UK Basketball Junkie

Billy's Bio

2007-04-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

Follow this link to read all about Coach Gillispie's history. It's going to be really exciting to see how fast he can get UK back to contending for a championship. His other jobs have all been rebuilding, but this time he already has everything except maybe a few more players to start contending immediately.

http://ukathletics.com/gillispie_bio.html

UK Has Their Coach

2007-04-06T07:34:00.000-07:00

Billy Gillispie is going to be introduced as the head coach at Kentucky today at 12:45. This is following a pep rally that is scheduled for 12:15.

Congratulations Coach Gillispie!!!!

Billy G

2007-04-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

It looks like Kentucky might finally have their coach. ESPN is reporting that Kentucky has permission to speak with Billy Gillispie, and that he will likely be named the new head coach, maybe as early as Friday.

I expected everything to move quickly after Donovan said he wasn't interested, and it looks like that's what is happening. It's good to get this done and get on to recruiting.

I'm very happy with Gillispie as the new coach. He is a big rising name, and will want to make his mark on the program. He worked wonders at Texas A&M by turning around their whole program. He is going to inherit a much better situation at Kentucky, and he will have them playing hard all the time. There might not be a ton of talent at UK next year, but you can bet that Gillispie will make sure he gets results. He won't let his first year in this program be unsuccessful.

But, he isn't officially hired yet, and that means anything can still happen.

Now who's next?

2007-04-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

I would hope that people wouldn't criticize Donovan for making a decision to stay in Florida where his whole family lives and at a place where he's been for 11 years. So many Kentucky fans were just in love with him less than 24 hours ago, and now they just want to see him fail miserably. But, this is the nature of the UK "fan." While I agree that Kentucky has by far the most interest in their basketball program, I don't think that all of those people are true fans. Many just wait for an opportunity to criticize.

Now, who's the next coach going to be? I don't know that there is a clear leader anymore, but here is how I would rank my top 5.

1. Tom Izzo - 4 final fours; 1 nation championship; great recruiter; defense 1st, but style would be different when not playing in the Big 10; good record vs. Florida.
2. John Calipari - Great recruiter; fun style to watch; would love to see what he could do at a big name school.
3 tie. Billy Gillispie - Maybe the most motivated of all the candidates.
3 tie. Rick Barnes - Final 4; another great recruiter; what could he do at a basketball school?
5. Mark Few - Media would love this; what could he do with better players?

Donovan Stays at Florida

2007-04-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

Here is the official statement from Mitch Barnhart:

“Throughout this process, our focus has been on finding the right person to lead college basketball’s most storied program. We have had productive conversations with various individuals over the last two weeks, and it’s obvious there are a number of outstanding coaches who could succeed at Kentucky. With the nation’s most passionate fan support and unmatched facilities, I’m confident we’ll find the right man.

“I had a conversation with Billy Donovan today to gauge any interest he might have in the head coaching position at Kentucky. Billy informed me that he intends to stay in Gainesville. As a former UK assistant, we wish him the very best.

“Obviously, finding the right coach is more important than finding the next coach quickly. Patience remains a priority as we continue to identify the best individual to lead the Big Blue Nation.”

UK has permission to talk with Donovan

2007-04-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

According to WKYT-27 in Lexington, Kentucky has asked for and been granted permission to talk to Billy Donovan. I don't live in the Lexington area, but I watched their late news on the web, and they did indeed say that this is happening. They said that their sources had given them this information, but did not say who that was.

This was reported at the same time as Andy Katz was on Sports Center on ESPN2 reporting that Florida had not yet been asked by Kentucky for permission to speak with Donovan. I believe Katz was just going off of what Donovan had said earlier in the day. Just because Kentucky has been given permission, doesn't mean that they have spoken to him yet.

Many people seem to think that the decision has usually been made when a school asks for formal permission, but that might not be the case here. I do think that there will be a decision by Saturday at the latest. Maybe we'll get lucky and it will be tomorrow night, but I wouldn't count on it.

Donovan's Marshall Press Conference

2007-04-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

Billy Donovan is at Marshall to speak at a dinner tonight, but he also had a press conference this afternoon which I spent over an hour watching. Most of that time was spent looking at a tarp and trying to listen to what the media was talking about.

When Donovan finally arrived, he was asked about his future, and he said that he wasn't going to talk about himself. After talking about Marshall and their search for a head coach, Billy started talking about his situation. He said he needed time to think, and they he hasn't yet talked to anybody about another job. He said that he's happy at Florida, but also that needed some time to really think about his future and discuss it with his wife. He seemed to understand that most people wanted to get a decision from him soon, but he said that he would take as much time as he needed.

It really is so hard to read what he is going to do. If you go by what he says, then he has not made up his mind. But, I find it hard to believe that he still hasn't talked to anybody about the Kentucky job. It may be that Kentucky is going to officially offer the job to Donovan until they know what his answer will be. This probably will all go on through his agent. I don't see how Kentucky can wait more than a few more days to name a coach considering the signing period is coming up next week, and we have 2 scholarships still open.

I think Billy is doing his best to be respectful of both Florida and Kentucky, but I also think he isn't telling the whole truth, which I don't blame him for. I predict that UK will have an answer by Friday.

More SEC Coaching News

2007-04-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

Kentucky still doesn't have a head coach, and there are more rumors now than ever. I've read that Donovan, Gillispie, Barnes, Izzo, Few, Crean, Pitino, and Pat Riley are all for sure coming to UK. That will be some staff. Somebody is going to be right with their rumors, but I still don't think anybody who is posting on a message board knows for sure.

Arkansas had a new coach for a day, but Dana Altman has already left to go back to Creighton. I know that there is pressure to succeed at Arkansas, but they have tons of fan support and always have a lot of talent. I really think that they could get a bigger name than Altman. I don't know why there aren't more coaches wanting to take that job. The SEC West is just waiting for a team to takeover.

I really want Donovan as the new coach, but if he doesn't come, Kentucky will still get a very good coach. If it's Barnes, then you get somebody who can recruit as good as anybody, and has been to a Final 4 since UK has. If it's Gillispie, then you get a coach who has made a terrible program into a contender, and would be great in the spotlight at UK. If Donovan doesn't come, then the fan base needs to support the new coach, and give them a fair chance. That means not judging after just 1 year.

Think about it this way. Tubby had 25 losses the last 2 years with teams that now have 2 players in the NBA. He has left the cupboard bare. I'm not trying to bash Tubby, because I really liked him, but the new coach isn't coming into a great situation personnel wise. Next year might be rough no matter who the coach is. I just hope the fans don't act the way that the media has made them out to be.

Coaching Candidate Profiles

2007-04-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

Everybody is mainly focused on Billy Donovan as the next Kentucky head coach, but there are other candidates out there. Here are the histories of some of the supposed candidates.

Billy Donovan:

Marshall:
1995: 18-9
1996: 17-11

Florida:
1997: 13-17
1998: 14-15 NIT 1st Round
1999: 22-9 NCAA Sweet 16
2000: 29-8 NCAA Runner-up
2001: 24-7 NCAA 2nd Round
2002: 22-9 NCAA 1st Round
2003: 25-8 NCAA 2nd Round
2004: 20-11 NCAA 1st Round
2005: 24-8 NCAA 2nd Round
2006: 33-6 NCAA Champions
2007: 35-5 NCAA Champions

Total: 296-123

Rick Barnes:

George Mason:
1988: 20-10 NCAA 1st Round

Providence:
1989: 18-11, 1st Round
1990: 17-12, NCAA 1st Round
1991: 19-13, NIT Quarterfinals
1992: 14-17
1993: 20-13 NIT Semifinals
1994: 20-10 NCAA 1st Round

Clemson:
1995: 15-13 NIT 1st Round
1996: 18-11 NCAA 1st Round
1997: 23-10 NCAA Sweet 16
1998: 18-14 NCAA 1st Round

Texas:
1999: 19-13 NCAA 1st Round
2000: 24-9 NCAA 2nd Round
2001: 25-9 NCAA 1st Round
2002: 22-12 NCAA Sweet 16
2003: 26-7 NCAA Final 4
2004: 25-8 NCAA Sweet 16
2005: 20-11 NCAA First Round
2006: 30-7 NCAA Elite 8
2007: 25-10 NCAA 2nd Round

Total: 418-182

Billy Gillispie:

UTEP:
2003: 6-24
2004: 24-8, NCAA 1st Round

Texas A&M:
2005: 21-10 NIT Quarterfinals
2006: 22-9 NCAA 2nd Round
2007: 27-7 NCAA Sweet 16

Total: 100-58

Mark Few:

Gonzaga:
2000: 26-9 NCAA Sweet 16
2001: 26-7 NCAA Sweet 16
2002: 29-4 NCAA 1st Round
2003: 24-9 NCAA 2nd Round
2004: 28-3 NCAA 2nd Round
2005: 26-5 NCAA 2nd Round
2006: 29-4 NCAA Sweet 16
2007: 23-11 NCAA 1st Round

Total: 211-52

Tom Crean:

Marquette:
2000: 15-14 NIT 1st Round
2001: 15-14
2002: 26-7 NCAA 1st Round
2003: 27-6 NCAA Final 4
2004: 19-12 NIT Quarterfinals
2005: 19-12 NIT 1st Round
2006: 20-11 NCAA 1st Round
2007: 24-9 NCAA 1st Round

Tom Izzo:

Michigan St.:
1996: 16-16 NIT 2nd Round
1997: 17-12 NIT 2nd Round
1998: 22-8 NCAA Sweet 16
1999: 33-5 NCAA Final 4
2000: 32-7 NCAA Champions
2001: 28-5 NCAA Final 4
2002: 19-12 NCAA 1st Round
2003: 22-13 NCAA Elite 8
2004: 18-12 NCAA 1st Round
2005: 26-7 NCAA Final 4
2006: 22-12 NCAA 1st Round
2007: 23-11 NCAA 2nd Round

Total: 278-120

Jay Wright:

Hofstra:
1995: 10-18
1996: 9-18
1997: 12-15
1998: 19-12
1999: 22-10 NIT 1st Round
2000: 24-7 NCAA 1st Round
2001: 26-5 NCAA 1st Round

Villanova:
2002: 19-13 NIT Quarterfinals
2003: 15-16 NIT 1st Round
2004: 18-17 NIT Quarterfinals
2005: 24-8 NCAA Sweet 16
2006: 28-5 NCAA Elite 8
2007: 22-11 NCAA 1st Round

Total: 248-155

Other NCAA News

2007-04-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

While all of the attention is either on Florida's back-to-back titles or Kentucky's coaching search, there was some other big news in college basketball. 4 power conference programs hired new coaches on Monday. Iowa, Michigan, Arkansas, and South Florida all got new coaches, and all should be pretty big stories.

Dana Altman left Creighton to go to Arkansas. Creighton has had success in the MVC, and Altman will go to a program that will have huge expectations to get back to being a major contender. Altman should be able to succeed mainly due to the SEC West always being so inconsistent. That division is just waiting for somebody to take control, and Alabama and LSU have proven that they aren't able to do that long term. I think this is a good hire.

Jim Beilein is leaving West Virginia to be the new head coach at Michigan. Beilein had worked wonders at WVU, and made them into a quality team almost every year. He has a unique style, and it will be interesting to see what kind of players he goes after at Michigan. It should be much easier to recruit there.

Todd Lickliter goes from Butler to Iowa. This is another mid-major going to a power conference, and it looks like it will be good for Iowa. Butler was able to stay in the top 25 all year long, and beat many major programs. Lickliter goes into a situation that isn't that bad, and he could succeed pretty soon. Iowa is losing just 2 seniors, and they were 6th in the Big 10 this past season. This could be the surprise hire for next year.

Stan Heath got hired by South Florida after getting fired by Arkansas. I never bought into Heath as a good hire at Arkansas. He had 1 good year at Kent St., and was hired immediately. He always had tons of talent and never took advantage of it. He won't have anywhere near that much talent at South Florida, and will be in a tough conference again. I don't think he will be able to have much success, but he will be given plenty of time due to South Florida's past struggles. It is possible that he will thrive without the pressure he had at Arkansas.

NCAA Final

2007-04-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

Florida backed up their #1 overall seed with another convincing championship. Ohio St. never really had a chance to make a comeback and take the lead. Every time it started to get close, another Gator made a big shot to push the lead up again. The backcourt was the story for Florida tonight, with Humphey, Brewer, and Green all having very good games. The 3 of them were 10-18 from 3pt, and always came through. Noah wasn't much of a factor, but Horford had another solid game with 18 points.

Ohio St. was nothing like they had been during the rest of the tournament. Tonight it was all Oden and nobody else. They only shot 4-23 (17.4%) from 3, and let Florida get way too many wide open looks. The defense was weak for OSU letting Florida shoot almost 50% from the floor.

We now have to look at Florida's place in history with this group of players. I don't know are in the top 10 ever, but they are obviously much better than anybody out there right now. I really doubt all of the juniors will come back next year, but if they do, they should be #1 again. For Ohio St., I think that this game might make Oden the #1 pick in the NBA draft if he chooses to leave school this year. There's know way he'll be lower than 2nd.

And how will this affect Billy Donovan's decision to stay or leave for Kentucky? It might have no affect, because he might have already made up his mind. But, you have to admit that it would be hard for him to leave after winning 2 straight titles. Kentucky will get a very good coach no matter what Donovan decides, and will be back in contention for a title before too long.

Saturday's Scores

2007-03-31T21:38:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that there is something else going on in college basketball other than Kentucky's search for a head coach, but there were 2 Final Four games on Saturday. Neither one was much fun to watch, but I really think that the Florida vs. Ohio St. rematch will be a good game. Florida was able to go on a run in the 2nd half, and UCLA had no way of catching up, because they have such a hard time scoring. Ohio St. can put up points just as fast as Florida, and they are much better than they were when they lost at Florida in December. I doubted Ohio St. all year long, but now I have no doubt that the 2 best teams are actually in the title game. This could be the last game for many of the players that will be on the floor Monday, and I think it will be a close one. I say it's a game of runs with Ohio St. going up by 10+ in the 1st half, but Florida coming back in the 2nd to get the win by 3.

Final Four Semifinals:

2 Georgetown 60 - Hibbert played well when he wasn't out due to fouls, but not a good team effort; OSU's quickness on defense made it difficult for them to score.
1 Ohio St. 67 - Oden is good, but the rest of the team is what makes them such a good team; somebody is always coming through, and they seem to always hit big shots.

2 UCLA 66 - Defense started off well, but the offense wasn't there; Florida figured out the defense and had a dunk fest, and the UCLA offense never showed up.
1 Florida 76 - Although it was just a 10 point win, this wasn't close after the first 10 minutes; so many weapons on offense that it takes an offensive oriented team to beat them.

Where to find out more about the future UK coach

2007-03-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of places that you can visit to find out some more information about the search for the new UK coach. The first site has links to everything in the media dealing with Kentucky basketball. The second site takes a more sane look at the coaching situation without a bunch of rumors.

Aaron's UK Basketball Blog

Kentucky Sports Radio

Late night rumors

2007-03-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

The Cats Pause and at least 2 tv stations in Kentucky are reporting that UK has offered Billy Donovan a contract worth 3.5 million a year for 7 years. Some people are only saying this is a rumor while others are saying its a "done deal." I personally hope it happens, and I believe that it will (although I have no sources), but I don't think that Donovan has signed anything yet. He's going to coach Florida in the Final 4 this weekend.

Of course as soon as this story broke, there were some that said that it kills UK's hopes with Donovan. I guess these people are just naturally pessimistic, because if Billy wants to come to UK, this isn't going to stop him. It might give Florida a chance to up the contract, but I still think Kentucky will outbid Florida no matter what. If Florida matched this amount, Billy Donovan would make more than Urban Meyer, the Florida football coach. I don't see that happening at a school like Florida.

Hopefully Florida will just lose on Saturday, so we can all find out what is really happening.

Sunday's Scores

2007-03-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Midwest:

3 Oregon 77 - Florida's size on Oregon's guards really affected their shooting; not a bad effort from Oregon, but they just ran into an extremely good team.
1 Florida 85 - Defense stepped up and so did the rebounding with a 35-21 margin; almost impossible to beat when Humphrey is shooting like he did from 3 (7-13).

East:

2 Georgetown 96 - Their offense can be a thing of beauty (especially against the UNC defense); 26 assist on 38 FG; had more ast. than UNC had field goals.
1 North Carolina 84 - Totall blew this game by not playing defense; allowed 56.6% FG and 57.1% 3pt FG; had the talent, but just not the discipline.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Half the Final Four is made up of UK's opponents in Florida and UCLA. Kentucky's opponents have a 23-10 record so far in the tournament.

Saturday's Scores

2007-03-24T23:14:00.000-07:00

Maybe I shouldn't try predicting any more outcomes, I was 0-2 on Saturday. Both of the games were much closer than the final score. Fouls at the ends of the games made it a much larger margin that it was for the majority of the time.

South:

2 Memphis 76 - Had enough offense with their drive and dish philosophy, but they forgot to play defense the entire game; let Ohio St. get to the rim way to often.
1 Ohio St. 92 - Oden's presence makes them so much better on offense even when he doesn't touch the ball, because it opens up shots for their guards; I think I'd make Oden have to create his own shot, instead of receiving a pass after the guard has drove into the lane.

West:

2 UCLA 68 - Played great defense, and just made shots when they had too; they aren't pretty, but they are getting the job done.
1 Kansas 55 - 1st half tempo was fast, but the score didn't show it; never could get over the hump to come all the way back.

Morris leaves for the NBA

2007-03-23T23:07:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard, Randolph Morris has signed to play with the New York Knicks and ended his career at Kentucky. I expected Morris to leave, and I can't say that I blame him. He picked a good time to go ahead and get this over with, so UK knows how many scholarships they'll have to give out. I also never question anybody leaving college when they have guaranteed money coming to them.

Everybody has their own opinion of Morris, but one thing that really impressed me was his patience. Randolph was the center of every opponents defense, and took some major abuse down low. He was constantly fouled and took some pretty hard falls this year. He also was the victim of many questionable calls. Randolph stayed calm through all of this, and never let his emotions get the better of him. He also was the one who kept UK from having a losing season this year. I think he extremely talented, and will be very productive in the NBA.

This obviously hurts Kentucky for next year, but will also force some of the other players to step up and produce. It's hard to comment much on next year's team due to the fact that there is no coach yet, and there will be at least 5 new players coming in, if all of the scholarships are filled. The one player who needs to capitalize on this situation is Joe Crawford. Joe has shown that he can play great, but he is also extremely inconsistent. He is now the only 1 of the 3 McDonald's All-Americans left from the 2004 class. Last year was Rondo's year, and this year was Morris's. Hopefully next year will be Joe's.

Friday's Scores & Regional Finals Preview

2007-03-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

Midwest:

5 Butler 57 - Able to keep Florida from getting it at their pace, but still couldn't get it done.
1 Florida 65 - Still not looking like the team from last year, and they really need to get it together before facing Oregon on Sunday.

7 UNLV 72 - Made a great comeback at the end, but still fell short.
3 Oregon 76 - Can put up points so fast, and it created a lead that was too great to overcome.

6 Vanderbilt 65 - Might have been cheated out of a win with a non-walking call.
2 Georgetown 66 - Vandy created alot of matchup problems, which is what I think will hurt them vs. UNC.

5 USC 64 - Had the big lead, but let UNC keep running up and down the court.
1 North Carolina 74 - Closed the large gap so fast, and then completely took control.

This year has turned out to be the year of the power teams. The lowest seed left is a 3, and all four 1 seeds are still alive. If all 4 of the 1's advance, this year might have the most talent ever assembled at a Final Four.

Saturday:

1 Ohio St. vs. 2 Memphis - One of the few times that OSU won't be the most athletic team on the court. I originally had Ohio St. making the Final 4, but I think Memphis might be too tough on the inside. Ohio St. hasn't faced a team that has this much talent down low since December. Memphis will try to penetrate and attack Oden, but also kick it out for open 3's. If the 3's are falling for the Tigers, then they will win. I say Memphis by 7.

1 Kansas vs. 2 UCLA - UCLA will try to do what SIU did and keep it a halfcourt game. Kansas almost lost that kind of game, and UCLA has more talent and could get the win if that is the tempo. I think Kansas will try to run, and where down the Bruins. My main concern for KU is their defense. They have some players who can make good defensive plays, but I don't think they are a great halfcourt defensive team. I say Kansas by 4.

Sunday:

1 Florida vs. 3 Oregon - 2 teams that like to run, but only 1 that plays good defense. Florida can be a really good defensive team when they try. The problem is that the Gators still haven't put together anything near a complete game in this year's tournament. I think the only way that Oregon wins is if they are shooting great from 3, and Florida is flat. I say Florida by 11.

1 North Carolina vs. 2 Georgetown - Georgetown plays a slow down type game, but they are also pretty athletic. If they are able to defend in transition, then this will be close. If UNC gets off to a hot start, then I see them winning pretty easily. Carolina has worn down all 3 of their opponents so far, and I see the same thing happening in this one. I say North Carolina by 13.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Florida, Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina, and Memphis are all still alive and make up over half of the Elite 8.

Thursday's Scores

2007-03-22T23:00:00.000-07:00

Midwest:

4 Southern Illinois 58 - Defense always keeps them in a game, and they were just short on talent tonight.
1 Kansas 61 - I think they let up after beating UK and seeing SIU; a game like this will prepare them for UCLA.

3 Pittsburgh 55 - Had a chance to beat the old boss, but couldn't get it done.
2 UCLA 64 - Style of play keeps them in every game, and it was perfect for this opponent.

South:

3 Texas A&M 64 - Weren't able to take advantage of the home court; players had to know that their coach would be mentioned for the Kentucky job.
2 Memphis 65 - Able to beat a disciplined team which is sometimes hard for them.

5 Tennessee 84 - Their style of play always allows the opponent a chance to come back, even when it's a 20 point game.
1 Ohio St. 85 - Didn't panic; Able to win with their best players all in foul trouble.

Who's Next?

2007-03-22T22:37:00.000-07:00

Well, Tubby is gone. I have to admit that I thought that Tubby would be back in Kentucky, but I was wrong. I was right about Tubby not getting fired, but I thought that leaving UK would go against everything that he has done in his career. Very few people actually know what actually went on between Tubby and the UK administration, and none of them are going to be talking. He might have been forced out, but I don't think that is actually the case. There is no doubt that some of the big money people at UK wanted Tubby gone, but I think that he was going to be allowed to stay at least another year.

I think Tubby's decision was one of two things. First off, he might have just grown tired of the extreme pressure and constant criticism. He made it seem like it didn't get to him, but I'm sure it did, just like it would get to any human being. Tubby might have seen Minnesota as a place where he can go and be a hero. He also gets a chance to start from scratch. If he builds a good program there, his reputation will be much better than it is right now.

The other situation, which I haven't seen anywhere else yet, might have been that Tubby knew that next year is going to be bad, and he needed to get out before he got fired. I think Tubby knows that Morris will not return next year. Even if got Patterson and Lucas for next year, the team could still be in trouble. I don't think that Tubby wanted to put his career in the hands of 2 freshmen. Tubby hadn't been able to succeed with the current group, and it wasn't going to get better after the best player (Morris) leaves. This might not be true at all, but you never know.

I wish Tubby good luck now, especially when he's playing the other Big 10 schools like Indiana and Michigan St.

Now, lets get down to business. Who should UK hire next? My first choice by far would be Billy Donavan. Until last year, I would think that UK would be crazy to hire Donavan, but he's had tons of success at Florida. With Donavan UK would also get somebody who has experience at UK and he would be an immediate fan favorite. Fans would think it's the second coming of Rick Pitino. I've already heard some of the media say that Donavan won't come, but the national media knows nothing of this situation. They always speak their opinions as fact, and they are usually wrong.

Now here are some other considerations:

Rick Pitino: I hope that he is not even considered. Pitino's had his chance at UK and it was great, but I don't want him back. He would win, but I don't think he'd have the success that he had in the 90's.

Billy Gillespie: He's done wonders at Texas A&M and UTEP, but he hasn't had much pressure at either of those places. I do think that he'll push for the job, but I don't think he'll be the top choice.

John Calipari: Great recruiter and has dominated at UMass and Memphis, but could he succeed in a real conference. He could get to another Final 4 this year, which would help his resume look even better.

There are many other candidates, and I'm not going to name them all. I hope that the new coach is named within the next couple of weeks, but I also want them to make sure they hired the right person.

What happened to Tubby's defense?

2007-03-19T01:22:00.000-07:00

Tubby Smith's teams have always been known as defensive teams that will lock you down in the half court. Defense is where Tubby's had success, and he's often been criticized for his teams' lack of offense. Now, his Kentucky teams are struggling on the defensive side too, and it is the real reason why UK has had two disappointing seasons.

From the 2002-03 season to the 2004-05 season Kentucky went 87-15. These were Tubby's recruits playing under Tubby's system. Those teams allowed the opposition to shoot at least 50% just 8 times. Kentucky still managed to go 6-2 in those 8 games. In the past 2 seasons Kentucky is 44-25. UK has allowed the opposition to shoot at least 50% 14 times, and has just a 3-11 record in those games.

While most of the fans point to the offense for UK's recent struggles, it's the defense that has fallen the most. This year's team was actually the best shooting UK teams since the 2002-03 team and the 5th best in Tubby's 10 years at UK. It was also the 4th best 3 point shooting team since Tubby's been here.

This year's team, however, had just the 7th best defensive field goal percentage and the 6th best defensive 3pt percentage. Last year's team had the worst defensive field goal percentage since Tubby has been at UK. The last 2 season's have ended with the opponent shooting at least 50% in Kentucky's final game of the tournament. UConn shot 50% on 2's, 30.8% on 3's last year, and Kansas shot 56.6% on 2's, 62.5% on 3's this year. UK just has no way of stopping these powerful offensive teams.

The offense isn't great by any stretch of the imagination, but it is often good enough to win games like it used to. The players are just as athletic as they have been since Tubby's been here, but they aren't buying into the defensive system. While so many people want Tubby to get somebody to fix the offense, it might not make much difference until the defense is fixed.

Sunday's Scores

2007-03-18T23:16:00.000-07:00

Midwest:

9 Purdue 67 - Able to hand with the Gators for the whole game, but just not enough fire power.
1 Florida 74 - Always turn it on in the 2nd half, but that could get dangerous.

11 Winthrop 61 - Seemed like they were just glad to be in the 2nd round.
3 Oregon 75 - Able to play much more like they wanted to than in round 1.

7 UNLV 74 - Well coached and very solid all around.
2 Wisconsin 68 - Their lack of offense and athletic ability wasn't going to get them to the Final 4, now they won't be embarrassed by Florida.

