Here are Wednesday’s Check-ins excerpted in case you missed them listed above.

Atlantic 10 – Joe Dzuback (MORE HERE)

Common Opponent Analysis: Providence.  Both Rhode Island and George Washington hosted the Providence Friars within a 4 day period. How did the Rams and Colonials match up against a common opponent under similar circumstances? Rhode Island won a 3-point decision (86-83), while George Washington lost by a whopping 27 points (110-83). As the table shows, both teams played about 78 possessions (lower than they usually play — Pomeroy shows about 80 possessions per game), and have work to do on their respective defenses. And both teams are close on offense, garnering over 1.0 points per possession while converting their own field goal attempts in the low-mid 40s (eFG% — 44.0% for the Rams and 43.2% for the Colonials). Providence, a perimeter-oriented team under Coach Keno Davis, allowed both A10 opponents to rebound a high percentage of their own misses (47.1% and 51.1% to URI and GWU respectively), but The Rams’ frontcourt experience showed in their defensive rebounding numbers, holding the Friars to less than 30% of their misses (29.7%), even as GWU yielded 34% of the defensive rebounds, more typical of D1 basketball teams. The Friars took over twice as many 3s against George Washington as they did against Rhode Island, suggesting the Rams did a better job of defending the perimeter than the Colonials. Providence converted their 3s at a 55.2% clip, largely the reason for the Colonials’ disappointing 64.6% eFG% on defense. The Rams forced turnovers, somewhat unexpected against a perimeter-oriented team like PC, while the Colonials put the Friars on the line about once for every two field goal attempts, again unusual for a perimeter-oriented team. Conclusion: Rhode Island looks like they may be close to ready for conference play, while George Washington may need more work.  (…)

Big 12 – Patrick Sellars (MORE HERE)

As we said in this post yesterday, we’re handling our conference check-ins a little differently now.  We’ll be posting them on a daily schedule, as usual, but they won’t be posted in full on the main page.  Rather, you’ll need to check the little box above to see what the latest conference check-ins are.  To jog the memory, we’ll also be posting daily excerpts of the previous day’s check-ins, at least for a while to get everyone used to the change. 

Yesterday, we had check-ins from the Big Ten and the SEC…

Big Ten – Jason Prziborowski (READ MORE)

Was Butler a fluke or is Ohio State on the verge of dropping out of the top 25?  Butler is definitely on the way back up, but I am questioning whether OSU has enough in its tank to make up the difference. William Buford, who is averaging 12/4 on the year, stepped up for 20/7 for the Buckeyes. David Lighty, who is 12/5 on the year, went for 16/7 against the bulldogs. OSU is averaging 85.4 points per game this season, and scored just 66 against Butler. That’s about the gap of one Evan Turner.  (…)

SEC – Paul Jordan (READ MORE)

It was a very slow week in the SEC as three teams did not see any action at all.  Kentucky and Mississippi State represented the SEC well in the SEC/Big East Invitational while Florida and Georgia lost their matchups.  Both Mississippi teams have been coming on strong and supplying some firepower to the West; Tennessee has only one setback and they should challenge UK all season.  The big story for the rest of the year will be the race to 2000 wins between UK and North Carolina.  Kentucky has pretty much assured themselves of being the first team to break the 2000-win plateau as they currently have 1998 wins to 1992 for UNC.  (…)

You may have noticed that our daily conference check-ins of nearly every D1 conference have oddly disappeared from view on our front page in the last 24 hours.  Or maybe you haven’t.  Regardless, this is not a mistake.  As part of the re-design that we’re trying so very hard to finish, we’re streamlining the site to make it easier for everyone to navigate.  So you’ve probably noticed a couple of new additions to the top of the site.  Let’s briefly cover how you can find the latest Conference Check-Ins that we know so many of you rely on with your morning espresso and croissants.  First, the schedule:

With the caveat that there are often other mitigating factors both with our correspondents and ourselves in terms of getting these up on time, here’s the ideal schedule. 

