Onions

-OK, I’m far from a Kentucky Wildcat rear-end kisser, but how does this team continue to find a way to win? First Mississippi State, now Tennessee? Two great displays of clutch down the stretch that you have to admire…unless you’re an MSU or UT fan. Then, you probably want to throw up.

-After finally seeing Southern Illinois for the first time this year, I wouldn’t count the Salukis out of contention for the NCAA Tournament. SIU still has a good core of players left from its 2002 Sweet 16 team, with Darren Brooks, Brad Korn, Sylvester Willis and others. The Egyptian Dogs know how to win, and they could ride the same blueprint that last year’s team did to an NCAA bid: no tremendous non-conference wins, but beat most everyone they’re equal to or better than, and get at least one win over MVC stud Creighton. That homecourt loss to UNC-Charlotte was a killer because it was their best shot at a quality non-league win, but UNCC should be in the NCAAs, and after running through the MVC with a 16-2 mark last year, Southern is off to a hot (6-0) league start again this year. Another gaudy league record may just squeeze them in again.

-Connecticut is going to rue its free throw shooting at the end of the season.

-How many lives does this stupid joint three-point line/lane change thing have? I thought the lane change had been already tabled, but now we get news last week announcing that it’s been shelved. Again? How long is it going to take for the rules committee to see that these changes are not something everyone’s clamoring for? The lane is perfectly fine as it is, and most are indifferent about the three-point line. If the shot was getting that much easier, the statistics would say so, but they don’t. It’s just that too many are shooting it, many when they shouldn’t be, and that falls on coaches’ and players’ shoulders, not on the rules. Leave the rules alone. The college game needs to be unique in comparison to the NBA and international games, not the same, so leave them alone.

-Felt a tad guilty when I heard that Marquette’s Travis Diener had been taken to a hospital after a hard foul in the Golden Eagles’ game with UNC-Charlotte Tuesday night. Earlier this year, a comparison was made in this column of Diener being like former Ohio State guard Jay Burson. In case you don’t remember, Burson’s OSU career was ended when he broke his neck. Fortunately, early on it sounds like Diener just sprained his neck and should be back on the court fairly soon.

-Fantastic game between Butler and Detroit on Saturday, and what a gutty effort by Bulldog senior Mike Monserez. There aren’t many guys around who are having to do more for their team than Monserez is, and he put BU on his back Saturday and got them an overtime win. 24 points, four rebounds, seven assists from a 6-6 guy, and the statistics don’t even do him justice. His impact was far greater than the numbers show-without him, Detroit wins this game easily.

-Midway through the season, there should be no doubt that Jameer Nelson is the national Player of the Year. It shouldn’t even be close, and unless St. Joseph’s loses about six in a row or someone carries a team on his back Danny Manning-style the rest of the year, he should have the awards all but locked up. That’s not hyperbole or getting ahead of one’s self, that’s the truth. Emeka Okafor is the only player who can even challenge, and even he doesn’t make as big a difference in his team as Nelson does in St. Joe’s. At the same time, another mention needs to go to Dalonte West, who is just too underrated as Nelson’s backcourt mate. West should be getting All-America consideration-he’s that good.

-Nelson is finishing his senior season at St. Joseph’s, but another pretty good Philadelphia point guard may be coming up right behind him. Drexel’s Bashir Mason is just a freshman, but Bruiser Flint put him in charge in his first season like Phil Martelli did Nelson when he was a frosh at St. Joe’s. Mason had his best game of the year when he scored 15 points and had five steals in an 82-75 win for the Dragons over Delaware last Thursday. His stats aren’t the biggest this year, but watch him for a couple minutes and there’s no doubt that Mason is in charge for the Dragons. He should only get better, particularly being coached by a former guard like Flint, and in the meantime, the Dragons are yet another team that should be near the top in a wide-open Colonial Athletic Association. George Mason, Virginia Commonwealth and Old Dominion might be the favorites, but UNC-Wilmington, Drexel and even Delaware are close.

-Just something funny: take a look at who is second in the A-10 East standings behind St. Joseph’s. St. Bonaventure.

-Almost as funny: who’s tied for last in the Big 12 at 0-3? Oklahoma. Good to see that Arkansas-Pine Bluff game prepared OU so well for conference play.

-Funniest of all, the team on top of the Big 10 standings as of today: Indiana. Hoosiers aren’t an NCAA Tournament-caliber team, but they lead the Mediocre Eleven after four games. Wow. Not expecting it to last, but it’s still a hoot.

