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By Rhett, November 29, 2009 12:49 pm

I am sure most of you have enjoyed some extra time off from your day jobs the past few days, perhaps a couple fine meals with family and friends, more than one piece of pumpkin pie, and some downtime to relax. At least I hope this is the case. I had a great meal with the family here in Vegas prepared by my special lady and her mom who flew in from Michigan. Thanksgiving in Las Vegas takes on another meaning for me though, as a banquet of college basketball was on hand over the past couple of days.

UNLV took on Louisville yesterday in an early tip off at the Thomas and Mack. We arrived early and watched the T&M fill up to near capacity. UNLV had looked pretty good the first hand full of games we’ve seen this season, but  I wasn’t sure how they would perform in a much hyped around town game. I felt UNLV was better than Louisville overall, but didn’t know if it was prime-time yet. Lots of these questions were answered yesterday.

UNLV came out early and took it right to Louisville, letting them know there would be no pushing around. Shaw, Massamba, and Santee went to work on Samuels denying him the ball, Bellfield did a job staying in front of Sosa, and overall, the Rebels played very solid man to man defense.

Jasper, Willis, and Bellfield all had several nice moves in the 1st half. Super Freshman combo of Hawkins and Marshall did their part, and UNLV was up 10 at halftime.

The second half started with more of the same. The Rebels held Louisville scoreless for over 4 minutesto start, with UNLV extending the lead from 10 to 16 or so. It was 48-32 with 5 minutes gone in the second half, and I was thinking blow out. I should have known better.

Louisville tied it up with a 30-11 run over the larger portion of the second half, making the last 4 minutes of this game pretty intense. Edgar Sosa started hitting 3’s, Some guy I’ve never heard of (Rakeem Buckles) had two nice hoops and got to the line a hand full of times, it seemed like they were coming from everywhere, and were possibly playing with a 6th guy on the floor. UNLV was forcing things a bit when it got closer. Once it was within 2, things calmed down a bit and UNLV was forced to bring it to the zone. Louisville used the zone almost 100% of the time in the second half, which gave them the turnovers and missed shots they needed for the comeback. However, when it came to crunch time, Bellfield scored on 3 straight trips against the zone, gaining the lane with the shot clock under 5 seconds and putting runners in the hoop. It was amazing.

With under a minute left, UNLV stepped it up on defense too, with a big block by Santee (and two made FT’s after the intentional foul from Samuels), and a steal by Jasper as Sosa gained the lane the next trip down. UNLV was up 6 at this point, and iced the match. Final Score: UNLV 76, Louisville 71.

And what a crowd. The T&M was absolutely rocking, silencing the hand full of ‘ville fans. How can you stand up for your team when your coach hooks up with women in storage closets of your favorite eatery and then forces one of his assistants to marry her? I heard a few classic one liners from the upper deck on Saturday that I will save for personal conversations. Overall, it was a great time.

After this game, I headed back to the Orleans Arena to catch the last two games of the Las Vegas Invitational. Yesterday I was on hand for four total games, including a great comeback by Utah for the night cap. I was hoping for another upset special early as Bradley took on Illinois for the 3rd place game.

The crowd once again was made up by a large conglomerate of Illinois fans. Bradley had its fan block back as well, but was drown out by “ILL-INI” chants for most of the afternoon. The game started close with both teams trading baskets, resulting in Bradley gaining a small lead for most of the 1st half. Illinois put on a rush at the end after they settled down and started running some real offense. Tisdale was in early foul trouble, much to the dismay of the Illinois fans in the stands. Mike Davis was effective down low working FT line extended and in, using the glass, etc. For Bradley, it was pretty balanced for the most part. Things stayed close in the second half as well. Big 3 pointers back to back from Roberts and Warren helped Bradley to a small cushion and that was enough to knock off Illinois and send their jerk fans walking. Final Score: Bradley 72, Illinois 68.

Bet the top 25 ranked Illini did not figure on losing both games in the desert. This is a testament to top 25 rankings before a season even starts being completely useless.

