On the Eleventh day of Conference tourneys, the Buffet gave me

Blackbirds signing in the dead of tourney

The last first day of conference action

No shockers in the Big East

Marshall's campaign continues

Can the desperate Horns make it?

Here's Casper Ware's moment

Northwestern's bid in the balance

Can Tennessee pull off at-large magic?

We're spared Seth Greenberg whining

Wolk Pack roll to Vegas

UNLV awaits their foes

And the Buffet has previewed 31 tourneys

Today's insane schedule:

ACC First Round:
12:00 PM (8) Maryland vs (9) Wake Forest ESPNU/Local TV
2:30 PM (5) North Carolina State vs (12) Boston College ESPNU/Local TV
7:00 PM (7) Clemson vs (10) Virginia Tech ESPNU/Local TV
9:30 PM (6) Miami vs (11) Georgia Tech ESPNU/Local TV

Big East Quarterfinal:
12:00 PM (1) Syracuse vs (9) Connecticut ESPN
2:30 PM (4) Cincinnati vs (5) Georgetown ESPN
7:00 PM (2) Marquette vs (7) Louisville ESPN
9:30 PM (3) Notre Dame vs (6) South Florida ESPN

Big Ten Quarterfinal:
11:30 AM (8) Iowa vs (9) Illinois BTN
2:00 PM (5) Indiana vs (12) Penn State BTN
5:30 PM (7) Northwestern vs (10) Minnesota ESPN2
8:00 PM (6) Purdue vs (11) Nebraska ESPN2

Big Twelve Quarterfinal:
12:30 PM (4) Baylor vs (5) Kansas State ESPN2
3:00 PM (1) Kansas vs (9) Texas A&M ESPN2
7:00 PM (2) Missouri vs (7) Oklahoma State Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
9:30 PM (3) Iowa State vs (6) Texas Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com

Big West Quarterfinal:
3:00 PM (3) UC-Santa Barbara vs (6) Pacific bigwest.org (PPV)
5:30 PM (2) Cal State-Fullerton vs (7) UC-Irvine bigwest.org (PPV)
9:00 PM (1) Long Beach State vs (8) UC-Davis bigwest.org (PPV)
11:30 PM (4) Cal Poly vs (5) UC-Riverside bigwest.org (PPV)

Conference USA Quarterfinal:
1:00 PM (2) Southern Mississippi vs (10) East Carolina CBS Sports Network
3:30 PM (3) Tulsa vs (6) Marshall CBS Sports Network
7:30 PM (1) Memphis vs (8) UTEP CBS Sports Network
10:00 PM (4) Central Florida vs (5) UAB CBS Sports Network

Great West Quarterfinal:
3:30 PM (4) NJIT vs (5) Houston Baptist No Coverage

MEAC Quarterfinal:
6:00 PM (3) Delaware State vs (11) Florida A&M meachoops.com (FREE)
8:30 PM (4) Bethune-Cookman vs (5) No. Carolina Central meachoops.com(FREE)

Mid-American Quarterfinal:
7:00 PM (4) Kent State vs (8) Western Michigan Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
9:30 PM (3) Ohio vs (7) Toledo Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com

Mountain West Quarterfinal:
3:00 PM (1) San Diego State vs (8) Boise State MTN
5:30 PM (4) Colorado State vs (5) TCU MTN/CBS Sports Network
9:00 PM (2) New Mexico vs (7) Air Force MTN
11:30 PM (3) UNLV vs (6) Wyoming MTN/CBS Sports Network

Pac-12 Quarterfinal:
3:00 PM (1) Washington vs (9) Oregon State FSN National
5:30 PM (4) Arizona vs (5) UCLA FSN National
9:00 PM (2) California vs (7) Stanford FSN National
11:30 PM (3) Oregon vs (6) Colorado FSN National

SEC First Round:
1:00 PM (8) LSU vs (9) Arkansas Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
3:30 PM (5) Alabama vs (12) South Carolina Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
7:30 PM (7) Mississippi vs (10) Auburn Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
10:00 PM (6) Mississippi State vs (11) Georgia Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com

Southland Semifinal:
7:00 PM (2) Stephen F. Austin vs (3) Lamar Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com
9:30 PM (1) Texas-Arlington vs (4) McNeese State Local TV/Full Court/espn3.com

SWAC Quarterfinal:
1:30 PM (3) Prairie View A&M vs (6) Alcorn State swac.org (FREE)
9:00 PM (4) Alabama State vs (5) Arkansas-Pine Bluff swac.org (FREE)

WAC Quarterfinal:
3:00 PM (3) Idaho vs (6) Hawai'i wacsports.com (PPV)
5:30 PM (2) New Mexico State vs (7) Fresno State wacsports.com (PPV)
9:00 PM (1) Nevada vs (8) San Jose State wacsports.com (PPV)
11:30 PM (4) Utah State vs (5) Louisiana Tech wacsports.com (PPV)

the 59th ACC Championship

March 8-11, Atlanta, GA, Philips Arena, capacity: 19,445

Florida State kept it interesting, but a pair of untimely, relatively strange losses (@Boston College, at Miami when Reggie Johnson got suspended) kept this race on tobacco road, in Duke/UNC's hands, and North Carolina made Duke wish that Austin Rivers had never hit that buzzer beater, so that they made not have played nearly as angry. UNC, who weirdly, was sort of disregarded as a major contender for the middle stretch of the season, a 33 point road loss will do that sometimes - but realistically, this is a team playing for a 1 seed and a whole lot more this weekend.

And best of all, Virginia Tech didn't finish the Duke upset, they have long been ruled out of an at-large and we won't be hearing from Seth Greenberg, AT ALL.

Buffet picks: UNC. We very much wanted to go upset, because a lot of times these second week tournaments are as super unpredictable as those first weekend, but since 1996, only one team other than North Carolina & Duke has won the ACC tournament. (name them?) Looking over the field, you have two overachieving teams in FSU, who is not as good as last's year very successful tournament team, and Virginia, who is just starting to really execute Tony Bennett's system, then who? Miami? Who beats FSU without Johnson, but then loses to North Carolian State. And don't get us started on the collapse of Mark Gottfried's team

Upset special: Ummmm... uh. We really wanted to take Maryland, after their win over Miami on February 21, felt a run was just waiting to happen. It didn't happen. So Miami FL, despite all those nasty things we said in the previous section, they are on a swoon, but beat Duke just before said swoon, and maybe Reggie Johnson will show up and play angry.

Schedule

Atlantic Coast Conference

Thursday, March 8

Game 1: #8 Maryland v. #9 Wake Forest, 12pm ET, ESPNU/ESPN3

Game 2: #5 North Carolina State v. #12 Boston College 2pm ET, ESPNU/ESPN3

Game 3: #7 Clemson v. #10 Virginia Tech, 7pm ET, ESPNU/ESPN3

Game 4: #6 Miami FL v.#11 Georgia Tech, 9pm ET, ESPNU/ESPN3

Friday, March 9

Game 5: #1 North Carolina versus Game 1 winner, 12pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN3

Game 6: #4 Virginia v. Game 2 winner, 2pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN3

Game 7: #2 Duke v. Game 3 winner, 7pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN3

Game 8: #3 Florida State v. Game 4 winner, 9pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN3

Friday, March 9

Game 9: Game 5 winner v. Game 6 winner, 1pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3

Game 10: Game 7 winner v. Game 8 winner, 10pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3

Saturday, March 10

Championship Game, 1:00pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3

North Carolina: They call last Saturday night - SERVING NOTICE. Duke hits a buzzer beater, and suddenly most #1 seed conversations don't include the Tar Heels. So they go about their business, win their games, and lie in wait for the return game with Duke. And then the ball is tipped, and the word "game" goes right out the window. 6 top 50 wins, not a single loss to a team ranked lower than 23. A neutral win over Michigan, wins over Wisconsin, Long Beach and Texas out of conference. And a 14-2 mark in the ACC. This is a #1 seed, now, this is a number one seed whose spot is in peril, because the Big10 is a top ranked conference, and Kansas is streaking, so the most likely place to lose that that #1 is UNC. It's tough. If they cruise to an ACC title, Kansas does the same and Ohio St and/or Michigan St do so, that'll be an interesting committee decision to make. Also, maybe other teams have done it equally as well, but has any other team done a better job absorbing an injury from the getting the 5th most minutes on their team? UNC is 11-1 since Dexter Strickland went down, and that was the Austin Rivers' prayer game.

Duke: They're days as a #1 seed likely ended when they decided not to show up in Chapel Hill. It'll be curious to see what happens if they win the ACC title and KU and/or Mich St/Ohio St don't come out of their conferences, but that's the only path, we see to Duke getting a #1 seed. Otherwise, they are a safely nestled 2. Among #3s, Duke beat Michigan, Missouri just doesn't have the non-conference work to match Duke. But - there is a place, if Duke were to go out early and either Marquette or Georgetown win the BE, and go through Syracuse to do so - those profiles could match up favorably.

Florida State: What a difficult team to understand. They had a chance to win the ACC regular season title - UNC had 2 losses, Florida State lost to Clemson, Boston College and Miami without their starting center. But, they also won at Duke, crushed UNC at home, swept Virginia. Out of conference, through, they lost to Florida, Michigan St, Harvard, UConn and Princeton and only beat UCF and UMass. Two great wins, not much non-conference but a big time road win, and a very good SOS with 21 wins against it. You try to call them a 3, they lose to BS. You try to call them a 6, they beat UNC by 30. Right now, Florida State is housed on the 5 line. If they can prove they're tilting more towards the UNC/Duke Florida State and less the Boston College Florida State, and a 4 seed is right there for them.

Virginia: Virginia is an interesting case. They've been considered a tourney lock for so long, we wonder if closer inspection is not going to do them too much good. They have but 1 top 50 win and 6 top 100 wins, plus 2 100+ losses. Other than a nice Michigan win, were talking wins of Oregon, NC State, LSU and George Mason powering a resume other than their Drexel/Miami FL win. Now they are clearly a tournament team, but maybe even the Buffet's 9 seed is a bit generous. NC State is the perfect sort of 1st round opponent, a loss probably moves them down a line, at worst, but most likely holds them - but a very winnable game, could propel them to a protected 7/8 seed.

Miami FL: Here's another questionable ACC resume to examine. 7-1 versus the 103rd ranked NC SOS, with the only notable win versus UMass. Now, they have a road win at Duke. How much does that carry? Right now, we think not quite far enough. First comes Georgia Tech, in an obvious can't lose situation. Then comes Florida St in another can't lose - because Texas and Northwestern are in similar spots against similar teams. So, win 2 and suddenly the conversation changes - they may also need to win the semifinal, but that's more vague speculation that we can engage in at this point, but we can say they should do that and not play the out of town scoreboard game. Two wins and a loss, and it just may not be enough, the Waiting Line for the Final 4 is just that long

NC State - We'll mention NC State because they can beat Virginia and UNC without winning the title. That would give them 2 top 50 wins, to counterbalance the 2 top 150 losses. Just not sure that'll do it ... but then again. Compare the two resumes just described, assuming Miami beats Ga Tech, beats Florida St but loses to Duke.

Team 1: 20-12 versus 30-35th ranked schedule, 7-1 versus NC schedule 103, 3-7 top 50 wins (Duke - 4, Florida St - 23 x2), 1-3 versus 50 (UMass - 80). Lost twice to NC State. Lost to Maryland (112). 4-8 on the road, 3-1, finished tied 5th (6th seed) in ACC.

