Previously unbeaten Xavier lost their first game Sunday against Oral Roberts… Wait, What? Oh yeah, 3 of their best players are suspended because of their brawl against Cincinnati last week (in case you somehow missed it) so they lost against a team with “Oral” in their name… Since these 3 didn’t play, I don’t see Xavier dropping far below their previous rank of #9, just as Ohio State remained near the top even though they lost a game last week when they didn’t have Sullinger, who got hurt again on Saturday. In my opinion he is the most dominant player in college right now, when he is healthy that is. I hope they drop below UConn who should climb a little bit higher with another win on Sunday.
On Saturday night, Syracuse almost felt the curse of the #1 but somehow held on against North Carolina State, which would have been a huge upset once again. #19 Illinois lost but I wouldn’t be surprised if they stay in the top 25 since it is their first loss, even though they have not played anyone that tough. #21 Alabama and #25 Vanderbilt both lost, which will most likely move both of them out of the top 25 come Monday morning. Every other team that played and should have won, did win. Unfortunately, that includes the Tar Heels.
As I’m sure most are aware, there was a bench clearing brawl with just seconds left in Saturday’s Xavier vs. Cincinnati NCAA basketball game. The game was very physical in the first half, and both coaches were warned during halftime that actions would be taken if it didn’t stop. With just under 10 seconds left in the game, a player from each side started pushing and shoving, which led to Yancy Gates throwing the basketball at a Xavier player along with several punches, one which drilled Xaviers Kenny Frease directly in the face sending him to the floor. That wasn’t all Frease got. While he was on the floor attempting to get up, Cincinnati’s Cheikh Mbodj decided to kick him in the face. The fight eventually ended and the game was called with just under 10 seconds left. Yancy Gates received the longest suspension, six games, while the others got anywhere from one to four games.
What I find most disturbing is Cheikh’s Mbodj’s actions. What a coward. You can see in the video he pretty much had nothing to do with the fight and the only thing he can think to do is kick the guy in the face while he’s down. There is absolutely no room in sports for things like that. That guy is a complete coward and should be suspended longer than anyone else involved. An Ohio prosecutor also said he is considering bringing charges against some players involved.
This brings me to the other two players would made absolute idiots of themselves during their postgame press conferences. Xavier guards Tu Holloway, and Mark Lyons. When asked about the fight they replied by saying “That’s what you’re going to see from Xavier and Cincinnati, we got disrespected a little bit before the game, guys calling us out. We’re a tougher team. We’re grown men over here. We’ve got a whole bunch of gangsters in the locker room — not thugs, but tough guys on the court. And we went out there and zipped them up at the end of the game.”
How stupid can two kids that attend Xavier University be? Apparently pretty stupid. The only reason most of these “gangsters” are able to attend these schools is to play basketball, not do what they did back on the streets. Yes, Yancy Gates deserved the six game suspension, but it should not have been the longest suspension handed out from this mess. Just because of their stupidity and unprofessional manners, both Tu Holloway, and Mark Lyons should be severely punished. It was a disgrace that this happened in the first place, but then when they are given a chance to show remorse they acted like the thugs they truly are and referred to themselves as gangsters and basically said Cincinnati had it coming. That’s class at his finest. Both schools ought to send those gangsters a message and show them that their actions are not acceptable by suspending the players involved for a minimum of 10 games.
Boston Sports Blog 