SB Nation - Villanova Wildcats

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Wednesday (12/23/09) Edition

WVUIE97 — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:31:20 -0000

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information and a few distractions. Today we're being brought to you by Březňák in honor of today's Miss Throwdown.

It's the Day Before the Day Before Christmas and not a creature was stirring, except me...trolling the net for content below. The men are back in action tonight against a formidable #15 Ole Miss team. There will be an edition tomorrow and maybe something small on Christmas as well (I'm gonna play that one by ear and see what's happening). Something tells me I'm supposed to do something of importance on here a bit later today, but I'm not sure what it is. I'm sure it'll come to me. Think...think... The tips, suggestions and requests have been great, but more is always better. Let's get going....

What You May Have Missed:

WVU Football Season Honors - BlueGoldNews.com

All-Decade Varsity Sports Teams - MSNsportsNET.Com

Gator Bowl Report for Wednesday - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Gold and Blue Report for Wednesday - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Finally, a Good playoff/bowl simulation - SI.com/FanNation

Mountaineers in the NFL - WVIllustrated.com

Costly kick in the teeth to bowl teams - SignOnSanDiego.com
Thanks to JP Fanshawe for the find.

News of Note (FB):

Devine, Sanders share WVU offensive honor - Charleston Gazette

Catching up with Big East, Herd bosses - Charleston Gazette
Vingle's Notebook

Gator Bowl closing in on record ticket sales - Charleston Daily Mail

Big Sunday for Brown - Times West Virginian
Hertzel Column

Stewart: WVU underdog in Gator Bowl - Times West Virginian

News of Note (BB):

Huggins to Nation - WVIllustrated.com
Huggs gives the best interviews, talks, etc. Video inside.

WVU coach says team lacking focus and intensity - Charleston Daily Mail

Ole Miss Preview - MSNsportsNET.Com

Preview: Ole Miss - BlueGoldNews.com

No. 6 WVU hosts No. 15 Ole Miss - Times West Virginian

No. 6 vs No. 15 at the Coliseum - WVIllustrated.com

WVU ready for Ole Miss pressure - Charleston Gazette

Mississippi to challenge WVU tonight - Parkersburg News and Sentinel

Kansas, Texas, Kentucky, Duke No. 1 seeds in Bracket Watch - SI.com

An in-depth look at the decade in college basketball - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

WVU Upends UMBC - MSNsportsNET.Com
79-45

Women's Basketball: WVU Up Two Spots in Rankings - MSNsportsNET.Com

Recruiting:

Troy Gloster Leads Stars - WVIllustrated.com

What's On Tap:

Mississippi Rebels vs. West Virginia Mountaineers - ESPN
Tonight at 7:30 from the Coliseum on ESPN2. The line has us by 11.

Harvard Crimson vs. Georgetown Hoyas - ESPN
Noon today from the Phone Booth in DC. Hoyas are giving 13.5.

Delaware Fightin Blue Hens vs. Villanova Wildcats - ESPN
Tonight at 7 from the Pavilion in Philly. Villanova is giving 29.

Around the League (and Beyond):

Nikita Mescheriakov latest Georgetown Hoyas player to transfer - SI.com (AP)

No. 11 Connecticut beats Maine 71-54 - SI.com

Syracuse men's basketball pounds Oakland (Mich.) - syracuse.com
92-60

Cincinnati Bearcats recover for victory over Winthrop - Cincinnati Enquirer
74-57

Strong plans to tap Sanford's mind to bring spread offense to Louisville football - Courier-Journal

Brown sparks Pitt's 74-49 win against Ohio - PPG

Rutgers men's basketball cruises past St. Peter's, 66-42, behind Mike Rosario and Hamady Ndiaye - Star Ledger

Leavitt enthused over JuCo recruits - Tampa Tribune

Videos of Interest:

Thanks to JP Fanshawe for the find again.

Video of (Dis)Interest:

Lutz sent me this one.

And a Christmas Classic Clip:

Christmas Babes Gallery of the Day:

via www.gunaxin.com

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is a gorgeous model of Czech background. She claims they're real, but I contend they fail the "shape changing when laying flat on the back" test. Still magnificent, nonetheless, she can keep me warm anytime. Here's Denise Milani.

via www.zastavki.com

Březňák image via www.restaurace-tivoli.cz

Kentucky Wildcats @ Drexel Dragons: Pre-game

Truzenzuzex — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:09:00 -0000

I am a bit behind due to the holidays right now, so the pre-game for this will be brief.

Tonight, the Drexel Dragons out of the Colonial Athletic Association come into Rupp Arena to face the Kentucky Wildcats for what should be victory #2000, a tremendous milestone. The Wildcats easily outdistanced the North Carolina Tar Heels, starting out the season only four ahead, and now fully eight games in the lead. This race, in the end, turned out to be a bit anticlimactic.

But tonight will be long remembered by Kentucky fans as the second major milestone in victories that it accomplished, having already been the first team to 1000 victories. At the very least, the trivia question will be, "Who did Kentucky defeat to reach its 2000th victory?" Hopefully, the answer will be, "Drexel."

