Duke has the talent of an elite team.

Duke has the most successful coach in Division I history.

But Duke doesn’t have a chance of going much further than the first couple rounds of the NCAA Tournament unless the Blue Devils figure out how to play better defense. In fact, I’m officially putting Duke on upset alert starting with the first game they play in the tournament.

Unlike past Duke teams, this year’s version of the Blue Devils doesn’t generate a ton of turnovers to spark easy baskets on offense. For the first time in 10 years, Duke is forcing turnovers on less than 20 percent of opponents’ possessions. That MIA Duke pressure has been a hallmark of coach Mike Krzyzewski’s teams for years. But it’s nearly nonexistent this season, as Seth Curry is the only player with more than one steal per game.

Because the Blue Devils aren’t forcing mistakes, opponents have been able to take advantage of the plodding defense of the Plumlee brothers and Ryan Kelly. This team lacks the interior shot blocking presence of Shelden Williams or sheer man-size of Brian Zoubek. Miami pretty much showed everyone exactly how to beat Duke in the 78-74 overtime win yesterday: spread out the defense, isolate a defender off a screen, and let a speedier guard go to work. If Duke’s help defense can recover, which it didn’t for much of the loss to the Hurricanes, a shooter should be open on the wing or in the corner.

Of course, Coach K didn’t surpass 900 wins on sheer luck. This team will make adjustments. It was about this time two years ago that Coach K made Brian Zoubek a full-time starter, and the Blue Devils lost only once for the rest of the season en route to a national title. The Blue Devils don’t have anyone with the size of Zoubek to step and make a difference. But it wouldn’t shock me to see more playing time for sophomore guard Tyler Thornton.

In his post game interview after the Miami loss, Coach K bemoaned his team’s effort, which is something he never has to worry about from Thornton. The sophomore from Washington, D.C, plays with a ton of energy, like he’s cherishing every second that he’s on the court. Thornton is not a great shooter, but if he can become the spark plug that helps Austin Rivers, Andre Dawkins, Ryan Kelly and the rest of the crew reach they’re full potential, he’ll fill a critical need for Duke.

In other words, Thornton could become the team’s emotional leader, a role that has rarely been hard to find on Duke but isn’t clear this season. With so much talent in the backcourt and enough Plumlee muscle in the post, a shot of energy in this lineup could be enough to help Duke get back on track.

But if the Blue Devils don’t respond, this team could lose to just about any upset-minded team that executes a precise game plan to exploit Duke’s defensive gaps. With a few weeks remaining before March Madness, Coach K and the Blue Devil nation are eagerly searching for someone to fill those cracks.

And it all happened, ironically, on the day that a football coaching legend appeared close to losing his life. On Saturday night, there were conflicting reports about former Penn State coach Joe Paterno, but we did not learn for sure that he had passed until about 10:30 this morning. We send our condolences to Joe’s family and friends at this time.

The last time Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun and Mike Krzyzewski lost a game on the same day was January 18, 2003. The three coaches have combined for over 2,600 wins, so they have won a little more than they have lost, and one might even be surprised that this wasn’t the first day all three lost.

It started in the middle of the afternoon, with two of the games. Connecticut took on Tennessee in Knoxville, a return of a game played last year. The Volunteers got a double-double from freshman Jarnell Stokes and fended off a late Husky rally for a 60-57 win. Turning the ball over one time in the second half certainly helped, especially as taking care of the ball had been a problem for Tennessee of late. Connecticut shot just 36.4 percent from the field.

Around that same time, Florida State looked like they had a shot to end Duke’s 45-game home winning streak, as they were right there with the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. They had leads late in the game as well. And finally, with the game tied at 73 in the final seconds, the Seminoles got the ball up the floor to Michael Snaer in front of his own bench, where he hit a three-pointer just as time expired to give Florida State their second big win in as many Saturdays, a 76-73 decision over Duke.

Not only had Duke not lost at home since North Carolina knocked them off in February 2009, but they also had a longer (64 games) home winning streak against unranked opponents. They had a chance to tie their own ACC record of 46 straight home wins, set between January 13, 1997 and February 9, 2000.

Florida State is now looking more and more like the team some thought they would be this season. In the preseason, a good number of prognosticators thought they might be the third-best team behind Duke and North Carolina. Virginia had emerged as that team, and probably still is, but now the Seminoles look like another formidable team in an ACC that is not looking much better than last year. They are in a three-way tie atop the ACC at 4-1, along with the two teams they have knocked off the past two Saturdays.

