Monday Madness 2/11: Big Ten Surprise

Super Awesome Team of the Week

Purdue Boilermakers

Alot of people were talking about the Boilermakers winning the Big Ten…..in 2009. Matt Painter should get some serious Coach of the Year press for taking this squad of youngsters to the top of the Big Ten. This weekend’s win at Wisconsin, where the Badgers had won 16-straight Big Ten home games, will pretty much eliminate any “fluke” discussion when discussing the Boilermakers. It doesn’t get any easier as they host Michigan State on Tuesday, but the Baby Boilers have finally earned some national respect.


Close: Big East Trio of UConn, Notre Dame, and Louisville (finally a clear-cut second tier of the Big East) Maryland (wins over BC and NC State have the Terps looking at #3 spot in the ACC) Saint Mary’s (held home court vs. Zags) Duke (Agree with Winn, better than Heels with Lawson), Kentucky (quietly 6-2 in the SEC), Indiana (tough wins over Illinois, Ohio State).

Bad, Bad Week

Ole Miss Rebels

The Rebels are now the leaders in the race for Free-Fall of the Year after losing to NIT World Champion South Carolina and Arkansas this past week. That 13-0 start seems like decades ago at this point. At 3-5 in the SEC, they are going to at least finish slightly above .500 to even make the dance at this point


Close: Dayton (don’t care what injuries you have, losing to GW will cost you a bid), Clemson (call the shrink, still can’t win the big one), Illinois (gave it everything, still lost to IU), MAC Teams (bad conference losses for Ohio and Kent State), Saint Joseph’s (two tough A10 losses).

Game of the Week

Indiana 83 Illinois 79 (OT)

Plenty of candidates this week, but the passion/hatred on display and double overtime finish in the Indiana/Illinois make it one of those games you’ll remember for weeks to come.


Close: Saint Mary’s 89 Gonzaga 85 (OT), Butler 71 Valpo 68, North Carolina 103 Clemson 93 (2OT),


Mid-Major Spotlight

Sacred Heart Pioneers

The Pioneers fell just short of the NCAA Tournament last season, falling at CCSU in a hard-fought NEC title game. This season’ s dance prospects look even better for the Pioneers, as they have won eight straight in NEC sit atop the standings at 11-2. Interestingly, their leading scorer (Brice Brooks) only averages 11.9 ppg. Also interesting, their head coach is a dead-ringer for Peter Griffin.


Bubble Watch

Davidson Wildcats RPI 58 17-6, 15-0

The big debate at the recent mock tournament selection was about what to do with a Davidson team that went undefeated in the SoCon and then lost in the conference tournament. I’m throwing this out there now: if Davidson is left home in this exact scenario, it’s a bigger injustice than Syracuse getting left home last season. Davidson did exactly what mid-majority is supposed to do if they want at-large consideration and scheduled the big boys. They lost to UCLA, Duke and North Carolina by a combined 18 points. That’s something 95% of college basketball teams would be perfect fine with.


Player I’d Like To Party With

Luke Harangody, Notre Dame

One of easier players to root for in college basketball because of his hard-nosed, old-school style, Hanangody’s 20 ppg and 10 rpg average have the Irish in Big East contention. He also has an outstanding buzzcut that needs its own name. I’m open for suggestions


Student Section of the Week


Saint Mary’s Gael Force

The SMC crowd made their presence felt against Gonzaga, as this group didn’t sit for one second in the thriller. The crowd plus the dimly-lit old school gym brought back fond memories of high school playoff games for this guy. Major credit for the student section for not storming the floor after beating the Zags. No reason in storming if you have the higher ranking.


Freshman Spotlight

Robbie Hummel, Purdue

Just one of the talented freshmen on Boilermakers, Hummel scored a career-high 21 points in the huge road upset at Wisconsin, which now leaves the Boilermakers thinking more about seeding than bid security.

Monday Madness 2/4: Huskie Resurgance

Welcome to Monday Madness, your guide to the week that was in college basketball. Expect to see it every Monday around noon.

Super Awesome Team of the Week

Connecticut Huskies

I snubbed the Huskies last week, but I can’t deny them any longer. With wins over Louisville and Pittsburgh, the Huskies went from “nice little turn-around story” to “legitimate threat to be the second best team in the Big East”. The loss of leading scorer Jerome Dyson has been a rallying point for this squad, which was really just going through the motions all season. Jim Calhoun has this squad playing with passion and has the Huskies right back into Big East title contention.

Close: Arkansas (back into SEC race with blowouts of Florida, Miss State), UCLA (state of Arizona should stay away from Pauley), Stanford (Top 10 team after WSU win), Cal (road sweep of Washington schools puts them back in bubble talk), George Mason (huge win vs VCU), UNLV (quietly rolled off five straight wins to control the MWC), Texas A&M (nice rebound wins over Texas and Oklahoma) Cornell (taking command of the Ivy at 4-0),

Bad, Bad Week

Washington State Cougars

The Cougars, last season’s surprise story, were able to hold off any letdown talk with a 14-0 start and #4 ranking. But since that impressive win at USC, the Cougars are just 3-4 in Pac-10 play. The home loss to Cal is unacceptable even in the rugged Pac-10, and Kyle Weaver’s foul shooting cost them a win against Stanford. I’m not saying that this isn’t a very good Washington State squad and they very well may be in the Sweet 16 in the end, but maybe they just aren’t the Final Four team people were calling them just a few weeks ago.


