Since we did a separate BracketBusters BGTD today, we’re combining the late afternoon and evening analyses into one post here.

• Disappointing Weekend Coverage.  ESPN is excluded from this complaint, as the WWL’s wall-to-wall coverage of college basketball makes us very happy from November through March.  But folks, it’s three weeks from Selection Sunday — why aren’t there more networks showing games; and why aren’t there more marquee matchups on a weekend so close to the end of the season?  Granted, Michigan State-Illinois looked great on paper a few months ago, but the schedule today was by and large fairly weak.  If you’re looking for Exhibit A as to why the NFL wants to take over the entire month of February as well, this is it — CBS did a split-coverage game for two hours this afternoon, while none of the other broadcast networks showed anything (why did ABC completely give on hoops?).  Throw in a bunch of ranked teams playing unranked teams today, and you have a sports weekend where college hoops should dominate conversation, except that there’s not much left to discuss than the occasional upset.
• It’s Not Just St. John’s.  It was an entertaining game in Syracuse this afternoon, with the Orange escaping against an increasingly gritty and tough Rutgers squad led by first-year coach Mike Rice.  With the recruiting Rice is doing in northern Jersey along with the renaissance going on across the Hudson River at St. John’s, New York City area basketball may have finally turned the corner after what seems like a million  years.  SJU is clearly leading the charge with its team of experienced players, but we love the hustle, heart and discipline exhibited by Rice’s players.  They utilized an 11-2 run in crunch time in the Dome to force the Orange back onto its heels, something that simply would not have happened in previous years.  After today’s overtime loss, the Scarlet Knights are only 4-10 in Big East play, but they’ve been competitive in nearly all of those Ls and the close win over Villanova along with today’s close defeat shows us that it’s only a matter of time before Rice’s troops figure it out and cause major problems for the rest of the Big East.
• Sparty Can’t Be Killed.  As soon as you think the Spartans are dead, they give us another reason to think they still have life.  And life they have after tonight’s ugly yet important win over Illinois on ESPN Gameday.  They did it with an old Izzo standby, strong defense, holding the Illini backcourt to 12-37 shooting from the field.  This was pretty much a must-win for Michigan State, and with four games left (two home; two away), they’ll have more opportunities to improve their resume.  Games at Minnesota and home against Purdue will be tough, but the Gophers are reeling and two other games against Iowa and at Michigan will necessarily have to be victories.  Our gut still says that MSU will do enough to get into March Madness, but this season has been one surprise after another with these guys.
• Utah State Legitimizes Itself. Much had been written about Utah State’s lack of quality wins this season, but the Aggies really only had one bad loss coming into tonight’s game at St. Mary’s (@ Idaho).  They made sure to leave with the one thing they didn’t have, though, thanks in large part to the forceful inside play of Tai Wesley and his 22/11 night.  During the first half of this game, it appeared that St. Mary’s was going to go on a patented three-point-fueled run led by Mickey McConnell and his thirty-footers, but USU came out in the second half with a clear strategy to a) pound the ball inside; and b) cut off McConnell’s looks.  In doing both, the Aggies went on a huge 27-7 run to start the half and effectively finished the game with ease.  They also put to rest any talk of the bubble for this team, now sitting at 25-3 with three WAC games remaining.  St. Mary’s has Gonzaga and Portland coming to town next week, and the truth is that the Gaels need to win these games.  Their quality wins consist of St. John’s (looking better and better) and Gonzaga.  That’s not much to hang your hat on if you crash and burn down the stretch.
• Forget the Other Dunk Contest.  Speaking of the SMC-USS game, and then there was this…  say hello to Brady Jardine!

Game #146.  One of the better BracketBuster games of the day is in SoCal, as Big Sky leader Montana visits Big West leader Long Beach State.

