College Basketball: 2/26 to 3/4

[JohnBM01]

This may well be the final week of regular season games as tournaments of many kinds are going to start up. We will also see Selection Sunday come up when brackets are formed for Indianapolis for the boys, and Boston for the girls. Before we start this week, let's look at last week.

LAST WEEK...
* We start with Texas and Houston. The Longhorns matched up against Kansas, and Houston matched up against UTEP. These are two teams likely to make the field of 65. Texas OWNED Kansas, but Houston's win streak of eight games came to a screeching halt in El Paso. Houston has their biggest game of the year at Memphis this Saturday. * First cheers, then tears... Kentucky OWNED Ole Miss, making them Old Miss. Then they'd lose their game against LSU. I don't live in Lexington, but whether you love Tubby Smith or hate him, credit him for keeping his team in check. I know Randolph Morris had NBA dreams, but he wanted to return after not being drafted. What's wrong with a little more college? I see Kentucky as (maybe) an NCAA at-large bid. The lowest they can go is an NIT bid. I think they are going to SOMEBODY'S postseason. * Oakland University has had yet another close loss, but they've done better this year. I'm giving BlazinXtreme's boys the benefit of the doubt. They beat Southern Utah earlier last week, then lose in (yet again) close fashion to Chicago State. Is it a case of not finishing the job, or just not catching up in time? If Oakland makes ANY postseason appearance, they'll need to keep pounding away and finish the job or close in sooner. * Let's give the women a chance to shine. Nothing better than Duke/North Carolina. I never had a Mocha Latté, but Duke's Lady Blue Devils had an Ivory Latta. Delicious to North Carolina, bitter to the other 325 or 333 teams. And speaking of bitter, UNC handed Duke yet another loss. Duke doesn't know how to lose, do they? But they did to UNC. Both teams should be solid en route to the Women's Final Four in Boston. Hell, BOTH of them could be in the Final Four and face each other again one last time. That would be one hell of a rubber game. * Speaking of Duke, J.J. Redick recently became the all-time scoring leader in the ACC with over 2,590 points. This feat was acheived as they played a road game against non-ACC team Temple. Redick and his boys are looking VERY good heading into March... * ...but so is Adam Morrison and his boys. Gonzaga's looking to make a little noise in the Men's Tournament. They recently knocked off Los Angeles' Loyola Marymount University at LMU. Bulldogs beat the Lions on their way to yet another dominating performance in the WCC. Question is, when Morrison goes to the NBA or someplace, who will be the next to step up in the West Coast Conference? * I can't spell his name, but "Pops" of George Washington has been sidelined with season-ending injury. Still, the Colonials keep on winning. I believe they've lost only one game OVERALL. To me, they are at best, Sweet Sixteen or even Elite Eight. I don't see them as Final Four material, even though I like them.

Now that you got the low-down, let's start the week in a good way. Come and get maybe the final Sunday Sampler of the regular season. For the guys, it's all teams you've heard of in college football. For the ladies, we got a handful of upsets.

SUNDAY SAMPLER
---MEN---
* #2 Villanova at #4 Connecticut (89-75; CONNECTICUT) *upset!*
* California at #17 Washington (73-62; WASHINGTON)
* #16 Michigan State at Indiana (78-71; INDIANA) *upset!*
* South Florida at Rutgers (62-44; RUTGERS)
* #9 Florida at Alabama (82-77; ALABAMA) *upset!*
---WOMEN---
* Florida at #? Tennessee (95-93, OT; Florida) *upset!*
* #?? Boston College at Florida State (70-61; FLORIDA STATE) *upset!*
* Maryland at North Carolina (83-59; NORTH CAROLINA)
* #?? Temple at Rhode Island (91-77; Temple)
* Northwestern at #?? Minnesota (71-33; MINNESOTA) *Sunday's Bigest Ownage!*



That's the way to start the week, right? Let's talk about some 20-win teams not feautred in the Sampler. First off, Georgia Southern picked up 20 wins as they downed Furman on the road. Iona amassed 20+ wins already, despite their loss to Manhattan College. I usually see 20-win teams much like six-win teams in Division 1-A college football- eligible for postseason appearance. You have to be good to get into the March Madness deal. Getting 20+ wins is a start. Using ESPN nomenclature, I'm sure to have Big Monday, Super Tuesday, ACC Wednesday, Throwdown Thursday, and whatever they like to call Saturdays. I forgot his name, but a player for St. Peter's College became the 8th all-time scoring leader in NCAA history.

