Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

The Morning Mix

Trey Burke, Aaron Craft

Michigan guard Trey Burke (3) blocks a shot attempt by Ohio State guard Aaron Craft (4) during the overtime period of an NCAA college basketball game at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013. Michigan defeated Ohio State 76-74. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

AP

Remember that dominant Florida team everybody was drooling over on Monday? Yeah, they lost last night, to Arkansas, by 11.

It was ugly.

You know what wasn’t ugly? The Michigan-Ohio State game.

It was beautiful.

But enough of my thoughts.

Let’s hit the links.

Wednesday’s Top games:
7:00 p.m. - St. Bonaventure’s @ No. 14 Butler
7:00 p.m. - No. 17 Cincinnati @ Providence
7:00 p.m. - No. 18 Minnesota @ No. 12 Michigan State
7:00 p.m. - Baylor @ No. 22 Oklahoma State
7:00 p.m. - No. 24 Marquette @ South Florida
7:00 p.m. - Charlotte @ Temple
7:00 p.m. - Delaware @ Towson
7:00 p.m. - Southern Miss @ Central Florida
7:00 p.m. - Connecticut @ St. John’s
7:05 p.m. - No. 16 Creighton @ Indiana State
7:30 p.m. - No. 11 Louisville @ Rutgers
8:00 p.m. - Memphis @ SMU
9:00 p.m. - No. 5 Kansas @ TCU
9:00 p.m. - Stanford @ No. 7 Arizona
9:00 p.m. - Air force @ No. 15 New Mexico
9:00 p.m. - Iowa @ Wisconsin
10:00 p.m. - Colorado State @ Nevada
11:00 p.m. - Boise State @ San Diego State


Read of the Day:
Old Dominion announced the firing of 12-year head coach Blaine Taylor yesterday. Taylor was instrumental in the growth of the Monarchs’ program and guided them to four NCAA tournament appearances. His firing comes as the team is struggling through a 2-20 season, and drinking problems from his past may have played a part. But the Universities handling of the situation makes this story both awkward and sad. Make sure you read this article from David Teel. (Newport News Daily-Press)

Read of the Day:
So ummm, Bill Simonson of MLive.com puts Indiana on blast. No, not the Hoosiers. The entire state. Yeah, it’s pretty outlandish. But speaking of the Hoosiers, Simonson believes the referees favor Crean and the Hoosiers and that Big-Ten referees hold personal grudges on certain coaches and take it out on them at Assembly Hall. Read this, but make sure you have your popcorn ready. (MLive.com)


Top Stories:
Tim Hardaway, Jr., No. 3 Michigan outlast No. 10 Ohio State in overtime thriller: It was billed as the top game of the night and it certainly delivered. Tim Hardaway Jr. hit three big 3-pointers in the second half and helped the Wolverines knock off the Buckeyes in overtime.

If Ohio State-Michigan taught us anything, it’s that college hoops is still great: College hoops is in a down year, right? There are not great teams, correct? Umm. Did you see the Ohio State vs. Michigan game last night? That was fantastic basketball.

VIDEO: Michael Snaer hits another buzzer-beater: For the third time in the last two weeks — and the fifth time in the past two seasons — Florida State star Michael Snaer hit a buzzer-beating game-winner in ACC play.

No. 2 Florida gets whooped by Arkansas, 80-69: Florida looked unstoppable heading in to the game last night against lowly Arkansas. Turns out Arkansas can shoot the ball pretty well, and things can go downhill when you are careless with the basketball. The Gators found out the hard way.

Wichita State loses third in a row, falls to 9-point underdog Southern Illinois: It seems like eons ago when we proclaimed that Wichita State had the goods to dethrone Creighton from the top of the MVC. And just like that, the Shockers find themselves out of the top-25 and losers of three straight.

Dick Vitale, Brad Nessler, Jay Bilas to be international voices of Final Four: Dick Vitale has had a storied broadcast career, but has never been able to call a Final Four on National Championship game. Things will change in 2013.

