1. It was an ugly night in Salt Lake City Sunday night. Aside from a “full-on winter storm” that slammed into the area (in advance of another one yesterday and today), the Utah basketball team laid an egg in front of a small crowd limited by that storm. But afterwards, head coach Larry Krystkowiak had no problem finding plenty of heat. He noted that his team got their “butts kicked in every phase of the game” and promised that, regardless of what happens the rest of the way, “the one thing we’re going to do for the rest of the season is play hard.” But, as Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune notes, with one conference win and 10 games remaining in which the Utes will be underdogs in just about all of them (they’ll likely be favored in their second-to-last game of the year at home against Oregon State), there is some question as to whether the team can match last year’s conference win total of three.
2. As ugly of a day as it was in SLC, there was plenty to be happy about in Eugene as Oregon found itself in the AP Top 10 for the first time since 2007. That year, after starting 18-1, the Ducks lost six of their next eight games before righting the ship just in time for March and reeling off nine straight victories en route to a Pac-12 Tournament championship and an Elite Eight appearance behind Aaron Brooks, Bryce Taylor, Maarty Leunen and Tajuan Porter. Current head coach Dana Altman could use that midseason slide as a lesson to this year’s team, as he is already cautioning his team against getting too high on themselves. With the trip to the Bay Area schools coming up this week, the Ducks’ chances of maintaining its undefeated conference record are pretty slim. It has been 37 seasons since UO last swept a trip to Stanford and Cal, and in the interim, the team has itself been swept 20 times on the Bay Area swing.
3. With about five minutes left in regulation in its Pac-12 opener against Arizona, Colorado had all sorts of people talking about this team as not only a Pac-12 title contender but also a force on the national stage. Well, we all know what happened after that. And, for some time afterward, the Buffaloes still seemed to be in a funk. Over the next five games, the team went 2-3 and scored just 0.94 points per possession as their offensive efficiency disappeared. But, this past week back at home against those same Bay Area schools that Oregon has to deal with this week, the Buffs found a way to again put the ball back in the hoop. Their PPP jumped to 1.09 and, with balanced scoring, this team looked like that team way back then that had everybody enthralled with their potential.
4. If you’ve followed the Pac-12 closely at any point, whether in football or basketball or, the assumption is, wrestling or softball, you’ve heard the complaints about Pac-12 referees. It’s gotten so bad that I’ve got friends that use the term “Pac-12 refs” to mean anything negative. For instance: “Man, I shouldn’t have had that last drink last night. My hangover was so bad, I had to Pac-12 ref before breakfast.” Or: “You should have seen my back yard after that wind storm; it was Pac-12 refs all over the place.” Where am I going with this? Not quite sure, but the Pac-12 refs struck again on Saturday in the Oregon State/Washington State game, according to Kevin Hampton of the Corvallis Gazette-Times. Craig Robinson certainly didn’t appreciate the effort, picking up a technical early in the second half and, frankly, getting away with a pretty decent verbal assault on one of the refs (if you read lips, you dig) while still being allowed to remain in his seat for the remainder of the game.
5. Lastly, yesterday we picked Washington State’s Mike Ladd as our Pac-12 Player of the Week. Well, more to the point, I picked him, as two of my colleagues went the Carrick Felix route, only to be overruled (mostly because I was asleep by the time I got their votes). The conference agreed with them, however (and I can hardly blame any of them – Felix was awesome this week), as they awarded Felix the official Pac-12 POTW honor yesterday for the third time this season. Looking back on it, given the fact that Felix double-doubled in both games this weekend, averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and (the biggest strike of all against our – errrrr, my – choice), hasn’t been chosen by RTC as Player of the Week even once this year, makes his omission pretty egregious. I’ll take the blame. But really, did anyone watch Mike Ladd against the Oregon schools this week?

