Let's throw it around a bit, shall we, as we enter the best college hoops month of the year.
Kudos: Let's give it up for Wichita State. The quest for an undefeated regular season has been well-documented--the thing that makes this team a delight to watch is that word "team." The Shockers are unselfish, play hard, trust each other, and know their roles. Yes, they've only played a couple of teams in the top 100 RPI but going undefeated, against anyone, is an unprecedented accomplishment. All eyes are now on how WSU will fare once they have to play a team, likely in the second round, that will be better than any they've faced thus far this season.
Out of control: Yesterday's out-of-control award goes to head coach Mick Cronin of Cincinnati followed by John Calipari's ejection in the Kentucky-South Carolina game. This has not been a season of laudable coaching behavior and Cronin's antics yesterday were over the top. Calipari, by comparison, simply looks like a guy who's about to blow given the frustration of coaching this year's Kentucky squad. (By the way, remember when the preseason talk of an undefeated season was linked to Kentucky? Yeah, what happened...?)
Can you see me?: Just as Cronin's "I get no respect" sideline histrionics were embarrassing, let's not forget "TV Teddy" Valentine's role in this whole sideline drama. Valentine is widely known as the one college hoops ref who adores the spotlight--his confrontation with Cronin was partially avoidable had TV Teddy not gone after the Cincinnati coach after the first verbal barrage.
Marcus, Marcus, Marcus: Marcus Smart, sadly, is his own worst enemy. A scintillating talent that can take over a game, as witnessed by the final minutes last night against Kansas, his flopping continues to detract from his NBA-ready talent. Smart also used the national TV stage to mug and flex in front of KU coach Bill Self in the waning second of last night's win over the Jayhawks.
Court storming: The announcement out of Austin, TX that the University of Texas is likely to begin selling beer at its athletics contests flew under the radar a bit this past week. Can you imagine the combination of over-served fans with the current rash of court-storming behavior? The court-storming needs to be stopped before the inevitable happens. (And, shame on Digger Phelps suggesting that court-storming is simply the sharing of a celebratory victory by students with their fellow "student athletes." Digger, while making that proclamation on ESPN GameDay yesterday, of course worked in the seven upsets of number one teams he had during his coaching career.)
No. 1 seeds: Do you want to make the regular season more relevant? Then, only schools that win their conference's regular season should be considered for number one seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
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