The Poll Must Go On

What a lousy sports weekend. After a week to prepare, GW gets crushed at home by Xavier. Ditto for the Wizards against Portland, but at least they can blame Jamison's injury. And the Pro Bowl was "played." Look for the NFl to boost ratings by adding a "Pros vs. Joes" angle next year, like the Grammys with Justin Timberlake last night. (No, I didn't watch the show, but here's what I thought of last year). So, it's Monday, and the Poll never sleeps, unless it drank way too much sangria the night before, but that, my friends, that is a different post, hopefully to come later in the day.

So, Georgetown stays on a roll and stays on top, upsetting Marquette for its seventh straight win. Virginia Tech dumps 12 feet of New York style blizzard on UVA's hot streak, and VCU's air of invulnerability dissipates like, well, air. Maryland's NCAA hopes are upgraded from critical to serious, and Old Dominion looks like it could give the selection committee another CAA headache this March. GW "foggy" bottoms out, and is very close to joining the also-rans at the bottom of the poll.

1. Georgetown
Hoyas dismantle Marquette, located in Milwaukee, pronounced "mill-e-wah-que" which is Algonquin for "the good land."
2. Virginia Tech
A.D. Vassallo outscores J.R. Reynolds 22-21 in Tech’s win over UVA, sets sights on B.A Walker for Bog Poll “Initials for Name” Top Scorer honors.
3. Virginia
Cavaliers’ 57 points against Virginia Tech their lowest total of the year, but only two fewer than they scored against Puerto Rico-Mayaguez.
4. VCU
Team distracted by possibility that Anthony Grant could be the father of Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter.
5. Maryland
Terps hand Duke their fourth straight loss. Cameron Crazies download couch-burning how-to’s from terptalk.com.
6. Old Dominion
Old Dominion suddenly more fun than King’s Dominion.
7. GW
Xavier shows GW the meaning of strict Jesuit discipline.
8. William and Mary
The Number 8 spot is traditionally reserved for the third-best CAA team in the Bog Poll.
9. Loyola
Greyhounds lose to Fairfield twice in one week, thereby placing themselves on Bog Poll double-secret probation.
10. George Mason
Patriots clinging to the Number 10 spot like Wile E. Coyote clinging to a tree branch on the side of a cliff.

Hoops Hangover

Pretty awful hoops last night. GW lost a winnable game at Dayton, the Wizards got a sound beating at Toronto and my pickup team blew a 7-4 lead to go down 13-10. And VCU, my top-ranked poll team for two weeks, went down at Hofstra.

Let's stick with the Colonials today (get your Wiz fix at hoopsaddict). Dayton is now 14-0 at home and 0-7 on the road. Even in college basketball, that is an absurd difference. Listening to the game on the radio, the crowd noise was remarkable, both for its' pin-drop silence during Flyer free throws and indignant volume on every call that went against the home team. Even though the final score was 84-69, I called this one winnable because the teams traded the lead throughout the second half and it was tied at 65 with about four minutes to play. Then things went terribly wrong.

After calling timeout, Dayton scored on three straight possessions, Karl Hobbs went ballistic on a no-call and got himself ejected and the Flyers closed out going 7-7 from the line. Now, I wasn't there, but this is a familiar scenario for Dayton opponents. Let's just say, you'd better have a big lead or make a miracle shot like Carl Elliott's halfcourt heave a couple years back, because down the stretch, the Flyers seem to have the darndest luck.

So where does this leave GW? Well, right now they are still tied with Fordham (!) and URI(!) for first place in the A-10, just half a game ahead of UMass and Xavier. Coming up this weekend is a tough game at St. Louis and a week later, a visit from the Musketeers . Very few of the remaining games look easy, but none of them looks impossible either. So the conference is wide open, but in terms of NCAA berths, I'll be very surprised if an Atlantic 10 team gets an NCAA bid this year.

I still like GW's chances. The starting unit has been the same all year; Maureece Rice has emerged as the primary scorer, with Elliott jumping up as needed. The frontcourt of Rob Diggs, Regis Koundjia and Dokun Akinbade have been more than serviceable on offense and defense and the reserve unit of Travis King, Damian Hollis and Cheyenne Moore has mautured and can make major contributions. Despite its lack of froncourt bulk, this team is tough to score on, leading the league is steals and third in blocked shots. They don't play at the same frantic pace as last year, but no lead is safe, for them or their opponents.

I would love to see Moore getting more minutes, but it's become clear that Hobbs can't use him much more than 10 minutes per game due to lingering effects of the stress fracture in his tibia. That and the arrested development of Noel Wilmore are the lone dark spots for GW in what has been a pretty good year and bears watching into March. I'd be more confident if they can pick up a win this weekend or another on the road at Charlotte or St. Joe's.

