NCAA Basketball FanHouse http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com NCAA Basketball FanHouse http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/media/feedlogo.gif NCAA Basketball FanHouse http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Mississippi State Rack and Rollin'http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/23/mississippi-state-rack-and-rollin/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/23/mississippi-state-rack-and-rollin/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/23/mississippi-state-rack-and-rollin/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Alexis RackTwo weeks ago, Pat Summitt surveyed the national scene and said this:

"A lot of people don't have Mississippi State on their radar screen and they should."

Never argue with Pat.

Mississippi State is climbing the rankings -- moving from No. 25 to No. 19 in this week's poll -- and the ladder of national recognition, particularly after Sunday's 84-55 win over No. 20 Maryland.

Granted, Maryland is remodeling after the graduation of Kristi Tolliver and Marisa Coleman and the transfer of Marah Strickland, and Brenda Frese's program will likely struggle with change most of the year, but the Bulldogs took it to the Terrapins on their home floor.

Senior guard Alexis Rack -- one of eight seniors on the roster -- broke out for 43 points, including seven 3-pointers in the victory. It was the fourth-best individual scoring performance in school history.

"Sometimes I was just letting it go," Rack (above, right) said after the game.

Mississippi State is flying high at 4-0, and it has enjoyed its home court advantage. It's time to hit the road now ... which leads up to the sun and sand of the Paradise Jam Tournament next week in the U.S. Virgin Islands. This year's eight-team field will feature five ranked teams.

Mississippi State will be there, playing in the "Reef" division along with Rutgers, USC and No. 13 Texas.

The "Island" division includes No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 20 Oklahoma, No. 23 San Diego State and South Carolina.

San Diego State, who broke into the national rankings for the first time in 14 years, feels like there's a little honor in the invitation to play.

"Three years ago, the only way we get there is to hold a fundraiser and go in the spring," Aztecs coach Beth Burns said.

The holiday's other big tournament is the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas. It is a bit more of a second-tier group with four ranked teams in the field including George Washington, No. 25 Michigan State, South Dakota State, Indiana, Minnesota, TCU, No. 18 Kansas, UNC Charlotte, No. 15 Virginia, Marist, Oklahoma State and No. 9 Xavier.

Don't overlook Tennessee

Summitt was handing off credit to Mississippi State, but her own team was building some impressive momentum after beating Virginia, 77-63. Angie Bjorklund, Shekinna Stricklen and Glory Johnson combined for 56 points.

The Lady Vols were even good enough to get their locker room back at Thompson-Boling Arena. The team had been kicked out of it for lackluster play in February and Summitt had said her team would have to "win something" to earn its way back in.

Apparently, beating a Virginia team that beat the Vols by one point in Knoxville last year was good enough to unlock the door.

Tennessee is young and inexperienced right now. But they look very, very good -- good enough to turn Connecticut and Stanford's intimate party as national championship contenders into a legitimate threesome.

Now for the bad news: Freshman center Faith Dupree will be sidelined for the season with a back injury. She played in two games, including 18 minutes against Texas Tech on Tuesday night in San Antonio. The Lady Vols are down to 11 active players for the season and need to keep Kelley Cain healthy to avoid serious depth issues in the post.

A View From the Top

The Huskies and the Cardinal don't look to be moving off their top two rankings any time soon. Here's a look at how the best of the best are stacking up so far.

Tale of the Tape
Category No. 1 UConn No. 2 Stanford
Scoring Avg.
 91.7
 86.2
Reb. Margin
 17.0
 23.0
Victory Margin
 49.4
 20.4
Next Five Games
 vs. Hofstra
vs. Richmond
vs. Vermont
vs. Hartford
vs. Iona
 vs. Utah
vs. Gonzaga
vs. DePaul
vs. Duke
vs. Tennessee


The Week Ahead

The most intriguing non-tournament matchups of the coming week:

UCLA at Tennessee: Former Vols assistant Nikki Caldwell comes back to Knoxville with an intriguing team that should finish near the top in the Pac-10.

Gonzaga at Stanford: One of the country's top mid-majors has a major-league test at Maples Pavilion against the Cardinal.

Cal vs. Ohio State in the Buckeye Holiday Tournament: Cal has showed its youth with poor shooting performances and the Bears lost to Baylor by 20 at home on Sunday. The No. 3 Buckeyes will be an even bigger challenge.

Randoms...

For a mid-major, Dayton is having a good early season run playing tough against big-conference teams. Dayton threw an opening salvo with a 77-74 win over Michigan State, lost a two-point game to Louisville and then knocked off Purdue 56-53 in the Boilermakers' own tournament ... The top nine teams in this week's AP poll went 19-0 last week with an average victory margin of 27 points ...There are two conferences in which every team has at least a .500 record thus far: the Big East and the Big Ten.

Mississippi State Rack and Rollin' originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Alexis RackBeth BurnsBrenda FreseFaith DupreePat SummittMichelle SmithMon, 23 Nov 2009 14:54:00 EST ACC Players, Coaches Wag Finger at New Taunting Rulehttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/acc-players-coaches-wag-finger-at-new-taunting-rule/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/acc-players-coaches-wag-finger-at-new-taunting-rule/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/acc-players-coaches-wag-finger-at-new-taunting-rule/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , ,

ACC referee Karl HessGREENSBORO, N.C. -- The talk of the Atlantic Coast Conference's basketball media day Sunday was the trouble a player could get into if he talked too much.

Or said the wrong thing, or gestured the wrong way, or celebrated excessively, or did anything else that might be considered "unsporting behavior,'' according to a new zero-tolerance policy approved for this season by the NCAA.

Many of the players and coaches gathered at Greensboro's Grandover Resort bluntly said they either did not like the change, didn't understand why it was necessary, or both. The biggest issue: there is too much room left for the wrong interpretation.

"If you dunk on someone or whatever -- that's just someone's game. They take pride in it, "insisted Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney. "They don't mean to disrespect people, but that's sometimes how it comes out.

"I think they should have done a survey with the players, asked us for our input,'' he added. "We're the ones playing, and they wouldn't know how we feel about it unless they ask us. They wouldn't know how it affects how we play if they don't ask how we feel."

Said Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez -- formally voted by the media as preseason first-team all-ACC, and informally picked as the player most constrained by the new rule -- "What if you dunk on someone, and it's a crazy dunk, and you can't keep the emotions inside of you? I guess that's what they want us to do. But, that's why they have rules.''

Not even a coach's reputation as "old school'' kept him from being perplexed by the new rules, which call for a technical if an official -- at his discretion -- deems a player's actions as over the line.

"That's why college basketball is a great game, because of that exuberance,'' Maryland coach Gary Williams said, adding that there is a distinct difference between celebration and taunting. "These are 18-and-22-year-old kids who have grown up playing a certain way. It may not be the way I grew up playing it, but it's a great way to play.

