1. Many dishonorable things happen on the recruiting trail. Much like in politics, coaches sell the positives of their programs as much as they attempt to create negativity around that of their competitors. There are few bullets left unfired, and it can get personal. Therefore it comes as little surprise that St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin’s continued recovery from prostate cancer is being used against him. Lavin’s Red Storm team has been short-handed this season both on the court and on the sideline. They employ just seven scholarship players and Lavin has not been able to coach the team during games since early in the season due to the physical demands involved. To Lavin’s credit, he has met the challenge with honesty and positivity. The approach recently paid dividends as Lavin landed Jamal Branch, a transfer from Texas A&M. Lavin spoke about the process that brought Branch to Jamaica, New York: “Naturally in recruiting he’s going to hear from all the other schools, speculation, innuendo and rumors, so my inclination is to take that head on and just lay it out. We were able to convince Jamal that this was a great situation in spite of the fact that I’m currently recuperating from prostate cancer.”
2. Since Louisville was dismantled by Providence two weeks ago to cap off a stretch where the Cardinals lost four of five games, the Cardinals have won three four to stabilize its season. The turn-around can be attributed in part to some soul searching that started with a team meeting after the Providence game. In a delayed celebration of Festivus, grievances were aired and it appears the open communication, along with some much needed practice time, have relieved some stress. Head coach Rick Pitino has been vocal about the team’s need for practice, while others criticized the alleged over-intensity of Pitino’s training sessions. Despite unconfirmed fake rumors, started by unknown people who may or may not be writing this Morning Five right now, that Rick Pitino has been seen working out material at the Comedy Caravan, Pitino has never been confused with Shecky Green. Yet, there are reports of laughter coming out of Louisville practices. And now Pitino finds himself cracking a smile as the newly found levity around Louisville has translated from practice floor to the main stage.
3. Syracuse and basketball coach Jim Boeheim are looking to get out of the city. However New York apartment hunters will be disappointed to learn that this is just a bit of legal maneuvering. Syracuse and Boeheim are being sued for defamation by two of former Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine’s accusers. Fine has been accused of alleged sexual misconduct with minors but has not been charged. However when the allegations surfaced Boeheim made comments in defense of Fine that referenced the accusers may perhaps be lying and looking for personal gain. The suit was brought in New York City and lawyers for the defense have filed a motion to have the case moved to Onondaga County given that is where those involved reside. The accusers counter argument is to have the case in Onondaga County would not be fair due to Syracuse and Boeheim’s high profile in that area.
4. You know how in professional sports when an owner comes out and gives his or her coach or general manager a vote of confidence it usually means said coach or general manager better dust of the old resume?  Well, the Big 12 expansion committee met on Wednesday and yesterday the conference’s associate commissioner for communications, Bob Burda said of the proceedings, “There is nothing imminent with regard to expansion.” So, taking Burda at his word, Louisville and Brigham Young University are apparently on, or back on, the Big 12’s wish list as the league ponders a 12-team membership. This is fresh off locking up current Big East participant West Virginia. Regardless of further expansion, the Big 12 remains in near-term flux as West Virginia’s departure date from the Big East is being litigated as the school is challenging the 27-month exit clause they had previously agreed to in the Big East bylaws.
5. Brooklyn’s James Buchanan High School turned out no notable basketball products, despite some promising moments from Freddie ‘Boom Boom’ Washington. However, this is not an item about letters of intent. For this is an item about letters from Epstein’s mother. Those letters allowed Robert Hegyes (a.k.a “Juan Epstein”) to avoid many a detention session, or other such disciplinary action at the hands of Mr. Kotter. Of course Epstein’s mother and her famed pen were no match for mortality as the “Welcome Back Kotter” star, and Sweathog point guard, died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 60.

(There is no such thing as James Buchanan High School in Brooklyn, but you know that already.)

