February 2008 - Posts
As over-the-top fans grab more and more college basketball headlines, the question is raised: How much is too much?
Generally, four-letter words tend to dominate student sections. But some games are more than nasty language. And how do schools combat that?
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Big wins like Vanderbilt’s force a re-thinking of one’s hoop perceptions.
So I thought more about the Commodores last night, slept on it, did more research this morning and here’s my verdict:
This isn’t the year Vandy breaks through to the Elite Eight, let alone the Final Four.
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Two quick thoughts on Tennessee’s loss to Vandy, with more to come in the morning.
The Vols are still a No. 1 seed, no doubt.
Second, Tennessee’s scrappy style – played to perfection against Memphis – does have its flaws.
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Tuesday reading, with an eye on the Vols vs. Commodores and Hoosiers vs. Buckeyes. But first, another Kelvin Sampson update.
Former Indiana University president Adam Herbert, who approved the Sampson two years ago, commented on the Sampson fiasco, telling the Jacksonville Times-Union that he thought the coach’s previous NCAA violations were “an aberration.”
Ex-squeeze me? Baking power?
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Tennessee did two things Saturday night with its scrappy, impressive win against Memphis.
The Vols erased any further doubts about them as a national title contender. And two? By knocking off previously undefeated Memphis, the Vols established March Madness – just over three weeks away – as wide open. The Tigers were the last squad who could’ve made any argument to being the nation’s dominant team, and even that was shaky after their recent close encounters.
Instead, this is shaping up to be a March where 15-20 teams could make a title run.
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College basketball’s regular season gets tagged as blasé, but even naysayers should be pumped about Saturday.
After all, No. 1 vs. No. 2 just doesn’t happen that often. Top 10 games, sure. But this’ll be the 38th time since 1949 when the top teams face off in what should be the regular-season’s best game.
In this instance, the SEC’s best team, Tennessee, travels to No. 1 Memphis.
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The next Duke-North Carolina game isn’t until March 8. But there is plenty of fodder for hype in the meantime. And it’s all coach created.
If you missed Roy Williams’ jab at Mike Krzyzewki – a retort to a comment from Coach K about Carolina’s injuries – here's the best quote: Williams asking an unspecified person to “coach their own damn team, I’ll coach my team.” That person being Krzyzewski.
Who knew this rivlary needed more heat?
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If this is it for Kelvin Sampson, it was a helluva exit.
A 77-68 victory against in-state rival and Big Ten leaders Purdue surely left an impression upon Indiana fans. Tuesday’s win – maybe Indiana’s best performance of their season – came under the klieg lights from TV, reporters and fans, all wanting to know what would happen to the coach, and when.
The exceptions: Sampson and his players.
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This one’s the ideal post for arguing among hoops fans. Except when you get to the top – then there’s little room for debate.
Just like in football, ESPN is counting down the 25 greatest players in college basketball history. (Click here for videos.) And it’s a loaded list.
The fun part about these lists is everyone has their version.
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If the speculation is correct, Kelvin Sampson can forget about taking D.J. White and Eric Gordon to the Final Four. He’ll be lucky if he gets to face in-state rival Purdue.
Indiana University has seven days to decide Sampson’s future. A three-person committee will weigh the NCAA allegations of five major violations, and then recommend to the University by Friday what action it should take. Then again, it may be sooner.
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Indiana players may not say it, but it wasn’t surprising the Hoosiers lost to Wisconsin on Wednesday. Their coach provided a supreme off-court distraction.
Kelvin Sampson’s alleged lying to the NCAA was the talk of college hoops on Wednesday – and would’ve dominated the news if not for Roger Clemens’ trip to Capitol Hill. Instead, after a well-played game with its share of on-court drama, it figures that a banked three-pointer would win it for the Badgers. Such was the Hoosiers’ luck on Wednesday.
So what did the Web say about Sampson?
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First it was Kelvin Sampson’s 577 impermissible phone calls made between 2000 and 2004 while coaching at Oklahoma.
Then Sampson, shortly after becoming Indiana’s new coach, violated telephone recruiting restrictions when he and assistant Rob Senderoff made approximately 100 impermissible phone calls to recruits.