Finishing up BracketBusters Saturday, we’ve got a battle between two conference-leading teams, in an odd sort of matchup that is little more than a glorified exhibition. The outcome of this game will have no impact on either team’s NCAA Tournament resume, as both the 49ers and the Grizzlies will need to win their conference tournaments in order to advance to the Big Dance. And, this inter-conference game will also have no effect on the seeding of either team in their conference tourneys. However, the absence of any tangible importance to this game will have little effect on the players on these squads, getting a rare chance for each team to appear on national television in the form of an ESPN2 broadcast. And, the matchups between the two teams are enticing. The Niners come into the game riding a five-game winning streak and have a two-game lead in the Big West, while the Grizzlies have won three straight, including an important win over Northern Colorado a week ago tonight to give Montana a half-game lead in the Big Sky. For the 49ers, all five starters average double-figure scoring, junior point guard Casper Ware is the reigning Big West Player of the Week and junior forwards Larry Anderson and T.J. Robinson have also won that honor this season. On the other end of the court, sophomore guard Will Cherry should provide a good match for Ware, while the size in the middle of the Grizzly lineup (6’11 senior center Brian Qvale and 7’0 junior forward Derek Selvig) will challenge the 6’5 Anderson and 6’8 Robinson. Qvale just recently became the all-time leader in blocked shots in Big Sky history (he has 232 career blocks and a blocked shot on 11% of all opponents two-point field goals this season), and the combination of the great size in the middle of the defense and Cherry’s excellent defense on the perimeter (he adds a steal in over 5% of all defensive possessions, good for sixth in the nation) will undoubtedly give Long Beach trouble. But LBSU’s history of playing a tough schedule (they had the third toughest non-conference slate this year according to KenPom, with games against San Diego State, Washington and North Carolina, among others), combined with their athleticism should make this a fascinating matchup. We hope you’ll join us to wrap up your college basketball Saturday with an entertaining game and some good chat.

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Game #147.  The Bracketbuster game of the day comes from tiny McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, California between the WCC and WAC leaders.

It’s being billed as the game of the day in the BracketBusters, and without question that assertion is true.  Both Utah State and St. Mary’s are currently ranked in the Top 25 polls (#23 and #25 in the RTC poll, respectively), and while both are presumptively into the NCAA Tournament as things stand right now, neither is an incontrovertible lock.  Utah State comes in at a gaudy 24-3, but the Aggies have zero top 100 wins and are trending in the lower reaches of the at-large pool as it stands today.  St. Mary’s is at 22-5, but the Gaels are coming off an incomprehensible loss at five-win San Diego Wednesday night, the worst team in the WCC.  The key point here?  Both of these perennial mid-major powers need tonight’s win to impress the NCAA Selection Committee.  The victor here tonight could arguably earn a full seed line bump given that their schedules will be relatively soft the rest of the way.  Expect a raucous crowd tonight in Moraga’s McKeon Pavilion, quickly becoming one of the toughest places to play on the west coast.

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Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried is now the NCAA’s all-time rebounding leader.

Faried pulled down 12 rebounds at Indiana State on Saturday, but it was his seventh one of the night — the 1,571st of his career — that put him past the mark set by Wake Forest legend Tim Duncan from 1993-97 and moved the MSU big fella to the top of the all-time glass-cleaning list. He has 1,576 with two regular season games left and the OVC Tournament to follow.

As Dick Vitale Would Say, This Is the Ultimate Windex Man

Faried is averaging an amazing 17.5 PPG and 14.2 RPG this year. He also averaged healthy double-doubles in his junior (16.9 PPG/13.0 RPG) and sophomore (13.9 PPG/13.0 RPG) years. He “only” — heh heh — pulled down 8.0 PPG during his freshman season, while contributing 10.5 PPG. His 14.2 boards a contest isn’t the only stat in which he leads the nation — he’s also tops in average efficiency (24.1 rating) and rebound rate (29.5%). You can see him at work this Thursday at 9 PM ET on ESPNU when his Eagles travel to Ohio Valley Conference co-leaders Murray State. The Racers play Evansville later tonight, but as of this writing the teams have identical 12-4 OVC records. Morehead State has won 15 of their last 17, while Murray State has reeled off 16 wins out of their last 19 games after a somewhat rocky start.

We’re sure Faried would be the first to point out that, most importantly, his team won today against the Sycamores, 71-65. We heard reports that the ISU crowd even gave Faried the courtesy of a standing ovation when the rebounding record was announced during the game, a move for which we have the utmost respect.

RTC’s Kevin Doyle, writer of the weekly column, The Other 26, will be providing some BGTD-style analysis throughout Saturday’s BracketBuster games, mostly focusing on the evening sessions.

(ed. note: we’ll work our way backwards so the most recent update is always at the top of the post.)

8:34 PM – UNI is holding onto a slim lead against George Mason thanks in large part to the strong play of Kwadzo Ahelegbe. The senior from Minnesota already has 18 points as the Panthers are up on GMU 54-50 late in the second half. I have not seen Ahelegbe play once this year, but I love his pure stroke from beyond the arc and his quickness while attacking the basket. If Northern Iowa can hold on against GMU it would be a huge confidence booster heading into the MVC tournament.

7:58 PM – The Panthers are besting George Mason 36-32 at the half and are playing the kind of basketball they have failed to play lately in the Missouri Valley. UNI lost three straight in the MVC and are no longer contending with Missouri State and Wichita State, but seem to be peaking at the right time. George Mason, win or lose, will still be the favorite in the CAA going into the conference tournament, but a win in Iowa over the Panthers would certainly help their resume if they falter in the CAA tournament. Cam Long and Ryan Pearson are two of the CAA’s best and are a tough match up for any opponent. I’d argue that the outcome of this game means more for GMU than UNI for the sole reason that Mason is still in contention for an at-large berth.

7:15 PM – College of Charleston ended up defeating Vermont 85-70 in a game that was not as close as the score would indicate. The Cougars proved how dangerous of a threat they are due to the play of one player: Andrew Goudelock. The senior from Georgia tore apart Vermont and in doing so proved they are they class of the Southern Conference. Can Charleston do what Davidson did a few years ago? Probably not, but Goudelock is a very similar player to Stephen Curry in how he is able to take over a game.

As for the other 5:00 game, Valpo soundly defeated Missouri State 80-67. The Crusaders, along with Cleveland State who thoroughly defeated Hofstra earlier today, appear to be the clear favorites in the Horizon League.

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Game #145.  St. John’s has established relevancy, but do they have what it takes to take down the Big East’s best team?

#4 Pittsburgh puts a 12-1 conference record, one that includes a five-game winning streak, on the line Saturday as the Panthers take on the Red Storm of St. John’s University in Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Garden is Pitt’s self-proclaimed “home away from home.” The Panthers were named Madison Square Garden’s “Team of the Decade” last year and have played 37 games on the Garden floor since 2000-01. Pittsburgh has advanced to seven of the last 10 Big East Tournament Finals, winning the tournament twice in the decade (2003 and 2008). Thinking of the Garden as “home” however, may not work to Pittsburgh’s advantage, as the Panthers are a better road team in conference play (6-0) than home team (6-1). Pitt’s only two losses this season were “at home.” Sidelined point guard Ashton Gibbs has been cleared to play and will most likely get some court time, especially if the Panthers are in great need of long range shooting. St. John’s, 8-5 in conference play and 16-9 overall is looking for their first NCAA bid in nine postseasons. The Johnnies have compiled a resume that should give the Selection Committee a lot to chew on, as the members will have to balance losses to St. Mary’s, Fordham and St. Bonaventure against wins over (then #11) Georgetown, (#10) Notre Dame, (#2) Duke and (#10) Connecticut. Rookie Coach Steve Lavin and his band of seniors would love to bump their resume with a win over #4 Pittsburgh. Will it be “business as usual” for the Pitt Panthers, or will the St. John’s Giant Killers strike again? Join RTC Live noon on Saturday at Madison Square Garden as Pittsburgh visits St. John’s.

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BracketBusters will get a whole post to itself a little later, but there’s enough good stuff happening today elsewhere in college basketball to keep us busy. We’ve already had some important results today in terms of bubble-ology (you gotta finish strong, Virginia Tech), and there’s even been a slew of Twitter chatter about who would be the best Commissioner of College Basketball — we prefer “Czar of Hoops” — if such a position existed. Peter Gabriel once said that all art is based on theft, so we took that idea and created a Twitter poll about it, for which we’ll be taking votes up through this evening.

