Delaney, Allen Lead Hokies Over Yellow Jackets

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, February 13, 2011

Malcolm Delaney led all scorers in a revenge win over Georgia Tech on Sunday, scoring a season-high 33 points on 9-for-14 shooting.

The Hokies knocked off the Yellow Jackets, 102-77, avenging an earlier, 72-57 loss at Georgia Tech, a game in which Delaney was saddled with fouls, turned the ball over 8 times and scored only 8 points.

In Sunday's win, Delaney still turned the ball over five times, but made up for his miscues with three steals, five assists and six rebounds. He also went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and nailed 12 of 14 free throws.

Virginia Tech dominated the Yellow Jackets in the paint, outrebounding them 42-21. Senior forward Jeff Allen had his way inside, hitting 10 of 15 shots for 25 points while hauling in 14 rebounds. Allen tied his season high in scoring and recorded his 12th double-double of the season.

Virginia Tech took over sole possession of 4th place in the ACC at 6-4, trailing Duke, North Carolina and Florida State.

NOTABLE: The Fairfield Stags clinched at least a tie for the regular season championship in the Metro Atlantic conference with a 70-69 overtime win at St. Peter's. The Stags sit alone at 13-2 with three conference games remaining, followed by St. Peter's, Iona and Rider, all at 10-5. The Stags can clinch the title outright with a win over Marist Wednesday. The Red Foxes are 3-12 in conference action this season.

And Then There Were None... Wisconsin Hands Ohio State First Loss

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, February 12, 2011

Jordan Taylor scored 21 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, fueling a Wisconsin run that brought the Badgers all the way back from a 15-point deficit to defeat Ohio State, 71-67, ending the Buckeye's unbeaten streak at 24 straight.

Ohio State entered the Kohl Center seeking to remain the only undefeated team in college basketball, but, like so many times before, left the building shaken and defeated. The Buckeyes haven't won at Wisconsin in over a decade.

In an ironic twist, Wisconsin also knocked off #1 Ohio State back in October of this past football season, when the Buckeyes of the gridiron were also undefeated.

Taylor was 8-for-13 from the field, including five three-pointers. He also added four rebounds and seven assists, scoring in double figures for the 23rd time in 24 starts this season.

The Badgers are unbeaten in Big Ten action at home this season, and haven't lost there since being handled by Notre Dame, back in November in a 58-51 loss. Ranked #13 nationally, they're sure to move up in the standings come Monday afternoon. They are 9-3 in the conference, still trailing the 11-1 Buckeyes.

The last time a Division 1 team finished undefeated was in 1975-76 - well before the players on the floor today were even born - when Bobby Knight coached the Indiana Hoosiers to a national championship.

NOTABLE: Unnoticed by most fans of college hoops, Cleveland State's senior guard, Norris Cole is having a heck of a season, leading the Vikings to a 22-5 record and scoring a career high 41 points in Saturday's 71-67 win over Youngstown State. Not only did Cole put up big offensive numbers, he also crashed the boards with impunity, hauling in 20 rebounds and fell just short of a triple-double with 9 rebounds. Cole was 11-for-22 from the field with 5 threes and hit 14-of-17 free throws.

Cleveland State is 11-4 in the Horizon League, just a half game behind Valparaiso, at 11-3, but the conference is top-heavy, with Butler and Wisconsin-Green Bay both 10-5 and Wright State lurking at 10-6.

Big Least? #4 Pitt knocked off #9 Villanova, 57-54, keeping the Panthers clearly in the Big East lead, at 11-1. Notre Dame - who gave Pitt their only loss - trails the Panthers by two games at 9-3 and is followed by Georgetown and Louisville, both 8-4. With Pitt running away from the field, it poses an intriguing question, whether the Big East is really all that great and just how many teams should receive nCAA tourney bids?

The top four appear solid, but there's a gaggle of seven teams behind them all between 7-5 and 6-5, with Syracuse at 7-6. This bunch includes Villanova, West Virginia, St. John's, Marquette, Cincinnati and Connecticut, all looking very much like second or third round NCAA fodder.

Separation Days Top 25 upsets have pretty much ceased over the past two weeks. On Saturday, all twelve ranked teams which faced unranked opponents won their games, providing further separation of the Top 25 from the rest of college basketball.

Fairfield Cruising to Metro Atlantic Title

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, February 11, 2011

The Fairfield Stags are within a game of capturing the Metro Atlantic Association regular season title after a 65-56 road win at Manhattan upped their conference record to 12-2, with just four games remaining on their MAA slate.

Chasing the front-running Stags is second place St. Peter's a 66-54 winner at Marist on Friday.The Peacocks are 10-4 in conference and host Fairfield on Sunday, Feb. 13. The Stags already have a win over St. Peter's - a 70-43 thrashing back in early January - and another win would clinch at least a tie for the regular season crown.

A win in any of their final three games - against Marist, Sienna and Iona - would then clinch the championship outright.

Sophomore guard Derek Needham was the only Stag in double figures, leading all scorers with 23 points, hitting four of seven 3-pointers in the first half and making 9 of 11 free throws. Needham was 5-for-9 from the field overall.

NOTABLE: Harvard held on at home for a 78-75 win over Yale Friday night, staying a game behind Ivy League-leading Princeton (6-0). The Crimson improved to 6-1 and 17-4 overall. Their lone loss in the Ivy was at Princeton - a 65-61 loss - on February 4.

Harvard hosts Princeton in both teams' season finale, March 5th, in a game that may determine the Ivy League champion.