Boeheim Making History

Posted on February 9, 2012 by christoph131

It was more than just a big night for the Syracuse men’s basketball team. It was a huge night for their coach. Coach Jim Boeheim passed legend Dean Smith for third all time in wins, with 880. He now only trails Bob Knight (902) and Coach K (919). Coach K will coach until he’s 103 so I don’t see him catching up unless my dreams come true and Duke finally starts to suck. But unless Bob Knight makes a return to coaching, or Boeheim gets on the wrong end of the scandal allegations (See Joe Paterno), then Boeheim should be able to pass Knight by next season. However, Boeheim now holds the record for most wins at a single school. (Coach K coached Army and Duke)

It was a great win in overtime over Georgetown 64-61. He has been head coach at Syracuse University since 1976 and was an assistant coach for 7 years prior to that. He has coached great players such as Carmelo Anthony, Wesley Johnson, Billy Owens, and won the NCAA tournament in 2003. Congratulations to Coach Jim Boeheim!

Crazy Rivalry Night

Posted on February 9, 2012 by christoph131

This night seemed to turn out a little bit better for my picks than usual. #10 Kansas topped #6 Baylor 68-54. Junior 7 foot center, Jeff Withey was able to drop 25 points on 8-10 shooting from the field. Thomas Robinson added 15 points of his own while snagging 11 rebounds. On the flip side, Baylor’s Perry Jones III shot 1-8 from the field and only scored 5 points against the Jayhawks.

#2 Syracuse barely escaped an upset from #11 Georgetown in an overtime thriller. The final score was 64-61. Syracuse senior forward, Kris Joseph, was able to put up 29 points against G-Town while Fab Melo was only able to pitch in 11 of his own.

Finally, in case you somehow missed it, #9 Duke shocked #5 UNC at the buzzer as Austin Rivers made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give them the win, 85-84. Doc’s son finished with a career high 29 points and the biggest shot of his career thus far. Both Tyler Zeller and Harrison Barnes both finished with 25 and 23 points, respectively. This was probably the most exciting game to watch this season, with an NBA-like vibe and score.

Rivalry Week Continued

Posted on February 8, 2012 by christoph131

As rivalry continues, we take a look at the biggest night of the week. First off, #2 Syracuse will take on #11 Georgetown. Although I think it will be a closer game than most think, I believe Georgetown can hang with the Orange, but I still think that Syracuse will win the game.

Secondly, #9 Duke plays #5 North Carolina in the biggest rivalry game of the season. Yes, I know that they are not the highest seeds, but this is always a good game even though I despise both teams. Duke is strong but even Coach K said that UNC is the most talented team in the country and I see them winning.

Finally, #10 Kansas looks to jump back from a loss against Mizzou when they play #6 Baylor. I know that I picked the underdog Kansas last week and it didn’t work, but I am going to have to do it again. I think they are strong and Thomas Robinson is one of the best players in the country. Plus, they beat them by 18 points a few weeks ago. Yeah the Bruins are on tonight, but this will be a nice thing to flip the channel too every now and then.

Rivalry Week Round Up

Posted on February 8, 2012 by christoph131

Even though it was close early, #1 Kentucky proved to be a little bit too much to handle when they battled #7 Florida in an SEC conference game. Forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 13 points and added 13 boards in the 20 point blowout. Doron Lamb added 18 and Anthony Davis added 16 and a few nice blocks and alley-oops.

#15 Creighton was upset by sub-par Evansville in a Missouri Valley Conference showdown. They have lost two straight now, and since they have not beaten any ranked teams, or even played any for that matter, they will most likely fall to the 22^nd-25^th rank, or just won’t make it at all.

#3 Ohio State was barely able to hang on against unranked Purdue. Senior Guard William Buford was able to drop 29 points and grab 7 rebounds while other star Jared Sullinger was able to score 18 points and grab 6 rebounds of his own.

Celtics vs. Bobcats Preview

Posted on February 7, 2012 by christoph131

The Celts (13-10) take on the Bobcats (3-21) tonight at the Garden. Completely turning it around this season, the Celtics are 8-2 in their last 10 games and are currently riding a 4 game win streak. Charlotte, on the other hand, have lost 11 straight. At this point, 48 year old majority owner Michael Jordan should consider putting himself into the lineup.

Paul Pierce is averaging 18.6 points per game after an extremely slow start for him (plus an injury). He is now only 9 points behind Larry Bird for the Celtics all-time scoring leaders.
1. John Havlicek    26,395
2. Larry Bird              21,791
3. Paul Pierce          21,410

The Celtics are now #11 in the power rankings, 5 spots better than last week. They are 2^nd in points allowed per game with 86.7 ppg (the 76ers are the only team better with 86.5 ppg). However, we are only averaging 90.7 points per game.

