Oh. Hello.

It has been a long damn time since I posted.  A month.  Not dead, just lazy.  I do plan to be back full force once Gopher basketball gets going, I really do.  For now, since at least 1 person is asking for a new post, I'll write something.

-  Welcome aboard, Eric Curry!  Quickly following up the Amir Coffey signing (yay!) the Gophers also picked up forward Eric Curry.  He's a combo type forward from Arkansas, and while he's not ranked on Coffey's level he's well regarded in his own right:  ranking #106 by 247sports national composite and the #21 ranked power forward.  He ended up besties with Coffey and once Amir signed Curry was pretty likely to follow in what hopefully becomes a trend.

He's described as a combo forward, which generally means he's either too fast for PF and too strong for SF or too weak for PF and too slow for SF.  Hopefully the former and it sounds good so far.  Scouting reports tout his athleticism and he's already got a decent amount of polish posting up which will be a nice change for a Gopher team that hasn't had a true post up artists since, I dunno, Ralph Sampson I guess.  Before you jump all over that remember Ralph had some moves.  Curry's other highly touted attribute is his "high motor" which means the Sampson comparisons can pretty much end now.

His weaknesses are he needs to get stronger and he needs more of a perimeter game.  Well, he's a high school senior right now, and I'm pretty sure the ESPN scouting report just rubber stamps "must get stronger" on early every recruit because that's a pretty common and understandable need.  The perimeter game should come around because, get this, he's a 78% free throw shooter.  Sign him up!


-  The Twins season ended, you may have learned, and I struggle whether or not to say this was a successful season though I lean towards yes.  We got to watch some meaningful baseball almost all the way to the final day of the season - that's good!  Then again, they cratered and didn't get the Wildcard spot - that's bad!  Though, they probably weren't as good as their record anyway - that's bad!  But we got to see a glimpse of many of the future hopefully building blocks of future success - that's good!  So I'll stick with slightly good.  Here's some other Twins stuff:

1.  Say good-bye to Trevor Plouffe.  I found some sight the other day that gave projected arbitration salaries for players, and Plouffe is guessed at $7.7 million.  I like Plouffe and he's a decent player who works hard and seems like a good dude and was part of some very bad teams without complaint, but at that salary, with Miguel Sano slated to be the third baseman for the next billion years, the world's most unmovable contract stuck at 1st, and a slew of younger, cheaper bats that need DH appearances and spot starts there's nowhere for him to play.  Whether via trade or simply non-tendering him I just can't see him sticking around, which is unfortunate because he's WonderBaby (who is now 7)'s favorite player, though she calls him Treasure Poof.

2.  Do the Twins need an ace?  More on the need for an ace later, if I feel like and/or remember, but I don't think this is doable.  They've tossed way too much money at Ricky Nolasco, Ervin Santana, and Phil Hughes lately to really go after it, unless they were going to pony up the big bucks and do it right by going after David Price or Jordan Zimmermann or something but I don't see that happening.  With Hughes, Santana, Kyle Gibson, and a slew of young arms worth trying out I'm not even sure they need to do anything with the starting staff (but the bullpen?  Fire everybody).  There are enough decent names out there that if they can get a steal (a real steal, like that 2/$20 million contract the Cubs gave Jason Hammel) then it might be worth it.  But please, no 4 year deal for Jeremy Guthrie.  Please.

3.  Overall the future here seems pretty neat.  They need a catcher and a shortstop for sure and those are not very easy to fill so hopefully dudes who are already here can fill those roles, but other than Brian Dozier's second half cratering things seem pretty clear.  I hated the Torii Hunter signing when it happened because that money could have been better spent, but hell, maybe there is something to clubhouse chemistry and veteran leadership.  I'd be happy to see him back at a reduced rate assuming he's cool being the 4th outfielder at best.  Next year should be pretty fun.  Looking forward to it.


-  Seems like we are heading towards a Royals vs. Mets World Series.  I'm good with that.  Of the playoff teams you had teams that were too successful (Cardinals), too evil (Yankees), too rich (Dodgers), too big of assholish fans (Toronto), too unlikable (Rangers), too it hurts because it should have been us (Astros), and the Pirates, Cubs, Royals, and Mets, and you have to eliminate the Cubs because the whole Back to the Future thing is already more irritating the constant DFS commercials.

So really, Royals and Mets gives me probably two of my top three choices (with the Pirates).  And yeah sure, the Mets are terribly run organization and the Royals are kind of dickish and have the most clueless manager in the playoffs, but you're never going to get perfect.  It should be fun and I won't be annoyed no matter who wins.  What's wrong with that?  Plus the less R.A. Dickey there is to watch, the better.  Though I will really miss watching Kyle Schwarber play outfield.

And I'm determined to do a live blog of at least one World Series game.  I think I have almost every year, so I can't just stop now.

