Here is the video evidence of Pat Summitt “repaying” Bruce Pearl for painting his chest at a Lady Vols game a month ago. There was so much hype about it, and when I saw it, I could not recall the last time I was horrified, relieved, excited, and disappointed all at the same time. The five best moments of the clip:
1. Summitt pretty much butchering “Rocky Top”, one of the best fight songs ever, followed by 24,000 fans singing it slightly better.
2. Peyton Manning clapping in horror.
3. Phil Fulmer picking his nose afterwards.
4. The “pyramid” she climbed on top of, when we accidentally saw her bright orange underwear.
5. Dickie V wearing that ridiculous feathered hat, giggling like a toddler.
The crowd was certainly into it, and the Vols made a huge rally afterwards. The worst part? She looked like she could have had a field day in the paint against the Gators on Tuesday, Horford and Noah played that badly. All things considered, it was a great display of school spirit, but I’m glad Summitt and Pearl are now even, because I’m not entirely sure I want to see this again next year. Sidney Lowe might get some bad ideas.
Tonight Florida comes to Knoxville to play the Tennessee Volunteers. Florida is trying to bounce back from two surprising losses in one week to Vanderbilt and LSU, and playing Tennessee, an SEC team whose NCAA tournament status is still uncertain, on the road will not be an easy task. Noah and Horford will need to assert dominance in the paint for the Gators to run their gameplan, while the Vols need a big game out of Chris Lofton. But let’s be honest: all eyes tonight are on what Pat Summitt’s going to do. When the Lady Vols had one of their biggest home games this year (a loss to Duke), Bruce Pearl showed his support with bodypaint. While I appreciate his enthusiasm, it made for one of the most eye-singeing moments in college basketball in recent memory. Pat Summitt has since vowed to repay him by doing something big tonight. I hope it’s fun but in good taste, because if it even resembles what Bruce Pearl did, I may need Ibuprofen just to watch the basketball game. I’m serious. A bodypainted Summit might start a riot.
9:00 pm: Michigan, who is fighting for their postseason lives, leads Michigan St. 63-56 with 2 minutes left.
9:09 pm: 3-0, Florida. Taurean Green draws first blood with a three pointer.
9:10 pm: 3-3. Wayne Chism steps out of the paint and gets a three of his own. He’s a great athlete.
9:12 pm: 7-3, Florida. Corey Brewer steals a pass and gets an easy reverse dunk on the other end.
9:13 pm: 7-5, Florida. Lofton makes a great pass to Chism, who delivers an emphatic dunk uncontested.
Interestingly, he shares a name with Dennis Chism, aka “Spyda” from the And 1 mixtape tour. They’re both great dunkers. Unfortunately, they have no relation.
9:16 pm: 12-7, Tenn. After getting another basket inside to tie the game, the Vols take the lead by storm, attacking the basket. Florida’s forwards really seem to be struggling defensively.
9:18 pm: 14-10, Tenn. Okay, Here comes Pat Summitt…
Uh…wow. That certainly was not expected. She came out in a cheerleader’s outfit, sang “Rocky Top”, was part of a cheerleader pyramid, and gave Dickie V some interesting headgear. I am excited, surprised, shocked, happy, and disappointed all at the same time. The details at halftime.
9:22 pm: 15-14, Florida. After shooting free throws, Florida takes the lead back after Humphrey hits another three.
9:23 pm: 18-17, Tenn. Horford gives Florida the lead inside, but Dane Bradshaw drives down the lane and hits a shot in Noah’s face to give the lead back to the Vols.
9:25 pm: 22-17, Tenn. Where is the shutdown defense Florida is supposed to have? I saw how they won the national championship; they had perhaps the best defense in the nation. Noah and Horford combined to create an impenetrable force in the paint. Tonight they’re letting the Vols through the lane like Mexicans at the border. Why? Were they completely unprepared for this game? Are they resting on their laurels, worrying about the NBA? God, I sure hope not. Not that I’m rooting for them, but I would at least like to see them play well.
