Rush The Court

Today, ESPN.com reported Notre Dame coach Mike Brey’s announcement that Luke Harangody might not return this year because of a right knee injury he suffered in a game against Seton Hall on February 11th.  The injury, diagnosed as a bone bruise, is one that can take — don’t shoot the messenger, Irish fans — months to heal.

“Bone bruise” sounds like a vague term, but it actually provides a good description of what’s happening in this injury.  We associate the word “bruise” with bleeding and leakage of other fluids under the skin that makes that reddish or bluish blotch happen when we bang into something or when something bangs into us.  That’s pretty much what’s happening here, but instead of some external force being applied to a part of the body that causes blood vessels under our skin to break — like bumping into a table, or taking a punch with your face — this is happening within the bone itself.

An MRI of the knee (not Harangody's). The white part in the bone? There's your bruise. The bright white stuff in the middle is fluid inside the joint. (image: images.conquestchronicles.com)

When talking about a bone bruise of the knee, you’re usually talking about a force that goes through the joint, meaning along the length of the bone.  In other words, there’s been a downward, compressive force that has caused the femur (the big bone in the thigh) to press down on the tibia (the biggest of the two lower leg bones).  When that happens, vessels break along the tough, thick outer covering of the bone, leaking blood and other fluid into the bone space.  Because of that thick outer covering, that inflammatory fluid tends to build up and stay in that part of the bone — and that’s what causes the pain.

An x-ray (to check for a fracture) and usually an MRI are then done to make sure none of the stuff inside the knee (like ligaments and other stuff not visible on an x-ray) has been screwed up.  The ESPN.com report cited above states that there’s nothing structurally wrong with Harangody’s knee, so that’s obviously great news.  The problem is that  the inflamed area of bone can take months to clear up, and the inflammation makes it very painful to move the knee or put weight on it.

The treatment consists of the usual stuff like ice, rest, and eventually some form of physical therapy to get the knee back to its full range of motion.  As I’ve said before, these team trainers and team doctors are an extremely crafty  bunch of folks with some really great toys and methods at their disposal, like cold massage and electro-current therapy (those sound fun), that can speed up the healing process.

There’s no doubt Luke Harangody wants to return and hopefully he’ll be pain-free as soon as possible, though he’d probably return even if the pain was at a “tolerable” level.  With a bone bruise, though, because of the intensity of the pain, that tends to be later rather than sooner.  Harangody, as you know, is on just about everybody’s first- or second-team all-America lists.  He’s the second leading scorer in the nation at 24.1 PPG, and pulls down 9.9 boards.  The Irish are 2-2 without him, but the two victories have come in their last two games, and at the expense of two ranked teams in Pittsburgh and Georgetown — exactly what the bubble-dwelling Irish need right now.

Whether or not you’ve had a knee injury of any kind in the past, there aren’t many things that make people cringe more readily than watching a game on TV and seeing that slow-motion replay of a gruesome injury, especially when it involves an athlete’s knee(s).  The only thing stranger than seeing that joint go out of place and do that strange contortion for a split-second (I shudder every time) is watching it from multiple angles in super-slo-mo in high definition while an announcer narrates it — “Oh yeah, THERE it is!”

We saw this during Robbie Hummel’s injury last night.  When he drove into the lane and planted that right leg — you saw it.  Something happened, and it was unnatural.  Then the slow-motion replays gave you a better look at it.  It’s the usual story — a player plants their (usually in-turned) leg, but the top part of the knee keeps moving while the bottom stays still.  Pop.  The first thing people think when a player goes down and grabs a knee is “Uh oh, ACL.”  They’re often right, and unfortunately, though the MRI is pending, that looks like the case for Hummel.

You may ask how can they make that diagnosis without the MRI pictures.  Good question.  Doctors know that the physical exam is more important than any pictures you get.  The next time you’re watching television and a player (in any sport) goes down with a knee injury, watch what the doctor or trainer does.  There’s one specific thing that they almost always do first in evaluating the knee right there on the floor or field, or when they get the player back to the bench — there’s a test that checks the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) almost immediately.

