NCAA Basketball Preview - The Pac 12

Here's what you need to know about the Pac-12 this year - they're going to be bad again.  Once again, the Pac teams have been hit hard by attrition and although they continue to pull in a good share of stud recruits, the players are leaving more quickly than they can be replaced.  If there was an easy way to look this up without having to straight count it or if there was a page with bids by conference by year, but there's not, so instead I'll just point out how the Pac has struggled even getting 2-3 teams bids in the last few seasons.

They've done so crappy in the non-conference slate that it's hard to build a profile back-up in a conference where seemingly everybody has a bad early loss.  Last year Oregon lost to San Jose State and Idaho, UCLA lost to Montana, USC lost to Rider, Bradley, Nebraska, and TCU, Stanford lost to Tulsa, Oregon State lost to Seattle, Texas Southern, and Utah Valley, and Arizona State lost to New Mexico.  Those are RPI killers and bring down the whole league.  They'll stabilize eventually because of the level of some of the programs, but this might be another rough one.

Oh well, at least they have hot chicks.

1.  CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS.  Unlike the majority of the team's in the Pac-12, Cal managed to avoid getting hit with the big curse of graduations/NBA defections and as such they should be the best team in the conference this year, despite the fact that Justin Cobbs is probably going to be their starting point guard.  And Cobbsy should have plenty of opportunity for assists with Cal bringing back a lot of fire power - Jorge Gutierrez, Harper Kamp, and Allen Crabbe are all back and all averaged over 13 points per game last season.  Of course, Cal was also a pretty terrible defensive team last year and lost their best inside presence, so it's not like they're going to run away with anything here.  And speaking of running.........

2.  UCLA BRUINS.  Just like Washington, UCLA was also hit pretty hard in the losing players department.  Replacing Malcolm Lee and Tyler Honeycutt won't be easy, but luckily the Bruins have plenty coming back and a bumper crop of newcomers to help ease the transition.   Interestingly, of the newcomers the only freshman is SG Norman Powell (#69 overall on Rivals), but he's been called a Jrue Holliday type athlete, so he should be pretty damn impressive.  The newcomers most key to the Bruins' season are the Wear twins, 6-10 former McDonald's All-Americans who transferred over from North Carolina.  Despite their identical size, their skill sets put one at the 4 and one at the 3, adding some extra flexibility.  As long as they get quality point guard play from Lazeric Jones they'll be at the top end of the Pac.  And I wrote all that without mentioning their best player, Reeves Nelson, who is like what Brian Cardinal or Dusty Rychart would have been if they had actual talent.  So yeah, UCLA is fairly loaded, much like myself (booze not money).

3.  WASHINGTON HUSKIES.  Washington was hit hard by graduations and early defections, losing their three best players in PG Isaiah "Captain Circus Ball" Thomas, Justin Holiday, and Matthew Bryan-Amaning.  No need to panic however, because with Lorenzo Romar still coaching and Abdul Gaddy still around the sweet Circus Ball days should continue.  And thank god.  Really, if you haven't taken in a Washington basketball game lately you owe it to yourself to.  Two of my favorite memories of the last 2 tournaments are watching them play New Mexico and North Carolina.  The tempo is just out of this world.  Oh, and Washington also signed another fast as hell guard in Tony Wroten, so fire up the band!    

4.  ARIZONA WILDCATS.  This sounds pretty familiar at this point, but Zona is yet another Pac-12 team losing a bunch of talent from last year with not only Derrick Williams but also Lamont Jones gone.  Fortunately they're bringing in an excellent class to help out, highlighted by the backcourt duo of PG Josiah Turner (#2 PG, #11 overall) and SG Nick Johnson (#4 SG, #18 overall).  Turner should keep Arizona's traditional of top PG play alive and I'd bet this is the best incoming backcourt in America, but Arizona's lack of impact returning players will hold them down, and their improvement will be the difference between the NCAA and NIT this year.

5.  STANFORD CARDINAL.  Stanford loses their leading scorer, Jeremy Green, to the NBA Draft even though he's a dummkopf and didn't get drafted, but luckily for them they have Chasson Randle (#78 recruit) coming on and ready to step in to his starting position after choosing the Cardinal over Illinois and Purdue probably because he's a nerd but didn't want to go to Northwestern because they're terrible at everything always.  Everyone else is back from last year's mediocre team, and Stanford will likely end up in the same mediocre position as last season unless somebody shows a vast jump in ability.  The most likely candidate is 6-8 PF Josh Owens, a fifth-year senior whose numbers nearly doubled last year.

6.  OREGON DUCKS.  I don't know if it's the attrition from other teams or improvement on the Ducks' part, but suddenly Oregon is looking a little frisky under second-year coach Dana Altman.  I'm just kidding - it's the attrition.  But things are looking up, starting with the end of last season's championship in the CBI. . What?  It counts.  Anyway, the Ducks lose their leading scorer and rebounder from last year and their starting point guard, but have a bunch of quality adds including guard Jabari Brown, the #19 freshman according to Rivals, and possibly the best incoming shooter on the West Coast who turned down UCONN, Kansas, and Washington to come to Eugene.  Of course, your boyfriend Devoe Joseph becomes eligible after the first semester and will add some scoring pop in a more uptempo system.  Of course, the smart move would have been to sit out this year so he could have played all of next season, when the Ducks will be better and, you know, he'd be eligible for the whole year.  Then again, I suppose Devoe has never been known for thinking things through.

7.  ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS.  There's nothing more fun than watching players from Minnesota light it up for other teams and this might be your best chance outside of Iowa State.  Trent Lockett led the Sun Devils in scoring last season at 13.4 per game, and with the team's 2nd, 3rd, and 4th leading scorers all gone ASU might look to Lockett to be less a part of the offense than the majority of the offense.  He doubled his scoring average from his freshman to sophomore year, so he could be up for the challenge.  The two guys who really need to step up are guard Kaela King and forward Carrick Felix.  King was a much heralded and celebrated get for the Sun Devils as the #26 recruit in the country going into last year, but really had a disappointing year scoring over 10 points in a game just twice.  Felix originally committed to Duke before pulling out and and coming to Tempe, and like King needs to live up to his pedigree if ASU is going to compete for an NCAA bid this year.

8.  WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS.  Losing a guy like Klay Thompson, who did everything for your team and led the conference in scoring, is always going to sting but you can try to prepare because it was pretty obvious odds were better than 50/50 he'd be heading to the NBA.  What makes it worse is when DeAngelo Castro - double-digit scorer, leading rebounder, and second in the conference in FG percentage - bolts as well to head play professionally in Turkey.  They still have some fire power with second leading scorer and noted chucker Faisel Aden returning to throw the ball at the rim, but the key will be to see if he and junior PG Reggie Moore can co-exist.  Moore looked like a future star in his freshman year, but after Aden arrived he regressed with both Aden and Thompson needing the ball constantly.  If Moore can figure out his role that could be the difference between my 9th place prediction and as high as 7th.

