The whole was less than the sum of its parts for the Tide last season. F Gerald Wallace
couldn't dominate the college game last year as a freshman once he hit conference play so he
bolted for the NBA after only one year. (Yeah, that makes sense.) This year, it's all
about 'T Rod Grizzard, a lefty with a huge ego and almost as much talent to match.
This team was ever so weak defensively and terrible on the road last year, but they saved face
from a completely disappointing season by making the NIT final. All 5 starters are back --
Wallace was the 6th man last year -- so, on paper, there's every reason to be optimistic about
this season. F Erwin Dudley is a warrior in the paint. These guys really need a first-rate
point guard to keep them focused. Freshman G Maurice Williams just may be the right
prescription; plus, there's G Earnest Shelton as well who should add outside shooting.
'Bama should be able to hold off Ole Miss atop the
SEC West Division (but Kentucky,
Florida and maybe even Tennessee in the East
are stronger overall).
Don't expect the title in the NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC (Iowa,
Missouri, Memphis) or a win over
UCLA (JOHN WOODEN CLASSIC) or Temple (JIMMY V CLASSIC);
but a home win against Utah is doable and Notre Dame can be had in the
SUGAR BOWL CLASSIC. Their conference schedule is reasonably favorable.
11/13 (#18) W @107-67 v Mississippi Valley St (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Tuscaloosa, AL)
11/14 (#18) W @83-51 v Samford (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Tuscaloosa, AL)
[] 11/20 (#14) L 68-@75 @ #8 Missouri (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Kansas City, MO)
[] 11/21 (#14) W 81-70 v #9 Memphis (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Kansas City, MO)
While guard play, led by G Maurice Williams, has been decidedly better this year, the loss
to UCLA shows that road toughness still eludes the Tide. That's what
they'll need to be in the thick of the conference race.
12/14 (#15) W @99-57 v Jacksonville St
12/18 (#14) W 70-67 v Temple (JIMMY V CLASSIC @ East Rutherford, NJ)
12/21 (#14) W @90-54 v Alabama A&M
12/27 (#14) W 79-76 v Notre Dame (SUGAR BOWL CLASSIC @ New Orleans, LA)
The strong play by the backcourt of Maurice Williams, Antoine Pettway and Terence Meade has
made this year's team a lot tougher on the road. The win at Kentucky wouldn't
even have been that close if 'T Rod Grizzard had shot better than 3-for-15. All of the
lingering endplay games in the SEC this year seem to be
giving the Tide more resolve than they've had in the past.
The good news is that the unsung backcourt -- this time it was Earnest Shelton finding
Antoine Pettway for the game-winning layup -- once again provided the edge in a big game. The
bad news is that their emergency has coincided with the collapse of 'T Rod Grizzard's
confidence. He's so much in coach Mark Gottfried's doghouse that he gets yanked for any miscue.
Yes, they're a good basketball team -- better than last year -- even without him; but they can
only be great with him leading the way.
2 /27 (#12) W @73-68 v Auburn
3 / 3 (#12) L 56-@84 @ # Mississippi
3 / 8 [W1] W 91-72 v [E4] Tennessee (SEC TOURNAMENT @ Atlanta, GA [Georgia Dome])
3 / 9 [W1] W 65-57 v [E6] S Carolina (SEC TOURNAMENT @ Atlanta, GA [Georgia Dome])
3 /10 [W1] L 58-61 v [W2] Mississippi St (SEC TOURNAMENT @ Atlanta, GA [Georgia Dome])
3 /14 [S2] W 86-78 v [S15] FL Atlantic (NCAA POD @ Greenville, SC)
3 /16 [S2] L 58-71 v [S10] Kent St (NCAA POD @ Greenville, SC)
The surprising wins over Maryland and Florida in the
COACHES V CANCER CLASSIC showed that there's plenty of talent in Tucson. G Jason Gardner led
the way with two solid performances and there's lots of help surrounding him. F Luke Walton is
an excellent passer from the forward spot. Best of all, coach Lute Olson has been able to get
the new players to fit in without trying to do too much individually. That's easier said than
done. F Rick Anderson looks solid; G Will Bynum and G Salim Stoudamire (Damon's cousin) give
UofA three mighty mite guards to use together or separately.
The Wildcats' excellent start has insinuated themselves into the thick of the conversation in
the race for the Pac-10 title.
UCLA and USC have more experienced talent and
Stanford should also be in the mix as well; but execution beats talent.
Yes, they've played the toughest preseason schedule of any team in the country ...
but they haven't thrashed a single opponent and they just lost by 30 on the road
to Oregon. The freshmen are playing like freshmen now (i.e., some good days,
some bad days); and the veterans have come down from their A+ level at which they started the
season. Time to adjust and regroup because conference play is upon them (and they've already
stumbled).
12/28 (#11) W @94-71 v Pepperdine (FIESTA BOWL CLASSIC @ Tucson, AZ)
12/30 (#11) W @74-70 v Valparaiso (FIESTA BOWL CLASSIC @ Tucson, AZ)
'T Luke Walton has missed the last 3 games (including Oregon) with a
strained Achilles tendon. That leaves only G Jason Gardner as the lone player with any
significant game experience prior to this year. That kind of youth is bound to struggle, no
matter how talented.
Failure to rout ordinary teams is the cause behind the Wildcats' drop from the rankings.
The other, more talented rosters in the Pac-10 seem to
have gotten their acts together now.
Two great wins (including coming from 20 points down against UCLA) were
keyed by the all-around play of 'T Luke Walton. The freshmen guards, G Salim Stoudamire and
G Will Bynum, are also contributing solidly every game now. UofA can go big or small as needed.
Too many losses, no matter how close, just don't merit tracking the Razorbacks any longer.
They still might pull off an upset here and there, but there's no long-term expectation of any
postseason success.
2 \20 v # Alabama
2 \23 @ # Kentucky
2 \27 @ # Mississippi St
3 \ 2 v Vanderbilt
3 \ 7 v ?? (SEC TOURNAMENT @ Atlanta, GA [Georgia Dome])
The extreme conditions (90+ degrees and high humidity) had something to do with the
Cardinals' shocking Top-5 upsets but not everything. Mighty mite waterbugs G Patrick
Jackson and G Vince Williams scooted past their taller counterparts. Their own Top-5 status
won't last the preseason, to be sure; but give them full credit for their results now.
11/30 (#3) W @106-65 v Elon (FIRST MERCHANTS CLASSIC @ Muncie, IN)
12/ 1 (#3) W @81-60 v Austin Peay (FIRST MERCHANTS CLASSIC @ Muncie, IN)
Despite their protestations to the contrary, the road loss to Indiana was
no "moral victory" -- Notre Dame only lost by 1 point in Bloomington earlier in the week. Too
much reliance on the 3-point shot will keep this team from being a long-term threat.
Winning the Big East tournament last year (in runaway
fashion) proved that this team was more than media hype. G Troy Bell led the way in a
three-guard lineup last year. Two of those guards (Xavier Singletary and Kenny Harley) are
gone, and now Bell himself is out for most of the preseason with a knee injury. G Ryan Sidney
was going to have to shoulder a heavier load already, and now at the beginning of the season,
he's going to have to be Plan A. That may make the team stronger later on down the road, but
don't expect much from this bunch out of the blocks.
Winning the RAINBOW CLASSIC (Georgia) won't mean much, and it might not even
happen. A win against Duke is a pipe dream, even at home. In league play,
getting Georgetown at home early helps a little.
11/18 (#21) W @82-65 v Boston U
11/21 (#19) W @80-77 v New Hampshire
11/24 (#19) W @88-65 v Penn St
11/28 (#22) W 96-@82 @ St Bonaventure
12/ 1 (#22) W 83-@74 @ Michigan
12/ 4 (#18) W @90-65 v Morris Brown
12/ 8 (#18) W @80-78 v Massachusetts
12/11 (#17) W @86-81 v Iowa St
12/16 (#17) W @75-51 v Holy Cross
12/20 (#17) L 67-73 v Miami-OH (RAINBOW CLASSIC @ Honolulu, HI)
12/21 (#17) W 76-70 v Arkansas St (RAINBOW CLASSIC @ Honolulu, HI)
12/22 (#17) W 67-57 v Holy Cross (RAINBOW CLASSIC @ Honolulu, HI)
12/31 W 81-@66 @ Seton Hall
1 / 5 L @74-77 v # Pittsburgh
1 / 9 W 88-@81(OT) @ Villanova
1 /12 L @43-70 v # Georgetown
1 /17 L @57-64 v St John's
1 /20 W @77-68 v Virginia Tech
1 /24 L @78-88 v #1 Duke
1 /29 W 70-@65 @ #24 Miami-FL
2 / 2 L 61-@64 @ Providence
2 / 6 L 73-@76 @ Virginia Tech
2 /10 W @76-63 v #22 Miami-FL
2 /13 W @89-79 v Providence
2 /16 L 77-@79(OT) @ #21 Connecticut
2 /18 L 62-@71 @ St John's
2 /23 W @69-67 v Villanova
2 /25 L @61-75 v #18 Connecticut
3 / 3 W 69-@65 @ # Syracuse
3 / 6 [E4] W 60-55 v [W5] Rutgers (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
3 / 7 [E4] L 62-76 v [W1] Pittsburgh (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
3 /15 [M11] L 57-@70 @ [M6] Texas (NCAA POD @ Dallas, TX)
Todd Lickliter is the Bulldogs' third coach in three years. So what. This is The Little
Program That Could. Butler took eventual national runner-up Florida to overtime in the
first round of the 2000 NCAA tournament. Last year, they won at Wisconsin in the regular
season and rolled past Wake Forest in the NCAA first round. 4 starters return and Lickliter is
the former assistant, so there's no reason they should skip a beat or expect anything less this
year. Waterbugs 5-9 G Thomas Jackson and 6-0 G Brandon Miller lead the attack.
Butler should be able to hold off rival Detroit for the newly named
Horizon League (formerly the Midwestern Collegiate
Conference).
The TOP OF THE WORLD CLASSIC (Mississippi) title isn't beyond the realm of
possibility. The Bulldogs won't be able to sneak up on either Purdue or
Indiana (HOOSIER CLASSIC). This veteran team can handle the early road game
at Detroit.
11/16 W 73-56 v Radford (TOP OF THE WORLD CLASSIC @ Fairbanks, AK)
11/17 W 76-59 v Delaware (TOP OF THE WORLD CLASSIC @ Fairbanks, AK)
[] 11/18 W 67-64 v Washington (TOP OF THE WORLD CLASSIC @ Fairbanks, AK)
The Bulldogs came through and won the TOP OF THE WORLD CLASSIC in scrappy waterbug fashion.
In the final against Washington, they trailed by 14 at the half and won despite 9-for-29 3-pt
shooting and despite being outrebounded 37-23.
Which team would you rather be at this point: Butler or Ball State? The
sound beating of the Cardinals on the road should provide an easy answer. BSU couldn't beat
Indiana in front of a hostile crowd; let's see if BU can prevail where they
couldn't.
12/28 (#17) W @45-37 v Samford (HOOSIER CLASSIC @ Indianapolis, IN)
The will to win from this team is tremendous. Beating Indiana in front of
a hometown crowd in Indianapolis was a sweet win. Now that the preseason is over, there's
another golden carrot in front of them if they want it badly enough: an undefeated regular
season. No one in the Horizon League is as good as the
teams they've already beaten. It can happen.
Wright State burst the bubble of hope for an undefeated season. The loss also knocks the
Bulldogs out of the rankings (and there's no one left on the schedule that kind bolt them back
in). They'll have to quietly go about their business with a lot less fanfare the rest of the
regular season. That could be a good thing, actually.
The Bulldogs have paid back their two home losses with road wins against those same
opponents. Even though, WI-Milwaukee still leads the conference race (one game ahead of them),
the ship has been righted in Indianapolis.
2 / 7 (#24) W @61-48 v Detroit
2 / 9 (#24) W @70-45 v Cleveland St
2 /14 (#19) W 77-@74 @ WI-Green Bay
2 /16 (#19) W @75-50 v Youngstown St
2 /20 (#17) L 56-@60 @ Loyola-IL
2 /23 (#17) W @85-61 v IL-Chicago
3 / 2 [1] L 48-49 v [8] WI-Green Bay (HORIZON TOURNAMENT @ Cleveland, OH)
They're formidable at home (17-1), to be sure; but overall they're doing so well in the
tough Pac-10 -- especially against the elite teams -- that
they have to be tracked (and even ranked for this week, at least). This team is big: three 6-11
guys (Amit Tamir, Solomon Hughes and Jamal Sampson) plus three 'tweeners (Joe Shipp,
Brian Wethers and Ryan Forehan-Kelley) all get significant minutes while 5-10 G Shantay Legans
runs the show.
The win at the TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS is good enough to make the Cougars the lead trackable
team for the Southern Conference. Stingy perimeter defense
has led the way to the solid start.
12/28 W @86-60 v LA-Monroe (GOOD NEIGHBOR CLASSIC @ Charleston, SC)
12/29 W @68-61 v Radford (GOOD NEIGHBOR CLASSIC @ Charleston, SC)
1 / 2 L @64-66 v Wofford
1 / 5 L 67-@69 @ UT-Chattanooga
1 / 7 W @71-64 v E Tennessee St
1 /12 W 73-@61 @ Wofford
1 /14 W 76-@72 @ Furman
1 /19 W 63-@55 @ VMI
1 /21 W @77-65 v The Citadel
1 /26 L @57-60 v Georgia So
1 /28 L 52-@63 @ UNC-Greensboro
2 / 2 W @62-45 v Furman
2 / 4 L 58-@60 @ The Citadel
2 / 9 W @79-55 v Appalachian St
2 /11 W 81-@64 @ We Carolina
2 /16 W @86-62 v UT-Chattanooga
2 /19 L @70-73 v Davidson
2 /23 L 54-@70 @ Georgia So
2 /28 [S3] W @86-61 v [N6] Appalachian St (SOCON TOURNAMENT @ Charleston, SC)
3 / 1 [S3] W @76-75(OT) v [N2] E Tennessee St (SOCON TOURNAMENT @ Charleston, SC)
3 / 2 [S3] L 43-44 v [S5] Furman (SOCON TOURNAMENT @ Charleston, SC)
Only G Steve Logan remains of note from last year; he's a good scorer but he needs a lot of
help. JuCo G Taron Barker will try to replace the departed Kenny Satterfield at the point.
