Thursday, January 29, 2009

Everything's going to be all right

That's the buzz around Syracuse, surprisingly, following last night's setback in Providence. Folks around here are taking a realistic approach to the defeat, acknowledging the razor thin bench and accepting the inevitable dip in the Big East road. It could be worse. The Orange could have lost 4-straight, including losses at Seton Hall and at Cincinnati. Oh wait... that's what Georgetown is going through right now. The same Georgetown I tabbed as the disappointing team in the Big East this year. Allow myself to pat...myself...on the back.

The Orange have a week to get healthy, and then it's into The Gauntlet, version 2.0. West Virginia. At Villanova. At UConn. Georgetown. Villanova. I'll break that down next week. In the mean time, let's all just keep calm. Everything's going to be all right.

Right?

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Getting Dicey

Just in case this is your source for Syracuse basketball news, check out all the latest (surprisingly extensive) injury news from Mike Waters in today's Post-Standard.

The summary: No Rautins. No Mookie. Maybe no A-O. Devo is banged up but will play. Harris missed two practices for unknown reasons, but traveled with the team today. DeShaun Williams impregnated Julie Boheim. Wait, I made that last one up.

Go Orange.

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Saturday, January 24, 2009

Red Hot Louisville

I gotta say, I'm nervous about this Louisville game. And its not because Louisville is red hot. That might actually be a benefit to Syracuse. I think Louisville is due for a loss. I think they might be playing over their head just a tad. I don't think they have as much talent as UConn or Pitt.

I'm nervous because, in the six days since that Pitt loss, the doubts crept back in about this Orange team. I'm pretty much back to where I was before that Notre Dame game. Here's what I said going into that one:

"Frankly, Syracuse is STILL a mystery to me... We'll know more after Saturday. If this team is for real, there is no reason to lose at home to Notre Dame, with the taste of that ugly performance still fresh. If they lose to Notre Dame, they're not awful, but they're not a top 10 team."

Well, substitute "Sunday" for "Saturday" and "Louisville" for "Notre Dame," and that's how I'm feeling right now. That Notre Dame game was fantastic. Best performance of the season. Really, except for a brief, inevitable run from the Irish, Syracuse dominated that 2nd half. But was it Syracuse at it's absolute best, a peak to strive for but rarely to be attained again? Or was it Syracuse clicking, as they should be in most games? We'll know more after Sunday.

Louisville is better than Notre Dame right now. More talented. But SU has to hold serve at home in this conference, if it is to be considered among the elite. Win, and we're at Louisville's level. Lose, and we're at Notre Dame's. With that in mind, here's my Big East power poll, divided into the key tiers. Note the top-heaviness:

Pitt
UConn
Marquette
Louisville
---------------
Syracuse
Georgetown
---------------
Notre Dame
West Virginia
Villanova
Providence
---------------
Cincinnati
St. John's
---------------
South Florida
Seton Hall
Rutgers
DePaul


I predicted a home defeat against Louisville going into the gauntlet, part 1. Now? I think we win. But I'm not sure...

P.S. Getting to the dome 4 hours before gametime to get good seats with my crazy Freshmen buddies. Busting out the "orange hair" I haven't used since I was an undergrad. Good times.

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Friday, January 23, 2009

Georgetown Thought

Georgetown shot 2 of 16 from 3pt range in last night's home setback against West Virginia. Final: 75-58.

In their 88-74 win over Syracuse a week ago, the Hoyas were 12 of 21 for threes. Georgetown is shooting 33.8% for the season. If they just shoot their average in that game, Syracuse wins. I'm just sayin'... Beware Georgetown's 3-point shooting when you're filling out your brackets in March.

Actually, the Big East 3-point shooting standings are interesting. Notre Dame's 3-point shooting has, so far this season, eaten a whole wheel of cheese AND pooped in the refrigerator. I'm not even mad. That's amazing.

3-Point Shooting
GP3PM3PAPCT
1.Notre Dame1716038741.3
2.Connecticut188722938.0
3.Marquette1813135437.0
4.Villanova1811331136.3
5.Pittsburgh1811532335.6
6.Syracuse2012636234.8
7.Louisville1713138633.9
8.Georgetown1710631433.8
9.Cincinnati2014342833.4
10.West Virginia1811935933.1
11.Providence1913441732.1
12.South Florida189730531.8
13.Seton Hall1811135431.4
14.St. John's187926230.2
15.Rutgers199332428.7
16.DePaul199836327.0

(Stats provided by STATS LLC and stolen from ESPN.com)

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Monday, January 19, 2009

Dajuan Blair is good

Much better than Luke Harangody.

That was a Paul Harris game. Well, it was a Pittsburgh game first and foremost. Ugly, no flow, high turnovers. Every offensive possession for the Orange was a battle. Syracuse was down by 7 with a little over 7 minutes to play. Against any other team, that would be no problem. Against Jamie Dixon's Panthers, that felt insurmountable.

It all went wrong after Paul got into foul trouble. The technical was inexcusable. The fifth foul, the offensive charge, was rightly criticized by Jay Bilas. Other than the foul trouble, Paul was brilliant. He clamped down on taller players, blocked shots, and played, well, Pittsburgh-esque basketball. So again, a double-digit road loss that is hard to gauge.

I would be more concerned about the road play of Syracuse if not for the Memphis game, when the Orange played superbly amidst a fantastic crowd. I'm mildly concerned about Devendorf, who looked rattled as the predictable taunts rained down on him. Chris pointed this out to me long ago: some guys you don't want to taunt, because they'll use it as motivation. I'm not sure if Devendorf, for all his emotion, is that kind of a guy.

Ultimately, that's an expected bounce back victory for Pitt, and Syracuse will be back in bounce back position at home against Louisville on Sunday.

