College Basketball

Whose side are you on?

2005-03-13T19:51:00.000-05:00

Predictions for the "Last Four In."

Stewart Mandel (cnn/si): North Carolina State, Northern Iowa, St. Mary's (CA), and UAB.
Joe Lundari (espn): Buffalo, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, and North Carolina State.
Gregg Doyel (cbs sportsline): Memphis, Northern Iowa, Iowa and UCLA.
Yoni Cohen (fox sports & yocohoops): Buffalo, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, and North Carolina State.
Jeremy Stone (yahoo sports): Miami (OH), Iowa, St. Mary's (CA), and UAB.

Update: Stewart Mandel picked the field correctly. Joe Lunardi and I incorrectly picked Buffalo rather than UAB, Gregg Doyel wrongly selected Memphis instead of UAB and Jeremy Stone mistakenly invited Miami (OH) over Northern Iowa.

Welcome to yoco :: College Basketball 2.0!

2005-03-06T09:27:00.000-05:00

At the new home of yoco :: College Basketball, you'll notice a few new features, each designed to enable this blog to be a community forum for educated, informed and passionate commentary on college basketball.

Diaries: Each time you visit this site, be sure to read not only the frontpage, but also the Diaries. Submitted by registered users, diaries function as blogs within a blog.

Nested Comments: Rather than display feedback chronologically, nested comments display topically, enabling registered users to reply directly to a given post or comment.

Bloggers Bracket: Come March, this site will host the First Annual NCAA Tournament Bloggers Bracket. Registered users will be able submit their picks and compete against other members of the blogosphere, with results updated in real-time.

Registration: Unfortunately, to enable content management, only registered users (feel free to use an alias) are able to comment, post diaries, and enter the Bloggers Bracket. While unregistered users will still be able to read this site, those who register will also be able to customize their yoco :: College Basketball homepage and settings.

To register, click on Create Account. The signup process asks for an email address (which will never be distributed or made public, create a new yahoo account if you'd like) to which will be sent your computer-generated password. Once you receive the email and login, you will be able to create a new, memorable, password, input your user preferences (the public profile other users can see), and customize your display preferences (to alter your yoco homepage).

Explore and enjoy yoco :: College Basketball 2.0!

Growing Pains

2005-02-21T09:28:00.000-05:00

Spent much of the weekend (and this morning) working to upgrade yoco :: College Basketball.

The result? Didn't have time to produce a morning roundup. Sorry! By early-afternoon, however, I should have something up.

The migration away from Blogger and Blogspot should be up either tonight or tomorrow morning.

I. Can't. Wait.

Update, 12:33 PM: We're about to migrate the site -- and I can't post the morning roundup during the migration without complicating the transfer. Thanks for understanding!

"news as conversation"

2005-02-20T17:25:00.000-05:00

Uber-blogger and Greensboro (NC) News & Record contributor Ed Cone is up with his "beginner's guide to the blogosphere." In his weekly column, Ed kindly mentioned and linked to this very blog. Woohoo.

But why would the News & Record publish a piece designed to encourage readers to explore the blogosphere?

Because the North Carolina paper is, in the words of former San Jose Mercury News columnist and "We the Media" author Dan Gillmor, "embarking on one of mainstream journalism's most important experiments: turning the paper into a community forum." Bringing blogs into the fold, the N&R is embracing citizen and open source journalism. Much to the delight of PressThink's Jay Rosen.

Background on the historic move -- to which Ed was a critical contributor -- here, here, here, here, here, and here.

A Day Off

2005-02-20T15:01:00.000-05:00

Am taking today off.

Tomorrow should be the big day.

Feel free to use this thread to comment on today's games. I'm looking forward to Duke-Wake Forest.

Open Thread: Today's "Bracket Buster" Games

2005-02-19T16:49:00.000-05:00

Use this thread to comment on today's "Bracket Buster" games.

Open Thread: Today's Other Games

2005-02-19T16:35:00.000-05:00

Use this thread to comment on today's non-"Bracket Buster" games.

completed!

2005-02-19T15:54:00.000-05:00

-- Dick Harmon of the Deseret (UT) Morning News praises University of New Mexico athletic director Rudy Davalos for standing up to ESPN. When the WWLIS called to ask Harmon to move the start time of the Lobos' 7 pm Monday game against the nationally ranked Utah Utes to 10 pm, Davalos said thanks, but no thanks. He and the the rest of the MWC's athletic directors are unhappy with ESPN's failure to promote the network's telecasts of the conference's Monday night games.

-- The Boston Globe's Mark Blaudschun pens a must-read about Boston College's Sean Williams. Including a second paragraph that sets up the great article that follows.

It is not what Williams has done, it is what he might do. What he is expected to do. What people hope he will do, especially in a program that arguably has never had anyone like him.

-- The indefatigble Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press Gazette suggests the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will make the NIT Tournament if the Phoenix win all three of their remaining regular-season games. I agree, if only because Demovsky makes a persuasive case based on RPI data, schedule results, and historical precedent.

-- It took me a day, but I finally came to grips with the fact that ESPN's Mark Simon decided to write -- and praise! -- Florida's Anthony Roberson in his weekly edition of "College Hoops Extra." Try as I might, I can't erase from my mind Roberson's selfish play at the end of last season...More importantly, Simon (as usual) uncovers a most interesting statistic. Texas Tech may be the nation's most able and balanced passing ballclub; Bobby Knight's club has seven players who average better than an assist per game AND have positive assist to turnover ratios. Also, I noted that (for the first time?) Simon's column appeared in the "More from ESPN.com" rotation. Is our good friend moving up in the world of college basketball punditry?

-- Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl suggests Division I wannabes study the Buffalo model: have the fan base to support an elite program, gain admission to a conference and hire a good coach. Also via Grant Wahl, a link to poems by Duke guard J.J. Redick.

-- Wahl's SI colleague, Stewart Mandel, argues Pacific, Wichita State, Southern Illinois, Vermont, Old Dominion, St. Mary's, UW-Milwaukee, and Davidson could surprise a club or two in the NCAA Tournament. Not so sure about Wichita State after their third loss, but the others make a solid seven.

-- Fox Sports' Frank Burlison hands out the hardware. He joins the chorus of those who belive Salim Stoudamire is current a first-team All-America.

-- More from the Mainstream: Mike DeCourcy of Fox Sports is up with Hits & Misses and his Mailbag. Tony Mejia of CBS SportsLine projects the Field of 65. Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated this weekend likes Boston College over Syracuse, Illinois over Iowa, Oklahoma State over Texas Tech, Oklahoma over Kansas State, Cincinnati over UAB, Pacific over UTEP, Vermont over Nevada, Florida over LSU, Wake Forest over Duke, and Pittsburgh over Villanova. Andy Katz of ESPN heaps praise upon Tubby Smith and the University of Kentucky. While his Bristol buddy, Dick Vitale, uses the term "wacky" to describe the SEC. Finally, Gregg Doyel of CBS SportsLine pens a piece on his Top 10 weekend games.

-- Jay Bilas of the WWLIS asks if the 2004-2005 season is Billy Donovan's best coaching job. Yes. Though I would argue it is also his only coaching job. Bilas also comes out of left field to suggest -- and I am not making this up -- that the Pac 10 may only receive two bids. Sure, Arizona State, UCLA and Stanford haven't done much to help themselves of late, but it is highly unlikely that at least one of the three will not notch a few big victories during the remainder of the season and the conference tournament. My money's on UCLA (RPI: 34), in no small part because the Bruins' schedule might enable Ben Howland's club to notch a road victory against Notre Dame on February 27th.

-- ESPN's Pat Forde on Boston College. Who knew Rick Pitino calls Al Skinner by his old nickname, Bunny. Hehe.

-- Info on tickets to the America East tourney here.

-- Andrew Joyner of the Charlottesville (VA) Daily Progress and Patrick Stevens of the Washington Times cover the final days of the Gillen era at Virginia.

-- Bruce Weber: Fear not hope.

-- Phil Chardis of the Manchester (CT) Journal Inquirer suggests Jared Dudley, Ryan Gomes, Jeff Green, Chevy Troutman, and Marcus Williams are the five players most indispensable to their Big East teams.

more progress...

2005-02-19T13:01:00.000-05:00

-- Unlike the rest of college hoops nation, Roy Williams isn't looking forward to a game between North Carolina and Kansas in the NCAA Tournament.

"I don't know if I could handle it. I really don't. This may sound corny...but for me personally that would be the worst moment of my life. I love people at both places."

I can understand why Williams would prefer to avoid such a game. But sooner or later, his Tar Heels will play Self's Jayhawks. Maybe not this year. Maybe not next. But before "Benedict Williams" retires.

-- Jim Calhoun is (again) among the finalists for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Here's hoping this is the year. Two decades ago, nary an individual in America could have predicted Calhoun's success at Connecticut.

-- Rob Miech of the Las Vegas (NV) Sun suggests UNLV's 93-91 overtime victory over San Diego State is the seventh best comeback of all time. The others?

10. Pacific 64, Utah State 63 (Feb. 12, 2005)
9. Vanderbilt 75, North Carolina State 73 (March 21, 2004)
8. North Carolina 96, Duke 92 (OT) (March 2, 1974)
6. Duke 98, Maryland 96 (OT) (Jan. 27, 2001)
5. North Carolina State 69, Pepperdine 67 (2OT) (March 18, 1983)
4. New Mexico State 117, Bradley 109 (Jan. 27, 1977)
3. New York University 70, Ohio State 65 (OT) (March 24, 1945)
2. Kentucky 99, Louisiana State 95 (Feb. 15, 1994)
1. North Carolina State 80, UCLA 77 (2OT) (March 23, 1974).

-- Former Georgetown coach Craig Esherick has applied for the coaching job at New Mexico State. Cough, cough. One need not look much further than JT3's success with Esherick's players to realize that while Craig may be an average recruiter, he is a below-average head coach. New Mexico State Athletics Director McKinley Boston should instead interview Josh Pastner and Nolan Richardson.

-- Ohio State on Friday suspended junior forward Matt Sylvester one game for unsportsmanlike conduct. Anybody care? Didn't think so.

-- Is Jay Bias...er...Bilas paid to hype College GameDay matches? Yes. (Mississippi State over Kentucky?!?!!)

-- Howie Stalwick of the Madison (WI) Capital-Times pens the first of many post Dick Bennett would-be retirement announcement profiles of Tony Bennett. The younger Bennett comes across as honest...and unprepared for the media scrutiny that will follow his dad's retirement.

-- Reading between the lines, I conclude Tom Noie of the South Bend (IN) Tribune believes that despite Providence's troubles, Ryan Gomes has improved his NBA stock by returning for a senior year of college basketball. I hope so, but am skeptical.

-- Less than 48 hours after he had an emergency appendectomy, Miami coach Frank Haith will depart on a private jet to tonight's game at Virginia Tech. I'm glad Haith is feeling well enough to coach against Seth Greenberg.

-- University of Nevada head coach Mark Fox believes Vermont should receive an NCAA Tournament bid even if the Catamounts today lose to his Wolf Pack. I agree. More importantly, Fox is quoted in an article by Jeff Pinkham of the Burlington (VT) Free Press. Guess who else is cited in Pinkham's piece? None other than the blogosphere's own Ken Pomeroy!

in progress...

2005-02-19T12:11:00.000-05:00

-- A few months back, I suggested the Lakeland (FL) Ledger's Corey Long read "Bringing Down the House" on his flight out to Vegas. The result? (Though I can't find his original blog post describing the trip,) Corey couldn't stop reading "The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions" and enjoyed his flight out West.

Without further ado, today's recommendation: Anything by Malcolm Gladwell. In particular "The Tipping Point" and "Blink." "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" is probably the most thought-provoking and perspective-altering book I have ever read. Last night, speaking at Politics and Prose, a Washington, DC bookstore, Gladwell made "Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking" sound equally as good. Readers who'd like to hear Gladwell's theses applied to sports should begin, however, by reading Malcolm's interview with Jeff Merron of the WWLIS.

-- The Washington Post suggests Charlotte' Bobby Lutz will be a hot commodity at season's end. Pourquoi? He has led his 49ers to four NCAA Tournaments in six seasons. And with Charlotte (18-4, 9-2 Conference USA) playing its best basketball of the year, look for the 49ers to make a splash in the NCAA Tournament.

-- Dan Raley of the Seattle (WA) Post-Intelligencer Reporter notes Dick Bennett's announcement regarding his upcoming retirement has added a bit of intrigue to today's Washington-Washington State game. Even as Andy Katz yesterday reported Tony Bennett is already (and prematurely?) telling recruits he will be his pop's heir apparent on the Wazzu bench.

-- How low will the NCAA selection committee go? Could Memphis make the cut with an RPI in the high 60's or low 70's? Only time will tell.

-- More from the Washington Post: Bracketology. (Syracuse, Chicago, Austin, and Albuquerque Regionals).

-- Heh.

Penn State (7-17): Can a Big Ten program really be this bad for this long?

-- Minnesota's Dan Monson believes Michigan State is "the most underrated team out there." He's wrong. Try...Arizona. In the preseason, pundits acknowledged Arizona had the talent to make a Final Four run, but questioned Salim Stoudamire's attitude and leadership abilities. Now that Salim has established himself, not only as the nation's best and hottest shooter, but also as the 'Cats team leader, it is increasingly hard to justify keeping Lute Olson's club out of the Top 10.

-- The always enjoyable and rarely off-target Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette floats a trial balloon; Chevon Troutman for Big East Player of the Year?

Troutman's statistics make him worth of such consideration. A 6-foot-7 senior forward from Williamsport, Troutman is first in the Big East in field-goal shooting (60.7 percent), second in offensive rebounds (3.45 per game), tied for sixth in rebounding (7.9) and seventh in scoring (16.8).

Troutman has been spectacular over the past month, averaging 19.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting 63.3 percent from the field in a seven-game span.

In a world without Craig Smith and Hakim Warrick, yes. In the real world, no. For better or for worse, Troutman lacks the (regional and) national cache to win conference POY honors.

-- Joe Kay of Associated Press writes up the reaction to Jihad Muhammad's Muslim faith on the Cincinnati campus.

-- Rarely do I find the lead of the day in a game preview. But today was such a day.

Maryland has proven it can beat ranked opponents. The unranked foes are another story.

True.

-- The Associates Press' Susan Haigh writes up the Connecticut Ethics Commission's decision to publicly release portions of the consultant contract between Nike and University of Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun. Contract compensation numbers, however, will remain private.

-- From bad to worse, the Pierre Pierce saga. Prosecutors yesterday filed tougher charges against the former Iowa basketball star in connection with his alleged assault last month of a former girlfriend. The new charges, which supersede six previous counts filed last week, include two counts of first-degree burglary, one count of assault with intent to commit sexual assault and one count of fourth-degree criminal mischief. Terrible. Sad. Unfortunate. Unnecessary. Just a few of the adjective's I could use to describe Pierce's (potentially) heinous behavior.

