Monday Morning Dump

- Dan Hanner tells us who the most important players are for each team in the Big Ten and the SEC. He explains that without players like Terrence Jones, Demetri McCamey and Cameron Tatum on the floor, their teams fail to produce as much.. I guess that's pretty much how you decide who is the most important player on a team.

- Late last week, we noted that Baylor was contacting Adrian Moore, a 6-foot-3 8th-grader from Arkansas. Adam Zagoria is reporting that Baylor claims they did not offer Moore anything, but instead gave him a recruiting questionnaire.

- I was sure that UCLA would be better this season. I have been adamant about the fact that there is no possible way that they can be as bad as they were last season. They showed signs of life in a loss against VCU, and should have won the game against Kansas. But then, after nearly shocking the number-four team in the country, they lay an absolute egg against Montana at home. This was UCLA's fourth straight loss. What happens if UCLA had beaten Kansas? Do they still lose this game?

- Boise State is off to one the best starts in program history, currently sitting at 6-1. The Broncos, who were picked to finish sixth in the WAC, are playing well despite a slow start from their star player, Daequon Montreal. Nick Jezirny of the Idaho Statesman gives six reasons why the Broncos are 6-1

- Mike DeCourcy details the action that will take place this week at "The World's Most Famous Arena"

- Jeff Goodman releases his AP top-25 poll

- Some housecleaning from over the weekend: Kentucky asks the NCAA to take Cam Newton's case in as evidence in the Enes Kanter case; Tommy Amaker scheduled the Michigan-Harvard game when he was at Michigan, and now he is at Harvard; Colorado walk-on played pick-up with Obama; Gonzo's case got tossed; Arizona couple weds in Nic Wise jerseys.

- The Big Ten Conference announced that they will not pursue conference expansion any further. The conference added Nebraska as the 12th team this past year, marking the leauge's first expanison in two decades

- Michigan got a big-win over the weekend, as the wolverines defeated Harvard and former-head coach Tommy Amaker, 65-62. Michigan trailed for most of the first half, but fought back in the second and stayed in front of the Crimson down the stretch. There were five key plays that helped the Wolverines edge-out Harvard.

- The Washington Huskies had a dissappointing trip to Maui, but as Steve Kelley notes, there was nothing dissapointing about their 29-point rout of Texas Tech

- The Miami Hurricanes may not be the worst team in the ACC (we're looking at you Wake Forest), but most pundits predicted them to be near the bottom of the pack. Well, the Hurricanes now sit at 6-2 and boast wins over Ole Miss and West Virginia. The 'Canes also went the distance with the undefeated Memphis Tigers during Marathon Madness, and if it wasn't for an ugly, 16-point loss at Rutgers, Miami might be sitting right on the cusp of the top-25. Regardless, the Hurricanes are much better than we expected.

- Minnesota bounced back from their shocking loss at home to Virginia by beating Cornell over the weekend. But it wasn;t the type of "bounce-back" the gophers were hoping for. They defeated a middling Ivy League team with a new coach by only five, and missed 18 free throws

- We all know that the refs made an error during the waining moments of Kansas' two-point victory over UCLA. Bruin's head coach Ben Howland contacted the NCAA about the gaff that cost his team the game


- Any hopes for a new basketball arena for the Kentucky Wildcats now lie squarely in the hands of the city of Lexington. Initially, a deal was in place with IMG to develope the new arena as part of a package that would renovate Commonwealth Stadium and the baseball facillities. But that deal fell through

- A great piece on San Jose State star Adrian Oliver.

- The battle between UNC and UK wasn't pretty, but it was exciting. Both teams learned a lot about their rosters and what they can improve on. But according to Gary Parrish, the best part about this win for UNC is that it's not a loss.

- Providence is now 8-1, thanks to a 13-point win against Rhode Island. Marshon Brooks led all scorers with 26 points. But, as the Rams found out, Brooks is not the only big time player for Providence

- The injury bug hits Purdue again as reserve guard John Hart will be out a month with a stress fracture in his right foot

- Some solid post-game reactions from Kentucky players and staff regarding their upsetting loss at Chapel Hill.

- Adam Zagoria reports that Seton Hall recruit Aaron Crosby had a big weekend. The 6-foot-3 guard for Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) dropped 48 points in two games this weekend, including ten 3-pointers

- A great statistical analysis of the Kansas/Mizzou trifecta of top-10 teams

- Don't look now, but the Valparasio Crusaders are 2-0 in the Horizon League for the first time since 2007

- Unlike LeBron James, The Cleveland State Vikings will always be there for Cleveland

A great highlight video of Washington's 29-point destruction of Texas Tech in the Pac-10/Big-12 Hardwood Classic