The Big East may struggle next season

As Doug Gottlieb pointed out last week, part of the reason that the Pac-10 is so down this season has been the exodus of players from the league to The League.

In the last two seasons, 21 Pac-10 players have been drafted, with 13 going in the first round. In contrast, the ACC, the Big East, and the Big XII has each had 13 players draft the past two seasons, while the SEC has had only nine and the Big Ten just five. That stat becomes all the more impressive when you consider that the Pac-10 has the fewest number of teams of all the major conferences.

Of the 21 players taken from the Pac-10, 14 left school early, including talents like Kevin Love, Demar Derozan, Russell Westbrook, the Lopez twins, Jerryd Bayless, Jordan Hill, Jrue Holiday, and James Harden.

So could the Pac-10's struggles really be that simple?

Could it really just be the result of so much talent heading to the NBA in such a short period of time?

Short answer: yes.

When you lose that much talent in such a short period of time, its very difficult to replace, whether you are talking about a team or a conference.

Is the Big East headed down that same road?

Think about how much talent will be leaving the league this season. Five of the top six scorers are seniors. Of the three favorites for conference POY, two are seniors and the other is an expected lottery pick.

Seriously, take a look at who will be playing their last Big East game in March:

• Seniors
  
  - Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
  - Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
  - Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku, Syracuse
  - Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia
  - Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati
  - Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson, and Gavin Edwards, UConn
  - Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith, Louisville
  - Dominique Jones, South Florida
  - Lazar Hayward, Marquette
  - Sharaud Curry, Providence
  


• Likely to leave early
  
  - Wes Johnson, Syracuse
  - Greg Monroe, Georgetown
  - Devin Ebanks, West Virginia
  - Lance Stephenson and Yancy Gates, Cincinnati
  - Mac Kowshal, DePaul
  

And those are far from the only players that could end up leaving early. Chris Wright, Austin Freeman, Kevin Jones, Kemba Walker, Corey Fisher, Herb Pope, Jeremy Hazell. Would anyone really be that surprised if anyone from that group declared?

The issue isn't just losing players to the NBA. That is going to happen. Hell, the Big East sent nine players to the NBA after last season, with four going in the lottery, and the conference still has five top 25 teams, four in the top 15.

The issue becomes who is going to replace the departed talent.

As of now, there are not many prospects in the league. As Jeff Goodman pointed out yesterday, the freshman class overall has been a bit of a disappointment when compared to recent classes. No Big East freshman made first or second team, and Lance Stephenson, who is all but guaranteed to be a one-and-done, was the only one even mentioned by Goodman.

Want proof of the lack of prospects expected to be in next year's Big East?

Draft Express has just one Big East player (Kemba Walker) projected as a first round pick in 2011. The best recruit coming in next season? Fab Melo, a seven foot center headed to Syracuse, who is rated 16th overall by Rivals. For comparison's sake, the players rated 15th-20th by Rivals this season were John Jenkins, Renardo Sidney, Latavious Williams, Wally Judge, Royce White, and Ryan Kelly. Those aren't exactly program changers.

It is doubtful that the Big East will be as pitiful next season as the Pac-10 is this season. Syracuse will add a nice recruiting class to a solid core of returners. Villanova loses Scottie Reynolds, but should get everyone else back. Pitt will have a solid group returning.

There will still be teams in the league that could contend for a Final Four trip.

But expecting the Big East to once again be in the conversation for the best conference in college hoops may be a bit far-fetched.
Continue reading...

Jeremy Hazell still doesn't know what a good shot is

Two weeks ago, after watching Seton Hall beat Louisville, we wrote about how Jeremy Hazell's ability to decipher a good shot from a bad shot would be the difference for Seton Hall this season.

Never was that more on display than last night.

Hazell was unconscious last night against Villanova. His layup with 12:53 left gave the Hall a 58-56 lead and gave Hazell 32 points. He scored those 32 points on just 20 shots, most of which came within the flow of the offense or off of a set play designed to get him a shot.

Hazell shot Seton Hall in, then out, of their conference tilt with Villanova.
(photo credit: Bleacher Report)

In other words, Hazell scored 32 points on 20 shots Bobby Gonzalez wanted him to take.

But the tides turned very quickly for Seton Hall. Villanova would go on an 11-0 run to open up a 73-62 lead. Where was Seton Hall during that run?

Watching Jeremy Hazell go 1-on-3 or 1-on-4, fire up tough, contested shots, and then beg the officials for a foul.

So what did Gonzo do?

Benched him, with 4:06 left down 11. He benched a guy that had scored 32 points with four minutes left in a very winnable game.

Adam Zagoria had a chance to catch up with Gonzo after the game:

"It's not the way you want to play college basketball," Gonzo said. "I wouldn't be doing a good job of teaching him, I'm not helping him. So basically I took him out and I told him 'Jeremy you can go 1-on-1 and you can be forceful, press and look for some shots but you can't just come down every time and take bad double-clutch shots.'

"You don't get points for degree of difficulty with guys tackling you and then complain to the officials because even the officials started getting frustrated with him. It was just a chance for me to be a leader and try to teach him something that could help him."

The move was necessary.

Until Hazell learns what is a good shot and how to use his teammates, Seton Hall is going to continue to lose close games.

Continue reading...

Wisconsin's home court advantage and a Kalin Lucas injury

Can we just drop any debate and admit that the Kohl Center in the toughest place in college basketball to play?

Last night, Wisconsin was playing without second leading scorer Jon Leuer, who is still out with a broken left wrist. Then, just 3:01 into the game, Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin's leading scorer, picked up his second foul of the game, sending him to the bench for the rest of the half.

That meant that Wisconsin would be forced to play the remaining 16:59 of the first half without their two leading scorers against a team ranked fifth in the country that had won ten in a row, was undefeated in Big Ten play, and had already beaten a Wisconsin team at full strength.

So what happened?

The Badgers promptly played their best half of basketball. Using their trademark "swing offense", Wisconsin spread the floor, moved the ball around, and waited patiently for a good shot to open up. When it did, they hit it. At the other end of the floor, they simply played sound defense, forcing Michigan State to take tough shots and limiting them to one opportunity.

Its amazing how simple basketball is.

But Wisconsin's 15 point halftime lead looked like it could have been in jeopardy as Michigan State came out playing much better in the second half, getting the lead below double digits on several occasions. The 10:50 mark provided a different story, as Kalin Lucas, the Spartan's leading scorer and best player, landed on a defender's foot after taking a 17 foot pull-up. His right ankle rolled, and it was obvious he was in a lot of pain.

Kalin Lucas landed badly on his ankle last night.
(photo credit: DetNews)

Michigan State doesn't believe that the ankle is broken, but Lucas will be getting x-rays on it today nonetheless. The term that was thrown around was high ankle sprain, which are the worst kind of sprains.

Only time will tell how long it takes Lucas to get back on the court, but the fact that he was on crutches after the game isn't promising. No word yet on his status for the Illinois game on Saturday.

Lucas couldn't put any pressure on his right foot, and had to be carried into the locker room. As he was being carried, Wisconsin fans all stood and gave Lucas an ovation. That's the best player for a conference rival, mind you.

Continue reading...

Wednesday's Shootaround: Syracuse, Villanova, and Kentucky all survive, Michigan State wishes they never left East Lansing

Wisconsin 67, Michigan State 49: With Jon Leuer out and Trevon Hughes in foul trouble, Wisconsin looked like they were in dire straits, but Jordan Taylor and Jason Bohannon shot the lights out in the first half, providing the Badgers with a spark as they opened up a 15 point lead at the break. In the second half, Michigan State looked ready to make a push, getting the lead into the single digits. But about midway through the second half, Kalin Lucas pulled up for a jumper and landed on a defenders foot, rolling his right ankle. He was down in a heap of pain, and couldn't put any pressure on the ankle as he left the court.

Bohannon had 19 points and Taylor scored 17, as the Badgers committed just five turnovers on the game and held Michigan State to 37% shooting. Wisconsin handed Michigan State their first lost in Big Ten play, and in the process moved to within two games of first place in the Big Ten.

Villanova 81, Seton Hall 71: The Wildcats were down 58-56 with about eight minutes left in the game when the decided to start playing. They finished the game outscoring the Pirates 25-13, but the decisive run came with the score tied at 62. Corey Stokes hit two threes and Scottie Reynolds had a bucket and an assists as Nova went on a quick 11-0 spurt to build a lead that would not be overtaken.