Coach Bob Huggins doesn't have overwhelming talent to work with this season.
Memphis should manage to stay ahead of the Bearcats in the
Conference USA race. Hosting the conference tournament
this year is a big plus.
Don't expect a win at Oklahoma State first game. The yearly grudge match
with (underdog) Xavier (CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT) rarely follows form. The LAS
VEGAS CHRISTMAS CLASSIC (Purdue) should be theirs for the taking. Akron (ROCK-N-ROLL SHOOTOUT)
will be no trouble; a road win at Wake Forest will be. They have to play
Marquette, but the Memphis isn't until the very end.
The early season loss at Oklahoma State doesn't look bad at all at this
point. Lots of things looked good in the dominant win over Xavier in the
CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT. F Jason Maxiell could become quite a force inside to go with
G Steve Logan's fine outside shooting. Only Mississippi State's athletes
figure to challenge them in the LAS VEGAS CHRISTMAS CLASSIC.
12/17 (#10) W @77-46 v Richmond (LAS VEGAS CHRISTMAS CLASSIC)
12/20 (#10) W 102-66 v LA-Monroe (LAS VEGAS CHRISTMAS CLASSIC @ Las Vegas, NV [Valley High School])
12/21 (#10) W 90-56 v # Mississippi St (LAS VEGAS CHRISTMAS CLASSIC @ Las Vegas, NV [Valley High School])
12/22 (#10) W 79-62 v Purdue (LAS VEGAS CHRISTMAS CLASSIC @ Las Vegas, NV [Valley High School])
Yes, the field was mediocre, but give the Bearcats all kinds of credit for making mediocre
teams look like patsies (which they weren't -- Mississippi State was undefeated up
until that 34-point loss). G Steve Logan (40p vs. MSU alone) is having a monster season.
The road loss to Marquette should get the Bearcats' attention. They had
been on cruise control for a while and it was starting to show. Two tough road games this week
will be the measure of how much wind Marquette took out of their sails.
The bruising game with Marquette was impressive -- against any other
team, they might have won by 40 as well as they were playing defensively. So much of their
offensive other than G Steve Logan is point-blank dunking, though. Somewhere down the line,
they'll need more midrange offense from the supporting cast.
2 /27 (#5) L 71-@74 @ Louisville
3 / 3 (#5) W @80-75(OT) v # Memphis
3 / 7 [1] W @79-57 v [8] S Florida (CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT @ Cincinnati, OH)
3 / 8 [1] W @71-55 v [4] Charlotte (CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT @ Cincinnati, OH)
3 / 9 [1] W @77-63 v [2] Marquette (CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT @ Cincinnati, OH)
3 /15 [W1] W 90-52 v [W16] Boston U (NCAA POD @ Pittsburgh, PA)
3 /17 [W1] L 101-105(2OT) v [W8] UCLA (NCAA POD @ Pittsburgh, PA)
'T Caron Butler was one of the best freshmen in the country last year. This year, it's his team
outright. Coach Jim Calhoun doesn't quite have the depth of talent to make his attrition style
work as well as he'd like, though. G Tony Robertson has lots of experience and G Taliek Brown
was decent enough at the point last year. Freshman G Ben Gordon and Juco F Mike Hayes hold the
key to whether a decent team can become a dominant one.
Don't expect the title at the BB&T CLASSIC (Maryland).
Oklahoma, North Carolina and Arizona are
all beatable non-conference opponents. The unbalanced league schedule doesn't even include
Syracuse.
11/19 (#23) W @84-71 v Vanderbilt
11/26 (#23) W @110-58 v New Hampshire
12/ 2 (#23) W 84-@76 @ Geo Washington (BB&T CLASSIC @ Washington, DC)
The Huskies got pushed out of the rankings without having actually lost, so their return is
far higher than the revolving door #21-25 range. The win at Arizona lifts not
only them, but the entire Big East. If C Emeka Okafor can
consistently be the dominating presence he was in that game (19p,15r,9b), they could do
some damage in the postseason.
1 /30 (#11) L 53-@61 @ Rutgers
2 / 2 (#11) L 66-@68 @ #24 Miami-FL
2 / 5 (#20) W @67-56 v Providence
2 / 9 (#20) L 83-@85 @ St John's
2 /11 (#21) W @46-40 v Villanova
2 /16 (#21) W @79-77(OT) v # Boston Col
2 /19 (#20) W 75-@74 @ # Georgetown
2 /23 (#20) W @95-73 v W Virginia
2 /25 (#18) W 75-@61 @ # Boston Col
3 / 2 (#18) W @90-78 v Seton Hall
3 / 7 [E1] W 72-70 v [E5] Villanova (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
3 / 8 [E1] W 82-77 v [W2] Notre Dame (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
3 / 9 [E1] W 74-65(2OT) v [W1] Pittsburgh (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
3 /15 [E2] W 78-@67 @ [E15] Hampton (NCAA POD @ Washington, DC)
3 /17 [E2] W 77-74 v [E7] NC State (NCAA POD @ Washington, DC)
3 /22 [E2] W 71-59 v [E11] So Illinois (NCAA EAST REGIONAL @ Syracuse, NY)
3 /24 [E2] L 82-90 v [E1] Maryland (NCAA EAST REGIONAL @ Syracuse, NY)
Can you lose last year's national Player of the Year (according to others, not me) and still be
ranked #1? You can if you still got the Player of the Year on this year's roster. 'T Shane
Battier is gone but G Jason Williams remains. In coach Mike Krzyzewski's universal replacement
system, the Blue Devils can compensate for the loss better than most. 'T Mike Dunleavy doesn't
have to match Battier's contributions stat-for-stat because G Chris Duhon has more to give and
C Carlos Boozer is still around. Better still, Rutgers transfer 'T Dahntay Jones is the kind of
athletic fill-in who will flourish on the receiving end of opportunities the others provide him.
Perimeter players who can penetrate, finish, pass and shoot -- choose your poison.
Maryland will be right there with Duke in the
ACC conference race (as well as in the national championship
picture). The psychological edge the Blue Devils hold over the Terrapins may be on its last
legs.
The MAUI INVITATIONAL (Kansas, UCLA) will be a big early
measuring stick; Duke's backcourt should dominate. Iowa (ACC-BIG 10
CHALLENGE) and Kentucky (JIMMY V CLASSIC) won't be pushovers, either. Don't
look for Temple's matchup zone to bother a team that shoots as well as this
one. The tough league games are at home first, which is a slight advantage.
11/19 (#1) W 80-79 v Seton Hall (MAUI INVITATIONAL @ Lahaina, HI)
11/20 (#1) W 81-56 v S Carolina (MAUI INVITATIONAL @ Lahaina, HI)
[] 11/21 (#1) W 83-71 v # Ball St (MAUI INVITATIONAL @ Lahaina, HI)
The Blue Devils weren't firing on all cylinders in MAUI, but they were still plenty good
enough to take the title. 'T Dahntay Jones brings lots of more spectacularly finishes, but his
interior defensive skills are nowhere near the level of Shane Battier. 'T Mike Dunleavy got off
to a great start of what should be an outstanding system. G Jason Williams and G Chris Duhon
aren't in full stride yet.
[] 11/27 (#2) W 80-@62 @ #12 Iowa (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE @ Chicago, IL)
The rout of Iowa is more like it. G Jason Williams seems to be rounding
back into form after a sluggish start to the season. They still are probably not as good as
last year's team, but no one else out there is better right now.
12/ 5 (#1) W @82-57 v Temple
12/ 8 (#1) W 104-@83 @ Michigan
12/16 (#1) W @93-51 v NC A&T
[] 12/18 (#1) W 95-92(OT) v #12 Kentucky (JIMMY V CLASSIC @ East Rutherford, NJ)
G Jason Williams was as spectacular as he has ever been in the comeback victory over a game
Kentucky team. When you've got one guy who is this unstoppable, the minor
weaknesses of the rest of the team don't even factor into it.
G Jason Williams was great again from 3-point land (8-for-12) bringing the Blue
Devils back from a 12-point deficit at Florida State, but this time his missed free throws
(0-for-6) caught up to him. Duke was also outrebounded by FSU. Everything isn't all
peaches and cream for this team, despite the near-perfect won-loss record.
Yes, G Jason Williams had two more great performances in big games (showing off his ability
to drive to the basket and cut without the ball this time around); but better yet for the Blue
Devils was 'T Dahntay Jones' great couple of games: shutting down Maryland's
G Juan Dixon and scoring 22 points against Wake Forest.
They're not quite emperors with no clothes, but the loss to Maryland
exposed how much the fortunes of the Blue Devils rest on only 3 shoulders. With only
'T Mike Dunleavy effective early, Duke couldn't stay with the Terrapins; their interior weakness
and overall lack of depth were both exposed and exploited. This time G Jason Williams didn't
have enough heroics in him to pull off a miracle comeback. (The good news is that there are
practically no other teams out there who can use the same formula to beat them and also have
enough familiarity not to be intimidated by Coach K's charges.)
Last year's injury-plagued season was derailed by lodero teams
(Mississippi and Temple) in postseason play. The
addition of two highly touted frontcourt players, F David Lee and 'T James White to go along
with C Udonis Haslem gives the Gators an enviable baseline. G Brett Nelson must carry an even
heavier burden of leadership in the backcourt after the dismissal of G Teddy Dupay (gambling)
from the program. G Justin Hamilton is returning from injury and could be the key to making
Florida a dominant team. Coach Billy Donovan's killer/attrition style is the way to go these
days and this year he looks to have the horses to execute it. Outside shooting may be the
Achilles' Heel for this squad.
LoderoKentucky, as always, will be the main nemesis for the
SEC title.
Payback comes early with the NCAA rematch with loderoTemple in the
COACHES V CANCER CLASSIC, but the early attrition matchup with Maryland the
next night might be too much to ask of the new lineup. More revenge from last year will come
against Michigan State. The tougher league games don't come until
February, by which time the newcomers should have adjusted to conference play.
11/ 8 (#4) W 72-64 v #12 Temple (COACHES V CANCER CLASSIC @ New York, NY)
[] 11/ 9 (#4) L 71-75 v # Arizona (COACHES V CANCER CLASSIC @ New York, NY)
Despite the premature shutdown that turned an impressive rout of
Michigan State into a moral loss, the Gators reached an even higher level
in the midst of their crushing defeat of a solid South Florida team on the
road. F Matt Bonner set new career-high point totals in consecutive games.
12/15 (#4) W @73-52 v Charlotte (ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC @ Miami, FL)
The Alabama game -- which they should have won -- is another example of
the Achilles' Heel: not enough true backcourt help for Brett Nelson. Their endplay losses in
the biggest games are directly attributable to that weakness.
G Tito Maddux was dismissed from the program for taking money from an agent. So what would have
been great expectations for the upcoming season are merely only good ones. Still around are
C Melvin Ely and F Chris Jeffries. They're both good, but the backcourt is unproven.
(JuCo G Chris Sandy would have inherited the point, but he's been declared ineligible.) Once
again, coach Jerry Tarkanian has a patch-up job on his hands.
Even a mere good Bulldog team should control the weak WAC.
Doing well in the PRESEASON NIT (USC, Wake Forest,
Michigan State, Syracuse) will be a tough order. The
showcase McCAFFREY CLASSIC won't be much. Beating Gonzaga (FAB FOUR) won't
be easy; neither will beating Oklahoma State, even at home. In league
play, no one is strong enough for scheduling to make much difference.
'T Chris Jeffries is out with a knee injury, but the reason the Bulldogs are untracked is
that they are nowhere near the top of the standings in the mediocre
WAC. It's Hawaii that's the trackable
standard-bearer for that league.
Last year's Hoyas had lots of depth, height and fouls to give up front. This year, much of the
frontcourt depth has gone; only F Mike Sweetney remains of note. In the backcourt, G Kevin
Braswell is still around. That's probably not enough to form a dominant team, but they'll be
trackable at the least.
Beating Georgia in the TIP-OFF CLASSIC is no problem. Home court may be the
equalizer to help pull off a win over Virginia. A win at
UCLA is a lot to expect. The unbalanced league schedule is pretty neutral.
