Road to Selection Sunday for March 10

The Friars went broke on this Keno game

Welcome to the Road to Selection Sunday for March 10

News and Notes:

Here’s a great story about Rutgers’ assistant coach Jim Carr and his son’s battle for his life.

It looks like Keno Davis is out at Providence after three rocky seasons.

Kansas State could be tougher to beat in a close game due to their improved free throw shooting.

Pittsburgh could get caught looking ahead as their players talk about Notre Dame.

The Salt Lake Tribune wonders how much longer Dave Rose will be at BYU. This has been discussed on these pages previously.

San Diego State’s Malcolm Thomas has more on his mind than just the game when he takes the court for the Aztecs.

Winners:

Automatic Qualifiers:

• Northeast: Long Island
• Big Sky: Northern Colorado

Marquette: The win over West Virginia last night pretty much locked up their at-large bid. There shouldn’t be any question now for Buzz and the Eagles.

Mike Rice: The Rutgers coach lost, but nobody could have been classier in the face of an awfully officiated finish than Rice was after the game.  

Connecticut: The Huskies have stabilized their play and should be rewarded with a Sweet 16 protected seed on Sunday. A couple more wins and the Huskies could be as high as a 3 seed.

Losers:

Big East officials: That was the worst officiated end of game situation I think I’ve ever seen. Ball out of bounds incorrectly called off Rutgers, foul at midcourt on final possession not called, St. John’s player steps out of bounds with over a second left and fired the ball into the stands. That last situation should have resulted in a technical foul, two free throws and the ball for Rutgers. This situation was so bad that it caused me to agree with Digger Phelps for the first time in this millennium. Digger: “What, do they need 4 refs, now?”

Here’s the end of the game:

Georgetown: The Hoyas aren’t as bad as Villanova right now, but they won’t be able to stabilize their freefall before the seeding is announced on Sunday. It’s going to be tough for the selection committee to properly seed the Hoyas with Wright’s situation unknown and his teammates lack of quality play without him since he went out.

Baylor: Whatever miniscule chances that the Bears had of getting an at-large bid was lost before the game when star freshman center and potential #1 overall draft pick Perry Jones III, was declared ineligible for the game because his mother received improper benefits. If it was his father, he would have been able to play, right Cecil Newton? The Bears lost to Oklahoma as well. They’re probably not even a NIT team.

Nebraska: The Huskers can take their atrocious OOC schedule and see if they can impress the selection committee for the NIT after losing to Oklahoma State yesterday in their final Big 12 game.

Pat Knight’s endorsements: Junior was sporting a suit last night for the first time as head coach. Where was this wardrobe when he could have been earning extra $$ from the local suit shop? He’s going to wish he had that extra cash with the big checks ending.

Thursday’s Notable Games: RPI in ()

(24) Connecticut vs. (9) Pittsburgh: ESPN at Noon EST

(63) Oklahoma State vs. (1) Kansas: ESPN2 at 12:30 EST

(24) St. John’s vs. (18) Syracuse: ESPN at 2:30 EST

(54) Southern Miss vs. (38) Memphis: CBS College at 2:30 EST

(65) California vs. (71) USC: FSN at 3 EST

(67) Colorado vs. (16) Kansas State: ESPN3 at 3 EST

(72) New Mexico vs. (43) Colorado State: 5:30 EST

(52) Marshall vs. (62) Texas El Paso: CBS College at 6:30 EST

(31) Cincinnati vs. (8) Notre Dame: ESPN at 7 EST

(58) Marquette vs. (21) Louisville: ESPN at 9:30 EST

(32) Missouri vs. (30) Texas A&M: ESPN2 at 9:30 EST

(73) Washington State vs. (46) Washington: FSN at 11:30 EST

Click here for conference breakdowns on This Week in College Basketball.

What’s the Effect of Brandon Davies’ Suspension on BYU Going Forward?

Brigham Young forward Brandon Davies was suspended indefinitely for violating the BYU honor code earlier this week. In their first game without Davies, the Cougars lost by 18 to New Mexico on Wednesday night in Provo. The suspension has already had ramifications on the court and could have a negative effect on the BYU basketball program going forward.

The immediate effect is obvious. The Cougars men’s basketball team was ranked in the top 5 and appeared heading towards a #1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. This seemed like a perfect season for the Cougars, with national POY candidate Jimmer Fredette leading the way while becoming a college hoops icon.

For a very religious school that aspires to influence millions of people around the world with the hope of converting them to the Mormon religion, the attention garnered by the men’s basketball team this season had to be a public relations windfall for the school’s mission. With Davies off the team, the potential for a nationally captivating run through the brackets later this month has diminished substantially.

The revenue sports at BYU have been fairly successful over the years. The men’s basketball team is a consistent 20-plus win team, the football team won a national championship back in 1984, and quarterback Ty Detmer won the Heisman Trophy during the 1990 season. This season the basketball team had thrust the school back into the national consciousness for the first time since those great football teams of the 1980’s and early 90’s.

The coach of the basketball team, Dave Rose, participated in two Final Fours as a player at Houston in the early 1980’s. He’s very familiar with big time college basketball as a player and has elevated the BYU basketball program into a top 20 program during his 6 seasons in Provo. As a practicing Mormon, he appears to be a perfect fit for the program. But does this great run with top 10 success whet his appetite for more?

The college basketball hiring season is a few weeks away and there aren’t a lot of coaches who win over 70% of their games and run a clean program (is there a cleaner program?). What would Rose be worth to a new member of the Pac 12 conference, Utah?

