Monday didn’t provide a bunch of action on the hardwood. But with early season injuries springing up and the Big Ten/ACC Challenge gearing up, we got a lot to get to.
Lets hit the links.
Monday’s Top Games:
7:00 p.m. – Vermont @ Harvard
7:15 p.m. – Iowa @ Virginia Tech
7:15 p.m. – No. 21 Minnesota @ Florida State
7:30 p.m. – No. 18 North Carolina State @ No. 3 Michigan
9:15 p.m. – Maryland @ Northwestern
9:15 p.m. – Nebraska @ Wake Forest
9:30 p.m. – Texas Southern @ No. 19 Colorado
9:30 p.m. – No. 14 North Carolina @ No. 1 Indiana
Read of the Day:
In what may be the most brilliant article you read all week, Will Blythe explains how to fix college basketball. Read It. (The New Republic)
Read of the Day:
In what may be the second-most brilliant article you read all week, David Pargman swiftly and thoroughly explains why athletes should be able to major in sports. Read it. (The Chronicle)
Top Stories:
Daniel huge as Murray State survives Lipscomb: Ed Daniel, purveyor of the best afro east of the Mississippi River, had himself a monster night, scoring 20 points, grabbing 18 rebounds and swatting away five shots. If Murray State is going to be as successful as last season, Daniel may have to replicate this performance again.
Now retired, Jim Calhoun to host Golf Channel show: Of course he is. He’s retired. All retired people play golf. But he’s actually not the first college hoops coach to broadcast golf programming. Former-Maryland coach Gary Williams frequently co-hosted coverage of the AT&T National Golf Tournament for CSN Washington.
Jeff Withey swats his way to a triple-double: The Kansas big-man recorded 16 points, 12 rebounds and a school-record 12 blocks en route to a 70-57 win over San Jose State.
Cyber Monday is over, so check out what teams we bought at a discounted price: After watching three weeks of college hoops, the College Basketball Talk staff details who they are buying cheap, buying a lot of and flat-out ignoring this holiday season.
UCLA or Memphis, who is more disappointing? We were having these exact thoughts roughly 365 days ago. At this point one has to wonder if if these two teams aren’t just really good at destroying hype
Hoops Housekeeping:
- ICYMI, Pittsburgh’s Trey Zeigler was arrested over the weekend for driving under the influence and has been suspended indefinitely by head coach Jamie Dixon. (Sporting News)
- Julius Randle, one of the top-3 uncommitted recruits in the class of 2013 will be sidelined for three months with a fractured foot. (USA Today)
- North Carolina State forward Thomas de Thaey has decided to leave the program and will return to Europe to be closer to his father, who has been battling cancer since April. (Fayetteville Observer)
- Louisville center Gorgui Dieng will have surgery later today on his injured wrist and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. (The Cardinal Connect)
- North Carolina sophomore guard P.J. Hairston has been ruled out of tonight’s game against Indiana because of recurring knee pain. (ESPN)
Observations & Insight:
- Ken Pomeroy has some stats, graphs and number in advance of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. (KenPom Blog)
- Jeff Eisenberg previews and predicts winners for all the Big Ten/ACC Challenge games. (The Dagger)
- An AP voter kept UCLA in their top-25 after losing to Cal-Poly. Naturally, they were featured in Gary Parrish’s Poll Attacks. (Eye on College Basketball)
- A mid-major recap of Monday’s action. (Mid-Major Madness)
- Denver is heading to the Summit League, which will be their third conference in as many years. This is the most entertaining read on the subject. (Mile High Mids)
- We knew Creighton was legit, but they aren’t the only MVC team thriving thus far. In fact, the Missouri Valley Conference is having its second best season in conference history. (Evansville Courier-Press)
- Paul Biancardi hands out his grades for the ACC recruiting classes. (ESPN Insider)
Odds & Ends
- The Mid-American Conference is applying to trademark the term/hashtag #MACtion. This my friends, is a brilliant, brilliant marketing move (CBS Sports)