9:30 pm: 25-17, Tenn. Chris Lofton hits a three in the face of Lee Humphrey AND his parents! It wasn’t enough for him to just embarrass a player, he had to humiliate his entire family in one shot.
9:32 pm: 28-17, Florida. Dick Vitale is sending subliminal messages to the audience that he has a gay crush on Dane Bradshaw. Lofton scores again.
9:35 pm: 31-17, Florida. Tennessee is doing such an excellent job of passing the ball. There were about 12 passes before JaJuan Smith hit another three for the Vols.
9:36 pm: 33-19, Florida. According to Loser With Socks, Joakim Noah is a tranny, currently on Estrogen therapy. Regardless of his penile status, he certainly is playing like a girl today, letting the Vols have their way with him, and he’s already in foul trouble.
9:41 pm: 37-19, Tenn. Do you really feel sorry for the Gators, Dick Vitale? Because that’s not what you said on the phone.
9:45 pm: 39-23, Tenn. Horford stops the bleeding on offense, but when is he going to start playing some defense? If you have a bad day that’s one thing, but it looks like the Gators aren’t really trying in this game.
9:48 pm: 46-27, Tenn. Lofton hits yet another thee to extend the lead to 19.
Peyton Manning is pleased by what he’s seeing. Maybe that’s it; Bruce Pearl, Pat Summitt, and Peyton Manning are in the same building at the same time. Add the fact that having Dickie V in your arena always favors the home team, and you get the four horsemen of Florida’s apocalypse.
9:49 pm: In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Dear Lord, deliver us from the Fantastic Four sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer. If you do one thing, you will smite this movie. Thank you, Amen.
9:54 pm: 50-31, Tenn. The first half ends, with Tennessee leading by 19. Good Lord. The Tiananmen Square could defend the Vols better, BY HIMSELF, than the entire Florida team is dong now. They need to be the shutdown defensive team the are capable of being if they want to have any shot at…
Oooooooohhhh. Digger Phelps just made a hip hop reference. That was just AAAWWWK-WARRRRD.
Anyway, It looked the one thing the Gators lacked in the first half was effort. We know they’re better than this, but they don’t have the right mindset, and I have no idea why.
As good as things are for the Vols right now, I would not rest just yet if I were them. If Florida turns on the mental switch, they have every capacity to come back in this game. So Tennessee need to keep attacking until this game is completely out of reach; the worst thing they could do in the second half in suddenly play conservative. They have Florida by the balls. Now they need to twist.
10:04 pm: About the whole Pat Summitt thing…25 years of coaching must really do damage to your vocal cords. Because that may have been the worst sports singing performance since a completely Stoned Ozzy Osbourne sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at Wrigley. Other than that and the feathered hat, it wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for the Tar Heels. Which is probably WAY too much information for you to know about my UNC fandom.
10:15 pm: 52-31, Tenn. The Vols continue to have their way with the Florida defense. What the hell is wrong with Noah?
10:17 pm: Wayne Chism picks up his fourth foul with 17 minutes left. If there is a time for the Gators and their interior players to make their move, it’s now. They must attack the basket from this point on.
10:18 pm: 55-31, Tenn. Of course, attacking means nothing if you can’t defend. Or protect the ball. Florida now has 15 turnovers to Tennessee’s 6.
10:21 pm: 60-36, Tenn. Lee Humphrey stops the bleeding for Florida’s offense, but he’s being outplayed by the Vols’ own white Senior guard, Dane Bradshaw (Dickie V’s gay crush).
10:24 pm: Oh, so that’s it…Peyton Manning brought Tar Heel Jeff Saturday with him to the game! I knew it! Tar Heels have complete control of the universe!
10:28 pm: 60-38, Tenn. Derek Jeter never forgets where he came from? Well, that’s news to me.
10:30 pm: 63-38, Tenn. The Vols now lead by 25, as Lofton now has 17 points on 8-10 shooting. 26 points off turnovers will kill you every time.
10:33 pm: 65-40, Tenn. If there is any bright spot at all for Florida in this game, it is probably Chris Richard, who has 10 points on 4-5 shooting in the paint.