West:

8 Kentucky 76 - Morris was never stopped, but just not enough talent to help him out.
1 Kansas 88 - I don't see any weaknesses that will keep them out of the Final 4.

5 Virginia Tech 48 - Terrible matchup; never could play a wide open game like they wanted to.
4 Southern Illinois 63 - Imposed their tempo on this game, and executed so well in the halfcourt.

East:

5 USC 87 - Spoiled the media's Kevin Durant party.
4 Texas 68 - Outmatched the entire game; might have been thinking about 3rd round matchup with UNC.

5 Tennessee 77 - 2 great matchups in 1st 2 rounds; haven't faced an inside presence yet.
4 Virginia 74 - Another ACC contender that falls short of the sweet 16.

7 Nevada 62 - Rarely get to play an athletic team like Memphis, and it exposed their weaknesses.
2 Memphis 78 - Didn't shoot well, but are just so versatile and athletic that they win in many different ways.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Florida, Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Memphis all advanced to the Sweet 16. I don't think there is any question that Kentucky had one of their hardest schedules of all time. The problem is that UK was only 1-9 vs. these teams. It is a pretty strong possibility that UK will have played all of the final 4 teams.

Kansas 88 Kentucky 76

2007-03-18T16:32:00.000-07:00

Kentucky played its final game of the season in a 12 point loss to Kansas. While the margin of defeat isn't that bad, UK really had very little chance to win. UK had no defense for Kansas on the inside or outside.

While a loss to Kansas isn't anything to be embarrassed about, it could have been avoided. There are 2 reasons why Kentucky was in this situation today.

1. First, they weren't able to earn a better seed that would have made it easier to make it further in the tournament. I think UK could have beaten probably all but 4 of the teams in this year's tournament. But, losses to Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi St. cost UK badly. Having such a difficult schedule made it possible for UK to still earn a good seed, but they lost too many games to mediocre teams.

2. Kentucky just doesn't have the talent that teams like Kansas do.

-Randolph Morris would start for any team in the country. Kansas couldn't stop him, all they could do was foul him. He still managed to get 22 points. After Morris, I don't think there is 1 Kentucky player that would start for any of the #1 seeds.

-Obviously Crawford was ranked high in high school, but he hasn't developed like most thought he would.

-Bradley is an ok player, but not one to build your team around.

-Perry played a good game today, and would be great if he was surrounded by talent like Kansas, Florida, or UNC has.

-Meeks has a lot of potential, and is playing well.

-Jasper is a major question heading into next year. He has had a terrible year since January, and has to improve on offense and defense if he wants to stay the point guard.

-Teams like Kansas, UNC, and Ohio St. are getting freshmen that are major difference makers in their first year. Kentucky isn't getting that, and it is hurting them badly.

Now everybody is going to be wondering what changes will be made next year. There are rumors of Tubby leaving, assistants leaving, Morris leaving, Crawford leaving, and many other things. First off, no matter who is coaching, Morris needs to stay for UK to have success next year. Of course UK still needs to get more high level recruits for next year too.

Saturday's Scores

2007-03-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

Midwest:

5 Butler 62 (29-6) - Perfect example of the balance in college basketball. They struggled late in the Horizon, but beat the 2nd place team in the ACC.
4 Maryland 59 (25-9) - Very atletic, but just not great basketball talent.

West:

11 VCU 79 (28-7) - Fought back from a 15 point halftime margin; another example of the parity.
3 Pittsburgh 84 OT (29-7) - Almost let this get away, and I think they really play to their competition.

7 Indiana 49 (21-11) - Just 13 1st half points, but still managed to tie it very late in the game.
2 UCLA 54 (28-5) - Their style makes it difficult to put anybody away, but they still get the win.

East:

9 Michigan St. 67 (23-12) - Just got worn out by the end, but the game was close until the last few minutes.
1 North Carolina 81 (30-6) - They have so much talented depth, and they take advantage of it by runningn

6 Vanderbilt 78 (22-11) - Great mix of being very athletic and great shooters; best Vandy team I remember.
3 Washington St. 74 2OT (26-8) - Highest seed to lose so far, but it's not a huge upset.

7 Boston College 55 (21-12) - Needed this to be played faster to get Georgetown out of their game.
2 Georgetown 62 (28-6) - Came from behind, but could have easily lost this.

Only 2 matchups are decided for the next round and they are:

3 Pittsburgh vs. 2 UCLA - Howland vs. his former team; another defensive battle.

6 Vanderbilt vs. 2 Georgetown - This is a rematch from earlier this year that Georgetown won, but both teams are much improved.

Friday's Scores

2007-03-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

Midwest Region:

16 Jackson St. 69 - Kept it close for a while; have some great individual talent.
1 Florida 112 - I just don't see anybody in this region that can compete with the Gators.

9 Purdue 72 - Proved that they deserve their seed.
8 Arizona 63 - So much talent that produced so little this year.

11 Winthrop 74 - Let a 20 point lead slip away, but managed to come back.
6 Notre Dame 64 - They can't win if they only make 4 3's.

14 Miami (OH) 56 - Imposed their tempo on the game, and it almost paid off.
3 Oregon 58 - Good to get a win in a style that they aren't best suited for.

7 UNLV 67 - I haven't given them enough credit all year.
10 Georgia Tech 63 - Just too many droughts, and too little experience.

15 Texas A&M C.C. 63 - Led for the majority of the game.
2 Wisconsin 76 - Able to overcome a very slow start.

West Region:

16 Niagara 67 - At least they got to play 2 games this week.
1 Kansas 107 - 12th straight win.

9 Villanova 58 - Would be a great team if they had a good center.
8 Kentucky 67 - Stayed focus under the media blitz regarding Tubby Smith.

12 Illinois 52 - Lack of offense cost them the game after leading until the very end.
5 Virginia Tech 54 - Managed to not fold even when it looked almost lost.

13 Holy Cross 51- Bad matchup to get a team that likes to play their style.
4 Southern Illinois 61 - Play some of the best halfcourt defense in the country.

East Region:

12 Arkansas 60 - Never seemed to be much of a threat.
5 USC 77 - Never let Arkansas make it an up-tempo game.

13 New Mexico St. 67 - Game was closer than the final score says.
4 Texas 79 - Impressed with their youth keeping its composure, and coming back to get the win.

South Region:

12 Long Beach St. 86 - Thought they could out run Tennessee.
5 Tennessee 121 - Maybe the dream matchup for Bruce Pearl.

13 Albany 57 - Got off to a bad start, and never came back.
4 Virginia 84 - Got back to playing like they did for most of the ACC season.

10 Creighton 71 - Were no match for Nevada during overtime.
7 Nevada 77 OT - Very even teams, but managed to get the win.

15 North Texas 58 - Were able to run with the Tigers for a while.
2 Memphis 73 - Their runs are what kills the other team.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Florida, Tennessee, and Memphis all advanced, while Arkansas and Miami (OH) lost. UK is 3-8 vs. the 31 teams left in the tournament, but just 1-1 vs. the teams in their region.

Kentucky 67 Villanova 58

2007-03-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

Kentucky played a smart balanced game tonight, and continued their streak of opening round wins in the NCAA Tournament. Everybody new that Morris needed to play well for UK to win, and he did. Randolph had 19 pts, 11 reb, and shot 9-15 FT to lead Kentucky to the win, but he wasn't the only one who produced. Bradley had 11, Crawford 10, Meeks 12, Perry 6, and Thomas had 7. Sheray played maybe the best all around game of his career. He played 28 minutes (each of them well deserved), and really helped the Cats in rebounding and defense.

In the beginning it looked like Kentucky was going to struggle guarding Nova's guards, especially Reynolds. Eventually UK got settled into playing tough, agressive defense, and contained the dribble penetration pretty well. Villanova is totally based on guard play, so they are going to score that way, but they weren't able to take over the game like many thought they would. The best thing about tonight's game was that when Villanova put on a late run, UK kept it's composure. There weren't unforced turnovers or stupid mistakes. Instead, people like Thomas and Bradley stepped up and made important free throws. Kentucky scored 22 of their 67 points from the line, while shooting 71.0% on free throws.

So, the reward for winning this game is the chance to face Kansas on Sunday. KU is one of the hottest teams in the country, and gave Tubby his worst loss in his career at UK last year. If Kentucky plays their game by controlling tempo they have a shot to win. But tonight we'll celebrate the victory over Villanova.

Thursday's Scores

2007-03-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

Midwest Region:

13 Davidson 70 - Able to play just as tough as Maryland, but just couldn't compete with them on the boards; had won 13 straight.
4 Maryland 82 - Get somewhat of a break with another mid-major (Butler) in the next round.

12 Old Dominion 46 - Hard to win anytime you shoot just 33%.
5 Butler 57 - Getting to face a fellow mid-major was a gift with their inflated seed.

West Region:

11 VCU 79 - It isn't so rare for an 11 to beat a 6, but they'll still be talked about for years to come.
6 Duke 77 - End the season with 4 straight losses; I don't want to hear anymore excuses from the media, they have 6 McDonald's All-Americans; overrated all year.

14 Wright St. 58 - Were able to keep up most of the 1st half, but then couldn't do anything right.
3 Pittsburgh 79 - Very good team when they have their inside/outside combination working.

10 Gonzaga 57 - Lacked the toughness to compete with a physical team.
7 Indiana 70 - Can beat just about anybody when they're making their 3's.

15 Weber St. 42 - Made just 13 FG's.
2 UCLA 70 - Playing like they think they deserved a #1 seed.

East Region:

16 Eastern Kentucky 65 - Put a scare in UNC by pulling to within 4 in the 2nd half.
1 North Carolina 86 - Can go on a game ending run as quickly as anybody.

9 Michigan St. 61 - Is this another case of MSU playing a mediocre regular season and then catching fire in March?
8 Marquette 49 - Shot 32% and made just 5 2pt FGs; shot 29 3's.

11 George Washington 44 - Had no chance with the way Vandy was playing.
6 Vanderbilt 77 - I'm glad the rest of the country got to see what Vandy is capable of; made 10 3pt FGs in the 1st half.

14 Oral Roberts 54 - Led by 2 at halftime.
3 Washington St. 70 - 7 players had double figure minutes, and 4 of them scored in double figures.

10 Texas Tech 75 - Allowed 52.6% FG and 40% 3FG.
7 Boston College 84 - Remember when everybody declared their season over a couple of months ago?

15 Belmont 55 - Couldn't deal with the size.
2 Georgetown 80 - I'm more impressed every time I see them.

South Region:

16 Cent. Conn. St. 57 - At least they can say they made it farther than UConn.
1 Ohio St. 78 - Nice warm-up for the rest of the tournament; called for just 5 fouls.

9 Xavier 79 - Home crowd might have pushed them over the top.
8 BYU 77 - Led late in the 2nd half, but couldn't hold on.

11 Stanford 58 - Proved that they didn't belong in this tournament.
6 Louisville 78 - Just too much speed, and too physical for Stanford.

14 Penn 52 - This game was closer than the score indicates.
3 Texas A&M 68 - Acie Law took over to get the win.

Saturday's Games:

5 Butler vs. 4 Maryland - Odd 5/4 matchup.
11 VCU vs. 3 Pittsburgh - How will Pittsburgh handle the press?
7 Indiana vs. 2 UCLA - Defense will be the focus for both teams.
1 North Carolina vs. 9 Michigan St. - Can Izzo pull out another upset in March?
6 Vanderbilt vs. 3 Washington St. - I think this will be a great game with 2 teams that can shoot very well.
7 Boston College vs. 2 Georgetown - Both teams broke 80 in the 1st round, but I think it will be much more of a defensive game.
1 Ohio St. vs. 9 Xavier - Good story with Matta facing his old team, but I don't think Xavier can hang with Ohio St.
6 Louisville vs. 3 Texas A&M - Louisville will have a much tougher time trying to press vs. Acie Law.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Kentucky played 5 of the 16 teams that advanced today (Indiana, UCLA, UNC, Vandy, Louisville).

Tuesday's Scores

2007-03-14T00:43:00.000-07:00

NCAA Tournament:

Play In Game:

Niagara 77 (23-11, 13-5) - They aren't the 2nd worst team in, actually they might should have even been a 15 seed; vs. Kansas on Friday.
Florida A&M 69 (21-14, 12-6) - I hate it that any of these teams misses out on what most people consider the "real" tournament starting on Thursday.

I'm not going to post on the NIT. I think it's a great event for some teams to carry on their season, but it isn't a true representation for many of the bigger name teams that missed out on getting an NCAA bid. Many times those teams don't put out much effort since they aren't playing for much. That's not to say I won't watch it, because sometimes there are some very good games.

NCAA Tournament Stuff

2007-03-13T22:48:00.000-07:00

I took an interesting look at filling out a bracket by using my 5 favorite computer polls to determine the winners. First off, it's scary how much all of these polls go along with the seeds that the committee gave out. I have know doubt that the committee does indeed use some of these (other than the rpi even) when determining seeds.

Here are some highlights using each poll:

1st round upsets:
Sagarin: Georgia Tech, Michigan St., Xavier, Creighton.
Pomeroy: Purdue, Illinois, Michigan St., Arkansas, Xavier, Creighton.
Massey: Illinois, Michigan St.
Greenfield: Winthrop, Illinois, Michigan St.
rpi (from Pomeroy's site): Illinois, Arkansas, Creighton

*Obviously Illinois and Michigan St. are much higher in these polls than where they are seeded.

2nd round upsets:
Sagarin: Notre Dame, Tennessee
Pomeroy: Notre Dame, Duke, Tennessee
Massey: Tennessee
Greenfield: Tennessee
rpi: Tennessee

*Tennessee is not only seeded too high, but they are very lucky to have Virginia (who's also seeded to high) to be their likely 2nd round opponent.

Regional Semifinals upsets:
Sagarin: None
Pomeroy: Texas A&M
Massey: None
Greenfield: None
rpi: Southern Illinois

*Southern Illinois has been high in the rpi all year, and it would be huge for them to make it this far, especially with having to go through some big name programs like Illinois, Kentucky, Villanova, and Kansas.

Regional Finals upsets:
Sagarin: None
Pomeroy: None
Massey: Wisconsin, UCLA
Greenfield: Wisconsin
rpi: Wisconsin, UCLA

*I don't know if I could find 3 out of 5 people that would pick Wisconsin over Florida, but the computers seem to think it will happen.

Final Four for each:
Sagarin: Florida, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio St. = UNC over Florida
Pomeroy: Florida, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio St. = UNC over Kansas
Massey: Wisconsin, UCLA, North Carolina, Ohio St. = Ohio St. over Wisconsin
Greenfield: Wisconsin, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio St. = Ohio St. over Wisconsin
rpi: Wisconsin, UCLA, North Carolina, Ohio St. = Ohio St. over UCLA

*Everybody has North Carolina and Ohio St. in, and they all agree that whoever wins that game will win it all.

Sunday's Scores

2007-03-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

The NCAA Tournament field is set, and I was right about the SEC getting a 5th team in. Arkansas did enough early and late in the season to impress the committee. I think they also had to reward the SEC for having the 2nd best rpi conference rating.

I thought the seeding showed just how little impact the AP & Coaches' polls have. To begin with, Florida was the top overall seed, but ranked 6th in the last AP poll, and North Carolina, another 1 seed, was ranked 8th. Nevada was ranked 10th, but got a 7 seed. That means there were at least 24 teams seeded ahead of them. I really thin the selection committee is really focusing on the whole year the strength of schedule.

As far as Syracuse being left out, I think it all came down to having the 122nd ranked non-conference strength of schedule. Even with that easy schedule, they lost at home to Wichita St. and Drexel, and lost a neutral game to Oklahoma St that was in New York. None of those 3 teams made the tournament. Syracuse ended up having only 5 wins over tournament teams, and 2 of those were over Penn and Holy Cross. I think this is just another message for teams to play a tougher schedule.

I'll have alot more about the tournament later on in the week. I'll also follow the NIT.

ACC (Finals):

10. N.C. State 80 (18-15, 5-11)
1. (8) North Carolina 89 (28-6, 11-5) - Deserve their #1 seed after winning both the regular season and tournament in the highest rated conference.

Big Ten (Finals):

2. (3) Wisconsin 49 (29-5, 13-3) - Struggling to score could really hurt them next week.
1. (1) Ohio St. 66 (30-3, 15-1) - Have improved at a much higher rate than Wisconsin since their first meeting.

Big 12 (Finals):

2. (15) Texas 84 (24-9, 12-4) - Lost 2 games to KU by 8 total points.
1. (2) Kansas 88 (30-4, 14-2) - Late season surge is what got them the #1 seed.

SEC (Finals):

3W. Arkansas 56 (21-13, 7-9) - RPI is what saved them.
1E. (6) Florida 77 (29-5, 13-3) - I still don't think anybody can beat them when they're at their best.

Southland:

Northwestern St. 78 (17-15, 10-6)
Texas A&M C.C. 81 (26-6, 14-2) - Win the automatic bid.

Saturday's Scores

2007-03-10T21:52:00.000-08:00

America East (Finals):

2. Albany 60 (23-9, 13-3) - Win the automatic bid.
1. Vermont 59 (25-7, 15-1)

ACC (Semifinals):

4. Boston College 56 (20-11, 10-6) - Lost 5 of last 7.
1. (8) North Carolina 71 (27-6, 11-5) - Will likely be a #1 seed after getting to the finals; haven't been challenged yet in the tournament.

10. N.C. State 72 (18-14, 5-11) - Only 5 conference wins, but have 3 in the tournament.
3. Virginia Tech 64 (21-11, 10-6) - Lost 3 of 4; still have a hard time getting up for the lower opponents.

Atlantic 10 (Finals):

4. Rhode Island 69 (19-14, 10-6)
3. George Washington 78 (23-8, 11-5) - Win the automatic bid; will any other A-10 team join them?

Big East (Finals):

3. (13) Pittsburgh 42 (27-7, 12-4) - At least they got the 2 wins against good opponents in the tournament to get of their late season slide.
1. (9) Georgetown 65 (26-6, 13-3) - Win the automatic bid; I think they should be a 2 seed.

Big 10 (Semifinals):

5. Purdue 52 (21-11, 9-7) - Stayed close throughout and might have locked up a bid.
1. (1) Ohio St. 63 (29-3, 15-1) - Likely have the overall #1 seed locked up now.

6. Illinois 41 (23-11, 9-7) - Didn't have any bad losses all season, and beat Indiana twice.
2. (3) Wisconsin 53 (29-4, 13-3) - Get another chance at OSU to try to prove they're the best in the Big 10.

Big 12 (Semifinals):

4. Kansas St. 61 (22-11, 10-6) - Went 5-5 in their last 10, but I think they should be in.
1. (2) Kansas 67 (29-4, 14-2) - Won 10 straight, and will be a #1 seed.

7. Oklahoma St. 64 (22-12, 6-10) - Put together a good run in the tournament, but their 6-10 conference record should keep them out.
3. (15) Texas 69 (24-8, 12-4) - Get another chance at Kansas, who they lost to by just 4 at KU last Saturday.

Big West (Finals):

2. Cal Poly 83 (19-11, 9-5)
1. Long Beach St. 94 (24-7, 12-2) - Win the automatic bid.

Conference USA (Finals):

3. Houston 59 (18-15, 10-6)
1. (5) Memphis 71 (30-3, 16-0) - Win the automatic bid; easily went undefeated vs. the conference, but they might struggle vs. teams that have been playing in strong conferences the last 3 months.

MAC:

4. Miami (OH) 53 (18-14, 10-6) - Win the automatic bid; this hurts more bubble teams.
2. Akron 52 (26-7, 13-3)

MEAC (Finals):

2. Florida A&M 58 (21-13, 12-6) - Win the automatic bid.
1. Delaware St. 56 (21-12, 16-2)

Mountain West (Finals):

1. (23) BYU 70 (25-8, 13-3) - These 2 teams are almost equal.
2. (25) UNLV 78 (28-6, 12-4) - Win the automatic bid; homecourt might have pushed them to winning this tournament.

Pac-10 (Finals):

4. (16) Oregon 81 (26-7, 11-7) - Win the automatic bid; won by 19, 18, and 24 this week; probably wish the NCAA started tomorrow.
3. USC 57 (23-11, 11-7) - Had 2 wins over Oregon, but it's always hard to beat anybody 3 times.

SEC (Semifinals):

3W Arkansas 81 (21-12, 7-9) - I would bet money that the SEC will get at least 5 in, and they look like they might be the one.
1W Mississippi St. 72 (18-13, 8-8) - Even with the better SEC record, they are probably behind Arkansas for a bid.

2W Mississippi 59 (20-12, 8-8) - Needed a better showing.
1E (6) Florida 80 (27-5, 13-3) - The loss @ UT woke them up; I think they should be a #1 seed.

SWAC (Finals):

2. Jackson St. 81 (21-13, 12-6) - Win the automatic bid.
1. Miss. Valley St. 71 (18-15, 13-5)

WAC (Finals):

4. Utah St. 70 (23-11, 9-7)
2. New Mexico St. 72 (25-8, 11-5) - Win the automatic bid; could easily give somebody some trouble in the tournament.

Another Take on the Game

2007-03-10T00:42:00.000-08:00

I've edited my comments about the loss to Mississippi St. I was pretty angry right after the game, and really got down on Sheray Thomas. If you want to read the more sensible review, you can scroll down to see it.

Friday's Scores

2007-03-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

ACC (Quarterfinals):

9. Florida St. 58 (20-12, 7-9) - A win would have put them in, but they are very much on the bubble.
1. (8) North Carolina 73 (26-6, 11-5) - Trying to secure a #1 seed.

12. Miami (FL) 71 (12-20, 4-12)
4. Boston College 74 OT (20-10, 10-6) - Really needed this after losing 4 of 5.

10. N.C. State 79 (16-15, 5-11)
2. Virginia 71 (20-10, 11-5) -Lost 4 of their last 8 to the 3 bottom ACC teams.

11. Wake Forest 52 (15-16, 5-11)
3. Virginia Tech 71 (21-10, 10-6) - Might get a chance to go 3-0 vs. UNC.

Atlantic 10 (Semifinals):

4. Rhode Island 79 (19-13, 10-6)
1. Xavier 71 (24-8, 13-3) - Stops 9 game winning streak; another bubble team.

7. Saint Louis 40 (20-13, 8-8)
3. George Washington 60 (22-8, 11-5)

Big East (Semifinals):

4. (20) Notre Dame 82 (24-7, 11-5) - Not a bad loss; playing well going into the tournament.
1. (9) Georgetown 84 (25-6, 13-3) - Winning tomorrow would give them a good chance at a 2 seed.

3. (13) Pittsburgh 65 (27-6, 12-4) - Continue to look more like the team they were earlier.
2. (12) Louisville 59 (23-9, 12-4) - It will be interesting to see where they're seeded with the down & up season.

Big Ten (Quarterfinals):

8. Michigan 62 (21-12, 8-8) - Barely hanging on to any NCAA hopes.
1. (1) Ohio St. 72 (28-3, 15-1) - Will be a #1 seed even if they lose tomorrow in the semis.

5. Purdue 74 (21-10, 9-7) - Trying to play their way into an at-large bid.
4. Iowa 55 (17-14, 9-7)

7. Michigan St. 57 (22-11, 8-8) - Lost 3 of 4, but will still be in.
2. (3) Wisconsin 70 (28-4, 13-3) - Hoping for another chance vs. Ohio St.

6. Illinois 58 (23-10, 9-7) - Great win to help their profile.
3. Indiana 54 OT (20-10, 10-6) - Will still be in.

Big 12 (Quarterfinals):

9. Oklahoma 47 (16-15, 6-10)
1. (2) Kansas 64 (28-4, 14-2) - I don't see them losing in this tournament.

5. Texas Tech 45 (21-12, 9-7) - Might be ok, but didn't need to lose by this much.
4. Kansas St. 66 (22-10, 10-6) - I think they have to be the 4th Big 12 team taken.

7. Oklahoma St. 57 (22-11, 6-10) - Huge win to keep them in the NCAA hunt.
2. (7) Texas A&M 56 (25-6, 13-3) - Probably will keep a 2 seed.

11. Baylor 69 (15-16, 4-12)
3. (15) Texas 74 (23-8, 12-4) - Could possibly beat Kansas if Durant is playing at his best.

Big West (Semifinals):

5. UC Irvine 63 (15-18, 6-8)
1. Long Beach St. 77 (23-7, 12-2)

3. CSU Fullerton 56 (20-9, 9-6)
2. Cal Poly 81 (19-10, 9-5)

Conference USA (Semifinals):

4. Tulane 49 (17-13, 9-7)
1. (5) Memphis 71 (29-3, 16-0) - I still think they could possibly steal a #1 seed, but will likely be a 2.

7. Rice 62 (16-16, 8-8)
3. Houston 77 (18-14, 10-6) - If they somehow upset Memphis, it's going to make a bunch of teams mad.

MAC (Semifinals):

4. Miami (OH) 58 (17-14, 10-6)
1. Toledo 53 (20-11, 14-2)

3. Kent St. 54 (21-11, 12-4)
2. Akron 61 (26-6, 13-3) - Could possible get an at-large bid even if they lose in the finals.

MEAC (Semifinals):

5. Morgan St. 53 (13-18, 10-8)
1. Delaware St. 56 OT (21-11, 16-2)

3. N.C. A&T 66 (15-17, 10-8)
2. Florida A&M 74 (20-13, 12-6)

Mountain West (Semifinals):

5. Wyoming 84 (17-15, 7-9)
1. (23) BYU 96 (25-7, 13-3) - Continue to improve their seed.

6. Colorado St. 72 (17-12, 6-10)
2. (25) UNLV 88 (27-6, 12-4)

Pac-10 (Semifinals):

8. California 63 (16-17, 6-12)
4. (16) Oregon 81 (25-7, 11-7) - Maybe the hottest team in the country right now.

3. USC 70 (23-10, 11-7)
2. (11) Washington St. 61 (25-7, 13-5)

Patriot League (Finals):

2. Bucknell 66 (22-9, 13-1)
1. Holy Cross 74 (25-8, 13-1) - Win the automatic bid, and will be one of the better seeded lower league teams.

SEC (Quarterfinals):

4E. Kentucky 82 (21-11, 9-7) - Let the win slip away; not a surprise after the way this season's gone.
1W. Mississippi St. 84 OT (18-12, 8-8) - Winning when they have to.

3W. Arkansas 72 (20-12, 7-9) - Could very well win this tournament.
2E. Vanderbilt 71 (20-11, 10-6) - How much will their early bad losses (Furman, App. St.) hurt their seed? Lost back to back both to Arkansas.

5E. Georgia 57 (18-13, 8-8) - Late season struggles probably will cost them a bid.
1E. (6) Florida 74 (27-5, 13-3) - Still have a good chance at a #1 if they win this tournament.