-- Louisville guard Taquan Dean has mono, but will continue to play through the end of the season. To a healthy recovery.

-- Clark Kellogg of Yahoo Sports (online) identifies six "Games of Note:" DePaul at Marquette, Georgia Tech at Florida State, UCLA at Stanford, Memphis at Southern Mississippi, Utah at Air Force, and Florida at LSU. The Washington Post's "Game of the Week" is Wake Forest at Duke.

-- The AP's Keith Parsons suggests Wake Forest's success is due to the mentality of its bench. Taron Downey, Trent Strickland, Chris Ellis and Kyle Visser see themselves as -- and often contribute like -- starters for Skip Prosser's club. Parsons also makes Downey out as a class act.

As a sophomore, he started all 31 games and led the Deacons to their first ACC regular-season title since 1962. He scored 10.1 points a game, made 86 percent of his free throws and led the team in assists.

But the next season, he lost his spot in the lineup, thanks to the arrival of Paul, a can't-miss freshman. Yet Downey never sulked and never complained while his playing time steadily decreased, and now he's determined to make the most of his final season, even as a role player.

-- Jeff Latzke of the Associates Press rewrites Dennis Dodd's column for CBS Sportsline. Not. Very. Original.

completed!

2005-02-18T13:49:00.000-05:00

-- Just when I was about to observe Fred Barakat had gone missing around these parts and google his highness to see what the ACC's associate commissioner had been up to, this happens. You. Must. Click. This. Link.

-- Michael Lewis of the Salt Lake City (UT) Tribune looks at and behind Utah's numbers, quotes several conference coaches to the effect that the Utes are "built" to go deep into the NCAA Tournament, suggests a high seed is critical to Utah's fortunes, and reminds us Giac's club has faced the third-weakest schedule among ranked teams.

-- Eureka! Now I know why Nate Robinson is a near-lock to leave early for the NBA. (Or run for political office).

-- The Greensboro News & Record informs readers of Duke, North Carolina, Maryland and Wake Forest's ACC opponents through 2008. I'm glad Duke will play Maryland and North Carolina twice a year, but won't such an arragement serve as a disadvantage to the Dukies in conference play? Wouldn't they rather play Clemson and Virginia Tech...er...Miami twice a year?

-- The Wilmington Star News' Andrew Jones tells readers he is a moneymaker.

I wrote a column two weeks ago suggesting that Duke would likely split its final 10 games of the regular season. At the midway point, the Devils are 2-3 with games at Georgia Tech, St. John's and North Carolina and home dates with Wake Forest and Miami remaining.

-- Eric Olson of the Durham (NC) Herald-Sun explains why Fire Marshal Kenneth Crews is an unpopular figure on campus. Hint: No. More. Bonfires. (After. Games.)

-- CBS SportsLine's Dennis "Just for Men" Dodd (compare pictures here and here) pens today's must-read, a wonderfully honest column on JamesOn Curry. I love watching Curry play.

-- While his CBS SportsLine colleague, Gregg Doyel pens an equally dishonest piece on Lute Olson. Sure, the Silver Fox may have gone a bit overboard in criticizing East Coast Bias, but it is more or less a coach's role to hype his team and his conference before the NCAA Tournament. ACC coaches are guilty of so doing every spring...and fall. Remember Bruce Weber's criticisms of Dick Vitale earlier this season? No worse than Olson's. The difference? Olson's nickname for Vitale -- Dukie V -- was several years back catchy enough to be adopted by the Maryland, North Carolina, Syracuse, etc. faithful.

Was Olson wrong to compare Salim Stoudamire's numbers to those of J.J. Redick and Gerry McNamara. Nope. Dick Vitale had gone on national television and declared Redick perhaps the best shooter of all time. Olson wanted to set the record straight and, in so doing, remind the pundits Salim deserves consideration for national player of the year honors.

P.S.: Just because Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl agrees with Gregg doesn't mean either is correct.

P.P.S: Grant claims pundits care little about who wins games. Suggesting he doesn't consider Notre Dame alum Digger Phelps a pundit. ESPN's Jeff Shelman, your thoughts?

Unfortunately, fans think that the writers who cover teams care about their success and they wish ill on their rivals. While that is certainly true with some writers, I think most beat writers do their best to remain impartial. Most care more about their Marriott points and frequent flier miles than they do the outcome of games. I've covered four different D-I programs as a beat writer and I can honestly say I didn't really care how any of them did. You spend so much time with these people, that it's difficult to really root for them. More than once I've wanted a team I cover to lose just to get the season over with.

-- A reader emailed to inquire if I thought Iowa State was worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid. But who cares what I think when Bill Self is praising the Cyclones and suggesting Tasheed Carr, Rahshon Clark & Co. deserve to go dancing?

-- Props to Doyel, however, for dribbling a very interesting note. The powers that (may)be at Virginia hope to replace Pete Gillen with Michigan's Tommy Amaker, George Washington's Karl Hobbs, former St. John's coach Mike Jarvis or former Ohio State and Philadelphia 76ers coach Randy Ayers.

Several thoughts. (1) Why anyone would think of hiring Mike Jarvis (!?!?!) when Josh Pastner is available is beyond me. (2) If Karl Hobbs leaves George Washington, he should give himself an easier set-up than Virginia. (3) What exactly makes Tommy Amaker a hot commodity? (4) After the Abe Keita scandal, why anybody would hire Mike Jarvis when Nolan Richardson is available is (also) beyond me.

-- Bill Koch of the Cincinnati Enquirer profiles Bearcat walk-on Ryan Patzwald. Not quite a member of any all walk-on clubs, Ryan is nonetheless inspiration for 5'11" guys everywhere.

-- The Iowa Presidents' Council on Athletics approved a new athlete code of conduct. Better later than never.

-- Jason Franchuk of the Provo (UT) Daily Herald raises a fun but irrelevant question.

Is it a good thing to put two or three teams in the NCAA basketball tournament, even if they all first-round flop? Or is it best, as what seems likely right now with dominating Utah, to put the league's reputation into one very good team?

Discuss.

-- If you don't have a soft spot in your heart for Belleville, Illinois, you've never been to Belleville East High School...On a college basketball related note, Belleville (IL) News-Democrat staff writer David Wilhelm writes up Bruce Weber's call to Phil Martelli. Packer: Martelli as Vitale: Weber?

in progress...

2005-02-18T07:46:00.000-05:00

-- Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer debunks several rumors about North Carolina State's Ilian Evtimov. The Wolfpack's forward (1) does not plan to graduate this year, give up his final year of college eligibility and play pro basketball in Europe next season, (2) is as mobile as he was last season, and (3) is not, statistically speaking, critical to the Pack's success.

-- NCAA President Myles Brand is scheduled to testify in the Michael Jackson child-molestation trial...er...Bobby Knight "zero tolerance" behavior trial...Props to the Indianapolis Star for filing a Freedom of Information suit to gain access to the Indiana University report that led to the firing of Mike Davis...er...Bobby Knight.

-- Virginia Tech upset Duke, undermining the Blue Devils' bid for a No. 1 seed and affirming that second-year Hokies floor general Seth Greenberg should be the ACC Coach of the Year for leading Virginia Tech to a 6-6 conference record. Few pundits expected his club to finish anywhere but last in the league.

-- The State of New Mexico will name a southern New Mexico highway after Lou Henson. Sweet.

-- The Dallas Morning News' Brad Townsend looks forward to "Bracket Buster" Saturday and suggests the SEC's weakness will prevent Kentucky from securing a No. 1 seed.

-- The Maui Visitors Bureau found the Maui Invitational to be worth $10 million to the local economy.

-- Rana Cash of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution finds North Carolina State repositioning itself for an NCAA Tournament bid, notes Maryland focused on Shelden Williams rather than J.J. Redick in the Terps recent victory over the Dukies, and finds Coach K upset at Daniel Ewing for picking up three technical fouls in the past five games.

-- More good news for Dan Monson. The NCAA granted Adam Boone's appeal for a sixth season of eligibility. The 6'3" guard has not played since undergoing surgery to repair a torn right biceps tendon on October 7.

-- The Albuquerque (NM) Journal reported UTEP and New Mexico have agreed to a four game series starting this fall. The teams last played in 2000 before the Lobos left the Western Athletic Conference to join the Mountain West.

-- Savannah State coach Ed Daniels should have seen his dismissal coming after a 0-28 season.

-- Seton Hall Coach Louis Orr suspended swingman J.R. Morris for academic reasons.

-- Best wishes to Miami coach Frank Haith after his Thursday appendectomy. May he recover...in time for Saturday's game against Virginia Tech.

-- A Flip Saunders sighting! Hello, Ryan.

-- Ian Crosswhite is no longer in the crosshairs. He's gone, dismissed by Ernie Kent & Co. from Oregon's basketball team.

-- The normally reliable Tom Coyne has an off day for the Associated Press. His lead:

Notre Dame coach Mike Brey doesn't want the Fighting Irish getting comfortable. He wants them to have edge.

-- The ACC released the conference's basketball rotation through 2008. Maryland is guaranteed home-and-away matchups with Duke each of the next three seasons.

-- Jay Bilas doesn't think very highly of Arizona.

-- More evidence the John Brady era is coming to a close at Louisiana State.

-- New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay, understanding a weak schedule this year cost his Lobos a chance at an NCAA Tournament bid, has wisely promised to play tougher opponents in the future.

-- Via Greg Wallace of the Birmingham (AL) Post-Herald. Heh.

Lately, ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale has become something of a caricature of himself, an ambassador of college basketball who clearly has his head buried in the sand when it comes to college hoops' real issues.

Take his comments on Kentucky freshman point guard Rajon Rondo, for instance. Before Kentucky's victory over Florida last Tuesday, the shiny-headed analyst offered the Lexington Herald-Leader an unsolicited assessment of Rondo, who has emerged as one of the league's best point guards.

"If he stays four years, he could be the best Kentucky point guard in 20 years," Vitale said. "He should forget any thought of the NBA and stay four years. The passion and pageantry of college basketball, why give it up?"

A better question: with the lucrative early-entry NBA draft culture spinning as fast as ever, why stay? Or, as LSU Coach John Brady said when relayed Vitale's advice - "What's Dick smoking?"

-- Fun with lawsuits, Obie-style. Here's hoping the defense brings in the booster who made out with the Buckeye player in front of her husband to testify.

-- Steve Rivera of the Tucson Citizen notes the Oregon Ducks have become one of the Pac 10's quickest -- if not winningest -- teams. Am I the only pundit looking forward to Malik Hairston's sophomore year?

-- Marlen Garcia of the Chicago Tribune finds Phil Martelli advising Bruce Weber and the Fighting Illini to "forget all the hogwash" about needing a loss and win the rest of their games. Well said. But I still hate Martelli for his comments about Lute Olson and Arizona several years back. The snowstorm...you (must) remember.

Team Tease

2005-02-17T12:34:00.000-05:00

-- Bob Condotta pens a must-read piece for the Seattle Times, noting Lou Campanelli's response to Dick Bennett's criticisms of Pac 10 officiating, finding Rob Evans on the hot seat at Arizona State and praising Jay John for bringing life to Oregon State.

-- Gene Frenette of the Jacksonville (FL) Sun suggests Sunshine State buyers beware. Sure, the Gators have been impressive of late. But come March, Billy Donovan's club -- nicknamed "Team Tease" -- is sure to flop.

--- Former Washington football coach Rick Neuheisel didn't consider his $6,400 wager on the men's NCAA basketball tournaments of 2002 and 2003a "bet." This and more from Gene Johnson of the Associated Press here.

-- The blogosphere has notched its second Associated Press voter. Say hello to Matt Vautour of the Daily Hampshire (MA) Gazette. Maybe Matt knows who is the odds-on favorite to replace Steve Lappas at the University of Massachusetts. (Not Pete Gillen, pretty please).

NCSU -> NCAA

2005-02-17T12:27:00.000-05:00

-- Behind a big game from Chuck Davis and an extended press that stifled the Razorbacks' offense, Alabama yesterday defeated Arkansas. The Crimson Tide are America's second most mysterious team.

-- The first? The Maryland Terrapins. Who were yesterday crushed -- yes, crushed -- by North Carolina State. Ken Tysiac of the Charlotte (NC) Observer writes up Ilian Evtimov's big game, but notes the Wolfpack must win three of four against a schedule that includes No. 4 North Carolina and No. 5 Wake Forest to reach the .500 mark in ACC conference play.

-- Jim Thomas of the Torrance (CA) Daily Breeze profiles UCLA diaper dandy and Ben Howland lucky charm Jordan Farmer. If the Bruin point guard plays as well this week as he did last, the smart money is on UCLA to make the NCAA Tournament.

-- The Marin (CA) Independent-Journal's Dave Albee pens a kind piece on Jim Saia and family, sympathizing with Saia's journey and long-term aspirations. Here's thinking that Saia has done an above-average job
leading the Trojans to an 8-12 record since Henry Bibby's dismissal.

hall of shame?

2005-02-17T12:22:00.000-05:00

-- Tim Froberg of the Green Bay (WI) News-Chronicle takes a look at Benito Flores, UWGB's leading scorer and rebounder. Here's hoping the NCAA grants his appeal and provides Flores another year of eligibility. Since Flores was 21 when he was a member of the Dominican Republic team that participated in the Pan Am Games, the NCAA has declared Flores a senior after only three years of college basketball.

-- Dick Vitale is one of eight new members of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays Fan Wall of Fame. Ugh.

-- Senior Donald Perry has left Indiana University. He wasn't much of a contributor for the 2004-2005 Hoosiers.

get out of jail?

2005-02-16T10:32:00.000-05:00

-- Caulton Tudor of the Raleigh (NC) News & Observer suggests that if North Carolina State fails to make the NCAA Tournament this year, Herb Sendek will be coaching for his job next season. He makes a persuasive argument, however, that if the Wolfpack don't finish strong enough to get back to the NCAA Tournament, Sendek should resign. (Unless Herb could get the NCAA to ok a fifth year of eligibility for Julius Hodge, I agree).

-- Kelenna Azubuike's dad was yesterday sentenced to four years in prison on convictions including bank fraud and wire fraud. The bad news for the Kentucky Wildcat: Pops is going to prison. The good news: His dad's trial behind him, Kelenna should no longer feel pressure to declare early for the NBA and (immediately) help the family with legal fees. Tubby may therefore have Azubuike around for another year.

-- During the weekly Pac-10 coaches' conference call, Washington State coach Dick Bennett declared his intent to retire at the end of either this season or next. Too bad. Despite both Gonzaga and Washington's success, Bennett has managed to bring the Cougars back to respectability. But more interesting than his surprise announcement were his thoughts on the Pac-10 conference.

He never has cared for the Pac-10's standard Thursday-Saturday game rotation, insisting instead that a weekend pairing would be more conducive to classroom commitments and easier on everyone travel-wise.

