Note to self: Don’t be the reporter that breaks the story on John Calipari’s cheating ass. Your name will be smeared all over Facebook, which is almost as bad as getting your name smeared on blogs. Almost.

[The Caliparis continue to use social networking tools to bash Pat Forde]

You can view it here. And though I haven’t looked into next year’s rosters, and really have no clue who’s going to be good and who isn’t, I find it odd that they put UNC as the No. 3 team under the assumption that Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson return. If that’s the case, Danny Green and Tyler Hansboro will be the only players gone, Marcus Ginyard will be back, and Ed Davis will take over for Tyler Hansboro, and he showed in this tournament that he can definitely handle the load.

Anyway, enjoy the preseason, way too early top 25. It is what I thought it was.

[Rivals]

It’s not much of a shock, given that Kentucky is Kentucky, Memphis is Memphis, and his pay was double. Sleeping on it, to be honest, didn’t make much sense. (Let’s be honest — what were the benefits of staying in Memphis? Can anyone think of any?)

Hopefully Kentucky makes the tournament next year, or Carlipari’s stint might be brief. Ol’ Billy was 11 games over .500 in two seasons, won 22 games last year, and still got the axe.

[ESPN]

As we still wait for that big “upset,” here’s some of the scores that are final and are still going on.

Finals:
-Georgia 61, Xavier 73
-Portland State 61, Kansas 85
-Temple 61, Michigan State 72
-Kentucky 66, Marquette 74
-Kent State 58, UNLV 71
-Oral Roberts 63, Pittsburgh 82
-Baylor 79, Purdue 90
-Cornell 53, Stanford 77

In Progres:

-Kansas State 44, USC 38: If K-State can pull it off, it’ll be the first underdog to actually win a game. In a tournament that’s known for surprises, we haven’t seen many so far on Day One.

-Belmont 52, Duke 56: Normally, I’d be cheering for Belmont as if they were my own team. But I’m not caught up in the West Virginia hype, and I”ve got the Blue Devils in the Elite 8. So let’s hope that upset doesn’t happen here.

-Winthrop 29, Washington State 38: The game was tied at halftime, but WSU has just opened up the half with a 9-0 run, giving them the lead.

-Texas A&M 29, BYU 29: It wouldn’t be an “upset” if BYU won, per se, given that this is an 8 vs. 9, but at this point, any lower seed winning would be nice to see.

Scores and Updates:

Finals:
-Georgia 61, Xavier 73: It was a close game, a good game, and UGA almost pulled it out.

-Temple 61, Michigan State 72: I’ve got Michigan State in my Elite 8 — almost picked ‘em to the Final Four — so watching the first half as close as it was was kinda scrary.

-Portland State 61, Kansas 85: Like many who fall into the Kansas trap, I picked this team to go to the Finals. We’ll see if they can pull their annual choke-job.

In Progress:
-Kentucky 41, Marquette 48: It’s the only close game going on right now, so it’s the only one I’m watching. Both teams looked sloppy in the first half, but things have picked up a bit.

-Kent State 20, UNLV 45: Ballgame.

-Baylor 27, Purdue 26: See above.

-Oral Roberts 24, Pittsburgh 47: See both. Jeez.

As everyone suspected the moment UNC beat Clemson, the Tar Heels took over the No. 1 overall seed for this year’s tourney. The other three No. 1 seeds were Memphis, Kansas, and UCLA. To see the entire bracket, go here.

Thoughts on each bracket:

-East

• Carolina’s No. 1, which was the obvious pick. That said, does UT, who was thought to possibly be a No. 1 seed earlier in the day, really deserve to be thrown in the same bracket as UNC and Louisville? It makes for a tough region, and if the Sweet 16 pans out as anticipated, Louisville vs. UT could be a game that reaches 200 combined points.
• It may be a long shot, but don’t be surprised if Winthrop sneaks past Washington State.
• Indiana and Arkansas may be one of the best first round games, and Indiana/UNC could quite possibly be the best second round game.

-Midwest

• After beating Texas, Kansas seemed like the obvious pick. Even as a UT fan, I won’t argue that.
• Siena will upset Vanderbilt.
• Georgetown will make the Final Four.
• It’s crazy, but I think Kansas could lose to Kent State in the second round, doing what Kansas does best, exiting the tournament early.

-South

• Memphis won’t make the Final Four again. While everyone is bent on them playing the best out of conference schedule, their in conference schedule was terrible; and beyond that, their two best out of conference opponents, Tennessee and Georgetown, were both home games, and they only came away with a W in one of them.
• Michigan State will make a nice run, but Texas will win a close one in the Elite 8 to represent the region.
• People love the run Kentucky’s made to close the season, but I don’t see them getting past Marquette in Round 1.

-West

• To me, this is the easiest region. UCLA should be able to run through it. Duke is overrated, Xavier’s an untested, weak No. 3, and Uconn isn’t quick enough to hang with the Bruins.
• Don’t be surprised if West Virginia pulls one out against Duke in Round 2. The Blue Devils are fundamentally sound, but they’re not super athletic.

It was a convtroversial ending for anyone who watched — there was what seemed to be a pretty blatant charge against a Georgia player, and it went uncalled — but the game is over, nonetheless, and UGA walked out the victor over the Wildcats.

UGA will face Mississippi State tonight, just six short hours after their win today. As a Georgia Tech (and Tennessee) fan, it’s hard for me to actually root for Georgia, but let’s be real: UT vs. UGA is a lot more appealing than anything else; Felton’s squad is just above a high school squad, an though they’ve played great the last couple of days, I can’t see them keeping this kind of pace up against a Top 5 team.

In other College Basketball news, UNC is trailing VT right now by 6 points with 13:00 left in the second half; Wisconsin is down to Michigan State by three in the first half, Texas is up seven at halftime against Oklahoma, and Memphis beat the hell out of Division II Tulsa to win the Conference USA Championship, as if anyone really cares to win the Conference USA Championship.

I’m certain we’ve all seen this, but last night was Friday, which means today is Saturday, which means I’m off work, which means I sleep in.

So I’m late.

Anyway, due to strong winds/tornado warnings, the Georgia Dome has fallen apart, and has delayed the conclusion of the Georgia/Kentucky game.

The game will now be played at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, home of the Jackets, and the winner will be forced to play two games in a single day. Thankfully for Kentucky, they’re playing Georgia, which is only like playing one-and-a-half games in a single day.

It’s the Tennessee vs. Kentucky game tonight, which is one I’ll be looking forward to. As an avid Georgia Tech and UT fan, I’ve kind of only had fun rooting for one of them this year. Chris Lofton, Vols three point expert, has been struggling this year, but always seems to shine when he plays Big Blue. My prediction: UT by 14, and Lofton puts up 33. Cheers, people, enjoy the night.

I’m a little late today. Had a late night last night, and decided to sleep in a little this morning (afternoon). Anyway, all apologies. That said, I’m about a week late on this news, but figured I’d post it anyway: Tubby Smith has resigned at Kentucky, and will head to Minnesota to coach the Gophers. The deal covers a seven year span, paying Smith $1.8 million a year.

“You always want to be wanted,” Smith told the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader in a story posted on its Web site Thursday night. “You know they have a need.”

Translation: Go to hell, Wildcats. Have fun booing the next schmuck dumb enough to take this dead-end job. I’m not Rick Pitino. The next guy who comes in won’t be Rick Pitino. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Pitino happens to be the guy that happens to coach the team that happens to be our in-state rival. I’m going to Minnesota now, where expectations are a little more reasonable and fans a little less crazy. Good riddance.