Second game of the night was a yawner. Utah came off its upset over Illinois, Oklahoma State handled Bradley pretty well. Utah hit a few shots to start the game, but it was over by the time the buzzer sounded for halftime. OSU guards are small, but damn fast, and the combination of Luca Drca and Carlon Brown could not keep them in front of the defense. Jim Boylen was fired up as usual, drew a technical early in the 1st half (looking to fire up the troops), but just couldn’t get it going. Down almost 20 at the half, the second half was more of the same. Couple spurts in either direction, but nothing of great note. Utah is pretty young. Had their squad from last year been matched up against the speed and strength of OSU, I think it would have been a different story. Boylen has a good thing going in Utah though, and the Utes should be in the top half of the MWC again this year. Final Score: Oklahoma State 77, Utah 55.

In addition I watched two brutal games before the “prime-time” games yesterday. Wofford vs Southern and Seattle vs Presbyterian. Seattle has some Juco transfer who is an absolute beast. He’s like 6′10″ and still handles the ball up the floor, backs his guy down and shoots the ball. It’d be like putting Kevin Garnett on the floor. Just odd to watch, but interesting nonetheless. Seattle beat Presbyterian 67-63, and Wofford beat Southern 81-66. Incidentally, I did catch the last 4 minutes of the “title” game between Wofford and Seattle. Wofford won with a great defensive stand on the last play of the game, denying Seattle’s KG a shot after he had previously missed two FT’s and got the rebound, slammed it home to take a 1 point game. Wofford nailed a shot, giving Seattle’s monster man a shot, but it was not to be. Wofford 84, Seattle 83 (Look at the box score. Charles Garcia has 41 points on 24 shots, and also shot 18 FT’s. 1 assist).

That is it for my basketball weekend. Four more games on Friday, Three and a half (lol) on Saturday, and one last Wednesday puts my total at 11. It was a long weekend of basketball watching. Today I am settling back into my normal routine for the work week ahead. UNLV is on an extended road trip because of the rodeo coming to town. Dar. My next game will be when Sam is in town, and we head back to the Orleans Arena to watch UNLV take on Kansas State.

I’ll chime in again sometime this week with a few observances around the world of college basketball instead of whats going on in my little sports bubble. In closing, shame on you Illinois fans, and shout out to UNLV. Let the buzz begin.

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By Rhett, November 27, 2009 12:15 pm

If this were any other game, I’d have been all in for Holy Cross. They have been a classic small timey team as of late, hail from the Patriot League, and shoot a ton of 3’s. In reality though, this was just a warm-up game for UNLV. They had balanced scoring across the board from Willis (14), Bellfield (13) and super frosh’s Anthony Marshall (14) and Justin Hawkins (12). UNLV was outrebounded for the1st time all year, but I attribute this to the abundance of long rebounds going out to the 3 point line after brutal 3 point shot after brutal 3 point shot on the Crusader’s account. UNLV was in control for the whole game, avoided the trademarked slow start, and put things away for good halfway through the 2nd half. UNLV 80, Holy Cross 59.

Still looking for Derek Jasper to take over a game though. He’s shown flashes of his talent, definitely runs the offense well enough, and has shown no ill affects of his previous knee issues (highlighted by a alley-oop slam in the second half where he jumped high enough to have his arms and head above the rim it seemed). Here’s to hoping he shows up big next time out, vs this guy ->

The look ahead is to Louisville on Saturday. There may be a little bad blood between the two schools. Ricky Pitino was rumored to be a lock for the UNLV job before Kruger got it, before Pitino’s lady friend nixed the deal due to her not wanting to live in Las Vegas. UNLV also won a close game in Louisville last year without their best player, Wink Adams, on the floor due to an injury the previous game. These two items, coupled with the fact that UNLV needs to gain some national respect with a big win after their nice start (#1 in RPI rankings to start the season), and it’s going to be a hard fought game once again. I’m sure the student section will have a few choice chants for Pitino and his gangster style shotgun marriage of his extra special lady friend and some dude who guards the door while he’s picking out the carrots for a stew or something at his local watering hole. Should be interesting to say the least.

Due to the Louisville game, I will be missing the 1st two games of the 2nd day of the Las Vegas Invitational. I’m headed to the first two games after this post is done, and will be looking for Bradley and Utah to knock off Illinois and Oklahoma St. this evening.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends, family, and giant plates of food.

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By Rhett, March 29, 2009 9:53 pm

-Tom Izzo, during the presser after Michigan State beat Louisville today.

The dreams of the Trip have been realized this afternoon after the Spartans took it to the ‘ville in Indianapolis to the tune of a 64-52 victory over the 1 seed to send Michigan State home to Detroit. This caps another amazing weekend for college basketball for myself.