-  Wolves should be pretty fun.  Rubio-LaVine-Wiggins-Towns-Dieng.  Could be a lot worse, right?  At least it should be fun.  A legit shot at back-to-back Rookie of the Year winners, finding out if LaVine can be like, good, and seeing if Rubio can stay healthy is a good reason to at least occasionally watch.  I mean, Rubio running a break with those two wings and Towns trailing?  That's awesome.

And how good can Towns be?  Rookie of the Year is pretty much a lock, the only question is can he challenge for MVP.  I say yes.  Did you see him hitting those threes against no defense this offseason?  I mean, most guys can't do that.  And have you seen his preseason stats?  Averaging 10.7 pts, 6.7 rebs, and 1.0 blocks per game, but that's only in 21 minutes per game!  If you extrapolate that out to a whole game it comes out to something like 35 pts, 18 rebounds, 9 assists, and 7 blocks per game.  You know the last player to put up those kind of numbers?  Yep, that's right - Hot Sauce.  Towns is that good.


-  I know what you're thinking - "this blog sucks now."  But I know what else you're thinking, why is there no mention of this year's Gopher hoops team?  Well, I'm not ready yet.  I'll rip something off at some point, but right now it's like, no.  I am not ready to write about Joey King just yet, and I don't really know how to spin the Bakary Konate/Gaston Diedhiou stuff into a positive, nor can I figure out how to look forward to Carlos Morris being a big key to the season.  I'll get around to it, I swear.  For now, let me write something quick about other NCAAB stuff.

-  ACC is going to be garbage, relatively speaking.  Only North Carolina looks poised to be good.  Duke lost everybody and will now count on Grayson freaking Allen, Virginia I'm pretty sick of already so move on, Louisville lost literally their entire roster, Notre Dame without Jerian Grant is meaningless.  Miami and FSU could be semi-interesting but in general I'm expecting the Big 10 to take the challenge thing.

-  LSU is one of my big sleepers and you can still get them at 50/60-1 to win the National Championship.  Yes, they lost Jordan Mickey and Jarrell Martin, but they have a ton of guard play coming back and two absolute stud recruits in do everything big man Ben Simmons (likely #1 pick in next year's draft) and swingman Antonio Blakeney (who is now linked to the Louisville "scandal").  There are a lot of questions about the front court, though Simmons can maybe do it all, but all those guards back and a monster recruiting class scream contender to me.

-  Another team I like a lot is Cal (don't worry, Justin Cobbs is gone).  They pick up the #4 and #7 players in the entire country, both front court guys, who join their three best players, all guards.  Add in Cuonzo Martin, a really, really good coach, and you'd be a fool to pass them up at 20-1.  A FOOL!!

-  I might end up doing a Big Ten preview post, and if I do I promise I won't be like every other writer and say something like "based on talent the Badgers shouldn't be this high, but Bo Ryan blah blah blah barf"  No!  This is the year the Badgers suck ass.  They are gutted.  They have Nigel Hayes, who I love and is awesome, Bronson Koenig, who is annoying and super hateable and sucks, and that's it.  All of their other players suck.  They won't be bottom of the basement, but there's zero chance this team makes the NCAA Tournament.  None.  Zero.  None.

-  A Big Ten team I do like a ton this year is Purdue, though that seems like a not uncommon thought.  And their games are going to suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck to watch.  Massive rim protection in A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas (Hammons is elite, Haas is 7-2 so should get there eventually) is joined by 6-9 Caleb Swanigan, one of the top couple center recruits in the country, and Raphael Davis is back who, you surely don't remember this, won B10 defensive player of the year.  They also couldn't shoot for shit last year and there's no real reason that should change.  I fully expect multiple games where they win without breaking 50 points.

-  Oh yeah, speaking of points we have a new shot clock now at 30 seconds.  Even better though they got rid of the 5-second closely guarded rule.  I'm not sure if that's a positive change as far as the game goes, but it's going to be super fun to go to games this year and hear morons yell "5 seconds!" one billion times because nobody reads anymore.  Also, speaking of going to games, Snacks and I were lining up our trip out to Sioux Falls with our sons to go check out the Gophers vs. Oklahoma State game and then right as we were figuring stuff out bam, it turns out my parents' have this dumb christmas party that same day where we are supposed to be blackjack dealers or something.  Thanks a lot, mom and dad.

-  Perry Ellis, the 37-year old Kansas power forward, is back for another year.  He has now surpassed Wade Lookingbill, Jess Settles, and Brian Cardinal for longest tenured player in college basketball history.

- I don't know.  I guess that's all for now.

-  Oh yeah.  Also Rick Pitino 100% knew there were sex parties for recruits and also that happens at every single school.  Haven't you seen He Got Game?

Tuesday's Tourney - The Grandest of them All.