"And I hope nobody gets penalized for making a great play and being penalized for it. You've seen it in football already,'' he added. "Hopefully, nobody loses a game over something like that.''

Williams was referring to the infamous "excessive celebration'' football penalty that essentially cost Georgia a victory over LSU earlier this month, a mistake the Southeastern Conference later had to admit to and for which the officiating crew was suspended. Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt also recalled that play, and laughed when asked about the new basketball rule.

"You always teach your players to respect the game, so I think it's important that you're serious about that -- but I'm smiling, because you're putting a lot on the officials,'' Hewitt said. "They're officiating the best athletes in college sports ... This is just another thing you're piling on their plates.''


The taunting rule is one of a handful of changes or areas of emphasis to be put into play this season. There now will be a specific blocking-charging area under the basket, but one that will not be marked by a line as in the NBA. Also, the use of replay will be expanded to determine whether certain fouls are called flagrant, intentional or technicals; three-seconds will be scrutinized more; excessively swinging elbows by a player with the ball will be subject to flagrant fouls; the choices coaches have in picking a replacement foul shooter when the fouled player is injured were narrowed, and distracting free-throw shooters once they are at the line was outlawed.

Even as he was explaining the new taunting rules, ACC officiating supervisor John Clougherty admitted that the Georgia-LSU situation "went too far.'' On the other hand, he said, the basketball officials would now have wide latitude on calling, for example, pointing at an opponent or standing over him after a dunk, flexing muscles, posing, speaking or gesturing to him.

The players would have to walk a fine line between celebrating with teammates and inspiring a home crowd, Clougherty said, and acting unsportsmanlike. As a guide, he said, "Act like you've been there, don't embarrass your opponent.''

Coaches and players don't mind the obvious unsportsmanlike acts being whistled, but they said there are too many that are being confused with normal expressions of excitement. With those, they said, there's no good reason to halt them anyway.

"You're not doing anything wrong, you're just showing the love of the game,'' Williams said. "It doesn't bother me. Obviously it bothers some people ... This is the 2009-2010 season. We're not playing in the 1960s, where everybody wears a crew cut.''

One of the few players who believed it would not alter how he plays was North Carolina forward Deon Thompson: "Not with our team. Our coaches don't like when our team dunks in a guy's face and taunts him -- he doesn't like that,'' meaning head coach Roy Williams.

Hewitt pointed out that with the way players grow up playing ball nowadays, traveling all over the country and building friendships in competition that continue as they move to differing college teams, what might look like trash-talk might be a completely innocent exchange between long-time acquaintances. "I don't think that was considered when they put this in,'' Hewitt said, adding that it would not have hurt for coaches as well as players to be "consulted'' on such a move.

Ironically, Thompson has such a bond with Clemson's Trevor Booker, a teammate on the United States' under-19 World University Games squad in Belgrade last summer; Booker, also a preseason all-ACC pick, boasted of what he and his team would do to Thompson's Tar Heels, and said of the rule, "That's a big one for me; I like showing my emotions ... They have to let you get your crowd into it.''

North Carolina, the defending regular-season and NCAA champs, and Duke, winners of last year's ACC tournament, tied for first in the preseason voting, the first time there has been a tie in 41 years of media voting. Duke's Kyle Singler was chosen player of the year and was joined on the all-conference first team by Vasquez, Booker, Delaney and North Carolina's Ed Davis. Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors was the overwhelming pick for rookie of the year.

The 2012 tournament, already awarded to Atlanta, will be played in Philips Arena rather than the Georgia Dome, the site the last two times the city hosted it, conference officials announced. The two preceding it and the three following it will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum.

ACC Players, Coaches Wag Finger at New Taunting Rule originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Derrick FavorsEd DavisGary WilliamsKyle SinglerKyleSinglerPaul HewittDavid SteeleSun, 25 Oct 2009 22:30:00 EST Gary Williams Feels Vindicated as Maryland Tips Offhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/gary-williams-feels-vindicated-as-maryland-tips-off/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/gary-williams-feels-vindicated-as-maryland-tips-off/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/gary-williams-feels-vindicated-as-maryland-tips-off/#commentsFiled under: ,

Gary WilliamsCOLLEGE PARK, Md. -- When he addressed the packed house at Comcast Center at Maryland's Midnight Madness festivities Friday night, Gary Williams said he didn't prepare his comments and spoke off the cuff. It wasn't hard to figure out where his inspiration came from.

"I'd like to thank all the fans who are here tonight, all across the country, who stayed with us last year,'' he said. "Last year was one of the great experiences I've ever had as a coach.''

Staying with the Terrapins in 2008-09 was a challenge, especially after a contentious midseason stretch that featured a surprise home loss to Morgan State, a 41-point humiliation at Duke, Williams' public feud with athletic department officials, and an impromptu appearance at a subsequent Williams press conference by athletic director Debbie Yow so she could give him a vote of confidence.

But the reward was great: Maryland reversed direction, defeated eventual national champion North Carolina, upset Wake Forest on the way to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament to cap a 21-14 season that was more satisfying to Williams than the record would indicate.

Throughout the final weeks and the postseason run, Williams circled the wagons, instilled a us-versus-them mentality and pulled off a coaching job that ranks with his 2002 national championship, considering the hole his team climbed from.

As toned-down as the event was this year compared to past extravaganzas -- no Gary Williams look-a-like contests, no dance routines by players, no theatrical entrance by the coach, who once rode in on a motorcycle -- Friday was a night to celebrate that improbable turnaround and to acknowledge expectations for more. It was the debut in uniform for the Terps' two highly-touted freshman inside players, 6-8 James Padgett of Brooklyn and 6-10 Jordan Williams of Torrington, Conn.

Besides being blue-chippers who fill a major need and could potentially vault the Terps into the national rankings, they are the answers to the tough questions Gary Williams has faced in recent years, when critics of the team zeroed in on his recruiting as the reason it missed the NCAA tournament three times in four years before last season.

Padgett and Williams received loud welcomes from the fans on hand, although the biggest cheers were for senior all-ACC guard Greivis Vasquez, who spoke to the crowd and echoed his coach's promise that "nobody will work harder than us.''

Added Gary Williams -- who gave his customary fist-pump to the crowd that chanted his name as he took the floor -- "People ask us if the high expectations worry you. We want high expectations. Bring them on. We'll take those expectations and go play.''

Besides the additions of the two post players, Williams was also buoyed last month by an additional year added to his contract after he met performance and academic incentives, locking him in through the 2012-13 season -- when he would turn 68 and complete his 24th season coaching at his alma mater. He also pointed with pride, in his on-court remarks, to Maryland being ranked as the ninth-best program in college basketball in the past decade by Lindy's magazine.