6W. LSU 60 (17-15, 5-11)
2W. Mississippi 80 (20-11, 8-8) - Would be hard to keep them out if they can beat Florida.

Southland (Semifinals):

7. Lamar 65 (15-17, 8-8)
3. Northwestern St. 78 (17-14, 10-6)

4. McNeese St. 66 (15-17, 9-7)
1. Texas A&M CC 87 (25-6, 14-2)

SWAC (Semifinals):

6. Ark. Pine Bluff 62 (12-19, 9-9)
2. Jackson St. 64 (20-13, 12-6)

5. Texas Southern 50 (14-17, 9-9)
1. Miss. Valley St. 54 (19-14, 13-5)

WAC (Semifinals):

4. Utah St. 79 (23-10, 9-7)
1. (10) Nevada 77 (28-4, 14-2) - This loss keeps a bubble team out.

6. Boise St. 69 (17-14, 8-8)
2. New Mexico St. 88 (24-8, 11-5)

Mississippi St. 84 Kentucky 82 OT

2007-03-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

Kentucky managed to give another game away, and this time it was worse than ever. Thomas made a huge mistake by leaving the lane while Meeks was receiving the ball from the ref to shoot a free throw. If Meeks could have made that last shot, UK would have been up by 4 with just 5 seconds remaining. Tubby has taken responsibility for causing Thomas to leave the lane, which is good to see from a coach who is already under tons of pressure.

Even after that, UK had a chance in overtime, but Crawford would not allow anyone else to get involved. Morris had a great game with 29 pts, 15 reb, 3 blks, 2 stl, and 2 ast, but they quit going to him in overtime. Mississippi St. continued to make shots and was able to get the win.

Bradley hurt Kentucky more than he helped them by having 6 turnovers, 4 fouls, and just 3 points. Perry didn't show up either in his last SEC game ever. He had just 5 points on 1-5 shooting. Despite all of the bad play from these 2, UK still had a good chance to win, but just not being focused cost them the game. It's sad that this is what Thomas might be remembered for, but many UK fans will never forgive this mistake. I would love to see Sheray have a great NCAA Tournament and help get Kentucky further than what most people would expect.

Thursday's Scores

2007-03-08T12:26:00.000-08:00

ACC (First Round):

9. Florida St. 67 (20-11, 7-9) - Stay alive for and NCAA bid, but I still think they need another win.
8. Clemson 66 (21-10, 7-9) - Really needed a win to help their NCAA chances; 4-10 after starting 17-0.

12. Miami (FL) 67 (12-19, 4-12)
5. (17) Maryland 62 (24-8. 10-6) - Can't afford another let down like this next week.

10. N.C. State 85 (16-14, 5-11)
7. (21) Duke 80 OT (22-10, 8-8) - Lost 3 straight and 7 of last 11; are ranked only because of their name, have done nothing to deserve it.

11. Wake Forest 114 (15-15, 5-11)
6. Georgia Tech 112 OT (20-11, 8-8) - Really bad loss to a team that should have beaten; could cost them an NCAA bid.

Atlantic 10 (Quarterfinals):

8. Dayton 51 (18-12, 8-8)
1. Xavier 72 (24-7, 13-3) - Won 9 straight; making a very good case for an at-large bid.

5. Fordham 69 (18-12, 10-6)
4. Rhode Island 73 (18-13, 10-6)

7. Saint Louis 74 (19-13, 9-7)
2. UMass 71 OT (23-8, 13-3) - Any NCAA hopes are gone after this.

6. St. Joseph's 48 (18-14, 9-7)
3. George Washington 58 (21-8, 11-5)

Big East (Quarterfinals):

9. Villanova 57 (21-10, 9-7) - Probably are in good shape for and NCAA bid.
1. (9) Georgetown 62 (24-6, 13-3) - Played a great 1st half, but almost let the game get away; won 13 of last 14.

5. Syracuse 83 (22-10, 10-6) - I think they're in easily.
4. (20) Notre Dame 89 (24-6, 11-5) - Won 6 straight.

7. West Virginia 71 (22-9, 9-7) - I think they needed to win this to get in, but they still have a chance.
2. (12) Louisville 82 2OT (23-8, 12-4) - Won 7 straight and continue to improve their seed.

6. (18) Marquette 79 (24-9, 10-6) - Finished 3-5, but they're easily in.
3. (13) Pittsburgh 89 (26-6, 12-4) - Looked more like the team they were a month ago.

Big 10 (First Round):

9. Minnesota 40 (9-22, 3-130
8. Michigan 49 (21-11, 8-8) - This is a start, but they need more wins to get in.

10. Northwestern 57 (13-17, 2-14)
7. Michigan St. 62 (22-10, 8-8) - Stops 2 game losing streak.

11. Penn St. 60 (11-19, 2-13)
6. Illinois 66 (22-10, 9-7) - Might need one more win to get in.

Big 12 (First Round):

9. Oklahoma 68 (16-14, 6-10) - Stops 6 game losing streak.
8. Iowa St. 63 (15-16, 6-10)

12. Colorado 71
5. Texas Tech 81 (21-11, 9-7) - Their wins over Kansas & A&M (twice) make their record better than it looks.

10. Nebraska 39 (17-14, 6-10)
7. Oklahoma St. 54 (21-11, 6-10) - Still need at least 2 more wins.

11. Baylor 97 (15-15, 4-12)
6. Missouri 83 (18-12, 7-9)

Big West (Second Round):

7. Pacific 92 (12-19, 5-9)
3. CSU Fullerton 100 2OT (20-9, 9-5)

5. UC Irvine (14-17, 6-8)
4. UCSB (18-10, 9-5)

Conference USA (Quarterfinals):

7. Rice 53 (15-15, 8-8)
2. UCF 51 (22-9, 11-5)

6. Southern Miss 59 (20-11, 9-7)
3. Houston 62 (17-14, 10-6)

8. Marshall 71 (13-19, 7-9)
1. (5) Memphis 92 (28-3, 16-0) - Could get a really good seed due to all the upsets.

5. Tulsa 56 (20-11, 9-7)
4. Tulane 58 (17-12, 9-7)

MAC (Quarterfinals):

8. East. Michigan 54 (12-10, 6-10)
1. Toledo 62 (19-11, 14-2)

5. Ohio 51 (19-13, 9-7)
4. Miami (OH) 70 (16-14, 10-6)

7. Cent. Michigan 53 (13-18, 6-10)
2. Akron 82 (25-6, 13-3)

6. W. Michigan 66 (16-16, 9-7)
3. Kent St. 75 (21-10, 12-4)

MEAC (Quarterfinals):

6. Norfolk St. 66 (11-19, 10-8)
3.N.C. A&T 81 (15-16, 10-8)

5. Morgan St. 66 (13-17, 10-8)
4. S. Carolina St. 64 OT (13-17, 10-8)

Mountain West (Quarterfinals):

8. TCU 64 (13-17, 4-12)
1. (23) BYU 77 (24-7, 13-3) - Won 11 of 12.

5. Wyoming 67 (17-14, 7-9)
4. Air Force 62 (23-8, 10-6) - Lost 4 straight and I'm not sure they deserve to be in the tournament; 8 losses is quite a bit in the Mountain West.

7. Utah 54 (11-19, 6-10)
2. (25) UNLV 80 (26-6, 12-4) - Won 5 straight

6. Colorado St. (16-12, 6-10)
3. San Diego St. (21-9, 10-6)

Pac-10 (Quarterfinals)

5. Arizona 50 (21-10, 11-7) - Played no defense and the offense couldn't make shots; seed will fall after this.
4. (16) Oregon 69 (24-7, 11-7) - Won 4 straight and are very hot right now.

8. California 76 (16-16, 6-12)
1. (4) UCLA 69 OT (26-5, 15-3) - Might have lost their #1 seed after losing 2 straight to teams that won't be in the tournament.

6. Stanford 79 (18-12, 10-8) - I dont' think they should be in, despite their 10 conference wins.
3. USC 83 OT (22-10, 11-7) - Stops 2 game losing streak.

7. Washington (19-12, 8-10)
2. (11) Washington St. (24-6, 13-5)

SEC (First Round):

5W. Alabama 67 (20-11, 7-9) - This might have cost them an NCAA bid.
4E. Kentucky 79 (21-10, 9-7) - Already in, but this helps their seed from falling even more.

6E. South Carolina 52 (14-16, 4-12)
3W. Arkansas 82 (19-12, 7-9) - I think a 5th SEC team should get in, and they are making a case for it, especially with 1 more win.

5E. Georgia 80 (18-12, 8-8) - Still have a chance, but need 1 or 2 more wins.
4W. Auburn 65 (17-15, 7-9)

6W. LSU 76 (17-14, 5-11) - Won 3 of 4, which they hadn't done since January 17th.
E3. (22) Tennessee 67 OT (22-10, 10-6) - Their style just makes it hard to win this time of year.

Southland (Quarterfinals):

7. Lamar 99 (15-16, 8-8)
2. Sam Houston St. 98 (21-10, 13-3)

6. Stephen F. Austin 76 (15-14, 8-8)
3. Northwestern St. 85 (16-14, 10-6)

8. SE Louisiana 72 (16-14, 8-8)
1. Texas A&M CC 80 (24-6, 14-2)

5. TX Arlington 76 (13-17, 8-8)
4. McNeese St. 77 (15-16, 9-7)

SWAC (Quarterfinals):

6. Ark. Pine Bluff 51 (12-18, 9-9)
3. Grambling St. 48 (12-14, 10-8)

5. Texas Southern 74 (14-16, 9-9)
4. Alcorn St. 64 (11-19, 10-8)

WAC (Quarterfinals):

9. Idaho 56 (4-27, 1-15)
1. (10) Nevada 88 (28-3, 14-2) - Winning this tournament would put their seed very high.

5. Hawaii 70 (18-13, 8-8)
4. Utah St. 73 (22-10, 9-7)

6. Boise St. 78 (17-13, 8-8)
3. Fresno St. 73 (22-9, 10-6)

7. Louisiana Tech 70 (10-20, 7-9)
2. New Mexico St. 77 (23-8, 11-5)

Kentucky 79 Alabama 67

2007-03-08T12:16:00.000-08:00

Kentucky got a chance to avenge one of its losses today, and the Cats came through. After a slow start UK played agressive defense that led to some great offense. This was one of the rare times that all 3 of the juniors played well.

Morris: 17 pts, 8-10 fg, 11 reb, 1 blk, 2 stls
Bradley: 17 pts, 3-9 3fg
Crawford: 16 pts, 2-4 3fg, 2 stls

When we get that kind of production from those players, UK is always going to be in contention to win the game. Meeks played a great game also, and Bobby Perry did exactly what he needed to do to help out.

Meeks: 12 pts, 2-3 3fg, 4 reb, 4 ast
Perry: 10 pts, 2-5 3fg

Jasper didn't have great stats, but he was agressive and actually took 3 shots.

I thought that Tubby was letting Morris sit too long in the 1st half. He was playing better than anybody and had no fouls. But, this ended up helping Morris to be rested for the 2nd half. If UK keeps playing like this, there is only 1 team in the SEC that can beat them.

Wednesday's Scores:

2007-03-07T20:56:00.000-08:00

The Big East & Pac-10 started their tournaments today, and the other high majors will start on Thursday. The next 4 days are some of the best in college basketball.

Atlantic-10 (First Round):

9. Charlotte 63 (14=16, 7-9)
8. Dayton 81 (19-11, 8-8)

12. Richmond 61 (8-22, 4-12)
5. Fordham 63 (18-11, 10-6)

10. Duquesne 77 (10-19, 6-10)
7. Saint Louis 78 (19-12, 9-7)

11. Temple 62 (12-18, 6-10)
6. St. Joseph's 66 (18-13, 9-7)

Big East (First Round):

8. DePaul 67 (18-13, 9-7) - Needed to win a few in this tournament to have a chance at a bid.
9. Villanova 75 (22-9, 9-7) - Another win to help their case.

12. UConn 65 (17-14, 6-10) - It still surprises me how quiet the media has been on this terrible season.
5. Syracuse 78 (22-9, 10-6) - No need to worry about not making the tournament after this win.

10. Providence 79 (18-12, 8-8) - Won't make the NCAA after losing in this opening round.
7. West Virginia 92 (22-8, 9-7) - Very big win; could give Louisville some trouble.

6. (18) Marquette 76 (24-8, 10-6) - Trying to get back to how they were playing earlier in the season; get a rematch vs. Pitt, who they just beat.
11. St. John's 67 (16-15, 7-9)

Big Sky (Finals):

2. Northern Arizona 80 (18-12, 11-5)
1. Weber St. 88 (19-11, 11-5) - Win the automatic bid; have a history of pulling some upsets in the tournament.

Big West (First Round):

8. UC Riverside 52 (7-24, 1-13)
5. UC Irvine 53 (14-17, 6-8)

7. Pacific 71 (12-18, 5-9)
6. CSU Northridge 54 (14-17, 5-9)

Conference USA (First Round):

10. UTEP 74 (14-17, 6-10)
7. Rice 77 (15-15, 8-8)

11. SMU 52 (14-17, 3-13)
6. Southern Miss 59 (20-10, 9-7)

9. UAB 52 (15-16, 7-9)
8. Marshall 53 (13-18, 7-9)

12. East Carolina 50 (6-24, 1-15)
5. Tulsa 65 (20-10, 9-7)

MAC (First Round):

9. Ball St. 48 (9-22, 5-11)
8. East. Michigan 51 (13-18, 6-10)

12. Bowling Green 59 (13-18, 3-13)
5. Ohio 69 (19-12, 9-7)

10. Buffalo 74 (12-19, 4-12)
7. Cent. Michigan 80 (13-17, 7-9)

11. Northern Illinois 62 (7-23, 4-12)
6. W. Michigan 67 (16-15, 9-7)

MEAC:

(First Round)
11. MD Eastern Shore 70 (4-27, 1-17)
6. Norfolk St. 81 (11-18, 10-8)

(Quarterfinals)
8. Coppin St. 49 (12-20, 9-9)
1. Delaware St. 68 (20-11, 16-2)

7. Hampton 58 (15-15, 10-9)
2. Florida A&M 61 (19-13, 12-6)

Northeast (Finals):

2. Sacred Heart 70 (18-14, 12-6)
1. Cent. Conn. St. 74 (22-11, 16-2) - Win the automatic bid; domintaed the NEC all year long.

Pac-10 (First Round):

9. Oregon St. 51 (11-21, 3-15)
8. California 70 (15-16, 6-12)

10. Arizona St. 51 (8-22, 2-16)
7. Washington 59 (19-12, 8-10)

SWAC (Quarterfinals):

7. Southern 65 (10-21, 9-9)
2. Jackson St. 74 (19-13, 12-6)

8. Alabama St. 52 (10-20, 8-10)
1. Miss. Valley St. 62 (17-14, 13-5)

Tuesday's Scores:

2007-03-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

Big Sky (Semifinals):

3. Montana 71 (17-15, 10-6)
2. Northern Arizona 78 (18-11, 11-5)

4. Portland St. 74 (19-13, 9-7)
1. Weber St. 77 (19-11, 11-5)

Horizon (Finals):

2. (19) Butler 55 (27-6, 13-3) - Will still make the tournament, but their seed has suffered after going 4-4 in their last 8.
1. Wright St. 60 (23-9, 13-3) - Win the automatic bid; bad news for bubble teams; took 2 out of 3 vs. Butler.

Mid-Continent (Finals):

2. Oakland 67 (18-14, 10-4)
1. Oral Robets 71 (23-10, 12-2) - Win the automatic bid; have wins over Kansas and Seton Hall, so they could pull an upset.

MEAC (First Round):

10. Howard 61 (9-22, 5-13)
7. Hampton 76 (15-15, 10-8)

9. Bethune-Cookman 44 (9-21, 6-12)
8. Coppin St. 56 (12-19, 9-9)

Mountain West (First Round):

9. New Mexico (15-16, 4-12)
8. TCU (12-16, 4-12)

Sun Belt (Finals):

5. North Texas 83 (23-10, 10-8) - Win the automatic bid.
2. Arkansas St. 75 (17-15, 11-7)

WAC (First Round):

9. Idaho 50 (4-26, 1-15) - Their 4th win of the year earns them a spot vs. Nevada.
8. San Jose St. 49 (5-25, 4-12)

Monday's Scores

2007-03-05T20:50:00.000-08:00

Conference Tournaments:

Colonial (Finals):

6. George Mason 59 (18-14, 9-9) - Let this get away in the last 2 minutes.
1. VCU 65 (27-6, 16-2) - Win the automatic bid; good news for all of the other bubble teams.

Metro Atlantic (Finals):

2. Niagara 83 (22-11, 13-5) - Win the automatic bid.
4. Siena 79 (20-12, 12-6)

Mid-Continent (Semifinals):

1. Oral Roberts 75 (22-10, 12-2) - Should be the favorite int he finals.
4. IUPUI 54 (15-15, 7-7)

2. Oakland 83 (19-13, 10-4)
6. Mo. Kansas City 79 (12-20, 6-8)

Sun Belt (Semifinals):

5. North Texas 59 (22-10, 10-8)
9. Middle Tenn. St. 52 (15-17, 9-100

2. Arkansas St. 80 (18-14, 11-7)
3. Western Kentucky 73 (22-11, 12-6)

West Coast (Finals):

1. Gonzaga 77 (23-10, 11-3) - Win the automatic bid; more good news for bubble teams.
2. Santa Clara 68 (21-10, 10-4)

Other Scores:

Oklahoma St. 73 (20-11, 6-10) - Losing to Baylor and Nebraska to finish the season should put them out of the tournament; 0-8 on the road for the season.
Nebraska 85 (17-13, 6-10)

Saturday & Sunday's Scores

2007-03-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

SUNDAY:

Top 25:

Kentucky 72 (20-10, 9-7) - Hardest schedule in the country is what gets them in the tournament.
(5) Florida 85 (26-5, 13-3) - Stops 2 game losing streak.

(14) Duke 72 (22-9, 8-8) - Finish tied for 6th in the ACC.
(8) North Carolina 86 (25-6, 11-5) - Tie for 1st in the ACC and get the sweep of Duke.

Seton Hall 71 (13-16, 4-11)
(16) Louisville 86 (22-8, 12-4) - Won 6 straight; finish tied for 2nd in the Big East, and get the 2nd seed.

Clemson 75 (21-9, 7-9) - This probably gets them in the NCAA tournament.
(21) Virginia Tech 74 (20-10, 10-6) - Lost 2 in a row.

Other Scores:

Boston College 60 (19-10, 10-6) - Lost 4 of 5.
Georgia Tech 74 (20-10, 8-8) - 2 big wins this week to help their case.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Alabama 67 (20-10, 7-9) - Blowout loss that likely puts them out of the tournament.
Mississippi St. 91 (17-12, 8-8) - Tie for 1st in the SEC West.

Miami (OH) 64 (15-14, 10-6)
Bowling Green 68 (13-17, 3-13)

Conference Tournaments:

America East (Semifinals):

1. Vermont 72 (25-6, 15-1)
5. MD Baltimore Cty. 63 (12-19, 7-9)

2. Albany 59 (21-9, 13-3)
3. Boston U. 49 (12-17, 8-8)

Colonial:

1. VCU 63 (26-6, 16-2) - Very good profile, but might need one more win.
4. Drexel 56 (23-8, 13-5)

2. Old Dominion 63 (24-8, 15-3) - Some think they're in, but not me.
6. George Mason 79 (18-14, 9-9)

Metro Atlantic:

1. Marist 78 (24-8, 14-4)
4. Siena 86 (20-11, 12-6)

2. Niagara 89 (21-11, 13-5)
3. Loyola (MD) 79 (18-13, 13-6)

Mid-Continent:

5. Southern Utah 59 (16-14, 6-8)
4. IUPUI 71 (15-14, 7-7)

6. Mo. Kansas City 84 (12-19, 6-8)
3. Valparaiso 76 (16-15, 9-5)

Missouri Valley:

1. (11) Southern Illinois 61 (27-6, 15-3) - Stops 13 game winning streak.
2. Creighton 67 (22-10, 13-5) - Win the automatic bid.

Northeast (Semifinals):

5. Mount St. Mary's 68 (11-20, 9-9)
1. Cent. Conn. St. 74 (21-11, 16-2)

3. Quinnipiac 69 (14-15, 11-7)
2. Sacred Heart 83 (18-13, 12-6)

Patriot League (Semifinals) :

4. American 53 (16-14, 7-7)
1. Holy Cross 55 (24-8, 13-1)

6. Army 47 (15-16, 4-10)
2. Bucknell 68 (22-8, 13-1)

Sun Belt (Quarterfinals) :

9. Middle Tn. St. 63 (15-16, 8-10)
1. South Alabama 60 OT (20-11, 13-5)

4. LA Monroe 71 (18-14, 11-7)
5. North Texas 77 OT (21-10, 10-8)

7. New Orleans 74 (14-17, 9-9)
2. Arkansas St. 81 (17-14, 11-7)

6. Florida Atl. 81 (16-15, 11-8)
3. Western Kentucky 86 (22-10, 12-6)

West Coast (Semifinals):

5. San Diego 70 (18-14, 6-8)
1. Gonzaga 88 (22-10, 11-3) - Very big game vs. Santa Clara to prove they belong in the tournament.

3. St. Mary's 47 (16-15, 8-6)
2. Santa Clara 63 (21-9, 10-4)

SATURDAY:

Top 25:

(1) Ohio St. 65 (27-3, 15-1) - Won 14 straight.
Michigan 61 (20-11, 8-8) - A win might have gotten them in the tournament; now I don't think they're in.

(2) UCLA 51 (26-4, 15-3) - Little bit of a let down after winning the Pac-10.
Washington 61 (18-12, 8-10) - 2 good wins to close out the season, but starting 1-6 in the conference hurt them.

(15) Texas 86 (22-8, 12-4) - One of the most improved teams from the beginning of the season.
(3) Kansas 90 (27-4, 14-2) - Win the Big 12; won 8 straight.

Michigan St. 50 (21-10, 8-8) - Lost 2 straight.
(4) Wisconsin 52 (27-4, 13-3) - Their struggling offense could mean an early loss in the NCAA Tournament.

(6) Memphis 64 (27-3, 16-0) - A perfect run through C-USA.
SMU 61 (14-16, 3-13)

Missouri 78 (18-11, 7-9)
(7) Texas A&M 94 (25-5, 13-3) - Finish 2nd in the Big 12.

UConn 46 (17-13, 6-10) - I guess the easy nonconference schedule was to make sure they could make the NIT.
(9) Georgetown 59 (23-6, 13-3) - Win the Big East; won 19 of last 22 after a 4-3 start.

New Mexico St. 65 (22-8, 11-5)
(10) Nevada 69 (27-3, 14-2) - They won't surprise anybody this year in the tournament.

(12) Pittsburgh 71 (25-6, 12-4) - Lost 3 of their last 5 Big East games after starting 10-1.
(20) Marquette 75 (23-8, 10-6) - Big win for confidence after losing 4 of 5 prior to this.

(23) USC 86 (21-10, 11-7) - Lost 2 straight.
(13) Washington St. 88 2OT (24-6, 13-5) - Very impressive 2nd place finish in the Pac-10.

Oregon St. 49 (11-20, 3-15)
(17) Oregon 70 (23-7, 11-7) - Won 3 straight after losing 6 of 8.

(22) Notre Dame 73 (23-6, 11-5) - Won 5 straight.
Rutgers 66 (10-19, 3-13)

N.C. State 59 (15-14, 5-11)
(24) Maryland 79 (24-7, 10-6) - Hottest team in the ACC.

Other Scores:

Oklahoma St. 82 (20-10, 6-9) - Very bad loss; lost 7 of 9; must win @ Nebraska on Monday to get into the NCAA Tournament.
Baylor 86 (14-15, 4-12)

Utah 62 (11-18, 6-10)
BYU 85 (23-7, 13-3) - Win the Mountain West.

Illinois 53 (21-10, 9-7) - This loss might make them a little more nervous.
Iowa 60 (17-13, 9-7)

Texas Tech 63 (20-11, 9-7) - Won 5 of 6.
Iowa St. 61 (15-15, 6-10)

Oklahoma 61 (15-14, 6-10) - Lost 6 straight.
Kansas St. 72 (21-10, 10-6) - 4th place in the Big 12.

Northwestern 50 (13-17, 2-14)
Purdue 73 (20-10, 9-7) - In the same situation as many Big 10 teams.

Arizona 85 (20-9, 11-7) - Won 6 of 8, and are due for a win over the top Pac-10 teams.
Stanford 80 OT (18-11, 10-8) - Good conference record, but some blowout losses could hurt them.

Colorado St. 47 (16-12, 6-10)
UNLV 65 (25-6, 12-4) - I don't think there is any doubt that they are in.

Syracuse 75 (21-9, 10-6) - Stops 5 game winning streak.
Villanova 78 (21-9, 9-7) - Good recovery from a 1-3 Big East start.

Virginia 72 (20-9, 11-5) - This loss will probably keep them out of the top 25 even though they tied for 1st in the ACC.
Wake Forest 78 (14-15, 5-11)

Cincinnati 65 (11-19, 2-14)
West Virginia 79 (21-8, 9-7) - Must win after losing 4 of 6.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Arkansas 82 (18-12, 7-9) - Could make a run in the SEC Tournament if they play like they have in their last 2.
(19) Vanderbilt 67 (20-10, 10-6) - Not a good showing after clinching 2nd in the SEC East.

Auburn 79 (17-14, 7-9)
Mississippi 83 (19-11, 8-8) - Tie for 1st in the SEC West.

Tennessee 71 (22-9, 10-6) - Playing much better now than did last year at this time.
Georgia 65 (17-12, 8-8) - Lost 3 of 4 and won't get an at large bid.

South Carolina 52 (14-15, 4-12)
LSU 61 (16-14, 5-11)

Penn St. 63 (11-18, 2-14)
Indiana 94 (20-9, 10-6) - In a better position than Michigan St., Illinois, Michigan, and Purdue.

South Florida 54 (12-18, 3-13)
DePaul 70 (18-12, 9-7)

UTEP 67 (14-16, 6-10)
Houston 74 (16-14, 10-6)

UMass 71 (23-7, 13-3) - Tie for 1st in the A-10.
St. Joseph's 67 (17-13, 9-7)

Conference Tournaments:

America East (Quarterfinals):

7. New Hampshire 47 (10-20, 6-10)
2. Albany 64 (21-9, 13-3)

6. Binghamton 58 (13-16, 6-10)
3. Boston U. 62 (12-17, 8-8)

5. MD Baltimore Cty. 70 (12-18, 7-9)
4. Maine 61 (12-18, 7-9)

8. Hartford 62 (13-18, 6-10)
1. Vermont 81 (24-6, 15-1)

Atlantic Sun (Finals):

2. Belmont 94 (23-9, 14-4) - Win the automatic bid.
1. E. Tenn. St. 67 (24-9, 16-2)

Big Sky (1st round):

6. Idaho St. 63 (13-17, 8-8)
3. Montana 70 OT (17-14, 10-6)

5. Montana St. 71 (11-19, 8-8)
4. Portland St. 96 (19-12, 9-7)

Big South (Finals):

6. VMI 81 (14-19, 5-9)
1. Winthrop 84 (28-4, 14-0) - Win the automatic bid; perfect through the Big South regular season and tournament; this helps out bubble teams.