New Orleans chosen as host for Sun Belt Tournament through 2016: The city of New Orleans, fresh off hosting the 2012 Final Four and the 2013 Super Bowl, has been chosen as the host site for the Sun Belt men’s and women’s championship through 2016, the conference announced Tuesday. Hot Springs, Ark., had been the host site since 2009.


Hoops Housekeeping:
- Northern Illinois freshman Akeem Springs has left the program due to “personal and basketball reasons”. (Hustle Belt)

- Tennessee forward Kenny Hall was arrested on Tuesday on charges of driving with a suspended license. Hall was pulled over at 5:05 a.m. for going 70 mph in a 55-mph zone. (The Tennessean)

- Montana forward Kevin Henderson has been suspended one game as a result of his DUI arrest on Sunday. (The Missoulian)

- The status of NC-State guard Lorenzo Brown for the Wolfpack’s Thursday night game against Duke is still uncertain. (Fayetteville Observer)


Observations & Insight:
- A phenomenal list of the top-12 most watchable teams in the country. The Belmont Bruins are once again one of the most watchable teams in the country. The only problem is that they’re rarely on television. (Deadspin)

- You can cross Florida off the list of teams that still have a chance to finish undefeated in conference play. They were the favorites, too. (Eye on College Basketball)

- The latest installment of Andy Glockner’s Bubble Watch. You know what to do with this. (Sports Illustrated)

- On Monday, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel wrote that he honestly believed that the Florida Gators could beat the Orlando Magic, a bad pro team. On Tuesday, Florida lost to Arkansas, a bad SEC team, by 11. Bianchi’s Wednesday column should be rather entertaining. Here is his Monday column. (Orlando Sentinel)

- Some interesting numbers that shed light on just how much money Brad Stevens has earned as a result of Butler’s recent success. (USA Today)

- Jason Lisk explains why you shouldn’t worry about the RPI rankings when filling out your brackets. (The Big Lead)

- Kansas senator Michael O’Donnell has created a proposal that would force Wichita State and Kansas to play each other. Kansas State also included. I kinda like this. (Wichita Eagle)

- A great story about how Butler’s Erik Fromm uses the memories of his late father, who lost his battle with cancer this past weekend, to get him this difficult time. (Indianapolis Star)

- Did the NCAA approve the attorney expenses of Miami booster Nevin Shapiro? That what it looks like. I hope it isn’t true, but this is the NCAA were talking about. So it probably is. (USA Today)

- A solid-read on Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick, who has become one of the top players in the Big East this season. The Bearcats face Providence tonight, a school that Kilpatrick nearly attended. (Friar Basketball)

- UConn’s Ryan Boatright doesn’t watch ESPN much anymore because the “Journey to the Tourney” commercial reminds him that the Huskies aren’t eligible for the postseason this year. Daggonit. (New Haven Register)

- A nice profile piece on Otto Porter, who continues to carry th Georgetown Hoyas on his broad shoulders. (Washington Post)

- If you need help reading between the lines of the Blaine Taylor firing, I suggest you read this. (Mid-Major Madness)

- The Drexel Dragons have not lived up to expectations this season, but are trying to right the ship having won four of their last six games. On Thursday they play Old Dominion in the first game since the firing of Blaine Taylor. What are the chances the Drexel Dragons get derailed by an empowered 2-20 Monarchs team? (Philahoops.com)

- UConn legend Taliek Brown is back in Storrs finishing up his undergraduate degree. Brown was the lead guard on the 2003-2004 National Championship team. He’s also famous for sinking a 40-footer in double-overtime against Pittsburgh in the 2002 Big East Championship game. (Hartford Courant)

- To storm or not to storm, that is the question. The SEC issues fines to schools that have students storm the court. Some coaches like, some players love it. Others want it gone from the game. (USA Today)

- Midseason awards are tough to pick, but in the ACC, it’s a no-brainer for Coach of the Year. (Wilmington Star-News)


Do you like the new Morning Mix? Hate it? Have a suggestion or want something featured? Troy Machir will take all your praise, insults and inquiries via Twitter (@TroyMachir)