Early stampede vaults Rams to CAA Finals

Drama at the Richmond Coliseum was heightened in a major way in the Colonial Athletic Association semifinals on Sunday afternoon as the VCU Rams vaulted to a 22-0 lead over George Mason in the first 6:21 of yesterday’s game.  The lead topped out at 32-4 with 11:10 to play as guard Darius Theus made a pair of free throws.

The Rams, to their credit, had to withinstand a huge George Mason tally as the Patriots got it to within six at 66-60 beofre VCU could close out and get in position to make an official return to the NCAA Tournament, where it made a run to the Final four a year ago.

Sunday’s early onslaught saw shooting guard Bradford Burgess set the pace by going 5-of-7 from the three point line as the frenetic Rams pace and the quick hands of the guards forced George Mason into a turnover-laced afternoon which saw VCU score 24 points off 17 Patriots’ turnovers.

“I’ve never been part of a start like that and I surely wouldn’t mind if it happened more often,” said VCU coach Shaka Smart of the Rams’ early onslught, “It’s just one of those things that happens when a lot of things collide.  Our guys were really locked in, you could see the fire in their eyes.”

If there was any question as to whether VCU was worthy of even an at-large bid, the Rams stymied that chatter with the immediacy of announcing their presence in the CAA championship game.  The Rams’ defense was so amped up that it forced seven George Mason turnovers and converted them into 11 points before GMU got it’s first field goal on a dunk by Jonathan Arledge at 11:38 to cut the VCU margin to 27-4.

Moving forward to tonight’s 7 p.m. finals matchup with Drexel, it will be interesting to see how VCU reinvents itself after such an onslaught.  The Dragons are a team that held Old Dominion to 33% from the floor on Sunday and are sixth in the nation in scoring defense (55.3%) and fifth in defensive three-point field goal percentage as they hold the opposition to 28.3% from the floor on the year.

The Dragons have used this formula to win 19 in a row, including a 64-58 win over the Rams on Jan. 8.  The game sets up the two hottest teams in the nation as they have a combined record of 33-1 since Jan. 12. It’s VCU’s seventh appearance in the CAA title game in the last 11 years and Drexel’s first since 2003.

 

Coast To Coast – Friday Edition

In the Northeast: It was a great to see an energized Steve Lavin back on the bench for St. John’s 78-73 come-from-behind win over Lehigh.  The Johnnies could experience some growing pains in the first half of the season with an inexperienced roster that is woefully short on bodies.  One thing to keep in mind,  however: St. John’s suffered home losses to Fordham and St. Bonavenure last season before hitting its stride after Christmas and knocking off the likes of Duke and Pittsburgh.

In the South: While you won’t see their programs listed among the Rivals top 25 recruiting classes for 2012, both Blaine Taylor and Pat Skerry are receiving strong reviews for the classes they have secured for next season.  Taylor has earned a reputation of consistently finding hidden gems during his time at Old Dominion and has often fielded some of the most athletic and versatile rosters in the CAA.  First-year Towson head coach Pat Skerry has inked a class that should be the foundation for the revitalization of the program.  Skerry’s recruiting prowess was a big reason for Rhode Island’s consistent run of success under Jim Baron.

In the Heartland: If it’s season-opening win at Mississippi State was any indication, Akron could be on the verge of big things in 2011-12.  Head coach Keith Dambrot has twice led the Zips to the NCAA Tournament in his seven seasons, including last year.  Junior center Zeke Marshall was a top-50 recruit in 2009 who had several Big 10 and Big East offers and his continued development could spell trouble for MAC rivals and the Zips’ non-conference foes in 2011-12.  Marshall blocked 92 shots a year ago and scored 10 points in the win over Mississippi State.

Out West: The play of freshman guard Jabari Brown is vital to Oregon improving upon last season’s 16-17 record and becoming a factor in what should be a wide open Pac-12 race.  Head coach Dana Altman was impressed with Brown’s effort in the Ducks’ final exhibition contest but understands the challenge of opening the season at No. 7 Vanderbilt tonight in Nashville.

 

Drexel coach first in a different poll

Arlington, Va. – Bruiser Flint, about to begin his 11^th season at Drexel, is used to being at the top of polls for the best-dressed coaches in college basketball.

But this year he is at the top of another poll and this one is not a normal occurrence.

The Dragons were pegged by coaches, public relations personnel and media members to win the Colonial Athletic Association title this year.