Don't forget in these forums, I've arranged a bunch of other college basketball-related threads. So be sure to make some posts in them and share your views. I recently did a thread on Houston's Phi Slamma Jamma in the 1980s which SHOULD HAVE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP... but things aren't always as they seem. If Chaminade could beat #1 Virginia back in the 1980s, and if Texas Western College (now U. of Texas-El Paso) could beat Kentucky (sorry, FoolKiller) in the 1960s, then anything is possible. When the selections are made for college teams to compete in March, I will likely not make a thread about it. Instead, I will launch two thread covering the Men's Tournament from Round One to Indianapolis, and another thread covering the Women's Tournament from Round One to Boston. From there, I'll be sure to update games as best as I can when the tournaments roll around. Well, let's do hoops yet again!

NOTE: By the way, if EVER my signature doesn't work, just copy and paste the link. Afterwards, go to that link to see my latest scores. This way, you won't think that I'm not allowing you to see the scores.

 

[JohnBM01]

MONDAY'S GAMES
We start on the West Coast with the West Coast Conference and two of America's Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Then, a critical Big East matchup for Big East Bye honors.

"Dawg Pounding" San Francisco at #5 Gonzaga
This is Gonzaga's final game (I believe). At this point, Gonzaga's already done what they had to do- dominate and stay on top for March Madness action. Think of college football's toughest places to play- Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Ohio State, Michigan State, Washington, LSU... now think of college basketball's toughest places- Duke, North Carolina, LSU, Georgetown, Connecticut, Texas, Saint Joseph's, Wichita State, Kentucky... and don't forget Gonzaga. The Bulldogs simply don't know how to lose at home. Adam Morrison is getting ready for his March Madness action, but not without his last regular season game with his boys. Gonzaga University is a Jesuit university, now meet another (which I didn't know). If I wanted to go to California, I'd love to visit San Francisco. The Bay Area boys are going to leave beautiful San Francisco and get ready for some ugly basketball. That's okay, because the USF Dons can get it done. If they acheived National Championship glory back in the 1950s, then they can do it again anywhere, anytime. The game was close, but Gonzaga got it done very late in the game. Their home-winning streak is now at 38 games. What a finale for the Bulldogs as they are looking to make some noise in the field of 65. (75-72; GONZAGA)

* #9 Pittsburgh at #18 West Virginia
We go from the West Coast Conference to the Big East for more action. I wonder which of Pittsburgh's 73 bridges they travelled down to go to Morgantown, WV. While Dave W. is recruiting Panthers for football, the Pitt Men's basketball Panthers are going to be taking on all comers. Speaking of football, Rich Rodriguez is looking to keep a good thing going for the 2006-2007 season. Meanwhile, the WVU b-ballers are ready to welcome Pittsburgh... to a Mountaineer thrashing. This is a big win for West Virginia. (67-62; WEST VIRGINIA) *upset!*

---RAPID FIRE---
"Hold Still, Water!" Oklahoma State at #17 Oklahoma ---RG: Bedlam Game--- (67-66; OKLAHOMA)
* Monmouth at FDU (79-62; FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON)
* Alabama A&M at Texas Southern (79-66; Alabama A&M)
* Morgan State at Howard (72-59; HOWARD)
* Texas-Pan American at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (93-69; TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI)
* Boise State at Fresno State (81-79; FRESNO STATE)
+++++JOHN'S NOTE: Due to NCAA violations, Fresno State cannot compete in the WAC Tournament. I don't know about the NCAA and NIT tournaments for FrSU, though.

* Wagner at Mount St. Mary's (77-66; Wagner)
* Saint Francis College at Long Island (67-64; LONG ISLAND)
* Loyola Marymount at St. Mary's (82-70; ST. MARY'S)

*+x MEN'S DIVISION SPECIAL x+*
Here is a game from Division 3 which had a very miraculous finish for conference championship bragging rights.

* Centre at DePauw
You've likely never heard of the conference, but we are talking about the SCAC. No, not the SEC, not even the SIAC, but we have a game in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference where conference titles are on the line. This is a Division 3 battle. While it may be the lowest division of NCAA college basketball, it doesn't mean these two schools are completely substandard. Let's meet the opponents. Centre College can be found in Danville, KY. They are some proud Colonels, looking to take home SCAC honors. In order for them to do that, they have to go through DePauw University. Yeah, they are DePauw, not Chicago's DePaul University. No relation between these two at all. Greencastle, IN is their home, Tigers are their calling. As the game was deadlocked at 61, Centre College found themselves hoping a 60-foot DePauw bomb didn't connect. Unfortunately, the home arena was VERY excited as the DePauw Tigers got it done in the closing moments. (64-61; DEPAUW)





