Can Saint Mary's beat GoneZaga in the second half?

The final of the WCC conference tournament is at half time right now. Saint Mary's as usual is doing well at the half time mark. The big question is, can they do it in the second half? The Zags have had their number the last few years. Saint Mary's has more to gain with a win since they get a guaranteed NCAA invite, while the Zags only have to wonder whether their invite will come with a mocha or a latte ;-)

And whichever team loses is going to be yelling at the TV when "Dougie" does the postmortem analysis the game from the game :)

Payback: North Carolina avenges pre-season NIT loss

Say what you will about Digger Phelps, but his method works in explaining away what happened in every game ;-) In this case, UNC got some payback for their pre-season NIT loss to Gonezaga a couple of years ago. More so, because a lot of the same players, not just coaches, were involved in the game.

Payback!

High seeds Villanova and Gonzaga sweat it out in the third block of games

We had a pretty good prediction on the American vs Villanova game. As we predicted, American would come out strong and grab the lead, but Villanova would come back in the second half and win the game. That's what we call home court pressure. But eventually Villanova survived the scare and advanced.

The other high seed of the third block of games managed to survive as well. As usual in March, SoftZaga showed up on the court, but the good news for Gonzaga fans around the world, GoneZaga did not show up. After struggling for three quarters of the game to keep up with the feisty LeBrons, the Zags finally woke up, played a little bit of a defense, and put a few balls in the baskets to give themselves a comfortable lead. It was certainly not the type of start Mark Few was planning or dreaming about, but it was certainly a pleasant ending.

And the selection committee has a sense of humor, they set up a match of the Zips vs the Zags. Zips vs Zags. Zips vs Zags!

The 7-vs-10 games were supposed to be the dramatic and competitive ones, but things got inverted. As we speculated, while Tubby is a better coach and makes the most out of his players, Texas had two players the TimberGophers didn't have, and when you have better players, sometimes the better players decide the game. And it was certainly the case in this one, as AJ Abrams had a shooting spree in just a matter of seconds that sealed the victory for the Austin Torreros. Okay, Longhorns.

After all, the TimberGophers were not supposed to make it in the tourney given their talent level and just year #2 of the rebuilding process under Tubby. And in our opinion, they really didn't deserve to get in, over mid-majors extra-ordinaire like Saint Mary's, Davidson and Creighton.

And then we go to Clemson. Oh poor Tigers. Poor little Tigers. Just like Bo Ryan's Wisconsin Badgers, it looks like Clemson has a built-in ceiling. And just like Bo Ryan's teams, they can beat up and dominate NIT teams, but when they are faced with 2nd round and beyond NCAA teams then they usually lose.

And that brings us to Beilein. He is Mr March! A combination of the 1-3-1 and his "two-guard offense", with some karma and luck, means that no matter which team Beilein is coaching, he is going to do better than expected in the tournament. And what a relief for the Michigan fans who had to suffer for years and years of Tommy Amaker mediocrity. And in just two years, Beilein was able to install his system and turn it around. And with lesser talent than Amaker to boot! Congratulations John Beilein and Ann Arbor Elitists!

And we close with a recap of the in-between game, the 2nd west-coast game, between Washington and Mississippi State. Everyone outside the west-coast was picking Mississippi State, as if the Washington Huskies were chopped meat and they hadn't just won the round-robin Pac-10. Yes, a round-robin conference champion, not like the tweaked and made-up Big East, ACC and such conferences.

And the Romar Huskies delivered a smackdown on the Slick-Rick BullDogs, with a very balanced defense and offense. Poor Brockman, if he was playing at Duke, he would have been praised and awarded like Tyler Hansbrough, but because he is "hiding" in the hippy Northwest, he is not getting a lot of love from the east-coast biased media.

Watch out UConn, Washington may be finally able to avenge their previous NCAA tourney losses to y'all!

Memphis destroys GoneZaga

But before we talk about the actual game, when it was the last time you heard a game really analyzed by the two basketball analysts? Bob Knight and Jay Bilas should be nominated for an ESPY for their performance as REAL college basketball analysts during the game. What a difference between listening to them versus Dookie Vitale! Holy cow. ESPN, make sure you have more Bilas/Knight duets in the future!