Super Poll

Happy Super Bowl week, everybody! Seriously , when is the federal government going to make it official and declare the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday a national holiday? We could call it Vice Recovery Monday or Sleepitoffday. There could be sales and everything, just like Memorial Day and Presidents' Day, which honor, you know, something. Anyway, today is just another Monday here at FitzFacts, so here is your local hoops Top 10:

1. VCU
“Trailer for sale or rent, rooms to let, fifty cents. No phone, no pool no pets, I ain’t got no cigarettes.”
2. Georgetown
Hoyas beat Cincinnati. Shockingly, no Bengals are arrested.
3. Virginia Tech
Seth Greenberg implores Blacksburg community for better Tech support, gets voice mail.
4. GW
Colonials take first place in A-10 with win at Rhode Island. Karl Hobbs praises team bus driver for “overachieving” on quick post-game drive to the airport.
5. Virginia
J.R. Reynolds harder to defend than George Bush’s Iraq policy.
6. Maryland
End of Terps’ two-game losing streak coincides with CBS’ decision to cancel “Armed and Famous.” Coincidence? Umm, yes, that’s why I said coincides.
7. Old Dominion
Monarchs put together their fifth two-game win streak of the season. Two more and they can get a free latte at Starbucks.
8. George Mason
Patriots saving themselves for March.
9. Loyola
Greyhounds whip winless Iona for the second time this season. Also steal the Gaels’ lunch money and dip their pigtails in ink when the referees are not looking. 10. American
Welcome back to the Top 10, AU Eagles! Now, about that fifth place in the Patriot League…

Weekend Warmup

GW
Okay, let's start with the Colonials today. GW's solid, not spectacular, 63-58 win at Richmond the other night sets up a pretty good matchup tomorrow when the Charlotte 49ers return to the site of their magnificent meltdown last March. Charlotte forward Leemire Goldwire, whose complete loss of composure pulled the nails out of the coffin in which his team had all but buried GW, will certainly get a warm greeting from the Smith Center crowd. The Colonials are now 12-4 with only one quality win - against Virginia Tech - but no bad losses. Charlotte, to toss out the first cliche of the day, is better than its 8-8 record. The 49ers' schedule is sprinkled with names from big conferences and few real dogs, but they are only 2-2 in the decidedly mediocre Atlantic 10. Like GW, Charlotte relies on a veteran backcourt - Goldwire and big guard/small forward De'Angelo Alexander - that is proficient from short and long range, and a wiry 6-9 forward, senior E.J. Drayton. If the Colonials can neutralize the 49ers' emotional advantage, this should be a win for the home team and a statement that they belong closer to the top than the middle of the league, and Big Stein thinks they could jump to Number One. By the way, Cheyenne Moore's numbers through ten games (11.4 mpg, 4.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg, .400 3PFG%) show me a player who is slowly coming along and fitting in, although eyewitness reports cite a major need for improvement on defense. I still see his progress as the key to this season's success.

Wiz
Much more on the line for the Wizards tonight as they try to hold onto first place in the Southeast Division against the second place Orlando Magic. The Knicks finally forced Washington to find someone other than Gilbert Arenas to hit a game winner the other night, and the Wiz made it look easy with a couple drives, kicks and dishes that found Caron Butler wide open for a dunk. Still, they'll need big presence from Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas to keep Dwight Howard from going wild in the paint tonight. With Cleveland at Denver later, the Wizards could wake up tied for first in the Eastern Conference tomorrow. Smells like a tasty doubleheader to me.

NFL
The good news is I didn't have to spend the week searching online for a vendor to sell me strings of purple lights to hang on the house. The bad news is I have to choose between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Let's see, Brady was a guest at the State of the Union, he has supermodels waiting for him outside the locker room, but every third commercial during an NFL broadcast features Manning. But the commercials are funny, and as much as I respect what Bill Belichick has done, I am tired of the notion that he could trot out Tom Brady and the New England Pee-Wee All-Stars and still win the Super Bowl. And it's easy to root for Tony Dungy, but he has to understand that while a Pat Buchanan level of conservatism on offense worked against the Ravens, he needs to move to the middle to win this weekend.

Nice little flip-flop by Boomer Esiason this week. Two years ago, he made studiomate Dan Marino cringe when he said that Manning could be destined for "Marinoville" after the Pats drummed the Colts out of the playoffs, 20-3. Scroll down to the bottom of this Ray Frager article in today's Baltimore Sun to see where he says, "(Manning) doesn't need to go to the Super Bowl to validate his career."

Might be time for my younger son's Michael Vick jersey to disappear mysteriously from his closet.

Oh, and in the other game, I'm going with the rest of America outside the Chicagoland area and cheering for the Saints. Sorry, Jay.

American Idol
If you don't like reading what I write about this show, just think about how bad I feel writing it.

Movies
Pedro Almodovar, Penelope Cruz, "Volver," it all adds up to my finally getting a Netflix membership.

Hi Def Entertainment
From yesterday's Sun, Kevin Cowherd with a fun trick to play on your technology-obsessed, keeping-up-with-the-Joneses friends.

Poll Vault

The title of today's post refers to the big leap made by Virginia Tech to the Number One spot in my local hoops poll. I don't know what's gotten into the Hokies, but they are ripping through the Atlantic Coast Conference like it's football, not basketball, season. Imagine the horror down on Tobacco Road when they see Boston College tied with Virginia Tech atop the ACC standings. Maryland did exactly what I thought they would this week, and Georgetown is finding wins hard to come by without Marc Egerson in the Really Big East. If the Hoyas don't get it together soon, they will get lost in that league and find themselves in the NIT. GW's out-of-conference losses don't look as bad as some thought, but the Colonials probably still have to win the A-10 to get a bid. After the success George Mason had last year, the committee will be under pressure to take at least two CAA teams, and they will have plenty to choose from. Big Stein won't post the official results until later today, but my poll was done yesterday, so here it is.