It’s called the “Anterior Drawer” test.  Here’s what you’ll see.  The doctor/trainer will lay the player on their back and bend the knee they’re checking to about a 90 degree angle.  They’ll grab the leg at the calf with both hands, with their thumbs up to stabilize against the knee.  Then they’ll pull forward on the bottom part of the leg as if they were opening a drawer.  At this point, the player will usually yell loudly.  This alone doesn’t tell you anything, since if I’d just hurt my knee and some putz started messing with it, the foot on my good leg would immediately rise up and head for the doctor/trainer’s face or testicles.  What they’re feeling for is how much that bottom part of the leg slides forward at the knee when they do the drawer-opening motion.  If it’s a lot, your suspicion for an ACL tear goes way up.  If it’s not much or it feels normal, an ACL tear is still on the list, but not as likely.  But quite often, you can literally see the result there on television.  You can see the bottom part of the knee slide unnaturally forward (anteriorly) when the ACL is torn.  MRIs are best for looking at ligaments (you can’t see them on a normal x-ray), and that almost always gets done, but this is how doctors make a “preliminary” diagnosis even without the pictures.  There are other tests besides the Anterior Drawer to check the ACL, but that’s the one doctors and trainers most often use first, and the one you see them use most often right there on TV.

By the way, there’s also a Posterior Drawer test that checks the PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) in the back of the knee, where you push backward instead of forward.  Same principle applies.  One last thing — don’t go doing these things on your friends.  The next time you see a knee injury on TV, though, watch the doctor/trainer do their exam.  Or more specifically, check out their Drawers.

Let’s get this out of the way immediately: We’re not suggesting in our title that it’s a good thing for a player who regularly busts his hump and sacrifices blood, sweat and tears for his coach, teammates and fans to get injured.  But like Wally Pipp to Lou Gehrig or Rodrick Rhodes to Ron Mercer, sometimes good things at the program level can arise as a byproduct of unfortunate situations. 

Could the Loss of Balbay End Up Helping Texas?

Texas losing starting point guard Dogus Balbay to an ACL injury over the weekend versus Texas Tech may just be one of those situations.  The junior point guard from Turkey has started all but five games this year, contributing 4 PPG, 3 RPG and 4 APG in just over twenty minutes per contest.  He’s known as a defensive player, a perception that becomes even more clear once you see his shooting percentages of 50% from the foul line and 10% from three.  Yeah, you read that right.  The Longhorn guard who plays over half the minutes at his position needn’t be defended outside of the paint.  Still, Barnes loves his toughness and intensity, especially on the non-scoring end of the court, and he has continued to play Balbay heavy minutes.  In the five Big 12 games prior to Balbay’s injury, he had scored a total of four points in 93 minutes (with nine assists, six turnovers and 15 fouls). 

The two issues that Texas has struggled with this year are: 1) finding offensive consistency and flow; and related, 2) a clear definition of player roles.  It’s a tired cliche that coaches can occasionally have too much talent at their disposal, but this Texas team seems to fit the bill, and it’s most noticeable in a crowded backcourt.  Avery Bradley, Justin Mason, J’Covan Brown, Jai Lucas, and Balbay are all getting minutes there, with Mason, Brown and Lucas all spending time running the show.  From our viewings of UT games with Balbay as the point, the offense regularly bogs down in the halfcourt as defenses sag off of him to cover the other scoring threats on the floor.  When Brown or even Lucas is acting as the lead guard, there are clearly more boneheaded decisions running the offense, but there is also a greater opportunity for scoring.  And that’s where Texas struggles: putting the ball in the basket.  The Horns are elite defensively, holding teams to 39% from the field and 30% from three, but they’re only an average offensive team this year. 

Too Much Talent in Austin?

 It seems that Balbay’s injury, by virtue of the open position and 20+ minutes per game, will force Barnes to make a decision himself as to the tradeoff he’s willing to give up.  Brown is a gifted perimeter scorer prone to forced shots and sometimes-selfish play; his coach recently went on record saying that the freshman guard won’t play until he learns about preparation, consistency and accountability.  Lucas, on the other hand, is less gifted and plays more under control, but it’s clear that the junior transfer from Florida hasn’t had a chance to get comfortable in his new environs yet.  Mason is a senior whom Barnes trusts, but he’s another non-scoring threat just like Balbay. 

Whomever Barnes decides to hand the reins of his team to, that player will at least have the luxury of knowing that his minutes will likely increase and he’s not going to be yanked for one poor decision.  Perhaps that simple change in expectations will allow the backcourt to finally settle into their roles, even at this late point in the season.  Because if Texas can use this disappointment to finally figure out how to get consistent heady play and scoring from the perimeter, they suddenly become that team we all thought they could be.  And isn’t that what Barnes and Texas fans all ultimately want? 

