College Hoops Gets into Full Swing. 30 Days until We are Dancing

It is time to start getting into college hoops as conference tourneys start in 3 weeks, the selection show is only 26 days away, and the tourney itself (not including the ridiculous play-in game) starts in 30 days.

First of all, I would like to wish the man everybody would like to kick while his team is down, Coach K, a Happy 60th birthday. It is hard to imagine the guy that was only 38 when I started at Duke is now one of the elder statesmen of the sport. A lot of hoops fans resent Coach K because he has had too much success for their liking both on and off the court (remember, Duke was America’s favorite team from the mid 1980’s to the early 1990’s, a fact that was likely changed based on back-to-back championships and the unlikable combo (if they were not on your team) of Laettner and Hurley). At the end of the day, he has been more successful than anyone in his era (3 titles and 10 final fours) and anyone since John Wooden. And he has done it the right way, without cheating, without scandal. While the team is down this year due to its youth, inexperience, and lack of a “go-to” guy, Duke should be contending for Final 4 appearances again by next year.

Speaking of Duke, they face what is in my opinion a must win game at Boston College, who is currently 9-2 in the conference. My thought, which is not shared by the NCAA tournament selection committee, is that a team, even if it is my Duke team, does not deserve to go to the NCAA Tournament if they do not amass at least a .500 record in their conference, including their conference tournament. If you can’t win half the games against your conference foes, you should not go dancing, no matter how impressive your non-conference results were. If I were in power, I would enact that rule immediately. It would keep 1-2 high major teams out each year and give a nod to well-deserving mid major. And as we saw last year, teams like George Mason not only belong, not only can they compete, but they can win and add a whole new level of excitement to the dance. All that being said, I have a strong feeling Duke will win in Chestnut Hill tomorrow night. They will clearly be focused, so the question is can they be good enough? I believe they can be. BC does not possess the ultra quick guards that can give Duke fits trying to defend, but instead choose to play a slower tempo, more physical style. This should play well to the Blue Devils strengths, and while I do not think it will be easy, I do see Duke coming back to Durham with a win they desperately need.

While Kevin Durant gets all the attention (and rightfully so), my vote (if I had one) for Big XII Player of the Year would go to Acie Law IV of Texas A&M. This kid runs a great point guard, has splendid passing skills, can score at will, and repeatedly has put his team on his back in the latter stages of games this year. This kid’s play, the talent of their head coach, their overall balance of size and speed, and their team defense are all reasons that Texas A&M is a team that nobody is talking about that could easily end up in Atlanta at the Final 4. If you are North Carolina, Florida, Wisconsin, or Ohio State (the current #1 seeds), you do not want to see Texas A&M as the #2 or #3 seed in your bracket.

North Carolina has all the talent in the world. Many games, they have kids who could start for most every team in America that are only getting a handful of minutes. However, unlike some of the so called experts at ESPN, I do not see this Heels team cutting down the nets in Atlanta. They are still relatively inexperienced, and their go to guy, Tyler Hansbrough, seems to have plateaued from where his game was last year. In addition, N.C. State and Duke seem to have uncovered an effective way to play him. While Hansbrough likes to play physically and push people around, it seems as though he can be taken out of his game when people are proactively aggressive and physical with him. N.C. State used that strategy to beat the Heels, and Duke was on their way until Josh McRoberts picked up his 4th foul with Duke up 9 in the second half.

Florida has been playing fantastic ball for a couple months now. Their ability to repeat hinges on their ability to overcome the scare of their life that they are bound to get in the second or third round of the tourney this year. History says they will be hard pressed to do it. Their talent says if they can’t, it will be an upset.

The Missouri Valley Conference will get three teams in the tourney, plus a fourth if either Missouri State, Southern Illinois, or Creighton do not win the automatic bid. All of these teams could advance and cause problems in the tourney, especially Southern Illinois, who as a 6,7, or 8 seed, will be a match up that no higher seeded teams wants to face in the second round.

The Big 10 only deserves three bids to the big dance at this point (maybe someone gets hot and earns a 4th in next few weeks). They will probably get a 4th, but you cannot convince me that the 4th team from the Big 10 (whether it is Purdue, Illinois, Michigan St, etc.) deserves to get in this year, at least based on how they have played to date…..

Am I overrating the Colonial conference (VCU, Hofstra, Drexel, Old Dom), or does this league deserve multiple bids for the second straight year? I am telling you, this league is where the Missouri Valley was a few years ago. They have a ton of talented teams, who are not quite getting the recognition they deserve. And this group of teams does not include George Mason, who took an at large bid last year and went to the Final 4. Please give the Colonial an extra bid instead of a 4th bid to the Big 10.

Another mid major, the Mountain West, could potentially get 4 teams in the dance now that San Diego State is playing at the level expected of them coming into the season. Air Force is a lock to dance, UNLV is close to punching their ticket, and BYU and the Aztecs still have real shots. It will be interesting to see how this conference plays out, as at the end of the day, it will likely only get three bids….

That is all for now. I will be back later this week with a more general sports column that will include some additional college hoops thoughts….