Gopher Basketball
We’ve reached roughly the halfway point of the college basketball season, so now would be a good time to look at what we’ve learned so far. In deference to the Jackson 5, the Fab Five, 5 Guys and Fries, the new Hawaii Five-O, the high-5 and the Iron 5 (obligatory Gopher reference), the theme for today’s initial “College Hoops Buzz Clips” column is, you guessed it, 5.
Some random thoughts and opinions as we count down the days to Selection Sunday, which outside of Christmas is the most anticipated day on my yearly calendar. When I think of Selection Sunday, I can’t help but think of Donkey in the movie Shrek. … are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet? Selection Sunday can’t get here fast enough, so every year as the college basketball calendar moves toward Febraury I must remind myself, enjoy the journey.
Comments, thoughts, disagreements, etc., are always encouraged.
5 Coaches Sittin’ on a Hot Seat
These 5 coaches best finish the season strong, or they’re likely to find themselves on the unemployment line as soon as their seasons end:
(1) Keno Davis (Providence): Perhaps Providence put too much stock in Keno’s one-year “wonder run” at Drake? The Friars haven’t won a game in the rugged Big East this season, and the program appears headed nowhere.
(2) Bill Grier (San Diego): It’s hard to believe it was just three short years ago (in his first season) Grier led the Toreros to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with an upset of UConn in Tampa-St. Pete. Since then the Toreros are 25-52 vs. Division I opponents and are the bottom-feeders of the West Coast Conference.
(3) Paul Hewitt (Georgia Tech): Insert latest “Tubby to Atlanta” rumors here.
(4) Pat Knight (Texas Tech): Do ya’ think pompous father Bob will have a few things to say about the Texas Tech administration if they have the audacity to fire his son? The General is likely to overlook the fact that his son hasn’t gotten the job done (no NCAA appearances & dwindling attendance) since taking over for daddy. It’s too bad it’s come to this because unlike his dad, Pat seems like an easy to guy to root for.
(5) Heath Schroyer (Wyoming): Believe it or not, Wyoming used to have basketball tradition. Cowboy fans have already grown weary of Schroyer, in just his fourth season in Laramie. Where Where are you Fennis Dembo and Eric Lechner?
Big Ten’s Upper Crust
As of today, my top 5 in the Big Ten:
(1) Ohio State
(2) Purdue
(3) Wisconsin
(4) Illinois
(5) Minnesota
Bracket Buster Peek Ahead
We’re just over a month away from Bracket Busters weekend (Feb. 18-20). Here’s an educated guess at the five best matchups the ESPN family of networks will offer up to college hoops fans. The teams’ current RPI (courtesy of CollegeRPI.com) is listed in parentheses:
1. Missouri State (36) @ Old Dominion (31)
2. Cleveland State (27) @ Wichita State (43)
3. Utah State (44) @ St. Mary’s (33)
4. VCU (79) @ Valparaiso (48)
5. Iona (89) @ James Madison (61)
Big-Name Programs, Be Very Afraid
Big-time programs running up against these 5 smaller-conference teams in the NCAA Tournament should proceed with extreme caution:
(1) Belmont
(2) Coastal Carolina
(3) College of Charleston
(4) Missouri State
(5) Oakland
Non-Big 10 Opponents Most Likely to Help the Gophers’ At-Large Profile
(1) North Carolina, yesterday’s unsightly loss at Georgia Tech notwithstanding, and (2) West Virginia are the obvious choices. The other three? I think (3) Wofford (SoCon), (4) Akron (MAC) and (5) South Dakota State (Summit), in that order, will have the best opportunities to win their respective conference tournaments, though admittedly it will be extremely difficult for the Jackrabbits if they run into overwhelming favorite Oakland.
Who Saw This Coming?
These 5 teams have been the season’s most pleasant surprises:
(1) Colorado
(2) Florida Atlantic
(3) Hampton
(4) James Madison
(5) UCF
The winner. … Sun Belt leader FAU, coached by former George Washington & St. John’s coach Mike Jarvis.