• Hardy Shows Guts, MSG Goes Nuts. Some time around the middle of the second half of what turned out to be a 60-59 St. John’s win over Pittsburgh, thanks to a closing-moments layin by Dwight Hardy, we tweeted out a quick poll to see how many of our faithful followers thought St. John’s would get into the Dance. We figured everyone would vote them in…and that’s exactly what happened after about a hundred votes. NOBODY voted them out, which really didn’t surprise us. Then the game ended, and we canceled the poll. It was all but a foregone conclusion before that game, given their collection of signature wins, but it’s final, now. The only question is what seed they’ll get. With a deep run in the Big East Tournament, could the Johnnies play themselves up to a four seed? A three? What say you, friends?
• No Higgins Jokes, Please. Another question from that game: Hardy looked like a tightrope walker as he tried to stay in-bounds along the baseline while making his move that led to the game-winning layup. Did he step out? When we rewound the DVR, it looked like his toes stayed in, but his heels were definitely over the line. The way his foot moves, though, it appears that he pivoted on his toes and his heels were hovering above the line (so to speak), but we admit that it’s not the best angle. The referee, you’ll notice, is looking right at Hardy’s feet. Nobody in America had a better view. We’ll go with his (non-)call until we see a better angle. A couple of people mentioned that Hardy hooked his defender to get free for the shot, but you can’t expect to get that call that late and on the road.
• Get On Your (Combat) Boots. The Big East Tournament is going to be a total war to the point that all we need to make it better is Dale Dye coordinating student section cheers in his dress blues. Or maybe ESPN could have him do the pre-game teasers. We say this because West Virginia got hot in the second half and just cooked likely-two-seed and possible-one-seed Notre Dame, 72-58. It obviously improves WVU’s Tournament resume’, not that there was much doubt about their chances. Truck Bryant and his previously broken fifth metatarsal hit four threes and 10 of his 12 free throws en route to a 24-point day.
• We Told You So. For anyone complaining that Texas should have been the #1 team in the polls back on Monday, Nebraska says “Hi.” Two of our guys voted for the Longhorns for the RTC Top 25 (which Ohio State sat atop when our mainframe finished tabulating all the data) and there’s no question an excellent case could have been made, but the Huskers took care of that moments ago. Nebraska tried to give it away by missing free throws and fouling three-point shooters — twice — in the last three minutes of the game, losing their double-digit lead over a span of about ninety seconds. But, they held on, 70-67, to deal Texas their first Big 12 loss. So far today, we’ve seen losses by #4 Pitt, #7 Notre Dame, and now #2 Texas. Nobody is safe this year, people. There’s no single team that even approaches what everyone thought of Kansas last year, and we know how it all worked out for them. What a post-season we have in store.
• We Want To Hear From You. That especially applies today, because we’re not kidding about that Twitter poll. Who would get your vote for the position of Commissioner of College Basketball? Hit us up on Twitter, and let us know. We’ll announce the results later today on the feed. As of right now, your leaders are Jay Bilas, and…Bob Knight.

***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2013
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

Brian Otskey is an RTC contributor.

With only two weeks left in the regular season, it’s time for teams to make their moves. This weekend provides ample opportunities for some to do so. All rankings from RTC and all times Eastern.

VCU @ Wichita State – 7 pm Friday on ESPN2 (***)

Skeen Leads VCU In Scoring (14.6 PPG), But Is Also Top Ten In the CAA In Rebounding (7.7 RPG) And PP40 (19.0)

This could very well prove to be an elimination game. VCU has lost two straight games at home and now has to venture out of conference on the road. Wichita State has lost three games at home already this season, however, and probably has to win out and make a run in the MVC Tournament in order to have a chance at a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Shockers don’t have a win in the RPI top 50 and those three home losses are really holding them back. VCU was blasted on the boards by Old Dominion recently (40-21) and it’s going to be hard to avoid that again in this game. If the Rams can’t create extra possessions through turnovers, it’s going to be a very long night.

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That’s Debatable is back for another year of expert opinions, ridiculous assertions and general know-it-all-itude.  Remember, kids, there are no stupid answers, just stupid people.  We’ll try to do one of these each week during the season.  We’re fairly discerning around here, but if you want to be included, send us an email with your take telling us why at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

This Week’s Topic: It’s BracketBuster weekend on ESPN and its family of networks.  What seemed like a great idea when it originated a few years ago has gotten stale with so few games actually seeming to impact the brackets.  How would you suggest ESPN tweak this model to make it more interesting to college basketball fans and more meaningful for the schools involved?

Brian Otskey, RTC contributor

A quick check of the BracketBusters website reveals there are actually 114 teams participating in this event, the largest number ever. It was created solely for television purposes so I have to ask, why are only 19% of the games televised? This is called “BracketBusters,” but arguably only five or six teams participating have any chance of an at-large berth. Should we call it NIT BracketBusters? CBI BracketBusters? CollegeInsider.com BracketBusters? Come on now. This event is a joke except for a select few teams. To be completely honest, I’ve never been a fan of it. The only games I’ll watch are George Mason @ Northern Iowa, Utah State @ St. Mary’s and maybe Cleveland State @ Old Dominion. I will give ESPN some credit here because they clearly recognize the importance of the Utah State @ St. Mary’s matchup. This game could have major NCAA implications and I wouldn’t be surprised if it draws a solid rating against the Saturday Prime Time game, Illinois @ Michigan State. Another issue with BrackeBusters is it has the potential to end a team’s at-large dreams. It has been a concern in the past and will remain so going forward. I’d either: a) eliminate it all together, or b) limit it to five games between teams with legitimate NCAA aspirations. 

Danny Spewak, RTC contributor

While ESPN’s BracketBusters may give the illusion that the network cares about non-BCS conferences, it’s a cop out. In reality, the event televises only 11 games, appearing on ESPN2 or ESPNU. Those channels already feature mid-major games every Saturday. If ESPN wants to make this event truly special, then put Utah State and St. Mary’s on ESPN at 8 p.m. Saturday– not ESPN2. Don’t send the College Gameday crew to East Lansing; designate this weekend as a mid-major site and choose the top BracketBuster game to attend. Televise 30 games, not 11, and use regional coverage and ESPN3.com to switch between games when necessary like CBS does for the NCAA Tournament. In short, ESPN’s problem is that it only goes through the motions with regards to giving BracketBusters the attention it deserves. The public relations team talks a big game, but the network still sends College Gameday to the Big Ten and televises only a handful of games on secondary channels. I’ve seen Michigan State and Illinois play so many times on national television that I could recite their starting lineups in my sleep. Can’t we give the prime-time limelight to someone else for a change?

John Stevens, RTC editor/contributor

Zach Hayes is an editor, contributor and bracketologist for Rush the Court.

Another Friday, another edition of the official RTC bubble watch:

New Locks

St. John’s 16-9 (8-5), 16 RPI, 3 SOS– The Johnnies move into lock status following a two-game road winning streak at Big East bubble teams Cincinnati and Marquette. Steve Lavin’s team has collected four wins against the RPI top-11 and welcome Pittsburgh to the Garden on Saturday for another major scalp opportunity. St. John’s seniors will be dancing for the first time in their careers.

Louisville 19-7 (8-5), 25 RPI, 28 SOS– Despite a setback at Cincinnati, the Cardinals effectively clinched a bid with their home win over Syracuse last Saturday to go along with RPI top-25 victories at Connecticut and at home against St. John’s and West Virginia. Any team that notches ten wins in the Big East is safely in the field and Louisville has games against Rutgers and Providence still remaining.

Arizona 22-4 (11-2), 17 RPI, 74 SOS– The Wildcats have only beaten one NCAA Tournament team this season, a home victory over UCLA, but a #17 RPI, 22 overall victories and a likely Pac-10 regular season championship is enough of a pedigree to easily garner a bid. Two of Arizona’s four losses came against the top two teams in the RPI, Kansas and BYU.

