A slate of interesting Big East games today will start to give some shape to the uber-competitive conference race.
The first pits Louisville at Villanova. An interesting matchup between the great guard play of the the slightly undersized Wildcats versus the long athletic wings and post players of Louisville. Size matters. (insert your joke here). Louisville captures a much-needed road win to build off the Kentucky win momentum.
West Virginia also visits Marquette in an interesting matchup of the Big East's other two undersized giants. Big men rule the league; Pitt, UConn, Notre Dame, Louisville, Georgetown all feature first round draft picks in the paint. Marquette's three best players are under 6'4''. But Dominic James and Jerel McNeal are the best backcourt in the country. It will be enough to hold off a scrappy West Virginia club at home.
Providence is off to a surprising 3-0 start in conference. They travel to Georgetown who opened league play with a Greg Monroe-dominated road win at UConn. They then lost (badly) at Pitt and again at Notre Dame. Providence's wins are over Cincinnati, DePaul and St. John's. Today the records begin trending back towards where they belong as the Hoyas roll over the Friars.
Be Careful What You Ask For
"The biggest game in school history."
Their words; not mine. Those words belong to the UCF Knights and their coach as they prepare for tonight's C-USA home game against the visiting Memphis Tigers.
Since C-USA's (catastrophic) reshuffling, Memphis has ruled the roost. UAB has been respectable, notching a tourney upset win over Kentucky in 2004, and Houston appears to be a pretty good ballclub in 2009, but for the most part it has been slightly less than the WCC; Gonzaga and the little guys. Same story with Memphis.
Only the ever-fading memory of Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette and company keeps Conference USA from being called what it really is; the fifth or sixth strongest of the "mid-major" conferences. A footnote on college basketball's periphery.
UCF wants to change that. They have built a new state of the art arena that seats five digits. They boast the nation's sixth largest undergraduate enrollment, placing them in the same league as Florida, Michigan, Ohio State and Texas.
Except, of course, on the playing fields.
The Knights hope they can begin to change that tonight at 5pm in Orlando. The Tigers are not as daunting as they have been in year's past, but are still clearly the class of the league. UCF boast's one the conference's top players in Jermaine Taylor (over 22ppg), but clearly lacks the athleticism and depth to play with the Tigers. In UCF's other brief dalliances with the "big-time" this season they have been summarily dismissed; a 28 point loss to Mississippi and and equally lopsided defeat to the "rival" Florida Gators.
The biggest game in UCF history?? Doubtful. It becomes the biggest only if they do the improbable tonight; win.
Otherwise, be careful what you ask for. In calling the abnormal amount of attention to the magnitude of the game, they run an interesting risk. Reminding their fans just how far away from BIG games they still truly are.
Is today the day? UCF fans (and marketing department) sure hope so!
.
Their words; not mine. Those words belong to the UCF Knights and their coach as they prepare for tonight's C-USA home game against the visiting Memphis Tigers.
Since C-USA's (catastrophic) reshuffling, Memphis has ruled the roost. UAB has been respectable, notching a tourney upset win over Kentucky in 2004, and Houston appears to be a pretty good ballclub in 2009, but for the most part it has been slightly less than the WCC; Gonzaga and the little guys. Same story with Memphis.
Only the ever-fading memory of Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette and company keeps Conference USA from being called what it really is; the fifth or sixth strongest of the "mid-major" conferences. A footnote on college basketball's periphery.
UCF wants to change that. They have built a new state of the art arena that seats five digits. They boast the nation's sixth largest undergraduate enrollment, placing them in the same league as Florida, Michigan, Ohio State and Texas.
Except, of course, on the playing fields.
The Knights hope they can begin to change that tonight at 5pm in Orlando. The Tigers are not as daunting as they have been in year's past, but are still clearly the class of the league. UCF boast's one the conference's top players in Jermaine Taylor (over 22ppg), but clearly lacks the athleticism and depth to play with the Tigers. In UCF's other brief dalliances with the "big-time" this season they have been summarily dismissed; a 28 point loss to Mississippi and and equally lopsided defeat to the "rival" Florida Gators.