Three more teams grabbed bids last night:  Wofford, Manhattan, and Northeastern.  Wofford was the #1 seed and will probably end up somewhere around that 12th seed spot with a legit chance at an upset, depending on the matchup.  Northeastern was a top team in their conference but is most likely going to have to face a #2 seed, and the #2s are very strong this year.  Manhattan cost us Iona.

See, both Manhattan and Iona are super fun teams that like to play circus ball, which means entertainment so on some level we should be happy with either of them.  However, Iona probably would have been like a 14 seed or so, and would have ended up playing someone at least somewhat vulnerable like a Maryland or an Oklahoma (and Iona/Oklahoma would be super fun).  Manhattan, on the other hand, will most likely, unless lots of conference tournaments go sideways, end up in the First Four, so even if they get passed someone like Texas Southern they'll end up playing a one seed, who will probably stomp a hole in them.  Once again, Conference Tournaments are super fun but are also the worst.

Only one tournament gets going today;

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE:
Conference realignment has torn the Big East apart and strengthened the ACC, no doubt.  That makes it easy to mourn the Big East Tournament, but I kinda miss the old ACC Tournament as well.  Growing up the Big Ten didn't have a tournament, the ACC was on TV all the time, the programs were really good, and their style of play was a blast so I fell in love with the ACC Tournament.  That super cool court in Greensboro, Randolph Childress destroying everybody, Fire and Ice, and some serious Duke vs. Maryland battles.  It makes me feel like some cranky old man, but I really wish the ACC was the same (and the Big East).  But I now I'm not a cranky old man, because I like lots of other changes.  Not like my friend The Bear.  He hates everything that ever changes.

FAVORITE:  Virginia.  I keep doubting the Cavaliers (well, for the last two years when they've been good) and they keep proving me wrong.  A 28-2 record is no joke, especially going through the ACC where they only lost in close games to Duke and Louisville, both of whom will likely be top 5 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.  The loss of Justin Anderson has them extra vulnerable since he was their one ace shooter and more of the offense will fall to Malcolm Brogdon, but this team does it with defense anyway, so they should be fine.  That defense is amazing.

SLEEPER:  Syracuse.  They can't go to the NCAA Tournament anyway so their motivation might be suspect, and the whole NCAA hammering them thing may make them even more ready to crawl under a rock and be done with this season, but it also could do that thing where it makes a team band together and try harder or whatever they always show us in movies.  They still play great defense, and though the offense has been challenged at best this year what if Trevor Cooney decides "hey you know what? I'm going to mix it up and actually make a bunch of shots now."?  It could happen.  Probably not.  North Carolina State.

THE PICK:  Duke.  Duke is rolling.  After some early conference jitters where they went 3-3 for a stretch, the Blue Devils have rolled off eleven straight included a sweep of the Tar Heels, a 30-point stomping of Notre Dame, and a road win at Virginia - that's impressive.  Jahlil Okafor may have hit a bit of a freshman wall but he's still a beast to deal with, Tyus Jones (sorry) has simply been amazing running that team, and Quinn Cook has transformed himself from offensive afterthought to big time scorer.  They're ready to run the ACC table here.  And they're still perfectly flawed enough to be upset early in the NCAA Tournament.  Win/win.


One billion conference tournaments start tomorrow.  I better get started.

And we're Spent

I was going to write about everything that happened today, but I write the previews and stuff first and then go back and write the introduction and I'm really quite tired and I don't think that's something that I'm going to do.

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCEI still have fond memories of watching the ACC Tournament every March (on TV of course).  Those were the days of Randolph Childress and Dennis Scott and Curtis Staples when every ACC team, top-to-bottom, was awesome and the conference was head and shoulders above everyone else.  They're still a quality conference (kenpom ranks them 4th) but that's because they're strong at the top.  The bottom of the ACC is horrible, which makes the tournament much less fun since you can probably pencil in the top seeds to the semi-finals.  Except Duke.  Eff them.
FAVORITE:  Duke.  Of course it's Duke.  With Ryan Kelly back Duke is one of the top five teams in the country no matter how much you hate them (and you should).  It's easy to forget, but this team is 18-0 this year when Kelly is healthy (and 9-4 without him) with wins over Ohio State, Louisville, and Miami - all Final Four contenders.  Kelly kind of sucks at everything other than shooting but there's no doubt Duke is a much better team with him than without him.  Also did you know every single Duke basketball fan also roots for the Lakers, Cowboys, Yankees, and Notre Dame football?  It's science.
SLEEPER:  Virginia.  The Cavaliers probably need to do something here to secure at at-large bid, because despite their huge wins (Duke, NC State, Wisconsin) they've balanced them with some horrendous losses (George Mason, Delaware, and 5-25 Old Dominion) and an 11-7 conference record.  They're a bit of a Wisconsin clone with their style of play (BORING) but it can work, obviously, and they've beaten every other ACC Contender so far this year other than Miami, so they can certainly win this.
W's PICK:  Duke.  This is what Duke does.  They have a great regular season, win the ACC Tournament, and then lose in one of the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.  And I love it every year.

ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE
Honestly I couldn't even tell you who is in the A-10 anymore.  And even if I could, it wouldn't matter because teams are leaving next year anyway.  And did you know there are actually 16 teams in the Atlantic-10?  So the Big 10 has 12 and is about to have 14, the Big 12 has 10 teams, and the Atlantic 10 has 16.  Gotta say, I think the whole idea of naming your conference after the number of teams is looking like a pretty crappy idea.  Hell at this point we can't even name them on their geographical region any more.  We're going to have to start naming conferences after things pretty soon, like the Lamp Conference.
FAVORITE:  St. Louis.  The Billikens are streaking.  They won 12 of their last 13 (with the loss being in overtime @ Xavier) with those wins including a win over VCU and a sweep of Butler, but even so they're sneaking up on everybody.  You watch, they're going to be anywhere from a 3-6 seed when the pairings come out and I'm betting nearly everybody will have them getting knock-off the first weekend.  They're a great defensive basketball team who spreads their scoring around with five guys averaging between 9.8 and 12.9 points per game- don't underrate them.
SLEEPER:  Xavier.  A rare down year for the Musketeers sees them tied for sixth in the A-10 with seven conference losses, but in a pretty wide open conference there are plenty of teams who could get hot and win the auto-bid.  Not only did Xavier just beat St. Louis in the second-to-last game of the season, they also beat Memphis a couple of weeks ago.
W's PICK:  VCU.  I can't help it, I love VCU.  They play the game like a bunch of crazy lunatics and, in the tradition of the old UNLV and Arkansas teams, it works.  They're a bit under the radar nationally this year since they have seven losses, but those seven are Duke and Missouri in the Bahamas, @ Richmond, LaSalle, @ St. Louis, and @ Temple.  That's a pretty good list.  It serves to give them a worse seeding, which will make them a genius pick to make the Final Four, although with all their recent success I'm sure plenty of others will feel the same so maybe the real genius pick will be to take them to lose in round one.

BIG WEST CONFERENCE
Big West teams always seem to grab a nice upset or two each year.  This year Cal Poly beat UCLA, Pacific beat Xavier and St. Mary's, and UC-Irvine beat USC.  The Big West lacks the big-time sleeper NCAA Tournament threat like they had the last couple of years with Santa Barbara and Long Beach, but there are a number of teams here who could get a victory if they get the right match-up.
FAVORITE:  Long Beach.  Say what you want about Dan Monson, and I have, but he knows how to build a program to dominate a terrible conference.  The 49ers are once again the #1 seed in the Big West, and even though they aren't as dangerous a team as they were last season they'll probably win this tournament.  Although things may be unraveling at the end of the season here a bit with LBSU losing three of their last four games.
SLEEPER: UC-Irvine.  The Anteaters were horrendous at the beginning of the year, starting out at 5-7 with ugly losses to Pepperdine and Sam Houston, but buttoned it up to close out the season, finishing out with a 10-5 swing which included wins over Long Beach, Pacific, and Cal-Poly - the top three Big West teams.  Plus they're the Anteaters - that's pretty sweet.
W's PICK:  Irvine.  There's nobody here who looks like they could run away with this thing, and with the Anteaters coming into the tournament as the hottest team I may as well pick them.  Plus they're Anteaters. 

BIG SKY CONFERENCE
The Big Sky has always been one of my favorite conferences, mainly because my wife and her entire family attended school there (for at least a semester) and I've been on their campus a bunch of times and have some hats and shirts and such and since they're the dominant program they're always relevant, at least for a low-major.  And this is a low major, at least this year.  Weber (24-5) and Montana (23-6) took care of business, but there isn't a single other school in the conference that finished better than .500.
FAVORITE:  Weber State.  Technically Montana is actually the #1 seed but they lost their leading scorer to a foot injury and although they've gone 4-1 without him (the loss was in overtime to Davidson) Weber State is probably the better team now.  The Wildcats have won eleven straight, including a 14-point victory over Montana and really they haven't missed Damian Lillard much at all this season thanks to three double-digit per game scorers and the nation's #1 three-point shooting team at 42%.
SLEEPER: Montana State.  Weber and Montana are much better than the rest of the field here, but if anybody is going to crash the party it will probably be Montana State.  While the majority of the conference was just getting beat up by the two top teams, the Bobcats were able to hang tough, actually beating Weber State at home and losing by just 8 on the road, and although they were swept by Montana the Grizzlies only beat them by 3 and 5 (in overtime). 
W's PICK:   Weber State.  It feels like the Wildcats have dominated this conference, but they actually haven't been to the NCAAs since 2007 since they can't get over the hump and actually win the conference tournament.  This year should be different, and hopefully Harold Arceneaux's ghost will come back and bring them to a first round upset.  Also, for your education, it's pronounced WEE-BER.  Don't you feel like a dummy?

