Previewing the ACC-Big Ten Challenge From A Skewed Perspective

Isaac Haas will look to be a beast on the block for Purdue against Louisville Wednesday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge (Getty).

My time as an ACC basketball fan started in the early 90's when I first arrived from Chicago to the wild and wonderful town of Fredericksburg Virginia. I followed the league heartily throughout my youth and fully embraced the Carolina-Duke rivalry as a fan of the squad in sky blue uniforms.

Flash forward to 2013 when I started writing for RushtheCourt. I initially wanted to write about the ACC, but spots were needed covering the Big Ten. I've been covering this league now for four years and have become much more familiar with this conference than the one I was obsessed with years ago. So this makes the ACC-Big Ten challenge strange for me.

In the past, I obviously would have ridden with the ACC and wanted them to win all 14 games. Now, while I'm still a Carolina fan, I'm fully rooting for the Big Ten to win the event. Monday's games left both leagues tied 1-1, with Florida State beating Minnesota and Northwestern taking down Wake Forest. These were merely an appetizer for the proceedings coming tonight and Wednesday. What follows is what to look for in the best six games to come, with an extra little prediction thrown in for good measure.

• Syracuse at Wisconsin: This one has the makings of a classic, with both teams residing within the top 10 on KenPom. The Badgers are only shooting 31 percent from behind the arc and have a tendency to take way too many threes. So how they handle the Cuse zone may very well determine the outcome. Another troubling element for Wisconsin is that they actually have been really sloppy this season (20.4 percent turnover rate). One thing they do really well, however, is crash the glass on the offensive end. Defensive rebounding has never been a strong point for Jim Boeheim coached teams, and that's still the case. The Orange have started off the season really shooting well from the perimeter, though, with four of their primary five deep shooters hitting over 46 percent. Prediction: Wisconsin in a close one because road games and Syracuse really aren't a thing this early in the year. 

• Michigan State at Duke: This is not a typical Michigan State team, at least not yet. They are painfully young, and they have almost no size except for Zach Randolph clone (Tom Izzo's words, not mine) Nick Ward. Duke is still Duke, even without the services of three absolute stud freshmen. Without going into a full-fledged breakdown on the numbers, I already know that Sparty has almost no chance here. The caveat, however, is whether or not Grayson Allen plays. If he's out of the mix, then I'd say the end result is a coin flip. My best guess is that everyone's favorite villain plays and the perimeter attack of Allen, Luke Kennard, and Frank Jackson prevails. No coin necessary. Prediction: Kind of made this clear already, but Duke wins by 15.

The somewhat hated Grayson Allen will lead Duke to a win over Michigan State tonight (Mark Dolejs, USATSI). 

• Virginia Tech at Michigan: This one barely makes the cut as one of the six best games here, but should be a sneaky good game because both squads should end up as tournament teams in March. Dan Brody's favorite coach has a 5-1 team that is one blown lead against Texas A&M from being undefeated. They have a bunch of rangy guards that shoot the ball well and don't turn it over, coupled with Zach LeDay as the one banger in the post. Michigan is built a tad different than the teams of the past five years, because they actually have much more size than the Hokies with the trio of DJ Wilson, Marc Donnal, and German Moritz Wagner. They used this size to cripple Marquette, the former school of Buzz Williams, and a solid SMU team to win the 2K Classic. They can shoot it from deep, and the aforementioned bigs do a really good job in pick-and-roll situations where they casually saunter to the rim for dunks and layups. This should be a really close game that will come down to the last couple of possessions. Prediction: Michigan will use their size to barely pick up their third quality win on the year.

•  Purdue at Lousiville: This one is another sneaky good game, but with a higher ceiling. Unlike the VT-Michigan matchup, both teams are ranked and both could be legitimate threats to win their respective conferences. This isn't the same defensive team for Purdue as last year, with the losses of the very large human AJ Hammons and perimeter pest Raphael Davis. They are better scoring the ball, however, due to the fact that they are simply much larger than most in the paint, with the tag-team of Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas. They've surrounded the monsters in the paint with a bunch of shooters than can make it rain from distance. On the other side, Louisville boasts the number two most efficient defense in the land and could force the Boilers into a tough shooting night. The question here is will they develop anything remotely resembling  competence on the other side of the floor. Prediction: Ricky P and the Cards will frustrate Purdue and hold them in check with their defense. Louisville squeaks by.

• Ohio State at Virginia: This one could get really ugly for two reasons. The first of which is that Ohio State has played only one semi-decent team, and haven't come close to seeing anything near what Virginia brings to the floor defensively. So they obviously could struggle to score points, which I hear is a problem when trying to win basketball games. The second reason is that the same core beat Kentucky last season, but lost to UT Arlington and Lousiana Tech at home. Whether or not this group has matured since, suffering the sting of not making the NCAA's in 2015-16 will be on display here as they travel to Charlottesville. Tony Bennett's team was insanely good when I watched them dismantle Iowa. They scored at will and did not allow the Hawkeyes to accomplish anything on offense. Despite a lack of star power, the system is working for the Cavs. Prediction: This one will be close for a half, but UVA will run away with it in the last ten minutes.

• North Carolina at Indiana: If someone were to give me five dollars each time this game is referred to as a track meet, I wouldn't be living in a 350X350 studio apartment . Needless to say, pace has been mentioned quite a bit leading up to what arguably is the best game on paper of the Challenge's fourteen. Carolina and Indiana have both surprised pundits and fans alike by being a bit better than people expected out of the gate. Carolina is getting insanely stellar play from Joel Berry, and they are rebounding 46.6 percent of their misses thanks to Kennedy Meeks and freshman Tony Bradley. The two have absolutely owned the backboards. Indiana, meanwhile, shocked the college basketball world by beating Kansas early. But they then fell back to earth, losing to Fort Wayne last week. Both of these teams could easily win their leagues and could end up in the Final Four. If I were a betting man, I'd say the over is a safe play. Prediction: It's hard to go against Carolina with the way they've been playing, but I think Indiana playing at home will shoot the lights out much like they did against Kansas to get the win. 

That reverse jinx was brought to you by Bill Simmons. Enjoy the hoops.

Brendan Brody tweets @Berndon4.

Duke in the NCAA Tournament: A fan's bracing himself for the inevitable landing

Aisander Duda wrote this. He’s been here many times before. Somehow someway this post is about the mixed feelings of optimism and pessimism that surface at the start of any NCAA Tournament run:

"So, let me get this straight. You're saying we're not losing to Robert Morris? That I can just 'chill' for the next couple of hours while the illusion of a basketball game takes place? One more thing, are these wings real or not?" 

On Sunday evening, Icarus awoke. He first tried moving his arms and then his legs, but his whole body felt stiff and unable to easily rise from the surface of his bed. His head ached terribly, and his eyes were blurry and unfocused. As he regained some sense of the past 48 hours, it dawned on him why it was so difficult to move. 

In the time of Blue Devils: A Short Story

This story was not written by me, but by one Aisander Duda ,who used to post here more often, and whose Duke fandom I am constantly trying to unravel, analyze, and, hopefully, to one day understand:

Around the Power 6 "Plus 1"

ACC
Ascending: Duke
Descending: Maryland
Player of the Week: Nolan Smith, Duke (23.3 pts, 4.3 rbs, 4.5 assts, 1 stl)
On the Horizon: Maryland at VT (Tues.), BC at UNC (Sat.)

My favorite team (which so happens to be dominated by freshmen and sophomores) was up 14 points at halftime in Cameron Indoor. This was a shocker, to say the least. More on this game to come, but Duke gets the nod because they proved they're the class of a very weak ACC. Even without Kyrie Irving, the Devils have found another scoring option in Seth Curry to go with an ever-dominant Nolan Smith. Smith hit every big shot and put Duke on his back against Carolina, with Kyle Singler doing nothing and the Plumlee brothers looking like they had money on UNC. He's inched his way ever closer to serious national player of the year consideration. Maryland is now 5-5, sitting at 16-9 overall and needing a spectacular finish to avoid the NIT. Maryland gets a chance to move up a little if they can win in Blacksburg Tuesday, while Boston College gets a chance to avenge the ass-kicking they absorbed at home against Carolina on Saturday.

Big East
Ascending: Georgetown
Descending: Cincinnati
Player of the Week: Chris Wright, Georgetown (16.5 pts, 4.3 rbs, 5.5 assists)
On the Horizon: St. John's at Marquette (Tues.), Georgetown at UConn (Wed.), UConn at Louisville (Fri.), Pitt at St. John's (Sat.).