Rank and records	*Drexel*	UK
RPI	144	18
SOS	199	178
Overall	6-5	11-0
Conference	1-0	0-0
Home	4-1	6-0
Away	2-4	1-0
Neutral	0-0	4-0
Top 25	0-1	2-0
RPI Top 50	1-2	2-0

More after the jump.

The Drexel Roster

Drexel Dragons Basketball Roster

	#	Pos.	Comments	W	H	College
Ronald Colbert	15	G	-	185	6-2	junior
Gerald Colds	11	G	Starter	180	6-1	junior
Yannick Formbor	1	F	-	245	6-8	junior
Chris Fouch	3	G	Significant contributor	170	6-2	freshman
Samme Givens	45	F	May start - Significant contributor	220	6-5	sophomore
Shannon Givens	54	G	-	190	6-0	freshman
Jamie Harris	12	G	Starter - Major contributor	175	5-10	junior
Bill Lally	14	G	-	170	6-0	senior
Daryl McCoy	44	F	May start	270	6-9	freshman
Evan Neisler	33	F	May start - Role player	225	6-8	senior
Kevin Phillip	21	F	-	225	6-6	sophomore
Leon Spencer	5	F	Starter-Major Contributor	217	6-8	senior
Derrick Thomas	32	G	Starter	190	6-4	freshman
Kenny Tribbett	42	F	-	240	6-9	senior

Drexel team statistics

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Jamie Harris	11	35.0	5.4	12.5	43.1	0.8	2.8	29.0	3.5	4.5	79.6	0.4	2.0	2.4	3.7	2.4	1.6	0.0	3.0	15.1
Gerald Colds	11	32.0	3.1	9.1	34.0	0.9	3.5	25.6	2.4	4.0	59.1	0.6	2.1	2.7	2.6	1.8	0.8	0.3	2.3	9.5
Derrick Thomas	11	27.5	3.1	9.0	34.3	1.1	4.0	27.3	1.3	2.3	56.0	1.0	1.9	2.9	1.9	1.5	1.2	0.2	2.1	8.5
Samme Givens	10	23.6	3.4	5.7	59.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.5	2.5	60.0	2.4	5.1	7.5	1.4	1.8	1.6	0.5	3.1	8.3
Leon Spencer	3	22.0	3.3	8.0	41.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.3	2.7	50.0	2.3	4.3	6.7	2.0	3.0	0.3	1.7	3.7	8.0
Chris Fouch	11	20.2	2.5	7.3	33.8	1.6	5.0	32.7	1.1	1.6	66.7	0.6	1.5	2.2	1.2	1.1	0.5	0.1	1.0	7.6
Evan Neisler	11	19.9	1.9	3.7	51.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.1	2.0	54.5	1.8	3.1	4.9	0.3	1.4	0.4	0.2	3.4	4.9
Ronald Colbert	1	1.0	1.0	1.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0
Kevin Phillip	11	13.7	1.3	2.8	45.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.5	40.0	0.5	2.1	2.6	0.3	0.5	0.5	0.7	2.4	2.7
Shannon Givens	10	9.0	0.8	2.0	40.0	0.2	0.6	33.3	0.4	0.4	100.0	0.4	1.2	1.6	0.4	0.6	0.4	0.1	0.4	2.2
Daryl McCoy	11	13.3	0.5	2.0	22.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.8	44.4	1.7	2.7	4.5	0.5	0.6	0.0	0.8	2.9	1.3
Kenny Tribbett	6	7.5	0.5	1.0	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.0	1.5	0.2	0.7	0.0	0.2	1.5	1.0
Yannick Formbor	3	2.3	0.3	0.3	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.7	0.0	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.7
Bill Lally	2	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Four Factors (via Kenpom.com)