9.  OREGON STATE BEAVERS.  I thought last year the Beavers had a shot to return to relevance for the first time since the days of Corey Benjamin, but alas, it was not meant to be, but at least they had the decency to let everyone know right away by losing to Seattle, Texas Southern, and Utah Valley before the season was a month old.  Just like Gary Sinise I won't get fooled again, but it is hard not to like their guards in Roberto Nelson and Jared Cunningham who are about as athletic as can be with Cunningham averaging nearly three steals per game last season, good enough for fifth in the country.  Really though, this was a bad team last year who did almost nothing well (other than steal the ball), last year's leading assist man averaged just 2.4 per game and is a 280 lb. power forward, and they lost one of their best players from last season with nothing real impressive waiting to step in.  So yeah, not a sleeper.

10.  USC TROJANS.  Last year USC made the tournament on the backs of their twin towers Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stephenson and solid guard play from the trio of Jio Fontan, Maurice Jones, and Donte Smith.  Now both of the bigs are gone along with Smith, and Fontan broke his knee off during the team's trip to Brazil, leaving just Jones and 8 other scholarship players (they also have two transfers eating up schollys who won't be eligible until next year and a season-ending shoulder injury to another guy), only one of whom has played in more than 6 games in his career.  Jones will have a little bit of help coming in with former Iowa forward Aaron Fuller becoming eligible this year and a big JuCo center coming in to rave reviews, but the only way USC is going to do much this year is with their usual solid defense, but not even that will be enough to make them post season relevant this year.   

11.  COLORADO BUFFALOES.  Every so often things come together for even the most moribund of programs and unheralded players improve, diamonds in the rough shine, and for one brief year a school that rarely makes its mark on the basketball world has a huge year.  Unfortunately when that happened for Colorado they somehow managed to bumblefuck it up and ended up in the NIT.  Now their four leading scorers are gone, including two of the better players in school history in Alec Burks and Cory Higgins, and Colorado prepares for the basement once again, but at least it's a brand new shiny basement.  Andre Roberson is a great athlete who led the team in rebounding, blocks, and steals last year and that's pretty much where the positives stop.  I heard it's a fun town though.

12.  UTAH UTES.  Remember when Majerus had Utah running along as a major western power?  Well that's not really relevant here.  Utah fired their coach after four straight losing seasons, which then sent four major contributors from last year's team will eligibility remaining heading for the transfer door which, along with graduations, means a terrible Utah team will now be missing 5 of their top 6 scorers from last season.  They do get back #2 leading scorer Josh Watkins at 15 per game and have a couple of assets most teams don't in a pair of 7-footers in David Foster and Josh Washburn.  Neither is particularly athletic or skilled, but you can't teach size so they'll grab rebounds, block shots, and probably make at least 50% of their lay-ups.


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Atlantic 10

Pac-10 College Basketball 2010 Preview

Last year was nearly a disaster for the Pac-10, where getting even two teams NCAA bids was looking like it might not happen even late in the year, but this year things should be a little better.  Washington and Arizona should be among the elite teams in the nation, and a number of other teams should be improved.  Of course, that's basically the scouting report from last year, just replace Arizona with Cal, and that was a struggle, so who knows.  These guys play their games so late that nobody is watching anyway.  Except degenerate gamblers.  Hi.

1.  Washington Huskies.  One thing is for certain, the Huskies play an exciting brand of basketball.  I remember being in Chicago for their game against New Mexico, and just being mesmerized by how fast the pace of the game was.  Me, Bogart, and Snacks had all bet the over, so each time little tiny Isaiah Thomas got the ball, sprinted down court past all the Lobos and made a layup we cheered and fell in love with him a little bit more.  The game ended up being a blowout, so the pace slackened and that over never cashed, but the moral of the story is that Washington is awesome.  Quincy Pondexter is gone, but Justin Holiday should step in fine, and their three guard lineup of Thomas, Venoy Overton, and Abdul Gaddy are as good as it gets.  Rather than fighting for a bid like last year, the Huskies should have theirs locked up by January.

2.  Arizona Wildcats.  Arizona's streak of 25 straight NCAA Tournament bids was snapped last season, but they should be back again after losing only the disappointing Nic Wise, who never made the leap they were looking for last season.  Derrick Williams was terrific in his freshman season, averaging 16 pts and 7 boards per game while shooting 57% and looking straight dominant at times, with 23 points or more five times last season.  Williams is surrounded by plenty of other talent, but replacing Wise, who might not have been great but was certainly good, at the point is going to be the real key to the season.  Lamont Jones came in last season with a good pedigree but struggled at times.  If he hasn't improved this prediction is going to look awfully silly.  Might end up being the first prediction I've ever whiffed on - ever.

3.  UCLA Bruins.  Despite what seems to be near constant defections, whether to the NBA or to other programs, over the last few years, UCLA does seem to be on the way back.  Looking at just the stats of the returnees you wouldn't be impressed, but these guys have talent.  Tyler Honeycutt (last year's Rivals #28 overall) is well on his way to becoming a do everything type stud, Malcolm Lee really started to come into his own last year (12 pts, 3 ast per game), and nerdy Reeves Nelson (11pts, 6 rebs as a frosh) is already showing an impressive array of low-post moves. Add to that group Rivals #18 recruiting class and they're looking to be in good shape, assuming people stop transferring.  Plus in the good news department, their top recruit, center Josh Smith (#23 overall) who weighed in at 305 lbs. has reportedly lost a bunch of weight and is in (relatively) great shape.  Plus, don't you just feel better when UCLA is good?  It's just icky otherwise.  

4.  Washington State Cougars.  They're getting an awful lot of press due to Klay Thompson, which makes sense because he's probably the only player in the league who might be better than Derrick Williams from Zona.  His low shooting percentage (41%) and high turnovers (3.4 TO to 2.3 assists) are the only blemishes on his record, but those numbers should improve with better/improved teammates in Pullman this year.  The real question is will he have better teammates, because outside of point guard Reggie Moore everybody is a questions mark.  In a normal year in a normal conference, one great player, one good player, and a bunch of questions wouldn't make you the fourth best team, but the Pac-10 is down once again, so Wazzou should be in play for an NCAA berth.

5.  USC Trojans.  They definitely have a great inside tandem, maybe the best in the conference, with Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stepheson in the paint.  Vucevic was called "the best true center in the conference" in an article I saw, and his numbers bear that out as he averaged nearly a triple double last year (10.7 pts/9.4 rebs per) and blocked more than one shot per game, while Stepheson was one of the highest rated recruits in the country coming out of high school and on his way to North Carolina in 2006.  He hasn't quite put it all together yet, but he's got one last chance.  This team will be especially interesting when Jio Fontan, an outstanding point guard who transferred from Fordham and will be eligible mid-season, joins the team to balance out the inside strength with a perimeter threat.


6.  Stanford Cardinal.  Losing Landry Jones, who led the conference in scoring and was second in rebounding last year, is definitely a bit of a buzzkill, but at least they have Jeremy Green back to soften the blow (16.6 ppg) as well as three other starters, and they're going to need every bit of that experience because everybody else on the roster is either a walk-on, a benchwarmer, or a freshman.  There is certainly some talent mixed up with these freshman - PF Dwight Powell is Rivals #25 overall recruit, while SG Anthony Brown is #65 - so there's certainly some upside here.  If the youngsters are ready to play the Cardinal could move up a few spots.  Plus this conference sucks, so anybody with a pulse could move up a few spots.

