College Basketball

Hard Lessons
With league play getting under way, here's a look at what has been learned so far

January marks the Start of league play in college basketball, which means the power-conference schools can no longer amass gaudy records by feasting on patsies. So before the pretenders get separated from the contenders, here's a primer on what has been learned during the first two months of the season.

?Surprise team: Thanks largely to unexpected contributions from two junior college transfers, 6'10" sophomore Jabahri Brown and 6'5" junior Ebi Ere, No. 10 Oklahoma (10-1 through last Wednesday) has its highest ranking in coach Kelvin Sampson's eight years at the controls. Arizona (9-3), Cincinnati (12-1) and Georgia (11-2) also fared surprisingly well against quality competition.

?Biggest disappointment: Saint Joseph's began the season ranked No. 10, but the Hawks had a 6-4 record, including losses to Eastern Washington and Georgia State. The Hawks are learning how small the difference can be between winning and losing: Last season they were 7-5 in games decided by five or fewer points. This season they're 0-3. A rap on the knuckles is also in order for North Carolina (5-5), Temple (3-8) and Tennessee (5-6).

?Has the most to prove: Virginia (9-0), which last season went undefeated through a weak pre-conference schedule, only to go 9-7 in the ACC and bow out in the first round of the NCAA tournament. After another unblemished start that includes only one quality win, at Georgetown, there's plenty of doubt that the Cavaliers are worthy of their No. 4 ranking.

?Best freshman: With all due props to Jonathan Hargett ( West Virginia), Chris Thomas ( Notre Dame), Dwyane Wade ( Marquette) and Dajuan Wagner ( Memphis), the best newcomer has been Jason Conley, a 6'5" swingman at VMI. After red-shirting last season, Conley was first in the nation in scoring, with 28.5 points a game, and was averaging 6.8 rebounds and 3.3 steals for the 5-6 Keydets. He had his biggest game—38 points—against one of VMI's toughest opponents, Villanova.

?Most valuable player: Boston College's Troy Bell, Kentucky's Tayshaun Prince and Duke's Jason Williams will get the most consideration for national player of the year, but no one has been more integral to his team's success than Xavier forward David West. The 6'9" junior was ranked in the top five of the Atlantic 10 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocks, and he led the 8-3 Musketeers in steals and was second on the team in assists. West's value was most evident against Cincinnati on Dec. 14, when a sprained right ankle limited him to 23 minutes and Xavier lost by 20 points.

?Most underappreciated coach: Syracuse's Jim Boeheim could have won this award in each of the last 10 years, but his value was magnified last month when the Orangemen went 1-2 while he was recovering from prostate surgery. Syracuse was 11-0 with Boeheim on the bench.

?Biggest upset: There are certainly plenty to choose from—Western Kentucky over Kentucky, Ball State over Kansas, Northern Iowa over Iowa, BYU over Stanford. Even more stunning, if less celebrated, was a 70-67 victory by Belmont Abbey, a Division II school, at the College of Charleston on Dec. 8. Coming into the game, the Cougars (10-2) had won 22 straight at home, the nation's fifth-longest streak.

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