The new year marks the advent of conference play, and here is where some of the separation between the contenders and pretenders begins. Several teams served notice the are here to play in 2009.
Impressive Debuts:
Illinois - A win on the road at preseason conference favorite Purdue is a nice way to open Big 10 play. The Illini are two points away (@Clemson) from being undefeated. It looks like Bruce Webber has his team poised to return to the tourney.
Georgetown - With the stumbles of Louisville and Notre Dame and the win at UConn, it is hard to say Georgetown isn't the top team in the nation's best conference at this point.
Illinois St. - They entered last night's game undefeated, yet most still pegged Creighton, Drake or Evansville as the team to beat in the MVC. The Redbirds 80-50 thumping of Evansville just added a fourth name to the discussion.
Arkansas - Yes, they had to hold on for dear life, but the Hogs took it too Oklahoma and Blake Griffin Tuesday night. As much as I have ripped the SEC, it is not unreasonable to think that both they and LSU could make five teams dancing for the conference come March.
Dissapointments:
Lousiville - Another tough loss, this one at home to UNLV. The loss accentuated one of the Cards fatal flaws; with 12 seconds to go, they have no clue who is supposed to have the ball. Their lack of a point guard and offensive creativity could make for a very underwhelming year in the Commenwealth.
Gonzaga - The UConn loss was probably the best game played this season in college basketball. The Arizona loss was not great, but excusable. The Portland State loss was a classic "hangover game." So, please give me some ratioanle for last night's Utah loss? If they weren't "Gonzaga", at 8-4 in a mid-major league, would you think this team is a lock to dance? Most certainly not.
The Zags have left themselves some surprising work to do in conference play. With Portland, San Diego and St. Mary's, it may not be as automatic as most people think.
Minnesota - Don't get me wrong, the Gophers and Tubby Smith have a lot to be happy about. However, a home drubbing in the conference opener by the Spartans indicate things haven't changed quite as much as Minnesota might have hoped.
St. Joe's - The Hawks entered the season with aspirations of returning to the tourney. After consecutive losses to Siena and Drexel dropped them to 5-7, NIT aspirations seem lofty.
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