Quick Rundown of a few of the Night's Biggest Wins

Bubble talk usually focuses more on the disappointing aspect rather than the optimistic; meaning it's usually only the "bubble" if a team has under achieved.  However, the bubble goes both ways, so here's a quick rundown of some teams that helped the NCAA chances with good wins this week.

Some of you have politely pointed out that the Maniac is a moron and that Southern Miss isn't any good and that Conference USA isn't getting multiple bids into the tourney.  Those of you (and you know who you are!) who have been so kind as to email your, um, "concerns" might be right on #1 and #3, but not the middle morsel of information.  Southern Miss is a good ballclub.  And tonight they earned what might turn out to be a season-saving win, knocking off UAB in Birmingham 75-71. 

The win moves Southern Miss to 17-5 (6-3) and a half-game ahead of UAB, Memphis and UTEP atop the conference standings.  If the NCAA had truly sold out for the monster payday and expanded the tourney to 96, no doubt all four of these teams would be dancing.  However, at the current 68 it is going to be a close call down the stretch for all four.  A win on the road over one of your prime competitors is enormous.

The Maniac continues to stand on an island regarding the Golden Eagles and their tourney merit.  Not one single major media outlet, ESPN, FOx Sports, CBS, Yahoo - have included them in a single mock bracket all season.  I'm sure I'll get a few wrong, but when they DO earn their at-large bid, feel free to Tweet of my incomparable hoops genius...

In the Maniac's bracket, I have both Southern Miss AND UAB in, with Memphis being in the first four out.  UTEP probably has the longest odds, despite having an identical record to Memphis and UAB, because of their lack of any significant non-conference wins.

In the Atlantic 10 the Maniac's second pet team for 2011, the Duquesne Dukes kept doing what they have all season -  absolutely obliterate conference opponents.  This time the victim was George Washington by an 84-59 tally.  With Xavier's surprising loss at Charlotte, Duquesne moves into sole possession of the conference lead at a perfect 8-0.

In the ACC, two of the teams we thought would be good, then looked bad early so we wrote off as lousy, are actually pretty good again.  Make sense?

Virginia Tech continued their profile rehab, winning 77-69 at NC State.  The win lifted the Hokies to 15-6 (5-3).  Their non-conference losses to Kansas State, UNLV and Purdue do little to damage their overall resume.  If they can scrape back to 11-5 or even 10-6, they should have little to be nervous about on Selection Sunday.

Meanwhile North Carolina handled their business last night on the road at Boston College, winning easily and very impressively, 106-74, to run their league record to a tidy 6-1.  That's good for a first place tie with the much heralded Dukies (Duke moved a half-game back in front with tonight's win over Maryland).

Harrison Barnes had a season-high 26 points and is showing glimpses of being the player everyone expected him to be instantly.  Instead, his matuaration process has taken some time to evolve; and is still evolving, but as his play continues to improve Carolina is growing into a multi-dimensional team with a ton of length and talent. 

In our latest Bracketeering we have the Tarheels projecting to the #4 line - not too far off of where long-forgotten lofty expectations were prior to the season...


.

Wednesday Gems in Mid-Major Land

Last night's Pitt v. UConn game ushered in the onset of conference play with a bang.  The game may have been slightly overlooked thanks to the odd Tuesday Night Football game, but college hoops fans had to be delighted with a great matchup to jumpstart phase two of the college sesason.  Non-conference play is almost over, but tonight serves up a nice handful a final conference comparison games.

There are a few more nice major conference match-ups tonight (West Virginia v. St Johns, Georgetown v. Notre Dame), but the most interesting games are taking place far from the reach of nationally televised contests.  Here's a quick breakdown of some games worth visiting www.channelsurfing.net for (great links to dozens of hard-to-find games)


7:00 PM -- Furman (8-2) @ UCF (11-0)
UCF has been one of the nation's most pleasnat surprises, riding their undefeated start to #19 in the AP polls.  Tonight they get a tricky potential trap game as the Paladins (nominee for oddest nickname - ANYONE know what a "Paladin" is?  Email it our way) head to UCF Arena in the first game of the UCF Holiday Classic.  Furman's two losses, a 4-point loss to Kent State (who is playing good ball and could win the MAC) and a 24 point drubbing to Penn State.

