Gopher Basketball
The Golden Gophers
* Part of what has made this season so difficult as a fan has not just been the losing, but the limited hope given to future years, as none of the freshman have leapt into our consciousness as someone the next coach can look upon as a solid contributor. That may have changed yesterday, when the most likely candidate among those freshman, Kevin Payton took a strong step forward. I was unable to watch or listen to the contest versus Penn State, but from reading comments by the other ‘holers, KP hit his first shot and it lead to confidence which lead to strong distribution of the basketball. Hopefully this will serve as a bridge to a solid finish of the Big Ten season for Payton and the new coach seeing at least one building block for the next three years when he takes the job.
The Big Ten
* I don’t really have anything specific to comment upon with any of the programs in the Big Ten, so I’ll just do an almost midway check on how things are going in conference play. Looking at the standings, I’m not too surprised by the way things stack up-Wisconsin and Ohio State leading the pack, Indiana at their heels, and then several teams in the middle of the pack. I’m once again impressed what Tom Izzo is accomplishing over at East Lansing, I continue to be underwhelmed by Michigan (as predicted, two double digit losses this week at Wisconsin and at Indiana) and I’m a bit surprised that Purdue and Illinois have struggled the way they have, although it makes a lot of sense when you see how much they struggle on the road. I’m seeing four bids for the league (Wisky, Ohio St, Indiana, and Michigan St.) and the traditional response from the national media which seems to be that the Big Ten is down (which it is). However, I also would not be surprised to see Wisconsin and Ohio State playing at the Final Four in Atlanta, and if that happens, we’ll hear from the pundits that perhaps we all overlooked the Big Ten. Almost seems to be a ritual come March, especially if Izzo’s Spartans overachieve in relation to their regular season record.
The National Scene
* Looking at the ACC this season, I see a lot of similarities to the Big Ten last year, with one exception. If you recall, the Big Ten had its most successful regular season in some time last year which lead to six teams earning bids to the NCAA tournament. Not one of those teams advanced to the second weekend though, as it was evident that the Big Ten had many solid, above average teams, but all were flawed. When I look at the ACC collectively this year, I see a similar collection. Many projections I have seen thus far have the ACC garnering seven bids to the tournament. But once you get beyond the Big Cheese in the conference, I see distinctive flaws among the other contenders in the conference (which includes Duke, Clemson, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Maryland, and Virginia). None of these teams inspires a great deal of confidence from me, and I think come tournament time the ACC, as a whole, will crumble in the face of strong competition.
* But let’s give the Big Cheese of the ACC their due-North Carolina is an incredibly talented and scary machine. To take apart Arizona on their home court with three of their regular rotation on the sideline (which included Brandan Wright) and Tyler Hansborough having an off day. . .well, the young Heels seem to be finding consistency and chemistry while dismissing any adversity placed in front of them. I hope when the seeds are determined for the NCAA tournament, it will allow UNC and Florida to meet in the championship game, as I see that to be the most compelling matchup.
* Taking a little more time in the ACC. . .I’m an avowed Duke hater, and the events on Wednesday night where the referees found so many seconds to put back on the clock for the Blue Devils just adds to the animosity. However, as I watched that game, I couldn’t find myself hating the Dukies like I usually do each year, because the thing is, they just aren’t that good this year. Josh McRoberts has a nice all-around game, but he’s not a go-to guy, Jon Scheyer is the only freshman playing with some consistency for the Dukies, but more than anything, they are saddled with the mediocre Greg Paulus at point guard. Watching them almost give away the game to Clemson, both with about 3:30 minutes left and then right towards the end of regulation, Paulus inability to handle pressure was a key factor in Clemson’s resurgence. It always depends upon seeding, but I think it’s likely this is the year where Duke doesn’t advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in about ten years.
* One last comment about the Dukies-has anyone else noticed that Len Elmore has broadcast a couple games for ESPN while Dick Vitale hasn’t been near the Dukies lately? Perhaps an anti-Vitale with Duke groundswell across the nation has forced this move upon the world wide leader? I could be dreaming, but if the dream includes Vitale not doing Duke broadcasts and lending his incredibly biased “insight”, please don’t wake me up.
