If you can make it in the Big Apple, you can make it anywhere. At least that's what someone would say if this were 1988 or pretty much anytime before the Internet shrunk the world. Don't worry, this will related to college basketball in a minute.
Eh, I digress…
It's The Morning After College Basketball!
Anthony Lamb is a hero
Joseph Nardone (@JosephNardone): Vermont Catamounts superstar Anthony Lamb hit the shot of the college basketball season on Saturday, putting his team over the St. John's Red Storm in dramatic fashion.
Before we get to the semantics, let's take a gander at this sexy as all hell winning bucket.
Anywho, the senior did more than just score the winning bucket for the famed Vermont Catamounts. He also scored 23 points, grabbed 13 manly rebounds, dished out five assists and added two blocks for good measure.
Anthony Lamb has been good pretty much his entire career. While it feels like he's been playing college basketball since Nixon was in office, he's now nearing the end of his unpaid laborer journey. It's rather — and relatively — sad, as Lamb is one of the very bad mid-major players in the country, and carried the AEC torch in a post-Jameel Warney world.
Circling back a bit, Vermont remains crazy good at basketball. Now 4-0 on the season, the Catamounts are once again expected to win the AEC. Come March, teams in the NCAA Tournament should fear this team. Over the years this program has been excellent, especially as of late, but this might be the best of the bunch.
Anthony Lamb is a huge reason why.
Belmont Makes A Statement
Blake Lovell (@theblakelovell): For anyone that thought Belmont was going to become just another team after Rick Byrd's retirement, new head coach Casey Alexander already has the Bruins showcasing their potential.
Belmont earned a 100-85 win at Boston College on Saturday, with Adam Kunkel scoring a career-high 35 points to lead the way as his team made 15 3-pointers and outrebounded the home team by 14.
While the Golden Eagles weren't exactly projected as a contender, scoring 100 points on the road against an ACC team isn't something to ignore.
Hiring Alexander was the most logical move after Byrd's exit due to the familiarity with the program, and Belmont continues to play the same type of style that has allowed it to have so much success over the years. The Bruins are getting up and down the court and shooting a lot of shots on the perimeter, ranking 11th nationally with 11.5 made 3-pointers per game through their first three games.
This is what opponents have come to expect from Belmont. And considering how much success Alexander had at rival Lipscomb before returning to his alma mater, it only makes sense that the formula that Byrd implemented is working yet again.
And that should have the Bruins competing for another Ohio Valley Conference title and another NCAA Tournament appearance.
Rick Barnes Is Alive!
Joe: Rick Barnes should be used as an example as a coach who clearly ran his course at a program, but still had a lot to give college basketball. If being honest, when hired by the Tennessee Volunteers, this handsome Internet Scribbler (patent pending) thought he'd be “okay to above-average” with the Vols.
Nope. Instead, he's been excellent.
Despite losing several legit stars to the NBA, the Vols defeated an insanely talented Washington Huskies on Saturday by 13 points to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Rick Barnes was really done at the end of his run with the Texas Longhorns. Like, legit stick in a fork in him done. And yet, since he's taking over the controls in Knoxville, it's like he's received a second-life.
That's the take. Rick Barnes is a reanimated corpse of a college basketball coach. A college basketball coach zombie. Really, no matter how you want to put it, Rick Barnes is… alive!
Yves Pons Does Not Want You To Score
Blake: Speaking of Tennessee, Yves Pons had a simple goal on this particular play against Washington: jump approximately 874 feet in the air and swat a shot halfway to Jupiter.
Well, he did it.
https://twitter.com/EWF423/status/1195854618267443201?s=20
In Closing Gambling Advice
My current year to date, despite picking Ohio over Villanova on Saturday, is 0-0-0.
Aside: Many people miss the three-part LITERALLY BOLDED bullet point section that made it clear the piece was a joke. A bunch of headline readers people appear to be in 2019.
Anyway, my advice for those looking to place tender on some college basketball games today? Don't. Gambling is a sin or something.
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Blake Lovell is a national writer for ClutchPoints. He’s also a contributor for the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and Athlon Sports College Basketball Preview magazine. He hosts two podcasts: Marching to Madness (CBB) and Establish the Pass (NFL).
You can follow him on Twitter @theblakelovell.
Joseph Nardone has been covering basketball for nearly a decade for various outlets in a variety of ways. He currently contributes to Forbes and Clutchpoints. You can follow him on Twitter @JosephNardone.
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