Monday, March 30, 2009

Bennett to Virginia; Calipari to Kentucky: Done Deal?


Tony Bennett has been hired as the new men's head basketball coach at Virginia. Bennett coached Washington State to the Sweet Sixteen in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

Drive and Dish discussed the Virginia basketball program when Dave Leitao was forced to resign earlier in March. We acknowledged that while the University of Virginia is an esteemed academic institution with a gorgeous campus and outstanding basketball facilities, it has a tough time recruiting and competing against rival powerhouse Atlantic Coast Conference programs:

Virginia is an outstanding school with a beautiful, historic campus. And it has top-notch basketball facilities. But in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Cavaliers have to compete against basketball powers like North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Maryland. And they have trouble keeping the best players from Virginia in state, as the traditional ACC power programs and Georgetown usually raid Washington, D.C. and Virginia of its best basketball talent.

Despite it's many strengths (at least on paper), the Virginia men's basketball program remains something of an enigma. In theory, there's no reason why U.Va shouldn't be able to consistently finish in the top five of the ACC. After all, if a football school like Clemson can become a player in ACC hoops, certainly Virginia, with its outstanding facilities and strong basketball tradition, can reassert itself as one too.

But for some reason, a sustained return to basketball prominence just hasn't been in the cards. for Virginia.

Then we asked why -- given the difficulties that Virginia has encountered in trying to be a player in ACC hoops -- an in demand, up-and-coming coach would agree to take on the challenge that is Virginia basketball :

(u)nderstandably, the University of Virginia wants to replace Dave Leitao with a coach who can resurrect the Cavalier basketball program and generate excitement among Virginia fans and alumni. Virginia will likely spend big money to lure a hot, up-and-coming coach to Charlottesville. But Pete Gillen and Leitao were once hot, up-and-coming coaches who appeared to possess the qualities that would allow them to rebuild the once-proud Virginia basketball program.

Why Virginia has been unable to field a consistently competitive basketball program remains somewhat unclear. Why an in-demand, up-and-coming coach would accept the Virginia job, especially considering how the tenures of Virginia's
recent coaches have ended, remains even less clear.


Tony Bennett, however, is an interesting hire. He succeeded his father, legendary coach Dick Bennett, as the coach at Washington State (Tony had been an assistant on his father's WSU staff). Prior to the Bennetts' arrival in Pullman, WA, Dick Bennett built the once-moribund Wisconsin basketball program into a national power in the 1990's. Tony was a member of his father's coaching staff at Wisconsin when Dick Bennett's accomplished his most impressive feat as a Division I head coach (Dick Bennett had coached at several levels, including the NAIA): leading an improbable Wisconsin team to the 2000 Final Four. Dick Bennett retired from coaching shortly thereafter, but his reputation as a "program builder" prompted Washington State to pursue him to fill their coaching vacancy in 2003. When Tony Bennett took over the reins from his father in 2006, Washington State had already become a fairly competitive basketball program. But after he took WSU to the 2008 Sweet Sixteen, Tony Bennett became a hot commodity among Athletic Directors looking to fill coaching openings (Bennett was offered, but ultimately turned down, the head coaching jobs at LSU and at Indiana).

Tony Bennett is a young (38), and relatively charismatic coach. He was a great college point guard -- still the the NCAA's all-time leader in 3-point percentage (.497), he set Mid-Continent Conference records for scoring (2,285) and assists (601) while playing for his father at Wisconsin-Green Bay -- who played three seasons in the NBA before becoming a coach. Once at Washington State, he found immediate success as a first-time college head coach. What's more, the fact that the Bennetts have a solid track record of turning non-traditional college basketball powers into competitive programs makes Tony Bennett especially well suited for the challenge of returning Virginia basketball to prominence.

When Drive and Dish wondered why an up-and-coming coach would want to take on the massive task of trying to rebuild the Virginia basketball program, we didn't know that Tony Bennett was on U.Va's radar. Tony Bennett is a good fit for Virginia.


