My Blog Experience

My blog experience was a fun one. It was interesting to write about a topic that I really enjoyed and I didn't have to adhere to many guidelines. Most of the time in journalism you have to stay within strict perimeters. Here I could use my opinions and thoughts as much as I used my facts. I could sway an article the way I wanted to and wouldn't have to think about the repercussions because, well there really isn't any. I would have liked to have some more readers and maybe some that would argue with me because I think that would have been fun. The only thing people really argue about in journalism class are things going on in the news, and personally I find the news very boring. I would have liked to argue with someone about sports for the sake of journalism for once. Blogging is fun to do because it is so current and as soon as something happens you can write about it. It was nice to experience blogging first hand and it was nice to deal with this new form of journalism. Go Georgetown.

Who's Staying and Who's Going

The question that is asked after every college season concludes is who will stay and who will go pro. Well this year the draft is going to see plenty of talent. A kid from Texas who stole the spotlight early will be the unanimous number one in April. His name is Kevin Durant. Teams would be stupid to pass him up. His size, work ethic and basketball knowledge just doesn't come around all that often. Greg Oden of The Ohio State University is still deciding whether to take Rock and Roll History 2 or get paid big bucks to eat Boston Beans and Chowdah. The Florida 04's have all declared and will all be first rounders. Horford, Brewer, Noah and Green will all make an immediate impact on whatever team they are on and one may have a shot at a title if he slips down far enough. The Big Easy's Glen "Big Baby" Davis is ditching his final year at LSU in hope to make an impact as big as Shaq's. Hibbert and Green of Georgetown probably have the toughest decision to make. If they stay they will be on a team that will run with UNC all year long to the Final Four. If they go they are both top 10 picks, meaning top 10 money. The draft will be interesting, a lack of foreign talent and no more high schoolers will make teams bid for a dominate big man with somewhat of a college education. Only time will tell.

What a season

This year was one of the most exciting season's in college basketball history. Florida, Ohio State, UCLA, UNC, Kansas and Wisconsin all were called number one at some point during the season. A revamped Buckeye, Georgetown and Kansas led to one of the most exciting finishes in years, a repeat National Champion. Duke for the first time in years was viewed as an underdog in many of it's games because they just couldn't cope for the loss of J.J. Reddick and Sheldon Williams. We saw school spirit at it's finest when Bruce Pearl, the men's coach at Tennessee painted his torso orange to support the Lady Vols in their pursuit of yet another Title. Pat Summitt returned the favor when the men took on the Gators and won, as she dressed as a cheerleader and sung "Rocky Mountain Top" which could have helped the Vols to victory. We say another freshman, no not Oden rise to the challenge. Kevin Durant of the Texas Longhorns averaged a double-double each game and made himself apart of history as all freshmen will now be compared to this young superstar. Acie Law IV took a struggling Texas A&M team to the tourney a became one of the most clutch players in years, nailing every key three whenever his team needed him too. Three revamped teams, two dominate freshmen, a repeat national champion made for one heck of a great year. And next year O.J. Mayo comes to Southern Cal, it's going to be fun.

For All the Marbles

Florida becomes the first team in 15 years to repeat as National Champions as they cruise past the Buckeyes 84-75. The Florida Gators simply wanted to be included in the conversation of the best of all time. Now the 04's have yet another decision to make, do they come back for one more. They most likely won't unless Coach Billy Donovan stays and their bench drastically improves. They will be graduating three of their best role players and Donovan could be jumping ship to Kentucky for the big bucks. Al Horford was the most dominate player on the Gator side with 18 points and 12 rebounds. But the Tournaments Most Outstanding Player Corey Brewer hit a lucky thirteen and added two key steals to seal the repeat. Greg Oden may not be walking away with a championship but he can hold his head high, he dominated this Gator team, but he didn't get any help. He had 25 points and 12 boards and stayed out of foul trouble, something that plagued him last game and got Noah this one. For the second time in a row, a national championship pitted the Florida Gators against The Ohio State University, and for the second straight time, the Gators took a bite out of the Hoyas.

Rematch/Revenge

The UCLA Bruins have had to watch all the coverage of the repeating National Champions. They have had to watch the '04s relish in the spotlight and get asked all the questions like, "are you coming back or going pro?" and "what's it like to try and repeat?" Many people forget that the Bruins were in the championship game too, and for a long while they were number one in the country when the Gators struggled. Did they get the attention? No. Did they get the respect? No. Well on March 31, 2007 they had a chance to gain it all back. But they failed. The 04's dominated once again and Lee Humphfrey added 14 as the Gator's cut down yet another set of nets. It was only a 10 point difference in the end but the Bruins were playing catchup the entire game. Corey Brewer who flew under the radar in some of Florida's latest victories nailed 19 to lead the Gators back the the promised land. The win sets up a repeat of the BCS National Championship game where the Gators crushed the Buckeyes.

Big Man against Big Man

Hoyas/Buckeyes. One of the most anticipating match ups of the year will be seen as the Roy Hibbert and Greg Oden will tangle in the National spotlight to try and settle who is the biggest of them all.The Hoyas big man will meet the "other freshman" Greg Oden in a battle of the two brightest stars in the College Basketball sky. Oden got in trouble early, looking like a kid sent to the principals office, the Buckeyes center was forced to sit just three minutes in for the entire first half because of two quick fouls. But just a few minutes later Hibbert joined Oden on his bench because he too was in foul trouble. Enter Mike Conely Jr. The Buckeyes hottest shooter rose to the challenge once again and dominated. Nailing down 15 points and added six assists to give the Buckeyes their first title appearance since 1962. Hibbert scored 19 to win the big man battle and Jeff Green added 12 rebounds to go along with his 9 points in the Hoyas loss. Oden still pulled down 9 boards in one of his most disappointing games of the years.

