Purdue

Early 2012-13 Ranking: Teams 31 to 45

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:30:12 -0700

Continuing with the Early 2012-13 Ranking, here are teams 31 to 45.

Its worth repeating that I had to make many assumptions about the NBA Draft in compiling the following list, and I've noted which assumptions I've made. This ranking will be updated later in the summer once players have made their official draft decisions. Also uncertain is where some remaining unsigned recruits will end up, and how the coaching carousel will take form. I purposely made no assumptions about where unsigned prospects will end up. (All prospect rankings are according to the Rivals 150 ranking.)

Early 2012-13 Ranking: Teams 31-45

31 UNLV UNLV loses two starters, though returnees Mike Moser and Anthony Marshall are two of the MWC's top talents. The hope is that incoming freshman Katin Reinhardt (7th best shooting guard by Rivals) helps offset the loss of sharp-shooter Chace Stanback.

32 Arizona While Solomon Hill and Nick Johnson are solid returning players, its really all about the newcomers. In Brandon Ashley, Kaleb Tarczewski, Gabe York, and Grant Jerrett, Arizona welcomes 4 Top 50 recruits with pro potential. The team's lack of star point guard could hold them back however.

33 Davidson Already the Southern Conference's elite team, Davidson should be even better next year with everyone of note returning. De'Mon Brooks and Jake Cohen form a solid inside-outside tandem, and with a little bit of luck in non-conference play, Davidson could be a Top 25 team. This is the year Davidson reaps the rewards of the Steph Curry recruiting bounce.

34 Tennessee Once Jarnell Stokes joined the team, Tennessee played like an NCAA Tournament team down the stretch. With the likes of Golden and Maymom returning, the Vols could even surpass this projection.

35 Ohio Everyone returns from a team that was just a few possessions away from the Elite Eight. Despite that, Ohio will not be a lock for the MAC title with solid squads returning across the league. Perhaps the league can potentially return to multiple-bid territory?

36 Washington It all comes down to the Draft for Washington. Freshman Tony Wroten and sophomore Terrence Ross are potential 1st Round Draft picks. I'm assuming for this prediction, that one of the two returns. If both return, UW could certainly make a push for the Pac-12 title.

37 Georgetown While Georgetown had a Top 15 season, they lose their best guard in Jason Clark and best big in Henry Sims. Hollis Thompson should return along with emerging talent Otto Porter to form a solid frontcourt. 5-star recruit D'Vauntes Smith Rivera (ranked 22nd by Rivals) is the key however. He replaces Clark as the team's main cog in the backcourt.

38 Cincinnati Cincinnati heads into next season without seniors Yancy Gates and Dion Dixon. Besides losing their 2nd and 3rd leading scorers, Gates was also their leading rebounder and main interior presence. With little recruiting help on the way, it will be key that Sean Kilpatrick continues to emerge as a bona fine star.

39 Colorado St The Rams were probably never as good as their RPI suggested, but they still had a damn good season. Will Bell is a minor loss, but the key cogs return for another shot at an MWC title. A pair of 3-star recruits join the fray as well, a better recruiting haul than usual.

40 St. Joseph's With the entire roster returning, St. Joseph's should be a contender for the Atlantic 10 crown. Anything less than a tourney bid would be extremely disappointing.

41 Murray St Although Isaiah Canaan is a star, others will need to step up now that Donte Poole, Ivan Aska, and Jewaun Long depart. In those three seniors, Murray loses almost 45% of its scoring. The program does potentially welcome the OVC's best recruiting class however.

42 UMASS Although leading rebounder Sean Carter graduates, UMASS should be in the A10's upper echelon. Do-everything sophomore guard Chaz Williams has been lighting up the NIT, and will be a contender for next season's A10 Player of the Year.

43 South Dakota St With no seniors on the roster, South Dakota St will be hoping to improve on their 1st round NCAA Tournament loss. Although Nate Wolters improved his all-around game this year, he needs to recapture the long-range shot that propelled him to 40% from three his sophomore year.

44 Purdue In Robbie Hummel, Lewis Jackson, and Ryne Smith, Purdue loses almost 50% of its scoring production, as well as their leaders in rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals. Although there is young talent waiting to breakout and a top-25 recruiting class on the way, Purdue will need another year before they're a major contender.

45 Missouri Frank Haith will somehow try and rebound from this year's shock 1st round exit without Denmon, English, Ratliffe, or Pressey. Although Missouri is loading up on solid (though not amazing) freshmen, it will take another year or two before the new squad finds its identity.

>> Continue to Teams 46 to 60.

Return to 2012-13 Ranking: Teams 1 to 30

Kansas vs Purdue: Prediction

Greg Mengelt — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 20:35:52 -0700

(2) Kansas vs. (10) Purdue: Midwest Region

Records

Kansas 22-13, 11-7 Horizon (Conference Tournament Champions)

Purdue 22-12, 10-8 Big Ten (At large)

Time: 8:40 p.m. Sunday

TV: TNT

Location: CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb.

Winner will face: (3) Georgetown or (11) North Carolina State, Friday in St. Louis

First round results

Kansas def. Detroit, 65-50

Purdue def. Saint Mary’s, 72-69

Rankings

Kansas No. 6 AP; No. 6 ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll

RPI Ratings

Kansas 5

Purdue 35

Line: Kansas -8 (O/U 140½)

Players to Watch

Kansas: F Thomas Robinson, 6-10 Jr. (17.9 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 53.1% FG); G Tyshawn Taylor, 6-3 Sr. (17.3 ppg, 4.8 apg, 1.2 spg); G Elijah Johnson, 6-4 Jr. (9.6 ppg, 3.8 apg, 1.5 spg). Robinson earned his 24^th double-double of the season, dominating Detroit for 16 points and 13 rebounds. The National Player of the Year candidate made seven of his 13 field goal attempts and had two assists and a steal in the blowout victory.

Purdue: F Robbie Hummel, 6-8 Sr. (16.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 37.1% 3s); G Lewis Jackson, 5-9 Sr. (10.3 ppg, 4.3 apg, 1.3 spg); G Terone Johnson, 6-2 So. (8.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 46.7% FG). Johnson had the game of his short Purdue career Friday, putting up 21 points (on 9-of-13 shooting), five assists, four rebounds and a steal as the Boilermakers advanced.

Why Each Team Dangerous

Kansas: There may not be a better 1-2 punch in the country than PF Robinson and PG Taylor. When Kansas is getting offensive production from other, as it did Friday with 15 points from Johnson, nine from Kevin Young and seven from Jeff Withey. Robinson gives the Jayhawks an edge against anybody, but particularly Purdue, which has almost no paint presence. The Jayhawk defense dominated an athletic Detroit team, holding them to 50 points (22 below its average) and 20-for-63 from the field. Despite being limited athletically (compared to past Kansas teams), this is a solid team and Bill Self has proven that he’s one of the elite coaches in the nation.

Purdue: The Boilermakers have done five things very well in winning five of their last seven games: 1). Dribble Penetration. Johnson and Jackson can both get into the lane and score or dish as well as any duo in the country; 2). 3-point shooting. In their last seven games, Purdue has made 67-of-154 3s (44 percent), and that includes a 5-for-16 against the Gaels; 3). Assist-to-turnover ratio. The Boilers lead the country at 1.55-to-1 and they have a plus-4 turnover margin; 4). Taking away opposing point guards. As they did Friday, holding St. Mary’s star Matthew Dellavedova to 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting; 5). Coaching. What Matt Painter has done with this crew, which lacks the talent of a second-round NCAA team, has been phenomenal.

Why Each Team is Vulnerable

Kansas: The Jayhawks perimeter defense was great against Detroit, but for the season, they allow opponents to shoot 34.2 percent from 3. That could be an issue against Hummel, D.J. Byrd and Ryne Smith. Kansas has no depth to speak of, particularly on the front line. If Robinson or Withey experience foul trouble, Kansas could be in real trouble. The Jayhawks took advantage of a lot of Detroit mental errors. They can’t count on that from a savvy Purdue team. Taylor can be mistake-prone and Kansas turns the ball over 13.4 times per game. If they’re sloppy on Sunday, the Boilermakers will take advantage of it.