This game showed why GoneZaga has been having not-so-good March Madness runs. Austin Daye was playing the role of (now Laker) Ammo (but no public tears) ;-) They got punched in the mouth by Memphis and they simply couldn't wake up. Not until the backup point guard, Goodson and Ira Brown came in the game and added some "onions" to the floor. Then GoneZaga made a comeback, but despite the help from the crowd, it was too little too late.

This bodes well for Memphis as their new point-guard is Tyreke Evans 2.0, being more "point-guardy" than ever before. Maybe he had some ...Rosey tutorials?

This bodes not so well for Gonzaga. Their most likely NCAA scenario looks once again like a first or second round exit at the hands of a tough defensive team that can barely score 50 points ;-)

And it's really sad for Gonzaga, because once again, they have a boatload of talent.

And what may be the tombstone of this program as a national powerhouse (they are running on past-fumes) is that Mark Few may "return home" to Oregon next year.

Although perhaps Oregon may borrow a page from the Washington State book. If Dick Bennett who couldn't coach offense even if the opposing team had no defense was able to turn "remote" Washington State into a program, then imagine what Bob Knight could do at Oregon and with Nike's resources!

But would the socially progressive peoples of the Pacific Northwest accept an authoritarian bully with an anger-management problem and a long history of issues as their new head coach?

On the plus side, there are plenty of woods there for Bob Knight to go hunt, and who knows, he may be he is the one who shoots down a real BigFoot ;-)

Gonzaga at Tennessee

What started as a sluggish game of two desperate-for-a-win team, it turned out into a dramatic game in the second half and in the overtime. GoneZaga visited Tennessee at their home, and for the second time this year, they managed to beat them!

And they beat them twice tonight, because the last play at the end of regulation was a goal-tending goal on a Matt Bouldin layup, which was not called. So GoneZaga should have won the game at the end of regulation.

But the refs didn't call it, and the game went into overtime, when they Zags jumped ahead and never looked back.

Gonzaga badly needed this win, and they got it, but as with all games, one has to lose, and that was a really bad loss for Tennessee as they are now 0-2 against the Zags and lost the chance of a home victory, breaking their non-conference winning streak. They are putting the "U" in unravel!

Few went with a more ball-handling line-up, with Gray inserted and Micah Downs coming off the bench. They also got some serviceable minutes from their 7'5" Will Foster, and with him around, they can't really complain that they don't have Sucre, since they barely play these guys more than backup minutes.

The good news for Tennessee is that all is not lost, because they have the whole SEC conference season ahead of them, and they can pick up plenty of good wins there.

Battle of Seattle Recap: UConn beats GoneZaga!

I finally got around to watching the Battle of Seattle, a great overtime game, where UConn managed to comeback and out-onion the Zags and get a great road victory and "re-discover" themselves at the same time.

This is not your Ammo's Zags though. They can play defense. Really. They do! Look at the numbers! Their defensive field goal percentage is under 40%. Yes, we are talking about the Zags! The type of raw athletic talent and potential of the Zags roster is really equivalent to what you can find in most of the upper-echelon "BCS" teams. Infact a number of them would LOVE to have as good of a raw talent level as the Zags.

And that poses an interesting question, because with this type of talent and style of play, Mark Few has shown that he can both recruit and coach at just about any college program in the country. Is he perhaps, perhaps, auditioning for the Arizona job? Because his team looks like some of the best Arizona teams of the past!

On the other side of the aisle, after two years of troubles and headaches, the talented collection of UConn Huskies are starting to gel together and grow and mature. No more "laptops" and coaches-gone-wild. They certainly have the Hall of Famer coach who is still sharp as a tack, and they have a game-changer inside in Hasheem "shot-blocking" Thabeet - when the zebras are not picking on him - (see my post on what rules must change) - they have Slice-n-Dice Dyson, and a whole lot more!

Barring any surprises or injuries, it would be a major shocker if both of these teams did not make the second weekend in March. How far can they go from there is the big question. They both certainly have a high ceiling!

GoneZaga vs Oklahoma State

This was an entertaining game in the second half, playing basketball the way it should be played!

Hot on the heels of its first ever NCAA championship, the Big 12 has made bold moves towards challenging for the top basketball conference spot. The revitalization of the two Oklahoma schools is a big step in that direction, gone are the angry and vile Suttons and the mega-cheater slug-fester Kelvin Sampson, and in comes perestroika with Jeff Capel and Travis Ford, both former (and successful) basketball players.