1. Going into last night, I thought Kansas was getting set to do terrible things to West Virginia. We instead saw a Jayhawks team playing with fire against an inferior opponent for the second time in their last three road games. They were able to scrape by Texas in Austin after trailing by 11 early in the second half, and KU was also supposed to drive a nail through the Mountaineers when they jumped out to a 22-7 lead yesterday. Should KU fans be concerned about these good-but-not-great performances outside of Lawrence? Look, if Kansas wins every game from now until the national championship by one point (it won’t happen, of course), then there’s no reason to be worried until a game or series of games are lost. Still…
2. The Big 12 conference gathered its 10 athletic directors in Irving, Texas, to discuss measures that would be taken in the case of more conference expansion among the power six conferences. Here’s where it gets interesting: Big 12 sources revealed that if the Big Ten expands again, then that league would likely pursue a list of Association of American Universities in the ACC such as Duke, UNC, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and Virginia. They also said that if the SEC were to get bigger, then they would pursue schools who aren’t currently in their footprint like the Virginia and North Carolina schools in the — you guessed it — ACC. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby reaffirmed that the league’s 10 current members are happy with this configuration but they want contingency plans  just in case. I’d really hate it if I read this article and my name was John Swofford, although Bowlsby also noted that the Big 12 is seeking a “friends with benefits” alliance with the ACC as well.
3. It was announced yesterday that Baylor guard Pierre Jackson had won Big 12 Player of the Week honors for the first time this season. Doesn’t it seem a little odd that this is the preseason conference player of the year’s first honor? It’s not like Jackson is having a bad year. He leads the Big 12 in scoring per game (18.7 PPG), is tied at the top in assists per game (5.9 APG) and is in the top 10 for free throw percentage and steals. Jackson averaged 19 points, four assists and two rebounds while connecting on 8-of-16 on three pointers last week. With four-time POTW winner Rodney McGruder coming on strong as of late, it looks to be a photo finish among those two for Big 12 Player of the Year.
4. Big 12 Rookie of the Week went to Will Clyburn of Iowa State who has been everything and then some for the Cyclones. Usually these weekly honors go to players who played well for a team that went undefeated last week. The Cyclones fell on the road to Texas Tech but Clyburn was still able to make a mark on this game by recording 12 points and 10 rebounds. It’s clear he won the award with his 24/10 effort in Iowa State’s win over K-State that finally gave them a win over a ranked opponent. This is Clyburn’s second ROTW of the 2012-13 season.
5. Here is a quote from Oklahoma State forward Kamari Murphy’s AAU coach about the freshman in 2011: “When he goes to Stillwater, he’ll be a freshman eligibility-wise, but a sophomore mentally.” So what prompted Murphy to say this via Twitter and then promptly delete it? Is he feeling disgruntled because he isn’t getting consistent playing time, or did he truly believe his tweet had no meaning to it? You decide. It’s just more bad press for a team that should be contending for second place in the Big 12 but instead finds itself living on the fringe in sixth place.

1. CBSSports.com‘s Jeff Goodman had an especially busy Sunday, watching Michigan State–Indiana in Bloomington before driving to Champaign to catch Michigan–Illinois. He got to see arguably the Big Ten’s top three teams live in a matter of hours, and here’s what he came away with: Michigan is #1 for the first time since 1992, and deservedly so; while Indiana, which was ranked in that top spot at the beginning of the season, is not playing to its full potential because its star, Cody Zeller, is not asserting himself. After watching both games Sunday — Zeller was a no-show for most of the Hoosiers’ close win against the Spartans, and the Wolverines handled sputtering Illinois at Assembly Hall — it’s hard to argue with either point.
2. Just as soon as Minnesota‘s Trevor Mbakwe was working his way back to full health, the Gophers forward has been bothered by a right wrist injury in recent games against Northwestern and Wisconsin. But ESPN.com‘s Andy Katz said that the Minnesota staff expects Mbakwe to be available for tonight’s game against Nebraska. The Gophers, who have lost four in a row (three of which were on the road), need Mbakwe now more than ever. Four of their next five contests are at home.
3. For years, Wisconsin has been associated with slow, grind-it-out basketball and low-scoring games. But, as Jim Polzin writes for the Wisconsin State Journal, the Badgers haven’t been winning many games this season by playing that way. Their victories against Minnesota and Nebraska marked the first occasion in the last 16 years in which the Badgers won two consecutive games without scoring 50 points. “It’s how this team has to win right now,” associate head coach Greg Gard said Sunday. It’s hard to believe, given some of the performances, but the Badgers remain right in the thick of things for a Big Ten title.
4. For most of the early season, Minnesota was one of the biggest surprises of the season, looking much like a Big Ten title contender and possibly even a Final Four team. But then the Big Ten schedule hit, and the Gophers have been free-falling ever since. Marcus Fuller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that Minnesota needs Rodney Williams to regain his previous form as soon as possible if the Gophers stand any chance of picking themselves up off the mat. According to Fuller’s story, Williams was leading the team with 13.0 PPG and 6.0 RPG while shooting 56 percent from the field and 69 percent from the line during non-conference play. But since Big Ten play started, he’s the team’s fifth-leading scorer at 9.0 PPG, while shooting 37 percent from the field and 57 percent from the foul line.
5. If you tuned in to Indiana’s win Sunday against Michigan State, you likely heard the “Gary sucks!” taunts targeted at Michigan State freshman Gary Harris — unless they were targeting Branden Dawson, who hails from Gary, Indiana, but I seriously doubt that — and saw the way Harris responded. Battling through a bit of a freshman slump the last few games, Harris nearly helped the Spartans pull the upset by knocking down five three-pointers and totaling 21 points. This led the Lansing State Journal‘s Graham Couch to wonder whether taunting opposing players can only come back to bite home fans. It has certainly fueled the likes of Jalen Rose and Dawson over the years, and Tom Izzo chimed in with a story of his own.

