John Clay's Sidelines

Dan Shulman

Besides the drama on ESPN’s College GameDay this morning, there is the actual game tonight — Kentucky at Vanderbilt at 9 p.m.

While you’re waiting around for that, there is a full day of college hoops on the tube. Louisville travels to West Virginia for a noon game on ESPN. Cincinnati at Marquette isn’t a bad matchup on ESPNU at 3 p.m. Florida entertains Tennessee at 4 p.m. on the SEC Network. Michigan State travels to Ohio State for a Big Ten showdown at 6 p.m. on ESPN.

When it finally comes time for the Cats and Commodores, Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale will do the honors. Vitale gets all the publicity, but Shulman is one of the best in the business, on both baseball and college basketball. He works very well with Mr. Vitale, who remains one of the nicest guys in the business.

And, yes, Erin Andrews will be working the sidelines.

Click the continue line for today’s full schedule of games.

Continue reading ‘What to watch before UK-Vanderbilt’s late night start’

(H-L photo/Jonathan Palmer)

Time for the evening news:

Over at CBS Sports, our friend Gary Parrish guarantees Vanderbilt will beat UK:

 Guaranteed to be an upset: I think Kentucky has the nation’s best roster, is the nation’s best team and will win the national championship. Unless Anthony Davis’ arms shrink before Selection Sunday, I’m picking the Wildcats to win it all. Write it down in blood. But John Calipari’s team is going to lose Saturday night at Vanderbilt just like I watched Billy Donovan’s second national championship team at Florida once lose at Vanderbilt. I don’t know how it’s going to happen or why, but it’s going to happen. And then this Kentucky team is never going to lose again. You can write that down in blood too.

At SI.com, Seth Davis presents an opposing view, picking UK to beat Vanderbilt:

This is the first of three remaining road tests for Kentucky (Mississippi State and Florida are the others), but I think the Wildcats will pass it. Vandy loves to play outside-in, but Anthony Davis’s shot-blocking prowess enables his teammates to be aggressive when they close out on three-point shooters. Plus, Commodores point guard Brad Tinsley is no match for UK freshman Marquis Teague.

At Grantland, Mark Titus has UK No. 1 in his power rankings and gives tips on how to beat the Cats:

Even though they are the most athletic team in America, most of Kentucky’s players have only 20-something collegiate games under their belts. This is why teams should make the Wildcats think and react on defense by setting screens and having a ton of movement off the ball instead of setting ball screens and then trying to beat their athletes one-on-one while the rest of the guys just stand by the sidelines.

Continue reading ‘One guarantees a Vandy win, another picks UK’

Some early afternoon notes:

UK basketball has a media opportunity starting at 1:30. Check the blog for video, notes, etc. later this afternoon.

The NCAA football rules committee has proposed moving kickoffs from the 30-yard line to the 35 and to limit the running start by players on the kicking team to 5 yards as a way of keeping players safer. NCAA says its injury data indicates injuries during kickoffs occur more often than in other phases of the game. The NFL moved up kickoffs 5 yards this past season and touchbacks increased dramatically.

If you haven’t heard, Murray State lost its first game last night, falling to visiting Tennessee State. Robert Covington scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for TSU. Murray State was last unbeaten D-1 team. The Racers had won 23 straight games. Isaiah Canaan had 31 points for Murray in the loss.

Hail Mark Gottfried. In the announcement of the McDonald’s All-American team yesterday, North Carolina State has the most signees, with three. State has signed point guard Tyler Lewis of Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), shooting guard Rodney Purvis of Upper Room Christian (Raleigh, N.C.) and small forward T.J. Warren of Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.).

North Carolina State improved to 7-3 in the ACC with a win over Georgia Tech last night.

We should have mentioned this morning that Kentucky signee Janee Thompson was also named to women’s McDonald’s All-American team.

Continue reading ‘Football rule changes, Mark Gottfried and other notes’

Ole Miss at Mississippi State is the SEC Thursday night game on the tube tonight. Both teams are future opponents on the Kentucky schedule. Ole Miss comes to Rupp on Feb. 18. UK goes to Mississippi State on Feb. 21.

A pair of good Big 10 games on television tonight, as well. Wisconsin is at Minnesota at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Illinois is at Indiana at 8 p.m. on the Big 10 Network.

(AP photo)

Hate on Duke and North Carolina all you want but last night’s thriller in Chapel Hill was the best college basketball game of the season – so far. In a sport too often dominated by over-coached, slow-down, 50-49 games, this one had running and scoring. Final score was 85-84 Duke in fact.

It also had the dramatic ending with freshman guard Austin Rivers hitting that rainbow three-pointer over North Carolina’s 7-foot Tyler Zeller at the buzzer to cap a furious Duke comeback and give the visitors the win.

But truth be told, North Carolina lost it at the free throw line. Up 79-70 with 3:35 left, Harrison Barnes missed one of two free throws. Up 82-80 with 44 seconds left, Zeller missed one of two free throws. Up 83-82 with 13.9 seconds left, Zeller again missed one of two free throws. Had Zaller made the second foul shot, Rivers’ buzzer-beater would have merely sent the game into overtime.

Actually, the game may have said more about the Tar Heels than the Blue Devils. North Carolina has been hurt by the loss of Dexter Strickland to a torn ACL. And Roy Williams’ team just doesn’t seem to have the necessary mettle. First, there was that head-scratching blowout 31-point loss at Florida State. Now comes UNC blowing a 10-point lead on its home floor to its arch-rival.

Continue reading ‘Duke-North Carolina was the game of the year — so far’

Two terrific matchups on the televised college basketball schedule tonight. Kansas is at Baylor at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. Then it’s Duke vs. North Carolina at 9 p.m. on ESPN. Duke is coming off that surprise home upset at the hands of Miami on Sunday.

Related links:

• This rivalry merits the hype, writes Scott Fowler of Charlotte Observer.
• Barnes’ ankle prime storyline, says Jack Daly of News and Observer.
• Kansas hopes to avoid second straight loss, says Star’s Blair Kerkhoff.

College hoops on the tube tonight:

• 7:00 Iowa State at Oklahoma State (ESPN2)
• 7:00 Florida at Kentucky (ESPN)
• 7:00 Maryland at Clemson (ESPNU)
• 9:00 Purdue at Ohio State (ESPN)
• 9:00 Alabama at Auburn (ESPNU)

For local interest, the best college basketball game on the tube tonight pits Connecticut at Louisville for a 7 p.m. tipoff at the Yum Center. ESPN has the honors as part of “Big Monday” and “Rivalry Week.”

Louisville has won four straight, including a 78-66 decision over Rutgers on Saturday. But U of L center Gorgi Dieng sprained his ankle in that victory and is questionable for tonight. The Cards are tied for fifth in the Big East with a 6-4 record. Meanwhile, Connecticut is 15-7 overall and 5-5 in the league. The Huskies will again be without head coach Jim Calhoun, who is being treated for stenosis of the spinal cord.

• Dieng’s status unclear for Connecticut-Louisville game
• Connecticut ready for Louisville’s press
• ESPN3 preview of Connecticut at Louisville

The list of tonight’s games.

Continue reading ‘U of L-UConn highlights tonight’s TV hoops slate’

Ooops, sorry, running late. Here’s today’s televised college basketball schedule:

• 11:00 South Florida-Georgetown (ESPNU)
• 12:00 Detroit-Butler (ESPN2)
• 12:00 Syracuse-St. John’s (ESPN)
• 1:00 Vanderbilt-Florida (CBS)
• 1:00 Marquette-Notre Dame (CBS)
• 1:00 Boston College-Georgia Tech (ESPNU)
• 1:00 Xavier-Memphis (FS Ohio)
• 2:00 Temple-Rhode Island (ESPN2)
• 2:00 Ohio St-Wisconsin (ESPN)
• 3:00 Penn St-Iowa (ESPNU)
• 3:00 Arizona-Stanford (FSN)
• 4:00 New Mexico St-Boise St (NBC Sports Network)
• 4:00 Middle Tennessee at Denver (ESPN2)
• 4:00 North Carolina at Maryland (ESPN)
• 4:00 Clemson-Virginia Tech (FS South)