11/16 w @108-47 v (Marymount)
11/19 L 59-73 v # Georgia (TIP-OFF CLASSIC @ Springfield, MA)
11/21 W @76-51 v Coastal Carolina
11/24 W @91-40 v Towson (JOHN THOMPSON THANKSGIVING CLASSIC @ Washington, DC)
11/26 W @103-69 v Grambling St
11/28 W @91-61 v Bethune-Cookman
12/ 6 W 70-@68 @ S Carolina
12/10 W @91-65 v Morgan St
12/15 W @87-68 v Norfolk St
12/17 W @99-80 v Howard
12/20 L @55-61 v #16 Virginia (JOHN THOMPSON CHRISTMAS CLASSIC @ Washington, DC)
12/29 L 91-@98 @ # UCLA
1 / 2 L @71-79 v #24 Miami-FL
1 / 5 L 87-@89(OT) @ Rutgers
1 /12 W 70-@43 @ # Boston Col
1 /16 W @84-58 v Seton Hall
1 /19 L @67-68 v # Pittsburgh
1 /21 W 83-@73 @ Notre Dame
1 /26 L 56-@67 @ # Pittsburgh
1 /28 W @75-60 v # Syracuse
2 / 2 W @84-77 v W Virginia
2 / 9 L @111-116(4OT) v Notre Dame
2 /12 W 84-@77 @ Seton Hall
2 /16 L 72-@83(OT) @ Villanova
2 /19 L @74-75 v #20 Connecticut
2 /24 W 75-@69 @ # Syracuse
2 /27 W 87-@77 @ W Virginia
3 / 2 W @88-69 v Rutgers
3 / 6 [W3] W 68-67 v [E6] Providence (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
3 / 7 [W3] L 76-84(OT) v [E2] Miami-FL (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
Objectively, this isn't even a trackable team. The one star, G D.A. Layne left early for the
NBA (but wasn't drafted). The only player of note left around is G Ezra Williams, and that's
not saying much. Coach Jim Harrick hasn't done much with the program since arrive two years
ago.
Don't expect a win in the TIP-OFF CLASSIC (Georgetown); don't be surprised
by a second straight loss to Georgia State, either. The RAINBOW CLASSIC
(Boston College) isn't beyond their grasp. In league play, there are too many
horses for scheduling to be a factor for the Dawgs.
11/16 W @75-62 v Furman
11/19 W 73-59 v # Georgetown (TIP-OFF CLASSIC @ Springfield, MA)
11/21 W @94-@73 @@ Georgia So (@ Savannah, GA)
11/26 W @61-55 v Samford
12/ 1 W @81-73 v Colorado
[] 12/ 4 L @78-@83 @@ Georgia St (@ Atlanta, GA [Georgia Dome])
12/ 7 W @77-55 v Minnesota
12/ 9 W @95-82 v Georgia Tech
12/15 W 79-@70 @ S Alabama
12/17 W 91-@74 @ Pepperdine
12/20 W 80-68 v Arkansas St (RAINBOW CLASSIC @ Honolulu, HI)
12/21 W 64-59 v Miami-OH (RAINBOW CLASSIC @ Honolulu, HI)
12/22 L 44-@54 @ # Hawaii (RAINBOW CLASSIC @ Honolulu, HI)
The Dawgs won in Lexington for the first time since 1985 (and for only the third time
ever). The SEC has lots of teams that are nothing
more than a hustling bunch of athletes. That lack of structure may hurt once they get back out
of the conference, but inside the league, these guys hustle as well as anyone else.
F Steve Thomas was suspended, and G Tony Cole has been dismissed from the team after
off-court criminal allegations. They couldn't regroup in time to deal with
Alabama, but they kept Florida from separating from them
and then won in an endplay. But can the Dawgs learn to be separatists themselves?
The Eagles have 5 returning starters from an improving program. They won't make the people of
Statesboro stop following football, but there may be some hoops to cheer for this season.
They may not be the outright favorites, but they're close enough to use them as the trackable
team from the Southern Conference.
College of Charleston in the South and UNC-Greensboro and Davidson in the
North figure to push the Eagles for the overall crown in the
SoCon. (Plus, CofC is hosting this year's conference
tourney.)
A win at Georgia would push the Bulldogs down to fourth-best team in the
state. At home, even a win over Illinois State is a possibility. The
league schedule is pretty benign.
The 4-4 start doesn't qualify the Eagles to be officially trackable, but I'll unofficially
keep tracking them because of the local interest. College of Charleston
has gotten off to a solid enough start to warrant being the lead team for the
Southern Conference.
1 / 2 L 59-@65 @ Furman
1 / 5 W @100-60 v VMI
1 / 7 W 101-@89 @ Appalachian St
1 /12 L @67-79 v UNC-Greensboro
1 /14 L 80-@85 @ The Citadel
1 /19 W @86-73 v Wofford
1 /21 W @96-67 v We Carolina
1 /26 W 60-@57 @ # Col of Charleston
1 /28 L @91-103 v UT-Chattanooga
1 /30 W @80-41 v Savannah St
2 / 2 L 65-@100 @ E Tennessee St
2 / 4 W @86-78 v Furman
2 / 9 L 67-@76 @ Wofford
2 /13 L 56-@64 @ Davidson
2 /16 W @95-86 v The Citadel
2 /18 W 84-@68 @ UT-Chattanooga
2 /23 W @70-54 v # Col of Charleston
3 / 1 [S1] L 70-73 v [S5] Furman (SOCON TOURNAMENT @ Charleston, SC)
The Panthers lost two of the best players in school history in G Shenard Long and G Kevin
Morris. 6-7 'T Thomas Terrell returns and a host of new players promise to give GSU much better
height on the baseline. 6-11 C Nate Williams and 6-8 F Otis Donald should help out returning
F Bam Campbell. G Darryl Cooper returns and big things are expected from JuCo G Leroy Davis.
Don't forget about versatile 'T Donnie Davis. With so many new players expected to contribute,
it may take a while for this season's team to develop its own identity. Lefty Driesell has
brought a new high profile to GSU hoops and the star is still on the rise.
No one else in the newly renamed Atlantic Sun (formerly the
Trans America) will challenge for the title.
A second straight win over Georgia shouldn't be a surprise; a win over
Mississippi St (PEACH BOWL CLASSIC) won't be, either. Winning the TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
(North Carolina, St. Joseph's is too much to expect.
The Panthers are too strong for the league schedule to be a factor.
Coach Paul Hewitt did a great job last year with the Yellow Jackets without an overwhelming
amount of talent to work with. By forcing the pace and creating lots of possessions, talent
was less of a factor. C Alvin Jones is gone, so the defensive lane will be much less fearsome.
G Tony Akins remains, but he's not enough to build an offense around. Lots of hope rests on the
shoulders of F Ed Nelson.
Tech won't win the LAS VEGAS THANKSGIVING INVITATIONAL (Illinois, Iowa State). A win over
Wisconsin (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE) can happen; beating Syracuse (PEACH BOWL
CLASSIC) will be tougher. The league schedule isn't a factor with so many powerhouse teams to
play.
11/16 W @97-62 v Florida A&M
11/19 L @74-79 v Penn (LAS VEGAS THANKSGIVING INVITATIONAL)
11/22 W 70-65 v Ea Illinois (LAS VEGAS THANKSGIVING INVITATIONAL @ Las Vegas, NV)
11/23 L 66-105 v #2 Illinois (LAS VEGAS THANKSGIVING INVITATIONAL @ Las Vegas, NV)
11/24 L 54-67 v St Louis (LAS VEGAS THANKSGIVING INVITATIONAL @ Las Vegas, NV)
11/28 W @62-61 v Wisconsin (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE)
12/ 2 L 77-@83 @ N Carolina
12/ 9 L 82-@95 @ # Georgia
12/16 W @96-80 v #11 Syracuse (PEACH BOWL CLASSIC @ Atlanta, GA [Philips Arena])
12/19 W 83-@69 @ Davidson
12/21 W @79-70 v Wofford
12/23 L @69-79 v Tulane
12/29 L @92-98 v IUPUI
1 / 2 W @86-68 v Cornell
1 / 5 L @76-83 v Clemson
1 /10 L 79-@104 @ #3 Duke
1 /13 L @87-92 v #5 Maryland
1 /19 L 71-@84 @ NC State
1 /22 L @65-69 v #24 Virginia
1 /26 L 74-@87 @ # Wake Forest
1 /30 W @77-46 v Florida St
2 / 2 W @86-74 v N Carolina
2 / 6 W 74-@50 @ Clemson
2 / 9 L @63-95 v #1 Duke
2 /13 L 65-@85 @ #2 Maryland
2 /16 W 60-@40 @ St Louis
2 /20 W @65-59 v NC State
2 /23 W 82-@80 @ # Virginia
2 /27 W @90-77 v # Wake Forest
3 / 2 W 86-@78 @ Florida St
3 / 8 [6] L 83-@92 @ [3] Wake Forest (ACC TOURNAMENT @ Charlotte, NC)
When will the Bulldogs get respect? 3 straight Sweet 16 appearances aren't enough, apparently,
and they've done it now with a different head coach and a different backcourt running the show.
The one constant, F Casey Calvary, is gone now, but the cupboard isn't bare. Coach Mark Few
still has G Dan Dickau and G Blake Stepp to call upon. F Zach Gourde can mix it up inside.
No one else in the WCC can compete with the Zags (which can
make it tough to keep up a high standard of performance ... but they've been able to handle it
before).
A win at Illinois isn't in the cards. A win at the GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT
(Tennessee, Texas, Indiana) might be.
Fresno State (FAB FOUR) can be beaten. It'll be tough to beat
St. Joseph's on the road. In league play, there's nothing to worry about
(except bad blood fostered by the annual back-to-back home-and-home week with Portland).
The loss to Marquette doesn't look so bad at this point. The 'Zags have
a solid backcourt and a decent frontcourt as well. Not many teams are that complete.
Individual quickness is the one weakness (but that's what zone defenses are for).
The decisive win over Pepperdine finally puts the Bulldogs in a first place tie for the
WCC lead. They're certainly an entertaining team to watch,
but probably not as dominant as you'd want a Top-10 team to be.
2 /22 (#9) W 70-@54 @ St Mary's
2 /23 (#9) W 74-@55 @ San Francisco
3 / 2 [2] W 82-64 v [7] Loyola Marymount (WCC TOURNAMENT @ San Diego, CA)
3 / 3 [2] W 87-@79 @ [5] San Diego (WCC TOURNAMENT @ San Diego, CA)
3 / 4 [2] W 96-90 v [1] Pepperdine (WCC TOURNAMENT @ San Diego, CA)
3 /14 [W6] L 66-73 v [W11] Wyoming (NCAA POD @ Albuquerque, NM)
The Rainbows have taken firm control of the WAC regular
season race. That, along with the collapse of Fresno State makes them the
trackable team from that league. The home win over lingerer Georgia in
December (to win the RAINBOW CLASSIC) was nice, but it's not enough to qualify them as rankable
all by itself.
2 / 7 W 85-@76 @ SMU
2 / 9 L 57-@61 @ Louisiana Tech
2 /16 W @71-46 v San Jose St
2 /21 W @86-85 v Tulsa
2 /23 W @79-50 v Rice
2 /28 L 69-@79 @ Nevada
3 / 2 W 72-@79 @ Fresno St
3 / 7 [1] W 71-56 v [9] San Jose St (WAC TOURNAMENT @ Tulsa, OK)
3 / 8 [1] W 90-68 v [5] Nevada (WAC TOURNAMENT @ Tulsa, OK)
In 2000, coach Bill Self took no-name Tulsa to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. Last
year, with the major talent on the Illini roster, even more was expected; so another Elite Eight
came across as a disappointment. One or two big games can ruin the overall impression of a fine
season. G Frank Williams, a first-team All-America talent, ran the show last year and will do
so again this year. The fate of the team probably relies a bit too much on his individual
shoulders and that only figures to be more the case with the departures of C Marcus Griffin and
F Sergio McClain. F Brian Cook and G Cory Bradford must be major contributors every
night for this season to approach the heights of last year's campaign. C Robert Archibald
will be a solid post presence but they'll be without the scrappiness of 'T Lucas Johnson (out
with a torn ACL). The overwhelming depth isn't there this season, so the Illini won't have the
same free rein to be so physical without worrying about the consequences of getting in foul
trouble. It's hard for a bruiser team to repeat the same chemistry the second time around,
especially when the entire season will be deemed a failure if they don't make the Final Four.
Inside the Big 10, the Illini are the favorites over
Iowa.
Gonzaga could catch them napping right out of the blocks. "Winning" the
round-robin LAS VEGAS THANKSGIVING INVITATIONAL should be no problem. Winning at Maryland
in the ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE might be too tall an order. The annual BRAGGIN' RIGHTS border clash
with Missouri will be as close as you could hope for. In league play, the
tougher games are at home first, which always helps.
The Illini had to rally to win two of the three games in the LAS VEGAS THANKSGIVING
INVITATIONAL, but they continue to get a good distribution of solid performances from a number
of separate leaving. G Frank Williams is making this team follow his lead.
The loss at Maryland exposed the lack of depth in the front court this
year. Last year, with lots of fouls to give, no one had to be particularly good at staying out
of foul trouble -- in fact, it worked in their favor to turn games into win-by-attrition
affairs. C Robert Archibald and F Brian Cook aren't any better at staying out of foul trouble,
but now it hurts having them on the bench and not in the game. F Damir Krupalija can't do it
all by himself in the paint. With the frontcourt in foul trouble and the backcourt shooting
7-for-30, no wonder the Terps whipped them.
The return of 'T Lucas Johnson to the lineup (after ACL surgery) has corresponded with a
more consistent level of intensity and results. He's not the same mad scrambler that he was
before, but the offensive flow and ball movement is better with him on the court.
The Illini suffered all year from comparisons to last year's Final Four squad. This is a
different team. They have pulled together the last few weeks to win some clutch games. But for
this year's squad, Sweet 16 is the most that can be hoped for.
3 / 8 [3] W 92-76 v [6] Minnesota (BIG 10 TOURNAMENT @ Indianapolis, IN)
3 / 9 [3] L 88-94 v [2] Ohio St (BIG 10 TOURNAMENT @ Indianapolis, IN)
3 /15 [M4] W @93-64 v [M13] San Diego St (NCAA POD @ Chicago, IL)
3 /17 [M4] W @72-60 v [M12] Creighton (NCAA POD @ Chicago, IL)
3 /22 [M4] L 69-73 v [M1] Kansas (NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL @ Madison, WI)
4 starters are back for the Redbirds, including the three-guard lineup of G Tarise Bryson,
G Shawn Jeppson and G Randy Rice. Not much height up front, though.
