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Disputed last-second foul helps Colorado stave off Oregon [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 5, 2012, 7:00 am] It took a flurry of big three-pointers, a disputed last-second foul and a clutch game-sealing free throw, but Colorado managed to thwart Oregon's bid to be the first Pac-12 team to win in Boulder this season. When Colorado corralled the rebound of Olu Ashaolu's potential go-ahead free throw with the score tied and just a few ticks left on the clock, Nate Tomlinson furiously drove the ball up the court and drew contact from E.J. Singler as he attacked the rim. To the delight of the pro-Buffaloes crowd, referees whistled Singler for the crowd, enabling Tomlinson to sink the game-winning free throw for a 72-71 victory. The call sent Oregon coach Dana Altman into a rage when it was made, but it's pretty clear referees got this one right. Even though it's always preferable for players to decide the outcome instead of a referee's whistle, Singler's feet were far from set when Tomlinson crashes into him and his subsequent attempt to block the shot also appeared to result in further contact. Perhaps Altman had seen a replay before he spoke to the media on Saturday night because he'd calmed down considerably by then. "Part of the game," he told the Eugene Register-Guard. "We didn't shoot free throws well; they beat us at the free-throw line. That was a big difference." The victory was critical for surprising Colorado because it kept the Buffs (16-7, 8-3) within a game of first-place Washington for the Pac-12 lead. Five of Colorado's final seven games are on the road, however, beginning with a suddenly very significant game on Thursday at Arizona. Picked 11th in the Pac-12 preseason poll after losing four of its top five scorers from last year's team that narrowly missed the NCAA tournament, Colorado has relied on a youthful roster to emerge as the league's most pleasant surprise. Freshman guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Askia Booker combined for 33 points on Saturday against Oregon. The Ducks (16-7, 7-4) came closer than any Pac-12 team to winning in Boulder, but they nonethe Marcus Denmon topples Kansas, then stops a court-storming [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 11:15 pm] As Missouri students prepared to flood the court just after their team's memorable 74-71 victory over rival Kansas on Saturday night, several Tigers players stood in their path and motioned for them to stay in their seats. It wasn't that Missouri wasn't excited about erasing a late eight-point deficit to beat the Jayhawks for just the fourth time in Bill Self's tenure. It was just that the Tigers didn't like the message that a court-storming against a team ranked lower than them would send. "We know Kansas is a great team but we're at home and we expect to win," senior Marcus Denmon explained to ESPN's Holly Rowe afterward. Missouri wouldn't have been in violation of court-storming etiquette by celebrating forging a three-way tie for first place in the Big 12 with a win over its fiercest rival, yet Denmon's gesture was both fitting and meaningful. It signified that this Tigers team believes it belongs in the Big 12 title chase with Kansas and Baylor, it belongs in contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and it belongs among the teams capable of making a deep run in March All that is certainly possible if Denmon can play close to the level he did Saturday night for the rest of the season. The Kansas City native emerged from an 18-for-63 slump in his last five games to erupt for 29 points on Saturday including nine straight after the Jayhawks had taken a 71-63 lead with less than three minutes to play. First Denmon drove hard to the rim, absorbed contact from Thomas Robinson and finished a three-point play to trim the deficit to five. Then after a very questionable charging call on Robinson, Denmon buried a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions to suddenly give Missouri a one-point lead with 56 seconds to play in a game that seemed lost just seconds earlier. Kansas fans will bemoan the blown charging call that cost Robinson a chance at perhaps a game-sealing three-point play, but the truth is the Jayhawks wasted numerous chances to clinch a victory e Missouri topples Kansas, then stops a court-storming [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 11:15 pm] As Missouri students prepared to flood the court just after their team's memorable 74-71 victory over rival Kansas on Saturday night, several Tigers players stood in their path and motioned for them to stay in their seats. It wasn't that Missouri wasn't excited about erasing a late eight-point deficit to beat the Jayhawks for just the fourth time in Bill Self's tenure. It was just that the Tigers didn't like the message that a court-storming against a team ranked lower than them would send. "We know Kansas is a great team but we're at home and we expect to win," senior Marcus Denmon explained to ESPN's Holly Rowe afterward. Missouri wouldn't have been in violation of court-storming