Weekend Preview

Cue the Kenny Loggins....

For the teams on this list, they are definitely headed to the Danger Zone in terms of securing an at-large bid.  A loss this weekend just might send Maverick and Ice Man right into a mountain...

1. Louisville (at W Virginia) - Pitino has beaten Huggins 3 straight times and 8 of the last 12. 
2. Marquette (at U Conn) - Size vs speed: Marquette's perimeter game leads the Big East in 3 point percentage while U Conn leads the nation yet again in blocks per game. 
3. Richmond (Home vs St. Louis) - A must win revenge game against the Billikens who won the first match earlier this month. 
4. Illinois (Home vs Indiana) - Barely in the conversation now, a loss to the Hoosiers would be very costly.  Following the Iowa game, the schedule is about to get flatout sick:  MSU, at Wisc, Ohio St, at Purdue.
5. Alabama (at Auburn)
6. Notre Dame (at Rutgers)
7. San Diego St (at Colorado St)
8. Dayton (at St. Bonaventure)
9. Cincinnati (Home vs Providence)
10. St. Mary's (at Loyola Marymount) 

Game of the Week: Harvard (13-3) at Cornell (16-3)

Even though it's only the fourth game of the Ivy League schedule, for both teams the stakes could not be any higher.  The Ivy League is the only league that does not have a conference tournament and therefore a head to head victory will go a long ways toward securing a league title.  The two heavy favorites have combined to go 6-0 with an average margin of victory of 23 points.  Lest we forget that Cornell nearly toppled Kansas at Phogg Allen Fieldhouse while Harvard had a late rally cutting the lead to just 4 against U Conn on the road.  

Harvard is off to its best start in 99 years.  Senior guard and POY candidate Jeremy Lin was the topic of a recent SI article and with good reason.  According to the article, Lin was the only player in Division I last season to rank in the top ten of his conference in every statistical category available.  This year he's the leader of a Crimson team with aspirations for the NCAA tournament.  If all goes as planned and Cornell and Harvard continue to dominate the conference, it is possible that both could make the Big Dance.  The scenario for an unprecedented two bids from the Ivy would be for both teams to run the table and perhaps split the head to head series.  Both teams are entirely capable of doing just that.  

Important Games tonight

Rhode Island at Dayton - While both teams are obviously in the conversation for at-large bids, the chances of them both making it are very much up in the air.  For Dayton, the loss at St. Joe's on Saturday dropped the Flyers to 3-2 in conference, tied with Rhode Island for 6th place in the Atlantic 10.  Dayton needs to win this gaeme to assert its place in the Atlantic 10 hiearchy.  For Rhode Island, it's a chance for the all important road victory against a quality opponent.  The Rams missed a chance losing to Xavier on the road and outside of a trip to Temple, are running out of chances for resume builders. 
Miami at Maryland - Again a chance to put in the feather in the cap for these ACC combatants.  Maryland has been winning its fair share including a 77-68 win over Florida State.  Miami on the other hand, could really use a road win to even get in the conversation for an at-large bid. 
Tulsa at UAB - A monumental game for Tulsa who travel to conference leader UAB's home floor for the biggest game of the season.  Both teams are 5-0 and fighting for first place.  Tulsa needs this win much more than the Blazers and it will be anything but easy.  Tulsa has never won at Bartow Arena. 
Northwestern at Minnesota - Time is running out for the Gophers and Northwestern looks to build on their big win over Illinois on Saturday.  If Minnesota loses, they have NIT written all over their Gopher grills for now...

The Status Report

It's time to debut the weekly status report. Here we take a quick snapshot of all the teams that were drafted and where they stand in relation to their tournament hopes. REN's picks are in yellow while STIMPY's are green.  There are 4 categories:
1) IN the tournament - these are the top teams in the country and have earned a bid to the NCAA tournament regardless what happens in the conference tournament.
2) Must win their conference (Contenders) - These are teams that must win their conference tournament to get in the Dance. The term "contenders" refers to any team that is in first or second place in the conference standings at the time of the update.
3) Must win their conference (Longshots) - Same as #2 except these teams are not in 1st nor 2nd in their respective conferences.
4) Bubble Teams - While we don't claim to be a Bracketologist, these teams are viewed as being on the "bubble" - neither in nor out of the tournament.  They still have to prove they are worthy of being selected by the committee.  Note: if a bubble team fails to live up to its status as a team that should be considered for an at-large bid, that team is moved to category #2 or #3. 