Colonial (Quarterfinals):

5. Northeastern 50 (13-19, 9-9)
4. Drexel 64 (23-7, 13-5)

6. George Mason 64 (17-14, 9-9)
3. Hofstra 61 (22-9, 14-4)

7. Towson 55 (15-17, 8-100
2. Old Dominion 58 (24-7, 15-3)

9. Georgia St. 60 (11-20, 5-13)
1. VCU 73 (25-6, 16-2)

Horizon League (Semifinals):

3. Loyola Chicago 66 (21-11, 10-6)
2. (18) Butler 67 OT (27-5, 13-3)

4. Wisc. Green Bay 51 (18-15, 7-9)
1. Wright St. 67 (22-9, 13-3)

Metro Atlantic (Quarterfinals):

6. Fairfield 72 (13-19, 10-9)
3. Loyola (MD) 76 (18-12, 13-6)

8. Canisius 63 (12-19, 6-12)
1. Marist 87 (24-7, 14-4)

7. Rider 52 (16-15, 9-9)
2. Niagara 77 (20-11, 13-5)

5. Manhattan 72 (13-17, 10-8)
4. Siena 75 (19-11, 12-6)

Mid-Continent (Quarterfinals):

7. Western Ill. 57 (7-23, 3-11)
2. Oakland 74 (18-13, 10-4)

8. Centenary 59 (10-21, 3-11)
1. Oral Roberts 79 (21-10, 12-2)

Missouri Valley:

3. Missouri St. 58 (22-10, 12-6) - Very much a bubble team, but I think they're in.
2. Creighton 75 (21-10, 13-5)

4. Bradley 51 (21-12, 10-8) - I don't think they're in.
1. (11) Southern Illinois 53 (27-5, 15-3)

Ohio Valley (Finals):

2. Eastern Kentucky 63 (21-11, 13-7) - Win the automatic bid.
1. Austin Peay 62 (21-11, 16-14)

Southern (Finals):

3. Charleston 65 (22-11, 13-5)
1. Davidson 72 (29-4, 17-1) - Win the automatic bid; more good news for bubble teams.

West Coast (2nd Round):

3. St. Mary's 87 (16-14, 8-6)
7. Portland 47 (8-22, 4-10)

5. San Diego 77 (18-13, 6-8)
4. San Francisco 75 (13-18, 8-6)

Florida 85 Kentucky 72

2007-03-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

Kentucky played a good 1st half against Florida, but let the game get away in the 2nd half. I would say Kentucky played a great 1st half, but they didn't rebound. When UK has 43 points at halftime, they have to be winning. Today they let Florida have way too many 2nd chance points. The defense wasn't great in the 1st half, but it was good enough to force Florida into a lot of misses. UK just couldn't rebound and it negated the great offensive flow that the Cats were in.

Florida got off to a good start in the 2nd half, and Kentucky went cold. There were then some very questionable calls that went against UK. The Kentucky players looked like they thought that Florida was able to get away with fouls, but they were called against UK on the other end. This is when it seemed like the Kentucky players pretty much gave up. Nobody played well in the 2nd half. Morris couldn't stay on the court, because of fouls, and Perry went cold. Kentucky couldn't stop Florida from getting easy shots, and the game was over with about 10 minutes left.

It was good to see Perry shoot so well, especially in the 1st half. If Morris could have played more, then UK might have had a shot. But it doesn't matter now. If Perry continues to play well, and Morris gets his usual numbers, then the Cats will have a good run in the SEC Tournament. I think Tubby just needs to act like the season is starting over, and the last 4 months don't matter. Kentucky is capable of playing with anybody, especially on a neutral court, but they are also capable of getting blown out by anybody. It will be interesting to see which team shows up in Atlanta on Thursday.

Friday's Scores

2007-03-02T21:46:00.000-08:00

Pennsylvania locks up the first automatic bid with their win over Yale. The Ivy League has no conference tournament.

Conference Tournaments:

American East Conference (First Round):

9. Stony Brook 47 (9-20, 4-12)
8. Hartford 49 (13-17, 6-10)

Atlantic Sun Conference (Semifinals):

4. Lipscomb 72 (18-13, 11-7)
1. East Tenn. St. 77 (24-8, 16-2)

2. Belmont 79 (22-9, 14-4)
6. Campbell 63 (14-17, 7-11)

Colonial Athletic Conference (First Round):

9. Georgia St. 70 (11-19, 5-13)
8. William & Mary 68 (15-15, 8-10)

12. Delaware 67 (5-26, 3-15)
5. Northeastern 77 (13-18, 9-9)

10. N.C. Wilmington 52 (7-22, 4-14)
7. Towson 67 (15-16, 8-10)

11. James Madison 62 (7-23, 4-14)
6. George Mason 73 (16-14, 9-9)

Horizon League (Second Round):

6. Ill. Chicago 62 (14-18, 7-9)
3. Loyola Chicago 66 (21-10, 10-6) - Get another shot at Butler.

4. Wisc. Green Bay 72 (18-14, 7-9)
5. Youngstown St. 55 (14-17, 7-9)

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (First Round):

9. St. Peter's 48 (5-25, 3-15)
8. Canisius 62 (12-18, 6-12)

10. Iona 62 (2-28, 1-17)
7. Rider 77 (16-14, 9-9)

Missouri Valley Conference (Quarterfinals): Anything could still happen with all 4 of the top seeds going to the semifinals. I think SIU, Creighton, and Missouri St. are all in, but Bradley is very capable of winning this tournament also and getting the automatic bid.

9. Drake 59 (17-15, 6-12)
1. (11) Southern Illinois 71 (26-5, 15-3) - Won 12 straight.

5. Northern Iowa 48 (18-13, 9-9)
4. Bradley 51 (21-11, 10-8)

10. Indiana St. 38 (13-18, 5-13)
2. Creighton 59 (20-10, 13-5)

6. Wichita St. 64 (17-14, 8-10)
3. Missouri St. 67 (22-9, 12-6)

Ohio Valley Conference (Semifinals):

1. Austin Peay 65 (21-10, 16-4)
5. Samford 55 (16-16, 12-8)

2. Eastern Kentucky 57 (20-11, 13-7)
3. Tennessee Tech 54 (19-13, 13-7)

Southern Conference:

1. Davidson 91 (28-4, 17-1) - I think they are already in, but will get a chance to lock it up.
5. Furman 68 (15-16, 8-10)

2. Appalachian St. 87 (25-7, 15-3) - Some thought they could get in, but shouldn't after this.
3. Charleston 89 OT (22-10, 13-5) - Could pull off a huge surprise in the finals.

West Coast Conference (First Round):

8. Pepperdine 82 (8-23, 4-10)
5. San Diego 95 (17-13, 6-8)

6. Loyola Marymount 41 (13-18, 5-9)
7. Portland 55 (9-22, 4-10)

Thursday's Scores

2007-03-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(2) UCLA 53 (26-3, 15-2) - Win the Pac-10; have pretty much locked up a #1 seed.
(13) Washington St. 45 (23-6, 12-5) - vs. USC on Saturday.

(6) Memphis 78 (26-3, 15-0) - Haven't lost since December 20th.
UTEP 67 (14-15, 6-9)

(8) North Carolina 77 (24-6, 10-5) - Lost 2 straight; vs. Duke on Sunday.
Georgia Tech 84 (19-10, 7-8) - Great win to improve their NCAA status.

(10) Nevada (26-3, 13-2) - Very tough place to play every year.
Utah St. 79 OT (21-9, 9-6)

(21) Virginia Tech 56 (20-9, 19-5) - Fall into a 3-way tie for 2nd in the ACC.
Virginia 69 (20-8, 10-4) - A win @ Wake would win the ACC outright.

(23) USC 70 (21-9, 11-6) - @ Washington St. on Saturday won't be any easier.
Washington 85 (17-12, 7-10)

Other Scores:

Arizona 70 (19-9, 10-7) - Continue to play well vs. the Pac-10 teams below them.
California 65 (14-15, 6-11)

Arizona St. 53 (7-21, 1-16)
Stanford 63 (18-10, 10-7) - I still think they need to beat Arizona on Saturday.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Miami (OH) 45 (15-13, 10-5)
Ohio 52 (18-11, 9-6)

Ark. Pine Bluff 50 (11-18, 9-9)
Miss. Valley St. 63 (16-14, 13-5) - Win the SWAC, which is by far the worst conference in the NCAA.

Conference Tournaments:

Atlantic Sun:
7. Gardner-Webb 61 (9-21, 7-11)
2. Belmont 79 (21-9, 14-4)

6. Campbell 90 (14-16, 7-11)
3. Jacksonville 85 OT (15-14, 11-7)

8. Stetson 61 (11-20, 6-12)
1. E. Tenn. St. 77 (23-8, 16-2)

4. Lipscomb 85 (18-12, 11-7)
5. Mercer 49 (13-17, 8-10)

Big South:
2. High Point 81 (22-10, 11-3)
6. VMI 91 (14-18, 5-9) - Pretty big upset; play Winthrop in finals.

5. N.C. Asheville 60 (12-19, 6-8)
1. Winthrop 79 (27-4, 14-0) - Just one more win to guarantee an NCAA bid.

Missouri Valley Conference:
9. Drake 101 (17-14, 6-12)
8. Evansville 96 OT (14-17, 6-12)

10. Indiana St. 68 (13-17, 5-13)
7. Illinois St. 65 (15-16, 6-12)

Northeast Conference:
7. Wagner 68 (11-19, 8-10)
2. Sacred Heart 100 (17-13, 12-6)

8. St. Francis (NY) 61 (9-22, 7-11)
1. Cent. Conn. St. 79 (20-11, 16-2)

4. Robert Morris 61 (17-11, 9-9)
5. Mount St. Mary's 78 (11-19, 9-9)

3. Quinnipiac 78 (14-14, 11-7)
6. Fairleigh Dickinson 77 (14-16, 9-9)

Southern Conference:
8. Chattanooga 68 (15-18, 6-12)
1. Davidson 78 (27-4, 17-1) - Few agree, but I think they've already done enough to deserve an NCAA bid.

6. Georgia Southern 66 (15-16, 7-11)
3. Charleston 77 (21-10, 13-5)

7. Western Carolina 59 (11-20, 7-11)
2. Appalachian St. 78 (25-6, 15-3)

5. Furman 73 (15-15, 8-10)
4. N.C. Greensboro 71 (16-14, 12-6)

Wednesday's Scores

2007-02-28T21:03:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(7) Texas A&M 96 (24-5, 12-3) - Drop into a tie with Texas for 2nd.
(15) Texas 98 2OT - A win @ Kansas on Saturday would win the Big 12.

(24) Maryland 85 (23-7, 9-7) - Won 6 straight; Greatly improve their seed with a 3-0 record vs. Duke and North Carolina.
(14) Duke 77 (22-8, 8-7) - 4th home ACC loss; need a win @ UNC to stay above .500 in the ACC.

(19) Vanderbilt 99 (20-9, 10-5) - Barely squeak by, but secure 2nd in the SEC East.
South Carolina 90 OT (14-14, 4-11)

Other Scores:

Georgia 70 (17-11, 8-7) - Must win vs. Tennessee for any NCAA hopes.
Kentucky 82 (20-9, 9-6) - Much needed win; @ Florida on Sunday.

Baylor 74 (13-15, 3-12)
Texas Tech 85 (19-11, 8-7) - Can't slip up @ Iowa St. on Saturday.

Miami (FL) 70 (11-18, 4-11)
Clemson 74 OT (20-9, 6-9) - Need another ACC win badly.

Villanova 78 (20-9, 8-7) - Good road win to keep them in NCAA contention.
UConn 74 (17-12, 6-9)

Minnesota 47 (9-21, 3-13)
Purdue 66 (19-10, 9-7) - Still clinging on to some NCAA hopes.

Iowa 72 (16-13, 8-7) - Any NCAA hopes they had are now gone.
Penn St. 74 (11-17, 2-13)

St. Joseph's 62 (17-12, 9-6)
Xavier 72 (22-7, 12-3) - Won 7 straight.

UNLV 85 (24-6, 11-4) - Won 10 of last 12 which is important for making the tournament.
New Mexico 83 (15-15, 4-11)

Kentucky's Opponents:

LSU 68 (15-14, 4-11) - May miss the NIT even with the win over Florida.
Auburn 80 (17-13, 7-8) - Climb back into a 4-way tie for 1st in the SEC West.

Mississippi St. 58 (16-12, 7-8) - vs. Alabama on Sunday is huge.
Arkansas 67 (17-12, 6-9)

Mississippi 58 (18-11, 7-8) - vs. Auburn on Saturday to try to stay in 1st.
Alabama 69 (20-9, 7-8) - Another one of the 4 1st place SEC West teams.

Indiana 69 (19-9, 9-6) - vs. Penn St. on Saturday should be an easy 20th win.
Northwestern 65 (13-16, 2-13)

Houston 72 (15-14, 9-6)
UCF 75 OT (21-8, 10-5)

La Salle 63 (10-19, 3-12)
UMass 102 (22-7, 12-3)

Conference Tournaments:

Southern Conference:

Wofford 55 (10-20, 5-13)
Chattanooga 64 (15-17, 6-12)

Elon 65 (7-23, 5-13)
Western Carolina 69 (11-19, 7-11)

Georgia Southern 62 (15-15, 7-11)
The Citadel 46 (7-23, 4-14)

Sun Belt Conference:

LA Lafayette 78 (9-21, 7-11)
North Texas 93 (20-10, 10-8)

Ark. Little Rock 70 (13-17, 8-10)
New Orleans 77 (14-16, 9-9)

Middle Tenn. St. 72 (14-16, 8-10)
Troy 64 (13-17, 8-10)

Florida Intl. 88 (12-17, 7-11)
Florida Atlantic 91 OT (15-15, 10-8)

LA Monroe 83 (18-13, 11-7)
Denver 67 (4-25, 3-15)

Patriot League:

Colgate 44 (10-19, 5-9)
American 59 (16-13, 7-7)

Navy 43 (14-16, 4-10)
Bucknell 62 (21-8, 13-1)

Lafayette 53 (9-21, 3-11)
Holy Cross 83 (23-8, 13-1)

Lehigh 46 (12-19, 7-7)
Army 47 (15-15, 4-10)

Kentucky 82 Georgia 70

2007-02-28T20:52:00.000-08:00

UK got a much needed win on Senior Night in Lexington over Georgia. Kentucky played with the same kind of attitude that they had in the 1st half vs. Vandy, but this time they kept it up throughout the whole game. The defense was pressuring the ball and getting in the passing lanes, and the offense moved the ball to create easy shots. Bobby Perry had 22 points on 8-12 shooting, including 4-7 3 pointers. When Perry plays like that, Kentucky is a totally different team. It opened up the middle for Morris who had 17 points in just 17 minutes. Tubby let the seniors play a lot tonight, and he mixed in the freshmen quite a bit also. Jasper and Porter combined for just 5 points, but they had a total of 9 assists. I think it's very important to get Porter more minutes, so Bradley can play more at shooting guard when Jasper isn't in the game. Bradley scored 18, had 6 rebounds, and 5 assists on what seemed to be a quiet night until I looked at the box score. Meeks also had another solid game with 11 points.

The main negative was once again turnovers. I thought that Kentucky did as good a job denying penetration tonight as they have all year, and it forced Georgia to shoot low percentage shots. But UK gave up the ball 17 times, much of them being just careless turnovers once again.

This gives Kentucky another 20 win season, and some momentum going down to Florida on Sunday. Hopefully the Cats will build on a good performance and go on a run at the most important time of the year.

Tuesday's Scores

2007-02-27T20:54:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(5) Florida 76 (25-5, 12-3) - Lost 2 straight and 3 of 4.
Tennessee 86 (20-9, 8-6) - Go undefeated at home; @ Georgia on Saturday.

West Virginia 66 (20-8, 8-7) - Lost 4 of 6; should get 1 more win vs. Cinci. on Saturday.
(12) Pittsburgh 80 (25-5, 12-3) - Big game @ Marquette on Saturday.

BYU 62 (22-7, 12-3) - Big road win; keep lead in the MWC.
(25) Air Force 58 (23-7, 10-6) - Lost 3 straight; 1st home loss all year; 3rd place in MWC.

Other Scores:

Kansas St. 70 (20-10, 9-6) - Really need a win vs. Oklahoma on Saturday.
Oklahoma St. 84 (20-9, 6-8) - Stops 4 game losing streak; still need to take care of business @ Baylor and Nebraska.

Michigan St. 56 (21-9, 8-7) - Stops 4 game winning streak; 1-7 on the road this year; @ Wisconsin on Saturday.
Michigan 67 (20-10, 8-7) - A win vs. Ohio St. on Saturday could put them in the tournament.

Horizon Tournament:

Detroit 80 (11-19, 6-10)
Youngstown St. 82 (14-16, 7-9)

Wis. Milwaukee 77 (9-22, 6-10)
Ill. Chicago 83 (14-17, 7-9)

Ohio Valley Tournament:

Samford 70 (16-15, 12-8)
Murray St. 60 (16-14, 13-7)

Tennessee St. 84 (12-20, 8-12)
Austin Peay 89 OT (20-10, 16-4)

Morehead St. 45 (12-18, 8-12)
Eastern Kentucky 63 (19-11, 13-7)

SE Missouri St. 60 (11-20, 9-11)
Tennessee Tech 88 (19-12, 13-7)

Big South Tournament:

Radford 73 (8-22, 3-11)
High Point 90 (22-9, 11-3)

Virginia Military 79 (13-18, 5-9)
Liberty 78 (14-17, 8-6)

Charleston Southern 42 (8-22, 2-12)
Winthrop 72 (26-4, 14-0)

N.C. Asheville 77 (12-18, 6-8)
Coastal Carolina 64 (15-15, 7-7)

Conference Tournaments

2007-02-27T13:38:00.000-08:00

I've added links on the right side of the page, so you can follow all of the conference tournaments. Most of the matchups haven't yet been decided, but the brackets will fill out when all of the regular season games are done.

The Big South, Horizon, and Ohio Valley all get started with their tournaments tonight.

Big South: Winthrop is the clear favorite at 25-4 and 14-0 in conference. They have a chance to get in with an at-large bid, but they would probably need to get to the championship game. If somebody else wins the league, Winthrop may still get in and spoil another bubble team's hopes.

Horizon: Butler has been ranked almost all year, and are a lock for an NCAA bid. But, they lost homecourt advantage to Wright St. If someone other than Butler wins, this will be a 2 bid league.

OVC: Really rewards regular season play by only taking 8 teams to the tournament, and letting the top 4 teams host the first round. Austin Peay won the league and should be the favorite. The rest of the conference was jammed together with a 3-way tie for 2nd. This is a one bid league no matter who wins.

Monday's Scores

2007-02-26T21:55:00.000-08:00

The first conference tournament games start on Tuesday, and I'll track every one of them up until Selection Sunday.

Top 25:

(3) Kansas 67 (26-4, 13-2) - #1 seed is looking more likely if they keep winning; vs. Texas on Saturday.
Oklahoma 65 (15-13, 6-9)

(9) Georgetown 58 (22-6, 12-3) - Stops 11 game winning streak; still in 1st in the Big East.
Syracuse 72 (21-8, 10-5) - Very big win that should make them a lock in the NCAA Tournament.

Other Scores:

Gonzaga 74 (21-10, 11-3) - Win another WCC title.
San Diego 64 (16-13, 6-8)

Kentucky's Opponents:

Santa Clara 82 (20-9, 10-4) - Lose last 2 games, and blow their chance at winning the WCC.
Pepperdine 89 OT (8-22, 4-10)

Grambling St. 55 (10-13, 8-8)
Miss. Valley St. 64 (15-14, 12-5)

Sunday's Scores

2007-02-25T22:47:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(1) Wisconsin 48 (26-4, 12-3) - Lost 2 straight; short stay at #1.
(2) Ohio St. 49 (26-3, 14-1) - Won 13 straight.

(5) North Carolina 87 (24-5, 10-4) - Allow Virginia and Virginia Tech to climb into a tie for 1st in the ACC.
Maryland 89 (22-7, 8-6) - Won 5 straight; @ Duke on Wed.

Houston 64 (15-13, 9-5)
(7) Memphis 77 (25-3, 14-0) - Won 17 straight; could they get a #1 seed if they don't lose all the way up until Selection Sunday?

Kentucky 65 (19-9, 8-6) - Lost 4 of 5; really need a win vs. Georgia on Wed.
(17) Vanderbilt 67 (19-9, 9-5) - Pretty much a lock for 2nd place in the SEC East now.

(18) Duke 67 (22-7, 8-6) - 2 big game left vs. Maryland and @ UNC.
St. John's 50 (15-14, 6-9)

(20) Louisville 76 (21-8, 11-4) - Won 5 straight including 3 on the road.
UConn 69 (17-11, 6-8) - It's amazing how little you hear from the media about their poor season.

Other Games:

Arizona 61 (18-9, 9-7) - Any win is good for them right now; 2 away games @ Stanford and California remaining.
Arizona St. 58 (7-20, 1-15)

Vanderbilt 67 Kentucky 65

2007-02-25T19:37:00.000-08:00

Once again Kentucky choked down the stretch to lose yet another game. For the first time in 4 games, UK actually got off to a good start. They played hard for 30 minutes, but when Vandy committed to playing a zone, UK had no chance. Kentucky looked like they were just doing a walk-through on offense against Vandy's zone. Woo and Perry both had good games, but bad play from Bradley, Crawford, and Morris cost the Cats. The 3 juniors combined for 21 points and 10 turnovers.

Point guard play killed Kentucky today. Jasper is pretty much dead weight on the court now. He had 3 turnovers in 10 minutes and didn't attempt a shot. He also only plays defense with his arms, and never moves his feet. This makes it simple for his man to drive right past him. Bradley is also failing at the point. He doesn't even seem to attempt to get the rest of the team involved on offense, and makes turnovers at the worst times.

Some might think that there were positives to take away from today's game. After all, UK did manage to go into a hostile environment and almost pull off an upset. But, this game sums up the play of the whole year, especially in late game situations. It doesn't matter how well you shoot when you turn the ball over so much. Kentucky was even with Vandy in rebounds at 28, but Vandy had 15 more shot attempts. The defense was good, and the shooting was good, but the turnovers killed UK. The guards have to just not give the ball away. They don't have to take over and be heroes, they just have to not lose the game.

Saturday's Scores

2007-02-24T13:13:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(3) Florida 56 (25-4, 12-2) - Might have been looking ahead to @ Tenn and vs. UK.
LSU 66 (15-13, 4-10) - I don't think there is any question that they don't play better without Glenn Davis; could make some noise in the SEC Tournament.

Stanford 61 (17-10, 9-7) - Really need a win vs. Arizona on Thursday.
(4) UCLA 75 (25-3, 14-2) - Clinched at least a tie for the Pac-10 crown.

Iowa St. 52 (14-14, 5-9)
(6) Kansas 89 (25-4, 12-2) - Last 6 have been easy, but @ Oklahoma and vs. Texas may be harder.

Baylor 87 (13-14, 3-11)
(8) Texas A&M 97 (24-4, 12-2) - @ Texas on Wednesday.

(9) Washington St. 58 (23-5, 12-4) - Still in 2nd in the Pac-10; last 2 are vs. UCLA and USC.
Oregon St. 54 (11-19, 3-14)

(10) Pittsburgh 53 (24-5, 11-3) - 1st road loss in the Big East.
(12) Georgetown 61 (22-4, 12-2) - Now in first by themselves in the Big East.

(11) Nevada 95 (26-2, 13-1) - Last road game @ Utah St. on Thursday.
Boise St. 81 (16-11, 8-6)

Evansville 69 (14-16, 6-12)
(13) Southern Illinois 76 (25-5, 15-3) - Won 11 straight; win MVC by 2 games.

(14) Air Force 66 (23-6, 10-5) - Can't win the MWC after this loss; lost 2 in a row; vs. BYU on Tuesday.
TCU 71 (11-15, 3-11) - Stops 11 game losing streak.

Detroit 36 (11-18, 6-10)
(15) Butler 56 (26-5, 13-3) - Need a good showing in their conference tournament after losing 3 of 6.

(16) Marquette 73 (22-8, 9-6) - Lost 4 of 5; vs. Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Notre Dame 85 (22-6, 10-5) - Won 4 straight.

(19) Texas 68 (21-7, 11-3) - Big road win; still have vs. A&M and @ Kansas.
Oklahoma 58 (15-12, 6-8)

(21) BYU 74 (21-7, 11-3) - @ Air Force on Tuesday to try to clinch the conference.
San Diego St. 86 (20-8, 9-5) - Could make a run in the MWC tournament.

Washington 85 (16-12, 6-10)
(23) Oregon 93 (22-7, 10-7) - Just 1 game left, vs. Oregon St. on Saturday.

Georgia Tech 69 (18-9, 6-7) - Really need a win vs. UNC or BC.
(24) Virginia 75 (19-8, 10-4) - Stay tied for 2nd in the ACC; huge game vs. Va. Tech on Thursday.

Auburn 86 (16-13, 6-8)
(25) Alabama 77 (19-9, 6-8) - Swept by Auburn; lost 4 of 5.

Other Games:

Oklahoma St. 57 (19-9, 5-8) - Must win last 3 to get to .500 in the conference.
Texas Tech 59 (18-11, 7-7) - Good chance to get to 9-7 in the Big 12 with vs. Baylor and @ Iowa St.

Kansas St. 87 (20-9, 9-5) - 20+ wins and a winning conference record should help them get in.
Colorado 71 (6-18, 2-12)

Clemson 54 (19-9, 5-9) - Lost 9 of last 12; can't finish at .500 in the ACC.
Boston College 59 (19-9, 10-5) - Stops 3 game losing streak; @ Ga.Tech to close out the regular season on March 4th.

Miami (FL) 57 (11-17, 4-10)
Virginia Tech 73 (20-8, 10-4) - Still in 2nd place in the ACC.

Syracuse 71 (20-8, 9-5) - vs. Georgetown on Monday could be a huge win.
Providence 67 (17-10, 7-7) - @ South Fla. and St. John's could help them get into the tournament.

Rutgers 51 (10-18, 3-12)
Villanova 74 (19-9, 7-7) - Manage to stay alive for another day.