News out of Chapel Hill indicates that Tyler Zeller will be returning to action for UNC today at Boston College after sitting out a month with a stress fracture in his right foot. By now, everyone is familiar with the Tar Heels woes this season, which will most likely end in the NIT assuming they manage to win two of their last five games (yeah, it does sound crazy that they could actually finish below .500 and not qualify for the NIT). However, when Zeller injured his foot just prior to the Heels game against Clemson, they were 12-4 and #9 in the country despite a shocking (at the time) loss to Charleston. Following Zeller’s injury the Heels were blown out by the Tigers losing 8 of 10 games and reached a point where Roy Williams compared this season to the earthquake in Haiti.

Carolina Really Needs This Guy Right Now

With the loss of Ed Davis and Travis Wear for the rest of the season, the Heels could use Zeller on the inside even if his game and minutes will be a shell of what they were earlier in the season. While we don’t agree with Williams who said of his team, “There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m still confident [Ed. Note: We're not exactly sure what that phrase actually means] we can go on a run and be in the [NCAA] tournament,” UNC fans could use a bit of good news and seeing Zeller have a solid return should give them hope for next season when they return most of their team except for Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson while they add a solid recruiting class that is headlined by Harrison Barnes.

North Carolina’s Travis Wear was seemingly gaining confidence and comfort with his role on the current UNC squad with every game in which he appeared as the season progressed.  Through a combination of his own progression as a player and some team injuries, Wear had worked his way up to being Roy Williams‘ first or second option off the bench.  That’s going to have to wait, now, since Wear went up for a rebound during practice on Tuesday and came down on a teammate’s foot, spraining his left ankle badly enough to where he will not play against Duke on Wednesday.  Imaging showed no fracture, but he’s said to be out indefinitely.

The hits just keep coming for the Tar Heels. (AP/Julie Jacobson)

We’re guessing, though, that “indefinitely” in this case won’t be very long.  We’re assuming this is a simple inversion sprain (where the ankle “rolls” and the bottom of the foot goes inward) as opposed to the slightly more serious eversion sprain (where the bottom of the foot goes outward as the ankle gives way).  We know there’s no fracture.  That said, Wear is looking at several days of what doctors (and eighth-grade health class teachers) call RICE therapy.  That is: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.  Put less elegantly, Wear will stay off the ankle, ice it down, wrap it up in something like an ACE, and keep that baby on a couple of pillows as he watches practice or chills in his room.  Throw in some anti-inflammatories, a couple of tricks from the UNC medical staff  — make no mistake, these trainers and team docs are a crafty bunch — and some exercises to get back the flexibility and strength to the area, and we bet Wear will be good as new in no time.

You know what else helps injuries heal?  Winning.  We’re wagering that if UNC pulls off a stunner against Duke tonight and then grabs another win at home against North Carolina State this Saturday, that ankle will feel immediately better.  We’re not saying Wear is milking the injury at all.  We’re saying that if UNC reels off a couple of big wins and is suddenly back in the NCAA Tournament conversation, he’ll want to get back as quickly as he can to help.

Either way, this means Heels like Deon Thompson, William Graves, and Ed Davis will have to play a few more minutes and avoid foul trouble, or a couple of Travis Wear’s fellow freshmen — specifically John Henson and Travis’ brother David Wear — have just become more important to the Tar Heel cause.

The hallmark of Wisconsin basketball is efficiency, and they just lost their most efficient player.

It’s an instinctive thing to put your arms and hands out in front of you during a fall, because you want to use them as shock absorbers and cushion the blow.  Sometimes, the price for saving your head, neck, or chest is a broken bone in one of the upper extremeties if the fall is fast or awkward (or both).  Wisconsin junior forward Jon Leuer knows a little about this concept, learning about it on Saturday during the first half of the Badgers’ win over Purdue.  Attempting to reduce the impact from a fall, Leuer broke his left wrist, and there is no mention anywhere of when he might be able to return.