1. Virginia Tech
Dick Vitale’s head explodes as Hokies follow win at Duke with upset of North Carolina. Virginia Tech now 5-0 against teams in the state of North Carolina. Seth Greenberg left messages with Davidson, Elon and Guilford last week to see if they have any open dates left this season.
2. VCU
Rams have won four of five since Anthony Grant moved Wil Fameni from the starting lineup to a reserve role. So you could say they have benefited from Fameni relief efforts.
3. Maryland
Hope you like theme park rides, Terps fans, because it’s gonna be a season full of thrills, spills, and chills (also mad skillz, platinum grillz, Strawberry fils and, um, Beverly Sills).
4. Georgetown
JTIII presents plan to Georgetown administration that requests a “surge” of additional scholarships
5. GW
Colonials rebound from a loss at UMass by beating St. Bonaventure, which is named for a 13th century theologian nicknamed Doctor Seraphicus by his contemporaries for his heavenly three-point shooting touch.
6. Old Dominion
Monarchs players “agree to disagree” about the Rosie-Trump-Barbara feud in time to win two of three last week.
7. Virginia
Cavaliers’ self-esteem level lower than the GEICO caveman’s right now.
8. Loyola
Greyhounds coach Jimmy Patsos making good on his New Year’s resolution to win every game in 2007.
9. George Mason
Jim Larranaga finally finishes returning all his messages from last March, decides to start coaching again.
10. William and Mary
The Hottest Team in the CAA (W&M) met the CAA Team of Destiny (VCU) and Destiny prevailed. Then William and Mary played Delaware and lost its second straight. Still better than AU or Navy, though.

Hoopsy Daisy!

GW
The Colonials cut a 17-point second half deficit to one, but were never able to take the lead in a 91-84 loss at UMass last night. This wasn't one I expected them to win, and they showed strong resolve in making several runs at the Minutemen down the stretch. The hosts's interior tandem of Stephane Lasme (23 points, 13 rebounds, 11 blocks) and Rashaun Freeman (21, 7) dominated, but it was the unexpected outside prowess of Etienne Brower that opened up the paint for the big guys. Brower, who missed the first seven games of the season with an ankle injury, knocked down two treys in the first six minutes last night. On the plus side, Carl Elliott (19 points, 6 rebounds) and Maureece Rice (30, 7) made lots of clutch shots to keep it close, and GW got good minutes from Cheyenne Moore and Damian Hollis. As I have been saying for a while, check back with me at the end of the month for a more in-depth evaluation of this team.

Terps
As I have also been saying for a while, after ripping through the bottom quartile of the RPI recently, Maryland stumbled badly at home last night against Miami. Unlike Iona, Miami has actually won a game this season. Unlike Mount Saint Mary's, Miami decided to play defense against Mike Jones. And unlike Siena, Miami has players who are just as big, quick and skilled as Maryland's. Still, this is not the end of the world for the Terps. In fact, Gary Williams will use this loss to great effect in motivating his team, especially his young guards. But no amount of coaching is going to add bulk to Ekene Ibekwe and James Gist or quickness to Will Bowers. Could be ugly when Tyler Hansbrough gets ahold of these guys. Fortunately, the Terps match up much better with Clemson, who comes to town this weekend. Look for Maryland to catch the Tigers looking ahead to UNC and pull the upset to beat Duke out of the ACC cellar.

Wizards
Some stat maven is going to have to look up the last time Washington won when Gibert Arenas scored only 21 points, but balanced scoring effort put the Wiz over the Bulls 113-103 at Verizon Center last night. Caron Butler continued his hot streak with a team-high 26 points and Antonio Daniels had his highest scoring total of the year with 15 off the bench. In a game that pitted one of the league's highest scoring offense against one of its stingiest defenses, the Wiz won out, bouncing back nicely from Sunday's loss to the Raptors. Over at Hoops Addict, Ryan thinks that Marty Burns ranked Washington too high at #3 (I disagree) and loves that Slam Online posted Carmelo Anthony's iPod playlist (I am befuddled).

Tomorrow
If you're lucky, I'll have a full recap of tonight's George Mason vs. Towson game. How could you want anything more than an up-close look at two teams battling it out for for sixth place in a midmajor college basketball conference?

Friday Finale

Well, it's the end of the year, but more importantly it's the end of the week, so let's take a look at some recent events:

Colonials
First, one of the objects of my subtitular obsession. GW lost, 66-52, to a better team last night, the Air Force Academy. I listened to the first half driving the family home from the Maryland-Mount St. Mary's game (more on that later), and the powerful Washington Post Radio signal (AM 1500) stayed with me almost to my driveway, more than an hour from the Foggy Bottom campus. Nice upgrade there. The Colonials were trailing the sharp-shooting Falcons early, but by the time my sleeping kids had been transferred from Suburban to bed, GW had fought back and taken a 31-30 halftime lead.

