College Basketball: 2/5 - 2/11 (RIVALRY WEEK!)

[JohnBM01]

GTPlanet, it's time for a week that's the eqivalent of college football's excitement. It's time for a week in which the real reason why you play college sports. It's the time of the season in which you expend all of your talent in totally demolishing the school you hate most. This is Rivalry Week, players! Or at least as ESPN will advertise.

LAST WEEK...
| Louisville and Notre Dame were flirting with disaster in the Big East. Both teams needed a win, but only one can get the win. When it looked like Freedom Hall was going to get a stomach ache epidemic all around the arena, Taquan Dean was the "Pepto Bismol" as his boys took it into Overtime and won. Taquan Dean hit a shot I never thought would connect. | One Kentucky-based team and former National Champions won... so let's see how the SEC's Kentucky power did. As it seemed, Florida was VERY tough to play at, even though Rupp Arena is tough enough. The wild kittens in blue took on the blue boys in Florida. Unfortunately, even with the tandem of Morris and Rondo, the Wildcats couldn't stop the Gators at their home. This would have been a signature win for the Wildcats. This was about as bad of a loss as Tennessee's football program endured this past season, not making a Bowl Game even though they beat LSU AT LSU. Hope for the best, Lexington. NCAA is good, but even the NIT isn't a bad alternative. | America's very first President of the United States was Mr. George Washington. Right now, George Washington University is the President of the underrated Atlantic 10 Conference. The Washington D.C. boys are going to make the NCAA tournament in my view. It would be a damn shame if these boys get shafted and go to the NIT. | Another team that's really improving are my hometown Houston Cougars. Sure, Conference USA's only real talent is Memphis, but Houston have went on the road to defeat LSU, and then beat Arizona at home sometime after the LSU game. The Cougars recently knocked off the East Carolina Pirates and surely hope Houston can make its sixth Final Four. And if they do, they'd surely want to shock America and win their first National Championship. It's a pipe dream, but surely doable. | The Missouri Valley Conference has a good number of teams that are NCAA worthy. Among some of the names are Northern Iowa, Wichita State, Southern Illinois, and even Creighton. There was an exciting Double Overtime game on Saturday as Southern Illinois hit it off against Wichita State. Missouri Valley has some nice teams, but how far they can go in March remains to be seen. | I didn't see the game, but there was controversy in play calling in the game between Duke and Boston College. Some say that Duke got off easy with calls, but they have still only lost once. | Illinois is the best basketball team in the Big Ten. So was it a fluke when Penn State came into Champaign and shocked the Fighting Illini? Compared to last season, Illinois has lost about 4 or 5 more games than last year's almost perfect season last season. I think Penn State's win was so big, even Joe Paterno had to like the effort by the otherwise dismal Penn State Nittany Lions.

With this week being started, it's time to think about March Madness. Valentine's Day is next Tuesday, but there are going to be some heartbreaks even this week. Not to mention even this Sunday. So let's start this week's series of games with some of Sunday's games. Now, even though today is the Super Bowl, at least there are some college games to get you ready for the Super Bowl. Now when the waitress comes your way, be sure to ask for your Sunday Sampler, and here you are:

SUNDAY SAMPLER
---MEN---
* #9 Pittsburgh at #22 Georgetown (61-58; GEORGETOWN) *upset!*
* Richmond at #10 George Washington (80-55; GEORGE WASHINGTON)
* #18 Oklahoma at Kansas (59-58; KANSAS)
---WOMEN---
* #21 Kentucky at Florida (68-61; FLORIDA)
+++++JOHN'S NOTE: This is sad. The men lose on Saturday, then the ladies lose on Sunday. Bad weekend for Kentucky and both genders against Florida.
* North Carolina at Georgia Tech (75-56; North Carolina)
* Mississippi and LSU (78-63; LOUISIANA STATE)

GTPlanet, take a look in the Basketball forums soon, because I will release a thread to preview who could make the postseason. It will be a thread where I share my views (and of course, you can share yours) as to who will make the NCAA, and who will even make the NIT. That thread is forthcoming. But for now, a lot of rivalry games are coming up including the big one- North Carolina and Duke! So let's do hoops!

 

[JohnBM01]

NOTE: Monday's scores will be updated in this post

 

[JohnBM01]

TUESDAY'S GAMES

MEN'S DIVISION
Tennessee and Kentucky is a big game, but I'm going to start with the Michigan/Ohio State of college basketball- Duke vs. North Carolina. In fact, I'll begin with Duke/UNC, continue with Tennessee and Kentucky, then I'll go with a battle of two Philadelphia area schools. You ready? It's time for America's b-ballers to get their shine on! So let's do it, players!