Leuer is the leading rebounder and shot-blocker for the Badgers, snagging 6.0 RPG and adding 1.1 BPG.  He has almost doubled his scoring output from last season, going from 8.8 PPG to this year’s 15.4 PPG, which is second on the team (Trevon Hughes averages only 0.4 PPG more).  His absence, though, will be felt in a slightly more subtle way.  If you’ve seen Wisconsin play, you know that they are the Ivan Lendl of college basketball.  Not a single movement is wasted, and they’re more than content to sit back and take their time, slug it out with you, wear you down with their physical and mental toughness, induce you into mistakes, then beat you with a mixture of power and intelligence.  Efficiency is the Bo Ryan mantra.

The problem for Wisconsin is that Leuer leads his team in just about all of the efficiency statistics.  Out of 345 Division I teams, Wisconsin ranks 337th in possessions per 40 minutes (62.5).  This is by design, but you can see how important it is that they score when they get the chance.  Wisconsin is good at this, ranking 15th nationally in points per possession (1.12).  Leuer averages 15.4 PPG but only plays 27.9 minutes in a game, on the average.  Extrapolating it out, Leuer averages 22.1 points for every 40 minutes he plays, a full two points higher than Hughes, who is second.  His overall efficiency rating and efficiency per possession numbers are also tops on the Badgers.

Wisconsin only turns the ball over an average of 9.2 times a game, second in the nation.  A team that prides itself on control and economy of this magnitude can only suffer when they lose the one player that basically embodies the style of the team.  While Leuer is on the shelf, Coach Ryan will have to try to find ways to squeeze even more points out of every precious possession but still take extra care of the basketball.  Most of all, he (and about every UW supporter) will be hoping that Leuer’s bones knit quickly.  Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, but there’s been no mention of a timetable or even which bones were broken, so it’s tough to say how bad this is right now.  The only good thing is that…well, Wisconsin is the Dairy State, so there’s no shortage of calcium for those bones.

This has been buzzing around for 24 hours, but it’s now been confirmed by Jeff Goodman that Ohio State superstar and November NPOY favorite Evan Turner will return to the court this evening in the Buckeyes’ home game against Indiana.  It was a little bizarre how everyone in Hoops Nation seemed to forget about Turner as soon as he broke several vertebrae in his back in a nasty fall versus Eastern Michigan.  We wrote in this space a month ago that Ohio State would be lucky to go .500 while he was out (expecting him to be on the mend until early February), and they’ve gone 3-3, losing all of their away games.  After tonight’s game against IU, the Buckeyes face games at Minnesota and Purdue, with a home game against Wisconsin.  OSU needs Turner back on the floor, and in a big way.  Even if he’s not 100% tonight or this weekend, his presence will go a long way toward keeping his team focused and calm.  This is great news for the Buckeyes, and even better news for college basketball. 

Usually when Ohio State’s excellent Evan Turner goes up for a dunk, it ends with the crowd looking on in disbelief.  Usually, that disbelief is a good thing.  Not so, this afternoon.  About seven minutes into the Buckeyes’ tilt against Eastern Michigan earlier today, Turner took a strong dribble into the lane, went up for a two-handed jam, took light contact going up, and couldn’t keep his grip on the rim as his legs kept going forward.  Turner was parallel to the ground…and then fell flat, producing that terrible disconcerting sound that you only hear with that particular type of fall.

Initial x-rays were negative, but more sensitive CT imaging at the OSU Med Center showed fractures of the transverse processes of the second and third lumbar vertebrae. 

The transverse processes are places where other ligaments and muscles attatch, lending to the flexibility of the area.  If there is no associated injury, transverse process fractures are almost always treated conservatively — that is, with rest and relaxation.  Sometimes patients will have to wear a corset or something similar to add stability for a while, but if you allow proper healing time, the long-term stability of the lower back usually isn’t affected.  Turner will be out eight weeks, though.  The length of his convalescence is because, unlike a broken arm or leg, this is not a part of the body that you can just slap into a cast and let it heal.

December is indeed a cruel month for the OSU basketball program.  Last December, of course, it was forward David Lighty who broke his foot and was out for the rest of the season, changing the complexion of the Buckeyes’ entire 2008-09 campaign.  It’s always unfortunate when any player gets hurt and misses so much time, but Evan Turner is by all reports one of the true great guys in the game.  We hope his recovery goes well.