* LSU is currently on a three game skid and in danger of joining other luminaries like Washington, Connecticut, and Illinois on the secondary stage of the NIT if they don’t turn things around real soon. Like those other squads listed, the Bayou Bengals lost some key contributors from last season (Tyrus Thomas), but they also returned an All-American center in Glen Davis and also brought in a couple talented veteran transfers to the team. There were a lot of questions about Coach John Brady’s abilities before their run in the tournament last season, I would imagine those questions are coming to the forefront once again. One thing that may work in LSU’s advantage is the incredibly unbalanced league schedule. They only face Tennessee, Kentucky, and Florida once in league play, with the Florida game being at home.
* Taking a look at another SEC team, I’m starting to think this season is going to one of heart-wrenching disappointment for the Alabama Crimson Tide. As stated in last week’s Ramble, the Tide’s starting five looks as good as any team in the nation and this was a squad that swept the national champ Florida Gators in league play last year. Tragedy struck early in the season when Jermereo Davidson was involved in a car accident that killed his girlfriend while going to visit his brother at a hospital, a brother who later died. All-American point guard Ronald Steele has been hampered by knee tendinitis and an ankle injury much of this season and is a shell of his former self right now. Watching the Tide get taken apart at Auburn earlier this week was sad, not because I’m a Crimson Tide fan (well, for this season I am, particularly for Davidson), but because you hate to see teams that have the ability to achieve at a high level get taken off track due to matters out of their own hands.
* Last Sunday, Marquette went on the road to Pittsburgh and defeated them in overtime in front of a hostile crowd. This Sunday, Marquette was on the road versus South Florida and avoided overtime with a late steal and a length of the court rush for a layup by do-everything guard Jerel McNeal. While dynamic point guard Dominic James receives much of the pub for this squad, McNeal stuffs the stats in all the categories-points, rebounds, assists, and steals. Watch out for this team come March.
* Let’s go to the mailbag for our first question of the week:
Coolhand,
Does Conference USA really suck this bad? What I see is Memphis and a bunch of nothins’. Heck, even the Gophers might win a few games in this league.
Is there even 1 team good enough to beat Memphis on its own floor in a 1-and-done deal at the C-USA tourney? If so, who would it be?
Looks to me like that’s the only way this lame league gets a 2nd bid to the NCAAs.
L Eustachy, Hattiesburg
Hey Larry, I think those AA meetings must be working wonders, because you’re surely not looking at your league through beer goggles. Yes, you are right-Conference USA is really bad this season and as much as John “Slick” Calipari may try to spin how great it is to garner so many wins and get a high seed in the tournament, I think the weak competition will hurt the Tigers come March. Back in the non-conference portion of the season, Memphis was taking on some big boys and playing some pretty uneven ball. Now that they’re into conference play and taking apart the competition, I don’t see them being able to gauge themselves very well against decent competition until it arrives. To answer your original question, I don’t see anyway Conference USA gets a second team unless Memphis lays down in the conference tournament. It’s hard to come up with any legitimate competitor for the Tigers, but I’ll say Rice, just because Morris Almond is a prolific scorer who could conceivably put a bad team on his back and go on a little run.
* Onto question #2:
Though Wisest One Coolhand:
How do you like Stanford’s chances to make the NCAA Tournament?
The Lopez Trees, Palo Alto, Cal.
The first thing I have to say, I can tell that Stanford education is working well for you Lopez kids-the way you addressed me is certain to get you into the Ramble. Onto your question. . .I’m feeling pretty good about the Cardinal getting into the tourney, especially after tonight’s win against UCLA. It looks like the season turned for the Cardinal on January 7th, when they travelled to Virginia and won on a last second shot by Lawrence Hill. Since that win, Stanford has went 5-1 with their only loss at Oregon, and with wins against both the Washington teams and both LA teams of the Pac-10. It has also helped that Brook Lopez, one half of the McDonald’s All-American 7 foot freshman brothers to grace the Stanford campus, has gotten healthy. Against USC on Thursday, Brook messed around and got a triple double, with an eye-opening 12 blocks, part of 19 blocks for the Cardinal. Think about that for a minute-19 blocks against a top 25 team. This is a very interesting team to watch, as they have two 7 footers starting on the front line, two other forwards in the starting lineup, along with a point guard. They could present some matchup problems, I would think.