Friday night, the ladyfriend and I took a trip down to Phoenix to catch the West Regional Final between #1 Connecticut and #3 Missouri on Saturday afternoon. Turned out to be a great game, as Missouri’s unorthodox style was able to give UConn trouble, even helping the Tigers take the lead midway through the second half. The Huskie’s size down low was able to overpower Missouri in the end, and gave UConn a 82-75 victory over Mizzou. Missouri fans were completely brutal, with sloppy clapping, stupid chants and this weird wave thing they did during their fight song with no words. A lot of old people with Missouri pants and t shirts. A true slacks convention. I did have breakfast with one old dude in a purple shirt, who was very happy with the Spartan’s play the night before, knocking off Mizzou rival Kansas. We came back to Vegas after the game.

It was a nice little trip, and I’m glad the randomness in my life prevailed, as it seems like a lot (five hour drive, sleeping in a crappy Econo Lodge) to put up with just for one game. BTW, Glendale AZ is a far superior host for a tournament than Philadelphia. If Phoenix wasn’t off by itself in the middle of the desert, I’m sure they’d get more run. Better grub, a very nice city center type area with shops, pubs, open areas to sit and watch people walk by, easy parking, and very few chuds.

Today I took in the entire MSU destruction of Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals. With UConn and Villanova (both teams we saw in Philly), I was worried about the state of mind of the trip in relation to the final four. We were never going to get a break, right?  No stupid giant letter “ville” hats for us. No hockey jerseys for the bandies. For the first time, a team the Trip follows on a regular basis and roots for will be at our site. The site of sites. The Final Four. Downtown Detroit. Real bars, real fans and a chance to see the greatest on the greatest stage. My flight leaves Friday afternoon, and I cannot wait to get there. Fellas, chill down the beers (which I’m sure you’re able to find fairly easily, unlike Philly), I’m coming to knock down a few and watch some hoops. Tourney Coat is packed.

I unofficially proclaim myself Mayor of Hoops City, and will arrive to take my thrown in 5 days.

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By Rhett, March 11, 2009 3:59 pm

This has been a great year of College Basketball. I can’t remember a time when there has been as much parity in the game. No clear cut two or three teams threatening to run away with everything. Last year we saw all four #1 seeds advance to the Final Four. It is certainly possible this year, however, I feel there are a pool of 8 potential serious contenders to cut down the nets in front of me in Detroit next month. (In no particular order you homers)

1. Connecticut:  Why they will –  All world big man Hasheem Thabeet will always give them a chance. A coach and program who’s been there before and knows how to get it done in March. Balanced scoring with four players averaging 13ppg. Why they won’t – One of those players is Jerome Dyson, who isn’t about to sniff a pair of sneakers for the rest of the year. Oh,  they can’t beat Pittsburgh either.

2. Pittsburgh:  Why they will - Best big man in the country hands down. DeJuan Blair is an animal who plays with fire, wants to be the best and has shown he can be against anybody in the nation. Why they won’t – Lost three road games this year, two that should have been won easily IMO, (@ Villanova, @ Providence). This shows me they are prone to overlook teams. Haven’t been there before.

3. Oklahoma: Why they will – Blake Griffin is a monster. Enough said. Why they won’t – The Sooners have stumbled as of late, with and without Blake.

4. Michigan State: Why they will – Battle tested coach who’s gotten it done before. Younger talented players have learned a lot with bad losses this season (I hope). Peaking at the right time. Why they won’t – The Spartans have been horribly inconsistent all year. No killer instinct. Young players tend to show their true colors in pressure situations.

5. Louisville: Why they will – Terrence Williams. Guy does it all, and Rick Pitino should write this guy into his will. Deep team with shooters off the bench (Jerry Smith, Andre McGee) provide a lift when often maligned Edgar Sosa wants to dribble the ball off his foot 50 times a game. Why they won’t – Any team that gets blown out by Notre Dame by 30+ points has to have something wrong with its head. That, and Pitino won’t be wearing his white suit until the Kentucky Derby.

6. North Carolina: Why they will – They play an amazing brand of basketball based solely on being faster than everybody else, and less on true talent. Roy Williams has asked God and the following day he found a quarter in his shoe. Why they won’t – Ty Lawson’s toes are falling off. The walking pelvic gyration that is Tyler Hansbrough is a hot head.

