VIDEO: Tim Floyd being, well, Tim Floyd

Tim Floyd has lost his damn mind.

For starters, in the presser that you see below, Floyd starts out by taking a shot at ESPN and Andy Katz for this article that he wrote last week after Floyd did this, which is ridiculous in and of itself. He then said that the article was the first thing written by ESPN about Conference USA this season. And while I know that is patently false, I don't have the time and energy to dig up all of those articles. But off the top of my head, I can give you links to features that Dana O'Neil write on Joe Jackson of Memphis and Aaron Johnson of UAB.

Personally, I don't take umbridge with Floyd hyping the thoroughly mediocre C-USA. His job as a basketball coach is to do everything he can to get his school into the NCAA Tournament. UTEP is currently a game behind UAB in the standings of a league that is not currently being predicted by anyone to receive more than one bid this season.

Of course he needs to talk up Conference USA. No one else is doing it.

Anyway, enough of my ranting. Here is the video of Floyd:



h/t to the El Paso Times for alerting us to this video
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VIDEO: Tim Floyd ejected, escorted off the court by the police in a loss at East Carolina

In one of the uglier moments we have seen this season, UTEP head coach Tim Floyd and assistant coach Phil Johnson, a former head man at San Jose State, were both tossed from last night's game against East Carolina early in the second half.

Floyd went after the refs and had to be escorted out by a police officer.

Of course we have video. Why would you even ask?:



According to Floyd, he snapped when he was called for a technical for being outside the coaching box.

"My behavior this year has been pretty darned good," Floyd said. "I hadn't had a technical all year long. ... I scurried back to the bench (after getting a warning for being outside the coach's box) and the next thing I knew, I had a technical and I didn't know why I got it. I'd still like to know.

"I guess I reacted to that first technical, not really understanding why it was given. I probably earned the second one."

Whatever the reason, Floyd's behavior was unacceptable. I wouldn't be surprised if he faced a suspension as a result.

East Carolina ended up winning the game 83-76. It was a critical loss for the Miners, who have now lost two straight to fall a game behind the leaders in the Conference USA regular season race.

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UPDATE: Myron Strong dismissed from UTEP, throws accusations back at Tim Floyd

UPDATE: Miner Rush landed an interview with Strong, and he threw even more gas on the fire. Among the claims he made: Floyd threatened to revoke the scholarships of Arnette Moultrie and Derrick Caracter if they declared for the draft; that Floyd insulted Caracter and Moultrie in front of the team to the point that it was uncomfortable; and that the majority of the UTEP team failed drug tests.

I'm not exactly sure what Strong is trying to do here, but I can guarantee that he is going to get quite a bit of attention for it.


On Thursday, rising senior Myron Strong was kicked off the UTEP basketball team by Tim Floyd. Dan Wolken spoke with Floyd, who said it was the result of a drug policy violation.

Why did Wolken, a beat writer for the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, want to talk to Floyd about a reserve getting kicked off the UTEP basketball team? Because Strong went on facebook to respond to his dismissal:

"Yeah I'm not at utep anymore I know a lot of ppl wondering y, but the big question really should be how did tim floyd even get the job there? Wasn't he just under investigation at USC? Well I'm hearing that he had a fake charity event to pay former player OJ Mayo $100,000 to play for him. How did the ncaa let that slide? I'm just saying...."

KVIA in El Paso emailed Strong about his accusations, and Strong responded with the following:

"Basically when barbee was there I had a dorm incident and couldn't live in the dorms this school year which was fine because I wasn't planning on staying in the dorms anyways. So when tim floyd came to utep he tested our team and some ppl failed but for some reason he made it seem like it was all my fault and that I was a bad person. He stereotyped me from day 1. Then a few weeks bck I was in the dorm(just there before class) and the police arrested a gurl in the dorm with weed that I knew. My name came up and she told them I had nothing to do with it which was true. Tim floyd had said even if my name came up in anything that I was out of there so I made sure that they knew I had nun to do wit it. But still he told me I violated by even being in the dorms and I didn't know I couldn't even be in the dorms. Tim floyd had already said that he had a guard he wanted to bring in so that had to be his reason to let me go. Really I don't see how he even got the job when he broke ncaa rules at usc just two years back. He raised a fake charity event to pay a player to come to usc is what I'm hearing from my sources abd I'm sure its true."

Now, I don't need to tell you that those are some pretty hefty accusations, especially when they are being thrown at Floyd, who escaped punishment when the NCAA came down on USC.

A disgruntled and angry ex-player is hardly the most reliable source. But with the NCAA's new found desire to crack down on the corruption in youth basketball, does anyone think the NCAA is going to leave this alone?
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Tim Floyd's "package deal" are not that big of a deal

The NCAA is always trying to clean up college hoops and the sport's recruiting process.

The latest example of this came back in January, when the NCAA announced their intention to close some of the loopholes that had been found. One of those loopholes was the concept of a package deal. Essentially, a package deal is when an adult -- a coach, a trainer, a relative -- latches on to a recruit, and in order for a school to land that recruit, they hire that adult to "work" with the team. There are tons of examples of this -- Kansas hired Mario Chalmers' father, Memphis hired Tyreke Evans' trainer, etc.

Here is the exact text of the new rule, known as Bylaw 13.8.3.2:

Individual Associated with a Prospective Student-Athlete -- Men's Basketball. In men's basketball, during a two-year period before a prospective student-athlete's anticipated enrollment and a two-year period after the prospective student-athlete's actual enrollment, an institution shall not employ (or enter into a contract for future employment with) an individual associated with the prospective student-athlete in any athletics department noncoaching staff position.