Illinois 68 (21-9, 9-6) - Probably are in the tournament with this win.
Penn St. 50 (10-17, 1-13)

Purdue 75 (18-10, 7-7) - Could get to 20 wins with vs. Minnesota and Northwestern.
Northwestern 68 (13-15, 2-12)

California 66 (14-14, 6-10)
USC 84 (21-8, 11-5) - Can still climb into 2nd place with wins next week.

Gonzaga 86 (20-10, 10-3) - Still have good chance at an automatic bid due to difficult nonconference schedule.
San Francisco 79 OT (12-17, 7-6)

Winthrop 83 (25-4, 14-0) - Go undefeated in the conference; only losses to UNC, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Texas A&M.
Coastal Carolina 69 (15-14, 7-7)

Wichita St. 54 (17-13, 8-10) - Big let down after starting out 9-0.
Creighton 71 (19-10, 13-5) - Big win after losing 2 straight; should be in for sure now.

Drake 74 (16-14, 6-12)
Missouri St. 92 (21-9, 12-6) - This was a must win and they did just that.

Davidson 87 (26-4, 17-1) - Win the Southern Conference with just 1 loss.
Citadel 70 (7-22, 4-14)

Kentucky's Opponents:

Mississippi 63 (18-10, 7-7) - I guess nobody want to win the SEC West.
South Carolina 76 (14-13, 4-10) - Gearing up for another NIT; could surprise Vandy on Wednesday.

Mississippi St. 73 (16-11, 7-7) - Just 1-5 vs. the SEC East.
Georgia 86 (17-10, 8-6) - 2 big games left: @ UK, vs. Tenn.

Tennessee 83 (20-9, 8-6) - vs. Florida on Tuesday.
Arkansas 72 (16-12, 5-9)

Indiana 58 (18-9, 8-6) - Lost 5 of 7, but last 2 are @ Northwestern and vs. Penn St.
Michigan St. 66 (21-8, 8-6) - Won 4 in a row, and go for the sweep @ Wisconsin on Saturday.

Santa Clara 66 (20-8, 10-3) - Loss hurts their WCC champion chances; tied with Gonzaga for 1st.
Loyola Marymount 67 (13-16, 5-8)

Cincinnati 45 (10-18, 1-13)
DePaul 58 (17-12, 8-7)

St. Louis 50 (17-11, 7-7)
UMass 53 (21-7, 11-3)

Eastern Kentucky 65 (18-11, 13-7)
Tennessee St. 53 (12-19, 8-12)

Jackson St. 70 (16-12, 10-5)
Miss. Valley St. 77 (14-14, 11-5)

N.C. Greensboro 68 (16-13, 12-6)
Chattanooga 61 (14-17, 6-12)

Buffalo 68 (11-16, 3-10)
Miami (OH) 80 (15-12, 10-4)

Charleston 65 (20-10, 13-5)
Georgia Southern 74 (14-15, 6-12)

Thursday's Scores

2007-02-22T20:43:00.001-08:00

Top 25:

California 75 (14-13, 6-9)
(4) UCLA 85 (24-3, 13-2) - Now 2 full games ahead of 2nd in the Pac-10.

Rice 63 (13-13, 7-6)
(7) Memphis 99 (24-3, 13-0) - Still going for the conference season and tournament sweep.

(9) Washington St. 59 (22-5, 11-4) - Not a bad road loss; still have vs. UCLA and USC.
(23) Oregon 64 (21-7, 9-7) - Very big win; last 2 are @ home.

(11) Nevada 84 (25-2, 12-1) - @ Boise St. and @ Utah St. could be losses, but they've put together an impressive resume already.
Idaho 68 (3-24, 1-13)

Loyola Chicago 75 (20-9, 10-5)
(15) Butler 71 (25-5, 12-3) - Lost 3 of 5; these 3 conference losses are going to hurt their seed significantly.

(18) Duke 71 (21-7, 8-6) - Should have no trouble at St. John's on Sunday.
Clemson 66 (19-8, 5-8) - Tournament hopes are really starting to fade; lost 8 of 10; still have @ BC and @ Va. Tech.

Other Scores:

Stanford 65 (17-9, 9-6) - Lost 4 of 7; @ UCLA on Saturday.
USC 69 (20-8, 10-5) - Good win to break tie with Stanford for 3rd in the Pac-10.

Furman 57 (14-14, 8-9)
Davidson 75 (25-4, 16-1) - won 9 of 10 and 20 of 21; making a strong push for an NCAA bid.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Citadel 40 (7-21, 4-13)
Charleston 50 (20-9, 13-4)

Eastern Kentucky 68 (17-11, 12-7)
Austin Peay 77 (19-9, 16-3)

Thursday

2007-02-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

Wednesday's Scores

2007-02-21T20:30:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

Penn St. 60 (10-16, 1-12)
(2) Ohio St. 68 (25-3, 13-1) - vs. Wisconsin on Sunday to decide the Big 10.

South Carolina 49 (13-13, 3-10)
(3) Florida 63 (25-3, 12-1) - Should still easily be a #1 seed.

N.C. State 64 (14-12, 4-9)
(5) North Carolina 83 (24-4, 10-3) - Still have @ Maryland, @ GT, and vs. Duke.

(8) Texas A&M 66 (23-4, 11-2) - Stay in a tie with Kansas for 1st in the Big 12.
Oklahoma St. 46 (19-8, 5-7) - Need some conference wins; if they don't get them vs. the rest of their easier schedule, then they're in trouble.

(12) Georgetown 75 (21-5, 11-2) - Won 10 straight; vs. Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Cincinnati 65 (10-17, 1-12)

(13) Southern Illinois 58 (24-5, 14-3) - Keep improving their seed.
Indiana St. 50 (12-16, 5-12)

(17) Vanderbilt 70 (18-9, 8-5) - Loss brings them into a tie with Kentucky for 2nd in the SEC East; vs. UK on Sunday.
Mississippi St. 83 (16-10, 7-6) - Tied for 1st with Ole Miss in the West.

St. John's 48 (15-13, 6-9)
(20) Louisville 72 (20-8, 10-4) - @ UConn and vs. Seton Hall should be wins to close out the season.

Colorado St. 67 (15-11, 5-9)
(21) BYU 76 (21-6, 11-2) - Won 7 straight.

(24) Virginia 60 (18-8, 9-4) - bad road loss takes them out of 1st in the ACC.
Miami (FL) 68 (11-16, 4-9)

(25) Alabama 66 (19-8, 6-7) - Need to win 2 of 3 to get to .500 in the SEC.
Tennessee 69 OT (19-9, 7-6) - Still undefeated at home and still host Florida next week.

Other Scores:

Florida St. 55 (17-11, 5-9) - Lost 5 in a row; must win last 2 to have a chance at an NCAA bid.
Maryland 73 (21-7, 7-6) - Won 4 straight, but still have vs. UNC and @ Duke left.

Boston College 62 (18-9, 9-5) - Lost 3 straight.
Virginia Tech 79 (19-8, 9-4) - Good win to move back into a tie for 2nd in the ACC.

Wake Forest 61 (13-14, 4-10)
Georgia Tech 75 (18-9, 6-7) - Should be in with one more win.

Michigan 42 (18-10, 6-7) - Only shot to get in would be to win out, including vs. Ohio St.
Illinois 54 (20-9, 8-6) - Should win last 2, but they're both on the road.

Purdue 59 (17-10, 6-7) - Needed this game badly; should win last 3.
Iowa 78 (16-12, 8-6) - 8-6 nonconference record hurts them even with their pretty good Big 10 record.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Arkansas 59 (16-11, 5-8) - Is this Stan Heath's last year? I'd hope so if I were an Arkansas fan.
Auburn 67 (15-13, 5-8)

Georgia 49 (16-10, 7-6) - In bad shape with last 3 vs. Miss. St, @ UK, vs. Tenn.
Mississippi 67 (18-9, 7-6) - It's going to be hard to keep the winner of the SEC West out of the tournament, and they are tied for 1st.

Minnesota 59 (9-19, 3-11)
Indiana 71 (18-8, 8-5) - Could really help their seed with a win @ Michigan St. on Saturday.

St. Bonaventure 44 (6-20, 3-10)
UMass 83 (20-7, 10-3)

Tulane 70 (13-12, 6-7)
Houston 78 (15-12, 9-4)

Akron 62 (20-6, 10-3)
Miami (OH) 64 OT (14-12, 9-4)

Tuesday's Scores

2007-02-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(1) Wisconsin 55 (26-3, 12-2) - They're a very good team, but they have been beating weak teams to get this rating.
Michigan St. 64 (20-8, 7-6) - Very good win, but still have 3 games that could all go either way.

(14) Air Force 50 (23-5, 10-4) - Loss brings them into a tie with UNLV for 2nd.
UNLV 60 (23-6, 10-4) - Good payback win to solidify NCAA bid.

Texas Tech 51 (17-11, 6-7) - vs. Okla. St. on Saturday is huge.
(19) Texas 80 (20-7) - still have @ Oklahoma, vs. A&M, and @ Kansas.

(22) West Virginia 61 (20-7, 8-6) - Gone 1-2 since beating UCLA, but their ranking has gone up.
Providence 64 (17-9, 7-6) - Good shot at finish 3-0, and getting to 20 wins.

Other Scores:

LSU 63 (14-13, 3-10)
Kentucky 70 (19-8, 8-5) - Stops 3 game losing streak; @ Vandy on Sunday.

DePaul 54 (16-12, 7-7)
Notre Dame 78 (21-6, 9-5) - Won 3 straight.

Missouri St. 71 (20-9, 11-6) - Get to 20 wins which will help NCAA chances.
Wichita St. 65 (17-12, 8-9)

Northern Iowa 79 (17-12, 8-9)
Bradley 70 (19-11, 9-8) - I think they have too many losses to get in.

Creighton 55 (18-10, 12-5) - This loss hurts after losing their Bracket Buster; must win vs. Wichita St. on Saturday.
Illinois St. 65 (15-14, 6-11)

High Point 60 (20-9, 10-3)
Winthrop 72 (24-4, 13-0) - Just one more game to finish a perfect conference season.

Tuesday's Update

2007-02-21T01:17:00.000-08:00

I just arrived back home at 3:15 am after attending the UK vs. LSU game. Tuesday's Scores will be posted Wednesday afternoon.

Monday's Scores

2007-02-19T19:37:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(6) Kansas 71 (24-4, 11-2) - Just waiting for any of the teams above them to fall.
Kansas St. 62 (19-9, 8-5) - Good conference record, but still have @ Ok. St, and vs. Okla.

(10) Pittsburgh 71 (24-4, 11-2) - @ Georgetown on Saturday will probably decide the Big East winner.
Seton Hall 68 (12-14, 3-10)

(15) Butler 68 (25-4, 12-2) - Must win last 2 to have a chance at the conference title.
Wisc. Green Bay 58 (16-13, 7-8)

Villanova 67 (19-9, 6-7) - Need maybe 2 wins out of last 3.
(16) Marquette 80 (22-7, 9-5) - Stops 3 game losing streak. Last to are @ ND and vs. Pittsburgh.

Other Scores:

Wofford 73 (9-18, 4-12)
Davidson 80 (24-4, 15-1)

Kentucky's Opponents:

Houston 69 (14-12, 8-4)
Southern Miss. 74 (17-8, 7-5)

Charleston 80 (19-9, 12-4)
Furman 77 2OT (14-13, 8-8)

Elon 59 (6-21, 4-12)
Chattanooga 62 (14-16, 6-11)

Miss. Valley St. 63 (12-14, 9-5)
Texas Southern 47 (13-11, 9-4)

Saturday & Sunday's Scores

2007-02-18T21:32:00.000-08:00

Here's a 2 in 1 update with the whole weekend's results.

Top 25:

(1) Florida 70 (24-3, 11-1) - Very tough place to play.
Vanderbilt 83 (18-8, 8-4) - Should clinch and NCAA bid.

(2) Ohio St. 85 (24-3, 12-1) - Will be number 1 even though there will be 3 teams right below them that they've lost to.
Minnesota 67 (9-18, 3-10)

Penn St. 49
(3) Wisconsin 75 (26-2, 12-1) - Probably the new number 2. The weak Big 10 is really helping them and Ohio St. out.

(4) North Carolina 77 (23-4, 9-3) - Good road win to keep them in a tie for 1st in the ACC.
(21) Boston College 72 (18-8, 9-4) - Lost 2 straight.

(5) UCLA 81 (23-3, 12-2) - Still on top in the Pac-10.
Arizona 66 (17-9, 8-7) - Last 3 are all on the road. Could they miss the tournament if they go finish 1-2?

(6) Texas A&M 56 (22-4, 10-2) - @ Texas should be the only challenge left.
Oklahoma 49 (15-10, 6-6)

Washington 61 (16-10, 6-8)
(7) Pittsburgh 65 (23-4, 10-2) - Still have 3 tough games @ Georgetown, vs. WVU, and @ Marquette.

(8) Memphis 78 (23-3, 12-0) - 1st challene in a long time.
Gonzaga 77 OT (18-10, 8-3) - Their difficult schedule will still probably get them in.

Nebraska 39 (15-10, 4-7)
(9) Kansas 92 (23-4, 10-2) - Could end up with a 1 seed due to their easy schedule to end the season.

Northern Iowa 64 (16-12, 7-9)
(11) Nevada 79 (24-2, 11-1) - No problem with a MVC team.

Louisville 61 (19-8, 9-4) - Another huge win; don't have to worry about not making the tournament anymore.
(12) Marquette 59 (21-7, 8-5) - Lost 3 straight.

(16) Southern Illinois 68 (23-5, 13-3) - Great road win to improve their seed.
(13) Butler 64 (24-4, 11-2) - Need to avoid any more slip ups just to be safe.

(14) Georgetown 58 (20-5, 10-2) - Won 9 straight a might end up winning the Big East.
Villanova 55 (18-8, 6-6) - No big non-conference wins could hurt them.

(15) Oregon 69 (20-7, 8-7) - Lost 6 of 8.
Stanford 88 (17-8, 9-5) - A good week vs. the 2 LA teams, and they're in good shape.

Colorado St. 58 (15-10, 5-8)
(17) Air Force 67 (23-4, 10-3) - Big game @ UNLV on Tuesday.

Missouri 75 (16-9, 5-7)
(18) Oklahoma St. 64 (19-7, 5-6) - Lost 4 of 5, and still have vs. A&M and @ Tech.

(20) Kentucky 61 (18-8, 7-5) - Lost 3 straight; Must win vs. LSU on Tuesday.
(25) Alabama 72 (19-7, 6-6) - Should be in, but they're also capable of losing any (or all) of their remaining games.

(22) USC 58 (19-8, 9-5) - Odd things happen after big wins.
Arizona St. 68 (7-19, 1-14) - I thought they'd finally get a Pac-10 win soon.

Seton Hall 71 (12-13, 3-9)
(23) West Virginia 81 (20-6, 8-5) - next 2 are on the road.

(24) Indiana 55 (17-8, 7-5) - Lost 3 of 4.
Michigan 58 (18-9, 6-6)

Other Scores:

Bradley 73 (19-10, 9-7)
VCU 64 (22-6, 14-2) - Ends at large hopes.

Davidson 92 (23-4, 14-1) - Still have NCAA hopes.
Western Carolina 59 (10-17, 7-9)

Appalachian St. 60 (21-6, 12-3)
Wichita St. 58 (17-11, 8-8) - Either of these teams will have to win their conference tournament to get in.

Florida St. 70 (17-10, 5-8) - Lost 4 straight after winning @ Duke.
Virginia 73 (18-7, 9-3) - Still in a tie for 1st in the ACC, but still not rated.

UConn 63 (16-10, 5-7)
Syracuse 73 (19-8, 8-5) - Probably are in good enough shape.

UNLV 70 (22-6, 9-4) - Good road win; vs. Air Force on Tuesday.
Utah 57 (9-16, 4-8)

Drexel 64 (20-7, 11-5)
Creighton 58 (18-9, 12-4) - This home loss hurts alot.

Virginia Tech 56 (18-8, 8-4) - Can beat anybody, but can also lose to anybody.
N.C. State 81 (14-11, 4-8)

Maryland 82 (20-7, 6-6) - Playing themselves back into the tournament.
Clemson 66 (19-7, 5-7) - Lost 7 of 9.

Georgia Tech 62 (17-9, 5-7)
Duke 71 (20-7, 7-6) - 2 good wins after 4 straight losses.

Notre Dame 76 (20-6, 8-5)
Cincinnati 64 (10-16, 1-11)

Kentucky's Opponents:

Tennessee 64 (18-9, 6-6) - Bad loss with a tough remaining schedule left.
South Carolina 81 (13-12, 3-9)

Mississippi St. 56 (15-10, 6-6)
LSU 50 (14-12, 3-9)

Auburn 79 (14-13, 4-8)
Georgia 86 (16-9, 7-5)

Mississippi 66 (17-9, 6-6)
Arkansas 83 (16-10, 5-7)

Charleston 71 (18-9, 11-4)
Wofford 58 (9-17, 4-11)

DePaul 75 (16-11, 7-6)
South Florida 62 (12-15, 3-10)

Miami (OH) 70 (13-12, 8-4)
Indiana St. 58 (12-15, 5-11)

San Diego 72 (15-12, 5-7)
Santa Clara 80 (20-7, 10-2)

UAB 64 (13-13, 5-7)
Houston 70 (14-11, 8-3)

Eastern Kentucky 61 (17-10, 12-6)
Youngstown St. 66 (12-15, 6-8)

Miss. Valley St. 45 (12-14, 9-5)
Prairie View A&M 47 (6-19, 4-9)

UMass 77 (19-7, 9-3)
Dayton 69 (16-9, 6-6)

Jacksonville St. 64 (8-20, 6-12)
Chattanooga 75 (13-16, 5-11)

Alabama 72 Kentucky 61

2007-02-17T18:04:00.000-08:00

Another game, another early deficit for Kentucky. This time Kentucky was down double digits with 13:17 left in the 1st half. The lead was stretched to 14 when UK was down 20-6 with 8:02 remaining in the 1st. Tubby has got to prepare his team better to put them in a position to win the game. They're fighting an up hill battle, and the pattern is becoming obvious. Even though UK came back to cut it to 2, it never seemed like they could win. They once again let the guards drive by them at will, and gave up way to many wide open 3's. They've fallen to 3rd in the SEC East, and are in big trouble.

Tubby changed the starting five, allowing Thomas to start. He played 20 minutes and totaled 0 pts, 1 reb, 2 turnovers, and 4 fouls. The other senior forward, Bobby Perry, played 10 minutes and had 2 pts and 2 reb. Perry Stevenson played 9 minutes and had 2 pts, 3 reb, and a dunk that Thomas or Bobby Perry would have probably missed. It's obvious to everybody in Kentucky that Stevenson should be playing more, but Tubby doesn't see it. The whole team played better with Stevenson, and he gave them some needed energy. But he'll probably be the 3rd option again in the next game.

Stevenson first came in with 3:41 left in the 1st half. He was replaced just 1:39 later. How can he possibly contribute when he's not given a chance to play? Tubby is determined that Sheray and Bobby are better, but it isn't true. Stevenson next entered the game at the 12:04 mark when UK trailed by 11. He left with 8:09 remaining, and the Cats had cut the lead to 2. Why Tubby doesn't see Stevenson's importance is beyond me. When your team has lost 3 in a row, it's time to make some adjustments. It's obvious that Thomas and Perry haven't been able to make a difference throughout their careers. Tubby has to just put his pride behind him and admit that Stevenson is the answer. But, I think Tubby will instead go with his usually substitution patterns, and UK will continue to struggle.

Friday's Bracket Buster

2007-02-16T21:52:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Bracket Buster Saturday, but Friday's game might have busted Missouri State's bracket hopes. Tomorrow is a huge day for all of the Mid-Majors to prove they belong in the tournament.

Winthrop 77 (23-4, 12-0) - Won 13 straight; Only losses were to UNC, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Texas A&M; making a strong case for an at-large bid.
Missouri St. 66 (19-9, 10-6) - This was bad for their tournament chances. Will probably finish 3rd in the MVC, and they needed this win to show they were better than the Mid-Majors from other conferences. Instead, they suffered their worst home loss of the season.

Thursday's Scores

2007-02-15T22:58:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(5) UCLA 67 (22-3, 11-2) - @ Arizona on Saturday.
Arizona St. 61 (6-19, 0-14) - They're going to get a Pac-10 win soon; lost last 4 by a total of 14 points.

(15) Oregon 61 (20-6, 8-6) - Lost 5 of 7.
California 63 (13-12, 5-8)

(22) USC 80 (19-7, 9-4) - Good road win to stay ahead of Arizona in the Pac-10.
(19) Arizona 75 (17-8, 8-6) - 0-4 vs. 3 teams ahead of them in the conference.

(24) Indiana 68 (17-7, 7-4) - 1-4 on the road in the Big 10.
Purdue 81 (17-9, 6-6) - Last 4 games should be at least 3 wins, which would total up to 20. Do they still have a chance at an NCAA bid?

Other Scores:

Oregon St. 55 (10-17, 2-12)
Stanford 70 (16-8, 8-5) - Stops 2 game losing streak; next 4 are vs. Oregon, @ USC, @ UCLA, vs. Arizona.

Providence 78 (15-9, 5-6)
Notre Dame 81 (19-6, 7-5) - Had to have this win after losing to South Florida and DePaul.

Kentucky's Opponents:

UMass 74 (18-7, 8-3)
Fordham 59 (13-11, 6-6)

Jacksonville St. 51 (7-18, 6-12)
Eastern Kentucky 63 (15-9, 12-6) - Won 7 in a row.

Wednesday's Scores

2007-02-14T21:43:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(25) Alabama 67 (18-7, 5-6) - 2 huge games vs. Kentucky and @ Tennessee coming up; need at least a .500 SEC record.
(1) Florida 76 (24-2, 11-0) - Able to come from behind and stay undefeated in the SEC; @ Vandy on Saturday will be pretty hard.

(2) Ohio St. 64 (23-3, 11-1) - Almost blew a 21 point halftime lead.
Penn St. 62 (10-14, 1-10)

(3) Wisconsin 75 (25-2, 11-1) - Are Wisconsin and Ohio St. really this good, or is the Big 10 just down this year?
Minnesota 62 (9-17, 3-9)

(8) Memphis 69 (22-3, 12-0) - Go outside of the C-USA @ Gonzaga on Saturday.
Tulsa 52 (15-9, 5-6)

(9) Kansas 75 (22-4, 9-2) - Move into a tie with A&M for 1st in the Big 12.
Colorado 46 (6-15, 2-9)

(10) Washington St. 65 (22-4, 11-3) - Big road rivalry win.
Washington 61 (16-9, 6-8) - Had been playing more like a potential tournament team, but this hurts. Still have @ Pittsburgh, @ Oregon, vs. USC, vs. UCLA.

San Jose St. 60 (4-21, 3-10)
(11) Nevada 68 (23-2, 11-1) - Their Bracket Buster game vs. Northern Iowa should end up being pretty easy.

(12) Marquette 67 (21-6, 8-4) - Lost 2 in a row after winning 8 straight; vs. Louisville on Saturday is now to break the tie for 3rd in the Big East.
DePaul 72 (15-11, 6-6)

Utah 43 (9-15, 4-7)
(17) Air Force 69 (22-4, 9-3)

Duke 78 (19-7, 6-6) - Good win after losing 4 straight.
(21) Boston College 70 (18-7, 9-3) - vs. North Carolina on Saturday.

Other Scores:

Clemson 65 (19-6, 5-6) - Started off 3-0 in the ACC, but are in danger of having a losing conference record. Still have vs. Maryland, vs. Duke, @ B.C., @ Va. Tech.
Wake Forest 67 (12-13, 3-9)

Maryland 85 (19-7, 5-6) - Should be in with 20 wins playing in the ACC.
N.C. State 70 (13-11, 3-8)

Wichita St. 58 (17-10, 8-8) - Another MVC team that just has too many losses to get a NCAA bid. The wins over LSU and Syracuse just aren't very impressive anymore.
Drake 62 (14-13, 5-11)

New Mexico 83 (14-12, 3-8)
BYU 96 (20-6, 10-2) - Continue to lead the MWC; can you put Air Force and UNLV ahead of them if they finish below them in the conference?

Kentucky's Opponents:

LSU 70 (14-11, 3-8) - Would have to win out to finish at .500 in the SEC. It's not going to happen.
Mississippi 71 (17-8, 6-5) - Take over 1st by themselves in the SEC West; pretty favorable schedule remaining to stay on top and maybe make it into the NCAA Tournament.

South Carolina 68 (12-12, 2-9)
Vanderbilt 78 (17-8, 7-4) - Now tied for 2nd in the SEC East; a win vs. Florida on Saturday would put them in without a doubt.

Arkansas 60 (15-10, 4-7) - Lost 7 of last 10, and are probably not even a bubble team anymore.
Mississippi St. 84 (14-10, 5-6) - Their talent could really spoil some teams seasons for the rest of the year.

Kennesaw St. 66 (11-17, 7-8)
Georgia 75 (15-10, 6-5)

South Alabama 66 (20-7, 13-2) - Won 13 straight.
Houston 61 (13-11, 7-3)

Chattanooga 69 (12-16, 5-11)
Appalachian St. 85 (20-6, 12-3)

Miami (OH) 45 (12-12, 8-4)
Kent St. 61 (16-9, 9-3)

Tuesday's Scores

2007-02-13T22:14:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

Virginia Tech 81 (18-7, 8-3) - Huge road win; in a 3-way tie for 2nd in the ACC.
(4) North Carolina 80 OT (22-4, 8-3) - 1st home loss of the year; swept by Va. Tech.

Texas Tech 77 (16-10, 5-6) - Stops 5 game losing streak; impossible to figure this team out.
(6) Texas A&M 75 (21-4, 9-2) - Home loss opens up a chance for Kansas and Texas to move into 1st in the Big 12, especially with 3 road games left @ Oklahoma, Ok. St., and Texas.

Florida Gulf Coast 65
(13) Butler 79 (24-3, 11-2)

(16) Southern Illinois 51 (22-5, 13-3) - 8 straight wins; dominating the MVC.
Missouri St. 47 (19-8, 10-6) - A win would helped the NCAA hopes, but are still alive.

(20) Kentucky 85 (18-7, 7-4) - Weren't prepared once again, and couldn't quite come back once again.
Tennessee 89 (18-8, 6-5) - Playing so much better than they did in January.

Other Games:

Michigan 44 (17-9, 5-6)
Michigan St. 59 (18-8, 5-6) - Had to have this for NCAA hopes to stay alive.

Georgia Tech 63 (17-8, 5-6) - Won 4 straight, and could get an NCAA bid with statement wins with games vs. Duke, Virginia, North Carolina, and Boston College left.
Florida St. 57 (17-9, 5-7) - 2 straight home losses.

