Games 780-781: Sunday doubleheader

781 - Robert Morris women at Kent State
November 24 at Memorial Athletic Convocation Center in Kent, OH
espn3.com

We've had baseball Billys before at 300 Game Season and ILTCSC, but Sunday we had our first basketball Billy. His name is Austin Arnold.

Let's enjoy a Sunday's worth of Billys:

"she's enticing to watch"
"she has absolutely been the engine in the car that keeps them going"
"in the words of many basketball players, 'if you keep shooting the shots will come'"
"Kent State just looking for some type of light to go their way"
"they've been hitting the three-point ball and that's reflective on the way they play"
"ball urgency"
"that almost could've been bad"
"to get this game now within some scoring distance"
"a lot of the Kent State points have definitely been down by that box area"
"she's really impressed a lot of eyes"
[watching replay of a lay up] "Asiah Dingle, [higher-pitched sound] what?!, see ya, I'll take two!"
"that's just another great awareness play"
"you draw a charge, which could be a very well good momentum shifter for the back end of this game"
"she's kind of been like an unsung hero, to say the least, for Robert Morris"
"welcome to the Ezeigbo show...she's absolutely done everything whether.....well, she's been doing everything because she's been on the court playing so well.....she's not on the court.....
"this is gonna start to become a barnburner really soon"
"kind of almost reminiscent of deja vu, wouldn't you say?"
"she's done absolutely phenomenal"
"this is going to be a very pivotal point in this game"
"I'm at a loss for words! This reminds me of Bulls-Hornets the other night!"


780 - Columbia vs. Central Connecticut State
Hall of Fame Tip Off consolation game

November 24 at Mohegan Sun Arena

espn3.com

Games 721-722: Two on Tuesday

722 - Eastern New Mexico women at West Texas A&M
February 26 at First United Bank Center in Canyon, TX
ESPN +

721 - Ohio at Kent State
February 26 at Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center in Kent, OH
ESPN +

One of my favorite things about writing about college basketball is there are so many teams at several levels, so every day I can discover a player I didn't previously know existed.

Tuesday, I found out about Ohio freshman Jason Preston. He's an excellent passer and really quick to the rim, making him a perfect fit in Ohio's offense, which relies on moving the ball quickly around the perimeter to find open threes. Preston came pretty close to a triple-double in the Bobcats' 78-73 loss - 11 points, eight assists (with no turnovers) and eight rebounds - and I'm looking forward to watching him more over the next three seasons.

For the winners, Jaylin Walker scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half (and was 4-of-6 from three-point range) and carried the Golden Flashes down the stretch of their ninth MAC victory.

Games 566-568: Quarterfinal Thursday

568 - ACC quarterfinals
(6) North Carolina vs. (3) Miami
March 8 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
ESPN

567 - ACC quarterfinals
(10) Notre Dame vs. (2) Duke
March 8 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
ESPN

Marvin Bagley is good.

The freshman put together a 33-point 17-rebound night (his fourth 30-15 of the season) and the second-seeded Blue Devils rolled into the semifinals with an 88-70 win.

Senior Grayson Allen was also great - 23 points on 5-of-6 from three-point range - and freshman Trevon Duval handed out 11 assists.

Matt Farrell did Duval one better with a career-high game of 12 assists, but hit just 3-of-11 from three (the Irish were 5-of-23 as a team).

566 - (5) Kent State vs. (4) Ball State
MAC quarterfinals
March 8 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH
espn3.com

Basketball phrases/nonsense

"attack the tin with ferocity"
"three point marksmanship"
"that looked to me like a basketball play"
"Zach Gunn, and he has that holster always ready to trigger"
"took him to the woodshed"
"international flavor"
"MACtion"
"a great kick ahead"
"the show and go"

Game 484 - Western Michigan at Kent State

January 16 at Memorial Athletic & Convocation Center in Kent, OH
espn3.com

Tough loss for Western Michigan, which erased an 18-point deficit over the final 16 minutes only to see Kent State hit a short jumper with less than a second to play to win 73-71.

The Golden Flashes led 55-37 with 16:14 to go on a Kevin Zabo 3-pointer, but found themselves needing a basket to avoid overtime. Zabo and Danny Pippen each missed shots on the final possession, but Mitch Petersen didn't miss on the third try, hitting a seven-footer for the winning basket.

Zabo was coming off a career-high 24 points in a win over Ohio on January 12 and he nearly matched that Tuesday, leading all scorers with 23 on 5-of-7 from distance. It's the senior guard's first two career 20-point games. Pippen was red-hot early on, picking up all of his career-high 16 points within the first 13 minutes of the game.

Western Michigan completed the come back with 10 seconds left when Jaylin Walker was whistled for goaltending on Reggie Jones' lay-up attempt to make it 71-71.

Game 124 - Kent State at Eastern Michigan

February 13 at Convocation Center in Ypsilanti, MI
espn3.com

Color commentator Greg Steiner, where have you been all season?

The man is good at what he does, and what he does is shout nonsense. Let's take a look at his finest moments from Saturday's 75-70 Eastern Michigan win:

"Kent State, give them eight offensive glassers!" (don't say offensive glassers)

"He's their fifth-year bench boss!" (also, don't say bench boss)

"A big swing of events"

"The rim racker!" (I've heard rim 'rocker', but how do you rack a rim?)

"The bucket is as big as the ocean!" (yes, but which ocean, Greg? How big is this bucket?!)

"They're a little razzled!" (razzled?)