1. The past will meet the present for Michigan and coach John Beilein on Saturday in Brooklyn, when the Wolverines meet West Virginia at the new Barclays Center. It’s the first time Beilein has coached against his former team after leaving WVU for Michigan in 2007. In a conference call Wednesday, Beilein explained to reporters that he left Morgantown because he saw an “opportunity” at Michigan and the chance to rebuild a program. He’s certainly done that, having led the Wolverines to a 10-0 start this season. But the man who couldn’t pass up one rebuilding project insists he isn’t on the lookout for another. “There is no other one,” he said. “There is no other one. It’s been a great journey so far to have been a bit of a nomadic coach and change (jobs) several times. But there is a time when you say, ‘OK, I really want to stay with this one and make the most of it.'”
2. For years, the Big Ten has had the reputation as a slow, grind-it-out conference that relies heavily on defense and rebounding and puts a premium on scoring. No matter how badly Tom Izzo wants his team to get out on the fast break, for example, or how many points high-scoring, faster-paced teams like Iowa or Indiana put up, the Wisconsin games that finish with final scores in the 40s and 50s are what fans will always associate with the conference. But the early returns on this season show the conference leading the nation in scoring  — an average of 73.1 PPG — with the Hoosiers leading the country at 89.1 PPG. Some Big Ten coaches (Bo Ryan for one) insist that you can’t base the conference on the non-conference play alone, while others like Bill Carmody and Tom Crean argue that the slow pace can be a common misconception.
3. Once upon a time, Illinois had one of the most rowdy fan bases in the country and Assembly Hall was one of the most terrifying places to play not just in the Big Ten but around the nation. That’s not so much the case anymore, writes the News-Gazette‘s Loren Tate. He points to the crowds that started flocking in 2001 and Bill Self’s clubs that sold out the arena for 28 of 40 home games during three seasons. But the Fighting Illini haven’t sold out a home game in four years, and Tate is pointing to dates like February 7 against Indiana as a game where Illinois fans might want to act quickly to snag tickets before opposing teams that travel well snatch them up.
4. Ohio State‘s Trey McDonald played all of 38 total minutes in his freshman season last year, but has already emerged as a possible darkhorse contributor for the Buckeyes this year. He played a career-high 14 minutes on Saturday against Long Beach State and saw some solid minutes early in the game before the time he usually comes in if a game is out of hand. Thad Matta, who has been saying all season that he’d like to use his bench more this year, insists that McDonald’s hard work is starting to pay off and he’s being rewarded with more minutes. “I’ve watched the evolution of Trey and the progress he’s made since he got here,” Matta said, according to theozone.net, “There’s no doubt in my mind his best basketball is right around the corner.”
5. After spending his last two seasons at Western Nebraska Community College, Mike Peltz is starting to feel right at home in Lincoln. Lee Barfknecht calls Peltz Tim Miles’ “Swiss Army Knife” in the sense that Peltz is a versatile player who can impact the game in an assortment of ways. The walk-on has appeared in each of the Huskers’ games this year and said the do-everything role is right up his alley. “I’m living my dream,” Peltz said. “I’m having a blast. It’s my role to provide energy and take care of the ball or guard the other team’s best player. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it.”

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

Tonight’s Lede. You Probably Didn’t Watch Any Games Tonight. As much as I love college basketball, both as a fan and writer, I have no qualms conceding the obvious: There were few games on tonight’s schedule deserving of your (or my) precious Tuesday night TV viewing allotment. From top to bottom, and with the possible exception of a couple somewhat surprising results, the schedule was one of the worst we’ve seen all season. If you needed a night to get a leg up in the holiday shopping arms race, tonight couldn’t have presented a better opportunity. We saw this coming: finals week has never been kind to the college hoops schedule, and this year is no different. Even so, there were games that no doubt piqued the interest of select areas of the country, regionally-appealing tests deserving of at least a some national attention. Herein, I present you what could go down as the most boring ATB to date. Enjoy… if possible.

Your Watercooler Moment. The Holy War Rages On.

