Purdue is too young. Baylor has something to prove. Blah blah blah.

Take that Baylor. How does 90 points taste?

To the Purdue Boilermakers, it was a culmination of the hard work and chemistry the team had put together over the entire season. To Baylor, it was a nightmare of epic proportions. The Bears normally play up tempo, and the question was whether Purdue’s slow down approach would take the lead. But Purdue shrugged off their normal game plan and decided to run–and they left the Bears staggering for air.

The Boilers shot 49% from the field, including 42% from three point range, as Purdue only played eight players, but five scored in double figures and 2 had 9 points each. Talk about balance. To boot, the team blocked six shots, which is waaaaaaay out of the norm for this team, but again showed a different dimension that shows how good they really are.  If you had to pick a MVP for the game, I guess you’d have to go with E’Twaun Moore, who had 16 points, 8 boards, and 4 assists. Just another day at the office for the freshman.

Now, however, stands a tall order in the Xavier Musketeers. For the first half, it looked like the Georgia Bulldogs were going to pull yet another upset and be Purdue’s nemesis in the round of32. But Xavier stayed patient, overwhelming the Bulldogs in the second half and taking advantage of slow feet by the weary Georgia team to go to the free throw line 33 as compared to Georgia’s 5 attempts. However, they won’t get the same advantage in playing Purdue on Saturday. If there’s one thing, it may be a bit of fatigue from Purdue just simply because they decided to run with the Bears, but this team is much deeper and solid than Georgia was. If you get a chance to watch this game, or even if you don’t–make time. This will be a great game.

The “Baby Boilers”, which the Purdue Boilermakers have been dubbed with the frosh phenoms leading the way for the team, come into the NCAA tournaments as a six seed, and while they had hoped for better (who doesn’t?), the fact remains that Matt Painter is very happy with what the team has accomplished thus far. The question is: can they do more? Read the rest of this entry »

It still kind of sounds weird for me to say that Bobby Knight is the Texas Tech coach, even though he’s been there quite a while. I still remember him in his bright red sweater, his cheeks just as rosy as his threads, yelling, screaming, pleading for his team to get a call here or there or to simply play defense. And now, we won’t ever be able to see it again. Read the rest of this entry »

Talk about a model of inconsistency. Sure, it’s wonderful that the Tigers came back from a 10-point deficit in the first half against ranked Kansas St to win by three, but is this the real Tiger team? Let’s take a look at a couple of key things here about Missouri which make them one of the most head scratching teams in the country: Read the rest of this entry »

Big 12 basketball usually gives the first thought to Kansas. The Jayhawks have long been the pride and joy of the conference, followed by up-and-down years from teams like Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Missouri.  When one looks at the current standings, a name sticks out like Vanilla Ice in….welll, anything.

But here they are–at 14-2 and 2-0 in the conference, and the latest bracketology has them as a 12 seed. This is a basketball program that has not done well for a long time–so the question is–are they for real?

Well, sorry Bear fans, but no….you’re not.

If you look at the Bears schedule, they haven’t really played anyone of note quite yet. Yes, they beat Notre Dame, Oklahoma St., South Carolina, and you played Washington St. close.

But–other than that, the wins have been against literal nobodies, and they have yet to play a tough game in the daunting Big 12 conference. I applaud coach Scott Drew for at least turning the program around right now, but I have to feel that over the next month, Baylor fans are going to be doing a lot of frowning. They have to play at Kansas, have two games against Texas A&M, 2 against Texas, and 2 against Texas Tech. Not exactly easy by any means.

I’d love to see another team rattle the Big 12 cages like no other, but sorry folks, Baylor’s not it.

I think in order to make things more streamlined and formative, I am going to start doing some frequent posting that encapsulates different items on certain days in order for fluidity to the site. That being said, here is what my schedule will be going forward per conference:

Monday-Big Ten

Tuesday-Pac 10

Wednesday-ACC

Thursday-Big East

Friday-Big 12

Saturday-SEC

Sunday-All others

In these daily capsules, I will have different posts discussing the previous week’s events, news, and future discussions about the teams and conferences themselves (not limiting to specific sports). I will also post on news events as they transpire with my two, or three cents, maybe even a dollar’s worth. For those of you out there that would like to have a discussion on a certain topic, shoot an email my way and I’ll be happy to give it a shot.

Thanks for your support of the site and I look forward to getting started on this!

Tim AKA “The Athletic Supporter”

The Pittsburgh Panthers are sitting at 9-0 and looking to go 10-0 for the fifth consecutive year today versus Oklahoma St. While The Cowboys are a solid 5-3, most people aren’t giving them a shot versus Pitt, mostly due to the fact that the Cowboys consistency hasn’t exactly been that at all, and Pitt has won 26 straight nonconference games at home.