7.  Arizona State Sun Devils.  They certainly like to shoot the three, leading the conference last year in attempts by over 100 over the second place team, and they also lost both their penetrating point guard and their only inside presence, and are left with just five scholarship players from last year back this year, two of whom are dandies who only shoot threes.  With your #1 PG and #1 post player gone, how open are those looks going to be?  Now, some of the newcomers have talent and could step in - Keala King is the #8 PG in the country according to rivals and could step in at the point immediately - but there is still a distinct lack of big men that will limit how much ASU can accomplish.  But at least they still have the hottest chicks in the land.  Seriously, check out the internet sometime.

8.  Oregon State Beavers.  They looked to have a little momentum going into last year and were considered a bit of a sleeper in a weak Pac-10, but unfortunately couldn't capitalize, and now nobody cares again.  That center with the weird name is gone, the Tarvers (no relation to Miles) are gone.  Calvin Haynes is apparently a very good offensive player but I wouldn't know because I don't think I've watched an OSU game since the days of Corey Benjamin, partially because they're never on TV and partially because they're usually boring and/or bad.  I have, however, giggled about the nickname Beavers recently.  Because I'm 12.

9.  California Golden Bears.  I'm not sure any team, outside of Kentucky, lost as much from last year as the Bears, and this year is going to be rough.  Jerome Randle and Patrick Christopher might have been the two best guards in the conference last season, and they're both gone, as are third-leading scorer Theo Robertson and only viable inside presence (and fourth leading scorer) Jamal Boykin.  But, as Denise Fleming (who is not a tampon) said in Can't Hardly Wait, "Don't look back, you should never look back", so instead let's talk about what the Bears have going for them this year.  It's nothing.

10.  Oregon Ducks.  I'll say this about the Pac, it's easy to pick the last place team because the Ducks are an absolute disaster right now - like Iowa, but worse.  After Ernie Kent was fired there was such a mass exodus of players that I can't even keep up, which is made extra difficult because I don't pay particular attention to Oregon basketball.  Four of the players transferring were bench players with varying degrees of playing time, but Michael Dunigan - who just signed to play in Israel - would have been their top returning post player.  The lack of depth will be exacerbated by de-commits by incoming freshman (I can't find a list anywhere, but I know there have been some) leaving the Ducks with just 9 scholarship players, most of which are pretty mediocre.  New coach Dana Altman has already signed a very good class for 2011, but according to NCAA rules none of those players can play this year.

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NCAA Basketball Preview: The Pac 10

You know what I really dig about this conference, other than the beautiful weather and smoking hot chicks, is that every team is paired up with another from the same area, and they always play the same teams in the same week.  You have UCLA/USC, Arizona/Arizona St, Washington/Wash St., Oregon/Oregon St., and Cal/Stanford, and they always travel together.  So like UCLA would play Arizona on a Thursday and Arizona State on a Saturday, while USC would play Ariz State on the Thursday and Arizona on Saturday.  I don't know why, but I find that very cool and interesting.  Probably because I'm a nerd.

With all the Gopher news, the Gopher game, and the World Series going on this week, not to mention my award-winning interview with Larry and Magic, I haven't had a whole lot of research time, so this will be shorter than usual.  And let's be honest, nobody reads my previews anyway.  I could post bible verses for each team's synopsis and it would go unnoticed unless somebody was searching for "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live", but that person would have plenty of other problems anyway.


1.  Washington.  I've been waiting for this team to make a big leap for a few years now, and with the Pac down overall this might be the year they finally pull it off.  The loss of Jon Brockman to graduation leaves them with a huge hole in the paint, but their guards should be top notch with Rivals #13 Abdul Gaddy joining sophomore Isaiah Thomas.  I'm a huge Quincy Pondexter, mainly because he has a funny name, but with those two distributing the ball he should be poised for a breakout year.

2.  California.  Completely unheralded, but with a very solid backcourt with Jerome Randle the penetrator/scorer/distributor and Patrick Christopher the shooter - both were all Pac-10 last season.  PF Jamal Boykin may be the key to them being an NCAA Tournament contender as opposed to just an NCAA Tournament team again.  He was a big time recruit who had signed on with Duke before transferring to Berkeley.  He hasn't exactly lived up to his potential, but he has improved every season thus far.  Now in his senior year, it's his last chance to shine.

3.  UCLA.  In terms of scoring and minutes returning, there's not much, and some communist is their leading returner in both.  In terms of talent, there's plenty here.  Four top 100 recruits this year join four top 50s from last year.  In other words, they are probably going to be very good, but also very inconsistent.  They also needed a three pointer with 16 seconds left to beat an NAIA school earlier this week in an exhibition, so looks like they're starting slow, but should be pretty solid by midseason or so.

4.  Oregon State.  Not a misprint.  The Beavers should be pretty decent this year, but I've never heard of a single player on that team, assuming Wes Washington and Corey Benjamin are gone.  I know that was years ago but come on, Vasquez is still on Maryland and I'm pretty sure his freshman year begin with 19.  They play the Princeton style offense.  Yawn.

5.  Arizona.  It was looking even worse for the Wildcats this year, but Sean Miller made some very big freshman signings in the late signing period, and it will be up to those freshmen how good Arizona will be this year.  They could be first, they could be 8th, but fifth sounds right.  Nic Wise could easily end up leading the conference in both scoring and assists. 

6.  Oregon.  The Ducks lost 23 games last year, in no small part because their point guard, Earl Boykins wannabe Tajuan Porter, shouldn't be a point guard, what with his more turnovers than assists - and just 1.8 assists per game and his aggressive shooting (7th in the conference in FG attempts despite under 40% shooting).  The good news is they are supposed to have some JuCo point guard who can come in and run the show.  Even so, Porter will need to avoid the 6-15 type nights that popped up regularly last year.

7.  USC.  The Trojans lost three players to the NBA draft and, amidst scandal, lost nearly every recruit they signed this offseason, but there is still some talent here.  They get their top scorer back in guard Dwight Lewis, who outscored Taj Gibson, Demar Derozan, and Daniel Hackett last season, as well as Marcus Johnson, a transfer from UCONN.  Power forwad Alex Stepheson was a top fifty player when he signed with North Carolina in 2006 and a minor contributor on the team before deciding to transfer back to L.A. to be closer to his family.  On a team this thin, he'll have every opportunity to justify that rank.

8.  Washington State.  The cougars crazy run of boring everybody to tears and winning when the other team fell asleep should finally come to an end, with three starters and major contributors leaving as well as captain boring Tony Bennett leaving for Virginia.  I did read somewhere that Klay Thompson is projected to be the best NBAer currently in the Pac 10, so if you have a chance to catch one of their games it sounds like that would be a good time.

