SelectionSunday
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What's happened and what's ahead in the world of college basketball.
The Unbeatables
These squads have yet to experience the agony of defeat.
1. BYU
2. Butler
3. Clemson
4. Connecticut
5. Dayton
6. Gonzaga
7. Illinois State
8. LSU
9. Minnesota
10. North Carolina
11. Ohio State
12. Oklahoma
13. Pitt
14. Stanford
15. Syracuse
16. Villanova
17. Wake Forest
18. Xavier
Cracker Jack Specials
Fans of these schools have to be pleasantly surprised with what they've seen so far this season.
1. Charleston (6-1): Bobby Cremins' squad may pose the only roadblock in the SoCon for Steph Curry & Davidson.
2. Eastern Washington (6-2): Eagles failed to qualify for the Big Sky tourney last season but only losses are to Illinois and the Gophers.
3. Florida State (8-1): Only blip for Tomahawk-choppers was loss at Northwestern, from which they rebounded nicely with a victory over Florida last night.
4. Illinois State (8-0): Redbirds likely will be 11-0 heading into Missouri Valley schedule.
5. Jacksonville State (5-1): Won only 7 games all last season.
6. Maryland (6-2): Yes, the Terps looked lethargic in their second and third games at the Old Spice Classic, but bottom line is their resume is in good shape with wins over Michigan State and Michigan.
7. Michigan (5-2): No team in the country has two better wins (UCLA, Duke). ... no one.
8. Navy (7-2): School that gave us the Admiral is off to an admirable start.
9. Northwestern (6-1): Double-digit routs of Florida State and DePaul are eye-openers. Now if the Wildcats can win at Stanford. ...
10. Seton Hall (6-1): Surprising Pirates should coast through the remainder of their non-Big East schedule.
Jayne Mansfield Specials
These squads have been big busts so far this season.
1. Kent State (3-5): Preseason MAC favorites have lost 5 straight.
2. Massachusetts (0-6): Derek Kellogg era is off to a rough start.
3. Michigan State (5-2): Without Suton, Sparty looks nowhere near the part of a Big 10 title contender.
4. Rutgers (5-3): Should a Big East team be losing at home to St. Bonaventure, Lehigh and Binghamton?
5. Saint Louis (2-4): So far Rick Majerus not giving Billikens fans much bang for their buck.
6. Siena (4-3): Finishing eighth at the Old Spice Classic not what Saints had in mind.
7. USC (5-3): Trojans have no victories of note.
8. VCU (5-3): Rams were supposed to make themselves a viable at-large candidate in November and December. Not happenin'.
9. Virginia Tech (5-3): Hokies have lost all their potential resume buiilders; Xavier, Seton Hall and Wisconsin.
10. Winthrop (0-7): Big South kingpin already 0-2 in the league.
Tracking My Preseason Final Four
1. Duke (8-1, #9 RPI)
2. North Carolina (7-0, #13)
3. Arizona State (7-1, #49)
4. Louisville (4-1, #87)
BCS Conferences Head to Head
1. ACC (19-11)
2. Big East (15-10)
3. Big 12 (13-11)
4. Big 10 (14-13)
5. Pac 10 (7-16)
6. SEC (4-11)
Big 10 in the RPI
7. Northwestern
15. Michigan
18. GOPHERS
20. Wisconsin
22. Illinois
27. Ohio State
29. Michigan State
78. Iowa
110. Penn State
128. Purdue
133. Indiana
Tracking the Gophers' Nonconference Foes in the RPI
44. Eastern Washington (6-2)
74. Virginia (3-3)
87. Louisville (4-1)
104. Bowling Green (1-4)
124. Cornell (3-5)
166. North Dakota State (3-2)
192. Colorado State (3-4)
249. Southeastern Louisiana (1-3)
255. Georgia State (1-5)
315. High Point (1-5)
324. South Dakota State (2-5)
What to Watch This Week
Gonzaga at Washington State (Wednesday)
San Diego State at Arizona (Wednesday)
Saint Joseph's at Villanova (Thursday)
Butler at Ohio State (Saturday)
Indiana at Kentucky (Saturday)
Tennessee at Temple (Saturday)
Xavier at Cincinnati (Saturday)
Arizona vs. Gonzaga (Sunday)
Villanova at LaSalle (Sunday)
Silky-Smooth Lefty
Was watching Arizona State's James Harden and trying to figure out who he reminded me of. Then it hit me; Harold Miner, dubbed the "Baby Jordan" when he was an All-American at USC in the early 90's. Miner was a joy to watch, and so is Harden. Hopefully Harden's NBA career will turn out better than Miner's.
