SB Nation - Ball St. Cardinals

Wooden Champs, Again

BoilerTMill — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:13:35 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

This was probably the most challenging part of the day. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

You have to think the organizers of today's event do not want a repeat next year. The combination of just one game, a mediocre matchup, and poor weather combined for a rather dull game at Conseco Fieldhouse today. The upper balcony was curtained off like a Fever game (by comparison, I sat up there last year for the Davidson game) and a good portion of the LiveBlog talked about Chris Kramer's football ambitions or Drew Brees' MVP candidacy. Even in the postgame presser there was more buzz about the controversial Butler-Xavier ending.

I really want this event to be a good one, and so does Purdue. I know Purdue looks at it as a good opportunity to get a game in Indianapolis for its fans down here and to have a little more national exposure. I can see the other side of the coin too. What major conference team wants to come for a virtual Purdue home game (with no return guaranteed) against a pretty good team? Since Notre Dame is a bunch of pansies and won't play us there either we're left with what we have today. Don't get me wrong, Ball State is a promising young team, but you know everyone involved wants a bigger name for this event. At least we get the trophy for another year.

It was a win though. Purdue didn't look fantastic, but they were still clearly better than their opponents today. This is especially true on a day when West Virginia struggled with a major (winning by two at Cleveland State), Tennessee got pounded by USC, Georgetown lost to Old Dominion, and Florida lost to Richmond. I'll pick apart dull 20 point wins all day as opposed to the alternative.

Positives from the Ball State game:

Kevin Messenger and the Conseco Fieldhouse staff - Just a big thank you for the media access today and for hosting the event. It was first class all around.

Patrick Bade - In a game that was fairly dull bade stood out a little to me. I noticed that he was a little more confident and more aggressive in going after the ball. It wasn't a lot, but it was a step forward. Two points and two rebounds in eight rebounds may not seem like much, but it was the intangible things that matter. I asked coach Painter about this with my one question in the press conference. Here is what he had to say:

"He's doing a better job. It's a hard role to play 10 minutes and get subbed in four times. By the time you get lathered up and loose coach pulls you out. It's very difficult to get in a rhythm.I like to tell guys like that, ‘I'm not taking you out, I am putting JaJuan Johnson back in.' He's doing a great job. It's just hard to be consistent. He's not established yet while JaJuan Johnson is. Pat does a great job. He played 18 minutes against Tennessee and really laid it out there. He's staying aggressive and we need him to just run, rebound, and defend. He's going to develop into a great player for us."

That just about sums it up for Bade. He is kind of getting thrown to the wolves at the moment with no proven depth behind JJ, but that will pay dividends in the end. I was kind of hoping to see Sandi Marcius play today but he still wasn't quite ready. Until he is, Patrick is going to get some key minutes that will help in the future.In that regard, I'd rather have three options down low as opposed to two. last year's game at Michigan showed how bad that can be.

And yes, there was a big laugh when JJ was asked about playing 31 minutes without getting a single foul.

Defense - It is easy to look good when you hold your opponent to 18 points in the first half. Purdue allowed one 3-point attempt on the day and forced 19 turnovers. There wasn't anything overly special, either. It is nice to have a pedestrian effort yield these results. It also becomes very easy to win if you hold a team under 50.

Robbie Hummel - Again, this was a rather pedestrian effort and he gave us 19 and 9. If you look solely at the box score you'll see exactly what this game was. It was a statistical domination in which our three big guns did most of the heavy listing. It fits in almost exactly with the season averages through ten games.

Jarrod Jones - It is not often that I compliment players on the opposing team, but Jones is an impressive young player. If Ball State has a successful season in MAC play he will have a large role in that success.

The crowd - It was a smaller crowd than last year, but Purdue did a very good job of trying to fill the lower two levels of the Fieldhouse. It got a little loud in some moments (notably Keaton Grant's breakaway dunk), but otherwise Purdue fans simply enjoy a workmanlike win. There wasn't a whole lot to get overly excited about, but there was a bigger crowd than I expected at least.

The Walk-on WhiteOut - Credit to reader dbaltman for the term. This is like seeing Mariano Rivera in the ninth. When they come in, you know it is over. You can also tell Matt Painter has total control of this team. He said no shots in the final minute and he meant it. I wouldn't have the same discipline in such a small amount of playing time.

Negatives from the Ball State game:

D.J. Byrd - He had just come off of maybe his finest game and followed it up with a pretty bad one. His final line: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 5 fouls, 15 minutes. There will be better days ahead. Kelsey Barlow also fouled out, but he had a nice moment where he attacked the basket for a layup.

3-point shooting - Let's save the 4 for 23 performances from long range for these types of games, okay?

Maintaining composure - Things got a little chippy at times with some hard fouls, but our guys kept their heads. Major positive there. Nothing escalated to shenanigans.

Up Next:

I think we can expect more of the same Tuesday against SIU-Edwardsville. It is yet another game in which we should not be challenged at all. I think you'll see more minutes from the freshmen and maybe even some time from Marcius as this will be the last game before the conference opener.

Another thing that coach Painter said in the presser was that he could only control what Purdue does. Someone brought up the Colin Cowherd statement about how Purdue wasn't a championship team because we don't have a great player. The guy kept baiting coach Painter too. I loved Matt's response:

"I can only control my schedule and what Purdue does. I think we have some great players. Robbie Hummel is a great player. JaJuan Johnson is a great player. These are guys anyone in the country would want. It is hard to judge where these teams are when everyone has still played so few games. I watched Kansas today and that is a very good team, but I would love to have a chance to match up with some of those great teams in March."

Very well said. We can only play who is put in front of us. Each game is about playing that game and that game alone. You play it, you get better, and you move on to the next one. Worrying about how good West Virginia is best left to the fans because the players are more concerned right now with SIU-Edwardsville. After that, it is a key conference opener at Iowa. By my count we have between 21 and 24 games (depending on the Big Ten Tournament) before we can even do anything about getting to the Final Four. Those games matter in regards to our seeding, but other than that they don't effect how we will play when we get there.

As long as we keep focused only on what is in front of us everything will take care of itself. You can win a lot of ballgames when you do that. That is how you beat teams like Ball State by 20 points with probably a C effort. Look at West Virginia today. Their C effort barely got a win at Cleveland State. Others weren't so lucky. This is why I choose to ignore the people that keep trying to tear us down. I know as long as we keep winning, it will speak for itself. In that regard, we still have a lot of talking to do.

The State of the Balls

BoilerTMill — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:15:52 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

How will the balls hang with us?(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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I have a lot of respect for Purdue when it comes to facing the Cardinals. They were not afraid to go to Muncie last season and play on Ball State's home floor. This year's game was supposed to be the third game in a two-for-one deal, but the Cardinals agreed to move the game to Conseco as part of the Wooden Tradition when the organizers could not find an opponent for us.

Some might remember this summer that I campaigned, and even posted an e-mail address for the organizers, to have Notre Dame be our opponent. Since the organizers would do the scheduling and not the schools I saw it as the perfect opportunity to renew a long dormant series. The Boiled Sports guys and I took this a step further in last night's podcast by talking about a dream scenario where Indiana, Purdue, Butler, and Notre Dame would be the four teams every season. They would rotate playing each other, with Indiana and Purdue only playing in years where the Big Ten was too stupid to have us play twice in conference play. This makes too much sense, so it would never happen because the schools wouldn't agree to it. This is especially true with the national brand Notre Dame is developing. Why lose to a quality program like Purdue or Butler when you can develop a national brand by losing to Loyola Marymount.

I'll step down off my soapbox though. We get Ball State this year and I am sure the Cardinals will appreciate the national boost they get for playing in a name event like this. I'll be running a CoverItLive from Conseco thanks to the very good people on the media relations staff at the Fieldhouse, so let's see what we are up against:

2008-09 record: 14-17 (Lost to Buffalo in MAC Tournament 2^nd round)

2009-10 record: 3-4, 0-0 MAC

Blog representation: Over the Pylon (Primarily football)

Series with Purdue: Purdue leads 7-2

Last Purdue win: 68-39 at Ball State on 12/9/08

Last Ball State win: 72-52 at Conseco Fieldhouse on 12/18/99 (Purdue was ranked #24 at game time.)

Common Opponents: Valparaiso (W 88-78), SIU-Edwardsville (W 57-47), Central Michigan (January 17, February 13), Buffalo (January 28).