9.  Arizona State.  I just read something that picked the Sun Devils as fourth in the Pac and I gotta tell ya I don't get it.  Losing James Harden and Jeff Pendergaph is a huge blow, especially to a team with a so-so recruiting class coming in.  Their only double-digit scorer coming back, Rihards Kuksiks, is a three point sniper who led the conference in made 3s while shooting 44%.  The only problem is that 80% of his attempts last year were from behind the arc, and you know what helps get open three point looks?  Playing with James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph.  I don't know man, I just don't see it.

10.  Stanford.  I've always hated this program, I still hate this program, and I hope they stay in last place forever. 



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Here's What's Going to Happen: South Bracket

FIRST ROUND

#1 North Carolina over #16 Radford. Second biggest margin of victory in the whole tournament.

#9 Butler over #8 LSU. Seems odd that LSU would be favored over Butler, but I suppose with Butler losing in the Horizon tournament it makes some sense. One interesting fun fact I found is that Butler relies on making free throws a lot in order to score their points. If LSU can keep from fouling them, they might take this one.

#12 Western Kentucky over #5 Illinois. I have a feeling this is going to be a popular pick after WKU's run to the sweet 16 last year, but I have to go ahead and make it as well. The Illinois offense is just way too unpredictable, and can go for far too long periods of time for them to make a run in the tournament, and it wouldn't be shocking for them to go dead on offense right away in the first round, especially with Chester Frazier banged up. WKU isn't a particularly great defensive squad, but I don't know that you have to be to shut down the crapass Illini.

#4 Gonzaga over #13 Akron. I almost took the Zips here, really I did. They play very good defense, and are one of the best in the country at turning their opponents over. Unfortunately, I can't get past my love for Gonzaga this year. I think they are absolutely one of the best teams in the country this year. Austin Daye might be one of my favorite players and he and Heytveldt for a great tandem in the paint (and outside it) when Heytveldt isn't high, and both Heytveldt and Bouldin shoot over 50% from the field - and Bouldin is a guard. With Pargo running things, the Bulldogs could go far.

#6 Arizona State over #11 Temple. Rich Harden and Jeff Pendergaph are absolutely one of the best NBA Jam style tandems in the country. Temple has some weirdo named Christmas.

#3 Syracuse over #14 Stephen F. Austin. Shouldn't be an issue for the Orange, and I stress shouldn't be. There are a couple of reasons things could get dicey, however. SFA is one of the slowest teams in the country, and also one of the best defensively, holding opponents to just 28% shooting from three and 42% from two. Those are awesome numbers. If they can keep the Orange from scoring, they aren't the most disciplined team in the world and could implode. Of course, those gaudy defensive numbers come from a team with a Strength of Schedule that was 219th in the country, but hey, it could happen.

#10 Michigan over #7 Clemson. Doesn't Clemson seem like the kind of team that would choke here? And doesn't Manny Harris seem like exactly the type of player to raise his game on the big stage?

#2 Oklahoma over #15 Morgan State. This will be the biggest margin of victory in the entire tournament.

SECOND ROUND

#1 North Carolina over #9 Butler. Butler is cute, really they are, but they aren't nearly as good as last year and will be exposed in a huge way by the juggernaut that is the Tar Heels. Of course, if Lawson can't play or something, this gets a whole lot more interesting.

#4 Gonzaga over #12 Western Kentucky. As I said above, I love the Zags this year.

#6 Arizona State over #3 Syracuse. This is going to be a barn burner. I've gone back and forth on this one about ten times, and I just can't make up my mind. Right now, I'm feeling Arizona State will be able to take it, based simply on how good James Harden is.

#2 Oklahoma over #10 Michigan. The Wolverines have zero answer for stupid Blake Griffin. Not even a little bit.

SWEET SIXTEEN

#4 Gonzaga over #1 North Carolina. Seriously, I really like Gonzaga this year. I also don't like the matchup for the Heels, who I pretty much had in my final four all season long until about five minutes ago. Just looking at numbers, North Carolina relies heavily on the two-point shot over the three pointer, and the Bulldogs are awesome at defending the two - their only defensive weakness lies in defending the three which is not going to be a major factor. Neither team turns it over, and both offenses are incredibly efficient. UNC relies on the free throw line to get a ton of it's points (if you watched Hansbrough you know this), but Gonzaga is one of the best at not fouling. As long as the Bulldogs can keep them off the o-boards, they can win. I think they do it. Look out for Austin "All" Day baby.

#2 Oklahoma over #6 Arizona State. Griffin and the Sooners face a good post man here for the first time, but he's also all kinds of the wrong matchup for the Sun Devils. Jeff Pendergaph is a skilled big man, but he doesn't have the strength or size to handle Griffin. I know I keep emphasizing Blake, but seriously, he's pretty much the whole team.

ELITE 8

#4 Gonzaga over #2 Oklahoma. The Sooners finally run into a team that can deal with Griffin in the Bulldgos and Josh Heytveldt. If Gonzaga has a defensive weakness, it's quick guards with some size, and Willie Warren will end up being the key to this game more so than Griffin. I think Pargo can handle him, and I think the Zags finally break through and make their elusive first final four appearance.

BOO YA.

WEST REGION
MIDWEST REGION

Weekend Review

Weird week. Hasheem Thabeet had a triple double and DeJuan Blair went for a rare 20/20. Tennessee bounced back to grab a win they desperately needed while Michigan and Georgetown continue to suck. LSU is suddenly looking like they might be the class of the SEC while Baylor is suddenly looking irrelevant. Michigan State lost again at home, this time to a Penn State team that’s starting to make some NCAA tournament noise. I rented season one of 30 Rock after never having seen it, and it is completely brilliant. And it’s basically impossible to place Wake Forest this week, since the win over #1 Duke would put them in the Awesome category, but the Saturday loss to Georgia Tech, giving the Jackets their first ACC victory, definitely puts them in the sucks category. So we’ll just call it neutral.


WHO WAS AWESOME

1. Marquette. Holy crap are these guys good. This week the Golden Eagles again went 2-0, taking down two sinking ships in Georgetown and Notre Dame, and looked damn good doing it, beating the Irish on the road and taking down G-Town despite allowing them to shoot 56% by forcing 17 turnovers and outrebounding the Hoyas 31-26 despite being undersized. It doesn’t much matter if you’re undersized when you have three guys who can go for 20 at any time, which Lazar Haywood, Jerel McNeal, and Wes Matthews all did against the Hoyas. Add in one of the top point guards in the country in Dominic James, and these guys have some serious weapons, the biggest reason why they now 8-0 in the Big East. Their biggest hurdle, now that they’ve shown they can handle bigger opponents, is their lack of depth. They count on those four listed above to play over 30 minutes a game, with nobody else playing more than 20. Against the Hoyas, the big four accounted for all but 12 of the team’s 94 points. Even if nobody else steps up in the tourney, they can go a long way, but if somebody does, look the hell out.