Tim Floyd always seems to be skirting the rules.
(photo credit: LA Times)

This rule has come under a bit of scrutiny this week thanks to Tim Floyd. Floyd has never been one to shy away from recruiting's grey areas. We all have heard about OJ Mayo and the envelope stuffed with benjis, but that is far from the only way Floyd has wooed recruits. In fact, package deals seem to be a favorite of Floyd's. Back in 2005 when Floyd first got the USC job, he twice made package deals. He hired Gil Arnold, the head coach at the College of Southern Idaho, and Shaun Davis and Abdoulaye Ndiaye followed. He then hired Rudy Hackett as his strength and conditioning coach. Rudy was joined at USC by his son Daniel Hackett.

This offseason, Floyd landed the head coaching job at UTEP, and he is back up to his old tricks.

For college basketball fans, you may have never heard the name Rashanti Harris before, but its a certainty that recruitniks have. Harris was a top 30 national recruit and the 2008 Mr. Basketball in Mississippi before heading to Georgia State, of all places. But Harris could never get eligible there, and after sitting out the 2009-2010 season, he decided to transfer to UTEP.

Is it any coincidence that William Small, the man that recruited Harris to Georgia State, was also hired by UTEP?

Floyd also landed former HEAT Academy teammates Michael Haynes and Desmond Lee. Haynes, a 6'7" forward, was the real prize, spurning interest from Duke, Texas, and UCLA. Floyd then hired Jason Niblett, the head coach and founder of HEAT Academy (for a good read, check out this Washington Post profile of the school that outsourced education), which has earned Floyd a lot of negative backlash.

Here's the interesting thing, however -- so long as Small and Niblett are named assistant coaches and aren't given an operations position, these are completely legal hires. The rule says that package deals are legal so long as the person hired isn't given "any athletics department noncoaching staff position." Clearly, these hires go against the spirit of the rule put into place, but the spirit of the rule and the letter of the law are two completely different things. We have learned this the hard way.

Part of the problem the NCAA has is that they don't want to completely eliminate a pathway for a high school coach to become a college coach. Take Danny Hurley, for example. Hurley was the head coach at St. Benedict's Prep in New Jersey before making the jump to Wagner College. If he landed some of his higher rated high school players at Wagner, couldn't that technically be considered a package deal?

Ok, that is a bit of a stretch, but my point is that the best high school coaches are going to be coaching the best high school players. If one of these high school coaches were to get a D1 offer, it would be for two reasons -- their ability to coach, and their ability to recruit based on their connections at the high school level. If the NCAA did away with package deals all together, that pathway for high school coaches to college would be eliminated.

My question is whether Floyd actually did anything wrong here.

Sure, it looks sketchy. I can't disagree. But William Small is a talented enough recruiter that he got Harris, a four star recruit, to come to Georgia State along with a nother three-star recruit. If he is landing top 30 players at Georgia State, what kind of recruits can he land at UTEP? While Harris was a nice bonus for Floyd, doesn't it stand to reason that Small wasn't going to be at Georgia State too much longer?

Jason Niblett ran a basketball factory that sent eight guys to the D1 level this year. The WaPo article linked earlier mentions his connections to coaches overseas, specifically Australia, and it stands to reason that he has plenty of connections to high school and AAU coaches stateside if he was landing that kind of talent. He also played D1 basketball himself and spent six years playing professionally in France. Its safe to assume that he has a significant amount of basketball knowledge.

Being a successful college basketball program is based on your ability to recruit. Based on their resumes, one can assume that these two guys are going to be able to recruit for Floyd. Recruiting is based on connections. Kansas State lands a lot of players from teh DC Metro area because of Dalone Hill's connections.

Is that considered dirty or unethical? Truth be told, how much different is what is happening at Kansas State and what happened at UTEP? And keep in mind, Floyd did nothing illegal.

I'm not a Tim Floyd fan by any stretch of the imagination. I think UTEP was moronic for hiring him. I think the way he runs his programs is despicable. I think package deals should be eliminated from college basketball.

But these two hirings are different than your typical package deal.

This isn't the hiring of Mario Chalmers' father or Tyreke Evans' trainer. These are two coaches that got offered better jobs and brought their players with them.

When a head coach gets a better job, and he brings along his players or recruits, is that considered a package deal as well?

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UTEP hired Tim Floyd, but the question is why

I have no idea what UTEP is thinking with their hiring of Tim Floyd.

Before I get to the obvious, let me just say this: Floyd embodies what is wrong with college basketball. Remember the "5-8 rule"? The rule that stated a coach could not award more than five scholarships in one season and no more than eight in two seasons? Well, that rule was commonly known as the "Tim Floyd rule" in coaching circles.

Tim Floyd was hired by UTEP today.
(photo credit: ESPN)

How did Floyd earn that distinction?

By over-recruiting. During his four year run at Iowa State that saw the Cyclones win 20 games for three straight seasons and reach the tournament three years in a row, Floyd constantly recruited over players he had already given a scholarship too. He would then run off the excess recruits before the school year began.

He has the player's best interests in mind. Right.

Then there is the whole USC fiasco. I think we are all well aware of the OJ Mayo situation that USC is currently dealing with. Floyd allegedly gave an envelope full of cash to OJ Mayo's handler -- Ronald Guillory -- while Mayo was playing for USC. Guillory is about as unsavory a character as you are going to find in the college basketball world. He got Fresno State's Tito Maddox and USC's Jeff Trepangier in trouble in 2000 for receiving extra benefits. He was the mystery man that showed up in Floyd's office when the Trojans were recruiting Mayo.

Floyd resigned from USC last summer as a result of these allegations. Both Floyd and USC are still awaiting their punishment from the NCAA for those violations.

And this is the guy that UTEP hired.

Remember what happened last time a program hired a coach still under investigation by the NCAA? I think Indiana fans do. Kelvin Sampson got in trouble at Oklahoma for making illegal phone calls to recruits. He then did the same thing at Indiana. The Hoosier's program still hasn't recovered from that.

