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| NCAA Basketball Power Rankings |
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The Cougars' March 1 showdown against UCLA should be considered just as important, nationally, as Wisconsin-Ohio State ... now, if some airline would be willing to offer a direct flight from JFK to Pullman to honor the occasion, I'd be all set.
Wazzu's one-spot drop is not a demotion but rather a result of inactivity: It hasn't played a game since the last edition of the Rankings. And therefore we'll steal the Cougs' spot for our first music blurb in months:
• In a recent SI Players Pop Culture Grid, fellow Pac-10er Bryce Taylor (of Oregon) said his dream band for a Super Bowl halftime show would be the Arcade Fire. Bryce, even though you're no longer rocking the Style Archive-worthy 'fro, you're now one of our favorites.
• I was shut out of Arcade Fire's Judson Church shows, but I've been listening to their new disc, Neon Bible, non-stop of late. It's Bill Walton-in-the-1973-NCAA-title-game good, I promise. And if you need a second opinion, ask Bryce.
Next three: 2/22 at Oregon, 2/24 at Oregon State, 3/1 vs. UCLA. |
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In our latest edition of the Blog Q&A, Aggies star Acie Law IV said the best on-ball defender he's faced in college is Oklahoma State's Marcus Dove ... and then Law squared off against Dove (as well as a few other Cowboys defenders) on Wednesday night in Stillwater and lit them up for 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while committing zero turnovers. Perhaps Law would like to change his answer to LSU's Garrett Temple, who held the Lord's Favorite Lawman to 1-of-11 shooting and just four points on Dec. 5. No one has shut Law down like that the rest of the year, as he continues to make a late push into the Wooden conversation.
Next three: 2/24 vs. Baylor, 2/28 at Texas, 3/3 vs. Missouri. |
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There's a lot of chatter of late about whether Sherron Collins should get more minutes in the KU backcourt rotation, which made me wonder -- how, exactly, do his tempo- and playing-time-free kenpom numbers stack up against these five freshman point guards who are starting elsewhere?
Player Team OEff. ARate TORate Min%
Augustin UT 117.0 35.2 24.6 83.1
Crittenton GT 107.4 30.9 26.4 77.2
Conley OSU 120.9 38.4 20.2 75.4
Vasquez MD 107.0 26.3 24.7 68.7
Lawson UNC 115.1 33.5 23.6 60.7
Collins KU 119.5 22.9 19.5 52.4
Collins definitely has star potential; he has the second-highest offensive efficiency rating of anyone on the board (narrowly behind Ohio State's Mike Conley Jr.) but the lowest percentage of minutes played. Collins also has the lowest assist rate, though -- partially because he shares the floor with experienced guards and Julian Wright, and partially because his scoring skills are still well ahead of his distribution skills.
Next three: 2/24 vs. Iowa State, 2/26 at Oklahoma, 3/3 vs. Texas. |
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If the Hoyas' Jeff Green or Jessie Sapp hits another 60-footer this season, don't call it a fluke. Sapp made such a shot to end the first half against Villanova on Saturday, and later told the Washington Post that he and Green take five of them after every practice. "Jeff shouts 'Gilbert Arenas' and fires away," Sapp told the Post. "Jeff always makes at least two, nothing but net. It's unbelievable. I'm usually good for one, but Jeff is the master." I know Georgetown plays (and sometimes practices) in the Wizards' house, and therefore Arenas imitation was inevitable, but any Agent Zero-type activity by the amateurs (as long as it doesn't involve wagering scholarship cash) is encouraged. Even more than half-court makes, we desperately need our first blogging college star.
Next three: 2/24 vs. Pittsburgh, 2/26 at Syracuse, 3/3 vs. UConn. |
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I finally got to see the Salukis in person on Saturday in the blue-collar BracketBusters game at beautiful Hinkle Fieldhouse, and was impressed. As long as SIU doesn't run into a team with a trio of cold-blooded three-point shooters in the NCAA tournament, it has a decent shot at making a deep run. Braided forward Randal Falker is a CBS tourney feature waiting to happen; he's a mountain biking guru and the son of a former bike racer from St. Louis. Falker, a design major, had to design and write his own obituary for a project, and in it he said that he died doing a crazy mountain biking stunt ... but told me he had also considered being killed by a stampede of Saluki fans, who were angry over him missing too many free throws (he shoots just 56.2 percent from the line).
Next three: 2/24 vs. Evansville, Missouri Valley Tournament. |
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