Scouting Report
	*Kentucky*		*Drexel*
Category	Offense	Defense	Offense	Defense	D-I Avg
Adj. Efficiency:	113.0 [31]	93.4 [80]	92.4 [282]	87.3 [21]	99.9
Adj. Tempo:	68.7 [169]	68.7	64.5 [307]	68.7
Four Factors
Effective FG%:	55.0 [20]	45.0 [70]	44.7 [281]	42.2 [18]	48.8
Turnover %:	23.5 [280]	20.3 [207]	19.7 [109]	22.4 [99]	21.0
Off. Reb. %:	45.7 [1]	31.3 [116]	33.4 [155]	32.1 [140]	33.0
FTA/FGA:	41.4 [98]	28.5 [38]	33.9 [237]	49.7 [320]	37.5
Miscellaneous Components
3P%:	40.0 [39]	35.8 [231]	29.1 [293]	30.8 [73]	34.1
2P%:	53.3 [38]	40.0 [15]	45.0 [244]	40.9 [21]	47.7
FT%:	68.5 [169]	67.2 [137]	63.3 [298]	68.1 [165]	68.4
Block%:	7.8 [99]	21.2 [2]	11.0 [275]	8.6 [169]	9.1
Steal%:	11.0 [253]	10.1 [150]	8.5 [68]	10.4 [130]	10.0
Style Components
3PA/FGA:	26.4 [292]	36.7 [277]	28.3 [258]	23.7 [12]	32.6
A/FGM:	54.2 [164]	52.9 [160]	56.6 [115]	48.6 [66]	53.7
Defensive Fingerprint:	Inconclusive		Mostly Man
Point Distribution (% of total points)
3-Pointers:	22.8 [260]	36.0 [17]	22.3 [270]	18.6 [333]	27.1
2-Pointers:	56.7 [71]	46.4 [311]	58.3 [43]	52.8 [149]	52.1
Free Throws:	20.5 [177]	17.5 [288]	19.4 [230]	28.7 [10]	20.8
Strength of Schedule
Components:	99.9 [203]	102.1 [268]	103.3 [81]	103.1 [305]	99.9
Overall:	0.4376 [242]	.5000	0.5065 [187]	.5000
Non-conference:	0.4376 [247]	.5000	0.4950 [210]	.5000
Personnel
Bench Minutes:	28.9% [232]	31.9%	30.0% [217]	31.9%
Experience:	0.96 yrs [332]	1.69	1.30 yrs [292]	1.69
Effective Height:	+4.0 [11]	0.0	-1.6 [273]	0.0
Average Height:	78.7" [7]	76.6"	75.3" [315]	76.6"

Analysis

As you can see, the Dragons are a very good defensive team, but a rather poor offensive team. Drexel plays at a somewhat more deliberate tempo than Kentucky, but they beat a decent Northwestern team and a fair Vermont team. They have had a couple of bad losses to Rutgers (by just two) and a home loss to Cornell. The only top team they have played is the Villanova Wildcats, who beat the Dragons 77-58.

Drexel comes in to Kentucky on a 3-game winning streak, having won their last one on the road at Cal St. Nothridge. Of course, Kentucky is going for #2000 tonight and is undefeated so far in the 2009-10 season.

Drexel's leader in scoring is Jamie Harris, a 5'10" guard who averages 15 points and 3.7 assists/outing. Harris is mostly a penetrator, though, as he doesn't shoot very many threes. In fact, Drexel as a team doesn't shoot that many threes, much like Kentucky. Chris Fouch is Drexel's leading 3-point percentage shooter at 33%, and he also shoots the most threes.

Samme Givens is the leading percentage shooter on the team averaging 8.3 points, but shooting almost 60% from the field and leading the team in rebounding with 7.5 per game -- pretty impressive for a 6'5" forward.

Drexel is a fairly small team, but they have a lot of juniors and seniors, and teams like this have given UK problems this year. I expect the Wildcats to be ready for this one, though.

Projected score: UK 75, Drexel 60.

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Monday (12/21/09) Edition

WVUIE97 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:02:47 -0000

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information and some daily distractions. Today we're being brought to you by Adnams Spindrift, in honor of today's Miss Throwdown.

It's Christmas week and most of us are recovering from the weekend snow. Football practice started up again and both basketball teams won over the weekend. The women did it in convincing fashion and the men blew a 17 point lead to win with an improbably easy layup with a second to spare. Your tips, suggestions and requests are always helpful. See you after the jump...

What You May Have Missed:

WVU Edges Vikings - MSNsportsNET.Com
80-78

West Virginia Defeats Fresno State - MSNsportsNET.Com
The women take care of business 72-52, after being delayed overnight by the snow.

Gold and Blue Report for Monday - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Video of Interest:

Here's an interview with Coach Beatty, courtesy of WVIllustrated.

Random Link of Hilarity:

These are awesome!

The top 10 unintentionally worst company URLs - Independent Sources

Christmas Gallery of the Day:

via www.gunaxin.com

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is one of the tabloid stars in the UK. Say hello to the lovely Michelle Marsh. God bless the UK. The gallery is just....wow.

via girls.gunaxin.com

And because it's the Christmas season, and I like to give, here are two more with Michelle frolicking around with pal and fellow Miss Throwdown, Lucy Pinder.

Adnams Spindrift image via www.thepublican.com

RPI WATCH: 12/20/09

BracketCat — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:00:18 -0000

Well, the Cats did what they needed to do, and survived to fight another day as Upset Saturday claimed numerous other victims.

In a fair world, the AP Top 15 that comes out tomorrow would look something like this:

Texas (10-0)
Kansas (10-0)
Kentucky (11-0)
Purdue (10-0)
Syracuse (11-0)
West Virginia (8-0)
Duke (9-1)
Villanova (10-1)
Michigan State (9-2)
Connecticut (7-2)
Kansas State (10-1)
Georgetown (8-1)
Ohio State (9-2)
New Mexico (12-0)
Ole Miss (10-1)

It will be interesting to see what the pollsters, in all their wisdom, come up with.

P.S. Did I call that Wichita State upset or what? Booyah!

