We mentioned it earlier on Cram Session, but we now have video of the horrific leg injury suffered by Texas A&M's Derrick Roland during last night's game at Washington. If you're the squeamish type, you may not want to hit play. It's like a basketball version of Joe Thiesmann.

You can see slower replays here.

Roland snapped his tibia and fibia after coming down from his missed layup. His college career is almost certainly over.

Thanks, SB Nation

The Cram Session is a semi-daily melange of last night's most important hoops action.

(1) Kansas 84, California 69 -- Sherron Collins, 17 points. Marcus Morris, 14 points. Tyshawn Taylor, 13 points. Xavier Henry, 12 points. Cole Aldrich, 10 points. You can't play the Jayhawks and focus on shutting down, say, Cole Aldrich without having four other guys step in and make you pay. Kansas has a plethora of offensive weapons (a la Carolina last year), which will make them the toughest team to beat in March.

(22) Washington 73, (19) Texas A&M  64 -- The biggest loss for the Aggies came midway through the second half when senior Derrick Roland suffered a grusome, Thiesmann-esque broken leg. 

Cornell 71, St. John's 66 -- (This happened Monday, but was too good to ignore.) Our preseason "team to watch", Cornell has a 9-2 record against the 38th strongest schedule in the country. That resume includes wins over Alabama, Massachusetts, St. Joseph's and St. John's. The Big Red don't have to worry about an at-large berth since the Ivy League regular season champion gets the conference's automatic NCAA berth and if Cornell doesn't get that, they probably won't have had a good enough 2010 to warrant such discussion anyway. But if and when they do qualify for March Madness, watch out. The thinking used to be that Cornell could advance with the right match-up. Now I'm thinking they could advance with pretty much any draw.

Loyola (MD) 72, Indiana 67 -- How can Indiana be this bad? Kelvin Sampson must not have just turned off the lights when he was fired, he must have stolen them too. (And then made 100 improper phone calls to recruits in an attemp to sell them.) It's not even accurate to say the Hoosiers are rebuilding, as that indicates there's at least some growth for Tom Crean's squad. But losses to Boston University, George Mason and Loyola (MD) dispel that notion. On the other hand, congrats to Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos, one of our favorites from his days on Gary Williams' bench at Maryland.

As a society we place way too much value on round numbers. Is the 500th home run all that more impressive than the 499th? Why should the 40th anniversary of the moon landing be any more important than the 39th? And does it make any sense that the gift for a 10th wedding anniversary is supposed to be something very expensive (diamond jewlery) while the present for the 13th is something you can get at TJ Maxx (textiles)? 

I mention this because last night Kentucky basketball became the first team in college basketball history to hit 2,000 wins. Much was made about the accomplishment both by the school and the press. There were t-shirts, confetti, speeches and former Kentucky greats (like Joe B. Hall and Jamal Mashburn) in attendance to celebrate and afterward the school even put up a special page on its Web site. It all seems like a bit much, no?

Hitting No. 2000 is a neat feat, but nothing more than that. North Carolina is just eight wins behind Kentucky and given the fact that the Heels play in the always-tough ACC while Kentucky spent about 30 years dominating a weak SEC, the argument could be made that Carolina's win total is even more impressive. Or you can point out Kentucky's impressive .759 winning percentage and say that's the more lofty achievement. 

In reality, getting to 2,000 is no more validation for the program than it was becoming the first to get to any of the previous 1,000+ wins before that. Kentucky is the greatest program in college basketball history and that's no more different today than it was yesterday. There's just a rounder number to justify it.

The founder of Papa John's made a half-court shot at halftime of Louisville's game against Oral Roberts last week and bought everyone in the building a pizza to celebrate:

There were about 19,000 people in attendance at Freedom Hall. They'll have until Dec. 27 to redeem their ticket stub for a free large pizza (carryout only). The company estimates that if everyone cashes in on the prize, it will cost approximately $174,000. However, the publicity Papa John's is getting for this probably makes that a worthwhile expenditure. 