Duke freshman Mason Plumlee suffered a hard fall in practice yesterday which resulted in a fractured left wrist for the 6′10 forward from Warsaw, Indiana.  The good news for Plumlee is that the wrist will not require surgery, and the Duke medical team will re-evaluate the wrist on a weekly basis.  Plumlee had already begun to fulfill the expectations he brought with him to Durham by averaging 12 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks in Duke’s two preseason exhibition games.  The length of his recovery is dependent on the nature and location of the fracture, but an assumed 6-8 week convalescence would have Plumlee back in the Duke lineup around Christmas-time, at the earliest.

Plumlee was ranked as high as 10th in the ESPN 100 last year and was a likely starter for Duke’s first game against UNC-Greensboro this Friday.  For the time that he’s out, Plumlee’s contributions on the inside will certainly be missed as it means that the versatile Kyle Singler will have to be used more down in the low post as opposed to around the perimeter where the Blue Devils more urgently need him.

Tennessee Loses Another Player.  This time it wasn’t under horrifically scary conditions, but senior guard Josh Tabb, who was already on indefinite suspension by Bruce Pearl, left the program to spend time with his ill mother.  He only played 17 MPG last season, but he was fairly effective providing backcourt depth to Bobby Maze and Scotty Hopson, averaging 3/2/2 and shooting a high percentage from the floor (51%/42%).  It’s looking more and more like UT will be playing five 6′7 guys at certain points of the season.  UT: the Golden State Warriors of college basketball. 

Stanford As Well.  Sophomore guard Jeremy Green, an all-Pac-10 freshman last season, was suspended indefinitely by Coach Johnny Dawkins for violation of unspecified team rules. In relatively limited action last year, Green averaged 6/2 and shot 46% from three-point range, but he was expected to become a major contributor this season as the young Cardinal begins rebuilding.  This comes on the heels of more bad news last week, when 6′8 freshman forward Andy Brown was lost for the season to a knee injury.  Assuming we don’t see Green back in uniform this season, it could be shaping up as a long year in Palo Alto for Dawkins in his second year there. 

Nimrod Will Play.  Billy Donovan received good news from the NCAA this week, as the governing body cleared point guard and soon-to-be-opposing-fan-favorite Nimrod Tishman to play this season at Florida.  The 6′5 Israeli freshman was a late pickup for the Gators after Nick Calathes bolted for the pros, but according to Donovan, he may not see much court action this season, as Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton and Ray Shipman are currently ahead of him on the depth chart. 

Uncertainty About John Wall.  The John Wall Circus continues in Lexington, as Coach John Calipari stated during last night’s post-scrimmage press conference that Wall “has been cleared in every way” even though the UK president, Lee Todd, is on record this week stating that the school and NCAA are investigating his association with Brian Clifton, his AAU coach who was also a certified agent at the time.  Worst case is Wall pays back a little bit of money and misses 10% of UK’s games (Nov. 13 – Morehead State; Nov. 16 – Miami (OH); Nov 19 – Sam Houston State).  Not a huge deal, although we’re pretty excited around here to see the guy play. 

Theo Smalling Dies as a Result of Accidental Shooting.  Really sad news from the Tidewater Virginia area today, as Hampton forward and team captain Theo Smalling died Monday night as a result of an accidental firearm shooting over the weekend.  Smalling was outside of a nightclub in the area when another man nearby mishandled a gun that went off, shooting Smalling in the abdomen.  No further details are available about the last few days, but it’s safe to assume that medical staff attended to his injuries to the best of their abilities, yet he passed yesterday.  Smalling, a senior at Hampton, was on pace to graduate this spring, and this is one of those stories that you just cannot stomach because he had his head on straight and his whole life ahead of him.  RIP, Theo.

UCLA and Washington Can’t Even Hold Full Practices.  But for different reasons.  At UCLA, five players (Malcolm Lee, Jerime Anderson, James Keefe, Brendan Lane and Mike Moser) all have had minor injuries that are holding them out of practice.  None are serious enough to worry about, but is this a sign of bad luck or Howland toughening up his troops in Westwood?  At UW, seven players, including Quincy Pondexter and Venoy Overton, have been out sick with the flu so far this very young season.   

Breakable in the Big East.  St. John’s star Anthony Mason, Jr., has re-aggravated a hamstring injury that he originally suffered while on a Labor Day trip  to Canada, and will miss the next 4-6 weeks, possibly missing their first 3-4 games.  The  wing player sat all but three games last season after tearing a tendon in his foot, and is expected to play a big role in the Red Storm’s plans for this season.  UConn guard Jerome Dyson  suffered a less-serious contusion on his left knee over the weekend, the same knee that he tore the ACL in last February.  He should be fine, according to Jim Calhoun. 

