SLAM DUNKS: Bama shocks Houston, Chris Beard arrest and Slam Dunks to cover first Division 1 College Basketball game
For about 25 minutes of play in the Alabama-Houston showdown Saturday, the Cougars looked like they were totally worthy of their №1 ranking as they were cruising toward a victory over №8 Alabama.
Then the Tide rolled in and swept away the Cougar lead and their victory.
Rallying from a 15-point second half deficit, the Crimson Tide came all the way back to defeat Houston 71–65 in Houston and in the process put themselves among the nation’s elite.
№1 as I was watching this game I was just so amazed at the athletes on the floor for both teams. I feel like both of these teams go out and find the most athletic guys possible and then hone their basketball skills in college.
Both of these coaches have had their share of controversy, but there is no denying that these men are great coaches and know how to recruit. Nate Oats of Alabama and Kelvin Sampson of Houston will not win popularity contests, but they sure can coach.
I made a comment on my Twitter account on Saturday during the game that Houston deserves their №1 ranking. Then after that comment Bama completely turned things around as Houston went cold and Bama got hot.
The Bama comeback happened without major contributions from super freshman Brandon Miller, who was held in check by the Cougars. Still, Alabama was too tough down the stretch and ended up taking a huge win.
For Houston, it has one more big non-conference showdown before American Athletic Conference play starts against Virginia. Playing in a non-power 6 conference, Houston needs some big non-conference wins before league play stars.
For Bama, it has asserted itself as the team to beat in the SEC and also as a legitimate Final Four threat. The football team may have missed out on the playoffs, but the basketball team looks to fill the void.
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CHRIS BEARD ARRESTED FOR FELONY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARGES
At Slam Dunks we try to focus on the positive and promote the game of college basketball even to people who aren’t big fans. I feel we should have stories that promote the young men and the coaches who are leading them.
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Unfortunately I checked my Twitter during my break at work today and saw something extremely disturbing and a subject I didn’t expect to be reporting on tonight. I am going to try and say as little as possible about it until more facts come out.
Early Monday morning, University of Texas head coach Chris Beard was arrested for felony Domestic Violence in Austin.
A third degree offense, Beard faces a possible sentence of two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
I am not even going to begin to speculate how this is going to end and honestly bringing basketball into it would totally be uncalled for at this point.
It is a terrible situation and one that we are going to have to keep our eye on.
SLAM DUNKS TO COVER UNCA-ETSU BASKETBALL GAME SATURDAY
Over the last few weeks, I have been absolutely ecstatic over the growth of this column and renewing my journalism career with medium.com.
I never dreamed this would happen when we started back in the fall, but on Saturday, Dec. 17, Slam Dunks will be covering the ETSU-UNC Asheville basketball game in Freedom Hall in my hometown of Johnson City, TN.
I originally bought tickets for this game, but just a couple of weeks ago I decided to request credentials and we were granted them by the ETSU Sports Information department.
In this game, we are looking at two angles. It is the homecoming game for UNC Asheville head coach Mike Morrell who is from Elizabethton, TN, a suburb of Johnson City.
Also, we will be looking to see if ETSU head coach Des Oliver and the Bucs can overcome what has been a bad habit of losing close games and take a victory over their neighbors from across the state line.
This should be a great mid-major basketball game. I also hope the wifi is working to watch Houston-Virginia before the game. I do my homework.
Matt Hill is the author of Slam Dunks and Love 40 for medium.com. You can follow him on Twitter (Send a friend request) @MHilllovetennis