-Dipping into the Atlantic 10/12/14 one more time: Been meaning to make a note of the improvement in Duquesne’s program for about a year now, but the Dukes scored an eye-catching win last week to force the hand. Duquesne’s win over Xavier wasn’t as surprising as some may think, because Danny Nee is getting this program to that edge where they have gone from doormat to the team that still isn’t a consistent contender but is good enough that no one wants to play them. The Dukes only lost by two to a better XU team last year, and gave Pittsburgh a tough game for more than a half this year. They’ve also played last year’s Dayton teams very tough (two losses by six points total), and they followed up the Xavier win this year with an 88-62 throttling of Massachusetts (which looks to be headed where Duquesne used to be). There is definite improvement going on at Duquesne; you probably haven’t heard the last from them this year.

-Someone please explain: why is one-loss Duke University (as Billy Packer insists on calling them) ahead of zero-loss Stanford, St. Joseph’s or Cincinnati in the polls? And don’t give me this “ACC is tougher than those leagues” junk, because Duke hasn’t played that many league games yet. Stanford should be ranked No. 1 until knocked off.

-I tell you, I know they were just mentioned the other week, but after watching them against Arizona and now Gonzaga, I am baffled at how St. Mary’s has lost seven games this year. This is a very, very good team, one that could finish 12-2 and right on the Zags’ tail in the West Coast Conference if it just gets a little more consistent. There is some real talent inside and outside on this SMC team, and it wouldn’t shock me a bit if the Gaels can beat Gonzaga either at home in McKeon Pavilion or in the WCC tourney at Santa Clara. Like San Diego was last year, St. Mary’s is an NCAA quality squad.

-Ugh, talk about a conference falling out west big time in just one year. Not talking about the Pac-10, either, because the Big Sky has dropped maybe even more. Last year, the Big Sky was beating the pants off the Pac-10, had Weber State gain national attention for going unbeaten in conference, and also got Eastern Washington into the NIT. This year? Only one team has a winning overall record, and early on it looks like no one wants to claim the league title. All eight teams are only three or four games into their league schedules, and all eight have either one or two losses.

-More great turnarounds this year. Since a few weeks ago we found a laundry list of teams that have underachieved somewhat this season, those that have played above expectations certainly receive due mention and more.

Wisconsin-Green Bay has started to receive some attention for how it has gone from 10-20 last year to 11-5 this year, even with several players graduating from last year’s team. Here are some others, too, who have done well the first half of the season and are at or near the top of their conferences:

High Point. The Panthers are as obscure as any Division I program out there (HPU is in North Carolina) but Bart Lundy is pulling a Winthrop, taking a program from the bottom of the Big South to the top. Longtime coach Jerry Steele laid a nice foundation at HPU, and Lundy might be ready to get the Panthers to their first NCAA Division I tourney.

Old Dominion. Alex Loughton is one of the most improved players in the country, and Blaine Taylor is starting to put his stamp on the Monarchs. You knew he would, he was an excellent coach at Montana, and he has put ODU right near the top in a competitive CAA.

Central Florida. I would be more likely to buy into the Knights if they had played closer against Florida (59-39 loss). But 9-0 in the Atlantic Sun is impressive, as is a 12-game winning streak. Great things are happening in Orlando.

St. Peter’s. One-third of the way through the MAAC conference schedule, the Peacocks are the second or third-best team in the league. This has been the season many have been pointing to as the one where SPC would start to make a move in the Metro Atlantic, and it’s happening. Keydren Clark is terrific, and he’s getting surrounded by some pretty good talent, too.

Toledo. It’s hard to call a MAC team a true surprise if it’s not whipping top 25 clubs, but the Rockets work. They’re 11-3, won at DePaul, and could make the NCAA Selection Committee uncomfy if they get to 22 wins or so.

Air Force. Boy, if it weren’t for the Falcons’ traditionally pillow-soft non-conference schedule, AFA would be looking at NCAA at-large candidacy right now. Just being able to say that’s a possibility is downright amazing. This program has been down for so long that you wonder if there was an “up”, but with the “Princeton offense” Joe Scott has found the basketball version of the wishbone.

Oral Roberts. Recent loss to Mid-Continent foe Chicago State notwithstanding, the Golden Eagles are better this year than last. That’s a surprise and the other way around from how it was supposed to be; last year’s ORU team had high, high expectations, only to finish a disappointing 18-10. Less was expected this year.

Georgia Southern. Like Central Florida, the Eagles are also on a roll and are up to 13-3. GSU lost scoring machine Julius Jenkins from last year, but sophomore Elton Nesbitt has been a find and has stepped right into Jenkins’ spot. Proof of this team’s toughness was a good road win at Furman on Saturday. Georgia Southern should be near the top of the Southern Conference all season.