Illinois State should be able to hold off rebuilding Creighton and Indiana State in the closely
bunched MVC.
Winning the UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC (Kent State,
South Florida, UC-Irvine, Hofstra) would be quite an
accomplishment. At Georgia Southern - yes; at Illinois
- no. The Kent St game could be a rare in-season out-of-conference
rematch. The tough league games are at home first; that helps.
11/16 W @74-70 v Weber St
11/23 W 58-52 v # UC-Irvine (UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC @ Moon Township, PA)
11/24 L 46-65 v # Pittsburgh (UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC @ Moon Township, PA)
11/25 L 80-82 v Hofstra (UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC @ Moon Township, PA)
G Tarise Bryson, the MVC Player of the Year last year,
dislocated his wrist in the Weber State game and is likely out for the entire year. Their
season prospects aren't nearly as positive without him and, with the emergence of
Southern Illinois, they're no longer the trackable team for the conference.
The Hoosiers are right on the edge of being not-quite-good-enough athletes but they play
well together as a team and that makes up for it. F Jared Jeffries and G Tom Coverdale lead a
collection of role players, but there's no star attraction.
[] 11/28 (#24) W 79-@66 @ N Carolina (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE)
The maturation of F Jared Jeffries (especially as a defensive force in the paint), and the
return of G Tom Coverdale's shooting stroke from 3-point range has keyed the surge that puts the
Hoosiers in the driver's seat early on in the Big 10 race.
As long as F Jared Jeffries can keep out of foul trouble, everything's great: the Hoosiers
have an inside presence that gives the three-point shooters more room to get their shots off;
but when Jeffries sits, defenders can extend their defense and IU's perimeter players don't have
the quickness to get open off the dribble. They were dominating
Michigan State when Jeffries was on the floor.
As long as he's fully recovered from his knee injury, all-everything 'T Luke Recker is as good
as it gets. F Reggie Evans is the kind of inside muscle that is the perfect compliment for a
fluid 'tweener like Recker. What's missing this year (with the departure of G Dean Oliver) is a
first-rate guard to handle the ball while the other two play off each other. No matter. Few
teams have a pair of players as good as these two, so that qualifies for a national ranking all
by itself. The supporting cast (which did fine at the end of the season last year winning the
Big 10 tournament with Recker on the sidelines) will
determine whether this season will be great or merely good. JuCo transfer G Chauncey Leslie
inherits the reins at the point, but much of the offensive will funnel through Recker as the
point forward. Freshman G Pierre Pierce could take up some of the slack in outside scoring left
with Oliver's departure. Coach Steve Alford knows what he's doing, but you can't coach height
and the Hawkeyes are a little small up front.
Iowa is more vulnerable to upset than Illinois, so you have to make the
Illini the favorites to winning the Big 10 title.
Michigan State and Indiana will also be in the
conversation.
Winning the prestigious new NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC (Missouri,
Memphis, Alabama) will be quite a feather in their cap,
and they can do it. Beating Duke (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE) is too much to ask.
The HAWKEYE CHALLENGE is a showcase tournament that proves nothing. The game at
Missouri could be a rare in-season out-of-conference rematch. The only
game with Illinois is away; that hurts.
11/13 (#11) W @89-59 v MD-Ea Shore (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Iowa City, IA)
11/14 (#11) W @90-61 v Boston U (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Iowa City, IA)
11/17 (#11) W @75-67 v Louisiana Tech
[] 11/20 (#13) W 75-71 v #9 Memphis (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Kansas City, MO)
[] 11/21 (#13) L 77-@78 @ #8 Missouri (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Kansas City, MO)
[] 11/27 (#12) L @62-80 v #2 Duke (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE @ Chicago, IL)
11/30 (#12) W @73-64 v Alabama St (HAWKEYE CHALLENGE @ Iowa City, IA)
12/ 1 (#12) W @86-69 v SMU (HAWKEYE CHALLENGE @ Iowa City, IA)
The Hawkeyes turned in the best individual win of the season: a road massacre of previously
undefeated Missouri that more than paid back their earlier gift loss to
the same Tigers in the final of the NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC. F Reggie Evans and 'T Luke Recker
have never looked better, and freshman G Pierre Pierce seems to be finding the right speed to
mix in with them.
Why bother untracking a team this late in the season? 'Cause the Hawkeyes are just that
bad. Even coach Steve Alford has given up on them, benching their best players for the sake of
"sending a message" to a team that isn't listening.
Coach Roy Williams' Jayhawks sport the win-by-attrition style that the current rules dictate.
F Drew Gooden and F Nick Collison are a solid frontcourt duo, but neither is an unstoppable
talent who can dominate a game. KU is a committee enterprise. The returning backcourt of
G Kirk Hinrich and G Jeff Boschee are decent but they're not dominant players, either. The
Jayhawks' were most vulnerable last year to waterbug teams with quick guards. How quickly
freshman G Aaron Miles can make an impact will say alot about the prospects for this season.
Freshman F Wayne Simien should provide added muscle up front.
Kansas' traditional early season preparedness might just enable them to sneak out a win at the
loaded MAUI INVITATIONAL (Duke, UCLA). Payback will be
on their minds after last year's shellacking at the hands of Wake Forest.
The midseason showdown at UCLA could be a rare in-season out-of-conference
rematch. In league play, road games at Oklahoma State and
Texas will make it tough.
[] 11/19 (#4) L 91-93 v # Ball St (MAUI INVITATIONAL @ Lahaina, HI)
11/20 (#4) W 95-78 v Houston (MAUI INVITATIONAL @ Lahaina, HI)
11/21 (#4) W 80-62 v Seton Hall (MAUI INVITATIONAL @ Lahaina, HI)
Depth is what got the Jayhawks through against Arizona. Both F Drew
Gooden and F Nick Collison were solid, but so were G Jeff Boschee and 'T Keith Langford off the
bench. It's still a win-by-committee team more than win-by-attrition but they're as good as
they should be at this point in the season.
The Jayhawks rebounded well from the disappointing loss to UCLA by
separating themselves from their top conference rivals, Oklahoma State and
Oklahoma.
1 /23 (#2) W 88-@81 @ Iowa St
1 /26 (#2) W 86-@74 @ Texas A&M
1 /28 (#2) W @105-73 v # Missouri
2 / 2 (#2) W @100-73 v Colorado
2 / 4 (#4) W 98-@71 @ Kansas St
2 / 9 (#4) W @108-81 v # Texas Tech
2 /11 (#3) W 110-@103(OT) @ # Texas
2 /16 (#3) W @87-72 v Baylor
2 /18 (#2) W @102-66 v Iowa St
2 /24 (#2) W 88-@87 @ Nebraska
2 /27 (#2) W @103-68 v Kansas St
3 / 3 (#2) W 95-@92 @ # Missouri
3 / 8 [1] W 102-73 v [9] Colorado (BIG 12 TOURNAMENT @ Kansas City, MO)
3 / 9 [1] W 90-50 v [5] Texas Tech (BIG 12 TOURNAMENT @ Kansas City, MO)
3 /10 [1] L 55-64 v [2] Oklahoma (BIG 12 TOURNAMENT @ Kansas City, MO)
3 /14 [M1] W 70-59 v [M16] Holy Cross (NCAA POD @ St. Louis, MO)
3 /16 [M1] W 86-63 v [M8] Stanford (NCAA PD @ St. Louis, MO)
3 /22 [M1] W 73-69 v [M4] Illinois (NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL @ Madison, WI)
3 /24 [M1] W 104-86 v [M2] Oregon (NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL @ Madison, WI)
3 /30 [M1] L 88-97 v [E1] Maryland (NCAA FINAL FOUR @ Atlanta, GA [Georgia Dome])
4 starters return (but not the coach) for the Golden Flashes, most notably the three-guard
lineup of G Trevor Huffman, G Demetric Shaw and G Andrew Mitchell. Former Michigan State
assistant Stan Heath inherits the reins on the sidelines.
Kent State will try to hold off Central Michigan and a host of others (Bowling Green,
Ball State, Ohio and Marshall) in the crowded and competitive
MAC.
Winning the UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC (Illinois State,
South Florida, UC-Irvine, Hofstra) would be a great
accomplishment -- it's doable; beating Kentucky on "neutral" ground isn't.
The trip to Illinois St could be a rare in-season out-of-conference rematch. In league play,
they have to travel to Central Michigan for the biggest game.
11/19 w @90-68 v (Mercyhurst)
11/23 L 64-67 v Hofstra (UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC @ Moon Township, PA)
11/24 W 83-@55 @ Robert Morris (UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC @ Moon Township, PA)
11/25 W 75-64 v # UC-Irvine (UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC @ Moon Township, PA)
11/28 L 68-@82 @ #16 Kentucky (@ Cincinnati, OH)
12/ 1 W @75-56 v UT-Chattanooga
12/15 L 70-@75 @ Youngstown St
12/20 L 56-@62 @ # Xavier
12/22 W 61-@48 @ Illinois St
12/29 W @66-@62 @@ Cleveland St (ROCK-N-ROLL SHOOTOUT @ Cleveland, OH)
KSU had a great week, knocking back a good St. Bonaventure team, destroying overhyped
Ball State and winning at Marshall to get off to a strong start inside
the league.
The Wildcats came together towards the end of last season and are a solid, if not spectacular,
squad entering this season. 'T Tayshaun Prince was more effective matched up against frontcourt
players with his quickness advantage rather than outside where his height advantage over
backcourt players was negative by poor shooting. 'T Keith Bogans also fared better late in the
year matched up on the interior against forwards rather than outside against guards. With the
return of F Jules Camara, Bogans will likely be back at guard. Point guard and perimeter
quickness are the main liabilities in this lineup. Freshman G Rashaad Carruth should help with
outside scoring.
Florida has a talent edge over the Wildcats in the race for the
SEC title, but UK is probably better suited to grinding
conference play. The 'Cats should continue to best the rest of the Bluegrass Quaternity (over
Indiana, Louisville and Notre Dame).
Winning the NABC CLASSIC is a formality. Beating Duke in the JIMMY V
CLASSIC is too much to expect. Getting Alabama and
Mississippi at home makes up for having to play at
Florida first.
[] 11/15 (#5) L @52-64 v # We Kentucky (NABC CLASSIC @ Lexington, KY)
11/16 (#5) W @90-73 v Marshall (NABC CLASSIC @ Lexington, KY)
11/24 (#16) W @94-75 v Morehead St
11/28 (#16) W @82-68 v # Kent St (@ Cincinnati, OH)
The Wildcats looked very good in almost beating Duke in the
JIMMY V CLASSIC. 'T Tayshaun Prince has the will to dominate games now and the supporting cast
has gotten much stronger and deeper around him. UK leads the nation in rebounding margin.
No reason to rank this team based on on-court talent; but the return of coach Rick Pitino to
college basketball more than merits tracking this team. Freshman G Carlos Hurt is the most
talented player, which poses all kinds of chemistry problems. New coach, new system, new
pecking order that doesn't necessarily respect the veterans over the newcomers. It will be a
high-profile season because of the talent on the sidelines, not on the court. Don't expect too
much.
Winning the showcase JIM THORPE CLASSIC won't mean much; beating Tennessee
would. Don't expect wins at Kentucky or Indiana. In league
play, they have to play their toughest games away first; that's not good for a young team.
The Cardinals began the Rick Pitino era with a 19-0 run to start the game against South Alabama
(a team they lost to last year). Physical conditioning alone was a prime reason as they pressed
all game and the Jaguars were whipped before halftime. You don't need fabulously skilled
players when the baskets come this easy.
11/24 (#24) L 63-@90 @ # Oregon (@ Portland, OR)
12/ 1 W @81-63 v Tennessee St
12/ 7 W @90-75 v WI-Milwaukee (JIM THORPE CLASSIC @ Louisville, KY)
12/ 8 W @84-69 v Murray St (JIM THORPE CLASSIC @ Louisville, KY)
12/12 W @75-49 v Coppin St
12/15 W @66-61 v # Ohio St
12/17 W @70-66 v # Tennessee Tech
12/20 W @73-72 v Tennessee
12/26 W @94-77 v Ea Kentucky
12/29 L 62-@82 @ #9 Kentucky
1 / 5 W 88-@77 @ UAB
1 / 9 L @71-75 v # Marquette
1 /12 W @93-85 v TCU
1 /16 L 77-@87 @ E Carolina
1 /19 L 50-@77 @ #3 Cincinnati
1 /23 L 71-@77 @ Charlotte
1 /26 W @97-67 v DePaul
1 /30 L 70-@80 @ #16 Memphis
2 / 1 W @96-77 v # S Florida
2 / 5 L @64-67 v St Louis
2 / 9 L 62-@77 @ #15 Indiana
2 /12 W 76-@72 @ DePaul
2 /16 L 63-@75 @ #14 Marquette
2 /19 W @75-42 v E Carolina
2 /22 L 50-@56 @ St Louis
2 /27 W @74-71 v #5 Cincinnati
3 / 2 W @90-88(OT) v Charlotte
3 / 6 [7] W 110-86 v [10] TCU (CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT @ Cincinnati, OH)
3 / 7 [7] L 76-84 v [2] Marquette (CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT @ Cincinnati, OH)
Winning the GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT (by going through Tennessee,
Indiana and Gonzaga) is a
Sweet 16-calibre splash debut. Redshirt freshman G Dwayne Wade is only 6-4 but he's involved
enough to be posting small forward rebounding numbers; freshman G Travis Diener has also
contributed. New blood doesn't know its place so the future is open-ended -- that's a good
thing.
11/30 (#17) W @76-40 v Texas So (BLUE AND GOLD CLASSIC @ Milwaukee, WI)
12/ 1 (#17) W @77-58 v Sam Houston (BLUE AND GOLD CLASSIC @ Milwaukee, WI)
The win over Cincinnati restores the momentum of this season.
