Long Live Frank Fixaris!

I am not making excuses. I am talking college basketball and I am glad you are too. The T was a huge part of the game yesterday that is not an excuse that is a fact and you could ask Coach K or anyone else and they will say the same thing. I am not saying Georgetown would of won the game but that was a key part in them losing. As for Clemson, them starting off hot is a common theme. I would not be surprised if they are a bubble team come March, it probably wont happen but I would not be surprised.

Back to the T even if that was Monroe then that was a mistake by him but that does not change my opinion that if they played on a neutral court I like the Hoyas chances. The Hoyas were the 8th ranked team in the big east coming into the season and they played with Duke who was either 2nd or 3rd in the preseason ACC rankings.

This was suppose to be a rebuilding year for the Hoyas and they should do much better then that since Monroe is better then all the so called experts thought he was going to be before the season.

So no excuses by me it was just a very good non conference game. As for UNC losing to a team like BC of course you are not making excuses about that and that is because for a team as talented as the tarheels thier is no excuse losing to a very below average BC team. You would know about excuses have you stopped making them yet for when the Hoyas beat the tarheels a few years ago in the elite 8?

I am glad we are talking college basketball. Of course you know the Hoyas are my favorite team but I also love College basketball and I am glad you seem to also because not many others do around these parts.

Latest coaches poll. My Orange have yet another tough week playing #4 Pitt and #12 Louisville.

RANK 1/19/09
1. Wake Forest (25) 16-0 769 3
Last Week: Def. Boston College 83-63 (1/14), Def. No. 9 Clemson 78-68 (1/17)
This Week: 1/21 vs. Virginia Tech (12-5) Tickets
2. Duke (6) 16-1 747 2
Last Week: Def. Georgia Tech 70-56 (1/14), Def. No. 12 Georgetown 76-67 (1/17)
This Week: 1/20 vs. North Carolina State (10-5), 1/24 vs. Maryland (12-5) Tickets
3. Connecticut 16-1 688 4
Last Week: Def. St. John's 67-55 (1/15), Def. Seton Hall 76-61 (1/18)
This Week: 1/21 vs. No. 21 Villanova (14-3), 1/24 at No. 19 Notre Dame (12-5) Tickets
4. Pittsburgh 16-1 679 1
Last Week: Def. South Florida 75-62 (1/14), Lost to No. 20 Louisville 69-63 (1/17)
This Week: 1/19 vs. No. 8 Syracuse (17-2), 1/25 at West Virginia (13-4) Tickets
5. Oklahoma 17-1 649 5
Last Week: Def. No. 11 Texas 78-63 (1/12), Def. Texas A&M 69-63 (1/17)
This Week: 1/21 vs. Nebraska (12-4), 1/24 vs. No. 23 Baylor (14-3) Tickets
6. North Carolina 16-2 643 6
Last Week: Def. Virginia 83-61 (1/15), Def. Miami (FL) 82-65 (1/17)
This Week: 1/21 vs. No. 9 Clemson (16-1) Tickets
7. Michigan State 15-2 566 10
Last Week: Def. Penn State 78-73 (1/14), Def. Illinois 63-57 (1/17)
This Week: 1/21 vs. Northwestern (9-6), 1/25 at Ohio State (13-3) Tickets
8. Syracuse 17-2 520 8
Last Week: Lost to No. 12 Georgetown 88-74 (1/14), Def. No. 13 Notre Dame 93-74 (1/17)
This Week: 1/19 at No. 4 Pittsburgh (16-1), 1/25 vs. No. 12 Louisville (13-3) Tickets
9. Clemson 16-1 472 9
Last Week: Lost to No. 3 Wake Forest 78-68 (1/17)
This Week: 1/21 at No. 6 North Carolina (16-2), 1/25 vs. Georgia Tech (9-8) Tickets
10. Marquette 16-2 469 14
Last Week: Def. Providence 91-82 (1/17)
This Week: 1/24 vs. DePaul (8-10) Tickets
11. UCLA 14-3 443 7
Last Week: Def. Arizona 83-60 (1/15), Lost to No. 15 Arizona State 61-58 (1/17)
This Week: 1/22 at Washington State (11-6), 1/24 at Washington (13-4) Tickets
12. Louisville 13-3 377 20
Last Week: Def. No. 13 Notre Dame 87-73 (1/12), Def. No. 1 Pittsburgh 69-63 (1/17)
This Week: 1/21 at Rutgers (9-9), 1/25 at No. 8 Syracuse (17-2) Tickets
13. Xavier 15-2 360 16
Last Week: Def. Rhode Island 67-65 (1/15), Def. La Salle 73-53 (1/18)
This Week: 1/21 at St. Bonaventure (11-6), 1/24 at LSU (14-3) Tickets
14. Georgetown 12-4 349 12
Last Week: Def. No. 8 Syracuse 88-74 (1/14), Lost to No. 2 Duke 76-67 (1/17)
This Week: 1/22 vs. West Virginia (13-4), 1/25 at Seton Hall (9-8) Tickets
15. Texas 13-4 344 11
Last Week: Lost to No. 5 Oklahoma 78-63 (1/12), Def. Texas Tech 71-49 (1/17)
This Week: 1/24 vs. Texas A&M (15-3) Tickets
16. Arizona State 15-3 337 15
Last Week: Lost to USC 61-49 (1/15), Def. No. 7 UCLA 61-58 (1/17)
This Week: 1/21 at Arizona (11-7) Tickets
17. Butler 16-1 332 18
Last Week: Def. Loyola (IL) 78-55 (1/15), Def. Illinois-Chicago 59-52 (1/17)
This Week: 1/22 vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay (13-5), 1/24 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (12-6) Tickets
18. Purdue 14-4 193 19
Last Week: Def. Northwestern 63-61 (1/15), Def. Iowa 75-53 (1/18)
This Week: 1/22 at No. 20 Minnesota (16-2) Tickets
19. Notre Dame 12-5 180 13
Last Week: Lost to No. 20 Louisville 87-73 (1/12), Lost to No. 8 Syracuse 93-74 (1/17)
This Week: 1/24 vs. No. 3 Connecticut (16-1) Tickets
20. Minnesota 16-2 154 17
Last Week: Def. Wisconsin 78-74 (1/15), Lost to Northwestern 74-65 (1/18)
This Week: 1/22 vs. No. 18 Purdue (14-4), 1/25 at Indiana (5-12) Tickets
21. Villanova 14-3 152 22
Last Week: Def. St. John's 76-57 (1/18)
This Week: 1/21 at No. 3 Connecticut (16-1), 1/24 at South Florida (6-11) Tickets
22. Saint Mary's 17-1 134 25
Last Week: Def. Loyola Marymount 78-53 (1/15), Def. Pepperdine 96-46 (1/17)
This Week: 1/22 at San Diego (12-7) Tickets
23. Baylor 14-3 82 21
Last Week: Lost to Texas A&M 84-73 (1/14), Def. Oklahoma State 98-92 (1/17)
This Week: 1/21 at Kansas State (11-6), 1/24 at No. 5 Oklahoma (17-1) Tickets
24. Illinois 15-3 72 NR
Last Week: Def. No. 24 Michigan 66-51 (1/14), Lost to No. 10 Michigan State 63-57 (1/17)
This Week: 1/20 vs. Ohio State (13-3), 1/24 vs. Wisconsin (12-5) Tickets
25. Memphis 14-3 72 NR
Last Week: Def. Tulsa 55-54 (1/13), Def. UAB 81-68 (1/17)
This Week: 1/21 vs. Rice (6-11), 1/24 at Tennessee (11-5) Tickets

