South Florida

South Florida 2010 NIT Capsule

Joel Welser — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:12:05 -0500

South Florida Bulls

Big East Conference (20-12, 9-9)

Big Wins: 1/31 Pittsburgh (70-61), 2/3 at Georgetown (72-64), 3/6 Connecticut (75-68)

Bad Losses: 11/20 vs South Carolina (66-69), 12/13 Central Michigan (56-59), 2/20 St. John’s (58-74)

Coach: Stan Heath

Why They Can Surprise:

South Florida does not do one particular thing extremely well and there are lots of reasons that Coach Stan Heath has turned this group picked by most to finish at the bottom of the Big East into a very, very dangerous team. It all starts in the backcourt with Dominique Jones. Jones is the superstar scorer on this team and averages 21.3 points. He is the team’s most prolific outside shooter, which is not really saying much, but he does plenty of damage by attacking the basket. The 6-4 junior is even a superb rebounder and leads the Bulls in assists and steals.

Yet, it will not be Jones who brings the ball up the floor. Chris Howard has turned into the steady floor leader and has done a great job sharing the ball and keeping the turnovers down. But the 6-3 Howard is also a fine scorer. In many cases when USF was undermanned due to the absence of Augustus Gilchrist, Anthony Crater would run the point quite a bit. That allowed Howard to work off the ball and he proved that he can be a very effective scorer.

Why They Can Disappoint:

It was in the frontcourt where Coach Stan Heath was worried. Gilchrist was the only returning player with much experience and he needed to go from an inconsistent freshman to a sophomore leader. And that was the case until he was sidelined with a leg injury in early December. Gilchrist did not make his return until Mid-February and that left the door open for a lot of young players to grow up. Gilchrist is a great scorer who can stretch out the defense with his amazingly consistent three-point shooting. Junior college transfer Jarrid Famous has done an admirable job up front. He is not much of a shot blocking threat, but Famous has come along very nicely in the scoring department and is always a tenacious rebounder. Freshman Toarlyn Fitzpatrick was forced into the starting lineup while Gilchrist was out. While he is not much of a scorer at this point in his career, he is a solid rebounder and another big body. The frontcourt has played surprisingly well, but they are a very young group and that could be a problem when the Bulls need all the help they can get.

Who To Watch:

Mike Mercer is often overlooked on this team. He will not score like Jones or Howard, he cannot shoot like Gilchrist or score in the paint like Famous, but the 6-5 senior is turning into a leader on the floor. His outside shot is simply not falling very much this year, but Mercer is still out there grabbing rebounds and playing great defense and any time he can score 19 points like he did in wins against San Diego and Providence is just a bonus.

Probable Starters:

Chris Howard, Senior, Guard, 10.4 ppg, 3.9 apg

Mike Mercer, Senior, Guard, 9.4 ppg, 1.5 apg, 4.6 rpg

Dominique Jones, Junior, Guard, 21.3 ppg, 3.7 apg, 6.2 rpg,

Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, Freshman, Forward, 4.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.0 bpg

Jarrid Famous, Junior, Center, 10.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Anthony Crater, Sophomore, Guard, 3.3 ppg, 1.7 apg

Augustus Gilchrist, Sophomore, Forward, 13.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 68.7 (182^nd in nation, 13^th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 66.7 (141, 8)

Field-Goal Percentage: 44.7 (110, 10)

Field-Goal Defense: 43.2 (175, 12)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.3 (316, 15)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: na

Free-Throw Percentage: 68.9 (169, 9)

Rebound Margin: 1.2 (150, 12)

Assists Per Game: 12.1 (231, 15)

Turnovers Per Game: 12.8 (86, 9)

Follow Joel Welser's Postseason Capsules & College Basketball Previews on Twitter @Joel_Welser and on his Facebook page. Joel will be back in June for his annual Top 144 Teams in 144 Days preview on CollegeHoops.net

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Big East Wednesday Recap: Welcome Back, Mr. Harangody

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:57:00 -0500

Luke Harangody was a First Team All-Big East selection and it was an honor that many questioned this week due primarily to his knee injury. The senior played just eleven minutes in Saturday's regular season finale at Marquette and the question of many was whether or not his return would hamper the surging Irish in their quest for an NCAA Tournament bid. Well, you got your answer. Harangody came off the bench to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds, essentially being the difference-maker in Notre Dame's 68-54 win over Seton Hall. Next up is two-seed Pittsburgh, a team they beat in their lone regular season meeting (68-53 in South Bend on February 24th.

"Luke coming off the bench- the most important three days of practice for us was Sunday, Monday and Tuesday because we could get Luke back in [an even better] rhythm," said head coach Mike Brey. Thanks in large part to Harangody the Irish were a plus-21 in bench points (24-3) and a plus-10 on the boards (40-30). Seton Hall also shot just 2-for-16 from beyond the arc and 34.5% overall for the game; Jeremy Hazell led the way with 15 points but he needed sixteen shots (making just five) to do so. A turning point for the Pirates was when Herb Pope picked up his third foul with 2:30 left in the first half. Over the ensuing 9:59 the Irish increased their lead from five (24-19) to sixteen (44-28) points and the game was essentially over.