By the time the evening came around, one already had a sense that Syracuse could suffer its first loss of the season. The team announced earlier in the day that sophomore center Fab Melo would not make the trip to Notre Dame and Cincinnati and that junior forward Mookie Jones had left the school for personal reasons. The Orange are so deep, it would not have been a shocker if they came away with two wins, but if they dropped one it would not have been a surprise. Sure enough, a Notre Dame team that knocked off Louisville a couple of weeks ago beat Syracuse 67-58 in South Bend.

Notre Dame led throughout the game and beat a No. 1 team for the eighth time, which ties for the fourth-highest total. They did it led by junior big man Jack Cooley, who went for 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Fighting Irish out-rebounded Syracuse 38-25. While Melo’s absence hurt there, it wasn’t a big factor in the Orange’s offensive struggles on the night.

We take you coast to coast with news from around the college basketball nation

With Syracuse losing, that left just one team undefeated: Murray State. The Racers were 82-65 winners at SIU-Edwardsville to improve to 20-0 on the season.

Missouri got perhaps its most impressive win yesterday, going on the road to beat Baylor. That’s two in a row now for Baylor, and it seems that at the moment, Baylor is close, but not there when it comes to the top of the Big 12.

Georgetown got all they could handle from Rutgers, and needed to score the game’s last seven points to eke out a 52-50 win in the nation’s capital.

Louisville continued Pittsburgh’s misery as they went into the Peterson Events Center and left with a 73-62 win over the Panthers, who are now 0-7 in the Big East and have lost eight straight.

UNLV convincingly won a key matchup with New Mexico, the second straight loss for the Lobos as they took on the two favorites in the conference this past week.

Mississippi State won an overtime thriller at Vanderbilt in a key matchup among teams chasing Kentucky in the SEC.

Todd Bozeman returned to the bench at Morgan State, but his team’s struggles continued as they lost for the fifth time in seven games by dropping a 62-61 decision against visiting North Carolina A&T.

Late Saturday night, Long Beach State picked up a key road win at UC Santa Barbara. That makes the 49ers 7-0 in conference play, a full two games ahead of three teams in the loss column.

Well, it’s not that simple, as evidenced by the fact that North Carolina State’s players produce a Total Impact Quotient sum of 133.7 in comparison to 109.9 for Duke. Are the Wolfpack really substantially better than the Blue Devils right now? Is that possible even though NC State dropped to 5-3 today after losing at Stanford while Duke is 7-1?

In short, no. But the Wolfpack sure look better than Duke on paper.

• Two NC State players are averaging more than 3.0 assists per game, with Lorenzo Brown averaging 6.3 apg. And the Wolfpack average about 17 per game as a team. No one on Duke averages more than 2.8 apg, and the team average about 12 apg.
• NC State has 38 blocks through the team’s first seven games. Duke has 23.
• The Wolfpack collect offensive rebounds on 40 percent of their missed shots. Duke gets the rebound on offense only 29.5 percent of the time.

Those statistical advantages add up for NC State, which has guys like Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell and C.J. Leslie putting up TIQs better than 30. Each player has a specialty that helps boost his impact for the Wolfpack.

Brown has been a beast at both ends of the court thus far. He’s averaging 6.3 apg while grabbing 3.0 steals per game. He also rebounds well for a guard, pulling down eight offensive rebounds and nearly five total per game.

Howell is the real beast of the boards, averaging better than eight rpg. He’s also a reliable shooter, making 35 of 69 attempts from the field.

Leslie also has been excellent from the field in his first four games for the Wolfpack, shooting better than 55 percent. He also has 10 blocks and eight steals. That’s about one block or steal every six minutes that he’s on the court. Opposing offenses beware.

Looking beyond the stats, we don’t need to dig too deep to figure out why NC State isn’t on the same level as Duke. If you’ve watched both these teams play, it comes down to getting defensive stops and performing in the clutch. Duke has played one of the toughest schedules in the country thus far, and the Blue Devils have found ways to get past Michigan State, Tennessee, Michigan and Kansas. They looked tired in a blowout loss at Ohio State, but in every other game, Duke has executed coach Mike Krzyzewski’s game plans to perfection.

NC State probably is still adjusting to new coach Mark Gottfried and his style. They’ve been competitive in losses to Vanderbilt, Indiana and Stanford, but the best teams in the conference — like Duke — find ways to win rather than simply remain close. At times, the Wolfpack have been incapable of guarding perimeter shooters, and they have a horrible habit of getting into foul trouble.

And that’s where stats won’t help. A ton of blocks, offensive rebounds and assists will get players gaudy TIQs. But it matters when the players are getting those stats. Yes, Duke ranks among the bottom 10 percent in assists. But when the Blue Devils needed to convert late in the game against the Wolverines or Volunteers, they made it happen.

