bierce

Pitt (33, but 1-5 q1 and on the 10/11 line in the matrix) @ WF (70. but first four out, not that I understand that). Tied with 3:11 to go.

Barnes returning the favor against Golden, just not quick so emphatically. 58-40 Vols with 3:33 left.

BYU (36) @ UCF (62) UCF is 3-6 in q1 games, but it is 0-1 in q2 games. Back to back wins in home games against BYU and Cincy would change that. Home vs. ISU and @ Baylor are its only remaining impact games. Wins over Tech and A&M have it in the conversation, but it needs to win several of these somewhat easier games. Arizona (13) @ Arizona State (58) ASU has lost 3 straight home games. It was down 7 in the final minute against Baylor, forced a tie, and lost by 7 in OT. Losing the next game at home to UCF really hurt. Losing to ISU is understandable. ASU has a lot of impact games left (Tech x2, Houston, Arizona x2) Wisconsin (19) @ NW (55) If NW loses, then I will stop mentioning it for some time. This might be NW's last game against a top 20 team. Grill just hit a shot in which he was about 2 steps ahead of where the fan is given a chance to win $100,000. Missouri leading at the half @ Mississippi State 45-31.

I'll focus on games involving teams that don't need extraordinary runs to climb in or fall out of the tournament. But I will note the top of the conference games. Auburn is likely to earn a double bye, but the others are at question. Alabama has the lead on the rest of the pack, but it has 2 games left against Auburn and games against Tennessee and Florida. Florida has single games against Auburn, Alabama, and Tennessee, but it gets all on the road. Missouri could be a surprise winner of a double bye. It is the fourth team with two or fewer losses in conference, has only two games remaining against top 10 teams, and it gets A&M and Kentucky at home. The most important game from our perspective is Texas @ LSU. The other important bubble game is Vandy (37, Pomeroy 44) @ OU (45, Pomeroy 40). Interesting how much more Pomeroy likes OU, and it is probably because Pomeroy gave a much bigger reward to OU for beating South Carolina by 20 at home than it gave Vandy for beating Tennessee and Kentucky at home. Both are .500 in q1 games and 2-1 in q2 games. Vandy probably needs this more, since it did so little OOC and has the tougher remaining schedule. OU is the one team I can see getting a tournament bid with a 7-11 conference record because it beat Arizona, Louisville, and Michigan on neutral floors. Georgia (35) could take a huge jump if it can win @ Bama (6), but I'm not seeing that happening today.

7.9 games he'll have missed by that point.

We have beaten the Pomeroy prediction in each of the last three games and by an average of 3.3 points per game. Keep it going, guys. Pomeroy has us winning or in a one possession game in 9 of our last 10 games.

So, that was the week in basketball. Texas remains in the field, but needs to win @ LSU tomorrow to stay firmly there. I don't think I'll be able to type enough to cover all of tomorrow's games in my next thread, but I'll give it a shot.

IU threw it the length of the floor to a Purdue player. Extra dumb.

Purdue made both. IU ball down 3 with 3.3 left. It made the horrible mistake of calling its last time out after the made ft. You don't do that. You inbound as far as you can down the court, and then you call timeout. Now IU has to inbound from the baseline instead of from near midcourt. Dumb.

Purdue hit a turn around in the paint. IU went down, was obviously fouled in the shot. No call. Purdue rebounds. IU was kind of jobbed, but that is the kind of stuff you have to overcome on the road.

IU got the stop and got a bucket on a weird pseudo drive and set shot after the defender overran the play. IU up one. Purdue with the ball and 25 second to go. Purdue out of timeouts. IU has 2.

And Ballo puts the ball on the floor in the paint in traffic. Bad idea. Bad result. Purdue break to get the foul and go up 3.

Another questionable call here against IU. IU guard trying to drive. Smith hooks arms with him. They call the foul on the Purdue guard. Reviewed it to see if Purdue guard was guilty of a f1. Hell, he wasn't guilty of anything, but they couldn't review that part. IU up 70-69 with 2:43 left. IU did well to come back after the early Purdue run in the second half. I still don't think IU will win or make the tournament, but it has generally played will off the last 10 minutes. Three point play for Purdue makes it 72-70. IU ball. Drive. Foul called. Ft coming. Going down to the wire.

11-0 IU run. And no fouls.

12:21 left, Purdue up 7. Next IU foul puts Purdue in the bonus.

Indiana got out to a 7 point lead in the first half and took a 4 point lead to the lockers. Purdue scored the first 7 of the second half, helped by IU being whistled 3 times in the first 1:03, at least one of which was highly questionable. Make that 4 fouls in 1:43. IU has missed an ft, shot off the side of the backboard, and lost a rebound on the defensive end after having two guys get their hands on it. Now 48-42 Purdue and the crowd is electrified. The first time Bob asked about Indiana doing anything this year, I asked if firing the coach counts. Well, does it?

Indiana @ Purdue is the only game of real consequence tonight. I mean, Butler has to win 75% of its remaining games to have a shot, Georgetown needs to win about 70%, and Dayton needs to damn near win out, so I'm not getting the least bit excited about their games tonight. Tonight's game is the midpoint of an 11 game run of q1 games for Indiana. It is 1-4 so far in that stretch. And this is the harder part of that stretch. Five of the six games left in the stretch are against teams in the NET top 20.

Self-deprecating humor is sometimes the best humor. The only trick is to not take it personally.

Nebraska Illinois go into OT. Nebraska had committed only 4 fouls, I mean had been called for only 4 fouls, before Illinois's final possesssion with 10 seconds to go. They committed two more to burn the clock. Illinois managed only a bad three and missed it.

Illinois on a run with two transition baskets to cut it to 60-58 with 7:35 to go. Right after announcers bragged on NU preventing Illinois from scoring in transition. I don't usually declare late January games as must wins, but if NU doesn't pull this one out, then I think its season is done. Or doomed to NIT bid. NU got a score and a stop. And then they give up a transition layup. Back to a two point game.

This thread was about Texas Longhorn basketball once. I hope the next thread about Longhorn basketball stays on the subject. Or, for another poster's benefit--stays the subject at?

I'm not getting on the plane. I'm getting IN the plane.

Losing Tucker DeVries was a big blow. Small has very little help on offense.

tOSU pasted PSU. Illinois down 40-31 at the half. Remember the Hoiberg teams at ISU that tried to get a shot up within 6 seconds of taking possession? Illinois plays that way this year, but it started 1/14 bta. In another game of import, NMSU broke its three game losing streak by winning at Middle Tennessee. It should now climb back into the top 160, moving that game back into q3. For now, anyway.