Let’s play hard but be careful out there, huh?

Tennessee’s Emmanuel Negedu underwent surgery today to have a cardiac defibrillator placed inside his chest to monitor his heart and track any irregularities in its beat.  This means he is assuredly out of the lineup for the 2009-10 season, and in all likelihood, his basketball career has ended.

But he has his life.  And for what must have seemed like an eternity to people at the scene last Monday, he didn’t have that.  After a weightlifting session, Negedu challenged UT guard Bobby Maze to a sprint on the indoor football field at the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center on campus.  After he won the race, he suddenly fell over when his heart inexplicably stopped beating.  Teammate Scotty Hopson sprinted back to the training room, found trainer Chad Newman, who, along with director of sports medicine Jason McVeigh, shocked Negedu’s heart back to life.

He spent the last week undergoing tests both in Knoxville and the Cleveland Clinic, and the apparent schedule of treatment included today’s surgery.  After Negedu gets used to the idea that the procedure will help him remain alive, we’re sure that he’ll learn to appreciate this choice even though it may mean his basketball life as a player is over.  He wasn’t a major contributor to the UT team last season, but he showed a good amount of promise, and not having roundball in his life will undoubtedly be difficult for him.  Negedu  has had an eight-day period unlike that many 20-year olds will ever face, so we hope that his family and support network will be there for him when he’s trying to figure out what to do with a significant amount of additional free time on his hands.  The good news is that Tennessee will allow him to remain on scholarship to finish his degree, and we commend the university for that.  If he’s interested in remaining in basketball in some capacity, we’d love to see him near the UT bench as a student assistant of some sort.

Sidenote: what’s with UT and the serious health issues lately?  Two seasons ago, all-american Chris Lofton was playing with cancer and now Negedu has a heart attack at age 20?  ACLs and other minor sports-related injuries (i.e., Melvin Goins, today) make sense, but these are serious issues.

Every year around the few weeks prior to formal practice you start to see these types of reports of players getting injured during workouts.  You hate to see it, but at least in most of these situations, the player knows that the year is lost and can start thinking about a full year of recovery rather than trying to rush it.  Case in point:

Notre Dame Loses Scott Martin

Bad news out of South Bend today – Scott Martin, a 6-8, 219 lb. junior guard who was expected to start for the Irish in 2009-10, will miss the entire season due to a torn ACL in his left knee.  Before transferring to Notre Dame, Martin averaged 8.5 points in his freshman year at Purdue, where he played 21.9 minutes per game.  Those numbers would have been helpful for Mike Brey’s team this year, as Martin seems to be in the same build as Ryan Ayers, a 6-7, 210 lb. guard who scored 11.1 ppg in 2008-09, his senior season.  The injury occurred during preseason workouts yesterday, and an MRI earlier today confirmed the ACL tear.

It remains to be seen who will fill in now that Martin’s Fighting Irish debut will be delayed another year. Besides Luke Harangody, no one on the team grabbed five rebounds a game last year, and now Brey will be forced to fill in with a smaller player (6-3 Ben Hansbrough, also in his first year after a transfer from Mississippi St.) or someone with little to no experience. While none of the incoming freshmen at Notre Dame garnered more than three stars from Rivals.com and Scout.com, they may see the floor more than expected. The Irish were already entering the season with questions as to how they would replace Kyle McAlarney, who was second on the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and first in offensive efficiency. Undoubtedly, Mike Brey expected Scott Martin to help answer some of those questions.

Emmanuel Negedu Medical Update

Some troubling news came out of SEC country this evening as Mississippi State all-american center Jarvis Varnado was reportedly admitted to the hospital for tests today after becoming nauseous and having some breathing difficulties during a morning practice session.  Early reports suggested that Varnado may have been suffering from ‘exhaustion and a bad diet,’ but later clarifications stated that these are merely some of the possibilities doctors are considering.  MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said that everything is simply precautionary at this point and that they expect the star player to be out of the hospital Tuesday.  This is definitely a story worth tracking as we move forward because often medical matters such as these are rife with unintentional misinformation.  Let’s hope that Varnado is ok and back on the court soon.