10:37 pm: 65-45, Tenn. Humphrey scores another three, but can you believe that’s Noah’s first basket of the game?
10:41 pm: 67-54, Tenn. Taurean Green hits a three, the Gators are playing good defense, Noah is finally scoring, and suddenly Florida has cut the 27 point lead in half in about two and a half minutes. Suddenly, this game is competitive again. Keep in mind that Chism, Tennessee’s biggest inside threat, is on the bench with four fouls. Can Florida keep this up?
10:44 pm: 69-54, Tenn. It looks like the Vols have stopped playing to win and started playing not to lose. If they do that, and Florida keeps playing with a sense of urgency, Tennessee may very well end up losing this game. Keep in mind the Tennessee is still in control in this game; they just need to slam the door.
10:46 pm: Either I just saw the Orange Man Group or those guys have the worst spray-on tan ever.
10:49 pm: 69-59, Tenn. The Gators force another turnover, and suddenly they’re within 10. The Vols fans are officially concerned about this game. But they need the crowd now more than ever.
10:50 pm: 69-61, Tenn. Chism is back in the game with 6 minutes left.
10:51 pm: 71-61, Tenn. Lofton gets a nice basket inside. before that basket, Florida was on a 30-11 run since being down 27.
10:54 pm: 75-61, Tenn. The Vols may end up putting this game away at the free throw line.
10:55 pm: 75-63, Tenn. Horford now has 15 in this game, but that’s his first basket of the second half.
10:57 pm: 75-65, Tenn, less than 4:00 left. Brewer drives inside and reduces the deficit back to 10.
Quiet, Dickie V, you’ve got about 17 players on your All-American Team right now.
11:03 pm: 76-67, Tenn. Neither team has shot well at all in the last few minutes. Horford gets an easy dunk to reduce the lead to 9.
11:04 pm: 78-67, Tenn 2:20 left. The last thing the Gatorsneeded was a fan-reviving dunk from Wayne Chism.
11:05 pm: 79-69, Tenn, 1:42 left. If the Vols could make their free throws, this game would be over a long time ago.
11:07 pm: 81-69, Tenn. Defensively, Tennessee has been stepping up since the return of Wayne Chism. In particular, Dick Vitale’s man crush has had the game of his life in his last career home game.
11:10 pm: 84-73, Tenn, 1:00 left. Florida can’t hit their shots, and this game is pretty much over.
11:15 pm: 86-74, Tenn. One final standing ovation for Dickie V’s man-crush. He really deserved it; he played harder than anyone else on the court.
11:17 pm: It’s official: Tennessee wins, 86-76. Tennessee finishes undefeated at home, and at 21-9, 9-6 in the SEC and with a signature win under their belt, they have certainly cemented their status in the NCAAs. Florida, on the other hand, has lost 3 of their last 4. More importantly, they have looked thoroughly unimpressive, acting as though they were not mentally in it. In the second half they showed a flash of the brilliance they’re capable of, but they need to do that for 40 minutes from this point on if they are serious about defending their title.
Vanderbilt beat Kentucky, look slike they’re for real in the SEC.
Louisville took out UConn in Storrs.
Starting the 2nd half
5:07 – In the first half, Billy Packer was talking about Odens “behind” and I’ve been too stunned to think about it until now.
5:10 – Flowers goes down with an ankle. This is looking very bad for the Badgers. They’ve lost their third and fourth-leading scorers so far in this game. If the injuries pile up, this one game could have far-reaching implications.
Oden is starting to touch the ball inside on every play, even if he has to pass it back out. That’s the ticket for OSU, no doubt about it.
5:13 – Surprise, Surprise, it’s Alando in disguise!! He takes the alley-oop for a monster dunk – he was wide open. It’s 26-all. Tucker has 10.
5:15 – Jamar Butler scores his first basket of the day, Oden blocks another, and Conley scores it on the fast break. That was a quick 4 points!
Man, I’m a genius, I just posted most of the second half on Extrapolater instead of here. I don’t know how Mike keeps track of having two blogs!
