Alright. The Musselman take.
Eric Musselman’s Shoulder Is Fine
No, no, this isn’t another theory on how Coach Musselman (I don’t know why but I’m calling him coach, I think it’s because he intimidates me) hurt his shoulder. It’s not a theory that the vague “collision with a player” explanation feels, as the kids would say, sus. We encourage those theories, of course, but that’s taking their bait. We don’t take the bait. Eric Musselman’s shoulder is fine.
For those of you wondering what the hell I’m talking about, the Arkansas Razorbacks beat LSU in Baton Rouge last weekend, vaulting them directly over our NIT Bracketology (updated today, but we’ll get to that). Head coach Eric Musselman was not in attendance. Where was he? Well…
Shoulder surgery? Directly after opening SEC play 1-3? Hm.
As you might imagine, from that line above about how the win at LSU vaulted Arkansas entirely over our NIT projection (really, they were out of it last Wednesday morning and now they’re out of it but in the other direction), things weren’t going well for the Razorbacks. They’d lost five of seven, including one in Little Rock to Hofstra and one in Fayetteville to Vanderbilt and one on planet Earth to Texas A&M. Things were grim, and—no, no, you’re off track. They didn’t need a spark. They needed an excuse.
The committees make a big deal about how if a player (or presumably a coach, I don’t know, I haven’t checked, I’m not God) is out, they’ll account for it in that team’s selection and/or seeding. In other words, if Arkansas were to, say, lose on a Tuesday night at home to South Carolina—which yes, South Carolina still does have a men’s basketball team—but Coach Musselman was missing, the committee might turn a blind eye. Especially on the NIT side, where every now and then the committee gets hung up on one weird thing, like how Maryland in 2018 didn’t win a single game against a team which believed in the laws of physics. I don’t know whether he was trying to dodge the NIT or make the NIT, but clearly, Musselman was hoping any losses would be expunged, including the ones before the surgery (you’ve gotta think he had to think, probably rightly, that the committee wouldn’t pay that close of attention), and that Arkansas would have a nice bubble floor. As you might imagine, though, he probably didn’t bank on grabbing one of the bets wins in the country on Saturday. That’s where this got away from him. And now, he has to continue the bit. Real sitcom plot here where a grand complicated idea has gone horribly wrong. And with Bob Saget dead, I don’t know whether or not it’ll work out in the end.
Other NIT Bits and Bangers
We said we had fresh NIT Bracketology, and we meant it. Highlights:
- The ACC is down to four bids, with Louisville and Virginia falling to the land of the Northwestern. Could really use those guys figuring it out. They’re big brands. Way out of it, though. Way, way, way out of it. Goodness, guys.
- The model’s projecting a TCU/SMU/North Texas side of a region, all within the Metroplex (and Texas State’s in there as the 8-seed, keeping it I-35). It’s also projecting a Florida/Florida State/Miami region, where Oregon has to feel super awkward. Great alignment by the stars right now. Hope they can hold it together.
- Michigan’s in there, evidently projecting to land right at .500 and therefore not get screwed by its Big Ten membership. I didn’t think they could do it. I’m still not sure they can. Might have to actually finish exactly at .500, or one game above. Still, what a place to be. It’s like a guy hitting 35 home runs through June.
- Iona’s still in there, but they’re rising. Obviously, the better thing here for the NIT is Rick Pitino going on a huge NIT run, but I like being alive, and the nightmares aren’t stopping.
- Former NIT favorite St. Bonaventure’s back in the field.
- Reigning NIT champion Memphis is down into the field.
- We haven’t given up on San Francisco yet. Still the favorite. At least in our hearts.
Shaka Smart is Gaining on Texas
I’m not going to link to it, because kids might read this, but in our other Bracketology, Marquette’s closing the gap with Texas. Not actually, I don’t think. I think Marquette slid an equal amount to Texas. But it sure feels like our guy’s closing the gap with his former employer, and that former employer is former thanks to the exact line of reason which could misleadingly say Marquette had a better season when this is all done, which is the one that bases everything off of exhibition games in March. We’re in a good spot, friends.
Run Baby Run
You guys remember Saint Peter’s? The Peacocks? They play in the MAAC? The league with a best team whose head coach might end my life?
They named their arena to honor a former NIT semifinalist.
Yes, Run Baby Run Arena is (bucket-hat tip to John Fanta) named after that Saint Peter’s team, the 1967-68 one which made the Final Four. Who knew? Not me, if I’m being honest (me, though, if I’m being dishonest).
Now, to switch to hockey (we’ll hit basketball again at the end so keep reading you little shits):
The Ottawa Senators Haven’t Lost in Over Two Weeks
And they’ve played twice, now!
On Saturday night, after some of you had gone to bed, the Sens went into Edmonton and walked away with a 6-4 win. The rumor heading in had been that if the Senators won, the Oilers would fire their coach (losing to the Sens is a fireable offense more often than you’d think), and while that hasn’t come to pass yet, it was still quite a Sens-ing. The fellas trailed 3-1 entering the third, but the Formenton/Tierney/Gaudette line, of all the lines, brought it back to a tie and then Artem Zub sniped one in around the period’s midpoint to make it 4-3 Sens. After the environment-killers (that’s right, I said it) tied it back up, Josh Norris—wearing Dylan Gambrell’s helmet (explanation later on this)—put home the winner on the power play. Lightning, and I’m not talking Tampa Bay.
Now, there are a few silly things we should talk about. First, I forgot to show you all this from Thursday:
Brothers, man.
Second, this happened on Saturday:
What you’re looking at is Josh Norris being allowed two tries to find an adequate helmet after a power play started while he, a power play unit member, was having his helmet fixed on the bench. Turns out Norris has a big head. Me too, Josh. Me too.
Third, I don’t know the context here and I couldn’t find it elsewhere, but we already knew who the favorite was, so I guess this is kind of old hat:
Fourth, this might be the funniest description of a human I’ve ever read:
Whoever Dane Cook stole the Kool-Aid Man joke from…you did a great job with that joke.
Fifth, this isn’t silly, but Matt Murray played well again. I guess it’s kind of silly. I don’t know. Big thing.
Another one tonight, this one down in Buffalo, where the Sabres sit five points ahead of the Sens but have played seven more games.
If You Can Dodge a Wrench, You Can Dodge a Watford
Burnley got today’s match with Watford called off, which is huge because Burnley does not have a full team right now. Maxwel Cornet’s still in Cameroon (where the Ivory Coast took a maddening draw against Sierra Leone on Sunday with Cornet on the bench), Chris Wood’s at Newcastle (who hates him after Newcastle drew with Watford over the weekend), James Tarkowski is being considered by Newcastle (they’d have to pony up a ton of money), and a bunch of players are evidently out with Covid. So, yeah, ducked that one. Next one on the schedule is Sunday against Arsenal on the road. We’ll worry about that if it comes.
Frankie Muniz and the Chili Bowl
Tanner Thorson ended up winning the Chili Bowl, passing Christopher Bell midway through the A-Main. Kaylee Bryson became the first woman to make the A-Main, winning the second B-Feature on Saturday. In other NASCAR-adjacent news, Frankie Muniz wants to run in the ARCA Menards series. Not a bad weekend for the stock car world.
***
Viewing schedule tonight (all seeds from today’s bracketology, obviously)…
6:00 PM Texas Time: Maryland (way out of it) @ Michigan (3), ESPN2 [the Sens game is also at this time, on ESPN+, but we still have no ESPN+ subscription]
While Davidson/VCU (5) feels like a must-lose for the Wildcats, and Arkansas is playing in this hour with all the suspicion that entails, our eyes are on the Wolverines, for whom every game must be handled with surgical precision. Today, they need a win. Electric atmosphere, I’m sure.
8:00 PM Texas Time: Tennessee @ Vanderbilt (a little out of it), SEC Network
This is one Vanderbilt could win, because it’s college basketball and they’re playing at home. It’s also one where a win might push them up into the NIT field. It is, put otherwise, quite possibly the biggest game today. The Game of the NITe, as some might call it. Not us, though, because…
10:00 PM Texas Time: Utah State (right next to Vanderbilt) @ Fresno State (4), CBSSN
Utah State could use a surprise. Fresno State could not use a surprise, because they’re in the perfect spot. The Mountain West is, as has been the case before in our nation’s history, a gold mine. It’s the Game of the NITe, folks. Hope you hired a sitter (not sure why you’ll need one, but I have a feeling you’ll need one).