Revisiting a Poll
In April of '07 after Tubby Smith was hired and a number of new coaches were hired at other places, I posed a poll question on GopherHole asking Holers this question. ... Which program will appear in the NCAA Tournament first under its new coach?
1. Colorado State under Tim Miles
2. Iowa Hawkeyes under Todd Lickliter
3. Michigan Wolverines under John Beilein
4. Minnesota Gophers under Tubby Smith
5. North Dakota State under Saul Phillips
My answer at the time was Michigan, and I think I'd still stick with that. At this point I'd have the Wolverines followed by the Gophers, then North Dakota State, then Iowa and lastly Colorado State. It looks like three of the five have a legitimate shot to make it this season.
And speaking of Michigan. ...
"Cool(hand) Musings" from Peru
** Michigan's win over Duke was great for the Big Ten. If John Beilein's pattern from West Virginia follows him to Michigan, he will be every Big Ten fan's favorite opposing head coach. Consider that Beilein was at West Virginia for five years and after his first year, the Mountaineers played in the postseason every year (the NIT his second and fifth years, with NCAA berths years three and four). Year three was when things really began clicking for Beilein at West Virginia, as the Mountaineers' advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, only an overtime loss to Louisville short of the Final Four. The following year West Virginia reached the Sweet 16 and then won the NIT the next year, Beilein's last season with WVU. Anyway, during his time at West Virginia, the Mountaineers best finish was 2005-06 during year four of the Beilein era, when they finished third in the Big East with an 11-5 record and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. The previous year, their great run in the tournament came after a season when they finished in seventh place in the Big East with an 8-8 record. Their NIT championship season was another seventh-place finish in the Big East with a 9-7 record.
If this type of record carries over to Michigan, what it would mean is that within conference play, Michigan will be beatable, but in the nonconference and postseason, they will be h**l to play for teams unfamiliar with their style. Beilein has a quirky offense and defense, but it seems that with familiarity, Big East opponents were able to figure it out and game-plan for it better. If Beilein can bring the Big Ten good publicity in the nonconference and postseason without dominating conference play, I'm all all for that.
The key to defeating the Wolverines seems pretty straightforward. ... stop DeShawn Sims. In upset victories over UCLA and Duke, Sims averaged 23 points. In losses to Duke and Maryland, Sims was held to 11 ppg. Sims and Manny Harris are Michigan's offense, accounting for well over half the points scored by the Wolverines. Harris will get his points, but if teams can contain Sims, the Wolverines are much more beatable.
** Ahh, Duke. The roses being thrown at the Blue Devils' feet took on a familiar feel, as every year about this time, Duke is cruising, they win solidly in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge and we're reminded by national columnists that we need to take Duke seriously (in fact, the past couple years we've even been told that Duke's underrated!) It's nice that we didn't have to hear this nonsense build throughout December and until they played North Carolina. Yes, Duke is formidable, but once again very vulnerable due to their mediocrity in the post. There might not be a more talented collection of perimeter talent in college basketball and Kyle Singler is proving to be a wonderfully versatile forward, but they continue to struggle when faced with good post players. Sims shot 10 for 16 against Duke and against Rhode Island, a game they snuck out at home, they allowed Delroy James, an average player, shoot 9 of 12 from the field for 21 points. Upcoming games against Xavier, North Carolina and Wake Forest promise more difficulty for the Dukies.
Quote of the Week
This gem from veteran Pac 10 play-by-play announcer (and some would argue, apologist) Ted Robinson, after Baylor won at Washington State to give the Big 12 a 5-2 lead in the Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Series.
"Baylor is the first road team to win, so really it's only 1-0 in favor of the Big 12."
Huh? So Ted, explain that to me. Games only count if the road teams win?
Team of the Week
Let's go to Columbus, and tip our hats to Thad Matta and the Ohio State Buckeyes. The undefeated Buckeyes helped their at-large resume more than any other team in the country, winning at Miami-Florida and then following with a neutral-site win over Notre Dame.
The SS Mailbag
Dear Selection Sunday,
Let's play word association for a moment. Can you use one word to describe Michigan State's basketball team so far this season?
-- Johnny Spirit, East Lansing, Mich. --
Dear Johnny,
Sure, that's easy. Charmin.
You could play better defense riding your bicycle up and down the court than the current collection of Spartans are playing.