The Wildcats needed a signature win to reverse their recent slide (Photo credit: Getty Images).

In its last season before joining the (gulp) Big East, St. Joseph’s fumbled a prime opportunity to claim Big 5 bragging rights in the Holy War for the second year in a row. You can look at this result one of two ways. On the one hand, Villanova showed toughness and mettle against a hated city rival and grabbed its first respectable non-conference win since beating Purdue in overtime (if that qualifies) nearly four weeks ago at the 2K Sports Classic. Jay Wright’s team needed to prove its ability to rebound after a mostly tumultuous month. On the other hand, St. Joe’s was picked to finish first in the preseason media poll in an incredibly deep A-10, and another loss to pile on top of missed opportunities against Florida State and Creighton isn’t exactly validating that perception. The first school of thought seems to hold more weight, but I’d wager it’s a little bit of both. Phil Martelli’s team has certainly underwhelmed of late, and there’s no excuse for squandering a five-point lead with just over two minutes remaining (particularly against an offensively-challenged bunch like Villanova), but when you consider the stakes at hand – for one, Villanova’s Philadelphia-grounded pride; for another, the growing sense the Wildcats were falling behind in the race to become the city’s best team, and their need to rectify that mantra – it’s not a horrible loss by any stretch. What’s interesting about this particular game is that the next rendition could very well count as a conference game, only we’re yet to find out whether said conference will be the Atlantic 10 or the Big East. And no, I couldn’t avoid talking about conference realignment. Sorry!

Tonight’s Quick Hits…

• Trey Burke Should Be Resting More.It probably won’t surprise you to learn Michigan point guard Trey Burke had 19 points in a comfortable win over Binghamton at the Crisler Center. What may strike you as something of an oddity is that Burke’s 30 minutes of playing time were the fewest minutes he’s logged in a game all season. The Wolverines haven’t just won all of their games so far; they’ve made easy work of their opponents, resulting in a multitude of lopsided scores. It only seems logical that coach John Beilein would give his most important player ample rest time in these early blowouts as a preemptive stay-fresh device, because once the Wolverines hit Big Ten play and teams resort to physicality in their attempts to flummox the No. 3-ranked team in the nation, all those hits will add up, the fatigue will mount, and Burke just might feel the urge to retroactively curse his coach’s judgment. Or maybe Burke will continue to look like one of the best point guards in the country right on through conference play and into the NCAA Tournament without feeling the slightest bit of lethargy or sluggishness. Probably the latter. Read the rest of this entry »

Happy Finals week everyone! As the nation’s student-athletes scramble to put together their papers and presentations while hustling to cram for final exams, most of the college basketball world is quiet. But not us here at RTC, as we’re back with another edition of The RTC Podcast. In addition to our usual host Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114), we also brought in national columnist Brian Otskey (author of a weekly column, Ten Tuesday Scribbles) to chat about some of his observations through the first several weeks of the 2012-13 season. He can be found @botskey on Twitter.

On Friday of this week we’ll release our shorter (~15-20 minutes) podblast where we’ll look ahead to a busier weekend of action. Feel free to jump around using the outline below. Also make sure to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after each recording. Thanks!

• 0:00-5:40 – Illinois’ big road win over Gonzaga.
• 5:40-9:25 – Gonzaga’s disappointing home loss – cause for concern?
• 9:25-15:45 – Top of the MW looking strong again with New Mexico, UNLV and SDSU.
• 15:45-18:27 – Wyoming, Colorado State and Boise State giving MW depth- are they for real?
• 18:27-21:21 – What’s going on in Texas?
• 21:21-25:27 – Who will be the last remaining unbeaten?
• 25:27-28:15 – Where should Michigan slot within the Top Five?
• 28:15-32:30 – How high should Cincinnati be ranked after their undefeated start?
• 32:30-36:20 – Should New Mexico’s fast start be enough to even be in the Top 25?
• 36:20-39:50 – What match-up do you wish we could see every year during finals week?

We welcome any and all feedback on these podcasts including topics for future discussion or if you want to send us any questions for our “May Not Be From Actual Listeners” segment. Hit us up atrushthecourt@yahoo.com or @rushthecourt on Twitter.

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

1. Illinois fans, here is my mea culpa. I was wrong not to rank your team. On Saturday night, the Fighting Illini ventured up to Spokane and walked out of the Kennel with the best win of any team to date. Yes, better than Duke’s wins over Louisville and Ohio State. Why? There has not been a road win of this magnitude by any team through this early point in the season. The Illini proved they’re for real with a dominant second half against a very strong Gonzaga team. After taking the opening punch and falling behind 8-0 right out of the gate, John Groce’s team didn’t panic and made fantastic adjustments. Gonzaga’s game plan was clearly to feed the ball inside and try to dominate a less than imposing Illinois front line. Illinois’ defense suddenly picked up later in the first half, swarming the Gonzaga big men and forcing the Bulldogs into an uncharacteristic 16 turnovers. Illinois was able to speed the game up a bit and prevent Gonzaga from setting up its half court offense effectively. The Zags attempted 18 threes which is right about their season average but a lot of them were rushed and not something the game plan should have called for against an Illinois team without a significant inside presence. Brandon Paul looked like an All-America candidate with his performance not just on the offensive end but defensively against Pangos and the Gonzaga guards as well. Can Illinois keep this level of play up? I’m not sure but I know one thing: The Illini are way better than I thought. This team’s over-reliance on the three-point shot is concerning and is bound to catch up with them at some point, but Illinois has already proved it will be a factor in the loaded Big Ten.
   

   Brandon Paul Looked Like An All-American Candidate On Saturday Night In Spokane. (Joe Robbins/Getty)

2. Another impressive performance played out in a different fashion on Saturday night in Clemson, South Carolina. Trailing Clemson by six points midway through the second half, Arizona absorbed the hit and put the pedal down in impressive fashion with a 26-5 run down the stretch to come out of rowdy Littlejohn Coliseum with a sneaky good road win. It was an impressive showing because this Arizona team had been highly touted but untested coming into the game. The Wildcats passed that test with flying colors as they head into a Saturday showdown with Florida in Tucson. Mark Lyons took control in the final minutes for Arizona but contributions from Nick Johnson (13 points, five steals) and Solomon Hill (10 rebounds despite an awful shooting night) illustrate the talent and depth of Sean Miller’s team. Although he didn’t have a great game, I was thoroughly impressed with the physique of freshman Kaleb Tarczewski. It was the first time I’ve seen him play and his body appears mature beyond his age. He’ll be a load for any opponent in the post. Arizona is clearly the best team in the Pac-12 and has the pieces to make a deep run in March. With the gritty Miller at the helm and a boatload of talent, this team will keep getting better as the year moves along. Make sure you watch the Wildcats take on Florida this Saturday night in what could prove to be the best non-conference game of the season.
3. Another week, another confounding loss for Baylor. Just when you thought the Bears were turning the corner after winning at Kentucky, they put together an absolute stinker of a loss at home to a mediocre Northwestern team that had just suffered back-to-back home losses to Maryland and Illinois-Chicago. Baylor was dominated on the glass by a Northwestern lineup that isn’t all that physically imposing and allowed the Wildcats to shoot 51% for the game. It is inexcusable for a team with Baylor’s talent to have three losses at this point in the season but you know what I like to say, nobody does less with more than Scott Drew. When you look at the statistics, Baylor appears to be a pretty good team. But the chemistry and focus clearly is lacking, otherwise this team wouldn’t have lost to Charleston and Northwestern on its home court. Baylor is a highly talented team and has actually improved its turnover numbers significantly from previous years. Pierre Jackson is playing like one of the best point guards in America and Drew has seen junior forward Cory Jefferson take a huge step forward. Baylor has two more non-conference challenges before Big 12 play begins, against BYU in Waco and a tough trip to Gonzaga in back to back games at the end of this month. Even if the Bears enter Big 12 play at 8-4, I still believe this team is good enough to eventually earn a Top 25 ranking and fit solidly in the NCAA Tournament. At this point however, Baylor just isn’t there yet. Read the rest of this entry »

Jesse Baumgartner is an RTC columnist. His Love/Hate column will publish each week throughout the season. In this piece he’ll review the five things he loved and hated about the previous seven days of college basketball.

