Hoopla (cont.)

Paulus is officially a bench player

Duke fans won't admit it, but it's hard to remember a Blue Devil point guard as outmatched physically on the floor as Greg Paulus. Sure, he's a great leader, but he can't get to the hoop on offense -- Stephen Curry picked his pocket clean Wednesday night -- and plays defense like matador. (Olé!) Coach K starting Nolan Smith at point is the best thing to happen to Duke basketball since Eric Boateng decided to transfer to Arizona State. (If my Aunt Nancy hasn't killed me yet, my Uncle Sig will finish the job.)

Fordham women are one game below .500

Last season, the Rams compiled a 0-29 record. That means that they didn't win a single game for the entire season. Their futility set an NCAA record for most losses in a season. But Fordham entered 2009 with a respectable 7-6 record. And the Rams did it without last season's leading scorer, Megan Mahoney, who decided to transfer to Wagner. If the Fordham women's basketball team can improve this much in one season, then I should be leading the Washington Wizards to NBA glory by 2010.

Harvard: best team in the nation

BC beat UNC 85-78. Then, three days later, lost to Harvard 82-70. So, by the transitive property, Harvard would beat UNC 82-78, which would make the Crimson the best team in the nation. Right? Okay, maybe it doesn't work that way. But if Arkansas can beat both Oklahoma and Texas, something has obviously been altered within the Matrix code.

Morgan State beats Maryland for the first time

Entering the game, the Bears were 0-5 against the Terrapins. This is like the little brother, the one that nobody ever noticed, finally beating up the big brother. Kevin Thompson, a 6-foot-8 red-shirt freshman, dominated inside for Morgan State. Big win for Bears coach Todd Bozeman, who once coached Jason Kidd at Cal.

BYU finally loses at home

No one wins all the time, not even the Mormons. Just three days into the new year, BYU had its 53-game win streak snapped by a surging Wake Forest team. The Demon Deacons rode James Johnson's 22-point, 15-rebound performance to a 94-87 victory. (Warning: obscure Ocean's Eleven reference.) This year, I plan to follow Turk Malloy's advice and get myself to Provo. I think I'd dig it more than Saul.

Curry surpasses 2,000 career points

In a 76-55 victory over Samford, God's gift to basketball scored 21 points to become only the third Davidson player to score more than 2,000 career points. For the Chinese, 2009 is the year of the Ox. For college basketball fans, 2009 is the year of the Curry. Not only do we get to watch him dominate players who were recruited far ahead of him, but we also have the option of viewing his younger brother, Seth, develop into a star Liberty.

This is the year. I can feel it. As long as we all remember to shoot hoops, and not guns, everything is going to be alright.