Roundball Chalk Talk | Feb. 17, 2006
Each Friday, I share my thoughts on the world of college basketball …
• Isn't it incredible to see the Big East battle for spots in the conference tournament? Eight teams enter the weekend with a losing league record and four of them won't qualify to make it to Madison Square Garden for the league tourney. Who would have thought that two of those battling just to make it to the Big Apple would be Louisville and Syracuse? The Orange are 5-6 in league play while the Cardinals are 4-7. Jim Boeheim and Rick Pitino do battle this weekend at the Carrier Dome, where I will call the game with Brad Nessler and Erin Andrews. This is an important game for both teams, though most observers would not have felt the significance was over just making the Big East Tournament. David Padgett has been playing with aches and pains. Hopefully he will be healthy for next season, as Pitino and company need him badly.
• Speaking of the conference, in looking at Villanova's big win over Connecticut earlier in the week, guard play was sensational. What about the play of Will Sheridan in the interior? That kind of baseline performance will be so important come March. Sheridan put up a double-double against the likes of Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong. Also, congratulations to Jay Wright on his seven-year contract extension.
• Wisconsin has been a tough team to figure at times. Alando Tucker was brilliant with 27 points and 16 rebounds in a win over Ohio State. Bo Ryan's team is so tough in Madison.
• Now that Mike Davis has announced his resignation, effective at the end of the season, it will be interesting to see how the Hoosiers respond to the challenge at Illinois this weekend.
• I have been impressed with the balance of the Missouri Valley Conference all season long. There are five teams ranked in the top 30 in the most recent RPI released by the NCAA: Northern Iowa, Wichita State, Southern Illinois, Missouri State and Creighton. There is a rising star in the coaching profession from this league, namely Wichita State's Mark Turgeon. You may remember him from his playing days at Kansas, as a member of the 1988 national champion Jayhawks.
• On the topic of the Jayhawks, Bill Self has done an amazing job with a young, talented squad. Kansas was sitting at 3-4 before turning things around. After seven games, it certainly looked like the streak of 16 straight NCAA appearances would be over this season. The Jayhawks have seen diaper dandies like Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush and Julian Wright perform sensationally. They will be back in the big dance, and next season, I look for Kansas to be a preseason top 10 squad.
• If anyone had any doubt about the best diaper dandy in America, just look at the job Tyler Hansbrough did against Georgia Tech. He scored 40 points to set an ACC freshman record. He also grabbed 10 rebounds, willing the Tar Heels to the winner's circle despite an early double-digit deficit.
• How about a salute to North Carolina-Wilmington of the Colonial Athletic Association. Brad Brownell's squad got to 20 wins by beating a tough Hofstra squad earlier in the week. It marked the second time in school history that the Seahawks won 20 or more regular-season contests (the other time was 2002-03, finishing 21-6).
• Akron has been to the big dance just once before, in 1986 under then-coach Bob Huggins. The Zips are making a run this season with a 12-2 mark in the Mid-American, tied with Kent State for the top spot. Akron is 19-5 overall entering Friday's BracketBuster test against Nick Fazekas and Nevada. The Zips are 6-1 in their last seven games and Keith Dambrot's club has a couple of familiar faces. Remember Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce? They were both teammates of LeBron James at St. Vincent-St. Mary.
• Western Kentucky is a sleeper team come tournament time. The top team in the Sun Belt is 11-1 in league play and 19-5 overall. Darrin Horn's club features a pair of talented players in Anthony Winchester and Courtney Lee.
• There is a great battle out West for Pac-10 Player of the Year honors. Think about it -- UCLA's Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo, Washington's Brandon Roy and California's Leon Powe are all legitimate contenders. I will make my selections for all-conference players, coach of the year, Diaper Dandy of the year and player of the year in the upcoming weeks.
• IUPUI is sitting at 18-7 overall and 12-1 in the Mid-Continent Conference, dominating the league. Do you remember coach Ron Hunter celebrating the last time his squad made the big dance? It could happen again, baby!
• In the America East Conference, a player who deserves a lot more publicity on the national level is University of Hartford 6-foot-9 senior forward/center Kenny Adeleke. The transfer from Hofstra put up his 20th double-double in the team's 24th game, as he scored 23 points and grabbed 11 boards in a win over Maryland-Baltimore County Wednesday.
• Have to feel a little bit for Oregon coach Ernie Kent. Thursday's 75-72 loss to Washington at MacArthur Court was the latest disappointing setback. In their last four losses, The Ducks have fallen by a total of eight points.
• In case you were wondering about the 10 men who will determine the NCAA Tournament in less than a month, the Selection Committee consists of six athletic directors: chairman Craig Littlepage (Virginia), Gary Walters (Princeton), Chris Hill (Utah), Dan Guerrero (UCLA), Laing Kennedy (Kent State), and Thomas O'Connor (George Mason) -- as well as four commissioners in Karl Benson (WAC), Jon LeCrone (Horizon League), Robert Vowels (SWAC) and Mike Slive (SEC). I am sure that these gentlemen will do a great job determining the best 34 at-large teams to fill the field of 65. I wish them well as this is a difficult job, especially given the parity in college basketball this season.
Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.