2. Denis Clemente. I know you’ve never heard of him, but luckily for you I know who he is and he was awesome on Saturday against Texas, leading Kansas State to an improbable 85-81 victory in OT – in Texas no less. Clemente played for Miami (FL) right out of high school for two seasons before transferring to K-State to play for Bob Huggins – Surprise! Now Clemente is stuck on a crappy K-State team, but the win over the Longhorns was huge and he led the way scoring a ridiculous 44 points on 13-25 shooting (including 6-6 from three) and 12-12 from the line, helping overcome a horrid statline from a guy I used to like, KSU’s point guard Jake Pullen who shot 1-13 and topped it off with 7 turnovers. The 44 point explosion comes out of nowhere for Clemente, whose career high before Saturday was 24 points, and he had only reached 20 three times in his 2+ year college career. More evidence of the unexpectedocity of this? He had never before had double-digit field goal makes (he had 13 on Sat.) and had only taken as many as 20 shots once (25). He set career highs for free throws made and attempted (12-12), and three pointers made with six. Despite being just a career 32% three point shooter he made all six of is attempts on Saturday, and went 12-12 from the line despite his season average of just 2 attempts per game. Just a stunning display all around. This would be like Damian Johnson scoring 40 – not just because of the points, but because of the attempts as well. Very bizarro-world.

3. Providence. Yes, the Friars got blown out of the water by UCONN on Saturday, but this week has to be considered a success for Providence. At the beginning of the week, they were 5-2 in the Big East but were generally considered a fraud. The five Big East wins were against the dregs of the conference: DePaul, St Johns, Seton Hall, and Cincinnati twice. There was nothing in the non-conference profile to suggest this was a good team, their best win being over a now-looking terrible Rhode Island team, and an 0-3 record against good teams (Baylor, Boston College, and St. Mary’s). This week was a big one, with Syracuse coming to Providence and then the trip to UCONN, it would be the opportunity for the Friars to prove themselves, and they did, winning over Syracuse earlier in the week 100-94 and hanging with UCONN for a half (34-38). With an incredibly balanced attack (7 players average between 9.2 and 13.4 points) and double-double machine Geoff McDermott on board (five this year, third in his career amongst active Big East players) the Friars look like they might be dancing. They still get to play Rutgers twice and South Florida once, if they can win those three and steal another one, could the committee really keep a 10-8 Big East team at home?

4. Utah State. Losing a guy like Jaycee Carroll, who led the team in scoring the previous two seasons and was 2nd the two before that, not to mention playing over 30 minutes a game all four years, would usually leave a team with a tough road ahead, but not for the Aggies, who are a surprising 9-0 in the WAC right now. After beating top WAC competition Nevada this week, then following it up with a win at Fresno State, the Aggies are again the class of the WAC, and may be creeping on into at-large consideration if they fall in the WAC tournament. Gary Wilkinson and Tai Wesley have both improved from last year, and give Utah State a very solid front line. I also may be attending this Saturday's Utah State v. La Tech game, so that makes them extra awesome.

5. The Super Bowl. Bets aside, all I really wanted was a good, entertaining game and we certainly got that. Congrats to the Steelers and Mike Tomlin on the win, and especially to Santonio Holmes for that great, great catch to win the game. Entertaining to the last, especially when Theory needed the half to end on 4, and the Cards had first and goal looking to win him the money and then this happened, "NO! No!........Go! Go!" And to all you people who laugh way too hard at the commercials, I'm going to kill every single one of you. RELAX.


WHO SUCKED

1. Phil Mickelson. Since our golf guy seemingly has been chased away from this site, I guess it falls on me to give the golf news, and Mr. Mickelson certainly fits in the Sucked column. Making his 2009 debut this week at the FBR Open, Phil didn’t even make it to the weekend, shooting a 76 and a 73 and missing the cut by seven shots at +7 en route to finishing in 121st place. Surprising as it is that Phil missed a cut, the fact that it comes at the FBR is extra weird. The tournament is played at the TPC of Scottsdale, which is Phil’s home course after coming out of Arizona State, and he is the leading money-winner in the tournament’s history, and finished in second place last year. Then again, he’s now missed the cut here two out of the last three years, so perhaps whatever magic this course held for him has been used up.

2. Notre Dame. It’s starting to seem a bit redundant putting the Irish here week after week, but they just keep earning it. This week they went 0-2 again, losing a backbreaker to at home to Marquette and on the road against Pitt. The loss against Marquette isn’t exactly shameful, the Eagles are undefeated in league play and are ranked #8 in the country, but when you’re reeling and in the midst of a three game losing streak, you need to hold serve at home if you consider yourself the class of the conference. Similarly, the loss at Pitt normally wouldn’t even warrant a mention, but the Irish came out of halftime with a six point lead, then turned the ball over on their first three possessions, gave up a layup on a three pointer when McAlarney refused to even make an attempt to get through a screen to guard Fields, and before you could blink the Panthers had scored the first ten points of the half and cruised to a 93-80 victory and dropping Notre Dame to a suddenly desperate 3-6 in conference play. Things don’t get easier, as their next three games are at Cincinnati, at UCLA, and then home against Louisville. It opens up a bit after that, with four straight games against unranked teams, but things are looking tough. The non-conference results aren’t that special, but they do have a win over Texas. Suddenly the Irish are scrambling to get in the tournament, rather than playing for a high seed.

3. Kentucky. Coming into the week the Wildcats were ranked #24, were sitting at 5-0 in the SEC, and at 16-4 confidence was high. Suddenly, things aren’t so rosy, as UK went 0-2 this week, losing on the road at Ole Miss (1-4 previously in the SEC) and on Saturday at home to the suddenly streaking South Carolina. Against the Rebels Kentucky couldn’t overcome poor shooting by Jodie Meeks, who was just 4-15 from the floor and a 42-32 rebounding deficit, despite a great game by the suddenly all but forgotten Patrick Patterson, who put up 24 and 7 rebs. Then against the Gamecocks Patterson had another monster game (28 and 8), and the team as a whole shot 51%, but a poor shooting game once again from Meeks (5-12) and 19 second half points for USC’s Devan Downey led to the Wildcats dropping a winnable game at home on a last second Downey jumper. Is this just a minor hiccup for UK in an otherwise stellar season, or are teams figuring out if you can control Meeks, you can win the game?

4. Arizona State. The Sun Devils looked to be possibly be the class of the Pac 10, perhaps above even UCLA, with a 5-2 conference record, a win over UCLA at Pauley, and a national ranking of 14; then this week happened. Welcoming the Washington schools into town, ASU should have come out with a split and probably a sweep, but instead ended up getting swept themselves. The loss to Washington State comes as the bigger shock, since the Cougars have just three wins in the conference, against Stanford and the two shitty Oregon schools. The loss to Washington isn’t nearly as big a shock, since the Huskies are one of the top teams in the conference, but since the WSU game came first the Sun Devils knew they needed this one. Worried? Nope, any team with James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph is still in good shape, but I wouldn’t have thought they’d drop an entire weekend to the Washington teams. Side note: Mychal’s son Klay Thompson is looking pretty damn good, putting up a career high 28 against Arizona State (which he, of course, then followed up with 8 points on 3-13 vs. Arizona)

