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

Tonight’s Lede. Good Hoops, But Not Like Wednesday Night. There were so many good games last night, so many wacky outcomes and thrilling finishes, asking for a repeat performance was as unreasonable as it was delusional. Nights like Wednesday don’t come around on a weekly, monthly, perhaps even yearly basis – the number of stunning upsets, in the time frame in which they went down, was not something me, you, nor any obsessed college hoops observer was ready for. If March Madness exists in January, it was Wednesday night. By necessity, the clock ticked, the calendar flipped and Wednesday became Thursday, where – you got it – more games were played in campus gyms across the country. I’ll be honest right off the bat: Thursday night’s slate has nothing on what you witnessed Wednesday. Even so, it was still college hoops, and it was still Gonzaga-BYU and Ole Miss-Tennessee and VCU-Richmond and UCLA-Arizona. It was still a good night. Here’s what stuck out.

Your Watercooler Moment. Bruins Defense Overlooked. 

Defense has helped UCLA solve its early season chemistry issues (Photo credit: AP Photo).

The key to UCLA’s December revival, when the Bruins ripped off 10 straight wins, five of which came in Pac-12 play, was widely diagnosed as a product of offensive firepower and a correspondingly poor attention to defensive detail. It was all about Shabazz Muhammad’s offensive explosion and Jordan Adams’ continued development and Larry Drew’s stewardship at the point – or some fuzzy mixture of positive offensive growth. Ben Howland was eschewing tradition, it was widely and casually assumed, as if the Bruins were a fundamentally flawed, offense-only team that couldn’t defend a lick. Tempo-free enthusiasts knew better; UCLA, in fact, ranked first in the Pac-12 in adjusted defensive efficiency heading into Thursday night’s crucial road test at Arizona. The Bruins have been giving up 0.94 points per trip in conference play, compared to Arizona’s 0.98, good for fifth among league counterparts. So when the Wildcats got off to a ghastly 1-of-10 shooting start, and UCLA blew open a 17-3 lead in the first half, the Wildcats couldn’t find a way back. It was smooth sailing in the second half, despite Arizona’s and a super-geeked fan base’s best efforts to rally for a comeback push. UCLA wouldn’t be here without its offense – without the natural talents of Muhammad, the Wear Twins’ old-school finesse and Kyle Anderson’s instinctive play-making. The Bruins are and will continue to be identified by what they do on that end of the floor. But their improved defense brings UCLA to a whole different level. Without it, they are a high-flying, explosive, fun team to watch – something like the college analog to the Los Angeles Clippers (yes, the Clippers defend; I’m speaking strictly in terms of offensive visuals). Now that Howland has gotten his team up to par defensively, the Bruins are able to do some pretty good things – things like beating the No. 6 team in the country on the road in the biggest regular season game UCLA has played in the last five years.

Also Worth Chatting About. Another A-10 Newcomer Goes Down.

In the rugged A-10, road losses are par for the course, even for teams as strong as VCU (Photo credit: AP Photo).

On Wednesday, Butler had its undefeated conference record ruined on a full-court drive and finish at the buzzer from La Salle guard Ramon Galloway. It was karmic justice for the Bulldogs, who just days earlier rushed the court after knocking off Gonzaga at Hinkle Fieldhouse thanks to Roosevelt Jones’ last-second runner. The road to VCU’s downfall followed a similar narrative. One week ago, the Rams fended off a feisty St. Joes’ team in overtime. The Hawks played Shaka Smart’s team down to the final possession, but they fizzled out in the extra period, overcome by the Rams’ high-paced style. Then came Thursday night’s rivalry game at Richmond. A win at the Robins Center would have sealed the Rams’ temporary spot atop the A-10 standings. Instead, the Spiders coughed up a modest 11 turnovers, dealt with VCU’s HAVOC full-court pressure and smothering half-court D, and after 40 minutes of hanging tough and keeping within striking distance, Richmond leveled the score in the final seconds to send the game to overtime. VCU was not as fortunate in the extra period this time around. It’s a great win for the Spiders. For VCU? Sigh. Beyond the coincidence of the league’s two best teams falling on back-to-back days, the Rams won’t come away from this loss doubting its ability to compete for a league title. Teams lose road games in conference play, and even more so against bitter city rivals. This is a tough, tough league, and the Rams – like every team at some point or another – hit a wall they couldn’t break through.