It may take Travis Ford a couple of years in order to build a rotation that matches his style, but his impact is already evident in making Oki State a fun team to watch and play for. This will be a growing year, a burn-in year, but don't count them out if the shots are falling!

On the other side, the story is more or less the same at GoneZaga. A five-star offense with questionable defense. Josh Heytvelt is physically gifted, but a bird is looking for its brain ;-) The good news for the Zags is that a new "Pendo" has emerged, Ira Brown. A number of "designer" recruits fill-up the Zags roster, but Ira Brown is the one that can "get it done".

The other good news for the Zags is that with the Arizona "program" dismantled, partly because of two years of interim coaches, Mark Few is not going anywhere!

But where will the Zags go come March? Do they have the onions to survive a brutal defense or a high-powered offense?

Prediction: Mark Few will be the next Oregon head coach!

We are big fans of the Gonzaga phenomenon, even though we call them GoneZaga every time they lose. And we are ready to make a bold prediction: Mark Few will be the next Oregon head basketball coach!

Where do we basis this bold prediction?
1) The new Oregon AD has Spokane connections

2) Bill Grier, long time Gonzaga assistant, and first-year San Diego miracle worker-coach, has bolted out of his Oregon State deal. Perhaps because the Gonzaga job will open up soon? :)

3) Mark Few has very strong ties to the state of Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest. Just like Mike Montgomery won't leave the Bay Area no matter what, we think that Mark Few won't leave the Pacific Northwest. And the Oregon job is the natural progression in his career if he wants to have a chance at the NCAA championship. The new super-sensational arena and the Nike goldmine should help a whole lot. A short bio of Mark Few at Wikipedia.

4) We are not the only ones thinking in this fashion. See what John Canzano of Oregon Live says.

We think that the failure to land Kevin Love or Kyle Singler would be ultimately what causes the end of the Ernie Kent era at Oregon. How often does the state of Oregon have two top five caliber players and yet the home team fails to get even close to one of them. That was the harbinger of doom for the Kent era at Quackville.

The only question perhaps is whether this is a bold prediction or a master of the obvious prediction :)

Bubble watch on Outside the Lines today!

Today's 3pm eastern (12pm pacific) edition of Outside the Lines on ESPN has a feature on the bubble! The bubble watch takes a look at how the bubble is affected after Bill Grier (who looks like Jon Stewart from the side) managed to "beat" the Zags and get his first NCAA tourney bid. Well, he was a GoneZaga insider for many years, but I'm sure he won fair and square. *Cough* *Cough*?

The centerpiece is also basketball related, it concerns another major soap opera, ISiah Thomas and the New York Bricks. Maybe they need to hire Bob Knight? :-)

More on today's episode and upcoming episodes at the OTL page.

Saint Marys at Gonzaga

The battle for WCC supremacy was entertaining and fun! Up and down, up and down, despite Craig Ehlo ;-) The Zags only lost one WCC game so far, at Saint Mary's and this win gives them the regular season crown, on their own if they win on Monday, and a split if they win and the Gaels lose.

St. Mary's tries and fought hard against the crowd and home-cooking but Gonezaga was just too much to handle. Since the last time I watched the Zags played, they look like a much improved team. They may even win a game in the NCAA tourney again - as the underdog darling they used to be, before they became everyone's favorite Cinderella.

Why did the Zags look good? Depth and versatility! Pargo no longer has to carry the weight of the Zags world on his shoulders. He's got Tuff Cookie Bouldin and Gray to help with ball handling. Meanwhile upfront the team is loaded with different types of players, two athletic and rangy forwards in Daye and the Kansas transfer; a high-energy Lorenzo Mata-Real type in the Saint Joe's transfer (Kuso), two seven footers in Sucre and Foster, and a prodigal son in Heytvelt. But more effective of all is Pendo - the quintessential (not sure what it means, I was told to use it to make this post sound more educated) college basketball player.

But Saint Mary's is no chopped wood! They can play and they have their own depth. They also have played that force mismatches, from Diamon Simpson, to Patrick Mills to the space-eater Samhan, to the video game character coming off the bench ;-)

Both teams looked like at least NCAA bubble teams last year, although the battle for bubble spots will be ferocious this season. The way the WCC conference tourney is setup, these two teams are heading into a clash in the WCC conference tourney final on ESPN. All they have to do is win the semifinal. That's right, the top two teams start the conference tournament in the semifinals! CRAZY!

