1. We have already talked about the mock brackets in this space quite a bit, but Seth Davis offered one of the better summaries of the more detailed aspects of how the brackets come together (based on geography more than the imaginary S-curve, etc) in his weekly Hoop Thoughts column. Even if you have had more than enough information about a fake bracket, the column also has quite a bit of other interesting information including an update on the potential return of Ryan Kelly for the ACC Tournament and why conference realignment might help push Shaka Smart towards a new job.
2. We seem to see multiple columns coming out everyday for the past week hyping Victor Oladipo as a potential player of the year candidate and now we actually have some proof of his legitimacy as a candidate with the voters as he has moved up to #2 in Michael Rothstein’s straw poll. We aren’t quite sure what the sampling error is with this poll, but it seems like Trey Burke has a fairly comfortable lead. Still with Indiana in excellent position for the #1 overall seed (if there was a #1 overall seed) and a potential showdown with Burke on the last day of the regular season looming Oladipo is still within striking distance. We don’t particularly care about regular season awards, but given how under-the-radar Oladipo was at the beginning of the season it would be a remarkable turn of events.
3. While we will be sad to see some traditional rivalries go we are more ambivalent to change in rivalries that conference realignment will bring, but there are a few rivalries that we will particularly miss. One of those is Syracuse–Georgetown (or Georgetown-Syracuse depending on your perspective). With the last game at the Carrier Dome coming this Saturday, Syracuse.com took a look back at the top ten moments of the rivalry. We are guessing based on our demographics that the vast majority of you saw less than half of these moments and because the rivalry isn’t promoted to the degree of another rivalry two teams wearing different shades of blue most people are not as familiar with these moments.
4. With seven African-Americans occupying the fourteen heading coaching positions in the SEC the conference has  tied the ACC during the 2008-09 season for having the most African-American coaches in one conference at any one time. When you include Frank Martin, a Cuban-American, the conference actually has more “minority” coaches (eight) than Caucasian coaches (six). While we still have a long way to go as a country with race relations and hiring even with something as seemingly trivial as men’s college basketball coaches it is worthwhile praising a conference that has long born the stigma of having a strained racial history.
5. Our last item is a bittersweet congratulations to Dick Kelley, the assistant athletic director of media relations at Boston College, who along with Beckie Edwards received the US Basketball Writer’s Association Most Courageous Award. Edwards has her own harrowing story (coming out about the sexual abuse she suffered as a young child at the hands of her father), but for the purposes of this column and the fact that we know Kelley and not Edwards we will focus on his story. Kelley, who was the first person to credential our site as a media entity in 2008, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 2011, which has confined him to a wheelchair. Although we have not seen him recently due to our relocation we want to send him our best wishes.