Calipari to Kentucky: Done Deal?


Earlier today, ESPN's Andy Katz reported that Memphis head coach John Calipari had met with officials from the University of Kentucky to discuss Kentucky's coaching vacancy. Later, Katz reported that Calipari was close to taking the Kentucky job, but had conducted several meetings with players and officials at Memphis.

This evening, Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis wrote that two separate sources characterized a Calipari/Kentucky deal as being somewhere between a "done deal" and "moving in that direction." Later in the evening, WMC TV in Memphis reported that Calipari was set to leave for Kentucky.

Drive and Dish has historically eschewed trafficking in rumors. Although our (former) proximity to the worlds of college and high school basketball -- albeit on the fringes -- prompted us to blog anonymously, we've always declined to publish confidential information that friends have relayed to us in private conversations (and we've had some damn good "scoops" over the years that we never posted). But for what it's worth, a "friend of Drive and Dish" who has "insider information" from the within the Kentucky basketball program told us this afternoon that Calipari is, indeed, headed to Kentucky, and that he's already notified Memphis of his decision to leave.

Since the Calipari to Kentucky story is already being widely reported, relaying the information transmitted by our friend doesn't violate Drive and Dish's "no snitching" policy. We'll continue to steer clear of the college basketball/NBA rumor mills. But the Calipari/Kentucky romance is in a different category ... at this point, it's one of the worst kept secrets around.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

UConn, Michigan State, North Carolina, Vilanova Advance to Final Four


The first two rounds of the 2009 NCAA Tournament are over. The 65-team NCAA Tournament field has been whittled down to four remaining contestants. Connecticut, Michigan State, North Carolina and Villanova have survived and advanced, and, thus, constitute the field for the 2009 Final Four.

On Saturday, April 4, Connecticut will play Michigan State and North Carolina will play Villanova in Detroit's Ford Field.

As 1-seeds, North Carolina and Connecticut were expected to reach the Final Four. Michigan State and Villanova, while both seeded highly (2 and 3-seeds, respectively) upset 1-seeds in the Elite Eight in order to advance to the Final Four.

Michigan State's presence in the Final Four is particularly noteworthy. As members of the much-maligned Big Ten conference, most college basketball "experts" expressed the opinion that the Spartans did not have what it takes to reach the Final Four. Most experts expected Louisville to defeat MSU handily in the Elite Eight, and thus, become the third 2009 Final Four participant from the Big East conference. In fact, it was widely believed that Louisville would run Michigan State off the floor.

But Tom Izzo and the Spartans had different ideas. Izzo's superior game plan put his team in position to take advantage of its strengths (superior guard play, strong play in the paint), and neutralize Louisville's strengths (full court pressure defense, athleticism, three point shooting, switching zone defenses, depth). Most analysts expected Michigan State to wilt under Louisville's famed full court pressure. But the backcourt duo of Kalin Lucas and Travis Walton (along with occasional help from big man Goran Suton) broke the Cardinals' pressure with ease. And the Spartans' torrid three point shooting relegated the zone defense ineffective.

Also of note, since his promotion to the position of men's head basketball coach prior the 1995/96 season, Tom Izzo has taken Michigan State to five Final Fours. Even more impressively, since becoming head coach, every one of Tom Izzo's who has completed his four years of eligibility has participated in a Final Four.

Although he's regularly overlooked by the Big East & Atlantic Coast Conference-obsessed national sports media, Tom Izzo is clearly one of the top coaches in college basketball. What's more, he's widely regarded as one of the true good guys in a notoriously shady sport (college basketball) that is filled with smooth-talking, but often unscrupulous coaches.