Nor has he been a big fan of league officiating, which leans toward the excessive side in making calls. "Obviously, I'm having trouble with Pac-10 officials," Bennett said after Saturday's game at Oregon, a 69-66 loss. "I'm used to Big Ten officiating, where they let kids decide the game."

-- Daniel Horton practiced with the Michigan Wolverines on Tuesday and should be back in the lineup for Sunday's game against Indiana. Just the break for which Mike Davis was looking.

Steve Lavin's Hair

2005-02-16T10:28:00.001-05:00

-- Wednesday's Must-Read: As usual, Tom Luicci's column for the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger. (Which reminds me - oh, the shame! - that I on Monday forgot to link to Dick Jerardi's must-read column for the Philadelphia Inquirer). I will, however, neither summarize nor comment on Luicci's excellent piece with the hope that, in so (not doing), I will encourage you to read his work for yourself.

-- Jerardi is today up with his Field of 65. As is Blogger Matt (here and here).

-- Dave Albee of the Marin (CA) Independent-Journal devotes 963 (!) words to Steve Lavin's hair.

-- My apologies to Joel Connelly of the Seattle (WA) Post-Intelligencer. He yesterday emailed to note the reason he left both Lorenzo Romar and Mark Few off his Valentine's Day greeting card list; he hoped to avoid jinxing either.

on coaches...

2005-02-16T10:22:00.000-05:00

-- Don't look now, but South Carolina is back on the NCAA Tournament bubble after yesterday upending Kentucky in Columbia. The Wildcats' loss shouldn't come as too big a surprise; the Gamecocks nearly upset Kansas in Lawrence earlier this season.

-- Writing for the Pittsburgh (PA) Tribune-Review, Joe Bendel finds the same folks who got off the Panthers' bandwagon following consecutive home losses getting back on after Jamie Dixon's club swept Syracuse. Why the resurgence? Two words. Chevon Troutman.

-- The folks in Phoenix aren't too happy with Rob Evans. Will the Sun Devils at season's end lose Diogu and fire Evans? Only time will tell.

-- Roger Brown of the Cleveland (OH) Plain Dealer fans the Randy Wittman to Indiana flames.

an unlucky number?

2005-02-16T10:13:00.000-05:00

-- Dan Raley of the Seattle (WA) Post-Intelligencer notes that the Pac 10 isn't getting any older. Last season, 13 of 50 starters were seniors. This year, 13 of 50 starters (again) are seniors. Raley also gets Lorenzo Romar on record as all but assuring Nate Robinson will skip his senior year and enter the NBA Draft. Sigh.

-- Reader C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Post speaks to Memphis coach John Calipari about the mass exodus from Conference USA to the Big East. Who knew Cal had a few years back advocated CUSA invite several Big East squads to join Memphis' conference?

-- Brian Koonz of the Danbury (CT) News-Times recaps Connecticut's luckier than all hell victory over Providence. Who knew the Friars would choke at the end of both regulation and the first overtime? Even as Tim Welsh's stock dropped, however, Ryan Gomes' rose. It is hard to pin either the loss or the Friars' troubles on Gomes, a stud who last night scored 37 points. (After yesterday's game, I've revised my opinion of Ryan).

-- The Gainesville (FL) Sun's Kevin Brockway finds the gang that doesn't like to pass preparing for a game against Alabama. Florida's resurgence has been among the least-reported stories of the 2004-2005 season.

that's deep

2005-02-16T10:04:00.000-05:00

-- The Detroit News' Dave Dye writes up Michigan State's deep bench and Tom Izzo's 11-man playing rotation. Coaches around the country, it turns out, are calling the Spartans coach to inquire about how the experiment is affecting player fatigue.

-- More good news for Dan Monson? Isaiah Dahlman may be a diaper dandy.

-- Iowa coach Steve Alford yesterday rejected an appeal by Pierre Pierce to reconsider his dismissal from the Hawkeye basketball team. Good.

-- Gavin Keefe of the Manchester (CT) Day finds Connecticut searching for a go-to-player. The Rashad Anderson plan hasn't quite panned out.

about the RPI

2005-02-16T09:49:00.000-05:00

-- Mike Allende of the Everett (WA) Daily Herald notes Tim Floyd is already working hard to rebuild USC. Think Pete Carroll has given him a few pointers?

-- Jeff Pinkham of the Burlington (VT) Free Press finds the Vermont Catamounts keeping their head up after a loss to Boston University.

-- The Daily Pennsylvanian's Michael Gertner writes that while parity is the name of the game in this year's Ivy League, the conference is up five places from last year's final RPI rankings.

-- David Brown of the Northwest (IL) Herald argues the RPI is unbalanced. Pourquoi? His Fighting Illini are ranked No. 5. I tend to agree. To date, Illinois has been far and away the best team in college basketball.

Blogger Ate My Post

2005-02-15T17:20:00.000-05:00

This morning. And I was too frustrated to post even a sorry (!) message.

Sorry folks. Same time, same place, tomorrow morning.

Open Thread: Big Monday

2005-02-14T18:19:00.000-05:00

Your comments on today's games?

Indiana (!?!?!)

2005-02-14T17:55:00.000-05:00

Joe Lunardi's latest edition of Bracketology includes Indiana as among the "last four out."

But at 11-10 and lacking a road win of any significance, the Hoosiers (RPI: 90) can only be considered an NIT bubble team.

Update: During halftime of Syracuse-Pittsburgh, ESPN's talking heads suggested -- collectively -- that Indiana was likely to receive an NCAA Tournament bid. Has everyone in Bristol drunk tainted water? Or am I missing something?

off topic: the list

2005-02-14T16:26:00.001-05:00

Middle school all over again.

I failed to receive an invitation to the least exclusive party ever: Michael Jackson's trial.

The list of those slated to testify includes Kobe Bryant (!), Elizabeth Taylor, David Blaine, Ed Bradley, Nick Carter and relatives of Marlon Brando. And they said Court TV was a bad idea.

Guilty!

2005-02-14T15:36:00.000-05:00

Michigan point guard Daniel Horton pled guilty today to his girlfriend's charge of domestic violence.

the elephant in the room

2005-02-14T14:35:00.000-05:00

Given the number of readers who have noticed the CBS SportsLine scoreboard in my blog's left sidebar and subsequently added the same to the sidebars of their own blogs (here, here and here, for example), it might be time to learn what CBS SportsLine thinks of such a practice...

Full Disclosure: (1) I too copied the scoreboard from another blogger, Evan Brunell of Fire Brand and the "Most Valuable Network."
(2) Astute readers will notice the "Tip Jar" atop the Mighty MJD blog. I did, for the record, contact the blog's owners and receive permission to add it to yoco :: college basketball.

Players by College

2005-02-14T14:28:00.000-05:00

The one and only Paul Katcher (he of Seinfeld fame) emails with a link to a valuable resource.

A database of NBA players searchable by college. Enjoy!

I'm so rarely right...

2005-02-14T12:02:00.000-05:00

In his "Week in Review," CBS SportsLine's Gregg Doyel suggests Memphis is back on the bubble.

Smile. On January 16th, I. Told. You. So.

cup of joe

2005-02-14T11:02:00.000-05:00

-- ESPN Vice President Burke Magnus may hire Tom Brennan to work at the WWLIS after the Vermont coach retires at season's end, or so suggests Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune. Sweet. Bye-bye Jarvis (or Majerus). Hello Brennan.

-- Joe Scott is a genius. First, he turns around Air Force. Second, with his Princeton Tigers struggling after blowing multiple second-half leads, Scott steps out of the box and orders the scoreboard to continue to read "period 1" in the second half of Saturday's game against Columbia. The result? Princeton 63, Columbia 53.

-- Newsday's Joe Gergen reports that Isiah Thomas -- author of the must-not-read book "8 Plays for Winning the Games of Business and Life," published despite Thomas' bankrupting of the CBA -- and 32 other NBA scouts were in the (other) house that Jim built to witness Connecticut-North Carolina. (Mike DiMauro of the New London (CT) Day, however, writes that there were 32, not 33, total scouts at yesterday's game. Who among them, I ask Trey, is correct?)

-- The New York Times' Pete Thamel pens another good piece, reminding readers why this blogger likes the revised RPI better than the road-neutral RPI.

The weekend had two examples of how the changed RPI formula has helped midmajor programs. Vermont lost at Boston University. But because B.U. is ranked in the top 50 of the RPI and the loss came on the road, Vermont did not slide in the ranking. Wichita State lost Saturday at Bradley. But because the MVC had a strong showing in out-of-conference play, Bradley has an RPI inside the top 100, which means a loss to it in conference, especially on the road, is not lethal to a team's overall RPI.

"The new weighted R.P.I. has helped everyone in our league," Wichita State Coach Mark Turgeon said in a telephone interview yesterday. "In past years, we'd have three teams with an R.P.I. over 230, which meant six games against them. Now there's only one team over 200, which makes a real difference."

Although the new formula has helped Missouri Valley Conference teams, which play a lot of road games against tough opponents, it has hurt teams like Pittsburgh, which loaded up on a buffet of lesser teams at home earlier in the season. The Panthers (17-4) are ranked in the top 20 in the news media and coaches polls, but they have an R.P.I. ranking of 47 because of their light nonconference schedule, which included a home loss to Bucknell.

-- Eric Prisbell of the Washington Post leads a thoughtful article on Duke-Maryland with a few notes about the Gary Williams-John Gilchrist relationship. In other words, Gary will today receive from John a few sugar candy hearts, one of whom, I imagine, will instruct the Maryland coach to "fax me." (Why do people purchase those candies, anyway? Not for the taste...)

silly press corps

2005-02-14T10:57:00.000-05:00

-- Mike Garafolo of the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger notes UCLA has lost five of eight, the Big 12 might receive only four Tournament bids, and Holy Cross is running away with the Patriot League. He also proposes a new practice drill. Heh.

Tell the players they're up by 10 with 30 seconds remaining. Then see if they can win the game. After Chicago State turned a three-point triumph into a three-point defeat in the final 1.9 seconds of its Feb. 5 game against Missouri-Kansas City, two more teams entered the race for most embarrassing loss of the season. On Saturday, San Diego State led UNLV 81-71 with 28.5 seconds remaining, only to lose by two in overtime. Later that night, Utah State had No. 24 Pacific on the ropes, up 61-53 with 27 seconds left. Final score: Pacific 64, Utah State 63.

And one more blogworthy excerpt. Dennis the Menace, indeed.

Georgia coach Dennis Felton said last week that he's tired of people referring to his team as "dirty." Okay, Dennis. Does "terrible" work for you? The Bulldogs are still reeling from the Jim Harrick era and, at 1-10 in the Southeastern Conference, have been the conference doormat this year.

-- Northern Iowa coach Greg McDermott yesterday signed a contract extension through the 2010 season. The Des Moines Register writes that "McDermott's new contract calls for continued raises that will pay him a base salary of at least $250,000 by the 2008-09 season." Big money for a mid-major conference coach. But not enough to keep McDermott in Cedar Falls if his Panthers play their way into the Sweet 16, as UNI's athletic Rick Hartzell would like to believe.

-- North Carolina yesterday notched a big road win over Connecticut. The first-half Huskies, however, looked like a club that could make a run come March. Particularly if Marcus Williams continues to develop into one of the country's best guards. (Though his seven turnovers against the Tar Heels were costly. As Neil Amato of the Durham Herald-Sun suggests).

-- Mo Rocha! Zach of the New Bedford (MA) Standard-Times (circulation: less than my blog. pay: more than the same) suggests that because the North Carolina Tar Heels have yet to maximize their potential in half-court sets, they are an unlikely bet to the win the NCAA Tournament. He's right.

-- As may be Skip Myslenski of the Chicago Tribune. He too doubts Carolina's promise. What, by the way, gives with today's coverage of the Tar Heels? Roy Williams' club goes on the road and beats a likely Sweet 16 club, only to be hammered in the national press?

Miles Roby

2005-02-14T10:46:00.000-05:00

-- The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy notes Siena coach Rob Lanier is on the hot seat.

-- ESPN's Pat Forde reviews the week in his must-read minutes. Forde gets bonus points for including the extraneous photo of Ashley Judd, but loses my respect for suggesting Kentucky vs. Louisville is a better rivalry than Duke vs. North Carolina (or Maryland). His notes on Steve Fisher are dead-on. Where you aware the former Michigan coach is 1-11 in overtime games as the San Diego State's floor general? Forde also devotes a few solid paragraphs to Pacific's come from behind victory over Utah State, a win that is worth at least a one-seed bump in the NCAA Tournament. Finally, I suggest you bookmark Forde's notes on picking a bracket. I'll be returning to his column come March.

-- Don't look now, but DePaul has won eight of nine. My flavor of the week to replace Lute Olson at Arizona, (if and) when the Silver Fox (not to be confused with Walt Comeau of Richard Russo's "Empire Falls") retires? Dave Leitao.

-- Michael Marot of the Associates Press pens the worst lead of the day.

The Indiana Hoosiers understand the stakes. With six Big Ten games remaining, they need three wins to finish with a winning conference record and likely in the top half of the Big Ten standings. It may take even more wins to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

Does Marot believe a 14-13 Hoosiers squad has any chance at an NCAA Tournament bid? Is he crazy? If by "may" he means "will," then maybe not. But if by "may" he means anything less than "will," then yes.

-- Save USC, every Pac 10 team deserves an invite to the either the NCAA or the NIT. Or so Oregon State's upset of Washington (more here) has me believing. The Beavers' David Lucas remains the best player of which you've never heard. And Jay John, his OSU club 9-1 at home, continues to make the case for conference coach of the year honors. As of this morning, he's got my vote.

the wind beneath their wings

2005-02-14T10:38:00.000-05:00

-- Reader Michael earlier reminded me that Dayton yesterday beat La Salle without shooting a single free throw. An impressive feat that, I imagine, occurs quite infrequently in college basketball. Cool, no?

-- Andrew Joyner of the Charlottesville (VA) Daily Progress writes-up the local mini-meme; Virginia is making an attempt to salvage its season. Well, don't say Pete Gillen didn't go down fighting. (Agggh! Last night's I dreamt the University of Massachusetts decided to replace Steve Lappas with Gillen...Can I get a v-chip for my dreams?)

-- In Atlanta, North Carolina State defeated Georgia Tech, leading one prominent pundit to ask if the Yellow Jackets are worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid.

-- Andy Katz of the WWLIS writes up Jared Dudley's progress in 2004-2005. Dudley's points, boards and intangibles are up from 2003-2004. And he, more than any other Eagle, is responsible for Boston College's success.

-- Jay Bilas of the Eastern Sports Programming Network doesn't understand folks' fascination with the Princeton offense. But his argument that too many teams run Pete Carril's scheme without the right personnel would be more persuasive if he gave an example or two.