1. SEC basketball hasn’t won a lot of weekends so far this season, but in the college basketball animated GIF game, Marshall Henderson provided a dominant performance over the weekend. Ole Miss went to Auburn expecting an easy victory, but thanks to a 4-of-17 showing at the free throw line, the Rebels barely escaped with the W. Let’s be honest, though: If you clicked on the link, you’ll realize that the game is secondary to what happened in the immediate aftermath. I’m having a tough time choosing which part of this five-second clip involving Henderson is my favorite. Is it the striped sweater guy who knows only one insult? Or is it the 70-something in the front row playing the role of disappointed grandfather? No, for my money, it’s the cheesing security guard in the white collared shirt. It’s like he knew he was about be thrust into temporary Internet stardom, and didn’t want his mom to see him dropping an F-bomb or flipping the bird. This Marshall Henderson microsite writer salutes you, Auburn security guard.
2. Dealing with Henderson’s attempts to incite and annoy has to be a concern for many SEC coaches. However, don’t count John Calipari among them. When asked about how he wants his young Kentucky team to respond when they travel to Oxford tonight, he took an unorthodox approach. “Oh, I’d like us to lose our composure,” he told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “That’s what I’m looking for. Like, lose your composure. Get mad. Get angry. Be mad to be great.” Henderson’s three-point percentage (35.7%) isn’t terrifying at face value, but checking a player who is willing to shoot from almost anywhere over the half-court line is bound to throw your team defense for a loop. Look for Archie Goodwin to get the first opportunity to defend the unabashed gunner, but if he doesn’t show the willingness to chase him for the entire shot clock, Julius Mays should get the call.
3. Scottie Wilbekin, after averaging 15 points, six assists, and two rebounds per game, was named the SEC Player of the Week on Monday. The junior point guard took a while to round in to shape this year thanks to an early-season suspension, but he keyed two Florida road blowouts in the past week at Georgia and Mississippi State. The most surprising aspect of his game is his vastly improved shooting stroke. In limited minutes, Wilbekin had shot only 35% and 43% from the floor in his first two Gator campaigns, but with the benefit of increased court time (not to mention several teammates who can score), he’s sitting at an impressive 48% this season. He’s been on fire recently, shooting 18-of-28 in his last three outings. The Gators host Mississippi on Saturday, and being able to count on scoring from the one-spot makes the Rebels’ task even more daunting.
4. Nerlens Noel took home his second straight SEC Freshman of the Week honor after another couple of dominant defensive performances last week. In a loss to Alabama and a victory over LSU, the post presence racked up 18 points, 21 rebounds, and 13 blocks. He’s currently riding a streak of five games with six or more blocks. Making his defensive supremacy even more impressive is his ability to challenge shots without fouling, only picking up one in each game. Kentucky’s struggles have made it tough for Noel to receive the credit he deserves (and during the Auburn-Kentucky broadcast, Charles Barkley made it clear that no UK freshman had yet impressed him), but his irresistible recent form has forced the rest of the country to take notice.
5. I hope you’ve had your fill of the SEC/Big East Challenge, because the event won’t continue past this season. “This was the final year of our contract for a basketball invent involving the Big East Conference,” SEC spokesman Craig Pinkerton said via e-mail. “Playing an event such as the SEC/Big East Challenge has provided a great opportunity to highlight our teams as well as the sport early in the season. We are continuing to explore our options for continuing an event like this.” The concept of an organized series of match-ups between the conferences was enticing, but it never truly delivered. The SEC hasn’t had the depth in quality that their Big East counterparts enjoyed over the past few years, resulting in only seven of the 40 games featuring two ranked teams. Of course, these details probably aren’t important. Any event that had to claim responsibility for the Tennessee-Georgetown disaster doesn’t deserve to be saved.