5. Wisconsin. I’ve sort of been trying to keep from putting the Badgers here, due to my own bias, but at this point I think it’s pretty much impossible to avoid after Bucky lost to Northwestern on Saturday to run their losing streak to six straight games and pretty much wipe out their 3-0 start as well as any hope to get to the NCAA tournament. Like I called, the Badgers are at the bottom of the Big Ten (ninth to be exact) sitting at 3-6 and ahead of just Iowa and Indiana. Their inability to win on the road (1-4 in the Big Ten, 2-6 overall) and loss of home invincibility (2-2 in the conference at Kohl) have mainly come about by a shocking loss of defensive toughness and/or ability. This season, the Badgers rank 107th in the country in defensive efficiency (including 309th in turning the opponent over), putting them 8th in the Big Ten in that category. This follows seasons where they ranked 2nd and 6th in D-efficiency. And they haven’t just fallen off, they’re overall terrible. Northwestern shot 57% against them and earlier in the week Purdue nearly broke 60% (59.5%) and Illinois shot 50% the week before that. As a matter a fact, the Badgers have only held two of their nine Big Ten opponents to under 40% shooting, and none since January 7th. For Wisconsin, a team where if you broke 40% shooting the last several years you had a pretty good night. This team has now become total garbage, and is completely and totally unsalvageable. The should probably disband the team, and probably the entire university. Then go ahead and put walls around the state, so that none of the morons from the state can ever escape – or put them on an island like in that movie with Ray Liotta.

Weekend Review

WHO WAS AWESOME

1. Jodie Meeks. I featured Meeks in the section before, right around Christmas time when he dropped 46 and 32 points in back-to-back games, but after this week he gets on here again. He led Kentucky to two huge road wins with 22 points Sunday at Georgia and a Kentucky record 54 in the win at Tennessee, running the Wildcats record in the SEC to 4-0 and showing how you can follow up a huge road win against a big rival by actually winning the next game on the road against a doormat. In the big win over the Vols, Meeks 54 shots came on just 22 attempts, as he hit 15-22 from the field, including 10-15 from three, made all 14 of his free throw attempts, and helped out with 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Wow, 54 points on just 22 shots? Are you paying attention Stephen Curry who scored 28 points in Saturday’s win over Georgia Southern but needed 30 attempts to do so?

2. Wake Forest. The Deacons are starting to truly look like a Final Four kind of team, and their pretty much impossible to ignore after winning two ACC road games this week, over Boston College – the team that knocked off UNC – and at #9 Clemson to move to 16-0, 3-0 in the conference. Wake is a really balanced team, with five guys scoring at least 9 points per game and three guys averaging at least seven rebounds per game, but they are really led by sophomore guard Jeff Teague, who is just 6-2 but plays much bigger. He leads the Deacons in scoring at 21.4 per game, assists at 4.1 and steals with 2.1, and chips in with 4.0 rebounds per game as well. He turns the ball over a little too much (3.7 per game), but makes up for it by shooting over 50% from both two and three. If you get a chance to watch this team, take it. They play lockdown defense, and are very athletic with the ability to score from any where and are about to be ranked #1.

3. Larry Fitzgerald. Remember how I always said that Andre Johnson of the Texans was the best receiver in football? I think I’m maybe changing my mind. Fitzgerald has been an absolute beast in the playoffs, going for 9 catches for 152 yards and three scores yesterday in the Cardinals 32-25 win over the Eagles, sending them to the Super Bowl. That followed up his destruction of the Panthers last week, when he tallied 8 catches for 166 yards and a score. These two games, along with his 6 for 101 in the opening round, give him the all-time record for receiving yards in a single postseason, breaking Jerry Rice’s record. Fitz’s hair might look ridiculous, but he’s pretty much uncoverable right now, and had several big receptions on the Cardinals game-winning drive. He’s no Andre Johnson, but he’s right there with him with size and speed. And he’s a young buc too, not an old man like Steve Smith. Lots of years left to watch.

4. Louisville. I could probably have gone with Terrence Williams here, who has been on fire, but the Cardinals had a great week and look to have things figured out. Not only did they notch the big win over then #1 ranked Pitt, earlier in the week they took out #13 Notre Dame, a struggling Notre Dame (more on that below), but still a win over a highly ranked team that looks good on the resume (and consequently, on the Gopher resume as well). Williams led the team with 20 points (on 7-12 shooting) and 4 assists in the 69-63 win over Pitt (and chipped in with 7 rebounds), which followed up an even more dominating performance over Notre Dame where he put up 24 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals. Williams, Clark, and Samuels are a tremendous front court, and as long as the Cardinals' guards play well, they are starting to look like the National Title contender many pegged them as when the season started.

5. Arizona State. Huge, huge win for the Sun Devils this weekend, knocking off #9 UCLA in Pauley Pavilion, a much needed win after dropping a very winnable game at USC on Thursday. No surprise here, but ASU Was led by guard James Harden's 24 points, along with forward Jeff Pendergraph's 18. They are a hell of a tandem, and would make a killer NBA Jam team. Harden, who might have been a lottery pick if he came out last year, is the Pac 10s leading scorer at 22.1 per game, and has already broken 30 points four times. USC managed to hold him down (4 points on 0-8 shooting), but that's a major exception.


WHO SUCKED

1. Gopher basketball. Game thoughts are here and here. If anybody tries to say this week was a success, you should punch them in their stupid face because they are too dumb to live.

2. Notre Dame. You can’t convince me that Notre Dame is a good team, much less that they are the twelfth best team in the nation (which is where they were in the last polls). Everyone is so in love with this team, and you know why? Because they have a big, dopey, hard-working, farm-raised white boy, and there’s nothing Amerikkka likes better than that. Too bad he’s completely overrated. Harangody was destroyed by the Cuse on Saturday, where Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson combined to completely dominate him as the Orange rolled 93-74. Oh, you probably won’t get that from any highlight shows, you will point out to you that he had 25 points and 16 rebounds. The 16 rebounds are great, there’s no doubt, but he had to take 28 shots to get those 25 points (9-28), a number even Stephen Curry would be embarrassed about. Meanwhile Jackson had 14 and 10 and Onuaku went for 19 and 7, and combined they only took 22 shots, making 15. You want to talk overall as a team for the Irish? They are now 3-3 in the Big East, and scanning the schedule they have one good win at home over Georgetown, and one over Texas. That’s it. There isn’t a single other good win anywhere. The next best win on here is over freaking Seton Hall, and don’t forget they lost to Ohio State too. They are a pretty good offensive team (6th in offensive efficiency) but awful on defense (167th before giving up 93 points and 55% shooting to the Cuse). I’m sure they’ll make the tournament, but are looking at getting sent home the first time they play an opponent with a decent front court.

3. Clemson. It seems a bit weird to put a previously undefeated team here after losing to another undefeated team, especially the soon to be #1 in the country Wake Forest, but this was, in a way, a must win for Clemson. I know, that seems weird too, since they were 16-0 and ranked #10 at the time, but if you remember last season, the Tigers shot out of the gate with 10 straight wins, and were as good as 12-1 before going into a free fall, finishing up by going just 10-7 in their last 17, barely squeaking into the NCAA tournament where they were run by Villanova. This year’s team has similar questions, as of those 16 wins, not a single one was over a ranked team, and their win over Illinois is the only one that could be considered a “quality” win. With a chance to make a huge statement with a win over Wake, at home, and favored by 2.5 in the game, the Tigers flopped, shooting just 33% and getting beat handily in their own gym, 78-68. It has national commentators and college basketball fans questioning Clemson’s resume, and I have to guess after last year, a whole lot of Tiger fans and maybe even the team themselves.