Vanderbilt 19-6 (7-4), 14 RPI, 9 SOS– The Commodores solidified a bid last Saturday behind John Jenkins’ heroics in a win over Kentucky and only cemented their NCAA status by coming from behind to win at Georgia on Wednesday. The RPI/SOS is fantastic and Vanderbilt has a clear path to second place in the SEC East. Wins over North Carolina and Saint Mary’s also aid the cause.

Kevin Stallings and Vandy are now NCAA Tournament locks

Atlantic 10

Xavier 19-6 (10-1), 19 RPI, 30 SOS- The Musketeers passed their toughest remaining test at Duquesne last Sunday and now face an easy schedule the rest of the way in the Atlantic 10, so it’s only a matter of time before they move into lock status. Xavier will be  favored in their last five contests before the A-10 Tournament where they’ll enter as the top seed. Xavier boast a stellar RPI/SOS, beat Temple and won at Georgia.

Temple 20-5 (10-2), 32 RPI, 113 SOS– Fran Dunphy’s team is currently playing their best basketball of the season and showed it last night by dismantling a Richmond team that badly needed a marquee win. The Owls toppled #5 RPI Georgetown back in December and haven’t suffered a loss against a sub-100 RPI squad. Temple is also inching closer to lock status.

Richmond 20-7 (9-3), 69 RPI, 170 SOS– The Spiders may need to make the NCAA Tournament on the back of a deep Atlantic 10 conference tournament run. Oh, and they should also root for Purdue in the process, as their upset win over the Boilermakers is the main bragging point of a lackluster resume. The RPI is being anchored by a #226 non-conference SOS. Richmond is probably out as of today.

Duquesne 16-7 (9-2), 73 RPI, 133 SOS– The upstart Dukes fell to West Virginia, George Mason and Xavier by single digits and could badly use one of those over in the win column right now. Their only bragging point is a home win over Temple and the RPI/SOS screams NIT. The Dukes have two games remaining they badly need to win — at Dayton and at Richmond – to even garner consideration.

ACC

Locks: Duke, North Carolina.

Boston College 16-9 (6-5), 45 RPI, 18 SOS– The Eagles boast a superior RPI to their ACC bubble counterparts, but have all the makings of a team that’ll be debated vigorously in the selection room on March 13. They’re 1-5 vs. the RPI top-50 with a November win over Texas A&M and three road games at North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Virginia remaining. If the Eagles win in Charlottesville and beat Miami and Wake at home to get to 9-7 in the ACC, it may be hard to keep them out during a soft bubble season.

Florida State 18-7 (8-3), 48 RPI, 88 SOS- Leonard Hamilton needs to make sure his team doesn’t completely go in the tank without Chris Singleton. They appear safely in the field now boosted by that win over Duke, but a complete collapse without their star player would give the committee signals that Florida State should be re-evaluated, especially if it’s uncertain Singleton returns. With Maryland off the radar, FSU only faces one NCAA team, North Carolina at home, the rest of the way.

Virginia Tech 17-7 (7-4), 57 RPI, 111 SOS– Seth Greenberg ran into some bad luck with his scheduling as Kansas State, UNLV, Mississippi State and the ACC as a whole all underachieved this season and his SOS catapulted as a result. Tech’s best wins are home against Florida State and neutral over Oklahoma State, and with a bubblicious RPI, obviously the Hokies have work to do. They’re in as of this moment, but it may come down to the two-game homestand in late February with Duke and BC coming to Blacksburg.

Clemson 17-9 (6-6), 76 RPI, 104 SOS– Clemson has blown two golden opportunities to stay in the bubble fight, losing by two at home to ascending North Carolina then falling to NC State on the road in a game they had to win. Lose at Miami on Sunday and Brad Brownell’s hopes for a surprise bid are officially over with a trip to Duke still on the slate. Clemson’s best win is a blowout of Florida State at home.

Big 12

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