Through the magic of the Internet, I watched the second half on a CSTV live video feed, listened to the Post Radio via the website, and checked in on the GWHoops chat room (Hey, I'm obsessed, remember?). Unfortunately, the audio and video were out of synch, so my little digital sports sensory festival was not quite perfect, but still, it's pretty amazing to think that all this is possible. More unfortunately, the Colonials were also off kilter and could not get untracked offensively in the second half.

After surrendering eight first half turnovers - they average just 10 per game - the Falcons settled down and and locked up GW for nearly five minutes as they retook the lead with a 10-0 run. The Colonials rallied to within four after Karl Hobbs called a second timeout, but Air Force applied the clamps for another three minutes, built the lead back to nine, and GW never threatened again. Air Force runs the "Princeton" offense effectively, which usually means that a second half lead becomes a death march of wide open three-pointers and late in the shot clock backdoor layups. GW is a team that you can never give up on, but once the Falcons found their comfort zone, it was all over.

The Colonials should regain their footing tonight against Colgate, but the only remaining non-con opponent is Marshall. Despite Duquesne's shocking OT win against BC last night, the Atlantic 10 looks like a one-bid league this year. That bid could be GW's, but there will be some bumps along the way. Hobbs has to incorporate Cheyenne Moore into the mix without sacrificing the impressive development of Rob Diggs and the potential flashed by Travis King and Damian Hollis. Should be fun to watch.

Wizards
At 16-12, the Wizards are in first place in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference and could have the second-best record in the conference with a win tonight. Go back and read that sentence again. When I predicted that Washington would get to .500 by the New Year, I never dreamed they would be brushing up against .600. Gilbert Arenas has been simply unbelievable, Caron Butler has been a beast, Antawn Jamison has decided to rebound as well as score, and Brendan Haywood(!) has shaken off the shackles of his detractors and brought legitimate inside game. The only thing more shocking than Washington's record in December (11-3 so far) is Comcast's decision to show the last two games on tape delay while putting the Caps on live. And tomorrow's game against Milwaukee is not televised at all? Looks like it's back to the video feed for me.

Terps
I made my first trip to the Comcast Center last night to watch Maryland dismember Mount St. Marys. On the Terps' first possession, Mike Jones got free on the left wing and made a three. The next possession, the Mount defense sagged on an inbounds play and Jones was wide open for another three from the same spot. He did the same thing on the next three possessions, from the exact same spot! Meanwhile, the Mounties had only mustered one free throw. It wasn't ever much of a contest but it's always fun for me to watch my kids enjoy a game. The arena is quite impressive, with some nice tributes to great moments in Maryland history sprinkled around the concourse.

I don't think I'll ever be a Terps fan, but I do enjoy watching them play. This team definitely has the talent to get to the Final Four, but they could just as easily bomb out in the early rounds of the tournament. If Gary Williams can play his freshman point guard combo right, there is no reason they can't challenge UNC for the ACC title.

Ravens
The Ravens are going to win the Super Bowl. I don't see why anything else needs to be said. Yes, San Diego has a record-breaking tailback, but Baltimore's defense dismantles and demoralizes, and the offense is good enough. And they are getting all kinds of motivation from being overlooked by the national media. Maybe I'll have more on this after the regualr season, but, I'm telling you right now, book it.

Movies
Night at the Museum
Four thumbs up from my family for this one. Creative and amusing for adults and kiddies and should be a bonanza for the Museum of Natural History. Obviously, if you are allergic to Ben Stiller's array of double-takes and his three facial displays of shock, surprise, and disbelief, you want to avoid this one, although only one of his usual coconspirators makes an appearance (shocking that Will Ferrell did not get a cameo). Also, I am a little tired of the "let's prove to the preteen kid that his divorced Dad isn't a loser" plotline, but there was enough other distraction to make this one work.
Charlotte's Web
From down south, my brother makes a strong buy recomendation for this classic, despite my earlier trepidations. He is something of an aficionado, with at least two candidates for Ferndom in his clan and multiple out-loud readings. I guess I will reconsider, as I can only hope that it is "radiant," "humble," and "some movie."
Rocky Balboa
Like most people, I lost track of Rocky somewhere between IV and V, but head on over to Bill Simmons to get an authoritative read of this latest installment. As he often does, Simmons captures the mindset of the average American male approaching middle age on matters of sports and pop culture, even if he had the Ravens as only the sixth best team in the NFL going into last weekend.

Noteable Deaths
James Brown
The body of the Godfather of Soul lay in state at the Apollo Theater this week as mourners paid their respects. How cool is that? U.S. politicians get the Capitol, Russians get the Kremlin, and the pope gets St. Peter's, I would take the Apollo every time, given the choice.
Gerald Ford
Here we have a guy who was a great college football player who turned down the NFl for a life of public service. I know the money was nowhere near what it is now, but some reason, this makes me think of Pat Tillman, and the awesome sacrifice he made when he chose armed combat in Afghanistan over professional football.
Ralph Stebbins
Don't recognize the name? In April, 2005, the former well-digger won a $208 million Mega Millions jackpot. He and his wife quit their jobs and bought an RV. He died of a heart attack last Saturday. He was 43. Won't stop me from buying a ticket when the jackpot is more than $50 million.

Fini
So have a Happy New Year! We'll be watching the ball drop and a lot of football, but FitzFacts will return sometime next week. Hope you enjoyed reading this year as much as I enjoyed writing.

You Get a Line, I'll Get a Poll

For the third straight week, Monday is Poll Day. Despite a deluge of Gilbert data, Big Stein has posted the poll. As you can see from his intro, he doesn't like the credit I gave to VA Tech and VCU for playing and beating decent teams. I still think 1-2 are very close but a quantum leap from 3-7, which are also very close. It gets pretty ugly near the bottom of the poll, but I refuse to vote for George Mason until they get over .500. Here are my rankings and comments:

1. Virginia
Cavs starting backcourt averages a triple double. It’s a completely meaningless stat, but I expect to hear it on the next Raycom broadcast anyway.
2. Maryland
Terps put up 56 points in first half of 101-50 win over UMKC, much to the dismay of Gary Williams’ tailor and drycleaner.
3. Virginia Tech
Washington Redskins management pressures Comcast to suspend Zabian Dowdell from future Hokie broadcasts because his name sounds a lot like Steve Czaban.
4.VCU
VCU jumps three spots in my ranking because they beat a team that has been to the NCAA Tournament in the last 20 years.
5. GW
Colonials beat UMBC last week after beating UMES earlier this season. Karl Hobbs asks GW Mathematics Department to submit proof that BC + ES = CP.
6. Georgetown
After the Hoyas beat Winston Salem, Roy Hibbert is rushed to the National Aquarium in Baltimore to save two seals from choking to death.
7. Old Dominion
Monarchs’ leading scorer Valdas Vasylius looks like a shoo-in to join Arvydas Sabonis, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Sarunas Jasukevicius, and Darius Songaila on the All-Time All-Lithuania Team, but don’t tell Ramunas “The Lithuanian Scottie Pippen” Siskauskas.
8. Navy
Navy scored 65 points in a win over Division III Delaware Valley College last week. In losses to Moravian, Lebanon Valley, DeSales, Franklin & Marshall, Lincoln University, and Vassar this season, Delaware Valley has given up an average of 98 points. And yet, somehow the Midshipmen moved up a spot in my rankings.
9. American
As part of a dramatic marketing makeover, AU hires John Mellencamp to write a new school fight song.
10. Towson
$30 million to renovate the Towson Center? What, is the University President moving in?

GW bounces back

Speaking of obsessions, the Colonials cruised to a 72-51 win over UMBC at Smith Center last night. Maureece Rice had 22 points and 10 rebounds as GW jumped the Retrievers from the outset, but the most important news was that the long-awaited Cheyenne Moore finally played more than just a minute. He had 10 points in 10 minutes, including two threes and a swooping reverse layup that left the crowd giddy. Regis Koundjia left the game after getting a hard shot to the jaw, but hopefuly will be ready when GW plays Air Force in two weeks.

The Colonials' record now stands at 7-2, a respectable if unremarkable tally as the nonconference schedule winds down. Air Force might be the best team they play all year, so a record of 9-3 entering league play would be fine. The upper level of the A-10 hold UMass, Xavier and St. Louis as expected, but also a surprising Dayton team. The middle and bottom of the conference has been pretty bad, so this looks like a two-bid year for the league at best. Right now, there's no reason to think the Colonials can't be one of those teams.

California Screaming

Saturday night, the Doc and I had some seasonal social events to attend, so I watched the first half of GW-USC before we had to leave, but my older son said he would tape the rest of the game for me.

As I predicted, Southern Cal started slowly, but GW didn't light it up either. The Trojans struggled mightily in the first half, suffering a 10-minute scoring drought, turning the ball over 11 times, and managing only 18 field goal attempts. At the break GW led, 29-16, mainly as a result of eight offensive rebounds. Carl Elliott had outscored his Trojan counterpart Lodrick Stewart 9-2, and USC point guard Daniel Hackett had three personal fouls and Stewart and Dwight Lewis had two each.

By the time we reached our first stop of the night, GW had opened up a 20-point lead with under 18 minutes to play. "Not bad," I thought. This would be a great road win for a team that is very much a work in progress.

After exchanging holiday greetings with some neighbors and new acquaintances, we bid our hosts farewell and climbed into the car to move on to the next soiree. I turned on the radio and heard the announcer say, "The Trojans are really feeling it now! They lead 56-52 and GW calls timeout."

What? How does that happen? But of course it happens all the time. GW was down 18 to UNC Wilmington and 17 to Xavier last season and won both games. And some GW fans still can't talk about the Colonials blowing an 18-point lead against Iowa in the 1996 NCAA Tournament. But, coming in early December instead of early March, this one shouldn't hurt as much.