Michael Tranghese

2005-02-14T10:25:00.000-05:00

-- Mike Harrington of the Buffalo (NY) News writes up Syracuse's inside-outside Warrick-McNamara combo, the nation's best. But he agrees with my earlier assessment that for the 'Cuse to return to the Final Four, Jim Boeheim must find a third scoring option.

-- Nathaniel Whalen of the Tinley Park (IL) Daily Southtown gets Big East commissioner Michael Tranghese to go on record and all but eliminate a central pundit talking point.

"In my five years in the (NCAA Tournament selection) committee, never, ever was a word spoken about the number of teams from a conference," Tranghese said. "You're not supposed to talk about it. Your charge is to find the 34 best teams and I have been assured that if our seventh, eighth, ninth or 10th teams are among the 34 best in the country, they'll be treated fairly."

-- Mark Tupper of the Decatur (IL) Herald & Review, himself a blogger, notes that Illinois, while tremendous, is not perfect. Hey Tupper, I know John Gasaway is taken, but won't you be his valentine?

-- Josh Hirsch of the Daily Pennsylvanian suggests to his readers that despite a 10-game winning streak, Penn is an unlikely bet for a NCAA Tournament first round upset. Pourquoi? The Quakers have yet to play 40 minutes of high-level basketball, often counting on one or two spurts to ice games against Ivy League foes.

02/27: UCLA @ Notre Dame

2005-02-14T10:08:00.000-05:00

-- Minneapolis Star Tribune beat writer and ESPN columnist Jeff Shelman, himself a blogger, and the South Bend (IN) Tribune's Tom Noie pen pieces on Notre Dame's NCAA Tournament hopes. But I may be the only pundit in America who has already declared the UCLA Bruins' February 27th trip to South Bend as a must-watch game. The match will likely decide which of the two clubs goes dancing in March.

-- Rocky Mountain Low. Is Patton on the hot seat? Only time will tell.

-- Awww, shux. Boston College is all but guaranteed a loss at Syracuse. Why? ESPN has decided to pick up the game. The only other time the Eagles appeared on national television? You guessed it, for the Notre Dame game.

-- Joe Connelly of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer leaves Lorenzo Romar off his Valentine's Day greeting card list. Grmph.

-- The Charleton Gazette's Doug Smock notes Marshall's recruits are having a tough year. Plagued by injuries, they have been less their productive in their final year of high school.

Does Georgia Tech deserve an at-large bid?

2005-02-13T20:26:00.000-05:00

The Yellow Jackets played in last year's Final Four, beat Wake Forest in January, and are currently ranked 39 in the RPI.

But what about Georgia Tech's 2004-2005 season suggests they are worthy of a bid to the NCAA Tournament? Certainly not today's loss to North Carolina State. Even with B.J. Elder, Paul Hewitt's club continues to struggle in the ACC.

Has the fat lady sung?

2005-02-13T19:56:00.000-05:00

Over at the Phog Blog, Jeremy Chrysler posts a must-see video of Quinn Snyder attempting to rally his troops (a couple years ago) with a rendition of "Eye of the Tiger."

I love how the first two players captured on camera are entirely uninterested in Snyder's vocal chords...

the no frills edition

2005-02-13T13:24:00.000-05:00

Was too busy watching Connecticut-North Carolina to (heavily) comment on the news. But enjoy the day's links.

-- The San-Francisco (CA) Chronicle's Ray Ratto considers the impact Dan Grunfeld's season-ending injury, a torn anterior cruciate ligament, will have upon the Stanford Cardinal. The "Gang Of Eight Plus One" has little room for error in upcoming games against USC, UCLA, and the Oregon and Washington schools.

-- Rick Pitino's wife is a critic of the 2004-2005 Louisville Cardinals. Heh.

-- Mike Zhe of the Portsmouth Herald pens a long article on Phil Rowe's troubles at the University of New Hampshire, arguing that "another shaky season has Rowe on hot seat." Indeed. I think he's done.

-- Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes-up Chris Taft's (many) failings. He also minces no words as a would-be NBA talent scout.

Maybe Taft didn't work as hard as he needed to in the offseason. Or maybe he got caught up in the NBA hype. This much is certain: He looks a lot less ready for the pros now than he did last season.

-- Copley News Service Chicago sports columnist Mike Nadel still hasn't decided if Deron Williams is bound for playing time in the NBA, but he does believe Williams is the collegiate point guard most capable of leading his team to an NCAA Tournament championship.

-- Will Mike Davis' dismissal from Indiana be more or less a public circus than was Bobby Knight's? More, if the Hoosier State Press Association has a say.

State lawmakers are trying to close a loophole in Indiana law that allowed Indiana University's trustees to meet without public notice to discuss basketball coach Bob Knight's fate shortly before his firing.

Bills are advancing in both the House and Senate that would prohibit what critics call "serial meetings" - separate gatherings of less than a quorum to discuss the same subject.

Such meetings are currently permitted under Indiana's Open Door law.

-- Hubert F. Grim III (think he's a local?) of the Staunton (VA) News Leader suggests Virginia may be back on the bubble after beating North Carolina State at home and Florida State and Virginia Tech on the road. With an RPI of 43, perhaps. But at 4-7 in the ACC, I doubt it. Particularly because, to secure a 7-9 conference record, Virginia would have to beat North Carolina State and one of North Carolina (on the road), Maryland (at home) and Wake Forest (on the road). And even then they'd still be less than a sure shot.

-- Despite Arizona State's recent struggles, Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl still believes Ike Diogu is the national player of the year.

-- Following the Hoosiers' victory over the Golden Gophers, the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal's Rick Bozich believes Indiana can still receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Yes, and pigs can fly.

-- The Las Vegas Review-Journal gets letters!

To the sports editor:

I believe Reggie Theus, currently an assistant under Rick Pitino at Louisville, should be UNLV's basketball coach, not Lon Kruger.

I attended a UNLV game the other day and realized I had forgotten a brown paper bag to wear over my head. Does Kruger want to win? Why have a coach who just collects a paycheck instead of a leader who has Rebel red pumping through his heart?

For those who don't know, Theus was one of the greatest players ever at UNLV and was the catalyst on the 1977 Final Four team. In his 13-year NBA career, he became one of only six players in history to produce at least 19,000 points and 6,000 assists.

Should we all be forced to watch yet another season of losing UNLV basketball? Let's put some pride back in the program and hire a coach who genuinely cares about seeing UNLV win.

Paul Lyons

-- Woah. UNLV overcame a 10-point deficit with less than 29 (!) seconds left in regulation to defeat San Diego State in overtime. More here, here, here and here.

-- Think facilities don't matter? Think again. Playing for the first time at the all-new Agganis Arena, Boston University upset Vermont, putting a chink in the Catamounts' at-large armor.

-- Duke University officials may soon make illegal basketball victory bonfires following the destruction of a few too many benches after a win over North Carolina.

-- Mike Waldner of the Torrance (CA) Daily Breeze argues timing has been everything in Lute Olson's career.

-- Frank Dascenzo of the Durham (NC) Herald-Sun writes Wake Forest must prove they're worthy. (They are). Lenox Rawlings of the Winston-Salem (NC) Journal takes a different tack, suggesting Wake Forest has learned from last year's tournament loss to Saint Joseph's. Offense wins games, but defense wins...

-- Dave Hickman of the Charleston (WV) Gazette notes West Virginia may have played its way back onto the bubble. Wishful thinking. But with an RPI of 64, the Mountaineers aren't entirely out of the running.

-- Former University of Minnesota basketball star "Sweet" Lou Hudson suffered a stroke yesterday. May he recover quickly and return to good health.

-- Gregg Doyel of CBS SportsLine offers the Fighting Illini a few suggestions: stay angry, stay together, stay aggressive (you too, James Augustine), and find more playing time for Rich McBride. In other words, stay undefeated.

-- Rick Snider of the Washington Times notes the best cheer ("No one knows you"), the best sign ("Devil with a blue dress on" alongside a photo of J.J. Redick in a blue dress), and the best fan anecdotes from yesterday's Duke-Maryland game.

-- George Mason, George Fox, what's the difference? More on "Coach Carter" inaccuracies here.

-- In Friday's Daily Word, ESPN's Andy Katz reported a few interesting notes from the NCAA selection committee's two-day meeting this past week. Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest look to be in separate regions. Boston College could play in Worcester, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in Oklahoma City, Arizona State in Tucson, and Kentucky, Louisville, and Cincinnati in Indianapolis.

-- Shannon Russell of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes Kentucky is five wins from becoming the first school to notch 1,900 wins. The Cats are 1,895-576-1 all time.

-- Two columns from the Hardin County (KY) News-Enterprise. Adam Pruiett argues Louisville must play with more passion while Chuck Jones suggests Kentucky didn't look like (even) a Sweet Sixteen team in dismantling Georgia on Saturday.

-- Yesterday's scores: Syracuse beat Villanova, Arizona defeated UCLA, Pittsburgh beat Notre Dame, Missouri upset Oklahoma, Texas needed two overtimes (!) to beat Kansas State, and Iowa State surprised Texas Tech. Oh yeah, and Maryland beat Duke.

--John Bohnenkamp of Burlington (IA) Hawk Eye reviews Iowa's victory over Northwestern, a "must-win" game for the Hawkeyes.

Open Thread: Today's Games

2005-02-12T14:01:00.000-05:00

(Sorry about the delay).

A Saturday tradition. Your comments on today's games? I'm working on my "morning" roundup while watching Illinois-Wisconsin.

by the numbers

2005-02-12T13:42:00.000-05:00

-- Lute Olson goes after Dick Vitale in Steve Rivera's latest piece for the Tucson Citizen. "How can someone continue to go on TV and say that Redick is the greatest shooter in the country?" Citing numbers provided to him by Arizona's sports information department, Olson noted Redick would have to hit 71 consecutive shots to equal Stoudamire's 53 percent shooting and make 53 consecutive three-pointers to equal Stoudamire's three-point percentage of 55.3. Woah.

-- The Melee in Motown, Arkansas style. Methinks the NCAA will soon suspend University of Arkansas-Little Rock coach Steve Shields for more than a couple games for hitting a fan in the eye with a water bottle.

-- Are you a college basketball beat writer or columnist who would like to see your latest article or editorial linked to from my blog? Email me. Hey, if it works for ESPN's Mark Simon, it will for you. (In Simon's latest edition of "College Hoops Extra," by the way, he praises Salim Stoudamire's play following a one-game suspension, notes Pacific's secret is its ability to defend without fouling -- a very interesting observation and the real reason I linked to Mark's column -- and hops on the St. John Fisher Cardinals' bandwagon. At 22-0, the Division III Cardinals are looking to schedule a game against Illinois.).

-- Pierre Pierce's attorney yesterday filed a motion (offense) seeking the dismissal of the burglary charge against the former Iowa star. Our criminal justice system is, by the way, more than a little screwed up.

Pierce, 21, of Westmont, Ill., was arraigned this week on charges of burglary, domestic abuse assault, assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, false imprisonment and criminal mischief...

The most serious charge is first-degree burglary, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of up to 25 years upon conviction.

An individual is accused of domestic abuse and assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and the most serious crime against him under law is first-degree burglary? Go figure.

-- Miami of Ohio's game-winning shot against Ball State came after the final buzzer and should not have counted, or so ruled the Mid-American Conference yesterday. Why were officials unable to review the play at the scorer's table? Because the game was not televised. Which (again) strikes me as a strange. College basketball has two sets of rules, one for games that are televised and another for games that are not. Think this arrangement would fly in professional football? Think again. (Fortunately, the AP also gets MAC commissioner Rick Chryst on record as supporting the addition of courtside monitor and video replay in every league game).

jj's digits

2005-02-12T13:40:00.000-05:00

-- Given the number of articles written about Illinois, it is rare to find a piece with unique news or analysis. But oh so precious. Writing for the New York Times, Pete Thamel informs us Bruce Weber had his polyps removed as a preteen, wore a body cast for an entire summer as a teen, worked as a fifth-grade teacher as a young adult, made $2,000 a year as a 22-year old graduate assistant to Gene Keady at Western Kentucky, eats only one meal a day as an adult, and, as the coach of the premier squad in America, regularly munches on generic pretzels that he buys for 99 cents a box at Smitty's grocery store in West Lafayette. A very enjoyable read.

-- How 'bout dem apples? Mark Schlabach of the Washington Post reports the most protected numbers on the Duke University campus are those of J.J. Redick's new cell phone number. Redick's little brother -- and some of his teammates and closest friends -- don't even know his digits. Why the tight lips?

Redick said he took the cautionary measures after a Maryland basketball fan obtained the number to his cell phone last year and started passing it among friends at parties and bars. Redick estimates he received 50 to 75 calls a night from Terrapins fans before he changed it. He had to change the number again a couple of weeks ago, after some North Carolina fans found out what the number was.

Schlabach also devotes several hundred words to an inquiry of why Redick is so hated by opposing fans. The two competing schools of thought are that Redick is hated because he's (1) white or (2) a Dukie. I would argue it has more to do with the second.

-- Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis is up with his weekend picks. He argues North Carolina needs to notch a significant road victory -- and, without Rashad Anderson, Connecticut is ripe for the picking. He also picks Illinois over Wisconsin, Duke over Maryland, Villanova over Syracuse, Notre Dame over Pitt, Oklahoma over Missouri, DePaul over Cincy, Georgetown over West Virginia, Utah State over Pacific, and Southern Illinois over Creighton. My picks? North Carolina, Illinois, Duke, 'Nova, Pitt, Oklahoma, DePaul, Georgetown, Pacific and Southern Illinois.

-- Dave Johnson of the Hampton Roads (VA) Daily Press writes up the grassroots movement to fire Herb Sendek. Now on the web at http://fireherbsendek.com/. Fun with photoshop, eh?

top dollar?

2005-02-12T13:31:00.000-05:00

-- Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests St. Louis University bring in Anthony Bonner to coach the Billikens' big men. Here's thinking Brad Soderberg could use all the help he could get. Particularly after SLU's top scorer (a contradiction in terms), senior guard Reggie Bryant, decided to leave the team to take care of a family emergency.

-- Another nomination for professor of the year: Duke's Stephen Nowicki. Several degrees don't stop Nowicki from playing in the Blue Devils' band and charging the Cameron Indoor floor after home victories.

-- The AP's Tim Dahlberg writes that Andrew Bogut is the year's best kept secret. But Bogut is more the "Awesome Aussie" that the "Big Aussie." Come on, Tim. Get with the program.

-- Ted Miller of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports an assistant to Lorenzo Romar at Washington -- maybe former UCLA star Cameron Dollar -- will soon be offered a head coaching gig. Methinks it is a little too early for Dollar to cash in (pun intended) on Romar's success. But Miller makes a persuasive case.

fun with google. nothing to do with...Britney Spears

2005-02-12T13:26:00.000-05:00

-- The Washington Post suggests Utah is hot, historically black colleges (of which few have winning records and many are found in the RPI's bottom 20) are cold, Penn is NCAA Tournament-bound after a rough start and argues North Carolina must beat Connecticut in Storrs if the Tar Heels are to earn a significant road victory and secure a No. 1 seed. In a separate piece, the Post also argues the RPI is flawed if in suggesting Saint Mary's (CA) is having a more impressive season than George Washington.