Tonight’s Lede. What. A. Night. The beauty of college basketball is that you can never quite predict when you’re going to luck into a great evening of hoops. Sometimes you look at the schedule and figure you’ll be riveted to your seat on the couch all night, only to be disappointed with a bunch of blowouts. Tonight the slate didn’t look terribly compelling other than a couple of games, and yet the buzzer-beaters, excitement and even an RTC or two kept pouring in. Let’s jump into a wild and wacky Wednesday night of action…

It Was a Special Night in Lincoln (J. Hannah/LJS)

Your Watercooler Moment. Buzzer, Buzzer, Toil and Trouble. There were a number of last-second shots to win games tonight around the country, and while only one of them involved a ranked team losing, that doesn’t make them any less interesting.

• Hilton Magic. It didn’t carry quite the same weight as Iowa State’s RTF football victory over then-#2 Oklahoma State back in November, but the Cyclones’ basketball comeback resulting in Scott Christopherson’s banked three at the buzzer was no less compelling. The reaction of the Cowboy players after the ball drops through the net tells the story, but more on OSU’s meltdown a little later in this post. For now, just enjoy the dagger from 25 feet.

• Kilpatrick Courage. After UConn’s Shabazz Napier drilled a long three with 9.5 seconds remaining to tie the game, Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick calmly dribbled up the right side of the court, crossed over right to left to create some space, and sunk an equally long three to give UC the lead (and the ballgame) with 2.5 seconds remaining.

Read the rest of this entry »

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 rest of the season.  Feel free to leave your takes below in the comments section.

This Week’s Topic: With conference play heating up, what conference race are you most excited about this year and why?

Danny Spewak, Big 12 Microsite Correspondent

A one-bid conference since 2007, the Missouri Valley may finally regain its status this winter as college basketball’s premiere non-BCS league. And that’s not just because of Doug McDermott and his ranked Creighton Bluejays. This league has more substance than that. Only 0-5 Bradley is more than two games out of first place right now, where Wichita State, Missouri State and Creighton each sit at 4-1. Indiana State, which won at Vanderbilt earlier this season and represented the MVC in the NCAAs a year ago, will also surely recover from a disappointing 2-3 start in conference play. Same goes for Northern Iowa, which rolled through its non-conference schedule before losing four of its last six. That’s five teams right there with a shot to win this whole thing, and Evansville, Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Drake aren’t going away without a fight either. If you’re still not convinced that somebody could knock off CU, consider that reigning POY Kyle Weems already outplayed McDermott in Omaha in a 77-65 victory on December 28. And you wonder why we’re all so fascinated by the Missouri Valley Conference on a yearly basis.

Brian Otskey, Big East Correspondent

When I first thought about this question, the Big 12, Pac-12 and Missouri Valley came to mind. Then I took a closer look at the Big Ten. Preseason favorite Ohio State has two losses already and Michigan State sits atop the league at 4-0. That two game lead over the Buckeyes in the loss column is significant and Ohio State’s loss at Illinois on Tuesday night officially opened the door. The Big Ten has five teams that can contend (six if you include a good Purdue team). With home court advantage being historically more significant in this league than others, anything can happen. There seems to be something missing from this Ohio State team. The easy answer is it doesn’t have Jon Diebler anymore but there may be something deeper. With the Buckeyes losing two of their first five league games, this conference is up for grabs and may be the best race.

I. Renko, Columnist

West Coast Conference — Gonzaga and St. Mary’s now have some company atop the WCC, with BYU having joined the conference and showing very little letdown after the departure of The Jimmer.  All three teams are in the Pomeroy top 25, and a true round-robin schedule — something only one power conference can boast — ensures that they play each other twice, home and away.  Four of those five remaining games are on ESPN2 on late night Thursdays, where they will have little competition for the eyeballs of college hoops fans.  While there isn’t the star power of an Adam Morrison, Patty Mills, or Jimmer Fredette, it’s fun to watch each team work to be more than the sums of their parts. Plus, there’s just enough depth in this league for one of the big three to suffer an upset loss and add more intrigue to the race for the top.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight’s Lede. It wasn’t as crazy as Tuesday’s action, but Wednesday night around the college basketball landscape held plenty of interest in the form of a number of ranked teams going on the road, a near-complete meltdown among the major teams in the Keystone State, and a career night from a Marquette sophomore and its coach’s sport coat. Let’s jump into it…

