SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State men’s basketball team signed its first player of the spring, point/shooting guard Chris Hart, to a National Letter of Intent, it was announced today by Hornets’ head coach Jerome Jenkins. Hart will enroll as a junior at Sacramento State in the fall of 2006.

Hart spent the past two seasons at Long Beach City College, where he was a first team all-South Coast Conference selection last year and received honorable mention all-conference accolades as a freshman (2004-05). A 6-0, 175-pound combo guard, Hart helped lead Long Beach CC to its second-consecutive South Coast Conference South Division title and a state championship Final Four appearance last NCAA season.

He averaged 10.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game in 2005-06. In addition, the Long Beach, Calif., native shot 47.6 percent (146-307) from the field and averaged more than two offensive rebounds per game despite being a guard. As a freshman, he averaged 7.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

“Chris will bring the defensive intensity and on-ball pressure that we had with DaShawn Freeman,” Jenkins said. “He’s a physical guard who is very good in the open floor and will make his teammates better.

“I’d like to thank (Sacramento State) assistant coach Lorenzo Watkins on the great job he did of landing a very talented player. Chris will play a big role in the maturation of this program as we continue to get better every year.”

Hart prepped at Long Beach’s Wilson High School where he was a two-year team captain and received first team all-CIF Southern Section honors during his senior season in 2003-04.

Hart joins Apollo High School (Glendale, Ariz.) swingman Tristan Wilson, who inked with the Hornets during the early signing period. Wilson was recently named both the 4A Player of the Year and first team all-Arizona (given to the top five high school players in the state) for the second year in a row.

Sacramento State finished the 2005-06 season with a 15-15 overall record and a Big Sky Tournament semifinals appearance. The 15-15 record marked the team’s highest winning percentage since joining the Div. I ranks in 1991-92.

OGDEN, Utah -- For the first time ever, the Big Sky Conference men’s basketball tournament semifinal games will be available for viewing on the internet.

The Big Sky Conference and New Tier Communications announced last Friday plans to video stream games from the upcoming men’s championship tournament.

Alumni and fans from around the world will be able to log onto www.bigskyconf.com, click on the provided link and view tournament games free of charge.

Both men’s semifinal games from Flagstaff, Ariz., will be available on the internet, as will the postgame press conferences from the semifinals and championship games. The championship game itself will not be streamed because of television rights. ESPN2 will televise the championship game at 6:30 p.m. PST, on Wednesday, March 8.

Sacramento State will face Northern Arizona on Tuesday, March 7, in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. PST. Should the Hornets win, they would play Wednesday against the winner of the Eastern Washington-Montana semifinal. Eastern Washington and Montana will play their semifinal game on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. PST.

Sacramento State (15-14) defeated Montana State in Bozeman, Mont., last Saturday in the Big Sky Tournament quarterfinals to advance to the semifinal round.

After defeating Montana State (71-70) in Bozeman, Mont., on Saturday in the Big Sky Tournament Quarterfinals, the travel-weary Sacramento State men's basketball team heads to Flagstaff, Ariz., to face No. 1 seed and host Northern Arizona in the tournament semifinals. The Hornets and Lumberjacks will square off in the single-elimination tournament on Tuesday, March 7, at 6:35 p.m. PST inside the Walkup Skydome.

The Lumberjacks (20-9, 12-2), who are hosting the tournament semifinal and championships rounds after winning the Big Sky regular-season championship, will play for the first time since a 96-83 loss at Montana on Feb. 27 (a span of seven days without a game). By the time Sacramento State reaches Flagstaff on Monday, the Hornets will have logged 25 hours of travel time since Friday. Because of the limited flights into Bozeman and on such short notice, Sacramento State's travel itinerary to Montana State was not enjoyable by any stretch of the imagination. The Hornets departed Sacramento and flew to Seattle. After a long layover in Seattle, the team flew to Helena, Mont., and followed that up with a two-hour bus ride to Bozeman. The team reversed course for the same route on the way home, mercifully landing in Sacramento on Sunday afternoon before hopping back on an airplane at 8:30 a.m. Monday morning to Flagstaff.

The large amount of travel hours did not stop the Hornets (15-14, 5-9, No. 5 seed) from winning on the road in the Big Sky Quarterfinals for the second time in four years. The victory snapped a five-game losing streak as the team had dropped nine of the last 10 games (seven of those losses coming by six points or less) prior to Saturday's victory at Montana State.

Tuesday will mark the first time that Sacramento State and Northern Arizona have met in the Big Sky Tournament. After failing to reach the postseason event during each of its first six years in the league, Sacramento State is making its fourth-straight Big Sky Tournament appearance and is 2-3 all-time at the tournament That includes a 1-0 record against Montana and Montana State, and an 0-3 mark against Weber State. In fact, Weber State, which did not qualify for this year's tournament, defeated the Hornets in the Big Sky semifinals in 2002-03 and knocked the Hornets off at home in the quarterfinals each of the last two years. Sacramento State has yet to advance past the semifinal round in Big Sky Tournament action with its only previous appearance in the semis coming in 2002-03.

