Articles

By Robert Canady: robert_canady@msn.com

 

While bowl games will garner most of the attention on Monday college basketball won't be taking the day off with leagues transitioning into conference play. One such matchup is the first game of Big 12 play as Texas A&M (9-3) visits Waco to take on #6 Baylor (13-0), and Billy Kennedy's Aggies can definitely use a win for resume reasons.

One question that seems to float around college basketball on an annual basis is the "how will they replace..." inquiry. That could apply to just about any player, from a key sub to a starter to a conference player of the year honoree. But the danger of using the word "replace" is that sometimes the departed players is too difficult to account for by simply plugging someone else into their role.

Score two wins for the Colonial Athletic Association, with VCU winning at Wichita State and Drexel defending their home floor with a win over Kent State in Friday's Sears BracketBusters contests. VCU needed a pair of Joey Rodriguez free throws with eight tenths of a second remaining to win a game they nearly handed over after leading by nine at the half. Rodriguez racked up 11 assists to go along with 15 points. Bradford Burgess scored 17 to lead the Rams, and Joe Ragland scored 15 to lead the Shockers.

Has the torch been passed in the West Coast Conference? While this is an unfair question overall when taking into consideration Gonzaga's decade of dominance, it certainly isn't in regards to this season. Mickey McConnell capped an outstanding performance with a tough shot with ten seconds remaining to give Saint Mary's the 73-71 victory in Spokane, dropping the Bulldogs to 3-3 in WCC play. McConnell finished with 27 points, six assists and four rebounds while backcourt partner Matthew Dellavedova added 15 points and five assists in their first victory at Gonzaga since 1995.

First place is on the line in the Colonial Athletic Association on Thursday night as Hofstra (14-6, 8-1) heads south to take on VCU (16-5, 8-1) in a matchup that features two of the best guards at the mid-major level. Charles Jenkins (23.7 ppg, 5.0 apg) is practically a household name at this point in his career and with a pro body combined with an excellent skill set the senior from Queens is a solid bet to end up on an NBA roster next season.

The return of the "burn" paid dividends for Mike Brey's Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday night, with a style of play that got them to the NCAA Tournament making the difference in a 56-51 win at #2 Pittsburgh. Ben Hansbrough led the Irish with 19 points, 13 of which came in the final nine minutes of the game, while Carleton Scott added 16 and Scott Martin 10.

The best game in regards to the national polls would be Notre Dame visiting Pittsburgh in the first game of the Big Monday doubleheader. But a good argument can be made that the matchup between the Fighting Irish and Panthers isn't the most important game of the night. That distinction goes to Baylor visiting Kansas State in a matchup of two teams who need a win period, not just one to prop up their respective resumes.

"I try to make him earn everything he gets. Like I said, he's got all of those accolades, but he's gotta come in and prove it."

- UNLV guard Tre'Von Willis on BYU's Jimmer Fredette in Tuesday's Las Vegas Sun