BY MATT CRAIG | NCAA EXTERN | BALL STATE SPORTS LINK
This piece was originally published on NCAA.com.
It’s December, and you know how the college basketball cliché goes: “The weather is getting cold but the season is heating up!”
That’s nice and all, but social media stays hot all year long. This week was no different, as the internet captured every insane highlight and epic fail from around the country.
Here’s the best of the best from week four.
7. One of the most surprising teams of this early season is Baylor, a team that didn’t even receive a single vote for the preseason top 25 but is off to an 8-0 start. Coming into the week at #9, the Bears had a tough test at home on Saturday against #7 Xavier. The Bears came away with a convincing victory, thanks in part to a huge and raucous home crowd.
6. The game of the week was undoubtedly when North Carolina visited Assembly Hall to take on the Indiana Hoosiers. An absolutely deafening crowd helped the Hoosiers take home the victory. It seemed like the whole state was in attendance, but one attendee that stood out was Kyle Schwarber of the recently crowned world champion Chicago Cubs, an Indiana alumn.
When a World Series champion is your honorary captain…#FlyTheW @kschwarb12 @cubs pic.twitter.com/OqFSOXnAFH
— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) December 1, 2016
5. Jordan Bell of Oregon had a solo fast break during the Duck’s 128-59 blowout of Savannah State. Instead of going with a boring layup or a standard dunk, Bell took the opportunity to try something special. He went off the window to himself for the hammer.
Jordan Bell. Show stopper. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/tOp08x6m0a
— GoDucks (@GoDucks) December 4, 2016
4. In a very cool tribute to honor the victims of the tragic Woodmore Elementary School bus crash, Chattanooga wore patches on their jerseys during Saturday’s dominant 79-52 victory over Louisiana Monroe.
Jerseys for today's game at 2PM in McKenize #Woodmore pic.twitter.com/zTPpPvd4S9
— Chattanooga Mocs MBB (@GoMocsMBB) December 3, 2016
3. In what could’ve been the most impressive upset of the 2016-2017 season, Grand Canyon took #13 Louisville to the wire when the Cardinals visited the Antelopes on Saturday night. Even though Louisville escaped 79-70, the real story was the unbelievable Grand Canyon student section. Spanning nearly half of the arena, students were up and dancing or yelling for the entire contest.
Timeouts at Grand Canyon. "Listen to Your Heart" remix playing. pic.twitter.com/aD8EmlTCaT
— Jeff Greer (@jeffgreer) December 4, 2016
2. Flopping has, regrettably, become a part of basketball. Some players are good actors and are the beneficiaries of good calls as a result. Then there’s Oklahoma’s Khadeem Lattin, who showed off some poor acting chops during his team’s 90-70 loss to #17 Wisconsin. Nigel Hayes of Wisconsin’s face says exactly what we’re all thinking.
1. High Point University trailed by 20 points with just over nine minutes remaining in their road contest against Morgan State. They trailed by 13 points with just 90 seconds remaining before an epic comeback ensued, leaving them down by two with just 4.9 seconds left. And what happens next is only possible in the wild and wonderful world of college basketball.
Down 13 with 90 seconds left? No problem. Anthony Lindauer with an #SCTop10 worthy buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat Morgan State. #GoHPU pic.twitter.com/f7RE6ScSjC
— HPU Men's Basketball (@HPUMBB) November 29, 2016