Like every game this season, Tuesday's contest can be heard live on KTKZ 1380 AM and 105.5 FM as well as www.hornetsports.com. Steve McElroy, who is currently in his ninth season as voice of the Hornets, will handle the play-by-play.

The winner of Tuesday's contest will advance to the Big Sky Tournament championship game to face either No. 2 seed Montana or No. 3 seed Eastern Washington on Wednesday, March 8, at 6:35 p.m. PST. The championship game will be aired live on ESPN2 and the winner of that contest will receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Sacramento State is looking for its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since joining the Div. I ranks prior to the 1991-92 season.

Northern Arizona defeated the Hornets in both regular season meetings between the two teams by a combined 26 points. That included a 20-point victory in Sacramento (92-72) just over a week ago (Feb. 25). In fact, that game marked the Hornets' worst loss at home during head coach Jerome Jenkins' tenure with the team (2000-pres.). In the teams' other matchup in Flagstaff on Jan. 28, Northern Arizona led for the final 33:25 of the contest on the way to an 89-83 victory. Northern Arizona and Montana remain the only two Big Sky teams that Sacramento State has yet to defeat this year.

Sacramento State's 15 victories are a new Div. I record (1991-pres.) and mark the team's most wins since the 1989-90 season. The Hornets are already assured of finishing with a .500 record for the first time 1988-89, and one more victory would earn the team its most wins since 1987-88. In addition, the Hornets are now 8-9 away from home, the team's most victories since the 1987-88 squad won nine times outside of Sacramento. The Hornets began the year with a 13-5 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the Big Sky, but have lost nine of their last 11 games.

Northern Arizona won the Big Sky regular season title for the fourth time in school history (1986, 1997, 1998, 2006) and went undefeated in league play at home (7-0) for the first time since 1997-98. Overall, the Lumberjacks are 12-1 at home, and all seven victories over Big Sky teams in the friendly confines came by 10 points or less. NAU, which was selected to finish fourth in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll, has won 10-consecutive games at home, the 15th-longest streak in the nation.

Senior Kelly Golob and junior Ruben Boykin Jr. were both named first team all-conference and lead the Lumberjack attack. Golob has 1,509 career points, the third player in school history to eclipse the 1,500-point plateau. Boykin Jr. is averaging 13.8 points and a Big Sky-leading 7.2 rebounds per game. In Big Sky play, NAU is first in the league in scoring (83.0 ppg), field goal percentage (.515), three-point field goal percentage (.429), free throw percentage (.797) and rebounding defense (28.9 per game).

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Steven Sir scored a game-high 21 points, pretty good record and NCAA odds, including two back-breaking three-pointers in the final 5:14, to lead Northern Arizona to a 98-83 victory over Sacramento State in the Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinals Tuesday evening at the Walkup Skydome.

NAU dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Hornets, 49-16, which resulted in numerous second-chance points. The Lumberjacks shot 56.7 percent (34-60) from the field and 50.0 percent (7-14) from beyond the arc. NAU, which is the league’s top shooting team, had five players score in double figures, including Tyrone Bazy’s 20 points.

With the loss, Sacramento State was eliminated from the Big Sky Tournament and closes its season with a 15-15 record, the team’s most victories since 1989-90. The Hornets were making their second appearance in the Big Sky Tournament semifinals (2002-03), and fourth-straight appearance at the Big Sky Tournament. With the victory, Northern Arizona advances to the Big Sky championship game tomorrow night (Wednesday, March 8) against No. 2 seed Montana at 6:30 p.m. PST on ESPN2.

In tonight’s other semifinal game, Montana defeated No. 3 seed Eastern Washington in overtime, 73-71, behind Kevin Criswell’s team-high 25 points. Eastern Washington had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Rodney Stuckey’s running 10-footer fell in and out as the buzzer sounded.

Northern Arizona, which won the Big Sky’s regular-season championship and the right to host the postseason tournament, improved to 21-9 overall and 13-1 at home. The Lumberjacks have now won 11-straight games inside the Walkup Skydome, the 15th-longest home winning streak in the nation. The Lumberjacks posted a 12-2 regular-season mark against Big Sky opposition and defeated the Hornets in all three games the two teams faced each other this season.

Sacramento State jumped out to a quick start, taking its largest lead of the game at 15-7 with 14:33 left in the first half. However, the Lumberjacks closed the final 14:17 of the half on a 42-19 run to go into the break with a 49-34 lead. Sir scored all 12 of his first-half points during the run and the Lumberjacks ended the half by shooting 51.4 percent (18-35) from the field.