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1. With many observers expecting the NCAA to hand down its notice of allegations soon to Miami, the NCAA instead revealed that it was essentially putting its investigation from the Nevin Shapiro scandal on hold while it hires an external agency to look into a charge of improperly obtaining information for its investigation. The NCAA has retained the services of Kenneth Wainstein, who has previously served in the roles of Homeland Security Advisor, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and FBI General Counsel. It is a rather sudden turn of events and means that both Miami and other involved parties (see: Missouri’s Frank Haith) can breathe easy for a little while. It remains to be determined whether this will affect any punishments that are ultimately handed down or if in fact the NCAA will have to abandon the entire case, but if the latter is true, it’s safe to say that it will probably be the most embarrassing moment in the NCAA’s long history of rules enforcement.
2. Leslie McDonald, who missed North Carolina‘s last three games with an injury to his right knee, will be out for another three games, but not because of his knee. Instead, he will miss the additional games because he did not take care of his “responsibilities as a student-athlete.” While this could mean a variety of things, we are assuming that the “student-athlete” bit means scholastic problems. In any event, the Tar Heels will need to overcome McDonald’s extended absence as they appear to have turned a corner (for now) but have games at home against Georgia Tech and on the road at North Carolina State and Boston College. With the weakness of the top teams in the power conferences so far this year, North Carolina would still be in the NCAA Tournament as of today, but they cannot afford too many more mistakes.
3. After quite a bit of drama and instability in the first couple months of the season, UCLA has seemed to put the pieces back together in recent weeks but there are still some loose ends to tie up. Enigmatic former center Josh Smith has resurfaced at Georgetown, but until yesterday, it was still undetermined where former guard Tyler Lamb would end up. While Smith looked to get as far away from Westwood as possible, Lamb is simply moving about 30 miles southwest to the LBC. He will suit up for Dan Monson’s Long Beach State squad beginning in 2013-14, bringing a solid scoring punch and ability to distribute the ball to a team that appears to be following the Missouri template for adding talented high-major transfers in bulk (Keala King, Dan Jennings, and Tony Freeland). Lamb chose LBSU over San Diego State and began practicing with the team yesterday.
4. Luke Winn‘s weekly Power Rankings came out prior to Wednesday night’s games, but as we all know, the real value in his column comes from the unique statistical analysis and sartorial commentary that Winn provides each week. Perhaps portending Duke’s struggles at Miami (FL) last night, Winn examines the Blue Devils without Ryan Kelly in the lineup while also making time to evaluate a disturbing trend in Nike uniforms adding a logo to the team’s chest (we completely agree, by the way). As always, you’ll learn more reading this column in 10 minutes that you will reviewing 95% of the college basketball coverage on the web, so get on over there and give it a try if it’s not part of your weekly routine.
5. A final note about a quirky scheduling anomaly where the nation’s highest scoring team, Northwestern State (85.0 PPG), will face the nation’s lowest scoring defense, Stephen F. Austin (allowing 49.4 PPG), in a battle of contrasting Southland Conference tempos this coming weekend. According to a press release put out by the league on Wednesday, this is the first time that anyone can remember in college basketball history that such a game will occur. We can’t say that we’re going to set aside two hours to watch this one at 4:00 PM ET on Saturday, but we will keep an curious eye on the result to determine whether the old coaching adage is true that great defense is preferred over great offense.

Bennet Hayes is a regular contributor for RTC. You can find him @HoopsTraveler on Twitter. Night Line runs on weeknights during the season, highlighting a major storyline development from that day’s games.