What makes the pre-season pick more impressive is that it was not the one of the Big 3, as Flint calls VCU, George Mason and ODU of Virginia, that was pegged to win. And Flint pointed out that Mason in 2006 and VCU in 2011 did not win the regular-season title in the CAA before a Final Four run.

“It has always been those three teams” at the top, Flint said.

Drexel returns four starters, including guard Chris Fouch and forward Samme Givens, and begins the season Nov. 15 at Rider. The Dragons were 21-10 overall and 11-7 in the CAA last year and nearly beat VCU in the league tournament in Richmond. If the Rams had lost that game there is a good chance they would not have gotten at an-large bid to the NCAA tourney.

So what did Flint think of being picked to win the CAA?

“Usually it is the kiss of death,” said a smiling Flint, sitting at a restaurant in Virginia. “We knew we would be picked pretty high. We have a lot of guys coming back.”

“I did not think we would be picked No. 1. I thought we would be picked in the top three,” Flint added.

“If anyone doesn’t pick Drexel, they are crazy,” Smart said. “They have set themselves up for a special season.”

“It is a credit to Bruiser and a credit to his staff,” said Mo Cassara, the head coach at Hofstra.

Drexel is followed by the five Virginia league schools in the top six: George Mason, VCU, Old Dominion, James Madison and William & Mary.

“This league has changed tremendously,” Flint said. “You can almost touch (a Final Four goal) since we have played those guys” at Mason and VCU.

- David Driver

Editor’s note: David Driver, a Virginia native and Maryland resident, has covered the CAA since its inception in the 1980s. He can be reached at www.davidsdriver.com

 

Frenetic Rams look to energy

No one could have predicted how the VCU Rams would have used their collective quickness to go over, around, under, and through the Kansas Jayhawks last Sunday to advance to the Final Four.  The Virginia Commonwealth attack featured the aggressive dribble penetration and defensive skills, of Joey Rodriguez, the three-point marksmanship of Brandon Rozzell, and the aggressive rebounding of the collective group.

“First of all, there’s a lot of different forms of pressure,” commented coach Shaka Smart, “There’s full-court pressure, and obviously to get into the press the most effective way you can, you’ve got to make baskets so you can set up your press. There’s also pressure on the ball in the halfcourt. There’s pressure in passes, getting out in passing lanes. We’ve got to do all those things.”

This kind of pressure  has been a norm throughout the tournament and something that Butler will have to adjust to if the Bulldogs are going to return to the national championship game on Monday night. Butler is a team known for it’s defense as the Bulldogs get out on the perimeter and defend.  VCU has been sparked by an up-tempo game that has seen the Rams improve on their ability to shoot the three-ball as well as defend.

“Our guys like playing fast,” said Smart, “They love throwing the ball ahead, shooting it or attacking. The great thing is when we play other teams with guys that also like playing that way, but maybe that’s not their style of play, sometimes we’re able to get those guys seduced into playing that way.”

Rozzell has hit the three-pointer at a rampant rate in the tournament, knocking down 17-of-35.  This sets up the quickness of Rodriguez inside the Rams’ half-Court offense.  Rozzell’s ability to hit that three against the tenacious Butler half-court defense cold be the difference maker for VCU.

“It’s helping us out making threes,” commented Rodriguez,  ”This guy here (forward Jamie Skeen) is probably the best low-post scorer in the tournament. I think if we get him the ball, we’ll be able to play with him and do some things we did against Kansas. If he comes out aggressive, ready to attack, then I think we’ll be fine.”

The Rams know they must defend a Butler offense that can go inside-out as well with Matt Howard on the boxes, accompanied by 6-11 sophomore Andrew Smith as well as the three-point attack of Shawn Vanzant.

“I think it’s an opportunity to show that our defense is really good because that’s what’s got us here,” said Skeen, “For five straight games we’ve been playing great defense. If we play great defense again against Butler, we can probably come out with the win.”

Smart has instilled all aspects of the game into this Rams’ run and this sort of execution could have VCU on the brink of history.

-Ken Cross

 

 

 

 

 

Mack, Mooney making waves by staying put

It hasn’t just been on the floor where college basketball’s little guys have been chalking up some victories this March.

Butler and VCU will carry the banner for programs outside of the traditional BCS alignment at the Final Four in Houston, and at least two coaches from a non-power league have made statements of their own with decisions that they reached over the weekend. Chris Mack’s stunning rejection of Tennessee and Chris Mooney’s mammoth contract extension to prevent a move to Georgia Tech left at least two major programs with coaching searches to finish and kept Xavier and Richmond firmly in their current places as regular contenders for Atlantic 10 titles and NCAA bids.

