This is the first Saturday of the season where basketball is in full control of the sports calendar. Sunday will be taken up by the NFL playoffs but will still have some fun games.
Saturday is expected to be a great day in the middle of the country as three Big 12 games between top 25 teams will take place. There will be bedlam in Oklahoma and West Virginia will make the journey to Texas. The nightcap will be Kansas at Iowa State to face some Hilton Magic.
Duke at Louisville is losing luster quickly after the Blue Devils took some losses in ACC play. Kentucky traveling to Alabama will be the game with the most upset potential as the Wildcats have been shaky on the road in SEC play so far.
Here is my navigation solution for wall-to-wall basketball this weekend.
CBS keeps getting these crazy games that always ends up being the talk of the weekend. Not sure if this means the SEC is the only league worth watching or that CBS has figured out how manipulate outcomes like Keanu Reeves in the Matrix. I’ll assume the latter until proven otherwise.
Anyway, Auburn somehow turned an insurmountable fourth and 18 Saturday into a game winning touchdown on this zany pass against Georgia.
Here’s how Georgia described the pass with fan reaction.
Two Georgia players had the ball in their hands deep down field, but neither one grabs it & the AU receiver catches it for the TD #UGAvsAUB
Between the Tigers’ good fortune, the Bulldogs’ bad defensive fundamentals, and CBS working the matrix, it was a breath taking play. On top of that it changed the BCS picture. Auburn still has championship hopes while Georgia’s season has been reduced to playing state rival Georgia Tech in two weeks.
Sure it was a great play, but was it better than the stunt Nebraska pulled on Northwestern two weeks ago?
That pass was a legit Hail Mary in the end zone as time expired. The catch will probably end up costing Northwestern a bowl game this year. You thought you had it bad Georgia fans.
Still, both plays are no match to this Hail Mary throw that crippled Kentucky fans everywhere (including me) in 2002. Fans were charging the field thinking Kentucky had won long after LSU scored.
Party in Kansas
Auburn’s touchdown was not the only wacky item of the weekend. A solid runner up came at Kansas where the Jayhawks snapped their 27-game losing streak in Big-12 play. Kansas dominated reeling West Virginia 31-19 as it had 31-7 lead in the fourth quarter. This is the same West Virginia team that handed No. 10 Oklahoma State it’s only loss on the season, but has since dropped five of its last six.
For Kansas it was time to party. Basketball schools like Kansas know how to make a big deal about the slightest football success. Those goal posts were coming down!
Ignore the fact you just beat a team that was only 4-6. Ignore the fact your program is asking Charlie Weis to save the day. Throw those goal posts into the nearest body of water you can find!
Another great example on how a college football game impacts people even when the teams have little to play for.
ACC struggles on the hardwood
It’s hard to read much into college basketball in November but it is noteworthy how the ACC is not off to good start. Boston College lost Toledo. North Carolina was upset by Belmont, and Notre Dame (ACC in basketball) went down to Indiana State. That’s about as bad as a beginning to college basketball season a power conference can have. We’ll see how it impacts the number teams that receive tournament bids in March.
NC2A Nerd 