Big Games
Atlantic 14: at Richmond 71, Temple 54
RICH - 18-6 (7-2) [RPI: 31, State: 41] TU - 19-5 (7-2) [RPI: 17, State: 35]
Star of the Game: Kevin Anderson 29 Pts (11-17 FG, 5-5 FT)
Richmond Topples Temple, 71-54 (via Richmond)
Atlantic 14: at Dayton 90, Xavier 65
UD - 16-6 (5-3) [RPI: 33, State: 45] XU - 16-7 (8-2) [RPI: 27, State: 34]
Star of the Game: Chris Johnson 18 Pts (6-8 FG, 4-4 FT), 6 Reb
Colonial: at Virginia Commonwealth 70, Old Dominion 58
VCU - 17-5 (9-4) [RPI: 53, State: 33] ODU - 18-7 (10-3) [RPI: 38, State: 47]
Star of the Game: Larry Sanders 14 Pts (6-12 FG, 2-5 FT), 12 Reb
Rams muscle up, take ODU by force (via Virginia Commonwealth)
Horizon League: at Butler 74, Wright State 62
BUTL - 20-4 (13-0) [RPI: 16, State: 15] WRIG - 15-9 (8-5) [RPI: 96, State: 84]
Star of the Game: Willie Veasley 19 Pts (9-9 FG)
Perfect Veasley Carries Bulldogs Past Wright State - Butler, led by senior Willie Veasley, shot a crisp 67.5 percent from the field and pulled away from Wright State in the second half to win 74-62 Saturday Feb. 6 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The win was the 12th in a row for Butler and moved them to a perfect 13-0 in Horizon League play. (via Butler)
Western Athletic: at Utah State 76, Nevada 65
USU - 18-6 (8-2) [RPI: 54, State: 40] NEV - 13-9 (5-4) [RPI: 73, State: 78]
Star of the Game: Tai Wesley 19 Pts (7-13 FG, 5-6 FT), 9 Reb
Utah State Tops Nevada, 76-65, Saturday In Second-Straight Win On National TV (via Utah State)
Missouri Valley: at Northern Iowa 55, Southern Illinois 52
UNI - 21-2 (12-1) [RPI: 14, State: 11] SIU - 13-10 (5-8) [RPI: 135, State: 136]
Star of the Game: Adam Koch 21 Pts (5-11 FG, 8-8 FT), 4 Stl
Koch Pushes UNI Past Southern Illinois, 55-52 - CEDAR FALLS, Iowa-Adam Koch scored 11 consecutive points for Northern Iowa down the stretch and the Panthers rallied to beat Southern Illinois 55-52 on Saturday. (via Northern Iowa)
Apologies, once again, to Sly.
Say, wouldn't you rather turn off the TV and have a thumb war with your friends instead? Here's how.
K-Dub holdin' it down for two hours. Werd.
One of the greatest paradoxes in our human condition is that we seek acceptance from a greater collective, when all we need in order to find fulfillment and satisfaction is one single Other from among those strange billions. Just one, somebody with whom you can lock eyes, who will say, "I understand you." These two competing urges, for community and communion, define our lives; in the gap between them is complexity, unfulfillment, broken hearts and minds. The gulf that separates x and 1 can be the width of a spiritual galaxy. It's easy to get lost.
Our urge to belong can turn all-consuming. We seek membership in nations, teams and tribes. We wave flags, show the colors, display the icons... we identify ourselves as ones among others -- instead of ones apart. We willingly subsume our own unique identities to greater wholes. We gather in groups. If we stand singly, we run the risk of being the only one, completely and totally alone.
The State of College Basketball is a ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the Final Four in a simulation of 2006-07, did pretty well as a predictor for the last two seasons, and enters 2009-10 ready to rock. For our purposes here, it gives the world's only hype-free, non-voting, computer poll of teams in the lower 24 conferences. This is the full chart, and this is a recording.
1. Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley), 144.082, 20-2 (11-1)
Are the Panthers the best team in Hoops Nation? You better Farokhmanesh believe it! With a slim three-point revenge win over Wichita State on Thursday, UNI improved its profile considerably. The Shockers are the RPI's No. 48 team at the moment, and along with that Dec. 12 blowout of No. 46 Siena, the Valley's top team now holds a 2-1 record over the Top 50. All of those Top 50 wins could disappear in an instant, but for the moment this is an at-large kind of team and the key to a two-bid Valley. The Panthers have Southern Illinois (5-7) at home this weekend, followed by a roadie to Drake and Bradley (both 6-6)... staying in the moment for a second, UNI won't play a team with a positive MVC record until Feb. 16, when Creighton comes calling.
