PSU v. Ga Tech = Big 10-ACC Challenge/Rudolph Extravaganza

This is the time of year where I wish my TV had Picture-In-Picture capability.  You see, PSU’s hoops squad will tip off against Georgia Tech tonight @ 7:30 PM ET on ESPN2, which will be shortly followed by CBS’s annual airing of Rudolph at 8 PM ET…At least there’s a guarantee that one of those viewings will be a pleasant one.  And in case any of you were about to ask: No, there will not be another running diary on Rudolph.  Trust me, doing it once was good enough.

As you all know, the Fighting DeChellises are taking part in the 10th annual “ACC/Big Ten Challenge” which has been anything but a challenge for the ACC, being that they’ve won this fake Land Grant Trophy-quality contest every year since its inception.  Even though this year’s series is tied at 3 games apiece, Indiana and Michigan State have to go up against Wake Forest and UNC respectively so yeah, go ahead and mark those in the “loss” column for the Big Ten.  This means that barring any shockers by IU or MSU, it’s up to PSU, Northwestern (home against Florida State), and Michigan (@ Maryland) to pick up the slack and carry the Big Ten out on top for the first time ever…Seriously, this thing should be banished to the “Island of Misfit Tournaments.”

Action shot from a previous Big Ten/ACC Challenge

Taking a quick look at Georgia Tech, it appears as if they do the bulk of their scoring in the frontcourt as three of their four double-digit scorers are forwards.  Gani Lawal leads the way for the aforementioned frontcourt, averaging a double-double thus far (19.3 ppg, 11.5 rpg).  The backcourt, while depleted by the losses of D’Andre Bell (spinal stenosis) and Lewis Clinch (academic struggles) still features quality players such as Iman Shumpert (the other double-digit scorer) and Maurice Miller (team leader in assists, 6.7 apg).     For once in my life though, I have the dubious distinction of favoring PSU’s backcourt over an ACC team’s backcourt…strange indeed.

As far as the other major concern with any PSU opponent, perimeter shooting: Georgia Tech surprisingly struggles in this category, shooting a combined 14/43 from behind the arc for a whopping 32.9 percent.  Lance Storrs is the team’s most dangerous shooter, going 5/10 from downtown.  Being that Tech’s already played four games, this seems to indicate that Storrs is simply one of those bench players that you bring in for a few minutes if you need to launch a few 3-point torpedos in order to get an offensive spark going.  Then again, how many times have we seen a supposedly lousy 3-point shooting team suddenly catch fire against us?  Let’s just move on…

Georgia Tech also loves to play up-tempo, as evidenced by their being ranked 4th in tempo/pace according to Ken Pomeroy. Being that Ed DeChellis allegedly favors an up-tempo style as well, this should make for an entertaining game that could end up resembling a track meet of sorts.  PSU should be able to hold pace throughout the game and make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.

The line is currently -8.5 in favor of Georgia Tech, which sounds about right.  Tech’s playing at home and most importantly, have a far superior frontcourt which could offset their weaker backcourt, not to mention the fact that PSU also has issues playing in big road games.  If the Fighting DeChellises are going to have any hope of pulling the upset, then Talor Battle needs to put up another near-triple double performance, Pringle and Morrissey need to shoot lights-out and play solid defense, and somebody other than Cornley and DJ has to step up in the frontcourt. Andrew Jones putting on a repeat performance of his 13-rebound game against Towson would certainly be a place to start, Jeff Brooks making a cameo apperance would also be nice.

Crispin and Cream doesn’t see tonight being such a “Holly Jolly” evening, as he’s picking Georgia Tech to cover the spread with a 9-point win.  My advice to him is to just switch over to Rudolph after 8 PM, because while PSU will likely hang around in this one and tickle our fancies by being a couple shots away from taking the lead, I just don’t see them getting over the hump (i.e. making that key defensive stop).  I will however, take PSU to beat the spread and say Tech wins by 7.  John will reluctantly do the same.

