Sometimes its better to be lucky than good.
Ask any “professional” poker player in the history of known civilization.
:-X :-X :-X :-X :-X
Wow, I’m very embarrassed for Syracuse right now…
NIT here we come! :’(
Next Saturday’s Memphis/Tennessee game could be the most anticipated, most watched game of the regular season.
If Memphis is still undefeated they’ll be #1, and Tennessee could move up to #2 if the two teams ahead of them stumble. #1 vs. #2 in the regular season in a non-conference battle? Sign me up.
I think that’s exactly the case. They get swept up by the home court and love to hear and big monstrous cheer when they make a call in favor of the home team. It happens in the NBA a lot with certain refs. Although, to be fair, it was really only one-sided in the first half. I thought the refs got a little better in the second half. And yeah…I saw that Wisconsin game…that was beyond shameless.
As for Sampson…here’s the thing with him. What he’s doing isn’t THAT bad and I’m certainly not going to say that he’s the only one doing it. His problem is that HE WAS CAUGHT. When a coach is caught, they’ll should KNOW they’ll be under monstrous scrutiny for possibly the rest of their career! And yet, knowing this and while he was still dealing with the stuff he left behind at Oklahoma, he was still violating the rules. It’s not that bad, but it’s just plain STUPID.
Even worse, he’s bringing the university down…I read that Indiana hasn’t been busted by the NCAA since 1960!! And yet in one and half years with Sampson, they’ve already had multiple issues! I don’t think they need the guy. I’m still not convinced that he’s that great of a game-day coach and that his big strength is recruiting…but if he can’t bend the rules, would he even be that great a recruiter? Indiana needs to wash their hands of this this guy, get rid of him and then beg the NCAA that it was one BIG mistake. Heck, it already makes the whole Eric Gordan-Illinois thing a little fishy-looking. You said it yourself…with Gordan and DJ White gone, Indiana might not have much next year…might as well start over with a new coach too.
In fact, why not fire Sampson tomorrow right before the Michigan State game. That would be a the perfect time to do it 
And ghost…great point on the Memphis/Tennessee game. That’s in such a weird spot in the schedule that it’s almost forgotten. It doesn’t even matter if Tennessee is #2 (won’t happen since Duke isn’t losing again in the regular season anyway). The ONE thing that bugs me about Memphis is they haven’t played a SINGLE tough road game all year (including next week). They’ve had some tough teams but somehow, every one of them has been at home or on a neutral court. (And yes, they played at UConn but they were much worse then than they are now). They MIGHT have trouble at UAB but I doubt it. Seems pretty convenient…
Stevo
Whoa, Nellie!
Tuesday, February 19th
2008
Assembly Hall
Bloomington, IN
Purdue vs. Indiana
Big Ten championship all but at stake. I don’t remember a Purdue/IU game with bigger implications than this one in recent memory.
Wow.
It is possible that Ohio State and Florida will not make this year’s NCAA tournament.
The last time that the tournament field did not include the previous year’s final-game participants was 1980.
Coincidentally enough, that is the last year Purdue made the Final Four.
I’m not saying anything, but I’m just saying.
Alright Ghost… It’s on like Donkey Kong. The Hoosier vs. The Boilers. As much as I hate Purdue (and I’m sure as much as your hatred for IU), the rivalry is just more intense when both teams are solid. Not saying I’m glad at Purdue’s recent success it just adds a little extra. Always a good matchup, but it just takes it to another level when both squads are top 15 teams. The word I’m hearing is D.J. will be playing tonight.
Yeah I just saw that. It’s tough to say whether he’ll be at 100%. Just his presence on the court makes a difference.
I’m anxious to see whether Kramer can shut down (or at least limit) Gordon when he’s got the ball. I’d like to see him keep EG in single-digits, but that’s asking an awful lot. If anyone can do it, it’s Kramer. He shut down Neitzel like nobody’s bidness.