Current Kansas State AP Ranking = 17

Current Kansas State Record = 10-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 1

Current Kansas State SOS = 3

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Loyola, Dayton, IUPUI, Xavier, UNLV

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = Washington State, Alabama

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (7-2, 1-1) | RPI = 45
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146
No. 20 Ole Miss (10-1) | RPI = 24: Win over Centenary (108-64)
Dayton (8-2) | RPI = 31: Win over Presbyterian (71-52)
IUPUI (9-3, 2-0) | RPI = 50: Win over Duquesne (73-64)
No. 14* FHSU (8-1)
Washington State (9-2) | RPI = 83: Win over Portland State (93-69)
Xavier (6-4) | RPI = 47: Loss at No. 21 Butler (69-68)
UNLV (10-1) | RPI = 34: Win over SCUU (88-58)
Alabama (7-4) | RPI = 92: Loss to No. 17 Kansas State (87-74)
UAPB (0-9) | RPI = 260: Loss at Missouri (88-70)
Cleveland State (4-8, 0-2) | RPI = 247: Loss to No. 6 West Virginia (80-78)
South Dakota (6-4) | RPI = 139
Missouri (7-3) | RPI = 179: Win over UAPB (88-70)
No. 23 Texas A&M (9-2) | RPI = 15: Win over The Citadel (71-50)
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (10-0) | RPI = 6: Win over No. 10 North Carolina (103-90)
Oklahoma State (9-1) | RPI = 42
Baylor (8-1) | RPI = 72
No. 1 Kansas (10-0) | RPI = 20: Win over Michigan (75-64)
Nebraska (8-2) | RPI = 163: Win over Jackson State (57-41)
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (8-3) | RPI = 117: Win over Northern Colorado (80-79)
No. 16 Texas Tech (9-1) | RPI = 33: Loss at Wichita State (85-83)

*Division II Top 25

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Friday (12/18/09) Edition

WVUIE97 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:08:13 -0000

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information and a bit of entertainment. Today we're being brought to you by Layla Dirty Blonde Lager in honor of today's Miss Throwdown.

The men and women both get back into action tomorrow as basketball gets back into the swing of things all around the country. There's a full slate of BE ranked teams in action. Football starts practice again for the bowl tomorrow as well, which means news there should pick up a bit next week. If you're anywhere where snow is being called for, stay warm and be careful if you have to go out. There's plenty to keep you warm in this edition. Suggestions and requests are always encouraged. Have a safe and great weekend!!! Let's GOOOOOOOO...........

What You May Have Missed:

Gold and Blue Report for Friday - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Bill Stewart Statement - MSNsportsNET.Com

Men's Basketball: No Tickets Remain for Seton Hall - MSNsportsNET.Com
Looks like I missed this one. Sorry.

Syracuse Orange enters top 3 of College Basketball Power Rankings - SI.com
We've slid back to #6 from #4 last week.

West Virginia 25th in Director's Cup Standings - MSNsportsNET.Com

Forde Yard Dash - ESPN
"From the starting block in Albuquerque to the finish line in Pasadena, The Dash sprints through all 34 bowls -- and picks the winners."

BCS National Championship, Rose Bowl headline bowl Pickoff - Stewart Mandel - SI.com

News of Note:

West Virginia - Team Notes - USATODAY.com

Let rivalry begin again - Times West Virginian
Hertzel Column

Will Doc's loss impact WVU all that much? - 'Eers to the Ground/PPG

Unfinished Business - MSNsportsNET.Com

WVU's Brown takes aim at home-state team - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Sporting News All-Big East first team - Sporting News

Florida State's head-coach-to-be Jimbo Fisher still fond of West Virginia - St. Petersburg Times

Not just another week for FSU football - Tallahassee Democrat

Chris Henry:

Chris Henry's WVU teammates remember the life of Slim - WVIllustrated.com

Chris Henry's death interrupted his redemption with Bengals - Paul Daugherty - SI.com

NFL Videos: Brown, Lewis on Henry - NFL.com

Chris Henry rocked the Carrier Dome in 2003 as a West Virginia freshman receiver - syracuse.com
Orange beat writer remembers Henry's performances against Syracuse.

What's On Tap:

The WVU women take on Fresno State tomorrow at 7 pm from the Coliseum (couldn't find a link).

West Virginia vs. Cleveland State - SI.com
Saturday from Cleveland at 2 pm on ESPN 360 and MASN.

Lipscomb vs. Cincinnati - SI.com
Saturday at 2 pm from Cinci on ESPN 360.

Villanova vs. Fordham - SI.com
Saturday at 2 pm from East Rutherford, NJ.

Old Dominion vs. Georgetown - SI.com
Saturday at 7 pm from the Phone Booth in DC on ESPN 360 and MASN.

St. Bonaventure vs. Syracuse - SI.com
Saturday at 7 pm from the Dome.

UCF vs. Connecticut - SI.com
Sunday at 1 pm from Hartford on ESPN 360 and MASN.