As for the shot, Papa's excellent long distance form reminds me of a young Grant Hill. I was a bit disappointed by the fact that he took a few shots prior to the bank though. It makes it seem less spontaneous and impressive. Since this was for a television commercial, I'm guessing he was going to keep shooting until he either made it or his arm started hurting enough to make him consider paying for some CGI so it could look like he made it.

Poll Dancing is The Dagger's weekly look at the college basketball polls.

Polling, like pimping, ain't easy. Trying to pick and order the 25 best college basketball teams out of a total of 347 squads is a difficult task. Even the best voters are bound to have some ridiculous-looking ballots every now and again.

At The Dagger, we recognize and respect the laboriousness of this task and don't envy the AP voters. By and large, they do a fine job (much better than, say, coaches). But that doesn't mean we can't poke fun at preposterous rankings.

In this week's edition of Poll Dancing, we look at the five strangest votes from the December 21 edition of the Associated Press Top 25 Men's College Basketball poll. Thanks, as always, to the invaluable Pollstalker feature at Pollspeak.

No. 10 North Carolina ranked No. 23 by Bill Cole

Why it's bad: The following teams are rated ahead of UNC on Cole's ballot: Georgetown (lost to Old Dominion at home), UNLV, Temple and Northwestern. Let me repeat: Northwestern. Say what you will about Carolina, but Northwestern? Even voter Dave Jones, who has the Wildcats at No. 13 in his poll still has UNC ahead.

Most likely explanation: I can't explain this one without resorting to name calling. I'm not sold on UNC this year either, but the three losses suffered by the team have come to teams that are still undefeated (Syracuse, Kentucky and Texas).

Unranked North Carolina State ranked No. 21 by Scott Mansch

Why it's bad: The Wolfpack lost its ACC opener Sunday night to Wake Forest. As a result, Mansch moved N.C. State up three spots on his ballot, from No. 24 last week to No. 21 this week.

Most likely explanation: The ballot was submitted before the Wake/State game ended, even though Mansch works in Montana and the game finished around 7:30 p.m. mountain time. Fifteen years ago this might have been a valid excuse but with Internet balloting. (And, no, we're not going to even entertain the notion that Masch actually believed State was No. 21 after that loss.)

Unranked Pittsburgh ranked No. 25 by Roger Clarkson

Why it's bad: The Panthers lost to Indiana earlier this year and were part of that epicly-awful 47-32 game against New Hampshire.

Most likely explanation: Misguided loyalty. Clarkson has had Pitt on each of his seven ballots this year.

No. 25 Gonzaga ranked No. 12 by Jason Franchuk

Why it's bad: Not that we need any more indication that Gonzaga is big-time, but it's good to see that this "mid-major" can coast solely on its rep in pre-conference rankings. The Zags have lost at home to a Wake Forest team that was coming off a loss to William & Mary and then 41 points this weekend against Duke in a game that set back college basketball offenses at least 20 years.

Most likely explanation: A reputation vote, sort of like how Derek Jeter keeps winning Gold Gloves.

No. 13 New Mexico unranked by Ron Morris

Why it's bad: The Lobos are undefeated.

Most likely explanation: Temple's loss to St. John's must seem more impressive than New Mexico's win over Cal. (Morris has the Owls at No. 24.)

A hometown timekeeper makes a mistake that is followed by the host school grabbing a last-second victory in a nationally televised game. There was a replay review, a stopwatch and an angry Bob Knight yelling on television. Afterward, there were fights in the stands and a player yelling at officials and having to be restrained by coaches.

The end of Xavier-Butler had all the trappings of a major controversy. But then the refs had to swoop in and do the right thing by cleaning up the mess in as efficient a way as they could, thus killing all the fun.

Here's the AP's summary on the bizarre finish:

The sophomore swingman emerged from a mad scramble by scooping up a loose ball underneath the basket and putting in a layup Saturday to give No. 21 Butler a 69-68 victory over Xavier that took a stopwatch to sort out.