Team 2: 22-12 versus 20-25th ranked schedule, 2-9 versus top 50 (UNC - 3, Virginia 41), 5-1 versus 51-100 (Texas, Miami x2, Princeton, St. Bonaventure), 2 top 100 losses (Ga Tech 189, Clemson - 144), 5-4 on road, 4-2 in neutral, finished tied 5th (5th seed) in ACC.

Of course they are other factors to consider, computer numbers, etc, but just as an exercise, under those conditions, it's a close call between those two teams.

North Carolina Tar Heels (27-4, 14-2)

Ken Pom: 5

ESPN BPI: 4

RPI: 3

SOS: 4

Best wins: @Duke (4) 88-70; Virginia x2 (42) @54-51, 70-62; v.Michigan St (5) 67-55, Wisconsin (23) 60-57, Long Beach (35) 84-78, Miami (FL) x2 (55) @73-64, 73-56; Texas (52) 82-63; NC State (52) 74-55

Best losses: Duke (4) 84-85; @Kentucky (2) 72-73

Worst Loss: @Florida St (22) 57-90; v.UNLV (14) 80-90

Players to Watch

Harrison Barnes – 17.4 pts, 5.1 rebs, 1.0 assists, 1.1 stls, 40% 3pts

Tyler Zeller – 16.3 pts, 9.3 rebs, 1.1 steals, 1.4 blocks

John Henson – 14.2 pts, 10.3 rebs, 1.3 assist, 3.0 blocks

Reggie Bullock - 8.6 pts, 4.8 rebs, 1.1 assists

Kendall Marshall – 7.2 pts, 2.5 rebs, 9.6 assists

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Henson – 44% Barnes – 72%

Marshall – 68% Zeller – 79%

James M McAdoo – 60% Reggie Bullock – 80%

P.J. Hairston – 86%

Florida State Seminoles (21-9, 12-4)

Ken Pom: 28

ESPN BPI: 34

RPI: 22

SOS: 9

Best wins: Duke (4) 76-73; UNC (3) 90-57; Virginia x2 (43) @63-60, 58-55; Miami FL (55) 64-59; UCF (61) 73-50; @NC State (53) 76-62

Best losses: UConn (33) 76-78 OT; Harvard (36) 41-46

Worst Losses: @Boston College (242) 60-64; Clemson (139) 59-79

Players to Watch

Michael Snaer – 14.1 pts, 3.9 rebs, 1.9 assists, 12. steals

Ian Miller – 10.8 pts, 2.0 rebs, 1.5 steals

Bernard James – 10.4 pts, 8.3 rebs, 2.3 blks

Okaro White – 7.6 pts, 4.4 rebs

Xavier Gibson – 7.4 pts, 4.8 rebs, 1.2 blks

Deividas Dulkys – 6.9 pts, 2.5 rebs, 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals

Luke Loucks – 6.2 pts, 3.0 rebs, 4 assists, 1.2 steals

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

James – 51% Snaer – 84%

Jeff Peterson – 65% Miller – 87%

Loucks – 57% White – 81%

Gibson 67% Dulkys – 82%

Duke Blue Devils (26-5, 13-3)

Ken Pom: 17

ESPN BPI: 7

RPI: 4

SOS: 2

Best wins: @UNC (3) 85-84; Michigan St (5) 74-69; v.Kansas (6) 68-61; Michigan (11) 82-75; Colorado St (21) 87-64; UVA (43) 61-58; v.Washington (54) 86-80; Davidson (65) 82-69; @Florida St (22) 74-66; NC State (54) 78-73; Belmont (60) 77-76

Best losses: Florida St (22) 73-76; Temple (14) 73-78; Miami Fl (55) 74-78ot

Worst Losses: @Ohio St (8) 63-85; North Carolina (3) 70-88

Players to watch

Austin Rivers – 15.3 pts, 3.2 rebs, 2.2 assists

Seth Curry – 13.5 pts, 2.5 rebs, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals, 40% 3pts

Ryan Kelly – 11.8 pts, 5.4 rebs, 1.0 blks, 40% 3pts

Mason Plumlee - 11.0 pts, 9.2 rebs, 1.7 assists 1.5 blocks

Andre Dawkins - 9.0 pts, 2.1 rebs, 41% 3pts

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Rivers – 67% Curry – 87%

Plumlee – 49% Kelly– 80%

Miles Plumlee– 67% Dawkins – 77%

North Carolina St Wolfpack (20-11, 9-7)

Ken Pom: 49

ESPN BPI: 54

RPI: 53

SOS: 26

Best wins: Miami FL x2 (55) @78-73, 77-73; Texas (52) 77-74; Princeton (87) 60-58; St Bonaventure (97) 67-65

Best losses: Virginia (43) 61-60; Vandy (28) 79-86

Worst Losses: Stanford (94) 72-76; Georgia Tech (188) 71-82; @UNC (3) 55-74; @Clemson (139) 69-72

Players to Watch

CJ Leslie – 14.3 pts, 7.1 rebs, 1.1 steals, 1.7 blocks

Scott Wood – 12.6 pts, 2.3 rebs, 75/80 FTs, 42% 3p

CJ Williams – 11.2 pts, 3.8 rebs, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals

Lorenzo Brown – 12.5 pts, 4.4 rebs, 6.3 assists

Richard Howell – 10.8 pts, 9.3 rebs, 1.2 assists

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

C.J. Leslie – 63% Wood – 100%

Williams – 81%

Brown – 76%

Howell 72%

DeShawn Painter – 73%

Alex Johnson – 74%

Virginia Cavaliers (22-8, 9-7)

Ken Pom: 24

ESPN BPI: 27

RPI: 43

SOS: 84

Best wins: Michigan (11) 70-58; Miami FL (55) 52-51; @North Carolina St (53) 61-60; @Oregon (49) 67-54; v.Drexel (67) 49-35; George Mason (83) 68-48; @LSU (88) 57-52;

Best losses: @Duke (4) 58-61; @ @Florida St (22) 55-58; UNC (3) 51-54

Worst losses: TCU (101) 55-57; Virginia Tech (117) 45-47; @UNC (3) 52-70; @Clemson (139) 48-60 (without Sene)

Players to watch

Mike Scott – 17.9 pts, 8.3 rebs, 1.2 assists

Joe Harris – 11.2 pts, 3.9 rebs, 1.8 assists, 40% 3pts

Sammy Zeglinski – 8.8 pts, 3.4 rebs, 2.6 assists, 1.5 steals

Jontel Evans - 7.3 pts, 2.0 rebs, 3.8 assist, 1.6 steals, 42% 3pts

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Jontel Evans – 58% Scott – 82%

Akil Mitchell – 52% Harris– 79%

Assane Sene – 69% Zeglisnki – 78%

Malcolm Brogdon – 81%

Miami FL Hurricanes (18-11, 9-7)

Ken Pom: 39

ESPN BPI: 42

RPI: 55

SOS: 41

Best wins: Duke (4) 78-74OT; Florida St (22) 78-62

Best losses: @Virginia (43) 51-52; @Mississippi (59) 61-64OT; No Carolina St (53) 73-78

Worst losses: Purdue (42) 65-76; @UNC (3) 56-73; Memphis (18) 54-71; Maryland (111) 70-75

Players to watch

Durand Scott – 13.0 pts, 5.3 rebs, 3.2 assists, 1.0 steals

Malcolm Grant – 11.3 pts, 2.3 rebs, 2.0 assists

Kenny Kadji – 12.9 pts, 5.6 rebs, 1.7 blks, 47% 3pts

Reggie Johnson – 10.5 pts, 7.0 rebs, 1.6 assists

Trey McKinney Jones - 7.0 pts, 3.7 rebs, 1.4 assists

Shane Larkin - 6.8 pts, 2.3 rebs, 2.5 assists, 1.6 steals

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Kadji - 64% Scott – 81%

DeQuan Jones – 58% Grant – 76%

Johnnson – 71%

Reggie Larkin – 92%

Trey McKinney Jones – 85%

Other players to watch

Terrell Stoglin, Maryland, So, 21.2 pts, 3.4 rebs, 1.9 assists

C.J. Harris, Wake Forest, Jr, 16.8 pts, 3.1 rebs, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 43% 3pts

Travis McKie, Wake Forest, So, 15.9 pts, 6.9 rebs, 1.1 assists

Erick Green, Virginia Tech, Jr, 15.3 pts, 3.2 rebs, 2.8 assists, 1.4 steals

Andre Young, Clemson, Sr, 13.3 pts, 2.7 rebs, 3.2 assists, 1.7 steals

Tanner Smith, Clemson, Sr, 11.1 pts, 5.0 rebs, 4.1 assists, 1.7 steals

Ryan Anderson, Boston College, Fr, 10.8 pts, 7.2 rebs, 1.0 assists

Dorenzo Hudson, Virginia Tech, Sr, 10.8 pts, 2.8 rebs, 1.6 assists

Devin Booker, Clemson, Jr, 10.7 pts, 7.0 rebs, 1.3 assists, 1.0 blks

Matt Humphrey, Boston College, Jr, 10.5 pts, 3.4 rebs, 1.6 assists, 1.1 steals

Sean Mosley, Maryland, Sr, 10.4 pts, 4.9 rebs, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals

Mfon Udofia, Georgia Tech, Jr, 9.8 pts, 3.5 rebs, 2.9 assists

ACC Jack Leasure Award: Scott Wood, 81/195 42%. Surprisingly modest conference, only one player, Terrell Stoglin, is over 200 attempts, but being just 35 behind (and only 2 makes) and almost 4 full percentage points ahead, gives Mr. Wood this JLA

ACC Player of the Year: Tyler Zeller, North Carolina

ACC Coach of the Year: Leonard Hamilton, Florida State

ACC Freshman of the Year: Austin Rivers, Duke

All-ACC First Team:

Tyler Zeller, UNC

Mike Scott, Virginia

John Henson, UNC

Austin Rivers, Duke
Harrison Barnes, UNC

All-ACC Second Team:

Kendall Marshall, North Carolina

Terrell Stoglin, Maryland

Michael Snaer, Florida State

C.J. Leslie, NC State

Erick Green, Virginia Tech

Morsels from the ACC...

2012 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament

March 8-11, Indianapolis, IN, Bankers Life Fieldhouse. capacity: 18,165

The Big Slo. They can't count. Guess what? This year they are college basketball heavyweights. The fortunes of the BIG (So clever Jim Delaney, you are a marketing maven!) were turned on the strength of jumpshots. To wit: an under the radar fantastic race for the conference title, it was shared in three pieces thanks to a William Buford clutch jumper. Tom Crean turned around the Hoosiers on the strength of a Christian Watford jumper. Northwestern is stuck in the waiting because of late jumper after late jumper. With 60% of their conference headed to the tournament and another one to the Waiting Line, and 5 of those teams easily to be on lines 5 or above, Purdue will B10 tournament opportunities to move it on up, and NW sitting on the doorstep of the first NCAA tournament in their history - 2011/20112 has already been a magical year in the B10.

Buffet picks: You know, Ohio State is the top to bottom most talented, Michigan State and the Power of Green are the excellent of execution and just a so fluid in their execution - but there's something, just something, about the Maize & Blue buy-in of the Beilein system, Timmy Hardaway Jr and the man Trey Burke, that has the Buffet believing in the Wolverines this weekend. Michigan is the call.