"She's a Big One!" #2 Duke at #24 North Carolina ---RG: The Battle for Tobacco Road---
In sports, there are all sorts of rivalries, both young and old. Green Bay vs. Minnesota. Dallas vs. Philadelphia. New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox. Army vs. Navy. USC vs. Notre Dame. Michigan vs. Ohio State. Well, we have two schools who really hate each other and shown their hate in football already. Now, it's time to do it where both teams don't suck at- basketball. In the long history of this rivalry between Chapel Hill and Durham, there have been many different names- Jordan. Coach K. Dick Vitale. These two blue-colored teams see red each time they meet on the court. Will it be North Carolina's baby blue, or Duke Blue? The game is a game in UNC's house. While their football team has yet to be even a world power in ACC play, the Tar Heels can get it done on the court. They can show for that with the many national championships they have won. North Carolina is one of America's toughest teams, even if their few losses this season is a turn off. But hey, UNC won the title last year by beating the (in my view, overrated) 2004-2005 Illinois Fighting Illini. Illinois lost only once last regular season (to Ohio State), but then lost to North Carolina in the title game. So since UNC is great in hoops, it can be tough to keep UNC down. Probably tougher to keep Duke down. Duke sucks even worse than North Carolina in football, but their basketball team is on point. The Cameron crazies will have to travel or cheer on Duke at seombody's local sports bar in Durham. Not to worry. Duke is unbeaten in the ACC even with that loss on the road to Georgetown. Satan may rule Hell, but the Blue Devils are ready to send UNC straight to ACC Hell... sadly with Georgia Tech and Wake Forest for starters. Both teams are definitely going to the NCAA tournament, so this is all about the pride of North Carolina. Arguably the two best teams in the state of North Carolina (even their womens' teams are just as impressive). GTPlanet, this is all about pride. Duke vs. North Carolina- Round 220! The game was 40-35 in favor of Duke at the Half. Switch the goals, and come out fighting for 20 more minutes. UNC stopped the bleeding, but didn't pull away. It was a sad deal for the Tar Heels, even with all the Chapel Hill Crazies.(87-83; Duke)

"Call of the Wildcats" #14 Tennessee at Kentucky ---RIVALRY GAME---
Keep in mind that the Duke/UNC game happened BEFORE this game. I wanted to feature the Duke/UNC game first because it's the biggest game in all of college basketball. This is a big game for Kentucky because Saturday night... uh... didn't go too well. Kentucky lost by 15 at Florida and had a Saturday night they'd love to forget. Tubby Smith's boys have another big game coming up- Tennessee. How big is this game? Tennessee used to be unbeaten until Florida OWNED Tennessee AT Tennessee. Hell, beating Tennessee at Neyland Stadium is already a shocker. But the Volunteers don't have a bunch of orange to paint Lexington. You want to know how much Kentucky can't stand Tennessee? I don't have scientific proof of this, but I don't think there's a single Home Depot in Lexington. Other hardware stores aren't selling orange paint in Lexington. Anything orange, Kentucky's not having it. Why do they go into these lengths? That's because Lexington, KY's favorite color is blue. After all, Kentucky is the Bluegrass State. If you're not wearing Wildcat blue, you're not getting any love by Rupp Arena. This is the 200th game between these two teams who really hate each other. Kentucky's records are 15-7 overall, and 5-3 in the SEC. Kentucky is improving about as much as Georgia is. Knoxville vs. Lexington... round 200! Touch gloves and come out fighting. Kentucky trailed at times as Tennessee kept raining all over Kentucky. They had a chance to shut the flood gates, but a very bad offense inside of one minute left meant easy pickings for Tennessee. (75-67; Tennessee)

---Philadelphia City Series: Championship Game---
"Brotherhood of the Travelling Hatred" St. Joseph's vs. #4 Villanova ---RIVALRY GAME--- (The Palestra; Philadelphia, PA)
If you live in the Philadelphia area, you may know about a show called "Phil Martelli's Hawk Talk." This is also if you watch College Sports Television (CSTV) on Tuesdays. The Coast2Coach show on Saint Joseph's University's Hawks is actually one of the best coaches shows, perhaps in America. The Saint Joseph's Hawks play on the arena, in the classrooms, and in real life with three virtues: Spirit, Intellect, and Purpose. They need all three of those virtues, because they have a big game coming up. The Villanova boys are as proud to be a Philadelphia-area school, and much like Kentucky, Villanova has some Wildcats ready to roll. But Kentucky's Wildcats are better, eh, Foolkiller (^_^)? Well, let's get this party started in Philly as two of Philadelphia's Big Five will square off. Back in December 14, 1955, the first City Series game was played between (surprisingly) Villanova and St. Joseph's. Villanova won then, and now they meet to play for the pride of Philadelphia. Both teams are 3-0 in this round-robin. Saint Joseph's has a chance to be two games over 0.500 overall with a BIG upset in the works. (71-58; Villanova - 2005-2006 CHAMPIONS OF THE CITY SERIES)

* Virginia at Maryland ---RIVALRY GAME---
The Maryland Terrapins proudly defended the honor of Comcast Arena by taking down the Virginia Cavaliers. (76-65; MARYLAND)

* Eastern Michigan at Bowling Green
The Bowling Green/Eastern Michigan game is up next. The MAC isn't known as a basketball power, but it does have some interesting teams. If you're new to college sports, we're talking about Bowling Green, OH. Bowling Green, Ohio, not Bowling Green in Kentucky. The Falcons meet a familiar foe in terms of mascots- Eastern Michigan. I think it's Eastern Michigan University. They aren't the Emus. Instead, they are the Eagles. Yeah, the Donovan McNabb-type Eagles. Of course, McNabb is from a school who is MUCH better in basketball than football (guess. Hint- think about the New England area). (73-71; BOWLING GREEN)

* Missouri State at Southern Illinois
Missouri State was formerly known as Southwest Missouri State. Their nickname hasn't changed because when you play hard, you bear down on your opponents. Oh, and they are called the Bears. ^_^ They played one of the coolest teams in the Missouri Valley Conference, Southern Illinois. The Salukis won't roll over and play dead, but they will play their tails off sinking their fangs into anyone who daresay they don't belong in The Big Dance. (66-64; SOUTHERN ILLINOIS)