-A good one is developing in Ruston, Louisiana. Paul Millsap is only a freshman at Louisiana Tech but is averaging 14.1 points and 12.5 rebounds per game.  He has a lot of improvement to make yet, as his offensive game is a work in progress, and he gets a lot of points on rebound baskets because he has such an incredible nose for the ball. He had 16 points and 15 rebounds in the Bulldogs’ 67-60 loss to Hawaii, and his upside is tremendous. Since he’s “only” 6-7, though, he shouldn’t have to worry about the NBA trying to get its greasy hands on him just yet.

-Of course, Louisiana Tech may have to fight more than the pros to keep its hands on Millsap. Read something very disturbing in Sports Illustrated last week in a short blurb about Western Carolina sniper Kevin Martin. Catamounts coach Steve Shurina talked about having to re-recruit Martin after his freshman season because coaches from bigger programs were making it very clear to Martin that they wouldn’t mind having him play for them. Um, excuse me, but isn’t that tampering? And, according to NCAA rules, isn’t it illegal? That’s a rhetorical question, because it is absolutely illegal, and it’s something the NCAA needs to start cracking down on.

This is exactly what happened to Jason Conley last year, when Missouri coaches were making contact with Conley before he was out of his scholarship at VMI (and certainly it was more than just Missouri coaches-they were the ones caught because that’s where he went). It was actually speculated on in this very column (‘Onions’ from 1/15/03) before a newspaper reported it and before the NCAA investigated it, because Conley’s mother mentioned the calls in the summer after his freshman year. And yet when the NCAA had the chance to make a statement about this being what it is, which is WRONG, instead it went easy on Mizzou and allowed Conley to be eligible. He never should have been eligible at Missouri, and he shouldn’t have played anywhere that tampering was evident. Any coaches or schools found guilty of this should be punished severely. It’s bad enough that recruiting of high schoolers is such a seedy business. There is no reason whatsoever why it should be allowed of college players. The NCAA’s allowing this basically promotes a free agent climate in college sports, and says it’s open season for schools to attempt to cherry pick players that are already on scholarship at another school.

For some reason, I’m in the mood to grumble this week. Another target: all those Conference USA coaches and, more importantly, media who ripped Southern Mississippi for moving its home game against Marquette to Green Bay. I understand the coaches’ anger somewhat, but their anger should be directed at C-USA for allowing the switch. Not Marquette, which merely went along with it (and why wouldn’t they?) and not Southern Miss, which has a notoriously poor budget for basketball and certainly could use the money. The “right” thing for Marquette to do would’ve been to nix this in the name of fairness, but you know any other school would’ve done the exact same thing. As for the media, clam up unless you’re going to be consistent in your criticism. This happens all the time in the ACC in football, as Florida State has been buying league games from Duke and Wake Forest for years. There has rarely been more than a murmur about that, and one football game certainly has more of an effect on the standings than one basketball game. So, again, don’t pick on the Golden Eagles (who are an easy target because they aren’t exactly a national hoops power) unless you’re going to go after FSU and others. And spare the talk about Southern Miss being moneygrubbers. It’s not like this money was as much as, say, Louisville or Cincinnati is going to make because it skipped out of C-USA for the Big East, and the media has grumbled a little but on that but hasn’t exactly been scorching the earth in anger.

Never really feel a need to brag about my observations and/or predictions, but must say I was glad someone noticed the citing of Monday’s Centenary-Houston game as a possible upset. Sure enough, the Gents tripped up the Cougars, 63-57, and talk about scorching the earth, you should hear the Houston contingent now. Back on topic, Malcolm of New Jersey noticed my “heads-up”, and has been following Centenary since last year because of its superb and underrated guard, Andrew Wisniewski. It’s good to hear someone is following Centenary, because it’s those fans of schools like the tiny Louisiana college that are usually forgotten nationally and, not coincidentally, are mentioned in this column quite often.

Malcolm said he’s been following the Gents since last season specifically because of Wisniewski, who is averaging almost 21 points and five assists a game. “I saw him play in a pro-am league this year down the Jersey Shore with NBA players (ex. Troy Murphy) and big-time program athletes (such as Tyquan Dean and Francisco Garcia from Louisville) and he won the MVP,” Malcolm says. “The kid is legit and he is flying way under the radar. What he has done with limited help at Centenary is quite impressive. I honestly believe that he is one of the top underrated players in the nation. He had an epic battle with Dean and Garcia's team over the summer, and he wound up with something like 55 pts.”