A reported eight-year deal worth $16 million was undoubtedly a difficult offer for Mack to turn down on its face, but look a little deeper. He has no prior connection to Tennessee and the Vols are staring down the barrel of potential NCAA sanctions that could cripple their program. Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton also seems to be running a house divided – how else would something like this leak out? Being turned down by Xavier? That’s not supposed to happen at an SEC school with virtually unlimited resources at its fingertips, and it’s certainly not supposed to go public.

As it stands now, the Vols’ turmoil isn’t ending soon. They were forced to fire Bruce Pearl just one year after their first Elite Eight run in program history and face the real possibility of their two best players, Scotty Hopson and Tobias Harris, jumping to the NBA. Also working against the next Tennessee coach is that men’s basketball, at best, is the school’s No. 3 sport. Football will always be king on Rocky Top (along with everywhere else in the SEC except Kentucky), and Pat Summitt’s women’s program has been drawing bigger crowds than the men for most of the past 25 years. Scooping Cuonzo Martin from Missouri State late Sunday night might be just what Tennessee needs to save itself from this sudden tailspin, but the former Purdue star isn’t walking into comfortable circumstances.

Ohio is home for Mack, and it’s looking like he has no intention of leaving. He’s a Cleveland native and a Xavier graduate, Class of 1992. He has a gleaming on-campus facility, the Cintas Center, which the Musketeers regularly pack. As recently as last year, Mack’s program was one of the top-20 most valuable in the country and one of only two non-BCS schools to make the cut (UNLV was the other). He can schedule just about any team in the country and arrive at any location via private charter. He has an excellent area to recruit – five players on the Xavier roster this year were from Ohio, including starting center Kenny Frease, and three were from nearby Indiana. He’s got a Naismith candidate in Tu Holloway. There’s no guarantee that he would find life any better at Tennessee, and Mack decided to go with what he knew.

Mooney faced the same circumstances when Georgia Tech reportedly came calling to lure the 38-year-old to the ACC. It’s a chance that he’s turned down before as recently as last season, when he said no to Boston College and left the job open for the Eagles to hire Cornell’s Steve Donahue. Mooney’s extension, his third in as many years, will carry him through the 2020-21 campaign and give him the sort of security that will make him the envy of his profession. He’s been given the necessary time to turn Richmond into a consistent winner and has delivered three straight seasons of 20 victories or more, back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament and a Sweet 16 run this year.

Much like Mack, Mooney doesn’t need to go far from home to recruit star players. Justin Harper, a Richmond native, is a virtual lock to be selected in the upcoming NBA Draft. Darien Brothers, another Richmond native, started all but one game for the Spiders in 2010-11. Six of Richmond’s players hail from Virginia (Harper, Brothers), Washington, D.C. (Cedrick Lindsay), or Pennsylvania (Kevin Hovde, Greg Robbins, Dan Geriot), which also happens to be Mooney’s home state. A Philadelphia native and Princeton graduate, Mooney has spent most of his life in the Mid-Atlantic region. He came back to the East Coast after one season as the head coach at Air Force and has flourished thanks to many of the the same advantages that Mack enjoys with Xavier – institutional commitment, fertile recruiting base, strong non-conference schedule and a rising national profile.

Mooney could have asked for something similar to the cushy contract that Paul Hewitt enjoyed since his run to the national championship game in 2004, but it’s hard to believe that the Yellow Jackets would have had the stomach to sink much more dead cash into a basketball program that has enjoyed just one winning season in ACC play since 2000. Five first-round picks in the NBA Draft (Chris Bosh, Jarrett Jack, Thaddeus Young, Javaris Crittenton and Derrick Favors) weren’t enough to help Hewitt get things right against the likes of Duke and North Carolina. Mooney certainly didn’t need to stomach the aggravation of rebuilding from scratch in Atlanta.

Will coaches like Brad Stevens, Shaka Smart, Josh Pastner and Sydney Johnson follow Mack’s lead? Three of the last eight Final Four berths have been earned by teams from outside of the BCS leagues. Kansas, a No. 1 seed in each of the past two tournaments and a team loaded with McDonald’s All-Americans and future NBA players, has now lost to Northern Iowa and VCU in consecutive years. The difference between the traditional powers and the former stepping stones in a given year has never been smaller. Mack clearly recognized this when he gave Tennessee his answer. It remains to be seen whether he’s started a trend that his peers outside the BCS will follow.

– Bill Koch

 

The stampede of speed

Kansas coach Bill Self looked especially nervous before tip-off against VCU in the Elite Eight in San Antonio on Sunday.  His facial expression seemed to say, “Let’s tip this off and hurry up and get it over.”

Photo courtesy of VCU athletic communications

Keying on the word, “hurry,” against these VCU Rams might have been the key.  Once the Rams took Kansas out of it’s post game with Marcus and Markieff Morris, VCU had a chance.  The Rams kept the game up-tempo, hit KU with timely runs and Joey Rodriguez was uncontrollable for the Kansas guards as VCU shocked yet another BCS opponent, 71-61, for the elusive Final Four berth.

“I think we wore them out,” Rodriguez said, “We came right at them in offensive end. If you go back and watch the game, I think every time they shot the ball, mostly somebody had a hand in their face. Our wings did a great job of contesting shots and running their shooters off of things.”

Kansas shot only 35.5% from the floor and was only 2-of-21 from the three-point line, thanks in part to Rodriguez, who kept the game at a much more frenetic pace than KU would have liked.

“That game was all about style of play,” said VCU coach Shaka Smart, who is at the top the wish-list for every athletic director, who has a coaching vacancy, “We got the style going the way that we wanted in the first half. And if you watch closely their players were tugging on their shorts for much of the game. When you don’t have your legs it’s hard to make outside shots.”

The game wasn’t without drama for VCU though as the Rams led 41-27 at the break before Kansas hit them with 17-5 run over the first  seven and a half minutes of the second half to cut the lead to 46-44.  However, it was counterpunch for the Rams as Jamie Skeen nailed a three at 10:55 and KU would get no closer than five the rest of the outing. It seemed to take every bit of the punch Kansas had to get to within two that quickly.

“That’s why we play the way we play,” said Smart, “That’s part of our havoc style is getting people winded, getting people fatigued and because of that they missed some shots. But I think it’s also because we did a terrific job dedicating ourselves on the defensive end on getting a hand up, contesting outside shots.”

Skeen, a Wake Forest transfer, translated to the big stage in a huge way.  He led Shaka Smart’s squad with 26 points as he hit 4 triples and got to the line 12 times, making 10.  He hit a couple of threes early that forced the Morris twins to loosen up a bit inside.

“I just tried to stretch them out and I felt like they were pretty strong on post, so I tried to take them from the outside,” explained Skeen, who lauded the play and demeanor of both twins, “They gave me a lot of open threes. When you have your hand down, I just take a shot. It’s called ‘hand down, man down.’ That’s what I did – took open shots. I take what they give me.”

-Ken Cross

 

Ram-rodding Cinderella by accepting challenges

The VCU Rams had been their own worst enemies in the second half of last night’s 72-71 overtime thriller against Florida State.  They were 5-of-12 from the free throw line in the second half and the extra session where if they just had knocked down a couple of arbitrary free throws, the additional five minutes would have been totally unnecessary.

The mental toughness of a team, whose NCAA acuman was questioned by countless TV talking heads and most loudly by ESPN’s Jay Bilas, would not let VCU die down the stretch.

With 7.1 seconds remaining and Florida State leading, 71-70.  Rams coach Shaka Smart, who is going to be on the short list of nearly everyone with a coaching vacancy and then some, called time out to set up the final play.

It was a box set with his point guard, Joey Rodriguez throwing the ball in.  Bradford Burgess worked off a screen and cut to the left box as he knifed between Derwin Kitchen and  Deividas Dulkys. Rodriguez hit Burgess for a layup.

“The screen at the end there by Brad was the third screen in that play,” Smart explained, “He screened for Brandon Rozzell, and I told Joey, you’re going to have to pass fake, because you have a big guy on you. Florida State put a big guy on the ball. Joey did a great job pass-faking and finding Brad, and Brad finished the play.”

Both players were patient in their attempt to execute the game-winning play, especially Rodriguez, who seemed to take at least three seconds off the referee’s count in order to let the play materialize.

“We called a different play right before Florida State called timeout, and then we set up a different play,” said Burgess, “It really would have gone to Brandon (Rozzell) to get a shot, but these two guys ran into each other.  Joey picked outside and made Dulkys jumped outside and I got open and slipped to the basket and just made it.”

In defensive transition, VCU met the challenge as Derwin Kitchen drove the right side, kicked back left to Chris Singleton whose shot was blocked immediately as it left his hands by Rob Brandenburg.  The Rams had met another challenge and had advanced to the first Elite Eight in school history.

