Opening tip
Wow, the Fighting Irish looked splendid Monday, didn’t they?
Not the Notre Damers wearing helmets, pads and deer-in-headlights facial expressions. Those guys bombed so badly against Alabama that Touchdown Jesus has been renamed Missed Tackle Jesus.
By coincidence, the Irish engaged in one of two basketball games on BCS Championship night that involved power conferences. Coach Mike Brey joked that he might get ejected early so he could join the rest of America in front of their flat-screens.
Turns out, the tip-off was scheduled early enough that Brey and his players could catch most of the football game back at the hotel. They might have been better off going five overtimes in Cincinnati, thus sparing themselves from watching the horrid BCS first half.
Brey’s bunch took care of Cincy 66-60 in regulation, leaving them 14-1 — nearly identical to their gridiron brethren (12-1) — and winners of 12 consecutive. They pace the nation with 19.5 assists per game, removing any doubt on which Notre Dame squad has the superior passers.
Final Four-cast
Duke. The Blue Devils hold down No. 1 not only in the rankings, but in strength of schedule. They negotiated a typically daunting gauntlet of non-league opponents before delving into the 18-game ACC ordeal. Dividends to come.
Louisville. Even more talented, deeper and versatile than the typical Rick Pitino menagerie, with a firestarter (guard Russ Smith) about whom the coach says "is sedated in the asylum for the most of the day." Average win margin: 20.9.
Indiana. Not only do the Hoosiers score at a rat-a-tat pace, they can guard, evidenced by a top-10 ranking for efficiency on defense. Cody Zeller (16.5 ppg) has underachieved, but should step it up in league combat.
Kansas. Don't bring that stuff in here. The Jayhawks swat away 8.38 shots per game, second most to St. John's, while ranking 11th in assists and 12th in field-goal accuracy. Note to (Bill) Self: Improve the defense.
Conference call
The Big Ten is the biggest, baddest conference, a byproduct largely of prolific offenses. Indiana is exhausting the scorekeeper with its 87.9-point average, highest in the country, while Michigan is tied for seventh at 82.0. Four others — Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota — rate among the top 50, each north of 75 per game.
More than half of the league members have flooded the Top 25 rankings, with five of them forging into the first 15: Michigan (second), Indiana (fifth), Minnesota (eighth), Illinois (12th) and Ohio State (15th). A No. 22 rating constitutes a down year for Michigan State.
Pity Penn State and Northwestern, whose primary players had their seasons cut short by injury.
Butler did it — twice
Gonzaga (West Coast Conference) is 15-1 despite an imposing out-of-league schedule. The Zags opened with wins over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Kansas State, insuring they will never be invited to join the Big 12. The only loss: Illinois. Seven-footer Kelly Olynyk, a guard in high school, is too hot to handle under under either basket.
On the poll
Kansas State jumped seven rungs to 18th after plowing over Oklahoma State. Two teams from the Buckeye State took parallel tumbles. Ohio State declined seven spots to No. 15 after getting schooled by Illinois. Cincinnati, you know about.
Arizona owes its No. 4 status to an unbeaten record — the only one other than Duke’s in the poll — but is not constructed of Final Four timber. It got some divine intervention Saturday from a replay review to duck Colorado in overtime.
Profilin’
Fathers tend to overrate their sons’ potential. Not Greg McDermott, who knows his stuff. As coach of Iowa State, Greg did not bother recruiting Doug partly out of concern that his boy might struggle at the sport’s loftiest level.
The McDermotts now call Creighton home — Greg as coach, Doug as Player of the Year candidate. The 6-foot-8 junior, who originally signed with Northern Iowa, averages 23.1 ppg, third in the country. He presents a nightmare matchup for defenses, able to score from nearly every square foot on the floor.
Son of a gun
Michigan, in fact, has two players with boastful bloodlines, and the names of both leave no doubt on the identity of their dads. Tim Hardaway Jr. (16.4 ppg, 5.0 rebounds) is a junior guard, Glenn Robinson III (12.5, 6.1) a freshman forward.
Final Four shockers
No. 10: The 1998 semifinals between Utah and North Carolina offered a mismatch — on the bench. Utes coach Rick Majerus out-schemed Bill Guthridge and the Tar Heels, seeded No. 1 overall, for a 65-59 win at Utah’s first Final Four gig in 32 years.
Stat stuffers
Before you assume Duke point guard Quinn Cook (0-for-11 shooting, 0 points) was a disaster in his first start of the season against an ACC foe, read the rest of his stat line. He rang up 14 assists against just one turnover.
At the buzzer
For Cincinnati, the defeat to Notre Dame had some hair-pulling moments, but that is not why university president Santo Ono exited the arena bald.
He submitted to a head-shaving for charity there after pledging to go chrome-dome if the Bearcats won 10 games in a row. Given that Cincy has since lost three of four, perhaps he can inspire the team again with a promised body-shave.
Mr. Ono’s favorite team must stop playing so helter-skelter.
About the Author