1. Austin American Statesman: The newest news in conference realignment is tentatively good. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby mentioned that his league is looking into an “alliance” with the ACC and two other conferences “for the purposes of scheduling, marketing and possibly even television partnerships.” If the last point comes to fruition, conference expansion may as a result slow down significantly. Essentially the Big 12 and ACC could act like a super-conference to keep from devouring each other. Obviously, this is a long way off, but it’s nice to get some news for once that isn’t pointing towards more expansion.
2. State of the U: Miami got some much deserved love, moving up to #14 in the latest AP poll. But the Hurricanes still have a weird profile. Their early losses (marred by injuries and suspension) get plenty of press, but this team still also beat Boston College by one point (on the road). Every team is entitled to an off night (especially in the game before playing Duke and Florida State), but it’s not invincible either. Miami has experience and talent on its side. It has a great, proven coach. But it’s not as good as its last two wins, nor as bad as its first two losses. As an interesting aside, Miami is looking very similar to Florida State last year.
3. Washington Post: After its 20-point loss to Duke, Charles Mitchell and Mark Turgeon disagreed on the Terrapins’ primary issue. Mitchell said the problem was offense; Turgeon said it was defense. I’m going to go ahead and agree with Turgeon, at least with respect to the first half. That was by far the best offensive showing I’d seen from Maryland (against a decent opponent) since the Kentucky game. Sure, the Terrapins didn’t get into their offensive sets a lot, but they cleaned up on second-chance points and hit threes. Also noted: Mitchell and Shaquille Cleare are going to be special players later in their careers.
4. Hampton Roads Daily Press: Andy Glockner estimated that Virginia cost itself around 30 spots in the RPI just in its loss to Old Dominion. That will become less and less important as conference play continues, but the Cavaliers still have two problems: (1) with a non-conference schedule that bad, they really need to shine in conference play and they’ve already lost to Wake Forest; (2) they only play Duke, Miami and NC State a total of three times. The mixed news is that the RPI doesn’t care who you beat (directly), only total winning percentages, meaning that the Cavaliers will help their RPI a lot just by playing those three schools (winning would help more). The good news is that it means there are a lot of winnable road games on Tony Bennett’s conference schedule. Road wins will be how Virginia climbs back up to an overall RPI ranking where it’s reasonable to talk about them again (see, Miami).
5. NC State Technician: Seeing this blog’s name, it’s only fair to comment on court-rushing articles. Jeniece Jamison falls into the category of conservative court-rusher. She critiques two recent college stormings: La Salle after beating Butler, and Maryland after beating NC State. The first I would have whole-heartedly supported: How many times is La Salle going to play and beat a top-10 opponent at home? Not very often. That’s a major accomplishment for most schools. As for the latter, I’ll head back her way. Maryland — unlike LaSalle — is a program with a recent national title. There’s a good argument that Terrapin fans should stay in their seats, as NC State isn’t a close rival or even one of the top few teams in the country. But, the Terrapins needed a win and got it in dramatic last-second fashion, so it’s tough to be too critical.