Elite Eight

Well we are down to eight. The Florida Gators and the Oregon Ducks, the Georgetown Hoyas and the North Carolina Tar Heels, The Ohio State University and Memphis Tigers, and the Kansas Jayhawks and the UCLA Bruins. The Gators handled the best three point shooting team in the tournament with a long range sniper of their own, named Lee Humphfrey. Ohio State beat up on Memphis to send them to their first Final Four since 2001. UCLA proved that experience is the difference maker as they beat the Jayhawks by 12 and held them to one of their lowest scoring performances of the season with only 55 points. But the game of weekend was between the Hoyas and Heels. It went to Overtime where North Carolina couldn't even hit a shot. The Hoyas were led by Jeff Green who scored 22 and got 11 rebounds from Roy Hibbert. Tyler Hansbourough also got 11 boards to add to his 26 points. The Hoyas are in their first Final Four in 15 years and the most enticing match up of the year will be seen as Greg Oden will tangle with Roy Hibbert.

Sweet 16

Well the regional sites were packed to the rafters as 16 teams tried for College Basketball immortality. Acie Law IV and the Texas A&M Aggies were knocked out by Memphis sending him to the draft and upsetting many brackets. The Aggies were a very dangerous three and in the Final Four in numerous brackets. UCLA took another step towards their second straight Final Four with a great win over Big East powerhouse Pittsburgh. Kansas squeaked by Southern Illinois by three, and Ohio State freshmen Greg Oden saved their season when he blocked Tennessee's JaJuan Smith's last second effort to send the Buckeye's to the Elite Eight. Day two of the Sweet 16 saw two favorites battle down to the wire and barely get by with wins. Georgetown beat Vanderbilt by one in a great defensive effort and Oregon's Tajuan Porter hit eight three's to send the Ducks to the Elite Eight. Florida and North Carolina both cruised into the next round with their wins. Now each team is only one win away from the Final Four.

Thirty Two Up-Thirty Two Down

One of the best freshmen to ever play the game might be hanging up his Texas uniform for good, as he most likely will go pro after his season was ended by USC in day four of the tournament. Kevin Durant will most likely be the number one pick of Aprils draft, as teams like Boston and Memphis are purposely tanking to try and get him. Vanderbilt, Butler, Tennessee and UNLV pulled the upsets of the round as the tourney got more exciting. Xavier and Ohio State tangled in the craziest game so far with it going down to the wire. Mike Connelly Jr. hit a three with two seconds left to help the Buckeyes tie a game that looked to be all Xavier's from the start. Think about how many brackets that would have messed up. Kansas, North Carolina, Florida and Georgetown all cruised into the Sweet 16. Kansas won it's 13th in a row as it beat up on Kentucky, which also helped send Tubby Smith packing to Minnesota. St. Patrick's Day saw it's share of memories this year, and it will be a day that will live forever in both Ohio school's history forever.

First Round Highlights

Well I never thought I would say this but this years first round was extremely boring. No big upsets, a lot of blowouts, and no games that were really worth watching. Not one 12-5 upset, an almost lock every other year. No George Mason in sight, because the Mid Majors either lost or they play a 1 or 2 next round. Durant and Texas looked good, so did Oden and The Ohio State University. Duke was knocked out in the first round for the first time in ten years by Virgina Commonwealth. Hansbourough and North Carolina cruised into the second round and hopefully will set up a Texas-UNC showdown in the Sweet 16. Georgetown became the first team in NCAA history to have two different Father-Son relationships win a game in the tournament. John Thompson II took Patrick Ewing Sr. to the title game in 1984 and 85, and this year both their respective sons did it again. Louisville, Notre Dame, Georgetown and Pitt all won while Marquette was the only Beast to lose.

How Fun the First Day Is

The First day of March Madness is one of my favorite days of the year. Sitting through classes or work is unbearable once noon hits because you know the first tipoff is about to happen. It's really the only time in the tournament that everyone has a chance because teams are still trying to find themselves at this point. ESPN predicts that this is the most called out sick day of the year for men ages 18-40, the second is the release day of Madden. It should almost be a national holiday because no one pays attention to what they are doing because they are constantly checking scores on their Blackberry or computer. They are constantly reaching into their pockets to pull out their bracket and seeing what scenarios are unfolding and what happens if this team wins and if this one loses. The guy in charge of it all is checking everything scores, brackets and he has to deal with all the morons texting and calling him seeing where they are at. Someone needs to petition that Thursday and Friday of March Madness have to be at least half days if not off days all together. There is no other day in sports like this, and it deserves its respect.