1. By now it seems fair to say that the Big Ten Player of the Year candidacy is a two-horse race. Michigan’s Trey Burke has been the front-runner since the Wolverines broke out of the gates. Victor Oladipo has been more of a dark horse because he was lesser-known at the beginning of the season, and because most of the Indiana NPOY attention had been focused on Cody Zeller. But a couple big games on the national stage — he’s almost singlehandedly won each game against Michigan State — has perhaps propelled Oladipo perhaps into the top spot for the award. The Big Ten Network‘s Brent Yarina and Tom Dienhart debate the matter, with Yarina voting for Oladipo and Dienhart giving the nod to Burke. What do you say?
2. There were plenty of opportunities for Michigan State to put away Indiana on Tuesday night in East Lansing, and a few of them came at the charity stripe. Keith Appling, who has been one of the most clutch players in the Big Ten this season but has played horribly against Indiana, missed a few over the course of the game, and Gary Harris missed several as well, most importantly the first of three with the chance to tie the game with a couple of ticks left. But Tom Izzo and the Spartans say the missed free throws aren’t what determined the final outcome of the game. Adreian Payne pointed to a Christian Watford and-one, and Denzel Valentine pointed to Victor Oladipo’s crucial late put-back late. Whatever the final determining factor, those missed free throws sure didn’t help.
3. With its win against Michigan State in East Lansing, Indiana became the prohibitive favorite to win the Big Ten and, perhaps, the national title. Bob Kravitz writes that the Hoosiers are the best team in the best conference in the country, and it’s hard to argue with that after the body of work they’ve put together over the course of the year. They’ve been impressive both on the road and at home — despite at times proving to be vulnerable — and have the most depth and weapons of any other title contender. People who saw them on Tuesday could see that they have the most pieces that you need to win a title, which is why they are where we thought they’d be at the beginning of the year — at the top. But will they be there in April?
4. Not to put down a senior who has contributed a great deal to the Wisconsin program over the years, but one of the most puzzling things about watching the Badgers is seeing Bo Ryan sticking with Ryan Evans in favor of standout freshman Sam Dekker during crucial stretches. Wisconsin is in a title chase, after all, and Evans just is not having the type of season you’d expect from someone with so much experience under his belt. Ryan has made it clear he intends to stick with his guy, though, and Evans has said he’s remaining positive while working through his struggles. But as the games become more meaningful, can the Badgers afford to go to him in crunch time?
5. We know John Groce is new to the Big Ten, so didn’t anybody tell him that the conference has a reputation for playing slower basketball? Perhaps not. And, really, Groce is just another in the line of Big Ten coaches who wants his players to push the basketball up and down the floor. Indiana, Michigan and Michigan State are all teams known to be lethal in the full-court game, and that’s the style Groce is trying to bring to Illinois. Mark Tupper writes that this is getting more players to expand their game, which can only mean good things for the Illini in the long run.

David Cassilo is an RTC columnist who also writes about college basketball for SLAM magazine. You can follow him at @dcassilo.

College basketball suffered a devastating loss when news broke that Nerlens Noel had torn his ACL in Tuesday’s game against Florida. Perhaps the best defender in the country, Noel was starting to come into his own offensively. The injury has once again sparked the debate about the one-and-done rule. First of all, know your target with this debate. It’s the NBA, not the NCAA. David Stern came up with the rule, but the biggest effects have been seen in college basketball. The positive for the NCAA has been increased exposure. Everyone wants a chance to see players like Noel before they hit the big show. But on the flip side, it’s tough on coaches who can’t plan their recruiting as easily as they used to. And finally, there’s the health risk for the player. This is another reason why I think there needs to be some sort of union-like body watching out for college athletes’ interest. If we knew a player like Noel would be taken care of financially in the event of an injury, I don’t think people would have as big a problem with the one-and-done rule.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

10. Kelly Olynyk – Gonzaga (Last week – NR)
2012-13 stats: 17.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG

The big man for Gonzaga is as consistent as they come, seemingly giving the Bulldogs somewhere between 15 and 20 points every single night. Some say this is the best Gonzaga team ever, and he deserves much of the credit for that. This week: February 16 at San Francisco, February 20 vs. Santa Clara

9. Ben McLemore – Kansas (Last week – 7)
2012-13 stats: 16.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG

The drop for McLemore is mostly because of the terrific weeks by other players on this list. The freshman didn’t do too badly himself, as he poured in 30 points in a win over Kansas State. This week: February 16 vs. Texas, February 20 at Oklahoma State

8. Deshaun Thomas – Ohio State (Last week – 4)
2012-13 stats: 20.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG

Deshaun Thomas Makes the Buckeyes Very Tough to Beat

As one of the few Buckeyes that can score, Thomas keeps posting 20-point games because he keeps getting a lot of shots. The junior has taken at least 15 shots in each of his last five games and fewer than 11 just once all season. This week: February 17 at Wisconsin, February 20 vs. Minnesota

7. Doug McDermott – Creighton (Last Week – 3)
2012-13 stats: 23 PPG, 7.7 RPG

Losers of three straight and perhaps headed for a seat on the bubble, McDermott’s team is playing him out of the Player of the Year race. While he has played well, he’s missing the memorable performances he needs to overcome everything working against him. This week: February 16 at Evansville, February 19 vs. Southern Illinois Read the rest of this entry »

Deepak is a writer for the Big Ten microsite of Rush The Court. Follow him on Twitter for more about B1G hoops at @dee_b1g.