5:19 – A couple of quick buckets gets OSU 4 points in a hurry. It’s now 31-26, and Oden’s defense is starting to take over the game. He gets Tucker to pick up his third foul while fighting for a rebound.
5:25 – Bohannon knocks down a three. He’s really picking up the slack for the injured Wisconsin players.
32-29 for OSU.
Lots of banging inside, and Oden picks up his second. It’s great to see big men battle so hard. They know what this game means.
5:27 – Flowers obviously recovered from his ankle injury, he’s back in the game.
A Badger alley-oop goes terribly awry. It’s 34-29 with twelve minutes to play.
5:31 – Oden walks and takes the fun out of a nasty dunk. Seeing as how it didn’t count and all.
Taylor nails a three and we’re tied at 34. I LOVE THIS GAME!!!!
Lighty takes it up strong for the Buckeyes and puts them back on top by 2.
Bohannon nails a three on the other end not 8 seconds later. Verne reminds us that he is 18 years old, and therefore unconscious.
Flowers takes some kind of amazing shot, dribbling around almomst the entire OSU team.
Thank goodness for this commercial break, I can barely keep up!
5:35 – Wisconsin 39, OSU 36 This is shaping up to be a very interesting finish, as we’re at the 9 minute mark.
Chappell gets his fourth, which is the by-product of his incredibly tough defense on Oden the past few minutes. He’s kept the ball out of Greg’s hands and not been overwhelmed by the physicality. Really nice job, but he has to hit the pine now.
Harris puts the Buckeyes back up by one with a trifecta. 40-39.
Conley wisely slows down the offense on the way back down the court, but Harris misses the shot.
Taylor hits one to see-saw that lead once again. OSU misses.
5:39 – Both teams are starting to miss shots here and there, I think the grind is starting to wear them down.
Bohannon is pulling his Gerry McNamara act and canning every three he gets his hands on. He’s 3/3 behind the arc.
Oden travels again and Matta is in danger of getting a T arguing his case.
Commercial break, while we attempt to discern if it is possible for a future #1 NBA draft pick to use big-league traveling rules while still in college. You know, for the good of the game.
5:45 – They’re playing Ozzy in the OSU arena. I don’t know why, but that strikes me as incomparably cheesy.
5 minutes left to play, and both teams are getting more cautious. Tucker misses a shot and OSU takes it downcourt slowly.
Oden gets his third by suplexing Taylor as he goes for a long rebound.
Dick and Packer think Oden’s tired. I have to agree. That was a particularly needless foul.
Conley scores and it’s 46-44 in favor of the Badgers before Oden slams it home and gets the foul. We’re tied going into the break with Oden shooting one on the other side.
5:50 – Wisconsin has 19 bench points to OSU’s 6, but that’s to be expected with the injuries their starters have suffered.
Finally Oden is shooting this free throw. That was an interminable TV time-out.
OSU is up 1 point 47-46, with 2 to play. Bohannon comes back in the game, and they’re going to need his stroke if Wisconsin is to win this game.
Butler charges on the next possession, and Wisconsin takes it back down the court deliberately. OSU is guarding the perimeter more than the inside right now. Wisconsin gets four shots in close and misses all, but they get EVERY, SINGLE, REBOUND. Astonishing. They call a timeout after their 4th offensive rebound of the posession. Good choice.
5:55 – Bohannon gets a nice assist when OSU creeps up to stop his jumper. He gets it straight inside. This is the good kind of freshman.
Wisconsin up 48-47, and OSU misses two shots before Chappell blocks one and Wisconsin gets the rebound.
OSU’s guards almost collide, and their fans are booing. 28 seconds left, and Wisconsin has it up 1.
Will either team break 50 points tonight?
Conley fouls on the inbounds, so Kammron Taylor gets the big free-throws in front of a very rowdy student section for OSU.
He misses! That’s huge!
5:58 – 16 seconds left, and OSU inbounds. Conley gets in in the backcourt. Conley scores the floater – nice shot under pressure!
Another timeout with only 4 seconds left.