As the season progresses and the status of teams change, the list will be updated.  All teams are subject to reclassification at any time.  .

Weekend Preview

There are 6 games with money implications for Ren and Stimpy this weekend:
Duke at Clemson - Duke is 0-3 on the road this season and Clemson looks to avenge the 21 point drubbing  they took at Cameron Indoor earlier this season.
Michigan St at Minnesota - The Gophers are 10-0 at home and played the Spartans tough in East Lansing.  However, they'll have to do it without point guard Al Nolen who has been suspended for poor academics.
Oklahoma St at Kansas St - An opportunity for a marquee win for the Pokes in Manhattan, KS as the Wildcats are coming off their mammoth victory over then #1 Texas Monday night.  Okla St. forward Marshall Moses is coming off a 20 point 18 rebound explosion in a win against Colorado.
Akron at Kent St.- After upending Buffalo, can the Golden Flashes pull off the double against MAC leader Akron at home?
Washington St at UCLA- For Wazzu the opportunity to sweep USC and UCLA is right in front of them.  The Bruins ride the momentum of their thrilling last second victory over Washington Thursday night 62-61.
Mississippi St at Alabama - Despite being on the road, the Bulldogs can ill afford a slip up against their upstart rival.  Mississippi St's beast in the middle Jarvis Varnado is 2nd in the nation in blocks at 5.3 blocks per game.
S Alabama at Denver - A few weeks ago, this looked like it would be a Sun Belt showdown between top contenders however both teams have fallen on rough times lately.  The Jaguars have lost four out of 5 while Denver is coming off two straight losses as well. 

10 more to keep an eye on... 

1) Cincinnati at Louisville - This is a pivotal game for two Big East squads who sit squarely on the bubble if not outside of it.  For Louisville, the season seems to be slipping away after a 3rd consecutive conference loss on Wednesday to Seton Hall.  The Cardinals with few marquee victories desperately need a win Saturday to avoid the NIT.  The schedule gets no easier either with a trip to Morgantown followed by U Conn at home.  The Bearcats will hope to have Lance Stephenson back for the contest who sat out the last game against S Florida with an injury.

2) South Carolina at Florida - The Gators picked up a tough victory on the road against Arkansas behind Ervin Walker's career night.  They look to build on that win against the Gamecocks and their all everything guard Devan Downey.  It's a key game for Florida who need to hold serve at home to keep their tournament hopes alive.

3) BYU at San Diego St - The Aztecs are 9-0 at home and the place will be rocking for this important showdown in the Mountain West.  SDSU has absolutely no chance at an at-large bid unless they win this game.  It won't be easy as the Cougars have won 14 straight and have lost just once all year.

4) Illinois at Northwestern - Both teams need this game desperately and Northwestern attempts to avenge an earlier season loss to the Illini that went to overtime.  In that game, Illinois 7 foot center Mike Tisdale scored 31 points with 11 boards.

5) Old Dominion at William and Mary - The Tribe were massacred by VCU earlier this week after shooting a paltry 39% from the field and 7 for 27 from beyond the arc

6) Rhode Island at Xavier - Both teams look to improve their stock.  Xavier lost a hard fought game against Temple this week but will look to rebound at home where they are undefeated.  The Rams begin a difficult 2 game roadie against Xavier followed by Dayton.  Rhode Island is the Atlantic 10s highest scoring team at almost 80pts per game.

7) Morehead St at E Kentucky - It will be interesting to see if double double machine Kenneth Faried and  the rest of the Eagles can go into Colonel country and come away with a victory.   Morehead State has quietly taken the OVC by storm with 9 straight victories.   Both teams are chasing Murray State for the conference lead who have (no pun intended) raced out to a 9-0 mark in conference play.

8) VCU at Northeastern - Another major confrontation between Colonial contenders.  VCU just walloped William and Mary and could be the team to beat with their formidable inside out duo of Larry Sanders and Joey Rodriguez taking shape.  Northeastern is red hot winning ten straight and is the second best shooting team in the conference.

