If you were able to pull the covers off and get out of bed after the tearful loss of the U.S. men's and women's curling teams, there was plenty of excitement to be had, as another busy Saturday in Men's NCAA basketball came and went and showed the crazy potential for the March tournament.
Conference titles on the line, no. 1 seeds in jeopardy of losing undefeated status, and teams desperately trying to convince the judges of their worthiness to be included in the big tournament, inspired me to remain in my pajamas all day, forgo the makeup, and procrastinate even further on the Mt. Everest-like stack of homework piling up on my desk. That's what Sunday night is for anyway.
Luke Harangody was back in the lineup for Notre Dame as they upset the Hoyas 78-64, despite Georgetown's Greg Monroe's 15 point effort. The Fighting Irish reclaimed it's mighty three, uniting Harangody, Abromaitis, and Tory Jackson, (not to mention stellar play by Ben Hansbrough), for a Big East victory. The Irish are a distinctively different team when they are Gody-less. They are set to play West Virginia and Cincinnati before closing up the season.
The SEC added to the list of upsets, when #2Kentucky fell to #19Tennessee. The always animated Bruce Pearl, who typically looks as if his face is taking on the bright color of his orange blazer, was all smiles, as he saw his senior leader J.P. Prince put on a clinic in the last 90 seconds of the game. Much to Ashley Judd's dismay, John Wall and the rest of her beloved Wildcats were only able to muster a disappointing 35 pct field goal percentage, which inevitably contributed to their first loss since their game against South Carolina.
The arena was ear drum shattering in Oklahoma, when Kansas standouts Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich weren't able to sustain their team's undefeated prowess in the Big 12, as they trailed the entire game in an 85-77 loss to Oklahoma St. The match up provided for the Cowboy's first road win over a top-ten ranked opponent in nearly 52 years. It also highlighted the talent of James Anderson, Oklahoma State's best player, 6th in the country in Division 1 scoring, whose name for some reason doesn't find its way to the headlines like many of his peers. Why, I'm not quite sure? Maybe the press has something against Cowboys?