etiquette by celebrating forging a three-way tie for first place in the Big 12 with a win over its fiercest rival, yet Denmon's gesture was both fitting and meaningful. It signified that this Tigers team believes it belongs in the Big 12 title chase with Kansas and Baylor, it belongs in contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and it belongs among the teams capable of making a deep run in March All that is certainly possible if Denmon can play close to the level he did Saturday night for the rest of the season. The Kansas City native emerged from an 18-for-63 slump in his last five games to erupt for 29 points on Saturday including nine straight after the Jayhawks had taken a 71-63 lead with less than three minutes to play. First Denmon drove hard to the rim, absorbed contact from Thomas Robinson and finished a three-point play to trim the deficit to five. Then after a very questionable charging call on Robinson, Denmon buried a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions to suddenly give Missouri a one-point lead with 56 seconds to play in a game that seemed lost just seconds earlier. Kansas fans will bemoan the blown charging call that cost Robinson a chance at perhaps a game-sealing three-point play, but the truth is the Jayhawks wasted numerous chances to clinch a victory ev Before their game, Denver and MTSU share an awkward flight [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 6:09 pm] When Denver forward Chris Udofia and his teammates arrived at their gate at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Friday afternoon, an unexpected sight immediately caught their attention. Waiting for the same flight to Denver were the players and coaches from Middle Tennessee State, the Pioneers' opponent the following day. "I couldn't believe it was happening," Udofia said with a chuckle on Saturday. "It was definitely a little strange. It really didn't build as much tension as we thought it would because everyone was pretty friendly, but at the same time it was definitely an awkward situation." Neither Udofia nor his teammates had ever shared a flight with an opposing team before, but an unusual quirk in the Sun Belt League schedule made it possible. Denver played at Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday night and flew from Lafayette to Dallas the next day to catch a connecting flight home, while Middle Tennessee State played at North Texas on Thursday night and booked the same flight out of Dallas to get to Denver. Being on the same plane might not have been such an uncomfortable situation had the two Sun Belt League rivals not actually wound up interspersed among one-another. Udofia sat next to a Middle Tennessee State team manager, several of his teammates shared a row with opposing players and Denver coach Joe Scott had a middle seat in between two of the Blue Raiders' leading scorers. "For the most part we kept to ourselves," Udofia said. "We tried to stay away from talking about basketball." Denver ended up winning bragging rights the following day, breaking open a tight game in the final five minutes to emerge with a 75-60 victory. It was first-place Middle Tennessee State's first loss in Sun Belt League play and it damaged the Blue Raiders' chances to earn an at-large bid if they fail to win the conference tournament next month. For a Denver team that expected to challenge Middle Tennessee State (21-4, 10-1) for the Sun Belt title entering the conference Saturday’s stock watch: Who’s rising and falling? [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 4, 2012, 1:26 pm] Here's a look at some of the players and teams whose stock has risen and fallen on a busy Saturday in college hoops. Check back because this file will be updated throughout the day: Stock up: Notre Dame When Notre Dame struggled in non-conference play after losing star Tim Abromaitis to a season-ending knee injury, it looked as though just finishing in the upper half of the Big East would be too daunting a challenge. Now the Irish (15-8, 7-3) are within a half game of second place in the league thanks to victories over the likes of Syracuse, Louisville, UConn and Marquette. Saturday's 76-59 home victory over the Golden Eagles was especially impressive because Notre Dame held Marquette to sub-40 percent shooting and received an offensive spark from a key reserve. Freshman Pat Connaughton scored 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting and 5-for-8 from behind the arc. Stock Down: South Florida If Saturday's visit to Georgetown was a litmus test for whether South Florida's 6-3 Big East start was legitimate or not, then the answer appears to be a resounding "no." The Bulls (13-10, 6-4) had just five points in the opening 15 minutes, 15 points at halftime and 19 points with 12 minutes left in the game en route to an ugly 75-45 loss. Credit South Florida for improving enough to beat up on the Big East's lesser teams this season like St. John's, DePaul, Providence, but the Bulls lack the firepower to be competitive with the Big East's upper echelon. They're 16th in the league in scoring and 13th in points per