Antonio Pena led Villanova with 16 points and 8 boards, and Corey Stokes scored all of his 11 points in the second half. Scottie Reynolds added 15 points and 5 assists, including the 2,000th point of his career. He has an outside chance of catching Kerry Kittles to become Nova's all-time leading scorer. Jeremy Hazell's 32 points led the Hall, but no one else reached double figures.

Syracuse 85, Providence 68: Syracuse got a career-high 23 points from Kris Joseph and a season-high 20 points from Arinze Onuaku as the Orange rolled past Providence. The Frias were able to cut a big lead down to four close to halftime, but Syracuse came out on fire in the second half and opened a 20 point lead.

There was a scary moment in this one. Wes Johnson was going up for an alley-oop and had his legs taken out in mid-air by a PC defender. He flipped over, landing on what appeared to be the back of his head and the top of his back. He was stay down for a few minutes, but eventually walked off the court and came back in the game.

Kentucky 85, Ole Miss 75: John Wall looked like he was finally having fun again. He scored 17 points and added 7 assists for the Wildcats as Kentucky jumped out to a big lead and held off several Rebel runs. DeMarcus Cousins added 18 points and 13 boards, Darnell Dodson (who got his second straight start) scored 14 points, and Patrick Patterson went for 12 points and 6 boards.

Bubble Watch

• Northwestern 67, Michigan 52: The Wildcats got 17 points from Drew Crawford, 15 points from John Shurna, and used a 21-4 run in the second half to win a game they desperately needed to keep their tourney hopes alive. They are currently sitting at 4-6 in the league, but only play one more game against a team with a winning conference record. With wins over Purdue and Illinois, along with a couple of decent non-conference wins, NW has a real shot of dancing if they can get to 10-8.
• Rhode Island 90, La Salle 83: Rhody picked up a big road win last night, as Will Martell scored 16 points to lead six players in double figures. As long as the Rams can avoid any bad losses, they should feel pretty confident about their status.
  
• Wake Forest 62, Miami 53: Wake didn't necessarily look like a tournament team, as they shot 41%, were beaten on the offensive glass, and turned the ball over 16 times as they blew a 17 point lead. But the Demon Deacons pulled out the win, which is what the committee is going to be looking at.
• Northeastern 70, Delaware 48: Matt Janning scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half as the Huskies their slim at-large hopes alive.
• San Diego State 70, Air Force 48: The Aztecs are on the outside looking in right now, but they will have a chance to win some notable games in MWC play. As long as they avoid losing games they should win, SDSU still has a shot.
  

Other notable games

• Kansas State 76, Nebraska 57: The Wildcats took their frustration out on Nebraska, as Denis Clemente hit five threes and scored 23 points in the win.
• BYU 76, TCU 56: The Cougars jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back. Jimmer Fredette had 26 points and 6 assists.
  

Tuesday's Best

• Artsiom Parakhouski had 30 points and 22 boards for Radford as they beat VMI 111-84.
• Jamine Peterson had 25 points and 11 boards in PC's loss to Syracuse.
• DJ Kennedy had 27 points and 9 boards, but it was not enough to overcome 33 points from Mike Rosario as Rutgers knocked off St. John's.

Continue reading...

Wednesday Morning Dump

- SPOILER ALERT: If the Lost premiere confused you, read this

- Meet the people that ruined the NCAA Tournament

- Sad subplot to the Wichita State-Utah State Bracketbusters game

- WVU student section warned about profanity. I had no problem with the Karen Sypher chants, but "F- You Turner" was too much

- A great read on the 4-year series between Duke and Georgetown

- Evan Turner has a girlfriend

- UAB's Aaron Johnson will play tonight

- Pitt and WVU are going in opposite directions

- West Virginia's missing piece?

- Al Nolen lost his appeal to be reinstated to the Minnesota basketball team.

- Tourney expansion might not be all bad. Wait, yes. Yes it will

- Lean times for UConn and Louisville

- Fran Fraschilla's latest

- Renardo Sidney's conditioning: "zero"

- Jimmer Fredette to the NBA? Not a good choice

Continue reading...

Royce White says he's leaving Minnesota

Haven't we been down this road before?

A day after a court appearance where Minnesota freshman Royce White plead not guilty to three counts of trespassing stemming from an incident involving a stolen laptop, White told reporters that he would once again be leaving the Gophers.

Why?

"Why am I withdrawing from school? Because I don't feel like I'm protected by the school or police," White said by telephone Monday. "I feel very threatened by the police. I felt very threatened by the officer today at the court room."

White was recently allowed to return to practice with the Gophers, but wasn't going to be cleared to play in games until his legal situation was cleared up. White also plead guilty to charges stemming from an incident where he shoplifted and assaulted a security guard at the Mall of America.

White won't seek a transfer from Minnesota, and apparently has yet to talk to Tubby Smith about his decision.

Minnesota has been a disappointment this season. They've played all season without power forward Trevor Mbakwe, and they just lost Al Nolen for the remainder of the season. But there is no doubt that White has been the biggest distraction.

Whatever the result of this soap opera, it is looking less and less likely to be a happy ending.
Continue reading...

Marshall Moses and Matt Pilgrim all friends again

Anyone watching Oklahoma State host Texas saw what looked to be a pretty serious skirmish between Matt Pilgrim and Marshall Moses. Moses had been taken out of the game, but when a timeout was called, he was sitting in one of the seats reserved for the five players in the game.

Pilgrim and Moses started jawing. There was a lot of yelling, a little bit of pushing, and it ended with Moses storming off the sidelines during the timeout before coming back to bench with what looked like tears in his eyes.

Apparently, it was much ado about nothing. From NewsOK:

They weren't really into it. I know it probably looked … Marshall's an emotional guy. It wasn't negative. We were just trying to calm him down, because we need him in the game. He gets pumped up. Matt was trying to help him. But it wasn’t negative.

Continue reading...

Tuesday's Pregame Beat

7:00 pm: Ole Miss @ Kentucky: A lot of the talk of the last couple of days has been the supposed rift between John Wall and John Calipari. Well, tonight will be the first time the Wildcats take the court since this news hit the internet. Wall has been struggling of late, but DeMarcus Cousins has been an absolute monster over the last month. Ole Miss has no one inside that can handle the big fella (does anyone?).

9:00 pm: Michigan State @ Wisconsin: If the Badgers have any hope of making a run at the top spot in the league, they have to win this game tonight. A loss drops them four games back of the undefeated Spartans with just eight games to play. Wisconsin is still without Jon Leuer, but if Keaton Nankivil is able to play anywhere close to the way he did against Purdue, that won't be as big of an issue. The Kohl Center is always a tough place to play, but can the undermanned Badgers still win?

Bubble Watch

• 7:00 pm: Michigan @ Northwestern: Michigan is all but done, while the Wildcats still have a chance if they can close out the Big Ten season strong. They only play one team with a winning league record the rest of the way.
• 7:00 pm: Miami FL @ Wake Forest: Miami's struggles in league play have put them in a big hole. Wake Forest should be in the dance as long as they win the games they are supposed to win.
• 7:00 pm: Seton Hall @ Villanova: The Hall has the talent to merit a bid, the problem is that they haven't put together the resume. Beating Villanova would be a nice step in the right direction.
• 9:00 pm: Northeastern @ Delaware: The Huskies probably cost themselves a shot at an at-large bid with a 2-7 start, but you never know if they keep winning.
  
• 10:00 pm: Air Force @ San Diego State: SDSU is on the outside looking in right now. If they want to earn a bid, they absolutely cannot afford to lose this one.

Other Notable Games

• 7:00 pm: Providence @ Syracuse
• 8:00 pm: Kansas State @ Nebraska
• 9:00 pm: TCU @ BYU
  

Continue reading...

Atlantic 10 bubble breakdown

The three best conferences outside the big six are as unpredictable as ever. Unpredictability in sports means excitement, and when you are dealing with conferences where 40% of the league has a real shot at winning the regular season title and/or earning a trip to the dance, you will rarely come across a more unpredictable situation.

Haven't had a chance to watch much A-10 hoops this season? Don't get the Mountain West's channel? Stopped caring about C-USA when Coach Cal left?

Don't worry. We're here to help you parse through it all. Be sure to check back in the next few days as we help you sort out the best leagues outside of the Big Six.

