January 21, 2009

Northwestern Examiner: Men score upset against Michigan State

The Northwestern men's basketball team scored a major upset against Michigan State.

I recap the game at Examiner.com.

Posted by Benjamin Miraski at 8:28 PM | Comments (0)

November 30, 2006

ACC/Big Ten Challenge Recap

For those living under a rock the last three days, life didn't change very much. T.O. is still being T.O., nobody wants the Alabama head coaching job, and the ACC is still ahead of the Big 10.

This year the last one was 8 to 3, which is tied for the the largest margin of victory for the Dick Vitale Love Conference with the 2003 and 2004 contests which finished 7-2.

In case you missed it, the games were a lot closer than the final tally would indicate, with only two being decided by 10 or more points. Other than those, all of the games were still a contest going down to the final minutes.

Here is a quick recap of the action for those who instead watched America's Top Model.

Monday
North Carolina State 74 - Michigan 67 Tommy Amaker continues the poor results for coaches who started under Coach K. Does it seem weird to anyone else that such a great coach has such a problem teaching others how to coach? Advice to Johnny Dawkins: Stay in Durham. Michigan blew an early lead and couldn't climb back into this one which NC State led by 21 in the second half. New Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe might not have been the first choice to replace Herb Sendek, but he is looking like the right one now.

Tuesday
Maryland 72 - Illinois 66 Maryland is quietly becoming the team that secretly no one wants to face. They went into Assembly Hall and beat Illinois at home, something that never happens. Was it just me, or was one of the Orange Crush wearing a #10 Netherlands soccer jersey? That could explain the result right there. The Terps didn't have Ikene Ibekwe, and got big games from Greivis Vasquez and Mike Jones instead. If you are keeping score, that is 2-0 ACC

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Posted by Benjamin Miraski at 12:45 PM | Comments (1)

November 16, 2006

Michigan State vs. Texas - Coaches vs. Cancer

Ok, so not a game recap, but close enough. Tonight's Coaches vs. Cancer game looks to be closer than the opener which saw Maryland just destroy St. John's. Yes, I said Maryland was nothing to worry about for the National Championship and I stand by that, despite their 32 point win over the Red Storm.

But now we have the big test for Michigan State to start the season. Both teams are young, but of the young ones, Texas features the best ones. Kevin Durant is expected to be one of those who is one and done this season. Without the NBA age restrictions, he most likely would have jumped to the NBA right out of high school. Instead, we get to watch him lead a Texas squad which could still win the Big XII championship, despite starting no one older than a sophomore.

So, a little live commentary for you tonight, even if it won't be posted until after the game is through.

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Posted by Benjamin Miraski at 10:50 PM | Comments (1)

December 11, 2005

Be-Deviled!

The good news? You are ranked #2 in the country. You are facing a team that is starting two freshmen, including one who will most likely touch the ball often. You are playing at a neutral court, taking away a very significant home court advantage. You have a smaller faster team, determined to control the tempo.

Your top four scorers all finish in double digits while the other team only manages to have two. You go the first 9 minutes of the game before you commit a turnover. You consistently are getting the calls that could go in either direction. Your big men are even managing to shoot free throws well.

You should win; you don’t, all because of the bad news.

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Posted by Benjamin Miraski at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2005

Wilkinson Badgers Buckeyes

When you win 36 games in a row and 51 out of 53, you have to have some breaks go your way. When Wisconsin took to the floor on Tuesday night, they were hoping for just that. Earlier in the day, it was decided that leading scorer and second leading rebounder Alando Tucker would be sitting out the game against Ohio State after an ankle and foot injury he suffered on Sunday during practice. Without Tucker, they were losing almost a quarter of their offense.

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Posted by Benjamin Miraski at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)

December 24, 2004

You Have Learned Well Grasshopper

Tuesday night was the fourth meeting between Bobby Knight and Steve Alford on the basketball court, and the first triumph for the Alford led team. The Iowa Hawkeyes soundly beat Texas Tech 83-53 at the United Center in Chicago to continue their season with only a single blemish coming against North Carolina. Earlier in the year, I commented on how Alford needed this season to be fantastic if he hoped to continue holding onto his job at Iowa. If Tuesday night was any indication of how Iowa will play in the Big Ten, then Alford's team will not only see the NCAA tournament, they will be in the Sweet 16, and Alford will keep his job.

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Posted by Benjamin Miraski at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)

December 16, 2004

Batman vs. Two-Face

Last year, Depaul made the NCAA tournament and defeated Dayton in the first round before being run over by eventual champion Connecticut to the tune of a 27 point loss. The MRI didn't think that Depaul deserved to go to the tournament despite tying for the Conference USA title. Thanks to the tournament committee, Depaul got a friendly match-up against Dayton, another team the MRI didn't think deserved to be there. Anyone who watched the game between those two could see that neither team displayed the type of play that proved they should be there.

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Posted by Benjamin Miraski at 3:58 PM | Comments (1)

December 15, 2004

Welcome to my Home

There are several givens in life. We all die. Most of us pay taxes. 16 seeds don't win the first round games in the NCAA tournament. Duke doesn't lose at home against non-conference opponents. Read that last one again. Duke doesn't lose at home against non-conference opponents. Since Mike Krzyzewski took over the program, they are 176-8 against non-conference teams playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium, including 160 of the last 163.

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Posted by Benjamin Miraski at 3:55 PM | Comments (0)

December 13, 2004

Saturday Afternoon: Lounging with the Big Ten

Saturday afternoon, two college teams invaded the home stadiums of their closest NBA franchises. One drew a crowd which hadn't packed the stadium since the glory days of the franchise during the mid-90s. For their game, they put on a show belonging in the NBA, with high flying dunks and crisp play. The other team played a tough inside game reminiscent of older teams which used to play in the arena, all the while wearing flashy silver uniforms which seemed to belong in the NBA.

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Posted by Benjamin Miraski at 3:43 PM | Comments (0)

December 12, 2004

Saturday Morning: Flipping Channels

With the regular season over in football, and most schools either finishing finals or not starting yet, there were close to 100 basketball games on Saturday to match Division 1 teams. With so many games going on though, there were a few match-ups that kept me with my finger on the remote control buttons and switching the channel every few minutes.

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Posted by Benjamin Miraski at 3:40 PM | Comments (0)