* Fairfield at Siena
The Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference beckons now, and we have a university meeting a college. Fairfield University in Connecticut, and Siena in New Jersey (I believe). In the end, the Siena Saints defended their floor from the wrath of the Fairfield Stags. (58-47; SIENA)

"BOOM Goes the Dynamite!" Buffalo at Ball State
The boys from Buffalo, NY met the Ball State boys from Muncie, IN(?). Yes, it's the Buffalo Bulls (not the Bills for my NFL fans) against the Ball State Cardinals, who likely have the ugliest Cardinal logo for any team. When the game was over, BOOM goes the dynamite! Ball State b-balled their way to victory. (67-60; BALL STATE)

* Appalachia State at Furman
The Furman Paladins took down the 2005 Division 1-AA football champions, Appalachia State's Mountaineers. (76-64; FURMAN)

* Houston at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
The last time these two schools met, it was an Overtime game in which Houston barely nudged TAMU-CC in OT. Can the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders surpass the Houston Cougars, which they didn't do last time? Like they did last time, Houston won the game. Round 1 went to Houston in OT, this one wasn't too close. Cougars crushed Corpus Christi's chances. (82-74; Houston)

* Missouri at Baylor
The Baylor Bears shown that the men are just as good as their women's team, dragging Missouri's Tigers to the ground. (90-6?; BAYLOR)

* Providence at DePaul
Providence, Rhode Island is home to Providence College. But the big boys from America's littlest state are heading right into Chicago, IL. Those boys in black, the Providence Friars got it done tonight against DePaul's Blue Demons. (61-60; Providence)

* Texas-Arlington at Louisiana-Monroe
The Louisiana-Monroe Indians weren't going to let the Texas-Arlington Mavericks crush the Monroe faithful. (80-66; LOUISIANA-MONROE)

* Wichita State at Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa keeps their great season going as the Panthers took care of business hosting the Wichita State Shockers. (68-56; NORTHERN IOWA)

* Creighton at Evansville
This is the matter of Nebraska's Creighton meeting Indiana's Evansville. The boys from Creighton represent a major city- Omaha, NE. They are the Blue Jays and are a great team. One of many, of course. They headed into the city of Evansville to meet (60-56; Creighton)

* Florida Atlantic at Mercer
This was a close fight. In the end, Florida Atlantic continues their bad season as the Owls were just beaten by the Mercer Bears. (74-73; MERCER)

* Savannah State at The Citadel
Finally, a game that proves a lesson. Not the lesson that the Savannah State Tigers are the worst team in Division 1 basketball, but because that The Citadel's Bulldogs are 0-10 in their respective conference (Big South, I believe), but still beat the Independents Savannah State. With this loss, Savannah State will go to 2-23. Only good news is that at least this isn't the time they went 0-28. I joke about Coppin State being horrible, and at least they've improved. Even Morgan State's winning games now. (80-73; THE CITADEL)





WOMEN'S DIVISION
I've selected only two games, but two nice ones to keep you company. Let's see some diva basketball action now!

* #8 Rutgers at #3 Connecticut
Okay, this match is BIG. Both teams are unbeaten in conference. One will remain unbeaten. Let the unbeatens be the Lady Scarlet Knights as they upset the UConn Lady Huskies. (60-56; Rutgers)

"I'm Not Opinionated... I'm Always Wright" Wright State at Ohio State
You know Ohio State. You may not know Wright State. Actually, these are both Ohio-based schools. Wright State are the home of the Raiders, and in this case, the Lady Raiders. I never realized how good Ohio State is in basketball (79-48; OHIO STATE)



That's Tuesday. More action on Wednesday. And to get you ready for what's coming up, it's #1 Connecticut vs. Syracuse.

 

[FoolKiller]

"Call of the Wildcats" #14 Tennessee at Kentucky ---RIVALRY GAME---
Keep in mind that the Duke/UNC game happened BEFORE this game. I wanted to feature the Duke/UNC game first because it's the biggest game in all of college basketball. This is a big game for Kentucky because Saturday night... uh... didn't go too well. Kentucky lost by 15 at Florida and had a Saturday night they'd love to forget. Tubby Smith's boys have another big game coming up- Tennessee. How big is this game? Tennessee used to be unbeaten until Florida OWNED Tennessee AT Tennessee. Hell, beating Tennessee at Neyland Stadium is already a shocker. But the Volunteers don't have a bunch of orange to paint Lexington. You want to know how much Kentucky can't stand Tennessee? I don't have scientific proof of this, but I don't think there's a single Home Depot in Lexington. Other hardware stores aren't selling orange paint in Lexington. Anything orange, Kentucky's not having it. Why do they go into these lengths? That's because Lexington, KY's favorite color is blue. After all, Kentucky is the Bluegrass State. If you're not wearing Wildcat blue, you're not getting any love by Rupp Arena. This is the 200th game between these two teams who really hate each other. Kentucky's records are 15-7 overall, and 5-3 in the SEC. Kentucky is improving about as much as Georgia is. Knoxville vs. Lexington... round 200! Touch gloves and come out fighting. Kentucky trailed at times as Tennessee kept raining all over Kentucky. They had a chance to shut the flood gates, but a very bad offense inside of one minute left meant easy pickings for Tennessee. (75-67; Tennessee)[/COLOR]

Well, there are two Home Depots in Lexington. It's just a good store, you have to give up on the color deal.