1. Marquette ushered in its shiny new Top 25 ranking with a 63-50 win over USF in the Bradley Center last night. The Golden Eagles improved to 6-1 and moved into a tie with Syracuse atop the Big East standings. Vander Blue followed up his impressive dunk on LaDontae Henton with a more comprehensive performance against the Bulls, scoring a career-high 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting. Blue is the first Marquette player to eclipse 30 in a Big East game since Steve Novak did it for Tom Crean back in 2006. With Louisville finally getting off the schneid last night, Marquette’s trip to the River City on Sunday suddenly carries great consequence for the top of the league standings.
2. Were it not for some creative environmental engineering from Marquette’s athletic department personnel, Vander’s big game would have never been possible. The Bradley Center Bat that terrorized Ed Cooley during the Providence-Marquette game over the weekend was evicted in an appropriately absurd spectacle mere hours before the USF game. Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal reports: “Marquette officials replicated the opening light/music show that precedes every game, complete with the chords of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” roaring. The bat responded, swooping down from the heavens and then settling in the building’s lobby. That’s where a waiting team of ‘bat experts’ caught the critter.” Bat Experts: Marquette’s new 6^th man.
3. Villanova’s 6’6″ sophomore shooting guard Darrun Hilliard was recognized as the Big East Player of the Week yesterday. Against heavily favored Louisville and Syracuse teams, Hilliard shot 64.7% from the field while averaging 18 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. While Ryan Arcidiacono and JayVaughn Pinkston received a bulk of the (sparse) hype around this team prior to last week, Hilliard has outperformed both of late and may hold the key to Villanova’s bubbling NCAA Tournament run.
4. Speaking of Villanova, Mike Aresco told reporters yesterday that the league is negotiating a possible 2014 exit for the Catholic Seven. Aresco is recruiting a 12^th school to join the remaining Big East, and it seems that group is willing to make concessions on contractual exit fees and waiting period so long as they can keep the Big East brand. Aresco also described the schism (no pun intended) as amicable, and seemed enthusiastic about the possibility of non-conference scheduling between Big East and Catholic Seven schools.
5. Membership logistics weren’t the only item discussed after Aresco’s appearance at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast in Middletown, Connecticut (which, having lived in Middletown, sounds like something only Mike Aresco could get excited about). The Big East commissioner also dismissed any lingering hopes that UConn would appear in this year’s Big East Tournament. In December, university president Susan Herbst argued that UConn’s participation in the Big East Tournament would be good for conference solidarity. I tend to agree. When eight of the top nine teams in the current Big East standings won’t be in the Big East in two years, upholding UConn’s retroactive punishment seems like the ultimate case of the tail wagging the dog under the circumstances. But that’s for another discussion. For now, the Huskies’ season ends on March 9.

1. Yesterday we linked to a post that listed the ratings for every college basketball this season and pointed out that games only tend to get big numbers when they draw two marquee programs. We will be adding one more of those games the next two seasons as North Carolina and Kentucky have renewed the rivalry after not playing this season. The new contract calls for a home-and-home with the Tar Heels hosting the Wildcats on December 14, 2013 and the Tar Heels traveling to Rupp in the 2014-15 season. We would have preferred to see a longer contract, but will take this for now especially with all of the uncertainty that teams must be having with the changing landscape of their conferences and their schedules.
2. Speaking of conference realignment the Big East has come out with its intent to look for a 12th team to add to the conference as well as its plan to retain its name. Our Big East microsite posted an excellent recap of the proposed measures by the conference yesterday so we will leave a lot of the details to them, but this move should not be much of a surprise as it allows for the conference to have all of its teams playing conference games on the same day as well as allowing for two equal divisions making a football conference championship game possible. As for retaining its name we understand the brand recognition that the Big East conference has, but any sports fan will still know immediately that the new conference is a shell of its former self.
3. The Big East can try to protect itself by adding a 12th member and keeping its name, but the Big 12 and ACC look like they are relying on a different tactic: forming an alliance. At this point the talks are only in the preliminary stages and from what is being reported the interest is primarily coming from Big 12. While the column by Dennis Dodd focuses on football and that is probably where most of the “friends with benefits” (Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby’s words) action will happen. We are guessing that we may have some weekends of college football that are not unlike the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, but we will be interested to see if we can get some additional interconference match-ups of this even if they are not formal events like the aforementioned challenges.
4. If you thought that Saturday night was ugly for North Carolina, things could get a lot worse if the NCAA decides to investigate their ongoing academic scandal. A recent addendum to the investigation into the scandal has led John Infante to change his mind and say that the NCAA should investigate UNC and should act quickly. As Infante points out the key issue here is the report of unauthorized grade changes, which the NCAA has punished before in the past. Even the most ardent UNC supporters are going to have a tough time defending them in this situation.
5. Since money seems to drive everything in college sports (and the world), we found the article by Sports Business Journal analyzing the financial situation at Tennessee particularly interesting. We knew that many programs are not profitable, but the fact that Tennessee, one of the premier athletic programs in country, is doing so poorly is startling. If you have any interest in business or economics the numbers in the article are fascinating, but we will point out this passage:
   

   [T]he Vols find themselves mired in more than $200 million of debt, the most in the SEC, with reserves of just $1.95 million, the least in the conference. The athletic department spends a startling $21 million a year on debt payments, $13.5 million of which comes from the school’s stressed $99.5 million athletic budget and the rest from donations.