Maryland's regular season opener is against Charleston Southern Nov. 13 at Comcast Center. The Terps play in the Maui Invitational the week of Thanksgiving and meet Indiana and Villanova in non-conference games before their ACC opener against Florida State at home Jan. 10.

Gary Williams Feels Vindicated as Maryland Tips Off originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:21:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>David SteeleSat, 17 Oct 2009 12:21:00 EST Len Bias' Legacy, Family's Struggles Captured in Documentaryhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/23/len-bias-legacy-familys-struggles-captured-in-documentary/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/23/len-bias-legacy-familys-struggles-captured-in-documentary/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/09/23/len-bias-legacy-familys-struggles-captured-in-documentary/#commentsFiled under:

Len BiasWASHINGTON -- A long-awaited documentary about the life and death of Maryland basketball star Len Bias was shown for the first time Wednesday afternoon, some six weeks before its official release.

Bias's mother, Lonise, attended the screening of Without Bias at a downtown theater, and afterward spoke to the roughly 75 attendees. "We are firm believers, my family firmly believes, that Len did more for this nation in death than he ever did in life,'' said Bias, who has been a public speaker and lecturer on drug use and other dangers to youth since her eldest son's death from a cocaine overdose in 1986, two days after the All-America forward and Maryland's then-all-time leading scorer was drafted second overall by the Boston Celtics.

Bias and her family gave their blessing for the hour-long film to Kirk Fraser, its director. She appears in it, along with former Maryland head coach Lefty Driesell, several former teammates and classmates, reporters who covered the story at the time (including FanHouse columnist Kevin Blackistone), and prosecutors who eventually brought charges in Bias's death -- as well as Brian Tribble, who was charged and later acquitted of providing the cocaine to Bias. Even former Washington mayor Marion Barry, whose own battles with drugs since Bias's death are well-chronicled, appeared and spoke of the positive image Bias had presented to the world, and how it was shattered by the circumstances of his death at 22.

The 33-year-old Fraser, who like Bias grew up in the D.C. area and whose production company is based there, had sought a distributor for Without Bias (the original working title was Len Bias: The Legend You Know, The Story You Didn't) for nearly two years, and had mounted a memorable marketing campaign at the Sundance Film Festival in early 2008, when he had yet to complete the movie. Now, it will air November 3 on ESPN, and Wednesday's screening was the first of two this week in Washington (the next is planned for Friday at the historic Lincoln Theater), in conjunction with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation convention.

Wednesday's invitation-only showing was hosted by the National African-American Drug Policy Coalition, an advocacy group for drug-sentencing reform; the latter portion of the film focuses on the stringent mandatory-minimum sentencing laws rushed into place in the aftermath of Bias's death, most of which are being challenged today as some of the lawmakers who once championed them have since admitted that they were harsh and disproportionate to the crimes.

The official world premiere is scheduled for late October on Maryland's campus, Fraser said. Having a chance to partner with the drug-policy group, he said, made sense, because originally he had not planned to devote much of the film to the so-called "Len Bias laws'' until he and Bias's mother talked extensively about it during production. "I was naive about the policies that were part of this,'' he said.

Still, much more of the extensively-researched film is devoted to Bias himself and those who knew him, particularly his family. Four years after Len's death, younger brother Jay was shot and killed at a shopping mall near campus.

The Biases have a daughter and son and five grandchildren. The eldest boys, Lonise Bias said, are basketball players. She said she stays on all of them to be sure that, at least, if the worst happens to them, it will not be because the family was unaware or that it neglected to make any of them aware of the pitfalls that caught her two other sons.

Claiming that she used to hate to hear people tell her that if life handed her lemons, make lemonade, she said, "I'm proud to say, 23 years later, that the Bias family has lemonade."
Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook

Len Bias' Legacy, Family's Struggles Captured in Documentary originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>len biasDavid SteeleWed, 23 Sep 2009 20:30:00 EST Kansas Now Fully Loaded With Xavier Henry http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/22/kansas-now-fully-loaded-with-xavier-henry/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/22/kansas-now-fully-loaded-with-xavier-henry/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/04/22/kansas-now-fully-loaded-with-xavier-henry/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

With John Calipari now coaching at Kentucky, top shooting guard Xavier Henry reopened his recruiting. C.J. was already on the Memphis squad following a failed professional baseball career, but that meant little. Ultimately Xavier Henry has opted to go to Kansas, and his older brother will be joining him.

The addition of Henry to a recruiting class that includes power forward Thomas Robinson and point guard Elijah Johnson -- both top-50 recruits -- means that a likely top-10 recruiting class will join a Kansas team that finished in the top-10 and will be returning everyone. Kansas now joins North Carolina and Michigan State as the presumed favorites for 2010.

For the second straight year, Bill Self and Kansas are the beneficiary of a major coaching change. Last year it was Tom Crean leaving Marquette for Indiana that had Tyshawn Taylor getting out of his Marquette letter of intent and heading to Kansas.

The decision by Henry also impacts one other McDonald's All-American and two other programs. Lance Stephenson was expected to commit to Kansas but was waiting to see what Henry did.

With Henry choosing Kansas, the Brooklyn native is expected to decide between St. John's or Maryland. Both programs have coaches that are bordering on desperate to land a big-time player.

Kansas Now Fully Loaded With Xavier Henry originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>st. johns red stormSt.JohnsRedStormChas RichWed, 22 Apr 2009 21:54:00 EST Boom Goes the Bubblehttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/03/05/boom-goes-the-bubble/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/03/05/boom-goes-the-bubble/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/03/05/boom-goes-the-bubble/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

March started days ago. The Madness started Wednesday night.

On an evening where bubble teams could've punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament and boosters could've started humming bars of "One Shining Moment," teams turned down invitations like they were to a wedding without an open bar or the People's Choice Awards.

A memo, fellows. This isn't an invitation to a candlelight dinner with Randy Johnson. "Big Dance" doesn't mean you're cutting a rug with Mark Madsen or waltzing cheek-to-cheek with Mike Tyson.

You actually want to go to this thing.

Yet any team with bubble aspirations did its best impersonation of your 401k.

Virginia Tech had the equivalent of a print-at-home ticket to the Big Dance, but had no more luck finding their way into the tournament than coach Seth Greenberg would have recommending a good barber. But at least they lost to North Carolina. What's your excuse, Boston College?

The Eagles, who have already cleared a whole carton of egg of their face by losing to Harvard in a something that doesn't involve fractals, lost to N.C. State, a team that could only generously be described as a bubble team if, in fact the NIT has a bubble.

The formerly storied Kentucky Wildcats lost to a Georgia team that's 11th in what might be a three-bid conference and long ago fired its coach. Then again, that's what playing with the passion of a man waiting on a bus will do to you.

