Several teams get much-needed resume wins on Saturday

Saturday saw a few teams get a victory they needed to jump-start their NCAA Tournament resume. A few others suffered bad losses in games they needed, or missed opportunities, but we’re going to stick with the positive and focus on the teams that got big wins. It’s too early to declare a number of these teams locks after what they did on Saturday, but they are in a better place than they were to start the day.

Let’s start with Florida State, which annihilated North Carolina 90-57 in Tallahassee. The Seminoles had a so-so non-conference run, as they came into Saturday lacking a win against the top 50 in three tries. Beating the Tar Heels is a remedy for that, although they need to make it relevant come March by playing well the rest of ACC play.

Next, we go to Northwestern, a team for whom heartbreak has become a regular occurrence. The Wildcats have had chances to play their way into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in recent years, but haven’t been able to pull out the games they needed to. It looked like this year might be another case of that, too, although they did win the Charleston Classic over Seton Hall, a win that is looking better all the time. They won at mediocre Georgia Tech and lost to Baylor, which is hardly a bad loss. But then they lost at Creighton, got hammered at Ohio State and lost tough ones to Illinois and Michigan by a combined three points. And on Saturday, they knocked off Michigan State in Evanston for their best win of the season. Add that to the Seton Hall win and the Wildcats, who don’t have a bad loss and an RPI of 33 at the start of the week, are in a good place for the moment.

Then there is Oklahoma, a team thought to be rebuilding. But the Sooners knocked off Kansas State 82-73 for their second win against a top 50 team. The Sooners are now 1-3 in Big 12 play, so they have a good deal of work to do. But if they get to .500 in conference and win a game or two in the conference tournament, they may have done enough work by then to be in the discussion for an NCAA Tournament team.  It helps that they don’t have a bad loss.

Lastly, San Diego State knocked off UNLV in a thriller, 69-67. The Aztecs were actually in a reasonably good place before Saturday, but perhaps now they can be called an NCAA Tournament lock if they win the games they should the rest of the way. The Mountain West figured to be rebuilding this season, but that hasn’t been the case thus far as both of these teams look like they will be in the field of 68.

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

Pittsburgh lost at Marquette, 62-57, and is now 0-5 in the Big East for the second time in program history and first in 12 years. They have never started 0-6, but they play at Syracuse on Monday.

Connecticut freshman Ryan Boatright was suspended by the NCAA and did not play in the Huskies’ 67-53 win at Notre Dame. The NCAA is investigating more eligibility matters with the freshman guard.

Iowa handily took out Michigan 75-59, and continues to be something of a Jekyll and Hyde team.

Jarnell Stokes gave Tennessee a boost in his debut, but Kentucky prevailed in Knoxville 65-62. The thinking is that although it was a loss, Saturday’s game bodes well for the Volunteers.

The Ivy League has started the season a little differently this time around, and Penn has started off 2-0 with wins at Columbia and Cornell. Normally teams play their travel partners over two weeks, save for Penn and Princeton, before the Friday-Saturday weekends start.

No America East team will go undefeated in conference play this season, as Stony Brook had its six-game winning streak end at Boston University, who has won three in a row after losing six straight.

Plenty of great games on tap for this weekend

We’re entering the second weekend of heavy conference play. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the best match ups on the menu, starting with tonight’s action. The NFL playoffs are quite compelling, but be sure to check out some of these games, which promise to be just as entertaining.

Friday:

• Creighton at Illinois State
• Cleveland State at Butler
• Missouri State at Northern Iowa
• Seton Hall at South Florida

Saturday:

• UNLV at San Diego State
• Alabama at Mississippi State
• New Mexico at Wyoming
• Kentucky at Tennessee
• North Carolina at Florida State
• Rutgers at West Virginia
• Texas at Missouri
• Colorado at Stanford
• St. Bonaventure at Xavier
• Connecticut at Notre Dame
• Kansas State at Oklahoma
• NC State at Wake Forest
• Oregon at Arizona
• Ohio at Akron
• UCF at Marshall
• La Salle at Dayton

Sunday:

• Indiana at Ohio State
• Cleveland State at Valparaiso
• Youngstown State at Butler
• Loyola (Md.) at Iona
• Georgia Tech at Maryland
• Washington State at Washington

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

In case you missed it earlier this week, Pitt kinda struggled against Rutgers. And by kinda, we mean the Panthers totally stunk. According to ESPN.com’s “College Basketball Nationg” blog, the Panthers had their worst home performance in more than 60 years, scoring only 39 points in the 23-point embarrassment against the Scarlet Knights.

Texas Tech’s Terran Petteway will miss tomorrow’s game against Texas A&M because coach Billy Gillispie suspended Petteway for elbowing Kansas’ Connor Teahan, earning himself an ejection, according to an Associated Press report.

Chairs, beware. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said he has no regrets for slamming a chair on the court to motivate the Hawkeyes during a 28-point beatdown at Michigan State, according to an Associated Press report.

Fresh off a national championship in football, Alabama fans got to stick it to LSU once again Wednesday night when the Tigers came to Tuscaloosa. One of the more creative Bama fans brought a sign that mocked the Tigers football team’s struggle in getting past midfield in the BCS Championship Game, writes USA Today’s Nicol Auerbach. Check out the Tide fan’s cheeky taunts here.

Former Clemson guard Cory Stanton hopes he’s found a basketball home in Knoxville after walking on to the Volunteers, according to an Associated Press report. Stanton arrives at Tennessee via Lipscomb after playing one season at Clemson.

Iowa Hawkeyes 2011-12 Preview

Iowa Hawkeyes (11-20, 4-14)

Fran McCaffery’s (11-20) team could play spoiler to some of the Big Ten’s top teams once again this year.

Projected starting five:

So. F Melsahn Basabe
So. F Zach McCabe
So. G/F Devyn Marble
Sr. G Matt Gatens
Sr. G Bryce Cartwright

Important departures:

Jarryd Cole: 8.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg

Additions:

Fr. G Josh Oglesby (Rivals.com three-star recruit)
Fr. C Gabe Olaseni (Rivals.com three-star recruit)
Fr. SF Aaron White (Rivals.com three-star recruit)

Outlook:

Fran McCaffery’s second year coaching the Hawkeyes finds Iowa adding a legitimate practice facility for the basketball team this year. Unfortunately, they lose a player; G/F Anthony Hubbard (whom McCaffery and Iowa AD Gary Barta had just vouched for publicly), a convicted felon heavily recruited by McCaffery. Iowa returns a lot of starters, but based on last year results the team has a long way to go.

Schedule highlights:

Iowa has 11 (potentially 12) games scheduled to be televised on ESPN. That’s very high for a team that’s season highlight last year was defeating a Purdue team that was also not living up to expectations. This team will boost other Big Ten teams’ wins column more than their own.

Prediction: 10th

Next: Michigan Wolverines
Back to Big Ten preview

Health Comes Before Hoops

BASELINE TO BASELINE

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

When forward Emmanuel Negedu transferred to New Mexico, he figured he had a fresh start ahead after heart problems at Tennessee. While with the Volunteers, he entered a sudden cardiac arrest in 2009. He had the all-clear to play, barring any more bad news. But more bad news struck in December 2010 when he a bad reading on a defibrillator, according to Diamond Leung of ESPN.com’s “College Basketball Nation” blog. And that means Negedu’s playing career is through, though he’ll remain on scholarship to complete his degree as a Lobo.

Washington State fans are holding their breath that Klay Thompson won’t follow junior DeAngelo Casto to the NBA after the Cougar forward announced that he’ll enter the draft and hire an agent, according to the Associated Press. Casto was Wazzu’s top big man last season, with 12 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

In addition to losing Josh Selby and the Morris brothers to the NBA and Tyrel Reed, Brady Morningstar and Mario Little to graduation, Kansas will be without guard Royce Woolridge, who announced he is transferring, according to the Associated Press. Woolridge said he wants more playing time, which he apparently isn’t convinced he’d get in Lawrence despite the roster turnover.

In other transfer news, Loyola Chicago is getting some Big Ten talent in Iowa guard Cully Payne, who will have three years of remaining eligibility, according to ESPN Chicago’s Scott Powers. And sparingly used forward J.J. Richardson is leaving Pittsburgh in search of a better fit, according to the Associated Press.

On the flip side, the Jayhawks could be on the receiving end of a transfer if La Salle’s Aaric Murray picks Kansas over West Virginia. According to Jon Rothstein, the sophomore big man is leaving the Explorers for one of those destinations after averaging 15.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this past season.

Miami’s coaching search continues, writes the Miami Herald’s Michelle Kaufman, as new athletic director Shawn Eichorst talked to Wisconsin-Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter about the position. Eichorst has connections to the state after coming to Miami from Wisconsin, where he was an associate athletic director at the school.

Whoever ends up in south Florida as the Hurricanes’ coach might not bring highly regarded recruit Bishop Daniels to Coral Gables. According to Barry Jackson’s “Sports Buzz” blog at Miami Herald.com, Daniels wants a release from his letter of intent so that he can choose Tennessee or Rutgers. Given that the Scarlet Knights are the only team of the three with a returning coaching staff, that could bode well for Mike Rice’s squad.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

You’ve got to feel for New Mexico’s Emmanuel Negedu.

The Lobos sophomore overcame the scare of a cardiac arrest at Tennessee and found a fresh start in Albuquerque. New Mexico is one of the top programs of the Mountain West Conference, especially with BYU bolting for the West Coast Conference.

But it just wasn’t in the cards for Negedu to make an impact on the court. A bad reading on a defibrillator means team doctors won’t clear him to play ever again. It’s just too risky.

Although Negedu must manage his condition carefully, his life is still full of opportunity. The Lobos intend to keep Negedu on scholarship, which will give him the opportunity to earn his degree as a Lobo. And if Negedu has interest in contributing to team activities, the squad should be able to find an off-court role for him.

For players gifted enough to earn a Division I scholarship, the concept of imminent mortality might not be an everyday realization. But Negedu now has a perspective that gives him the opportunity to keep his teammates grounded in the face of adversity and focused on greater goals.

And that’s a perspective that could allow Negedu to make an on-court impact vicariously through the rest of the Lobos.

Scary Good

News and Notes Approaching the Weekend

Some quick hitters as we reach the end of the week:

Army may not have the won-lost record to show it, but the Black Knights look like they can be a tough out in an improved Patriot League. The biggest reason is that they have a number of scoring threats to go along with being athletic. After Monday night’s win at Bryant, ten different players have scored in double figures at least once this season, with three players doing it for the first time that night.

The Black Knights are 2-7, and while they clearly have the offensive ability, the players still haven’t fully grasped how to play just yet.

“We’ve got guys that get a little eager at times,” said head coach Jim Crews. “We’re trying to get a good balance; if you’re open after one pass, shoot it, but you can’t do it six straight times. We’re trying to get a better balance of passing the ball around. Sometimes we tell them to pass it around, and they pass it around too much.”

While Brown has reloaded in the backcourt with the emergence of Adrian Williams and Peter Sullivan, it’s the development of junior big man Matt Mullery that has been the biggest key. Mullery at times looked lost on the court early in his career, then emerged as a shot-blocker last season. Now he’s a key player at the offensive end in much the same way Mark MacDonald was last year before injuries curtailed his season.

“We want to get the ball inside to him,” said head coach Jesse Agel after Mullery scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds Tuesday night. “I said it after our Northwestern game, if you have a post guy who can cause a double team, you’re in business. After we lost that game to a tremendous Northwestern team, as we’re finding out, he was that guy.”

It’s hard to really know what to make of Boston College’s 7-2 record since the Eagles haven’t exactly played the cream of the crop thus far. They entered the week with an RPI of 59 with a strength of schedule in the three-digit range, and their win over Bryant (No. 270) won’t help that. But they look like a team coming of age slowly but surely. Corey Raji continues to emerge as a consummate garbage man inside, Joe Trapani continues to fill the stat sheet (he had his second double-double of the season on Wednesday with 11 points and 10 rebounds), and some balance is developing as shown by five players scoring in double figures on Wednesday.

The next chance to get a better sense of this team will be a week from Saturday, when they host Providence after being off for final exams.

Iowa bounced back from a tough loss at Boston College last week with two straight wins. The Hawkeyes have just one senior, Cyrus Tate, playing significant minutes, and also look to have several capable of leading the team in scoring on a given night. A number of players on the team can shoot from long range, evidenced by their 42 percent clip from long range. Leading the way there are freshmen Anthony Tucker and Matt Gatens, who shoot just under 50 percent combined from behind the arc.

Eight players average at least 12 minutes per game and no one averages 30, showing how interchangeable the players are. They like the depth and feel like everyone is capable, and it’s a reflection of the coach.

“I don’t know that there’s that much difference between the guys who start the game and the guys who come off the bench,” said head coach Todd Lickliter.

The economy hit a colleague earlier in the week when, as part of a major layoff by Yahoo, Rivals.com recruiting guru Justin Young was let go. He’s one of the best in the business and among the many colleagues I enjoy catching up with while on the road covering recruiting events. I have no doubt that come next spring, I’ll see Justin while on the road as he does great work for someone else.