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By Brian Cerone

 
 

The Kiss

 

Friars Not Done

If we have learned one thing about the Big East this year, it’s that you
can’t count out anyone. Never have we been reminded by this more than
on Tuesday night when the top ranked team in the nation, the Pittsburgh Panthers,
strolled into the Dunkin’ Donuts Center and took a licking from the Friars
of Providence, 81-73. Senior Weyinmi Efejuku led the way with 16 points, and
Sharaud Curry added 15 points in the win.

Pittsburgh big man Dejuan Blair was in foul trouble all night and could not
get into a rhythm for the Panthers, despite putting up 17 points and 8 rebounds.
Blair, the most recent Big East player of the week, had five turnovers and eventually
fouled out of the game. The loss marks the 6th time this year that the #1 ranked
team has been knocked off, twice being Pittsburgh.

The Providence Friars were off to a surprisingly great start in the Big East
this year, opening up 6-2 in conference play. They were gaining recognition
as a team that might be able to compete in the nation’s top conference.
Then came the inevitable fall back down to earth as the Friars dropped five
of their next seven games, unable to dig up that ‘signature win’
that the selection committee will be looking come Selection Sunday.

Well, not anymore. After taking down the top ranked team in the country, the
Friars are right back in the discussion of earning a bid to the NCAA tournament.
Had Providence lost, they would’ve been looking at a Cinderella run in
the Big East tournament as their only shot of receiving a bid.

With the Providence right back in the thick of things, it begs to ask the question:
How many teams will the Big East actually get into the NCAA tournament?

Five teams are locks to receive bids:

UConn (26-2)

Pittsburgh (25-3)

Louisville (22-5)

Marquette (23-5)

Villanova (23-5)

Two teams are locks to receive bids, pending a monumental collapse:

Syracuse (20-8)

West Virginia (19-9)

Four other teams have a shot at receiving a bid if they finish up strong:

Cincinnati (18-10, 8-7 in Big East) – the Bearcats got a much needed
win over West Virginia at home on Thursday night, but they might need another
win on Sunday at Syracuse to beef up their resume in order to be a participant
in March madness. Where the Bearcats do not look impressive is versus the top
25, where they are 1-6 on the year. They still have work to do, but by no means
is the big dance out of the question.

Notre Dame (16-11, 7-8 in the Big East) – Their RPI ranking isn’t
very good (73rd) but the Fighting Irish do have some big time wins that could
help them get in: wins over #7 Texas, #10 Georgetown, and most recently a 33
points win over #7 Louisville. What is going to hurt them is their 7-game losing
streak that started on January 12t and didn’t end until February 12. They
play at #2 Uconn on Saturday and then home versus #12 Villanova on Monday. The
Irish cannot afford to drop both games, and might need both to be considered
on Selection Sunday.

Georgetown (14-12, 5-10 in Big East) – The Hoyas are young, so if they
don’t end up getting into the tourney, it won’t mean their program
is done. That being said, John Thompson III is still fighting for the present
day. His team isn’t dead yet. Despite having only 14 wins, their RPI ranking
is higher than that of 20-win Boston College, 20-win UNLV, and 19-win Kentucky.
The reason behind that is because of the big wins they have had this season:
#15 Memphis, #8 Syracuse, and most impressively traveling to #2 UConn and giving
the Huskies their first loss of the season. With 3 games remaining, the Hoyas
will most likely need to win out and get another couple games in the Big East
tourney to have a shot.

Providence (17-11, 9-7 in Big East) – Providence did not get themselves
into the tournament with a win over #1 Pittsburgh, they only put themselves
back into the race, so their work cannot be done if they want to dance in March.
With two road games (Rutgers & #12 Villanova) left before the Big East tourney,
the Friars must continue to play well, and then do some damage in the conference
tournament.

5 Coach of the Year Candidates:

1. Dino Gaudio – Wake Forest: Taking over for his friend and the late
Skip Prosser, Gaudio has brought Wake back to its glory days. Despite the Demon
Deacons cooling off a bit from the fast start they had which had them ranked
the top team in the country at one point, Gaudio is probably still the front-runner
for the Coach of the Year Award. His team has beaten both ACC giants, North
Carolina and Duke. Currently ranked 14th in the nation with nearly the whole
core of the team being underclassmen. If he can convince his stars to return
for another year, Gaudio would be atop the college basketball world for a substantial
amount of time.

2. Bill Self – Kansas: The defending National Champions weren’t
supposed to be contenders this year, and it’s not quite certain that they
are at this point yet. But, the Jayhawks lost all 5 starters from last year’s
champions and started the season ranked 23rd in the nation. After taking a few
lumps earlier in the year, Self has his team atop the Big 12 conference once
again. Starting the season at 11-4, including a loss to sub .500 UMass, some
thought that this would be a rebuilding year for the Jayhawks. But, they turned
it up a notch when conference play started, winning 12 of 13 league games. A
win Monday at 3rd ranked Oklahoma put Kansas in the drivers seat for the Big
12 title, setting up a match-up vs. 8th ranked Missouri that will most likely
decide the conference champion.

3. Mike Anderson – Missouri: In just his 3rd year at the helm in Missouri,
Coach Anderson has his team ranked 8th in the nation after taking over a program
that had a 12-16 overall record in 2005-2006. The Tigers did not receive a single
vote for the preseason top 25, but Anderson has his crew all set to battle for
the conference title this Sunday when they travel to Kansas.

4. John Calipari – Memphis: There were questions entering the season,
for sure. Losing three players to the NBA will do that, especially when it includes
the top pick in the draft (Derrick Rose), the leading scorer on the team (Chris
Douglas-Roberts) and the heart and soul leader (Joey Dorsey). But, with two
starters returning from a team that played in the National Championship game,
along with high profile freshman Tyreke Evans, the Tigers were still ranked
15th coming into this season. It looked ugly at first, starting 6-3 with a chaotic
and disorganized offense. In the 10th game of the year, Calipari moved Evans
to the point, and the Tigers have won 19 straight since, which runs the tally
up to 55 in a row in Conference USA play. The Tigers are all the way back up
to being ranked 4th in the nation and look like a team ready to make another
run at the National title.

5. Brad Stevens – Butler: This was supposed to be a down year for the
Bulldogs. They lost their two best players from a team that won 59 games in
the past 3 years and were regulars in the top 25. Picked to finish 5th in the
Horizon League, the Butler Bulldogs are once again sitting atop the league standings.
This year, Stevens top two guys are Sophomore Matt Howard (14.4 ppg) and freshman
Gordon Hayward (13.9 ppg) so don’t expect the dominance to come to a halt
anytime soon.

Games Notes:

Greivis Vasquez of Maryland put on quite the show last Saturday
when his Terps came storming back from 16 points down to beat the 3rd ranked
North Carolina Tarheels in overtime 88-85. Vasquez put up a triple-double, 35
points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, including 5 three-pointers. The Venezuluan
native became the first player to record a triple-double for Maryland since
1987… Robert Vaden of UAB is a good player, and the leader of his team.
But, his struggles were monumental on Thursday night when the Memphis Tigers
visited. Vaden was 0/17 from the field, including all of his 3-point attempts.
He is averaging 18.3 ppg, and leads the conference ni 3-pointers made. The Tigers
once again showed their dominance on the defensive end… The 7th annual
Bracket Busters gave us some competitive games once again… 22nd ranked
Butler beat Davidson 75-63 in Steph Curry’s return, where he was visible
rusty. Saint Mary’s got a quality win without their star Patty Mills,
winning 75-64 over 23rd ranked Utah State. America East’s best, Vermont
took down MAC leader Buffalo, 78-70 for their 22nd win of the year, giving the
Catamounts a chance at getting into the NCAA tournament, should they have a
slip up in the conference tournament.

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