The Nittany Lions still have Talor Battle (I believe he is in his eleventh year of eligibility...) and beat Indiana last night in Bloomington to kick off Big Ten play.  The point being, the loss may not be that bad.  Furman enters fresh off a double digit win over South Carolina.  The Knights better be sharp tonight or they could be susceptible to an upset.


7:00 PM -- George Mason (9-2) @ Dayton (10-3)
I have both of these teams IN in my earliest prediction bracket for the Big Dance, but both have a lot of work to do to get there.  Dayton had some struggles early dropping a tough game to East Tennessee St and enduring a humiliating 68-34 loss to state rival Cincinnati.  Since then, the Flyers have regrouped, winning three in a row including last night's 69-65 win at Seton Hall.  The Flyers are the most athletic team in the Atlantic 10 and have the talent to unseat Temple, Xavier and Richmond as the A-10's top team.

George Mason fields their best team since their legendary Final Four run in 2006.   Their two losses both came outside the continental USA in November, NC State and a final-possession loss to SoCon favorite Wofford.  Since then the Patriots wins have been solid, if not spectacular.  Tonight marks their first true Top 75 team challenge since Cancun.  This is their last chance to pick up a much-needed resume win before entering league play in the brutal Colonial.  As of now, they'd be a bubble team at best.

This is the best game of the night, in my opinion.  Too bad ESPN chose to give us Duke v. UNC Greensboro and Texas-Arlington v. Kansas instead...


7:00 PM -- Wofford (5-6) @ VCU (7-4)
Wofford is easily the best 5-6 team in the country.  All kidding aside, the Terriers schedule has been among the most brutal in the country with losses to Minnesota, Clemson, Air Force, Georgetown, Xavier (3 OT) and South Carolina.  More important to note, none of those teams travelled to Wofford's gym.  They may have little shot at an at-large bid, but without a doubt their schedule prepared them well to run through the SoCon.  A win tonight would give them wins over two of the CAA's top teams (G.Mason), and could be the difference between a #14/#15 seed and a more winnable 4/13 game.

VCU on the other hand faces a much more difficult conference slate and has slipped outside of strong at-large contender range.  A loss tonight would be a brutal blow to any at-large hopes the Rams might be harboring.  Their win over UCLA was decent, but there is little else to write home about.  They have the most athletic team in the CAA and could be a dangerous #11/#12 seed come March if they can right the ship, starting with tonight.

9:05 PM -- Hawaii (9-3)  @ Utah State (11-2)
WAC play gets off to a blazing start tonight as the two top teams face off in Orem.   Hawaii played surprisingly well in the Honolulu Christmas tournament, knocking off Utah and Mississippi State to claim the consolation bracket.  The losses to Florida State and BYU were disspointing in margin, but not "bad losses" per se.  The loss to Cal Poly would be a crippler if they find themselves in the 22-23 win range and contending for an at-large birth.

Utah State finds themselves in an all-too-familiar position; great record with little in terms of quality wins.  Their losses, by 6 to BYU and at Georgetown won't hurt their profile.  Beating Hawaii not only gives them a Top 100 win, it also gets them the early leg up in the WAC standings.

9:35 PM -- Air Force (8-3) @ UTEP (10-3)
Air Force is a middle of the pack team in their league, but given the sterling performance of the MWC thus far this season, being a middle-of-the packer is actually a compliment.  One could say nearly the identical thing about UTEP.  It's unlikely either of these teams make the NCAA Tournament, but both are solid NIT contenders.  Tonight's game gives a nice comparison opportunity for the Mountain West and Conference USA.
 