The Unbeatables
These squads have yet to experience the agony of defeat.
1. BYU
2. Butler
3. Clemson
4. Connecticut
5. Dayton
6. Gonzaga
7. Illinois State
8. LSU
9. Minnesota
10. North Carolina
11. Ohio State
12. Oklahoma
13. Pitt
14. Stanford
15. Syracuse
16. Villanova
17. Wake Forest
18. Xavier
Cracker Jack Specials
Fans of these schools have to be pleasantly surprised with what they've seen so far this season.
1. Charleston (6-1): Bobby Cremins' squad may pose the only roadblock in the SoCon for Steph Curry & Davidson.
2. Eastern Washington (6-2): Eagles failed to qualify for the Big Sky tourney last season but only losses are to Illinois and the Gophers.
3. Florida State (8-1): Only blip for Tomahawk-choppers was loss at Northwestern, from which they rebounded nicely with a victory over Florida last night.
4. Illinois State (8-0): Redbirds likely will be 11-0 heading into Missouri Valley schedule.
5. Jacksonville State (5-1): Won only 7 games all last season.
6. Maryland (6-2): Yes, the Terps looked lethargic in their second and third games at the Old Spice Classic, but bottom line is their resume is in good shape with wins over Michigan State and Michigan.
7. Michigan (5-2): No team in the country has two better wins (UCLA, Duke). ... no one.
8. Navy (7-2): School that gave us the Admiral is off to an admirable start.
9. Northwestern (6-1): Double-digit routs of Florida State and DePaul are eye-openers. Now if the Wildcats can win at Stanford. ...
10. Seton Hall (6-1): Surprising Pirates should coast through the remainder of their non-Big East schedule.
Jayne Mansfield Specials
These squads have been big busts so far this season.
1. Kent State (3-5): Preseason MAC favorites have lost 5 straight.
2. Massachusetts (0-6): Derek Kellogg era is off to a rough start.
3. Michigan State (5-2): Without Suton, Sparty looks nowhere near the part of a Big 10 title contender.
4. Rutgers (5-3): Should a Big East team be losing at home to St. Bonaventure, Lehigh and Binghamton?
5. Saint Louis (2-4): So far Rick Majerus not giving Billikens fans much bang for their buck.
6. Siena (4-3): Finishing eighth at the Old Spice Classic not what Saints had in mind.
7. USC (5-3): Trojans have no victories of note.
8. VCU (5-3): Rams were supposed to make themselves a viable at-large candidate in November and December. Not happenin'.
9. Virginia Tech (5-3): Hokies have lost all their potential resume buiilders; Xavier, Seton Hall and Wisconsin.
10. Winthrop (0-7): Big South kingpin already 0-2 in the league.
Tracking My Preseason Final Four
1. Duke (8-1, #9 RPI)
2. North Carolina (7-0, #13)
3. Arizona State (7-1, #49)
4. Louisville (4-1, #87)
BCS Conferences Head to Head
1. ACC (19-11)
2. Big East (15-10)
3. Big 12 (13-11)
4. Big 10 (14-13)
5. Pac 10 (7-16)
6. SEC (4-11)
Big 10 in the RPI
7. Northwestern
15. Michigan
18. GOPHERS
20. Wisconsin
22. Illinois
27. Ohio State
29. Michigan State
78. Iowa
110. Penn State
128. Purdue
133. Indiana
Tracking the Gophers' Nonconference Foes in the RPI
44. Eastern Washington (6-2)
74. Virginia (3-3)
87. Louisville (4-1)
104. Bowling Green (1-4)
124. Cornell (3-5)
166. North Dakota State (3-2)
192. Colorado State (3-4)
249. Southeastern Louisiana (1-3)
255. Georgia State (1-5)
315. High Point (1-5)
324. South Dakota State (2-5)
What to Watch This Week
Gonzaga at Washington State (Wednesday)
San Diego State at Arizona (Wednesday)
Saint Joseph's at Villanova (Thursday)
Butler at Ohio State (Saturday)
Indiana at Kentucky (Saturday)
Tennessee at Temple (Saturday)
Xavier at Cincinnati (Saturday)
Arizona vs. Gonzaga (Sunday)
Villanova at LaSalle (Sunday)
Silky-Smooth Lefty
Was watching Arizona State's James Harden and trying to figure out who he reminded me of. Then it hit me; Harold Miner, dubbed the "Baby Jordan" when he was an All-American at USC in the early 90's. Miner was a joy to watch, and so is Harden. Hopefully Harden's NBA career will turn out better than Miner's.