As for why Pope was in the game head coach Bobby Gonzalez felt he had to with Notre Dame beginning to assert their will on the game. "Well, basically the game was getting away from us," said Gonzalez. "We had to. I felt that if I hadn't put him in, we might be down 15 at the half and we may not be in the game. We couldn't get a rebound." And as a result Seton Hall has to play the waiting game, paying close attention to the scores of games involving other teams perceived to be on the bubble while also making their case to anyone who will listen. And Coach Brey gave the masses a little advice in regards to the science of bracketology as well.

"You know what; right now nobody is going to talk about Seton Hall. Just give it a few days. Keep Seton Hall on the board...I know everybody kneejerks. Give it two days and come back as look at the big picture."

Georgetown 69, USF 49
No other way to describe this as a routine victory for Georgetown, outclassing a team that if not for a Shawn Noriega three in the game's final minute would have gone two games without a bonus shot. Greg Monroe and Jason Clark scored sixteen points apiece while Chris Wright added fifteen, advancing the Hoyas to their third meeting of the year (and 12th in the Big East Tournament) with top-seeded Syracuse. Dominique Jones led all scorers with 21 points but made just six of eighteen shots from the field. The Hoyas were able to make him work offensively and as a team USF shot just 29.1% from the floor. For the two games USF managed to score just seven points that didn't involve either the paint or the foul line. And when you combine that with Georgetown making seven of fourteen from beyond the arc it's easy to figure out why the Hoyas won.

Marquette 59, St. John's 57
Another close game and another close win for the Golden Eagles, who will now face Villanova in the quarterfinal round for the second consecutive season. Marquette held on for dear life against a tough St. John's squad that played the better basketball of the two teams in the final twenty minutes. Lazar Hayward led all scorers with 20 points while David Cubillan and Maurice Acker added eleven and ten, respectively. The Red Storm dominated points off turnovers (18-8), points in the paint (40-20) and second-chance points (15-2) but because of the ten-point hole they dug themselves in the first half they couldn't pull off the comeback. D.J. Kennedy and Sean Evans scored 12 points apiece and Paris Horne ten for St. John's.

"Not that I'm old, but I always trust our players to tell me the truth about other players," said Marquette head coach Buzz Williams. "And if you were to ask out players who is the hardest-playing team in the league, they would tell you St. John's." Marquette now gets to play for a measure of revenge against the Wildcats, who not only won both meetings by two points but also knocked them out of the Big East Tournament at the buzzer last season. Reggie Redding hit a cutting Dwayne Anderson with the pass that led to Anderson's game-winning layup as time expired. Another classic? That's definitely a possibility.

Cincinnati 69, Louisville 66
It didn't look good for the Cincinnati Bearcats at the half, shooting 28% from the field while also giving up 41 points. But the one stat that happened to be a byproduct of their poor shooting- rebounding- ended up being one of the areas that brought them back from said deficit to win in the final game of the night. The difference between halves: Mick Cronin's team went back to attacking the basket and they were able to take full advantage of the paint points as a result. "Guys did a great job in the second half," said Cronin. "We ended up with 40 points in the paint. We get the ball in the paint, we get it on the rim, [and] we can rebound the ball."

Yancy Gates led the way with 16 points but the most impressive stat is that five Bearcats had at least five rebounds apiece (Jaquon Parker had a team-high nine) and another two had four. The Bearcats finished the night with a 54-33 edge on the glass and 17-6 in second-chance points. Edgar Sosa led all scorers with 28 points (also led Louisville with six rebounds) but Deonta Vaughn stripped the senior of the basketball as he attempted the game-tying shot just before time expired to preserve the comeback victory. Cincy also received the reward of foul shots in their attacking the basket; they were a plus-7 in points from the foul line (15-8). As a result of the win Mick Cronin will take on another mentor, Bob Huggins, in Thursday's final quarterfinal of the day.

Thursday's Schedule

Noon #8 Georgetown vs. #1 Syracuse
This is the rivalry that helped shape the Big East, and with this being a noon tip this will likely be a truly packed house at the start. They've played twice with the Orange winning both: a blowout at the Carrier Dome after the Hoyas jumped out to a 14-0 lead, and a close finish at the Verizon Center in which the Orange jumped out to a sizeable edge before holding on in the end. For John Thompson III what the Hoyas have to do is rather simple. "We just have to come out and execute at both ends of the floor," commented Thompson after their win over USF. But with players such as Wes Johnson and Andy Rautins (among others) to deal with that's easier said than done. Will Georgetown have their legs with this being their second game in as many days? It's vital that they come out and establish themselves early against the Big East's best team.