Mountain West bubble breakdown


ATLANTIC 10

Standings (strictly teams that are within reach of the bubble)

• 1. Xavier 15-6, 7-1
• 2. Temple 18-4, 6-1
• 3. Charlotte 16-5, 6-1
• 4. Rhode Island 17-3, 5-2
• 5. Richmond 16-6, 5-2
• 6. Dayton 15-6, 4-3
  

Favorite: Temple

Despite the Owls loss to Charlotte last Wednesday, the Owls still seem to be the favorite to win this league, and its not necessarily because of their talent level. That's not to say that Temple isn't a talented team. Ryan Brooks and Juan Fernandez form an excellent 1-2 scoring punch on the perimeter. Fernandez is a better shooter and Brooks is more adept at driving to the basket and mixing it up in the paint, but in the end both are simply good, smart basketball players. Lavoy Allen is a quality big man that can rebound the ball. Luis Guzman is an experienced leader at the point.

Ryan Brooks has been Temple's leading scorer this season.
(photo credit: ESPN)

But, like I said, Temple doesn't win because of their talent level. They win because they play defense. On the year, Fran Dunphy's crew has allowed just 56.9 ppg to their opponents, and only four teams have hung 70 points on their disciplined man-to-man defense - Western Michigan, Xavier, Charlotte, and Kansas. And if it wasn't for the "concussion-like symptoms" Juan Fernandez was experiencing and Lavoy Allen's foul trouble, the Owls may not have blown a ten point lead to Charlotte.

The biggest reason Temple is the favorite in the A-10? Their schedule. While the Owls will play five of their remaining nine games on the road, only one of those five roadies (Richmond) comes against a team in the top six of the A-10. Overall, they only play three more games against the top six of the league, and avoid Xavier and Charlotte. With that schedule and their ability to defend, Temple has the best shot of bringing home the league title, especially since they own the tie-breaker with Xavier


And if they lose: Xavier

The Musketeers probably are the next best team in the league. This was supposed to be a down year for the Muskies, as the likes of Derrick Brown, BJ Raymond, and CJ Anderson all moved on from X. Early in the season, Xavier looked like they were going to fulfill those expectations as they lost to Marquette, Baylor, Kansas State, Butler, and Wake Forest in the span of 11 games. But as the season has progressed, those losses began to not look so bad. All five teams are in the top 34 according to Kenpom, and with the exception of Marquette (51st), all are also in the top 25 of the RPI. Now consider that all five games were on the road or at the Old Spice Classic, and maybe the writing was on the wall for Xavier's start in league play.

Jordan Crawford could end up being A-10 player of the year.
(photo credit: ESPN)

Clearly, the brightest star for Xavier has been Jordan Crawford, the A-10's leading scorer. Crawford has a penchant for gunning, but he has also shown the backbone to take, and make, some tough shots down the stretch. And while Crawford's back court mates -- Terrell Holloway, Mark Lyons, Brad Redord, Dante Jackson -- all play their role capably, perhaps the biggest reason for Xavier's potential success in the league are their biggest players. Jason Love has become an excellent center, providing a scoring threat in the post, grabbing rebounds, and blocking some shots. Alongside Love is the athletic Jamel McLean and 7 foot Kenny Frease, both of whom have developed quite nicely this season.

Xavier's biggest issue is their non-conference resume, as an overtime win over Cincinnati is their only notable accomplishment. But the Muskies are not done with their non-conference schedule, as they still have to travel to Florida.


Who's Dancing?: As has been the case in year's past, the biggest problem surrounding the A-10 getting four or five bids to the dance is that the top of their conference ends up beating up on one another. There are only so many games that can help boost a profile for these teams, and they can't all win them all ... because they are against each other. So while there are going to be five, maybe six, teams when it is all said and done that merit consideration, my bet is that three, maybe four, of those teams actually get in.

• Temple: 18-4, 6-1; RPI: 16; Kenpom: 32; SOS: 32; vs. RPI top-50: 4-3; vs. RPI top-100: 6-4; Best wins: Villanova, Siena, @ URI; Bad losses: none
  
  Temple is all but a lock to get in. Their computer numbers are great, they have some good wins, they have no bad losses, and their schedule has been tough. The question is where they will get seeded. Temple plays three games against the other top six teams in the league. If they can go 8-1 or 7-2 down the stretch, winning the A-10, I think they have a shot at a top four seed. The A-10 is that strong. They might be able to move up another line if they can win the A-10 tournament as well.
  


• Xavier: 15-6, 7-1; RPI: 21; Kenpom: 19; SOS: 10; vs. RPI top-50: 4-5; vs. RPI top-100: 5-6; Best wins: Cincinnati, Rhode Island; Bad losses: Marquette
  
  Xavier is in the same boat as Temple. They should be all but a lock barring a collapse. This difference is that they don't have the non-conference resume that Temple as. Xavier didn't get a win against a Villanova. Xavier has a tough schedule the rest of the way, playing six of their final nine games on the road, including trips to Dayton, to Charlotte, and a non-conference game at Florida. X probably should win at least one of those three roads contests and clean up against the rest of their schedule if they want to feel safe. If Xavier can win the A-10 regular season, they are probably looking at around a five or six seed, which may get bumped up to a four seed if they can win the A-10 tournament as well.


• Charlotte: 16-5, 6-1; RPI: 42; Kenpom: 79; SOS: 99; vs. RPI top-50: 3-5; vs. RPI top-100: 3-5; Best wins: Temple, @ Louisville, @ Richmond; Bad losses: By 42 to Duke, by 33 to Old Dominion, by 17 to Tennessee
  
  Charlotte is in by far the worst shape of the three one-loss A-10 teams. They played eight games against teams with an RPI of 200 or worse (three against 300 or worse), and while they did play, and win, some games against good competition - beating Louisville on the road by 22 is impressive regardless of who was injured for the Cardinals - they also have to account for embarrassing losses to Duke and Old Dominion. Charlotte is probably in if the tournament started today, but they will want to win at least one, preferably two, of their four games against teams in the top six of the league (@ Dayton, Xavier, @ URI, Richmond). Of course, if they win the A-10, than they are going to be going to the dance.


• Rhode Island: 17-3, 5-2; RPI: 12; Kenpom: 66; SOS: 45; vs. RPI top-50: 2-2; vs. RPI top-100: 6-3; Best wins: Oklahoma State, @ Dayton; Bad losses: @ VCU
  
  Rhode Island definitely as the look of a team that belongs in the NCAA Tournament, and they have the computer profile as well. They have no losses outside of the top 100, and some of their wins have fallen out of the top 50 as teams like Northeastern, Boston College, and even VCU have lost a few games of late. Simply put, Rhody has done everything that they can with the schedule they had to earn themselves a bid to the dance, but they don't have much room for error. They have a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way, getting Richmond and Charlotte at home and heading to Temple. If they can take care of business against the Spiders and the 49ers, and avoid tripping up against a team like La Salle, the Rams should be ok.
  


• Richmond: 16-6, 5-2; RPI: 38; Kenpom: 68; SOS: 67; vs. RPI top-50: 2-2; vs. RPI top-100: 4-5; Best wins: Missouri, Old Dominion, Florida; Bad losses: @ St. Louis
  
  Richmond is in an interesting spot. They scheduled tough, and picked up some good wins, in the non-conference, but they could end up being hurt as some of their losses (William & Mary, South Carolina, VCU) begin to look worse as those teams struggle. The Spiders have a couple good non-conference wins, but have lost to Charlotte at home already and dropped an ugly one to St. Louis. The good news for Richmond is that they play each of the other five teams in the top six of the league one more time before the season is done. Richmond is going to earn or lose their bid in their last three games - at Xavier, Dayton, at Charlotte.
  


• Dayton: 15-6, 4-3; RPI: 40; Kenpom: 50; SOS: 40; vs. RPI top-50: 2-5; vs. RPI top-100: 2-5; Best wins: Georgia Tech, Old Dominion; Bad losses: @ St. Joe's
  
  Hard to believe that the preseason favorite is currently sitting in sixth place. As of today, Dayton is probably out of the tournament. They don't have enough quality wins, they have that ugly loss to St. Joe's, and they simply haven't played enough top tier competition. The Flyers are really going to have to do some work over their final nine games. They get Xavier and Charlotte at home, but they must travel to Richmond and Temple. I have a feeling that, at the end of the season, Dayton is going to need a good performance in the A-10 tournament in order to earn themselves a trip to the dance.
  
  

And here is the rest of it. Continue reading...