I expect the TIQs of the Wolfpack players to start falling by late January when the Wolfpack start playing some tougher competition in the ACC. Until then, this team will likely feast on the likes of NC Central, Western Carolina and Delaware State. They should even fare well early in ACC play against Maryland, Georgia Tech and Boston College. The biggest test of the next six weeks will come Dec. 17 when Syracuse comes to Raleigh.

On the flip side, Duke’s stats should rise. The lack of assists is not terribly surprising with a freshman point guard in Austin Rivers. Doc’s son is a good scoring point guard like his predecessor at Duke, Kyrie Irving. But unlike Irving, Rivers hasn’t emerged as an effective facilitator yet, with about 2.3 turnovers and assists per game. Through hard work in practice and experience in games, Rivers will grow more comfortable running Duke’s offense. If he doesn’t, Coach K won’t hesitate to find someone who can, especially if the losses begin to mount.

So the statistics might not lie, but they certainly don’t tell the whole truth.

In case you’re curious, the only chance NC State will have in the regular season to prove whether it’s better than Duke or not is Feb. 16 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

And that’s no easy task regardless of how much of an advantage a team might have on paper.

From top to bottom, the Big Ten has the most quality, and those teams were on display Tuesday as the conference grabbed a 4-2 lead in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Among the premier teams, Ohio State thumped Duke 85-63 as the Buckeyes tore through the Blue Devils’ Swiss cheese defense. Four of Ohio State’s five starters scored at least 17 points, led by Jared Sullinger’s 21. As a team, Ohio State shot nearly 60 percent from the field and from 3-point range. When they did miss, they collected the rebounds nearly 30 percent of the time, which is actually off their season average of about 34 percent, according to Ken Pomeroy’s stats. But when you’re already shooting 60 percent, any second chances at all could be devastating for your opponent.

Although the convincing victory is excellent, it’s not altogether shocking. Duke entered a hostile environment in Columbus coming off a tough trip to Maui last week in which the Blue Devils battled tooth and nail three straight days to claim the EA Sports Maui Invitational title. Yes, they had nearly a week off, but Duke looked tired, as several players launched air balls from deep throughout the game. With eight days off until their next game, look for the Blue Devils to rest up and rebound well.

Perhaps the best win of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge last night was Northwestern’s 16-point victory at Georgia Tech. For a team searching for its first NCAA Tournament bid in school history, the Wildcats had to win this one. Georgia Tech does not figure to be competitive for the ACC title this year, but the Thrillerdome remains a tough place to play. Northwestern was on its game, shooting 55 percent from the field, with John Shurna leading the way with 25 points. The Wildcats’ win is impressive because it’s not like the team is totally unfamiliar to the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory was an assistant to MIchigan State’s Tom Izzo for several years, including in 2003, Bill Carmody’s first season in Evanston. And it’s not like his style of play has changed much in eight years, according to Pomeroy’s stats.

The Big Ten will look to continue its strong play tonight, highlighted by a huge match up in Chapel Hill between North Carolina and Wisconsin.

Here are some other news and notes from across the college basketball nation.

North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes is expected to play in that clash with the Badgers tonight after spraining his ankle in the Tar Heels’ loss to UNLV last weekend, ESPN reports.

Bernie Fine is out at Syracuse after new and more troublesome allegations of sexual abuse emerged during the past week. However, the Associated Press’ John Kekis writes, Orange coach Jim Boeheim isn’t worried about his own job security, despite vehemently defending Fine when the allegations first appeared, going as far as to call the accusers liars. The investigation continues in this case, so Fine is innocent until proven guilty. But there apparently was enough smoke for Syracuse to find cause to ditch the veteran assistant before a raging fire broke out.

USC forward Dewayne Dedmon, averaging 7.7 ppg and 6.0 rig, will miss about a month because of a stress injury in his right foot, the Associated Press reports. The Trojans have been struggling already this season with one of their big men in the lineup. This certainly won’t help the cause.

Eamonn Brennan notes for ESPN’s College Basketball Nation blog that Florida coach Billy Donovan picked up win No. 400 in his career when the Gators dismantled Stetson 96-70. At age 45, Donovan is one of the few coaches in the game who have the early success that could put him in position to challenge Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s record for Division I wins — whenever Coach K calls it a career.

For the main course, we’re serving a few turkeys that have crept up in the college basketball nation. These conferences, teams, players and — in one case — an entire city’s judicial/law enforcement institution just aren’t getting the job done for one reason or another.

Some of these look tastier than others, but all will be heading to the chopping block if they don’t shape up soon. Some much-needed improvement could save these proverbial turkeys from the fate awaiting their avian namesakes across the country.