7. Memphis: Why they will – Freakishly athletic. Abnormal. They could seriously be aliens. Tyreke Evans is a beast. How do you guard this guy? He’s closer to being a power forward than a center. Calapari is a good coach, you just wonder how long he’ll be able to stay in CUSA with these bottom feeders. He’s made a mockery of the conference. Why they won’t - Haven’t played with the big boys since the start of the season. That Gonzaga win in Spokane was nice, but hardly like running through a Big East or Big Ten schedule.

8. Kansas: Why they will – Sherron Collins. Guy is lightning in a bottle. Plays fast and hard for 40 mins. Clutch (as shown several times this year). Watching him play you can tell he enjoys his roll on this team. Why they won’t – Inexperienced and young. You have to put in your dues before you gain the success. Two of these players even played last year for Kansas. Oh, Bill Self hasn’t tithed enough this year. For Shame!

See you next year: Duke, Villanova, Wake forest, and anybody from the Pac-10. You’re all garbage. Especially Duke. No true big man front court player. Everybody takes charges too often. I don’t see it happening. I love Villanova, but they just don’t have the horses to run with the guys on the list.

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By Rhett, March 1, 2009 11:44 pm

Today is March 1st. The calendar officially recognizes what is laid out before us, and the basketball gods produced a buffet of basketball for all to enjoy this weekend.

Michigan State @ Illinois -  MSU locked up a piece of the Big Ten season title with a gritty tense win vs a game Illinois team full of freaks with long arms and fast guards. Shout out to Lucas showing up, Morgan getting his mind right, and young Ibok’s playing a hand-full of meaningful minutes vs Wayman Tisdale’s illegitimate 7 foot + son. Great game to watch, and I did not have to break anything against my wall and / or TV. Really want them to finish strong with games @ Indiana and home vs the train makers and they’re host of scrubs with bad backs. Gotta beat these clowns down.

Marquette @ Louisville – Johnny Whitesuits out in full force for the early game. I have enjoyed watching this Marquette team all season long. It’s sad to see them continue on with James on the bench. Some of their swagger is gone. They still hung in the game and had several chances to win it. Louisville is a good basketball team, and they have a nice home crowd. Prolly the team to take a #1 seed should any of the anointed 4 drop a late season game they shouldn’t.

Missouri @ Kansas – Joke of a game. It took all Missouri had to eeek out a win in Columbia a few weeks back. Sharron Collins is insane. No way they were going to drop this game.

Georgetown @ Villanova (Saturday) – Since when has it come down to this? Villanova is good, sure, but why is Georgetown on the outside looking in? They have superior athletes, superior size and supposedly a great coach. The Princeton offense is nice, and its a cute novelty, but it has to go. You run that crap when your team is full of 6′3″ white guys, not 7 foot big men who should be beasting in the pant dunking and drawing fouls. Scrap this crap and go to the basket. It’s just too late for this year, as they’re probably not going to get to the tourney.

Mountain West race has gotten a ton tighter. My last game was BYU @ UNLV, with the Rebels pulling off another impressive win 75-74 (game # 21). They have since lost to Utah and have no shot to win the conference regular season title. It will probably come down to New Mexico and Utah. New Mexico has the easiest schedule left, but Utah is currently 1st. Look for three NCAA bids max from the MWC with Utah and BYU locks. San Diego St. hasn’t played anybody, New Mexico hasn’t either, which should give UNLV the nod based on their non conference victories at Louisville and home vs Arizona. Of course, they will have to win their last two games (at home vs Air Force and at SDSU). UNLV always has the conference tourney in their own back yard, which helps.

Looking forward to the next couple of weeks, you should find me at the WCC tournament, which is held here in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena. My thanks to the organizers for hooking up the evening start times, which will allow me to get out of work and get there in time. I hope Patrick Mills can get back in time to get some run, as I’d like to see him live.

I should be able to find my way to a few sessions of the MWC tourney held at the Thomas and Mack as well, pending financial situations and whether my wife will wonder where I’ve been. This is Las Vegas you know, no reason to make the ladyfriend suspect.

From there, its off to Philly on Wednesday, March 19th to enjoy the 1st and 2nd rounds of the NCAA tournament. Selection committee, take notice – if BYU is sent to Philadelphia, I will make it my personal goal to make each and every BYU fan enjoy a weekend of living hell. Do not send this curse on them, or myself.