Northern Iowa 55 (16-11, 7-9) - Need to win the MVC tournament to get into the dance.
Creighton 66 (18-8, 12-4) - Should be in.

UNLV 52 (21-6, 8-4) - Need to be careful @ Utah on Saturday; still have vs. Air Force also.
San Diego St. 67 (18-7, 7-4) - Won 5 straight and could easily win the conference tournament which would screw up the bracket.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Samford 38 (14-12, 11-6)
Eastern Kentucky 46 (16-9, 11-6)

Tennessee 89 Kentucky 85

2007-02-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

Kentucky once again got too far behind and couldn't stop a Tennessee team who did whatever they wanted to against the Cats. This was maybe the worst defense I have seen Kentucky play since Tubby has been the coach. I can understand a team being able to shoot 3's all night and light up Kentucky, but tonight UT got to the rim at will. A team with a severe size disadvantage made UK look pathetic. While Kentucky was able to make it close and put up a lot of points of their own, they once again couldn't finish down the stretch.

However, this game shouldn't have even been this close. If Kentucky could keep from getting so far behind their opponents, they wouldn't spend so much energy trying to catch up often just to fizzle out at the end. I don't know why they are so unprepared, but I put most of the blame on the coaching staff. I've never been a "fire Tubby" kind of person, and you still can't fire him due to the success of the '03-05' teams, but he isn't putting UK in a position to win every game.

Look at some of the double digit deficits Kentucky has faced this year. This includes the earliest double digit margin, the largest margin, and the result.

vs. Miami (OH): -10 @ 11:39 (1st), -10 @ 6:48 (1st) = W +7
vs. UCLA: -10 @ 12:02 (1st), -17 @ 8:29 (1st) = L -5
vs. Memphis: -11 @ 15:20 (2nd), -23 @ 8:23 (2nd) = L -17
vs. North Carolina: -12 @ 13:11 (2nd), -15 @ 11:04 (2nd) = L -12
@ Arkansas: -10 @ 18:40 (2nd), -14 @ 16:45 (2nd) = W +8
vs. Florida: -11 @ 12:26 (1st), -16 @ 7:38 (1st) = L -3
@ Tennessee: -10 @ 3:31 (1st), -16 @ 16:38 (2nd) = L -4

The 2 teams that Kentucky came back to beat after being down by double digits are the 2 worst teams on that list. Tubby's teams have had a tradition of getting down and coming back, including the 1998 National Champions. This isn't anything new, and it really makes me question what goes on before the game. Why aren't the players fired up to start games?

Many people are saying that the UCLA, UNC, Florida, and even this game could have gone Kentucky's way, but the fact is that it didn't. Sure, I'd rather lose by 4 than get blown out, but a loss is a loss. Poor preparation coupled with poor quality senior and sophomore (actually the only one is hurt) classes is really hurting Kentucky. If Crawford, Morris, and Bradley were surrounded by supporting players like Erik Daniels, Cliff Hawkins, Jules Camara, Heshimu Evans, or Allen Edwards that are not the main go-to guys, but can contribute consistently, then Kentucky would be a top 10 team. Instead, the supporting players can't be counted on to produce.

Look at how much that Bradley, Crawford, and Morris are doing in comparison to the rest of the team.

60% pts
42% reb
46% ast
50% stls
65% made 3's (this is actually just Bradley & Crawford)
46% minutes
58% made FT's

If the rest of the players could step up it would really help out. Meeks is just about the only other player that can be counted on at all. Jasper sometimes has a good game, but hasn't played nearly as well lately as he did in the first 2 months of the season. Perry is actually playing worse than he did last year. Look at his stats from last year compared to this year.

Last year = 7.1 pts, 3.9 reb, 35% 3FG, 43% FG, 82% FT
This year = 7.0 pts, 3.7 reb, 31% 3FG, 39% FG, 78% FT

Those differences in his numbers aren't huge, but is playing 2.2 more minutes a game and was supposed to be counted on as a senior leader. Perry continues to start even with his poor play, and I doubt that will change.

I'm not writing these comments to try to bash any of the players. I know they all work very hard and I would love for them to win. I don't want to wait for a different coach with different players. I want Tubby and all of his players to win. Hopefully they will undergo a serious change and start playing like a basketball powerhouse.

Monday's Scores

2007-02-12T21:53:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

Louisville 66 (18-8, 8-4) - This win will likely get them in the tournament if they just take care of the lower competition remaining.
(7) Pittsburgh 53 (22-4, 10-2) - Seemed surprised by UL's play.

(17) Oklahoma St. 54 (19-6, 5-5) - Lost 3 of 4; 0-5 on the road in the conference.
Texas 83 (18-7, 8-3) - Good win to get some more national attention, and keep them up close to the top in the Big 12.

West Virginia 53 (19-6, 7-5) - Not a big surprise to let down after their big win over UCLA.
(22) Georgetown 71 (19-5, 9-2) - Climbing very close to 1st place in the Big East.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Santa Clara 84 (19-7, 9-2) - Now lead the WCC by 1 game over the Zags.
Gonzaga 73 (18-9, 8-4) - Difficult schedule will help them get into the tournament, but they can't have many more conference losses; still have vs. Memphis.

Davidson 73 (22-4, 13-1)
Charleston 63 (17-9, 10-4)

Chattanooga 75 (12-15, 5-10)
Western Carolina 72 (10-15, 7-7)

Southern 63 (6-19, 5-8)
Miss. Valley St. 62 (12-13, 9-4)

Sunday's Scores

2007-02-11T22:22:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(16) Duke 60 (18-7, 5-6) - Lost 4 straight; tied for 7th in the ACC.
Maryland 72 (17-7, 4-6)

(25) Stanford 52 (15-8, 7-5) - Very difficult schedule remaining.
Washington 64 (16-8, 6-7)

Other Games:

Boston College 68 (17-6, 9-2) - Should climb back into the Top 25.
Florida St. 67 (17-7, 5-5)

UConn 52 (15-9, 4-6)
Georgia Tech 65 (16-8, 4-6) - Too bad this wasn't an ACC win.

Kentucky's Opponents:

UMass 89 (17-7, 7-3)
Temple 98 (11-12, 5-5)

Saturday's Games

2007-02-10T23:02:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(1) Florida 64 (23-2, 10-0) - Survived a late scare and have pretty much secured an SEC title.
(20) Kentucky 61 (18-6, 7-3) - Losing to number 1 isn't awful, but they have to rebound fast for next 2 @ Tennessee and @ Alabama.

(2) UCLA 65 (21-3, 10-2) - I'm not sure why they even played this game so late in the season.
West Virginia 70 (19-5, 7-4) - Big win that will secure them a spot in the tournament.

Purdue 56 (16-9, 5-6)
(3) Ohio St. 63 (22-3, 10-1) - Still just waiting for Wisconsin to come to town.

Iowa 62 (14-11, 6-5)
(4) Wisconsin 74 (24-2, 10-1) - While Ohio St. is their hardest game left, they could lose one of the 2 meetings left with Michigan St. who really needs wins.

Wake Forest 67 (11-13, 2-9)
(5) North Carolina 104 (22-3, 8-2) - 2 big games vs. Va. Tech and @ Boston College this week.

(6) Texas A&M 66 (21-3, 9-1) - Try for revenge vs. Texas Tech on Tuesday.
Nebraska 55 (14-9, 3-6)

Providence 68 (15-8, 5-5)
(7) Pittsburgh 74 (22-3, 10-1) - Still flying under the radar.

Tulane 51 (11-11, 4-6)
(8) Memphis 95 (21-3, 11-0) - 4 of last 6 are on the road, but does it really matter?

(9) Kansas 92 (21-4, 8-2) - Could go on a big run to close out the regular season with a pretty easy schedule.
Missouri 74 (14-9, 3-7)

(10) Butler 65 (23-3, 11-2) - They had some impressive early wins, but losses to Indiana St., Illinois Chicago and now Wright St. will bring their seed down quite a bit.
Wright St. 77 (19-8, 12-2)

(11) Marquette 58 (21-5, 8-3) - This loss brings them to 3rd in the Big East.
(22) Georgetown 76 (18-5, 8-2) - Won 7 straight and just dominated this game.

(24) Arizona 77 (17-7, 8-5) - Good road win, but need to keep up this kind of play vs. USC and UCLA this week.
(13) Oregon 74 (20-5, 8-5) - Lost 4 of 6.

California 46 (12-12, 4-8)
(14) Washington St. 59 (21-4, 10-3) - In a good position, but the remainder of the schedule is pretty hard, including 3 straight road games.

(15) Air Force 60 (21-4, 8-3)
New Mexico 51 (14-11, 3-7)

Texas Tech 91 (15-10, 4-6) - Lost 5 straight, and have to go to Texas A&M Tuesday.
(17) Oklahoma St. 93 2OT (19-5, 5-4) - Played a total of 8 overtimes this year in 4 overtime games (4-0).

(18) Alabama 69 (18-6, 5-5) - Have struggled and the toughest part of their schedule is coming up with @ Florida, vs. Kentucky, and @ Tennessee.
Mississippi 75 (16-8, 5-5) M- 4-2 vs. SEC West and are now tied for the lead.

Creighton 68 (17-8, 11-4) - Stops 5 game winning streak, but are still in good shape.
(21) Southern Illinois 72 (21-5, 12-3) - Won 7 in a row and have taken control in the MVC.

(23) Vanderbilt 57 (16-8, 6-4) - Non-conference losses to Wake Forest, Furman, and Appalachian St., mean that Vandy needs to really finish strong.
Tennessee 84 (17-8, 5-5) - Big game vs. UK on Tuesday.

Other Games:

Virginia 57 (16-7, 8-3) - Stops 7 game winning streak; pretty easy remainder of schedule.
Virginia Tech 84 (17-7, 7-3) - @ UNC on Tuesday.

N.C. State 65 (13-10, 3-7) - Their hype after beating Va. Tech and UNC was short lived.
Miami (FL) 80 (10-15, 3-8)

Kentucky's Opponents:

Georgia 73 (14-9, 6-5)
South Carolina 54 (12-11, 2-8)

Arkansas 67 (15-9, 4-6) - In big trouble after losing 6 of 9.
LSU 71 (14-10, 3-7) - Stops 6 game losing streak; could still make the tournament with wins vs. Kentucky and Florida, but would also need to win the easier games too.

Mississippi St. 91 (13-10, 4-6) - Just 1 game out of the SEC West lead even with their poor play in the conference.
Auburn 83 (14-12, 4-7)

South Florida 63 (12-13, 3-8)
Louisville 83 (17-8, 7-4) - 2 huge games @ Pittsburgh and Marquette this week.

Illinois 61 (18-9, 6-6)
Indiana 65 (17-6, 7-3) - Still hanging around in the top of the Big 10.

East Carolina 59 (5-18, 0-10)
Houston 83 (13-10, 7-3)

Santa Clara 76 (18-7, 8-2)
Portland 53 (7-19, 3-7)

Ball St. 44 (8-16, 4-7)
Miami (OH) 66 (12-11, 8-3)

Eastern Kentucky 66 (15-9, 10-6)
SE Missouri St. 61 (10-16, 8-9)

Citadel 43 (7-17, 4-9)
Chattanooga 73 (11-15, 4-10)

Alcorn St. 63 (8-15, 7-5)
Miss. Valley St. 76 (12-12, 9-3)

Florida 64, Kentucky 61

2007-02-10T22:06:00.000-08:00

Kentucky barely came up short tonight against number 1, Florida. The score was where the Cats wanted it, Morris was dominant offensively on the inside and UK out rebounded Florida, but they still were unable to get a win. Yesterday I talked about how UK couldn't afford to get behind by a large margin, but that is exactly what they did. They were down by 16 in the first half, and even though they made great adjustments and probably out played Florida for the rest of the game, they had still dug themselves into too deep of a hole. It might have been nerves or Florida's quickness, but I still don't see how UK got off to such a bad start. It was obvious that this was a huge game, but UK still wasn't prepared for the start.

Morris had 18 pts, 9 reb, and 2 blks, and kept Kentucky in the game. Bradley shot just 3-10 on 3's and 3-8 FT, but he still managed to get 20 pts. Thomas also had a pretty good game with 4 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, and some good defense. Bobby Perry and Joe Crawford didn't show up at all. They were a combined 4-19 FG, 0-10 3 FG, and attempted zero free throws. Crawford did manage to get 8 rebounds, but that was the only postive out of those 2. Kentucky can be really good, but they can't afford to get so little out of 2 starters.

Hopefully when Kentucky goes to Florida at the end of the season, they will see that they have to make it a halfcourt game from the beginning to get a win. Florida wasn't able to guard Kentucky inside without fouling, and the Cats have to exploit that weakness next time around.

Now UK has to focus on Tuesday's game at Tennessee, who just demolished Vanderbilt 84-57. Losing to the number 1 team isn't terrible, but they have to finish out the rest of the SEC schedule strong.

Kentucky vs. Florida

2007-02-09T22:43:00.000-08:00

It's another big weekend for Kentucky and this time it's Florida coming to town. It seems like almost every UK game is considered a "must win" this year. Last Saturday it was @ Arkansas, before that it was vs. Tennessee. UK has had a lot of big games this year, but this one might be the biggest. Everybody know this game is big, but what can Kentucky do to actually win?

First, they need to believe they can win. Florida hasn't lost since December 3rd, but win they struggle it's been on the road, and they haven't seen an environment yet like what they're going to see tomorrow at Rupp. The crowd will be huge and crazy, and Kentucky needs to feed off of this advantage.

Second, UK can't afford to come out sluggish and get behind. Tubby's teams have always been great at coming back from double digit margins, but Florida is probably too good to allow a big comeback.

I'm not worried about UK being able to score against Florida, because I think that they will. I'm much more worried about the defense. If Florida is able to drive past the perimeter defenders, it might look alot like the loss to Memphis. The Gators are great finishers around the basket and they can also drive and dish for a 3. Even though Florida can shoot, I still think that UK might be most successful in a zone. If Florida is forced to shoot from outside, then UK is in good shape, but if they are able to penetrate and pass out for wide open 3's then UK will be in trouble.

I'm going to predict a 68-62 UK win.

Thursday's Scores

2007-02-08T21:29:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(8) Memphis 70 (20-3, 10-0) - Won 12 straight; @ Gonzaga next Saturday.
UAB 56 (11-12, 3-6)

(10) Butler 92 (23-2, 11-1) - vs. SIU next Saturday is shaping up to be a great game.
Cleveland St. 50 (8-18, 2-11)

(12) Nevada 81 (22-2, 10-1) - Good road win that could have been much tougher.
Fresno St. 68 (16-8, 5-6)

Arizona St. 51 (6-17, 0-12)
(13) Oregon 55 (20-4, 8-4) - vs. Arizona on Saturday.

(25) Stanford 45 (15-7, 7-4) - Still have a tough conference schedule left.
(14) Washington St. 58 (20-4, 9-3) - Now in 2nd place by themselves in the Pac-10.

(24) Arizona 72 (16-7, 7-5) - Try to pay back Oregon for a home loss on Saturday.
Oregon St. 66 (9-16, 1-11)

Other Scores:

George Mason 49 (13-11, 7-7)
VCU 63 (21-4, 13-1)

Indiana St. 45 (12-12, 5-9)
Wichita St. 61 (16-9, 7-7)

Drake 67 (13-12, 4-10)
Northern Iowa 59 (16-9, 7-7) - Lost 5 of 6 and the next 3 are vs. Missouri St. and @ Creighton and @ Nevada.

California 71 (12-11, 4-7)
Washington 79 (15-8, 5-7)

Kentucky's Opponents:

Notre Dame 66 (18-6, 6-5) - Another conference road loss (1-5).
DePaul 67 (14-11, 5-6)

Rhode Island 55 (14-10, 7-3)
UMass 77 (17-6, 7-2) - Take the lead in the A-10.

Eastern Kentucky 64 (14-9, 9-6)
Murray St. 62 (12-12, 10-6)

Wednesday's Scores

2007-02-08T11:17:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(1) Florida 71 (22-2, 9-0) - Won 15 straight; @ Kentucky on Saturday.
Georgia 61 (13-9) - Lost 3 straight, and in danger of falling below Tennessee in the East.

(19) USC 65 (18-7, 8-4) - Swept by their crosstown rivals; @ Arizona next week.
(2) UCLA 70 (21-2, 10-2) - 5 of next 7 are on the road including @ West Virginia on Saturday.

(4) Wisconsin 71 (23-2, 9-1) - Looks like the Big 10 will come down to @ Ohio St. on Feb. 25th.
Penn St. 58 (10-12, 1-8)

(5) North Carolina 79 (21-3, 7-2) - Good road win to try and keep pace with the leaders in the ACC.
(16) Duke 73 (18-6, 5-5) - Lost 3 straight; 5 of last 7 are on the road.

(7) Pittsburgh 60 (21-3, 9-1) - Big win at a difficult place to play.
West Virginia 47 (18-5, 7-4) - 1st home loss of the year (11-1)

Kansas St. 70 (17-7, 6-3)
(9) Kansas 97 (20-4, 7-2) - This game was actually between the 2 2nd place teams in the Big 12.

Rutgers 47 (9-15, 2-9)
(11) Marquette 67 (21-4, 8-2) - Won 8 straight; next 2 @ G-town, @ DePaul.

(17) Oklahoma St. 60 (18-5, 4-4) - 0-4 on the road.
Oklahoma 67 (14-8, 5-4) - Big win to put them in the top half of the conference.

Mississippi St. 79 (12-10, 3-6)
(18) Alabama 80 (18-5, 5-4) - Won 3 straight, but next 2 are on the road including @ Florida.

South Carolina 89 (12-10, 2-7)
(20) Kentucky 95 (18-5, 7-2) - Biggest game in the SEC vs. Florida on Saturday.

Bradley 50 (16-10, 7-7)
(21) Southern Illinois 60 (20-5, 11-3) - Won 6 straight.

(22) Georgetown 73 (17-5, 7-2) - Good road win; underrated in my opinion.
Louisville 65 (16-8, 6-4) - Needed this win @ home, especially with @ Pittsburgh and @ Marquette coming up next week.

Other Scores:

Michigan St. 38 (17-8, 4-6) - This was a pathetic offensive effort; lost 4 straight; fall to 8th in a weak Big 10.
Purdue 62 (16-8, 5-5)

Florida St. 58 (17-7, 5-5) - You never know what you'll get from this team.
Clemson 71 (19-5, 5-5) - Stops 3 game losing streak.

Boston College 75 (17-6, 8-2) - Stay on top in the ACC.
Miami (FL) 68 (9-15, 2-8)

TCU 67 (10-12, 2-8)
UNLV 82 (20-5, 7-3)

Evansville 74 (12-13, 5-9)
Creighton 79 (17-7, 11-3) - face co-leaders SIU on Saturday.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Auburn 57 (14-11, 4-6)
Arkansas 65 (15-8, 4-5) - Next 2 are on the road where they are just 1-5.

Miami (OH) 74 (11-11, 7-3)
East. Michigan 64 (8-15, 3-7)

Houston 64 (12-10, 6-3)
SMU 49 (13-10, 2-7)

Tuesday's Scores

2007-02-06T20:42:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

Michigan 63 (16-8, 4-5) - Lost 4 in a row.
(3) Ohio St. 76 (21-3, 9-1) - Won 7 in a row and are undefeated at home.

(15) Air Force 41 (20-4, 7-3) - These conference losses are really hurting their seed; lost lead in the MWC.
San Diego St. 62 (16-7, 5-4)

Other Scores:

N.C. State 65 (13-9, 3-6) - This loss kills the momentum they had after beating UNC and Va. Tech.
Georgia Tech 74 (15-8, 4-6) - I still think this team should be in the top half of the ACC, but you never know what you're going to get from them.

Virginia 69 (16-6, 8-2) - Good road win; why aren't they ranked?; won 7 in a row.
Maryland 65 (17-7, 3-6)

Nebraska 61 (14-8, 3-5)
Texas Tech 59 (15-9, 4-5) - 4th straight loss after beating Kansas and Texas A&M.

BYU 77 (18-6, 8-2) - Take over 1st place by themselves in the MWC.
Wyoming 73 (13-11, 4-6)

Kentucky's Opponents:

LSU 67 (13-10, 2-7) - Lost 6 in a row and in dead last in the SEC West.
Tennessee 70 (16-8, 4-5) - Still haven't lost at home (11-0); big game vs. Vandy on Saturday.

Chattanooga 57 (10-15, 3-10)
Davidson 87 (21-4, 12-1)

Monday's Scores

2007-02-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

This is a big week for Kentucky basketball. UK is rated in both polls (18th in the ESPN/USA Today, and 20th in the AP), and they are coming off a big road win at Arkansas. The Cats are 2nd in the SEC and trail only Florida who just happens to be number 1 in both polls and visiting Lexington this Saturday. If that isn't enough, ESPN's Gameday will be at Rupp and the whole country will be watching.

Of course, South Carolina also visits on Wednesday night in a game that I will get to attend. I rarely get to make the long trip to Lexington, and this time it looks like I'll have to travel through the snow, but it's always worth it.

Top 25:

Texas 82 (16-7, 6-3) - Durant is great, but the rest of the team is just not that good. A first round exit in the tournament wouldn't surprise me at all.
(6) Texas A&M 100 (20-3, 8-1) - I doubted this team for a long time, but they've proven they belong as one of the best in the country.

Other Scores:

Syracuse 60 (16-8, 5-5) - Lost 4 of 5 and are in big trouble for an NCAA bid.
UConn 67 (15-8, 4-6) - I guess they might still have some chance at an NCAA bid, but they would really need a win @ Georgia Tech on Sunday.

Northern Iowa 46 (16-8, 7-6) - Lost 4 of 5 and 6 of 9. They now need to win the MVC tournament to reach the NCAA tournament.
Indiana St. 59 (12-11, 5-8) - This team once had an 11-4 record with wins over Butler, Purdue, Creighton, and Wichita St., but then they lost 7 in a row.

Kentucky's Opponents:

San Francisco 62 (9-15, 5-4)
Santa Clara 74 (17-7, 7-2)

Western Carolina 64 (9-14, 6-6)
Charleston 76 (16-8, 9-3)

Miss. Valley St. 52 (11-12, 8-3)
Alabama St. 44 (7-15, 5-6)

Sunday's Scores

2007-02-05T06:01:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

Florida St. 68 (17-6, 5-4) - Great win that will more than likely get them in the tournament. Wins over Florida and Duke go along way.
(8) Duke 67 (18-5, 5-4) - This was a huge loss at home with the hard part of their schedule coming up. They have 8 left including:

vs. UNC
@ Maryland - this is always a close game
@ Boston College
@ Clemson - payback for the clock malfunction?
@ UNC

Duke has good computer numbers, but if they continue to lose, their seed is going to drop fast. I think Wednesday will be their 3rd straight loss.

Saturday's Scores

2007-02-03T21:50:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

Tennessee 78 (15-8, 3-5) - 5 of last 8 are at home, where they almost have to win.
(1) Florida 94 (21-2, 8-0) - Nobody can claim they deserve this spot more than Florida.

Northwestern 52 (11-11, 1-8)
(2) Wisconsin 69 (22-2, 8-1) - Should have no problems until @ Michigan St. on Feb. 20th.

(3) North Carolina 79 (20-3, 6-2) - Perfect example of looking ahead? @ Duke on Wednesday.
N.C. State 83 (13-8, 3-5) - Beat 2 ranked teams this week (Va. Tech).

(4) Ohio St. 63 (20-3, 8-1) - Now playing up to their ranking.
Michigan St. 54 (17-7, 4-5) - 3rd straight loss; is it time to worry?

Oregon St. 35 (9-15, 1-10)
(5) UCLA 82 (20-2, 9-2) - 3 of next 4 are away.

(10) Texas A&M 69 (19-3, 7-1) - Great road win; can't let down vs. Texas on Monday.
(6) Kansas 66 (19-4, 6-2) - Choked at end and that is why you can't count on this team in March. They might do great, or they might lose early again.

(9) Oregon 68 (19-4, 7-4) - Swept by the L.A. schools this week; lost 3 of last 4.
USC 71 (18-6, 8-3) - Big win; next 2 @ UCLA, and @ Arizona.

SMU 52 (13-9, 2-6)
(11) Memphis 88 (19-3, 9-0) - @ Gonzaga on Feb. 17 will be a good change of pace.

(12) Oklahoma St. 77 (18-4, 4-3) - Bad loss to a team that is really struggling; rest of the schedule is pretty tough.
Colorado 89 (6-13, 2-7)

Wisc. Milwaukee 47 (8-17, 5-7)
(13) Butler 66 (22-2, 10-1)

Providence 62 (14-7, 4-4)
(14) Marquette 69 (20-4, 7-2) - Won 7 straight.

Hawaii 68 (13-10, 4-6)
(15) Nevada 69 (21-2, 9-1)

(16) Virginia Tech 59 (16-7, 6-3) - Lost 2 straight.
Boston College 80 (16-6, 7-2) - Back on top in the ACC. Of course the "experts" claimed their season was over a couple of weeks ago.

Wyoming 43 (13-10, 4-5)
(17) Air Force 88 (20-3, 7-2)

(18) Washington St. 48 (19-4, 8-3) - This was almost a disaster; next 2 at home vs. Stanford and Cal.
Arizona St. 47 (6-16, 0-11)

South Carolina 61 (12-9, 2-6)
(19) Alabama 64 (17-5, 4-4) - Lead the SEC West.

Washington 54 (14-8, 4-7) - This could have been a big win, but losing like this pretty much puts them out of the NCAA.
(20) Arizona 84 (15-7, 6-5) - Taking out some anger after losing 2 straight.

(21) Notre Dame 63 (18-5, 6-4) - This bad loss will hurt their seed in March.
South Florida 69 (12-11, 3-6)

Kansas St. 73 (17-6, 6-2) - Won 7 straight and tied for 2nd in the Big 12.
(22) Texas 72 (16-6, 6-2) - Might have been looking ahead to @ Texas A&M on Monday.

(23) Stanford 90 (15-6, 7-3) - Good road win to keep up in the Pac-10.
California 71 (12-10, 4-6)

Georgia 61 (13-8, 5-4) - Lost 2 straight; @ Florida on Wed.
(24) Vanderbilt 66 (16-7, 6-3) - Good rebound after loss @ Florida.

(25) Clemson 62 (18-5, 4-5) - Lost 5 of last 6.
Georgia Tech 80 (14-8, 3-6) - Stops 4 game losing streak.

Other Scores:

Kentucky 82 (17-5, 6-2) - Big road win at a tough place top play; stay in 2nd in the SEC East.
Arkansas 74 (14-8, 3-5) - Lost 5 of last 7; their NCAA hopes are fading.