WOMEN'S DIVISION
---RAPID FIRE---
* Robert Morris at Quinnipiac (53-46; QUINNIPIAC)
* Chicago State at IUPUI (55-46; INDIANA UNIVERSITY-PURDUE UNIVERSITY-INDIANAPOLIS)
* Middle Tennessee at Florida International (73-57; FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL)
-----HBCU SPECIAL---
* Morgan State at Howard (79-59; HOWARD)
* Coppin State at Maryland-Eastern Shore (65-60; Coppin State)
* Mississippi Valley State at Grambling (79-73; Mississippi Valley State)
* Alabama State at Prairie View A&M (61-57; Alabama State)
* Alabama A&M at Texas Southern (72-57; TEXAS SOUTHERN)

Tuesday's scores forthcoming...

 

[JohnBM01]

TUESDAY'S GAMES
It's the final day of February 2006! So let's see who's going to get it on one last time before the madness of March comes along. You dig, player? So let's do hoops for men and women. Remember... I am an equal-oppurtunity college hoops fan.

GTPlanet, I've tried to get scores in. But when I fell asleep, it was about 1:45 AM. But when I woke up from sleep, the clock said 4:59 AM! So, let me give you as many scores as I can via RAPID FIRE.

MEN'S DIVISION
* Wake Forest at #12 Boston College (80-65; BOSTON COLLEGE)
* #21 LSU at South Carolina (64-61; Louisiana State)
* North Carolina-Asheville at Coastal Carolina (78-62; COASTAL CAROLINA)
* Saint Joseph's at Xavier (68-58; Saint Joseph's)
* Cincinatti at Seton Hall (72-62; SETON HALL)
+++++JOHN'S NOTE: What a tough year for Cincinatti. It all started with Pres. Nancy Zimpher (U. of Cincinatti President) wanting Bob Huggins to step down or resign. From there, it's been a rough season.

I know some conference tournaments have began, so let me just get some scores out of the way. In the course of this rapid fire, I don't know if some games are conference tournament games, so let me just add these few games.

* Clevland State at Detroit (92-58; DETROIT)
+++++JOHN'S NOTE: OWNED!

* Charleston Southern at Birmingham-Southern (97-76; Charleston Southern)
* Tennessee State at Samford (78-67; SAMFORD)
* Wright State at Illinois-Chicago (77-64; ILLINOIS-CHICAGO)
* Austin Peay at Tennessee Tech (78-74; TENNESSEE TECH)





WOMEN'S DIVISION
* Toledo at Western Michigan (87-86, 2OT; WESTERN MICHIGAN)
* Baylor at Texas (72-64; Baylor)
* Illinois State at Evansville (79-66; Illinois State)
* Stephen F. Austin at Louisiana-Monroe (65-62, OT; Stephen F. Austin)
* Utah Valley State at IPFW (84-60; INDIANA-PURDUE-FORT WAYNE)

That is Tuesday! Well, give or take my quick highlights.

 

[JohnBM01]

WEDNESDAY'S GAMES
News update: A number of Division 1 schools could lose scholarships as some poor academic performance was shown by about 99 schools, with 65 teams impacted. This includes football, both genders of basketball, swimming, baseball, several teams. From what I heard, major programs weren't in the crosshairs. If I find a link, I'll show you the potential list of colleges and universities who have been noted for substandard performance on the books. Until then, you probably came for the basketball, right? So come get your fill, players!

MEN'S DIVISION
We begin with a shocker. I was watching the Houston vs. Rice game on CSTV when I saw Men's scores. I seen something incredibly shocking. I wanted to start with my hometown Houston unit taking on Rice, but we begin in the capital of Florida... Tallahassee.

"Over-Rated!" #1 Duke at Florida State
Florida State University is one two popular schools in Florida's capital city of Tallahassee. The other school is Florida A&M. I don't know too much on Tallahassee, but I do know it's home to some Seminoles who can play just about any NCAA sport. While Florida State is better known for stuff like Bobby Bowden, Doak Campbell Stadium, and a great football community, there's... a basketball team. Florida State's better at football. The opposite of Florida State would be Duke- suck at football, dominates basketball... and undefeated in the ACC heading into this game. That can all change if the Blue Devils aren't careful. Late in the game, Florida State fans stormed the courts, FSU gets a technical foul, and Reddick connects both free throws.
Florida State has only its second-ever beating of a #1 ranked team. Coincidentally, they were both against Duke. (79-74; FLORIDA STATE) *upset!*