Upset special: Reality division: Purdue has been the forgotten team this year with E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson moving to the Pros, and Robbie Hummel sadly headed back to rehab, following ACL surgery #2. But the season didn't go into the tank as planned, Hummel's performance returned, even if he had to modify it to adjust to a lack of a stable knee, and the supporting cast did just enough to power them. They only team to win at the Breslin Center all season, watch for Purdue to make a huge run. Fantasy Division: Iowa. Swept Wisconsin, beat Indiana, beat Michigan - former Siena guy, Fran McCaffrey has this team rolling in the right direction, and are our upset special II.

Schedule

BIG Ten

Thursday, March 8

Game 1: #8 Illinois v. #9 Iowa, 1130pm ET, Big 10 Network/ESPN3

Game 2: #5 Indiana v. #12 Penn State, 155pm ET, Big 10 Network/ESPN3

Game 3: #7 Northwestern v. #10 Minnesota, 530pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN3

Game 4: #6 Purdue v. #11 Nebraska, 755pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN3

Friday, March 9

Game 5: #1 Michigan v. Game 1 winner, 12pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3

Game 6: #4 Wisconsin v. Game 2 winner, 2:25pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3

Game 7: #2 Michigan v. Game 3 winner, 630pm ET, BTN/ESPN3

Game 8: #3 Ohio State v. Game 4 winner, 855pm ET, BTN/ESPN3

Saturday, March 10

Game9: Game 5 winner v. Game 6 winner, 140pm ET, CBS Sports

Game 10: Game 7 winner v. Game 9 winner, 415pm ET, CBS

Sunday, March 11

Championship Game, 330pm ET, CBS Sports

Michigan State: When you are the regular season co-champion of the nation's top league, and you have the otherwise other-worldly good resume that Michigan State has, it is hard for a #1 seed not to be in your grasp. 9 wins versus the top 25, a win in Columbus, a win in Wisconsin, a win in Seattle/Spokane, a win in West Lafayette, a win in Minnesota. 1 loss to anyone ranked higher than 50 (Illinois at 84). Wins over Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan, Florida St, Wisconsin x2, Gonzaga, Purdue x2 and Minnesota x2. 7-4 away from home. The #1 schedule in the country. This team screams #1 seed. The catch? They lost to North Carolina & Duke on neutral courts, and with Kansas in real strong position for a #1, and UNC steamrolling towards one - it'll be a real close call between UNC/Michigan St should both teams win straight through. We would probably give Mich St the edge over Duke.

Ohio State: Very similar situation to Michigan St - 25 wins against the nation's 10th strongest schedule. 7-4 away from home. 9 wins versus the RPI top 50, 1loss to any team ranked 51 or above - that's Illinois again (84). Wins over Duke, at Michigan St, Indiana, Michigan, at Wisconsin, Florida, Purdue, Northwestern x2, Purdue and Minnesota. Their non-conference slate did give them wins over Florida & Duke, but overall it was just 114th ranked. And they did fall to Kansas (Sullinger didn't play, but where do you draw that line, KU shouldn't have the game thrown out because of it). Probably draw the demarcation line at this: 1. KU. 2. Ohio State (if they win B10 tourney) 3. UNC 4. Michigan State 5. Duke 6. Missouri - that's provided that the last 2 #1s win this weekend, of course.

Michigan: What a year in Ann Arbor. Brady Hoke quickly rinses away the mess left by Rich Rodriguez (Go Cats!). And John Beilein, who had a couple seasons of moderate success (making the tournament last year and in 2009) finally seems to have instituted his West Virginia magic in maize and blue tint. Going 22-8 against the nation's 11th toughest schedule, co-champions of the #1 conference. Wins over Michigan, Sta, Ohio St, Indiana, vs.Memphis, Wisconsin, Iowa State, at Purdue, plus Minnesota, Northwestern x2 and Illinois x2. What you all may be noticing that separates their resume from the 2 mentioned above + North Carolina, Kansas et. al is no major non-conference win (Memphis is their best) and no big time road win, although Memphis was neutral, so it's partial credit. Also, a loss at Iowa - who did notch 3-4 pretty good home wins, but still lost 6 home games, so they were impenetrable at home, and they lost to Michigan there in January, when they were still losing there to teams like Nebraska (RED ALERT!). Michigan is a strong 3 seed, and we don't see too much fallout from an early loss. If the win the Big 10, they will have a co-championship and tourney championship + another win versus Mich St or Ohio St on their profile, and that sounds like a 2 seed to the Buffet.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin was dominant. Then they weren't Then they were again. They started 6-0, looking pretty marvelous in the process, and even their loss to UNC was a Bo Ryan beauty, slugging out a 3 point loss (60-57) in the Dean Dome. But a pretty convincing loss to Marquette, and we wondered. An 11 point over a UNLV team fresh off a win over those same Tar Heels, and we didn't wonder anymore. A few wins over no one special, apologies to Savannah St who had a great season and didn't need insult to the Hampton injury they suffered last night, and maybe they had picked it up. Then they lost at home to Iowa (then it seemed terrible, now it's just a questionable/goofy loss), backed up by a tough OT loss to Michigan State, followed by a pretty predictable blowout road loss to Michigan, and suddenly they are 1-3 in conference and questions about Jordan Taylor's lack of progress, and the flawed Wisconsin roster start picking up some steam. Apparently disliking such talk, Wisconsin rips off a 6 game winning streak, which includes stocking stuffing wins at Purdue, over Northwestern (by 20) and over Indiana. But, in true 2011/12 Wisconsin fashion, there is a period of lost focus around big games, as they lost to Ohio St by 6, then needed overtime to escape Minnesota before losing by 14 @Michigan St. Not we're staring at 5 conference losses with 5 to go, and the questions heat back up again, and get even more intense when Iowa, who had turned into a decently formidable home team at this point, gives them conference loss #6 - with 3 solid games left - so Wisconsin went out and added a signature win - beating Ohio State in Columbus, which proved to kill the Buckeyes regular season title hopes and knock them from the #1 seed line. Wisconsin for their part never really went too far, maybe dropped to a 5 at one point in after the second Iowa loss (Buffetology wouldn't have been performed in early January during the 3 game losing streak, because it is just too soon), but they are a 4 and after their last string of wins, the top ranked 4, ready to pounce on a 3 if they can reach the Big 10 final, especially if they win it and if anyone on that 3 line, ahem, Baylor ahem, should falter.

Indiana: Welcome to Bloomington, once and for all, Mr. Tom Crean. The big 3 over Kentucky announced the return of the Hoosiers, and a string of nice wins despite a semi-pedestrian 11-7 conference record (but again, look who they have to play night-in/night-out). Those top level wins are just magnificent - Kentucky, Ohio St, Michigan St and Michigan. Even 3 seeds like Georgetown can't match them. They have a trio of nice 50-100 wins (NC State, Illinois and Minnesota) and put up 24 wins against the nation's #25 schedule. They have been somewhat shaky on the road - 6 of their 7 losses came there, including losses at Iowa and, yes, RED ALERT! So, while all the good of Indiana says 2 or 3 seed, the ugly shoves them down to a 4, with 5 potential if they flame out early - but really, the strength also says, you win B10 or even reach the final, given who you could beat to get there - Wisconsin, Michigan State - a higher seed line may come calling.

Purdue: We discussed the return of Hummel, but the return of the downside of Kesley Barlow also returned, during a mind-numbingly dumb incident - where Barlow, who had been kicked out of a West Lafayette bar, the Where Else Bar, ironically named, decided he needed to go back and get his ID that night. Ignoring that whatever the reasons were for his ejection probably were still present, he brought back the starters - guard DJ Byrd, Robbie Hummel and others. Predictably, this didn't go as he probably planned - an altercation ensued, DJ Byrd ended up striking the bouncer and getting arrested, which led to a one game suspension and Barlow (who was also suspended on the eve of last year's NCAA tournament, and was one of their top perimeter defenders on a team already down 1 Robbie Hummel) ended up expelled from the basketball team. A predictable result after an unpredictable game (Purdue outplayed MSU for a lot of the first half, before the shorthandedness and talent separation took over) occured versus Michigan St, but then Purdue had a nice rebalance - easy wins over Nebraska and Penn State bookended their win at Michigan, and the only visiting team all year to enter Breslin and come out victorious. The season ending loss to IU wasn't pretty, 9 points doesn't really tell the story - but many are calling the expulsion of Barlow, for all of his talents, addition by substraction. Purdue has some nice wins to their credit to go with that Michigan road win, neutral wins over Temple & Iona, a pair over Northwestern, a pair of Illinois, a road win @Minnesota and versus Miami. They did suffer 2 questionable losses, the Indiana state classic loss to Butler and at Penn State, but they also played Xavier extremely tough on the road (3 point loss in Cincy) to further show some road mettle. A lot of losses to the top 50 (8), but 20 wins versus the nation's 24th ranked schedule, and Purdue is obviously safely in. But where to put them? Right now the 8/9 game seems like a good spot, with Nebraska today, a loss makes them a 9 seed pushing 10. A win keeps them in the 8 spot. Then Ohio State for a perhaps a spot on the 7 line, then would come Michigan again, to reinforce that new home on 7, and then the championship game where a dramatic leap to 5 or 6 is possible . Those seed lines 5-7 (when Wichita, St Mary's, Creighton and Gonzaga can only sit and watch)and then 8-12 have the biggest opportunity to leap this weekend, as resumes (St Louis, Southern Miss, UCF, Seton Hall, BYU, Drexel, Texas, Miami, Northwestern (see: below) are all a little lacking in the resume department for one reason or another and therefore slightly ripe for hot teams, notching big wins this week, to leap frog them)

Northwestern: Oh, Wildcats - looking for their first every tournament berth, can thank the extra 4 teams added a year ago for still being in the tournament as play began today. They are virtually resting on a single big win - Michigan State, plus a neutral win over Seton Hall, a road win at Illinois, and then LSU & Minnesota round out their schedule (although, they did give the Minny win back on the road). Otherwise they played the #12 schedule and won 18 games, and then comes their luck, they lost 4 games (Ohio St, @Indiana, @Michigan, Purdue) by an average of 2.8 points, including the Jared Sullinger banked winner. 1 top 50 win, 4 wins 51-100, a slew of close losses and zero bad losses spell Waiting Line... anxiety. Minnesota today is a nice opportunity at a top 100 win against a team not playing like it. That win will solidify things, because teams like Texas get Iowa State, Seton Hall lost to Louisville (after only getting to play Providence) and other teams have more challenging matchups. We still think to be safe, given that the other conferences could get wacky, although the bottom of the Big East barrel has been eliminated, Northwestern can't just rest on another 90th ranked win, they really ought to consider beating Michigan in the quarterfinals to securely punch their way in. A loss there and its hang-wringing and scoreboard watch, and we fear the outcome won't be so bright.

Illinois & Minnesota - A pair of disappointing 6-12 teams - the Gophers was the result of the loss of Trevor Mbakwe and now may be without Ralph Sampson in the Big 10 tourney - who is to CBB as his dad was to the NBA - but this still diminished about of what was written about NW in the preceding paragraph (we report as we learn, not before learn Pat Forde-style). And Illinois is the result of hiring Bruce Weber. We won't even begin to discuss their tournament "hopes" unless either makes the B10 final.