Tuesday's Shootaround: Louisville and Texas win

Louisville 82, UConn 69: For the first time this season, UConn did not play like a team that wanted to make the NCAA Tournament. Up until this point in the season, all of UConn's losses (with the exception of the Providence game, which they at least played hard in) had some sort of mitigating factor that made a close, hard-fought loss in some way acceptable. Pitt was playing great when they beat the Huskies; Cincinnati and Michigan were on the road; Duke, Kentucky, and Georgetown are Duke, Kentucky, and Georgetown. But last night, the Huskies just didn't look like they cared. They jogged back on defense, they didn't hit the boards, they settled for terrible shots offensively, and they didn't get out in transition. Basically, the Huskies were playing like this season is already a complete loss. It isn't just yet, as UConn's absurd SOS rating will keep their bubble afloat for a while. But one thing is for certain - the Huskies need to start winning. Soon. They still have three chances to pick up another marquee win - at Villanova, at Syracuse, and at home for West Virginia. They need to win those three, as well as a number of other games, if they want any shot at avoiding the NIT.

Edgar Sosa's 15 points and 8 assists help push Louisville back into the bubble talk.
(photo credit: WaPo)

Louisville, on the other hand, got a nice bounce back win. The Cardinals have been a hard luck loser over the last few weeks, dropping three in a row by a combined 11 points, all with a healthy dose of reffing issues in the mix. The Ville still looks to be very, very bubbly right now, but this UConn is definitely a step in the right direction. The Cardinals have been playing great basketball, and while UConn struggles to play hard and look like a team that deserves/wants to be in the NCAA Tournament, the opposite is true for Louisville. This team has been playing very well of late, and if they can start closing out some games (they were up five in the final minute on Pitt, and up 10 in the final five minutes against West Virginia) they will be fine.


Texas 72, Oklahoma State 60: James Anderson couldn't match his first half, or Jordan Hamilton's second half. Anderson played phenomenal in the first 20 minutes, knocking down shots, getting to the rim, and creating space as he torched Avery Bradley, and others, for 24 points in the first half. But in the second half, Rick Barnes moved Dogus Balbay onto him, and Anderson was stymied. He couldn't create space when he had the ball, he couldn't run Balbay off a screen, and he was unable to get a clear lane to the rim, in part because of Balbay's physical defense and in part because of Oklahoma State's help side. Anderson is a lights out scorer at times in the college ranks, but far too often his disappears when defenses key in on him.

Jordan Hamilton almost single-handedly carried Texas to a win.
(photo credit: Kansas City Star)

Despite Anderson's struggles, Texas may not have won without Hamilton. Just one game after playing two minutes in an overtime loss to Baylor, Hamilton showed why he was a top ten recruit. The freshman caught fire in the second half, hitting threes, scoring in the midrange, getting all the way to the rim and finishing, and basically breaking the game open all by himself. He would finish with a career-high 27 points, legitimizing, at least for a night, he selfish shot selection.


Continue reading...

NCAA Tournament expansion will probably happen, the only question is where we will watch it

Talk of the NCAA Tournament expanding has been bubbling for months, but on Monday it exploded, as Sports by Brooks quoted a source at ESPN as saying

It's a done deal with the expansion of the tournament. Depending on how soon a (TV) deal is done, the added teams could start next year. The NCAA confirmed that bidders would be interested in 96 teams, so they're going with it.

If you think that is bad, it only gets worse. Sports Business Journal was able to obtain a copy of the Request for Proposal put out by the NCAA. For those with weak stomachs, you may want to avoid the following blockquote.

The NCAA has its sights set on expanding from a 65-team tournament to either 68 or 96 teams if it opts out of the CBS contract, according to the 12-page RFP.

According to SBJ, CBS, Turner Sports, Fox, and ESPN have all shown interest in making a bid for the Tournament's rights. The NCAA has three years left on their current deal with CBS, worth $2.131 billion, but have a clause in their contract that allows them to opt out after this year.

Jeff Goodman was able to catch up with Greg Shaheen, who SBJ names as spearheading the campaign for expansion. Shaheen said all the right things -- "Nothing is a done deal. ... We're talking with parties who have interest. ... We have to look into it, but we don’t even know if we'd do it. Just because we're checking into it doesn't mean we’re going to do it. ... It's part of our due diligence" -- but as John Gasaway points out, this is all smoke and mirrors:

Due diligence requires looking at all contingencies, but if Ourand and Smith are correct none of the scenarios that the NCAA is currently reviewing involve what is usually the baseline course of action, the status quo. Keep in mind an RFP is the least spontaneous and most vetted document known to humankind. Add to that the fact that an RFP coming from a bureaucracy like the NCAA would be even less spontaneous and even more vetted. And add to that the fact that an NCAA RFP concerning an event that will bring in several billion dollars over the 14-year term of the contract would be even less spontaneous and more vetted.

The bottom line is that the NCAA is always about the bottom line. Are they making money, and how much of it is coming in? The sad truth is that the NCAA Tournament is where the overwhelming majority of the money is made during the college basketball season, from the lucrative television deal to the tickets sold at the door to the merchandise sold at the games to the advertising dollars.

You don't think that adding an extra 31 games is going to bring in more money, more viewers, and more ticket sales? And you think the NCAA really cares about lowering the quality of the event?

The NCAA views it like this: those extra 31 teams that will get bids to the tournament all have fan bases. Every one of those fan bases is going to follow their team's run through the tournament whether they are the 60th team or the 90th team. To think otherwise is preposterous, which is why the NCAA will look to expand despite to outcry from die-hards like myself claiming an inferior product.

The issue with this line of thinking is that the NCAA completely ignores the reason that the tournament is so popular. Namely, the bracket. I've written about this before:

While the basketball is always great, with story books to be written and legends to be made and buzzers to be beaten, what draws in so many random fans (casual fans would be watching regardless, random fans are the people that show up just because they filled out a bracket) is the bracket. Think about it. By printing out this one Tournament Tree that perfectly fills an 8X11 piece of paper and picking 63 winners, all of a sudden every "random fan" that has never heard of John Wall or Coach K, that thinks a pick-and-roll is the most effective way to dispose of a booger, that makes their picks based on how well the team's colors would match their bedset, now has a dog in every fight.

They now have a reason to cheer and yell and scream and get into each and every game on TV. It doesn't matter that they don't know the names of the players, the coaches, or even the team. All that matters is that they picked the blue team, and the blue team has the ball, down by one with 30 seconds left.

Seriously, take a second and think about the pools you entered last season. How many people filled out a bracket that knew absolutely nothing about college basketball? And how many of those people ended up watching the tournament, or portions of it, simply because they had filled out a bracket?

Quite a few?

How many of those people will still fill out a bracket when it involves two pages of games? And if they don't fill out a bracket, how many of those people will still watch the tournament?

The funny thing is that I'm not even against expansion. I actually think that it would be a good move for the NCAA to expand to 68 or 72 teams. Instead of making the one play-in game seem like a consolation prize for the two worst teams in the field, have all the 15 and 16 seeds be play-in games. Instead of having just one game in Dayton on the Tuesday before the tournament starts, there can be two days of quadruple-headers. Not only does it open up three or seven more spots in the tournament, it gives the NCAA a chance to advertise, sell tickets, sell television rights, etc. for two more days chock full of hoops.

Want to make it even more interesting?

Instead of having the play-in games be for the 15 and 16 seeds, make the play-in games be for the 11 and 12 seeds, which generally end up being the last eight spots for at-large teams. Look at last season. You don't think that people would have been excited for games like Creighton-Arizona? St. Mary's-Maryland? Florida-Wisconsin?

The most ironic part in all of this talk of tournament expansion has nothing to do with basketball.

By expanding to 96 teams, the NCAA is only going to take more college students out of class for that much more time during March.

Isn't missed class time the NCAA's main argument as to why the BCS is still around?

Continue reading...

Complete list of the Bracket Buster matchups

On Monday, ESPN released their schedule of televised Bracket Buster games, and we got a couple of very good ones. If you are planning on filling out a bracket (which, if you read this site, is probably true multiple times over), than this is a pretty big weekend for you. Upsets are what make the tournament exciting, but not just because everyone loves an underdog story.

We do.

Watching Stephen Curry carry undermanned Davidson to within a shot of the Final Four is the stuff Disney movies legends are made of.