Ball State is a team that I have always felt should be better than it is. They haven't made the NCAA's since 2000, but their biggest claim to fame was losing 69-67 to a nearly unstoppable UNLV team in the 1990 Sweet 16. That UNLV team won three tournament games by 30 points, but barely survived the 12^th seeded Cardinals. Ball State had already upset Oregon State and Louisville. Had Ball State won, you would have seen the lowest seeded regional final in NCAA Tournament history against 11-seed Loyola Marymount (the famous Bo Kimble led team).

The Cardinals haven't had much national success since then. They made some noise in 2001 by upsetting UCLA and Kansas before falling to Duke in the Maui Invitational, but they were unable to sustain those wins into an NCAA bid. A nasty textbook scandal essentially gutted the team before the 2007-08 season and they are still recovering. They have gotten better each season though. They finished 6-24 with very few scholarship players in 2008. They improved to 14-17 last year, and could be in line to compete in a wide-open MAC this season. So far they have lost to Temple and Butler, while dropping close games to UC Davis and Tennessee Tech. They did grab a nice road win at Indiana State on December 9^th.

Where Ball State will struggle Saturday is the fact they are not a high scoring team. They average less than 63 points per game, which is not enough to beat us. This is without facing our defense, which is among the best in the country. 6'9" sophomore forward Jarrod Jones is a very promising young player from Michigan City, IN. he leads the Cardinals in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounds (6.6 rpg). He is strictly a post player who shoots better than 50% from the field. 6'2" freshman guard Jauwan Scaife is second on the team in scoring at 11.4ppg. This is a kid that was a key cog for nearby Muncie Central High for four seasons. As a freshman in high school he played against the great Oden and Conley Lawrence North team in the state championship game. The Bearcats were merely a speedbump against possibly the greatest team in Indiana High School history, but Scaife did play against pretty good competition all four years.

Scaife is an accomplished 3-point shooter. He leads the team in made triples, hitting 12 of 27 on the young season. He can also create his own shot and is good at getting to the foul line, hitting 88% from there. 6'4" junior Malik Perry is a reliable third option averaging 8.9 points per game. 5'11" sophomore guard Randy Davis from Plymouth, IN was a great scorer in high school, but he has become a distributor for the Cardinals. He averages 7 points and almost 4 assists per game. Davis is your stereotypical Indiana white boy that can simply shoot the basketball with great accuracy. After being held scoreless against Butler he has been in double figures each of the last two games. Most of his damage has come at the free throw line, where he is 29 of 37.

Ball State is not an overly deep team, and that lack of depth will hurt them in a game like this. Thanks to our freshmen and the emergence of Mark Wohlford we can legitimately play 10 players. That number, like Spinal Tap, goes up to 11 if Sandi Marcius makes his season debut on Saturday. Aside from Jone they don't have much size, either. Terrence Watson (6.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Brawley Chisholm (5.9ppg), Pierre Sneed (3ppg), and Mo Hubbard (0.9ppg) round out the eight man rotation. As you can see, however, Hubbard and Sneed are hardly scoring threats.

Ball State shares the ball fairly well with 11 team assists per game, but they do not rebound well. That is to be expected with their overall lack of size. Only Watson and Jones are serious rebounding threats. If we neutralize them on the glass we should have an easy day. I am very much encouraged by the way we crashed the offensive glass against Alabama. That was a very underrated, but incredibly important part of our comeback.

Ball State is a pretty good 3-point shooting team, hitting a little more than a third of their long range attempts. They only shoot 43% from the field overall.

While Ball State is an improving team, the recipe for an upset just isn't there. They lack a go-to scorer that can take over a game (like Brandon Wood for Valparaiso or Aminu for Wake Forest). They don't shoot well from the field and they don't rebound well. Turnovers are an issue at 15 per game against much worse competition. In truth, we should only be worried if they start bombing away from 3-point land and that opens up the low post for Jones. If he can operate and get JaJuan Johnson in foul trouble (our Achilles heel) they might have a chance. It is still not a good one.

Keys to the game for Purdue:

Defend the three-pointer
Clamp down on Jones inside
Keep Davis off the foul line
Play Purdue-style basketball

Purdue 72, Ball State 52

Non-Conference Opponents Update #2

BoilerTMill — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:36:23 -0000

More photos » by David Smith - AP

We should still be undefeated when West Virginia comes to Mackey Arena.(AP Photo/David Smith)

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With most of the country plugging away through finals there isn't a huge update this week. Only a handful of schools are even playing games. Games like last night's 60+ point drubbing that Texas handed out to Texas-Pan American hardly qualify as games anyway. There is not a top 25 matchup until this weekend, but there are some big ones that could allow Purdue to move up. In the meantime, here is what all of our non-conference opponents have been up to since our last update.

Overall out schedule looks much tougher on paper than it did last year. That will only help with seeding. Yes wins over Tennessee and Wake Forest (as opposed to losses to Oklahoma and Duke) look better, but we're getting small boosts from out other opponents as well. Remember, Eastern Michigan, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Detroit were among the worst teams in Division 1 last year. South Dakota State and SIU-Edwardsville may be our worst opponents, but they are better than them. Every little bit helps.

Cal State Northridge (4-5, 0-0 Big West) - The Matadors have only played once since last Monday's update, and that was an 89-82 loss at Denver. They do have their first home game in two weeks tonight when they host Drexel. Tuesday they have a chance for a major conference win when they travel to Colorado.

South Dakota State (4-7, 1-1 Summit) - SDSU has been busy since last Monday. They grabbed a non-division 1 win over Southwest State (Minnesota) before dropping games at Nevada and at home against Cal Poly. This is a program that is still going through some growing pains with the move up to Division 1. Keep your eyes peeled next Wednesday night when they have a very interesting game in the Barn against Minnesota.

St. Joseph's (3-6, 0-0 Atlantic 10) - The Hawks continue to be in freefall after the 3-0 start. Losses to Villanova and at Minnesota were brutal. St. Joseph's played no defense at all in giving up 97 points to both teams. The 97-89 loss to Villanova was in a tough Big 5 game and would have been a nice comparison to see how well we matched up with the Wildcats. The Hawks are off until Sunday when they face Lehigh.

Tennessee (8-1, 0-0 SEC) - We continue to be the only blemish on the Volunteers' record. Tennessee notched a neutral court win over Middle Tennessee State in Nashville over the weekend then outlasted a pesky Wyoming team last night. The Cowboys trailed by one at the half before Tennessee pulled away for a 19 point win. The Volunteers will continue an impressive non-conference schedule Saturday when they visit USC in Los Angeles.

Central Michigan (4-5, 0-0 MAC) - Somehow, this didn't make it into Defend That, Digger, but the Chips grabbed a win over a Big East team this weekend. They completed the trip by winning 59-56 at South Florida on Sunday. Digger would argue that the Bulls aren't really in the Big East since they are at the bottom, but screw him. This is a step forward for the Chippewas as they look to improve greatly in MAC play. Their next game is Saturday at fellow opponent South Dakota State.

Wake Forest (6-2, 0-0 ACC) - Wake has had just one game since the last update, but it was an easy 90-50 win over Elon College. They head out on the road tonight by going to a dangerous UNC-Wilmington team that has already upset Penn State this year. The Seahawks will certainly be motivated to face an ACC foe in their gym. Credit to the Demon Deacons for not being afraid to play there, either.

Buffalo (5-3, 0-0 MAC) - The Bulls have won their last two games in a pair of regional rivalry contests. They knocked off Niagara 86-80 on the road before beating non-D1 Buffalo State 93-65. They don't play again until Tuesday, when they face an enigmatic Wisconsin-Green Bay team that has upset Wisconsin, but got drilled by Oakland. That game is at Green Bay.

Valparaiso (4-5, 0-1 Horizon) - The Crusaders snapped a two game losing streak by thrashing Toledo at home 81-49 on Saturday. They have a non-Division 1 game against Concordia (Wisconsin) this Saturday night before trips to IPFW and Akron.

Alabama (6-3, 0-0 SEC) - The Crimson Tide should be able to recover tonight with a relatively easy home game against Samford. I still think this is an NCAA caliber team. None of the three losses are horrible (Cornell is a very good team) and they can rack up a lot of wins in SEC play. The Michigan and Baylor wins have the potential for plenty of mileage as well. They also get another shot at a ranked team Saturday when they host a very hot Kansas State team.