Games of the Week
Monday
Pittsburgh vs. Villanova-This is a key Big East matchup for both teams. While Villanova seems to be securely on the right side of the bubble for the NCAA’s, a win at home against Pittsburgh would be another great piece for the resume. As for the Panthers, a win here keeps them a game up on Marquette and keeps them on pace for a #1 or 2 seed in the tourney.
runner-up
Charleston vs. Appalachian St.-Only one team will likely come out of the Southern Conference and I’d like to see it be Appalachian State, since they beat Vanderbilt and Virginia earlier this season, so I think they could create some havoc in the tourney. Since the Southern representative will come from their post-season tournament, this game’s impact may be minimal, but both teams will want to keep positive momentum as the season progresses.
Tuesday
Michigan St. vs. Illinois-These two programs have set the pace for the Big Ten in the 21st century, even if both programs are down a bit this year, the Illini moreso than the Spartans. Illinois looks headed to the NIT, but it’s still not easy to win on their home court, and Febuary could be a key month for the Spartans. It would be a nice win for them as they gear up for the second half of conference play.
runner-up
Wichita State vs. Northern Iowa-Remember back in December, when some pundits were placing the Shockers in the Final Four? Those heady days have receded as they have stumbled to a 5-6 conference record. Yet they are still a dangerous team, and Northern Iowa needs to end their two game losing streak to stay close in the conference race and at-large discussions for the NCAA’s.
Wednesday
Wisconsin vs. Indiana-On a night of many compelling matchups, I’ll go with this one, which on paper seems to be one of two hiccups for the Badgers as they march through the Big Ten (the other being a late Febuary game at Ohio State). The Hoosiers are playing very tough basketball under Kelvin Sampson, especially at Assembly Hall. If the Badgers lose, they slide into a tie with Ohio State for the Big Ten lead.
runner-up
Gonzaga vs. Stanford-Gonzaga had a brutal non-conference schedule this year and we haven’t heard much about them since West Coast Conference play began. They get to face the red-hot Cardinal at Maples Pavillon. Stanford could grab another quality win in their NCAA quest.
Thursday
Oregon vs. UCLA-The Pac-10 is the place to be tonight, as these two top-ten teams face off. Oregon continues its incredible run, fresh from a victory at Washington State, while UCLA looks to bounce back after a loss at Stanford. This is for first place in the Pac 10 and likely puts whoever wins in the driver’s seat for the #1 seed in the West region/pod.
runner-up
Washington St. vs. Arizona-This is shaping up as a huge game for Lute’s squad. They are definitely reeling and the fundamentally sound Cougars are not a team you want to see when needing to get yourself on solid footing. Arizona really needs this win.
Friday
It’s Groundhog’s Day-go look for Punxsutawney Phil, cause there’s nothing too compelling on the college basketball scene.
Saturday
Texas A&M vs. Kansas-The heavyweight showdown in the Big 12 this season, as the extremely defensive minded Aggies visit the Jayhawks. I’m really hoping this game’s on ESPN, it’s time for primetime for the Aggies.
runner-up
Oregon vs. USC-Oregon continues the killer LA trip against the Trojans. If they win against UCLA on Thursday, it can be negated by a loss here. It’ll be interesting to see how the Ducks come out of these three days.
second runner-up
Ohio State vs. Michigan State-I missed the showdown this Saturday where the Buckeyes nearly gave away a twenty point lead at home. It’ll be interesting to see how these two teams match up at the Breslin Center, especially if the Hoosiers knock off the Badgers earlier in the week.
Sunday
College basketball seems to be giving this day over to Super Bowl Sunday. Put your money on the Colts.
Odds & Sods
* Here’s a non-sports book recommedation-They Marched Into Sunlight by David Maraniss. It’s an account of October 17 & 18, 1967, set in a disastrous battle in Vietnam and a protest against Dow Company on the UW-Madison campus. Maraniss was a freshman at UW-Madison at the time, on the periphery of action on campus, and has since moved on to great journalistic acclaim. I have long been fascinated by the late ’60s/early ’70s in this nation and have read many books on the subject matter. None have presented the set-up that Maraniss presents here-a meticulously researched book that contrasts what was occurring in Vietnam and Madison at virtually the same time, and how these two events interconnected. It’s a great read, one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read.
* Since the book is over 500 pages and involves many hours of reading, I’ll also give you a DVD recommendation, with a committment of around two hours. Inside Man, directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington and Clive Owen is a bank heist movie that grips you from the start and has you thinking throughout. Lee’s social/political themes are subtle in this movie and instead the viewer is treated to a mind-bending crime thriller. Very well done and highly recommended also.
Okay, it’s late, and time to think about the work week. Until next Sunday. . .