1. Terrence Jones worked hard in practice this week to prove doubters wrong after a four-point performance against Indiana, but Jones’ bounce back game was ruined by a dislocated finger. “It bothered him the whole game,” center Anthony Davis said. “He’s going to come out next game with even more of a vengeance to prove people wrong.” Jones is listed as day-to-day right now, but it is likely that he will miss Kentucky’s game on Tuesday with Samford. Jones has drawn the ire of some UK fans who expect more leadership and consistency from the sophomore superstar.
2. The Florida Gators can make three-pointers from just about anywhere in the gym, but free throws have been a consistent struggle for the Gators’ shooters. The Gators were shooting 59.6% from the charity stripe going into Saturday’s matchup with Texas A&M despite being one of the best prolific offensive teams in the country. “I think it’s something we’ve got to get better at,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “It’s something we spend time on and it’s an area of the game we’ve underachieved in right now just because we’ve got guys who are better shooters than what they’ve displayed to this point in time.” Against the Aggies, Florida went 23-30 from the free throw line for a season’s best 76.7%. The 23 makes were the most the Gators have made this season.
3. Alabama basketball is just painful to watch. At least according to an Alabama blogger who must not watch much Auburn basketball. We don’t happen to agree (ok, we could have done without the losses to Dayton and Kansas State!), but the author hits on a point that bears mentioning again — the Crimson Tide struggles shooting from behind the arc. Until Anthony Grant’s team can find a consistent perimeter shooter, they will continue to see packed-in zones that take away the athleticism and strength of Tony Mitchell and JaMychal Green inside. Surprisingly, Mitchell is the team’s best three-point shooter so far at 34% (12-35). The next on the list is Rodney Cooper, a 6’6″ freshman who has made six of 22 threes (27%). As a team, the Crimson Tide are shooting a feeble 24% on the year, a percentage that lands them at 342nd in the nation. Ok, that is pretty painful.
4. Speaking of painful, Vanderbilt loses another game at home to a team it should have beaten. Indiana State won 61-55 against the Commodores. This loss happened at Memorial Gym, with Festus Ezeli back in the starting lineup for the ‘Dores. THAT is painful. “I think it’s just more of a mentality than anything,” Vandy guard Brad Tinsley said. “We have the talent and we have the experience to (finish games). We have almost the exact same team as last year when we finished a lot of games.” Vanderbilt has almost exactly the same team as last year, but last year’s team let leads slip away then too. The Commodores lost second half leads in five of their 11 losses in 2010-11, a reason many analysts thought Kevin Stallings’ team may have been overrated coming into this season. Vanderbilt’s issues seem to be more mental than anything else because Vandy simply has not shown a winning attitude.
5. While Kentucky won by 25 against UT Chattanooga on Saturday night, John Calipari was not happy with the lack of physical play from his Wildcats. “I look at us right now and say, ‘OK, you know, what are we going to have to do to take this to another level,'” Calipari said. “What do we have to do to get guys to understand, let’s just be a vicious team, let’s go out and fight. We are just not that right now.”  Point guard Marquis Teague agreed with his coach saying, “we’re still going for rebounds one-handed and not diving for a few loose balls.” Kentucky has a few warm-up games before a huge clash with Louisville on New Year’s Eve. The Cardinals are one of the best defensive teams in the country and the close rivalry between the nearby schools could create a physical atmosphere. You may remember, Louisville and Kentucky got a little rough with each other two years ago. It will be interesting to see how the 2011-12 version of Kentucky responds without a physical player like Demarcus Cousins to set the tone.