First, you have to give credit to USC and their coach, Tim Floyd. The Trojans didn't take the lead with a six or eight minute burst, they ground away like a PGA Tour veteran trying to make the cut. For nearly 14 minutes they chipped at the lead and crashed the boards until they went ahead 53-52 on two Taj Gibson free throws. Stewart made up for his lousy first half with 19 points in the second, including three treys. Gibson set up camp in the lane and collected 12 rebounds. And over the last 1:30, USC made 18 of 20 free throws to protect and extend the lead.

Also, the Trojans did a great job short circuiting GW's halfcourt offense by denying the first pass to the wing, a tactic Duke used to great effect in the NCAA Tournament last year and something GW should expect to see a lot more often. The Colonials are going to have to work on their back screens and back door cuts to exploit the defensive overplay.

Not that GW escapes without some blame for this one. It's easy to focus on Elliott, who was 1-8 in the second half and finished with eight turnovers. A 90% free throw shooter this season, he missed the front end of a one-and-one just before USC took the lead for good. But the whole team suffered from miscues throughout the second half. Rob Diggs interefered with a Traivs King layin that was about to fall through the hoop, Regis Koundjia mistimed a fastbreak layup, Maureece Rice missed three free throws (including another one-and-one front end), and Elliott, Rice and King all missed open shots under the four-minute mark.

Surprisingly, Cheyenne Moore appeared only in the last minute when GW had to foul. Noel Wilmore did not play at all and Damien Hollis was only on the court for a minute or two. After such a great first half defensive effort, I think it's fair to say that GW ran out of gas against a deeper and very athletic USC team. Karl Hobbs may not want the aggravation that comes with giving lesser players more minutes, but he might need a few minutes from those guys just to keep Elliott and Rice fresh.

Before the season, I figured this would be a tough game, but it's hard to stomach when you have such a great opportunity. The Colonials face UMBC tonight, and I'll be impressed if they come out stong and focused. If not, they could find themselves in a real struggle.

Polling for Dollars

Despite the title of this post, I'm not getting paid for my opinions regarding the DC/MD/VA Division I hoops hierarchy. In that spirit, Virginia moves to my Number 1 spot without playing a game this week. I had the Cavs a very close second behind Maryland last week, and the Terps loss at BC - after beating Fordham - makes them a very close second behind UVa. Stepping down a bit, teams 3-7 are bunched pretty closely. GW blew a big lead against USC (more on that later), but they don't have a bad loss and they have the best win - over Va. Tech. Yes, ODU winning at Georgetown is nice, but they just lost at Tech. Georgetown slips ahead of ODU, but just barely; the Hoyas still don't have an impressive win. VCU has to get credit for three road wins, but a bad early loss at Toledo hurts. Liberty jumps in with the best winning percentage of all 27 eligible teams. Navy drops a spot after losing at home to Penn, and Towson knocks AU out because the Eagles lost to Yale.

Check Big Stein's Bog to see how my picks compare:

1. Virginia
Cavaliers take 13 days off. Dave Leitao’s hairline suspiciously lower on his forehead when he returns from “recruiting trip.”
2. Maryland
Beat Fordham and lost to BC. Gary Williams withdraws petition for exemption for Terps to join new basketball superconference, The Big Jesuit.
3. GW
Colonials’ loss at Southern Cal eliminates them from BCS consideration.
4. Virginia Tech
Coleman Collins is the Hokies’ best basketball player with two last names since Dell Curry.
5. Georgetown
Beat Oral Roberts who beat Kansas who beat USC who beat GW, which is the alma mater of Alec Baldwin, who was in “She’s Having a Baby” with Kevin Bacon. Yes!
6. Old Dominion
Branding firm recommended changing name to New and Improved Dominion, but University’s legal counsel advised against, citing truth in advertising statutes.
7. VCU
Wins at Albany and Richmond boost their RPI in the all-important “wins at state capitals” category. Better be careful against perennial powers Montpelier and Carson City.
8. Liberty
Larry Blair is the Flames leading scorer, Moe Barry has yet to play a minute this season, but Curly and Shemp were both suspended for a “disciplinary reasons.”
9. Navy
Invokes the oft-used “Penn and Princeton” exemption clause to avoid automatic expulsion from the Top 10 for losing to an Ivy League Team. American University lobbies unsuccessfully to add Yale to the list.
10. Towson
With Temple and Georgetown on the schedule this week, it could be a while before we see Pat’s Cats crack the Top 10 again.

Fa fa fa Friday, fa fa fa Friday

Run run run, run run run run away
Psycho Killer
Qu'est Que C'est?

Today's post title and subtitle come courtesy of the Talking Heads, of course. Don't read anything into it, I just liked the way it sounded with Friday.

So what's on tap for the weekend? Two great choices tonight. You've got the Rudolph/ Frosty doubleheader beginning at 8:00 on CBS, or Wizards-Sixers on ESPN - or Comcast SportsNet for you locals who like the homer announcing. If you're looking for something Xmassy from the new millenium, there's "The Polar Express" on ABC Family. We'll be on the cartoons from our couch, but the commercials required to stretch Rudolph to an hour should leave plenty of time to see if Gilbert and Co. can win their third in a row. And if neither of the above holiday video offerings are putting you in the spirit, then head on over to Big Stein's Bog and check out what YouTube is - or should be - all about.