6:00 – OSU up by one 49-48. Who takes the shot for Wisconsin? Obviously they want Bohannon, because there’s very little time to get it inside. But OSU knows that. 3.9 seconds left and Wisconsin has to go the length of the floor.
Flowers bobbles the inbounds pass and they have to call timeout to avoid the penalty.
Will they throw the bomb, or try to bring it upcourt against pressure (the Tyus Edney)?
Taylor rejects the shot and OSU wins it. 49-48. Tough break for Wisconsin, but what a way to play the Buckeyes at home. Ron Lewis is the hero, and the idjit Buckeye fans storm the court. As Mighty MJD says on today’s Deadspin: “This ain’t Nam, Smokey, there’s rules to storming the court!”
OSU will get a well-deserved #1 spot out of this (or retain it, if you’re looking at the ESPN poll over the AP).
The Buckeyes’ Ivan Harris is our top scorer with 13, and Oden and Conley join him in double figures for Ohio State.
Wisconsin rode the hot shooting of Bohannon, who had 11, and Tucker and Taylor had 12 and 10, respectively.
Thanks for having me over, Mike, what a great college game!
Some writers aren’t as excited for this matchup as they should be. The Badgers’ loss to Michigan State earlier in the week has tarnished the luster, they say. I say horsefeathers. Until the new polls come out on Monday, this is still a 1 vs 2 matchup, and we’ll be seeing two of the best college basketball players in the country, as well as two of the best teams.
And they are teams. Let’s not forget that. Greg Oden missed several games early in Ohio State’s season, and they played pretty well without him. He is the Buckeyes’ best player, averaging nearly a double-double on the season, but he is far from being the only player of note. Four Buckeyes are averaging double figures over the course of the season, and Mike Conley is an assist machine.
Wisconsin is getting big numbers from Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor, but there’s a significant dropoff after that. There’s no doubt that a superior player can take over a game, but Wisconsin will have to play amazing defense to keep Ohio State in check.
The raw numbers tell me that Ohio State has to be the favorite. They have more scoring options, a rebounding edge, and seem to know what to expect out of their rotation at this point in the season. I happen to agree with Bob Knight that one-and-out players are not really good for college basketball in the long run, but if I get a season to watch one of the best play in front of students, I’m just going to have to grit my teeth and bear it.
See you at 4!
4:00-4:10 Always nice to have to watch Duke shoot free throws in a blowout of an inferior opponent instead of the game all of America actually wants to see.
4:15 When the commercials are over and the game finally comes on, it’s OSU 3, Wisconsin 5 with roughly 16 minutes left in the game.
Taylor misses a jumper, and Flowers feeds Oden, who scores over two Badgers.
Taylor comes back with a three for Wisconsin, so they lead 8-5
4:18 Conley fakes the hell out of his man and takes it in the lane to bring OSU within one point. He is QUICK! Krabbenhoff fouls and we go to a commercial break at 8-7 for Wisconsin.
4:20 The 300 looks like it could be an interesting enough movie, but that bearded guy just shouts the whole time! They could call it the Dick Vitale story.
4:25 Wisconsin is outrebounding OSU – that belies my early prediction that OSU had a huge advantage in that stat category.
4:22 A badly missed three by Cook for OSU. it’s 12-9 for Wisconsin.
Wow, what a babe cheerleader. BUCKEYE!!!
4:25 Ohio State is missing a lot of shots, and not feeding Oden like they should. I’m seeing lots of midrange jumpers, which seems absurd from a team with a dominant center. The ball at least has to go into his hands, even if he just passes out again.
Wisconsin has 10 rebounds, and we’re just going under 10:00 in the first half.
4:30 Butch for Wisconsin is hurt. It looks like a hyperextended funny bone. Sorry, bad joke, but he did smack his elbow on the court pretty hard. He’s leaving the court, so it must be more serious than I thought.
Oden hits the jumper – nice shooting touch for a big man. He has 4 points on 2/3 shooting. Look for that to change!
4:35 OSU forces a shot clock violation in a nice defensive effort.