possession, deficiencies that will catch up with them during a back-loaded Big East schedule. Stock up: Fab Melo It was a fast-paced game against a lesser team in a very friendly road environment, but Syracuse's 95-70 throttling of St. John's still highlighted how much the Orange missed Fab Melo the past two weeks. Melo, who missed the last three games due to an academic issue stemming from his first semester grades, scored a career-high 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting. The 7-fo Back pain forces Jim Calhoun to take medical leave of absence [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 2:14 pm] Already mired in a disappointing stretch of six losses in eight games, UConn received some far worse news Friday. Jim Calhoun, the legendary coach who has led the Huskies to three championships during his 26-year tenure, announced he's taking an indefinite medical leave of absence. The 69-year-old Calhoun has been suffering since the summer from spinal stenosis, a lower back condition that causes him severe pain and hampers mobility. "Last summer, Jim had some significant back pain and has seen two excellent back specialists," said Dr. Peter Schulman, Calhoun's primary care doctor. "The initial approach recommended to him was stretching, physical therapy and exercise, and that was successful for several months. It turns out that there is some degenerative problem in the lumbar vertebrae and it's impinging on the nerves. "Over the last several days, things have become worse and he is not able to deal with this on a day to day basis, so other options need to be considered. Right now, he is physically unable to coach." Back problems are just the latest in a string of health issues Calhoun has faced during the past decade. A three-time cancer survivor, he overcame prostate cancer in 2003 and skin cancer twice, most recently in 2008. The release from UConn gave no indication Calhoun is considering retiring as a result of his back pain, but it seems difficult to believe that's not a realistic possibility if the discomfort doesn't decrease. First of all, Calhoun will turn 70 in May and his health problems are likely to continue with age. Furthermore, Calhoun strongly considered retiring after winning a championship last season before returning in part because he felt he had a responsibility to see the program through NCAA and academic sanctions levied last year. The absence of Calhoun will be another distraction for an already struggling UConn team, but at least the Huskies should be accustomed to being without their coach. An NCAA-mandated suspension sidelined Four keys to Saturday’s Kansas-Mizzou showdown [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 12:27 pm] What could be the final Border War game in Columbia for the foreseeable future certainly isn't lacking for appealing storylines. Both fourth-ranked Missouri and eighth-ranked Kansas are in the hunt for the Big 12 championship and a top-two seed in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers need this game to have a realistic chance to halt Kansas' streak of Big 12 championships, while the Jayhawks could reassert their dominance over the league and the rivalry with a victory on Missouri's home floor. The atmosphere at Missouri for this nationally televised night game promises to be as loud and hostile as any rivalry game this season. Here's a look at some of the keys that could help determine the winner: 1. Will Kansas turn the ball over? Kansas has committed 17 or more turnovers six times this season, but the Jayhawks have improved dramatically in this area in Big 12 play. Thanks largely to senior guard Tyshawn Taylor making better decisions and playing more under control, Kansas has averaged a modest 12.1 turnovers per game since conference play began. Whether the Jayhawks can keep their turnover tally down against a harassing Missouri defense that pressures the ball and chokes off passing lanes will be one of the keys to the game. The Tigers force 15.9 turnovers per game, second most in the Big 12. 2. Can Kansas exploit its size advantage? If the Kansas guards take care of the ball and successfully make entry passes against pressure defense, the Jayhawks should have favorable matchups in the frontcourt. Because Missouri starts four guards and only has two scholarship big men on its roster, the Tigers will likely be at a disadvantage in the paint both defensively and on the glass. Bruising 6-foot-8 Ricardo Ratliffe will draw the initial assignment against either national player of the year candidate Thomas Robinson or center Jeff Withey, leaving 6-foot-6 Kim English to check the other. How successful Kansas is in attacking the offensive glass and forcing English to guard his Four keys to Saturday’s Kansas-Mizzou matchup [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 12:27 pm] What could be the final Border War game in Columbia for the foreseeable future certainly isn't lacking for appealing storylines. Both fourth-ranked Missouri and eighth-ranked Kansas are in the hunt for the Big 12 championship and a top-two seed in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers need this game to have a realistic chance to halt Kansas' streak of Big 12 championships, while the Jayhawks could reassert their dominance over the league and the rivalry with a victory on Missouri's home floor. The atmosphere at Missouri for this nationally televised night game promises to be as loud and hostile as any rivalry game this season. Here's a look at some of the keys that could help determine the winner: 1. Will Kansas turn the ball over? Kansas has committed 17 or more turnovers six times this season, but the Jayhawks have improved dramatically in this area in Big 12 play. Thanks largely to senior guard Tyshawn Taylor making better decisions and playing more under control, Kansas has averaged a modest 12.1 turnovers per game since conference play began. Whether the Jayhawks can keep their turnover tally down against a harassing Missouri defense that pressures the ball and chokes off passing lanes will be one of the keys to the game. The Tigers force 15.9 turnovers per game, second most in the Big 12. 2. Can Kansas exploit its size advantage? If the Kansas guards take care of the ball and successfully make entry passes against pressure defense, the Jayhawks should have favorable matchups in the frontcourt. Because Missouri starts four guards and only has two scholarship big men on its roster, the Tigers will likely be at a disadvantage in the paint both defensively and on the glass. Bruising 6-foot-8 Ricardo Ratliffe will draw the initial assignment against either national player of the year candidate Thomas Robinson or center Jeff Withey, leaving 6-foot-6 Kim English to check the other. How successful Kansas is in attacking the offensive glass and forcing English to guard his BYU resuscitates its season by beating Gonzaga [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 3, 2012, 8:14 am] Had BYU not beaten Gonzaga on Thursday night, its only chance to land an NCAA bid may have been winning the West Coast Conference tournament next month. Instead the Cougars managed to snap a rare two-game home losing streak, pick up their biggest win of the season and resuscitate their fading at-large hopes all in one night. An 83-73 victory over Gonzaga served notice that the intimidation factor of the Marriott Center hasn't vanished despite uncharacteristic BYU losses there to Saint Mary's and LMU in the past two weeks. The Cougars won by attacking the Zags off the dribble and by relying on the interior and mid-range game of big men Brandon Davies and Noah Hartsock, who combined for 39 points and 19 rebounds. At 19-6 overall and 7-3 in its inaugural WCC season, BYU is still tied for third place with LMU in league play and has ample work left to do to feel confident about a sixth straight season ending with an NCAA bid. Nonetheless, the Cougars have to feel better about their chances with a top 40 RPI and a win over Gonzaga to go with previous victories over WAC-leading Nevada, Pac-12 contender Oregon and Big Sky-leading Weber State. In addition to reviving BYU's season, Thursday night's game also brought clarity to the WCC title race. Gonzaga's streak of earning at least a share of the WCC title the past 11 seasons is in grave jeopardy with just a month to go in the regular season. Even if the Zags (17-4, 7-2) beat first-place Saint Mary's (22-2, 11-0) in Spokane on Feb. 9, they'll still need to win out and have either Santa Clara, LMU, Portland or San Francisco upset the Gaels just to be co-league champions. BYU's league title chances all but disappeared when it dropped a pair of home games in league, but the Cougars at least have life in the at-large hunt. The key to finishing the season strong and securing a bid may be emerging from a team-wide perimeter shooting slump that has seemingly come out of nowhere. In its past five games, BYU is a mere 14 of 85 from Arkansas is winless on the road yet in the hunt for an NCAA bid [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 2, 2012, 1:33 pm] If Arkansas is going to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time in four years, it's certainly no mystery where the Razorbacks must improve. They need to find a way to play at close to the same level on the road as they do at Bud Walton Arena. Whereas Arkansas is unbeaten at home this season, the Razorbacks have lost all six games they've played away from Fayetteville by an average of more than 12 points. Opposing teams are averaging 53.1 percent shooting and 1.11 points per possession against Arkansas away from Bud Walton Arena, both more than 20 percent higher than the Razorbacks' season totals at home. "We've done a good job of taking care of the home court, so now the next level for us is to go out on the road and prove we can do it," Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. "We're a young basketball team, and it takes time for leadership to take place. That's what you have to have on the road. You have to have leadership. We've played some games on the road better than others. The last one at Alabama, we were right where we needed to be and we just didn't do a good job finishing." The good news for the Razorbacks is that an NCAA