A Tough Article to Write

Posted on February 7, 2012 by christoph131

Listen, I hate the Lakers just as much as anyone, but this was an article that deserves to be written. Kobe Bryant, you know, that guy with 5 championship rings, has passed Shaq, you know, that guy with 4, on the all time scoring list. He is now in 5th place all-time. He now only trails Kareem, Karl Malone, Jordan, and Chamberlain. He did this in 80 less games than Shaq. However, he has been able to knock down 1,452 3-pointers in his career. Shaq has 1. He has also hit 2,000 more free throws than Shaq who is statistically one of the worst shooters of all time from the line.

“He told me when he was 18 years old that he’d go down as the greatest Laker ever, and one of the greatest players of all time. And he wasn’t lying.” – Shaq said

He truly is one of the best players to ever wear the yellow and purple, and will go down as one of the best scorers of all time. 81 points in a game? Unheard of in this day and age. Of course he averages like .2 assists per season but still. Congrats to Kobe and may you never win another championship.

College Weekend Review

Posted on February 7, 2012 by christoph131

Since we are pretending Sunday didn’t happen, I decided to take Monday off as well. Let’s call it a “personal day”. Scores are a bit late but seeing as everyone was focused on the game that didn’t happen Sunday evening, I figured none of you would care.

Just as predicted, Kentucky & Syracuse both won with ease. #3 Ohio State beat #20 Wisconsin by 6 points in a tough battle where Sullinger had to drop 24 points and grab 10 boards in order to hold on. Unfortunately, my other prediction was wrong… barely. #8 Kansas was unable to upset #4 Missouri because they decided to heave up a contested 3 pointer with 3 seconds left rather than kicking it to the wide open 3 man for a clear shot.

Anyways, there was some good in the weekend (on the basketball court, not football field). #5 Duke was upset by Miami. HA. #10 Michigan State was able to beat #22 Michigan by 10 points in an in-state rivalry game. If only I could pick my bets as well as I pick these games.

Since it’s a day late, we also know this week’s rankings so here is the top 5.

Kentucky
Syracuse
Ohio State
Missouri
North Carolina*

*Denotes overrated team

College Basketball Weekend Preview

Posted on February 3, 2012 by christoph131

A few high magnitude games this weekend beginning on Saturday. Yes, once again I am leaving out the face that Harvard is playing on Friday. #1 Kentucky & #2 Syracuse both have conference games but against teams that are 2 games below .500. The first dual-ranked game is between #3 Ohio State & #20 Wisconsin. This is both a ranked game, and a Big Ten conference game.

Prediction: Ohio State

The other big game is between #4 Missouri & #8 Kansas. Once again, this is a conference match-up and I think it’s going to be real close. I am really tempted to pick Kansas because I think Thomas Robinson is a beast. However, Missouri is home and they have only lost 2 games all season. I just haven’t fully bought into the Mizzou hype yet.
Prediction: Kansas

On Sunday, #5 Duke takes on unranked Miami. Miami is 13-7 so they are not a team that will be walked right over. However, I do not see the Blue Devils losing this game. #10 Michigan State is home against rival #22 Michigan in a battle of the Big Ten. Gonna be another close game as always but since State is home, I think they can hang on.

Prediction: Michigan State

Tragic A and M

Posted on February 2, 2012 by christoph131

Just days after he was offered the head coaching job at Texas A&M, former Murray State coach Billy Kennedy had been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease. Often starting with something as little as a twitching hand, Parkinson’s is no joke. His wife had been poking fun of the way his arm moved because she thought it was due to a shoulder injury. However, a neurologist discovered that it was something more. Parkinson’s is an incurable disease. Kennedy explained:

“I just threw it to the side and kept going. I tried to hide it. I thought I could keep going without anyone ever knowing a thing.”

A&M decided to put this off as an “undisclosed medical condition”, in order to protect Coach Kennedy’s privacy. Although the Aggies were picked in the pre-season to win the Big 12 conference, the three weeks that Kennedy had to take off seemed to be disastrous. That coupled with a few key injuries. He has since turned things around but they are nowhere near where they were projected to be, at only 12-8 overall.

There have been other famous people who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s as well. Michael J. fox, and Muhammad Ali to name a few. Coach Bill Kennedy vows to get back to each and every individual who sent him letters and prayers throughout his struggle.

National Signing Day

Posted on February 2, 2012 by christoph131

Just as expected, Texas and Alabama were awarded the best recruiting class after National Signing Day on Wednesday. Ohio State, Michigan, and Florida rounded out the other 3 spots in the top 5. However, the big story of the day is how Missouri ended up signing the nation’s top recruit, Dorial Green-Beckham, who had been recruited since he was a freshman.

He is an extremely athletic wide receiver who is already being compared to Calvin Johnson, AKA Megatron. He currently holds the nation’s highest receiving yard career record, with 6,353 yards. He is 6’6, 220 lbs and is going to need all of that when Mizzou moves to the SEC next season.