9) NC State at Maryland - The Terps still have a lot to prove and will need to hold serve with winnable games at home vs NC State and Miami up this week.  The Wolfpack are coming off a huge upset of Duke in which they shot the ball extremely well.  

10) UAB at Marshall - Just because I can't recall for the life of me one year that the Thundering Herd were good at basketball.  But this is a team that fought tooth and nail for 40 minutes with mighty West Virginia of the Big East this week.

A Quick Overview

After a brief hiatus, we have a lot to catch up with in the world of college hoops so let's get right to it.

Interesting Developments

Wichita St over N Iowa - Stimpy took a significant blow to the solar plexus in the battle for the underrated Missouri Valley Conference last night as Wichita State ambushed 20th ranked N Iowa 60-51 at home.  The Shockers playing before a raucous crowd draped in Wichita yellow, led from the start and raced to a double digit lead at halftime.  N Iowa struggled all night with Wichita's perimeter defense as they shot a woeful 2 for 13 from three point range.  The Panthers still are atop the conference but Wichita's upset kept the race close.  More importantly for Wichita, the win provides more ammo to the selection committee in terms of gaining an at-large bid.  Outside of a win on the road against Texas Tech, the Shockers resume is still quite thin but this was a step in the right direction.  A rematch on Feb 3 at N Iowa looms very large for the Shockers tournament hopes.

Falls from Grace: UNC, U Conn, Purdue -  The defending champion Tar Heels look anything but a contender to repeat these days.  After back to back thrashings at the hands of Clemson and Georgia Tech., the Tarheels slipped to 1-2 in the ACC and are now behind also-rans Boston College and Virginia Tech in the ACC standings.  Roy Williams' crew just isn't getting it done especially in the backcourt where turnovers are killing this team.  The loss of forward Tyler Zeller to a foot injury further hinders a team that relies on its frontcourt strength.  As for U Conn, coach Jim Calhoun announced this week that he will be taking a medical leave of absence for the foreseeable future.  The Huskies already have lost three straight and fallen out of the top 25 for the first time this season.  They will have to find a way to balance the emotional roller coaster of losing their coach and trying to stay afloat with the Beasts of the East. Things don't get an easier for U Conn as they'll host former #1 Texas on Saturday.  As for Purdue, they righted the ship a bit last night with a win over Illinois in Champaign.  Prior to last night's victory, the Boilermakers had lost three straight and ceded control of the Big 10 to Michigan St.  Purdue's once stingy perimeter defense has taken a beating in the last three games against Wisconsin, Ohio St, and Northwestern - all resulting in losses.

Perennial powers on the bubble - A quick list of teams who are anything but guaranteed an at large bid this season.  Granted, there's a ton of hoopage to be played but these teams better pick it up if they hope to reach the Big Dance in March.

1. Louisville(draft pick #20)
   
2. Washington (draft pick #15)
   
3. Texas Tech (draft pick #21)
   
4. Cincinnati (draft pick #22)
   
5. Northwestern (draft pick #29)
   
6. Cal (draft pick #30)
   
7. Florida (draft pick #32)
   
8. Oklahoma St (draft pick #34)
   
9. Miami FL (draft pick #41)
10. Texas A and M (draft pick #36)
    Today's games 
    
    Xavier at Temple - Two of the Atlantic 10's perennial powers will square off in Philadelphia tonight in a huge game for conference supremacy.  Temple, winners of the past two conference titles boasts one of the best defenses in all of college basketball.  The Owls hold opponents to a conference best 37.5% field goal percentage.  On the other hand, Xavier is averaging over 78 points per game so something will have to give in this game.  Xavier's proficiency from long distance will be tested against the Owls who limit opponents to 26% from beyond the arc, 2nd best in the conference. 
    
    Willaim and Mary at VCU - A key matchup for William and Mary in the ultra-competitive Colonial Athletic Conference.  Along with George Mason, Old Dominion, and Northeastern, the Tribe have just one conference setback making this tough road test all the more important.  For VCU, it's a chance to gain some ground on the fabulous four mentioned above.  William and Mary won the previous meeting in December 75-74. 
    

Wake Forest at UNC - Will the Tar Heels continue to slide or can they bounce back against a formidable Demon Deacon club??