St. Petersburg Bowl - UCF Knights vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights - ESPN
Sunday night at 8 on ESPN. Rutgers is favored by 3.

Around the League (and Beyond):

See No Big Ten, Hear No Big Ten, Speak No Big Ten - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician

Cincinnati's Lance Stephenson talks about transition to college game - Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati holds first Sugar Bowl practice without Brian Kelly - ESPN

Samuels is battling huge expectations - Courier-Journal

Pitt coach Dixon demands big improvement - PPG

What now? - TheUConnBlog.com
Ater Majok makes his debut this weekend

Bulls ease back into practice - Tampa Tribune

If The Big East Expanded... - Pitt Blather

Rutgers tailback Joe Martinek ready to go in St. Petersburg Bowl whether Tim Brown plays or not - Star Ledger

Schiano More than Wins and Losses - Protect R Turf

Doc not a perfect hire, just a terrific one - Charleston Gazette

How about Big 14? -- chicagotribune.com

Videos of (Dis)Interest:

We've seen the music synced light displays before, but music and video game synced? Impressive.

She may be past her prime and carry hepatitis...but this video still does it (and her friend is nice too).

Holiday Picture of the Week:

I think the guy on the right wins, for creativity alone. Thanks to Jimmy T. of Hot Clicks for the find.

via thesurlybirds.com

Brazilian Gallery of the Week:

via coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is easily one of Israel's finest. Please wish Happy Hanukkah to Miss Bar Rephaeli.

via i.cdn.turner.com

Layla image via www.abarbanel.com

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)

Browse more photos »

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.

In a Perfect World (Conference Realignment)

Evan Pfaff — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:30:13 -0000

by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Could a University of Houston QB be soon hoisting the Big 12 Championship trophy? (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

View full size photo »

Today the Big Ten conference issued a statement that they are exploring the possibility of expanding.

Every few years we hear the same rumblings and every few years there are articles published about what realignment would look like. But not since Penn State was admitted into the Big Ten has anything official been released. With that, below is the definitive article on the topic.

And even though this is a basketball blog, I will focus on the BCS aspect of realignment to argue my points. I will discuss basketball, though, and all points held for football can loosely translate over to hoops as well.

Currently there are six BCS conferences and those 6 all get automatic BCS-bowl bids. Those conferences are Big East, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-10, ACC. Of those six, three of the conferences have enough football teams to have a conference championship game (the Big East would have enough if more of their charter schools had D1 football programs).

Part of the BCS issue is that you have some conferences without 12 schools, who don't currently have conference championship games. Adding conference championship games will ultimately help the BCS by crowing, on a field, a true conference champ. This will help with BCS bowl bids, and especially the BCS championship game. (Think of a rule where you have to at least win your division to get a BCS bid.

The other BCS issue is of the non-BCS schools and where they should lie. My realignment program take that into account.

Without further ado, after The Jump is the Big12Hoops.com Realignment plan.

MIZZOU MOVES TO THE BIG 10.

Why is this good for the Big 10? By admitting Mizzou into the Big 10, the Big 10 would secure a coveted TV market, namely St Louis. They would also get a share of the Kansas City TV market. By expanding westward, revenues from the Big 10 Network and apparel sales would grow. The Big 10 would also secure a 12^th team and legitimize a conference championship game. The divisions would be as follow:

Big 10 East: Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Penn State

Big 10 West: Mizzou, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa

Under this scenario all regional rivalries remain in tact

Why is this good for Mizzou? The Big 12 seems to forget about schools not named Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas (basketball). There is no television network, so Mizzou's games are generally only regionally shown. There is Big Monday for basketball, but that is mainly reserved for Texas and KU. Under this, Mizzou's football games could be carried on the Big 10 Network and basketball games will be tied into the Big 10 ESPN deal. All this leads to a major recruiting advantage in both revenue generating sports.

Mizzou also has a rival in Illinois that would heat up instantly and the heated rivalry with Kansas will replace the Illinois basketball and football games on the schedules. Instead of St Louis, though, the KU games will be played at the Sprint Center and Arrowhead in KC.

But what about... Iowa State? The Cyclones seem to also be a natural fit and could easily add fuel to the rivalry with in-state foe Iowa Hawkeyes. The problem is that the Big 10 gains little from that arrangement. They are already pretty entrenched in the Hawkeye State and the addition of ISU wouldn't help their regional or national reputation.

THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON JOINS THE BIG XII

Why is this good for the Big 12? The University of Houston is a large campus, in a region of Texas that is currently underdeveloped with college sports. Houston is the 4^th largest city in the country, and by planting a team there, the Big 12 will get even more Texas viewership.

The big question would be on alignment, since there will now be 5 Texas schools. My proposal is for

Big 12 "North": Nebraska, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

Big 12 "South": Texas, Houston, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Baylor, Colorado

The division names will have to be rebranded, but adding Colorado to the South is acceptable because Coloradoans joke that there are more Texans in the state than natives.