Calipari: We are not getting every call like Duke and North Carolina

Oh the gems one finds when browsing through college basketball coaches shows. In this week's installment, Calipari said "we don't get every call like Duke and North Carolina". Oh boy!

Ask the teams in Conference USA who gets better treatment by the officials in C-USA conference games. Is it Duke, North Carolina (who don't play in C-USA), Memphis, or the other 11 CUSA teams?

The show was recorded after they beat GoneZaga but before they played Houston last night.

Calipari also revealed that he and Mark Few agreed to extend the Gonzaga vs Memphis basketball series. The series would have ended next year when the Calipari Tigers visit the Gonzaga "Few Fighters" in Spokane in 2008-2009. This is good news as this is a fun game to watch, and it is also entertaining in terms of RPI and polling.

Gonzaga at Memphis

Gonzaga played about as well as team could play in a loss at the home of a recently crowned #1 team. Despite the loss, GoneZaga earned a lot of basketball "cred" with the way they played, reacted and adjusted to the Calipari onslaught. It was interesting to see that Few started the three tough cookies (Pargo, Pendo, Bouldin) even though the Moody Blues Duo would have given him a lot more offense.

Memphis once again showed a little bit of everything. It's really hard to pin-point whether this team has the patterns of a national champion or an elite 8 team. The zone was once again something that baffled the Tigers, and the free throws unpredictability is a dangerous thing when faced with tougher opponents away from home.

I've seen both of Memphis games this week, and it hasn't made my choice for #1 any easier. Kansas or Memphis? I may have to resort to running a very complicated algorithm, commonly referred to as "the coin toss" ;-)

Meanwhile Jimmy Dykes got a couple of good lines, "Few Fighters", and "Mother in Law defense" - not to be confused with "Brother in Law" defense or Phil Jackson's Brokeback Mountain defense.

Tennessee vs Gonzaga

The annual "neutral site" Battle of Seattle boomeranged in the faces of the Zags. Granted the Zags are a team in transition with Heyvelt and Stephen Gray returning to the line-up and the Tennessee Vols are just starting to heat up with the addition of JP Prince and the Orange Revolution.

Pearl, an avid fish-seller at Seattle's fish-market (?), confused and exposed the "soft" Zags with his frenetic style of play. The Zags have three tough cookies (Pendo, Pargo and Chia-Pet-hair-Bouldin), but the rest of their talented players are either too young or not tough enough. Remember how the Zags got manhandled in the NCAAs by Wyoming, UCLA, Nevada, etc, etc, etc?

But the Zags found their mojo and made a furious comeback. Mark Few can hope that performances like that will be ...marked as ...few in the team's record books :)

Pargo was clearly bothered by the crazy Vols style of play, and the good news for the Zags is that the little kid (Ravioli) has graduated otherwise he would have had 20 turnovers in this game.

The good news for the Zags is that this should only be a transition period until Heytvelt returns to form and mushroom remain frozen ;-) Gonzaga's record is not that bad, although not as impressive as previous years. Nevertheless you have to give them credit for the tough schedule - they beat UConn in the land of clam chowder soup, they lost to Oklahoma in their home state, they lost to Wazoo in a close regional rivarly game, and to Bob Knight in Alaska. The losses are not bad, it's just that there isn't the high profile win in there, and it doesn't look like there's gonna be one - unless they "steal" one in ElvisVille in 2008.

So this would raise the question, how do you evaluate the Zags as an at-large team? Because I certainly value a tough but less pretty record than a record paved with cupcakes (Clemson, Pitt, Syracuse, UConn, etc).

The Vols may be finally starting to play to their pre-season potential. They looked like it for the most part of the Zags game - let's not forget this was a road game for them, in front of a pro-Zags crowd in GrungeVille.

More on this game from Zag-fan blog La Rev.

Gonzaga vs Oklahoma

NBA scouts, meet, Longer Longer. Bob Cousy pre-season selection committee, meet Jeremy Pargo. A game that was offensively-challenged in the first half became an entertaining see-saw battle in the second half. Infact the game had a soccer score at the first TV timeout (2-2). Four plus minutes of hoops and just 2 points for each team! Ouch!

The Sooners showed a lot of promise with the way they were able to push back after a run by the Zags, and earlier in the game the Zags did the same when the Sooners made a run.