Revisiting a Poll
In April of '07 after Tubby Smith was hired and a number of new coaches were hired at other places, I posed a poll question on GopherHole asking Holers this question. ... Which program will appear in the NCAA Tournament first under its new coach?
1. Colorado State under Tim Miles
2. Iowa Hawkeyes under Todd Lickliter
3. Michigan Wolverines under John Beilein
4. Minnesota Gophers under Tubby Smith
5. North Dakota State under Saul Phillips
My answer at the time was Michigan, and I think I'd still stick with that. At this point I'd have the Wolverines followed by the Gophers, then North Dakota State, then Iowa and lastly Colorado State. It looks like three of the five have a legitimate shot to make it this season.
And speaking of Michigan. ...
"Cool(hand) Musings" from Peru
** Michigan's win over Duke was great for the Big Ten. If John Beilein's pattern from West Virginia follows him to Michigan, he will be every Big Ten fan's favorite opposing head coach. Consider that Beilein was at West Virginia for five years and after his first year, the Mountaineers played in the postseason every year (the NIT his second and fifth years, with NCAA berths years three and four). Year three was when things really began clicking for Beilein at West Virginia, as the Mountaineers' advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, only an overtime loss to Louisville short of the Final Four. The following year West Virginia reached the Sweet 16 and then won the NIT the next year, Beilein's last season with WVU. Anyway, during his time at West Virginia, the Mountaineers best finish was 2005-06 during year four of the Beilein era, when they finished third in the Big East with an 11-5 record and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. The previous year, their great run in the tournament came after a season when they finished in seventh place in the Big East with an 8-8 record. Their NIT championship season was another seventh-place finish in the Big East with a 9-7 record.
If this type of record carries over to Michigan, what it would mean is that within conference play, Michigan will be beatable, but in the nonconference and postseason, they will be h**l to play for teams unfamiliar with their style. Beilein has a quirky offense and defense, but it seems that with familiarity, Big East opponents were able to figure it out and game-plan for it better. If Beilein can bring the Big Ten good publicity in the nonconference and postseason without dominating conference play, I'm all all for that.
The key to defeating the Wolverines seems pretty straightforward. ... stop DeShawn Sims. In upset victories over UCLA and Duke, Sims averaged 23 points. In losses to Duke and Maryland, Sims was held to 11 ppg. Sims and Manny Harris are Michigan's offense, accounting for well over half the points scored by the Wolverines. Harris will get his points, but if teams can contain Sims, the Wolverines are much more beatable.
** Ahh, Duke. The roses being thrown at the Blue Devils' feet took on a familiar feel, as every year about this time, Duke is cruising, they win solidly in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge and we're reminded by national columnists that we need to take Duke seriously (in fact, the past couple years we've even been told that Duke's underrated!) It's nice that we didn't have to hear this nonsense build throughout December and until they played North Carolina. Yes, Duke is formidable, but once again very vulnerable due to their mediocrity in the post. There might not be a more talented collection of perimeter talent in college basketball and Kyle Singler is proving to be a wonderfully versatile forward, but they continue to struggle when faced with good post players. Sims shot 10 for 16 against Duke and against Rhode Island, a game they snuck out at home, they allowed Delroy James, an average player, shoot 9 of 12 from the field for 21 points. Upcoming games against Xavier, North Carolina and Wake Forest promise more difficulty for the Dukies.
Quote of the Week
This gem from veteran Pac 10 play-by-play announcer (and some would argue, apologist) Ted Robinson, after Baylor won at Washington State to give the Big 12 a 5-2 lead in the Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Series.
"Baylor is the first road team to win, so really it's only 1-0 in favor of the Big 12."
Huh? So Ted, explain that to me. Games only count if the road teams win?
Team of the Week
Let's go to Columbus, and tip our hats to Thad Matta and the Ohio State Buckeyes. The undefeated Buckeyes helped their at-large resume more than any other team in the country, winning at Miami-Florida and then following with a neutral-site win over Notre Dame.
The SS Mailbag
Dear Selection Sunday,
Let's play word association for a moment. Can you use one word to describe Michigan State's basketball team so far this season?
-- Johnny Spirit, East Lansing, Mich. --
Dear Johnny,
Sure, that's easy. Charmin.
You could play better defense riding your bicycle up and down the court than the current collection of Spartans are playing.