Miami, which made Duke and North Carolina sweat like Gary Williams in back-to-back games in early February, and looked like a possible Sweet 16 team a month ago, ensured its postseason wouldn't get in the way of Spring Break, falling to Georgia Tech.

Minnesota, a borderline-out bubble team beat Wisconsin, a borderline-in bubble team in the Big Ten, officially giving the league more possibly qualifiers than the total of points some of its teams have scored in a half this season.

And then there was the Gators, a team that just two years ago was flirting with Tom Emanski territory as back-to-back national champions.

Florida lost to Mississippi State in a game that wasn't even as close as its 80-71 score indicates. The Bulldogs took a nine-point lead in at the half, led by 16 in the second and never once so much as had the Gators in drafting distance in the final frame. The Bulldogs, we're fairly certain, could tell you where the CBI will be held without looking it up.

And Florida's loss could be magnified for all the teams that counted the Gators among their top-50 RPI wins, like Syracuse and South Carolina. The Gators were 49th in the RPI before falling to the Bulldogs. And that number will certainly gain a few pounds after getting dumped by Mississippi State. In fact, should the Gamecocks lose tonight against Tennessee, they could conceivably enter Selection Sunday with double-digit SEC wins and zero victories over the RPI top 50.

Of course, this is America. There's always a reward for kicking back and laughing at the misery of others (This, we suppose, is why Detroit Lion games make it on television). So who benefits from the bubble burst?

Maryland, who has four wins in four tries over N.C. State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, and whose two top wins over North Carolina and Michigan State match up with anyone on the bubble, should get a bump out of all the wreckage, provided the Terps beat ACC doormat Virginia this weekend. Providence might find its way in now with a solid league record and, like Maryland, a recent marquee win, over Pittsburgh. Michigan can play the big-win card too, with victories over Duke and UCLA, but the Wolverines' most notable victory in the past two months, Purdue, perhaps predictably for last night, lost to Northwestern, a team whose good old days involve Evan Eschmeyer.

And Penn State, who has no great wins to speak of, must look a lot more attractive this morning because the Nittany Lions have nothing that's even in the same Congressional district as a bad loss. If last night proved anything, it's that avoiding embarrassment might be the toughest thing to do in college basketball.

That, or get Wojciechowksi spelled correctly in caligraphy.

But each of those teams are written in pencil, and lightly at that.

So who was the real winner? The conference tournaments. These weekend events were usually three and four-day practices for the NCAA Tournament, an exercise in seeding and souvenir programs. Now they'll be stage for nearly every team to play their way onto, or off, the bubble.

And, of course, the college basketball fan. Beacuse the Madness is finally here.

Boom Goes the Bubble originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>boston collegeflorida gatorsgeorgia bulldogsmarylandmaryland terrapinsmiamimiami hurricanesmississippi stateNC statencaa tournamentvirginia techRay HollomanThu, 05 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST Jeff Teague Gets Unholy on Dave Nealhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/03/04/jeff-teague-gets-unholy-on-dave-neal/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/03/04/jeff-teague-gets-unholy-on-dave-neal/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/03/04/jeff-teague-gets-unholy-on-dave-neal/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Poor Dave Neal. He never stood a chance. Sure, it was senior night in College Park, Mary. And sure, Neal was white hot and having the best night of his career when he decided to try and defend the moving freight train that is Jeff Teague. Teague goes baseline, hops about 30 feet in the air and plants his unmentionables on Neal's face. At least it wasn't Neal's final home game or anything though, right?



Via Shutdown, er, the Dagger.

Jeff Teague Gets Unholy on Dave Neal originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>dave nealDaveNealjeff teagueJeffTeagueWill BrinsonWed, 04 Mar 2009 10:30:00 EST No. 7 Duke Holds Off Marylandhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/25/no-7-duke-holds-off-terps/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/25/no-7-duke-holds-off-terps/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/25/no-7-duke-holds-off-terps/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Heading into Wednesday night's Duke-Maryland tilt, the big story was about a resurgent Terps team, fresh off an overtime win over the second-ranked Tar Heels, and its sudden NCAA tournament prospects. Despite an inconsistent start to the season -- which included a home loss to Morgan St. and a 85-44 thrashing against the Blue Devils in Durham -- an emotional home-court victory over the ACC's best squad suddenly gave an aimless season direction. If Maryland could manage to upset seventh-ranked Duke, its tournament ticket would be punched.
Duke 78-Maryland 67: Box Score | AP Recap | ACC Standings
It didn't happen. Perhaps the Terps were mentally spent after their dramatic win over the Heels. More likely: Duke, on most nights, is the better team. Maryland played inspired for stretches, but late-game foul trouble would be their eventual undoing.

Lost amid all the pre-game hype was the fact that Duke, too, has struggled with inconsistency this season. The low point, it could be argued, came two weeks ago when Coach Mike Krzyzewski admitted, unprovoked, that "We're not as good as they are right now," in the minutes after UNC beat Duke 101 87 in Cameron Indoor Stadium. But the things that don't kill you, as they saying goes.

Which helps explain last Sunday's 101-91 victory over eighth-ranked Wake Forest.

"Tonight was a huge game for us," Krzyzewski said after Sunday's win. "It was as big a game as we've had in three years. ... So whatever you can do ethically, legally and physically, you got to try to do."

There's still much to be decided -- including an end-of-season rematch against the Tar Heels -- but Coach K has to be pleased with how his team has responded after a 2-3 stretch to start the month.

No. 7 Duke Holds Off Maryland originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Mike KrzyzewskiMikeKrzyzewskiRyan WilsonWed, 25 Feb 2009 23:45:00 EST Terp Fans Prank Duke Hotel Roomshttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/25/terp-fans-prank-duke-hotel-rooms/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/25/terp-fans-prank-duke-hotel-rooms/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/25/terp-fans-prank-duke-hotel-rooms/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Maryland-Duke is not a rivalry to be taken lightly, even if Duke did wallop the Terps by 41 in Cameron earlier this season. Now that Maryland is firmly on the bubble (and climbing), though, the stakes are raised again. Which may explain why Maryland fans are going all out in their pre-game prep for Wednesday night's matchup.

"All out" here doesn't just mean "making funny chant sheets," either; the Terps have not only created Facebook groups dedicated to "Operation: Scheyerface 2.0" (via Joe Ovies) but they also spent the week prank-calling Duke's hotel room.

Yes, that's right -- someone figured out where the Blue Devils were staying, and for whatever reason, the hotel's operator freely connected Maryland fans to the rooms of Duke players and coaches. To wit, a poster on the message board Terpcenter claims to have had the following conversation with Greg Paulus:
"Hello, this is ****** with the Washington Times, sorry to bother you at this hour Mr. Paulus, but we are running a small piece tomorrow and I was hoping to take 2 minutes and ask you a question?"