tournament berth is well within reach if they can find a way to defeat teams below them in the SEC standings away from home. Arkansas (16-6, 4-3) tallied home wins against Mississippi State, Michigan and Vanderbilt last month, a good enough trio of victories to quietly elevate Anderson's team to the cusp of the at-large picture entering February. The first opportunity for Arkansas to show improvement on the road will come Saturday at LSU. That starts a stretch of five out of eight away from home to finish SEC play, though all but the season finale against Mississippi State come against teams that aren't considered NCAA tournament contenders. "If we can build our consistency, then I like our chances," Anderson said. "Typically the teams I've been associated with start picking up things in February and March and start playing ou Las Vegas: Where Super Bowl and college basketball wagering meet [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 2, 2012, 1:13 pm] The Super Bowl and college hoops are crossing paths this weekend ⦠in Las Vegas. Various sports books around the Vegas valley are offering just about any prop bet you can dream up when it comes to Sunday's clash between the Patriots and Giants. Heck, if you were so inclined â or felt like blowing that much money â you could have action on every single play of the game. Here is a closer look at â along with our picks â some of the crossover props involving college basketball offered up at a couple of Vegas shops. Lucky's Sports Books â¢Â Who will have more: UNLV points Saturday at Wyoming (-3) or Aaron Hernandez receiving yards? Well, the Cowboys have only allowed more than 60 points three times this season and UNLV has struggled offensively on the road. On the other side, Aaron Hernandez figures to be a prime target for Tom Brady with Rob Gronkowski still working back from a high ankle sprain. PICKS â Ryan Greene: Hernandez; Jeff Eisenberg: Hernandez. ⢠Who will have more: Nevada points Saturday vs. Idaho or Wes Welker receiving yards (-2)? Nevada should be able to score big at home in this one, but Welker figures to benefit just like Hernandez should ⦠and he averaged just a shade under 100 yards per game this season, including 136 in a Week 9 loss to the Giants. PICKS â RG: Welker; JE: Welker. â¢Â Who will have more: Tim Hardaway Jr. points at Michigan State (-.5) or Ahmad Bradshaw rushing attempts? Um ⦠flip a coin ⦠but keep in mind that MIchigan State will be out for blood in a nice revenge spot. PICKS â RG: Bradshaw; JE: Hardaway. ⢠Who will have more: Austin Rivers points vs. Miami (-.5) or Giants first half points? Rivers is averaging 14.1 points per game. Gotta take your chances with the balanced Giants against a patchy Patriots defense ⦠right? PICKS â RG: Giants; JE: Giants. LVH Super Book ⢠Who will have more: Michigan points at Michigan State (-5.5) or Giants/Patriots combined points? Well, Michigan St Dunk of the Year Candidate: UAPB’s Savalace Towsend [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 2, 2012, 8:56 am] It took four days for video to surface, but a spectacular dunk from Saturday's matchup between Arkansas Pine Bluff and Grambling State is finally receiving the nationwide attention it deserves. Midway through the first half of his team's 60-55 loss, Arkansas Pine Bluff senior Savalace Towsend zooms by his man off the dribble from well beyond the top of the key and drives full speed at the rim. When 6-foot-7 Bryant Purvis bravely stands his ground and attempts to draw a charge, Towsend soars over the top of him and delivers a vicious one-handed jam that would make even Blake Griffin proud. Had a dunk like that happened in a nationally televised game between two prominent teams, it would have hit YouTube within minutes and been featured on SportsCenter that night. This one amazingly still only had 303 views on YouTube as of Tuesday morning simply because both Arkansas Pine Bluff and Grambling State toil in near anonymity. Arkansas Pine Bluff is 3-19 overall and 2-7 in the SWAC. Grambling State is just a tick better at 3-16 overall and 3-6 in the SWAC. Well, at least the Tigers got a rare victory on Saturday and the Golden Lions produced a highlight that will be talked about on campus for a while. (Thanks, Ballin' is a Habit) Breakfast Buffet: Southern Miss ends Memphis jinx [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 2, 2012, 7:00 am] 1. Eight years into his tenure at Southern Mississippi, former Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy has finally returned to national relevancy. Thanks to a 75-72 victory over Memphis on Wednesday night, the Golden Eagles snapped an 18-game losing streak to the Tigers and moved into sole possession of first place in Conference USA. It would now take a disappointing finish for Southern Mississippi (20-3, 7-1) not to make the NCAA tournament. 2. How significant is the demand for tickets to what could be the last Missouri-Kansas game in Columbia for the foreseeable future? Tickets on Stubhub.com are being sold for anywhere from $251 for the nosebleed sections to $1250 for courtside seats. According to Stubhub, the average price for a ticket to last year's game in Columbia between the Tigers and Jayhawks was $164, a relative bargain by comparison. 