4. Kansas State. I haven't really followed K-State this season, and why would I? Beasley and Sky Walker are gone to the pros, and although I like their PG Jake Pullen he doesn't exactly pull me into a game. Unfortunately, he hasn't really improved this year, and K State has suffered. I only noticed them because I saw they lost by more than 20 to Nebraska, and when that happens you know something is wrong. The Wildcats are 0-3 in the Big 12, and 11-6 overall with their best win being over Cleveland State, and there's nothing else even close. Looks like the Huggins experiment worked, but when he jumps ship almost immediately there's nothing else left to draw players to Manhattan, KS, and this program is pretty much back to being at the bottom of the barrel.

5. Alex Kangas (sorry Snake). I don't know much about hockey, but I know that the Jesus on the ice is struggling lately. After getting run by the hated Sioux the previous weekend, giving up six goals in back-to-back games, he looked like he might be back on track against St. Cloud, making 24 saves on Friday night and only giving up one goal on Friday. Then came Saturday night, and he once again was lost, giving up six goals on just 31 shots. Luckily, the St. Cloud goaltenders were even worse, letting the Gophers score 8 times (one an empty netter) to grab a wild 8-6 victory. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure if your goalie doesn't play well you aren't going very far.

COLLEGE HOOPS PREVIEW: The Pac 10

Yep, another preview of another conference, and if you don't like it you can go straight to hell.

1. UCLA
Losing Westbrook, Love, and Mbah a Moute would cripple most teams, or at least get them to slow down, but UCLA just reloads with the #1 recruiting class in the nation and takes aim at a fourth consecutive Final Four. Darren Collison and Josh Shipp are back, so the back court is solid. If that's not enough, they'll add Jrue Holliday (#2 Rivals 150), Jerime Anderson (#37), and Malcolm Lee (#47) to give them one of the best groups of guards in the country. There are a few questions in the front court, where they have depth in James Keefe, Michael Roll, and Alfred Aboya, but it remains to be seen if any of them have star power. The most likely breakout player in the front court is yet another freshman, either center J'Mison Morgan (#25) or forward Drew Gordon (#45). Even if none of those guys are a major talent, this team is loaded.

2. USC
OJ Mayo is gone to the Wolves Grizzlies, along with Davon Jefferson and Angelo Johnson, who cried when coach Tim Floyd said he couldn't guarantee a starting spot, but they are being replaced by maybe the top freshman in the country in wing Demar DeRozan, who could be the second most athletic player in the country behind Rico Tucker. Daniel Hackett was at times the Trojans best player, and he's back along with force inside Taj Gibson, so they'll be loaded in all areas. Plus, they have little Romeo, so that's nice.

3. Washington
Yes, Washington. The Huskies were a very talented team last year (wins over UCLA and Arizona) but just couldn't quite seem to put forth the consistent effort needed to grab an NCAA berth. With just three point floppy haired jesus Ryan Appleby gone from last season, they're in a great position this year. Jon Brockman is back to own the paint, and guards Quincy Pondexter and Justin Dentmon are top talents just waiting to break out (of course, they've been waiting for two years). One of their biggest weaknesses was point guard play, but incoming freshman Isaiah Thomas (not that one) is a top 100 recruit and should help.

4. Arizona State
It feels weird to put the Sun Devils this high on the list, but they're here for a reason, mainly James Harden deciding to return for his sophomore season. Harden can score from outside or in, and shoots a very high percentage for a guard. One of the best players in the conference. Nearly the entire team is back from last year's bubble reject, highlighted by center Jeff Pendergraph and guard Ty Abbott. If Jerren Shipp can improve to near the level of his brothers, they'll be that much more dangerous.

5. Arizona
First Brandon Jennings heads to Europe, then Lute Olson retires followed by three high level recruits for 2009 dropping out their commitments. It's been a tough offseason for the Wildcats, but they still have enough this season to be in the NCAA conversation, led by Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill. Budinger is an elite scorer, but is a little soft, and Hill is an absolute beast in the paint. The keys this season will be the play of point guard Nic Wise, without Jerryd Bayless to help out, as well as freshman center Jeff Withey (#36 Rivals), the only real big man option beyond Hill.

6. Washington State
I'm only putting them this high because their style of play is maddeningly annoying and will certainly get them a handful of wins against teams that get frustrated, but the Cougars are in a bit of trouble this season after losing Robbie Cowgill, Derrick Low, and Kyle Weaver. Aron Baynes is big and almost as fat as that dude from Santa Clara, but he's effective. Taylor Rochestie is back as well, and will be asked to score more with all that firepower gone from last year. The recruiting class is deep, if not overly talented, with Mychal Thompson's son Clay the only real standout (#51).

7. Cal
How do you replace Ryan Anderson and Devon Hardin? You don't, you mostly just cry. Second leading scorer Patrick Christopher is back, but it will be interesting to see how he does being the #1 guy instead of being back in the back. Point guard Jerome Randle is also back, but his assist/turnover ratio of 1.2 shows he needs a lot of polish. The Golden Bears really need Duke transfer Jamal Boykin to live up to his potential. Freshman guard DJ Seeley (#58) is a scorer.

8. Stanford
The Lopez twins both bolted, even though if he stayed this would have absolutely become Robin's team, and that's pretty much all the Cardinal talent. Guards Anthony Goods and Mitch Johnson are adequate, but that's all they are. Forward Lawrence Hill is probably their best player, but his numbers dropped massively from his sophomore to junior year. He'll need to recapture his form of two years ago for Stanford to be at all relevant.

9. Oregon
Major talent leaving, with Malik Hairston, Maarty Leunen, and Bryce Taylor all gone. A very solid recruiting class, highlighted by big man Michael Dunigan and wing Matthew Humphrey gives hope, but the scoring load will fall to little man Tajuan Porter. If you've seen him play, he's only 5-6 but makes up for it by chucking the ball from three every single time he touches it. Without those other scorers and their leadership, expect him to lead the nation in three point attempts and ill advised shots, and probably turnovers too (1.0 A/TO last year) making Scottie Reynolds look under control. Fat Gopher reject Josh Crittle is a freshman here too.

10. Oregon State
Isn't it about time to transfer Oregon State to the Big West or the the WCC or something? You could bring in Gonzaga, except they don't play football so that doesn't work. What about BYU or Boise State? Not coastal enough? I don't know then, but something needs to be done. The Beavers haven't been relevant since Corey Benjamin was there, and I'm not even sure they were relevant then, other than in the McDonald's All-American Dunk Contest, which Benjamin even lost to Lester Earl. This year's team? Um, well, they have two starters with the last name Tarver, Seth and Josh, so let's pretend they're Miles Tarver's brothers. Recruiting class? Ranked dead last in the Pac 10.