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Quick Predaction: Notre Dame and Pittsburgh

Notre Dame...
  • I can't emphasize enough how brilliantly Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku played on defense against Luke Harangody. Ignore the reigning conference player of the year's 25 points. It's his 9 for 28 shooting that begins to tell the story. Harangody has a fantastic touch. Of the 9 shots he did make, probably 5 or 6 of them were tough, away from the basket shots. The credit probably should start with Boeheim, who drilled into Jackson and Onuaku the need to stay down and between Harangody and the hoop.
  • On the other end of the floor, I was amazed at what a lackluster defender Harangody is. Matched up mostly with Jackson, he gave up 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting. He committed only one foul and got only one block. He might win player of the year again based on his offensive skills, but Harangody is not going to make a good pro.
Pittsburgh...
  • I was disappointed that Louisville knocked off Pittsburgh the other night, first because I wanted to play Pitt while they were undefeated and second because Pitt now has the bounce-back factor going for them, just as Syracuse had going against the Irish.
  • Pitt is allowing only 63.6 ppg in the Big East. Syracuse is scoring 82.2 ppg in conference (including 59 in the ugly South Florida win). Something's gotta give. I think Pitt's Howland-Dixon defense slows down the Orange. In a lower scoring game, threes become even more valuable. If Flynn, Devo, and Rautins are hitting, Syracuse will pull this one off. I'm skeptical, though. That defense, with that crowd... doable, but unlikely. Pittsburgh, 70-68.

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Friday, January 16, 2009

Money Pi¢k$: NFL Conference Championships

I'm starting a new running feature called Money Pi¢k$, and by starting a new feature, I mean I came up with a good idea for a running feature but I'll probably forget about it and never do it again. Here's the premise: you know how whenever sports experts make picks against the spread, they always say that they're picking, "for entertainment purposes only?" Well, I decided to go in the opposite direction. These picks are strictly for illegal gambling purposes, and should be taken right to your bookie. Bet the contents of your wallet, your car, your house, your child's college savings... I am that confident. Here we go...

Philadelphia -4 over ARIZONA

This morning I woke up to discover the tide of picks shifting to the Cardinals. For the first time, people are starting to buy into this Arizona team. Brian Billick, for example, admitted on Mike and Mike to changing his mind on this one over the course of the week, and picked the Cards.

I thought about it, and it makes sense. The offense is as good as advertised, and they're playing at home. This is NOT the Arizona defense of the regular season. Get that out of your head. These guys are playing well. The NFL, more than any other league, is affected by intangibles. Run the season again, with the Cardinals defense playing with this confidence level, and I think Arizona is a 10-win team.

That said, let's remind ourselves of how good the NFC East is. Let's also recall that the road the Cardinals took to get here traveled through two NFC south teams, which in retrospect was probably overrated.

Speaking of "-rated," this Eagles defense might be under the aforementioned "-rated." I was surprised last week when I saw that Philly had the 3rd best total defense in the regular season. Say what you will about Andy Reid, but Jim Johnson is a genius: the Bearded Blitzer. I think they get after Warner and win the turnover battle.

On the other side of the ball, everything is setting up for one last massive disappointment for Philly from my boy, the tragic Donovan McNabb...but not just yet. I'm taking the Eagles here. (Note: when I pick McNabb to win the Super Bowl, it won't be a Money Pi¢k.)


PITTSBURGH -6 over Baltimore

Yesterday I was talking to a Steelers fan about this game. He was ragging a little bit on Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, and predicting a Steelers blowout (30+ points to less than 20 points, to be precise). I forget which show I saw it on, but I believe it was Ron Jaworski who pointed out that Ed Reed is missing tackles this year because of a bum shoulder, running film of him blowing an open field tackle. Interesting. I do think that Ray Lewis made some nice adjustments at the beginning of the year to his steroid cycle, which explains his rejuvenation. Credit where credit is due there. Ha ha ha, just kidding! I don't want to get in any legal trouble here!

My Steeler's friend says the best part of the Raven's defense is their line. Remember that when you start talking yourself into Willie Parker having an amazing day based on his performance last week.

I hesitated to agree with my friend's prediction of a rout, instead suggeting the game would be what we all think it is going to be: a low-scoring, classic cold weather battle of defenses. Aren't we all just drooling over that prospect? One last, final, last cold weather classic in a year that has had a few? Yeah, me too. Which makes me think it might be wishful thinking...

The key here is Joey Joe-Joe Junior Flacco. Yeah, he's looked solid. Solid enough that the utterly useless Dan Dierdorf proclaimed during the Titans-Ravens game that he was never going to call Joey Joe-Joe a rookie ever again after he threw that TD to Derrick Mason (underrated throughout his career, by the way) in the first quarter. I listened, and I don't think Dierdorf ever did use the word rookie in reference to Junior Flacco. He managed to stick with the term "young" whenever Joey Joe-Joe made a bad play. Well done, Dan Dierdorf.

(Speaking of the coverage of that game, I think a fantastic football game was almost ruined by both the commentary and the directing. Wait...I'm going to search for the technical director of that game and call him out. OK, I can't find his/her name. Whoever it is, if you're reading this, let me give you some constructive criticism. Instant replay should be your number one priority in between plays, not sideline shots. Chris Johnson's injury was a key storyline, but not to the point where we needed to see him in between every other 4th quarter play. Give us replays instead! One example: that play when Joey Joe-Joe almost stepped out of the endzone. Needed a replay there. Best of luck with your career. Keep working at it!)

Don't tell Dierdorf, but I'm re-instituting the label "rookie" for Junior Flacco for this game. If the game is close, you have to like Ben over Joey Joe-Joe in the fourth quarter. If (and I think this is likely) the Steelers open up a two score lead in the first half, you're looking at Junior Flacco needing to make some plays. Ultimately, I don't think he can do it at this point in his career. It's the Steelers by at least a TD.

There you go... Money Pi¢k$: picks you can wager actual money on. Now go do it!

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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Salary Cap Considerations

First, read this excellent article referred to me by my brother Dan. Shawn Hoffman of Baseball Prospectus points out that a salary cap in baseball might be devastating to small market teams, believe it or not.

Chris actually was the first one to get me thinking outside the box about the value of parity, particularly in baseball. Frankly, it's delightful to see the Yankees lose. It was cool to root for the Rays this year, and smaller teams in general.