One big reason for NAU’s run was an abundance of foul calls on the Hornets, including junior Alex Bausley picking up his second foul with 14:56 remaining in the half. Bausley exited the game at that point and never re-entered until the second half as the Lumberjacks outscored the Hornets, 42-21, with Bausley out of the contest. Senior point guard DaShawn Freeman picked up his second foul with 8:15 remaining in the first half, and was pulled for the final eight minutes of the half. Sacramento State was whistled for 14 fouls in the half, and the Lumberjacks were already in the bonus at the 12:22 mark of the first stanza.

The big first-half run proved crucial for NAU as Sacramento State got as close as four points (80-76) of the Lumberjacks’ lead with 5:33 remaining in the game. Freshman Loren Leath scored 15 of Sacramento State’s first 33 points of the second stanza to help get the Hornets back in the game. However, after the Hornets cut the lead to 80-76 on a layup from DaShawn Freeman, NAU immediately responded with a three-pointer from Sir and a three-point play from Ruben Boykin, Jr. to extend the lead back to 10 points (86-76) with 4:25 to play. The Hornets closed to within seven points of NAU’s lead on a three-pointer from junior Clark Woods with 2:57 remaining, but Sir struck again from beyond the arc 24 seconds later to put the game out of reach.

Northern Arizona would score 18 of the game’s final 25 points to win the contest by the 15-point margin. The Lumberjacks took their largest lead of the game at 17 points (49-32) and the Hornets’ largest lead was eight points (15-7 and 17-9).

Leath led the Hornets with 20 points, including 15 second-half points. The freshman went 6-of-12 from the field, 3-for-7 from beyond the arc and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Freeman had 18 points, four assists and three steals, and Woods (12 points) and senior Jason Harris (12 points) rounded out the four Hornets in double figures.

Sacramento State shot 49.1 percent (28-57) from the field, 42.1 percent (8-19) from beyond the arc and 70.4 percent (19-27) from the charity stripe. Leath (four boards) was the only Hornet with more than three rebounds.

Also scoring in double figures for NAU were Kyle Landry (14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds), Boykin Jr. (12 points, eight rebounds) and Kelly Golob (10 points)

With 20 points tonight, Leath became the school’s most prolific freshman in Sacramento State’s Div. I history (1991-pres.). Leath finished the season with 314 points, breaking the original freshman record of 295 points, set by Michael Boyd in 1993-94. In addition, the Hornets finished the season with four players recording at least 300 points (Freeman, Bausley, Harris and Leath) for the first time in the Div. I era and first time since 1989-90.

Sacramento State seniors Freeman, Harris, Zane Beekman, Chris Lange and Aaron Perry played their final games in a Sacramento State uniform. The Hornets will return 10 players next year, including redshirt point guard Kris Groce (transfer from Hawai’i) and redshirt center Stephen Colvin (seven-footer from Yucaipa High School). Despite the loss, Sacramento State recorded an assortment of records and accomplishments. Below is a quick recap.

- Sacramento State’s 15-15 record was the team’s best mark in the Div. I era (1991-pres.) and the best since 1988-89.
- The team’s 15 victories were the most in the Div. I era, and the most since 1989-90.
- Sacramento State’s appearance in the Big Sky Tournament semifinals marked the second time the team had reached the semifinal round (2002-03) since joining the league in 1996-97.
- Sacramento State earned its fourth-consecutive trip to the Big Sky Tournament after failing to reach the postseason event during its first six years in the league (the top six teams in the eight-member league advance to the postseason).
- The Hornets had three players receive all-Big Sky Conference honors (Freeman and Bausley named first team, and Leath named honorable mention), tying for the most selections since joining the conference.
- Sacramento State earned four Big Sky Player of the Week awards (Freeman twice, Bausley twice), setting a new school record.
- After the Hornets began the Big Sky season with a 4-0 record, the team had won eight-straight Big Sky games dating back to last season, easily a program best since joining the league.
- The Hornets’ five-game winning streak (Dec. 29-Jan. 14) set a new Div. I record, and was the longest since the 1987-88 season.
- The Hornets posted an 8-10 record away from home, setting a new Div. I record for the highest win total outside of Sacramento. Eight wins were also the most away from home since the 1987-88 squad won nine times.
- Sacramento State had been 0-10 against Portland State in Portland, Ore., until defeating the Vikings (68-65) on Feb. 4. Coupled with the Hornets’ 76-60 victory over PSU in Sacramento on Jan. 5, the Hornets also swept Portland State in a season series for the first time since joining the Big Sky.
- The Hornets had been 0-12 against Weber State in Ogden, Utah, until knocking off the Wildcats (73-66) on Jan. 14.
- The wins at Idaho State and Weber State gave the team its first-ever Big Sky road sweep.
- Sacramento State’s nine non-conference wins were the most in the Div. I era and the most since 1989-90.
- Sacramento State had been winless in the state of Utah (0-19) since joining the Div. I ranks until defeating Southern Utah (Dec. 17) and Weber State (Jan. 14).
- The Hornets defeated USF in San Francisco for the first time in school history (the team had been 0-5).
- Sacramento State scored at least 100 on points on three occasions, the most in any season since the 1989-90 squad posted four 100-point games.
- The team’s four non-conference wins away from home were the most in the Div. I era.