For tomorrow, we've got the Colonials at Southern Cal; the Trojans are 5-2 coming off a loss at #13 Kansas. The game's marquee matchup pits USC's leading scorer Lodrick Stewart against GW's Carl Elliott. At 6-4, 210, Stewart shoots the three frequently and efficiently (17-39) and has the size to get to the basket. Freshman center Taj Gibson averages nearly 10 rebounds and has 12 blocks this season, but he has also fouled out of three games already. USC also has trouble hanging onto the ball (19.4 TOs/gm) and their lead assist man Daniel Hackett has an assist/turnover ratio lower than 1/1. Coming off an intense battle against the Jayhawks, look for USC to start slowly against GW, recover, and then become another victim of GW coach Karl Hobbs' halftime adjustments. Colonials 82, Trojans 75.

We will also be getting a Christmas tree tomorrow. At least, that's the plan. This particular holiday tradition has generations of family history, giving it a very high bloggability factor. Tune in Monday to see if tomorrow's expedition makes the annals.

Sunday, we've got the Ravens at Kansas City. Baltimore's toughest remaining game comes after a ten-day layoff following the loss at Cincinnati. If the defense scores a touchdown, the Ravens win by at least two TD's. If not, it probably comes down to a field goal. The Chiefs are playing for a wildcard spot, but they won't advance their cause this weekend. The Ravens have shut down top AFC backs LaDanian Tomlinson and Willie Parker, and it will be no different for KC's Larry Johnson.

That's it for me today. As my mother would say when her dog won't stop barking at a guest, "Peace!"

Wednesday Whatever

No hot topic to blog on today, but I guess I am not alone. ESPN.com's lead story asks the burning question, "Did Ali invent rap?"

GW won 79-56 over a subpar UMES team last night. Another strong second half by the Colonials put this one away with solid games from Rice (20 pts, 4-6 3FG), Elliott (13 pts, 7 rebounds, 5 steals), and an excellent performance from Rob Diggs (16pts, 7 rebounds, 7 blocks). Most noteworthy for the future was the first appearance of Cheyenne Moore in a GW uniform. Moore, who transferred from Clemson, had been out with a stress fracture and only played two minutes, but he is expected to be a major contributor this season. Also a nice 14 minutes from freshman Damian Hollis who was 4-4 from the field. The 7-1 Colonials get a better test on the road this Saturday at USC.

The Wizards walloped the hottest team in the NBA Monday night, but I was busy coaching my own cagers and didn't see a minute of the action. Big Stein has some all-access Gilbert material in the Bog today, but I'm more interested to see how the Wiz go at the Knicks tonight. They still haven't won on the road and got embarrassed in their last trip to the Garden, so the pieces would seem to be in place, but you just can't tell with this team yet. I'd love to see them get to .500 by the end of the month and then take a closer look.

The Ravens have had plenty of time to recover from last week's loss at Cincinnati. It wasn't a disaster, and the rest of the games this weekend showed how wide open the league is. New England looked shaky in their win, Indianapolis got dumped, and San Diego escaped from a bad Buffalo team. I know Dallas, Seattle and New Orleans are gathering momentum, but the NFC still stands for Nobody Freaking Cares when it comes to this year's Super Bowl race. Indy probably has a lock on home field for the playoffs, but Baltimore shouldn't have to go on the road until then.

Finally, on a nonsports note, I was walking the dog this morning, and as we turned up the hill for home, I noticed an object about the size of a football lying in the road. As we got closer, Sweet Pea did her usual curious, but easily-spooked, investigation (she was once startled by a bag of leaves). The item turned out to be a piece of meat, some sort of large, gristly roast, lying a few feet from the curb. It was quite red, not rotted at all, so I don' t think it had been there very long, and I guess it was too early for discovery by the turkey vultures that often take care of this sort of thing. There was not a shred of packaging nearby; I have no idea how it got there, and really can't come up with a plausible scenario. All I keep thinking is that if my life were a Tarantino or Coen brothers movie, I would have picked up the meat and set in motion a profanely hilarious and astonishingly violent sequence of events involving a multinational cast of grotesquely idiosyncratic characters. But my life, even with its daily moments of drama and comedy, is not a movie, so I kept the dog away from it, and headed home.

Poll Positions

Alright folks, you're in trouble now. As of yesterday I am a voter in the Washington Post's Local Top 11 Poll (insert gleeful cackle at the thought of my new powers of influence and persuasion). The brainchild of Post reporter and blogger Dan Steinberg, the poll ranks the top 10 Division I college basketball teams in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. There are about 60 voters, and even some actual journalists. Here's the link to the poll and another link with more "pithy comments."