1. It was a scary Saturday for two of the nation’s top players as both Jared Sullinger and Perry Jones appeared to suffer significant injury. Fortunately, both appear to be ok. Sullinger, who had been dealing with back spasms, injured his left foot during the game at South Carolina. Initially there was some concern that it was a fracture, but the x-rays came back negative and he was diagnosed with a bone bruise. Ohio State hung on to win the game 74-66, but Sullinger’s return remains up in the air. If we were the Buckeye coaching staff, we would probably hold Sullinger out for at least the next two games because of their relatively weak upcoming opposition. The Jones injury, while not as big of a national story, was just as scary at the time as he was writhing on the floor late in the game after a knee-on-knee collision. After shaking it off, Jones returned and added a put back to give him a game-high 28 points and give Baylor a hard-fought three-point victory at BYU. We haven’t heard an official report on whatever temporary injury Jones sustained, but given his sudden return we doubt it was substantial and we do not expect him to miss any playing time.
2. The most highly touted recruit of the Jamie Dixon era is on his way out after one semester at Pittsburgh. Khem Birch arrived on campus as a McDonald’s All-American, but he left on Friday after averaging just 4.4 points and 5 rebounds per game in 10 games this season. We have not heard any solid reports about where Birch may be headed, but we do not doubt that there will be no shortage of Division I teams looking for 6’9″ McDonald’s All-American with three more years of eligibility left. We also are unaware of what kind of “personal reasons” Birch had for leaving the program, but based on the quotes from his high school coach it seems like Birch had some people in his ear telling him that there were better situations for him to be in than Pittsburgh.
3. Don’t expect to see a job opening in Gainesville any time soon as Florida signed Billy Donovan to an extension that runs through the 2015-16 season. We didn’t expect to see Donovan going anywhere anytime soon, but this deal, which will pay him $3.5 million annually (or enough to pay for a $2,000 stipend for 1,750 student-athletes) should be enough to keep him in Gainesville. The contract is essentially the same as what he signed in 2007 after winning back-to-back championships and briefly leaving to take over as coach of the Orlando Magic (read: the absolute maximum value that Donovan will ever have). We don’t doubt that there will be some big-name program (like UCLA?) that might come calling in the near-future, but we cannot imagine that there will be many that offer significantly more than what Donovan is getting at Florida ($220,000 in base salary, approximately $2.7 million for media and basketball camp appearances, and the rest coming from bonuses). So if your team is in the market for a new head coach you might want to look elsewhere for your next coach.
4. DeQuan Jones, who was suspended at the start of the season while Miami investigates a report that Nevin Shapiro paid Jones $10,000 to play there, has hired an attorney and is asking the school to reinstate him. Jones, who had a disappointing first three years at Miami, has continued to deny Shapiro’s claims. While we cannot comment on the case of Jones individually since we do not have the necessary information, it is amusing that the only one who has been punished so far is a student-athlete while none of the administrators or coaches have been punished including Jake Morton, the assistant coach (now at Western Kentucky) who allegedly asked Shapiro to pay Jones.
5. The damage from the David Salinas Ponzi scheme continues to grow as a booster group affiliated with Houston that helps fund athletic scholarships reportedly lost more than 40% (approximately $2.2 million) of their assets to the Ponzi scheme. The group appears to among the hardest hit in the $39 million fraud that affected more than 100 investors. The group says it will be able to survive the blow and has asked its board members to help contribute so it could continue to give the $250,000 it provides to the school annually. The university says that it will not have a “huge impact” on the school, but for a school that reportedly has struggled financially it could sting a little bit.

GAME OF THE WEEK

• Texas A&M (8-1) at Florida (7-2), Orange Bowl Classic, Saturday 1:30 p.m. CT

Texas A&M Will Play A "Neutral" Game in The State of Florida Against the Gators

The key individual match-up is… Dash Harris vs. Erving Walker. Although Texas A&M’s schedule has not been demanding, this team could have really slipped had Dash Harris not played so steadily. The senior point guard is known for his defense, but offensively, Harris has kept the Aggies afloat without Middleton by making good decisions and taking care of the basketball. He won’t score much, but he’s irreplaceable as a distributor in this offense. And as a defensive stopper, he has the skills to slow down Erving Walker. Harris has a few inches on Walker, and he’s as quick as any guard in the nation. No matter the defender, though, it’s up to Walker to rise to the challenge. He looks to score much more than Harris, and at times, he has looked terrific with the ball in his hands. When he has struggled, it has been his own fault: against Arizona, for example, he settled for quick threes and forced up 16 shots. If he doesn’t settle down against Harris, Walker could be in for a tough night.

Brian Otskey is the Big East correspondent for RTC and a regular contributor. You can find him @botskey on Twitter. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

With Dead Week mercifully over, we finally have some good games to enjoy this Saturday despite Sunday being a very slow day in the hoops world.