Ball State (3-4, 0-0 MAC) - The Cardinals have split a pair of games since we saw them last. They got some in-state bragging rights with a 68-63 win at Indiana State, but they dropped a game at Tennessee Tech 86-81 in overtime. Remember, this team is still coming out from under a pretty hefty scandal a few years ago. I'll have more on them later this week as we get ready to face them at Conseco. As an added note, I have been approved for a press pass for the Wooden Tradition, so I will likely be running a CoverItLive from inside Conseco on Saturday.

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (2-8) - The Cougars continue to struggle with their provisional division status. They recently lost a pair of games in the Nashville area to Middle Tennessee State and Lipscomb. They are playing a lot of road game for paychecks this season as a division one independent. They have 15 road games scheduled. Most of their home games are against fellow independent teams.

West Virginia (7-0, 0-0 Big East) - West Virginia grabbed a pair of relatively easy wins over Duquesne and Coppin State to stay undefeated. Each win was by at least 26 points. They face a potentially tricky road game at Cleveland State this weekend, but they have only really been tested by Texas A&M in the 76 Classic so far. Before coming to Purdue they do have a tricky slate of Mississippi, Seton Hall, and Marquette.

Defend That, Digger! Week 1 (and a non-conference update)

BoilerTMill — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:55:49 -0000

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

Big East basketball fever: Where offensive ineptitude happens. The 22 combined points were the fewest in a first half of a Division I game since the shot clock era began in 1985, when there was a 45-second clock, rather than the 35-second clock adopted in 1993. The teams broke the previous record held by Mississippi (15 points) and South Carolina (13 points), which combined for 28 points on Jan. 8, 2003. South Carolina ended up winning that game 55-49, but Pittsburgh won this one, 47-32. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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As promised, it is the premier of what will hopefully be a pretty regular weekly feature. Defend That, Digger is meant to make fun of our Big East and ACC brethren, showing them that defense is not a bad thing and that they aren't exactly the greatest teams in the country because the Worldwide Leader in Hyperbole says they are. Here is this week's exhibit A:

Pittsburgh 47, New Hampshire 32 - I thought the Big East was all about offense? Don't they have so much talent they can score 100 on anyone in the country? Pittsburgh was a #1 seed in last season's tournament (one of three from the all-powerful Big East). Now they are struggling against the Wildcats of New Hampshire. New Hampshire is one of the oldest teams in college basketball, yet they have never made an NCAA or NIT Tournament. In this game they scored just seven points in the first half, yet trailed by eight.

That's right, the halftime score was 15-7.

No, this was not football.

I know Pittsburgh is racked with injuries, but 15-7? From a former number one seed? Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit B:

Connecticut - The Huskies get called not for one game, but four. They have struggled with the NCAA powers Harvard (79-73) Hofstra (76-67), and William & Mary (75-66) this year. That is sure going to prepare them for the grueling Big East schedule. They are also currently ranked 13^th, though something tells me when they play real teams that won't last long. Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit C:

William & Mary 78, Wake Forest 68 - This is the second appearance by the Tribe on here, so they might be a legitimately good team. Still, there is absolutely no excuse for Wake Forest, who was #1 at one point last season, to trail by double digits for most of a game at home against William & Mary. Wake is a legitimately good team. I have seen them in person now. But there is no defense for this. Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit D:

Illinois 76, Clemson 74 - A prime example here. Illinois used, imagine this, solid second half defense to overcome a 23 point deficit and give the Big Ten the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Oh, and they did it on the road in an imposing ACC gym. There is no excuse for ever blowing a 23 point second half lead at home. Ever. Clemson, you are a pretend ACC program. You always will be. Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit E:

UNC-Charlotte 87, Louisville 65 - The Big East's third number one seed from last season lost by 22 at home. This isn't UNC. This is UNC-Charlotte, a State-City school that while decent, should never beat a #16 team on its home floor by 22 points. Maybe Rick Pitino should watch some game film of the 49ers instead of boinking Louisville-area waitresses. At least he gets a slight discount at Applebee's. Defend That, Digger!

Exhibit F:

Notre Dame - Because playing a "National Schedule" of North Florida, St. Francis (PA), Long Beach State, Liberty, Kennesaw State, Idaho State, and Central Florida is much better than developing "tradition" and "natural rivalries." I though the Irish valued tradition. Defend That, Digger!

The comments are now open for Big East and ACC bashing

Enough laughing at the greatest conferences in the world. Let's see what our own non-conference opponents are doing to help our resumes.

Cal State Northridge (4-4) - The Matadors have played quite a vagabond schedule as a low-major. They have played just twice in their home gym so far, but are a respectable 4-4. Among their wins is a 95-93 win over Idaho. The Vandals responded by crushing Portland by 20 (the same Portland that made a big run in the '76 classic over UCLA and Minnesota). Northridge's most recent game was a respectable 8-point loss at Washington.

South Dakota State (3-5, 1-1 Summit) - The Jackrabbits have already begun conference play with a 1-1 record. The beat Western Illinois, but lost by 22 at conference leader IUPUI. The Western Illinois win was their first since before heading to the Virgin Islands.

St. Joseph's (3-4) - Since starting the year 3-0 and upsetting Boston College in the Paradise Jam the Hawks haven't done much. They followed up their loss to us with a loss to DePaul. They then dropped consecutive road contests to Rider and Cornell by a combined 20 points. They could do us a big favor in their next game by upsetting #3 Villanova Wednesday night.

Tennessee (6-1) - The Volunteers are maintaining their ranking, but they haven't played anyone. College of Charleston and East Tennessee State are their latest victims, but us and maybe DePaul remain their only true competition.

Central Michigan (3-5) - The Chips had a dominant 78-40 win at home against Chicago State, but lost 75-62 at Illinois State this weekend. Expect the losses to pile up. They don't play at home against until January 13^th against Ball State.

Wake Forest (5-2) - I thought the losses would pile up a bit after the underwhelming performance against William & Mary, but Wake followed up their loss to us with a very nice 77-75 win at Gonzaga. Going cross-country like that is not an easy trip. Beating the Bulldogs in their house is even tougher. They have interesting non-conference games coming up against Xavier and a tough Richmond squad.

Buffalo (3-3) - We all know what happened in their last game. They get a regional rivalry this week against a tough low-major in Niagara. Sadly, that may be the best team they have left on the schedule.

Valparaiso (3-5, 0-1 Horizon) - Valparaiso may have played the toughest schedule in the country lately. We're the fourth preseason top 10 team they will play. Their only Division 1 win was over Georgia Southern, but they played North Carolina to an 11 point game. They also lost to Michigan State by 30 and Butler by 17. Watch out for Kokomo Wildkat Brandon Wood, who averages 22 per game and had 30 against North Carolina.

Alabama (6-2) - This is shaping up to be an interesting game. The Crimson Tide dropped its opener to Cornell (who also beat St. Joseph's). They also lost a neutral site game to a decent Florida State team. Their best win? 68-66 over Michigan. Stay tuned for more this week on them and Valpo with appropriate previews this week.

Ball State (2-3) - The Cardinals haven't played in a week, but have lost three straight to Butler, UC Davis, and Temple. They do have wins over common opponents Valparaiso and SIU-Edwardsville.

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (2-6) - The Cougars have played the vagabond schedule of an independent, but they won two in a row over Drake and Texas-Arlington after an 0-6 start. This is easily the weakest team on our schedule. They opened the year with a 96-69 loss at Illinois.

West Virginia (5-0) - The Mountaineers are ranked just behind us in the AP poll. They won the '76 Classic against an impressive field (though Texas A&M was their toughest game). Like us, they open conference play with a home game (Marquette) before our New Year's Day game. A very interesting trip to a dangerous Cleveland State on December 19^th could stand between them and an unbeaten record when they face us.

BtB 2009-10 Mid-American Conference Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:00:31 -0000

The MAC went through the entire decade of the '00s without earning a single at-large, something they managed to do three times in the 1990s, including the last two years of the decade. The last three seasons pretty much summed up the variety of reasons why.

Last season, the Eastern Division dominated the West. Ohio University ended up as only team in the East that finished with a losing conference record, and their 7-9 mark would have earned them a tie of the Western Division crown. In fact, no team in the West managed to finish with a winning record overall. No MAC team lost fewer than 12 games. Keith Dambrot's Akron Zips managed to earn their first tournament bid, and got a 13 seed and 13-point loss to Gonzaga for their trouble.