Krabbenhoff loses a contact. Why is it that Wisconsin players always LOOK like Vikings? I assume they recruit nationally.
Ron Lewis scores to cut the lead to 15-13 for the Badgers. Time for a commercial.
4:37 The Badgers are outrebounding the buckeyes 13-5. And they’re only up by two. If Oden gets in gear, there could be trouble, but right now Wisconsin is doing what they must.
4:42 Oden gets a huge block, and doesn’t even look like he had to try. He scores it on the other end, now has 6. Score is 23-19 for OSU.
Oden is getting untracked, he altered another shot and even saved the ball before it went out of bounds.
Oden dongs a right-handed hook, it’s 15-14. Harris from OSU hits a three and the lead is gone, it’s now OSU 17-Wisconsin 15.
4:45 Oden is starting to get untracked. He’s had two big blocks (didn’t even look like it cost him any effort) and scored after one defensive play to give himself 6 points.
4:48 Butch comes back in a sling, and he’s obviously done. He’s crying on the bench, which tells me he knows it’s serious.
We’re under 3 minutes left in the first half. It’s 23-19 for the Buckeyes. They’re packing the middle to keep Tucker out of his comfort zone, and it’s working. Tucker just got an offensive foul trying to get inside.
4:50 OSU defense is keeping them on top with Oden on the bench. That seems huge, to know you can put your best player on the bench for a rest and know you can hold the lead.
Oden back in with 41 seconds left. It’s 25-20 for the Buckeyes, and they have the ball and can hold for the last shot.
This game has been pretty close, but I wouldn’t say it’s been a thriller. The crowd doesn’t seem to be as hyped as I’d expect.
Oden gets triple-teamed and dribbles the ball off an opponent’s foot and out of bounds. Oden misses a final-shot attempt and gets a seat on the bench.
Wisconsin’s freshman guard Bohannon gets inside quick and drops a reverse layup at the buzzer to make it a respectable margin of 25-22 going into the locker room.
And that’s halftime! I’m hoping for a few runs and a vocal crowd in the second half.
Wisconsin – Tucker has 8pts, 3 rebounds, so he’s still getting his looks against that D.
OSU – Ivan Harris has 8 pts (two 3 pointers get you there pretty quickly), and Oden has 6 with 2 blocks.
Tonight the Indiana Hoosiers come to East Lansing to play the Michigan State Spartans. Both of these teams’ tournament hopes remain very much in question and a win would do a lot for their resume. The Spartans are coming off a huge win on Tuesday against top ranked Wisconsin, while the Hoosiers could use a road win to impress the committee. The game will come down to the low post. D.J. White needs to have a big game tonight for the Hoosiers to win against one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Since Drew Neitzel is a little sick for this game, the player who might make the difference is Indiana’s guards like Roderick Wilmont.
9:06 pm: 3-2, IU. Indiana strikes first with a three, but MSU’s Walton makes a great pass an open Gray, who dunks inside.
9:08 pm: 6-4, IU. The Hoosiers hit another three. That’s something I forgot to mention; Indiana his very good on the perimeter. Raymar Morgan responds by driving down the lane from the left side and getting an easy layup.
9:09 pm: Neitzel is already on the bench. He must be feeling really under the weather.
9:12 pm: 9-6, IU. Naymick ties the game with free throws, but Armon Bassett hits the Hoosiers’ third 3-pointer of the game. All of their points so far have been from beyond the arc.
9:13 pm: 9-8, IU. Indiana’s interior defense needs to tighten up. They are not challenging MSU’s penetration.
9:15 pm: The Worldwide Leader is having serious sound problems. The sound was interrupted every half a second, and now the network is using the radio feed.
9:17 pm: The Michigan State bench must be filled with extraterrestrials. What kind of a name is Idong Ibok?
9:18 pm: 11-8, IU. Oh, great. I was just getting used to the radio, and now they go back to regular feed. Basset gets a nice basket inside to make it 13-8.
