Basketball Referee KO'd During Tip-Off

College basketball official David Hall doesn't remember much about the overtime of the #8 Wichita State and #25 Utah game.

After tossing the ball for the overtime tip off Hall took a elbow to the noggin and went down.

#8 Wichita State Won't Be Undefeated This Year, #25 Utah Takes Care Of Shockers 69-68 In OT

Wichita State ran the table last year in the regular season, not this year.

You would think the Shockers were destined to pull it off against Utah.  Down by nine late in the second half Wichita State went on a 11-0 run to take a 60-58 lead until Tekele Cotton fouled the Utes Dakarai Tucker with :19 left.

Tucker hit a pair of freebies to sent the game into overtime 60-60.

The game stayed tight in overtime but Utah prevailed when Delon Wright nailed the game winner with :14 left in overtime to give the Utes a huge victory over Wichita State 69-68.


"I knew I had to make a play," Wright said. "I looked for Brandon Taylor but he wasn't open and I found a way to get into the lane and make a shot."

"It was tough," Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "Our guys just hung in there."

In Krystkowiak's first year at Utah iin the 2011-12 season the Utes won only six games.  Methodically Krystkowiak has increased the win total and talent.

Wednesday night in Salt Lake City was the opportunity the Utes were looking for to get a signature win over Wichita State.

"It's a surreal feeling to see the way this program has turned around a complete 180," Dakarai Taylor said. "I was so hyped out there."

"It was just a gritty game with two teams going at it all night," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "They were just one point better."

The Shockers had won 35 straight regular season games before the loss to Utah.

Wichita State didn't have a comfortable night shooting only 38.1 percent from the field and had a hard time buying a basket in the overtime going 2-7 from the field.

Utah had four players in double figures and shot 42.9 percent from the field and out rebounded Wichita State 40-37.

"This is huge for us and huge for our program." Delon Wright said.  "This is the type of game we have always lost in the past and this time we found a way to get it done,"

Why March Madness is Better Than The College Football Playoffs

How awesome is March Madness...or what's more commonly known as the NCAA Basketball Tournament?

Tiny Mercer University from the Atlantic Sun Conference beats the legendary Duke Blue Devils of the ACC. North Dakota State of the Summit League beats Oklahoma from the Big 12. Wichita State of the Missouri Valley Conference is a #1 seed and Dayton from the Mid-American Conference beats Ohio State from the Big 10.

None of this could ever happen in College Football.

EVER...

No, these aren't marquee teams, they aren't household names and they don't draw viewers like an Alabama or Oregon in Football, but they draw pretty darn well in their own right.

That's why March Madness is more fun. Much more fun.

You know who is going to be in the College Football playoff. At least one, if not two SEC teams, a team from the Pac 10 and a team from the Big 10. And they haven't even played yet.

None of the teams mentioned in the second paragraph could EVER win College Football's national title. But they could in basketball.

Don't think for a minute Wichita State can't compete with a Kentucky or Florida or any ACC team in Basketball. They can. And they can win.

Remember the Shockers? Yeah, they were in last years Final Four.

Think Mercer could beat Duke in Football? Not a chance. But put the Senior laden Bears on the court with a Duke team chock full of Freshman. When the pressure is on, the seniors pulled away and won.

In basketball, experience usually wins. In basketball a good team beats good individual players. You don't have to have five 5-Star recruits to be successful in basketball.

College Football is all about size and depth. You want to know why the Alabama's and Oregon's of the world win year in and year out? Their 2nd and 3rd team players are better than your starters. They roll out 3 teams of 6-5, 300 lb linemen and three waves of 230 lb running backs who run a 4.4 40 yard dash.

That matters.

March Madness is more fun because it's more random. If you get in, you, in theory have a chance. If you get in, chances are, if you shoot lights out and your opponent doesn't, you could win.

Not in Football. No team from the Sun Belt could beat a top level SEC team. (Yes, we know Lousiana-Monroe beat Auburn a couple years ago and Ga. Southern beat Florida last year.) Your Sun Belt champ will NEVER be in the College Football playoff.