I’ve got goosebumps.
Thanks, Duke and Kansas!
This will be the 38th meeting between AP #1 and #2, the first since last 2/25 when OSU beat Wisconsin.
Yeah…that was bad. REAL bad. I don’t know what’s with the ACC but they almost ALWAYS favor hometeams…like without shame. I don’t care who’s playing…when the entire starting five for a team fouls out, then there’s something amiss. Not that I’m saying that that’s what lost Duke the game…they NEED to hit their jumpers to win games and not a single guy could step up to do it.
I’m surprised. I said earlier that I didn’t think Duke would lose again until the ACC tourney so that loss just slapped me in the face. As for Tennessee is it ANY coincidence that they jumped up to 2nd place RIGHT before ESPN carries the Memphis/Tennessee game? Gee…what a convenience. I’m sorry…UNC, Duke and Kansas have the same record and there’s no way you can convince me that they’re worse than Tennessee. How silly.
Of course, it’ll all be taken care of next Saturday whether they win or lose. Also, don’t overlook Tennessee’s game after that when they go on the road to Vanderbilt. We already saw what happened in Vandy’s revenge game against Kentucky…Vandy’s gonna be PISSED at Tennessee…that game could be just as good.
As for the Spartans? Wow…quite a butt whipping at the hands of Indiana. I can’t say I expected them to win but I did hope they would show up. What bugs me is not that their offense was bad (it’s been inconsistent all year) but how the defense broke down too. That fat Williams kid backed down whoever he wanted in the post and Eric Gordan did whatever the heck he wanted in that game…he was unstoppable.
Thank God the Slam Dunk Contect was on since I watched that for most of the second half. Even worse was the ENDLESS talk about the Sampson scandal during the game. They’ve got a game going on in front of them and they spent the entire frickin game yapping about the scandal. Seriously, ESPN, they spend hours and hours on Sportscenter, Around the Horn, PTI and college Gameday to yap about that…would it kill them to spend two hours DURING the game to actually talk about the GAME? They’ve mentioned the upcoming Purdue/Indiana game in PASSING in between talk about what happens to Sampson. Seriously…give ESPN a scandal and boy they just take off and run with it.
And is there ANYTHING more suspicious in how the Indiana AD gave them a “Seven Days” investigation into it…when during those seven days, Indiana just HAPPENS to have home games against MSU and Purdue with the Big Ten title up for grabs?? Boy, what a nice coincidence…
Stevo
There’s, like, no such thing as coincidences, maaan.
It could definitely be Sampson’s last game on the sidelines for the Hoosiers. What better way to go out than by beating your most hated rival in your home gym?
The only way it could be scripted better for IU is if your faggy, mediocre kicker kicks a game winning field goal to send the team, who happened to lose their coach to brain cancer during the offseason, to their first bowl game in over a decade with the widow cheering mightily on the sidelines. Wait, that actually did happen. Most overplayed story of all B10 football last year. They were just beating a dead horse.
Anywho, check out this pic from the Memphis/UAB game (courtesy of Rumors and Rants):
Aside from the many middle fingers, misspelled signs, pursed lips about ready to shout “fuck you,” and a clever front-row t-shirt/black eye, check out the fan on the far right getting slapped by a Memphis player!
I take exception to that. Austin Starr is neither faggy nor mediocre. Go Hoosiers.
t-minus 100 minutes.
roger that.
seacreast out.
Well shoot.
My feeling was that if Purdue was able to go into the Kohl Center and win, why can’t they go into Bloomington and win? But I failed to take into account just how jacked up the crowd would be due to the circumstances surrounding Sampson.
The sad thing is that they only meet once this year (and next year, as of right now). So no rematch at Mackey.
I’m hoping they get the top-2 seeds in the B10 tourney and meet in Indy on a neutral court in a packed Conseco Fieldhouse.
I kind of agree on this one. Not on Indiana making a bowl game which was kind of nice for them but because of the dude’s wife. If you have Big Ten Network you’ll STILL see documentaries with that chick all over them. Seriously honey, it was a tragedy and it sucked but just go away, alright? Your fifteen minutes are LONG over.
Well, this is easy. It’s the Big Ten. If you look at the last two weeks this has followed the simple credo of “home team wins” in the Big Ten. Aside from the VERY rare game of Purdue winning at Wisconsin, it’s almost impossible to beat a good Big Ten team at home. Been like thaqt for years. Purdue caught lightning in a bottle against a rebuilding Wisconsin team…I didn’t think they’d do it twice. Even Michigan State with all it’s struggles hasn’t lost at home this year…even last year their only home loss was to Ohio State who were pretty darn good. I’d almost call it a scheduling loss.
Well coached game by Sampson, though…he really pounded the ball inside and stifled the Purdue offense and their shooters, especially in the second half. Even when Purdue cut it to two, I really didn’t have a feeling they were gonna win.
Stevo
Yeah, to this day my dad gets SERIOUSLY pissed off whenever they show Hoeppner’s wife. Borderline getting-ready-to-throw-things-against-the-wall. It was unbelievably bad during the Bucket game.
You can bet your sweet ass that I’ll be rooting for the Spartans when they host IU.
Unfortunately, I felt the same exact way. I kept trying to visualize Purdue walking off the court under a parade of boos following a hard-fought victory, but just couldn’t do it.
Okay if the Big Ten Season were to end with IU, Purdue, and Wisconsin all with the same amount of lossess who would hold the tiebreaker. IU holds the edge over Purdue, Wisconsin holds the edge over Indiana and Purdue holds the edge over Wisconsin. I’m confused on that one.
Also I’m hoping that IU and Purdue meet in the Big 10 tournament as well. It’s here in Indy at least the next five years. You should come down and score some tickets ghost. I’ve found it’s very easy especially from fans of schools that bow out earlier than expected. There are alwasy people trying to get rid of tickets.
Back to the IU Purdue game. I just didn’t understand Purdue’s game plan. Yeah E’Twaun Moore had a bad shooting night, which happens, but Hummel scored the quietest 17 points ever. He needed to be more aggressive. For some reason he was real passive last night. I’ll tell you who wasn’t passive was Scott Martin. Damn that guy doesn’t pass up a shot.
Also what’s up with Musberger calling Matt Painter: Matty and Scott Martin : Scotty. What he is friends of the family or something. I’ve never heard Painter called Matty Painter before. Just thought it was kinda funny.
I can definitely celebrate this victory, but to be honest (and this sucks) Purdue’s future looks a lot brighter in the next couple of years. Purdue has a solid squad for at least the next 3 years (probably longer) while this is IU’s year to make something happen. I’ll worry about that later though as I’m hoping for a deep tournament run.
I don’t know about the tiebraker…if they all end up with two losses it probably goes to head-to-head point differential or something. Which isn’t fair, because IU/PU only played once. But yes, it is confusing…hopefully it will sort itself out.
I would love to see at least one B10 tourney game. I’ll try like hell to make it down there.
Scott Martin has never seen a shot he didn’t like. I love that guy because he has no fear when it comes to taking it to the basket. But he can’t hit a free throw to save his life. But it’s scary to think how good he’ll be 2-3 years from now.
Musberger is off his rocker…I’ve never heard Matty either. I doubt anyone ever has called him that. They were also talking about Lavin’s hair gel and EA mentioned Crisco…
Purdue’s youth might prevent them from going farther than the second round and even the Sweet 16…IU has enough talent to go to the Final Four. I don’t doubt that. But Purdue, I think, will be significantly better than IU once Gordon and White are gone.
IU is expected to announce Kelvin Sampson’s firing today, although it has not been confirmed by anyone from IU as of yet.
There’s also reports out of Bloomington that several key players are threatening to quit the team if he is fired.