3. Even though Texas A&M isn't contending in the Big 12 the way it expected to this year, in some ways the season has been a success simply because coach Billy Kennedy is on the sidelines again. ESPN.com's Jason King does a terrific job describing how the first-year Aggies coach isn't letting being diagnosed with the early stages of Parkinson's disease last fall deter him. 4. With Towson picking up its first victory in 13 months on Saturday, the nation's longest losing streak now belongs to Binghamton, the lone remaining winless team this season. Stony Brook extended the Bearcats' misery on Wednesday night, parlaying nine first-half threes into a 50-15 halftime lead and an 82-48 rout. Said Binghamton coach Mark Macon, "We dug in and played much better in the second half but they hit all those threes in the first half and that was the game." 5. Good post from TheBigLead's Jason Lisk evaluating the teams that the RPI and Jeff Sagarin/Ken Pomeroy drastically disagree on. Would you believe the RPI has Colorado State No. 22 and KenPom has the Rams No. 107? Or that the RPI has Wisconsin No. 25 and KenPom has the Badgers No. 2? In both c #FabMeloFacts: The Syracuse center will play Saturday [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 1, 2012, 8:01 pm] Fab Melo created a #FabMeloFacts hashtag on Twitter this week, a meme that featured Chuck Norris-style statements about the Syracuse 7-footer. One read, "If Fab Melo says it's gonna cost an arm and a leg, you better run before he rips off one of your limbs." Another read "Fab Melo doesn't drink Dos Equis. It isn't interesting enough for him." Here's the only #FabMeloFact Syracuse fans truly care about: The sophomore center is ready to return to the team. According to the Post-Standard, Syracuse will announce Thursday that Melo has been cleared to play Saturday when the Orange meet St. John's. An undisclosed academic issue had sidelined Melo for Syracuse's last three games, during which the Orange (22-1, 9-1) suffered their lone loss of the season at Notre Dame but rebounded to defeat Cincinnati and West Virginia. The return of Melo is critical to Syracuse's hopes of hanging onto the Big East title, earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and making a deep run in March. Melo, a highly touted recruit who played sparingly during a disappointing freshman season, has bounced back strong as a sophomore, averaging 7.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in 22.7 minutes per game. His shot-blocking presence in the middle of Syracuse's trademark zone enables the guards to gamble for steals that fuel the Orange's transition offense without having to worry about giving up a dunk if they get beaten off the dribble.  The most logical explanation for Melo's absence seems to be that he spent last week doing makeup work to elevate a first semester grade that wasn't up to par. Initially Syracuse reportedly hoped to have Melo back as soon as last Saturday's game against West Virginia, but apparently the academic issue was not resolved in time. Regardless, Melo's return is great news for Syracuse. Two years ago, it was an ill-timed injury to Arinze Onuaku that helped thwart Syracuse's bid to make the Final Four. This year, the Orange doesn't have to worry about another posts Bo Ryan and Wisconsin visit Joe Paterno’s memorial before beating Penn State [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 1, 2012, 1:05 pm] No one had to talk Bo Ryan into taking a trip to visit the Joe Paterno statue when Wisconsin was in State College to play Penn State. After Paterno passed away from lung cancer on Jan. 22, it was a trip he mentally circled. "Why wouldn't you?" Ryan said when asked about the decision to take his players to the statue. "I would've played for the guy. I would've coached with the guy." Prior to the Badgers' 52-46 win over the Nittany Lions, Ryan took his players and staff to the Paterno statue, which has turned into a memorial for the fallen coach. The group had to step over a massive amount of flowers, notes and other Penn State memorabilia to get an up close look at Paterno's likeness. Wisconsin media relations director Patrick Herb tweeted several photos from the trip and players and coaches signed a Wisconsin hat and left it among the other gifts at the site. Ryan took a couple extra minutes with the hat writing, "To the greatest teacher of all time!" Ryan wasn't the only one honoring Paterno on Tuesday night. Penn State coach Patrick Chambers sported black sneakers with white laces and rolled up khakis on the Nittany Lions sideline in honor of Paterno's famous attire. Penn State coaches were already wearing sneakers for Coaches vs. Cancer, but decided to roll up his pants to pay his respects in Penn State's first home game since Paterno's death. "It was a tribute to Coach Paterno and what he's done and what he's meant to this university," Chambers said after the game and called the tribute a "one time thing." - - - Graham Watson is on Facebook and Twitter: Follow