Now, actual color-based facts about Lexinton: Red parking zones-painted blue. Red fire hydrants-painted blue. Red McDonald's roofs-painted blue. Next time I am visiting my brother I will try and get pictures. The largest local construction company also puts UK logos on all their cement trucks. We might not like orange but red is the bad color. Think of Lexington as The Village.

As for the game; total final minute offensive break down. We couldn't hit three's all night and that was all they tried, including Rondo who is only 25% behind the arch. What the hell guys?!

We take our sports serious.

 

[JohnBM01]

Heh, I hear you, FoolKiller...

THURSDAY'S GAMES

[B}MEN'S DIVISION[/B]
If you love college football like I do, then you'll love the first two games I've selected.

"You Again?" #17 Ohio State at #22 Michigan ---RIVALRY GAME---
Oh, man... This is the big one, GTPlanet! It's the rivalry you've been wanting to see. It's the battle of Ann Arbor vs. Columbus. Get ready for a big game to be played in Ann Arbor at The Big House. Only there's a catch... we're not talking football. It doesn't matter whether the sport is basketball, football, hockey, soccer, or what. These two abosultely hate each other. Michigan is not known as a basketball power. They are pretty good in football and in hockey, but never count out the Wolverines in basketball. Am I saying this to be too kind to Michigan, or am I telling the truth? Well, anything can happen in college basketball. They've been on the rise lately, so too has their opponents. Ohio State has great teams in almost any sport. And if you love THE Ohio State University, you couldn't give a crap about ANYTHING sporting blue and maize. It's Big Blue on the field and the Maize on the hardwood. Surely, the Buckeyes would say "we can take you in football, and we can take you in basketball... again!" That's right. It is meeting #154 between these two storied football school rivals, and Ohio State's been winning more games than Michigan. The winner of this game will have bragging rights until February 25th- when they meet again. Michigan fans, trade your blue for maize, and get ready for a wild ride. (94-85; Ohio State)

"Backyard Basketbrawl" #10 West Virginia at #13 Pittsburgh
We got the Backyard Brawl, GTPlanet (Palace at Auburn Hills, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, and the word "Backyard" sold seperately). These are two schools who can't stand each other. In football, West Virginia and Pittsburgh shared their differences. In basketball, Pittsburgh would normally be the better team. But as of late, the Mountaineers have been playing as exceptional as their football team. Pittsburgh has been a good basketball team. The Pitt Panthers took their rivalry to the hardwood since football's been long done. The Panthers have done very well, and usually do anyways. Some teams do well, only one can do best. And Holy Panther! We got an upset! How about the Steel City Kitties? (57-53; PITTSBURGH)

"Not for Kids" St. John's at Georgetown ---RIVALRY GAME---
For the next two games, we're highlighting two New York City universities. First off, St. John's. St. John's University is part of the Big East conference. So you already know that they are part of a big conference to play in. Even on a sunny day or a clear night, you'll know St. John's is in town as the Red Storm will invade any team's skies. Bring an umbrella. But then, a Red Storm can invade places inside, so when you see the Red Storm, you can't hide. A rain coat isn't exactly good to wear as a basketball uniform, but Washington D.C. is going to get some foul weather. One of America's Jesuit Colleges and Universities is Georgetown University. You may know them in football, but they have a greater (and much more popular) basketball team. When Duke was #1, who beat Duke? Georgetown. Who else did Georgetown knock off? Pittsburgh. If you're choosing Georgetown in a lopsided game, then I'm sure Georgetown appreciates you taking them against any team. However, as good as Georgetown is, the Hoyas can still be upset. There is no upset immunity to any team. Doesn't matter if you're Savannah State or North Carolina, NOBODY is immune to upsets. Let's see which team became the jive turkeys who got beat down. In the Second Half, St. John's was getting owned. At 7:45 left in the game, the score was 59-28, Georgetown. Thought that score was ugly? Ugly is probably the mood the St. John's coach is in after a performance like this in Washington, D.C. That long ride back to New York City won't be a happy one. (64-41; GEORGETOWN)

"Bon-aventure Voyage!" Fordham at St. Bonaventure
Our New York City school trip ends with Fordham University on the road. Fordham is a team you may know in football, unlike St. John's (whose football team saw its last 10-yard fight back in 2002 as part of the MAAC). Regardless, they are as much of a New York City school as The City College of New York or New York University (someone joked that a football team for New York University would be "gay" because their nickname is the Violets). St. Bonaventure is probably one of the worst Div. 1 basketball schools in New Endland or at least, one of the worst Div. 1 schools in the state of New York. For Fordham, it's bon voyage, St. Bonaventure! (81-70; Fordham)

"Feeling the Burn" Northeastern at Drexel
The Drexel Dragons blazed up their competition at the other end of the court, the Northeastern Huskies. (83-47; DREXEL)

* Hofstra at Georgia State
Just lay back and watch Pride at its best. Georgia State's Panthers lost plenty of pride losing to Hofstra University's Pride. (76-70; Hofstra)

* Jacksonville at Belmont
Even the NFL's Miami Dolphins are better than the Jacksonville Dolphins. Jacksonville University may be the new Savannah State, and even Savannah State won two more games than last year. Handing Jacksonville another loss were Nashbille, TN's Belmont Bruins. (83-65; BELMONT)