NCAA ODDS!!!

Lynch Leads Cal To Lopsided Win Over I-AA Hornets

After closing the Big Sky regular season on Monday with a 75-70 loss at Montana State, the Sacramento State men's basketball team (14-14, 5-9) heads back to Bozeman, Mont., on Saturday, March 4, for the first round of the Big Sky Tournament. The Hornets and Montana State will square off in the single elimination tournament at Worthington Arena at 1:35 p.m. PST. The Bobcats enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed while Sacramento State is the No. 5 seed. The Hornets have reached the Big Sky Tournament four-consecutive years and hosted a first-round game each of the last two seasons. This year's tournament marks the first time the Hornets have traveled to a first-round game since defeating Montana in Missoula, Mont. (88-75) during the 2002-03 season.

Sacramento State enters tournament desperate for a victory. After beginning the season with a 13-5 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the Big Sky, the Hornets have lost nine of their final 10 games. However, Sacramento State lost seven of those games by six points or less and had a chance to tie or take the lead with the last possession in five of those contests. Currently on a five-game losing streak with their only victory in the last six weeks coming at Portland State on Feb. 4, the Hornets defeated Montana State in Bozeman during both the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons.

Saturday will mark the first time that Sacramento State and Montana State have met in the Big Sky Tournament. After failing to reach the postseason event during each of its first six years in the league, Sacramento State is 1-3 all-time in Big Sky Tournament play. That includes a 1-0 record against Montana and an 0-3 mark against Weber State. In fact, Weber State, which did not qualify for this year's tournament, defeated the Hornets in the Big Sky semifinals in 2002-03 and knocked the Hornets off at home in the quarterfinals each of the last two years by a combined nine points.

Like every game this season, Saturday's contest can be heard live on KTKZ 1380 AM and 105.5 FM as well as www.hornetsports.com. Steve McElroy, who is currently in his ninth season as voice of the Hornets, will handle the play-by-play.

Because of the limited flights into Bozeman and on such short notice, Sacramento State has an interesting travel itinerary in its efforts to get to Bozeman. The Hornets will depart from Sacramento on Friday and fly to Seattle. After a layover in Seattle, the team will then fly to Helena, Mont., followed by a two-hour bus ride to Bozeman. Total travel time for the team on Friday is an estimated 10 hours.

The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the Big Sky Tournament semifinals in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Tuesday, March 7, to face either No. 1 seed Northern Arizona or No. 2 seed Montana State. In the tournament's other quarterfinal game on Saturday, No. 3 seed Eastern Washington will host No. 6 seed Portland State at 7:05 p.m. The winners of the semifinal games will face each other for the Big Sky championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday, March 8, at 6:30 p.m. PST in Flagstaff. Sacramento State is looking for its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since joining the Div. I ranks prior to the 1991-92 season.

Although Montana State defeated Sacramento State on Monday (while overcoming a 17-point first half deficit), the Bobcats and Hornets enter the postseason as arguably the two most struggling teams in the tournament. Prior to Monday's win, Montana State had lost five-consecutive Big Sky games with each of those losses coming by at least nine points. The Bobcats, who are 12-3 at home this season and 5-2 against Big Sky opposition in the friendly confines, defeated Sacramento State in both regular season meetings this year. However, those victories came by a combined eight points, including a victory in Sacramento where the Hornets missed two three-pointers in the final 10 seconds that would have tied the game.

Montana State, who swept Sacramento State in a season series for the first time since 1998-99, owns a 17-9 record in the all-time series with the Hornets. After failing to reach the Big Sky Tournament in 2002-03 and 2003-04, the Bobcats finished second in last year's standings before losing in the semifinals to Montana.

All 18 page of Sacramento State's game notes can be accessed by clicking on the link above the story.

-So far there has been one game we’ve watched this season that has stood out above the pack as more entertaining, more fun and more pleasing on the eye than any other we’ve seen. That game of course was…Marist at Siena?

Believe us, we didn’t expect it either. Even the heartiest college hoops connoisseur wouldn’t have thought much of this matchup, which was televised on ESPNU last Friday night and featured two teams who looked, by almost any standard, average. Marist came in at 6-6 but 0-4 in the Metro Atlantic. The Red Foxes did beat St. John’s at Madison Square Garden and Matt Brady is doing a nice job in Poughkeepsie, but Rik Smits’s legacy isn’t being threatened just yet. Siena came into the game 7-5 and is also having a good bounce-back year under new coach Fran McCaffery, but the Saints best win is over Holy Cross. Enough said there.

Expecting to check out just a few minutes, this one turned out to be a blast. First, there was scoring-Marist won, 85-77, and those scoring totals were truly representative of the pace and level of play, not inflated by several minutes of fouling at the end. Both teams also shot well; the Red Foxes were scorching at 60%, while Siena made ‘only’ 44%, a figure many teams would consider good these days.

Most importantly, though, was how the two squads scored. These teams both know how to run an offense. Siena in particular is the most entertaining team I’ve seen this year. The Saints run some great motion offense, and it’s not the oft imitated, Princeton-style with a few back cuts or lots of false motion either. Like so many old motion offenses, Siena’s starts with two downscreens and never really stops. Players almost never stop moving and keep great spacing, something we haven’t seen much of in years, and what it results in is a team with not much height being able to get quality shots on a consistent basis. On more than a few occasions 6-4 Antoine Jordan penetrated the Marist defense and dropped the ball off to 6-1 Kojo Mensah for lay-ups. Contrary to what some believe, this offense also offers players freedom to create. One reason why motion offenses have mostly disappeared is because some think they don’t allow athletes to do their thing, as so many want to do in today’s game, but Siena players frequently drove the lane. The difference was that the players around them were moving, making it extremely difficult for the defense to collapse on them.

Like the Saints, Marist also moves without the ball very well and doesn’t stand around as the shot clock winds down. That isn’t surprising, since Brady is a former St. Joseph’s assistant and helped develop players like Delonte West and Pat Carroll. Brady also has a terrific point guard in Jared Jordan, a great throwback-type who controls the game, finds open teammates and also stuffs the stat sheet (15 points, five rebounds and eight assists per game). Shooting guard Will Whittington also is a potentially explosive scorer from deep. In fact, Whittington scored 30 against Siena, while Jordan had 12 assists and found teammates outside (Marist was 15-of-26 on three-pointers) and in (15-for-24 on twos). The Red Foxes are particularly adept at moving to an open spot after the ball goes inside, either on an entry pass or on Jordan’s driving the lane.

The game was encouraging because it was reminiscent of the motion offenses teams used on a regular basis years ago. It was quite obvious that Siena’s players have been taught how to not only screen and cut, but also how to understand spacing and when to set screens, skills rarely shown in today’s set-play and free-lance dominated game. Marist’s players understand that they have a point guard that will get them the ball if they just get open, and the best way to get open is to move. We only hope more teams catch on to these traits. Spreading the floor to drive-and-kick is nice if you have superior athletes, and set plays work fine if executed crisply, but a well-executed motion offense should get a team a good shot on every possession. Both Siena and Marist displayed this frequently in this game.

-The seeming improvement in offense this year, coupled with some scores that catch the eye a bit, makes one ask the question: is offense starting to make a comeback? Check out some of these scores of late:

Sacramento State 107, Idaho State 106

Towson 96, Delaware 92

West Virginia 104, Marquette 85

Missouri-Kansas City 93, Oakland 91

High Point 100, VMI 90

Florida Atlantic 97, Campbell 88

East Tennessee State 110, Campbell 96

Lawrence 125, Grinnell 110

OK, that last one is a plant, as the Division III Grinnell Pioneers are still playing their wonderfully hectic style of ball, averaging 124.5 points per game through 12 games. The others, though, are all Division I, where defense is supposed to rule and offense is supposed to mean you’re not playing not enough defense. (A theory that is not true, by the way; Paul Westhead’s Loyola Marymount teams played very good defense, but they played so fast that opponents were going to score 90 points a game even if they shot badly.)

The most frequent “offenders” (and we mean that term in the best way) seem to be Campbell, East Tennessee State (sense a pattern here…Atlantic Sun teams) and Towson. Eight of Campbell’s 15 games have included at least one team scoring 90 points, and the fewest scored in any of the Camels’ games is 71. East Tennessee State is only 23^rd in the country in scoring average (80.7 ppg) but would be higher if not for being caught in a few slow-down games. The Buccaneers also still have Tim Smith, one of the darlings of the NCAA 1st Round a few years ago when he almost single-handedly beat Cincinnati. Though we don’t see him much anymore, Smith is still one of the most exciting players in the country and is averaging more than 23 points per game.

The most interesting offensive makeover has come at Towson, where the Tigers have hit 94 or more three times running and have suddenly become a player in the very balanced Colonial Athletic Association. Pat Kennedy’s team has been powered by the arrival of Gary Neal, who became eligible in December and in eight games has averaged almost 28 points per game. Neal is a great story. Effectively run out of La Salle after being accused of rape in a well-documented scandal a few years ago, he enrolled at Towson as a student and only decided to play basketball later. Once eligible, he has become maybe the best player in the CAA. Losing early in the season to the likes of Norfolk State and American, Towson is 5-3 since Neal arrived and has only been outplayed badly in a loss to Syracuse. Offensively, the Tigers have thrived as a team since Neal arrived, too. In its first seven games, Towson’s best scoring output was 76 points; since he became eligible, the Tigers have scored 78 or more five times.