I don't know Tim Floyd. As far as I know, he could be a changed man. I don't think that there is any debate that the guy can coach, either. He turned around both Iowa State and USC during his tenure at each school.

But at what cost?

USC was on the brink of becoming one of the great stories of the '09-'10 season before they withdrew from all postseason consideration as a result of Floyd's conduct.

This is the guy that UTEP hired.

Can't say that I understand it.
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2010 NCAA Tournament Bracket Breakdown: Sleepers you haven't seen

How do you define a sleeper?

A sleeper, at least when talking about college hoops, is a team that is capable of making it further than they are expected to based on their seed. But there's a catch: to be a "sleeper", you have to like them to win at least two games, and to make it least one game (preferably two) beyond where they are expected if chalk holds. Five seeds can't be Sweet 16 sleepers. Two seeds can't be Final Four sleepers. If you only think they can win one game, they aren't a sleeper; they are an upset pick.

Sleepers come in all shapes and sizes. Sleepers can come from the low- and mid-major conferences. Sleepers can come from the power conferences. Sleepers can have all-americans and lottery picks. Sleepers can lack a single all-conference player. Sleepers can be picked based on talent, style of play, and/or matchups. Most importantly, correctly predicting the "sleepers" is how you win your pool. And isn't that why all of you are reading this?

Today, we will be schooling you on the sleepers. Who should you trust? Who shouldn't you trust?

Here are the sleepers you haven't seen play:


Old Dominion Monarchs: #11 seed, South Region

Old Dominion does some things very well. They are big, athletic, and tough. They defend. They can rebound with anyone in the country. And while they drew maybe the hottest team in the country in the first round, it is a good matchup for the Monarchs. Notre Dame's new style is to really slow the game down, something Old Dominion wants to do as well. Notre Dame does not rebound the ball well, struggles against some of the more physical teams, and could have issues getting stops, much like they did against West Virginia in the Big East semifinals. Of ODU can get by the Irish, they will likely face Baylor, another team they matchup well with. The Bears are just as good on the offensive glass as the Monarchs and may actually have more size. Baylor struggles to rebound in their zone defense, however, which Old Dominion should be able to take advantage of. If the Monarchs can force Tweety Carter and Lace Dunn into poor shooting nights, Old Dominion could very well reach the Sweet 16.


UTEP Miners: #12 seed, West Region

UTEP drew Butler in the first round of the tournament, a team that has been in and around the top ten for much of the season. Butler is a good team -- they went undefeated against their conference, beat Xavier and Ohio State, and have no bad losses. No matter how you slice it, that equals a good team. But where Butler struggles is when they face teams that are bigger and more athletic than them. UTEP, on paper, looks like a high-major team, at least sizewise. Arnett Moultrie is the Miner's center, and he stands 6'11". Derrick Caracter is 6'9", 270 lb. Claude Britten is 6'11". Jeremy Williams and Julyan Stone are 6'6" and 6'7" on the wing. Ronald Nored, at 6'3", is Butler's starting power forward.

I like UTEP in a possible matchup with Vanderbilt as well. Is it possible that Vandy is overrated as a four seed? The SEC is better than last year, but it is still not a great league. Vandy lost five games in conference. They lost six games to teams that missed the NCAA Tournament. This is not a good defensive team, and a downright bad rebounding team. Vandy's strength is that they run a complicated offensive system -- they are a difficult team to prepare for, especially when you only have one day between game -- but UTEP's strength is their defensive ability. Don't be surprised if the Miners make a run.


San Diego State Aztecs: #11 seed, Midwest Region

The Aztecs caught a break with their draw, as their first two games will be against Tennessee and (in all likelihood) Georgetown. Neither the Hoyas or the Vols have big front lines, and neither are all that good on the glass. SDSU, on the other hand, may have the best front line in this region. Kawhi Leonard, Billy White, and Malcolm Thomas are all athletic and aggressive and they go hard to the offensive back boards. SDSU does have some issues. They turn the ball over quite a bit, which could be a problem against Tennessee's pressure. They are not all that good at defending the three, and Georgetown can some guys that can shoot. But SDSU is playing as well as they have all year long. They have won five in a road, nine out of ten, and 13 of their last 16 games. The only three losses in that string, which includes two wins over UNLV and a win over New Mexico, are to BYU (twice) and New Mexico.


BYU Cougars: #7 seed, West Region

I think BYU can make the Final Four. There. I said it. Now lets talk about it. The Cougars are a high-powered offensive team that likes to get out and run the floor. Their attack is spear-headed by Jimmer Fredette, who is the only player in the country to hit 40 twice this season. The Cougars generally have three other shooters on the court with Fredette, which opens up the middle of the floor. I don't foresee BYU having much trouble with Florida, which sets up an interesting matchup with Kansas State. There are two things that the Wildcats do to win games -- they force turnovers and they attack the offensive glass. The two things that BYU is the best at? Protecting the basketball and finishing defensive possessions with a rebound. In fact, they have the second best defensive rebounding percentage in the country. Granted, BYU tends to be phenomenal against poor competition and only average against the best competition, but this, like I said, is a favorable matchup. If the Cougars happen to get through to the Sweet 16, they will essentially be playing a home game, as the West Regional is played in Salt Lake City. BYU fans are loud, they are passionate, and they make the Cougars a much better team.

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2/22 - College Hoops Week in Review: Not all bubbles are bursting

What we learned this week: While most of the talk this week is going to be about teams playing themselves off of the bubble, it is worth noting that not everyone is doing so. Here are just a few of the teams playing themselves into the tournament:

• Oklahoma State Cowboys: As of today, the Pokes are probably going to be considered a tournament team as they went 2-0 this week and have three straight wins overall. The Pokes have three wins over RPI top 25 teams (at K-State, Texas A&M, Baylor) and nothing too disastrous in the loss column. The issue for OK-State is their remaining schedule - at Texas, Kansas, at Texas A&M, Nebraska. If they beat Nebraska and split against the Texas school, they should be in.