Him: "Uhhh, sure"

"If you had to choose between Deron Washington, Danny Green, and Dwayne Collins, who's[sic] n*ts would you say tasted the best?"

Him: ...click.
While crude, that's also kind of amusing. Of course, so is this goal to get as many photos of Jon Scheyer's face up as possible.
This time, we need everyone to print out one black and white scheyerface (or more since I'm sure people will miss this) from the end of this description and taunt him. It doesn't matter which one, just pick one. If you are on the wall, I'm pretty sure shooting 2nd half free throws into a wall of Scheyerfaces would work to perfection. I can get quite a few, but not enough for every student and we can always go bigger. Larger signs and such are encouraged as well as the normal d00k signage. Feel free to use the wall for ideas, suggestions, etc.

Invite whoever, there needs to be some serious teamwork for this to work as well as possible.
See? That's creative. Please take note, Cameron Crazies. And next year, when Maryland comes back to Cameron, throw some anti-perspirant at Gary Williams. Or something more humorous than that. Point being, Maryland hates Duke and their fans are willing to go to almost any lengths to make grown men cry.

Terp Fans Prank Duke Hotel Rooms originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>greg paulusGregPaulusjon scheyerJonScheyerWill BrinsonWed, 25 Feb 2009 16:15:00 EST Terps Work Overtime to Top Tar Heelshttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/21/terps-stun-tar-heels-in-ot/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/21/terps-stun-tar-heels-in-ot/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/21/terps-stun-tar-heels-in-ot/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The Maryland Terrapins broke out the Ronald McDonald, french-fry yellow unis for Saturday afternoon's game against the third-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, and for 30 minutes they played like a bunch of players destined for careers in the fast-food industry, or at least a profession that doesn't involve dribbling basketballs.

Junior guard -- and on-court cheerleader -- Greivis Vasquez scored the Terps' first 16 points to keep the game close, and then he didn't make another basket until 21 game minutes later. By that time, Maryland trailed by 16 and their already slim chances of backing into the NCAAs seemed pretty much gone.

Apparently not. Vasquez was just getting warmed up -- he would end the day with 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists -- as were teammates Cliff Tucker and Eric Hayes. Tucker and Hayes combined for 39 points, primarily on 8-for-15 shooting behind the arc, and both played a central role in Maryland overcoming a double-digit second-half deficit and eventually pulling out the win in overtime.

Next up for the Terps: Duke. And if Gary Williams' team is going to sew up a tournament bid, beating the Blue Devils will virtually guarantee it. In the meantime, beating the Heels is a huge first step to the final 65, which goes a long way in explaining why fans stormed the court.

For North Carolina, they'll need a strong finish to lock up a No. 1 seed, but in the scheme of things, this loss doesn't mean much. Maryland's a tough place to play (unless you're Morgan State) and historically, Gary Williams has had success against the Heels. All that's left to do is for Roy Williams to drop a few f-bombs in the post-game presser, and UNC can then put the loss behind them.

Terps Work Overtime to Top Tar Heels originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Cliff TuckerCliffTuckerEric HayesEricHayesGary WilliamsGaryWilliamsGreivis VasquezGreivisVasquezRyan WilsonSat, 21 Feb 2009 18:10:00 EST North Carolina Shoots Down Terpshttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/04/north-carolina-shoots-down-terps/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/04/north-carolina-shoots-down-terps/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/04/north-carolina-shoots-down-terps/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

North Carolina landed some tough news tonight, finding out that both Marcus Ginyard and Will Graves will miss the remainder of the season because of injury and suspension, respectively.

And while the news might have dampened spirits after the game, you couldn't really tell throughout a 108-91 beatdown that saw the Tar Heels hit 16 3-pointers -- seven from Wayne Ellington -- as they inspired an already exuberant Dean Dome crowd that showed up to see whether or not the Tar Heels could break a losing streak against a Maryland team that was suddenly slightly arrogant for no apparent reason.

So the question with the loss of Ginyard now becomes if North Carolina can play enough defense to contend for the national title. Based on tonight's game, they seem content simply to keep scoring in lieu of defense.

Maryland played well, shooting 48 percent from the field, but Ellington's outside shooting and the Tar Heels' transition game was just too much for the Terps to handle.

Ty Lawson and Danny Green each added four 3-pointers and Tyler Hansbrough chipped in with one as well as he scored 24 points. That these four players counted for all 16 of those 3-pointers and all but 13 of the team's total points score has to be slightly terrifying.

Graves' absence and Ginyard's injury mean increased minutes for Carolina's stars, and might seriously challenge the Tar Heel's depth.

As for Maryland, well, again, they played well, and a few times seemed poised to make a run that could actually cut the lead down to less than 10. But there's definitely something that can be said about not running your mouth before heading into someone else's house. Especially when "someone else" is a "top-five nationally ranked team."

North Carolina Shoots Down Terps originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>danny greenDannyGreenmarcus ginyardMarcusGinyardty lawsonTyLawsontyler hansbroughTylerHansbroughwayne ellingtonWayneEllingtonwill gravesWillGravesWill BrinsonWed, 04 Feb 2009 12:30:00 EST Maryland Player Snarks North Carolinahttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/03/maryland-player-snarks-north-carolina/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/03/maryland-player-snarks-north-carolina/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/03/maryland-player-snarks-north-carolina/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

The Maryland Terrapins haven't lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels since 2005-06. Seems pretty crazy, no? Of course, regardless of that run, you would think Maryland's players would have snuck into tonight's game against Carolina somewhat humbly, having already run their mouths before getting embarrassed by Duke this year.

They did not though. At least Landon Milbourne didn't, anyway. He made sure to point out the streak to the Diamondback, Maryland's student newspaper.
"I've been here for three years, and we haven't lost to North Carolina yet," forward Landon Milbourne said with a slight smirk.

"Sometimes teams go in there - if you're not ranked and [they are] - you might come in there and think, 'We're the underdog, and we have to do certain things differently,'" Milbourne said. "Coach tells us all the time, we don't have to change that much about our game. We just have to play hard. When we play hard, we're pretty tough to beat. If we come out with the intensity we came out with the other night, I think it will be a pretty good game for us."
In fairness to Milbourne, the Terps aren't involved in a blowout ... yet. Carolina leads Maryland by double digits with six to go in the second half, but there's probably a bigger issue at stake here: Is Gary Williams really in control of his team right now?

Williams is known as a taskmaster, and the fact that he would allow his team to snarkily trash talk the Tar Heels before heading to the Dean Dome after the Greivis Vasquez fiasco heading into Cameron is fairly mindboggling. People can state he's not on the hot seat based on his championship all they want, but if this team keeps embarrassing itself publicly, it's hard to believe he couldn't land in hot water.

