Beasts with the Least

The Big East is the talk of college hoops, and rightly so. The conference appears to be loaded, even at the bottom (see Seton Hall over USC, USF's 2 pt. road loss at Virginia).

But it seems as though we may need to wait until March to find out who is REALLY a beast on a national level. From January through March, the conference will cannibalize itself, and depending upon parity, will send anywhere from 7 to a record-setting 9 teams to the Dance.

But take a look at some of these pre-conference schedules:

UCONN: Hartford, West Carolina, Deleware St, Bryant (huh?), Buffalo and Fairfield. They do have one game against Gonzaga that serves as the only legit game in 2008. (ed. note: I failed to credit them for their pre-season tourney games; add in wins of Miami and Wisconsin, and the schedule looks much better. Still no clue who the hell "Bryant" is, but I am guessing Kobe doesn't play there...)

Georgetown: Same ol' same ol' for the Hoyas. Brutal line-up in cludes: American, Florida Intl, Drexel, Jacksonville, Savannah St, and Wichita St. The Shockers are a reasonable foe, but only Memphis on 12/13 provides a reasonable early season test.

Syracuse: Looks like another season sweating it out on the Boeheim (or "bubble" to some of you). With a chance to rack up quality wins against foes like: Richmond (close win), Oakland, Colgate, Cornell and Canisuis... not exactly an RPI inflater. They do take on a few quality opponents in Virginia (weak, but at least a major conference) Florida, and Memphis. It's a start for the Orange, perhaps learning their lesson from two seasons of competing for the title of "being #66!!"

Pitt: Is there a reason this team goes "Pitt" every March? Look at this schedule: Fairleigh Dickenson, Vermont, Duquesne, Belmont, UMBC, but they DO take on Indiana... of Pennsylvania! Their lone 2 reasonable games include Texas Tech and Florida St.


The point? These teams should all cruise into conference play with one or less losses. Add in Notre Dame, Lousiville, Marquette, Villanova, Cincinnati and West Virginia - and you have a conference loaded with powerful teams. Therefor each conference win becomes a "big" win, and each loss becomes a "quality" loss.

But it is hard to gauge the extent of that quality until some of these teams step OUT of their tiny little...well, "bubble."

Champs need "tough-win earned" heart

bank is open.

X-clamation (3) Point!

First 2 PP of Story courtesy of http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/recap?gid=200811210620&prov=ap

Xavier’s buzzer-beater nips Va Tech 63-62 in OT

"SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)—Dante Jackson’s buzzer-beater from beyond halfcourt lifted Xavier to a 63-62 win over Virginia Tech in overtime at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip Off on Friday.

After Virginia Tech went up 62-60 on Jeff Allen’s tip-in with 3 seconds left in overtime, Jackson took the inbounds pass, dribbled a few steps and made his only field goal of game. He had missed his first eight attempts for the Musketeers (4-0). -- end.

For the second straight day the Musketeers made up a lead of 7 or more points after the final TV time-out. The wins have been tenuous, but come March, all you will see is two RPI Top 100 (maybe 50) wins and a game coming up Sunday against #12 Memphis.

I know many content early season games do not matter much in college basketball. Yet those dame pundits will obsess over seeding come tournament time. So lets put this X win in perspective: A loss to Missouri yesterday = 2 more games against sub .500 RPI teams, and returning home with no quality wins on the young season.

The win? Well, followed by a subsequent Va Tech win catapults the strength of schedule factor and adds one more "name" win to the big board come selection Sunday. In short, it is the difference between a 3 & a 6 seed; the difference between a 5 & an 8.

How big a shot?? We'll find out on Selection Sunday.

It is a big win on a BIGGER shot. Next comes a true test; how will freshman Terrell Holloway and backcourt mates CJ Anderson, BJ Raymond and Dante Jackson handle the explosive quickness and pressure of Memphis?

A Beilein to Respectability

Michigan 55 (#4) UCLA 52

The first upset of the young season as UCLA looked absolutly LOST against the 1-4 zone (1-3-1 matchup more like...)

Michigan faces Duke tomorrow night in what appears to be a mismatch on paper, but then again, so did the UCLA game.

Could we be seeing these "Fab" Days Again Soon?

Hot Flashes

An early name to remember for your March "Bracketbusters". Al Fischer of Kent State.

The guard went for 35 in Wednesday's 2-point overtime win over Saint Louis. The Golden Flashes will content for the MAC crown, and you can expect some magic from Fischer along the way. More impressive than his 35 points, is the fact that 16 of them came in overtime.

That's gettin' it done.