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The Morning Mix

Championship Week is here. By this time next week, five conferences will have handed out auto-bids. But before we can get to that, we there is a lot of news and notes to digest from a busy weekend in college hoops.

The final regular season meeting of the “Border War” was a legendary affair. An Instant Classic. Game-of-the-Year. Why is this rivalry ending again? College basketball needs this game. If this rivalry is going to end, they certainly put on one heckuva finale. Take a gander at a solid photo gallery from the final “Border War”

- Chuck Landon takes Memphis to task. This article doesn’t accomplish much, but it sure is entertaining

- After beating Vanderbilt on Saturday, Kentucky’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was quoted as saying “I’m graduating here. I’m not going Anywhere. I’m staying at Kentucky as of now” and “I’m dead serious. I don’t know why y’all laughing?” But the freshman forward backtracked a bit, saying “I’m going to do whatever is best for me.” It’s a near-guarantee that MKG would be a lottery pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. CBS Sports’ Jeff Goodman then caused a mini-riot in Lexington when he tweeted that power-broker “World Wide Wes” would factor into MKG’s decision. In Goodman’s defense, it’s not an illogical thought at all. Nor is it an accusation or loaded opinion with hidden agenda

- Speaking of Kentucky, what do the Wildcats need to do before postseason play begins? In case you haven’t watched Kentucky play at all this season, you should probably know that Anthony Davis is an absolute animal. But will a perfect regular season bode well for the ‘Cats come postseason time?

- The NCAA handed down it’s (harsh) punishment to former-Radford coach Brad Greenberg, the brother of Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg

- Nebraska boosters took out a full-page advertisement in order to show their support for Doc Sadler, the Huskers head basketball coach

- It was announced very shortly before the tip-off on Sunday that Miami center Reggie Johnson was ruled ineligible to play. The ‘Canes did well without him, beating in-state rivals Florida State

- Missouri State’s Kyle Weems could have left after last season. After all, he had graduated, and with a year of eligibility left, was being pursued by high-major teams. But he decided to finish what he started

- We all saw what Pat Knight said following his team’s loss to Sam Houston State on Wednesday night. If you haven’t already done it, take a look. But maybe Knight was on to something. While the rant was well, “colorful”, it did provide some national spotlight on the small Southland Conference school. Plus, parents of a few of the players were fully supportive of what Knight had to say, and on Saturday his Lamar Cardinals went out and smacked Stephen F. Austin 72-49. So, instead of asking if it was “Rant of the Year”, maybe we should be asking if it was the “savviest Coaching Technique of the Year”?

- If you didn’t read this already, make sure you do. Dan Hanner provides an excellent breakdown of the top coaches in the country based on player development and recruiting

- We reached our quota this weekend for “dancing coach videos”. On Friday night, Marquette’s Buzz Williams two-stepped on West Virginia’s court, and on Sunday, Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan did something vaguely resembling a dance move

- A nice little preview of the Horizon League Tournament

- A nice little tournament tracker to get your week off on the right track

- Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey is in line to possibly receive his fourth “Coach of the Year” award

- Jim Calhoun plans on making his return to the sideline on March 3 when the UConn Huskies take on Pittsburgh in the regular season finale

- A former-Oregon State basketball player was arrested on drug trafficking charges

- Doug Gottlieb wonders if the UConn Huskies can make another remarkable post-season run

- At the beginning of the season, did anyone project Xavier as a bubble team? If you did, you’re lying

- A nice write-up on Wisconsin redshirt freshman Evan Anderson and the value of patience

- Just in case you weren’t already aware that message boards breed hate and unnecessary vitriol, read the solid-take from Boiled Sports

- Alabama head coach Anthony Grant is getting the job done this season. Sure, the record might not indicate the success he’s had, but he is getting it done. On and off the court

- Speaking of Alabama, Levi Randolph almost killed ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes during the Crimson Tide’s victory at Arkansas

- Don’t look now, but the Ivy League title race is starting to heat up

- After starting the season 1-11, the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils are looking to finish up an undefeated SWAC season

- Michigan forward Jon Horford is officially done for the year and will take a medical redshirt

- Tennessee might not make the tournament this year, but the team is improving leaps and bounds under new head coach Cuonzo Martin

- Looking for a sleeper pick in the Summit League Tournament? How about IUPUI, the hottest team in the league? What if we were talking about the Big East Tournament? May I suggest St. Johns?

- Former-Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese put college presidents “on blast”

- When a game-winner is outdone by a full-court buzzer-beater