Too Much "Old" Not Enough "Spice"

"Old" was an apt description, but "Spice" seems slightly ambitious.  Perhaps the tournament would have more been more appropriately monikered "Old Must" or even "Old Diaper."  Yes, Notre Dame gets enormous credit for triumphing over a balanced field and stacking three very valuable preconference chips in their tourney-bid pile, but more than taking away 'Notre Dame is good' I think most of us college hoop die-hards took away a more sobering realization.

It's a down year in college hoops.

Pearl has lots of reasons for a "thumbs-down" but surprisingly his teams' play isn't one of them

This doesn't mean it won't be fun season.  It doesn't mean college basketball isn't still the purest sport available for mass consumption.  It simply means that in the ebbs and flows of history 2010-2011's collective flow might be more of a retention pond than Great Lake.  But it's not just the "Old Spice Classic."  While he well of competitive balance and parity remains full, the national overall quality of teams is reaching a low water mark.

If Duke beats Michigan State on Wednesday, and I think they will, it isn't unreasonable to start the "can they run the table" conversation.  They dismantled #3 Kansas State in Kansas City.  Assuming they do similarly to Izzo's famously slow-starting Spartans, it is fair to assume Duke will be the prohibitive favorite in every game remaining on their schedule.  Let's take a quick test....Close your eyes....

Is this Duke team in the same ballpark with 2009 North Carolina?  How about the Heels in 05?  Duke's 2001 team?   Therein lies the bigger story.  Its not that Duke is transcendentally great.  It's that so few other teams are even good.  Who is even close in the ACC?  North Carolina?  The Heels look closer to last year's NIT-status than they do Final Four contender.  Wake Forest and Georgia Tech have looked awful, both losing to teams well outside of the Top 100.  Clemson?  Their overtime turnover/bad shot-apalooza against Seton Hall could have set back basketball twenty years if only Cal hadn't beaten them to the punch.  Florida State?  In their first game against a reasonable opponent they lost to Florida (who was emasculated in their opener by Ohio State), scoring only 51 points in the process.

Boston College could make the claim as the only non-Duke bright spot thus far in the ACC, claiming third place in the "Old Diaper."  In truth, Boston College might actually be the best example of the glaring parity of mediocrity that plagues the ACC.  This is an Eagle team that has already lost games to Wisconsin (good loss) and YALE!  (um...not a good loss).  Glancing over that field, is it unreasonable to think Duke could run the table?  It's really not...

It's not just the ACC.  All around college basketball supposed power teams from power leagues are losing to the little guys.  It happens a few times every season and at least once or twice in March; the difference this year is that the little guys aren't very good!  Look, dropping a ball game to the Wichita State's and Murray State's of the world is no shame; those are good ballclubs.  Losing to Yale, Stetson (Wake Forest), Rutgers (Miami) or Kennesaw State (GA Tech) is.

Things aren't much better in the SEC.  Tennessee has been an early bright spot, winning the NIT by triumphing over a very good VCU team and a good Villanova squad (they also have quieter solid wins over Chattanooga, Belmont and Missouri State - kudos to Pearl for scheduling three "no-names" with good teams).   Vandy looks solid as well, with a good win over UNC and a very solid three-point loss to West Virginia.

OK, enough with the good.  Georgia, the trendy darling of the SEC coming into the season has disappointed, losing ugly games to Notre Dame and Temple.  Neither loss is shameful, it is their wins that raise a curious eyebrow after beating terrible Mississippi Valley State and Manhattan teams by only two and three points respectively.  Alabama and Auburn have contributed losses to Iowa, St. Peters, NC Ashville, Samford and Jacksonville.  Not to be outdone, LSU laid a nine-point loss stinkbomb to traditional powerhouse Nicholls State.

These are some pretty mediocre returns, and we haven't even dipped our toe into the murky pond of Pac-10 basketball or the abominable bottom half of the Big East.

The point is this; trying to handicap this season will be a near impossibility.  Teams #5 through #75 are as close as they have been in my recent memory.  Even good teams in 2010 are very flawed.  This season is going to be an absolute free-for-all.  We need to eliminate the terms "shock" and "upset" from the vocabulary for a while (I actually saw "Temple stunned by Cal" on a national sports website I will leave nameless...) and just enjoy the season for what it is.  Call it "parity" or call it "mediocrity" by March it will all sort itself out in three glorious weeks.  Until then, if I was a wagering man, I'd bet the under...

Rhode Dry

Damn you Rhode Island!

The Maniac was delighting in beating the national hoops writers by about 5 days noticing how strong Rhode Island's at-large case was when compared to a handful of other bubble teams.

So of course today they lose to UMass, assasinating any last hope (short of winning the A-10 Tourney) of dancing.

Oh well.

My new campaign? Auburn.

I included them on the bubble-list a week ago and got a few funny emails and comments.

BUT - If South Carolina is IN, and Florida is "ON the Bubble" - Then look up Auburn's record, quality losses, last 12 games and conference record and place them next to the aforementioned two and tell me who SHOULD get in.

Just saying...

Oh, and screw you Rhode Island. I hope you rehire Jim Harrick and endure the three-year probation that follows his inevitable re-firing amidst scandal allegations....





Ok, so not everyone passes today's test..."

