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.

Remembering Dean

Brendan Brody begins LCB's effort to remember Coach Smith:

I live in Illinois now, and people here don't seem to understand why the Duke-Carolina thing is a big deal to me. They expect someone from Virginia to root for Virginia or Tech. They don't realize the fact that in the '90s Tony Bennett was a backup point guard in the NBA and VCU was a middle- of- the- pack team in the Colonial. Virginia college basketball back then wasn't very good, which led me and many of my peers to pick a side on Tobacco Road. I chose Carolina because it's the school that Michael Jordan played for, but I stayed because of Dean Smith.

2014 NFL Playoffs: Sunday's Divisional Round

And now on to Sunday's 2014 NFL Wild-Card games with Brendan Brody and Bryan Harvey:

Dallas Cowboys vs. Green Bay Packers @ 1:05 on Fox

These two won't be playing catch on Sunday; they'll be playing football.

The Most Popular LCB Articles of 2014

Popular may be a bit of an overstatement, but here they are (and, as always, thanks for reading):

Any New Year's Resolutions this year? Um, to stay away from simplistic binaries.

15. Fresh off the World Cup, Brendan Brody wrote about how "Soccer is Addicting as Hell."

Recent Rumblings: @TheClassical, @TheBallerBall, & @RushtheCourt

While Langston took care of last Saturday's SEC post, our blog's been reduced to a weekly football caption over the last month. However, that doesn't mean we haven't been writing elsewhere recently. Check out the links below, and we promise to diversify our portfolio here in the coming days (especially now that basketball is truly upon us).

Just make me look good guys, and I promise to give you all the credit. 

Non SEC Week Five Preview

Contrary to Langston's thoughts on the matter, there are actually some other games, outside the SEC, worth paying attention to this weekend. While the only game between ranked teams already ended with UCLA kicking the shit out of an Arizona State team that managed to throw for approximately 5,000,000 yards and still lose by 35 at home on Thursday night, here are some other games worth checking out:

College Football Week One: Sound and Fury That Signifies Nothing?

The beginning of the first season of the rest of our lives where we have an actual playoff to settle everything "on the field" leaves me slightly confused. What I mean is, how much weight does what happens in week one carry? I guess it's the same as every year, with wins by Texas A&M and Georgia looking pretty swell right now. But what happens if South Carolina and Clemson just simply aren't that good? It seems as though entrance into the college football version of the "Final Four" is mostly going to be determined by the conference championship games (or whoever emerges as the Big 12 regular season champs). Even so, right now is all about winning games and trying to jostle for position to be in the running at the end. As a former cross-country runner, I can appreciate that. On to the first week superlatives, with some observations from a game I covered for Stats Inc.                                        

Soccer is Addicting as Hell

I thought there wasn't any room in my brain. I'm more addicted to sports than mostly anyone I've ever met. I've been following the NFL college football, college basketball, baseball, and the NBA since 1987. I'm the geek who sits and keeps score while watching a baseball game at home. I talk about sports constantly. So every four years in the past, when the World Cup came along, I jumped right in. Coming from a school like Chancellor helped me know and appreciate the game a little more than most. A good number of my friends were really good soccer players and our program when I was in school was one of the best in the state of Virginia. I went to almost every game during my four years at CHS, so I had a general understanding of how the game was played. But once the World Cup was over, soccer and me went out respective ways, knowing that we'd see each other again in four years.

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.

2010 Chicago Bears: Final Thoughts

If I said that I was absolutely crushed and devastated by the Bears going down to the Packers today 21-14 in Chicago, I'd be lying.

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.

Breakfast with Berndon: NBA's First Month

My interest in the NBA tends to wane slightly once college ball tips off, but this year I've kept at least one eye on the proceedings. My Bulls are, at least in my eyes, a legitimate title contender. The Miami chemistry experiment appears to be blowing up in Pat Riley's face, and, quite simply, the league is stacked like it hasn't been in a long time. What follows is the return of my power rankings, the return of the “man of the match," and some random commentary thrown in free of charge at the bottom.