Last weekend belonged to the Butler Bulldogs. With College Gameday in town and the national spotlight shining brightly on Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Dogs delivered as dramatic a victory as you will ever see when Roosevelt Jones coaxed in a floater at the horn to defeat Gonzaga. It was a transcendent moment that will stand alone well after this season ends, but it also vaulted Butler into the top 10 of both polls – rarefied midseason air, even for Butler. But the intoxicating high was short-lived in Indy, as Butler dove back into A-10 play tonight, coming up short in a 54-53 loss to La Salle. The Bulldogs weren’t the only team to be smacked in the face with the reality of this rough-and-tumble version of the A-10; St. Joseph’s fell at home to St. Bonaventure, while Xavier’s first Atlantic 10 loss came at the hands of surprising Charlotte – all further evidence that nights off aren’t an option in one of the deepest conferences in America.

LaSalle And Ramon Galloway Showed Butler That Life On The Road In The Atlantic-10 Is Rarely Easy

A chaotic night in the conference indeed, but don’t mistake the happenings at La Salle as any sort of major upset. The Explorers were actually favorites in Vegas for this one, although an available Rotnei Clarke may have altered that. Either way, this has to be John Giannini’s most significant win at La Salle, and it adds some real legitimacy to his team’s at-large case. Lots of wins still need to come his way, but at 13-5 overall and 3-2 in the conference, this team undoubtedly will have the opportunity to play their way into the field.

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RTC’s East Coast Boss was courtside for Miami’s dominating 90-63 win over #2 Duke on Wednesday night.

Five Key Takeaways.

1. Before the season all of the talk in the ACC was about North Carolina State, but that quickly evaporated as we saw that their run last March was nothing more than a hot streak. Duke stepped in to fill the void as the dominant team in the ACC and appeared for a while to be the best team in the country, but with Ryan Kelly’s injury which we will get to in a bit, the door to win the ACC is wide open and Miami has stepped in. After tonight the Hurricanes are two games up in the ACC with only three truly challenging games remaining — at home against North Carolina and on the road at North Carolina and Duke. While they can certainly slip up in conference road games, they are successfully positioning themselves to be in contention for the ACC regular season title. I’m still not sure how good this Hurricane team is, but they have wins over a Duke and Michigan State at home and North Carolina on the road. All of those teams have their weaknesses, but Miami is looking like it could be a very dangerous team in March.
   

   Miami Fans Might Be Rushing The Court A Lot This Year

2. Duke really needs Ryan Kelly to come back. I am not sure I can emphasize that enough. Kelly won’t win any Player of the Year awards and he might not even be First Team All-ACC, but the way this Duke team is constructed they might need his presence more than any other player on the team. Mason Plumlee is by far the best all-around player on the squad, but he lacks Kelly’s versatility, which is key when your bench is as short as Duke’s. Having said all of that, Duke needs to weather this stretch without Kelly which should theoretically be close to ending based on earlier reports from the school. Of course, that says nothing of how Kelly is actually healing. If he returns at 100% Duke should be fine, but their performances thus far following his injury demonstrates just how fragile this team is.
3. Reggie Johnson could be an asset to Miami down the line, but he isn’t there yet. Before the game there had been rumors that Johnson might play tonight, but it wasn’t until just before tipoff that it was apparent that he would play (he was in the lay-up line without any protection on his broken left thumb). Johnson contributed in spots primarily with his girth filling space against a small Duke front line, but his impact was largely minimal (fill in your ground-shaking jokes). Johnson was only out of the lineup for about a month, but his conditioning looks horrible. He will never run up and down the court with the Cody Zellers of the college basketball world, but Jim Larranaga should have put Johnson on the treadmill for the past month. If Johnson can regain his previous form in the next few weeks, he could insert another dimension to this team although his return could affect the obvious chemistry the Hurricanes developed without him. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the saddest yet least talked about endings in college basketball is looming. The Big East, while it isn’t entirely dissolving just yet, is in its final year as the league many of us more or less grew up with. Syracuse and Pittsburgh will officially join the ACC this summer, and you probably know the marching order for the other schools exiting stage left. It’s sad… well, it’s pathetic really… and you can be sure that for the next eight weeks any human with even a peripheral association with the league will be sure to tell you how sad and pathetic this shift is.

All 7 Big East games Saturday decided in final minute. #breakuptheleague

— Kevin McNamara (@KevinMcNamara33) January 20, 2013

Indeed, Kevin. I’m ticked off, too.

