Fresno State at Arizona

Why is Nic Wise not starting at Arizona? Beats me, but then again, I'm not the interim head coach for the season :) Arizona is winning and toughening up game by game, so who am I to question the Enforcer? (Kevin O'Neill)

Once again Arizona started slow but were able to pick things up in the first half and did not fall behind this time. And once they had the lead, they were able to keep a safe distance, which is why the second half looked more like a scrimmage than a competitive game.

Because of the nature of the game, most players who played major minutes had a good game, including another 20+ from Jerryd Bayless, a good Jordan Hill and Budinger game, and such. There was even a flashback to the run and gun Cats on a fastbreak play with Bayless and Jamelle Hill.

Kevin O'Neill's mad scientist rotation was pretty much down to seven players when the game was competitive, with Daniel Dillon and Kirk Walters being left out. On the plus side for Arizona fans, Fendi Onobun played a few minutes towards the end of the game (returning from injury). And Mohammed Tangara blocked a shot.

Speaking of mad science, I can't help but think that Nic Wise may find himself in an Omar Bynum situation next year. With Jerryd Bayless presumably staying for a second year and Brandon Jennings presumably coming in, minutes are going to be hard to come by for Nic Wise since both Bayless and Jennings are going to want to play at least some point.

Fresno State is without guard Dwignt O'Neill due to injury and forward Rekalin Sims due to ...robbery [allegedly]. Without those two players, the ceiling for this ragtag fleet of transfers gets lowered. Transfers you say? Sure, apart from Kentucky transfer Rekalin Sims, they have Alabama's Shawn Taylor, Louisville's Bryan Harvey.

This is the first time I saw the Bulldogs and while they were not competitive in this game, they do have the potential of being in the run for CBI bid perhaps if all goes well. Steve Cleveland has some talent to work with, providing he can re-invest the team without O'Neill and Sims.

More on this game at Ball Hype, Fresno Bee, beRecruited.com, sports snipe, Go Cats message forums, and Daily Wildcat.

Be sure to check our college hoops tv guide! for all the upcoming games!

Undefeated in December: Exposed by the SOS

It sure is fun to follow the remaining 14 undefeated teams. It's fun for the fans, it's fun for the bloggers, it's fun for the media. Some root for teams to remain undefeated, others root for teams to lose, some just want to enjoy the excitment.

However, being undefeated in December is not a function of how good your team is, but who you play!.

Don't believe me! Look at the numbers at Ken Pomeroy's excellent site, sorted by the fewer losses. There we see the 14 undefeated teams EXPOSED in all their glory: While the RPI is obviously inflated because of the 100% winning percentage, the SOS tells the story.

Of the 14 undefeated teams, ten of them have an SOS (strength of schedule) of 114 or worse. Only one of the fourteen undefeated teams has an SOS ranked better than #59. That's Frank Haith's Miami Heat Hurricanes with a #29 SOS! The next up is Vandy with SOS #59, Texas at #88, Memphis at #95, and the rest are above SOS 100.

Memphis vs Middle Tennessee State

Kermit thought he could pull a "muppet show" on Calipari with his junk defenses, but let's face it, Middle Tennessee State does not have the caliber of players USC and Tim Floyd has, and his triangle and two and other assortment of junk defenses were merely a nuisance to the Calipari Express.

Their defense did manage to keep Memphis scoring down, but Memphis was able to keep the Kermit Davis's team's scoring even lower, by 20+ points. Thus another comfy win for the Calipari Tigers.

Derrick Rose seems to be going through a slump (or is it growing pains?) He "woke up" a bit at the end of the third quarter, but it was really a team win for Memphis which in a way is good news for their fans. Shawn Taggart to me looks more and more like the player that could be the difference between another Elite 8 and a Final Four as he provides them a 3rd big man who is actually better offensively than the two starters. Given Calipari's loyalty to the Laurinburg "litter" (cats-tigers), Taggart will probably not start this year, but that's not a bad thing for him as he can come in the game and make an immediate impact while flying under the radar.

Jeff Robinson seems to be emerging as the #10 player in the rotation. Although the freshman is physically ready, he is still a freshman and has a lot of "on court" growing up to do. And he is at the right place to do it since there's no pressure to deliver right away - being #10 in the rotation and all.

More on this game at College Hoops Journal, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Go Blue Raiders, ArcaMax.com, ESPN, Go Tigers Go (CSTV), and Memphis Flyer.

Don't miss any TV games! Check our College Basketball TV Listings!

Louisville vs Purdue

Getting win #500 at the Wooden Tradition would have been of great symbolic value for Pitino as he continues to reflect on what "could have been" had he stayed in place instead of chasing the NBA rings.

But that didn't happen in this reality. Once again it was evident that the big guys are not the only reason Louisville is struggling as of late. It's the guards! In my opinion having one of Caracter, Padgett or Palacios healthy could have been enough for an NCAA-caliber team, assuming the guards were playing up to their talent level and potential.