   You don’t have to have an accounting background to know that those are horrific numbers. The rest of the article goes through how Tennessee is trying to transform itself into a sustainable entity, but we still cannot get over the fact that they are in such bad financial straits even with free labor.

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

Tonight’s Lede. Two Games, and That’s About it. When college basketball gives you two good games, you watch them. That’s what ESPN’s Big Monday night promises to serve up over the next month or so, and on evenings when there’s literally nothing else of note going on, you study those two games from every angle, every statistical nuance – and if you’re me, you write about them. So if you’re interested in what happened when Pittsburgh visited Louisville and Kansas embarked on its first ever conference road trip to West Virginia, and not much else, you’ll find this post meets that interest quite well. Or maybe you’ll reject my analysis and stop reading altogether. It’s cool; I’ll never begrudge a critical approach. However you go about it, take comfort in the fact that the rest of the week, leading into Saturday’s massive Indiana-Michigan game (and that other football game being played Sunday afternoon), promises more enticing match-ups.

Your Watercooler Moment. A Win Is A Win Is A Win. 

With the three-game losing streak behind them, the Cardinals can look forward to the Big East stretch run (photo credit: Getty Images).

Using the term “must-win” for teams who fell out of the No. 1 spot in AP Poll just two weeks ago feels wildly irrational. Seasons aren’t won and lost in January, and Louisville still withdraws the right to whip out one of the most fearsome defenses of the 21^st century, a deeply stocked frontcourt, a stable of effective complementary pieces, and a Final Four pedigree to boot. But if the Cardinals didn’t need a win Monday night against Pittsburgh, per se, it was at the very least strongly advised that they get one. Lest we forget that just over a week ago, Louisville – long owners of an historically efficient defense and burgeoning National Player of the Year point guard – was on top of the college basketball world. And not just in every major poll of note; the Cardinals were the national title favorite flavor of the week. The week that followed, which included three consecutive losses to Syracuse, at Villanova and at Georgetown, was not what everyone had in mind when they pegged Louisville as the nation’s best team. After all, national championship favorites just don’t lose three in a row. Louisville’s plunge in the polls (Monday’s AP Poll had the Cardinals ranked #12) reflected this fallout, but the Cardinals had a pretty favorable opportunity on their hands Monday night.

That’s when the efficiency-buoyant Panthers, winners of four Big East games in a row, traveled to the Yum! Center to pour salt on Louisville’s three-loss wound. Any reasonable observer would have looked at this game, noted Pittsburgh’s recent improvements, the shoulder injury to Wayne Blackshear and suspension of Kevin Ware, and surmised the Panthers had a legitimate shot to not only hang tight with Louisville but seize a huge road opportunity against a confidence-bereft team in the midst of a three-game skid. Pittsburgh nearly got there. The Panthers’ stormed back to cut an 11-point deficit to just two inside the final minute, and were it not for a few clutch free throws from Gorgui Dieng and Russ Smith, Jamie Dixon’s team could well have walked out with a massive win. Final outcome aside, Pittsburgh played to its adjusted, per-possession bona fides – the Panthers entered Monday ranked seventh in KenPom’s ratings – and that’s something we’ve been waiting to see for much of this season. Poor free throw shooting (the Panthers finished 3-of-12 from the stripe) was the difference. Louisville’s performance was hardly the work of the Final Four contender so widely bandied about just over week ago, and that’s something we may not see from Rick Pitino’s team until March. The point is, the Cardinals picked up where they left off before becoming No. 1 – they won a basketball game, and they did it against a veritably good team.

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Will Tucker is an RTC correspondent and Big East microsite writer. He filed this report after Monday night’s Louisville-Pittsburgh game.

Louisville endured a three-point shooting onslaught from Pitt down the stretch to hold on to a 64-61 victory on Monday night in the Yum! Center. The Panthers hit five of their eight threes in the final seven minutes, but the Cardinals made the necessary plays in the final possessions — demonstrating a resilience conspicuously absent in close losses to Syracuse and Georgetown. Most impressive was the fact that the Cardinals pulled out the win in spite of sudden attrition on its wings. Wayne Blackshear (sprained shoulder) and Kevin Ware (unspecified suspension) weren’t in the lineup, subtracting 38 reliable minutes per game from Rick Pitino’s rotation.