VA Tech is beating #1 Wake on the road 70-66 with 2:30 left.

Yeah Wake goes down for the first time. I got a chance to watch the end of the second half and Teagues should of been taking more shots. IMO- he has been the best player in the country so far this year and that was a game he had a chance to take over and he didnt do it.

Well Georgetown is playing a home game against WVU and the Hoyas are playing by far the worse they have played all season. I have watched just about every game and they have not played this bad all year.

No excuses right now. Georgetown has played absolutely horrible the last two games. They are putting themselves into a spot where they are playing very important games before they should be. They continue to play like this they will end up being a bubble team or worse. Louisville looked good against Syracuse today.

Got a chance to watch the end of the Wake/Duke game. It was quite an ending but Wake had quite a collapse to even make that close. College kids find any reason they can to charge the court. Wake should of expected to win that game at home and they win it and the fans charge the court.

Speaking of collapses the Hoyas had a collapse at the end of the second half. JT 3 has been a great coach for the Hoyas and has got them back on the map but why in the world would Jason Clark and Chris Wright be taking deep threes late in the game? The Hoyas lose the 4th straight 65-57 to the bearcats. It will be tough for the hoyas to not make that 5 straight as they go up against Marquette this weekend.

That Duke/Wake game was pretty good in the later half of the second half.

The play of the Hoyas has been frustrating to say the least. They are going to be on the outside looking in if they don't get their act together soon.

I would say at least Tuesday's game against Rutgers is a must game for the Hoyas. Of course techinacally they do not have a must game until the big east tourny because every team makes that this year. They are just going to have a tough time winning on that many straight days in the big east tourny because of the lack of bench depth. They have been struggling big time and if the season ending right now I do not believe they would be in the big dance and they would not deserve to be. They are capable of turning it around and hopefully they do. As for tonight Uconn was the new number 1 and they came out and made a huge statement routing Lousiville on the road.

Unc put on a good show tonight. Tyler and Green win all four years at Duke. Duncan is the only other one to ever do that.

Rusty LaRue did it too. He played 1 year before Duncan got to Wake and then won 3 with Duncan.

Huge win for Pitt last night.

Great road win for Pitt last night.

Providence defeats the number 1 Pitt Panthers. Great win for Providence and now they are right in the mix for a big dance spot. I will enjoy the big dance even though it looks like my favorite team will be watching from the outside. Even though the RPI is in the top 20 the Hoyas need to win the last three in the regular season including saturday against Villanova plus winning at least two and probably three in the big east tourny. If they lose any of the last three they would need to get to the big east championship which is pretty unlikely since they played themselves into having to play Tuesday of the big east tourny meaning they would have to play Tuesday thru Saturday until the lose. Despite all that I am looking forward to March Madness.