Ohio State Buckeyes (25-6, 13-5)

Ken Pom: 2

ESPN BPI: 4

RPI: 8

SOS: 10

Players to watch

Jared Sullinger – 16.9 pts, 9.3 rebs, 1.2 steals,

William Buford – 15.1 pts, 4.9 rebs, 2.9 assists

Deshaun Thomas – 15.1 pts, 4.9 rebs

Aaron Craft – 8.6 pts, 3.0 rebs, 4.5 assists, 2.4 steals

Lenzelle Smith Jr. – 6.0 pts, 4.6 rebs, 2.1 assists, 1.0 steals

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Craft - 66% Sullinger - 76%

Smith, Jr. - 55% Buford - 88%

J.D. Weatherspoon – 63% Thomas – 72%

Michigan State Spartans (24-7, 13-5)

Ken Pom: 3

ESPN BPI: 6

RPI: 5

SOS: 1

Players to watch

Draymond Green – 16.2 pts, 10.3 rebs, 3.5 assist, 1.5 steals, 41% 3pts

Keith Appling – 11.5 pts, 3.0 rebs, 3.8 assists, 1.2 steals

Branden Dawson – 8.4 pts, 4.5 rebs

Derrick Nix – 7.8 pts, 3.7 rebs, 1.0 assists

Adrian Payne - 6.7 pts, 4.0 rebs, 1.0 blks

Austin Thornton - 5.1 pts, 3.4 rebs, 1.2 assists, 42% 3pts

Travis Trice – 4.9 pts, 1.8 rebs, 1.8 assists, 40% 3pts

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Nix - 56% Green - 71%

Dawson - 64% Appling - 81%

Adrien Payne - 64% Wood - 72%

Trice – 59%

Michigan Wolverines (23-8, 13-5)

Ken Pom: 20

ESPN BPI: 29

RPI: 11

SOS: 11

Players to watch

Trey Burke – 14.6 pts, 3.4 rebs, 4.6 assists

Tim Hardaway, Jr. – 14.5 pts, 3.8 rebs, 2.2 assists

Zack Novak – 9.5 pts, 4.6 rebs, 1.9 assists, 41% 3pts

Evan Smotrycz – 7.8 pts, 4.8 rebs, 44% 3pts

Jordan Morgan – 7.5 pts, 5.6 rebs

Stu Douglass - 7.7 pts, 2.6 rebs, 2.4 assists

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Jordan Morgan - 54% Hardaway, Jr. - 73%

Burke - 72%

Novak – 83%

Smotrycz – 75%

Stu Douglass – 82%

Wisconsin Badgers (23-8, 12-6)

Ken Pom: 7

ESPN BPI: 13

RPI: 23

SOS: 22

Players to watch

Jordan Taylor – 14.6 pts, 3.8 rebs, 4.1 assists, 1.0 steals

Ryan Evans – 10.7 pts, 6.9 rebs, 1.6 assists, 1.0 blks

Jared Berggren – 10.4 pts, 5.0 rebs, 1.6 blks

John Gasser – 7.9 pts, 4.4 rebs, 44% 3pts

Mike Bruesewitz – 5.9 pts, 5.3 rebs, 1.6 assists

Ben Brust - 7.7 pts, 2.3 rebs

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Rob Wilson - 68% Taylor - 74%

Frank Kaminsky - 50% Berggren - 74%

Evans - 71%

Ben Brust – 86%

Gasser – 73%

Brusewitz – 71%

Indiana Hoosiers (24-7, 11-7)

Ken Pom: 10

ESPN BPI: 14

RPI: 12

SOS: 25

Players to watch

Cody Zeller – 15.4 pts, 6.4 rebs, 1.2 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.3 blks

Christian Watford – 11.8 pts, 5.6 rebs, 1.3 assists, 43% 3pts

Jordan Hulls – 11.1 pts, 2.5 rebs, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steals, 48% 3pts

Victor Oladipo – 112 pts, 5.4 rebs, 1.5 steals

Verdell Jones III – 7.8 pts, 3.0 rebs, 3.2 assists

Will Sheehey - 8.7 pts, 3.2 rebs, 1.0 assists, 44% 3pts

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Derek Elston -51% Zeller - 77%

Watford - 75%

Hulls – 90%

Oladipo – 70%

Sheehey – 71%

Jones III – 74%

Purdue Boilermakers (20-11, 10-8)

Ken Pom: 25

ESPN BPI: 41

RPI: 42

SOS: 34

Players to watch

Robbie Hummel – 16.8 pts, 7.0 rebs, 2.0 assists, 1.3 blks

Lewis Jackson – 10.5 pts, 3.2 rebs, 4.2 assists, 1.3 steals

Ryne Smith – 9.4 pts, 2.6 rebs, 43% 3pts

D.J. Byrd – 8.5 pts, 2.3 rebs, 43% 3pts

Terone Johnson - 8.4 pts, 3.2 rebs, 1.8 assist, 1.0 steals

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Barlow - 69% Hummel - 80%

Terone Johnson – 33% Jackson - 72%

Anthony Johnson – 49% Smith - 85%

Jacob Lawson – 35% Byrd - 73%

Northwestern Wildcats (18-12, 8-10)

Ken Pom: 50

ESPN BPI: 46

RPI: 47

SOS: 12

Players to watch

John Shurna – 19.8 pts, 5.3 rebs, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.7 blks, 42% 3pts

Drew Crawford – 16.4 pts, 4.6 rebs, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals, 42% 3pts

Dave Sobolewski – 9.1 pts, 2.6 rebs, 3.5 assists

Reggie Hearn – 7.7 pts, 3.7 rebs, 41% 3pts

Luk Mirkovic - 5.9 pts, 3.8 rebs, 1.7 assists

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

JerShon Cobb – 65% Shurna - 79%

Chip Armelin - 41% Sobolweski - 76%

Hearn – 83%

Minnesota Golden Gophers (18-13, 6-12)

Ken Pom: 59

ESPN BPI: 63

RPI: 90

SOS: 43

Players to watch

Rodney Williams – 10.9 pts, 5.5 rebs, 1.7 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.5 blks

Julian Welch – 10.2 pts, 2.5 rebs, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 43% 3pts

Austin Hollins – 8.7 pts, 2.5 rebs, 2.0 assists, 1.1 steals

Ralph Sampson – 7.9 pts, 4.6 rebs, 1.9 assists, 1.3 blks

Andre Hollins - 6.7 pts, 1.5 rebs, 1.6 assists

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Williams – 55% Welch - 81%

Chip Armelin - 41% Hollins - 87%

Sampson - 88%

Joe Coleman - 75%

Illinois Fighting Illini (17-14, 6-12)

Ken Pom: 69

ESPN BPI: 71

RPI: 84

SOS: 23

Players to watch

Brandon Paul – 15.0 pts, 4.7 rebs, 2.9 assists, 1.5 steals

Meyers Leonard – 13.4 pts, 8.3 rebs, 1.3 assists, 1.9 blks

D.J. Richardson – 11.6 pts, 2.9 rebs, 1.7 assists

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Tracy Abrams - 58% Paul - 72%

Leonard – 70%

Richardson – 76%

Sam Maniscalco – 82%

Joseph Betrand – 77%

Other players to watch

Tim Frazier, Penn St, Jr, 18.6 pts, 4.8 rebs, 6.3 assists, 2.3 steals

Matt Gatens, Sr, Iowa, 15.7 pts, 3.8 rebs, 1.8 assists, 1.5 steals, 43% 3pts

Bo Spencer, Nebraska, Sr, 15.1 pts, 2.6 rebs, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals

Jermaine Marshall, So, Penn St, 10.9 pts, 4.1 rebs, 1.1 assists, 1.0 steals

Toney McCray, Nebraska, Sr, 9.8 pts, 4.5 rebs, 1.2 assists, 1.0 steals

Aaron White, Iowa, Fr, 10.4 pts, 5.4 rebs

Roy Devyn Marble, Iowa, So, 11.1 pts, 3.8 rebs, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals

Big 10 Conference Jack Leasure Award: John Shurna, Northwestern, 80/190, 42%.The closest race of the entire XII Days - John Shurna wins because he launched three more 3s in one less game played. Ryne Smith of Purdue actually made the same amount (80) in less tries (187) - which makes him more efficient, but slightly less of a mad bomber. Matt Gatens of Iowa (63/161) was a contender as was Jordan Hulls of Indiana (60/125) - but Shurna, who just seems like if anyone deserves to the be the man to lift Northwestern to their first tourney berth, it's him, gets the B10 JLA .

Big 10 Player of the Year: Draymond Green, Michigan State

Big 10 Coach of the Year: Tom Izzo, Michigan State

Big 10 Freshman of the Year: Cody Zeller, Indiana

All-Big 10 First Team:

Draymond Green, Michigan State

John Shurna, Northwestern

Jared Sullinger, Ohio State

Robbie Hummel, Purdue
Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin

All-Big XII Second Team:

Cody Zeller, Indiana

William Buford, Ohio State

Trey Burke, Michigan

Deshaun Thomas, Ohio Sate

Tim Frazier, Penn State

Morsels from the Big 10...

2012 Big West Basketball Tournament

March 8-10, Anaheim, CA, HONDA Center, capacity: 18, 336

A regular season finale loss and a potential disastrous injury to Larry Anderson ruined the good feelings about what seemed like Casper Ware's coronation and Don Monson's second small conference college basketball reclamation project. Now they go to the Big West tournament, in a very precarious NCAA position, without the best defensive player, their second leading scorer, and with another bad loss clouded their at-large hopes. As far as those at-large hopes are concerned, Long Beach breaks down like this: They played the nations #1 non-conference schedule, which is EXACTLY what the committee is searching for out of small conference schools. They weren't particular victorious against it - beating Pitt in Zoo (pre-Woodall injury) and Xavier, in the midst of miss players due to suspension gate. BUT - they did play UNC to 6 points in Chapel Hill, Kansas to 8 point in Lawrence, Creighton to a buzzer beater in Omaha, San Diest St to 3 points in Aztec country. They have but 1 single bad loss (the loss to Fullerton when they took the Larry Anderson injury) and otherwise, nothing but good wins, but a lack of top 50 wins. So it's like this: 0-6 versus top 50, 2-1 versus 51-100, 6-1 versus 100-200, played the toughest schedule in the country out of conference, went 5-7 against it. Are 15-1 otherwise, with a road win over Pitt and a neutral court win over shorthanded Xavier. Played some of the best teams in the country on their floors to dramatic/close finishes, and look like a tournament team. What do you do? Buffet's guess, if Anderson is declared out for the first game or two, and they lose in their tournament, we see the Committee using the injury as an easy out, and sends LBSU to the NIT.

Who can get in their way: certainly Fullerton, who took away the 49ers regular season, and Big West titans UCSB, with Orlando Johnson and James Nunnally still leading the charge, and pitching the best 1-2 punch in the league with Anderson out.

Buffet picks: Long Beach - just seeing Casper Ware on a mission, and Mike Caffey came off the bench to put up 20 in Anderson's absence ... the 49ers have a ton of talent even without Anderson, they are just not as NCAA tournament scary without him.

Upset special: Even though the are the #3 seed and the two time defending champs of this tournament, UCSB just seems like the only other team capable of winning this thing. Fullerton has an outside shot, but if LBSU doesn't get in-game warped by the Anderson injury, this is all about the inevitable. Orlando Johnson is fun to watch, enjoy that.