#6 Baylor @ BYU – 2:00 PM EST Saturday on BYU TV (****)

Perry Jones Leads Baylor into Provo Saturday (AP)

• The Bears have had difficulty on the road in past seasons but they already passed one important test, demolishing Northwestern in Chicago a couple weeks ago. This game, however, will be an even better measure to see where the highly-rated Bears are really at. The Marriott Center is a notoriously difficult place to play but Baylor has a clear talent edge in this game. BU welcomes Gary Franklin, now eligible after the first semester, to an already highly skilled roster. Franklin didn’t play all that well at California last season but he was a four star recruit out of high school. He should help the Bears out at the point guard position, a place where turnovers are still an issue. Baylor averages 16 turnovers a game and that will be dangerous playing on the road against a team like BYU that likes to push the pace. 5.8 of those 16 turnovers come from the point guard position so Scott Drew is hoping that Franklin can help handle the ball. How Franklin will fit in alongside Pierre Jackson and A.J. Walton remains a question mark.
• BYU’s top six scorers are all 6’5” or taller, an important factor against the length and athleticism of Baylor’s front line. Noah Hartsock, Brandon Davies and Charles Abouo do the bulk of the damage for Dave Rose, as those three are his top scorers and rebounders. Hartsock in particular has been outstanding, scoring in double figures in every game thus far. All three will have to play well in order for BYU to pull the upset because Baylor’s front court is strong, deep and talented. With Quincy Acy blocking 3.3 shots a game, BYU’s big men should find it more difficult to score inside on Saturday. The Cougars have to get their outside game going as well. Baylor’s defense is very average against the three and BYU has three big deep threats, Abouo, Stephen Rogers and Brock Zylstra. Going up against the top-ranked interior defense in the nation, BYU needs its outside shots to fall in order to win. However, the Cougars can’t afford to settle for threes if they aren’t falling. They must get something going in the paint, even against such a strong defense, in order to balance out their offense.
• This is an important game for both clubs. Baylor has played only two teams of note so far while BYU’s best win is over a mediocre Oregon team. Baylor shoots well (49.1% FG) but the biggest difference this season has been its defense. The Bears allow only 33.3% shooting inside the arc and their defensive efficiency has been terrific. Both teams get most of their offense from their respective front courts but Baylor may have the ultimate edge with Cory Jefferson off the bench. He adds some scoring punch and, more importantly, rebounding and depth for the Bears. For the Cougars to win, they’ll have to force turnovers to get points in transition because it’ll be awfully tough to score inside in the half court. In addition to making its threes, BYU must rebound well and get to the line while putting the Baylor big men in foul trouble. However, BYU ranks #295 in free throw rate and Baylor doesn’t foul too often. Although BYU rarely loses at home, this is a game Baylor can win. There are some who still doubt the Bears but a win here would put them on their way towards legitimate national recognition.

Texas A&M vs. #10 Florida (at Sunrise, FL) – 2:30 PM EST Saturday on FSN (***)

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Zach Hayes is an editor, contributor and bracketologist for Rush the Court. You can follow him on Twitter @zhayes9.

Exam week. The worst period of the college basketball season is nearly behind us.

For players, competitive games are replaced by study sessions and extra practices. For fans, all of the momentum the sport gained from November tournaments and premiere non-conference games disappears. With the handful of intriguing bowl games still weeks away and no NBA to keep us semi-occupied, there’s an undeniable void in the sports schedule. After all, Tebow-mania can only hold our attention for so long.

In honor of exam week, let’s play professor and pass out our own evaluations of what we’ve seen so far this season. Who’s exceeded expectations and passed every test on their schedule? Who’s underachieved and deserves a failing grade? Let’s reveal:

A+: Syracuse- Honestly, no team truly deserves a perfect grade. The only argument could have been Ohio State had they won in Lawrence without Jared Sullinger. Despite two near slip-ups in New York, Syracuse is the class of the undefeated. They’re the deepest team in America, bolstered by a dynamic sixth man in Dion Waiters and the rapid improvement of Fab Melo. The length and aggression of their patented 2-3 zone is confounding the opposition, ranking seventh in defensive efficiency, first in steal percentage and fourth in block percentage. As long as Kris Joseph displays the killer instinct he showed in the tail end of their Stanford victory and Scoop Jardine values possessions, the Orange are Big East favorites.