• Florida Gators: Prior to this week, the Gators had lost two straight games, falling at South Carolina before getting beat by Xavier at home. They rebounded this week with wins against Auburn and at Ole Miss, putting themselves in good position for the stretch run. Like the Pokes, Florida as a loaded schedule down the stretch - Tennessee, at Georgia, Vandy, at Kentucky. They probably need to win two of those games to feel comfortable heading into the SEC Tournament.


• Maryland Terrapins: The Terps probably should feel very good about their chances to earn a bid right now. They are 19-7 overall and 9-3 in the ACC, good for second place. With four games left on their schedule, Maryland should be ok so long as they don't lose out. Two wins, whether they come during the regular season or the ACC Tournament, will be enough for a bid. Maryland's biggest negative right now is a lack of great wins - none of their three top 50 wins are top 25.
  


• Louisville Cardinals: Louisville should have felt good about their chances to make the dance after beating Syracuse last Sunday. But with a lack of depth in their resume, the 'Ville needed to keep winning. While neither of them were pretty - they needed two OT's to beat Notre Dame without Harangody and only beat DePaul by nine - Louisville needed those wins as the last four games on their schedule are rough. If they can win two against Georgetown, at UConn, at Marquette, and Syracuse, they will get in. One win, and they are going to need to do some damage in the Big East tournament.


• UTEP Miners: UTEP is still a ways from an at-large bid, simply because they just don't have quality wins. They have just one top 50 win and have only played three top 50 games, which is part of the reason their RPI is so low. But the Miners have been on a tear lately, winning 10 straight games, including Saturday's W over Tulsa. UTEP can afford, at the most, just one more loss this season, although that could mean trouble if they also lose early in the C-USA tournament.


• UConn Huskies: UConn's win over Villanova put them in a good spot for getting a bid - win out, and you'll be in. Granted, that's easier said than done, but its necessary. There are five teams tied for eighth in the Big East at 6-8. After getting WVU and Louisville at home, UConn has to travel to Notre Dame and South Florida, two other 6-8 teams with the same winning-out-hopes that UConn has. If the Huskies win out and pick up a game in the Big East, they should be dancing.


• Marquette Golden Eagles: Marquette lost at Pitt on Thursday, which was costly but as you know there is no shame in losing at the Peterson Events Center. The Golden Eagles did pick up a huge bubble win over Cincinnati on the road on Sunday, however.


• Virginia Tech Hokies: Like Marquette, Virginia Tech lost a game on the road this week - to Duke - but it didn't hurt them. The game that mattered was Tech's win over Wake Forest, a win that put the Hokies into the tournament, at least for now.
  


• Minnesota Golden Gophers: With wins over Wisconsin and Indiana this week, Minnesota put themselves back into the conversation for a bid. They need to win out, as the Gophers overall resume lacks enough oomph up top with the losses the Gopher's have. That's not impossible, even with the roster issues Minnesota has had. A bit of team bonding - everyone shaving their head to support a teammate's sister that has cancer - could be the spark to a great finish to the season.


• San Diego State Aztecs: After beating TCU and Utah this week, the Aztecs are officially back in the thick of the bubble. But with just three games left - two bottom feeders in the MWC and at BYU - it is unlikely that SDSU will significantly improve their profile. A trip to the MWC finals will be needed if BYU wins.


• Utah State Aggies: The Aggies picked up two big wins this week, beating Louisiana Tech and Wichita State at home. USU has a very good RPI, and after dropping roadies to NMSU and La Tech to open WAC play, the Aggies have won 12 straight. If they don't win the WAC Tournament, it will be interesting to see where the Aggies end up. Their win over BYU will probably be very important.
  

GAME OF THE WEEK: Maryland 76, Georgia Tech 74

What a finish out in College Park on Saturday afternoon. After a sluggish start, especially on the defensive glass, Maryland seemingly took control against Tech towards the end of the first half and early in the second half. But as Greivis Vasquez struggled with his shot, the Yellow Jackets made a run, outscoring Maryland 12-2 over a four minutes stretch as the Terps simply couldn't get a stop to go up 65-60 with 4:59 left.

The Terps wouldn't go away, as Eric Hayes would score five straight points to give them a 71-68 leadwith 1:24 on the clock. Derrick Favors would answer with a tip-in 30 seconds later, setting up a furious final minute. After Dino Gregory missed a lay-up, Georgia Tech called a time out, isolating DeAndre Bell, who drove to the rim and scored. But at the other end, Vasquez drove down the middle and hit a floater to take the lead back at 73-72. The rest, well, I'll let youtube explain it:



Vasquez struggled a bit in this one, finished with 18 points, 8 assists, and 5 boards, but hitting just 5-16 from the floor. Derrick Favors made NBA scouts drool as he went for 21 points and 18 boards, nine offensive.

Maryland is now in second place in the ACC, but they have a fatal flaw - a lack of an interior presence. A week after Brian Zoubek torched them inside, Favors overmatched Jordan Williams and Gregory (who, to their credit, put up an admirable fight).


PLAYER OF THE WEEK: James Anderson, Oklahoma State

Anderson may end up winning Big XII player of the year this year, and performances like the one he had against Baylor on Saturday is why. Anderson went for 31 points and 12 boards, his third double-double of the season, as the Pokes knocked off Baylor at home to solidify, for now, an at-large berth.

James Anderson had 31 and 12 in a win over Baylor.
(photo credit: Austin American-Statesmen)

Anderson also had 20 points and 8 boards on Wednesday against Iowa State. For the week, he averaged 26.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg, and shot 50% from the floor and 9-15 from three. If OK State is to make the tournament, they are going to need more of those performances from Anderson. Their next three games are at Texas, home against Kansas, and at Texas A&M.

