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Team of the Week
Hoops for Haiti
Headed by Kentucky coach John Calipari, Hoops for Haiti raised more than $1 million for victims of the massive earthquake that struck the country last week. Sunday's telethon featured UK players taking donations over the phone and items auctioned on eBay. Coaches (Tubby Smith, $1,000) to announcers (Dick Vitale, $1,000) to players (Nazr Mohammed, $10,000) chipped in to help a nation in need. "If you're watching TV and seeing this stuff, it's just gut-wrenching to know there are children without families," Calipari told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "There are fathers and mothers holding their children knowing they're going to die in the next 12 hours because they've got no medicine and no help. Could you imagine if it were your child?"
Honorable mention: Ohio State – It's rare that one player can change the landscape of an entire league. But just as Evan Turner's absence weakened the Big Ten, his return alters it again. Right now the Buckeyes look like the Big Ten's second-best team after wins against Purdue and Wisconsin.
Teams of the Weak
Blue bloods
North Carolina (12-6, 1-2 ACC) – The Tar Heels have seen too much court-storming lately. UNC has three losses in four games, and students from College of Charleston, Georgia Tech and Clemson stormed the court after a win against the visiting Tar Heels.
UCLA (7-10, 2-3 Pac-10) – What's the reward for coaching UCLA to Final Fours in 2006, 2007 and 2008? One Bruins fan site posted a poll to "Assess Ben Howland's Job Performance As Head Coach Of UCLA Basketball." More voters disapproved (139) than approved (126) of Howland. Job security isn't what it used to be, and UCLA is heading toward its third losing season since John Wooden took over in 1948.
Indiana (8-9, 2-3 Big Ten) – These three elites have 21 national titles – and 25 losses this season. And what a strange scene after Indiana's upset of Minnesota on Sunday: IU students storming the court after a win against the Gophers.
Games to Watch
1. No. 13 Purdue at Illinois (8 tonight, ESPN) – Don't be fooled into thinking Purdue is an also-ran due to its first three-game losing streak in four years. The Boilers lost at Wisconsin (Badgers are 130-10 at Kohl Center under Bo Ryan), to Ohio State (Evan Turner is a first-team All-American at this point) and at Northwestern (which had two- and three-point losses to Purdue last season). "They're still the same team they were 10 days ago (before the losing streak)," Bruce Weber said of the Boilers.
2. Washington at UCLA (9:30 p.m. Thursday, Fox Sports Net) – How far has the Pac-10 fallen? Right now it's more likely to receive one NCAA tournament bid than three. Recent mock brackets on CNNSI.com (two teams from the Pac-10), CBSSports.com (one) and ESPN.com (one) show the league hasn't recovered from 18 players leaving early for the NBA draft over the past three years.
3. No. 21 Ohio State at No. 11 West Virginia (1 p.m., Saturday, CBS) – Thad Matta said he's surprised at how quickly Evan Turner has returned to "game form." On Monday, Demetri McCamey's former teammate was named Big Ten Player of the Week for the fourth time in 10 weeks – and the fourth time in Turner's six healthy weeks.
Conference Call
LEAGUE PVS.
1. Big East 1
2. Big 12 3
3. Big Ten 4
4. ACC 2
5. SEC 5
6. Atlantic 10 9
7. Mountain West 6
8. Conference USA 8
9. Pac-10 7
10. WAC –
The Ex Files (2007-08 Illini edition)
1. Warren Carter (Greece) – Has scored in double figures in four straight games while averaging 12.6 points and 3.9 rebounds on the season.
2. Chester Frazier (Germany) – Averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 boards through 17 in first season overseas. He also defended Purdue's Robbie Hummel and E'Twaun Moore in matchups last season. The tougher mark? "Probably E'Twaun, because he's more of a scorer and better off the dribble. Robbie is a shooter," Frazier wrote via Twitter. "But both are good."
3. Shaun Pruitt (free agent) – Played two games in Greece in November and said last week he's likely headed to China for a second time in two seasons.
Random Thoughts
– Illinois has said it hopes to break the attendance record for ESPN's College GameDay's 10 a.m. broadcast at the Assembly Hall on Feb. 6. The record is 4,500 (at West Virginia). Illinois isn't the only one looking to draw a record crowd. Kentucky, which hosts GameDay the following Saturday, will have former Wildcats compete in basketball contests and sign autographs. Kansas State, which hosts No. 3 Kansas the previous Saturday, also has said it will try to break the record. As for Illinois, students and the general public are welcome to attend the morning broadcast with free parking and free admission. Doors open at 8 a.m. The ticket office said there are single tickets still available for the 8 p.m. game against No. 6 Michigan State.
– Illinois fans hoping to greet ESPN analyst Bob Knight, just like old times, can save their voices for the Spartans. An occasional member of the GameDay crew, Knight probably won't be in attendance at the Assembly Hall, a State Farm official said. The former Indiana coach is scheduled to contribute on three of the eight GameDay broadcasts – and right now the UI-MSU game isn't one of his chosen games. Barring a late addition, the rest of the GameDay crew figures to stay the same: Rece Davis (a Chicago native), Jay Bilas, Hubert Davis and Digger Phelps.
