Listen up, North Carolina fans.
I have some good news and bad news.
|
|
| These guys are good enough to make a top 10 team. (Getty Images) |
Now, the good news: It shouldn't matter either way Saturday against Maryland.
Let's do the Friday Look Ahead.
Game worth flying to see in person: There is not a single thing I do in this world that garners more negative feedback than when I rank Duke in the top 10. I'll never understand it because there is no doubt in my mind that the Blue Devils -- flawed as they might be -- are indeed a top 10 team. Granted, that probably says more about the rest of the nation than it does Duke. But whatever. Duke belongs in the top 10, which is something I'm tired of explaining and won't have to explain again if the Blue Devils will just go out and beat No. 8 Wake Forest on Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Short of that, my job will become increasingly difficult.
Game worth driving to see in person: A year ago, Russ Pennell was a radio color commentator for Arizona State. Now, he has Arizona on a seven-game winning streak heading into Sunday's game against the 14th-ranked Sun Devils. So I ask, honestly, who has had a stranger year than Russ Pennell? Barack Obama, perhaps. And that US Airways pilot who landed in the Hudson, maybe. But who else?
Game worth watching on TV: Further proof the Big East is ridiculous comes Sunday when one of the only two matchups of Top 25 teams features the schools that are currently fifth (No. 12 Villanova) and seventh (No. 24 Syracuse) in the Big East standings. Meanwhile, the top four in the Big East -- Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Louisville and Marquette -- are all ranked in the top 10.
Some non-BCS love: The Stephen Curry era at Davidson is rooted in seizing the moment, about coming up big not all the time, but nearly every time the country is paying attention. On Saturday, the country will again be paying attention thanks to a nationally televised showdown with 21st-ranked Butler. So I can't imagine any scenario under which Curry doesn't at least try to play on his injured ankle, particularly after spending Wednesday realizing how terrible the Wildcats are without him.
An obvious prediction: Mark Few's Gonzaga Bulldogs are one of just three schools with a perfect league record. The 17th-ranked Zags are 11-0 in the West Coast Conference entering Saturday's game against Pepperdine, and there's a 0.000001 percent chance that they won't exit 12-0.
A crazy prediction (but it might happen anyway): I know Texas is unranked, struggling and in danger of missing the NCAA tournament. But would anybody really be surprised if the Longhorns clipped No.-1-in-waiting Oklahoma late Saturday night? This just has the feel of one of those upsets, like it's destined to be some sort of payback for OU stealing Texas' spot in the BCS title game.
Player trying to keep rolling: There are plenty of high-scoring guards, but how many get their numbers without using the 3-point line? I can think of one. His name is Stefon Jackson. He plays for UTEP, and he's averaging 26.7 points in his past three outings, this despite attempting a total of just three 3-pointers in that span. Keep that up, and perhaps Jackson can put his Miners in position Saturday to snap No. 5 Memphis' 53-game Conference USA winning streak. I wouldn't bet on it. But perhaps.
Player trying to get rolling: One of the reasons Illinois is coming off a loss in which it scored just 33 points is that Demetri McCamey missed nine of 11 shots against Penn State. Add his performance against Indiana to the equation, and McCamey has missed 14 of his past 16 shots and scored a total of just seven points in 53 minutes on the court the past two games. If he doesn't get better, the 18th-ranked Illini will likely lose Sunday at Ohio State.
Three things you should know before you go
1. Four Pac-10 schools -- Washington, Arizona State, California and UCLA -- are entering the weekend with four league losses, meaning there is a four-way tie in the loss column for first place in the conference. Furthermore, every Pac-10 school has won at least four league games ... except Oregon, which is 0-14.
2. Speaking of ties at the top, the SEC East is just as goofy. Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee are each 7-4 in the league. The Gators would be leading if not for last weekend's inexplicable loss to Georgia, which is 1-10 in the SEC.
3. Heading into the weekend, the top five in the CBSSports.com RPI are (in order) Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Connecticut and Duke. The top five at KenPom.com are Memphis, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Duke. The top five in the Sagarin ratings are North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Duke and Oklahoma. So it appears all the computers pretty much like the same teams, for whatever that's worth.
Final thought: The NCAA should've just called me before it started "looking into" whether Daniel Hackett was part of a package deal at Southern California. I could've saved the folks in Indianapolis a lot of time.
The phone call would've gone like this ...
NCAA: Hey Gary. Was Daniel Hackett part of a package deal at USC?
Me: Yes. Why do you ask?
NCAA: Because we're looking into such package deals.
Me: Really? Why? Are you really going to try to tell schools they can't hire the fathers of prospects? Sounds like you'd be begging for a lawsuit trying to dictate to universities who can and cannot be hired if the person who applies for a job meets requirements.
NCAA: You think so?
Me: Yes, I do. So what are you going to do about this?
NCAA: Probably nothing.
Me: Then why bother looking into it?
NCAA: We're not sure, actually.
Me: OK. Well, good luck, I guess. And let me know when you get the O.J. Mayo stuff straight.
(End of conversation)