Update: Carolina, in the time it took me to type two paragraphs, has stretched the lead to 21 and look dangerously poised to blow this game out.

Maryland Player Snarks North Carolina originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>gary williamsGaryWilliamsgreivis vasquezGreivisVasquezlandon milborneLandonMilborneWill BrinsonTue, 03 Feb 2009 20:40:00 EST Gary Williams Gets Vote of Confidence From Maryland ADhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/gary-williams-gets-vote-of-confidence-from-maryland-ad/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/gary-williams-gets-vote-of-confidence-from-maryland-ad/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/02/02/gary-williams-gets-vote-of-confidence-from-maryland-ad/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Debbie Yow, Maryland's athletic director, has had a pretty tough few weeks. First, her sister, Kay Yow, passed. Meanwhile, the men's basketball program continued in a total freefall as Gary Williams started spewing public vitriol in the direction of her assistant.

So forgive Yow for not being incredibly visible about the whole thing. However, today, she convened the media to announce that Williams' job security is just fine.
"The other reason I'm here is I just really - I would have done this on Friday at media availability if I had not had to be in North Carolina, but I really want to lay to rest any of these crazy rumors that are floating around related to the job security of Coach Williams. He has my personal full support, as he does from the department and from the university.
Yow also discussed the death of her sister at the press conference, which was a joint affair with Williams. Williams, naturally, had some pretty humble words:
"It's nice that, uh, she said those things. I've never felt threatened by anything. I know what I've done, just this decade. Very few programs have done what we've done this decade. I think there's probably three or four, maybe. You know, Florida, because they've won it twice. You could say UCLA, even though they haven't won a national championship this decade. (North) Carolina, Duke, you know, those two because they've won it this decade. But, you know, I'm secure in what I've done.
Sigh. Williams continued on, stating that over the past decade, he would compare what he's done "with anyone in the country," which is fantastic in terms of confidence. As for realism, well, it probably lacks a little bit of substance. I would imagine there are more people than just Florida coach Billy Donovan, who has won two titles and gone to three Final Fours, who would take umbrage with his statements.

Still, it seems as if Williams' job is safe, for now. But whiffing on the NCAA Tournament this year might make things a little bit warmer in College Park.

Gary Williams Gets Vote of Confidence From Maryland AD originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>debbie yowDebbieYowgary williamsGaryWilliamskay yowKayYowWill BrinsonMon, 02 Feb 2009 19:30:00 EST Onion Peels: The ACC and Big East, Not Home to Road Warriorshttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/onion-peels-the-acc-and-big-east-not-home-to-road-warriors/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/onion-peels-the-acc-and-big-east-not-home-to-road-warriors/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/onion-peels-the-acc-and-big-east-not-home-to-road-warriors/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Onion Peels is a recap of last night's action and an unofficial Bill Raftery blog.

Wake Forest 70, Duke 68
Two things stand out about Wake Forest from this game. First, Dino Gaudio has done a tremendous job turning the Deacons into a team that can actually play defense (Holloman noted this a while back, actually), and second, can this Wake team close? I know they actually won, so that seems like a silly question, but after seeing the Virginia Tech debacle and then seeing them play down the stretch against Duke, it wouldn't be fair not to question their throat-stomping ability

Duke, on the other hand, just lacks an inside presence. No offense to Brian Zoubek, who, despite being a seven-footer, managed to finish with an impressive zero points and two rebounds last night, but this is going to be a really, really big deal when they play North Carolina and anyone with a big guy in the NCAAs.

Villanova 67, Pittsburgh 57
A lack of a serious inside presence for Pittsburgh -- DeJuan Blair and Tyrell Biggs dealt with foul trouble all night -- gave Villanova ample room to attack the basket and put the Panthers from behind at the start. In a similar fashion to Pitt's loss to Louisville, the Panthers let an opponent hang around and subsequently lost. Scoring 57 points isn't exactly impressive, either.

North Carolina 80, Florida State 77
The Seminoles always play the Tar Heels tough, and last night's game was no exception. However, North Carolina usually doesn't just collapse; as Shiloh pointed out, they almost did last night. But for Ty Lawson's ability to hit a last second 3-pointer, the Heels are staring at three losses in ACC play. BUT DON"T WORRY! THEY"RE ROLLING RIGHT ALONG! No, but seriously, when your point guard leads you in rebounds, you have issues.

Gary Williams 1, Kathy Worthington 0
Sweaty Gary gone done and LOST HIS MIND. Don't believe me? Witness the best quote of the NCAA season -- in a season filled with a lot of great lines coming from College Park no less -- so far: "Kathy Worthington doesn't speak for me. She has never won a national championship. She has never done anything." Click, click, BURN. Touche, Gary. Touche.

Providence 100, Syracuse 94
The Orange continued their Top-25 shame spiral, losing their third straight (and four out of five) Big East game, despite Jonny Flynn throwing up a 35/3/6 line with four three pointers. How did they lose? Because 'Cuse likes to play zone, and Providence likes to shoot threes.

Elsewhere: Louisville stomped South Florida, setting up what should be an awesome matchup against Connecticut (who plowed through DePaul) Monday. LSU toppled Tennessee ... but WHERE ARE THE MARISSA MILLER STORIES??


Onion Peels: The ACC and Big East, Not Home to Road Warriors originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>bill rafteryBillRafterybrian zoubekBrianZoubekdejuan blairDejuanBlairdino gaudioDinoGaudiogary williamsGaryWilliamskathy worthingtonKathyWorthingtononion peelsOnionPeelsty lawsonTyLawsontyrell biggsTyrellBiggsWill BrinsonThu, 29 Jan 2009 11:15:00 EST Gary Williams Is Paranoid, but Maryland May Be Out to Get Himhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/gary-williams-is-paranoid-but-the-maryland-athletic-department/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/gary-williams-is-paranoid-but-the-maryland-athletic-department/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/29/gary-williams-is-paranoid-but-the-maryland-athletic-department/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Maryland coach Gary Williams is feeling pressure. He won't admit it, but his behavior is that of a man that is well aware of the whispers that there is dissatisfaction with his job performance. Williams also is beginning to sound like a man aware that his bosses are not particularly fond of him.

The Terrapins appear poised to miss the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years. On top of that, the way the team has been losing has accentuated the problem. Maryland was blown out by 41 by Duke last week, then blew an 11-point halftime lead at home to Boston College to lose by 9. Maryland cannot compete with the big dogs and are falling to the bottom of the ACC.
The problem, in large part, is that the players are not particularly good. Nor have they developed particularly well. All things that are in the control of the head coach. Except that Gary Williams has become increasingly defensive. Not about the kids who are in his program, but the ones that are not.

