My Plan

By:  Cooper Ledford

Okay Cincy sports fans, I have a plan to bring more pro sports into the great city of Cincinnati.  Cincy used to have an NBA team, called the Cincinnati Royals, they are now the Sacramento Kings.  Well, if you are like me, I want an NBA team here in the Queen City.  So, with that, I have a plan.  It may be a silly-never-going-to-happen type of plan, but a man can dream, right?

So, when I am a multi-million(or billion)aire, I am going to buy the Golden State Warriors, or Charlotte Bobcats, or some team from a city that is not that into their team, and then, you know what will happen.  I will re-locate them to Cincinnati, and maybe change their names.  Cincinnati Warriors sounds silly, Cincinnati Bobcats is just dumb, so I would make the mascot a masked ninja or something.  Does that sounds good?  "The Cincinnati Masked Ninjas".  Pretty decent.  Or, I would probably just have a poll for the city of Cincinnati, and ask them what they would like to have the team called.

So, now we have the Reds, Bengals, and...Masked Ninjas.  And then we still have the semi-pro, Cincinnati Cyclones Hockey Club.  Well, I want an NHL team, daggonit.  So, with that, I will go buy the Nashville Predators or the Atlanta Thrashers.  I mean, Atlanta and Nashville are southern cities, they do not even deserve to have a hockey team.  Hockey belongs in the North.  So, I buy one of those teams.  Then we have the Cincinnati Predators, that sounds OK, or the Cincinnati Thrashers, nah that sounds dumb.  I could change them to the Cincinnati Tornado's, and that would be cool because then the Cyclones could be a minor-league team for them, and little Cyclones could grow up to be Tornado's...nice huh?

So no we have all 4 sports in the Queen City.  But, I am not done.  For the heck-of-it, I am going to buy a professional squash team, and put them in Cincinnati.  I mean, come on, why not?

Tu's Triple-Double Leads X To Win Over Rams

Tu Holloway had 26 points,
11 rebounds, and 10 assists
in XU's win over Fordham.

By:  Cooper Ledford


Fordham was expected to give Xavier a struggle.  No just kidding, they definitely were not.  But they did.  Fordham was last in the conference, 0-11 in A-10 play, and had only 6 wins overall, while Xavier was in 1st place in the A-10, was 10-1 in conference play, and had 19 overall wins.  So, on paper, it looked as if the Musketeers would easily beat the Rams, but that was not the case.  But with a Tu Holloway triple-double, it was the Muskies who came away with a win, 79-72.


Like I said, Tu Holloway had a triple-double.  He had 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.  Maybe he did that because he was trying to impress his mom, who was in attendance, or perhaps it was to impress Jordan Crawford or CJ Anderson, who were also in attendance.  Or maybe is just good.  Oh yeah, and for the record, Tu is the first Xavier player EVER to record two triple-double's in his career.


Two other Musketeers were in double figures, Mark Lyons, and Kenny Frease.  Mark Lyons had 14 points and 6 boards, while Kenny had 14.  Andrew Taylor added 7 points.


Chris Gaston had a great game for the Rams, as he had 26 points, and 11 rebounds.  Brenton Butler had 21 points, and Alberto Estwick added 14 points.


Back to the game.  You may ask "Why was Fordham even in this game?  I thought they were a bad, last place team!" Well, the reason why the hang around in this one was because of their success from behind the line.  The Rams were 10-22 from three-country, that is 45.5%, much better than XU as they were 4-16 and 25% from behind the line.  Also, another reason was because of how good Fordham's rebounding was.  They had 13 offensive rebounds, as opposed to 5 offensive rebounds for X.  Fordham had 36 total boards, as opposed to 29 for the X-Men.  So there you have it, that is why Fordham was even in this game.


Even though the Musketeers did not do as well as expected, they pick up the win and that is all that matters.  XU is now 20-6 overall, and 11-1 in the A-10, while Fordham falls to 6-18, and 0-12 in the A-10.  For Xavier, they should be in the ESPN/USA Today Coach's poll this week, as long as a top 25 team falls out of the rankings.  


The 1st place Xavier Musketeers will be back in action on Tuesday, as they will host the La Salle Explorers at 7 PM ET.  You can catch that game on CBS College Sports.

UC Picks Up OT Win Over Providence

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rashad Bishop scored a career-high 23 points as theCincinnati Bearcats beat the Providence Friars in overtime 93-81 Saturday night.

Yancy Gates added 21 points and eight rebounds, and Dion Dixon managed 16 points, including 14 in the first half. A 14-4 run by the Bearcats (21-6, 8-6 Big East) midway through the second half, keyed by two Sean Kilpatrick 3-pointers, created a 16-point lead.