* Jacksonville State at Tennessee Tech
Ohio Valley Conference action now (I believe). Whereas Jacksonville won only one game, Jacksonville State (not related. This is an Alabama school) went into Tennessee Tech and defeated the Golden Eagles. The Jacksonville State Gamecocks get another win to make it 8 or 11. I'm not sure of their record. (72-68; Jacksonville State)

"Black-Eyed Birds" Fairleigh Dickinson at Long Island
FDU is a proud New Jersey unit, and the Knights gave the LIU Blackbirds plenty of black eyes. (96-74; Fairleigh Dickinson)

* Pacific at California State-Fullerton
Sick of the East Coast? Then I can do the West Coast too, player. The official name for Pacific is The University of the Pacific. Pretty cool, huh? This Stockton, CA school is surely the pride of Northern California. However, we all know who the best NoCal basketball team is- Stanford. (67-62; Pacific)

* UCLA at Washington State
The boys from Los Angeles should have won an Emmy for their performance of their live action movie, "Bruins Bashing Cougars" It was a Four-Star Box Office Smash... unless you seen this movie at Washington State University. (50-30; California-Los Angeles)

* Cal Poly at Long Beach State
Long Beach strikes gold as the Long Beach State 49ers got her done against San Luis Obispo's California Polytechnical Universty Mustangs. (67-62; LONG BEACH STATE)

* Southern California at Washington
Even if Matt Leinart wanted to join the USC basketball team before getting ready for the NFL Draft
44-27, Washington at the half. (87-73; WASHINGTON)

* Idaho State at Northern Arizona
It is Win #16 for the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks as they defeat their Big Sky counterparts from Pocatello, ID... the Idaho State Bengals. (88-80; NORTHERN ARIZONA)

* McNeese State at Texas-San Antonio
McNeese State is obviously a better football school than a basketball school. The McNeese State Cowboys take another headache as non-football school Texas-San Antonio got it done in lovely San Antonio (I know because I've been there before). UTSA ran away with this one. Why? Because Texas-San Antonio is Roadrunner Country. Duh! Win by a Quarter. Keep the change. (100-75; TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO)

* Murray State at Eastern Kentucky
Win #16 or #17 has been earned for the Murray State Racers as they downed the Colonels of Eastern Kentucky. Which is quite fiutting because I'm eating some Kentucky Fried Chicken while preparing this score to you all. No, you can't have my chicken. (62-45; Murray State)

"Gold Rush" Oral Roberts at Oakland
Golden Grizzlies in the house! But, there are also Golden Eagles. You know how much I say that the best team in the Mid-Continent is Oral Roberts? Well, the boys from Tulsa proved why they are the s:censored: in the Mid-Continent. Oakland loses another game, and they may need a whole lot of bandages and ointment because this loss stung pretty bad. ORU gets 15 wins, while OaU still has only nine. (90-53; Oral Roberts)

* Delaware at UNC-Wilmington
Three underrated teams coming up in these next three reports. For UNC-Wilmington, they must do their very best in the Colonial Athletic Association. There's no Seattle about NC-Wilmington, but the Seahawks got it done bigtime against the Delaware Blue Hens. This is win #18 for the Seahawks as they made fresh poultry out of Delaware. (70-54; NORTH CAROLINA-WILMINGTON)

* Youngstown State at Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Another game is on the horizon as the Horizon League is up next. It's win #17 for the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers as they cleaned up the Youngstown State Penguins. (98-57; WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE)

* New Mexico State at Nevada
Sixteen wins? Seventeen wins? Try 18 wins! That's how many the Nevada Wolfpack got. They're looking REAL good heading into March, downing the NMSU Aggies. (85-63; NEVADA)

* Western Kentucky at Denver
GTPlanet, Denver used to be one of the best Sun Belt teams. However, the Pioneers are having a very bad year. The Hilltoppers of WKU solidified their great shame. (71-70; Western Kentucky)

* Johnson C. Smith at Elizabeth City State
The men's scores will end with this special match on ESPNU. I'll introduce you to both teams. First, the home team. Elizabeth City State University is in a very popular college basketball state- North Carolina. Elizabeth City, North Carolina is in the house, as is the CIAA. The Elizabeth City State Vikings were ready to face Johnson C. Smith University. The JCSU team is known as the Golden Bulls. So, can the Vikings loot and plunder all over over Johnson C. Smith's Golden Bulls in this HBCU (Historically-Black Colleges and Universities) match? This is a fight between two Division 2 teams. (84-74; Johnson C. Smith)





WOMEN'S DIVISION
* #6 Maryland at #1 North Carolina
Holy shhh... In Overtime, the Maryland Lady Terrapins did terra-ble damage to North Carolina. So bad, the girls in baby blue were deeply saddened to lose in Overtime. Losing is NOT usual for UNC because Tar Heels (much less Lady Tar Heels) don't lose. (98-95, OT; Maryland)

* LSU at Tennessee
Pokey Chatman's (Coach, LSU) girls got their first win at Knoxville, TN. It's a big win for the LSU Lady Tigers as the Tennessee Lady Volunteers get los #3 on the season. (72-69; Louisiana State)

* IPFW at #?? Purdue
Choo choo! It's the freight train known as the Purdue Lady Boilermakers. The team who got run over were the Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne Lady Mastodons. (76-52; PURDUE)

* Arkansas at Vanderbilt
Vandy was sweet like candy because the Lady Commodores got a sweet victory over the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks. (64-59; VANDERBILT)

* Virginia Union at Longwood
The Longwood Lady Lancers downed someone they mey know pretty well in Division 2, the Virginia Union Lady Panthers. (69-56; LONGWOOD)



I invite you to check out my thread on who I think will make up the field of 65 come March. It's rather incomplete, but I have made some of my picks. Look in the Basketball forum for my College Basketball March Madness preview.

