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Friday, February 2, 2007
Is this real hoops? Or just fantasy?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Texas freshman Kevin Durant’s eye-popping skills, and the 37-point, 23-point hurting he put on Texas Tech Wednesday offered a painful reminder of the dismal collection of players on HoopHead’s fantasy, er nightmare, team.
Anybody who tangles with the Longhorns must feel as though they’re witnessing a nightmare, too. But they may not have much longer to endure his terrifying run through the college, and especially Big 12, landscape.
While there are growing arguments that he could be the national player of the year as a freshman, another kind of speculation is starting to crop up: Could he be the first pick in the NBA draft?
And if so, what purpose does the NBA’s age restriction serve? Another target for lawyers looking to get it overturned, that’s what.
If you were choosing a fantasy team based on what you’ve seen thus far, who would be your Fantasy Starting Five? Try to pick a realistic lineup (not five post players, or four guards).
And who’s your player, coach and freshman of the year?
The Big 12’s pretty loaded at the top, and on Saturday the headliner will be Kansas and Texas A & M in a battle between the two teams at the top of the standings.
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Tony Barnhart’s daily picks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tony Barnhart updates his projected NCAA field. Tony’s conference-by-conference breakdown, including who to watch, is followed by his 65 daily picks.
After both of Tony’s forecasts, log your own opinion in our daily blog.
• Who’s in: Virginia earned the seventh spot in the ACC by beating Duke in overtime Thursday night.
• Who’s out: Wichita State. With an RPI of 50, the Shockers have to give way to Virginia, which has won five in a row.
CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN
ACC (7 teams):
• In: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech.
• Bubble: Georgia Tech, Maryland.
• Weekend watch: Clemson (18-4, 4-4 ACC, RPI 23) has lost four of its last five games going into Saturday’s trip to Georgia Tech.
BIG EAST (7):
• In: Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia.
• Bubble: Providence, Villanova.
• Weekend watch: Louisville (15-6, RPI 59) has won four straight but has a tough test at Villanova (13-7, RPI 22) on Saturday. Villanova could get in with a win.
BIG TEN (4):
• In: Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin.
• Bubble: Illinois, Michigan.
• Weekend watch: Michigan State (17-6, RPI 33) has lost two straight. Ohio State comes to East Lansing on Saturday and the Spartans need to stop the slide.
BIG 12 (5):
• In: Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech.
• Bubble: Nebraska, Kansas State, Oklahoma.
• Weekend watch: Texas A&M (18-3, RPI 20) goes to Kansas (19-3, RPI 15) for their only meeting of the season on Saturday night. Winner could have the inside track to a No. 2 seed.
COLONIAL (2)
• In: VCU, Hofstra.
• Bubble: Drexel.
• Weekend watch: After VCU’s loss to Hofstra (79-68) and Drexel’s loss to Old Dominion (62-52) the Colonial is starting to look like a one-bid league.
MISSOURI VALLEY (3)
• In: Creighton, Missouri State, Southern Illinois.
• Bubble: Wichita State, Bradley, Northern Iowa.
• Weekend watch: Wichita State (14-8, 53 RPI) is out but has a chance to get back in with a win on Saturday against Southern Illinois (17-4, RPI 11).
MOUNTAIN WEST (2)
• In: Air Force, UNLV.
• Bubble: BYU.
• Weekend watch: BYU (15-6, 35 RPI) has a chance to get in the field on Saturday if it can beat UNLV (18-4, RPI 9) at home.
PAC-10 (6)
• In: Arizona, Oregon, Southern Cal, Stanford, UCLA, Washington State.
• Bubble: California.
• Weekend watch: UCLA avenged its loss to Oregon on Thursday night. Oregon (19-3, RPI 16) needs to win at Southern Cal (17-6, RPI 55) on Saturday to avoid third loss in four games.
SEC (6)
• In: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Vanderbilt.
• Bubble: LSU, Tennessee, Auburn.
• Weekend watch: Tennessee (15-7) has an RPI of 14 but has lost five of its last seven. The Vols could use an upset win Saturday at No. 1 Florida (20-2).
WAC (2)
• In: Nevada, New Mexico State.
• Bubble: None.
• Weekend watch: Nevada (19-2, 8-1) and New Mexico State (17-4, 8-1) should both roll through the WAC until they meet on March 3 at Nevada.
TONY RANKS THE NCAA FIELD
If he made his bracket today, AJC’s Tony Barnhart would pick these teams to make it to the Big Dance:
1: North Carolina (ACC champ)
2: Florida (SEC champ)
3: UCLA (Pac-10 champ)
4: Pittsburgh (Big East champ)
5: Wisconsin (Big Ten champ)
6: Texas A&M (Big 12 champ)
7: Ohio State (at-large)
8: Oregon (at-large)
9: Kansas (at-large)
10: Duke (at-large)
11: Oklahoma State (at-large)
12: Butler (Horizon champ)
13: Texas (at-large)
14: Air Force (Mountain West champ)
15: Nevada (WAC champ)
16: Marquette (at-large)
17: Indiana (at-large)
18: Kentucky (at-large)
19: Memphis (C-USA champ)
20: Arizona (at-large)
21: UNLV (at-large)
22: Alabama (at-large)
23: Southern Illinois (MVC champ)
24: Washington State (at-large)
25: Virginia Tech (at-large)
26: Michigan State (at-large)
27: Boston College (at-large)
28: Texas Tech (at-large)
29: Vanderbilt (at-large
30: Notre Dame (at-large)
31: Florida State (at-large)
32: Southern Cal (at-large)
33: Arkansas (at-large)
34: Gonzaga (West Coast Champs)
35: Missouri State (at-large)
36: Stanford (at-large)
37: Georgia (at-large)
38: Clemson (at-large)
39: Georgetown (at-large)
40: Syracuse (at-large)
41: Creighton (at-large)
42: Virginia (at-large)
43: Louisville (at-large)
44: West Virginia (at-large)
45: VCU (Colonial champ)
46: Davidson (Southern champ)
47: New Mexico State (at-large)
48: Hofstra (at-large)
49: George Washington (A-10 champ)
50: Texas A&M-CC (Southland champ)
51: Vermont (America East champ)
52: Penn (Ivy champ)
53: Winthrop (Big South Champ)
54: East Tennessee (Atlantic Sun champ)
55: Toledo (MAC champ)
56: Holy Cross (Patriot champ)
57: South Alabama (Sun Belt champ)
58: Delaware State (MEAC champ)
59: Oral Roberts (Mid-Continent champ)
60: Austin Peay (Ohio Valley champ)
61: Cal State Fullerton (Big West champ)
62: Jackson State (SWAC champ)
63: Weber State (Big Sky champ)
64: Loyola, Md. (MAAC champ)
65: Central Conn. State (Northeast champ)
• What do you think of Tony’s conference choices, along with those on his watch lists? And how does his overall 65 picks differ from yours?
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