In 2007-08, the conference was more balanced between divisions, but Kent State managed to leap way above the rest of the pack. The Golden Flashes won 28 games, claiming victories over St. Mary's, Illinois State, and George Mason, and ended up as a 9 seed in the NCAAs. Had they fallen in the MAC tournament, the league could have very well had two bids. But, in their conference's hour of need, they claimed the title.

In 2006-07, Akron jumped out to 26 wins, but a lack of big wins and a second-place finish to Toledo in the overall MAC race meant they had no chance to get an at-large when Miami knocked them out in the tournament final.

So, the conference needs to hope for more than one dominant team, who can earn some non-conference wins, all while limiting the damage they suffer in the league. Got it? Good. You can read more on the 12 teams who will make up this year's MAC scrum after the jump.

Here's a look at last season's MAC standings.

Mid-American Conference Standings

(updated 3.19.2009 at 10:20 PM EDT)

East	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Buffalo Bulls	11	5	21	12
Bowling Green Falcons	11	5	19	14
Akron Zips	10	6	23	13
Kent St. Golden Flashes	10	6	19	15
Miami (Ohio) RedHawks	10	6	17	13
Ohio Bobcats	7	9	15	17

West	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Ball St. Cardinals	7	9	14	17
Central Michigan Chippewas	7	9	12	19
Western Michigan Broncos	7	9	10	21
Eastern Michigan Eagles	6	10	8	24
Northern Illinois Huskies	5	11	10	20
Toledo Rockets	5	11	7	25

Now, here are my picks for 2009-10, presented in reverse order, starting with the West Division.

West Division

Toledo (last NCAA: 1980) Gene Cross will look for his Rockets to improve on the seven wins they earned in his first season at the helm, but thanks to the loss of three starters, including leading scorers Tyrone Kent and Jonathan Amos, things will get worse in Toledo before they get better. 6-9 junior F/C Justin Anyijong (9.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg) is the only impact returnee, and the eight freshmen Cross brought in this season will get plenty of experience. The schedule doesn't help the Rockets much, as they'll play at Michigan State as part of the Legends Classic, with a visit to Philadelphia to face Cornell, Drexel, and Vermont in one of that event's "subregionals" to follow. Toledo also pays Cincinnati a visit, while hosting Alabama.

Western Michigan (last NCAA: 2004) Steve Hawkins' team was atypically non-competitive last season, and they'll struggle to get back to relevance this season thanks to the loss of three starters from last year's 10-win outfit. If there is hope in Kalamazoo, it's because guard David Kool, the team's leading scorer (17.9 ppg), is back for his senior season. 6-7 Flenard Whitfield, a forward who averaged 5.5 points and a little more than 4 boards a game, is back, as is reserve center Donald Lawson, a senior who may have to up his minutes and production after scoring more than 5 points and grabbing 5.5 boards a game off the bench last year. 6-10 F/C Shayne Whittington, 6-4 swingman Brandon Pokley, and 6-2 PG Austin Harper will see immediate action as newcomers. The Broncos schedule features a trip to Hawai'i for the Christmas Diamond Head Classic, where they'll open with USC. They visit Illinois and play host Temple, VCU, and Holy Cross.

Ball State (last NCAA: 2000) Billy Taylor's Cardinals will struggle to repeat their accomplishment of tying for last year's West Division title with a 7-9 record thanks to the loss of three starters, F Anthony Newell, and the starting backcourt of Brandon Lampley and Laron Frazier. 6-9 sophomore F Jarrod Jones, who made his presence known during his freshman season by averaging more than 11 points and 7 boards a game, should be even better this season. He'll have to be as there isn't much else coming back. The Cardinals travel down to Indy to take on Purdue at the Wooden Classic, plus Butler makes the trip to Muncie.

Northern Illinois (last NCAA: 1996) Ricardo Patton's squad could make a move up in his third season in charge in DeKalb. The Huskies have four starters back. 6-2 senior Darion Anderson (16.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and 5-11 sophomore PG Mike DiNunno (11.9 ppg, 2.6 apg) form a solid backcourt, while 6-11 junior Sean Kowal (9.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg) is the anchor of the frontcourt. If the supporting cast, especially the players surrounding Kowal at the forward positions, can increase their impact, the Huskies should challenge for the division. They'll be ready for the MAC slate thanks to a non-conference schedule that features visits to Illinois, Minnesota, Northern Iowa, and Northwestern, along with home games against Temple and Bradley.

Eastern Michigan (last NCAA: 1998) The Eagles finished a game back of the MAC West lead last year, and could be ready to make a big jump in the standings thanks to the return of four starters and the return of PG Carlos Medlock, who averaged almost 15 points and more than 4 assists in 2007-08, from a broken foot. A frontcourt led by double figure scorers Brandon Bowdry (14.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Justin Dobbins (10 ppg, 5 rpg) will be bolstered by the addition of 6-6 JC transfer Jay Higgins. EMU will participate in a round-robin tournament at Missouri State this season, which also features Maryland-Eastern Shore and the Citadel.

Central Michigan (last NCAA: 2003) Ernie Zeigler's Chippewas have a solid core, featuring three returning startes who can score--6-8 F Chris Kellerman (14.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg), 6-3 SG Jordan Baker (12.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg), and 6-1 PG Robbie Harman (11.4 ppg, 3 apg). The biggest lost is inside, where the Chips will miss 6-7 Marcus Van's scoring (13 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg). 6-11 senior Brandon Ford (1.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg) and 6-7 freshman William McClure will try to make up Van's interior production. Zeigler will need his freshmen to contribute immediately in supporting roles, as there aren't a lot of experienced returnees on the bench. The Chippewas' non-conference slate is road-heavy, as they visit Illinois State, Purdue, USF, and Wright State.

East Division

Ohio (last NCAA: 2005) The Bobcats were the only team in the East to post a losing record last season, and with three starters from that team gone, John Groce's team is likely to be worse this time around. Two key pieces of the backcourt, Steven Coleman and Tommy Freeman--two players who averaged a combined 17+ points a game, are back, as are a couple of forwards who will have to play bigger roles this season, 6-7 junior DeVaughn Washington (6.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and 6-10 Dutch senior C Kenneth van Kempen (3.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg). They'll get plenty of help from 6-8 freshman Ivo Baltic, while 5-11 freshman D.J. Cooper should replace Michael Allen at the point. Middle Tennessee, North Carolina A&T, and Lamar will visit Athens for a tournament, while Illinois State also visits the Convo this season.

Bowling Green (last NCAA: 1968) Louis Orr's squad won 19 last season, dropping a 73-71 decision to Creighton in the NIT to close out the year. But like so many other MAC teams, the Falcons will struggle to replicate last season's record thanks to personnel losses. Orr's top three scorers from a year ago are all gone, with starting PG Joe Jakubowski (7.7 ppg, 3.5 apg), C Otis Polk (6.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg), and reserve F Erik Marshall (5 ppg, 3.6 rpg) the most experienced remaining players. Bowling Green's guard-heavy freshman class will see a lot of action during a schedule that starts with road trips to Xavier and Iowa.

Miami (Ohio) (last NCAA: 2007) The Redhawks lost three starters from last season's squad, most significantly leading scorer Michael Bramos and interior force Tyler Dierker, but Charlie Coles gets point guard Kenny Hayes back healthy after he got hurt last December. He averaged almost 14 points and 4 assists in his eight appearances last year. 6-4 junior swingman Antonio Ballard, who averaged almost 7 points and 5+ boards a game last season should step in for Ramos, while 6-8 senior Adam Fletcher (4.6 ppg, 4 rpg) will see more minutes in Dierker's absence. Miami visits Cincinnati, Kentucky, and New Mexico (for a round-robin event), while they host Dayton and Temple.

Kent State (last NCAA: 2008) Geno Ford will look to improve on last year's 19 wins without the services of leading scorer Al Fisher, a 6-1 guard who averaged more than 15 points a game. Replacing Fisher's production will be key and three key seniors--G Chris Singletary (12.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg), 6th man Tyree Evans (11.7 ppg), and F Anthony Simpson (6.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg)--should be able to up their games. Defensive specialist Rodriquez Sherman also returns after missing all of last season to provide another boost to the backcourt, while 6-10 Brandon Parks (5.9 ppg, 4.7rpg) will team with Simpson inside. The Golden Flashes will welcome UAB, Green Bay, and Samford to this season's Hispanic College Fund Classic and visit former coach Stan Heath's USF squad, Xavier, and Pittsburgh.

Buffalo (last NCAA: None) Reggie Witherspoon's Bulls should contend again thanks to four returning starters, led by 6-2 senior G Rodney Pierce (14.3 ppg) and 6-3 senior swingman Calvin Betts (9.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg). 6-7 Max Boudreau, Buffalo's key reserve who averaged more than 6 points and 3 boards a game, should see more action this year. Pierce will get some more scoring help in the backcourt thanks to Northern Arizona transfer Zach Filzen, who shot 41 percent from 3 while in Flagstaff and 6-2 freshman Tony Watson, who averaged in double-figures in points and assists during his senior year of high school. The Bulls visit Purdue, Niagara, and Navy, host Army, and participate in UCF's Holiday tournament this season.

Akron (last NCAA: 2009) Keith Dambrot lost 6-8 F Nate Linhart (10.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg) off the first Zip team to make the NCAAs, but pretty much everyone else is back. That means Akron is still the team to beat. 6-7 senior F Chris McKnight will anchor the frontcourt, while his brother Brett, who averaged more than 11 points and almost 4 boards a game last season as the team's 6th man, should see a lot more time with Linhart's departure. 6-8 sophomore Nikola Cvetinovic will be pushed by 7-footer Zeke Marshall, a freshman from Pennsylvania, for minutes at the post. The backcourt remains solid thanks to the presence of sophomore PG Humpty Hitchens (8.8 ppg, 2,2 apg), off guard Darryl Roberts (8.3 ppg), and a solid reserve PG, Steve McNees (5.8 ppg, 1.9 apg). The Zips will participate in the Glenn Wilkes Classic before Thanksgiving, hosting Austin Peay and facing Drake, Howard, and NC State in Daytona Beach.

I'm picking the Zips to repeat and take the overall conference crown, so they'll hold the MAC's auto bid in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9. I don't see the MAC heading back to the late '90s, when they occasionally were a multi-bid league, but you never know what will happen as the season progresses.

To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-MAC team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-MAC Team

Player of the Year: Brett McKnight, 6-6 F, Jr. (Akron)

Remainder of the Team
Darion Anderson, 6-2 G, Jr. (Northern Illinois)
Brandon Bowdry, 6-6 F, Jr. (Eastern Michigan)
David Kool, 6-3 G, Sr. (Western Michigan)
Rodney Pierce, 6-2 G, Sr. (Buffalo)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the MAC this season?

Akron

3 votes

Ball State

0 votes

Bowling Green

2 votes

Buffalo

2 votes

Central Michigan

0 votes

Eastern Michigan

0 votes

Kent State

0 votes

Miami (Ohio)

0 votes

Northern Illinois

3 votes

Ohio

0 votes

Toledo

0 votes

Western Michigan

1 votes

11 votes | Poll has closed

Basketball 2009-10: The Schedule

BoilerTMill — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:39:31 -0000

This is why I love blogging.

When I was watching the World Series the other night, Fox interviewed Cliff Lee after his masterful game one performance. They asked him about what the Phillies thought because, though they were the defending champs, many people were already giving this series to the Yankees. Lee went on to say the usual bland answer of, "Well, we believe in ourselves as a team and blah, blah, blah..." This quote would have impressed me more:

"The last time I checked, we're the defending champs and we're not letting go until you pry it from our cold, dead hands."

The reason I love blogging is that I can say things like that. I know last year at one time I ripped Purdue's women's team for losing to Valparaiso. There was none of this," well Valapariso is a good team and yada, yada, yada..." No. We had no business losing to a team like that and it needed to be said.

That is why I am going to have some fun with this entry. When it comes to the individual team previews close to game time I will return to my fair and balanced statistical analysis. This time, however, it is time for the third and final installment of the overall basketball season preview: a look at the schedule with wins and losses predicted. Remember, these are off the cuff, first impression predictions.

Our Time is Now

11/13 vs. Call State Northridge - W - This is the first of the, "there is no excuse to lose this one" games. The Matadors were an NCAA tournament team a year ago. They lost virtually all of their scoring from a 15 seed. We're playing at home, tipping off the most anticipated basketball season in decades. If we're truly the #7 team in the country that equates to being a 2 seed. Therefore, we need to do what 2 seeds do to 15's.

11/20 vs. South Dakota State (U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam) - W - Another game that should be a win no matter what. The Jackrabbits are a lower tier Summit League team. Those teams do not win games against the top 10. It has the potential to be the biggest blowout of the year.

11/22 vs. Boston College or St. Joseph's (U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam) - W,W - Assuming we play the Eagles in game two of the tournament it will be our first true test of the season. They were our best non-conference victory last year in a 7-point victory that came at Madison Square Garden. They are now a year older and more experienced too. They have enough talent that this is not a mortal lock for a victory on a neutral floor. St. Joseph's was 17-15 last year, but did not get invited to any postseason tournament. That is saying something when Oregon State was 13-17, yet was invited to (and won) the College Basketball Invitational. Expect a tight game here against a pretty good Boston College team.

11/23 vs. DePaul, Northern Iowa, East Carolina, or Tennessee (U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam) - W, W, W, W - Of these four teams I think first Tennessee, then Northern Iowa is likely to meet us in the final. I think both will win their first round games, meaning we would have to lose to SDSU to play DePaul or East Carolina. That won't happen. Northern Iowa fought us hard in the first round of last year's NCAA's, but their two best players in Adam Koch and Jordan Eglseder are gone. Tennessee is probably the favorite to make it to the final, and playing them will be easier than Boston College. Sorry SEC, but you suck at basketball unless you are Kentucky (historically) or Florida (more recently). Both of those programs were down last year. I think I would fear the Tennessee women's program more. And yes, I know they are ranked 11^th. I don't care.

We're supposed to take this seriously? Would Matt Painter ever do this?

11/28 vs. Central Michigan - W - A 12-19 MAC has no chance of beating us in Mackey Arena unless we are bored or disinterested. Maybe Dan LeFevour will play and make it a game.

12/1 vs. Wake Forest - W - This is another test against a solid ACC team. Wake is always dangerous in the first half of the season, so we had best be careful. They usually don't fall apart until midway through the ACC season. I give you last year as an example. They started 16-0 and were ranked number one. They lost to Virginia Tech at home, dropped four of their following eight games, then got drilled in round one by... Cleveland State. I know the Vikings are a good team, but that was embarrassing for all major conference basketball teams.

12/5 vs. Buffalo - W - Though this kind of is our Wooden opponent since we moved Ball State to the game at Conseco, the Bulls are a better team. They were 21-12 last year and won the MAC regular season title. We still should win, but it will be closer than people think.

12/9 vs. Valparaiso - W - Mmmmmm, cupcakes. See the same explanation for Central Michigan. I will be excited to see how former Kokomo Wildkat Brandon Wood performs in his closest game to home.

12/12 at Alabama - W - If Alabama is worth anything they will be undefeated prior to this game. They play absolutely no one. We, however, will be battle tested already. This is either a trap game or one in which we exert our will.

12/19 vs. Ball State (Conseco Fieldhouse) - W - I admit, this is not the best game for the Wooden Tradition. We handled Ball State last year at Ball State and two years ago at Mackey. They are getting better, but they are not on the level where they can compete with top 10 teams yet.

12/22 vs. Southern Illinois-Edwardsville - W - Here is how major college basketball teams rank opponents on their level of worry based on name alone:

Toughest: State U.

City U. (or College)

Directional State U.

State (Hyphen) City U.

Easiest: Directional State (Hyphen) City U.

Need I say more?

12/29 at Iowa - W - There shouldn't be an 0-2 conference start this year. Not when we play the consensus worst team in the league to start. Road wins will be difficult in conference play this year. We have to get this easy one.

1/1 vs. West Virginia - W - They are #9 in the preseason poll, so all eyes will be on this one. Another key factor to remember here is that this is a Christmas break game. That means no Paint Crew. You hear me alumni? You had better step up and make Mackey loud on your own. If you don't want to cheer, don't come. Since this is a Big East team Digger will automatically pick the Mountaineers by 25. Since it is New Year's Day we might steal some headlines from the college football world too. This game got a little more interesting as incoming forward Deniz Kilicli was recently suspended for 20 games, including this one.

And you thought Bruce Pearl was poorly dressed.

1/5 vs. Minnesota - W - Just a tough first home game in conference play. I expect every game in the conference this year short of Iowa to be a war. The team that defends its home courts best will win the conference.

1/9 at Wisconsin - W - Can we do the unthinkable and win three straight at the Kohl Center? No Joe Krabbenhoft says yes.