2 PM #5 Marquette vs. #4 Villanova
These two have quite the recent history; the Wildcats won two-point games in both meetings and they also knocked the Golden Eagles out of last season's Big East Tournament with a layup as time expired. Jay Wright's squad is among the deepest in the nation and with Marquette not having the luxury of such numbers staying out of foul trouble will be a key for them. Taylor King (personal reasons) has been cleared to play by Coach Wright, and as a team Villanova has to avoid giving away points via the foul line. They're among worst in the nation in regards to fouls committed per game; their aggressive style of play can get them into trouble at times and lead to an imbalance in foul shots. If Scottie Reynolds and the rest of the backcourt can control the game Villanova can use their depth, but don't be surprised if this one goes down to the wire. 12 of Marquette's 19 Big East games have been decided by three points or less.

7 PM #7 Notre Dame vs. #2 Pittsburgh
Given how well Notre Dame played in the lone regular season meeting without Harangody, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Irish took out the Panthers for a second time. Pittsburgh didn't attack the basket enough in that game, netting just seven foul shots to eighteen for Notre Dame. While guys such as Ashton Gibbs can shoot the bonus shot Jamie Dixon's team needs to attack the rim and keep the foul shot numbers close to even if they're to advance. Gilbert Brown was 0-for-5 from behind the arc; he's better served using his athleticism to attack the rim. Tim Abromaitis scored seventeen in that victory for Notre Dame and Tory Jackson also had a good game at the point. This one likely boils down to how well the Panthers execute offensively.

9 PM #11 Cincinnati vs. #3 West Virginia
Teacher versus pupil, part two for Mick Cronin as he takes on Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers in the final game of the night. Rebounding will determine the outcome as both are good offensive rebounding teams. WVU had the advantage on the boards in the second half of their regular season meeting and as a result they were able to take care of the Bearcats in Morgantown. Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks provide their own set of challenges for any defense not counting the offensive rebounds, and WVU's length on both ends could be an issue for Cincinnati.

Picks
Syracuse over Georgetown
Marquette over Villanova
Pittsburgh over Notre Dame
West Virginia over Cincinnati

NYC Metro Hoops

Poll: Who Will Win the Big East Tournament?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:01:03 -0500

College Hoops Wednesday: Your Commentary

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:30:58 -0500

Wednesday is the day where the final days before Selection Sunday begin to get ever more hectic. The Big 12 and Conference USA both begin play with four first round matchup, and while the teams set to represent the Big 12 in the NCAA Tournament appear to be set in stone the same can't be said for C-USA. On the "clock" Wednesday is none other than Tulsa, who be playing the tournament in their city even though the Bok Center is not their home floor. Rice is the opening round opponent, a team that they must be to simply retain hope of being a part of the discussion. But in all likelihood Ben Uzoh, Jerome Jordan and company need to win four games in four days if they're to hear their name called on CBS.

The Big East will have two games with significant bubble implications with USF taking on Georgetown and Seton Hall battling Notre Dame. Of these four teams the Hoyas are in while the Irish according to some are in decent shape; the Bulls and Pirates know that they need wins and the more the better. The Bulls won at Georgetown when they made their push towards the top half of the Big East standings with Dominique Jones putting on a show. But the Hoyas played extremely well in their last game, a 74-47 pasting of Cincinnati on Saturday. If Austin Freeman is 100% and Greg Monroe plays well Georgetown has a chance to return the favor. However, the Bulls are deep inside and can account for the Hoyas' big men defensively. That should make for a competitive game.

Also up for grabs are automatic bids out of the Big Sky and Northeast conferences. Weber State and Quinnipiac will have a decided advantage in playing on their respective home floors Wednesday night, but Weber split the regular season series with Montana (both teams winning at home). Guard Damian Lillard can be a handful for opponents but the Wildcats have to find an answer for Montana's Anthony Johnson. Four Grizzlies average at least eight points per game, and this is a matchup that should be tight throughout.

TV GAMES

Noon ESPN USF vs Georgetown (Big East 2nd Round)
2p ESPN St. John's vs Marquette (Big East 2nd Round)
5p MTN Air Force vs Wyoming (Mountain West 1st Round)
7p ESPN Seton Hall vs Notre Dame (Big East 2nd Round)
7p ESPN2 Robert Morris at Quinnipiac (NEC Final)
9p ESPN Cincinnati vs Louisville (Big East 2nd Round)
9p ESPN2 Montana vs Weber St (Big Sky Final)
11:30p FSN Washington St vs Oregon (Pac-10 1st Round)

OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Big 12 First Round (Kansas City)
12:30p Texas Tech vs Colorado
3p Nebraska vs Missouri
7p Oklahoma vs Oklahoma St
9:30p Iowa St vs Texas
Big West First Round (Anaheim, CA)
9p Cal-State Northridge vs Cal-State Fullerton
11:30p UC Irvine vs Cal Poly
Conference USA First Round (Tulsa, OK)
1p East Carolina vs Houston
3:30p Tulane vs Southern Miss
7p Rice vs Tulsa
9:30p UCF vs SMU
Great West Quarterfinals (Orem, UT)
4:30p Texas-Pan American vs Utah Valley
7p Chicago St vs Houston Baptist
9:30p NJIT vs North Dakota
MEAC First Round (Winston-Salem, NC)
3p Coppin St vs Maryland-Eastern Shore
Southland Quarterfinals (Katy, TX)
1p Texas-Arlington vs Stephen F. Austin
3:30p Texas-San Antonio vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
7p Nicholls St vs Sam Houston St
9:30p Texas St vs SE Louisiana
SWAC Quarterfinals (Shreveport, LA)
3:30p Mississippi Valley St vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff
9p Grambling vs Jackson St

ONE PREDICTION

Quinnipiac over Robert Morris: The Bobcats proved to have too many weapons in their lone regular season meeting, a game Tom Moore's team actually won in Moon Township. And that will once again be the difference with Justin Rutty leading the way inside. Quinnipiac makes their first-ever trip to the Tournament with a five-point victory.