– Friends of Southern Indiana coach Rodney Watson have reached out to the coach since the death of one of his players on Thursday. Jeron Lewis, a 21-year-old junior, died of natural causes after falling to the court during a game. Watson was an assistant to Bruce Weber at SIU. "Rodney called me on the way home from the game. Obviously I could tell from his voice right away (that) something was major wrong," Weber said Monday. "My first thought was something with Jamar (Smith, a junior guard at Southern Indiana). But it was even worse than that, to deal with the death of a player. You're not prepared for that as a coach." Weber received a similar phone call after the 2007 car crash involving Smith and Brian Carlwell. Weber said he tried to advise Watson as best he could. "As a human being, I'm not sure anyone's prepared for those tragedies. It's not easy," Weber said. Watson also has spoken with SIU coach and Evansville, Ind., native Chris Lowery, whose Evansville pastor has helped the USI players through an unthinkably difficult time. "I still remember calling Mrs. Carlwell. It's not easy," Weber said. "It's just a real tough situation to deal with." Illinois had a good man in charge after the 2007 car crash. And USI has a good man in charge after its tragedy.
What They Said (On the Big Ten coaches call Monday)
Purdue's Matt Painter, on the recent play of three-time All-Defensive team selection Chris Kramer: "He hasn't been our defensive stopper the past couple weeks. Evan Turner (career-high 32 points), Jason Bohannon (career-high 20), Drew Crawford (15 points), you can go across the board. Those guys have gotten the best of him."
Wisconsin's Bo Ryan, on the absence of forward Jon Leuer (wrist): "I don't talk about guys that aren't there."
Michigan State's Tom Izzo, on his belief the Big Ten race isn't over yet: "I still haven't changed my opinion. I can still see four or five losses still winning the league."
Northwestern's Bill Carmody, on the strong starts of freshman Drew Crawford and sophomore John Shurna: "I think my assistant coaches have done a really good job of getting kids here that can play right away. ... I think our recruiting has really stepped up."
Polling Place: News-Gazette vs. national polls
Klee's Top 25
TEAM – KLEE'S COMMENT
1. Texas – Strangely, No. 1 'Horns entered Monday's game with K-State as an underdog
2. Kentucky – Former UK coach Tubby Smith donated $1,000 to Hoops for Haiti
3. Kansas – Something's amiss with Jayhawks; Unconvinced they're Final Four-bound
4. Syracuse – Nothing's amiss with former Orange Carmelo Anthony, NBA's top scorer
5. Villanova – Watch 'Nova vs. Norm Roberts, St. John's on Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN)
6. Duke – Nobody turns a 10-point lead into a 25-point lead quicker than Coach K's guys
7. Michigan State – Don't look now, but Spartans on verge of running away with Big Ten
8. Pittsburgh – As of Monday, Pitt was tied with Villanova atop Big East standings (5-0)
9. Purdue – UI's Mike Davis chats with Boilers big man JaJuan Johnson on Facebook
10. Tennessee – Lost a football coach, landed a football coach, still winning hoops games
11. West Virginia – Narrow Big East losses to Notre Dame (two points), Syracuse (one)
12. Kansas State – Bill Self joked Monday of K-State/Texas game: "Can they both lose?"
13. Gonzaga – The way freshman Elias Harris is playing, Illini might face him just once
14. Georgetown – Big man Greg Monroe coming off 29-point, 16-board game vs. 'Nova
15. Ohio State – Plays rare January nonconference game on Saturday at West Virginia
16. Clemson – With Carolina struggling, arguably Duke's top competition for ACC title
17. BYU – Plenty of room on the Cougars' bandwagon if you'd like to join the fun
18. Mississippi – Efficient offense (ranked 23rd nationally) carries Ole Miss through SEC
19. Wisconsin – Enjoyed Bo Ryan's singing on Big Ten Network's "The Journey"
20. Temple – One of five Atlantic 10 teams in mock NCAA bracket on CNNSI.com
21. Northern Iowa – Today's game at Wichita State could be toughest MVC date
22. New Mexico – Mark your calendars for Jan. 27: UNM vs. BYU at The Pit
23. Texas A&M – Aggies host a disappointing Oklahoma squad in Big 12 matchup today
24. Georgia Tech – ACC leads Ken Pomeroy's conference ratings, just ahead of Big 12
25. Cornell – Good grades, good basketball: Ivy's finest a dangerous draw in March
AP
Record Pvs
1. Texas (57) 1
2. Kentucky (8) 2
3. Kansas 3
4. Villanova 4
5. Syracuse 5
6. Michigan St. 7
7. Duke 8
8. Tennessee 9
9. Pittsburgh 16
10. Kansas St. 13
11. W. Virginia 10
12. G’town 11
13. Purdue 6
14. BYU 18
15. Gonzaga 17
16. Temple 19
17. Clemson 24
18. Wisconsin 13
19. Ga. Tech 20
20. N. Iowa —
21. Ohio St. —
22. Mississippi 21
23. Miss. St. —
24. N. Carolina 12
25. Baylor 22
ESPN
Record Pvs
1. Texas (30) 1
2. Kentucky (1) 2
3. Kansas 3
4. Villanova 4
5. Syracuse 5
6. Duke 7
7. Michigan St. 8
8. Tennessee 10
9. Kansas St. 12
10. Gonzaga 14
11. Pittsburgh 20
12. W. Virginia 9
13. BYU 17
14. G’town 11
15. Purdue 6
16. Clemson 19
17. Temple 21
18. Ga. Tech 18
19. Wisconsin 16
20. Butler 22
21. UConn 15
22. N. Iowa —
23. N. Carolina 13
24. Mississippi 23
25. Ohio State —
