1. It’s a sad state of affairs in college sports when the most urgent news is determined in a boardroom rather than a gym or stadium. Just when it appeared as though the Machiavellian engineering of conference realignment had subsided for long enough for fans to actually enjoy a full season, we learned over the weekend that Maryland will likely become the next shoe to drop when its Board of Regents deliberates whether to move to the Big Ten this morning at 9 AM. Pete Thamel reiterated in Sports Illustrated last night that Rutgers will join the Terrapins in the corn-fed dominion of Legends and Leaders. According to his media sources, the rationale for the Scarlet Knight’s inclusion is the $100 million annual windfall promised by the expansion of the Big Ten Network onto cable packages in the New York City market. But one executive issued a warning that should resonate with any fan who’s ever searched for a New York bar screening a college game before March: “Hey, it could be big money… But it’s a lot of risk. Rutgers isn’t the Yankees.”
2. While it would be a bummer to lose Rutgers, their move could accelerate a far more calamitous result for the Big East if Connecticut is tabbed to replace Maryland in the ACC. The departure would exacerbate a year of chaotic discontinuity for the Big East and completely undermine any bargaining leverage the conference currently wields in its media negotiations. On an experiential level, it would make Big East basketball a lot less fun to follow, with few remaining powerhouses and very little remaining tradition to unify the disjointed reaches of the ragtag Big East tapestry. John Rook at The UConn Blog touches on these points and reflects on the commercial desecration of hollowed college basketball icons from the nuanced perspective of a fan of a school that is, ostensibly, benefiting from this sea change. Rook makes the point that realignment destroys not only traditional rivalries and geographic continuity, but also erases individual program’s accomplishments from our collective memory: “Now, if the Big East no longer exists, UConn’s dominance over it matters less. Do you know how many Conference USA titles Louisville has? Neither do I. You know why? Now that they are in the Big East all that matters is what they do in this conference. The moment UConn goes to the ACC they are no longer the dominant program of the Big East but simply the really good program with no ACC titles.”
3. Big East teams face two high-profile non-conference tests away from home tonight, as Georgetown takes on #13 UCLA in Brooklyn and Marquette meets Butler in the Maui Invitational. The Hoyas’ odds of pulling off the upset took a hit last Friday when the NCAA cleared star freshman Shabazz Muhammad to suit up for the Bruins. Despite not stepping on the court yet this season, teammate Kyle Anderson predicts Muhammad won’t miss a beat, “because in practice, he’s a beast.” The Hoyas’ wings will have their work cut out for them defensively.
4. Marquette, for its part, looks to avoid a letdown when it plays a Butler team coming off a crushing defeat against Xavier. Cracked Sidewalks put together a very cogent explanation of why the game is such a watershed moment: a loss could spell “a neutral court loss to a non-top 50 team come Selection Sunday, and would saddle MUs RPI with the record of consolation opponent Mississippi State (#132 in Value Add).” A first-round stumble would also deprive Marquette of a shot at North Carolina in the winner’s bracket.
5. Last Friday, the M5 mentioned four-star Union, NJ, forward Tyler Robinson’s impending college decision between Syracuse, Villanova and Kansas. Robinson ultimately cast his lot with Boeheim’s crew, which came as somewhat of a surprise after his final visit to Villanova seemed positive enough to inspire him to cancel a scheduled recruiting trip to Lexington. Robinson cited Boeheim’s coaching reputation and the program’s upcoming move to the ACC as major attractions in committing to the Orange. Syracuse appears poised to reload with what’s sure to be another top-15 recruiting class, highlighted by Robinson and four/five-star point guard Tyler Ennis.

1. We can finally stop talking about the NCAA’s investigation into Shabazz Muhammad and focus on Shabazz Muhammad the player after the NCAA reinstated Muhammad. We could be cynical and point out that they did this soon after reports came out that the NCAA may have already determined that Muhammad was ineligible before all the evidence was reviewed, but we won’t do that. In the end both sides got a little bit of what they wanted as the NCAA got a chance to punish Muhammad (3 games and having to pay back ~$1,600 in impermissible benefits) and UCLA got its best player back just before they start playing against some of the best teams in the country.
2. With one non-basketball basketball issue out of the way–Muhammad’s eligibility–another non-basketball basketball is here to fill its place–Maryland possibly moving to the Big Ten. One of main drivers of Maryland’s potential move is Under Armour founder and Maryland alum/booster Kevin Plank, who has reportedly been lobbying the members of the school’s Board of Regents to move to the Big Ten. It is worth remembering that Maryland was one of two ACC schools that opposed a recent motion to increase the exit fee for leaving the ACC from $20 million to $50 million (Florida State was the other and is/was believed to be interested in moving to the SEC at some point). According to reports, if Maryland goes to the Big Ten then Rutgers will follow suit giving the Big Ten 14 schools (hello, higher education) as it heads into its next TV contract negotiations. Just when we thought we had heard the end of conference realignment we get sucked back into another cycle.
3. While college basketball gained a star in Muhammad it lost a coaching legend when Rick Majerus announced that he will not return to his job at Saint Louis due to ongoing health issues and also presumably retire from coaching. Majerus, who is most well-known for his time at Utah and led Saint Louis back to relevance on the national college basketball landscape, spent a quarter century on the sideline as a head coach compiling a 517-216 record. Despite his numerous on-court accomplishments Majerus will perhaps be best remembered for his personality (as evidenced by his numerous headline-making remarks while at ESPN and quirks off the court (living in the Marriott in Salt Lake City during his nearly one decade long stint at Utah). While we will miss Majerus in the college basketball world, we wish him the best of luck with his health issues and the next stage of his life.
4. For the most part North Carolina has avoided the national spotlight with their ongoing academic scandal, but we have to wonder at what point they are going to feel the effects of it. Now a former academic adviser (“reading specialist”) has come forward with specific allegations against the school that go deeper than just the ones that have previously been covered in the major revenue-producing sports. At some point you have to figure the NCAA has to come down on the school. While it may not run counter to amateurism rules what reportedly happened at UNC appears to be counter to what an institution of higher learning is supposed to be about yet they appear to be getting away with it because while these individuals were able to get away without getting a college education at least they didn’t get into a club for free.
5. Normally when a starting point guard for a top ten team returns we think it may alter the complexion of a season, but in the case of Scottie Wilbekin, the replacement at Florida for Erving Walker, we may have to make an exception. Wilbekin, who averaged 2.6 points and 1.6 assists per game, inherited the job from Walker and has not done a thing yet in college to make us take him seriously. He started his career as the starting point guard by sitting out three games for an undisclosed violation of unspecified rules. He returned to action last night and put 8 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 23 minutes off the bench against Middle Tennessee State. Wilbekin will have one more game to work on his game before the Gators face a daunting three-game stretch: home versus Marquette then on the road for Florida State and Arizona.

Chris Johnson is an RTC National Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn. 

Your Weekend Lede. Nonleague Tournaments Offer Raw But Exciting Brand of Hoops. The best teams don’t peak in November. They use the non-conference season as a testing lab to kick around various formations and tactical tweaks. They fashion early judgments on rotation splits and playing time allotments. The college basketball season is a process that involves building and maturing over a four-month period, rounding into form around late February, then peaking in time for the postseason. Most squads are far from finished products. So the basketball you see being played in exempted tournaments across the country in recent days isn’t nearly as crisp or fundamentally sound as the fine-tuned brand of tourney hoops. Think of early-season tournaments as more as barometers for improvement: Based off its performance, each team gets a decent sense of the progress of its development, and how much tweaking needs to be done before conference play. Sloppy or not, nonleague play gives us no shortage of storylines. Here are a few that stuck out over this pre Feast-Week weekend.

Your Watercooler Moment. Another Big 12 Contender Throws Its Hat In Ring.

The Cowboys look invigorated by the arrival of Smart, and it showed in Sunday’s big win over NC State (Photo credit: AP)

Talent is the primary governing force of college basketball. It is the lifeblood of any successful team. Sure, you can do without it, but a marginally-talented team will only get you so far. We saw the tremendous implications of talent with last year’s Kentucky team, when three preternaturally-gifted freshmen carried the Wildcats to a national championship. And we saw it Sunday night, when Oklahoma State – led by sophomore forward Le’Bryan Nash and freshman guard Marcus Smart, both top-10 recruits in consecutive years – routed NC State to take first prize in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Much was made this preseason about NC State’s talent, and without doubt, the Wolfpack have it in droves. What separated the Cowboys Sunday was their defense. Travis Ford’s team held C.J. Leslie, Lorenzo Brown, Rodney Purvis and the rest of the Wolfpack to just 35.5 percent shooting. Leslie, a likely future first-round draft pick and a popular choice on preseason All American lists and top-player rankings, finished just 1-for-5 from the field with two points. Poor shooting helped doom the Wolfpack, to be sure, but for a team that entered this game missing several key players due to injuries (Brian Williams, John Paul Olukemi) and/or unsuspected departures (Cesar Guerrero), this counts as a massive victory over an ACC contender that the Cowboys can bank for the rest of the season. I’m not sure Ford could have drawn up a more favorable start to his tenure-defining season. If Nash and Smart continue to connect on this level, and the Cowboys can replicate Sunday’s defensive effort to any effect, the Big 12 title race could be more undecided than once believed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kevin Doyle is an RTC correspondent, you can find him on Twitter @KLDoyle11. He filed this report after Friday night’s game between St. Joseph’s and Notre Dame in New York City.