"We've had [players] that were here for different lengths of time," Williams said yesterday. "The kid [Shane] Clark up at Villanova was turned down for admission here at Maryland. A guy starting at South Florida, [Gus] Gilchrist, was here. He'd be playing now."
...
Maryland also ended its relationship last year with another recruit, Tyree Evans, who told The Sun in May that he was "proud to be a Terp" after being offered a scholarship despite a string of criminal offenses.

Evans, a guard, withdrew from consideration to play for Maryland after media reports detailed his troubled past. Athletic director Debbie Yow said she didn't know at the time that Maryland was recruiting Evans or much, if anything, about his criminal record.

"Tyree Evans would be playing here now," Williams said. "You know, they're all qualified to play at other schools. So that's part of it. In basketball, one player is a lot. It's not like football where you have 25 every year."

Williams later said of Gilchrist and Evans: "It wasn't my fault that they're not here. That was somebody else's call."

Where to begin with this. Look at the players he bemoans not having.

Shane Clark is a back-up forward at Villanova in his senior year. Gus Gilchrist was originally at Virginia Tech, who transferred to Maryland only after the tragic campus shootings made him reconsider. Tyree Evans only came his way because of his past problems with the law and academics kept him out of Cinci and then Kansas State.

Yes, all three players were considered four-star recruits, but one has been a back-up that never developed. The other two committed and signed elsewhere before a change in circumstances brought them to Maryland.

Then consider, he's essentially saying that the players on the present team just aren't that good. The other kids he recruited and has coached. It looks like chemistry issues on the Maryland team do start with the coach.

Amazingly it still gets weirder. The Maryland Athletic Department actually responded to Gary Williams' complaints. It was not in a way that could be considered backing the coach.
Kathy Worthington, Maryland's senior associate athletic director, yesterday called Williams's remarks "inaccurate" and said she was "very surprised by Gary's comments because I had been so involved with each recruit."

After Maryland lost to Boston College, 76-67, last night, Williams defended his remarks and his program, and added that "Kathy Worthington doesn't speak for me. She has never won a national championship. She has never done anything. She is an associate AD.

"Why do they jump on me all the time?" Williams said of school officials. "It's somebody else's call. Who said University of Maryland's call? Nobody. Why can't I say that? This is just giving you guys stuff to make me look bad."
It seems a bit paranoid by Williams and he comes off as a jerk, but it does raise a legitimate question. Why say anything? This seemed like the time when an athletic department would fall back on a no-comment. Maybe cite something nebulous like student privacy issues to avoid the matter. Try and let the matter slip away quietly.

Instead the associate athletic director makes it very clear that it was Gary Williams that ultimately made the call on the players. Meanwhile the Maryland athletic director, Debbie Yow, remains quiet to let this get bigger and messier. Almost guaranteeing that this will get uglier and end badly.

Gary Williams Is Paranoid, but Maryland May Be Out to Get Him originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 01:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Chas RichThu, 29 Jan 2009 01:35:00 EST Duke Fans Try to Be Funny on National Television, Failhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/26/duke-fans-try-to-be-funny-on-national-television-fail/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/26/duke-fans-try-to-be-funny-on-national-television-fail/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/26/duke-fans-try-to-be-funny-on-national-television-fail/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The Cameron Crazies are often thought of as "funny." "Creative" is probably a better description though. Whatever, they manage to generally heckle opposing players. When Greivis Vasquez called Cameron Indoor "my house," they freaked. Only they managed to freak without being funny, as they displayed on ESPN Saturday. Someone get FAILblog on alert.




Television recording handpound to Steinz.

Duke Fans Try to Be Funny on National Television, Fail originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>greivis vasquezGreivisVasquezWill BrinsonMon, 26 Jan 2009 22:20:00 EST Duke Runs Maryland, Vasquez Right Out of Cameronhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/24/duke-runs-maryland-right-out-of-cameron/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/24/duke-runs-maryland-right-out-of-cameron/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/24/duke-runs-maryland-right-out-of-cameron/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Maryland's Greivis Vasquez may have learned a valuable lesson: past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance. Vasquez may have performed well at Cameron Indoor Arena last year. And yes, he's an emotional player. Still, declaring Cameron "my house" was predictably moronic. Especially when Vasquez and his teammates could not even come close to backing up that check. Duke destroyed Maryland Saturday afternoon, 85-44.

This one was over early. Duke had a 40-15 halftime lead, and was up by double digits barely 10 minutes into the game. Not even five minutes into the second half it ballooned to 60-20. After that, Duke just coasted to their largest win over Maryland in the history of the two teams.

Duke was having fun and emptied their bench in the second half. Meanwhile, Maryland's players had been completely broken. Maryland coach Gary Williams had used all but one of his second-half timeouts within the first five minutes, but to no avail. Maryland couldn't shoot, couldn't rebound and couldn't take care of the ball.

In the first half, the Terps shot 7-for-25, turned the ball over 12 times and were out rebounded 25-to-8. The situation did not improve in the second half.

The only reason to keep watching, beyond the pure trainwreck aspect of it, was to see if Vasquez would completely lose it at the Cameron Crazies. The chants of "Vas-quez! Vas-quez!" were quite frequent.

There's no shame in losing to Duke in Cameron. There's not a lot, even in most double-digit losses. This, however, was absurd. The whispers of Gary Williams starting to lose job security at Maryland only grow louder after games like this.

This kind of loss goes deeper than talent difference, home court advantage, being outcoached, outhustled and outplayed. It suggests the Terps are a team that does not care; and a coach that no longer can connect to his players. Whether that means those players have to go, or the coach, remains to be seen. Either way, it is on Gary Williams to figure it out, since he was the one who made the decision to recruit them, and still instructs them.

Duke Runs Maryland, Vasquez Right Out of Cameron originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Chas RichSat, 24 Jan 2009 13:53:00 EST Greivis Vasquez on Cameron Indoor Stadium: 'That's My House'http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/23/greivis-vazquez-on-cameron-indoor-stadium-thats-my-house/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/23/greivis-vazquez-on-cameron-indoor-stadium-thats-my-house/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/23/greivis-vazquez-on-cameron-indoor-stadium-thats-my-house/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

The Maryland Terrapins have plenty of reason to be cocky heading to Durham, N.C., tomorrow to take on Duke. After all, they're 2-2 in the ACC (13-5 overall) and are on a vicious one-game winning streak after squeaking by the embarrassingly bad Virginia Cavaliers in College Park.

Oh, and Duke is decent too.

Yes, "plenty of reason" here does mean "no excuse," thanks for asking. But the circumstances surrounding the game aren't stopping Greivis Vasquez, who I don't believe is a graduate of the Milford School, from speaking out in really, really silly fashion (not his first time this year, either).
"That's my house," the junior guard said. "I love going in there. It's going to be fun."
Re-he-he-heeaally. That, folks, is fairly freaking bold. Of course, when you ball it up in Cameron, you're typically allowed to say that. And Grievis, awkwardly, does just that: he was a board shy of a triple-double two years ago (a Terp win) and posted 25/8/7 last season (a loss). Of course, as the younger half of the Brothers Irrelevant noted: "Missing stat? Turnovers."