The subtle hints of an offensive revival, isolated as they may be, are exciting. Scoring has been on a downward spiral for years. Reasons have of course included the much-cited decline in fundamentals, coaches seizing more and more control of games, and a generally apathetic attitude about offense has permeated the sport of basketball. Gonzaga and coach Mark Few have been a leader in keeping it cool to want to score, continuing to focus on offense even when everyone else preached defense, and it seems to be spreading. Many seem to forget that the sport is best when offensive AND defensive styles can be successful. When Loyola Marymount, Arkansas, Oklahoma and U.S. International were lighting up scoreboards in the late 1980s, Princeton, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Georgetown were also thriving with defense as good as (and mostly cleaner than) anything played today. There is most certainly room for games in the 40s AND games in the 100s, and the more we get to see the higher end, the better.

-All of that said, we present Michigan State-Ohio State: proof once again that just because a game is close or goes into multiple overtimes does not mean it was a good game to watch. Add this into a brutal series that perhaps most infamously includes the 2004 Dayton-DePaul NCAA Tournament game, as well as the Oklahoma-Texas A&M game from the day before. Just because a game is low scoring does not automatically mean it wasn’t worthwhile viewing, but this one was awful. Rather humorous to see on ESPN.com the next day Jay Bilas saying the Big 10 is a much better offensive league than it used to be, and citing several teams’ ability to spread the floor. Saw plenty of spreading the floor in MSU-OSU, and the results weren’t so hot, and we can tell you it wasn’t all defense.

Still a little early to concentrate on RPI too much, but some interesting numbers have developed thus far:

-As of Jan. 18, seven teams were tied for the most wins against top 50 RPI teams with five: Duke, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State, UCLA, Connecticut and Northern Iowa. Potentially good news for the March seeding of all of those teams, in particular UCLA, which won’t get much help in the Pac-10 (only four teams in the RPI top 100), and Northern Iowa, which should be on track for no worse than a 5 seed if the Panthers’ pace continues.

-Teams in the top 100 with the most wins vs. teams RPI below 200: George Washington, North Carolina State and Hofstra (eight each). George Mason, Air Force, West Virginia, Wake Forest. Georgetown and Florida State all have seven.

-Teams with work to do in the next month-plus, maybe more than some might expect: Nevada, George Washington (eight wins vs. teams below 200), almost any Big 12 team besides Texas, Washington, Southern Illinois and Missouri State (both need some signature wins against upper division MVC teams), Kentucky, Louisville (79^th in RPI), Tennessee (only 2-2 vs. top 100 so far).

-Teams in better shape than some might think: Iowa State (four top 50 wins), Arizona (despite clumsiness still 2-3 vs. top 50), Marquette, Washington State, Creighton (4-1 vs. top 50), Wichita State, Northern Illinois (though the Huskies have zero at-large chances if they keep losing to the likes of Western Michigan).

-The “Not Quite Ready for Prime-Time” award: Drake, which is 0-7 vs. the RPI top 50, 8-1 vs. everyone else. Next year, though, could be a different story for Dr. Tom Davis’s Bulldogs. And no, basketball writers, commentators and fans aren’t contractually obligated to call him “Dr.” Tom Davis, as if it is his first name, it only seems that way.

-Old Dominion and Bucknell are two teams that may not be talked about much for at-large bids until March, but both aren’t in too bad of position right now. ODU is 21^st in the RPI and is 2-2 against the top 50; Bucknell is 27^th and also 2-2 vs. the top 50. Regular season conference championships should almost assure them NCAA bids, though there’s no guarantee the up-and-down Monarchs will win the CAA.

-Wisconsin-Milwaukee is 18^th in the RPI, Manhattan 39^th, George Mason 42^nd and Winthrop 53^rd. Look closer, though, and that group is a combined 2-7 vs. the top 50, the best win being Winthrop beating Marquette on the road. Milwaukee does have four top 100 wins, which gives the Panthers a leg up on the other three, who have combined for only four. If last year’s disrespect of the numbers of Vermont (and, to a lesser extent, Southern Illinois) are any indication, then all four will need runaway conference regular season championships to even start receiving at-large consideration, particularly the last three. Some could also benefit from a Bracket Buster win in February.

-The MVC has five teams in the RPI top 30; only the Big 10 (six) has more and only the two-conferences-in-one Big East has an equal number.

-Hilton Armstrong? Who would’ve thought he would be Connecticut’s best player right now, certainly better than Mr. NBAer-in-the-making Rudy Gay? These are the stories that make college basketball fun. It isn’t the guys who short-pit in college on their way to assured millions; it’s the guys like Armstrong who work for several years, improving all the while and biding their time until they get a chance to show their stuff. Great to see the big guy having a moment in the sun.