Georgetown has shaken off its 1-4 start to climb into the top 10. They've now won 8 league games in a row, using multiple contributions to make up for losing Greg Monroe to the NBA. I was seriously considering putting Marquette in the descending spot, as both they and the Bearcats look to be the first casualties of the murderers row that is Big East conference play. Chris Wright struggled right around when the Hoyas were 1-4, but has gotten his act back together just in time for Georgetown latest hot streak. My only knock on him is his inconsistent shooting, but he's one of the best point guards in the country in terms of leadership and intangibles, proving this with his play of late. St. John's looks to continue its streak of big wins at MSG, this time getting a Pitt team that still might not have Ashton Gibbs on Saturday. Also, UConn gets Georgetown at home, then has to turn around and go to Louisville in a rare Friday night contest.

Big 10
Ascending: Wisconsin
Descending: Illinois
Player of the Week: Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin (22 pts, 4 rbs, 6.5 assts, 4.3/1 assist-to-turnover ratio)
On the Horizon: Michigan St. at Ohio St. (Tues.), Wisconsin at Purdue (Wed.), and Ohio St. at Purdue (Sun.)

Wisconsin was the first team to knock off Ohio St. just like they did in football, winning on Saturday and climbing to number 10 nationally. They look ready to go much further than their first round exit last season when they lost to Cornell. Michigan St. has been the team most criticized for leadership questions, but Illinois has fallen to pieces, largely because of a rift between the seniors and some of the younger players. Bruce Weber has benched Demetri McCamey and Mike Tisdale, as a team that was clearly going to be dancing a couple of weeks ago now has some work to do. Taylor gets player of the week (it's actually 2 weeks, but who's counting) largely off of his work Saturday, going off much like Nolan Smith did against UNC. Sparty gets one of their final chances more a marquee win on Tuesday, while the spotlight shines upon West Lafayette as Purdue gets 2 games against the league's elite in four days.

Big 12
Ascending: Texas
Descending: Oklahoma .
Player of the Week: Jordan Hamilton (18.3 pts, 7.8 rbs, 1 blk)
On the Horizon: Kansas at Kansas St. (Mon.) and Colorado at Kansas (Sat.)

Texas continues to roll unexpectedly and at this pace should be headed toward a number one seed. Oklahoma had a decent stretch early on, but the team that lost to D3 Chaminade has shown that they simply have lost too much talent in the last two years (Where the hell are Tommy Mason-Griffin and Keith “Tiny” Gallon even playing right now?) to compete in the second or even the third best league in the land. Jordan Hamilton has been player of the week two times in a row now, providing a little bit of everything as the best player on the 2nd best team in the country. My preseason final four pick Kansas St. gets the Jayhawks at home in a non-eventful week schedule wise, and the Jayhawks also get a relatively frisky Colorado team Saturday at home.

SEC
Ascending: Florida
Descending: LSU
Player of the Week: Chandler Parsons, Florida ( 16.3 pts, 11.7 rbs, 5 assts)
On the Horizon: Vanderbilt at Georgia (Tues.), Georgia at Tennessee (Sat.)

I'm firmly planted on the Florida bandwagon right now, if only because they're another one of my Final Four picks that actually isn't making me look completely stupid right now. The Gators are now 9-2 and running away from the rest of SEC East. Remember when LSU had players like Big Baby Davis and Tyrus Thomas, all of five years ago? Well they don't have them anymore, and their record of 10-15 shows it. Parsons gets a free pass for playing hurt against UT on Saturday, but averaged a double-double in his 3 other games in the last two weeks. Georgia gets a chance to bump up its resume with challenging games against Vandy and Tennessee, which could vault them to second behind Florida.

Mountain West
Ascending: San Diego St
Descending: UNLV
Player of the Week: D.J.Gay, San Diego St. (12.5 pts, 4.8 assts, 2.3 stls, 18/0 asst to turnover ratio)
On the Horizon: New Mexico at San Diego St. (Wed.), UNLV at Colorado St. (Sat.)

I've been as guilty as anyone in perpetrating the “2011 Jimmer Fredette Love Fest,” but San Diego St. should be getting just as much pub as the Mighty Mormons. They're now 25-1, and could arguably make a case for a number one seed if they win out. UNLV now sits at 6-5 in a league that was supposed to be better than it has been (as I rethink whether the Mountain West really deserves to be included as the “plus one” part of this bi-monthly blog enterprise). They've blown chances against the top 2, and now will be on the bubble unless they do some damage in the conference tourney. Again the player of the week spot is usually exclusively Jimmer's domain, but this week I'm going with SDSU point guard D.J. Gay. Stunningly, he has gone a four game stretch without turning the ball over once. New Mexico has been just as disappointing as UNLV, but gets a crack at the Aztecs in San Diego on Wednesday, as the MWC tries to get more than two teams into the NCAA's.

Pac 10
Ascending: UCLA
Descending: Cal.
Player of the Week: Tyler Honeycutt ( 8.3 pts, 7.8 rbs, 4.3 assts, 3.3 blks)
On the Horizon: Washington St. at Arizona (Thurs.), Washington at Arizona (Sat.)

I try not to harbor an East Coast bias in writing this, and in doing so I've actually watched Pac 10 games quite a bit in the last month. The league isn't as bad as it was last year, and the main reason is the reemergence of “Blue Blood” programs like Arizona and UCLA. The Bruins look to be hitting their stride, entering the week at 9-3 in the league, and getting a big non-conference win against their old boy Steve Lavin and St. John's on 2-6. Cal was looking like they were going to shake off their early struggles with a strong conference start, but it looks as though losing in triple overtime to Arizona might have been the death knell to their year. Honeycutt didn't put up huge scoring numbers, but he did have an 8 block game as is considered to be a potential lottery pick. Arizona looks to continue a streak that has them up to number 13 in the country, getting the two talented Washington schools at home in the span of two days.

Duke-UNC Recap and other Observations
I'm not normally a believer in the term “moral victory,” that being said, I came away from the Greatest Rivalry in College Sports in good spirits. Like I mentioned up top, UNC was up 14 points at the half, something that I and probably a great number of Carolina fans would not have fathomed going into the game. Especially after the blowouts last year, even if UNC should have won the game. But to go into Duke and play that well in stretches, bodes well for the rest of the season. The major key that I can see going forward is the need to develop one or two consistent shooters. If Reggie Bullock or someone else can start knocking it down from deep, biased or not, this is a dangerous team that could end up in Houston for the Final 4. Barnes is starting to get it, and Kendall Marshall has been a revelation. They beat people up on the boards, and after some early season problems defensively, they do a good job locking people down. I don't want to say we're back, but after the carnage of last year, I'm highly pleased with the improvement I've seen from Chapel Hill.

Kansas is a lot better than I thought. Last Monday in the Missouri game, they took the Tigers' best punch in the beginning of the game, with Mizzou starting off 7-9 from the field, and ended up putting up 103 points and winning by 17. Russ' cousins Markieff and Marcus are the real deal, and the rest of the supporting cast have all gotten better since last year's early exit, offsetting the losses of players like Sherron Collins and Xavier Henry. They are now number one, and they deserve to be.

Three teams that I saw in spurts over the weekend as I attempted to channel surf sans remote control (harder than you think unless you're 50 or older) that will be top 10 teams next year are Vandy, Louisville, and UConn. Vanderbilt has shooter John Jenkins, Festus Ezeli, Brad Tinsley, and possibly Jefferey Taylor all coming back. Louisville brings in 2 McDonald's All-Americans to a team that has dealt with all kinds of injuries, all the while losing just Preston Knowles. UConn is probably losing Kemba Walker, but will bring back everybody else, including freshman guards Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier who have become the 2nd and 3rd scoring options the Huskies need with teams keying on Walker. All of these teams have Sweet 16 potential right now, but the future is extremely bright as I try to get a jump on actually picking teams for the Final Four in the preseason that even make the NCAA's.

Around The Power 6, March Forecast

I've always wondered how the process worked. I've always wondered why there couldn't be an easier way to objectively pick the 65 (now 68) teams for the Big Dance each March. So I created one. Using http://www.kenpom.com/ as my guide, I came up with a crude formula to seed teams as they stood up until Sunday's games. All for the LCB universe. You're welcome.