Although I hadn’t seen Wisniewski play until this year against Texas, I agree totally that he is very underrated. The senior from New York has averaged between 19 and 22 points per game and around 4-5 assists a game in his 2 ½ years at Centenary after transferring from St. Peter’s after his freshman year. Just by those stats you knew he deserved some national attention, but because the Gents were an independent before this year, apparently Wisniewski couldn’t even make those “hidden gem” lists that pop up everywhere at some point. I automatically liked him just because of his Polish last name, but he’s a point guard who carries the team in scoring but also gets others involved, and after watching him not force the action against Texas, I can tell you he isn’t a gunner. (Against the Longhorns he was keyed on by the Texas defense and had just five points but five rebounds and six assists before missing the last 11 minutes after taking a vicious Heisman stiff-arm to the face; not coincidentally, the Gents fell behind badly shortly after). Hopefully, Centenary will end up on TV at least one more time before this year is done, because Wisniewski is a player more people need to see before his career is done.

Not much analysis or smart-aleck comments to make about this week’s games, other than to say I think I’m already catching the fever for March. It’s just over a month away…

Cincinnati at Louisville. Both teams could make the Final Four. Instead of going to the Big East, what both of these schools really need to do is get to work on recreating the old Metro Conference.

Virginia Commonwealth at Old Dominion. Two good teams in the CAA. VCU destroyed George Mason on Saturday…does that make them league favorite?

Western Michigan at Kent State. Likely the two best in the MAC this year. Kent could really use a win here, a little more than the Broncos.

Iowa at Iowa State. Rivalry game being played a little later than usual this year.

Creighton at Wichita State. The Bluejays seem to appear here every Wednesday, but CU lost at Wichita last year. Shocks have been disappointing and need this one.

Centenary at Valparaiso. The Gents get another mention here after they made me look good with their upset of Houston.

Rice at Fresno State. These two and Hawaii just may be emerging as the best of the WAC crop.

Santa Clara at St. Mary’s. Listed not so much because of my fascination with the Gaels as it is because this is a terrific and old rivalry. The Broncos won last year’s game at SMC with an improbably steal and basket in the final seconds. Plus, these two will likely be battling for second in the WCC throughout the year.

Lehigh at Lafayette. The old rivals meet for first in the Patriot League. This is also the DirecTV Patriot Game of the Week-glad to see they picked up that package again this year. Enjoyable league to watch.

Central Florida at Troy State. It’s turning into a banner season at UCF, but something tells me the Trojans still are going to be tough to oust as Atlantic Sun champs.

Pittsburgh at Syracuse. I’m more interested in seeing how Pitt does at the Carrier Dome than they did at UConn. The Orange match up better with the Panthers than the Huskies did, so this should be a tougher game unless Gerry McNamara is out.

Georgia Tech at N.C. State. I picture Jimmy V. and Bobby Cremins on the sidelines when I see this matchup.

Illinois at Wisconsin. In the Mediocre Eleven, this is about as close to a marquee national matchup as there is.

Boston University at Northeastern. Crosstown rivalry should be at its hottest in years, with both in contention near the top of the America East.

College of Charleston at Georgia Southern. These two and East Tennessee St. are the best of the Southern Conference, and this is for the SoCon South Division lead. Two good teams that unfortunately just don’t have much for marquee wins.

UAB at UNC-Charlotte. The Blazers need to get a few good road wins in the Sun Belt, er, C-USA, and this is as good a place to start as any.

DePaul at Marquette. Golden Eagles seem ripe for a mild upset here, with DePaul playing well and MU not.

BYU at Air Force. Big weekend for the Falcons with Utah on Monday. BYU could use some road wins, too, as far as March tourney prospects go.

Mississippi Valley State at Texas Southern. Probably the two best in the SWAC, but we won’t know for sure for awhile. BET doesn’t show games anymore, so this league is virtually never on TV.

Rice at Nevada. Second straight tough road game for the Owls. A split of the Fresno-Nevada trip would be nice for Rice, a sweep would be devine.

Boise State at Hawaii. Rainbow Warriors took care of business with three straight wins on the mainland. The reward is a match with a very good Boise team.

Wake Forest at Florida State. I just can’t get into the Seminoles yet. I keep thinking they’re going to end up about 6-10 or 5-11 in the ACC, and considering their non-league slate, that should not get them in the NCAAs.

Texas at Texas Tech. As far as being a national and Big 12 title contender, the Red Raiders have been up and down, and are up right now. This is a good test to see if they can stay there.

Utah at Air Force. We will know a LOT about the Falcons after their games against BYU and the Utes.