Power Rankings

1. Boston (13-4) KG's knees apparently work again.
2. Lakers (13-5) Losing four in a row doesn't change the fact that they're still the favorites.
3. San Antonio (15-2) Shocking they've gotten out as fast as they have.
4. Dallas (13-4) Tyson Chandler is protecting the rim, Dallas actually is playing D now.
5. Orlando (13-4) I still think the Bulls will be better, but Dwight Howard still scares me.
6. Utah (14-5) Without Okur, great start as they plug in Jefferson for Boozer.
7. New Orleans (12-5) Chris Paul shows he's back.
8. Oklahoma City (12-6) Westbrook, not Durant, for MVP?
9. Chicago (9-6) I'm licking my chops with a 9-6 record without Boozer.
10. Miami (10-8) Almost under .500. Wow.
11. Atlanta (11-7) Joe Johnson is out 4-6 weeks, give Jordan Crawford his minutes?
12. Denver (10-6) Take one more shot, or trade Carmelo and start from scratch?
13. Indiana (9-7) Roy Hibbert might be an All-Star.
14. Memphis (8-10) I think they'll take off and get 50 wins.
15. Phoenix (8-9) Hakim Warrick, you are no Amar'e Stoudemire.
16. Portland (8-9) They still have about 3 more season-ending injuries left in them.
17. New York (10-9) Wilson Chandler is a charter member of the All-Underrated team.
18. Golden St. (8-10) A year or two away, but entertaining as hell.
19. Houston (5-12) Still could be somewhere ranging between frisky and dangerous eventually.
20. Cleveland (7-10) I hope they murder Miami tonight. Not literally Cleveland, calm down.
21. Milwaukee (6-11) Wait, your telling me a team has quit on Scott Skiles?
22. Minnesota (4-13) Maybe Minnesota is the location of Darko finding his freedom.
23. Sacramento (4-12) I hope Cousins cries on the bench at some point.
24. New Jersey (6-12) I honestly thought they'd be a little better.
25. Charlotte (6-11) Last year apparently was a fluke.
26. Detroit (6-12) All I want for X-mas is Rip or Tayshaun in a Bulls uniform.
27. Clippers (3-15) Baron Davis is an asshole. Way to eat your way out of the league.
28. Washington (5-11) I really like JaVale McGee.
29. Philly (5-13) I'm kind of surprised Evan Turner has struggled.
30. Toronto (6-11) The Raptors do not have the worst record, but give it time, they will.

Man of the Match Leaderboard

1. Dwight Howard 13 ( 21 pts, 12 rbs, 2 blks)
2. Pau Gasol 9 (20 pts, 12 rbs, 4 assts, 2 blks)
3. Chris Paul 8 ( 16 pts, 5 rbs, 11 assts, 3 stls)
4. Josh Smith 7 ( 15 pts 9 rbs, 4 assts, 2 blks)
4. Derrick Rose 7 (26 pts 4 rbs, 8 assts)
4. Deron Williams 7 (22 pts, 4 rbs, 10 assts, 1 stl)
7. Russell Westbrook 6.5 (25 pts, 6 rbs, 9 assts, 2 stls)
8. Kevin Garnett 6 (16 pts, 9 rbs, 2 stls, 1 blk)
8. Dwyane Wade 6 (21 pts, 6 rbs, 4 assts)
8. Rajon Rondo 6 (11 pts 5 rbs, 14 assts, 2 stls)
8. Carmelo Anthony 6 (23 pts 8 rbs, 3 assts)
8. Tony Parker 6 (17 pts, 7 assts, 2 stls)

Bottom Five
The five players whom one would say the following: “I didn't even know he was still in the NBA,” or “ How in the hell did he lead the team in even one category, ever in his life, let alone be the most valuable player in a victory,” when notified that they made the Man of the Match leaderboard.

Melvin Ely
Josh McRoberts
Leandro Barbosa
Amir Johnson
Jose Calderon/Ronny Turiaf

Just a quick refresher: I came up with the man of the match criteria last season. In order to get credit for a “point,” your team has to win, and you have to lead your team in the most categories out of points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. Not earth-shaking stuff here, but I'll leave the advanced statistical analysis to those who are much smarter than I am. In looking at the leaders, half on the list are point guards. There are so many quality floor generals right now, the whole “Deron Williams vs. Chris Paul” argument now involves at least 3 others who could be considered the best in the league. Other parts of the list that stand out include Gasol being the MVP in 9 of the Lakers 13 victories, bringing up the question, is he starting to be more valuable than Kobe? Also, whether or not he wants to be in Denver isn't really affecting Melo's play that much. His points are slightly down but the 8 rebounds a game is a little unexpected. The return of KG is kind of a surprise, with him playing really well and looking more and more like the pre-2008 version.

