coolhandgopher
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I didn’t figure I could pull out a Sunday Night Ramble without actually seeing some ballgames and unfortunately I haven’t seen any action on the courts (Justin TV just likes to tease us fans overseas with ten second snippets of action before asking for money), but I have been perusing cbssportsline’s box scores and team sites all weekend long, so I’m feeling pretty good about offering some insightful opinions, but I could be wrong, I’ll let you judge that. Ohh, and if all of this is a repeat of what you’re hearing from the talking heads on ESPN my apologies, one advantage of no live college basketball is no Digger Phelps, Doug Gottlieb, Dick Vitale, et al. so life isn’t too gray necessarily. Anyway, onto an abbreviated version of the Ramble:
1. Which conference is the best in the West?
Even with the thrashing that Washington State delivered to San Diego at the finals of the Great Alaska Shootout Saturday night, the WCC is 4-3 in head-to-head matchups against the Pac 10 thus far this season, and Gonzaga hasn’t played a game against the Pac 10 yet (that changes on Wednesday night when they welcome Washington State onto campus in an intriguing matchup). In addition, the WCC can claim nine wins against major conference opponents while the Pac 10 can stake claim to only three such wins.
2. Which team has been the most disappointing before December arrives?
I’m sure there’s a faction of Gopher fans that would like to stake their claim to this title and the same may hold true tonight in Champaign and Ann Arbor. Of course, the easy answer is UCLA, who went winless at the Anaheim Classic and has lost to teams in the Horizon League, WCC, and West Coast Conference (twice). However UCLA did not welcome two McD’s All-Americans onto their squad this season and did not have a player who made many preseason first team All-American lists. Oklahoma did, yet they sit at 3-3 with losses to VCU, San Diego, and Houston. They still have some tough non-conference games ahead (Arizona, @Utah, and @Gonzaga) before stepping into conference play in the beastly Big 12. Life after Blake hasn’t been easy.
3. What’s up with DePaul and St. John’s?
I expected these two traditional powers to fight it out at the bottom of the Big East this season while preparing for life with new coaches next season. That still could happen, but each team has some nice wins to begin the season. As Selection Sunday pointed out last week, DePaul’s win at Northern Iowa raised some eyebrows and they followed that up with a tight loss to Tennessee, and wins over St. Joseph’s and Detroit. Meanwhile, after St. John’s barely scraped by Brown, they have followed that up with impressive back to back wins against Siena and Temple. It may not appear to be much, but for these beleaguered programs it’s certainly a step in a positive direction.
4. Are the mid-majors going to seize more at-large berths in the NCAA tournament this season?
It’s way too early to predict this, but teams from the WCC (Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, Portland, San Diego), Missouri Valley (Missouri St., Bradley, Northern Iowa), and Colonial (VCU, William & Mary) have chalked up some nice wins already this season while new players like Tulsa (Conf. USA) and Richmond (Atlantic 10) have emerged in traditionally tough conferences. With the weakness of the Pac 10 and the unpredictability of the second tier teams in the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC, there could be room for some of these teams to push their way into the tourney come March.
5. Which player from a bad team should you try to catch on TV when you have a chance?
Arkansas seems to be in shambles with a chunk of their team currently suspended (including stud point guard Cortney Fortson) and their head coach possibly on the ropes, but they are worth tuning into just to see if Rotnei Clark goes off. He’s had two separate games this year where he’s shot 13 of 17 and 10 of 17 from 3 point range this season, is shooting 61% from distance so far, and is leading the Razorbacks with over 28 points a game (all stats before Sunday’s loss to South Alabama). Sure Arkansas has lost to South Alabama, East Tennessee State, and Morgan State this season (not to mention a thirty point blowout at the hands of Louisville), but that doesn’t mean Clark won’t put a show on for you.
6. What conference looks to be the best thus far?
It’s way early to be calling this, but I like how the Big 12 is shaping up, even with Oklahoma’s struggles. The Sooners happen to be the only team in the conference with a record at .500 and while Texas Tech, Mizzou, Colorado, and Nebraska really haven’t defeated anyone of consequence yet, teams like Kansas St., Oklahoma St, Texas A&M, and Baylor have notched some nice wins. And I haven’t even mentioned Kansas or Texas, two of my picks for the Final Four.
7. Should Ernie Kent contact his realtor?
Without question. Even though the losses to Portland and Montana (leading Washington at halftime as I type) may not be so bad by the end of the season, one gets the feeling that Kent’s tenure with Phil Knight’s alma mater is reaching its perpetually shaky end. Of course in a weak Pac-10, Oregon could always go on a run and save Kent once again, but it seems that the finale is drawing near for him.
8. Is Northwestern the 2010 college basketball version of Mark Twain?
After their weekend in Chicago, the rumors of their death following Kevin Coble’s season-ending injury seem to be premature. John Shurna faced two All-American forwards in Luke Harangody and Craig Brackins and acquitted himself nicely, averaging 24 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two wins. Supported by point guard Michael Thompson, wing Jeremy Nash, and the fun as a toothache style favored by Bill Carmody, a trip to Evanston this season once again promises to be an exercise in misery.
9. How are Minnesota preps doing around the D-1 scene?
Pretty nicely. We all are familiar with the exploits of Cole Aldrich, Jon Leuer’s developing nicely in Madison and Ryan Wittman (Cornell) and Matt Janning (Northeastern) are again leading their squads in scoring. In addition Noah Dahlman has turned into a force at Wofford, while Justin Stommes has emerged as Eastern Kentucky’s leading scorer. Unfortunately Romain Martin, a stalwart at Eastern Illinois for his first three seasons has been sidelined with a knee injury and there’s talk he’ll redshirt this season to return next year.
1. Which conference is the best in the West?
Even with the thrashing that Washington State delivered to San Diego at the finals of the Great Alaska Shootout Saturday night, the WCC is 4-3 in head-to-head matchups against the Pac 10 thus far this season, and Gonzaga hasn’t played a game against the Pac 10 yet (that changes on Wednesday night when they welcome Washington State onto campus in an intriguing matchup). In addition, the WCC can claim nine wins against major conference opponents while the Pac 10 can stake claim to only three such wins.
2. Which team has been the most disappointing before December arrives?
I’m sure there’s a faction of Gopher fans that would like to stake their claim to this title and the same may hold true tonight in Champaign and Ann Arbor. Of course, the easy answer is UCLA, who went winless at the Anaheim Classic and has lost to teams in the Horizon League, WCC, and West Coast Conference (twice). However UCLA did not welcome two McD’s All-Americans onto their squad this season and did not have a player who made many preseason first team All-American lists. Oklahoma did, yet they sit at 3-3 with losses to VCU, San Diego, and Houston. They still have some tough non-conference games ahead (Arizona, @Utah, and @Gonzaga) before stepping into conference play in the beastly Big 12. Life after Blake hasn’t been easy.
3. What’s up with DePaul and St. John’s?
I expected these two traditional powers to fight it out at the bottom of the Big East this season while preparing for life with new coaches next season. That still could happen, but each team has some nice wins to begin the season. As Selection Sunday pointed out last week, DePaul’s win at Northern Iowa raised some eyebrows and they followed that up with a tight loss to Tennessee, and wins over St. Joseph’s and Detroit. Meanwhile, after St. John’s barely scraped by Brown, they have followed that up with impressive back to back wins against Siena and Temple. It may not appear to be much, but for these beleaguered programs it’s certainly a step in a positive direction.
4. Are the mid-majors going to seize more at-large berths in the NCAA tournament this season?
It’s way too early to predict this, but teams from the WCC (Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, Portland, San Diego), Missouri Valley (Missouri St., Bradley, Northern Iowa), and Colonial (VCU, William & Mary) have chalked up some nice wins already this season while new players like Tulsa (Conf. USA) and Richmond (Atlantic 10) have emerged in traditionally tough conferences. With the weakness of the Pac 10 and the unpredictability of the second tier teams in the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC, there could be room for some of these teams to push their way into the tourney come March.
5. Which player from a bad team should you try to catch on TV when you have a chance?
Arkansas seems to be in shambles with a chunk of their team currently suspended (including stud point guard Cortney Fortson) and their head coach possibly on the ropes, but they are worth tuning into just to see if Rotnei Clark goes off. He’s had two separate games this year where he’s shot 13 of 17 and 10 of 17 from 3 point range this season, is shooting 61% from distance so far, and is leading the Razorbacks with over 28 points a game (all stats before Sunday’s loss to South Alabama). Sure Arkansas has lost to South Alabama, East Tennessee State, and Morgan State this season (not to mention a thirty point blowout at the hands of Louisville), but that doesn’t mean Clark won’t put a show on for you.
6. What conference looks to be the best thus far?
It’s way early to be calling this, but I like how the Big 12 is shaping up, even with Oklahoma’s struggles. The Sooners happen to be the only team in the conference with a record at .500 and while Texas Tech, Mizzou, Colorado, and Nebraska really haven’t defeated anyone of consequence yet, teams like Kansas St., Oklahoma St, Texas A&M, and Baylor have notched some nice wins. And I haven’t even mentioned Kansas or Texas, two of my picks for the Final Four.
7. Should Ernie Kent contact his realtor?
Without question. Even though the losses to Portland and Montana (leading Washington at halftime as I type) may not be so bad by the end of the season, one gets the feeling that Kent’s tenure with Phil Knight’s alma mater is reaching its perpetually shaky end. Of course in a weak Pac-10, Oregon could always go on a run and save Kent once again, but it seems that the finale is drawing near for him.
8. Is Northwestern the 2010 college basketball version of Mark Twain?
After their weekend in Chicago, the rumors of their death following Kevin Coble’s season-ending injury seem to be premature. John Shurna faced two All-American forwards in Luke Harangody and Craig Brackins and acquitted himself nicely, averaging 24 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two wins. Supported by point guard Michael Thompson, wing Jeremy Nash, and the fun as a toothache style favored by Bill Carmody, a trip to Evanston this season once again promises to be an exercise in misery.
9. How are Minnesota preps doing around the D-1 scene?
Pretty nicely. We all are familiar with the exploits of Cole Aldrich, Jon Leuer’s developing nicely in Madison and Ryan Wittman (Cornell) and Matt Janning (Northeastern) are again leading their squads in scoring. In addition Noah Dahlman has turned into a force at Wofford, while Justin Stommes has emerged as Eastern Kentucky’s leading scorer. Unfortunately Romain Martin, a stalwart at Eastern Illinois for his first three seasons has been sidelined with a knee injury and there’s talk he’ll redshirt this season to return next year.