How it works: All I did was take Ken Pomeroy's Top 100 teams, which is probably similar to the RPI Top 100. I gave teams points based on their victories, with different points for winning against top 20's, top 50's, and top 100's. I also scored it based on whether the game was on the road, at home, or at a  neutral site. I then took points away based on losses, using the same thing. So a team like Xavier for example, lost a lot of points and didn't make the cut because it has a couple of bad losses against teams outside the top 100. If a team won or lost by 15 or more, they were rewarded or penalized accordingly. I'm by no means a mathematician, and this process took way too long for me to ever do it more than once or twice, but I like the way it turned out. Here's how I have it after Sunday's games.

1. Ohio St., Pittsburgh, Texas, Kansas                                                                                          
2. San Diego St., Duke, BYU, UConn
3. Purdue, Notre Dame, Villanova, Georgetown
4. WVU, Louisville, Kentucky, Wisconsin
5. Syracuse, Washington, Utah St., Missouri
6. Tennessee, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas A&M
7. Michigan St., Cincinnati, Marquette, Arizona
8. Vanderbilt, Georgia, Temple, UNC
9. St. Mary's, St. Johns, UNLV, Florida
10. Harvard, FSU, UCLA, Cleveland St.
11. Nebraska, Wichita St., George Mason, Belmont
12. Clemson/Penn St., Maryland/ODU, Alabama, Missouri St.
13. UTEP, Oakland, Duquesne, VCU
14. Florida Atlantic, Fairfield, Coastal Carolina, Vermont
15. Bucknell, Montana, Austin Peay, Long Island
16. Chatanooga/Texas Southern, McNeese St./Long Beach St., Buffalo, Bethune-Cookman

Around the “Power 6” Plus 1
37 of the 68 spots in my mock field are taken up by these teams, with the Big East getting a whopping 11 into the field. The Big 10 has 7, the SEC has a surprising 6, followed by the Big 12 and ACC with 5. The Pac 10 and Mountain West get 3 bids apiece, with the CAA flying under the radar with 3 squads as well. I could be accused of having a state of Virginia bias with that, but Mason, VCU, and ODU all have strong resumes looking at the parameters I used.

ACC
Teams In: Clemson, FSU, Duke, UNC, Maryland
Close but no Cigar: : VT, Boston College
Player of the Week: John Henson ( 13 pts, 10 rbs, 5 blks)
On The Horizon: Duke at Maryland (2-2), VT at Boston College (2-5), Florida St. at UNC (2-6), UNC at Duke (2-9)

I bumped Duke up to a 2 seed even though by the math they should have been a 4. Maryland and Clemson were two of the last 4 at large teams, although they both seem to be creeping up and getting better. If UNC keeps winning and winning convincingly like last night at BC, they have a great chance to be a 4 or a 5. There are huge matchups in the next 7 days looming, with the bloodbath on next Wednesday overshadowing the Duke-Maryland and Florida St-UNC tilts this week.

Big East
Teams In: West Virginia, Syracuse, Georgetown, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Louisville, Notre Dame, St.Johns, UCONN, Marquette
Close but no Cigar: None
Player of the Week: Ben Hansbrough (20 pts, 4 rbs, 6 assists)
On the Horizon: Syracuse at UCONN (2-2), Villanova at Marquette (2-2), West Virginia at Villanova (2-5), Pitt at West Virginia (2-7), Georgetown at Syracuse (2-9)

The Big East is really good. You don't need to be an unpaid blogger who waits tables to inform you of this. The numbers bare it out in that all of these teams are going to have monster strength of schedule and RPI numbers simply by taking turns pummeling one another. St. Johns win over Duke bumped them up quite a bit. Hansbrough put up 26 against Pitt, bringing the Irish up to number 8 in the polls. All in all, these teams not only got into my fake field, but also came in with 8 in the 1-5 seeds. West Virginia had a surprisingly good number, and has a couple of big games to move up further at Villanova and at home against Pitt.

Big 10
Teams In: Ohio St., Michigan St., Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota, Penn St.,
Close but no Cigar: Michigan
Player of the Week: Darius Morris, Michigan ( 14 pts, 5 rbs, 7 assts)
On the Horizon: Michigan at Ohio St. (2-3), Michigan St at Wisconsin (2-6), Ohio St. at Minnesota (2-6)

Penn St. was the only real shocker here, though, Michigan was closer than I thought. If these teams can win one or two more against the Buckeyes' and Boilermakers' of the world, at the same time avoiding losing to Iowa and Indiana, they have a real shot at dancing. Darius Morris gets the nod for POTW over Jared Sullinger with his triple-double (12 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists) against Iowa. Michigan St. at Wisconsin highlights the week ahead, as a win in Madison would help Sparty gear up for their inevitable Final Four run. I may be the only person still left on the bandwagon, since I picked them to win it all in October. I like to be right and feel smart. I am insecure and small inside.

Big 12
Teams In: Kansas, Texas, Texas A&M, Missouri, Nebraska
Close but no Cigar: Baylor, Kansas St
Player of the Week: Jordan Hamilton (18 pts, 10 rbs, 3 asst)
On the Horizon: Kansas at Nebraska (2-5), Missouri at Kansas (2-7)

The Big 12 is largely regarded as being a top 3 conference, but with the crashes of Baylor and Kansas St., they're really not that great outside of Texas, Kansas, and Missouri. Nebraska has been interesting, and we shall see if they are for real when they play the Jayhawks at home Saturday. Jordan Hamilton might be the most improved player in the country, not only scoring-wise but putting up huge rebound numbers and playing lock down D. He held Khris Middleton of the Aggies in check to the tune of zero for nine shooting in their win over the Aggies Monday night.

SEC
Teams In: Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Alabama.
Close but no Cigar: Mississippi St, South Carolina
Player of the Week: JaMychel Green, Alabama ( 18 pts, 8 rbs, 2 blks)
On the Horizon: Miss.St at Alabama (2-3), Kentucky at Florida (2-5), Alabama at Tennesee (2-5), Tennesee at Kentucky (2-8), Xavier at Georgia (2-8)

I didn't think Alabama would do what they've done so far, giving the SEC 6 teams in right now. They're 5-1 in league play, but need some wins against some of the East's elite to buff up their resume a little bit. No real great teams here, but Kentucky and Florida still could do some damage. Tennessee has done better than I thought without Bruce Pearl, so they might be a factor as well in the extremely tight SEC East race.

Mountain West
Teams In: BYU, San Diego St, UNLV
Close but no Cigar: New Mexico, Colorado St.
Player of the Week: Jimmer Fredette (35 pts, 4 rbs, 4 assts, 2 stls)
On the Horizon: San Diego St. at Colorado St. (2-3), UNLV at BYU (2-6)

BYU and San Diego St. ended up doing better than I thought, especially with BYU's win over Arizona looking better and better as the Wildcats climb in the polls. New Mexico is playing better after struggling early on. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Jimmer is going to be my player of the week every time I do this for the rest of the year. UNLV gets a rematch against the Cougs in Provo on Saturday, while Colorado St. can move up with their game against San Diego St. at home tonight.

Pac 10
Teams In: Arizona, UCLA, Washington
Close but no Cigar: Washington St, Cal.
Player of the Week: Derrick Williams ( 20 pts, 9 rbs)
On the Horizon: USC at UCLA (2-3), Arizona at Cal (2-6)

UCLA looks to be getting better and better after some early season losses. Cal also has some better early season wins than I thought, and winning games like the one coming up at home versus Arizona will go a long way, although they already have 9 losses. The battle for Pac 10 player of the year between Williams, Isaiah Thomas, and Klay Thompson won't get much play on the East Coast, but all three might be in the top 15 overall, yet, remain completely overlooked.

Around the Power 6, plus 1

ACC
Ascending: Clemson
Descending: N.C. State
Player of the Week: Nolan Smith, Duke

Biggest Games of the Week: VT at Maryland (Thurs.), BC at Florida St. (Sat.)

Clemson took a loss earlier this week to Carolina, but had a big win against a decent Miami team and a Georgia Tech team that murdered UNC. Jerai Grant leads the way averaging 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks a game. N.C. State beat an awful Wake team, but lost on the road to both BC and FSU. They need to win games like this if they want to make the tourney, as the conference might only get 3 or 4 bids. Nolan Smith has been nothing sort of sensational since Kyrie Irving went out. He's averaging 25.4 points and 5.8 assists since 2011 has started. As I mentioned, UNC beat Clemson tonight, with VT at Maryland and BC at FSU highlighting the rest of the week, as these types of match ups become bigger and bigger as the season progresses for tourney resumes.

Big East
Ascending: West Virginia
Descending: Notre Dame and Cincinnati
Player of the Week: Rick Jackson, Syracuse
Biggest Games of the Week: Cincinnati at Notre Dame (Wed.), Villanova at Syracuse (Sat.)