Defensively, they're solid and as long as the outside shots are falling, things are fine.
There's probably not another team in the country that could have come back against
Cincinnati the way the Golden Eagles did: defensively. That was mighty
impressive. So they lost in an endplay on the road against a Top-10 team; so what. This team
is all kinds of tough.
2 /26 (#11) L 46-@51 @ E Carolina
3 / 1 (#11) W @72-53 v DePaul
3 / 7 [2] W 84-76 v [7] Louisville (CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT @ Cincinnati, OH)
3 / 8 [2] W 85-73 v [6] Houston (CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT @ Cincinnati, OH)
3 / 9 [2] L 63-@77 @ [1] Cincinnati (CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT @ Cincinnati, OH)
3 /14 [E5] L 69-71 v [E12] Tulsa (NCAA POD @ St. Louis, MO)
It isn't as if 'T Terence Morris wasn't a talented player; that was the problem: his obvious
talent only made anything less than star performances come across as disappointing efforts last
year. That negativity is gone from the mix and now all that's left is overachieving gamers.
G Juan Dixon and G Steve Blake are a great backcourt. C Lonny Baxter runs the floor better than
any other big man in the country. F Tahj Holden, G Byron Mouton should continue their solid
contributions. A return trip to the Final Four is the easier task; supplanting
Duke atop the ACC is much harder. Even
so, there's no reason to expect this train to slow down. The killer/attrition style is still
the preferred strategy in this era.
Last year, the Terrapins were good enough for one-off wins but not the long haul effort required
to win the conference title. Duke still stands in the way of an
ACC crown, but eliminating the upset losses may be harder for
this bunch.
This early in the season, the veteran Terps should have the edge over Florida
and loderoTemple in the COACHES V CANCER CLASSIC. Home court and
better offensive firepower should be enough to hold off Illinois in the
ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE. The BB&T CLASSIC (Connecticut) should be no problem.
Most of the tough league games are away first, which is better suited for an experienced squad.
[] 11/ 8 (#2) L 67-71 v # Arizona (COACHES V CANCER @ New York, NY)
11/ 9 (#2) W 82-74 v #12 Temple (COACHES V CANCER @ New York, NY)
11/17 (#8) W @83-53 v American
11/24 (#7) W @77-53 v Delaware St
[] 11/27 (#7) W @76-63 v #1 Illinois (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE)
12/ 2 (#7) W @61-53 v # Princeton (BB&T CLASSIC @ Washington, DC)
The emergence of F Chris Wilcox as a physical force in the paint to complement
C Lonny Baxter is the extra element that this team needed. The win over
Illinois included lots of help from people other than the Big 3
(G Juan Dixon, Baxter and G Steve Blake) -- that's what the Terps need consistently to return to
the Final Four.
[] 12/ 3 (#3) W @77-65 v #19 Connecticut (BB&T CLASSIC @ Washington, DC)
The maturity of this year's squad produce its ultimate result: a complete, 40-minute effort
to beat Duke (as they should have done last year). Their frontcourt muscle
and depth were both in evidence. The Maryland program has made a permanent breakthrough into a
Final Four/national champion contender.
2 /20 (#1) W 84-@68 @ Clemson
2 /24 (#1) W @90-89 v # Wake Forest
2 /27 (#1) W 96-@63 @ Florida St
3 / 3 (#1) W @112-92 v # Virginia
3 / 8 [1] W 85-69 v [8] Florida St (ACC TOURNAMENT @ Charlotte, NC)
3 / 9 [1] L 82-@86 @ [4] NC State (ACC TOURNAMENT @ Charlotte, NC)
3 /15 [E1] W @85-70 v [E17] Siena (NCAA POD @ Washington, DC)
3 /17 [E1] W @87-57 v [E8] Wisconsin (NCAA POD @ Washington, DC)
3 /22 [E1] W 78-68 v [E4] Kentucky (NCAA EAST REGIONAL @ Syracuse, NY)
3 /24 [E1] W 90-82 v [E2] Connecticut (NCAA EAST REGIONAL @ Syracuse, NY)
3 /30 [E1] W 97-88 v [M1] Kansas (NCAA FINAL FOUR @ Atlanta, GA [Georgia Dome])
4 / 1 [E1] W 64-52 v [S5] Indiana (NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP @ Atlanta, GA [Georgia Dome])
Coach John Calipari took the team as-is last year and went all the way to the NIT semifinals.
F Kelly Wise is an excellent frontcourt player. Add to the mix G Dajuan Wagner (son of former
Louisville star Milt Wagner), the national high school Player of the Year, and standout JuCo
F Chris Massie to boot, and expectations are off the scale for this season. Memphis is
the buzz team nationwide coming into this season. Calipari is a master at creating
team chemistry so there's no reason to expect these guys won't mesh right from the start.
It's not too much to expect a win in the presitigious new NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC
(Missouri, Iowa, Alabama).
Beating Mississippi, Tennessee and
Temple in succession isn't too much to expect, either. The showdown with
Cincinnati at season's end may not even matter by then; they don't have to
play Marquette at all.
11/13 (#14) W @88-61 v Wofford (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Memphis, TN)
11/14 (#14) W @91-66 v Old Dominion (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Memphis, TN)
11/18 (#14) W @97-69 v Northwestern St
[] 11/20 (#9) L 71-75 v #13 Iowa (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Kansas City, MO)
[] 11/21 (#9) L 70-81 v #14 Alabama (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Kansas City, MO)
The neutral site losses in the NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC shed light on where this year's squad
is on the learning curve. Yes, Dajuan Wagner can put up points against college competition, but
he's taking 20 shots a game and not accompanying it with any assists. Converting from a
shooting guard into a scoring point guard isn't an easy transition -- Tony Harris (Tennessee)
and Robert O'Kelley (Wake Forest) never fully succeeded in four years -- so this is likely to be
to be an on-going problem. A quicker short-term fix would be to take the ball out of Wagner's
hands and have the point guard control when he distributes the ball to Wagner and Kelly Wise
(who isn't getting enough touches).
Things are falling apart -- at exactly the wrong time -- for the Tigers. Just when coach
John Calipari's lessons should be kicking into being second nature, this team has degenerated
into lots of one-on-one playing on offense.
Despite the loss to Cincinnati, the Tigers showed quite well; they had
their chances and played most of the game with the lead on the road. The Bearcats are a bad
matchup for Memphis because C Kelly Wise and G Dajuan Wagner need to score inside to be most
effective, and that's the strength of Cincinnati's defense.
3 / 7 [3] L 74-80 v [6] Houston (CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT @ Cincinnati, OH)
3 /14 W @82-62 v UNC-Greensboro (NIT)
3 /20 W @80-69 v BYU (NIT)
3 /23 W @79-73 v # Tennessee Tech (NIT)
3 /26 W 78-77 v Temple (NIT @ New York, NY [Madison Square Garden])
3 /28 W 72-62 v S Carolina (NIT @ New York, NY [Madison Square Garden])
The undefeated preseason makes the Hurricanes quite trackable. This is the one true
lodero that's having success. 'T John Salmons leads the team offensively (with the
accent on "offensive"). This is one of the ugliest teams on offense around; at times, it looks
like they're playing with 5 forwards and no guards. Defensively, they're hard to score on and
hard to get a rhythm against -- that's the essence of the lodero style. A tough week to
start out the Big East season could make or break them.
1 / 2 (#24) W 79-@71 @ # Georgetown
1 / 5 (#24) L 75-@76 @ #25 Connecticut
1 / 8 L 60-@71 @ St John's
1 /12 W 71-@68 @ Virginia Tech
1 /15 W @76-69(2OT) v # Pittsburgh
1 /19 W @102-96(OT) v Providence
1 /24 W @76-58 v Villanova
1 /29 (#24) L @65-70 v # Boston Col
2 / 2 (#24) W @68-66 v #11 Connecticut
2 / 5 (#22) W 65-@56 @ Villanova
2 /10 (#22) L 63-@76 @ # Boston Col
2 /13 (#24) W @79-56 v St John's
2 /17 (#24) L 61-@64 @ Rutgers
2 /23 L @77-90 v Notre Dame
2 /26 W 81-@65 @ Providence
3 / 2 W @83-77 v Virginia Tech
3 / 7 [E2] W 84-76(OT) v [W3] Georgetown (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
3 / 8 [E2] L 71-76 v [W1] Pittsburgh (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
3 /14 [W5] L 80-93 v [W12] Missouri (NCAA POD @ Albuquerquen, NM)
The cupboard isn't quite bare, but only sophomore G Marcus Taylor remains from the prime talent
of last year's Final Four squad. Two freshmen, G Kevin Torbert and 'T Alan Anderson, figure to
be core contributors from the start. It may be too much to expect big things from such young
talent, but "talent" is the key word. Coach Tom Izzo should have lots of good will built up in
reserve after the heady heights of the past three seasons. This year won't match those, but
that won't mean the season will be a disappointment.
Illinois has too many horses for this young bunch to keep pace with in the
Big 10 race; but they might play a spoiler role.
Don't expect the title in the PRESEASON NIT (USC,
Wake Forest, Fresno State,
Syracuse). A win against Virginia (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE)
will also be a tough task. The showcase SPARTAN CLASSIC is no problem; playing at
Florida is; so will be Stanford (PETE NEWELL CHALLENGE).
They get their feet wet in conference play before they have to face either
Illinois or Iowa; that will help out such a young squad.
11/12 (#22) W @80-70 v Detroit (PRESEASON NIT)
11/14 (#22) W @67-55 v # Oklahoma (PRESEASON NIT)
[] 11/21 (#18) L 58-69 v #17 Syracuse (PRESEASON NIT @ New York, NY)
11/23 (#18) L 58-63 v #22 Fresno St (PRESEASON NIT @ New York, NY)
The home crowd spurred the no-name frontline players onto a nice win over
Arizona as the Spartans won for the 50th consecutive time in East Lansing.
G Marcus Taylor displayed an excellent balance of scoring and playmaking and helped hound UofA's
G Jason Gardner into his worst performance of the season. It'll have to wait until the
Stanford game to see whether this was a one-time emotional effort or
whether it marks a surge to a higher plateau of performance for this new cast of players. For
the moment, give 'em the benefit of the doubt.
G Marcus Taylor missed the Minnesota game with back spasms (and may not be ready for the
Indiana game, either. As with Jason Gardner at Arizona, his
backcourt leadership is crucial for such a young team. G Chris Hill had 25 points in his place
(but he also had only 2 assists and 6 turnovers).
Down the stretch, no one else in the league is playing any better than the Spartans. They
compete well, which can go a long way when there's no one else overwhelmingly better inside the
league.
Last year's lodero squad has lost its main lodero player, Rahim Lockhart.
F Justin Reed, a first-rate talent, remains but this will be a different and possibly much less
successful team. Coach Rod Barnes likes plodders, so turning Reed loose many not be to his
liking. Still, there are several players who've experienced the success of last season and
won't know any better than to expect more of the same this season.
A win at the TOP OF THE WORLD CLASSIC (Butler) should be in the offing.
Don't expect a win over Memphis, but the Rebels could pull off the unwelcome
guest upset in the showcase SUN BOWL CLASSIC (UTEP). In conference, tough early road games
could knock them out of the race before they're in it.
11/15 L 78-82(OT) v Bowling Green (TOP OF THE WORLD CLASSIC @ Fairbanks, AK)
11/17 W 75-@58 @ AK-Fairbanks (TOP OF THE WORLD CLASSIC @ Fairbanks, AK)
11/18 W 80-68 v Wichita St (TOP OF THE WORLD CLASSIC @ Fairbanks, AK)
The Rebels sneak into the Top 25 with a home win (but moral loss) over
Memphis. F Justin Reed is hidden too deep in the post now (without
L Rahim Lockhart to draw heat away from him this year), but he can still shine when he gets the
ball.
12/16 (#25) W @83-72 v UT-Martin (@ Southaven, MS)
12/21 (#23) W 77-70 v IUPUI (SUN BOWL CLASSIC @ El Paso, TX)
12/22 (#23) W 68-@58 @ UTEP (SUN BOWL CLASSIC @ El Paso, TX)
The win over Kentucky certifies the 14-1 start. Still, this team is
mostly all athletic hustle moreso than a smart team. C Mario Austin is big in the paint and the
G Michael Gholar is big on the perimeter.
1 / 8 (#15) L 64-@75 @ Arkansas
1 /12 (#15) L 59-@66 @ # Mississippi
1 /16 W @93-92 v Tennessee
1 /19 L 73-@85 @ #22 Alabama
1 /26 W @84-61 v LSU
1 /30 W 72-@64 @ Auburn
2 / 2 L 48-@76 @ #5 Florida
2 / 6 L @68-86 v #21 Georgia
2 / 9 W @76-62 v #10 Alabama
2 /13 L 65-@68 @ LSU
2 /16 W @89-53 v Auburn
2 /20 W 66-@43 @ Vanderbilt
2 /23 W @61-59 v # Mississippi
2 /27 W @89-83 v Arkansas
3 / 2 W 64-@57 @ S Carolina
3 / 8 [W2] W 62-52 v [E3] Florida (SEC TOURNAMENT @ Atlanta, GA [Georgia Dome])
3 / 9 [W2] W 57-51 v [W4] LSU (SEC TOURNAMENT @ Atlanta, GA [Georgia Dome])
3 /10 [W2] W 61-58 v [W1] Alabama (SEC TOURNAMENT @ Atlanta, GA [Georgia Dome])
3 /15 [M3] W 70-58 v [M14] McNeese St (NCAA POD @ Dallas, TX)
3 /17 [M3] L 64-@68 @ [M6] Texas (NCAA POD @ Dallas, TX)
'T Kareem Rush and G Clarence Gilbert are a fearsome scoring duo (nevermind their their shot
selection). That's the heart of the team. C Arthur Johnson is capable inside and big things
are expected from freshman 'T Najeeb Echols. Is G Wesley Stokes good enough to guide this team
to highest of heights? We'll see. This is coach Quin Snyder's year to break into the big time.