Big East: All-Conference Teams

Press Release — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:33:20 -0500

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – For the third straight year, Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, the league announced. The conference’s head coaches choose the all-conference teams. The coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players.

Six players were named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. The BIG EAST Player of the Year will come from that list. The conference will announce Player of the Year, Oppenheimer Funds/BIG EAST Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete on Tuesday, March 9. The announcement will be made between sessions of the first day of The BIG EAST Championship Presented by New York Life at Madison Square Garden. The press conference will begin after the postgame interviews of the afternoon doubleheader have been completed. The other individual awards will be announced Monday, March 8.

The other first-team selections are: Greg Monroe of Georgetown, Dominique Jones of USF, Wes Johnson of Syracuse, Scottie Reynolds of Villanova, Da’Sean Butler of West Virginia.

Harangody, a 6-8 senior, was first in the BIG EAST in scoring with a 23.3 average and finished third in rebounding with a 9.7 mark. In league games, he compiled averages of 22.5 points and 9.4 boards. As a junior, Harangody became the first player in BIG EAST history to win the scoring and rebounding crowns in two seasons. This year, Harangody missed five games with a knee injury. He becomes only the 11th player in league history to earn All-BIG EAST First Team accolades three times.

Monroe, a 6-11 sophomore, was Georgetown’s second leading scorer, averaging 16.0 ppg. He also pulled down 9.6 rebounds, which was fourth in the BIG EAST. Last season, Monroe was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year.

Jones, a 6-4 junior guard, was the key component in USF’s rise in the standings. The junior averaged 21.3 points in all games and won the BIG EAST scoring crown by averaging 23.2 points in league play. The Bulls, who had never won more than four BIG EAST games in a season, finished the year with a 9-9 conference record. Jones was second on the team in rebounding with a 6.4 rebounding mark.

Johnson was a critical addition for Syracuse. A transfer from Iowa State who sat out last season, the 6-7 junior led the Orange in scoring and rebounding with 15.7 and 8.5 averages, respectively. Syracuse won the BIG EAST regular-season crown with a 15-3 record.

Reynolds has been the cornerstone for Villanova’s success. The 6-2 senior guard was the team’s top scorer with an 18.8 average. He led the Wildcats to a 24-6 overall record and a 13-5 league mark, which tied for second place.

Butler, an All-BIG EAST Second Team pick last season, also was his team’s top scorer and leader. The 6-7 senior forward averaged a team-leading 17.2 ppg and 6.3 rebounds. WVU also finished 24-6 overall and 13-5 in the BIG EAST.

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Greg Monroe, Georgetown, C, So., 6-11, 247, New Orleans, La.
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, F, Sr., 6-8, 255, Schererville, Ind.
Dominique Jones, USF, G, Jr., 6-4, 205, Lake Wales, Fla.
Wes Johnson, Syracuse, F, Jr., 6-7, 205, Corsicana, Texas
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-2, 190, Herndon, Va. *
Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia, F, Sr., 6-7, 225, Newark, N.J.

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Austin Freeman, Georgetown, G, Jr., 6-4, 237, Mitchelville, Md.
Lazar Hayward, Marquette, F, Sr., 6-6, 225, Buffalo, N.Y.
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh, G, So., 6-2, 190, Scotch Plains, N.J.
Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, G, Jr., 6-5, 185, Bronx, N.Y.
Andy Rautins, Syracuse, G, Sr., 6-5, 195, Jamesville, N.Y.

ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM
Jerome Dyson, Connecticut, G, Sr., 6-3, 190, Potomac, Md.
Kemba Walker, Connecticut, G, So., 6-1, 172, Bronx, N.Y.
Samardo Samuels, Louisville, F, So., 6-9, 260, Trelawny, Jamaica
Corey Fisher, Villanova, G, Jr., 6-1, 200, Bronx, N.Y.
Devin Ebanks, West Virginia, F, So., 6-9, 210, Long Island City, N.Y.

BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION
Jimmy Butler, Marquette, F, Jr., 6-6, 215, Tomball, Texas
Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame, F, Jr., 6-8, 232, Unionville, Conn.
Jamine Peterson, Providence, F, So., 6-6, 230, Brooklyn, N.Y.