Drive and Dish expects Connecticut to beat North Carolina to win the 2009 National Championship (as we've said all year), but we tip our hats to Tom Izzo and Michigan State. We thought MSU would probably make it to the Elite Eight, but fall short of making the Final Four (even though we picked Kansas in our final official bracket). But we're thrilled to see Izzo and the ever-tough Spartans back in the familiar territory of the Final Four.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Drive and Dish Reveals 2009 NCAA Tournament Picks

Since the NCAA Tournament starts later this morning, Drive and Dish is revealing our (until now) super-embargoed NCAA Tournament Brackets. Long time Drive and Dish readers may remember that we did the same thing last year. Back then, Mark Buckets and Trashtalk Superstar filled out separate brackets for Drive and Dish. This year however, we only have Trashtalk Superstar's bracket, as Mark Buckets' position has been eliminated due to the effects of the recession on the sports blog industry.

So without any further ado, we present the official 2009 Drive and Dish NCAA Tournament filled-out bracket (click on image to enlarge):


Notes:

* Indicates games in which Drive and Dish thinks the underdog team is likely to challenge the favored team and give them a "scare" before, ultimately, falling short of pulling off an upset.

** Drive and Dish picked Michigan to beat Clemson and Wisconsin to beat Florida State, despite the fact that we think Clemson and Florida State should win those games.

As we've said before, we're not sold on Clemson. We think Michigan's 1-3-1 zone could prove difficult for Clemson's offense. And we think Clemson will have trouble defending Michigan's Manny Harris. If Clemson struggles with Michigan's zone defense, and if Manny Harris has a big night, Michigan will win (despite the fact that Clemson has a better balanced team).

Florida State's Toney Douglas is one of the best guards in the game. He's not big, but he can break defenders down easily, can shoot effectively off the dribble and has, as they say, a motor that doesn't quit. Douglas torched opposing teams throughout the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Douglas should cause problems for Wisconsin. However, if Wisconsin can dictate the game's tempo, Florida State (and Douglas in particular) could find themselves stuck in a plodding, bruising, half-court game. If this happens, the Seminoles will have trouble scoring.

Earlier in the season, Northwestern -- the ultimate slow-it-down, plodding Big Ten team -- upset Florida State in the ACC vs. Big Ten Challenge. Florida State has better talent than Wisconsin, but Drive and Dish expects the Wisconsin to be effective in slowing FSU down and forcing them to operate their offense out of half-court sets. If this occurs, Wisconsin should be able to knock Florida State out of the NCAA Tournament.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Leitao Out at Virginia



Dave Leitao has resigned his position as the head coach of the University of Virginia men's basketball team. Sources say it was a forced resignation.

Virginia finished the 2008-09 basketball season with a 10-18 overall record and was just 4-12 against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. The Cavaliers placed 11th in the 12 member league.

Leitao arrived at Virginia in 2005 after three seasons as the head coach at DePaul. Prior to his stay at DePaul, he was Jim Calhoun's top assistant at Connecticut.

Under Leitao, Virginia participated in three postseason tournaments, including the 2007 NCAA Tournament. What's more, the Cavaliers' strong showing in '07 -- U.Va earned a share of the regular-season conference title -- resulted in Leitao being named the 2006-07 ACC Coach of the Year.

But despite his early success in Charlottesville, Leitao had trouble recruiting. The University of Virginia is an outstanding school with a beautiful, historic campus. And it has top-notch basketball facilities. But in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Cavaliers have to compete against basketball powers like North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Maryland. And they have trouble keeping the best players from Virginia in state, as the traditional ACC power programs and Georgetown usually raid Washington, D.C. and Virginia of its best basketball talent.

Despite it's many strengths (at least on paper), the Virginia men's basketball program remains something of an enigma. In theory, there's no reason why U.Va shouldn't be able to consistently finish in the top five of the ACC. After all, if a football school like Clemson can become a player in ACC hoops, certainly Virginia, with its outstanding facilities and strong basketball tradition, can reassert itself as one too.

But for some reason, a sustained return to basketball prominence just hasn't been in the cards
for Virginia.

Pete Gillen was one of the hottest college basketball coaches in America when he took the Virginia job. But he washed out a few years later. Dave Leitao was also highly regarded when he arrived to replace Gillen. After all, Leitao had taken DePaul to the NCAA Tournament after the program lay in ruins following the end of the Pat Kennedy era. He was a young, polished, black head coach who carried himself with a quiet confidence and an unwavering cool. But after four years as Virginia's head coach, Leitao leaves Charlottesville with a head full of grey hair and the appearance of a much older man. His formerly cool demeanor has been replaced with a perpetually stressed-out look that underscores the difficulties he's encountered while helming the Virginia basketball program.

Understandably, the University of Virginia wants to replace Dave Leitao with a coach who can resurrect the Cavalier basketball program and generate excitement among Virginia fans and alumni. Virginia will likely spend big money to lure a hot, up and coming coach to Charlottesville. But Pete Gillen and Leitao were once hot, up and coming coaches who appeared to possess the qualities that would allow them to rebuild the once-proud Virginia basketball program.

Why Virginia has been unable to field a consistently competitive basketball program remains somewhat unclear. Why an in-demand, up and coming coach would accept the Virginia job, especially considering how the tenures of Virginia's recent coaches have ended, remains even less clear.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Thoughts On the ACC


The Drive and Dish editors spent the last week traveling through the Carolinas. We weren't traveling for pleasure, and we only had a limited time to watch basketball. But we did get the chance to see several games on Saturday, Feb. 28, as well as a couple games on the preceding Wednesday and Thursday. Since the Drive and Dish headquarters are located in Chicago, we normally get to see plenty of Big Ten local programming. But our travels in North and South Carolina afforded us the opportunity to see several local (i.e., not nationally televised) Atlantic Coast Conference games (to the extent that we've been able to view games, which, as stated before, has been limited).

On a side note, it was fun to watch two disappointing Clemson losses games with a cousin who's a 2008 Clemson alumnus. I've never been around Clemson fans during basketball season (just football season), and it was fun to bear witness to their angst and frustration during losses to Virginia Tech and Florida State. Clemson is a football school first and foremost. As such, I wasn't aware that Clemson fans really cared about basketball. And after watching Clemson basketball with some them, I'm still not convinced that they actually care about basketball. But they like to see Clemson win, and they root hard for their Tigers. Plus, they hate Tyler Hansbrough and North Carolina ... but no more than they hate Mike Krzyzewski and Duke.

I also got the chance to watch Duke narrowly escape an upset at the hands of Virginia Tech with family members who are fairly recent UNC alums, and big Heels fans (my cousin and her husband -- whose father is a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and played basketball for the Tar Heels in the 1960's). In my experience, UNC fans tend to be knowledgeable, sophisticated college basketball fans. There are exceptions, of course, but as a general rule, the Heels' fan base is among the best in college basketball. Certainly, the Heels fans who I watched the Duke game with fit that description.

But lest Drive and Dish plunge head first into full-fledged digression mode, we return our focus back to the original intent of this post: our impromptu, early-March Drive stay in the Carolinas allowed Drive and Dish's editors to take in plenty of late-season ACC basketball. And although we've been monitoring the ACC all season long from our Chicagoland headquarters (and haven't really changed our opinions of the key players in the ACC), being immersed in ACC country with fans of ACC teams has prompted Drive and Dish to have a renewed interest in several of the league's less-glamorous, and less-publicized teams.

In other words, we've got some thoughts on the ACC, and we're willing to share them.

First, we'll offer a quick take on the Final Four prospects of the top teams in the ACC. Then we'll give a few thoughts about the NCAA Tournament prospects for the other ACC Tournament hopefuls.


North Carolina:


As we've stated before, Drive and Dish expects North Carolina to make it to the Final Four. We're not sold on the Tar Heels' chances of winning the National Championship, but we think that they're an elite level team (which should be obvious to anyone with eyes).

The Heels have three -- and possibly more -- likely future NBA first round draft picks on their roster. Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington may not be destined for NBA superstardom, but they will probably be drafted in the first round. And Danny Green probably has an outside (albeit considerably outside) chance of making it to the "league."

Teams that contend for National Championships almost always have multiple future NBA players on their rosters. The Tar Heels definitely fit that bill.

Drive and Dish takes the position that Connecticut will, most likely, win the National Championship (although the loss of all-important guard Jerome Dyson to injury has the potential to cause the Huskies untold problems). We think North Carolina will probably make it all the way to the National Championship game, but we suspect they'll fall short of capturing their second National Championship in four years (UNC won the 2005 National Championship).


Duke:


Duke doesn't strike us as a legitimate Final Four contender, but make no mistake: Duke has two great players in shooting guard Gerald Henderson and forward Kyle Singler.

Henderson has solidified himself as one of the premier players in college basketball (and a likely lottery pick in the NBA Draft). He's such an excellent one on one player that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has appeared to have loosened up the reins on the motion offense to create opportunities for him to isolate his defender. At the college level, there aren't many teams that can slow Gerald Henderson. He's an outstanding athlete and he has good size and strength for his position. What's more, he's a good shooter, he's very adept at taking his defender off the dribble (to either get to the basket, or create an open shot) and he has a variety of Kobe Bryant-esque, NBA-style scoring moves in his arsenal.

Kyle Singler is a versatile, new school power forward. He's not a banger, but he's a very good scorer. He has a nice perimeter shot and he's good at taking the ball to the basket from the wing. Singler should be a solid NBA player someday, but he's not a great presence in the paint. That would be fine if Duke had some other rugged big men to offset Singler's game. But since the rest of Duke's front line is widely -- and rightly -- considered to be suspect (Greg Zoubek's improved rebounding notwithstanding), the Blue Devils are unlikely to have what it takes to make a Final Four run.


Wake Forest:


Drive and Dish believes that Wake Forest has enough talent and enough size to be a Final Four team, but we question their maturity and ability to make good decisions. The Demon Deacons are a very young team, and we think that they're a year away from being a legitimate Final Four contender.


Clemson:


Clemson is ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25, but we think they're overrated. Their guard play is suspect. K.C. Rivers is a nice point guard, but shooting guard Terrence Oglesby is an one-dimensional 3 point shooter whose shot selection is iffy and who makes many questionable decisions with the ball.

Forward Trevor Booker has shown an ability to score in the paint, but Clemson's guards have had trouble getting the ball to him in the post (especially Oglesby). Center Raymond Sykes is an athletic, strong rebounder/"garbage man." He and Booker give Clemson a formidable front line. Sykes is one of those tough, scraping, big men who seem to have a special ability for always being around the ball in rebounding, drive and dish, and interior defensive situations. That allows Sykes to get easy baskets from simple cuts to the basket, and to pull in tons of rebounds (both offensive and defensive) and loose balls. But it also means that he gets fouled a lot. And that's a problem for Clemson, as Sykes' decidedly poor free throw shooting has been a critical factor in several of the Tigers' losses.

Clemson may have a nice starting front line, but they're not very deep inside. Thus, Raymond Sykes will have to play most of the game (and stay out of foul trouble) in order for Clemson to be competitive in the NCAA Tournament. And he'll absolutely have to be in the game during "crunch time" in any close Tourney contest. Unfortunately for Clemson, that will put him in position to be fouled (frequently) in late game situations. If Clemson finds itself entangled in a "nail-biter" game in the NCAA Tournament, expect the opposing team to go out of its way to foul Sykes. Thus, Raymond Sykes' free throw shooting could be a critical factor in determining Clemson's prospects for making a run in the Tournament.

Ultimately, Drive and Dish remains skeptical of Clemson. We expect them to be granted a favorable seed, but to make an early exit from the NCAA Tournament.

Now for the rest of the league:

North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest and Clemson are certain NCAA Tournament teams. There's simply no question that those teams are in. And they're all certain to get high seeds. No. 22 Florida State is also, for all intents and purposes, "in." The Seminoles won't likely be seeded as highly as the four aforementioned teams, but it's nearly a sure thing that they'll get into the Tournament. Boston College, Maryland, Miami and Virginia Tech are all essentially "bubble" teams.


Boston College:

Boston College turned a lot of heads on Jan. 4, when they upset unbeaten and No. 1 ranked (at the time) North Carolina in the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill. BC also beat Duke on Feb. 15, and has wins over Florida State, Maryland and Providence. Their only bad loss -- and it was, indeed, a bad loss -- came at the hands of Harvard, one game after they upset No. 1 North Carolina.

Drive and Dish expects Boston College to get into the NCAA Tournament. They're a 20-plus win ACC team with wins over North Carolina and Duke. They're certainly not an NCAA Tournament sure-thing, but they appear to be in pretty good shape (barring a collapse in the ACC Tournament). It will be close, but as of this writing, BC is likely to get in.


Maryland:

Maryland is 18-12 and head Coach Gary Williams has come under fire for not having the Terrapins atop the ACC in 2008 and 2009 (despite the fact that he was hailed as a miracle worker after guiding the unheralded Terps to the 2002 National Championship). Maryland has an impressive, fairly recent (2/21/09) upset win over North Carolina. But the Terrapins only have one other big win, and it's been gathering dust all season: they upset Michigan State way back on Nov. 27, 2008. Maryland has a recent "good" loss at the hands of Wake Forest (3/3), but they have a more recent "bad" loss to hapless Virginia (3/7). What's more, Duke crushed Maryland by 41 points (85-44) at Cameron Indoor Stadium back in January. Normally, a road loss to Duke wouldn't count as a bad loss. But "bubble" teams can't afford many 20-plus point losses, regardless of who their opponents were. For a team on the "bubble," having a 40-plus point loss on it's resume could prove to be a deal-breaker.

Verdict: Maryland needs more wins over quality opponents. If they can put together an impressive run in the ACC Tournament, the Terps could force their way into the NCAA Tournament. As it stands right now, they're likely headed to the N.I.T.


Virginia Tech:

It seems like Virginia Tech finds itself on the NCAA Tournament "bubble" every year. It's become commonplace for the Hokies to pull several stunning upsets (usually road wins over Duke and/or North Carolina) followed almost immediately by several equally stunning -- or at the very least, head-scratching -- embarrassingly bad losses to sub-.500 teams.

This year, Virginia Tech's huge upset road win came at the expense of Wake Forest, who was undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 at the time. The Hokies fell just short of upsetting Duke and/or UNC, but they also avoided their usual subsequent letdown losses to teams at the bottom of the ACC standings (save for their Feb. 18, loss to Virginia). As it stands, Virginia Tech has a 17-13 record and, once again, sits firmly on the NCAA Tournament "bubble." But the Hokies' resume, while not as checkered as in years past, appears to be a bit thin. On the plus side, the Hokies have one signature win (Wake Forest), and a have a nice five game winning streak from late January that includes wins over Boston College (1/17), the aforementioned then-undefeated and No. 1-ranked Wake Forest (1/21) and Miami (1/25). The Hokies' only notable "bad" losses came at the hands of Georgia (12/9), Duke (once again, for the purposes of determining a team's viability for receiving an NCAA Tournament bid, a loss to Duke would normally be seen as a "good" loss, but VA Tech's 25 point loss to the Blue Devils on Jan. 4, will be considered "bad" because the Hokies lost by more than 20 points), and the previously mentioned Virginia Cavaliers (2/28).

Virginia Tech also has two notable losses that the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee will likely consider to be "good" losses (although neither is recent): a 1 point loss to Xavier (11/21), and a 2 point loss to Wisconsin (12/1) in the ACC vs. Big Ten Challenge.

Ultimately, Virginia Tech finds itself in the same position as Maryland: they desperately need a few more wins over good teams. If VA Tech can make a run in ACC Tournament, they'll probably punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Anything short of that, however, and the Hokies will have to settle for an invitation to the N.I.T. (which is nothing to scoff at, by the way).


