‘Twas the weekend before Christmas, when all through the house,

All the eyes were on sports, even the pesky mouse.

The TV’s were big and the drinks were strong,

As you watch your team really and truly bomb (…NFC North Fans)

As the fans were all nestled all snug in their beds,

Visions of championships danced in their heads.

For the sport that’s so popular but rarely talked about,

Had a weekend so great, the ones who didn’t watch should pout.

College basketballs the game and my excitement is the clatter,

When you see the results, you’ll see what’s the matter.

No need to click away from this window like a flash

I will tell you, dear sports fan, the ones that made a splash.

Ohio State is like a tree all covered in snow,

It’s beautiful to look at while standing below.

Coming back from eight down with less than a minute to go,

Winning by three seemed like a very big no-no.

Led by Aaron Craft, so lively and quick,

LaQuinton Ross got the game high but Lenzelle Smith was St. Nick.

He delivered a dose when they needed it the most,

The refs whistled, and shouted, Notre Dame could not boast.

Now Duke! Now, Michigan, now Connecticut and Kentucky,

On Wisconsin, on Villanova, the rest are just lucky.

But if you name all the big teams, ones hard to leave off,

Louisville continues to prove they cannot be scoffed.

Now you may look at their schedule and wonder what I mean,

Let me explain dear sports fans, more about this team.

They have one big loss, against a team of rank,

The rest were blowout wins against teams that stank.

It’s hard to look down upon Pitino and his bunch,

They dress in red all year; it’s an all year Christmas punch.

Pitino is like Santa, the players all his elves,

Like Russ Smith, Chris Jones, Blackshear and Harrell.

They score like bandits, grab the boards like the Grinch,

Winning at home is easy, and on the road a cinch?

Only one true road game to date and a late Christmas present coming soon,

The Cardinals are in Kentucky to shoot for the moon.

“Holy Rockets!” was an expression some fans had to this,

A game between Illinois and Missouri was truly a kiss.

The kiss being the excitement and the excitement the result,

Of the Braggin’ Rights game, to disagree would be an insult.

Missouri was ranked, Illinois didn’t quite make the cut,

After this game all fans yelled “What!?”

They traded three pointers back and forth, the last minute was crazy,

When the final buzzer went everything went hazy.

Illinois proved they can play with the big boys,

Mizzou goes back to the drawing board if they hope to make some noise.

The Tigers are in the SEC, a big challenge they face,

None quite as big as the Illini fight to make a case.

‘Holy Rockets!” is right, Illinois made a splash,

They’ll be a team we discuss more if they don’t burn from the crash.

The Big 10 is tough, the toughest of tough,

Dates with the Buckeyes and Spartans are rough.

But on to the next one, we’ll continue to roll,

The rest of the weekend took quite a toll.

Kansas was big but it wasn’t whom you think,

Joel Embiid was big, he was truly in sync.

His team came up big, beating Georgetown real bad,

The usual suspects were needed, Wiggins and Black were the lads.

But all the talk of number one and mock drafts in his dreams,

Embiid stepped up and proved to scouts of the teams.

He had a team high in points and stepped up big at the line,

He wants that top draft spot, I heard him yell “mine!”

He dropped shots like St. Nicks does with presents all night,

Frontcourt to backcourt, he sprints as fast as light.

Kansas is off until after the Christmas break is done,

The rest is well needed if they want March Madness to be fun.

The true test starts soon, conference play gets underway,

Dates with Iowa State and Baylor, as well as others to make their pray.

Colorado slipped to a slightly better foe,

Oklahoma State got the best of them but that can’t keep them low.

North Carolina slipped by a surprising Davidson team,

They must prepare for conference play; they must build some steam.

Massachusetts crumbled under the weight of a ranking,

Texas was close to another upset in the making.

Michigan State slipped by those Longhorns in Austin,

They showed that the hype isn’t something they’ll get lost in.

All the players spoke not a word, but went straight to their work,

And filled all the scoreboards and made fans go berserk,

And laying the basket softly in the net,

Some fans jumped for joy, others were upset.

They sprang from the court to return home after the final horn,

Family time to be had; holiday hats to be worn.

But I heard them exclaim and they ran out of sight,

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!”

As always you can leave your comments below. You can follow me @LiamMcWade for your NCAA Basketball tweets, and follow the site @lastwordonsport and like our Facebook Page while you are at it.

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