Five Things I Loved This Week

I LOVED… another strong week from Michigan. I’ve always gotten a kick out of subtly rooting for the Wolverines, but have never quite been able to put my finger on why. I guess that while most people enjoy stirring up images of tradition and excellence when programs like Indiana get back on track, with Michigan it’s more about stirring up those memories of just how stinking COOL the program was in the early 90s with the Fab Five. This is a fun team to watch, and it doesn’t hurt that they have two sons of former NBA stars leading the way, either.

Tim Hardaway Jr. and Friends Have Been Outstanding This Season

I LOVED… Illinois putting up one of the true statement wins of the young season and perhaps emptying out the Gonzaga bandwagon already. What an incredible start for John Groce, and what a performance from Brandon Paul. That’s probably as encouraging as anything for the Illini, that they had a closer to ride down the stretch of a tight game. That’ll bode well for a Big Ten that is sure to have plenty of nailbiters all year long.

I LOVED…. laughing at this show of solidarity from the ACC presidents about no more schools leaving the conference. I’d say it’s safe to say at this point that potentially 80 percent of all major conference schools are at least entertaining hypothetical scenarios or potential TV deals at the moment. With switches happening almost every other week, it’s fairly comical to deny it.

I LOVED… and by loved, I mean lovvvvvvvvvved App State center Brian Okam’s hysterical blooper-reel free throw, as his charity toss slipped off his hands and literally went 10 feet vertically and maybe three feet horizontally (and that’s generous). But I also loved that Okam could see the humor and took the time to give a statement about the shot. Just remember big man – the next one is always going in.

Read the rest of this entry »

1. It sounds like the 2013-14 college basketball season is going to break ground on a large scale yet again, and with Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis again at the forefront of the idea, at least one Big Ten team is likely to participate in his latest and greatest idea. But as the culmination of the season — the NCAA Tournament and, particularly, the Final Four — has grown larger by the years and come to fill bigger spaces and stadiums, could the postseason suddenly be looking to slim down again? The Final Four hasn’t been played in a conventional basketball arena since 1996 and the next four Final Fours have already been scheduled for domes, but television executivess and NCAA administrators aren’t ruling out a return to arenas beyond that.
2. Illinois has quietly been building one of the most impressive — and, perhaps, surprising — seasons around the country thus far, and their star is finally seeing the fruits of his labor. After leading the Illini to an impressive win at Gonzaga over the weekend, Brandon Paul was named the Big Ten Player of the Week. But should we be surprised? Just a few days after scoring 14 against Western Carolina, he went off for a season-high 35 against the Zags, shooting 10-of-16 from the field and 10-of-11 from the free throw line, all the while catapulting himself into the early national and conference Player of the Year discussion.
3. It was just last year we were talking some promising freshmen at Iowa, and here we are again doing the same. With Aaron White now a sophomore, it’s newcomers like Adam Woodbury and Anthony Clemmons who are drawing high praise. Tork Mason of The Daily Iowan says that this incoming class has given the Hawkeyes some much-needed swagger, combining for 36 points over the last two games. In that span, Clemmons has a superb 16 assists and just one turnover.
4. For the most part, as Deshaun Thomas goes, so goes Ohio State. And when things aren’t going well — consider his 3-of-10 shooting in the first half against Long Beach State, which led the preseason All-American to get down on himself recently — Thomas has been prone to show it on the floor. But coach Thad Matta has noticed an improvement in Thomas’ maturity, which has been critical as he’s stepped into a leadership role for the Buckeyes this season. “It’s just me learning the game and becoming an impact player and knowing there are other things than just scoring,” Thomas told ElevenWarriors.com. “There are other things in the game of basketball.” Unfortunately for the rest of the Big Ten, Thomas can do most everything within the game of basketball.
5. Michigan State freshman Denzel Valentine has thrilled Spartan fans this season with his dazzling style of play and court vision, but he’s also maddened them at times when his inexperience has shone through. It’s the latter trait that has led Tom Izzo to rein Valentine in a bit lately, saying the freshman is on “a choker leash.” Valentine had just one turnover in the second half against Loyola on Saturday, after a couple frustrating moments earlier in the season. It’s never a good idea to question the coaching strategies of the six-time Final Four head coach, so it’s reasonable to expect to see Valentine slowly but surely getting more comfortable with a controlled role during the rest of the season.

Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn. *Ed. Note: since Monday night had such a weak schedule of games, we combined the ATB for that night into the weekend’s edition.

The Weekend’s Lede. Prepare For College Hoops Boredom.In the interest of sparing you Monday night’s gulf of emptiness, and to give you a substantial recap to kick off the week in preparation for probably the most non-eventful week on the college hoops calendar, I’m incorporating the weekend into a lengthy ATB review. There was plenty of exciting action over the past three days, and for your sake and mine, I hope you enjoyed as much as of it as you can. If you missed anything – if the seasonal urge of holiday shopping or Christmas tree purchasing consumed your time – the next few days could feel especially painful. The dreaded final exam lull sneaked under the national consciousness, cloaked by the sport’s high drama in leagues across the country, but there’s no avoiding it any longer; it’s here. In that spirit, hopefully the weekend that was gave you enough to chew on over the coming week. I’ve singled out a few highlights, big moments and breathtaking plays to guide your thinking. For the sake of good, exciting basketball, let’s dive into the past three days’ worth of games.

Your Watercooler Moment. Illinois Is Better Than We Thought, And Now It has A Win To Prove it. 

The Illini made a statement by beating Gonzaga on its home court (Photo credit: AP Photo).

Entering Saturday night’s showdown at Gonzaga, the most you could say about Illinois was that John Groce had clearly coaxed better performances across the board from the same players who quit on Bruce Weber down the stretch last season. They were undefeated, ranked in the top 15 of last week’s AP Poll, and clearly improved over last year’s NCAA Tournament miss. But if you dug deep into Illinois’ body of work, it was hard not to come away thinking their undefeated start (and Maui Invitational crown) had at least something to do with a mostly forgiving early schedule. What the Illini did in Spokane – take down a top 10 team with Final Four potential on its home floor – legitimizes their undefeated run. Granted, the Bulldogs were coming off an unimpressive two-point escape at Washington State, the only time they’d been challenged all season, but it’s hard to argue Mark Few’s team wasn’t one of the nation’s best when the Illini visited the Kennel Saturday night. All things considered, Illinois’ victory was one of the most impressive true road wins we’ve seen all season. And no small measure of credit is owed to Brandon Paul, who contributed 35 points on 10-of-16 shooting in a national coming-out party that saw not only his own perception (and NBA draft stock) skyrocket, but also that of his team, and their prospectus in a crowded Big Ten.

Also Worth Chatting About. Kansas Is Still Kansas.

The Buffaloes were no match for Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse (Photo credit: Getty Images).

Just when you thought Kansas’ run of eight straight Big 12 titles might be in jeopardy, when the losses of National Player of the Year finalist Thomas Robinson and erratic-yet-effective point guard Tyshawn Taylor would leave the Jayhawks on the short end of another casually brilliant Bill Self season, Kansas goes out and eviscerates a very good Colorado team on national television to validate its place among the nation’s elite crust of national frontrunners. That’s just what the Jayhawks needed to reintroduce their veteran leadership and collective talent to the world, and to erase any doubts that existed about their league and national championship bona fides – if those doubts even existed in the first place. More importantly, Kansas unleashed highly-anticipated redshirt freshman Ben McLemore as a Freshman of the Year type of talent that many pegged him as. McLemore had already shown the potential to be Kansas’ primary offensive weapon this year; Saturday’s romp merely confirmed what many already knew.

Dunkdafied #1. Earlier this season, Mason Plumlee punctuated Duke’s comeback victory (and in the eyes of much of the national hoops consciousness, it’s No. 1 ranking) over Ohio State with a breathtaking alley-oop. Victor Oladipo sees you and raises you this rim-rock (and we can probably assume he fashions his Hoosiers the best team in the land). No lobs needed here, thank you very much.