The Utes have a tremendous history of success in college basketball and are just down the road from Provo. Utah made the Final Four and played Kentucky in the 1998 national championship game. The Utes will be in the major Pac 10 conference while BYU moves to the mid-major WCC conference. Rose can continue to live in Utah, but pursue greater professional goals as a coach. Could Utah target Rose to replace Jim Boylen and would Rose be open to moving down the road? The suspension of Davies could have Rose considering the Utah job or another job in the next month.

The potential for millions of dollars worth of exposure for the school is on the line with the decision to suspend Davies. Is leaving all of that free advertising that goes with participating in March Madness worth it when the indiscretion is something that is frowned upon by the church but not persecuted by a religion that believes in the tenet of forgiveness? One of the main purposes of BYU is to work to convert people to the Mormon faith.

While a reversal would appear to an outsider as compromising their belief system, would the visibility and message of forgiveness that would be sent have a net positive effect in the end?

In the days before the NCAA tournament begins, the BYU administration will have an opportunity to reinstate Davies to the basketball team. Davies would miss two regular season games and the MWC tournament, most likely costing the Cougars a #1 seed on Selection Sunday. By reinstating Davies for the NCAA tournament, BYU would be able to draw positive attention to their school and religion by demonstrating the tenets of forgiveness that Mormons live by.

Forgiving Davies for his sins might not just bring positive attention to BYU and Mormonism; it also might help keep their coach in Provo after this season.

Top College Basketball Coaching Candidates

The next Thad Matta?

Top College Basketball Coaching Candidates

As we creep towards March and the madness that ensues, the time for coaching changes is approaching quickly. St. John’s Steve Lavin headlines the coaches that are currently in their first season at their schools and many administrators will be looking to replicate the immediate success that Lavin has brought to Queens. With that in mind, here is a list of the top candidates who could be in-line to make the jump to one of the BCS conference openings.

1. Chris Mack, Xavier: College administrators and their professional counterparts are notorious for their lack of creativity. If they see something that works, they try to emulate that. Chris Mack should be the beneficiary of this mindset. Mack is in his second year as the head coach at his alma mater. Under Mack, the Musketeers are ranked 25th nationally in what was supposed to be a transitional year and they are heading towards their 5th consecutive Atlantic Ten regular season title. Why would Mack be at the top of the list of potential coaching hires? The last three coaches at Xavier are Sean Miller (quickly reviving Arizona), Thad Motta (rolling at Ohio State), and the late Skip Prosser (led Wake Forest to their first #1 ranking). Those are three straight slam dunk hires and AD’s are sure to view Mack as another.

2. Brad Stevens, Butler: Stevens should be at the top of many lists, given Butler’s improbable run to the NCAA tournament final game last season and the fact that Butler has been ranked in the top 20 in each of Stevens’ four seasons. After last season’s run, Oregon thought they could throw millions of Nike dollars at Stevens, but the baby faced 34-year old turned them down to stay at home in Indianapolis. Widely regarded as a sure-fire coaching star, Stevens is likely waiting on a plum Big Ten job. The big job in Bloomington could be open after next season if Tom Crean doesn’t turn things around next year.  As an Indiana native, Stevens would undoubtedly top that list of candidates.

3. Dave Rose, Brigham Young: Yes, Rose has benefitted from having the great Jimmer Fredette for the past four seasons. But Rose went 25-9 the year BEFORE Fredette showed up in Provo and is 153-42 during his six seasons as the coach of the Cougars. Rose has been at BYU since the beginning of the 1997-98 season and if he’s going to leave, now would be the time. He’s got a top 10 team that’s could go deep into the tournament and he graduates not only Fredette, but his backcourt mate and Cougars all-time steals leader Jackson Emery. Also, the Cougars are leaving the Mountain West Conference for the West Coast Conference after this season. Even with the addition of a solid BYU team, the WCC wouldn’t be close to a lock to send three teams to the NCAA tournament annually. Does Rose want to compete with Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s for two spots each year? If he doesn’t, he could take the opportunity to cash in on this year’s success. Would a move to archrival and new Pac-12 school Utah be in the cards? That would be bold for both the Utes and Rose.

4. Blaine Taylor, Old Dominion: Taylor, like Rose, is in a good job that he could have for the rest of his coaching career. The question is this; if you get offered $1.5 million per, how do you turn that down if you’re not making half of that? That’s what faces Taylor next month if and when ACC and SEC schools come calling. Taylor has won two thirds of his games in his 17 year coaching career at Montana and ODU. He is two wins away from leading the Monarchs to 24+ wins in 6 of 7 seasons. This year the Monarchs might be the best team in the Atlantic Ten, having beaten Xavier, Dayton and Richmond. Why would an ACC, SEC, or Big East school go for the 53 year old coach? Simple. Recruiting. After ten seasons in Norfolk, Virginia, Taylor is tied into all of the local high school programs in Hampton Roads region and would be able to tap into those connections at, say, NC State if he went there. There aren’t many more fertile recruiting grounds in the country than Southeast Virginia and Taylor knows the area as well as anybody. Somebody is going to try and get him and the talented recruits that would follow.

5. Steve Wojciechowski, asst coach Duke: Believe it or not, but Wojo is in his 12th season as a Duke assistant coach. He didn’t win any national championships as a player, but he’s won two as an assistant coach and seems to be very similar to Coach K in demeanor and pedigree. It’s doubtful that Duke would hand the reigns over to Wojo when Coach K retires without any head coaching experience. If Wojo wants to be the head coach at his alma mater, then he’s going to have to prove himself elsewhere. But where could he go? The ACC is sure to have at least 2 openings (NC State and Georgia Tech) this offseason and also George Washington could be a landing spot if their new athletic director wants to move on from Karl Hobbs.  

Other top candidates up for consideration:

Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s
Gregg Marshall, Wichita State
Chris Mooney, Richmond
Shaka Smart, VCU
Cuonzo Martin, Missouri State