There's better individual talent here than over at Kansas, but consistency
of execution may deliver the Big 12 title to the Jayhawks.
A win in the prestigious new NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC (Iowa,
Memphis, Alabama) would catapult the Tigers into the Top
10 and likely keep them there all season. Xavier (JOHN WOODEN TRADITION)
won't be a problem, but Illinois (BRAGGIN' RIGHTS) will. Home court should
be enough to help them get past Iowa (possibly another rare in-season
out-of-conference rematch) and Virginia. In league play, both
Oklahoma State and Texas are home games; that helps.
11/13 (#9) W @89-63 v UT-Martin (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Columbia, MO)
11/14 (#9) W @86-58 v Air Force (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Columbia, MO)
[] 11/20 (#8) W @75-68 v #14 Alabama (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Kansas City, MO)
[] 11/21 (#8) W @78-77 v #13 Iowa (NABC GUARDIANS CLASSIC @ Kansas City, MO)
11/24 (#8) W 72-60 v # Xavier (JOHN WOODEN TRADITION @ Indianapolis, IN)
Despite the broken nose suffered by 'T Kareem Rush against Alabama, the
Tigers were able to rally to beat Iowa in the finals of the NABC GUARDIANS
CLASSIC. Several people are playing well for the team right now.
G Anthony Adams led a team that went 6-22 last year. New coach Derek Thompson has his hands
full. Don't expect much, but at least they'll get to compete against some name teams.
As an independent, they've loaded their schedule big names on the road and no-names at home.
11/17 L 57-70 v Clemson (PARADISE JAM @ St. Thomas, VI)
11/18 L 49-63 v La Salle (PARADISE JAM @ St. Thomas, VI)
11/20 L 55-67 v Ea Michigan (PARADISE JAM @ St. Thomas, VI)
With only C Kris Lang and 'T Jason Capel returning, there's not much veteran talent that puts
fear into the hearts of opponents. G Ronald Curry may not even play basketball this season,
depending on what his pro football prospects turn out to be. That means, the fate of coach
Matt Doherty's Tar Heels rests quite a bit on how fast the prize freshmen recruits can adjust to
big-time college ball. F Jawad Williams, G Melvin Scott and 'T Jackie Manuel all could be
great, but how soon?
Don't expect these young players to contend with the likes of Duke,
Maryland and Wake Forest in the
ACC race.
Even at home, beating veteran Indiana (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE) is asking a lot.
Don't expect a win at Kentucky; and don't be surprised if they don't win the
intended showcase TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS (St. Joseph's,
Georgia State). A win over Connecticut might provide
a second wind after a rough preseason. Three tough league games right off the bat could sink
the ship.
11/16 L @69-77 v Hampton
11/20 L @54-58 v Davidson
[] 11/28 L @66-79 v #24 Indiana (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE)
The win over Iowa certifies the solid preseason start. There's height
in the backcourt with 6-5 G Boban Savovic and 6-4 G Brian Brown, but 6-11 Ken Johnson is no
longer around to keep the lane secure. F Zach Williams has played solidly at power forward. A
solid team, but not special.
The Big 12 is already jam-packed with rankable and
trackable teams, but the Sooners' win over Maryland is too good to ignore.
G Hollis Price, 'T Ebi Ere and F Aaron McGhee all have been key to the solid preseason that OU
has turned in.
12/29 (#20) W @97-55 v Texas So (ALL-COLLEGE CLASSIC @ Oklahoma City, OK)
5 returning starters plus coach Eddie Sutton has to be good enough for a national ranking. It
is. G Maurice Baker is only 6-1, but he can shoot, score, pass and rebound with the best of
them. The surrounding cast is solid, if not spectacular, led by F Fredrik Jonzen.
Kansas and Missouri will stay ahead of the Cowboys in
the Big 12 race, but they'll be in the mix (along with
Texas).
Home court should be good enough for a win over Cincinnati to start things
off. A win in the oddly structured LAS VEGAS THANKSGIVING CLASSIC (Providence) shouldn't be a
problem. A win at Fresno State is quite possible. In league play, they
get some big games at home early before they go on the road in the second half. That helps.
The Cowboys played five games in six days and only seemed to get stronger. Great
depth, great conditioning, great execution. You just have to hope they're not peeking too early
in the season.
11/29 (#10) W @95-47 v New Orleans
12/ 1 (#10) W @61-59 v Wichita St
12/ 8 (#9) W @90-41 v Jackson St
12/17 (#6) W @79-44 v Northwestern St
12/19 (#6) W @62-50 v MO-Kansas City
[] 12/22 (#6) W 85-@76 @ Arkansas (@ Little Rock, AR)
12/29 (#4) W @82-70 v # Ball St (ALL-COLLEGE CLASSIC @ Oklahoma City, OK)
G Maurice Baker only played 11 minutes in the loss to Texas and was well
below 100% after suffering a groin injury earlier in the week. G Victor Williams picked up the
slack, but it wasn't enough. Baker probably won't be at full strength next time out, either.
The pounding of Arizona has to count for something. The endplay road
losses count as moral victories, anyway. With everyone else in the
Pac-10 less than unbeatable, a team playing this solidly
has to be tracked (and ranked even -- for this week, at least). G Frederick Jones has led the
way so far.
The win over Stanford makes it official: the Ducks are in it for the
long haul this season. With G Luke Ridnour bombing away from deep behind the 3-point line, with
'T Luke Jackson scoring on leaning drives off the dribble, and with the huge size
underneath, UofO causes tough matchup problems all over the court for their opponents.
The destruction of UCLA was impressive. The gut-check win against
USC was just as good. They've beaten every elite team in the most elite
conference in the nation. This team is more than for real. This team could win it all.
The Ducks won the Pac-10 title outright for the first
time since 1939 (when they won it all). bbG Frederick Jones hit running jumpers in the lane
that provided the winning margin in both games last week. The "I Think I Can" phase is over;
now let's see how they handle "Survive and Advance".
3 / 7 [1] W 86-64 v [8] Washington (PAC-10 TOURNAMENT @ Los Angeles, CA [Staples Center])
3 / 7 [1] @ [4] USC (PAC-10 TOURNAMENT @ Los Angeles, CA [Staples Center])
3 /14 [M2] W 81-62 v [M15] Montana (NCAA POD @ Sacramento, CA)
3 /16 [M2] W 92-87 v [M7] Wake Forest (NCAA POD @ Sacramento, CA)
3 /22 [M2] W 72-70 v [M6] Texas (NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL @ Madison, WI)
3 /24 [M2] L 86-104 v [M1] Kansas (NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL @ Madison, WI)
The conference win at Boston College certifies the solid preseason.
They're rankable (by transitivity with Ohio State also breaking into the
rankings this week as well). G Brandin Knight (Brevin's younger brother) is having a fine
season. F Donatas Zavackas has been solid up front as well. The defensive focus of this team
is a good sign.
The Panthers are definitely the best team in the
Big East. Their solid week would have returned them to the
rankings regardless, but Connecticut's win at Arizona
lifts the profile of the entire conference, hence the immediate jump into the Top 10.
1 /30 (#10) L 76-@89 @ Notre Dame
2 / 2 (#10) W @71-59 v Villanova
2 / 7 (#12) W @70-65 v Seton Hall
2 /10 (#12) W 75-@63 @ # Syracuse
2 /16 (#11) W 85-@75 @ W Virginia
2 /21 (#12) W @78-59 v Rutgers
2 /26 (#10) W 73-@66(OT) @ Seton Hall
3 / 2 (#10) W @92-65 v W Virginia
3 / 7 [W1] W 76-62 v [E4] Boston Col (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
3 / 8 [W1] W 76-71 v [E2] Miami-FL (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
3 / 9 [W1] L 65-74(2OT) v [E1] Connecticut (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
3 /15 [S3] W @71-54 v [S14] C Connecticut St (NCAA POD @ Pittsburgh, PA)
3 /17 [S3] W @63-50 v [S6] California (NCAA POD @ Pittsburgh, PA)
3 /21 [S3] L 73-78(OT) v [S10] Kent St (NCAA SOUTH REGIONAL @ Lexington, KY)
Once again this year, the Tigers are being tracked more for personal interest than any national
prominence. Coach John Thompson III did a fine job in his first year winning the
Ivy League with an inexperienced squad. Things should be
even better this year. F Ray Robins is back after a year off and 6-10 freshman
C Dominick Martin holds lots of promise.
Penn should be improved over last year as well, but the Tigers still are the favorites to repeat
as Ivy champs. Brown will also challenge.
Don't expect a win in the BCA CLASSIC (St. Joseph's), or the BB&T CLASSIC
(Maryland, Connecticut). Home court should keep the
Kansas game from getting too far out of hand. They face Penn at home first;
that always helps.
11/15 L 58-@70 @ # California (BCA CLASSIC @ Berkeley, CA)
11/16 L 63-74 v #15 St Joseph's (BCA CLASSIC @ Berkeley, CA)
The perimeter ball movement by the Hawks' three-guard lineup is something to see. Last year,
G Jameer Nelson excelled at the point even as a freshman; G Marvin O'Connor had some legendary
scoring performances (18 points in 57 seconds against La Salle); and G Na'im Crenshaw can hurt
you as well if left unguarded. Up front, 7' C Alexandre Sazonov looks more imposing than his
stats suggest. SJU won't sneak up on anyone this time around after opening everyone's eyes last
season.
The Hawks will battle Temple and Xavier for the
Atlantic 10 title. The unofficial BIG 5 race should belong
to them as well (with Temple right behind them).
Winning the BCA CLASSIC (California, Princeton) shouldn't
be a problem, even on the road. Winning the TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
(North Carolina, Georgia State) away from home will be
tougher (but not impossible). Home court should help them beat Gonzaga.
Inside the league, they have to play at Temple first, a slight disadvantage.
11/15 (#15) L 67-68 v Ea Washington (BCA CLASSIC @ Berkeley, CA)
11/16 (#15) W 74-63 v # Princeton (BCA CLASSIC @ Berkeley, CA)
11/25 W @81-75 v Colorado
11/28 W 84-@57 @ Delaware
12/ 1 W @82-76 v Canisius
12/ 8 W @67-@61 @@ Penn (BIG 5 CLASSIC @ Philadelphia, PA [The Palestra])
12/10 W @85-64 v Drexel
[] 12/21 (#25) L 90-95 v Georgia St (TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS @ Charlotte, NC)
12/22 (#25) L 76-@92 @ N Carolina (TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS @ Charlotte, NC)
The Bulls came in the back door to take the UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC title. They didn't
beat any of the name favorites, but they obviously knew what they were doing. 'T Altron Jackson
is off to a good start.
F B.B. Waldon and 'T Altron Jackson could make this a memorable senior season.
G Reggie Kohn can't run up and down the court but his crisp passing can still create breakaway
opportunities. The entire team -- 12 deep -- is playing with a collective intensity as sharp as
anyone else in the country. Lack of height up front and the lack of a shooting guard to
accompany Kohn (who's an outstanding deep shooter also) could hold them back from first-tier
wins, though. For execution, they get an A+.
The win over Indiana was the Saluki's first over a ranked opponent in over
a decade. That, together with the near-miss against Illinois is good enough
to make SIU the trackable team for the MVC (in place of
slumping Illinois State) and even makes them rankable
(for this week, anyway).
12/ 8 (#25) W 73-@66 @ Geo Mason
12/16 W 74-@60 @ Cal St-Northridge
12/18 L 62-@80 @ Colorado St
12/22 W @92-80 v SE Missouri St
12/29 W 67-@63 @ Murray St
1 / 2 W 82-@72 @ Evansville
1 / 5 W @79-58 v Illinois St
1 / 7 W @84-74 v SW Missouri St
1 /10 L 79-@88 @ Wichita St
1 /12 W @83-58 v No Iowa
1 /16 W 55-@49 @ Bradley
1 /19 W @91-73 v Indiana St
1 /24 W 79-@64 @ Drake
1 /26 L 64-@69 @ No Iowa
1 /30 W @101-62 v Evansville
2 / 3 W 79-@77 @ Creighton
2 / 6 W @78-58 v Wichita St
2 / 9 W @66-57 v Drake
2 /13 L 71-@78 @ SW Missouri St
2 /16 L 70-@84 @ Illinois St
2 /20 W @65-62 v Creighton
2 /23 W 84-@74 @ Indiana St
2 /25 W @84-73 v Bradley
3 / 2 [1] W 66-44 v [8] Bradley (MVC TOURNAMENT @ St. Louis, MO)
3 / 3 [1] W 86-63 v [4] SW Missouri St (MVC TOURNAMENT @ St. Louis, MO)
3 / 4 [1] L 76-84 v [2] Creighton (MVC TOURNAMENT @ St. Louis, MO)
3 /15 [E11] W @76-68 v [E6] Texas Tech (NCAA POD @ Chicago, IL)
3 /17 [E11] W @77-75 v [E3] Georgia (NCAA POD @ Chicago, IL)
3 /22 [E11] L 59-71 v [E2] Connecticut (NCAA EAST REGIONAL @ Syracuse, NY)
All-America 'T Casey Jacobsen is back, but little else for the Cardinal. Gone is the twin tower
frontline of the 7-foot Collins twins. 7' C Curtis Borchard still remains, but he's not a
polished scoring threat. Freshman 'T Josh Childress will be a big key to how well this team
performs. (Remember, that Jacobsen was a key performer in his freshman season as well.) Coach
Mike Montgomery will need to employ a different style attack than the inside-out low post game
that the Cardinal have featured for the past few seasons.