Chris has also criticized the NFL because "he doesn't know who is good," and that has really played out this year. Still, I think the NFL regular season is ridiculously compelling because of the parity. I haven't been into fantasy that much, and I'm still addicted to watching football on Sunday almost in spite of myself.

On the other hand...last year was one of the best NFL regular seasons in memory precisely because there was one dominant team. Actually, there was one dominant team and a couple really, really good teams. Remember the hype for the Cowboys-Pats, Indy-Pats, and Giants-Pats games? Ridiculous.

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Predaction: Georgetown and Notre Dame

Main thought:
Frankly, Syracuse is STILL a mystery to me. How can you draw any conclusions from a game with such a ridiculous FG% disparity in the first half, and with Rautins playing only 9 minutes? We'll know more after Saturday. If this team is for real, there is no reason to lose at home to Notre Dame, with the taste of that ugly performance still fresh. If they lose to Notre Dame, they're not awful, but they're not a top 10 team.

Further thoughts:
  • Must've been wishful thinking picking Georgetown as the disappointing team of the Big East this year in my rankings. Could be SU. Could be ND. Heck, it could be a team playing great at the moment.
  • I briefly forgot how good a coach JT-III is. I still think, when SU is playing reasonably well, and Georgetown isn't hitting 57.1% from three, that the SU zone is a rough matchup for his offense. He's 3-4 lifetime against the Orange, but the Hoyas have been ranked much higher than the Orange the last few years.
  • I've never been more impressed by a guy who didn't hit a FG until 13 minutes to play. Greg Monroe is a stud. Chris texted me and called him "A taller, better Jeff Green."
  • Rick Jackson had a tough game. His 4 turnovers were glaring. But he still ended up with 17 points on 8-10 shooting. Chris saw it first; this guy is going to be a star.
  • A-O, meanwhile, was invisible on offense. He has to be more of a presence on that end against these marquee teams. On the other hand, maybe 23 points and 18 rebounds from the Onuaku-Jackson tandem should be enough.
  • I loved Devendorf tonight. Nice game from Harris, and outstanding effort as usual. Couldn't ask any more of Flynn.
  • Kris Joseph looked like a freshman. Kristof Ongenaet was more of a presence, but the game was out of his league. No Mookie Jones for his 3-ball? OK, coach. Forget I asked.
Saturday, noon, The Dome...
  • Look for a big game out of Onuaku. He relishes matching up against the stud centers.
  • Pay attention to Rautins's demeanor, if he plays. He was clearly rattled by the injury tonight. He seems to be a psychologically sensitive guy. If he plays, and misses his first couple shots, that could spiral into a longterm slump.
  • With the Rautins injury, let's see if Boeheim takes the opportunity to start Devendorf. I wouldn't complain. He is clearly starter-caliber. However, Chris has convinced me that Rautins is better player when he starts. A quick analysis of his best games this year and last year confirms it. Devendorf, on the other hand, is clearly still a force coming off the bench.
  • Call me crazy, but I still believe Syracuse is more talented than Georgetown. They're more talented than Notre Dame, too, and will prove it with their best first half of the season. F'ing McAlarney makes it interesting in the second half, but Syracuse never gives up the lead and wins it by 10.

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Predaction: Into the Gauntlet

Reaction: First 4 Big East games.

  • Obviously, the best part of SU's performance in the first 4 matches of Big East play was Andy Rautins. From a worryingly bad slump to start the season, Rautins has re-established himself as the team's best shooter.
  • Another thing I loved during these first 4 games was that all of the key players had at least one game where they played fantastic. The Rutgers game was particularly pleasing for the effectiveness of the inside game. Harris and Onuaku combined to shoot 19 of 22. Who do you focus your defense on now if you're an SU opponent?
Prediction: Gauntlet Part 1 - January

@Georgetown: Win. We matchup well against the Hoyas and our zone has given all but JT-III's most talented teams trouble.

Notre Dame: Win. Kyle McAlarney? Meet Andy Rautins. For once, a shootout with the Irish will work in our favor. If our offense is clicking, we're set.

@ Pittsburgh: Loss. A tough, great place to play. Speaking of which, I don't think I commented on how great the Memphis crowd was. For all our Memphis readers, well done. Your energy came through the TV-set.

Louisville: Win. SU holds serve at home. The dome is rockin' this year.

@Providence: Loss. Just seems like we'll lose to an inferior team at some point. I think it's decent Providence.

3-2? I'll take it.

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Sunday, January 11, 2009

The 2nd Annual-ish Insanity NCAA Rankings

For those of you who just about gave up on my promise of ranking every single team in Division I... gotcha suckas!! This year the rankings are even more insane, with 5 more D-I teams than last year!

A few notes on my method... I went conference by conference, taking a cursory look at each squad then giving them an approximate ranking out of 347. Afterward, I went back and shifted them around a bit. In short, it's highly unscientific, completely subjective, and borderline reckless journalism. In other words, it's classic Sports Sauna. I am, however, willing to GUARANTEE that 95% of the teams will be ranked accurately, +/-100. (In other words, I can only be off by more than 100 spots for 5% of the 328 teams.)

Here are the sources/facts I considered for the rankings, in order of importance:
1. My own knowledge (admittedly limited)
2. Results through Friday, January 9.
3. ESPN.com's college basketball team pages
4. Complete Blue Ribbon College Yearbook, courtesy ESPN.com
5. Google search

  • Tip: the best way to look up a particular team is using CTRL-F to search through the entire page.
  • Sometime soon I'll draw up a bracket based on my rankings, as well as rank the conferences.
  • Last year's ranking
  • Last year's pre-season bracket
  • Last year's reviewed ranking after the bracket was released in March.