Teams that can't afford to lose games they should win at home:

1. Iowa St at Texas Tech
2. George Washington at Dayton
3. Duquesne at Rhode Island
4. South Florida at Cincinnati
5. St. John's at U Conn
6. Colorado at Oklahoma St

An Early Look at the Candidates for the Team with the Worst Record in the Draft:

Penn St 8-9 (draft pick #121)

UC Riverside 7-10 (draft pick #87)

UC Irvine 8-10 (draft pick #85)

Long Beach St 8-10 (draft pick #102)

Hofstra 9-11 (draft pick #101)

UCLA 7-10  (draft pick #119)

Davidson 8-10 (draft pick #125)

Texas Southern 8-9 (draft pick #123)

A quick reminder that the owner of the worst team of the draft takes a $5.00 penalty (in the ass)...

Wednesday Wrap

Can the Big 12 Keep it Going?

Coming into Wednesday's games, the Big 12 sported an astounding record of 115-1 in home games this season.  The gaudy record is even more impressive when you recall how many titanic battles there have been this year involving Big 12 programs.  Nearly every team in the conference had a marquee win against a quality opponent. 

• Texas - Marquee wins over Michigan St and USC
  
• Kansas - wins over Michigan, Cal, Cornell
• Texas Tech - wins over Washington, Stanford and UTEP
• Oklahoma - wins over Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma St  
• Colorado - an upset victory over 22nd ranked Baylor at home
• Baylor - wins against Xavier, Oklahoma 
• Kansas St - wins over Washington St, Xavier, Texas A & M
• Missouri  - wins over Kansas St, Oregon, Georgia 

While obviously the Big 12 boasts two of the goliaths in Texas and Kansas this year, it's clear that winning on the road for anyone in the Big 12 will be a challenge.  So on Wednesday night, with Texas on the road against upstart Iowa St, Kansas facing off with Nebraska in Lincoln, and Missou in Lubbock, something would have to give.

Texas 90 Iowa St 83

Bad news for the Big 12: freshman Avery Bradley is quickly becoming a force for the insanely deep Longhorns.  Bradley who was content to play suffocating perimeter defense, has lately gained a scorer's mentality and is becoming an expert marksman from beyond the arc.  In the last two games, he's shot 22 for 28 including a perfect 7 for 7 from three point range.  Bradley's 24 points and the consistent dominant play of double double machine Damion James (23 points 14 rebounds) were too much for the upstart Cyclones.  Iowa St led at the half 44-42 with a barrage of three pointers.  But Texas behind Bradley kept the Cyclones at bay to win a tough one in Ames, Iowa.

Missouri 94 Texas Tech 89 OT

The Tigers appeared to be cruising to a relatively easy win in Lubbock but Texas Tech rallied to force overtime by scoring 13 straight points in the final minute.  Missouri was able to regroup in time as the duo of Kim English and Marcus Denmon tallied 40 points, 16 boards, and 5 three pointers. 

Kansas was workmanlike in its victory over Nebraska as well.  Thus ended the miraculous streak for Big 12 teams at home although all 3 games were anything but a cakewalk in the rough and tumble Big 12.

Quick hitters

Clemson 83 UNC 69 - Another step backward for the Tar Heels who appear lost right now

Michigan St 60 Minnesota 53  - Spartans continue early season Big 10 dominance

Pitt 67 U Conn 57 - Pitt continues to be the surprise of the season in the Big East in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year

Virginia Tech 81 Miami 66 - Malcolm Delaney with 28 points and 9 assists

St. John's 52 Cincinnati 50 - The Bearcats are suddenly struggling and have dropped 3 straight Big East battles

Akron 67 Ohio 62 - A nice win for the Zips on the road to maintain the lead in the MAC East

Virginia 82 Georgia Tech 75 - The Cavaliers move to 2-0 in ACC play with the upset

Wisconsin 60 Northwestern 50 - Trevon Hughes 4 three pointers down the stretch were the difference in the game.

Vanderbilt 65 Alabama 64

Utah St 79 Nevada 72 OT - Despite Luke Babbitt's 26, the Aggies prevail in OT behind Jared Quayle's 21 point effort. 