Michigan's Celebration Means Yet Another Northwestern Disappointment (DFP)

Your Watercooler Moment. Northwestern Can’t Win For Losing. Poor Northwestern. It’s probably only a weird mind trick that the Wildcats seem to have lost about a dozen games like this over the last several seasons — games that if a few bounces had gone their way, they may have finally found their way into the NCAA Tournament — but just a week after a heartbreaking one-point loss at home against Illinois, Bill Carmody’s team once again found itself on the short end of a game that they’ll file under what-could-have-been at the end of the season. Facing the prospect of a 1-3 Big Ten start with games in the next week against Wisconsin and Michigan State, the Wildcats had Michigan down in Ann Arbor by 10 points in the second half and managed to find ways to lose (or not win, more accurately) the game both in regulation and overtime. Northwestern had what looked to be the final shot at the end of regulation, but a drive by Drew Crawford ended in a weird traveling turnover call that resulted in the extra period. Then, when presented with an opportunity to make three FTs with 0.3 seconds left to tie the game in overtime, Alex Marcotullio managed to miss the first attempt, rendering the next two rather useless. As noted above, a couple of different bounces and the Wildcats are sitting pretty at 3-1 going into a brutal part of its schedule. Instead, they’re now facing a difficult 1-5 start to conference play and a near-impossible situation to get to 9-9 and have a reasonable shot to make the NCAA Tournament (even in a deep conference such as the Big Ten).

Tonight’s Quick Hits…

• Road Wins From Syracuse, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas. As we have learned from an eternity of conference play, no team is ever completely safe on the road in conference play. Tonight, though, four of the Top 10 teams went on the road and took care of business. It’s true that their four opponents — Villanova, Auburn, Iowa State, and Texas Tech, respectively — are not among the elite of each conference, but a road win is a road win is a road win. As described below, Kansas’ destruction of Texas Tech in Lubbock was the most impressive victory, but Missouri’s bounceback win in Iowa State against a dangerous Cyclones squad, Kentucky’s late push to finish off Auburn, and Syracuse’s surgically methodical taking apart of Villanova are all worth noting. Read the rest of this entry »

Evan Jacoby is an RTC columnist and contributor. You can find him @evanjacoby on Twitter. Night Line will run on weeknights during the season, highlighting a major storyline development from that day’s slate of games.

If Missouri is going to be a serious contender by the end of this season, they’re going to need to win several games in the fashion that they did on Wednesday night. Playing with just five available players in the final minutes and with their leading scorer having an off night, the No. 9 Tigers still found a way to pull out a road win over streaking Iowa State in Ames. Mizzou was coming off a 16-point loss in Kansas State’s raucous arena in their last game, so defeating ISU under adverse conditions was huge for this team’s confidence. “We had a tough loss at Kansas State, and when we came back the next day in practice, the whole week we focused on being mentally tough,” said senior Matt Pressey, and that toughness is exactly what carried the Tigers to the 76-69 victory. While tougher challenges lie ahead, Missouri found out on Wednesday that they can win on the road even when things don’t go their way, a great sign going forward.

Matt Pressey Showed Big Time Toughness in Mizzou's Win Over Iowa State (AP Photo)

Everything went right for Missouri during non-conference play, to the point where many pundits thought they were playing better than anyone in the country. The Tigers were dominant in victories over Cal, Notre Dame, and Villanova, and also defeated Illinois in the Braggin’ Rights game on way to a 13-0 start. But reality has quickly struck for Mizzou, who, in addition to getting spanked by K-State in its first conference road game, found out that freshman Kadeem Green requested to transfer out of the program. Though not a major contributor, Green was part of Frank Haith’s eight-man rotation as the third big man alongside star forward Ricardo Ratliffe and reserve Steve Moore that could bang inside and grab some boards (he averaged 3.4 rebounds in 10 games). Now, Haith plays just seven guys per night, only two of whom stand taller than 6’8”, so there will be plenty of times when the undersized Tigers have little margin for error against their opponents.