Schedule

Big West

Thursday, March 8

Game 1: #6 Pacific vs. #3 UC Santa Barbara, 3pm ET, BigWest.TV

Game 2: #7 UC Irvine v. #2 Cal-State Fullerton, 530pm ET, BigWest.TV

Game 3: #1 Long Beach State v. #8 UC Davis, 9pm ET, BigWest.tv

Game 4: #4 Ca Poly vs. #5 UC Riverside, 1130pm ET, BigWest.tv

Friday, March 9

Game 5: Highest remaining seed v. Lowest remaining seed, 930pm ET, ESPNU

Game 6: Second highest remaining seed v. Third highest remaining seed, 900pm ET, ESPNU

Saturday, March 10

Championship Game, 10pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN3

Long Beach 49ers (22-8, 15-1)

Ken Pom: 42

ESPN BPI: 30

RPI: 35

SOS: 102 (#1 non-conference schedule)

Players to watch

Casper Ware - 16.9 pts, 2.4 rebs, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals

Larry Anderson - 14.0 pts, 5.0 rebs, 3.1 assists, 1.9 steals, 42% 3pts (will not play)

TJ Robinson – 12.3 pts, 10.3 rebs

James Ennis – 9.6 pts, 3.7 rebs, 2.6 assists, 1.7 steals

Eugene Phelps – 9.6 pts, 5.7 rebs

Mike Caffey - 5.5 pts, .28 rebs, 2.2 assists

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Phelps - 47% Ware - 80%

Anderson - 70%

Robinson – 71%

James Ennis – 71%

Mike Caffey – 71%

Cal-St Fullerton Titans (21-8, 12-3)

Ken Pom: 164

ESPN BPI: 153

RPI: 144

SOS: 314

Players to watch

D.J. Seeley – 17.0 pts, 5.4 rebs, 1.5 steals, 44% 3pts

Kwame Vaughn – 15.6 pts, 4.5 rebs, 3.9 assists, 1.0 steals

Isiah Umipig – 13.9 pts, 2.8 rebs, 2.3 assists, 40% 3pts

Omondi Amoke – 11.2 pts, 8.8 rebs, 1.1 assists

Orane Chin – 9.9 pts, 5.0 rebs, 43% 3pts

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Amoke - 55% Seeley - 72%

Chin – 62% Vaughn - 84%

Andre Hardy – 66% Umipig - 83%

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (18-9, 12-4)

Ken Pom: 106

ESPN BPI: 111

RPI: 124

SOS: 199

Players to watch

Orlando Johnson – 20.0 pts, 5.9 rebs, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals, 42% 3pts

James Nunnally – 15.9 pts, 6.2 rebs, 2.6 assists

Jamie Serna – 8.8 pts, 4.7 rebs

Kyle Boswell – 7.9 pts, 1.6 rebs, 1.7 assists, 43% 3pts

Alan Williams – 6.8 pts, 6.4 rebs, 1.4 blks

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Williams - 64% Nunnally - 75%

Keegan Hornbuckle – 54% Serna – 72%

Greg Somogyi - 60% Boswell - 70%

Nate Garth – 67% T.J. Taylor – 80%

Christian Peterson – 77%

Other players to watch

Phil Martin, UC Riverside, Sr, 17.6 pts, 5.7 rebs, 1.1 assists

Josh Ritchart, UC Davis, So, 11.7 pts, 5.2 rebs, 1.0 assists

David Hason, Cal Poly, Sr, 11.5 pts, 5.3 rebs, 1.7 assists, 1.0 steals

Daman Starring, UC Irvine, Jr, 11.5 pts, 4.3 rebs, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals

Michael Wilder, UC Irvine, Jr, 11.4 pts, 5.2 rebs

Ross Rivera, Pacific, So, 11.3 pts, 3.8 rebs, 42% 3pts

Lorenzo McCloud, Pacific, Jr, 11.1 pts, 2.7 rebs, 3.4 assist, 1.1 steals

Will Taylor, Cal Poly, Sr, 10.0 pts, 6.8 rebs

Eddie Miller, UC Davis, Sr, 10.0 pts, 4.8 rebs, 1.7 assists

Big West Conference Jack Leasure Award: Dylan Royer, 70/145, 48%. Casper Ware, a Buffet FAVORITE, tosses up a ton - 224, but at only a 35% clip. Meanwhile, Royer, who has only made 9 less despite shooting almost 80 less, definite has the accuracy and the just enough volume to qualify - if he only knew how much more of a Mad Bomber he could be, for now, he'll have to be happy being the Big West JLA.

Big West Player of the Year: Casper Ware, Long Beach State.

Big West Coach of the Year: Dan Monson, Long Beach State

Big West Freshman of the Year: Stephan Hicks, Cal State Northridge

Big West Newcomer of the Year: D.J. Seeley, Cal State Fullerton

All-Big West First Team:

Casper Ware, Sr, Long Beach State

Orlando Johnson, Sr, UC Santa Barbara

Larry Anderson, Sr, Long Beach State

T.J. Robinson, Sr, Long Beach State
D.J. Seeley, Jr, Cal State Fullerton

Phil Martin, Sr, UC Riverside

All-Big West Second Team:

Omondi Omoke, Sr, Cal State Fullerton

David Hanson, Sr, Cal Poly

James Nunnally, Sr, UC Sanata Barbara

Eugene Phelps, Sr, Long Beach State

Kwame Vaughn, Jr, Cal State Fullerton

Michael Wilders, Jr, UC Irvine

Morsels from the Big West...

2012 Conoco Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship

March 7-10, Las Vegas, NV, Thomas & Mack Center. capacity: 18,776

Courtesy of Zachary Singer, ESPN Stats and Info and all things opinionated, here is your MWC preview:

Buffet picks: There's just something about that New Mexico team, first they were underrated everywhere but Vegas sports books, then they were overrated after some impressive wins, now they are in a road tournament, where most people default to UNLV (for good reason, see: victory of UNC), but the Buffet is seeing a Lobo MWC March. .

Upset special: Colorado St needs wins to ensure the bid, a run in the MWC would do it, and so they are definite darkhorse, from below the Waiting Line barrier, look out for TCU, a bit of home court heroism, yes, but wins versus Virginia, Colorado St, UNLV and New Mexico... this team and reach out and grab you if you're not careful.

Schedule

Mountain West

Thursday, March 8

Game 1: #1 San Diego State v. #8 Boise State, 3pm ET, MTN/CBS SN

Game 2: #4 Colorado State v. #5 Texas Christian, 530pm ET, MTN/CBS SN

Game 3: #2 New Mexico v. #7 Air Force, 9pm ET, MTN/CBS SN

Game 4: #3 Nevada - Las Vegas v #6 Wyoming, 1130pm ET, MTN/CBS SN

Friday, March 9

Game 5: Game 1 winner v. Game 2 winner, 9pm ET, CBS Sports Network

Game 6: Game 3 winner v. Game 4 winner, 1130pm ET, CBS Sports Network

Saturday, March 10

Championship Game, 7:00pm ET, NBC Sports Network

San Diego State: Just in time for us to praise Steve Fisher, this team swooned with a 3 game losing streak, including an ugly loss to Air Force and a home loss to UNM where they were dominated. They rebounded, but shakily with a home OT win over Wyoming, a nicer home win v. Colorado State and a pair of road wins v. Boise and then the nailbiting 98-92 OT. regular season close out versus TCU. San Diego State went 22-6 against the 62nd ranked schedule, they have 5 top 50 wins (UNLV, Colorado St, @New Mexico , Long Beach St & Cal) + 3 more versus the top 100 (Wyoming x2 and Arizona) - obviously this isn't a top of the bracket team resume-wise, but those 2 non conference wins (it is never easy to win in Tucson), and the good work against the top of the MWC + a win over Waiting Line & Autobid hopefully LSBU helps solidify SD State's place, with just the road loss at Air Force holding them back. Beating Colorado State before losing in a final wouldn't do too much to help their cause, but pulling the conference daily double might get them into the 5 line, a 4 might be just out of their reach, and a 6 could be garnered just by making the final.

New Mexico: Sort of came out of nowhere. Not that they weren't talented or are overachieving, but that the Buffet didn't see this coming, when all of a sudden, what seemed like an easy free money game where SD State was getting points at home, was nailed by Buffet reader Avi Mallin, and New Mexico went streaking. That win was part of a larger 7 game win streak, before a pair of road games that they weren't quite as up for as they needed to be, brought them and their seeding back down to earth. But, they were 7-3 overall on the road, have 4 top 50 wins (include against St. Louis and New Mexico St (which automatically qualifies them for #1 seed in the Pac12 tournament, and maybe the autobid by default0 in their NC schedule, beat the other top 3 seeds inthe MWC (including trading road wins with SD State) - but do have a road loss to TCU (which, is sort Iowa-esque in their sneakiness, and possesses the great game equalized in the blossomed Hank Thorns, Jr, a Virginia Tech transfer who will playing in his home town this weekend, with a bit of a chip, wasn't recruited by UNLV and now can try to put on a little man's big show in the MWC tourney) and a much less explainable loss to Santa Clara in overtime, weighing down their seed a bit. We're seeing New Mexico as a 6 right now, but that's a fluid 7 with a 5 or 6 definitely on the horizon with a conference daily double (2 teams have an opportunity at that after they and the Lobos shared the regular season conference title.

UNLV: Here's the team with the conference's best resume, but the oddest results. UNLV roared out of the gate, beating Nevada, upsetting North Carolina - but then were whipped up by Wichita St and suffocated by Wisconsin. They bounced back with a blowout at Illinois and a 17 point home win over Cal (maybe they get the P12 autobid) Before losing a tough game at SD State. They came back with wins over New Mexico, Colorado St and the revenge SD State to have the MWC regular title in their grasp, easily. But then dropped games @TCU (sneaky good!), @New Mexico and the meltdown loss to Colorado State. Now it might seem odd to have UNM/SD St below UNLV after they finished in the reverse order in the MWC. BUT, UNLV has one extra loss - Wyoming. That's as opposed to NM's loss to Santa Clara and SD State's loss to Air Force. Plus, UNLV has what they don't have - the win over UNC. We see them as a 5 seed. and if they win the MWC tournament, a number 4 is readily available. But, be wary, and early loss or blowout loss in the semis to NM or in the final to San Diego, and that 5 can become a 6 or 7 in a hurry.

Colorado State: What an odd resume. The non-conference wins are Montana, Colorado and Denver. They have only big home court wins and have done next to nothing on the road. 2 100+ losses, but 18-10 against the country's #6 schedule. They are 7-8 overall versus the top 100. NC losses to Northern Iowa, Stanford, Duke, and Southern Miss. the #21 RPI, big win over UNLV went it counted - a light resume to say the least, with a big UNLV win, a nice SOS and 18 wins against it, plus 7 top 100 wins. We see CSU as in, but they absolutely must beat TCU, and may even need the clinching win over San Diego St. 4 teams from the Mountain West is a difficult pill for the committee to swallow, so they need to make the decision for them.

