with - red onions.  I can't resist putting them on top of burgers or in pasta salads, but they give me the worst indigestion ever.  It's hasn't stopped me from eating them and I don't think it ever will, just thought I'd share my dietary issues with you all.

Steelers just went ahead of the Jets 7-0.  Haven't watched any of the game yet, but I'll bear down after this post.  I wished all my friends who are Jets fans good luck (like they're part of the team or something) and that was all.  I support NY sports (Yankees, Giants, Islanders mainly) so the Jets header is for New York, not necessarily the Jets.  Seeing how they were the only football team to make the playoffs, I felt compelled to show my support.  If they lose, it comes down tomorrow.

The weather here is frigid - low 20's seem to be the high lately.  I wear my Under Armour mask under my wool hat, and I think sometimes it scares the older people living in the building.  They look at me like I am a nut job.  I'm not, and they realize that once they see Nathan.  I can give a shit what I look like, I'm trying to stay warm.

I've been tweeting a lot lately, not that anyone on there gives a shit what I have to say, but you never know.  I still feel privileged to have all you people (my Blog Army) following my blog.  I hope I don't piss you off with the amount of posts that I put out.

OK, I need to get something to settle my stomach.  Damn you, red onions!

UCF - Right or Wrong?

Refer back to my post on January 9th about the then-#23 UCF Knights basketball team.  I am not trying to toot my own horn, but I told you so.

They were 14-0.  After winning their conference opener against Marshall (which looks better since they just beat #21 West Virginia), they've rattled off three straight losses in C-USA (Jan. 8 @ Houston 76-71, Jan. 15 @ Southern Miss 86-69, Jan. 19 vs. East Carolina 74-62) and fallen to within one game of the cellar-dwelling Rice Owls. 

Rice is up next.  From there it's off to Memphis.  Then they host UAB.  UTEP on the road after that.  A tough stretch for the over rated UCF basketball team.

I just call it like I see it.  They've been outscored by 27 points in C-USA games.  Two of the losses were by 12+ points.  Just saying.

1-3 over the next four games.  Let's see.

Stupidity Abounds; Clemson's Chapel Hill O'fer; Roll Tide

I was just down on Broadway getting a bite to eat following another stellar pre-work workout and I stopped in Dunkin' Donuts to get myself a large iced coffee with milk and a little sugar.  (they put too much sugar in today)

So I order my coffee and as I'm waiting - it only took 30 seconds mind you - a guy comes steps right in front of me and in the process steps right on my foot.  I still am not quite sure what the rush was seeing how the one guy working was the guy making my coffee.  Anyhow, he looked blankly at me after he stepped on my foot.  No "I'm sorry" or "My bad" - none of that;  so I responded with "Don't sweat it man, I got another foot."

His blank stare turned to utter confusion.  I got my coffee as we was placing his order - 2 munchkins.  Two.  I didn't even know they sold them individually.

This guy was not homeless nor was he struggling for cash - he had a Gucci wallet (even though it was probably a fake) and was wearing a brand new pair of Nike sneaks.  Maybe he just has the appetite of a baby bird.  Or maybe he'd rather spend money looking good that trying to survive.  Come to think of it, he was about 6' and weighed maybe 160 pounds.  It felt like I stubbed my toe when he stepped on me.

Two munchkins.  Hah!

In college basketball news, North Carolina improved to 55-0 all-time at home against Clemson.  Granted, UNC traditionally has been a basketball powerhouse, but at some point over the past several seasons, when they've been a middle-of-the-pack ACC team, Clemson should have found a way to beat them.  It was tied at 63 before the Heels closed the game with a 12-2 run.  I guess the sun doesn't shine on a dog's ass every once in a while, not for Clemson anyway, and certainly not in Chapel Hill.

Another game I watched was #12 Kentucky taking on Alabama in Tuscaloosa.  Alabama tried like hell to give this one away, but they held on thanks to seldom used guard Ben Eblen.  With the Tide up 1 with 2.3 seconds left, Eblen tallied his lone point (he averages 1.0 PPG) on his first free throw before missing the second one, allowing the Wildcats one last chance.  Alabama led by as many as 17 in the second half but Kentucky kept chipping away.  In the end, Alabama prevailed, 68-66.  No court storming.  They've done it before, just not since the 2006 season - when they beat #20 Kentucky 72-61.  Roll Tide.  For this night anyway.

Time for a conference call.  Be back.  Enjoy your munchkins.

UCF is certainly NOT for real

People were all over UCF's early season success like they were the next coming of present day Butler or back in the day Gonzaga.  Guess what?  They ain't.  Yes, they're 14-1.  It's still January folks.  Teams fall apart once they cakey early season schedule concludes.  It's inevitable.  Maybe they'll stay relevant, maybe they won't. 

They do have Marcus Jordan (MJ's son).  16.3 points per game.  Good for him.  Good for them.