11:00 PM -- St.Mary's (10-2) vs. Mississippi State (8-5): Game played in Las Vegas.
St Mary's is two years removed from Patty Mills and one year past Omar Samhan.  Despite losing two of the best players in school history, St. Mary's is right in the mix to return to the NCAA Tourney for the second straight year and appear to be poised to snap Gonzaga's decade long stanglehold on the WCC's regular season championship.  St. Mary's defeated St John's early in the year, and their only two losses are to BYU and San Diego State, both Top 25 teams.  They are in need of a Big 6 conference win to add to their otherwise bleak resume or could find themselves in the same situation as 2009; great record offset by a weak schedule resulting in a disappointing trip to the NIT.

God only knows what is going on at Mississippi State.  Eligibility suspensions, fist fights on the bench and a fistful of questionable losses including Florida Atlantic and East Tennessee.  At 8-5 the Bulldogs have likely played themselves into a deep hole to earn at at-large bid, though in a weak SEC-West they could pick up 10 or 11 wins.  A win tonight, a decent conference run and all of a sudden you are looking at a 20 or 21 win team in a Power Six conference, generally a recipe for dancing...

Maniac's Picks:  
Furman +13
Dayton -1.5
VCU -6.5
Hawaii +20.5
Air Force +14

Memphis and the 13 Dwarfs?

For most of Conference USA's "rebirthed existence" Memphis played big time basketball. The rest of the conference didn't. Why sugarcoat the reality that Conference USA in the blink of an eye transformed from a conference on par with the Big East, Big 12 and maybe even the ACC to a mere one-bid league; a league that was fodder for the Memphis Tigers much the same way that the WCC fed Gonzaga or the old Big West existed seemingly only to fatten the Jerry Tarkanian-bred UNLV calves.

Consider this. Prior to last season Memphis had gone more than three years without dropping a single conference game. The rest of the league were just Idahos to Calipari's Boise State.

A year ago, in a domino of circumstances, Calipari left for the greener pastures of the blue-er grass (Kentucky, not Boise State's smurf turf), the nation's best recruiting class evaporated right before 32-year old rookie head coach Josh Pastner's eyes, four or five schools boasted junior and senior dominated quality rosters. Suddenly Conference USA was living up to the first part of their name, a "conference" once again.

The stars were beginning to align for C-USA. If not "stars", at least 3 and 4-star recruits and programs led by NCAA Tournament experienced coaches. UTEP and Derrick Carachter gave Butler a tough game in the opening round of the NCAA tourney. Houston, buoyed by Aubrey Coleman and their surprising conference tourney run vaulted a second team into the Big Dance. The conference was full of solid ball clubs. While Memphis had their "down year" they still were a bubble team through most of February and headed to the NIT along with solid Tulsa and UAB teams. Even the lower portion of the league was beginning to blossom. UCF looked to be a program on the rise, not just in notoriety with the arrival of both MJ progeny, but also in ability of play. Marshall boasted 7-foot freshman sensation Hassan Whiteside and played eventual Final Four participant WVU to within a bucket in their own gym. Seven or eight teams could be considered legitimate postseason possibilities.

In short, C-USA was making a case (though clearly still behind the A-10) to be the best "non-BCS" league in the country.

Flash forward to the opening weekend of the 2010-2011 season and the shine is already beginning to tarnish. Sadly, for a league that appeared to be on the cusp of a breakthrough, it might be closer to slipping back to "Memphis AND...." territory.

Three of the better non-Memphis teams stumbled mightily out of the gate. Houston needed OT to eek out a 1-point win over Nicholls State. And they were the bright spot.

UTEP, considered to be among the conference's leading contenders for "multiple bid" status lost at home... to Pacific. Tulsa answered the question of "how will they fare losing Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzoh" with a resounding "ouch", dropping a home game to Appalachian State.

In the spirit of fairness, there were a few bright spots. UCF looks like a team that continues to move towards viability with a new arena, a new coach, and two of the best classes in school history with their sophomores and this year's incoming freshman class. Southern Miss and Coach Eustachey (yes, the same guy who took Iowa State to within a game of the Final Four) took his Golden Eagles to Tampa and knocked off BEast also ran South Florida.

Only time will tell if the conference can continue to emerge or if it fades back into the insignificance that has plagued it for most of the latter half of the decade. Fortunatly, unlike it's football counterpart, first impressions are simply that in the world of college hoops. That said, C-USA's first impression in 2010 is one the "13 dwarfs" would sure prefer to do over.

