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Week at a Glance

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By Albert Lin, CNNSI.com

	• Our New Favorite Player • Checking In • Benched • Storylines • Don't Miss It • Eric Chenowith Watch

With the regular season over and done with (save for teams in those two postseason-tournament-less leagues, the Ivy and Pac-10), it's time to hand out the coveted Glance awards for the 2000-2001 season. The envelopes, please ...

FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA

G Jason Williams, Duke: Took his game up several levels.
G Joseph Forte, North Carolina: The consumate scorer.
F Shane Battier, Duke: The teammate everyone wants.
F Troy Murphy, Notre Dame: The most valuable of this five.
C Michael Bradley, Villanova: 21.8 ppg, 10.0 rpg and 69.5 FG%?

SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICA

G Troy Bell, Boston College: Linchpin of B.C.'s turnaround.
G Jamaal Tinsley, Iowa State: Gets wherever he wants on the floor.
G Frank Williams, Illinois: The ultimate big-game player.
G Casey Jacobsen, Stanford: Leader of nation's best team.
C Kirk Haston, Indiana: Unjustly lost in the Big Ten shuffle.
Sixth man Kareem Rush, Missouri Nation's most versatile scorer.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Williams, Duke: After his performance Sunday in the Blue Devils' surprisingly easy win over North Carolina, you still have to ask why? We admit that Forte was making a big push, but Sunday's showing cemented Williams' status.

Others considered: Forte, Battier.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Battier, Duke: We're still infuriated by how many of those charge calls he gets, but the fact remains that Battier can guard any position on the floor -- and do it well.

Others considered: Mike Kelley, Wisconsin.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Al Skinner, Boston College: We still can't figure out how he took the very pieces of a 13th-place Big East club, added one not-terribly-regarded freshman, and transformed that group into a top-10 team.

Others considered: Billy Donovan, Florida; Larry Eustachy, Iowa State; Tim Welsh, Providence; Jim O'Brien, Ohio State; Mike Montgomery, Stanford; Steve Lavin, UCLA; Rod Barnes, Mississipi.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Vacant: The guy who deserved it, based on the numbers, clearly was Seton Hall's Eddie Griffin. But in light of the chemistry problems he caused and the Pirates' subsequent freefall, we couldn't in good conscience ship a trophy to South Orange. And since all the other candidates had major flaws, we decided to leave this one open.

Others considered: Omar Cook, St. John's; Caron Butler, Connecticut; Rodney White, Charlotte; Tito Maddox, Fresno State; Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's; Jared Jeffries, Indiana.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Reggie Evans, Iowa: Unlike the freshman award, this one was a no-brainer. Evans took the country by storm, turning into a double-double machine and overmatching even the rugged Big Ten. If he polishes (OK, acquires) his offensive skills, he will find himself on an All-America team next season.

Others considered: Maurice Baker, Oklahoma State.

BEST GAME

Missouri 112, Iowa State 109 (4 OT), Jan. 13: Clarence Gilbert (43) and teammate Rush (32) combine for 75 as the Tigers outlast the visiting Cyclones, who had four players foul out.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

Duke 98, Maryland 96 (OT), Jan. 28: It wasn't one moment but several seconds' worth, as the Blue Devils make up a 10-point deficit in the last minute of play and shock the Terps in College Park. Our Player of the Year, Williams -- after committing 10 turnovers in the first 39 minutes -- scores the first eight of those points in a mere 14 seconds.

Coming next week: Our NCAA tournament preview.

Juan Dixon, 6-3, junior, SG, Maryland

Much is made of Dixon's slight build (listed at 152 pounds), but don't let his stature fool you. Dixon is one of the nation's top scorers and is capable of carrying his team if needed. He has a trigger-quick release and can get off his shot from anywhere on the court; he is also adept at beating his man off the dribble and pulling up for mid-range jumpers or leaning floaters. Senior Terence Morris ostensibly is the leader of the Terps, but Dixon is the one who produces in the clutch.

Eastern Illinois: Despite being outshot and outrebounded for the game, the Panthers overcome a 21-point second-half deficit to take away Austin Peay's Ohio Valley Conference bid, 84-83, getting the winning basket on a goaltending call with 0.6 seconds left.

Kyle Hill: The Eastern Illinois senior guard notches 40 (11-15 FG, 14-15 FT) in a 102-80 win over Morehead State.

Desmond Cambridge: The Alabama A&M junior guard hits the 40-point plateau twice last week, in wins over Prairie View A&M and Jackson State. He shoots a combined 27-for-50 and totals 81 points.

Trevor Diggs: The UNLV senior guard explodes for 49 points (14-21 FG, 6-8 3-pt. FG, 15-20 FT) as the Rebels upset league leader Wyoming 106-102.

UNC Greensboro: Junior forward Dave Schuck, an Air Force transfer, takes a length-of-the-court pass and hits a lefty layup with 0.4 left to lift the Spartans past Chattanooga, 67-66, and win the Southern Conference tournament.

Winthrop: The Eagles earn an NCAA bid the hard way, beating Liberty 67-62 in double overtime in the Big South semis and then going one extra session to top Radford 67-65 in the final.

Maryland: Damn the Terps, whose recent hot streak (five in a row, including at Wake, vs. Oklahoma, at Duke and vs. Virginia) is tempting us to make them a dark horse Final Four pick. But we all know how futile that is, right?

Denny Crum: The Louisville coach does the right thing for his beloved program by taking a $7 million buyout, allowing the Cardinals to begin anew.

Allen Griffin: The Syracuse senior guard turns in a 14-point, 10-rebound, 11-assist triple-double in an 80-69 win over Pittsburgh.

St. Joseph's: The Atlantic 10 champs spot Massachusetts a 16-point lead and then bounce back to rout the Minutemen 84-69.

Isaac Spencer: The Murray State senior forward has a huge 42-point (15-17 FG, 12-16 FT), 15-rebound outing in a 114-100 win over Tennessee State.

Penn State: Ten days after losing to Northwestern, the Nittany Lions fall below .500 in conference play by blowing a 20-point lead and dropping a 93-87 decision to Ohio State.

P.J. Arnold: The Alabama-Birmingham guard goes 0-for-11 (2 points) in a 73-48 loss to Saint Louis.

Shaun Fein: The Georgia Tech senior guard misses 13 of 14 shots and scores five points in a 69-59 loss to ACC basement-dweller Florida State.

Rod Grizzard: The slumping Alabama sophomore guard, the SEC's leading scorer, hits one of 11 shots and scores two points in a 66-63 loss to Arkansas.

Bevon Robin, Michael Haynes: The Fordham senior guard and freshman forward score four points apiece in a 79-74 loss to Rhode Island, combining to shoot 2-for-23 (0-for-13 3-pt. FG).

Jamal Jones: The Eastern Washington senior guard goes 2-for-15 for five points in am 86-84 loss to Cal State-Northridge.

Shawn Tyndall: The Rice senior guard matches Jones' 2-for-15, five-point outing in a 70-57 loss to Nevada.

Come dancing

As automatic bids continue to be handed out through the week, look out for the Cinderellas, middle-of-the-pack teams that upset the conference regular-season champs to join the field of 65. And then watch as the victims lament a wasted season.

Medium fish in big pond

Sunday night we'll find out what happens to major-conference bubble teams like Georgia (great RPI, mediocre record), Iowa, Missouri (long stretches without leading scorer, mediocre RPI) and Penn State (two horrible losses in the last two weeks, mediocre RPI). The selection committee continues to insist that the RPI serves only as a comparison tool and not a deciding factor; let's see if that's true.

Doughnut

Interestingly, Duke sure didn't seem to miss Carlos Boozer in Sunday's big win over North Carolina. Will the same hold true at the ACC tournament, where the shallow Blue Devils will have to win three games in three days? And if Boozer isn't able to return for the NCAAs, can Duke put together six games like it played Sunday?

Arizona at Stanford, Thursday, 10:30 p.m. ET

What a nondescript season its been for the preseason No. 1 Wildcats. But what better way to enter the tournament than by knocking off the current No. 1 on its home court? Arizona obviously has the talent, but the Cardinal have aced all their chemistry exams.

Big East tournament final, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET

The top seeds are Boston College and Notre Dame, without a doubt the best two teams in the league. But given the level of parity, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the likes of, say, Syracuse or UConn or -- dare we say -- Seton Hall in there.

ACC tournament final, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Will the basketball gods grace us with a Carolina-Duke rubber match? Seems a stretch. But will Maryland on a roll, we wouldn't mind seeing the Terps sneak into the mix.

SEC tournament final, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

With the marquee teams (Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee) all in the SEC East, we're hoping for a Florida-Kentucky matchup. However, this would be a good showcase for Mississippi to prove that it is for real.

Big 12 tournament final, Sunday, 3 p.m. ET

This is a tough conference to call. Our preferred matchup: 1 (Iowa State) vs. 4 (Texas). The Longhorns killed the Cyclones two Saturdays ago, and we'd like to find out how much of a fluke that was before turning in our brackets.

Big Ten tournament final, Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET

There is only one game worthy of this slot, a tilt we had the privilege of seeing just once during the regular season: co-champs Illinois and Michigan State. Each is in contention for a No. 1 seed, and if both make it this far, depending on what happens elsewhere, even the loser could be sitting atop a region.

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: 10.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.6 blocks in 23.2 minutes per game. Another Watch come to an end. Eric, how we shall miss ye. It was a treat seeing your numbers continue to slide as the season unfolded, even as your playing time increased because of Drew Gooden's injury. The Jayhawks didn't miss a beat, though, truly a sign of your singificance to the team. You did, however, put up stellar numbers in your final week in Lawrence: 19 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Oops, that was your two-game totals.

 

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