Is beating Gonzaga once more impressive than beating Michigan State and Maryland on consecutive days? Is beating teams such as Dayton, Temple and La Salle less impressive than beating Sacramento State, Portland and Loyola Marymount? Are road losses at Wake Forest and West Virginia worse than losses at Rutgers and Hawaii?"

-- Think Illinois can't run the regular-season table? Today's game against Wisconsin is your best bet. The Illini's trip to Masion is the last time Bruce Weber's club will face a ranked opponent before the Big Ten Tournament.

-- Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive publicly reprimanded Georgia coach Dennis Felton on Friday for his comments about University of South Carolina senior forward Carlos Powell. Speaking on his radio call-in show a day after the Gamecocks won in Athens, Felton called Powell the "biggest faker and flopper" whose antics bordered on cheating.

-- Greg Auman of the St. Petersburg Times profiles Louisville's Taquan Dean, noting it was years before Dean had a stable family or future. A very good read.

-- Berry Tramel of the Olkahoman argues Kelvin Sampson's time in Stillwater is every bit as good as was Billy Tubbs. My initial reaction to his Tramel's thesis? Heck no! But he makes a Berry good case (pun intended).

spreading democracy

2005-02-12T13:16:00.000-05:00

-- Voting has begun in MSNBC's interactive Wooden Award Watch. Love the easy on the eyes and easy to use technology.

-- Duke-Maryland pregame quotes here.

-- Want to win a date with Northwestern's Tim Doyle or Michael Jenkins? Click here for details.

-- Carlton Dotson's murder trial will begin on June 13. But will anyone live-blog the proceedings? (Would that be a first?)

Saved By The Bell

2005-02-12T13:05:00.000-05:00

-- Steve Walentik of the Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune suggests Oklahoma's Taj Gray has lived up to preseason expectations. Funny. I didn't know there were any!

-- More love for Ray Giacoletti. This time from Gordon Monson of the Scripps-McClatchy Western Service. Crediting Giacoletti with all that is good in the world isn't quite a meme, but may become one in NCAA Tournament previews.

-- Isn't it a little early for the Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram's Mike Jones to be asking Sean Sutton how he'd like to be remembered?

-- Dustin "Diamond" Dow of the Cincinnati Enquirer suggests Minnesota, Texas Tech and Georgetown are currently on the bubble. If the Hoyas win at least four of their remaining six games (which would mean defeating at least one of Notre Dame, Connecticut and Villanova) and pick-up a win in the Big East Tournament, I say they're in.

meme alert

2005-02-12T12:57:00.000-05:00

-- Victoria Sun of the Cincinnati Post argues Kentucky's (relatively) weak schedule has been a boon to Tubby's Wildcats. Not sure if it is the schedule, but something is working in Lexington. As usual.

-- Meme alert! Mike Puma of the Connecticut Post hops on the bandwagon, making the case that the Big East is the best conference in America. Billy "Fudge" Packer and Jay "I Come in Peace" Bilas are quoted in Puma's article.

-- (Reader) Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press Gazette takes a look at the measures University of Wisconsin-Green Bay coach Tod Kowalczyk is taking so that his Phoenix don't repeat last year's end of season collapse. I look forward to seeing UWGB play against Illinois State in ESPN's "Bracket Buster."

-- Skip Prosser notes Taron Downey is "no ham-and-egger" in Rob Daniels' latest piece for the Greensboro (NC) News & Record. I have no idea what Prosser means by that.

Who's Tommy?

2005-02-12T12:38:00.000-05:00

-- The Associated Press' Jim Vertuno reminds us that only a month ago, the Texas Longhorns were ranked in the Top 10 and were the Final Four flavor of the week. But after the loss of P.J. Tucker and LaMarcus Aldridge, the Longhorns may not make the NCAA Tournament. (And why should they? Who of any quality have they beaten lately?)

-- The AP preview of the best game you're sure to miss, Pacific at Utah State. How can you root against an ocean?

-- Detroit (MI) Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg suggests Michigan's Tommy Amaker is a tough read, on and off the court. A private man, Amaker is difficult (for beat writers and pundits) to befriend. A public coach whose team has suffered several unexpected setbacks in this, their would-be breakout season, Tommy is likewise difficult (for beat writers and pundits) to judge.

-- Tickets for the Pac 10 Tournament are on sale now. As I've noted before, I believe this year's tournament will enable an additional conference team or two to play its way into the NCAA Tournament.

honesty is the best policy

2005-02-12T12:13:00.000-05:00

-- John Delong of the Winston-Salem (NC) Journal depends the Duke Blue Devils from their preseason critics. Not a bad column, but terribly timed. Few folks currently hold the same opinion of Coach K's club they held before ACC conference play began.

-- Bob Lipper of the Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch pens one of those ho-hum columns about Illinois to which I had earlier alluded.

-- Jim Paul of the AP suggests that while some coaches win 'em over with kindness, Bruce Weber is doing it with honesty. Just call him Bruce "no-nonsense" Weber.

-- Gary Bedore of the Lawrence (KS) Journal-World suggests Kansas' elders are unlikely to experience seniorities. Not with only four home games left. While his colleague, contributing editor Bill Mayer, goes back in time and suggests "NCAA champions often have mix of experience, youth."

no news is good news

2005-02-11T17:06:00.000-05:00

Frequent readers may have this week noted an uncharacteristic lack of afternoon posts (and an unfortunate delay in responding to emails).

What gives?

You'll know soon enough.

It's big.

Really big.

Hint: Some might say I'm building an army. (But no, even Kyle doesn't know what's coming).

crazy, I'm so (not) into you...

2005-02-11T11:24:00.000-05:00

-- Jerry Brown of the East Valley (AZ) Tribune pens the lead of the day. How very true.

Forget about RPI ratings, conference projections and all other NCAA tournamentrelated trigonometry. If Arizona State plays basketball games like this down the stretch -- allowing teams to score at will and getting beat like a drum down the court --- there is no fuzzy math available to save them.

-- Jack Wilkinson of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has today's must-read. Previewing March Madness and reviewing the college basketball season to date, Wilkinson finds five reasons why the ACC may not be nation's best league, nominates players of the year from each conference, suggests both Arizona (!) and Boston College may be worthy of No. 1 seeds, and argues Buzz Peterson (Tennessee) and Rod Barnes (Mississippi) are on the hot seat.

-- The Boston Globe's Mark Blaudschun heralds (no pun intended) Boston University men's basketball first game at the all-new Agganis Arena. Think facilities don't matter? Think again. The arena has Blaudschun and Terriers coach Dennis Wolff pondering a BU move to the Atlantic 10.

-- The Washington Times' Rick Snider gets J.J. Redick on record as preferring road games to home matches at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Is he...crazy? More importantly, Snider interviews Blogger Jeremy Gold of Turtle Soup.

what's in a name?

2005-02-11T11:21:00.000-05:00

-- The Detroit News' John Niyo and Jim Spadafore write up Michigan athletic director Bill Martin's confidence in Tommy Amaker. Even as the Wolverines (12-12, 3-7 in the Big Ten) struggle mightily and Daniel Horton's girlfriend tells police the Michigan ballplayer abused her several times before the incident that led her to file domestic violence charge against him.

-- Billy Packer believes a weak Big Ten has failed to prepare the Fighting Illini for the NCAA Tournament. Earth to Billy: Even if so, Illinois' non-conference scheduling -- including games against Cincinnati, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Oregon and Wake Forest -- should do the trick.

-- Camille Powell of the Washington Post takes up the latest meme, running with the notion that the Big East is the "best and deepest" conference in the land. Ahead of Sunday's Connecticut-North Carolina game, you will no doubt hear (several times) that the Big East is 6-1 in games against the ACC. (Though 0-0 against Duke and Wake Forest).

-- WCNC-TV sports director Chuck Howard argues in the Charlotte (NC) Observer that the Tar Heels don't own "Carolina." Semantics, my friend. Semantics. (Or as the Dukies would say, go to hell.)

-- Reader kcjc suggests I link to Tom Kensler's column on the plethora of Seattle-area prep talent. He of the Denver Post, Kensler is clever enough to suggest (pun intended?) that no longer can "New York, Chicago or Houston claim to be the No. 1 hotbed for high school blue-chippers. Right now, Seattle's best."

stung?

2005-02-11T11:17:00.000-05:00

-- Via the AP: "The University of Oregon has agreed to pay $22 million for a bakery that could be the site of a new basketball arena." For a bakery that could be the site? The Ducks have been looking to build a new arena for years. But now they're paying $22 million for a bakery that could -- or could not -- be the site? Doesn't strike me as a move that would impress "The Donald."

-- Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune heaps praise upon first-year Utah coach Giacoletti. My response, in three words or less? Not. His. Player(s).

-- Richard Stevens of Albuquerque (NM) Tribune pulls no punches in bursting Ritchie McKay so-called bubble. Unless the Lobos win Mountain West Conference Tournament, don't expect them to go dancing.

-- Sebastian Telfair has changed his story. A day after denying reports he had been offered money to play at Georgia Tech, he and his agent released a statement acknowledging the former higher school star had been "approached by a man who claimed to be associated with the Georgia Tech program and he offered me money." Though he also suggests the offer may have been a joke. Does this story have legs? See Scott's Georgia Tech Sports Blog for all the gory details. (Can you guess, by the way, where Scott got the idea for his scoreboard or template?)

easy as pie

2005-02-11T11:03:00.000-05:00

-- Andrew Marchand of the New York Post spent probably three minutes interviewing ESPN's Jay Bilas and, ta-da, he's done his work for the day.

-- Salim Stoudamire scored 26 points against USC as the Arizona Wildcats handed Lute Olson his 300th Pac-10 win. Give him a hand. (A USC fan didn't.)

-- Paul Klee of the Southern Illinoisan pens a tribute to career nights by Salukis Matt Shaw and Tony Young. See 'em Saturday on ESPN2 vs. Creighton.

-- Remember us? (Actually, no). Ronny Turiaf scored 20 points and Adam Morrison added 19 as Gonzaga defeated Pepperdine Thursday night. I can't wait until March Madness and the 'Zags return to national relevance.

-- The feel-good story of the day. Thanks Fred!

old school

2005-02-10T10:10:00.000-05:00

-- Who is or was your favorite college professor? Mine is Barry Lawing, a history instructor at North Carolina's Forsyth Technical Community College. Why? For the second straight winter, Professor Lawing is teaching a class on ACC History, "featuring everything from old game footage to guest lecturers, some better known for scoring than speechmaking." Barry has himself attended about 400 games and is a huge Wake Forest fan. More on the class you wish you could have taken from Aaron Beard of the Associated Press.

-- Jeff Eisenberg of the Daily Bruin previews UCLA's game against Arizona State. Perhaps more than any other game this week, the Sun Devils' trip to Pauley Pavilion is a must-watch match for the NCAA selection committee. For my part, I can't decide if Diogu or Dijon will have a bigger night.

-- Eight teams remain undefeated in conference play. But will Vermont (RPI: 17) be invited to go dancing if they fail to win the America East Tournament? I would hope so. TJ Sorrentine and Taylor Coppenrath are as talented as most major-conference starters. And a team that nearly defeated Kansas in Lawrence deserves the opportunity to pull off a March upset. Before Tom Brennan retires and is replaced by...Maryland's Mike Lonergan? Eric Prisbell of the Washington Post reports that Lonergan, Catholic University's coach during their Division III title run in 2001, will interview this weekend for the Catamounts' head coaching job.

-- Nate Robinson goes on record to defend the Oregon students who will tonight chant "Gary Coleman" in his honor while holding photos of the former child star. Props to Nate-Dogg for understanding college basketball's unique appeal to fans. The Washington star correctly notes that heckling by an opposing school's students is "part of basketball. Without fans, it wouldn't be the same. It wouldn't be any fun." He also requests a meeting with California's former gubernatorial candidate: "I'd like to meet [Gary Coleman] and give him a Nate Robinson jersey."

bling bling

2005-02-10T10:05:00.000-05:00

-- USA Today and Westchester (NY) Journal News basketball columnist Ian O'Connor will soon release the already controversial book "Jump." In the book, an anonymous source says an unnamed booster claiming to represent Georgia Tech offered Sebastian Telfair $250,000 to play for Paul Hewitt. Telfair is also quoted by O'Connor, confirming that he was offered money by a "middle-aged and white" individual at a "major school in the East." Since the book's allegations became public, both Telfair and Hewitt have denied O'Connor's claims. Yet as Rana Cash of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes, Georgia Tech athletics director Dave Braine has decided to investigate the matter. Developing...

-- Kansas State's 14-2 run late in the second half wasn't enough to overcome Kansas' large lead as Jeremiah Massey and the Wildcats fell to the Jayhawks. Bill Self could not have been happy to see his team become complacent against their in-state rival.

-- Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock makes a persuasive case that Kansas State ought to bring back fifth-year coach Jim Wooldridge. He also suggests that even without Jeremiah Massey, Fred Peete, Lance Harris, Clent Stewart, Cartier Martin and the Wildcats might be able to upset the Jayhawks next year.

-- The Merrillville (IN) Post-Tribune's Mike Hutton argues Notre Dame's victory over Boston College was no fluke. His rationale? Save DePaul, the Irish have played every game close. Losses to Georgetown and Syracuse could easily have gone the other way. He also gets Mike Brey to go on record defending himself against Ken Pomeroy's attacks. In October, Brey suggested that had the NCAA last year weighed road wins more heavily, his Irish would have gone dancing as a seven seed. (That turned out not to be true, as the adjustment dropped Notre Dame's RPI from 49 to 66). This year Brey adds, "Even though I'm not good at math, I can do the RPI stuff."

-- Stat of the Day: In defeating USC on Saturday, Washington State had no offensive rebounds.

"Bloggers are hitting nothing but net"

2005-02-10T10:03:00.000-05:00

-- The one and only Janet Paskin wisely leads her special to the Philadelphia Inquirer with several paragraphs on Kyle Whelliston's must-read Mid-Majority blog. Who knew Kyle put together his blog as an "afterthought?" (If you haven't, by the way, read the letter he received from Constantino, I strongly suggest you do so. It turns out Murray State (!) has fans on the island of Malta!)

In her must-read piece on the college basketball blogosphere, Janet quotes Kyle, Ken Pomeroy, John Gasaway and myself. At length. Enjoy!

Ken Pomeroy, the blogosphere's resident statistician, tells Janet he'd like to see more folks start college basketball blogs. As would I. Interested in joining the "cabal of 100?"

Start a blog, email me, and I'll add a permanent link to your site.

Duke's best defense in 19 years!