Marcus Denmon has played a major role in Mizzou's fast start

A: Missouri- Just two months ago, skepticism was a common theme among the Tiger faithful with the controversial hiring of Frank Haith and Laurence Bowers’ devastating ACL tear.  Now they’re enjoying a potential Final Four outfit running roughshod over everyone on their schedule, the most memorable being a 39-point drubbing of expected Pac-12 title contender California. Haith has established a mentality of controlled chaos, preaching the same up-tempo pace encouraged by Mike Anderson without neglecting the half-court prowess of point guard Phil Pressey and the catch-and-shoot proficiency of guards Marcus Denmon and Kim English. The result is a well-oiled machine ranking in the top-15 in two-point, three-point and free throw percentage. The next task: winning a true road game outside of Columbia.

A-: San Diego State- The coaching job by Aztecs coach Steve Fisher has been nothing short of admirable this season. After his program lost three tremendously productive seniors and one lottery pick, a rebuilding period was to be rightfully expected. This isn’t Duke or North Carolina where the loss of program icons are quickly replaced by the latest batch of blue chip prospects. Instead of reverting back to mediocrity, SDSU already has two wins over preseason top-25 Arizona and California and nearly downed MVC favorite Creighton. A major reason has been the emergence of junior guard Chase Tapley, who is averaging 17.7 PPG on a cool 50% from the floor and 51% from deep.

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1. While Florida‘s guard play has been the most talked about aspect of the roster, the Gators are actually more effective when distributing the ball down low to center Patric Young. There are a lot of great points per possessions stats in Ballin is a Habit’s breakdown, but the most interesting to us is the amount of double teams in the low post. In nine games thus far this year, Young has been double teamed three times. I went back and read the post just to make sure: that’s right, three times in nine games. Florida’s reliance on three point shots (39.2% of its total points according to kenpom.com) and accuracy from behind the line (40.3%) prohibit opposing defenses from double teaming Young, yet he is extremely accurate (58.7 eFg%). He simply doesn’t get the ball as often as he probably should. Young is fifth on the team in the percentage of possessions used (20.5%) behind Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Bradley Beal, and Mike Rosario. Notice any similarities between those four players? Yep, those are Florida’s aforementioned and often talked about guards dominating the majority of possessions.
2. As mentioned in yesterday’s SEC Morning Five, Jelan Kendrick was eligible to play in his first game Wednesday night for Ole Miss, but did not even dress due to a “coach’s decision”. It appears that Kendrick hasn’t changed much from his old ways. The troubled guard was late for a team meeting on Tuesday night, and then showed up thirty minutes late for a team shootaround on Wednesday. That sort of behavior is exactly what landed Kendrick in trouble at Memphis where he was kicked off the team before ever playing a game. And if he keeps this up, his streak of watching his teams from the sidelines will certainly continue. Andy Kennedy doesn’t need this kind of headache regardless of Kendrick’s talent level.
3. Should the College of Charleston students have rushed the court after beating a downtrodden Tennessee team? Regardless of your feelings on whether schools should RTC at all, we can all agree that the Volunteers weren’t a worthy adversary for College of Charleston to rush the court. The Vols are 3-6 on the year, and were actually the underdog playing on the road last night. But GoVolsXtra went one step further, calling their hometown team a mid-major basketball program. Ouch, that has to hurt. Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin has to be given credit, however, for playing a difficult schedule in his first year at the helm. And College of Charleston coach Bobby Cremins gave him that praise. “I want to thank Cuonzo Martin,” Cremins said. “He honored the contract that we made with Bruce Pearl. I appreciate them coming here. They brought a great atmosphere. It was a great win for us.” Martin has the respect of opposing coaches, but will he have the patience of Tennessee fans and blogs to dig the Vols out of mid-major hell? Tennessee has losses to Austin Peay and Oakland to go along with this loss to the Cougars.
4. At this time two years ago, Jeronne Maymon was averaging about four points and four rebounds for Marquette. Not making the impact he had hoped for, Maymon decided it was best to seek out a new beginning by transferring to Tennessee. Although Maymon probably didn’t transfer from Marquette envisioning losses like this one on Wednesday night. The power forward was limited to nine points in the loss to the College of Charleston. But the Vols need more production from Maymon. He was impressive when he poured in 32 points and 20 rebounds in a loss to Memphis in the Maui Invitational. Since that point, his production has been somewhat limited. In the five games after that tough loss to the Tigers, Maymon hasn’t reached double figures in rebounding at all and has only reached double figures in points twice. Tennessee needs Maymon to climb out of this hole.
5. The Worldwide Leader recognizes the charitable work that Arkansas forward Michael Sanchez has done off the court. “He’s got a service heart,” said his mother, Kim. “He’d do anything for anybody.” Sanchez is currently growing his hair out for locks for love. While many assumed he was growing his hair out to keep current with the new style, it couldn’t be farther from the truth. “Trust me, this isn’t about style points,” Sanchez said. “People might think I want attention, and I guess in some ways I do. Just not for myself.”  Sanchez has been somewhat hobbled this year by injuries limiting his production on the court. While he hasn’t made the impact he would probably like for Mike Anderson’s Razorbacks, he is certainly making an impact on others. It is great to see that basketball players can use their influence and visibility on the court to help those in need off of it.

1. The Florida Gators swept the SEC Player of the Week awards this week. Center Patric Young averaged 18.5 points and 10 rebounds as he was named SEC Player of the Week. Young had a double-double in both games this week against Arizona and Rider. Great things happen when the Gator guards feed the low post as evidenced by Young’s 77.3% shooting from the field. Bradley Beal was named SEC Freshman of the Week as he averaged 13.5 points, five rebounds and two assists per game. Beal put up 18 points and four rebounds in the Gators’ blowout win over Rider. This is the second time this season that Beal has won the award.
2. After a third consecutive loss, Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin is considering changes to the starting lineup for the Volunteers going into Wednesday’s battle with the College of Charleston. Some Tennessee starters may be playing themselves out of the rotation for not buying into the defensive philosophy of Martin. “We’re definitely looking into it as we speak,’’ Martin said. “You look at every scenario. For us, we have to have a defensive mind-set, and I don’t know if we have that right now.’’ The Volunteers allowed Austin Peay to shoot 72% from the field in the second half on their way to their fifth loss of the season. Martin’s defense is allowing a 51.3 eFG% (254th in the nation) and has an adjusted defensive efficiency of 99.2 (162nd in the nation).
3. Speaking of the Volunteers’ clash with the College of Charleston, Tennessee is looking at this game as a must-win situation. The Vols have lost three in a row coming into tomorrow’s game. On top of that, the Cougars beat Tennessee 91-78 last year in Knoxville. “Losing three straight, we have to get this win,” center Kenny Hall said. “We also remember them coming in and dominating us last year.” Martin’s squad is in need of a confidence-building win, and a win over CofC might do the trick. College of Charleston is 7-1 coming into the rematch with the Vols, with 6’7″ forward Antwaine Wiggins averaging 17.4 PPG.
4. Alabama’s Anthony Grant is looking for more consistency from his young Crimson Tide team. The Tide raced out to a 38-16 lead over Detroit on Saturday only to allow the Titans to scratch back into the game in the second half. Alabama eventually won by eight points, but Grant was looking for more. “We’ve got to learn to maintain that focus and energy over the course of a 40-minute game regardless of a score or how things are going for us individually,” he said. “We’ve had spurts that lasted longer than they did tonight. We’ve got to figure out how to put that together for 40 minutes.” In the second half, Bama was limited to 35% shooting and were forced into nine turnovers, getting out-scored 32-24 in the second 20 minutes of action.
5. There was no doubt that something was wrong with Kentucky’s Terrence Jones on Saturday in the Wildcats’ one-point loss against Indiana. It was mentioned here yesterday in the SEC M5. And now several experts, including Dick Vitale, are weighing in on what was wrong with Jones. “I can understand kids having a bad game. Not scoring. Maybe forcing turnovers. I cannot understand not playing aggressively, and he didn’t play aggressively in a very emotional [game]. The kid has to look in the mirror,” Vitale said. “There’s no question he let his teammates down. It’s not about putting up numbers. I have no problem with that. I have a problem if you’re not playing hard.” Jones took only three shots the entire game (scoring four points), but it was his defensive effort that forced John Calipari to relegate him to the bench for good with three minutes remaining in a close game on the road. Kentucky dropped to #3 in both national polls on Monday, although the Wildcats only fell to #2 in the RTC Top 25.

1. Kentucky played really well on Saturday considering it was without its best player playing in a hostile environment against Indiana. Ok, so technically Terrence Jones played for the Wildcats, but he performed quite a disappearing act. “These guys are not machines, guys,” John Calipari said. “They’re not computers. They have bad games. You move on. Hopefully he plays better from here on. Maybe five games from now he has another bad game. You try to win without him.” In the end, the Hoosiers were too much to handle for the Cats with Jones playing the worst game of his career. Jones was limited to 28 minutes, four points on only three shot attempts, one rebound, and six turnovers. He failed to hedge on pick-and-roll situations multiple times leaving his teammates out of position on penetration. Jones’ defensive deficiencies helped create a 10-point deficit mid-way through the second half. What was even more alarming was Jones’ attitude as he sulked his way through almost the entire second half.
2. The sky isn’t completely falling in Lexington. There were some positives from the Indiana loss for the young Wildcats, mainly the emergence of Marquis Teague in the second half. Teague played about as badly as I have seen a point guard play in the first half. He missed several open layups, he turned the ball over, and he failed once again to lead his team. But the second half was a different story. During the second 20 minutes, Teague was 6-6 for 15 points and one assist in 16 solid minutes. Anyone can see that Teague’s development at point guard is key to Kentucky’s play this season.
3. Florida coach Billy Donovan had a heart-to-heart with his starting guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton regarding ill-advised shot selection following a combined 5-27 shooting night against Arizona. Walker and Boynton received the message loud and clear as both responded with improved play on Friday night against Rider. “I think sometimes those two guys get misconstrued of what they are about,” Donovan said. “They want to win and they have a strong desire to win. I do think that’s what makes them both great players is there is a fearlessness there of wanting to go out there and do it.” Boynton finished with a season-high 26 points and Walker added 12 points and four assists. Florida’s guard play has been both a strength and a weakness at times this year. The Gators have the talent to be a team that could win the SEC, but their guards can be overly selfish and can rely too heavily on outside shooting.
4. Andy Kennedy‘s Mississippi Rebels have been a surprise so far this season at 8-1 overall, but the Rebels still have to work on their offensive efficiency. Ole Miss is shooting 27% from three-point range and 59% from the free throw line. “We’ve really struggled,” Kennedy said about Ole Miss’ offensive struggles. The Rebels currently average 69.3 points per game which is 153rd in the country and an adjusted offensive efficiency of 99.7 for 171st in the country. 5’11” guard Dundrecous Nelson takes 31.4% of the Rebels shots, but he has an effective field goal percentage of just 43%. Look for Kennedy to work forward Murphy Holloway more into the Rebels offense as his efficiency is much higher than the remainder of his teammates, yet he is only averaging just over 11 points per game.
5. Mississippi State enjoyed a 106-68 blowout win over Troy on Saturday. Despite their usual reliance on the inside game, the Bulldogs tied a school record with 16 three-pointers. Forward Arnett Moultrie still did plenty to establish himself on the low block with 20 points and 12 rebounds, but it was the outside shooters who helped MSU run away with this one. Senior Dee Bost was 7 for 13 from beyond the arc on his way to 28 points. Even Renardo Sidney got in on the action with a three of his own, his first of the season, mid-way through the first half. The 51.6% shooting clip was the first time Mississippi State has shot over 50% from three-point range this year. The Bulldogs are now 9-1 on the season. Not coincidentally, in their lone loss this year against Akron, the Dogs shot 2 of 13 (15.4%) from three.