 

[JohnBM01]

As usual, let's get ready for Saturday. But before we do, get ready for the Friday Appetizers. Bon apetit!

FRIDAY APPETIZERS
-MEN-
* Quinnipiac at Saint Francis (65-62; Quinnipiac)
* Mayville State at North Dakota State (93-67; NORTH DAKOTA STATE)
-WOMEN-
* Ohio State at Michigan ---RIVALRY GAME--- (74-55; Ohio State)
* Yale at Columbia (51-41; COLUMBIA)
* James Madison at Drexel (52-50; James Madison)
* North Carolina-Wilmington at Delaware (56-51; DELAWARE)
* Houston at Tulane (64-55; TULANE
+++++JOHN'S NOTE: It used to be the Lady Cougars were better than the men. Now, the Men's team is doing much better than the women's team, considering Houston lost most of their big talent to the WNBA or someplace else.

And... the Saturday swing will begin whenever I get my scores in. The road to March is well underway and getting closer than we think. So be sure to stay with me on these scores so we can see who'll be making waves come March.

 

[JohnBM01]

SATURDAY'S GAMES
Rivalry Week concludes with Saturday's games. You know there's going to be a lot of dribbling, passing, and dunks around the country. So let's do this, players!

SPECIAL NOTE: Selection Sunday will be on March 11th.

MEN'S DIVISION
Let me see how many games I can get in, consisting of teams you've heard of more in football, and also teams without gridiron teams. It's an American tour courtesy of your boy, John. It's time to see America. We begin with the Big Ten.

* #18 Iowa at #21 Indiana
The Hawkeyes get their fourth straight win over ranked teams. Iowa is knocking on the door, NCAA Tournament! Answer already! Indiana's Hoosiers may need lots of regrouping after a close loss like this.(70-67; Iowa)

* Duke at Maryland ---RIVALRY GAME---
Redick was solid as the Blue Devils trounced the Maryland Terrapins. (96-88; Duke)

* St. Peter's at Loyola College
If you're an NFL fan, we're heading into Ravens country- Baltimore, MD. Loyola College is the school we will virtually visit. Loyola College is one of three Loyola schools in America. You have Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA, Loyola University of Chicago in Chicago, IL, and then Loyola College in Baltimore, MD. I know which colleges is which, so for the sake of this post, I'll note them as Loyola College and not Loyola MD. You can also call them the Loyola College Greyhounds. They were 10-3 at one point and looking good. Now they lost six straight games (I beleive). Looking to make them lose nine straight is another college, St. Peter's College. While the Greyhound buses... I mean, Greyhounds are playing 5-on-5, the Peacocks are ready to shake their tailfeathers against Loyola. These two Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference teams are looking for bragging rights in conference. There's been a number of Technical Fouls in this game, even with the coach for St. Peter's coach was out of the game like the umpire sending an angry coach out of a baseball game. This is a feel-good win for Loyola College. They needed a good win and got it by two dimes. (89-69; LOYOLA COLLEGE)

* #22 Michigan at Purdue
Michigan is still ranked, even after losing to Ohio State. They are not known very well for basketball as they are known in football. Can you believe Michgan trailed Purdue (come on now! PURDUE, Michigan!) 47-27? Well, they did. Michigan did try to stop the bleeding, but that bleeding for Michigan was a huge wound. Do we have any veternarians in the house? Wolverines need a little help after getting run over by the Purdue Boilermakers. By the way, this is one of the few college sports where you'll see Michigan lose TO PURDUE. Of course, football would be 31-10; Michigan or something. Big win for Purdue, and a saddening loss for the ranked Michigan club. (84-70; PURDUE) *upset!*

* #4 Villanova at DePaul
This is a Big East shakedown in The Windy City. It is a battle of Villanova University and DePaul University. First, Villanova. Head Coach Jay Wright led his men into Chicago on a mission- to take down DePaul. It is a mission the Wildcats can hope to acheive on the road. They can keep their high ranking up with a win like this. DePaul is on the rise, but haven't really exploded like Marquette has. Still, the Blue Demons continue the tradition of college hoops any given night or day. They also are one of the different Jesuit colleges and universities with their religious commitment to Jesus and such. The winning commitment missed the mark for the DePaul boys. (61-51; Villanova)

* #?? George Washington at Saint Joseph's ---RIVALRY GAME---
GTPlanet, let's go to Philadelphia, PA and Saint Joseph's University. SJU perhaps has one of the most popular Coach's Show, "Phil Martelli's Hawk Talk." Phil Martelli is the head coach of Saint Joseph's University and hopes his players can live up to the school's slogan- Spirit. Intellect. Purpose. Believe me, GTPlanet... the Hawks have all three of those virtues and then some. Saint Joseph's hasn't had a stellar season, but don't tell that to George Washington. The boys from Washington, D.C. puts their #8 ranking on the line against Saint Joseph's. The George Washington University is a pretty nice metropolitan university where not only can you be in the city where you can find the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument, not to mention the House of Representatives. George Washington is probably one of two of the biggest basketball schools in Washington D.C., and the Colonials are NCAA Tournament-bound as they tried to give Saint Joseph's another heartbreak like they've suffered against Villanova in the Big 5 deal. So we're at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse on the campus of Saint Joseph's University. It was 33-25 in favor of George Washington... no wait... It's Saint Joseph's taking down GW! Oh my God! That perfect streak in the Altantic 10 is being threatened! In the second half, Saint Joseph had GW pinned, but the George Washington Colonials JUST ESCAPE Philadelphia with the win. (64-62; George Washington)

