Big Blue Linkapalooza: Goodbye To Bruce, Hello To Billy Edition

Bruce Pearl is out at Tennessee, Billy Gillispie is in at Texas Tech.  Some story lines you just can't make up.  Who would have thought this would be the situation in 2009 when Gillispie was summarily dismissed from UK?

How many people would have predicted that the SEC would have as many teams in the Sweet Sixteen as the Big East?  I'll bet virtually zero of the pundits would have picked that as a likely outcome, but that's were we stand on the Monday after the Big East slaughter, which saw the top seed for the league go down in a heartbreaker along with nine other Big East teams.  Only the Marquette Golden Eagles and Connecticut Huskies remain.

Now for today's links:

• Speculation swirls at Missouri about Mike Anderson :: Kentucky.com

• Big East conference decimated as only two of its 11 tournament teams reach Sweet 16 - College Basketball News

  Everyone was talking about the league all season long and its power in numbers, but now the conference has just two teams left standing following Notre Dame’s loss to Florida State.

  Can you say, "overrated," boys and girls?

• Basketball Prospectus :: In Place and Out of Bounds

  (1) Ohio State 98, (8) George Mason 66 [62]
  And it wasn't that close. Seriously. After Mason opened the game with an 11-2 spurt, the Buckeyes outscored them the rest of the way 96-57. Thad Matta's team looks incredible. (David Lighty. Really, 7-of-7 on threes? Really? Amazing.) If I could offer a word of caution, however, it would be a simple reminder. The team that everyone was talking about last year because they looked so incredible recording a blowout in the round of 32 ended up not even making the Final Four, much less winning the national championship. Just saying. Lot of basketball to be played.

  Word to the wise, UK fans.  Don't surrender before the game is even played.

• Video: The Big East ... or the Big Least? - College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN
  Heh. Can you say, "schadenfreude," boys and girls?

• The Big East hate is palbable as Notre Dame pummled by Florida StateBeyond the Arc
• Kentucky Sports Radio :: Doug Harrellson’s Monday News and Views

• Defending the Big East :: March
  He lost me at #3. Not the part about schadenfreude, of course there is that, but the part about people "wanting to see the best lose." The Big East may have been the most competitive conference, but I don't think it was the best. Way better than the SEC maybe, but not the best.

• Kentucky Coach John Calipari Watches DaJuan Coleman Win State Title - SBNation.com

• NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Bracket & Predictions, East Regional: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Kentucky Wildcats - SB Nation Bay Area
  This is the conventional wisdom.

• Kentucky Sports Radio :: UK football releases spring practice schedule
• Youthful Kentucky Wildcats growing up fast in NCAA tournament :: The Republic

• Billy Gillispie will get a Bob Knight introduction at Texas Tech 

  The introduction will be similar to Bob Knight's introduction back in 2001 where Knight said the famous soundbite, "This is, without question, the most comfortable red sweater I've had on in six years."

  Well, he's in the right spot here.  We'll see what he can do.

• Tennessee would be smart to hire Shaka - CBSSports.com

  Smart runs an up-tempo system that will appeal to Volunteer fans, players and recruits. Even if it was his fate to lose a few games right out of the gate, his teams would look good doing it, and he'd never give up. He also has an SEC pedigree, having coached under Billy Donovan at Florida. In fact, when he left to take the VCU job, he was replacing another Donovan protege, Alabama head man Anthony Grant. Perhaps the key to building a stronger SEC hoops profile is to hire as many Florida (or Kentucky) assistants as possible.

  You heard it here first.  This would be a smart (pun intended) move for UT, and they could get him at a price.

• Happy Birthday Darius Miller, Calipari Smells the Brownies
• Patrick Patterson Turns Into Superman Against Jazz

• Pearl’s out, but not every Vols fan is happy about it :: Beyond the Arc
  Offered without comment.

• A look at the Big East’s disappointing tournament :: Beyond the Arc

  There is really no defense. The Big East sucked in the tournament.

  I think that says it all.

• Lamb’s father gave his son "early" instruction :: Vaught's Views
  Learning to go left is the biggest advantage you can have in basketball. Just ask John Wall. And Doron Lamb.

• Firing Pearl right move by UT ... how 'bout it, Ohio State? - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com
  Heh. Interesting column by Doyel.

• Gators Talk Ohio State vs. UK
• The Big East = overrated? - Rumble In The Garden