9:19 pm: 13-10, IU. Dan Shulman just mentioned the backdoor cut that sprung Bassett’s layup. Which reminds me of the Princeton offense. The coach who invented it, Pete Carill, must have been in the closet. Why else would he decide that it was OK for his players to always get it in the backdoor?
Wait…where the hell did that thought come from?
9:23 pm: 13-11, IU. Wow. This game has gotten really ugly, and not in a NHL brawl kind of way. Both of these teams are suddenly shooting worse than at a Swedish pick up game. Or Stevie Wonder hunting quails.
9:24 pm: That cheerleader is headed straight for the Listerine after kissing Dick Vitale.
9:28 pm: 16-11, IU. The madness finally ends as Indiana hits another three. MSU has 8 turnovers already.
9:29 pm: 19-11, IU. The Hoosiers have only 6 shots, but 5 of them are threes. Hey, shooting 5-10 from three is like shooting 8-12 from two.
9:31 pm: 19-13, IU. Michigan State finally hits a field goal, as Naymick hits one off an offensive rebound.
9:33 pm: 21-15, IU. Drew Neitzel finally gets on the board, but MSU commits its 10th turnover in 13 minutes and allows an easy layup. The Spartans are playing sloppy enough that the Izzone is booing.
9:38 pm: 23-15, IU. A.J. Ratliff hits another outside shot for Indiana. He now has 10 points.
9:43 pm: 25-18, IU. The Spartans finally get a three of their own, from Travis Walton. Before that D.J. White got his first points of the game from the free throw line. I really expected him to be a bigger factor. He has gotten rebounds in the low post, but being the easily amused monkey that I am, I want to see some points!
9:45 pm: 27-18, IU. Wow. Taht’s MSU’s 14th turnover. I haven’t seen something this sloppy since “Clint Bowyer will finish officially, cross the finish line, in the 18th position, upside down.” “On fih-err. I mean, that’s, Joie Chitwood couldn’t do that.” You have to love NASCAR.
9:48 pm: Tom Izzo must have been concerned about College GameDay today. An endorsement from Digger Phelps is the kiss of death. It appears the prophecy is being fulfilled, as the Hoosiers hit yet another three to make it 30-18, Indiana.
9:51 pm: The first half ends with Indiana leading, 30-20. Considering how badly the Spartans played in the first half, they’re lucky to only be down this much. The game is still within reach if Tom Izzo is able to make the necessary halftime adjustments. This means better ball control, opening up more opportunities in the paint, and hitting the quality shots they get. They cannot afford to miss the opportunities they’rs given. Indiana, on the other hand, needs to throw a wild card and use their perimeter success to give D.J. White easy shots inside.
10:05 pm: You know the sports world has gone to hell when Rece Davis makes a reference to Britney Spears when talking about a college point guard while a “YMCA” remix plays at halftime in a college basketball arena.
10:07 pm: No, Talib Kweli. Don’t do this to us. We know you’re getting paid, but geez.
10:11 pm: Michigan State’s non-Neitzel guard makes a perfect pass over a guy into the hands of a teammate. Problem is, he threw it over a teammate, and the one who caught it was on the bench.
10:13 pm: 33-23, IU. Neitzel finally hits a three for the Spartans. Before that, Number 11 had taken a Raymar Morgan tonight. Look at the team roster if you didn’t get that joke.
10:15 pm: 33-28, IU. Neitzel hits another three from NBA range, and suddenly MSU is back in this game. The Spartans certainly seem to have the momentum out of the locker room.
10:17 pm: 36-28, IU. Just as quickly as they gained momentum, Neitzel turns the ball over and Bassett gets an easy layup on the other end. That’s 17 turnovers for the Spartans, and we all know a TO is never good for your team. Oh, Snap!
Seriously, though…I don’t think Terrel Owens is evil or self-centered. I just think he’s naive. But that’s WAY off topic. 39-30, Indiana.
10:23 pm: 39-33, IU. Neitzel hits another three, as Michigan State finally seems to be passing the ball well.
10:25 pm: Idong Ibok is called for the foul. I still can’t get over that name.
10:27 pm: 39-35, IU. Goran Suton hits a long jumper to reduce the deficit to 4.