After the entrees, we’ve got a delicious spread of all-American winners that are worth saving room for — just like that pumpkin or apple pie. In the Protos household, my mother has added a German chocolate pie to the mix that is as mouth-watering as its more traditionally American pastries. Perhaps we need a new name for the pie. Or maybe not, as one of the coaches that we name has a distinctly Central European flavor.

Let’s get to the tryptophan-inducers first.

J’Covan Brown

How can someone putting up more than 26 ppg be on a list of turkeys? Well, when you get kicked out of a game for swearing and your young teammates subsequently choke up a double-digit lead in a few minutes, you become a turkey. Brown is absolutely essentially to a Longhorns team dominated by freshmen. After picking up a fourth foul midway through the second half against NC State, Brown protested the call with a vulgarity en route to his bench during a timeout. The referee took offense and gave Brown at technical and fifth personal, thus ending his night and beginning the Wolfpack’s comeback.

Colonial Athletic Association

The CAA isn’t exactly off to a great start, just months removed from sending VCU to the Final Four. The conference’s preseason favorite, Drexel, dropped a game to Norfolk State and then scored only 35 points in a loss to Virginia. George Mason has two overtime losses already, to Florida International and Florida Atlantic. Every team except Northeastern has at least two losses already, and five teams haven’t won more than one game.

UCLA

It’s messy out in Westwood. Heading into tonight’s game against Michigan, the Bruins are still looking for their first win against a Division I team after losing to Kansas in Maui and Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State — by 20 — at home. The team can’t hit anything right now, and Reeves Nelson earned a suspension for sulking during the team’s opening loss to Loyola Marymount. There’s time to turn it around, but if they don’t, Howland might take much of the blame for this sloppiness.

The Syracuse edition of law & order

There’s no bigger turkey in college basketball right now than the attorneys and police officials in Syracuse, N.Y. They’re not even related to Orange basketball, but they have been thrust into the spotlight by accusations that Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine molested two ball boys over a span of more than a decade. The sordid story has devolved into people calling one another liars, and we need a functional investigation to get even close to realizing justice and revealing the truth. But the Syracuse district attorney’s office and police chief are too busy blaming each other for bungling the original investigation last decade. The DA has accused the police chief of hiding information while the police officers are calling the attorneys incompetent and unresponsive.

And now let’s enjoy some good stuff.

Coastal Carolina

The Chanticleers are back in business after injuries and suspensions derailed a promising season last February. Coastal Carolina already has knocked off power conferences foes LSU and Clemson — with the victory against the Tigers coming on the road. Besides a road game at East Carolina and a home date with Charleston, the Chanticleers look setup to post another gaudy record, which could earn this team an at-large bid if needed. That’d be a major accomplishment for the Big South.

Cleveland State

It’s certainly far more common for the Horizon League to get some extra love in the NCAA Tournament than the Big South, and the conference is certainly on the basketball nation’s radar after Butler made two consecutive trips to the title game. But with Norris Cole gone this season, the Vikings didn’t appear to be the team to beat in the conference. They certainly are playing the part after taking out Vanderbilt and Kent State on the road and a strong St. Bonaventure team at home by Lake Erie.

The cream of the crop

The top teams in the country have looked strong thus far, as North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio State, Syracuse, Connecticut and Duke have performed well against some stiff competition. As mentioned plenty of times, the top teams are returning an unusual amount of top talent, thanks in large part to the NBA lockout. We should be in store for a fantastic season with plenty of epic match ups, especially come March and April.

Coach K

Speaking of Duke, coach Mike Krzyzewski notched one of the sweetest accomplishments in sports in 2011 by surpassing his mentor, Bob Knight, for the most Division I wins in NCAA coaching history. Coach K has Duke in contention for ACC and NCAA titles nearly every season, a testament to his ability to adapt to a changing game and remain in the forefront for multiple generations of ballers.

Missouri Valley

The MVC might be the new CAA, which had been the new MVC anyways. Creighton, Wichita State, Indiana State, Northern Iowa and even Missouri State look like they could be in NCAA Tournament contention by the end of the regular season. Creighton annihilated Iowa on in Des Moines, while Wichita State dispatched Colorado and looked strong against Alabama and Temple.

Norfolk State

A week after losing to Marquette by 31 points, the Spartans regrouped to win three straight — including games against Drexel and TCU — before taking Marquette to the final possession in a rematch in the Paradise Jam title game in the Virgin Islands.

When Duke takes on Michigan State in the Champions Classic in New York City, coach Mike Krzyzewski will have an opportunity to pass his mentor, Bob Knight, for the most Division I wins in NCAA history. The Blue Devils beat Presbyterian Saturday to give Coach K win No. 902. A third consecutive victory to open the season would be the record-setter.