In a bizarre ending, officials ruled the clock had stopped inadvertently for 1.3 seconds during Butler's final possession. During the replay review, which lasted more than five minutes, they used a stopwatch to determine how much time to run off. They counted Hayward's basket but ran the remaining 1.2 seconds off, taking away Xavier's last chance to win.

Now, the video, along with a handy "real" timer:

Once the timekeeping mistake was made, the best way to handle this was to stop play immediately. But since nobody noticed at the time and play continued, the next best thing was to do exactly what the refs did and act as if the clock had been right all along. When they did and determined that Hayward's basket would have ended the game, it was the only decision to make. 

The error was on the timing, not on the refs. They made the best of a bad situation. Xavier has a legitimate point in saying that the game might have progressed differently had the clock been accurate, but what exactly would have changed? Would they have played harder defense? Gotten a rebound? Picked up a loose ball? Blocked the layup? I don't see how the idea that there were 1.2 more seconds on the clock would have led to any of that. 

It stinks, yes. Having a game end when you think there's more time on the clock is an awful way to lose. But so is giving up a layup with 1.2 seconds left and then failing to make a desperation shot on the other end, which is what would have happened had the timekeeper not made his error.

When Bob Knight gets an open microphone for 90 minutes something controversial is bound to come out. Thursday night, at a fundraiser for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, didn't disappoint. In the midst of a recollection of his fondest days in Bloomington, the all-time winningest coach in college basketball history took a shot at Kentucky's John Calipari, asking why the twice-sanctioned coach is still allowed on the sidelines.

“We’ve gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that’s why I’m glad I’m not coaching,” he said. “You see we’ve got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.”

Though his ultimate conclusion that Calipari shouldn't be coaching is a bit harsh, Knight is on point with his criticisms. (Even if its more a knock on the NCAA than on Calipari himself). The hypocrisy of the NCAA to allow guys like John Calipari to abandon schools after leaving them crippled with scandal, to cash $4 million paychecks when their players get nothing and to freely transfer without having to sit out a year is a joke. 

Since Billy Packer was unjustly run out to pasture by CBS, Knight has become the most refreshing television personality in college basketball (which is no surprise seeing as how he had been the most refreshing coaching personality for three decades). His lack of diplomacy and complete disinterest in sucking up or playing nice makes for great television. He says what he thinks.

Though it's highly unlikely that Knight's programs were completelyclean (the odds that no player ever got some pocket change from a booster or some back-room incentives to come to the school are slim), he also wouldn't have allowed someone like Worldwide Wes(a notorious NCAA power broker) to become associated with his university.

John Calipari is far from perfect, but blaming him for the NCAA's faults is like blaming rum runners for taking advantage of Prohibition. The system is flawed and until it's fixed, it's going to be exploited.

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When analyzing the decline of the Maryland basketball program, it doesn't take long to get to Gary Williams' assistants. As we detailed in February (and many others have elsewhere), the Terps' 2002 national championship left the team's assistants in high demand and, naturally, each of the three men on Williams' bench took head coaching jobs elsewhere. Their replacements were not nearly as adept at recruiting which, in turn, sent Maryland into the worst free-fall of any title-winning team in nearly two decades. Or so the theory goes.

The Washington Times reported a story today that may shed some light as to why this is so. According to a public records search, Maryland's three assistant coaches are the lowest paid amongst the eight public schools in the ACC. (The four private schools in the conference -- Boston College, Duke, Miami and Wake Forest -- don't have to make such records public.) Read the piece, there's some good data in there.

The whole is interesting, sure, but how important is it? Some school has to have the lowest. Being eighth out of eight isn't as bad as it seems. It's not like Maryland's assistants are getting less than the guys at George Mason or the coaches of the women's team. Oh, wait ... They are?

OK, that's slightly embarrassing but I doubt it's correlated to Maryland's sub-par performance since winning the '02 title. Assistants don't work for the money, they work for the experience. Of course they'd like to get a paid a little more, but the goal is to make the big bucks down the road as a head coach someday. This is sweat equity. Working with Gary Williams is worth the lighter paycheck. You ask Robert Ehsan, Maryland's third assistant, whether he'd rather pull 66 grand at Maryland or $70,000 at Towson State, and you know what his answer would be.