her @Yahoo_Graham Charlie Spoonhour’s wise-cracking humor was one of a kind [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 1, 2012, 12:31 pm] In addition to building Southwest Missouri State and Saint Louis into mid-major powers during the late 1980s and 90s, Charlie Spoonhour was best known in college basketball circles for two things. Nobody looked better in a mock turtleneck than Spoonhour. And nobody had a more charming sense of humor. Spoonhour used his wise-cracking homespun humor to his advantage throughout his career, whether it was during news conferences with the media, home visits with recruits or banquets with boosters. As a result, it seems fitting to remember some of the laughs he provided on the day that he died at age 72 less than two years after receiving a lung transplant after being diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In 19 years as a Division I head coach, Spoonhour led Southwest Missouri State and Saint Louis to eight NCAA tournament appearances and also earned a pair of NIT bids while coaching at UNLV. Here's a collection of some of his most memorable quips and one-liners from throughout his coaching career: ⢠"I could do a chin-up on his arm, and it wouldn't affect his shooting." â Spoonhour on chiseled Cincinnati forward Danny Fortson, one of the nation's best interior scorers and rebounders at the time. (Sports Illustrated, 1996) ⢠"The coach gave me a scholarship sight-unseen and as soon as he saw me, he cut me." â Spoonhour on his brief tenure as a scholarship baseball player at the University of Arkansas. (The Log Cabin Democrat, 2009) ⢠"No, I guess you must be right, Ron. You ought to know what a foul is, you sure as hell committed enough of them." â Spoonhour to referee Ron Pexa regarding a call he disagreed with during a game. Spoonhour coached at Moberly Junior College when Pexa played at Missouri and was familiar with his game. (East Iowa Herald, 2008) ⢠"We're excited about the coming season â but, then, guys on death row are excited too." â Spoonhour on whether Saint Louis could sustain its success after star guard Larry Hughes le Quietly, Nevada threatening to run the table in the WAC [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 1, 2012, 11:48 am] Dario Hunt nipped it in the bud. He was along for the bumpy ride that was a 13-19 campaign at Nevada a year ago, and after being picked by the league's coaches as the preseason favorite this fall, a 68-46 home loss to Missouri State to open the season shocked many. The senior forward took charge in the locker room right afterwards. "He definitely got us together and said we've got to step up," sophomore point guard Deonte Burton said. "This is what we did last year, and we don't want this season to be a repeat of last year. It started with practices and went from there." Almost three months later, the Wolf Pack is 18-3, has won 15 straight games, including its first seven WAC contests, and is possibly eyeing its first NCAA tournament bid since 2007. "We just haven't gotten much attention because of those three losses," Burton added. If Nevada keeps on the same path it's been on, the attention will surely come. Following that opening loss to Missouri State, Nevada mounted a late comeback before falling to in-state rival UNLV by four. The third loss came two weeks later against BYU, but the win that seemed to turn things for the Wolf Pack was a 76-73 home triumph over Washington. In that game, Burton â the WAC's preseason Player of the Year â tied the game with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation, then scored eight of the team's 10 points in overtime, taking over the game in every way en route to scoring 31 points. "Just how last year we started off so bad and overall, we didn't have a good season, and we were nervous of that happening again â We just used it as motivation," Burton said. Last season, after winning its opener, Nevada lost seven straight, setting the tone for a rare poor season for one of the last decade's more consistent mid-major programs. Now, the team's current run has likely pulled third-year coach David Carter off of the hot seat. The team's done it by getting consistent contributions across the board. Seniors Hunt and Olek Czy Michigan State awaits word on Draymond Green’s knee injury [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 1, 2012, 8:14 am] To understand the character Draymond Green has, all you had to do was watch him sitting on the bench in agony Tuesday night after injuring his left knee in the second half of Michigan State's 42-41 loss to Illinois. Green couldn't put any weight on the leg, so the senior forward hopped on his right foot from the bench to Michigan State's huddle before the Spartans' final two possessions in hopes of providing some inspiration to his teammates. Stories like that illustrate why it would be such a shame if Green's college career were to end prematurely without him getting one final shot to lead Michigan State back to the Final Four. There was no contact that caused Green's injury, but he immediately clutched his knee and fell to the floor after apparently taking an