|
EVENTS
Sportsman of the Year
Heisman Trophy
Swimsuit 2001
CENTERS
Fantasy Central
Inside Game
Video Plus
Statitudes
Your Turn
Message Boards
Email Newsletters
Golf Guide
Cities
CNNSI.com GROUP
Sports Illustrated
Life of Reilly
SI Women
SI for Kids
Press Room
TBS/TNT Sports
CNN Languages
COMMERCE
SI Customer Service
SI Media Kits
Get into College
Sports Memorabilia
TeamStore
|  |
Week at a Glance
The best of the bubble teams
Posted: Sunday February 25, 2001 7:58 PM
By Albert Lin, CNNSI.com
With so much talk of the bubble nowadays, we decided to look at five teams that, by most accounts, are still on the fence. We predict that every school in this quintet -- all from major conferences, which means each is already better than 90 percent of the schools that will get automatic bids -- will win at least one game in the NCAA tournament, assuming the selection committee does the right thing and extends a deserved invite. By the first Saturday of the tournament, we'll have forgotten how close each came to the NIT.
Connecticut: The Huskies are one of the Glance's least favorite teams, given how they seem unable to figure out the best use of all their talent. But the fact is that the players are there, and given several days to prepare we think Jim Calhoun will have his club ready for its NCAA opener. If Albert Mouring is hot, UConn could go further.
Georgia Tech: We absolutely love what Paul Hewitt has done in Atlanta, coming up with an uptempo, perimeter-oriented attack anchored by one of the better big men in the nation, Alvin Jones Jr. With Tony Akins and Shaun Fein firing from outside and a host of solid role players, the Jackets' ability to force turnovers should cause problems for their first opponent.
Indiana: Yes, we know the Hoosiers didn't exactly come out smokin' in last year's NCAA tournament. But this is a completely different team now under interim coach Mike Davis. Kirk Haston is an elite big man, Jared Jeffries provides versatility, and Tom Coverdale has been a revelation. The Hoosiers have enough other big bodies and shooters to come up with one W.
Missouri: The Tigers have continued winning without their best player, Kareem Rush, who should return shortly. Assuming Rush doesn't try to do too much too soon, this can only help a young and talented club. If Rush is anywhere close to his old self (which is a huge question mark since he hurt the thumb on his shooting hand), the Tigers will be talking Sweet 16.
Ohio State: After two years of Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd, Jim O'Brien has impressively retooled the Buckeyes in the image of Ken Johnson and Brian Brown. It's hard to figure how they keep winning, because their parts don't look all that impressive. But victories over Michigan State and Illinois prove Ohio State can beat anyone.
Coming next week: Our All-American team and year-end awards.
 |
| Udonis Haslem, 6-8, junior, center, Florida |
| In Sports Illustrated's College Basketball Preview issue, Haslem was named by a vote of his peers as the strongest player in the SEC. And that's not hyperbole -- the 265-pounder conducts a clinic whenever he sets up in the post. Haslem can't be moved once he establishes position; he can go over, around or under a defender; he has a soft touch with either hand (59.7 percent from the field); and he's at his best in big games -- he set a career high with 28 points last Saturday in a win over No. 14 Alabama, topping his previous best, which came in last year's NCAA title game, by one. Even in a perimeter-oriented offense, Haslem is the Florida's leading scorer at 16.9 ppg. |
 |
| Juan Dixon: The Maryland junior guard pumps in 30 points (11-12 FG, 4-5 3-pt. FG, 4-5 FT) in just 22 minutes of a 95-66 rout of N.C. State, then scores all 23 of his points in the second half of a 68-60 win over Oklahoma. |
| Northwestern State: The Demons trail Centenary by seven with 54 seconds left, but storm back for an 80-78 win. Senior guard Josh Hancock hits a 3 with 15 seconds left to tie the score, then strips the nation's leading scorer, Ronnie McCollum (who finished with 44), in the backcourt and goes in for the game-winning layup. |
| Reggie Sharp: The Auburn senior guard, a former walk-on, banks in a 35-footer at the overtime buzzer to beat Alabama, 72-69.
|
| Texas: The Longhorns take apart Iowa State 94-78 in an ugly, foul-plagued game, showing signs of what they can do when they hit a few shots. |
| Brian Grawer: Since leading scorer Kareem Rush went down with a thumb injury, the Missouri senior guard has been huge, averaging 17.2 points and hitting 30 of 63 3-pointers as the Tigers have gone 4-2. Now comes word that Rush could be back as soon as this week. |
| Arkansas: The Razorbacks upset Kentucky 82-78, serving notice that they may be preparing to make another surprising SEC tournament run. |
| Creighton: The Blue Jays sit, improbably, at No. 24 in the latest RPI, all but assuring themselves an at-large bid should they stumble in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. |
| Chris Duhon: The Duke freshman guard gives the Blue Devils another miraculous win, hitting a running push shot at the buzzer to beat Wake Forest 82-80. |
| Indiana: The Hoosiers completely blitz Wisconsin, shooting a mind-boggling 70.2 percent (14-19 3-pt. FG) and scoring 85 points (the most allowed by the Badgers in more than five years) to win by 30. And some people still believe Indiana is on the NCAA tournament bubble? |
| Trenton Hassell: The best player you've never heard of (though maybe you have by now) puts up an impressive triple-double for Austin Peay, totalling 27 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in a 90-74 win over Tennessee Martin. Which makes up for his 2-for-14, four-point showing the next time out in an 83-60 loss to Tennessee State. |
| Lavoris Jerry: The Eastern Kentucky senior guard drains 16 of 27 shots and scores 41 points -- but his Colonels fall 89-80 to Eastern Illinois. |
 |
| Penn State: The Nittany Lions' NCAA tournament prospects take a big hit with a 62-61 loss to lowly Northwestern. |
| Preston Shumpert: The Syracuse senior swingman, an All-American candidate, follows a record-setting, 34-point explosion in a 65-60 win over UConn with a 1-for-9, eight-point disappearing act in a 72-61 loss to Georgetown. |
| Clemson: Down 41-9 at the half to Wake Forest in its first outing since upsetting No. 1 North Carolina? That's what you call a big-time hangover. |
| Steve Ross: The Santa Clara junior guard misses all 10 of his shots, but his teammates pick up the slack in a 77-65 win over Portland. |
| Marcus Hill: The Tulsa senior swingman, the Golden Hurricane's leading scorer, hits just one of 10 shots (1-8 3-pt. FG) in a 59-56 loss to Rice. |
| David Fanning: The James Madison sophomore guard, the Dukes' leading scorer, goes 1-for-12 from the field (five points) in a 63-48 loss to American. |
 |
|
The Madness begins
|
| Championship Week kicks off Saturday, with the first automatic bids handed out. All this, of course, is mere preamble to the Big Dance, which we'll have to wait until March 15 to attend. Until then, here's hoping your alma mater does you proud. |
| Bubbles bursting |
| With automatic bids starting to be claimed, that also means we'll see regular-season champs upset and have their NCAA tournament dreams ended. Which clubs will have, essentially, wasted their seasons by choking in the postseason tournament? |
| Master of its domain |
| With no Pac-10 postseason tournament, Stanford knows exactly who it has to beat to finish the regular season at No. 1. The Cardinal's next three opponents are doozies -- Thursday at Southern California, Saturday at UCLA, and home next Thursday versus Arizona. |
 |
| Michigan State at Wisconsin, Tuesday, 8 p.m. |
| Tom Izzo has been tinkering with his starting lineup, trying various permutations with and without his two prized freshmen. Doesn't it seem kind of late to be doing this? Not that it will matter here. The Badgers, as tough and as annoying as they might be, just don't have the players to keep up with the Spartans. |
| Virginia at Maryland, Saturday, 2 p.m. ET |
| The Cavaliers are riding high after knocking off North Carolina; the Terps will probably be down after a Tuesday trip to Cameron. Third place in the ACC (as if that matters) will probably be decided by the outcome of this tilt. Will we ever stop being dazzled by Maryland's talent? We're going with the Terps. |
| Stanford at UCLA, Saturday, 4 p.m. |
| The Bruins have been on a roll since getting demolished at California, and it will be interesting to see if they are more focused on this game with No. 1 Stanford or on the Thursday rematch with the Bears. Both figure to be emotional contests, which gives the edge Saturday to the Cardinal. Stanford won't allow UCLA to show it up a second time. |
| Kentucky at Florida, Sunday, noon |
| The SEC East title is on the line, and the Cats suddenly aren't the hotter team. We love the way Florida has played all season, battling one obstacle after the next. This game will turn into a track meet, and the Gators are more adept at playing an uptempo style. |
| Duke at North Carolina, Sunday, 3:30 p.m. |
| The Tar Heels have fallen the last two Sundays, on the road. Will familiar surroundings make all the difference? We've lost some confidence in the Blue Devils, but Carolina's two recent losses are vexing. Still, with the ACC title on the line, we think the bigger and deeper Tar Heels will prevail. |
 |
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. |
|
2000-01 stats: 10.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.6 blocks in 23.1 minutes per game.
Another Jekyll-and-Hyde week for our favorite Californian, who turned in a stellar performance against Colorado (17 points, nine rebounds, three blocks in 29 minutes) only to do his customary disappearing act Sunday at Nebraska (six points, four rebounds in 20 minutes). At least the Jayhawks won both games -- proving that Mr. Chenowith is nothing if not dispensable.
|
Come back every Monday for a new Week at a Glance.
|
Copyright © 2001
CNN/Sports Illustrated
An AOL Time Warner Company.
All Rights Reserved.
|
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.
|
|