The Friars (14-13, 3-11) then put together an 19-5 run of their own, marked by an emphatic, two-handed dunk by Ron Giplaye and punctuated by a Vincent Council 3-pointer to bring the margin down to two with just under 3 minutes to play.

With a minute left, a Marshon Brooks floater gave the Friars their first lead, 73-72, but Bishop hit a free throw to tie it, and a 3-point miss by Brooks kept the score tied at the end of regulation.

Cincinnati scored 10 unanswered points to start overtime, and Providence was unable to respond. Cincinnati shot a perfect 7 for 7 in the extra period.

Providence's free-throw shooting played a major role, as it finished the night 9 for 20, while the Bearcats shot 73 percent from the stripe (19 for 26). The Friars shot 25 percent from 3-point range (6 for 24).

Brooks paced Providence with 27 points and six rebounds, but also led his team in turnovers with five. This marked his ninth consecutive game with at least 20 points. Freshman Kadeem Batts contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Cincinnati's substitutes put up 50 points while the Friar bench only contributed 11.

Gerard Coleman, a Providence freshman who started the first 24 games of the season, was not in the starting lineup for the third consecutive game, and only played 12 minutes.

'Cats Destroy USC

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Darius Miller scored a career-high 22 points and No. 22 Kentucky had little trouble in a 90-59 win over South Carolina on Saturday.

Terrence Jones added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (19-7, 7-5 SEC), who remained unbeaten at Rupp Arena under coach John Calipari. Kentucky scored the game's first 15 points and led by as much as 36 to push its home winning streak to 32, the second-longest in school history.
The Wildcats knocked down 11 of 20 3-pointers and had five players score at least 11 points, including junior guard DeAndre Liggins, who didn't start for the first time this season.
Malik Cooke led South Carolina (13-12, 4-8) with 12 points but the Gamecocks shot just 34 percent from the floor in losing their fifth straight.
Leading scorers Bruce Ellington and Sam Muldrow combined for 13 points on 3-of-17 shooting as South Carolina suffered its worst loss of the season.
Miller's previous high was 20 in the NCAA tournament against Wake Forest last season, and he's remained a puzzle this season, mixing solid performances with games where he seems to disappear in plain sight.
That wasn't a problem on Saturday. He hit his first six 3-point attempts and was active on the glass, grabbing nine rebounds and taking it strong to the basket when he got into the lane.
Miller had plenty of help. Brandon Knight added 12 points and set a career-high with nine assists, Doron Lamb threw in 18 while making his second straight start and Liggins appeared to have no problem coming off the bench.
It was more than enough to overwhelm the Gamecocks and ruin coach Darrin Horn's homecoming.
Horn, a Lexington native, had a solid contingent of supporters behind the South Carolina bench and received a nice ovation upon his introduction.
The pleasantries ended there.
Kentucky wasted little time taking control. The Wildcats scored the game's first 15 points as the new-look starting lineup had little trouble doing whatever it wanted against the lifeless Gamecocks. Miller hit a pair of 3-pointers during the run, which was capped by a 3-pointer from Lamb.
Malik Cooke finally got the Gamecocks on the board with a dunk, but it hardly mattered. Kentucky quickly pushed the lead to 20 points regardless of whatever defense Horn drew up.
Kentucky zipped through South Carolina's man-to-man, deftly passed out of trouble when the Gamecocks went to a halfcourt trap and shot over their 2-3 zone.
Calipari has been on his team to finish off opponents, and the Wildcats did their best to wrap things up early. Knight threw himself into the announcers table while chasing down a loose ball with an 18-point lead. He managed to fling the ball to Liggins for a basket to put Kentucky up 24-4.
Horn called a couple of timeouts to help the Gamecocks regain their composure, but their leaders were nowhere to be found. Ellington and Smith went a combined 0-for-10 in the first half as Kentucky roared into the locker room up 50-21, tied for its biggest halftime lead this season.
There were minor moments of trepidation for Kentucky in the second half as the Wildcats stumbled a bit in the face of South Carolina's fullcourt press.
Calipari even called timeout once in frustration after a pair of turnovers keyed a 9-0 South Carolina run that trimmed Kentucky's lead to 55-32. His team's attention back on the floor, the Wildcats ended any semblance of drama by going on a 9-0 burst capped by a difficult runner from Liggins that put Kentucky up 64-32 and sent some of the faithful home early.

What The Games Mean This Weekend

By:  Cooper Ledford

Kentucky vs. South Carolina (SAT, 4 PM ET, SEC NET).  The Wildcats have struggled with South Carolina in recent games, and also have not looked good AT ALL recently.  They need to win or else they will not be ranked, and people will not believe in them to go for in the tourny.

