login | Register

Snowflakes: Big East/C-USA Hoops

* With the league’s RPI being 11th in the nation, it’s a distinct possibility that Conference USA could be a one-bid league this season. Even though John Calipari has tried to talk up C-USA, the conference is just not performing up to the “right below the BCS leagues” level that many within the conference expected.  The overall records for teams like Houston (16-4) and UAB (15-6) are solid, but there are just not enough quality wins there to get their RPI up to the level they may need in March. Houston did beat Kentucky (without Patrick Patterson), and they may have a shot if they can win 24 or 25 total games. Obviously, a win over Memphis would help either team immensely, but they are going to have to finish almost perfectly to have a good chance at participating in the Big Dance.

One has to wonder if South Florida can survive long term in the Big East in basketball. After beating Rutgers in the opening conference tilt, the Bulls have lost 8 in a row and have trips to Georgetown and DePaul this week. There is some hope in Tampa as coach Stan Heath did recruit well at Arkansas and Kent State, and he has a solid core of players in big man Kentrell Gransberry and guards Dominique Jones and Chris Howard. However, to sustain success and really compete in the loaded conference, it may take even more of an amazing program-building story than Jim Leavitt has had with the football team.

* Speaking of the Big East, Louisville got a huge road win Monday night when they won at Marquette, 71-57. The Cardinals have now won 4 of 5 as they prepare to host conference top dog Georgetown on Saturday night with the ESPN Gameday crew on hand. Rick Pitino’s squad got a much needed scoring boost from sophomore guard Edgar Sosa, who pumped in 18 for his highest output of the season. The Cardinals have 5 players who average in double figures, but none of them score over 12 points a game. They will need someone to step up each night and take on more of the scoring load. Getting an added boost from Sosa-plus playing quality defense-allowed Louisville to break Marquette’s 14-game home-winning streak and get a most valuable road win in the brutal Big East.

related tags

Tribal Fever,
Urban,
Memphis,
Texas,
Kentucky,
Florida,
Alabama,
Sports,

Related Dispatches