What in the hell happened to this team???

I won't even rehash all of the reasons I hate Zeke (ruining CBA, ruining Knicks, wait-I said I wouldn't). Now it looks like he is right back in the middle of another big ole mess.  Florida International is claiming that it will pull out of the Coaches vs Cancer tournament if they are forced to open with UNC instead of Ohio State as they originally agreed.

From the ESPN Article:

FIU officials were equal parts incensed and stunned when they received an e-mailed press release of the Tar Heels' schedule, listing Florida International as the season opener. Athletic director Pete Garcia said the school had been approached by the Gazelle Group, the tourney organizers, about switching its opener from the Buckeyes to the defending national champions but refused.

"We knew nothing about this until the press release from North Carolina today," Garcia said. "We told them last week we would not change the game and had never agreed to this."

Gazelle Group president Rick Giles said that he has a contract, signed by Garcia, which stipulates that FIU would play either Ohio State or North Carolina, leaving the choice at the discretion of the Gazelle Group. He said that is the way his company has written contracts for 15 years and fully expects the school to honor its agreement.

"I would be stunned if Isiah Thomas' first act as a head coach was to break a contract," Giles said, although Thomas pointed out that the contract, signed in November 2008, was agreed upon before he arrived at FIU.

Really Mr Giles?  You would be surprised that Isiah "league killer" Thomas would act in a manner that was anything but above board?  He has proven time and time again that the only thing he's good at is tossing a bounce pass to Vinny Johnson. 

This is the part that really get me..."If at some point and time you're going to be able to compete with the big boys, you might as well jump right into the fire and get started." 

Well Zeke, here is your chance to jump in and play the biggest boy on the block.  Any way you look at it, FIU is going to get run out of the gym by either team so why not go with the defending champs.

The 2009 champion North Carolina Tar Heels got to visit the great prognosticator this week at The White House.

All games on CBS

All games on CBS

I'm nervous-period.   The Terps took the first step last night with a win over NC State but the real challenge starts tonight as they play #8 Wake Forest.  The Terps lost a 2 point heartbreaker late in the season that could have locked up a bid to the big dance.  MD needs to shut down Teague and keep Aminu off the boards.  They also have to avoid the early breakdown they showed against NC State.  Their press was easily beaten and the early 2-3 defense was struggling against the 3.  Gary made an adjustment to a 3-2 which worked much better on the perimeter. 

On the offensive side of the ball, GV needs to have the game of his life.  The offense flowed well with him driving and dishing to the perimeter.  Dave Neal hit some big 3's and Eric Hayes stayed hot off the bench.

 Do I smell revenge in the air????

Today I watched as the University of Washington Huskies beat the Washington State Cougars, 67-60, to become the PAC-10 regular season champions.

And I almost cried.

The reason wasn’t simply because the Huskies won the PAC-10, but because the state of Washington was healing.

Something doesn't smell right and as usual that thing is Duke basketball.  I was telling a fellow Terp fan last night that when I checked the rankings today, I expected Duke to slip into the teens.  Once again though the Dukies prove that they are the most over-hyped, over-rated team in the country.  If someone can tell me how a team only loses eight spots when losing 4 of 6 games, I'll give you.....well nothing, times are tough.

1/28 Ranked #1 - Lost to Wake Forest 70-68

2/1 Ranked #1 - Beat Virginia 79-54

2/4  Ranked #4 - Lost to Clemson 74-47

2/7  Ranked #4 - Beat Miami 78-75 in OT

2/11 Ranked #6 - Lost to UNC 101-87

2/15 Ranked #6-  Lost to Boston College 80-74

2/16 - Ranked #9

So losing to Clemson by 27 and giving up 101 to UNC on your floor only counts for a 5 point drop???  I think they will stomp St John's but getting to 25 wins will be tough (come on Turtles).  They rely too much on their spread offense and success shooting the 3.  There are also rumblings that Coach K is sticking with his starters too long and not giving the bench enough minutes. Gerald Henderson is a player but Singler and Scheyer seem soft to me.  There really isn't a legitimate center so much of the offense stays on the perimeter.  Bigger teams have exposed them and will continue to do so.  If the legs get tired, the three pointer goes away.

My prediction is that they'll make it to the NCAA tourney as 3 or 4 seed and breeze through their first round game before losing in the second round.