1 North Carolina ACC BC loss was a fluke. This is the team to beat.
2 Connecticut Big East UConn v. UNC in the finals? Gouge my eye out with a spoon!
3 Oklahoma Big 12 Blake Griffin is better as a sophomore than Tyler Hansbrough will ever be.
4 UCLA Pac-10 Allow 58.2 ppg. Ben Howland is amazing.
5 Duke ACC Last year experience was a weakness. This year it’s a strength. Thaaat's NCAA basketball!
6 Pittsburgh Big East One big win so far (Georgetown) may not be as big as it appears.
7 Wake Forest ACC My theory: soph G Jeff Teague IS Jonny Flynn
8 Xavier A-10 Lost 3 best players from a 30 win team, but still the cream of the A-10.
9 Marquette Big East Three excellent seniors. If I'm a Marquette fan I've got high hopes.
10 Syracuse Big East Frankly, this team is still a mystery for me. I'm more guarded in my optimism than most around here.
11 Michigan St. Big 10 Easily your Big 10 champs
12 Kansas Big 12 Win against Tenn sign that Kansas is heating up for conference play, as usual.
13 Villanova Big East Experienced, talented, but not a title threat.
14 Texas Big 12 Everyone loves AJ Abrams, but in losses to Ark and Mich St he had 7 and 8 points.
15 Notre Dame Big East You can keep Harangody. McAlarney scares the crap out of me.
16 Memphis C-USA 2-2 against the Big East. Just join up already!!
17 Texas A&M Big 12 Surprising to me: Billy Gillespie misses A&M more than A&M misses Billy Gillespie.
18 Davidson Southern They lost their three biggest televised games, all on the road. Don't dismiss them.
19 Louisville Big East Non-conference sched was no cakewalk, but if this team was top-tier, it should be undefeated right now.
20 Ohio St. Big 10 No seniors, but they do have the great Thad Matta.
21 Baylor Big 12 Balanced offense, nice defense = 18.1 scoring margin into conference play
22 Dayton A-10 Only loss was @Creighton. Picked up big win against Marquette.
23 Gonzaga WCC Still easily at-large worthy.
24 Butler Horizon Lost 4 starters from 30-win team, but you don't rebuild at Butler. You reload.
25 Florida SEC NIT streak ends at one. Back to the NCAAs.
26 California Pac-10 Mike Montgomery takes over and improvement is immediate.
27 Clemson ACC Undefeated non-conference with big wins against teams like…um…Illinois?
28 Arizona St. Pac-10 Sun Devils still smarting from NCAA snub. Join the club.
29 West Virginia Big East Say what you will about his tourney performance, Huggins can recruit. Flat-out recruit!
30 Georgia Tech ACC I don't know who this Gani Lawal guy is, but he's putting up some great numbers.
31 Saint Mary's WCC The Aussie-heavy Gaels are in good position to get an at-large.
32 UNLV MWC Remind me again why Lon Kruger is not in a major conference?
33 Vanderbilt SEC Vandy going for its third straight NCAA tournament, best streak ever.
34 Wisconsin Big 10 Played some big non-conference games but didn't win any.
35 BYU MWC Lost Trent Plaisted, but have two players averaging 18+ ppg.
36 Temple A-10 4 return from the surprise conference tourney champs of last year.
37 Arkansas SEC Wins over Oklahoma and Texas are impressive. 1-1 road record isn't.
38 Minnesota Big 10 Neutral court win over Louisville was impressive in otherwise lackluster schedule.
39 Utah St. WAC Still the class of the WAC
40 Michigan Big 10 Beilein's done it. Back to the tourney.
41 Tennessee SEC Perhaps as overrated as their win over Georgetown.
42 Evansville MVC Only non-conf losses were @Butler, @UNC.
43 Maryland ACC Got their revenge for last season's loss to American. Next step: back to the tourney.
44 Kentucky SEC Year 2 of the Gillespie era. If they barely miss the NCAAs again, how much longer will he last?
45 Arizona Pac-10 Chase Budinger is very, very good…just not great.
46 Creighton MVC Altman going for a remarkable 11th straight 20-win season.
47 Georgetown Big East One team is bound to disappoint in the Big East. I think it's the Hoyas; DaJuan Summers overrated?
48 San Diego St. MWC Steve Fisher returns his starting lineup from an NIT team.
49 Illinois St. MVC No non-conf losses, but weak sched eliminates chance of at-large.
50 Tulsa C-USA Handed Texas A&M its only loss. Watch out for the Golden Hurricane in March.
51 Siena MAAC Safe bet to return to the dance
52 Boston College ACC Win over UNC=tourney bid. Loss to Harvard=upset in first round.
53 Purdue Big 10 Bubble bound after starting conference 0-2.
54 Drake MVC Wins over Iowa, Iowa St. proves this is the best team in Iowa
55 Florida State ACC McD's Frosh Chris Singleton leads the Seminoles onto the bubble.
56 Alabama SEC Sr. PG Ronald Steele withdrew from the draft. He's key for their chance to dance.
57 Missouri Big 12 4 return from a 16-16 team. Decent shot at the tourney.
58 Northern Iowa MVC Hung 105 on Auburn.
59 E. Tenn. St. A-Sun Watch out for the Bucs in the NCAAs: two players average 20+
60 Stanford Pac-10 New coach Johnny Dawkins went undefeated in non-conference, Duke-style.
61 Middle Tenn. St. Sun Belt Rolling to a 5-0 start in conference. You'll be pondering them for an upset in your bracket.
62 Washington Pac-10 Huskies feature a Freshman G named Isaiah Thomas!!
63 UAB C-USA Brutal non-conference sched will pay dividends in conference play.
64 VCU Colonial Eric Maynor, who hit the buzzer-beater to upset Duke in 07, wants more in his senior season.
65 Oklahoma St. Big 12 These guys can score. 85.9ppg and 5 players in double digits.
66 UTEP C-USA Senior G Stegon Jackson dropped 31 on Wake Forest in a 3-point loss.
67 Miami (OH) MAC Deep, talented.
68 Providence Big East Friars have NIT written all over them.
69 LSU SEC Trent Johnson arrives, success is sure to follow soon.
70 Duquesne A-10 Led by senior G Aaron Jackson: 17P/5.8R/6.1A
71 USC Pac-10 In DeMar DeRozan, the "D" might stand for disappointing