. Tweet

Rating Saturday's Top Games

The NFL playoffs start today, and the Maniac's beloved Bengals will host our (yep, I even say "our" like it is possible I'll make a tackle tomorrow) second playoff game in twenty years. As long time tortured season tickets holders, my whole family is super psyched.

That said, there is still some fantastic college hoops worth catching early, or DVR'ing for later.

FIVE STARS:

Purdue @ Wisconsin (1:30 EST - Big Ten Network)

Hardly anyone wins at the Kohl Center other than the Badgers. They have already dispatched a fantastic Duke team there this season, next up they'll try to do the same to the Boilermakers. A win for Wisconsin puts them solidly in the mix to win the Big Ten title and lurches them into the same sentance as Purdue and Michigan State. A win for the Boilers cements them, in my mind, as the clear conference favorite and a huge step towards capturing a #1 seed in March.

FOUR STARS:

Northern Iowa @ Illinois State (4 EST - ESPN)
One of the nation's best kept secrets travels to dangerous Illinois State and perhaps the conference's best player in Osiris Eldridge. The Valley is notorious for beating each other up all season long, preventing two or three teams to seperate from the pack and bolster their at-large chances. Today is an opportunity for Northern Iowa to do just that.

Mississippi @ Mississippi State - The two best teams in the SEC West lock up in a fantastic rival that should be amplified by both teams collective talent level this season. The winner gets an early jump on winning the West.

BYU @ UTEP (9 EST) - This game is a huge feather for both in their at-large profile, though it likely means more to UTEP with BYU a pretty solid lock for March unless they really falter in conference. C-USA is much improved while constant giant Memphis is down. This is the year they might snatch multiple NCAA bids, but it will be competitive with UAB, Houston, Tulsa and Memphis all jockeying. This one is huge for the Miners.

UConn @ Georgetown (Noon, ESPN) - Hard to say this one kills the loser, but it is a good chance to see two of the countries better team; though still very flawed teams, lock horns. Both could use a solid conference win in the uber-competitive BEast. Let's be honest, any game in that conference not involving DePaul, Rutgers, Providence or USF is at least a 3-star game.

Marquette @ Villanova (2 EST) - Marquette could very easily be 3-0 in conference, ranked nationally and be enjoying the media crush that has bestowed upon Pitt this week. Instead, they find theselves in a precarious spot; lose at Nova and they fall to 1-3 and become an early "bubble" candidate...

Wake Forest @ Miami -Two teams that can actually make a claim to being "underrated" despite very good records and playing in the ACC. The winner today can make a good case for being in the Top 15 in the country and gets a valable chip for late season jockeying through the middle of the ACC pecking order.

THREE STARS:

Florida @ Vanderbilt (Noon) - Think Florida's hot start wasn't a bit of a mirage? Vegas has the Gators as seven point dogs to the 'Dores

St John's @ Louisville (Noon) - St John's better get rolling soon or it is yet another empty postseason and bottom half BEast finish.

Niagara @ Siena - Two best MEAC teams go head to head

Duke @ Georgia Tech - great litmus test for the young Jackets

Kansas State @ Missouri - great chance for Mizzou to jump on radar, great chance for Cats to show they deserve a top ten ranking

Ohio State @ Minnesota - looking forward to seeing if Evan Turner is all the way back in a tricky road stop for the Bucks.

Georgia @ Kentucky - always a good rivalry, it will be interesting to see if the Cats play with the killer instinct needed to bury a lesser opponent.

Oklahoma @ Baylor - OK Sooners, you want to stay relevant in 2010, you need to start winning soon. Today at Baylor would be a good start.

Cincinnati @ Seton Hall - Both teams fancy themselves as tourney teams in 2010. The Pirate fall to 0-4 with a loss and will be buried pretty deep. Meanwhile the Cats need the road win to stop their skid and remain at .500 in conference play.

Tulsa @ Houston - A nice chance to get out to the front of C-USA pack in the conference opener.