1. Sebastian Pruiti wrote an excellent piece on the pros and cons of Kentucky‘s Anthony Davis, complete with boxes and arrows. Pruiti breaks down how Davis has been able to excel at offensive rebounding, while remaining somewhat limited in defensive rebounding. Davis averages almost three offensive rebounds per game, using his speed and athleticism to chase down the Wildcats’ missed shots on the offensive end. However, those are not the same skills needed to box out an opposing player. Davis’ improvement was noted in the article by showcasing his effort against North Carolina, but effort doesn’t always grab defensive rebounds. Look for Davis to continue to improve over the course of this season as he is tested by stronger low post threats.
2. Florida may have beaten Arizona 78-72, but the game easily could have gone the other way. Up three with 3.9 seconds left, Billy Donovan instructed Gator forward Casey Prather to foul Arizona forward Solomon Hill for a one-and-one situation. Instead, Hill was ruled to be in the act of shooting and was given three free throws to tie the game.  “He did exactly what we wanted to do,” Donovan said. But of course Donovan and the Gators didn’t agree with the call. “Nobody agreed with the call but you just have to turn around and start focusing on overtime,” Florida guard Brad Beal said. “Basically, just staying composed and playing basketball.”
3. Freshman BJ Young has stepped in to fill much of the scoring void left by injured Arkansas forward Marshawn Powell. Young scored a career-high 28 points against defending national champion Connecticut. He is averaging 15.4 points per game thus far this year, while shooting an even 50% from the field. Coach Mike Anderson is hoping opposing defenses don’t just zero in on Young. “We have some other options,” Anderson said. “And so hopefully those other options are clicking like he was clicking the other night.” So far for the Razorbacks, those other options haven’t been able to get going on the offensive end.
4. John Calipari has coached a number of talented teams in his career, but this year’s Cats may be Cal’s best. A rundown of Kentucky’s roster is enough evidence, but it’s Kentucky’s team defense that makes this claim legitimate. The Cats are holding opposing offenses to 32% shooting from the field, and easily outrebounding opponents on the season. While the author calls Kentucky’s game with Indiana on Saturday a “test”, it might be more of a practice run for the true test at the end of this month with in-state rival and top 10 team, the Louisville Cardinals.
5. Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury has to be happy with the production off the bench from forward Wendell Lewis. Lewis averaged 3.7 points and 3.8 rebounds a game last year, but has increased his numbers to 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds this year. Bulldogs’ forward Arnett Moultrie gave Lewis some confidence when Lewis needed to step in for the injured Moultrie. “This is your time to step and show the coaches you can play,” Moultrie told Lewis, who showed what he was capable of with 11 points and 11 rebounds, which was good enough for his first career double-double. Lewis has to be knocking on the door of a starting role with starter Renardo Sidney struggling to find his role. Sidney is averaging 8.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game for the 8-1 Bulldogs.

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Josh Paunil, the RTC recruiting guru. We encourage you to check out his website dedicated solely to college basketball recruiting, National Recruiting Spotlight, for more detailed recruiting information. 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 who the hot prospects are at the lower levels of the sport. If you have any suggestions as to areas we’re missing or different things you’d like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Lead Story: Jarnell Stokes Going To College In January ‘Definitely An Option’

Jarnell Stokes Has A Lot On His Mind. (Nation of Blue)

Stokes Exploring His Options. Class of 2012 power forward Jarnell Stokes saw his chances of playing high school basketball for Southwind High School (TN) disappear last week, and this week he’s strongly considering graduating high school early and enrolling in college in January. Remember, Stokes has yet to commit and has a top six of Kentucky, Memphis, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Connecticut so he’d have to commit very soon. The 6’8″, 250-pounder says he’s been preparing to attend college next semester and that he has other options available to him that he doesn’t want to reveal just yet. Four of the schools Stokes is considering — Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida and Tennessee — have athletic scholarships available for Stokes if he were to enroll in January and he could also qualify for an academic scholarship at Memphis, leaving Kentucky as the only school that he’d have to pay for. Stokes says he has no timetable right now and doesn’t know when he’s going to commit, but he’s going to have to make a decision in the next few weeks regardless of what he wants to do.

What They’re Saying

• Senior Andrew White on committing to Kansas: “I think it was a huge opportunity there to play. I have a great relationship with the staff. They’ve been good to me.”

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