72 Bradley MVC Only MVC team to start conference 4-0, but the road gets tougher soon.
73 VMI Big South Score 96.7, give up 85.5. Could be a tough 1st round matchup.
74 Buffalo MAC Been a couple years…time to make that drive and catch a Bulls game or two.
75 TCU MWC Overall record belies struggles on road, including losses @Charleston, @La. Tech.
76 Portland St. Big Sky Quality. Won @Gonzaga and lost by 1 @Washington.
77 St. John's Big East Win over ND reveals Red Storm as bubble threat.
78 LaSalle A-10 Experienced team may finally be a factor in the conference.
79 George Mason Colonial Another nice team for Larranaga.
80 Saint Louis A-10 Good: allowing 55.6ppg. Bad: 0-3 on the road.
81 Illinois Big 10 The future is not now. But it's coming.
82 St. Bonaventure A-10 The long road back may finally be winding in the right direction.
83 Rhode Island A-10 Losses by 3 @Duke, 1 @Prov eliminated any hope at ending on the right side of the bubble.
84 South Carolina SEC New Coach Darrin Horn will miss the good years at Western Kentucky.
85 Cornell Ivy A virtual lock for the conference championship, NCAAs
86 Kansas St. Big 12 No Beasley, no NCAAs
87 Boise St. WAC Success of the football team is starting to rub off on the basketball program.
88 NC State ACC Missed all three chances at quality non-conference W's: @Davidson, Marquette, @Florida.
89 Penn St. Big 10 Cupcake schedule will be enough for the NIT.
90 Belmont A-Sun Return 4 starters. Nice offensive balance with 4 players in double-digits.
91 Washington St. Pac-10 Negatives: one of the best backcourts in the nation is gone. Positives: Tony Bennett
92 Austin Peay OVC No team has won more games in the Ohio Valley in the last 6 seasons.
93 Utah MWC CBI last year, NIT this year, NCAA next year?
94 St. Joseph's A-10 Coach Martelli was brilliant in getting the Hawks into the tourney last year. Won't do it again.
95 Iowa Big 10 2nd year coach Todd Lickliter struggling to replicate success he had at Butler.
96 Niagara MAAC Strong on offense, defense AND special teams
97 Kent St. MAC Couldn't pull out a marquee non-conference W, but this is a good team.
98 UCF C-USA Senior G Jermaine Taylor averages 23.1ppg with 39% from 3-pt range
99 Iowa State Big 12 3rd year Coach McDermitt has been hit hard with transfers, including Wesley Joshson to SU.
100 Nevada WAC Freshman F Luke Babbitt is scoring 15.2ppg
101 Ohio MAC Hot coaching prospect John Groce gets to work.
102 Navy Patriot Lost the conference's all-time leading scorer, but could be a Donte Greene-like situation.
103 Arkansas St. Sun Belt John Brady led LSU to the Final Four a few years ago. He's got the Red Wolves playing well.
104 Seton Hall Big East Pirates live and die with Soph G Jeremy Hazell's offense, 3-point shooting.
105 UC Riverside Big West USC transfer Kyle Austin the highlight of many new faces at a program on the rise.
106 Wis.-Green Bay Horizon Has rebounded since early season loss to D-II Rollins College.
107 Harvard Ivy Junior G Jeremy Lin is the best player, hero of the BC game
108 George Washington A-10 GW beat Harvard who beat UNC, so GW has a case for #1!
109 Cincinnati Big East Jr. G Deonta Vaughn needs to lift his scoring back to last year's levels for Bearcats to make noise.
110 Murray St. OVC Disappointing non-conference doesn't dampen high hopes overall.
111 Virginia Tech ACC One scorer and one rebounder = another weak ACC team from Virginia.
112 Virginia ACC One scorer and one rebounder = one weak ACC team from Virginia.
113 New Mexico MWC Remind me again why Steve Alford is not in a major conference?
114 Pacific Big West Suspensions in wake of alleged sexual assault killed Tigers this year.
115 Richmond A-10 Best player blew out his knee in summer league.
116 Northeastern Colonial Beat Harvard, who beat BC, who beat UNC.
117 Wis.-Milwaukee Horizon They'll be back in the tourney in the next couple years.
118 Long Beach State Big West Coach Dan Monson's already showing massive improvement off his 6-25 debut
119 Georgia SEC It took The Tornado Tournament for Georgia to earn an NCAA bid last year. Tough road again.
120 Tenn-Martin OVC I don't know much, but I do know it's good to have a guy who scores 26.5ppg (Lester Hudson)
121 Cal St. Fullerton Big West Shooter Josh Akognon averaged 17.5 in 8 defeats, 30.7 in 7 victories.
122 Miami ACC Another year, another insignificant Miami basketball team.
123 Houston C-USA Rebuilding, but still one of the quietly solid mid-major programs under ol' Tom Penders.
124 Ark.-Little Rock Sun Belt All five starters return from a 20-win team. Look for them in March.
125 Jacksonville A-Sun Nice program momentum: RPI in coach's 1st 3 years: 331, 201, 164
126 DePaul Big East A year away from being interesting.
127 Fairfield MAAC Towards the top of the conference.
128 Auburn SEC 15 players have left the program during coach Jeff Lebo's reign.
129 Jackson St. SWAC .4 seconds away from the NCAAs last year.
130 Texas Tech Big 12 Pat Knight is no Bobby Knight; these guys can't defend.
131 Southern Miss C-USA Larry Eustachy is in his fourth year here. Who knew?
132 Western Kentucky Sun Belt Rebuilding, so we may have to suffer the NCAAs without the best mascot in college sports.
133 Mississippi St. SEC Came up empty in their biggest non-conference games.
134 Old Dominion Colonial Should improve on last year's 18 wins, a down year for this program.
135 North Dakota St. Summit Entire class was redshirted 5 years ago with 1st season as full-fledged D-I team in mind.
136 Appalachian St. Southern Bombs away! Top four scorers all shoot the three. Potential first round nightmare.
137 Rutgers Big East Freshman G Mike Rosario's 17.6ppg is only double-digit average.
