Ranking the Villains in the Xavier-Cincy Fight

If you haven't heard, the Crosstown Shootout -- the rivalry game between Xavier and Cincinnati that is annually one of the most intense basketball games of the season -- ended 9.4 seconds early. That's how much time was left when the officials called the game due to a fight that broke out between several players from both schools.

I generally can't help but roll my eyes at all the hand-wringing that follows the rare fights that do occur in college basketball, the same way I tend to roll my eyes at hand-wringing in general. This wasn't a black eye on the game of college basketball: It was a bunch of people, some of them kids, making a bunch of poor decisions in an emotionally charged environment. We're all prone to these types of errors in judgment.

With that said, a lot of dumb people did some dumb stuff, and it's going to cost them and their teams. Here's the order in which I blame the major players, ranked from most culpable to least:

Xavier 82, Vanderbilt 70 (Overtime)

[recap] [box score]

I was pretty high on Vanderbilt's chances to win the SEC heading into this season. I love their experience compared to Kentucky's youth, and as talented as Florida's guards are, I'm not enamored of their decision-making and think it will be the Gators' ultimate undoing.

When Festus Ezeli went down with a knee injury that would keep him on the shelf until mid-December, I expected some early-season struggles from the Commodores (though not necessarily the loss to Cleveland State). After watching them lose a ten-point second half lead in this one, though, my confidence in their ability to win the SEC is shaken.

Not because they're missing Ezeli. He'll back in time for conference play. No, it's because of their point guard.