1/12 vs. Ohio State - W - Playing them at Mackey gives me tons of confidence. We took two of three from them last year, dominating the second half in both wins. I like it even better if Robbie is healthy.

1/16 at Northwestern - L - I know what you're thinking. I haven't lost my mind. We could potentially be the #1 team in the country and lose to Northwestern. Think about it though. Basketball is about matchups. Northwestern is a HORRIBLE matchup for us. We didn't handle their trap in either game last year and would have been swept had they not choked the game away in Evanston. Their style of play negates all of our advantages because they want to extend every possession and they play all the passing lanes to disrupt offensive flow. That kills us at both ends of the floor.

1/19 at Illinois - W - This is a dangerous team, but I think we grit one out in Champaign after getting humbled a bit in Evanston.

1/23 vs. Michigan - W - It is all about defending the home court for this game and the next one. That is what the entire Big Ten season will come down to. Did you defend your home court?

1/28 vs. Wisconsin - W - Maybe one of the easier home wins, but that does not mean it is an easy one. Just easier.

1/31 vs. Penn State - W - This isn't the NIT, Nittany Lions.

2/4 at Indiana - W - If we don't win at Indiana this year it will be awhile before we do it again. They will be better, but they are still too young to be taken seriously.

2/9 at Michigan State - L - I am just fine with a split, Mr. Sparty. Let's just do that and decide everything in Indianapolis first at Conseco, then at Lucas Oil. Deal?

2/13 vs. Iowa - W - If we don't win this one we don't deserve to go to the NCAA Tournament, let alone win the Big Ten.

2/17 at Ohio State - W - What is the only Big Ten basketball venue that Purdue has never won in? Value City Arena on the campus of Ohio State. We're due.

2/20-21 vs. Illinois - W - Defend the home court.

2/24 at Minnesota - L - I don't like this game and we're due for a late season stumble. The questions will arise, just before we get home and get ready for a tournament roll.

2/27-28 vs. Michigan State - W - I expect this game to decide the Big Ten regular season title. Anything less would be a shock. I have us with three losses at this point. I think someone will get MSU a couple of times before this game, so they won't be unbeaten in conference.

3/2-3-4 vs. Indiana - W - If we control our own destiny in the Big Ten there is no <expletive deleted> we lose to Indiana on Senior day.

3/6-7 at Penn State - W - If we control our own destiny in the Big Ten there is no <expletive deleted> we lose to Penn State. Not when we lost a close game playing with a six man team there last year (no Kramer or Hummel).

So yeah, I have us going 27-3 and winning at least a share of the Big Ten with a 15-3 conference record. It is a good thing we do not have to go to Michigan. Playing a horrible matchup for us like Northwestern once is also very good. Michigan State has the bad luck of getting Indiana (generally only better than Iowa) just once and they must go to Bloomington for that game. Their other one play team is Ohio State.

What do you readers think? Other predictions?

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- UK Fans Just Make Internet Polling Impossible

Truzenzuzex — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:06:49 -0000

More photos » by James Crisp - AP

You wanna know what I did this summer? Give me another couple of months, and I'll show you.

Browse more photos »

Gary Parrish has a kind of semi-pathetic, semi-flattering article today about Kentucky fans, and I really don't know what to make of it. Here is a taste:

Now it's time to take all nine winners (even if I don't agree with all nine winners) and rank them. We had planned to throw them in one big poll and see which college basketball arena emerged with the most votes, but that's too easy. Plus Rupp Arena would run away the thing.

Why Rupp?

Because Kentucky plays in Rupp Arena, which means Kentucky fans would skew the results because, frankly, they just care about this kind of stuff more than the rest of you. As I've pointed out before, any online poll that includes somebody or something connected to Kentucky basketball will be won by somebody or something connected to Kentucky basketball. It never fails.

Okay, so Parrish is telling us that he can't run an on-line poll because, well, Kentucky fans care more about on-line polls than anyone else? Or is he suggesting we have nothing better to do with our time? Or something else, who knows? Anyway, his point is that he can't subject this arena ranking to a vote because he's sure Kentucky fans will skew the results.

Let's think about this logic for just a second. Isn't a really big part of what makes an arena great the passion and interest of the denizens thereof? Apparently not in Parrish's world. It seems that it's more about something else, and what exactly is that? Well, quite frankly, it appears to be Parrish's preferences, (mainly the age of the facility) or else he believes himself more qualified to speak to the question than anyone else who actually cares about it (which, by the way, is apparently mostly UK fans, if his complaint is to be taken seriously).

Anyway, this is all kind of silly, I guess. I sympathize with Parrish in a way -- when you are a basketball writer or blogger in the middle of summer, you will seize on almost anything to generate a little controversy or interest in your readers, so perhaps that's the gist of Gary's article. He surely knows UK fans will either feel flattered or take umbrage to his comments, so he has a built-in audience there, plus whatever haters he can interest by stating the issue in such a way as to invite derision.

Predictably, Parrish puts Cameron Indoor stadium first. Apparently he likes small, hot, dingy arenas with tiny sellout crowds. Maybe he was denied intimacy as a child and finds the setting cozy. I think maybe ol' Gary needs to attend the UK-Louisville game this year. He might change his mind -- that is, if it isn't liquefied by the outrageous decibel level he would likely experience.

All the places he picks above Rupp are much older venues, so maybe he's merely a sucker for tradition. But we of the Big Blue Nation aren't fooled. We know that the tradition is not in the arena, it is in the program, and the fans, and everything else that goes along with it. Gary might not get it, but the Big Blue Nation does. That's why we are always #1 in these things -- because UK fans really do care about it, and so many of these other so-called "tradition-rich" schools have fans that simply pretend to care.

News after the jump.

UK Basketball News

ESPN RISE Announces Complete 2009 Boost Mobile Elite 24 Roster | 2K Sports Presents High School Hoop Powered by Dime
Lots of UK recruits on this list. Sweet.
Dick Vitale's NCAA Basketball Preseason Top 40 - ESPN
For what it's worth. I don't blame anyone for picking Kansas #1 with their roster. Nice to see UK so high. Louisville weighs in at ... #19. It has been a while since we ranked the Cardinals. Of course, there is no way Vitale can avoid ranking Duke high, even though they are seriously challenged in the backcourt.
The Immortals: UK's 25 'Legends' #21
Chuck Hayes, my man.
Jeremiah Davis may be close to a decision.
Davis has offers from Ball State, Cincinnati, Indiana, Miami (Fla.), Purdue, Tennessee and Xavier. He had an offer from Kentucky when Billy Gillispie was coach, but John Calipari's staff has not offered.

This kid's a pretty good player -- apparently, just not good enough to be in Blue and White.
Missed summer time doesn’t worry Calipari
Calipari doesn't care what UK players like Patterson, Orton and Miller were doing this summer.

UK Football News

Rumph out, Kendrick in on UK football roster John Clay’s Sidelines
Well, that's not good. We needed Rumph a lot worse. Well, it's getting time to fish or cut bait.
UK football: Five things to ponder
"Elite status on special teams?" Kentucky? Well, we keep hearing this, but all I can see is a replay of last year's Florida game dancing in my head -- with hobnail boots.
Video: Kentucky's Brooks on expectations - SEC - ESPN
Check out Rich Brooks' recent comments on expectations for UK.

Other UK Sports News

Incoming UK freshman golfer advances in U.S. Women's Amateur
Good for Ashleigh Albrecht. That is a real accomplishment to get to match play in a USGA amateur event.

NCAA Sports News

NBCSports.com's Preseason Top 25 - College football
Not many surprises here, except one -- Ole Miss #8? Huh?

Other News of Interest

Dicky Lyons Let Go by the Falcons
Okay, this is weird. Signed one day and released the next? I don't get it. Maybe its April Fools come early (or late)? Hopefully, Dicky himself will clear this up.
Euton mulls choices, eyes November decision
Dakotah is not receiving high DI offers as so many expected when he was a freshman.

The Daily Schadenfreude

Fab Melo to Syracuse…..and…..Harris is Officially Offered, Rivals Get Commitments, and Rosters
There are some mighty unhappy Cardinals in the 'Ville tonight. The Cardinal boards have decided to take their anger out on UK fans. Kind of cute, actually.