BIG 12 CONFERENCE[NOTE: This apparently started Wednesday night.  I had no idea]
The Big 12 is actually shockingly deep this year.  With only ten teams they have six ranked in the Top 50 according to kenpom, which is awfully damn good for a conference I thought was pretty crappy.  Of course, the teams in the top 50 include Baylor, who sucks, and Oklahoma, who sucks, so maybe the ratings aren't exactly accurate.  Besides, games are played by real players on the court, not in your mom's basement using a computer, nerd.
FAVORITE:  Kansas.  The Jayhawks won the Big 12 for the ninth straight year and are the favorite once again, but unlike previous years they aren't a prohibitive favorite as the B12 is pretty wide open this year at the top.  Kansas had losses to Oklahoma, Baylor,  and Oklahoma State this year, should have had two losses to Iowa State, and lost to the worst team in the conference TCU.  They have one of the best guards in the country in Ben McLemore, one of the best centers in the country in Jeff Withey, and very little else.  KU is very vulnerable, and that goes for the NCAA Tournament as well.
SLEEPER:  Iowa State.  The Cyclones finished with the 5 seed and will probably be in the NCAAs as a 10 or 11, but it really should have been so much better.  They lost to Kansas once on a banked in KU three-pointer and once thanks to the worst call of the season (which even B12 officials said it was a blown call), and both at Texas and Oklahoma State on last second plays.  The shoot a ton of threes, make a ton of threes, and play at a fast pace - a really fun team to watch.
W's PICK:   Oklahoma State.  The Cowboys have gone ahead and transformed themselves into a dark horse Final Four contender.  They've won 11 of their last 13, the two losses were @ Iowa State (can't fight Hilton Magic) and a double-OT loss to Kansas, and included in those eleven wins were victories over Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, and Iowa State.  All you really need to know is that OK State's third best player is LeBryan Nash and he'd probably be the best player on 90% of NCAA teams (when he's engaged and paying attention, sort of has a disappearing thing going on). 

BIG TEN CONFERENCE
Well here's the biggie, and I mean that not only because the stupid Gophers are in it, but because in reality I think it's hard to argue against this as the best conference in basketball.  I mentioned the Big 12 having a bunch of well rated teams at kenpom, but the Big Ten has nine of their twelve ranked in the top 62 and nobody worse than #146.  Add in that outside of Northwestern anybody can beat anybody else on any given day and this could really be wild.  The Gophers and Michigan are fading, while Iowa and Purdue are rising which bunches the teams together even further.  There are 8 teams who wouldn't shock me if they won this.
FAVORITE:  Indiana.  It's interesting to me that Indiana started as the big favorite in the conference, we spent the entire conference season wondering who was really number one and trying to figure out how good Indiana actually was, and now that we're done the Hoosiers come out as looking like pretty clearly the best team in the Big 10, don't they?  I don't know, for my money they're clearly the top team in the conference.
SLEEPER: Illinois.  If I wasn't a Minnesota fan I'd say the Gophers since they still have a really impressive list of good wins and have played well on neutral courts, but since I am a Gopher fan I know how freaking awful they've been so I refuse to support them in any way.  I also think Illinois really sucks, but Iowa sucks worse, and everybody else is either too good to be a sleeper or too crappy to have a prayer.  Illinois shoots so many stupid three-pointers they could conceivably get hot enough to win a couple of games, even if they don't have a chance of winning this thing.  The Gophers, on the other hand, actually do have a chance to win the B10 Tournament, but I refuse to care enough to care.   That's not a typo.
W's PICK:  Michigan.  Maybe this goes back to the old Steve Fisher days, but Michigan always strikes me as a damn good tournament type team.  The Fab Five never flamed out early and made two Final Fours when they were all together, they won the first ever Big Ten Tournament, and other than last year I can't remember them ever losing early in the NCAAs.  By the way, now that I look it up to try to avoid looking like an idiot, it turns out the reason I don't remember them flaming out early is because Michigan didn't make a single NCAA Tournament between 1998 and 2009.  For serious.  That is ridiculous.

Sorry if you were looking for more Gopher specific stuff, but I don't know what to write anymore.  They're good enough to beat anybody in the Big Ten and bad enough to lose to anybody in the Big Ten.  Illinois chucks a shitload of threes, and if they're making them the Gophers are screwed.  If not, the Gophers have to execute their half court offense to win.  Does any of that sound manageable?  I just don't even know anymore.  Here are my last thoughts on the Gophers.  This is all I got, bro.  At least until I see how they play against Illinois.