Holy Crap! Is that Kermit in the Izzone? I guess the colors make sense. He’s really let himself go since Muppet Treasure Island, though. He must weigh like, 180 pounds now. He must have been vacationing in Costa Rica; you have to eat three times your weight in flies to put up that kind of weight. This has to be the result of one of Miss Piggy’s guilt trips, the little green guy always capitulates to the threat of Tae Kwon Do. I would do the same if I could poke my eyes out with my knees.
10:32 pm: 39-37, IU. Michigan State gets another basket to go, and then Indiana kicks the ball out of bounds. Dick Vitale smells an upset. What he really smells is Dan Shulman peeing himself. As well he should, because if he was smart he would have bet his house on Indiana after Digger Phelps picked the Spartans on the morning GameDay program.
10:36 pm: 40-39, MSU. Walton forces a turnover, drive the length of the court, gets a layup and the foul! Michigan State gets is first lead, and Kermit is going absolutely insane. Seriously, he is going insane, Josh Heytvelt hooked him up with the good stuff.
10:41 pm: 44-41, MSU. You know what? I just realized that Indiana’s Mike White has not played at all in this game. You know why? because he’s at his computer blogging the game tonight! Ha Ha!
Oh, how I wish that was true.
10:43 pm: 47-42, MSU. The Spartans have outscored Indiana 27-12 in the second half. Indiana’s problems are twofold: First, they aren’t shooting threes. Because of that, D.J. White hasn’t gotten any open looks. At all.
10:48 pm: 48-44, MSU. Xavier Keeling stops the bleeding for Indiana thanks to a great pass from Errek Suhr. Two more people whom I have never heard of before and likely never will again.
10:51 pm: 54-46, MSU. Basset hits a tough midrange floater for the Hoosiers, but Michigan State gets two great baskets from even better passes. the first a two handed dunk so powerful the ESPN clock was swaying.
10:54 pm: 56-46, MSU. Someone explain this to me-how can you get a 10 second violation without pressure unless you’re not paying attention? No matter, Neitzel scores again. What a turnaround.
11:00 pm: 56-49, MSU. Indiana gets free throws, because they can’t hit a FG to save their souls right now.
We’re running out of time for bizarre commercials, so watch this instead. If you laugh, you will be punished. Although, I think Cesar Millan might like this.
11:01 pm: 58-52, MSU. Bassett hits a three for the Hoosiers, but with under three minutes left they need to make their move soon. Where is A.J. Ratliff?
11:05 pm: 62-54, MSU. The Spartans are salting away this game at the free throw line, and the Hoosiers still can;t shoot. Again I must ask, where is A.J. Ratliff?
11:07 pm: In case you’re wondering, I don;t do anything that even resembles keeping track of the Oscars. The only Oscar I care about is Robertson.
11:13 pm: 65-58, MSU. The game was starting to get boring, because, Indiana simply can’t shoot in the second half. But Neitzel just decleated Errek Suhr. I know it was an offensive foul, but that doesn’t make it any less awesome.
11:15 pm: Michigan State wins, 66-58. Michigan State finished the game exactly the way Indiana started it: shooting the three well and getting rebounds inside. Indiana ended the game in exactly the way Michigan State started: turning the ball over and not being able to hit the broad side of the barn with their shots. Proving the it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Damn, I can’t believe I just used that cliche. Kermit, I hope you’re happy.
I end my article tonight by giving you a heads up: tomorrow afternoon is #1 Ohio State vs. #2 Wisconsin. Tip off is at 4:00 pm. The Extrapolater will be visiting Digital Headbutt to provide the live blog of the game, while I document the Women’s/Men’s UNC basketball double dip at the same time on Tar Heel Mania.
This week I was invited to write a guest column on the blog If I Ran…, a blog dedicated to ranting about what bloggers would do if they were put in charge of sports organizations and events. Since baseball season is coming, If I ran… is posting articles from authors across the blogosphere about all things Major League Baseball. I chose to write about the WBC.
Digital Headbutt 