Why so SERIOUS?!

Hey coach Cronin, your Cincinnati Bearcats actually won against 10th ranked UConn. It was an albeit sloppy game but there were several times you looked like you were gonna break your players necks.

Xanax, coach. And enjoy the win.

Three for the road

What do these three schools have in common? They haven't been to March Madness in over 60 years...

OMGWTFLOLZ!!!1!!1

That's right, Northwestern, Army and William & Mary have either been kicking it in their dorm rooms come March or been wallowing in the NIT. But at 9-2 (Black Knights), 10-1 (Wildcats) and 8-2 (Tribe) things are looking slightly up. Our money is on Army and Northwestern making it.

Your Wednesday Moment of Zen

March to Madness presents... Attention whore

Make sure HR isn't around if you click...

Saved by zero

Can you say trap game?

OH MY GOD! I knew you could...
The Mountaineers survive yet another close game this time against Marquette, winning 63 to 62. First Seton Hall and now this makes the folks in couch burning land very nervous right now.

UPDATE: West Vigrinia plays Purdue January 1st. The Mountaineers will lose for the reasons mentioned above.

Wowsers

No post today because... because we suck. Hopefully we'll be back up and running tomorrow.

Not trying to kick up dust...

When we started the college basketball blogpoll around these parts it was for two reasons; 1) there should be a basketball blogpoll and, 2) we wanted to pay homage to the college football blogoll which we were very found of. So, our official view is that it will happen again this year. Unofficially, we are waiting just like you:

Some peeps have asked "why don't you just start it up again?" With our new job that moved us across the country (in the middle of a recession, mind you) we don't really have the time.

Yoda would say patience... We have lots. Tranquilo.

Zyprexa anyone?

Real life has caught up with us today, but we leave you with this...



Maybe he should be asking his doctor why he thinks his reflection is having a conversation with him about his junk.

From all of us here at M2M

Marry Christmas!!!

The power of prayer

Ex president Richard Roberts approves

Oral Roberts lays the lumber to New Mexico, beating the 13th ranked school in the country 75-66. The Lobos were going for their 2nd 13 win season in school history but ORU founder denied them this milestone from beyond the grave:

Oral Roberts, who died last week at age 91, was honored in the invocation and players wore black, circular patches with his initials on their jerseys. New Mexico ended up becoming the highest-ranked opponent to lose at Oral Roberts.

Of course, if you ask New Mexico fans they would say it's a good loss. Where we come from no loss is "good". Especially if you are an overwhelming favorite.

So congrats Golden Eagles, you so deserve the This Is Sparta award for the week. Don't go crazy with it.

Your Wednesday Moment of Zen

March to Madness presents... A day at the beach

Technically NSFW... You have been warned.

Profiles in Sadness: Michigan

You know you're in a world of hurt when your own coach says he scheduled too many tough games for you and would take it back if he could. Judging by the tally so far coach John Beilein may have a point.

But you gotta give the athletic department credit for being so optimistic that they have the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament as part of their schedule. We think the Wolverines will gut out enough wins to get into the NIT but that is it.

Hey, better than Iowa...

Name of the Year

We would like to nominate Oklahoma's Tiny Gallon.

Tiny, indeed.

History repeats itself

M2M: Iowa guard Anthony Tucker was arrested for being drunk.
You: Yeah, we know. He got fucked up last December behind some bar.
M2M: Ummmm, yeah... But we are talking about last Sunday.
You: WHAT?! Tucker got arrested again? For what?
M2M: Well, he was drunk of course. Took a cab which was very responsible of him. But he didn't want to pay the fare. So he ended up behind bars. Again.

"Anthony will be suspended for an indefinite amount of time," Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said in a statement. "First and foremost, I wanted to make sure Anthony is OK from a physical safety standpoint, and he is. Certainly, I am disappointed because this is not the first legal incident involving alcohol."