But lets not kid ourselves. The reason upsets are so exciting is because you called that 12 seed beating that 5 seed; or you picked the 4 seed that's about to lose to a 13 seed to make the Elite 8; or you thought that 10 seed would beat that 2 seed. The key to winning a bracket is predicting those upsets. Everyone had UNC making the Final Four last season, but it was the guy that had Arizona in the Sweet 16, Dayton beating West Virginia, and Wisconsin getting past Florida State that probably won money.

So what is so great about Bracket Busters weekend?

It allows the nation a chance to see the team's that will make or break our brackets. Bragging rights will be earned and money will be made by the people that take Saturday to enjoy some of the best mid-major hoops in the country. Hit the jump for the full breakdown of games.


Games with Bubble implications

• 2/19 - 7:00 pm: Old Dominion @ Northern Iowa (ESPN2): Barring a collapse, Northern Iowa is in. They are 20-2 on the season and 10-1 in the MVC, with their only loss coming at a Wichita State, another bubble team with one of the best home courts in the country. Old Dominion, on the other hand, has a little bit of work to do to feel safe. The Monarchs are 17-6 on the season, but they don't exactly have any bad losses. The worst, believe it or not, is probably to Mississippi State. They are 9-2 in the CAA, but those losses came at George Mason and at Northeastern, the two other teams competing for the CAA title. They've knocked off Georgetown and William & Mary on the road as well. The Monarchs still could earn an at-large bid if they lose to UNI with a strong finish in league play, but beating a team on the road with an RPI in the top 20 is always a good thing.


• 2/20 - 11:00 am: Siena @ Butler (ESPNU): I feel like I could just retype the previous preview, exchange Butler with Northern Iowa and Siena with Old Dominion, and nothing would change. Butler should be in. They are 18-4, they have a top 20 RPI, and if the regular season has shown us anything, they shouldn't have a problem cruising to a win in their conference tournament. Siena, on the other hand, whiffed on all of their chances for a signature win. But they have no bad losses (at Temple, at Georgia Tech, at Northern Iowa, only vs. St. John's is questionable), an RPI in the 40's, and a 13 game winning streak. There is a shot that they could still get in even with a loss, and will definitely be the favorites to win the MAAC Tournament, but I'm sure every Saints fan will like to see them pad that resume a little bit.


• 2/20 - 11:59 pm: Wichita State @ Utah State (ESPN2): If you want an idea of how weak the bubble is this season, both the Shockers and the Aggies have a shot at earning an at-large bid this season. The Shockers probably have the better chance at making a run to a bid, simply because they get another shot an Northern Iowa on Wednesday. They probably need to sweep UNI (they beat them in their first meeting at home earlier in the season) and pick up the win at Utah State if they want any serious consideration. The Aggies have a very nice win over BYU, but other than that they have not played much of anyone. The WAC probably doesn't warrant an at-large bid this season, but if anyone is going to get it, it will be USU. To do that, however, the Aggies are probably going to have to win out.
  

Other televised games

• 2/19 - 9:00 pm: William & Mary @ Iona (ESPN2)
  
• 2/20 - 12:00 pm: Morgan State @ Murray State (ESPNU)
• 2/20 - 1:00 pm: Louisiana Tech @ Northeastern (ESPN2)
• 2/20 - 3:00 pm: Nevada @ Missouri State (ESPN2)
• 2/20 - 4:00 pm: Akron @ VCU (ESPNU)
• 2/20 - 8:00 pm: Charleston @ George Mason (ESPN2)
• 2/20 - 8:00 pm: Western Carolina @ Kent State (ESPNU)
  
• 2/20 - 10:00 pm: New Mexico State @ Pacific (ESPNU)

Non-televised games: These games have not had their times or dates announced by the schools as of yet. They will be trickling out over the course of the next week or so.

Tennessee Tech at Appalachian State
Oral Roberts at Austin Peay
Tennessee-Martin at Ball State
California-Davis at Boise State
Valparaiso at Bowling Green
Drexel at Bradley
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at Cal State Fullerton
Drake at Cal State Northridge
Marist at California-Irvine
Youngstown State at California-Riverside
Fresno State at California-Santa Barbara
James Madison at Canisius
Tennessee State at Central Michigan
Toledo at Cleveland State
Loyola (Ill.) at Creighton
Boston University at Delaware
Eastern Michigan at Detroit
Northern Illinois at Eastern Illinois
Winthrop at Eastern Kentucky
Illinois-Chicago at Evansville
Elon at Gardner-Webb
South Carolina State at Georgia State
Cal Poly at Hawaii
Rider at Hofstra
Long Beach State at Idaho
Morehead State at Illinois State
Presbyterian at Jacksonville State
New Hampshire at Loyola (Md.)
Towson at Manhattan
Southeast Missouri at Miami (Oh.)
San Jose State at Montana State
Wright State at Ohio
North Carolina-Wilmington at Radford
Buffalo at Saint Peter's
Western Michigan at Southern Illinois
Fairfield at Vermont
Indiana State at Wisconsin-Green Bay
Niagara at Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Continue reading...

Big East admits mistake in the West Virginia-Louisville game

The Big East conference has admitted that their officials made a procedural and communication error during Saturday afternoon's contest between West Virginia and Louisville.

The call that the Big East is referring to came in the final 10 seconds. West Virginia had just taken the lead on a Da'Sean Butler jumper. At the other end, Reginald Delk missed a three for Louisville. In ensuing battle for the rebound, the ball was deflected out of bounds. Referee Mike Kitts ducked out of the way to avoid getting hit, but in the process didn't see who knocked the ball out of bounds and didn't make a ruling as to who the ball belonged to.

The official rule is that if no call is made by the official, then the possession arrow determines who gets the ball (in this case, the arrow pointed to Louisville). The officials went to the screen to check out a clock issue, but according to Pitino they were actually trying to see who the ball was knocked out off of.

Obviously, they cannot do that.

According to Andy Katz,

The unofficial word is that the officials knew the ball went off Louisville (which was later proved correct upon close replay) but never enunciated that point to West Virginia or Louisville, hence the “lack of communication” issue from the Big East.

The irony in all of this?

The call that is being apologized for is the one that the officials actually got right. No mention was made of the refs missing the ball bounce off Joe Mazzulla's head the possession before, which allowed Butler to hit the eventual game-winning jumper.

Continue reading...

Tuesday Morning Dump

- Charlotte is liking it's place in the A-10

- Seth Davis addresses some struggling teams

- DeMarcus Cousins is maturing quickly

- Coach Izzo can't figure out Durrell Summers' consistency problems

- Jameson Fleming landed an interview with Doug Gottlieb. For the record, if you hate Doug Gottlieb, then you aren't a true basketball fan. With the exception of Jay Bilas, no one is better at breaking down a game than Gottlieb, and he does so in a way that makes it very easy to understand.

- Seminoles forward Jordan DeMercy leaves the team

- Tom Crean wishes the Hoosiers ran more

- Big Ten expansion? Pitt?

- Good read on Rhode Island coach Jimmy Baron

- Is Maryland on the bubble? (Hint: Right now, yes)

- Utah freshman Marhsall Henderson suspended one game for throwing punch

- Conference realignment rumors

- What to watch for this week

- Jay Bilas on the coaching of top teams

- Wisconsin v. Michigan State is a big game whether or not it's a rivalry

- Gary Parrish attacks the polls. He also explains why he ranked Baylor so high, I would have too

- How did Syracuse spark their comeback against DePaul? A rare 3-pointer from Kris Joseph

- What on earth is wrong with the Tar Heels?

- A scintillating story on Seina's success. I'll stop. Sorry.

- LeMoyne isn't the only D-II school to get a D-1 win

There is a whole series of these on youtube, but this is the most noteworthy one. Why? Because it is Georgia's football coach Mark Richt



Continue reading...

Can we forget about the "rift" between Cal and Wall now?

A lot has been made of a "rift" between John Wall and Coach Cal today, stemming from this quote from Wall made after Kentucky's game against Vanderbilt:

I don't know. He said I played awful. ... I didn't think I played that bad. I don't know what to expect. He's probably going to say I played bad today too so. I don't know. I just try not to listen to him and go out and play basketball and try and help my team win. ... To be honest, I really haven't been having fun for the last two weeks. It's just being frustrated and things like that so, I just got to figure it out before we go further in league play.

Wall should be frustrated with the way he has played the last few games.
(photo credit: ESPN)

Calipari responded as only Calipari can, spinning this into a "teaching point" and saying that this is just another step in the learning process.