The biggest game in UCF history?? Doubtful. It becomes the biggest only if they do the improbable tonight; win.
Otherwise, be careful what you ask for. In calling the abnormal amount of attention to the magnitude of the game, they run an interesting risk. Reminding their fans just how far away from BIG games they still truly are.
Is today the day? UCF fans (and marketing department) sure hope so!.
Everything's Crimson
Everything is Crimson. The Maniac's face after proclaiming the Tarheels unbeatable. The Crimson & Crean nearly notching their first Big Ten win over Michigan. The jerseys of the BC Eagles who slayed the Goliath. Oh, and the new number one team in the nation.
That of course being... the Harvard Crimson.
This is my early nominee for scoreboard line of the year, it's amazingness (sic.) amplified when viewed in the proper sequence.
Sunday, Jan 5th: Boston College 85 @ North Carolina 78
Tuesday, Jan 7th: Harvard 82 @ Boston College 70
Tommy, the Maniac could not agree more...
Applying simple mathematics to Vegas oddsmaking, it would make sense that Tommy Amaker's Harvard Crimson would be a 21 point favorite over Roy Williams' hapless Heels. Oh, but both of those wins above were ON THE ROAD. Make the line -26.5
Of course, I jest. In the topsy-turvy world of college sports anything can, and does happen. Using the simple Maniac eye test, Carolina is still the top team in the nation and will still likely march on in March as a number one seed in Ford Field. One loss is simply that; just one loss. Does it snowball like Gonzaga's OT dagger from UConn? Does it toughen you up like Duke's stumble in Crysler Arena (see later pastings of Purdue and Xavier)?
You never can know for sure. But for one glorious night, the Crimson can say without turning red that they can play with anyone in the country.
That of course being... the Harvard Crimson.
This is my early nominee for scoreboard line of the year, it's amazingness (sic.) amplified when viewed in the proper sequence.
Sunday, Jan 5th: Boston College 85 @ North Carolina 78
Tuesday, Jan 7th: Harvard 82 @ Boston College 70
Tommy, the Maniac could not agree more...Applying simple mathematics to Vegas oddsmaking, it would make sense that Tommy Amaker's Harvard Crimson would be a 21 point favorite over Roy Williams' hapless Heels. Oh, but both of those wins above were ON THE ROAD. Make the line -26.5
Of course, I jest. In the topsy-turvy world of college sports anything can, and does happen. Using the simple Maniac eye test, Carolina is still the top team in the nation and will still likely march on in March as a number one seed in Ford Field. One loss is simply that; just one loss. Does it snowball like Gonzaga's OT dagger from UConn? Does it toughen you up like Duke's stumble in Crysler Arena (see later pastings of Purdue and Xavier)?
You never can know for sure. But for one glorious night, the Crimson can say without turning red that they can play with anyone in the country.
Wednesday Picks
Maniac's Picks:
Michigan -8 @ Indiana (Kaiser's Pick)
Providence @ Cincinnati -3
Northwestern @ Wisconsin -7
Charleston +26 @ North Carolina
Gonzaga +4 @ Tennessee
Davidson @ Duke -14
I like Davidson, but they couldn't get a quality shot off against Purdue on a semi-neutral floor. Duke's D is better than Purdue's (pop in a tape of their December meeting in Mackey, or ask Robbie Hummel how well the defend ball screens and backcuts). I really see Steph struggling a lot tonight, and he really has little help with him.
Charleston walks into a hornet's nest tonight, facing the nation's best team on their home floor fresh off a stunning upset defeat. That said, Charleston is a good ballclub, and could make the SoCon a 2-bid league, which is simple unheard of in most years. I think that Carolina is focused and sharp, but Charleston is a good team that will punch back.
Gonzaga beat Tennessee earlier this year on a neutral floor. They need tonight's repeat win desperatly to validate their early wins and wash away the taste of some stinging defeats. No one believes me but I assure you, Gonzaga is tenuously on the bubble as of January 7th.
Michigan -8 @ Indiana (Kaiser's Pick)
Providence @ Cincinnati -3
Northwestern @ Wisconsin -7
Charleston +26 @ North Carolina
Gonzaga +4 @ Tennessee
Davidson @ Duke -14
I like Davidson, but they couldn't get a quality shot off against Purdue on a semi-neutral floor. Duke's D is better than Purdue's (pop in a tape of their December meeting in Mackey, or ask Robbie Hummel how well the defend ball screens and backcuts). I really see Steph struggling a lot tonight, and he really has little help with him.
Charleston walks into a hornet's nest tonight, facing the nation's best team on their home floor fresh off a stunning upset defeat. That said, Charleston is a good ballclub, and could make the SoCon a 2-bid league, which is simple unheard of in most years. I think that Carolina is focused and sharp, but Charleston is a good team that will punch back.
Gonzaga beat Tennessee earlier this year on a neutral floor. They need tonight's repeat win desperatly to validate their early wins and wash away the taste of some stinging defeats. No one believes me but I assure you, Gonzaga is tenuously on the bubble as of January 7th.
Eye Openers for Tuesday Jan 6th
Some really great games and some interesting results from around the country. Here is a quick recap.
UConn pulled away late to nip West Virginia in Morgantown 61-55. The loss will likely drop the Mountaineers out of the next polls. Who cares. They are a good ballclub who will be dancing with a nervous partner in some 7-10 game in March. The Huskies look really solid after their conference opening defeat to Georgetown. They are about 5th to 7th in most polls, but are still a Top 3 team using the eye test.
UCF beat Holy Cross to move to 9-4. Are they tourney worthy? Certainly not, barring a miracle conference tourney run. But Jermaine Taylor is the best player you have NEVER heard of, averaging over 23 a contest. If the Knights can eke out 10 or 11 conference wins, he could be C-USA's player of the year (though I imagine it will go to bigger name (and ass...) Robert Vaden)
Ohio State lost at Michigan State by a dozen or so to fall to 0-3 in conference. Ohio State is on the ropes big time, after looking like a Top 10 team just three weeks ago. If you seeded today, seven Big Ten teams dance, and they are NOT one of them. Meanwhile Michigan State very quietly looks like one of the best teams in the country. Put that 35 point loss to Carolina out of your heads. I have an interesting theory I am cooking up on WHY that loss happened... Read it on the site, and tell me if you agree/disagree....
Kansas held off a feisty Siena team by 7. Col Alderich is way better than you think and is an early candidate for the Eric Montross retro white-guy flattop of the year award. Siena is a pesty club I would be wary of in the inevitable 14 seed they will earn in March.
Villanova earned a nice road win over a pesky Seton Hall club. Scottie Reynolds tossed in 40 in the OT thriller.
Creighton and Illinois State lost to Northern Iowa and Bradley respectivly. Great for the victors, but disaster for the conference. Parity does not get multiple bids for non-BCS conferences. You need two to four giants to amass gaudy records in top-heavy leagues. Computers and RPI's don't watch basketball games. Hell, after Arizona State got left out last year I am not sure the committe does either.
Arkansas continues it's Southwestern Confernce Trail of Tears, scalping another former conference mate and top ten Little 12 team in Texas. The Hogs got 'em 67-61 and add them to Oklahoma in the impressive trophy closet. Think those two wins move you up three or four lines come tourney seeding time?? You better believe it. They remind me a lot of the 18-11 Maryland team in 2003 who went from bubble to #4 seed in the span of three good ACC Tourney wins. Sometime WHO you beat matters most.
Lastly, to balance the praise of the SEC with some reality, how about the shitsandwich LSU served up in Utah tonight, losing 91-61 to the Utes. Utah is now 10-5 with losses to Utah State, Idaho State, and ....wait for it.... Southwest Baptist. You would think a loss like that and even JOHN the Baptist couldn't resurrect your season's soul, but LSU attempted to prove otherwise.