Sweating bullets

Iowa coach Todd Lickliter proves to be a difference maker coming back from serious surgery as Iowa escapes a close game with Drake. How close was it? Well it came down to one missed shot for the Bulldogs, and fans knew just how crucial that shot was:

Pain comes in many forms

Nightcap

We finished off the night by watching our beloved Aztecs play Arizona State...



We give coach Steve Fisher one more year. Good night.

It was all a dream about Tennessee

USC, you just beat 9th ranked Tennessee! You win this week's The Is Sparta! award. Major upset, guys. How do you feel?


Eh, whatever. Anyone up for SkyBar?

Weakest rush the court ever. We almost want to revoke the Sparta award.

And Coach Pearl. Losing to a team who obviously does not care?! WTF?!!

Kansas / Michigan

Disinterested Bill Self destroys another opponent

Yeah... That happened. We are unable to show you highlights of the game due to copyright violations we can show a reenactment of how the Jayhawks bitch smacked the Wolverines:

Recognize.

Profiles in Sadness: Iowa

This is quickly looking to be the third straight losing year for the Hawkeyes with losses to UTSA and directional Iowa teams. They have yet to win against ranked opponents and they're staring down a barrel of a gun this Saturday with a Drake team that can run the floor.

Iowa's recruiting has been atrocious, they are being used as virtual punching bags by lesser teams and even the fans are starting to get restless.

But hey, coach Todd Lickliter is back after serious surgery so there is a little hope. We said a little...

The players admitted, though, that there was plenty of frustration about the team's start.

"It's never easy to lose," (junior forward Jarryd) Cole said.

"I think there was a sense of frustration," (freshman guard Cully) Payne said. "We're definitely in a hole."

If the Hawkeyes don't right this ship by mid season the clamoring for a coaching change will most certainly get louder, health issues or not for the Lick-ster.

(Pic HT: Doc Saturday)

Epic Fail of parenting

This is so off-topic but we HAD to post it.

Chattanooga’s NewsChannel 9 reports that (4 year old) Hayden Wright was found Tuesday at 1:45 a.m. wandering around his Hamilton County neighborhood wearing a girl's dress and sipping a 12-ounce can of beer.

According to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office report, Hayden rang the doorbell of a house a few doors down from his. He then broke into another house through an unlocked front door and stole five Christmas gifts from under their tree. One of the presents was a brown dress, which the boy was wearing when police found him.

(Mother April) Wright is in the midst of divorcing her husband, who is currently in jail. She suggests he is partially to blame.

"[Hayden] runs away trying to find his father," Wright said. "He wants to get in trouble so he can go to jail because that's where his daddy is."

Bad time to be a Caucasian cheerleader

Mississippi State forward Jarvis Varnado hates his school's cheerleaders, feels there's not enough women of color.

Holy crap!

That's exactly what we said to ourselves when we read this. We're not big fans of women's b-ball but sometimes you just have to take notice. Especially when two of your star players beat the bejebus out of a little ol' cheerleader:

Amanda Hanneman and Jessra Johnson, the Tigers leading scorers, were arrested early Friday morning after Justin Short, a Missouri cheerleader, called police complaining there were people who would not leave his apartment. When police arrived, Short said he had been assaulted by the basketball players and he was taken to a hospital with a swollen nose and a cut on his eye.

Amanda             Jessra


Justin

Missouri's coach Cindy Stein has indefinitely suspended Amanda and Jessra for late night brawling. Believe it or not Justin has been suspended too. Probably a PR move to minimize the embarrassment he's suffering.

UPDATE: More over at Busted Coverage.

At least they looked good

Hooray for the ticky-tack NCAA who once again in their infinite wisdom shows how they can make collegiate sports excruciating:

Three members of the Arkansas men’s basketball team may have violated NCAA rules by appearing in a Northwest Arkansas magazine wearing clothing from local retailers. Guards Rotnei Clarke, Courtney Fortson and Jeff Peterson — along with men’s basketball coach John Pelphrey — are featured in a nine-page spread inside the December issue of "Celebrate Arkansas."