While some have said that this is typical Cal sweeping issues under the rub, the fact of the matter is that he is right.

John Wall is an 18 year old kid. Just because he happens to be an uber-talented 18 year old kid doesn't mean that he is more mature than your average college freshman. Hes played a couple subpar games in a row - something he probably hasn't done before in his career - and took some of his coach's tough love a little too personally.

It happens.

As conference play is now in full swing, competition has gotten tougher and rivalries have gotten more intense. Wall has been the focal point for the Wildcats for most of the season, and with that comes opposing coaches game-planning to slow you down. They've had 21 games to learn how to do it. Wall now needs to learn how to adjust to the defense's he is facing, which he likely will. He's too talented to continue struggling.

The results haven't been all bad, either. As defenses focus on him, it has opened up opportunities for DeMarcus Cousins inside. Now, Cousins looks like the most unstoppable player in the country. The next step is that as opposing coaches start to center their game plan around slowing down the big fella inside (which they should be doing), more opportunities will open up for Wall.

This is just one of those things that happens during hoops season.

If this wasn't Kentucky, and this wasn't John Wall, and this wasn't Coach Cal, it likely would not have gotten anywhere near the coverage it has.

So lets put this behind us, and try to figure out how Ole Miss plans on slowing down the Wildcats tomorrow.

Continue reading...

Monday's Pregame Beat

7:00 pm: UConn @ Louisville: The battle of the bubble. Both the Huskies and the Cardinals are in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament this season. UConn has one great win, knocking off then-No.1, now-No.10 Texas at home, but has nothing else on their resume and has lost five of their last six games. On top of that, they are playing without head coach Jim Calhoun, which throws an even bigger wrench into their spokes. The Huskies desperately need a win to reverse their fortunes.

Louisville is struggling just as much. They have lost four of five, and their best win is over Cincinnati. Granted, the Cardinals have been on the wrong end of some tough calls of late, but at the end of the day a loss is a loss. It is too early to call anything a make or break game as far as the tournament is concerned, but if both of these teams end up on the bubble, this game could be seen as a de facto tie breaker.

9:00 pm: Texas @ Oklahoma State: The Longhorns are struggling. They have lost three of four, two of which came on the road, and are now two games back of Kansas in the Big XII standings. The issue? A bevy of problems. Their rotation is too deep, Dexter Pittman has not been playing well the last three weeks, they are having trouble stopping people. Hell, in their loss to Baylor, both Ekpe Udoh and LaceDarius Dunn had fouled out with more than two minutes left in overtime (Dunn was out in regulation), and Texas still lost, at home, despite Udoh not hitting a shot from the field in regulation.

The Cowboys are headed in the other direction. Before losing to Missouri on Saturday, OK State had won three in a row, including picking up a win at Kansas State. James Anderson has been great this season. He is averaging 22.5 ppg, and over 26 ppg in his last four.
Continue reading...

The BIAH Quotables

This a new feature we are trying out here at BIAH this season. Throughout the week, we are going to post some notable quotes or excerpts that show up in our google reader. Stupid people say stupid things 24 hours a day, and being somehow associated with the college hoops landscape does not preclude that fact. That said, we will not limit our quotables to the simple and idiotic, as the insightful and intelligent will also be highlighted. Feel free to pass along any quotables you stumble across to contactbiah@gmail.com or hit us up on twitter.

On a snowy Saturday in downtown Washington, D.C., with President Obama at courtside, the Georgetown Hoyas throttled Duke by 12 in a game that was even more lopsided than the margin indicates. Hoya coach John Thompson III was happy the president could be in attendance, but that wasn't top priority:

Extremely happy that the president was there. But we were more nervous about the guys sitting on the other bench.

Chris Wright led all scorers with 21 points. He knew his team had to come out fast, and that's exactly what they did:

The crowd was pumped up, Obama was there, so it was exciting. I think we all came out with a little bit more energy than usual. We were all over the place, defensively and offensively.

You got that right.

Mid-way through the first half Georgetown forced five turnovers in a span of little over two minutes. Coach Krzyzewski shared Chris Wright's sentiments:

We could never match their emotion. The place was electric. Their team was electric, and they played that way for 40 minutes.

You got that right.

Georgetown's biggest lead of the game was 23. Wowsers.

Gonzaga lost a WCC game for the first time in what seems like a decade. They lost to San Francisco, 81-77. San Fransisco hasn't been good since the '40s. Rex Walters, the head coach of the Dons knew it was a big win, but wanted to keep the momentum rolling:

As a coach, no question this is as good a feeling as I've felt. Everybody is going to look at this game and say this will be the highlight of our season. I said to the guys, 'Let's work hard so it isn't.'

During the final minutes of an ugly 82-69 loss to BYU, Utah freshman Marshall Henderson threw a banckhanded punch at BYU guard Jackson Emery. Look past the fact that both these players have first name-last names, and check out what Utah coach Jim Boylen had to say following the game:

We need to address the bigger issue. Marshall Henderson made a mistake, plain and simple. Make no mistake. We feel bad about what happened, and so does Henderson. We are going to deal with this issue internally, and then I’m sure the league will deal with it as well. We need to move on now. Henderson is a great player.

Henderson might be a great player, but his stand-up skills are suspect. He needs to follow up the spinning-back-fist with a left roundhouse kick to the head.

Teams in the Big-12 keep beating each other up, confusing analysts and muddling the standings. The noble men and women at Deadspin put it all into perspective:

Speaking of Texas, they just can't seem to stop losing, falling in overtime at home to Baylor. Baylor almost beat K-State this week, and hung with KU last week, so you can't say this is a fluke. But then K-State topped Texas last week, before losing to Kansas last night. Complicated? After plugging this into the BCS computer, I'm pretty sure Drexel is leading the Big 12.

Continue reading...

2/1 - College Hoops Week in Review: Devan Downey and Charlotte take home the honors

What we learned this week

Big XII: Kansas knocked off Kansas State in dramatic fashion on Saturday night, giving them a two game lead in the Big XII standings and setting the Jayhawks apart as the clear favorite to win the conference's regular season title. What's unclear is how the Big XII is going to shake out behind them. Consensus seems to be that Texas is the second best team, but the Longhorns were beaten by both Baylor and Kansas State.

Baylor finally got a big win in beating Texas.
(photo credit: Houston Chronicle)

Baylor has looked like they could possibly slide into that second spot, beating Texas on Saturday and dropping nail-biters to Kansas and Kansas State, but the Bears also have a loss to Colorado this season. After watching K-State beat Texas at home, Baylor on the road, and take the Jayhawks to overtime, an argument could be made for the Wildcats as the second best team, but they have lost games to OK State and Missouri as well.

Speaking of OK State and Mizzou, the Tigers drubbed the Cowboys despite 31 points from James Anderson while forcing 24 turnovers and hitting 17 threes. But the game was played in Columbia, MO, where the Tigers are as good as anyone in the country. Once they collect a more impressive road win than Texas Tech in the league, I think we can start to consider them a real contender. They probably won't get that chance until Feb. 13th at Baylor.


Big Ten: Michigan State knocked off Northwestern, improving to 9-0 in the Big Ten and taking a three game lead with just nine games left in league play. The loss drops Northwestern to 3-6 in the Big Ten, good for ninth place in the league. But keep in mind, only one of the Wildcat's six league losses has come to a team outside of the top five (at Minnesota), and they also have beaten Purdue and Illinois. In their last nine games, only one comes against a top five team (Wisconsin). Don't count the Wildcats out of the dance just yet.

It may be time to count out Minnesota, however. The Gophers were drubbed at Ohio State, dropping them to 4-5 in the league, and are currently playing without three guys expected to provide big minutes - Al Nolen, Royce White, and Trevor Mbakwe.

Like the Big XII, the excitement in the Big Ten is going to come from the race for second place, where there is currently a four-way tie at 6-3 between Purdue, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Illinois, who survived Indiana at home with a Demetri McCamey buzzer beater, has the toughest schedule down the stretch, as they get Ohio State and Wisconsin twice, have to go to Purdue, and get Michigan State at home. The Illini will have their work cut out for them if they want to get to second place, but the bright side is that it will give them plenty of opportunities to boost their tournament profile. Ohio State probably has the easiest road, as they only play Illinois twice, get Purdue at home, and head to East Lansing while also playing Penn State twice and Iowa once.