“I put him (Brandenburg)  in there and I kept him in there because I liked his poise,” noted Smart, “Some of the stuff we were running, ball screen plays, I thought he was doing a good job getting by, and getting into the lane. Like you said, he didn’t put up big numbers, but I thought he was guarding well.”

VCU led by five at halftime despite Rodriguez being in foul trouble and Rozzell hadn’t shot in the half.  He made 12 points in a row in the second which showed which once again showed the propensity of the Rams to meet whatever challenge was in front of them.

“Our guys hung in there and did a good job kind of staying together and talking,” Smart said of the first half, “If we made a few more free throws it wouldn’t have been quite so interesting down the stretch. The guys made the plays they needed down the stretch to win.”

-Ken Cross

 

Winners, losers emerge from NCAA Tournament

If I ever run for president, one of my first campaign promises will be to reclassify the first two days of the NCAA Tournament as national holidays. At the very least, it’ll earn me some cheap votes. At best, it’ll land me in a bar somewhere on Embassy Row with my bracket sheet in front of me instead of some budget analysis that would put me to sleep.

I watched as much basketball as I could for each of the past two days, and I came away with a few snap judgments about the 32 remaining teams. For lack of better categories, we’ll highlight a few of the winners and losers here for your consideration.

WINNERS
Duke – This is how a No. 1 seed is supposed to look. The Blue Devils were the perfect schoolyard bullies while hammering Hampton, 87-45, and welcomed Kyrie Irving to a backcourt that is now one of the tournament’s best. Irving didn’t skip a beat while pouring in 14 points and his return to health makes Duke a very tough out going forward.

The CAA – Pretty nice showing from one of the best Mid-Major leagues in the country right now. VCU was impressive at both ends of the floor while drilling Georgetown and George Mason used its grit down the stretch to overcome Villanova. Only Old Dominion’s two-point loss to Butler, a 60-58 slugfest that was decided by Matt Howard’s buzzer-beater, prevented the league from enjoying a 3-0 start.

Richmond – The Spiders came from behind to edge Vanderbilt and, coupled with Morehead State’s upset of Louisville, stand an excellent chance of making a run to the Sweet 16. Chris Mooney’s star continues to rise, with Georgia Tech and North Carolina State certain to come calling for Richmond’s excellent young coach to fill their respective vacancies. Add some NBA scouts to that list as well, because Justin Harper will certainly be playing for money next year and Kevin Anderson wouldn’t be the worst backup point guard in the league if he made the jump right now.

Young coaches – Mooney, 38, is considered an up-and-comer in his sixth season with the Spiders, but he’s a grizzled veteran compared to some of his peers who made noise over the opening two days of the tournament. The baby faces include Princeton’s Sydney Johnson (36), Butler’s Brad Stevens (34), VCU’s Shaka Smart (33) and Memphis’s Josh Pastner (33), and the sub-40 quintet went 3-2 in the first round. Johnson and Pastner lost their games by a combined 4 points.

LOSERS
Tennessee – Bruce Pearl’s reign on Rocky Top looks to be in shambles after a 75-45 drubbing against Michigan. It was the most lopsided loss in tournament history in an 8/9 game and one more strike against Pearl, who led the Volunteers to their first Elite Eight appearance in program history in 2010. That seems like light years ago with NCAA investigators closing in and Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton refusing to commit to Pearl for the long term.

Georgetown – Another year, another early exit against a lower-seeded Mid-Major for the Hoyas. VCU did the honors this time with a 74-56 whipping in Chicago, a game in which Georgetown looked thoroughly outclassed from the opening tip. The Hoyas’ last three trips to the NCAAs have resulted in just one victory and losses to Davidson (2008), Ohio (2010) and now the Rams. Poor perimeter defense has dogged Georgetown in each of its last two NCAA defeats – the Bobcats and VCU went a combined 25-48 from 3-point range.

Villanova – The Wildcats ended a second straight season with a whimper, falling 61-57 to George Mason to finish 2010-11 with six straight defeats. Villanova was just 2-8 in its last 10 and did very little over the season’s final two months to warrant its at-large berth into the field, similar to its 3-6 collapse last season after getting off to a 22-2 start. That berth in the 2009 Final Four appears to have left the Wildcats with a two-year hangover and Jay Wright hasn’t found the cure just yet. He’s got a longer than expected offseason now to search for it.

