Creighton rolling, Majerus loves butt pats and more

By David Isaacs

Welcome to this week's edition of the Monday Awards, where even Dick Vitale can't make Monday morning sound cheerful and it's only a matter of time before ABC Sports forces the NCAA to create a College Arena Football League.

Team of the Week

Nate Funk scored 19 points to lead Creighton past Southern Illinois and into the NCAA Championship Tournament. AP

Creighton. The Bluejays couldn't beat the Salukis at home or on the road, but give 'em a neutral site and SIU is so going down. Creighton lost both of its regular season matchups against Southern Illinois, but won when it mattered most, winning the MVC tournament by beating SIU 67-61. Nate Funk scored 19 points for the Bluejays, and helped his squad clinch their seventh tourney bid in nine years.

Courtney Paris Player of the Week Award

Javaris Crittenton, Georgia Tech. After starting off 13-8, the Yellow Jackets (20-10) are now in position to nab an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 7-2 spree was finished off thanks in large part to Crittenton, who put up solid numbers in wins over North Carolina and Boston College. The point guard had back-to-back double-doubles, dropping 13 points and 11 assists against UNC and scored 16 points to go with 10 assists vs. BC. Georgia Tech is locked in as the No. 6 seed in the ACC tournament, and will play Wake Forest on Thursday. The winner of that match will play Boston College.

Clutch Shot(s) of the Week Award

Kammron Taylor, Wisconsin. Hell of a way to finish the final home game of your college career. Down a point to Michigan State, Taylor hit a three with a few seconds left, cementing a season split over the Spartans. The Badgers have a first-round bye in the Big 10 tourney, but could very well end up playing MSU again if the Spartans defeat Northwestern in the first round.

The Butt Pat of the Year Award

Rick Majerus knows exactly what's wrong with Connecticut: they're not patting each other on the butt enough. The former Utah head coach sensed a lack of intensity and camaraderie from the Huskies, and while providing color during UConn's loss to Villanova, he suggested that one way to get it back was to slap each other on the behind a little more. If that's the path that Jim Calhoun's kids want to take, then they might want to take a page from Texas' Damion James. During the Longhorns' 98-96 win over Texas A&M, the Longhorns' freshman forward delivered the mightiest ass-slapping of the year. With less than two seconds left in double-overtime, James wound up and slapped teammate A.J. Abrams so hard, Abrams was ready to turn around and fight whoever it was that hit him. A.J. backed off after realizing the offending party was his teammate, but if Rick Majerus was watching, he was likely nodding in approval.

The Monday Awards Setup

Everyone has a different method of catching March Madness action. In this writer's apartment, all three residents will each line up a laptop on a table, with every computer using "March Madness on Demand"" to catch as many games as possible. Behind "Laptop's Row" will be a 27-inch screen TV with an amazing surround sound system, and the volume will be jacked up so loud that the crowd noise may result in nausea, loss of hearing, or spontaneous combustion. Unfortunately, this arrangement is likely not even close to the awe-inspiring ones out there. If your setup is going to be doubly sick, e-mail over what it'll look like to mondaywards@gmail.com -- you just might get a mention in next week's Monday Awards (bonus points for pictures).

The Congrats on Advancing, Now Take a Seat Award

No. 1 Vermont and No. 2 Albany both won their semifinal matchups on Sunday the 4th, but will now get a little bit of time to prepare for the America East Conference Championship Game. The two teams will sit until Saturday the 10th, when they'll vie for the automatic bid to the NCAA tourney. While most conferences have the semifinal and championship games within 24 hours of each other, the America East Conference is taking its dear sweet time. If it makes Vermont and Albany feel any better, the Patriot League is making Holy Cross and Bucknell -- who also won their semifinal games yesterday -- wait until Friday the 9th.

Quote of the Week:

(Following the "so long from Palo Alto" signoff from Brent Musburger at the end of the Arizona/Stanford game, and just before commercials)

Steve Lavin: Am I doin' an interview?

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