* #12 Michigan State at Minnesota
Hot damn! We got an upset in Minneapolis! Michigan State's Spartans fall again, this time to the Golden Gophers. (69-55; MINNESOTA)

* Connecticut at Seton Hall
Not even close. Seton Hall's Pirates got owned and mauled by the Connecticut Huskies, who soon rolled over, played dead, and caught frisbies to the delight of dog lovers everywhere. (99-57; Connecticut)

* Stanford at #5 Gonzaga Bulldogs
It's Saturday Night Live from The Kennel! Featured guests: the wonderful announcing talent Brad Nessler, college basketball's biggest personality Dick Vitale, and the Stanford Cardinal. And here are your hosts... the Bulldogs of GONZAGA UNIVERSITY! At the half Gonzaga pounds in a 3-pointer, but Stanford still led 43-38 afterwards. Then as the game came to an end, people had Gonzaga as the ultimate Cinderella. Now, they've established themselves as a real program in knocking off Stanford. The home winnings streak extends to 37(?) games. (80-76; GONZAGA)

* #12 UCLA at #23 Washington
How about this? The somewhat struggling Washington Huskies beat the boys from Pauley Pavillion, the UCLA Bruins. (70-67; WASHINGTON) *upset!*

* Tennessee at Georgia
Georgia is doing better as of late, but the Bulldogs didn't show that against the Volunteers. (-; Tennessee)

* Baylor at Oklahoma
Better Sooner than later! Oklahoma got it done against the Baylor Bears. It's another win for Bookout and company for the Sooners. (-; OKLAHOMA)

* Iowa State at Kansas
Kansas returns to winning as the Jayhawks survived the horrid weather of the Iowa State Cyclones. (88-75; KANSAS)

* Kentucky at Vanderbilt
Kentucky took a pounding in Gainesville, FL last time out. So when times get tough, Kentucky gets tougher. The Wildcats are sick of losing, and you know what? They're going to do something about it. So what are they going to do? Teach Vanderbilt a lesson. Not many classes are available on Saturday, but Vanderbilt's going to perhaps be schooled by Kentucky. Regardless, Kentucky sees them as class clowns, so the Commodores are looking to be disciplined by the boys from Lexington. Unfortunately, the cats (no pun intended) who got schooled were the Wildcats as they lose a close game. They are now 15-9 overall, 5-5 in conference, and may end up in the NIT than the NCAA tournament. Kentucky will need to up their game the remaining games if they want a shot at the Siemens Trophy come NCAA Tournament. (84-81; VANDERBILT)

* South Florida at Louisville
First Lexington, now Louisville. If you don't like Louisville, the next game is La Salle at Xavier. The boys in red are ready to get Freedom Hall off their bottoms. The Cardinals have left their nests and are ready to swoop down and attack South Florida. The University of South Florida made their first Bowl Game in football this past season, but their basketball team is looking for win #1 in the Big East. The Bulls are winless in the conference. Louisville kept them winless. So at this point, they'd may as well play for survival than getting a Big East tournament bid. Even St. John's and Providence are doing better than South Florida. Louisville is on the outside looking in, and they keep South Florida to a dismal season. For the state of Kentucky's two best teams this Saturday, Kentucky loses, Louisville wins. (57-54; LOUISVILLE)

* La Salle at Xavier
La Salle is in Philadelphia. Xavier is from Cincinatti. All in all, the La Salle Explorers explored Xavier. All they could find was the will to win against Xavier as they made candy bars out of the Musketeers. Xavier Musketeers... Three Musketeers... sounds right, no? (79-70; La Salle)

* Southeast Missouri State at Eastern Kentucky
Colonels get it done against the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks. Convincing win too. (81-50; EASTERN KENTUCKY)

* LSU at #6 Florida
Last Saturday, Florida beat Kentucky by 15. Why don't they embarrass another team, eh? It's a battle of the wild as the LSU Tigers came into town from a little city called... Baton Rouge, LA. Tigers, welcome to Florida's jungle! Welcome to the land where the skies are not cloudy all day and where vicious Gators roam. Any visiting teams playing against Florida are subject to unsafe conditions. Beware of Gators- in The Swamp, and on the basketball's The Swamp. LSU failed to ignore all warnings and paid the price. (71-62; FLORIDA)

* #3 Memphis at Marshall
Easy money for Memphis. They are one win richer as the Tigers caught the Thundering Herd of Marshall off guard. (91-81; Memphis)

* Virginia Tech at Virginia ---RIVALRY GAME---
In football, this is for the Commonwealth Cup. Don't get me wrong. Both teams have great football programs, but their basketball programs have been hit and miss. You won't find any guys with the last name of Vick for Virginia Tech's basketball program. What you will find are a bunch of Hokies who would love to get some big wins anytime soon. They'll have to do it against the Cavaliers. No, not LeBron James... he didn't go to college, remember? But Virginia's Cavaliers. So we have ourselves a game in Charlottesville, VA. (81-77, OT; VIRGINIA)