What's on tap for Thursday-

Radford vs Coastal Carolina - the Chanticleers are 9-0 at home and 16-2 on the season with an unblemished 6-0 record in conference.   Still, Radford are the defending conference champs and big Artsiom Parakhouski with his 24.1 ppg and 12.9 reb per game averages will try to prove that the Highlanders are still the team to beat in the Big South.

Wright St at Wisconsin Green Bay - Both teams have identical 11-6 (4-2 in conference) records and along with Detroit are tied for 2nd in the Horizon conference behind Butler.  A win would help establish the pecking order.

Arizona St at Oregon - Which Duck team will show up -  the one that posted consecutive victories over Washington St and Washington or the one that slipped up against rival Oregon St who had lost to Seattle by 51 points?  The Sun Devils are winless on the road and will have to step up their game in Eugene.

Gonzaga at St. Mary's - the classic 1/2 rivalry in the WCC, the Gaels will look to end the Zags 10 year stranglehold on the WCC regular season title.  St. Mary's has won five straight and 13 of their last 14.  Gonzaga won all three meetings last season though.

Conference Clashes on Saturday

With 136 games on the schedule today, you probably didn't watch all of them.  Here's a quick recap.  

Georgetown 72 U Conn 69  

The Huskies led by as many as 19 points but Georgetown mounted a furious comeback behind Austin Freeman's career high 33 point scoring binge.  He had 28 points in the second half alone.  Greg Monroe added a double double with 15 and 10 boards as the Hoyas shutdown U Conn over the final minutes to prevail.  Georgetown has now won four straight in the series.  

Georgia Tech 71 Duke 68

Gani Lawal was a flying, twisting wrecking ball on Saturday and his heroics down the stretch helped the Yellowjackets upset the Dukies in a key ACC battle.  In a game that was close throughout, Lawal made several key plays en route to 21 points, including a thunderous highlight reel dunk after point guard Iman Shumpert had penetrated the lane.  He followed it up with a smooth post turnaround jumper from the right block over Mason Plumlee giving Tech a four point lead with under a minute left.  They were able to hold on despite Jon Scheyer's 25 points and 6 assists.  Duke was playing its third game of the week and appeared to be physically drained at times.  Still, it was a strong comeback for the Yellowjackets who earlier in the week lost to in state rival Georgia.

Wisconsin 73 Purdue 66

The Boilers were handed their first loss of the season in Madison as Wisconsin led for most of the game by double digits in a surprisingly easy win.  Purdue did not help their own cause with poor shooting all day including a woeful 13 for 24 from the charity stripe.  The Kohl Center continues to be one of the toughest places to play in the Big 10.  During the nine year Bo Ryan era, Wisconsin sports an ungodly record of 130-10 at home.  But Purdue was one of the few to have success winning the previous two meetings in Madison.  

Oklahoma St 81 Texas Tech 52

Gonzaga 81 Portland 78
Sam Houston St 66 Stephen F Austin 57

Totals for the day:  Stimpy 4-2 $2.00

Not So Fast! - Upset City 

• Notre Dame holds on and take a big step toward the tournament against W Virginia.  After leading by 20 at the half, the golden domers looked on their way to a stunning blowout of the Mountaineers.  But W Virginia always seems to comeback against just about everyone they play.  This time, their attempts fell just short as Da'Sean Butler's three with a few seconds left clanked off the rim.  Irish win it 70-68 and take a giant step toward tourney consideration. 
  
• Missouri 74 Kansas St 68 - A seesaw battle goes to the Tigers who forced 20 turnovers with their frenetic 40 minutes of hell defense.  Zaire Taylor hit a key three with just over 30 seconds left in the contest to seal it.  
• Colgate 68 Army 58 - The Raiders took down Army in OT and after an early nine game losing streak, have won four straight.  

Georgia Southern (4-13) beats W Carolina (12-3) 81-76.  Prior to the upset, the Catamounts only losses were to Texas and Clemson.  Perhaps beating the tar out of Berea College (a liberal arts school with an enrollment around 1,500 students) by seventy one points (!) did not adequately prepare them for their Southern Conference counterparts.     

TEABAG of the DAY goes to...

Georgia's Travis Leslie for his high flying Jackie Chan impression over Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBKyoSBEAnQ