Good Day for the Pac-10

The PAC-10 showed itself well yesterday (UCLA excluded) after a dismal opening month.

USC recorded the conference's first victory over a Top 25 team this year. Read that last sentance again to grasp the rotteness of the conference's opening month. The Trojans hammered Tennessee in what can be considered the first real "surprise" or "upset" of the season, despite about 20 headlines for games that didn't merit it. (Examples: Wisconsin's home win over Duke, Portland beating a terrible UCLA team, Kansas State over UNLV (the most ridiculous of the list, K. State is better for crying out loud).

Then Washington absolutly eviscerated the Portland Pilots. The game was on long after most east coasters drifted to bed, but if you stayed up for the first eight minutes, you saw all you needed. The Huskies led by 20 in the first half, 30 early in the second half and cruised to a 36 point win that was never competitive.

It's a small step, but a much needed one as the Pac-10 tries to earn some validity before they begin playing one another for the remainder of the season.

A big day for the Trojans and the Pac-10

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Xavier v Butler Final Possession

In case you missed the end of the Xavier - Butler game and want to weigh in. And, no, I'm not letting this one go... It's a terribly ridiculous rule to subtract time off the clock ex post facto.



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X-tremely Unfair

I'm not sure Sportcenter will do it justice, but one of the worst officiating calls (within the rules...I know, kind of a conundrum of logic) I have ever witnessed in college hoops just took place in the Xavier - Butler game.

In no circumstance should time be taken OFF the clock, bringing a game that is NOT over to 0:00. Regardless of what the time should have been there is an undeniable principle that the game would have been played differently. To say a shot taken with 2 seconds ends the game because 2 less seconds should have been on the clock is patently absurd.

If there are thirty seconds on the clock and you are down one, you likely play for the final shot.

The same strategy holds true with twenty seconds on the clock. Or ten.

To retroactively subtract time and take away a team's final possession is a terrible terrible rule. If they had decided to take a full two seconds away and waive off Hayward's game winning basket, the travesty would have been even greater. At least Xavier was not guaranteed a win with the last possession.

Anyone else watch this game in real time? I think you had to to get a real feel for how badly the situation was mismanaged, or at least how absurd a rule that allows for seconds to be evaporated retroactively in an end-game situation.

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Saturday's Picks

The Maniac looks to continue a blistering start on a loaded college hoops Saturday. Quick Picks below. As always, we of course don't condone gambling in any manner. However, if one were to gamble, I'd like to point out we are over 65% ATS on the season...

Michigan +20 @ Kansas - Kansas hasn't been tested in a month, Michigan has failed every test in 2009's early going. It seems to point in the Jayhawks favor, but I think Michigan hangs around enough to cover.

Mississippi St -3 @ Houston - Missisippi State has quietly begun to find their stride. Houston has been good at times this season, but the Bulldogs are too talented to fall tonight.

North Carolina +6.5 @ Texas - It is difficult to say how either team will react to cavernous Cowboys Stadium, but I do feel confident that the Tarheels will not be overwhelmed by the environment. They have already played Ohio State and Syracuse in MSG, and played Kentucky at Rupp. Plus, the Heels are no jumpshot dependant, preferring to penetrate and take advantage of their quickness and the size of their deep frontline. I think Texas is a Final Four team, but I think UNC might be a little more ready at this juncture of the season.

Virginia Commonwealth -4 @ Tulane - I like VCU with ease, perhaps Vegas sees something in the Green Wave that The Maniac hasn't... Gimme the Rams to cover by double digits.

Temple +4.5 @ Georgetown - It is dangerous to pick all road teams with your picks, but I don't care. Seton Hall is this year's Providence; good in the early going with a great record built against inferior competition. Temple however has played as good a slate as anyone in the country and is sitting at 8-2. I think they not only cover, but get the win over Jeremy Hazell and the Pirates.

South Carolina -2 @ Wofford - Another road game, and I originally thought this line was a typo. It isn't. Jump on the Cocks ("ladies" said in my creepiest voice). Wofford is not terrible, but SC is in a whole different category in terms of offensive ability and athleticism.

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What Could Have Been and Shouldn't Be...

Tonight Memphis visits UMass in a game that ranks no better than 15-20th on the "best games of the day" list. It is two unranked opponents; Memphis expecting to get better and contend for their conference crown, UMass one of the bottom half of the A-10. So why would this game even raise an eyebrow when glancing over the schedule?

Because of the eyebrows both programs raised from NCAA in years past. UMass made the Final Four with Marcus Camby in 1996. Memphis played in one of the all-time classic Finals two years ago with Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts. Of course, neither of those two events ever happened... that is if you consult the NCAA record book.

Both of those Final Four appearances have been "vacated" and money earned was order returned under penalty. Both of those teams were of course coached by John Calipari (who has never been directly implicated).

My question is, WHY schedule each other this year? There are over 300 Division I opponents to choose from. There is no natural geographic rivalry, no particular impetus to bolster strength of schedule with each other, so why open the inevitable comparison and remind fans and the country of just what was "lost"?

It just doesn't make sense to the Maniac...

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