138 Nebraska Big 12 Why is Nebraska so bad at basketball? Oh yeah. It's in Nebraska.
139 Mississippi SEC Worse than the Andy Kennedy incident, PG Chris Warren's 19.6ppg are out for the season.
140 Mercer A-Sun Started season with wins over Alabama, Auburn and an OT loss to Ga. Tech. What the…?
141 Cleveland St. Horizon Damn you Cedric Jackson
142 Umass A-10 Step back for the Minutemen this year. Allowing 72.8ppg.
143 Cal St. Northridge Big West Brutal non-conference sched will pay dividends in conference play.
144 American University Patriot On the right track for a second straight conference title.
145 Alabama St. SWAC Keyed by intimidating 7-1 center Chief Kickingstallionsims
146 Ill-Chicago Horizon Won @Vandy, @Ga Tech but stumbled early in conference.
147 Jacksonville St. OVC Slaughtered a very good VMI team.
148 Lamar Soutland Cardinals hope to avoid peaking too early and actually qualify for the postseason.
149 UC Davis Big West In it's 2nd season as D-I, a mid-major program to keep an eye on down the road.
150 Hofstra Colonial JUCO transfer, 2nd leading scorer (13.2) Cornelius Vines grew up in Syracuse.
151 Southern Illinois MVC Talented team is struggling, in danger of missing NCAAs for 2nd straight year.
152 East Carolina C-USA If you recognize the name of coach Mack McCarthy, you must be an NCAA junky.
153 Robert Morris NEC Last year's regular season conference champ wants to dance this year.
154 Stetson A-Sun One of my favorite nicknames: Stetson Hatters. Clever!
155 South Florida Big East Exhibit 1-A for bashers of Big East's bottom. Still, almost beat UVA at home.
156 Akron MAC Zips are young. Expect a step back this year.
157 New Mexico St. WAC Best player, Herb Pope, transferred to Seton Hall in September.
158 Weber St. Big Sky Lacking a star to lead them back to the NCAAs. Look for them next year.
159 San Francisco WCC Jr. F Dior Lowhorn scoring 20+ppg for the second year in a row.
160 Oral Roberts Summit 3-time defending conference champs lost 4 starters.
161 Charleston Southern Wins over TCU and South Carolina gives coach Bobby Cremins reason to be optimistic.
162 San Diego WCC Nice win @Miss St. heading into conference play.
163 Morehead St. OVC 5-1 start to conference came via an easy early schedule
164 Tulane C-USA One step back following two steps forward for Gary Williams protégé Dave Dickerson.
165 Wyoming MWC Definitely the best team in Wyoming
166 Stephen F. Austin Southland Turns out Stephen F. Austin was born in Virginia!
167 Oakland Summit Winning non-conference record signals Grizzlies are legitimate threat in league.
168 Liberty Big South Solid. Beat Virginia and played Clemson, DePaul, and Saint Louis tough.
169 Wright St. Horizon Has had a 6-game lossing streak and more recently a 6-game winning streak.
170 Indiana Big 10 Awful, but Tom Crean will have them back quicker than you think.
171 Alabama A&M SWAC Pre-season league contender off to a slow start in conference.
172 Portland WCC Can score, but not defend…just like almost every team in the conference.
173 Bowling Green MAC Louis Orr coaches here. Go Orange!
174 Brown Ivy Lost two key players, but still a challenger.
175 UC Santa Barbara Big West Star PG is redshirting with an injured wrist. Gauchos could be good next year.
176 Vermont Am. East Back to the tourney after rebuilding last year.
177 Montana Big Sky JUCO transfer Anthony Johnson scored 30+ in first two conference wins.
178 Rider MAAC Ryan Thompson's (16.7ppg) older brother Jason was a lottery pick from Rider last year.
179 Oregon Pac-10 After years on the hot seat, this could be it for Ernie Kent.
180 Northwestern Big 10 Slim hope to beat last year's conference win total of 1.
181 Long Island NEC Picked to finish last in conference last year, challenging for title this year.
182 Oregon St. Pac-10 I would've said this was the worst major conference team if not for their win over USC.
183 Hawaii WAC Reasonably played all their non-conference games at home except a random trip to Illinois.
184 Morgan St. MEAC Rewarded for conference's toughest non-conf sched with wins over Maryland, DePaul.
185 South Alabama Sun Belt G Dominic Tilford is shooting 46% from 3
186 Eastern Kentucky OVC Colonels average 75 per game.
187 E. Washington Big Sky Aptly named head coach Kirk Earlywine recently arrested at 1:55am for DUI.
188 Southern SWAC 24-year vet coach Rob Spivery says they're top 3 in the conference.
189 Pennsylvania Ivy Not many wins against a tough non-conf sched, but will be tough in conference.
190 Colorado Big 12 Lost to Montana St. in 2nd game. Geheyeheyehey! (Grabbing collar.)
191 Tennesee St. OVC Brutal road swing included a 102-58 drubbing by Kentucky
192 Air Force MWC Lost at home to Stonybrook on the eve of conference play.
193 Idaho St. Big Sky Win over Utah signals outside shot for first NCAA bid since the 80s.
194 Sacred Heart NEC Dave Bike (Sacred Heart '69) is in his 31st year as head coach.
195 Idaho WAC The third best team in Idaho
196 Charlotte A-10 5-7 start proves how far this program has fallen.
197 Columbia Ivy Coach and Oswego grad Joseph Jones has improved squad from crap to not awful.
198 Eastern Illinois OVC Beat Western Illinois, but Southern and Northern Illinois wouldn't give em a game!
199 Mount St. Mary's NEC Brutal non-conference sched didn't kill them. It made them stronger.
200 Prairie View SWAC 3-0 start in conference
201 New Orleans Sun Belt Talked NC St, Ole Miss, and Tulane into a visit. Beat the latter.
202 Troy Sun Belt Is Coach Don Maestri on the hot seat in his 28th season at this once-excellent mid-major.
203 Lehigh Patriot Knocked off Rutgers at the Pit.
204 Western Illinois Summit Score under 60ppg.