Now, it’s come out that Sampson lied about the violations to Indiana and the NCAA. In an NCAA report, Sampson is accused of five major violations and failed “to deport himself ... with the generally recognized high standard of honesty.”
In short, the NCAA isn’t happy.
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Call it a gift for Georgetown, call it a horrendous call for Villanova or just call it part of the game, all three would be correct.
A “nudge” from Villanova’s Corey Stokes sent Georgetown’s Jonathan Wallace – who was 70 feet from the basket – to the free-throw with less than a second to play and effectively gave the Hoyas a 55-53 win on Monday.
Make the call? Don’t make the call?
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Of all the stories surrounding Bob Knight's resignation, one laments Knight, 67, as a dying breed of the “teacher-coaches” in favor of “younger, good-looking, extroverted figureheads” who can just put people in the seats.
Yes, that sounds like a cranky column, but I do understand the sentiment. Essentially, it’s about the transition from era into another one where coaches may not have the longevity as someone like Knight. And it’s worth a small lament.
But I think there's plenty of optimism for our future coaching stars.
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Sunday’s sobering thought? Hockey rates higher than college hoops among U.S. sports fans. In a recent Harris poll, five percent of surveyed fans say hockey is their favorite, compared to four percent who prefer pro or college hoops. Ouch.
What’s behind that? March Madness.
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Duke looked every bit like a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in an 89-78 road victory against North Carolina on Wednesday.
The Blue Devils (20-1) hit 13-of-29 three-pointers, made five fewer turnovers in a raucous Dean Dome and their defense hounded UNC’s Wayne Ellington (16.2 ppg) and Danny Green (12.1 ppg) into a nightmarish shooting night. Combined, they were 4-of-24 from the field for 11 points. Without point guard Ty Lawson, UNC’s offense never got on track despite 28 points from Tyler Hansbrough.
But that brushes over the nagging thought from Wednesday’s game: If Duke played that great and UNC only lost by 11 points, does that mean Duke’s hit its ceiling?
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Return to this space at 8:50 p.m.ET. I’ll be doing a live blog of the Duke-UNC game. I'm trying something a little different than a normal post, which will allow readers to post comments in-between my in-game thoughts. Anyway, more details to come then.
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It’s not as if Duke-North Carolina needs any extra hype. The two teams enter Wednesday’s game as No. 2 and No. 3 in the rankings, 3 and 4 in the RPI and 4 and 7 in kenpom.com’s ratings. Duke (19-1) hasn’t lost since Dec. 20. The Heels (21-1) won their first 18 games.
UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough is the leading candidate for Player of the Year, while only Kansas and Memphis have a deeper bench than Duke (maybe UConn and Tennessee, too). That alone would make it a monster matchup. Throw in the history between the two schools, and it’s MEGA.
Yet, what happened to our beloved traditional rivalries? How long until they again garner national attention?
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Regardless of how Bob Knight’s perceived, his wins record is an impressive achievement. That’s nearly 22 victories a season for 42 years.
But Knight will have to be remembered as a great coach, because he won’t keep that wins record for long. And when that happens, what is he left with? We can debate his coaching /personal style, but I’ll leave that to our columnists.
Me, I like the quotes.
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One undefeated New England may have lost Sunday, but there’s another still standing. And it’s an awfully familiar unbeaten sight.
The UConn women’s team torched Providence on Saturday, setting up a showdown against Big East rival Rutgers on Tuesday. Rutgers beat the Huskies in the Big East Championship last season and was the conference representative in the Final Four, losing to Tennessee in the title game. Since then, the Huskies (21-0) have torn through the competition, winning all but one game by double-digit margins.
Of course, Memphis’ men’s team is no slouch either. It just takes me out of the New England theme…
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Monday could be a big day for New Jersey Institute of Technology. When Longwood rolls into Newark, the Highlanders know it’s their best chance to win this season.
Of course, chance is a relative term…
A 81-69 loss to Utah Valley State on Saturday dropped NJIT to 0-23 this season, and extended their losing streak to 27 games. The last time NJIT won? Feb. 19 against Longwood (78-74).
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