ACC: The ACC is a full-blown disaster right now. No team has fewer than two losses. UNC is 2-4 in league play. Duke, who sits atop the league at 5-2, just got drilled by Georgetown on Saturday, only two weeks after they were embarrassed by NC State on the road. The two teams in second place at Maryland and Virginia. Virginia smacked UNC in Chapel Hill on Sunday night while Maryland, who had been playing as well as any team on the east coast, committed 26 turnovers and gave up 20 offensive rebounds in a loss at Clemson.

Clemson may actually be a team that belongs in the conversation for the ACC title, but they have been playing without the services of Demontez Stitt, their starting point guard, and have suffered, losing three straight before rebounding to beat Maryland. The same could be said for Georgia Tech, who's frontline (Derrick Favors, Gani Lawal, Zach Peacock) is as scary as any in the country. But that is contingent on the ability of Iman Shumpert to develop a modicum of consistency. Tech also needs to pick up a win on the road. Beating UNC in Chapel Hill isn't that impressive right now.

Could the answer be Wake or Florida State? The Seminoles went into BC and picked up a win on Saturday, something that Clemson wasn't able to do on Tuesday. Wake, on the other hand, was drilled by Duke and Georgia Tech on the road and lost to Miami in Miami. Like I said with Tech, beating UNC on the road isn't that impressive. Win a league game away from home, and you can become a contender.


Big East: West Virginia and Syracuse both picked up comeback wins on Saturday, as the Mountaineers beat Louisville and the Orange knocked off DePaul despite trailing by 18 points. The Cuse are still half a game back of Villanova in the Big East standings, but the Wildcats will have a treacherous month of February, as they travel to Pitt, Georgetown, Syracuse, and West Virginia this month.

Pitt has seemingly come back down to earth after a phenomenal start to the Big East season. On Sunday, they lost to South Florida on the road, the third time in four games they've lost. They Panthers have a tough couple of weeks, playing West Virginia twice before heading to Marquette and hosting Villanova, but they end with four games against the bottom of the league. Given what they have already done in conference, the Panthers should be able to earn a bid as long as they don't collapse down the stretch and beat the teams they are supposed to beat. That said, winning a game or two against Villanova and West Virginia could really help where the Panthers end up being seeded.

Dominique Jones has been unreal the last two weeks.
(photo credit: WaPo)

Georgetown embarrassed Duke on Saturday, and as good as the looked, keep in mind that they made Syracuse look just as good in blowing a 14-0 lead on Monday night. The Hoyas aren't as good as they were on Saturday, but they sure aren't as bad as they were on Monday night.

Louisville, UConn, and Marquette are all in a bit of the same situation. None of the three has an impressive record, and none of the three has won many impressive games. That said, all three teams have a number of very close losses. Louisville has had the worst luck of late, blowing a 10 point lead before getting jobbed by the refs on Saturday, just a week after tough calls helped decide games against Seton Hall and Pitt. Marquette's win over UConn on Saturday was as important as any outcome over the weekend. Marquette has been the biggest hard luck loser of the year. Of their eight losses, five are by one or two points, and only one is by more than five, a nine point losses at Wisconsin. At some point, it has to be about confidence for this team, and beating UConn is a close game (especially after the Huskies came back from down 10, taking the lead on a late three) has to be a confidence booster.

One last Big East note - I've been saying all season watch out for South Florida and Dominique Jones. Over his last three games, Jones is averaging 37.0 ppg in three Bulls wins, including a 37 point performance in a win over Pitt. USF plays their next three on the road, starting with Georgetown on Wednesday, and I doubt anyone wants to play this team right now.


SEC: Kentucky reasserted their dominance on Saturday with a beat down of Vanderbilt, putting the Wildcats and the Commodores in a tie for first place in the SEC East. As much publicity as John Wall has gotten all season, the best player for the Wildcats right now is DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins is unstoppable in the paint, and as long as UK is able to get him touches early and often, the Wildcats are going to win a lot of games.

Vanderbilt shouldn't hang their heads, however. This is a good basketball team that had just knocked off Tennessee in Knoxville (they are the only team all season to have to travel to Knoxville and Lexington back to back) and ran into Kentucky at the worst possible time.

Tennessee bounced back in a big way with a nice win over Florida at home. The Vols had lost two straight, and needed to pick up this win in order to stay within a game of first place in the league. Scotty Hopson is developing into one heckuva player for Bruce Pearl. Florida, on the other hand, looked very good again. Prior to this game, they had won four straight. Keep in mind during the tournament, there may be no one int he country that hits more big shots than Chandler Parsons. He tied the game with a minute left with a bucket, then after two free throws gave Florida the lead again with a three with 30 seconds left. Speaking of clutch, Devan Downey hit a layup with 50 seconds left to cap a comeback win over Georgia for South Carolina. He finished with 33 points, including 12 of the final 24 for the Gamecocks. More on him later.

Just like with South Florida, I've been saying all season that Arkansas is going to be a pain for teams in the SEC. They proved it this week, as they knocked off both Ole Miss on Saturday and Mississippi State on Tuesday. Few will forget Courtney Fortson's 33 point second half on Tuesday against Ole Miss. All of a sudden, the Razorbacks are 3-3 in the SEC.


Pac-10: Don't look now, but Sean Miller's Wildcats are maturing all of a sudden. They've won four straight games, including a 76-72 win over Cal on Sunday to give the Wildcats a share of first place in the Pac-10. Zona is almost assuredly going to need to win the Pac-10 tourney to keep their streak of trips to the NCAA's alive, but is that really all that far-fetched? Nic Wise has been Devan Downey east, as he scored 30 including the final four points against Cal to clinch the win. Zona goes to Washington and Washington State next.

Cal, despite the loss to Arizona, still may be in line to earn an at-large bid if they can play their way to 13-5 or 14-4 in the league. They played a tough non-conference schedule, and did so playing without two key contributors, one of whom is back - Theo Robertson, who scored 27 points against Arizona.

Arizona State, who beat Stanford on Saturday to snap a two game losing skid, and UCLA, who lost as Oregon in OT before beating Oregon State on Saturday, are both a game back in the league standings.


Other conferences

• Charlotte's win over Temple on Wednesday set up a logjam atop the A-10 standings. Xavier is in first at 7-1, while Temple and Charlotte are sitting at 6-1 with Richmond and Rhode Island a game back and Dayton only two behind.


• C-USA looks like it is going to be a three-team race between UAB, UTEP, and Tulsa, all of whom at 6-1 in the league. Memphis lost to SMU on Saturday, dropping them to 5-2 in the league. UTEP beat UAB in 2OT on Saturday as well in a huge game that kept the C-USA race tight.


• Gonzaga lost an overtime matchup with lowly San Francisco on Saturday night, which dropped the Zags into a first place tie with St. Mary's. The Zags have a tough stretch coming up, playing Portland at home before flying to Memphis to take on the Tigers. They then come back for their second matchup with St. Mary's, which will be an enormous game. Not only may it decide the WCC champ, but it could determine whether or not St. Mary's makes the dance with an at-large bid.


• BYU, New Mexico, and San Diego State all won this weekend, while UNLV doesn't play until Wednesday. The Cougars still hold half game lead over UNM, a full game of UNLV, and two games over SDSU. That said, there is still a lot of movement to be made in the MWC, as we are about to start the second time through the league.
  


• George Mason's win at James Madison, coupled with Northeastern's win over Old Dominion on Saturday, means that the Patriots are now in sole possession of first in the CAA. Northeastern and ODU are just a game back.
  


• Northern Iowa hung on to beat Missouri State on the road on Saturday, keeping them two games ahead in the MVC race. Their only league loss came to Wichita State, who they get at home on Wednesday.


• Louisiana Tech lost to New Mexico State, setting up a three-way tie atop the WAC between LT, NMSU, and Utah State. Nevada is just a game out of first place as well.
  


• Cornell smacked Harvard by 36 points. I think its safe to say the Big Red are the favorites in the Ivy.
  

CO-GAMES OF THE WEEK: Tennessee 61, Florida 60; Kansas 81, Kansas State 79 OT

Tennessee ending Florida's four game winning streak was a wildly entertaining game, no doubt about it. But there were plenty of wildly entertaining games this week. Why the love?