West Virginia is number 21 in the consensus poll after disposing of Purdue at home on Sunday. Notre Dame and Cincinnati look to be the first casualties of the monstrous schedule Big East teams get to deal with on a weekly basis. Look for my descending and ascending to be extremely fluid throughout the country with parity all over the place, but especially here. Rick Jackson has been amazing for the Orange, but as the game against Pitt proved last night, he can't do it all by himself if Syracuse wants to be Final Four contenders. The winner of the Cincy-ND game on Wednesday will hopefully be to parlay it into some momentum. ND needs Carleton Scott to come back, while Cincy needs to develop a dependable shooter or two. Nova at Syracuse should be one of the highlights of the whole season.

Big 10
Ascending: Ohio St.
Descending: Illinois
Player of the Week: Draymond Green, Michigan St.
Biggest Games of the Week: Michigan St. at Illinois (Tues.), Ohio St. at Illinois (Sat.), Mich St. at Purdue (Sat.)

Ohio St. gets the nod, as they have now risen to number one in the land. Aaron Craft's emergence at point guard has keyed their impressive start. Illinois shook off my negative marks with a win at the “Champaign Room” (stolen from Scott Van Pelt, but I liked it) over Michigan St. tonight. Draymond Green has been a do-it-all type all season, averaging 15 and 8 in conference play so far. Illinois beat Sparty tonight, and both teams get tested further on Saturday with Ohio St. coming to Illinois and Michigan State traveling to West Lafayette to take on Purdue as part of the College Gameday festivities.

 Big 12
Ascending: Colorado
Descending: Oklahoma St.
Player of the Week: Marcus Morris, Kansas
Biggest Games of the Week: Texas A&M at Texas (Wed.), Texas at Kansas (Sat.)

Further proof that I shouldn't have let Angry Birds dominate my life the last two days. If I would have finished this on Monday like I planned, my pick of Colorado would have looked a lot better since they took a loss at Nebraska tonight. Regardless, they're 4-1 in the league, and Alec Burks is the real deal. Oklahoma St. looked good in beating Kansas State, but it's debatable as to whether or not this is even a quality win anymore with Frank Martin's boys looking so shaky. They got blown out by A&M, and then lost to Colorado on Saturday. Marcus Morris scored 33 against Iowa St, and is the best player on the second best team in the country. Sorry for ripping you, and your skills in the podcast bud. The A&M -Texas game on Wednesday puts Sophomores Jordan Hamilton and Khris Middleton on display. Texas gets to run the gauntlet and try to knock off the undefeated Jayhawks in Lawrence on Saturday.

SEC
Ascending: Mississippi St.
Descending: Vanderbilt
Player of the Week: Bruce Ellington, South Carolina
Big Games of the Week: Tennessee at UCONN (Sat.), St. Mary's at Vandy (Sat.)

I keep thinking Mississippi State will get on a roll, and I still believe they will, despite my saying they were a disappointment last week. Dee Bost and Renardo Sidney being in the lineup on a regular basis make this a tournament team, despite they're shoddy record. Vandy cracked the top 25 for “a minute,” as the kids say, but sandwiched a win against a pretty good Georgia team with losses to South Carolina and Tennessee. With apologies to Sam Muldrow and his triple double with 10 blocks against the aforementioned Commodores, Freshman Bruce Ellington hit 4 clutch three's in the last 7 minutes keying their comeback in the overtime win. He's averaging 18 points and 4 helpers in league play so far. Non-conference clashes highlight the rest of the week, with UT getting Bruce Pearl back to take on Kemba and the Walkerette's. Vandy gets a chance to get back in my good graces with a tough home game against a 16-2 St. Mary's team.

Mountain West
Ascending: BYU
Descending: New Mexico
Player of the Week: Jimmer Fredette
Biggest Games of the Week: New Mexico at UNLV (Sat.)

I can sum this up relatively easily. Jimmer Fredette is a really good shooter. He can shoot from half court and make the ball go in the basket. I think he might also be able to cure cancer. San Diego State kills people on the boards, and might not lose all year unless Jimmer chooses to destroy them. TCU is good at football. Utah used to have Keith Van Horn and Andre Miller, but now they don't have anybody. New Mexico would have been good if Darrington Hobson came back. UNLV needs Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon back.

 Pac 10
Ascending: Arizona
Descending: Arizona St.
Player of the Week: Klay Thompson
Biggest Games of the Week: Arizona at Washington (Thurs.), Arizona at Washington St.(Sat.)

Arizona has been sneaking their way back into national relevance, with Derrick Williams the best “no one has seen him play” future NBA star outside of Alec Burks. Arizona St. has fallen off since being really good two years ago. Klay Thompson is another under the radar star, but losing point guard Reggie Moore will hurt them. Arizona will be 17-3 and in tremendous shape if they can get a sweep in the Evergreen state.

Pop-A-Shot
Taking a shot at breaking down the consensus top 25 in stream of consciousness fashion, much like when shooting at a pop o shot machine, trying to make as many as possible without regard for shooting form or follow through. I'm giving myself two minutes to write whatever comes into my brain:

The Big East now has 9 teams in the top 25, with West Virginia jumping in at 21 following their win against Purdue on Sunday. The ACC, SEC, and Pac 10 have a combined three, making me think that the college basketball talking heads might need to rethink the whole “power 6” thing. San Diego St. and BYU are both in the top 10, making their upcoming showdown potentially one of the best games on the landscape in the next couple of weeks. Last year's Cinderella St. Mary's makes their first appearance of the year, coming in at 22. Australian's everywhere may now rejoice. The Big 10 and Big 12 continue to be well-represented, with 6 and 4 teams in the rankings respectively.

MLK Day Analysis
I watched all or parts of all the games on Monday. Instead of just giving game recaps I've picked out a player from each of the teams involved that, even though they aren't the headliners per se, may be the most important part of each squad's March hopes. That is, if Baylor and Kansas State even get there:

Villanova: Maalik Wayns- The “Two Corey's” get most of the ink, but Wayns has emerged as a capable third option in the backcourt for Nova. He's averaging 5 assists a game, and does a good job pressuring the ball on defense. That being said, he was awfully quiet yesterday against Kemba Walker and UCONN, and he needs to shoot better than 40% from the field and 20% from 3 for this to be a Final Four contender.

UCONN: Alex Oriahki- I said this last week, but UCONN absolutely has to have someone else step up for them to go anywhere. Team's will do everything they can to stop Walker. But with Oriahki bringing double-doubles in 3 of his last 4 (including 11 points and 21 rebounds against Texas) and providing an inside threat, the Huskies could be much more than the team “that would lose to their Women's team” like two idiots on the season preview mentioned on this here website.

Kansas St: Rodney McGruder- Jacob Pullen doesn't look the same without Denis Clemente, Curtis Kelly looks nothing like the beast of last year's NCAA run, and Kansas St. just looks like they collectively are scared that their coach is going to punch them in the face. McGruder has had some nice games however, and this sophomore who's averaging 7 boards a game and shooting 43% from deep needs to play a bigger role for things to get back on track.

Missouri: Phil Pressey- Pressey is the one player from yesterday's games that stood out in terms of “dudes I knew nothing about but impressed the hell out of me.” He's quick, can shoot, and just seems to be the catalyst off the bench for the Tigers. With Pressey and Michael Dixon leading their press, Mizzou has two good points to run at people. Their stock just went up a lot after yesterday in my eyes, and Pressey's impact has a lot to do with it.

Syracuse: Brandon Triche/James Southerland- Playing the best 2-3 zone in the country is nice and all, but last time I checked, you have to put the ball in the basket from time to time to be successful in March, and right now I'm still not sold on Cuse because they cannot shoot consistently. Either Triche or Southerland, or both, need to emerge on the perimeter for the Orange. If they do, this could be a championship-level team. Rick Jackson is an elite rebounder, and Scoop Jardine is more than capable running the offense. If they get more from these two, watch out.

Pittsburgh: Gilbert Brown- I could have went with Nasir Robinson here, but I think Brown is more important in the long haul. He's a freakish athlete who can do a little bit of everything, but doesn't always do it all the time. If Brown takes a couple of steps forward, Pitt also would have to be in my top 5 in terms of team's who have a legitimate chance to cut down the nets in Houston.

Kansas: Markieff Morris- Markieff is the less-heralded of the Morris boys, kind of like Geoff is to Russ (Just kidding Geoff, if you read this). Inside jokes that 3 or 4 people get aside, last night showed that if Kansas has both of these guys going in the same game, they're unstoppable. They combined for 44 points and 14 rebounds, shooting 79% from the field. Marcus has been more reliable offensively, but if they get these type of numbers on a nightly basis, and with Josh Selby emerging to become the star he was thought to be, then Kansas won't be losing to a Northern Iowa type team early on this year.