Read the rest of this entry »

Evan Jacoby is an RTC columnist and contributor. You can find him @evanjacoby on Twitter. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

Will the number one team in the land survive a rivalry road test? Can Missouri bounce back from its recent beatdown to win an away game? Here’s what to expect from two Top 10 teams in tough spots tonight:

#1 Syracuse at Villanova – 7:00 PM ET on ESPN2 (***)

Can Villanova Save Its Season Tonight by Beating #1 Syracuse? (AP Photo)

• Undefeated Syracuse comes into this game playing as well as any team in the country, but their toughest away games of the season have been at NC State and Providence, so they’re not exactly road tested. The Orange will certainly have the advantage in this one, as their 2-3 zone defense has been incredibly effective this season at forcing turnovers and limiting paint opportunities. Nova’s a team that struggles in these two areas to begin with, and also a team that fires up a lot of threes (over 20 per game) at a low conversion rate (30%, ranked in the bottom 50 nationally). If Syracuse simply executes defensively and forces the Wildcats into a three-point barrage, they’ll have a huge advantage. Jim Boeheim’s team will come at Villanova with their deep array of weapons, where Kris Joseph (14.1 PPG) and Dion Waiters (12.5 PPG) should have opportunities to score in transition and on the wings against Villanova’s poor perimeter defense.
• Villanova is in the midst of a year to forget, but they can change the outlook of the entire season with a win tonight. The Wildcats are dying for a victory of this caliber, and fans must be fired up in Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center for this rivalry home game against the number one team in the land. If the Wildcats are going to have a chance to win, they need to stop chucking up threes, especially in this game against a zone defense that will encourage them to shoot from the outside. Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek each attempt over four three-pointers per game and both are shooting under 30% from deep! Instead, these talented guards need to play off of each other. Wayns (17.4 PPG, 4.75 APG) is one of the quickest guards in America and can penetrate the teeth of a zone defense, and from there he must make good decisions and find teammates moving amongst the trees for good shot opportunities. Jay Wright’s team also must stay out of foul trouble and defend the perimeter if they want to have a chance.
• This seems like an uneven matchup on paper, but it could be a serious trap game for Syracuse. They haven’t yet played a good conference team on the road, and Villanova is a rival who will be fired up for this one. If Nova can find early success against the Syracuse zone, then they could have a chance in this one.

Tonight’s Lede. It wasn’t just any other Tuesday night, as a number of ranked teams were in action and there was more than enough intrigue around the country to keep everyone interested. Whether it was a team few people seem to believe in slowly swaying hearts and minds, or a much-maligned former prep star bringing forth the game of his life, or an acerbic coach showing his true colors in a postgame interview, there was a lot to cover tonight. Let’s jump right in…

Will Some Pundits Begin to Take Baylor Seriously Now? (AP/C. Riedel)

Your Watercooler Moment, Part I. Baylor Stakes a Claim of Legitimacy. One of the knocks against Scott Drew’s Baylor Bears to date has been its lack of exceptional road wins this season. Apparently the non-believers did not take seriously wins at BYU and Northwestern, although neither the Marriott Center nor the Welsh-Ryan Arena these days are the easiest places to escape victorious. Still, Kansas State’s Bramlage Arena is universally regarded as a tough-as-nails venue, borne out most recently by K-State’s dominant weekend victory over an unbeaten Missouri squad. Baylor’s mid-second half run to come back from seven points down behind several eye-popping defensive transition dunks, along with its ability to hold K-State to a single bucket in the last four minutes of the game, showed America how things have changed. Last year, Drew’s Bears hardly played defense, generally preferring to use that end of the court to rest before another wild LaceDarius Dunn field goal attempt. This year, long green-and-yellow-clad arms and legs seem to cover all four corners of the court, and in fact, the two game-saving plays on this night resulted from a strip from behind of Angel Rodriguez with three seconds remaining, and a deflected pass on the ensuing inbounds play. The Bears are not going to win every game this season, but they’ve already won 16 and have survived one of their four toughest road tests on the schedule. With Pierre Jackson (10/11 assts) running the show, Brady Heslip (13/4 stls) providing scoring punch, and an elite corps of forwards in Quincy Acy, Perry Jones, III, and Quincy Miller wreaking havoc defensively, it’s time to stop questioning Scott Drew’s team and take the Bears seriously as a national title contender.

Your Watercooler Moment, Part II. Brandon Paul Hits Everything, Leads Illini Over Ohio State. In two-and-a-half seasons at Illinois, Brandon Paul has been better defined by what he is not rather than what he is. The former Chicago-area prep star who came to Champaign with sky-high expectations has largely disappointed, gradually improving his scoring output over three years but never shooting the ball efficiently (career 37.2% shooter) nor becoming an effective distributor (2.0 APG). Paul must have eaten a full bowl of his Wheaties this morning. The 6’4″ junior literally took over tonight’s game against OSU, scoring his team’s last 15 points en route to a career-high 43 points on 8-10 shooting from behind the arc. Unless you saw the game, you cannot comprehend just how ridiculous a couple of the late threes that Paul hit were, perhaps none more so than his final trey which gave Illinois a four-point lead with 43 seconds remaining.

Read the rest of this entry »

Evan Jacoby is an RTC columnist and contributor. You can find him @evanjacoby on Twitter. Night Line will run on weeknights during the season, highlighting a major storyline development from that day’s slate of games.

When Kansas State walloped previously undefeated Missouri last weekend, it looked like the Big 12 was shaping up as a jumbled mess of strong teams, without a clear favorite. K-State had a chance to stake its own claim atop the conference ladder with another home game on Tuesday night, but the Baylor Bears came through Bramlage Coliseum and had other ideas. Baylor remained undefeated by surviving the road test, 75-73, and in the process perhaps established itself as one of the top teams in the country and clear Big 12 front-runners. At 16-0 with several good road wins (BYU, Northwestern, and now K-State), neutral court victories (St. Mary’s, West Virginia), and the talent to match any team in the country, Baylor needs to be considered an elite team along with the likes of Syracuse and Kentucky.

Pierre Jackson Helps Complete Baylor and Make Them an Elite Team (US Presswire)

We’ve all known that Baylor has some of the best athletes in college basketball, led by the talented underclassmen forward combination of Perry Jones III and Quincy Miller. Jones (13.4 PPG), Miller (11.1 PPG), and senior leader Quincy Acy (12.1 PPG) have all performed admirably offensively this season to match their expected high-level contributions on the defensive end. But the emergence of point guard Pierre Jackson has completely changed the look of Scott Drew’s team. Jackson, who is still not in the starting lineup, came off the bench and recorded a double-double in Tuesday’s win over Kansas State, going for 10 points and 11 assists in 33 minutes, while also chipping in five boards and two steals. Jackson was playing at the junior college level last year, and the transfer is now on the Bob Cousy Award list as one of the 20 best points guards in America. While not the greatest ball-handler or passer in the traditional sense, he’s become the strong guard that the Bears lacked last season and most pundits feared they would again this year. Jackson upped his season averages to 11.9 PPG, 4.9 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.8 SPG, and 51% field goal shooting after the crucial win on Tuesday. With depth in both the frontcourt and backcourt as well, Baylor has become a complete team right before our eyes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Big 12 Alley-Oops and Airballs is a weekly article examining what’s hot and what’s not in Big 12 basketball.

Conference play is officially underway, and the Big 12 contender picture is becoming a bit less hazy. We know who is legitimate and we know who won’t be making much of a splash. Then, there are those murky teams, the middle-dwellers who appear to have the talent to skyrocket to the top, but have played poorly enough that you wouldn’t be surprised to see them hang out with Texas Tech the remainder of the season (sorry, Lubbock). The coming weeks will show us whether or not they can mature to make a run in the second half of the season, or if they will fizzle into mediocrity.

