Dribblings 2/13-14/2005 (Hot Lovin' Edition)

So it turns out that Hot Sh*t Saturday was a great success. Six games, all good. Thrillers, comebacks, overtime, great shooting, great defense... HSS had something for everyone. Let's review:

Big West: Pacific 64, Utah State 63 (story) - With 31 seconds left, homestanding Utah State was leading 61-53. Warm up the bus, right? Wrong! An improbable series of events which included a lot of missed free throws brought UOP back into the game, and Christian Maraker's jumper with two ticks left won it. We'll now have to make the pair of Pacific-Utah State games a bonus two-DVD gift set, and hope like hell they meet up again in the Big West finals. Pacific is now 20-2 overall and 14-0 in conference, and their Tournament aspirations may finally be bulletproof against a possible tumble in said conference tourney.

America East: Boston University 61, Vermont 55 (story) - So much for the no-name theory. Rashad Bell had 29 and Chaz Carr pumped in 24 more, and the Terriers (18-5, 12-2 AE) shocked the world-beating Catamounts (18-4, 13-1 AE) at the glistening new Agganis Arena. Part of the reason why Vermont is so good is because they have that all-important inside-outside attack. Even though Taylor Coppenrath rocked the house with 37 points, there was no help on the perimeter - T.J. Sorrentine went 2-for-16 from the field. That allowed BU's stingy defense to sneak in a little bit, and that was all the difference.

Western Athletic: Nevada 62, Texas-El Paso 60 (story) - The Miners had All-Everything Nick Fazekas handled well (15 points), but their shooting failed them down the stretch - Miguel Ayala and Omar Thomas missed threes that would have put UTEP ahead. Nevada (18-5, 11-2 WAC) retains iron-fisted command over the league, and UTEP (19-6, 9-4 WAC) finds itself not quite so Bubblicious as a result.

Colonial: Old Dominion 82, Virginia Commonwealth 76 (story) - VCU (13-10, 9-5 CAA) had ODU's number - the Richmond boys had won 10 straight over their Norfolk rivals. But in front of an ESPN2 audience and a packed house, the Monarchs (23-3, 13-1 CAA) defended their den and avenged their only league loss of the season. Big Alex Loughton and little Isaiah Hunter each scored 25 points in a game where both teams scorched the nets (ODU 57%, VCU 53%).

Mid-Eastern: Coppin State 71, Delaware State 63 (story) - This game was closer than this - the final result was altered by late free throws while DSU was in Foul Mode. The score was tied at 61 with 53 seconds remaining after what had been a nip and tuck ballgame. The Hornets (11-12, 9-3 MEAC) had a 39-23 rebounding edge, but Coppin (10-12, 10-3 MEAC) held them to abysmal 35% shooting. The Eagles now lead DSU by a half-a-game. Fun fact: Delaware State has never won the MEAC regular season.

Southwestern Athletic: Alabama A&M 96, Alabama State 93 (OT) (story) - In the battle for the SWAC top spot, it was an ugly-beautiful thing. Before Marcus Young hit four free throws over the final 28 seconds in overtime, a messy dumpster-dive was transfigured into a glorious offensive feast. Mike Perrin of the Birmingham News led his recap thusly:

It was early in the opening half when a disgusted Alabama State fan yelled "You call that basketball?" when one of her Hornets got trapped in the corner vs. Alabama A&M's double-team.

Much, much later the answer was a resounding "Yes."

State (11-10, 9-3 SWAC) and A&M (12-10, 9-3 SWAC) are now tied atop the conference. The average margin of victory in games in this conference is now a national-low 7.43, and the 8% likelihood of a blowout (15-points or more) is also a Division I best. Good games.

Shootaround!

Missouri Valley: Just when I praise the unbeatability of Wichita State (18-4, 11-3 MVC), they go and lose on me. But they couldn't go down to a nicer bunch of guys - Bradley's (12-10, 5-9 MVC) 74-68 home win over the Shockers renews hope in what was slowly becoming a lost season. Even if the Braves have to play on the first day of Arch Madness in a 7-10 or 8-9 game, I'm not so sure a top seed will be entirely thrilled to play them. Southern Illinois (18-6, 11-3 MVC) beat Creighton and moved back into a tie for first.

Big Sky: Portland State (17-6, 9-2 BSky) nipped defending conference champions Eastern Washington 71-70. And, like clockwork, our defending MMBOW Seamus Boxley was the star - he scored 25 points to lead the Vikings, and hit the game-winning shot with 36 seconds to go.

Big South: Winthrop (19-5, 11-1 BSC) swept through the Gauntlet, winning all four games in six days - their last test was passed when they held Birmingham Southern down at home on Saturday, 55-41. Now they're in total control of the conference and could clinch the regular season title as soon as Wednesday. The four days off until that date with Radford must seem like a lifetime.

Mid-American: In possible karmic payback for their official-aided win at Ball State last week, East-leading Miami (Oh.) (15-6, 10-3 MAC) lost at Ohio 61-57. As for the Cardinals, they're reeling. They dropped a nationally-televised contest to those wacky Buffalo Bulls, 67-58.

Ivy: Halfway through the Fourteen-Game Tournament, Pennsylvania (14-7, 7-0 Ivy) is perfect. They've beaten all seven Ancient Eight opponents, including their closest competitor, five-and-three Cornell (a 64-50 win on Saturday). The Quakers will begin their campaign to sweep the back endof the season when they go to Brown next Friday. Mighty Princeton? They're two and five.

Mid-Continent: Remember back when everyone around here was getting Missouri-Kansas City (12-9, 9-2 Mid-Con) Kangaroo fever? Well, forget all that! They suck now! Actually, they're still good - they just lost to Oakland at home 70-60. That means Oral Roberts, the conference pick of everyone except Yo'momma (who's such a bad prognosticator that she picked her nose instead of picking the Mid-Con), is back in first by a half-game at ten and two. Tonight, the Kangaroos will spend their Valentine's Day lovin' Longwood.

Patriot: Holy Cross (19-5, 10-1 PL) keeps rolling along, taking care of Lehigh and Lafayette at home with 20+ point blowouts. The Fighting Bucknells are two games behind at 8-3, but time is running out. Both teams have three games remaining, including a clash of Patriot League titans in Worcester next Wednesday. Both these schools will likely host the PL's four-team "mini-tournaments" in March... that is, if the Bison can hold off 7-4 Lehigh, a team with whom they split.

Southern: Davidson (15-7, 13-0 SoCon) clinched the South division's top seed by beating second-place Georgia Southern (15-9, 8-4 SoCon) 92-87. It is their first such title since the 1995-96 season. Congratulations, Wildcats! You're really good!

Southland: Southeastern Louisiana (17-7, 9-2 SLC) finally went down, victims of a buzzer-beating layup by McNeese State's Ronald Dorsey. The final was 71-69, an uncharacteristic score for a team averaging under 54 points allowed per game. The Lions hadn't lost a regular-season home game in just under two years, and they did so to a 3-7 team.

Sun Belt: Western Kentucky (18-5, 8-3 SBC) seems to be getting hot at the right time, no? Their sixth straight win came in dramatic fashion at the North Texas' Denton Super Pit on Saturday! Saturday! Saturday! (I mean, come on... a place with a name like that just has to have monster-truck races) The Tops came back from a 25-point first half deficit, and won 93-92 on a buzzer-beating desperation cross-court heave by one Anthony Winchester. Watch it here!

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