Tourney Seeds

Well Selection Sunday is over and some lost out while others gained. Fans in Illinois and Arkansas are ecstatic that they are in, while Syracuse and Drexel are devastated that they will have to play for a three letter title. Syracuse was robbed, they were hot towards the end in the toughest basketball conference and they sit out while a struggling Illinois team gets to dance. And don't get me started on Arkansas, they aren't even three letter tournament material. The returning champs, the Florida Gators took the overall number one seed and were placed in the easiest bracket, the Midwest. The North Carolina Tar Heels are number one in the hardest bracket the East, which has #2 Georgetown, #Washington State, #4 Texas and #5 Southern California. Good luck in that bracket. Kansas is #1 in the West with #2 UCLA looking for a return to the National Title game. Now to the South, The Ohio State University is number one and will have Memphis at 2 and Acie Law IV and Texas A&M at three. The Gators have the easiest run to the title as overrated Wisconsin, struggling Oregon and Butler will be their opponents. The Gators will only have to deal with the hottest team in the tourney Maryland in a possible sweet 16 match up. With five contenders who could all take the East bracket it is up for grabs. The two teams that stand out are North Carolina and Georgetown but watch out for the Player of the Year, Kevin Durant and his Texas Longhorns. Well this should be fun. Enjoy.

Hoyas build resume once again

The Georgetown Hoyas pounded the Pitt Panthers 65-42 in route to their first Big East title since 1989. Jeff Green led all Hoyas once again scoring 21 while Roy Hibbert scored 18 and had 11 boards to help the Gtown boy's claim their place in history. But more importantly for Hibbert, he turned Pitt's big man, Aaron Gray into a spectator, he only had 3 points. Of Hibberts 11 boards 9 of them were on the defensive side of the ball, keeping Gray at bay. The Panthers only hit 19 of their shots from the field (not including free throws) and if they want to go anywhere in the dance they need to improve on this immediately. The Panthers could probably get a 4 but they might slip as low as 6 with this embarrassing loss. The Hoyas were down only once, when Mike Cook had the opening lay up fall in. The Hoyas used a 15-2 run halfway through the first half to build their lead and distance themselves from the Panthers. Sam Young had 10 points for the Panthers while Keith Benjamin had 6 rebounds. Levon Kendall and Gray were kept to minimum levels as the Hoya defense contained and trapped them all game long. The Hoyas fans chanted "6 more wins" at the end of the game, to try and propel the Hoyas to their first National Title since 1985.

Pitt Survives

Pittsburgh rode a 20-2 run at the end of the second to beat Louisville, 65-59. Antonio Graves netted 10 of his 23 during Pitt's run and secured the Panthers in the Big East title game against Georgetown. With a win in the Championship Pitt can make a bid for a two seed while, a Hoya win could give them an argument to be a number 1. The Panthers were led by Graves and were helped by Mike Green who added 13 of his own to complement his 8 boards. Terrence Williams had 18 points and 7 rebounds and Earl Clark added 12 boards for the second seeded Cardinals. Louisville led by 11 at the half but for the second straight game they blew a big lead. Pitt, the best 3-point shooting team in the Big East was 0-11 from behind the arc in the first half but they got their act together netting 7 of their last 10 attempts from downtown. Pitt gained the lead just under six minutes into the second and never gave it back. Louisville lost 10 of it's last 11 at Madison Square Garden which isn't good for Rick Pitino's Redbirds, who will have to find some way to break this streak if they want to half any chance in next years tourney. Louisville will still be in the dance but their chances of a top 8 seed have been crushed by the Panthers.

Big East Semis

The Big East tourney is well underway and the four teams that remain are fighting for a chance at Basketball immortality. The Hoyas and Irish tangled in the first game and it was a nail biter. The Hoyas edged the Golden Domers 84-82 to advance to their first final since 1996. Big Mean Jeff Green poured in a career high 30 points and added twelve rebounds in the Hoyas win. DeJaun Summers scored 18 and Patrick Ewing Jr. came off the bench to tally 15. The Hoyas were extremely hot in this tournament winning 14 of their last 15 games. Green drove hard to the key with only seconds remaining, scored, and was fouled. And 1. Green missed it however and the Irish motored up the court, with just six ticks left Russell Carter shot from behind the arc for the win but he bricked. Hoyas win. The first person to congratulate John Thompson III, was his father John Thompson II who led the Hoyas to six Big East titles and a National Championship in 1985. The Irish were led by Carter with 21 points including 5 three's. They were helped by an unbelievable performance by freshman guard Tory Jackson, who had 20.

Talk about Intimidating

Imagine being a Georgetown parent. Your 18 year old son has just made one of the most historic and famous college basketball teams in the entire nation. You buy you blue and silver pom-poms, you get your Michael Jordan licensed jersey's, you get your Hoyas seat cushion. You show up for the first parents meeting and you have the cookies and punch, or whatever they put out. You wear your name tag, introduce yourself to the parents that are there and you wait. In walks three parents that don't need a tag, because they are living legends. Imagine seeing John Thompson II, Patrick Ewing Sr., and Doc Rivers show up to parents night. How do you even approach them? How do you even talk to them about basketball? In case you didn't know John Thompson II was the coach when the Hoyas last won the NCAA Title in 1985, he coached Patrick Ewing Sr., his son is current head coach John Thompson III. Patrick Ewing Sr. needs no introduction. A man who stands seven feet tall, holds numerous Georgetown records and a National Championship ring. His son is an emerging superstar who will surely follow in Daddy's footsteps, #33 Patrick Ewing Jr. Then there is Doc Rivers, yes his Celtics are on pace to have the worst record in NBA history, and yes he might not be there next year, but he still knows basketball. His son Jerimah is young pure shooter who has the potential to be great. This is the Hoyas parent association. No other team can even touch them.