Close: Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Miami (FL), Arizona State (should morph into one team that just collapses upon itself), Baylor (must be still tired from 5OT game), Michigan State (first bad L of the season), Villanova (can’t buy a win at this point), Providence (knocked off bubble with four straight Ls)


Upset of the Week

Penn State 85 Michigan State 76

Growing up in Central PA, I truly understand how rare a major upset from the Bryce Jordan Center is . Adding to the shock factor is the fact that the Lions, losers of six straight, won this one without their best player Geary Claxton, who is out for the season with a torn ACL. And it may turn out that Michigan State was overrated all along, but it was still nice to see the Penn State fans getting to storm the floor for a change.



Close: Kansas State 84 Kansas 75, Missouri 77 Kansas State 74 (Mizzou played without half their team), Memphis 70 UTEP 64 (we’ll give this near shocker some credit).



Mid-Major Spotlight

William and Mary Tribe

Just when it appeared as if George Mason and VCU had separated themselves from the pack in the CAA, here come the Tribe. Wait, what? The Tribe? Yes, Bill and Mary, one of the few schools that have never made an NCAA appearance in school history, is suddenly the hottest team in the CAA. They have eight of nine in the CAA, including wins this week at James Madison and against UNC-Wilmington. It might too much to ask for the Tribe to top George Mason and VCU in March, but I’ve definitely seen stranger thing happen in conference tournament season.

Bubble Watch

Dayton Flyers RPI 13, 15-5, 3-4 A10,

Now here will be an interesting case for the Selection Committee. The Flyers started off the season on a tear, winning 14 out of 15 and rising into the Top 15 of the polls. But after costly injuries to big man Charles Little and freshman stud Chris Wright, the Flyers have fallen off significantly. They have now lost four of five in the A10, dropping them to 3-4 in conference and into the bottom third of the standings. The committee will surely look at their quality wins with a healthy roster (at Louisville, Pitt, Rhode Island) and give then Flyers a bit of a pass with the injuries. Still, they can’t continue to lose to teams like Richmond if the still wan to make the tournament.

Player I’d Like To Party With

Matt Causey, Georgia Tech

This is the kind of guy we love at STF. Causey, who scored in doubles figures exactly once in GT’s first 16 games (including zero against Presbyterian), has exploded for 30, 18, 18 and 12 in his last four games. It’s like Kevin Pittsnogle all over again, sans 17 tattoos. We promise to have much more on this later in the week.


Student Section of the Week

Kansas State (vs Kansas)

Quite possibility the quickest floor storming off all-time by the K-State section. Which is pretty much expected when you have 24 years to practice.


Freshman Spotlight

Kevin Love, UCLA (along with his chest pass)

Kevin Love was a beast against the Arizona schools this week, scoring 20 against Arizona State and 26 against Arizona. And thanks to Jay Bilas talking about it every 45 seconds, let’s give Love some credit for being able to hit the backboard on a full-court chest pass in practice. which is actually pretty remarkable when you think about it. This also marks the only time that a chest pass has been considered interesting.

Monday Madness 1/28/2008 - What Goaltending?

Welcome to Monday Madness, your guide to the week that was in college basketball. Expect to see it every Monday around noon.

Super Awesome Team of the Week

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Jamont Gordon’s no-look behind-the-neck dish against Ole Miss sealed it for me: The Bulldogs have become one of this season’s fun teams you can’t help but root for. Throw in nine straight wins, a 5-0 start in the SEC and Varnado’s daily swat parties and you have an easy bandwagon team. And the -falling of Vandy and Ole Miss, the Bulldogs may actually be the second best team in the SEC.

Close: UConn (amazing victory at Indiana without Dyson), Xavier (right back on top of the A10 with wins over Dayton and UMass), Arizona (sweep of Washington schools), Duke (avoid the bad loss at Maryland), Rutgers (shocking upsets of Nova and Pitt), Georgetown (two character building wins over Syracuse and WVU) Kentucky (huge win over Tennessee), Purdue (resume building win vs. Wisconsin),


Bad, Bad Week

Villanova Wildcats

Despite spending much of the season in or near the Top 25, the Wildcats could fin themselves in real trouble come March. The loss to Rutgers is just the latest in a growing number of bad losses (DePaul, Cincy and the double-digit loss to the Irish was a home game you need to win in conference. The talent is clearly there, but the defense (106th in efficiency) will need to improve in a hurry if the Wildcats want to make the dance this season.

Close: Dayton (Two bad Ls just shows you how injuries can ravage a great season), Pittsburgh ( bad loss to Rutgers just shows you how injuries can ravage a great season), UMass (tough A10 losses to Saint Joe’s and Xavier), Cleveland State (0-2 week in Wisconsin, so much for that), Arizona State (swept at home to Washington schools).