According to the NCAA rulebook, which can be found at NCAA.com, bylaw 12.5.2 details the "nonpermissible" use of a student-athlete in advertising. Rule 12.5.2.1 says that an athlete is not eligible for participation if the individual "accepts any remuneration or permits the use of his or her name or picture to advertise, recommend or promote directly the sale or use of a commercial product or service of any kind."

On another note this has been a slow couple of days in college hoops land.

Your Wednesday Moment of Zen

March to Madness presents... Behold, ME!

View at work only if you hate your job

Angry Quakers

Different Glen Miller

Pennsylvania has had enough after a 0 to 7 start and gives Glen Miller the ax.

It seems they aren't shedding any tears about this either.

You like us, you really really like us!

60,000 page views! Thank you!!!!11!

A nose picking time

Villanova is was the third best team in the country. They came into Temple walking on air. No way the Owls were going to beat them, they've lost four years in a row. They are totally rebuilding right now.

And then this happened...



75-65 Temple.

SPARTA!!!

One and done

Like our man crush Keith Olbermann would say, and now a special comment...

We want to officially go on record in saying that the NBA should adopt the NFL rule of players being 3 years removed from high school before being able to enter the pros. We have felt this for years as players such as Kobe Bryant went pro while we were left thinking "Could you imagine him at Duke?"

Then the NBA came up with this one year removed rule. This just pissed us off more. If you want to go pro, then GO! Don't waste our time and make a mockery of the collegiate system by enrolling, signing up for classes only to drop out when the semester is over. The term is Student-Athlete, not Possible-Millionaire-In-Waiting.

We were reading the Bible and John Gasaway made the following comment about Kentucky's super frosh John Wall:

I’m on the record as thinking one-and-done has got to go and, post-Wall, I still believe that. Wall should be in the NBA right now. (Duh.) To keep him out is unfair. But to love hoops as I do is to love what you’ve been seeing, however it came to be. Again, enjoy Wall while you can.

Yes, Wall is good but imagine if he remains at Kentucky longer? And when Kentucky loses (and they will) would that say Wall is NOT ready for the NBA? Should Michael Jordan have jumped ship and not played at UNC (or worse only play one year)? Was he THAT much better than the college competition?

Ok, we're done. < /soapbox>

Thursday night wrap-up

The Syracuse 2-3 Zone looks sad. Sad for kicking Florida's ass up and down the court tonight.

Awww, I'm sorry guys. Better luck next time.

Ranked 11th? Really? How many times could the Gators fall for the back cut "alley-oop"? We seriously lost count. Along with the missed shots and the blown assignments. And that's how you get an Orange beatdown to the tune of 73 to 85.

John Wall for Heisman

We are starting to believe in the this mix between Kobe Bryant Dwayne Wade and Jason Kidd. That UConn / Kentucky game had an NBA type of environment feel to it.

Let us be clear, we do not mean NBA type of PLAY. That would have sucked.

Michael Douglas, Pat Riley, all the stars were out. Insane fans (in a good way), and once again a last minute heroic effort by the freshman that sealed the deal 64 to 61 for the Wildcats.

We are running out of superlatives here...

Your Wednesday Moment of Zen

March to Madness presents... Can I have some of your salad?

Of course NSFW, citizen...

Pitt loses, Taylor cries

Crean smiles, coach Dixon proclaims his masochistic nature:

"We got what we deserved!"

And all is right in Hoosier land. Indeed.

The NCAA in it's infinite wisdom...

Both Rich Brooks and Bob Knight thinks this is bullshit:

On another note our ears nearly bled listening to Dickie V during the Georgetown / Butler game.

Why not 331 teams?

We know that almost every year the NCAA contemplates expanding the Tournament seeding, this time around to 96 teams. Looks to have some financial backing too:

Though the discussions are being characterized as preliminary, they shed a light on the NCAA's thinking as it decides whether to exercise an escape clause in its 11-year, $6 billion deal with CBS, the NCAA's longtime partner.

The idea talked about with TV networks would likely take it from its current field of 65 teams to 96 teams and add another week to the competition, with the top 32 teams receiving byes. The move has been characterized as folding the NIT into the NCAA tournament.

This has got to be the silliest meme out there. Our post title is apt.

Bloodbath

So, UCLA is going to play #1 ranked Kansas today...

Yes, that UCLA.

We heard the Jayhawks will be wearing black trunks for the game.

Blocked!

Blocked
Pronunciation: \ˈbläkt\–verb (used with object)
To obstruct (someone or something) by placing obstacles in the way (sometimes fol. by up): to block one's exit; to block up a passage; to bitch smack someone going to the hole.

So lay down, the threat is real, homie.

The late shift

Watching (or watched) -

VCU / William & Mary (congrats Tribe)
Kentucky / UNC (congrats Wildcats)
Washington State / Kansas State (currently ongoing)
and Charlotte / Louisville (see below)

Yes, Charlotte. This is definitely Sparta. You get this week's award for putting the smackdown on the Cardinals. Depleted or not they looked lost out there.

Reason 1,286,495 why college hoops is better than the NBA

Submitted without comment...

(HT: The Dagger)

You WIN! No you didn't. Oh yes you did!

Texas Tech has just beaten 10th ranked Washington by a last second three point shot and the crowd goes wild...

...only to be dragged back out on the court to play overtime. Seems that Tech's Mike Singletary couldn't get the damn ball out of his hands in time. But the Red Raiders managed to pull it out in overtime and upset the Huskies.

Almost "This is Sparta" but not quite.

Holla Sooners!

After loses against San Diego, Houston and ugly cheerleaders, Oklahoma catches a breather with Arkansas Wednesday. Storming The Floor has a great look at the Sooners and their extreme over reliance on Willie Warren (complete with chart!). They say the best way to think about Oklahoma is this...

Where do the Sooners go from here? I'm not even sure Capel could answer that question. For now it's just a wait-and-see kind of season.

We tend to agree. We also feel that Oklahoma will be back in the lower half of the top 25 later this season with the sometimes painfully slow emergence of guard Steven Pledger. Don't make a liar out of us.

Black is back

6th ranked Purdue wins their game against Wake Forest by 11 points but fans are still not happy. Like the lady below they simply... can't... believe... this shit.

Yeah, the Big Ten's got this tournament.

Your Wednesday Moment of Zen

March to Madness presents... Will you take my picture?

Definitely NSFW

It's Goundhog Day!

UNC beats Michigan State again, and again, and again.

Damage report at the Worldwide Leader.

Rats leave what type of ship?

With UCLA suffering from a trio of embarrassing loses and near the bottom of the barrel in the Pac-10 standings Drew Gordon calls it quits.

UCLA basketball's starting center, is leaving the team and transferring at the end of the quarter. The announcement came through a weekly press conference today and coach Ben Howland did not cite any specifics about why his player is leaving.

Screw this. I didn't sign up for this shit.

Say what?

Newly commissioned BCS executive director Bill Hancock argues that the current college football BCS/Bowl System is waaaaay better than the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

We need to talk to Hancock's dealer because he's giving him some strong ass shit.

Stick a fork in them

We commented before on the surprisingly lackluster play of the new SEC of the West, the PAC-10.

But to be beat... No, waxed by the likes of Long Beach State 68 to 79 is somewhat of a head scratcher. In fact the Bruins did not win a single game in the 76 Classic tourney.

As for Long Beach State, congrats. You have lived up to your city's reputation...



Bonus: LA Times says FACE, Westwood!

Don't be poor

Needed to take a break to enjoy the holidays. We'll resume posting substantial stuff tomorrow (depending on what you think is substantial).

(HT always to our inspiration EDSBS)

Picture Pages: UConn edition

At least some people were happy about Duke's win


That T-Shirt aptly describes the Huskies style of play in the second half


Damage report heyah.