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (22-5, 6-3)

Ken Pom: 32

ESPN BPI: 30

RPI: 13

SOS: 100

Players to watch

Mike Moser – 14.0 pts, 10.7 rebs, 2.4 assists, 1.9 steals

Chace Stanback – 13.0 pts, 4.6 rebs, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 47% 3pts

Anthony Marshall – 12.0 pts, 5.1 rebs, 4.8 assists, 1.5 steals

Oscar Bellfield – 9.8 pts, 2.2 rebs, 5.3 assists, 1.1 steals

Justin Hawkins – 8.2 pts, 2.8 rebs, 1.7 assists, 1.6 steals

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Hawkins - 66% Moser - 77%

Carlos Lopez - 60% Stanback - 85%

Brice Massamba - 53% Marshall - 71%

Bellfield – 79%

New Mexico Lobos (24-6, 10-4)

Ken Pom: 14

ESPN BPI: 27

RPI: 34

SOS: 62

Players to watch

Drew Gordon – 13.2 pts, 11.0 rebs, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.1 blocks

Kendall Williams – 12.0 pts, 3.3 rebs, 4.1 assists, 1.3 steals

Tony Snell – 10.8 pts, 2.8 rebs, 2.4 assists, 40% 3pts

Jamal Fenton – 6.9 pts, 1.4 rebs, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 41% 3pts

Phillip McDonald – 6.2 pts, 43% 3pts

Demetrius Wakler - 6.8 pts, 2.7 rebs, 1.9 assists

Hugh Greenwood - 6.3 pts, 3.4 rebs, 2.5 assists

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Jamal Fenton - 61% Snell - 81%

A.J. Hardeman – 48% Williams - 76%

Gordon - 72%

Walker – 73%

San Diego State Aztecs (24-6, 10-4)

Ken Pom: 51

ESPN BPI: 37

RPI: 26

SOS: 45

Players to watch

Jamaal Franklin – 17.1 pts, 8.0 rebs, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals

Chase Tapley – 15.2 pts, 4.3 rebs, 2.1 assists, 1.8 steals, 42% 3pts

Xavier Thames – 10.5 pts, 3.1 rebs, 4.4 assists

James Rahon – 9.1 pts, 2.9 rebs

Garrett Green – 6.1 pts, 4.7 rebs

Deshawn Stephens – 5.5 pts, 4.8 rebs

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Rahon – 58% Tapley - 72%

Green - 50% Franklin- 78%

Stephen – 42% Thames - 80%

Colorado State Rams (19-10, 8-6)

Ken Pom: 69

ESPN BPI: 79

RPI: 21

SOS: 7

Players to watch

Wes Eikmeier – 16.0 pts, 1.8 rebs, 2.1 assists

Dorian Green – 13.4 pts, 3.6 rebs, 2.6 assists, 43% 3pts

Greg Smith – 9.7 pts, 5.3 rebs, 40% 3pts

Pierce Hornung – 8.4 pts, 8.3 rebs, 1.8 assists, 1.9 steals

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Hornung - 57% Eikmeier - 89%

Green - 82%

Smith - 72%

Bell – 83%

Jesse Carr – 78%

TCU Horned Frogs (17-13, 7-7)

Ken Pom: 139

ESPN BPI: 142

RPI: 101

SOS: 69

Players to watch

Hank Thorns – 13.4 pts, 2.5 rebs, 4.6 assists, 1.4 steals, 40% 3pts

J.R. Cadot – 11.3 pts, 7.0 rebs, 1.4 assists, 1.5 steals

Amric Fields – 9.8 pts, 2.4 assists

Garlon Green – 9.7 pts, 3.2 rebs

Kyan Anderson – 8.1 pts, 1.6 rebs, 2.9 assists, 1.0 steals

Craig Williams - 7.9 pts, 3.8 rebs

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Adam McKinney - 45% Thorns - 75%

Cadot - 71%

Green - 83%

Fields - 76%

Anderson - 74%

Craig Williams - 75%

Other players to watch

Michael Lyons, Air Force, Jr, 15.5 pts, 4.0 rebs, 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals

Leonard Washington, Wyoming, Jr, 12.7 pts, 6.8 rebs, 1.1 blks, 1.3 steals

Francisco Cruz, Wyoming, Sr, 12.3 pts, 2.9 rebs, 2.3 assists

Luke Martinez, Wyoming, Jr, 12.2 pts, 3.6 rebs, 1.6 assists, 1.7 steals

Anthony Drmic, Boise State, Fr, 11.8 pts, 4.9 rebs, 1.1 steals

Mike Fitzgerald, Air Force, Jr, 10.6 pts, 3.8 rebs

Mountain West Conference Jack Leasure Award: Chace Stanback, UNLV 74/159, 46%. When you hit the second most 3s in your conference, volume is a bit less emphasized, that's Chase, who hasn't the volume of Luke Martinez (220) or Anthony Drmic (175), but his 74 are just 2 less three-pointers made all year than Martinez's conference leading 76.

Mountain West Player of the Year: Jamaal Franklin, San Diego St, So.

Mountain West Coach of the Year: Steve Fisher, San Diego St

Mountain West Freshman of the Year: Kyan Anderson, TCU

Mountain West Newcomer of the Year: Mike Moser, UNLV

All- Mountain West First Team:

Wes Eikmeier, Colorado St, Jr.

Drew Gordon, New Mexico, Sr

Jamaal Franklin, San Diego St, So

Hank Thoms, Jr., TCU, Sr
Mike Moser, UNLV, So

All- Mountain West Second Team:

Michael Lyons, Air Force, Jr

Kendall Williams, New Mexico, So

Chase Tapley, San Diego St, Jr

Anthony Marshall, UNLV, Jr

Leonard Washington, Wyoming, Jr

Morsels from the MWC...

2012 Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

March 8-11, New Orleans, LA, New Orleans Arena. capacity: 18,500

It was Kentucky world, and no one else lived in it. Florida & Vanderbilt tried to have their own party, Alabama's kids had internal meltdowns - and then out of nowhere, Tenessee snuck up and snagged the conference tournament's 2 seed, thanks to the insertion into the lineup/rotation/roster/school of a kid who was in high school in October. Is he that good? Was the SEC that weak? And will they go Southern California from 2011, and make the tournament on the strength of a dramatic 2012 tournament from the point at witch Jarnell Stokes was a member of the Volunteers. Meanwhile Florida and Vandy are travelling in a the diametrically opposite direction. Florida, who half the time Billy Donovan doesn't even think speak the language as he does and certainly not the same language of focus and consistency, waffles from game to game on whether their hearts are going to be in it or not, and Vandy is stuck in their second pocket of struggle, but that could be a bit of a false swoon, as they played Kentucky pretty tough in Lexington, and then ran into the momentum buzzsaw of Tennessee in the finale.

Buffet picks: Kentucky is begging to lose, John Calipari pretty much stated it for all to hear, "“Well, you are playing three games in three days (er, maybe),” said Calipari, whose top-ranked, 30-1 Wildcats open the tournament in New Orleans Friday at 1 p.m. against either LSU or Arkansas. “It doesn’t prepare you for anything. We just played a whole league schedule (16-0), and now, for our league, especially, it has no bearing on seeding. Maybe one team can play in, but they had all season to play in. But, like I said, we have to play it, so let’s improve our seed and hold our seed.” - and Florida has been too inconsistent. Therefore, it is the smoking hot Vols or the steady Commodores. We see a desperate Miss St game falling to Vandy is a rough quarterfinal, setting up a rest Tennessee team for an upset and then to beat Alabama, who had just finished upsetting Kentucky, still proud of themselves and probably exhausted in their 4th game in 5 days, letting Tennessee sneak in, SEC style, for the automatic bid.

Upset special: Watch out for Rick Stansbury's underachievers, you get it rolling v. Georgia, really build steam against Vandy, and suddenly an apathetic Kentucky is on the other side and the typical SEC hijinks ensues.

Schedule

SEC

Thursday, March 8

Game 1: #8 Louisiana State v. #9 Arkansas, 1pm ET, SEC Network

Game 2: #5 Alabama v. #12 South Carolina, 330pm ET, SEC Network

Game 3: #7 Ole Miss v. #10 Auburn, 730pm ET, SEC Network

Game 4: #6 Mississippi St v. #11 Georgia, 10pm ET, SEC Network

Friday, March 9

Game 5: #1 Kentucky v. Game 1 winner, 1pm ET, SEC Network

Game 6: #4 Florida v Game 2 winner, 330pm ET, SEC Network

Game 7: #2 Tennessee v. Game 3 winner, 730pm ET, SEC Network

Game 8: #2 Vanderbilt b. Game 4 winner, 10pm ET, SEC Network

Saturday, March 10

Game 5 winner v. Game 6 winner, 1pm ET, ABC

Game 7 winner v. Game 8 winner, 330pm ET, ABC

Sunday March 11

Championship Game, 1pm ET, ABC

Kentucky: They are a #1 seed, and will be the top seed if the win the SEC tournament or if they don't and Syracuse doesn't win the BET. If Cuse wins BET and Kentucky doesn't win SECT, then Syracuse will be the #1 overall seed.

Florida: A difficult team to eed. Florida beat FSU, Vanderbilt , Mississippi St, and Arizona at home - won on the road at Alabama (when they were still down JayMichael Green) - their other good road wins are Mississippi and Arkansas. Losing on the road to Syracuse (great game 72-68), Kentucky, Ohio State, Vandy, Tennessee, Georgia and Rutgers. Other than that they won 22 games against schedule #36, won 8 games versus the top 100, but have a shaky road resume and two losses to erase and not much at the very top. This once looked like a 4/5 seed, now it really looks more like a 6-7 seed. Although, with Kentucky on their side of the bracket they can get their signature win without having to win the SEC tourney.

Vanderbilt: Another topsy-turvy team, who seemed to just miss the big wins (OT losses to Xavier, @Louisville, 6 point home loss to Kentucky), and close shaves all over the place (another OT loss to Miss St, competitive losses @Florida, @Arkansas, @ Kentucky, @ Tennessee) - but a big win @Marquette, to start the season versus Oregon, @Alabama, and on senior night v. Florida. Vandy posted 4 top 50 wins, and 7 more top 51-100s. But one bad loss, to defending MVC champs Indiana St, before/as they became frauds, and have a whopping 21 wins versus the nation's #5 schedule. Good NC wins over Marquette, NC State, Oregon, Middle Tenn St, Davidson and Bucknell (3 regular season champs in that mix), and Vandy is a win over Miss State away from securing a nice seed to go with their locked up spot in the Buffet. Sitting right now as a 6, this could be a 5 with a decent run and 4 with a very good one.

Alabama: We like Anthony Grant because he believes in himself, when he had to suspend his top 4 scorers, he did it and didnt look back. Alabama survived that with minimal damage, beating resurgent Tennessee, wining at Arkansas and pasting Waiting Line hopeful Mississippi State in the process. The Tide played the #16 schedule, and won 20 games- Beat auto qualifiers Wichita State, VCU and Purdue out of conference, but couldn't scalp any of the SEC's best. They did beat the Mississippis, Tennessee (in the post-Stokes phase), LSU and Arkansas, but most of that damage was at home (a win at Arkansas and the neutral court Wichita/Purdue wins the exceptions). Their road record was meh, which included a loss at South Carolina, and a slew of others (Ole Miss, Miss St, Dayton, LSU). They really gave Kentucky a run in Lexington (77-71), and lost to Georgetown by just 2. This is a tourney team, but could use a nice tournament run to fortify a seed. They get the benefit of momentum heading into their matchup with Florida, with higher seeding on the line, then of course the big catch, Kentucky. Alabama sits at about a 9 right now, but a run this weekend could prop them into the 6/7 range, with a win or two most likely setting them in the 7/8 spot.