Playing four games over the course of 11 days is not an easy task for any basketball team, especially true if the games are in the toughest conference in the nation. What the Michigan Wolverines had to go through since February 2 can’t be compared to any normal four-game stretch because they faced three of the top Big Ten teams — Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan State — in front of thousands of raucous fans which can be very exhausting. As if those road games were not enough, they arguably played in the most competitive game of the league season against Ohio State in Ann Arbor. Two weeks ago, we knew that John Beilein’s squad would be tested during these games but the match-ups turned out to be much tougher for the Wolverines than anticipated. Three road games which included two overtimes have given us a very good sample to understand the strengths and weaknesses John Beilein’s team and the following are three key observations since Michigan’s game two Saturdays ago against the Hoosiers.

Trey Burke and the Wolverines capped off a tough stretch of games (AP)

1. Good defensive teams will let Trey Burke beat them, but only from the perimeter. Burke is shooting 38% from beyond the arc which is a decent long-range shooting percentage but the three-ball is not his forte. Rather, he is most dangerous once he gets by his defender into the paint and has three options: pull up for a jumper from the high post, kick it out to Nik Stauskas or Glenn Robinson in the corner, or drive all the way to the basket to draw the foul. Except for a few pick-and-roll plays with Mitch McGary, Burke hasn’t had much success consistently driving to the basket over last few games and all of the credit goes to good scouting and defense by Victor Oladipo, Aaron Craft, Ben Brust and Keith Appling. He scored 19.5 PPG during the four games but also attempted an average of eight shots from beyond the arc, which indicates a tendency to settle for poor shot selection to some extent. If he can consistently hit the step-back three, opposing teams will gladly let him beat them that way because it is not as high a percentage shot for a player with Burke’s gifts. By keeping Burke on the perimeter, the Wolverines’ threat from the corners are also neutralized, which hurts the offensive games of Robinson and Stauskas. Read the rest of this entry »

Deepak is a writer for the Big Ten microsite of Rush The Court. Follow him on Twitter for more about B1G hoops at @dee_b1g.

Two weeks ago when the pollsters voted the Michigan Wolverines as the top-ranked team in college hoops, there were several references made to the “Fab Five” because some 20 years ago that talented group of Wolverines represented the last time the school had achieved the top spot. In that era of the early 1990s, freshmen were not typically expected to contribute immediately but instead were supposed to gradually develop their understanding of the college game. But over the intervening years as the NBA has gutted talent from the pool of upperclassmen, programs have learned to rely more on freshmen, and in some cases, demand that 18-year-olds assume a leadership role from day one. Due to these lofty expectations, we may tend to sometimes overlook freshmen who start out slowly but gradually show improvement over the course of the season. One of the best reasons to follow college basketball is to see the progression of young men who may struggle to adjust to the game during some stretches but will work their way out of that slump and eventually contribute to their teams. It has been a joy, for example, to watch Michigan freshman forward Mitch McGary add value and figure out how to play his game at the collegiate level over the past few weeks.

Mitch McGary continues to improve with every Big Ten game.

McGary received some well-deserved hype during the preseason because he along with Glenn Robinson III spearheaded a top 15 recruiting class heading to Ann Arbor. He was rated as one of the best forwards in the country and was a consensus top 30 recruit among the recruitiniks. Combine his bulky 6’10″ frame to the need for an inside presence for John Beilein and expectations were set fairly high for him before the season began. But the forward struggled to find his place in a guard-oriented Beilein offense, and he was quickly overshadowed by his fellow freshmen – Nik Stauskas and Robinson – over the first two months. While that pair benefited from open looks because the defense focused on Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr., McGary had to adjust to defending the paint without getting into foul trouble. Even though it took him a while to get a feel for the pace of the game, he has been very effective since the middle of January and will continue to be an integral part of the Wolverines’ success down the stretch.

