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Ranking the conferences

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Posted: Monday December 27, 1999 05:27 PM

By Albert Lin, CNN/SI

	• Our New Favorite Player • High Five/Riding the Pine • Storylines • Don't Miss It • Brendan Haywood Watch

League play is about to get under way, so here is how we rank the 10 major conferences based on what we've seen so far this season.

1. Big Ten. Before you ACC fans start yammering about the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, remember that Ohio State and Indiana declined invitations to the showcase. The Big Ten has seven potential NCAA Tournament teams.

2. ACC. Carolina hasn't looked too good lately, and outside of Duke everyone else is still a question mark. Wake? Virginia? Maryland? Tech? We still believe in the overall talent, though.

3. SEC. Much uncertainty surrounds overachieving Tennessee and LSU and underachieving Auburn and Kentucky. Which leaves Florida and a lot of coaching headaches.

4. Big 12. On the surface the top five teams -- Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Missouri -- look strong. But the Longhorns have slipped and Mizzou is losing players left and right.

5. Pac-10. We were tempted to slot the Pac-10 as high as No. 2 on the strength of Stanford and Arizona, but we can't figure out the rest of the league -- especially UCLA.

6. Big East . We love UConn, but Syracuse, St. John's, Miami and the rest still have to show us something.

7. Conference USA. American Division, headed by Cincinnati and DePaul, looks great, but that National Division ...

8. Mountain West. Utah is legit, and we've always liked New Mexico's and UNLV's talent. Otherwise, not a lot to distinguish it from No. 9.

9. Atlantic 10. If it weren't for the split of the old WAC, the suddenly lost A-10 would be bringing up the rear. Thank god for John Chaney.

10. WAC. When your best team is Fresno State, you don't have much of a leg to stand on. But Tulsa and TCU could have us eating our words.

Demond Stewart, Jr., G, Niagara

We followed Stewart as a high-schooler outside of Rochester, N.Y., and have always been impressed with his physical gifts -- a long (6'3"), lean basketball body that is stronger than it looks; good quickness and athleticism; great ball-handling skills. His grades kept him from matriculating at a Division I school, so he played at Division II Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., for two years before transferring to Niagara. After sitting out a year Stewart has stepped right in for the departed Alvin Young, who was the nation's leading scorer last season. Stewart leads the country in scoring (27.1 ppg) and also tops the 6-2 Purple Eagles in rebounding (6.8) from his 2-guard position. The one pockmark on his statistical ledger: his 40.5% shooting. Stewart gets to the basket so well (10.8 free throw attempts per game) there's no reason for him to keep chucking from long range when his shot is not falling. We're anxious to see how long he can keep up this pace.

HIGH FIVE Louisville So we did an about face. Watching that first half against North Carolina was the most fun we've had in a long time.

HIGH FIVE New Mexico Ends Arizona's 37-game homecourt winning streak, then lands Wildcats transfer Ruben Douglas.

HIGH FIVE Joe Johnson Heralded, Scottie Pippen-like recruit makes grade for Arkansas, should suit up shortly.

RIDING THE PINE Doug Gottlieb Better-than-we-thought athlete is leading nation in assists yet again -- but he turns 25 on Jan. 15! Time to move on, Doug.

RIDING THE PINE Kenny Gregory Will never be taken seriously as an All-America candidate if he continues to shoot a ridiculous 41.9% from the line.

The real season

Every game matters now that conference play is beginning. Will preseason predictions stay true to form? Will overachieving non-conference performers come back to earth or continue building on their sparkling records? The march to March kicks off ...

Stan-ding tall

There was a lot of movement in the top 10 this week, but Stanford retained the No. 1 spot. And with the low-voltage Stanford Invitational (Columbia, Davidson, New Hampshire) on tap, the Cardinal should hold onto that spot into the first week of January.

Just in time

Mateen Cleaves is expected to return any day now from the stress fracture in his foot, and given how shaky the Spartans have looked since that Dec. 1 throttling of North Carolina, we can't say Arrivaderci, David Thomas, fast enough.

Oklahoma State vs. LSU at New Orleans, Thursday, 10:30 p.m. ET

Both teams are 10-0. LSU's perfect mark has come against a highly suspect list of opponents, so we'll see what the Tigers do against a legitimate Top 25 team. Our guess is not much.

Pennsylvania at Kansas, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 8 p.m.

The Jayhawks already knocked off perennial Ivy power Princeton in Lawrence on Dec. 22; now the Ivy's preseason favorite comes calling.

Utah at Louisville, Thursday, Jan. 6, 7:30 p.m.

This game should be a study in contrasts, with the methodic, halfcourt Utes trying to slow down the high-flying Cardinals. After seeing what Rick Majerus did to defending-champion Arizona in the 1998 NCAA Tournament, we believe.

Ohio State at Illinois, Thursday, Jan. 6, 9 p.m.

The season's first marquee conference matchup pits a returning Final Four club that has struggled against a talented up-and-comer that has been woefully inconsistent.

Syracuse at Miami (Fla.), Saturday, Jan. 8, noon

The Orangemen should be 10-0 when they travel to Miami for their first road game of the season. The first of three in a row outside of the Carrier Dome could prove to be a rude awakening for Syracuse.

Arizona at Stanford, Saturday, Jan. 8, 6 p.m.

With Arizona's depth in question, the Cardinal have the advantage in this tilt, especially at home. The Wildcats have the edge in backcourt quickness and probably in future NBA stars, but Stanford has more overall size and should be bolstered by the return of Mark Madsen.

Duke at Maryland, Sunday, Jan. 9, Time TBD

The ACC's two most-depleted clubs face off in College Park, but both have reloaded nicely. We're starting to think we grossly underestimated the Blue Devils, but we'll continue to stay on the Terps bandwagon.

In the tradition of last season's William Avery Watch, we return to Tobacco Road to follow the trials and tribulations of another underachieving player whose improvement is crucial to his team's success. This 7-footer grabbed one rebound in the final two games of last season (losses to Duke in the ACC Tournament and Weber State in the NCAA Tournament), covering 57 minutes of playing time.

1999-00 stats: 12.3 pts., 5.2 rebs., 2.8 blks. in 26.2 minutes per game

The most frustrating thing is how much athleticism Haywood possesses. He looks great in the open court or when no one lays a body on him, but, unfortunately, most teams tend to play something called defense.

The Week at a Glance is retreating to our bunker for New Year's, so, barring Y2K disasters, check back Jan. 10 for the next Glance.

 

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