Alley-Oops

Robinson Has Been Crushing Lately

• Thomas Robinson: In the last week, Robinson has been putting up some Dwight Howard-esque numbers. When hosting North Dakota, Robinson dropped 30 points while pulling down 21 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists. In the Jayhawks’ conference opener, Robinson kept up his hot start to the new year, dropping 15 points and 14 rebounds. If Robinson keeps this up, he will be the clear favorite for Big 12 Player of the Year.
• Missouri’s Offense: We knew this Tiger team would be able to score, but this well? No way. The Tigers lead the nation in field goal percentage, while ranking second in the nation in points per game. Nobody could have predicted the Tigers would be scoring such numbers at such a great efficiency, especially under a first-year coach. If they keep the potency of their offense up, it won’t matter that they now only have seven scholarship players, due to the departure of Mr. Canada, Kadeem Green.

• Read the rest of this entry »

1. After earning himself a scholarship last month, former walk-on Bubu Palo learned yesterday that he will miss the next six to eight weeks with a fractured wrist. It’s a tough break for one of the Big 12’s most valuable backup point guards, as Palo has provided defensive energy and basketball smarts for the Cyclones since joining the team last year. Palo, who averages 2.1 assists per game, actually played in a victory over Texas before the MRI revealed his fracture. Iowa State can survive without Palo, but he isn’t as easy to replace as you may think. Fred Hoiberg‘s decision to move Chris Allen to the point has paid off so far as it has allowed Scott Christopherson to move to his natural shooting guard position, but Allen isn’t necessarily a “true” point guard. That’s why it was nice for Palo to spell Allen by chipping in 10-15 productive minutes a game.
2. Billy Kennedy has had a tough year on a personal level after a Parkinson’s diagnosis this fall, but his professional life has not made things any easier with Texas A&M‘s lack of guard play. The Aggies, who dropped a home game to Rice and also lost their Big 12 opener to Baylor, no longer look like a Big 12 contender. Especially since backup point guard Jamal Branch transferred, Kennedy has very little depth behind Dash Harris and Elston Turner. If A&M can get back to its physical ways and rebound with authority again, this team could steal a few wins in Big 12 play. But baskets are hard to come by these days. As Kennedy puts it, “We lack and don’t have too many guards, guys who can handle the ball.” That’s a problem at this level of basketball.
3. We missed this news on Wednesday, but apparently Kansas State forward James Watson did not dress against Kansas because of academic issues. Watson has missed time with a knee injury this season, but coach Frank Martin said injury had nothing to do with his benching. He has since been reinstated to the program, but Martin is still keeping an eye on his school work. The former Washington State forward has played in just one game for the Wildcats, when he logged three minutes against Southern Illinois.
4. Bill Self has been coaching for a long time. Like most great coaches, he’s won at every level of college basketball because he’s a mastermind of psychology. Unhappy with the soft play from his big men, Self benched most of his forwards besides Thomas Robinson during a win over North Dakota on Saturday. When Kansas State came to Lawrence a few days later, the motivational tactic paid off: Kansas dominated one of the league’s most physical teams out-rebounding the Wildcats by 24. If that toughness carries over for the rest of the season, there’s no reason the Jayhawks can’t win another title.
5. There’s also no reason Missouri can’t win a Big 12 title, but there’s still one pesky question on everybody’s minds. Can the Tigers win a major road game? Normally, we wouldn’t make such a huge deal out of this issue, especially since the Tigers did win a tough contest against a solid Old Dominion program last week. However, after winning just one Big 12 game a year ago, we cannot truly gauge this team until we see how it fares in an environment like Kansas State. Although there is some talk that Kansas State’s attendance will dip on Saturday because of the football team’s appearance in the Cotton Bowl the day before, Missouri has not played traditionally played well at Bramlage. The Tigers could make a real statement by winning that game.