Two words: Gus. Johnson. Just listen:




Kansas beat Kansas State in one of the best games I have seen in a long time. I doubt that any team in the country will be faced with a tougher place to play on the road than what Kansas had to deal with in beating the Wildcats. I don't even know where to start talking about it. So many big shots were hit, so many greats plays were made, but the one thing that stands out in my mind is the play of Sherron Collins. Collins was dealing with back spasms all night long, even having to be helped off the floor late in regulation when his back locked up. And while he managed just a pedestrian (for him) 16 points and 4 assists, the number of big shots he hit was mind-boggling. None was bigger, however, than the driving layup he hit with 13 seconds left on the clock in overtime, drawing the foul as well. That bucket opened up a 79-76 lead, and after Kansas rebounded his missed free throw, the game was all but wrapped up.




PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Devan Downey, South Carolina

I feel like I shouldn't have to explain to you why Downey gets the nod as the player of the week. His performance on Tuesday alone probably would have been good enough. For those that don't remember that far back, Downey went for 30 against then No. 1 Kentucky, hitting a number of tough, clutch buckets down the stretch as the Gamecocks landed a memorable upset of the Wildcats.

Devan Downey beat Georgia and Kentucky this week.
(photo credit: WaPo)

But that wasn't all Downey did this week. On Saturday afternoon, the diminutive point guard scored a cool 33 points as South Carolina came from behind to beat Georgia at home. Down 63-54 with 9:32 left on the clock, Downey would score 12 of South Carolina's final 24 points (and nine of the last 11), including a layup with 50 seconds left that gave the Gamecocks a 78-77 lead and the win.

All told, in the two game last week, Downey averaged 31.5 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.0 spg, and had just three turnovers in 74 minutes. But to be fair, that shouldn't be considered all that impressive. Why? Because in seven SEC games, Downey is averaging 31.6 ppg, 2.8 apg, and 3.2 spg. Now that is impressive.

They were good too:

• Dominique Jones, South Florida: Believe it or not, the Bulls are on a three game winning streak in the Big East, and Jones in the biggest reason why. USF knocked off Seton Hall and Pitt this week, and in the two games Jones avraged 32.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 3.0 apg. He may have take POY honors if his 46 points, 10 rebound, 8 assist performance against Providence counted towards this week.
• Derrio Green, Charlotte: Green was monumental in a potential season-defining week for the 49ers. He scored 26 points to lead a comeback win over Temple on Wednesday, before going for 34 as Charlotte took out UMass on the road on Saturday.
  
• Jimmer Fredette, BYU: The Cougars may have only gone 1-1 this week, but Fredette was beyond fantastic. He had 27 points and 7 assists in a close loss at New Mexico before pouring in 36 points in a win over rival Utah.
• Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia: Butler averaged just 20.5 ppg for the week, but it was his 27-point performance, including the eventual game-winning jumper, against Louisville on Saturday that got him the recognition.
  
• Quincy Pondexter, Washington: In two games this week, both wins, Pondexter averaged 28.0 ppg, 11.5 rpg, and shot 19-29 from the floor.
• Vlad Moldoveanu, American: I'll throw some love to the Patriot League. American has won seven games this year, but they are currently on a three game winning streak. Last week, Moldoveanue averaged 29.0 ppg and 7.5 rpg, including a 37 point, 9 board performance in a win over Navy.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Charlotte 49ers

The 49ers threw themselves, and everyone else in the A-10, a bone when they took down Temple on Wednesday night. It was an impressive win for Charlotte, as they trailed for most of the game before putting together a late 13-2 run to gain the lead. As we mentioned above, Derrio Green scored 26 points in the win.

Derrio Green was fantastic as Charlotte moved into contention for the A-10 title.
(photo credit: Charlotte Observer)

Charlotte would also go on to beat UMass on the road on Saturday afternoon, setting up a logjam at the top of the league. Xavier is sitting as 7-1 with Charlotte and Temple right behind them at 6-1. Richmond and Rhode Island are both a game behind that at 5-2, while Dayton is still in the mix at 4-3. If Charlotte proved anything against Temple, its that they are without a doubt a player in this league race.

They were good too

• Kansas: The Jayhawks knocked off Missouri at home before going into Manhattan and picking up a win against a tough Kansas State team. Combine that with a Texas loss to Baylor, and the Jayhawks are sitting pretty with a two-game lead in the Big XII.
• Rhode Island: Rhody beat Dayton before picking up a nice win over GW to remain in the hunt for the A-10 crown.
• New Mexico: The Lobos stayed within a game of first place in the MWC by knocking off BYU and ending their 15 games winning streak. UNM kept the momentum going by beating TCU on Saturday.
• South Florida: Three wins for the Bulls? They knocked off Seton Hall in OT and Pitt at home this week.
• Arizona: We mentioned it earleir, but the Wildcats are now 6-3 and in first place in the Pac-10 as they have now won four straight, including a blowout of Stanford and a thrilling win over Cal this week.
• Arkansas: The Razorbacks knocked off the two favorites in the SEC West with wins over Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
• UTEP: How about the Miners. After beating Tulane on Wednesday, UTEP picked up a huge 2OT win over UAB on the strength of 20 points and 13 boards from Derrick Caracter.

MATCHUPS OF THE WEEK

• 2/2 - 7:00 pm: Ole Miss @ Kentucky
• 2/2 - 9:00 pm: Michigan State @ Wisconsin
• 2/3 - 7:00 pm: Pitt @ West Virginia
• 2/3 - 7:00 pm: William & Mary @ ODU
• 2/3 - 8:00 pm: Memphis @ UAB
• 2/3 - 8:00 pm: Mississippi State @ Vanderbilt
  
• 2/3 - 8:05 pm: Wichita State @ Northern Iowa
• 2/4 - 7:00 pm: Georgia Tech @ Duke
• 2/4 - 9:00 pm: Maryland @ Florida State
  
• 2/4 - 11:00 pm: Portland @ Gonzaga
• 2/6 - 12:00 pm: Villanova @ Georgetown
• 2/6 - 12:00 pm: Xavier @ Dayton
• 2/6 - 1:30 pm: Mississippi State @ Florida
• 2/6 - 2:00 pm: Temple @ Richmond
• 2/6 - 4:00 pm: Wisconsin @ Michigan
• 2/6 - 4:00 pm: Texas @ Oklahoma
• 2/6 - 4:00 pm: Gonzaga @ Memphis
• 2/6 - 4:00 pm: Texas A&M @ Baylor
• 2/6 - 4:00 pm: Clemson @ Virginia Tech
• 2/6 - 4:00 pm: BYU @ UNLV
• 2/6 - 4:00 pm: ODU @ VCU
• 2/6 - 4:00 pm: Cal @ UCLA
• 2/6 - 6:00 pm: SDSU @ New Mexico
• 2/6 - 9:00 pm: Michigan State @ Illinois
• 2/6 - 10:00 pm: UTEP @ Tulsa
  
• 
  

Continue reading...

Monday Morning Dump

- Mike DeCourcy is confused with the bi-polar play of the Yellow Jackets

- An entertaining review of Saturday's games. I'm always willing to give love to a fellow Hoya fan.

- What's going on with the Heels? They got romped by Virginia at home last night

- Sherron Collins : College Basketball :: Mariano Rivera : Yankees

- Remembering Hank Gathers

- Reactions from Spokane on the San Fran shocker

- Some very interesting Rutgers coaching rumors

- Now that "The Villian" is back, Ohio State is eyeing March sucess

- A USC student manager got assessed a technical foul against Oregon. He then got fired and re-hired; No wait, he's now re-fired

- Gavin Edwards may have played his way into the NBA

- If he does end up playing, he's an impact player on the all-Name Team.

- Ohio State honored their 1960 National Championship team

- Colorado could get freshman pg Alex Burks back this week

- Cornell senior Jon Jacques explains what the Big Red do off the court

- The Post-Standard did their own quotables column for the Syracuse/DePaul recap

- In case anybody actually cares, Alcorn State is now 0-22. They are now only four games back of the New Jersey Nets

- Because of technology, we now know what Gheorghe Muresan's son is up to

- A look inside the Gamecock's new coop - Gamecocks live in coops, right?

- A must-read on the status of the Mid-Majority

- The lights go out on Sportscenter

Utah freshman Marhsall Henderson threw a spinning-back-fist to a BYU player during Saturday's game (at the 1:10 mark)




Michigan State's Chris Allen throws it down on Northwestern



Old, but came across it looking for a dunk last night. That's a pretty serious dunk.



LeBron at Kentucky-Vanderbilt



Dude, you just won on a buzzer beater. Celebrate or something.



Continue reading...