"Like Hoops on Rice" Rice at Houston ---RIVALRY GAME---
Why should you care about this? Normally, I'd probably be told "who cares about Houston? They never won anything." Well, let's see... Houston beat a ranked LSU on the road, and then a ranked Arizona at home. They are also coming off of a loss after winning eight straight. Houston lost to UTEP, and the Cougars hope to make The Big Dance for the first time since 1992. They squared off against their hated rivals, Rice. The last time out, Rice beat Houston at Autry Court (Rice University). Now, the game is at Hoffheinz Pavillion (Houston), and the Rice Owls are ready for a little action against their rivals from about 5 miles away. Rice is ready to shoot some balls five miles away into Houston's hoops in hope to beat Houston again. Houston would have led by 4 at the half, but Rice made it a 2-point spread. In the closing minute of play, the game was pure excitement. Rice was suspect to bad rebounding play. Couldn't get the boards. Two bad calls in the game shifted the balance of the game late. Houston needs positive momentum for their final regular season game at #3 Memphis (not going to be easy). The Houston boys got their momentum saying "you're not going to keep us down again, Rice!" That's the Cougar spirit as my hometown's best team is likely a few wins away from making their first NCAA tournament since 1992.

"Upset Station" #7 Texas at Texas A&M ---RIVALRY GAME---
The train of college hoops moves its way into College Station, TX. Our train ride is done, you all can step off the train to check out Big XII basketball action. Here is your tour of College Station and Texas A&M University. Here is how Texas A&M works. If you wear Burnt Orange, you will be suspect to Aggie hate. If the 12th Man is a threat in football, imagine what their Sixth Man can do on the basketball court! Texas is good, but could be dancing on a mine field. All my Minesweeper players (not saying I'm one), do you know what happens when you don't land on a safe place in a mine field? Well... you get OWNED. Let's hope OWNED doesn't describe the Longhorns' visit to TAMU. They didn't get owned, but they did take a big loss. Texas A&M is unranked, but it doesn't mean they can't pull off big wins like this. This is about as big as they come. Texas big. (46-43; TEXAS A&M) *upset!*

"The Big Payback" Kentucky at #11 Tennessee
Come to think of it, the SEC is one big happy basketball-playing family. There are plenty of sibling rivalries that go around. Everybody hates everybody else. They play great basketball, and two teams will show you all why. Last time, Kentucky didn't do too well at home against ranked Tennessee. Rupp Arena is usually the biggest and probably toughest place to play in the SEC, except maybe LSU and Tennessee. Rupp Arena is not the wildest place to play basketball when Kentucky is losing at home. So Tubby Smith got his boys together and probably said, "boys, we played like ladies against Tennessee last time. We don't sit back and lose games. That is NOT the way of the Wildcats." Tennessee saw a bunch of boys in blue. But it wasn't the police, it was Kentucky. Then again, you could say that Kentucky IS the police, because they were ready to put on a huge sting to pay back the Volunteers. Kentucky will be responding with lights and sirens... or should I say dunks and money shots. Tennessee wanted to keep Kentucky down, Kentucky refused, and were looking to disappoint the Knoxville faithful. It was job well done as Kentucky gets a HUGE win. For Kentucky, it's "Situation Under Control. 10-4. Over and out." Mission accomplished. Well done, Kentucky. (80-78; Kentucky) *upset!*
+++++JOHN'S NOTE: Kentucky's win could get them into the dance.

* Penn State at Iowa
This is a hell of a football matchup. For basketball, this wouldn't be close. And it was just that as Penn State must have been drinking plenty of catnip. These cats, the Nittany Lions, were destroyed by the (65-38; IOWA)

"Can't Buy One..." Connecticut at South Florida (66-53; Connecticut)
* St. John's at #4 Villanova (65-52; VILLANOVA)
* #14 Georgia at Florida (77-66; FLORIDA)





WOMEN'S DIVISION
---RAPID FIRE---
* Illinois State at Evansville (79-66; EVANSVILLS)
* Baylor at Texas (72-64; Baylor)
* Texas A&M at Oklahoma State (65-47; Texas A&M)
* Lamar at Nicholls State (78-60; Lamar)
* Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan (59-51; EASTERN MICHIGAN)



A LITTLE EXTRA...
This is what ESPN College Basketball Analyst Dick Vitale had to say about Florida State's upset win against #1 Duke:

"Well, certainly a big night here in Tallahassee and a great win for Leonard Hamilton. Think about this. This is third time in five years they have beaten Duke. They beat them when they were #1 in 2002, beat 'em when they were #5 in the nation in 2003, and today, they threw the strikeout punch and beat them again at #1. How important was this game? Well, they're sitting at 7-7 in conference play coming into this game. Beating the #1 team in America, Duke, I have to believe. There's no doubt that they are one of the 34 at-large teams who will get a bid get a bid in terms of being part of March Madness. Great play from their tandem, Thorton and Johnson, between them have 48 points. Crowd celebrated a little bit too soon, there should have been better crowd control... but the bottom line is, Leonard Hamilton's kids did it between 94 by 50, and got the most important win of the year."[/B] -Dick Vitale, ESPN College Basketball Analyst

There you have it.

 

[JohnBM01]

THURSDAY'S GAMES

MEN'S DIVISION
Let's begin in Rosemont, IL with Syracuse heading to DePaul. Let's see if Syracuse can up their chances to get into the Big Dance or the Big East tournament by taking on a team they know they can beat.

"" Syracuse at DePaul
DePaul University may in Chicago, IL, but they play in Rosemont, IL. It's more like how UCLA is obviously in Los Angeles, CA, but their football home games are at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. Anyhow, DePaul is one of America's Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Basketball is religion whether you are an angellic soul, or a Blue Demon. Syracause has a lot in common with blue. While they are known as the Orange, one of their other colors is blue. Syracuse needs a big win, and they can get it done against DePaul. But as the game progressed, this is a G** Damn shame, players... Syracuse is usually one of the best teams in the Big East, but they lose a hell of a lot, and to a team with a losing record, and beaten by 39 points, not to mention this losing record team put up more than 100 on you. Answer me this. Do you think Syracuse is going to get into the NCAA Tournament with this performance? Let me give you an football analogy as how bad this loss was. Imagine a case in which you are a team that is normally one of the biggest units in conference, but not good enough to be a nation power. This loss would be like Oklahoma losing to Savannah State or Temple by three touchdowns. It was pretty bad. (108-69; DEPAUL)

"Gone Fishing" #3 Memphis at UAB
One of the toughest things to do in college basketball is to win on the road. College basketball entails just about as much of a dominating prescence as college football. It seems more impossible to win on the road. Probably the biggest reason is because the fact that games are played in arenas and field houses. When you have these elements, it gets tougher to playin these arenas and such because the air reverberates around the big arena. This is what Memphis hopes DOESN'T happen- lose on the road, and lose for the first time in conference. Their next game is against Houston, but UAB may end up being a trap game. Tigers don't like trap games. Looking to go hook, line, and sinker and reel in a big fish are UAB. I don't know if Birmingham, Alabama has good fishing areas (or if any are allowed), but UAB has a distinct advantage. You see, they can reel in fish, weigh them in, and then cook the fish on the spot for people to enjoy good seafood. That's a reason why the UAB Blazers are so cool. They are fire-breating demons who can play college sports, be it football, basketball, baseball, or whatever. They have some big fish to fry, so let's see if they can get it done. In the end, UAB did something I didn't think they'd do- beat #3 Memphis. I actually wanted Memphis to win because I'd love to see Houston and Memphis play each other in a battle of two good Conference USA teams. Now that this game is done, Memphis' potential final challenge is to knock off my hometown Houston Cougars at FedEx Forum. Storm the courts, UAB, because your Blazers turned up the heat, and Memphis went crashing and burning! (80-74; ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM) *upset!*

* #?? Wisconsin at #25 Michigan State
The MSU Spartans needed a nice win, and they'd get it against the Badgers of Wisconsin. (65-74; MICHIGAN STATE)

---RAPID FIRE---
* Mercer at Lipscomb (78-62; LIPSCOMB)
* Campbell at Belmont (90-76; BELMONT)
* Quinnipiac at FDU (66-65; FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON)
* Sacred Heart at Central Connecticut State (86-68; CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE)
* Prarie View A&M at Southern (81-62; SOUTHERN)
* Texas Southern at Alcorn State (84-77; ALCORN STATE)
* Washington State at Arizona (66-61; ARIZONA)
* #14 Washington at Arizona State (91-66; Washington)





WOMEN'S DIVISION

---RAPID FIRE---
* Texas Christian at #2? Utah (63-62; Texas Christian) *upset!*
* Fairfield at Siena (60-59, OT; Fairfield)
* UAB at East Carolina (47-46; EAST CAROLINA)
* Texas-El Paso at Houston (57-40; HOUSTON)
* Loyola UC at Wisconsin-Milwaukee (76-56; WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE)
* Youngstown State at Wisconsin-Green Bay (63-53; WISCONSIN-GREEN BAY)
* Virginia Commonwealth at Georgia State (82-80, OT; Virginia Commonwealth)
* Auburn at South Carolina (64-48; Auburn)
* San Diego at Loyola Marymount (61-56; LOYOLA MARYMOUNT)
* Georgia Tech at Miami (79-62; Georgia Tech)