It is nearly March, so I will fire my yearly complaint about the automatic bids. Conferences that receive automatic bids should not have their league conference playoff fields be greater than 8--and that is stretching it. By giving a team that finishes .500 and 12th or something to that effect should have no shot at gaining entrance into the tourny (such as Georgia last year who was a sub .500 regular season team yet got hot at the right moment). THAT does negate the regular season and screws over the better teams from the smaller conferences who have no shot at an at-large bid.

I understand your point but teams like Georgetown and Notre Dame are better than the majority of those small conference teams and both of those teams are well under .500 and will need a big run to make the big east tourny but if they do make that run they will be very deserving to make the big dance. Those small conference teams would be lucky to win two games in the big east. It is not just the big east a team like Miami in the ACC is one of the best 65 teams in the country IMO but they are 5-8 in the conference and if they go on a run in the ACC they will be deserving of a spot.

Though the system has its issues I enjoy it the way it is. That said I see your point.

Here is how I see things going...

Four #1 Seeds: UConn, UNC, Memphis, Oklahoma (Only pick Im worried about)

Last four in: Boston College, Providence, Penn State, New Mexico State

First Four out: Maryland, Notre Dame, UAB, Temple

And no I dont have Georgetown even sniffing the Tourney. What a disapointing year they have Monroe and JT3 doesn't even utilize him the few games I've watched.

I agree with most of what you are saying above. I have not studied enough for the last four in and the last four out as of yet as that will change still 4 or 5 times before selection sunday. Even though I have not studied it at this point I do not see Notre Dame being even as close as the final 4 out. They could play themselves to that point. As for Providene I would say they would be just out as of right now but can now play themselves in very easily with that great win last night.

I do see Pitt as still having a very good shot at a number one seed despite the loss last night I can see them having a spot over Memphis. I think as of right now Oklahoma is all set because the loss against Kansas the committe is going to take into consideration that Griffen was out.

I also agree with what you saying about Georgetown not utilitizing Monroe enough. The guy is quite a talent. Part of the problem is Monroe himself. He is too unselfish. Also at times the style of play has hurt because they are concentrating too much on the backdoor cuts when they should be putting the ball inside to Monroe. I am not going to criticize on that aspect too much because the style of play and the turnaround in the gtown program may of been what got Monroe to georgetown. The biggest problem with the Hoyas is Jessie Sapp has had his worse year since his freshman year. His poor play has hurt them and IMO is the biggest reason they will most likely be heading to the NIT. I agree if the season ended now they would not be sniffing the tourny and that is probably how it will be at the end of the year also. However if they can finish 19-13 with a strength of schedule that is third in the nation and an RPi that is decent I do believe they would be on the bubble on selection sunday. Of course to do that they have to win there last three of the regular season including against Nova and also win two games in the big east tourny. Winning two games in the big east tourny is realistic but they need to step it up to beat Villanova this weekend.

I was unsure of Pitt or Oklahoma for the final number 1 spot because I just dont know how long Griffin will be out. Plus that loss to a slumping Texas team could hurt a lot. I think Maryland could get in with a win vs Duke or Wake eventhough Wake has gone down hill fast quickly, though I think Maryland will need to win a game or 2 in the ACC tournament.

Has there been a team more confusing then BC though? I mean beat UNC on the road, beat Duke and FSU at home and then lose to Harvard at home? Lucky for them UNC and Duke are big enough wins to propel them.

I agree about BC but the Harvard was so early in the season I do not believe it will be taken into consideration by the committee. I think Oklahoma will need a big time collapse and/or Griffen would have to be out for the rest of the regular seaon to not be a number one. I think Memphis will be a number two unless two or three other teams collapse.

You bring up an interesting double standard about the committee. You're right about the Harvard loss being so early they will overlook it to some degree, yet a win against a top team doesnt go overlooked no matter when the win occurs.

Actually I think they do not always take that into account either. I know with me it always goes back to Georgetown but they beat Memphis and Uconn and on a lesser level Maryland early in the season. If they had those three wins in the last week of the season they could make the tourny even with the poor 17-13 record or whatever they end up with for a record. Just like Notre Dame if there win against Texas was late in the season that would of done them a whole more good than it is going to do them by getting it back in November. IMO- Those type of wins help if it is between two teams and they both played a certain team.

Notre Dame with the loss tonight fell off the bubble the wrong way. Of course with me it always goes back to Georgetown for me and I believe with the win at Nova on Saturday they at least put themselves back on the bubble. With the Hoyas we will be able to see how much the committee take strength of schedule into consideration. As the strength of schedule is the toughest in the nation and the beat the number one team in the nation right now (uconn) and the number 3 team in the nation (Memphis) and of course Villanova also on Saturday. The way its been going the Hoyas could lose to St.Johns in the big city on Tuesday night and all that is for not. For any of you who just read what I just wrote I apologize for wasting 90 seconds of your life. GO HOYAS.

I love tonight. Selection sunday is great even with my favorite team not being in the party this year. This day and Thursday and Friday are great sport days.