Southern Illinois 54 (19-5, 9-3)
Wichita St. 46 (15-9, 6-7) - This home loss along with the other big names in the MVC winning, will probably end NCAA hopes.

UNLV 63 (19-5, 6-3)
BYU 90 (17-6, 7-2) - Continue to lead the MWC with Air Force.

Kentucky's Opponents:

LSU 78 (13-9, 2-6) - Lost 5 straight, and it might be 7 with the next 2 @ Tenn., and vs. Ark; last place in the SEC West, which is the weak division.
Mississippi St. 85 (12-9, 3-5)

Mississippi 82 (15-8, 4-5)
Auburn 59 (14-10, 4-5)

Indiana 75 (16-6, 6-3) - 2-5 on the road this year.
Iowa 81 (13-10, 5-4)

Louisville 53 (16-7, 6-3) - This isn't a bad loss, but 3 of next 4 are vs. Georgetown, and @ Pittsburgh and Marquette; lose all 3 and they're in a lot of trouble.
Villanova 57 (15-7, 4-5) - Had to have this win; next 3 are pretty easy.

DePaul 69 (13-11, 4-6)
Syracuse 75 (16-7, 5-4)

Houston 71 (11-10, 5-3)
UTEP 79 (13-10, 5-4)

Richmond 56 (5-17, 1-8)
UMass 72 (16-6, 6-2)

Santa Clara 63 (16-7, 6-2)
St. Mary's 57 (13-11, 5-3)

W. Michigan 59 (10-12, 5-4)
Miami (OH) 62 (10-11, 6-3)

Chattanooga 62 (10-14, 3-9)
Georgia Southern 57 (10-12, 3-8)

Tennessee Tech 90 (14-10, 10-5)
Eastern Kentucky 92 2OT (13-9, 8-6)

Miss. Valley St. 65 (10-12, 7-3)
Alabama A&M 54 (7-14, 2-8)

Thursday's Scores

2007-02-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(9) Oregon 57 (19-3, 7-3) - Need to regroup fast for @ USC on Saturday.
(5) UCLA 69 (19-2, 8-2) - Get revenge for their earlier loss; alone in 1st now in the conference.

(8) Duke 66 (18-4, 5-3) - They won the games they had too, and now their schedule is going to determine how good they really are.
Virginia 68 OT (14-6, 6-2) - Great win for their 5th in a row. This is a team that can beat anybody at home, and have managed to move into a tie for 2nd in the ACC.

(18) Washington St. 72 (18-4, 7-3) - Sweep the Wildcats this year, and should have no problem with ASU on Saturday. Still in a good position to potentially win the Pac-10.
(20) Arizona 66 (14-7, 5-5) - Continue to struggle in and out of the conference; lost 6 of 8 and are slipping in the Pac-10; 0-5 vs. the teams ahead of them in the conference.

Other Scores:

Georgetown 72 (16-5, 6-2) - I know St. John's isn't , but Syracuse and Notre Dame couldn't win there; tied with Louisville and Marquette for 2nd in the Big East; next 2 @ UL and vs. Marquette.
St. John's 48 (12-10, 3-6)

Washington 66 (14-7, 4-6) - Still trying to play their way back into an NCAA bid; a win @ Arizona on Saturday would help.
Arizona St. 61 (6-15, 0-10)

Oregon St. 56 (9-14, 1-9)
USC 73 (17-6, 7-3) - Move into a 3 way tie for 2nd in the Pac-10.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Eastern Kentucky 69 (12-9, 7-6)
Morehead St. 61 (10-12, 6-8)

Thursday's Scores

2007-01-31T19:22:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(24) Vanderbilt 64 (15-7, 5-3) - A win would have been great, but proved they can compete with the best, and still get another chance at them at home.
(1) Florida 74 (20-2, 7-0) - Struggled early, but finished like the best team in the country.

(2) Wisconsin 66 (21-2, 7-1) - Stops 17 game win streak; a loss on the road to a good team isn't going to hurt their NCAA seed.
Indiana 71 (16-5, 6-2) - Great win to really improve their seed in the tournament.

Miami (FL) 64 (9-13, 2-6)
(3) North Carolina 105 (20-2, 6-1) - Need to be careful to avoid a letdown @ N.C. St on Saturday before @ Duke next week.

(4) Ohio St. 78 (19-3, 7-1) - Jump into a tie for first in the Big 10, and still get to host Wisconsin.
Purdue 60 (14-8, 3-5)

Iowa St. 49 (11-10, 2-5)
(10) Texas A&M 73 (18-3, 6-1) - @ Kansas on Saturday to try to get their 1st big win.

(11) Memphis 87 (18-3, 8-0) - Just another step to an undefeated C-USA season.
UCF 65 (15-6, 4-3)

(13) Butler 71 (21-2, 9-1)
Youngstown St. 58 (9-14, 4-7)

(15) Nevada 79 (20-2, 8-1)
Louisiana Tech 71 (6-15, 4-5)

N.C. State 70 (12-8, 2-6)
(16) Virginia Tech 59 (16-6, 6-2) - Bad loss at home, but still in good shape.

(19) Alabama 73 (16-5, 3-4) - Could go on a run with SC, Miss. St., and Ole Miss coming up.
LSU 70 (13-8, 2-5) - Swept by Bama and lost 4 in a row.

(22) Texas 76 (16-5, 6-1) - Very good win on the road, and stay in a virtual tie for first in the Big 12.
Texas Tech 64 (15-7, 4-3) - 3 of next 4 are away and all could be losses (Oklahoma, Okla. St, Texas A&M).

Gonzaga 90 (16-7, 6-1) - Good road win over a top 25 team will help alot.
(23) Stanford 86 2OT (14-6, 6-3) - 5 of next 7 are away.

Other Scores:

Missouri St. 87 (16-7, 7-5) - Barely avoid a loss that would have really hurt their NCAA chances.
Drake 82 OT (12-11, 3-9)

Indiana St. 48 (11-10, 4-7)
SIU 61 (18-5, 9-3) - Continue to play well stay on top with Creighton.

Creighton 82 (15-7, 9-3) - One of the few MVC teams that should feel comortable right now.
Bradley 71 (15-9, 6-6) - Trouble with the leaders of the MVC will cost them a tournament appearance.

Iowa 69 (12-10, 3-5)
Michigan 62 (16-7, 4-4) - This home loss should pretty much end their NCAA hopes.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Georgia 71 (13-7, 5-3) - @ Vandy is a big game for SEC placement.
Tennessee 82 (15-7, 3-4) - Good win without Lofton, and they should be ok if they continue to win at home.

Auburn 80 (14-9, 4-4) - Still managing to stay on top in the SEC West.
South Carolina 75 (12-8, 2-5)

Louisville 69 (16-6, 6-2) - Won 4 straight and any road win is good.
Cincinnati 53 (10-11, 1-6)

UConn 58 (13-8, 2-6) - They're done. Lost 7 of 8 and are in danger of not even making the Big East tournament.
DePaul 66 (13-10, 4-5)

Rice 63 (10-10, 4-3)
Houston 70 (11-9, 5-2)

More Missouri Valley

2007-01-30T21:29:00.000-08:00

I've paid close attention to the MVC this year, and I last wrote about how they may been in trouble when the NCAA Tournament field is announced. It is a very balanced league that has 5 or 6 teams that are capable of playing with (and beating) anybody in the country. The problem is that it is still considered to be below the 6 BCS conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big 10, Big East, Pac-10, and SEC).

According to Pomeroy's RPI, the MVC is ranked 5th, and it has 6 teams in the top 61. The problem that I'm seeing with the conference is that the teams have too many losses. After Tuesday nights game between Wichita St. and Norther Iowa, the MVC has only one team with fewer than 7 losses (Southern Illinois). I'm just not sure that the selection comittee is going to pick teams from this conference with so many losses.

The contenders for an automatic bid all have many more big games left on their schedule. This is going to push some of these teams out of the picture. Here's how it breaks down:

SIU (17-5, 8-3): 8 games left, including @ Wichita St., vs. Bradley, vs. Creighton, @ Missouri St., and @ Butler (non-conference).

Creighton (14-7, 8-3): 8 left, including @ Bradley, @ SIU, vs. N. Iowa, vs. Drexel (non-conference), vs. Wichita St.

Missouri St. (15-7, 6-5): 8 left, including @ N. Iowa, vs. SIU, vs. Winthrop (non-conference), @ Wichita St.

Bradley (15-8, 6-5): 8 left, including vs. Creighton, @ SIU, @ VCU (non-conference), vs. N. Iowa.

Northern Iowa (15-7, 6-5): 8 left, including vs. Missouri St., @ Creighton, @ Nevada (non-conference), @ Bradley.

Wichita St. (15-8, 6-6): 7 left, including vs. SIU, vs. Appalachian St. (non-conference), vs. Missouri St., @ Creighton.

When you look at these schedules, it becomes clear that the conference is going to continue to beat up on itself. SIU could very likely be the only MVC team with less that 10 losses. The Bracket Buster games that these teams have are also very important. The non-conference teams these MVC teams are facing have a combined 108-21 record. If the conference makes a good showing in these games, you can expect more MVC teams in the big dance.

The one wild card in this race is the conference tournament. Obviously the winner gets an automatic bid, and there are at least 6 teams that are very capable of winning it. It might be the most competitive conference tournament this year, and the most important.

Tuesday's Scores

2007-01-30T21:12:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(21) Notre Dame 103 (18-4, 6-3) - Won the 1st of 3 straight road games (this should have been the hardest). Could go on a run with the easy schedule (except vs. Marquette) left.
Syracuse 91 (15-7, 4-4) - Already lost 4 home games; 3 straight losses; falling fast in the Big East.

Other Games:

Georgia Tech 75 (13-8, 2-6) - Really bad loss with their already bad ACC record. Will have a tough time reaching .500 in the conference; still have @ Duke, and vs. UNC.
Wake Forest 85 (10-11, 2-8)

Maryland 79 (16-6, 2-5) - Lost 4 of last 6, and still have 2 vs. Duke, and vs. UNC.
Florida St. 96 (16-6, 4-4) - Continue to play well at home, and hang around in the ACC.

Michigan St. 50 (17-6, 4-4) - Let down game in between the 2 vs. Ohio St; 1-4 on the road in the Big 10.
Illinois 57 (16-8, 4-5) - Have alternated wins and losses their last 8 games.

UNLV 76 (19-4, 6-2) - Good win at a pretty hard place to play; @ BYU on Saturday is big.
Colorado St. 59 (14-6, 4-4)

Wichita St. 67 (15-8, 6-6) - Won 3 in a row (longest streak since mid December); vs. SIU on Saturday is a huge game to determine their tournament hopes.
Northern Iowa 61 (15-7, 6-5) - Lost 3 in a row and the next 2 are on the road.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Mississippi St. 73 (11-9, 2-5) - This should be better with all of the talent they have.
Mississippi 85 (14-8, 3-5)

Northern Illinois 59 (4-16, 1-7)
Miami (OH) 62 (9-11, 5-3)

Monday's Scores

2007-01-29T21:11:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(6) Kansas 76 (19-3, 6-1) - Vs. Texas A&M on Saturday in what could decide the conference. They just play A&M once, and it's at home.
Nebraska 56 (12-8, 1-5)

(7) Pittsburgh 65 (20-3, 8-1) - Good win on the road. Still in control in the Big East.
Villanova 59 (14-7, 3-5) - Had been playing well, but now lost 2 in a row. Need to get the conference record above. 500, and have a big game vs. Louisville on Saturday.

Ill. Chicago 45 (9-14, 4-6)
(13) Butler 71 (20-2, 8-1) - Will host Southern Illinois in the biggest Bracket Buster next month.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Saint Louis 58 (13-7, 3-4)
Houston 59 (10-9, 4-2)

Charleston 56 (15-8, 8-3)
Appalachian St. 67 (17-5, 9-2)

Furman 68 (11-11, 5-6)
Chattanooga 61 (9-14, 2-9)

Tennessee Martin 57 (6-18, 4-10)
Eastern Kentucky 94 (11-9, 6-6)

Miss. Valley St. 84 (9-12, 6-3)
Grambling St. 78 OT (8-8, 6-3)

Pepperdine (6-17, 2-5) 55
Santa Clara (15-7, 5-2) 77

Sunday's Scores:

2007-01-28T13:11:00.000-08:00

I know I've already talked about this, but the SEC East is now 17-4 vs. the SEC West. If Tennessee is able to pick their season back up, the East could get 5 of 6 teams in the NCAA tournament. The West currently has no team with a winning record in conference play.

Top 25:

(3) UCLA 68 (18-2, 7-2) - Had a 12 point halftime lead, but couldn't hang on.
Stanford 75 (14-5, 6-3) - Continue to play well, and are in a good position for an NCAA bid; vs. Gonzaga on Wednesday would be another big out of conference win to go with wins @ Virginia and @ Fresno St.

(2) Wisconsin 57 (21-1, 7-0) - Just keep on winning; @ Indiana on Wednesday will be a big challenge
Iowa 46 (11-10, 3-4)

Boston College 61
(10) Duke 75 (1803, 5-2) - Won 5 in a row, and are back in their usual place in the ACC; @ Virginia on Thursday is a tough place to play.

(15) Marquette 7o (199-4, 6-2) - Almost a bad loss, but they won, and the next 2 are at home.
South Florida 68 (11-11, 2-6)

Virginia 64 (13-6, 5-2)
(19) Clemson 63 (18-4, 4-4) - Really needed to win this at home. Lost 4 of 5.

(21) LSU 54 (13-7, 2-4) - Lost 3 straight, and this was the most offense they've had in any of those 3 games.
Georgia 57 (13-6, 5-2) - Another big SEC win. Stay tied with Vandy and UK at 2nd in the East.

(24) Virginia Tech 73 (16-5, 6-1) - Next 3 are all winable, and could go into UNC at 9-1 in the ACC on Feb. 13th.
Georgia Tech 65 (13-7, 2-5) - 3rd straight loss; 0-4 on the road in the ACC.

Other Scores:

Tennessee 57 (14-7, 2-4) - Lost 5 of 6 and are tied for last in the SEC East
Kentucky 75 (16-5, 5-2) - Stops 2 game losing streak; Best rpi win of the year.

Kentucky's Opponents:

UMass 66 (15-6, 5-2)
Charlotte 61 (8-11, 2-5)

DePaul 52 (12-10, 3-5)
West Virginia 64 (16-4, 5-3)

Kentucky 76 Tennessee 57

2007-01-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

Kentucky played a great 2nd half this time and ended up handling UT pretty easily. Bradley shot the ball much better and was able to drive to the goal for 21 pts. Meeks also had a big game with 16 pts. on 4-5 3 pointers. Crawford had 15 and Morris had 9 due mainly to foul trouble. Morris didn't score alot today, but there was a stretch in the 2nd half where he gave UK some big points that really allowed the Cats to build their lead.

Tennessee has now lost 6 of 7 with their only win a 3 point win over South Carolina. They haven't had Lofton the last 2 games, but they were struggling with him too. They're now at 14-7 and 2-4 in the SEC. They do have 4 of their next 5 at home, but they've already played what I consider the lower level SEC teams (Ole Miss., Miss. St., and Auburn). I don't think UT has any for sure wins left on their schedule. They might be able to go on a run like they did early in the year, but I think that the SEC has figured out how to beat this team. They have no size, and their halfcourt defense is terrible. If they can't force a turnover in the backcourt, they seem to almost concede a basket.

Even with Tennessee struggling, this was a big win for Kentucky. They have a full week to prepare for a hard game @ Arkansas, and they stay in a tie for 2nd in the SEC East. It's also a good rpi win. Tennessee's difficult schedule is keeping them high in the rpi and it just makes Kentucky's already difficult schedule look even better.

Saturday's Scores

2007-01-27T17:04:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(1) Florida 91 (19-2, 6-0) - 1st in the SEC West vs. 1st in the East. Another example of why the East is so much better.
Auburn 66 (13-9, 3-4)

(4) North Carolina 92 (19-2, 5-1) - If they keep up this kind of play, nobody in the ACC (maybe even the country) can beat them.
(17) Arizona 64 (14-6, 5-4) - Alot of people thought this would be close, even though Arizona had lost 4 of their last 6. Maybe this will finally prove that they are still overrated.

Michigan St. 64 (17-5, 4-3) - Still have a very difficult schedule left, but they're capable of being the 3rd or 4th best in the Big 10.
(5) Ohio St. 66 (18-3, 6-1) - Next Saturday @ Michigan St. will be a better test to see how far this team has come.

Oklahoma 61 (11-8, 3-4) - 0-4 on the road in the Big 12.
(6) Texas A&M 70 (17-3, 5-1) - Good bounce back after losing @ Texas Tech.

(7) Oregon 77 (19-2, 7-2) - Very big win on the road after losing @ Washington.
(20) Washington St. 74 OT (17-4, 6-3) - Not a bad loss; have a good chance @ Arizona on Thursday.

Colorado 74 (5-12, 1-6)
(8) Kansas 97 (18-3, 5-1) - Dominated the two bottom dwellers, but I think @ Nebraska will be pretty tough.

St. John's 46 (12-9, 3-5)
(9) Pittsburgh 72 (19-3, 7-1) - Next 2 @ Villanova and @ West Virginia; 2 tough places to play.

Southern Miss 64 (13-6, 3-3)
(11) Memphis 67 (17-3, 7-0) - Closer than expected, but they stay perfect in C-USA.

Arkansas 63 (14-7, 3-4) - 1st road win of the year. In good shape with 2 wins over Alabama and a win over LSU.
(12) Alabama 57 (15-5, 2-4) - Really needed this game after losing bad @ Auburn.

Iowa St. 50
(13) Oklahoma St. 62 (18-3, 4-2) - @ Colorado should be easy, but then it gets harder with @ Oklahoma, vs. Texas Tech, and @ Texas.

(14) Butler 68 (19-2, 7-1) - Get another chance vs. Il. Chicago on Monday, the only conference team to beat Butler.
Detroit 58 (7-13, 4-5)

(16) Air Force 52 (19-3, 6-2) - I knew this would be tough, but I wasn't sure BYU could pull it out.
BYU 61 (15-6, 5-2)

Utah St. 62 (15-6, 4-3)
(18) Nevada 79 (19-2, 7-1) - The rematch @ Utah St. in March will be a tough game, and so will the next one vs. New Mexico St.

Villanova 63 (14-6, 3-4) - Had been playing well, but this wasn't a bad loss on the road.
(22) Notre Dame 66 (16-5, 5-3) - Very good win over a team that had been hot.

Michigan 61 (16-6, 4-2)
(23) Indiana 76 (15-5, 5-2) - Wednesday vs. Wisconsin is their biggest game of the year.

(25) USC 76 (16-6, 6-3) - Adjusting to being the favorite in a road Pac-10 game.
California 73 (12-9, 4-5)

Other Scores:

Texas Tech 58 (15-6, 4-2) - So inconsistent; lose @ Baylor, beat Kansas and Texas A&M, lose @ Missouri.
Missouri 71 (13-6, 2-4)

Providence 84 (14-6, 4-3)
UConn 72 (13-7, 2-5) - 4 straight losses, lost 7 of 9, and are in big trouble. I keep talking about them only because they were once ranked so high, and are a great example of how you're record means nothing when play a bunch of cupcakes.

Illinois 47 (15-8, 3-5) - Had a good win over Indiana, but this hurts alot with their NCAA hopes.
Purdue 64 (14-7, 3-4)

Indiana St. 55 (11-9, 4-6)
Creighton 71 (14-7, 8-3) - Stay in a tie for 1st in the MVC with SIU.

Illinois St. 62 (11-11, 3-8)
Southern Illinois 73 (17-5, 8-3) - Maybe the only MVC team that doesn't need to worry about if they are going to get in the tournament or not.

Wichita St. 66 (14-8, 5-6) - Trying to get back to .500 in the MVC, but the next 2 @ N. Iowa, and vs. SIU could completely crush their NCAA hopes.
Evansville 61 (12-10, 5-6)

Bradley 70 (15-8, 6-5)
Missouri St. 85 (15-7, 6-5) - Had to win this after losing 3 straight.

Northern Iowa 61 (15-6, 6-4) - Another routine upset in the Missouri Valley.
Drake 74 (12-10, 3-8)

New Mexico 72 (12-10, 1-6)
UNLV 76 OT (18-4, 5-2) - Move into 2nd place tie with BYU, just 1/2 game behind Air Force.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Mississippi 80 (13-8, 2-5)
Vanderbilt 85 (15-6, 5-2) - Won 4 straight, but can they keep it up @ Florida on Wednesday?

South Carolina 66 (12-7, 2-4) - 2-0 vs. West, 0-4 vs. East.
Mississippi St. 63 (11-8, 2-4) - 2-0 vs. West, 0-4 vs. East.

Syracuse 71 (15-6, 4-3) - 2 straight losses and host Notre Dame on Tuesday.
Louisville 76 (15-6, 5-2) - Great win to move them up in the Big East race.

Houston 77 (9-9, 4-2)
Marshall 61 (7-13, 2-4)

Miami (OH) 56 (8-11, 4-3)
Toledo 61 (11-8, 7-0)

Charleston 67 (15-7, 8-2)
Chattanooga 54 (9-13, 2-8)

Miss. Valley St. 60 (8-12, 5-3)
Jackson St. 66 (12-9, 6-2)

Loyola Marymount 74 (9-13, 1-5)
Santa Clara 71 (14-7, 4-2)

Thursday's Scores

2007-01-25T21:36:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(3) UCLA 62 (18-1, 7-1) - Have a good case for being number 1; only loss to Oregon.
California 46 (12-8, 4-4)

(7) Oregon 77 (18-2, 6-2) - This isn't a bad loss, but it could hurt with the next 3 @ Wash. St., @ UCLA, and @ USC.
Washington 89 (12-7, 2-6) - Stops a 3 game losing streak; need to go on a huge run to make the tournament.

(19) Clemson 66 (18-3, 4-3) - Lost 3 of 4, but still in good position with the easier part of their ACC schedule ahead.
(10) Duke 68 (17-3, 4-2) - Barely avoided their 2nd home loss of the season.

(14) Butler 70 (18-2, 6-1) - The early wins over Tennessee and Gonzaga aren't as impressive as they once were, but they did also beat Indiana and Notre Dame. A loss tonight could have dropped them a place or two in the NCAA tournament.
Loyola Chicago 66 OT (13-8, 4-4)

Louisiana Tech 67 (6-13, 4-3)
(18) Nevada 84 (18-2, 6-1)

Oregon St. 55 (9-12, 1-7)
(20) Washington St. 70 (17-3, 6-2) - Big game vs. Oregon on Saturday.

(25) USC 50 (15-6, 5-3) - Were never in this game, but that happens on the road sometimes.
Stanford 65 (13-5, 5-3) - Won 6 of 7 and are making a good push for an NCAA bid.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Tennessee St. 63 (10-10, 6-4)
Eastern Kentucky 62 (10-9, 5-6)

Wednesday's Scores

2007-01-24T22:38:00.000-08:00

There is some debate on which conference is the hardest, but I am certain that the SEC East is just ridiculously hard. The East is 10-4 against the other side of the SEC and 4 of the 6 teams have at least 4 conference wins. The West is being lead by AUBURN with a 3-3 conference record. The other 4 teams all have just 2 wins each.

One great example of the strength of the East is South Carolina's win over Arkansas on Wednesday. SC was 0-4 vs. the East, but beat Arkansas, a team that had blown out Alabama and LSU, the two supposed powers in the SEC West.

Top 25:

(1) Florida 70 (18-2, 5-0) - Any road in the SEC is huge this year.
Mississippi St. 67 (11-7, 2-3)

Michigan 58 (16-5, 4-2)
(2) Wisconsin 71 (20-1, 6-0) - Next 2 are tough @ Iowa and @ Indiana.

(4) North Carolina 88 (18-2, 5-1) - 3 of next 4 are away, including @ Arizona and @ Duke.
Wake Forest 60 (9-10, 1-6) - What's happened to this program?

(5) Ohio St. 59 (17-3, 5-1) - Can't play like this when they go anywhere else on the road.
Northwestern 50 (11-9, 1-6)

(6) Texas A&M 68 (16-3, 4-1) - Not a bad road loss, but it does bring them into a tie for the Big 12 lead.
Texas Tech 70 (15-5, 4-1) - Beat Kansas on Saturday and now this. How did they manage to lose at Baylor?

(8) Kansas 82 (17-3, 4-1)
Baylor 56 (11-8, 1-5)

(9) Pittsburgh 67 (18-3, 6-1) - Putting up an impressive record both in and out of conference.
Cincinnati 51 (10-9, 1-4)

Tulsa 59 (12-6, 2-3)
(11) Memphis 72 (16-3, 6-0) - I wonder if they ever get bored? Only one C-USA team has come within 10 points.

Seton Hall 76
(15) Marquette 89 (18-4, 5-2) - Won 4 straight and maybe the only Big East team that can challenge Pittsburgh for the conference title.

Arizona St. 47 (6-14, 0-9) - Wow, they're bad.
(17) Arizona 71 (14-5, 5-4) - Stops 3 game losing streak.

Vanderbilt 64 (14-6, 4-2) - Beat 3 straight ranked teams.
(21) LSU 53 (13-6, 2-3) - It might be time to worry; @ Georgia on Sunday will be tough.

Other Scores:

Kentucky 69 (15-5, 4-2) - The bad news is they've lost 2 straight. The good news is that future games vs. LSU, Tennesse, and Alabama don't look near as bad now.
Georgia 78 OT (12-6, 4-2) - Great win for NCAA chances.

Creighton 66 (13-7, 7-3) - Good conference road win.
Missouri St. 62 (14-7, 5-5) - Lost 3 of 4 including 2 @ home. I know most "experts" would think I'm stupid, but I don't think the MVC will get more than 2 in the NCAA tournament. Mainly because too many of the teams will have 10+ losses.

Georgia Tech 65 (13-6, 2-4) - Need to improve ACC record to insure an NCAA bid.
Maryland 80 (16-5, 2-4) - Good win, but the next 2 are onl the road where they are 0-2 in the ACC.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Tennessee 69 (14-6, 2-3) - They played without Lofton, but they were struggling with him too. Lost 4 of 5. If they don't make a quick recovery it could get ugly very quickly with next 6 including 2 vs. Kentucky, vs. Georgia, @ Florida, vs. LSU, and vs. Vandy.
Mississippi 83 (13-7, 2-4) - Continue to play well @ home, where their only loss was a close one to Kentucky.

Arkansas 60 (13-7, 2-4) - Continue to be the worst team in the SEC. You can't lose to a team that is struggling this badly.
South Carolina 66 (11-7, 1-4) - If they stay at lest .500 they might have the NIT 3peat.