Roosevelt Jones’ Buzzer Beating Heroics

Best moment of the 2012-13 college basketball season?  Best moment of the 2012-13 college basketball season, as an absolutely tremendous Saturday of hoops was capped off by the latest thrilling victory from Butler, who knocked off Gonzaga with a steal and subsequent mid-range floater from Roosevelt Jones as time expired.

And Roosevelt Jones just broke the internet. Are. You. Kidding. Me.

— Adam Amin (@adamamin) January 20, 2013

Roosevelt Jones hits the buzzer beater and the bar goes crazy! #anotherbeerplease

— Kelsey Hurm (@hurminator28) January 20, 2013

I’ve decided Roosevelt Jones that is my new favorite name. “Ric Flair” is a close second.#Butler

— Robert Flores (@RoFloESPN) January 20, 2013

AS SOON AS ROOSEVELT JONES HIT THAT SHOT I RAN ONTO THE COURT!!!!!!

— Yante Maten (@Keep__Rising) January 20, 2013

With the College Gameday season premiere on campus to build the game up and capture it all, I’d say ESPN execs had to be pretty satisfied with the drama that unfolded at Hinkle.

If my name was Roosevelt Jones, I wouldn’t just monogram every thing I owned, I’d put my full name it. EVERY thing.

— Kent Zimmerman (@kzimmerman) January 20, 2013

I could watch that Gonzaga-Butler finish 100 times. Unreal.

— Daniel Martin (@DanielJMartin_) January 20, 2013

Dick Vitale, who called the game alongside the great Dan Shulman, pushed out a pretty bold statement that speaks volumes to just how amazing this game, which really ended up being a bit of a spectacle, was.

Last night’s Gonzaga-Butler Classic is 1 of the top 5 games I was part ofin 34 yrs @ ESPN@dshulman_espn @spakeespn @mspotts_espn @jl23tv

— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) January 20, 2013

Michael Carter-Williams Meeting Lofty Expectations

Switching back to the Big East, a few weeks ago it was Ben McLemore turning NBA scouts’ heads in rapid succession, now it appears to be the Syracuse sophomore Michael Carter-Williams turn. Despite eight turnovers and 4-of-13 shooting, MCW’s end of game play-making against then top-ranked Louisville on Saturday drew fear from Cardinals fans.

Every time I look at Michael Carter-Williams I see the dunk and steal. It’s like witnessing a murder and testifying in front of the killer.

— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) January 21, 2013

Then 48 hours later, the Orange star followed up that performance, dropping 16 points – with some emphatic slams, steals and shares –  helping his team squeak past Cincinnati.

MICHAEL CARTER-WILLIAMS IS THE LORD AND TAILOR OF THIS GAME!

— Sean Keeley (@NunesMagician) January 21, 2013

Michael Carter Williams may not be the best scorer in the world but he comes through when it matters. Wow

— Kelsey Durham (@ked1126) January 21, 2013

I’m telling you guys, Michael Carter-Williams is the next Russell Westbrook.

— Colin Means (@colinmeans) January 21, 2013

I have a man crush on Michael Carter Williams and Ben Mclemore, my favorite two players right now

1. The question of whether states other than Nevada will allow legalized sports gambling reached a key decision point on Tuesday as the US Department of Justice intervened in a case brought by the NCAA and the four major professional leagues against New Jersey disputing a 1992 law that prohibits betting on sports. The Garden State passed a law last year (signed by Governor Chris Christie) that would allow sports gambling in its casinos and race tracks statewide, but the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL along with the NCAA, citing “significant harm” to their leagues, filed suit against the state questioning its constitutionality under federal law. Tuesday’s decision by the federal government to intervene on the side of the plaintiffs gives additional weight to the side that supports the ban. Although not unprecedented, it’s somewhat unlikely that the DOJ would stake its reputation in federal court on a case where it stands to come out on the losing side of the matter. As a result, if you live in New Jersey and are hankering for a legal method to place a wager on future Big East Tournament games involving league stalwarts South Florida and East Carolina, you may want to go ahead and book those annual March trips to Las Vegas for the foreseeable future. It doesn’t appear that you will have the option in New Jersey.
2. Harvard has been kind of under the radar this season after being the team du jour last season and part of that reason is because of the loss of Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry, who withdrew for school a year after they were implicated in a wide-reaching cheating scandal. We had not heard what the two were doing as they waited to return to school next year, but The New York Times was able to catch up with them. Both of them returned to their hometown with Casey working for a nonprofit group and Curry selling life insurance. It will be interesting to see how the two adjust to rejoining a Harvard team that they were expected to lead this season, but has grown to play without them.
3. We have reached the point of the season where John Gasaway publishes his weekly Tuesday Truths. Last week was technically the first week he did it, but there was so little data that I didn’t think it was worth linking to. For those of you who are not familiar with the column it looks at the difference in a team’s offensive and defensive points per possession to calculate an efficiency margin (more details here). In this week’s edition, Gasaway goes through the conference’s per his usual routine taking particular interest in Florida‘s dominance of the SEC. We will be completely honest that while we find the numbers interesting and somewhat enlightening we don’t find it to be quite the revelation that many of our colleagues seem to think the Tuesday Truths are.
4. For a different type of weekly recap, Pat Forde offers his Forde Minutes, which is similar to his Forde Yard Dash that he writes when he is covering college football. While this lacks the number-crunching of Gasaway’s Tuesday Truths, it offers an equally comprehensive look at what is happening in college basketball. Of course, since it relies more on words than numbers it has to work off a central theme and this week’s theme is Brad Stevens and his emotional reaction (or lack of) following Butler’s thrilling win on Saturday night. Forde also offers an all-encompassing look at the player of the year and freshman of the year of races as well as who is hot and who is not.
5. At the beginning of the season college basketball writers obsessed over the triangle of basketball power between Indiana, Louisville, and Kentucky. While that area may still be the strongest in the country (substituting Butler for Kentucky at the present time), Matt Norlander feels that the designation of best basketball state should go to the state of Kansas. In addition to boasting the always solid Jayhawks, the state also has two other potential powers in Kansas State and Wichita State. As Norlander points out part of the state’s strength is its impressive win percentage which is bolstered by only have three Division I teams in the state. As you can imagine there are a few states which have not taken too kindly to this analysis and you can see a sampling of their thoughts in the comment section.

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

Tonight’s Lede. Not Many Games, But A Lot Of Action. You may have looked at tonight’s hoops lineup and come to the quick conclusion that there were bigger and more important things to put on your television this evening. If that’s the case, I apologize for your misfortune, because you missed one of the best pound-for-pound weekday nights of the regular season. In total, 14 games were played. That is not a lot of games – at a glance, it fit the customary boring-Monday-night profile. But it was the ratio of quality to volume that made Tuesday night’s schedule special. We had a big upset in the ACC, a really tight SEC finish, two really nice wins from Big Ten teams of near-equal standing, a shocker in the Big East, and a reaffirmation of everything we already knew to be true about Big 12 basketball. All packaged tidily within the construct of a 14-game schedule.

Your Watercooler Moment. Cardinals Drop Second Straight.

Two straight losses has Louisville reeling as it hits a tough stretch of conference play (Photo credit: AP Photo).

When Louisville fell at home Saturday to Syracuse, college basketball fans nationwide let out a collective sigh. Don’t get me wrong: Beating the No. 1 team in the country is huge news for the Orange, and it might go down as the most important win of any team this season. But for Louisville, once you got past the initial disappointment of losing the No. 1 ranking, it wasn’t all that hard to fathom Syracuse pulling out a win against the nation’s best team. The Orange could, in fact, earn that same honor at some point this season. Michael Carter-Williams is an excellent basketball player. Boeheim’s 2-3 zone has spooked more than a few teams over the last 30-plus years. Louisville would lick its wounds, roll out the nation’s best defense (the Cardinals entered Tuesday allowing 0.81 points per possession) and stomp on Villanova in a vengeful, cathartic rout at the Wells Fargo Center. Instead, the Wildcats picked up a win they badly needed. They forced Louisville into 17 turnovers (up five from its season average), exploited its foul trouble by hitting 22-of-29 free throws and got a huge inside performance from JayVaughn Pinkston. Pinkston’s 11-point, six-rebound line won’t strike you as anything particularly noteworthy, but he was the perfect counter to Louisville’s loaded frontcourt, for a team that’s struggled to get consistent interior play all season long. Until things really spiral out of control for the Cardinals, I’m willing to give them a pass – teams are just as vulnerable (or nearly so) coming off big wins as they are big losses. Saturday’s trip to Georgetown will test Louisville’s mental resolve, not to mention their defensive ability, but unless the Cardinals’ struggles persist into February, Tuesday night’s loss will be remembered more as Villanova’s at-large clincher, or just a really nice moment for a struggling program. It says here that Louisville remains Final Four material. 

