Coast to Coast...like Tyus Edney against Mizzou

Let's talk about the debate. We expected a lot of fireworks here in C-town. Hillary Clinton needed to make a big statement to help stop the Barack Obama momentum, but really we got more of the same. Here are a few different views on last night: Clinton Gets Tough on Obama from MSNBC. Clinton, Obama, Trade Blame in Final Face-off from Fox News. Democrats Clash on Trade, Health, and Rival Tactics from the New York Times. In Ohio, Democrats Hold a Contentious Debate from the Washington Post.

Big ESPN news: Sean Salisbury is out. We are a fan of his work. He is knowledgeable and his fights with John Clayton are always entertaining. Not to mention the man once took cellphone pics of his piece and showed them to female staffers.

Mad props to Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo for going public with what we all know: the Big Ten Network is a nightmare. He said "It has hurt all of us."

A good national read by SI's Ian Thomsen lauding the Cavaliers big trade.

NOOOOOO! Rachel Bilson cut her hair and now has bangs. Sorry, it's a bad look, even for her.

No wonder Hulk Hogan left his wife. Linda still thinks she can walk around in a bikini. At her age and weight, that ain't right!

More bad news. Oil prices hit an all time high. Analysts expect the $4 gallon at some point this Spring.

From the great guy department, the Detroit Red Wings are bringing back troubled Darren McCarty. Too bad McCarty bolted on his wife via letter and left her credit card debt, not that he cares. This is a story you have to read.

We don't have a link, but received this story in an email from this week's Sports Illustrated. Grant Wahl wrote a column about the abuse college basketball players are receiving on the road. Check this: On Jan. 23, the day before the ­Bruins-Ducks showdown in Eugene, Kevin Love found more than 30 voice-mail messages on his cellphone when UCLA stopped for a layover in San Francisco. He listened to the first one: If you guys win, we’ll come to your house and kill your family. He played another: We’ll find your hotel room and blow your f------ head off with a shotgun. He ­didn’t bother to check the rest. “I mean, these were death threats,” Love says. Shaken, he called his mother, Karen, and had her cancel his cellphone service.

The best boxer on the planet, Floyd Mayweather Jr, has accepted a $20 million payday to meet "The Big Show" in Wrestlemania XXIV. “I run Vegas and I run L.A. and I will run the WWE,” he said.

#12 Indiana 72 Ohio State 69 - One player who seemingly has taken to the Dan Dakich era is Armon Bassett. The sharpshooting guard followed up his 24 point, four triple game at Northwestern with a 23 point, four triple performance at home last night to lead the Hoosiers to victory. They need Bassett's perimeter skills as the rest of the team was 1-17 from deep. Star Freshman Eric Gordon scored 17 on just 4-16 shooting, but knows how to get to the line. D.J. White again was stellar with 16 and eight boards. IU now sits tied with Wisconsin at 13-2 atop the Big Ten with 12-3 Purdue nipping at their heels.

More coaching talk from IU came from loser ex-player Kent Benson. Why does his find it necessary to bash Kelvin Sampson at this point? It's over and done with. After the game he told a reporter "They made the right decision getting rid of Sampson. He should have never been here in the first place and now we can move ahead with the integrity and character that Indiana basketball is all about." Memo to you Kent - Get off your high horse - NOBODY CARES WHAT YOU THINK.

#14 Vanderbilt 72 #1 Tennessee 69 - Well that took long. Two whole days went by at #1 and The Vols go down. As we stated in in this space Saturday, if Tennessee beat Memphis, they would lost at Vandy. Shan Foster was sensational, the Senior Guard hit six threes on his way to 32 points. The 'Dores inside force, AJ Ogilvy, spent the entire night in foul trouble and played only 12 minutes. Foster and the rest of the perimeter players stepped up big time. Jermaine Beal added 17. It's special," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "We needed a win. It was a home game. It's a big game for them. You want to win any game, but you certainly want to win big games. This was a big game." Chris Lofton led Tennessee with 25, taking 15 triples and hitting six of them. Tyler Smith was the only other Vol in double figures with 11 and grabbed 17 boards. "I want to be ranked No. 1 at the end of the year," senior guard Chris Lofton said.

#16 Connecticut 79 Rutgers 61 - If it's not Hasheem Thabeet, it's Jeff Adrien. The stud PF Adrien was unstoppable in the post, scoring a career-high 27 points and 11 boards. Thabeet struggled to score, but grabbed 10 boards and blocked six shots. Stanley Robinson had a double-double of his own, 18 and 13. The starting Huskies frontcourt outrebounded the entire Rutgers team 34-18. Also in this game, UConn welcomed back suspended leading scorer Jerome Dyson. He plsyed 15 minutes off the bench, scoring thre points. Craig Austrie added 18.

Missouri State 86 #20 Drake 83 - Drake is now coming back down to earth on the close road games. It's mever easy to win on the road in the Valley and they may have had a letdown after the big win in the Bracket Buster at Butler Saturday. The Bulldogs took a crazy amount of threes - 38, but they came up one short. Devin Mitchell's 20 led the Bears in the big upset. Interestingly, all five Drake starters scored in double figures and they had their best balance in any game this season.

#25 BYU 70 New Mexico 69 OT - We were on the BYU bus early this season and we remain there. Nobody knows it, but they are now 22-6 and with this big time road win at New Mexico, the team nipping at their heels in the Mountain West. Trent Plaisted led the Cougars with 23. Lobos Guard J.R. Giddens has finally had a season they he expected to have early in his troubled career. He led all scorers with 30 and did it all without hitting a single three point basket and getting to the line 13 times. Those who watched his first two years at Kansas won't believe that stat when they see it.

Other Scores of Note:

Southern Illinois 71 Bradley 60 - The Salukis are at the top of their game, lurking behind Drake in the MVC. Don't be shocked when they win the MVC Tournament.

Virginia Tech 67 Boston College 48 - Since Maryland is fading and Clemson is treading water, are the Hokies the third best team in the ACC this week?