I've already explained how I'm OK with Eric Devendorf's suspension being shortened to two games, so calm down, Syracuse fans, because I'm on your side. But it is kind of wild when you consider that a college athlete (Devendorf) missed two games for an altercation with a female in the same month that an NHL player (Sean Avery) was essentially dismissed from his team for claiming a fellow NHL player 
fell in love with his sloppy seconds.
I'm not sure who's right or wrong.
I just think it's kind of interesting.
Now let's do the Monday Look Back.
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| Pat Knight's Red Raiders were on the losing end of a 45-point loss last weekend. (AP) |
Worst game of the weekend: The highest-profile game turned into a dud about midway through the second half Saturday as West Virginia pulled away and dismantled Ohio State 76-48. Just like that, the Buckeyes' 14-game winning streak (dating to last season's NIT) was done, as was their 54-game winning streak against unranked opponents at home. And though OSU was terrible from the field (31.0 percent) and 3-point line (11.1 percent), the most glaring stat in its most lopsided home loss in nearly a decade was that the team finished with three assists, leading Thad Matta to tell the New York Times that his "point guard plays for the Memphis Grizzlies." Obviously, that was a remark about former Buckeye Mike Conley, who left OSU after his freshman season two seasons ago. Also worth noting is that Matta's center (Greg Oden) plays for the Blazers, his other frontcourt star (Kosta Koufos) plays for the Jazz and his best wing (Daequan Cook) plays for the Heat.
Win to brag about: LSU has become the SEC West favorites by doing nothing more than avoiding losses to bad teams, which is something Arkansas, Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Auburn have not been able to do. Still, the Tigers needed a victory over a respectable opponent to legitimize their praise, and they got it Saturday when they beat Washington State 64-52 to move their record to 10-1. Meantime, the Cougars are 8-4, but the four losses are to Pittsburgh, Baylor, Gonzaga and LSU, which isn't all that embarrassing.
Loss to hide from: Playing fast and disregarding defense is cute when it results in a win. But when it doesn't, man, it sure looks terrible, and for proof I submit Texas Tech's 111-66 loss at Stanford late Sunday. I don't even care what schools are involved, no Big 12 team should lose to a Pac-10 team by 45 points, particularly a Pac-10 team picked ninth in the conference. So yeah, it was a bad loss for Bob Knight's son, and mind-boggling, really, considering it came just a week after the Red Raiders beat a New Mexico team that had recently blasted Ole Miss.
Player who deserves improper benefits: Only Iowa State fans, various followers of the Big 12 and NBA scouts are familiar with Craig Brackins, but there's a reason I ranked him among the nation's best big men in the preseason, and that reason was on display Sunday. The 6-10 forward got 38 points and 14 rebounds in a 71-67 victory that snapped Houston's seven-game winning streak, and he's now averaging 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Player who should lose his scholarship: Mike Maczko entered the weekend averaging 0.0 points for his career, which is another way of saying that the dude had never scored in college. Apparently, that stat bothered the New Jersey Institute of Technology freshman, because he decided he was going to end the streak Sunday against Wagner, one way or another, which led to Maczko taking 10 of the Highlanders' 56 shots. Predictably, he missed eight of the 10, and NJIT extended its losing streak to 45 games with a 68-58 defeat. But on the bright side, Maczko is no longer averaging 0.0 points per game; now he's averaging 0.9.
Why I'm smarter than you think: If I don't have a 900-number by the end of the month that charges $19.95 for my picks then I'll only have myself to blame for not being a bazillionaire, because I am on F-I-R-E with my crazy predictions. Three weeks ago I had unranked Michigan over No. 4 Duke, last week I had unranked Minnesota over No. 9 Louisville and then this past weekend I had unranked West Virginia on the road over 15th-ranked Ohio State , straaaaaaight up, meaning I'm the guy who told you OSU would lose a home game to an unranked opponent for the first time in 55 outings. Holy Crap, I'm unbelievable. And it's only a matter of time before Hollywood tells my story in something called Two for the Money II starring Al Pacino as Walter Abrams, who returns to handicapping with his new protégé Gary Parrish, played by Zac Efron or that wild-eyed character from Twilight.
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Why I'm dumber than I think: I spent a good portion of November expressing my disappointment in DeMar DeRozan, but the Southern California freshman is turning things around in a way that makes my criticism seem premature. DeRozan has now reached double-figures in points in seven consecutive games thanks to an 18-point effort in Sunday's 66-56 victory over Oral Roberts that raised his season average to 11.8 points per contest. But in a statistical black eye of sorts, it should be noted that DeRozan still has not hit a 3-pointer in college. He is 0-of-13 from beyond the arc through 12 games, meaning there are still some areas that need improvement.
Three things you should know before you go
1. Jodie Meeks has been getting all the attention, but it was Patrick Patterson who starred for Kentucky in Saturday's 76-69 victory over Florida Atlantic. The 6-9 forward took 16 shots, made 12 and finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds, and if the Wildcats can handle Central Michigan this week they'll be on a six-game winning streak heading into next weekend's game at Louisville.
2. Former Florida guard Jai Lucas announced Sunday that he is transferring to Texas, where he could be the Longhorns' primary point guard when he becomes eligible next December. Thus, Lucas is essentially the fourth member of Rick Barnes' incoming recruiting class, which was already ranked second nationally (behind only North Carolina's) by Rivals.com.
3. Also on the move is Anthony Crater, who asked for a release from Ohio State after playing just 12 minutes in Saturday's loss to West Virginia. The 6-1 freshman was reportedly unhappy that his minutes had dwindled, apparently unaware that his minutes would not have dwindled if he was a better basketball player, you know, somebody who wasn't shooting 20.0 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from 3-point range.
On tap: On Monday, a pair of Big East powers will meet when Georgetown and Connecticut open Big East play. On Tuesday, two former AAU teammates will battle when Willie Warren leads Oklahoma against Rotnei Clarke and Arkansas. On Wednesday, Minnesota's perfect record will be at risk when the Gophers host Michigan State. On Thursday, a couple of guard-oriented teams will get up and down the court when Villanova visits Marquette.
Final thought: Chris Collins, associate head basketball coach at Duke, was in the bleachers at the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational high school tournament on Friday night, which is newsworthy for one reason: According to the NCAA calendar, Dec. 24-26 is a "dead period" during which NCAA rules prohibit college coaches from attending high school games.
Oops.
The official Duke response is that Collins simply made a mistake because he was unaware of the dead period; the school plans to self-report the violation, according to Ken Tysiac of the Charlotte Observer. And though I'm not one to usually believe in innocent mistakes when it comes to recruiting, I have to say that I buy Collins' excuse because the alternative would be to believe that Collins -- the son of Doug Collins, a former Duke player and a man who is on national television at least once a week -- thought it was possible to blend into the crowd at a high school game featuring Duke signee Ryan Kelly and Rivals.com No. 1 prospect, John Wall.
I just don't think Collins is that stupid.
So I'll chalk it up as an innocent mistake, but if I'm Mike Krzyzewski I'm getting on the phone with Wall as soon as possible and explaining that the Blue Devils want him so badly that they were willing to take a secondary violation just to see him play. Hey, in recruiting, you use every selling point possible, and that one seems as good as anything short of hiring Wall's AAU coach, which Baylor, of course, has already done.