Michigan State – What happened to Tom Izzo’s team this season? The Spartans opened the year as the No. 2 team in the nation and closed by barely scraping into the tournament and suffering a 78-76 loss to UCLA in the opening round. Michigan State trailed by 23 at one point in the second half and needed some Bruins’ misses at the foul line down the stretch to even make it a game. This isn’t the usual grit that we’ve grown used to seeing out of the Spartans, who advanced to each of the last two Final Fours.

– Bill Koch

 

When Is Enough…Enough?

In the world of college athletics, few athletic programs want to admit they are overmatched.  No program wants to acknowledge it made a mistake in switching conference affiliation.  And while Fordham and Towson are separated by approximately 200 miles, they both face a similar predicament: continue to wallow in the bottom of its current league, or join a “less-prestigious” conference that will allow their programs to be more competitive against institutions whose athletic budgets and resources are far more in line with their own?

At 6-21 overall and 0-15 in the Atlantic 10, Fordham enters its season finale on Mar. 5 versus Massachusetts already assured of missing the conference tournament for the third consecutive year.  The Rams have dropped 41 consecutive A-10 games and are 65-190 in league play since joining the conference in 1995-96.  Moreover, Fordham has won three league games or less in exactly half of its 16 seasons as a conference member.  While the historic tradition of Rose Hill places the venue on a very short list in the annals of college basketball, the facility on its own more closely resembles a CYO gymnasium than the sparkling venues at league members Dayton, Saint Louis and Xavier.  Fordham’s 15 league losses this season are by an average of 17.4 points, which sadly represents an improvement from a year ago (17.8 ppg.).

With a loss to UMass, Fordham would join Towson as the lone Division I programs to go winless in conference play this season.  At 4-25 overall, the Tigers will face Drexel on Mar. 4 in the opening round of the CAA Tournament in Richmond.  Towson secured a berth in the conference tournament despite an 0-18 league mark because every league member qualified.  Since joining the CAA in 2001-02, the Tigers are 48-132 in conference play – including three seasons of two league victories or less – and have yet to finish .500 in the league during its 10-year stint.

The first reaction from fans when presented with the hypothetical scenario of their favorite school or alma mater leaving its present conference for a “less prestigious” one is that fans will stop going to games and the support will subside.  In the case of both Fordham and Towson, that has already happened.  The Rams averaged 2,070 fans for their seven home A-10 contests this season, while Towson’s nine home CAA contests drew an average of 1,284 fans.  If these two universities could field competitive teams in a league such as the MAAC, would attendance really be lower?

Coaches and administrators have every right to be afforded the necessary time to rebuild their programs.  In the case of these two programs, however, that time is close to expiring.  Is it fair to the student-athletes to keep sending them onto the court knowing that the playing field is far from level?

Does it mean these programs will never enjoy any success in their current league affiliation?  Not necessarily.  But the odds of that happening are perhaps just a shade better than Charlie Sheen altering his lifestyle to adhere to the BYU Honor Code.

 

I Wish I Knew…

*Why a program as solid as Dayton is 27-47 in true road contests since the 2004-05 season.

*How a St. Johns’s team that thoroughly outplayed Duke in its 93-78 win on Jan. 30 lost to both Fordham and St. Bonaventure.

*Why so many media members are trying to figure out which player Jimmer Fredette will most likely resemble at the NBA level.  Can’t he just be appreciated as a great college player and let the rest play itself out?

*Why more people don’t recognize how good a coach Duquesne’s Ron Everhart is.

*Why Tom McCarthy of CBS was not listed among the television talent for next month’s NCAA Tourney.  Few (if any) announcers are more prepared or professional.

*Why Towson plays basketball in the CAA.  Leaving four hours before tip-off for a road contest 70 miles away (regardless of weather concerns) doesn’t exactly scream “big-time” program.

*What happened to UCF once league play started.  A 13-0 mark in non-conference action, followed by six losses in its first seven C-USA contests.  

*Which program has the least-accommodating travel within in its own conference, Saint Louis (A-10) or Northeastern (CAA).

*If UTEP senior guard Randy Culpepper (2,095 points, 299 three-pointers, 232 steals) isn’t the most underappreciated player in the country.

*How much the at-large profiles of both Duquesne and Richmond would genuinely benefit by a victory in this month’s BracketBusters if they were involved.

*What the Las Vegas odds are of an Elite Eight run by North Carolina.  The Heels have won nine of their last ten games and have the look of a very dangerous team come March.

*Why a large number of Charlotte fans think A-10 referees are out to get them.  Did they not get whistled for fouls during their time as a C-USA member?