NCAA Hoops Preview - The ACC

As much as the idea of Syracuse not being in the Big East kind of churns my stomach, the upside that at least there will be a team in the conference capable of challenging UNC and Duke once in a while.  I know they've traditionally been the best 2 teams, but things have just been ridiculous lately and might be topping (bottoming) out this year because nearly ever team has been killed by graduations and can't reload like those two nancies, so Duke and UNC are Final Four contenders at the same time you can't definitively point to any other ACC squad and say "that's a tournament team."

So I guess there's that.

1.  NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS.  For most teams losing a guy like Leslie McDonald for the season to a knee injury would be a big blow, but not this year's Heels.  That is basically the only loss they suffered from their roster.  Harrison Barnes, last year's #2 recruit and potential top 3 pick in the NBA draft last year, decided to return for another year of seasoning and, after a rough start to his career, began to flourish at the end, scoring 18+ points in 9 of the team's last 10 games.  Tyler Zeller is still there and his offensive game is really turning into a thing of beauty, and the defense of John Henson will be there as well to block more shots than jesus.  They also have their point guard back in Kendall Marshall, who is already turning into one of the best PGs in UNC History (although nobody will ever be better than Ed Cota).  In case you want more, they also bring in a couple of new studs in F James McAdoo (#8 by Rivals) and P.J. Hairston (#13 and called the best shooter in this class), and have a bunch of other former top recruit types from the last couple of years who I haven't even mentioned.  Yes, they're loaded.  There's a reason why they're 3-1 to win the whole thing (sucker bet).

2.  DUKE BLUE DEVILS.  Kyrie Irving, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith is a huge amount of production and talent to lose, but you know the drill - unfortunately for every one who doesn't worship Satan, they just replace talent with talent are look to once again be one of the best teams in the nation.  That isn't to say they won't have some weaknesses, however, because I refuse to believe that no matter how many Plumlees you have (and Duke is now up to 3) those aren't the type of bigs who are going to take you to a National Championship.  Not counting, of course, the one they won 2 years ago, but that was really all Brian Zoubek.  The three most interesting story lines to me are whether or not Seth Curry can be a team player and not end up a massive chuck monster like his brother, whether or not Austin Rivers (#1 freshman in the country) can integrate himself into a real (and good) team when his whole high school career has been him having to score 40 to carry a lackluster supporting cast, and just how gay is Duke, anyway?

3.  MIAMI HURRICANES.  The Canes are one of the few teams that were not hit hard by graduations/defections and return a couple of dynamic guards in Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant along with double-double machine Reggie Johnson who pretty much destroyed Duke last year since those pansies can't handle big, strong post players.  And I'm sure you remember Scott and Grant, seeing as how they combined for 36 points against the Gophers two seasons ago in Florida completing the teams 3-game collapse after faltering in Anaheim and completely buzzkilling all the good feelings after they beat Butler.  Yeah, I hate Miami.

4.  VIRGINIA CAVALIERS.  Mike Scott and his 16 and 10 averages are back after red-shirting last year due to an injury, and I like their plan of going with Scott and spreading a bunch of shooters out on the floor.  And no, it's not just because Virginia shot 10-13 from three last year to kill the Gophers, they legitimately have some good shooters (Joe Harris, K.T. Harrell, and Sammy Zeglinski can all shoot it and both incoming freshmen can hit from outside) and Mike Scott is a legitimate beast.  Overall Virginia was 19th in the country in 3-pt percentage and 23rd in % of points coming from behind the line, and that was with Scott only around for 10 games.  I don't know.  Maybe it is my memories of that game coloring my opinion, but I see the Cavs as a dangerous team this year.

5.  FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES.  FSU is likely a near guarantee for an NCAA bid because their defense is always so good it's unlikely they'll completely implode, but you can't quite trust them because they are never offensively a good team and this year they don't have a real PG.  They didn't last year either and things worked out, but last year they had Chris Singleton (most of the year) and Derwin Kitchen, both of whom could actually score once in a while and both of whom are gone.  You know the defense will be there and you know they'll probably beat either UNC or Duke in Tallahassee, but it will be up to the offense whether this is a good team or a very good team.  They're bringing in three top 150 recruits, all of whom are supposedly offensive players, so if any of them can get going right away that'll be a big boost.  Remember the name Antwan Space.  Just do it.

6.  CLEMSON TIGERS.  Not unlike the Seminoles, Clemson was hit hard by graduation, losing Demontez Stitt (leading scorer and assist man) and Jerai Grant (second leading scorer and leading rebounder) but they are such a solid defensive squad under Brad Brownell that they'll still be in the hunt for an NCAA bid, although at this point in the ACC most of these teams could finish anywhere from 5th to 10th.  Still, the Tigers will have some talent including Devin Booker, the younger brother of former Clemson All-ACC performer Trevor.  He hasn't quite made the same splash that Trevor did in his first two years, but the potential is probably there I'd assume.  And speaking of potential, they actually have a McDonald's All-American on their roster in Milton Jennings.  He managed 4 double-doubles last season, which makes Trevor Mbakwe laugh, but he could end up being the x-factor for Clemson.  Whatever that means.  I don't know, I'm just typing, man.