BIG EAST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati, G, Fr., 6-5, 210, Brooklyn, N.Y. *
Alex Oriakhi, Connecticut, F/C, Fr., 6-9, 240, Lowell, Mass.
Vincent Council, Providence, G, Fr., 6-2, 180, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dane Miller, Rutgers, F, Fr., 6-7, 210, Henrietta, N.Y. *
Brandon Triche, Syracuse, G, Fr., 6-4, 198, Jamesville, N.Y.
Maalik Wayns, Villanova, G, Fr., 6-1, 185, Philadelphia, Pa.

Bubble Board 3/7: Ranking the Bubble Teams

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:38:47 -0500

RPI #'s updated as of 3/07/10, 2:00 pm.

The BubbleBoard returns again in 2010. CHN ranks at-large contenders using a variety of standard resume components. The BubbleBoard ranking is a modified RPI, that gives extra credit for success against Top 50 teams & games away from home. The purpose of the BubbleBoard is to weed out those teams that may have a high RPI due to playing a seemingly challenging schedule, but either a) lost almost all their challenging games, or b) have won a few challenging games at home but have been sub-par away from home. Ultimately the tourney should feature teams with a track-record of beating good teams on neutral courts. Note: The BubbleBoard is not a prediction of what the committee will do, but a ranking based on previous results.. which is arguably a suggestion for what the committee should do.

The BubbleBoard will be updated again on Tuesday.

Top 5 Rising teams*: UTEP, Virginia Tech, Seton Hall, Wichita St, Old Dominion

Top 5 Falling teams: Cincinnati, Rhode Island, Dayton, UAB, Missouri

*Based on difference between last week's BubbleBoard

Top 5 Faker teams*: Cincinnati, California, UCONN, Minnesota, Dayton

Top 5 Dangerous teams: UTEP, Clemson, UNLV, St Mary's, Florida St

*Faker teams are those that have struggled most away from home & against Top 50 teams as compared to their RPI.

Today's BubbleBoard Additions/Subtractions:

Richmond moved to at-large "locks."

Into/Out of Projected At-Large Bid:

In: South Florida

Out: Dayton

How The Yellow At-Large Field Is Projected:

The yellow shading represents teams who would fit into an approximate bubble. There are 29 "lock" teams (listed below), as well as 16 one-bid league champs not listed, and 3-4 probable league champs included in the BubbleBoard. This leaves about 20 teams with room to make the tournament.

	Team	RPI	SOS	NCSOS	Computer	T50 W	T50 L	R/N W	R/N L	L100 L	Bonus =	Total =	Was	Dif
#	Kansas	1	9	35	2	11	2	10	2	0	127	124	89	35
1	Clemson	24	25	156	20	5	6	7	6	0	26	7	6	1
2	UTEP**	41	129	197	36	3	1	9	3	1	38	2	-21	23
3	Wake Forest	34	31	88	23	5	5	6	7	2	17	-6	0	-6
4	Utah St**	31	106	82	26	2	1	8	5	2	17	-9	-10	1
5	Florida St	32	38	224	27	4	6	9	5	1	18	-10	-15	5
6	UNLV	47	84	209	37	4	4	10	4	3	23	-14	-12	-2
7	Saint Mary's	45	139	75	35	2	3	10	3	1	19	-16	-16	0
8	Oklahoma St	28	22	125	21	4	6	6	8	1	5	-16	-16	0
9	Old Dominion**	37	86	11	25	1	3	9	8	1	-3	-28	-38	10
10	Virginia Tech	50	131	343	46	3	4	8	6	1	14	-32	-52	20
11	UAB	40	103	93	31	1	5	11	4	1	-2	-33	-21	-12
12	Missouri	36	53	200	29	4	7	6	7	2	-4	-34	-25	-9
13	Louisville	30	7	19	18	2	6	5	7	1	-17	-35	-27	-8
14	San Diego St	33	60	123	26	2	5	8	7	2	-9	-35	-37	2
15	VCU	62	140	116	46	3	1	7	7	4	11	-35	-40	5
16	Rhode Island	39	62	27	26	1	4	9	6	2	0	-36	-23	-23
17	Ole Miss	56	61	145	39	2	5	9	5	1	2	-37	-40	3
18	South Florida	65	52	239	47	3	4	8	7	2	7	-40	-41	1
19	Georgia Tech	44	24	131	30	4	7	5	9	2	-10	-40	-36	-4
20	Florida	53	37	135	36	3	7	7	6	1	-5	-41	-40	-1
21	California**	19	10	1	11	1	5	6	8	3	-32	-43	-52	9
22	Northeastern	71	82	9	44	3	3	11	7	6	0	-44	-46	2
23	Notre Dame	57	54	216	42	3	3	4	7	3	-3	-44	-41	-3
24	Washington	49	55	47	32	2	2	4	7	4	-13	-44	-53	9
25	Memphis	46	85	60	32	2	5	7	5	3	-13	-45	-48	3
26	Seton Hall	54	21	172	37	3	8	5	7	0	-13	-49	-65	16
27	Marquette	58	51	192	41	3	7	7	6	2	-10	-51	-45	-6
28	Dayton	51	39	20	31	3	7	5	9	2	-21	-52	-34	-18
29	Arizona St	52	70	80	35	2	6	6	6	2	-18	-53	-59	6
30	Illinois	73	49	112	47	4	7	6	9	2	-8	-54	-54	0
31	Wichita St	43	126	298	41	1	3	8	8	3	-16	-56	-70	14
32	Charlotte	66	86	158	46	3	8	9	7	2	-13	-59	-59	0
33	UCONN	55	3	6	31	3	7	3	10	3	-33	-63	-62	-1
34	Mississippi St	69	113	231	52	1	4	9	7	4	-22	-74	-68	-6
35	Cincinnati	68	14	43	40	2	9	4	10	0	-37	-76	-52	-24
36	Minnesota	75	44	71	46	3	6	4	9	5	-33	-79	-75	-4

