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One of Michael Jordan’s most famous performances came during the “Flu Game” in Game 5 of 1997 Finals. In it, a virus-ridden, dehydrated Jordan scored whopping 38 points, while having to be carried off the court. It was a transcendent performance that only solidified Jordan’s position in the pantheon of NBA greatness. Fast forward to 2010 and the Connecticut Huskies have a performance to add to their program’s lore.

While it won’t be universally recognized like Jordan’s flu game, it was an impressive performance nonetheless.

During the Huskies’ 89-73 win over Vermont, Kemba Walker dropped 42 points (21 points in each half. Synergy!!!), all while battling stomach issues. Walker’s scoring barrage came from an efficient shooting evening (15-24, 4-9 from 3, 8-10 from the line). The guard also tallied eight rebounds and three assists, and without his outburst, UConn struggles to beat the Catamounts. Keep in mind, Walker posted those numbers while battling stomach issues.

Now, as you can see in the lead photo, Walker didn’t appear like he needed Scottie Pippen to carry him off the court like Jordan did, but that doesn’t mean his performance was any less impressive, or any less valuable.

In fact, Walker himself realized his scoring outburst was needed:

Video and more after the jump >>

While comparing the production of the two star players from last night’s UK/UConn game, something stood out. While John Wall outperformed Jerome Dyson in a few areas, not to mention, leading his team to the win, Dyson did have an advantage over Wall: He won the oft-overlooked “Stat 4″ category. Unfortunately, a quick glance at the box score doesn’t reveal exactly what it is “Stat 4″ is referring to. While Wall did have seven turnovers, Dyson didn’t have eight of anything.

Not turnovers, assists or steals.

Evidently, “Stat 4″ refers to some obscure statistic that even experienced college basketball fans aren’t aware of. Whatever the case, hats off to Dyson for winning at least one of the statistical battles.

Picture courtesy of Shundaroni over at Catspause
…And we, the lowly majority not fortunate enough to possess breathtaking basketball skill, are simply living in it. John Calipari’s star recruit took Madison Square Garden by storm last night with a stellar performance against the UConn Huskies, a game UK won 64-61. After starting the game like a house on fire, Wall finished the first half on the bench with foul trouble, which allowed the Huskies to recover from the 12-0 run Kentucky used to open the game. In fact, UConn had a three-point lead going into the break, but in the second — especially during the last four minutes of the contest — it was all John Wall, all the time.

Wall essentially won the game for the Wildcats, scoring 12 of Kentucky’s final 15 points, including what wound up being the game-winning shot with a driving, and-one layup that went a long way in demonstrating just how unstoppable the true freshman phenom can be. But please, don’t take my word for it.

Following the jump, we have video of the game’s closing minutes, as well as reactions from a number of college basketball pundits.

More on the The Great Wall of Kentucky after the jump >>

There’s nothing like a Stanley Robinson putback dunk to start your day. Besides offering even more proof that the college basketball season is alive and kicking, it goes a long way in confirming my hypothesis: Robinson is the best putback dunker in the amateur ranks, and his domination might extend throughout the basketball universe. That’s a heady statement, I know, especially when folks like Greg Oden and Patrick Patterson exist (Patterson had a nasty putback of his own last night), but Robinson’s timing, coupled with the springs-in-the-legs-like jumping ability, makes him one of the best at taking a missed shot and converting it for two in the most emphatic of fashions.

I’ve already spoken about Robinson’s ability at STF, and last night’s finish simply furthers his legend. Oh, and by the way, UConn won, beating Colgate 77-63.

H/t to The Dagger for the video find.

I’m not sure if there’s been a more redundant headline written than the following:

“Connecticut Huskies finish unanimous No. 1 in ESPN/USA Today women’s college basketball poll”

Which goes to this article about the incredible run by the UConn Huskies, who finished off their impressive season by smoking the Louisville Cardinals to win the Women’s National Championship. I’m not sure what gave the Worldwide Leader the first clue about UConn’s dominance. Perhaps it was the 39-0 record. Perhaps it was Geno Auriemma’s sixth championship trophy. Whatever “it” was, it yielded a timely headline, wrapped in mystery and suspense.

I’m sorry, but I have to ask: Which was more redundant? The headline or the need to actually take a season-ending poll confirming what everybody already saw? Another thing: Why does any collegiate sport besides BCS Football needs a season-ending poll in the first place? Is a National Championship game — one with a clear winner and loser — not enough?

In other UConn Huskies news, their newest championship trophy campaign introduced many of us to the hotness that is Meghan Gardler (via TBL).

Too bad we have to sit through useless headlines on an otherwise slow news day.

TGIFFF. Or, Thank God it’s Final Four Friday, either/or would work. The best in the land of college basketball descend on Detroit tomorrow to decide who’s going to the National Championship game on Monday. The first game is Michigan State versus Connecticut, with North Carolina/Villanova closing us out.

So. Who ya got?

Our Final Four preview after the jump >>

While I was looking for a video of Paul Harris’ “I’ll walk a mile before I dunk it” dunk, I noticed some enterprising soul has uploaded video of all six overtimes. Not only that, but they’ve been edited to remove commercials and other breaks in game play. This is actually a really good idea, especially for those of you who can’t get on ESPN360 because of Internet Service Providers/ESPN pissing contests (I’m looking directly at you, Time-Warner).

Big ups to ESPN for not pulling the content — although, the day is still young. With that, here are the six overtimes in their entirety, without any commercial breaks or other nonsense. Oh, and, the Paul Harris dunk I was referring to earlier takes place in the third video, around the 5:27 mark. Hey, Paul? Would you like some reading material during your travels?

All six overtimes after the jump >>

Since about 12:15am Central time, I’ve been thinking of what to say about last night’s (this morning’s) epic Syracuse/UConn refuse-to-lose, six overtime mega basketball game, and that’s about all I can come up with: Thank you. Thank you to both teams for having the courage to keep playing like that. Thank you to Paul Harris for becoming a one-man Moses Malone. Thank you to Johnny Flynn for, even after 67 grueling minutes, being able to explode to the basket just as easily in the sixth overtime as you did in the first half. Thank you to Hasheem Thabeet for being maybe the most intimidating post presence since Dikembe Mutombo. Thank you to A.J. Price for never, ever backing down, and finally (for now), thank you to Eric Devendorf for a holding that fantastic buzzer beater for a split-second too long (lead video).

Had he got the shot off any quicker, the basketball watching world goes to bed at a decent hour.

The stats for this game are incredible to look at, but what else would you expect from a basketball game that lasted 70 minutes — 30 game-time minutes longer than normal? Here are just a couple that stood out to me:

*Total amount of minutes played by both teams: 700

*Both teams combined to shoot 83-209, or 39%

*Combined to shoot 16-58 from behind the arc

*Combined to shoot 64-93 from the free throw line

*Nine players scored in double figures, with three more scoring eight points

If you didn’t see any of the game, ESPN360 has the replay, and if you are at all a fan of college basketball, you owe it yourself to at least watch the overtimes. For their efforts, the Orange get to play West Virginia tonight at 9pm, which will give Jim Boeheim’s team about 20 hours of rest.