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Week at a Glance
Bruins still remain a mystery
Posted: Sunday February 04, 2001 8:02 PM
By Albert Lin, CNNSI.com
Let's not get carried away.
Yes, UCLA knocked an undermanned Stanford club from the ranks of the unbeaten Saturday, but if anything, this only serves to highlight the incongruities of Steve Lavin's tenure in Westwood.
How, after all, could a club that less than 48 hours earlier had gotten destroyed, 92-63, at California suddenly turn around and beat the No. 1 team in the nation? How could a squad coming off a strong showing at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic (one-point loss to Kansas, five-point win over Kentucky) fall the next time out at home to Cal State-Northridge? In the end, this lack of consistency will be Lavin's downfall.
A similar upset of top-ranked Stanford last season at Maples Pavilion came in the middle of an eight-game winning streak that ended in the Sweet 16, with a loss to Iowa State. The Bruins had trudged through the first three-quarters of the season, winning no more than three games in a row and losing six of seven immediately before their hot streak. On top of the on-court troubles, for the bulk of the season UCLA had to deal with the distraction of JaRon Rush's NCAA-mandated suspension.
That strong finish saved Lavin's job a year ago. With Jerome Moiso and Rush leaving school early, expectations were down slightly entering this season, but no one could have anticipated how quickly the buzz surrounding the program would fade. Attendance is down: The Bruins' last two home games, against Oregon State and Oregon, drew 6,208 and 6,957, respectively, to 12,819-capacity Pauley Pavilion; even the contest against crosstown rival Southern California was 710 fans short of a sellout. Athletic director Peter Dalis tells his coach he has had no contact with Rick Pitino, then has to recant his statement when Pitino confirms two phone calls. And given the lackluster showings even in some of their victories, it appears the players may have tuned out Lavin, which is the greatest indictment one can make -- even though their actions would be perfectly understandable, given the lack of support from the athletic department.
Three Bruins could be playing in the NBA next year -- Earl Watson, Dan Gadzuric and Jason Kapono. Watson has been a rock his entire career, starting every game he's been in uniform. Gadzuric came out of high school highly touted, but remains little more than an impressive physical specimen. Kapono has been wildly streaky as opponents have focused their defenses on stopping him. The nation's top recruiting class three years ago has disintegrated to nothing. Players are leaving the program early, and the ones who stay aren't necessarily getting any better (hello, Ray Young ).
Yet, as Saturday's game showed, when the Bruins put it together and scrap and hustle, they can play with anyone in the country. The question is, why don't they do it more often? Like it or not, that responsibility falls squarely on their coach's shoulders. Which is why, despite a stellar group of incoming recruits and the potential to still salvage this season (starting with Thursday night's tilt at USC), nothing short of a Final Four run should save Lavin's job. And even that might not be enough.
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| David West, 6-8, sophomore, C, Xavier |
| West was a fairly anonymous recruit when he arrived in Cincinnati, but people quickly discovered his ability when he averaged 11.7 points and 9.1 rebounds as a freshman. Now, he is the unquestioned leader of the Musketeers and probably the best player in the Atlantic 10. West averages 18.4 points and 11.3 rebounds (one-third off the offensive glass), and last Saturday he spun a tour de force with a 26-point, 21-rebounds, six-block effort in a 71-63 overtime win against George Washington. West's game is strictly lunch bucket, and he never strays too far outside; he has not taken a 3-pointer in his career but eight times this season has attempted double-figure free throws. |
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| The Glance jinx: The week we name Fresno State our new favorite team, the Bulldogs see their 13-game winning streak come to an end at 8-10 Hawaii, 91-73. Is Florida next? We won't go that far just yet. |
| Florida: Brent Wright returns 20 days after foot surgery; Teddy Dupay returns 20 days after back surgery. The only thing we know is, if we ever need surgery, we're flying down to Gainesville. Oh, yeah, the Gators beat No. 8 Tennessee and win at No. 25 Georgia. |
| Cuthbert Victor: Murray State freshman swingman has a perfect shooting day, hitting all 10 field goals and all seven free throws in a 102-83 win over Tennessee State. He finishes with 27 points and adds nine rebounds. |
| Butler: The Bulldogs dominate No. 10 Wisconsin in the second half, breaking a 20-20 tie by hitting 13 of 20 shots after the break to cruise to a 58-44 win. It's the Badgers' first nonconference home loss since 1997 and Butler's first W over a ranked opponent in the same span. |
| Mike Vukovich: UC Santa Barbara junior forward hits all 12 of his shots (but misses two of five free throws) for 27 points in a 73-67 win over Pacific. |
| Providence: The Friars -- the Friars! -- are 7-2 in the Big East, with wins over St. John's, Miami, Villanova and UConn. Guess that Tim Welsh can coach. UConn and Georgetown await this week. |
| Titus Ivory: Penn State senior guard scores 27 points and hands out seven assists -- playing on a sprained ankle -- in the Nittany Lions' 98-95 overtime upset of Illinois. Three days later he drops 26 on Indiana in a 89-78 loss. |
| Kenny Satterfield: We figured we'd throw Cincinnati a bone. The sophomore guard puts up the first Bearcats triple-double since Oscar Robertson, with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists (in just 24 minutes of playing time) in a 105-57 thrashing of Tulane. |