Cincinnati @ Providence (SAT, 7 PM ET, ESPNU).  The Bearcats are a bubble team, meaning they need to pick up wins to go to the Big Dance.  They need to beat a decent Providence team here today.  There would be no reason for them to lose, as they are coming off an impressive win over Louisville.

Xavier vs. Fordham (SAT, 8 PM ET, FS OHIO).  This is a 1st place vs. last place match up.  X is ranked #24 in the AP Poll, and are in 1st place in the A-10, they need a win to remain ranked and in 1st place.

Ohio State @ Purdue (SUN, 1 PM ET, CBS).  The Buckeyes destroyed Purdue last time, they need a win to prove they can beat a good team on the road.

#24 Musketeers Down St. Joseph's

PHILADELPHIA -- Mark Lyons scored 24 points, Kenny Frease had 17 points and 10 rebounds and No. 24 Xavier beat Saint Joseph's 74-54 on Wednesday night.

The Musketeers (19-6, 10-1 Atlantic 10) won their fourth straight and are in first place with five games left before the conference tournament. Xavier moved into The Associated Press' college basketball poll this week for the first time this season.

The Musketeers used a 12-1 run in the second half to pull away from the lowly Hawks (7-18, 2-9).

Idris Hilliard led the Hawks with 13 points.

Lyons kept driving past the Hawks for easy layups and fell one shy of his career high point total. He set the tone for an Xavier team that took few outside shots the second half. Xavier attacked for buckets and made 17 of 18 free throws.


Next, Xavier will return home to take on a last-place Fordham team.  That game will be on Saturday at 8 PM ET, and will be on FS Ohio.

Bearcats Stun Cardinals

By:  Cooper Ledford

The Cincinnati Bearcats, who were 19-6, and 6-6 in the Big East, were hosting the #16 Louisville Cardinals, who were 19-6, and 8-4 in the Big East.  UC was looking for a big win, an upset win, and that they got, as they beat UofL, 63-54.

Only two Bearcats were in double-figures, as it was Wright, who had 20 points, and Kilpatrick, who had 18.  But, it was enough to get the job done.

Jennings and Knowles were the only Cardinals in double-figures, Jennings had 12, and Knowles had 11.  So, not many Cardinals with all that impressive stats in this one.

This is a big win for the Bearcats, as it well help their tournament resume, and gets them to 20 wins.

Next, the Bearcats of UC will be on the road, as they will go to take on Providence.  That game will be Saturday at 7 PM ET, and on ESPNU.

XU and UC Games Tonight

By: Cooper Ledford

Both Queen City teams are playing today, Xavier and Cincinnati.  The #24 Xavier Musketeers are @ St. Joseph's, while the Cincinnati Bearcats are at home taking on the #16 Louisville Cardinals.

Xavier needs to win their game, if not, they risk losing their rank, and their lead in the A-10.  There is no way they would be ranked with a loss to St. Joseph's.  XU is the better team in this game, and they need to prove it.

As for Cincinnati.  They need to win as well, it may be tougher for them to win, since they are playing a tougher team in the Cardinals.  If UC loses, they will still need just a few more wins before they would be considered for the NCAA Tournament.  

OSU Rebounds From 1st Loss, Beats MSU

William Buford had 23 points
in OSU's win over Michigan State.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio State did its best to forget its only loss.
Michigan State served notice that, as is annually the case, it may just be a force to be reckoned with in the postseason.
William Buford scored 23 points and Aaron Craft had a hand in two critical plays down the stretch to lead the No. 2 Buckeyes to a 71-61 win over the Spartans on Tuesday night.
It was a hard-fought struggle for Ohio State (25-1, 12-1 Big Ten), playing for the first time since having their unbeaten season ended with a 61-57 loss at Wisconsin on Saturday.
''One loss doesn't make or break a season,'' said freshman center Jared Sullinger, who came in averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds and was limited to 11 and 2. ''We just wanted to come out and get the win.''
Jon Diebler and David Lighty each had 12 points. Craft, a freshman substitute point guard, had seven points, four assists, four steals and three rebounds - and a hustle play that was the talk of both head coaches.
Kalin Lucas led the Spartans (14-11, 6-7) with 14 points, while Adreian Payne and Draymond Green each had 10. They've lost six of their last eight but fought hard throughout.
''I wouldn't count us dead yet,'' an emotional coach Tom Izzo said. ''This is a pretty good team if we can regroup down the stretch and get three guys to play together instead of just two.''
As he left the postgame interview room, he repeated, ''We ain't dead yet.''
The Buckeyes finished the game on an 18-10 run to pull away on a night when nothing came easily for either team.
The game turned on two quick defensive stops.
With the Buckeyes hanging on to a 45-44 second-half lead, Buford stepped in front of a bad pass by Lucas and went coast to coast for the basket. The next time down the floor, Craft forced Lucas to give the ball up in the backcourt, leading to two free throws by Diebler. After the Spartans scored a second-chance bucket, Diebler flipped in a line-drive 3 from the top of the key for a 52-46 lead.
A capacity crowd of 18,809 roared its approval.
Diebler hit two 3-pointers to move into a tie for second with Michigan State's Shawn Respert, one back of Big Ten career 3-point leader Pete Lisicky of Penn State, with 332.
Asked the turning point of the game, Matta pointed to the defensive pressure.
''It was some of the defensive plays we made,'' he said. ''Will had a steal and Aaron had a steal. ... We weren't defending as well as we need to and those gave us the lead.''
Now on top, the Buckeyes relied on Buford.
After Michigan State had cut it to 53-51, Buford hit consecutive jumpers - the first a 3 from the left wing and the second a stop-and-pop jumper from 15 feet to make it 58-51.
''Every shot I take I think it's going to go down,'' the junior said.
Craft came up with a big effort play soon after.
As the ball was going out of bounds under the Michigan State basket, center Garrick Sherman turned and fired it down the court. For an instant no one reacted. But then Craft sped the length of the floor, corralled the ball and hit a twisting reverse layup while being fouled. He completed the three-point play.
Craft also figured in another pivotal play. With the Buckeyes on top 66-59, he had a steal and was fouled by Green at the other end with 1:42 left. Green was then assessed a technical foul. Craft stepped to the line and hit three of the four shots to swell the lead to 69-59, the biggest of the game for either team to that point.
Izzo twice referred to Craft's big plays during his postgame remarks.
Of Green's technical, he said, ''He blew up at himself. It was probably deserved. I don't have any problems with that. I have more problems with us not chasing down a loose ball.''
Near the end, Ohio State fans taunted the Spartans - who have made it to the Final Four in six of the last 12 seasons - with a cheer of ''N-I-T! N-I-T!''
The Buckeyes were 23 of 29 at the free-throw line to the Spartans' 5 of 6, another aspect of the game that rankled Izzo.
''It just seemed like they walked to the line every freakin' time,'' he said.

Wildcats Hold Off Miss State

Terrence Jones put up
19 points in UK's win over
Mississippi State.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - John Calipari had seen enough. The Kentucky coach watched the Wildcats jog through 25 mostly uninspired minutes against Mississippi State on Tuesday night when he ordered his team to go to a fullcourt press.
The goal wasn't necessarily to turn the heat up on the Bulldogs, but on Calipari's own players.