Pitt's Big Men Dominate

Pitt finally used LeVon Kendall and Aaron Gray the way they should be used, in the paint. Pitt dominated in its second half victory over West Virgina, 80-66. The Panthers went on two separate 9-0 runs during the second half that were the keys to victory. Kendall and Gray did not allow a Mountaineer near the hoop, and they combined for 22 rebounds. Mike Cook and Ronald Ramon each hit key threes to give the Panthers the lead at the opportune times. Levance Fields added 14 points as the Panthers improved to 25-5 and 12-3 in the Big East. Despite the loss to Georgetown over the weekend Pitt put themselves into great position with just one game left in the season. If they beat Marquette in Milwaukee on Saturday and Georgetown loses to UCONN, the Cats are one and the Dogs are two. Unfortunately for the Panthers UCONN is struggling this year and except for Monday's loss Georgetown is considered one of the best teams in the nation. A win over Marquette guarantees the Panthers at least the second seed in the tournament when it begins next week. Seeds 1-4 get a first round bye, a good time to rest before March Madness. On a final note, hats off to Bruce Pearl and Pat Summitt for supporting one another's teams at Tennessee. Pearl painted his chest orange and was the "V" in a spelling of Lady Vols and Summitt donned a cheerleading uniform and sang "Rocky Top" the Tennessee fight song.

Orange Jumping from the 3 Letter to the Four

The Syracuse Orange pulled the upset of the #10 and Big East leaders the Georgetown Hoyas, 72-58 on Monday night. Cuse got off to a 12-0 run to start the second half. Demetris Nichols and Andy Rautins each hit from behind the arc that put Cuse ahead for good just three minutes and forty two seconds into the second half. This is the key win that Cuse needed to propel themselves into the four letter tourney instead of the three. The selection committee looks at two very important things when choosing bubble teams, 1. Wins at home and Cuse has 10 and 2. Victories over ranked opponents they have 2, over Marquette and now Georgetown. With the Hoyas being ranked 10 and they are first in the Big East, both those factors will bode well with the committee. Cuse has now won five in a row and they close the season at Villanova. With this loss Georgetown can almost be assured they will miss out on being a two and be ranked a three. They however will be the most dangerous three with Nevada, Pitt and most likely Washington State getting the others. If Georgetown can get to a solid nine ranking in all polls they will most likely get into the Wisconsin bracket or the struggling Florida Gators. Either way this loss may end up helping the Hoyas because ones and twos have too big of targets on their heads, and threes are able to sneak by, just watch out for George Mason. HAHAHA.

Old Times in D.C.

There is a coach named John Thompson. There is a player named Patrick Ewing. The Georgetown Hoyas are ranked in the top 15 and they have a chance to win the two biggest tournaments in all of college basketball. Is this 1985 or is it 2007? Georgetown is returning to its roots by playing tough physical basketball and allowing their defense to dominate and their offense to shine. they have a big man in Roy Hibbert that can run with the best, and if there wasn't so much talk about The Ohio State University's Greg Oden or a Texas Longhorn named Kevin Durant, Hibbert could have won player of the year. The Hoyas will need to be firing on all cylinders now because March starts on Thursday and all college basketball fans know what that means: the real season is just beginning. With a Big East title, the Hoyas could easily solidify themselves as a number 2 seed in the big dance. A falter will leave them as a solid three and possibly ending up in a bracket with the Buckeyes or Florida. A Sweet-16 team one year ago this team has the potential to be at least an Elite 8 and possibly a Final Four contender. Unfortunately I think their are two teams in the Big-10, a returning national champion and a team on Tobacco Road that will end their title hopes, but it's always fun to speculate.

The Irish upset the Golden Eagles

The Navy and Gold Irish and their 23 ranking pulled the rug out from under the 16th ranked Marquette Golden Eagles 85-73 on Saturday. Luke Harangardy scored a career high 22 including eight in a three minute span in the second half that helped the Irish pull away with the victory. Notre Dame had to fight from 13 points down to beat the Golden Eagles and remain perfect at home for this season. The student section at Notre Dame chanted this is our house throughout the contest. Wesley Matthews scored 17, a career high, for Marquette with Jerel McNeal adding 16 and Dominic James scoring 14. The Irish got 14 points from Colin Falls and Russell Carter had 13. The Irish can clinch a first round bye in the Big East Tournament with a win over Rutgers on March 3rd.

Louisville Beats UCONN

The Louisville Cardinals beat the UCONN Huskies 76-69 on Sunday. The number 20 Cardinals were led by Terrence Williams with 17 and Derrick Caracter, yes Derrick Caracter had 16 off the bench. Louisville was 5-20 from behind the arc but hit three consecutive bombs late in the game to allow the Cardinals to pull away with the win. Louisville also hit their final six free throws to ice this game and possibly align themselves for the number three seed in the Big East Tournament, teams 1-4 get a first round bye. Jerome Dyson was the lone highlight for the Huskies as he scored 23 including 6 from downtown. The Cardinals close the regular season out with Seton Hall next Saturday. UCONN has Villanova and the number 12 Georgetown Hoyas this week.