In a press conference Monday, Coach K said that “somebody asked me this morning about where would this be in a list of things that you feel really good about, and I said, ‘It’s behind every championship. And not just national championships but league championships.’”

That doesn’t mean it’s not a big deal. Krzyzewski, who turns 65 in February, has been one of the top coaches in the game for several decades after a slow start to his career in Durham. His perseverance and determination are a model of leadership that extends far beyond a basketball arena. In a sport filled with unsavory characters and frequent recruiting violations, Coach K keeps Duke on the up and up. He takes pride in his players’ high graduation rate, and he cares more about the accomplishments of specific Blue Devil teams than his own accolades.

“You want to win a championship with the team that you coach that year, and those are the things that you remember are championship moments — whether they be league championship moments, regular season, ACC,” Krzyzewski said. “Obviously the biggest thing that you can remember easily is national championships. But championships are things that I look back on because that’s a real accomplishment.”

Another coaching legend, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, won’t make it easy for Coach K to celebrate his record-breaking victory. But whenever Krzyzewski gets No. 903, it will be one of the major highlights of the entire 2011-12 season.

We go coast to coast with other news from the college basketball nation.

• Louisville junior guard Mike Marra will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL against Lamar Sunday, according to an Associated Press report. Marra’s loss is significant as he was an important member of coach Rick Pitino’s backcourt rotation, averaging 6.4 points per game last season.
• The good news for Louisville is that freshman guard Kevin Ware has his academics in order now and will be eligible to play for the Cardinals starting in mid-December, after the university’s fall semesters concludes, according to a Lexington Herald-Leader report.
• Arizona had to dig deep to rally past Ball State, which held a nine-point halftime lead against the Wildcats Sunday. With junior swingman Kevin Parrom back in the lineup just seven weeks after being shot in the leg and hand while visiting family in New York City and four weeks after his mother died, according to the Associated Press, the Wildcats found the will to lock down the Cardinals in the second half for a 73-63 win. Parrom contributed six points and four rebounds in 18 minutes to help get the Wildcats the victory.
• Instant replay might slow down the game in the NFL, but at least the officials get the calls right more often than not. Vermont probably wishes more stadiums had replay capabilities after falling victim to a lack of technology in a 61-59 loss to South Florida played at Division II University of Tampa. After calling a timeout, the clock ran for an extra second or two, but the referees couldn’t review the time on the clock because there were no available video feeds, writes ESPN.com’s Eamonn Brennan. The Catamounts hit a would-be game-tying tip-in on their final possession — just after the buzzer.
• Texas A&M will be without one of the best players in the Big 12, Khris Middleton, while the junior forward recovers from a knee injury suffered during the Aggies’ 81-59 win against Liberty, according to an Associated Press report.
• According to a CBS Sports.com wire report, Marquette will play its first three games without freshman Juan Anderson for a rules violation. The oftense? Accepting a free ticket to see the Milwaukee Brewers in the Major League Baseball playoffs.

Projected starting five:

Fr. G Austin Rivers
Jr. G Seth Curry
Jr. G Andre Dawkins
Jr. F Ryan Kelly
Jr. F Mason Plumlee

Important departures:

Nolan Smith: 20.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.1 apg
Kyrie Irving: 17.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.3 apg
Kyle SIngler: 16.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.6 apg

Percent returning scoring and rebounding:

Scoring: 47.2 percent
Rebounding: 67.4 percent

Additions:

Austin Rivers, No.1 Rivals.com and ESPNU five-star freshman combo guard from Winter Park, Fla.
Michael Gbinije, No. 35 Rivals.com and ESPNU four-star freshman small forward from Richmond, Va.
Quinn Cook, No. 38 Rivals.com and ESPNU four-star freshman point guard from Washington, D.C.
Alex Murphy, No. 45 Rivals.com and ESPNU four-star freshman small forward from Southborough, Mass.
Marshall Plumlee, No. 79 Rivals.com and ESPNU four-star freshman power forward from Arden, N.C.

Schedule highlights:

Best non-conference game: at Ohio State
Toughest conference stretch: Feb. 2-8 (at Virginia Tech, vs. Miami, at North Carolina)

Outlook:

Coach Mike Krzyzewski has to replace a couple of veteran leaders in Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler in addition to freshman sensation Kyrie Irving. Duke fans must feel shafted after Irving started on fire last season, then injured his toe and never returned to form. Duke faltered in the Sweet 16 last season, and the Blue Devils will have much lower expectations this season.

However, that might make the Blue Devils even more dangerous than last season. As usual, Coach K has a loaded recruiting class, headlined by Austin Rivers, Quinn Cook and Michael Gbinije. Add those talented youngsters to a lineup that already includes Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins and the Plumlee crew, and you have a team ready to compete at the top of the ACC standings.