Sure, they had some good wins - a 57-54 over then #18 Florida, an 84-78 win over ACC pretender Miami (FL), a 65-59 win over Big East doormat South Florida.  So I guess if they only played teams from their home state, they'd be a contender.  (They also beat Stetson, Bethune-Cookman, and West Florida)

They had a road game at Houston (9-6, 1-1 CUSA) and came up on the losing side, 76-71.  They won the C-USA opener over Marshall, which was a good win (at home).  So much for the dream season.  A good Southern Miss team is on deck, also on the road.  A trip to #21 Memphis looks towards the end of the month.  Following that, UAB (12-3) heads to Orlando before they visit the UTEP Miners (13-4).  It isn't gonna be easy for the Knights.

So for them to think they've actually accomplished anything is absurd.

Here's the Strength of Schedule for the C-USA teams:

Tulsa 45 - won by 12 at Stanford
Marshall 46 - beat VMI (not really a good win)
UCF 81 - beat Florida, at Miami (FL), at UMASS
Rice 89 - played Texas to a 3 point game in Austin
UAB 112 - beat Arkansas by 5 in Fayetteville
UTEP 144 - beat Michigan and Texas Tech
Memphis 150 - their marquee win is Miami (FL)
East Carolina 153 - they've beaten no one important
Southern Miss 222 - won by 2 at Cal
Houston 265- beat #19 UCF and won at TCU
SMU 326 - irrelevant since beat 3 of their 9 wins are against non-D1 teams
Tulane 345 - beat UNO, SMU, and Rice (='s no one)

When you hear "Conference USA" you think Memphis - and they've got the 7th toughest SoS in conference.  C-USA - a conference lacking that big win.  The conference RPI is 11th - behind the Mountain West (BYU, San Diego St., UNLV), the Atlantic 10 (Temple, Dayton, Xavier), Colonial (Old Dominion, George Mason) and the Horizon League (Butler, Cleveland St.).  You're definitely not a big boy conference.

First off, beat Memphis.  You're unproven and unchallenged.  Wait until March.  They'll probably get into the tournament.  And get "upset" by a lower seed.

Duke 2010 Championship Rings

2010 NCAA Champion DUKE University rings - pretty sweet.

#8 UNC Get Gopher'ed

Minnesota 72 - #8 UNC 67. 

Tough loss for the ACC.  Oh well.  I'm over it.

Duke is playing a cupcake - Colgate.  52 point victory over the Patriot League's Colgate.  Good warm-up.

Going to bed.  Long Island at 7am, Bronx at 11am, Boston at 9pm.  Travelling hillbillies.

Tracking the ACC

As you may or may not know, I am a huge Duke fan.  I have been since I was little, and for some reason, the thing that turned me on to them was when my father's boss at the time went down to Durham and got me a hat from the bookstore, brought it back to me in a Duke plastic bag.  Not quite sure how that translated into me being a Duke fan, but that's the story.

Here's a look at the Preseason ACC Basketball Media Poll.

Fortunately, they've been on television both games so far (a 97-60 thumping of Princeton and a 79-45 beat down of Miami (OH)).  The ACC is having a decent start to the season, however, my hopes for a 2nd straight National Title from Duke are premature and tempered.  The ACC has a cumulative record of 20-5.

Georgia Tech got pumped by Kennesaw State (they're from Georgia) for their only loss.
 Miami (FL) lost one at #19 Memphis (not an easy game)
#22 Virginia Tech lost at #3 Kansas State.
Abysmal Wake Forest has two losses - Stetson and VCU.
Maryland (3-0) and Florida State (3-0) haven't played a team with a pulse yet.
Clemson and Virginia, both 2-0, are the same.
#8 UNC, NC State, and Boston College (all 1-0) have played cupcakes as well.
#1 Duke hasn't had too tough a road either (Princeton is the Ivy Preseason favorite)

Duke hosts Colgate tomorrow night, on television I'm guessing.  Time for lunch.  Be back.

Picking up where I left off yesterday - Boston College was stunned at home by the Ivy League's Yale (Preseason #5 in Ivy) 75-67.  #8 UNC pummeled Long Island's own Hofstra by 44.  #5 Pittsburgh, of the BEast took down Maryland 79-70 in a game that was closer than the final score indicated.  Florida State handled in-state "rival" Florida International; NC State beat East Carolina by 20; Stanford destroyed Virginia by three touchdowns, 81-60.

After yesterday's games (3-3), the ACC's record stands at 23-8.  Respectable, minus the bad, bad losses to Kennesaw State and Stetson (VCU was picked third in the CAA Preseason Poll).

There's another seven games on the slate tonight - LBSU vs. Clemson down in St. Thomas; George Mason vs. NC State in Charleston; #13 Illinois vs. Maryland at the Garden; NC Central at Miami (FL); Minnesota vs. #8 UNC in Puerto Rico; MAAC school Niagara travels to Georgia Tech; and finally #1 DUKE hosting Colgate.

Not sure of the television broadcasts, but I will be here at the Draddy for the Albany/Manhattan Women's hoops game.  Duke is probably on, but I will be relegated to tracking in on my phone and/or getting text updates from Johnny Holzer.

Game on!