2005-02-10T10:01:00.000-05:00

-- The State of Indiana has had at least one team in every NCAA Tournament dating back to 1973. Anybody else believe all great streaks must come to an end?

-- Where are they now? Connecticut legend Cornelius "Corny" Thompson manages municipal lots and garages for LAZ Parking of Norwalk.

-- Dave Campbell of the Associated Press writes-up Minnesota's late-game collapse. If the Gophers fail to make the NCAA Tournament, players and pundits will (in part) fault the home loss to Northwestern.

-- Duke yesterday defeated North Carolina. The Hampton Roads (VA) Daily Press' David Teel suggests the rivalry is well worth the hype. I last night observed Daniel Ewing's development into one of the nation's best guards, the few seconds it took Duke to huddle around Coach K in the game's final timeout (compared to the longer period of time taken by North Carolina players before they too listened to their coach), and the Tar Heels' (ill-fated) discipline in running the play Roy Williams designed for the game's last possession. I thought Raymond Felton, having gotten around Daniel Ewing, should have taken another two steps and fired a mid-range jumper (or dished to Sean May or Marvin Williams once a Duke forward had helped on defense).

-- Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel writes up Duke's defense, noting it is, statistically, the Blue Devils' best in 19 years. Coach K's club is holding opponents to 63.8 points per game and 38.7 percent shooting.

I want my baby back, baby back, baby back...

2005-02-10T09:49:00.000-05:00

-- Joe Bendel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes up Carl Krauser's inspirational story. Here's hoping Krauser makes an NBA Roster. The year after next. An unnamed NBA scout suggested to Bendel that Krauser declare early at season's end, compete in pre-draft camps, and return to school. The Pittsburgh guard is not among most mock drafts' first (or even second) rounds.

-- Maryland center Ekene Ibekwe has been experiencing pain from a cracked rib for almost two months. If Ibekwe's health continues to falter, don't expect much from the Terps come March.

-- Without Pierre Pierce -- who now has six criminal charges to go along with his six-pack -- Randy Petersen of the Des Moines (IA) Register finds Steve Alford's Hawkeyes fading fast. Had Pierce last night suited up for Iowa, the Hawkeyes would likely have turned back Wisconsin's rally. As it was, Jeff Horner & Co. lost to the Badgers, missing an opportunity to notch a huge road win.

-- Michael Vega of the Boston Globe finds the Boston College Eagles trying (without much success) to keep a positive attitude.

forget the miracle on ice

2005-02-10T09:43:00.000-05:00

-- More problems at Michigan State. Despite a sellout against Ohio State, more than a few "Izzone" seats went empty. (Need context? You'll find it here).

-- Victoria Sun of the Cincinnati (OH) Post credits Kentucky's success to the Wildcats' knowing their roles. And to Randolph Morris' newfound gametime intensity. I credit Tubby Smith.

-- Following Louisville's loss to Memphis, Rick Pitino told the media he didn't think his players were "worthy of speaking to you." Lacking material, Adam Pruiett of the Hardin County (KY) News-Enterprise still writes a relevant column about the game.

-- Ahead of Cincinnati-Xavier, Bill Koch of the Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer asks if you believe in miracles. He then retells the story of 1980's miracle on hardwood.

Open Thread: Duke-North Carolina

2005-02-09T17:33:00.000-05:00

I'll be watching the game with a few Duke alumni (!) at a local bar. But I'd love to read your thoughts upon my return.

In the meantime, use this open thread to talk amongst yourselves about the Tar Heels' trip to Durham.

titleist

2005-02-09T13:21:00.000-05:00

-- Ahead of Duke-North Carolina, I thought to give a shout-out to Raleigh, North Carolina radio producer Joe Ovies of WRBZ AM 850. Himself a blogger, Joe expects "SheWill" to stay out of foul trouble in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Nonetheless, he calls the game for North Carolina, 87-82.

-- Sometimes headlines speak for themselves. Consider Forest Miller's latest for the South Bend (IN) Tribune, "Providence is just plain bad," Damien Pierce's piece for the Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram, "Horned Frogs prove free doesn't mean easy," Maureen Wallenfang's article for the Appleton (WI) Post-Crescent, "Hoops, insurance merge in Neenah State Farm office," Jerry Brewer's column for the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal, "Cats are still Cats; Gators are still Gators," Gary Bedore's contribution to the Lawrence (KS) Journal-World, "Solid in the Little Apple," Howie Stalwick's notes for the Kitsap (WA) Sun, "Gonzaga's Wild Thing," and Jeremy Rutherford's game recap for the St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch, "The 1 and only."

-- Katie Perry of the (Notre Dame) Observer interviews several of the fourteen students who slept outside the Joyce Center Monday night to secure the best seats to the Boston College game. The parents of freshman Michael Cimino might be disappointed to learn he missed two Tuesday classes while in line for tickets. But his comment about the matter, "I consider them excused absences," should leave them laughing.

-- Clark Kellogg of Yahoo Sports (online) also expects North Carolina to beat Duke. His rationale? The Blue Devils aren't as good a rebounding team as the Tar Heels, and they don't have as many impact players.

grounded?

2005-02-09T09:23:00.000-05:00

-- As usual, Dick Jerardi's column in the Philadelphia Inquirer is Wednesday's must-read.

-- A new name for the Indiana rumor mill: Timberwolves assistant Randy Wittman...Will ESPN hire Mike Davis if Indiana lets him go at season's end?

-- Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes up the NCAA's decision to create a subcommittee on female athletics that will consider whether women's college basketball teams can continue to use male players in practice. My sense is to support the status quo, if only to (continue to) improve the quality of women's basketball.

-- CBS SportsLine's Gregg Doyel expects pollsters to "drop Boston College like a broken elevator." But just as the mainstream media had come to overrate Al Skinner's club, so too will they soon underappreciate their 20 (and counting) accomplishments. For my part, I'll be keeping an eye on Jeff Shelman's ballot. Here's guessing the Minneapolis Star Tribune beat writer and ESPN columnist keeps the Eagles in his Top 10.

-- John Calipari and Rick Pitino are at it again. Advantage Pitino. His Cardinals have 20 wins to the Tigers' 13.

Would you like Friars with that?

2005-02-09T09:17:00.000-05:00

-- John Delong of the Winston Salem-Journal runs with the meme of the week, titling his latest column "Second-tier ACC teams need to establish NCAA credentials." Both Maryland and Georgia Tech took care of business (Virginia Tech and Clemson respectively) last night.

-- Minnesota assistant Jim Molinari, a former head coach at Bradley and Northern Illinois, is expected to receive strong consideration for head-coaching openings at the end of the season. Especially if the Northern Illinois job opens.

-- To mark West Virginia coach John Beilein's 52nd birthday, his Mountaineers on Saturday defeated Pittsburgh. Don Clegg of the Wheeling (WV) News-Register now asks "Would Beilein like Friars with that?"

-- Ira Berkow of the New York Times writes-up Jim Calhoun's career at the Connecticut under the headline "Calhoun Makes Developing Talent a Specialty."

-- The North Carolina Tar Heels don't see themselves as the favorite as they travel to Durham for this week's must-see game.

mea culpa

2005-02-08T23:52:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I predicted New Mexico would defeat Wyoming "without too much effort." The result? Wyoming 81, New Mexico 71.

Today I foretold a Boston College victory over Notre Dame, suggesting the game would be "Not. Even. Close." The result? Notre Dame 68, Boston College 65.

In other words, never trust a blogger to do a Digger's job. Sigh.

[Reader RS, however, was wrong to comment that my "Boston Love clouded [my] judgment." In the case of Skinner v. Brey, I ruled in favor of the plaintiff (read: the road team) based upon the "Chris Thomas non-establishment clause." (In layman's terms, Thomas' failure to establish himself as the player pundits believed he would be). Nine assists and nineteen points later, the yoco district court, now located in Arlington, Virginia, has granted the defendant's appeal.]

we are the world

2005-02-08T18:30:00.000-05:00

-- Rusty Miller of the Associated Press has this evening's must-read after interviewing several Ohio State players who are upset at the Buckeye administration for self-imposing an NCAA Tournament ban in December. At 16-7 and having won four Big Ten games in a row, Ohio State (RPI: 50) would be a bubble team were it not for the school's preemptive action. Coach Thad Matta is wisely avoiding this hot potato.

-- Say you were Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel and you had just written a solid column detailing, one team a time, the Big Ten's decline. Would you then end your column on this self-contradictory note?

Big Ten followers should savor Illinois' current run, because there may not be another one like it for a while.

If, save Wisconsin and Illinois, every Big Ten team is indeed down, why shouldn't the Fighting Illini dominate the conference for the next couple years? Notwithstanding Illinois' extreme success in non-conference games this season, Mandel's conclusion fails to jive with his main argument.

-- The Panama-born guard with a Muslim first name and a Jewish last name who plays at a Baptist university in North Carolina was today selected to Seth Davis' All-Glue Team. Here's to religious tolerance.

-- Former Georgia guard Tony Cole is back in jail after violating his probation on a felony bad-check charge. Where's Jim Harrick now?

40 feet of hell

2005-02-08T18:26:00.000-05:00

-- Ladies beware. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Wendell Barnhouse has a way with words.

Sunrises and sunsets are automatic.

J.J. Redick isn't a force of nature. But, when he's standing at a free-throw line, he is to college basketball shooters what Pavarotti is to tenors.

-- Our good friend Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay (WI) Press-Gazette has the latest news from the Horizon League. Following a loss to first-place University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Illinois-Chicago coach Jimmy Collins told a reporter he didn't believe any conference team, including the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, could catch UWM and win the conference title. The statement elicited a not so favorable response from UWGB coach Tod Kowalczyk. More on the controversy -- and a history lesson on the less than friendly relationship between Collins and UWM coach Bruce Pearl -- here.

-- Leads made easy, courtesy of Alabama's recent drubbing at the hands of Florida.

-- Did he or didn't he? Seeking to end the confusion, Missouri Athletic Director Mike Alden confirmed that he did not consult with school President Elson Floyd or the UM Board of Curators before announcing that embattled basketball Coach Quin Snyder would return next season.

-- Jeff Wirick of the Freedom "isn't free" News Service reminds us it has been more than 10 years since Duke's Jeff Capel nailed a 40-foot buzzer-beater to send the Blue Devils' game against North Carolina into a second overtime. Who else is looking forward to tomorrow's game?

pulling my leg?

2005-02-08T11:55:00.000-05:00

Earlier this morning, Fred Mitchell's column for the Chicago Tribune included the following information.

Former Mt. Carmel High School and current Atlanta Hawks player Antoine Walker has been quietly paying the $4,200-a-year tuition for current Hales Franciscan forward Nate Minnoy, who is bound for Purdue on a basketball scholarship. Sources say Walker also has been paying the $6,200-a-year tuition for Minnoy's sister at Mother McCauley.

But by noon, the above paragraph had been deleted. There is no mention of 'Toine's tuition payments in the version of the column currently posted online. What gives?

Fighting (Irish) Words

2005-02-08T10:03:00.001-05:00

-- Frank Isola of the New York Daily News goes to print with a rumor. Rick Majerus may succeed Mike Davis at Indiana (though I wouldn't count on it). Particularly after CBS SportsLine's Gregg Doyel dribbled about Utah's ethical transgressions during Rick's tenure.

-- Todd Burlage of the Fort Wayne (IN) Journal Gazette has a few choice words for ACC fans. His argument? The Big East is the better conference. His evidence? More persuasive than you might think.

Wake Forest, North Carolina and Duke are all fine teams and deserving of the hype and credit they receive. But to anoint Georgia Tech and Maryland as sure-fire tournament teams based on preseason predictions and exaggerated claims of league superiority is ludicrous.

Georgia Tech is 13-7 overall, 4-5 in the league and has lost five of its last seven. Maryland is also 13-7 overall, 4-5 in the league and has lost its last two...to Clemson and Miami...

The Big East, not the ACC, has the last two national champions.

The Big East has seven Sweet 16 teams the past two years. The ACC has three.

The ACC sent two teams (Duke and Georgia Tech) to the Final Four last year. Big East beast Connecticut beat them both on its way to the national title.

If recent tournament history isn't convincing enough, maybe the best argument for Big East supremacy comes from the epicenter of the ACC, where Big East defectors Virginia Tech and Miami are more than holding their own.

In their own arrogance and ignorance, the ACC coaches picked Virginia Tech and Miami to fight for last place in the league...But these two Big East busts already have combined for 11 ACC wins this season.

-- Digger Phelps dug himself into a hole last night when he suggested Notre Dame would tonight beat Boston College. The Boston Globe's normally astute Michael Vega, however, secured only a handful of awkward quotes from Al Skinner for his article about the controversy. Notre Dame, by the way, is not going to beat Boston College. Not. Even. Close.

dirty magazine day

2005-02-08T09:57:00.000-05:00

-- Wendell "put a" Barnhouse "in your soul" of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram takes a look at the Australian re-recruiting trip undertaken by Utah coach Ray Giacoletti (pronounced jack-oh-LET-ee) in April. The 20-hour plane flight down under enabled Ray to persuade Andrew Bogut to play for the Utes this season. The result? Bogut, last year's Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year under Rick Majerus, has thrived, taking advantage of Giacoletti's open offensive schemes to create opportunities for himself and his teammates.

-- The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy argues the NCAA Tournament selection committee ought not give additional weight to a team's final 10 games. Some clubs, he argues, have tough end of season schedules while others do not. But strengths of schedules differ for an entire season as well. If anything, DeCourcy should have advised the committee to not only consider results over the final 10 games, but also evaluate strengths of schedules over the final 10 games.

-- Rick Bozich of the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal considers Western Kentucky's success and makes a convincing case that "preseason magazines belong in the fiction section of every bookstore." Here, here.

-- Remember when I wrote that Mississippi State was a disappointment? A few readers emailed to inquire why. My response? Look no further than the Bulldogs Saturday loss to Auburn. Tigers freshman guard Frank Tolbert torched MSU for 29 points in the win.

dave odom, you so fine, you so fine you blow

2005-02-08T09:51:00.000-05:00

-- Jay (son of Charlie) Spoonhour gets the Steve Carp treatment in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. An informative read. Though I think a coach with Jay's experience and pedigree could and should have done better than a gig as a student manager for Quin Snyder!

-- The (SC) State's Ron Morris pens a column complimenting South Carolina's Dave Odom for employing a unique bench-seating arrangement wherein assistant coaches Barry Sanderson, Rick Duckett and Ricky Stokes sit in the middle of the players during games. USC's forwards and centers sit between Odom and Sanderson on one end, and the Gamecocks' guards sit between Stokes and the far end. Duckett sits between Sanderson and Stokes and monitors USC's play on defense. Makes sense, except I imagine Odom would be interested in occasionally talking to his guards as well.

-- Sign me up.

-- On "Big Monday," Connecticut defeated Syracuse and Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma. You saw both games and so I'll spare you the commentary.