• Mondays – ACC, MVC, Big 12
• Tuesdays – Big 10, SEC
• Wednesdays – Big East, Atlantic 10
• Thursdays – Pac-10, WAC, Mountain West, WCC
• Mid-Major Fridays (every other week) – Horizon, Ivy, MAAC, SoCon, Summit, America East, Big West, MAC
• Mid-Major Fridays (every other week) – Horizon, NEC, Atlantic Sun, OVC, Patriot, Big South, Big Sky, Sun Belt

Next, the Navigation Bar at the top.  Pretty self-explanatory.  Each of the conferences we have regular check-ins for are alphabetically represented on this list.  So if you want to read the last six check-ins for the Big East (from most recent to oldest), this bar is where you’d do it. 

Next, you’ve undoubtedly noticed the four little boxes hanging out just above the top post.  The second box from the left contains the most recent twelve conference check-ins that we have posted.  So, for example, as of this morning, our most recent check-ins were our weekly looks at the Missouri Valley and the ACC, both of which were posted yesterday.  Prior to that was the Pac-10 over the weekend, and before that was a bunch from last Friday’s mid-major conference check-in day.  This is where you’ll want to come each day that your favorite conference is posted.

The final thing we’re going to try to do is provide one post each day that will excerpt that day’s check-ins so that you don’t forget that we’re doing these things.  We’ll see how this goes and reserve the right to change this around if necessary.  But for now, here are the excerpted versions of Monday’s ACC and MVC updates…

ACC – Steve Moore  (READ MORE)

RAMBLING RANT OF THE WEEK: The only news to come out of North Carolina’s rout of Presbyterian was this little tale from the uber-sensitive-snotty-coach file. In short, a Presbyterian fan (I know, I laughed too) shouted “Deon, you’re gonna miss it!” to Deon Thompson as he was shooting a free throw. Roy Williams was so upset that he had security escort the fan out of the building. I mean, are you kidding me Roy? Have you listened to what fans say at Duke games, or what your own fans say? Considering the score, this guy ­was probably being sarcastic, or at least just showing some pride for his school. Laugh if you want, or pass back an autographed Gatorade cup as a joke. But you’re gonna have him kicked out? This is the same guy who ripped his own fans for not coming to one of his cupcake-fests earlier this year. Grow up, Roy. You have a great team, a great fanbase, and more money and job security than you ever dreamed of. Act like a professional who has actually been to a college basketball game once in your life.  (…)

Missouri Valley – Patrick Marshall  (READ MORE)

Missouri St. wins two more games.  The Bears are continuing to win, much to the chagrin of my pre-season rankings. I thought they would have at least 3 losses by now. Home court advantage was probably a help to their early success, but they also have two wins on the road and are in the middle of a three-game road trip. It would be pretty amazing if they finish the non-conference season undefeated by getting road wins at St. Louis and Arkansas, both very winnable games. (…)

Dave Zeitlin is the RTC correspondent for the Ivy League.

Right now, the Ivy League is a mess. Somehow, heading into the final weekend of conference play, a Cornell team that is superior to any other in the league has yet to clinch its berth in the Big Dance (remember there’s no conference tournament in the Ivies). Somehow, Princeton – the same Princeton that started 2-8 with losses to mighty teams like Maine, Central Connecticut and Lafayette on its resume – controls its own destiny. And somehow, Yale and Dartmouth – yes, Dartmouth! – are still mathematically alive with two games to play.

Here’s the deal in simplest terms: If Cornell (9-3 league) takes care of business and beats Penn tonight and Princeton tomorrow night at home (where they are undefeated this season), then they win the league. They can also win the league if they beat Penn while Princeton loses at Columbia tonight.  But if Princeton (7-4) is able to sweep Columbia and Cornell this weekend, then the Tigers’ game Tuesday against Penn – the final game of the Ivy League season – could either make or break their chances of winning at least a share of the league title. (In the case of a tie at the top, there would be a one-game playoff between the co-champs with the NCAA berth on the line).

Read the rest of this entry »

Kevin McCarthy of Parsing the WAC and Sam Wasson of bleedCrimson.net are the RTC correspondents for the WAC.

