I couldn’t help but notice that K-State just lost to (ahem) Nebraska. Guess that big 100-63 revenge victory over Mizzou on Saturday just took it all of out the Wildkitties.

Meow.

Michael Beasley, who scored 40 points against the Tigers, humbly predicted scoring 50 points on “these cats,” (referring to the Cornhuskers, presumably, and not to his own team). Well, he didn’t quite get there. The ‘Huskers held him to a modest (for him) 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Which, despite the ‘Cats third road loss in a row, earned Beasley the honor of a tie with Carmelo Anthony’s NCAA freshman record of 22 double doubles. Not that I like giving props to anything K-State related, but Beasley’s the real deal, and K-State is only a pit stop on his way to the big show. Or have I mentioned that before?

Anyway, Nebraska kept K-State out of rhythm all night, and when Beasley missed a three-point shot in the final second of the game, guess what happened?

Bingo! Ecstatic fans not used to big wins STORMED THE COURT.

But I think the players kept their clothes on. . .

The Kansas Players Elite 5th grade AAU basketball team played in the Kansas City Keys 15th Annual Basketball Invitational Tournament this past weekend. Our boys ended up winning the championship in the fifth grade division. You can look here for a summary of our weekend.

Over the years, the KC Keys tournament has become one of the premier basketball events in the Kansas City Metro area. It’s run by the Kansas City Keys, an organization dedicated to developing youth in the KC area.

As part of their program, the Keys’ consistently field very competitve boys’ and girls’ basketball teams in all age groups, and they hold several highly regarded tournaments throughout the year, which I’d definitely recommend to competitive tournament teams looking for a challenge. Overall, the quality of the competition at the Keys tournaments is very good, with several of the teams entered per age division playing basketball at a very high level. So, no matter how good you think your team is, you’ll probably find a challenger at the Keys Tournament.

The Keys Tournament games are played in several different venues around the Kansas City metro area, and the management of the tournament ensures that those venues are all pretty friendly. The tournament definitely has a down-home feel because the Keys organization pulls together their local basketball family and friends to work their tournaments.

So, if you’re interested in some good tournament action, check out the KC Keys home page for links to information on upcoming tournaments.

There aren’t many times when I’ll show the Duke Blue Devils any love. The little media darlings just annoy me tooooo much. But tonight I’m sending them a little “shout out.”

Because it was pretty amazing to see their entire starting lineup foul out one by one down the home stretch in tonight’s loss to Wake Forest.

Or, on second thought, maybe my props should go to Wake Forest?

Yeah. . .

Emotion, hunger, desire. The Demon Deacons had it and used it. For the first time since the 2004-05 season, they beat a top five team.

It was a meaningful win for Coach Dino Gaudio, who took over the program when his best friend, and WF’s former coach, Skip Prosser, died last summer. Fans were nuts, players came to play and the writing was on the wall for this one.

Said freshman Jeff Teague, who scored 26 points in the Demon Deacons’ victory:

“I watched them on TV [and] I dreamed about Carolina and Duke.” He noted that he and teammate James Johnson (24 points and 16 rebounds) “talked about that when we first got here, ‘Playing Duke, they’re going to pressure you.’”

“That’s why I want to play. I’m not an All-American or nothing, but I want to go out and try to beat one.”

Well, he did. They did.

And I would have enjoyed every minute of the Demon Deacons’ performance tonight even if there wasn’t anything in it for KU’s rankings.

‘Cause I love when the underdog gets over.

The Jayhawks are back on track now.

While KState backers are still taking out full-page ads in local papers to celebrate the Wildcats 1-24 record against KU at THEIR HOUSE, the Jayhawks just won another big one.

Yeah, Baylor’s now a BIG one (17-5 overall, and 5-3 in the Big 12). Looking back to the last few years, who would have thought it. . .

But I give credit where credit’s due, and Baylor is the deal this year.

Final score was KU 100 — Baylor 90. Halftime score was KU 36 — Baylor 33. What a second half! Note to Jayhawk fans: that was 100 points, with NO three-point shots made.

Next up for the Jayhawks (23-1 overall, and 8-1 in the Big 12) . . . Texas.

As for Baylor. . . all respect for Coach Scott Drew and his up-and-coming program. Bringing that program from the depths of disgrace to where they are now is an amazing act of leadership. Kudos!

Here’s a proud basketball junkie mama moment.Two sons. Two games. Two different cities. Can’t be two places at once.

Hubby and Ant head for the 3rd place game in a league tournament championship. Hubby’s coaching and Ant’s the point guard.

So I’m watching Snacky’s game two cities away.  It’s a battle from the get-go. That’s okay with me, though, because I’m watching my son DOMINATE the game. He’s a balla. A shot calla. 20-inch blades on the Impala. Oops — fell into a rap song.

Here we go, though. Game tied, seconds to go. Snacky has the ball, shoots the short jumper to win the game and.. . their big man blocks his shot into Nebraska. Overtime. Cool. Little guard for the other team scores a 3-pointer. Snacky hits the next two shots to put us up by 1 point. We keep the lead and win the game.

He ended up with these stats: 24 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocked shots. What a stud!

About the time Snacky scored points 17 and18 (off a sweet little 10-foot jumper), my cell phone buzzed. Text message from my friend Michelle, whose son plays with Ant. She’s watching THAT game. What does the message say? “Your baby just scored 3 3′s in a row.” I found out later that, when he scored those treys, our team was down 9-1. Ant went on a 9-2 scoring run on the other team, to make it a 1-point game. Which we eventually won. What a stud!

Feedin’ mama’s basketball jones. . .