My rankings were pretty close to the final results. Here's how I voted:

1. Maryland
Fear the Turnover! McAlarney leads Notre Dame comeback. South Bend area headline writers rejoice. "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" copyright holders contact their attorneys. Gary Williams switches from Verizon DSL to Comcast Digital Cable.
2. Virginia
Cavaliers beat NC State. ACC's regular season now officially longer than NHL's.
3. Old Dominion
Monarchs are 3-0 against poll-eligible teams, and currently in first place for the coveted Steinberg Cup.
4. GW
Colonials get their first win over an opponent not found in the bakery aisle. Carl Elliott is cooler than the other side of a cucumber pillow.
5. Georgetown
Hoyas lead at halftime but lose at Duke. As the Blue Devils go on an 8-0 run to take command, Dick Vitale informs us that Greg Oden likes pancakes.
6. Virginia Tech
Seth Greenberg wants to bring in a specialist to help his team to develop killer instinct, but can't get Marcus Vick to return his calls.
7. VCU
Rams win at Houston 102-84, spoiling the Cougars celebration of Benny Anders Day.
8. Navy
Annapolis hasn't seen this kind of two-sport success since the days of Robinson and McCallum.
9. George Mason
Patriots' bandwagon crashes and burns returning home from Verizon Center, tying up traffic on 95 for two days. In postgame press conference, Jim Larranaga asks, "Hey, where'd everybody go?" To paraphrase the great Zero Mostel, "There's no shame in losing to Bucknell, but there's no great honor either."
10. Coppin State
With losses at Virginia Tech, Hawaii, Tennessee, Kansas State, Missouri, and Iowa, the Golden Eagles are the best, and highest-grossing, 2-6 team in the country

Ice Man Elliott

It wasn't as stunning as his halfcourt shot to beat Dayton or as dramatic as his overtime tip-in to take down Charlotte, but Carl Elliott cemented his reputation as a great clutch player when he sank both ends of a one-and-one to give GW the lead and the win over Virginia Tech.

After falling apart in the second half at Providence last week, the Colonials needed to bounce back against a quality opponent, both for their own confidence and to legitimize their 4-1 record. The Hokies carry just a little more strength-of-schedule weight than previous GW victims BU, Dartmouth, Kennesaw State and Longwood.

Trailing 38-29 after a half marked by turnovers and porous defense, GW abandoned its man-to-man and trapping pressure for a 2-3 zone that clogged the passing lanes and frustrated the Hokies. Karl Hobbs also went with freshman guard Travis King over big man Dokun Akingbade in a three-guard lineup for almost the entire second half. The halftime adjustments clicked as GW opened the period with a 16-2 run that featured baskets from all three guards and a five-minute scoring drought for Tech.

GW got great support for Elliott's heroics from King (9 pts), Maureece Rice (11) and Rob Diggs (13 pts, 5-6 FG), but Regis Koundjia stood out, with 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Koundjia has tested the patience of Colonials fans since he became eligible nearly a year ago, but yesterday he exploited his considerable athletic ability, driving to the basket, keeping rebounds alive, and getting a quick and disruptive hand on the ball on numerous Hokie possessions, including a missed dunk attempt by Coleman Collins after Elliott's late free throws. His first step is nearly unstoppable and watching him sky and cuff an offensive rebound for a putback drew the appreciation of the Verizon Center crowd.

The Colonials get yet one more light and fluffy treat on Tuesday when UMES visits Smith Center, but another tests looms at 5-1 USC on Saturday. Clemson transfer Cheyenne Moore dressed for yesterday's contest and will be a major addition to the lineup when he is fully recovered from his stress fracture injury. Of course, if the game is on the line, put the ball in Elliott's hands and rest easy.

Colonials Collapse

Well, the sky is falling on all the Chicken Littles over at GWHoops.com this morning. Actually, I haven't logged in over there yet, but I am guessing that there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth after the Colonials lost 86-67 to Providence last night. GW is now 4-1, but 0-1 against opponents whom you have heard of, except Dartmouth, which you know as the birthplace of "Animal House" and "The National Review," not the skip pass and the jump stop.

The Colonials played to their normal breakneck pace and led 41-40 at the half on the strength of 9-12 shooting from three-point range, but Dokun Akingbade and Regis Koundjia each picked up two fouls battling a deep, bulky, Friar frontcourt. Carl Elliott opened the second period with a trey, but picked up his second and third foul in the first two minutes. Rob Diggs missed some minutes due to a hard PC foul and freshman Damian Hollis continued to struggle. Despite getting doubled up on the boards, GW led 57-51 with 12:27 to play, thanks to strong contributions by reserves Noel Wilmore and Travis King. But the Friars front line asserted itself over the next four minutes to take a 68-60 lead, and, after Elliott fouled out at the 7:47 mark, GW never got closer than six.

It's a rare occasion that Karl Hobbs' team gets run off the court, but the combination of foul trouble and the minor injury to Diggs - who would return - left few options. The Colonials cooled off in the second half but still shot 12-24 from three. They forced 19 turnovers but gave up 15 and got outrebounded 48-23. Wilmore and King were superb off the bench (24 points and only two turnovers), but 0-5 from Diggs and Elliott's absence due to second half foul trouble put this one out of reach. GW won't see another team with this kind of size again this year, but they failed to exploit their significant advantage in the backcourt.

The best news of the day, outside the performance of King and Wilmore, was that Cheyenne Moore is expected to return this week and should be ready for the Virginia Tech game. Moore won't solve the problem of frontcourt size, but when he joins King and Wilmore coming off the bench, GW will be able to keep running and scoring without a pause. Keep the faith!