The definition of tired

I am exhausted. I literally just finished 14 consecutive hours of schoolwork. So, don't be surprised if tonight's post isn't very long because my bed is calling my name. It was a good day in the fact that my exit paper topic looks good and should be approved, which getting approved this early almost ensures I will have my Master's no later than the August graduation date. So that feels very good.

However, it is disappointing that Agassi/Federer won't start until 3:30am tonight. As much of a diehard Agassi fan I am, I'm so tired, I need sleep. If I wake up in the middle of the night though, I'll be tempted to turn it on and watch a little. Meanwhile, Sharapova has advanced to the semifinals to play Serena Williams, which is perfect for me. My favorite lady can win and knock out one I despise, because Serena should devote more time to tennis if she still wants to be arrogant and cocky.

Let's talk hoops:

• Syracuse 86, Rutgers 84. At first glance, this doesn't look like a good win for the Cuse, but when you look more closely, it actually is. The RAC (Rutgers Athletic Center) is a tough place to play, and Rutgers has had Syracuse's number at the RAC recently. So for Syracuse to come from 20 down to win is impressive in this case. And, what's a good sign for Syracuse is that Billy Edelin had 14 points. Carmelo Anthony got all the attention when the Cuse won the National Championship 2 years ago, but Edelin was the X-factor, because by him running the point, he allowed Gerry McNamara to play off the ball and look for his shot more. If Edelin can get back to that level and sustain it, watch out for the Orange.
• Wichita St. 65, Northern Iowa 57. To go to UNI and win 48 hours after beating Southern Illinois is very impressive.
  
• Utah 63, Air Force 51. I knew Andrew Bogut was good, but was I surprised to find Utah is now 17-3 and ranked in the Top 25 this week. A team I will have to pay more attention to and learn more about.
• Oklahoma 67, Oklahoma St. 57. Boomer Sooner!!!! Another good win for a team that had an impressive win just 48 hours ago. Actually, the Sooners looked better against a full strength Cowboy team than a depleted Texas team. The Sooners took advantage of their size and strength inside, evidenced by Taj Gray and Casey Bookout combining for 45 points on 21/29 shooting!!!! The team shot 54% and Drew Lavender outplayed John Lucas. Lavender, in my opinion has shown recently to be the best point guard in the Big 12. The secret is out on the Cowboys, play zone and you will win. Every game the Cowboys have lost, their opponent has played zone. They are not good enough on the perimeter and they aren't big enough inside to counteract the zone.

Alright everyone, let's look at this week's RPI (according to collegerpi.com)

• Despite the loss to Wichita St., Southern Illinois comes in at 14th, still in very good shape. Not counting tonight, the Shockers are 23rd.
• Vermont is 17th. That should fall because of the weakness of the America East Conference, but if they win out, but lose in the conference tournament, they'll still be high enough to make an argument. They only lost by 7 at Kansas earlier in the year.
• With their win over Kansas, Villanova is now 26th. They have a big game against Notre Dame later in the week that would solidify their position even more. Another Big East team making some noise is Georgetown at #34. They would be in as of today.
  
• Pacific (30), Western Michigan (32), Kent St. (33), Old Dominion (35), and Nevada (37) are in good positions right now. Will they stay there as conference season goes on and their numbers weaken?
• I think Maryland is in trouble, currently 43rd right now. They're a team in disarray.
• Miami Redhawks are 62nd???? If that's accurate, keep winning boys, you never know. Beating Purdue and winning at Xavier isn't bad to have on your resume.
  

I could go on. The RPI will become more important every week as the season goes on and the number of contenders drops. Don't forget, Illinois/Wisconsin tomorrow night at 9pm. I'm going record saying that Wisconsin will pull the upset. I love Illinois, but after they beat Iowa last week, the fun was gone from their faces. They need a wakeup call and need to get back to playing their style of basketball. I think a loss would be their best medicine instead of trying to stay #1.

In the Bachelorette tonight, somehow, some way, Fabrice made it to the Final 6. C'mon Jen, I'm starting to lose faith in you. The two front-runners appear to be Wendell and oh I can't remember his name, the really romantic guy. Oh well, it isn't that important.