But they are not! So if you are a point guard with 2008-2009 eligibility, send your resume to Rick Pitino at the U of Louisville. He should be "looking" for point guards right about now.

The boringly ugly game was turned upside down when Pitino went to his trademark frentic press, spearheaded by Preston "Energizer Bunny" Knowles, but the Purdue diaper dandies showed poise and were lucky that the barrage of three pointers the Cardinals were hoisting did not connect.

Purdue no doubt has a lot of raw talent, but not a whole lot of experience. Matt Painter has a challenge in balancing two those and getting the team ready for the Big 10 conference and the post-season. They certainly have something a variety of "power guards" which bodes well for the tough Big 10 and for not closely-called games in the post-season.

Billy Packer went into Dick Vitale mode when he kept singing the praises of Purdue freshman Robbie Hummel throughout the broadcast. The same way Vitale keeps singing the praises of Duke and Mike Shoe-Chef-Ski.

Meanwhile Tim Brando needs to be smacked in the mouth for calling Nebraska's home win over Oregon in overtime an "upset". Will someone please teach all these clueless announcers and studio hosts that an "upset" is not determined by looking at the polls, but at the gap in talent, size and history between the two teams playing, as well as where the game is played.

More on this game at Brian Bennett's blog, Brightcover, Purdue Rivals, Big Ten Network, News Channel 5, and Schan's blog.

Don't miss any TV games - stay up to date with our December 2007 college hoops TV guide!

UAB vs Kentucky

While Jimmy "dog and pony show" Dykes sounded like he was rehearsing for the "UAB defensive co-ordinator" job, Darth Vaden showed up in the second half and spoiled Kentucky's three point parade. 33 points were just too much as he led the Blazers to a second half comeback. The offensive drought ended at Freedom Hall, Kentucky's "home" for the day, as Bradley, Crawford and Porter were hitting three like crazy. But so was Darth Vaden (Robert Vaden).

This was the first end-to-end UAB Blazers game I watched this season. The team is missing the injured veteran Paul Delaney so they have two newcomers in the back court. But certainly mighty mouse Aaron Johnson was better than I expected for an unheralded freshman. Ditto backup Ed Berrios. Obviously Darth Vaden is not going to score 33 every game, so a combination of Frank Holmes, Walter Sharpe and the like have to deliver. One thing that may work in Mike Davis's favor is #51, Reggie Huffman, who is four years older than his class because of military service, so even without Delaney they have someone more mature and disciplined than the average player.

What does this mean for UAB's future? That is a good question! They are a work in progress, they do have a high ceiling but they can also hit rock bottom.

For Kentucky this game started great, as they had a comfy lead on the home court of bitter rival PitinoVille. The threes finally started falling, and Mark Coury started the game as if he was a top 100 player. To a certain extend you can't blame the defense when someone has a wild second half like Darth Vaden did. But you can certainly blame the defense for not containing him more.

What does this mean for Billy Gillispie? In a way he is a victim of his own early recruiting success. The expectations with Tubby players were not high, but "Clyde" brought in Patrick Patterson and Alex Legion and started filling up the pipeline and got everyone excited.

And this perhaps raises a big question: When Billy Gillispie took over UTEP and Texas A&M they were in total mess. A&M was coming off zero (0) conference wins. Anything more than zero was a success. But unlike UTEP and Texas A&M, this won't cut it at Kentucky. A NIT bid in year one may have put Billy G in contention for coach of the year at UTEP or A&M, but at Kentucky it's a really bad season. So he has his work cut out for him this season. Even though he is dealing with the after-effects of the Tubby Smith era, there is no "get out of jail card" like UTEP or A&M.

More on this game at A Sea of Blue, John Clay's Sidelines report, Rick Bozich, and Wildcats Thunder.

During the game the announcers mentioned the four possible transfer destinations for Alex Legion, one of them being Notre Dame.

Be sure to check the upcoming December 2007 college hoops games on TV.

Oak Hill vs Saint Benedict's

One of the most anticipated high school basketball games was played on Thursday, but the game did not live up to its billing for the most part as it was quite choppy and the zone defenses played by both teams "zoned them out".

But there was a lot to like about the game, and a new "star" emerged scoring almost 30 points. More on this game at Recruiting Wars.

Previewing the weekend of college hoops on TV!

While the finals have slowed down the week in college hoops, the weekend TV slots had to be filled and the exams are pushed aside for some nice games to watch, particularly on Saturday, but also with two games on Sunday featuring Arizona hosting Fresno State (Jim Rome'ism: Frenseck State) and North Carolina visiting the RAC. Be sure to check our December 2007 College Hoops TV schedule!.

Let's see what our fellow bloggers are saying about the upcoming weekend of hoops! Some of the games look tough on paper, as if they were members of a fight club!

We just discovered a new SEC blog called Best of SEC, think of it as the Sportscenter of SEC blogs. There you'll find all sorts of coverage of the weekend games from a variety of blogging sources!

A Sea of Blue goes inside the UAB Blazers numbers and dissects their statistics. Does Mike Davis and the UAB Transfers have enough to steal a W at Rupp Arena?