GTOWN Beats PITT

The number 12 Georgetown Hoyas beat number 8 Pittsburgh 63-51 on Saturday to move into first place in the Big East with two games left to play. The Hoyas stopped the Panthers with great defense and they pulled away with an 8-2 run at the closing minutes. The Hoyas were led by Jonathan Wallace who scored 17, while Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert had 14 and 12 points respectively. The Hoyas have not had a number one seed in the Big East Tournament since 1989 and can clinch that spot with wins over Cuse and UConn this week. The Panthers seven foot star Aaron Gray was seen noticeably limping during the game an injury that caused him to miss the Panthers game against Seton Hall earlier in the week. Ronald Ramon and Sam Young had eleven points each for the Panthers and Gray got 10. The Panthers had been 6-0 this year on the road in Big East play before falling to the Hoyas Saturday. The Panthers play West Virgina and Marquette this week.

Cuse beats arch rival UCONN

Syracuse beat UCONN 73-63 at the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon for the Orange's third straight win. Demetrius Nichols helped his team by netting 20 points including five in the final minutes to ice the game for Cuse. The Orange had three others in double figures including Paul Harris with 16, Eric Devendorf with 15 and Andy Routins had 13 off the bench. Cuse also had a big advantage in rebounds getting 13 from Darryl Watkins, 10 from Harris and 9 from Nichols. UCONN's loss kept them in twelfth place in the Big East which is the last spot in the tournament. Both Cuse and UCONN need to finish their season out strong if they want to have any chance to play at the Garden. UCONN visits Rutgers then plays two at home against Louisville and VillanovaCapital to take on the red hot Georgetown Hoyas. Syracuse finishes up with Providence on the road, Georgetown at home and Villanova in Philly. Predictions UCONN will miss the tourney because the strech of Louisville, VNOVA and GTOWN will just be too hard to win outright. Cuse will be done in the first round and will make the NIT.

Louisville upsets Marquette

Jerry Smith hit a three pointer at the buzzer to send Louisville to a 61-59 victory over Marquette on Saturday. This is the Cardinals second straight upset victory over a ranked opponent this week, as the beat Pitt a few days earlier. Louisville is picking up wins at this point of the season that will help them become less of a bubble team and more of a guaranteed team for the tournament. They still have the Big East Tourney at the Garden to prove that these wins aren't flukes before the selection committee makes up their minds about this young Cardinal team. With injuries plaguing this team left and right the Cardinals need to be ecstatic about where they are at this point of the season. The Cardinals have St. John's and Seton Hall at home and UCONN on the road to close out the season and these are all winnable games. If they can pull at least two victories here and of course beat UCONN on the road the selection committee will have no choice but to give the birds a chance in the four letter tournament.

Viva Las Vegas

The Big East is well represented at this years All-Star game in Vegas. The Big East is sending six players to Sin City more than any other conference. (ACC has 5, the SEC and the Pac-10 each have 2).Caron Butler and Rip Hamilton will represent UCONN on the East while Ray Allen is the only Husky on the West. Dwyane Wade is the only Big Eat starter hailing from Marquette and handling the shooting guard duties for the East. Carmelo Anthony is another West big man, out of Syracuse and his team Allen Iverson from Georgetown will also be their but won't play because of injury. The game in Las Vegas should be a fun one as defense steps aside to let a high flying offensive battle take place. Hopefully at one time all the Big East players will be on the court at the same time doing battle against one another like they did just a few years ago. My prediction East 135 West 130.

Pitt Bounces Back...Barely

Pitt defeated Washington 65-61 on Saturday at Pittsburgh. The Panthers were out rebounded, one of their strong points, and struggled from behind the arc, arguably their best point. Aaron Gray was kept to a minimum with 5 points and 10 rebounds. The Panthers were helped out by Mike Cook who scored 15, as both Gray and Levon Kendall were kept quiet for most of the game. Gray tallied his 1,000 point as a Panther just before colliding with a Washington player and injuring his ankle. The Panthers said Gray should be good to go against Big East opponent Seton Hall on Monday. Pittsburgh's problem is simple. They need to have Gray and Kendall be at their best or they struggle to win. A loss to both Louisville and Marquette hurts them going into the tournament because both those teams will have confidence against the Panthers when they play them next. If Pitt wants a number two seed in the tournament they have to win outright. But with games at Georgetown and Marquette and Dub V at home that could be hard.

Pitt hangs on to beat Providence

Pitt escaped with a 74-68 win over Providence in the Keystone state Saturday. Providence hang around with the Panthers and really got under the skin of Aaron Gray who was in foul trouble early and had to sit a big chunk of the first half on the bench. Despite a lack of minutes Gray tallied 22 points in 25 minutes. The Panthers are the best three point shooting team in the Big East at 43 percent but were held to a minimum only making 5 of 13 behind the arc, as Providence stuck with man to man defense a first against Pitt this season. Pitt won its fifth in a row and 12 out of the last 13 games and took a one and a half game lead over Georgetown and distanced themselves from Marquette who they now lead by two in the Big East. A key 11-1 run during the first five minutes of the second half was key for the Panthers as they took the lead with just under 10 to play and never gave it back. The Friars shot well and led several times by as many as six as they got 22 points from Herbert Hill. The Panthers will not gain much in the standings from this win although they should bump up one as UCLA was upset by West Virgina. The Friars must win down the stretch to get them into the four letter tourney and not the three letter one.