Why is this good for Houston? Historically, the Cougars have had a good football team, and have won a basketball national championship. Having a Big XII logo on their court will increase their recruiting presence in the city and state and potentially turn them into powerhouse.

But what about... TCU? TCU would be a good choice, if they were bigger. Their 8000 student just wouldn't cut it if the conference wishes to remain the BIG 12. Houston's enrollment is approximately 30,000 students. Commuter school or not, Houston would help retain the "Big" in Big 12.

BYU AND UTAH GO TO THE PAC-10

Why is this good for the Pac-10? By including Utah and BYU into the Pac-10, the conference will have the 12 schools needed for an automatic conference championship games. Both programs have historically legitimate football and basketball programs, and they will bring their rivalry with them. Geographically, they are far enough West to warrant admission into the conference.

The division would be as follows

Pac-10 North: Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, BYU, Utah

Pac-10 South: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Stanford, UCLA, USC

Why is this good for BYU and Utah? Both recruit well from the West, and inclusion into the conference will aid that. And by coming over as a pair (and as rivals) they bring legitimacy to the expansion eastward.

But what about... geography? The state of Utah doesn't border any states of current Pac-10 members, and that may cause some issues, but distance isn't really something the conference has ever regarded. Consider that Tucson, AZ to Seattle, WA is 1100 miles, or 400 miles farther than Tucson to Provo, UT.

ADD MORE TEAMS TO THE MOUNTAIN WEST

Why is this good for the Mountain West? As it stands under this scenario, the Mountain West is down to 7 members (the current 9, minus BYU and Utah). To get up with the big boys, the MWC needs to add 5 schools. The 5 that should move to the MWC should be: Boise State, Nevada, New Mexico State, Rice, SMU.

There is already talk of Boise coming over to the MWC, so that is a no brainer. The others are coming over as "rivals" to existing MWC schools. Nevada will face UNLV, New Mexico State will pair with New Mexico, Rice and SMU will pit against TCU is a three-way battle for Texas.

Having 12 schools will allow the conference to host a championship game, matching the winners of each division, which would be as follows:

MWC North: UNLV, Nevada, Air Force, Wyoming, Colorado State, Boise State

MWC South: San Diego State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, TCU, Rice, SMU

Why is this good for the 5 programs? The shift from either the C-USA or WAC will legitimize the programs (see the next point). All will also enter the new MWC with a foe. Everyone wins.

But what about... the MWC still remaining relatively minute as compared to their BCS brethren? Why would these schools shift from one conference to another, just for shits and giggles? See next point.

ADMIT THE MOUNTAIN WEST INTO THE BCS

Why is this good for the BCS? Controversy will mainly be avoided. By admitting the redesigned MWC into the BCS you are accepting the current BCS gate crashers. You are bringing in the current at-large schools causing heartache and giving yourself another conference champion that the country can latch onto.

Why is this good for the MWC? Why isn't it good for the MWC?

But what about... the C-USA and WAC? These two conferences are now in shambles. What to do? See next item.

MERGE THE C-USA AND WAC

Why is this good for the two conferences? Because of the success of some of their schools, and regional ability to move, the Conference USA and WAC are currently left in shambles (under this proposal). Essentially afterthoughts as they are, now they are left with 15 schools between them. They could either split them up 8 and 7 or combine forces and form a 15 league mega conference. In terms of basketball, as we have seen with the Big East, and their 16 school hoops conference, too many schools doesn't water down the pool.

But what about... regionality? The C-USA is currently a conglomerate of throw-ins from around the country. Under this plan, that would just increase to a truly national conference. The members of it would be: Fresno St, Hawaii, Idaho, La Tech, San Jose St, Utah St, UTEP, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, Cent Florida, ECU, Marshall, Memphis, Southern Miss

Using the scenario outlined above, 18 schools will change conferences. This sounds like a lot, but as you can see many will be moving as groups and either with or to a rival.

But what about the Big East? Well, the Big East is the one conference I am leaving alone. In their football world, they are lacking the 12 members to create a championship game. But when you include their basketball members, they are a 16-team powerhouse.

One final thought. I reserve the right to claim this entire scenario null and void if Notre Dame ever decides to join the Big 10. If that were to happen, I would still endorse some shifting, but nothing to the extent of this proposal. More on that if a Notre Dame to the Big 10 rumor starts getting some legitimate traction.

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Moving On Up Edition

Truzenzuzex — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:03:47 -0000

Well, it seems that the Villanova Wildcats' loss is the Kentucky Wildcats' gain, as UK moves up a spot to #3 ~~between~~ behind the Kansas Jayhawks and the Texas Longhorns.

As John Wall continues to garner Freshman of the Week awards from the SEC, Kentucky has a week to ponder it's recent success versus the North Carolina Tar Heels, Indiana Hoosiers and Connecticut Huskies, as well as working to improve their game, particularly on the defensive side.