The key to the game is Sam Young, the 6-6 leader for the Panthers who has never scored below 14 this year and is averaging over 18. If he can infiltrate Sean Sutton’s defense, Pitt should cruise to that 10-0 once again. Of course, the knock on Pitt is that while they are going for year #5 to go 10-0, they’ve often been criticized for not playing quality competition and their ranking usually shows that. Even at 9-0, they are only ranked 11th.
History is also not on the side of Oklahoma St., as they have gone 2-20 against ranked opponents in the last 11 years.  When OSU has faced quality opponents this year, the result has been not even close to good–they got stomped by Illinois by 16 and by 30 at Marquette.

Pitt also has the revenge factor in mind, since last year the Cowboys beat Pitt 95-89. Basically, while the Cowboys may come out fired up riding a three game winning streak and having more confidence than ever, Pittsburgh is just way too strong. I see the Panthers winning this by at least 10.

Oh, the long faces were evident the first time the Texas Longhorns stepped on the floor for the 2007-08 season. Was it because they were going to plain awful? No. Was it because they were facing an unwinnable game? Nope. The answer was simple: No Kevin Durant.

Durant, who left after his freshman year at Texas to the riches of the NBA, was quite arguably the best player in the nation last year. So, what did Texas do in response to losing a player of “MJ” like proportions? They go off–and are currently 7-0 after beating #2 UCLA and currently ranked #4.

Durant Schmurant.

Coach Rick Barnes, a shoo-in for the hall of fame when he’s retired, has a young but obviously talented team. Starting three sophomores and two juniors, the team is scoring a smoking 84 pts a game and besides the win over UCLA, has claimed a thumping of Tennessee by almost 20.

So what gives? Well, the irony is that while last year’s team seemed one-dimensional with Durant, this team is largely deep and can beat you from many angles, as all five starters are in double figures. A.J. Abrams can shoot from the cheap seats, D.J. Augustin is the hyped guard who is averaging 17 a game and almost 8 dimes, but the real deal this year is Damion James,  who was named the Big 12 player of the week. (And the last two are sophomores!!)
James is one of those all-purpose guys who has the ability to score and hit the boards with authority. His continued improved play could keep the Longhorns near the top of the heap for a while. Now, again, their youth may not prove to be something that makes them the best in the country this year, but if this team stays intact next year, you can almost write your ticket to the final four with them.  But for now, Barnes and company are enjoying their awesome start, and who knows? Maybe they will be there a year earlier….

Sporting a game that reminds of Reggie Lewis, Brandon Rush may just be the best in college basketball. I know, I know–he only averaged 13 points and 5 boards last year–how can that be possible?

Wait–North Carolina fans (Tyler Hansbrough), Indiana fans (Eric Gordon), Georgetown fans (Roy Hibbert), and other hyped-up individuals, you may have your say in why you think your player is the best, but let’s face it–Rush is the best all-around player in the NCAA.

Why? Well, at 6-6 and a light 202, Rush has the versatility and athletic ability that some of the others don’t. Those others I listed may certainly dominate their respective positions, but Rush can fit into them on a high level and can jump out of a gym. With Bill Self running a show that highlights his strengths, Rush proved against a decent Arizona team that he is dominant, his almost seven-foot wingspan allowing for defensive stops and basically flying over the defense.

Rush opted for the NBA draft at first last summer, but then decided to come back after he tore his ACL in May. With Russell Robinson and Mario Chambers, the Jayhawks have some serious players and could vie for a championship. But the key is Rush–his scoring, rebounding, and defense will be the catalyst, and with the high ranking of Kansas (4), he will continue to get the spotlight. He has seemed to improve his ability to penetrate off the dribble, and Big 12 teams–look out. Rush is coming through…

Ohh..the fear within. When Billy Gillispie left Texas A&M for the much greener pastures of Kentucky, the fear set in for basketball fans that the Aggies would basically fall apart. Ye of little faith….

Starting out the year ranked 16, the Aggies have looked solid thus far, and dispatched a decent Washington team as of late by 14 points. While the Aggies were defensive-proud under Gillispie, they have continued this march of staunchness this year as well.  And, just like a seasoned team who knows when to turn it on, against the Huskies the game was nip and tuck until just under 8 minutes, and then they clamped down–going on a 12-2 run to seal the deal.

At 5-0, they now face Thad Matta and the Ohio St. Buckeyes in the final of the Preseason NIT.  But don’t discount them quite yet–this is quite a reversal from last year, when Ohio St. boasted the big freshman center in Greg Oden. This year, the Aggies boast DeAndre Jordan, a seven-footer with a great touch and rebounding tenacity.  He needs to handle the ball a little better, but that’s expected of incoming froshes to be a little suspect with handling.

What’s even more promising for this team is their youth–after they were lead for 4 years by legend Acie Law, they now only have 3 seniors on the roster and are already looking like grizzled vets. You can certainly count on some rookie errors in the big bad Big 12, but this team could be a dark horse in the NCAAs this year. Keep your eye on ‘em.