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Buzz: Talk About Breaking Ankles.  Ty Lawson must be the fastest guard on earth, as it was reported today that not one, but TWO Michigan State guards have broken right feet as a result of Monday night’s game against the Tar Heels.  Korie Lucious and Chris Allen will both have surgery on Friday to repair the injuries, and they are expected to fully recover by next season (you know, when Ty Lawson can no longer inflict damage on them). 

Earlier today a report came out that Tennessee junior Wayne Chism played against Oklahoma State with a broken thumb. During the game, I noticed that Chism wasn’t as productive as he normally is, but it didn’t seem like there was anything out of the ordinary. Although his line (11 points on 4/14 FG and 6 rebounds) was a little below his typical production it just seemed like an off-day. Still, I’m sure plenty of Volunteer fans will be asking themselves whether Chism’s injury, which was sustained during practice two days before the game, cost them a chance at making a run deeper in the tournament.

May or not be Chism's actual x-ray. . .

Regardless, this would be the 2nd straight year where the Volunteers title hopes were significantly affected by an injury or illness that was not revealed until after the season was over. Although we’re pretty sure Chism was in significant pain, it pales in comparison to what Chris Lofton endured last year.

We just received a report from our sources in Chapel Hill that Ty Lawson had to leave practice early yesterday on crutches after injuring his left big toe. Initial x-rays did not reveal a fracture and UNC still has not announced the diagnosis or extent of Lawson’s injury, but if he isn’t able to play against Duke on Sunday the Tar Heels could be in trouble.  If it is anything more serious that hampers the mobility of the Tar Heels lightning quick point guard for a longer period of time (e.g. turf toe) it would be a devastating blow for the Tar Heels’ chances of winning the national title. We’ll keep you updated on this story as it unfolds.

Update: Now we’re hearing that the plan is for Lawson to practice today and play tomorrow unless something changes, but a final decision will probably be made after today’s practice.

RTC Intern Mike Lemaire contributed to tonight’s ATB.

Marquette Loses Their Heart & Soul.  Connecticut 93, Marquette 82.  Marquette announced at halftime that their senior leader and heart/soul of the team,  PG Dominic James, had broken the fifth metatarsal in his left foot and will not play again this season.  He hurt it on a seemingly innocuous play just four minutes into the first half, but the x-rays don’t lie, and this is a potentially devastating blow to the Golden Eagles as we approach the postseason.  James had re-invented his game this year, becoming less of a scorer and more of a set-up man (#31 nationally in assists and #22 in steals) with the ascent in production from Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews.  Marquette will need to regroup quickly with games at Louisville, at Pitt and vs. Syracuse in the next ten days.  As for this game, AJ Price was the other story – he was simply phenomenal, with 36/6/6 assts, including one ridiculous ankle-breaking move (see below) that crystallized the kind of night he was having.  Hasheem Thabeet added 14/15/5 blks and Stanley Robinson contributed 19/10.  When UConn is playing like this, they are the best team in the nation – the problem is that we don’t always see this level of effort from the Huskies.  McNeal and Matthews combined for 46/9/9 assts to pick up some of the slack from James’ injury, but Maurice Acker (and his 2.2 ppg) will be asked to carry the load that James is leaving behind.  No easy task.

Operation ScheyerFace Didn’t Work.  Duke 78, Maryland 67. You have to hand it to Maryland – when Grievis Vasquez picked up his fourth foul less than two minutes into the second half, you had to wonder where Maryland’s offense would come from. But they showed a lot of heart by matching Duke basket for basket in the second half. In the end there was just too much Gerald Henderson for the Terps to handle. Freshman Sean Mosley did a good job on Henderson man-to-man, but the Blue Devils did a great job of setting screens and getting Henderson free for open looks. Vasquez’s absence finally caught up to the Terps in the final four minutes of the game as the team (with the exception of Landon Milbourne) struggled to get good looks as the Blue Devils clamped down on defense. Maryland was a completely different team from the guys we saw blow big leads in the first half of the season, but Duke showed a lot of grit by stuffing the Maryland momentum coming off their huge upset of UNC.  As for Maryland, they have two winnable road games (@ NCSU; @ UVa) and Wake at home – they can still get to 9-7 in the ACC with a strong finish, but their margin of error is thin the rest of the way.  Speaking of screens, check out this pick on Nolan Smith that had the sophomore hearing bells the rest of the game.