They were good too

• Greivis Vasquez, Maryland: Vasquez was fantastic in three games this week as the Terps went undefeated and remained just a game back in the loss column from Duke. In wins over Georgia Tech, Virginia, and NC State, Vasquez averaged 24.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, and 6.3 apg. He may have had his best game of the season against UVa on Monday, going for 30 points, 8 boards, and 5 assists with no turnovers and 12-19 shooting.
• Randy Culpepper, UTEP: Fresh off of a 45 point game last Saturday, Culpepper went for 29 points as the Miners extended their winning streak to 10 games with a win at Tulsa. UTEP has an easy finish to the C-USA season, and are firmly in the driver's seat as we hit the stretch run in C-USA.
• Ali Faroukmanesh, Northern Iowa: With Jordan Eglseder suspended, someone was going to have to step up for UNI if they were to beat Creighton and Old Dominion, and Faroukmanesh was that guy. He had 17 in the win over Creighton, then dropped 23 on Friday night as the Panthers knocked off Old Dominion.
• Kemba Walker, UConn: Kemba averaged 22.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg as the Huskies went 2-0 this week, keeping their tourney hopes alive. The big win came Monday night, as UConn went into Philly and knocked off Villanova. Walker had 29 points and 9 boards in that game, outplaying everyone in Nova's vaunted backcourt.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Purdue Boilermakers

The Boilermakers extended their winning streak to nine games this week by knocking off both Illinois and Ohio State. They were both big wins, as the Illini and the Buckeyes are two of the five teams battling for the Big Ten title. Purdue has now swept Illinois and split with Ohio State.

But that was far from the only good news Purdue got this week. On Sunday, that same Ohio State team went into East Lansing and knocked off Michigan State, which put Purdue in the driver's seat for the Big Ten title. They are all alone in first place with four games left, sitting a game in front of both Michigan State and Ohio State in the loss column.

Will Purdue be a #1 seed?
(photo credit: NBC Sports)

That wasn't all. Villanova also lost on Sunday, which means that Purdue is probably sitting as the fourth No. 1 seed if they season were to end today. Not a bad way to finish the week.

They were good too

• Kentucky Wildcats: Its too bad that Purdue had the week they did, because Kentucky was as deserving as anyone to win team of the week this past week. On Tuesday, Kentucky went into Starkville and knocked off Mississippi State in overtime despite being down 67-60 with three minutes left. Then on Saturday, Kentucky picked up their best win of the season, as they went into Nashville and took down a scrappy Vanderbilt team despite, once again, trailing late in the game. For those scoring at home, that's two comeback wins against tough teams on the road in conference play. For some, that was enough to officially make them a believer.
• Pitt Panthers: Pitt had a bit of a swoon midway through the season as they lost four of five games, but the Panthers have responded, as they have now won five straight, including two this week. Pitt picked up a win at Marquette on Thursday before knocking off Villanova at home on Sunday. The Panthers are currently tied with West Virginia for third in the league, but with their relatively easy schedule down the stretch combined with the difficult schedules of Villanova and WVU, don't be surprised if Pitt finishes second in the Big East.
  
• Maryland Terrapins: Once you get past the holiday tournaments, it is very rare to see a team play three games in a week, let alone four in eight days. But that's exactly when Maryland did, and they won all three this week, culminating in a thriller with two buzzer beaters to beat Georgia Tech. Maryland is once again all alone in second place in the ACC.
• Oklahoma State Cowboys: The Cowboys picked up two big wins this week, beating Iowa State on the road and knocking off Baylor at home, as they now seem to be in good position to earn the Big XII's seventh bid.
• Florida Gators: Florida, like OK State, picked up two big wins this week, including a nailbiter at Ole Miss, as they shored up their tourney hopes.
• Cornell Big Red: Cornell went 2-0 this week, picking up a big win at Harvard, which combined with Princeton's loss to Penn but Cornell in a commanding spot in the Ivy. If they beat Princeton on Friday, the race for the Ivy League's auto bid is all but over.
  

MATCHUPS OF THE WEEK

• 2/23 - 9:00 pm: Tennessee @ Florida
• 2/24 - 6:30 pm: Dayton @ Temple
• 2/24 - 9:00 pm: San Diego State @ BYU
• 2/24 - 9:00 pm: Texas A&M @ Baylor
• 2/24 - 9:00 pm: Oklahoma State @ Texas
• 2/26 - 12:00 pm: Kentucky @ Tennessee
• 2/26 - 2:00 pm: Texas @ Texas A&M
  
• 2/26 - 4:00 pm: Kansas @ Oklahoma State
• 2/26 - 4:00 pm: New Mexico @ BYU
• 2/26 - 4:00 pm: Maryland @ Virginia Tech
  
• 2/26 - 8:00 pm: Missouri @ Kansas State
  
• 2/26 - 9:00 pm: Villanova @ Syracuse
• 2/27 - 1:00 pm: Richmond @ Xavier
  
• 2/27 - 4:00 pm: Michigan State @ Purdue
  

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Games outside the Big Six will have a lot of influence on Saturday

There are 148 games to be played on Saturday.

21 of them involve top 25 teams.

Seven of them involved top ten teams. One of those games features two top ten teams.

And while you will want to keep an eye on all of them, the most important and intriguing games of the day don't take place in the major conferences. They will be played in the MWC, in the A-10, and in C-USA.

Like its been for the last few years, the bubble is weak this season. The difference this year is that with the Pac-10 being down, the SEC West approaching Pac-10 territory, and the middle of the Big East looking weaker by the loss, the number of bids available for mid-major schools is higher than usual, and certainly will be more than the four at-larges they received last season.

Its to the point that there is a real possibility more than one of the aforementioned leagues could get four (or more) teams in. The results from Saturday may go along way towards deciding who celebrates on Selection Sunday and who is banished to the dead man walking tournament NIT.


