AUSTIN, Texas -- Want to know the craziest thing I saw all weekend?
It wasn't UCLA's loss at Washington.
Or Oklahoma's loss at Colorado.
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| Jeff Capel would like to apologize to everyone who had to watch the Sooners. (AP) |
No, it was a 5-year-old girl on her belly riding a skateboard down the street all alone here in downtown Austin well after midnight. I mean, there are just certain things you never expect to see. A Clemson win at North Carolina is obviously one of them, and I'm pretty sure a small child dodging drunkards on a skateboard in the middle of the night while her parents are a block away inside a restaurant is another.
(A Pat Knight victory is probably another.)
Anyway, here's the Monday Look Back.
Best game of the weekend: Clemson led 8-0. And then 21-9. And then 60-45. And then 79-68 with three minutes left, and the bosses had already sent an instant message making sure I was prepared to write when the Tigers snapped their 52-game losing streak at North Carolina. It was really happening, I tell you.
Then the Tar Heels closed on a 14-3 run to force overtime before winning 103-93 in the second OT, and poor Cliff Hammonds was left trying to convince reporters there isn't a curse against his team despite the fact his team collapsed at UNC for the 53rd consecutive time. Seriously, how is that even possible without the Washington Generals being involved?
I would be inclined to suggest it's pretty clear Clemson will now never win at UNC if I hadn't just watched Amy Winehouse go from smoking crack on tape one month to winning five Grammys the next while reminding me once again anything is indeed possible.
Worst game of the weekend: Tennessee shot 31.7 percent from the field (19-of-60), 26.3 percent from 3-point range (5-of-19) and 26.7 percent from the free-throw line (4-of-15) and still managed a 47-45 win over LSU that was uglier than Bruce Pearl's favorite jacket. So how did the Vols win with those numbers? Because LSU committed 18 more turnovers (22) than it attempted free throws (four). These are all characteristics of a bad game, I think.
Win to brag about: Chris Kramer played the no-respect card Saturday, claiming he and his Purdue teammates "don't get any credit for the stuff we've accomplished" after the Boilermakers' 72-67 victory at Wisconsin.
On some level the guy has a point, though I'd argue losing four games before Christmas (including one to Wofford) made it reasonable to assume at the time that Purdue would be too inexperienced to challenge for the Big Ten title.
Either way, it's time to start dishing out credit. That's why I moved the Boilermakers to 15th in the latest Top 25 (and one). I think they deserve credit for the stuff they have accomplished -- which is to say they deserve credit for beating a top 10 opponent on the road for the first time since 1998, while winning for the ninth consecutive time to push themselves to the top of the Big Ten standings.
Loss to hide from: It's a good sign a team has taken a bad loss when the coach uses his postgame radio interview to apologize to his fans. So yeah, it's fair to classify Oklahoma's 72-58 loss at Colorado on Saturday as bad given the words that came from Jeff Capel's mouth. According to Scott Wright of the Daily Oklahoman, here is what Capel said in an interview with OU play-by-play announcer Bob Barry Sr.:
"I want to apologize to every Sooner fan or everyone affiliated with the University of Oklahoma for the performance of our team today. From the beginning to the end, we were bad. It was embarrassing, especially how we ended the game was even more embarrassing. I want to apologize to everyone for that. ... After this performance, I don't blame people for not wanting to watch us play. We were awful. ... When you're in adverse times you find out who you really are and who's really with you. Like I said, we don't deserve for anyone to be there. Hopefully, we have some people there."
Player who deserves improper benefits: Kyle Weaver took eight shots and made eight shots to finish with 17 points in Washington State's 74-50 victory over Southern California. The WSU senior added seven rebounds and five assists while holding O.J. Mayo to just 14 points (on 6-of-15 shooting) Saturday, an all-around effort that was enough to help the Cougars snap a three-game losing streak.
Player who should lose his scholarship: Tim Morris is a fine fellow, I'm sure. But the Washington senior landed a cheap shot Sunday when he threw the ball off Alfred Aboya's face rather than take a five-second call in the final minute of the Huskies' 71-61 victory against UCLA. Throwing a ball off an arm? Fine. Throwing a ball off a leg? Reasonable. But tossing a ball off another man's nose from point-blank range seems excessive if not cruel, though the good news is Morris was apparently decent enough to apologize. "It did hurt," Aboya said afterward. "But that's the game."
Why I'm smarter than you think: I've had Notre Dame ranked roughly 10 spots higher than the AP and coaches polls the past few weeks because the Irish kept winning and Luke Harangody has looked like one of the best players in the country. Some readers criticized me for it, claiming there was no way Notre Dame belonged in the top 20 and certainly not 11th, which is where I had Mike Brey's team last week. But the Irish have now won 16 of their past 18 games following Saturday's 86-83 victory over Marquette, and you just watch how quickly the rest of the voting world tries to catch up with the amazing foresight presented by yours truly when the new polls are released this week.
Why I'm dumber than I think: I've used the words "Maryland" and "terrible" in the same sentence at least four times this season, mostly because I was convinced Maryland was terrible after watching the Terps start 6-6 with a loss to American. Seemed like a reasonable assumption at the time, right? But Maryland has responded by winning 10 of its past 12 games. Saturday's 84-70 victory over North Carolina State pushed the Terps to third in the ACC standings and solidly into my next Projecting the Field, which will be updated Wednesday morning for all the world to debate.
Three things you should know before you go
1. Kansas State beat Oklahoma State 82-61 on Saturday while scoring at least 75 points for the 17th time this season. That total by the Wildcats through 22 games is more than the previous 16 seasons combined, which is evidence of how having Michael Beasley on your team can do wonders for your offense (Beasley had 23 points and 13 rebounds, by the way).
2. Conference USA is taking a toll on Memphis, at least in terms of the RPI. The top-ranked and undefeated Tigers were No. 1 at CollegeRPI.com a little more than a month ago. But the lack of another NCAA Tournament-caliber team in the league had the Tigers third in the RPI heading into Saturday's game with Central Florida, and now they are fourth despite an 85-64 victory over UCF that pushed their record to 23-0.
3. Texas Tech spent Saturday losing for the second time since Bob Knight's retirement. The loss came at Nebraska and by a 73-62 margin, meaning Pat Knight is now 0-2 as a head coach and still 902 victories away from tying his father on the all-time wins list.
On tap: Monday, Georgetown returns home (where it hasn't lost) when it hosts Villanova. Tuesday, two of the best in the Big Ten will meet when Michigan State visits Purdue. Wednesday, two of the hottest teams in the Big East will battle when Notre Dame plays at Connecticut. Thursday, Clemson will try to fix its broken heart on Valentine's Day by notching a victory over Georgia Tech.
Final thought: I spent Sunday night watching a replay of last season's Big 12 Tournament title game and walked away with the impression that the Kansas staff is not going to miss trying to guard Kevin Durant when the Jayhawks play here at Texas on Monday night.
"Boy was he good," Bill Self said as Durant scored on a fade-away jumper.
And then Self said the same thing after a dunk.
And after a 3-pointer.
And because we have short memories these days it's easy to forget what Durant was doing last season and how stunning it was to witness. But I was reminded Sunday night while watching the former Texas star drop 37 points on the Jayhawks in that film session, and my guess is Kansas won't fall behind 32-10 again in this game unless Durant is somehow reinstated before tip-off.