Also Worth Chatting About. Court Rushings Becoming Familiar For NC State.

Ten days ago, NC State caught a Ryan Kelly-less Duke team at the right spot and the right time. In a frenzied PNC Arena, the surging Wolfpack – who for the past few weeks fell out of national favor after a couple non-conference losses killed NC State’s preseason hype train – upended the then-No. 1 Blue Devils. Hundreds of jubilant red-clad fans rushed the court (one notable fan wheelchaired his way onto the floor). C.J. Leslie and company basked in the glory. NC State had arrived. The Wolfpack then voyaged to Maryland, where the Terrapins were looking to do unto NC State exactly what NC State did to Duke four days earlier. College Park is no safe haven for traveling ACC teams, and the Wolfpack came up short. The resulting court rushing was debated vigorously on Twitter; but still, it happened. The Wolfpack had come full circle – from the pinnacle of happiness to the victim of another fan base’s joy. NC State had experienced quite enough floor celebrations of late. You could understand coach Mark Gottfried getting fed up with all this emotional noise, both in support of and against his team. The floor-rushing party continued Tuesday night in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest – long the bottom of most every ACC fan’s bar room jokes – actually did something of merit (backhanded compliment? You bet) under third-year coach Jeff Bdzelik by treating the visiting Pack to another RTC. These celebrations were already getting old for NC State. After being court-rushed twice, and having their own fans rush the court just once all in the last week and change, the practice must feel nauseating.

(A note: please do watch the above video. It brings you right into the celebration, with a unique hands-on-deck camera angle)

Tonight’s Quick Hits…

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Bennet Hayes is a regular contributor for RTC. You can find him @HoopsTraveler on Twitter. Night Line runs on weeknights during the season, highlighting a major storyline development from that day’s games.

At some point during the nine-year Bill Self era, we stopped being surprised by another year of Kansas dominance. Offseason after offseason of KU stars leaving Lawrence for the NBA seem to never be remembered by the time the next January rolls around, and this first month of 2013 has been no exception. Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor posted brilliant individual campaigns a year ago, as both earned All-America honors in leading Kansas all the way to the national championship game. Neither has taken the floor at Allen Fieldhouse in almost a full year, but looky, looky – Kansas is 17-1 and a perfect 5-0 in Big-12 play. A ninth consecutive Big 12 regular season title is beginning to look like a mere formality, as the Jayhawks dispatched rival Kansas State tonight in Manhattan en route to their 16^th straight victory. Self has accomplished almost everything there is to accomplish in his near-decade at KU, but this group of Jayhawks still has a chance to do something that none of the previous nine could do – run the table for a perfect Big 12 season.

Travis Releford Locked Down Rodney McGruder In What Was Another Stifling Jayhawk Defensive Effort

Robinson and Taylor may be gone, but these Jayhawks have their own pair of potential All-Americans. We all became well-acquainted with Jeff Withey and his menacing defense a year ago, but meet freshman Ben McLemore, who, in the estimation of many, has been both the best newcomer in the country and the top player in the conference. Less is more for the silky-smooth wing, as he has needed just 11 field goal attempts to score his 16 points per game. He has played well within the Kansas system to this point, but do not doubt that McLemore will be ready to shoulder more of a load if and when the situation demands it.