- After a tough week in the Bahamas, the Memphis Tigers are regrouping, which happens to including changing their media policies. (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
- A Louisville Cardinals fan diary from the Battle 4 Atlantis holiday trip. (Card Chronicle)
- Philahoops.com is the best site on the web for Philly-area college hoops news, but they need your help to stay afloat. (Philahoops.com)
Dunk of the Day:
A recap of all the #POSTERIZED entries from a wild Feast Week (Ballin’ is a Habit)
Video(s) of the Day:
Kentucky mascot hits backwards half-court shot (Kentucky Sports Radio)
Do you like the new Morning Mix? Hate it? Have a suggestion or wanted something featured? Troy Machir will take all your praise, insults and inquiries via Twitter (@TroyMachir)
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Nate Robinson, other Washington greats to play in alumni game June 23
May 22, 2013, 4:44 PM EDT
University of Washington
On Tuesday, the University of Washington announced plans for an alumni basketball game to be held on June 23. Returning for the game will be former Husky stars such as Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson and Jon Brockman among many. Festivities will begin at 1:00 p.m., with there also being three-point and slam dunk competitions for…
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Will Yeguete out four months after another surgery on right knee
May 22, 2013, 3:10 PM EDT
Getty Images
Will Yeguete just cannot get healthy. The Florida forward missed the final nine games of his sophomore season with a broken foot and then had to sit out much of February after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee as a junior. He returned to play the final six games of the season. Yeguete underwent more…
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Is Antonio Barton the answer for any of the four schools chasing him?
May 22, 2013, 2:04 PM EDT
On Monday afternoon, former Memphis big man Tarik Black announced that he would transferring to Kansas where he’ll team up with Andrew Wiggins, Wayne Selden and Joel Embiid to give Bill Self the nation’s best non-Kentucky recruiting class and a shot at a national title. Black, who will be eligible immediately, may never end up…
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USA Basketball has released a list of 24 players that will be attending training camp in Colorado Springs from June 14th-19th to try and earn a spot on Team USA for the U19 championships, which take place in Prague from June 27th-July 7th. While there is some solid talent on that roster, it’s not necessarily…
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AP
It’s all-but official now: Mike Krzyzewski will be returning to coach Team USA in the 2014 World Championships in Madrid and the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. That’s according to a report from Pete Thamel of SI, who reported over the weekend that Coach K was strongly considering returning to head up the stars…
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Five-Star NC native Theo Pinson commits to North Carolina
May 22, 2013, 12:34 PM EDT
On Wednesday afternoon, five-star small forward Theo Pinson officially announced his intentions to stay in-state and attend North Carolina. The Greensboro, NC, native picked the Tar Heels over Indiana, Louisville, Georgetown and Duke. A 6-foot-6 athlete on the wing, Pinson is known for his ability to get up and down the floor and finish around…
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FBI: San Diego point-shaving scandal netted ‘more than $120,000′
May 22, 2013, 11:52 AM EDT
Getty Images
Back in March, former San Diego Torero Brandon Johnson, the school’s all-time leader in points and assists, was sentenced to six months in federal prison for his role in a point-shaving scheme during the 2009-2010 season back in March. Johnson was lucky; the state wanted to give him a year. He’ll begin serving his sentence…
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Memphis emerging as the leader to host the AAC tournament?