Read the rest of this entry »

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

If we’ve learned anything so far this season, the rest of the season will be anything but predictable. Almost every conference is still up for grabs, so we are in for an exciting few weeks as we head towards March. The games this week provide us several battles at the top of each conference that will go a long way in determining who will stand alone at the end of the regular season. Let’s get to the breakdowns!

#18 Marquette at #16 Georgetown – 7:00 PM EST, Monday on ESPN (****)

• Six teams still have a legitimate shot at winning the Big East regular season title. Marquette currently sits on top of the standings with Syracuse and Georgetown only one game back. In their previous match-up this season, the Golden Eagles outlasted the Hoyas 49-48 on the strength of their rebounding and free throw shooting. The game was anything but pretty. While shooting was poor on both sides for that contest, the Hoyas have significantly improved their shooting during their current five game win streak. If Georgetown can combine better shooting with a defense that is holding Big East opponents to 42.3% eFG, they become a very difficult team to beat. The Golden Eagles have been living inside the three-point line. They are first in the Big East in two-point field goal percentage at 51.8%. The Hoyas length bothered Buzz Williams’ squad last time out so keep a close eye on how they are shooting on the road this time. However, because Marquette was steadfast in getting into the paint, they got fouled and went to the line. That was the difference in the game. If the Hoyas can play good defense without fouling and hit the boards, they can win the rematch in D.C.

Otto Porter and the rest of the Hoyas have improved their shooting significantly during their five game win streak. (AP/R. Sutton)

#14 Kansas State at #13 Kansas – 9:00 PM EST, Monday on ESPN (****)

• Kansas was going to eventually lose at home. However, three straight losses and a game behind Kansas State in the Big 12 standings seemed pretty far-fetched even just 10 days ago. This is a big game for the Jayhawks as they look to tie Kansas State at the top of the Big 12 and avoid back-to-back home losses. Kansas stopped the Wildcats 59-55 in Manhattan a few weeks ago by locking down the interior on defense and preventing second-chance points. In their most recent loss to Oklahoma, the Jayhawks improved their two-point shooting considerably over the last several games hitting 51% of their attempts inside the arc. Look for Bill Self’s squad to continue to take the ball into the paint where they have a size advantage. For Kansas State to win, they need to hit the three-ball. Kansas has shown vulnerability to the three and the Wildcats must take advantage if they want to build on their lead in the Big 12.

Read the rest of this entry »

David Cassilo is an RTC columnist who also writes about college basketball for SLAM magazine. You can follow him at @dcassilo.

After weeks and weeks of coming close, Trey Burke has finally broken through and grabbed the #1 spot. It’s a long time coming, as Burke embodies everything you want in a player. He’s a scorer that can take over the game. He’s an unselfish player that likes to get his teammates involved. He’s a leader, who steps up in big moments and keeps his team focused. Look no further than his block of Aaron Craft’s potential game-tying shot on Tuesday as to why there’s nobody like him in the country. Michigan is in good hands come March.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

10. Victor Oladipo – Indiana (Last Week – NR)
2012-13 stats: 13.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.3 SPG

The Hoosiers can beat any team on any given day, if Victor Oladipo has a good game.

I’ll reluctantly include Oladipo, partly because there’s no one better and partly because you almost have to at this point. I don’t blame him, but the hype surrounding him has really surprised me. I just don’t see why people say he’s better than some one like Otto Porter Jr., who puts up equal if not better stats, when Oladipo has Zeller down low and Porter Jr. lost his second-best player to suspension. This week: February 10 at Ohio State, February 13 vs. Nebraska

9. Nate Wolters – South Dakota State (Last week – NR)
2012-13 stats: 22.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 5.5 APG

I don’t care what conference he’s in and how good his team is, Wolters is without question one of the 10 best players in the country. In case you missed it, he scored 53 points against IPFW on Thursday night. And as his numbers above show, he’s well-rounded too. This week: February 9 at Oakland, February 14 vs. IUPUI

8. Otto Porter Jr. – Georgetown (Last Week – 6)
2012-13 stats: 14.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG

Porter Jr. played just once this week and had 11 points and seven rebounds in a win over St. John’s. He’s shot at least 50 percent from the field in five of his last six games. This week: February 9 at Rutgers, February 11 vs. Marquette