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| B..B. Waldon: South Florida junior forward -- the Bulls' No. 2 scorer (17.3 ppg) and leading rebounder (7.2 rpg) -- is suspended indefinitely for "behavior unacceptable for a member of the basketball program." Otherwise known as asking, "How come Altron Jackson takes more shots and scores more than me?" |
| Loren Woods: Just when we thought Arizona was pulling things together, the Wildcats go out and lose at Oregon and then their senior center gets himself suspended for the Oregon State game. At least the Wildcats won that one. |
| Seton Hall: Guess there's something to be said for maturity, character and team chemistry. |
| Casey Jacobsen: Stanford sophomore guard just didn't have it in a 79-73 loss to UCLA, hitting only four of 18 shots -- though he still manages a team-high 17 points. |
| Tim Lyles: West Virginia sophomore guard goes 1-for-12 in a 94-77 loss to Georgetown. However, he gets to the line 11 times and finishes with 12 points. |
| Jeff McMillan: Fordham freshman big man matches Lyles' 1-for-12 in an 85-59 loss to UMass, but he only totals seven points. |
| Brown: You'd think somewhere, sometime the Bears would've won at Princeton. You'd be wrong. Brown's 66-62 loss increases their record of futility to 0-51. |
| Rodney Rogers: No, not that one. This one -- a St. Peter's senior forward and the Peacocks' No. 2 scorer -- makes just two of 15 shots, for six points, in a 78-65 loss to Canisius. |
| Chris Miller, Ra'Kim Hollis: Texas Southern sophomore Miller (4-20 FG) and freshman Hollis (1-12 FG) do some masonry work in a 75-67 loss to Alabama State. |
| Centenary: No wonder the Gentlemen have the nation's top scorer; no one else can play. Even with a stellar performance by Ronnie McCollum (11-15 FG, 8-8 FT, 35 points, 8 rebounds), Centenary falls by 20 to NAIA power Lipscomb University, which hits 15 of 25 3-pointers. |
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Reign in blue
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| With Stanford dumped from No. 1 after its somewhat surprising loss to UCLA (not to mention upsets of No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Kansas), North Carolina ascends to the top spot for the first time in two years. Can the Heels stay there for the rest of the regular season? Heck, can they stay there past Saturday? |
| Halfway home |
| Most teams have completed half their conference schedule. Theoretically, this means that in leagues playing balanced slates, the standings should stay as is. Of course, we know that is never the case. Will there be any second-half surprises or swoons as we march toward March? |
| Quality, not quantity |
| We're also nearing the homestretch for teams on the bubble either to get into the tournament or for a respectable seed. Are there one or two quality wins remaining on their dockets to allow them to solidify their positions? |
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| Iowa State at Kansas, Monday, 9 p.m. ET |
| The Jayhawks' primary challenger in the Big 12 visits Lawrence, where the host team usually does pretty well. To be honest, we think the Cyclones have been doing it with mirrors and should get their comeuppance here. |
| Michigan State at Illinois, Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET |
| We've had this battle -- the only one between the Big Ten's two heavies -- circled on our calendar since before the season. The game loses a little luster because of Illinois' upset last week at Penn State, but for that reason the Illini should come out fired up. The Spartans still seem a little out of sync (OK, maybe not in that blowout of Michigan), so we're going with the home team. |
| Florida at Kentucky, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET |
| The Gators have continued to surprise, and this would be a huge win in Lexington. Since Kentucky had such a strong effort its last time out, Saturday at South Carolina, we think the Wildcats will have a bit of a letdown. Florida in a nailbiter. |
| Syracuse at Boston College, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. ET |
| We're still not sure what to make of either team. The Orange had a miraculous win Saturday at N.C. State, while the Eagles have just been rolling along. The bottom line: We're more unsure about Boston College. |
| Maryland at North Carolina, Saturday, 1 p.m. |
| Two weeks after blowing that game to Duke, the Terps get the ACC's new king of the hill. Can they stymie the Heels as much as they stymied the Blue Devils? Not likely. Carolina has the size and depth to match Maryland, and the Heels have leaders not afraid to step up. |
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Another year, another underachiever to pick on. True, we could have flayed Brendan Haywood for another 16 weeks, but after Chenowith's performance in 1999-2000 -- the 7-1, 270-pound pivot regressed from 13.5 points and 9.1 rebounds as a sophomore to 8.6 and 5.6, losing his starting job in the process -- how could we resist? The senior needs to prove that last year was an anomaly; if he does that, KU's 24-10 record (11-5, fifth in Big 12) will have been one, too. |
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2000-01 stats: 10.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.65 blocks in 22.2 minutes per game.
Because the Glance is in such a good mood this week, we'll ignore Chenowith's sorry four-point, five-rebound performance in Kansas' loss to Missouri and focus on his strong effort Saturday against Texas, when he grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked four shots in 28 minutes of action (finishing with eight points). The Longhorns are a physical team, so maybe this is a sign of some newfound toughness. (That scoring average is getting awfully close to single digits, though.)
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Come back every Monday for a new Week at a Glance.
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