The Hoyas Romp Marquette

The number 23 Georgetown Hoyas upset the number 12 Marquette Golden Eagles 76-58 in our nations capitol Saturday afternoon. The Hoyas were led by Roy Hibbert who scored 23 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Green scored a career high 24 points in the Hoyas seventh straight win. Georgetown a sweet-16 team one year ago took great strides towards March with this win. It is an upset victory and it is at home which are two very good things in the selection committees eyes. To them you must be able to win at home which Georgetown is very good at and you must upset at least three or four teams. Since this is also a conference opponent who is more than ten seeds ahead of them and it was a blowout the Hoyas are in the best possible spot for themselves. The Hoyas recognized one of its former stars on Saturday afternoon which was an event all on its own. They named Patrick Ewing to their all century team since this is their 100th year of playing college basketball. Georgetown is one of the only teams in the country who does not retire numbers because they believe that no one individual is bigger than the team. Patrick Ewing Jr. wears his dad's number right now and he had no points with three rebounds in ten minutes.

Dub V Upsets Number 2 UCLA

A young Mountaineer squad pulled through and upset second ranked UCLA in Morgantown Saturday. The Mountaineers got up early and held on to win 70-65. The Mountaineers got a lot of support from a massive student section which was loud and crazy all game long. Dub V got 18 points from Alex Ruoff and UCLA was led by Arron Affalo who had 27 points and nine boards. This win was a revenge win for the Mountaineers who lost to the Bruins in last years tournament. This was the Bruins third loss on the road and their first to a non-divisional opponent. This win is huge for the Mountaineers because it will boost their strength of schedule, RPI and will look very good in the eyes of the tournament selection committee who decide on all bubble teams which West Virgina will most likely be. Darren Collison of UCLA was hurt and didn't see action and this clearly hurt the Bruins as they went on a stretch of 9:16 spanning both halves without a bucket. West Virgina has always believed they were a good team and if they don't get national recognition for this one, there isn't much more that they can do.

Rivalry Week

UConn and Syracuse. Calhoun and Boheim. Two of the Big East's most historic programs faced each other on Monday night. Calhoun and the Huskies won for his 500th victory at the school. The game was an extremely historic one. Besides Calhoun's 500th win, UConn added thirteen names including their beloved coach's, to the wall at Gampel Pavilion. The score was 67-60 with UConn having 5 players in double figures. Craig Austrie had 14, while Jeff Adrien and A.J. Price each had a dozen. Jerome Dyson and Marcus Johnson each had ten as UConn won its second game in a row after losing five straight. Demitrus Nichols had 20 for the Orange who committed 25 team fouls. Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf each had 13, who fell to 5-5 in the Big East. With the Orange having several key players in foul trouble early, UConn was able to take advantage and propel themselves to a 4-6 mark in the Big East. Although this has been a less than stellar season for the two traditional powerhouses, they are starting to show some promise. With still a long way to go both teams can pick it up and make the tournament.

Dwayne Wade

DWades number three jersey will be hoisted to the rafters of Marquette's Al Maguire Center on Saturday afternoon. Wade is in town because the Heat play the Bucks that night. Wade had an extraordinary career for the Golden Eagles. He lead them to the 2003 Final Four and had an unbelievable senior year where he scored a school record 710 points. There are only a few players who can impact a game more than DWade can. He can shoot from the outside, he can take it to the house. He can rebound in the key or he can keep pressure on the perimeter. Marquette has retired Dean Meminger, Butch Lee, Maurice Lucas, George Thompson, Bo Ellis, Doc Rivers, Earl Tatum and Don Kojis. Wade is one of those truly unbelievable athletes that will go down in history. This is the perfect way to honor him.

Anthony Mason Jr. vs. Patrick Ewing Jr.

Mason Jr and Ewing Jr did battle for the first time in their fathers old place of business on Thursday night. Ewing Jr. helped his Hoyas cruise past St. John's 72-48. Ewing had 5 points in 16 minutes as his father watched from courtside. Mason Jr. scored 8 and his father just like when he played for the Knicks was terribly late. The game was actually very close and the Red Storm had a lead going into the half. But Georgetown fresh out of the locker room got hot quickly, hitting shots from everywhere and burying the Red Storm before they had a chance. Georgetown picked up its 16th win of the season and will probably get into the top-25. Preseason they were in the top 10 in every poll but fell short with some early losses. If the season were to end today they would both be in the Big East Tournament with Georgetown at 3 and St. John's at 12. This once historic rivalry has been struggling as of late with St. John's not being able to recruit the big names like GTown can. Pitt is still off till next Wednesday something that could hurt them in the coaches vote tomorrow.

Pitt gets 20

Jamie Dixon's Panthers won 20 games for the sixth consecutive season. Antonio Graves came up huge with 13 points including a clutch 3 pointer to help Pitt pull away in the final minutes. Aaron Gray had 14 points and 10 boards but he struggled to find his groove as Villanova ran a lot of plays to the outside to try and neutralize Pitt's big men. With their number 7 ranking in tow the Panthers aren't in competition till next Wednesday when they travel to Morgantown to play Dub V. In order to keep its top ten ranking Pitt must win games like this one when their big men are taken out of play. They need to be able to rely on Graves and Levance Fields to hit the outside shots and to control the perimeter on the other side of the ball. When LeVon Kendall and Gray are just reduced to rebounding because of perimeter shooting by their opponent, Fields and Graves must be able to put pressure on the outside shooters. With Gray struggling on offense Pitt must stay sharp shooting the threes. They are averaging at 40 percent from behind the arc which is best in the Big East but if they want to run with the likes of the Tar Heels, Gators and Badgers they must be able to bomb the three consistently. If they can do that, they are going to be very good in March.

A Weekend Recap

Notre Dame got revenge over Villanova this weekend after the Wildcats upset the Irish just ten days earlier. The game was the first win for the Irish since losing freshman star Kyle Mcalarney. Mcalarney was dismissed from the university and the team after being arrested for possession of marijuana. You could see the Irish struggling without him. In order for this team to keep its top 25 ranking they will need to get big games out of Russell Carter. Carter must be able to control the tempo of the game. His rebounding numbers must pick up and he needs to stop taking low percentage shots. He is already a solid candidate for conference player of the year but he needs to pick up his play for the Irish if they want to be a solid contender in March. Pitt pounded St. John's to improve to 19-3 and their best start in conference play. Louisville nudged Syracuse to spoil Jim Boheim's 1,000 game. Georgetown, Providence, and Rutgers all won this weekend as well. Marquette beat South Florida for their fourth straight victory. A solid week ahead with Pitt at Villanova on Monday. Notre Dame plays Syracuse on Tuesday and the weekend has Providence at Marquette.

A Weekend Recap

Notre Dame got revenge over Villanova this weekend after the Wildcats upset the Irish just ten days earlier. The game was the first win for the Irish since losing freshman star Kyle Mcalarney. Mcalarney was dismissed from the university and the team after being arrested for possession of marijuana. You could see the Irish struggling without him. In order for this team to keep its top 25 ranking they will need to get big games out of Russell Carter. Carter must be able to control the tempo of the game. His rebounding numbers must pick up and he needs to stop taking low percentage shots. He is already a solid candidate for conference player of the year but he needs to pick up his play for the Irish if they want to be a solid contender in March. Pitt pounded St. John's to improve to 19-3 and their best start in conference play. Louisville nudged Syracuse to spoil Jim Boheim's 1,000 game. Georgetown, Providence, and Rutgers all won this weekend as well. Marquette beat South Florida for their fourth straight victory. A solid week ahead with Pitt at Villanova on Monday. Notre Dame plays Syracuse on Tuesday and the weekend has Providence at Marquette.

Let College Teams Play at College Venues

While watching the DePaul vs. Georgetown game on Wednesday night something just seemed off. No it wasn't the coverage or hearing Rick Majerus call the play by play, no something was missing. I know it's the fact that the Hoyas were hosting the Blue Demons at the Verizon Center, a professional facility. Home to the Washington Wizards and Capitals, it hosts 26,000 fans. A normal college basketball facility seats somewhere between 7 and 9 thousand. That is bout three times that amount. Playing at home, especially in the Big East is supposed to give your team a tremendous advantage. Cameron Indoor, the home of the Duke Blue Devils seats just over 9,000. Playing Duke at home is like speaking a foreign language fluently the first time you hear it. It is impossible. Why is it impossible? Because the fans are right on top of you. You can't set up offenses, you can't think while foul shooting and you certainly cannot hear what your coach is saying during a timeout. Fans are so close at Cameron, that they have often be told to back up. Georgetown you need to pay attention to this. I'm sure it's fun and exciting to play at a pro arena with all the facilities and amenities but that's not what college ball is. Iowa painted the visitors locker room at their football stadium bright pink just to get in their heads. In the Illni field house everything is orange. I mean everything. This is to psych out the opponent. Georgetown by playing at a pro venue you are not playing to this advantage. you are a rich enough school with a rich history and enough important alumni to pull together the resources for a basketball facility on campus. This will give your team a facility that teams will fear. With your rich basketball history, the prestige of Georgetown University and Washington D.C., and Michael Jordan designing your uniforms, everyone will dred a trip to the nations capital.

A Question of Character

This is the statement posted under NCAA.org page of the core values of any NCAA athlete. It says, "The collegiate model of athletics in which students participate as an avocation, balancing their academic, social and athletics experiences." To sum this statement up it says go to class, be a good sport and learn as much as you can both on the athletic fields as well as social and classroom environment. In order to learn from class you have to go to it. Derrick Character this is to you. You are one of the most promising athletes that was recruited this year. You chose a historical program with a great reputation and you have failed them. You are a freshman. You don't make the rules, you follow them. If you have class at 8 a.m. then you should be there at 7:50. If practice is at 4:30, show up at 4:15. You chose to play NCAA Division 1 college basketball at a great academic and athletic institution. You are taking advantage of it. Dick Vitale, Denny Crum and Rick Petino all coached there. Pervis Ellison, Darrell Griffith, Charlie Tyra, Jim Price and Billy Thompson all played there before you. If you want to be remembered as the kid who never went to class, violated a written contract with coaches almost immediately after you signed it, go ahead keep doing what you are doing. But if you want to be remembered for your tremendous basketball abilities, go to class, go to practice. it is your responsibility to the University, to the alumni, to your coaches, to your team, to the fans and most of all to yourself. Take Art 101, take cooking, take ballroom dancing, just take something and show up. I am sure that your teachers will cut you some slack for being apart of the basketball team. After all you are a basketball school filled with a rich history and a tremendous future.

