March 1, 2010

Monday Look Back: Xavier, Mack make good on promise

By Gary Parrish | CBSSports.com Senior Writer
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Next time somebody tells you college basketball rankings don't matter, you tell them that more than 200 people have already commented on a 181-word blog about my rankings, and that a Syracuse fan who I believe is a girl but kind of looks like a boy is using Twitter to ask me to quit my job.

I might quit one day.

But not today.

(And certainly not in March.)

Let's do the Monday Look Back ...

Best game of the weekend: Chris Mack posted a promise on the Xavier message board last week: "Sunday will be the most fun you've ever had at a Xavier game," wrote the first-year head coach. Then he led the Musketeers to a 78-76 double-overtime win over Richmond that pushed Xavier to the top of the Atlantic 10 standings and into the Top 25 (and one). In other words, Chris Mack is a man of his word, and he's making athletic director Mike Bobinski look smart for hiring him to replace Sean Miller.

Worst game of the weekend: The Syracuse-Villanova tilt was appropriately hyped, and the scene -- featuring a crowd of more than 34,000 -- was incredible, but the game wasn't very competitive once the Orange got going. Syracuse led by double-digits at the half and for each of the final 13 minutes en route to Saturday's 95-77 victory that gave the Orange a legitimate claim to a No. 1 ranking because ...

Win to brag about: James Anderson scored 27 points Saturday to lead Oklahoma State to an 85-77 win that dealt top-ranked Kansas its first Big 12 loss of the season. The Jayhawks still have eight wins over projected NCAA tournament teams, and both of their losses came in hostile road environments, which is why I kept KU No. 1 in the Top 25 (and one). But like I said, a legitimate case can be made for Syracuse, and I won't Poll Attack anybody for making it. Long as you have Kansas and Syracuse No. 1 and No. 2 in some order, you're safe.

Loss to hide from: I might never know how or why the same Georgetown team that can beat Duke and Villanova by double-digits can lose to a Notre Dame team minus Luke Harangody by double-digits in the same season, but that's precisely what happened Saturday. Georgetown fell 78-64, then plummeted in the Top 25 (and one).

Player who deserves improper benefits: Greivis Vasquez finished with 41 points Saturday in Maryland's 104-100 double-overtime win at Virginia Tech that moved the Terps to 11-3 in the ACC and created a splendid Senior Day scenario for the Venezuelan. Vasquez will close his home career Wednesday against Duke. A win there and the Terps will be tied with Duke atop the ACC standings heading into the final game of the regular season.

Players who do not deserve improper benefits: Tennessee playing zone against Kentucky would not have been so devastating if UK's shooters made shots. But Darnell Dodson was 0 for 5, Darius Miller and Eric Bledsoe were both 1 for 5, John Wall was 0 for 4 and Patrick Patterson, DeAndre Liggins and Daniel Orton all missed their one 3-point attempt Saturday, which accounted for the Wildcats' 2-of-22 effort from beyond the arc in the 74-65 loss that dropped Kentucky to third in the Top 25 (and one).

Why I'm smarter than you think: I was a big backer of Marquette's decision to hire Buzz Williams when it happened despite the assistant being less than a hot name in the sport. And now look. The second-year Big East coach won his third straight overtime game on the road Sunday -- it was an 84-83 decision at Seton Hall -- to move to 19-9 overall and 10-6 in the league. The same Golden Eagles who were picked 12th in the Big East's preseason poll are now fifth in the league standings. They've won eight of their past nine games and are on their way to the NCAA tournament in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year.

Why I'm dumber than I think: At this point I should just keep quiet about Vanderbilt, let Kevin Stallings continue to win games and never do anything to remind folks I'm the guy who picked the Commodores to finish fifth in the SEC East. But is that what I do? Nope. For some reason, I felt the need to pick Vandy to lose at Arkansas just before Vandy went to Arkansas and rolled to Saturday's 89-72 win that had Vandy fans publicly mocking me, just like always.

Three things you should know before you go

1. Gonzaga's 75-69 victory over San Francisco secured a 10th consecutive WCC title Saturday -- an amazing achievement regardless of the quality of the league. The Zags have endured early entries to the NBA, injuries, suspensions -- pretty much everything you can imagine -- over the past 10 seasons, but each time they finish first in the WCC. Impressive stuff.

2. Texas guard J'Covan Brown took a scary fall in Saturday's 74-58 loss at Texas A&M and was removed from the court on a stretcher. But the freshman regained movement in his arms and legs fairly quickly, and he's now listed as day-to-day heading into Wednesday's game against Oklahoma.

3. Duke's 67-49 win at Virginia on Sunday was Mike Krzyzewski's 134th ACC road win. That's the most in ACC history, one more than former North Carolina coach Dean Smith's 133.

On tap: On Monday night, Georgetown is at West Virginia. On Tuesday night, Vanderbilt is at Florida. On Wednesday night, Duke is at Maryland. On Thursday night, Dayton is at Richmond.

Final thought: Who hates each other more than New Mexico and BYU?

Last year we had that girl soccer player from New Mexico assaulting the BYU team live on television, which was both disturbing and awesome. And now New Mexico coach Steve Alford was caught by a camera calling Jonathan Tavernari an a-hole. In fairness, Tavernari did appear to be acting like an a-hole in the handshake line (he later apologized for his behavior) after BYU's 83-81 loss to New Mexico, and that's neither an act of good sportsmanship nor smart.

But what is smart is that Tavernari keeps his head shaved.

You can't get pulled down by your ponytail when you don't have hair, you see.

And that's something the BYU soccer players would be wise to consider before next season.