Conference USA: There are only four teams that really have a chance of still getting an at-large bid this year - Memphis, UTEP, Tulsa, and UAB.

3:00 pm: UAB @ Rice: UAB probably has the best non-conference resume in the league, as they picked up wins over Cincinnati, Butler, and Georgia as well as winning at Kent State and surprising Arkansas. But the Blazers have lost their last two games, with both coming to teams they are currently competing with for the C-USA title and the at-large bids. The Blazers cannot afford to lose three games in a row, especially when the third is against cellar dweller Rice, even in it is on the road.

4:00 pm: Gonzaga @ Memphis: Gonzaga could use this win, but Memphis needs this win. They are 16-6 on the season, but their RPI is sitting at an unimpressive 68th and they have two losses to teams with RPI's around the 200's (UMass and SMU). Their best win came against UAB at home, and after that ... Oakland? Marshall? There is not much on this resume, and Gonzaga is a team in the RPI top 30. A loss here would come very close to ensuring the Tigers need to win the C-USA tournament.

10:00 pm: Tulsa @ UTEP: The Golden Hurricane and the Miners are currently sitting in a tie for first place in the league, which gives this game even more meaning. Tulsa is in pretty bad shape in terms on an at-large bid. They do have a 21 point win over Oklahoma State, but they've only played four other games against teams with top 100 RPI's, with their lone win coming against Marshall on Wednesday. UTEP is in a similar situation, and while their RPI is a bit lower than Tulsa's (72nd vs. 55th), they have some nice wins. They won at Memphis, at UAB, and at New Mexico State as well as picking up a neutral court win over Oklahoma.


Atlantic-10

12:00 pm: Xavier @ Dayton: The Muskies are all but in at this point. They have no bad losses (the worst loss is a neutral court loss to Marquette, who is not as bad as their 61st RPI indicates) and own a win over Cincinnati, Charlotte, Dayton, and Rhode Island. Xavier is 23rd in the RPI right now, and barring a collapse, a team with that RPI is not going to miss the tournament. Dayton, on the other hand, has some work to do. Wins over Old Dominion and Georgia Tech are nice, but with an RPI in the low 30's, they can't afford a swoon. A loss to Xavier, who has already beaten Dayton this year, would drop the Flyers to 4-4 in the league. Can the A-10 really send a team that ends up in fifth or sixth? Its too early to call it a must win, but its a we-really-need-this win.

2:00 pm: Temple @ Richmond: The Owls are basically in. A win over Villanova and no glaring losses will do that for you. But Richmond has some work to do. They've put together some nice wins (Mississippi State, Missouri, Old Dominion, Florida), but they've lost a couple games they could have won (South Carolina, William & Mary, VCU). Richmond doesn't have a great win, and still plays each of the other top six A-10 teams. They will have their chances to improve their resume, but they need to win those games in order to actually improve it.


Mountain West: The great thing about the MWC this weekend is that the four teams with a shot at an at-large bid play each other. If you get the Mountain station, tune in. Or at least TiVo it.

4:00 pm: BYU @ UNLV: BYU is in, and may actually be the best team out west. UNLV, however, still needs to pad their resume a bit. They did beat Louisville and Arizona out of conference, but those wins are not as impressive today as they would have been five years ago. They have also picked up a couple quality wins in conference play (at New Mexico, SDSU), but they probably need to do more. UNLV will make or break their bid in the next three games, as they play BYU, UNM, and SDSU in the next eight days.

6:00 pm: SDSU @ New Mexico: New Mexico ensured their bid by taking care of business out of conference (wins over Cal, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Dayton) and beating BYU last week. SDSU is in a much more dire situation. They do own a win over New Mexico already, but their only other win of significance is against Arizona. The Aztecs will get some chances to secure a bid, and this is by no means a make-or-break game, especially considering this game is played at the Pit and SDSU has already beaten UNM. But it is safe to say that SDSU really needs this game.
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Memphis chokes, saves us from an annoying argument

Memphis lost last night. They committed five turnovers on their last seven possessions, including one by Willie Kemp with 4.3 seconds left as Memphis had a chance to tie. The UTEP win snapped the Tiger's 64 game winning streak in Conference USA.

Maybe that was a good thing.

Don't get me wrong, I have no rooting interest in the Memphis Tigers either way. Win, and I'm happy for them. I like Josh Pastner and want to see him do well. Lose, and well, Memphis fans saw 64 straight conference wins. That's four years. I can't feel too bad for them about a loss.

Anyway, that's besides the point. Its a good thing that they didn't break the record because as soon as the NCAA denies the latest appeal by Memphis, their entire 2007-2008 season will be vacated, meaning that the Tigers will have officially set the record only to see it erased from the record books.

Personally, I think that's ridiculous. What's the point of "vacating a season"? You can't erase memories, you can't change what happened in the past, and frankly, no one gives a damn in a season is "vacated." Part of the reason you punish a crime or a violation is to provide an incentive not to commit that crime or violation. If you levy a punishment that no one really believes is a punishment, where is the incentive not to commit the crime? If the punishment for stealing a TV was that I had to vacate the memories I had from watching that TV, I'd never buy a TV ever again.

But that's all legal mumbo-jumbo, and this is a college basketball blog. Do you really care all that much about my opinion?

No.

No one wants to read that.

And had Memphis set the record only to have it "vacated" from the record book, columns exactly like this are all you would have read for days, weeks, or even months.

So thank you, UTEP, for sparing the college hoops world thousands of columns just like this one: boring.

Besides, is winning 65 or 66 straight conference games really that much more impressive than winning 64?

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Tuesday's Shootaround: UK2K, a Nic Wise buzzer beater, and more struggles in Norman

UTEP 89, Oklahoma 74: The Miners started the game on fire hitting six of their first nine threes and eventually opened up a 19 point first half lead. Oklahoma would cut the lead to ten twice, but would never get an closer. Willie Warren had 26 points, which is much better than the four point performance he had against Northern Colorado, but he still seems to be on a different page than Jeff Capel.