Some Other Games of Interest.

• Northwestern 75, Indiana 53.  Northwestern ended 41 years of futility in Bloomington with this win tonight.  Tom Crean said his undermanned Hoosiers are running out of steam at this point in the season.
• Texas 87, Texas Tech 81.  UT got 24 from AJ Abrams and 20/11 from Damion James, but Texas Tech hung around until the final minute in this one behind ten three-pointers.
• Utah 70, UNLV 60.  Utah continued to pace the Mountain West with another home win to go 11-2 in the conference behind Luke Nevill’s 19/13.
• Notre Dame 70, Rutgers 65.  ND survived a closer-than-it-shoulda-been game despite Luke Harangody’s 20/15.  The Irish’s Saturday game at UConn will be huge for this team.
• Davidson 70, UNC-Greensboro 49.  Stephen Curry dropped 20/10/5 assts as the Wildcats rebounded from their loss to Butler with a convincing SoCon win.
• Rhode Island 93, Dayton 91 (OT).  Dayton dropped its second consecutive game due to Marquis Jones’ driving flip layup at the buzzer which pushes UD one game behind Xavier and Temple in the A10 standings.
• Virginia Tech 80, Clemson 77.  Huge bubble road win for Va Tech behind Malcolm Delaney’s 26/4/6 assts and AD Vassallo’s 21/5.  Clemson got double-doubles from Trevor Booker and KC Rivers, but Va Tech made the plays down the stretch in a game that went back and forth all night.
• South Carolina 77, Kentucky 59.  UK now probably needs to win its last three games to force the Committee to leave them out.  SC, on the other hand, probably only needs one more win to become a lock.  Sam Muldrow had seven of SC’s school-record sixteen blocks tonight.
• Villanova 74, Depaul 72. Depaul got closest to its first Big East win of the year than any other previous loss, but it still wasn’t to be as the Blue Demons moved to 0-15.  Scottie Reynolds and Dante Cunningham each had 18 pts for Villanova.
• Michigan St. 62, Iowa 54.  MSU never really put Iowa away, but Iowa never really threatened either.  Tom Izzo didn’t think his Spartans played all that well, but they’re now 1.5 games ahead of Purdue in the Big Ten race anyway.
• Missouri 94, Kansas St. 74.  Mizzou moved to 17-0 at home behind DeMarre Carroll’s 21/14.  The streaking Tigers go to Kansas this weekend and will host Oklahoma in Columbia next Monday.
• Tennessee 81, Mississippi St. 76.  In this bubblicious game, UT held off the Bulldogs behind Scotty Hopson’s 21 pts.  MSU’s bubble is close to bursting, having now lost four of their last five games.

We mentioned last night that Blake Griffin didn’t look good at all as he sat on the Oklahoma bench repeatedly rubbing his eyes and putting his head in his hands as a result of a concussion over the weekend.   Today Andy Katz reported that Griffin would likely be back for OU’s Saturday game against Texas Tech, but that report was somewhat contradicted by Griffin’s father, Tommy, who said that his son is a long way from playing basketball again.  Given the evidence that shows athletes have slower brain recovery when they return too quickly from a concussion, the OU doctors will certainly take no chances.  Nor will his father.  From the OKC Oklahoman:

“He’s a little bit better than he was,” Blake’s father, Tommy Griffin said before tipoff of OU’s Big Monday clash.  “But he’s nowhere close to being ready to play.”

How Long Until OU Gets Their Star Back?

What were the odds that the top two NPOY candidates in the country would not be playing as we approach the stretch run of the season?  Griffin has four more days to get ready for Texas Tech, a game where the Sooners can probably win without him.  But there’s no question they’ll need him for the blockbuster game at Missouri next Wednesday.  Will he be ready by then?  And what about his conditioning and timing – every day he sits out makes it that much harder for the ripped big man to get back into game shape.

Another report that came out today was able to isolate when Griffin actually experienced the concussion.  ESPN had been reporting for two days that Griffin suffered the injury as a result of a brush across the nose with UT center Dexter Pittman; however, Texas coach Rick Barnes thinks that it was actually a result of a spin coming off of a screen by guard Dogus Balbay.  We can’t find any video evidence of this yet, so if you know of something, please let us know and we’ll put it up.