Time's up

During the Michigan/Creighton overtime game we noticed a sort of seat of your pants style by the Wolverines. Sloppy paint play, an over reliance on an almost non-existent 3 point game. We thought "They can't keep living like this..."

Well, Michigan's bill became due today with a loss to Marquette. Their junkie like dependence on three point shots bit them this time.

"Didn't do it very well today, did I?" (Michigan coach John) Beilein said, laughing, when asked about his plan.

Not so funny when your team falls in the rankings next week.

All I ever wanted...

Ex Duke basketball player and current Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus says he only wanted to make the Orange football team better.

And Adolf Hitler technically only wanted to pull Germany out of the Great Depression.

On another note Marquette seems like they are trying to lose this game against Michigan.

Chandeliers!

Playing Cancun in style...

Cliffhanger

They needed a desperation shot against Miami of Ohio to win.

They needed overtime to beat Stanford.

Both times super frosh John Wall pulled their asses out of the fire.

Can we call them Cardiac Cats yet A Sea Of Blue?

Picture Pages

I shall call him... Mini Morrison.

Your Wednesday Moment of Zen

March to Madness presents... The lucky bus

NSFW, homie.

What the hell did Bill Raftery just say?

Currently watching the Gonzaga / Wisconsin tussle in Maui when we heard this. The audio is more important than the video here. We listened to this several times and this is what we THINK Mr. Raftery said:



Sean McDonough: We're under way, Gonzaga in blue controlled the tip.
Raftery: Arm and hammer! Jay Bilas! Wisconsin go! Bee piss!
Jay Bilas: ???

If anyone has any better translation we would like to hear it.

Of predictions and sarcasm in Hawaii

Well, we know the Maui Invitational lacks star power this year... And this has led some coaches to be a little ornery.

When asked about the overall weakness of the teams participating this year Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan had a few snark words:

"You are trying to tell me we are not ranked? Or Arizona isn't ranked?" he asked. "I didn't know that."

Ohhhh, burn baby. This has also led some other coaches to have dilutions of grandeur. When asked the same question Maryland coach Gary Williams redefined being optimistic:

"I think there will be three or four teams out of here that'll be in the top 25 at the end of the year."

Colorado, Gonzaga, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, Chaminade, Maryland, Arizona and Wisconsin... Really?

At least there's one thing we're good at

T & A. Go Aztecs.

Keystone cops but with PAIN

Currently watching the Georgia Tech (BEEEEEEEEEES!) / Boston University game and witnessed a series of unfortunate events:

1) GA Tech player is going out of bounds along with a Boston player. GA Tech player trying to retain possession throws the ball against the Boston player and hits him in the FACE.
2) GA Tech player who threw ball then slips and hits the ground hard on his ass.
3) Another GA Tech player rushes to the aid of the first player and proceeds to slip and nearly breaks his ankle in the process.

Are we missing anything? Geez Louise.

Oi Vey

VCU's cheerleaders may be Fugly, but the basketball team's style of play es beautiful, mang.

From start to finish the Rams manhandled Oklahoma. Just a bombs over Baghdad 3 point barrage VCU brought. There is a joke in the college football universe that goes as such: What does Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops do? He loses football games. Maybe we should add Jeff Capel to that list for having his 17th ranked Sooners lose a game they had no business losing.

But give credit where credit is due. Congrats VCU for beating a ranked team for the first time since 1989. You know the Commonwealth is 10 minutes away from Gabby. He needs to head down there for a game.

*LOLZ*

Over at Rush The Court they had a comment that made us fall out of our collective chairs snickering:

"Memo to Pac-10 teams. Don’t bother sending your schools back east unless they plan on actually showing up for the games."



That is about as succinct as you can put the craptacular play of the traditional powers out west. Holy hanna.

This Bud's for you

We're currently watching the beatdown Syracuse is giving UNC and we just heard Dickie V. say the following:

That's traveling, man!
Even in the NBA that's traveling!


Dick Vitale has his moment of lucidity.

Oh yeah. Syracuse? This Is Sparta!!!! You get the other weekly award.