If you didn't believe us before, maybe you will now: UTEP is for real. Randy Culpepper, who had 27 points last night, is one of the most dynamic scoring guards in the country, Derrick Caracter and Arnett Moultrie are a nice combination for each other on the front line, 6'7" Julyan Stone is Evan Turner v2.0, and guys like Christian Polk and Jeremy Williams are excellent role players. Polk had 17 last night. It is going to be fun to see UTEP and Tulsa battle for the C-USA title.

Kentucky 88, Drexel 44: Kentucky did it. They became the first team to win 2,000 games. Now, personally, I don't think it is that big of a deal. Does becoming the first to 2,000 wins really mean that much? Does it say anything about the current UK program? The two teams right behind the Wildcats, Kansas and UNC, have won the last two national titles and three combined this decade. Kentucky hasn't even reached a final four since '98.



That said, for fans of the blue bloods, the argument always is who's program, who's team, is the best of all-time. Having the most wins is a compelling way to argue that. UCLA has the overwhelming lead in national titles, but that really all came from one decade of success. The most wins is a sign that your program has consistently been the best.

Enough about UK2K. Last night, the '09-'10 Wildcats looked the best that they have all season. For the first time, they dominated and overwhelmed an inferior opponent for 40 minutes. Are the Wildcats finally starting to put it all together? That's a scary thought for SEC teams. Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins both scored 18 points to lead the Wildcats.

Arizona 83, Lipscomb 82 OT: Lipscomb led for the majority of this game, but Arizona took a three point lead late before Brian Wright hit a triple with 1.5 seconds left to force the overtime. The game was back and forth in OT, with Lipscomb taking a two point lead late. Adnan Hodzic missed the second of two free throws with just 4.7 seconds on the cock, setting up an exciting finish. You tell me if the ball is still in his hands:



Cornell 71, St. John's 66: The Big Red got 19 points, 11 boards, and 5 blocks out of Jeff Foote and 20 points from Jon Jacques as they went into the Garden and knocked off the Johnnies. With about two minutes left in the game, Foote scored in the paint to break a 60-all tie, and a minute later Jacques knocked down his fifth three of the game to give Cornell a 67-62 lead. Dwight Hardy led St. John's with 19 points.

Kansas State 90, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 76: The Wildcats looked a step slow as they slogged their way to a 14 point win over winless UAPB. Jacob Pullen led the way with 18 points.

Oklahoma State 77, La Salle 62: The Pokes got 28 points from James Anderson and 18 points from Marshall Moses as they led the entire game. La Salle got 22 points from Rodney Green, but never really threatened OK State.

South Carolina 81, Furman 57: Devan Downey led four players in double figures and flirted with a triple double, going for 16 points, 8 assists, and 7 steals, as the Gamecocks won. The news wasn't all good today, as it was announced that Dominique Archie will be undergoing season ending knee surgery.

Arizona State 69, UCSB 42: Rihard Kuksiks had 24 points on eight threes and Derek Glasser became the Sun Devils all time assists leader.

Dayton 65, Appalachian State 49: The Flyers continue to struggle on the offenive end as they shot just 38.6% from the floor. Chris Wright had 14 points, however, as Dayton pulled away down the stretch.

Miami 80, North Carolina A&T 59: The Hurricanes got 14 points of out Malcolm Grant to lead five players in double figures in a blowout win.

Vanderbilt 99, Mercer 59: Vandy looks like they are starting to play some defense. For the second straight game, they held their opponent to 25 first half points. An 18-2 run during the first half broke this one open. Freshman John Jenkins led the way with 17 points.

Wichita State 69, North Dakota State 57: The Shockers used a 13-0 run to start the game, and kept the lead at double digits throughout. Toure Murry led the way with 15 points.

Monday's Best:

• Jacksonville's Ben Smith scored 32 points and hit 7 threes, but the Dolphins fell to East Tennessee State.
  
• Providence's Greedy Peterson had 25 points and 13 boards in PC's win over Yale, but Alex Zampier of the Bulldogs kept them close with 25 of his own.
• Lipscomb's Adnan Hodzic may have missed a free throw that eventually cost them the game, but his 34 points and 13 boards were the biggest reason the Bison had a chance to win.
• Jamarco Warren of Charleston Southern had 37 points and 6 steals in a win over Southeastern University.
• Long Beach State's TJ Robinson had 22 points and 18 boards in a loss.
  

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Thursday's Shootaround: Derrick Caracter makes an impact, but UTEP blows a lead late

Ole Miss 91, UTEP 81 OT: Ole Miss is building quite the reputation as the comeback kids. For the third consecutive game, the Rebels rallied to make an improbably comeback, this time from down 12 with five minutes left to force overtime. Two three pointers by Terrico White sparked a 14-0 run that was capped by two Chris Warren free throws to give the Miners a 71-70 lead with 48 seconds left, and White added another free throw before Arnett Moultrie hit a short jumper to force OT.

Chris Warren scored a career-high 32 points as Ole Miss came back on UTEP.
(photo credit: AP)

In the OT, Zach Graham started the scoring with a three, and Ole Miss was able to hit their free throws down the stretch to hold on to the win. Chris Warren, who had 17 points in the first 15 minutes, but was held scoreless after that until the Ole Mis comeback, scored 11 of his career high 32 in overtime. White finished with 19 points for the Rebels. Randy Culpepper had 19 points to lead the Miners, but was just 2-12 from three. The story of the game for UTEP, however, was Derrick Caracter, who posted 15 points and 15 boards in just his second game since March 28th, 2008. And he did it against a top 25 team.