*Teams leading their leagues

Yellow = Approximate bubble cut-off

NC-SOS = Non-conference strength of schedule

Computer = Modified RPI taking into account SOS/NCSOS a bit more

Bonus = Modifications due to Top 50 & R/N success

R/N = Road/neutral

L100L = Lower than 100 losses

Lock Teams: Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, Villanova, Duke, Purdue, Georgetown, Michigan St, West Virginia, Kansas St, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ohio St, Temple, BYU, Gonzaga, Pittsburgh, Northern Iowa, Butler, Siena, Cornell, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Xavier, Maryland, Richmond

Today's BubbleBoard Thoughts:

After a promising start to the season, Dayton's completely played their way out of the tourney, going .500 in A10 play and losing 5 of their last 7. The same can be said for fellow A10 team Rhode Island, who lost a pair of weak road games to sub-150 teams St Bonaventure & UMASS in the finals weeks. The BubbleBoard still respects Rhode Island's season-long accomplishments enough to keep them in the deserving group, but the reality is that the committee won't be nearly as kind as the computers.

As usual, since the committee will not take VCU & Northeastern no matter how much the computers like them, I've added the lightly shaded row to highlight the realistic final deserving team, which today is Notre Dame. The BubbleBoard has little respect of probable tournament teams Illinois & Marquette, instead favoring Ole Miss & South Florida. South Florida is an interesting team, 9-9 in Big East play with 3 Top 50 wins is quite on par with the likes of Marquette, UCONN, Notre Dame, etc (if not better) but for whatever reason they don't get much respect nationally. This is probably a case of brand-name bias coming through.. the computers though don't know one team from another.

Amazing how Georgia Tech is so closed to the bubble after being touted as a Top 25 for much of the season.

Poll: Which Big East Bubble Team Has the Best Chance?

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:09:26 -0500

Big East Bubble Watch: Who Will Be Dancing?

Blake Hofstad — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:40:15 -0500

The Big East is nearly as strong at the top as it was a year ago, when it could claim three of the four number one seeds in the NCAA Tournament. This season, however, nearly half of the Big East teams lie squarely on the bubble. There seems to be very little separation between teams 6-12 in the conference and it is difficult to determine who will end up where when the season ends. The Big East Tournament may be the deciding factor on which bubble teams make it, and which fall short.

Team	Record	RPI*	SOS*	vs. Top 100
Louisville	15-9	43	6	4-7
South Florida	15-8	49	26	5-7
Cincinnati	14-9	52	16	5-9
Connecticut	14-10	57	7	7-7
Marquette	15-8	59	48	3-7
Notre Dame	17-8	62	60	4-5
Seton Hall	13-9	65	9	4-9

*RPI #'s updated through yesterday morning, and doesn't include last night's games.

If you are judging by this chart, it appears Louisville and South Florida have the strongest cases. Both have respectable computer numbers and have gotten the job done against the top 100. Connecticut is close behind. Because the Big East has five teams (Syracuse, Villanova, Georgetown, West Virginia, and Pitt) locked in at this point, it is likely that only three from this group will go dancing. However, when examining bubble teams, the Committee puts a certain weight on the big win category. It’s imperative that a bubble team be able to boast a win over a big time opponent. That’s something South Florida and Connecticut can claim, over Georgetown and Texas, respectively. Louisville can not. All four of their top 100 wins come over teams outside the top 50. Meanwhile, Cincinnati has wins over Vanderbilt and Maryland. These were not home wins, as all four of Louisville’s top 100 wins were. They came at the Maui Invitational. Marquette has wins over Georgetown and Xavier. Notre Dame beat West Virginia. Even Seton Hall, who seems the least likely to garner a bid as of right now, beat Pittsburgh. But if the season ended today, it would be likely that Louisville, Connecticut and South Florida would get the three bubble Big East bids. Looking down the road, however, that could change.

Louisville’s season may come down to a two game road stretch where they travel to Storrs and Milwaukee. If they win both those games, they should be able to feel confident about their Tournament status, especially considering the rest of their remaining schedule. If they lose both, they stand on shaky ground. A split would likely be enough to get them in.

Connecticut will have to defend its home court against the likes of Cincinnati, Louisville and West Virginia, and go on the road to face Syracuse, South Florida, Notre Dame and Villanova. That’s a gauntlet of a schedule, and the Huskies have to win at least four of those games to rest at ease on Selection Sunday.