If Kentucky's game versus IU proved nothing else, it showed that the 'Cats can handle a hostile arena with aplomb, even one that's said to have done some pretty ugly things lately. John Gasaway of Basketball Prospectus ponders the remarkable sequence that Daniel Orton had in the North Carolina game where he blocked a shot and dished an assist in the same short time frame, and in a later post, notes that DeMarcus Cousins is getting 22% of UK's misses back.

The news follows the jump.

idsnews.com | Indiana Daily Student |
This wasn’t the first time this season that Assembly Hall has been a hotbed of insults. Student fans were as loud on Dec. 1 against Maryland, but their chants included racist and derogatory slurs toward Maryland senior guard Greivis Vasquez of Venezuela and sophomore forward Jin Soo Choi of South Korea. This time, the yells were mostly targeted at Calipari.

Wow. Glad we didn't see any "racist and derogatory slurs" on Saturday.
The Big Blue Nation Report: Five Quick Questions for Mr. Leach...
An interview with Tom Leach
Hot UK plays it cool in potential 10-0 start | KentuckySports.com
Awesome job by Matthew Mitchell. Could UK hoops finally become a contendah?
Grading SEC Coaches | SEC Corner - al.com
Brooks gets surprisingly high grades.
Wildcat Blue In a Sea of Orange: Rich Brooks Wildcats garner post season honors
Monday's news & notes: UK's Wall making headlines, MSG a home away from home
Kansas freshman Xavier Henry is just as impressive as John Wall - Seth Davis - SI.com
Henry is the first to recognize that Wall has earned every bit of his publicity, but he will not concede that Wall is the better player. Henry also confesses that Wall's hot start has provided him with extra incentive. "It does kind of motivate me that he plays like that and gets all this attention, so if I play just as well then I should get the same," Henry told me in a telephone interview. "Just don't sleep on me. That's all I've got to say."

Play somebody, Xavier. Then talk smack.
Basketball Prospectus | Unfiltered
The always-worthy John Gasaway.
Izzo speaks out after Roy Williams throws another shot at Delvon Roe | College Hoops Journal
Another bit of bad behavior from Roy Williams.
Is Roy Williams the biggest phony in college basketball? | College Hoops Journal
CHJ takes Roy Willams down -- hard.
Ex-Cat Shagari Alleyne Signed by Halifax Rainmen
Is Wall or Cobb the better athlete? | Vaught's Views
Who cares? Both are great.
" BBL: Could Kentucky play in New York every year? John Clay’s Sidelines
John Clay's Big Blue Links.
Kentucky and Louisville have flipped fortunes | College Hoops Journal
The Kentucky Wildcats aren’t in the clear and aren’t guaranteed a Final Four berth this season. The Louisville Cardinals aren’t mired in mediocrity and aren’t one of the eight worst teams in the Big East, all of the sudden.

But that doesn’t mean these two intrastate rivals haven’t switched positions in the past eight months. Think about where each of these programs were on Selection Sunday. It’s remarkable, when you think about it.

Indeed.
courier-journal.com | Chris Diggs - UK Fan | The Courier-Journal
When IU fans have to go back twenty years and talk about NCAA violations to put down a rival, I can't help but laugh. Seriously. Out of the last 20 meetings, the Cats have won 15 of those years. Why don't we talk about that? Why don't we talk about what is the most important thing, what happens on the floor?

Or, we can talk about something else that happened this decade -- Cell Phone Kelvin Sampson.
Thoughts on Kentucky and Kansas
Very thoughtful and interesting comments from a Kansas fan. I think Kansas is significantly better than UK right now, but at the end of the year, it could be a horse race. I would read this if I were you. He gets a few little things wrong, but mostly he does a very good job.
Wildcats Break for Exams - KENTUCKY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
Which basketball team will stay unbeaten longest? - Mike DeCourcy - College Basketball - Sporting News
Always worth a read.

RPI WATCH: 12/13/09

BracketCat — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:00:31 -0000

More photos » by Laura Rauch - AP

The circle is complete: By beating the brains out of Lon Kruger's team, perhaps we finally have erased the demons that have plagued K-State basketball for 20 years — roughly ever since he ditched us for Florida. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

Browse more photos »

Sorry, guys. I accidentally set this to publish at 11:45 p.m. tonight when I meant for it to go last night. My bad.

Wow, what a Saturday.

I guess I'll start with us. I've adding a ranking indicator, because now that Xavier beat Cincinnati today (likely knocking them out of the Top 25), it's a 99-percent certainty that we will be ranked at this time tomorrow.

Meanwhile, our RPI is an eye-popping TWO. I don't think we're likely to top Duke anytime soon, so this basically is the pinnacle for our resume this year, at least from a numbers standpoint. Kudos to Frank Martin for drawing up a PERFECT non-conference schedule, one that now is ranked fourth, after briefly spiking at second last night.

UNLV was added to the ledger of Top 50 wins, and Wazzu's win over Air Force, coupled with playing us, moved the Cougars into the Top 100. That gives us six quality wins so far, and to that you can add Fort Hays State's movement into the Division II Top 25 last week. We've beaten some damn good teams.