Read the rest of this entry »

A relatively quiet week in terms of movement within the Top 25, and this coming week may be even quieter as many schools throughout the country have a lull in their schedule because of semester exams. In the Week 4 poll, the top seven teams went unchanged, and all but two teams had movement of two spots or less. The big result over the weekend was, of course, Illinois’ upset at Gonzaga. Illinois moves into our Top 10 after not even garnering a single vote in the preseason Top 25. John Groce has the Illini well on their way.

This week’s QnD after the jump…

Quick ‘n Dirty Analysis.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last Thursday, you may have remembered our Pac-12 Hoops Pick’Em that got underway in our M5. We’re back at it again this week, this time with a full post to go over the results from last week and to look ahead as well. Parker and I stole the show in week one, going a solid 11-2 to take a one-game advantage over Drew and Adam. I was the only one to miss Utah’s road win at Texas State on Friday night, but I came back to the field with Wyoming’s upset of Colorado. Parker and I took the lead thanks to San Diego State’s win over UCLA on Saturday at the Honda Center. So now, we enter week two. Colorado’s visit to Kansas and Illinois visiting Gonzaga headline the list as our games of the week.

The only difference between the two leaders this week comes in The Showcase at Houston, where I was the only one to take the home-state Longhorns. Drew was the only one to take the visiting Fighting Illini against the Zags, and he was also the only one to pick USC with a home upset over Minnesota. Three of the four of us took Fresno State getting a road win in Pullman, with Adam going with the safe pick in the Cougars. The final game of the week, featuring #21 UNLV visiting Berkeley, was split between the prognosticators.

Brendon Mulvihill is the head curator for @SportsGawker and an RTC contributor. You can find him @TheMulv on Twitter. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

With a month to go in the non-conference season, we are starting to sort out the contenders from the pretenders. This weekend provides some additional match-ups that will give us a better indication of which teams we should watch out for come March. Let’s get to the breakdowns.

Colorado at #10 Kansas – 2:00 PM EST, Saturday on ESPN2 (***)

This Weekend Colorado Tries to Beat Kansas for the First Time Since 2003

• You might call this game a renewal of a Big 12 rivalry but the reality is that it has been far from a “rivalry.” Kansas has not lost to Colorado since the 2002-03 season. While this will be the first time that CU plays Kansas as a member of the Pac-12, coach Tad Boyle is 0-3 against the Jayhawks since taking the helm in Boulder two seasons ago. The big question for the Buffaloes will be how they handle KU center Jeff Withey. A few weeks ago, CU was able to slow down another seven-footer in Isaiah Austin when they defeated Baylor. However, Withey is not a freshmen trying to fit himself into “The Pierre Jackson Show.” He’s a senior who has proven to be a dominant force on defense and a capable offensive threat. Withey also cleans up on the glass, particularly on the defensive end. Colorado needs to figure out how to grab some of those misses lest it become a long night. Keep an eye on the three-point shooting of Colorado guards Askia Booker and Spencer Dinwiddie. Both are threats from deep and both need to be on target to have a chance to win this one.

Temple vs. #1 Duke – 3:15 PM EST, Saturday on ESPN (****)

• Last season, Temple beat Duke in Philadelphia on the backs of Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson and Khalif Wyatt. Hollis-Jefferson and Wyatt combined to go 15-22 from the field in a somewhat surprising upset of the Blue Devils. The Owls also did it without this season’s leading scorer, Scootie Penn. However, when you compare this Duke team to last season’s team, they are more balanced and more patient without Austin Rivers dominating the ball. The Blue Devils have scoring threats all over the floor and point guard Quinn Cook is proving to be an excellent distributor. Additionally, Mason Plumlee has been superb. The key for the Owls will be figuring out a way to stop Plumlee in the paint. Unfortunately for Temple, scoring can come from anywhere when playing the Blue Devils. They are too balanced and too battle tested at this point to drop one to the Owls this year.