"We just had no fire, no fight," Calipari said. "I told them, 'We're pressing man to man and if you choose to go back, I'm subbing you."'
Message received.
Brandon Knight scored 24 points and Doron Lamb added 20 in his first start in nearly a month as No. 22 Kentucky held on for an 85-79 victory.
The Wildcats (18-7, 6-5 Southeastern Conference) took charge when they pressed the Bulldogs (13-12, 5-6) into a series of careless mistakes before narrowly avoiding a late-game collapse to improve to 30-0 under Calipari at Rupp Arena.
"(The press) got us going," said Knight, who extended his school freshman record with his 11th 20-point game of the season. "We started forcing them to start rushing and used it to our advantage."
Kentucky shot 56 percent from the floor, including 67 percent in the second half.
Mississippi State nearly matched the Wildcats shot for shot. Ravern Johnson led the Bulldogs with 21 points and Jalen Steele added a career-high 17 but the Bulldogs let an 11-point lead get away late in the first half thanks to a bizarre meltdown.
The Bulldogs went up 40-35 on a pair of free throws by Johnson with 5 seconds left in the half. Kentucky inbounded and Mississippi State, with a couple of fouls to give, immediately fouled Knight. The Wildcats inbounded near midcourt with 3 seconds remaining and got the ball to Knight, who was fouled by Brian Bryant.
Knight, on Calipari's orders, threw the ball meekly toward the rim after the contact. The referees awarded him three free throws, saying he was in the act of shooting.
Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury momentarily lost it, earning a technical foul after storming after the officials.
Knight made four of the five free throws to pull Kentucky within 40-39 at the break and change the game.
"It was big because instead of being down five we're only down one and when you see one on the scoreboard instead of five, you're like, 'OK,' ... I thought the coach wouldn't agree with it obviously," Knight said.
Obviously.
Stansbury declined to talk about the incident and instead placed blame on his team's porous second-half defense.
"We're choosing our poison a bit with that zone (defense) and you can't guard them all," he said.
Kentucky took its first lead of the game early in the second half on a layup by Josh Harrellson but Mississippi State momentarily righted itself, going in front 50-47 on a jumper by Steele.
Calipari then went to the press, and Kentucky responded with an 11-0 burst. Terrence Jones got the Wildcats going with a layup then using his long arms to grab a pair of steals on Mississippi State's next two possessions, leading to easy baskets at the other end of the floor.
The lead grew to 58-50 before the Bulldogs snapped out of it, getting within 65-63 before another surge by the Wildcats pushed the margin to 83-70 with 3:49 to play.
Kentucky, as it has done all season, struggled to put it away. A series of turnovers and missed shots helped Mississippi State get as close as 83-79 with 49 seconds remaining before Kentucky could finish the Bulldogs off.
The Wildcats held on despite allowing the Bulldogs to make 12 of 22 3-pointers. It's a statistic Calipari can live with if his team plays as effectively in the open floor. Kentucky outscored Mississippi State 12-0 on the fast break.
Lamb started in place of Darius Miller, who was questionable suffering a leg injury against the Commodores. Calipari has repeatedly asked Lamb to play with more energy, and he responded with his best performance since dropping 32 in a victory over Winthrop in December.
Lamb knocked down 7 of 8 shots, including all three of his 3-pointers while winning a game-long duel with Mississippi State's Dee Bost. Bost finished with 16 points but it was Lamb who had the flair for the dramatic. He drilled a couple of big jumpers in the second half to help give Kentucky some breathing room, holding three fingers over his right eye after both shots.
"We just turned the ball over when we should have taken care of the ball," Bost said. "They knocked down some shots in transition."
The chippy atmosphere at Rupp has become commonplace in has become an increasingly fractious rivalry.
The two teams fought a pair of classics last season, with Kentucky prevailing in taut affairs, including an overtime win in the SEC title game.
The stakes weren't quite so high this time, but for a Kentucky team exposed on the road - where the Wildcats are just 1-5 in conference - the victory was nearly as important.
Miller looked just fine when he saw the floor, finishing with 13 points. Terrence Jones had 17 points and 10 rebounds and senior center Josh Harrellsonheld his own with Mississippi State sophomore forward Renardo Sidney.
Harrellson had nine points and six rebounds compared to 11 points and eight boards for Sidney, who was completely gassed at times and failed to shine in front of more than a dozen NBA scouts on hand.
Stansbury defended Sidney's effort, claiming the harassing phone calls Sidney claims he received before the game played only a small factor in his performance.
"I thought Sid played hard, does that mean every minute he's on that floor he's fresh? No," Stansbury said. "That's just where he is in his game right now."

SWO BB POLL-Updated with Kansas Loss

1.) Ohio State
2.) Texas
3.) Pittsburgh
4.) Kansas
5.) Duke
6.) San Diego State
7.) Notre Dame
8.) BYU
9.) Georgetown
10.) Wisconsin
11.) Purdue
12.) Arizona
13.) Connecticut
14.) Villanova
15.) Florida
16.) Louisville
17.) Syracuse
18.) Vanderbilt
19.) Missouri
20.) North Carolina
21.) Texas A&M
22.) Xavier
23.) Kentucky
24.) Temple
25.) Utah State

Muskies Beat DU, Lead A-10

XU's Dante Jackson tied his
career-high in points with 19 in
Xavier's win over Duquesne.

By: Cooper Ledford


The Xavier Musketeers and the Duquesne Dukes were tied for 1st place in the Atlantic 10, as they both were 8-1 in conference play.  XU and DU met up in the city of Pittsburgh to determine the A-10 leader.  The Dukes were favored, but it was Xavier who pulled away with a win, and move atop the A-10 by-themselves, as the final is 71-63.


Xavier lead majority of the 1st half, as they had as much as a 10 point lead with 7:40 to go, but the Dukes would fight back and take the lead before the half, 37-36.


In the 2nd half the game would go back-and-forth until there was 7:53 to go, and the Muskies went on an 8-0 run and never really looked back.


A big reason the X-Men won was because of how many free throw opportunities they got, as they had 30 chances for some free points, and were successful on 22 of them.  As for the Dukes, they had their chances, 27
to be exact, but did poorly at converting them, as they shot 13-27.