Billy Packer “Fags Out” On CBS; Millions Rejoice In The Streets

Without a doubt, this is the greatest news I’ve woken up to in a long time. From this day forward, millions of basketball fans across this great nation can watch the Final Four sans the “Mute” button now that this old curmudgeon is gone.

Whether it was his relentless criticism of mid-majors like Bradley and George Mason being the NCAA tournament, his constant bias towards Big East/ACC teams, his unwillingness to lighten up and stop taking things so seriously, or his tendency to call a game’s outcome with seven and a half minutes still remaining in the first half, Packer was arguably the most despised person in the announcing universe..and that’s saying something with folks like Craig James lurking out there.

Goodbye and good riddance, Billy.

All Aboard The “Stephen Curry Express”

Well, my brackets overall are not doing so hot (damn you: Villanova, Western KY Jelly, Xavier, Michigan State, Tennessee, and Stanford) but at least I got one of my “sleeper” picks right. I’m talking of course about Davidson getting into the Sweet 16. That alone made me a happy camper, particularly since practically everybody else had Georgetown at least making it to the Elite 8, if not further.

This is first time I can recall a practical “one-man show” carrying a team past the tourney’s first weekend since Wally Szczerbiak at Miami(OH) back in 1999, no doubt we’re about to see Stephen Curry’s draft stock rise exponentially after putting up 40 and 30 point games respectively. Keep in mind too, that Georgetown knew about this kid and likely had a game plan in place specifically for shutting him down, which makes his scoring feat that much more impressive.

HHV fondly recalls a time when the NCAA Tournament was part of “Wally’s World”

There’s arguably no sweeter feeling on the planet than bragging to your friends about your Nostradamus-like ability to pick sleepers when they in fact do come true as their reactions usually range from congratulatory to cursing you out while cursing themselves at the same time for not having the insight/balls to make such a pick themselves.

Not even Paul Mooney saw Davidson getting beyond the first weekend of the tournament…

Now, if only Butler didn’t choke on tuna fish…

Let’s Light The Candle On This Baby

Alright, less than half an hour ’til the 2008 edition of the “Big Dance” tips off:

• If you’re looking for some entertaining live-blogging, you might want to check out Awful Announcing, as they should be able to fulfill your experience.

• Also, it looks like Barack Obama, an avid basketball fan, is already thinking ahead to the May 6 primaries in North Carolina, as he favors the Tar Heels to knock off UCLA in the finals.
• Oh yeah, and look out for Butler, they’re marching all the way to the Elite Eight (at least in my own bracket pool which I set up amongst my fellow law school classmates)

These Three Things I KNOW Are True (Selection Sunday Edition)

1. J.A. Adande has been smoking too much peyote: NBA regular season games over March Madness? “Blasphemy!” I say. Not even Bill Simmons would dare to write such a column, even though he likely feels that way deep down inside, these are thoughts that you’re better off keeping to yourself…Much like being 30 and coveting high school-aged girls.
2. While all of you hoop-heads are endlessly analyzing and agonizing over your picks for the next four days like Ace Ventura trying to link “Finkle and Einhorn”, wondering whether you don’t have enough directional schools in your Sweet 16 or whether your Final Four has too many #1 seeds, just remember one thing: You have a better chance of bringing a stripper home than you do winning your office pool Probably just as effective as statistical analysis
3. This year’s tournament cannot possibly be as boring as last year’s. Aside from the lack of Cinderellas and the plethora of anti-climactic finishes, the tournament was missing it’s “voice of the first four rounds” as the geniuses at CBS decided to cut Gus Johnson’s announcing duties in half last March, having him do only the first two rounds. But I have good news for you: The geniuses at CBS have a soul.
4. Okay, I’m cheating here but for those of you who don’t know who Gus Johnson is (gasp!). Here’s a little “Gus-tage” for you:

You’re welcome…And a Merry Selection Sunday to you too.

The Rant To End All Rants?

You’re damn right it is…Especially once you realize the guy doing the rant, Kevin Borseth, is the Michigan women’s basketball coach fuming over a women’s basketball game.