-Of the final three undefeated teams, Pittsburgh is clearly the mystery meat of the bunch, certainly the least celebrated. A lot of that is with good reason, what with the miserable excuse of a non-conference schedule the Panthers played, but we’re ready to start giving them their due, at least for now. The wins at Louisville and Rutgers were solid, though we’ll stop short of using the term great because the Cardinals are young and struggling right now and need a healthy Taquan Dean, while the Scarlet Knights simply didn’t play well. What the wins did underscore was that this is a team that is more than Carl Krauser. It is also winning the close games and perhaps deserved more credit for its battle-testedness over the past few years, when it has been a regular in the rankings. Against South Carolina, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and now Louisville, the Panthers were behind or involved in down-to-the-wire finishes in all and made the plays late, displaying the confidence of a team that has been there before. Trailing for much of the game and playing rather average ball until the final 10 minutes, Pittsburgh simply out-executed Louisville down the stretch. Moreover, it was guards Ronald Ramon and LeVance Fields hitting big threes in the second half to get the Panthers in position to take control late. Krauser only scored eight points in the game, but Pitt’s underrated shooters still ate up the Cardinals’ zone, which was certainly weakened by a gimpy Dean. Up front, the Panthers have a group that might be called overachievers, but we prefer to call such players “good.” Seven-footer Aaron Gray is one of the most improved players in the country. And against Rutgers, it was Levon Kirkland who provided clutch shots. Pittsburgh’s poise and control in the second half of games and its ability to find someone to step up cannot be underestimated. One still wonders, though, how far the Panthers can take this. At this point, they look a lot like Boston College last year. Right now they’re are on a regular season roll and with a just friendly enough schedule to make it possible to keep winning those 50/50 games, but it’s also a team that could easily get torpedoed early in the NCAA Tournament.

-With all the injuries resulting in comings and goings in the lineup, UCLA is doing some terrific things this year. Almost all of the credit will go to Ben Howland, or at least Billy Packer will see to such. While Howland most certainly receives credit for turning things back in the right direction (and getting UCLA to win the games it’s supposed to-see Cal State-Northridge, Northern Arizona, UC Santa Barbara in the past) a lot of the credit this year really should go to Aaron Afflalo as well as the players’ ability to gel as a group. Afflalo is the Bruins’ best player, and it’s hard to imagine the best player from UCLA could be underrated, but it’s true in this case. Moreover, despite having plenty of solid recruits, the Bruins play well as a team. Though Afflalo and Jordan Farmar are the keys, any of a number of players can step up, and usually someone does when needed. Players on this team seem to know and accept their roles, something you don’t often see at a place where talent is plentiful.

-Bucknell simply has much better athletes and better players than anyone else in the Patriot League and also plays terrific defense, as evidenced in a 56-42 win over Holy Cross on Saturday. (Random thought: isn’t that score lower than the average college football game now?)  If the Bison keep their focus, they should run the table in the league, with the possible exception of maybe a road game at Holy Cross. The biggest challenge left should be a Bracket Buster game, potentially against a highly rated MVC team 

-Enjoyed two points made by the brilliant author John Feinstein in his color commentary on the HC-Bucknell game. His first was that the rule allowing 30 seconds for coaches to sub after players foul out is a terrible one. He’s absolutely correct, too many coaches have abused this rule to use it as a free timeout, and there’s no need for it. Even under the most intense circumstances, it doesn’t take 30 seconds to decide on a substitution. Feinstein also pointed out his dislike for the rule allowing TV timeouts to be taken before players shoot free throws. This is simply a poor rule not in the interest of players. While free throw percentages these days often seem to stink regardless of when they’re shot, it’s still noticeably more difficult to come off the bench and shoot than it is to shoot in the flow of the game. To penalize a shooting player with a timeout that hasn’t been called by either team puts that player at a disadvantage they shouldn’t be at. No reason the TV timeout can’t wait until a true dead ball.

Let us also add another rule that should be changed: the one allowing timeouts to be called by players flying out of bounds. This one is so simple it should be obvious: if a player doesn’t have at least one foot on the ground, he shouldn’t be able to call time. Too often this year officials have granted timeouts to guys in the air, even when they don’t have anything resembling possession of the ball. (How many guys can really levitate long enough to catch a ball and establish possession of it before hitting the ground?) Many players are fumbling the ball when they call time and shouldn’t receive it even under the current rules. Don’t allow players that option and it will make the officials’ job easier.

-Great to hear the voice of Fred White calling Big 12 games yet again this year. To some of us, White is the voice of Big 8/Big 12 hoops. He’s been doing the Saturday afternoon doubleheaders as long as we can remember, and he was there to call Kansas State’s upset win at Kansas last weekend, a win that maybe(?) will finally signal the Wildcats stepping out of Big 12 mediocrity. We’re not sure that’s really the case, not when the Kitties were losing by 15 at home to Nebraska just a few nights before beating the Jayhawks. Nevertheless, Jim Wooldridge’s club showed tremendous poise down the stretch on the road and proved it is one of the many in the jumbled Big 12 that is capable of making a run to the top third of the league.