Storming the Floor previews the weekend of hoops, spotlighting some of the games that you should really watch, TiVo or Tape!

Speaking of Watch, TiVo or Tape, be sure to check our Tech Talk segment discussing TiVo, DVRs, DVD recorders, VCRs and the like. Don't miss your favorite teams or the game of the year!

Storming the Court looks at the weekend ahead as well, spotlighting some must see TV games!

Meanwhile College Hoops Journal is on a roll as they break down the unbeatens, feature a spotlight game of the weekend (you can watch it on FSN and Fox College Sports), and break down Joe Lunardi's bracketology.

March Madness All Season has a very detailed breakdown of the weekend action, covering a number of national and regional TV games, including Florida State vs Butler.

College Hoops TV schedule has been updated

The College Hoops TV schedule for December 2007 has been updated, now going all the way to Friday December 21, 2007. More will be added soon. Check the December 2007 College Hoops TV schedule here.

And if you don't want to miss an update from NCAA Hoops Today, be sure to Subscribe to the NCAA Hoops Today RSS feed. It is FREE and fun :) You can use your desktop news reader or online newsreaders like the Google Reader, or Bloglines, or you can use your browser's bookmarks or add it to your Google or Yahoo page! So subscribe now!

NCAA March Madness 08 is now shipping!

The EA Sports 2008 NCAA March Madness is now shipping from Amazon and other retailers!

The game is available for XBox 360 for $50, Playstation 3 for $50, and Playstation 2 for $29. Free shipping and handling at Amazon for each one.



The NCAA March Madness 08 has been reviewed by IGN, TeamBox, Gamestats, Game Trailers, and many other places that review games :) We do not plan to review those games here at NCAA Hoops Today.

Also available are the 2K Sports Games in the same three flavors (XBox360, PS3, PS2).

Must see TV tonight: Oak Hill vs St Benedict's on ESPN

Be sure to watch, TiVo or tape this game tonight on ESPN at 9pm eastern: Oak Hill vs St Benedict's! Two of the brightest stars of the 2008 class square off. The "high school" team of Oak Hill with super-guard Brandon Jennings square off with Samardo Samuels of St Benedicts. Samardo Samuels is a big time prospect but unlike Derrick Caracter, he doesn't have the same issues, which is why he is a top 5 players in the class of 2008. Perhaps this is why Pitino is in a hurry to send Caracter to the NBA, to make room for Samardo Samuels :)

More on this game at Recruiting Wars. With Lute Olson on "sabbatical", you bet the Brandon Jennings recruiting wars will flare up again!

Also be sure to check our on-going December 2007 College Hoops TV Guide.

Discover new college hoops sites and blogs

Today we are "discovering" new college hoops websites and blogs. There's so much stuff out there and not enough time, so let's get started. All the blogs mentioned in this post have been added to our links in the left sidebar/column of this blog, under the "College Hoops Blogosphere" heading for your convenience.

First up, we have a new wave of blogs participating in the BlogPoll Top 25 that have just been added to our links. Here they are: Storming the Court, Super, Scintillating and Sarcastic, College Hoops Journal and Vegas Watch. To see all blogs participating in the BlogPollTop25, visit our BlogPoll Top 25 intro.

Want more blogpolls? Then you are in luck! Check out the Big East Bloggers Power Poll, with a number of Big East blogs participating! With 16 teams in the conference from all over the country, it's like a mini-national poll!

And now some more (new to me) blogs from the world of college hoops:

NCAA Hoops Digest covers the world of college hoops. Be sure to check their introduction to Saint Mary's Patrick Mills.

Notre Dame Basketball covers the Notre Dame Hoops as you may have guessed already! Check out their latest post on Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney.

Ball Hype's College Hoops Newscenter, for lack of a better word, this is the page where all the college hoops posts are featured.

RauRaur.com covers the Arizona Wildcats. Be sure to check their blog as they have some juicy rumors: Rick Carlisle, former NBA head coach, may be joining the Arizona Wildcats bench this season to fill the 3rd assistant opening voided by the departure of Lute. Remember the current staff is Kevin O'Neill and two "kids" in Josh Pastner and Miles Simon. This could be interesting, Arizona having two former NBA head coaches on its bench! They also have news of an Arizona freshman transfering. Read on to find out more!

College Basketball Link covers the world of college hoops and they have some nice blogs in their RSS feed :-)

College Hoops is one of the many well thought-out topics you will find at Irish Trojan.

PS> If I left anyone out, please let me know! My brain is a Celeron and it's trying to do the work of a four dual-core processors ;-)

Rumors: Kelvin Sampson may get fired by Indiana!

While surfing around at Ballhype.com, I saw this story from the Cobra Brigade discussing rumors-speculation that the "suspensions" of IU players for the Kentucky game may have been the tip of the iceberg and Kelvin has ...420 more problems to deal with ;-) All the details along with discussion at the Cobra Brigade. Again please keep in mind that this is rumors and speculation! To repeat for those who are speed reading: This is rumors/speculation!