A LITTLE EXTRA...
* Syracuse might have really hurt their NCAA chances now. This used to be one of the best Big East teams. People talk about how St. John's is struggling... hell, one game changed everything for Syracuse. I think they could have beaten DePaul by the same margin the Blue Demons did to the Orange. It's a shameful loss, and they may have thrown away their NCAA hopes. It's just unreal. Syracuse would normally lose football game after football game, but they have really underacheived in a game like this. I fear for their chances now.

 

[JohnBM01]

FRIDAY'S GAMES
GTPlanet, I got scores, but I also have some news. Here are some scores, first.


FRIDAY APPETIZER
---MEN---
* Seton Hall at Pittsburgh (65-61; Seton Hall) *upset!*
* Pennsylvania at Yale (57-55; *advances to NCAA Tournament*)
* Bradley at Creighton (57-47; Bradley)
* Stony Brook at UMBC (88-70; MARYLAND-BALTIMORE COUNTY)
---WOMEN---
* Florida at Kentucky (88-70; KENTUCKY - wins second round of SEC Tournament)
* Virginia at North Carolina (82-56; NORTH CAROLINA)
* Fordham at Saint Joseph's (54-43; SAINT JOSEPH'S)
* Tulane at SMU (86-84, 3OT; SOUTHERN METHODIST)

Now for a little news and previews.

Pennsylvania Wins the Ivy League Title and the First Playoff Bid My congratulations to the Pennsylvania Quakers. They will be one of the automatic bids. They will be part of the field of 65. Now, other information and previews:

* North Carolina heads to Duke in the Michigan/Ohio State of college basketball. Last time, Duke won. Duke is coming off an upset loss to Florida State. A frantic bunch of Florida State fans stormed the court celebrating the win. Can North Carolina give Duke more complications on Saturday? The ESPN newtorks will have ALL sorts of coverage, and you can bet that this will be the first game I'll select for Saturday's games. * Now, some hometown love. I'm a Houston, Texas native, and my hometown's best team, the Houston Cougars, will go on the road against Memphis. This is a huge game for the Cougars to make their first NCAA tournament since 1992. Phi Slamma Jamma may not be in the house for Houston, but they do have their Big Man on Campus, #20 Oliver Lafayette. This will be the game of their lives. I believe they have 20 wins on the year, and this one will give them a little NCAA Tourney love. But this one won't be easy, even if Memphis is coming off of a loss to UAB. * There will be plenty of conference tournaments among major Division 1 teams. The Division 3 field has been set, but I don't know about Division 2. I try to get as many teams as I can to you all, though most of them are Division 1. * Had some Division 3 notes as to who will be in the Division 3 NCAA Tournament, but don't really know all of the brackets to be able to show you. I will let you know that I'll try to bring as many scores as possible. I can't guarantee that I'll have every last tournament. So much happens, and there are too many teams. I will try to get down all of the conference champions.

After this week, I'll only cover conference champions and preview the March Madness to be. If any scores come up, I'll treat them like the Sunday Sampler or the Friday Appetizers.

 

[JohnBM01]

SATURDAY'S GAMES

GTPlanet, yesterday seen the first Automatic bid as Pennsylvania got their automatic bid. Remember that next week, I will only do a 2006 March Madness preview, as well as honor conference champions. I want to try to get Men and Women involved. I have some feature games before I begin with the Men's scores. We have three more automatic bids as of the date of this typing (5:53 PM CST), and here they are:

-=AUTOMATIC BIDS ACHEIVED=-

Winthrop
Belmont
Murray State

And here's how they did it:

* Coastal Carolina at Winthrop (Big South Conference Tournament - Rock Hill, SC - Winthrop University)
(51-50; Winthrop)

* Belmont at Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament - )
(74-69; Belmont)

* Samford at Murray State (Ohio Valley Conference Tournament)
(74-57; Murray State)



Now, on to other games, starting with the men, and starting with a rivalry that needs no introduction if you are a college basketball fan. Can you guess which one it is? Look down to see if you're right.

MEN'S DIVISION
"Redick Hot Chili Peppers" #13 North Carolina at #1 Duke ---RG: Battle for Tobacco Road---
This is the big one, players. No, not March Madness, but something about as big. Two baskteball powers are ready to collide for the second time this season. They may damn well meet each other in The Dance. The arena- Cameron Indoor Stadium. The city- Durham, North Carolina. It's a short distance between Chapel Hill and Durham, but you can sense how much the hate among these two schools. Comparing this game to Michian/Ohio State is perfectly debatable. The place is unmistakable- Duke University. It's a small school, but there's nothing like Duke basketball as the fans love Blue Devils' basketball. Just don't expect Tar Heels to give in to the Cameron Crazies. (83-76; North Carolina) *upset!*

* Houston at #3 Memphis
It isn't a rivalry. It isn't a no-name conference with two no-name teams. But for Houston, this is the match of their lives if they want to make it to their first NCAA Tournament since 1992. Houston and Memphis are two great sports teams, and they also have two great NBA teams. While this isn't Rockets/Grizzlies, it is a C-USA cat fight where Houston isn't going to be top seed of the Conference USA tournament, but it is a game in which Houston hopes to give Memphis their second-straight loss. The Houston Cougars need this win to perhaps see the NCAA Tournament. The other team is a BIGTIME favorite for March Madness- Memphis. Memphis is still #3 in the nation, even after losing to UAB a few nights ago. FedEx Forum is a tough place to play, so you can get the Memphis fans will have their say about Houston upsetting Memphis at home. It was 32-30 at the half with Houston. But what Houston started, Memphis finished. They had a great run going, just that Memphis was too good. And again, this was the game of Houstons' lives. UAB ripped the upset, Houston couldn't devastate them. (69-62; MEMPHIS)

* Wisconsin-Green Bay at Butler
It looks like the Horizon League is on tap. Making the other team tap is Butler. Green Bay may be home to the Packers, but it's also home to the Phoenix as well. Too bad they won't advance to the (73-51; BUTLER - Advances to Finals)

* Loyola UC at Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Wisconsin-Milwaukee is a great team, and the Panthers shown that, dominating the hot Loyola Ramblers. (80-66; WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE)

* Oakland at IUPUI (Mid-Continent Conference Tournament)
It's time for me to give "BlazinXtreme's" boys some love. These boys are Oakland University in Rochester, MI. Last year, Oakland made the dance as they played Alabama A&M in the first round (didn't win). Now, the Golden Grizzlies want to win Mid-Continent honors and make another trip to the dance. To do that, however, they'll need to take on a team that's very intimidating... at least in trying to spell out their full name. I'll give you a hint. The third "I" is the name of the city where you can see the Colts play at the RCA Dome. The first "I" and the "P" are the names of two schools in the Hoosier state, both of which aren't impressive in football. They are rivals, as well. Give up? Remember this team as the Jaguars. That's the easiest thing to remember about Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis. Who the hell came up with the name of this place? That's a LOOONG name for one university! Let's hope it won't be a long night for Oakland. Remember that we're talking about Oakland University in Michigan, not Oakland, CA. Sad news- Oakland won't be March sweethearts this year. Either Oakland has a problem finishing off opponents, or a problem in simply staying in the game and winning. The spread was two threes, but it's a sad loss for Oakland. Could they be an NIT team, or are they going to ANYBODDY'S tournament? (69-63; INDIANA UNIVERSITY-PURDUE UNIVERSITY-INDIANAPOLIS - Advanecs to Next Round)

* San Diego at San Francisco
Among these two, one was a former National Championship team- San Francisco. But first, San Diego. As I hear, San Diego has a good football team and a nice baseball team. Perhaps the southernmost big city in California is going to head straight up to San Francisco. Since San Diego is some distance away from Tijuana, Mexico, their nickname is obviously Spanish-derived. They are the Toreros. I believe a torero is a kind of Mexican bullfighter. If that's true, they aren't going to find many bulls to intimidate in San Francisco. What they WILL find, however, are a not-bad unit in perhaps my favorite California city, San Francisco. They are one of the Jesuit colleges and universities in America, and National Champions back in the 1950s (maybe 1955). It's been a golden anniversary of sorts since San Francisco seen gold. They are nowhere near Duke-beating form now, but the Dons are pretty sick with their hoops. San Diego won this one. Beautiful San Francisco gets an ugly loss. (-; San Diego)

* #19 North Carolina State at Wake Forest
Wake Forest has been abysmal, but with one last go, let's see what they can do. What it do? Well, the Demon Deacons exorcised the winning ways of North Carolina State and their Wolfpack. (76-63; WAKE FOREST) *upset!*

* Louisville at #2 Connecticut
A close fight in Hartford took form as the Connecticut Huskies barely edge out the Louisville Cardinals. (84-80; CONNECTICUT)