Prediction: Second

Next: Florida State Seminoles

Back to ACC preview

Go coast to coast with a roundup of news from across the nation.

Here’s a quick recap of all the major NBA decisions from the past week. The NCAA’s deadline for early entrants to remain eligible required players to decide by May 8 if they wanted to remain in the NBA Draft or return to school.

Remaining in the draft:

• Boston College’s Reggie Jackson
• Butler’s Shelvin Mack
• Georgia Tech’s Iman Shumpert
• Kentucky’s Brandon Knight
• Kentucky’s DeAndre Liggins
• Louisville’s Terrence Jennings
• Maryland’s Jordan Williams
• Michigan’s Darius Morris
• Stanford’s Jeremy Green
• Tennessee’s Tobias Harris
• Tennessee’s Scotty Hopson
• Texas’ Cory Joseph
• Texas’ Tristan Thompson

Returning to school:

• Kentucky’s Terrence Jones
• Miami’s Reggie Johnson
• Missouri’s Laurence Bowers
• Missouri’s Kim English
• Northwestern’s John Shurna
• Pittsburgh’s Ashton Gibbs
• West Virginia’s Kevin Jones
• Xavier’s Tu Holloway

1. The biggest news of the past few days is Gary Williams’ retirement at Maryland. The Terrapins’ coach unexpectedly decided to call it a career at age 66 after working at his alma mater since 1989. Maryland moved quickly to court Arizona’s Sean Miller, who passed on the the offer by signing an extension with the Wildcats, according to John Marshall of the Associated Press. That makes Notre Dame’s Mike Brey one of the top choices right now, according to the Washington Post.
2. In other Washington, D.C., area coaching news, George Washington picked Mike Lonergan to be the Colonials’ next coach, according to the Associated Press. Lonergan comes back to D.C. after working at Vermont for five seasons, compiling a 126-68 record. Lonergan coached Catholic University to a Division III title in 2001 and worked with Gary Williams as an assistant at Maryland for a few years.
3. Gonzaga needs to find a new starting point guard after Demetri Goodson announced that he’s leaving the team to play football, according to the Associated Press. Goodson averaged 5.2 points and 2.6 assists per game for the Bulldogs this past season.
4. Michigan State Tom Izzo returned the favor for Spartan fans last week. To help boost student morale during final exams week, Izzo joined other Spartan coaches in serving food at the university’s dining hall, according to Diamond Leung of ESPN.com’s ìCollege Basketball Nation.î That’s a nice way to thank the Izzone fans who help give Michigan State one of the toughest home court advantages in the nation.
5. Speaking of Izzo, the Spartans’ coach might be getting some much-needed backcourt help in Valparaiso transfer Brandon Wood, according to the Associated Press.. The Horizon League’s No. 3 scorer is transferring to Michigan State after completing his undergraduate degree. Because of NCAA rules for graduate transfers, Wood might be eligible to play immediately for a team losing Kalin Lucas to graduation.
6. Jeff Capel has returned to a familiar sideline. The former Oklahoma coach, who was fired after this past season, accepted an offer to become an assistant coach on coach Mike Krzyzewski’s staff at Duke, according to the Associated Press. Capel played four years in Durham and put up more than 1,600 points.
7. The Pac-10 can’t complain about an East Coast bias for much longer. The conference soon to be known as the Pac-12 signed an agreement with ESPN and Fox Sports worth $250 million per season, tops in men’s basketball, according to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press.
8. Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt has recruited his first big name as the Cowboys’ new coach. Larry Nance Jr., son of longtime NBA player Larry Nance, will arrive in Laramie this fall after averaging about a double double as a senior in Ohio this past season.
9. Looking ahead to 2012, Louisville might not have the services of Rodney Purvis, a top-rated shooting guard in the class of rising high school seniors who reopened his recruitment, according to Eamonn Brennan of ESPN.com’s ìCollege Basketball Nation.î Louisville had received a verbal commitment from Purvis, partially thanks to the hard work of assistant Tom Fuller, who left Pitino’s staff recently to work for Frank Haith at Missouri.
10. Former Cyclone John Lamb, a walk-on who left Iowa State mid-season, was arrested last week and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell and a violation of Drug Tax Stamp Act, according to the Associated Press.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

This section is aptly titled for a Washington, D.C., area writer looking to write a column honoring the importance of recently retired Maryland coach Gary Williams.

In his 22 years at Maryland, Williams helped craft the Terrapins into a perennial ACC contender. His continued success eased the path to the construction of the Comcast Center, which is one of the largest arenas in the conference and has one of the best home court advantages. The 20,000-plus fans who fill the Comcast Center haven’t always approved of the quality of the home team, but they consistently fill the arena with rowdy fans, giving Maryland one of the best home court advantages in the country.

After the turmoil of the late 1980s, it’s amazing that Williams was able to get this program back to the top of the ACC so quickly. Trouble started in 1986 with the death of Terrapin hero Len Bias, who seemed destined to become a national hero as a possible heir apparent to Larry Bird in Boston. However, his cocaine-induced death and the subsequent brouhaha in College Park derailed the program, leading to the ouster of coach Lefty Driesell.

Without Driesell, the team fell into mediocrity — and NCAA violations — during the tenure of Bob Wade. With the program on probation and lackluster performance on the court, Williams returned to his alma mater with a tough task at hand.

It took Williams five seasons, but once he got the Terrapins into the NCAA Tournament, they remained fixtures of March Madness until 2005. That includes a Final Four run in 2001 that ended mercilessly with the team’s fourth loss of the season to eventual national champion Duke. But Williams and Maryland vanquished those demons the next season when the Terrapins won the 2002 title.

The championship title was a turning point for Williams’ tenure at Maryland. Until then, the critics liked to talk about Williams as one of the greatest coaches to have never won a title — a fraternity no coach enjoys being part of. With that monkey off his back, Williams then had to deal with detractors who bemoaned that Williams failed to use the program’s success to attract the top recruits to College Park.

Recruiting is a touchy subject for Maryland fans. On the plus side, no one has even sniffed an NCAA violation during Williams’ years. But on the other hand, Williams drew the ire of many fans because he couldn’t keep a lot of the talented kids in Prince George’s County, Md., and Baltimore in-state. Highly touted recruits like Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Ty Lawson, Rudy Gay, Nolan Smith and seemingly half of Georgetown’s starting lineup each season are all locals. That would be acceptable if Williams had a slew of talented recruits on a conveyor belt to College Park from across the country.

But after three NIT appearances in four seasons, the natives became restless. Williams had the misfortune of dealing with a few disastrous recruits, including the much-maligned post-championship class of Chris McCray, John Gilchrist, Travis Garrison and Nik Caner-Medley. That core failed to meet lofty expectations, and the fans nearly revolted at the perceived inability of Williams to coach a great class. But the players just didn’t work out. It happens.

Williams got Maryland back on track with Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes. He helped Vasquez mature from a sloppy point guard and nearly out of control hothead to a dominant ACC player who was a threat to post a triple double nearly any night. The Terrapins returned to the NCAA Tournament three out of four seasons but never advanced further than the second round.

Heading into this off-seaosn, Maryland was at a cross-roads as another disappointing recruiting class — Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker and Dino Gregory — finished their collegiate careers. Jordan Williams, one of the top recruits in recent years to come to Maryland, figured to be the linchpin of next season’s team, but he is heading to the NBA instead.

At age 66, Williams was staring at a complete rebuilding project in an era that makes it increasingly difficult to run a clean and successful program. Williams refused to sacrifice one for the other. That makes now a great time for Williams to step down. To rebuild the Terrapins, Williams would need at least a couple of years to get the right guys around solid building blocks like Pe’Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin. Williams might be pushing 70 before the Terrapins have another legitimate shot at a deep run.

When I’m pushing 70, I hope have the energy to work more than 60 hours a week recruiting, strategizing and representing a major college program. After such a remarkable, program-defining coaching career, Williams has earned this respite.

The reigning national champs are off to an 8-0 start, and freshman guard Kyrie Irving is a major reason for the Blue Devils’ early season success against the likes of Kansas State, Marquette, Michigan State and Butler. He has a Total Impact Quotient of 14.3, which is exceptionally good for a guard and ranks No. 3 among ACC guards.

Perhaps the biggest surprise to Duke’s start is forward Kyle Singler’s diminished impact on the team’s success. How is that possible for a player averaging 15.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and shooting 89.3 percent from the free throw line? In short, Singler’s TIQ has dropped from a better-than-average 10.0 to a subpar 3.3.

The explanation for Singler’s drop in TIQ is straightforward: Duke really is a better team this season than last season. The Blue Devils are shooting 49.3 percent from the field compared to 44.3 percent last season. However, Singler is only shooting 43.9 percent this season, the only Duke starter to hit less than 50 percent of his shots. So Singler’s shooting struggle relative to his teammates’ success is costing the Blue Devils points. In addition, Singler’s stats for rebounds and assists have dropped. The drop in assists makes sense with the arrival of Irving, a supremely talented play maker.