AI and MELO

The NBA's number one and number two scorers will finally join forces on Monday night when the Denver Nuggets do battle with the Memphis Grizzlies in Denver. Allen Iverson, (Georgetown) who's ego might have driven him out of Philly is about to join forces with one of the most talented players in the game. Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse) isn't too shy either, he sucker punched the Knicks Mardy Collins 36 days ago in what was one of the worst on the court incidents in NBA history. In order for the two to coexist they must work together and find a way to incorporate the other players on the team. Never have two players been on the same team that average 60 points a game. JR Smith will have no problem fitting into the mix as his superior shooting skills and rebounding talent will make him the number three man on the Nuggets roster. Marcus Camby and Steve Blake must have significant roles in each game or they will go to waste and teams will learn how to play defense against a three man team. AI and Melo must become better team players if they want to go far in the playoffs. The teams that win titles as of late are deep teams, not teams loaded with superstars. AI must become a point guard that passes, shoots and screens, as well as plays defense. AI needs to be able to control the tempo of the game while having, in his own words, the best player that he ever played with on the floor at the same time. Melo must ditch his selfishness and realize that he doesn't have to be the one doing it all for the Nuggets anymore. He must look to AI and realize somebody is now there to help him. When AI was the man at Georgetown he didn't have anybody near his talent to play with him. Neither did Melo at Cuse. But they played on teams that made them make it work. In order to be a team that other teams fear they must take the team game aspect of college ball and apply it to the professional game. They must do the same thing at the professional level in order to achieve the same success they did in the Big East.

PITT'S BIG MEN OBSOLETE

Marquette pulled an unbelievable overtime upset against number six Pitt on Sunday. Dominic James had 21 points for Marquette, who struggled early to hit any free shots but ended up hitting their last 15 in a row to ice the Panthers. Marquette kept both Aaron Gray and Levon Kendall out of the game by attacking the perimeter. Three Golden Eagles had three or more buckets behind the arc and that helped erase the three turnovers they had in their final three possessions. Pitt had it's home crowd going crazy all game and they helped keep them close and bring them back. Pitt was down by nine three times in the first half and was down by eleven twice in the second. This is Pitt's first loss at home this season and in the Big East as well. Marquette has now beat Louisville, UCONN and Pitt at their venues. If Marquette wants to take the next step and make themselves a contender in March they need to all become better free throw shooters. Hitting only 64 percent this season is not going to win them games at the big dance. Dominic James and Quismine Barro are going to be the life force of Marquette and the two of them alone can run away with the Big East title. Barro had several key blocks in the game but no one was bigger than the one he had with about four minutes left. He told Antonio Graves to "Stop looking at his lemonade," and his block led to another key three by Dan Fitzgerald. Gray sat on the bench with under two minutes to go because he would be of no use to the Panthers. If this kid wants to go somewhere his is going to need to improve his foul shooting ability and grab some defensive boards. To be a top 10 team you need to have a big man that can do it all, block, rebound and shoot. this game might have been a great opportunity for Gray to showcase his skills, but America learned another big man's name, Barro. This kid is going to turn some heads.

A Big Weekend Ahead

Many Big East teams will be tested this weekend as the first leg of the conference schedule gets underway. #6 Pittsburgh will face Dwayne Wade's alma mater Marquette on Sunday, with both teams having something to prove. Pitt must win to show they belong back in the top-5 and if Marquette pulls the upset, they will finally get the national attention they feel that they deserve. The Irish play a key interconference game against South Florida. Notre Dame is still hurting from their upset loss to Villanova earlier in the week so this might be the game to get them back on track. VNOVA is going to have its hands full this weekend as the number 23 Texas Longhorns travel to meet them in Pennsylvania. Texas is coming off a triple overtime loss to Oklahoma State and they are hungry. In a game that might have looked good in the beginning of the season, has turned out to be two unranked teams hoping for a turnaround, when West Virginia meets Cincinnati on Saturday. Dub V was dropped from the top 25 last week and they have been struggling, a win over the Bearcats might help correct their recent wrongdoings. Two teams with great histories meet on Saturday as Indiana travels to Connecticut. UCONN has been in the top 25 in every poll since 2003 and after they were dropped last week they are in unfamiliar territory. The game would probably be on national television if both teams actually played as well as they should be, but since they are not good luck trying to see it. Jim Calhoun must get his Huskies in order soon if they want to have any chance in that month they love so much, March. Finally to the great New York rivalry. Syracuse travels to Queens on Sunday to battle St. John's. Although both these teams are having less than stellar seasons so far, this has a big game rivalry written all over it. Cuse has been floating around the high 20's all season and a big interconference win on Sunday can help them to get back on track. Sit back, relax and enjoy some good basketball.

Alive and Kickin'

Well here we go. The cold of January has just settled in, so kick back, relax and crack open a tall frosty one, because the best basketball conference in the nation is just getting started. In this blog I will discuss both the old and the new, the great games of the past to the instant classics of the present.This is strictly from a fan's point of view,I'm writing as I see it.If you see it differently, well then good for you. Now onto the good stuff. The beasts in the east are all fired up and ready to go, and with Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Marquette all seeded in the Top-25, and UCONN, West Virgina, Georgetown and Syracuse are all knocking on the door.Right now it looks like Jaime Dixon's bunch are firing on all cylinders they are going to be tough to beat.But the Huskie's are always trouble in March, and the Golden boys are turning some heads in South Bend. But as we all know ANYTHING and EVERYTHING can happen in The Garden. It's going to be a fun winter.Enjoy.