Baylor: Anthony Jones- I still think Baylor can be a force, even though they aren't ranked and lost by 20 at home last evening. They really impressed me early on and that's with LaceDarius Dunn only scoring 13 points and taking just three 3's, which won't become a common occurrence. Last night, Jones scored 17 on 3-3 shooting from deep. He's 6'11, can hit the boards, and if he can do more of what he did last night, Baylor has four scoring options in him, Perry Jones, Quincy Acy, and Dunn that are better than what most have.

The State of College Hoops: Pre-conference Recap

I haven't posted anything about college basketball since the 24 hours of hoops marathon. I figured I didn't want to get into my weekly posts until conference play starts up. For my “Breakfast with Berndon” stuff will resume on a weekly basis starting this week. (Side note: hopefully with a new name). I've watched a good deal of games since November 12th, so here's my short recap on the goings on of the last 6 weeks.

ACC
Biggest Surprise: Boston College
Biggest Disappointment: Virginia Tech
Best Win: UNC over Kentucky 75-73
Worst Loss: Georgia Tech 80-63 to Kennesaw St. at Kennesaw St.
MVP: Nolan Smith
Conference Predictions: 1.Duke, 2. UNC, 3. Florida St. 4. Maryland, 5. N.C. State, 6. BC, 7. VT.
Sentimental Fav: Chapel Hill

BC under new coach Steve Donahue has surpassed expectations that had most picking them to finish in the bottom half of the league. They're the only team to beat Texas A&M and have also beaten the likes of Cal, Indiana, Providence, and won at Maryland. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech was in the top 25 early on, but lost all of the games they had in place to help strengthen their non-conference schedule. Nolan Smith has been good with Kyrie Irving in the lineup, and even better without him. I look for Duke to dominate the league with Carolina as a solid number 2, especially if their guards continue to play better. The rest of the seven I mentioned all have chances to make the tourney, with Florida St. having the highest upside with the way they can defend.

Big East
Biggest Surprise: Cincinnati
Biggest Disappointment: Seton Hall/West Virginia
Best Win: Georgetown at Missouri 111-102 in OT.
Worst Loss: Depaul 71-53 to Indiana St. at Indiana St.
MVP: Kemba Walker
Conference Predictions: 1. Pitt, 2. Syracuse, 3. Notre Dame, 4. Georgetown, 5. Villanova, 6. Marquette, 7. UCONN, 8. St. John's, 9. West Virginia, 10. Louisville, 11. Cincinnati, 12. Seton Hall
Sentimental Fav: Georgetown or Notre Dame

Everyone thought the Big East was going to be good, but lo and behold, they're even better than people realized. Credit the unexpected starts from teams like Syracuse, Notre Dame, UConn, Louisville, and Cincinnati adding to their prodigiousness. Cincinnati has gotten off to a 14-0 start, finally jumping into the rankings for the first time this week. They're big and athletic, but the lack of a proven 18-20 point scorer plus the inability to consistently knock down outside shots will end up hurting them. Seton Hall is a disappointment because I thought they'd be better, but it's probably not going to be your year when you're best player gets injured, then gets shot. West Virginia still might get on a run, but I thought they'd do more with what they have back. Austin Freeman struggled against Notre Dame and last night against St. John's, but for the most part has been on fire. I still think Pitt is the best of the bunch, as I put Syracuse right behind them until they shoot a little better from deep. St. John's senior-laden crew looked great last night against Georgetown, and if they can survive playing 8 games in a row against ranked teams with maybe a 3-5 record, they'll be in great shape to be in the tourney for the first time since Ron Artest played there. Marquette is another sleeper, with Darius Johnson-Odom starting to emerge, and I look for UConn to fall off, unless Alex Oriahki or Roscoe Smith becomes a legitimate number two scorer to go with Kemba Walker.

Big 10
Biggest Surprise: Purdue
Biggest Disappointment: Michigan St.
Best Win: Ohio St. over Florida 93-75.
Worst Loss: Illinois losing to UIC 57-54 in Chicago.
MVP: Jared Sullinger
Conference Predictions: 1. Ohio St. 2. Michigan St. 3. Illinois, 4. Purdue, 5. Wisconsin, 6. Minnesota.
Sentimental Fav: Illinois

Like the Big East and ACC, the Big 10 has been great. These conferences have clearly established that they are the best of the bunch. For Purdue to be ranked number 11 at this point shows the talent level of Jajuan Johnson and E'Twuan Moore. Michigan State has morphed into “a pretty boy, jump shooting team” according to their coach, but Draymond Green and Delvon Roe both had 10 plus boards in their recent win against Northwestern. If they get back to being their old blue collar selves, then they'll cement their place in the top 10. Ohio St. and Jared Sullinger are clearly the team to beat. I like the way the vets like David Lighty, Jon Diebler and William Buford have meshed with Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas. Not to mention the great addition of Aaron Craft at the point. Michigan St. is still Michigan St, and Illinois and Purdue are also really good. All six teams I ranked will be in the NCAA tournament, with maybe Northwestern or Penn St. finding their way in as well.

Big 12
Biggest Surprise: Texas
Biggest Disappointment: Kansas St.
Best Win: Texas at Michigan St. 67-55.
Worst Loss: Colorado 82-66 to Harvard at Harvard.
MVP: Jordan Hamilton
Conference Predictions: 1. Missouri, 2. Kansas St. 3. Kansas, 4. Baylor, 5. Texas, 6. Texas A&M. 7. Oklahoma St. 8. Colorado
Sentimental Fav: Kansas St.

This might be one of the few times I ever give Rick Barnes credit, but Texas has been really good so far this season. I've seen them play maybe 3 or 4 times and the one thing that stood out was there defense. Jordan Hamilton has gone from the player with probably the worst shot selection in the country to a league POY candidate. He's shooting the three over 40 % and giving them 7 rebounds a game. Combine this with how well Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson have played, and you get the best Texas team in 4 or 5 years. Kansas St. has dealt with suspensions and uninspired play from their leaders, making Frank Martin's halftime speeches legendary, I'm sure. Much like Michigan State, I still think they have time to turn things around. Especially with power forward Wally Judge's improved play the last two games, going over 20 points in each contest. I'm picking Missouri based upon Tony Mitchell being able to come back and gain his eligibility. Plus I hate Kansas. Baylor is a sleeper, with the tallest back 3 of a 2-3 zone in history. The Aggies have been really good so far, but I'm not buying in yet.



SEC
Biggest Surprise: Kentucky
Biggest Disappointment: Mississippi St.
Best Win: Tennessee over Pitt 83-76 in Pittsburgh.
Worst Loss: Auburn 69-55 to Jacksonville at Auburn.
MVP: Terrance Jones
Conference Predictions: SEC East: 1. Kentucky, 2. Vandy, 3. Florida, 4. Georgia, 5. Tennessee. SEC West: 1. Mississippi St.
Sentimental Fav: Florida

I also ripped Calipari in mine and Langston's preseason podcast, although I never said Calipari was a bad coach, but that he was a douchebag. Just wanted to clarify. I didn't think Kentucky would be nearly this good, but the kids they got, while not as athletic as their counterparts last season, seem to just get it more. They play smarter, and with college basketball's version of Kevin Love (Josh Harrellson) controlling the boards and doing all the little things with veterans Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins, I actually think this version of Kentucky basketball might go to the Final Four. Mississippi State is only the most disappointing because I couldn't pick the whole SEC West. Vanderbilt looks to be more steady than either Tennessee or Florida. I still think Florida can be really good. As for the Vols, I honestly have no idea what to think; One game they look like a Final Four contender (wins over Pitt, Villanova, and Memphis) and the next a first round loser in the NIT (losses to College of Charleston, Oakland and UNC-Charlotte).