7.  VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES.  The Hokies have a couple huge holes to fill, losing both Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen who basically did everything for them.  Fortunately, the have plenty of options to fill those holes, including two other returning double-digit scorers and a nice big recruiting class that includes some likely future stars - PF C.J. Barksdale, SG Robert Brown, and SF Dorian Finney-Smith are all top 100 on Rivals list with Finney-Smith topping the list at #31.  So yeah, there are some big losses for the Hokies, but they might end up better in the long run.  They had some serious choke jobs the last couple of years, and Delaney was a big part - mainly because he wanted the ball and everybody knew he was getting the ball.  Perhaps a little balance could work in V-Tech's favor?  Whatever it takes so we don't have to listen to Seth Greenberg whine about the selection committee again.  My least favorite spring ritual.

8.  NC STATE WOLFPACK.  Losing Tracy Smith is tough, but losing both your point guards - including emerging star Ryan Harrow (who transferred to Kentucky after the coaching change from Lowe to Gottfried) is going to be tougher.  State still has one of the most exciting players in the conference in PF C.J. Leslie, who was the #14 recruit in the nation his freshman year and averaged 11 & 7, along with a couple of other nice players in SG Lorenzo Brown (#37 last year) and dead-eye shooter Scott Wood so they'll be middle of the road with some chances to surprise people.  If Brown can handle the point - or incoming CS-Bakersfield transfer guy can - they could finish significantly higher than this.  I really love me some C.J. Leslie.

9.  GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS.  Do you think Glen Rice Jr. might have to look at a picture or two of Sarah Palin when Tech travels to Cameron or the Dean Dome or really anywhere?  Hopefully for them he'll be able to block it out, because he's going to be the main offensive weapon on this team and has the talent and situation to potentially blossom into an All-ACC type of player, particularly with Iman Shumpert leaving for the NBA and Brian Oliver transferring to Seton Hall.  Maybe the best news for Tech, however, is that Paul Hewitt is finally gone because even though he was a hell of a recruiter the guy was routinely out coached and over matched.  Brian Gregory turned the garbage dumpster of Dayton into something reasonably mediocre and Tech is a much better program so he'll likely have them turned around sooner rather than later.

10.  MARYLAND TERRAPINS.  Yet another team that got hit hard by graduation, not only did Maryland lose a ton off last year's team but when Gary Williams decided to quit coaching an a pretty inopportune time like some kind of sweaty rhinoceros he didn't do the team any favors because most of the recruits he'd signed, and there were some good ones, jumped ship.  They did manage to hold on to Nick Faust, a hometown kid who is a very good player (#48 rivals) and will make this team's strength - the back court - even stronger.  The biggest questions will be on the interior.  With the beast that was Jordan Williams and his double-double average off to the NBA and no notable additions with size, they'll have to turn to unproven upperclassmen to play in the paint.  That always works well.

11.  WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS.  Wake might have been the worst major conference team in 300 years last season, so they can only get better.  You'd think.  Unfortunately lack of talent continues to meet up with knuckleheadism, with former top 100 recruit J.T. Terrell leaving the team after getting arrested for a DWI and fellow top 100 recruit Melvin Tabb currently suspended indefinitely for some ambiguous reason.  The one big bright spot is SF Travis McKie who led the team in both scoring and rebounding last season.  And this is where I'd write a sentence to tie all of that together, but every time I tried to watch a Wake game last year they were losing by 25 in the first half so I didn't really pay all that much attention.   

12.  BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES.  I don't know that I've ever seen something this dramatic, and it's hard to believe in this conference this year, but the Eagles come into this season with 92% of last year's scoring gone.  92%, yo.  That means I got a 92% chance of embarrassing myself.  I'll roll up on some shorty and be like "whats' up, yo" and she'll be like, "you don't know 20 ways to make me call you big poppa" because I don't, yo.  I just typed that from memory so it might not be dead on but it's definitely close.  Anyway, BC has 9 freshmen this year and I've never heard of any of them and they aren't on any lists so let's be honest, the quote was a much better use of our time.

Other Previews:
Big 12

Last Few Get it Going

Colorado somehow stayed alive yesterday, roaring back against Iowa State in a game they trailed the entire way to make sure the Big 12 didn't lose every bubble team yesterday, because Nebraska and Baylor are now dead after their two losses to the Oklahoma schools.  The only other significant result from yesterday was Marquette's win over West Virginia, which moves them to lock status.  And congratulations to Northern Colorado, whose win in the Big Sky final over Montana puts them in the tournament and assures we get to keep saying NoCo for at least another week.  Also Long Island makes it in as well with a win over Robert Morris.  I bet Miles Tarver is thrilled.