205 Princeton Ivy Former Tiger Sydney Johnson progressing slightly in 2nd year of his rebuilding effort
206 Iona MAAC Took Wisconsin to OT, but just a mediocre squad.
207 UC Irvine Big West Improved down stretch last year, could do it again.
208 Colorado St. MWC 2nd year coach Tim Miles has yet to win in conference.
209 IUPUI Summit Won @Seton Hall.
210 Quinnipiac NEC Have several scorers, including Jr G James Feldeine (19.1ppg)
211 Santa Clara WCC 6-10 C John Bryant leads Broncos with 17.4ppg
212 North Texas Sun Belt Need to pick up the pace to get their 3rd-straight 20-win season.
213 Texas-San Antonio Southland Crazy turnover in 3 years Brooks Thompson has been coach.
214 Wagner NEC 6th year coach Mike Deane graduated from SUNY Potsdam.
215 Western Carolina Southern Catamounts have suffered from departures, graduation and non-graduation.
216 Wichita St. MVC Have lost by single-digits to all the best teams on their schedule.
217 Rice C-USA One of the underrated colleges for having an absurd name.
218 Montana State Big Sky I have nothing to say about Montana State
219 Texas A&M-CC Southland Rewarded for tough non-conf schedule with win over Georgia.
220 Manhattan MAAC 3rd year Coach Barry Rohrssen is a Ben Howland disciple. I like it.
221 Marshall C-USA 2nd year coach Donnie Jones is a Billy Donovan disciple Oooooooohhhh!
222 Binghamton Am. East Ex-SU recruit Tiki Mayben transferred here from Umass
223 Indiana St. MVC League doormat upset Northern Iowa to kick off another brutal season in the Valley.
224 Tennessee Tech OVC I have nothing to say about Tennessee Tech.
225 La.-Monroe Sun Belt Slow start, but deep team should be a factor in conference.
226 James Madison Colonial Fun Fact: JMU's campus is divided in half by interstate 81.
227 Louisiana-Lafayette Sun Belt Signed a couple malcontents from UNLV. Not surprisingly, they've been disappointing.
228 Georgia Southern Southern Started promising season with nice win over Houston.
229 Cal Poly Big West Marker for the Big West; its worst team beat the best team in the Big Sky.
230 Hampton MEAC Only scoring 56.5 ppg, within no one in double figures.
231 South Dakota St. Summit Jackrabbits took down Iowa St. before starting conference with 2 losses.
232 Missouri St. MVC They used to be called Southwest Missouri St. I was wondering where they went.
233 Delaware Colonial Three players average more than 15 a game.
234 Northern Colorado Big Sky Rough start, but experienced lineup + JUCO transfers could translate to conference wins.
235 Marist MAAC Not this year, but down the road Coach Chuck Martin will have a nice little team.
236 Denver Sun Belt Joe Scott, previously of Air Force and Princeton, runs the latter-named offense here.
237 Youngstown St. Horizon The middle of the conference standings is an improvement for the Penguins.
238 Radford Big South Returns 5 starters from a team that finished 7th in Big South.
239 Lipscomb A-Sun Proud holders of the title: "Worst Team to Beat Indiana this Year"
240 Drexel Colonial Took down St. Joe's in the Palestra earlier this year.
241 Colgate Patriot Colgate somehow recruits from all over the country. Just check out their roster.
242 UNC-Asheville Big South Blown out by the Campbell Fighting Camels earlier, but started Big South 3-1.
243 Ball St. MAC This is the year this once solid program starts to turn things around.
244 S. Carolina St. MEAC Off a 20-loss season, Bulldogs are back in running for conference championship.
245 San Jose St. WAC Failed to take advantage of a weak non-conference schedule.
246 Loyola (MD) MAAC Throttled fellow bottom-dweller Canisius, so that's something.
247 Cen. Conn. St. NEC Lost a 4-year starter, return the rest of last year's starting lineup.
248 Texas St. Southland Top two scorers both have initials BB! How interesting, how bizarre!
249 Georgia State Colonial Slight mprovement in 2nd year in the conference.
250 IPFW Summit 29-year old Dane Fife is youngest coach in D-I and entering his 4th season.
251 Chicago St. Indep. Senior backcourt averages 42.7 ppg.
252 Lafayette Patriot 15-15 last year is unlikely to be matched.
253 Hartford Am. East Non-conference sched @ Uconn and Stanford will pay off with a nice conference season.
254 Florida International Sun Belt Banking on JUCO transfer JC Otero's return from injury next month.
255 Holy Cross Patriot Injuries derailing this season.
256 Seattle U Indep. Leading scorer's name is Austen Powers!
257 UMKC Summit Program on steady decline will improve this year.
258 Coastal Carolina Big South Nicknamed the Chanticleers, which, as it turns out, is a rooster.
259 The Citadel Southern It's The Citadel. Not Citadel.
260 Charleston Southern Big South Soph G Jamarco Warren averages 21.4 but needs help.
261 Towson Colonial Pat Kennedy won at Florida St. and DePaul, but still can't win in 5 seasons at Towson.
262 McNeese St. Southland Respectable final scores @TCU, @LSU, @Texas A&M
263 Louisiana Tech WAC Some talent, balance, height but not getting the results so far.
264 Valparaiso Horizon Don't look for them in March.
265 Northern Illinois MAC Can score but can't defend.
266 Nicholls St. Southland Coming out of 4 years of probation related to an academic scandal, Colonels are a year away.
267 Texas-Pan American Indep. Part of the new Great West Conference next year.
268 Longwood Indep. Longwood Lancers pride themselves on their phallic imagery.
269 Ark.-Pine Bluff SWAC Snagged a win at SMU amidst 11-game road trip to start season.
270 Albany Am. East Only teams to beat Albany by more than 11 are Kansas and Nova.
271 Central Arkansas Southland Leading scorer's name is Marcus Pillow!
272 Central Michigan MAC The second-worst directional Michigan.
273 Army Patriot Hasn't had a winning record since Coach K was here.