Both UCLA and USC figure to stay ahead of the Cardinal in
the Pac-10 race.
Winning at Purdue (JOHN WOODEN TRADITION) as doable, as is winning in Chicago against
Texas (CLASSIC FOR KIDS). As always, the STANFORD INVITATIONAL is a showcase
with no-name opponents. BYU (LAS VEGAS SHOWDOWN) is a beatable opponent.
Michigan State (PETE NEWELL CHALLENGE) will be the toughest preseason
foe. In league play, the early back-to-back home-and-home grudge match with Cal can only foster
bad blood; having to go on the road first to UCLA and USC
is a bad schedule for a young team like the Cardinal.
This year's team has lots of new players who still don't quite fit together so well.
G Julius Barnes wants to get up and down with his athleticism while C Curtis Borchardt needs a
station-to-station pace to be effective. Freshman 'T Josh Childress is a smooth frontcourt
complement to 'T Casey Jacobsen's big guard style. A better point guard would help things mesh,
which is the problem exposed in the loss to Texas.
12/15 (#18) W @94-77 v Long Beach St
12/18 (#18) W @97-63 v Belmont (STANFORD INVITATIONAL @ Palo Alto, CA)
12/19 (#18) W @87-63 v Portland St (STANFORD INVITATIONAL @ Palo Alto, CA)
12/22 (#18) L 76-81 v BYU (LAS VEGAS SHOWDOWN @ Las Vegas, NV)
[] 12/29 (#23) W @75-64 v #19 Michigan St (PETE NEWELL CHALLENGE @ Oakland, CA)
The best thing about the win over Michigan State was that
'T Casey Jacobsen wasn't the reason they won. It was C Curtis Borchardt, who was dominant in
the paint, and erstwhile role players (G Julius Barnes and F Justin Davis) who stepped it up and
led the way. If only that level of contribution were there consistently. Let's just hope the
home-and-home grudge match with Cal doesn't get ugly.
Yes, the Pac-10 is tough this year, but you've got to
be able to defend your home turf better than the Cardinal did against USC and
UCLA (against whom they trailed by 20 before making the final score
respectable). The Cardinal are a little too soft for the more physical teams they have to face
in-conference.
With one of the best players in college basketball, G Preston Shumpert, and one of the best
coaches, Jim Boeheim, you've gotta at least track the Orangemen to start the season. The only
other returnee of any note is G DeShaun Williams. Freshman G Billy Edelin will inherit the
reins at the point. They won't be killers, but neither will they be scrubs.
Execution, execution, execution. Jim Boeheim had his troops ready and they just simply
outplayed their opponents. G DeShaun Williams and 'T Preston Shumpert have picked up
where they left off last year and F Kueth Duany has been solid early.
The loss to Georgia Tech was painful to watch. Disarray on the court and
no help from the sidelines about how to fix things. Can one coach's bench savvy be that much of
a difference (between Top-10 and unranked)? Apparently so, in this case. Get well soon, Jim!
Apparently so, indeed. Coach Jim Boeheim returned early from his recovery from medical
treatment and the Orangmen looked like their old selves in routing a very good
South Florida team. One game won't return them to the Top 10, though.
12/30 (#24) W @83-62 v Buffalo
1 / 2 (#12) W @87-66 v Rutgers
1 / 5 (#12) W 73-@66 @ Providence
1 / 8 (#11) W @85-70 v Seton Hall
1 /12 (#11) W 75-@69 @ W Virginia
1 /14 (#8) W @56-51 v Notre Dame
1 /19 (#8) L 62-@66 @ Tennessee
1 /22 (#18) L 57-@72 @ # Pittsburgh
1 /26 (#18) W @81-69 v Virginia Tech
1 /28 L 60-@75 @ # Georgetown
2 / 2 L 74-@82 @ Rutgers
2 / 4 W @76-64 v W Virginia
2 /10 L @63-75 v #12 Pittsburgh
2 /17 W 68-@65 @ Notre Dame
2 /21 W 73-@71 @ Seton Hall
2 /24 L @69-75 v # Georgetown
2 /28 L 61-@67 @ Villanova
3 / 3 L @65-69 v # Boston Col
3 / 6 [W4] L 64-78 v [E5] Villanova (BIG EAST TOURNAMENT @ New York, NY)
3 /13 W @76-66 v St Bonaventure (NIT)
3 /18 W @66-65(OT) v # Butler (NIT)
3 /20 W 62-@46 @ Richmond (NIT)
3 /26 L 59-66 v S Carolina (NIT @ New York, NY [Madison Square Garden])
The Owls are one of those teams that either get underrated during the regular season and then
wind up pulling off a "surprise" run in the NCAA tournament, or a team that gets overrated in
the regular season only to flop come tournament time. In 2000, Temple was a #2 seed and lost in
the second round of the tournament; last year, as an #11 seed, they made the Elite Eight. Go
figure. What it means is that the effectivenss of the gimmick matchup zone style that John
Chaney employs depends heavily on the particular opponent. If you don't hit your outside
jumpers against the Owls, you're going down. G Lynn Greer is back and he had one of the better
individual seasons last year. 4 starters return, including C Kevin Lyde. As long as G David
Hawkins and F Alex Wesby provide enough scoring to take some of the load off of Greer, there's
no reason they can't do it again (but they need a favorable draw more than anything else).
St. Joseph's probably has the consistency that will favor them in the
Atlantic 10 regular season race; Xavier
might also be a factor. St. Joseph's will also probably wind up atop the unofficial Big 5
standings as well.
Don't expect a repeat win over Florida, but Arizona can be
had (COACHES V CANCER CLASSIC). Look for Duke to shoot the lights out
against them as well. A win over Alabama (JIMMY V CLASSIC) can definitely
happen. Getting Xavier at home provides a slight edge in the conference
race.
11/ 8 (#12) L 64-72 v #4 Florida (COACHES V CANCER CLASSIC @ New York, NY)
11/ 9 (#12) L 74-82 v #2 Maryland (COACHES V CANCER CLASSIC @ New York, NY)
Even by Temple's standards, this preseason has been especially rough. Yes, they've played
their usual schedule of tough opponents and have been bloodied in the won-loss column. The
over-reliance on G Lynn Greer to do everything doesn't look so good when the wins aren't coming.
3-8 and six straight losses make them untrackable, even in the weak
Atlantic 10.
1 \ 5 @ Fordham
1 \ 9 v Duquesne
1 \12 v Rhode Island
1 \16 @ St Bonaventure
1 \19 @ Massachusetts
1 \23 v Richmond
1 \26 @ NC State
1 \30 v Fordham
2 \ 2 v # St Joseph's
2 \ 6 @ Rhode Island
2 \ 9 @ Geo Washington
2 \13 @ La Salle
2 \16 v Massachusetts
2 \20 v # Xavier
2 \23 v St Bonaventure
2 \27 @ Dayton
3 \ 3 @@ # St Joseph's (@ [The Palestra])
3 \ 6 v ?? (ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT @ Philadelphia, PA [The Spectrum])
The Final Four dreams are a thing of the past in Knoxville, but maybe that's a good thing.
Lower expectations from inside and outside of the program will probably make it easier to plow
through. L Ron Slay is now the undisputed leader of this team. 'T Vincent Yarborough may fare
better with more of the burden to shoulder. New coach Buzz Peterson (ex-Tulsa) has shown the
ability to succeed with lesser talent.
The Vols won't compete for the SEC title with the likes of
Florida and Kentucky ahead of them.
The GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT (Gonzaga, Texas,
Indiana) is up for grabs. A road win at Memphis won't
happen, but a home win over Syracuse should outta. In league play, the
tough teams are all at home first; can't ask for more than that.
11/16 W @72-63 v # Tennessee Tech
11/21 L 74-85 v # Marquette (GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT @ Anchorage, AK)
Even with the return of 'T Marcus Haislip to the lineup, the play has been too poor to
warrant continuing tracking the Vols. With the SEC loaded
with teams that are playing well, there's no room for a struggling team like UT to break through
in a meaningful way. P.S.: The problem wasn't the coach after all.
12\29 @ Wisconsin
1 \ 6 v # Mississippi
1 \ 9 v # Florida
1 \12 @ # Georgia
1 \16 @ # Mississippi St
1 \19 v # Syracuse
1 \21 v Mid Tennessee St
1 \23 v S Carolina
1 \27 v Auburn
1 \30 @ LSU
2 \ 2 @ Vanderbilt
2 \ 6 v # Kentucky
2 \ 9 @ S Carolina
2 \13 v Arkansas
2 \16 @ # Alabama
2 \19 @ # Kentucky
2 \23 v Vanderbilt
2 \26 @ # Florida
3 \ 2 v # Georgia
3 \ 7 v ?? (SEC TOURNAMENT @ Atlanta, GA [Georgia Dome])
F Chris Owens returns for the Longhorns, but no one else of much note. The optimism surrounding
this season is due to newcomers G T.J. Ford and G Terrell Ross. Coach Rick Barnes has had solid
seasons in Austin. This one will be more of the same: good, not great.
A win over depleted Arizona is the least that can be expected. A win in the
GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT (Gonzaga, Tennessee,
Indiana) is quite possible. Beating Stanford (CLASSIC
FOR KIDS) on neutral turf might even be in the cards. Winning at Utah will
be tough. They get off easy in conference, only facing Kansas and
Missouri once each.
G T.J. Ford needs better finishers to receive his passes. F Chris Owens eventually gets the
job done (on the second or third effort). G Royal Ivey scores well but if he could just hit a
standstill jump shot it might help Ford out even more. They're an interesting team to watch,
but the mismatch of talent will doom them to "underperform" in the eyes of their followers.
12/ 5 W @89-64 v Texas A&M-CC
12/10 W @79-52 v Washington St
12/15 W @96-90 v Jacksonville
12/19 W @80-67 v McNeese St
12/22 W 87-@78 @ UNLV (LAS VEGAS SHOWDOWN @ Las Vegas, NV)
There's no avoiding it: Bob Knight's persona casts such a giant shadow over college
basketball that this team is practically un-nontrackable. A home loss to Sam Houston
State is nothing worth tracking, but because of the guy on the sidelines, you kind of still want
to know how this team does every game.
Well whaddaya know? The Red Raiders have cracked the Top 25 after all! After being
crushed at Oklahoma, they rebounded at home by taking Texas
into overtime and destroying Oklahoma State.
1 /26 (#25) W @92-79 v #9 Oklahoma
1 /30 (#22) L 69-@80 @ Nebraska
2 / 2 (#22) W @69-43 v Iowa St
2 / 6 L 62-@64 @ # Oklahoma St
2 / 9 L 81-@108 @ #4 Kansas
2 /12 W @90-65 v Baylor
2 /16 W 97-@79 @ Colorado
2 /20 W @91-68 v # Missouri
2 /23 W @74-53 v Texas A&M
2 /26 L 71-@96 @ # Texas
3 / 2 W 91-@89 @ Baylor
3 / 7 [5] W 80-71 v [12] Texas A&M (BIG 12 TOURNAMENT @ Kansas City, MO)
3 / 8 [5] W 73-51 v [4] Oklahoma St (BIG 12 TOURNAMENT @ Kansas City, MO)
3 / 9 [5] L 50-90 v [1] Kansas (BIG 12 TOURNAMENT @ Kansas City, MO)
3 /15 [E6] L 68-@76 @ [E11] So Illinois (NCAA POD @ Chicago, IL)
G Jerry Green came back for his senior season. That by itself makes for reasons to be
optimistic about the upcoming season.
Only UC-Santa Barbara figures to push the Anteaters for the top spot in the
Big West.
Winning the UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC (Kent State,
Illinois State, South Florida, Hofstra) is possible
but not likely; winning at UCLA isn't even possible. An unwelcome guest
title at the ONEIDA CLASSIC (@ WI-Green Bay) shouldn't surprise. In league play, they have to
go to UC-Santa Barbara first; a slight disadvantage.
11/16 W @71-64 v St Mary's
11/20 W @96-93(2OT) v Pepperdine
11/23 L 52-58 v Illinois St (UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC @ Moon Township, PA)
11/24 W 68-61 v Oakland (UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC @ Moon Township, PA)
11/25 L 64-75 v # Kent St (UNIVERSITY HOOPS CLASSIC @ Moon Township, PA)
11/28 W 71-@59 @ Loyola Marymount
12/ 1 w @74-69 v (UC-Davis)
12/11 L 52-@63 @ San Diego
12/15 L 74-@75 @ #24 UCLA
12/22 W @75-69 v Long Beach St
12/28 W 79-62 v Lipscomb (ONEIDA CLASSIC @ Green Bay, WI)
12/29 W 77-71 v Boston U (ONEIDA CLASSIC @ Green Bay, WI)
The thrilling buzzer-beater victory over Utah State (which stopped the Aggies' home court
winning streak at 31 games) puts the Anteaters in the driver's seat in the
Big West conference race.
1 /17 W @62-58 v Pacific
1 /19 L @72-73 v Cal St-Northridge
1 /24 W 81-@70 @ UC-Santa Barbara
1 /26 L 47-@50 @ Cal Poly-SLO
1 /31 W 72-@64 @ UC-Riverside
2 / 2 W 72-@46 @ Cal St-Fullerton
2 / 7 W @52-38 v Idaho
2 / 9 L @61-62 v Utah St
2 /14 W 82-@80 @ Cal St-Northridge
2 /16 L 61-@73 @ Pacific
2 /21 W @77-63 v Cal Poly-SLO
2 /23 W @71-67 v UC-Santa Barbara
2 /28 L 70-@86 @ Long Beach St
3 / 7 [2] W 72-65 v [7] Long Beach St (BIG WEST TOURNAMENT @ Anaheim, CA)
3 / 8 [2] L 61-66 v [3] UC-Santa Barbara (BIG WEST TOURNAMENT @ Anaheim, CA)
Last year's Bruins were all over the map, as good as anyone in the country and also as bad.
