Tumultuous Tuesday

    As March Madness approaches, the upsets, injuries and great games continue to roll in.  Tonight's contests featured two battles of ranked opponents as well as some bubble breaking games.  The first game of the evening was Florida versus Kentucky.  The newly ranked Kentucky Wildcats had been rolling in SEC play at 8-2 until they rolled into the swamp.  The gators came out swishing and dishing as they swarmed the Wildcats with gator chomps and their experience.  A scary moment occurred with 8 minutes left in the second half as the nations leading shot blocker and potential number one pick, Nerlens Noel, came down hard on his left knee after a fast break block.   The Wildcats training staff is yet to officially announce the extent of the injury but it looked ugly.  Hopefully Noel will be able to recover and become a great defensive presence in the NBA.  Expect Willie Cauley-Stein to step in and do big things in Noels absence.  I look for Cauley-Stein to rise amongst scouts draft boards.  Florida on the other hand played an outstanding all around game with 6 players scoring 9 points or higher.  A highlight for Florida was the outstanding defense of Patric Young (12 pts, 11 reb, 4 blks).  Look for Florida to continue rolling due to its outstanding size, defense and shooting ability.


    Amongst the bubble games, Cincinnati had a big win over Villanova putting themselves in a good position to make the tourney at 19-6. Boston University (Zach's current school) had a big win over Vermont tonight making it a 1.5 game difference between 1st and 3rd in the American East.  Detroit's Ray McCallum showed strides towards why he was such a highly touted recruit by having a near triple double (16 pts, 13 reb, 8 ast).  And the game you have all been waiting for.  The 170th meeting of Michigan(4) vs Michigan State(8).    It was tumultuous inside the Breslin Center (9th hardest place to play).  The crowd turned out to be in full effect as Michigan State rattled two of Michigan's top scorers, holding Tim Hardaway Jr. and Glen Robinson III to a combined 2-15 shooting with 4 pts. The two shell shocked Michigan wings will certainly see a decline in their draft stock.  Michigan State played an  all out great game of basketball as they cruised to a 23 point demolition of the number 4 Wolverines.

Final words:  Before the Michigan-Michigan State game I had Michigan as the number 1 team in the nation.  Sadly, they disappointed me tonight.  I still have them as my team to win the NCAA Tourney this season.
Weekly Watch:  Watch out for Gonzaga and its big men.  Kelly Olynyk is a 7 footer that is not afraid to step back and shoot a three.  There leader Elias Harris probably has the most tournament experience in the country.  Watch their matchup on thursday with the 21-4 Saint Mary's Gaels.

Shoutout to my floor B2 as well as Sobey Bryant and the AEPI Fratletics Basketball Team for its outstanding performance getting mercy ruled by Phi Psi.

Here is a photo of Nerlens Noel grimacing in pain

- Chad "Big Red" Edelblum