Fosbury Flops
These 5 teams have been major flops and are running out of time to figure things out:
(1) Baylor
(2) Georgetown
(3) Kansas State
(4) Memphis
(5) Michigan State.
The winner (make that loser) is Tom Izzo’s Spartys in a landslide. I’m not convinced this Spartan team will get it figured out. Something’s just not right. Unless prize recruit Adreian Payne starts to figure things out real soon, the lack of an interior presence will prevent MSU from going anywhere in March. At this point I’d say if Sparty gets to the Sweet 16, that will be an accomplishment.
Yucky Poo
It’s easy to select the 5 worst teams from the Power 6 conferences. DePaul, LSU, Oregon State and Wake Forest certainly deserve mention, but my vote goes to Auburn. The Tigers are #315 (out of 345) in the RPI, including home losses to Campbell, Jacksonville, Presbyterian and Samford.
Mid-Season Coach of the Year
Randy Bennett (St. Mary’s), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Tad Boyle (Colorado), and Mark Turgeon (Texas A&M) certainly are strong candidates, but I have to go with Steve Fisher at San Diego State. Who woulda’ thunk it? The national championship winning coach at Michigan (1989) who had zero control over his most (in)famous players (the Fab 5) now has the Aztecs poised for at minimum a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Mid-Season Player of the Year
In reality it’s a three-horse race between Jimmer Fredette (BYU), Jared Sullinger (Ohio State) and Kemba Walker (UConn), but I’ll throw in JaJuan Johnson (Purdue) and Nolan Smith (Duke) because they’ve been outstanding as well. I’ll give the nod to Jimmer by a nose over Walker. There is no player in college basketball I enjoy watching more than “The Jimmer.”
Final 4 (+1)
My midseason Final 4 is Duke (with or without Kyrie Irving), Kansas, Ohio State and Pitt. I’m sticking with my preseason pick to win it all (Pitt). A fifth “sleeper” team hanging out on the periphery in the event someone slips up? I like Texas, which has rebounded nicely from last season’s underachieving debacle.
5 Streams of Consciousness
(1) I about puked when I saw West Virginia’s fans storm the court after the Mountaineers’ scintillating win over Purdue on Sunday. Give me a freaking break. Weren’t you guys just in the Final Four last season?
(2) I had to laugh when I heard one of the Big Ten Network’s play-by-play guys (I think it was Tom Hart) during the Michigan State-Northwestern game making excuses for Sparty. He went on and on about Sparty’s tough schedule, the amount of travel & off-season injuries that limited practice time. He even went as far to mention/blame late starting times because of TV being a factor. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Yo Mr. Hart, do you really think MSU is the only program in the country that deals with those kind of issues? How about telling it like it is. … the Spartans are struggling. There’s no crime in that, even for a program as successful as MSU. Quit making excuses for ’em.
(3) Seems like most of the experts are “buying” stock in Syracuse right now, but there’s something about the Orangemen. … I’m just not sold. As great as their 2-3 zone is, I still think the ‘Cuse will run into an inferior team in the NCAA tourney that will shoot the lights out from three-point land and send them packing early.
(4) Kudos to Tubby for shortening his rotation, especially in light of the Mo Walker and Devoe Joseph losses. I like the fact he’s playing his six veterans the lion’s share of the minutes, with a solid dose of Austin Hollins and a sprinkling of energizer Chip Armelin thrown in. If the Gophers can stay healthy and out of trouble & figure out a way to win three or four of their remaining six road games, this squad still has a chance to be a team that can “survive and advance” for a couple rounds in the NCAA Tournament.
(5) Best moment from Sunday’s Gopher win over Iowa? After Trevor Mbakwe scored a bucket to put the Gophers up 52-42, Mbakwe’s momentum carried him off the elevated floor and into the arms of one of the Court Kids. As Trevor scrambled to get up and return to the defensive end, the young boy put up his hand for a high 5. Trevor obliged, slapping the kid 5 as he got up to sprint toward the other end. Classic, and a nice spur-of-the-moment gesture by Trevor.