Maui Maui

I'm watching some hoops tonight, and these are the things that have popped into my head:

- Ok State is leading LSU 25-17 right now, and James Anderson has really been leading the team so far this game for the Cowboys. He looks good and a he's a very promising freshman, but the announcer just compared him to Adrian Peterson, the football player.....who went to Oklahoma.

- You can chalk up LSU as another team that's just awful this year. I just found out that Tasmin Mitchell is hurt and not playing for LSU, so I'll reserve judgement, but my Ok State pick just got a little better.

- So A-Rod won the MVP, and I wanted to see the official voting to see if anything really stupid happened. It didn't, but I stumbled upon this page from 2004. It's the MVP voting from that year, and guess who finished 25th, with a single ninth place vote: Lew Ford. Seriously. If this was widely reported, I've either forgotten or blocked it out because it's so dumb. I'm sure some reporter thought Lew Ford was totally awesome because he's such a gamer and gave him a vote. Man, people really love white people. That guy's vote needs to be taken away.

- Ok State leads 42-22 at half. They look really good. Defense, inside and outside game are all looking solid. Hard to believe the lost to No. Texas. Maybe LSU is even worse than I thought.

- I guess LSU is without Dameon Mason as well. So basically they're just a bunch of crap.

- I hope LSU isn't counting on this freshman Garrett Green. He's a poor man's Blake Hoffarber.

- LSU has scored 11 straight to cut it to ten. I better not lose this game.

- Ok, it's officially stupid how many intentional fouls are called. Any fast break layup where there's a foul is called intentional now? Stupid. This must be how crazy football fans feel about all the rules against tackling.

- LSU has cut it to three with 1:31 left. Not because they're very good, but because Oklahoma State has completely forgotten not only to play defense, but to score as well. LSU does have some quality players, but they seem to have made the comeback more to loss of focus by OSU rather than their own ability.

- OSU pulls it out, 83-77, giving me the cover as well. Even with the lapse which took their lead from 21 points down to three, the Cowboys have a good nucleus with Marcus Dove, Byron Eaton, James Anderson, Terrell Harris, and Obi Muonelo. They should be in the mix for an NCAA bid.

- UCLA struggling a bit against Maryland. Not having Collison is really affecting them so far, as they've turned it over 8 times in the first ten minutes, a lot of them against the Maryland press and their very good backcourt.

- Do you think Darren and Nick Collison are related?

- Maryland managed all of 18 points in the first half against UCLA. Kevin Love is one of those kind of guys where you don't really realize how good he is watching him, but he just fills up the stat sheet. He has 10 rebounds at half time.

- Is Josh Shipp (UCLA) related to Joe Shipp, who used to go to Cal? By the way, UCLA isn't having pressure problems anymore, up 43-23. Maryland is not a tournament team.

- Funny Chicago story: Mrs. Bogart was meeting up with some friends at a bar, and had us meet them for a bit. Her friends said that Maddog and I were both good looking, but Bogart had really bad skin. Take that, fancy boy!

- Maryland has it down to nine, mostly due to a guy named Bambale Osby, who only has 8 points but seems to be completely controlling the paint, with his rebounding and defense. If Maryland had anybody to take the scoring burden off of Vasquez, they might be ok. Also, Dickie V's love affair with Kevin Love is getting to be a bit tiring. Very Madden/Favre like.

- Winthrop looks awful good. I thought they'd be a little overrated this season, with their name out there, but minus three starters and their coach from last year, but they are rolling on Baylor and looking very smooth doing it. This on top of already beating Georgia Tech - and Baylor already beat Notre Dame. Looking like they'll be dangerous again this year.

- I was just getting ready to set the Tivo to tape the Gopher game tomorrow night since I'll be at my touch football game, and it seems the game isn't on TV. Way to go. The most excited Gopher fans have been in years for a basketball team, and you don't put a game against a major conference team on TV. I could watch Maine v. Quinnipiac if I wanted to. Nicely done. You people who are in charge of this kind of thing are idiots.

- Baylor has cut it to 4 at the half. This Taj McCullough kid is a real damn good player for Winthrop.

- I can't watch the Michigan State/Missouri game yet, because ESPNU has the big Fairfield vs. Siena woman's volleyball match, and it's running over. And Fairfield just called a timeout. Awesome.

- Siena won. Good thing they didn't break away from it, it was a real barn burner. Only missed a minute though, so not too bad. MSU up 4-2.

- This is already my favorite game of the year. There's very little defense, and a whole lot of pushing the tempo. With 15:18 left, it's 19-8 Spartans. I haven't done all the high level math here, but I think that equates to a 212 - 177 game.

- Ok, I shouldn't say no defense, but Missouri pressures and takes chances on defense, and MSU has handled that, plus Neitzel is knocking down everything. And they can't stop Missouri's offense. It's 26-18 at the 12 minute timeout, and Neitzel has 12.

- This style really favors Missouri, but the Spartans haven't been taken out of their game. They're shooting quicker, but they're still taking quality shots, and not getting caught up in the Mizzou craziness. Very impressed right now.

- Here's a shocker - Dick Vitale thinks Kansas is going to be good this year. Between Duke, Kansas, and UNC it's amazing that guy has time to talk about anything else. Flipped over to see that Baylor has taken a four point lead on Winthrop also. And they've done it without Bruce scoring at all. That's good for them.

- I actually found a Pepperdine Basketball Blog. It's not updated into the regular season yet, but here's how he describe Rico's play in the first exhibition:

PG Rico Tucker: Tucker is a familiar face to dedicated Waves fans after sitting on the bench all last year after transferring from Minnesota. The 'lil guy at the point showed some flashes of playmaking-ability but has a pretty shaky outside shot. He's got crazy hops though and almost brought the house to its feet on an alley-oop feed from Tyrone Shelley that he just missed slamming down (that's right, the feed was FROM Shelley TO Tucker).

God that guy's awesome.

- Baylor now up 9 with 35 seconds left, thanks to a Curtis Jerrells 35 footer - very Chris Kingsbury like, except this one went in.

- Baylor wins by 8 to bring us to 3-0, and Mich State is up 10 at half. I'm going to try to check in later for the late Illinois game.

- Back just in time to see the Spartans push, rather than cover, the 3 due to a couple of desperation three pointers by Mizzou. And flip over to see Illinois up 22-3 on Arizona State. This is not good for my ASU +3.

- Not only are they down 27-7, but Jeff Pendergraph, their best player, is down with two fouls. Awesome.

- Vince Young threw for over 300 yards tonight? How the hell does that happen? That guy would probably be a slightly above average throwing quarterback in a flag football league, how does he ring it up like that in a real game? He must've thrown the ball like 60 times.

- Wow does Illinois look solid. They don't really have a standout guy, but it's not a weakness as they go 10 or 11 deep, and really move the ball well. Even with a whole second group in the still only gave back a couple of points to the Sun Devil starters. Interestingly enough, Jeff Jordan (MJ's kid) doesn't look for his own shot (and probably shouldn't, as he just airballed an open 17 footer)