An emotionally drained Phil Martelli entered the media postgame at the Barclays Center in the wee hours of Saturday morning, and before even addressing the media with his opening statement, he commented: “That was a November game? It sure seemed like a lot more than that to me.” Just minutes later, a deflated Mike Brey shared similar sentiments as he addressed the media: “What an unbelievable November game.” The two veteran coaches who have roamed the sidelines in hundreds of these early season games before couldn’t have been more on point. It was, indeed, quite the November game that saw St. Joseph’s earn a come-from-behind overtime victory over Notre Dame, 79-70. It was a game that felt like it belonged in March, rather than a November tournament in Brooklyn. It would be easy to scrutinize certain aspects of the contest, but sometimes the game is best left as is. No need to tarnish what was an exceptional two and a half hours of college basketball with overblown analysis .

Phil Martelli’s Hawks Got a Great Early Season Win Friday Night (AP)

You could write of Notre Dame’s ineptitude on offense in the final nine minutes of the game that saw the Irish squander an eight-point lead only to lose by nine, or how they settled for shots from the perimeter and seemingly refused to attack the imposing St. Joseph’s frontcourt after finding success there all game long. You could even make note of St. Joe’s inability to extend its defense out to the three-point line on several occasions, allowing Notre Dame to maintain a slim lead for much of the game. But, in just the third game for Notre Dame and second for St. Joseph’s this young season, why pick apart minor details that overshadow the bigger story of the night: a fine college basketball game between two future NCAA Tournament teams. No need to cloud Langston Galloway’s display of toughness as he came out for mere seconds after his tooth was knocked clear from his mouth as a Notre Dame player inadvertently hit him during a loose ball scrum. A play and response like this is something that assuredly would happen in March, and perhaps that’s why Friday evening’s game in Brooklyn didn’t exactly have a November feeling to it. Played in an NBA arena with a late-arriving and quiet crowd for the opening minutes, it took some time for the fans to become a part of the game—just like you might imagine an early-afternoon game on that Thursday in March feels like.

Read the rest of this entry »

Danny Spewak is an RTC correspondent. He filed this following San Diego State’s 60-44 victory over Missouri State in Springfield on Saturday.

Trotting up and down the floor like he owned the place, Jamaal Franklin’s mouth just kept moving. “I guess that’s what they do out on the West Coast,” Missouri State guard Anthony Downing said. Sometimes, the reigning Mountain West Player of the Year would flash a wry smile at nobody in particular. Other times, he’d stare blankly at the first row of fans at JQH Arena, where hecklers hollered at him and accused him of playing like a “thug” after referees called him for a flagrant foul on Keith Pickens.

Jamaal Franklin Impressed at Missouri State (Christopher Hanewinckel/US Presswire)

By the time San Diego State put the finishing touches on a 60-44 victory over Missouri State on Saturday, all 7,272 fans at the “Q” booed Franklin every time he touched the ball. “West Coast snobs!” said one woman behind press row. The others exited the building silently — with vengeance, of course. They can hate Jamaal Franklin all they want in Springfield, but it won’t change the box score. Twenty-two points. Twelve rebounds. Three blocks. Three steals. All part of another victory for his 25^th-ranked Aztecs. “It was an eye-opening experience,” Bears’ coach Paul Lusk said. But for anybody who has seen Franklin play before, it wasn’t eye-opening in the least. Like the rest of his team, which missed its first 10 three-point attempts and shot 32 percent from the field, the versatile 6’5’’ wing wasn’t perfect. He turned the ball over seven times, misfired on six of seven three-point attempts and never exactly found his stroke offensively. Yet Franklin still managed to tally a double-double and turn in a stellar defensive performance.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kevin Doyle is an RTC correspondent, you can find him on Twitter @KLDoyle11. He filed this report after Friday night’s game between Florida State and BYU in New York City.