What does all this mean? Barring an absolute collapse in Big 12 play, we're going to be in the NCAA Tournament. And if things keep up like this, we'll have a pretty high seed, too. We almost don't need this feature anymore — the resume speaks for itself. But I'll keep tracking everything, nonetheless.

Here's a little trivia for you: Four teams in the country have three RPI Top 50 wins. Who are they? Answers after the jump. Oh, and be sure to vote in my poll.

Answer: Georgetown, Kansas State, Texas, Villanova

Bonus Answer: Kansas has ZERO Top 50 wins. LOL!

Current Kansas State Ranking = TBD

Current Kansas State Record = 9-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 2

Current Kansas State SOS = 4

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Loyola, Dayton, UNLV

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = IUPUI, Washington State, Xavier

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (6-2, 1-1) | RPI = 40: Win over San Francisco (66-63)
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320: Loss to Eastern Illinois (44-41)
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146: Win at Marist (88-72)
No. 25 Ole Miss (8-1) | RPI = 34: Win over McNeese State (83-67)
Dayton (7-2) | RPI = 24
IUPUI (8-3, 2-0) | RPI = 60: Win over Indiana-South Bend (92-56)
No. 22* FHSU (7-1): Win over Missouri Western (67-54)
Washington State (8-2) | RPI = 88: Win over Air Force (75-68)
Xavier (5-3) | RPI = 68
No. 18 UNLV (7-1) | RPI = 29: Loss to Kansas State (95-80)
Alabama (6-3) | RPI = 91: Loss to No. 5 Purdue (73-65)
UAPB (0-6) | RPI = 273
Cleveland State (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 232: Win over Wilberforce (113-61)
South Dakota (5-4) | RPI = 119
Missouri (6-3) | RPI = 161: Win over Fairleigh Dickinson (87-36)
No. 16 Texas A&M (8-2) | RPI = 18: Loss to New Mexico (84-81)
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (8-0) | RPI = 5: Win over Texas State (87-54)
Oklahoma State (7-1) | RPI = 26
Baylor (7-1) | RPI = 105
No. 1 Kansas (9-0) | RPI = 21: Win over La Salle (90-65)
Nebraska (7-2) | RPI = 151: Win over Oregon State (50-44)
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (7-3) | RPI = 142: Win at Utah (78-73 in overtime)
No. 23 Texas Tech (9-0) | RPI = 18

*Division II Top 25

It's an active Sunday for the A-10

SFBE.NF — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:35:48 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

Browse more photos »

No "Lazy Sunday" SNL Digital Short to show here, Sunday was busy for the Atlantic 10 as both Temple and Xavier defeated ranked opponents - who also double as their in-market rivals - and Rhode Island traveled up to Boston and nipped the wings of the BC Eagles.

In the 'Nati, tempers flared. I blame the chili. Many forget about how great this rivalry between the Musketeers and Bearcats are, but last night featured thrown elbows, in-fighting, and the first double OT contest in the 77 year history of the annual event. Xavier wins 83-79. And thank god. Maybe ESPN should consider not burying this game on ESPNU during a Sunday night. It's the first big win for new head coach Chris Mack, who still has a lot of work to do in curbing the ego and erratic play of his offensive star, Jordan Crawford.

Temple may have their first South American star since the Pepe Sanchez era, as Juan Fernandez scored 33 in a win over Nova, handing the WIldcats their first loss of the season. The Owls led nearly all of the second half, relying on the three ball. As players shook hands and walked off the court, Temple undergrads shouted "We Want Kansas," in reference to their January 2nd match-up against the top ranked Jayhawks. Yeah, I think I'll tune in for that.

SB Nation - Villanova Wildcats

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Wednesday (12/23/09) Edition

What You May Have Missed:

News of Note (FB):

News of Note (BB):

Recruiting:

What's On Tap:

Around the League (and Beyond):

Videos of Interest:

Video of (Dis)Interest:

Christmas Babes Gallery of the Day:

Miss Throwdown:

Kentucky Wildcats @ Drexel Dragons: Pre-game

The Drexel Roster

Drexel Dragons Basketball Roster

Drexel team statistics

Four Factors (via Kenpom.com)

Analysis

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Monday (12/21/09) Edition

What You May Have Missed:

News of Note (FB):

News of Note (BB):

Recruiting:

Around the League (and Beyond):

Chris Henry:

Video of Interest:

Random Link of Hilarity:

Christmas Gallery of the Day:

Miss Throwdown:

RPI WATCH: 12/20/09

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Friday (12/18/09) Edition

What You May Have Missed:

News of Note:

Chris Henry:

What's On Tap:

Around the League (and Beyond):

Videos of (Dis)Interest:

Holiday Picture of the Week:

Brazilian Gallery of the Week:

Miss Throwdown:

Non-Conference Opponents Update #2

In a Perfect World (Conference Realignment)

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Moving On Up Edition

RPI WATCH: 12/13/09

What will K-State be ranked in today's AP poll?

It's an active Sunday for the A-10