Upset of the Week

Rutgers 80 Villanova 68, Rutgers 77 Pitt 64

Raise your hand if you saw the previously 0-6 in conference Scarlet Knights blowing out nationally ranked Villanova and then beating Pitt at the Pec (where they are now 91-9). Major props to perennially struggling Rutgers hoops program. As the football team has proven, there is no reason why Rutgers hoops can’t be competitive with the amount of resources in the NY/NJ area.

Close: Richmond 80 Dayton 63, Kentucky 72 Tennessee 66


Game of the Week

Georgetown 58 West Virginia 57

I’ve been tough on the Hoyas all season, but those were character-building escapes against Syracuse and West Virginia. Everyone is going to focus on the possible goal-tend at the end of the game (no ref is going to call that unless you stick your hand in the basket) but give the Hoyas credit for stealing this game when looked all but over with under five to play. Bonus points for seeing Bob Huggins chase the officials down the tunnel.

Close: St. Joe’s 68 Temple 67 (similar non-goaltending call), Georgetown 64 Syracuse 62.


Mid-Major Spotlight

UNC-Asheville

Lost in all the Kenny George madness is the fact that the Bulldogs are a pretty damn good team. They lead the Big South with a perfect 5-0 record and have four different players scoring in double figures (including Big K). If they can get past Winthrop and High Point, the dream of seeing Big Kenny in the Tournament will be a reality.


Player I Would Like To Party With

Each week, I’ll pick a player that I think it would be fun to party with. As part of the gimmick, I’ll also ask them to be friends on Facebook. And maybe someday, I will actually get to party with them.

Dax Crum, Southern Utah

Amazing story about Dax Crum, who needed to overcome unimaginable odds to play Division one basketball with only one hand. Yes, one hand. He’s 700 times better than anyone reading this and he has one hand. If that man doesn’t deserve your respect, no one does.


Student Section of the Week

Purdue

You often forget about Purdue because of the in-state rival Hoosiers steal all the attention, but the Boilermaker student section knew were with their cheering/heckling ability, aiding in the upset of Wisconsin. I was impressed with the noise throughout the contest, as well as the well deserved floor stormin’.


Freshman Spotlight

Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

I feel like I could run this segment for seven more months and still not get to all of the outstanding freshmen from this season. Griffin has to be in the running for most overlooked freshmen. and proved his value in a Sooner upset of America’s Team (Jack Cobra said we can’t use the name anymore). Not even expected to play because of a sprained MCL, Griffin came off the bench to score 17, leading the Sooners to the upset and putting them right back into tourney discussion

Monday Madness: Everyone Goes Down

Super Awesome Team of the Week

Tennessee Volunteers

After flying under the-radar for much of the season thanks to a slow start in the preseason slate, the Vols are finally playing the way that everyone expected them to. The home blowout win over Vanderbilt, where the Commodores where completely thrown out of their offensive game, just proved that the Vols are easily the class of the SEC. In the hard fought home win over Ohio State, the Vols rallied from a second half deficient, something a few teams ranked ahead of them (UNC, UCLA) couldn’t do. Even with Chris Lofton still scoring below last season’s average, the balanced scoring attack of the Smith’s (JaJuan, Tyler and Ramar ) and super transfer J.P Prince may actually make the Vols a more dangerous than last season.

Close: USC (statement win vs. UCLA), Duke (quietly in the Top 5), Indiana (Didn't get upset), Miss State (4-0 SEC), Cincinnati (The Official 2008 Spoiler beat Pitt), UMass (resume building wins vs Dayton, Charlotte), Stanford (key sweep of Zona schools), UConn (first marquee win over Marquette), Temple (surprising first place of A10).

Bad, Bad Week

Texas A&M Aggies

Trust me, there were plenty of candidates for this, but we’ll go with the Aggies, who got absolutely crushed in road games to Texas Tech and Kansas State. The Aggies have been hanging around the top 10 much of the season after winning the Preseason NIT back in November, but really haven’t done much since then. With the losses this week, the Aggies have now lost all three tough road contests this season.

Close: Marquette (smoked in losses to Louisville and UConn) Miami (FL) (May be this year’s Clemson after losing twice on the road), North Carolina (And the questioning begins…) Holy Cross (now 0-3 in Patriot), Florida State (two tough ACC losses).

Upset of the Week

Maryland 82 North Carolina 80

Once again, the candidates were numerous this week, but Maryland’s win here was downright stunning. Having seen Maryland lose/get dominated by American in person, I would have had more faith in Dennis Kucinich winning a primary than the Terps winning in Chapel Hill.

Close: USC 72 UCLA 63, Cincinnati 62 Pittsburgh 59, Cleveland State 55 Butler 52, Temple 78 Xavier 59, Auburn 80 Ole Miss 77.

