Thursday Morning Dump

Thank god college football signing day is over.

- Diamond Leung states Steve Fisher's case for Coach of the Year. Andy Katz makes the case for Jim Calhoun. Dana O'Neil states Rick Barnes' case for Coach of the Year, and informs us on the other ten contenders

- Andy Katz details the events that have taken place since the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and explains why the one constant is Vanderbilt's inability to finish games

- One of the reasons Syracuse had been struggling was because their vaunted 2-3 zone was been penetrated and broken down. Jeff Eisenberg explains why that didn't happen last night and how that helped the Orange get off the schneid. Eisenberg also assesses the rankings of conference PoY rankings

- Matt Jones makes a pretty bold statement regarding the top contender(s) in the Big East

- You've all heard about the rumors involving the Syracuse basketball team, but let's remember that they are still just rumors. However, that didn't stop the players from responding via twitter. Remember when Delonte West boned LeBron's mom? What about when Corey Fisher knocked up Scottie Reynold's girlfriend? Again folks, just rumors. But the person who started the the first thread has apologized for starting a media firestorm. The three players involved played under a cloud of speculation

- Washington's Isaiah Thomas blogs away about being an active twitterer, raising the roof, and wanting to play on Oregon's new court

- Jeff Borzello briefs us on a broken leg that may help Ball State make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000

- Eric Angevine provides a couple of musings from last night's action

- Since yesterday was Groundhog Day, Rush The Court did their best to try and predict March success

- The Long Island Blackbirds are 8-2 in NEC play and look to be favorites to win the automatic bid

- Jeremy Lamb is a superstar-in-the-making, but right now the Huskies need more from their current-superstar

- Louisville's Preston Knowles may miss the Cardinals game on Saturday against DePaul due to a hamstring injury

- The Washington Huskies currently sit atop the Pac-10, and looking at the history books, the Huskies usually finish the season strong

- Duke freshman Tyler Thornton has been playing very well of late and has become a legitimate backcourt option for the Blue Devils

- Indiana has lost three key players to injury this season, two of them being recently, and yet the Hoosiers have two wins over ranked teams in three games

- Michigan State has a great view of rock-bottom

- We thought this year was going to be different for Xavier. But it looks like once again, the Musketeers will be a tough-out come March. Speaking of Xavier, they lost last night to Charlotte in controversial fashion, but head coach Chris Mack kept his cool about it

- The Hinkle Fieldhouse, home to the Butler Bulldogs, has recieved $700,000 in historical preservation funds in order to preserve the building and add renovations. The only other historical site to receive as much money as Hinkle Fieldhouse was the Washington National Catherdral

- Coach Cal put a friendly reminder in each of his player's lockers that the team does not have a price tag

- Everybody bashes the Pac-10 for being so bad, but it's possible that the conference sends three teams to the Big Dance

- The Casual Hoya gets to know a little bit more about their team's beat reporter Tarik El-Bashir

- A mid-season review of Notre Dame's progress thus far

- The difference between football and basketball recruiting? hoops recruits tend to stick with the school they choose