Louisville’s Tim Henderson played 14 sound minutes off the bench (Credit: Andy Lyons)

Leading up to the game, the two teams appeared headed in vastly different directions. Louisville had lost three consecutive Big East gut-punches and was facing the possibility of a 4-4 record in conference play less than two weeks removed from a #1 ranking in the polls; Pittsburgh had won four straight, capped off by an emphatic 38-point win over DePaul. Rick Pitino’s team needed no extra motivation (nor anxiety) to get up for Pitt, but that’s exactly what they got when they learned in the past couple days that Blackshear and Ware would sit out.

The outlook was bleak on paper, with the eighth-most efficient offense in the country entering the Yum! Center. Who would defend Pitt’s Lamar Patterson and Tray Woodall, who were shooting 39% and 37% from beyond the arc, respectively? Louisville’s lineup was about to get smaller, and it had already allowed Big East foes to shoot more than 34% from outside (fourth worst in the league). Could UofL’s increasingly anemic offense survive the void left by Blackshear’s scoring, which accounts for 12% of their points in league play?

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Right when we thought a team might overtake Kansas in the Big 12 standings (or our power rankings, at least), Kansas State went out and lost two in a row last week, first to Kansas at home and then at Iowa State on Saturday. Both were close games with the Wildcats losing by a combined 10 points, but they lost two games on the Jayhawks in the Big 12 race and fell into a third place tie with Iowa State and Oklahoma. Baylor has quietly started 5-1 in conference play, but the easier part of their schedule is now behind them. The Bears have already swept TCU and have another win over Texas Tech in Lubbock (but hey, that’s more than Iowa State can say). And about those Jayhawks — they are due for a loss, aren’t they? They have been winning close games for the last month it seems. We’ve spiced up the rankings this week with a team’s projected NCAA Tournament seed from Bracket Matrix. Instead of picking a random bracketologist’s numbers, how about averaging out a bunch of mock brackets? The guys at Bracket Matrix do that so we don’t have to, and as many people have been saying lately, there looks to be six NCAA Tournament teams from the Big 12 this year.

The Kansas Offense Hasn’t Been Pretty In January, But The Defense Has Helped Keep Its Winning Streak Alive.

1) Kansas (18-1, 6-0 Big 12)
Previous Ranking: 1
Projected NCAA Seed: #1

Last Week: W 59-55 at Kansas State, W 67-54 vs Oklahoma

This Week: Tonight at West Virginia, 8:00 PM CST, Saturday vs Oklahoma State, 3:00 PM

• Rundown: The Jayhawks have won 17 straight since losing to Michigan State in November but the offense has disappeared in January. They are averaging 62.2 PPG in their last five games, leading to a KenPom Adjusted Offensive Efficiency of #18. And as we pointed out here, teams that finish outside the top #25 in that category rarely make the Final Four.
• Cause For Concern: The offense, of course. Last season, point guard Tyshawn Taylor was always there to clean up an ugly offensive possession with a drive to the basket. This team has had point guard issues most of the year. Starter Elijah Johnson has been more of an off-guard during his career and backup Naadir Tharpe is trigger-happy. Freshman Ben McLemore averages 16.2 PPG, but with a shooting percentage of 51%, he needs to take over more games than he does. He’s the best player on the team and one of the five best in the country, so an average of 10 shots a game isn’t enough.

2) Baylor (14-5, 5-1)
Previous Ranking: 3
Projected NCAA Seed: #9

Last Week: W 64-54 vs Oklahoma State, W 82-56 at TCU

This Week: Wednesday vs Oklahoma, 6:00 PM, Saturday at Iowa State 7:00 PM

• Rundown: The days of losing to teams like Charleston and Northwestern look to be behind them, but the schedule certainly picks up the rest of the way. Eight of their last 12 games are against teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament. The emergence of freshman center Isaiah Austin will help, though. Austin has scored double figures in each of his last 10 games going back to December 12.
• Cause For Concern: We all know what the Bears are by now, a talented, underachieving squad that could fall on its face in the first round of the Tournament or make the Elite Eight. From where they stand now, the worst thing that could happen to Baylor — or any team for that matter — is to land in the #8/#9 game and play a #1 seed in the second round.

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