Category: College Basketball (Page 112 of 153)

Last night I got to see the Purdue Boilermakers up close for the first time in over a month. Last time I broadcast one of their games was on the road at Iowa. Yesterday they looked even better. Coming off the Indiana loss and 8 days to prepare and re-energize, the Boilermakers came out and took away anything Minnesota tried to do.

This is an average Minnesota team that Tubby Smith has led to the verge of an NCAA tourney bid. (They still need that marquee win. They have one shot left at Indiana.) However, Matt Painter’s crew showed the defensive tenacity that has them in the running for the Big Ten title. Starting the youngest line up in the country with four freshman doing most of the damage they have even exceeded his expectations.

Three more wins and the Boilermakers will have their 22 Big Ten title. For my money, Matt Painter is the National Coach of the Year hands down. No other coach has taken this many freshman (and none are one and done guys) and molded them into a team that can beat any one, anywhere. Just ask Wisconsin!

Moving down the road to South Bend, Luke Harangody has put up numbers for Notre Dame team that is threatening to win the Big East. He is averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. The only one who have better numbers are Hansbrough and Beasley. The former has a better supporting cast while the latter’s team is not doing as well. Don’t sleep on Harangody. If you do he may just knock the snot out of you.

Two coaches moving out, Mark Slonaker and Dean Keener. Slonaker was fired this week only two months removed from a road upset at USC. Keener will resign at the end of the year after failing to get James Madison moving in the right direction.

Speaking of firings, the Big Sky has suspended the three officials who worked the Idaho State-Montana game for one game. Are you kidding? After blowing the call they should be banned for the year. What do they lose? One game!! And they’ll just pick it up doing a game in another conference. Meanwhile, coaches lose jobs and careers. When are we going to start making officials accountable!!!

Herb Sendek seems to have found some happiness out in the dessert. He has his Arizona State team poised for an NCAA tournament run. Back in Raleigh, Sidney Lowe and the Wolfpack of North Carolina State are battling for last place in the ACC. Do you think they miss Herb now. Just another example of a weak athletic director allowing a good coach to get run out of town. This is a nice tribute.

The first coach they ran out was Jim Valvano after he won a national title. The NCAA came in and investigated and found nothing. But a weak administratyion back then gave him his walking papers. When are athletic administrators going to have backbone.

Speaking of backbone, the only athletic director I can remember who stood up for his coach was Larry Keating. He was the AD at Seton Hall when his President told him to fire PJ Carlesimo. He refused and within two years Carlesimo had the Pirates in the championship game. Way to go Larry. Oh, by the way he lost his job over it.

Since 2000 Indiana University has paid out over $4 million to coaches and athletic administrators to leave the university. These type of decisions show just how inept the administration is at IU and the lack of integrity in the athletic department.

Word has it that Lute Olsen wants back in next year. He is around practices and the office all the time and would come back right now if he was able. This creates a problem for the administration at Arizona. They obviously would like to move on with Kevin O’Neill, but how do you fire a legend without a public outcry.

Lute Olsen’s record menas he deserves to be honored, but when is it time to go. Just ask the AD at Penn State who has the same dilemna with Joe Paterno in football.

With Indiana opening up, look for them to make a push for Tony Bennett at Washington State. He has done a great job there (even better than his father) and has ties to Big Ten country.

In the Big East, days could be numbered for Norm Roberts at St. Johns and Tim Welsh at Providence. Both coaches have done a great considering their limitations relative to the other school’s in the league. Rumor has that Paul Hewitt at georgia Tech could be in the hunt at St. John’s.

Dan Dakich avoided a huge disgrace yesterday by leading his Indiana Hoosiers to a three point win over Northwestern. The Wildcats, still looking for their first Big Ten win, led most of the way. And it looked like all the turmoil affecting the Hoosiers this week had taken it’s toll. However, a late surge pushed Dan Dakich to his first win as the Indiana interim head coach.

One can only wonder why Dakich was named the head coach and not Ray McCallum. Another mistake in the handling of the situation by AD Greenspan. When is he and the compliance director going to be given their walking papers?

And for all you Bob Knight fans. Give it up! The General ain’t coming back to Bloomington. He hasn’t won a national title in twenty years and was a routine disappointment in the the tourney the last ten. So I don’t want to hear it anymore.

Bill Self back to Oklahoma State as the new Cowboy coach. Not just year. Sean Sutton and OSU got a big win yesterday over the Jayhawks and kept a fading post season tourney hopes alive.

Staying in the Big 12, Baylor got back on track with a win over Kansas State. The Wildcats got 44 from Michael Beasley, but still lost for the second straight game and fourth in a row on the road. With Texas coming to Manhattan on Monday, it is crucial that the Wildcats get a win boefore going back out on the road. The youth of this team seems to have finally caught up. With no senior leadership (David Hoskins out all year.), this team falters when it gets behind. Coach Frank Martin has done a great job mixing the ninen new players in to a solid mix, but he needs an upperclassmen like Blake Young or Clent Stewart to step up down the stretch.

Also, Nebraska is making a late season push for a bid with a convincing road win at Texas A&M.

Kent State bolstered it’s post season hope with a road win over ranked St. Mary’s. A strong finish coupled with the win on Saturday and the Golden Flashes could be the first MAC school to get an at large bid since 1999 if they fail to win the conference tournament.

Drake is for real. They went to Butler and knocked off the other Bulldogs and solidified their post season regardless of what happens in the Valley conference tournament.