Mountain West/Pac 10
Biggest Surprise: San Diego St.
Biggest Disappointment: UCLA
Best Win: USC over Texas 73-56
Worst Loss: Oregon 69-55 to Idaho at Oregon.
MVP: Jimmer Fredette
Conference Predictions: Mountain West: 1. San Diego St. 2. BYU, 3. UNLV, 4. New Mexico
Pac 10: 1. Washington, 2. Arizona, 3. Washington St. 4. Cal, 5. UCLA
Sentimental Fav: BYU

San Diego St. has risen to number 6 in the land, but outside of a win at Gonzaga (and maybe their wins against St. Mary's and Cal) they don't have anything else on their resume worth mentioning. UCLA is a little below where I thought they'd be, although they did had the Mormons their only loss. The Bruins of old do not lose to Montana at home however. In the Mountain West, SDSU and BYU will be at the top, with UNLV and New Mexico more than likely giving the league 4 tournament teams. Meanwhile in the Pac 10, Washington is back in the top 25, and could go 14-2 or 15-1 if they get going. They have 5 or 6 legit guys that can make threes and they can run people out of the gym if they're all clicking. Washington St. looked good in the Hawaii tourney, with Klay Thompson leading the way. Likewise, Arizona could be dangerous as they jump on sophomore stud Derrick Williams' back.

LCB Recap: 24 Hours of Hoops

One thing I'm slowly starting to learn is that it's not good to just be reactionary, and that sometimes you need to take some time and let your thoughts go back and forth for a good 24-48 hours before responding to certain things. I wanted to type out what I thought about how certain teams looked immediately after the conclusion of the “Made for Brendan Brody” type event that was the College Basketball tipoff Marathon, but the combination of simple human weariness from watching a good 7 basketball games in 24 hours, coupled with my not wanting to overreact to games taking place in November caused me to hold off until now. Here now are some brief thoughts on the 12 teams I saw play, in order of how impressed I was.

Ohio St: The Buckeyes honestly looked like an NBA team in their ability to score, and score at will. They shot 63% from the field, due in most part to the play of David Lighty and Jared Sullinger. Sullinger put up a dominating 26 and 10, while Lighty also had 26 as he and William Buford broke Florida's press all day with ease. Aaron Craft looked like he can handle heavy minutes at point guard, and Buford had 8 assists to just 1 turnover, showing he can potentially handle the Evan Turner role. Depth could be a concern, with Dallas Lauderdale only playing 18 minutes because of foul trouble. Ohio St. looks like they aren't too far behind Michigan St. in the Big Ten, as their starting 5 is just as good if not better than Sparty.

Kansas St: The Wildcats grinded it out in the first 25-30 minutes against an over-hyped VT squad, then ran away with it at the end. I wasn't really as impressed with their efforts on Tuesday, but more by the fact that they were able to win like this with superstar Jacob Pullen only playing 2 minutes in the first half, and playing without Curtis Kelly, who is in calm and passive Coach Frank Martin's doghouse for some reason. Once they get everybody back, they will have 5 big men in Kelly, Wally Judge, Jamar Samuels, Freddy Asprilla, and Jordan Henriquez-Roberts that are interchangeable, so they should dominate on the boards all year long. Rodney McGruder and Nick Russell played well, and Freshman Will Spradling looked like he can run the point, not turning the ball over at all, and showing he's ready to step in at that spot, allowing the bearded wonder to play off the ball.

Baylor: Much like Kansas State, Baylor is simply huge inside. I did not know that Quincy Acy is 6'7 with a 7'2 wing span. And he plays the 3. Anthony Jones, Perry Jones, and J'Mison Morgan all are 6'10. Needless to say, they out rebounded Lasalle by 10, and caused all sorts of problems with their length in the back of the 2-3 zone they played. Acy looks like he's going to be a breakout star, and the Bears will get much better when LaceDarius Dunn comes back from suspension.

San Diego St: This was the first time I've really seen them play other than when they hung with Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA's. They have all their starters back, and beat Gonzaga in one of the best games of the day. Kawhi Leonard is the headliner, but Senior forward Billy White had a career-best of 30 points. I don't really like their guard play, but to get this win without any contributions from center Malcolm Thomas in Spokane, the Aztecs proved they might be the team to beat in what looks like another great race in the Mountain West.

Gonzaga: I mentioned that Jimmer Fredette is going to be a J.J. Redick-like “cultural phenomenon” in the podcast, but Steven Gray might also be rapidly making this leap. Gray dropped 35 in this one, as he was able to score at will. The Zags look to be about the same as they always are. Whether or not they go further than the 2nd round of the dance will depend on getting more out of Elias Harris, who didn't look healthy, and Robert Sacre down low. If it's just Steven Gray doing all the heavy lifting, Gonzaga won't go far. Random side note: David Stockton, son of John Stockton, is a bench player who didn't get into the game. No word on whether or not he rocks the nut-huggers like his pappy did in Utah)

Memphis: I wasn't sure what to think about Memphis, as their roster is made up of a ton of freshman. MickeyD's All-American point guard Joe Jackson looked poised and led the squad with 17 points. I also liked Charles Carmouche, a transfer from New Orleans. They have loads of depth, Will Barton and Chris Crawford will have their moments this season. I didn't like the fact that Wesley Witherspoon kind of floated in and out of things. He dominated in stretches. But for Memphis to have a great year, he needs to establish that this is his team and become the go-to superstar he can be for this extremely young Memphis team.

Louisville: One would think I'd be a little bit more sold on Louisville's Big East chances after trouncing a Final Four team at home by 15. I'm not. Louisville played great pressure D in the first half, but then pretty much coasted through the whole rest of the game. I think Raheem Buckles and Tim Jennings will be hard to stop inside, but Peyton Siva is extremely erratic, much like last year's point, Edgar Sosa. They'll be able to shoot in streaks, but unless they force 17-20 turnovers a night they'll still be a middle of the road Big East team.

Florida: I'm not jumping off the bandwagon yet, and I still think this could be a Final Four team despite losing by 18 at home. Here's why. They hung with Ohio St. for the majority of this game, then kind of let things get away at the end. Offensively, they looked great at times, with Vernon Macklin providing inside scoring, and Kenny Boynton going for 21 on the outside. Alex Tyus and Chandler Parsons had quiet games, but still loom as other weapons going forward. They need to figure out what kind of team they're going to be, but at least they have the option of pounding the ball inside, and making people pay from deep. But Coach Donovan, let's work on playing a little D and scrapping the press. Until then, we can't give you the SEC title, at least not yet.

Butler: I can honestly say I was getting pissed off watching this one, last year's run combined with my living in Indiana last winter has made Butler my second favorite team behind UNC. The Bulldogs looked lost offensively early, got a little better in the second half, but have a lot to work on. I still think they're a top 25 team, or at least they will be eventually. They need to get more from someone other than Shelvin Mack, who had 17 of their 23 points in the first half, as Matt Howard barely played because of fouls. Howard ended up with 23, but he needs to obviously stay on the floor and not get 2 fouls in the first 2 and a half minutes for them to succeed. Simply put, they need some other shooters to step forward, or they might not even win the Horizon League.

Miami: I'm putting Miami ahead of VT right now, simply because of one man, Reggie Johnson. I didn't know much about Miami until watching this one, but if they can get this hulk of a human being more involved, instead of playing like an 8 year old parks and rec team where the guards don't feed the post and take all the shots, the Canes can make some noise. Johnson had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and if Miami realizes they have a weapon down low to go along with the scoring they can get from guards Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant, I think they can have a decent little season.

Virginia Tech: I don't know what the injury situation is, and whether or not they'll get people back. But if they don't, then VT is in trouble. They don't have any frontcourt depth, despite the fact that Bobby Knight repeatedly said that they did throughout the broadcast. They have Jeff Allen, and that's about it. Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson had to do too much, and Tech got into all kinds of foul trouble leading to what should have been a worse loss if Kansas State would have made some free throws. I like UNC as the clear-cut number 2 team in the ACC a lot more now after watching this one.

La Salle: It warrants mentioning that they did only lose by 10 to Baylor on the road and hung with them for most of the contest. They might be a bubble team, but they need someone other than Arric Murray, a decent power forward, to step forward to come out of the middle of the pack in the A10.

LCB Podcast: College Preview Wrap-Up

Langston and Berndon return with the fourth and final part of the college hoops preview podcast, where they give us their opinions on the rest of the country and give us an early look at March. Will Duke repeat? Is Jimmer the next JJ? Is Marcus Morris an elite college basketball player? You can learn all that and more by making the jump and pushing play.



Do you agree with the guys? Or do you think they've no idea what they're talking about? Let us know in the comments section.

LCB Podcast: SEC Hoops Preview

Langston and Berndon return with part two of their audio debut with the Lawn Chair Boys' first ever podcast, where they give us their opinions on the SEC. Will UK repeat last years dominant run? Is Tobias Harris the best thing to hit UT since Peyton? Does the SEC West have any decent teams? You can learn all that and more by making the jump and pushing play.



Do you agree with the guys? Or do you think they've no idea what they're talking about? Let us know in the comments section.

