The Morning Mix

College hoops took a back seat last night.

Alabama destroyed Notre Dame en route to their third BCS National Championship in four years, The hapless Washington Wizards beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on a Bradley Beal game-winner and Carmelo Anthony waited outside the Celtics’s team bus in order to start a ruckus with Kevin Garnett.

Before we hit the links I wanted to make you all aware that the CBT Podcast is now available for iTunes subscription and download.

Speaking of the CBT Podcast, it will be back tomorrow afternoon. We are looking for some excellent podcast/mailbag questions, so drop us a line at @CBTonNBC.

But we do have some college hoops-related things to sort out, so lets hit the links.

Tuesday’s Top Games:
7:00 p.m. – Clemson @ No. 1 Duke
7:00 p.m. – Alabama @ No. 7 Missouri
7:00 p.m. – DePaul @ UConn
7:00 p.m. – Baylor @ Texas Tech
8:05 p.m. – Drake @ No. 13 Creighton
9:00 p.m. – Pittsburgh @ No. 19 Georgetown
9:00 p.m. – No. 15 Ohio State @ Purdue
 
 
Read of the Day:
The foot injury suffered by Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum has raised this issue of the value of returning to school. McCollum’s draft stock was at an all-time high following the Mountain Hawks’ NCAA tournament upset victory over Duke. He could have left school and nobody would have blamed him. David Steele puts it best. Read it. (The Sporting News)

Read of the Day:
I don’t really know how to sum this story up, but trust me, it’s great. It has to do with Georgia State coach Ron Hunter, who is one of the most genuine people in college hoops. Read it. (Defiantly Dutch)
 
 
Top Stories:
Trey Burke: National Player of the Year? More likely than you think: Mason Plumlee and Doug McDermott may get all the PoY hype, but Michigan’s Burke is deserving of some love as well. in fact, if you look at the numbers, Burke should be the favorite if the season ended today.

One-on-one with Marcus Paige: how little things hurt the Heels: Our very own Eric Angevine put together a great Q&A session with North Carolina freshman guard Marcus Paige following the Tar Heels tough road loss at Virginia.

Maurice Creek could return soon for Indiana, what could he bring? Prior to Indiana’s road win at Penn State yesterday, the Hoosiers found out that redshirt junior Maurice Creek could return from a right foot injury in just one week. Creek has battled injuries his entire career, and has been on the shelf ever since the 19th of December.

Mountain West Conference catch-up: It’s entirely possible that the MWC is the best conference out west. It’s also entirely possible that the MWC gets four NCAA tournament bids thanks to the hot starts from New Mexico and Wyoming. The battle at the top between San Diego State and UNLV.

Southeastern Conference Catch-up: Outside of Florida, Kentucky and Missouri, the rest of the SEC doesn’t look too hot. Tennessee doesn’t have any firepower, Arkansas is still way too young, Alabama too banged up and Vanderbilt, the reigning SEC Tournament Champions, is just 6-6.

VIDEO: Grinnell gets POSTERIZED!!!: Grinnell College, the home of viral scoring legend Jack Taylor, is back in the news. Unfortunately, it not because somebody scored 138 points. Nope, the Fox Squirrels are back in the news because they were on the wrong end of a nasty posterization. Don’t try to
 
 
Hoops Housekeeping
- Because of the Saturday primetime playoff game between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco Giants, UW-Milwaukee has moved up the start time of their game against Illinois-Chicago from 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. That’s smart work up in Green Bay. (UICflames.com)

- Marshall guard kelvin Amayo is leaving the program. Apparently the freshman was under the impression that he would be receiving a scholarship although he’s not currently receiving one. (SNY.tv)

- Akron’s Chauncey Gilliam will miss the next two weeks due to a meniscus tear (Hustle Belt)

- Florida forward Eric Murphy fractured a rib during practice last week and may be unable to play in the Gators’ SEC opener against Georgia on Wednesday (USA Today)
 
 
Observations & Insight:
- John Gasaway thinks Minnesota, Gonzaga and are darkhorse candidates to win the national championship. (ESPN Insider)

- Remember how good Anthony Davis was at blocking shots? Well according to the numbers, Jeff Withey is doing a better job than Davis through 13 games. (ESPN)

- Tom Izzo would be shocked if this season’s Big-Ten Champion emerges with only “one or two losses”. (Mlive.com)

- Danny Spewak of Rush The Court does a great job getting to the bottom of why Oklahoma senior Sam Grooms isn’t getting more playing time. (Rush The Court)

- It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for Gary Parrish’s “Poll Attacks”. (Eye on College Basketball)

- I really did enjoy this piece on assists and the types of shots that are most frequently assisted. (Run The Floor)

- Some how some way, Sacramento State managed to missed 26 free throws and still defeat Southern Utah. (Big Sky BBall)
 
 
Photo of the Day:
This is a photo of Cincinnati President Santa J. Ono, who got his head shaved after the Bearcats’ home loss to Notre Dame last night. Ono promised to shave his head if the Bearcats won 10 in a row, and they completed this task by defeating Marshall on December 15th. (Fox-19 Cincinnati)

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