Tu Holloway lead the way with 20 points, but Dante Jackson was the story of the game, as he tied a career-high with 19 points, and shot 4-6 from triple country.  Kenny Frease had a double-double, as he had 12 points and 12 rebounds.  Jamel McLean added 10 points and 9 boards.


Let's talk about Tu Holloway.  Coach Mack pulled him out of the game with a little over 11 minutes to play in the 2nd and out Mark Lyons in, as Tu was not getting the job done.  Well, shortly after that, with about 11 and a half to play, Lyons fouled out, and Tu came back in, and played like the Tu we know.  Perhaps Coach Mack will ask Lyons to foul out more.


B.J. Monteiro lead the way for Duquesne, as he had 17 points.  Bill Clark had a double-double, as he had 14 points and 11 rebounds.  Saunders added 11 points.


So, Xavier goes to 18-6 overall, and 9-1 in conference play, while DU falls to 16-7 and 8-2 in conference play.


Next, the A-10 leading Xavier Musketeers will head to the City Of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, to take on St. Joseph's.  That game will be on Wednesday at 7:00 PM ET and you can catch the game on CBS College Sports. 

UC Loses A Heartbreaker

CINCINNATI -- St. John's failed to make a field goal over the last 8:58, letting its 12-point lead evaporate, but Malik Boothe and Justin Brownlee hit late free throws Sunday that rallied the Red Storm to their second win in four days, 59-57 over Cincinnati.

St. John's (15-9, 7-5 Big East) led 52-40, then did not make another field goal. Cincinnati pulled ahead 56-53 on Ibrahima Thomas' driving lay-in with 2:07 to go.

Boothe's two free throws put the Red Storm ahead 58-57 with 42 seconds left, and Brownlee made the first of his two with 3.5 seconds to go. Sean Kilpatrick's jumper from just inside the midcourt line was off at the buzzer.

Cincinnati (19-6, 6-6) played most of the game without power forward Yancy Gates, who was suspended for a game last week. He played only one minute in the second half, stewing on the bench and finishing without scoring in 13 minutes. Kilpatrick had a team-high 15 points.

Nothing To Hang Your Head About

By:  Cooper Ledford

As the Ohio State Buckeyes suffered their first loss of the 2010-2011 season, yesterday, some Buckeye fans may be sad.  I'm sorry but that is stupid.  No need to be sad.  Here are my reasons why you should still be positive about this.

• Ohio State still has the best record in College Basketball with only 1 loss. 
• The Buckeyes lost to a good Wisconsin team, at least they did not lose to Michigan.
• Ohio State will still be ranked in the top 5, this is not football where one loss means you drop 10 ranks.
• The Bucks can still be a #1 seed come March.
• OSU is still atop the Big Ten.
• Ohio State still has a great record, and are playing better than ever before.

Buckeyes Suffer First Loss Of Season

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Jordan Taylor scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half to rally No. 13 Wisconsin from a 15-point deficit to beat previously unbeaten No. 1 Ohio State 71-67 on Saturday.
Wisconsin (19-5, 9-3 Big Ten) beat a No. 1 opponent for the first time since 1962, when it was also Ohio State. The Badgers joined Florida as the only programs to knock off the same No. 1 school in both football and men's basketball in the same academic year. The Gators also beat Ohio State in both sports in 2006-07.
Fans at the Kohl Center stormed the court, just like when they rushed the field at Camp Randall Stadium following the Badgers' 31-18 win there over then-No. 1 Ohio State on Oct. 16.
William Buford scored 21 points for Ohio State (24-1, 11-1). Freshman Jared Sullinger made an easy layup to push the Buckeyes' lead to 47-32 with 13:21 left, setting the stage for the comeback.
Mike Bruesewitz and Jon Leuer scored 12 points apiece, while freshman Josh Gasser added 11 for Wisconsin, which won its 17th straight at the Kohl Center and improved to 150-11 at home under coach Bo Ryan.
Ohio State had won 18 straight Big Ten games and 28 regular-season contests. Sullinger scored 19 points and had 12 rebounds, but the Buckeyes failed to keep its quest to become the first undefeated team since Indiana in 1975-76.
Wisconsin was sharp from beyond the arc, hitting 12 of 24 3-pointers to key the upset, but it sure didn't look like the Badgers would be close after falling behind big.
Taylor sparked a 15-0 run to tie it by scoring eight straight points, hitting a floater and two deep 3-pointers, then Wisconsin went on another 10-0 run down the stretch to hold on.
After the Badgers' first 15-0 spurt, Ohio State took a 55-52 lead two free throws by Aaron Craft with 7:11 left.
Bruesewitz tied it with a 3 and when Sullinger tried to crash the offensive glass, he tripped and left Keaton Nankivil open on the other end for a jumper. Taylor then made a 3 from the left side and added two free throws to give Wisconsin a 62-55 lead with 4:18 to play.
Jon Diebler and Sullinger each hit two free throws cutting it to 65-63 with 58 seconds left in a last gasp run. But Bruesewitz hesitated at the top of the arc trying to find Taylor and took an open 3 instead, hitting it to make it 68-63.
Craft then lost the ball out of bounds, and the crowd began pouring down to the lower level for the celebration to come moments later. Leuer was hoisted by the crowd and pumped his arms for more noise in the middle of the madness.
About 10 minutes before introductions, the sold-out Kohl Center crowd was whipped into a frenzy with highlights of the Badgers' win over Ohio State in football were shown followed by the message ''Let's Take Down No. 1 Again.''
The honorary coach was John Erickson, who led Wisconsin's 1962 squad to its only other victory over a top-ranked team in basketball, also over Ohio State as Wisconsin improved to 2-19 all-time against No. 1.
The Buckeyes, who wore black ''3407'' patches on the two-year anniversary of the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 that killed everyone on board including Ohio State video coordinator Kevin Kuwik's girlfriend, maintained their composure in the noisy environment over the opening minutes.
Wisconsin went ahead by six early and Gasser's 3-pointer made it 24-19 with just over 4 minutes left in the first half. But Buford scored 15 points in Ohio State's 23-6 run that turned a five-point deficit into a big lead that the Buckeyes failed to protect.