Miami:

Miami is a quintessential "bubble" team. They're 18-11, they've got a big win over Wake Forest (2/4), a season sweep of Boston College (2/21 & 1/10), and in shooting guard Jack McClinton, the Hurricanes have one of the most electrifying players in college basketball. Miami has helped itself by steering clear of bad losses (they have none), and they have a few notable "good" losses on their resume: a 3 point loss to Duke (2/7), a 4 point loss to North Carolina (2/15) and losses to No. 3 Connecticut and Ohio State.

But like Maryland and Virginia Tech, Miami is a probably a few "big" wins shy of receiving a bid to "the Dance." Again, like Maryland and VA Tech, the Hurricanes will need to string together a few wins in the ACC Tournament -- which would include an eye-opening upset (or two) over one (or more) of the conference's power programs -- if they hope to go "dancing" in the NCAA Tournament.

That said, if Miami can make a run in the ACC Tournament, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee may look favorably upon them because the Hurricanes feature the exciting, All American caliber McClinton.

Make no mistake: Jack McClinton will be a first round draft pick in the NBA Draft. He's a smaller, combo guard who can break down defenders at will and light it up from deep beyond the three point arc. And he's one of the toughest, most grizzled competitors in the college game. Drive and Dish maintains that McClinton's telegenic playing style brings to mind the playing styles of the Memphis Grizzlies' O.J. Mayo and the Chicago Bulls' Ben Gordon (although McClinton is bigger than the 5'10"ish Gordon). No doubt, Jack McClinton is fun to watch. What's more, flashy perimeter players like Jack McClinton are attractive to TV audiences. And the CBS and the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee know as much.

All things being equal, the presence of Jack McClinton on Miami's roster could give the Hurricanes an advantage over other bubble teams from the ACC in the eyes of the Tournament Selection Committee (although Maryland's star guard Greivis Vasquez is, at the very least, deserving of mention in that regard as well). He's a legitimate star who is capable of "putting the team on his back" ... and that has the potential to make for good TV. But Miami needs to win some ACC Tournament games if they want the Selection Committee to seriously consider their pros and cons. The Hurricanes play Virginia Tech in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Whichever team which loses that game will have to settle for the N.I.T.

Monday, March 2, 2009

UConn is Back at No. 1

Connecticut is the No. 1 team in America again. The Huskies have re-taken the top spot in the AP Top 25. North Carolina is No. 2.

Drive and Dish thinks Connecticut and North Carolina are the best teams in the country. We wouldn't be surprised to see them play each other in the National Championship game (although the loss of Jerome Dyson could prevent the Huskies from getting that far).

Pittsburgh is ranked No. 3. Oklahoma and Memphis round out the top five.

AP Top 25 (3-2-09):

Rank Team Record Votes Previous
1 Connecticut (67) 27-2 1792 2
2 North Carolina (3) 25-3 1678 4
3 Pittsburgh (1) 26-3 1612 1
4 Oklahoma 26-3 1576 3
5 Memphis (1) 26-3 1543 5
6 Louisville 23-5 1462 6
7 Duke 24-5 1340 7
8 Michigan State 23-5 1302 9
9 Kansas 24-5 1190 15
10 Wake Forest 22-5 1158 13
11 Villanova 23-6 913 10
12 LSU 25-4 894 18
13 Marquette 23-6 860 8
14 Gonzaga 23-5 837 17
15 Missouri 24-5 795 11
16 Washington 22-7 704 21
17 Xavier 23-5 629 19
18 Clemson 22-6 564 12
19 Purdue 22-7 545 16
20 UCLA 22-7 497 22
21 Arizona State 21-7 347 14
22 Butler 25-4 302 24
23 Illinois 23-7 287 20
24 Florida State 22-7 272 23
25 Syracuse 21-8 99 28

Others Receiving Votes:

Creighton 52, Brigham Young 41, Utah 22, Saint Mary's 13, Dayton 11, West Virginia 10, Davidson 9, Texas 9, California 8, South Carolina 7, Providence 7, Washington State 4, Arizona 3, Oklahoma State 2, Boston College 1, Rhode Island 1, American University 1, Utah State 1