Unfortunately for Maryland, there's a 100-percent forecast for "swaggerjack" on Saturday afternoon, and unfortunately for us, as the game winds down, we'll all be subjected to a "WHO'S HOUSE NO-OW!" chant.

Greivis Vasquez on Cameron Indoor Stadium: 'That's My House' originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>greivis vasquezGreivisVasquezWill BrinsonFri, 23 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST Maryland Fans Boo Greivis Vasquez, Vasquez Tells Them to 'Shut the F*** Up'http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/12/maryland-fans-boo-greivis-vasquez-vazquez-tells-them-to-shut-t/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/12/maryland-fans-boo-greivis-vasquez-vazquez-tells-them-to-shut-t/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/12/maryland-fans-boo-greivis-vasquez-vazquez-tells-them-to-shut-t/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

In the world of ACC basketball, you have many enemies. And few friends. The latter consists primarily of: your teammates and your fans. You do not want to anger your fans, even if they're giving you a hard time occasionally.

Greivis Vasquez does not seem to understand this. Despite averaging 17.9 points (sixth best in the ACC)and 6.2 boards (12th in the conference) per game, Vasquez caught some flak from a few students recently. The bigger problem is that he didn't exactly play through it, deciding instead to let loose a not-so-polite phrase in the direction of the group.
When Vasquez missed a shot or made a mistake, a cluster of Maryland students either booed the guard or yelled for Vasquez to shape up. And Vasquez responded at least three times by turning toward his classmates (once while dribbling the ball), putting his index finger over his lips and telling them to "Shut the [expletive] up!"
Yeeeeeah. That's not going to be good for anyone. And neither is Greivis' postgame statement.

The likes of which should do little to quiet the backlash from the College Park faithful.
"If they don't believe in us, they can get the hell out. We don't need them anyway. We need the people who will support us, who are with us. I know they are all happy now, but they didn't believe in us when we were down."
So, um, right. Vasquez apparently has no love lost for his fellow Terrapin students, which, as the gents at Mr. I point out, is not the best way to behave after coughing up a home loss to Morgan State.

It kind of makes you wonder, though, whether or not this will actually end on the basketball court. Is it really so inconceivable that Greivis could find himself at a frat party where some meathead tells him to "STFU" right back? Given some of the ridiculous athlete-related behavior we've seen recently, it certainly doesn't seem implausible.

Maryland Fans Boo Greivis Vasquez, Vasquez Tells Them to 'Shut the F*** Up' originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>greivis vasquezGreivisVasquezWill BrinsonMon, 12 Jan 2009 15:15:00 EST Atlantic Coast Conference Season Set to Begin: A Quick Once-Overhttp://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/03/atlantic-coast-conference-season-set-to-begin-a-quick-once-ove/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/03/atlantic-coast-conference-season-set-to-begin-a-quick-once-ove/http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/01/03/atlantic-coast-conference-season-set-to-begin-a-quick-once-ove/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The ACC has had an interesting start to the season. You have top-ranked North Carolina just rolling over everyone and flexing their muscle. Duke has looked very impressive for most of the year. Wake Forest and Clemson are still undefeated and climbing the polls.

Still, there have been some bad moments. Miami hasn't looked as good as advertised, Maryland followed up one impressive win by getting blown out twice. Virginia Tech has lost on two buzzer beaters. Then there is the glut of also-rans that litter the bottom half of the league.

Conference season doesn't get into full swing for another week or so and there has already been two league games played. There are some big non-conference game this week (Ga Tech at Alabama, Xavier at Virginia, NC State at Florida, Wake Forest at BYU) but the highlight will be the ACC's top two teams starting conference play.

The big game will be North Carolina opening up conference play against Boston College. Sure, they are on other ends of the spectrum, but the game boasts the two favorites for ACC Player of the Year. We know all about UNC's Tyler Hansbrough, but BC's Tyrese Rice was right behind Psycho T all last year. In their last meeting, Rice dumped 46 points on the Heels and nearly pulled off a late season upset (Sunday, 5:30 PM ET).

Other big games this week: Virginia Tech at Duke (Sunday, 7:45 PM ET)

Player to watch: Other than Rice and Hansbrough, all eyes at the Dean Dome should be on Ty Lawson. Lawson is having an All-American season thus far but hasn't faced anyone like Rice, yet. Like I said, Rice popped 46 points on the Heels. That was also Lawson's first game back from an ankle injury so he was at a disadvantage. Let's see if his new defensive intensity will be effective against one of the ACC's best.

Pre-Conference Power Rankings

1. North Carolina -- The No. 1 ranked team in the nation has won all 12 of their games by double-digits, a school record.

2. Duke -- When on, they are one of the best teams in the country. But we all saw in Michigan what they look like when they aren't.

3. Wake Forest -- Still undefeated and could be a top four team next week. One of the deepest teams filled with guys you've never heard of.

4. Clemson -- The Tigers have shown that toughness that Oliver Purnell has injected into the program. Their blasting of Miami proved that.

5. Miami -- There is no question that Jack McClinton and the Canes are a tournament-calibar team. However, they don't seem to be on the same page at times, the offense bogs down and the defense isn't focused.

6. Florida State -- The Seminoles may actually be putting together the kind of season we've been waiting for. The loss to Northwestern was puzzling but they gave good effort in a loss to Pitt. Let's see how they do against Duke in ten days.

7. Maryland -- They followed a blowout of Michigan State by getting ran out of the gym by Gonzaga and Georgetown. Still, they've beaten Michigan and all the teams they are supposed to.

7. NC State -- Injuries and inconsistent play has hit the Wolfpack yet again.

9. Virginia Tech -- Well, they've beaten the teams they are supposed to and have been close in their four losses. Remember that Xavier needed a miracle shot to beat them and Wisconsin beat them at the buzzer.

10. Boston College -- They have a few nice wins on the resume, but nothing overly shocking. Let's see how they handle a January stretch at UNC and then hosting Miami and Wake Forest.

11. Virginia -- Three of their four losses aren't horrible. Losing at home to Liberty is.

12. Georgia Tech -- Their home loss to Virginia knocks them down here. Their upcoming schedule looks daunting as well so they may stick here for a while.

Atlantic Coast Conference Season Set to Begin: A Quick Once-Over originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>jack mcclintonJackMcclintonty lawsonTyLawsontyler hansbroughTylerHansbroughtyrese riceTyreseRiceShiloh CarderSat, 03 Jan 2009 01:16:00 EST