Bring it on! Men's basketball releases non-conference schedule

BoilerTMill — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:40:11 -0000

While I enjoyed my experience as a season ticket holder for the first time since 2002, the sheer cost in addition to football tickets had me debating this year. Football is easy get tickets for. It is always on Saturday and you always know, sometimes years in advance, which Saturdays. There are only seven games as well. Basketball is different. Counting the two exhibitions, there were 20 home games last season. Many of those were on weeknights, which meant a mad dash after work to West Lafayette where I still often missed tipoff. It is hard to get excited for the likes of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Eastern Michigan, but those go by the wayside this year.

Simply put, this is an ambitious schedule worthy of a team that many feel can contend for the national title. It has its cupcakes, but for the most part we will be more than tested before getting into Big Ten play. Let's look at it game-by-game:

Exhibitions:

11/3 California of Pennsylvania and 11/9 Kentucky Wesleyan - I think we should have scheduled Indiana of Pennsylvania two years ago when we had no home game against IU. Playing the same school last year would have probably given us a better strength of schedule than the Hoosiers too. Both of these games are tune-ups and should be easy wins, but we still need to take them seriously. Kentucky Wesleyan is a Division II power that went to that level's title game for six consecutive years from 1998-2003. They have eight Division II national titles and were 24-8 last season. We should take these games seriously. Michigan State lost to a Division II team last season at the Breslin Center. California of Pennsylvania is cool because they are nicknamed the Vulcans. Can Robbie Hummel survive the Vulcan Neck Pinch with his ailing back?

11/13 Cal State Northridge - The first official game of the season isn't going to be the cakewalk people expect. The Matadors made their second ever NCAA Tournament appearance last season after winning the Big West regular season and tournament titles. They then scared the crap out of #2 seed Memphis, leading by three with less than 10 minutes left, before the Tigers pulled away for an 81-70 win. The Matadors lose their top three scorers from last year's 17-14 team though. Only one of their 17 wins last season came against a team from outside the state of California.

11/20-11/23 Paradise Jam Tournament U.S. Virgin Islands - Only the first game should be an easy one. We open this tournament with a game against South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits were 13-20 last season, and 7-11 in the Summit League. A first round upset of #2 seed Oral Roberts in the Summit League Tournament was the highlight of their first full season in Division I. They should be better, as their top three scorers, each averaging better than 12 per game, return.

The second round will be against either Boston College or St. Joseph's. BC was a very young team last season that we beat in New York for our best non-conference victory. They should be even better this year after a surprising run in the ACC sent them to the NCAA Tournament. St. Joseph's was 17-15.

The most likely team we will face in the final is Tennessee. They were 21-13, 10-6 in a pretty awful SEC last year. They did play in one of the more exciting NCAA Tournament games, losing 77-75 to Oklahoma State on a basket with 7.2 seconds left. Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism give them a very good one-two senior scoring punch. The Vols are also known for their hot starts to the season. I would say we are the favored team in the tournament, but we have the toughest road by getting Boston College in the semi-finals. DePaul, Northern Iowa, and East Carolina are in Tennessee's half of the bracket.

11/28 Central Michigan - We just can't get away from the Chips. Even the football team could have another rematch with them if we get 6 wins and head back to Detroit for the Motor City Bowl. The basketball Chips have done very little since they sent Chris Kaman to the NBA. They were 12-19 last year and lost to Ball State in the MAC Tournament. This should be an easy home win. It's position is welcome, as the back-to-back of Oklahoma and Duke was brutal last year. I believe former Boiler Nate Minnoy is also still with Central Michigan. This would mark his first game at Mackey Arena since leaving after a promising freshman year.

12/1 Wake Forest - The Demon Deacons might be able to sit down by this point after the spanking Cleveland State gave them in the NCAA Tournament. They were 24-7 last year, but this was after a 16-0 start had them as the #1 team in the nation. They were only 8-7 down the stretch and got blown out by Miami in ACC play. They lost Jeff Teague to the NBA, but as a top ACC team they will reload. They also lost James Johnson, knocking them out of ESPN's pre-season top 25. We need this game, and this is the year the Big Ten finally wins the challenge.

12/5 Ball State - The Cardinals should continue to get better, but this is a game against a MAC team at home. There is no excuse for losing this game.

12/9 Valparaiso - The same is true for the Crusaders. Their women's team beat our last season and the ladies still went to the Elite 8, but this is an in-state team that was under .500 last year. They might battle Butler in the Horizon League, but they are the third best team in that league at best.

12/12 at Alabama - This is a very interesting game. The last time we played the Tide was my junior year in a double-overtime loss at Mackey Arena. That was in the third round of the NIT. Alabama was a middle of the pack team in the SEC last season, finishing 18-14. They went out and got Anthony Grant from Virginia Commonwealth as their new coach. Getting a win at a BCS level school outside of the conference would be a nice bonus.

12/19 at Wooden Tradition, Conseco Fieldhouse - The opponent hasn't been announced, but it should be a good one since the Wooden Tradition is always a good matchup. We have played Arizona, Butler, Louisville, Xavier, Cincinnati, Stanford, and Davidson in this event. Expect a similar level of opponent, possibly Butler again. If someone had some real stones they would have us face Notre Dame in this event, as the Irish played in it in 2000 and 2005.

Come on, Wooden Tradition organizers. Make it happen. E-mail the organizers here and tell them you want Purdue-Notre Dame at the 2009 Wooden Tradition.

12/22 SIU-Edwardsville - We played this team a few years ago when they were still Division II, but they are in the process of moving up to Division I. This was a 10-20 team last year as an independent transitional D-I member. That equals an easy win in my book.

1/1 West Virginia - This is easily the best game of the non-conference schedule and maybe the best home game of the season. The Mountaineers are a consensus top 10 team with Devin Ebanks, who spurned IU for West Virginia. We got knocked out by one of the best Big East teams in the NCAA's, so it is a great litmus test to face one of their best in 2009-10. If we win this game, we will compete for a #1 seed in March.

Final Analysis:

I love this schedule. If you want to be the best you have to play the best. The in-state teams we are playing are a couple of the improving teams in-state, while that Wooden Tradition game opens itself for a game against Notre Dame or Butler. Ball State, Central Michigan, Valparaiso, SIU-Edwardsville, South Dakota State, and Cal State Northridge all should be wins, but they are teams that can challenge us too. Boston College, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wake Forest, and Alabama are all teams that could play in the NCAA's as well. If we are somehow 12-0 after this slate we will be a no doubt top 5 team nationally, and maybe even #1 overall. The best thing is that 12-0 is a realistic goal.

This should toughen us up for what will be a brutal Big Ten slate. Once we get into the conference every game, short of Indiana and Iowa, will be a challenge. Almost everyone will be better than last season. We will be well prepared to face everyone after this slate.

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Calipari, Floyd and Victimhood

Truzenzuzex — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:32:45 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

That NBA is just sooo evil.

Browse more photos »

I know most of you are wanting to talk about the still-unconfirmed reports (by UK, anyway) that Matthew Pilgrim and Kevin Galloway will not be back next year. I will comment on this at the appropriate time, but at this moment, I have little to say until the story has a chance to be fully confirmed and ripe for comment. So look for that later.

Today, I want to talk about the bizarre fact that people are coming out of the woodwork to defend Tim Floyd as a victim of "the system," and virtually none of this talk was going on when Memphis was questioned about the possibility of academic fraud during Calipari's time as head coach there.

First of all, the argument that either Floyd or Calipari might be "victims of the system" (the "system," of course, being the "one-and-done" rule) is not only absurd, it is irresponsible in the extreme. To the extent either of these men engaged in any wrongdoing, "the system" had nothing to do with that decision other than being part of the circumstances creating it. Nobody, and I mean nobody, held a gun to Tim Floyd's head and told him to give cash to a runner for an agent, as has been alleged. "But Floyd was under tremendous pressure," apologists for this argument will aver. "He had to win or lose his job."

Well, duh! Every coach in America (well, with the possible exception of Mike Krzyzewski) has that metaphorical Sword of Damocles hanging over their head. That's part of the job, and it happens all the time -- just ask former UK coach Billy Gillispie about that. That's why coaches demand, and receive, large contracts with all sorts of provisions for termination. When you lose enough games, you lose your job. Then you go get another job. That's how it works in America, and it does not justify violating the rules to make sure you don't have that happen to you. Tim Floyd is no exception to that, and I'm sure if you asked him, he would reject that excuse out of hand

So why are so many blaming the NBA for the alleged rule-breaking of a college coach? There is only one reason -- they hate the "one-and-done" rule so badly that they are willing to sacrifice their reputation for reasonableness (assuming they have one, which I often doubt) on the altar of the more noble task of creating a public outcry against the current NBA rule. Either that, or they have decided this whole "personal responsibility" thing is an evil plot by the people in black helicopters. I don't like the rule, either, and have said so many times, but I am not going to defend Floyd or Calipari or anyone else by saying "The NBA made them do it!"