What that all means is that Duke is better even though Singler is making less of an impact on each game. And that’s just scary.

For a complete introduction to the TIQ rating system, check out this list of frequently asked questions.

And now on to the ratings for the ACC, through games as of Saturday, Dec. 4.

TIQ position averages:
Centers: 13.9
Forwards: 9.2
Guards: 6.3
TIQ = Total Impact Quotient
PD% = Position differential in % difference from average

Player Rankings

Player Rankings for 2009-10

FULL COURT SPRINTS

BASELINE TO BASELINE

LAST SHOT

The Bruce Pearl edition:

1. News broke early last week that SEC Commish Mike Slive has banned Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl from the Volunteers’ first eight SEC games.
2. In Jason King’s SEC roundup on YahooSports.com, King writes that the Volunteers are keeping their focus on the court in this time of trouble for their coach.
3. Pearl’s suspension should be considered within the context of other SEC machinations, writes ESPN.com’s Dana O’Neil.
4. Meanwhile, David beat Goliath in Maui as Chaminade, host of the EA Sports Maui Invitational, upset Oklahoma in the final game of the tournament for both teams.
5. Chaminade’s upset wasn’t the only event that shook the major conference teams in Maui: A 4.7-magnitude earthquake rattled Kentucky and Washington for five seconds during their second-round match up, according to the Associated Press.
6. You just don’t want to play Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence. The team won a 63rd consecutive game at home, the longest such streak in school history, according to a CBSSports.com news report.
7. Division III Skidmore and Southern Vermont go seven overtimes to settle a 128-123 marathon that ties the NCAA record for longest game, according to the Associated Press.

• Michigan St. 76, Washington 71
• Duke 82, Kansas State 68
• Kentucky 74, Washington 67
• Kansas State 81, Gonzaga 64
• UNLV 68, Wisconsin 65
• Pittsburgh 68, Texas 66

Meanwhile, four teams had some eye-opening wins or losses: Connecticut, Minnesota, North Carolina and Old Dominion.

• Connecticut 84, Kentucky 67
• Connecticut 70, Michigan State 67

• Old Dominion 67, Xavier 58
• Old Dominion 61, Clemson 60

• Vanderbilt 72, North Carolina 65
• Minnesota 72, North Carolina 67
• Minnesota 74, West Virginia 70

STUDY SESSION

OPENING TIP

11/26:

• Tennessee vs. Villanova in New York

11/28:

• Florida at Florida State

11/30:

• Ohio State at Florida State
• Cornell at Syracuse
• Georgetown at Missouri
• North Carolina at Illinois
• Saint Louis at Portland

12/1:

• Michigan State at Duke
• Purdue at Virginia Tech
• Saint Mary’s at San Diego State
• American at West Virginia
• Richmond at Old Dominion

12/2:

• UCLA at Kansas
• Missouri at Oregon

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

On this holiday weekend, I’d like to take a moment to give thanks for the privilege of watching great players and great teams in action. In the past week, we have seen a bona fide superstar emerge in Maui, as Connecticut’s Kemba Walker cooked two top 10 teams with a huge serving of 90 points in three games. In Kansas City, better known for barbecue than turkey feasts, Duke devoured all comers, including a resilient Marquette squad and top five Kansas State, which played in front of a partisan crowd.

Last season, Walker battled through a tough season for the Huskies, who missed the NCAA Tournament for only the fifth time since 1990. As a sophomore, he averaged a respectable 14.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.1 rebounds per game. This season, he has more than doubled that points total through five games, averaging 30.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Although Walker’s assists are down, he isn’t committing as many turnovers this season and actually has a better assist-to-turnover ratio. He’s almost single-handedly dominating games, and he’s lifting holiday hopes in Storrs that this season will see Connecticut return to the top of the Big East standings after a one-season hiatus.

In Durham, Duke fans are already thankful to celebrate Thanksgiving as reigning national champions. With the Blue Devils’ start to this season, there’s reason to be hopeful that they’ll get to do so again next year. Duke dismantled Kansas State 82-68 in Wildcat territory in the CBE Classic. Although team leaders Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith pitched in 28 points on 40 percent shooting, the rest of Duke’s players looked great, tallying 54 points on 55.2 percent shooting. Freshman point guard Kyrie Irving lived up to the hype with 17 points, five rebounds and six assists. If Duke can continue to play balanced basketball, this Blue Devil team genuinely might end up being better than last season’s squad.

It’s early in the season, and we already have plenty of high-quality hoops to celebrate. The holiday season promises to deliver plenty of gifts on the hardwood, setting us up for a fantastic conference season with the turn of the new year. ]]> http://www.hoopville.com/2010/11/26/full-court-sprints/feed/ 0