Current Standings
1. Utah State (13-2, 26-4)
2. Nevada (9-5, 17-11)
3. Boise State (8-6, 18-10)
4. New Mexico State (8-7, 15-14)
5. Idaho (7-7, 14-14)
6. San Jose State (6-8, 13-14)
7. Louisiana Tech (6-9, 14-16)
8. Hawaii (5-10, 13-15)
9. Fresno State (3-11, 12-18)

With the WAC tournament looming next week, the only two seeds that have been determined are the 1-seed and the 9-seed. Everything in between is a mess thanks in large part to a Thursday night ambush by the league’s bottom half. Ninth place Fresno State took down second place Nevada 66-64, eighth place Louisiana Tech took down third place New Mexico State 80-71 and seventh place San Jose State took down fifth place Idaho. Only Utah State managed to maintain order with their 20 point victory over Hawai’i. Fourth place Boise State did not play but added to the carnage two nights later when they fell to Louisiana Tech by 14.

Everything will be decided on Thursday and Saturday as the teams wrap up the regular season. Read the rest of this entry »

Michael Vernetti is the RTC correspondent for the West Coast Conference.  He will be reporting from the WCC Tournament this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Check for his game liveblogs at RTC Live: WCC Tournament throughout the weekend.

A little unexpected news on the injury front has turned what looked to be a rather drab WCC Conference Tournament into a hotbed of excitement. The news concerned the broken right hand of Saint Mary’s star guard Patty Mills, who had been told by his doctor not to count on being ready for the tournament. That was before a visit with the doc on Monday (3/2), at which time Mills was pronounced fit to resume practicing with the Gaels. Current plans from coach Randy Bennett had Mills participating in non-contact drills on Tuesday and Wednesday and full five-on-five scrimmages on Thursday, Friday and maybe even Saturday since Saint Mary’s doesn’t have to be in Las Vegas for its first game until Sunday at 8:30 p.m.

The condition of Mills’ hand is significant because it permits speculation about a possible rematch between Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga with revenge and an NCAA tournament bid in the balance. As the number one and number two seeds in the tournament, Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s need only to get by a single semifinal contest to face each other for a third time this season in the WCC championship game Monday night, March 9. Their first game on January 29 on Gonzaga’s home court in Spokane was shaping up to be Mills’ finest effort as a collegian, as he rattled the Zags for 18 points in the first 17 minutes of the game. Then as he eluded the Zags’ Jeremy Pargo on a dash into the key, Mills lost his balance and fell to the floor, with his right hand striking the hardwood first. Given the spills taken regularly by the fearless Mills it didn’t seem to be much to be worried about, but appearances were deceiving. He had broken metacarpal bones, requiring surgery, insertion of pins to stabilize the area and fitting of a cast. Things immediately went downhill for the Gaels, who were 18-1 and possessing the nation’s longest active winning streak at 15 heading into the Gonzaga game.

Read the rest of this entry »

Michael Hurley is the RTC correspondent for the Pac-10 Conference.

News & Notes

• Washington has clinched their first regular season Pac-10 title since 1985 and with a win against Washington State can clinch their first outright conference title since 1953.
• Washington State’s first senior class of Taylor Rochestie, Aron Baynes, Caleb Forest, and Daven Harmeling is its first to defeat all nine Pac-10 rivals since 1989.
• Darren Collison is shooting 91.8 percent (89-for-97) from the free-throw line this year good for second in the nation, and second on the UCLA all-time single-season chart.
• It may not make Oregon feel any better, but Pomeroy College Basketball ranks Oregon’s schedule as the toughest in the nation.

Some three-point information

• California still leads the nation in three-point accuracy, at 43.9 percent.
• Junior guard Jerome Randle is two shy of the team record 68 set by Ryan Drew in 1990.
• Theo Robertson has hit 52.2 percent of his three-point attempts this year which would be the highest in school history, and is first in California career percentage at 44.3.
• Junior guard Tajuan Porter of Oregon is second all time in team history in three-pointers made with 269. The leader is Orlando Williams with 282.