DePaul 52 (12-9, 3-4)
Georgetown 66 (14-5, 4-2)

UCF 70 (14-5, 3-2)
Houston 73 OT (8-9, 2-3)

Miami (OH) 72 (8-10, 3-3)
Cent. Michigan 52 (7-11, 2-4)

UMass 72 (14-6, 4-2)
Rhode Island 75 (13-8, 6-1)

Georgia 78 Kentucky 69 OT

2007-01-24T19:29:00.000-08:00

Kentucky managed to blow a 17 point lead and lose to Georgia in overtime tonight. UK looked great in the 1st half on offense and defense. They passed well, ran the court, and forced Georgia into bad shots, but everything changed in the 2nd half. UK hit just 9-21 FGs in the 2nd half and overtime and allowed Georgia to go 19-34. There was no movement on offense, they completely stopped running up the court, and the defense was terrible.

I hate to single out individuals, but I really think there were 2 people that really hurt Kentucky tonight. The first person is Ramel Bradley. He had just 2 pts, 2 reb, 0 ast, 1 to, 0 blk, 0 stls, and shot 1-5 FG, and 0-3 3FG. He managed to do all of that in 37 MINUTES! That brings me to the other person who is at fault tonight. Tubby Smith claims that he rewards players on their play, but it is obvious that wasn't the case tonight. Not only did Bradley put up terrible numbers, he couldn't stop his man from getting to the goal on defense. When it became obvious that tonight wasn't Bradley's night, Tubby should have gone a different route. Instead, he played Bradley at point much of the 2nd half, and the offense came to a grinding halt.

Jasper had 3 pts, 3 reb, and 6 ast. Porter had 5 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl. They each managed to put up better numbers than Bradley in a combined 29 minutes. Jasper and Porter did combine for 4 turnovers, so maybe that is why Bradley played the point so much, but it still isn't a good strategy. Jasper and Porter make up for their turnovers by creating for other players. Bradley doesn't turn it over as much, because he dribbles the clock away and leaves either himself or his teammates with a bad shot. I love Bradley at the 2 guard, and he was playing great there, but for some reason Tubby keeps putting him at the point.

Crawford was the bright spot for UK tonight. He had a career high 29 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 2 to, and 1 stl. He had 17 of UK's 43 in the 1st half and 12 of their 26 in the 2nd and overtime. It is pretty pathetic that the rest of the team only combined for 40 pts. Perry had 0 in 18 minutes, Bradley 2 in 37, Thomas 2 in 27. Morris was in foul trouble and had just 11, and Meeks had 10.

Tuesday's Scores

2007-01-23T22:33:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(12) Alabama 57 (15-4, 2-3) - Somehow they've convinced people to still rank them this high even though they are not very good. Have lost 3 of 5 and all of those were by more than 20 points.
Auburn 81 (13-8, 3-3)

TCU 39 (10-8, 2-4)
(16) Air Force 72 (19-2, 6-1) - @ BYU on Saturday could be close.

(22) Notre Dame 68 (16-4, 4-3) - Another team that can't win on the road (0-3).
St. John's 71 (12-8, 3-4)

(23) Indiana 43 (14-5, 4-2) - Still in a pretty good position in the Big 10; vs. Wisconis next Wed.
Illinois 51 (15-7, 3-4) - Good win, but have to start winning on the road in the conference (1-2).

Other Scores:

Florida St. 82 (14-6, 2-4)
Boston College 85 (14-5, 6-1) - I know they lost one of their best players, but they are actually in the lead in the ACC. They won't stay there, because their schedule is going to get tough, but I don't think they'll fold like most people do.

Villanova 82 (14-5, 3-3) - Recovered well from 1-3 Big East start, but the next 2 are @ Notre Dame and vs. Pitt.
Providence 73 (13-6, 3-3) - Lost 3 of last 4.

Northern Iowa 54 (15-5, 6-3) - Still in good shape, but 3 of next 4 are away.
Southern Illinois 56 (16-5, 7-3) - Lead the MVC and have beaten all of the big names (Mo. St., N. Iowa, Wichita St.)

San Diego St. 61
UNLV 68 (17-4, 4-2) - Could still get an NCAA bid if they avoid many more losses; 2 of their losses are to ranked teams (Air Force, Arizona).

Monday's Scores

2007-01-22T22:17:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

Oklahoma 61 (11-6, 3-3) - This was the first in a tough stretch of games (except Jan. 30 vs. Longwood) over they next few weeks. They need to win some big games to make some noise for an NCAA bid.
(12) Oklahoma St. 66 (16-3, 3-2) - Good rebound after loss @ A&M, but they still aren't going to contend for 1st or 2nd in the conference.

Kentucky's Opponents:

UConn 54 (13-6) - Same story for UConn as it has been all year. They have zero quality wins. They must get some wins vs. Providence, DePaul, @ Rutgers in the next 2 weeks.
Louisville 68 (14-6, 4-2) - Now in a 4 way tie for 2nd in the conference. If they go 5-5 the rest of the year, they will probably make the tournament, but they have to beat the lower level conference teams.

Santa Clara 61 (14-6, 4-1)
San Francisco 58 (7-13, 3-2)

Wofford 75 (6-14, 1-8)
Charleston 77 (14-7, 7-2)

Texas Southern 54 (9-9, 5-2)
Miss. Valley St. 64 (8-11, 5-2)

Sunday's Scores

2007-01-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

Marquette proves they're sticking around in the Big East chase, Va. Tech does the same in the ACC, and the top teams in the Missouri Valley continue to struggle.

Top 25:

(24) Marquette 77 (17-4, 4-2) - Great turnaround after 0-2 Big East start; now tied for 2nd.
(6) Pittsburgh 74 OT (17-3, 5-1) - Stops 7 game winning streak; still in the lead in the Big East.

South Florida 58 (10-10, 1-5)
(20) Notre Dame 82 (16-3, 4-2) - 5 of next 7 are on the road.

Maryland 64 (15-5, 1-4) - Getting dangerously low in the ACC standings.
(23) Virginia Tech 67 OT (14-5, 4-1) - Good rebound after their 1st conference loss.

Other Scores:

Missouri St. 56 (14-6, 5-4) - Lost 3 of 4 and 0-3 against the conference leaders.
Evansville 63 (11-9, 4-5)

Syracuse 60 (15-5, 4-2) - Just when it looked like they were starting to click they have a bad loss; next 4 could be trouble.
St. John's 64 (11-8, 2-4)

Kentucky's Opponents:

Ohio 69 (12-6, 3-2)
Miami (OH) 72 OT (7-10, 3-2)

Duquesne 87 (5-11, 1-4)
UMass 101 (14-5, 4-1)

Saturday's Scores

2007-01-21T00:44:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

Mississippi 70 (12-7, 1-4)
(1) Florida 79 (17-2, 4-0) - Only undefeated SEC team left.

(2) Wisconsin 71 (19-1, 5-0) - Games have been close lately, but they're still winning.
Illinois 64 (14-7, 2-4) - Lost 5 of last 7.

(11) Arizona 69 (13-5, 4-4) - Lost 3 in a row and have UNC next Saturday; it's time to stop ranking them on potential and start judging them by what they've actually done.
(3) UCLA 73 (17-1, 6-1) - Big to keep Arizona down in the Pac-10 race.

Georgia Tech 61 (13-5, 2-3) - Have been playing better lately, but their next two @ Maryland and vs. Va. Tech are very important; don't want t wind up 2-5 in the ACC.
(4) North Carolina 77 (17-2, 4-1) - By far the team to beat in the ACC.

(5) Kansas 64 (16-3, 4-0) - Stops 10 game winning streak; they will struggle on the road some, but could be great by March.
Texas Tech 69 (14-5, 3-1) - Great win for NCAA chances; vs. Texas A&M on Wed. for another chance at an upset.

Iowa 63 (10-9, 2-3)
(7) Ohio St. 82 (16-3, 4-1)

(12) Okla. St. 49 (16-3, 3-1) - Blown out by both of the top teams in the Big 12.
(8) Texas A&M 67 (16-2, 4-0) - First impressive win of the year and are on top in the Big 12.

California 84 (12-7, 4-3)
(9) Oregon 92 (18-1, 6-1) - Playing as good as anybody; next 4 are big (@ Wash, WSU, UCLA, & USC).

Georgia 76 (11-6, 3-2) - Had this game won, but blew it down the stretch.
(10) Alabama 78 (15-3, 2-2) - Very lucky to win this game.

San Diego St. 51 (13-6, 2-3) - Were thought to be a tournament team ealier in the year.
(13) Air Force 56 (18-2, 5-1)

(14) Duke 79 (16-3, 3-2) - 3 straight easy wins; trying to get back near the top of the ACC.
N.C. State 56 (11-7, 1-4)

(15) Nevada 73 (17-2, 5-1) - I said the other day I still wasn't convinced they were so good (unlike most of the media) and now I think they are very overrated.
New Mexico St. 80 (15-4, 5-1)

(16) LSU 52 (13-5, 2-2) - Speaking of overrated, LSU hasn't played like a Top 25 team any this year.
Arkansas 72 (13-6, 2-3) - If they could just get up for the lower teams like they do the ranked teams, they'd be really good.

(17) Memphis 61 (15-3, 4-0) - Not much to say about them until the tournament.
East Carolina 44 (5-12, 0-4)

Wisc. Green Bay 59 (10-9, 2-4)
(18) Butler 80 (17-2, 5-1)

Boston College 54 (13-5, 5-1)
(19) Clemson 74 (18-2, 4-2) - Huge game @ Duke on Thursday.

(21) Texas 69 (13-5, 3-1) - Lost 2 straight; I doubt they go down much in the rankings though (although they should).
Villanova 76 (13-5, 2-3) - Good win for their tournament resume.

South Carolina 61 (10-7, 0-4) - First time they hadn't lost by more than 20 in SEC play.
(22) Tennessee 64 (14-5, 2-2) - Better start playing better because 3 of the next 4 are on the road (where they are 1-3) including @ UK and @ Florida.

Vanderbilt 72 (13-6, 3-2) - 1st conference road win; have already beaten Alabama, Tenn., and UK.
(25) Kentucky 67 (15-4, 4-1) - Stops 11 game winning streak; next 3 are rough (@ Georgia, vs. Tenn., @ Arkansas).

Other Scores:

West Virginia 83 (14-4, 4-3) - I know it was on the road, but this was a bad loss to a bad team.
Cincinnati 96 OT (10-8, 1-3)

Southern Illinois 58 (15-5, 6-3) - 1st conference road win and it was a big one.
Creighton 57 (12-7, 6-3) - Total losses are getting high for NCAA hopes.

Indiana St. 64 (11-7, 4-4)
Northern Iowa 74 (15-4, 6-2) - Lead the MVC now by themselves.

Wichita St. 63 (12-8, 3-6) - NCAA hopes are pretty much gone now; lost 8 of 11.
Bradley 78 (14-7, 5-4)

Washington 47 (11-7, 1-6) - Another team who's going to miss the tournament.
Washington St. 75 (16-3, 5-2) - Always good to blow out your in-state rival.

Arizona St. 49 (6-13, 0-8)
USC 58 (15-5, 5-2) - Only Pac-10 losses are to UCLA and Wash. St.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Louisville 59 (13-6, 3-3) - Doing a good job of staying in the running for an NCAA bid.
DePaul 50 (12-8, 3-3)

Indiana 77 (14-4, 4-1) - They belong in the Top 25.
UConn 73 (13-5, 2-3) - Still no impressive wins and have lost 5 of 7.

Houston 69 (7-9, 2-2)
Tulsa 67 (12-5, 2-2)

Eastern Kentucky 46 (10-8, 5-5)
Samford 55 (11-8, 8-2)

Elon 45 (4-13, 2-5)
Charleston 67 (13-7, 6-2)

Chattanooga 63 (9-12, 2-7)
Wofford 66 (6-13, 1-7)

Prairie View A&M 61 (2-16, 0-6)
Miss. Valley St. 64 (7-11, 4-2)

Santa Clara 61 (13-6, 3-1)
San Diego 47 (12-7, 2-2)

Auburn 76 (12-8, 2-3)
Mississippi St. 87 (11-6, 2-2)

Vanderbilt 72 Kentucky 67

2007-01-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

Kentucky couldn't stop Vandy's 3 pt. shooting today and it cost them the game. UK allowed 11/23 on 3's and 50% overall FG's. Kentucky shot just 6/22 from the 3 and 43% overall. The Cats were at their best on offense when they moved the ball around and create open shots. However, there were too many times when the ball stopped moving and players such as Bradley just dribbled and waited for something to happen. UK also didn't look inside to Morris in the 2nd half even though he was much better in that half. I don't know why Bradley played point in the last few minutes, but it hurt Kentucky. He ended up with 4 turnovers and shot 0-5 from 3. Meeks and Crawford also both struggled shooting a combined 5-23. Kentucky's only good offense came inside with Thomas, Perry, and Morris combining for 36 points on 13-21 FG's.

I think the main point of this game was Kentucky tried to match Vandy's hot 3 point shooting instead of trying to exploit the advantage UK had in the paint. Kentucky actually shot 20 of 38 on 2's, but they settled for too many 3's. Kentucky has proven they are able to hit 3's in the past, but they have to let them come as a result of their inside game.

Bad News for the Missouri Valley?

2007-01-18T22:25:00.000-08:00

Most of the national media loves to talk about the Missouri Valley Conference and how they are no longer a mid-major and deserve to have at least 5 teams in the NCAA Tournament this year. I agree that the MVC is probably the best "non-BCS" league, but I disagree on just how good they really are. Last year the conference had pretty good success in the tournament, so most writers think it's a given that they deserve 4 to 5 teams in the tournament again this year. But, I don't think these people are looking at what is actually going on in conference play.

Here are the standings through Thursday:

Creighton 12-6, 6-2
Northern Iowa 14-4, 5-2
Southern Illinois 14-5, 5-3
Missouri St. 14-5, 5-3
Indiana St. 11-6, 4-3
Bradley 13-7, 4-4
Wichita St. 12-7, 3-5
Evansville 10-9, 3-5
Drake 11-8, 2-6
Illinois St. 10-9, 2-6

First off, Wichita St. is not going to make the tournament unless they are able to put together a very impressive 8 or 9 game win streak. They have to win 6 of 10 just to finish at .500 in the conference. That kind of record in a conference like this shouldn't get you in.

Indiana St. is doing pretty well in the conference, but losses to Middle Tenn., Ball St., and Drake hurt them pretty badly. However, they have beaten Butler, Purdue, and Creighton, so a good finish in the conference could get them in.

Bradley is a team that gets hardly any mention, but they have the 3rd best rpi in the conference. They still have a tough conference schedule ahead of them, and I don't see them finishing above .500 in the conference either. Plus they'll more than likely have at least 10 losses which is too many in this league.

So the 4 main contenders are Creighton, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, and Missouri St.

Creighton's 6-4 non-conference record hurts them, and so does their early conference loss to Indiana St. They still have 2 games vs SIU, @ Missouri St, @ Bradley, and vs. N. Iowa, and Wichita St. So, they also have a good chance of having at least 10 losses.

Northern Iowa is in pretty good shape right now after their win @ Missouri St. on Thursday. They only have 4 losses, but their rpi is 7th in the league. But if they finish above teams with higher rpi's they should be ok to get in.

Southern Illinois has an rpi of 15 and a win over Virginia Tech that is looking pretty good now. They also have 6 of their last 10 at home.

Missouri St. has an rpi of 14 and a very good win over Wisconsin, who has a good chance at a number 1 seed. If they finish in the top 4 in the conference it would be hard to keep them out of the tournament, but they need haven't been able to beat any of the teams ahead of them so far.

So after looking at all of this, I think the most the conference can get in is 4, but I think that is unlikely. There may be only 2 teams with under 10 losses after the regular season and conference tournament is over. Another thing that might hurt this conference is that none of the teams get a shot to take down a really big name like the teams from the power conferences do. The Bracket Buster challenge could help a few of these teams, but a loss would really hurt the conference's credibility.

Thursday's Scores

2007-01-18T22:02:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

Arizona St. 50 (6-12, 0-7)
(3) UCLA 60 (16-1, 5-1) - Still just one loss, but they haven't been blowing teams out like they did earlier, and they should have tonight.

Stanford 59 (11-5, 3-3)
(9) Oregon 66 (17-1, 5-1) - Continue to surprise and impress me, but they have four straight on the road @ Washington, Wash. St., UCLA, and USC starting next Thursday.

(11) Arizona 73 (13-4, 4-3) - Not playing well in the Pac-10; @ UCLA on Saturday for a chance to climb back near the top of the conference.
USC 80 (14-5, 4-2) - Biggest win of the year.

Wake Forest 40 (9-8, 1-4)
(14) Duke 62 (15-3, 2-2) - The 3 straight vs. Miami, Wake, and NC St. is exactly what they needed to get out of their funk; still haven't proved they can beat the teams at the top of the conference.

Fresno St. 75 (13-5, 2-3)
(15) Nevada 85 (17-1, 5-0) - Are they really as good as their record? We won't find out until the NCAA tournament.

Other Scores:

Wichita St. 75 (12-7, 3-5) - You can't play this badly in the MVC and expect to make the NCAA tournament. Have to win 6 of last 10 conference games to reach .500 in the league, and still have @ N. Iowa, vs. SIU, vs. Mo. St., and @ Creighton, and they are 0-4 on the road in the conference.
Illinois St. 83 (10-9, 2-6)

Bradley 54 (13-7, 4-4)
Creighton 65 (12-6, 6-2)

Northern Iowa 75 (14-4, 5-2)
Missouri St. 65 (14-5, 5-3)

California 77 (12-6, 4-2)
Oregon St. 74 (9-10, 1-5)

Kentucky's Opponents:

UMass 77 (13-5, 3-1)
Xavier 83 (13-5, 3-1)

Eastern Kentucky 56 (10-7, 5-4)
Jacksonville St. 66 (4-14, 2-7)

Home Court Update 1/17

2007-01-17T22:13:00.000-08:00

Through Wednesday's games:

Home Court Record:

ACC: 15-10, 60.00%
Big East: 25-13, 65.79%
Big 10: 19-5, 79.17%
Big 12: 14-7, 66.67%
Pac-10: 13-14, 48.15%
SEC: 17-4, 80.95%

Total: 103-53, 66.03%

Wednesday's Scores

2007-01-17T21:04:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

Purdue 64 (13-6, 2-3)
(2) Wisconsin 69 (18-1, 4-0) - Will be interesting to see how they play on the road against the top half of the conference since they are now the "hunted."

(4) North Carolina 77 (16-2, 3-1) - Still in great position to win the ACC even with a loss @ Va. Tech.
(19) Clemson 55 (17-2, 3-2) - 2nd straight loss; next few games a huge to see if they can really contend in the ACC.

Northwestern 41 (10-8, 0-5)
(7) Ohio St. 73 (15-3, 3-1)

(10) Alabama 73 (14-3, 1-2) - 0-3 on the road and none of the games have been close; lost by 14 @ Notre Dame, 27 @ Arkansas, and 21@ Vandy.
Vanderbilt 94 (12-6, 2-2) - Huge home court advantage, but 0-2 on the road; 3 of next 4 are @ Kentucky, @ LSU, and @ Florida.

Mississippi 55 (12-6, 1-3)
(16) LSU 62 (13-4, 2-1) - Haven't looked impressive in conference play yet.

Youngstown St. 39 (8-11, 3-4)
(18) Butler 67 (16-2, 4-1)

(20) Notre Dame 87 (15-3, 3-2) - 0-2 on the road in the Big East.
Villanova 102 (12-5, 2-3) - Big win that may help them get back in contention for the tournament.

(22) Tennessee 80 (13-5, 1-2) - 3 straight losses.
Auburn 83 (12-7, 2-2)

(23) Virginia Tech 73 (13-5, 3-1) - Have to be able to win the "non-marquee" games.
Florida St. 82 (13-5, 1-4)

Other Scores:

Cincinnati 76 (9-8, 0-3)
Syracuse 77 (15-4, 4-1) - 2nd place in the Big East.

Georgetown 68 (12-5, 2-2)
Rutgers 54 (8-10, 1-4)

New Mexico St. 71 (14-4, 4-1) - Stops 13 game winning streak; this kind of loss hurts when you're trying for a bid and you play in a "mid-major."
Louisiana Tech 73 OT (5-12, 3-2)

Southern Illinois 68 (14-5, 5-3) - Big games they need to win @ Creighton and vs. N. Iowa coming up.
Evansville 75 (10-9, 3-5)

Kentucky's Opponents:

Georgia 67 (11-5, 3-1)
Arkansas 64 (12-6, 1-3) - Bad home loss especially when they 0-4 on the road this year.

Houston 71 (6-9, 1-2)
Rice 76 (9-7, 3-1)

Bowling Green 60 (6-10, 2-2)
Miami (OH) 66 (10-7, 1-3)

Tuesday's Scores

2007-01-16T22:52:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

UConn 54 (13-4, 2-3) - Lost 4 of 6; vs. Indiana Saturday.
(6) Pittsburgh 63 (17-2, 5-0) - Continue to roll in the Big East, and push toward a 1 or 2 seed.

(21) Texas 103 (13-4, 3-1) - Potential let down after hard fought game @ Villanova on Saturday.
(11) Oklahoma St. 105 3OT (16-2, 2-1) - Had to win this one at home after blowout @ Kansas and going to Texas A&M on Saturday.

(13) Air Force 79 (17-2, 4-1) - Stops 13 game winning streak; the #13 team shouldn't be beaten by a team that had lost 6 straight, was 0-4 in the MWC, and has a losing record; it won't happen, but a loss like this should drop you at least 10 spots.
Utah 85 (6-12, 1-4)

UAB 54 (10-8, 2-2)
(17) Memphis 79 (14-3, 4-0) - There might not be a team in this conference that can beat them.

(25) Kentucky 87 (15-3, 4-0) - 11th straight win; can beat anybody when they are hitting their 3's.
South Carolina 49 (10-6, 0-3)

Other Scores:

Maryland 91 (15-4, 1-3) - Haven't even started the hard part of the ACC schedule and already have 3 losses.
Virginia 103 (10-6, 2-2) - Score alot in their biggest wins (93 vs. Arizona, 108 vs. Gonzaga, 103, vs. Maryland).

Miami (FL) 63 (9-10, 2-3)
Boston College 82 (13-4, 4-0) - Haven't faced any ACC heavyweights, but have a chance to compete for one of the top spots in the conference.

Citadel 54 (6-12, 3-4)
Davidson 79 (16-3, 7-0) - 12th straight win; losses came to Michigan, Missouri, and Duke.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Iowa 64 (10-8, 2-2)
Indiana 71 (13-4, 4-1) - Finally starting to get some credit for their play.

St. John's 63 (10-8, 1-4)
DePaul 71 (12-8, 3-2)

Kentucky 87 South Carolina 49

2007-01-16T22:43:00.000-08:00

Kentucky totally dominated USC tonight on offense and defense. The Cats lead by just 10 at halftime, but it didn't seem that close. After UK outscored by USC 50-22 in the 2nd half, the Gamecocks had their worse home loss since 1915. Obviously South Carolina is not very good, but Kentucky still did exactly what they needed to do. They put up a very impressive showing on national television. Crawford is playing the best basketball of his career and Morris and Bradley just keep producing.

There weren't many negatives, but here are some key stats:

Crawford: 23 pts, 9/12 FG, 3-5 3FG
Morris: 17 pts, 11 reb, 3 blk
Bradley: 15 pts, 5 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl
Meeks: 12 pts
Stevenson: 8 pts, 4 reb, 2 blk

Offense: 62.5% FG, 50% 3FG, +10 reb, 21 ast
Defense: 26.8 % FG, 25.9% 3FG, 7 blk, 6 stl

Monday's Scores

2007-01-15T20:12:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

Missouri 77 (11-6, -4) - Almost pull out a huge upset, but instead lost 4th straight and 6 out of 8.
(6) Kansas 80 (16-2, 3-0) - 3 0f next 4 on the road will be a good test.

(24) Marquette 74 (16-4, 3-2) - Not an easy place to win.
Louisville 65 (12-6, 2-2) - A system built on 3 pt. shooting and defense with no shooters and unable to stop dribble penetration..

Other Scores:

Creighton 59 (11-6, 5-2)
Wichita St. 62 (12-6, 3-4) - Have to keep winning to avoid slipping out of the NCAA.

Gonzaga 75 (12-7, 3-1) - Rare conference loss; strength of schedule will help them make the tournament even if they have some more conference losses.
St. Mary's 80 (10-9, 2-1)

Kentucky's Opponents:

Georgia Southern 64 (9-9, 2-5)
Charleston 67 (12-7, 5-2)

Chattanooga 66 (9-11, 2-6)
Elon 56 (4-12, 2-4)

Miss. Valley St. 64 (6-11, 3-2)
Southern 72 (4-14, 3-3)

Portland 41 (6-14, 2-2)
Santa Clara 57 (12-6, 2-1)

Sunday's Scores

2007-01-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

Top 25:

(15) Oregon 79 (16-1, 4-1) - Very impressive road win at a place where not other visitor has won.
(10) Arizona 77 (13-3, 4-2) - Not going to get any easier with @ USC and UCLA next week.

(11) Duke 85 (14-3, 1-2) - I don't want to hear about Duke being "back"; Miami is awful with losses to Buffalo, Cleveland St. and Binghamton (at home).
Miami (FL) 63 (9-9, 2-2)

Seton Hall 76 (10-6, 2-2)
(22) Notre Dame 88 (15-2, 3-1) - Stay in 2nd place in the Big East.

Other Scores:

Illinois 57 (13-6, 1-3)
Michigan St. 63 (15-4, 2-2) - 13-0 at home, but 0-3 on the road.

Cincinnati 59 (9-7, 0-2) - Only winless team in Big East play
South Florida 74 (10-8, 1-3) - Finally found a Big East team they can beat.

Kentucky's Opponents:

Miami (OH) 51 (5-10, 1-2)
Buffalo 68 (9-7, 1-2)

UK 64, Miss. St. 60

2007-01-13T18:03:00.000-08:00

It wasn't very pretty, but Kentucky was able to hold on and beat Mississippi State to stay unbeaten in the SEC. UK was being out hustled and out rebounded in the 1st half, but they came out much more aggressive and ended up out rebounding MSU by 1. The Cats had 0 offensive rebounds at halftime, but came back with 10 in the 2nd half. They also hit 15/19 FT's being led by Morris's 7/8. Jasper played one of his best games 8 pts, 8 reb, 1 blk, 4 stl, 3 ast, and 3/4 FT's.

Tonight's win makes it 10 in a row for Kentucky and they stay in a tie with Florida for the lead in the SEC East. They are also the only 2 teams in the SEC that haven't lost a conference game.

More stats later.