-It’s easy to knock the West Coast Conference as being “that league Gonzaga is in,” but much like the PCAA/Big West was tougher for UNLV than some thought in the 80s, the WCC isn’t that bad. Conference teams had made some great strides in the past few seasons, but while there still will be a few challenges for Gonzaga, it just isn’t the same this year. Massive player loss from 2005 has left many rebuilding, much the same way the Atlantic 10 was last year after similar roster upheaval killed that league’s momentum after two Elite Eight appearances in 2004. Teams like Santa Clara, St. Mary’s and San Francisco are inconsistent, despite having some of the better players on the left coast. Daniel Kickert (St. Mary’s) and Travis Niesen (Santa Clara) are two players who are good but just don’t have enough help, and as a result their teams have been capable of beating the likes of Bucknell and Nevada but are still hovering around .500. The Gaels in particular have been a disappointment in starting 0-3 in the WCC, despite having Kickert and improvement from players like Reda Rhalimi and Brett Collins. We’re confident that, like the A-10 has bounced back this year, the WCC will be back better next year, as much of the youth starts to come of age. For now it simply will not offer Gonzaga the challenges it has in past years and the challenges the Bulldogs need to stay sharp for March.

-We’re not in the career advising business here, but we think Nick Fazekas would be wise to stay at Nevada one more year to bulk up some. Fazekas is one of the best players in the country, bar none, and has terrific inside-outside skills, though he’s not a ballhandler like, say, Dirk Nowitzki. As far as the pros go, he looks frail, too frail to play inside consistently as would likely be expected of him. Maybe we’re just selfish, though, because it would be great to see him back one more year to continue the Wolf Pack’s surge to national prominence.

-It seems every year a new team gets its chance to shine in the Big Sky. In recent years Portland State and Eastern Washington have made it to the top; this year, it could be Sacramento State. The Hornets are 13-5, with two of their five losses against Nevada and UCLA. We’d love to say we’ve seen the Hornets play, but we haven’t. The Big Sky still hasn’t made many strides on putting together some kind of TV package on a regional sports network, and it is one of the few D-I conferences that you can’t find much of on your DirecTV. It’s too bad, because typically Big Sky games are entertaining, and this year’s conference race, with Sac State, Montana and Northern Arizona all undefeated so far, should be one of the better ones in the country.

-The loss of Erik Crawford for Northern Iowa is a huge blow for a team that should’ve been in the top 25 before his injury. After Ben Jacobson, Crawford is the most valuable player on the team, and that’s saying a lot on a squad that was mostly playing only six players before he went out. A 6-3 guard, Crawford is UNI’s best defender, is a good rebounder and shooter, and can even play some point guard. Few will understand how big of a loss this is, and if he is back in time for the NCAA Tournament, the selection committee better give the Panthers the same consideration it has given other schools in the past, in judging teams’ resumes differently when injuries factor into the mix. That is, if the Panthers need it; since Crawford went out, UNI is 3-0, including a double-overtime win over Southern Illinois in a game that it was a sin to not have televised nationally. At the same time, this could also be a blessing in disguise for the Panthers. With Crawford out, some of Northern Iowa’s bench players will be forced into action, because UNI starters will not always be able to play 40+ minutes, as four of them did against the Salukis. The experience gained, while it may not result in immediate dividends, could pay off in the postseason and in future seasons.

-Bruce Pearl is doing a great job at Tennessee. We thought Pearl would eventually buck the odds and win in Knoxville, but didn’t think it would be this soon. His style is difficult to prepare for because few do anything like it anymore. One wonders what he could do with some top of the line athletes. Other schools are going to rue that they didn’t pursue Pearl before the Volunteers did. Now, if he could just do some tweaking of that terribly ugly orange UT uses for its uniforms…

-Enjoyed seeing the MEAC and SWAC featured on ESPNU on Martin Luther King Day. Hopefully for those who watched it, they saw that while these leagues are certainly toward the lower end of the Division I food chain, they aren’t as bad as the blown-up non-conference records may indicate. The numbers say these two leagues combined to go 25-167 in D-I non-conference games, but that happens when only 19(!) of those 192 games were at home. Many teams in these leagues (Delaware State, Hampton, Southern to name a few) could compete quite well near the top of the Mid-Continent, Northeast, Atlantic Sun, or other lower-third D-I leagues.

-Finally, it doesn’t sound like much yet, but Bill Herrion is already starting to turn things around at New Hampshire. The Wildcats have won four in a row to move to a modest 6-11 and into the middle of the America East pack, but anyone who knows New Hampshire’s history knows a winning streak of any kind is one to celebrate. Impressive was a road win at Stony Brook on Saturday, where, like Kansas State and some other road teams last weekend, UNH fought back from behind to steal one late. Yes, it was Stony Brook, not Kansas, but a road win at any level is impressive, and downright encouraging for a program that once was featured in Sports Illustrated for how much it lost.