Beltway Basketball Bonanza... who'll make March memorable?

February is a transition month--for the first time since July there's no football urgency and we're still a ways away from Grapefruit and Cactus League games...as previously mentioned in this space I like to look at this month through the college basketball lens -- titling it "February Fever"...much like October in college football, this operates as a "moving month" where schools try to be in position...to be in position for the big dance. Unfortunately most of the area schools are dancing like Ronald Miller ("it's the African Anteater Ritual") without the benefit of once dating Cindy Mancini.

Georgetown stopped a five game losing streak by beating Rutgers--a 57-47 grinder that won't win style points with anyone...another game where the Hoyas got hot from three point range (7 of 18) but got outrebounded (28-25). The next few games represent a somewhat of a breather in Cincinnati, Syracuse and South Florida (a combined 13-16 in conference play) before back to back tilts against heavyweights Marquette and Louisville. Conventional wisdom is the Hoyas need to finish 9-9 in the league to have a shot at the NCAA's...they're five wins away with eight games remaining.

SB XLIII thoughts--what have we done to deserve another thrilling finish? For the fifth time in nine years what used to be called the "Super Bore" has given fans fourth quarter heroics... the new hit this year was Nikki's corn-bread...which I consumed in between the buffalo chicken dip (pregame only)...and the butter bars (after the first half). Also, Larry asked me only 12 times if I was having a good time. Thank goodness the game wasn't a rout.

Maryland played well over the last week, getting an emotional win over Miami at home (nobody fist-pumps like Gary Williams) before falling at North Carolina...with a surreal "vote of confidence" from Athletic Director Debbie Yow sandwiched in between. All the right things were said, although it had the feel of a Liza Minnelli-David Gest press conference. The Terps can crawl back into the ACC's middle class with wins against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. How they'll do it with an underachieving frontcourt and an inconsistent backcourt is anyone's guess.

Alma Mater update--SU's early top ten prospects have dimmed somewhat...although they had a nice victory over a gritty West Virginia team. On the bright side, I'm still able to watch every game at a downtown DC location where the wings are 25 cents apiece while the game's in progress...unfortunately one of my fellow alums didn't understand and downed four Bloody Mary's during the team's loss to Louisville on an empty stomach. He then had to call his parents to pick him up; adding that the only reason he drove into DC was because he didn't think he'd be drinking. Hello? You went to A BAR!

George Mason bounced back from a heartbreaking loss at Old Dominion (I thought the game tying shot was going down instead of rimming out) to smack Hofstra 78-54. John Vaughan's recovery from the concussion continues...the senior tallied 16 points and 7 rebounds in the win over the Pride. Yes, that's right--Hofstra's nickname is "the Pride"...although I heard "Dignity" was the runnerup. The Patriots have a showdown with Northeastern coming up on Valentine's Day--but first have to take care of James Madison and Delaware; both games are away from Fairfax and GMU is 2-3 on the road in the CAA.

24 musings--it's always weird seeing 90210-castoffs on 24 (in season two Jack drugged the guy who took Brenda to the senior prom--Luke Harangody's lookalike)...the newest one is Gil (the senior journalism teacher Andrea had a crush on) as the "bad secret service agent". Glad we've given up on the whole mole thing, people.

American stands tied atop the Patriot League with the only blemish on their conference mark being a loss at co-leader Holy Cross. While Garrison Carr (17ppg) and Brian Gilmore (42% from three-point range grab the bulk of the headlines, Derrick Mercer's improvement in directing the offense and Jordan Nichols' gritty rebounding represent the glue the Eagles will need to hold things together for a late-season drive. Next up: road trips to Lehigh and Bucknell.

Girls Hoops? Congratulations to Tennessee women's coach Pat Summitt for posting her 1,000th career victory...and enduring Bob Knight referring to her sport as "girls' basketball". Reminds me of when I announced Ball State women's games in the late 90's and my analyst referred to them as "gals"--one step above "chicks" or "babes" on the evolved male scale. A note to Bob Knight: whether or not you enjoy the sport, give the women their due and title them properly... and good luck if you get the boys' job at Georgia.

George Washington's having the worst winter since Valley Forge; and even those colonials had Pepperpot Stew (my mother made it every Feb 22). GW has dropped eleven straight (insert Spinal Tap remark here)--with the last six coming by ten points or less. Coach Karl Hobbs' team can still make the A-10 Tournament: they play 12th place Charlotte twice and host 13th place Fordham this weekend. Next up: tomorrow against the Rams (9-29 combined record on the Smith Center floor)...

Howard won back to back MEAC games over North Carolina A&T and Norfolk State; the league's Saturday-Monday travel arrangement makes two game swings all the more prevalent. Eugene Myatt (AKA the best beltway player nobody knows about) is getting some major help of the bench from Randy Hampton (23 points over 40 minutes in the Bison's two victories). Next up: back to back home games against Maryland-Eastern Shore and Delaware State (combined 5-11 conference mark)...