274 Gardner-Webb Big South Close @Oklahoma and @South Carolina in November, pasted by @Kansas St. in December.
275 Boston Am. East Terriers played Notre Dame to within 7 at South Bend.
276 North Dakota Indep. Part of the new Great West Conference next year.
277 Campbell A-Sun They're not the Camels. They're the Fighting Camels.
278 NC A&T MEAC 3rd straight 15-win season is likely in this putrid conference.
279 Wofford Southern Nice G-F combo in Jr. Junior Salters and Soph. Noah Dahlman.
280 Fresno St. WAC Unimpressive in non-conference.
281 William and Mary Colonial Beat Harvard, who beat BC, who beat UNC.
282 Southern Methodist C-USA Matt Doherty plays 3 Senegalese players. Odd.
283 Toledo MAC Somehow beat UMass.
284 Canisius MAAC All five starters return from the worst team in the conference.
285 Presbyterian Big South I wonder if freshman Steven Yien Gatkuoth (Nasir, Sudan) is Presbyterian?
286 Utah Valley Indep. Part of the new Great West Conference next year.
287 Northwestern St. Southland 11 newbies…you'd think one would be able to contribute at least 10ppg, wouldn't you?
288 Bethune Cookman MEAC 20+ year streak without a winning season ends this year. Maybe
289 Loyola (IL) Horizon Lost season opener to D-II Rockhurst
290 Monmouth NEC Return 4 starters, but still young. Next year could be better.
291 Western Michigan MAC The third-worst directional Michigan.
292 Bucknell Patriot Back from whence ye came.
293 Winthrop Big South No fifth-straight conference title. Eagles couldn't even beat a D-1 non-conference opponent.
293 SE Louisiana Southland You can't fool us with those 4 D-II wins!
295 Texas-Arlington Southland Only teams willing to play @the Mavericks were D-II schools.
296 Cal State Bakersfield Indep. Only four wins to show from a respectful schedule.
297 Southern Utah Summit 6 newcomers this year.
298 Pepperdine WCC Yoiks! This team used to be excellent. What happened?
299 Eastern Michigan MAC The worst directional Michigan.
300 Miss. Valley St. SWAC Played 12 games without a home game - or a win.
301 Delaware State MEAC I finally drove through Delaware last week. I didn't see any good basketball teams.
302 Yale Ivy Lost to D-I newbie Bryant.
303 Grambling St. SWAC Another coach, another rough season in Grambling.
304 South Dakota Indep. Part of the new Great West Conference next year.
305 Florida Atlantic Sun Belt "I didn't come here to coach. I came here to live." New coach Mike Jarvis. OK…
306 Samford Southern Scorred 22 points @Ohio St.
307 USC Upstate A-Sun In a short conference, the Spartans start a 7-3 German. Yoiks!
308 Chattanooga Southern Odd result: 100-95 loss at Davidson.
309 UMBC Am. East Senior F Darryl Proctor averaging 19/9
310 Fordham A-10 Lost to Columbia at home. Everyone beats Columbia!
311 SE Missouri St. OVC As NCAA investigates possible major violations, the Redhawks have already fired the coach.
312 St. Peter's MAAC Ithaca native John Dunne got a contract extension for 11 wins in 2 seasons.
313 Florida Gulf Coast A-Sun Gator championships not withstanding, I have come to the conclusion that Florida is a football state.
314 Winston-Salem Indep. With NC Central, transitioning into MEAC
315 Northern Arizona Big Sky Lumberjacks? There's lumber in northern Arizona?
316 St. Francis (NY) NEC Slightly better than their PA counterpart.
317 St. Francis (PA) NEC Slightly worse than their NY counterpart.
318 SIU Edwardsville Indep. Transitioning into the Ohio Valley Conference.
319 UNC Greensboro Southern Without a D-I win in non-conference, win @App St was a shocker.
320 Texas Southern SWAC 1st year head coach Tony Harvey was part of the infamous Quin Snyder Missouri staff.
321 Detroit Horizon 0-6 start in conference and little chance of improvement.
322 Sam Houston St. Southland Turns out Sam Houston was governor of Tennessee!
323 New Hampshire Am. East Starting C Dane Diliegro's bro Ross walked-on at Syracuse.
324 Norfolk State MEAC Last year was their first D-I winning season ever…was it their last??
325 Fairleigh Dickinson NEC Allow 80 ppg.
326 Savannah St Indep. No players in double-digits ppg.
327 Centenary Summit No winning seasons since 04-05.
328 Kennesaw State A-Sun Bad sign that Blue Ribbon didn't bother to preview 4 of A-Sun's 11 teams
329 Loyola Marymount WCC If WCC doesn't get two bids, they can blame this RPI killer.
330 Bryant Indep. Transitioning into the Northeast Conference.
331 Maine Am. East Bears put up 126 this year against MPI. Problem: I googled MPI and couldn't find it. It may not exist!
332 Elon Southern Elon spelled backwards is Nole.
333 Coppin St. MEAC Tywain McKee dropped 31 on Syracuse, but has no help.
334 Dartmouth Ivy Two wins against miserable Furman and D-II Plymouth St.
335 UNC-Wilmington Colonial Tough to win when you're giving up 90 points a game.
336 Florida A&M MEAC If you haven't figured it out, Florida basketball is terrible.
337 High Point Big South Can't think of a funny pun to say "High Point sucks."
338 Md.-Eastern Shore MEAC No winning seasons in 25, make that 26 years.
339 Stony Brook Am. East Scoring problems: only 39 against NJIT.
340 Sacramento State Big Sky Enters conference play 3 wins short of last year's total of 4 wins. Dicey.
341 North Florida A-Sun W @Furman was best win…so far!
342 Alcorn St. SWAC Lost by 19 to Xavier…Xavier (LA) of D-II
343 Howard MEAC Howard's end before it began.
344 Houston Baptist Indep. One win so far. This program needs an immersion.
345 Furman Southern 2 wins, neither over a D-I team.
346 NC Central Indep. Winless, all but two games being double-digit defeats.
347 NJIT Indep. Winless, all but one game being double-digit defeats.

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