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Roundball Chatter
Dick VitaleSPECIAL TO ESPN.COM
Every Friday I will give my thoughts on the game I love, college basketball.
This weekend, Eddie Sutton will try to move a step closer to the 800-win plateau. The interim coach at San Francisco is 0-2 with the Dons, but both games were on the road. Now San Francisco is home to face Holy Cross and veteran coach Ralph Willard. Sutton still stands at 798 Ws. My friends, he will make it to 800.
Injuries, injuries, injuries. It has been a tough year for trainers and doctors working in college basketball. You have to feel for Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon, who lost Mike Cook and then Levance Fields (broken foot). The Panthers responded in a game against Lafayette as Keith Benjamin scored 20 points, dished out five assists and committed just one turnover. Ronald Ramon, now at the point guard slot with Fields sidelined, had 10 assists and zero in the turnover column. Dixon's team will not make excuses and it will play hard night in and night out.
At Auburn, forward Korvotney Barber, the nation's leader in field goal percentage (72 percent), is expected to be sidelined at least four weeks after breaking his non-shooting left hand. South Carolina guard Brandis Raley-Ross suffered a knee sprain that could sideline him for up to two weeks. That cost the Gamecocks one of the premier three-point shooting threats in America. UCLA junior guard/forward Michael Roll confirmed a full tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot (suffered in practice on Dec. 31, 2007). He will be sidelined for three weeks. Ben Howland has seen his team suffer its share of injuries already this campaign.
Very quietly, the Missouri Valley Conference has two surprise stories to keep an eye on. I mentioned Drake last week, but think about its win over Southern Illinois, the league's preseason favorite. The Bulldogs are now 11-1 and sport a 10-game win streak, their longest since winning 12 in a row in 1969-70. Keno Davis, the son of Dr. Tom Davis, has done an incredible job. Meanwhile Tim Jankovich has done a super job at Illinois State. The Redbirds, after a 5-3 start, have reeled off five straight wins, with four of them coming on the road. Illinois State jumped out to a 2-0 start in the Missouri Valley, beating Creighton and Wichita State on the road, two difficult places to get Ws. It marked the first time the Redbirds swept the road swing of those two opponents since the 1997-98 season. Illinois State has another tough test this weekend, taking on Southern Illinois.
Oliver Purnell's Clemson team sent a message on New Year's Day, routing Alabama down in Tuscaloosa, 87-61. It was blowout city in the second half as Alabama suffered it worst non-conference home loss since 1970. The Tigers beat up on an SEC foe after suffering their first loss of the season to another member of that league, Mississippi. Purnell's squad plays tough defense and has a veteran nucleus that includes James Mays. You may remember that Mays considering going to the NBA draft but opted to return to school. Purnell is certainly happy that decision was made! My friends, the Tigers will give North Carolina a real battle this weekend. The Tar Heels have won the last six meetings, including a convincing W at Clemson last season.
Akron gave Dayton a scare on Wednesday night, but the Flyers made clutch free throws in the second overtime to get to the winner's circle. Once you climb into the top 25, you get a target put on your back and you take everybody's best shot. The Zips are a contender in the MAC, and even on the road it played Brian Gregory's team to the wire. Dayton now has an 11-game win streak.
The Pac-10 is going to be special this season, and looking at match-ups on Saturday you can see amazing competition. Washington State travels to Washington … USC is at Stanford …UCLA visits California … Oregon is at Arizona. Don't forget that Arizona State is improving under Herb Sendek as diaper dandy James Harden is a solid newcomer. These clubs will be battling all season long and the conference has the potential of loading up for the big dance.
Dave Dickerson's Tulane team could be a sleeper in Conference USA. The Green Wave is 3-0 against SEC opponents this season, beating Auburn, Georgia and most recently LSU. Tulane is 7-1 in its last eight games entering its league opener against UAB on January 9th. After going 17-13 last season, Tulane already has 10 victories this season.
Down at Florida, Marreese Speights has really shown signs of improvement with increased playing time. After a solid showing recently against Temple, the 6-10 sophomore scored 24 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and looked confident in a win over High Point. My friends, the Gators are going to scrap and battle under Billy Donovan, and this young team will make some noise in the SEC. Don't be surprised if the two-time defending national champions get back into the big dance.
While there are a lot of league games on Saturday, there is a number of appealing non-conference contests. Boston College has played well this season, but Tyrese Rice and company have a real test against Kansas. A victory over the Jayhawks would really boost the resume of Al Skinner's club. Massachusetts is coming off a big win over Houston, and Travis Ford's team cane help its cause if it can upset Vanderbilt in Nashville. Another intriguing showdown features St. Mary's of California taking on Texas. Damion James had a huge performance against TCU earlier in the week with 29 points and 14 boards.
Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in December 1979. Send him a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.
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