You also have to love how unlike all the other classic post-game rants, he makes a grand entrance by throwing his fist full of papers down on the podium and immediately starts fumbling his words ’cause he’s too pissed off to form complete sentences. No building to a crescendo here folks: This dude makes it clear from the get-go that he’s ready to judo-chop the first official he crosses paths with.

Oh, and speaking of Michigan: PSU finally beat them in the more exciting version of basketball after a 7-year drought. You can thank the Battle-Walker Television Special for delivering the goods.

I Just Busted A Bracket…

We’re only a few weeks away from “Selection Sunday” which means it’s that time of the year again for the ESPN family of networks to pimp out the mid-major teams most likely to bust your bracket next month by pairing a bunch of them together for its “BracketBusters Saturday” showcase. You can view the entire schedule of games here

Personally, I’m all about the Drake-Butler and Kent State-St. Mary’s matchups as those feature the teams most likely to make some noise in March. Speaking of St. Mary’s…Keep an eye out for them because by the time they’ve bowed out of the Sweet 16 or later, the name “Patty Mills” will be of household status.

“Who is Patty Mills” you might ask? Well, for one thing, he’s not Black: He’s an Aborigine from Australia. He’s also team’s leading scorer, averaging 15.2 ppg (including a 37-point performance against Oregon earlier this season in what was then dubbed an “upset win”). Did I neglect to mention he’s one of several Aussie, Aussie, Aussies on St. Mary’s? Talk about milking the overseas pipelines…

Make no mistake about it though: The Tennessee-Memphis matchup later tonight is THE game to watch…And I’m not saying this because both teams play an up-tempo style, score shitloads of points, and feature several future NBA players. No, it’s more or less about the opposing coaches who love to ham it up for the cameras:

Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl likes to show people that 47, he can still pimp those blonde, southern belle bombshells

Whereas, John Calipari displays the incredible talent of randomly bursting into a “chicken dance” without warning.

8-6-7 5-3-Ohhh Crap

Looks like Purdue being the “Kings of Big Ten Basketball” isn’t the only bitch-slap to the face Indiana fans are feeling these days: Kelvin Sampson is back in the spotlight for lying to the NCAA about violating his “no phone” punishment handed down to him for violations he committed while at Oklahoma.

Like your standard teenaged girl however, the withdrawal from the lack of phone use ate at Sampson so much that he just couldn’t resist the urge, whether it was trying to get in touch with a potential recruit or calling up one his Indiana girls on an Indiana night.

Such calamity has led to a lot of IU fans calling for the return of “The General” Bobby Knight.  I, for one, would not mind seeing Knight go back to the place where he established himself as the legend we know today, especially since it would likely guarantee that the black curtains which usually cover parts of the upper deck at the Bryce Jordan Center would come down because of the masses of curious fans wanting to see Knight get pissed-off in person.

And as an added bonus, if the home team were to do the unthinkable and win…Well, you might get a chance to see something like the video below pop up on YouTube someday.

Do You Have Any TP???

I realize I have yet to say anything about the Terrelle Pryor situation.  Really, that’s because there isn’t much to say that hasn’t already been regurgitated over and over again.  It’s pretty much down to us and Ohio State at this point and one can only hope that Tom Bradley and (*gasp*) JayPa’s going over the top (Stallone-style) in terms of pursuing TP will make the difference whenever a final decision is made.

In other news…

• Did anyone happen to catch the Clemson-UNC game Sunday Night?  Unfortunately, my shitty cable system doesn’t get FSN so I was forced to follow via ESPN.com’s GameTracker.  Talk about a heartbreaker though, Clemson was winless in Chapel Hill in 52 tries and looked to be well on their way to finally breaking their futility streak, leading a depleted, point guard-less UNC team by double digits for practically the entire game…Until the bottom fell out in the final few minutes of regulation and UNC rallied like mad to ultimately win in 2 OTs.  This now the second time this season that Clemson has lost to UNC when they seemingly had the victory in hand, two losses that come Selection Sunday, could bite them in the ass.  There’s a million different analogies you can use to describe such heartache, so use your imagination wisely…
• While I’m still on the subject of college hoops, ESPN’s Pat Forde has a “coaches on the hot seat” section in his latest column but a certain head coach isn’t listed on it.  Perhaps, they didn’t get the memo that PSU is back to its usual ways of losing to crappy teams on the road that they should be beating?
• Maryland and Virginia primaries are being voted on right now, and my fingers are crossed in hopes that Barack Obama will continue to build off the February momentum he’s managed to gain, he’s got the better chance at knocking off John McCain come November than the ultra-polarizing Billary ever would.