Jeremy Pargo had an impressive run in the second half when he scored 11 consecutive points, but this may have damned his team's chances of a win as he continued shooting but not making the shots. But you can't complain about Pargo, he scored a career high 28 points, and a lot of them were critical buckets when the rest of the Zags were not able to make plays or score.

And to think that the preseason Bob Cousy selection committee did not have Jeremy Pargo as one of the 40 nominees! Really, there are 40 point guards better than Pargo? Where? In the NBA? Maybe, but certainly not in the NCAA!

This was a transitional game for the Zags. Josh "shroom" Heytvelt made his return to the court after ShroomGate and an injury, true freshman Stephen Gray played his second game, and tough cookie Matt Bouldin was coming back after an injury. With so many comings and goings there was expected to be some tumblings. But this is the short term. In the long term, this gives Few a 10+ man rotation, with a lot of versatility. The only weak point is backup point guard - if Pargo ever leaves the game - and there a combination of Bouldin and Gray will probably do for the few milliseconds Pargo is off the floor.

The first half the Zags played good defense as neither Ammo nor lil kiddie Raivio was on the court. But in the second half the defense was ...GoneZaga. This team certainly has a toughness boost as Pargo, Bouldin and do-it-all Pendo are definitely of the tough cookie variety. The only member of the "Moody Blues" appears to be "lowered expectations" Micah Downs.

If you had any questions whether Jeff Capel was a Dookie, just look at his hair. It looks like a blend between Coach K's head and the Duke logo! A total Dookie!

But the Sooners look very promising as of that game, with a four-pack of solid forwards, the Griffin Bros, Longar "I got offensive moves NBA scouts" Longar and Keith "Moose" Clark. The guards may be an issue but as long as Austin Johnson keeps making threes, things will be good.

But we learned more from this game, for instance, Fran Frachilla has an iPod, and he has Toby Keith songs on his iPod - according to Fran of course. The iPod was not made available for an independent entity to verify whether Frannie was just trying to please the home crowd. Toby Keith was right there watching the game :-)

More on this game at La Rev, Zagaholic, Ball Hype, News Channel 8, and AOL fan house.

For more TV games, be sure to check the December 2007 college hoops tv sked here at NCAA Hoops Today. Not to be confused with our beer blog, NCAA Hops Today ;-)

One funny thing we forgot to mention: At one point the TV cameras caught Mark Few looking miserable and sleepy on the bench. As soon as Few noticed he was on camera, he jumped up and started making (or faking) hand signals and hollering at his players down the court. I think he was faking it to save face :-)

Gonzaga vs UConn

The trio of Bilas, Raftery and McDonut (!), picked as the #1 2007-2008 preseason funniest announcer team by this blog, MC'ed a very entertaining game between the Zags and the Calhouns. Infact, these two teams should really play each year. History has shown that their games turn out to be quite entertaining and dramatic too.

Mark Few went "Bobby Knight" on freshman Austin Daye, who had a true freshman deer in headlights game. But he showed "free-throw onions" by making 3 out of 4 when they mattered the most.

Gonzaga returned to mainstream TV after being in the ESPNU witness protection program for the last couple of weeks. This Zags team was a lot more impressive than the ones I saw start the season at home against regional "cupcakes" at homes. The "tough cookie trio" of Pendo, Pargo and Bouldin (sounds like a law firm?) was able to take the UConn punches and punch them back. The big seven footer Sacre is starting to deliver and be effective, which is HUGE for the Zags, because let's face it, Kuso is a high energy guy, but he can't score a layup at the tip of a volcano ;-) He is best suited to be the guy who comes off the bench and provides defense and energy. Even without St. Gray, Mushroomvelt and Theo Davis, the current Zags look like a good team after being tested throughout the northern hemisphere. They will be strongly considered for a top 25 vote when I submit my next vote for the Bloggers Poll Top 25.

UConn has the raw talent, but has yet to forge an identity. Gone are the NBA surefire players, and Calhoun has to do it with team work and depth, which is not a bad recipe given the players he has. But you can't teach experience, and this group is only in their second playing year for the most part. AJ "Laptop" Price, Jerome Slyce-n-Dyson, and Stanley Robinson are the three most likely players to breakout this season.

So what did we learn from this game? That UConn and Gonzaga should play every year, the trio of "tough cookies" make the Zags competitive, Calhoun has a lot of work ahead of him, and the seven footer Sucre would potentially end up being an NBA first rounder by April 2008 if the stars align in his favor.

Montana at Gonzaga

Move over Ammo, here comes Addo! Cousy Award pre-season selection committee: eat crow, Pargo is for sure one of the top 40 point guards. Heytvelt did not sniff paint or glue, but he is out. This and more, inside the Game Critic Repor(t).




While Micah Downs has been stewing in potential for half a dozen years, Austin Daye had a game-changing performance on game one for the Zags. This long, lean, talented, basketball-savvy and athletic player had no fear on offense and was not shy shooting either. He had a 20/10 game, but more importantly he changed the both on offense and on defense as a shot blocker/shot changer.

Pargo brought the house down twice with some impressive power dunks, and played almost every minute as the lone point guard. With Stephen Gray down with an injury, and P-Mac transfering, Matt Bouldin is the temporary backup point guard when Jeremy Pargo takes a quick breather on the bench.

Pendo (short for Pendergraft) and Bouldin were the solid tough do-it-all fill-in-the-blanks kind of players that Gonzaga needs in their rotation. Larry Gruganious is back after a red-shirt (he shouldn't have R/S last year unless it was an injury) and looks like another value member in their rotation. The former baseball-pro JuCo Ira Brown was not in the rotation (he played when the walk-ons came in).

But that's where the good news end for the Zags. Now get ready for the cold shower. Kuso is still Kuso, a foul waiting to happen, but the Zags can get defense, rebounding, blocked shots, and 1 out of two baskets made when he is inside the paint. Will Foster is 7'4", and his height alone was able to change some shots but that's all he seems to be able to contribute. He would have R/S if it wasn't for the new Heytvelt "outage". Theo Davis DNP for personal reasons.

And now to Heytvelt. No, he did not sniff glue or paint or mushrooms. He is going to have surgery and as a result of that he is going to be out for at least six weeks, which puts him out of the out of conference schedule. The Zags will face their patented tough OOC schedule once again without Heytvelt. The good news is that they got trained in these type of situations since Heytvelt went down in early 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 (for different reasons).

And while this was a great performance by the Zags, and the game was really fun to watch (lots of offense, defense "did not get in the way"), most of their high profile opponents will be much better than Montana and not all games will be played in a capacity Kennel crowd, and Austin Daye will get scouted a bit more by then.

Speaking of Montana, they looked like good Big Sky team, which is perhaps why they were picked to finish in the top two of the Big Sky. Very promising as a mid-major player was their point guard Martin.

And now to the Mark Few critic segment. Mark Few almost let Montana make a comeback in the second half when he waited for six minutes before bringing Austin Daye back in the game. Montana's defense tightened and they were chipping at the margin. But once Daye came back it, the game was over for the Montana Grizzlies.

Scandalous: Gonzaga's Jeremy Pargo not a preseason Cousy Award nominee!

This is scandalous! Jeremy Pargo of Gonzaga is not in the long list of forty (40) preseason Cousy Award candidates, yet Kyle "420" McAlarney of Notre Dame, Greg Paulass of Duke, UConn's AJ Price, and medical unknown Lanny Smith of Houston among others are nominated! Clearly the selection cmte is drinking MAJOR BCS koolaid. Perhaps Vitale and Digger Phelps have a guaranteed-player-in vote, which would explain the Domer and the Dookie! Some of the other iffy selections include Syracuse's Eric Devendork and Washington State Kyle Weaver. Kyle Weaver a point guard? Yes, Kyle Weaver is a nice and versatile and unique and game changing player but a top 40 point guard? Kyle Weaver, really, really, really ????????

More iffy selections: Florida State's combo guard Toney Douglas, and Missouri's Stefhon Hannah. Jamont Gordon fits the Kyle Weaver category, a pure point guard though???

The list includes 36 D1 point guards, two from D2 and two from D3. Of the 36 Division 1 point guards, only five come from outside BCS schools: Derrick Rose, Lanny Smith, Duke Slayer Eric Maynor, Davidson's Jason Richards and Bradley's Jim Les Daniel Ruffin Sr. BCS Koolaid, table of 31 please!

The list of preseason candidates is on page 34 of the Athlon preview magazine (which I reviewed) as a paid advertisement from The Hartford and the Bob Cousy award. The Cousy award website doesn't seem to be updated yet.