Bernard James may have been Florida State’s best player last season, but filling the void at point guard after graduation claimed Luke Loucks was the bigger task for Leonard Hamilton entering the 2012-13 campaign. Going by the numbers, Loucks’ would appear replaceable (7.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.3 APG), while James nearly averaged a double-double and without question was the Seminoles’ top rebounder. But, like any basketball fan knows, an offense’s success begins and ends with the point guard. One wouldn’t think that the Seminole backcourt would be a looming issue entering the season with potential All-American Michael Snaer coming back for his senior year, but it has been a question Leonard Hamilton has grappled with in the early going.

Leonard Hamilton Got the Kind of Performance He Hoped For Friday Night

For Florida State, you see, they didn’t know who their point guard would be heading into the season. Michael Snaer is an exceptional guard in every facet: shooter, passer, defender, ball-handler, you name it. There’s a reason, after all, he is a candidate for an All-America team at season’s end. But, Snaer is not a point guard. Ian Miller is the prototypical steady two guard — despite conjecture that he would slide in and fill the point guard hole — someone who can hit the open shot and is regarded as more of a playmaker than facilitator.

Read the rest of this entry »

Drew Murawa is an RTC correspondent and a Pac-12 microsite writer. He filed this report from tonight’s North Carolina-Long Beach State game.

Right out of the box, we need to thank these two coaches for getting this type of game scheduled. It wasn’t necessarily a marquee game that every college basketball junkie around the country had been looking forward to, but this was a game that saw one of the sports’ bluebloods go on the road and play at a mid-major school. This is not something that happens every day. It’s really not even something that happens every decade, excepting North Carolina. Can you imagine Jim Boeheim scheduling this game for Syracuse? Coach K and Duke? Those schools barely even leave their own friendly confines in November and December, and when they do it is for made-for-television neutral site games. No, this was a true road game for the Tar Heels. And even though there were a lot of Carolina Blue shirts scattered throughout the arena, there was little doubt that most of the largest crowd in the history of the Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State was there in the hopes of watching North Carolina lose.

With North Carolina In Town, Long Beach State Set a New Attendance Record In The Pyramid

So how did this game get scheduled? Well, primarily it was scheduled because the Tar Heels are on their way across the Pacific for a trip to the Maui Invitational and have made a habit of stopping off for a road game on the way. In 2008 they played at LBSU’s Big West rival UC Santa Barbara, and in 2004 they traveled to Santa Clara on the way to Maui – and lost with a freshman point guard, Quentin Thomas, at the helm. So, unlike some of the other bluebloods, UNC is not afraid to take the occasional road trip. Last year they helped UNC Asheville open their new arena; two years ago they traveled to Evansville. Head coach Roy Williams thinks it is good for his team and plenty of fun as well. “Anytime you go get a win on the road, it’s a good thing,” he said. “The crowd was great, it was a wonderful college basketball atmosphere. I don’t mind the kids yelling at me and yelling for their team.” Sophomore forward James Michael McAdoo agreed. “I think it was just a perfect fit for us right now, coming out here and playing in this atmosphere is just what we need, especially going into Maui and being a young team.” In the end, regardless of who you root for or what you think of the Tar Heels, you’ve got to respect the fact that these guys are more than willing to go on the road and give smaller fan bases a thrill on occasion.

Read the rest of this entry »

For months, we’ve heard rumors about Travis Ford’s job security and the pressure to win big this season with Marcus Smart and Le’Bryan Nash. It’s rare for a college basketball coach to have one star of their caliber, much less two, so all eyes were on that duo during Oklahoma State’s showdown with Tennessee this morning in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. It was the first real test for the new-look Cowboys, and they could not have possibly played more flawlessly on both ends of the floor in a 62-45 win. Smart can apparently run the point just fine. Nash looks more mature. A smaller OSU team bullied the Jeronne Maymon-less Volunteers, winning the rebounding battle and stifling Jarnell Stokes, and it put on a defensive clinic.

J.P. Olukemi Is Hurt Again

That’s one heck of a start for Ford in this make-or-break year. But remember, the injury bug ruined Oklahoma State’s 2011-12 season, and Ford must once again deal with injuries after J.P. Olukemi hurt his knee in Thursday’s overtime victory against Akron. Ford said it “doesn’t look good.” That’s just heartbreaking to hear for the senior, who missed most of last season with an ACL tear. It’s even more heartbreaking when you consider that the NCAA just granted Olukemi a waiver to play the second semester earlier this fall — originally, he only had eligibility through the first semester. He was supposed to play all of 2012-13, and he was supposed to play it well. Oh, and Brian Williams is already out for the season as well, so it’s a mess of a time in the trainer’s room right now.

Now, there’s no telling when Olukemi will make it back. Unfortunately, he’s out of redshirts and second chances from the NCAA. Oklahoma State could really use him, too, because he’s probably the best athlete on the team and just adds another athletic element to that backcourt full of big, physical guards. The Cowboys may have looked immortal against Tennessee, but Olukemi is a major part of this program. He’s a match-up nightmare, a versatile defender and an experienced leader with three years of Division I basketball under his belt. Outside of Nash and Smart, Olukemi is the sort of invaluable secondary player who makes this team run. And if he can’t play, it won’t only be heartbreaking for him. It’ll be heartbreaking for everybody.

A week ago about this time, as college hoops fans everywhere were celebrating their return of their favorite sport, the NCAA threw some cold water on an excited UCLA fan base, getting ready to open their newly remodeled Pauley Pavilion and welcome their highly regarded freshman class. The news from the NCAA that Shabazz Muhammad was ineligible for action last Friday night was hardly a surprise, but the lack of clarity about the future was concerning for fans of the sport. Now, a week later, the NCAA has just given Bruin fans reason to celebrate, releasing a statement just minutes ago that Muhammad’s eligibility case had been resolved and that the talented freshman would be ready to go immediately.

With Eligibility Questions Now Behind Him, Muhammad Joins A UCLA Team Loaded At The Wing

On the heels of last night’s exciting demolition of James Madison and with a matchup with Georgetown looming on Monday (not to mention the possibility of Indiana on Tuesday), this is obviously great news for UCLA. The NCAA ruled that Muhammad needs to repay $1,600 in impermissible benefits related to a pair of unofficial visits to North Carolina and Duke and sit out 10% of the season, a figure equivalent to three games. Since Muhammad has already missed three games, he’ll be in uniform and ready to go Monday night.

Odds are good he’ll be in the starting lineup, but with the emergence of fellow freshman Jordan Adams, and with returnees Norman Powell and Tyler Lamb vying for minutes, it will be interesting to see exactly how Howland decides to disburse minutes for the Bruins at a loaded wing spot.

It was a game Colorado really should have wanted to win. But, my god, it really didn’t look like it, did it? After scoring a big opening round win yesterday in the Charleston Classic and earning their way into the winner’s side of the bracket and a chance at revenge against a Baylor team that ended their year last season, the Buffaloes did plenty of good things Friday afternoon, but struggled to slam the door on the Bears. In the last two minutes of the game, they missed five of their six free throw attempts and generally displayed some shaky decision making, allowing Baylor a decent look at tying the game as time expired, only to see an Isaiah Austin jumper go awry. It was all part of a nightmarish 4-for-19 day from the line for CU, but in the end, they were good enough on the defensive end, holding Baylor to 0.85 points per possession, to escape with a win and advance to the championship game of the tournament.

Spencer Dinwiddie And Colorado Finally Closed Out Baylor, Earning a Pair Of Key Wins (Daily Camera)

The good news for the Buffs is that it is only going to get better from here for a young team. While CU likely isn’t on track to be a great free throw shooting team, today’s low was an aberration. For instance, sophomore point guard Spencer Dinwiddie shot better than 81% from the line last year, but today was just one-for-five. More importantly, while Dinwiddie and classmate Askia Booker got plenty of experience last year, they’re still just sophomores tasked with running an NCAA Tournament-caliber team that is trying to fold in a pair of talented frontcourt freshmen to a solid returning core. There were hiccups today, as there were yesterday, but to see this team struggle like this and still come away with a win against a very good opponent provides plenty of hope for just how good this team can be come March. For instance, freshman big man Josh Scott got his first big taste of big NBA-ready frontcourt talent today and, while foul trouble limited his minutes and he turned in season lows in points and rebounds, he showed he could hold his own against guys like Austin and Cory Jefferson. And, he’ll get better by leaps and bounds as the season progresses. Fellow frosh Xavier Johnson impressed in his first two games, but looked very much like the rookie he is today, turning the ball over five times. But, give him credit for trying to fit in with the rest of his new squad by missing three of four free throws – a team-building exercise, right?

Read the rest of this entry »