May 22, 2013, 10:38 AM EDT
The last that we had heard about the AAC tournament, Mohegan Sun was planning on cobbling together an offer to get bring the ‘old Big East’ to Connecticut to play out their league championship. That does not look like it’s going to end up happening, however. According to a report from the Memphis Commercial-Appeal’s Kyle…
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Enosch Wolf’s suspension lifted, but no scholarship available at UConn
May 22, 2013, 9:47 AM EDT
AP
Enosch Wolf’s suspension from the UConn basketball team has officially been lifted, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the 7-foot-1 German will be returning to Storrs next season. Wolf was suspended back in February as a result of a domestic dispute where he refused to leave a women’s apartment, pushed her and knocked her glasses…
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Renovations to Hinkle Fieldhouse to cost $34 million dollars
May 21, 2013, 9:52 PM EDT
AP
Butler will begin play in the Big East next season with Hinkle Fieldhouse, its home floor for more than 80 years under renovations that will cost up to $34 million dollars. The university believes the renovations will be complete around November 2014. “The important role our athletic programs have had within Butler’s strategy and national…
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AMHERST, Mass. — In the Class of 2014, one player who should continue making a name for himself is 7-foot-2 center Paschal Chukwu. He is fresh off his junior season at Fairfield College Preparatory School (Conn.), leading the Jesuits to the championship game of the Class LL. Chukwu is currently on the AAU circuit with Connecticut Basketball…
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After spending one year on the coaching staff at LSU, long-time assistant Robert Kirby is once again leaving the SEC, this time to join Josh Pastner and the Memphis Tigers. Jim Kleinpeter of The Times-Picayune reports that the first-year LSU assistant resigned as an assistant coach on Monday night in order to take a similar position…
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Jay-Z gives Skylar Diggins a Mercedes Benz as graduation gift
May 21, 2013, 6:02 PM EDT
Getty Images
Tulsa Shock guard Skylar Diggins wrapped up a great career with the Fighting Irish earlier this spring. Following her graduation from the University Notre Dame on Sunday, her sports agency, Roc Nation Sports — founded by Jay-Z — rewarded her with a Mercedes Benz. Got surprised with a new mercedes! Thanks so muchto Jay and…
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Getty Images
The Connecticut back court was already in good shape with the return of Shabazz Napier, Ryan Boatright and Omar Calhoun. On Tuesday afternoon, Kevin Ollie added to his guard depth with George Washington transfer Lasan Kromah. This news came according to CBSSports.com, who confirmed the transfer through a source. Kromah is graduating from George Washington,…
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Getty Images
The field for the Legends Classic has been announced. Pittsburgh highlights the field and will be joined by Stanford, Houston and Texas Tech. Each of the four teams will host a pair on games on campus prior to going to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the semifinals and the finals. The final two rounds…
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Montana announced on Tuesday that Washington transfer Martin Breunig would be transferring into the program. “We are very excited about signing Martin Breunig at the University of Montana,” head coach Wayne Tinkle said in a statement. “He’s a strong, athletic post player, and he really adds good size and strength to our front line.” “We…
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Report: Kevin Stallings blocks Sheldon Jeter’s transfer to Pitt
May 21, 2013, 12:40 PM EDT
AP
Kevin Stallings isn’t too happy about Sheldon Jeter’s decision to transfer. According to a report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Vanderbilt head coach has blocked his former player from transferring to Pitt next season. Jeter is a graduate of Beaver Falls HS and announced over the weekend that he would be leaving the Commodores to…
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Another day, another Jim Boeheim rant. This time, it’s about the Knicks
May 21, 2013, 11:56 AM EDT
AP
Jim Boeheim is a curmudgeon. He’s a grumpy old man that couldn’t possibly care any less about what anyone thinks of him, whether it be a media member, an opposing coach or an NBA team. He will, quite literally, say whatever he wants about whoever he wants whenever he wants. And I love it. In…
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AP
Around two years ago, Bruce Pearl was fired as the University of Tennessee’s head coach stemming from lies that he told NCAA investigators that were looking into relatively minor infractions. Pearl had hosted Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft at his house for a barbecue during a recruiting visit and a picture of him was…
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AP
There are not many coaches out there that have it as good as Rick Barnes. He’s the head coach of the men’s basketball team for the most recognizable university in the state of Texas which just so happens to have one of the richest athletic departments in the country. And that athletic department also doesn’t…