Player of the week: Jon Brockman
Brockman scored 17.5 points per game and pulled down 10.5 rebounds in the two victories for Washington this past week. Brockman came up big in overtime against ASU scoring the first two baskets.

Honorable Mention
Freshman Klay Thompson scored 16.5 points per game this past week fueled in part by 7-for-15 shooting from three-point range. Thompson also pulled down seven rebounds in the victory over Arizona State. Darren Collison scored 14.5 points a game for UCLA in the past week when the Bruins bounced back with two wins. He also posted five assists a game. Arizona was winless this past week, but could not find much fault in Jordan Hill who averaged 21 points, and 9.5 rebounds per game.

Read the rest of this entry »

College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

By CCT Staff | March 2, 2009

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Damian Hollis (Jr.), George Washington

Hollis had a memorable week in what has been a rather forgettable season for the Colonials, averaging 20 points and 14.5 rebounds over two contests.  The junior led GW to two wins, as he scored 25 points and pulled down 13 rebounds against Charlotte and then tallied 15 points and hauled in 16 boards against Richmond.  The junior showed off his hot hand by shooting 57% over the two games, connecting on 12-for-21 from the floor.  Hollis also was efficient from deep, hitting three of his five attempts from behind the arc.

HONORABLE MENTION:   Ahmad Nivins (Sr.), Saint Joseph’s; Kahiem Seawright (Sr.), Rhode Island

(Note: College Chalktalk’s week runs from the previous Monday through Sunday, given the release of ‘This Week in the A-10′ each Monday morning.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Josh & Mike of Big Ten Geeks are the RTC correspondents for the Big Ten Conference.

Looking Back

Michigan State all but clinched the conference crown with a win against Illinois in Champaign.  All the Spartans need to do now is win at Indiana (they did).  So short of a shocker for the ages, the Spartans have ended their seven year drought.  But that doesn’t mean the season is over, as there is still plenty to play for.  The race for 2nd place is wide open, with four teams having a shot of grabbing the #2 seed in the conference tournament (Illinois, Purdue, Penn State and Wisconsin).  In fact, the only seeds that are “set” (assuming Michigan State beats Indiana), are #1, #10, and #11.  Should make for an interesting scramble to the finish.

There’s also a lot of teams bouncing on the bubble right about now.  Nine teams still have a shot at this point (assuming Northwestern can make a run in the conference tournament) but not that many will get to the Dance.  A couple of teams find themselves up against the wall right about now – Michigan and Ohio State.  The Wolverines have impressive non-conference wins against Duke and UCLA, but have been disappointing in conference play.  A win against Purdue helped matters, but there’s still work to be done.

As for the Buckeyes, they’ve lost 4 out of their last 5 games, and now stand at 18-9 and 8-8 in conference play.  At this point last year, they were 17-12, and 8-8.  They won their last 2 games in the regular season (against Purdue and Michigan State no less), but were bounced in their first Big Ten Tournament game against the Spartans.  The result?  NIT.

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Damon Lewis, a reporter and play-by-play announcer for the Horizon League Network, is RTC’s Horizon League correspondent.

FINAL STANDINGS
1. Butler 15-3 25-4
2. Green Bay 13-5 22-9
3. Cleveland State 12-6 21-10
4. Wright State 12-6 18-12
5. Milwaukee 11-7 16-13
6. Youngstown State 7-11 11-18
7. UIC 7-11 15-14
8. Loyola 6-12 14-17
9. Valparaiso 5-13 9-21
10. Detroit 2-16 7-22

First things first…the Horizon League announced it’s all-league teams and award winners on Monday. A complete list can be found here, but we have the 1st-teamers:

ALL-HORIZON LEAGUE 1st TEAM
Matt Howard – Sophomore – Butler (Player of the Year)
Gordon Hayward – Freshman – Butler
Ryan Tillema – Senior – Green Bay
J’Nathan Bullock – Senior – Cleveland State
Josh Mayo – Senior – UIC

Study this list closely, and you’ll have an idea why Butler should continue to dominate the Horizon League for the foreseeable future. Zoiks, Scoob.

Read the rest of this entry »