Ay Ziggy Dum-Dum

Dial M for Moron: The worst basketball announcers of the year thus far go to the two gentlemen who did the Toledo-Bowling Green game and here's why:

• They were the BIGGEST Bowling Green homers. I counted at least 20 times they complimented the (and I directly quote) "great crowd here in Anderson Arena at Bowling Green State University". They also made it a point every 3 minutes to say what a great coach Dan Dakich, and among other things, he has the 11th highest MAC winning percentage. First of all, who cares??? Second, 11th, ooooohhhhhh.
• If you're going to be homers, at least get the names of your favorite team's players right.
  
• This game was a great game, BG winning by 1 on a shot with 25 seconds left. So, shouldn't The Play of the Game be the game winning shot. Nope, it was a shot from the 1st half, when BG fell behind by 17 points. If you're not going to pick the game-winning shot, at least pick a momentum changing shot, not something from when your team was getting killed!!!!!!!
• And of course, the usual empty comments, mispronouncing of the names, wrong statistics, that sort of thing.

Before we talk basketball, let's give it up for Andre Agassi. Tonight, he advanced to meet Roger Federer in the quarterfinals by beating the big serving Swede Joachim Johannson in 4 sets, 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3. His victory was made more incredible by the fact Johannson had 51 aces, a new record. Literally, Agassi was Rocky Balboa and Johannson was Ivan Drago. Early in the match, it seemed there would be now way Agassi would win, let alone return a serve. But he found a way, and now Monday night, he gets the #1 player in the world which should be a classic.

Now, bring on the hoops:

• Villanova 83, Kansas 62. Well, I finally got a pick right, but I had no idea Villanova would be up 32 at one point in this game!!!! Curtis Sumpter of Nova was the Player of the Year for this one game, scoring 25, as the Cats hit 12/19 from deep. Kansas was let down by their lack of production from the perimeter and their lack of personal toughness, but the biggest question is: Where was the senior leadership??? Miles, Langford, Simien did nothing to get the Jayhawks going. This could be a major problem down the road if this lack of leadership continues.
  
• Wisconsin 72, Michigan 61. Wisconsin was impressive and Michigan was not. Mike Wilkinson representing all white boy ballas out there with 28 points and 15 rebounds. The Badgers did a great job of controlling tempo and Michigan is in trouble with Daniel Horton leaving the game with an injury. So, this sets up the heavyweight bout Tuesday night when the Badgers put their 38 game home winning streak on the line against #1 Illinois. I can't wait.
• Wake Forest 74, Cincinnati 70. The Demon Deacons matched the Bearcats' toughness and then some. Eric Williams played the game of his life, literally, scoring a career high 29. Chris Paul is the Player of the Year. He did everything today, even rip rebounds away from UC's big men. I hold my breath everytime he has the ball. The one thing that is a concern for Wake is that besides Williams and Paul, everyone else combined for just 24 points. Williams and Paul were the only ones to raise their level. UC is just too inconsistent from the perimeter. They fought hard, but Jason Maxiell and especially James White were nonexistent.
  
• Ball St. 66, Western Michigan 65. At first look, this appears to be a big upset. Then, look at the box score and see that Ben Reed for Western did not score. So in reality, it's amazing Western only lost by 1 because Ball St. is a good team. Western can't afford to lose many more if they have to rely on an at-large berth into the NCAAs.
• Charlotte 76, Marquette 66. Charlotte remains in the log-jam that is 1st place in Conference USA. Marquette is now 2-3 in conference, not good. Charlotte has some talent, but are inconsistent and sometimes play with a lack of discipline. They're an enigma.
• Oklahoma 64, Texas 60. Texas has skill, Oklahoma is tough. Texas fought hard without P.J. Tucker, relying on a 2-3 zone that they will most likely play the rest of the season. Klotz and Buckman just aren't as tough as Oklahoma's front line, which was relentless. The Sooners had 22 offensive rebounds!!!!!! The Sooners finally made some perimeter shots down the stretch, which was the difference. Oklahoma plays hard and doesn't let up. If they can be consistent from the perimeter, they will be very tough to beat. Texas will go as far as their guards take them, specifically Gibson and Taylor. I'm not saying Buckman and Klotz are horrible, but they would not be my first picks for inside men in a physical game.
• Michigan St. 69, Minnesota 55. The Spartans were impressive, holding the Gophers to 35% shooting. The Spartans outrebounded the Gophers 39-21 and shot 26/28 from the line, on the road!!!!! WOW, I must admit.
• Duke 88, Florida St. 56. Once FSU saw Duke was ready to play, they played as if they thought they had no chance. And with J.J. Redick scoring 31, including 8/11 3s, one being from Gainesville (it was deep), they didn't have a chance. This could be Coach K's best coaching job ever.
• Miami 59, Ohio 57. This game always ends up being close. The Redhawks were up 17 with 7 minutes to go, so this one was over, right? Nope, OU had a 3 hit the back of the iron at the buzzer that would have won it. A win is a win, and the Redhawks retain 1st all by themselves in the MAC East. Wednesday night, battle for MAC supremacy, Western Michigan at Miami.
• Dayton 66, LaSalle 58. Do you know how bad the Atlantic 10 is??? Dayton now leads the A-10 West by themselves after George Washington lost at Richmond. Cowards......
• Wichita St. 58, Southern Illinois 56. This one was a defensive struggle, with the Shockers coming from behind in the 2nd half. These are 2 pretty even teams, they both deserve to be playing in March.
• Pittsburgh 76, Connecticut 66. Ok, so Pitt is better than I thought. This was a tale of 2 halves, with UConn jumping out to a 17 point lead. The second half was all Pitt and Chevy Troutman, who scored 25 of his 29 in the 2nd half. UConn is too inconsistent from the perimeter, only shooting 27% in the 2nd half. Rashard Anderson only hit 1 3 pointer in the 2nd half after hitting 4 in the 1st. And Pitt uncharacteristically was good from the foul line, making 22/28.
  

Later on this week, I'll give a midseason report, looking at the conference races and seeing how the prognositcators are doing on their preseason picks.

Oh, virtually no snow in the Oxford area, which is not what's happening in the Northeast. Enjoy the football tomorrow, I'm glad I won't be outside in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia. Below zero windchills with blowing snow doesn't sound like much fun to me.