7. Ben McLemore – Kansas (Last week – 7)
2012-13 stats: 16.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG

It was a rough week for Kansas, but McLemore was only partially to blame. He had 23 points, his second-most in Big 12 play, in the loss to Oklahoma State, so he can be absolved for the game. Against TCU, though, his 0-for-6 3-point shooting was part of a dreadful night for the Jayhawks. This week: February 9 vs. Oklahoma, February 11 vs. Kansas State Read the rest of this entry »

1. With all of the movement caused by conference realignment it is nice to see schools not move every once in a while even if it is only for one more year as Notre Dame appears to be doing with the announcement that it will stay in the Big East through the 2013-14 season. Now we will not pretend this was some noble gesture as we are aware of the fact that if the Irish had been able to get out of their 27-month notice period they would have. Perhaps more interestingly Notre Dame also says that the other members of the “Catholic 7” also intend to stay in the Big East for one more season making the conference more than just an also-ran even if one for a short period of time.
2. It has only been 8.5 months since Sports Illustrated came out with its cover story calling Jabari Parker the best high school basketball player since LeBron so it is somewhat amusing that they are ready to hype another recruit, Andrew Wiggins, as the best recruit in this class as the “Michael Jordan of Canada”. Some apologists may try to explain this away by noting that Parker recently joined this year’s senior class, but we are having a hard time explaining this coincidence of having the two best players in the past decade in the same senior class as nothing more than useless hype. We have seen Wiggins play on several occasions and while we think he is a better prospect than Parker primarily because of his explosiveness we wonder why the media is so eager to hype someone as “the next big thing”.
3. Most years the contenders for national player of the year honors are fairly predictable and this year isn’t that different with one notable exception: Victor Oladipo. While it may be hard to make a case for anybody on the preseason #1 team being under the radar Oladipo was not even considered a Big Ten Player of the Year candidate coming into the season as you would not have found anybody outside of his immediate family who would have considered him anywhere close to Indiana’s best player (that distinction would have went to Cody Zeller). Yet with a little over a month left in the regular season Oladipo is up to fourth in ESPN’s straw poll, which is one spot ahead of his more highly regarded teammate. As for the actual award, it appears as if Trey Burke and Doug McDermott with the eventual winner most likely being the one who finishes the strongest over the next month.
4. Just a few days ago it seemed as if nothing could go wrong for the Florida Gators. They were having one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory before getting blown out by Arkansas on Tuesday. Now they will have to play at least for at least a month without the services of Will Yeguete after they announced that the junior forward will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. At this point the Gator are hoping to get Yeguete back in time for the SEC Tournament, but it is possible that he could be out for the season if they expect him to be out that long. Yeguete doess not put up huge stats, but if the Gaotrs are going to make a run in March Yeguete’s contributions on the glass could be key as the Gators lack a significant interior presence outside of Patric Young, who will need some help if the Gators are planning on making a trip to Atlanta.
5. There was plenty of controversy around National Signing Day with the most prominent ones involving a player who committed to Alabama despite getting an Auburn tattoo and another recruit who had commitment put into limbo after his mother absconded with his National Letter of Intent after she disagreed with his choice. While Jeff Borzello’s  “biggest commitment flips in recent history” may lack the absurdity of those two examples it is an interesting reminder not to rely on these commitments until the player has officially signed or in some cases actually arrived on campus. We remember most of these recent flips, but we had forgotten about some of them (particularly those listed in the “others” category).

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

With only a month to go in the regular season, the conference pictures are still not 100% clear. Let’s take a look at six match-ups this week that will continue to clear things up as we head towards March. Let’s get to the breakdowns!

