Jackson St

Monday's showdown between #3 Baylor and #7 Kansas gave the visiting Bears a great chance to make the statement that they were ready to dethrone a program that's won at least a share of the last seven Big 12 titles. Well while there's still plenty of basketball to be played before the regular season champion is determined, it's safe to say that Bill Self's team has no plans to simply hand over the top spot.

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

Overall Rank: #140

Jackson State Tigers

Southwestern Athletic Conference (19-12, 17-1)

 

Montana was dead to rights late in the first half, trailing by 22 points and going into the locker room down 20 at intermission. No way could they come back on the road and keep Weber State from punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. The final twenty minutes were supposed to be a coronation for the Wildcats, most of America thought. 

Well, Anthony Johnson made sure that we all thought wrong. 

Is Texas the team flush with talent that can play with anyone in the country? Or is Texas the team still searching for role definition that can lose to just about anyone in the country? We saw ample evidence of both answers being "yes" on Monday night but when the game ended Rick Barnes' team beat Oklahoma 87-76 in Austin. Senior Damion James led the way with 24 points and eight rebounds while four other Longhorns (three coming off the bench) reached double figures as well.

At one point a near-lock to wrap up a double-bye in the upcoming Big East Tournament, West Virginia finds itself just a game ahead of Louisville and Marquette in the race for one of those final two slots. They host a Georgetown squad that's in serious need of some positive momentum coming off of a double-digit home loss to Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon. The formula for the Hoyas is a rather simple one: as Chris Wright goes so do the Hoyas.

February is a great time for college basketball, but with 149 D1 games scheduled on Saturday, there's sure to be some duds. The games below are hideous, either due to the wide disparity in opponents or the utter lack of quality between the sides.

#25 Cornell vs Brown - 7:00
-- Brown is 5-14 against D1 competition. Meanwhile, Cornell's won their last 3 Ivy games by 36, 34, and 26. This will get ugly, real ugly.

Jackson St vs Alcorn St - 6:30

For fans of schools in a number of non-BCS conferences Monday was a big day with the announcement of the eleven televised games in the ESPNU BracketBusters event. And the masses received their wish in regards to the headline contest with Siena visiting Butler on February 20th (11 AM on ESPN2). With both teams still undefeated in their respective conferences at this time it could possibly match up ranked teams if both continue on their current runs.

Alabama State

Jackon State

Prairie View A&M

UAPB

Other (Alabama A&M, Alcorn State, etc)