South Florida has the easiest path to the Dance. It’s probably safe to assume they lose at Villanova, and Marquette will likely defeat them in Milwaukee, but the only other road trip is at DePaul, and the teams they do play at home, Cincinnati, Connecticut, St. John’s and Providence, aren’t extremely scary. It would be surprising if South Florida didn’t finish with at least 19 wins going into the Big East Tournament.

Marquette has a great shot at making the Big Dance as well, and could potentially win out. Their most difficult opponent, Pittsburgh, they get at home, and the rest of the teams they play are either on the Big East bubble or are out of the picture. 20 wins should be the goal for Buzz Williams.

Things look grim for the Bearcats. A two game road trip against fellow bubble teams UConn and South Florida begins their final stretch, and they close out with West Virginia, Villanova and Georgetown. That’s not a good way to end the season, but it does give Cincinnati numerous chances for a big win, as well as skyrockets it’s SOS into the top ten, most likely.

Seton Hall is only 4-7 in conference now, but they close on a good note. Marquette travels to the Hall to play, and the only game that looks impossible is a trip to Morgantown to do battle with the Mountaineers.

Notre Dame is only three wins away from 20, but with their relatively weak computer numbers, that may not be enough. They are notorious for being strong at home and inept on the road (they've lost 4 in a row away from home), and their three remaining road games are all against difficult opponents. The Irish do have three very winnable games at home, however.

Ultimately, only three of these teams are likely to go dancing, barring a nosedive from Pittsburgh. Right now, those three would be Louisville, South Florida and Connecticut. However, with Marquette’s easier road to the finish, they seem to be the team most likely to unseat Connecticut and go dancing.

College Hoops Wednesday Recap: Separation in Conference USA

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:24:18 -0500

Wednesday was a big night in Conference USA with the top six teams in the standings playing each other. And with the results the race is now pared down to four teams separated by one game, with Tulsa and UTEP both coming back from double-digit deficits while Memphis beat UAB in a game much tighter than the 85-75 final would indicate. There were 31 lead changes, with the Tigers taking the lead for good on a pair of Wesley Witherspoon free throws with 3:40 remaining. Over the final 3:40 Memphis outscored the Blazers 16-6, making key plays on the defensive end to move their conference record to 6-2 while dropping UAB to the same record.

Witherspoon, who made some critical comments about the Tiger fan base on Facebook earlier this week (which he apologized for following the game), made up for a pair of poor showings on the road with a career-high 29 points while Elliot Williams added 25. "He was phenomenal tonight. He was absolutely outstanding," said head coach Josh Pastner of Witherspoon. "I'm so proud of him for the way he played tonight (quote courtesy of University of Memphis Athletics)."

Memphis made 60% of their shots in the second half but the defensive efforts of Will Coleman (a crucial block of a dunk attempt as the Blazers looked to make a final push) and Doneal Mack (who was the "1" in Memphis' box-and-1 set in response to Jamarr Sanders' 14 first-half points). Elijah Millsap scored sixteen points in the second half to lead UAB in scoring with eighteen but the Tigers' defense, forcing nineteen turnovers, combined with their offensive performance ultimately decided the outcome. As a result both are within striking distance of first place going into the weekend.

As for the Golden Hurricane, they used an early second half run to knock off Marshall 73-69 and drop the Thundering Herd to 4-4 in league play (tied with Houston), with Jerome Jordan outplaying Hassan Whiteside in a matchup of NBA prospects. Jordan posted a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds while the freshman managed just one rebound to go with ten points. Tyler Wilkerson (Marshall) led all scorers with 26 points but the foul line (Tulsa +12 in points from the charity stripe) was the deciding factor.

And in El Paso, Derrick Caracter accounted for 22 points and 13 rebounds in the Miners' 65-58 win over Houston. In winning UTEP made the explosive Aubrey Coleman work; he scored a game-high 27 but did so on 9-for-27 shooting. How many bids can Conference USA earn? At this rate you can't rule out three teams, especially given how soft the bubble looks to be at this time. But there's still a month between now and the conference tournament in Tulsa, giving all parties involved ample time to decide their own fate in one way or another.

Three Key Happenings

1. Break up the USF Bulls! Stan Heath's program is on a roll that's never been seen at the Tampa school during their time in the Big East, winning their fourth consecutive league game on Wednesday night 72-64 at Georgetown. Dominique Jones, who really should be considered for All-America honors at season's end, scored 22 second-half points on his way to a game-high 29 while Mike Mercer added 12 for the victorious Bulls. Greg Monroe and Austin Freeman scored 21 points apiece to lead Georgetown but both were relatively quiet in the second half, and Monroe fouled out with just under three minutes left in the game.

The difference? Turnovers. Georgetown, who led at the half 35-26, turned the ball over eight times in the second half (three assists) on their way to fourteen for the game. By comparison, USF turned the ball over just eight times for the entire game and now the question has to be whether or not they're a part of the "bubble" conversation. They've got some solid victories to their credit and with Gus Gilchrist likely due back within the next week they've got a chance to keep the ball rolling. And while they're going to have to deal with opponents fully aware of what they are capable of, this is a time to recognize how important this win is to the USF program.