If Tim Floyd did wrong (Doug Gottlieb argues that a presumption of innocence is in order, and I agree), then he should pay the piper, and I'm sure he will. The same holds true for John Calipari. But my question is this -- why the double standard? If Tim Floyd can be a "victim of the system" in a scenario where he allegedly handed money to a runner (and only $1000, to boot) for a one-and-doner, why can't John Calipari be a "victim of the system" for a situation that happened to a one-and-doner 400 miles away from Memphis?

I'll tell you why -- because Calipari is so successful, he just isn't sympathetic at all. Floyd came into a downtrodden USC basketball program and breathed some life into it. Calipari doesn't know what the word "downtrodden" means, even though he did the same thing at Memphis, and at UMass. But nobody wants to remember that, and when you go from downtrodden to the top of the world, nobody remembers when you were fired from your NBA job and looking for work, especially when you just inked a $31+ million-dollar deal with the winningest program in college basketball.

I suppose it's the nature of the beast. But I thought it was worth an observation. Now, for the news:

UK Basketball News

Martin Newton Newest Addition to Calipari Staff
Wow. I can imagine there are more than a few groans in the Big Blue Nation on this news. Not sure I get this hire, but I did like his daddy.
Galloway and Pilgrim Will Not Return Next Season - LEX18 - Lexington, KY
I am surprised and disappointed to see a senior be among those to leave. Apparently, the "seniors are off limits" rule was more rumor than fact. I'd be interested to hear the details of this, but I suspect I never will. We'll see.

UK Football News

ESPN Takes a Potshot at Kentucky, Ball State
Alan at OverThePylon defends Kentucky against an ESPN criticism of too weak an out of conference schedule. We have to listen to this every year.
Tim Couch and Craig Yeast on Ryan Mossakowski
The Mixed Bag of the Supplemental Draft
Arrowhead Pride, the SBNation Kansas City Chiefs blog, seems to be pretty excited at the prospect of Jeremy Jarmon entering the supplemental NFL draft.
2010 football prospect Tim Patterson
It sure would be nice if we could pick up another Louisville Central player. Hopefully that pipeline is becoming solid, and this kid looks like one we'd love to have.

Other UK Sports News

UK's Wade, Rusin drafted on second day of MLB draft
Two more UK baseball players get drafted.
Two UK discus throwers are among the NCAA favorites
Rashaud Scott and Chase Madison are trying to get it done in track and field.

NCAA Sports News

Can the SEC Rise to the Top, Again?
Track 'em Tigers says most of the East is trending down, and most of the West trending up. We'll see.
Juan Pattillo Going To Be A Hilltopper
Dismissed Oklahoma forward Juan Pattillo is headed to Western Kentucky to play for the Hilltoppers. Good news for Western fans -- Patillo is a very good player.
Ralph Willard leaves Holy Cross to assist Pitino.
Willard is a fine coach, and this is good news for Traitor Rick.
More detail about the Tim Floyd situation
Seth Davis has a pretty interesting article on the decline and fall of Tim Floyd at USC. I think everybody in the country knew O.J. Mayo was trouble. Turns out they were all right.
Ray Ratto's jaded comments.
Talk about apathy. Ratto is positively supine.
Oh my goodness. Red flag? Nah.
"O.J. doesn't give out his cell,'' Guillory said. "He'll call you.''

Other News of Interest

Amy Mickelson has breast cancer
Our prayers go out to Phil and Amy Mickelson. I hope everything turns out okay.
LPGA players concerned over loss of McDonald's sponsorship
McDonald's is no longer the sponsor for one of the LPGA's major events, the LPGA Championship. Tough times.

The Daily Schadenfreude

What’s Going On With Pitino?
Rush The Court is a bit ... perplexed at the Ralph Willard to Louisville situation, and puts on his tinfoil hat. I love this type of speculation about the Cardinals -- it makes Louisville fans wring their hands in angst. Ah, schadenfreude ...
Is Olympic Gold Leading to Duke Bronze?
Heh. Krzyzewski for Team USA! He's got my vote. Go K! Go USA!

Melvin Goins is Officially a Tennessee Volunteer!

Hooper — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:27:56 -0000

Today, Melvin Goins made his commitment to UT official by submitting his Letter of Intent and will officially be a BallerVol for the 2009-2010 season. Only the second incoming player for the 2009 recruiting class (the other is forward Kenny Hall), he fills a tremendous need at point guard for a team that suffered in backcourt play - a fault that eventually cost them a chance to go deep in the NCAA tournament.

Goins will be in his first year under Pearl, but there is reason to think he might transition faster than many point guards in a new system. In 2007, he played for the Ball State Cardinals, where he played in 30 games. He then transferred to Mount San Jacinto Junior College for the 2008 season and was named the MVP of the Foothill Conference. It may not sound terribly impressive on the surface, but the number of games played and the MVP season do tell us that he can learn to fit in with a team quickly. With some training and (productive) use of the Rocky Top Pilot League, he may be ready to play straight out of the box.

There is more to be excited about with Goins: at 5'-10" and 190 lbs, he is much stockier and more powerfully built than Maze or West. It's the kind of build that made Byron Eaton of Oklahoma State so successful. He plays a strong transition game with great ball control - something that must really make Pearl happy. If he plays with intensity and speed on the defensive end, he might fill the "JaJuan" role that we missed last year.

Outlook

Through the last basketball season, the most common lament of Vols fans was the lack of leadership in the backcourt. With the end of eligibility of both Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith and the unfortunate loss of Ramar Smith in the offseason, UT went from perhaps the most experienced and cohesive backcourt in the SEC in 2007-2008 to the youngest set of guards in 2008-2009. Most notably, the Vols didn't have a clear lead point guard.

The problem was supposed to be solved by the addition of two new players: Bobby Maze and Daniel West. Maze had a decent season, but there were noticeable hitches in his game that were likely the effect of the transition to Pearl's style of play. Meanwhile, West fell victim to one of the crueller twists of the NCAA knife. Known to be a risky academic case, the NCAA decided to wait until after the fall semester registration deadline to tell West that they were going to reject his SAT retake and deny his scholarship. Saddled with a committed courseload after the drop/add date and with an intense desire to play under Pearl, West decided to stick with UT and pay for school out of pocket until he can get his situation fixed. (As an aside, there is still no word whether West will be eligible next year. I hope he pulls through, especially since the NCAA completely jobbed him by delaying their decision for so long.)

Sometimes, though, time is indeed the greatest cure. Maze has a year under his belt and can spend the offseason tuning his game to Bruceball. If he stays on task, West should have his academics clear and, if he continues with his plan to play at UT, would be a very welcome addition. And now we can add Melvin Goins.

Ideally, all three will be available. Maze is not as pure of a point guard as West or Goins, so he may find more time in the 2 slot if all three play. If so, his experience at point will still be great to have, especially if one of the other two should get injured. The change-up combination is also great; Maze and West play long and lean, while Goins is built like a backcourt bulldog. That should help UT tailor their lineup to play against a wider array of opponents - a luxury that is absolute gold for tournament play.

Logistics

The one issue with Goins coming in is that UT is now one player over the scholarship limit. The problem could be solved if one of the Wayne Chism, Tyler Smith, and J.P. Prince trio leave early. In that scenario, the most likely is Smith and, as much as I'd hate to see him go, it might be the right answer for him and his family. Also, if Emmanuel Negedu continues to improve, Renaldo Woolridge steps up his game, and Kenny Hall has a strong start, the team may actually be in better shape to have the extra point guard without Smith than vice versa. (Not that it's a choice between the two; just an observation.)

Another possibility is that someone loses a scholarship. It happened last year with the departure of Crews and Ramar. Playing the role of the grim reaper, the first name that comes to mind is West. If he doesn't get academically cleared, then his loss would be made up by the gain of Goins at point. No Vols fan should want to see that happen, but it's always a possibility until we know it isn't.

However it works out, we have a new Vol to welcome to the family. It's all orange-tinted goggles right now, but the next season looks like the Vols' year. Even if Smith leaves, they will have an experienced team with a well-built backcourt and the physical diversity to match up against almost any team in the nation.