Purdue: The Boilers did a reasonable job against the Gael bigs, but none of them were Robinson. The Kansas All-American should have a field day in the paint and on the glass against Purdue. Purdue hasn’t finished well at times this season. They blew late second-half leads to Xavier and Butler during the 2011 portion of the season, and St. Mary’s came back in the second half to take the lead after the Boilermakers led by 15 points early on. Purdue is one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the country at 65.7 percent, although the Boilers did hit four big ones down the stretch against St. Mary’s.

The Bottom Line: Kansas should win, but Purdue will get into the paint and hit enough 3-pointers to stay in what should be a high-scoring. Take the points and the under.

The Pick: Kansas 85, Purdue 79

Greg Against the Spread This Season: 216-165-6 (Through Friday, March 17)

Round of 32 Against the Spread: 19-12-1

Friday's NCAA Tournament Games to Watch

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 07:44:42 -0700

After an "opening" day that went mostly according to form, the hope of many is that Friday's slate provides some upsets. And with some of the matchups providing a nice contrast in styles as well as talented players on mid-major squads who may not be household names just yet, there's a good chance that an upset does happen. Here's the schedule for today along with a game from each site that you should keep track of.

Columbus: (8) Memphis vs. (9) Saint Louis
6:50 PM EST, TBS

Both of these teams have the potential to give Michigan State fits on Sunday, albeit for different reasons. Josh Pastner's Tigers were a team many expected to be in the Top 10 to start the season, but losses against the better teams on their non-conference schedule reuslted in Memphis likely being underseeded. Will Barton has been outstanding all season long, and the emergence of Chris Crawford has been another factor in their current run. The keys for Memphis are simple: make sound decisions without the basketball and make sure Tarik Black doesn't end up in early foul trouble.

Rick Majerus' Billikens get it done in a different way, as they're more comfortable with a game played in the half court. Kwamain Mitchell has played well at the point and despite his height Brian Conklin will battle inside for 40 minutes. SLU is one of the best coached teams in the tournament, so in that regards it may be safe to assume that at some point Saint Louis could have something special lined up Memphis especially if Barton gets rolling early. Both teams have been very good in regards to their efficiency numbers this season on both ends of the floor, which should lead to a tight contest. The team that does the better job of influencing the tempo of the game likely wins.

Other games in Columbus
(6) San Diego State vs. (11) NC State; 12:40 PM EST (truTV)
(3) Georgetown vs. (14) Belmont; 3:10 PM EST (truTV)
(1) Michigan State vs. (16) LIU Brooklyn; 9:20 PM EST (TBS)

Greensboro: (8) Creighton vs. (9) Alabama
1:40 PM EST, TBS

Xavier/Notre Dame is another contest to keep tabs on in Greensboro, but the first game of the day will be interesting in regards to how the Crimson Tide go about guarding Doug McDermott. With Tony Mitchell dismissed from the team a few weeks ago the most likely option for Anthony Grant is no longer present. But that doesn't mean that Alabama is without hope, as they allow opponents to shoot just 38.8% from the field. That's five percentage points better than Creighton, who's had issues defensively for much of the season. If McDermott and Antoine Young can get things going offensively the Bluejays should be able to create their kind of game.

But that's easier said than done, and they'll have to get stops at some point. Trevor Releford leads the way on the perimeter, and Alabama's going to need a Trevor Lacey or Levi Randolph to step up scoring-wise alongside him if they're to win. The battle in the paint between JaMychal Green and Gregory Echenique could be determined early if one of them gets into early foul trouble. The winner gets North Carolina and while most of the country likely hopes that it's Creighton who advances, they're going to need to bring a higher level of intensity on the defensive end if they're to move on.

Other games in Greensboro
(1) North Carolina vs. (16) Vermont; 3:10 PM EST (TBS)
(2) Duke vs. (15) Lehigh; 7:15 PM EST (CBS)
(7) Notre Dame vs. (10) Xavier; 9:45 PM EST (CBS)

Nashville: (4) Michigan vs. (13) Ohio
7:20 PM EST, TNT

All four games in Nashville have the potential to produce wins by the lower-seeded team, so don't be surprised if the Bobcats give Michigan a run for their money. Point guard D.J. Cooper has played very well for John Groce, leading the team in both points and assists. Cooper was also a member of that team that knocked off Georgetown two years ago so the experience shouldn't be a concern either. Ohio's got some talented players alongside Cooper such as Ivo Baltic, Walter Offutt and perimeter shooter Nick Kellogg. The key for the Bobcats: defending the three.

Michigan may not have the most impressive percentage from beyond the arc (35.2%) but that doesn't deter John Beilein's team from taking the shot, as they score 36.8% of their points via the three. Trey Burke has been outstanding at the point for Michigan, and joining him on the perimeter are Stu Douglass, Tm Hardaway Jr. and Zack Novak. If Jordan Morgan can control things in the paint that would bode well for the Wolverines as neither team is particularly good in the rebounding department. Ohio also forces more than 17 turnovers a game, but with Michigan averaging just 10.9 something has to give there. How well Ohio defends the three will likely determine the outcome.

Other games in Nashville
(6) Cincinnati vs. (11) Texas; 12:15 PM EST (CBS)
(3) Florida State vs. (14) St. Bonaventure; 2:45 PM EST (CBS)
(5) Temple vs. (12) USF; 9:50 PM EST (TNT)

Omaha: (7) Saint Mary's vs. (10) Purdue
7:27 PM EST, truTV

This has the potential to be one of the best games of the day due to the point guard position. Saint Mary's relies heavily on Matthew Dellavedova and rightfully so, as the WCC Player of the Year leads the team in both points and assists. On the other side is senior Lewis Jackson, who is one of the toughest players in college basketball. The Boilermakers need Jackson to keep Dellavedova out of his comfort zone on the floor, forcing him to both take challenged shots and make passes from tougher angles. If Jackson can do that the Boilers are more than capable of winning.

Also of note are seniors Robbie Hummel (Purdue) and Rob Jones (Saint Mary's), with the latter being virtually a guaranteed double-double for much of the season. Hummel's bounced back from two ACL tears to lead the Boilermakers in scoring, and he'll have to continue that today. The Gaels also have Brad Waldow inside, and off the bench Clint Steindl can make teams pay with his ability to knock down the perimeter shot. Having Stephen Holt go down didn't derail Saint Mary's on their way to the WCC regular season and tournament titles, and they're more than capable of getting to the Sweet 16 as well.

Other games in Omaha
(7) Florida vs. (10) Virginia; 2:10 PM EST (TNT)
(2) Missouri vs. (15) Norfolk State; 4:40 PM EST (TNT)
(2) Kansas vs. (15) Detroit; 9:57 PM EST (truTV)

Saint Mary's vs Purdue: Prediction

Greg Mengelt — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 06:20:42 -0700

(7) Saint Mary’s vs. (10) Purdue: Midwest Region

Records

Saint Mary’s 27-5, 14-2 WCC (Regular-season and Conference Tournament Champions)

Purdue 21-12, 10-8 Big Ten (At large)

Time: 7:27 p.m. Friday

TV: TruTV

Location: CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb.

Winner will face: (2) Kansas or (15) Detroit, Sunday

Rankings

Saint Mary’s No. 24 AP; No. 16 ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll

RPI Ratings

Saint Mary’s 30

Purdue 43

Line: St. Mary’s -1½ (O/U 140)

Players to Watch

Saint Mary’s: G Matthew Dellavedova, 6-4 Jr. (15.6 ppg, 6.4 apg, 36% 3s); F Rob Jones, 6-6 Sr. (14.8 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 2.3 apg); G Stephen Holt, 6-4 So. (10.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.3 apg). Holt missed the WCC Tournament with an ankle injury, but all indications are he will play on Friday. Holt is an outstanding all-around player with game highs of 23 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals.

Purdue: F Robbie Hummel, 6-8 Sr. (16.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.2 bpg); G Lewis Jackson, 5-9 Sr. (10.3 ppg, 4.3 apg, 1.3 spg); G/F D.J. Byrd, 6-5 Jr. (8.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 43.8% 3s). Byrd was a big fact in the Boilermakers’ late push that got them in the tournament. He was 34-for-74 (46 percent) in his last 10 games.

Why Each Team Dangerous

Saint Mary’s: Dellavedova is an excellent playmaker with a lot of weapons around him. Six different Gaels average at least 7.9 points, including three in double figures. St. Mary’s shoots 47.5 percent from the field and 35 percent from deep, both solid numbers. Their 241 3-pointers made led the WCC and five different St. Mary’s players made at least 27 3s during the season. The Gaels have gotten to the foul line 688 times and shoot 72.7 percent while there. They turn the ball over just 11.6 times per game and their 1.37-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio is 11^th-best in the country. They also out-rebounded opponents by 6.4 per game.

Purdue: Matt Painter is one of the best coaches in the country. This team, talent-wise, has no business in the NCAA Tournament, but Painter found a way. Hummel is a great go-to scorer and Jackson is a great floor leader. Purdue leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.58-to-1. Purdue forces 4.1 more turnovers than it commits per game. The Boilermakers have been shooting well from the outside since the beginning of February. They have shot worse than 38 percent from deep only once in the last 10 games, including 25-of-51 in the Big Ten Tournament. The Boilermakers haven’t lost a first-round NCAA game since 1993, having won 13 straight.

Why Each Team is Vulnerable

Saint Mary’s: This group of Gaels has almost no NCAA Tournament experience. St. Mary’s perimeter defense is average, at best. Their 36.1 3-point percentage allowed could be a factor against a Purdue team that has been shooting well. St. Mary’s only forces 12 turnovers per game and get only seven steals per contest. Don’t count on a lot of easy baskets against a Boilermaker team that rarely coughs it up. Jackson is a great 1-on-1 defender and could take Dellavedova out of his game.

Purdue: Purdue has one of the worst inside games of any team in the tournament. Hummel defends and rebounds, but he would prefer to be on the perimeter. Travis Carroll, Sandi Marcius and Jacob Lawson have almost no hope of slowing Jones and Brad Waldow. Although they’ve been better of late, the Boilermakers have been known to go through some scoring draughts. A late dry spell cost them a chance to upset Ohio State in the Big Ten quarterfinals.

The Bottom Line: This should be a great, great game of contrasting strengths and weaknesses. Not sure what to make of the line however. What I do know is this. Vegas apparently made Purdue the favorite in the hopes that people would place their hard-earned money on St. Mary’s. The line has moved 3½ points in two days (from Purdue -2 to St. Mary’s -1½). My rule is, when in doubt, go opposite of where the money’s going.

The Pick: St. Mary’s 83, Purdue 82

Greg Against the Spread This Season: 198-150-6 (Through Tuesday, March 14)

Bracketology Update: The Dreaded 8 and 9 Seeds

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:46:26 -0800

While getting an 8 or 9 seed as compared to a 10 or 11 seems like an accomplishment, its actually a kiss of death. #1 seeds are usually head and shoulders above the rest of the field, and 8-9 winners get stuck playing them in the 2nd round.

In my latest Bracketology projection, the following 8 teams are the unfortunate 8-9 seeds. For each team, I answer the following two questions: How can they earn 6 or 7 seeds? How can they drop to 10 or 11 seeds?

Alabama (20-10, 9-7, #32 RPI)

How can they rise? A win over South Carolina would not help Alabama's stature, so they can only rise if they then go on to beat Florida in the next round.

How can they fall? While the South Carolina game won't help Alabama's cause, it could certainly hurt it. Bama hasn't beaten a Top 50 team since November and their locker room is far from settled. A drop to a 10 seed is not out of the question with a loss.

Cincinnati (22-9, 12-6, #69 RPI)

How can they rise? Cincy just tipped off against Georgetown, which would certainly be a resume boosting win. But considering their low RPI and weak schedule, I don't think this one win would push them into a 7 seed. However, if they won and then beat Syracuse tomorrow, it would change everything.

How can they fall? As I just mentioned, Cincy's overall resume is far from sparkling. A loss could conceivably drop them into a 10 seed, but no lower than that.

Iowa St (22-9, 12-6, #31 RPI)

How can they rise? Now that Iowa St has garnered Top 25 respect and their RPI is creeping up towards the 20's, they have a good shot to move into a 6 or 7 seed with a win over Texas tonight. Even if they lost, there's a chance they could rise into the 7's depending on how other teams fare this week.

How can they fall? Even if Iowa St lost tonight, their solid conference success should ensure that they wouldn't drop below a 9 seed at worst.

Kansas St (21-10, 10-8, #43 RPI)

How can they rise? After losing to Baylor today, Kansas St's season is over, so there's nowhere to go but down.

How can they fall? Although a loss in the Big 12 quarterfinals is not terribly impressive, Kansas St is probably locked into this range. Losing to a Top 15 team in Baylor doesn't really hurt their resume, and the Wildcats RPI shouldn't drop by much.

New Mexico (23-6, 10-4, #34 RPI)

How can they rise? Beating Air Force tonight wouldn't help, so they'd need to go on and beat UNLV or Wyoming in the next round.

How can they fall? Considering New Mexico has been a fringe Top 25 team with a couple of marquee wins and a solid RPI, they won't fall below a 9 seed.

Purdue (20-11, 10-8, #44 RPI)

How can they rise? Purdue, the 6 seed in the Big Ten, faces #11 Nebraska tonight. To move up, Purdue would need to win this game and then also beat Ohio St tomorrow.

How can they fall? Although Purdue has a very solid resume, nothing really wows you. If they lost to Nebraska, a top 10 seed isn't out of the question though nothing much beyond that.

Saint Louis (23-6, 12-4, #30 RPI)

How can they rise? Saint Louis faces a very solid La Salle squad in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals. With a win and help, SLU could easily earn a 7 seed.

How can they fall? Unless teams like Mississippi St, Cal, or Northwestern go on epic runs, its hard to see SLU falling below the 8-9 range even if they lost to La Salle.

Virginia (22-8, 9-7, #42 RPI)

How can they rise? Virginia awaits the winner of NC State/Boston College. Considering Virginia's best win in two months is over NC State, I'm not sure how much beating them again would help. Of course, if Virginia somehow made their way to the ACC finals, that would help.

How can they fall? Considering Vrginia hasn't won a Top 100 game since January, it wouldn't take much for them to fall. In fact, if they lost to NC State/BC tomorrow, an 11 seed would not be out of the question.

College Basketball Top 50: Iowa St, Purdue, Belmont Rising

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 18:57:12 -0800

Collegehoops.net's Top 50 Power Ranking is your weekly dive into the national college basketball scene. The CHN Top 50 is brought to you before all the other polls late Sunday night. Arrows represent notable moves. (Also: Check out the weekly Non-BCS Top 25 Ranking.)

February 26th Top 50 Ranking

by Shawn Siegel: Collegehoops.net Editor

	Team	Record	Last	Pre.
1	Kentucky	28-1	1	2
2	Syracuse	29-1	2	4
3	Duke	25-4	4	5
4	North Carolina	25-4	5	1
5	Michigan State	24-5	6	28
6	Kansas	24-5	7	13
7	Missouri	25-4**	3	30
8	Marquette	24-5	9	23
9	Ohio State	23-6*	8	3
10	Baylor	24-5	11	25
11	Murray St	28-1	12	NA
12	Georgetown	21-6*	10	NA
13	Wichita St	26-4	15	45
14	Michigan	21-8*	13	19
15	UNLV	24-6	17	34
16	Indiana	22-7	18	NA
17	Wisconsin	21-8*	20	16
18	Temple	22-6*	14	22
19	Notre Dame	20-9*	16	38
20	Florida	22-7*	19	7
21	Creighton	25-5	23	39
22	Gonzaga	23-5	25	21
23	San Diego St	22-6	27	NA
24	Louisville	22-7*	24	6
25	St. Mary's	25-5	28	47
26	Florida State	19-9**	21	18
27	St Louis	22-6*	26	NA
28	New Mexico	22-6**	22	27
29	Long Beach St	21-7	35	NA
30	Virginia	21-7*	30	NA
31	Vanderbilt	20-9*	33	10
32	California	23-7*	31	29
33	Iowa St	21-8	42	NA
34	Kansas St	19-9*	36	49
35	Memphis	21-8	40	11
36	Iona	24-6	38	NA
37	Harvard	24-4*	29	NA
38	Oral Roberts	26-5	41	NA
39	Southern Miss	23-6*	32	NA
40	Alabama	19-9	45	24
41	BYU	24-7*	37	NA
42	MTSU	25-5*	34	NA
43	Washington	20-8	47	26
44	Purdue	19-10	52	32
45	Xavier	18-10*	44	12
46	Cincinnati	20-9*	46	17
47	Seton Hall	19-10*	49	NA
48	Belmont	24-7	NA	44
49	West Virginia	17-12**	43	41
50	UCONN	17-11*	50	8

* = losses this week

last = last week's ranking

pre. = preseason ranking

Next Five: Drexel (25-5), South Florida (18-11*), Northwestern (17-11*), Miami (17-10*), VCU (25-6)

Top 50 Drop Outs

		Week	Pre
Mississippi St	19-10**	16	35
NC State	18-11**	16	NA
Illinois	17-12*	15	46
Davidson	22-7	15	NA
Cleveland St	22-9*	14	NA
Ohio	23-6	14	NA
Marshall	17-11*	12	42
Dayton	18-10	12	NA
Texas	18-11*	11	33
Stanford	19-10*	11	NA
Northwestern	17-11*	11	NA
Arizona	21-9	10	20
Virginia Tech	15-14**	10	NA
Pittsburgh	15-14**	9	9
Texas A&M	13-15**	9	14
Minnesota	17-12**	9	NA
Charleston	19-11	8	NA
Kent St	19-9**	7	48
Northern Iowa	19-12	7	NA
Belmont	24-7	6	44
Miami	17-10*	5	36
Villanova	11-17**	5	37
Weber St	23-4	4	NA
Butler	18-13*	3	31
UCLA	16-13*	2	15
George Mason	23-8**	2	40
Drexel	25-5	2	43
VCU	25-6	2	50

week = week dropped out of Top 50

During the season, don't forget to check out the CHN Top 50 Power Ranking every Sunday night!

Check out past week's rankings and this week's AP Top 25.

For more depth, check out the weekly the Non-BCS Top 25 ranking.

Davis Leads #1 Kentucky Past Vanderbilt: Saturday's Quick Hitters

Raphielle Johnson — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 20:30:42 -0800

#4 Kansas clinched their eighth consecutive Big 12 title with a wild 87-86 overtime win over #3 Missouri, placing head coach Bill Self in some esteemed company. Here are today's "Quick Hitters":

1. #1 Kentucky wraps up another SEC title with a win over Vanderbilt.
In what has been a superlative season for freshman Anthony Davis, the Chicago native may have saved his best performance (thus far) for Saturday. Davis made ten of his eleven shots from the field and scored 28 points while also grabbing 11 boards and blocking six shots to lead Kentucky to an 83-74 win over Vanderbilt. The victory also locked up the 45th SEC title in program history, and it's been clear that there's a lot more this group can achieve before this season ends. Jeffery Taylor scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Vanderbilt, who may have enough to hang around longer than they have in recent NCAA appearances when that time comes.

But on this day it was about the impact of Davis on an afternoon that saw Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (eight points, eight rebounds) and Terrence Jones (12 points, six rebounds) play 29 and 23 minutes respectively. Vandy may have out scored Kentucky 21-6 from beyond the arc but they also made just 42.2% of their shots inside of the arc, and going 15-for-23 from the foul line doesn't help on the road either.

Marquis Teague got off to a slow start but he got going as the game wore on, finishing with 15 points and six assists, and Darius Miller scored nine points off the bench. Kentucky won with two starters in foul trouble and a third (Doron Lamb) scoring just seven points. That lack of production is not going to happen very often between now and the end of the season, so good luck to all future opponents.

2. With #21 New Mexico completing an 0-2 week the Mountain West title is once again up for grabs.
After wins over San Diego State and UNLV last week Steve Alford's Lobos were undoubtedly the class of the Mountain West. But after losses to Colorado State and TCU, New Mexico is back in a three-way tie for first with the Aztecs and Runnin' Rebels going into the last week of regular season play. After going to the half tied (38-all) New Mexico was outscored 45-26 by the Horned Frogs in the 83-64 beating, moving TCU to a surprising 7-5 in conference play and 6-0 in league home games. J.R. Cadot led six TCU players in double figures with 15 points while also grabbing ten rebounds and point guard Hank Thorns dished out nine assists to go along with his 14 points, and a team few expected to contend remains alive in the Mountain West title race.

UNLV was able to hold off a pesky Air Force squad in Las Vegas, winning 68-58 with Chace Stanback's 21 points and eight rebounds leading the way, and San Diego State held off Colorado State 74-66. Jamaal Franklin, who's been banged up of late, went off for 31 points and 16 rebounds to lead the way. With all three teams at 8-4 having played each other twice the Mountain West race will be decided by how they all do against the rest of the conference (the three-way tie at this point would be broken by record vs. the fourth place team).

Before this week the Lobos were the ones who hadn't slipped up, but obviously that's changed. Drew Gordon and Kendall Williams need to be consistent if New Mexico is to win the MWC but at this point anything can happen, and given how dangerous the likes of TCU, Colorado State and Wyoming have played it probably will.

3. Gonzaga's 11-year reign atop the WCC ends as Saint Mary's clinches the WCC title.
While Kansas' current streak of eight straight Big 12 titles is nothing to scoff at, Gonzaga had won 11 straight West Coast Conference titles heading into this season. But that streak came to an end on Saturday night as Saint Mary's beat San Francisco 67-60, wrapping up the regular season title for the Gaels. It wasn't a pretty effort for Randy Bennett's team as they shot just 6-for-28 from beyond the arc, but Saint Mary's made the plays they needed to make down the stretch.

Clint Steindl, who entered the starting lineup with Stephen Holt out with a knee inury, scored a team-high 16 points while Matthew Dellavedova and Rob Jones (14 rebounds) scored 14 points apiece. Jones wasn't the only Gael to post a double-double either as Brad Waldow, who has emerged as the Gaels' second-best interior player in WCC play, scored ten points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Saint Mary's and Gonzaga wrapped up byes to the semifinals of next weekend's WCC tournament with the results while BYU and Loyola Marymount receive byes to the quarters as the third and fourth seeds. One would think that the top three teams are all safely into the Field of 68 at this point, and Max Good's Lions have the ability to run through the conference tournament and get the WCC a fourth NCAA bid.

Gonzaga's run atop the WCC may have ended but by no means is this "the end", in regards to both this season as well as the future. Players such as Kevin Pangos, Gary Bell and Guy Landry Edi will all have an impact for the Zags (and Kelly Olynyk will be back in the fold next season), and they'll need to if Mark Few's team is to make some noise next month.

4. #2 Syracuse wraps up the tenth Big East regular season title in school history with a win at UConn.
Jim Boeheim's team was walking into what was sure to be a charged environment, given the "ESPN College Gameday" presence and Connecticut's need for a marquee win. And even though things got tight down the stretch Syracuse was able to pick up their first-ever win at Gampel Pavilion, winning 71-69 with C.J. Fair blocking a Roscoe Smith shot in the final seconds to preserve the lead.

The concerns about rebounding going into the game given the Huskies' size inside? No issue for the Orange, who out-rebounded the Huskies 39-35 and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds (UConn finished with 15 but was outscored 16-14 in second-chance points) on the night.Fab Melo's follow-up dunk with 31 seconds remaining gave Syracuse, who led by as many as 17 points, the victory but it was Kris Joseph and their reserves who stood out.

Joseph scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds as he bounced back from a 5-for-17 night in Syracuse's win over USF on Wednesday night. As for the reserves once again Syracuse showed that they're the deepest team in America. Dion Waiters led the way with ten points while Fair (six points, seven rebounds) and James Southerland (seven points) also made an impact. The Orange reserves outscored the UConn bench 26-0 on the night, allowing Syracuse to successfully navigate a quiet night from Brandon Triche (18 minutes played) and Scoop Jardine shooting 3-for-10 from the field (seven points, six assists).

With something of consequence from Shabazz Napier or Tyler Olander off the bench UConn would have had an even better shot of winning, and that's going to be the key in their games against Providence and Pittsburgh. Gain some consistency and the Huskies have the ability to be a tough out in the Big Dance, and while their close loss showed UConn's potential it also showed the difference between a team that can win games and one that can win a championship.

5. Northwestern and Texas avoid what would have been bad losses while Seton Hall and NC State aren't as fortunate.
The focus for bubble teams this time of the year tends to be on the search for that "signature win", but just as important is the ability to avoid shooting oneself in the foot. Northwestern and Texas looked to be headed towards bad (or in the case of Texas, catastrophic) losses but both the Wildcats and Longhorns were able to pull out victories on the road.

John Shurna made a pair of free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining to give Northwestern a 67-66 win at Penn State (the foul should have been called on the catch before Shurna was ever fouled on his shot attempt). And in Lubbock it took seven points from J'Covan Brown in the final 2:16 of overtime for the Longhorns to beat Texas Tech 71-67, with Rick Barnes' team closing the game on a 10-0 run.

Seton Hall and NC State weren't as fortunate, with the Pirates' slide commencing with Pope being called for an offensive foul (that many SHU fans vigorously disputed) with 44.1 seconds remaining in overtime and the score tied at 72. From there in-state rival Rutgers would score the final five points, exacting a measure of revenge on a team that beat them at the RAC in the first meeting this season. Jordan Theodore led the Pirates with 17 points and nine assists but it was Rutgers' Dane Miller (21 points, ten rebounds, four assists and three blocks) who stood out.

At least the Pirates are likely on the right side of the fence (or at least close to it) in spite of the loss. The same cannot be said for Mark Gottfried's Wolfpack, who seem to be freefall mode as they dropped their fourth straight game (72-69 at Clemson). Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Leslie scored 18 points apiece to lead the Wolfpack but it wasn't enough as Scott Wood (1-6 FG) struggled and Milton Jennings led three Tigers in double figures with 17 points. The difference was the foul line, as NC State made five of thirteen and Clemson finished 16-for-21. While there are still games to be played there doesn't seem to be much sand left in the hourglass for NC State.

Quick Hitters

1. From Friday night the Big East Player of the Year race may have received some clarity. With three starters (Vander Blue, Junior Cadougan and Darius Johnson-Odom) suspended for the first half of #10 Marquette's game at West Virginia and Todd Mayo suspended for the second, Jae Crowder did everything in his power to lead the Golden Eagles to the 61-60 win. Crowder finished with 26 points and four rebounds while outplaying WVU's Kevin Jones, who didn't receive a who lot of help down the stretch from his teammates. And while Buzz Williams' dancing received the bulk of the postgame attention, Bob Huggins' visible frustration with his team shouldn't be ignored either.

2. There's now a tie atop the Ivy League in the loss column as Penn snapped Harvard's 28-game home win streak by the final score of 55-54. Zack Rosen's two free throws with 23 seconds remaining proved to be the difference for the Quakers, who are now 9-2 in league play (Harvard's 10-2). But don't start planning for a possible playoff just yet, as Jerome Allen's team still has games against Yale (home) and Princeton (road) to deal with. And if you haven't seen Rosen play by now...shame.

3. Following Purdue's blowout loss to Michigan State forward Ryne Smith made the comment that the dismissal of Kelsey Barlow was "addition by subtraction." Smith may have been proven right on Saturday as the Boilermakers handed #13 Michigan their first home loss of the season by the final score of 75-61. Terone Johnson led the way with 22 points and Purdue enjoyed a stretch in the second half in which they scored on 11 of 13 possessions. That's how you cement your status as a tournament team.

4. Arizona and Washington both did what they needed to do on Saturday, escaping with wins against UCLA and Washington State respectively. Kyle Fogg led the Wildcats to the 65-63 win on Senior Day in Tucson with 20 points and nine rebounds, giving Arizona their 21st win of the season. Tony Wroten accounted for 21 points, six rebounds and five assists in Washington's 59-55 win at Washington State, a game the Huskies trailed 45-32 with 11 minutes remaining. It remains to be seen how many teams the Pac-12 can get into the tournament, but at this point the best strategy for both is to simply keep winning.

5. Another interesting day in the Atlantic 10 as Saint Louis suffered a brutal loss for their resume while Dayton and Saint Joseph's picked up needed victories. Billy Baron's shot in the final seconds gave Rhode Island a 64-62 win over the Billikens in Kingston, but regardless of the venue that's a game Rick Majerus' team did not need on their resume as a loss. Langston Galloway led four Saint Joseph's players in double figures with 22 points as the Hawks beat #22 Temple 82-72 to earn a share of the Big 5 title, and Dayton blew out UMass 76-43 at home. Three seems to be the number of bids most expect the A-10 to receive, which makes games like these even more important down the stretch.

6. Cleveland State finally looked like a cohesive group with D'Aundray Brown out of the lineup as they beat Wright State 77-55. Trevon Harmon scored 20 points and Jeremy Montgomery 17 for the Vikings, who locked up the two-seed in next week's Horizon League tournament. That earns them (along with regular season champ Valparaiso) a bye to the semifinals, a perk that was much-needed by the Vikings.

7. Behind 31 points from Bradford Burgess, VCU was able to jump on George Mason early in what ended up being an 89-77 win in Richmond to grab the two-seed in the CAA tournament. VCU scored 12 points within a stretch of less than two minutes in the first half to establish a margin the Patriots were unable to overcome despite 24 points and nine rebounds from Ryan Pearson. These two could very well meet in the CAA semis next weekend, and a rubber match would have huge implications in regards to the NCAA tournament.

8. The pace wasn't in their favor but #7 North Carolina found a way to win as they beat Virginia 54-51 in Charlottesville. Tyler Zeller scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds on the afternoon and John Henson added 15 and 11 with two blocked shots. Defensively the Tar Heels were able to keep Mike Scott in check, something they were unable to do in Chapel Hill. Scott shot just 3-for-13 from the field and scored six points for the Cavaliers, who shot 6-for-23 from beyond the arc.

9. Fred Hoiberg's Iowa State Cyclones did themselves a favor from an NCAA tournament seeding standpoint with their 65-61 win at Kansas State, who was coming off of consecutive road wins at Baylor and Missouri. Scott Christopherson scored 29 points and Royce White added nine points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. The win also keeps the Cyclones tied with Baylor for third place, and they'll host the Bears in the regular season finale for both next weekend.

10. The Northeast Conference tournament, which begins on Thursday night, has the potential to be a wild event of Saturday's results are a harbinger of things to come. The top four seeds (who will host games on Thursday) all lost, including regular season champ LIU-Brooklyn getting pasted 106-78 at Monmouth, while seeds five through eight all won. King Rice's Hawks may be the hottest team entering the tournament as they've won seven of their last nine games, and Quinnipiac hasn't been bad either as they've won eight of their last eleven. LIU's the favorite with Wagner right behind them but don't be surprised if there's an upset along the way.

11. Things got a bit wild in Huntington but that didn't deter Memphis, who whipped Marshall 87-67 to remain in first place in Conference USA. Will Barton scored 24 points, Joe Jackson 21 and Chris Crawford added 16 and eight assists to lead the Tigers, who have enough talent to give an opponent headaches in the Big Dance. Josh Pastner's team has been maddeningly inconsistent at times this season, but don't sleep on them.

#5 Kansas vs. #3 Missouri: Saturday's Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 21:00:17 -0800

Late offensive fouls and the foul line made the difference in the first meeting between #5 Kansas (23-5, 13-2) and #3 Missouri (25-3, 12-3), with the Tigers gaining the edge in both categories and ultimately winning 74-71. There's a lot more on the line in the rematch as the Jayhawks can clinch at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title with a win, but a Missouri win would not only move the Tigers into a tie for first but also give them the all-important head-to-head tiebreaker. Two of the central figures in Saturday's contest will have an impact in different areas: one on the perimeter and one in the paint.

Missouri guard Marcus Denmon is the leading scorer for Frank Haith's team, and his performance in the first meeting was a clear signal that the senior had snapped out of the slump he was mired in at the start of league play. Denmon scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds, knocking down ten of his sixteen field goal attempts. To say the least the Jayhawks will keep tabs on Denmon at all times, meaning that Michael Dixon Jr. could enjoy a little more freedom to roam the floor when he's in the game (Dixon Jr. attempted just five shots in Columbia).

Point guard Phil Pressey has been one of the best in the country, with his being to set up the Tigers' capable scorers holding more importance than scoring (he does average 9.9 ppg, however). The matchup between he and Kansas senior Tyshawn Taylor will be interesting to watch given the fact that the Jayhawks are more reliant on Taylor to score than the Tigers are Pressey.

Taylor scored 21 points and dished out three assists in the first meeting but he also turned the ball over six times, most notably a charge with just over ten seconds remaining and the Jayhawks down a point (72-71). If Taylor's making sound decisions the Jayhawks are a tough team to beat. But even if he is struggling Kansas still has a shot due to the presence of one of the frontrunners for national Player of the Year.

Junior forward Thomas Robinson scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the first meeting, and his skill set makes Robinson a guaranteed double-double on the block. The key for Robinson in the return match is to take better care of the basketball, as he accounted for five turnovers in Columbia. It should help matters that Jeff Withey is playing excellent basketball, meaning that Ricardo Ratliffe (who leads the nation in field goal percentage) and Steve Moore when he gets into the game can't focus solely on Robinson.

Two players (in addition to Denmon and Robinson) to keep an eye on are Missouri's Kim English and Kansas' Elijah Johnson. English is a tough matchup for most teams given the fact that Frank Haith uses him at the four, as his perimeter skills can expose the traditional four-man on the perimeter. The senior from Baltimore made just two of seven three-pointers in the first meeting but he still finished with 18 points.

As for Johnson, he's a very good athlete who has shown flashes of the skills needed to be a guy Kansas can rely on offensively to help out Robinson and Taylor. But he's still a work in progress, meaning that there would be no better time for Johnson to put together a performance on par with his 21-points outing against Texas A&M earlier this week. Missouri outscored Kansas by 12 from three (30-18) and by nine at the foul line (14-5) in the first meeting. Kansas can afford to lose one category but not both if they're to settle the score, so keep an eye on those areas as well.

Saturday's action has a number of critical matchups in regards to the NCAA tournament bubble, most notably UConn hosting #2 Syracuse at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies hung around for 35 minutes or so in the first meeting before the wheels fell off in an 18-point Syracuse win. UConn needs consistent play from Jeremy Lamb and Alex Oriakhi throughout; drifting in and out of the action won't cut it against one of the nation's best teams. And keep an eye on Colorado State as they look to back up their win over New Mexico with a victory at #24 San Diego State. Tim Miles' Rams beat SDSU by 17 in Fort Collins, and if Pierce Hornung can play as he did in the win over New Mexico on Tuesday night they can sweep the season series.

Vanderbilt and Virginia are going to be in the NCAA tournament, but games against #1 Kentucky and #7 North Carolina would give their resumes a serious boost when considering seeding possibilities. John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor have to shoot well if the Commodores are to win in Lexington, as the Wildcats are playing better than any team in America. Marquis Teague has taken better care of the basketball and Anthony Davis has a bigger impact defensively than any player in America. Virginia was able to slow down the tempo in their first meeting with UNC but that didn't matter as the Tar Heels pulled away in the second half. Sammy Zeglinski has to get going if the Cavaliers are to have a shot at knocking off Kendall Marshall and company.

Other bubble teams looking to improve their resumes include Purdue (at #13 Michigan), and there are also games matching bubble teams to keep track of. George Mason at VCU may not net an at-large bid at this point but if one of these two (or Drexel) were to grab the CAA's automatic bid the others may need to win out until the title game in order to impress the selection committee.

UMass and Dayton play each other with the loser being in serious trouble with just a week left in their regular seasons, and Saint Joseph's has a great opportunity to boost their profile with Big 5 rival #22 Temple making the short trek across town. There are many important games on the slate as Championship Week is right around the corner, be it with bubble implications or teams in one-bid leagues jockeying for seeding in their conference tournaments. Enjoy.

Top 25 Games
12:00 PM Vanderbilt at (1) Kentucky (CBS)
9:00 PM (2) Syracuse at Connecticut (ESPN)
4:00 PM (3) Missouri at (5) Kansas (CBS)
12:00 PM Virginia Tech at (4) Duke (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Nebraska at (6) Michigan State (BTN)
4:00 PM (7) North Carolina at Virginia (ESPN)
2:00 PM Villanova at (8) Georgetown (CBS)
4:00 PM (11) Florida at Georgia (ESPN3)
8:30 PM (12) Murray State at Tennessee Tech (ESPN3)
6:00 PM Purdue at (13) Michigan (BTN)
1:45 PM Oklahoma at (14) Baylor (ESPN3)
12:00 PM (18) Notre Dame at St. John's (ESPN)
1:30 PM Drake at (19) Wichita State
4:00 PM Air Force at (20) UNLV (NBC SN)
7:00 PM (21) New Mexico at TCU (The Mtn.)
7:00 PM (22) Temple at Saint Joseph's (ESPNU)
11:00 PM (23) Saint Mary's at San Francisco (CSN CA)
10:00 PM Colorado State at (25) San Diego State (The Mtn.)

NCAA Division I Games
11:00 AM Robert Morris at Quinnipiac (ESPNU)
12:00 PM Northeastern at Delaware (CSN NE)
12:00 PM Saint Francis (PA) at Sacred Heart (MSG+)
1:00 PM Boston College at Wake Forest (ESPN3)
1:00 PM UMBC at Vermont
1:00 PM La Salle at Fordham (YES)
1:00 PM Coastal Carolina at VMI
1:30 PM Iowa State at Kansas State (ESPN3)
1:45 PM LSU at Ole Miss (ESPN3)
2:00 PM UCLA at Arizona (CBS)
2:00 PM Duquesne at George Washington
2:00 PM Illinois State at Bradley
2:00 PM Green Bay at Illinois-Chicago (CSN CHI)
2:00 PM St. Francis (NY) at Fairleigh Dickinson
2:00 PM Texas A&M at Oklahoma State (ESPN2)
2:00 PM Saint Louis at Rhode Island (CBS SN Regional)
2:00 PM Providence at DePaul (ESPN3)
2:00 PM Wright State at Cleveland State
2:00 PM Winthrop at UNC-Asheville
2:00 PM Appalachian State at Western Carolina
2:00 PM Georgia State at William & Mary
2:00 PM Longwood at NJIT
2:00 PM Stetson at USC Upstate
2:05 PM Missouri State at Evansville
2:05 PM Detroit at Youngstown State (ESPN3)
2:30 PM Maryland at Georgia Tech (ESPN3)
2:30 PM North Carolina State at Clemson (ESPN3)
3:00 PM Hartford at Boston University
3:00 PM Miami (OH) at Buffalo
3:00 PM Charleston at Citadel (SoCon TV)
3:05 PM Northern Iowa at Southern Illinois
3:05 PM Urbana at Chicago State
3:30 PM Wagner at Central Connecticut State
4:00 PM Arkansas at Auburn (ESPN3)
4:00 PM Lafayette at American
4:00 PM Towson at James Madison
4:00 PM Memphis at Marshall (FSN)
4:00 PM Creighton at Indiana State (ESPN2)
4:00 PM Drexel at Old Dominion (CSN)
4:00 PM Lehigh at Army
4:00 PM Norfolk State at Bethune-Cookman
4:00 PM Navy at Bucknell
4:00 PM Holy Cross at Colgate
4:00 PM Florida Gulf Coast at East Tennessee State (ESPN3)
4:00 PM UNC Wilmington at Hofstra
4:00 PM Hawaii at Louisiana Tech (ESPN3)
4:00 PM Milwaukee at Loyola (IL) (ESPN3)
4:00 PM Nicholls State at McNeese State
4:00 PM Morgan State at Maryland-Eastern Shore
4:00 PM North Carolina Central at Savannah State
4:00 PM North Carolina A&T at South Carolina State
4:00 PM Texas at Texas Tech (ESPN3)
4:00 PM Boise State at Wyoming (The Mtn.)
4:00 PM Mount St. Mary's at Bryant
4:30 PM Ball State at Eastern Michigan
4:30 PM Presbyterian at Gardner-Webb
4:30 PM Belmont at Mercer
4:30 PM Charleston Southern at Radford
5:00 PM UAB at East Carolina
5:00 PM Houston Baptist at North Dakota (FCS)
5:00 PM Lipscomb at Kennesaw State
5:00 PM Southern University at Alcorn State
5:00 PM Southeastern Louisiana at Central Arkansas
5:00 PM Rutgers at Seton Hall (ESPNU)
5:00 PM Texas State at UTSA
5:30 PM Alabama State at Texas Southern
6:00 PM Hampton at Florida A&M
6:00 PM Middle Tennessee at Western Kentucky (ESPN3)
6:00 PM Kent State at Bowling Green (ESPN3)
6:00 PM Columbia at Brown
6:00 PM Portland at BYU (BYUtv)
6:00 PM Mississippi State at Alabama (ESPN)
6:00 PM Massachusetts at Dayton (CBS SN)
6:00 PM George Mason at VCU (ESPN2)
6:00 PM Mississippi Valley State at Grambling State
6:30 PM Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Jackson State
7:00 PM Cornell at Yale
7:00 PM Pennsylvania at Harvard (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Princeton at Dartmouth
7:00 PM Davidson at Georgia Southern
7:00 PM Gonzaga at San Diego (ROOT)
7:00 PM Howard at Delaware State
7:00 PM Eastern Illinois at Eastern Kentucky
7:00 PM UNC Greensboro at Elon
7:00 PM Troy at Florida Atlantic
7:00 PM Campbell at Liberty (MASN)
7:00 PM LIU Brooklyn at Monmouth
7:00 PM St. Bonaventure at Charlotte
7:00 PM Texas A&M-CC at Stephen F. Austin
7:00 PM Western Michigan at Toledo
7:00 PM Furman at Wofford
7:05 PM UC Riverside at Long Beach State
7:30 PM Samford at Chattanooga
7:30 PM South Alabama at Florida International
7:30 PM SIU-Edwardsville at Morehead State
8:00 PM USC at Arizona State (FSN AZ)
8:00 PM SMU at Houston
8:00 PM Northwestern State at UT-Arlington
8:00 PM Washington at Washington State (ROOT)
8:00 PM Arkansas State at Arkansas-Little Rock
8:00 PM UTEP at UCF (CBS SN)
8:00 PM Lamar at Sam Houston State
8:00 PM Rice at Southern Miss (CSS)
8:00 PM Tennessee at South Carolina (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Tulsa at Tulane
8:00 PM Richmond at Xavier (ESPN2)
8:05 PM IPFW at UMKC
8:15 PM Louisiana-Monroe at Louisiana-Lafayette
8:30 PM Oakland at South Dakota
8:30 PM Stanford at Utah (CSN Bay)
8:30 PM Southeast Missouri State at Austin Peay
8:30 PM Western Illinois at North Dakota State
8:30 PM Alabama A&M at Prairie View A&M
8:30 PM IUPUI at South Dakota State
8:45 PM Tennessee-Martin at Jacksonville State
9:00 PM Montana State at Montana
9:00 PM San Jose State at New Mexico State (ESPN3)
9:00 PM Northwestern at Penn State (ESPNU)
9:05 PM Sacramento State at Idaho State
9:05 PM Texas-Pan American at Utah Valley
9:30 PM Oral Roberts at Southern Utah
10:00 PM Nevada at Fresno State (ESPN3)
10:00 PM Cal State Fullerton at UC Davis
10:00 PM Nebraska Omaha at Cal State Bakersfield
10:05 PM Eastern Washington at Portland State
10:30 PM Cal State Northridge at UC Irvine
11:00 PM Santa Clara at Loyola Marymount (CSN Bay)
11:00 PM Cal Poly at UC Santa Barbara (ESPNU)

Illinois vs Purdue: Prediction & Fan Poll

Greg Mengelt — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:37:29 -0800

PURDUE (16-9, 6-6 Big Ten) AT ILLINOIS (16-9, 5-7 Big Ten)

Time: 8:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. Central)

TV: Big Ten Network

Location: Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill.

RPI Ratings

Purdue 53 (No. 8 Big Ten)

Illinois 38 (No. 6 Big Ten)

Line: Illinois -2½ (O/U 134)

Purdue Players to Watch: F Robbie Hummel, 6-8 Sr. (15.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.3 bpg); G Lewis Jackson, 5-9 Sr. (9.8 ppg, 4.1 apg, 1.2 spg); F D.J. Byrd, 6-5 Jr. (7.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 42.4% 3s). Byrd has scored 71 points in his last four games, including 24 in last Tuesday’s loss to Ohio State and 20 in Sunday’s 87-77 win over Northwestern, after scoring in double-figures just five in Purdue’s first 21 games.

Illinois Players to Watch: G Brandon Paul, 6-4 Jr. (15.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.2 apg); C Meyers Leonard, 7-1 So. (13.2 ppg, 8 rpg, 2.1 bpg); G Joseph Bertrand, 6-5 So. (6.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 55.9% FG). After 21 points in Sunday’s 70-61 loss to Michigan, Paul is 32 points shy of 1,000 for his career. He has scored in double-figures in 14 straight games, including a 43-point performance in the Illini’s 79-74 win over then-No. 5 Ohio State on Jan. 10.

Storylines: This game has serious NCAA implications. Both teams are in the middle of the Big Ten pack and appear to be in the field as of today, but wins will be tough to come by the rest of the way for both.

Keys: Purdue has won the last six meetings against the Illini, including a 75-60 victory at Mackey Arena on Dec. 31. In the win, the Boilermakers outscored Illinois 49-36 in the second half behind 56.8 percent shooting. Purdue’s Matt Painter and Illinois’s Bruce Weber were assistant coaches together under Gene Keady. Painter is 9-4 in 13 meetings against Weber. The Boilers have the nation’s third best assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.52-to-1 and the seventh-best turnover margin at plus-4.9. Purdue forces 13.7 turnovers per game. Jackson leads the Big Ten with a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Illinois has been involved in 12 games this season that have been decided by five points or less or that win into overtime, including eight of their last 10 games. They are 8-4 in games decided by five points are fewer. Illinois out-rebounds its opponents by 2.4 boards per game, while the Boilermakers are one of only three Big Ten teams with a negative rebounding margin at minus-1. The Illini are third in the Big Ten with 4.4 blocked shots per game, led by Leonard’s 2.1, which leads the conference. The Boilermakers are 22-for-42 from 3-point range in its last two games, including 6-for-10 from Ryne Smith and 10-for-17 from Byrd. Byrd has made 13 of his last 24 3-point attempts. The Illini are 12-3 at home this season but were beaten 74-70 by Northwestern in their last game at Assembly Hall. Purdue is 3-4 in true road games this season, including an 87-84 loss at Ohio State in its last road game.

The Bottom Line: Purdue has played well in its last couple of games and the Illini are struggling. Byrd is the key. If he’s shooting like he has been, it opens things for Hummel, Jackson and Smith.

The Pick: Purdue 73, Illinois 67

Greg Against the Spread This Season: 65-40

#15 San Diego State vs. New Mexico: Wednesday's Preview

Raphielle Johnson — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:29:00 -0800

With Selection Sunday rapidly approaching the chances left for teams to improve their tournament resumes are dwindling, which makes this week vitally important to Steve Alford's New Mexico (20-4, 6-2) Lobos. While the have an impressive record there aren't a lot of marquee wins to their credit, but they've got a shot at one on the road as they visit #15 San Diego State (20-4, 6-2). What's also on the line this week: the driver's seat in the Mountain West race, as UNM has lost to both SDSU and UNLV while those two split their two meetings.

The first meeting (at The Pit) looked to be headed in the direction of the home team at the outset as New Mexico scored the first ten points of the game. But Steve Fisher's Aztecs didn't wilt in front of the hostile crowd, outscoring the Lobos by 15 points the rest of the way in a 75-70 victory. The key for the Lobos will be the play of guard Kendall Williams (12.2 ppg, 4.3 apg) and forward Drew Gordon (11.9 ppg, 10.5 rpg), two players expected to rank among the best in the Mountain West before the season began.

Both got off to slow starts to the season but have been two key reasons why the Lobos haven't lost to any other teams in league play. Gordon can be a handful in the paint, which should concern SDSU after the ease with which UNLV's Brice Massamba was able to establish position at times on Saturday afternoon. Tim Shelton is one of the better defenders in the Mountain West but neither he nor Garrett Green or DeShawn Stephens has the build to keep a player like Gordon off the glass without help.

The situation on the perimeter is a different story however, as San Diego State has one of the best backcourts on the west coast. Chase Tapley (16.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg) is the leading scorer for the Aztecs and their four main guards all average at least 9.5 points per game. Jamaal Franklin (16.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg) is their leading rebounder, and his ability to get to the rim offensively makes Franklin a tough matchup for anyone. Xavier Thames (10.2 ppg, 4.7 apg) leads the team in assists and makes sound decisions when running the show while veteran James Rahon (9.5 ppg) has been an important glue guy who can also knock down open shots when needed.

UNM counters on the perimeter with a deep corps in addition to Williams, led by leading scorer Tony Snell. Snell (12.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg), who was a high school teammate of former SDSU great Kawhi Leonard, is a very good shooter who knocks down 49% of his shots from the field and 42.7% from three. In addition to those two there's the point guard tandem consisting of freshman Hugh Greenwood and sophomore Jamal Fenton, who combine to average 5.3 assists per game. The key for Fenton will be his decision-making, which can be an issue at times despite the fact that he averages just 1.3 turnovers per game.

Where will this game be won? Possibly on the glass as the Lobos manage to corral 37.3% of their missed shots on the season. That all leads back to Gordon, who's currently averaging 2.9 offensive rebounds per game. If he can control the boards on both ends and the young guard (Fenton and Greenwood) don't struggle with either SDSU's capable defenders or "The Show", New Mexico has a shot at leaving Montezuma Mesa with a much-needed win and sole possession of first place. San Diego State is 15-1 at home for a reason however, so accomplishing those tasks is far easier said than done.

The Top 25 features two other contests in which the unranked team could use a resume-building victory, beginning with Northwestern visiting #20 Indiana. Bill Carmody's Wildcats fell at Purdue on Sunday night so a win in Bloomington would definitely help them out from an NCAA tournament standpoint. Drew Crawford and John Shurna rank among the best scoring tandems in the country but the play of Reggie Hearn could prove critical down the stretch. The biggest question for Northwestern is whether or not they have an answer for Cody Zeller inside. Combining a hot Zeller with the Hoosiers' capable perimeter shooters would spell doom for many teams much less Northwestern.

Also in the Big Ten, Purdue visits Illinois in a game the Illini desperately need at this point. Bruce Weber's team has been struggling mightily of late, and part of the reason could be the health of point guard Sam Maniscalco. Without the Bradley transfer Illinois really doesn't have another credible option to get the offense going, and in turn key figures such as Brandon Paul and Meyers Leonard haven't been as good as they can be. Matt Painter's club is looking to build on their win over Northwestern, and with Kelsey Barlow and D.J. Byrd coming off of good performances maybe the Boilermakers can go on a run down the stretch.

Miami, a team that many did not think would be able to work their way into a "bubble" situation, is right there with a shot at their second win over a Top 10 team as they host #7 North Carolina. This game should be played at a pace more comfortable for the Tar Heels than Saturday's win over Virginia was, and for the Hurricanes that means veteran guards Malcolm Grant and Durand Scott need to make sound decisions alongside freshman Shane Larkin. But the battle in the paint will prove to be worth the cost of admission alone, as Miami's Reggie Johnson and Kenny Kadji have the ability to make things difficult on John Henson and Tyler Zeller.

In the Atlantic 10, Temple hits the road to take on St. Bonaventure and the Owls better be careful in Olean. The Bonnies have a first-round draft pick in the middle in senior center Andrew Nicholson, but truth be told this trip would be even more treacherous if Micheal Eric weren't back in the rotation for the Owls. The key for Bona will be how they match up with Temple's perimeter stars, with Khalif Wyatt and Ramone Moore rolling and Juan Fernandez also more than capable of making things happen.

USC looks for some revenge in the second meeting with city rival UCLA but that's going to be tough given the many injuries the Trojans have had to deal with this season. But in Maurice Jones, USC has a tough, skilled guard who should be on one of the All Pac-12 teams at the end of the season. Without the Saginaw, Michigan native who knows how many games Kevin O'Neil's team would have found a way to win. And back in the Mountain West both Wyoming and Colorado State have games they can't afford to lose if they're to have any shot of going dancing. The Pokes host Air Force, who just fired they coach last week, while CSU heads north to take on Boise State.

Top 25 Games
9:00 PM Oklahoma State at (3) Missouri (ESPN3)
8:00 PM (7) North Carolina at Miami (FL) (ESPN)
8:00 PM (14) Murray State at Southeast Missouri State (ESPN3)
10:15 PM New Mexico at (15) San Diego State (CBS CN)
10:30 PM Loyola Marymount at (16) Saint Mary's
6:30 PM Northwestern at (20) Indiana (BTN)
7:00 PM Rutgers at (25) Notre Dame (ESPNU)

NCAA Division I Games
7:00 PM DePaul at Connecticut (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Maine at Hartford (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Villanova at South Florida (ESPN3)
7:00 PM South Dakota at IUPUI
7:00 PM New Hampshire at Boston University
7:00 PM Bowling Green at Ohio
7:00 PM Saint Joseph's at Rhode Island
7:00 PM Canisius at Niagara
7:00 PM Holy Cross at Lafayette
7:00 PM Vermont at Albany
7:00 PM Miami (OH) at Akron
7:00 PM Chattanooga at Appalachian State
7:00 PM Toledo at Ball State
7:00 PM UMBC at Binghamton
7:00 PM Army at Colgate
7:00 PM Samford at Davidson
7:00 PM Charlotte at Dayton (FCS)
7:00 PM Fordham at Duquesne
7:00 PM Maryland-Eastern Shore at Hampton
7:00 PM Washington Adventist at Longwood
7:00 PM Loyola (MD) at Marist
7:00 PM Charleston at UNC Greensboro
7:00 PM Southern Utah at Oakland
7:00 PM Iona at Rider (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Georgia at South Carolina (ESPN3)
7:00 PM Elon at Wofford
7:00 PM Detroit at Wright State
7:00 PM Oral Roberts at IPFW
7:30 PM Navy at American
7:30 PM Georgia Tech at Wake Forest (ESPN3)
7:30 PM St. Peter's at Fairfield
7:30 PM Delaware State at Norfolk State
8:00 PM Drake at Bradley (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Richmond at Saint Louis
8:00 PM Temple at St. Bonaventure
8:00 PM Texas A&M-CC at Texas State
8:00 PM Morehead State at Austin Peay
8:00 PM SIU-Edwardsville at Eastern Illinois
8:00 PM Southeastern Louisiana at Lamar
8:00 PM UTSA at McNeese State
8:00 PM Western Michigan at Northern Illinois
8:00 PM Central Arkansas at Sam Houston State
8:00 PM UAB at SMU
8:00 PM North Dakota State at South Dakota State
8:00 PM Tulsa at Southern Miss
8:00 PM Texas-Arlington at Stephen F. Austin
8:00 PM Arkansas at Tennessee (ESPN3)
8:00 PM Eastern Kentucky at Tennessee Tech
8:00 PM Memphis at Tulane
8:00 PM UMKC at Western Illinois
8:00 PM Air Force at Wyoming (The Mtn.)
8:05 PM Northern Iowa at Evansville
8:05 PM Missouri State at Wichita State (ESPN3)
8:30 PM Purdue at Illinois (BTN)
9:00 PM Weber State at Montana State
9:00 PM Providence at Cincinnati (ESPNU)
9:05 PM Northern Colorado at Eastern Washington
10:00 PM Cal State Fullerton at UC Riverside
10:00 PM Colorado State at Boise State (The Mtn.)
10:00 PM UC Santa Barbara at UC Irvine
10:00 PM Cal Poly at Cal State Northridge
10:05 PM Sacramento State at Portland State
10:30 PM USC at UCLA (FSN PT)