Mid-Major Spotlight

Cleveland State Vikings

Thought that everyone in the Horizon was going to run and hide because they were in the same conference as big, bad Butler? Think again. If Wright State’s surprise tourney appearance last season proved anything, it’s that the Horizon has some quality teams outside of the Butler. One of the mid-major feel good stories of the year, the Cleveland State Vikings are 7-0 in the Horizon, defeating their main competition of Wright State, Butler and Valpo in order. Even the losses (Ohio State, George Mason and Kent State) aren’t so bad. Possibly the most underrated mid-major in the country?


Bubble Watch

Baylor Bears

With about 50 days to Selection Sunday, time to start focusing on some bubble teams. One team to pick up a huge bubble win over the weekend was Baylor, who defeated Nebraska 72-70 in a likely battle for the Big 12’s final bid. It’s hard not to root this Bears squad, seeing how much this program had to overcome form the Bliss era and how Baylor seems to suck at just about every sport. At 15-2 and an RPI of 32, it’s going to take a pretty severe collapse to keep the Bears from dancing.

Player We Don’t Really Want To Party With If He Gets As Naked As He Says He Does

Each week, I’ll pick a player that I think it would be fun to party with. As part of the gimmick, I’ll also ask them to be friends on Facebook. And maybe someday, I will actually get to party with them.

Rick Majerus, Saint Louis

I’m not sure if I need to really add anything else about the reveling interview he did with Sports Illustrated. If you have only read the clips about him getting naked and whipping his dong out, I highly suggest you go to the link and read the entire article. I found it a fascinating read on one of the most fascinating/bizarre coaches in college basketball.


Freshmen Spotlight

OJ Mayo, USC

Billy Packer called Mayo out in this one, saying he was “good”, not great” after only scoring two points in the first half. But Mayo responded with 14 points in the second, and more importantly got all of his teammates involved to lead the upset of UCLA. While Devon Jefferson may have scored more (23 points) and Kevin Love may get all the attention, Mayo got the win.

Monday Madness: Return of the Gators

Monday Madness is a weekly recap of the week that was in college hoops. Look for it every Monday around noon.

Super Awesome Team of the Week



Florida Gators

Everyone has been taking a wait-and see approach to the extremely young Gators up to this point. But this past week may have proven that this team is truly tournament worthy and a member of the SEC upper tier. The Gators did two things that many young teams struggled to do; win games they are suppose to win on the road (Auburn) as well as win games they probably didn’t deserve to win on the road (Alabama). Give credit to Billy Donovan for getting this group through the early season with minimal damage and in a position to do damage in the SEC.

Close: Louisville (back in NCAA talk with Ws vs WVU, Rutgers), Kentucky (may have saved the season), Arizona State (defeat rival Arizona), UCLA (Beat WSU for Pac-10 supremacy), Missouri (back in bubble talk with win over Texas), Cincinnati (who saw wins over Cuse and Nova coming?), Kansas State (finally pick up quality W vs Oklahoma), Chattanooga (Davidson has company in the SoCon)


Bad, Bad Week

Syracuse Orange

Flying under-the-radar since a loss to URI and loss of Eric Devendolf, the youth and inexperience of the Cuse finally caught up to them this week. The Orange lost a must-win road game at Cincy and were hardly competitive in a blow-out loss to West Virginia. The RPI numbers are still great, but you have to wonder if this is the beginning of a bad trend for a team that is totally dependent on freshmen. For Cuse fans, this is beginning to look way too much like last season.


Close: Texas (free-falling since UCLA win), Michigan State (bad L vs Iowa), Saint Louis (credit them for showing up vs Dayton), Sam Houston State (bad conference loss to SE Louisiana), Miami (OH) (0-2 star to conference play).

Upset of the Week

Iowa 43 Michigan State 36

Was I not informed that the new 2008 was announced as the year of the embarrassingly low point totals? No doubt influenced by SLU and Savannah State’s 20-point performances earlier in the week, previously 14-1 MSU shot a blistering 25% on their to a 36-point performance against a terrible Iowa squad. Place your bets people, who is cracking the teens. You know it’s going to happen.


Close: Robert Morris 57 Boston College 51


Mid-Major Spotlight

Drake Bulldogs

Interesting week from the top team in Valley. They continue roll in conference play, defeating Indiana State and Missouri State for school record 13th straight win. They also lost leading scoring Josh Young indefinitely to an ankle sprain. Drake’s rise from the bottom of the Valley has been one of the better stories in college hoops this season and you would hate to see it derailed by injury. But given their outstanding RPI ranking of 15 (not to mention BBState ranking of 7), it might take a total collapse for the Bulldogs not to make the Dance at this point.


Coach Who May Be Burned at The Stake By His Fanbase

Rick Majerus, Saint Louis

You can’t ignore the 20-point performance earlier in the week, but I’ll give the man major props for rallying the troops and taking Dayton to overtime. This is the last time you’ll see Majerus in this category.

Close: Kevin O'Neil, Arizona (Loss to rival ASU), Bruce Weber (Nightmares about Gordon, nightmares), Al Skinner, BC (Loss to RMU isn’t going to help the resume).