Enjoy a good week of hoops! Oh, and Geaux Tigers!!
UConn pulled away late to nip West Virginia in Morgantown 61-55. The loss will likely drop the Mountaineers out of the next polls. Who cares. They are a good ballclub who will be dancing with a nervous partner in some 7-10 game in March. The Huskies look really solid after their conference opening defeat to Georgetown. They are about 5th to 7th in most polls, but are still a Top 3 team using the eye test.
UCF beat Holy Cross to move to 9-4. Are they tourney worthy? Certainly not, barring a miracle conference tourney run. But Jermaine Taylor is the best player you have NEVER heard of, averaging over 23 a contest. If the Knights can eke out 10 or 11 conference wins, he could be C-USA's player of the year (though I imagine it will go to bigger name (and ass...) Robert Vaden)
Ohio State lost at Michigan State by a dozen or so to fall to 0-3 in conference. Ohio State is on the ropes big time, after looking like a Top 10 team just three weeks ago. If you seeded today, seven Big Ten teams dance, and they are NOT one of them. Meanwhile Michigan State very quietly looks like one of the best teams in the country. Put that 35 point loss to Carolina out of your heads. I have an interesting theory I am cooking up on WHY that loss happened... Read it on the site, and tell me if you agree/disagree....
Kansas held off a feisty Siena team by 7. Col Alderich is way better than you think and is an early candidate for the Eric Montross retro white-guy flattop of the year award. Siena is a pesty club I would be wary of in the inevitable 14 seed they will earn in March.
Stop the fight, we have a winner!
Villanova earned a nice road win over a pesky Seton Hall club. Scottie Reynolds tossed in 40 in the OT thriller.
Creighton and Illinois State lost to Northern Iowa and Bradley respectivly. Great for the victors, but disaster for the conference. Parity does not get multiple bids for non-BCS conferences. You need two to four giants to amass gaudy records in top-heavy leagues. Computers and RPI's don't watch basketball games. Hell, after Arizona State got left out last year I am not sure the committe does either.
Arkansas continues it's Southwestern Confernce Trail of Tears, scalping another former conference mate and top ten Little 12 team in Texas. The Hogs got 'em 67-61 and add them to Oklahoma in the impressive trophy closet. Think those two wins move you up three or four lines come tourney seeding time?? You better believe it. They remind me a lot of the 18-11 Maryland team in 2003 who went from bubble to #4 seed in the span of three good ACC Tourney wins. Sometime WHO you beat matters most.
Lastly, to balance the praise of the SEC with some reality, how about the shitsandwich LSU served up in Utah tonight, losing 91-61 to the Utes. Utah is now 10-5 with losses to Utah State, Idaho State, and ....wait for it.... Southwest Baptist. You would think a loss like that and even JOHN the Baptist couldn't resurrect your season's soul, but LSU attempted to prove otherwise.
Enjoy a good week of hoops! Oh, and Geaux Tigers!!
Wierd Line of the Day
The Dayton Flyers have a pretty good ballclub, and are certainly the A-10's best hope for a second team dancing behind Xavier. However "Flyers" seemed an inappropriate moniker for tonight's Titanic Struggle (shot out to Ohio's Marty Brenneman of Reds' fame...) with Miami of Ohio.
Final Score: Dayton 45- Miami (OH) 40. The teams shot 35 and 32% respectivly, and were a combined 5-29 from behind the arc (about 17%).
Yuck. People went to a sporting event and nearly got subjected to a soccer match...
Final Score: Dayton 45- Miami (OH) 40. The teams shot 35 and 32% respectivly, and were a combined 5-29 from behind the arc (about 17%).
Yuck. People went to a sporting event and nearly got subjected to a soccer match...
State-Ment Win
How 'bout those Nittany Lions? About a month back the Maniac had Northwestern and Penn State on the radar, but was leaning more towards the Wildcats after their thumping of Florida State. Last week Penn State handled them in their conference opener. The followed up with a respectable 4-point loss AT Madison (where no one seems to win other than the Badgers.)