For today:

BIG TEN:  If the Gophers hadn't pissed away this season I might be tempted to do a full on Big Ten Tournament preview.  Luckily I don't have to deal with that problem, and instead am just going to half-ass this one because we all know everything about the Big Ten already.

FAVORITE:  Ohio State.  Nation's best team.  

SLEEPER:   Michigan.  They might be playing as well as anybody in the conference that isn't Ohio State.

W's PICK:  Ohio State.  Even if they don't give it their full effort they're still that much better than everybody else in the conference.  It might be good for the rest of the league if William Buford manages to play himself into a first round draft pick and bolts.  Also I predict the Gophers lose to Northwestern by 20.
WHO'S DANCING:  Ohio State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois

ATLANTIC COAST:  The most bubblicious of all the conferences, Boston College, Virginia Tech, and Clemson are all fighting hard for bids, while Maryland might hit the bubble if they can swing it to make the championship game, and Florida State might be nervous if they lose their opener (if it's Georgia Tech)

FAVORITE:  North Carolina.  This assumes Kyrie Irving isn't back for Duke, but either way Carolina is suddenly legit.  The switch from Larry Drew to Kendall Marshall has done wonders for that offense, and I'm not sure Marshall shouldn't have been freshman of the year over Barnes.  Dangerous team in the tournament, serious Final Four potential.

SLEEPER:   Virginia Tech.  They have a hell of a one-two punch in Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen and they've shown the ability to hang with and beat great teams (beat Duke, took Purdue to overtime).  Unfortunately they've also shown the ability to get beat by crappy teams (swept by BC, lost to Georgia Tech) and that's why they're fighting for their bubble life.

W's PICK:  Duke.  Whereas UNC is streaking and Roy Williams has admitted he doesn't much care about the ACC Tournament, Duke needs to right the ship and Coach K is going to go after this one.  With little to really separate these two teams that could be the difference.

WHO'S DANCING:  Duke, North Carolina, Florida State, Clemson

SOUTHEASTERN:  Pretty sad what's happened to the SEC, once one of the top conferences in all the land which now been replaced in the top 6 by the Mountain West.  Even their "good" teams (Kentucky, Florida, Vandy, and Tennessee) are shaky enough that if there isn't a single SEC representative in the Sweet 16 it wouldn't be remotely surprising.

FAVORITE:  Florida.  The Gators have the #1 seed and best record in the conference, even though I think Kentucky is a slightly better team.  Their guards, specifically Kenny Boynton and Ervin Walker, are the kind that will give you fits in March.  They could carry this team on a nice run, but they're just as likely to shoot you out of a game.  Risky team to back, but then again you could say about most the SEC Tournament teams because Kentucky and Tennessee are all the same way.  Vanderbilt is probably the only remotely reliable squad.

SLEEPER:   Mississippi State.  A roster with Renardo Sidney, Dee Bost, Ravern Johnson, and Kodi Augustus on it is definitely talented, but chemistry, coaching, and off the court issues combined to make this a disappointing and NIT-bound season for the Bulldogs.  Unless of course they can put all that aside and win this tournament.  The talent is certainly there.

W's PICK:  Kentucky.  The SEC Tournament is just meaningful enough that a John Calipari team should do well and just meaningless enough so his team won't implode.  Unlike the NCAA Tournament where they'll lose their opener.  Sorry, but Brandon Knight isn't the guy who can carry at team in March.

WHO'S DANCING:  Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia

BIG WEST:  Dan Monson central.  He's certainly got this program moving in the right direction, and a conference record of 14-2 says they are the prohibitive favorite to win the autobid, but there are a couple of interesting teams who could rise up.

FAVORITE:  Long Beach.  They're the best team by a wide margin, no matter how you want to look at it and and they come in on a 9-game winning streak that includes a win over every other conference foe.

SLEEPER:   UC-Santa Barbara.  They've got two absolutely outstanding players in do-everything Orlando Johnson (who led the league in scoring at 20.2 and chipped in 6.6 rebs and 3.1 assists per) and fellow swingman James Nunnallly who was good for 17-6-2.  Two guys like that, who can do everything, handle the rock, shoot, and have good size can be a nightmare for an opponent.

W's PICK:  Long Beach.  They not only ran through the conference but did it with ease.  Plus having a Dan Monson led squad in the tournament and not the Gophers is the kind of cruelty the universe loves to visit upon me.


In today's action keep an eye on the SEC and ACC, as detailed above.  Georgia needs to get by Auburn, Boston College by Wake, and Virginia Tech by Georgia Tech.  There are a handful of other games that could have some affect on bids (Mich State vs. Iowa, Wash State vs. Washington, USC vs. Cal, Colorado vs. Kansas State) but those are the three where if the wrong team loses, their hope for an NCAA bid goes bye-bye.