awkward step while defending Illinois forward Myke Henry off the ball. Green chose not to speak to the media after the game and Tom Izzo told reporters in his postgame press conference that he won't have an update on the severity of the injury until after doctors examine Green further on Wednesday. "I have no idea how he is," Izzo said. "I'm not even sure exactly what it is. I'm not sure he is or the doctors are." The loss of Green would be devastating for a Michigan State team that otherwise has the look of a Final Four contender after surging into the top 10 following season-opening losses to Duke and North Carolina. Green is one of the nation's most versatile forwards, scoring 14.9 points per game, grabbing 10.3 rebounds and dishing out 3.5 assists. Without the focal point of its already inconsistent offense, Michigan State would have little hope of overtaking Ohio State in the Big Ten title race or making much of a run in March. Even before his second-half injury, Green wasn't having one of his better days in Champaign. The senior was "sick as a dog" with the flu before the game and he played like it, scoring just five points on 1-for-6 shooting and logging just 16 minutes because of foul trouble. Gree Draymond Green’s knee injury diagnosed as just a sprain [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: February 1, 2012, 8:14 am] To understand the character Draymond Green has, all you had to do was watch him sitting on the bench in agony Tuesday night after injuring his left knee in the second half of Michigan State's 42-41 loss to Illinois. Green couldn't put any weight on the leg, so the senior forward hopped on his right foot from the bench to Michigan State's huddle before the Spartans' final two possessions in hopes of providing some inspiration to his teammates. Stories like that illustrate why it's such great news that the knee injury Green suffered won't keep him out of action long. An MRI taken Wednesday revealed no torn ligaments and Michigan State has categorized the injury as just a knee sprain. He's considered "day-to-day" and could return as soon as Sunday when Michigan State hosts Michigan. Even if Green misses a game or two, the news is much better than it could have been. There was no contact that caused Green's injury, but he immediately clutched his knee and fell to the floor after apparently taking an awkward step while defending Illinois forward Myke Henry off the ball. Green chose not to speak to the media after the game and Tom Izzo told reporters in his postgame press conference that he had "no idea" what the injury was or how serious it was. A prolonged absence for Green would have been devastating for a Michigan State team that has the look of a Final Four contender after surging into the top 10 following season-opening losses to Duke and North Carolina. Green is one of the nation's most versatile forwards, scoring 14.9 points per game, grabbing 10.3 rebounds and dishing out 3.5 assists. Even before his second-half injury on Tuesday, Green wasn't having one of his better days in Champaign. The senior was "sick as a dog" with the flu before the game and he played like it, scoring just five points on 1-for-6 shooting and logging just 16 minutes because of foul trouble. Green also got into a rare heated exchange with Izzo after picking up his third first-half foul on “We are Mizzou” video inspires a clever satirical Kansas rebuttal [Yahoo! Sports: Blogs: January 31, 2012, 5:44 pm] Whether it's Missouri fans printing t-shirts championing a Civil War raid as "scoreboard" or Kansas declaring victory by forfeit in the rivalry after Missouri announced it was SEC-bound, the Border War has produced some memorable pranks. Rarely, however, has there been a more decisive victory for one fan base than the music video battle in advance of Saturday's matchup in Columbia. On Friday, three Missouri students released a song titled "We Are Mizzou," a lighthearted pro-Tigers, anti-Jayhawks rap anthem replete with trite lyrics, awkward dancing and lots and lots of Auto-Tune. Nearly 200,000 people viewed the video on YouTube by Tuesday afternoon, prompting a clever satiric rebuttal from three Kansas students entitled "We Are KU." Everything about the Kansas video is pretty hilarious, from the identical opening sequence, to the matching jerseys and backward caps, to the gratuitous jabs at Missouri for never having made a Final Four. And of course, the Kansas students can't resist pointing out that the Jayhawks lead the all-time basketball series with Missouri 171-94. Pranks like this are a reminder why it would be an absolute shame to see the Border War rivalry between Kansas and Missouri disappear after this season. Missouri is leaving the Big 12 for the SEC beginning next fall and Kansas has threatened not to renew the series in the future. The only part the Kansas students get wrong is when they say that their school "would never back out of a 100-year rivalry." There was a time when both schools were looking to abandon the Big 12 at any cost. The sooner the two rivals put aside their differences and extend the series, the better for everyone. |