-- Jeff Zrebic of the Baltimore Sun argues Maryland (RPI: 23) is all but a lock for the NCAA Tournament. As long as the Terps go 4-3 in their final seven games, they should go dancing.

oh antoine

2005-02-08T09:45:00.000-05:00

-- More bad news for Purdue. Former Boston Celtic and current Atlanta Hawk Antoine Walker has been paying Nate Minnoy's way at Hales Franciscan. Minnoy had been expected to suit up for the Boilermakers this fall.

-- Randy Petersen of the Des Moines (IA) Register writes a piece on Adam Haluska's potential to pick-up where Pierre Pierce left off. Best of luck to Adam. He may yet save St"Eve" Alford's job.

-- The Associated Press' Aaron Beard writes up North Carolina's seniors...How good would the Tar Heels be if JamesOn Curry was still in Roy Williams' camp?

-- I'm good enough, I'm tough enough and, gosh darn it, people like me. Or so says Cincinnati's Nick Williams as he attempts to move beyond the errant pass that cost the Bearcats last year's cross-town shootout against Xavier. While Lonnie Wheeler, a columnist for the Cincinnati (OH) Post, commends the Bearcats for perpetuating the event. The Musketeers, he writes, are typically the team with the most to benefit from beating their higher-ranked, better-stocked, more-televised rival. And yet despite a few high-profile defeats, Bob Huggins continues to schedule games against Xavier. To his credit.

the dude

2005-02-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

-- CBS SportsLine's Gregg Doyel echoes the Southern Illinoisan's Paul Klee. I'm glad the NCAA's decision to weigh road games more heavily in the RPI is helping mid-majors. And can't wait to hear the outcry from the power conferences come March.

-- B.J. Elder may suit up tonight for Georgia Tech. And not a moment too soon for the struggling Yellow Jackets. Here's hoping Elder makes a productive T.O.-like return for Paul Hewitt and the gang.

-- Eric Prisbell of the Washington Post finds Seth Greenberg rolling on Shabbas as his Virginia Tech Hokies rock (and roll in) the ACC. Every dog has its day.

-- The University Daily Kansan's Bill Cross admits Kansas' freshmen were overhyped. True...but the Jayhawks aren't exactly struggling.

pity rick barnes

2005-02-08T09:18:00.000-05:00

-- Kevin Brockway of the Ocala (FL) Star-Banner previews Florida-Kentucky. The Gators have been quietly successful in 2004-2005. A Sweet Sixteen team in the making?

-- The Tucson Citizen's Corky Simpson argues that Arizona's 1987-1988 squad was the best team Lute Olson ever coached. Perhaps. But the 1996-1997 edition won a national championship...

-- Only six scholarship players are both eligible and healthy for Texas. And three are freshmen. Pity Rick Barnes.

-- The Pittsburgh's Post-Gazette's Ray Fittipaldo suggests Pitt's record in close games will go a long way towards determining the outcome of the Panthers' season. In other words, Jamie Dixon should pick up the phone and call Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Oklahoma-Oklahoma State

2005-02-07T20:24:00.000-05:00

Joey! JamesOn! McKenzie! Gray!

Looking forward to an exciting second half.

Connecticut-Syracuse

2005-02-07T19:58:00.000-05:00

Hakim Warrick has a solid first half, but he and his Orange teammates aren't doing enough on the boards. Connecticut, the nation's best rebounding team, continues to amass second chance opportunities and points. Other thoughts:

-- Is it just me, or is Jim Calhoun getting meaner with each passing year?
-- Mike Jarvis should be transferred to ESPN Deportes. He'll make more sense in Spanish
-- Marcus Williams has become a fun player to watch.
-- The officials should have given Billy Edelin the timeout he tried to call while jumping into the Huskies' bench.
-- No halftime prediction was more outlandish than Digger Phelps' suggestion that Notre Dame will beat Boston College tomorrow night behind a big game from Chris "2 for 12" Thomas.

Update: Several months into his gig at ESPN, Mike Jarvis finally made an intelligent statement, or at least asked a perceptive question. During halftime, he inquired why Connecticut rose six spots in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Huskies haven't beaten anybody (except Villanova).

Coach (o)K

2005-02-07T09:04:00.000-05:00

-- Winning solves all problems. Losing? It creates them. The latest from Michigan State? Too many members of "Izzone," the Spartans' student section, are missing games. The club has responded by threatening to transfer tickets to students who will take full advantage of the cheap but centrally located seats. Current members, however, aren't too keen on the idea.

-- Writing in the New York Post, Peter Vecsey makes the case for Coach K to direct the United States' Olympic Basketball team. An intriguing proposition -- and one that, if acted upon, will get the rumor mills going.

-- College Hoops Extra researcher Mark Simon of the WWLIS is up with his weekly column. In which he argues Patrick Sparks is the key to Kentucky's success, takes a look at Stanford's recent victories against Arizona, and gives Coastal Carolina guard Pele Paelay some love. Paelay is "one of only eight players (all in mid-majors) to be ranked in the top 10 in their conference in points, rebounds, assists and steals." Perhaps more significantly, he has this season increased his offensive production from 5.5 to 18.3 points per game.

But Simon's most important contribution to college basketball commentary comes from his spotlight on four of the nation's highest-scoring clubs. Take a look at the table below. Note that while Louisville is the team most reliant on threes, Washington is the least. And while North Carolina is the club most dependent on free throws, Washington is, again, the least. In other words, the Huskies are masters of their own March destiny. Difficult referees and long-range shooting troubles are less likely to do Washington in than they are to undermine other elite teams. Live by neither the free (throws) nor the three, die by neither the free (throws) nor the three.

Point-scoring distribution
	PPG	% from 2	% from 3	% on FT
North Carolina	92.7	51.1%	26.4%	22.5%
Washington	87.4	57.6%	23.0%	19.4%
Wake Forest	86.1	50.6%	27.5%	21.9%
Louisville	85.2	42.7%	35.1%	22.3%

-- Coach K is ok after collapsing onto the court before Duke's game against Georgia Tech.

big monday

2005-02-07T08:59:00.000-05:00

-- Arizona will play five of its last seven regular season games on the road. The stretch will either prepare the Wildcats for a surprising and long-lasting March run or expose Channing, Salim and Hassan as unworthy of anything higher than a 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

-- Israeli point guard Niv Berkowitz has left Marquette and will return home to play professional basketball. Less than two months into his stay in Milwaukee, Niv's departure puts Tom Crean & Co. in quite a bind. Ideas on Travis Diener's replacement welcome.

-- Billl Liesse of the Peoria (IL) Journal Star argues that James Augustine is the Big Ten's best big man. But while acknowledging his progress this season, I disagree, believing Augustine's weaknesses are camouflaged by the Illini's guards (who, despite a quiet game against Indiana, remain exceptionally talented offensive threats).

-- Neil Ostrout of the Connecticut Post previews the Huskies' big week, beginning with tonight's game against Syracuse. On Sunday, Connecticut welcomes North Carolina to Storrs. (The Tar Heels, for their part, will be coming off a Wednesday night game against Duke). Beating Villanova took the pressure off Jim Calhoun's club. Losing both of this week's games, however, would bring it back.

-- Following the Orange's 60-57 win over Notre Dame, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle's Jeff DiVeronica previews Connecticut-Syracuse. The angle he takes has Jim Boeheim concerned about the Orange's most significant weakness, their unbalanced attack. For Syracuse to make a Final Four run, Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara can't be the only two players producing on the offensive end.

darcy!

2005-02-07T08:55:00.000-05:00

-- The Cincinnati Enquirer's Dustin Dow suggests more is at stake for Xavier than for Cincinnati in Thursday's cross-town shootout. But I disagree. Bob Huggins' team is 0-4 against Top 25 competition. Following the Bearcats' loss to Charlotte, a defeat at the hands of Xavier would seriously damage Cincinnati's NCAA Tournament seed, emphasizing the Bearcats' bad rather than good losses. Win or lose, however, the Musketeers are an unlikely NCAA Tournament bet.

-- Charley Walters of the St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press has a nice chat with Darcy Monson, wife of Golden Gophers coach Dan Monson. She sounds like she knows her stuff.

-- The Casper (WY) Star Tribune's Jack Daly writes up the Cowboys' surprising success. A win tonight against New Mexico would catapult Wyoming into a tie for second place in the Mountain West Conference. But with Danny Granger back in action, I expect the Lobos to defeat the Cowboys without too much effort.

-- Bryan Mullen of the Tennessean profiles walk-on and fan favorite Aubrey Hammond, an "everyman for every fan."

pigskin

2005-02-06T20:13:00.000-05:00

Excuse the light posting today.

Preoccupied with football. My Pats are in the game of their lives. The Super Bowl is 7-7 at the half.

Advertiser Love

2005-02-06T03:30:00.000-05:00

A quick shout-out for my advertisers.

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2) Dime Betting -- Put your money where your comments are.
3) Project D.U. -- A free blog reader!

Open Thread: Today's Games

2005-02-05T15:46:00.000-05:00

A Saturday tradition.

Your comments?

low tide

2005-02-05T14:03:00.000-05:00

Note: This post was written and published (see time stamp, below) before Alabama lost to Florida. Don't I feel smart?

Reader John Geer emails asking that I explain my skepticism about the Crimson Tide. Fair enough. But before doing so, let's review the case for Alabama.

The No. 11 Crimson Tide has won its last six games to pull within one game of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference. Alabama (17-3, 6-1) has two prolific scorers in forward Kennedy Winston (17.8 points) and guard Earnest Shelton (17.4), the SEC's top three-point shooter. The Crimson Tide has two tall, athletic big men in forwards Chuck Davis and Jermareo Davidson. But whether Alabama can match last year's success in the NCAA tournament -- when the Crimson Tide advanced to its first region final -- could depend on the play of freshman point guard Ronald Steele, who has been remarkably steady. Steele, from Birmingham, is averaging 5.15 assists, third-best in the SEC, and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 2 1/2-to-1. Alabama also plays stout defense, holding each of its last six opponents to 61 points or fewer. "They're clearly one of the most established teams in our conference," Georgia Coach Dennis Felton said. "They are extremely experienced coming off of last year's great season. Really, they've got all the parts."

If only that were true. Alabama lacks quality wins, an impact coach and premier point guard play.

The Tide's two most impressive victories to date? Over Minnesota in Alaska and Mississippi State at home. But the Golden Gophers of November 2004 bear little resemblance to the squad that today upset Wisconsin. And the Bulldogs never recovered from Lawrence Roberts' early season suspension. The thumping the Tide administered against MSU was impressive, but is tempered by Alabama's one point victory over Charlotte, five point win against Auburn, six point defeat of Temple, and eight point margin over Tennessee State. Call me a critic, but I have a hard time getting excited about a Tide squad that lost by 14 (!) to Vanderbilt.

Early in the season, I frequently suggested that Wake Forest was a foolish favorite for the national championship because Skip Prosser did not (yet) have the experience necessary to win five or six in a row during the NCAA Tournament. Ditto for Mark Gottfried. Was he around for Jim Harrick's success at UCLA? Sure. Is he building a nice program at Alabama? Yes. But -- and maybe regional bias is at play here -- I continue to believe he is not quite one of college basketball's top 25 coaches. Do you disagree?

Ronald Steele, Alabama's two-time "Mr. Basketball," is having a tremendous freshman season. But he is doing so in a weak SEC, only the nation's sixth-best conference, and lacks the maturity necessary to outplay the big-time point guard against which he will likely compete if the Tide advance to the Sweet 16. Over the years, several high-profile freshmen have led their teams to success during March Madness. But Steele wasn't in their league during high school and hasn't yet earned "diaper dandy" status in college.

Defense may win championships, but coaches and point guards win games in college basketball. As the Tide's record -- gaudy at first glance, but lackluster during a second review -- would suggest.

rumors of quin's demise have been greatly

2005-02-05T13:31:00.000-05:00

--The Chicago Tribune's Melissa Isaacson quotes Pierre Pierce as saying that in the eyes of his ex-girlfriend, he was "more than her Mandingo." To learn how race has become a significant consideration in the Pierce affair, read on.

-- Dave Johnson of the Hampton Roads (VA) Daily Press argues that after five weeks of conference play, a clear hierarchy has emerged in the ACC. North Carolina, Duke and Wake, Dave argues, are in a league of their own.

-- On Friday Missouri athletics director Mike Alden called an ESPN.com columnist and Show-Me state reporters (but not bloggers) to affirm the university's confidence in coach Quin Snyder. The wise Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, however, is having a hard time accepting the Missouri administration's pro-Snyder publicity campaign.

While it's admirable for Mizzou officials to back Snyder instead of letting him wallow in uncertainty, none of the statements ensure that Snyder will finish his contract, which expires after the 2007-2008 season.

If Mizzou flops again next season, Snyder will lose his job. You can take that to the bank. Missouri was hit with a two-year NCAA probation earlier this season and is struggling with a 10-11 record overall, 2-6 in the Big 12 Conference. Snyder is 26-26 in his last 52 games. Moreover, Missouri is averaging only 9,724 fans per home game in the new 15,000-seat on campus arena.

fan club president

2005-02-05T13:24:00.000-05:00

-- The Chicago Sun-Times' Herb Gould urges the Fighting Illini to stay healthy. Their undefeated season, Gould would have you believe, hangs in the balance.

-- Greg Wallace of the Birmingham (AL) Post-Herald goes to print with his not too shabby "SEC Notes," including bits about Brandon Bass' big week, South Carolina's character problems, and Arkansas' mastering of the "disappointed sigh." But why the Albuquerque (NM) Tribune picked Wallace's article off the wire is beyond me.

-- Anthony Gimino of the Tucson (AZ) Citizen writes up Lute Olson's high regard for Stanford's Chris Hernandez. Olson and I both.

-- The Washington Post alludes to Savannah State's troubles here and here. I hope the Tigers beat Mercer, Bethune-Cookman or Florida A&M to avoid going winless for the entire 2004-2005 season.

riverdance?

2005-02-04T18:36:00.000-05:00

-- The AP's Aaron Beard pens a fluff piece on Matt Doherty's desire to return to coaching. But will Beard be so complimentary when Nolan Richardson comes calling? Why, I ask, write about one and not the other?

-- I'm not surprised these haven't gone like hotcakes. Would I want see Baylor-Missouri? No.

-- Who but Tom Noie of the South Bend (IN) Tribune's Tom would offer the Fighting Irish a blueprint on how to play their way into the NCAA Tournament? Noie's suggestions? Win every home game, continue feeding Torin Francis, embrace the leadership of Chris Thomas, steal one on the road and keep hope alive.

-- MSM Watch: Seth Davis is up with his weekend picks, Andy Katz interviews six upperclassman who returned to school and suggests the balance were wise to have come back, and Jay Bilas lauds Syracuse for efficiently and effectively working Billy Edelin into the rotation. I had patiently waited for the latter two columns for weeks. And now that Andy let the cat out of the bag, except to see numerous beat writers run with a "despite tough season, he should have stayed" storyline.

a slow news day

2005-02-04T18:19:00.000-05:00

-- Bracey Wright is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against Illinois. Without Wright, the Hoosiers stand little chance of keeping it close against the Fighting Illini.