Oklahoma State 71, Stanford 70: The Cowboys used some hot second half shooting to open up a lead as big as 15 points at one point, but Stanford was able to make a come back thanks to some timely buckets from Jeremy Green (19 points) and Landry Fields (22 points, 12 boards, 4 assists). James Anderson scored 28 points, and Obi Muonelo scored 20, to lead the Pokes to a nice road win.

UAB 64, Cincinnati 47: Cincinnati was out played out hustled, and as a result was out rebounded 47-34 as the Blazers soundly beat the Bearcats. They were up by as much as 25 before a late run. The domination was all the more impressive when you consider the Cinci is one of the best rebounding teams in the country, and the Blazers start four guards. The Bearcats, who were 3-22 from three and only got Yancy Gates 8 shots, settled for too many jumpers and contested threes for a team without the benefit of one player that could, right now, be considered a consistent and reliable three point shooter. Elijan Millsap had 22 and 15 to lead UAB.

South Carolina 76, Richmond 58: Richmond was in this game for 32 two minutes, as a Dan Geriot bucket with 8:12 left in the game tied it at 52. But the Gamecocks would respond with a 24-6 run to close the game as their pressure finally started working. Devan Downey finished with 18 points to lead USC.

Other notables games:

• Georgia Tech 65, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 53: Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors combined for 30 points and 26 rebounds as the Yellow Jackets overcame a sluggish performance in their final tune-up before starting ACC play on the 20th.
• Ohio State 78, Presbyterian 48: Ohio State used a 14-0 run at the start of the game and jumped out to a 53-21 halftime lead, but was outscored in the second half.
• Clemson 80, East Carolina 63: Trevor Booker had 13 points, 12 boards, and 9 assists for the Tigers who jumped out to a early lead before throwing it in cruise control in the second half.
• New Mexico 96, Northern Arizona 57: The Lobos jumped out to a 14-0 lead, then shot 22-31 from the field in the second half as they hit 16 threes on the game. Roman martinez had 17 to lead the way.
• Miami 69, Stetson 49: Dwayne Collins had 20 points and 15 boards as the Hurricanes never trailed, using a 12-2 run midway through the second half to seal this one.
• South Florida 69, Central Florida 65: Dominique Jones scored 27 points and added 6 boards and 5 steals as the Bulls won for the 10th time in 11 games against UCF.
• Louisvile 94, Oral Roberts 57: The Cardinals used a stifling press in the first half to jump to a big lead and rebound from back to back home losses. Edgar Sosa had 18 to lead the Ville.
• Mississippi State 80, Wright State 69: The Bulldogs shot 63% from the floor and hit 12 threes while Jarvis Varnado added 17 points, 8 boards, and 6 blocks.
• Wake Forest 80, UNC-Wilmington 69: LD Williams had a career-high 23 points, Ishmael Smith had 19, and Al-Farouq Aminu added 17 and 13 boards as Wake survived a gutty performance from the Seahawks.
• Arkansas 76, Alabama State 51: Michael Washington had 22 and 8 boards as the Razorbacks got back to .500 with the win.
• Alabama 60, Samford 45: Mikhail Torrance scored 15 points and handed out 7 assists as the Tide rebounded from a loss to Purdue in which they blew a 16 point second half lead.
• Illinois-Chicago 63, Oregon State 61: Robo Kreps scored on a layup with 5.6 seconds left as UIC knocked off the Beavers.
• American 62, DePaul 57: Dan Hendra his a three with 2:28 left to give American a 58-57 lead and finished with 17 points as AU landed the upset.
• Northwestern 84, North Florida 54: Michael Thompson led six scorers in double figures as the Wildcas won their seventh straight game.
• Wisconsin 90, Cal-Poly 42: Trevon Hughes scored 20, including his 1,000 point, as the Badgers cruised to a big win.
• Oregon 79, Mississippi Valley State 51: Garrett Sim hd 19 points, 8 boards, and 6 assists as the Ducks beat the Delta Devils.
  

Wednesday's best:

• Hassan Whiteside had a triple double, going for 17 points, 14 boards, and 11 blocks, as Marshall beat non-DI Brescia.
• DeAndre Mays scored 27 points and added 6 boards as Youngstown State beat St. Francis PA 74-65.
• BJ Monteiro scored 27 points and Bill Clark added 17 points, 14 boards, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 3 steals as the Dukes beat Canisius in double OT.
• Vlad Moldoveanu scored 26 points and added 8 boards and 4 assists in American's win over DePaul.
  

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Derrick Caracter cleared to play

Derrick Caracter will be eligible to play tomorrow as UTEP takes on New Mexico State.

Caracter was a highly touted recruit from New Jersey, but after two years in Louisville that saw Caracter's weight balloon and grades collapse, Rick Pitino basically forced Caracter out of the program.

Caracter has a season and a half of eligibility left.
(photo credit: UTEP Athletics)

Pitino is not a coach that will put up with a lack of work ethic.

Will Tony Barbee?

You see, after Caracter left Louisville, he entered a period of uncertainty. He flirted with going to the NBA Draft and enrolling an a NAIA school, but eventually UTEP head coach Tony Barbee, who recruited Caracter while an assist at Memphis, decided to take a chance on him.

UTEP has a good team this year. Randy Culpepper is a dynamic, high-flying point guard that has averaged 16.8 ppg in UTEP's 5-0 start. Arnett Moultrie is an athletic and skilled 6'11" big man in the mold of Jason Thompson who has posted averages of 14.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg early on. Throw in a couple of solid role players, and the Miners are a team that has the weapons to compete in an open C-USA.

If there is anything the Miners are missing, however, it is a rugged power forward to play alongside Moultrie.

That fits Caracter to a T.

But the issue with Caracter has never been talent. It has been attitude and work ethic. As Jeff Goodman said today:

I still have yet to talk to any of Caracter's former coaches who have anything positive to say about him and his work ethic.

Hopefully, Caracter has had his wake-up call. And if all goes to plan, Barbee's Miners will be competing for a C-USA title come February.
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