UK Falls To Vandy

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - John Jenkins scored a career-high 32 points, hitting six 3-pointers, to lift No. 23 Vanderbilt to an 81-77 victory over No. 18 Kentucky on Saturday.
With the win, the Commodores (18-6, 6-4) swept a three-game homestand that will keep them tied for second in the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division. They came into Saturday tied with Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee, two losses behind Florida.

Kentucky (17-7, 5-5) dropped to 1-5 on the road in the SEC this season and to the bottom of the East.
Jenkins had Vanderbilt's first 30-point game against the Wildcats since Mike Rhodes on Jan. 19, 1980, with the Commodores' first 30-point game since A.J. Ogilvy had 33 at LSU on March 4, 2009. Festus Ezeli added 14 points, Steve Tchiengang scored all 12 of his in the first half off and Brad Tinsley had 11.
Terrence Jones led Kentucky with 25 points, Brandon Knight had 20 and DeAndre Liggins 10.
Jones' 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim. Kentucky coach John Calipari wanted a foul that didn't come as the Commodores celebrated beating the Wildcats for the fifth time in Memorial Gym in the past six seasons.
The Wildcats' youth caught up with them in the final minute. Vandy hit its final six free throws to help seal the victory. When Tinsley hit two free throws with 31.6 seconds left for a 79-75 lead, the Wildcats didn't put up a shot until Liggins' jumper hit air with 17 seconds remaining.
They brought the ball up too slowly after Tinsley added two more free throws with 7.9 seconds left, leaving Jones to launch his 3 almost near midcourt.
The Commodores needed every point as Jeff Taylor missed his first six shots and played only 21 minutes due to foul trouble. The junior came in averaging 15.1 points a game, and his only basket came with a spinning layup to cap a fast break with 2:41 left putting Vandy up 73-69.
Vanderbilt matched a season-high with 11 3s, and the SEC's best free throw shooters went 20 of 23 at the line. Kentucky was 14 of 18 in a game with 39 fouls.
They swapped the lead nine times with nine ties, and Kentucky never led by more than two points in the second half - the last at 66-64 on a 3-pointer by Knight with 5:38 left.
Ezeli tied it with a layup, then Jenkins put Vanderbilt ahead to stay with his sixth 3 with 4:28 left.
Kentucky looked ready to blow the Commodores out of Memorial Gym in the opening minutes, taking a 19-11 lead with eight straight points.
Vanderbilt answered with a 3-pointer by Tchiengang, which seemed to wake up the Commodores. Tchiengang scored nine of the final 11 points of the first half to turn a 34-33 deficit into a 44-40 lead.

REPORT: Carson Palmer Putting House Up For Sale

By:  Cooper Ledford

Cincinnati Bengals QB, Carson Palmer is reportedly putting his house up for sale.

Why?  Because he wants to be traded, remember?

"He's not coming back," said a real estate agent who talked Wednesday morning with the former Heisman winner.  Another associate of Carson agrees, as he said that if he was not traded, he is prepared to retire.

Carson wants to be traded, as all of the other paragraphs prove, but so far, the Bengals have taken no action about that, and basically dared him to retire.

If I was the man in charge of this, Mike Brown, I would say "OK, let's see who we could get out of you." If there is someone on the market that I would want, and could trade for Carson Palmer, I'd do it, if not, I would then dare him to retire.

Liggins, Wildcats Beat Tennessee

UK's Liggins scored 19
points in the Wildcats win
over Tennessee, Tuesday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl was back in his usual spot, roaming the sideline for the Volunteers on Tuesday night against No. 18 Kentucky in his trademark creamsicle blazer following an eight-game suspension for lying to the NCAA about the program's recruiting practices.

"It feels like normal, it's good to get yelled at," Pearl said.
Getting beat? Not so much.
DeAndre Liggins tied a career-high with 19 points and the Wildcats ruined Pearl's return to the bench with a 73-61 victory.
Josh Harrellson added 16 points as the Wildcats (17-6, 5-4 Southeastern Conference) broke a modest two-game losing streak by burying the Volunteers with a big run in each half.
Kentucky coach John Calipari said the Wildcats were in "crisis" after consecutive losses to Mississippi and No. 17 Florida last week, the first losing streak he's endured in six years. He stressed the need for his team, particularly the upperclassmen, to play with some urgency after slipping into a tie for last place in the competitive SEC East.
Hoping to instill some toughness he had the Wildcats don boxing gloves in practice, where they worked the heavy bag with regularity.
"I showed them how to jab," Calipari said. "You've got to be rough. You've got to be willing to fight. You can't let people take our stuff."
Certainly not the Volunteers, who survived Pearl's eight-game reprimand by SEC commissioner Mike Slive just fine. They won five of their eight conference games with Pearl watching on TV. It was difficult being away from his players. Watching them get outmuscled by the Wildcats, however, wasn't much better.
Kentucky dominated the glass, outrebounding Tennessee 38-28, often ripping balls out of the hands of a Tennessee player who seemed to have it secured.
"In the area (Kentucky) had to win, which I thought was the area of toughness and rebounding, I thought they did win," Pearl said.
Kentucky played arguably its best game against a quality opponent in over a month, thanks in part to the presence of former star John Wall, now playing for the Washington Wizards. Wall sat courtside during the game and joined the team in the locker room, providing words of wisdom.
Whatever he said, it seemed to have an effect on Liggins. The junior guard came in averaging 5.0 points on 29 percent shooting over the last five games, but dominated play on both ends of the floor. He made 5 of 6 field goals and 7 of 8 free throws while adding five rebounds and five steals.
Harrellson, chided by Calipari for inconsistent play after appearing to be on the verge of a breakthrough a month ago, scored 12 points in the second half including two big putbacks on offensive rebounds.
"Obviously if Josh, Darius (Miller) and DeAndre play like this, it's much easier," Calipari said.
Melvin Goins led Tennessee (15-9, 5-4) with 16 points and Scotty Hopson had 11 after missing two games with a left ankle injury but the Volunteers never got going.
"I don't think everybody came to play today," Tennessee center Brian Williams said. "I don't think we were on the same page. We had a game plan and we didn't stick to it at all."
Tennessee shot just 41 percent from the field, turned it over 14 times and never got closer than five points over the game's final 30 minutes.
It was more than enough to put a damper on Pearl's much-anticipated return to work.
Pearl said Monday he was ready to get back on the bus, joking Slive actually wanted to suspend him for 10 games but shortened it to eight after seeing Tennessee played at Kentucky and Florida this week.
Pearl was smiling when he said it. The smile faded quickly once he walked onto the Rupp Arena court, perhaps because of a well-prepared student section that featured a handful of signs hinting at Pearl's NCAA trouble.
Tennessee's play early in the first half did little to lift his mood. Kentucky overcame a slow start, making five of its first six 3-pointers build a 19-point lead even with point guard Brandon Knight spending the last 9:28 on the bench saddled with two fouls.
Hopson soon followed after collecting his second foul, but Pearl sent him back out to keep Tennessee in it. His presence seemed to calm down the Volunteers and they ended the half on a 14-2 run to get within 35-28.
While the students were giving Pearl an eyeful, the fans directly behind the Tennessee bench gave him an earful. Pearl asked security to get involved as he walked off the court at halftime and his assistants appeared to exchange words with several people in Kentucky gear moments before the second half started.
Pearl said he didn't mind the taunts. The language, however, was another issue.
The razzing, however, turned into a roar as Kentucky used a 16-3 surge early in the second half to grab a 51-33 lead and put the first oncourt turbulence of Calipari's short tenure firmly in the rearview mirror.
"I put on the board: refuse to lose," Calipari said. "Figure out a way. ... We played really smart down the stretch."