But the Sun Belt champ could win March Madness. Or at least win a couple of games. That will never happen in the College Football Playoff.

I submit to you this: Sure, College Football has bigger names and gets more publicity, but what is more fun to watch? An SEC team vs. the Pac 12 for the College Football championship or an NCAA Championship game featuring an underdog like a Butler, a school that doesn't even play football?

Seriously. How often will the football game be more dramatic? How likely is the football game to have an upset?

If you watch March Madness, it could happen in any game....

Here's a breakdown of Friday's Tournament in Raleigh, NC  from CBSSports.com:

More from Spokane, Washington:

Wichita State Keeps on Rolling, Now 32-0

((ht: espn.com))

So, how do you feel about the idea of running the table? Going undefeated heading into the NCAA Tournament.

That's what Wichita State may very well be doing after winning their first game in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament Friday night raising their record to 32-0.

The Shockers cruised past Evansville 80-58 behind 17 points apiece by Cleanthony Early and Ron Baker.

Granted, the win only moves them to the conference tourney semi-finals, but it doesn't appear anyone in the MVC is going to give Wichita State much of a challenge.

Which raises the question we asked at the beginning....

If you are the superstitious sort, do you want to be undefeated at this point? Do you believe the law of averages is going to bite you? Can you REALLY run the table?

All good questions. And surprisingly, there's still some debate as to whether the Shockers are a "#1 Seed" heading into the "Big Dance". If for some reason they lose in the conference tourney, then yes, the question is legit...but if they win, then no, you have no argument.

Anyway, enough soap box, here's your highlights from ESPN.com:

Wichita State Runs the Regular Season Table

Hey, 31-0 ain't nothing to sneeze at. And sure football may all be about the "High and Mighty" big schools, but NCAA basketball is not.

The Wichita State Shockers completed a 31-straight regular season win streak by taking down Missouri State 68-45 Saturday afternoon. Which gave them a 31-0 record on the season.

Coach Gregg Marshall's charges head to the Missouri Valley Conference next week with no losses and credit from even the naysayers of small schools for being the real deal.

Cleanthony Early dropped 19 points and Ron Baker chipped in 13 to lead the Shockers to the win. Missouri State had taken them to overtime at their gym back in January.

Surprisingly to at least us, Wichita State is still ranked only #2 in the NCAA polling behind 25-2 Florida who also has a pretty good team but plays in a "Name" conference which in reality might be worse than the MVC.

And duly noted that the Shockers were a Final Four team in 2013, most of that team returned with more experience.

Expect them to be a #1 seed in a couple of weeks when March Madness begins and it would not be a surprise to see them playing yet again in the Final Four.

Your highlights from ESPN.com: (okay, all they've posted is postgame with Marshall--so that will have to do for now)

Barry Hinson Does It Again For Postgame

((HT: KWCH-TV))

The coach of Southern Illinois is a good one if you're looking for a good tangent or long quote for filling space for entertainment purposes...

If you're looking for a quick quote, you might be in trouble...

This go-round, it was movies for his lead analogy about their effort in a win...

Brad Pitt, gasoline, avoiding a fine concerning officiating, Kirstie Alley- who talked to the Shockers during the game, WSU's Sports Information Department, and Scooby Doo...

Not a bad showing...

More Hoops Carousel: Darrin Horn out at S. Carolina

And the carousel keeps spinning.

The University of South Carolina, long an SEC basketball doormat has parted ways with head coach Darrin Horn.

Horn a former Western Kentucky coach and star took over the program in 2008 and was 60-63 during that time. This season was particularly bad as the Gamecoks lost 12 of their final 13.

More on the firing RIGHT HERE

Speculation has already been rampant that Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall is next in line for the job. However, the Shockers are currently playing in the NCAA tournament.

Marshall does have the ties, he was the coach at Winthrop for several years when they were an NCAA Cinderella team.

We'll see who ends up with the job be it Marshall or someone else. Whomever does take it...and someone will, inherits a team with little major conference talent outside guard Bruce Ellington.

Needless to say, it is definitely a job for an optimist.