Each week, I’ll pick a player that I think it would be fun to party with. As part of the gimmick, I’ll also ask them to be friends on Facebook. And maybe someday, I will actually get to party with them.

Butler coach Brad Stevens



I heard that Butler coach Brad Stevens was young looking, but man, I was floored when I saw him for the first time on television. He looks more like a graduate assistant than a head coach. No knock on the excellent coaching job he is doing at Butler, but he’s a damn young looking guy. I’d be down for a beer with Coach Stevens, even if he’s a dead-ringer for the “Boom Goes the Dynamite” guy.


Student Section of the Week


UCLA

Maybe it’s because I’m on the east coast and see Pac-10 games once in a blue moon, but I never knew that UCLA had that good of a student sections. They were loud and on their feet the entire game against Wazzu, helping to totally throw the Cougars out of their game in the first half. And major props for the Cameroon flag to represent Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.


Campus Legend of the Week

Roy Hibbert, Georgetown

This one isn’t even close. Hibbert’s amazingly unexpected three to beat UConn is already in my Top 5 highlights of this college hoops season.


Freshmen of the Week

Eric Gordon, Indiana

God, the nightmares that Illini fans must have. I would literally punch the television everytime I saw a Gordon highlight, which is quite often. Gordon burned the Illini last night, scoring 11 of his 17 in the second half to lead the Hoosiers to the comeback victory.

Monday Madness 1/7: Irish Eyes Are Smiling, Eddie Sutton Shouldn't Be

Monday Madness is STF's weekly recap of the week that was in college basketball. Expect it to appear every Monday around noon.

Super Awesome Team of the Week

Notre Dame

I could have easily gone with Xavier here, but I figured I would end the A10’s reign on the weekly honors and give it to the Irish. Flying completely below the radar despite last season’s 24-8 campaign, the Irish began Big East play with impressive victories over West Virginia and UConn. The Irish are on an 11 game win steak and are riding a 30-game home winning streak. Luke Harangody may the single most underrated player in America. He’s almost like the white version of Michal Beasley, averaging 18.6 ppg and 9.8 rpg. And with the Big East looking more cluttered than ever, the Irish just may be your surprising conference champions at season's end.


Close: Xavier (Wins over BCS schools K-State, UVA and Aubrun) Kansas (Still rolling despite getting little attention) UCLA (Quality road wins to kick off Pac-10 play) Penn State (2-0 start to B10 play) Arizona State (already equaled last year’s conference win total), Illinois State (3-0 in the Valley)


Bad, Bad Week

Illinois

I’ve already asked about Maryland’s grace period with Gary Williams, but how about Bruce Weber at IU? The Illini are 8-7 (with a loss to Tennessee State) and are now 0-2 in the Big Ten with losses to Ohio State and Penn State at home. Yikes. That’s now three consecutive losses at the once intimidating Assembly Hall. How bad has Illini basketball been this season? The highlight the year has been recruiting certifiably insane Alex Legion. Have fun.


Close: Arizona (loss to Oregon, close call to horrible OSU) , USC (Road losses vs Cal and Stanford), George Mason (puzzling loss to Georgia State), Southern Illinois (1-2 in the Valley)


Upset of the Week

Savannah State 61 Southern Miss 56

Here’s guessing that no matter how drunk Larry Eustachy is when Southern Miss is filling out the non-conference schedule for next season, Savannah State will not be on it. For the second consecutive season, the Tigers beat the Golden Eagles. Yes, that’s the same Savannah State that is just three seasons removed from an 0-28 campaign. With an athletics budget that ranks dead last in Division I and no conference tie-in, it’s a major upset when Savannah State beats anyone in DI, let alone someone from Conference USA.


Close: Georgia State 62 George Mason 61, Penn State 68 Illinois 64,


Mid-Major Spotlight Cornell Big Red

For the first time since 1883, it appears as if someone other than Penn or Princeton will win the Ivy league. So who is going to fill that slot in the bracket? It looks like the Big Red of Cornell are as good a bet as any. The Big Red are 6-5 and put a serious scare into Duke at Cameron on Sunday. Scoring in bunches for the Ivy League (77.8 ppg) and led by guard Ryan Wittman, they could be the favorite in one of the most wide-open Ivy races in years.



The "Billy Gillespie Memorial" Coach Who May Be Burned at The Stake By His Fanbase


Eddie Sutton, San Fransisco

This really should be Bruce Weber, but I’m going to use this space to highlight the classless move by Eddie Sutton and San Francisco. As expected, Sutton will only coach the Dons for the remainder of the season, basically using the school like a one-night stand so he can pick his 800th victory (He’s currently at 799). I’m not sure who to dislike more in this situation; Sutton for using the school for the pointless record or USF for forcing the resignation of then-coach Jessie Evans to gain three minutes of national attention. Here’s hoping that Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s put up 120 each on the Dons this season.


Close: Bruce Weber, Billy Gillespie (of course).



Player I'd Like To Party With
Each week, I’ll pick a player that I think it would be fun to party with. As part of the gimmick, I’ll also ask them to be friends on Facebook. And maybe someday, I will actually get to party with them.

ASU cheerleader Lauren Thompson



Seriously, screw everyone who I’ve highlighted in this spot before. Every player I’ve mentioned (five in total) has yet to accept me as a friend. Well they can all go screw themselves, because I’m pretty sure that I’d have a much better time partying with ASU cheerleader Lauren Thompson (Found via SI Campus Clicks) anyway. I’ve been to Tempe before, and Lauren is a prime example of the “talent” at ASU.



Student Section of the Week

Clemson




I’ve always been impressed with the Clemson students at Littlejohn. It just looked like an incredibly uncomfortable place for the the opposition to be playing at a so-called “football school”. They didn’t disappoint against UNC last night, too bad they were kicked in the nuts by their team once again.


Freshmen of the Week

Chris Warren, Ole Miss

We’ll know alot more about Ole Miss after their visit to Tennessee, but freshmen Chris Warren deserves to get some pub. He leads the Rebels in scoring with 15.2 ppg and is a major reason for their jump to the national spotlight. He's also been remarkable consistent for a freshmen, scoring in double figures in every game of his career. Again, we'll know more after Wednesday, but keep your eye on Warren.

Monday Madness 12/17: Celebrating The End of Finals

Welcome to STF's Monday Madness, all that you need to know about the week that was in college basketball.


Super Awesome Team of the Week

Nebraska Cornhuskers



This is my friend Chuck (don’t be alarmed, he only looks like Serbian terrorist). He lived next door to me in Boston this summer. He’s from Nebraska and attends the University of Nebraska. Actually, he’s even one of the basketball play-by-play guys for the Nebraska student radio station. Chuck would like you to know that you should keep your eye on the Huskers for the rest of the season. Why should I listen to this terrorist, you say? Well, the Huskers pulled off their biggest victory in over decade with an 88-79 overtime upset of #16 Oregon. The Huskers are also 8-2, with both losses coming to excellent mid-majors Western Kentucky and Creighton. They have a go-to NBA Prospect and latest Aussie sensation in 6’10 Aleks Maric. And in a slightly down Big 12, have a good shot at raking up wins and stealing an at-large birth. If you need anymore reason, think of Chuck….the kid needs it after the Husker football season.

Close: Kansas (One of most impressive performances of the young season vs Ohio), Miami (FL) (signature road win at Miss State), Arizona State (upset over Xavier, rebuilding quickly), Umass (another quality win vs BC)


Bad, Bad Week

Bluegrass Combo: Kentucky, Louisville

Does anyone have bragging rights if both teams suck? They sure love their basketball in the Bluegrass State, but neither team has provided much to cheer about this season.

The Billy Gillespie era continues to stay in neutral, as the Cats blew a 14 point second half lead to UAB, dropping the Wildcats to 4-4 on the season . Throw in the Alex Legion mess and the Gardner-Webb disaster, and who've got yourself a nightmare season in Lexington.

As for the Cardinals, they appear to be imploding before our eyes. A week after getting upset by Dayton, they lose to a freshmen-heavy Purdue team. They also have indefinitely suspended Derrick Caracter for about 15th team in the past three seasons. A trendy Final Four pick (even by this clown), the Cardinals have no identity on the floor and appear to be severely lacking in any leadership. The loss of Scott Padgett and the disappearance of Edgar Sosa will do that to you.

Close: Mississippi State (losses to Miami and South Alabama suddenly have them at 5-5), Miami (OH) (These close losses will kill them come March), Western Michigan (losing to teams like IUPUI are why the MAC gets one bid), Maryland (bad home loss to Ohio), Xavier (back to back poor shooting nights vs Cincy and Arizona State), Michigan (I'm out of words to describe how bad they are).


Mid-Majority Spotlight

Team USA (better known as South Alabama)



Unlike the more famous Team USA, this one will not get thrown under the bus for some close losses. This Team USA is 7-3 and can contend with Western Kentucky and New Orleans in the highly underrated Sun Belt. The Jaguars only blemishes come to unbeatens Ole Miss and Vandy (in OT) as well as Miami (OH). They also sport recent impressive wins over Southern Mississippi and Mississippi State. Even more impressive, their top four scorer’s first names all begin with the letter “D” (DeAndre, Domonic, Daon, Demetric). Let’s see Andy Katz come up with that one.


Upset of the Week

Illinois-Chicago 85 DePaul 80

While many focus on the overall terribleness of Cincinnati basketball in the Big East, I chose this upset to highlight the equally craptastic play of fellow midwestern Big East school DePaul. Competitive losses to Vandy and Kansas aside, the Blue Demons are now 2-5 with losses to North Carolina A&T and Illinois-Chicago.

Close: Ohio 61 Maryland 55, Arizona State 77 Xavier 55, Tennessee Tech 79 Oregon State 62, Central Michigan 78 Michigan 67.


Coach Who May Be Burned at The Stake By His Fanbase

Billy Gillespie, Kentucky

A back-to-back winner….not good. That blown lead against UAB just about summed up Billy’s first two months on the job. The unforgiving UK fanbase will be patient for bit longer (maybe), but drop a few to Auburn or South Carolina in a month and their might be full fledged revolt led by Kige. My advice to Gillespie; keep an eye on your fellow SEC football coaches (Saban, Petrino, Nutt). If things get out of hand come late February, just cut and run.


Close: Gary Williams, Maryland (How many years since they won that National Championship?)


Player I'd Like To Party With

Each week, I’ll pick a player that I think it would be fun to party with. As part of the gimmick, I’ll also ask them to be friends on Facebook. And maybe someday, I will actually get to party with them.

Greivis Vasquez, Maryland

Hell with the party, I want him to give me a damn haircut....




Look at that precious! Can’t get that done at Mastercuts, not even on half-price Tuesdays.



The Jonny Flynn Campus Legend of the Week

Brandon Rush, Kansas

Jayhawk fans weren't sure what to expect from their leading scoring after he torn his ACL over the summer. Even the most optimistic fan couldn't’t have expected what Rush’s return to the starting lineup would have done to the Jayhwaks. He came out on firing against Ohio on Saturday, hitting three treys in a matter of minutes to put the game away early. You may want to talk to Jayhawk expert Extra P about this, but they offense just seemed to flow with Rush in the lineup. He only finished with 13 in limited action, but that was thanks to the blowout. But if Rush plays that good all season, the Jayhawks become a very, very dangerous team.



Student Section of the Week

Nebraska


By far the most impressive floor stormin’ of the early season. +1 for floor stormin’ the biggest win in a decade. +10 for doing it on a neutral court (in Omaha).


Freshmen of the Week

Jerryd Bayless, Arizona

I’ll admit, I goofed when I didn’t include Bayless in my +10 freshmen. My bad. Bayless has been as impressive as anyone this season, scoring 20 ppg and dishing out 4.7 apg. And he may have pulled in his best game on Sunday, scoring 21 for the third time this season against Fresno State. So yeah, sorry about that Jerryd. Sue you didn't lose any sleep over it.


Any ideas or stories for Monday Madness? Send them to stormingthefloor@gmail.com

Monday Madness: All Hail The A10

Welcome to STF's Monday Madness, all that you need to know about the week that was in college basketball.


Super Awesome Team of the Week

A 10 Trio: Rhode Island, Dayton, Charlotte

While the early part of this season has focused on the floundering of certain conferences (Big Ten), here is one conference that has stepped up to the plate with some highly impressive non-conferences wins. Already ranked 5th in conference RPI, the Atlantic 10’s credibility will only rise as three of the conference’s supposed middle class had themselves an outstanding week. Rhode Island, Dayton and Charlotte were all expected to finish somewhere in the middle of the bloated A10, behind Xavier and Saint Joseph’s. But if this past week is any indication, there might be a crowd at the top of the A10 this year.

Lets start with the Rhode Island Rams, who were picked to finish in the upper-third of the A10 after returning super shooting guards Will Daniels and Jimmy Baron from last year’s surprising squad that finished second in the A10. While the Rams came into the season with expectations, no one really expected this kind of start. The Rams became the first team to 10 wins this season after wins against Big East powers Providence and Syracuse, the latter coming at the Carrier Dome. The Rams play a quick, uptempo style and score in bunches (81 ppg). With the RPI already at 19, a top3 finish in the A10 could give the Rams an at-large bid come March.

Dayton is coming off an impressive upset at Freedom Hall over a then Top 10 Louisville squad. Before that win caught the national media’s eyes, the Flyers also beat possible tournament teams in Miami (OH), Holy Cross, and High Point. The Flyers are all about do-everything guard Brian Roberts, who is averaging 20 ppg in the early part of the season and had his way with the Louisville defense on Saturday.

Finally, the Charlotte 49ers, possibly the most underrated team in America. Honestly, we were even overlooking the 49ers, until reader Matt pointed out what kind of season the 49ers were having. In just this past week, the 49ers have toppled the mid-major darlings known as Southern Illinois and Davidson. Those wins help make early season losses to Georgia Tech and Monmouth look like an aberration.


Close: Washington State (Statement Victory at Gonzaga), Michigan State (gut check wins at Bradley and BYU), Boston College (open ACC play with win at Maryland).


Bad, Bad Week

Davidson

Whelliston talked about this on ESPN last week, but it’s looks like the Wildcats may have outscheduled themselves from an at-large bid. The losses to Duke and UNC are on thing, but losing to Charlotte and blowing at 18 point lead to UCLA may have been the final nail in the at-large coffin. I have no doubt that Davidson has the talent to be player in the NCAA Tournament, but it’s looking more likely that they will have make it by winning the SoCon.