Here Gopher, Gopher, Gopher…

It’s close to 4 AM, and I’m buzzing like a celebrity in Studio 54 so I’ll keep this short…You can also check out a Minnesota blogger’s preview of this game at Paging Jim Shikenjanski

PSU is a 2-point favorite tomorrow against Minnesota (2 PM ET, Big Ten Network). I can’t say I’m too surprised considering how even the two teams are, aside from the fact that they sport nearly identical overall records (10-4 for PSU, 11-3 for Minny), both teams have been very competitive against the bigger-name opponents thus far. Minny hung tough in a six-point defeat at Michigan State while the Fighting DeChellises won at Illinois for the second straight time last Sunday.

Both teams also feature solid inside play, Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley lead PSU of course, while Dan Coleman (14.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and Spencer Tollackson (10.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg) will be a handful for us to handle inside.

In the backcourt department, I have to give the advantage to Danny Morrissey and the speedy point guard duo of Talor Battle/Stanley Pringle, all this despite the fact that Minnesota features a dyn-o-mite 3-point bomber who comes off their bench in Blake Hoffbarer. You might know Blake as a YouTube celebrity for his improbable “winning the state title while lying on his back” shot that inspired armchair point guards nationwide last year.

The advantage belongs to Tubby Smith in the coaching department, hands-down. I dunno how he recruited so poorly at Kentucky, but there is no denying that he gets the most out of his players. The fact that he already has 11 wins with practically the same Minnesota squad that failed to reach double digits in wins last season is a credit to Tubby’s coaching ability and perhaps a sign that he was under appreciated in Lexington.

Still, I’m going to pick PSU to cover the spread and pull a Tom Emanski (back-to-back-to-back) in Big Ten winning streaks for the first time since the Bryce Jordan Center was brand new and major music acts would show up to play (as opposed to the shitty country arists and third-rate pop-rock bands like Nickelback showing up these days). This has to do with the fact that I’m totally drinking the blue and white kool-aid after back-to-back road wins plus the fact that we’re undefeated in the BJC and I don’t want to see that come to an end tomorrow.

We’ll see what Rants From The District decides to do with his pick, but to recap the standings in the contest:

Happy Hour Valley 5-0

Rants From The District 4-1

Also, here’s a few other picks from some bigger games in college hoops:

• I’m taking UNC (-20) and the points over NC State right now. Tyler Hansbrough has been flat-out unstoppable (see: dunking past the Jolly Green Giant) and the Tar Heels also feature dangerous perimeter shooters such as Wayne Ellington should teams decide to focus their defensive tenacity on Hansbrough. Look for UNC to force the tempo early against a Wolfpack team that wants to slow things down
• I like UConn (+10) to beat the spread, but not beat Georgetown. Georgetown’s just way too talented/disciplined for the Huskies to take them out, particularly on the road. Look for a quality battle in the paint between UConn’s Hasheem “We Got” Thabeet (eat your heart out, Chris Berman) and GTown’s Roy Hibbert,.
• Kansas (-10.5) will beat Nebraska in Lincoln, though I like Nebraska to beat the spread. KU is just a flat-out better team that is currently clicking on all cylinders and features five different players average 10+ ppg scoring but I like the Huskers with their newfound home-court advantage (they already upset Oregon at home earlier this season) to keep things interesting to the very end. Aleks Maric will be a beast down low for the Cornhuskers, who are looking to give fans something to cheer about after a clusterfuck of a football season.