Mississippi State: Here's a big time polarizing team. If only South Carolina could have finished the job and taken them out of consideration. Road win at Vanderbilt and a couple nice NC wins (West Virginia and Arizona) are what this team touts . They also beat Alabama (split), Ole Miss (split) Tennessee (pre-Stokes), LSU (split) and Arkansas (split) - none of those splits being in the right direction. They were 3-6 on the road, and won 21 games against the #66 schedule. They do have 2 pretty ugly losses, Georgia at home and Auburn away, but 8 wins versus the top 100 is solid, so is their NC classic with Baylor (they lost by 2). Miss St is no lock, especially having lost 5 straight down the stretch, but at an 11, they are a bit ahead of some of the play-in mess, so long as they don't slip again versus Georgia. They lose that, and some of those in front of the Waiting Line, it'll be NIT for MSU, but if they win that, those other teams will need to do work to beat them. Beat Vandy in round 2, and thy ticket is punched.

Tennesee: Oh: Marshall, Seton Hall, Texas, Northwestern, Drexel & Tennessee - remember these teams because they are the sources of great debate this season. With no new tournaments tipping tomorrow, the Buffet will spend the day blind posting resumes to you. so the readership can spend a similar Friday to the selection committee, trying to wade through the mess at the bottom and get the final 4-7 at-larges selected. For now, let's focus on Tennessee. An 8-8 with some awful losses in Cuonzo's first year - Austin Peay (194), Oakland (REGGIE REGGIE REGGIE, but a bad team at 143), College of Charleston (122) [note: the Buffet isn't arguing that these aren't great teams to root for, they are, just bad teams to lose to when building a 2012 tournament res]. Then, on January 13, Jarnell Stokes, who had graduated high school in December, was declared eligible, and it all seemed to turn around - wins over Connecticut, @Florida, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and a team that went 10-5, and played an average of 75 in that span. Now, is that enough to erase the memories of Austin Peay at home? Questionable. But this is one of those teams who needs the tournament to build their resume, and has it. Ole Miss, Vandy loom first - win those games, and we think Tennessee will get a ticket to Dayton. Ole Miss is to Tenn like Minnesota is to Northwestern, a decent resume builder without much risk (i.e. a loss), now, nothing wild can happen in other tournaments, and Miami, NC St, Texas or Northwestern can probably not make runs to their conference tournament finals, but given the tops of those brackets, those scenarios are far less likely than Tennessee doing so. The #2 seed they snatched was a huge at-large bid odds enhancer.

Ole Miss: There's not much of a path to an at-large for Ole Miss, but the late win versus Alabama provides home, as it was their first top 50 win over the year. Plus a NC win over Miami, to go with wins over Miss St (split), LSU (split) and sweeping Arkansas. The loss to Auburn is hurtful, as is their away record, and lack of true signature win, Alabama at home in conference doesn't stack up as well as other teams. They did play a tough schedule (#39) and won 18 against that. But they lost 4 games against the 121st ranked schedule, which is far less impressive. Ole Miss is in the second set of 4 teams, although that includes the free-falling Josiah Turner less Arizona Wildcats, the no real path to bid St. Joe's and UCF ... with games versus Tennessee and Vanderbilt, don't count Ole Miss out, just yet, but it is certainly close.

Kentucky Wildcats (30-1, 16-0)

Ken Pom: 1

ESPN BPI: 1

RPI: 2

SOS: 34

Players to watch

Anthony Davis – 14.4 pts, 9.8 rebs, 1.4 steals, 4.7 blocks

Doron Lamb – 13.3 pts, 2.9 rebs, 1.7 assists, 48% 3pts

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – 11.9 pts, 6.6 rebs, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.1 blocks

Terrence Jones – 12.2 pts, 6.6 rebs, 1.3 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.9 blocks

Marquis Teague – 9.8 pts, 2.5 rebs, 4.7 assists, 1.0 steals

Darius Miller – 10.0 pts, 2.6 rebs, 2.1 assists

Kyle Wiltjer – 5.6 pts, 2.1 rebs

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Jones - 66% Davis - 71%

Lamb - 82%

Kidd-Gilchrist – 75%

Miller - 74%

Florida Gators (22-9, 10-6)

Ken Pom: 18

ESPN BPI: 18

RPI: 29

SOS: 36

Players to watch

Kenny Boynton – 16.8 pts, 2.4 rebs, 2.5 assists, 43% 3pts

Bradley Beal – 14.4 pts, 6.5 rebs, 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals

Erving Walker – 12.4 pts, 2.9 rebs, 4.7 assists, 1.0 steals

Patric Young – 10.5 pts, 6.5 rebs, 1.2 assists, 1.0 blocks

Erik Murphy – 10.0 pts, 4.3 rebs, 1.0 blocks, 43% 3pts

Mike Rosario – 7.2 pts, 1.5 rebs, 1.1 assists

Will Yeguete – 4.4 pts, 6.3 rebs, 1.0 assists, 1.2 steals (inj - out for season)

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Patric - 61% Boynton - 70%

Yeguete - 33% Beal - 75%

Walker – 80%

Murphy – 75%

Rosario – 75%

Mississippi State Bulldogs (21-10, 8-8)

Ken Pom: 74

ESPN BPI: 58

RPI: 66

SOS: 66

Players to watch

Arnett Moultrie – 16.1 pts, 10.7 rebs, 1.1 assists,

Dee Bost – 15.8 pts, 3.3 rebs, 5.3 assists, 2.1 steals

Rodney Hood – 10.5 pts, 4.8 rebs, 1.9 assists

Renardo Sidney – 10.1 pts, 5.3 rebs, 43% 3pts

Jalen Steele – 8.1 pts, 1.7 rebs

Brian Bryant – 7.1 pts, 4.4 rebs, 2.0 assists

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Hood - 64% Moultrie - 76%

Sidney - 62% Bost - 76%

Bryant – 63% Steele – 86%

Deville Smith – 65%

Vanderbilt Commodores (21-10, 10-6)

Ken Pom: 21

ESPN BPI: 22

RPI: 28

SOS: 5

Players to watch

John Jenkins – 20.0 pts, 2.7 rebs, 1.1 assists, 46% 3pts

Jeffrey Taylor – 17.1 pts, 5.9 rebs, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 45% 3pts

Festus Ezeli – 10.1 pts, 5.5 rebs,2.1 blks

Brad Tinsley – 8.6 pts, 2.6 rebs, 4.3 assists, 40% 3pts

Lance Goulbourne – 8.9 pts, 6.8 rebs, 1.2 assists, 1.5 steals

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Taylor - 66% Jenkins - 84%

Ezeli - 55% Tinsley - 82%

Goulbourne – 66% Steve Tchiengang – 79%

Alabama Crimson Tide (20-10, 9-7)

Ken Pom: 27

ESPN BPI: 25

RPI: 32

SOS: 17

Players to watch

JayMychal Green – 13.8 pts, 7.3 rebs, 1.7 assists, 1.4 blks

Tony Mitchell – 13.1 pts, 7.0 rebs, 1.0 steals, 1.4 blks (kicked off team)

Trevor Releford – 12.0 pts, 3.1 rebs, 2.8 assists, 2.1 steals

Trevor Lacey – 6.7 pts, 3.2 rebs, 2.0 assists

Nick Jacobs raised averaged from 6 to 8 and Rodney Cooper from 5.3 to overcome suspensions

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Mitchell - 62% Releford – 86%

Levi Randolph - 58% Lacey - 80%

Nick Jacobs – 59% Steele – 79%

Cooper – 83%

Ole Miss Rebels (18-12, 8-8)

Ken Pom: 86

ESPN BPI: 86

RPI: 59

SOS: 39

Players to watch

Terrance Henry – 12.3 pts, 4.4 rebs, 1.6 assists

Dundrecous Nelson – 11.6 pts, 1.4 steals (dismissed for drug arrest)

Murphy Holloway – 11.1 pts, 8.9 rebs, 1.3 assists, 1.4 steals

Nick Williams – 10.2 pts, 3.4 rebs, 1.1 assists

Jarvis Summers – 9.8 pts, 2.2 rebs, 3.2 rebs, 42% 3pts

Reginald Buckner – 6.9 pts, 8.4 rebs, 2.3 blks

Jelan Kendrick - 5.1 pts, 2.2 rebs, 1.7 assists, 1.3 steals

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Nelson - 59% Henry - 70%

Holloway - 53% Williams - 77%

Summers – 65%

Buckner – 40%

Jelan Kendrick – 42%

Demarco Cox – 41%

Tennessee Volunteers (18-13, 10-6)

Ken Pom: 54

ESPN BPI: 61

RPI: 76

SOS: 31

Players to watch

Trae Golden - 13.4 pts, 3.0 rebs, 4.5 assists

Jeronne Maymon - 12.6 pts, 7.8 rebs, 1.2 assists, 1.0 steals

Jarnell Stokes - 9.1 pts, 7.5 rebs, 1.0 steals, 1.2 blks

Jordan McRae - 9.0 pts, 2.8 rebs, 1.6 assists

Cameron Tatum - 8.1 pts, 4.0 rebs, 2.5 assists

Other players to watch

BJ Young, Arkansas, Fr, 15.3 pts, 3.1 rebs, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 42% 3pts

Gerald Robinson, Georgia, Sr, 14.3 pts, 3.9 rebs, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia, Fr, 13.6 pts, 5.2 rebs, 1.2 assists, 1.8 steals

Justin Hamilton, LSU, Jr, 13.0 pts, 7.2 rebs, 1.3 blks

Frankie Sullivan, Auburn, Jr, 12.7 pts, 4.0 rebs, 2.4 assists, 1.4 steals

Malike Cooke, South Carolina, Sr, 12.5 pts, 4.8 rebs, 1.7 assists, 1.7 steals

Kenny Gabriel, Auburn, Sr, 12.2 pts, 7.6 rebs, 1.1 assists, 2.3 blks, 1.1 steals

Mardracus Wad, Arkansas, So, 10.8 pts, 1.8 rebs, 1.5 assists, 47% 3pts

Bruce Ellington, South Carolina, So, 10.6 pts, 2.4 rebs, 2.8 assists

Andre Stringer, Louisiana State, So, 10.1 pts, 1.9 rebs, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals

Anthony Hickey, Louisiana State, Fr, 9.2 pts, 3.7 rebs, 3.7 assists, 2.0 steals

Damontre Harris, South Carolina, So, 6.8 pts, 5.6 rebs, 2.3 blks

Hunter Mickelson, Arkansas, Ft, 5.1 pts, 3.6 rebs, 2.3 blks

SEC Jack Leasure Award: John Jenkins, 118/256, 46% Holy wow. Seems we know who the National Jack Leasure Award is going to. 250+ bombs, 46% accuracy. Awesome Fun and Awesome. In fact, the guy who is the runner up overall, is probably in this conference too - Kenny Boynton, who hates taking two, has shot 235 3s, made 102 of then for a 43% clip . Congratulation Jenkins, you have our respect and admiration.

SEC Player of the Year: Anthony Davis, Kentucky.

SEC Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Kentucky

SEC Freshman of the Year: Anthony Davis, Kentucky

All-SEC First Team:

Bradley Beal, Florida, Fr

Kenny Boynton, Flrorida, Jr

Anthony Davis, Kentucky, Fr

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky, Fr
Dee Bost, Mississippi St, Sr

Arnett Moultire, Mississippi St, Jr

John Jenkins, Vanderbilt, Jr

Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt, Sr

All-SEC Second Team:

JaMychal Green, Alabama, Sr

Trevor Releford, Alabama, SO

BJ Young, Arkansas, Fr

Erving Walker, Florida, Sr

Terrence Jones, Kentucky, So

Doron Lamb, Kentucky, So

Justin Hamilton, LSU, Jr

Terrance Henry, Ole Miss, Sr

Jeronne Maymom, Tennessee, Jr

Morsels from the SEC...