Tonight's game against purdue would show whether Penn State was for real, or just "Ranked #1 for a while then throttled by a USC freight-train in the Rose Bowl" real...
Their 67-64 win over a Purdue team many consider Final Four possibilities should answer that question with a resounding YES.
Sophomore guard Talor Battle continued his unlikely All-Big Ten campaign with a dazzling 21 point, 9 assist perfomance that will linger for a while. Penn State's backcourt may not be large in stature (Battle is 5'11', backcourtmate Pringle is 6'2'') but they are huge in production. They combine for an average of 35+ points and 8.5 assists a night and currently rank as the Big Ten's most productive backcourt.
Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves and punch the Lions a dance ticket; there is still a lot of work to go. For now though, they have t be solidly ahead of Ohio State (0-3 in conference) and at least on pace with Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan in the conversation.
One last cogent point: do NOT let Penn State's win tonight indicate that the Big Ten isn't as good as people thought. Parity does not equate to a lack of quality. Purdue is a very good ball club. Ask Texas and Davidson and Oklahoma (great OT loss) and Boston College. It's is simply the matter that Penn State is too. Their vast improvement and the 6-10 conference wins they will pick up makes the Big 10 the deepest most balanced league in the country.
Talor Battle and the Lions are legit tourney hopefuls for the first time
since the Joe Crispin era...
UP NEXT:
Purdue hosts Wisconsin, then takes a sneaky-tricky roadie to Northwesten and returns home to face Iowa. The Boilers would be dissapointed with anything less than 3-0 on the swing.
Penn State looks to keep the momentum going on a trip to visit Tubby's also resurgent Gophers before returning home to find Michigan State waiting. Then they mus try to keep focused for an Indiana game that equates to a win you simply MUST get to keep NCAA Tourney fires stoked.
Tonight's game against purdue would show whether Penn State was for real, or just "Ranked #1 for a while then throttled by a USC freight-train in the Rose Bowl" real...
Their 67-64 win over a Purdue team many consider Final Four possibilities should answer that question with a resounding YES.
Sophomore guard Talor Battle continued his unlikely All-Big Ten campaign with a dazzling 21 point, 9 assist perfomance that will linger for a while. Penn State's backcourt may not be large in stature (Battle is 5'11', backcourtmate Pringle is 6'2'') but they are huge in production. They combine for an average of 35+ points and 8.5 assists a night and currently rank as the Big Ten's most productive backcourt.
Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves and punch the Lions a dance ticket; there is still a lot of work to go. For now though, they have t be solidly ahead of Ohio State (0-3 in conference) and at least on pace with Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan in the conversation.
One last cogent point: do NOT let Penn State's win tonight indicate that the Big Ten isn't as good as people thought. Parity does not equate to a lack of quality. Purdue is a very good ball club. Ask Texas and Davidson and Oklahoma (great OT loss) and Boston College. It's is simply the matter that Penn State is too. Their vast improvement and the 6-10 conference wins they will pick up makes the Big 10 the deepest most balanced league in the country.
Talor Battle and the Lions are legit tourney hopefuls for the first timesince the Joe Crispin era...
UP NEXT:
Purdue hosts Wisconsin, then takes a sneaky-tricky roadie to Northwesten and returns home to face Iowa. The Boilers would be dissapointed with anything less than 3-0 on the swing.
Penn State looks to keep the momentum going on a trip to visit Tubby's also resurgent Gophers before returning home to find Michigan State waiting. Then they mus try to keep focused for an Indiana game that equates to a win you simply MUST get to keep NCAA Tourney fires stoked.
Wow.
Humble pie by the truckload for the Maniac tonight as UNC drops their ACC opener...at HOME...to Unranked Boston College 85-78.
More later in the weekly rankings, but a stunning result in Chapel Hill.
More later in the weekly rankings, but a stunning result in Chapel Hill.
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