In a time of tribulation, college hoops shows the good in sports

The Jimmy V Classic couldn’t have come at a more necessary time this year.

College sports have had a rough run in recent months. Throughout the summer, fans had to try to figure out which conference their favorite team would be playing in when all the moving and shaking subsides. The motivation for conference realignment is all about the dollar bills, often at the expense of any sport not named football — and with little consideration for rivalries that make sports thrilling to watch and play.

But conference realignment was utterly benign compared to the chaos that erupted in State College, Pa., when one of the NCAA’s premier football programs crumbled under the weight of allegation after allegation of sexual misconduct by Jerry Sandusky, a former coordinator. Exacerbating the situation, coach Joe Paterno and Penn State officials appear to have covered up the activities, and it cost one of college football’s legends his job.

Then scandal crept into college hoops, at another sacred program. Coach Jim Boeheim has built Syracuse into a top program, and he relied on his top assistant, Bernie Fine, to help get the Orange there. But allegations of sexual abuse have surrounded Fine, and university officials fired him. Syracuse has received plenty of criticism for possibly failing to do enough to report the rumors of the abuse to police nearly 10 years ago, and Boeheim passionately defended his friend and assistant when ESPN first reported the allegations. He has had to backtrack from those statements, and some experts are calling for his ouster.

Yuck.

With such greed and alleged corruption percolating in college sports, it’d be easy to become disillusioned.

But resist the urge. Or to put it another way: “Don’t ever give up.”

Former NC State coach Jim Valvano made that phrase the motto of the foundation named for him after he died of cancer in 1993. Since his death, ESPN has partnered with the Jimmy V Foundation to raise funds for cancer research. The money goes directly to research, and it goes to a broad range of medical experts toiling to find a cure, not just for popular causes such as breast or prostate cancer but also rarer cancers that have a far worse death rate.

The annual Jimmy V Classic serves as a forum for ESPN to reach a national audience to urge donations, in addition to showcasing a few of the country’s best teams. If that’s not a great role for sports in U.S. society, I don’t know what is.

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

Utah doesn’t have a Division I win yet on the season, and the Utes could struggle some more to pick that up after indefinitely suspending Josh Watkins, according to the Associated Press. Watkins has been Utah’s best player by far, averaging 17.7 ppg and 4.9 apg.

Things aren’t much better for one of the Utes’ biggest rivals, the Utah State Aggies. Diamond Leung, of ESPN.com’s “College Basketball Nation” blog, writes that Brady Jardine could be out all season after injuring his foot Nov. 19 in the team’s win against Southern Utah. Jardine is one of the team’s top rebounders, averaging 7.7 rpg.

West Virginia v. the Big East continues to froth in the legal system, with the Big East’s lawyers moving for a dismissal of West Virginia’s lawsuit attempting to get the Mountaineers out of the conference and into the Big 12 ahead of the Big East’s mandatory 27-month waiting period, according to the Associated Press’ Vicki Smith.

We don’t place a ton of stock in the polls in general, but Harvard’s arrival this week is newsworthy. As CBS Sports.com reports, it’s the first time that the Crimson have ever appeared in the top 25, and they are the first Ivy League team to reach the polls since Princeton in 1998.

Games to watch Tuesday

• Missouri vs. Villanova, 7 pm EST (Jimmy V Classic)
• George Mason at Virginia, 7 pm EST
• Kent State at James Madison, 7 pm EST
• Robert Morris at Duquesne, 7 pm EST
• Iowa at Northern Iowa, 8 pm EST
• Washington vs. Marquette, 9 pm EST (Jimmy V Classic)
• Long Beach State at Kansas, 9 pm EST
• Memphis at Miami, 9 pm EST

Utah: Slap Earns Henderson One-Game Suspension

After BYU’s Jackson Emery exchanged words with Utah guard Marshall Henderson, the Utes’ freshman whacked Emery in the face with a backhand, earning an ejection and one-game suspension, according to an Associated Press report.

BYU had the game wrapped up, and Emery followed Henderson along the baseline to speak his mind after a play with 34 seconds to go. Henderson, who averages 11.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, did not appreciate the disrespectful actions and slapped Emery with a backhand. Officials immediately tossed Henderson. NCAA rules dictate that players ejected for fighting receive a one-game suspension.

Utah will face Colorado State without one of the team’s best players. The Utes are 3-4 in Mountain West action but have lost two in a row on the road to Wyoming and BYU.

Mountain West Notebook – A So-So Lobo Return

The view from the Mountain is about what you would expect at this point in the season. Collectively the Mountain West Conference is 52-20 as of December 7.

BYU has the only untarnished record at 8-0. One could argue that they really haven’t played anyone yet as their RPI is 81 and their strength of schedule is 287. The Cougars won’t get their first true test until Dec. 20 when they take on Arizona State in Tempe.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Colorado State is the only team with a losing record, as they sit at 3-5. But even they look to be an improved team this year. In their toughest contest to date, they lost by just one point to Tubby Smith’s Golden Gophers.

San Diego State (7-1) was crowned champions of the Great Alaska Shootout last week and got a big boost with the reinstatement of MWC First Team Player Lorrenzo Wade. A San Diego judge dismissed felony burglary charges against Wade, and he is now practicing with the team. He did not play in SDSU’s victory over cross-town rival USD on Saturday night, but he should see the court against Arizona on Wednesday night.

Wyoming is off to a 6-1 start and may have a more balanced and complete team this year. Last year the focus was all on their two standout guards, Brandon Ewing and Brad Jones. Now that Jones has graduated, Ewing has moved to the point guard position and wants to distribute the ball more and not just be the designated scorer from the two guard spot. It shows as the Cowboys have four players averaging double figures in scoring. With a stronger supporting cast, Ewing may get the opportunity he desires to refine his point guard skills and have a career in the professional ranks once his senior season is over.

The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels aren’t looking quite as dominant as many expected, and their 7-2 record shows it. They narrowly escaped with a win in their home opener versus the University of San Diego, even though San Diego had three key players on either suspension or out with an injury. After a couple of easy wins, the Rebels thought they were ready for a bigger test, but when the Bears came to town, the Rebels didn’t have an answer. First it was the Cal Bears, who defeated UNLV by 18 points. The next day, the Cincinnati Bearcats completed the sweep with a two-point victory.

The Air Force Falcons have one of the weakest out of conference schedules to date as indicated by their RP1 of 158 and Strength of Schedule at 226. They lost by 19 points to Stanford, the only team of significance on their pre-conference schedule. But at 6-2 and riding a three-game winning streak, they should rack up a few more wins this month and have some confidence going into conference play.

Utah (5-2) is an early season enigma. They have quality wins over Oregon, Missouri State and Mississippi but bad losses against Southwest Baptist on their home court and against Idaho State on the road.

The 6-3 TCU Horned Frogs are on a five-game winning streak and trying to prove that they are more than just a football school. They had a convincing 16-point road victory over Colorado on Saturday but will be further tested this week at home versus Wichita State before traveling to Indiana.

New Mexico (4-4) is still trying to find its rhythm in the absence of J.R. Giddens, who was last year’s MWC co-player of the year and then selected in the first round of the NBA draft. Tony Danridge, who missed all of last season with a broken leg, was expected to re-emerge as the team’s leading scorer and go-to guy. He led the team two years ago but has been inconsistent so far.

All indicators point to this being a better than average year for the Mountain West Conference, and there figures to be a considerable amount of parity. As teams take on a few more tough out of conference opponents in the next couple of weeks, we will start to see who rises to the top and whether they can hold onto that position by winning on the road.