#12 Ohio State at #3 Michigan – 9:00 PM EST, Tuesday on ESPN (****)

• If you break games up into ten minute segments as KenPom does in his box scores, Michigan has only played two poor ten minute segments this season. The first ten minutes against Ohio State and the first ten minutes against Indiana. Both games were on the road in very hostile environments. In their last game in Columbus, Ohio State punched the Wolverines in the mouth in those first ten minutes with tenacious defense. Michigan recovered by limiting mistakes and forcing the Buckeyes to execute their half-court offense, which is virtually nonexistent  Don’t expect Michigan to be rattled like they were in Columbus but they still need to be careful with the basketball. If Ohio State wants to win in Ann Arbor, Aaron Craft and Shannon Scott are going to need to be even more disruptive on defense. Also, keep a close eye on Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III for the Wolverines. Stauskas had zero points against the Buckeyes and GRIII was virtually nonexistent in both of Michigan’s losses. If Michigan is going to win the Big Ten and make a deep run in the tournament, these two need to be at their best every night. The addition of those two as scoring threats is what makes Michigan so tough to beat. If the scoring sits squarely on the shoulders of Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr., Michigan becomes much easier to beat.

Round Two of OSU-Michigan Will Be Another War

#21 Minnesota at #6 Michigan State – 7:00 PM EST, Wednesday on BTN (****)

• After four straight losses, the Gophers have steadied a bit with wins against Nebraska and Iowa. They have avoided an Illinois-like tailspin, which is keeping them in the hunt in the Big Ten. Michigan State is sitting one game back of Indiana and is looking to avenge their New Year’s Eve loss to Minnesota. The difference in that game was offensive rebounding, free throws, and 60% two-point shooting from the Gophers. The Spartans are still having a tough time defending the two, so keep a close eye on the interior defense they get from Adreian Payne, Derrick Nix, and Denzel Valentine. These three players need to lead the way for Michigan State, if they want to win this game. In the last meeting, Nix went 5-15, Payne had 4 points, and Valentine had 5 points. All three players need to be more productive for Michigan State to keep pace not only in this game but the rest of the Big Ten season. For Minnesota, they need to stop turning the ball over and play better defense without fouling. Keep a close eye on turnovers and free throws for the Gophers throughout the game. If they can limit both, they can beat Sparty again.

Read the rest of this entry »

Deepak is a writer for the Big Ten microsite of Rush The Court. Follow him on Twitter for more about B1G hoops at @dee_b1g.

Winning on the road seems to become a tougher challenge every year in college hoops. Ask Jim Boeheim about Syracuse’s loss to Pittsburgh on the road or Dana Altman about the Ducks unable to close the deal at California on Saturday – road games are no joke at this time of the year. Keeping that trend in mind, imagine the Wolverines’ challenge on Saturday night at Assembly Hall, where they had to deal with approximately 17,000 Hoosier fans who have been marinating in the cold all day thinking about this game. During ESPN’s College GameDay special on Saturday morning, they interviewed a bunch of Big Ten players about the toughest Big Ten venue and Assembly Hall was the unanimous answer. The Hoosiers’ 81-73 win on Saturday night in Bloomington may put IU back at the top of the polls again but let’s not forget that this is the first part of this series — they will play again in Ann Arbor on March 10 where the tables could be turned. Having said that, the Hoosiers played with more intensity right from the tip and executed well on both ends of the floor. The following are three thoughts from the match-up.

Cody Zeller (right) was smiling after the win in Bloomington but Trey Burke (left) will have a shot to return the favor in Ann Arbor on March 10. (AP Photo/D. Cummings)

1. The Hoosiers had more transition opportunities than the Wolverines. The credit goes to the Hoosiers’ transition defense here. They limited Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway from transition opportunities by allowing jumpers. The two Wolverines combined to take 17 shots from beyond the arc and couldn’t find easy buckets around the hoop because Victor Oladipo and Christian Watford hustled back on defense throughout. Without any transition opportunities, the Wolverines were not able to get to the free throw line consistently and finished with just seven opportunities from the charity line. On the flip side, the Hoosiers were running wild to end up with 25 free throw attempts on their end, and as a result, were in a comfort zone offensively. Even in their half-court sets, the Hoosiers clogged the lanes for Burke and Hardaway, therefore giving up only jumpers. Transition opportunities were a key factor in this game and the Hoosiers clearly won that challenge Saturday night. Read the rest of this entry »