2012 WAC Basketball Tournament

March 8-10, Las Vegas, NV, Orleans Arena capacity: 7,471

An interesting regular season, where Nevada's Feb 4 loss to prevented a perfect season and allowed for NM State to stay alive for the regular season title come down to the 2nd to last game, before Nevada first dominated New Mexico St, then let the Aggies back in, then held on for a 65-61 win and the conference championship - and then we saw the Aggies tailspin into a near at-large crushing loss to Fresno St.

Of the two teams, Nevada has the conference championship, the better profile of wins, less losses against decently similar overall schedules, and better computer numbers. NM State had a toughed nc schedule (77 to 186), better top win (New Mexico), and stronger computer #s but an empty profile ater that, and 3 questionable losses. Truthfully, neither of these teams have at large hopes, because the only good win they can pick up, is each other, and that doesn't happen until the final, you know the one they'd lose to need an at-large bid. They are perma-stuck in the Waiting Line. Nevada could eek their way into a talk - with a win over Washington and @Montana and a sweep of MN State. But the home loss ot Idaho, and zero wins versus the top 50 and a weak NC schedule are likely doomsday for them. Are they better than the P12 extra bid receivers? Probably, but they needed one win over UNLV (lost by 4 on road) or Iona (lost by 6 on BB) in order to really have an argument.

The two games between the two teams were decided by an average of 6 points, but both were similar tales of the Wolf Pack dominating, New Mexico refusing to quit, as per the tenor and style of their head man, Marvin Menzies, a former Rick Pitino assistant., and then Nevada holding - we expect a similar tournament finale.

Buffet picks: Don't see Nevada losing, they need it too much.

Upset special: Buffet began believing in Idaho mid-season, especially after their road win at Nevada. But then they won 5 straight before bombing at Utah State. But then picked it back up with an across the western pond win at Hawaii and then back int he US at SJ St 2 days later. Not a good shot, but they best showing on the road outside of the top 2 seed.

Schedule

WAC

Thursday, March 8

Game 1: #3 Idaho v. #6 Hawaii, 3pm ET, WAC.tv

Game 2: #2 New Mexico St v. #7 Fresno St, 530pm ET, WAC.tv

Game 3: #1 Nevada v. #8 San Jose State, 9pm ET, WAC.tv

Game 4: #4 Utah State v. #5 Louisiana Tech, 1130pm ET, WAC.tv

Friday, March 9

Game 5: Game 1 winner v. Game 2 winner, 030pm ET, WAC Sports Network/WAC.tv

Game 6: Game 3 winner v. Game 4 winner, 1130pm ET, WAC Sports Network/WAC.tv

Saturday, March 10

Championship Game, 12:00pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN3

Nevada-Reno Wolf Pack (25-5, 13-1)

Ken Pom: 102

ESPN BPI: 75

RPI: 45

SOS: 146

Players to watch

Deonte Burton – 15.2 pts, 2.3 rebs, 4.3 assists, 1.1 steals

Malik Story – 14.2 pts, 2.7 rebs, 2.3 assists, 44% 3pts

Olek Czyz – 13.6 pts, 6.4 rebs, 1.0 assists

Dario Hunt – 10.4 pts, 9.9 rebs, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 2.4 blks

Jerry Evans, Jr. – 6.7 pts, 4.8 rebs, 1.1 assists

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Czyz - 58% Burton - 76%

Hunt - 47% Story - 75%

Kevin Panzer - 50% Evans - 75%

New Mexico State Aggies (23-9, 10-4)

Ken Pom: 72

ESPN BPI: 65

RPI: 68

SOS: 110

Players to watch

Wendell McKines – 18.5 pt, 10.8 rebs, 1.4 assists

Christian Kabongo - 14.6 pts, 3.4 rebs, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals (dismissed)

Hernst Laroche – 12.1 pts, 2.8 rebs, 3.7 assists, 1.8 steals, 42% 3pts

Hamidu Rahman – 10.4 pts, 6.0 rebs, 1.0 blks

Bandja Sy – 8.8 pts, 4.2 rebs, 1.1 assists

Daniel Mullings – 9.0 pts, 3.8 rebs, 1.8 assists, 1.7 steals

Tyrone Watson – 6.5 pts, 4.0 rebs, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steals

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Rahman - 49% McKines - 74%

Sy - 61% McClellan - 82%

Mullings - 59% Mbamalu - 73%

Watson – 61% Tshilidzi Nephawe – 75%

Idaho Vandals (18-12, 9-5)

Ken Pom: 153

ESPN BPI: 146

RPI: 136

SOS: 166

Best wins: @Nevada (58) 72-68; New Mexico St. (77) 59-58

Best losses: @Long Beach (42) 61-69

Worst losses: @Wright St (228) 78-80; @Fresno St (214) 55-65; E.Washington (212) 66-73; Hawai’I (201) 70-76; v.Boise St (191) 73-76; @UW-Green Bay (174) 61-63; Washington St. (150) 64-66

Players to watch

Deremy Geiger– 13.0 pts, 2.4 rebs, 2.4 assists, 43% 3pts

Kyle Barone – 12.6 pts, 8.2 rebs, 1.5 assists, 1.6 blks

Stephen Madison – 11.9 pts, 5.7 rebs, 2.2 assists

Djim Bandoumel – 8.8 pts, 4.8 rebs, 1.1 assists, 1.5 blks

Landon Tatum – 7.1 rebs, 2.4 rebs, 4.6 assists, 43% 3pts

Dazmond Starke – 4.5 pts, 3.5 rebs (left team, will transfer)

Who to foul: Who not to foul:

Barone - 63% Geiger - 79%

Bandoumel - 67% Madison - 74%

Starke - 63% Tatum - 70%

Mansa Habeeb – 62% Connor Hill – 83%

Other players to watch

Kevin Olekaibe, Fresno St, So, 18.0 pts, 3.3 rebs, 1.2 assists, 1.3 steals

Preston Medlin, Utah St, So, 16.6 pts, 4.1 rebs, 3.1 assists, 44% 3pts

James Kinney, San Jose State, Jr, 16.2 pts, 3.6 rebs, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 41% 3pts

Vander Joaquim, Hawaii, Jr, 14.0 pts, 9.5 rebs, 1.8 blks

Joston Thomas, Hawaii, Jr, 14.0 pts, 5.5 rebs, 1.2 assists

Zane Johnson, Hawaii, Sr, 14.0 pts, 3.2 rebs, 1.8 assists

Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech, Fr, 13.8 pts, 2.5 rebs, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals

Keith Shamburger, San Jose St, So, 13.3 pts, 2.9 rebs, 5.2 assists, 1.2 steals

Will Carter, San Jose St, Sr, 13.0 pts, 8.7 rebs, 1.0 assists

Brockeith Pane, Utah St, Sr, 12.4 pts, 3.0 rebs, 4.0 assists

Trevor Gaskins, Louisiana Tech, Sr, 11.0 pts, 3.9 rebs, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals

Jonathan Wills, Fresno St, Sr, 10.5 pts, 4.3 rebs, 1.0 assists

Coradrius Johnson, Louisiana Tech, So, 10.1 pts, 4.0 rebs, 1.0 assists

WAC Jack Leasure Award: Malik Story, Nevada, 83/191, 44%. I Now this is a fun conference, contenders included Kevin Olekaibe - 264 atts, 35%; Zane Johsnon 227 atts/36%, James Kinney 210/41%, Deremy Geiger 185 atts, 43% and Preston Medlin 184 attempts/44% - but the volume and percentage of Story was just enough to earn the 2012 WAC JLA.

WAC Player of the Year: Deonte Burton, Nevada, So.

WAC Coach of the Year: David Carter, Nevada

WAC Freshman of the Year: Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech

All- WAC First Team:

Vander Joaquim, Hawaii, Jr

Deonte Burton, Nevada, So

Olek Czyz, Nevada, Sr

Wendell McKines, New Mexico St, Sr
Preston Medlin, Utah State, So

All- WAC Second Team:

Kevin Olekaibe, Fresno St, So

Kyle Barone, Idaho, Jr

Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech, Fr

Dario Hunt, Nevada, Sr

Hernst Laroche, New Mexico St, Sr

Morsels from the WAC ...

BUFFETOLOGY 3/8

1	Kentucky	1	Auto
	Syracuse	2	Auto
	Kansas	3	Auto
	North Carolina	4	Auto
2	Missouri	5	Auto
	Ohio State	6	At-Large
	Michigan State	7	At-Large
	Duke	8	At-Large
3	Marquette	9	At-large
	Michigan	10	At-large
	Georgetown	11	At-large
	Baylor	12	At-large
4	Wisconsin	13	At-large
	Indiana	14	At-large
	Murray St	15	Auto
	Temple	16	Auto
5	Louisville	17	At-large
	Creighton	18	Auto
	New Mexico	19	At-large
	UNLV	20	At-large
6	Florida	21	At-large
	Vanderbilt	22	At-large
	Florida St	23	At-large
	Wichita St	24	At-large
7	San Diego St	25	Auto
	Notre Dame	26	At-large
	Gonzaga	27	Auto
	Iowa St	28	At-large
8	St. Mary's	29	At-large
	Memphis	30	Auto
	Purdue	31	At-large
	Kansas St	32	At-large
9	Alabama	33	At-large
	Virginia	34	At-large
	Connecticut	35	At-large
	Cincinnati	36	At-large
10	Saint Louis	37	At-large
	Southern Miss	38	At-large
	West Virginia	39	At-large
	Harvard	40	Auto
11	South Florida	41	At-large
	BYU	42	At-large
	Colorado State	43	At-large
	Mississippi St	44	At-large
12	California	45	At-large
	VCU	46	Auto
	Long Beach St.	47	Auto
	Washington	48	Auto
13	Northwestern	49	At-large/Play-in
	Xavier	50	At-large/Play-in
	Seton Hall	51	At-large/Play-in
	Drexel	52	At-large/Play-in
	Nevada	64	Auto
	Davidson	65	Auto
14	Belmont	65	Auto
	Akron	73	Auto
	Montana	74	Auto
	Bucknell	75	Auto
15	South Dakota St	76	Auto
	Detroit	77	Auto
	Long Island	78	Auto
	Loyola MD	79	Auto
16	Western Kentucky	80	Auto
	UT Alrington	81	Auto
	UNC Asheville	82	Auto/Play-in
	Stony Brook	83	Auto/Play-in
	Mississippi Valley St	84	Auto/Play-in
	Savannah St	85	Auto/Play-in
Last Four Out:	Texas	53	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	Miami FL	54	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	Tennessee	55	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	Oregon	56	Stuck in the Waiting Line
Next Four Out:	Arizona	57	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	UCF	58	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	Saint Joseph's	59	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	Ole Miss	60	Stuck in the Waiting Line
Last 9 consider	Marshall	61	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	Dayton	62	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	Colorado	66	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	NC State	67	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	New Mexico St	68	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	Iowa	69	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	Ohio	70	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	LSU	71	Stuck in the Waiting Line
	Maryland	72	Stuck in the Waiting Line