LCB Podcast: ACC Hoops Preview

Langston and Berndon make their audio debut with the Lawn Chair Boys first ever podcast, where they give us their opinions on the ACC. Will Duke return to the Final Four? Is Harrison Barnes the best player in the conference? Does Miami still have a team? You can learn all that and more by making the jump and pushing play.



Do you agree with the guys? Or do you think they've no idea what they're talking about? Let us know in the comments section.

Breakfast With Berndon: Picking Apart the Preseason Top 25

I'm going to come up with my own preseason top 25, along with some other college hoops preview-type stuff in the next couple of weeks in pure "Breakfast with Berndon" style. But, for now, here's my take on the top 25. In my opinion, some of the squads are ranked too high, some are ranked too low, and others are sitting right about where they should be, at least in my humble college basketball obsessed brain. Granted, I haven't watched a whole lot of the freshman, apart from the McDonald's game, but in terms of what people have coming back, I'm confident with my knowledge.

Ranked Too High

4. Pitt: Pittsburgh is going to be really good with pretty much their whole roster back in the fold, but I'd but them in the top 10. Just not the top 4.

7. Kansas: There are eligibility concerns about top newcomer Josh Selby, but even if he's cleared and plays every game, I don't see how a team that lost in the 2nd round to Northern Iowa, and lost their point guard and best low-post option should be in the top 10. To be fair, I often made fun of Cole Aldrich. But he is huge and the Jayhawks will miss his rebounding and interior defense.

8. Purdue: The Boilers have no business being ranked this high without Robbie Hummel. Illinois moves ahead of them in the Big 10, and Purdue should now be about 20-25.

9. UNC: No one can accuse me of being a homer. That is until I have a conniption when Harrison Barnes drops 40 in his first college game. I need to see improvement from Larry Drew, and whether or not the Heels have enough depth inside before they crack the top 10.

10. Kentucky: They have a stellar recruiting class once again, but it's not the same as the one they brought in last year. Plus they don't have anyone coming back who's as good as Patrick Patterson.

15. Missouri: Maybe if Frosh Tony Mitchell was eligible, but since he's not, Missouri doesn't belong in the top 15. I don't see any pros on this roster. They'll be good, but not this good.

24. Wisconsin: I feel like this ranking comes mainly out of respect for Bo Ryan. Jon Leuer is back, but they lose Trevon Hughes and didn't bring in anyone that significant. They'll be a fringe top 25 team all year, and won't go far in March.

25. Texas: They have four point guards, they still have to deal with Rick Barnes as their coach, lost three starters to the NBA, and have no business being in the top 25 after losing in the first round of the dance to Wake Forest.

Ranked Too Low
11. Florida: The Gators returned everybody from last year, and picked up Patric Young and Casey Prather. This is the year Billy Donovan brings the Gators back to the front of the SEC and back to national relevance.

13. Syracuse: Boeheim lost a lot, but they weren't supposed to do anything last year and look what happened. They bring in Fab Melo to team with Rich Jackson, have two really good players that played lesser roles in Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine, and have other recruits that give them a lot of depth. I think the Cuse should be in the top 10.

14. Baylor: LaceDarius Dunn is back, and should be an All-American. If Perry Jones is anything close to being as good as advertised, Baylor also is a top 10 team.

17. Washington: Lorenzo Romar had the Huskies in the Sweet 16, and has most of the pieces from last year back. They won't get challenged in the Pac-10 outside of maybe getting a game or two from Arizona, and should parlay this into a high seed come dance time.

18. Butler: I would  have thought Butler would have gained more respect after their run last year. They did lose Gordon Hayward, but they still have a roster chock full of contributors from last year's team. If Matt Howard plays like he did as a soph, Butler will again be in final four contention.

23. Virginia Tech: Granted, they've been on the outs of making the tourney the last two seasons, but VT has an absolute-stud back in Malcolm Delaney. Throw in the fact that they return the majority of their roster and that the ACC is slightly down outside of Durham and Chapel Hill, and you get a top 20 team.

Ranked Where They Should Be

1. Duke: There's no way they can be ranked anything but number 1 right now. They simply have too much firepower returning. I'll find a way to figure out how they're not going to repeat at some point, but right now I have to say they're the favorites.

2. Michigan St: Like Duke, Michigan St simply advanced too far and return too much for them not to be ranked where they are. Kalin Lucas' returning from injury is a key variable in how good they really can be, but if Durrell Summers plays like he did in March and Delvon Roe really is healthy, Sparty will definitely be in title contention.

3. Kansas St: Some might say this is too high, but I'm not one of them. Jacob Pullen might not be an NBA player, but he's a great college guard. They return a lot of big bodies and with Frank Martin at the helm, they'll be tough as hell.

5. Ohio St: Losing Evan Turner obviously will hurt them, but with the combination of returners and newcomers the Buckeyes won't slip much. If they figure out their point guard situation, they'll challenge MSU for the Big 10 title.

6. Villanova: The Wildcats have depth for days, and despite losing Scottie Reynolds will advance much further than last year when the Australian National Team (St.Mary's) took them down early. I like Villanova here, and they could creep into the top 5.

16. Illinois: This is the year that Bruce Weber brings Illinois close to the standard set by the Deron Williams, Dee Brown teams. Jereme Richmond is going to challenge Jared Sullinger for Rookie of the Year honors in the Big 10, and with Demetri McCamey, Mike Davis, and Mike Tisdale returning, the Illini will move into the top 3 of the league.

19. Memphis: From all accounts, the class they brought in is special. They also have just enough returning to make some noise in Conference USA.

20. Tennessee: Despite the drama brought about from all the Bruce Pearl recruiting mishaps, the Vols bring in Tobias Harris to go along with Scotty Hopson, Brian Williams, and others who played key minutes on an Elite 8 team. If Hopson takes it up a couple of notches, they'll challenge Florida and be better than Kentucky.

22. Temple: Lavoy Allen is one of the best bigs in the land, and with everyone back except Ryan Brooks, Temple is exactly where they should be.

Coming Soon: My actual preseason top 25, conference predictions, preseason All-Americans, and the first ever LCB podcast where Langston and I will break down the upcoming season. Get excited.

Breakfast with Berndon:A Final Farewell

In this edition of "BBE" Berndon gives us his preliminary top 25 for next year, the players whose stock rose and fell, and recaps the biggest games of championship weekend.

Breakfast with Berndon: Cheaters Sometimes Prosper?

In this edition of B.B.E., Berndon tries to replace his first love with another, if only for a couple weeks. Hit the jump for the result.

Breakfast with Berndon: Award Tour and the Quest for .700 Edition

 

In this edition of Breakfast, I take a stab at picking the all-league teams. I did this based off of what I’ve seen myself and the statistics at my disposal. Everyone loves lists and most people love to argue about lists, so feel free to comment/verbally bash me if you so choose. I’m also going to attempt to pick the conference tourney champs, striving for a .700 winning percentage as the pre-test before the final exam, where I, much like every year, am going to dominate every pool I’m in and win a wheelbarrow full of money in the process.

ACC
Player of the Year: Jon Scheyer, Duke
Frosh of the Year: Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech
Coach of the Year: Gary Williams, Maryland

1st Team:
Scheyer, Duke
Grevis Vazquez, Maryland
Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
Trevor Booker, Clemson
Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech

2nd Team:
Nolan Smith, Duke
Kyle Singler, Duke
Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech
Ishmael Smith, Wake Forest
Chris Singleton, FSU

3rd Team:
Tracy Smith, N.C.State
Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech
Solomon Alabi, FSU
Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech
Deon Thompson, UNC

Big East

Player of the Year: Wesley Johnson, Syracuse
Frosh of the Year: Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati
Coach of the Year: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse

1st Team:
Wesley Johnson, Syracuse
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
Greg Monroe, Georgetown
Deshaun Butler, West Virginia
Lazar Hayward, Marquette

2nd Team:
Austin Freeman, Georgetown
Kemba Walker, UCONN
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
Andy Rautins, Syracuse
Dominic Jones, South Florida

3rd Team:
Ashton Gibbs, Pitt
Rich Jackson, Syracuse
Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame
Jerome Dyson, UCONN
Chris Wright, Georgetown

Big 12

Player of the Year: LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor
Frosh of the Year: Xavier Henry, Kansas
Coach of the Year: Frank Martin, Kansas St.

1st Team:
Dunn, Baylor
Daimon James, Texas
Jacob Pullen, Kansas St.
Ekpe Udoh, Baylor
Sherron Collins, Kansas

2nd Team:
Tweety Carter, Baylor
Denis Clemente, Kansas St.
James Anderson, Oklahoma St.
Cole Aldrich, Kansas
Donald Sloan, Texas A&M

3rd Team:
Xavier Henry, Kansas
John Roberson, Texas Tech
Cory Higgins, Colorado
Dexter Pittman, Texas
Bryan Davis, Texas A&M

Big 10

Player of the Year: Evan Turner, Ohio St.
Frosh of the Year: Christian Wattford, Indiana
Coach of the Year: Thad Matta, Ohio St.

1st Team:
Turner, Ohio St.
Jajuan Johnson, Purdue
Manny Harris, Michigan
E’Twaun Moore, Purdue
Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin

2nd Team:
Kalin Lucas, Michigan St.
Jon Diebler, Ohio St.
Demetri McCamey, Illinois
William Buford, Ohio St.
Robbie Hummel, Purdue

3rd Team:
John Shurna, Northwestern
Deshawn Sims, Michigan
David Lighty, Ohio St.
Dallas Lauderdale, Ohio St.
Draymond Green, Michigan St.

SEC

Player of the Year: John Wall, Kentucky
Frosh of the Year: John Wall, Kentucky
Coach of the Year: Bruce Pearl, Tennessee

1st Team:
Wall, Kentucky
DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky
Jarvis Varnado, Miss. St.
Jermaine Beal, Vanderbilt
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky

2nd Team:
Chris Warren, Ole Miss
Devan Downey, South Carolina
Trey Thompkins, Georgia
Wayne Chism, Tennessee
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt

3rd Team:
J.P. Prince, Tennessee
Jeffrey Taylor, Vanderbilt
Tay Waller, Auburn
Tasmin Mitchell, LSU
Mikhail Torrence, Alabama

Pac 10
Player of the Year: Quincy Pondexter, Washington
Frosh of the Year: Derrick Williams, Arizona
Coach of the Year: Mike Montgomery, Cal

1st Team:
Pondexter, Washington
Jerome Randle, Cal
Derrick Williams, Arizona
Patrick Christopher, Cal
Landry Fields, Stanford

Mid-Majors
Player of the Year: Jimmer Fredette, BYU
Frosh of the Year: Elias Harris, Gonzaga
Coach of the Year: Steve Alford, New Mexico

1st Team:
Fredette, BYU
Darington Hobson, New Mexico
Gordon Hayward, Butler
Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga
Randy Culpepper, UTEP

2nd Team:
Elias Harris, Gonzaga
Derrick Carachter, UTEP
Lavoy Allen, Temple
Steven Gray, Gonzaga
Ryan Brooks, Temple

3rd Team:
Jackson Emery, BYU
Tra’von Willis, UNLV
Kevin Anderson, Richmond
Jordan Eglseder, Northern Iowa
Shelvin Mack, Butler


Now, here’s how I see the conference tourneys playing out. It almost seems like there are more upsets in these than in the real thing, so getting 70% of the games right might be a stretch, but if I can do that, I feel like I can up this to 80-85% for the Dance.

ACC

1st Round Winners: Boston College, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, N.C.State
Quarters: Duke, Wake Forest, Maryland, N.C. State
Semis: Wake Forest, Maryland
Champ: Maryland

Maryland is simply on fire right now. And no, that wasn’t a play off of Teach’s post about rioting etc. at College Park, just a poor choice of words. Wake Forest is trying to play themselves off of the bubble, and I think Ishmael Smith will be too much for Scheyer to handle in the in the semis. N.C. State seemingly always plays well this time of year, and I look for Tracy Smith and the Wolfpack to pull off 2 upsets.

Big 12

1st Round Winners: Texas Tech, Missouri, Oklahoma St, Texas
Quarters: Kansas, Missouri, Kansas St. Baylor
Semis: Kansas, Baylor
Champ: Kansas

I don’t see quite as many upsets in this league, as Kansas has been head and shoulders better than everyone the whole year. They’ll get challenge a little by Baylor, but will hold on for a tournament championship to go along with their regular season crown.

Big East

1st Round Winners: South Florida, UCONN, Seton Hall, Rutgers
2nd Round Winners: South Florida, Marquette, Seton Hall, Louisville
Quarters: Syracuse, Marquette, Pitt, Louisville
Semis: Syracuse, Louisville
Champ: Syracuse

I look for Syracuse to get a third crack at number 6 seeded Louisville, finally beating the Cardinal in the finals. Louisville will get there by beating an erratic Mountaineer squad, and barely squeaking by Pitt in the semis. Other upsets include Marquette knocking off Villanova, exacting revenge for their loss against them at the buzzer in last year’s tournament, and South Florida, led by Dominic Jones, who will beat Georgetown, enabling them to just barely get into the field of 65.

Big 10

1st Round Winners: Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota
2nd Round Winners: Ohio St, Wisconsin, Purdue, Minnesota
Semis: Ohio St, Minnesota
Champ: Ohio St.

Ohio St. has been playing the best ball of anyone in the league as of late, and that, combined with having a player that can take over whenever they need him to will lead them to the crown here in my temporary home state of Indiana. Minnesota will be playing for their faint tournament hopes, going on a mini run knocking off Sparty, and a not as good as they used to be without Robbie Hummel, Purdue squad. Indiana over Northwestern is my other slight upset in the 1st round.

Pac 10

1st Round: Oregon
Quarters: Cal, Arizona, Washington, Arizona St.
Semis: Cal, Washington
Champ: Washington

Washington was a fringe top 10 team at the beginning of the season, they lost an extremely close 2nd round game to Purdue in the round of 32 last year, and will feed off of this, and the fact that Quincy Pondexter is simply the best player in the league to beat Cal in an extremely close final. The Huskies will also strugglewith,  but beat Arizona St. in the semis, with the winner of that game probably getting the second bid to the tourney out of the league.

SEC

1st Round Winners: Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia
Quarters: Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia
Semis: Kentucky, Florida
Champ: Florida

I don’t like my pick to win it all in a couple of weeks to win here. I think Florida has played them close both times they met in the regular season and will get the Cats here. I also like an underrated Georgia team, with two really good players in Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie, to upset Vandy and make it to the semis. Aside from that, both Mississippi teams will lose in the 2nd round and will be playing in the NIT next week.

Total Games: 68 

Correct Picks Needed to get to .700: 48

Check back next week to see how I did, and whether or not my upcoming March Madness predictions are worth anything.

Breakfast with Berndon: Late Lunch Edition

It's Monday again, and you know what that means--it's time for Breakfast with Berndon. This week, he takes a deeper look at the mid-majors, waits for the Pac-10 to show him something-anything, and -quite possibly - gives Duke their due.

Breakfast with Berndon: Late Lunch Edition

Monday:
Villanova 82, West Virginia 75: Neither of the leadoff games of the Worldwide Leader’s “Rivalry Week” really lived up to their billing. The Wildcats shot better than WVU across the board, shooting 56% from the field and 86 % from the line, improving to 10-1 in Big East play and 21-2 overall. Scottie Reynolds once again was quiet in the opening stanza, yet scored 19 of his team-high 21 in the second half. Corey Fisher chipped in with 17, while Darryl “Truck” Bryant paced the Mountaineers with 15.

More hoops coverage after the jump...

Breakfast with Berndon: College Basketball Weekly

Thursday: Duke 86, Georgia Tech 67

I make no point in hiding my hatred of all things Duke. I can however be objective and give them their due when they play well. They definitely came out with a statement win in throttling the Yellow Jackets. 86-67. The contest was horribly officiated, at least from my comfortable vantage point in the guest suite at the Brody Hotel. In the first half, Duke was already in the double bonus with 10:50 still left to play.

Breakfast with Berndon

College Ball

Kentucky vs. Ole Miss: Our exclusive basketball coverage live from my room in Indiana started off in Lexington, as the Wildcats took apart the Ole Miss Rebels 85-75 in a score that looked much closer than it was. Mississippi hung around early, especially in spurts when Kentucky showed their youth, almost looking bored at times. They dominated in the paint, with a +11 rebounding advantage. DeMarcus Cousins pouted through the contest with 18 points and 13 rebounds. All the discussion surrounding John Wall’s mental state might end up taking a back seat to Cousins, who looks like he’s either going to have a break down and start crying, or punch someone at any minute. Wall had a rather quiet 17 points and 7 assists, also adding a highlight-worthy block that a point guard should not have had the hops to accomplish. Terrico White led Miss with 19.
Man of the Match: Cousins (18 points 13 rebounds and 4 blocks)