"We never won a game like this on the road and our confidence has been growing and we won some games on the road but this one is a huge jump on the radar screen," said Coach Heath after the game. "There will be a lot of people that are really shocked and all we are trying to do is keep going through the journey and doing the best job we can and grow as players and people (quote courtesy of Georgetown University Athletics)."

2. Texas A&M picks up a key win on the road. Mark Turgeon's Aggies let one get away at Texas on January 16th, falling in overtime 72-67 and with their best wins coming either at home or on a neutral floor they needed a good road win. How does ending Missouri's 32-game home win streak sound? That's exactly what Texas A&M was able to do on Wednesday night, surviving a late Tiger rally to win 77-74. David Loubeau led the Aggies with 17 points, scoring twelve in the second half, while the team held Missouri without a field goal for ten minutes of the second half. Donald Sloan and Khris Middleton added 17 and 16 points respectively while Kim English led the Tigers with 15.

For the game the Aggies made 52% of their shots while Missouri hit just 41.7% of theirs, negating a ten shot edge in regards to attempts while also shooting 9-for-28 from distance (A&M, on the other hand, made six of ten). Texas A&M also controlled the boards, outrebounding the smaller Tigers 41-24 to make up for twenty turnovers against the Missouri press. While this win isn't the one that will push the Aggies over the hump in regards to making the NCAA Tournament it certainly doesn't hurt, and with games against Baylor, Kansas and Texas at home they'll have opportunities to improve their resume even more.

3. Evan Turner should be the frontrunner for National Player of the Year. For those who had any doubt in regards to the frontrunner for National Player of the Year you may want to remember how the Ohio State Buckeyes played when the junior was out with a back injury. Solid players struggled due to the loss of their best distributor, rebounder and scorer, and there's no player that has this kind of impact on his team (especially a winning one). Turner put together another standout performance on Wednesday night, accounting for 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in Ohio State's 75-62 win over Penn State.

Turner currently leads the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding while ranking second in assists per game, and he scored 22 points in the second half to withstand a Nittany Lion rally and a Jon Diebler three with 1:29 to go gave the Buckeyes the breathing room they needed. As Turner goes so goes the rest of Thad Matta's team, and while other Player of the Year candidates can afford to have off nights due to the talent that surrounds them, there really is no other player that can take over a game for Ohio State. Evan Turner has received much praise this season and all of it is warranted.

Top Three Games

1. Tulsa 73, Marshall 69 See above.

2. Saint Louis 67, St. Bonaventure 65 A Kwamain Mitchell jumper with 1.4 seconds left gave the Billikens the two-point home victory. Mitchell scored 16 of his game-high 17 points in the second half while Andrew Nicholson and Jonathan Hall scored 13 apiece for the Bonnies.

3. Kansas 72, Colorado 66 The Jayhawks survived a game group of Buffaloes in Boulder, dominating the boards in the extra session to avoid the upset. Colorado's Marcus Relphorde led all scorers with 18 points while Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich scored 16 apiece for Kansas.

Three Notable Performances

1. G/F Evan Turner (Ohio State) 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the Buckeyes' 75-62 win over Penn State.

2. G/F Anatoly Bose (Nicholls State) 38 points (11-22 FG) and six rebounds in the Colonels' 68-67 loss at Stephen F. Austin. The problem: the other four starters managed to score just ten points combined.

3. G Dominique Jones (USF) 29 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in the Bulls' 72-64 win at #8 Georgetown.

College Basketball Odds & Predictions: Thursday

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:22:03 -0500

Betting odds are a great guide to college basketball entertainment. I'll discuss my daily predictions after the lines.. these are posted solely for fun, as I do not bet on games myself, nor do I suggest anybody else does either (it's not easy). If you agree or disagree with my picks, have thoughts on the day's lines, or have upsets or picks to announce, post them below.

January 28th: College Basketball Lines & Predictions

- listed are the day's 6 most popular/intriguing games. I only predict games from this pool due to fan interest.

7:00

Virginia Tech
at Virginia

Favorite

Virginia by 2.5

Over/Under

129

7:00

St. John's
vs Pittsburgh

Favorite

Pittsburgh by 8.5

Over/Under

125

7:00

Wake Forest
vs Georgia Tech

Favorite

Wake Forest by 5

Over/Under

143

7:00

Wisconsin
at Purdue

Favorite

Purdue by 10

Over/Under

123

8:30

California
at Arizona St.

Favorite

Arizona St by 3.5

Over/Under

136

9:00

Mississippi St.
at Arkansas

Favorite

Mississippi St by 3.5

Over/Under

147

10:00

St. Mary's
at Pepperdine

Favorite

SMC by 12.5

Over/Under

148

10:30

UCLA
at Oregon

Favorite

Oregon by 4

Over/Under

139

11:00

Gonzaga
vs Santa Clara

Favorite

Gonzaga by 11.5

Over/Under

147

- Lines as of 11:00 am (from BetUS) - Check out the day's other odds as the day progresses, including odds from other betting sites. Predictions below: