By Ryan Dunleavy
It is a good week to be 18 years old. Not such a good week to week to be a small feline. Let us explain that to you, as well as why history says the University of Maryland already has clinched its NCAA Tournament berth and why Bracketbuster week was a bust for the Missouri Valley Conference. We take a look at the national campus hoops scene with, of course, an eye toward March.
HOT
- Maryland
It is nice to see good guy Gary Williams back in the NCAA Tournament mix. The 2002 national champions settled for the Little Disco instead of the Big Dance the past two seasons and appeared headed for a third straight trip to the NIT after starting 2-4 in the ACC. But Williams’ seniors have risen to the occasion and the Terrapins have reeled off four straight wins overall and three consecutive on the road, giving them 21 victories for the season. It is Williams’ 10th 20-win season at Maryland and no 20-win ACC team has been left out of the tournament field since expansion to 64 teams in 1985. There is still work to do, however, as regular season games against North Carolina and Duke remain. Remember those wild games Duke and Maryland used to play five years ago? A renewal of that rivalry can only be good for college basketball – even if neither team is a national title contender.
- Freshmen
You know something special is going on when college basketball lands a Sports Illustrated cover in the middle of February, two weeks before most conference tournaments. The Sports Illustrated story mainly focuses on University of Texas stud Kevin Durant, with honorable mentions to Ohio State’s Greg Oden and North Carolina’s Brandan Wright. Davidson point guard Stephen Curry’s name also appears in print. But let’s not forget the outstanding seasons had thus far by Javaris Crittenton (Georgia Tech), Chase Budinger (Arizona), Eugene Harvey (Seton Hall), Spencer Hawes (Washington), Mike Conley (Ohio St.), Sherron Collins (Kansas) and others. Few things in sports successfully live up to the standards set by their preseason hype (read: Ryan Leaf), and it's nice to that this crop of 18-year-olds is one of the few.
- Arizona State
Happy New Year! The Sun Devils celebrated their first victory of 2007 with an upset of then-No. 23 USC on Sunday. The win snapped the nation’s longest losing streak and a school-record losing streak at 15, the team’s 22-game losing streak against ranked opponents and helped Arizona State avoid the dubious distinction of becoming the first winless Pac-10 team in history. The fans also celebrated Win One of the New Year in style. An outpouring of support from the seats onto the court was a clear vent of frustration after watching their team drop its past five by six points or less. Most importantly, the victory should buy coach Herb Sendek a break from answering questions about why he left the North Carolina State program he rebuilt to start all over again 2,227 miles away. OK, maybe it won’t. Why did you do that, Herb?
COLD
- Wildcats
Four schools with the same mascot, four different levels of Not Hot. Lukewarm: Villanova University has slipped to 10th in the Big East after four straight losses against ranked opponents. The Big East is not getting 10 teams into the NCAA Tournament. Ice Cold: Kentucky University recently dropped three straight games for just the fourth time in 17 years and has lost five consecutive games to rival Florida, which has become the premier team in the SEC. Freezing: Arizona University has dropped seven of its past 11 games, yet most experts still have these Wildcats in the projected NCAA Tournament field. When a school has a rich tournament pedigree, it usually gets the benefit of the doubt, but there is such a thing as loyal to a fault. Hypothermic: At least it is not 1999-2000, when Northwestern University finished 0-16 in the Big Ten. That miserable season helped current coach Bill Carmody land in Evanston, Ill., where he has mostly done a nice job. But 2-11 in the Big Ten this season must be bringing back some dark memories.
- Texas Tech
We always knew Bob Knight was capable of self-combustion, but now his team is following in his unpredictable ways. Since Jan. 20, Texas Tech has beaten then-No. 5 Kansas and twice defeated then-No. 6 Texas A & M. During that same span, however, Texas Tech lost five straight games to match the second-longest losing streak of Knight’s illustrious career. So, you’re thinking maybe it is only ranked teams that the Red Raiders can handle? After breaking the five-game losing streak with a win over lowly Colorado, Texas Tech got waxed at No. 20 Texas, 80-51. You rarely will see a team with three Top 10-caliber victories not playing in the NCAA Tournament, but Texas Tech is on the outside barring a major run in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. Should the Red Raiders reach the semifinals, they will probably win the whole thing. But then again they will probably lose in the first round.
- Missouri Valley Conference
Everybody’s favorite mid-major took a hit this past week when its top six teams went 2-4 in BracketBuster matchups. To make matters worse, one of those two wins was by No. 13 Southern Illinois, the only MVC team assured of an at-large bid should it not win the conference tournament. That means only Bradley – which defeated Colonial Athletic Association leader Virginia Commonwealth – really helped its tournament standing. The losses by Creighton and Missouri State make their value questionable, while the losses by Northern Iowa and Wichita State all but eliminated those schools from bubble talk. The MVC made plenty of noise when it got four tournament bids last season, and justified that decision by advancing two schools to the Sweet 16. That was a giant step forward. This is a small step backward. But when you are a mid-major, those two things are relative equals.