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