That being said, Maryland's basketball program brings $10 million into the school annually. Surely they can afford to throw some more money at the guys who put in the hard hours in the gym and on the recruiting trail. It might not help the Terps get back to being a national contender, but it sure won't hurt.

Remember on America's Funniest Home Videos when the clip would begin with a young boy holding a baseball bat and an unsuspecting father standing to his side and you could instantly tell what the hilarious, painful conclusion was going to be? Well, let me present a mascot, an exercise ball and a dunk attempt.

The highlight of the clip is the two referees who stand over the injured mascot and offer no help whatsoever, almost as if to say "you had this coming, bro". Come to think of it, nobody goes and helps the cat. Some even laugh. He looked hurt and in need of help, but nobody seemed to be believe it was true. It's like the boy who cried wolf, only the boy was dressed as a wolf and the wolf was medical attention necessitated by the questionable decision to jump off a round, bouncy object in an attempt to dunk during a timeout of a high school basketball game.

Thanks, Huffington Post

The talk about expanding the NCAA tournament to 96 teams (which we have declared to be the worst idea since Gigli) isn't going away. And now that the biggest name in college basketball has reversed his stance and come out in support of the expansion, it might not go away for a long while.

After his team's victory over Gardner-Webb last night, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski stated that the NCAA should look into the possibility of expanding the field of 65 to 96 to give regular season conference champions an automatic berth into the tournament:

"What I propose, is that you combine the [NCAA and NIT tournament] and come up with a field of 96. You would have 64 teams play. Thirty-two teams get byes, and then it would be the same tournament, but with 96 teams.

"I don't think we put enough value on the regular season. By expanding to that - and not having the NIT - you reward everybody who wins the regular season. So it puts value on the regular season. I think it would upgrade everything. You still have your conference tournaments, and if you win that, you're in. If the Patriot League has two teams, so be it - there's two teams from the Patriot League in the Tournament. I think, if we're going to do anything, that's what I'd do. I wouldn't marginalize the NCAA Tournament. Combine it, reward the regular season. That's what I would do."

(Smooth move name-dropping the Patriot League when we know that mediocre ACC teams will benefit just as much from the expansion.)

In his blog post on the subject, Andy Hutchins of The Sporting Blog suggested he was being too cynical when he wrote that Coach K might have ulterior motives for this. But he wasn't nearly cynical enough (which is a good thing). Let me show you how cynical is done, my young friend:

As I've written many times on this site before, of course coaches want the tournament to expand. It's good for the interest group coaches care most about: themselves. More teams means less coaches having to explain to athletic directors and boosters about why they're playing Oral Roberts in the NIT instead of dancing in the NCAAs. Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim (who is the champion of this cause) are every bit as biased in this discussion as I would be in a debate about whether bloggers should be paid more money. 

Duke doesn't miss the tournament, so it's not like the expansion to 96 teams would benefit Coach K in that respect. But it will benefit his ACC brethren like Seth Greenberg and Oliver Purnell and Sidney Lowe and Leonard Robinson; coaches whose teams are annually on the bubble. How much more leeway would Lowe have at N.C. State if his team had made the NCAAs in 2007 and 2009? I bet his seat wouldn't be as hot as it is right now. (We could take this even further and say that Coach K would prefer to have guys like Lowe and Greenberg in the ACC. He knows he can beat them. If they get fired, there's always the chance Virginia Tech could hire the next big thing, who would then compete with Duke. But if I said that I'd sound like one of those Kennedy assassination conspiracists, so forget I mentioned it.)

If we really want to get down to it, adding another round does help the Krzyzewskis and Pitinos and Boeheims of the world. A lot. Instead of playing a rested No. 13 or No. 14 seed in the first round, the big boys would be getting a team that had to play a game just to advance to the next round. You think Coach K circa 2007 wouldn't have preferred to see a tired VCU team instead of the fresh one that upset his sixth-seeded Blue Devils in the first round?