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Brian Otskey is an RTC columnist. Every Tuesday during the regular season he’ll be giving his 10 thoughts on the previous week’s action. You can find him on Twitter @botskey

1. Saturday night’s epic Gonzaga vs. Butler game was everything college basketball is about and then some. The game had all the trappings: two great basketball teams, a national TV audience, a historic venue, two terrific (and classy) coaches, an electric atmosphere, 40 minutes of competitive action, and an indescribable finish to the game. This was college basketball in its purest form. Everything you could ask for in a game. The kind of game you would show someone who has never watched college basketball before. It was the game of the year to date, one that will be nearly impossible to top in the regular season (we know what the Tournament can do). This was a high-level game between two teams that have the potential to make deep runs in March and the top two “mid-major” programs of the last decade. Roosevelt Jones’ game-winner will be the lasting memory from this game but I hope people remember just how well it was played on both ends. In the final minute and a half, I don’t think either team missed a shot in those final 90 seconds and the only mistake was Alex Barlow’s turnover which, ironically, set up the memorable ending. Dick Vitale said it was one of the top five games he has seen since he started working for ESPN 34 years ago. I wouldn’t doubt it. The game was that good.
   

   Butler’s contest against Gonzaga proved to be a top game-of-the-year candidate (AP)

2. An important result from last week in the Big Ten was Wisconsin taking down Indiana on Tuesday night in Bloomington. That’s now 11 straight Badgers’ victories over the Hoosiers and it’s safe to say Bo Ryan owns Tom Crean. Even when Crean was at Marquette, he only won three games against Ryan’s Badgers in their annual intra-state rivalry making him 3-13 against Ryan in his career. “Tommy Basketball,” as Ryan once called him, didn’t have an answer for Wisconsin last week. The Badgers controlled the pace of the game from the opening tip and got physical with the more athletic and talented Hoosiers. Once again, Ryan overcame a talent disadvantage on the road to score a huge victory. He’s one of the best pure basketball coaches in the nation and it shows year after year no matter who is on his roster. Wisconsin let Cody Zeller do his thing in the first half but the Badgers really clamped down on him after halftime. A big key to the win was limiting Jordan Hulls. With Ben Brust glued to him most of the game, Hulls could only manage one three-point attempt. That’s outstanding defense and a great game plan against one of the best shooters in the country. Wisconsin limited everyone not named Zeller to 28.2% shooting, a remarkable accomplishment against one of the best offensive teams in the nation. It was a great win for the Badgers but, unfortunately for them, they followed it up with a road loss to Iowa on Saturday night. Nevertheless, Wisconsin is getting better. Never count out Bo Ryan. Read the rest of this entry »

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to discussing the recruitments of the top uncommitted players in the country. We also encourage you to check out his contributions dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account @CLykinsBlog for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Note: ESPN Recruiting used for all player ranking

The North Carolina Tar Heels are currently in the middle of a very up-and-down season, with five losses and uncharacteristic play through the team’s first 17 games. However, while the Tar Heels continue to search for success on the basketball court, they remain a perennial powerhouse on the recruiting trail. On Monday, five-star junior point guard Joel Berry pledged his verbal commitment to North Carolina, as he will join a long line of highly-ranked floor generals under head coach Roy Williams to don Carolina blue. Berry chose the Tar Heels over offers from Florida, Florida State, Kansas, Maryland, North Carolina State, Ohio State, and others.

Joel Berry becomes the first commitment for North Carolina from the class of 2014

“I feel honored and blessed to officially be apart of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels tradition and excellence,” Berry tweeted. The #12 overall ranked junior and #3 ranked point guard in the class of 2014, Berry becomes the first player from that class to commit to North Carolina. Taking advantage of a new NCAA rule that allows juniors to take official visits following January 1 of that year, the 6’0″ standout visited Chapel Hill first for the Tar Heels’ ACC clash against the Maryland Terrapins this past weekend.

Berry will bring to North Carolina a lethal dosage of scoring and speed, two aspects of the game that the Tar Heels are traditionally known for. With great quickness and athleticism, he is capable of breaking down his defender and getting into the lane  under control and scoring around the rim using his outstanding leaping ability. Berry is also a threat from the outside and mid-range, as he can light up a scoreboard quickly. He is an exceptional ball-handler and sees the floor very well in an up-tempo environment.

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