West Virginia @ Notre Dame - A chance for the Irish to get their first big win of the season, and boy do they really need a few to bolster that resume.

Texas Tech @ Oklahoma State - Something tells me that only one of the these two teams find themselves on the favorable side of the bubble in ten weeks. A head-to-head win sure never hurts.

Gonzaga @ Portland - A big chance for Portland to get back to relevant. A nice chance for Gonzaga to smack back the uprising and show the WCC who is still boss.

Want More? Have something to Say?
Read, Rant, Agree, Disagree...Curse at Us (nicely please)
Do it all @ MarchManiacs.com

Wednesday's Highlights

There were a couple interesting games last night, and a few resume building wins. Here's a quick sweep on a few you might have missed.

NIGHT IN REVIEW:

UAB validated it's 8-1 record with an exclamation point win over former C-USA rival Cincinnati. The Maniac took a pretty big swipe across C-USA's bow earlier this week, but readily tips his cap to the Blazers' Wednesday night effort. The 64-47 win places them solidly in at-large consideration with a second place conference finish. It is an especialy big win when considering their other "big" wins were Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Georgia. With only chances against Butler (quality), Virgina and Arkansas (not so much...) remaining before conference play this win will be enormous when the Blazers are thrown up on the big board.

For the Bearcats, it is a disappointing response following a tough double-OT loss to crosstown rival Xavier on Sunday night. For Bearcat fans, there has to be some trepidation following another tourney miss-season that began very similarly to this one. I think the Bearcats are still an NCAA Tourney team, especially as Stevenson blossoms, but things need to get on track quickly. There final two non-conference games are minor tuneups, but the BEast begins soon and appears to be nearly as tough as last year.

Louisville stopped their steep slide with a hammering win over Oral Roberts. Granted, they weren't exactly tacking UNLV 1990, but the 94-57 win is a good sign Pitino's Cards realize they can't look past anyone this season any longer...

Ole Miss continued their daring ways, erasing a ten point deficit in the final five minutes to force OT and earn a 91-81 win over UTEP. The Maniac was also critical of UTEP's early light schedule, but admits to being impressed with them in defeat. Derrick Caracter will add an inside presence that few in C-USA will be able to match.

Don't look now, but the Kevin Coble-less Northwestern Wildcats are putting themselves in fine position to earn the school's first ever NCAA Tourney invite. They are 9-1, with wins over Notre Dame, Iowa State, and NC State. Their lone loss is against a top 15 Butler team that will likely be a top-4 seed come March. If they win their final two non-conference games (Saturday's Stanford game is a tricky one) they can go 8-10 in the loaded Big Ten and get some consideration. 9-9 would make them a near lock.

How about the hammering South Carolina laid on Richmond last night? The Spiders had looked good early this season and felt like a potential sleeper in the A-10. South Carolina, led by Devin Downey in what feels like his twenty second year of eligibilty, are going to have a great opportunity to contend for an at-large bid in the loaded SEC East. The good thing about sharing the East with Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, and Vandy is that all five will get eight opportunities for quality wins.

For Richmond, all is not lost. They still have quality wins over Mississippi State, Old Dominion and Missouri in their hip pocket and their three losses to William & Mary, VCU and the Gamecocks should all be Top 100, if not Top 50 RPI losses in March. It does however make this weekends trip to Gainesville an interesting litmus test of the Spiders' legitimacy.

Finally Oklahoma State rebounded from their humbling loss to Tulsa with a nice 71-70 win over Stanford. The Cardinal have now lost to Kentucky in OT, and Oklahoma State by 1. So someone explain to be the 83-81 loss to Oral Roberts? Regardless, on their good days the Cardinal appear to be strong enough to challenge for third in the Pac 10. And, yes, that is meant more as an insult to the beleaguered Pac-10.

Not too much going on in college hoops tonight. Enjoy the Colts going for 14-0, and a serious, somber RIP to Chris Henry.

Want More? Have something to Say?
Read, Rant, Agree, Disagree...Curse at Us (nicely please)
Do it all @ MarchManiacs.com