* Charlotte at Wake Forest
If Wake Forest loses this game, Wake Forest should be in the NIT. The Demon Deacons have struggled in recent memory, so a win against Charlotte would be easy money. Don't expect the 49ers to just be a cupcake waiting to be devoured by WF. They'll play hard and really give Wake Forest some growing pains. Charlotte made a game out of it, but failed to close. Pay up, UNC-Charlotte! (59-56; WAKE FOREST)

* North Carolina-Asheville at VMI
We're talking about the Big South, GTPlanet. There are four known North Carolina-xxxxxxxx schools. The best of them this season is UNC-Wilmington. But we're talking about the University of North Carolina-Asheville. I recall seeing commercials about visiting Asheville. It's a nice place from commercials. If you want to go to school in Asheville, you can. The ESPN family of networks shown "Pride of the Program" coverage as Asheville was featured. Back in 2003(?) the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs made their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid in school history. Now in 2006, they want to show VMI what time it is, you dig a brother? So, let's see the Virginia Military Institute team go at it. Okay. Meet VMI. The Keydets are ready to give North Carolina-Asheville some heartbreak. Did they? Not a chance! Bulldogs clean house in Virginia. (82-; North Carolina-Asheville)

* North Carolina-Wilmington at Georgia State
One of North Carolina's best teams not from a major conference is North Carolina-Wilmington. This CAA power is looking to make some noise come March. They'll need to do it against Georgia State to keep a good thing going. The Seahawks came all the way from North Carolina to Georgia (not to say that's a LONG distance) to give Georgia State something to cry about. No worries as the Seahawks continually push for that tournament bid. In conference, UNC-Wilmington trails George Mason by one game. (69-57; North Carolina-Wilmington)

* Drexel at Delawave
You sick of Philadelphia-based teams? Too bad. Here's another. Drexel University is one of over six different universities on the Division 1 level in or around Philadelphia. When you face Drexel, be sure to wear asbestos underneath your basketball jersey. That fire protection will protect you from the fire-breathing Drexel Dragons. If this was a real-life battle, Delaware would be in deep trouble. The University of Delaware is home to a team who hopes not to become fresh poultry at your local grocery store. In the end, the Drexel Dragons got bopped in the head like a haymaker from the World Heavyweight boxing champ. (78-65; DELAWARE)

* Nebraska at #7 Texas
Texas is on the rise in basketball, and it shows as the Longhorns hooked the Nebraska Cornhuskers. (78-59; TEXAS)

* Vermont at UMBC
Fans of the UMBC Retrivers will love to know that the poochies got it done in Maryland against the Catamounts. (86-73; MARYLAND-BALTIMORE COUNTY)

* UMKC at Oakland
Oakland took a horrible blowout loss from Oral Roberts, and against Missouri-Kansas City, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies lose again. And surprise surprise... it was another close finish. I don't know... does Oakland have a problem in winning close games, finishing off opponents late, or what? The Kangaroos give Oakland another "L" to Oakland's record. Something may have to change if Oakland wants to finish teams off. Maybe a coaching change, more rigorous training regimens, or what. They just can't have these close losses and expect to make some noise in the NCAA tournament if they make another one soon. As for UMKC, it's another nice win as they are sort of a middle-of-the-road Mid-Continent team. Any one in conference who can beat Centenary College is a winner to me, and I think both schools have done that. (84-81; Missouri-Kansas City)

* SMU at Houston
And finally, some hometown love from my hometown's best team and my brother's alma mater. The Houston Cougars beat their Dallas counterparts, the Southern Methodist Mustangs. So Houston loses to SMU at home in football, but they beat them in men's basketball at [their aging] home. (69-57; HOUSTON)





WOMEN'S DIVISION
* Lafayette at Navy
Girls like animal prints. Well, the Lafayette Lady Leopards love winning in addition to leopard prints. Sadly, Navy's Midshipwomen denied them any win. (73-63; NAVY)

* Clevland State at Detroit
Whereas the men have struggled of late, the Lady Titans of the University of Detroit Mercy right the wrongs of Clevland State's Lady Vikings. And boy... uh, girl did they do just that! (78-46; DETROIT)

* Oral Roberts at IUPUI
The Lady Jaguars of IUPUI got her done against Oral Roberts' Lady Golden Eagles. My only question... why is IUPUI such a mouthful to pronounce? (50-46; INDIANA UNIVERSITY-PURDUE UNIVERSITY-INDIANAPOLIS)

* Gonzaga at Portland
While the men were housekeeping against Stanford, the Lady Bulldogs get a win on the road against the Portland Lady Pilots in this WCC match. (46-41; Gonzaga)

* Grambling at Texas Southern
Just like the Men's side, I'll end the women's games with a trip back home to Houston. One or two miles away from the University of Houston lies Texas Southern University. It wasn't a magical day as the TSU Lady Tigers got the boot from the Grambling State Lady Tigers. (79-71; Grambling)


That's all for this week. Next week's action begins soon. This is not to mention that Valentine's Day is Tuesday. If you're playing college hoops, there's always the chance of a heartbreak. Will any happen even before or after Valentine's Day? Stay tuned! That's all for this week.

 

[FoolKiller]

I can sum up my response to Kentucky vs Vanderbilt in one word.

🤬 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!