* Ball State at Eastern Michigan
Ball State knows how to play ball, and it showed. I didn't know Cardinals can play hoops, much less Louisville. Eastern Michigan's Eagles didn't get the good break here. (89-77, OT; Ball State)

* #15 West Virginia at Cincinatti
No Huggins? No problem. I heard he's going to be the coach for South Florida next season. Regardless, his former team will be proud to see his Bearcats pick up a big upset win against those Mountaineers of West Virginia. (78-75; CINCINATTI) *upset!*

* Bradley at Wichita State
The Braves shocked the Wichita State Shockers. Isn't that a shock, players? (60-52; Bradley)

Oregon at Oregon State
I don't know about you, but this is an upset in my book. (65-62; OREGON STATE)

* Georgia State at George Mason
Atlanta's Georgia State couldn't lock up the "W" as the Panthers fell to the hot Patriots of George Mason. (6?-5?, OT; GEORGE MASON)

* Delaware at North Carolina-Wilmington
Leave it to the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks to get it done against Delaware's Blue Hens. (69-56; NORTH CAROLINA-WILMINGTON)

* Maine at Binghamton
Black Bears in the house. They invaded Binghamton's house, and made perfectly sure they don't pull a fast one on the Wildcats. (71-62; BINGHAMTON)

* Charlotte at #7 George Washington
A near-miss for George Washington University. The Colonials may be critized for having an easy schedule, but they still manage a win against the Charlotte 49ers in Overtime. (86-85, OT; GEORGE WASHINGTON)

* #11 Tennessee at Vanderbilt
Volunteers down Vandy. Tennessee looked good pretty much all season, but the Commodores get a nice Volunteer whipping. (68-59; Tennessee)

* Western Illinois at Oral Roberts
The Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts University gave the Western Illinois Leathernecks plenty of problems. (82-76; ORAL ROBERTS)

* UCSB at California State-Northridge
The UCSB Gauchos snatch up a sweet win against the Highlanders of California State-Northridge. (82-76; California-Santa Barbara)

* Mississippi at #21 LSU
Louisiana State's Tigers could have lost to Mississippi, but Ole Miss' Rebels obviously suck as bad as Auburn in SEC basketball. (55-52; LOUISIANA STATE)

* Southern California at California
Cali in the house! In Victory Lane was California's Golden Bears as the Berkley boys sent the USoCal Trojans back to Los Angeles. (71-60; CALIFORNIA)

* Virginia Commonwealth at Hofstra
The VCU Rams were hot, but Hofstra's Pride cooled them off. (72-66; HOFSTRA)





WOMEN'S DIVISION
* Kentucky at LSU (SEC Tournament)
The LSU Lady Tigers were too much for the Kentucky Lady Wildcats. (79-52; Kentucky)

* Stony Brook at Maine
I heard Stony Brook's Women's team is good. So let's put it to the test. They did just that, giving the Lady Black Bears of Maine a lot of heartbreak by the Lady Seawolves. (84-70; Stony Brook)

* Binghamton at Vermont
Binghamton wins on the women's side, as well as the men's side. Great day for the Lady Bearcats as they smashed the holy Hell out of the Vermont Lady Catamounts. (84-49; Binghamton)

* Central Connecticut State at Quinnipiac
The Lady Blue Devils took Quinnipiac into Overtime, but the Lady Bobcats won this game. (68-64, OT; QUINNIPIAC)

* Texas Southern at Southern
Two Southerners going at it. Leave it Southern's Lady Jaguars to get the "W" over Texas Southern's Lady Tigers. (75-69, OT; SOUTHERN)

* Chicago State at IUPUI
IUPUI men win, then the Lady Jaguars make it clear on the Women's side too. Oakland loses on the Men's side, then the Chicago State Lady Cougars on the Women's side. (51-40; INDIANA UNIVERSITY-PURDUE UNIVERSITY-INDIANAPOLIS)

* Duke at Maryland ---RIVALRY GAME---
The Men lost, but can the women win? The answer is an absolute NO! Maryland's Lady Terrapins hit paydirt in knocking off the Duke Lady Blue Devils. Not a good Saturday to be a Cameron Crazy, eh? (78-70; MARYLAND)



A LITTLE EXTRA...
Next week, it's all about celebrating conference champions and giving you a chance to sound off about who's going to win it all this year on not only the Men's Side, but also the Women's side as well. I won't do many scores unless it involves automatic bids to The Big Dance. Congratulations to all winners.

Again - Pennsylvania, Winthrop, Belmont, and Murray State
all with Automatic bids. Next week's thread is coming soon.