Close: Saint Joseph’s (The opposite of the rest of the A10, lost to Holy Cross and Creighton), NCState (Lost to a suddenly frisky East Carolina team, what idiot would have ranked them #12 in preseason? This gu) Cincinnati (may officially be the worst team in college basketball), Wake Forest (tough losses to Georgia, Vandy), Oklahoma (at-large killing loss to SFA)



Upset of the Week

Stephan F Austin 66 Oklahoma 62

Outside of the A10, the surprise mid-major conference of the early season might be the Southland. Sam Houston State is 8-0 with an RPI of 3 and BBState ranking of 3, Texas-Arlington is 7-0 with an RPI of 15 and Stephan F Austin is 7-1 with the win at Oklahoma. They also all have some pretty sweet nicknames, as SHS is the BearKats, TA is known as the Mavericks and SFA goes by the Lumberjacks.

Close: Illinois State 62 Cincinnati 52, Drake 79 Iowa State 44, Morgan State 93 LaSalle 87, East Carolina 75 NC State 69

Coach Who May Be Burned at The Stake By His Fanbase

Billy Gillespie, Kentucky



So, we hear that contract is still unsigned……The Wildcats have looked uncompetitive against both North Carolina and Indiana and Turncoat Gillespie (as he’s known in Texas) may be realizing he’s got more work ahead of him in Lexington than he imagine. Throw in the whole Alex Legion chaos, and Gillespie may want to purchase a few tons of Tylenol for the season.

Close: Bruce Weber , Illinois (Team just absolutely gave away the Zona game), Mick Cronin, Cincinnati (Bearcats are horrendously bad this season)


Player I'd Like To Party With

Each week, I’ll pick a player that I think it would be fun to party with. As part of

the gimmick, I’ll also ask them to be friends on Facebook. And maybe someday, I will actually get to party with them.

David Arseneault, Grinnell College

Every guy is looking for a great wingman to go to parties with. So wouldn’t you love to go to a party with David Arseneault of Division III Grinnell college, who set the NCAA record with 34 assists in one game? The man is clearly not afraid to give it up and seems to have extraordinary ability to set up his friends. That sounds like the perfect wingman if there ever was one.

The Jonny Flynn Campus Legend of the Week

Malcolm Grant, Villanova

I left Chickie and Pete’s when Nova was trailing LSU by 15 with close to seven minutes left to play from the Wachovia Center. I was so convinced by the time remaining and by Nova’s terrible play to that point that game was over that I didn’t even check the final score before I went to sleep. Safe to say, I was shocked to see that Nova had won the game by 1 point. Villanova freshmen Malcolm Grant is the reason for the extraordinary comeback by the Wildcats. One of about 15 freshmen from NYC on the Wildcats roster, he scored 13 points over the final three minutes, including the game-winning four-point-play with :13 seconds left to give the Wildcats their first and only lead of the game.

Student Section of the Week

Temple

They get the award for their sign at the Villanova-Temple game on Sunday. By far the best sign that I’ve seen of the early season (and I will forever hate my camera phone for the horrible picture that I got of it).

Across the entire student section, the sign read…..

Tim Donaghy: Villanova Class of 1989


Well done.

Freshmen of the Week

Andrew Ogilvy, Vanderbilt

Another freshmen lost in the shuffle of this year’s outstanding class. Ogilvy, a 6-10 Aussie center, has quietly put together an outstanding season for the surprising Commodores, averaging 19.4 ppg and 6.4 rpg. This week, he put up 23 in a win over Wake Forest, and 26 and 10 in a blowout over crosstown rival Lipscomb.


Any ideas or stories for Monday Madness? Send them to stormingthefloor@gmail.com

Monday Madness: 12/3

After watching another BCS shitstorm, it really just makes me appreciate how good we have it in college basketball. Seriously, we got it great here in the college hoops world. We have the greatest playoff system in the world in the NCAA Tournament. We have a system where anyone has a chance to win the championship, unlike football where you have to be in a BCS conference to win the championship (even then, it’s shaky). We have a system not entirely dependent on pollsters who can’t possibly watch every game. We have a system in place so that Ohio State’s season isn’t over already despite the fact that it took a chance and got trampled on by Butler. And last time I checked, I don’t think that regular season has become “useless’ because of it. Need more? Well, we also have guys who pee in towels. Didn’t see that one in college football yet.


Super Awesome Team of the Week

North Carolina Tar Heels



Usually this award doesn’t go to a team ranked so high, but the Tar Heels just completed one of the most impressive weeks of the young season. On Tuesday, the Heels walked into to Columbus and knocked off a game Ohio State squad, without starting point guard and catalyst Ty Lawson. Then on Saturday, they beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena behind 20 points from reserve guard Danny Green. The Heels are now off to a 7-0 (of mostly road games), their best start since 1998.

Outside of the fantastic start, do you know what must have Heel fans giddy? The defense (held OSU to 38% shooting) and the emergence of Wayne Ellington (averaging 18 ppg) as a star player. If Ellington continues to play this well in combination to Lawson and Hansbrough, the Heels will cut the nets down.


Close: Gonzaga (wins at Saint Joe's and UConn on East Coast swing), Butler (blowout of Ohio State), Texas (win at UCLA is best of the season by anyone) Washington State (tough win at Baylor), Dayton (wins over Miami (OH) and Holy Cross) , Ole Miss (win over NM, remain unbeaten)

Bad, Bad Week