They played their best ball in the NCAA tournament, hence the optimism to start this season.
What remains to be seen is whether they can sustain the momentum during the regular season
grind. Give coach Steve Lavin credit for being a survivor. G Earl Watson is gone so a new
leader must emerge. Freshman G Cedric Bozeman's adjustment to college ball will tell the story.
There's plenty of talent for him to direct. 'T Jason Kapono is a great shooter; F Matt Barnes
is a fine athlete and C Dan Gadzuric can be a force in the paint. There's plenty of depth to
boot, so the attrition style of play should be in full effect.
UCLA should hold off resurgent USC for the
Pac-10 title and having the revived conference tournament
played in Los Angeles (at the Staples Center) will be an added incentive to achieve.
The Bruins may not be so ready in the backcourt right out of the block to win the MAUI
INVITATIONAL (Duke, Kansas). Both
Alabama (JOHN WOODEN CLASSIC) nor Georgetown should be
beatable at home. The early showdown at USC will set up the conference race.
11/19 (#3) W 71-60 v Houston (MAUI INVITATIONAL @ Lahaina, HI)
[] 11/20 (#3) L 73-91 v # Ball St (MAUI INVITATIONAL @ Lahaina, HI)
11/21 (#3) W 89-77 v S Carolina (MAUI INVITATIONAL @ Lahaina, HI)
The meltdown against Ball State is worrisome. The Cardinals had already
beaten Kansas the previous night, so they shouldn't have snuck up on the
Bruins. Defensive intensity wasn't present (but that's a problem that can be quickly turned
around); 6-6 freshman G Cedric Bozeman looked good overall, but had lots of trouble against the
much smaller waterbug BSU guards (a problem with not so easy a solution).
A knee injury to freshman G Cedric Bozeman will sideline him for more than a month. That
won't help a team that sorely needs a point guard to bring order to the chaos.
12/ 5 W @65-50 v UC-Riverside
[] 12/ 8 W @79-57 v #11 Alabama (JOHN WOODEN CLASSIC @ Anaheim, CA)
Trying 'T Jason Kapono at the point seemed to work in the short run against
Alabama, but it can't be the long-term solution. At least they've righted
the ship.
The solid win over Kansas was a very good sign coming so closely on the
heels of the tough loss at USC. Better news yet: G Cedric Bozeman is back
playing again, so the ball movement on offense should improve as he settles in as the point
guard.
F Sam Clancy is powerful inside, F David Bluthenthal is a fine athlete and G Brandon Granville
is solid at the point. Two of last year's Iron 5 (F Brian Scalabrine and 'T Jeff Trepagnier)
are gone. G Desmon Farmer will get plenty of minutes. Twin freshman G's, Errick and Derrick
Craven, will also get time. Coach Henry Bibby wants a bruiser team and this year's squad may be
more balanced.
If UCLA struggles with its chemistry, the Trojans are solid enough to take
the Pac-10 title; the conference tournament is in Los
Angeles (at the Staples Center).
There's no reason USC can't take the PRESEASON NIT (Wake Forest,
Michigan State, Fresno State,
Syracuse). Pepperdine (FAB FOUR) will be no problem. Playing
UCLA at The Forum may not be quite the home court advantage they might have
liked.
11/13 (#10) W @68-55 v # Wyoming (PRESEASON NIT)
[] 11/15 (#10) L 58-@65 @ Fresno St (PRESEASON NIT)
11/26 W @73-62 v UC-Santa Barbara
12/ 1 W 60-@50 @ Bradley
12/ 4 W @82-54 v Rhode Island
12/ 6 L @77-@78 @@ Pepperdine (FAB FOUR @ Inglewood, CA [The Forum])
The impressive win against UCLA featured 24 offensive rebounds.
The Trojans have finally gotten off to the great start in the
Pac-10 race that coach Henry Bibby has been looking for.
Now we'll see if they can handle being The Hunted.
5 returning starters from last year's Mountain West
regular season champs is reason enough to expect big things from this season; but the real
reason for optimism is the return to the sideline of coach Rick Majerus after his sabbatical for
for health reasons. F Britton Johnsen is the best of a decent bunch.
The Utes will have their hands full holding off Wyoming for the
Mountain West conference title.
11/16 (#25) W @74-55 v St Francis-IL
11/20 (#20) W @64-49 v Boise St
11/23 (#20) L @65-78 v Utah St
11/26 L 61-@76 @ #14 Alabama
12/ 1 W @81-74 v Pepperdine
12/ 4 L 62-@71 @ Arizona St (SOUTHWEST SHOWDOWN @ Phoenix, AZ)
12/ 8 W @87-56 v Troy St
12/15 W 70-@59 @ Weber St
12/18 W @71-47 v So Utah
12/21 W @75-58 v Idaho St
12/29 W @71-61 v # Texas
1 / 2 w @63-57 v (Whitworth)
1 / 7 W 41-@35 @ St Mary's
1 /12 W @86-63 v UNLV
1 /14 W @76-70 v San Diego St
1 /19 W 63-@57(OT) @ Air Force
1 /21 W 81-@51 @ New Mexico
1 /28 W @71-66 v BYU
2 / 2 W @67-64 v Colorado St
2 / 4 L @46-54 v # Wyoming
2 / 9 W 70-@53 @ San Diego St
2 /11 L 64-@72 @ UNLV
2 /16 W @59-51 v Air Force
2 /18 W @66-65 v New Mexico
2 /23 L 61-@63 @ BYU
2 /28 W 72-@62 @ Colorado St
3 / 2 L 56-@57 @ # Wyoming
3 / 7 [2] W 69-66 v [7] Colorado St (MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT @ Las Vegas, NV)
3 / 8 [2] L 70-@76 @ [3] UNLV (MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT @ Las Vegas, NV)
3 /14 [S12] L 56-75 v [S5] Indiana (NCAA POD @ Sacramento, CA)
Coach Pete Gillen had the Cavaliers playing Top-10 ball as the regular season wound down last
year, but then they were quickly bounced out of postseason play. Don't judge the entire season
by the way that it ended. This program has returned to national prominence and there's no
reason to expect the momentum to stop. Point guard Donald Hand is gone, so there's a void to
fill in leadership but there's plenty of talent to be led. F Travis Watson, F Chris Williams,
'T Adam Hall and G Roger Mason can all play. (Unfortunately, G Majestic Mapp will miss the
2001-02 season due to further surgery on the knee that kept him out of action all of last
season.) There's not enough muscle up front for this to be considered a true win-by-attrition
team, but their quickness generates as many fouls on opponents as power does for other teams.
The Wahoos can't win the ACC with the likes of
Duke and Maryland ahead of them. The task is not to let
that in-conference power make them useless for out-of-conference competition.
Home court may be enough to hustle a victory over downgraded
Michigan State (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE). A road win against Auburn
(HARDWOOD CLASSIC) shouldn't be a problem, but one against Georgetown (JOHN
THOMPSON CHRISTMAS CLASSIC) will be tricky. The month of January could set up meaningful games
in the conference race towards the end.
11/16 (#13) W @105-74 v Wagner
11/18 (#13) W @85-62 v E Tennessee St
11/21 (#10) W @115-66 v Howard
[] 11/28 (#11) @31-28(susp.) v # Michigan St (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE @ Richmond, VA)
The home loss to talented N.C. State invalidates the undefeated preseason. Guardplay is
still a big problem for this team, and they don't seem to even realize it. The 'tweeners want
to go one-on-one and that won't get it done in the long run.
Give the Wahoos credit for two solid wins, especially over Wake Forest;
but don't read too much into it. The Cavaliers still have much to prove when the real games
that matter come around in the postseason.
New coach Skip Prosser (ex-Xavier) is the perfect fit for the current talent
on the Demon Deacons' roster. He wants to run and trap the entire game and the host of
'tweeners available are great for that. 'T Josh Howard, 'T Craig Dawson and 'T Antwan Scott are
all mobile and can score well. F Darius Songaila doesn't dominate the paint, but he is a solid
presence. G Broderick Hicks is only OK at the guard spot, where this team is the weakest.
Wake won't compete at the top of the ACC with
Duke and Maryland ahead of them.
The PRESEASON NIT (USC, Michigan State,
Fresno State, Syracuse) might be out of thei reach.
Minnesota (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE) is beatable. Winning at Kansas won't
happen. The league schedule is too loaded for these guys to do much damage.
11/12 (#20) W @79-78 v UNC-Wilmington (PRESEASON NIT)
11/16 (#20) W 76-@71 @ Arkansas (PRESEASON NIT)
11/18 (#20) W @87-67 v Elon
[] 11/21 (#21) W 62-61 v #22 Fresno St (PRESEASON NIT @ New York, NY)
[] 11/23 (#21) L 67-74 v #17 Syracuse (PRESEASON NIT @ New York, NY)
11/27 (#19) W @85-79 v Minnesota (ACC-BIG 10 CHALLENGE)
Beating a sound Marquette team was a very good win. The Demon Deacons
still don't know how to clamp down when they have the lead and prevent their opponent from
getting back into the game, though.
1 / 2 (#23) W @67-52 v Richmond
1 / 5 (#23) W 84-@62 @ N Carolina
1 / 7 (#20) W 87-@65 @ Navy
1 /12 (#20) W @96-55 v Clemson
1 /15 (#15) L 74-@86 @ # Virginia
1 /19 (#15) L 80-@103 @ #1 Duke
1 /23 L @63-85 v #4 Maryland
1 /26 W @87-74 v Georgia Tech
1 /30 W 82-@81 @ NC State
2 / 2 W 89-@80 @ Florida St
2 / 6 W @90-66 v N Carolina
2 / 9 L @94-103 v #9 Cincinnati
2 /13 L 115-@118(OT) @ Clemson
2 /17 W @92-70 v # Virginia
2 /21 L @61-90 v #3 Duke
2 /24 L 89-@90 @ #1 Maryland
2 /27 L 77-@90 @ Georgia Tech
3 / 2 W @82-71 v NC State
3 / 8 [3] W @92-83 v [6] Georgia Tech (ACC TOURNAMENT @ Charlotte, NC)
3 / 9 [3] L @64-@79 @@ [2] Duke (ACC TOURNAMENT @ Charlotte, NC)
3 /14 [M7] W 83-74 v [M10] Pepperdine (NCAA POD @ Sacramento, CA)
3 /16 [M7] L 87-92 v [M2] Oregon (NCAA POD @ Sacramento, CA)
The one and only reason the Hilltoppers are a trackable team is 7' C Chris Marcus. He clogs the
lane and is a good shooter. The rest of the team isn't much to write home about.
Only New Mexico State figures to give Western Kentucky much problem in the
Sun Belt.
Don't look for a win in the NABC CLASSIC (Kentucky). The odd
out-of-conference home-and-home series with Creighton should be a split. In league play, they
only play New Mexico State once, at home; that helps.
Winning decisively over Kentuckyat Rupp Arena puts the Hilltoppers
on the map. Better yet, they throttled George Washington the very next night out to take the
NABC CLASSIC title. One big grudge win didn't go to their heads. If they can take each game
with that kind of focus, the sky's the limit. Give them full credit now, because there are no
other games on their schedule that will get them any notice.
An ankle injury to C Chris Marcus will keep him out at least a month. So much for the
golden season that would have kept them in the Top 25 rankings all year. There's still plenty
left for them to have a solid season, but they need to regroup.
C Chris Marcus has returned to action (although still with limited minutes). The
Hilltoppers managed to stay in control of the weak Sun Belt
even without him. Now, we'll see if they can recapture the momentum they had after that huge
early win over Kentucky.
2 / 7 (#25) W 83-@79 @ AR-Little Rock
2 / 9 (#25) W 50-@46 @ Arkansas St
2 /16 (#25) W @100-76 v N Texas
2 /19 (#25) w @100-63 v (Kentucky St)
2 /23 (#25) W @65-61 v Mid Tennessee St
3 / 2 [E1] W 82-68 v [W4] N Texas (SUN BELT TOURNAMENT @ New Orleans, LA)
3 / 4 [E1] W 73-72 v [W2] New Mexico St (SUN BELT TOURNAMENT @ New Orleans, LA)
3 / 5 [E1] W 76-70 v [W1] LA-Lafayette (SUN BELT TOURNAMENT @ New Orleans, LA)
3 /14 [M9] L 68-84 v [M8] Stanford (NCAA POD @ St. Louis, MO)
5 returning starters from last season's Mountain West regular
season champs, plus a fine JuCo point guard in G Donta Richardson make for plenty of reasons to
be optimistic about the Cowboys this season.
Utah will be right there with Wyoming atop the
Mountain West standings.
12/14 L @55-75 v #14 Cincinnati (CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT)
12/20 W @62-56 v # Kent St
12/22 W 72-@65 @ Creighton
12/31 W @68-59 v Siena
1 / 5 W 66-@59 @ Dayton
1 / 9 W @88-58 v Fordham
1 /12 W @72-62 v Richmond
1 /17 W 71-@63 @ Geo Washington
1 /19 W 71-@67 @ La Salle
1 /23 W 67-@49 @ Rhode Island
1 /26 W @75-59 v Dayton
1 /30 W @79-65 v Duquesne
2 / 2 W 67-@64 @ Richmond
Being the lead team in the weak Atlantic 10 isn't saying
much, granted (but it's more than you can say for St. Joseph's or
Temple at this point). The main reason to pay attention is
C David West who has great hands and skill. G Lionel Chalmers is having a great year as well.