Catch the Hysteria @ MarchManiacs.com

Bad and Worse - Saturday's Disatrous Losses

You always hope to write about teams playing their way IN come March, but the more astute observation would be that at least three teams played themselves OUT of the tourney today, with a fat additional handful doing their damndest to do likewise. Here is a quick rundown of the worst and wors-erest (?) performances Saturday:

Maryland - Rest in peace Terps. All goodwill stashed away from last weekend's Carolina thriller was washed away by a loss to conference doormat Virginia. With the plethora of teams snuggling on the bubble, it is hard to imagine a 7-9 ACC team with losses to Morgan State and UVA get the nod.

Cincinnati - Is "deader" a word? The Cats were "dead" after the USF loss this week. TOday's home defeat to Seton Hall makes a home-game in the NIT questionable.

Kentucky - I was joking with Poppa Maniac that the UK-UF game looked like a "play-in" game all season; today was a "play-out" game. I still think Florida is not getting in - and that Auburn would be more deserving of a 4th SEC spot than the Gators (who I really liked a month ago, admittedly...). That said Kentucky went from "bubble" to "Seeking a miracle." The Maniac will put it on record that they won't get it...and instead of a miracle will soon be seeking a head basketball coach.

Not saying ANY of them would TAKE the job, but here is my short list of GREAT FITS:

1. Jay Wright - I was stunned they didn't take a run at him when they settled for Dizzy Gillespie. Wright looks the part, plays the style of hoops that will win him fans in Lexington and would be wise to get out of the hyper-competitive Big East where Villanova is an unlikely perennial Top 4 team.

2. Darrin Horn - I know, I know, I know. He is in year one at South Carolina and has likely led the Gamecocks to a bid (over Kentucky). That said, he is a young, energetic coach who played his prep ball in.... you guessed it, the Bluegrass.

3. Can there be a more ideal fit than Travis Ford?? The gutty, beloved point guard on the 1993 Final Four team has exceeded expectations and has Oklahoma State on the verge of an unlikely tourney bid. He will be an exceedingly hot coaching commodity, and I am not convinced Oklahoma State is a destination job. Suffice it to say, Kentucky would be for Ford.

Come to think of it, I'd lay an even-money wager Ford is coaching the Cats within 15 months.

Ok back to the point - those were my three homicidal coach-killing losses. Here are a few that aren't deadly, but sure as hell made things sticky.

1. Creighton - Getting pasted by 27 in the semis of your 1-bid conference tournament is NOT a real good way to lock up an at-large birth. The Maniac STILL likes the Jays chances, but Creighton better root like hell for Xavier, Butler, Gonzaga during their conference tourneys... and likewise would be wise to root against Ohio State, Maryland, Virginia Tech. Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and St. Mary's...

2. Minnesota -Most experts think the Gophers are still in; the Maniac thinks they better be real nervous and would behoove them to win at least one in the Big Ten tourney. Everyone says "conference affiliation doesn't matter to the selection committee" but I cry foul on that notion. It is going to be tough to get eight Big Ten teams dance cards. Minnesota gets in a crowded spot with Ohio State, Michigan and...

3. PENN STATE - Seriously, all they had to do was beat Iowa and they move to LOCK status. So of course, they lose in OT to the Hawkeyes. At 10-8 in the Big Ten, they are in decent shape, but by no means a LOCK. The first round of the Big Ten tourney is going to be really interesting next week as 5 teams (six actually, don't discount Northwestern) are scrambling for bids.

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Mercer - The Champions of the SEC!

A BIG congratulations to the Mercer Bears, who the Maniac is crowning as the early favorite to win the SEC. What's that? Mercer is actually in the Atlantic Sun? Oh, but they do have early season wins against Alabama and Auburn to post an unblemished 2-0 SEC record in November.

Alabama was tabbed by many to win the SEC West in 08-09 but has been unimpressive in the early going, also being blown out by Oregon. Auburn coupled their Mercer loss with an equally unimpressive home loss to Northern Iowa.

Lest you think Mercer is a "Cinderella Sleeper" for March, let me slow you down. The only dancing the Bears will likely be doing in March will have to come at a campus mixer. After forging to an early "SEC conference" lead, the Bears celebrated with a 3 point win over Texas Southern and a 20 point blow-out loss to East Tennessee State. Not exactly the stuff Cinderellas are made of.

It is not just in the state of Alabama that trouble is brewing, it is the state of the entire SEC that is cause for a 4-Star BCS-alarm. Take a look at some of the other early season stumbles:

Kentucky famously opened with another home debacle, giving up 111 points in a home loss to VMI. Since then, they have probably (outside UF and Tenn.) been the class of the conference. Yes, they suffered their third defeat yesterday at the hands of Miami (FL), but can at least boast a couple quality wins, with victories over Kansas St and West Virginia.

Their fellow conference mates can not boast as much. Vanderbilt took a loss to Illinois-Chicago. South Carolina stumbled to instate "rival" Charleston. Arkansas was toppled by Missouri State, while Georgia dropped a series of stinkbombs, losing to Loyola of Chicago (perhaps the SEC should avoid Windy City foes...) before taking a 34-point pounding yesterday to Illinois.

SO what does all this mean? For one, the SEC sucks. Like Cincinnati Bengals SUCKS, like the ECONOMY sucks. They really suck.

More importanty, it shrinks the bid pool come tourney time. Can anyone take a 9-7 SEC team too seriously with the stack of bad losses that has piled up this Fall? It looks more an more like a 3-4 bid league MAX come March.

(Our picks: Tennessee, Florida, LSU, Kentucky (somehow, someway....)

I see the confusion. 'Bama thought they were playing at a high school charity game! Look at that gym...

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