-- Keith Taylor of the Winchester (KY) Sun writes-up his interview with former Alabama coach Wimp Sanderson. A slow news day, eh Keith?

-- The trial of two LaSalle University players accused of rape will begin July 18th. Gary Neal and Michael Cleaves are second tier members of my all Jeremy Hunt/Pierre Pierce team.

-- Bill Self: A class act.

-- The Madison (WI) Capital Times' Mike Lucas considers the impact several prominent junior college transfers have had on Big Ten basketball. Think Travis Parker, Zach Morley, Doug Thomas, Vincent Grier and J'son Stamper.

superfreak

2005-02-04T09:43:00.000-05:00

-- During a conversation between Chicago Tribune staff writer K.C. Johnson and Charles Oakley, the former Chicago Bull said Tim Floyd "had no strategy" and was a "bad coach." Reminded Floyd was recently hired for another coaching gig, Oakley responded. "I know it wasn't the NBA. Good luck [to USC]. They'll find out soon. Floyd should be coaching Little League."

-- The Norwich (CT) Bulletin urges readers to take Jim Calhoun at his word; he won't leave Connecticut to coach the Lakers.

-- The Des Moines (IA) Register's editorial board argues for a clear code of conduct for student-athletes that sets minimum behavior standards, including establishing a clear procedure for what happens when athletes are in trouble with the law and the discretion to discipline or expel students for inappropriate behavior, and a coach "who doesn't open his mouth before he knows what he's talking about." Here, here.

-- Am I the only one who finds Rashad McCants' description of Marvin Williams --"He's a freak!" -- following the freshman's 20-point performance against North Carolina State a bit ironic?

the biggest little city in the world

2005-02-04T09:37:00.000-05:00

-- Conventional wisdom dictates that Wayne Simien's injury has been the year's most significant. But I disagree. Brandon Roy's injury enabled Tre Simmons to secure more playing time. The result? Simmons has blossomed into a tremendously potent threat for the Washington Huskies. Last night, for example, he torched USC for 29 points.

-- The Denver Post's Tom Kensler finds the Pac-10 looking for respect while hinting it may be hard to come by after early March Madness losses by Arizona, Stanford and Washington in last year's NCAA Tournament. Even as the conference continues to have the second-best RPI in the nation, it is difficult to discern who beyond the 'Cats and the Huskies deserves to go dancing. Arizona State's victory over Stanford behind 39 (!) points from Ike Diogu further complicates the selection committee's work. Count this blogger among those who believe the (relatively) new Pac-10 conference tournament may this year be the league's saving grace. Two wins by a bubble team -- not to mention an upset of Arizona or Washington -- will go a long way towards helping a conference team secure a bid.

-- Kensler's colleague at the Denver Post, Chris Dempsey, reminds us that "all beat writing is local," penning a piece about Colorado's struggles as a result of the Buffs' "point guard by committee" arrangement.

-- Steve Sneddon of the Reno Gazette Journal is concerned about Nevada's performance at the Lawlor Events Center. Trent Johnson's old club is one of the few teams in college basketball to consistently play better on the road than it does at home. Sneddon suggests the Wolf Pack would be well advised to get their act together before the WAC Tournament -- and an opportunity to secure a NCAA Tournament bid at home -- comes to Reno.

-- Dan Wiederer of the Fayetville (NC) Observer notes Chris Paul took the time to savor Wake Forest's defeat of Duke. I think Skip Prosser should savor the opportunity to coach Paul. Viv Bernstein of the New York Times writes Chris Paul is a top 10, possibly a top 5, NBA draft pick if he declares early. But she also gets Paul on the record mulling a decision to pull a Matt Leinart.

all in the family

2005-02-04T09:24:00.000-05:00

-- The Philadelphia Inquirer's Mike Jensen takes a look at his preseason list of coaches on the hot seat. His advice to Massachusetts' Steve Lappas? Buy yourself $50,000 worth of NIT tickets. My advice to Lappas? Hit the road, Jack. And don't you come back no more. (Nikki Cox of "Unhappily Ever After," by the way, recently broke off her engagement and is back on the market). Jensen's thoughts on Jay Wright? What a difference a year makes. Advice for Mike Davis? Get out while you still can. Pete Gillen? A lost cause. Herb Sendek? Bad news is Vitale is on his side. Good news is so is Caulton Tudor (as I noted yesterday). Henry Bibby? Gone.

-- Bernie Wilson of the AP profiles the last in a long line of Waltons. Chris, a fifth-year senior at San Diego State, has -- you guessed it -- struggled with injuries. I'm interested where he lands after graduation. Europe? Perhaps. But methinks the youngest Walton may soon wind up on the bench or in a booth.

-- Time for Michigan State to rely more on underclassmen and less on seniors, or so suggests Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press. Out to looking to Alan Anderson, Kelvin Torbert and Chris Hill for leadership. In with depending on Paul Davis, Maurice Ager and Shannon Brown for production. Not a bad column, though Rosenberg's argument proceeds awkwardly. He starts by writing that Michigan State may not be broken, only to then advocate a particular fix.

-- Dijon Thompson scored 24 points including the game-winning basket to lead UCLA over Washington State in a must-win game for the Bruins. Last night's tough loss notwithstanding, Nick Peters of the Scripps-McClatchy Western Service finds "venerable coach Dick Bennett" making progress at Washington State.

-- Bruce Weber would like his Fighting Illini to go undefeated. Or so writes investigative journalist Jim Benson of the Pantagraph.

there is such a thing as a stupid question

2005-02-04T09:14:00.000-05:00

-- Did the same Rutgers team that nearly beat Syracuse just lose 53-52 to undermanned St. John's? Woah.

-- Terry Hutchens of the Indianapolis Star believes that the Michigan Wolverines have yet to hit rock bottom. Losers of five straight already, they could easily lose five more before notching a victory. I'm starting to feel bad for Tommy Amaker.

-- The answer? In a word, "Yes." The question by Cal forward Rodd Benson? "Top to bottom, is Arizona really that much better than us on paper?"

blasphemy

2005-02-03T15:05:00.000-05:00

ESPN's "Sports Guy," the one and only Bill Simmons, rarely writes about college basketball. Now I know why.

Brendan (Dedham, MA): Does it kill you, being the Holy Cross grad that you are, to see B.C. at 19-0 right now??

Bill Simmons: Are you kidding me? I'm delighted! They're going into the Big East tournament at like 29-1, then they'll get killed in Round 2 by some no-name team...then they'll choke on opening weekend. Just remember, when Al Skinner is your coach, that means that Al Skinner is your coach.

Quick: Name the "no-name team" that defeated the Boston College Eagles in last year's NCAA Tournament. The answer? Georgia Tech.

I'm a BC partisan, but not an Eagles true believer. Until Al Skinner's club develops a third scoring option, I'll argue against BC receiving a No. 1 seed. But by the same token, I'll defend Skinner for doing "more with less" than many of his opponents. Given the right draw, BC is surely an Elite Eight club.

things that make you go hmmm

2005-02-03T13:16:00.000-05:00

-- The AP's Donna Tommelleo pens a must-read about Sudanese import Deng Gai. Having once interned at a UNHCR refugee camp in northern Kenya, on the border of Sudan, I can began to understand the obstacles Gai, currently a senior at Fairfield, has overcome to become a potential NBA player.

-- Lute Olson believes Pac-10 Player of the Year honors should be awarded based solely on a player's statistics in conference play rather than his performance throughout a team's entire schedule. Norm Frauenheim of the Arizona Republic explains how Lute's interesting proposal benefits Salim Stoudamire at the expense of Ike Diogu. Olson, however, admits that any way you slice it, Diogu is currently the best of the west.

-- The Anchorage Daily News picks up Caulton Tudor's column for the Raleigh News & Observer arguing North Carolina State should not fire Herb Sendek at season's end. Tudor estimates Sender has shown himself to be a good, not great, coach. I agree, adding that the Wolfpack could do a lot worse than Herb. In a tough ACC, lesser coaches would fail to lead N.C. State to the NCAA Tournament.

-- Is no news regarding Daniel Horton good news? Or bad news?

fast freddie

2005-02-03T13:01:00.000-05:00

-- Connecticut secured a much-needed win against a ranked opponent last night, downing Villanova. Adam Caparell of the University of Connecticut's Daily Campus, however, writes up Calhoun's possible move to Los Angeles. Marc Stein of the WWLIS had reported the Lakers were interested in Calhoun. But methinks that Jim is happy to finish his career in Storrs.

-- Penn State coach Ed DeChellis pulled a Freddie Mitchell, forgetting the name of the Indiana walk-on who nailed a crucial three-pointer against the Nittany Lions. If Ryan Tapak keeps making big shots, he could make it a race between himself and Christian Moody for walk-on player of the year.

-- Only Coach K could make Lee Melchionni an effective major-conference player.

-- The Nevada-Iowa Journal gets letters! College basketball fans should be "spectators, not combatants."

-- Jeffrey Flanagan of the Kansas City Star notes that if Quin Snyder's Tigers falter, Missouri could join Washington State, Central Michigan, San Diego State, East Carolina, Tulane and New Mexico State as one of seven schools to have losing records in all three of their "revenue-generating sports."

jack kennedy

2005-02-03T08:04:00.000-05:00

-- Will Duke's loss to Wake Forest open the floodgates, exposing the Blue Devils' short bench? Or will Daniel Ewing, Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick lead Coach K's club past at least two of Georgia Tech (2/5), North Carolina (2/9) and Maryland (2/12)?

-- Andy Glockner of the WWLIS has an early look at teams on and off the bubble. Today's must-read, though I'd argue Glockner should have opened with "other at-large conferences" rather than with the usual suspects. Have we ever had four mid-major locks (Southern Illinois, Wichita State, Pacific and, nominally, Gonzaga) this early in the season?

-- Seen Keeler of the Des Moines Register pens a quality piece on Grinnell College's upcoming ESPN2 appearance. Nick owes Jack a million bucks. Really.

-- Greg Hansen of the Arizona Daily Star has nine predictions for the second half of Pac-10 play. Among them: 1) Arizona's home loss to Washington State will spur the Wildcats to a tremendous winning streak. 2) The UofA will not enlarge the size of the McKale Center student section. (Despite the endorsement of such an idea by the Star's editorial board). 4) Hassan Adams will not declare for the NBA Draft at season's end. 7) With Leon Powe back, California will be a Top 25 team next season. Hansen's early conference rankings for 2005-2006? In order: Washington, Cal, UCLA, Arizona, and Oregon. Shake it up, baby.

me say Tello, daylight come and

2005-02-03T07:47:00.000-05:00

-- The Deseret Morning News' Jeff Call notes that Danny Granger is quite a difference-maker. New Mexico is 3-0 in conference play with Granger and 0-3 without him. Win a few more and the Lobos are back on the bubble.

-- Jerry Ratcliffe of the Charlottesville (VA) Daily Progress authored the lead of the day.

When Pete Gillen returned to his old haunts Wednesday night at the Dunkin' Donuts Center, he didn't expect that the hole in the middle would be Virginia's defense. It was nowhere to be found.

I heart Dunkin Donuts (of which there aren't enough in the greater Washington, D.C. area). Blogger Kyle, by the way, had a great post about my favorite morning stop here.

-- ESPN's Pat Forde tells the world about Tello. A great read, all the more so because Forde steps out of the box to author this gem:

It's been a big sports week for God. He cleared Terrell Owens to play in the Super Bowl, then granted Palacios' prayer jump shot -- off the glass.

-- New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is expected to designate Friday as Lou Henson Day. Take note.

the reformation

2005-02-03T07:40:00.000-05:00

-- Luke "less pretty in his Yahoo photo than his CNN/SI profile" Winn suggests Chris Paul is the perfect point guard. He's so dreamy...Paul is a point guard first and a scoring guard second. His passes are elegant, not forced. His drives aggressive, not out of control. And his leadership exceptional, not erratic. Far and away the college basketball player I most enjoy watching.

-- I continue to enjoy Mike DeCourcy's "Daily Dish." But am I the only one who has noticed that the quality of Mike's writing for his would-be blog is lower than the quality of his writing for his regular columns?

-- Brian Dohn of the Los Angeles Daily News notes how far Gonzaga has come. Not even three losses to three unranked teams in a three-weak span could dislodge the Zags from the Top 25.

-- Long Beach (CA) Press-Telegram columnist Frank Burlison takes a look at the recently released Wooden Award "midseason" Top 30 and preaches to the choir about Luther Head's exclusion. My perhaps national Player of the Year should not have been left off the "midseason" list.

fun with google: nothing to do with...social security

2005-02-03T07:25:00.000-05:00

-- Bob Lutz of the Wichita (KS) Eagle suggests that Kansas State's Jeremiah Massey is among the best players in the Big 12. After Massey's 25-point effort -- on nine of 13 shooting -- against Oklahoma State, I'm unlikely to disagree.

-- Who would you prefer author Fox Sports' "Outside the Top 25?" Eric Moneypenny or Blogger Kyle? In other words, would you rather see Gigli or Good Will Hunting?

-- Providence guard Donnie McGrath tied an NCAA record by making nine 3-pointers without a miss last night. Good for him.

-- The Wisconsin State Journal's Jon Masson writes-up Brian Butch's career-high 12 points in 14 minutes off the bench. Bo Ryan: 1. Doug Gottlieb: 0.

-- Nathaniel Bryan of the Hardin County (KY) News-Enterprise authors a very creative recap of Louisville's win over Cincinnati.

night owls

2005-02-03T01:43:00.000-05:00

Should feel free to discuss tonight's games. Big wins for Connecticut and Wake Forest. Tough losses for Florida State and Texas A&M. And more.

the weakest link

2005-02-02T23:54:00.000-05:00

Several readers have emailed to note that Iowa has dismissed Pierre Pierce from the team.

Gregg Doyel is pleased. As am I. Ryan Kobliska, I would imagine, is disappointed.

What say other members of the "cabal of 100?" Anne enjoyed the limelight, but is concerned about her neighborhood. Gary Clark thinks there is a good chance Pierce will resurface at Cincinnati, Fresno State, Oklahoma State, or Florida. (I doubt it. Pro ball is a more likely bet). Chris Moeller believes the university acted prematurely. Former Des Moines Register reporter Ron Maly, himself a blogger, is in Doyel's camp. As is Michael Meyer. And "Mathman."

keep me blogging!

2005-02-02T14:08:00.000-05:00

Do you enjoy this site? Great!

Think it takes more than few minutes each day? You're right. Try several hours.

Want to keep me blogging? Then please donate a few bucks through the all-new tip jar in the right sidebar. (See the "buttons" box). Donations will go to a site upgrade -- not into my personal slush fund.