Random Observations

Chicago: I have to talk about my Bulls, and mainly how happy I am that they're off to a 9-7 start, with Carlos Boozer just now coming back. Rose can now hit outside shots, making him almost unstoppable. My only concern is the fact that he's logging heavy minutes, which hopefully Thibs is smart enough to monitor by year's end. Luol Deng looks a lot better than last year, Noah keeps improving, and now Taj Gibson makes for a helluva 6th man. I like our chances.

San Antonio: If someone would have told me that San Antonio would start out 15-3, and didn't say that Tiago Splitter is averaging 40 pts and 20 rebounds a game, I would have questioned their sanity. But, with essentially the same team as last year, the Spurs are back as a title contender. It's almost as if they're mustering up one more really great run before Duncan becomes a role player or retires, and the team gets broken up. Richard Jefferson looks completely different, and I like the move to start Dejuan Blair. I also think that James Anderson looms as an x-factor in the playoffs as someone who can knock down a big shot for them.

B Easy, K Love, and Darko: What a combo. There's probably not a more unique frontcourt in all the game. Darko could have finally found a home after 7, 257 teams didn't work out for him. He's averaging 2.9 blocks a game for the Wolves, while Love continues to lead the league in boards, and Beasley is averaging 21 a game and not acting like a head case. Don't worry, I'm still kind of happy the Bulls took Rose and not him. But still, he's playing better and behaving himself. Baby steps, Mike.

Miami: You would think I would have led off with these guys, but I still haven't seen enough of them yet, making me hesitant to write them off. Bosh has been a major disaster, though I honestly would be really scared if the Bulls had to face them in a 4 vs.5 match-up come spring.

Golden State: They've become my favorite Western team to watch, simply because I love watching Curry and Ellis play together. Biedrins and David Lee rebound everything in sight. Put it together and you have a team that I'd really love to see end up in the playoffs, potentially upsetting the Lakers or someone of that ilk in April.

Noteworthy, footnotes: John Wall, Blake Griffin, Greg Oden, Carmelo being traded, Milwaukee and Charlotte being terrible, and the Knicks playing decent.

Dissecting North Carolina's 4-3 Start

 

Before I begin, Teach, I know you'll disagree with half of this, but you know I'm right; after all, you're already dealing with this in your talk of John Henson's unique fear of the rim.

I refuse to go through another season like last year. I'm not unreasonable to the point that I expect a championship each year, but if you have the University of North Carolina jersey on, you should be, at a minimum, in the top 25 each year. You shouldn't carelessly turn the ball over time after time. You shouldn't play scared. You shouldn't decide when you're down by 12 with 4 minutes left that now it's time to start playing D. What makes it worse is that Duke looks unstoppable. They have no holes, as the team I thought would beat them, and still might, got beat up last night in Durham. I'm not here to talk about Duke right now. I don't want to vomit on my keyboard. I need to vent and illustrate what I see, and what can be done about it before it's too late, before I'm watching NIT games sometime in mid-March with lukewarm interest, hoping that next year my team will be back in the Dance.

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: Big East Preview

Langston and Berndon return with part three of the Lawn Chair Boys' first ever podcast, where they give us their opinions on the Big East. Will anyone be able to pull away from the competition? How will Steve Lavin fair in the Big Apple? Is there a better name in college hoops than Fab Melo? 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.

Stonebreaker Award: Week 9

I get a Saturday off to actually watch some games instead of just looking at box scores, so I'm posting this as there aren't any really good games at the noon hour today (although Michigan-Illinois has some potential). Before I get into the rankings, here's a couple of matchups worth noting for tonight's games.

Patrick Peterson-Julio Jones: Peterson isn't ranked that high because I would guess teams aren't really throwing the ball his way. But with Jones getting the ball a lot more for the Tide in recent weeks, the ball will come Peterson's way a lot more today as two future pros go at it.

Ed Wesley-Chaz Walker:  Utah's leading tackler goes up against one of the better unknown running backs in the land in Wesley. If Utah holds TCU's running game in check, they'll pull off the upset.

Andrew Luck-Robert Golden: Luck is one of the best QB's in the land, but Golden and his secondary mates break up a lot of passes and pick off a lot of passes. The Wildcats also bring a lot of pressure, giving Stanford a test they aren't used to in the Pac 10.

Arkansas WR's- South Carolina DB's: The Cocks secondary was called out by Spurrier on College Football Live this week, and the Razorbacks will put the ball in the air. South Carolina needs big games from Stephon Gilmore, Chris Culliver and Safety DeVonte Holloman to stay in the mix for the SEC East crown.

Top 25:

1. Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma 418 ( 34 Tackles, 6 Sacks, 3 FF's, 13.5 TFL's, 4 Bkups)
2. Nick Fairley, Auburn 390 ( 43 Tackles, 7.5 Sacks, 1 Int, 18 TFL's)

3. Drake Nevis, LSU 355 ( 40 Tackles, 5 Sacks, 1 Int, 2 FF's, 11.5 TFL's)4. Dejon Gomes, Nebraska 354 (67 Tackles, 3 Ints, 2 FF's, 1 TFL, 3 Bkups)
5. Jamell Fleming, Oklahoma 348 ( 40 Tackles, 1 Sack, 2 Int's, 4.5 TFL's, 9 Bkups)
5. Wayne Daniels, TCU 348 ( 26 Tackles, 5.5 Sacks, 1 FF, 9 TFL's, 1 Bkup)
7. Brandon Bair, Oregon, 287 ( 35 Tackles, 3 Sacks, 13 TFL's, 5 Bkups)
8. Lavonte David, Nebraska 279 ( 86 Tackles, 3 Sacks, 7 TFL's, 5 Bkups)
9. J.J. Watt, Wisconsin 277 ( 39 Tackles, 5 Sacks, 1 FF, 13.5 TFL's, 5 Bkups)
10. Kelvin Sheppard, LSU 270 ( 73 Tackles, 3.5 Sacks, 1 FF, 7.5 TFL's, 2 Bkups)

11. Chimdi Chekwa, Ohio St. 269 ( 3 Ints, 5 Bkups)
12. Cliff Harris, Oregon 268 ( 5 Ints, 7 Bkups)
13. Robert Lester, Alabama 251 ( 5 Ints)
14. Mark Barron , Alabama 246 ( 52 Tackles, 6 Bkups)
15. Travis Lewis, Oklahoma 236 ( 74 Tackles)
16. Alfonso Dennard, Nebraska 225 ( 3 Int's, 6 Bkups)
17. Lamar Chapman, Utah 217 ( 5.5 Sacks, 2 FF's)
18. Jonathan Nelson, Oklahoma 216 ( 62 Tackles, 2 FF's)
19. P.J. Smith, Nebraska 214 ( 3 Int's)
20. Anthony Leon, Arkansas 213 ( 10.5 TFL's)
21. Sean Spence, Miami 209 ( 56 Tackles, 9.5 TFL's)
22. Chaz Walker, Utah 201 ( 61 Tackles)
23. Josh Bynes, Auburn 196 ( 55 Tackles, 3 Int's)
24. Devin Taylor, South Carolina 195 ( 6.5 Sacks, 10 TFL's)
25. Olivier Vernon, Miami 188 ( 4 Sacks)

Defensive Line Rankings:

1. Auburn: I've discussed and shown the merits of one Nick Fairley on a weekly basis. Antoine Carter has been a steady contributor as well, along with true freshman DE Corey Lemonier.

2. Oklahoma: Jeremy Beal has been the headline grabber, with Frank Alexander chipping in with 3.5 sacks in limited duty.

3. LSU: DT Drake Nevis has had an outstanding season, and the Tigers would probably be ranked higher if DE Sam Montgomery wasn't lost to a season-ending injury.

4. Oregon: It's been the Brandon Bair show for most of the year, as he's basically lived in opposing teams' backfields. The Ducks could move up to number one if DE Kenny Rowe keeps coming up with big plays. The Preseason all Pac-10 selection has 5 Sacks and 10 TFL's after a slow start.

5. Texas: Texas has fallen out of the top 25, but not because of the efforts of Sam Acho and Eddie Jones, top 25 staples who came up with an abundance of sacks and TFL's while the Longhorns were ranked.

Studs of the Week:
Shane Horton, USC ( 11 Tackles, 2.5 Sacks, 1 Bkup)
Shaun Prater, Iowa ( 10 Tackles, 1 Int, 0.5 TFL, 1 Bkup)
Colin McCarthy, Miami ( 18 Tackles, 1 Int, 2 TFL's)
Johnny Thomas, Oklahoma State ( 6 Tackles, 1 Int, 1 FF, 2 Bkups)
Jamell Fleming, Oklahoma (6 Tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL, 3 Bkups)
Antonio Allen, South Carolina ( 7 Tackles, 4 TFL's, 1.5 Sacks)