The Greatest College Basketball Chant - Ever

The College Basketball Closer is written by the gang at Storming The Floor.

You may know of Austin Peay State University, the small public school located in Clarksville, Tennessee. You may have even heard the chant their student body of just over 6,000 uses to intimidate opposing players - "Let's Go Peay!" - it's draining. (Ed. Note: Trust us, Illini fans definitely know Austin Peay.)

Sure, it's clever, if a bit sophomoric, you might say. But what makes it the best ever? That would be the 1973 version of the chant, modified in honor of NYC import James "Fly" Williams. The flavorfully nutty Williams put in 26 points in each of the school's two tourney games that year, egged on by the refrain "Fly is open! Fly is open! Let's Go Peay!!!"

Now, I can find multiple cell-phone videos of Virginia Tech's banned "Stick It In" chant, but not one "Let's Go Peay". The Governors will be on the road for a couple more games, but next time they're home, I challenge some enterprising APSU fan to record and upload the now-moderately-famous chant.

Don't slow the flow.

Two Musketeers. Dayton 43 - Xavier 69. With the Flyers suffering from key injuries, the Musketeers were free to double-team Dayton ace Brian Roberts, who ended the game with a season-low five points. Xavier's Scott Burrell was the hero of the night, leading all scorers with 13 points, and serving as the primary defender on Roberts.

Desert Topping. #6 Washington State 64 - Arizona 76. Arizona's 12-21 from behind the arc put the razzle-dazzle in this win, but Jordan Hill's dominance on the defensive interior (seven defensive boards and six blocks) provided the kind of dirty work that must be done to get a win in the Pac-10.

So, Why Do Ducks Always Dress Like Sailors? UCLA 80 - Oregon 75. This was one of those games that had to be maddening for Ernie Kent. Oregon actually led for much of the second half, but with roughly three minutes remaining, it was as if the Bruins looked down at their jerseys and said "Fuck this shit, we're UCLA !", and started making the extra pass, filching the rock, and making free throws. Apparently, Oregon's shirts told them to take bad shots early in the shot clock, which really didn't help.

Mid-Major Spotlight. St. Francis (PA) 92 - St. Francis (NY) 84. It took three overtimes to settle this one. When it comes to the Patron Saints of the NEC, they do battle only for the championship of each other. These humble and charitable souls hold down the southern portion of the Northeastern Conference, with the New York version at 5-15 (2-7) and the Pennsylvania version at 4-15 (2-6). Since it's not appropriate to suggest that these two schools hate each other, per se, we'll say that their indifference overfloweth. Rematch on... oh, crap - St. Valentine's Day.

Games of the Weekend

Saturday

Gonzaga at #1 Memphis - Hand it to the Zags, they'll play anybody, anywhere #9 Georgetown at West Virginia - Huggy Bear doesn't lose many in Morgantown. #15 Ole Miss at Mississippi State - Ole Miss is legit, but MSU's Varnado will return lazy shots with extreme prejudice. USC at Oregon - Oh, O.J. Didn't you learn anything from Reggie Bush? Don't get nabbed for NBA tickets - Trojan boosters have so much more to give.

Sunday

#3 Duke at Maryland - Terps showed signs of life by beating UNC, can they keep it up? #13 Vanderbilt at Florida - Gators-Noah=still good/not as annoying. #25 Clemson at Miami (FL) - NIT preview special.

Eric Angevine writes about college hoops at Storming the Floor, and is a regular contributor to Chicago Sports Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected].